"Tell me, my friend… what can I do for you?"
When Kakbhushundi saw the emotion in Dhoomketu's eyes as they stood atop the mountain peak, even he became emotional.
"My friend… just my grandson—"
But before Dhoomketu could finish speaking—
A massive explosion shook Earth itself.
The impact was so violent that even Baadallok trembled for a moment.
The second Dhoomketu felt the quake, panic flashed across his face. He immediately began chanting a spell, and within seconds, a gigantic mirror-like portal appeared before them. It worked like a window between worlds, allowing Baadallok to observe the events unfolding on Earth.
And the moment Dhoomketu looked into it…
…sweat rolled down his forehead.
His eyes widened in horror.
Both Dhoomketu and Kakbhushundi saw that somewhere in Japan, violent earthquakes had suddenly begun tearing through the land. The ground cracked apart piece by piece, and within moments, a small village collapsed into dust and rubble.
Dhoomketu focused harder on the mirror.
Thankfully, no lives had been lost yet…
…but many people were badly injured.
Without wasting another second, Dhoomketu closed his eyes and summoned a divine conch.
The moment it appeared, he blew into it.
A deafening roar burst from the conch and spread across all of Baadallok.
Not just Baadallok—
the sound echoed across the entire world.
Since ancient times, such a thunderous conch blast had only meant one thing.
War.
Either war had begun…
…or it was about to.
And Dhoomketu's warning carried exactly that meaning.
Across Baadallok, soldiers instantly began preparing their weapons, shields, and armor. Warriors from other races also started readying their armies for battle.
But even then, reaching the attack site would still take time.
As the sound of the conch slowly faded away, Dhoomketu turned toward Kakbhushundi with worry in his eyes.
"Lord… I must go. If this destruction isn't stopped in time, not a single human from that village may survive. I know you do not interfere in our wars… so please grant me permission."
The moment he finished speaking, Dhoomketu vanished without even waiting for a reply.
Watching him disappear, Kakbhushundi stood there silently, tears gathering in his eyes.
"What you are about to witness today… may completely break you, Dhoomketu," he whispered sadly. "How can I possibly give you permission for that…"
Then he slowly looked toward the sky with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile, near the destroyed village in Japan, the barren land continued cracking open strangely… almost as if something enormous was crawling beneath the earth itself.
People nearby could actually feel movement under the ground.
One of those people was Vipul.
The moment he sensed the explosion, Vipul immediately closed his eyes and entered deep meditation.
A second later, his eyes snapped open again.
Fear.
And anger.
Both burned in his expression.
He instantly turned toward Adi and the other young man traveling with them.
"We need to get to Japan immediately," he said seriously. "Something truly terrible is about to happen."
Both of them nodded without question.
And the three immediately rushed forward.
At the same time, near the coast of Gujarat, on a small isolated island, a radar system installed atop a mountain suddenly began flashing warning signals.
Hidden inside that mountain was a massive underground facility.
From outside, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary cave.
But inside—
it was an advanced headquarters filled with glowing lights and high-tech systems.
Inside the command center, a young woman dressed in black combat gear stormed into the hall and shouted toward the officers working there.
"Squad… we have a situation!"
Everyone turned toward her instantly, fear visible on their faces.
And among all of them…Om also had sensed the earthquake somewhere, because that impact was insane to not be able to sense for OM.
He too had felt the quake.
In fact, satellites all around the world had already begun focusing on the barren village in Japan. News channels everywhere prepared themselves to broadcast what was quickly becoming the biggest breaking story on Earth.
Meanwhile, near the freshly destroyed village in Japan…
loud laughter suddenly began echoing from inside the massive crack in the ground.
Curious people slowly gathered around the giant fissure, trying to see what was hidden inside it. Even Japan's emergency task force had arrived to investigate the area.
An old man carefully stepped closer to the crack, trying to understand how laughter could possibly be coming from underground.
At the same time, satellites zoomed in on the strange activity below.
The entire world watched in suspense.
The old man leaned forward and placed one foot near the edge of the crack—
And suddenly—
A gigantic crab claw shot out from inside the fissure.
Before anyone could react—
the claw grabbed the old man and sliced him clean in half.
His scream echoed for only a second before blood exploded across the ground.
The man collapsed in two pieces.
Dead.
Everyone froze.
People's hearts nearly stopped from fear.
Then chaos erupted.
Screaming in terror, the crowd began running away from the crack. Even the people watching live on television felt chills crawl down their spines.
But then—
something unexpected happened.
A beautiful woman slowly emerged from inside the fissure.
Her long hair flowed freely, and she wore seductive torn clothing. Only the upper half of her body was visible above the crack while the rest remained hidden underground.
The crowd instantly became captivated by her beauty.
Her face looked frightened.
Weak.
Helpless.
"Aah… please… somebody save me…" she cried desperately. "My legs are trapped underground… my clothes were torn apart in the collapse… that monster just disappeared… please help me…"
She was unbelievably beautiful.
And the torn fabric barely covered parts of her body, making many of the men around her lose their senses completely. Her trembling voice only pulled them deeper into her trap.
"Please, sir… help me…" she begged again softly.
Most of the Japanese crowd couldn't even understand her language.
But they understood one thing—
she looked like a woman in danger.
Slowly, men began walking toward her as if hypnotized.
Some people standing behind them tried stopping them, but it was useless. The men looked completely enchanted, unable to focus on anything except the mysterious woman before them.
Among the crowd stood a small boy desperately trying to stop his father from approaching her.
But his father wouldn't listen.
Finally, the child himself stepped forward and began walking toward the woman angrily.
The woman watched him approach and smiled faintly.
"Come, child…" she said sweetly. "Save your sister… save me from dying… just come a little closer…"
But the moment the boy reached her—
SLAP!
He suddenly smacked her across the face.
The slap wasn't powerful…
…but it was enough to wipe the smile from her lips.
Anger flickered in her eyes.
And before anything else could happen, five or six men finally reached close enough to help her.
The moment they stretched their hands toward her—
A massive claw burst out from behind her inside the fissure.
In a single movement—
all of them were dragged screaming into the darkness below.
The crowd panicked instantly.
People began running in terror.
And seeing everyone frightened…
…the woman started laughing.
Loudly.
Madly.
Slowly, she climbed fully out of the crack in the earth.
And the moment people finally saw her complete body…
…their blood ran cold.
Because the upper half of her body was human—
…but below the waist…
…she was a gigantic monstrous crab.