The massive Ground Bull roared, its hooves slamming into the bedrock of Gota Village. The impact triggered a cataclysmic, high-magnitude earthquake that tore giant fissures through the battlefield.
But as the dust settled, a horrifying laughter echoed. Kera stood completely unshaken in the center of the destruction.
"Is this the best your pathetic Bull can do?!" Kera mocked, his demonic aura flaring violently. "I have hunted beasts far greater than this!"
Despite the demon claiming the attack had no effect, Rudra's blood-red eyes didn't waver. With a sharp mental command, he ordered the Ground Bull to take charge again. The colossal earthen beast lowered its horns, charging at full velocity, while Rudra enveloped himself in pure shadow energy, preparing to strike.
Watching the terrifying clash from the safety of the estate barriers, Ananya turned to Isha, her voice trembling but filled with deep recognition. "Isha... look at his red eyes. He is unleashing the legendary Potnuri Claim Trademark bloodline ability, right?"
"Yes," Isha replied, her grip tightening on her weapon. "That raw, unyielding demonic dominance is the absolute trademark of his lineage. But look at that demon's speed... we cannot step onto that battlefield right now. We will only get in his way!"
Suddenly, the air pressure ruptured. Rudra swung his weapon, unleashing a massive cosmic wave of energy toward Kera. At the exact same moment, Rudra and the Ground Bull took to the sky, diving down on the demon from above.
But Kera's speed was unnatural.
In a fraction of a microsecond, the demon began moving like pure light. He vanished from the sky, leaving behind a blinding trail of luminescence. Before Rudra's sensory perception could even register the movement, Kera materialized directly in front of him.
CRACK!
With a sickening crunch, Kera struck first, completely snapping Rudra's right arm.
Rudra roared in agony, but before he could fall, Kera moved with light-speed precision once more, delivering a devastating kick that shattered Rudra's leg. The unstoppable King of the Shadow Throne was violently brought down to his knees, broken and bleeding on his own soil.
Seeing the horror unfold, Mouni, Ananya, and the wives instinctively surged forward to sacrifice themselves to save him.
Spitting out crimson blood, Rudra used the last ounce of his dual-voice authority to roar back at them, stopping them in their tracks. "NO ONE STEP FOOT ON THIS BATTLEFIELD! DO NOT COME!"
Rudra stared up at the towering light-speed demon closing in on him, his body refusing to move as he whispered a final, desperat
e cry. "No..."A heavy, suffocating silence hung over the battlefield as Kera raised his glowing, light-speed fist to finish the broken sovereign. Rudra lay on the crushed earth, his vision blurring, his fractured arm and leg screaming in agony.
SHWACK!
A blinding flash of silver energy rent the air. A clean, sonic sound echoed across the plains, followed by a wet thud.
Kera's arrogant expression froze. In a single, instantaneous stroke, the demon's towering head was completely severed from its neck. It tumbled through the air and fell heavily onto the ground, dissolving into black ash. The light-speed threat was eliminated in a single second.
With the demonic pressure lifted, the absolute exhaustion took over, and Rudra fell completely unconscious, his body collapsing into the dust.
Ananya, Mouni, and the wives rushed past the barrier, gathering around Rudra's broken body. Standing right behind them, wiping a gleaming blade, was Ravana. He looked down at his fallen brother with a mixture of respect and serious concern.
Isha looked up at Ravana, her voice tight. "He has the raw power of the Shadow Throne and the Potnuri bloodline... but he almost died today."
"Exactly," Ravana nodded grimly, looking at Isha. "He has an unbelievable amount of cosmic power inside him, but he has absolutely no proper combat training to handle opponents who move at the speed of light. He is fighting purely on raw instinct."
"He did get some training," Isha countered, remembering the past. "Madhu visited him before. Madhu trained Rudra for exactly 2 days, right?"
"Two days is nothing against high-tier disaster demons," Ravana replied strictly. "He needs to master the five elemental beasts properly."
A few hours later, inside the village estate, Rudra slowly opened his eyes. His divine regeneration had braced his broken bones, but he was still weak. He sat up, his mind completely focused on the photograph Dev had left behind. He looked at Ravana and his wives standing around his bed.
"I need to know the truth," Rudra gasped, his voice raspy. "Our fifth brother... where is he?"
Ravana's face turned incredibly solemn. He stepped forward, dropping a massive lore bomb. "Rudra... our fifth brother is currently on an elite, world-shaking mission. He has been fighting in the dark sectors for 19 years straight. His mission is highly classified and incredibly dangerous."
Rudra stared at his hands, realizing the scale of the war his brothers were fighting while he was locked away in Gota village. He tried to stand up, but his body resisted.
Ravana placed a firm hand on Rudra's shoulder, looking at the nine wives and Mouni. "You ten... you ten wives must stay here in Gota Village and protect the estate. Rudra is not ready to go alone."
Isha looked at Rudra, her eyes filled with determination. "Okay, Rudra. We will stay here and guard the home base."
Rudra pushed past the pain, his red eyes flashing with a new fire. He needed answers, and he needed to find his bloodline. He looked at Ravana, his voice echoing with absolute resolv
e.
"I am going."