Rudra, was focused on the five men surrounding him.
He thought they would charge at him with their weapons, like before.
But instead—
A sharp, high-pressure blade of water suddenly materialized out of thin air!
It ripped through the air with terrifying speed, its edge shimmering under the morning sun radiance coming though the window.
The attack was so fast that Rudra's body barely had time to register it—
Swoosh!
His instincts kicked in at the last second, and he threw himself to the side, landing in a rough roll.
The attack missed him by mere inches—
but the force of it still sent a sharp gust of wind against his skin, and he felt the cold spray of water droplets against his face.
CRACK!
The water blade slammed into the wooden door behind him—
slicing straight through it like butter!
The impact was devastating.
A deep, clean cut split the door in half, sending shattered wood flying in all directions.
For a moment, Rudra just stared at the destruction, his mind racing.
That wasn't a normal attack.
That wasn't just skill or strength.
That was—
His gaze snapped toward the hooded man's right hand, and that's when he saw it—
Jalāstra.(Water-elemental divine weapon.)
A bracelet-linked ring, pulsing with divine blue energy, its droplet-shaped gemstone radiating an eerie, mystical glow.
The interior swirled with the image of ocean waves as if a storm was raging inside the stone.
Realization hit Rudra like a lightning bolt.
"He has Jalāstra..."
he whispered, his heartbeat quickening.
This was no ordinary thug.
This man was using Amirtha's Astra which she abandoned before she made a decision to leave behind her former life and start a new one as a mother.
And Rudra had just stepped into a very dangerous fight.
Orphanage...
Inside the orphanage, Amrita sat across from Rajendra and Anvi, deep in discussion about possible leeways to ease tensions with the Brahmansh Council.
The conversation was measured, strategic—until suddenly—
She froze.
A pulse of familiar energy surged through her, sending an icy shiver down her spine.
Her breath hitched as her fingers unconsciously clenched the wooden armrest of her chair.
'No… this can't be…'
She hadn't felt this presence in years.
It was Jalāstra. (Water-elemental divine weapon.)
The bond was unmistakable.
She had once wielded it in countless battles, her steadfast companion, her trusted partner—but now, it was in someone else's hands.
Rajendra and Anvi immediately noticed her shift in demeanour.
"Amrita? What's wrong?"
Rajendra asked, his brows furrowed in concern.
Before she could answer, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed outside.
The usual buzz of the streets had changed—
something was happening.
Amrita snapped her head toward the open window, where she saw people running in panic.
Just then, a middle-aged man from the neighbourhood rushed toward the orphanage.
His face was pale, his breath ragged.
When he spotted Amrita stepping outside with Rajendra and Anvi following behind, he hurried toward them.
"Madam Amrita! It's Rudra!"
he blurted out, his voice thick with urgency.
"A group of six hooded men—armed with daggers, knives, axes—are attacking him and a girl near the market!"
A heavy silence fell over them.
Then—
anxiety clawed at Amrita's chest.
The Jalāstra's aura she had just sensed—
was it connected to this?
Her instincts screamed yes.
She didn't wait.
Without a second thought, she spun on her heels and sprinted toward the market, her heart pounding.
Rajendra and Anvi exchanged a glance, realizing the situation was far worse than they had thought.
Without hesitation, they followed her.
Unnoticed by Amrita and the others, a faint glow pulsed from the broken fragment she carried—a piece of Brahmastra that had remained with her all these years.
Back at the battle, Rudra moved erratically, dodging each high-speed water attack from the hooded leader.
But that wasn't all.
A second Astra user had stepped into the fight—a man wielding a katana forged from ice which is known as Himāstra. (Ice elemental divine weapon.)
Water attacks rained down from one side—swift, precise, relentless.
On the other, the ice-sword(Himāstra) wielding swordsman lunged at Rudra, attempting to cut him down in close combat.
Rudra barely weaved past the slashes, twisting his body to avoid fatal strikes.
His movements were fast—
but not flawless.
He gritted his teeth.
'These two are coordinated… they've done this before.'
Then—
a perfect opening appeared.
The Himāstra(Ice elemental divine weapon.) user struck.
He slashed his katana toward the wet ground, freezing the water instantly.
'Shit!'
Before Rudra could react, his footing slipped—
the sudden lack of friction threw him off balance for just a second.
But that was all they needed.
The Himāstra(Ice elemental divine weapon.)-wielder closed the distance in a blink, raising his katana—
aimed directly at Rudra's chest.
A clean kill.
'No time to dodge—!'
At the last possible second, Rudra twisted his body, delivering a brutal side-kick to the man's knee.
SNAP!
A sickening crack filled the air.
The Himāstra(Ice elemental divine weapon.)-user let out a pained scream, his knee bending at an unnatural angle.
Rudra landed roughly but had created enough space between them again.
And then—
A sudden notification flashed in his mind.
[SYSTEM ALERT!]
[A NEARBY ASTRA HAS SHOWN INTEREST IN BECOMING YOUR PARTNER.]
[DO YOU ACCEPT?]
Rudra's eyes widened.
'An Astra? Interested in me?!'
There was no time to hesitate.
'Yes!'
He commanded in his mind, bracing himself for whatever came next.
Just as Rudra chose [YES], his entire body tensed as an unseen force rippled through him.
The air around him grew heavy with an unfamiliar yet strangely comforting energy.
A surge of icy mist swirled at his feet caused by the previous fight, and for a split second, the battlefield seemed to be still.
At that exact moment, Amirtha, Rajandra, and Anvi arrived at the scene, drawn by the sheer chaos of the battle and Amirtha's undeniable connection to her lost Astra.
Ahhhh~
Their eyes took in the aftermath—
the wreckage of the fight, a hooded man screaming in agony as he clutched his broken leg, and beside him, the Himāstra, its chilling aura freezing the ground beneath it.
But what shocked them even more was the Jalāstra, gleaming defiantly in the hands of the hooded leader.
"Impossible…"
Amirtha breathed, eyes wide with disbelief.
Rajandra, however, wasted no time.
His instincts kicked in as he activated his Shima Astra(Lion Based divine weapon).
His body bulged with raw power, muscles refining themselves to perfection, while his hair grew wildly, forming the magnificent mane of a celestial lion.
His torn shirt fluttered away, revealing a physique brimming with golden energy, and his hands morphed into massive claws, his canines elongating into fangs radiating celestial light.
A colossal golden lion manifested behind him, letting out a bone-rattling roar that sent an instinctive chill down the spines of their enemies.
The hooded attackers hesitated—
just a moment of fear—
but that was all Rajandra needed.
With the precision of a true beast, he lunged.
Every strike landed with ruthless accuracy.
His claws tore through the robes of the assailants, leaving deep claw marks across their bodies.
The hooded figures, already weakened from their fight with Rudra, found themselves utterly overpowered.
The leader, however, refused to back down.
Gritting his teeth, he prepared to unleash the full force of Jalāstra.
Just as he raised his hand to attack, his gaze landed on Amirtha.
More specifically—on the broken fragment of Brahmāstra clutched in her hands.
"____"
The moment he saw it, his eyes widened in pure disbelief.
And then… a wide, ecstatic grin spread across his face.
"The Brahmāstra…"
he whispered in awe, his grip on the Jalāstra tightening.
"After all these years… we finally found it!"
The realization hit him like a divine revelation.
This fragment—
this is a piece of the legendary weapon—
was what they had been searching for all this time.
If he presented it to his master, Brahmadev, he would be recognized… elevated… perhaps even become Brahmadev's right-hand man.
His expression twisted into a manic hunger.
"I will take the Brahmāstra(King or Creator of astra) from you, woman!"
he declared loudly, his aura flaring with newfound determination.
Both Amirtha and Rajandra exchanged a glance of shock.
Even they had not expected the Brahmāstra fragment to react like this.
The faint, almost dormant glow it had carried all these years had suddenly ignited with power.
Just as the enemy leader turned his Jalāstra toward Amirtha,
his intentions clear in his hungry, frenzied gaze, the broken piece of Brahmāstra in her hand suddenly trembled.
Amirtha gasped as a powerful pulse of divine energy surged through her palm.
Gasp~
Before she could react, the fragment shot out of her grip, rising into the air and glowing with an intense, golden light.
"____"
"____"
"____"
The battlefield fell into a brief, eerie silence.
Even Rajendra and the enemy leader momentarily halted their fight, their eyes following the fragment as it hovered above them, radiating immense power.
Then—
like a shooting star—
it zipped forward at blinding speed!
The fragment passed Rajendra, narrowly missing the enemy leader's outstretched hand and flew straight toward Rudra.
Still slightly distracted by the system message, Rudra barely had time to react before the fragment slammed into his chest!
A shockwave of golden light erupted from the point of impact, knocking back anyone nearby.
But instead of bouncing off, the fragment melted—
turning into a golden liquid that seeped into Rudra's skin.
His eyes widened in shock as a burning sensation spread through his body, surging through his veins like liquid fire.
A faint, intricate symbol flickered into existence on his right wrist—
a half-formed Brahmāstra tattoo, glowing with an otherworldly light.
Then—
just as suddenly as it appeared—
it faded.
The battlefield was left in stunned silence.
"____"
Rudra clenched his wrist, his breathing heavy.
'What… just happened?'
As the searing heat from the Brahmāstra fragment coursed through Rudra's veins, he felt an intense pull deep within his soul.
It wasn't just an external force entering him—
the broken Brahmāstra was trying to become a part of him.
His body trembled as a surge of raw, untamed energy erupted inside him.
'Shit... Who would have thought the one who wanted to bond with me was you.'
with this thought gritting his teeth Rudra endured it.
It felt like holding onto a miniature sun—
its power volatile and barely contained.
For a brief moment, visions flashed before his eyes.
Images of destruction—
entire lands reduced to ashes, mountains crumbling, and skies burning with divine fire.
Then, amidst the chaos, a cold, mechanical voice resonated in his mind.
[WARNING! THE BROKEN BRAHMĀSTRA FRAGMENT HAS MERGED WITH YOU.]
[THIS PIECE HOLDS THE RAW POWER OF DESTRUCTION. ITS ENERGY IS EXTREMELY POTENT AND UNSTABLE.]
Rudra's breath hitched.
He could feel it—
the immeasurable force humming within him, waiting to be unleashed.
[USING THIS POWER CARELESSLY MAY RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNLEASH IT UNTIL YOU HAVE OBTAINED ANOTHER BRAHMĀSTRA FRAGMENT OR PROPERLY TRAINED.]
[THE SECOND FRAGMENT POSSESSES THE POWER OF PROTECTION OR THE OTHER ONE WITH THE POWER OF CREATION.
ONLY WITH IT CAN YOU BALANCE THIS DESTRUCTIVE ENERGY.]
Rudra clenched his fists, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
The system's warning was clear—
this was not a power to be used lightly.
He exhaled sharply.
'So, this is what it means to wield a piece of the Brahmāstra…'
As the last echoes of the system's message faded, Rudra steadied himself, his eyes narrowing as he turned his gaze back toward the enemy leader.
As the torrential wave surged toward Rudra, its sheer force threatened to engulf everything in its path.
The enemy leader's desperate attack carried enough power to incapacitate him instantly.
But just before the wave could crash—
It halted.
The water froze in mid-air, suspended as though time itself had stopped.
A soft golden radiance flickered around Rudra's body, his skin pulsing with an unfamiliar divine glow.
The enemy leader's expression twisted into one of utter shock and disbelief.
"Impossible—"
Before Rudra could even process what was happening, the massive water surge reversed its course, parting in the air—
and then, as though responding to some unseen force, it lashed back toward its summoner.
The leader's eyes widened in terror as his own attack slammed into him, sending him crashing backward into the ruined shop.
Rudra took an instinctive step forward, but the moment his foot touched the intact shop floor—
CRACK!
A deep fissure formed beneath his step, and then another, spreading like veins of golden lightning.
The very ground beneath him pulsed with a divine hue, the cracks glowing and flickering as though the earth itself was responding to his presence.
The sudden eruption of power sent an oppressive silence through the battlefield.
Even Rudra felt an overwhelming sense of raw energy spiraling out of control within him.
Realizing that if he didn't suppress this power now, it could spiral into destruction beyond his intent.
Summoning every ounce of focus, he forced the energy down, willing it into submission.
With a final breath, the golden aura around him vanished.
He turned his gaze toward the enemy leader—who still stood, frozen in place.
The leader's body quivered, his eyes darting around in confusion, but his limbs refused to obey him.
Then, to Rudra's shock, cracks began forming along the man's body.
A cold shiver ran down Rudra's spine.
'What… just happened?'
Behind him, Rajandra, Anvi, and Amirtha snapped out of their trance.
For some reason, they had been completely untouched by the golden energy.
They had felt its overwhelming presence—
but it had simply passed over them, sparing them.
Rudra clenched his jaw and quickly moved toward the fallen Himāstra (Ice Astra) on the ground.
At the same time, he reached toward the Jelāstra (Water Astra) still in the frozen leader's hand.
His fingers barely brushed against it when—
A low, guttural growl escaped Rajandra as he shook off his trance, his Shima Astra's beast form receding.
His muscles shrunk back to normal, and his lion-like mane disappeared.
With urgency in his voice, Rudra turned to the group.
"Get out. Now."
Rajandra, Amirtha, and Anvi didn't hesitate.
As Rajandra hurried Anvi outside, Amirtha turned and followed the others.
Meanwhile, the one attacker with a broken leg desperately crawled toward the exit, dragging himself away from the unfolding catastrophe.
The leader, still frozen in place, could only watch as Rudra slowly turned back toward him.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review!!! And power stone!!!
Which will motivate me more.