After a few more exchanges, Samarth is on the floor and Aditya is heavily exhausted. Vidhan steps back and says, "That's enough," warning them that this is the last chance to run or he will kill them both. He pulls out a gun and aims it at Aditya.
Before he can fire, Snehil rushes in from the side and strikes Vidhan's gun-holding hand hard with a stick, causing the gun to fall. Snehil does not stop there and starts throwing a barrage of punches. Vidhan blocks most of them, though a few get through and land, doing minor damage, and that only makes him angrier.
Snarling, Vidhan grabs Snehil by the face, but Aditya forces himself back into the fight and shoves Vidhan away. Gasping for breath, Aditya asks, "Where is Anaaya?" and Snehil answers quickly, "She went to get military help. I came here expecting this."
Now Snehil and Aditya are both fighting Vidhan while Samarth watches from the ground, completely helpless, knowing that at this moment he is neither skilled nor strong enough to help.
Vidhan suddenly decides to end it. He catches Snehil's arm, stretches it out, and with a sharp, brutal chop breaks it. Snehil screams as his left arm, his dominant hand, snaps.
Vidhan steps back, breathing hard, and says, "I'll kill all of you now. Every one of you. Even that hopeless girl who does nothing except cling to me. It disgusts me every time."
Those words hit Samarth harder than any blow. Anaaya had loved Vidhan quietly, never forcing herself on him, only waiting for him to notice her, and hearing him speak like this makes something inside Samarth snap.
Vidhan bends down, picks up the gun again, points it at Snehil, and fires.
After the gunshot, the sound echoes through Eden and deep into the forest. For a split second, everything freezes. The bullet does not hit anyone. At the very last moment, Samarth had grabbed Vidhan's arm and forced it upward, sending the shot into the sky.
That moment changes something in Samarth.
He realizes Vidhan is no longer holding back. He is ready to kill. And that means this fight cannot end halfway.
"I'm not stopping," Samarth says through clenched teeth. "Not until you're down."
He charges.
Samarth starts hitting Vidhan again and again, putting everything he has into each strike. Vidhan feels every blow, heavy and relentless, and for the first time, he starts giving ground. Aditya and Snehil force themselves back in as well, ignoring pain and exhaustion, fighting with whatever strength they have left.
For the first time, Vidhan is losing.
The damage piles up, too much, too fast. Desperate, Vidhan tries to raise the gun again. Samarth grabs it instantly, struggling to force it away. In the chaos, the gun fires again. Then again.
The bullets hit and Vidhan goes down.
The moment it happens, Samarth freezes. His body reacts before his mind can catch up. His chest tightens, his hands start shaking, and a crushing weight settles inside him, the kind that comes when someone realizes they may have killed another human being.
It gets worse.
From the side, Purnima, Jay, and Amrit arrive, running toward the gate, with Vidhan's brother right behind them. In the confusion, one of the bullets strikes Vidhan's brother as well. He collapses to the ground.
That sight breaks Samarth completely and his legs give out. He drops to the ground, his heart pounding painfully, his mind spiraling. He cannot breathe properly. He cannot think.
Anaaya comes running then. She had heard the first shot fired into the sky and rushed toward it. From her angle, all she sees is Samarth standing there with the gun, Vidhan fallen, and at the side, Vidhan's brother lying motionless. The sight shatters her.
Aditya steps in quickly and pulls the gun out of Samarth's hand. "Enough," he says firmly. "I'll take responsibility for this. Whatever happens next, I'll handle it."
By then, military forces arrive at the gate. The chaos finally ends. The soldiers secure the area, gather everyone, and take them back safely.
But for Samarth, nothing feels safe anymore.