Hmm…
My arm… it's burned.
It kinda hurts.
I can't even look at the burns.
It's a miracle my hand is still intact considering that impact.
What pains me the most isn't the damage I received, but… the sleeve of my uniform is completely gone.
That thing was expensive.
I can barely afford another one with the money I have.
I took off my shirt.
Well… more like a coat.
It's completely damaged. The sleeve on my right arm is torn, and half of it is covered in burn marks.
I can't let it get any worse.
Where should I keep it?
…Ah.
An idea clicked.
I tied it around my waist.
Yeah. That's better.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Hmm?
Who was that?
I turned back.
Girishika.
She doesn't look badly hurt.
That's a relief.
She looked at my shirtless state and made a weird face.
[Girishika]: What happened to your coat?
[Pratik]: It's damaged.
[Girishika]: I see. You look quite skinny.
Yeah… now that she mentions it, I have gotten pretty skinny compared to before joining the Society.
I used to be chubby.
Now I'm more lean.
…Why am I even thinking about that right now?
[Pratik]: What happened to Germio?
[Girishika]: He defeated me easily… and disappeared.
[Pratik]: That's bad. Then why did you come here?
She made a mortified face at that.
[Girishika]: Do you not know? You've got a bounty of 198,000 Karo on your head. A lot of people are coming after you.
What?!
As bad as that sounds…
I can't lie—it kinda makes me feel proud.
I finally have a higher bounty than any of my teammates.
Now I actually feel like a real captain.
Looking at my face, she gave me a skeptical look.
Suddenly—
I sensed something approaching.
I grabbed Girishika and jumped away.
An arrow pierced the ground near my right shoulder.
…Here we go again.
Now I could see everything clearly.
An entire army of sorcerer hunter sepoys.
I released Girishika.
[Pratik]: Hey, let's run.
[Girishika]: Aren't we going to fight?
[Pratik]: Nope. I've got a bad feeling about this. And I'm already tired from my fights with Wedgermio and Crocus.
[Girishika]: Fine. Let's go.
We split and ran in different directions.
But—
They chased only me.
…Got it.
I'm the target.
With my right arm and shoulder injured, I can barely run at full speed.
After running for a while—
More hunters appeared ahead.
Damn.
I'm cornered.
But then—
They stopped.
Didn't come any closer.
They just stood there.
And then—
Five figures entered the space.
Five chairs appeared out of nowhere.
They sat.
I could feel it instantly.
They were on another level.
Each one of them… far stronger than Crocus.
Not even comparable.
…Marshals.
Yeah.
I have no chance of winning.
Even surviving would be a miracle.
Suddenly—
The sky tore open.
Shit.
Four Knights.
I could see them clearly in the sky.
Then thunder struck, destroying a nearby mountain peak.
Five monsters appeared.
No doubt—all of them were double-digit XIGON scale scorers.
I'm completely surrounded.
Yeah…
Maybe I should just give up here.
[Marshal C]: What are we waiting for? Let's end this.
[Marshal A]: True. But who should finish him?
All of them looked at each other.
Then—
A voice echoed from the mountain.
"That kid belongs to the Asura Community. I, their loyal servant, shall take his head."
…Yeah, this just got worse.
A bull-faced monster appeared right in front of me.
He was just on that mountain a moment ago.
Everyone looked surprised—except the four monsters up there.
[Marshal A]: A servant of the Asura Community? I see. Then we shall wait.
Everyone agreed.
Great.
Live execution.
Front row seat.
He took out his blade and pointed it at me.
I stumbled… and fell.
This isn't funny.
I'm actually going to die.
I couldn't even track his movement.
In the next instant—
He disappeared.
A huge cloud of dust exploded around me.
As the dust settled—
I thought I'd be staring at the gates of hell.
…Am I dead?
Is this hell?
I could see three figures.
One sitting.
Two standing.
Black clothes.
Golden strips.
Elite Squad.
One of them had blue hair.
The other—huge, muscular.
And the one sitting—
…Wait.
Am I dreaming?
That's—
MASTER KRISHNA?!
What is he doing in hell?!
When did he die?!
…Wait.
Does that mean—
I'm alive?
What just happened?
The blade that was meant to eliminate me… was lying near me—broken, shattered.
The monster who attacked me… Tai, was it? He stood at a distance, one of his horns broken.
Everyone gathered there had cold sweat on their foreheads.
The armies surrounding me stepped back.
Many of them… trembling.
What is this?
Is this the same fear I was feeling just moments ago?
One thing was clear—they were all scared. Terrified of what was about to happen next.
Everyone… except Marshal C.
He laughed bitterly.
[Marshal C]: Hahahaha… finally, finally I get my prey back. The ones I was dying to kill myself.
He started walking toward us.
[Marshal C]: Why should we be the ones afraid? We outnumber these puny sorcerers. They're nothing but worms.
He reached out toward my neck—but his hand was caught by Master Krishna.
Master Krishna applied slight pressure.
Crack.
That sound… yeah, definitely bones.
[Krishna]: Seven minutes. That's all we need to wipe you out. Use it wisely.
And just like that, he threw Marshal C away.
[Tego]: Isn't he always a problem for us? Always sticking his nose into our matters.
Sir Tego said that with a smile.
[Arun]: Don't worry. No one will escape alive this time.
Meanwhile, Tai regrouped with the monsters on the mountain peak, preparing to give the order to eliminate me.
Then—
A hand rested on his shoulder.
Master Krishna.
[Krishna]: I shall deal with you personally.
And in the very next moment…
The entire mountain disappeared.
Yeah… he teleported the mountain. Along with them.
This is insane.
…No, wait. This is normal for him.
If I think this is insane, then I've probably lost my mind.
Soon after, the Marshals, Asura Knights, Sir Tego, and Sir Arun all disappeared too.
I couldn't even tell who took whom.
Their movements… were impossible to track.
And just like that—
Only the sepoys were left.
Good.
I can handle them.
As soon as the troops tried approaching I hit on the ground to make a distraction.
The dust surrounded a large volume.
As soon as dust cleared , I started with a kick on any sepoy that was within my range.
The hit sent him flying only to hit other few sepoys.
Blades and spears, all they got.
I can take them down if I play right.
Explosions and arms, this was what the battlefield was.
Dodging their attacks and then landing punches (with left hand) and kicks, that's all I can do for now.
But it feels like I am getting overwhelmed with time.
Should I dismantle my right arm? It's useless right now.
Nope, the thought of pain I would receive stops me from doing so.
I got it!
If my healing isn't effective in this way, then I should use Shadow Lord's Garden. It has far better healing technique.
Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord's Garden.
The whole planet got covered with black foam again and soon it got deactivated too.
My arm, is healed.
While it isn't perfectly healed, but it's far better. There is still small burning sensation I have got there.
With the newfound confidence, I think I can defeat anyone... except those who are more powerful than me.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling,Shadow Lord.
Everyone within 20 m radius was sucked in by my range shiftling and I knocked out everyone within the range .
After knocking them I deactivated my range shiftling. All this happened in 0.8 seconds.
Later I appeared in crowded position and again used my range shiftling and continued this cycle.
Just when I had a feeling that I can win. It was crushed again.
A punch landed on my face sending me flying away.
It hurted a lot.
Maybe more powerful than that of Crocus.
It hurts, it hurts badly.
I coughed blood.
Who's this guy?
It was Griho.
No, I can't win against this being.
[Griho]: Surrender yourself and I shall grant you mercy.
[Pratik]: How about a peaceful talk sir?
[Griho]: Meaning?
I just need time. Just a little.
Until Master Krishna and the others finish their fights.
[Pratik]: I mean… we can talk it out.
Maybe introduce ourselves?
He stared at me.
Cold.
Heavy.
My vision blurred.
It felt like his gaze alone could kill me.
[Griho]: Surrender… or death?
Here he goes again.
[Pratik]: We've met before. So how about—
My eyes… started bleeding.
This is bad.
How many times am I going to feel like I'm about to die today?
[Griho]: Don't fool around, kid. There are too many people after your head. You'll only make things worse.
Argh…
No… wait.
There's something else.
My back… it's burning.
What is this?
It feels like… a seal.
If it really is a seal—
CAN I REMOVE IT RIGHT NOW?
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:
THE STORY OF PRATIK BOY
During the alien invasion of 1994, Pratik had no memories of his life. He was just a small child, but aliens had experimented on him along with five adult humans. His memories were partially erased as part of those experiments.
After the invasion failed—thanks to the intervention of sorcerers, which revealed their existence to the world—Pratik was discarded back onto Earth.
Abandoned in Dendadarlands, he was eventually noticed by a sorcerer and guided to the Immortalus Society Residence in mid-1995.
The Immortalus Society Authority initially passed a verdict to eliminate him, considering him cursed.
However, Krishna, the Leader, rejected that decision outright.
Before 1990, the Authority held immense influence. But after Krishna became Leader in the mid-1990s, he introduced major reforms that reduced their power significantly. Because of that, his refusal carried far greater weight.
Pratik's execution was cancelled.
Still, his Dark Energy Reserves were abnormal, as pointed out by Krishna.
To control and regulate them, Krishna placed one TriGod Seal and two DiaGod Seals on him.
After all this, Krishna sent him to the USA and India for his academics and cultural upbringing until he turned 14.