CHAPTER ASHBORN 440: ALLIES

Dance of the Shadow Demon was no mundane art. Indeed, there were many who claimed the Iksana ought to treat it as a second Ultimate Art. Or third, rather, if the tales were to be believed of their Lost Art, Reality Inversion.

When placed next to the Gargans’ Lionheart or the Bairans Giant’s Hide, Dance of the Shadow Demon seemed to be in a league of its own.

Upon seeing the Chitran kothis kick and flail as they were dragged off into the Iksana’s mysterious shadow realm, upon hearing the Aindri riders’ screams, Tara thought that it was perhaps a good thing that the Iksana stuck to their caverns and largely stayed out of wars and conflict.

There were precious few weapons in the demon arsenal capable of countering them. And yet, the Iksana were few and the combined Chitran and Aindri forces large, and Dance of the Shadow Demon’s vulnerabilities well documented. No matter how skilled, an Iksana was vulnerable in that moment when they grabbed hold of someone to bring them inside the shadows.

Tara didn’t doubt they’d already taken casualties, and as the battle dragged on, they’d lose more. In a battle of attrition, the enemy had the upper hand.

Tara tore her eyes off the battle that raged below—a battle she could do little about—and focused on the turmoil aboard the ship. All around her, Asura engaged with Annas’ elites, though no matter where she looked, Tara spotted no trace of their ringleader.

“Coward,” she spat, rushing to engage with the nearest kothi. They’d taken her armor and her spear, but they couldn’t take her magic.

Corruption manifested, choking the kothi long enough for an Asura to kick him. On level ground, that would’ve served to create an opening at best. Perhaps delay the fight to regroup.

Except, they were aboard an airship, a thousand paces above ground. The kothi sailed through the air and off the ship, disappearing from sight. Tara didn’t bother to watch him hit the ground. She’d already chosen her next victim.

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Vir rushed to the east at speeds most would only dream about. In his personal airship with Ashani and the wolves in tow. Ashani had been especially busy with Maiya’s plan, but the nature of her Gates meant that jumping from the Pagan Order to Samar Patag took nothing more than a single step.

Per Vir’s request, he’d refrained from introducing Ashani to the demons of the Pagan Order, nor had he divulged her ability to create Ash Gates. According to Maiya’s latest update, negotiations had been going smoothly, and he suspected that as soon as matters were wrapped up with the Chitran, he’d be off to the Human Realm to stabilize the situation there.

A problem for later. Tara’s rescue was the highest priority for now. He only hoped he wasn’t too late.

Willing even more prana into the inscriptions, Vir accelerated the airship to a speed far beyond what Saunak had ever intended. The wooden wings flapped like mad and the frame twisted and groaned, protesting the abuse.

It mattered not. If this one was destroyed, Saunak could make another. Tara was irreplaceable.

Yet even with that speed and even with the great heights Vir could soar to in the airship, Garga’s lands were vast, and finding an army was not such an easy thing.

Which was precisely why Saunak had insisted upon every airship being equipped with a compass of sorts. Unlike in the Human Realm, compasses here did not point north but rather to the Ash boundary. In effect, it served the same purpose unless one was very close to the boundary.

Unfortunately, Tara had omitted mentioning what heading she was taking. Or even if she was following one in the first place.

Vir’s best guess was that she was heading to Vraj Parah, the mountainside capital of the Panav. By land, only two paths were possible, with one—the path that struck due north and wound through the mounts—was far longer. Tara would likely have chosen the more easterly route that touched the coast, cutting through the mountains in a pass near that capital. ℞𝓪𝐍𝘖ＢЕ𝓢

That narrowed the scope of where to look, yet even then, the task proved difficult. It was only after several hours of searching that Ashani spotted something far in the distance. So far, in fact, that Vir’s eyes couldn’t discern a thing.

But Vir trusted Ashani implicitly, and so he turned the craft in the direction indicated, and soon enough, a vast army appeared below.

Yet something was not quite right. Instead of the rows of orderly pitched tents and general lethargy one might expect of a gathering force, demons ran every which way. Tents lay in tatters, and bursts of magic fired off.

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It looked very much like an army embroiled in the middle of a fight.

Vir grinned.

“It would seem Ra has some integrity, after all,” he muttered.

“Ashani, I’m bringing us down. Our goal is to meet up with the commander of the Iksana fighting below before driving off this force.”

“You would allow them to flee?” Ashani asked.

“No choice, really,” Vir replied. “Between the two of us and the wolves, we could wreak some havoc, sure, but not nearly enough to rout the whole army. No matter what we do, they’ll reconvene somewhere else. Still, don’t hesitate to do as much damage as you can. Just be sure to keep enough of a reserve to make a Gate back to Samar Patag.”

“Understood,” Ashani said as Vir scanned for possible locations to set the airship down. There was always the option of parking far and bounding in, and Vir was about to do just that when he spotted another airship.

“Tara,” he muttered, changing course.

The airship was currently hovering, which made his task easy. Reducing speed and altitude, Vir brought his own craft to a stop above the larger airship, then unlatched the landing gears before setting it down on the wooden deck.

As Vir hopped out, he wondered if Saunak would burst a vein or hoot with joy at this docking maneuver.

“V-Vaak!?” Tara gasped.

“In the flesh,” Vir replied, looking around at his Asura. “I take it you’re up here surveying the battlefield? I need a report. Fast. And I need to know if you’ve seen Annas or Sagun’Ra.”

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After questioning Tara and a handful of his Asuras, Vir learned the full picture. How they’d been imprisoned until just recently, and were at a loss for how to end this engagement.

The news that none had seen a trace of Annas soured Vir’s mood, but he supposed Annas wasn’t so stupid he couldn’t learn from Matiman’s mistakes. Either that, or he was just that spineless.

“Then we’re off,” Vir announced, falling freely from the airship with Ashani and the wolves.

Balancer of Scales activated the moment before impact, reducing their weight and allowing the air to slow them before they touched down.

He hadn’t been especially careful with the size of his Balancer field, and so dozens of kothis in the midst of combat suddenly found their footing slip as their weight was drastically lessened, causing them to fall.

After that, whatever chaos had reigned over the battlefield looked like nothing but a gentle breeze compared to the maelstrom Vir’s party inflicted.

Ashani’s lightning bolts roasted nearby foes, but moreover, caused such deafening thunder and blinding flashes of light that Vir immediately became the center of attention of everyone in the vicinity.

Which was good, because Balancer of Scales worked better the tighter packed the enemy was.

The Chitran and Aindri Warriors either failed to recognize him or were so blinded by anger they didn’t care, because they charged at him, roaring and screaming.

All was for naught when their bones creaked and cracked, having to suddenly support twentyfold their weight.

The first to fall were the Aindri’s mounts. Ash’va, boars, and all manner of other beasts crumpled. The Aindri were the next to follow. Slight of build to be less of a burden for their mounts, Aindri fighters were crippled without them.

Only the kothis, with their monkey physique, mounted any semblance of resistance.

Yet resistance was simply not enough when Vir could activate his menagerie of other skills at the same time.

Prana Current flared, and Aspect of the Demon Lord enhanced his form, making him all but invulnerable so long as he had prana to spare. Not only that, it also augmented Balancer’s field, consuming even more prana for more effect.

Even more foes collapsed.

Then Vir sprung into action, activating Haste as he Blinked around the battlefield, ripping demons apart with his Chakram. While the Artifact was somewhat crippled in the Demon Realm—being able to travel only in a straight line—its blades still cut well enough, slicing foes apart.

When supported by a barrage of Blade Launches, there was little the enemy could do but accept their fate.

And then there were his wolves.

Vir’s Ultimate tattoos suppressed the field, making his foes easy targets, ripe for the picking. Ideal targets for his wolves to bite into, mauling and reaping, bounding to new prey even before their current victims expired.

Ten, fifty, a hundred. The enemy fell in such quick succession that a void formed around Vir, forcing him to relocate.

With so many arts burning through his prana, even Vir’s vast reserves wouldn’t hold up long.

Speed was not only necessary, it brought him a measure of safety against the many Warrior Chakra attacks that came his way. When the enemy realized engaging at close range was a death sentence, they attempted to fight him from afar.

Unfortunately for them, Vir moved faster than they did. In the blink of an eye, he moved to a new throng, sowing chaos and mass panic.

For the first time in his life, Vir finally dominated. On his own, without outside assistance. For the first time, his power alone was enough to shift the tide of battle. For the first time, decimating his enemies was no longer a struggle, wrought by the risk of death at every turn.

Standing taller than most, with prana billowing from his body, Vir finally understood.

This is what it feels like to be a god…

It didn’t take long at all for the panic to spread like noxious gas, infecting all those it touched.

The Akh Nara was here!

A great, horned demon like Ravana himself!

He can’t be killed! Run for your lives!

A dozen demons routed. Seeing them flee, others found themselves suddenly alone and exposed as the bony limbs of the Iksana grabbed their legs, threatening to drag them to their deaths in a black abyss.

With their only logical recourse to join their compatriots and flee, the trickle became a brook. The brook swelled into a stream, and the stream roared into a raging rapid as the army of twenty thousand rampaged, trampling more of their own than Vir had killed himself.

Moments later, they were gone, leaving behind a field of corpses and corpses soon to be.

A being emerged from Vir’s shadow.

“Grown bigger,” the voice said.

“It’s not the only thing that’s grown, I assure you,” Vir said with a smirk. “I’m a Raja now.”

Vir eyed Sagun’Ra for any hint of reaction. He needn’t have been so alert. Ra broke out into a hacking laugh.

“Raja? Yes. Indeed.”

Vir looked the Raja in the eye. “Does this mean the Iksana recognize my claim to the Gargan throne? Do you now support my cause?”

“Iksana vows. Sacred. You have proven strength. Our eyes. Our ears. Yours. Raja Sarvaak of Garga.”

Vir opened his mouth, yet no words came. Somehow, the Raja’s words hit him a hundred times harder than this most recent victory ever could.

“T-thanks.”