Chapter 368 - 336: After Devara’s Life... Never Alone...

(A/N):

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Meanwhile, inside the royal chamber, Gandhari’s long ordeal had finally reached its most crucial moment.

Another cry escaped her as the royal physicians carefully assisted her through the delivery, while Rajmata Satyavati continued holding her hand and encouraging her through every wave of pain.

Ganga and Bhudevi remained close beside her, their presence providing Gandhari with the reassurance that she was surrounded by family, while Devara’s other wives continued encouraging her, refusing to let her feel alone even for a moment.

Then, finally, the first child was born.

A tiny cry filled the chamber.

For a moment, everyone froze.

The sound was so small compared with the years of anticipation surrounding this moment that it almost seemed unreal.

Gandhari’s exhausted expression softened when she heard it.

Her first child had entered the world.

But there was no time to rest.

The physicians immediately continued their work, because this was only the beginning.

One child became another.

Then another.

One after the other, the children were carefully delivered, with the women assisting the physicians and making certain that each newborn was safely cared for.

The chamber slowly filled with the sounds of newborn cries, anxious instructions from the physicians and the emotional encouragement of the women surrounding Gandhari.

Outside, however, Devara knew none of this.

He remained completely immersed in his penance.

His body sat motionless before the Shiva shrine, his breathing steady and his consciousness turned entirely toward his father.

The sacred fires continued burning around him as the priests maintained their protective yagas, their chants blending into the atmosphere of the temple.

Devara had no idea that the first of his children had already entered the world.

He had no idea that the chamber was slowly filling with the cries of his newborn sons and daughters.

He only continued praying.

’Keep them safe. Keep Gandhari safe.’

That was all that mattered to him.

But while the kingdom celebrated quietly within its palace walls, something else was approaching from beyond its borders.

High above the outer regions of Trivenivrata, several dark shapes moved through the clouds.

They were fast.

Far faster than ordinary birds.

Their enormous wings cut through the air as they descended toward the kingdom, their bodies concealed partially by the clouds.

Their faces were strange and unsettling, bearing a resemblance to bats, with elongated features, sharp teeth and large ears extending from the sides of their heads.

There were dozens of them.

Perhaps more.

They flew in formation, surrounding a larger creature at their center.

The leader had a massive pair of leathery wings and a body covered in dark scales.

Its eyes glowed as it looked toward the kingdom below.

Then it laughed.

A harsh, rasping sound echoed through the clouds.

"So it has finally begun."

The creatures around it looked toward their leader.

The leader’s grin widened.

"For three and a half years, we have waited."

Below them, the kingdom appeared peaceful.

They could see the palace.

The royal arena.

The temple.

The guards stationed throughout the city.

But the creatures were not interested in the celebration.

They had been waiting for this exact moment.

The leader raised one claw toward the palace.

"Queen Gandhari has entered labour."

The creatures smiled.

"And King Devara has left himself vulnerable."

A few of them gave low, hungry laughs.

The leader’s wings spread wide.

"All this time, that king has been protected by his family, his armies and his divine weapons. But now his attention is elsewhere."

His gaze shifted toward the temple.

"His wife is giving birth."

A sinister grin appeared across his face.

"And Devara is sitting in penance."

The leader laughed again.

"Then this is the moment we have been waiting for."

The creatures began descending.

"Attack him at this moment."

His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Kill King Devara."

The flock of winged creatures suddenly accelerated toward Trivenivrata.

"For once,"

The leader growled,

"the king will have no idea that death is coming for him."

Meanwhile, the winged creatures continued their descent, spreading outward as they approached the temple.

Rather than rushing directly toward the structure, they separated into several groups and began circling it from every direction, their dark silhouettes moving silently through the night sky.

Their leathery wings barely made a sound as they maintained their positions, forming a complete ring above the temple.

From the ground, the arrangement might have looked like a strange gathering of birds circling a shrine, but the priests inside the temple had no idea what was waiting above them.

The creatures had deliberately chosen their positions so that there would be no obvious escape route.

North. South. East. West.

And everywhere between.

The leader remained higher than the others, watching the temple below with narrowed eyes.

From that height, he could clearly see the sacred flames burning inside and the priests continuing their protective rituals.

At the center of the temple, Devara remained seated in meditation, completely immersed in his penance.

He had not moved.

His eyes remained closed.

His breathing was slow and steady.

The leader’s grin widened.

"There he is."

The creatures surrounding him looked down.

The king they had come to kill was sitting completely still, unaware that dozens of enemies had already surrounded him.

The leader raised one claw.

Every creature immediately stopped moving.

They waited.

Not one of them attacked.

They understood that the first strike had to be perfectly coordinated.

If even one creature attacked too early, Devara might sense the disturbance and break his meditation.

Their objective was to catch him before he could react.

The leader looked toward the temple again.

"Wait until the signal."

The creatures remained suspended in the air.

Below them, the priests continued chanting.

The sacred fires continued burning.

One priest poured another offering into the yaga, and flames rose toward the heavens.

Devara remained completely motionless.

The leader’s eyes gleamed.

"Once we strike, surround him from every direction. Do not give him even a moment to summon his weapons."

The creatures silently nodded.

They had studied Devara.

They knew about his weapons.

They knew about his divine abilities.

They knew that allowing him even a few seconds to prepare could turn the entire situation against them.

That was why they had chosen this moment.

His wife was in labour.

His attention was elsewhere.

He had voluntarily entered deep penance.

And now they had surrounded the temple while he was at his most vulnerable.

The leader slowly lifted his hand.

The creatures tensed.

Their claws extended.

Their wings pulled backward, preparing for the simultaneous dive.

One signal. One attack. One target.

Devara.

The leader’s grin became wider.

"Now..."

But before he could complete the command, something inside the temple changed.

Devara’s breathing paused for the briefest instant.

His head remained bowed.

His eyes remained closed.

Yet the atmosphere around him subtly shifted.

The sacred flames nearest to him suddenly bent in his direction.

The priests continued their chanting, unaware of the change.

High above them, the creatures remained frozen in anticipation.

The leader’s hand stayed raised.

He had no idea that the man they believed to be completely unaware of their presence had begun to sense something approaching.

The temple remained silent.

The creatures waited.

And Devara continued his penance.

For now.

Meanwhile, the creatures that had gathered above the temple remained completely unaware that their carefully planned ambush had already been noticed by something far more dangerous than the man they intended to attack.

They continued circling the temple in the darkened sky, their leathery wings beating in near-perfect formation as they slowly tightened the ring around the ancient structure, waiting for their leader’s signal.

Their bat-like faces carried cruel anticipation, and their claws were already prepared to descend upon Devara the moment they received the command.

Yet, as they moved through the darkness, something else was watching them.

From the shadows surrounding the temple, several pairs of eyes slowly opened.

One pair appeared between the branches of an ancient tree, narrow and golden, the pupils reduced to thin slits as they followed the creatures circling overhead.

Another pair emerged from beneath the temple’s stone steps, glowing faintly in the darkness.

Then another appeared upon the roof, followed by several more hidden among the pillars, the bushes and the surrounding forest.

They were not human eyes.

They were the eyes of predators.

Each pair remained completely still, watching the flying creatures with an unsettling patience, as though the beings above had not arrived to hunt at all, but had instead walked directly into someone else’s hunting ground.

The creatures continued their formation, completely oblivious.

Their leader raised one clawed hand and glanced toward the temple below.

Devara remained seated before the sacred fire, his body perfectly still, his head bowed and his eyes closed as he continued his penance for Gandhari and the children being born inside the palace.

The leader’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Wait for my signal."

But before he could give it, one of the creatures suddenly felt something was wrong.

It looked toward the forest.

Nothing.

Only trees.

It turned toward the temple roof.

Then it looked behind itself.

Still nothing.

The creature frowned, its instincts screaming at it that something was watching.

It slowly turned its head upward.

A pair of enormous slit pupils stared back at it from the darkness above.

The creature froze.

Its wings stopped beating for a fraction of a second.

Then another pair of eyes opened.

And another. And another.

Soon, the darkness surrounding the temple seemed to be filled with countless predatory eyes, each one fixed upon the creatures in the sky.

The attackers finally noticed them.

Their formation began to falter.

"What..."

one of them whispered, its voice trembling.

The leader looked around.

For the first time since arriving, the confidence disappeared from his face.

Those eyes were not merely observing them.

They were studying them.

Judging their size.

Watching their movements.

Waiting.

Almost as if whatever possessed those eyes had already decided which one it would devour first.

Below them, Devara remained completely motionless.

The sacred flames before him continued burning quietly, their golden tongues occasionally bending toward him as though responding to an unseen presence.

And then, from somewhere deep within the darkness, came a low growl.

It was so faint that the creatures almost mistook it for the sound of the wind.

Then another growl answered it.

And another.

The entire forest seemed to awaken.

Branches shifted.

Leaves rustled.

Something heavy moved behind the trees.

The attackers slowly looked at one another.

Their plan had been simple.

Surround the temple.

Wait until Devara was completely immersed in penance.

Strike simultaneously.

Do not give him enough time to summon his weapons.

But they had overlooked one very important detail.

Devara was never truly alone.

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(Author note:)

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