Tarun, who was behind the cement block, felt it shift from the shockwave.
He was unaware of what was going on.
"What is happening behind me? What is this shockwave?" Tarun thought.
But he was also in a lot of pain. The rusted metal rod had broken, yet another rod had pierced into his back, while the broken piece still remained inside him.
"I need to remove the metal and run from here," Tarun thought.
As he tried pulling out the broken piece, the pain overwhelmed him."Ahhhhh!" Tarun screamed.
He was desperately trying to pull the rod from his body when suddenly someone landed in front of him.
It was Manu.
Manu stood in the small crater after the shock wave, the green light that had been glowing from his body flickering out. But when he heard Tarun's scream, the green glow began to reappear — weaker than before.
Ravi, who had been watching Manu closely, felt a chill run down his spine. When the green light faded, he thought about attacking Manu — but when it began to glow again, he abandoned the idea.
Tarun's scream had drawn Manu's attention. Manu moved toward Tarun and landed right in front of him.
Tarun, seeing the figure up close, froze in shock. He had caught glimpses before, but now his fear consumed him completely.
Manu reached out his hand. Terrified, Tarun squeezed his eyes shut.
"No… don't do anything!" Tarun begged.
But Manu grabbed Tarun by the hair and lifted him up.The rod that had pierced Tarun's stomach snapped out with a sickening tear.
"Ahhhhhh!" Tarun cried, agony burning through his head and stomach.
Meanwhile, the green glow in Manu's pupils was dimming, flickering weaker, as if the energy inside him was running out.
Watching this, Ravi panicked.
"No… I need to run. I have to save my own life first," Ravi thought.
He began to back away slowly, his eyes locked on Manu.
But Manu noticed. Still holding Tarun, he turned his head toward Ravi.
"No… he saw me! I've been discovered!" Ravi thought in terror, and bolted.
Seeing him flee, Manu charged after him with full speed, dragging Tarun like a ragdoll. Then, from a distance, Manu hurled Tarun toward Ravi.
Both men crashed to the ground. Ravi was shaken but not seriously hurt.
Manu stood still, gripping the rod in his hand, his head hanging low. Now, his eyes only glowed with a faint, dying green light — too faint for Ravi or Tarun to notice.
"Take me away from here! Please, take me away!" Tarun screamed at Ravi.
Ravi, trembling, hoisted Tarun onto his back and started running.
Manu lifted his head and caught sight of them retreating far in the distance.The whites of his eyes, which had turned black before, slowly shifted back to normal. The green glow in his pupils vanished completely.
Weakened, Manu released the rod from his grip and collapsed onto the ground.