Hrithik flew into a rage when Nivyansh suddenly refused.
"If this is your decision, then you can't blame me for becoming merciless," he snarled.
But Nivyansh completely ignored him, and the two walked on. Seeing himself being ignored, Hrithik boiled with anger and signalled to his brother.
His brother understood, stepped forward, and stood before them. Laughing in a deep voice, he said, "Boy, what's the rush to leave? If you insist on going, then at least hand over that Rank-One talisman to us."
When Nivyansh realized that—after he refused to sell the talisman—they were trying to seize it by force, anger rose inside him. Still, he held it in.
Not wanting to appear weak, Nivyansh said sternly, "Listen. I already told you clearly that I will not sell this talisman. And I have no intention of giving it to you. If you try to take it from me by force, be prepared for the consequences." He clenched his fist as he spoke.
Hrithik stepped forward and said angrily, "Alright. So you won't give us the talisman. Fine — then we'll take it from you by force."
"I admit there's something about you; with your Ninth-Star power you felled that talisman-leopard who was five stars above you. But don't be foolish enough to think your Ninth-Star can defeat us. If you want to stay alive, the smart move is to hand that pouch over to us."
A merciless look had settled on his face.
Still, this made no difference to Nivyansh; only a slight crease appeared on his brow. He knew that if he used his full power, he could hold them off for a while, and if he ran they wouldn't be able to catch him together. But his greatest worry was not for himself — it was for his friend Prashant, his only dear companion, whom he could not abandon in danger.
Worry showed plainly on Prashant's face; beads of sweat dotted his brow. Yet standing beside Nivyansh, he had become brave and planted himself firmly in place.
When the two brothers saw that their threats had no effect, they boiled with rage and once again issued a warning.
"I'm giving you one last chance to walk away alive. Hand over the Rank-One talisman — then you can both go."
Nivyansh, who had been restraining his anger for a long time, could not remain silent any longer. He shouted angrily, "And if I don't, what will you two do to me?"
At that, both drew their swords and readied themselves for attack. At the same time, Nivyansh whispered something to Prashant standing nearby. Prashant looked a little troubled on hearing it, but at Nivyansh's insistence he agreed.
Hearing Nivyansh's words, the two brothers became furious. They launched a combined sword attack on Nivyansh. Nivyansh used all his strength to block them, but still had to retreat several steps. Seizing the moment, Prashant sprinted away at top speed; seeing him flee, the brothers assumed he had run in fear.
Mocking him, they jeered at Nivyansh, "Now your companion has run away in fear and left you to die at our hands. Will you still not give us the stone?"
Hearing this, Nivyansh's worried expression turned into a smile — for it was Nivyansh who had told Prashant to leave. If Prashant had stayed, Nivyansh's attention would have been repeatedly torn away from the fight by worry for his friend.
When they saw Nivyansh smiling instead of distressed, they were baffled. When they realized Nivyansh's trick, they grew even angrier. One of them, unable to control his fury, attacked without thinking. Nivyansh stepped back and, gathering power in his other hand, struck a powerful punch straight into the attacker's chest. The man flew and crashed into a tree; blood poured from his mouth and, after a few moments, he fell unconscious.
Seeing his brother injured, Hrithik screamed in rage, "Boy! Today you made the biggest mistake of your life by wounding my brother. Even if you beg me for your life, I will not let you leave here alive. And as for that stone — I will take it from you by killing you."
Immediately, a tremendous surge of fire-element power burst from his body. A slight crease formed on Nivyansh's face — the man opposite him was a Rank-Five in Blood Circulation.
That man launched a full-powered attack at Nivyansh. A large fire-sphere sped toward Nivyansh, which he barely managed to avoid. Nivyansh's eyes fell on the spot where he had stood; the explosion there had left a five-foot crater in the ground.
After that, the clash of their swords echoed through the forest, and despite many exchanges no clear victor emerged. During one attack, shockwaves pushed them back; they summoned their powers and readied to fight again. This time Nivyansh's sword slipped from his hand, and seeing that, Hrithik delivered a powerful strike with his sword intended to finish Nivyansh. Nivyansh countered with a punch that struck Hrithik's hand, and the sword flew from it.
Both readied themselves for a duel.
Immediately their bodies collided, but neither could push the other back. Moments later their punches landed, forcing them both several steps back. They gathered power in their fists; yellow and golden hues began to glow around their hands. Their power-charged fists collided, producing a fierce blast, yet neither was willing to retreat. Both were thrown back several paces and resumed fighting. The barrage of punches and kicks felt relentless; the ground around them cracked and several trees were shattered and fell. Then a strike sent them both flying a long distance; moments later they rose to their feet.
Nivyansh thought, troubled, This is very powerful. Even using all my strength I cannot defeat him. My powers are draining quickly. My body is a bit tougher — otherwise I would have long ago been defeated.
As he thought this, his breathing grew rapid; a little blood trickled from the corner of his lips. Many of his clothes were torn and bleeding from fresh wounds. Hrithik's condition was not good either; his clothes were in tatters and fresh blood flowed from many wounds. Yet his state was somewhat better than Nivyansh's, clearly reflecting the difference in their powers.
Meanwhile, Hrithik was astonished that a fifteen-year-old boy who was only on the Ninth Star could match him blow for blow — something he had never seen before.
But thinking of his injured brother made him furious. Driven by that anger he told Nivyansh, "We'll see how long your powers last against my Rank-Five Blood Circulation. When your energy runs out, I'll see how you save yourself. Then I'll tear you to pieces." His eyes had turned a fierce red.
A moment later he used his fire-element power and invoked a Rank-One technique, shouting, "Fireball!" Instantly a much larger fire-sphere formed in his hands — three times the size of the previous one — and he aimed it at Nivyansh. The huge sphere sped toward him.
Nivyansh had no option but to face it. With a cry he formed a golden armor using his golden powers and poured all his strength into it. As soon as it formed, the fireball struck that golden armor, and the shield shattered and crumbled in an instant.
The attack seemed destined to hit Nivyansh — when suddenly a power-formed shield of light blue enveloped him completely and the fireball struck that instead. There was a thunderous explosion; dust and debris flew everywhere. When the dust settled, Nivyansh's eyes opened wide in disbelief — he was completely unharmed. Hrithik fumed with rage at this.
His gaze fell upon the light-blue shield that had protected the boy and he roared, "Who is helping this kid? This is between me and him!"
Nivyansh opened his eyes and, seeing himself safe, was surprised. He noticed two people approaching him — one was none other than Prashant, whom he had told to leave, and the other was a tall, middle-aged man wearing green. Nivyansh brightened and said with delight, "Teacher Bhupathi."
Hearing this, the faces of the two brothers drained of color. The blast had woken the wounded brother, but when they heard the stranger called "Teacher," they realized the gravity of the trouble they had created. They hurried forward and nervously blurted, "Teacher Bhupathi."
Teacher Bhupathi asked Prashant, "Yes — are these the ones you told me tried to seize your talisman?"
Prashant nodded.
They came right up to Nivyansh, whose clothes were completely torn and bleeding from several small wounds. Teacher Bhupathi and Prashant's eyes widened at the two brothers standing before them and they exclaimed in shock, "Hrithik, Harutesh — what are you doing?"
Nivyansh asked in surprise, "Teacher, do you know them?"
Bhupathi replied, "Yes — very well. They are students of our academy." Disappointment was clear on his face.
Everything fell into place for Nivyansh and Prashant — these were the seniors they had been fighting.
Hrithik and Harutesh's faces had gone completely pale; they looked at Teacher Bhupathi in utter alarm. Then they apologized, "Forgive us, Teacher Bhupathi. We were led astray for a little while."
Bhupathi scolded sharply, "Led astray?"
Hearing that, Teacher Bhupathi said to the two of them, "You are not children who can be easily swayed, and above all you attempted a murderous attack on your own junior. I did not expect this from you. There will be consequences. Whoever told you to do this will also be punished severely."
A moment later Teacher Bhupathi produced three small stones from between his fingers and gave them to the three — because although they had erred, after all they were still students of his academy.
They accepted them and thanked Teacher Bhupathi.
What will happen next? Will those two be punished for attacking Nivyansh, or will something else occur? To find all the answers — read the next chapters of The Heartless Warrior.