Backside the venue, a gust of speed surged through the narrow lane, scattering dust and loose debris. The wind sliced past like a blade, followed by a sharp flash Surya's sword tore through a cluster of figures in black hoods. With precise efficiency, he neutralized the group and skidded to a halt near a suspicious device nestled beneath a rusted generator. His eyes locked onto it.
"A bomb," he muttered.
Without delay, he tapped his communicator. "Padma aunt, only seven bombs left. Padma aunt what, no reply?"
Inside the command center, Padma adjusted her headset, slightly startled. "It's nothing, Surya. Just got distracted."
Surya's voice buzzed back in. "Okay. And Padma aunt… while our communications were down, I noticed Dev he followed a truck and .."
She cut him off gently. "It's okay, Surya. I'm aware. No need to worry about Dev. I already sent Isha, and Rohit's deployed to cover Ayaan. You just focus on locating the bombs."
A pause.
"…Okay," Surya replied, then the line went quiet.
Ranvijay, standing behind Padma with arms crossed and a deep line of worry etched into his brow, finally spoke. "Why didn't you inform Surya about Dev's current condition?"
Padma smiled faintly, not turning. "I wanted to. But surya is our trump card. Using him for my own reason is stupid also That'd mean I've lost confidence in dev ."
Ranvijay's expression tightened. "Using a trump card for our own reasons…"
His gaze dropped to the scar on his left hand—three faint, uneven marks that never healed right. His eyes darkened.
"My second mistake…" he whispered.
A memory flickered in: a young man standing amidst a shattered doorframe, blood dripping from his hand clutching a cracked glass container. The air smelled of burnt wires and betrayal. Crimson light radiated from a massive axe as it cleaved through the chaos. Screams. Silence. The taste of failure.
Ranvijay blinked hard, bringing himself back to the present. His badge a polished Shield insignia reflected on the monitor screen. Tears welled up but didn't fall.
"…The Fall of Shield," he muttered.
A red dot flashed on the screen.
Padma's fingers moved swiftly, pressing into her mic. "Bhairava, another bomb located. Sending you the coordinates now."
Ranvijay wiped his eyes. He leaned forward, his voice clear and steady.
"Padma look. Another bomb location. Let's finish this."
----
Inside the half-ruined building, flames and smoke curled between the debris as Isha, now armed with Dev's gauntlets, blocked a brutal strike from the spiked club of the hybrid Hollow Pact member. Sparks flew as the club met reinforced alloy. She twisted, slashing the creature's palm clean off with her blade.
Ranveer, wincing through the pain of his wounded stomach, clutched the mini Uzi Isha had given him. Gritting his teeth, he fired at the new hooded figures attempting to rush in, covering the others.
Nearby, Dev exhausted, bloodied studied the gun in his lap from multiple angles, murmuring, "There must be something in this gun…"
Riya crouched beside him, her voice tight with concern. "You're injured. Please, just tell me what to look for. I'll handle it."
Dev's voice was faint but firm. "You know what, Captain Rathore and President Aditya always believed in , Weapons choose their owners. Right now… this one's chosen you."
He coughed hard. Riya instinctively pressed her hand to his chest, trying to ease him. She froze, slightly flustered her first time touching someone like this. But she steadied herself, saying, "Calm down. Don't talk."
Dev ignored her, his eyes still fixed on the gun and the dagger beside him. Both bore the same Spear emblem.
"I don't know why Rathore gave this gun specifically to you… but it means something."
Across the room, Isha shouted while fending off another barrage of attacks. "Yo, troublemaker! These gauntlets are amazing. No idea why they left you, but they're really listening to me."
Dev chuckled, weak but genuine.
"Hey, tape recorder Riya look here." He pressed a discreet notch beneath the gun's barrel. With a smooth click, the weapon transformed, revealing a scope and a small embedded laser pointer.
Riya gasped. "Is this real…?"
Dev smiled. "I get why you feel burdened by this. But Rathore had his reasons. One—protect you from what Ajay just did. Two—Aditya's own orders, likely given through Anaya. She's your friend, right?"
Riya whispered to herself, "How's this linked to Anaya…?"
Dev slowly stood, dragging his dagger up with him. "And three… no hesitation. This gun, that dagger, those gauntlets we're meant to use them together to destroy the Council of Six."
He handed the transformed gun back to her. "This dagger chose me. Those gauntlets chose Isha. This gun chose you. It's in zapper mode now it can spot the vital points , if this gun really shoots you it will show the vital point and shoot down . We'll handle the rest."
Riya, still unsure but determined, nodded. "Okay, Dev…"
She raised the gun, looked through the scope, and paused. In her own voice but layered, distant she heard something: "Look at the vital point… no, not there…" It confused her, but she held steady, trusting Dev.
Then with effort Dev stepped forward toward the hybrid. As Isha joined him, she raised a fist.
Dev met it with his. Fist bump.
Pain surged through his arm from the impact of the gauntlet.
Isha grinned. "That's what happens when you abandon your gauntlets."
Dev gave a short laugh. "I'm fine with my dagger."
They moved as one, thorns launching toward them. Dev ducked. Isha deflected them mid-air.
Riya pulled the trigger. The gun discharged a searing bolt directly into the creature's abdomen.
"I don't know how to describe it…" she called out, "but there's something unusual in its stomach!"
Dev and Isha nodded in sync. Their eyes locked.
Isha severed both of the hybrid's arms in a flash of steel. Dev stabbed his dagger deep into its abdomen right where the bullet had struck.
The dagger's edge meet the bullet's core, and a burst of internal energy detonated inside the creature. It let out a guttural, inhuman scream.
From the wound, a dark greenish smoke erupted, and long wooden hands burst outward. One reached for Dev.
Isha shoved him aside and slashed through the limb, cleaving it before it reached.
The hybrid began to scream louder no longer a voice of rage, but one of pain
---
The mutated body of the hybrid Hollow Pact member twitched violently. Its voice broke into a chaotic storm of contradictions:
"Hail Queen of Thorn… Where… where am I?"
"Please… spare me!"
"Somebody help me!"
"Hail Hollow Pact!"
"I'll kill every human being—"
"Hail… Queen… of Thorn…"
The voice distorted into a scream of agony.
Suddenly, a dark greenish smoke erupted from its body, swirling and twisting into a vaguely humanoid form. The room darkened under its presence. The voice that emerged from the smoke was laced with ancient malice.
"Finally… someone worthy… a vessel..."
Dev and Isha immediately sensed something far worse than the creature they had just fought. Their instincts kicked in. In a heartbeat, they dashed to Riya and Latha.
Isha reached Latha first, covering the girl's ears and shielding her eyes with her hands.
Dev grabbed Riya, hugging her close. He wrapped around her, shielding her completely. His voice rang out:
"Uncle Ranveer! Cover your ears and eyes—NOW!"
The smoke entity continued, its voice resonating with authority and rot.
"My name is Shunyavakta. Leader of the Hollow Pact. Fourth Commander of the Council of Six. Ah… finally, someone capable of breaking my pathetic experiment."
Dev stared at the crumbling body still moving beneath the smoke, his eyes burning with rage.
"Stop using his body like a toy!" he roared.
Shunyavakta's smoke rippled, amused. "Foolish human… You shattered my creation, yet mourn for this broken puppet?"
The mist turned toward Riya, its presence slithering.
"But her… she looks promising. Let me run a few… experiments."
The green smoke lunged.
Dev held Riya tighter, shielding her completely.
Suddenly, the Spear symbol on Dev's dagger lit up pure white light piercing the darkness. It burst outward, slicing through the smoke like a divine blade.
Dev whispered, "Teacher…"
Shunyavakta's voice echoed one last time, disintegrating as the light consumed him.
"Only 2.3 years left… until the war begins. But I'll return… even sooner than that."
The smoke shattered like glass breaking underwater and dissolved into nothing.
Riya trembled in Dev's arms. Her hands clutched his jacket. She didn't speak—only hugged him tighter.
Dev whispered, "Yeah… it's painful… Riya?" He looked down and saw her trembling.
He gently placed a hand on her head. "Calm down, Riya."
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, softly.
Then
He looked up and saw Latha and Ranveer both staring.
He froze. His cheeks flushed.
"I-It's just to calm her down! That's all!"
Isha, leaning against the wall, blood streaked across her brow, smiled through her pain and ruffled Dev's hair.
"My troublemaker's back."
She wiped her tablet and stepped toward the fallen hybrid.
Dev followed. The creature was finally still.
Isha crouched beside it and spoke softly. "His name… was Sekhar. A news reporter."
Dev's eyes narrowed. "The one investigating the Numn University survivors… right?"
Isha hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. If things were normal… today he would've been with his late wife. Celebrating their anniversary."
The hybrid blinked one last time as if seeing something. His mangled face twisted into a faint, peaceful smile. A single tear rolled from the corner of his eye.
With barely a whisper, he said, "Thank you…"
And died.
Dev's expression darkened.
"They can't be saved. All we can do… is end it. Free them from Hollow Pact's shackles."
Isha slowly nodded.
She pressed her comms.
"Padma Aunt. Dev's stable. We need ambulance."
Exhausted, Dev and Riya collapsed side by side. Isha assumed they'd simply lost strength.
But Dev, still awake, raised a finger to his lips, signaling silence. Isha looked down.
Riya's eyes were closed. Her breathing had steadied.
"She's asleep," Dev whispered. "She's been through too much. Let her rest."
He rested her gently on his chest and began to softly pat her head.
Ranveer watched them, guilt weighing down on him. He hugged Latha close.
"I was wrong… I was wrong…"
Isha, wiping her tears as she looked at the lifeless body of the hybrid hollow pact member , clenched her jaw.
"…It's not fair."