The Record of Orc Civilization - Chapter 434: Pandava

“What?! How can this be?!” Garyu was caught in the throes of double denial.

He had been certain his previous assault would have reduced Diru to nothing but cinders and dust. Yet, the surging tide of energy gathering atop Diru’s horn proved him deathly wrong.

“Dammit!”

With fluid precision, Garyu snatched his right arm—still suspended in the air—and slammed it back into its socket. His healing incantations took hold instantly, reknitting flesh and bone a heartbeat before his teleportation spell flared, whisking him away.

BOOM!

At that exact moment, a crimson pillar of energy obliterated Garyu’s former position, liquefying the surrounding earth. Diru sensed Garyu’s presence nearby. Digging his four hooves into the empty air, Diru galloped through the sky, weaving through a lethal rain of light descending from every direction.

“You are truly a persistent nuisance,” Garyu hissed, his voice trembling with rage.

Though his opponent was technically weaker, Diru possessed a bizarre suite of abilities that had baited Garyu into recklessness. But the play was over. Garyu was now perilously serious; he would no longer underestimate his prey. Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion exerts its full strength.

Mana roared as Garyu’s aura shifted. His body began to flicker with increasing frequency, like a bomb primed for detonation. Simultaneously, the constellations behind him shifted in a constant, dizzying blur. The tide of battle turned instantly; Diru, who had previously evaded hundreds of light spheres with ease, now found himself cornered.

The movements of the light spheres became erratic and impossible to read. Even with his Inner Eye, Diru was forced to tank numerous strikes with his physical body. To make matters worse, as the smaller orbs harried him from every angle, others began to merge into a singular, colossal sun. This massive orb began to orbit Diru, circling like a predator, waiting for the slightest breach in his defense to deliver the killing blow.

Diru was forced to split his focus, his gaze fixed on the gargantuan orb radiating a terrifying pressure. Consequently, his body was peppered with wounds from the smaller spheres. Though his regeneration worked tirelessly, his Dragon Prana reserves were hitting the red zone. If this continued, he wouldn’t last much longer. Worse, that giant orb was mere seconds away from turning him into ash.

Diru attempted a counter-strike with his crimson pillar, but his horn couldn’t gather enough energy before the smaller spheres shattered his concentration. He tried to dive away, but the giant sun closed the distance with impossible speed. Before Diru could escape its gravity, the orb detonated.

Diru’s skin liquefied instantly, his flesh seared to the bone. The shockwave shattered his skeleton, sending him hurtling toward the earth. He slammed into the red rocks below—rocks that had already melted into a pool of bubbling magma.

“Ugh!”

Diru rolled, desperate to find a patch of ground that wasn’t a furnace. But the entire ruin had been transformed into the belly of a volcano. His body, unable to sustain the rigors of Body Forging, regressed into its original Asura form. He gasped for air, his lungs burning with every agonizing breath of sulfurous heat.

“Heh… hah…”

Garyu descended into his line of sight, looming like a God of Death come to claim his due.

Is this the end?

Diru glanced toward where his group had been fighting. It was over. Nothing remained but desolation. He scanned the carnage and realized that while the human Mages had been wiped out, one Asura had survived. Though the survivor was nowhere to be seen, Diru was certain his comrade had retreated to report the ambush. Yet, he also knew that no reinforcements would arrive before his breath failed him.

“It seems one little rat managed to scurry away. No matter; you were never our primary target anyway. These ’Adventurer Mages’ are easily replaced. Fufufufu… though it is a shame none of them had the sense to use the Genesis Pills before they died. What a waste.”

Garyu surveyed the remains of the Asura squad without a shred of grief or remorse for his eight fallen comrades.

Diru had heard of the Valya family. Beyond the fact that Nevare shared their blood, this family was their primary nemesis in this war. While the main human armies were occupied with the Demon race, the Valyas had chosen to focus their malice on crushing Wilwatikta first.

“Any last words?” Garyu asked.

The spheres of light gathered once more, forming a massive orb. Even from where he lay broken, Diru could feel the radiant heat making his very bones creak.

Diru forced his limp body to move. His internal organs were shredded, and his Dragon Prana was nearly depleted. He knew death was certain. But he refused to die lying down. An Asura must die on his feet, in the heat of battle. To do otherwise would be to bring shame before the ancestors in The One’s Heaven.

“Well, it seems you’ve nothing to say. Then, die!”

The giant orb of light lunged. Diru’s body began to char from the sheer radiation of the heat. But in his vision, he didn’t see death. He saw a gargantuan gate waiting for him.

Diru smiled. “It seems my time hasn’t come just yet. The One’s Heaven will have to wait.”

Diru pressed both palms against the surface of those massive bronze gates. With a final surge of his remaining, condensed Dragon Prana, the ancient gates let out a long, low groan, shattering the absolute silence as they swung wide.

The air that rushed over Diru’s face wasn’t the scent of blood or sulfur, but the aroma of ancient incense and cold iron. The Pandava was no mere barracks; it was a vast, subterranean temple-crater illuminated by glowing crystals embedded in the cavern ceiling. In the center stood a monument of black basalt so magnificent it made Diru feel like a speck of dust.

The air caught in Diru’s throat. His heart hammered against his ribs. Before him, five titanic statues towered in a semi-circular formation, carved with such vivid detail it felt as if the gods of war themselves had been frozen into stone.