Child of Prophecy
Chapter 28
The next day, in the early morning, a loud sound of metal striking rang across the Dog House. Aksh woke up, jumping off the bed suddenly.
"What the hell was that sound!" he muttered in confusion.
There came another loud sound—then another, and another—continuously ringing.
Aksh opened the window of his room and jumped off, following the noise. The more he walked towards it, the louder and more unbearable it became. As he was about to reach the location of the noise from the corner wall of the Dog House, he felt a presence behind him and suddenly jumped, turning backward.
"Wow, you can actually detect my presence now," Tushar said, his hand—aimed to tap Aksh's shoulder—now hitting the air. Aman and Ayesha were also walking beside him.
Before Aksh could reply, another loud sound rang. Ayesha squinted her eyes due to the annoying noise.
"Let's go quickly, or Captain just won't stop ringing the Bell of Hell."
"What is this Bell of Hell?" Aksh asked as the group moved.
"Since you're new, it's natural you don't know. The sound of the bell you're hearing is caused by Captain Arihant. It's meant to call all the members of the Mad Dogs. We call it the Bell of Hell because whenever he rang this bell, hell always followed," Tushar replied, trembling as he remembered some unpleasant memories of the past.
They turned the corner of the wall and found Arihant with a bell twice his height. He was holding a large hammer—also as tall as him—and struck the bell with it, causing the unpleasant sound.
Behind him, inside a spherical barrier, Shreya, Avni, and Jasmine were standing.
Aman grabbed Tushar and Aksh by the neck collars of their T-shirts and spoke in annoyance, "Tch, it's getting annoying."
Tushar immediately held Ayesha by her waist as Aman muttered, "Kalasanchara."
All four of them vanished and teleported inside the barrier. There wasn't any sound coming from outside the barrier.
"Good morning, guys! We were waiting for you—Brother Aman, Big Bro Tushar, Big Sis Ayesha… and A.K.S.H," Avni said, blushing as she looked toward Aksh.
"Oh hey, Avni. Good morning—and good morning to you too as well," Tushar said, waving his hand toward Jasmine and Shreya, who nodded in response.
"Umm, Tu-Tushar, can you put me down now?" Ayesha muttered, her face red, as she was tightly held by Tushar's massive hands around her tiny waist—her feet already in the air and her hands resting against his chest.
"Oh, s-sorry, Ayesha." Tushar quickly loosened his grip.
Both of them blushed and looked away from each other.
"What the hell! This brat can also use Kalasanchara? First that Arihant and now even this brat who is still wet behind his ears. Is this divine technique now being sold at the price of dirt?!" The voice inside Aksh's mind echoed in disbelief.
"Hmm, so everyone is here. Wait, someone is still missing." Arihant said, staring at the group. "That bastard Rudra… he's still sleeping. But this is gonna wake him up real good."
Arihant tightened his grip around the hammer, creating a dent in its metallic rod, and launched the hammer towards the bell.
Avni immediately moved her fingers. Various roots emerged from the ground below them, creating an extra layer of protection inside the spherical barrier.
As the hammer hit the bell, the ground around it broke apart into pieces. A sonic boom in a circular arc spread through the Shantivan, with the bell at its epicenter.
"What the hell is this power? We're inside the barrier created by Captain and layered by Avni, and we can still hear that demonic sound inside!" Ayesha shouted, covering her ears.
"This bastard is truly monstrous," Aksh muttered, holding his ears tightly.
All the leaves from the nearby trees were blown off, leaving the trees bald, and a loud cry of pain echoed from the top of the Dog House.
After a moment, something fell from the mouth of the dog-shaped statue atop the Dog House and crashed to the ground. Rudra landed with a scream of pain, blood already coming out of his ears.
"Are you awake now, or should I ring the bell again?" Arihant asked, looking at him.
"I'm awake—I'm awake! Don't ring the bell again!" Rudra shouted, clutching his ears.
"Good. Now, since you're all here, let me tell you why I brought you—oh, you guys can't hear me inside that barrier."
He turned toward the spherical barrier. It was already cracked in several places. He waved his hand, and the barrier shattered completely.
As soon as the barrier vanished, a fist came through the roots and landed directly on the back of Arihant's head.
"You idiot! Were you trying to kill us or what?" Jasmine shouted, clenching her fist as the group walked out, all holding their heads.
"Oh, sorry, sorry—I might've used too much force," Arihant replied, chuckling.
"Keeping that aside, why did you call us using the Bell of Hell?" Jasmine asked, rubbing her head.
"Oh right, I called you all here because we're going to the battleground of the castle," Arihant said, placing the bell and hammer inside the pouch placed around his waist along with his sword.
"Wait a minute. That place falls under Captain Arjuna's territo—"
Before Jasmine could finish her sentence, Arihant flicked his fingers, and the entire group vanished, leaving only the air behind.
Aksh landed on his ass on the ground. "I am never gonna get used to this teleportation technique," he mumbled, scratching his head.
"Hehe, once you reach 3 stars, I'll teach you this technique as well," Arihant replied, sitting comfortably on Aksh's shoulder with his arms crossed.
"Oh, then I have something to look forward to," Aksh replied, lifting Arihant's legs backward.
Arihant fell to the ground, landing on his back.
"You heartless demon! How could you treat your sensei like that?" Arihant cried, one hand touching the ground and the other wiping away an imaginary tear like a woman being harassed by her husband.
"Stop with the bullshit and don't sit like that. I might puke from that disgusting posture of yours," Aksh replied in a louder, annoyed voice.
"Um, guys… I don't think it's the time to fight among yourselves," Jasmine's trembling voice came from behind the duo.
As they looked behind, six people wearing masks—each with a different demonic figure on it—were standing in front of the group, all their weapons pointed at them. In the middle stood a tall figure.
"What is this rebellious group doing in our territory?" the tall figure in the center spoke.
Arihant stands up brushing off the dust from his clothes and spoke chuckling awkwardly "Oh, hello Captain Arjuna. Are you doing fine?"