Chapter 51: Group event

Ramika was surprised, but she started eating Shubham Chaudhary, who screamed in pain at first but soon fell asleep. Ramika absorbed his soul into herself, and the demon within her was now free. However, soon the demon would capture her to give her punishment.

Abhimanyu said, "You are now the most powerful demonic spirit. Since you can't be free right now, it's better to be free from the demon king, isn't it?"

Ramika hesitated for a moment, but then she began to eat Shubham. She was surprised but continued to eat. Finally, she looked at Abhimanyu and said, "But aren't you the demon king?"

Abhimanyu said, "At the moment, someone else is the demon king. If I were the demon king, I would never accept such rituals, especially when it comes to innocent girls like you. Besides, this man is very greedy. Even the demon king on his throne has become greedy, giving powers to people like you."

Ramika hesitated for a moment, but then she bowed down before Abhimanyu and said, "Okay, I'll eat him, but until now, I've never taken anyone's life."

Abhimanyu said, "You are now the most powerful demonic spirit. Since you can't be free right now, it's better to be free from the demon king, isn't it?"

Ramika hesitated for a moment, but then she began to eat Shubham. She was surprised but continued to eat. Finally, she looked at Abhimanyu and said, "But aren't you the demon king?"

Abhimanyu said, "At the moment, someone else is the demon king. If I were the demon king, I would never accept such rituals, especially when it comes to innocent girls like you. Besides, this man is very greedy. Even the demon king on his throne has become greedy, giving powers to people like you."

Ramika looked a little hesitant, but then she bowed down before Abhimanyu and said, "Okay, I'll eat him, but until now, I've never taken anyone's life."

Abhimanyu replied, "Don't worry. You're already the most powerful demonic spirit, and it's time for you to sign this demon contract."

Abhimanyu's hair suddenly turned white, his eyes turned golden, and he looked at the demonic spirits. He purified them and set them free, causing them to disappear into the environment.

However, purifying Ramika was impossible because she was a true demon. She couldn't be purified, only killed. But Abhimanyu didn't want to kill her. Instead, he absorbed her into himself. By doing so, whenever he died, Ramika would die as well.

Abhimanyu sent Ramika into the map and entered it himself. Inside, he asked Ramika, "How do you like this small property of mine?"

Ramika was astonished and asked, "Who are you exactly?"

Abhimanyu replied, "I'm just a human, and now you're the owner here. This is your new home. There are about a hundred holy beast souls here. You can befriend them. So, guys, this is Ramika, and from today, she'll stay here. Understand that you have to obey her."

All the animals roared towards the sky in agreement.

Abhimanyu said, "Alright, I'm going out now."

Ramika said, "I'll get bored here alone. I'll come with you."

Abhimanyu said, "This world moves with me. You just have to think, and you'll be with me. But it's better if you remain invisible outside."

Ramika nodded, feeling puzzled by Abhimanyu. She couldn't understand if he was a human, a tantric, a demon, or a deity. But she knew that being with Abhimanyu could benefit her greatly.

While Ramika was more powerful than Abhimanyu, Arjun was the demon king. Even though he was weak, all the demons knew who Arjun was, so they didn't dare to fight him. Moreover, the other tantrik was weaker without the support of those souls, making it easy for Abhimanyu to defeat him.

Abhimanyu calmly walked away, but Arjun, at that moment, grabbed him, asserting control over his body.

"Stop pretending," Abhimanyu warned Arjun.

Arjun replied sinisterly, "I'm just here to have a little fun." A creepy grin spread across his face as saliva dripped from his mouth.

Abhimanyu swiftly broke free from Arjun's grip and began attacking the armed men surrounding them. Despite the gunmen firing bullets at him, none managed to hit him. Abhimanyu effortlessly severed their heads from their bodies with his sword, consuming their souls and incinerating their corpses. He then entered the cave and incinerated Shubham and the tantrik's bodies before erasing all traces of their presence. Carrying their souls, he transported himself and the children back to the bus, returning them to the exact spot where they had stopped earlier.

Abhimanyu then feigned unconsciousness while reciting a mantra, causing everyone to wake up. As Ramesh and the children regained consciousness, they were puzzled about how they had ended up back on the bus.

Ramesh suggested they leave without further investigation, assuming they had been given another chance by a divine intervention.

Karishma, upon returning to Abhimanyu's cabin, asked about their experience in the cave and the fate of Ramika and the others. Abhimanyu claimed ignorance, feigning unconsciousness.

Karishma, noticing the deception in Abhimanyu's eyes, decided to confront him privately later. She then returned to her seat beside Aliya.

Despite spending over two hours discussing their strange experience, no one could figure out what had truly happened. Eventually, the bus resumed its journey, arriving in Haridwar two hours late.

Abhimanyu woke up and found himself lying on top of Tina and Kashmira, who were sleeping together. Ramesh, noticing the situation, jokingly commented on Abhimanyu's behavior of always being close to girls while sleeping.

Abhimanyu chuckled and attempted to get up, but Tina pulled him back, snuggling closer, and jokingly insisted that it was still dark outside, indicating they should continue sleeping.

Kashmira, waking up, playfully nudged Tina and said, "Let him go, there are many other people here." Tina, misunderstanding, thought it was Abhimanyu who wanted to get up and apologized.

Abhimanyu reassured her and suggested they wake up the others.

Dean Trilok, upon their arrival, questioned why they were late and if anything had gone wrong on the way.

Ramesh stuttered, "I don't know, but we encountered some spirits on the road."

Dean glared at Ramesh angrily, but the children spoke up, confirming Ramesh's account and describing their encounter with a tantrik and evil spirits. They explained how they had blacked out and woke up back on the bus.

Dean dismissed their story as nonsense, assuming they had all shared a frightening dream and concocted a tale out of it.

He then instructed everyone to pair up and get ready to bathe in the Ganges.

Abhimanyu's class head was Karishma, while Tina led the other class. They all went to their respective groups and prepared for the Ganges bath. Afterward, they took part in the Ganga Aarti ceremony and wandered around Rishikesh, buying souvenirs.

Following their visit to Rishikesh, they headed for rafting, splitting into twelve groups. Abhimanyu led one group, while Rohit led the other.

During rafting, Abhimanyu's group took it easy, enjoying the ride with the help of experienced members. However, Arjun warned Abhimanyu of a dangerous presence lurking beneath the water.

Arjun sensed a powerful entity, possibly a holy beast or a massive serpent, posing a threat. Maya examined the beast and realized it was wounded by a formidable creature, likely a mythical being.

Abhimanyu dove into the water and, using Angel Technique, began healing the creature's wounds. The beast expressed gratitude, revealing its identity as a guardian of a sacred gem sought by malevolent forces. It acknowledged Abhimanyu's purity and declared him its successor, granting him the status of an Ichchhadhari Naag (shape-shifting serpent).

After healing the beast, Maya scanned Abhimanyu's body, finding no traces of transformation. Arjun and Saily also felt nothing unusual.

Abhimanyu decided to ponder over the revelation later and returned to the boat unnoticed.

After a while of rafting, they all returned to the bus and set off for Mussoorie.

Abhimanyu and the others reached Mussoorie before nightfall and checked into a large resort. This time, Samarth was staying with Abhimanyu in the same room.

Abhimanyu excused himself to the bathroom and slipped into his astral form to meet Ramika, who was waiting for him.

Ramika asked him where he had been all this time, and Abhimanyu explained that time moved slowly in their realm, allowing them to enhance their abilities.

Impressed, Ramika suggested Abhimanyu make the place feel more like home if he planned to stay for weeks.

Abhimanyu shared that he had been there for almost three years without feeling the need to create a home.

Ramika expressed boredom and requested some tasks to keep her occupied.

Abhimanyu agreed and instructed her to stay invisible and keep an eye on Lalita Pratap Singh, who would be arriving at the resort where he was staying.

Ramika teased Abhimanyu about his girlfriend, but he clarified that Lalita was his sister.

Afterward, Abhimanyu returned to his bed and fell asleep, unaware that Ramika and Ammy were also sleeping beside him in their virtual avatars.

The next morning, when Abhimanyu put on his glasses, he noticed Saily sleeping next to him.

Abhimanyu chuckled at the sight and then received a call from Samuel, who informed him about the progress in eliminating rival gangs in Mumbai and Goa.

Samuel revealed that one gang was still causing trouble in Mumbai, led by a mysterious woman who had recently married Andrews before his death.

Abhimanyu was surprised to hear about a female gang leader and asked why no action had been taken against her.

Samuel informed Abhimanyu that the leader of the gang causing trouble was a woman who had prohibited any harm to be done to women and children.

Abhimanyu was surprised to hear about a female gang leader.

Samuel revealed that the woman had married Andrews a week before his death, but her origins were unknown, and they had little information about her. After Andrews' death, a new gang emerged, seizing all of Andrews' properties, and they were still active.

Abhimanyu questioned if the woman intended to resume drug trafficking and other illegal activities.

Samuel admitted they weren't sure of her intentions yet.

Abhimanyu instructed Samuel to try to reason with her first, without resorting to violence. If she refused to cooperate, he asked Samuel to arrange a meeting with him.

Samual asked, "Are you coming to Mumbai?"

Abhimanyu replied, "Yes, if needed, I'll be there on Wednesday."

Samual said, "Alright, boss."

Samarth had gotten up and overheard Abhimanyu's conversation. He asked as he rose, "Are you going somewhere?"

Abhimanyu responded, "Yes, there's a small obstacle from my younger soldier days that needs to be peacefully resolved."

Samarth remarked, "But you're no longer a young soldier."

Abhimanyu replied, "Well, technically, I still am, but unofficially, I'm now part of the Night Demon."

Samarth, surprised, asked, "How powerful are you that they quickly recruited you into the Night Demon?"

Abhimanyu remained silent and just smiled.

Abhimanyu showed him his captain's rank and said, "And a promotion as well."

Saluting, Samarth said, "Lieutenant Samarth saluting Captain Abhimanyu, sir."

Returning the salute, Abhimanyu said, "No need to salute me, brother. We're not in the field. I just wanted to show you my rank."

Samarth chuckled, "I was just kidding too. Anyway, let's go outside. The school kids from Chennai and Bangalore have arrived, and we're still waiting for those from Bihar, Jaipur, and Mumbai."

Abhimanyu suggested, "First, let's register for the gaming competition."

Vayu and the others had also come to Abhimanyu for the same reason. Abhimanyu asked Ammy to come down to meet them, and they went to register their names.

After completing their registration, they returned to their rooms and passed the time until evening. By evening, almost all the school kids had arrived, and everyone was excited to see Lalita, the CM's daughter, who was the most anticipated arrival.

Meanwhile, at a transportation office in Mumbai, formerly Hussain Transport but now renamed A to Z Transport, Ratik Pathan sat in the CEO's chair. Suddenly, some thugs barged in, overpowering the guards and making their way to the CEO's office. Leading them was a 25-year-old hot girl, clad in a red coat, with a pistol in her hand. As she entered, she pointed the gun at Ratik and exclaimed, "This property is mine. How dare you seize it?"

Soon, guards from other places also arrived and surrounded them. From a distance, Samual entered, saying, "I have seized this property. Tell me, Andrews himself seated me here."

The girl retorted, "I thought you were a loyal dog, but you betrayed your master and took over his business."

Samual explained, "He's dead, but you're responsible for managing it. Taking such reckless actions isn't advisable due to our rules."

The girl asked, amused, "What rules?"

Samual replied, "Our boss has imposed some rules, and one of them is that we don't harm women and children."

She smirked, "Is there someone above you?"

Samual nodded, "Yes, our boss."

She challenged, "So, if I shoot you right now, no one would dare touch me?"

Samual admitted, "They won't, but I can't guarantee my boss won't react because he sometimes loses his temper."

She provocatively said, "Alright, let me shoot you then. I want to see his reaction."

With that, she fired a shot at Samual, but the bullet didn't even graze him. She remarked, "You really don't flinch. Who's your boss? I want to meet him."

Samual informed her, "He said he'd come on Wednesday."

She agreed, "Okay, then we'll meet in this office at this time on Wednesday."

On the other hand, Abhimanyu and Samarth were playing some mind training games in their room, and in the meantime, Abhimanyu also delved into four days of martial arts training within the maps.

The next morning, all the children from the resort gathered in the open garden venue, where a stage was set up for everyone to showcase their talents. The event was being managed by the student councils of all the schools, who were wearing a uniform of black shirts and black pants, with a Bluetooth device in their ears. They stood out in the crowd, and among them was Vikrant from the Bihar student council, who resembled Abhimanyu's brother. In reality, Vikrant was an orphan whom Abhimanyu's grandfather had welcomed into their family. Besides training members of the Young Soldiers' group, Vikrant also trained some members of his own family. Although they were orphans, they were given the Singh family name and identity by Abhimanyu's grandfather, for which they were grateful and loyal. All the guards of the Singh family were from their family. Since Vikrant was almost the same age as Abhimanyu, their bond was strong, but Abhimanyu's training with Vikrant was much tougher.

"Vikrant had recognized Karishma, but they had never met, so he didn't talk to her. Lalita stayed in her VIP room, heavily guarded, and nobody had approached her yet. During the event, a separate table was arranged for her to watch.

As soon as the event began, Abhimanyu arrived at the venue and was sitting somewhere in the crowd. The first performance was by Alia, accompanied by all the Kishori girls, which energized everyone. Several talents were showcased on stage, including a child pretending to have a snake in his nose, which amused everyone.

Then, a quiz show started where everyone had to participate, using devices provided to them to enter their answers and vote. The results showed Bihar Military School in first place, Bangalore Military School in second, Chennai in third, Jaipur in fourth, Mumbai in fifth, and Abhimanyu's school in last place.

After that, the gaming competition began, with 100 participants taken to a room with 100 computers, and their gameplay was livestreamed. The first team shown was Abhimanyu's, as he was part of the national team, which excited everyone. Despite Vikrant and Lalita being unaware of Abhimanyu's gaming prowess, they were amazed.

The students of Bihar Military School were slightly surprised to hear about Abhimanyu, but soon cheered for him, while others were bewildered by his popularity. Meanwhile, Rohit wondered if these kids really knew Abhimanyu.

On the other hand, Nitya was surprised to see Abhimanyu, while Priya and others were irritated. Sahil suggested ignoring him, predicting he'd try to get close to Nitya. Neha asked if Nitya was okay, to which she nodded excitedly, reminiscing about Abhimanyu.

Rihana remarked about his increased handsomeness, leading to banter with Mukesh, who didn't like her constant admiration for Abhimanyu. This led to a playful threat of a breakup, which escalated into a discussion about Abhimanyu potentially having a girlfriend.

As the conversation continued, Abhimanyu seemed to be enjoying the game, with Ammy showing remarkable aggression and ultimately winning the match with 22 kills, compared to Abhimanyu's 5, Samarth's 6, and Vayu's 10.

The Agrasen Lions were called on stage to congratulate them, with Abhimanyu, Ammy, Samarth, and Vayu representing the core players. They were joined by other team members, and the applause was thunderous."

Then, a girl who was the host approached Vayu, the team leader, and asked if he wanted to say something to his friends and fellow students.

Vayu took the mic and said that online gaming was once seen as just a children's game, but it became a new passion for them when their school started supporting it. He thanked everyone and attributed their team's fame to three new members who brought fresh energy to the gaming community. He praised Ammy for starting to play just on the day of the competition and now competing at a high level.

Everyone started applauding again.

Then, the host handed the mic to Abhimanyu and mentioned how they all knew him as "Black Demon," but the kids from Bihar Military School knew him by name and cheered for him during the gaming. She asked him what he wanted to say about it.

Abhimanyu smiled and looked towards the kids from Bihar Military School. He said, "Hi, friends."

Everyone started making noise again.

Abhimanyu gestured for them to calm down, and they did.

He asked them how their studies were going, and they enthusiastically replied that everything was great and asked about him.

Abhimanyu replied that he was also doing well.

Then, a girl stood up and said, "Now Vikrant gets punished in your place."

Abhimanyu joked, "Heroes like us have to bear these small punishments. How about you, Kavita?"

Blushing, she said, "You remember my name?"

Abhimanyu teased, "I don't even remember my classmates' names."

Kavita replied, "That's because you left after 11th grade."

Abhimanyu chuckled, "Yeah, I thought of taking a long bunk."

Then, looking at Vikrant, Abhimanyu asked, "Speaking of bunking, Vikrant, how many times did you bunk after I left?"

Vikrant laughed and said, "About 120 times in a year."

Abhimanyu was astonished, "120 times in just a year? And you broke my record in the remaining half year, didn't you? So, you must be getting the same punishment too."

Vikrant replied, "Bunking is essential too."

Abhimanyu agreed, "You're right, buddy. Keep going."

The host then asked Abhimanyu if he had studied at Bihar Military School before.

Abhimanyu confirmed her guess.

She complimented his popularity.

Taking the mic again, Abhimanyu joked that he used to be very mischievous and bunked the most, but now it seems like someone has broken his record too.