33. Massacre

"You demon! I'll kill you!" Gandhamadan roared, his grip tightening around his club.

His legs shattered the ground beneath him as his body launched forward in a straight line. With a powerful swing from over his shoulder, the club slammed into Sid's chest, sending him flying back.

Sid looked at his now caved-in chest, the disturbing grin on his face widening further. "Bwahahaha... kill..."

"You monster!" Gandhamadan charged again, sending Sid crashing back with ferocious force. He didn't stop, leaping into the air to land on Sid's body. The club in his hand pounded Sid's chest over and over, grinding it into a meat paste before he finally stopped.

"Sir, do you know what this creature is?" He asked, still pinning down the struggling Sid under his foot.

"No idea! Maybe the wise one might know," the old vanara replied, a touch of indignance in his voice.

"You mean... Lord Jambhvan?"

"Hmm, yes. He's the only one I can think of who might know. After all, this creature seems native, and no one knows these woods better than him."

"Well then, let's inform Lord Jambhvan about the situation." Gandhamadan said, lifting Sid's mangled body like a sack, no longer paying attention to his struggling self.

"Gandhamadan! Look out..." the old vanara roared, startling Gandhamadan. But before he could react, a piercing pain shot through his gut, causing him to stagger back. Sid's body fell to the ground in the struggle.

Thump... thump...

A not-so-loud heartbeat rung out from within Sid's body as the aura around him gathered, healing him at an unprecedented rate. His body crawled up, trying to stand on its feet.

"Let's see what you've got, demon!" The old vanara saw this and knew it was no time to be an idle watcher. Despite his old age, his momentum was not to be trifled with, leaving Gandhamadan awestruck.

"Roar..." Sid, however, was utterly unaffected by the momentum. Still not fully healed, he gave up on standing and squatted down, supporting himself with both his hands.

His legs sprang into motion, propelling his body forward. Like a wild beast, he moved on all fours, shuttling through the dark forest. From time to time, his figure flashed by, exchanging injuries with both Gandhamadan and the old vanara.

Soon, the two fell at a disadvantage, their bodies riddled with bloody scars. "You coward, if you have the guts... face us head-on... cough, cough," the old vanara choked out on his own blood, his body collapsing with a limp.

"Gyehehehe... kill... destroy..." Sid roared like a maniac, his loud voice echoing through the forest.

The commotion soon drew a lot of attention, as a crowd gathered near the pit. Sid looked at them with a murderous glint in his eyes, his vicious aura devouring his conscious self little by little.

"Roar..." With a loud roar, he plunged toward the crowd, swinging and flailing his limbs indiscriminately. It would seem, he had taken a liking to this wild, animalistic way of moving, as his body continually shuttled through the forest.

"Ahhh... monster!"

"Dammit, I'm gonna kill you!"

"Come on, guys, let's avenge the leader!"

"Yah! For the leader!"

"For the leader..."

The battle cries rang out, mixed in with the sounds of misery, as the crowd soon plunged into the chaos. The brave charged forward while the cowards fled back. Though, there were still a group of people, watching from a safe distance.

The outsiders observed the situation without interfering. Their first thought was to understand what was happening.

"Is this some event I haven't heard about?"

"Did something like this really happen?"

"Why wasn't there any mention of this in the epic?"

"It's not like all the events are recorded anyway; maybe someone will stop this rampage soon enough."

"Who? That bear who hasn't shown up since the first day?"

"How the hell would I know? I'm as clueless as you!"

"Look guys, it's getting worse by the minute," someone said, disrupting the flow of their conversation. Everyone's eyes shifted toward the battlefield.

Sid's mindless rampage went on for a while, before only a small group of people were left defending. The lucky ones had fled, while the brave ones had perished, and the ones remaining were only the unlucky ones, left behind by fate.

They huddled together at the center of the chaos, using the fallen as shields. They tried to find a way out every now and then, yet, coming out empty handed everytime.

Sid landed among them, taking their miserable lives away with just a strike to their throats. He looked around, seemingly unsatisfied with his hunt.

His eyes landed on, what looked to be the empty forest, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. The grin on Sid's face stretched out further, reaching to the edges of his ears.

The group of participants hiding behind the trees felt a chill run down their spines.

"Dammit, if we go back empty-handed now, the higher-ups are gonna kill us. And if we stay here, we're dead anyway. So, let's work together to delay this monster until that bear shows up."

"Does he even know about it though?"

"Don't worry! I saw plenty of people escape just now. He'll know it soon enough."

"Then let's do our best to survive." With that, the group united. Some of them escaped the realm to report the situation to the higher-ups, while the others gathered around, standing guard against the unknown monster.

"Gyehehehe... kill... kill'em all..." Sid's sickening laugh echoed in their ears as his figure flashed, vanishing from the sight.

"F*ck! It wasn't this fast before. Its speed definitely increased just now. What the hell us this creature?"

"And just look at that healing speed! It seems like he can recover from any wound unless it's a sure-kill move."

"Can we even win this battle?"

"It's hopeless. Ahhh..."

"Dammit, don't loose focus! We can't afford to lose another one of us!"

The participants fell one after another, like the vegetables being chopped.

"Bwehehehe... massacre... it's so... fun... gyehehehe..."

.....

In one of the vanar sena camps

It was but a desolate corner of the forest. Not to mention there was no soldier guarding the camp, only adding to the eerie atmosphere.

An old bear sat inside the camp, looking at the map, turning and staring it from time to time. As he analysed the map carefully, he mumbled to himself from time to time, jotting down the notes in a wodden book at the side.

"Huff... Lord Jambhvan! There's an emergency outside, huff... We need your help!"

A loud shout brought Jambhvan out of his thoughts, back to the real world. A frown appeared on his wrinkled face as countless possibilities ran through his mind. 'An emergency? Could it be... Vali found out about the rebellion so soon? Or is someone targeting Lord Rama?'

"What happened?" he asked, stepping out of the tent to the panting soldier who had ran over to report.

"Huff... huff... sir! There's an unknown creature running rampant in the camp. Huff... the old master and the leader were brutally killed by it. Half the camp has already been destroyed, yet, we can't kill it. Sir, we need your expertise."

As the soldier explain, Jambhvan's expression turned serious. He looked at the kneeling soldier before him, helping him up to his feet. "Take me there! Also, do you have any idea, where this creature might have come from?"

"It's assumed to be a native, but we're not certain. Though I suspect a demon might have infiltrated our ranks, posing as a vanara during recruitment," the soldier reported, keeping his head down all the while.

"Hmm, a native? Why haven't I heard of such a powerful creature—strong enough to kill that old guy—he's definitely not someone easily hidden away."

They walked toward the scene of chaos with hastened steps, discussing about Sid all the while.

.....

Back where Sid ran rampant:

Jambhvan and the soldier hurried over as soon as possible, but they were already too late. Sid sat atop a pile of corpses, healing the last bit of his injuries.

He looked at the new arrivals, his hidious grin twisting beyond the scope of normal. "Bwehehehe... strong... so fun... kill... destroy... everything... gyahahaha..."

The hideous laughter made Jambhvan's expression stern as he took a battle stance. His posture was quite different from the others, as his aura rose steadily with each and every movement, creating a mountain-like oppression.

"Kill... kill... kill..." Sid repeated the same words over and over again, as if an obsession taking over him grew with each passing second.

"Just as I thought, it's no simple matter. And to think someone like this was hiding within the camp." Jambhvan said, his long fur flowing heroically in his rising aura.

"To think that a vanara, known for their resilience, would be consumed so easily by a mind demon. There's no cure for a pitiful creature such as yourself, except for death. I, Jambhvan, shall grant you that salvation."