Krishna's Manipura burnt fiercely providing him an extremely great power, his Muladhara too strengthened his body to its limit but neither strength nor burst could budge the foot that was firmly planted on his chest, let alone shake it off.

"You know, you are quite rash for a warrior of your strength.." Sesha remarked with a smirk.

"LIFT THAT FUCKING FOOT OFF OF ME!!!" Krishna bellowed.

"Oh.. Where's the fun in that? Why don't you lift it off yourself?" Sesha smiled.

It was of course, futile. Laced with the prana from Muladhara, Sesha's entire foot was now comparable to the Sumeru (a mythical mountain) itself.. With the power that Krishna had, all he could do was to protect his entire body from being crushed like an ant. To shake that foot off of his chest was almost impossible for him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!!"

He cried with great pain and frustration for a long while but Sesha didn't relent. Finally when Krishna's scream seemed to die down, a voice pleaded him,

"Please great warrior, would you spare his life? He is a little foolish but he is really good at heart."

This voice belonged to Prince Kartik who had, up until now, been submerged in the fight between two powerful warriors. Only when the fight ended, did he come out of his stupor and pleaded on his retainer's behalf.

Sesha was indeed quite angry with the reckless warrior who was now below his feet, but he was thankful for Asru's earlier efforts from the bottom of his heart. Thus, when he heard Asru pleading for Krishna's life, he couldn't help but lift off his foot.

As soon as the great weight came off of his chest, Krishna's face, which had earlier been contorted with great pain and dread, visibly relaxed.

"Thank--"

"No need to thank me.. Be sure to drop these girls off to their homes prince Kartik.." Sesha casually said to him.

"As for you rash one, temperament is much more important to a yogi than strength, you seem to be a little weak on the latter. Be sure to cultivate it properly, okay.." Sesha said while looking at the one on the ground before him.

Without waiting for either of their responses, Sesha then made a beeline towards the now nonexistent door and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

"Ugh.. it hurts like hell! What a freaking monster!" Krishna complained.

"I am quite amazed that he beat you so easily, tell me, have you become so weak??" Kartik inquired.

"Wh.. What are you saying my prince!! How could I be so weak? I am telling you, it's that freak who was that powerful!! Just who was he anyway??" Krishna sounded quite hurt.

"Don't know.. probably some warrior with a sense of justice.. But never mind that, why did you come here??"

"Umm.. you know.. it's just, my sixth sense.. I felt that you were in trouble and came here at the speed of the wind itself!" Krishna sounded hesitant at first but started boasting afterwards.

"Sixth Sense my ass!! Just spit it out already!"

"... you.. won't be mad.. right?" Krishna said in a weak voice.

"No." Kartik confirmed.

"I.. actually.. was worried.. and sneaked a yantra--"

"YOU DID WHAT!!!" Kartik shouted in fury..

"You promised you won't be mad.." Krishna reminded him.

"Chhe! Fine, tell me what yantra?" Kartik was clearly displeased.

"Your ring.. it's a yantra that signals mine," he showed his bracelet, "whenever you are in trouble.. More precisely when your aura suffers a great damage.."

"Ohh.. that must have been quite expensive right?" Kartik asked.

"Yes!! It cost me my salary of three months!"

"It's a pity really"--Kartik promptly took out his ring, dropped it on the ground and stomped it--"I really hate destroying expensive things.."

"y.. you.. Waa!!" Krishna desperately tried to scavenge what remained of his expensive yantra but after being squashed, it was but a piece of metal.

Kartik could swear that his retainer's eyes were moistening but he gave it no mind and coldly said,

"I don't want to be monitored, I thought I made it clear already."

"But!! my Prince, I have a duty to protect you!!" Krishna protested.

"I think we both saw how good your protection really is!"

"I said it already, he was that str--"

"Yes.. He was indeed strong but not strong to the point that he could flatten the scion of Yadus in a single hit! It was your own fault that led to such an embarrassing defeat. You charged at him without thinking anything at all!"

"But!! He harmed you!! How could I not charge at him!" Krishna protested again.

"No you idiot!! The one that harmed me is lying on the ground, already half-burned! The one that you charged at saved my life! And even of the girls back there!!"

"Girls??"

His gaze followed his prince's. Only now did he see the two girls that were huddled together. Realization dawned upon him as he thought about that mysterious warrior's actions.

He was protecting them from me!!

"Seems like you realised it!" Kartik said.

"..."

"This fucker"--Kartik kicked what was remaining of Mrita--"ate the fucking pill!! Not only did he cost me my Wind Step but he also nearly killed me!"

Immediately after Kartik had dropped this piece of information on him, Krishna's face became deathly pale.

"HE ATE THE `BLOOD PILL` !?? ARE YOU ALRIGHT MY PRINCE!!"

Krishna all but jumped at Kartik as he began to check his prince's body in detail. He knew how sinister the blood pill really was. A pill that allowed one to tap into the hidden powers of his chakra. If that pill was used, then it could only mean that his prince had survived a certain death! Colors from his cheeks faded as he realised this fact.

"Get away from me you idiot!!" Kartik shoved his retainer's hands that were traveling all over his body.

"But.. prince!! You!! NO! From now on I am never leaving you alone!! And if you resist any longer, I would definitely complain to the Emperor!! No!! I WILL FREAKING TELL YOUR BROTHER!!"

"You won't!!" Kartik said in disbelief.

"I WILL!!"

Seeing the resolve on Krishna's face, Kartik knew that he really meant it so he didn't push it any further.

"A-Anyway, we have to hurry, I have to track that one Viscount that got away."

"You mean *we* have to track that Viscount.." Krishna corrected him.

Seeing as his retainer was set on not leaving his side, Kartik was at first quite annoyed but later gave up on arguing with him. He now had a what-a-pain look on his face.

"But prince, won't that mean missing the tournament? Emperor will be quite furious to find that you disobeyed him," Krishna asked him.

"I told you already, I don't care what he thinks. Besides, the Viscount may be able to provide us with some information about the group and if I present that information to father, then he won't have anything to complain!

"But first, I have to drop these girls off to their homes.. But I don't even know where they live.." Kartik said to no one in particular.

"Oh that's quite easy my prince! That big girl is Ananya of the Scented Rose.. I don't know about the little one though.." Krishna said with a smile.

"Should I even ask how you know that?" Kartik asked his retainer.

Krishna merely laughed in response.

* * *

"Faster.. Please go faster!!" said an anxious Sophie to the carriage driver.

The three of them: Sophie, Solom and Surya who had a bandage wrapped around his head, were making their way to the Scented Rose. Each of them had a tense countenance. Sophie, in particular, had quite the unsightly face. Her eyes were swollen, her cheeks showed traces of recently dried tears, her hairs were dishevelled.. all in all, she was a mess.

The news had come to her at late evening that her most dearest niece had been kidnapped. The assailants had dealt a heavy blow to her work-hand Surya and abducted her little Rosey.

Sophie was not unfamiliar with the disappearances that happened in the slums. Although the place that Rosey was taken off from was not exactly inside its area but it still had been quite close to it. She had run to the City Watch as soon as she had gotten the news but deep in some corner of her heart, she knew that it was over.

The slums was the most dangerous part of the Golden Bird City and unless it concerned nobility, the City Watch refused to take even a single step there! To her, it seemed as if her most cherished niece was already gone. Gone far away from her, subjected to the most sinister fate! Just this thought alone was enough to break her into pieces. In fact, she had bawled her eyes for the first time after the betrayal of her first love.

Imagine then, her extreme happiness, when a messenger from Scented Rose had come to deliver the news that her niece had been found!! Sophie detested the pleasure district in entirety, but when she had gotten this news, she had all but flown towards her carriage!

The Purple Orchid Inn was situated at the Market District and from there to Scented Rose was a little less than half an hour in a carriage but Sophie's carriage had bolted through the roads (possibly injuring one or two people in process) and covered that distance in a mere twenty minutes! When the carriage stopped, she didn't even wait for Solom or Surya to come outside and instantly jumped out of the carriage, rushing inside the Scented Rose.

In her haste, she didn't notice the damage that Scented Rose had suffered earlier, nor did she notice the gaze that people around her were giving her.. her mind, at this moment, had only one thing on it..

"ROSEY!!" She bolted towards the small girl who was the only remaining object of her affection in her stoic heart.

Rosey was lying on a small bed and was being tended to by one or two girls. Although her injuries were not life threatening, for a small child, they were not light at all. Despite of those injuries, she had already come out of her unconsciousness.

"AUNTIE!!" Rosey jumped from her bed and ran towards her aunt's voice.

All of her restrains were broken and tears began to flow from her eyes uncontrollably when Sophie received her niece in her embrace.

"I.. *hic* thought .. I'd never.. *hic*.. see you.. again.. *waaaaaaa*" Sophie said in a tearful voice.

"auntie.. *uwaaaaa* I.. was... *hic*.. so.. so.. scared!!"

Both aunt and niece began to weep in each other's embrace. Both of them had suffered quite a lot on this day.

"ROSEY!!" Solom exclaimed as he finally saw his daughter. He was a man and hence he had somehow managed to hold his tears back but how could he not be worried for his daughter!! He was equally, if not more, worried for Rosey compared to his cousin.

"Father!!" Rosey ran into her father's embrace.

"You are okay!! Thank god you are okay!!" Solom said while kissing his daughter in forehead. His daughter was nearly lost for him so at this moment he was feeling a mixture of happiness, relief and peace. At least he was until he saw saw it!

Rage could not define the emotion that he felt when he noticed the bruises on his cute daughter's face..

"Who.. Who did this to you!! I will kill him!! I will tear that piece of shit apart!!" He said in absolute fury!

Rosey was extremely precious to Solom. Granted that she could be handful at times but she was his daughter still! As such, when he saw that someone had raised his hands on his daughter, his heart became full of murderous intent.

"You need not do that anymore, sir.." a girl's interrupted the fury that was seething inside Solom's heart.

"Huh! What are you sayi--" he was interrupted before he could complete his sentence.

"I said that you need not kill the one who harmed little Rosey. He is already dead!"

"Sister Ananya!!" Rosey escaped her father's embrace and ran towards Ananya, who had just entered the scene.

"Father, auntie.. She is sister Ananya! She is the one who protected me!" Rosey said with great affection while embracing Ananya.

Ananya too, returned her embraced lovingly. In the short span that she had spent in that hell, she had already bonded quite deeply with this little child. For her, Rosey was now akin to her own little sister.

Sophie, who had a deep seated hatred towards prostitutes, felt an incomparable gratitude in her heart when she heard that the beautiful girl in front of her had protected her beloved niece.

She moved towards Ananya and bowed to her,

"We can't thank you enough, Lady Ananya!! Thank you so much for protecting my niece!!"

The words that she had said were from the bottom of her heart. She was the one who had rescued her niece.. so what if she was a prostitute!! Even if she was hell spawn herself, Sophie would still be eternally grateful to her!

Ananya hastily lifted her up.

"I appreciate your kind words," said Ananya, "But the one who saved Rosey is actually a warrior, not me. In fact, he is the savior of both of us!"

"Who.. who is this warrior?" Sophie asked.

"He came to the place, killed the one who were responsible and dropped us off in this inn. But before anyone could ask anything of him, he already vanished. It is unfortunate, but I know nothi--".

"Sister!! I know him!!" Rosey interrupted Ananya excitedly!

"You do!?" Sophie asked. Ananya too, looked at her curiously.

"YES!! He participated in the tournament yesterday so I recognized him right away!! His name is Asru!!"

* * *

The news that Scented Rose had been damaged and that it's mistress was badly injured spread over the city. Had it been some other time, this news would have definitely garnered much attention from the people due to the status of the Brides. But this time, the news failed to create such effect. The reason was the tournament.

After a one-day break that was granted so that the competing warriors could have enough rest, the tournament was to start again on this day. Two or three hours still remained until the start of the final day of the tournament but people had already started crowding at the stadium. One among the crowd was a handsome looking boy with long black hair that came to his neck and deep black eyes that spoke of mystery. He was Sesha.

Sesha had, after entrusting the girls to Asru, not return to the Scented Rose. It was because he was quite afrai.. err.. wary of Vaishali. That girl had already been sceptic of him when he had asked for a clothing of Ananya. Thankfully, she didn't ask much question at that time but Sesha didn't exactly want to tease her perceptive prowess by returning to the establishment.

What had Sesha done during the rest of the night then? He had followed Krishna and Kartik and made sure that they returned the girls, which they did. Afterwards, he had just chosen a secluded roof and sat there, meditating on his Manipura. He would have remained meditating further but the night had already passed and people had started to move about. Thus, he had jumped off the roof lest others find him there and start asking questions and then had come to see the final day of the tournament since he already had the ticket that Surya had provided him with.

After showing his ticket, Sesha moved into the stands and waited.

His wait lasted for almost an hour before the tournament finally commenced with the initial announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the final day of the tournament. Today, the eight victors of the first day will compete with each other. These victors will be randomly paired with each other and the matches will continue in a knockout fashion until only one of them remains!!"

This announcement was greeted by a huge cheer from the crowds!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, unfortunately, the Royal Retainer of prince Kartik, Sir Krishna couldn't attend this tournament, so in his place, today's matches will be overseen by the Mayor himself. Please give him a round of applause!!"

*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

Almost everyone from the audience clapped as their mayor took the seat. It seemed to Sesha that he was quite favoured by the people.

But still, he didn't come huh.. Perhaps, I really overdid it a little.. Sesha mused to himself.

While he had tried his best to not kill the retainer of Kartik, he couldn't help but feel that he had given him a few injuries. Sesha could only hope that the injuries were not much serious as he remembered the pained expression of the warrior who he had trampled beneath his feet.

The announcer then continued,

"Alright then, let's stop with the words and jump right into the actions. Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby announce the start of the finals of the Grand Warrior tournament!"

*CHEEEERSS*

* * *

Disappointment.. was the only word that explained how Sesha was feeling at this moment. Two matches had already passed and he had yet to see a decent fight.

Ugh.. They aren't even using any arts!! Just strengthening their bodies and swinging their fists!! Sesha groaned.

Granted that the raw use of the prana was the most simplest method to fight but it was also the most crudest method!! How could they only rely on it to fight?? Did they not know any arts at all?? Sesha's mind was brimming with all sorts of questions.

As far as he knew, the arts of the Muladhara were the simplest among all, so it should have been straightforward for them to use it. But contrary to his expectations, not even a single one of the present warriors was using it! It really was a disappointment!

By now the third bout was in progress and Sesha was already quite bored. He stood from his place and descended below the stands. On seeing an old person there, he went towards him and asked,

"Umm.. excuse me, do you know where can I relieve myself?"

"Bathroom?" the old man replied.

Sesha nodded.

"Go from here and then take a turn there.." the old man signalled.

Sesha thanked him and made his way towards where the old man had signalled.

After Sesha had gone, two people appeared and asked the old man the same question. He showed them the same direction that he had shown Sesha earlier but before the two of them could take their leave, another person appeared out of nowhere..

"Oye! Where are you two going!?" he asked.

"Umm.. Bathroom." one of the two replied.

"Not there, it's the other way!" he said.

"But, the old man told us that way!" other of the two protested.

"Chhe! This old man looks one way and points the other way.. Where he showed you is forbidden to spectators, so just go that way!"

The two people thanked this new man and then proceed to the bathroom.

Sesha went straight ahead for some time and then took a turn. Walking some more distance earlier, he found a room which was relatively secluded. Sesha entered the room and found neatly arranged urinals. He promptly relieved himself and was about to go out of the room when a thing caught his eyes.

He moved towards the thing that was on the wall of the room and looked into him. What looked back at him was an image of a boy of fifteen who had black eyes and a handsome appearance. It was his own face!! The object that he was looking at was actually a mirror !!

Growing up in the Dark Forest, Sesha didn't have any access to mirrors. In fact, had his master not told about an object that reflects one's appearance, much like a still water does but many times sharper than that, he wouldn't even have known about a mirror. Now that he was seeing one for himself, he couldn't help but feel a little excited!

So clear!! He exclaimed inwardly.

For the next few moments, Sesha moved his head left and then right, then opened his mouth and moved his tongue and made some funny faces and the mirror reflected each one of his movements with great precision! Sesha became quite excited while experimenting with the mirror. After he had made a whole lot of faces, a new thing came on his mind!

Oh!! I could try that!!

He remembered the strange usage of the Swadhisthana Chakra that he had seen just yesterday. Sesha then closed his eyes and concentrated. He could still remember that distinct patterns of the water chakra. He willed his Swadhisthana and pulled chakra from there. This water chakra, he directed to his face, in a specific pattern. To be honest, Sesha could have used any number of patterns! But since it was his first time using this peculiar art, the pattern that he used was remarkably similar to the one that he had seen yesterday.

When Sesha was done, he once again looked into the mirror but what greeted him this time was not the amiable face of Sesha himself. It was a face that looked much older and didn't have any of Sesha's delicate features. This face was of the rogue warrior: Asru.

Such a peculiar art. I wonder if master knows about this! Sesha mused to himself.

What Sesha had just used was precisely the secret art of disguise that belonged to Krishna's clan i.e. Naqaab. This art required a great control over one's Swadhisthana and the one who could use it within two months was heralded as a genius in Krishna's clan. Since a clan guarded its arts ferociously, no one knew about how to use Naqaab outside Krishna's clan save for prince Kartik. But that was no longer true now.

Just as Sesha was immersed in observing his new appearance, a voice of a man perturbed him,

"There you are!! I have been looking all over for you! Let's go, your match is already starting!"

* * *

Standing in the grounds of the stadium, Sesha asked the question that he had already asked himself for a number of times..

How did this come to be!

Between observing the mirror and trying out the new art, he had lost the track of his surroundings. Therefore, he didn't notice when a man came out of nowhere and then dragged him out to the grounds. Right now, Sesha with the face of Asru was standing at this huge field and opposite to a man who was clearly his opponent.

"Warriors.. Begin!!"

The announcer signaled the start of the fight and Sesha's opponent charged at him.

For one of the Earth realm, he is quite reckless.. Sesha thought to himself as his opponent rained his fist and sword on him.

Of course, Sesha had effortlessly dodged every single one of his moves but to drag it any longer was pointless, so he decided to finish things hastily.

When his opponent showed a small opening, Sesha thrust his fist towards him but just as it was about to hit the warrior of the first realm, Sesha abruptly stopped them.

*BOOM*

A large sound echoed around the arena as the shockwave from Sesha's fist sent his opponent flying quite a distance. In an instant, the match was decided with Sesha's victory.

The crowd erupted into a huge cheer!! This made Sesha a little perplexed. Hadn't the crowd detested Asru who was in fact a disguised prince Kartik on the first day of tournament? Sesha's clothes were clearly no better than Kartik's had been so why were they cheering for him now?

Indeed, this sudden change was only due to the people realising that Asru was, in fact, quite strong! There was only one thing that people in this city respected more than money, it was power! And in their eyes, Asru was already a powerful warrior. So how would they dare to disrespect him now?

As Sesha's first fight concluded, he was about to walk out of the field and then out of the stadium itself but he was stopped by the announcer's following words.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next stage of the tournament has four people remaining, so it will have two matches in all. Without further wait, let's start the second stage with a fight between warrior Asru and warrior Suchi!"

As his luck turned out, he happened to be the first fighter of the second stage! How could he escape now!!?

Sesha remained at the ground while a grandiose warrior Suchi walked out from inside the warrior's pavilion. He, like many of the others participating in the tournament, was of the first realm.

"Start!"

The announcer started the fight.

"HIYAAAA !!"

The warrior Suchi, too, charged at Sesha like his earlier opponent! This time, Sesha could feel that the movements that this warrior was making were indeed a little refined than his earlier opponent. Even his control of the Muladhara was of higher degree.. But that much wasn't enough.. Not at least for Sesha!

Fist flew out, fist stopped, air exploded and the warrior was flown back! In the same manner as earlier, Sesha had won this bout too!

*CHEERS!*

The crowd again applauded at him but Sesha could feel that this applaud was a little less in magnitude than his earlier win had gotten him.

Looks like they aren't much pleased.. Sesha wondered.

"Thinking why they aren't applauding much??"

A voice brought him out of his thoughts. The owner of this voice had somehow walked behind him as soon as Sesha had concluded his match. He was a strong looking man dressed in black armor. Unlike prince Kartik, whose black was for only stealth purposes, this new warrior's black instead indicated power and elegance. On top of that, he was holding a sword that was giving off quite a sinister aura. But much more obvious than this black armor and his sword was his aura. A yellow colored aura of fire!

Only now did Sesha recognized him as the strongest warrior participating in this tournament.. The one from the Uttara sect, one of the four major sect: Visha !!

Sesha had remained observing Visha for quite a while and hadn't given an answer to his earlier question but Visha didn't seem to mind. Instead, he just continued on..

"The reason why they aren't applauding you much is because you are too strong!!"

"Huh!? But isn't that a good thing?" Sesha asked.

"Why yes it is!! But if you finish every single of your fight in just a single blow, it becomes rather... dull." Visha said.

"..."

"But I suppose it's not your fault. They are just that weak, aren't they? But fear not, you have already advanced into the finals and I will too.. so tell me warrior Asru, want to fight someone strong??" Visha asked with a hint of arrogance.

For Sesha, this whole incident had been a mistake and thus, he had wanted to run out of the fields and out of the stadium as soon as possible but now that Visha was openly challenging him, thoughts about escaping instantly flew out of his mind.

He replied in a confident tone,

"Of course!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Hello everyone, how have you been? In good shape I presume?

Chapter 14 comes to an end and with it comes a new development.. A lot of you were complaining that the plot wasn't moving forward enough so I hope that this chapter solves that problem.

On another note, I have been wanting to write a glossary for the terminologies but due to lack of internet at my place, I haven't been able to start yet.. just wanted you to know.

Anyways, if you have any comments, erratas, suggestions or criticisms then, as always, drop them below! See you next time!