EVERNA Ring of Fire

MANTIKEI Part 3

Nirya saw all that, but could do nothing. It was because he was busy healing Arumi's wounds with magic while whispering Barong's instructions to him.

Sthira spread out both her hands in a contrived style. "Look, commodore. What kind of friend is that that doesn't help you attack me. Never mind, just give up and go to hell." Scattered wounds spread all over Sthira's body, but the wounds were as if they were just itching for him.

Dhaka did not reply, his injuries this time were too severe and painful. But he doesn't want to go to hell. He just wanted to leave this world where his family was.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered. You want to die after your family, don't you, Dhaka? I pass that!" Sthira pushed forward to finish off the commodore. But the Spear Gada-Tombak Vajra was fended off with two weapons simultaneously, namely the Long Keris Agninetra and the Bayunara-Chained Twin Kerambit.

"What?" Worried about a counterattack, Sthira quickly retreated and kept her distance.

Then Sthira rebuked, "Nirya! I warned you to run and not interfere, but you're stubborn and even healed Arumi!"

"Thank you for your concern, Sthira," Nirya replied. "But I have decided not to obey you this time. I'd rather risk my life here than live to see the man I once loved enslave all of Antapada for his crazy ambitions."

Nirya's words made Sthira fixated for a while with wide eyes.

A moment later, Sthira laughed out loud. "Well, wow, that's plain. You think I asked Vrithra not to kill you because I still love you, Nirya? Is wrong! It was my payment because you had helped and supported me until it was my turn to support Vrithra as my new partner! But, my debt to you has been paid off. On Vrithra's terms, since you didn't run away and instead insisted on trying to stop us, I won't feel sorry for you and that 'former friend!"

Nirya's heart was pounding hard. But this new knowledge made his eyes stare more sharply at Sthira. "I know that. The Sthira I knew and loved was gone when Vajra took Triawarman's life. But, as payment for all the good you've given me all this time, I'll tell you one thing."

"Oh yeah? What'sthat?" Sthira wanted to know.

"You're not the only one with new partners and supporters. Tubar'e!"

At the same time Arumi also exclaimed, "Oh, I also want to thank you for choosing Nirya over me, Sthira! The burden of my heart is now very light! Megaswari!" Together with Nirya, Arumi raised her hand and called out a magical spell.

Almost simultaneously, the Wind Script on the back of Nirya's palm shimmered greenishly and the Fire Script on Arumi's lower arm shimmered reddishly. Green and red aura emanated profusely from each of the bodies of the two girls.

"Huh, the power of magical characters!" sergeant Sthira. "You think by borrowing it, you can match this?" Sthira refers to his lightning power that comes from three sources, namely his own inner power, the power of the Dragon God Vrithra and the Lightning Magic Script of Mount Dantonu. All of that he showed with a flash of lightning prana from his body that was bigger than Arumi or Nirya showed.

"The outcome of the fight is not determined by sheer balance of power. Let's prove it once again here," said Nirya.

"Forward!" With Arumi's shout as an aba-aba, the three warriors moved in unison.

Nirya moves very fast like the Shadow of a Storm. When close enough to the target, he slashed through the blades of his hook-like pair of kerambits, smashing while continuing to move. As a result, the opponent was difficult to land his counterattack on Nirya and was instead hit by a number of times slashes. That's the essence of the Whirlpool of Hurricane Troughs.

Sthira stepped, ran, revolved here and there with the power of speed-enhancing moves, Thunder Steps. While spinning avoiding Nirya's moves while resting on one leg, a fiery dart with a Fire Dragon-shaped prana of Heart-tracking Arumi greeted the young man. Sthira turned again and ran in the other direction, but miraculously the arrow turned and went back to the heart. Avoiding it no longer.

But as a human-god, Sthira is not out of reason. He then hit Vajra hard on the ground. The impact force spread from around Sthira's body in all directions as a Thunderbolt Shock Wave.

Nirya and Arumi are hit by lightning. Arumi fell on the floor.

While Nirya still had time to restore her body balance with the style of Shadow Storm and returned to approach Sthira. Deployed the rest of the energy of the Whirlpool of Hurricane Terabas Selaksa earlier. Before Sthira had time to fend off, countless of Nirya sambits landed on the man's body.

After Nirya moved away, it appeared that Sthira was still standing bent over. Perhaps for the first time during this fight it was clear that blood was flowing from Sthira's wounds.

"Balking!" Wrathful, Sthira again swung Vajra, trying to force himself to exert a counter-measure.

Suddenly Dhaka burst forward with a yellow glowing body, full of earth energy from the Barkajang Invisibility Script.

Sthira only had time to concentrate her inner strength to protect her body. Dhaka's attack is like a giant jaw that swallows Sthira round and round, then chews the "food" quickly and repeatedly until *****.

"Dhaka, no...!" Unknowingly Nirya moved forward. His intention was to prevent Dhaka from killing Sthira. Perhaps Vrithra could still be expelled from its new host.

But Arumi put up her body and spread her arms, blocking Nirya. "Conscious, Nirya! Sthira has chosen Vrithra and left you! Don't expect him again!"

Nirya could only stare and wait.

The next moment, Dhaka's "yellow" move was complete. The Komodorai moved away and fell down, running out of energy. What was left of his attack was only Sthira who was still standing down. But now the body of Kalingga man was completely red, as if splashed with his own blood. Even if he had not died, he would have been paralyzed like a statue.

"Let me make sure that the culprit of disaster is gone forever!" Seeing the opportunity, Arumi threw her bow on the floor and unsheathed her long dagger, Agninetra. From the running motion and swing of his weapon, it is clear that Arumi will behead Sthira, as well as burn the man's body with fire energy in the blade of Agninetra to charred into ash.

Nirya had already made a move anyway wanted to prevent Arumi. He meant for the girl to observe the situation first. Perhaps Vrithra's spirit has come out of Sthira's body and been destroyed, so that perhaps eventually Sthira will abandon her ambition.

Arumi's footsteps suddenly came to a halt, her face flabbergasted at the sight of something before her. Surprised, Nirya also looked at Arumi's eyes. It seemed that Sthira's body was now wrapped in the aura of lightning that was snatching. However it was definitely not ordinary lightning, as it was pitch-black. Such energy never radiated even from the bodies of the Vrithra Dragon-Tangolin in Dantonu though.

Sthira's lips moved, but the sound that came out from there was a heavy and somewhat vibrating sound. That's Vrithra's voice. "Basic useless! Only once struck by the power of three magical characters, you are unconscious. Forced from this moment on I take over your body completely! After all, I never intended to share power with you in the first place. The world will remember me, Vrithra as the Great Conqueror, not you, Sthira Tarunaga!"

Realizing Vrithra's words, the black thunderbolt aura in Vrithra's body grew bigger and spread. Almost immediately, Sthira's body became completely black from the tip of the hair to the tip of the foot.

With a speck of love remaining, Nirya exclaimed in her voice, "Sthira, come to your senses! Fight Vrithra! Awake, Sthira! Sthira!"

However, all the cries and splashes of Nirya's tears were in vain. The black aura that enveloped Sthira's body was like an open cocoon and transformed into three pairs of lightning wings, each of which spanned about twice the height of Sthira's body. Not only that, the color of Sthirapun's skin turned purple, clashing with a kind of complicated patterned blood red tattoo that filled his entire body.

Vrithra said, Sthira raised the Vajra Spear high and exclaimed, "Vajra, look with my body, make me perfect!"

Seeing this gurgle, Nirya shouted hysterically, "Sthira, jangaan!"

No matter what else, Nirya advanced to prevent the process of transitioning this form. But the girl crashed into an invisible energy field, then bounced and fell.

Late already, the purple Sthira had thrust the spearhead of the Vajra Weapon into the middle of her own chest.

This is when all the elements of humanity in Sthira are completely gone.

\==oOo==

The thrust of the spearhead in the center of the chest begins the process of unification between the divine weapon, the spirit of the weapon and the body of the weapon user as well as the new host of the divine spirit.

The first stage, the part of the mace closest to the tip of the spear that hit Sthira's chest is elongated and curved. The shape turns into a protective armour chest, waist and shoulders in gold.

The second stage, the golden handle of Vajra decorated with mirah gems forms the midpoint of the armour that extends to the heart.

In the third stage, the mace and other spear parts are transformed into belts, hand guards and foot protectors. A golden crown encrusted with various gems was attached to the head of Sthira-Vrithra so that it looked like it had many horns.

The black eyes of the god-man figure shot a sharp glare towards the three opponents. His voice rumbled like thunder as he said, "I am Vajra, the mighty god and future conqueror of all lands. Who submit to me live, who fight to die."

Illustration of Maha Vajra, the combined personification of divine, human and god weapons by Andry Chang. BOSS FINAL.