THE DIVINE ASTRAS

Chapter 19

It was midnight, a man was running away from something, shouting with all the power in his lungs,"SAVE ME!!!SOMEONE PLEASE! HELP!!!!"
The streets were narrow, and the turns were really sharp, it was becoming harder to run away, whatever was following him, would catch up really soon.
He saw a vacant bicycle and stopped for a second. Perspiration was flowing down his face, due to the panic and the adrenaline flowing through his veins and obviously because of running so fast were so long. His legs were starting to shake because of the accumulation of lactic acid and the depletion of energy. He was stuck, the fear put him in a lot of pressure.
'That man, he was, he was, he had red eyes! Long teeth, grey skin, he changed into black smoke!'
He was so scared, while he was stuck, a small pool of black smoke started to gather near him and started moving towards him. Although, it was smoke, it was moving the way a snake would, and as it was smoke, it could move through anything and didn't make a sound. It was about to form a circle around his foot when he noticed it.
He noticed it just in time, and he started running for his life.
"Please leave me! O great daitya! Why me?" he pleaded in a low tone.
The smoke was playing with him like a predator plays with his prey.
It was only a matter of time before he fell, the adrenaline could not make up for the legs of a weak man. No matter how you put it, even adrenaline has its limits.
When the guy fell, the smoke formed itself into a man, but the man was looking different than he saw him before.
"WEAKNESS....DISGUSTS ME...."
The man on the floor was crying now, helpless. He folded his hands in front of him and bowed down, his tears were dropping on the dirty, dust-laden road, making tiny, wet lumps of dirt.
"Do you....want to get as strong as MEEEEE?"
These words had a profound effect on the crying guy.
His crying slowed down to a sob, and then eventually he became quiet.
Stuttering, he asked him in a squeaky, weak voice,"Y.....y....y..yu....you..h....you don't want to kill me?"
The stranger cackled,"HELL NO! I was just having some fun, but if you think I'm going to leave you if you say no, then you are gravely mistaken. I will BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY, I WILL RIP OUT YOUR SPINE, I SHALL FEAST ON YOUR SPLEE. AND YOUR LIVER....WAAAAIT! WAIT A SECOND. HOLD ON."
"W.....w..w...w...wha-what dear sir?"
"YOU DON'T HAVE SOME CRAZY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT DISEASE LIKE COVID-19 RIGHT? CUZ YOU WILL TASTE AWFUL BECAUSE OF THAT."
"N...N....N-No sir, but please listen to me, I will taste awful anyway."
"YOU DARE.....INTERRUPT ME?"
"Sir, you only asked me?"
"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME?"
Now the stranger was pissed, his eyes started glowing red again, only it was more fierce now, menacing, his teeth became more sharp, like a shark, long, thin, deadly.
He opened his mouth.
"S-s-s-s-sir....please sir...." the weak man starting crying again.
He bit the whole left arm off of his body, severing it entirely. Thin streams of blood started to pour out, where the arm was, a broken fragment of the humerus was still attached to the shoulder joint, because of the blood it was stained red.
The poor man shouted away, but who could help him against this ungodly creature?
He kept on taking large bites until the guy had no limbs lift, so much blood had poured out that the man lost consciousness, he was on the verge of death.
SMACK!!!!!
Someone hit the ghastly man on the cheek and he flew towards the left. Breaking the weak wall that was in his path.
The demon was enraged.
Keeping both hands on the broken bricks of the wall, he started to get up, "WHO THE F*CK DARES?"
His teeth grew longer and more deadly, and as if they weren't glowing enough, they started to glow brighter now.
"Your dad," said the other man calmly.
When the demon stood up, he looked clearly at the strange man and his face became pale instantly, his eyes and teeth became normal and he went back to his normal size.
Now the demon stuttered.
"S-s-s-s-sorry commander Jai," he exclaimed.
"Sh*t man, would you stop eating the recruits, you know that Shukra keeps riding me all day long, I have to bear with his stupidity and now yours, c'mon!"
"Sorry, boss!"
"You better be! Now what are we going to do with him? Are you going to eat him?"
"No sir, I satiated my hunger, but that's not the point! He talked back to me!"
"So let me get this straight, you asked him a question and he answered you. How is that talking back?"
"Sir..he was..."
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME!"
"Ok, sir."
"Fix this."
"Yes, sir."
"And remember, when this is fixed he shall be the same rank as you, so teach him our ways and treat him.with respect or I will kill you!"
"Yes, boss."
"And Shāndilya?"
"Be quick about it will you, I don't need too much attention!"
"Yes, boss."
Shāndliya spit a drop of blood into the unconscious man's open mouth. Within a second, his limbs started to grow back, the broken fragments of the femur and humerus turned back into the whole limbs quickly, even the veins were regenerating.
"Take that, neuroscience! We can regenerate and heal nerves as well."
"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?"
After a minute or so the man had regenerate all of his missing body parts.
"It should take a few seconds for the blood to regenerate, and a few extra seconds for him to gain consciousness."
"I don't need the extra commentary track, Shāndilya. Thank you."
The man opened his eyes.
"I'm alive."
"Comrade what is your name?" asked Shāndilya.
"Nitish."
"Nice touch," whispered Jai in Shāndilya's ear.
"Do you know who he is Nitish?"
"Yes, he is our master, Jai!"
"Boss, you happy?"
"I'd be happier if you'd focus more on recruitment than dinner!"
"Sir, it was a one time incident..."
"DON'T YOU DARE LIE TO ME!"
"Yes, boss," said Shāndilya looking down in embarassment.
"Now, both of you let's go back to base, someone has already wasted a lot of time!"
"Yes, sir," said both in unison.
Soon, the world would be full of daityas, dānavs, rākshas', vetāls and several other kinds of demonic creatures.
As usual someone with the moon on the top of his bun was watching all this with eagerness.
"This will be fun," he said.