Kairavi

Chapter 111

"Do you think this will work?" Kairavi couldn't help but ask her husband as he relayed his plan to her. Being the most intelligent brother among the Panduputras, one could rely upon his advice without a question.

Sahadev nodded. "It is the only chance we have. Let us not waste time." He caressed her hand and his wife gulped a lump in her throat, fairly apprehensive about the outcome of their scheme. 

They both ran off in opposite directions, taking their designated positions. Chitrakshi came as close as possible to where Prahasth was fighting off the four warriors. It seemed like Bheem's blows were anaemic in comparison to the shape shifter's.

He had rendered him exhausted. Yudhishthir and Nakul tried holding him off their brother as he laid on the ground, regaining his strength to battle with the injuries on his body. 

But all was in vain. The ogre snatched their weapons and crushed them with the raw vigour of his palms. Just as he was about to grab them in his fists, Arjun shot an arrow that bound his hands together.

Taking advantage of the situation, Nakul dived into his feet, making him lose hold of his balance and fall face-first on the ground. 

This gave Kairavi an opportunity to gain control over his mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating on painting an illusion in his mind. She had to have utmost command over her powers so that whatever she showed him, looked as real as possible.

She thought about the same landscape, but without the brothers in it. Whatever she thought of, was exactly what Prahasth saw before his eyes.

Prahasth groaned, supporting himself up on his elbows. He spat out the dirt that got into his mouth and looked around.

To his surprise, there was nobody there. The four Pandavas watched in confusion as the demon looked around his surroundings as if he was seeing it for the first time.

But the ogre was not entirely foolish. Some of the details seemed out of place and he immediately figured that he had been trapped in some kind of trance. And he knew exactly who did that.

"Rajkumari Kairavi! Get out of my head right now or I will decapitate your husbands!" He thundered, punching the air ignorantly.

"Has he gone blind?" Nakul turned to Yudhishthir, who looked equally perplexed. "No. Kairavi is retaining him in an illusion. We have to act right away before he breaks away from the hallucination." Sahadev said, jogging up to them.

He gave Vibhatsu a knowing look and he nodded. Aiming towards the sky, the great archer muttered a chanting under his breath and pulled the bowstring. 

A transparent force field covered the entire forest, leaving a hole in the middle where Prahasth was standing. Another divyastra appeared between his fingers that was blazing in flames.

He released it towards the sky and ran off to the temporary shelter that he had created while the huge demon thrashed and flung his arms in the air. 

The arrow rained fire upon him. The smouldering embers that fell from the sky scorched up his dark skin and left bruises on it. He screamed and struggled harder, causing Kairavi to succumb in her attempt.

She lost control and accidentally let his psyche slip from her grasp. Evading free from her enchantment, he held his hands up in the air that created a shield around his body.

The inferno weapon continued precipitating fire upon him but it wasn't getting them anywhere. He was too strong for her to hold onto for long.