The Last Sacrifice of Kalinga: Crushing the Goddess's Harem

Chapter 2: Crimson Escape

"Put me down, you idiot!" Gayatri yelled, her face pressed hard against his shoulder as the wind whipped her matted black hair across his face. "Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"Hey, a little gratitude would be nice!" Aristha panted, his legs churning as he leaped over a shattered wooden cart. "I literally just saved our heads from rolling into a wicker basket!"

"By blowing up the royal scaffold?" Gayatri’s voice shook, her fingers clutching his torn collar. "How did you even do that? You don't have a single drop of spiritual energy!"

"Let's just say I got a sudden promotion!" Aristha ducked as a stray stone thrown by a panicked citizen whistled past his ear. 

`[System: Warning. Host's muscular structure is undergoing rapid adaptation to the 'Spiritual Apprentice' realm. Physical stamina depleting. Current Prana: 4,000.]`

"Not now, System!" Aristha muttered, his chest burning like hot coals. "Give me a navigation map or something!"

`[System: Mapping Kalinga city layout... Blind spots in defensive wall highlighted.]`

"Hold on tight!" Aristha shouted.

"Hold on to what?" Gayatri gasped as he suddenly pivoted on one heel, dragging her down a narrow, mud-slick alleyway. "Where are we going? The main gates will be locked by now!"

"We aren't going to the gates!" Aristha yelled back. 

"Halt, traitors!" a booming voice roared behind them. 

Aristha glanced over his shoulder. Three royal guard captains clad in heavy bronze armor were sprinting down the alley, their glowing spears clearing the crowded street with terrifying ease. 

"They're gaining on us!" Gayatri shrieked, her pale face turning even whiter. "Aristha, do something!"

"I'm working on it!" Aristha’s eyes scanned the chaotic market stalls lining the alley. He spotted a colorful cart covered in paper slips and wooden jars. "Jackpot!"

"A talisman shop?" Gayatri frowned. "What are you—"

"Hey, Uncle! Borrowing these!" Aristha swiped a handful of yellow spiritual papers from the counter as he dashed past.

"Hey! Thief! Those are premium explosive talismans!" the merchant screamed, shaking his fist.

"Put it on Prince Rama’s tab!" Aristha yelled back.

"How do you expect to use those?" Gayatri demanded, staring at the blank papers in his hand. "You need a spiritual spark to ignite them! You don't know the hand seals!"

"Who needs hand seals when you have a system?" Aristha grinned. "System, channel fifty Prana points into these talismans and throw them!"

`[System: Command accepted. Consuming 50 Prana. Igniting low-grade fire talismans.]`

The paper slips in Aristha's hand suddenly flared with a bright blue flame. Without looking, he tossed them over his shoulder like a handful of discarded trash.

"What did you just do?" Gayatri gasped.

"Fire in the hole!" Aristha shouted.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of loud, deafening explosions rocked the narrow alley. The force of the blasts shattered the merchant stalls, sending wooden planks, fruits, and a thick cloud of black soot flying into the air. 

"My eyes! I can't see!" one of the pursuing guards screamed from behind the smoke barrier.

"Curses! They used a smoke screen! Spread out!" another captain barked.

"Did... did you actually just detonate those with raw spiritual force?" Gayatri stared at him, her wide eyes filled with absolute bewilderment. "Who are you? You aren't the Aristha I know."

"I told you, I'm the upgraded version!" Aristha wheezed, his lungs screaming for air as his legs grew heavier with every step. "But seriously, Gayatri... you need to lose some weight."

"I am a royal lady of Kalinga, you peasant!" she snapped, though she gripped his shoulders tighter. "And I've been starving in a dungeon for three weeks!"

"Could've fooled me," Aristha groaned, his feet splashing through a puddle of dirty water. "My thighs are on fire."

`[System: Warning. Stamina level at 15%. Muscle failure imminent in 120 seconds if high physical exertion continues.]`

"One hundred and twenty seconds?" Aristha hissed under his breath. "That's barely enough to reach the outer wall!"

"Aristha, look up!" Gayatri warned, her voice trembling.

He looked up. At the end of the alley, the massive stone outer wall of Kalinga loomed over them. Standing atop the battlements were a dozen elite royal archers, their bows drawn, arrows glowing with deadly golden spiritual light.

"They've cornered us," Gayatri whispered, her grip loosening as if she had already resigned herself to fate. "There's no way over that wall. It's fifty feet high."

"Who said we're going over?" Aristha muttered, his eyes locking onto a specific detail in the stone masonry. 

"Then where?" she asked, looking around frantically. "There's nothing here but a dead end!"

"In the novel—I mean, in the ancient layout of the city—there's an old drainage channel right below that defense tower," Aristha explained, his heart hammering against his ribs. "The architects got lazy and left a blind spot where the river bypasses the security wards."

"How could you possibly know that?" Gayatri demanded, staring at him as if he were speaking in tongues. "Not even the royal guard captains have access to the city blueprints!"

"I read ahead!" Aristha shouted, pushing his legs to their absolute limit. "Archers! Duck!"

"Release!" a voice from the wall commanded.

A hail of glowing golden arrows rained down upon them like falling stars. 

"System! Barrier!" Aristha roared in his mind.

`[System: Activating 'Prana Shield'. Cost: 500 Prana. Shield duration: 3 seconds.]`

A faint, translucent golden dome materialized over Aristha and Gayatri just as the arrows struck. 

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The spiritual arrows shattered against the barrier, sending sparks showering over them. But the force of the impact rattled Aristha to his bones, making him stumble.

"The shield is cracking!" Gayatri screamed, shielding her face.

"Just a few more steps!" Aristha gritted his teeth, his vision blurring from exhaustion. 

They burst through the end of the alley and onto a rocky ledge. Directly below them, a violent, roaring river surged through a deep stone gorge, its icy waters churning with white foam and jagged, black rocks.

"Are you insane?" Gayatri gasped, looking down at the rushing torrent. "That's the River of Whispers! Nobody survives that current!"

"It's either the river or Prince Rama’s executioner, and I don't think the executioner wants to buy us a drink," Aristha panted, standing at the very edge of the precipice. 

Behind them, the alleyway cleared, and dozens of heavily armed guards spilled out, their weapons drawn.

"Stop right there!" a guard captain yelled. "You have nowhere left to run!"

"Want to bet?" Aristha turned to Gayatri, giving her a wild, desperate grin. "Ready for a swim?"

"I hate you so much!" Gayatri yelled, burying her face in his neck.

"Take a deep breath!" Aristha shouted.

With a final, desperate leap, Aristha flung both of them off the edge of the stone cliff. 

"They jumped!" a guard screamed from above.

The world went into slow motion for a split second as they free-fell through the cold mountain air. Then, the icy water hit them like a solid brick wall.

SPLASH!

The freezing, violent current immediately swallowed them whole, dragging them down into the dark, churning depths. The sheer force of the water felt like heavy hammers slamming into Aristha's newly upgraded body, knocking the remaining air right out of his lungs.

`[System: Warning. Host has entered a 'Severe Hypothermia' state. Physical control is deteriorating.]`

No! Not now! Aristha screamed internally, his eyes stinging as he tried to swim upward. 

He looked down. The violent undercurrent was incredibly strong, spinning them around like leaves in a storm. Gayatri’s eyes were closed, her face pale, and her grip on his waist was rapidly weakening. 

Aristha reached out, his fingers desperately clawing at her silk robes, trying to hold her close. But a massive, submerged tree branch suddenly slammed into his shoulder.

Crack!

"Mph!" Aristha gasped underwater, a bubble of precious air escaping his lips as pain flared through his arm. 

The impact ripped Gayatri from his grasp. 

Through the murky, swirling water, Aristha watched in horror as her limp body was swept away by a separate, swifter current, dragging her down toward the dark, jagged rocks of the forbidden outer wilderness.

`[System: Alert. Distance between host and Ni Luh Putu Gayatri is increasing. Spiritual anchor lost.]`

No... Gayatri! 

Aristha reached out with his numbed hand, but his strength was completely gone, his body sinking fast into the freezing abyss.