Fan fiction

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR, PART 6 of 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , Leave a comment

Chapter 6 – The Fight

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with help from AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Garuda looked down as he lazily glided around waiting for Jambavan and Hanuman. He observed that apart from the two asuras that had run from him, two other groups seemed to be converging on a much larger clearing, outside the forest. It was near where they had encountered the first asura earlier in the night. It was almost dawn now and a faint mist along with a spray of drizzle was beginning. One of the groups coming from the forest seemed to be helping one of their compatriots who was badly injured.

Presently he saw both Jambavan and Hanuman leaping high and spotting him. They both started making their way towards him, although at an unhurried pace. He continued observing them and also the asuras, as the three groups met up. The asuras should ideally have noticed him observing them but they were no longer as sharp as they were a short while ago, having been resoundingly defeated.

As he watched them either plan or conference, the injured asura was raised up from the ground and vanished suddenly after reaching an altitude around where he was hovering. There was shimmering for a kshana across a large swathe of the air and then it stopped as the injured asura disappeared. Garuda proceeded to rendezvous with his fellow warriors.

“They have a large invisible vimana (aircraft/spacecraft) up there” said Garuda to the other two as soon as they met and saw that they were both unharmed in every way. Jambavan briefly told them about his use of the Brahmadanda and then said, “We should destroy that vimana. It is unnatural for this age, apart from being malevolent. Imagine the havoc it would cause if we weren’t here”. Hanuman and Garuda nodded agreement and said in unison, “Agniastra”. Jambavan smiled and said, “A taste of their own medicine huh?”

He then requested Garuda to invoke the astra, for he could deliver it more easily compared with the other two. Garuda pulled out a feather that had been damaged by the asura blade. He then invoked the Agniastra and after rearranging the vanes of the feather to make it aerodynamic, he lifted off into the air until he was level with where he had observed the vimana. He then infused the astra in the feather and hurled it straight into the invisible craft.

The Agniastra on contact with the described target came alive and decimated the vimana. It was a magnificent and terrifying sight to behold. The vimana was sliced apart, as if by many swords of fire working simultaneously. It became visible as its invisibility failed. More clean lines of fire bloomed all across the craft as the vimana came apart in several pieces, each piece separated from the rest by neat straight lines. The three warriors agreed that there was an elegance to the craft, even if it was a grotesque, shiver inducing one. It was unlike anything a denizen of the Earth would have imagined.

Some parts of the dismembered vimana exploded, lighting up the scene in the coming wet and faintly misted dawn. It had all taken perhaps a few blinks of a human eye and yet was an unforgettable spectacle. One which was not lost on the asuras for whom the loss of their craft was a loss of their way home. It seemed to break something within them and yet steel their resolve at the same time.

Image generated by the AI feature on WordPress

They all turned away from the fallen craft. The ones that had their invisibility yantras working or partially functioning, now shed the same, becoming fully visible. All those that still had the astra firing cylinder on their shoulders undid and dropped them on the ground. All of them dropped their chakras. Some extended their spears and extended the blades on one wrist for a spear and sword combination. Others extended the blades on both their wrists, effectively wielding swords in both hands. They all now faced the direction they had come from, bellowed a chittering cry with one arm raised and waited as a group.

Hanuman said to the other two as the asura group bellowed their cry, “Looks like a final challenge with only shastras (weapons that are not discharged).” Garuda agreed, “They have all dropped their astras (weapons that are discharged) and invisibility yantras (technology/machines).” Jambavan concurred, “Let us finish this then.” With that all three of them walked towards the waiting group of asuras.

Image credits – Images on the left and far right were generated by the AI feature on WordPress. The image in the center was created by Kiran Kumar with help from AI. All are representations of the “Predator”.

The failed hunters and the three great warriors came face to face. Hanuman and Garuda walked to the right and the left of the group respectively as the wreckage of the great vimana loomed in the background. Twelve asuras each broke off from the main group and walked to face Hanuman and Garuda. Soon there were six of the asuras facing each of the three great warriors. The asuras in each group formed a semi-circle facing Garuda, Jambavan and Hanuman respectively.

There was no drizzle anymore. The mild mist caused the grass in the clearing to glisten as the first rays of the Sun became visible. The asuras raised their weapons in salute to the warriors and the warriors bowed with the aatmaanjali mudra. The asuras from another graha or hunters from a distant loka (world), whatever they were, were brave and capable fighters all, and that was to be lauded. The three warriors and the asura groups now moved slowly around each other, looking for openings and guessing at feints.

Artwork by Kiran Kumar (with help from AI)

Garuda took a few steps and stopped completely. He let the six asuras surround him. He did not smile out of respect, though the wanted to. The fight began exactly as he had expected. The asura in front of him thrust his long spear at Garuda’s abdomen. At the same kshana the asura behind him spun his spear overhead to strike at Garuda’s head. Garuda took a step forward and also turned left at the same time. The spear stab missed him as he turned by the width of a feather of his. He gently placed his hand on the spear shaft as it missed his abdomen. With the forward step, the strike from the rear missed his head by the length of a finger.

He was now facing the two asuras who were originally to his left, with two behind him. As he had made his initial movement, he spread his wings and clapped them together behind him! This shocked the two asuras behind him with a gust of wind and blew one off its feet. As all this was happening, the one that had stabbed at him pulled back the thrust. Garuda followed the movement with his palm on the spear shaft and as the pullback ended, he pushed in a little more which made the asura lose its posture, at which time Garuda lifted the spear up, slunk his great height under it spun around while going down one knee. This series of motions forced the asura to drop down with a backward roll and let go of the spear.

Garuda now repeated the backward clap of his wings and that made the two asuras behind him rethink their attack and stop in their tracks. But the creature now on his right who had swung for his head was charging ahead with a spear thrust. Garuda now had the spear the fallen owner had let go as it rolled. He stayed on his knee and just flicked the spear on its center to strike with the base of it at the charging asura’s legs. The asura was taken clear off its feet and landed with a grunt, being winded by the fall.

Now Garuda, flicked the spear into his left hand and threw it underhanded at the owner of the spear which was regaining its footing. It went right through the asura’s breastplate and chest, delivering a fatal injury. Garuda was just toying around with his opponents, being in no hurry to rush the fight or initiate an attack.

He stood up and took a step back, allowing the asuras to form a new line. They formed up and this time around, all of them charged at him simultaneously. They all only wielded twin blades on their wrists now. They had all discarded their spears, perhaps realizing the weapon’s length was an advantage to Garuda and not themselves.

Garuda stepped between the first two in the line, as one cut down at him diagonally and the other stabbed at him. Garuda stopped the blade on the first attacker’s left wrist from a stab by gently pushing it into its body and he stepped between the two. The other three who were trying to get towards and around him had to rethink their line of attack as he again got behind their line. As soon as he was behind their advancing line Garuda spread his wings to their full extent and clapped them forwards as he bent forward and jumped back by a full body length. The result was that all five of the asuras were swept in towards each other and gathered by the wings, as between two walls, with great speed, and as Garuda had leapt back they were all caught wrong footed and collapsed in a heap.

There was a deep grunt of great pain as Garuda withdrew his wings. One of the asuras had been mortally wounded in the gut by a slash of one its own compatriots’ blades. But Garuda did not wait to appreciate this situation. He had jumped forward back to where he had been and stomped down on the head of one of the fallen asuras, which became a green smear on the ground. With that he took a few steps back and waited for the next attack by the asuras.

The asuras now looked at each other, likely formulating the next attack strategy. The one on Garuda’s left leaped high in its attack. The one on the far right rolled on the ground to attack low, while the one in the center charged in for a mid-level attack. Garuda was unimpressed with their lack of ability to come up with an attack that truly threatened him. They were completely incapable of countering a being with more limbs than their own, especially if that opponent was also in possession of superior martial training and grater size, and possessed far greater fighting experience, though the last of it he could not blame them for not knowing.

Garuda did no move discernibly as he received the attack. Both his wings extended at the same time, but moved differently. The left wing struck up at the asura and it was shot straight up in the air like a child might throw a ball onto the roof. Only, this asura was thrown so high it might have been above most of the tallest trees. While this was happening, the right wing shot out like a snake towards the asura rolling towards him on the right. The feathers were realigned as the wing shot out. The wing impaled the asura as a heron might spear a fish.

By then the last asura in the center had almost reached him. Garuda folded up both his wings, the tip of his right wing now glistening green. He shifted his weight to his right and the stabbing blade scraped past his abdomen. Again Garuda restrained the blade on the left wrist of the asura with his right palm while he caught its neck in a vice like grip with his left, and snapped it perfunctorily. The asura’s lifeless body collapsed and then there was a thump on his left, as the creature he had knocked into the air fell back on to the ground and lay still, its body rearranged in a grotesque manner.

Artwork by Kiran Kumar (with help from AI)

While the group facing Garuda was beginning to get into formation, Jambavan raised his hand as he faced the six asuras standing in front of him. In a flash, one of Hanuman’s maces landed in his raised hand. His unspoken request had been fulfilled. Hanuman had another mace, not to mention his almighty tail to contend with his adversaries.

He hefted the mace onto his shoulder and started walking towards the center of the asura semicircle in front of him. He had no intentions and expected no specific attack. He wanted to push the asuras into action and see what they could come up with. The asuras too seemed to have the same idea; they gradually moved around and were now moving to surround him. But he randomly changed direction and walked straight towards one of the six with a spear in the right hand and a wrist blade on the left.

This surprised the asura even as his compatriots continued their progress. The surprise made it react, and it stabbed hard at Jambavan with the spear. Jambavan turned left on the spot and brought down the mace onto the spear shaft with his right hand. The shaft snapped and as the front half of the spear fell, Jambavan caught it. While he was catching the spear, the asura slashed at Jambavan’s throat. Jambavan lifted the mace back onto his shoulder and turned right, that blocked the wrist blade. As he was turning to block the blade, he flipped around the broken spear in his left hand and impaled the asura with its own weapon.

By now the other asuras were behind him and closer. But they were wary and stopped as he turned to face them. He again took a few nonchalant steps toward their center. This time the one in the center stiffened, anticipating an attack. But he changed tack and walked right past the creature! It did nothing and neither did any of the other four around. Clearly, they were too concerned with failing in an attack. They would rather have Jambavan attack and use any openings presented.

Thus Jambavan gave them what they wanted. He went on the attack. He lashed out with his mace at the asura he had just walked past. This asura had two wrist blades. It blocked the strike with its blade on the right hand and stabled with the blade on its left wrist. As the stab came in, Jambavan pulled the mace towards him, making it vertical and then positioned it in line with the asura’s chest. The asura predictably pulled the stab to protect itself. It stopped the mace with a scissor maneuver, crossing its two blades under the mace head like a scissor. This unfortunately realigned the spike from its chest to its neck. Jambavan swiveled to his left on his right foot away from the blades, while palm heeling the base of the mace with his left palm. This drove the spike of the mace into the asura’s neck, killing it.

Even as he was pulling the spike out, he dropped to his knees. The asura to his left had moved up behind him and launched a slash at the rear of his neck. He had sensed the intent and dropped, allowing the blade to pass harmlessly above his head. He then flicked the mace straight up from its pommel. The mace head smashed the face of the asura who attacked from behind, caving it in.

The remaining three asuras did not attack immediately. Jambavan took his time standing up and walking towards them. He dragged the mace beside him now, not hefting it onto his shoulder. As he neared the asura on the left, being agitated, it went on the attack. It slashed down with the blade on the left wrist. Jambavan received the cut by lifting the mace, with the shaft of the mace. As the asura was pulling back the right hand to attack with the blade on its other wrist. Jambavan dropped the mace spike down where he stood. The spike of the dropped mace pierced the foot of the creature and with a loud grunt, it went down straight in a heap. As it was going down, Jambavan held out his fist which knocked back the head of the falling asura, snapping its neck with a violent whiplash.

The remaining two asuras seemed to have gained the courage of cornered beasts in the few kshanas it had taken for their last compatriot to perish with no concerted effort on behalf of Jambavan. They charged as one at Jambavan. Jambavan dropped the mace in the path of the asura on his right slowing it down for a kshana. The other asura attacked with its left blade first, the path of which Jambavan stepped out of and then with its right. This attack also Jambavan stepped out of, ending up behind the attacking hand. By now the second asura had also commenced the attack. Jambvan pushed the right arm of the asura, grabbing lightly onto its shoulder and wrist and using the momentum of its own attack, into the path of the attacking asura. This second asura was disemboweled by the combined momentum of its own charge and the attack redirected by Jambavan, on the blade of its compatriot.

Jambavan now disengaged as the last asura pulled the blade out of its dying compatriot. He casually walked to the fallen mace and picked it up. This time he stopped playing around with the creatures. He charged with a raised mace to attack the last asura. It blocked with its left wrist blade. But this time the mace came down with a lot of intent and shattered the blade as it made contact with it. In despair the asura tried to attack with the blade on it right wrist, only to have this also break into pieces as Jambavan attacked this blade. Now, Jambavan performed a reverse twirl of the mace from his right wrist. This broke the asura’s head, resulting in a glowing green mace head.

Artwork by Kiran Kumar (with help from AI)

A gentle breeze had started with a pleasant fluting sound in the trees. The golden glow of the morning rays also gave an ethereal quality to the morning as Hanuman threw a mace over to Jambavan when his hand was raised. Hanuman’s senses were soothed with the developing atmosphere but his attention never wavered towards Jambavan. He was discerning the intentions of the six asuras who had determined for themselves to take him on. The attention of all the six asuras wavered for a kshana until they realized that the mace throw was not an attack.

Even as mace was thrown, Hanuman had started moving his tail through the lush grass underfoot, which only the greatest and most observant of warriors might have realized. This confirmed Hanuman’s suspicions that these asuras, while brave and capable without a doubt, were in no way comparable to the greats he had faced in his very long existence on this graha (planet).

They seemed to have never faced grave threats to themselves; they had fought equals at best and inferior opponents at worst. His desire to face them as equals evaporated at that moment. He was no longer interested in this fight and wanted to end it. He had taken in everything in the surroundings and the opponents themselves. So he commenced the attack.

He moved towards the asura second from the last on his left with his mace raised high. As he had moved a few steps, his pre-positioned tail stiffened in its second half becoming a stout staff, and swept the asura on the far right off its feet with a strike. The creature, having had no clue of the tail’s presence, collapsed and this shocked its compatriots as well. While this was happening, Hanuman struck out with his mace at the intended target.

This asura was raising the spear in its left hand to deflect the mace, but missed the mace completely as it was distracted by its fellow falling to the ground. The distraction turned out to be costly as the mace crushed its head in the first spray of green in the morning sun.

The tail had not been idle as this asura died. Hanuman had spotted a log behind the asura that had been swept off its feet. Now the tail wrapped around the log, was pulled back and raised high over the fallen asura, the log being vertical. Hanuman crashed the log down onto the fallen creature with his tail as a flail with a log at its end. The asura died with a crushed chest without realizing what had happened.

The four remaining asuras were thoroughly unsettled. They had no clue with how to deal with additional limbs, especially the tail, which to them must have seemed like a lifeform on its own. The asura on Hanuman’s left came out of the stupor first and started attacking Hanuman with its two wrist blades. Two of the auras on his right then moved at the same time attacking him from behind. Hanuman calmly deflected the strikes and stabs from the asura with his mace, using both the shaft and mace head for the purpose.

While he danced around the asura’s attack, his tail released the log, shortened in length and knotted itself into a club. This tail club smacked into the midriff of the first asura who got behind him and pushed it away a good distance. The asura reeled backwards and struggled to keep its balance. As soon as the creature had been struck, the tail un-knotted itself and lengthened again to grab an end of the log it had dropped earlier.

The tail again looped around the log and dragged itself along the ground. The second asura had almost reached a point from where it could attack Hanuman from behind, but at that very kshana, the tail pulled the log between his legs and lifted it up rapidly. The log thus smacked this asura in the groin and it doubled up with the pain of the impact.

The tail released the log and wrapped itself around the injured asura. As this happened Hanuman disengaged from the attacking asura and leaped backwards by a body length, all while shortening his tail. He then did a barrel roll forward while his tail still held the asura by its neck. As he completed the roll, Hanuman released the asura from his tail and it was flung into the opponent he had disengaged from. The two creatures crashed into each other.

The one that had been flung had been stabbed to death by the blade of its compatriot as it tried to defend itself from the thrown body. The other who had taken the brunt of the impact was injured and dazed from the force of the impact. Hanuman ignored the fallen asura and now turned his attention to two remaining asuras.

He advanced on them. They in turn moved around hoping to find an opening. Their wish was granted as Hanuman focused on the asura on the right and left the one on the left free to get behind him. Yet again the asuras fell for the ruse and forgot the abilities of the great tail of Hanuman.

Hanuman swung wildly at the asura in front, who blocked, parried and survived the attack, for that was Hanuman’s intention, to lull this asura into a sense of complacency. The other asura at his back again chose to attack his unguarded back. And the tail interfered again. Hanuman had had his tail grab the log again as the asura closed in. As this opponent come for a cut to Hanuman’s back with a wrist blade, the log was pulled up vertically in the tail and it took the cut aimed at Hanuman’s back.

The asura attacked repeatedly with both its blades and each time it was blocked or parried by the log, moved about by the tail and driven by Hanuman’s intuitive awareness of what was happening all around him, even in his blind spots. Suddenly, the tail shortened considerably, while switching its loop to the log’s middle. Once this was done, the log was held horizontally close to Hanuman’s buttocks. He also ceased all attacks on the foe in front of him. The one behind him also saw its chance to get close, now that the log had been withdrawn.

The two asuras both charged at Hanuman. Hanuman then turned ninety degrees to his right, holding out the mace to his right. The one coming in from behind got smashed in the head by the mace and one in front was smacked in the hips by the log, which sent it sprawling. The asura behind Hanuman crumpled to the ground, dead, leaving behind more luminescent green on the mace.

Hanuman now faced the injured asura, who got up, clearly in pain. He still had the log in the tail against his buttocks. The asura stood defensively, even as he took a few steps towards it. Hanuman then sensed another malevolent presence behind him. Clearly the asura who had been injured as he had flung its compatriot into it was now up and hoping to attack from behind. This was why the creature in front was unmoving and defensive, trying to distract him as he had not seen the asura behind him.

Hanuman spread his hands to his side and dropped his mace, mocking the asuras and inviting an attack. That seemed to do the trick, the asura in front leaped at him. Hanuman had timed it to perfection. He had goaded the asura in front to attack him just as the one behind him had also leapt for his back. Hanuman just side stepped and held out the log in his tail pointing at the two leaping asuras. They both impaled themselves simultaneously on either end of the log with yet more green spray in the morning air. Hanuman dropped the log. That was the end of all the asuras.

Jambavan, Garuda and Hanuman finished off the asuras facing them within kshanas of each other. They all nodded to each other, there would be time enough to talk later. With that they all proceeded to the brook where they had stopped the previous night, to wash the green off themselves and their weapons. The great vimana still burned behind them in what was becoming a bright morning. The asura, after the events of the night, would perhaps not venture to this part of space for many a century.

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR, PART 5 of 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Chapter 5 – Trees

Artwork by Vishnu Mohan

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Hanuman landed back among the trees as Jambavan and Garuda split off. He landed on a branch and then dropped onto the ground softly, making no noise and creating no vibration. He then rolled to the base of a different tree and hauled himself slowly and noiselessly up onto a branch with his tail acting as a winch, holding one of his maces in one hand. As he started hauling himself up, he threw his other mace to land with a gentle plop a short distance away hoping to distract any of the asuras nearby. He was testing their abilities here, their sight, their hearing, and their sense of smell. He then hugged the tree and stayed still. Only his tail slowly crept down to the base of the tree increasing its length. It also carried down his second mace with it to the base of the tree.

He had barely stayed still for a few kshanas when a host of bright astras streaked towards him. He dropped off the branch the moment he felt the attack coming. The trunk and branch he had been on were blown to smithereens.

Hanuman now moved as a blur as soon as he dropped off the branch. Like earlier he moved in all directions at random while using the mace in his tail to flail about and scatter detritus on the ground, shake trunks, break branches. He leapt up on to trees, ran on the ground on all fours, ran on two legs, remained stationary for kshanas and only caused destruction with his tail. He even swung through the branches to higher levels of the canopy and between greatly separated trees.

Clearly the asuras were not deceived by stillness or distracting sounds. They likely could smell their quarry with great precision or see with absolute clarity in the dark. But his own abilities were not ordinary. He had a versatile fifth limb in his tail. It could change length to a considerable extent, change density at will and was perfectly prehensile. Also, just like his elders Garuda and Jambavan, his observational and warrior skills were unmatched, honed to perfection and beyond over millennia.

An observer with divine perception might have noticed that though Hanuman’s movement seemed random, the strikes with the mace in his tail were rarely so. He registered the point of origin of every astra flare and every deliberate malicious movement, and struck at that location with the mace. But none of the strikes were direct like with an arm. The flexibility of the tail allowed his mace to strike at impossibly acute angles and around objects like trees. His hits snaked up parallel to tree trunks, swung around trees, looped though gaps in the arboreal cover and dropped branches onto concealed enemies. So great was his training with his tail as a weapon, he could tell from the strike if he hit an asura or something else.

When he felt the asuras even begin to sense that he was not doing any of the striking with his discernible four limbs, he reversed tactics and used his tail to swing and move about while he thrashed about with the mace in his hands. The mace flew from hands to tail like it knew the path of its own volition. In less than three nimishas thus he had determined that he had twenty adversaries. Two were dead and none were now invisible. One was crushed under a falling tree and another had had its chest caved in by Hanuman’s mace. Most were visible and a few had failing yantras with clearly noticeable shimmers.

He now shortened his tail and flicked the mace into his left hand. He had sensed a reluctance to continue the attack from the ones hunting him. He let the lull extend kshana by kshana. He walked over to where he had dropped his other mace and curled the tip of his tail over it. He turned and took a few relaxed and uncaring steps. The creatures hunting him seemed to realize that he felt no threat from them, given that they had lost the invisibility. All of them now had their blades mounted at the wrists extended. Hanuman clearly saw all of them for the first time in this lull in the battle.

All of them seemed to have chakras, but none cared to use them. After all, what good would those do if the astras proved useless. Some also seemed to be carrying spears, which they had discarded in favour of the wrist blades. In the stillness of the forest, he also heard the faint whir of the cylinders on their shoulders which seemed to track his movements. He had noticed earlier that that was the source from which they fired their incendiary astras.

None of the asuras moved to retreat and that decided things for him. This was a fight to the finish. In that instant he heard Garuda’s roar and that gave him the opening to go on the attack. The asuras were, for a fraction of a kshana, distracted by the sound. He crushed the cylinder on the shoulder of one of the creatures at one extreme of their spread with a flick of his extending tail while at the same time he rushed the other extreme and crushed the cylinder on the shoulders of other asuras, one with his mace and another with his right fist. He then somersaulted over the shoulder of the asura whose cylinder he had crushed with his hands and flung the mace at the head of another from behind their cluster now. The head became a smear of glowing green.

His tail now shortened and snaked back towards him on the ground. It tripped up one of the creatures as it slid rapidly on the ground. None of his remaining opponents could unleash any astras for fear of taking down one of their own, for he was now behind their crude line. As the asura fell, the mace in the tail was raised high and almost came down hard on the head of another of the asuras. But this asura stepped forward while looking up to evade the strike as the mace came down. But the mace stopped its strike and stabbed into the creature’s abdomen instead, with the top spike, killing it.

The spike embedded itself so deep in the creature that Hanuman wasted no time trying to pull it out. His tail now wrapped around the ankle of the asura next to the impaled one. His tail now stiffened and extended, and it seemed like the asura was now strung upside down from a short pole. As this happened Hanuman had grabbed the asura whose cylinder he had broken, by the neck, from behind. The tail now relaxed and resembled a rope once again. It smashed the asura stuck in it on to the one who had been tripped by the mace earlier. The asura in the tail had its neck broken and the fallen creature, though alive seemed to have been severely injured. As this was happening, Hanuman snapped the neck of the asura he had grabbed. All of this happened in the space of a few kshanas.

All the remaining asuras had turned around to face him by now. So Hanuman dropped down low on to all fours and leap-rolled forward diagonally between two of the creatures. As he started the roll, his tail looped around the neck of yet another asura and stiffened to be a staff. As he ended the roll, the tail released the asura who was flung several tree lengths away. It landed with a crunch, and had clearly died of a broken back.

Hanuman stood up straight even as the asura was sailing through the air. He switched tactics from weapons and straight up punched an asura in the chest on the armour plate it was wearing. It collapsed in a heap, likely having had its heart stopped.

The remaining twelve asuras now retreated with great haste, again leaping and running away. Two were helping the injured asura move fast as well. They had lost eight of their fellows in a few nimishas and it was clearly time to retreat, regroup and rethink their next tactics. Hanuman let them leave, just like Garuda and Jambavan had done. He would not look to kill opponents who posed no threat and had no malicious intent, even if temporarily. It was time to check back with the other two and he leaped away.

Above image was generated by AI on WordPress. Its imagination of a Predator with a broken spear.

Next chapter – The Fight, on 29th August 2024

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR, PART 4 of 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , 1 Comment

Chapter 4 – Sky

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with the use of AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Garuda had reached the open shola (high altitude meadow) beyond the tree line even as Jambavan was nearing the caves. He circled around awaiting the asuras’ emergence from the trees. He continually changed his flying altitude though. The ground below was undulating and had a scattering of rocks both large and small.

His eagle eyes clearly saw four of the asuras following him on the ground below. He also realized that there were more after him down in the trees. Three of them were shimmering in and out of invisibility, clearly their yantras were malfunctioning. There were a few more down there; he could tell from the vibration and movement of the trees. The trees moved unnaturally but he could not see the source of the movement. Also, the movement was unlike what any other denizen of the forest they were in would cause.

The asuras all stopped and took positions both in the trees and on the ground just inside the clearing. They clearly had no problem following him at all, maybe their eyesight was as good as Garuda’s. He heard a faint whirr as the cylinders on their shoulders moved, likely targeting him as he flew. He currently presented a large target. Garuda was a full head and a half taller than any of these creatures, and quite a bit larger. Add to this his huge wingspan, about three times his own height and he was a big and easy target for their fiery astras.

He settled into a slow circle at a constant altitude and as expected, the whirring of the cylinders stopped. Clearly they had taken the bait and were going to all fire at him and around his current positions to prevent his escape by possible maneuvering.

But he preempted their firing by a fraction of a kshana. In the tiny space of the time it took between their decision to fire and the actual firing, he folded his wings in and dropped like a rock. Several astras flared out from the asuras and lit up the night sky, all converging on Garuda. But he was no longer there. All the creatures desperately sought out his new position to get a lock on.

Garuda had become a target just a fourth of its original size as he folded in his wings. And he was falling a lot faster than he would be flying, making it remarkably difficult for any of the asuras to get a clear aim at him for their astras. A few more astras flashed past and missed him as the asuras were now firing wildly, hoping to get in a lucky strike, albeit in futility.

When he was less than a body length above the ground, he again spread his wings and flew straight into the tree line. He went for the asuras that were invisible. They had revealed themselves to his keen observation and tracking abilities when they had fired multiple astras. He flew through a gap in the trees he had chosen as he was falling. He pulled in his wings as he was flying past a large sturdy branch and seemingly punched into the air. The head of one of the asuras snapped off in a spray of green.

In the next fraction of a kshana he again sped up by spreading his wings. He realigned the feathers in his wings and did a complete three sixty in his flight. As he did so, his left wing, with the momentum of the turnabout, sliced another invisible creature in half. More luminescent green on the trees.

He now let out a roar that was a combination of the calls of a tiger and an eagle which would scare any living being into either complete paralysis or trigger in them an urge to flee posthaste, at great speed.

Garuda’s situational awareness turned true again. His change from careful tactics to psychological warfare unnerved even these other worldly hunters. One of them let out a bellow of its own while the rest leaped out into the clearing he had come from, likely in hopes of using their astras against him as he flew out of the tree line next.

But Garuda focused on the only one that was invisible. It had leaped from its position into the clearing and was moving fast towards a large rock. He followed its trail through the impressions its feet left in the grass of the shola. He broke off a large branch nonchalantly and hurled it from where he landed temporarily. The branch speared the creature and even drilled partway into the rock towards which it was running. The dead asura materialized into visibility as it was stuck to the rock.

Now there were seven of the asuras in the clearing, four visible and three only partially visible. They had not formed any specific formation, maybe for lack of time or perhaps the terror inspired by Garuda’s roar had not worn off yet.

Garuda flew after them. He flapped his wings noisily and circled them once quickly. This predictably got them to stop running and turn around following his movement. They were in two clusters, one with three visible asuras and another shimmering cluster. This cluster obviously had the remaining three asuras. Garuda flew between the two clusters. Only one of the asuras fired an astra. But Garuda’s speed meant it missed him, but it did strike one of the creatures in the other cluster and killed it, vapourizing half its body.

Garuda now moved back and landed in the midst of the cluster with the four asuras. This time around none of them used their astras for fear of killing more of their own. They all had the blades on their wrists extended now, and advanced on Garuda, who waited for a kshana.

He then lashed out with his wings in the blink of an eye at the two asuras he was not facing. They were both beaten in one move. The one on his left, he had struck low with his wing and cut off its legs, surprising it with the speed and angle of attack. The one on his right, he had struck high. He had lifted his wing above the asura and smashed down on its head. This asura had raised its blades in defense and cut through a couple of his feathers, but that was all. Its legs bucked with the strike and its back was broken. Both of these creatures would soon be dead.

Even as he attacked with his wings, Garuda had advanced on the one in front without any pause. The two asuras left were stunned for an instant. In that instant Garuda punched at the creature in front of him. It belatedly raised its bladed right fist in defense. But the punch had been a feint. It turned into a grab, as Garuda grasped the asura’s wrist in a vicelike grip.

He then spun around while he yanked the asura off its feet and over his head, and smashed it into the one behind him. One was dead and another was out of commission for good, even if not dead immediately.

Now he advanced on the last two remaining asuras in the clearing. They had also advanced towards him as he had dispatched the other four. Now they stopped, turned tail and retreated. They ran and leaped back into the forest.

Garuda did not follow or attack. He had no desire to kill those that posed him no threat and wished him no harm. He chose to regroup with Jambavan and Hanuman to decide further tactics.

Next chapter – Trees, on 15th August 2024

Garuda as imagined on the cover art of “Garuda”, published by Amar Chitra Katha

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR, PART 3 OF 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , Leave a comment

Chapter 3 – Caves

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with the use of AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Jambavan moved towards a cave network near the clearing where they had encountered the first creature. Garuda stayed airborne and moved towards open ground with lesser tree cover. Hanuman moved back into the tree cover, the arboreal world he was most at home in.

The creatures also split off into smaller groups to go after the three quarries. Some ten followed Garuda on the ground as he flew above. Another ten or so went after Jambavan as he ran and leaped towards the cave network, which they didn’t know about though. The remainder stayed behind and started looking for and tracking Hanuman.

Jambavan entered the cave system and moved to a section that was not facing the entrance he used. Here he lay in wait for this new class of asuras he had not encountered ever before. He remembered a lot about this cave system from his past experiences in life. He had had a great duel lasting several days in this very cave system. The roof of the cave section he had chosen was low, he could just about stand upright and he had to be aware of scraping his scalp in places. It was also very dark, but he had great night vision, far better than most humans.

He did not have to wait long before he scented the first of the auras cautiously enter the cave. He could also hear the faint whirr of the cylinder on its shoulder that fired the fiery astras. His sense of smell and hearing were working to his advantage in this enclosed space.

He felt and smelled the asura move directly towards his position and it seemed to slow down as it reached the turn where he lay in ambush. This surprised him; the creature seemed to be able to follow in the exact path he had taken. It was like it could see his footsteps through the cave. This was uncanny, but useful information.

He crouched down low just as the asura was about to turn the corner. The creature was a full head taller than he was and should have some discomfort in the confined space. But then he sensed more of the asuras in the cave now. They were likely backing up the one in the lead.

Just as the asura turned the corner, he barrel rolled towards the creature and stopped right at its feet. This seemed to momentarily surprise the creature and it could not bring its astra to bear. Without missing a beat Jambavan stood straight up and pushed into the chin of his pursuer. The creature’s head smashed into the roof and cracked the mask. At the same time he snapped one of its extended wrist blades and slashed deep into its abdomen.

The cave wall exploded behind him and threw shards of rock in all directions as an astra from one of the other creatures/asuras behind the leader missed him. He was protected by the lead asura and the ones behind could not get a clear shot at him. He instantly backed away and quickly moved away into the deeper recesses of the cave, making many turns.

He had seen at least five other creatures in the cave in the flash from the astra. He had also seen that the asuras had raised their hand to protect their eyes at the flash. More useful information. He also had the blade from the asura he had just killed. An idea formed as he moved through the cave.

He moved right at a point which formed a T junction. He then ran back into the left tunnel. He then proceeded to run back and forth between the two tunnels. This ought to confuse the asuras if they could indeed follow his footsteps. He then moved back into the tunnel to the right and resumed his ambush.

The creatures came in a slouch, slower than they cared to. They paused at the T junction. Clearly they were confused, and they certainly could follow his footsteps. His observation had paid off. As soon as he felt the asura turn into the tunnel to the left, he did a leaping roll into the left tunnel across the gap between the two. As he landed, he stabbed up with the blade he had in his left hand and impaled the creature through its head even as it was checking the tunnel to the left. The asuras behind the one in the lead only saw a spray of green from the top of its head. By the time, the one behind had moved forward, Jambavan was no longer there.

This hunter stepped forward gingerly, only to have its head clean sliced off. Jambavan had leaped up onto a ledge above the entrance into the tunnel on the left, which was a much larger cavern. There were no footprints for the asura entering the tunnel to follow.

This time, he moved away from the cavern altogether. The three creatures following the two dead ones, were now extremely wary and followed very cautiously. It seemed like they almost did not want to follow.

Jambavan moved towards another exit he knew out of the caves. He now chose to exit and get behind his hunters who would not know that he was out of the caves as they followed slowly. He moved out of the exit and hurried towards the entrance he had taken originally. As he reached this entrance though, he sensed that there were auras there, perhaps guarding it against Hanuman and Garuda, or waiting for their compatriots. They were tense and jittery, which had allowed him to sense their presence. He slowed his movement and observed the entrance from a rocky outcropping.

There were two asuras. He climbed up the outcrop and leaped down close to them. He did not stand up, but stayed low and hacked off the leg of one of the creatures. It went down in a spray of green and a guttural scream. Its compatriot moved back to gain more space, as suited an opponent larger than he was and with greater reach.

At this instant, a fiery astra was fired at him from a stand of trees beyond the cave entrance. He sensed the intent of the asura firing the astra at the instant it had decided to do so and leaped out of the way. The astra blew a large hole in the rock next to the entrance. Clearly, at least one asura with its invisibility intact was hiding and awaiting his sneak attack. The two visible creatures were bait for him.

He did not know if there was more than one asura hiding around. He could sense hostile intent, but not tell the exact number of opponents. There was also the one visible creature to contend with.

He was now done being nice to these asuras. He respected their abilities and saluted them as adversaries. But their incessant use of astras was what had ticked him off. He instantaneously invoked the Brahmadanda. Only someone of his skill and experience could do it as fast as he did. The invocation involved deep spiritual equanimity and he could achieve it while in the middle of close quarters combat. Hardly could any other living being achieve this feat.

Also, he had held off using any offensive astras of his own out of respect for the times they lived in. None knew the use of divine astras in this age and he and his two friends were always watchful to not use any. And if they were forced to, they would stick to the defensive astras that protected and avoid any offensive ones, which could take life. Hanuman and Garuda would never use astras without his go ahead, with his being their elder.

Jambavan had invoked the Brahmadanda, the ultimate defensive astra. It simply swallowed all attacks against him when active. With the defense now active, he rushed the visible asura. It slashed down at him with its extended wrist blade. The blade never reached him. Just as it seemed to make contact with him, the blade disappeared and as the slashing movement ended inches beyond him, it seemed to reappear. The power of the Brahmadanda!

As this happened, multiple astra blasts seemingly struck Jambavan. Only to reveal that he was unharmed. The astras of the auras had all been swallowed by the power of his defensive astra. He proceeded to stab the asura through the heart, his strength tearing through its breastplate and impaling its heart. As the asura collapsed, he sensed no further threat to him. The creatures in hiding in the trees had retreated. The few still in the caves were likely not hunting him anymore or were still searching in the caves. Either way, he had time to check in with Hanuman and Garuda. He released the Brahmadanda and proceeded to find the others.

Next chapter – Sky, on 1st August 2024

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR, PART 2 of 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , , 2 Comments

Chapter 2 – The Ambush

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with use of AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

The three awoke at the same time. The anger and malevolent intent they felt this time around was incredible! As they awoke, they swiftly leapt out of where they lay sleeping. Garuda flew straight up. Hanuman and Jambavan leapt high off the ground. Garuda kept a hover some distance up in the air. Hanuman and Jambavan landed several body lengths from where they had taken off and immediately went into a low crouch. All three were on high alert, all senses primed and probing the surroundings for the threat sensed.

The raised javelins in the hands of the invisible creatures around never left their hands. The moment they had decided to attack, their quarry has disappeared.

The three now had no intention of waiting for the attack. The time for waiting for an enemy to reveal intentions and to try and avoid bloodshed was past. This time, the threats were several and all around. They had to eliminate them to prevent any major harm to themselves.

They had never been threatened in a long time, a very long time, not in this manner. This was a threat that challenged their immortality. They were immortal only because nothing could kill them. This time it was different. These creatures were a threat on a whole different plane, the kind the three had not encountered in more than a thousand years. The kind of malice emanating from the enemies came only with an extraordinary confidence in one’s own abilities to kill adversaries. That meant either supreme physical ability or access to knowledge, yantras and astras (weapons that are discharged, ranged weapons) akin to those in an age long past.

These creatures were all invisible and hence all three of them were uncertain of the exact places to strike. They could only sense and evade attacks. A counter attack was as yet very difficult to execute. Earlier it had been one attacker and they were three. Hence, locating the source had been easy.

Jambavan, the oldest, assumed leadership, and said to Hanuman as they landed, “We do the same thing as earlier, hurl objects in any direction a threat is sensed from, or strike out with your weapons. Try and make them visible. Then kill them. Using any means at our disposal. That’s all we can plan for now. We will have to play things by ear. Let’s split up and assemble from time to time. Convey this to Garuda.” All this was said without looking at each other. When Jambavan had finished saying this, he leapt away from his location.

Hanuman leapt high in the air and spoke out the plan. Garuda, with his superlative hearing, heard the plan as he kept up his aerial survey to locate the creatures.

Hanuman landed and immediately set about executing the plan. Jambavan and Garuda did the same. Jambavan struck tree trunks, hurled stones and small rocks and fallen branches. All this while randomly changing directions without thought and moving with great speed.

Hanuman, did one better, He used his tail as a flail with a mace at one end, while simultaneously doing all that Jambavan did. He also used his other mace to strike tree trunks. Smaller trunks shattered with just one blow and collapsed.

Garuda, dived into the canopy, broke off branches as he flew and hurled them in random directions. At times, he flew close to the ground and struck into trees as well. Or picked up fallen objects to hurl around.

The result was that there was a great whirlwind of flung objects in the night. Birds and animals called out and evacuated the area at the sudden disturbance. The result was a wonderful cacophony and confusion over a large area.

And the desired effect was triggered. As soon as the three started moving there were bursts of light emanating in spurts. Places where the bursts of light seemed to strike exploded and threw up bits of earth, wood and stone all around, adding to the confusion. There were locations where there was a clear shimmering in the air, other locations where creatures were revealed as their invisibility failed. But none of the bright astras fired by the creatures struck the warriors as there was no pattern to their movements and they were moving incredibly fast.

Garuda circled back towards where he had observed the creatures being revealed and struck out with his wings, rearranging his feathers as he did so. He caved in the chest of one in an explosion of luminescent green and crushed the head of another as he smashed it against the trunk of a tree to leave a bright green smear.

Hanuman’s tail snaked out with a mace gripped in its end in a loop. The spike at the end of his mace pierced through the abdomen of one creature and it shimmered into visibility as it died impaled on the mace. He swung his tail to free the mace and as he did so, an astra shot out of the dead creature’s shoulder, from what seemed to be a cylinder. This astra seemed to burn out a leg of another which became visible with a screech of pain. He leaped down right in front of this asura as he pulled his tail and mace back to him. He crushed the head of the creature with his other mace. Its life faded with just one blow.

Jambavan had noticed a shimmer from the corner of his eye as he was leaping through the forest. He picked up a rock as he landed and leaped back towards the shimmer. He landed right next to the shimmer, perhaps a failing of the invisibility these asuras possessed. On landing he swung with the rock in his hand. The creature blocked with the extended blade on its wrist. He could see a cylinder on its shoulder turn toward his head as it did so. He swiveled around the block and kneed the creature in the abdomen and the invisibility failed with sparks as the creature doubled over. He dropped the rock in that instant and snapped the wrist with the blades while he simultaneously crushed the cylinder with his other hand.

The creature screeched as the wrist snapped. He released the wrist and the creature relaxed, with the sudden easing of pressure on its destroyed wrist. As it started to straighten up, he twisted the wrist towards itself and stabbed its own blade into the exposed abdomen. The creature screeched again and went still.

He now snapped off the blade on its wrist and threw it behind him as he dropped down low, with awareness of an imminent threat to himself. A fiery astra shot past where his head had been and slammed into a tree in a shower of flame. But the blade he had thrown buried itself in the head of the creature that had unleashed the astra, right through the tough mask it wore. Jambavan leaped away. He had been in one place for less than 10 kshanas.

There were no more astra blasts anymore. The asuras seemed to have gone quiet in order to reassess and perhaps regroup. All three of them leaped high up and reported in. Each reported the number he had taken down and Garuda added that he had seen 4 other creatures dead by their own astra strikes. By now, Hanuman and Jambavan were almost back on the ground. Hanuman pushed off a tree branch while Jambavan did so against the ground. Garuda stayed aloft, looking about and awaiting the other two in the air again. When they were all airborne again, Jambavan suggested, “Split up and destroy these asuras. Meet again in a few minutes. In the air again”. And he descended again with gravity. The other two did not respond, they didn’t have to. Jambavan was the elder and they would follow without question. And each could work alone, none of them had to watch the other’s back.

Next chapter – Caves, on 18th July 2024

HANUMAN Vs PREDATOR – Part 1 of 6

Vikram M R, , , , , , Leave a comment

Chapter 1 – The failed hunt

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with use of AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Hanuman, Jambavan and Garuda were chatting away to glory under the clear starlit sky in the western mountains. It was incredibly hot in the jungle and the proximity to the brook nearby was a relief. Dinner was done and they were all three content.

They had not met in nearly 300 years and there was a lot of catching up to do. The bright and brilliant night sky was irresistible and that’s what drove their conversation, “How had the stars changed in the last 1500 years”. They were staring at a gap between two trees and debating what stars were there in the centuries past.

That’s when a shimmering in the air was noticed by them, most clearly by Garuda, with his eagle eyesight. Jambavan bristled internally. He was the oldest of them and had the keenest instinct. The other two felt his worry before they sensed the danger.

There was something amiss. The atmosphere changed. There was no physical change in either the 3 ancients or in the surrounding landscape. But a battle had begun. The adversaries were not yet known, but they were all three certain of a malevolent presence.

Hanuman changed his grip around one mace and reached out for the other with his tail, very gently, without obvious intent. Jambavan carried no weapons and relaxed, but more like a seasoned warrior awaits a battle with an all pervading calm. Garuda felt a flash of anger before relaxing. His wing feathers realigned gently. No one would have realized the defensive movement, save the two with him.

None of them would initiate the attack. That would reveal their strength and intent. Revealing one’s strength was the best way to reveal one’s weakness and give the enemy an opening for a counterattack. Also, an enemy who did not know of their awareness of him or her would not be alerted that initial surprise was lost and hence change tactics.

The conversation they were having never missed a beat. All the other subtle changes happened in increments and none would be the wiser. Over the course of the next few nimishas (minutes) they kept the talking on. But the feeling of being observed and hunted never went away. It just got stronger. They all felt the danger shift around them. As they waited for a move that never came, they came to an unspoken decision. It was time to flush the stalker out, or eliminate him or her. With their experience, there was no risk of hurting an innocent.

Hanuman then stood up and stretched, just like anyone sitting for too long would. He was still stretching, when his tail suddenly lashed out. It was like a whip, only a prehensile whip. One of his twin maces was held at the end of it. His tail struck into the lower branches of a tree a short distance away. There was a solid thunk. And a body fell out of one of the branches.

As the body was falling, Garuda flew. He was less than a blur. He was where he was sitting one moment and the next he was on the body that had fallen. In the kshanas (moments/seconds) it had taken for it to fall, he had seen the shape of it and determined how it would fall. He landed exactly on the body to pinion the limbs of the stalker. The creature was smaller than he was. Two long blades were still sliding out of the top of its wrist. He pushed down on them and snapped them like they were twigs. They were twigs, for one of the strongest creatures on the planet, maybe in the universe.

The stalker was strong. The snapping of the blades had freed one of its arms and punched Garuda’s jaw. That enraged the great bird. He had always been one to anger quickly. He absorbed the blow and in the movement of his body absorbing the punch, he slid off the stalker’s side and in the same motion pulled on the arm that had struck. His move pulled the creature off its back and up. Garuda had pulled his right leg to his chest as he had rolled off. Now with his arm still gripping the stalker he pushed his leg out. That flung the stalker over him and several feet away.

The stalker seemed slower now. There were green glowing patches on parts of its body. Garuda, however was up in a flash and was about to fly in for the finish, but he saw Jambavan standing over the stalker and indicating to him to slow down.

As Jambavan looked on, he heard the creature make guttural and clicking noises. Its right hand was struggling to work on something on its left wrist. Due to a sense of sudden dread at the focus of the stalker, Jambavan, went down on his knees on the left arm and snapped it with a very efficient twist of the wrist, push of the arm into the shoulder and pressure against the elbow in the wrong direction.

The stalker gave a shrill squeal and drew a chakra with its weak right arm to strike at Jambavan. But Hanuman, who had walked up, brought his mace down on the stalker’s chest heavily. That left silence in the night, with the moon just rising and lightening the sky. All three stood around their stalker for a few minutes. The stalker was dead now, the danger past.

With the moon rising, they set about examining the one that had dared attack them. It was an unusual occurrence. Nothing living had dared attack these three in a very very long time. And when it had last happened, nothing solitary had attacked any of the three.

Hanuman asked his elders, “This is not any Asura I’ve ever encountered. Nor any animal I’ve seen. What manner of Asura or animal is this?” Jambavan and Garuda had seen the world for far longer than Hanuman, but both were unsure. “Neither a Kalakeya nor a Nivatakavacha” said Garuda. “Does not look like a Daitya, Danava or the later Rakshasas to me” admitted Jambavan. “And it is too big to be a shape shifting Pishacha or a Yaksha” opined Hanuman.

Jambavan leaned in closer and said “There is something strange about the face; it seems to be a mask to me”. He fiddled around the face and there was a hissing of gases. With that the mask seemed to loosen. Jambavan carefully lifted it off to reveal the horrific visage underneath.

There was a high scaly and slimy forehead. The head was topped with very long matted hair. There were four mandibles surrounding the mouth in its snarl of death. The eyes were small in the large face.

“Well, that’s the ugliest creature I’ve ever seen.” grumbled the great bird. Jambavan examined the rest of the body and said, “The blood in this creature seems to be green!!”

Hanuman and Garuda also noted the presence of armour on the chest, arms and legs. Only the midriff seemed bare, though covered by a net.

“None of us has seen this kind of creature or asura earlier. That can only mean this is a being from beyond Bhoomi, unless Lord Vishnu deliberately kept the presence of this kind from us.”, said Hanuman. Garuda was surprised, “That is highly unlikely.” He was the closest to Lord Vishnu of the three, though all three of them could be considered part of the Preserver’s inner circle. They were less devotees of the God and more his instruments, better still friends over the ages.

“This creature is an immaculate hunter.” said Jambavan. The other two concurred, “The intent we felt was really pure and incredibly strong. Far stronger than that in any predatory animal.”

“Also, it seems to be able to stay invisible, maybe using some yantra (device/technology). When I first fought with it, there was some shimmering and sparks in parts of the armour. Parts of it were invisible, then shimmered and became visible.” said Garuda. The other two were thoroughly impressed with this ability.

“Well, nothing more to learn for now.” said Hanuman. “We might as well get some rest in a different place.” They all walked a few yojanas (unit of distance, about 12 KM) form the scene of confrontation and settled in to relax. There was little conversation and all were anyway deep in thought. They all drifted off to sleep. There was no risk in that, they were all three supreme warriors after all, sneaking up on them was beyond impossible.

Back where they had left the slain body of the stalker, there was another shimmering in the air, a much larger shimmering than that noticed by the three. A large vimana (aircraft) appeared in the air and 5 creatures resembling the deceased stalker appeared around the body. One seemed in charge and there was some clicking and hissing. 4 of them picked up the body and disappeared. The one left behind raised its left wrist to its mask, where its mouth would have been. There were more hissing and clicking noises. And then several creatures appeared around the one in charge. There were maybe 50 of the creatures. More hissing and clicking followed and the group moved out in the direction taken by the three great ones. As they went, smaller groups split away. The hunt was on, again.

Next chapter – The Ambush, on 4th July 2024