Lokapala
The Lokapala.
Eight great gods who protected Shindu.
Just as in Mesopotamia there were the Anunnaki and in Egypt the Ennead, so too in India there existed the Lokapala.
Compared to the Trimurti to which Vishnu and Shiva belonged, the number of worshippers was smaller and their status lower, yet they were still absolute beings whom not only ordinary mortals but even most gods would not dare to touch.
Among them, Indra was the leader of the Lokapala and the king of the gods apart from the Trimurti.
He might have been called a king, but he did not wield absolute authority; among the Lokapala he was the swiftest and the strongest.
How many Asuras had lost their lives at Indra’s hands.
Standing before the legendary figure who had only ever been heard of in stories, the wise man felt his heart race like a child’s.
Of course, the reason for that racing heart was longing and distance.
Yet at the very moment of Indra’s sudden appearance, the wise man was granted one truth.
“Why are you smiling?”
Indra asked the man before him, whose smile had been growing wider.
He had thought at first the man was insane, yet that did not seem to be the case.
“……If the Divine King has appeared before me at this moment, it means the method I intend to use is correct.”
“It sounds as though you believe even I amount to nothing.”
“That is a misunderstanding.”
The wise man adopted a combat stance.
It was an expression of resolve not to stop here.
“……You are arrogant.”
“I am only speaking my mind.”
“Abandon your worldly attachments even now. Although you were born human, you have grasped divinity; there is no longer any reason to cling to the life you once led.”
“I wish I could, but…… this is not something that can be done at will.”
“Is that so?”
Any further conversation was meaningless.
Soon a bolt of lightning struck the wise man.
So fast.
Indra encircled the lightning and reached for the man’s throat.
The movement was wide, yet because of the overwhelming speed it was difficult to react.
Even if not quite as fast as lightning, it was swift enough to rival it.
Humanly impossible.
The wise man barely lifted his arm in time to prevent his throat from being seized.
Still, the force of Indra’s push sent him flying, shattering hundreds of trees along the way.
While in mid-air, Indra’s fist shot toward the man’s face.
The wise man managed to twist his head aside, but he took the full impact.
Next came a kick to the abdomen and another to the thigh.
His body naturally bent forward, so Indra brought his elbow down toward the shoulder.
The wise man interposed his arm to block it.
Indra did not pause; he rained blows upon the man, yet after the first three strikes nothing was a proper hit.
This guy……
Blocked. Missed.
The cause lay not with the attacker but with the one receiving the attack.
Unlike at the beginning, the wise man now dealt with Indra’s strikes with ease.
Moreover, he launched a counter at the perfect moment.
Is he following my speed?
Impressed, he still moved to block the man’s fist.
But the fist broke Indra’s forearm and delivered a shock to his face.
What power……?
How heavy could a fist be?
His head rang.
Indra, startled by the beyond-human force, yet still moving, immediately recovered his arm and exchanged blows with the man again.
Again and again he pressed forward, until a single kick to the side sent the man crashing into the ground.
QUAAA! KUGUGUGUGUGUGUGUG! CRACK!!
The sounds came belatedly.
Broken trees fell and rising mounds of earth settled; rivers reversed course.
In the brief instant when leaves blown by the wind fell back to the ground, they resumed hundreds more exchanges.
When Indra struck dozens of times, the man struck back once; yet the one being pressed was Indra.
Why……? I am much faster than that guy.
Humiliation burned.
He had never imagined he would be pushed back like this by a human.
Another four blows and consciousness would vanish.
Defeat in hand-to-hand combat naturally led to a clash of authority.
Just as the moment seemed right, the wise man twisted his waist to deliver a follow-up.
⚔ VAJRA ⚔
The side was sliced open.
The object racing toward him at lightning speed was the Vajra.
Indra caught it and recreated the blade of lightning as before.
“[Are you going to come out in earnest now?]”
“……”
Indra offered no reply, pride wounded.
Through the Mind’s Eye the wise man saw that the Vajra was not one but seven.
Just as he had foreseen, seven Vajras rose behind Indra.
“Human yet…… do not crawl.”
“Hehe……”
His voice wavered as the threat from the boy—who still saw him as human—made him laugh awkwardly.
Whether he laughed or not, the seven Vajras became seven lightning streams and struck from every direction.
Indra himself swung his lightning blade and pressed the attack.
The wise man created hundreds of hands to meet it.
BOOM! KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!!
The surrounding area was flattened.
Between the meteors raining from all sides, Indra’s Vajras danced as lightning.
It was a battle straight out of myth.
Yet the fight did not last long.
The exchanges at lightning speed ended in lightning speed.
“Kuhk!”
Indra’s movements were completely readable to the wise man.
The fist drove into his chest; blood sprayed as he crashed to the ground, unable to move for a moment.
The moment Indra’s consciousness cut off, the surrounding Vajras lost power and fell to the earth.
That would end it; Indra would be out of combat.
Yet even knowing this, the wise man did not strike a follow-up, because a massive water pillar passed right in front of him at that precise instant.
“I told you not to come first, didn’t I?”
A woman with blue hair that trailed all the way to her waist lifted Indra up.
Water flowing from her fingertips seeped into Indra’s body, healing wounds and injuries.
“……You are late.”
Indra’s remark was followed by more figures appearing.
Not one woman alone.
A man riding a chariot in the sky.
A man rising from the ground amid flames.
A boy who appeared with the wind.
Each bore a strong individuality, yet the divine aura they exuded was not inferior to Indra’s.
The wise man guessed who the opponents were without much trouble.
“More than half the Lokapala have personally descended into the human world because of me…… in that sense, I have accomplished something.”
The wise man tossed out a meaningless joke.
Yet beneath the surface he was extremely tense.
“Oh, you beat Indra up like that. Are you really human?”
Bayu, the boy, exclaimed in admiration.
“Being born human means nothing. You can tell just by the divine aura. He is a powerful god beyond the Lokapala.”
Surya, the sun god, chided him.
The man entwined in flames yawned, gripping axes in both hands.
“Stop talking nonsense and finish it quickly. I’m tired.”
Anyone would have guessed at once that the man was Agni, the fire god.
“Even so, to hammer one guy like that is too much.”
“Understand. It means you are not an easy opponent. Arhat.”
The woman with long hair—probably the goddess Varuna—spoke with a bitter smile.
She had meant it as respect, yet the wise man felt it was an excessive title.
“Let’s stop here. You know how senseless what you are doing now is, don’t you?”
“……It really can’t be helped. If I hadn’t known the method, I could have given up, but knowing it and abandoning it is not easy.”
“You are no longer human in the racial sense. The time left to you will be far greater than now. I say this with reluctance, but as time passes the pain and attachments in your heart will grow lighter. Do not make a greater mistake.”
“I may. But not now.”
The wise man released his divinity, sensing that further conversation was unnecessary.
“What more is there to say?”
Agni advanced before Varuna.
The axe in his hand blazed red.
“If it was going to stop me with words, I would not have come this far.”
“……It has become thus…… Is this also fate?”
Agni began hurling the axe at the wise man, and the battle between the Lokapala and the wise man resumed.