Chapter 20:
Rescue?
Hizashi No Kage
Hizashi No Kage
Chapter - 20
One day Angela came to Akash and said, “Hurry up and get ready, we have to go to Shashi’s wedding.”
“What am I even going to do there?” Akash replied. He had just come back from training and wanted to rest.
“Hey, there’ll be really good food—shahi paneer will be there too,” Angela said.
“When do we have to leave?” — Akash was already standing ready.
Shashi was Shashav’s eldest sister. Today was her wedding—to some rich man from Kija city. Akash had no interest in any of these matters. All he cared about was eating shahi paneer and naan. And sweets too.
He hadn’t even properly seen Shashi.
The entire wedding finished. Shashi left the village with her husband, and Akash was still lost in the taste of paneer.
He never had much interest in other people’s weddings anyway.
But while he was stuffing himself with food during the wedding, something amusing happened.
An 11-year-old boy came up to him. This was Mishu, the son of Aunt Sarsi who lived in the neighbourhood. Akash treated him like his own little brother because he had literally watched this boy’s entire life unfold before his eyes.
“Big Brother, can I also become a knight like you?” Mishu asked.
Akash puffed up a little with pride. He said, “Look, little one, I haven’t actually become a knight yet. But if you want to become like me, first choose a dream… Alright, tell me—what would you do after becoming a knight?”
“I… I would build a palace, then buy lots and lots of things. And…” — Mishu kept talking.
“Your dream is very nice, but if you want to become a knight, think of something even bigger,” Akash said.
“Bigger than that? An even bigger palace?” — Mishu said after thinking.
Akash burst out laughing and said, “No, silly. Think about protecting someone. Do you want to save anyone apart from your own family?”
Now Mishu just kept thinking—he couldn’t give an answer.
Then Akash said, “When you find someone—whom you want to protect even more than your own life, that’s when you’ll be worthy of becoming a knight.”
“Do you also want to protect someone, Big Brother?” — Mishu asked innocently in his childlike way.
At this question, Akash fell silent. Because the person for whom he wanted to become a knight didn’t even need him.
--
Ever since the holidays began, Akash kept remembering Manjula and Zara again and again. Every moment of every day.
He would keep wondering whether Zara and Manjula ever thought of him too. He knew for sure that Zara definitely missed his papa, but Manjula? Why would she remember Akash?
Amid all these thoughts, one question tormented Akash the most: *What exactly am I doing with my life?* He had no answer.
What place did he have in Manjula’s life? None. What did she think of him? Nothing.
Even if by some miracle she remembered that childhood incident, would Manjula start liking Akash? No.
It was crystal clear that Manjula only loved Zavier.
Akash remained tangled in all these questions. And now a new worry had arisen. After coming home, he realised that Angela and Bron were growing old. They couldn’t do as much as before. So shouldn’t he stay here and help them? Did that mean Akash should give up his dream of becoming a knight?
And, he still had almost four more years of studies ahead, and who knew—he might even get expelled in the meantime.
And the biggest question of all: *Who was he even wanting to become a knight for now?*
In truth, Akash was seriously considering leaving the academy.
But the pull of Manjula and Zara still remained.
Akash was caught in a deep dilemma.
--
Today was the 24th day of the holidays. Akash had just finished his lunch when Aunt Sarsi came to their house. She looked very worried. She immediately said, “Akash beta, can you use your magic to find Mishu? He’s nowhere to be found.”
Akash listened to everything. Mishu had gone to play with friends in the morning but hadn’t returned yet. Sarsi was especially anxious because for several days there had been reports of many children going missing.
Akash immediately used his Light Radar skill, but he couldn’t sense Mishu’s presence anywhere in the village or the surrounding areas. He expanded the range. Only then did he sense Mishu in Kija city. Some people were abducting him and taking him away.
Akash simply told Sarsi, “Don’t worry, he’s fine. I’ll definitely bring him back.” With that, he picked up his axe and ran toward the city. Neelu was perched on his shoulder.
He reached Kija city very quickly, but by then the kidnappers had already moved to the next city. And when he reached the next city, he saw that they had gone underground and were heading toward the capital. Akash continued following them. Through whatever secret path the kidnappers had used to go underground, Akash followed.
The path passed through a manhole in a deserted alley. Who knows which underground sewage tunnels Akash navigated, but he kept going deeper and deeper underground.
But he couldn’t go beyond a certain point. He now stood in front of a very large gate covered in magic. He could have destroyed the gate and gone further, but then the kidnappers would know he was coming.
And there was another reason—the main one. Using his radar skill, Akash had already sensed that behind this gate were around 100 demons and also 30–40 adult humans who were collaborating with the demons. And roughly 500 small children were locked in cells.
Akash realised this matter was beyond his reach. He couldn’t do anything alone. Something very big was happening here. He immediately turned back. Up to the surface.
Only one girl’s name came to his mind—the one who could help him. He ran straight toward the palace.
The palace where the Windheart family lived could be divided into two parts: the inner and the outer palace. Akash, running, reached the outer palace. Immediately a royal guard stopped him.
Akash told the guard only this: “Demons are about to do something in the city. Let me go inside.”
At first the guard ignored him and told him to leave, but when Akash said that he knew Princess Manjula and Princess Ramya and that he was a student of the Wand and Sword Academy, the guard became serious.
The guard took him to his commander. This commander was in charge of the outer palace’s security. His name was Ajeez Truman.
Ajeez listened to Akash’s entire story.
“I and a few of my soldiers will go with you and see whether you’re telling the truth or not. Only if it turns out to be true will I take this matter further,” Ajeez said.
“You know how much time that will waste. Those children’s lives are in danger. Just let me meet Manjula once—”
Ajeez gritted his teeth in anger and said, “Quiet! Don’t take our princess’s name with your filthy mouth. Either do as I say and take me to that place, or get lost.”
Akash had no choice but to agree to Ajeez’s terms. He took Ajeez and a few of his soldiers underground. Through the maze of sewage tunnels, when they reached that door, suddenly many demons appeared from all around and surrounded them.
Akash set Neelu down from his shoulder and took a fighting stance. But Ajeez and his soldiers stood there completely relaxed. Akash couldn’t understand. Then suddenly Ajeez attacked Akash himself and pinned him down.
Akash realised these soldiers were also working with the demons. He immediately shouted, “Neelu, run! Get out of here quickly!”
Neelu had no choice but to run. He slipped through everyone’s legs with such speed that no one could catch him.
What could a slime do anyway? Thinking this, Ajeez didn’t even bother sending anyone after him.
Then the gate opened, and out came the demon who was the mastermind behind this entire conspiracy—an old demon walking with the support of a staff. The demon’s name was **Gilstone Del Drone**.
As soon as Gilstone saw Akash, he said, “Well, well! You’ve outdone yourself today, Ajeez. You caught a Light magic user. I’m going to make very good use of him.”
Ajeez himself hadn’t known that Akash was a Light magic user, but on receiving the praise, he quietly nodded.
Akash was not killed. Gilstone wanted to conduct experiments on him later.
He was locked in a cell. Along with that, Gilstone encased his entire body in a thick stone wall—only his head was left outside. Gilstone’s magic was so powerful that Akash could not escape the wall by any means.
Chapter - 20
One day Angela came to Akash and said, “Hurry up and get ready, we have to go to Shashi’s wedding.”
“What am I even going to do there?” Akash replied. He had just come back from training and wanted to rest.
“Hey, there’ll be really good food—shahi paneer will be there too,” Angela said.
“When do we have to leave?” — Akash was already standing ready.
Shashi was Shashav’s eldest sister. Today was her wedding—to some rich man from Kija city. Akash had no interest in any of these matters. All he cared about was eating shahi paneer and naan. And sweets too.
He hadn’t even properly seen Shashi.
The entire wedding finished. Shashi left the village with her husband, and Akash was still lost in the taste of paneer.
He never had much interest in other people’s weddings anyway.
But while he was stuffing himself with food during the wedding, something amusing happened.
An 11-year-old boy came up to him. This was Mishu, the son of Aunt Sarsi who lived in the neighbourhood. Akash treated him like his own little brother because he had literally watched this boy’s entire life unfold before his eyes.
“Big Brother, can I also become a knight like you?” Mishu asked.
Akash puffed up a little with pride. He said, “Look, little one, I haven’t actually become a knight yet. But if you want to become like me, first choose a dream… Alright, tell me—what would you do after becoming a knight?”
“I… I would build a palace, then buy lots and lots of things. And…” — Mishu kept talking.
“Your dream is very nice, but if you want to become a knight, think of something even bigger,” Akash said.
“Bigger than that? An even bigger palace?” — Mishu said after thinking.
Akash burst out laughing and said, “No, silly. Think about protecting someone. Do you want to save anyone apart from your own family?”
Now Mishu just kept thinking—he couldn’t give an answer.
Then Akash said, “When you find someone—whom you want to protect even more than your own life, that’s when you’ll be worthy of becoming a knight.”
“Do you also want to protect someone, Big Brother?” — Mishu asked innocently in his childlike way.
At this question, Akash fell silent. Because the person for whom he wanted to become a knight didn’t even need him.
--
Ever since the holidays began, Akash kept remembering Manjula and Zara again and again. Every moment of every day.
He would keep wondering whether Zara and Manjula ever thought of him too. He knew for sure that Zara definitely missed his papa, but Manjula? Why would she remember Akash?
Amid all these thoughts, one question tormented Akash the most: *What exactly am I doing with my life?* He had no answer.
What place did he have in Manjula’s life? None. What did she think of him? Nothing.
Even if by some miracle she remembered that childhood incident, would Manjula start liking Akash? No.
It was crystal clear that Manjula only loved Zavier.
Akash remained tangled in all these questions. And now a new worry had arisen. After coming home, he realised that Angela and Bron were growing old. They couldn’t do as much as before. So shouldn’t he stay here and help them? Did that mean Akash should give up his dream of becoming a knight?
And, he still had almost four more years of studies ahead, and who knew—he might even get expelled in the meantime.
And the biggest question of all: *Who was he even wanting to become a knight for now?*
In truth, Akash was seriously considering leaving the academy.
But the pull of Manjula and Zara still remained.
Akash was caught in a deep dilemma.
--
Today was the 24th day of the holidays. Akash had just finished his lunch when Aunt Sarsi came to their house. She looked very worried. She immediately said, “Akash beta, can you use your magic to find Mishu? He’s nowhere to be found.”
Akash listened to everything. Mishu had gone to play with friends in the morning but hadn’t returned yet. Sarsi was especially anxious because for several days there had been reports of many children going missing.
Akash immediately used his Light Radar skill, but he couldn’t sense Mishu’s presence anywhere in the village or the surrounding areas. He expanded the range. Only then did he sense Mishu in Kija city. Some people were abducting him and taking him away.
Akash simply told Sarsi, “Don’t worry, he’s fine. I’ll definitely bring him back.” With that, he picked up his axe and ran toward the city. Neelu was perched on his shoulder.
He reached Kija city very quickly, but by then the kidnappers had already moved to the next city. And when he reached the next city, he saw that they had gone underground and were heading toward the capital. Akash continued following them. Through whatever secret path the kidnappers had used to go underground, Akash followed.
The path passed through a manhole in a deserted alley. Who knows which underground sewage tunnels Akash navigated, but he kept going deeper and deeper underground.
But he couldn’t go beyond a certain point. He now stood in front of a very large gate covered in magic. He could have destroyed the gate and gone further, but then the kidnappers would know he was coming.
And there was another reason—the main one. Using his radar skill, Akash had already sensed that behind this gate were around 100 demons and also 30–40 adult humans who were collaborating with the demons. And roughly 500 small children were locked in cells.
Akash realised this matter was beyond his reach. He couldn’t do anything alone. Something very big was happening here. He immediately turned back. Up to the surface.
Only one girl’s name came to his mind—the one who could help him. He ran straight toward the palace.
The palace where the Windheart family lived could be divided into two parts: the inner and the outer palace. Akash, running, reached the outer palace. Immediately a royal guard stopped him.
Akash told the guard only this: “Demons are about to do something in the city. Let me go inside.”
At first the guard ignored him and told him to leave, but when Akash said that he knew Princess Manjula and Princess Ramya and that he was a student of the Wand and Sword Academy, the guard became serious.
The guard took him to his commander. This commander was in charge of the outer palace’s security. His name was Ajeez Truman.
Ajeez listened to Akash’s entire story.
“I and a few of my soldiers will go with you and see whether you’re telling the truth or not. Only if it turns out to be true will I take this matter further,” Ajeez said.
“You know how much time that will waste. Those children’s lives are in danger. Just let me meet Manjula once—”
Ajeez gritted his teeth in anger and said, “Quiet! Don’t take our princess’s name with your filthy mouth. Either do as I say and take me to that place, or get lost.”
Akash had no choice but to agree to Ajeez’s terms. He took Ajeez and a few of his soldiers underground. Through the maze of sewage tunnels, when they reached that door, suddenly many demons appeared from all around and surrounded them.
Akash set Neelu down from his shoulder and took a fighting stance. But Ajeez and his soldiers stood there completely relaxed. Akash couldn’t understand. Then suddenly Ajeez attacked Akash himself and pinned him down.
Akash realised these soldiers were also working with the demons. He immediately shouted, “Neelu, run! Get out of here quickly!”
Neelu had no choice but to run. He slipped through everyone’s legs with such speed that no one could catch him.
What could a slime do anyway? Thinking this, Ajeez didn’t even bother sending anyone after him.
Then the gate opened, and out came the demon who was the mastermind behind this entire conspiracy—an old demon walking with the support of a staff. The demon’s name was **Gilstone Del Drone**.
As soon as Gilstone saw Akash, he said, “Well, well! You’ve outdone yourself today, Ajeez. You caught a Light magic user. I’m going to make very good use of him.”
Ajeez himself hadn’t known that Akash was a Light magic user, but on receiving the praise, he quietly nodded.
Akash was not killed. Gilstone wanted to conduct experiments on him later.
He was locked in a cell. Along with that, Gilstone encased his entire body in a thick stone wall—only his head was left outside. Gilstone’s magic was so powerful that Akash could not escape the wall by any means.
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