The Woman Who Wanted Revenge

It was raining heavily around the southern region of the Nuswapala kingdom. Not far from the southern coast, a large volcano billowed smoke. The people of Ratubumi village believed that the volcano housed a weapon belonging to a god. 

Several warriors tried to explore the inside of the volcano, but none of them managed to find the weapon. They were all killed by the creatures guarding the cave inside the volcano. 

"We must continue our journey on foot." Arya Santanu landed right on a rocky cliff near the volcano. 

"We must find shelter. I sense the presence of some humans not far from here. There seems to be a village at the end of the forest." Asura whispered, indicating the presence of a village.

"Alright, let's go there." Arya Santanu walked with his consciousness fading. 

The side effects of the union between him and Asura had made it difficult for his body to move. He felt a tightness in his chest. Asura's power seemed to destroy the energy in his body. He walked while supporting his body with his hands holding on to the tree trunk, trying to stay conscious and strengthen himself. 

"Asura, my energy seemed to run out instantly, what happened?" Arya Santanu felt curious and confused.

"It's because I'm dominating your body. My energy seems to be pushing your energy out. You could say your soul is in danger if the process of energy attraction between us continues." Asura left Arya Santanu's body quickly.

He took the form of a dove formed from red flames. Under a large shady tree, Arya Santanu began to fall and leaned against the trunk. He had not expected that the consequences of using demonic power were so terrifying.

"Asura... please ...."

Arya Santanu could only see the raindrops falling between the leaves and the ground. Her eyes began to twinkle, her mind began to drift far away to other places. Arya tried to hold it in. But unfortunately, he could not. And finally, the young man fainted.

"Arya Santanu! Arya?" 

Asura tried to help her, but he could not take on a larger form like a tiger, lion, human or anything else. Once he merges with a human body, the human body will become his host. If the host dies, then Asura will also die. The risk was like that, but if it wasn't like that, then he couldn't get his revenge.

Under the pouring rain, a woman cleared a path through the tall bushes to reach the place where Arya Santanu was. Dewi Sari Kencana, as she was called, a female warrior from the opposite country found the young man lying unconscious under a large tree. She immediately approached the young stranger and tried to check his pulse and eyes. Dewi Sari Kencana was also known as a medicine man and herbalist. 

"He's exhausted. His body is very cold, his blood flow is too slow. This is serious! He could die!" Dewi Sari Kencana immediately concentrated her energy. She channeled her inner energy into Arya Santanu's body by placing her palms on his chest.

Slowly, Dewi's pure energy began to penetrate and spread to Arya's body. However, when going deeper into Arya Santanu's subconscious, Dewi Sari Kencana was surprised by a figure sitting on a throne with the base of a human skull. The energy, aura and form of Arya Santanu's subconscious were dominated by the color dark red. A pool of blood appeared on the surface of the floor that Dewi Sari Kencana stepped on. Red flames also surround the room.

"Who are you?" Dewi Sari Kencana asked.

"Don't you know from the energy you feel?" Asura changed into the same form as Arya Santanu, but on his forehead grew two horns that looked up. 

"What are you doing in this young man's body, demon?!" Dewi Sari Kencana guessed with her feelings. 

She had guessed from the beginning when she first channeled the magic into Arya Santanu's body. A figure so dark and gloomy that it pierced her soul. The stench of fish and burning coal was so strong from Arya Santanu's body.

"I am Asura. One of the demon generals who just got his freedom. A hundred years locked up in a stone prison by the gods made me eager to burn the demons that locked me up." Asura grimaced.

"Demon general? Are you one of Maghanada Indrajit's friends? Or is your master King Kala Karna?" Dewi Sari Kencana had to confirm something.

"What do you know about them?" Asura asked.

"They are invaders! How dare they destroy the country of Nuswapala in the name of power! King Kala Karna has wiped out several small kingdoms in Nuswapala, so that some of the people and members of the kingdom who were displaced fled to Swarnadwipa. I will not spare him and all his demon friends!" Dewi Sari Kencana clenched her fists tightly. An expression of anger and vengeance radiated from her face.

"Maghanada Indrajit is no ordinary demon. He has the nickname of the god of war. If you think you can finish him off easily, you're wrong. To defeat him, we must eliminate his twelve brothers first. Without them, he's very weak! After that, I will crush his head!" Asura was furious. His emotions were running high and made him envision the death of Maghanada Indrajit.

Asura explained about his agreement with Arya Santanu. He told him what happened to Raka Caraka; Arya Santanu's younger brother who was killed by royal troops carrying the demon flag. The young man asked Asura for help to become stronger and agreed. Then finally he was in the body of the young man and united with him. Hearing this, Dewi Sari Kencana thought that the fate of herself and Arya Santanu was the same. She was a princess of a small kingdom that had been destroyed by Kala Karna. Both her parents were in Swarnadwipa, seeking refuge with the king there. 

"I see. That means you two want to hunt down and kill the thirteen demons, right?" Dewi Sari Kencana looked sharply at Asura.

"That's right. My target is their death. And if you need another bonus, I can give you the head of King Kala Karna. He is just a vessel. The one who really leads Nuswapala is Maghanada Indrajit." Asura smiled.

"Then we can work together. You, me and Arya Santanu will hunt them down. And until they are all gone, I will not return to Swarnadwipa!" Dewi Sari Kencana unconsciously took an oath.

Not long after, Arya Santanu woke up. Both eyes began to open, although not perfect, but Arya Santanu felt someone in front of him. He glimpsed a beautiful woman with a beautiful hairpin in her long black hair. 

"Who are you?" Arya Santanu tried to correct her sitting position.

"Are you awake?" Dewi Sari Kencana asked.

"Of course. Then who are you? Are you the one who helped me?" Arya Santanu heard a whisper from Asura.

"He will help us. But there is one problem coming. I feel that there is a large army heading towards us. There are so many horsemen. Their horses run like they are being harassed by their master's anger. They are not human and not demons. I feel it, there is no soul inside their bodies." Asura was still guessing what army was heading towards them.

Arya Santanu got up again. He supported his weight by holding on to the tree trunk. Dewi Sari Kencana also helped him. The rain that had been pouring down eased. The young man who did not have a martial arts foundation began to feel the presence of the inner power of the warriors or other creatures of unknown distance. He chose to pull Dewi Sari Kencana's hand and went with her into the dense forest.

"What are you guys doing? Why are we running?" Dewi Sari Kencana asked.

"There are many horsemen heading this way. We need to find a place to hide. They will probably head to the village at the end of the forest." Arya Santanu ran through the tall bushes together with the strange woman he had just seen.

"Horse troops? Are they from the Nuswapala kingdom?" Dewi Sari Kencana tried to infer.

"No, Asura says they have no souls. They are not living beings, but they are not demons either. I'm afraid they are a notorious army. Have you heard of the undead army near Mount Kulon?" Arya Santanu stopped and immediately hid behind a tree. He hugged Dewi Sari Kencana's body and told her to be quiet.

The cavalry passed right behind the tree where they were hiding. The sound of dozens of horses hitting the ground broke the silence.

"They're the undead?!" Dewi Sari Kencana was shocked.

"I sense that there is a demonic spirit residing around this forest. Search and confirm if he is here! Hurry!" The undead general shouted and ordered his troops to search the corners of the forest.