The group huddled behind the trees, their breaths uneven but their minds connected through Ruhi's telepathic link. The air was heavy with the smell of burnt bark and smoke. Their bodies ached, but there was no time to rest one wrong move, and that man could wipe them out completely.

Aarav caught on immediately. " Ruhi and I will distract him. We'll keep him focused on us, make him think we're the main threat."

Sanvi's lips curved into a confident smirk. "And I'll handle Ekaksh. That basement we sensed earlier he's there. I can use my portal magic to slip through the basement. I'll get him out before that psycho even realizes."

The group exchanged brief nods. They all knew the risk. One mistake, one wrong calculation, and they'd all end up like the villagers gone without a trace.

"Be careful," Ruhi murmured softly, her eyes flicking toward Kian and then to Sanvi. "If anything happens-"

"Nothing will," Kian interrupted, his tone flat but his eyes sharp. "Just stick to the plan."

Aarav gave a short signal, and they broke into motion. Ruhi and Aarav moved out first, stepping from behind the trees and into the clearing where the man stood, still surrounded by faint trails of smoke. His posture was relaxed, too relaxed, as if this entire fight was just a game to him.

"Oh? You're back already?" His voice was smooth, mocking. "I was beginning to think you'd run away."

Ruhi and Aarav didn't answer. Aarav unleashed a wave of compressed flame while Ruhi followed with shards of glowing lighting and fire mix, with wind energy, each magic aimed to catch his attention. The man countered lazily, flicking his wrist to nullify each blast.

Meanwhile, far behind the trees, Kian closed his eyes, focusing his energy. The forest blurred around him as he extended his awareness, his mind reaching toward the man like invisible threads of energy. Every heartbeat, every word, every flicker of thought began to pulse faintly in his mind.

At the same time, Sanvi swirls an oval of golden-blue light before her, rippling like water. Without hesitation, she stepped through.

Inside the basement, it was cold and dark. The faint sound of muffled magic chains filled the air. Her eyes caught a familiar figure tied against the wall. "Ekaksh!" she hissed.

He looked up, surprised. "Sanvi?"

"Don't talk. I'll get you out." She placed her palm on the chain, focusing her lightning energy into it. The magic seal sparked and shattered, releasing him. He stumbled slightly, rubbing his wrists.

"How long was I gone?" he asked, still dazed.

"Long enough," she said shortly. "Come on. The others are fighting for their lives."

Together they ran through the portal she reopened, appearing beside Aarav and Ruhi within seconds. Aarav turned, startled but relieved. "You actually did it."

The man's smile faltered for the first time. His gaze darkened, confusion flickering across his expression. "How is this possible? He was bound with magic binding chain." He stepped forward, his voice rising. "You little brats played some trick on me, didn't you? Doesn't matter. I'll kill all of you anyway." His eyes darted across the group. "But where's the fifth brat?"

Kian remained hidden behind the thick tree line, eyes shut, his breathing steady as his consciousness finally broke through into the man's mind.

A rush of chaotic thoughts hit him all at once arrogance, greed, echoes of madness. And then words began to form, sharp and clear.

These kids think they can win. Pathetic. No one can defeat me. I have the Shinigami's power. My power might be low level power but still . Even I don't know how they could possibly counter it. This Deadly Wish may be one of the weaker ones, but still… no one has ever managed to impress even one of the fifteen Shinigamis. I'm the only one. I sacrificed everything my wife, my children to gain it. That shinigami finally gave in.

Kian's eyes tightened. He forced himself to focus, digging deeper.

If they even want to beat me, they'll never know what my wish truly grants. The Shinigami blessed me with the ability to nullify any attack I recognize completely & weaken their defense. No matter how powerful the magic, if I've seen it once, it's useless.

Kian's fists clenched, sweat dripping from his temple. He had heard enough. He broke the connection and exhaled shakily.

Through the mind link, his voice echoed clearly in the others' heads. Listen to me carefully. I know what his Deadly Wish is. He can nullify any attack he recognizes. Every attack he sees once becomes useless against him. That's why none of our magic worked.

Aarav's mind voice came next, tense but steady. So what do we do now?

Kian's eyes opened, the sharp glint of determination replacing his exhaustion. Now that we know what he can do, we'll make sure he never gets to recognize our next move. 

Ekaksh blinked up at Kian and said, breathless with the leftover adrenaline, "How about we play defensive the whole time, then?"

Kian's eyes narrowed. His voice was sharp. "It's not even been a few minutes since you came back and you're already talking nonsense. Defensive? How long do you think you can defend against him? At some point you will run out of energy. And anyway, making defensive weak is part of his wish. Don't be so naive."

 Ekaksh flinched, then brightened as if struck by a new thought. "Oh, I got one more idea."

Kian's tone was flat. "Shut up. Not again. I do not want to hear your pathetic idea."

Ekaksh's voice went small for a second. "Please, please, please hear me out. If you listen, I will do anything. I will fulfill one wish of yours."

Kian sighed in irritation but there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. "Okay, fine. Tell me."

Ekaksh launched into it, all earnest and ridiculous. "What if I use my transformation magic to become a ghost and scare him?"

Aarav pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sound that was half laugh, half groan. "Don't be stupid, Ekaksh. This is not the time for jokes."

Ekaksh waved his hands, indignant. "I am not joking."

Kian let out a low, controlled laugh that had the edges of steel in it. "I have an idea," he said. "It sounds risky, but it might work if we time it perfectly." He looked at each of them in turn, coldly efficient now that the plan had come together in his head. "We will create smoke by combining water and fire. Ekaksh, you will transform into a rabbit and go in front of him. Sanvi, you will enter the basement and retrieve the magic binding chains. Aarav, use your spatial magic to get behind him so you can strike from the back. Ekaksh, while you are a rabbit, you will go near him, then switch back into human form and strike him, surprising him. At the same time Aarav will attack from behind, and Ruhi and I will attack from the sides, and ruhi add him in our mind communication, so ekaksh and sanvi can speak rubbish and scream to stop him from thinking. He can block at most three attacks at once. The others will hit him. Sanvi, the moment he is struck, you bind him with those chains so he cannot move. If timing is right, we overwhelm him while his defenses are still trying to adjust."

He paused, letting the plan land in each of their faces, watching for the tiny flicker of understanding or doubt. Ekaksh's grin returned, ridiculous and wide. Aarav's jaw set with that quiet determination Ruhi knew so well. Sanvi's eyes flashed with a dangerous excitement. Ruhi nodded once, steady and calm. They all felt the weight of it. The gamble was enormous. The hope was simple.

They moved like a single organism, every breath and step tuned to the same desperate rhythm. Kian's plan felt reckless even as it clicked into place, but reckless was better than being ground down until nothing was left.

Aarav and Ruhi stood up from behind their cover and stepped into the clearing as if they were the ones starting the fight again. Aarav let his flame flare openly, then folded it into a narrow stream that licked the forest floor. Ruhi answered with water, letting it steam and curl where the two elements met. The steam rose fast, white and thick, swallowing the light and turning the air sour and heavy. The smoke rolled over the ground like a low cloud, and the man's eyes narrowed as the world blurred between him and his enemies.

Ekaksh crouched very small behind a mossy stone and closed his hands. His face shifted, features shrinking and softening in a ridiculous, uncanny way until he was no longer a stupid prankster but a trembling rabbit with a tuft of pink hair in its ears. He stamped his tiny paws in the dirt and darted out into the wispy smoke toward the man as if chased by some invisible thing.

Sanvi didn't hesitate. She slipped away using spatial magic into the basement, that they had found earlier. Inside the basement she moved along the shadowed corridor on silent feet until she found the iron rack where the magic binding chains had been kept. She opened her portal, threw the chains into the portal, then herself stepping out not far from the man , hiding behind the tree.

Aarav drifted into place the way a shadow folded into another shadow. He did not run through any showy opening.  He materialized at the man's flank, the air around him humming as he pushed his presence forward. He had fire braided into one fist and a quiet, fierce control in his stance.

Kian, lodged about eight hundred meters away, had his mind tethered to the man. He had closed his eyes and reached inward, threading himself into the enemy's thought-stream. He felt arrogance, confusion, and a brittle certainty that nothing could touch him. He felt the man's attention turn broad and then narrow as the smoke thickened, and that was the moment Kian had been waiting for.

The smoke thickened in the air, curling through the trees like a restless spirit, the man was not able to get rid of the smoke because it was neither defensive nor offensive. The plan had to be perfect. There was no other way .

Ruhi stood hidden behind a tree, her hand pressed to her temple as she reached out with her mind. Her voice echoed inside the others’ heads, calm but commanding. On my signal, everyone moves. Ekaksh, when I say now, shout. Confuse him. Kian, be ready to strike. Aarav, behind him. Sanvi, wait for your moment.

The air went still, only the faint rustle of leaves whispering above them. Then, Ruhi’s voice again, firm. Now.

From the mist, a small white rabbit bounded forward  Ekaksh in his transformed form  hopping fearlessly into the open. The man frowned, momentarily thrown off by the ridiculous sight. And then, as planned, Ekaksh’s form twisted and stretched back into his human body. He landed on his feet, drew in a deep breath, and screamed with all the force he had through the mind communication which was only between ruhi ,ekaksh, and the man , a wild, ear-splitting shout .

The man screamed, blinking hard as the sound pierced through his focus, holding his ears in pain . That single moment of confusion was all they needed. Aarav’s attack came from behind, his fire bursting like molten light, while Ruhi’s fire+ lighting magic surged forward with sharp precision. Kian’s wind-slashed katana cut through the haze at the same time, and Ekaksh charged from the front, swinging hard with wind + fire magic.

All four of them attacked together  from front, behind, and both sides  their powers intertwining in one dazzling strike. The man roared, reacting just in time to nullify three of the attacks, his defense magic flickering like a dark shield. But Kian’s plan had worked  Ekaksh’s shout had rattled him, and his reaction came a heartbeat too late. Aarav’s attack slipped past his defense, striking him across the back in a flash of searing energy.

The man staggered forward, stunned, his magic trembling. And before he could regain his balance, the air beside him rippled  Sanvi appeared through a glowing portal, her face set with fierce determination. In one smooth motion, she unfurled the magic binding chains and wrapped them around him. The links glowed as they tightened, reacting to her command. The man thrashed, furious, his power surging in waves, but the chains held firm, strengthened by the lingering energy of Ruhi and Aarav’s magic.

The five of them stood there, their breathing heavy, eyes locked on the man who had nearly destroyed them. The forest fell into silence except for the faint hum of the bindings. For the first time, the enemy looked uncertain and they, though exhausted, stood tall together, the plan executed to perfection.