Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Six.

Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Six.
Meera and Arjun ran as fast as they could, his hand wrapped tightly around hers, pulling her along, guiding her through the crumbling halls.

Pieces of the ceiling kept crashing down around them, the smoke making her lungs burn, but she didn’t dare let go.

Arjun’s grip was tight on her.

When they took the next turn, they came face to face with a tall, blood-soaked figure.

Meera froze, her heart leaping into her throat. Her eyes widened as she raised the gun in instinct, trembling, staring at the man who looked more beast than human.

His eyes were wild, his body slick with blood and sweat, the heavy machine gun gripped like an extension of his arm.

Her breath hitched.

“Meera, no..” Arjun said quickly, stepping forward. His hand pressed gently over the barrel of her gun, lowering it. “He’s with us.”

She blinked rapidly, trying to calm her pounding heart. “He..he’s with us?” she whispered, still shaken.

Varun’s lips curved in a smirk, his eyes glinting with something mischievous. “Wow..” he said, his voice deep, amused. “You’ve got guts. Brave girl.”

Arjun’s jaw clenched, glaring at him.

But Meera’s eyes softened in recognition. “Wait… you look familiar..” she breathed.

Varun tilted his head, that smirk deepening as if he was pleased she noticed.

Before anything else could be said, another explosion rocked the mansion. The floor beneath them shook violently, flames bursting down the corridor behind them.

“Let’s move out!” Varun’s voice thundered over the chaos.

Arjun didn’t hesitate...he pulled Meera with him, and the three of them tore down the grand stairs.

The sight that met them there made Meera’s stomach turn.

Bodies littered the floor, blood painting the once-pristine marble.

Flames crawled up the velvet drapes, and the smell of gunpowder and death was thick in the air.

Her heavy lehenga dragged across the floor, the jeweled fabric staining with blood, but she didn’t care, her mind was too focused on survival.

She clung tighter to Arjun’s hand, heart pounding.

Then, suddenly...

A gunshot cracked through the chaos.

They halted, snapping their heads up toward the staircase they’d just descended.

Shaurya stood there.

His shirt was gone, his torso gleaming with sweat and streaked with ash and burn?

A rough bandage wrapped around his shoulder, already soaked through.

In his hands, a bigger, deadlier gun. His dark eyes glowed with madness, his lips curled into a twisted smile.

The firelight licked at his skin, making him look more demon than man.

“Do you think I was joking, Meera..” his voice carried, cold and sharp, “when I said no one will have you?”

Meera’s entire body froze in fear. Her breath hitched violently, and she shrank behind Arjun, clutching his arm like her life depended on it.

Arjun stepped in front of her instantly, his arm outstretched, shielding her completely. His glare locked on Shaurya.

“I’ll kill him..” Shaurya spat, eyes darting to Arjun. His voice shook with rage. “I’ll kill Arjun and destroy everything, if that’s what it takes.”

Meera whimpered softly against Arjun’s back, and he reached behind to squeeze her hand in reassurance, his jaw tight.

Varun, standing at their side, furrowed his brows, the veins in his arms flexing as his grip tightened on the machine gun.

His entire presence shifted, colder, heavier, like a predator recognizing another predator.

Shaurya’s gaze flicked to him, his lips curling with disdain.

“Arjun Madhav..” he snarled, “my very own distant cousin. The golden boy. Always having everything handed to him. Always bathed in gold while I was left with scraps.”

Each word dripped with venom as he began to descend slowly, his gun trained on them.

“What? You think I’m scared of death?” His laugh was humorless, wild. “I’ve lived with it my whole life. Death is the only thing that stayed with me.”

Varun’s voice cut through, booming and a bit mockery.. “tsk...You’re one sad motherfucker. Angry because your own cousin wins?”

Shaurya’s eyes snapped to him, fury flashing.

“Varun Sengar..” he sneered, spitting the name like poison. “The warlord himself. I’m not surprised you showed up, blood and war is where you belong.”

Meera gasped softly behind Arjun.

Varun’s lip curled in a cold smirk, his voice thick and edged like steel. “Funny. I don’t know a damn thing about you. But you sure as hell know me.”

Shaurya’s face twisted, rage bubbling over. “He took everything from me!” he shouted, pointing his gun straight at Arjun now. “Everything! Do you know what it’s like to watch your own rotten-hearted father praise another man as if he were his son? Do you know how that burns?”

Arjun eyes locked on Shaurya with quiet, seething hatred.

“All I wanted..” Shaurya growled, his knuckles white on the trigger, “was to rip the power away from you. To take what you took from me.”

“If you want the damn power, you can have it.” Arjun’s voiced out.

Shaurya’s lips curled into a twisted smile before laughter spilled out, hollow and manic, the fire burning around them reflecting in his wild eyes. His anger was alive, breathing through him.

“I want her too..” he snarled, his voice trembling with obsession.

“For years I thought my dead heart would never beat again. My ma was the only one I loved… until Meera. She made it beat again. She’s the reason I can breathe, the reason I want to live. I want her too.”

Arjun’s jaw tightened, his dark eyes like steel. “Not a chance.”

That rejection snapped something inside Shaurya. His face contorted with rage, and without warning he fired.

The deafening shot rang out, but Arjun and Meera moved just in time, the bullet tearing into the far wall, stone fragments scattering across the floor.

Varun’s eyes burned red with fury. His teeth clenched as he unleashed a storm of bullets back at Shaurya, forcing him to duck behind a pillar.

“Arjun! Get Meera out, NOW!” Varun bellowed above the chaos.

“NO!” Shaurya’s voice thundered, he sounded broken.

He stepped out from cover, firing wildly, his madness spilling with every shot. “She is mine!”

“I’ll shield you..GO!” Varun roared, his machine gun rattling as he fought to keep Shaurya pinned down.

Arjun grabbed Meera’s trembling hand, grounding her with his touch.

His voice was softer when he leaned close to her. “Don’t worry… I’ve got you.”

Her tears glistened as she nodded, clinging to him as they pushed forward toward the massive doors at the end of the burning hall.

Varun covered them fiercely, his bullets buying precious seconds.

But Shaurya’s crazed eyes followed their every step.

Consumed by madness, he shifted his target back to Arjun.

He fired again and again, his desperation guiding the trigger.

Varun’s bullets caught him in the side, jerking his body with impact, but even then Shaurya’s shaking hand managed to fire more shots.

Meera kept running until she felt Arjun’s sudden halt.

Confused, she turned, his hand still clutching hers, his eyes locked on her. For a brief second she thought he was fine, until she noticed the crimson spreading across his side.

Her breath caught. Her eyes widened in horror.

“Arjun!!!!!…”

And then her scream tore through the chaos..