Chapter 389 - 357: Karna’s Marriage?... Making A Stand...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

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The tribal leader then began explaining everything that had happened.

He told them how Devara had accompanied him into the deeper forest along with Karna and Ashwatthama, how they had encountered the strange forest spirit, and how she had revealed that the tigers had not disappeared at all but had been kept asleep within a hidden valley filled with white flowers.

He explained how she had done it because humans had been hunting the tigers, believing that protecting them from mankind would preserve their lives, without realizing that removing the forest’s natural predator had caused the population of wild boars to explode and had thrown the entire ecosystem into disorder.

The villagers listened in complete silence.

Then the tribal leader continued with the part that left everyone staring at him.

"We also discovered the guardian of this forest."

A murmur passed through the crowd.

"The guardian?"

one elderly woman asked quietly.

The tribal leader nodded.

"The creature our ancestors spoke about in their stories was real. It had been trapped inside a cave for centuries. Lord Indra had cursed it long ago, and cursed chains had been draining its life while its own healing powers kept it alive. The cave was filled with its blood."

Several villagers covered their mouths in shock.

"But it is free now," the leader continued.

"Our king found it, broke the curse and released the guardian from those chains."

The moment he said those words, almost everyone instinctively turned toward Devara.

Until then, many of them had looked at him simply as a powerful man from a nearby kingdom, someone dressed like royalty who had entered their settlement with two warriors.

They had known that he was their king, but there had always been a distance between them and him.

Now they were looking at him differently.

Some stared with awe.

Others with disbelief.

A few of the elders exchanged quiet whispers as they tried to understand what their leader had just told them.

Their ancestors had spoken of the guardian as something almost mythical, a protector that watched over the forest and maintained its balance.

Many had assumed the story had become exaggerated over generations.

Yet their king had not only found it.

He had freed it.

One young boy slowly stepped forward from behind his mother and looked at Devara with wide eyes.

"Is the guardian really alive?"

The tribal leader smiled.

"Yes."

The boy looked toward the forest, almost expecting the enormous creature to suddenly emerge between the trees.

Another villager asked,

"And the king really broke the curse himself?"

The tribal leader nodded.

"He did."

The villagers once again turned toward Devara.

Devara felt the attention settling upon him and gave them a small, calm smile.

He did not want them to treat him like some distant divine figure simply because he had done what needed to be done.

To him, the matter had been straightforward.

The forest had been suffering, the guardian had been imprisoned, and someone had to intervene.

He looked toward the people standing before him.

"The forest is beginning to return to balance," Devara said as he informed the tribe.

"The tigers will hunt the boars, and the other animals will gradually return to their normal numbers. You should still be careful around the predators and avoid travelling deep into the forest alone for some time. But you do not need to fear that the tigers have returned simply to attack your settlement."

The villagers listened carefully.

"And if you see the guardian,"

Devara continued,

"do not attack it. It is the protector of this forest. Give it space, and it will give you the same."

The tribal leader immediately nodded.

"We will make sure everyone understands."

Devara looked around the settlement once more.

The fear that had been hanging over the people when they first arrived had begun to ease.

Children were slowly stepping out from behind their parents, while the warriors lowered their weapons.

Somewhere beyond the bamboo walls, another tiger roared in the distance.

This time, nobody panicked.

They simply listened.

The forest was changing again.

And the people who had lived beside it all their lives were going to have to learn how to live with its balance restored.

After bidding farewell to the tribe, Devara, Karna and Ashwatthama mounted their horses and began making their way back toward the kingdom.

The tribal leader stood near the settlement entrance with several elders and warriors, watching them disappear into the forest as the gates slowly closed behind them.

The journey back was considerably quieter than the one they had made earlier.

The forest no longer carried the same unsettling silence that had troubled Devara when they first entered it.

Tigers could occasionally be heard roaring somewhere in the distance, followed by the frantic squealing of boars, while birds moved through the branches above them.

It was clear that the forest was already beginning to settle into its old rhythm.

For some time, the three men simply rode without saying much.

Devara occasionally looked toward the deeper forest, wondering whether the guardian beast had already begun wandering through the territory that had once belonged to it, while Karna remained focused on the road ahead and Ashwatthama rode slightly behind them.

Eventually, however, Devara’s attention shifted toward Karna, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"So, Karna,"

he said casually, as though he were asking about something completely ordinary,

"when are you planning to get married?"

Karna nearly lost control of his horse.

He coughed loudly and immediately straightened himself in the saddle, pretending that he had suddenly become very interested in something happening among the trees beside the road.

"What?"

Devara glanced at him with an amused expression.

"I asked when you’re getting married."

"I heard you,"

Karna replied, clearing his throat.

"I was simply... not expecting the question."

Ashwatthama, who had been riding behind them, immediately understood where the conversation was heading.

He looked at Karna, then at Devara, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Devara, however, was not going to let Karna escape so easily.

"You have known Vaishali since childhood, haven’t you?"

Karna’s hands tightened slightly around the reins.

"Yes."

"And you’ve been in love with her for years."

Karna remained silent.

Devara’s smile widened.

"So why are you still unmarried?"

Karna coughed again, this time deliberately turning his head away.

"We are looking for a suitable time."

"A suitable time?"

Devara repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"How long does it take to find a suitable time?"

Karna sighed quietly.

"It isn’t that simple, Devara."

Devara looked at him for a moment before laughing softly.

"You have faced armies, demons and gods without hesitation, but the moment I mention Vaishali, suddenly everything becomes complicated."

Ashwatthama finally chuckled.

Karna gave him an annoyed look.

"You stay out of this."

"I haven’t said anything,"

Ashwatthama replied, though the amusement in his voice made it obvious that he was enjoying every moment.

Devara shook his head as the three continued riding through the forest.

"I am only asking because I have watched you two for years. Everyone knows you love her. She knows it, you know it, I know it, and I am fairly certain even half the kingdom knows it. Yet whenever marriage comes up, you suddenly start talking about finding the right time."

Karna remained quiet for several moments before finally giving a small smile.

"Some things are easier to fight than they are to speak about."

Devara’s teasing expression softened slightly.

"Then perhaps you should stop fighting it."

Karna looked toward the road ahead, his expression becoming thoughtful as Vaishali’s face inevitably came to his mind.

"We’ll see," he finally said.

Devara smiled.

"That means you have no answer."

Karna sighed.

"It means I’ll tell you when there is something to tell."

Devara laughed and nudged his horse forward.

"Fine. But don’t expect me to wait forever. One day I’m going to announce your wedding before you even know the date."

Karna immediately looked at him in alarm.

"Don’t you dare."

Ashwatthama laughed behind them as the three continued their journey toward the kingdom, their conversation gradually fading beneath the sound of hooves striking the forest path.

Meanwhile, deep within the forest, the newly freed guardian beast seemed to have no intention of returning to its cave.

After spending centuries trapped within darkness, the creature appeared determined to experience every part of the territory it had once protected.

It began running through the forest, its enormous paws striking the ground with enough force to send small vibrations through the soil as it moved between the trees.

Its wings remained partially spread as it ran, occasionally catching the wind and allowing the beast to leap over fallen trees and rocky stretches of land before landing several metres away and continuing its journey.

The animals that encountered it reacted differently at first.

Deer froze between the trees, rabbits hurried into bushes, monkeys climbed higher into branches and birds suddenly took flight whenever the guardian passed beneath them.

The returning tigers also noticed its presence and stopped whatever they were doing, watching from a distance as the enormous winged beast moved through the forest.

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(Author note:)

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