Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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Devara barely had time to regain his balance on the branch before the pink leopard launched itself at him again.

The creature came without warning, its powerful hind legs pushing it from the branch with enough force to make the tree shake.

Its jaws opened wide as it flew directly toward Devara’s face, its sharp teeth clearly aimed at his head.

Devara’s eyes widened.

"Not a chance."

At the last possible moment, he brought both hands upward and caught the leopard by its jaws.

One hand gripped the upper jaw while the other caught the lower portion, stopping the animal only inches from his face.

The sudden impact pushed Devara backward along the branch, his feet scraping against the bark as he struggled to maintain his footing, but he refused to let go.

The leopard thrashed violently.

Its head twisted from side to side as it tried to wrench itself free, while its forelegs repeatedly came toward Devara’s chest and face.

Its claws were long and razor-sharp, and the animal struck with enough force to tear through ordinary flesh.

But the moment the claws came close to him, a brilliant divine glow appeared across Devara’s body.

The Parvati Kavach manifested over him.

A subtle layer of divine protection covered his body, shimmering whenever the leopard’s claws struck it.

The creature scratched repeatedly, but its claws could neither pierce nor break through the protection.

Devara gritted his teeth as he continued holding the leopard’s jaws apart.

"You’re strong."

The leopard growled through the grip.

"And you’re certainly not giving up."

It twisted its entire body, trying to use its weight to pull Devara off the branch.

Devara’s feet slid another few inches, but he tightened his grip and held firm.

The leopard struck again with its claws.

The Parvati Kavach flashed.

The attack bounced away harmlessly.

Devara looked down at the armour covering him and then back at the leopard.

"That isn’t going to work."

The animal continued struggling.

Its slippery body made the situation even more difficult.

Every time Devara tried to secure a proper grip around its head, its coated fur caused his fingers to slide.

Yet he had found one place where the slippery coating couldn’t help it.

Its jaws.

Devara used the creature’s own teeth as his point of leverage, keeping his hands firmly positioned around its mouth while preventing it from biting him.

The leopard snarled furiously.

Devara stared directly into its eyes.

"Listen, I don’t want to hurt you."

The animal responded by trying to bite his hands.

Devara tightened his grip.

"I said I don’t want to hurt you."

The leopard continued fighting.

Devara sighed.

"Fine. Then we’re going to stay here until one of us changes our mind."

For several moments, the two remained locked together on the branch, the leopard desperately attempting to break free while Devara relied on his strength and the protection of Parvati Kavach to withstand its attacks.

Devara could feel the leopard’s strength beginning to waver beneath his hands, yet the creature still refused to surrender.

Its claws continued to swipe at him, its body twisting violently as it fought with the desperation of an animal that believed its life depended upon this struggle.

Devara gritted his teeth as he tightened his grip around its jaws.

He had tried avoiding it.

He had tried restraining it.

He had even attempted to simply push it away and continue toward the golden horse, but the creature kept returning, treating him as an intruder that had to be driven from its territory.

There was no end to this fight unless one of them made it end.

Devara’s eyes hardened.

"Enough."

His fingers tightened.

The muscles in his arms bulged as he began applying his full strength to the leopard’s jaws.

At first, the creature resisted, its teeth grinding against one another as it tried to close its mouth.

But Devara slowly forced its jaws apart.

Wider. Wider still.

The leopard’s eyes widened as pain shot through its jaw, its paws desperately clawing at his arms, though every strike continued to be stopped by the Parvati Kavach surrounding him.

The branch beneath them creaked under the strain.

Devara’s expression became grim.

He did not want to kill the creature.

But if it continued attacking him, he could not allow himself to remain trapped here indefinitely, especially when the forest itself was designed to waste the challengers’ time.

With one final surge of strength, Devara began pulling the leopard’s jaws farther apart.

The creature let out a strangled growl.

Its resistance was breaking.

Devara was just about to tear its mouth apart when something stopped him.

A tiny sound drifted through the forest.

"Meow..."

Devara froze as his narrowed green eyes shifted past the leopard.

Another tiny meow followed.

Then another.

The leaves behind the leopard trembled.

Three tiny pink heads slowly emerged from the bushes.

Three leopard cubs.

They were almost absurdly small compared to their mother, their round bodies covered in soft pink fur and their enormous eyes fixed upon the strange sight before them.

One cub stepped forward cautiously, followed by the other two, their little paws pressing against the grass as they stared at Devara.

For a moment, Devara simply looked at them.

Then he looked at the leopard.

The change in the creature was immediate.

The fierce resistance that had filled its body only moments ago had transformed into something else.

Fear. Not fear for itself.

Fear for them.

The leopard’s eyes darted toward the cubs, and Devara saw the panic in those narrowed eyes.

Its entire body had gone tense, but it was no longer struggling merely to save its own life.

It was trying to place itself between Devara and its offspring.

Devara’s grip slowly loosened.

His eyes moved once more toward the three cubs.

They were watching their mother helplessly, too young to understand what was happening, but old enough to recognize that something was wrong.

One of them gave another tiny cry and began moving toward the tree.

The realization settled heavily in Devara’s mind.

’Her cubs.’

He looked back at the leopard.

"So that’s why you wouldn’t stop."

The leopard stared at him, breathing heavily.

Devara could almost feel the answer without needing words.

This creature had not been fighting because it hated him.

It had been fighting because he had become a threat between it and its children.

His expression softened.

He remembered the countless beings he had protected throughout his life, warriors who had fought beside him, innocent people caught in wars they never asked for, and the families who waited for their loved ones to return.

He knew what it meant to stand between danger and those who depended upon you.

And suddenly, killing this creature seemed pointless.

Devara released the leopard’s jaws.

The animal immediately pulled its head backward and stumbled across the branch, but instead of attacking again, it remained where it was, keeping its body between Devara and the cubs.

Devara slowly raised both hands.

"Easy. I am not going to hurt them."

The leopard continued staring at him suspiciously.

Devara glanced toward the cubs.

"They are yours, aren’t they?"

One of the cubs gave a tiny meow.

A faint smile appeared on Devara’s face.

"Then go."

The leopard did not move at first, almost as though it could not believe him.

Devara stepped backward along the branch, giving the animal more space.

"I have no reason to fight you anymore. I was only trying to get past you."

The leopard watched him carefully before finally turning toward the cubs.

It leapt from the branch and landed among the bushes, immediately rushing toward them.

The three cubs scattered for a heartbeat before recognizing their mother, and then all three hurried against her body, meowing excitedly.

Devara remained on the branch, watching the reunion.

The mother leopard lowered her head and began licking the cubs, checking them one after another.

The fierce predator that had attacked Devara moments earlier now looked completely different.

She was simply a mother making sure her children were safe.

Devara exhaled quietly.

"Perhaps this forest is not only testing strength."

His gaze moved deeper into the trees.

Somewhere beyond the endless pink foliage was the golden horse, and somewhere behind him Kandarpaasura was undoubtedly tearing his way through the forest with brute force.

Devara shook his head.

"If that fool keeps fighting everything he sees, this forest will probably finish him before the horse does."

He stepped down from the tree and continued forward, leaving the leopard and her cubs behind.

For the first time since entering the forest, however, Devara did not feel as though he had lost time by stopping.

He felt as though the forest had just taught him something.

Not everything that attacked him needed to be destroyed.

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(Author note:)

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