In a dense forest, a lone boy was traversing carefully. He scouted the surroundings & avoided wild animals while walking towards the Garuda nest. This boy was Ekluvya and he was on a mission to slay this Garuda which had been terrorizing the Naga nest since a while.

Ekluvya stopped at a chosen spot and started digging a large hole. His strength was average thus digging normally would take many days, but he was special. He was a natural archer with divine talent. Even demigods Arjun and Karn could not boast to surpass him! It could be said that all 3 of these characters were equally skilful, with neither better than the others.

So what benefits such a talent provided?

Ekluvya nocked an arrow and focused. He breathed carefully in a strange manner. His hands made unique micromovements that cause the arrow to vibrate on the bow.

Woom-woom-woom-woom! The vibration intensified, creating audible sounds.

Shew! The arrow was released.

Boom! It struck the ground and caused a hole the size of 3 watermelons put together! A piercing weapon creating a blunt effect, having a large area of impact…it was beyond reason!

Ekluvya had many such natural talents which manifested through his archery and could be developed into different archery techniques! His expression remained stoic as he dug up the large hole within half an hour. It was big enough to fully bury an elephant! At the bottom of the hole he stabbed many sharpened rocks he had prepared earlier. This was an obvious trap.

Why was Ekluvya not concealing his traps? Because a Garuda would be able to see through them easily anyway. So, he might as well save some effort and time. He was certain that he’ll still be able to use these traps when he fights the Garuda as even if the bird could see them, it could not evade them if Ekluvya were to fiercely push it into the traps during the fight.

“Yawn…~ Aren’t you done yet? I’ve grown bored of watching you make these obvious traps for the past few days,” suddenly a crisp female voice echoed and Ekluvya looked up to find a girl staring down at him into the hole.

There was a momentary silence. Ekluvya stared hard, unable to comprehend why a teenaged girl would be in the middle of this dangerous forest, stark naked and unafraid of a hunter-looking person. And then it clicked to him.

“You are the Garuda?” he asked.

“Duh~” the girl shrugged. She didn’t look anything like the mythical Garuda bird. She was a petite brown girl, seemingly 15 years old with small mangoes, black cherries, bushy crotch and a virgin pink cave. Her curly long hair were golden brown. Her eyes were also brown and had long eyelashes.

Ekluvya’s irises dilated as he focused and quickly nocked another arrow on the bow, taking aim at the girl.

“So, Garudas can take human form too, eh?” he asked, “anyway, why do you hunt the Nagas? They have done you no harm.”

Even though Ekluvya was resolved to slaying this Garuda, he couldn’t attack immediately after knowing that this was a sentient being, capable of taking human form and thus could be reasoned with. Ekluvya wasn’t a hardcore killer. He was very humane and would prefer peace over war.

The girl cocked her head to a side, showing a confused expression.

“I hunt them because that’s what I’m supposed to do. Garudas and Nagas are mortal enemies. Nagas have also hunted many Garudas. That’s just how it goes,” the girl answered, “but why are you, a human, in the middle of this? Why do you seek justice for them and have come to fight me?”

“I have my selfish reasons,” Ekluvya replied, “though I’d rather not fight you if we can come to an understanding. You say that Garudas and Nagas are mortal enemies but don’t the supreme Garuda and supreme Naga serve the same deity: Vishnu?”

The girl blinked a few times before answering, “that doesn’t matter. It is in our nature to fight each other. We answer to our primal calling. This is how nature works too,”

“Hmph, laws of nature are not absolute for the sentient beings. You who can think and reason, do not need to answer your primal calling. The supreme Garuda and Sheshnaga are the best example. They overcame their animal instincts and chose peace over war,” Ekluvya reasoned.

“Those two are basically demigods. We are mortals. Don’t expect us to be like them,” the girl said.

“Let me implore you,” Ekluvya said, moving his bow & arrow away, “wouldn’t you please stop harming the Nagas? You can live peacefully here. They won’t bother you if you promise to not bother them.”

“Hahahaha!” The girl laughed musically, “humans surely don’t know their limits and are unafraid. Death stands in front of you and you are vouching for peace between two non-human species. How amusing,” she narrowed her eyes, “my answer is no. I will keep hunting them. And you, who has set up so many dumb traps for me and has clearly come with the intention of killing me, will not escape this forest alive either!”

“I accept your anger. I came prepared for death when I resolved to slay you,” Ekluvya spoke, “as for you and the Nagas; since you are adamant on hunting them, it makes you a psychopathic killer. I must not let you live any longer!”

Ekluvya aimed again and released an arrow that brushed past the girl’s head. She had dodged narrowly!

“Straight to the head huh? Good. You seem promising. Come, let’s have fun, human,” she said and transformed into a giant bird within a few seconds! Her Garuda form was nothing short of majestic! She was like a giant eagle with golden brown feathers, sharp hooked beak and golden-brown eyes.

KREEAAR!! She screeched, flapping her large wings, throwing strong winds into the large hole.

“Ugh…” Ekluvya crouched down. The spear-like trap stones embedded in the ground were shaking. His bow was rattling and it was impossible to shoot an arrow in such fierce winds! Just like that, Ekluvya’s strongest weapon had been rendered useless!

“Hahaha! Come, try to kill me, puny human!” Garuda challenged. Ekluvya wasn’t flustered. He tucked away his bow and took out his sword with which, firstly he destroyed the sharp tips of the stone spears he had prepared in this trap. Then he sat down cross-legged and waited.

Minutes passed. Ekluvya was unmoved. The stone spears had rattled loose and broken down into pieces by the fierce winds. Often they struck at Ekluvya who destroyed them with a swing of his sword. He made no effort in climbing up the hole and attacking the Garuda.

“Ugh, such a spoil sport!” Garuda frowned and stomped her feet on the ground in frustration.

“Are you done flapping your wings, birdy?” Ekluvya smirked and stood up, “why would I bother fighting against the wind in a favourable terrain? You should have come down to attack me instead of wasting your time and energy up there.”

“Kreee!! Insolent human!” Garuda snapped and jumped down into the hole.

“Heh, humans truly are God’s best creation,” Ekluvya thought, shaking his head at Garuda’s foolishness. A bird capable of killing lions and elephants, traversing thousands of miles and possessing divine eyes, choses to fight in a restricted hole just because it was taunted.

Swoosh! The hole was still big enough to spread half the wingspan. Garuda did so and flapped it hard, causing winds to disturb Ekluvya’s balance while she jumped down at him, attacking with her fierce talons!

Swish! Ekluvya attacked with his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The two of them exchanged several moves within moments. Garuda could easily cut the puny human weapon even if it was made of metal but here came the human prowess in play. Ekluvya used the samurai swordsmanship to parry, block, evade and attack precisely in the best way to preserve his sword while dealing damage to the rocklike talons!

Garuda who had never fought a human like this was stumped and unable to comprehend the reason why Ekluvya was still standing before her, alive and fighting.

Clang! Clang! Clang! After several more moves, Ekluvya cut off the talons of Garuda’s left foot, making her screech angrily and attack more fiercely!

Clang! Clang! Swoosh! Swoosh! Whoom! The winds grew stronger, dirt and pebbles flew around. A giant bird and a small human fought hard! Ekluvya started hacking down at the Garuda’s body, slashing here and there. Feathers fell continuously, blood splattered, wind spun it all around them.

Screeee!! The Garuda finally panicked and flew out.

Swoosh! Ekluvya leapt and climbed on her. He continued to stab and cut at her body while she flew out, carrying him along.

Swoosh! The terrain changed. Now Garuda was free in the open air. Or was she?

Swish! Slish! Ekluvya hacked at the Garuda’s right wing, damaging it greatly!

SCREEE!!!! It screeched and flapped the strong wings harder, causing the injury to worsen. The giant bird flew in a serpentine manner.

Bam! She collided with a tree, felling it in the process.

Bam! Bam! Scree! Swoosh! Swoosh! Slish! The messy fight continued. Winds were created, blood was splattered, trees were felled.

Bam!! Garuda fell down on the ground and skidded a few meters before stopping and turning around. She attacked Ekluvya with her talons and beak but Ekluvya was small and thus easily managed to dodge and continued attacking it.

Scree! Scree!! Garuda’s loud screeches echoed everywhere in the forest.

At some distance from the place, a Naga woman was watching this with disbelief. She was none other than Sarpakshita who had come after Ekluvya, worried about his safety. She intended to stay hidden and strike only when necessary but from the beginning, Ekluvya had dominated the fight and was now butchering the Garuda!

“U…unbelievable…!” Sarpakshita uttered.

“Unbelievable! Impossible! I’m a Garuda! How can a puny human defeat me!?” Garuda girl thought, “damn it! I should have taken him with speed on the surface. I fell into his trap willingly instead! Ahh!”

Shwak! Shwak! Shwak! Ekluvya kept stabbing at Garuda’s body. Soon, the giant bird’s movements became slow. Blood had pooled up underneath her. Her vision was growing dark. She changed her form to that of a human and crawled away. Her left foot had been cut off into a stump with only the heel part remaining. There were deep wounds on her chest and back. Dyed in her own blood, she looked pitiful.

Slish…slish… She crawled through the  muddy red ground as Ekluvya watched her, hesitating a bit. Then he frowned and sighed, putting away his sword and nocked an arrow on his bow instead, taking aim.

“I can spare your life if you submit to me and follow my every command,” Ekluvya offered, “you’ll have to stop hunting Nagas and serve a human tribe instead, for the rest of your life,”

“Hmph! I’d rather die than serve the humans and spare the Nagas!” Garuda shouted angrily, “just you wait! I’ll…I’ll heal in no time and then return to kill you!”

Ekluvya shook his head and then released the arrow.

Shooo! It flew and stabbed into the girl’s forbidden cave!

“Kyaah!!!” She screamed, getting impaled in her tight virgin brown cave. The pain was sharper than in rest of her body. She writhed on the ground, bleeding from her cave.

Shoo! Shoo! Ekluvya stabbed two more arrows into the same cave, and then some on her round buns, maximizing her pain. As Garuda continued screaming, Ekluvya reached her and kicked the arrows in her cave, making them stab deeper into her guts.

“Submit!” he demanded.

“Ahh! Never!”

Bam!

“Ahh!”

Bam! Bam!

“Submit!”

“Fuuuuuuuuuckkk!!!” the Garuda girl finally couldn’t endure anymore.

“I submit! I submit! Stop torturing me!” she cried & wailed.

Ekluvya felt ashamed of himself. He could have given her a swift honorable death but he humiliated and tortured her instead. In truth, it was to preserve her life as he couldn’t kill a human-like being, even if she were a murderer. Forcing her to submit was the next best thing he could have done. Now the Garuda girl could live on to hopefully mature up, develop compassion and evolve as a person. This torture would then be proven to have been beneficial for her instead.

“Wow, you’re quite something,” Sarpakshita spoke as she made an appearance, startling Ekluvya.

“You! Why are you here?” he asked.

“Hmph, I came to collect your corpse but I didn’t think you’d win instead,” Sarpakshita snorted. Ekluvya blinked and realized that this tsundere was worried about him and had come to rescue him. He felt a warm feeling oozing into his heart. This snobby irritating snake girl suddenly seemed so much more beautiful and nicer.

“To think that you could defeat a Garuda…that too in such a manner haha!” Sarpakshita chuckled before kicking Garuda girl’s impaled buns.

“Ugh! Die, you filthy Naga and human!” Garuda shouted, trying to transform into the bird form.

Slish! An arrow stabbed into her collarbone and warm blood oozed out dangerously. Ekluvuya wasn’t playing around!

“Don’t even think about of harming her,” he snarled. Sarpakshita stole a glance and blushed.

“Hmph, trying to play hero? I can protect myself. You worry about your own safety, human,” she said with an obnoxious expression. Ekluvya smiled at her cuteness.

Sarpakshita then squatted before the terrified Garuda who was at death’s door, “you’ve been defeated and have submitted to this human. Yet just now, you tried to go back on your words. You cannot be trusted,” she spoke, “I’m going to hypnotize you into becoming his slave. Resist my hypnosis and I’ll spit venom in your eyes before killing you myself!”

Garuda’s face contorted in hatred. The immense pain she was feeling was already too much. She was a mighty mythical bird who hadn’t been hurt before in her lifetime, thus her pain endurance was too low. The thought of acidic venom burning her eyes, mortified her! She kept quiet, gazing into Sarpakshita’s eyes which were glowing bright yellow.

“You are henceforth this human Ekluvya’s slave and will do his bidding, never refusing any of his commands!” Sarpaskhita said.

“I…am Ekluvyas’ slave…I’ll do his bidding, never refusing any command,” Garuda muttered in a daze.

“There. You can thank me by being of use in the bed later,” Sarpaskhita said to Ekluvya.

“Heh, sure. Thanks,” Ekluvya smiled.

“My hypnosis is not as strong as my mother’s but it will work like a charm on such a young Garuda,” Sarpakshita said, scrutinizing the Garuda girl, “she’s barely 16.”

Ekluvya raised his eyebrows, surprised to find such a young serial killer. He thought mythical creatures were all at least a century old, just how Sarpakshita and her mother were.

“We should get her treated by your mother who has healing abilities. This girl is losing too much blood,” Ekluvya said.

“Hmph, whatever. You take care of your slave. I’m leaving,” Sarpakshita said.

“Wait! Give us a ride. Your speed is greater than mine in your half snake form,” Ekluvya said, “in exchange, I will…serve you longer tonight.”

Sarpakshita narrowed her eyes, smirking. She quickly transformed into half snake and allowed Ekluvya to climb up on her meaty tail with the wounded Garuda girl. They then quicky travelled back  towards Naga nest, disappearing into the forest.