Standing in the doorway, Yakshini saw one of the King's Guard laying in pool of blood near the huge cupboard. Another guard was dragging Indra by legs towards his work desk. The guard looked back, towards the intruders. Yakshini observed his armor was little different from that of the dead guard, his right glove's knuckles extended to become a long claw. Also his left eye was missing, making his far left a blind spot.

  Yakshini was determined to prove her worth and the opportunity presented itself. As Yakhini moved, she saw the old man running towards Vajrabahu from right, following a long arc, reversing the grip on his sword.

  'Couldn't he see the missing left eye?', thought Yakshini, surprised by old man's sudden movement.

  Seeing the old man approaching him, Vajrabahu attacked with his claws aiming for old man's torso, but before Vajrabahu's claws reached its target, old man started to slide on his knees using his momentum from run, holding his reverse gripped sword above his chest. As the claw passed over the old man, he swiftly cut the band wrapped around Vajrabahu's palms, designed to hold the knuckles in place. With nothing to hold knuckles in place, Vajrabahu lost his grip on it. The claw followed its arc and landed on the torch. Torch fell from its spot and started a fire in a bookshelf.

  Yakshini couldn't believe what she saw, for few moments she didn't noticed her jaw drop.

  "Where did you found that junk, kid? Asur soldiers used them when I was of your age", mocked old man.

  Yakhshini saw Vajrabahu pressing a button on his gloves as his left knuckles expanded to form a claw. Irritated, Vajrabahu started attacking the old man. Old man gracefully dodged all the attacks and leaped back to land on a safe distance.

  Meanwhile Yakshini cut her handcuffs using dagger buried in the door.

  The fire was spreading slowly but steadily, everybody felt the rise in temperature.

  Vajrabahu saw Indra crawling towards the claws, near a burning bookshelf and decided to finish off his mission. He attacked Indra but his blow got diverted in another direction as a broken shield struck his arm. Enraged, he looked towards the source of attack but a flying kick landed on his face, breaking few teeth.

  As Yakshini was landing, Vajrabahu caught her cape and slammed her on Indra's work desk, breaking the desk with impact. Yakshini screamed in agony. Vajrabahu again turned towards Indra who was now holding the claws in his hands like a sword, with an attacking stance. Indra attacked him but Vajrabahu parried his attacks with ease. Old man started running to help Indra in his duel but Vajrabahu saw him in time and rammed his right elbow into old man's guts, the old man went flying from the impact and landed on bookshelf full of files behind Indra's work desk.

  Using this opening, Indra rammed claws into Vajrabahu's chest, which pierced through Vajrabahu's armor, cutting him deep. In agony, Vajrabahu punched Indra away from him, the claws stayed buried in his torso. Indra smashed his head on the wall fell on the floor.

  Finally, after dealing with everyone, Vajrabahu started walking towards Indra who now lay a few feet away from him.

  The fire was now spreading rapidly and was already burning half of the office.

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  Groaning with pain, Yakshini saw the old man laying near her feet. Her palms felt something familiar in their grip, her emblem. She pressed the skull symbol on the emblem and a knife sprung out of one end of the emblem and a handle from other end.

  She stood up limping and saw Vajrabahu, impaled on his own claws, approaching the king. She ran with all her might and in a graceful jump landed on Vajrabahu's shoulder, gripping her thighs around his neck.

  She gripped the knife in both hands and thrust it in Vajrabahu's skull then she removed it again and thrust it again with more power, this time it cut through the skull and pierced the brain. She kept doing it again and again until the monster fell on his knees and finally dropped dead.

  The fire was burning heavily now, occupying entirety of office. All inflammable materials were burning vigorously.

  Yakshini backed off rapidly, Vajrabahu's eye was still looking at her, although it had no life in it. Yakshini finally rested, with her back to the cupboard. She saw a burning file on a hand's distance, a loose paper was peering from the file. She ignored it, waiting for guards to come, she could hear footsteps approaching. The loose paper flew and dropped on her lap, it was also burning, soon it will become ash, Yakshini thought. She glanced at it.

  Her eyes soon got filled with disbelief as she read the content of the burning paper. It was warranted against her, ordering the jailor of the dungeon to make accommodations for a female prisoner named Yakshini. It was signed and stamped by Indra.

  Yakshini threw a disappointed look at Indra, who was laying near the corpse, struggling to stand up.

  'There is a balcony across office room, If I can reach there before guards reached the room, I can still escape', Yakshini thought.

  She stood up, taking support of walls and furniture as she strode towards the balcony.

  Her legs were too tired to work, she collapsed midway. She could hear Indra's shouts, demanding her to wait. Still determined to escape, she started crawling towards the balcony. No matter how much distance she covered, the balcony was appearing too far away to her, then she surrendered to the darkness.

  When the light came back, she found herself laying on a hospital bed. Most of her body was covered in bandages but pain was now gone and she felt a sudden surge of energy flowing through her. Her hands were not in cuffs, which she found little surprising considering her next destination was the dungeon. Hourglass showed it was late morning. She saw a nurse who was scribbling something in her notebook, but when she saw a movement on Yakshini's bed, she stopped writing and rushed out of room.

  Soon a convoy of doctors, led by queen Sachi entered the room. Sachi stopped near Yakshini's bed and checked her pulse.

  "How are you feeling now?", Sachi asked.

  "Well, I am feeling .... alive", answered Yakshini, ignoring the mild headache and ringing in ears.

  "I want to talk to you in private", said Sachi as she waved her hand to dismiss the convoy. They vacated the room in no time, leaving queen and prisoner behind.

  "Umm, I was treating his majesty yesterday night after the incident when he told me about you, that you may know where my Deva is, is it true?", questioned Sachi, Yakshini noticed a beam of hope in her eyes.

  "Yes I do, but I think your majesty doesn't believe it, he's sending me to dungeons", answered Yakshini.

  "No he is not, I pleaded him not to. When I come to know that you might have some information on my Devsena, I rushed here to heal you", said Sachi, taking Yakshini's hand in her own hand.

  Yakshini again felt the sudden surge of energy flowing through her.

  'So the rumors were true, the queen knows healing magic', realized Yakshini.

  "I come here to offer you a deal, if you rescue my princess you will never face shortage of gold and ration in your remaining life. I give you my word for it", said Sachi, realizing the confusion in Yakshini's eyes.

  Yakshini could sense that it was not a deal from a queen, no, it was plea of help from a mother who feared losing her beloved daughter.

  "I promise you, queen, I will bring princess back well and alive", said Yakshini.

  In no time, Sachi's assured eyes filled with tears a bright smiled traced her lips.

  "Thank you", said Sachi as she wiped the tears and left the room.

  This chapter concludes the Outlaw’s Redemption arc.