The wagon lurched violently as the driver yanked the reins with all his strength.Iron wheels slammed into stone and dirt without mercy, the wooden frame groaning as if it might tear itself apart piece by piece.
Their bodies were thrown left and right, nearly hurled out every time the wagon struck a hole or a tree root clawing up through the road.
From the bushes along the roadside, dark silhouettes began to emerge.
At first, one.Then two.Then too many, moving too fast to count.
Some rode horses, bodies leaned low as they drove their mounts forward with brutal force.Others moved through the trees, fast and trained, bows already raised before their figures were fully visible.
Swishhh...
Another arrow cut low through the air, whistling past Jaka's ear.He ducked instinctively, heart hammering at the sudden closeness of real danger.
Thrak!
Another arrow struck the side of the wagon, burying itself deep, the wood cracking with a sickening sound.
The bamboo roof above them shuddered violently as two more arrows hit almost at the same time.Fibers tore loose, splinters flying. Some fell into the wagon.
"HEY! GRAB SOMETHING… ANYTHING! COVER YOURSELVES!" Jaka shouted, his voice hoarse, breaking under panic he had never felt before.
He tore free one of the long wooden poles that had supported the roof.His hands shook, but he forced it up, bracing it in front of his body like a desperate shield.
It was thin. Fragile.Useless against arrows.But it was better than nothing.
Anindya pressed in close beside him without a word.She ducked behind the pole, her shoulder brushing his.Her breath came too fast, too shallow to steady.
The wagon slammed into another rock.
Danu stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing.He barely managed to grab a loose wooden plank from the wagon floor, once used to secure the cargo sacks.
He raised it with both hands, copying Jaka, turning it into a crude shield.His arms trembled violently, but his grip tightened, fear nailing the board into his palms.
"Crazy… this is crazy…" he muttered, half unable to believe they were facing death this quickly.
Swiiiish...!
Another arrow struck the plank in Danu's hands.The impact jerked his arms back, pain shooting from his wrist up to his shoulder.
At the front of the wagon, Bandung stood frozen for a split second.His body stiff, eyes wild as they tracked the arrows' paths, counting… or trying to.
These weren't scattered attackers.
They were spreading out.Encircling them from the left, the right, and behind.
Thunk!
Another arrow buried itself into the front frame of the wagon, missing Bandung's arm by mere inches.The shaft vibrated violently, pointing straight at him.
Cold realization hit.
This wasn't something he could outrun by strength alone.
Sweat ran down his temple, fear finally catching up.
Up front, the driver cursed loudly, yanking the reins until veins stood out along his arms.
"Hold on tight!" he yelled."If they catch up… we're done!"
The wagon sped up.
Too fast for a road this broken.
One wheel struck a large stone.The wagon lifted and tilted sharply to the right, coming terrifyingly close to tipping over.
Anindya screamed, instinctively clutching Jaka's clothes.Danu was thrown against the side, his shoulder slamming into the wooden wall.
And in the middle of it all,amid the panic, the shouting, the arrows...
Dara did not scream.
She knelt with one knee planted against the wagon floor, her left hand gripping the frame to keep herself from being thrown.Her face was calm.
Too calm.
Her eyes moved rapidly, calculating attackers and angles.Distances. Trajectories. Wind.
All of it processed in silence.
She was not reacting.
She was measuring.
The wind slammed harder against their faces as the wagon burst out of the tree line and into open ground.
Ahead, a wide stretch of land unfolded with no cover left to hide behind.No trees.No shadows.No protection.
And there, in the open, they saw everything clearly.
A mounted rider emerged from the front-right, spurring his horse forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed.His body leaned low, one hand gripping the reins and bow, the other already drawing an arrow.
Bandung saw the danger the way one sees death standing directly in front of them.
There was no time to think.
His hand snatched a long bamboo pole from the wagon floor.An old piece from the field fence frame, rough, uneven, barely straight.
He gripped it with both hands, held his breath, forced himself to act.
The wagon jolted.
The horse beside them drew closer.
The bandit pulled his bowstring tight, still aiming.
Too late.
Bandung half-leapt to his feet, twisting his body with the wagon's momentum, and swung the bamboo with everything he had.
CRACK!
The bamboo slammed into the bandit's chest with brutal force.Enough to shatter balance. Enough to break ribs.Not enough to knock him clean off the saddle.
But enough to destroy him from the inside.
The bandit tried to steady himself—then staggered.His horse screamed as the reins pulled unevenly, its front hooves slipping on the still-damp ground.
The rider was thrown sideways.
He fell directly into the wagon's path.
"LOOK OUT!" Danu shouted.
Too late.
The iron wheel crushed the body with a sound that could never be mistaken for anything but bones breaking.
No scream.No movement.
The wagon kept going, leaving the body behind.
Bandung's breath came in ragged gasps.His hands shook violently, the bamboo still clenched in his grip as if he hadn't yet realized what he had done… or what he had just survived.
He barely had time to steady himself...
"RIGHT!" the driver screamed.
Bandung snapped his head around.
On the right side, another bandit sat upright on his horse, bow raised, arrow aimed straight at the driver.
Bandung reacted without thinking.
He grabbed the driver's head and forced it down with one hand.
"DUCK!"
The arrow flew just over them, slicing the air with a sharp hiss.
Before the bandit could draw another arrow, Bandung hurled the bamboo pole.
The throw was rough. Rushed.Not the strike of a trained soldier, but a desperate, full-bodied throw fueled by raw survival.
The bamboo flew like a spear.
Its tip pierced the bandit's arm, embedding itself between shoulder and elbow.
A piercing scream tore through the air.
The bandit lost control, his body flung sideways, falling from the horse and vanishing from sight.
Bandung stood frozen for a heartbeat, breath caught, chest rising and falling too fast.
The danger wasn't over.
And now—his hands were empty.
Swiish...
Swisshh...
Swiish...
From behind and above, dozens of arrows launched at once.
Not just one, nor two.
A rain of arrows.
The sky filled with black arcs, curving downward, fast and merciless.
"ABOVE! ABOVE!" Jaka screamed.
Anindya cried out, covering her head.Danu raised his wooden shield and ducked instinctively.
The driver shouted in panic, yanking the reins again with all his strength, praying they could outrun the storm.
And in the middle of the chaos, Dara stood.
She stepped into the center of the wagon, her cloak whipping violently in the wind.Slowly, deliberately, she raised her hand.
The Srikandi mask that had hung at her waist was now upon her face.
Her features vanished behind white porcelain.
The carved lines upon the mask glimmered faintly.
She shifted her footing, planting herself firmly on the wooden planks of the cart, as if she were standing on solid ground instead of a vehicle rattling at full speed.
Her hands moved.
Words left her lips… whether a spell or a prayer, no one could tell.
The motion of her arms was deliberate, practiced, like someone shaping something she had known for a very long time.
The air around them changed.
The wind, which moments ago had merely brushed past their faces, began to layer and spiral, flowing in response to her movements.Dust lifted from the ground.Bits of straw and splintered wood rose into the air.
She drew in a single breath.
And then...
WHAM!
A wave of wind surged outward and exploded around the cart.
The arrows that should have rained down on them were thrown aside midair.
Some spun wildly before crashing into the ground.Some were flung back toward where they had come from.Others simply froze for a heartbeat… then dropped, powerless.
The cart was safe.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.Only the wind lingered, still circling slowly before finally fading away.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Dara lowered her hands.
Behind the mask, she turned her head slightly.Her voice was calm as she spoke, directed at Jaka, Anindya, and Danu.
"Stay down," she said evenly."They're not finished."
Those words… and the way she said them… made it clear to all of them.
They were not traveling with an ordinary wanderer.
Several of the bandits hesitated, abandoning their drawn bows.
Not because they had run out of arrows.Not because of fear.
But because they understood now… arrows would no longer work.
Through the settling dust and the remnants of swirling wind, dark figures lowered their bows and reached instead for short swords.The blades caught faint light as they were raised, reflecting the sun as it slipped in and out from behind the clouds.
They spurred their horses faster.The distance between them shrank rapidly.
"UP! UP!" one of them shouted.
Two bandits on the left closed in, their horses pulling level with the cart.One of them rose onto his saddle, preparing to leap.
"They're getting on!" Anindya screamed.
Bandung reached instinctively for anything he could use as a weapon.His hand found the hilt of a small knife at his waist.
Too short.Too narrow.Not enough for two men at once.
Before he could move...
Dara stepped forward... again.
She didn't shout.Didn't give a warning.
Her hand moved instead, loosening the long cloth that had been wrapped around her neck like a scarf.
The fabric slid free.
A thin, pale brown sash, damp with mist and wind.
The first bandit leapt.
His body launched toward the cart.
And in that instant, Dara moved.
She spun halfway, one foot gliding forward as her body followed a flowing arc.Her arm extended, and the cloth followed her motion as if it were alive.
The sash flew.
No longer fabric, but feels like an extension of her body.
It lashed through the air, coiled once, and wrapped around the bandit's wrist mid-leap.
The movement was too fast for an untrained eye.
The bandit lost balance in midair, his body twisting before slamming hard into the ground.His horse screamed and nearly slipped beneath him.
The second bandit managed to land on the cart.
Shock flickered across his face as he saw his companion fall, but he had no time to think.
His sword was already raised, swinging toward Dara.
She turned again.
The sash followed, curving like a serpent through the air.
Its end struck his wrist with a sharp snap.
The sword flew from his hand.
As if she were dancing atop the shaking cart, Dara moved once more.The sash looped briefly around the bandit's neck… then released him with a powerful shove.
Within seconds, he was thrown off the side of the cart, rolling across the open ground.
But the danger was not over.
From behind, the remaining bandits shouted.
They raised their bows again… but this time, not upward.
They aimed straight ahead, parallel to the cart, waiting for the perfect moment between jolts.
Dara stopped moving.
The sash drifted down, coiling back around her arm.
She faced the pursuers.
And this time… she did not move quickly.
Her hand rose slowly, fingers open, tracing a pattern in the air.
The wind shifted once more.
What had been wild now began to turn with order, forming a controlled spiral that crawled along the road.
Dust and small stones on the ground began to tremble…
Then lift.
One by one.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
The pebbles lifted into the air, spinning and circling the cart, drawn into the vortex of wind that had now taken visible shape.
Behind the cart, the air began to pulse.
A faint ring of light appeared, hovering midair.It wasn't blinding, but it was unmistakable… enough to make anyone who saw it instinctively brace for what came next.
Intricate patterns etched themselves into the air.Layered lines forming a living circle.Ancient Pallava script glowed softly, throbbing like a heartbeat.
Dara extended her hand.
And the world behind them exploded.
pfffush.....
pfffush.....
The stones launched forward all at once, fast and precise, like a storm of bullets fired straight from the sky.
Screams tore through the air as the bandits were struck.
Some were hurled from their horses.Others collapsed with cries of pain, arms and shoulders shattered under the impact.Several panicked, wrenching their mounts around as weapons slipped from their hands.
They were no longer attacking.
They were fighting just to survive.
Arrows that had already been loosed were scattered midair, ripped apart by the spinning wind and thrown uselessly to the ground.
The cart never stopped.
The horses ran on pure instinct now, lungs burning, bodies slick with sweat and dust.
Behind them, the stones continued their relentless assault, forcing the bandits to abandon the chase and scatter.
Then… silence.
The glowing circle flared one last time before fading away.The pebbles fell one by one, clattering harmlessly onto the road.
Dara lowered her hand.
The wind eased.Dust settled.
As if none of it had ever happened.
The driver slowly pulled the reins back.The whip that had been raised moments ago dropped limply to his side as the horses were coaxed into slowing, their breathing still ragged.
The man let out a long breath, more prayer than sound.
"…Thank the Gods," he murmured, mostly to himself.
He turned halfway around, voice hoarse with dust and lingering shock, his cart scarred by arrows embedded in its frame.
"If it weren't for you… I don't even want to imagine what would've happened to me or this cart."
Jaka stared at Dara, eyes wide.Anindya covered her mouth, her breathing still uneven.Danu didn't even think to raise his handycam… his hands were shaking too badly.
Bandung stood frozen.
The small knife was still clenched in his hand, unused.
"…What," he managed to say, voice catching,"…what was that just now?"
Dara didn't answer right away.
She lifted her hand and removed the Srikandi mask from her face.A few strands of hair fell loose, her expression tired… but calm.
Then she smiled lightly, almost sheepishly.
"Hey, hey… don't look at me like that," she said, her tone cheerful again as she lifted the mask as if it were a toy.
"Just think of it as… a little trick."
Her gaze flicked from one face to another, mischief glinting in her eyes.
"But promise me one thing," she added with a wink."Don't tell anyone I can do things like that."
Danu swallowed hard, disbelief written all over his face.
"A… little trick?"
"That was a little trick? Then what does a big one look like?"
Jaka elbowed him lightly, though his own eyes never left Dara.
Fear and awe tangled together in his expression, impossible to hide.
Bandung slowly relaxed his grip.
But his gaze stayed fixed on her.
Not because of the magic.
But because, in that moment, he understood just how vast the world truly was…how many things he didn't yet know…and how some distances could never be crossed.