Karna released him and straightened, his breathing still steady. He looked down. Bhima slowly lifted his head. Their eyes met.
For a moment neither man moved.
Bhima remembered another time, four years ago, when he confronted Karna but was beaten badly in front of thousands of spectators. Bhima felt an old bitterness rise within him, deep, frustrating hatred.
"You did not change even after four years," Karna said quietly, staring down at him calmly.
Bhima's eyes hardened.
"You..."
He growled and suddenly raised one leg, attempting to strike Karna from the ground.
It was an unexpected movement, a desperate and underhanded attack intended to catch Karna while he was standing too close.
The sole of Bhima's foot came upward toward Karna's chest, but Karna's reflexes reacted before thought could even form.
His left hand shot downward and caught Bhima's leg before it had risen halfway.
Bhima's eyes widened. For an instant he struggled to pull it back, but Karna's grip did not loosen.
Then Karna tightened his fingers and lifted with one hand.
Bhima's entire body came off the ground.
The sudden loss of balance shocked him more than the pain.
He had expected resistance.
He had expected Karna to struggle against his weight.
Instead, his enormous body was suspended by a single hand gripping his leg, and Karna's expression had barely changed.
Bhima twisted his torso, trying to use his weight to break free, but Karna swung him over his shoulder in one controlled movement and slammed him down on the opposite side. The earth struck Bhima's back again.
"Gahhh!" His groan was painful and involuntary.
"Brother Bhima!" Arjuna shouted.
The sound brought Arjuna back into the fight.
He quickly raised his bow, drew several arrows from the quiver, and released them one after another toward Karna at blazing speeds.
This time Karna did not even bother to move. He knew what those arrows could do. He also knew what they could not do.
The divine armor appeared across his body. Arjuna's arrows struck him with sharp metallic sounds. One shattered against his shoulder. Another broke against his chest. A third split apart after striking the golden armor, its fragments falling uselessly into the dust. Karna did not stop.
He simply began walking toward Arjuna, each step measured and steady, as if he didn't care about the arrows at all.
Arjuna's frustration deepened. Karna could see it. He could see the realization forming in Arjuna's eyes, the same realization that had appeared countless times in warriors who had stood against him. Ordinary weapons were not going to stop him.
The knowledge did not make Karna proud. If anything, it made the situation heavier. He did not want to fight Arjuna here. He had come to retrieve Draupadi and return her to the Swayamvara. He had not come to have a friendly battle against Arjuna. Yet Arjuna had already fired upon him, and Bhima had attacked him physically. The path back to a peaceful solution was narrowing with every passing moment.
"I told you earlier," Karna said as he continued toward him. "This is not the arena from four years ago where I would play with you. This is a real battlefield."
Arjuna's fingers tightened around his bow. For a moment he looked at Karna, then at Draupadi behind him, and finally at Bhima lying on the ground. His breathing became heavier. He knew that ordinary arrows were useless. He had already seen Karna's celestial weapon. He had already seen his armor. If he wanted to stop him, he needed something stronger.
Arjuna drew another arrow.
He closed his eyes.
His lips began moving, chanting the mantra of the Agneyastra.
The atmosphere around him changed almost immediately. Heat gathered around the arrow in his fingers. The dry air seemed to tremble, and small tongues of flame began forming along the shaft before growing brighter and more intense.
Arjuna's face became completely focused. There was no hesitation now. Last time they fought, he didn't have the knowledge of any divyastras. But now that he did, Arjuna couldn't help but want to see whether he could deal with Karna with the astras of the devas.
Karna watched him in silence. His expression became still as realization filled his eyes. The Agneyastra.
He raised his hand as well. Vijayadhanush that he left in the chariot a moment ago appeared in his grasp. Then he began chanting the mantra of the Varunastra to counter Arjuna's attack.
Water gathered around the arrow he formed, first as droplets, then as a swirling mass that surrounded the shaft. Arjuna completed his invocation first. The Agneyastra ignited completely, flames roaring around it as he released the weapon toward Karna.
Karna released the Varunastra a couple of seconds later.
The watery divine weapon shot forward, and the two Divyastras met in the sky.
As the Fire and water collided with tremendous force, Draupadi covered her head instinctively, expecting the space above them to erupt in a violent burst of light and steam.
However, only the sound rolled across the surrounding fields, and for a moment the horses pulled nervously against their reins. After that, the two divine weapons consumed one another, their opposing energies cancelling each other before either could reach its intended target. The sky became quiet again.
Arjuna stared. Karna lowered his bow. But before he could move and speak something again, something seized him from behind.
It's Bhima.
Karna's body jerked as the massive warrior wrapped both arms around him.
Bhima had recovered faster than Karna expected, and now he was using his enormous strength to lock Karna's arms against his sides.
His chest pressed tightly against Karna's back, his forearms crossing around Karna's torso as he tightened the hold with every ounce of strength he possessed. The crushing pressure of Bhima's arms closed in around his arms as well.
Karna's eyes narrowed. He tried to move. Nothing. He pushed one shoulder backward, attempting to create enough space to turn, but Bhima's grip tightened immediately.
The pressure increased around his ribs, crushing his breath and forcing the muscles across his back to strain. Karna felt pain spread through his body. For the first time since the fight began, Bhima had managed to hurt him.
Karna's breathing became deeper, but he refused to make a sound.
He would not give Bhima the satisfaction of hearing him groan, and more importantly, he did not want his concentration broken. His hands were trapped. His arms could not move freely. Vijayadhanush remained useless in his grip because he could not bring the bow into position.
*Strong,* Karna admitted silently. He had always known Bhima was strong. But knowing something and experiencing it were different matters. Bhima's grip was becoming tighter. Karna tried to move his right arm. Nothing. He tried his left. Still nothing. For a brief moment, a strange thought crossed his mind.
*So this is how you intend to win.* There was no anger in the thought. Only disappointment.
Bhima then shouted toward Arjuna. "Arjuna! Shoot the arrow and defeat him!"
Arjuna froze. His eyes moved from Bhima to Karna. "Brother…" His voice carried hesitation. He understood what Bhima was asking. Karna could not defend himself properly as his arms were trapped. His bow could not be used. If Arjuna released a Divyastra now, Karna would have almost no ability to respond. But that was precisely what troubled him.
"It is wrong," Arjuna said.
Bhima's expression hardened. "This is a battlefield, Arjuna!" He tightened his grip around Karna again. He could see the hesitation in his brother's face and became more forceful. "This is not the time to think about right and wrong. That is Brother Yudhisthira's job. Think about Draupadi instead."
Arjuna's eyes moved toward her. She was still there. Draupadi had not moved. She stood behind him, watching the two men who had been hidden from her for so long now fighting openly. Arjuna was no longer Arindhama. Bhima was no longer merely the enormous Brahmana she had occasionally noticed. They were Pandavas. They were warriors. They were the men who had lived disguised in the same household where she had first encountered the man she had fallen for. And Karna stood before them, still refusing to use his full strength against an unarmed opponent even now.
Draupadi thought that maybe it was because he was hesitating because of her.
She was worried about Karna being trapped, but she was confident in Karna's Divine armor. At the very least, he wouldn't be injured. Hence, she was expecting Arjuna to knock him out so that they could leave.
Bhima's voice broke through Arjuna's thoughts. "If you waste this opportunity, Karna will take back Draupadi to Kampilya. Do you want that? Use a Divyastra now. With his Kavach Kundal, he wouldn't die anyway..."
Arjuna's hand remained on the bowstring. His mind was caught between two things. The woman he loved was behind him. And the man he respected was trapped in front of him. For one terrible moment, Arjuna could not decide which duty he was supposed to follow.