The Fourth Beast

30

Enter ExE

II

Heaven of the Hindu Pantheon

This was his favorite place, even though he had never admitted it verbally. This was his workroom, his personal camp, his hiding spot... This office was his haven. And now, this also became the place where he had taken his last breath.

"Your Highness."

Hearing the royal guard's voice, Arjuna calmed his raging emotions.

When he first heard the news, he did not believe it. That Indra, the king of the Gods and Lord of Heaven in the Hindu pantheon, was assassinated. That his father was murdered.

It was just not possible.

And then, he came home and saw his father's lifeless body.

Vishnu, the God of Protection and Preservation, was personally leading the investigation. They had found that his father was poisoned, and during his weakened moment, the assassins had struck.

No one would buy this theory. After all, no such poison existed in the world that could harm someone like Indra. But he was given a detailed report on the poison. A poison that directly attacked one's divinity. A poison that was created for the sole purpose of killing Gods and Goddesses.

And its ingredients matched the ones of 'Blessing of Ophis'.

Of course, the moment he learned about this fact, he immediately informed Vishnu about the existence of the Khaos Brigade. But he was aware of this. It turned out, that Shiva had also been doing a personal investigation on this group. While he wanted to know more in this regard, Vishnu was quite tight-lipped. Arjuna would have directly reached out to Shiva if not for the fact that the God of Destruction was currently unavailable.

Sensing the shift in the mood of the royal guards behind him, Arjuna once again calmed himself. It was hard to reign in his emotions, but this was not the place to let it out. He needed to focus. Taking another deep breath, Arjuna looked at the ruins of his father's office once more.

Even with all the information he had gathered so far, it was hard to picture how it all went down. The explosion caused by the fire of unknown origin wiped out all the traces of the assassins. Still, "Let's give it another try."

He closed his eyes and tried to recreate the event in his head.

His father was either relaxing while doing paperwork or tinkering with ancient artifacts, an old hobby of his. Based on the explosion timing, he was probably having an evening snack – tea with some local delicacies. The food was poisoned. And the moment the poison kicked in, the assassins struck. Two lethal shots – the first one was to the heart, and the second one was to the head. After that, the assassins immediately set the room aflame and retreated.

"Does it mean that the poison was a paralyzing type?"

The poison paralyzed his father for a few short seconds giving the assassins the window of opportunity that they needed – It was a more plausible scenario. Even then, there were so many variables that did not add up, and some downright did not make any sense.

Vishnu found the poisoned teacup, but they still could not figure out where the poison was applied. Everyone in the kitchen room as well as all of Indra's servants and guards... they all came out clean. The only possibility was that the food was poisoned inside the room while his father was away.

It meant that all parts of the assassination process occurred inside the room. Even as a theory, it sounded absurd.

Just like the Biblical Heaven, entry to their Heaven was restricted. And the Royal Palace, which was at the heart of their Heaven, was heavily guarded. Then there was this room; the barriers and the enchantments of it were personally set up by his father. Even he, Indra's own son, could not enter the place without his father's permission.