The figure at the front of the advancing army threw off her hood completely. Her long hair, dark as a moonless night, streamed behind her in the rising wind. Her eyes burned with a fierce mix of grief and rage, locked directly on Bahubali.
In her hands, she carried Bhallaladeva's broken crown and the crimson royal seal ;proof of her bloodline and her vow.
Gasps spread through the Mahishmati soldiers.
"Is she Bhallaladeva's heir?" someone whispered in disbelief.
Another guard's hands trembled on his spear. "I thought his bloodline ended with him…"
Bahubali stepped forward, sword gleaming in the morning light. Devasena moved beside him, her bow drawn and arrow ready. Kattappa stood close behind, his old eyes narrowing as he studied the girl's every movement.
The young woman lifted her chin, her voice cutting across the field like a sharp blade.
"I am Avanti," she called out. Her words rang out clearly, echoing against the broken walls of Mahishmati. "Daughter of Bhallaladeva. My father's blood lives on through me, and so does his pain… and his unfinished vengeance."
Behind her, the army pounded their shields in thunderous support.
Avanti took another step forward. Her stare didn't waver for even a moment.
"You stand there, calling yourselves free, celebrating a false dawn. You kneel before the man who killed my father. You think this new kingdom is pure? It is built on betrayal and soaked in innocent blood."
Silence spread across the Mahishmati courtyard. Some villagers pulled their children closer, their faces tight with fear.
Bahubali's fingers tightened around his sword as he drew in a steady breath. His voice rose, strong and calm.
"My brother was destroyed by his own greed. Mahishmati suffered under his rule. He burned our fields, tore apart families and made our people live in fear."Bahubali stepped closer, his words sharp and true.
"This kingdom stands today because we chose courage over fear, unity over tyranny. Your father chose only himself."
Avanti's jaw trembled, her eyes shining with tears she refused to let fall.
"You lie!" she screamed. Her voice cracked with rage. "You took everything from me… my father, my home, my future. Today, I will reclaim it all!"
She raised her sword high, and her army charged forward behind her, a wave of iron and fury.
Bahubali turned quickly to Kattappa.
"Get the villagers to safety. Protect the children and the elders first," he ordered.
Kattappa nodded, his expression fierce. "I will hold them back with the guards until my last breath."
Devasena's eyes stayed locked on Avanti. Her voice came out low and steady.
"She is strong. And her pain is real."
Bahubali glanced at her, his gaze steady. "Pain cannot rule us. We must end this, for all our people."
With a deep breath, Bahubali stepped forward, raising his sword high.
"To every heart that stands for Mahishmati, to every soul who fought for this land ;stand with me! For our children, for every life lost, for every dream that deserves to live!"
A roar rose from behind him, swelling like a giant wave.
Villagers, soldiers, archers and even the wounded lifted their weapons. Their fear turned into a powerful, roaring resolve.
Arrows flew into the sky. Steel clashed against steel. The valley trembled under the weight of a new war.
In the center of it all, Bahubali's eyes never left Avanti. She charged straight toward him, each step a fierce heartbeat of destiny.
Their swords finally crashed together, and the echo thundered across the valley. Sparks flew with every strike as their eyes locked, full of fire and pain.
Avanti screamed, her blade driving forward. "I will end you for my father!"
Bahubali's gaze softened for a heartbeat even as he held her back. "You fight with rage, but your heart is not evil," he said quietly. "You do not have to carry your father's sins."
Her eyes flickered with doubt, just for a moment, but she swung again, each strike more desperate than the last.
Around them, warriors fell and rose again, arrows rained down like furious stars and the ground itself seemed to quake with each clash of metal and roar of battle cries.
Above the valley, the sun began to disappear behind thick, dark clouds. The bright morning light faded into a heavy, stormy twilight.
As they fought, their blades locked once again.Avanti pushed forward, her voice shaking. "You destroyed my life!"
Bahubali pressed back, his strength unwavering. "You can choose your own path. You can break free."
Just then, a sudden shadow moved over them.
A monstrous war elephant covered in black iron armor, marked with Bhallaladeva's old sigils, charged toward them with a deafening roar.
Bahubali's eyes snapped up too late.
He shouted, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "Devasena!"
The ground shuddered beneath the beast's massive feet.
In that moment, the line between victory and ruin hung by a single breath.As the elephant thundered closer, Bahubali tightened his grip on his sword.
Avanti's eyes widened in shock.
And in the very next heartbeat, the storm above finally broke, unleashing a rain that drenched the earth and turned the battlefield into a roaring sea of mud and blood.