The roaring wind vanished the moment Karna plunged into the ocean after Subhadra.
Cold black water swallowed him instantly.
The impact erupted around his body with violent force as waves crashed overhead like collapsing mountains.
Far ahead of him, he could see the faint silhouette of Subhadra sinking deeper.
Her hands were still bound.
Her body drifted helplessly through the dark water while her long hair spread around her like black silk floating in the sea.
Karna surged downward immediately.
The pressure of the ocean slammed against him from every side, yet his divine armor parted the waters naturally around his body. Golden radiance flickered faintly around him beneath the sea, illuminating the darkness in brief flashes while currents tore violently against his clothes and hair.
Subhadra's consciousness was already fading.
The cold had begun reaching her lungs.
Her movements weakened.
Then suddenly... strong arms wrapped around her.
For a brief instant, through blurred vision and fading awareness, she saw golden light again.
Karna.
Relief washed through her before darkness almost claimed her senses entirely.
Karna pulled her closer protectively and immediately moved upward.
But then, something strange happened.
A massive shimmering barrier appeared ahead beneath the ocean depths.
It looked like an enormous transparent dome buried within the sea itself, glowing faintly blue beneath the dark waters. Strange ancient inscriptions moved across its surface while schools of luminous fish swam around it fearlessly.
Karna's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then both of them passed through it.
Instantly, the water vanished.
Karna landed upon solid ground.
A heavy sound echoed beneath his boots as he touched the ocean floor inside the enormous barrier. Air filled his lungs normally once more while water droplets slid off his armor and clothes.
Subhadra coughed weakly in his arms, finally breathing properly again.
Karna looked around carefully.
What spread before him resembled an underwater kingdom.
There was no seawater inside the barrier at all.
The vast dome separated an entire region of the ocean bed from the surrounding sea.
Strange glowing corals illuminated the dark surroundings while enormous stone structures rose from the seabed like ancient ruins transformed into cities.
Blue and green crystals embedded in pillars cast an eerie radiance across the area while strange aquatic plants swayed gently despite the absence of wind.
And everywhere... Nagas.
Dozens of them.
Perhaps hundreds.
The serpent race surrounded them rapidly. Nagas were different from snakes. Nagas were a semi-celestial race like the gandharvas. However, mostly, they stay in Patala loka, a beautiful jewel-filled realm with lakes. One could rarely find their tribes living elsewhere.
As for their characteristic, they are neither Asuras nor Devas. So, the type of energy they carry depends on their traits. If they follow dharma, they carry divine energy, and if they follow adharma, they carry venomous and corrupted asuric energy, making their poison even more lethal than normal.
Karna wondered while he looked around in confusion.
The Nagas that surrounded him had lower bodies that resembled enormous snakes, while their upper torsos were humanoid. Some had pale blue skin, some greenish scales, and others darker tones like deep ocean stone. Each of them carried a glowing mani embedded upon their foreheads, radiating faint mystical light.
Their weapons resembled long bidents forged from black metal.
The moment Karna stood fully upright while holding an unconscious Subhadra protectively behind him, the Nagas lowered their weapons toward him instantly.
"Halt!"
"You trespass upon Samudra Naga territory!"
"Drop your weapon!"
The atmosphere became tense immediately.
Karna slowly placed Subhadra behind him while keeping his gaze calm.
"I have no intention of disturbing your peace," he said politely. "This princess was thrown into the ocean by an enemy. I merely came to rescue her and am going to leave. I didn't know about your dwelling here. So, if you lower your weapons, we will be on our way."
The Nagas did not lower their weapons.
Instead, more emerged from behind the coral pillars and stone pathways, tightening the encirclement further.
One of the serpent warriors hissed coldly. "No outsider enters here and leaves freely."
Another raised his bident higher. "You will both remain imprisoned until Nagaraj decides your fate."
Karna's eyes narrowed slightly. That's when he sensed that the energy these people are carrying is strange. He saw beings that are divine, and he saw beings that are asuric. Even Narakasura, despite being born as a divine being, carries asuric energy due to his misdeeds and his alliance with asuras.
However, the Nagas around seemed like they carried both of them for some reason. And there was quite a harmony between divine and asuric energy. Who are these Samudra Nagas? How come he never heard about them? Karna wondered.
Regardless, the priority here is to get back to Dvarika, not to engage in a conversation here.
Karna's tone remained calm as he said, "I do not seek conflict with your people. I'm asking for peace here."
But the Nagas had already made their decision; his call for peace went deaf to their ears.
Several lunged simultaneously without any warning.
The battle erupted instantly.
Karna, carrying the instinct of a warrior, moved before their weapons could even reach him.
Vijaya Bow materialized in his hand in a flash of golden light.
TWANG!
An arrow erupted forth and shattered the first incoming bident midair. Before the broken fragments even touched the ground, Karna pivoted sideways and struck another Naga warrior across the chest with the bow itself hard enough to send him flying backward.
More rushed him at high speeds, slithering across the seabed with frightening speed.
Karna's movements became sharper.
Precise.
and controlled.
He, of course, did not kill them.
Those who came close enough were kicked away violently or struck unconscious through measured blows. One Naga attempted to coil around Karna's legs, but Karna grabbed him directly by the throat and flung him into two others charging from behind.
The underwater kingdom echoed with shouts and hissing cries.
More Nagas poured onto the battlefield continuously.
Their poison attacks began next.
Several warriors spat streams of venom toward Karna while others coated their weapons in glowing, toxic substances. The poison hissed against the ground wherever it landed, melting parts of the coral stone beneath it.
But the poison did nothing to him, with his divine armor nullifying every poisonous effect.
Without worrying about his defense, Karna continued moving through them relentlessly.
The Nagas slowly began realizing it. Fear spread among them.
"This human…"
"The poison isn't working!"
"How is that possible?!"
Karna's arrows flashed repeatedly through the battlefield.
Every shot disarmed.
Every strike precise.
None wasted.
And still he restrained himself.
"I do not wish to slaughter your people," he warned again while knocking another warrior aside. "Move away."
But instead... the pressure around the battlefield suddenly changed.
A deep guttural roar echoed through the underwater kingdom.
The surrounding Nagas immediately retreated.
Then the ground itself trembled slightly.
Something massive approached.
From deeper within the coral city emerged an enormous serpent figure.
Varunaksha.
The Nagaraj towered over the others, his scales dark blue like the deepest parts of the ocean. His upper humanoid torso carried ancient battle scars while golden armor wrapped around portions of his massive serpent body.