Narasimha started running swiftly towards the dilapidated crypt which Dilipa had pointed. By the time he had reached it, his heart beat was racing a thousandfold. His fears were multiplying to astronomical proportions.

What happened to Bhavani in the meanwhile? Was he too late? He hoped he wasn't. Bhavani was a fighter. She wouldn't give up without a fight. It was not for nothing Dilipa had nicknamed her Kshathrani. She truly emulated and became that fighting never-die-spirit even when the odds were stacked up against her.

He meanwhile wondered why the so-called imposter had been abducting teenage girls. Now he began recollecting all the details one by one. The previous three or four cases the villagers of Saavari had recounted were also of young girls. Though there had been men and boys also along with one or two of these girls at the time of abduction, this imposter had been interested in kidnapping only girls.

He could divine no earthly motive for this bizarre train of incidents. It couldn't be for money or jewelry because none of the abducted girls had been wearing anything of value. And it didn't appear that he was indulging in this dastardly act for carnal pleasure. Most of the girls were 'kanyas' and wouldn't have attained their puberty. He was simply disfiguring, mutilating and maiming the girls. The victims were unfortunately dying during the course of these atrocities.

He carefully walked on a tiptoe taking care not to make even the least possible noise. He heard a group of voices furiously arguing among themselves. Narasimha edged closer to listen carefully to the actual import of the words. A gruff voice that was highly grating on the ears emanated from a clearing in the crypt, "That girl loosened her bonds and slashed my hands with the sacrificial sword and escaped from here."

The imposter Yeti taunted, "I brought your ninth and final victim but you couldn't manage even a girl in bonds. You humans are so feeble and effeminate!"

"She was a furious tiger cat. No meek specimen like the other girls you brought. She wouldn't have gone far", the Tantrik in black robes retorted. "And remember, you too are human, just like me. Only a trifle huge. You benefit equally from this ritual. Remember you get all your superhuman strength from these Tantric practices."

"Alright...alright....I will go and get another girl."

"No, we cannot have another girl for this ritual. It has to be her and her alone because I already commenced some of the initial rituals with this girl. Bring her here fast before the moonrise. Or else this ritual will never be culminated and we will lose everything that both of us strove all along to acquire. We will die ignoble deaths", the Tantrik warned.
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Everything now seemed to click and fall into its proper place. This imposter and the Tantrik were engaged in some sort of esoteric practice that would bestow them immense supernatural powers. That was also the reason why he and Dilipa had been unable to stop the so-called Yeti in the first place. Now if the Tantrik and the imposter failed to accomplish this before moonrise, this very ritual would backfire on them leading to their downfall. Bhavani had escaped from there. But, this being the last sacrifice, both the Tantrik and the imposter were pretty desperate. They would try all their means to find Bhavani and finish the ritual. They couldn't go in for a substitute now because the preliminary rituals had already been done with Bhavani.
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As the imposter turned his heels and left in search of Bhavani, Narasimha emerged out of his place of hiding. He quietly pocketed the needles, knives and the sacrificial sword placed near the altar in readiness for the ritual. He said within himself, "Even if the imposter succeeds in finding Bhavani, they will not be able to proceed if all these accessories to the ritual are missing. By that time, Dilipa will surely be here with help."

He decided that a direct confrontation at the present moment was going to be detrimental to their interests. Though the weak, gristly and oil-faced Tantrik in black robes would not pose much of a threat and would be easy enough to dispose, he had known and seen the strength of the imposter Yeti. It wouldn't be a wise decision to be embroiled in a direct face-to-face single combat with him.
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The length of the shadows was widening. It was nearing twilight. Narasimha roughly made a mental calculation when the sun would set and when it would be time for the moonrise. If only Bhavani evaded their net for a short while, this evil duo would not be so invincible. And it had been quite a while since Dilipa had been gone. He must have succeeded in finding help by now. If reinforcements arrived in time, they could take on this evil duo and put an end to their menace once and for all.

Just then he heard the sound of approaching footsteps echoing and thundering through the deserted crypt. For a second, Narasimha's heart leapt at the thought that it could be Dilipa and the villagers coming to their rescue. But it gradually churned and curdled at the sound of the screams he heard accompanying the footsteps.

It was Bhavani's voice. The brute had found her. Narasimha ground his teeth in frustration and punched the nearest wall vehemently dislodging a stray brick of the dilapidated crypt. Luckily, the attention of the Tantrik and the imposter had been too engrossed in the ritual they were about to undertake to notice that anything was amiss.

The imposter laid Bhavani in one fell heap near the statue of Goddess Kali, "Now quick.....begin your ritual." He signaled to the Tantrik to begin the procedure. The shocked Tantrik shook his head.

"What now?" The imposter asked. The Tantrik interjected, "All the needles, knives and swords kept near the altar are missing. I need to sit immediately for the ritual. I need them by the time my ritual is over."

"Excellent! First the girl was missing. Now the things are. You must have misplaced them somewhere here. You begin the ritual. I will search for them." The imposter left in search for the missing articles. The Tantrik sat cross-legged before the statue of the goddess, closed his eyes and began chanting the mantras while running his fingers over the 'Rudraksh mala' in his hand.

Narasimha, noticing that the time was opportune, sneaked up to Bhavani and loosened her bonds. She cried tears of happiness, "I didn't think you would come......(sob)....(sob)" Narasimha comforted her, "I would return for you even from the clutches of death, Bhavani. Now quiet. Wipe your tears. Let's go before his companion comes."

Both of them dashed to the entrance of the crypt and were about to escape when they found the Tantrik standing in their path. Narasimha shuffled Bhavani behind his back so that she would not get hurt in this scuffle. He drew the knife he had hidden in his pocket and repeatedly slashed out at the Tantrik across his chest.

The Tantrik screamed and fell down at his feet begging mercy. Narasimha, his eyes red-hot burning coals of fire, turned to Bhavani and asked, "Does this man deserve mercy, Bhavani? He and his companion killed eight girls before you in the most horrid fashion. You tell me. You are his intended victim. Does he deserve to live?"

Bhavani boldly replied without mincing her words in the very least, "NO! Reduce this burden on earth, Narasimha!"

Narasimha gave her a smile before he proceeded to put her words into action. He never knew that such a rage to kill could consume him. But every time he beheld the bald, oily and gristly face and remembered all the innocent young girls who perished under his hands in the most foul and vicious manner, his anger and fury mounted. This wasn't violence or killing. This was a 'Samharam' or annihilating a scourge of the earth from wreaking further havoc.

At last the Tantrik breathed his last. He had finally paid for all his accrued sins. Retribution had finally but surely arrived at the doorstep of the evil Tantrik for everything he had ever done. He had been the sacrifice of the ritual he himself had started.

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Back at the nearest village,
None of the villagers had refused to accompany Dilipa. They were all still very superstitious and believed that they were still up against some supernatural force or fury and not something human. While Dilipa had been wandering here and there in search of help, he came across the group of Sherpas whom Sukruthi had sent from the Ashram to locate their whereabouts. He narrated everything that had happened including their own findings. They agreed to help him and his friends. They immediately set out to rescue Narasimha and Bhavani.
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At the dilapidated crypt,

Both Narasimha and Bhavani were about to turn their heels and leave the place when the looming monster returned hearing the screams of his companion.

On seeing Narasimha, he furiously growled, "I shouldn't have left you alive the previous time. You spoiled all our well-laid plans. Anyways, I will complete the task I left unfinished the previous time. Then I will offer you and this girl before the altar of Mother Kali."

Narasimha began laughing, "Don't you see when you behold the fate of your companion that even Mother Kali helps only the good and brave......and not evil people like you." He spat on the imposter's face saying, "If your ritual was destined to succeed, the Divine Mother would never have given me a second lease of life. Since she gave me this life, you are doomed."

The imposter gripped Narasimha's neck with all his strength strangling him and flung him near the statue of Godess Kali. As he edged closer to complete the work he had begun, Narasimha beheld the red vermillion and yellow turmeric powder kept in two earthen plates near the feet of the goddess. Lightening quick, Narasimha flung the contents into the eyes of the imposter. His eyes started burning and watering. He shrieked in pain in an ungodly manner as he staggered this way and that knocking everything in his path.

The hour of moonrise had arrived. The moon was shining resplendently in the night sky. All their schemes and rituals had been to no end because the final ritual had been stalled before its completion. His fury was mounting even higher. The twitching in his eyes had subsided and the blurriness was reducing little by little. It no longer stung as much as it first did. His earlier vision was returning little by little. He rubbed his eyes and patted his head to dislodge the powders some of which he had inhaled a little bit which had caused a violent fit of coughing and sneezing.

As Narasimha stood evading the imposter with a burning firebrand in his hand, Bhavani suddenly remembered something she had heard her uncle Aditya Varma say when they came across a huge and mammoth elephant slain by a lion, "Kodithe yenugu kubhastalanne kottali!" (If you have to defeat an elephant, you have to strike him exactly near his forehead!)

Bhavani shouted at the top of her voice pointing towards the imposter, "Narasimha.....Kodithe yenugu kubhastalanne kottali!"

Narasimha paused for a moment to grasp the full import of his friend's words. Yes, that was brilliant. That was how they could annihilate this monster. None of their ordinary fighting techniques or strategies were working against his brute force.

Placing one foot on a nearby ledge, Narasimha climbed lightening quick atop his shoulders. He wrapped his legs in a vice-like grip around his chest. The imposter gasped and panted for breath. He tried to vehemently shake off Narasimha from his shoulders but Narasimha tenaciously held on.

The young lad had realized that this time he had the upper hand over this looming figure. Bhavani picked up the 'Trishul' (Trident) in front of Goddess Kali's statue and flung it towards Narasimha. He instantly caught it and pierced both the eyes of the imposter who screamed in horror as though he stood in the presence of the 'Pralaya Rudra' (The terrible form Lord Shiva assumes at the time of final annihilation).

With another swift strike, Narasimha brought the Trishul down piercing it through the gut of the menace that had threatened entire villages in the Himalayan foothills. This monster in human form collapsed never to rise up again. And it was a thirteen-year-old who had fought and curbed this mighty menace. Narasimha slumped down after this entire ordeal, completely exhausted and drained out.

Dilipa and the Sherpas had also arrived. The simple mountain folk were spellbound by the fight this young teenager had put up against a threat physically ten times stronger than him. They had witnessed it all with their own eyes. They lifted him on top of their shoulders in a victory procession shouting themselves hoarse screaming his name, "Narasimha....Narasimha....Narasimha"

End of Book Six: Lessons for Life on Snowcapped Peaks