Uninvited Assassin

Rakshas erupts from the body of the Northern Clan's leader and settles onto the council's central table, leaving the emperor to wonder whether he faces a spectre. Caught in a half-formed state between his base and released shapes, the apostle is bewildered by his surroundings, recognizing the Kushans and asking himself why he is not in Falconia. The sight of Silat jogs his memory that he had died once before, and he cannot fathom how he still lives.

Enraged at the terrified Kushans, Rakshas lashes out and demands silence, but hidden warriors parry his blows and even shear off some of his claws. Roderick marvels as he grasps that they are Bakiraka clansmen posing as servants. A general spirits the emperor to safety while Silat, the tapasa and other Bakiraka, Roderick, and Kushan soldiers ready themselves, Daiba cautioning that a single such being can match a thousand men. A burst of astral energy then pours out of Rakshas, which Daiba identifies as an astral gate.

Dark astral creatures spill into the Kushan capital and begin slaughtering its people. Serpico shields Farnese from them with his Sylph Sword, and she names the attackers as trolls born of an emergent Qliphoth before rushing toward the source of the evil od. Silat throws himself into a solo duel with Rakshas, the Elfhelm mages find themselves ringed by trolls, and Guts lies drained by the violent reaction of his brand. The physical issue of Young Animal came with a clear file of exclusive Rakshas art, and in the Japanese text Daiba calls the berserk elephants beast soldiers, the kanji reading given to the pishacha.