“Come with me,” said Rambha as she dashed to her right. Uruvi did not question and quietly followed her.

  They reached the end of the floor, where the edge met the side of the building. Rambha flicked open the locks on her briefcase, and from it popped out two guns. She grabbed onto them before passing one to Uruvi.

  Uruvi saw the four hands of a hook jetting out of the barrel of the gun. “Is this a grappling gun?” she asked.

  “Bingo!” said Rambha. The swarm was almost upon them. “They aren’t strong enough to pull us up. But we can use the wall to run up.”

  Uruvi got an idea of what she meant. “Whoa. That is going to be a difficult maneuver.”

  Rambha flashed a smile and asked, “pretty sure you can survive a fall from here.”

  Uruvi quietly rolled her eyes.

  “Ready?” asked Rambha.

  “Yup.”

  “Then jump!”

  They leapt off the edge, facing towards the sky, before firing their guns. The hooks shot through the air and slammed into the topmost parapet, cutting into the concrete as they held on for dear life. Uruvi thought for a second that her arm would snap as the wire stretched under her weight.

  “Swing!” said Rambha.

  She didn’t have to, as the momentum from her jump carried her forward. They swung forward, turning around the corner before reaching the wall. She planted her feet firmly onto the side of the wall and began to run. As they reached closer to the terrace, she could feel the loss of speed, but she had more than enough strength to cross the last few meters to reach the top.

  She jumped off the parapet, letting go of the gun, before making a perfect landing onto the terrace floor. She looked to her left and saw Rambha tumbling forward before coming to a stop.

  “Ow. Ow. Ow,” said Rambha as she picked herself up.

  Uruvi took a quick look around. The place was empty for the most part, except for the small room that housed the stairs and a makeshift shed beside it. She spotted several humans cowering in the shed, who wore fear-stricken expressions. Her gaze shifted towards the tall figure who was down on his right knee. Across from him was an egg-shaped object, whose bluish-black shell reminded him of the Pisacha.

  “Are we late?” asked Rambha.

  He got back up on his feet and wiped the sweat off his face. “On the contrary. You are just in time,” he said. He was tall and of medium build. His dusky skin was complemented by short black hair and black irises. “There were two more. Did you come across them?”

  “Yeah. They were swarmed by the Pisacha, but they are fine now,” said Rambha. They walked up and stood beside him.

  “That is good to hear,” said Ashwin.

  Uruvi got a good look at his face. It was lean and clean-shaven with a well-defined jawline and sharp cheekbones. “What happened here?” she asked.

  “Was supposed to be a simple mission. We wanted convert this building into a safezone. But then a Pisachi appeared out of nowhere and summoned an entire army.”

  Uruvi looked at the egg and said, “is that it?”

  “That is it, alright. One mean bitch,” said Ashwin.

  The shell of the egg began to crack.

  Rambha let out a disgusted grunt. “It is coming. Either of you peps have a plan?”

  “Can’t say until we know what is coming out of that thing,” said Ashwin.

  They held their nerves and watched in bated breath. The crack widened, and through it popped out a pair of hands, whose fingers were long and sharp. Each held onto the edge of the crack and began to push the halves apart. The crack traveled around the shell until it finally snapped, releasing the monster inside.

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  A pair of large wings unfurled themselves, revealing the Pisachi, who looked just as feminine as the ones Uruvi had seen before. Its feet levitated off the ground while it gently flapped its wings to stay in the air. The number 13 appeared over its head along with a full health bar.

  “Oh shit. They can fly now,” said Rambha.

  Uruvi shot a glance at her screen. She was just a few points short of Level 12. “Don’t worry. We got this,” she said.

  The monster flew high up into the blue sky before taking a 180-degree turn and plummeting back to the ground.

  “Break!” said Ashwin, and the three parted ways.

  The Pisachi swooped in, just as it reached the floor and headed straight for Ashwin, who braced for combat. Two bullets flew through the air and towards the Pisachi, but were deflected by the flick of its wing.

  Uruvi jumped in, parrying its claws away. Ashwin, who stood behind her, used the window of opportunity to strike it in the face, but it rolled to its left and dodged the attack.

  It continued onwards, flying past the edge and into the open sky.

  “You are fast!” said Ashwin. “Why don’t you take the lead?”

  “Not much of a planner,” replied Uruvi.

  “Your type doesn’t. Battle instinct is your way of planning,” he said. He pulled up his screen and began typing away on it. “You engage. I will provide you with a buff and give it a debuff.”

  She watched as the Pisachi took a sharp U-turn and headed right for them.

  “Uruvi!” Rambha called her before tossing a circular object. “Stick it in a place it can’t reach. It should produce enough shock to interrupt its attacks.”

  She exhaled and prepared herself for the attack. ‘I guess I am the fighter here.’

  The Pisachi swooped in and swept Uruvi off her feet, before carrying her high into the air.

  Ashwin continued tapping away on his screen for a good few seconds and said, “done. I hope that helps.”

  Fierce wind slammed against Uruvi’s face as she was dragged higher and higher up into the air. She felt her lungs burning, struggling to breathe in the high altitude. ‘How high up are we?’ However, her mind remained active, and her body felt energized. She pushed her hand behind the monster’s back, going as far as she could, before sticking the black puck to it. The monster made no reaction.

  It climbed higher and higher until it finally stopped and tossed her into the air. However, Uruvi caught the Pisachi by its shoulder, and the two appeared to hang in the air for a brief moment. She swung her axe, striking the monster in the neck. It was almost immediately followed by another hit from her new skill, ‘Kickback’. Its health dropped by a few points, but the injury healed almost immediately. It appeared to regain control of its body as it tried to take a swipe at her, but she leaned away from the arc of the attack just in time.

  The two of them began to exchange blows midair as they began losing altitude quickly. Every few seconds, the Pisachi froze mid-action before violently spinning in a circle. ‘It is trying to get rid of the puck!’ Their fall began to pick up speed fast, and soon she found herself hitting terminal velocity. ‘I don’t think I can survive this.’

  The Pisachi tried to flap its wing, but its motion kept getting interrupted by the shocks.

  ‘Rats!’ she cursed under her breath and removed the puck from its back.

  The Pisachi spread its wings, rapidly decelerating its descent. It took a sharp turn, flying just above the terrace floor. She let the monster go and dropped onto the floor, tumbling for a few feet before coming to a stop.

  The monster continued flying off the edge and into the open air once again.

  Uruvi picked herself up. She felt a little light-headed, gently swaying back and forth.

  “You okay?” asked Rambha.

  “Yeah. Yeah. Just a little dizzy.” She shook her head violently to clear the fog in her brain.

  They watched as the monster rose high into the air and circled back towards the building.

  “We could really use someone with long-range attacks now,” said Ashwin.

  Uruvi turned towards Rambha, who shook her head.

  “Sorry, babe. I lack the firepower we need,” she said.

  The Pisachi came to a stop high above them. It had its wings spread wide, hovering silently for a few good seconds, before letting out an ear-piercing scream.

  “God dammit! Not again!” said Ashwin.

  “What? What happened?” asked Rambha.

  “Its summoning its army!” replied Uruvi.

  Tremors shook the whole building. The door to the stairs burst open as more Pisacha came tumbling out.

  The Pisachi spread its arms out. Dark, smoky projectiles shot out from its body and into the air, before descending down onto the building. They smashed into the terrace, exploding on impact.

  Ashwin put his hand into the air and shouted, “Shield of heavenly light!” A golden dome formed above the building, interrupting the monster’s barrage of missiles. “I can only hold it for fifteen seconds. We need to come up with a plan!”

  Uruvi cut down the Pisacha that had invaded the terrace when Rambha slammed a wooden board onto the doorway. Metallic pistons behind the wooden board pushed a bunch of metal rods, sealing the hole tight.

  “Whoa! You pulled that out of your suitcase?” asked Uruvi, killing the last Pisacha.

  “Not really,” replied Rambha.

  They looked back at Ashwin, who was struggling to hold the shield up.

  “I got an idea,” said Uruvi. She laid out a rough plan that she had been cooking up.

  “Not bad!” said Ashwin, gritting his teeth.

  The missile assault stopped, and the Pisachi began to descend once more.

  “It is coming back. You girls ready?” asked Ashwin.

  “Ready,” they replied in unison.