The Bhootha spread its arms before a cloud of fire erupted from its body.

  “Barricade!” Uruvi shouted just as the fire reached. An invisible shield formed before her, guarding her from the intense flames. ‘Damn this thing!’

  “Warning. Chances of burning are high,” said Arya.

  “Burning? Is that like a stat?”

  “Affirmative. Burning will constantly reduce health by certain points every second.”

  “How wonderful…”

  “Negative. Burning will not be pleasant.”

  She quietly rolled her eyes. As the flames retreated, she lunged forward and sprinted towards the monster at full speed. The ground beneath her felt like wet clay, turning sticky and slimy. ‘Its fire is so intense, it is burning the asphalt…’ She could see the tint of the shield moving with her, which made her feel somewhat safe. But as she reached it, the heat only intensified.

  She took a quick swipe at the monster, swinging her axe aimed at its neck. The Bhootha dodged easily, ducking beneath the arc of the attack. It countered by trying to slam its hand into her stomach, only to be blocked by the shield.

  Cracks appeared on the tint, causing her to leap back just as the shield shattered. The Bhootha immediately charged at her, swinging its arms. She dodged its flurry of attacks with ease before replying with her own sequence of attacks. Her swings were targeted and precise, but the Bhootha was simply faster. It dodged every attack with grace, almost like a dancer in sync.

  ‘It looks fragile, but I can’t even land one hit…’

  A vortex appeared at the center of its ribcage, sucking all the fire around it. She knew what was coming next.

  “Barricade!” She shouted just as another ball of fire exploded from its chest. The shield blocked the majority of the attack but shattered just as the fire receded. Sprouts of ember were thrown into the air, which landed on her jacket, but bounced off without troubling her. She quickly retreated, putting a good distance between them.

  She felt her body heat up. The road around her was cooking her alive, forcing her to inhale hot air and making her sweat profusely. ‘I can handle its flames, but I have no defense against the heat. What do I do…?’

  “Grak! Sok! Lar!” said the Bhootha before another ball of fire erupted from it.

  “Barricade!” she said. Another shield formed before her, blocking the relentless flames. “How the fuck am I supposed to fight you if you keep exploding every two minutes!” She shouted in frustration.

  The Bhootha threw its hands into the air and appeared to laugh, infuriating Uruvi even more.

  “You must be so proud of yourself…,” she whispered before kicking a loose stone at it. The small stone flew through the air, nicking the Bhootha’s skull before disappearing into the burning bus. It reacted to the hit by rubbing its skull with its hand. “Hmm…” She slammed the blade into the asphalt and twisted it, tearing the tar off the base. She swiped the axe up, pulling the loose tar before smacking them with her axe, sending them flying towards the Bhootha.

  The projectiles smashed into the monster, causing it to stagger backwards. The health bar shrank by about 5 percent.

  ‘What’s this? Why didn’t it dodge?’ She wondered.

  It shook its head violently before appearing to shout at her angrily. The fire around it was sucked into the vortex and exploded into another fireball.

  “Barricade!” She shouted.

  “Shield active. Cannot cast another shield,” said Arya.

  “Are you kidding me?” The weakened shield shattered just as she ducked below, hiding behind the blade of her axe. The intense heat slammed into her, causing her skin to burn red hot. She let out a loud scream before jumping around flailing her hands, in a vain attempt to cool down. “Hot! Hot! Hot!”

  “Warning. Burning status active,” said Arya.

  The monster let out another roar of laughter before charging at her.

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  Spotting the monster heading for her, she grit through the pain and swung her axe around. The Bhootha immediately stopped and ducked. Although confused at first, Uruvi quickly understood what was going on, causing a wide grin to appear on her face. ‘It can’t see the stones!’

  She scratched the road with her axe, tearing the tar and creating rubble. Flicking them up into the air, she smashed them towards the monster, who was recovering from its defensive position. The stones cut through its bones, leaving behind nicks and tears as it staggered for a moment. The health bar shrank by another 5 percent.

  She used the window of opportunity to close in before swinging her axe. The monster moved, barely missing the blade as it scratched its spine. Another vortex formed at the center of its ribcage, forcing her to leap back and cast another shield. The blast of fire slammed into the shield, shattering it just as it dissipated.

  Her lungs began to burn while her breathing only got heavier. She looked down at her health bar and saw that it had shrunk by 15 percent. There was a fire symbol above the bar. ‘Alright. I need to pick up the pace.’

  She feigned an attack by blindly swinging her axe, and the Bhootha reacted by bringing its hands before its face. Seizing the opportunity, she rushed in and slammed the axe into the road right before it. A golden hue formed around her as she twisted the axe and tore through the asphalt, before smacking the debris. Pieces of tar shot through the Bhootha like bullets, bringing its health down to less than half. ‘It really is like glass! Just a few more hits.’

  The Bhootha reacted by charging at her and swinging its flaming arms. She parried its attacks with the blade of her axe. ’20 percent boost. Hope this works.’

  Red aura surrounded her as Arya said, “warning! Health below 50 percent.”

  She grit her teeth and smashed the blade into the monster’s ribcage. Her axe sliced through its bones like it was made of butter, cleaving it in half.

  The monster's jaw dropped as its body began to inflate like a balloon.

  “Oh, shit!” She spun around and made a run for it, making sure to cast a shield.

  The Bhootha’s body exploded into a massive fireball, sending out a shockwave powerful enough to shatter the shield and throw Uruvi off her feet.

  She landed on cool asphalt, scraping her skin as she rolled onto her back. She was finally able to take a deep breath of the cold air of the night, letting out a chuckle as she exhaled. “That… that was close.”

  “Warning! Health below 30 percent,” said Arya.

  “Right. Rejuvenating glow!”

  Her health bar shot up into the low sixties. She sat up, looking at the carnage left behind by the Bhootha. “Not going to lie… that was fucking awesome!” She couldn’t deny the rush of excitement she felt from the battle.

  She looked at the screen and saw her XP shoot up to the halfway mark. “What! That is so low!” She let out a grunt as she got back up on her feet, pushing through the numbing pain of her aching muscles.

  The fire from the bus began to spread to the surroundings, cutting off access to the road entirely. “Well, that is a big mess. Arya, how far are we from our destination?”

  The map screen opened up and showed that she was still about five kilometers from her destination. “Welp. You will need to find a way around the bus.”

  She was familiar with the place, which was referred to by the locals as Night Street. The place was crawling with Pubs and Restaurants, often serving as a resting spot for the IT workers in and around the area, staying busy around the clock. Many times, she was brought here by her company for fancy lunches and dinners.

  “Affirmative. Detour possible.” The detour added only ten extra minutes to her journey.

  She quickly hopped onto it, trotting towards a narrow road tucked between two buildings. However, seeing the place drenched in pitch-black darkness made her reconsider her options.

  She looked to her left and saw that the front of the building had caught on fire. “Sharpen…” she whispered. The fire brightened into white light, the sound of the night around her became clearer, she felt a strange tingle, like world around her was wide awake. But the darkness barely budged. “Hey, what gives? Why can’t I see in the dark…? Arya?”

  “Sharpen doesn’t give ability to see in the dark. It improves special awareness. However, it can still an advantage when navigating the dark.”

  “Rats… I am not so sure about this… isn’t there any other way?”

  “Negative. The best path forward is to go around the block. Estimated time to get back onto the highway, ten minutes.”

  “Well, I am definitely not going through that pitch-black area.”

  “Suggestion. Use a smartphone flashlight to light the way,” said Arya.

  “Hey! That is not a bad idea!” She pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. It wasn’t strong, but just enough to illuminate the path in front of her. “Hmm… Yeah. I am not so sure…” She turned her attention towards the burning bus and said, “We still don’t know who wrecked the bus. Are Pisacha capable of setting a trap?”

  “Affirmative. More powerful Pisacha are capable of being sentient enough to set traps.”

  “Really? The only high-level Pisacha I have seen is that mountain, and it sounded like it had fewer brain cells than me.”

  “Affirmative. It was less intelligent than you.”

  “Learn to understand sarcasm, Arya!” She whispered, seething through her teeth. She looked into the abyss before her and took her first step, making sure to rest on her toes. The map was open on the screen before her, and the path had been marked. ‘I can do this! I just need to be sneaky.’

  She tiptoed along the metalled road like a mouse. The light only illuminated the path in front of her. The dead silence only contributed to her anxiety, as she always remembered this place being full of life.

  A few shops down the street, she took a hard left, passing through an archway. ‘It is going good, it is going good. We are almost there...’

  As she looked up ahead, she spotted two faint circles of lights hovering in the air. Almost immediately, they turned towards her, followed by the words, “who is there?”

  Her heart leapt to her throat while her body froze. But as the shock subsided, it was replaced by the warmth of hope. ‘Humans?’