The days at the bungalow were a grueling cycle of failure and physical pain. Surya’s hands were a map of raw skin, blisters, and purple bruises. By the seventh evening, the inflammation was so severe that his fingers refused to curl around a spoon. He sat on the porch, staring defeatedly at his dinner, when a familiar presence appeared in the twilight.

  "Hey," a soft voice called out. It was Vaishu.

  Surya looked up, trying to hide his trembling hands. "Hey. How’s your injury?"

  "It’s better now," she said, walking closer.

  Surya let out a self-deprecating snort. "That’s great. So, what’s the matter? Did you come all this way to meet me?"

  Vaishu didn't snap back this time. "The thing is... I wanted to thank you for saving me."

  "I'm not the one who saved you," Surya muttered, looking at the ground. "It was Chandru—Moonmask. I just got kicked in the head by the vamp."

  "But you tried to protect me and the child," Vaishu insisted gently. "Efforts matter, Surya."

  Surya blinked, surprised by her warmth. "Suddenly you're speaking in such a light tone? It doesn’t really fit you."

  "I wanted to apologize for what happened back at the hotel," she said, her voice sincere.

  Surya waved it off with his forearm. "It’s nothing. Forget it."

  Vaishu looked away, her shoulders slumping as she leaned against the porch railing. "The truth is, that day in the Mongol Forest... I was terrified. My power feels like a curse sometimes. It’s built for escaping, not for standing ground. I can't hit a Mythic, and I can't shield anyone. I felt like a coward, just flickering away while you took the hits."

  ?"It’s not like that," Surya said firmly. "You held those Vamps off. You bought the time Moonmask needed to arrive. And most importantly, you played the most vital part of that rescue."

  ?Vaishu looked at him, skeptical. "What part?"

  ?"Protecting the child," Surya said, his voice dropping an octave. "If anything had happened to him, all our efforts—mine, yours, Subha’s—would have been for nothing. You kept the only life that mattered safe. That’s not cowardice, Vaishu. That’s duty."

  A small, genuine smile touched her lips, the first he had ever seen. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, I’ve been making progress. Today, Guru Pedro taught me the first step of Magnum Teleportation."

  ?"What’s that? Sounds expensive."

  ?"It’s an upgrade," she explained, her eyes brightening with a spark of pride. "Instant Teleportation only moves me—and maybe one other person—to somewhere I can see. Magnum lets me shift multiple people at once. And eventually, I’ll learn Distant Teleportation. That’s the big one. Traveling to places that are beyond my vision."

  Surya sighed, the weight of his own failure feeling heavier. "That's great progress. You are already mastering advanced techniques, and I can't even beat a bag of cotton. I feel like I'm not supposed to dream of becoming a Vessel; if I can't even protect myself, how can I protect others?"

  Vaishu reached out, her eyes kind. "You won't know the value of your power if success comes too easily, Surya. A slow build means a strong foundation. Don't rush the essence."

  She noticed him wince as he tried to pick up his bowl. Seeing the deep scars on his palms and the way his hands shook, her expression softened into one of pure empathy.

  "Here, let me," she said softly. She took the spoon and held a small portion of rice toward his mouth.

  Surya’s face turned bright red. "No... no... it’s fine! I can eat myself... but thanks."

  Vaishu didn't move the spoon. "Just eat, Surya."

  Surya looked at the spoon and then at her. Eventually, he accepted the offer. Under the dim light of the porch, they shared a genuine conversation, the bitterness of the previous days finally beginning to fade.

  The horror began with a simple trick. It's the dusk and a school bus driver, nearing the end of his shift, asked the last child on board for his stop. The boy, seemingly innocent, guided the bus deep into the lightless mountain passes. When the driver turned back to ask for final directions, the "child" peeled away his own skin, shedding his human disguise to reveal the twisted, visceral form of a Goblin. The driver’s final moments were filled with the sight of Mixed-blood vampires waiting in the shadows.

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  At the bungalow, Surya was oblivious to the tragedy. He was desperate for a breakthrough. "Chandru, give me a hint. How do I break this dummy?"

  "Attack the soul before the body," Chandru replied enigmatically. "Consider the dummy a vampire. If you hit the physical shell, it resists. But if you strike the soul before the body realizes it’s been hit, it dies instantly."

  Chandru demonstrated, his fist moving with rhythmic grace.

  CRACK!

  With a soft hit, the dummy burst into fragments.

  But before Surya could try again, a dark cloud fell over Section D.

  The bus driver had been found. His stomach was a grisly canvas for ancient vampiric runes. The translation was a direct provocation: “I hear you’re strong. Meet me in the yard behind the old church tonight. I challenge you to a fight.”

  "It’s a Pure-blood," Guru Pedro warned, his face grim. "They use the ancient script to communicate messages. The vampire intentionally did this to signal his 'thread.'"

  Surya asked curiously, "It seems like it is addressed to a specific person... is it you, Mr. Pedro?"

  "No," Pedro replied. "He is not challenging me. It’s him."

  "Who?" Surya asked.

  Pari answered, "It’s Chandru. He’s the one who has slaughtered a vast number of vamps. This letter is definitely addressed to him."

  "Don't go, Chandru. It’s a trap," Pedro said, gesturing toward him.

  But a second message arrived, translated from the script written across the victim's shoulder: “Until you show up, the murders will continue. The driver's body is but a sample.”

  Pedro, knowing the lethal power of a Pure-blood, ordered the students to stay put while he sought reinforcements from other Sections. But when he turned his head, the table where Chandru had been sitting was empty. Pedro realized then: he had already accepted the duel.

  That night, Chandru donned his gear: a sleek black suit, white gloves with open fingertips, and a full white mask. He arrived at the ruins of the old church to find Heera waiting. The Pure-blood’s presence was overwhelming—nearly three times the strength of a Mixed-blood.

  "So you are the one," Heera smirked. "So young. I can even hear your heartbeat."

  Chandru remained silent for a moment before asking, "You are a Pure-blood, right?"

  "Yes," Heera replied. "Do you have doubts?" He continued, "I didn't come here to protect those low-life Mixed-bloods. I came for you. I’ve killed nearly fifty Vessels, including thirty-three Weaponized Normans, but I haven't faced a Vessel of your kind. It seems you are a newly evolved version. I thought it would be fun if you actually gave me a challenge."

  "Where is the woman?" Chandru asked, his voice a cold, steady blade cutting through the darkness.

  Inside the shadows of the church, the hidden Mixed-bloods muttered. "How did he find out the girl is here?" a random vampire whispered to Tharag. Tharag remained silent.

  Heera’s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his pale features. "Oh? You found out? How did you know she was here? My Mixed-bloods kept her heartbeat masked in the cellar."

  "Much like you," Chandru replied, his blue-veined hand twitching slightly, "I, too, can sense the heartbeat."

  "Tell me... why did you kidnap her? I know it's not for hunger; if it were, she would be dead by now."

  Heera threw his head back and laughed, a jagged, unsettling sound. "You are right. The woman is young and beautiful. Sometimes, beauty overrides fate. I'll use the girl for my own satisfaction, and then I'll feed her to the Mixed-bloods."

  "Give her back," Chandru said.

  Heera leaned forward, his claws extending with a sickening shink. "Bold boy. Let’s make a deal: I’ll tell you exactly where she is once you land at least a single hit on me. Until the battle is over , I promise that none of our Mixed-bloods will lay a hand on her."

  "Did you hear that, boys?" Heera shouted, signaling to the hidden vampires.

  "AGREED," Chandru said.

  The battle begins. Heera’s speed was blinding, initially overpowering Chandru. A massive blow forced Chandru to cross his arms in defense, the impact slamming him into a stone wall with enough force to crack the masonry.

  "I think you won't sustain long enough," Heera gloated.

  But Chandru breathed deep.

  A thin, glowing layer formed over the pupils of Chandru’s eyes.

  

  As the layer began to glow, blue veins erupted across his arms and his entire body. His speed doubled instantly. Heera’s smirk vanished as he realized he could no longer even touch the Vessel. With effortless lunar grace, Chandru tucked his hands into his pockets, dodging Heera’s frantic strikes with ease.Enraged, Heera stepped hard on Chandru’s shoe to lock him in place and swung a lethal punch. In slow-motion vision, Chandru’s hands whipped out of his pockets with twice the speed, burying a strike deep into Heera’s abdomen. He followed with a sequence of lunar-enhanced strikes that brought the monster to his knees.

  In the cellar, a random Mixed-blood whispered to Tharag, "He’s down! We need to save him!"

  "Don't," Tharag hissed. "Let’s go. He’s finished."

  "It’s our duty to save the Pure-bloods," the vampire retorted. "If you want to run, go ahead. I’m going to save him."

  Just as Chandru prepared the finishing blow, a cry echoed from the cellar. The rogue Mixed-blood emerged, holding a knife to the kidnapped woman’s throat. "Kill him, and she dies!"

  In a blur of motion, Chandru ignored Heera and shattered the Mixed-blood into pieces, rescuing the woman in a single move. In the ensuing chaos, Tharag managed to seize the wounded Heera, and they vanished into the night.

  From the shadows of a nearby building, Guru Pedro watched it all. He had arrived to protect his student, but he remained frozen in awe. "This kid is something else," he whispered.

  The rescued woman thanked Chandru, her eyes lingering curiously on his suit and his cheap pygmy watch. Noticing her gaze, Chandru asked, "Have you seen this watch or this suit before?"

  "No," she replied, looking confused.

  Meanwhile, a bleeding Heera reached the vampire den with Tharag. The other vampires, terrified by his state, began clamoring to inform the Council. The den became a roar of panicked voices.

  "Stop!" Heera hissed, striking a random vampire to silence the room. "It is a shame for me to fall to a nineteen-year-old Vessel. If word of this gets out, I will kill you all myself."

  The den fell into a deathly silence. What began as a mission had now become a matter of prestige. Heera turned his cold, narrowed eyes toward the darkness. "Did the informer say anything else?" he asked Tharag.

  "I will check and update you," Tharag stammered.