....
Near the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas and a little ahead of Manali, which is world-famous for tourism, the air today was imbued with the scent of something else entirely.
Ten trucks belonging to the AHSF, filled with soldiers, were heading towards the Indrasan Peak route.
AHSF, which stands for the Auction House Security Force, had one destination...
...the Kaalminar Auction House, nestled in the lap of the Indrasan mountain.
People watched with great excitement, for today was the day they had eagerly awaited. The atmosphere on that road was like a huge fair. With increased traffic, naturally, sales would also be higher, and there is no shortage of sellers in the world.
Slowly, the sun shone higher in the sky, illuminating the white, velvety snow, which filled first-time viewers with thrill. As far as the eye could see, there was a long line of vehicles.
Seeing that queue, little Nikki was enthusiastically waving her hand, but no one responded.
"Hey, Nikki!"
Nikki's mother shouted from behind, but Nikki paid no attention.
"Hey, Nikkiya! Come here!"
Nikki was weaving the threads of her imaginary world, but her mother's voice pulled her out of her fantasy and into reality.
The burden of this reality was as bad for the 5-year-old girl as her homework.
Nikki returned with a sullen face.
Why would expensive cars with tinted windows roll down their glass for Nikki, who was wandering around the fair? They had only one destination...
...The Kaalminar Auction House, nestled in the lap of the Indrasan mountain...
These cars, these expensive vehicles, were making their journey;
But are journeys ever so easy?
"What happened, Nikki? Why are you trembling?"
"I didn't tremble, Mom! The ground trembled!"
Nikki gave a scary answer sweetly. Her mother would have taken it as a joke if she hadn't felt the vibrations herself; and these vibrations were intensifying.
Why would she need to turn around when she already knew why the ground trembled? She quickly picked up Nikki and ran towards the line of vehicles.
More accurately, towards the AHSF vehicles.
And she was not the only one doing this.. everyone was.
Some carrying their children, some clutching whatever belongings they could gather from their shops, some running with their spouse, and some running with their cameras...
It was a stampede, and people were pushing each other, trying to rush ahead. Some got stuck and fell, while others trampled over them and kept running.
No one cared what they were stepping on.
Life is dear to everyone, and when their own life is at stake, many lives lose their lives in the attempt to save their lives.
People were running, screaming and yelling.
"The monster has come!"
"Save us!"
"Call the Fighters!"
"Run, run! Don't stand there!"
"Ah! Someone pick me up! My leg!"
But the AHSF soldiers did not back down; they plunged into the chaos and began saving whoever they could.
Nikki watched the scene, trembling with fear, a scene her mother also watched, clutching Nikki tightly in her arms.
The AHSF quickly loaded people into their trucks, while some soldiers immediately began clearing the traffic from the area.
Nikki was in one of those trucks, her innocent eyes watching the gradually settling snow plume in the distance, behind which was a gigantic shadow.
Before she could see anything clearly, the truck's rear door was slammed shut.
•°•°•°•°•
"How's the situation, soldier?"
"Sir, four people died on the spot, and ten people are seriously injured. They have been dispatched to the nearest hospital."
The soldier's voice alone revealed the seriousness of the situation. The loud sound of many footsteps behind them clearly indicated that they needed to act as quickly as possible.
Just then, a nearby comrade vigorously shook his arm and pointed in one direction, because his mouth couldn't move to describe what his eyes were seeing.
All his comrades looked.
The soldier looked too.
The snow plume in the distance had cleared... and facing them was...
Something that could neither be called an animal nor a skeleton.
A creature shaped like a wolf, approximately 50 to 70 feet tall, was slowly approaching them. Its mouth was half burnt and half wolf-like, while its claw nails were more than 5 feet long. It had a tail, but it was bony, not hairy, and it had three eyes.
The black liquid dripping from its body and mouth was thicker than honey, and whatever it touched, it melted.
Its black-red eyes could be easily seen from the distance where all the AHSF soldiers currently stood.
The satellite phone in the soldier's hand kept repeating 'Hello, hello,' but his attention was elsewhere.
"This... this looks like a 'High-Level' monster!"
Monsters...
These are creatures whose arrival and departure are unknown. The ground just shakes before they appear. So, some assume they emerge by tearing the ground.
But in reality, they wander around like animals and reach a place by sniffing out living flesh.
They have five levels:
Low Level, Medium Level, High Level, Power Level, and Supreme Level.
The higher the level, the more dangerous and the larger the size. And the larger the size, the harder the ground will shake...
"C'mon, boys! Move, move!"
One of them immediately signaled to retreat, assessing the situation, and all of them ran towards their respective jeeps. And those who were already near the jeeps took out their weapons and started moving forward, towards the monster.
The bullets they fired were all electric jolts, as this weakened their powers, bringing them down to the level of a Low-Level monster.
But what do you think? Will the monster just stand there and get shot?
Growling like a wolf, it immediately became aggressive and started throwing the goods from the fair towards them. The soldiers immediately had to take cover behind the jeeps, and the bullets that did manage to reach its body were melted away by the black liquid covering its form.
"This is a 'High-Level' monster; electric bullets won't work. We need to load the EM-47. Quickly!"
The mini-missile system mounted on the front jeep began to be prepared. Meanwhile, the monster crushed all the shops in the fair under its feet and advanced towards the scent of living flesh that was pulling it.
It roared so loudly that the Giant Wheel from the fair flew into the air and landed directly where the missile system on the jeep was being prepared!
"Navnath! Run! Jump!!!"
All the soldiers yelled almost simultaneously. Navnath was preparing the missile in that very jeep. He instantly jumped out of the jeep, and the entire jeep was crushed flat beneath the Giant Wheel, utterly destroyed.
Two people immediately ran to pick up Navnath, while some immediately contacted the Head of the team.
"Sir! Sir! We need a High-Level Fighter. Quick! We won't be able to hold for more than 5 minutes maximum!"
Things were melting without any resistance right before the soldier's eyes. Everything was dissolving, and if this thick liquid fell on any human, they would melt in minutes too.
Not even bones would remain.
"Okay! I'm coming now!"
The line on the satellite phone disconnected....
The monster advancing from the front was growling towards them, though it was walking quite slowly, one step per minute. But its size was also many times that of a human.
Its single step was equal to their 20 steps, and every step made the ground tremble.
All the soldiers immediately boarded the remaining jeeps. Since the program to go to Kaalminar was by truck, the number of jeeps was small.
Still, everyone somehow squeezed in and immediately made a U-turn in the jeeps to move forward.
But would that monster let them go so easily? No.
All three eyes of this half-burnt, wolf-like monster blazed like embers... and it looked towards the rocks above. A sharp ray of light shot out from its eyes, cutting the rocks like a knife, and the rocks tumbled down, falling directly onto the road in front of the jeeps.
The driver of the first jeep braked so hard that, for a few seconds, the entire jeep slid and began to tilt towards the right, near the rocks.
Thankfully, a young soldier immediately leaned to the left of the jeep, adding weight to the raised side. And the jeep fell back to the left with a loud noise.
Thud!
After all, they are human. Reflex actions are common. Especially when a whole heap of dust and stones is collapsing in front of you.
After rocking for a while, the jeep returned to the state it was in before starting.
And the jeeps behind them also stopped.
There was no other option. They were trapped.
The growling from behind had come very close, and with it, the stench of foul breath.
"Grrrrr!!!"
"There is no other way. All soldiers, take your positions."
Navnath, standing in front with electric-bullet-loaded rifles, might not have eyes that glowed like the monster's, but all the soldiers could see the light of determination in them.
"If we have to die, we will die fighting."
A true soldier never backs down.
When death is right in front of you, why fear it? Like a soldier, raise your weapons and fight it. At least after dying, people won't count them among those who ran away.
And perhaps all the soldiers standing there were thinking these thoughts.
Everyone took out their rifles.
Agreed, they won't have much effect on a High-Level monster.
But they will do something. And It's better than zero.
Everyone looked at the monster with shining, determined eyes. That glow was brighter than the glow of the half-burnt animal's three eyes.
They all smiled at each other and began firing. The sudden, intense firing startled the monster for a moment, but in the next instant, it showed even greater aggression.
And now it charged towards them. The ground shook again. But their resolve did not waver.
Because a true soldier never backs down, and Hind[1] has no shortage of such soldiers.
The charging monster, wrapped in the black liquid around its body, lunged towards them, and any soldier it fell upon simply melted like wax.
The difference was that wax remains after burning, but at that moment, nothing remained on the path. The thickness of the liquid swallowed even the bones.
Still, the firing did not stop, and some bullets managed to reach it, and with the shock, the monster began to weaken slightly.
This increased its aggression even more. This time, it gathered a lot of energy in its eyes, making them shine so brightly that it became difficult for the soldiers to look.
All the soldiers closed their eyes, assuming they wouldn't survive now.
Just then, a massive beam of light green energy struck the wolf from behind, causing the wolf to startle and turn back, growling...
...Now the pieces of meat standing in front of it looked much tastier.
The soldiers slowly opened their eyes, and their joy knew no bounds at what they saw.
Standing in front of an armored vehicle was the AHSF Head, Anirudh, and behind him, a girl carrying a rifle on her shoulders.
The same rifle the soldiers were carrying, but its advanced version, made specifically for 'High-Level' monsters.
"Tch! Tch! You said it was a ferocious wolf. But it turned out to be a puppy."
Adjusting his black three-piece suit, a man stepped out.
There was coldness like snow in him...
His voice carried the same coldness of snow that was scattered all around them at that time.
And the same snow-white skin. He put his glasses on his eyes and stepped forward... even ahead of Anirudh.
"Sir, don't go any further; there is danger."
But the man just gave Anirudh a smile and turned back.
The already terrified wolf immediately sprayed its black liquid towards him, which fell upon the man.
All the soldiers' eyes widened, but the man calmly wiped his suit and adjusted his glasses again.
"I thought you were a good puppy. So you took advantage?! Bad boy! Now you will be punished."
That same coldness of snow...
Just then, the wolf leaped towards him. But the man just smiled and snapped his fingers.
Right beneath the wolf, a huge portal opened, so large that the 50-70-foot monster could easily fit inside.
If someone looked from above, they would see blazing lava beneath, already leaping up to claim its prey.
"It's very cold here. Go warm yourself by the fire."
His voice... the same coldness of snow...
The portal closed with a loud growl, which was probably not a growl but a shriek.
Anirudh went to meet his remaining squad, and here, the man dusted his hands as if he hadn't done anything at all.
"Anirudh Sir! How?! How did he make it disappear in an instant?"
Only half the number of soldiers who were initially prepared were left. Only Anirudh could understand how serious the situation was.
Because he knew that for everyone else, that animal was not a 'puppy.'
Still, he gave the remaining ones a forced smile.
"Tushar Sir is the Assistant Manager of Kaalminar. And also a 'Power-Level' Fighter. Understood!"
"Oh! No wonder!"
The soldiers nodded their heads.
Fighter...
Such humans who possessed incredible powers. Those who fought monsters and protected people were called Fighters.
Like the monsters, there are also five levels:
And the higher the level, the more powerful his abilities.
By practicing various meditations and austerities, these Fighters increase their powers and reach higher levels.
The girl holding the rifle ran towards Tushar, holding a phone.
"Sir! We have a big problem. Kālmani and Ojasutra have both disappeared from the auction house."
And for the first time, Tushar's face lost its color. His eyes widened behind his glasses. He shouted at the barely surviving soldiers and ran towards Anirudh.
"Clear this debris. We have to reach the auction house now."
_________________________________________
To be continued...
[1] India