Uruvi caught the axe by its handle and took a swing at Mel and Kree, both of whom had leapt back on seeing the axe.

  She could see the deep frowns that had painted their faces. “Tch! Well, at least you know who is in trouble.”

  Manvee appeared beside her, pointing her sword at the Vetala while the Male Vetala slowly picked himself off the floor.

  “Thanks for the save…” said Uruvi.

  “Hey, what else are friends for, am I right?” said Manvee.

  Uruvi broke into a smile. “Sunil was fighting this woman. Is he okay?”

  “Hmm…,” Manvee pursed her lips.

  “It is okay. Give it to me straight,” she said.

  “Not good. But he is breathing.”

  She gritted her teeth. ‘I guess I have to go with the lie.’ She shook her and said, “You know the drill. Make them bleed.”

  Mel wore a disgusted look on her face. “Vre… I want you to kill that puny thing. Kree and I will take care of this one.”

  “Oh. Oh. Oh. Take care, huh? Try your worst.”

  Mel thrusted her hand forward, sending a jet of blood towards Uruvi and Manvee.

  “Watch out!” said Uruvi, gently pushing Manvee out of the path of the blood while jumping to her right. She saw Mel coming down on her, her hand turned into a blade made of blood. She parried it with the blade of her axe, pushing Mel off her. Kree followed up on Mel, coming at Uruvi swinging her claws.

  “Barricade!” said Uruvi, casting a shield right in front of Kree, who bounced off it. Mel shattered the shield with her blood hammer. The hammer quickly turned into a blade, ready for a follow-up attack. However, Uruvi replied by casting Thunderclap, throwing the two ladies back onto the floor.

  She turned her attention towards Manvee, who was dealing Vre much better than she had expected. Vre, despite his size, was slow, giving enough time for Manvee to dodge and strike repeatedly. She was no expert, but not a slouch either.

  Turning back towards her opponents, she found Kree struggling to get back on her feet, but Mel was nowhere in sight. “Where did she go?” Her eyes darted around but found no sign of her. Suddenly, Mel leapt onto her back, nearly pushing her over. “What? Get off me!” She felt teeth sink into her right shoulder blade, sending a shock of pain through her body. She let out a loud cry before grabbing Mel by her hair and punching her face repeatedly.

  Kree leapt at the dropped axe but was met by a strong kick to her chest.

  “Thunderclap!” said Uruvi, getting the two women off her.

  “Damn that spell!” cursed Mel, as she got back on her feet. She saw Kree rush at Uruvi and proceeded to follow her up.

  Uruvi pressed down on the bleeding wound and looked down at her screen. Her HP was down by 10 percent, and her MP was down by 25 percent. “Rejuvenate…” She said, seething through her teeth. Her HP climbed back to full before being drained once again. Red aura covered her as she picked up her axe. “Barricade!” she said and turned to face Kree, who reached her first. Her body grew hot, the world around her slowed down, and she felt like her chest was on fire. In one quick motion, she struck Kree in the neck, slicing clean through, before following up with more cuts to her limbs.

  Mel smashed through the shield and tried to cleave Uruvi’s head off, but only met thin air.

  Uruvi ducked underneath the arc of her swing. A golden hue swirled with the red as she slammed her axe into Mel’s stomach. The blade sliced through her torso, tearing her in two.

  She spun around and dashed towards Manvee, who had just sliced through Vre’s legs. She brought her axe down onto his neck, decapitating him as he fell back onto the ground.

  Manvee kicked his head towards the other Vetala, while Uruvi sat down on his back, stopping him from getting back up again.

  She exhaled as she kept watch of the enemies.

  “Damn girl! You are badass!” said Manvee.

  Uruvi let out a chuckle. “You know, you are the second person to tell me that today.”

  “Really? Who was the other?”

  “A colleague of mine.”

  “Oh. I guess she is fine as well.”

  “Hopefully.”

  “Well. I think you got this. I am going to head down,” said Manvee as she turned to leave.

  Uruvi suddenly felt a sinking feeling. “No, wait. Stay here.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Huh? Why?”

  “Just… could use your help.”

  “The others were struggling a bit. They could use my help,” said Manvee.

  Uruvi squeezed her face. “Yeah. You are right. I will be fine. No worries.”

  Manvee nodded and rushed out the door, leaving Uruvi alone with the monsters. She watched as the women got back up on their feet.

  Mel picked up Vre’s head. She had a nasty smile on her face. “Scared for your friend? Don’t worry. She won’t last the night… neither will you.”

  ‘It is going to be fine. There are four of them. They will be fine…’ She felt something was off. Despite the fighting spirit and prowess shown by them, she couldn’t help shake off the feeling that they weren't who they said they were.

  She got back up on her feet, letting Vre get up. Just as Mel lunged at her, she leapt to her left and rolled forward, appearing behind Kree. “Domino!” she shouted as she struck Kree’s neck. The hit propagated through all three of them, sending their bodies back onto the floor.

  ‘Arya. How much time is left until sunrise?’

  “You have four hours, fifty-six minutes left.”

  ‘This… this is going to be a long night…’

  She looked at her stats screen once again. Health – about 70 percent. MP – about 50 percent. “Rejuvenate…”

  “Warning. MP below 50 percent.”

  ‘Yeah. I can see. How do I refill it?’

  “To refill MP, consume stimulating food.”

  ‘Stimulating? Every food stimulates me.’

  “Negative. Caffeine is a stimulant. Suggestion. Alcohol also helps recharge MP.”

  ‘Wonderful. Trying to get me drunk with blood suckers around?’ Her eyes drifted towards the shelves full of alcohol. “I guess I can handle a little wine.”

  She walked over to the bar, while her eyes carefully watched the Vetala. They were getting up, preparing for the next attack. But she had plenty of time to grab a bottle, break its neck, and take a sip.

  Just as the Vetala were ready to pounce at her, she threw the bottle right at Mel’s head before jumping over the counter and beginning the cycle of violence.

  The night seemed to go on and on for eternity. Uruvi would fight them, making sure to chop up their body parts, before taking a break with a little sip of wine. When the Vetala’s health bar regenerated, she leapt at them again, cutting them up and making a retreat.

  With each cycle, they became weaker and sluggish, but so did she. Fatigue set in, and she felt like her body could barely keep up. However, the Vetala did not relent. Every time she rested, she felt the urge to just give up and shut her eyes, only for the faces of her parents to breathe new life into her and continue the fight.

  “Uruvi, the sun is up,” said Arya.

  ‘Right. Final stretch.’ She dropped the axe onto the counter and leapt at the Vetala who were crawling on the floor. One by one, she dragged them into the path of the door. They were out of blood and too weak to move, giving her enough time to walk over to the door.

  Mel seemed to have realized what she was doing. “No. Not the sun. Not the sun. Let us go. We will leave in peace!”

  Uruvi scoffed as she broke the lock and ripped the door open. “Too late for that.”

  Bright streams of sunlight flooded the room, setting the Vetala on fire. Their blood-curdling screams were very therapeutic to her ears. One by one, they all turned to dust, with Mel being the last.

  “New Level attained. 5 Attribute points, 1 skill points, 1 spell points gained,” said Arya.

  She stood by the door, basking in the light of the glorious sun. After the night of terror she had been through, it felt cathartic to see the sun once again. She closed her eyes and quietly soaked in the warmth.

  A few seconds later, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at her stats. The level up had refreshed her stats, but her body still ached from exhaustion. She exhaled and turned around before shutting the door and making sure to lock it properly.

  A loud explosion rocked the building. “What was that!” She said out loud.

  She descended the stairs with a bated breath. Her eyes immediately caught sight of the human blood splattered all across the floor. The place appeared to be bathed in sunlight, which was certainly a good sign. Parts of the human body were scattered all over the place, causing her stomach to churn violently.

  She shook her head and looked to her right, towards the bartender’s counter. The wall across the room had been smashed open, letting sunlight fill the room. The entire place was a mess, chairs and tables ripped apart and scattered all over the ground. She saw two of the boys standing, looking down at Panchami, who was kneeling before someone who was sitting on the floor.

  “You are alive!” said Jiv, on seeing her walk upto them.

  She looked down and saw that it was Manvee who was sitting on the floor, with her guts ripped open. She immediately looked away before taking a deep breath and turning back. Her expression was frozen, showing the pain and fear in her eyes. Channels of dried tears ran down from her eyes and down her cheeks. She refrained from looking at the gore, turning her attention towards the DJ table. She could see Sunil lying down on his side, his head had been turned away from her, but his bloody shirt and trousers told her that he was not waking up.

  “We tried, but their wounds were too deep. Panchami tried to heal them as much as she could,” said Jiv.

  She noticed that the two boys were pretty beaten up as well. ‘This is really fucked up…’

  Panchami stood up and took a good look at Uruvi. “Manvee told us you had everything under control. We wanted to come up and help, but as you can see…”

  “No need. I can understand,” said Uruvi. She turned back and faced the door to the kitchen. “What about the others?”

  “They tried to break through, but we were able to stop them,” said Sasi.

  The door appeared intact, just worn down a little. Her heart raced thinking about the people inside.

  “Do we dare?” asked Jiv.

  “Do we just leave them?” Sasi retorted.

  They approached the door, listening for any sound from the inside. Panchami knocked on the wood and said, “Kavya. If you are there, open up. The Vetala are dead.”

  Uruvi’s eyes met those of Panchami. They appeared cold and emotionless, making her heart shudder.

  The lock clicked, and the door opened slowly. Kavya’s right eye appeared in the gap, and on seeing the others, she immediately opened it wide. “You were right. There were no other Vetala,” she said.

  The people in the kitchen looked terrified, but completely fine.

  Uruvi sighed in relief and said, “for your own sanity. I suggest you don’t come out.”

  Kavya walked out, closing the door behind her. She took a look at the mess. Her eyes paused at Sunil’s lifeless body. “I am guessing Manvee didn’t make it either.”

  Nobody gave a reply.

  “The danger isn’t over yet. The monsters will certainly swarm the place,” said Jiv, pointing his thumb at the hole in the wall.

  ‘Arya. Can we turn this place into a safezone now?’ asked Uruvi.

  “Affirmative. The place has been cleared of danger.”

  “We can turn this place into a safezone. But someone should stay behind as an anchor.” Uruvi gave them a brief idea of what a safezone was and how it worked.

  “So… any one of you guys willing to be anchors?” she asked.

  They looked at each other’s faces but gave no reply. Uruvi could tell none of them had any interest in staying, much like her.

  “Hmm… I think some of the survivors were staff of this place. We could ask them,” said Kavya.