The forest had split, and the situation in the Mongol Forest turned worse. Subha found herself isolated, facing two mythic figures that emerged from the dark.

  "Look at this... who has been caught? It’s a devotee vessel," hissed a pale, lithe figure dropping from the canopy. It was a Yaksha (Vampire) named Rona, his eyes the color of dried blood.

  "Poor girl, trapped in my illusions." A female voice purred from the shadows.

  I know you... you are Verge,". Beside Rona stood a woman with long, moss-like hair and fingernails like obsidian claws—Menaka, a Witch of the Mongol Forest.

  "Let's see who is truly trapped," Subha countered. But before she could strike, the very earth betrayed her. Thick, necrotic roots burst from the soil, snaring her limbs and locking her in place.

  "You should not bark before a den, young lady," Rona sneered.

  "Rona, she is beautiful and young," Menaka cackled, her mossy hair writhing. "I need her for my de-aging ritual."

  "Only after I have tasted her soul, Menaka," Rona replied, baring elongated fangs.

  The distant, muffled shouts of Surya and Vaishu drifted through the trees. Menaka’s laughter vibrated through the bark. "Did you hear that? You brought those children to a feast, Verge!"

  "They aren't for you to touch," Subha snarled. Her blue cape snapped in a sudden, localized gale. Channeling psychic energy into her blade, she severed the roots in a flash of steel. She lunged, becoming a blur of spiritual force, engaging in a desperate 2-on-1 duel. She was a whirlwind of steel and psychic intent, fighting a two-front war to keep the monsters from reaching the freshers.

  Back at the Hotel, a sacred thread tied to the reception pillar began to pulse with a rhythmic, golden light.

  "What is this? Why is it glowing?" the mother of the missing child asked, her voice trembling.

  "It’s Ms. Verge’s," the waiter said, his face pale. "She said this thread would signal us if she encountered a threat she couldn't handle alone. She told me to contact the HQ immediately." He rushed to the desk, his fingers fumbling as he dialed the emergency landline.

  While shadows lengthened in the Mongol forest, a different kind of silence filled the Section D headquarters.

  Two young men sat over a chessboard.

  "Your queen is out," Chandru remarked, leaning back with a smirk.

  "I noticed," Pari replied calmly.

  The telephone jangled, a harsh, discordant sound in the stone room. Pari, the student leader, picked up. He listened to the waiter’s frantic report for ten seconds before hanging up.

  "It’s Subha," Pari said, his voice dropping into a combat tone. "She’s pinned in the Mongol Forest."

  "Let her handle it," Chandru muttered, staring at the board. "She vowed to do everything alone, didn't she?"

  "This isn't the time for rivalry, Chandru. Get ready."

  "If you say so," Chandru sighed, standing up. "Let's go."

  Pari donned a tactical green suit, snapping two specialized boxes onto his forearms. With a metallic hiss, two-foot-long retractable gauntlet blades slid out, sharp as surgical steel. He tied a ninja mask behind his head, his eyes turning cold.

  Chandru, meanwhile, threw on a black suit and tapped a cheap, plastic "pygmy" watch on his wrist. He pulled a white, expressionless mask over his face, leaving his hair loose and wild.

  "Don't change the chess pieces while I'm gone," Chandru warned Rohan, a younger boy watching the game.

  Without another word, the two senior Vessels turned toward the heavy iron doors and vanished into the freezing the mountain night.

  Surya and Vaishu were cornered, their frantic cries for Subha swallowed by the dense canopy. Then, the silence broke—not with a response, but with the haunting sound of a child’s sob.

  "Did you hear that?" Surya whispered, his body tense.

  "It’s a child... over there!" Vaishu pointed toward a gnarled tree where a young boy sat bound in heavy ropes.

  As they rushed forward, the child’s eyes widened in terror. "Go away! Don't come here!"

  Ignoring the warning, Vaishu knelt to unpick the knots. "It’s okay, we've got you."

  "It’s there..." the boy whimpered, looking up. "Straight above!"

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  A thick, viscous drop of saliva landed on Vaishu’s shoulder. She looked up just as a gaunt, frenzied vampire launched itself from the branches like a predator onto its prey.

  Before the fangs could sink in, Surya intercepted. He tackled the creature mid-air, both of them crashing into the dirt beside Vaishu and the boy. The vampire hissed, its mouth dripping with hunger. Surya raised his right fist, but the energy within him flickered like a dying candle—sputtering on and off, struggling to ignite.

  As the vampire lunged again, Surya found a surge of power. He unleashed a heavy, glowing blow that sent the monster spiraling back, pinning it momentarily to the earth.

  "Hey, girl!" Surya shouted, breath coming in ragged gasps.

  "My name is Vaishu!" she snapped back, even in the chaos.

  "Not the time! Take the kid and teleport to the hotel. Now!"

  "I can't," Vaishu said, her voice trembling.

  "Why? Aren't you a teleporter?"

  "Yes, but I don't do long-range! I’m a specialist in instant teleportation."

  Surya groaned. "Are you teaching a terminology class? Just tell me what you can do!"

  "I can only teleport to places I can currently see!"

  "Fine. That’s enough. Just keep the kid safe."

  "What are you going to do?"

  Surya wiped blood from his lip, a reckless grin forming. "Watch the show."

  The fallen vampire began to groan, pushing itself up. "Ah... it hurts..."

  But before Surya could finish the job, a blur of motion erupted from the undergrowth. A second vampire—stronger and faster—seized Surya’s leg. Surya tried to kick free with his other foot, but the new arrival caught it with ease, swinging him like a ragdoll and hurling him across the clearing.

  Surya scrambled to rise, but the newcomer, Tharag, closed the distance in a heartbeat. A brutal strike to the face sent Surya skidding across the forest floor, his vision blurring.

  "Useless," Tharag spat at his wounded comrade. "Go. Catch the girl and the child."

  "Tharag..as ordered" the first vamp said.

  It lunged at Vaishu. Whoosh. She vanished, reappearing several feet away with the child in her arms. Every time the monster struck, she was gone before the blow landed. The constant flickering was driving the creature to madness.

  "Stop shifting!" the vampire hissed.

  Vaishu prepared to blink again, but as she reappeared, her arms felt light. Her heart plummeted. The child was gone.

  "If you move... the boy dies," Tharag’s voice rang out.

  Vaishu spun around. Tharag stood several meters away, holding the child by the collar. He had moved so fast he had intercepted the boy mid-teleportation without her even noticing. In that split second of hesitation, the first vampire struck, sending Vaishu reeling.

  Tharag tightened his grip on the boy, but a hand suddenly clamped around his ankle. Surya, battered and barely conscious, was still trying to fight.

  Tharag looked down with pure disdain. He delivered a crushing kick to Surya’s temple, knocking him into total darkness. "A weakling who can't even produce a spark. You aren't fit to face me. You deserve to die."

  "Then try me, you weakling," a gruff, melodic voice echoed through the trees.

  Tharag spun around, his heart hammering against his ribs. Standing there, leaning casually against a gnarled tree, was Chandru.

  Tharag froze. How? he thought. This forest is masked by the witch’s illusion. I didn't sense him until this very second.

  As chandru stepped into the moonlight, the veins in his arms began to glow with a brilliant, electric blue light.

  The comrade vampire, sensing a threat, turned and charged at him. Chandru didn't flinch. With a single, power-packed punch, he shattered the creature’s defenses and sent it hurtling into a trunk with such force that it went limp before hitting the ground.

  "Who... who are you?" Tharag shivered.

  "I'm a nightmare to vamps," Chandru replied from behind his white mask. "Moonmask... that's how your guys call me, isn't it?"

  Recognizing the name of Section D’s most powerful student, Tharag’s instinctual "hunger" was instantly replaced by a cold, numbing dread—the kind a mouse feels when a hawk’s shadow passes over it. In terror, he vanished into the shadows, without looking back for his fallen comrade.

  Chandru considered the chase for a second, but his eyes drifted to the unconscious Surya and the trembling child. Priorities shifted; the predator became the protector.

  At the epicenter of the woods, Subha was a whirlwind of Spiritual energy. Towering, spectral hands of golden light mimicked her every move, crushing the vampire Rona between their massive palms. But victory was elusive; every time she gained the upper hand, the earth groaned, and necromantic roots—black and pulsing with Menaka’s dark magic—snaked out of the soil to bind her.

  Subha flared her psychic shield, the translucent barrier sparking as it deflected the wooden talons. But the forest itself was a weapon. More roots erupted from directly beneath her, locking her limbs in a crushing grip.

  Seeing his opening, a battered Rona snarled and lunged for her throat.

  SHING!

  A metallic ring cut through the humid air.

  Pari moved as a blur of green and steel, his arm-mounted blades flashing once. The vampire’s head was displaced before it even realized it had been hit.

  With fluid, mechanical precision, Pari spun, his blades shredding the necromantic roots binding Subha in a matter of seconds.

  "Why are you here?" Subha snapped, her pride stinging more than her wounds. "I told you I could handle it."

  "Calm down, Subha," Pari replied, retracting his blades with a click. "We just wanted to ensure your safety."

  "We?" she narrowed her eyes. "Did that arrogant punk (referring Moonmask) come with you?"

  Before Pari could answer, the forest let out a low, mournful groan. Realizing she was now outnumbered and outmatched, Menaka gathered the last of her dark energy. she shifted the forest's geometry one final time, vanishing into the deep, unreachable shadows of the wild.

  The long night had finally ended.

  The morning light was harsh and unforgiving. Surya woke to the sterile, herbal scent of the Section D Medical Wing. Vaishu was still out cold in the neighboring bed, her breathing steady.

  An old lady approached, placing a steaming cup in his hands. "Drink," she commanded.

  Surya took a sip and immediately gagged. The liquid was incredibly bitter. "What is this?"

  "Mountain medicine," she replied calmly. "Though, looking at you, I doubt you need it. It’s surprising—you don't have a single scratch after a direct hit from a Vamp."

  Surya touched his head, remembering the weight of Tharag's boot. "Maybe because I'm a vessel?"

  "Vessels get injured too, boy," she countered, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. "You're something... different."

  "The child?" Surya asked, his voice thick.

  "Saved. The senior students brought the baby, the girl (Vaishu), and you back. They are outside now."

  Surya set the bitter tea aside, his heart heavy with a mix of gratitude and the realization of how far he had to go.

  He glanced at the sleeping Vaishu one last time before pushing open the heavy doors to meet the elite of Section D.