...

  Raghav was completely taken aback when both employees screamed in unison at the sight of his new furry friend.

  He couldn't fathom what had suddenly possessed them. What could they have possibly seen? He only had to turn his eyes to find out.

  As his gaze fell upon his 'cute' companion, he instinctively jerked his hands back.

  Or rather, they were forced back...

  The creature that should have been adorable now wore a look of raw bloodlust that anyone could recognize.

  Its large eyes were fixed on the 'meat' before it, and the rows of over fifty glistening teeth were so terrifying that even Raghav shuddered.

  "It's a Medium-level monster!!"

  Hearing the employees' shriek, Raghav bolted from his chair. He nearly stumbled when his foot caught in the chair's cross-stretcher, but he quickly freed himself and scrambled toward the employees.

  Before the three of them could formulate a plan, the creature lunged at the two employees with startling velocity.

  They dove toward another decorative table, but the creature was relentless.

  One employee desperately summoned his water-based powers, dousing the creature with a high-pressure blast, but it seemed unfazed. In its eyes, the two employees were nothing more than succulent morsels of meat.

  "Mr. Raghav, kill it somehow—Aagh!"

  In less than a second, the creature gnawed through the table's front leg, turning it to sawdust. The table collapsed, and the employees tumbled to the floor.

  Their faces masks of pure terror...

  Raghav grabbed the chair he had been sitting on and tried to swing it at the creature. But the monster's speed and reflexes were so blinding that Raghav didn't even realize when the solid chair had been reduced to splinters.

  Wood dust trickled through his fingers. His chocolate eyes widened. How was this even possible?

  But the creature didn't react further, instead turning back toward where the two employees had been moments earlier. However, they weren't there this time. They were almost to the door when the creature charged toward them.

  "Watch out! Behind you!!"

  By the time Raghav's warning left his lips, the creature had already latched onto one of their legs, its teeth sinking deep.

  Raghav didn't hesitate. He grabbed the plates containing the chewed-up bones and flung them at the beast.

  "Look here, you monster!!"

  The fur-clad, ferocious creature was distracted for a moment, but those moments were enough for the employees. They both ran and climbed onto the dining table.

  They unleashed everything they had—one using ice, the other water—but their powers couldn't even graze the creature's hide.

  "Mr. Raghav, help us!"

  Now Raghav was at a loss as to what he should do in such a hurry, and he had no idea about these things.

  He lacked the courage to even touch the beast. Yet, it seemed the creature was ignoring him... for now.

  He quickly unstrapped the watch from his wrist. Meanwhile, the monster's razor-sharp teeth had already devoured half the dining table.

  With a shrill shriek, the creature leaped at the employees.

  "Kreeeech!!"

  The table flipped. They fell. Before their eyes was a blur of fur and teeth, the creature's maw still coated in the blood of its previous meal. Its cotton-like body was a grotesque contrast to its predatory nature.

  The creature lunged at the second employee, clamping its jaws onto his wrist and beginning to eat. The employee let out a piercing scream. His comrade delivered a powerful kick to the creature, but it backfired...

  The monster latched onto his boot, shredding it instantly and moving toward his heel.

  Raghav lunged forward and grabbed the creature, shoving his metal watch into its open maw.

  "Here! Eat this, you bastard!"

  He wrenched the creature away from the employee's leg. The sudden impact of metal against its teeth rattled the beast.

  "How's that for a taste?!"

  Raghav said this while pressing it hard on the ground as if he wanted to crush it. His adrenaline surging as fast as the creature's movements.

  But it didn't take long for the monster to gnaw through the watch. Raghav reacted instantly, slamming the creature between two porcelain plates.

  It began chewing through the porcelain, though much slower than it had with wood or flesh.

  Suddenly, the creature nipped Raghav's finger. Raghav recoiled, but the monster didn't pursue him further.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  It lunged back toward the employee who was crawling toward the door.

  Raghav rubbed his forehead in a frantic blur.

  『Think, Raghav! Think!!』

  An idea struck him. He wasn't sure it would work, but he decided to gamble everything on this one move. He slid all the nearby plates toward the employee currently under attack.

  "Buy me some time!!! Hurry!"

  The employee understood the assignment and began hurling the plates at the monster one by one. The creature snapped at them, desperate to clear the obstacles and reach its prey.

  Meanwhile, Raghav picked up a discarded fragment of the employee's heel—it was gruesome, but when survival is on the line, there is no room for hesitation.

  "Forgive me, friend. This... this has to work!"

  He muttered to the groaning employee. He sprinted toward the light switchboard and began pounding on it.

  Punch after punch.... Punch after punch...

  His hand throbbed with pain, but he didn't stop for a single second.

  Just as the employee ran out of plates, Raghav's voice boomed.

  "Over here! Over here! Move!!"

  As soon as the employee saw Raghav's signal, he ran in that direction as fast as if his life was at stake, and perhaps it really was. One final plate remained. The monster lunged.

  "Throw it! Now!"

  The employee flung the final plate without looking back. Perhaps it was just bad luck that he tripped over his own feet and fell next to Raghav. But it was luck that the plate landed directly in the beast's mouth. It paused to shred the porcelain.

  The monster, its fifty-plus blood-stained teeth bared, lunged at Raghav, who was holding the scrap of meat. But before it could bite, Raghav ripped the live electric wires from the broken switchboard and shoved them into the creature's open mouth along with the bait.

  There was a deafening explosion that sent a jolt through Raghav's own arm. The creature collapsed, smoking. Raghav collapsed on floor as well.

  Taking no chances, Raghav grabbed a sharp shard of a broken plate and used it as a makeshift blade, stabbing the creature repeatedly.

  One,

  Two,

  Three...

  And who knows how many times Raghav attacked him like this, until the thick, green, viscous fluid, flowing from his body soaked Raghav's entire hands.

  Raghav collapsed backward onto the floor, gasping for air. He couldn't believe he had done this...his heart was still pounding with the adrenaline rush and his breathing was heavy.

  He lifted his trembling hands, covered in the foul-smelling green slime that was now dripping onto his clothes. It was revolting. He sat up, realizing some of it had splattered onto his face.

  『Ugh! This is disgusting...』

  He realized his palm was badly injured, and the pain finally began to register.

  Suddenly, the two employees threw their arms around him. They couldn't express how much they owed him.

  "Thank you so much Mr. Raghav! We cannot tell you how grateful we are to you and how we can thank you!"

  The smile that comes with surviving a life was on their faces. And Raghav's face lit up with a smile too. Surprisingly, he realized that this feeling wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be.

  "This thing... I mean this monster...why was it only attacking you two?!"

  Raghav asked after remaining silent for some time, because now he wanted to know why whatever happened here happened.

  "This was a Medium-level 'Snow Eater.' They crave the flesh of awakened Fighters. Since everyone working at Kaalminar is at least Low-level, like us, we were targets. But you... you have no power. It couldn't even sense your scent."

  As the employee explained while clutching his wounded wrist, Raghav noticed their state.

  "You guys are badly hurt. Come, let me help you!"

  And Raghav supported the employee who had injured his heel and the other employee walked out of the dining room with him holding his own hand. The door clicked shut behind them.

  Up on the ceiling of the vast dining room, a figure retracted a layer of the wall. He was hovering near the rafters, his brown trench coat billowing.

  He slowly descended, his boots touching the floor with a soft thud.

  "Hmm! I have to admire this boy's brain. That was fun! Quite a lot!"

  A smirk played on his face, parallel to the diagonal scar over his eye.

  ?°?°?°?°?

  The weather was a paradox—clear yet clouded.

  In one direction, the sky was open, but ahead, the clouds hung heavy and dark.

  The propellers of a C-130J Super Hercules hummed with a rhythmic thrum. The plane was moving at just under full speed. And the destination was the same...

  ...The Kaalminar Auction House in the lap of the Indrasan mountains.

  From that height, countless rows of monsters could be seen marching toward Indrasan.

  "Ao-ho! Today is your trial by fire, boys."

  The squad erupted in laughter. It was a laughter devoid of worry or fear—as if they were looking at ants to be crushed rather than monsters.

  "Want to bet on who gets the highest kill count?"

  "Absolutely! I'm winning this time. Lowest count buys the party!"

  Again, laughter echoed through the hold. Dressed in white and blue uniforms, laden with heavy artillery and cutting-edge tactical gear, the team was so beautiful that it would instill a fountain of enthusiasm in anyone.

  This was the Para SF unit—specifically the 'Fighters Special'—trained to uproot the chaos caused by monsters or rogue fighters in India. Locally, they were known as the Mountain Tigers.

  Every member was a Power-level fighter, led by a Supreme-level Squad Leader. As the rear ramp began to lower, the soldiers stood.

  "All soldiers! Ready for the HALO jump?"

  "Ready, sir!"

  The roar of their response was filled with such conviction it felt as though the mountains themselves would bow.

  With a single hand signal, they leaped into the air one by one.

  Inside the cockpit, one of the pilots called back.

  "Are you sure, Major Shaurya? You know 'Chirayu' the businessman and 'Amogh' the guildmaster is down there."

  Shaurya's fists clenched. That name was a poison in his mind, a day he would never forget...

  But he was a soldier, and people needed him.

  "There are innocents down there. My personal feelings don't matter."

  And with that, he plunged into the freezing winds. They descended, pulling their chutes only when necessary.

  The monsters sensed a new, delicious scent and turned toward them. But it didn't matter.

  A wave of excitement washed over the soldiers. Because everyone's face was filled with joy. While those demons were heading towards Kaalminar as hunters, here the hunter was someone else.

  Everyone was filled with passion and they all pounced on their prey like a hunting tiger.

  "Don't fight the Mountain Tigers, you icy mfs... FEAR them!!"

  To be continued...