There were certain moments in life when a person had to trust their instincts.
For Arjun Mehra, this was not one of those moments.
His instincts were currently telling him to run.
The system was telling him to run.
Even his common sense, which had been brutally abused all day, was begging him to run.
Unfortunately, Aisha Kapoor had already started walking toward the abandoned animal hospital.
“Wait,” Arjun said.
She stopped and looked back.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?”
That was not the question he had expected.
The evening sunlight illuminated half her face, casting the other half into shadow.
For the first time since meeting her, her expression wasn’t playful or suspicious.
It was serious.
“What did you see?” he asked carefully.
She hesitated.
“For a second…” she said quietly, “I thought I saw someone watching us.”
Arjun’s stomach dropped.
Because he had seen the same thing.
A single red eye.
Watching.
Waiting.
The system exploded with notifications.
☠️ CRITICAL THREAT UPDATE ☠️
The Sealed Demon has detected the Host.
Threat Assessment:
EXTREMELY HOSTILE
Survival Probability:
2.13%
Recommended Action:
Pray.
“That’s not helpful!” Arjun hissed.
Aisha frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She stared at him.
“You do that a lot.”
“Do what?”
“Talk to yourself.”
“Occupational hazard.”
“What occupation?”
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Fair point.
The two of them stood in silence.
The abandoned animal hospital sat at the edge of the zoo’s northern district.
At least, that was the official explanation.
Unofficially, every employee at Green Paradise Zoo had heard the stories.
Strange noises at night.
Security cameras malfunctioning.
Animals refusing to approach the building.
One security guard had apparently quit after claiming that something inside the hospital had spoken to him.
Naturally, Arjun had always assumed those stories were nonsense.
Today had been educational.”You’re not actually planning to go inside, are you?” he asked.
Aisha raised an eyebrow.
“You are.”
“No, I’m asking if you are.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“Because I don’t like the answer.”
To his surprise, she smiled.
A real smile.
Not teasing.
Not mocking.
Just amused.
“You know,” she said, “for someone who acts calm around tigers, you scare very easily.”
“I don’t scare easily.”
“You look terrified.”
“That’s my normal face.”
She laughed.
Again.
Arjun was beginning to suspect that she enjoyed watching him suffer.
The system interrupted.
⚠️ MANDATORY QUEST UPDATED ⚠️
Escort the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Princess into the Sealed Demon Territory
Objective:
Protect the Fox Princess.
Failure:
Death.
Additional Failure:
More Death.
“…What does ‘more death’ mean?”
We strongly advise against finding out.
Fantastic.
Aisha had already resumed walking.
“Come on.”
Arjun stared.
“That’s it?”
She looked back.
“What?”
“We’re entering a potentially haunted building.”
“Yes.”
“Correct.”
“After seeing a glowing red eye.”
“Also correct.”
“And your response is ‘come on’?”
She considered this.
“Would you prefer I said please?”
He hated that she almost made sense.
The closer they got to the building, the quieter the zoo became.
The sounds of tourists faded.
The birds disappeared.
Even the wind seemed to weaken.
The old hospital itself looked worse than Arjun remembered.
The windows were shattered.
Cracks ran through the concrete walls.
Rust covered the metal doors.
A faded sign still hung above the entrance.
ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER
A piece of the sign suddenly fell off.
Clang.
Arjun nearly jumped out of his skin.
Aisha looked at him.
“Relax.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Why?”
Because according to the system, you were a sealed ancient fox demon.
But somehow, Arjun doubted that explanation would help.
The system activated again.
🔍 ANALYZING ENVIRONMENT 🔍
Demonic Energy Density:
98%
Spiritual Contamination:
High
Chance of Immediate Death:
Moderate
“Moderate?”
Compared to previous encounters, yes.
That was somehow worse.
Aisha pushed open the hospital door.
The hinges screamed.
Dust filled the air.
Darkness stretched before them.
Arjun looked behind him.
The…..
To Be Continue….