Abhimanyu asked, "What do you mean?"
The girl replied, "I mean, how did all these creatures start dancing to your flute?"
Abhimanyu said, "They were dancing like this when you played the flute too. Maybe this flute is magical. It's incredible; this has never happened to me before."
The girl looked at Abhimanyu with surprise and then asked, "Where did you learn to play the flute?"
Abhimanyu said, "From my grandfather."
The girl said, "Your grandfather must be an excellent musician then."
Abhimanyu replied, "Music is just a hobby for him. He was actually in the army."
The girl said, "Wow, really? That means there's a military officer in your family."
Abhimanyu said, "Not just one; there are more. My cousins, my father, and even I am in the military."
The girl looked at Abhimanyu skeptically and said, "I don't believe you."
Abhimanyu said, "Should I show you my ID? Wait a minute."
Abhimanyu then showed her his ID.
The girl, looking at the ID, said, "Captain, and at such a young age! You're quite talented."
Abhimanyu asked, "So, are you impressed?"
The girl said, "Not so easily. Impressing me isn't that simple." Saying this, she started to leave.
Abhimanyu called out, "Wait, at least tell me your name before you go."
The girl replied, "I'll tell you in our next meeting," and left with a smile.
Abhimanyu saw that the girl was heading toward another village, which meant she was probably from there. Abhimanyu then started heading back to his village.
On the way, Saily remarked, "That girl was quite strange, wasn't she?"
Abhimanyu said, "Not just quite, she was completely strange."
Saily asked, "Do you think she could be the demoness?"
Abhimanyu replied, "I didn't feel any negative vibes or anything, but it's certain she wasn't a normal human. There was something different about her."
Saily said, "I think you just like her."
Abhimanyu replied, "No, it's not that. I told you, she didn't seem like a normal person to me, that's all."
Saily said, "Could it be like Jhalkari?"
Abhimanyu replied, "It might be."
Saily asked, "So, are we still staying here? I mean, we have a clue now."
Abhimanyu said, "We'll leave after solving this demoness problem first."
Just then, they heard some noises near the bushes.
Abhimanyu stopped and looked towards the bushes.
He started hearing growling noises.
Saily said, "Maybe it's some animal."
Suddenly, a person jumped out of the bushes and tried to attack Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu dodged to the side.
The person landed on all fours and attacked Abhimanyu again.
Abhimanyu grabbed his neck.
The ghoul tried to scratch and bite Abhimanyu with his hands and feet.
Abhimanyu pressed its neck and looked into its eyes, which were completely red with sharp teeth like an animal's.
Abhimanyu sucked the demonic energy out of it, and the person calmed down and closed his eyes.
Abhimanyu left him there and started walking back towards the village.
Saily said, "It looked like a zombie."
Abhimanyu replied, "It's called a ghoul. When a person can't become a vampire, they become a ghoul, craving only human flesh."
Saily asked, "Can't they become normal?"
Abhimanyu replied, "No, they are all dead, worshipping dark forces."
Saily said, "Meaning you..."
Abhimanyu replied, "No, not me. In our world, we worship demonic energy."
Saily said, "Like God?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Yes, you can understand it that way."
Saily asked, "So, you are not the God all demons worship?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Why don't we leave this topic?"
Saily said, "I want to know what you really are or what a demon lord is."
Abhimanyu replied, "Like humans have a king with no one above him, I was the king of demons."
Saily said, "Oh, and?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Stop asking questions. For now, we should focus on why a ghoul is here."
Saily asked, "What do you mean? Could it have been trying to become a vampire?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Becoming a vampire isn't easy. Not just anyone can become one. It requires the capability."
Saily asked, "So, what will you do now?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Worrying about it won't help. Only those who truly want to become a vampire, ghoul, or something else and worship demonic energy, like tantrics, can transform. What can I do about it?"
Saily said, "But they are human."
Abhimanyu replied, "Those who want to make themselves stronger will face the consequences of their chosen path. What can I do?"
Saily said, "But what if they are enemies, and if they form an entire army like this?"
Abhimanyu replied, "I also have reliable allies, so there's nothing to fear."
Abhimanyu went home, entered his ring, slept, and after some training, came out. It was morning by then.
The next day, Abhimanyu and his companions, fresh and ready, were about to go back to the library when they saw all the villagers hurrying somewhere.
Surya stopped a man and asked, "Brother, what's going on? Where is everyone going?"
The man replied, "Everyone is going to the Panchayat office."
Black Dragon asked, "Why?"
The man replied, "Another body has been found today," and walked away.
When Abhimanyu and the others reached the Panchayat office, they saw a body lying outside. There was no blood anywhere on the body, making it look like someone had separated its soul from its body.
A man said fearfully, "The demoness is now very angry. She is not even waiting for the new moon."
Abhimanyu noticed it was the same ghoul he encountered last night.
Saily asked, "You didn't leave any evidence, did you?"
Abhimanyu replied, "I'm a trained assassin. Do you think I'd leave any evidence?"
Then a man said, "But who is this? We've never seen him in the nearby villages."
Saily said, "Meaning he wasn't from this village."
Abhimanyu said, "Didn't you recognize him?"
Saily said, "I forgot. Wait a minute, I'll check in my server."
A screen appeared in front of Abhimanyu:
**Name:** Victor
**Birth Place:** Unknown
**Date of Birth:** 13/Jan/1993
**Occupation:** Shopkeeper
**Address and shop location:** Krishnganj
**Parents:** Unknown
It also showed his bank details and vehicles allotted to his name.
Abhimanyu thought, "What was a man from Krishnganj doing in this village's jungle?"
People started talking among themselves, fearing that the demoness didn't wait for the new moon.
Then Yashvardhan said, "Everyone, calm down. It's simple; the demoness didn't kill him."
A man asked, "But Yashvardhan, if she didn't kill him, then who did? Look, there isn't a single wound on his body. It seems like his soul was directly taken out."
Yashvardhan replied, "That's what I'm saying. You all remember when the demoness killed, there was a cut on the neck and a mark near the shoulder on the back. But this man's back doesn't have that mark, meaning whoever killed him isn't the demoness."
Another man asked, "But Yashvardhan, how did he die?"
Yashvardhan replied, "Maybe it was a heart attack. Whatever it is, we will know after an investigation. And secondly, he wasn't from our village. Does anyone know who he is?"
A man said, "I know. He ran a chemist shop in the city. His name was Victor."
Another man said, "Yes, I have seen him in the city at that shop. Many people knew Victor there."
Yashvardhan said, "Alright, first we need to inform the police and his family. Is that okay?"
Everyone agreed. Yashvardhan called the police to report the body.
The police, already struggling to investigate the previous day's murder, were even more stressed upon finding another body.
At that moment, a new lady inspector entered.
A constable, seeing her uniform, asked, "Are you the new inspector who was transferred here urgently?"
The inspector replied, "Yes. Now, will you tell me where the station in-charge is?"
The constable said, "He hasn't arrived yet. We have called him; he should be here soon."
The inspector who argued with Abhimanyu and his team yesterday arrived, not noticing the new inspector yet, and said to the constable, "Here, we can't even conduct one post-mortem properly, and another murder happens."
The new lady inspector said, "Whose body is it?"
The inspector, noticing the new inspector, saluted and said, "Shruti ma'am, it's you. Sorry, I forgot you were joining today, but you were supposed to come tomorrow."
The new inspector was none other than the Shruti Abhimanyu met in Shivpura. After solving that mystery case, she was transferred here because this case was also considered mysterious and possibly connected to supernatural forces.
Shruti said, "Forget the formalities. Tell me whose murder it is."
The inspector said, "There is a village nearby, Pushpgarh. Yesterday, there was a murder, and now another body has been found. The victim was the owner of a chemist shop nearby. We'll get more details once we reach there, ma'am."
Shruti said, "Alright, let's go, Inspector Vivek."
Reading the inspector's name, Shruti called him Vivek.
After a while, the police jeep reached the village. The constables got out and began to move the villagers away from the body.
Inspector Vivek and Shruti approached the body.
Inspector Vivek asked, "Who found the body first?"
A man came forward and said, "Sir, I did."
A man stepped out of the crowd and said, "Sir, I was going to the fields early in the morning and saw him lying near the jungle. At first, I didn't understand because there was no wound or mark on him. I thought he was unconscious and brought him here. But after trying to revive him, everyone realized he was dead, so we called the village healer, who confirmed his death."
Inspector Vivek held his head in frustration.
Shruti asked, "Can you show us the place where you found him?"
Everyone headed to the spot.
When they reached, there was nothing there, but Inspector Shruti and Inspector Vivek searched for evidence while the constables assisted.
Shruti found blood stains and scratch marks on the ground and trees, looking like an animal's claw marks, but nothing else. They searched the surrounding area but found nothing more.
Inspector Vivek said, "It could be an animal."
Shruti replied, "No, if an animal had killed him, there would have been wounds. I initially thought it might be a heart attack, but these marks are strange. Anyway, the post-mortem will reveal the cause of death. Where was the murder site from yesterday?"
Inspector Vivek said, "It's on the other side."
Everyone then collected the blood samples, took photos of the marks, and taped off the area before heading towards the river. Some villagers were still following them towards the river, while many others had returned to their daily tasks. By now, the ambulance and forensic team had also arrived and were doing their work.
On the other hand, Shruti and Inspector Vivek had reached the burnt peepal tree, accompanied by some constables and villagers who perhaps wanted to see the police at work.
Pointing towards the burnt peepal tree, Inspector Vivek said, "This is the tree where, according to the villagers, a demoness was trapped. Two nights ago, on the new moon night, the demoness broke free from this tree and immediately committed a murder."
Smiling, Shruti asked, "What do you think happened to this tree?"
Inspector Vivek replied, "Ma'am, I think it was struck by lightning. There was a storm that night."
Shruti said, "I think the same. Where was the body found?"
Inspector Vivek pointed to a spot.
Shruti went to that spot and started looking around. After some time, she asked, "Did the victim have any enemies? Any disputes over land or property?"
Inspector Vivek replied, "Yes, he had disputes with his brothers, but it wasn't serious enough to kill him. Other than that, he didn't have any major conflicts. However, it was known that Hariya drank a lot and used to beat his wife every night, so that could be a possibility."
Shruti said, "It could be anyone."
Inspector Vivek added, "There were some new people who arrived in the village the day before the murder night."
Shruti asked, "Interesting coincidence. Could they be involved?"
Inspector Vivek replied, "I don't know, ma'am, but those people stayed at Yashvardhan's mansion the village chief mansion that night, and there are many witnesses who saw them leaving the mansion only in the morning. Even the servants confirm this. Except for one of them who stayed behind in the house and there's no witness to confirm if he's telling the truth."
Shruti said, "But is there any witness who can say he wasn't at home and was wandering outside, committing the murder?"
Inspector Vivek replied, "That's why he hasn't been caught yet. But looking at his background, it doesn't seem like he would be involved in such things."
Shruti asked, "Why?"
Inspector Vivek replied, "Because he belongs to a military background and holds the rank of captain. But surprisingly, he is only 20 years old."
Shruti said, "So what? I'm only 21. Age doesn't matter."
Inspector Vivek fell silent at this remark.
Shruti said, "Alright, gather everyone at the panchayat office. We need to take their statements and find out if anyone saw anything unusual or different."
Inspector Vivek responded, "Yes, ma'am." With that, everyone gathered at the panchayat office, and Yashvardhan ordered everyone to assemble there.
Looking at the crowd, Inspector Vivek asked Yashardhan, "Where are your guests? Have they gone back to the city? They could be potential suspects."
Yashvardhan replied, "What are you saying? They are all at the temple. Someone, go and bring the priest and them here."
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu was showing the priest a photo of the temple he had seen in the library on his phone, asking if the priest recognized it.
The priest looked at the photo for ten minutes and said, "No, as far as I remember, I have never seen this temple. But before coming here, I was in Kashi, where there are many books about ancient temples. Maybe you could find something about this temple there."
Abhimanyu asked, "Alright, do you know anything about the five guardians?"
The priest asked, "Who are they?"
Abhimanyu said, "No, nothing," and with that, Abhimanyu's eyes returned to normal, and the priest felt as if he had just woken up from a dream.
The priest asked Abhimanyu, "Why do I always end up telling you everything?"
Abhimanyu replied, "Maybe because you have a pure heart."
The priest said, "You are good at diverting conversations."
Abhimanyu's friends were looking at the paintings on the temple walls, hoping to find some clue.
At that moment, a man arrived and said, "Priest, the police have called all the villagers to gather at the panchayat office, and Yashvardhan has sent me to bring you all."
The priest replied, "Alright, let's go."
The man then left.
Abhimanyu said, "Let's go, priest."
The priest smiled and said, "Let's go."
In his mind, the priest thought, "I don't know why, but I feel a diffrent aura from him, like he is a someone I should praise."
In his mind, Abhimanyu thought, "Just leaking a little demonic energy is enough. I don't need to make him my devotee."
Saily said, "You are really boring. I was just talking about having a little fun."
Abhimanyu replied, "Shut Up I am sure he is not a priest who pray God but he doesn't know much about here and will be a waste of time to make him devote of mine."
When Abhimanyu reached the panchayat office, Shruti was surprised to see him but didn't say anything.
Abhimanyu also recognized her. Before he could say anything, Inspector Vivek asked, "Where were all of you last night?"
Riya replied, "Yes, we were all at home last night. Just because we are outsiders doesn't mean we are the murderers."
Vivek asked, "And Captain Abhimanyu Pratap Singh, were you at home too?"
Before Abhimanyu could say anything, Riya interrupted, "Maybe you don't know, but by asking such questions, you are insulting Abhimanyu."
Inspector Vivek said, "Look, Captain Riya Mathur, I have no intention of insulting an army officer, but this is a police case, and there have been two murders so far. We have to ask such questions during our investigation."
Before Riya could respond, a man said, "Inspector sir, I saw this young man going out last night."
Everyone's attention turned to the man pointing at Abhimanyu.
Inspector Vivek asked, "Really? When was this, and what happened?"
The man replied, "Inspector sir, my throat was very dry, so I got up to drink water. When I went to the kitchen, I saw this young man heading towards the jungle. When I checked the time on my phone, it was quarter past one. After that, I didn't pay much attention to it because ever since the demoness was freed, I've been scared to go out at night. City folks don't believe in these things, so they go out at night, but we fear for our lives, sir."
Inspector Vivek said, "Alright, did you see him returning?"
The man replied, "No sir, after that, I went to sleep and only woke up in the morning."
At that moment, another man spoke up, "Yes sir, I saw him returning to his house around 4 AM."
Everyone's attention turned to the elderly man who had just come out. He said, "Sir, I'm used to waking up early. I sleep inside on the night of Amavasya, but on other nights, I sleep in my courtyard. I wake up by 4 AM every day, and I saw this boy returning to his house. My house is right next to his. I thought he must be an early riser and was out for a walk."
Inspector Vivek then smiled and looked at Abhimanyu.
Abhimanyu looked at the elderly man and asked, "So, did you see my face clearly?"
The elderly man replied, "You can't see faces clearly at night, but it looked like you."
Abhimanyu asked, "Are you sure it was me? Did you see anything that confirmed it was me?"
The elderly man replied, "How much can you see in the dark? I saw a man in jeans and a shirt with open buttons, just like yours."
Abhimanyu said, "Look around. How many people here are wearing similar clothes?" About 15 boys were wearing the same kind of clothes.
Abhimanyu then turned to the elderly man. Suddenly, the first man felt like he had just woken up from a dream.
Abhimanyu asked the elderly man, "You have very sharp eyesight to see me returning to my house from your courtyard, especially since your house is in the opposite direction. Even if you saw me from the closest point, it would be at least 200 meters away. Are you sure you saw me at 4 AM in the darkness?"