Chapter 2 : Betrayal at Sea
I punched him hard and said, "Remember, I have ten lakh rupees on you. Don't forget—I'll recover my money by selling your body if I have to."
Harvin muttered under his breath, "Bobi is a member of an extortion gang. A month ago, I borrowed four lakh rupees from her. With interest, it should only be six lakh… but that wretched woman is demanding four more. She's bleeding me dry."
He turned away in frustration. "Let it go," he whispered to himself, brushing the dust off his shirt as he walked toward his home.
But when Harvin reached his neighborhood, he froze.
His house—once a small, modest shelter in a crumbling part of the city—stood destroyed. Debris littered the path. The door, cracked and hanging by one hinge, swayed gently with the wind.
Taking a deep breath, Harvin gathered what courage he had and pushed the door open.
Inside, the walls were scorched, the furniture overturned. Amid the wreckage, a familiar voice called out.
"Bhaiya?"
Vasu.
Harvin looked ahead to see his younger brother sitting quietly in a wheelchair. His pale face was turned toward the doorway, eyes wide with concern.
"What rank did you get?" Vasu asked softly.
Harvin said nothing. He lowered his head, shame gripping his heart like a vice.
Vasu understood. Without waiting for an answer, he smiled faintly and said, "Big brother, forget all this. I'm really hungry. Let's eat something."
Harvin's eyes softened. Despite the storm inside him, he managed a small smile. "Yeah… let's eat."
---
The scene cut to the towering glass windows of the Hunter Association headquarters. Chairman Narayan Murti stood silently, gazing out at the sprawling city below. His sharp eyes, filled with years of experience, followed the movement of clouds over the barrier zone in the distance.
Vice Chairman Arav entered briskly. "Sir, the leader of the Sanjeevani Guild—Rudravir—has arrived in Durgare. He plans to raid the S+ rank barrier again."
Murti didn't flinch. "Let him."
Arav blinked, surprised. "Sir? That barrier's history is soaked in blood."
Murti nodded slowly. "Yes… five raids. Five failures. When that S+ rank barrier first appeared, Rudravir's younger brother, Rudrank, led the assault. His team was wiped out. Rudrank was torn apart by whatever monster lives inside."
"Since then," Murti continued, his voice grave, "Rudravir has been obsessed. But make no mistake—this isn't just vengeance. That barrier is unstable. If we don't clear it soon, it will break. And the fallout will be catastrophic."
---
Back in the city, Harvin was wandering from place to place, looking for a job. But doors kept closing in his face. No one wanted to hire someone with the lowest rank. Most just laughed at him.
Humiliated and exhausted, Harvin sat near the docks, head hung low.
Then he heard a voice.
"They're hiring people to load and unload cargo ships over there. You look strong—might be worth a try."
Harvin followed the voice to the harbor, where a tall man with a thick beard stood giving instructions to workers. His name was Pujari.
"We could use someone like you," Pujari said, slapping a hand on Harvin's shoulder. "The work's hard, but it pays."
Harvin nodded without hesitation.
---
Days turned into weeks. Harvin had settled into life on the cargo ship. The pay wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to afford medicine—potions that eased the poison in Vasu's system. Life was finally finding a rhythm.
Then, one morning, as the cargo ship sailed over calm ocean waters with 298 passengers aboard, alarms blared.
A sudden explosion rocked the vessel. Sirens echoed across the sea.
From the mist, U.S. Navy ships appeared, surrounding them.
A loudspeaker crackled to life. "This is the United States Navy. Surrender immediately or we will sink your ship."
Panic spread like wildfire. People screamed, clutched each other. Harvin stood, confused and alert.
"What's going on?!"
Pujari emerged from below deck, calm and smiling. "You've all worked hard," he said. "You deserve a reward."
Then a man shouted, pointing. "That ship is flying a U.S. flag! That means you're smuggling something! We've been used!"
The crowd turned furious.
But Pujari only laughed—a deep, chilling laugh. "Fools," he said, flames flickering from his fingertips. "We've been doing this for forty years. You think you'll bring us down?"
Then he raised both hands—and fire erupted around the deck.
Screams filled the air as chaos broke out. Passengers ran in every direction as the ship caught fire. Magic twisted the sky as Pujari's men activated teleportation spells, fleeing the scene.
Harvin was left among the blaze, the smell of burning wood and flesh thick around him.
And the betrayal cut deeper than any wound.