đź’” The Contract Groom
The storm exploded around the house.
Rain crashed violently against metal and broken glass while thunder shook the ground itself.
But nobody noticed the storm anymore.
Because something far more horrifying stood before them now.
The Circle operatives had changed.
Their bodies trembled unnaturally.
Dark veins spread slowly across their necks like poison crawling beneath the skin.
Their eyes—
empty.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Not human.
Sasmita instinctively stepped backward.
"What the hell did he do to them?"
Nandu's face hardened instantly.
For the first time tonight—
real fear appeared in his eyes.
"Neuro-serum," he whispered.
Professor Veer smiled calmly beneath the rain.
"The unstable version."
One of the operatives suddenly lifted his head sharply.
His movements no longer looked natural.
Too fast.
Too stiff.
Then—
without warning—
he attacked the nearest Tiger guard.
CRACK.
The operative broke the man's arm instantly with terrifying force before slamming him violently against the vehicle.
Blood splattered across the rain-covered ground.
Sasmita's eyes widened.
"That's impossible—"
Another operative charged forward.
This time toward Nandu.
Nandu fired twice immediately.
Bang.
Bang.
Both bullets struck center mass.
But the operative didn't stop.
Didn't even react.
Like pain no longer existed.
"Headshots!" Nandu shouted instantly.
Chaos erupted.
Gunfire exploded across the stormy night.
Tiger guards opened fire rapidly while the transformed operatives moved through bullets like machines.
Fast.
Brutal.
Unstoppable.
One operative leapt unnaturally far onto a vehicle roof before attacking from above.
Another slammed through a wooden barricade with raw force.
Sasmita fired directly into one attacker's forehead.
The operative dropped instantly.
But two more rushed forward immediately.
"They don't care if they die!" she shouted.
"Because they already lost themselves," Nandu replied coldly while reloading.
Professor Veer stood calmly near the vehicles watching the massacre unfold.
Proudly.
"This," he whispered softly, "is evolution beyond fear."
Dr. Prem's fists clenched instantly.
"No."
Another memory slammed violently into his mind.
Laboratory footage.
Animals injected with unstable serum.
Violent behavior.
Loss of emotional response.
Then children.
His breathing stopped briefly.
No…
Project Aryan wasn't just about intelligence.
It was about control.
The perfect mind.
The perfect soldiers.
And suddenly—
he realized something horrifying.
He had been the successful version.
Professor Veer noticed the realization immediately.
"Yes," he said softly through the rain.
"You were the masterpiece."
Rage exploded inside Dr. Prem instantly.
He moved before anyone reacted.
One transformed operative charged toward Sasmita from the side—
but Dr. Prem intercepted him mid-motion.
The impact cracked the ground beneath them.
Sasmita froze for half a second.
Because the strength behind that movement—
was terrifying.
The operative attacked wildly with enhanced aggression.
Fast strikes.
No hesitation.
No fear.
But Dr. Prem countered instinctively.
Every movement precise.
Calculated.
Deadly.
As if his body predicted attacks before they happened.
Professor Veer watched with growing fascination.
"Beautiful…" he whispered.
Dr. Prem twisted the operative's arm violently before driving him into the vehicle hard enough to dent metal.
Then—
without hesitation—
he fired directly into the man's forehead.
The operative collapsed instantly.
But the others kept coming.
Nandu's men were falling fast now.
Not because they lacked skill—
but because the enemy ignored pain completely.
One Tiger guard screamed as an operative tackled him through shattered glass.
Another got dragged into darkness near the vehicles.
Gunfire flashed constantly through the rain.
Sasmita moved beside Dr. Prem quickly.
"We need to leave!"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Cold.
Focused.
Because now—
something inside him had changed.
He looked toward Professor Veer standing calmly beyond the battlefield.
And suddenly—
another memory returned fully.
A child version of himself standing inside a laboratory while Veer spoke proudly to investors.
"Aryan will become the future of human strategy."
Then another voice asked—
"And if he refuses?"
Professor Veer smiled coldly.
"Then we break him until he obeys."
The memory shattered whatever restraint remained inside Dr. Prem.
His eyes darkened completely.
Professor Veer noticed instantly.
And smiled.
"There it is," he whispered.
"The real Aryan."
Ravan suddenly stepped forward through the rain.
"Aryan!"
His voice cut sharply through the battlefield.
For one second—
Dr. Prem looked toward him.
And Ravan saw it.
The transformation beginning inside him.
Not physical.
Mental.
Hyper-focus.
Emotion suppression.
Combat calculation.
The same dangerous state from years ago.
Ravan's expression changed instantly.
"No…" he whispered.
Because he remembered what happened the last time Aryan lost emotional control.
People died.
A transformed operative attacked Ravan suddenly from behind—
but Aryan reacted before the movement fully happened.
Gunshot.
Perfect accuracy.
The operative collapsed instantly.
Everyone froze briefly.
Because Aryan hadn't even fully looked before firing.
Instinct.
Prediction.
Processing speed beyond normal human reaction.
Professor Veer looked almost emotional now.
"Extraordinary…"
Sasmita stared at Dr. Prem silently.
No—
not Dr. Prem anymore.
Aryan.
And for the first time—
she understood why powerful men feared him enough to destroy lives for him.
Because Aryan wasn't just intelligent.
He was dangerous in ways ordinary people couldn't even understand.
Then suddenly—
a loud scream echoed from near the vehicles.
Nandu turned sharply.
One transformed operative had grabbed Professor Veer himself by the throat.
Everything stopped.
Even Veer looked shocked.
Because the operative's eyes—
were no longer empty.
For one brief second—
they showed rage.
Recognition.
Hatred.
The serum was becoming unstable.
The operative growled violently—
then whispered one horrifying sentence directly into Veer's face.
"…Monster…"
And suddenly—
the creatures Veer created began turning against their creator.