Chapter 4: The Headquarters

---

3

At the Ability Association headquarters:

The building loomed over the bustling street, its concrete facade patched with faded paint, tricolour bunting from Independence Day still fluttering in the breeze. Inside, the lift was slow and creaked with every floor—one of those old ones where you have to manually shut the grill gate.

Ripples shimmered in the air as I appeared beneath the building.

A beggar woman sitting at the gate looked at me suspiciously, muttering something about ghosts and crossing herself. I gave her a quick nod before heading in.

At the entrance, the security guard was sipping chai from a steel glass, eyes glued to his phone where a faint bhajan played. He barely looked up as I passed, mumbling a quick 'Namaste, Arjun bhaiya.'

Inside, they were already discussing last night’s incident.

All blame pointed in one direction.

"With Arjun’s strength, he shouldn’t make such a basic mistake."

The speaker's voice echoed through the corridor, nasal and self-important.

"From what I know, only ten low-level demons got in last night. Even if Arjun’s ability was lacking, he couldn’t possibly have failed to handle ten low-level demons. Maybe, after so much exposure to demons, he’s become compromised..."

There it was—the classic log kya kahenge mentality. In India, suspicion always follows success like a shadow.

"You can’t say things like that without evidence. No matter what, Arjun has made great contributions to humanity."

For a moment, a flicker of support. But as always, drowned out by the louder voices.

"How about this: when Arjun arrives, have him publicly apologise, and then submit a written report to the Association. Then we’ll let this matter go."

The words "written report" sounded so bureaucratic, as if an apology letter would fix everything.

"..."

My hearing is extraordinary.

I heard everything clearly.

At the same time, a question nagged at me:

Why did someone say there were only ten demons?

Just as I was about to enter, dozens of armed defence team members rushed out.

The clatter of their boots on the marble was as loud as the Ganpati visarjan drums outside during festival time.

"Stop!"

"This is the Ability Association and Defence Team Headquarters. No unauthorised entry!"

They surrounded me, sizing me up.

The leader was Kunal.

When he saw me, he forced a smile. "Arjun, you finally showed up."

The smile didn’t reach his eyes. I could see the tension in his jaw—the kind that comes before a family fight over property.

"He’s Arjun?"

Everyone was stunned.

I rarely appeared in public, and most people only knew my name.

One team member sneered, "SSS-level ability user? What’s so great about that? Captain, aren’t you also SSS-level now?"

I couldn’t help but glance at Kunal in surprise.