THE ANTHROPOPHAGUS

THE DARKEST HOUR!

As dusk settled over the village of Umshing, an eerie silence gripped the air. The villagers gathered at the outskirts, where Tom and Sarah's car lay abandoned. Its doors were flung open, and the vehicle was smeared with dark, sinister stains.

David's heart pounded as he approached the car, a sense of dread washing over him. The villagers, murmuring in confusion and fear, hung back, their eyes wide with horror.

Inside the car, the scene was gruesome beyond comprehension. Tom and Sarah's bodies were slumped in their seats, their flesh grotesquely mangled. The car's interior was a nightmarish tableau of torn skin and exposed bones, a macabre testament to their final moments.

Tom's face was frozen in an expression of sheer terror, his eyes wide and unseeing. His hands, or what was left of them, were raised as if in a futile attempt to fend off the attack. Sarah's body was no better—her torso ripped open, ribs visible through the bloodied mess that had once been her chest.

David's breath caught in his throat as he realized the horrifying truth: Tom and Sarah had been eaten alive. The marks on their bodies were unmistakable—deep, ragged bites that could only have been made by human teeth. Flesh had been gnawed from their limbs, their screams of agony echoing in the silence of the night.

The villagers recoiled in terror, their whispered prayers filling the air as they took in the scene. David turned to them, his voice trembling but resolute.

"This... this is inhuman," David muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, moving with deliberate, predatory grace. It was Bhairava, his eyes burning with a fierce determination. Without a word, he turned away from the ghastly scene and made his way toward the forest, his path clear in his mind.

David called after him, "Bhairava, where are you going?"

Bhairava paused, his voice cold and resolute. "To end this."

---

Bhairava's journey through the dark forest was swift and silent, his every sense attuned to the path ahead. The entrance to the cave loomed before him, a gaping maw in the mountainside. Without hesitation, he plunged into the darkness, the air growing colder and more oppressive with each step.

Deep within the cave, flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows on the walls. Bhairava's eyes adjusted to the dim light, revealing Harshit standing near a fire, his back turned. Harshit was mumbling to himself, his voice a twisted melody of madness.

"Harshit!" Bhairava's voice echoed through the cave.

Harshit turned, his face contorted with rage and surprise. "Bhairava. Come to join the darkness?"

Bhairava's eyes narrowed, his fists clenched at his sides. "This ends now, Harshit. Your reign of terror ends tonight."

Harshit laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the cave. "You think you can stop me? You're nothing compared to the darkness I control."

Without warning, Bhairava lunged at Harshit, their bodies colliding with a force that reverberated through the cave. The fight was brutal and primal, each blow fueled by years of pain and hatred. They grappled and punched, their roars of fury mingling with the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

Harshit managed to land a vicious punch to Bhairava's jaw, sending him staggering back. "You can't win, Bhairava. You never could."

Bhairava wiped blood from his lip, his eyes blazing. "You underestimate me, cousin."