The mothership was surrounded by Haidoro's spacecraft.
One Four-Starred Personnel occupied each spacecraft.
There were a hundred spacecraft in total.
That meant...
One hundred Four-Starred Personnel.
They were isolated inside Isolated Dimension 777.
Cut off from the outside world.
Cut off from any possibility of reinforcements.
Haidoro silently stared at Pratik and the others.
Grahan, meanwhile, calmly poured himself a drink.
Things had become extremely tense.
A battle could begin at any moment.
(Haidoro is in his Dragoling form, by the way.)
[Grahan]: Seems like we have already won, Haidoro. What are you waiting for? We should finish them before something troublesome happens.
Grahan said calmly.
[Haidoro]: You are right.
Haidoro replied, his eyes carefully analyzing everyone before him.
Yet...
His gaze always drifted back to Pratik.
He had an overwhelming urge to eliminate him before the prophecy could come true.
Haidoro took a step forward.
Everyone began sweating.
This...
Might be the end of their journey.
Perhaps even the end of their lives.
Ganaraj and Yash, however, remained calm despite the desperate situation.
Ganaraj's eyes burned with rage.
For what they had done to Osh.
Yet he held those emotions back with everything he had.
Yash, on the other hand, had always remained calm, even in the roughest situations.
To him...
This was simply another hurdle standing in his way.
If things truly became hopeless...
He already had a trump card hidden up his sleeve.
Something capable of bringing down Haidoro.
But Yash had no intention of using it unless escape became completely impossible.
Haidoro stepped forward once more.
Soon...
He stood directly before the much smaller Yash.
Pratik instinctively moved to stand beside him.
Mala stopped him.
Instead...
She stepped forward herself.
Pratik couldn't understand why.
A deafening silence followed.
No words were needed.
Everyone understood the situation perfectly.
Each person carefully reading the movements of the others.
Mala walked beside Yash and gently rested a hand on his shoulder.
If Haidoro made even the slightest move...
She would be the first to protect him.
Just then—
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Dozens of spacecraft exploded.
Along with the Four-Starred Personnel inside them.
The brilliant flashes lit up the darkness of space.
Everyone aboard the mothership turned toward the source.
Haidoro's eyes widened in surprise.
Grahan cast an irritated glance outside.
This...
Was completely unexpected.
The mothership shook violently for a brief moment.
The lights flickered several times.
Then—
With the final flicker...
Someone was standing beside Yash.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Pratik's mouth fell open.
Yash's uncle, however, remained seated, completely nonchalant about the newcomer's arrival.
A cape fluttering despite the windless room.
A Dragoling physique that rivaled the monstrous Haidoro.
The uniform of the Sorcerer Hunters.
A golden badge engraved with the name GRIHO.
The Sorcerer Hunter Marshal...
Griho had finally arrived for his next hunt.
Haidoro.
Not even a trace of nervousness could be seen on Griho's face.
He knew...
He was the strongest person in the room.
Grahan, who had remained calm this entire time, quietly began reassessing the situation.
The board had been overturned.
The arrival of the Marshal had changed everything.
Silence filled the room once again.
Both sides carefully observed one another.
Waiting.
Neither side willing to make the first move.
[Griho]: Seems like there is an alliance between two Seven-Starred Personnel.
Griho said calmly.
The silence finally broke.
Reality sank in.
Pratik and the others realized something.
Griho wasn't here to hunt them.
He had come...
For Haidoro.
Haidoro met his gaze without the slightest hint of fear.
It was the look of a predator...
Whose prey had just been taken away.
[Haidoro]: You want to fight me?
Haidoro asked calmly.
Haidoro unleashed his Aura.
It engulfed the entire mothership before spreading across the surrounding spacecraft.
The overwhelming pressure filled every corner.
Had this been the old Pratik...
He would have been crushed by that Aura alone.
Griho responded without hesitation.
He released his own Aura.
The two overwhelming forces collided.
Neither side gave way.
Their Auras canceled each other out, leaving the room trembling under the pressure.
[Griho]: Know your place. I couldn't care less about your affairs.
Griho said, narrowing his eyes.
Before Haidoro could reply, Grahan stepped in.
[Grahan]: Seems like things have become interesting. How about we talk this out? The ones standing behind you are sorcerers, dear Sorcerer Hunter. Shouldn't you eliminate them instead?
Grahan asked with a smile.
[Griho]: I choose my targets by my own will. I can barely care about the weaklings standing behind me. Right now, my target is Haidoro. Unless...
He slowly shifted his gaze toward Grahan.
[Griho]: ...you wish to join him.
Grahan instinctively took a step back.
[Grahan]: In that case, let's make it fair. How about we settle this on Planet Giro? It's only one light-year away. You can exchange fists there. If we fight here, we may destroy everything around us. The winner gets things their way. Sounds fair, doesn't it?
Grahan asked.
[Griho]: I agree. We'll settle this through battle.
[Grahan]: Very convincing.
Grahan replied with a smirk.
Only afterward did Griho realize something.
His decision-making had been subtly influenced by Grahan's passive ability.
An ability that temporarily interfered with rational judgment.
Without another word, Haidoro and Grahan turned and began walking away.
Before leaving...
Haidoro glanced back at Pratik.
His eyes burned with deep hatred.
Once they were gone...
Silence remained.
Mala immediately pulled Yash away from Griho and embraced him tightly.
It was almost as though she was shielding him from the Marshal himself.
Even Pratik felt nervous standing near Griho.
Griho slowly turned his gaze toward them.
Everything remained calm...
Until his eyes landed on Yash's uncle.
Yash's uncle simply smiled at him.
Griho answered with nothing more than an annoyed expression.
Silence once again claimed the room.
Only one thing remained certain.
The following day...
A battle would decide everything.
Haidoro vs. Griho.
To be continued...