"Y-you're an Immortal?"
Lady Serenya stuttered in absolute shock. This made no sense. Yes, she had seen Ross defeat her officials with absolute ease. However, things weren't adding up. She had been at the Venerable level for years. How did Ross become an Immortal so quickly?
Ross simply chuckled softly at her shocked words, his hands folded over his chest. "Sadly, this is your reality. Your forces never stood a chance."
Serenya looked around in frustration, taking note of the locations of her officials as her mind raced. 'I can try escaping, but to what end? We've already lost, and the boy has no intention of doing anything extreme.'
None of them had ever harboured thoughts of killing the other, so Serenya knew Ross wouldn't do anything. This was a territorial struggle, and there was no need to go too far; they had no such enmity.
"How about we put this behind us and call it a day? " the redhead proposed confidently, not minding how the woman slowly backed away. You guys stay on your side of the galactic cluster, and the Starbane forces will stay in theirs. No one said we can't be neighbours."
"..."
Ross's suggestion was sound. But this was where the problem lay. Serenya knew the plans of the family head, and sharing was not in them. After all, claiming the galactic cluster was but the first step in Lord Malcolm's grand ambitions.
A cluster of galaxies, destroyed or not, was not small. There were still locations thriving with cosmic order and life.
'If it had been anyone else, perhaps.' Serenya pondered. 'But this is someone with connections to Lord Alexander. The Family head's plans wouldn't work otherwise.'
"Is there no other option?" Serenya chose to explore a different route. "I can offer the services of the Arkheons to help your Starbane forces to that end."
Ross couldn't help but smile at the woman's words. He knew exactly what the Arkheon boss was implying. However, her suggestion wasn't going to make a difference. His father had expressed his desire for this galactic region, and he intended to claim it for him.
Perhaps he was being unreasonable in a way as well. But when has the strong ever listened to the opinions of the weak? Had it been the other way around, the Starbane forces might have been eradicated without hesitation.
"Sorry, sweetheart, but we're not going anywhere," Ross replied smugly. "You can, however, take your own advice. There are still galaxies that might be more prosperous than this one."
The Arkheon boss was at a loss for words. She completely ignored the mocking endearment term Ross used for her. There was no room for distractions. Then again, she was the defeated party; she could do nothing about it.
'Tsk, this is getting nowhere.' The Arkheon boss was running out of time. 'I have to think of something!'
Unfortunately for her, nothing was coming to mind. What would someone like Ross want that he couldn't get for himself? Forget about threatening his family. That idea was tossed out the window when she realised they were outmatched.
Even if she intended to use his father and brother against him, Ross wouldn't buy it; it would not work. Furthermore, she was not stupid enough to create an irreconcilable situation they could not extricate themselves from.
The redhead looked at the conflicted woman and felt a slight pang of sympathy for her. Shifting his attention to the battles that were nearing conclusion, Ross considered his earlier thoughts. 'This galactic cluster is way too big, and I don't know if my father would want a cake this massive.'
Even with his Immortal senses, he could cover a little over 100,000 light-years in diameter at most, and the entire galactic cluster was more than five times that.
'Why are you stressing over this matter?' Ross suddenly heard Alexander's voice in his head. Already used to this, he didn't show too much of a reaction. 'Whether your father would want it or not does not matter now. Stake your claim and worry about the rest later.'
'Hmm, you're right.' Ross nodded calmly. 'One problem at a time.' With his decision consolidated, the redhead made his move.
"I'll be taking it from here."
"Huh?"
Ross's voice snapped Serenya out of her thoughts. Before she could express anything else, a sudden force wrapped around her body, forcefully binding her limbs to her side.
"The hell?!"
Directing her gaze back to Ross, Serenya once again bore witness to the prowess of an Immortal. Whatever force wrapped around her body made her realise this was what Ross used to defeat her officials.
However, that was just the beginning. Ross swung his arms out, sweeping the passed-out officials along with Serenya and bringing them close.
"What are you doing?!"
The Arkheon boss demanded with a frightened expression. Try as she might, she could not free herself; her abilities were not responding.
"Making the decision for you." Ross replied.
The moment the words escaped his lips, Serenya's point of view abruptly changed, leaving her stunned.
Appearing in the heart of the clash between her forces and those of the Starbane's, Ross executed the same hand gestures, abruptly sweeping all her forces against their will. Had that been all, it wouldn't have been too shocking.
"!!"
With speeds that broke all conventions, Serenya witnessed Ross pull all her space ships and crew from every corner of the region, including the rest of her S-Tier officials who were supposed to have subdued the leaders of the Starbane forces.
Giant space cruisers numbering in the hundreds were pulled over like they were nothing. With how abruptly they were pulled over from tens of light-years away in a second, it was a miracle the ships did not break apart from the drag force.
"Huh? What's going on? How did we get here?"
As the hunters began to express their confusion, the surrounding space trembled as a tyrannical aura—unlike anything the Arkheons had ever experienced—shifted their expressions from shock to extreme terror.
"Hunters of the Valemont Family…''
Ross's deep and heavy voice echoed throughout the region, drawing the attention of every hunter, including the Starbane forces. They looked up and saw Ross's majestic figure, looking down on everyone with a deep, fiery gaze and aura.
"I-Isn't that t-the boss…?"
One of the Arkheon S-Tier hunters noticed the bound hunters behind Ross, the shock in her eyes palpable. All the hunters behind the redhead had passed out while Serenya struggled with unwillingness in her eyes.
'Fuck… they all lost!'
The hunter inwardly cursed. Unfortunately for her, the aura pushing down on her restricted any attempts she made to move.
"You have nothing to fear." Ross continued after a moment. Whether his words had the intended effect was of little concern.
"You did nothing wrong. This is a struggle for ownership of this galactic region. For the restraint you employed in subduing the Starbane forces, you have my gratitude. However, this is a fight you cannot win…"
The last part echoed with a sudden increase in the overwhelming pressure they felt, causing groans of discomfort to escape them. Unwillingness was evident in their eyes, as they could tell where this was going.
"Your leaders have made it clear that we cannot co-exist in this galactic cluster. There can only be one force occupying this region, and that force will be the Starbane forces."
"..."
As anticipated by the hunters, they would be the ones to leave. The weeks they spent mapping the galactic region for the Valemonts were going to be useless.
On the other hand, Ferlok, Eein and the rest of the Starbane leaders were left speechless. Ross was claiming the entire galactic cluster? This was something the leaders had not dared to think about.
While their organisation was huge, it was incomparable to a force like the Valemonts. Owning an entire galactic cluster… they weren't too sure.
"Prepare yourself."
As the final words of Ross echoed in the region, the tyrannical pressure that kept them in place abruptly disappeared. Before the hunters could make any moves, they all vanished, the space cruisers included.
"!"
The visual impact of hundreds of space ships and thousands of hunters left the Starbane forces in a state of extreme shock.
"I-Is that really Ross's doing?" Eein slowly turned to look at his father, who was just as stunned.
Meanwhile, Ross reappeared in the heart of the Arkheon base, where the rest of their forces continued their work. Regardless of where the hunters were or what they were doing, they felt a sudden force pull them away from their positions.
"What happened?"
The stationed Venerables reacted almost instantly. However, as they looked around, they noticed their ships clustered together haphazardly, with all their men floating nearby.
"Look, that's Lady Serenya!"
Once spotted, the Venerables wasted no time and flew to her, their confusion apparent. Arriving nearby, the Venerables noticed the shocked state of their leader and companions, while some were completely out cold.
"Lady Serenya, what happened?"
To the question asked, Serenya did not react or even attempt to reply. She looked as if she were mentally scared and broken for life. Fortunately for them, a reply came from one of the other Venerables. But… it was not the answer they could have predicted.
"W-We've been thrown out of t-the galactic cluster."
"What are you saying…?"
The Venerables could not believe their senses. But they were in a completely different location, a vast blank of emptiness with no celestial bodies in sight.
"I'm saying… we are no longer in the galactic cluster."
"!"