Logan left, thoroughly bewildered. Even Master Wyatt was a bit dazed.
Zoran could have stopped Logan, or he could have let him leave. Yet, he chose a strange middle ground: letting Logan walk free, while essentially telling him to prepare for execution.
After Logan's departure, the immediate surroundings felt empty. Before leaving, Logan had recognized Kino's identity and handed over the Energy Locker from a hundred thousand years ago, a subtle, indirect way of repaying Zoran for not interfering.
With that, this particular reincarnation cycle was safely back on its canonical tracks.
"I know you all have your doubts, but everything I do has its reasons," Zoran explained to the group, looking at Master Wyatt. After all, the old master had lent him a hand earlier.
"Fair enough," Master Wyatt sighed. A powerhouse of the Nebula Body tier naturally had their own calculus behind every action.
"Alright then." Zoran clapped his hands, his gaze piercing through the dark layers of clouds to look out into deep space. "This is the First Parallel Universe, and it's time I tend to some actual business."
Amidst the bewildered stares of the group, his figure suddenly shot upward, soaring straight out of the atmosphere.
Across the Seven Parallel Universes, there existed seven moons. Layer by layer, these were cosmic entities he absolutely could not afford to miss. And right now, Zoran certainly hadn't forgotten them.
He let out a soft sigh; the world of the Ultra Beast Force really was convenient. In any other universe, he would have had to make seven separate trips. Here, he could satisfy all seven moons across the parallel planes, making this journey well worth the effort.
Countless layers of clouds and mist receded past him as Zoran's figure instantly breached the atmosphere, standing tall amidst the starry void.
By now, Logan was likely rushing back in a desperate hurry to deliver the Netherworld Key. Hades' resurrection was imminent, making him one of the opponents Zoran had meticulously prepared for Shendu. Of course, Zoran also harbored a slight desire to slack off. If he could get his younger brother to do the heavy lifting, he could comfortably enjoy the show as a spectator.
He was highly anticipating the clash between Shendu, Hades, and Snow Emperor.
The powerhouses of this world loved to preach grand philosophies. Every word out of their mouths was an exchange of conflicting ideals where no one could ever convince the other. Just imagining that picture gave Zoran a headache.
It was far better to let Shendu handle it. Shendu didn't care about philosophy; he only cared about combat. Why waste breath talking when you can just fight? This was one of the few traits Zoran actually appreciated about Shendu; he was decisive, direct, and bore a striking resemblance to General Justice from a certain other world.
In his memory, when Kino and his crew finally reached Hades' throne, they listened to a massive ideological lecture and came dangerously close to being brainwashed by Hades' rhetoric. If you swapped in Shendu, who possessed a temperament like General Justice, who would bother debating you? Oh, you want to start a war? You're a villain today, you're a villain for life! Fight first, talk never.
Zoran did a quick mental calculation of the time, estimating how long it would take for the world's energy to stabilize. That would be the precise moment he would summon Shendu.
Before him lay a crater-pocked, barren celestial body. Within his line of sight, a massive fleet was currently stationed on the lunar surface. This was Logan's vanguard force, left behind in the First Parallel Universe with the moon as their base of operations to intercept Master Wyatt and his disciples.
Targeting this moon, Zoran extended his hand and slowly closed his palm into a fist.
Instantly, blaring alarms echoed inside the command deck of the flagship anchored on the lunar surface.
"Massive Hetero-Energy fluctuation detected! Massive Hetero-Energy fluctuation detected!"
The troops instantly fell into chaos. The scanners pinpointed the coordinates: the source of the immense Hetero-Energy was right outside the moon, closing in fast.
"Do not panic! Launch all ships and intercept the enemy!"
As the order went out, a massive swarm of starships fired up their thrusters, rising into the starry void.
Golden Lion, who had just returned from Earth, stared grimly at the main viewscreen in the flagship's command deck. A silhouette emerged on the screen. It was the very same man who had appeared on Earth earlier, the man whom even General Logan admitted he was no match for.
"What are you all doing parked on my turf?" Zoran's voice echoed through the comms.
For a moment, Golden Lion was entirely at a loss for words. Since when did the moon of the First Parallel Universe belong to anyone?
He turned to the nearby soldiers and ordered coldly, "Give it everything you've got! Shoot down the intruder!"
Not long ago, Zoran had spared their lives. They technically should have departed already, entering the wormhole to leave the First Parallel Universe alongside Logan. But they hadn't. Instead, they chose to stay behind.
This was a calculated gamble by Hades' loyal subordinates. Master Wyatt and his crew would inevitably try to halt Hades' grand ambitions, so this vanguard fleet had been left behind to tie them down. To put it simply, Zoran had already given them a pass once, but they chose to push their luck anyway. They were betting that Zoran would remain indifferent and refuse to intervene further, just as he had done moments ago.
Evidently, they had lost the bet. Left with no choice, they decided to launch a desperate, suicidal assault against him.
Out in the starry void, Zoran's expression darkened. A swarm of starships was charging right at him.
Logan was a reasonable, honorable warrior. Even though he was in a desperate rush to return and resurrect Hades, he would have undoubtedly left proper orders before departing, such as commanding the fleet to follow right behind him. Yet, Golden Lion, now acting as the deputy and supreme commander of this force, had chosen a completely different path.
"You could have left and lived, yet you explicitly chose to throw your lives away," Zoran sighed.
From the moment he appeared, before he had even decided whether to exile or obliterate them, the fleet had already launched and opened fire. He hadn't even made a move, yet they struck first, almost as if they believed being the weaker party somehow made them in the right.
"In that case, there is only one proper way to show respect to an enemy."
Zoran murmured under his breath as his Hetero-Energy erupted in an instant. The starships rushing toward him detonated into a continuous, blinding chain of explosions.
When someone chose to become an enemy, the highest form of respect was absolute annihilation. In a flash, every single vessel that had taken flight was completely obliterated.
On the lunar surface below, dozens of starships were still scrambling to launch, but they were already too late. A crushing pressure descended upon the moon. Every ship that hadn't managed to lift off was violently slammed back down by the sheer weight of the force, crashing deeply into the lunar soil.
Zoran hovered just outside the moon's gravity well, pressing his palm downward. Around his body, a colossal, blurred silhouette began to manifest as massive amounts of Hetero-Energy coalesced around him.
Inside the flagship's command deck, amidst a cacophony of failing systems and screaming alarms, Golden Lion stood entirely catatonic.
"A Nebula Body..." he muttered blankly.
In the next fraction of a second, the entire lunar surface erupted in a violent tremor as dust and debris shot into the void. The coordinate sector where the fleet was stationed imploded toward the lunar core under an irresistible, crushing weight.
Following that single cataclysmic tremor, the entire world instantly fell silent. The fleet was completely wiped out.
Zoran's face remained expressionless as the Moon Demon Chi diffused across the celestial body, causing his power to steadily climb.
In this world, everyone fought for their own convictions. Golden Lion wanted to remain behind to stall Master Wyatt. Unable to gauge Zoran's allegiance, he boldly gambled that Zoran wouldn't interfere simply because he had spared Logan once. When his objective was exposed, he chose to fight to the bitter end.
From Zoran's perspective, he was indeed a relatively good-tempered Demon. However, that did not mean he would tolerate blatant provocations.
If you don't want to leave, then stay forever. It was a very simple concept. Unfortunately, some people would never live long enough to understand it.
Zoran opened his clenched hand, a wave of pure satisfaction washing over his entire body. His objective in the First Parallel Universe had been fully accomplished. Next, there were six more parallel universes eagerly awaiting his arrival.
"Time to get to work," he said, standing alone in the boundless expanse of the stars.
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