Gregory Lawrence was confused, "Wait, weren’t you the one taken hostage?"

Hannah had no words in response.

Gregory looked up, taking in the sight of Hannah with a sword, and then at the man in a black robe with the sword against his throat.

He likely... misread the situation.

"Carry on."

He said it and was about to walk away.

His head swimming, he didn’t see where he was going and bumped right into the direction of the man in the black robe, who caught him cleanly.

With her sword now useless as a threat, Hannah could only shout, "Let go of Gregory!"

The man in the black robe has his gaunt hand clasped tightly around Gregory’s neck.

A feeling of suffocation came over him, Gregory’s face turned red, and his hands flapped wildly, "Han... Hannah, save... save me!"

"Gregory, are you an idiot!"

He barrels into things without even looking.

Gregory couldn’t speak anymore.

He might actually be an idiot.

Probably because Gregory was making too much of a fuss, the man in the black robe finally spoke up, "Don’t move."

It was an extremely hoarse voice, full of rough, gravelly notes, as if he hadn’t spoken in years.

"Brother, can you calm down a bit, please? First, let go of my neck, I... cough, cough, I’m running out of air."

Gregory only felt that the hand clenching his throat was as cold as ice, chilling him to the bone.

The man in the black robe said nothing more, just stared straight at Hannah, "My thing."

"What thing?" Hannah frowned, looking at Gregory, "Did you take something of his?"

Gregory blinked frantically.

He couldn’t shake his head because his neck was being gripped.

The man in the black robe looked at the sword in Hannah’s hand, "Mine."

He was sparing with his words.

Hannah had no intention of handing it over, "If I give you the sword, you’ll kill me, so what am I supposed to do?"

The man in black was silent for a moment, then spat out two words, "Won’t."

Gregory blinked again.

Hannah blatantly ignored him, "Why should I believe you."

"Sword, give it to me, otherwise, I’ll kill him," the man in black robe said, pausing after each word.

After speaking, he tightened his grip.

Gregory’s eyes were almost rolling back in his head.

Hannah’s face remained devoid of worry or tension, "Fine, kill him, then I’ll use your sword to kill you. After you’re dead, I’ll take your sword to Komo, find some random swordsmith, and have it melted down."

Komo was a star that produced a wealth of metal ores, home to a clan known as Dorothy, whose members excelled at forging various ancient weapons.

Even though it was the First Year of Stellar, many people still revered ancient weapons like swords.

Finally, the man in black robe reacted, "You wouldn’t dare!"

Hannah said, "You can try."

The two countered each other back and forth.

Hannah maintained a one-sided advantage throughout.

Gregory couldn’t speak at all, his tongue almost lolling out.

The long sword in Hannah’s hand rested on the ground as she looked at Gregory, "Hurry up and let go, he’s about to die!"

The man in black looked down, and finally, he loosened his grip, but still showed no intention of releasing him.

Hannah wasn’t about to give in.

She was stalling for time.

Waiting for Arnold Simmons to return and break the deadlock.

... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

In the distance, the fiery red glow of dawn colored the entire sky, casting the black woods in a dark red hue.

Rain was on its way.

The cool air, mixed with the chill of impending rain, dispersed the fog nearby.

Before the heavy rain arrived, Arnold Simmons returned.

The standoff before him was clearly not what he’d expected either.

But his astonishment was fleeting, and he quickly stepped forward, asking Hannah, "What happened?"

"Arnold, he’s picking on me."

Hannah turned her head.