Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, several days went by.
September 8th, late at night.
Moses lay on the large bed in his hotel room, resting his head on his arms, staring at the ceiling that was vaguely visible in the dim light with his open eyes.
The duel is scheduled to start at 12 noon tomorrow.
The location was set in a desolate area called 'Red Rock', which is more than 200 kilometers away from Swardani City.
According to Beans' arrangements, all those who wished to witness the duel in person were to gather at the Hunter Association's private airport by 8 AM tomorrow, where they would board the Association's airship alongside Netero and head to the duel location.
'No one would willingly miss this, right…?'
Moses thought to himself silently in his heart.
Even disregarding all other reasons and implications, the sheer weight of a duel between two of the world's strongest Nen Users was enough to draw in every capable fighter.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Moses's eyes flickered slightly, and he quickly turned over and got out of bed.
Although his movements were abrupt and sharp, they made not a single sound.
Standing barefoot on the floor beside the bed, Moses's eyes swept across the tightly closed door, and then he closed all the Aura Nodes in his body, slowly backed away, and seamlessly merged into the darkness in the corner.
The room suddenly fell into such deep silence that even the drop of a needle would've been audible.
If Moses had paid attention to the digital clock in the room, he would have discovered that-
The moment he sensed something amiss, the time had just struck midnight.
…
The corridor outside the hotel room is well lit.
Botobai was walking slowly towards the room where Moses was.
With each step, his Aura intensified and his presence grew more oppressive.
Such an undisguised action is equivalent to notifying Moses in advance.
In Botobai's view, there was no need for secrecy in this operation.
He would walk straight to Moses's door, challenge him to a fight, and finally defeat Moses in combat.
In this way, it can be said that he has successfully completed this special mission assigned by Netero.
Of course-
It wasn't that Botobai disdained underhanded tactics.
Rather, he believed that since they were both members of the Zodiacs, there was no need to exploit the 'information gap' to gain an advantage when they already had the advantage of numbers.
However, he had no intention of cooperating with the others from the start.
That was why, the moment midnight passed, he had come alone, openly and without concealment, to confront Moses.
Botobai's actions did not go unnoticed by the others.
Saccho stood at the stairs at the end of the corridor, gently stroking his beloved sword hanging on his waist with his right hand, and sighed in his heart:
'A straightforward personality isn't necessarily a bad thing… but most of the time, it's not a good thing either.'
He felt that Botobai's approach was too righteous.
In this way, Botobai's act of giving up the 'information gap advantage' will also cause the others to lose this advantage.
After all, before the hunt officially began, they could've caught Moses completely off guard.
…
The rooftop of the hotel.
Cluck, who was only wearing a tube top and a short skirt, raised her hand and slapped her forehead in exasperation.
'That Botobai, did he trade his brain for those muscles?'
Facing the whistling evening breeze, Cluck mercilessly disparaged Botobai's actions from afar.
But from this moment on, she decided not to intervene directly. Instead, she would rely on her [Messenger Pigeons] to closely monitor the unfolding events.
'Forget it. Using the Vanguard to pry out intel and test the enemy's strength is a common tactic. Let's see just how heated things get between you two.'
Cluck quickly suppressed her frustration.
While Botobai's straightforward approach might have ruined their 'information gap advantage', it could also provide them with valuable information.
If Botobai won, then there was nothing more to say.
But if he lost, he would at least wear Moses down before going down, allowing the others to gauge Moses's true combat capabilities more accurately.
…
At the hotel's elevator entrance, Mizaistom pressed the elevator's button and stepped inside.
'So you planned to do this from the very beginning… Botobai?'
Pressing the elevator button to the first floor, Mizaistom sighed softly.
'In that case, the most suitable place for a fight nearby would be… Teiza Park.'
With that thought, Mizaistom took out his phone and did a quick search, and then he received a notification about an anti-terrorism exercise that was scheduled for midnight at Teiza Park.
This was undoubtedly the preparation that Botobai had made in advance, and it also indirectly confirmed Mizaistom's suspicions.
And so-
Mizaistom abandoned any thought of interfering with Botobai's plans. Instead, he took the elevator to the first floor of the hotel, and then headed straight for Teiza Park.
He would wait there for Moses and Botobai to arrive, and then decide his next move based on the situation.
Another person who holds the same view as Mizaistom is Ginta.
This big guy, who was naturally emotionally delicate and sensitive, gave up the idea of ruining Botobai's mood after a brief mental struggle, and instead stayed in the neutral area to wait and see what would happen.
Just after midnight, the members of the Zodiacs began moving.
However, due to differences in their thinking and combat styles, each of them made different choices.
Gel, the strong-willed and assertive dark-skinned, is fully aware of Botobai's approach, but she refused to give up the first-strike advantage that the information gap had provided.
'Botobai, I don't expect your forgiveness afterward… but for me, the mission takes priority over everything else.'
Unlike the others, Gel had no intention of standing by. Instead, she planned to use her custom-made 'poison gas bomb' to incapacitate Moses in order to restrain him directly.
As for whether Botobai would be caught in the crossfire...
Gel didn't care.
Because her poison gas bomb wouldn't threaten either Botobai's or Moses' lives.
…
In the corridor outside Moses' hotel room.
Botobai strode forward with overwhelming presence.
There is no need to worry about hurting other guests, because before midnight on September 9th, the three floors above and below had been deliberately left vacant.
Click-
The sound of a turning lock echoed in the spacious hallway.
Then, a door was swung open.
Moses stepped out of his room and looked up at the three-meter-tall Botobai standing before him.
Given his usual style, Moses should have concealed his presence and observed the situation first.
But Botobai was being so blatant that Moses felt it'd be rude to hide. So he simply walked out.
When he reached the corridor, Moses stared at Botobai, who made no secret of his intentions, and asked, "There shouldn't be any grudges between us, right? If you don't mind… could you tell me why you've come looking for me like this?"
"Win against me first. Then we'll talk."
Botobai's face, painted with red-and-white kabuki-like markings, remained expressionless.
"Oh. Fine by me."
Moses nodded slowly.
He had seldom interacted with this Triple-Star Terrorist Hunter, and he couldn't recall ever provoking him in any way.
But since the other party had come knocking, Moses wasn't about to back down.
'If a fight was what he wanted, then a fight he would get.'