Chapter 1400 Standing Up For Gustav Author's Note: Unedited Chapter ------------------- Gustav's words hit them like a train, causing them to remain rooted in place with thoughts running through their mind. If their experiences had taught them anything, they knew he was right. "So what do we do now?" .... Outside of the space vessel, loads of spacecraft could be spotted trying to encircle the gigantic flying structure. The Ozis hadn't expected to meet such a large spacecraft drifting across space. Despite their numbers, they still seemed like ants before its massiveness. "Our attacks have not managed to break the protective barrier surrounding it," One of the Ozis in warrior outfit reported. "Keep bombarding it. The protective barrier cannot hold forever," Handler Three commanded from within one of the spacecraft. "Isn't it concerning how it hasn't attacked back? Surely such a large spaceship will have powerful artillery," Another handler questioned in bafflement. "I am wondering as well... we have been attacking for minutes and yet no counter. Could Seifiling be so confident in his barrier that he believes we will never breakthrough?" Handler Three responded with a contemplative tone. "Check for weak spots and..." While Handler Three was about to give out another command, the massive projection of a familiar figure suddenly appeared before the space vessel. "Handlers please cease fire," The voice of the figure that was projected rang loudly within the fleets of spacecraft strewn across that part of outer space. "Vilax?" Handler Three muttered with a bewildered tone. Everyone else was just as shocked as they ceased fire while Vilax continued speaking. "Seifiling has been successfully dealt with and our people are free," He revealed. The Ozis were even more shocked after his revelation. They had not expected the group to succeed and arrived with the urgency to offer assistance while expecting to lose a lot of troops in the process. However, they proved that the reverse was the case. Vilax went on to open an access area for the troops to fly in so they could see the present state of things within the space vessel. While they moved in, a dark spacecraft was ejected from the back of the vessel unbeknownst to the Ozis coming in. …. Handler Three and a lot of other Handlers arrived at the throne room and they seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Vilax and the others. Gustav, Endric, and Sersi were the only ones not in sight. "You four truly got rid of Seifiling, freed our people and the other species in bondage, and took over his vessel?" Handler Three was truly astonished. "Yes, with the help of Gustav Crimson and his brother Endric," Vilax answered truthfully. "Volipork mentioned the universal fugitive… to think he could try to fix what he caused," Handler Three stated with a look of respect. "He is not to blame for what happened to our home world… if anything, we should be grateful he agreed to help because if it wasn't for him, we would have failed," Vilax voiced with a stubborn look. "There you go again," Handler's five feminine voice rang out from the side. "He is telling the truth. There is still no concrete proof that Gustav Crimson is to blame for what happened. From what eyewitnesses claim, he even fought to hold back the assaulters and saved a lot of our people when the incident occurred," Osiark chimed in, supporting Vilax's claim of Gustav's innocence. "You too?" Handler Five was surprised to see that Osiark had joined the fray but she didn't know that it wasn't the end. "I agree with them. Before knowing Gustav Crimson I agreed to claims of him being a planet destroyer but now I no longer believe such claims, especially when he put a pause on his endeavor to free our people," Milox finally spoke as well. "He is innocent…" Lhiark was about adding when Handler Three butted in. "Enough," His voice commanded enough respect to bring quietness. "His fate will be decided after we put him in custody. Where is Gustav Crimson?" Handler Three questioned. 'Gustav was right… even though we tried to reason with them from our point of view, they still failed to understand,' Vilax nearly facepalmed in frustration. "He is gone," Osiark answered?Handler Three. Handler Three's face instantly displayed a look of annoyance, "You four let the universal fugitive escape?" "Why would we hold an innocent person back from leaving?" Vilax asked with a slight tone of ridicule. "You fools! Our seat at the top of the alliance would have been restored if you had held that fugitive back," Handler Five yelled from the side with anguish. "In the end, that is what all this is about. Your greed," Vilax shook his head. "You little…" Handler Five was about to lose her cool when Handler Three gave her a sharp glare from the side. She instantly kept quiet while Handler Three let out a sigh before facing his son, "Do you realize the gravity of your act?" "Father… tell me why an innocent person who has just saved the lives of billions should be put in custody? Is that how we repay people now?" Vilax questioned with a look of disappointment. "Listen, son, I understand your sentimentality but If we had regained our seat, then, we could have advocated for Gustav to be freed afterward because at the very least we would have a say in the alliance," Handler Three tried to explain but Vilax stood his ground. "If he was caught and handed to the alliance, he would have no chance against the allegations placed on him. The greediness of you lots will never let you view his situation with a clean state of mind. He will turn into a lab rat just so you lots can satisfy your selfish wants to see how he ticks and weaponize him for yourselves. There is no reason why good should be repaid with evil but I understand that this is the way of the universe. I am glad that he is gone," Vilax folded his arms after speaking and let out a heavy breath of relief. The entire makeshift throne room turned silent for some time as Vilax's words lingered in the ears of everyone. It was truly as he said, Gustav was an irregular existence that every single planet under the alliance was interested in, especially the leaders. It was bad enough that even his planet of origin, Earth, wanted a piece of the cake too when they were supposed to protect him since he was one of their own. "If we're looking to get our seat back at the top of the alliance, saving billions under bondage and getting rid of Seifiling should help," Osiark suggested they took credit for this instead of dwelling on trying to capture their savior. "You…" Handler Three was about to speak when he got interrupted by a call from one of the Ozis warriors behind. "A spacecraft was intercepted by our fleet radar minutes ago leaving this vessel," The Ozis warrior announced. Vilax, Osiark, and the others instantly bore looks of concern the moment they heard that. "It must be Gustav Crimson!" Handler Five yelled. "What do we do Handler Three?" The warrior questioned. "Give chase of course," Handler five and some of the other handlers present pressed for action. The warrior waited for Handler Three to speak. "Father…" Vilax called out from the side after noticing the look of contemplation on his father's face. Handler Three let out a sigh before answering, "Stand down." "What?" The three other Handlers in the room yelled simultaneously. The warrior nodded before turning around to leave and spread Handler Three's command through the comms, "We have been ordered to stand down, I repeat stand down!" His voice trailed off into the distance as he left the makeshift throne room. "What are you doing?" Handler five seethed like a boiling kettle. "I mentioned earlier, that our priority is to our people. Anything concerning Gustav Crimson comes after. Let us now go attend to our people, they need us," Handler Three stated in response before turning around to walk away. The others were left in place speechless since they couldn't find a way to refute his statement at the moment. He had also left them without the chance to reply since he was heading out. Vilax smiled before running after his father to lead him to where the Ozis were positioned. He proceeded to tell him more about everything that had happened so far and how Gustav single-handedly faced Seifiling. The more Vilax spoke, the higher Handler Three's horror grew. At first, it was respect, but it slowly turned into intense wariness. For Gustav to have increased in strength to the point where he could take on an opponent like Seifiling, it was no trifling feat. Now he understood why Gustav had been able to escape getting caught since he became wanted. There was no guarantee that even the army he brought along would have been able to deal with Seifiling and yet Gustav won his battle against him. Didn't that mean that they would have failed to capture him if they wanted to?