In an old building, Isha is fighting with a hybrid Hollow Pact member using her samurai sword. From her mic, she notices Anaya's turn is over, which makes her angry. She strikes the hybrid odd one and murmurs,
"You really messed with me..."
She glances at Dev, who is still being treated by Riya, and notices a few more Hollow Pact members arriving.
Then Isha throws a mini SMG gun at Ranveer and shouts,
"Mr. Ranveer, I am aware you are the city police commissioner and also that you were deeply injured, but I need your help, so please stop crying and pick up this gun—support them. I'll handle myself."
Ranveer, ashamed of not being able to protect his daughter Riya from Ajay, believes he still has a chance to regain his faith. He picks up the gun and shoots at the new figures in black hoods.
Latha and Riya are trying to treat the unconscious Dev. Latha notices a microphone and hears a familiar female voice,
"Dev, please respond. Dev, please respond. Communications are back. We traced your location and sent Isha. Please respond."
Latha responds with a trembling voice,
"Padma, is it you..."
Padma, in the command center, confused, asks,
"Latha, why are you there? Where is Dev? No what happened..."
Suddenly, Isha shouts,
"Mrs. Latha, please fall down!"
Latha immediately falls down and sees sharp wooden spikes coming from the hybrid Hollow Pact member.
Latha begins trembling. She notices a dark greenish smoke emitting from the hybrid Hollow Pact member as it shouts,
"Hail Queen of Thorn! Hail Hollow Pact!"
It begins shooting thorns from its body. Isha counterattacks and stops them with her samurai sword.
Looking at Riya, who is worried, Dev speaks in a low voice,
"Hey taperecorder... Please take your g..."
Riya notices it and, with mixed emotions of anxiety, worry, and tears, asks,
"Dev, finally you regained consciousness?"
Dev ignores the question and, with more energy, says,
"Gimme that gun which was given by Rathore."
With hesitation and worry, she picks up the gun and gives it to Dev. Dev sees the Spear symbol on the gun and smiles. He says,
"Hey taperecorder, pass my message to Isha.hat she should equip my gauntlets, which I left near the door, and tell her to just hold for only 1 minute."
Without hesitation, Riya points to the gauntlets and shouts,
"Miss Isha! Immediately equip those gauntlets and just hold for 1 minute!"
Isha sees the location of the gauntlets and teases,
"Troublemaker, why didn't you mention it earlier?"
She sees Dev doing something to the gun and murmurs,
"It's time for the final showdown."
---
Inside the singing competition venue, a huge applause filled the auditorium as Anaya's song concluded. She bowed gracefully to the audience, her expression calm and grateful. As she began to step off the stage, her path was blocked by Madhavi.
With a mockingly dominant tone, Madhavi smirked,
"The one who holds your heart, huh?"
Anaya gave her a sidelong glance but chose to ignore the provocation. She began walking back to the room, unfazed—until Madhavi sang mockingly behind her,
"Who's that loser who wrote this song? And who's that loser who'll hold your heart?"
Anaya stopped in her tracks. Her eyes glinted with sudden sharpness as she turned back with chilling calm,
"I respect you as my competitor. But if you dare insult my husband, I will—"
Before she could finish, Pooja burst onto the scene, placing an arm around her and cutting in,
"Ignore that rich bitch, Anaya. Let's go."
Pooja dragged her toward their allocated room. As they reached the doorway, Madhavi threw one last smug declaration at them,
"No matter what, I will win!"
The door shut behind them. Inside the room, the tension melted slightly.
Pooja laughed lightly and said,
"Your song was really beautiful, Anaya. But… wait, what did you mean by 'my husband'? You already married Ayaan?"
Anaya smiled, eyes soft but certain.
"Not yet. But no matter what, he will marry me. Between us… where's Sneha?"
Pooja replied,
"She said she was going to the washroom."
---
Meanwhile – inside the washroom:
Sneha, pale and trembling, stared at something inside the dustbin. It was a bomb—partially hidden, rigged and real. Her breath quickened, but before she could scream or move, the washroom door burst open.
A tall, composed stranger in tactical gear entered swiftly. Without hesitation, he picked up the bomb and murmured into his mic,
"Miss Padma, we've successfully found another bomb. Only nine left."
As he began to disarm it, his attention shifted—he noticed Sneha, still frozen, kneeling. Before he could say anything more, a sudden movement behind him caught both their eyes: a figure in a black hood lunged forward.
With surgical precision, the man grabbed his sickle, twisted around, and slashed clean through the attacker's neck. The threat collapsed.
Wiping blood from his blade, he looked at Sneha calmly and said,
"Don't worry. We're here. Don't talk about this to anyone. And please—don't spread panic. Just go."
Sneha, still trembling, nodded and sprinted out of the washroom.
The man looked at the timer on bomb .
5 minutes left.
He pressed a green button on his microphone and announced with steel in his voice:
"This is Bhairava. I want to notify everyone—the final phase of Operation SBS begins now."
---
With trembling steps, Sneha ran through the hallway and nearly crashed into a standing police constable. Gasping for breath, she blurted,
"Do you know where Mr. Ranveer is? Riya's father? The City Police Commissioner?"
The constable frowned slightly, puzzled.
"No, Miss. We haven't seen him in over an hour."
Before Sneha could react, a commanding yet familiar male voice cut in from behind,
"What are you doing here? Go and follow my orders."
The constable immediately straightened up and saluted. Without another word, he rushed away. Sneha turned to see the man. Her eyes widened slightly
It was Mr. Rathore, the chief judge of the semifinals, and more recently, the newly appointed Minister of Security under President Aditya's cabinet.
Sneha hesitated, unsure if she should speak about what just happened in the washroom. She opened her mouth but before a word left her lips, Rathore gently placed a hand on her head, giving her a reassuring pat. He smiled.
"That guy already told you, didn't he? No need to worry," he said, voice calm but stern.
"And please, don't spread any word. No panic. Understood?"
He turned without waiting for her reply, pressing his microphone as he walked away briskly, his smile vanishing into focused urgency.
Sneha stood frozen. Confused.
"He already knew? If he knew… then why…"
Her eyes drifted toward the judge's platform—and there, sitting calmly with a quiet smile, was President Aditya. The moment their eyes met, he gave her a subtle nod. That was all the reassurance she needed.
Without further hesitation, Sneha turned and sprinted toward Anaya's room.
—
Back at the judge's panel:
President Aditya sat still, his expression a mix of composed serenity and deep worry. Watching Sneha run off, he murmured under his breath,
"So the main and phase of Operation SBS has begun… It's time for the final showdown."
Then, almost absentmindedly, he leaned forward slightly, reached beneath his seat, and pulled a small pocket knife from his coat. With a practiced motion, he carefully sliced through the wire of a hidden bomb—nestled directly under his chair.
He clicked on his microphone.
"Only eight left."
His voice softened, reflective.
"Let's see what today becomes… another beautiful tomorrow… or another Tragedy of NUMN University."
He closed his eyes for a brief second.
The countdown had truly begun.