Many questions ran through my mind as I watched the father and son interact.
I have never seen Duke Paras in such a vulnerable state. He wasn't able to overpower the enemy and he seemed to have a much closer connection to the enemy that the Duke Kurma.
Dhana and I exchanged a glance.
We could understand each other's thoughts. Fear, confusion and suspicion. All mixed to create a very bitter cocktail that we can taste in our throats, along with the taste of the vomit that we made because of excess intake of water, just a few minutes before.
"Duke Paras, why is he here?" Duke Kurma asked Parvir.
Parvir looked at him and shook his head.
"I don't know either." He paused for a moment and asked.
"I want to know, what happened to the Dukes and the General sent to your territory? Why are they not here?"
"Anta is under attack, they went there. General Garud, even had to use some of his forces from the western front. They are fighting the war right now."
Parvir frowned.
"How can there be a war at Anta? It wasn't at a geographical conflict with any other territory…." He paused as if he remembered something. He looked at Duke Kurma and asked.
"Is it them?"
Duke Kurma gulped nervously and shook his head.
"No. It is not them. A much more terrifying enemy. I don't think we can discuss it here though."
By now you must have understood that the Duke Kurma also knew about the invasion of the demons, he kept that away from us too. Another secret.
I gritted my teeth. For some reason I felt like a fool there. Everyone knows something or the other regarding all the shitty things that happened in the past few days. I was dragged into it in the name of the investigation.
However, the people that put him in investigation seemed to know more than the investigators themselves.
I felt frustrated and finally I acted like a freaking teenager. I through a temper tantrum.
"What the hell is there to hide? Its demons. The Anta duchy is invaded by the Sea Demons. They are camping on the beach and are trying to take over the city.
More than half of the city is in ruins and the defensive forces are having a hard time dealing with it."
"TEJ!!! WHAT THE FUCK… HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS INFORMATION?"
Duke Kurma lost it as I revealed the highly classified information.
I didn't answer him and turned to looked at Duke Paras whose eyes were wide open like two minature saucers. He looked at the ceiling for a while in that state, before closing his eyes. His hand trembling in anxiety.
"Is it true Kurma?"
Parvir asked Duke Kurma, who just nodded.
"How did you find this out?" Parvir asked me. I didn't answer him though. I just shook my head and said.
"No, I am not revealing anything anymore. Not unless I am getting any information out of your two. A man singlehandedly destroyed the Anta Duchy. I am sure you identified him the moment I release the pictures to the Kurma Duchy, but we were still ordered to track him and investigate him.
He knows you all in person and so do you.
There is a much bigger conspiracy involved in this. You all know how powerful he is and there is a likely chance that you know why he is doing this better than us. But you all dragged the much weaker us into this whole fiasco.
You are blocking information, using us like some fools. I nearly lost my life three times in the last five days. I am not doing this anymore, unless I was given some transparency."
My voice was raising with every sentence and I was almost in the Dukes' faces by the end of it.
Duke Kurma gritted his teeth, clearly fighting his urge to smash me with his hammer. On the other hands, Duke Paras sighed.
"If I was in the kingdom, I wouldn't have let you kids involved in the first place. It is partially my mistake. Anyway, I cannot talk to you right now about this. We need to leave, we need to escape this place.
Duke Kurma, gather your family members, we will use the rear to escape into the forest. …"
And then came the voice that gave us nightmares.
"Not so fast. Did you forget that I am still here."
The main black is at the balcony, standing there while leaning against the railing.
God knows who he came so fast when he was walking at a snail pace. But there he was, looking at the whole scene in amusement. I could have sworn for the first time, I saw a slight smirk on his face.
He stepped inside the room and said.
"You can take your son and leave. None of the Kurma family members are not leaving this place alive. Their deaths have been decided."
He puffed his cigar letting out that black smoke.
Parvir didn't reply to that. He just stood up and held his axe. His aura raged, mana manifested around his axe and at the same time surrounded his body. It was a like a blue light membrane over his body. His long hair floated while his beard trembled.
"Enough is Enough. You are going to back down and come with me to the capital."
He spoke and lunged forward, he swung his axe horizontally aiming to cleave the young man in half. The young man didn't even let his cigar go. He looked unbothered. He used his left hand to unsheathe the scimitar and blocked the attack.
*CLANG*
The metal clashed with the metal and rung like a bell. Parvir side stepped and continued his attack with a vertical cleave. The enemy spun on his foot and blocked the attack once again.
*CLANG*
This time Parvir didn't change his position, instead he forced the axe downwards and spun the handle a bit to the side. The blade of the axe slid across the scimitar and almost hit the young man's hand. He stepped to the side and removed the block.
The axe slipped and landed on the ground.
The man spun around and slashed the scimitar aiming for Parvir's neck.
Parvir dodged the strike and attacked from the left, aiming for the young man's neck.
*CLANG*
As they clashed, the shockwaves grew intense. The table collapsed within a few seconds, followed by the chairs and other furniture.
Then the destruction expanded to the floor.
"Don't do this. Whatever you are trying to do, stop it right now. I don't want to be the one to put an end to you. Please." Parvir said as he swung his axe crazily.
*CLANG*
The man in black blocked the attack, took a step back and closed his eyes. He took a deep puff of his cigar. He didn't even reply. The scimitar changed from his left to the right hand.
Black aura surged all around him as he took a proper swing for the first time.
*KEEN*
The keening sound of the blood reverberated throughout the whole room as it was aimed at the head of Parvir.
*CLANG*
*CRACK*
He blocked it, but the shockwave was way too strong. The force went through his body and ground underneath his feet cracked.
But that was not all.
"ARGHH…"
A stray black ray that was originated from that attack landed on a woman who was sitting against the wall. She is one of the Kurma family members. The ray hit her and set her on fire.
The black flames devoured her as she burned in pain.
*CLANG*
He didn't even give a chance for Parvir to react and swung his blade.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
Parvir was on complete defensive as he tried to block each strike. However, even if his block was a success, one or two people started burning up.
After a few moves, he swung his axe and made the young man be in defensive just for one second.
"Why are you doing this, Ash? Why? WHY? Stop this, right now. Let's talk. Tell me what happened, why are you doing this?"
Ash. That was the first time I heard that guy's name.
"I think I entertained you enough. Take your kid and get lost from here." Ash spoke and the next moment the wolf and the horse arrived in the room.