"How's the search going?" Jerry asked, his voice sharp and cutting through the heavy silence.

"The search…" Cormac hesitated. Though only the two of them occupied the room, an eerie tension filled the space, suffocating, as if a hundred unseen eyes lurked in the shadows, listening, waiting.

"Speak freely," Jerry sighed, his frustration barely restrained.

Cormac clenched his fists before finally responding. "We haven't been able to find any traces of Zett or the Crimson Hounds." His voice held a grim edge. "It's almost like they just vanished out of existence."

A sharp crack echoed through the room as Jerry slammed his hand onto his desk, scattering papers in a chaotic mess. Cormac flinched involuntarily, feeling his throat tighten. He had never seen Jerry this anxious before. His superior wasn't just frustrated, he was desperate.

"We need to find them as soon as possible." Jerry's voice dropped into a dangerous growl. "We can't let those two years elapse."

Suddenly, a suffocating force filled the room. Cormac's breath caught in his throat as Jerry's aura surged, a crushing weight pressing down on his entire body. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto all fours, his vision blurring.

'I've never seen him lose control like this,' Cormac thought, his heartbeat hammering against his ribs. 'Just how dangerous is this situation?'

Jerry's eyes burned with raw fury. "I'll kill those bastards with my own hands."

The pressure intensified as Jerry unknowingly left his Aura to run amok in the room, making Cormac feel as though the very air was being squeezed from his lungs. It was unbearable. His entire body trembled under the weight of Jerry's unleashed Aura.

"Sir… you need to calm down," Cormac gasped, struggling to lift his head.

Jerry's gaze flickered as realization dawned. With a deep breath, he exhaled sharply and pulled his aura back in an instant. The oppressive force lifted, allowing Cormac to finally inhale a full breath, his chest rising and falling heavily.

"Try harder" Jerry sighed.

"Yes, sir," Cormac said, still catching his breath. "I will do my best."

Jerry took a step forward, his shadow looming over Cormac, who remained on his knees. His expression was unreadable, but his next words carried the weight of an unbreakable command.

"One more thing." His tone was dangerously low. "Unless it's the king himself, no information about our progress should ever reach anyone, not even the other Stars. Do you understand?"

Cormac swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Hmm, you're not going to ask why?" Jerry asked, his face unreadable.

"I think I already know the reason." Cormac shifted, dropping down onto one knee in a gesture of respect. "To an extent, at least."

Jerry's gaze sharpened. "It's alright, you may peak."

"You suspect that one of them might have had a hand in breaking Zett's seal," Cormac stated.

'He figured that out already?' Jerry wondered seeing Cormac speak with confidence as Cormac continued.

"Only a select few knew its exact location. While it's true that anyone strong enough could've massacred our men… only a handful would have actually seen…"

A sudden knock on the door made both men freeze. Their conversation, once flowing with intensity, was now severed by an unexpected interruption.

"I'm coming in," a voice announced from the other side before the door swung open.

Eva stepped inside, her sharp eyes sweeping over the room. First, she noticed their tense expressions, then the disheveled desk covered in scattered documents.

Her gaze narrowed. "What happened here?"

"Nothing for you to worry about," Jerry answered as he walked toward her. His tone had shifted, calmer, almost gentle. It was such a stark contrast that even Cormac had to suppress his surprise.

"Really?" Eva raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. She glanced over his shoulder at the mess. "Then what's all this?"

Jerry hesitated. "Ahh, that… umm…"

"There was an unexpected gust of wind just now. That's why," Cormac interjected smoothly.

Jerry's lips twitched in amusement. 'Nice save, Cormac,' he thought, subtly avoiding Eva's piercing gaze.

"Hmm…" Eva didn't look convinced. She crossed her arms. "So what was that absurd burst of Aura I felt coming from this direction?"

"Oh, that?" Jerry's expression didn't even flicker as he clapped a heavy hand on Cormac's back. "I was just testing him. Isn't that right Cormac?"

Cormac barely stopped himself from wincing at the force of the impact. He stiffened but forced out a response. "Y… yes."

Eva narrowed her eyes at both of them before sighing. "Next time, try doing that somewhere else. Not in my house, you scared the living daylights out of the maids. Is that understood?"

Jerry and Cormac nodded like scolded schoolboys. "Yes, ma'am."

Eva gave them one last suspicious glance before turning on her heel and slamming the door behind her.

The moment she was gone, Jerry let out a small chuckle. "Well, that was close."

Cormac sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "You didn't have to hit me that hard, you know."

Jerry smirked. "Ehem… I panicked. Just make sure she doesn't find out about this."

"Is there a reason why we can't tell her?" Cormac asked, still rubbing his shoulder from the forceful pat earlier. "She's going to figure out eventually that something's wrong."

Jerry's expression softened with a reassuring smile.

"Even if she does find out, I'm hoping it'll all be over by then," he said with a weary sigh, leaning back on his desk. His gaze shifted to the sword resting nearby.

"Right," he muttered, picking it up. "Be sure to give Marvin my thanks for this. I've troubled him for too long about getting a new sword ever since I gave mine to Jett."

Cormac nodded, listening as Jerry absentmindedly ran his fingers along the blade's hilt.

"Every other sword I've tried just didn't feel right," Jerry continued, lost in thought. "At first, I stuck to similar ones, hoping to find something that matched my old one, but none of them worked. So I had him make multiple versions, just to see if anything would change."

Cormac smirked slightly. "I'm pretty sure he's already pissed at you for rejecting all his work. He is the Patriarch of the Harts after all, he is a prideful man."

Jerry chuckled. "Yeah… but this one feels different. This one fits." His grip tightened around the handle. "Now, I wonder… was that sword I gave Jett really just durable, or was there something more to it?"

Cormac bowed slightly before stepping out, closing the door behind him.

Left alone, Jerry exhaled slowly and unsheathed the sword. The metal gleamed under the dim light, not silver or steel like most blades, but a deep, shadowy black.

His reflection barely appeared on the surface, as if the sword itself swallowed the light.

"Together," Jerry whispered, running his thumb along its sharp edge, "we will finally cut down this great evil from this land."

With a final glance at the blade, he sheathed it once more, the weight of his resolve settling in his chest.

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