Surna sighed, her gaze heavy with the kind of exhaustion that came from too much truth. "It wasn't Durmak himself," she said. "It was his twin. One he didn't even know existed."

"Twin?"

The revelation hit both young women like a blow.

Surna continued, her tone low. "It turns out that Durmak's family had been intent on keeping him as the King's aide, even when he had wanted to retire and live as a warrior, all because they had raised a twin away from everyone's eyes. At the time, we all thought it was because of pride. But it was not. His blood and position gave him access—access his identical twin, Harkuun, could exploit."

"Harkuun," Kira repeated slowly. "So he's the leader of the rebel forces?"

"Yes," Surna confirmed. "The same Harkuun who just attempted to seize control of the Pyros Galaxy. He used Durmak's access, his bloodline privileges, to stage his ambush for the throne."

Ada's eyes darkened. "But… how could Lord Durmak not know?"

"Because of the oath," her mother said.

"His position as aide bound him to the King's service. Any knowledge that would compromise that loyalty would kill him instantly. His family knew this, so they kept him ignorant of Harkuun's existence. They even planned to eliminate him first during the ambush, just to remove the risk of his interference."

"But thankfully, my husband managed to stop them from taking out Lord Durmak."

Ada's voice faltered. "And Father stopped them?"

Surna's eyes softened slightly. "Yes. He did. But… he almost didn't make it."

"!!!"

Ada's breath caught as her legs trembled, and Kira immediately reached out, holding her arm before she could collapse.

"But he's alive," Surna continued quickly, seeing the fear on her daughter's face. "King Garick was confident he would recover if he took the right medicine. He gave him a pill, and sure enough, as we waited in fear, it actually did."

Ada practically dry-heaved because she knew just what that was. A revive pill.

A pill that Luca had sent over, even for her parents. And sure enough, it ended up saving her father.

If not for that, what could've happened to them?

How fortunate was she to have met someone like Luca?!

Surna nodded, not knowing the depth of her daughter's thoughts. "It had been an extremely close call, but he made it."

Ada covered her mouth, tears pricking her eyes. "Thank the stars…"

Surna smiled faintly, her tone softening. "So rest assured, he's doing better now. In fact, most of them are. When our supplies were cut off—right as King Garick informed us that an orc had attempted to poison him—instead of ending up handicapped, we were surprised to learn of rations that were far better than anything we've ever had."

Kira blinked, trying to hold off tears that threatened to come out because how could she not know about those rations!

Had Luca not given them those supplies—from the revive pill that saved Ada's father to the rations that became the pillar of their people's survival—would it have been possible to win the war?

Princess Kira could hear Lady Surna speaking, "The food had so much spiritual energy that, unexpectedly, our warriors grew stronger with each passing day. That's how we managed to overpower the rebels in the end."

"But there was a cost," she added, her tone darkening again. "When Harkuun realized he would lose, he ordered his forces to attack indiscriminately."

"They began using their backup plans to attack other races and isolate the Orcs. It was apparently their last resort."

Kira's lips parted in shock. "He wanted to drag everyone down with him…"

"Exactly," Surna said grimly. "He called himself the chosen one. He believed he was destined to rule. But when defeat became inevitable, he chose destruction instead."

Ada frowned deeply. "But, Mother, have you found everyone related to him and his cause? Because to have plans for attacking other races? Really?"

Surna exhaled heavily. "We've been trying. We found traces of something far worse than betrayal. There were experiments—the same ones we warned you about earlier. They were creating abominations in the oddest possible way."

"But even with that, we still don't know how they acquired the knowledge. After meeting that incel, I also believe Harkuun couldn't have been intelligent enough to devise such things. Even if he used the combined brain cells of his entire lineage, it would still have been impossible without Durmak's contribution or outside help."

"So… someone else was behind it," Ada murmured.

Surna nodded. "We suspect so. But for now, we don't have proof. The good news is that King Garick has reclaimed control of the tribe. The battles are ending, and morale is returning."

The tension in the room eased slightly.

As the conversation continued, it gradually shifted toward lighter topics. The two young women began to relax, comforted by the sight of Surna smiling again.

Yet even as relief washed over them, their worry had shifted—from their people to their friends.

Surna noticed the change in their expressions and chuckled softly. "You two should go," she said kindly. "Your human friends need you now more than ever. We can talk again soon."

Kira and Ada exchanged a look, both smiling through the faint ache of parting.

"Next time," Kira said, "we'll have to make sure Father joins the call."

Lady Surna just smiled at the two who really had other things in mind.

After all, how could they just help when they owed their friends everything?

__

Meanwhile, in another meeting room that was anything but celebratory, tension filled the air.

Holographic maps flickered across the walls, projecting multiple locations marked in red. Marshal Julian and the rest moved briskly between screens, their movements sharp and precise, yet heavy with unease.

But if they were frazzled, what more, Curtis, who had absolutely no idea about the sudden emergency alert?

At the military headquarters, the atmosphere suddenly became tense as he listened to Marshal Julian's orders while running to the command center.

"Marshal, may I ask—what exactly are we supposed to be looking for in the MCZs?"

On the other end, Marshal Julian's image was faintly distorted by static. He looked grim, too grim. Whatever room he was in wasn't a military one, but Curtis didn't have time to question that.

Julian's voice came through, low and clipped. "Right now, any anomaly."

Curtis stiffened. "Huh?"

"Orcish rebel forces," Julian said. "We've received intelligence that they're planning to launch an attack at the frontlines."

Curtis frowned, confusion creeping in. "Huh? Why attack the contaminated zones? No one sane would fight there. It's suicide."

"That's because they're not sending their people. They're sending abominations."

Curtis swore under his breath as he listened to the unexpected intel.

To think we believed we were faring better against corruption?! But now this?

Curtis ran a hand through his hair, disbelief etched across his face.

"Sir, when are we expecting this to start?"

Julian hesitated for just a fraction of a second. Then he said it.

"It has probably already started."

Curtis froze. "What?"

Julian's tone was grave. "The information reached us late. So whatever it is, it's probably already active."

Curtis stared at the screen, his throat dry. "Ah, fuck."

It wasn't eloquent. It wasn't professional.

But it was apparently the only proper reaction for the kind of hell that had just begun.