Arman did not expect what Carel did, so he was severely injured, even though he protected himself with his aura, yet he did not come out unharmed from the explosion caused by Carel's suicide. Even Laurent, who was relatively far from him, was injured despite also gathering his magical power to escape the explosion.
The only one who was unharmed among them was Forn, who came and found Arman lying on the ground, missing one of his hands, and Laurent, who had a serious injury in one of his eyes, but was still conscious. Forn rushed to him and said: "What the hell happened, Laurent?"
Laurent looked at her with his one remaining eye and said: "Carel tricked us, even as he died. He committed suicide and caused this."
He said it in a tone devoid of emotion but carrying immense anger beneath. Forn looked at him and thought that she could not bear the responsibility for what happened, so she looked at him briefly, then looked at Arman and said: "Are you okay? Can you move?"
Forn asked him in a slightly friendly tone, and Laurent raised his head with a sarcastic smile and said: "No, I can't even move. The explosion did not just hit my eye; it hit my soul as well, and I will need some time to heal."
As he walked, directing his gaze toward the unconscious Arman, and before Laurent could finish speaking, he felt something strange in his chest. He looked at his chest and moved his hands to check what it was, and was shocked when he saw Forn's sword pierce his chest with terrifying speed, so much so that he did not even feel the pain.
He looked at her and said weakly, "Why" before he could finish, Forn intensified her aura in the sword, paralyzing him, and his blood began to flow from all over his body.
When Forn saw that he was about to die, she said to him in a cold voice: "Someone must take responsibility for the heavy losses that occurred, Duke."
Laurent looked at her one last time, wanting to speak more, but he could not; death had preceded him and his heart stopped beating.
When Forn saw that, she pulled her sword out of his chest and moved toward Arman, turning to him and looking at him briefly. She thought: Will I do this? It was Arman who had taught her how to hold a sword when she was little, and she had a small fatherly feeling toward him in her heart.
But when she thought of the Emperor's anger, and that one duke might not calm his rage, she took a deep breath, held her sword with both hands, and delivered a deadly strike toward Arman's heart with terrifying speed. This was the last trace of her feelings toward him, making sure he would not feel pain as he died.
As Forn saw the sword pierce his heart precisely and his immediate painless death, she took a deep breath, composed herself, looked around, and thought about what had happened, and how Carel had played with them and escaped from them.
As she went through that, anger arose in her, and she also thought that his son might know the location of Zeus, and that his father had told him. Forn recalled the information she had gathered while searching for Carel in past months. According to the information she had collected at the time, she knew that he, his son, and his granddaughter had disappeared from the palace at the same time.
When she thought of that, she felt that his son might be in the north and had not moved far from the place. Forn smiled when she realized her thought could be true, so she took a jewel from the ones she had and shattered it. A bird of light appeared, and Forn turned to it and said:
"Laurent's recklessness caused heavy losses to the team capturing the traitor, and his recklessness led us into a dangerous trap, losing most of the knights present in the team, and the commander of the imperial guard, losing his life as well. I miraculously survived because I was far from the trap and did not inform Laurent of his movements. His recklessness caused this overwhelming defeat, but I completed the mission he failed at and killed the wanted criminal, Carel. I will now find his son and granddaughter to hold them accountable for their crimes against the Empire."
When Forn said that, she waved her hand and said: "Go to the Emperor and tell him that."
As soon as the bird heard the orders, it flapped its wings and flew swiftly into the sky, scattering and disappearing from her sight. Then Forn looked around and decided to continue the search alone, so she did not request support, feeling that asking for support would cause the Emperor's displeasure even if she found Zeus. Therefore, she decided to search for Carel's son and granddaughter alone, to take full credit for finding Zeus when she learns his location from Carel's son, and erase her mistakes in the Emperor's eyes.
From Carel's son's perspective, when Carel committed suicide and died, he looked in the direction he died and thought to himself: "What could have happened to make me feel this way?"
Elina, who was on his back, looked at him and said: "What's wrong, father? Is something wrong?" Distracted the father, and he looked at his daughter on his back and said: "Nothing, little one, I just felt something was wrong. Let's continue on our way."
When he said that and ensured his daughter did not dwell on the matter, he thought of continuing toward the safe place.
"What could happen to make me feel this strange feeling?" Carel's son did not know this feeling or where it came from, but he knew something bad had happened, though he could not figure out what.
He did not realize that one of the most dangerous knights of the Empire was searching for them, and that his father had committed suicide causing injuries to two dukes, and subsequently caused Forn to kill them. He did not know all of that; all he was thinking about now was escaping with his daughter and taking advantage of his father's distraction of the pursuers.
But what puzzled him also was: "What will he do with the dark heart he has?"