Morpheus also flew away immediately, leaving the scene. He kept his attention on Lortell and Maddie, just in case they tried to attack him from behind.
Surprisingly, neither of them provoked him any further. They just watched him go while staying on guard.
Morpheus flew back, and on his way, he saw Horax on the ground. In front of Horax were several people he didn't recognize at all.
"Horax, let's retreat for now. Let these lucky people live for now," Morpheus said proudly. He spoke as if he was being generous by letting Horax spare their lives.
"Hmph! We'll meet again," Horax snorted. The next moment, his back started to rip apart slightly. Wings made of flesh began to grow out. He flapped those disgusting wings and flew into the air. It was really gross to watch.
With that, Morpheus and Horax left without any issue, acting like they owned the place.
"I'll definitely kill him next time we meet!" Maruti spat. She kicked a cornerstone on the ground to take out her anger.
"Why did they even attack anyway?" Scarlet asked, her face full of confusion.
"They are demons. Do we need a reason?" Kailith said, making a very good point.
"That's true," everyone agreed in unison.
Then, Vesilisa looked at Maruti and bowed slightly. "It is good to see that you are safe. Now I can finally take my leave and do the rest of the work. Please give me your blessings!"
"Work? What work?" Maruti questioned.
Vesilisa immediately explained what was currently going on in the entire kingdom. Hearing this, Scarlet was slightly stunned. However, she kept it to herself and didn't try to get involved in the problems of another kingdom.
"So you were going to attack today? At least you could have told me. Well, it is all good now anyway," Maruti replied, feeling a little disappointed.
"I am really sorry," Vesilisa apologized immediately. She then left to join the rest of the revolutionaries.
***
In the main courtroom, the battle had already ended. Almost everyone was dead. Verdes had made sure to not leave a single person alive. Some soldiers had green vines growing out of their bodies, while some demons were cut in half by him.
Despite this, he was currently in a very puzzling situation. He was standing in front of a corner. In his hand, he held the severed head of the first prince, Edwards. Lying on the ground in front of him was the second prince.
Green vines had butchered his right leg, so he couldn't even stand. He used his hands to push himself backward, but his body trembled too much from the fear of dying.
Behind the prince were Lortell's three mothers and her younger brother. Her birth mother, Nayla, was wrapping her arms around the boy, as if trying to protect him.
"Urgh... What kind of situation did I fall into?" Verdes thought to himself. "The commander told me to kill everyone in the room. But the Second Prince is the husband of the commander's elder sister. And there are her mothers and her younger brother!"
"What should I do?" he thought, feeling completely puzzled.
"Please don't kill us! We have nothing to do with Cassandra. At least spare my son!" Nayla said in desperation. She was begging him to spare her and her son's lives, her voice trembling with fear.
"She is the mother of Cassandra! She is the one at fault here!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Cassandra's birth mother.
"No! I had no idea as well. I am as innocent as you all!" Cassandra's mother argued back, her voice shaking.
Verdes was in a state of puzzlement. He didn't know what to do. Just then, Lortell finally descended to the ground peacefully behind him. Beside her, Maddie landed gracefully.
"My work is over then. The rest is for you to look out for," Maddie said. She was finally taking her leave to find Scarlett and go back to her kingdom.
Lortell nodded and bid her a short farewell. After that, she looked at Verdes and casually walked toward him. On her way, she looked around at the corpses scattered everywhere. The intense moment had finally died down, and there was hardly any battle going on right now.
"What happened?" Lortell asked as she finally arrived.
In response, Verdes sidestepped, revealing the terrified expressions of the people huddled in the corner. Before Verdes could even say anything, or before they could say a single word in their own defense, a sharp thread-like wave of blood shot forward from Lortell.
It cleanly beheaded all five of them at once on the spot. The blood splattered onto Verdes's clothes as their lifeless bodies fell to the ground. They were completely dead.
"Don't think too much when killing. Find my elder sister too and kill her. If my coward big brother comes, kill him too!" Lortell ordered. She spoke casually, as if she hadn't just killed her own family members without a second thought.
Verdes froze for a second, but then a genuine smile appeared on his face. He put his right hand on his chest and bowed politely.
"You reminded me again why I admire you so much!" he muttered softly.
Lortell completely ignored whatever he said. She started looking around, as if she was searching for someone. "Where is Esdeath? I told Meldia to protect her!" she asked.
Before Verdes could respond, Esdeath came running toward Lortell like a five-year-old child reuniting with her parents. "Protect me, Lortell~," she said in a childish, whining tone and hugged Lortell tightly.
Meldia walked behind them normally. Seeing such a sudden change in Esdeath's personality, she was shocked as well. However, she didn't let the shock show on her face.
"There, there... everything is alright now. I am here!" Lortell said gently. She patted Esdeath's head in a comforting way.
"Where is Selene?" Lortell asked.
"I already sent her outside. She is safe!" Esdeath replied.
"Good job. Let's take a look around and then go back. I even need to plan our beach trip!" Lortell said with a happy smile.
"But, the kingdom is in an uproar. Who knows what will happen?" Meldia said in a concerned voice.
"Fuck the kingdom. The King is dead. Whoever is next wants me as Arch Duke or not, it is too much of a hassle. I would rather enjoy myself with Esdeath on the beach!" Lortell answered. She definitely had her priorities straight.
"Let's go!" Lortell added and started walking outside. Esdeath followed her from behind. They walked through the hallway, looking at the multiple corpses on the ground.
Esdeath found one demon who was barely hanging onto life. She immediately rushed at him and touched her hand on his forehead. The next second, his lifespan was immediately sucked away by Esdeath, and he died instantly.
"I also need to take a brief look at my newly gained skills. Well, I have other things to do now, so let's do it tomorrow!" she thought to herself as she followed Lortell back.
***
Meanwhile, outside, Maruti and Kailith reunited with Ravenna, Brenna, Alice, and Selene. Their faces immediately brightened when they saw Maruti was safe and well.
"Thank God you are safe!" Brenna said, rushing forward and hugging Maruti tightly. She sounded so relieved to see her alive.
"What can happen to me?" Maruti replied proudly, puffing out her chest a little.
After that, Alice hugged her, and then Ravenna did the same. Scarlet raised her right eyebrow inside her knight helmet in suspicion, watching them. But she didn't think too much about it.
Just then, Maddie came out of nowhere and hugged Scarlet from the back. "Finally found you!" she said cheerfully.
"My lady, please do not act so childish outside. It isn't befitting of your status," Scarlet said, trying to sound stern.
"Hmph! Stop whining at me all the time. We are not in any kind of meeting or banquet!" Maddie replied with a cute, angry pout on her cheeks.
Scarlett ignored her and bowed slightly at the others. "My lady can be childish sometimes. Well, whatever... It is time we should take our leave. Although, I thank Maruti again for her help," she said.
"What help did you do?" Kailith whispered in Maruti's ear.
"Nothing much!" Maruti whispered back.
"Nothing much? You better not come back with her saying she is your new lover!" Kailith whispered back in a jealous voice. Having Ravenna, Alice, and Brenna around was already a pain for her; she couldn't tolerate having another one.
"Well then, farewell!" Scarlet bowed again. She turned around and started walking away. Maddie followed her, but she had also overheard what Kailith and Maruti were whispering about.
"You are not going to fall for her, are you?" she asked, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Of course not. Knights do not fall in love!" Scarlett replied firmly.
***
With Maddie and Scarlet finally gone, Maruti and the others decided to go and unite with Esdeath and then finally go back. Since Selene was also with them, it was something they had to do.
They walked back inside the royal palace. It was half-broken, and there were some new soldiers who were taking away the dead bodies or carrying those who were somehow still alive to the hospitals. There were corpses in almost every corner. Brenna felt like vomiting every time she looked at them.
"Ethan..." Brenna muttered to herself. She was terrified that she might end up seeing Ethan's corpse among the dead.
"Chill. I don't think he died yet," Maruti said flatly. Having a family member of your enemy was really frustrating. No one knew which side they would take. But for that family member, it was even more painful, since she couldn't fully support either side.
"Ravenna, I cannot imagine how sad you must be feeling right now. The doom of your family is almost confirmed. What are you going to do now?" Kailith asked Ravenna. As a childhood friend, she was slightly concerned for her.
"I am not sad. They were not my family anyway," Ravenna said in a low voice, with her head down. "But I do feel empty!"
She then chuckled to herself and added, "Well, it is a long story. I will tell you sometime. I never cared about my status anyway. I am more than happy to live with Master, no matter where and how she wants me to live!"
"Don't make me sound so evil!" Maruti protested.
"Mother! Father!" Selene suddenly spotted Esdeath and Lortell. Her face lit up instantly. She shook off Brenna's hand and ran toward them.
Lortell smiled warmly at Selene. She bent down and opened her arms. First, she hugged Selene tightly, and then she hurled her up into the air, letting the little girl rest comfortably in her arms.
"What happened to Cassandra?" Maruti asked while casually walking toward them. She couldn't just ask what happened to Ethan directly, because she knew it would sound offensive against him in front of Brenna.
"She escaped with Ethan, Sylvania, Emma, and Violet!" Esdeath replied.
"No, they shouldn't have fled. It was all that girl's fault. he should have just let go of her and come back to me!" Brenna sighed deeply. For her, Cassandra was the main root of all the trouble.
After that, they had a small conversation. Maruti told Lortell about the revolutionary army's attacks and about them taking over the kingdom. Lortell rubbed her chin, thinking deeply.
"Oh... It seems the kingdom is likely to be divided into two parts," she thought to herself.
"Let's just go back. I have seen enough for the day. I just want to rest!" Maruti said, rubbing her temples.
"Yes, I am more excited to see tomorrow's newspaper, though. The whole world will get shocked for sure!" Kailith added with a smirk.
Alice was clearly getting overwhelmed. Since she was an introvert, seeing so many new and old people talking to each other was too much for her. She didn't know whether to say anything or just stay silent and listen from the side.
"You all go ahead. I still have one small thing to do," Esdeath said.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time, far away from the royal palace near a small cliff, a huge shadow took shape. It spat out Ethan, Violet, Sylvania, and Emma onto the ground.
"The shadow actually saved us!" Ethan said in amazement.
Before Violet, Sylvania, or Emma could say anything, they saw Cassandra walking toward them slowly. She was limping because of her wounded leg.
"Cassandra, are you alright? Where were you till now?" they all asked at the same time, their voices full of concern.
"I am fine. Nothing to worry about!" Cassandra said. She walked past them and stood at the edge of the small hill. She looked at the half-broken palace far away, which looked very tiny from where they stood.
"What is more important is that we lost. We can't stay here any longer!" she said emotionlessly. But somehow, her tone still carried a deep pain and sorrow.
"Mother..." Ethan muttered to himself. He felt a heavy lump in his throat. He didn't even get the chance to talk to Brenna for one last time.
"But where do we go? There is no place left for us!" Violet said with a sad sigh.
"You all are free to come with me!" a manly voice came from behind them.
Everyone immediately turned to look at the person who had spoken.
"Mohammad Abdul?" Ethan said in shock.
It was actually the King of the Kingdom of Deserts. To think he hadn't left until now was truly surprising.
"Yes, I was the one who saved you all. So, you can trust me!" he said with a firm, reassuring smile on his face.
"Nothing comes free. There must be some price behind it!" Cassandra argued with suspicion. She didn't believe him easily.
Mohammad chuckled softly. "Haha... Nothing much, though. Come with me to my kingdom first, and then decide what you want to do. Of course, you can refuse if you want!"