Shocking realization

Breathing heavily, Senton Struggled to rise, his mind racing as he desperately tried to think of a way to turn the situation around. Alas, there was nothing he could do in the face of Song and Ludwig's joint attacks. Whatever effort he would make would be quickly neutralized by both men. Senton seemed to realize this, so he just lay weakly on the scorched ground.

"I really thought we could enjoy our fight alone." Senton laughed weakly before a violent cough wracked his body.

Ludwig ignored Senton's words, his gaze cold. "You have a lot of questions to answer, Senton," he said, signaling to Song to lift Senton.

"You don't deserve the luxury of battling with the king," Song said with disdain, stepping forward. With a swift brutal motion, he struck Senton across the face, knocking him out cold. Senton's body went limp, his earlier fight extinguished in an instant.

Song then proceeded to lift Senton like he was a sack of potatoes.

"The Haven?" Ludwig's concerned voice asked Song.

"Still some weeds to uproot, but the situation is majorly getting back under control." Song responded lightly with a respectful tone.

'What could be the origin of all these?' Ludwig thought to himself in distress. He looked up to Senton's unconscious figure on Song's shoulder. His face hardened immediately.

'Whatever it is, I'll be getting answers soon.' His thoughts continued as sparks of electricity danced In his eyes.

***

Some minutes later Song and Ludwig were already at the Haven, and true to Song's words, the situation did seem to be under control.

The majority of imposters had already been killed, with a few of them kept alive for questioning purposes. The armed forces in the Haven had majorly coordinated themselves and begun to sweep through the Haven, saving those who were still in desperate situations and rounding up the survivors.

Some of the men noticed as Ludwig arrived and immediately coordinated themselves.

"YOUR GRACE!"

They roared in unison as they stood still and stiff acknowledging Ludwig's presence.

"Steady." Ludwig's calm voice put the soldiers at ease. "Where is Gohnn?" Ludwig asked one of the men present.

The person Ludwig had asked for was the soldier with the highest authority in the army present at the Haven who had accompanied him, counting Song and Senton aside.

"Major General Gohnn was last seen in the eastern wing neutralizing the remaining threats, Your Grace." The soldier replied nervously.

"Alright, you, go get me Gohnn now, you, go prepare a room for me, there's some interrogation to be done, the rest of you continue with the sweep up, by the end of today I want all imposters either dead or captured. Is that clear?" Orders rolled out of Ludwig's tongue in an experienced manner setting up the tone for the soldiers.

"Yes, Your Grace!" The soldiers roared with stiff expressions, before scattering to take care of the orders given to them.

Some minutes later in a small well-lit room, four people could be seen. Three of them were standing over the unconscious fourth with stern expressions.

"Wake him up." Ludwig's cold voice broke the silence.

"Yes, Your Grace." Gohnn was just about to step forward to wake Senton up…

"No, let me do it." Song echoed, stepping forward towards Senton's figure.

Gohnn stepped back respectfully, silently acknowledging his superior's request.

Song stopped In Front of Senton's unconscious figure, and in the next instant, he slapped Senton straight across his face, the force of the slap causing Senton's face to swell and blood to drip from his lips.

The pain jolted Senton out of his daze, his ears ringing as his vision was blurry for some time. The pain on his face tingled furiously. Senton found it hard to focus and open his eyes, the shock from the slap leaving him disoriented for a good While.

When he finally came to himself, ignoring the stinging pain on his cheeks and the taste of blood in his mouth, Senton noticed three stern figures In Front of him.

He tried to move, that was when he noticed that he was restricted by cuffs. The cuffs seemed to disrupt the mana in his body, leaving him unable to properly circulate the mana in his body or make use of the mana in the atmosphere. The situation left him in a thirst-like state, making him feel very exhausted.

"What is-"

"We ask the questions." Ludwig's stern voice cut Senton short.

"What makes you think I'll answer your questions?" Senton asked with a weak laugh.

"You have no choice, you will." Ludwig answered coldly.

"Will you force-"

PAA!

The sound of a slap resounded across the room again, causing Gohnn who was standing in the room to wince as if he was the one on the receiving end of the slap. Song had lit Senton's face again with a resounding slap on the opposite side of his face. His face and lips swelled up further, the blood on his lips flowing freely.

"You will speak," Song said with a chilling voice as he eyed Senton with a cold gaze.

Senton turned to Song with a glare, his eyes bloodshot as he hissed resentfully.

"Make me."

PAA!

Another slap met Senton's cheeks, this time the aftermath was accompanied by the flying of a few teeth from Senton's mouth. His mouth was now bloody, with a swollen face and lips. His face looked disfigured. The impacts from the slaps caused Senton to be dizzy for a few breaths.

"You bastard." Senton's weak voice was barely audible, but all three men seemed to hear him properly.

"First question." Ludwig's voice cut through the air. He moved closer to Senton, the pressure coming off him bearing down on Senton in full force. A weaker person could collapse or even die if they were subjected to the pressure Ludwig was releasing now.

Senton's head seemed to lower instinctively. His whole body shuddered as he tried hard to resist the pressure coming off Ludwig.

"Who are you?" Ludwig asked menacingly. No wrong answers.

"I'm Senton, Timad Senton, the same one you've always known." Senton's weak voice responded to Ludwig's question.

"I find that hard to believe, I'll ask you again, who are you?" Ludwig repeated his question, his body humming with power as tiny sparks began to appear on his body.

"I've answered your question, I'm Senton, the same one you've always known."

"Sigh," with a sigh Ludwig's pressure eased off Senton. "Then you've always been an imposter and you've been colluding with all those who are part of this?"

"Colluding? No, nothing like that, it's our destinies, our purpose, we were born for this moment."

Ludwig and Song exchanged confused glances at Senton's words. Destiny? Purpose? Born for the moment? What bullishit was all that? It made no sense.

Both men seemed to be thinking the same thing as they turned their gazes back to Senton.

"Destiny? What destiny? Why?" Ludwig bombarded Senton with another set of questions, his gaze as cold as ever.

Senton didn't answer immediately. His shoulders first started shaking before a soft sound escaped his lips.

He was laughing. His action caused Ludwig, Senton and Gohnn to stare at him with irritated expressions. What part of the king's question seemed funny?

Senton stopped laughing, and he raised his head to look at the three men. A wide grin spread across his bloodied face.

"For the fall of Tasvill." Senton echoed those words slowly as if trying to let them sink in properly.

The three of them stood stunned for a moment, before Ludwig's anger flared up, the crackles on his body becoming more ferocious. Song and Gohnn's reactions mirrored Ludwig's, their auras soaring to a terrifying degree.

"What do you mean by the fall of Tasvill? Do you think by just attacking the Haven, you could cause my kingdom to fall?" Ludwig's voice rolled out ferociously as he eyed Senton with killing intent.

"Oh! But what makes you think it's only the Haven that's under attack?" Senton asked Ludwig, a tinge of amusement present in his voice.

Senton's question doused the momentum of all three men's anger as their auras dissipated suddenly. They all stared at Senton dumbfoundedly.

Ludwig was hit the most by the question, as he began to think of the possibility of what Senton said.

"Does that mean-"

BOOM!

Ludwig's thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of an explosion. His expression twisted when he heard the sound.