[Eastern Zahryssar — Imperial Command Tent — Continuation]

The command tent fell into complete silence, not ordinary silence but the dangerous kind. The kind where even breathing too loudly felt like a mistake.

Every serpent inside the tent remained frozen after Levin’s words.

"Iru is an omega eagle." The sentence still lingered heavily within the air like a blade suspended above everyone’s throat.

Iru stood trembling quietly near the edge of the tent, his face pale, his hands clenched tightly enough to shake, and despite trying to remain composed, fear still betrayed him because he understood better than anyone what this revelation meant.

Eagles were not merely enemies of serpents; they were ancient predators, symbols of war and creatures woven into serpent history through blood and hatred stretching back generations.

And somehow one had stood beside the Malika this entire time, trusted, protected, and hidden. Several knights slowly shifted uneasily. Varesh’s hand still rested near his sword.

Physician Naram looked moments away from fainting entirely. Even Raevhan appeared deeply unsettled; meanwhile, Zeramet remained silent, terrifyingly silent. His golden eyes rested fully upon Iru now.

Unreadable, cold, and ancient. And the longer Malik remained quiet, the heavier the atmosphere inside the tent became. It no longer felt like a military discussion. It felt like prey standing before predators deciding whether it deserved mercy.

Then finally Raevhan stepped forward, still visibly struggling to process what he had just learned. His gaze shifted sharply towards Iru.

"But...Malika...he has lived within Silthara Palace since childhood. He served every consort before you." His expression darkened further. "He remained near the previous Malika as well..."

Several nearby knights exchanged disturbed glances because that made the situation infinitely worse.

"And yet..." Raevhan’s voice lowered cautiously and his eyes narrowed. "...he possesses no detectable pheromones. How could an omega eagle hide himself so completely?"

Silence spread again because every serpent inside the tent carried the exact same question. Serpents sensed enemies instinctively. Ancient instinct. Natural hatred. So how had an eagle lived among them for years unnoticed?

Iru trembled harder beneath their stares, unable to answer, unable to even lift his head properly anymore.

Then suddenly Levin spoke quietly. "...Iru."

The trembling eagle immediately looked up. "Remove your patch."

And the entire tent froze.

Iru’s face instantly paled further as his voice shook, almost fearfully. "...Malika...do it."

Levin’s tone remained calm and gentle. Yet absolute. Slowly with visibly trembling fingers, Iru reached toward the back of his neck, toward the small concealed sealing patch hidden beneath his collar, and carefully he peeled it away.

The effect was immediate. A powerful wave of omega-eagle pheromones exploded across the tent, wild, sharp, and ancient. The scent struck the surrounding serpents like lightning.

HISSSSSS!!!

Several knights transformed instantly: green serpents, grey serpents, and blue serpents. The sound of scales scraping across the ground filled the command tent violently.

Even Zeramet’s silver serpent instincts awakened immediately, golden eyes narrowing sharply as dangerous silver scales spread briefly across his skin.

The atmosphere became monstrous and predatory. Ancient instincts tearing violently against reason. Several serpents hissed aggressively toward Iru.

Their pupils are thinning, bodies lowering instinctively into hunting positions. Iru’s entire body shook hard, and finally he collapsed onto his knees.

Because suddenly he found himself cornered. Surrounded entirely by hissing serpents staring at him like starving predators.

The eagle’s breathing became uneven instantly; fear flooded his eyes. Not because he doubted Levin but because instinct itself screamed:

RUN.

But before the situation could worsen, Levin stepped forward, directly in front of Iru, shielding him.

"Please calm yourselves." His voice cut through the chaos sharply. Several serpents still hissed violently, unconvinced and unstable.

Levin’s expression hardened slightly now; his blue gaze swept across every knight inside the tent.

"Our priority is not attacking Iru. It is saving Sah’qir." The hissing lessened slightly, only slightly. "We do not know how long the village has before the corruption fully consumes it."

Levin continued steadily as he glanced briefly toward the trembling eagle behind him. "And right now... Iru is the only one capable of seeing the entire village safely from above."

Immediately one knight stepped forward angrily. "How can we trust an enemy, Malika?!"

"I agree!" Another hissed sharply. "Eagles slaughter serpents!"

The tension rose again immediately, and then Levin answered quietly as his gaze sharpened slightly. "And yet...you yourselves already use eagle eyes for information gathering."

Silence.

The knights froze faintly because technically he was correct. Then Arkhazunn stepped forward carefully.

"That is different, Malika." His emerald gaze remained cautious toward Iru. "The imperial eagle eyes are artificial creatures; they are controlled entirely through magic."

His expression darkened further as he glanced toward the trembling omega eagle. "But this...is real."

The atmosphere tightened again, and then quietly, Levin spoke words that silenced the entire tent. "If Iru wished to harm me...he would have done so long ago."

The room went still.

"He served me." Levin’s voice softened slightly. "He protected me; he remained beside me even when I needed him."

Iru’s trembling worsened hearing those words because Levin trusted him publicly and openly without hesitation.

"Is that not enough..." Levin’s gaze slowly swept across the room again. "...to deserve trust?"

No one answered immediately; then, finally, Zeramet moved. The Malik slowly returned fully to human form, and the moment he did, every other serpent inside the tent forced themselves back into human form as well.

Though the tension remained razor sharp.

Zeramet stepped forward slowly afterward, closer toward Levin and closer toward Iru, but his eyes still resembled a predator staring at prey hidden behind another predator, dangerous, ancient, and restrained only by control.

"Malik..." Levin spoke softly. "We need to save the village."

Zeramet glanced toward him briefly, then finally his gaze returned toward Iru again, longer than comfortable, long enough for the poor eagle to visibly shake harder beneath it and then finally, the Malik spoke.

"I want you..." His voice lowered coldly. "...to inspect every corner of Sah’qir Village from above."

The tent froze again; even Arkhazunn blinked slightly in surprise as Zeramet continued. "If any villagers remain alive...you will find them."

Iru stared upward shakily, unable to believe what he was hearing. "And if orcs or other beasts still remain hidden nearby..."

Zeramet’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

"...you will report their exact locations immediately."

Arkhazunn furrowed deeply afterward. "You intend to trust him?"

"I do not." The answer came instantly and coldly and the entire tent went silent again.

"But my consort is correct." Zeramet’s gaze remained fixed upon Iru. "Right now...saving the villagers matters more than one insignificant eagle."

The words were cruel, deliberately cruel, and everyone understood why because Zeramet was reminding Iru clearly: you are alive only because his consort asked for it.

Iru lowered himself deeply immediately. He was nearly trembling apart as his voice shook badly.

"T-trust me, Malik...I-I will do my be—"

"Do not waste my time." Zeramet cut him off sharply, then slowly his serpent gaze narrowed toward the eagle once more.

"Fly."

The command itself echoed through the tent heavily. Imperially and dangerously. Iru immediately looked toward Levin instinctively.

Searching, needing reassurance, Levin nodded softly. Just once, and that was enough.

The eagle bowed deeply afterward. "...right away, Malik."

And then golden light erupted around him once more. Large wings unfolded violently inside the command tent as white-gold feathers scattered through the air like drifting sunlight.

Several nearby knights instinctively reached for their swords again. Some even hissed softly. Their serpent instincts recoiling aggressively at the sight of a natural predator spreading its wings before them.

But no one attacked because Levin stood there calmly, watching, trusting and somehow that alone restrained the entire imperial camp.

Then with one powerful movement Iru launched himself upward.

FWOOOOSSSHHH!!!

The force of his wings sent papers flying violently across the tent while lantern flames flickered wildly.

Outside the surrounding knights immediately staggered backward in alarm as the massive eagle burst from the command tent and soared into the pale desert sky.

"What in the—?!" Several soldiers visibly froze staring upward, because seeing an actual eagle flying above a serpent encampment felt deeply unnatural. Almost cursed.

***

[Eastern Zahryssar — Above Sah’qir Village — Later]

Meanwhile high above Sah’qir— Iru flew silently through the cold morning winds. His sharp eyes scanning everything below carefully, every street, every rooftop and every ruined structure.

And the more he observed the worse the village looked, corruption had spread everywhere, not partially but completely. Black veins crawled across roads and walls like infected roots spreading beneath dead flesh.

The wells overflowed with dark liquid.

Entire homes had collapsed inward, even the sand surrounding Sah’qir had darkened unnaturally but the most horrifying thing?

There were no villagers.

None.

No movement, no smoke, no signs of struggle and no bodies.

Nothing.

The entire village felt abandoned by life itself. Iru’s feathers shifted uneasily against the winds.

"...where did everyone go?" His sharp gaze swept across the ruined streets again carefully.

Still nothing, then suddenly a movement. Far beyond the village, near the small desert forest bordering Sah’qir. Iru immediately narrowed his eyes and silently shifted direction.

The eagle flew lower now, carefully and quietly. The forest beneath looked strange, too silent and too hidden. Ancient desert trees twisted together unnaturally while massive stones formed natural barriers between narrow paths.

Then he saw it.

A serpent, a regular desert serpent slithering weakly between the rocks, small, thin and exhausted.

Iru paused mid-flight instantly. "...a villager?"

The serpent moved carefully through the forest paths before disappearing between two enormous stone formations. Without hesitation Iru followed silently from above, using the trees and cliffs to conceal himself.

Then suddenly his eyes widened because hidden deep between the cliffs was a cave, massive, ancient and concealed carefully behind natural stone walls.

Inside hundreds of serpents were hidden.

Villagers.

All curled tightly in serpent form between rocks and narrow spaces. Mothers protecting hatchlings. Injured serpents wrapped around one another weakly.

Old serpents barely moving, none speaking loudly and none moving carelessly and trying desperately not to be found.

Iru’s eyes softened slightly. "...they survived..."

But then his gaze shifted farther into the cave entrance and immediately his expression froze, because standing outside the deeper cavern tunnels—were creatures unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Huge, massive, grotesque and crimson-skinned orcs. Their bodies looked swollen unnaturally beneath layers of dark red flesh while black veins crawled across their skin like living parasites.

Several possessed elongated arms dragging against the ground. Others twitched unnaturally as though their bones no longer fit properly inside their bodies.

And their eyes... their eyes looked hollow.

Completely hollow, no rage, no instinct, no intelligence just empty.

Iru’s feathers rose immediately as his voice came almost inaudibly. "...a crimson orc? I have never seen this species before..."

But instinct screamed something worse at him immediately. These were not natural creatures, the way they moved...the way they twitched...the way corruption pulsed beneath their skin...It resembled puppetry.

As though something else controlled them from within. Then suddenly one of the crimson orcs stopped moving.

Its hollow eyes slowly lifted upward, directly toward the sky. Toward Iru and the eagle froze instantly.

Because despite the distance it felt as though the creature had seen him. Then slowly...very slowly...the crimson orc smiled as if ready to strike and hunt him.