The Kind of Evil-Chapter 486: Not a victory.
There was only silence between the two sides and neither of them had any power left to use it they all decided to go on all out. Serena also used everything in that form, and had exhausted her power to the point she could barely stand still. Aris wanted to kill Satan, but Aristoria warned her if she used her bloodline power again, her process of becoming a True Dragon couldn’t be undone.
Rullein was the only one who had grown stronger from the battle, and she could fight for as long as she wanted. However, she had no grudge against Satan and her army, and she would let them get stronger again so she could absorb power again and make herself even stronger.
"You don’t want to kill me?" Satan asked with her brows raised. "Do you realize what kind of being I am for you to spare my life?" She asked, tilting her head and resting her palm on her cheek.
Satan took a few steps forward toward Rasmus, and that made all her Fallen Watchers panic. They were afraid that Satan might get killed by Rasmus and the others because she was at her weakest state. However, Satan ordered them to stay put, and that alone was enough for them to obey her.
"You need us," Satan stood in front of Rasmus, staring down at him. She was a lot taller than Rasmus because his head was barely above her chest. "You need them as well," she glanced at the survivors of the human army.
"You’re using us to get rid of the humans. Less human, less resistance, and you can justify your actions as the result," Satan stared coldly at Rasmus with her slit eyes. "You’re doing it because you want to win the bet. But, let me propose to you something else, Kyros. Something less troublesome, less problematic, and less effort," she crossed her arms and then glanced at Videl.
Videl narrowed his eyes, hating the moment Satan opened her mouth. He knew Satan too well and not at all at the same time, a powerful being without a kin, something that was similar to God but not at the same time.
"Forget about the bet, and I can help you climb to heaven. Or, you can live as immortal in any world you want. Or, even better," Satan leaned down to stare at Rasmus’ face from up close. "I can give you anything you want. Just tell me, and I will..." She paused to slowly look up at the sky. "Speak to Him and persuade Him. Even if I failed, I can assure you, Hell will be as peaceful and as comfortable as heaven with my power," she continued.
Rasmus stared into Satan’s eyes and couldn’t read anything from her expression and words. He couldn’t predict or measure her actions and words at all, making it one of the moments where he felt uneasy. Another thing that made him uneasy was the fact that staring at her face made his mind distracted for a moment, drawn by her beauty.
"You’re not saying a word?" Satan asked as she leaned her head back. "Not interested? Then what about this. I’ll tell you what kind of deal that old friend of mine made with God, but in exchange, you will give us what we need from here and we will go away and we will indirectly help you control this world," she offered with her brows raised.
Rasmus stared into Satan’s eyes and didn’t blink his eyes, he was silent and observing. He chose not to answer because he didn’t know what kind of trap that she was using against him.
"Don’t listen to her. Don’t..." Videl warned Rasmus, staring into Satan’s eyes with the same coldness.
Satan glanced at Videl and her eyes began to glow dark red. Videl responded with the same intensity, making his eyes glow dark red. Two sovereign beings, staring at each other’s souls that made the time seem to stop and the cold pierced through everyone’s soul around them.
"Look at him, afraid..." Satan smirked, her gaze never leaving Videl’s eyes. "The fact that he wants you to not listen to me, is making you more intrigued, more suspicious. Not toward me, but toward him," she glanced at Rasmus, widening her smirk.
"Trust me, and you will doubt every word the Devil speaks, every step he takes. Do not trust me, and doubt will still take root. Even indifference will not spare you. My words will return to you when you are alone," Satan leaned her head closer to Rasmus’s. "I have seen men like you. You don’t fear lies, you fear of not knowing," she muttered, her face right in front of Rasmus. "And that doubt... slow, patient, and unanswerable... is more poisonous than any sin in the world," she whispered.
"Your temptation isn’t greed, power, wealth, or pleasure. Your temptation is knowledge, knowing the truth. It is not a sin, but here? It becomes one," Satan chuckled softly as she pulled her head away from Rasmus.
"You’re right," Rasmus finally spoke after he held himself back from speaking. "Thank you for your reminder. That makes me realize that what you offer contradict what you warn me," he pointed out. "In that case, I’ll decline your offer," he answered without any doubt or hesitation. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"My... my mouth runs on its own once again," Satan covered her lips with her fingers, but she didn’t hide her smile. "I forgot that I’m not facing a normal human being," she added.
Rasmus didn’t know if Satan was showing the contradiction on purpose or not. He couldn’t understand her at all, and if he tried to assume what she thought, it was similar to staring into the abyss and getting pulled down into it. He decided not to think much about it and tried to forget about it.
Satan suddenly leaned in, her lips were breath away from his right ear as her long fingers cupped his left side of his head. Rasmus felt a chill down his spine, stunned by the sudden Satan’s act because he didn’t expect her to be that close to him or even touch him.
"You made a deal with the Devil. Do not trust him..." Satan whispered, making sure nobody could listen to her words. "I’m warning you with truth, and God will be the witness of my words," she added before she pulled away and pulled her hand off Rasmus’ face.
Everyone wondered what Satan whispered into Rasmus’ ear because none of them could hear it even though they all could hear a sound of cricket from miles away. Satan slowly walked backwards before she glanced at Videl with that smirk and the same gaze when she walked away from the kingdom of God. She turned around, snapping her fingers and opening a giant portal.
"Kyros Revenor, if you think of changing side, my arms are wide open for you," Satan walked toward the portal as she looked at Rasmus from over her shoulder. "You will not become my follower, my worshiper, or even my slave. I don’t need all those things. Because if I do, I would despise God, I would rebel against Him just like the Devil or Lucifer," she added as she stood in front of the portal, staring at it for a moment.
Satan slowly turned around to look Rasmus in the eyes properly with a cold smile on her face.
"You can say that I’m just like you. I don’t care about all those things and just do what I want," Satan said as she took a few steps back until her back had entered the portal. "I’m your opponent, but I’m not your enemy," she gracefully bowed like a noble lady with her black feathered wings folded on her back before she completely entered the portal with the Fallen Watchers following her from behind.
Rasmus and the others watched the portal disappear, but the silence lingered longer than it should. Suddenly Rasmus turned around and walked toward the city, or at least what it remained. The others watched him, unsettled by his complete silence and his unreadable expression which should have been normal but felt completely different. Although they were unsettled, none of them dared to speak, to open their mouths. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to question him, but rather didn’t know exactly what to say without making him change his axis that might have brought themselves into a path they didn’t want him to take.
When Rasmus arrived, Lenin and the others stared at him, wondering if they had won the war or not. But what they saw was a stoic and cold expression, there was no shred of relief or disappointment.
"We can breathe now, the war is over," Rasmus said with a flat expression.
Before anyone could celebrate their victory, Erlina and Carrion hurriedly walked through the gate. Everyone looked at them and they could see the panic and sadness in their eyes.
"Lady Astrea is gone..." Erlina said quietly.
At that moment, everyone’s joy turned into sorrow. When they looked at Aurelia, they expected her to cry or to even collapse, but she was standing still, still shocked by the news.
"This isn’t a victory," Rasmus said as he looked at them. "Too many deaths to be considered a victory when the enemy isn’t even defeated," he pointed out.
Aurelia took a deep breath as she closed her eyes before she exhaled deeply.
"Let’s bury the fallen and let us mourn for them," Aurelia said with a serious expression.
Everyone nodded with understanding and looked at the bodies scattered on the city.
