The Kind of Evil-Chapter 510: Embrace and Understand.

‎Aris followed Rasmus' scent without bothering where it led her. She ended up at the massive pond in the back garden of the palace and saw Rasmus standing on the edge, staring at the school of fish. His gaze was distant and for some reason, his demeanor had changed slightly ever since the war ended or to be exact, after his encounter with Satan.

"You have been avoiding the crowds lately..." Aris said as she approached Rasmus and put some distance between them. "I know you're not a fan of being in the same room with the crowd, but this time you're even avoiding your friends," she added.

Rasmus responded with a slight smile on his face, his eyes still distant as if his mind was still somewhere else and his reaction was automated. Aris looked at him and decided to let his mind wander first, so she stood there beside him and stared at the fish quietly.

"Did you know that Lady Sanya is the one who taught the twins sorceresses?" Rasmus finally spoke and looked at Aris, his gaze no longer distant.

"Sanya?" Aris looked at Rasmus before she shook her head, "No, I don't know. Sanya has so many secrets that nobody in this world knows. It's not surprising and it is at the same time. But that explains a lot why these sorcerers in this continent are so powerful that they can match with the Great Sage."

Rasmus once again fell silent and his gaze became distant as he focused on the pond in front of him. He suddenly flicked his finger and watched as a root began to sprout in the middle of the pond, slowly but surely a thick tree bark formed and the branches with the leaves began to cover the sunlight. Aris watched everything unfold silently without showing any reaction.

"I just learned something new and profound. Words from Lady Sanya to Lady Agnesia that made me see the world in a different new light, or perhaps seeing my existence in a different light," Rasmus said with his brows raised as he watched all the fish move toward the roots where it produced moss for them to eat. "About power, about knowledge, about higher beings, about the law that goes beyond nature. About the unknown and to be aware of it," he explained.

Aris listened to Rasmus as she observed his expression and the way he spoke. At that moment, Aris felt like there was another wall that separated her and Rasmus. Rasmus then looked at Aris and she also noticed that he was slowly moving further away when Aris tried to ground herself. One who had lived beyond morals that chose to understand it while the other who had understood morals and chose to let it go and went further beyond.

"You're embracing it," Aris said and turned to look at the tree that Rasmus had created with a flick of a finger. "I don't know what happened, but you sounded like Sanya now," she pointed out.

Rasmus hummed, nodding with understanding after realizing that what he felt might have resonated with Sanya more than to Aris.

"That disturb you?" Rasmus asked out of curiosity.

"No, not at all," Aris answered without hesitation. "Sanya once told Aristoria, your mother, that what she knew it was worse than a curse. She felt numb and yet she felt eerily terrified," she revealed that she had been communicating and living the memories of her predecessor.

Rasmus narrowed his eyes slightly when Aris revealed that she had been communicating with Aristoria. He didn't know what Aris experienced during the last moment of the war when she used her power, Aristoria's sword, and Aristoria's armor where it allowed her to reconnect with her predecessor. However, Rasmus chose to not say anything and listen and thought of the danger in doing that because Aris once told him that she didn't want her fate to be determined by her predecessor.

"I suppose I can say the same to you. You seem to embrace it as well," Rasmus said with a soft smile on his face.

"I'm not, but I chose to try to understand it," Aris shook her head. "But I suppose you can say it's the same thing," she smiled and glanced at Rasmus.

"No, you're right," Rasmus shook his head.

There was only an eerie silence after where Aris focused on the school of fish gathering and sharing the moss while Rasmus stared at the tree branches and how far the highest branch had reached. They both stood side by side, and yet they both began to drift apart, aware that they had chosen a different path than they originally had planned. However, that didn't change the fact they were still there, standing side by side even though their views had differed.

"The expedition is in three days. Everyone has arrived and is currently resting after a long journey. Three days to prepare everything they need for the danger that might come for us," Aris said as she walked to the bench and sat there to make herself comfortable.

"Who are they?" Rasmus turned around to look at Aris and flicked his hand, turning the pond back to its original state and the tree disappeared as if it wasn't there in the first place.

"Doloran, Agnesia, Marina, Doloran's friends who are a druid and a berserker, the League of Sorcerers, a witch, and a warlock. There are 10 people in total excluding us," Aris answered as she tried to remember their names but she didn't bother to even try.

"Still bad at remembering names?" Rasmus asked as he walked to the bench and sat beside Aris. "But those people sound powerful in their own field," he added.

"They said so, and the reason why there are only a few people even though there are a lot who wanted to join is because it will be hard to go to the heart of the mountain with too many people," Aris answered as she nodded.

"Then we also should bring only a handful of people with us. You can decide who you want to bring," Rasmus nodded with understanding. "Have you decided?" He asked.

"I have," Aris nodded. "It's going to be you, me, Serena, Yur, and Videl. I don't want him to join us, but since he's the one who knows more about that thing than anyone," she added with her arms crossed.

Rasmus nodded with understanding and was not trying to question her decision at all.

"The Womb of the Mother, that's what Videl called it, something that existed in Hell. When he brought me down there, tortured me for decades, he once showed me that thing," Rasmus said as he leaned back and made himself comfortable. "It was similar to what Alexander had described, a blob, slimy and formless breathing thing. It produced something pungent that I threw up immediately from just inhaling it for a split second. That pungent smell was so thick that you could grasp it and felt it in your palm..." He explained, his eyes narrowed and his gaze distant.

"That thing is the source of the bad smell in the entire Hell," Rasmus raised his brows, still vividly remembering the smell of it. "It was bigger than a mountain, and that thing wasn't a living being, it was something else entirely. It could produce something vile when demons entered that thing. The demons grew stronger when they survived, but they would become nourishment if they failed to survive," he added.

Aris looked at Rasmus for a moment before she turned her head away and looked at the beautiful garden with the sweet smell of the flowers.

"So, that thing is really the source of why demonic beasts exist here," Aris said as she stared into the distance with her draconic eyes, pointing at the Efiva mountain. "If that thing is in the hand of the demons, meaning they can grow stronger without having to use humans as their source of power," she added.

"Yes, and I believe Satan knew about this and sent the Fallen Watchers to secure it. But, why aren't they making a move yet? Why are they not showing themselves when the rest of the world is being influenced by the other Fallen Watchers?" Rasmus responded with his brows furrowed. "There are so many possibilities, and I don't think we can prevent all of them from happening," he pointed out.

"Yes, Queen Anastasia also doesn't have any leads about the Fallen Watchers. Not even a single case of demons happened every since we are aware of their existence," Aris nodded, trying to think similarly like Rasmus. "What are you afraid the most from this, Rasmus?" She asked.

Rasmus took a moment to think and he already knew what it was, but he wanted to think about it even deeper before giving an answer.

"That we are being misled. That the thing inside the Efiva mountain is just a distraction and the moment we make a move, that's when just fall right to where they want us to be," Rasmus answered, thinking about Satan and the mind of hers that might be more refined and had adapted after her encounter with him. "Another thing is that the enemy has grown smarter and more careful in making their moves," he pointed out.

Aris looked at Rasmus and she could see the uncertainty in his eyes, and that alone was enough to make it contagious. She hummed with understanding and wondered if there was something she could do, but she knew herself well that she was nothing compared to Rasmus when it came to plan and prevention.