The Kind of Evil

It had been two weeks since then, and Rasmus had received the four invitation letters that he had requested from Viscount Heward. Rasmus, Aris, Rullein, and Yur decided to move to the capital city, and their presence had become well-known even by the townspeople. The rumors had spread across the Refenus Kingdom and the neighboring nations thanks to the Merchant Guild and Gorge.

The Black Hands had gathered in the capital city, and their hiding locations were different from each other, spreading across the city like a massive web. However, they had failed to gather any information related to the five people that Rasmus had assigned them to investigate. Belvia Sottol, Jacques Coreu, Francesco Sorza, William Shecil, Mirelda Norbridge, and Meredith Seriche, they were like ghosts of the past, non-existent in history.

"So they're indeed demons," Aris said as she looked at the reports in her hands.

Rasmus glanced at the reports and he didn't seem to be interested in those anymore since there was barely any information. He had expected those six names that were listed in the invited guests weren't humans. He knew that it would be pointless to investigate about them when the time he had left was a week before the coming-of-age ceremony.

"Were they from that place..." Aris muttered to herself.

"What place?" Rasmus looked at Aris, who was sitting beside him at the counter.

"Beyond the Blackcliffs, there was a civilization there before," Aris answered as she put down the reports and slid them to Rasmus, giving them back.

Rasmus had heard the story from Aris, Lenin, and the others about their expedition to hunt the False Prophet, Ermaine beyond the Blackcliffs. The place where the world chose to forget where its history was long forgotten. There was no records related to the civilization beyond the Blackcliffs, there was no records as to why beyond the Blackcliffs had become a taboo, a place to meet an end of oneself.

"You don't know anything about it?" Rasmus asked.

Aris looked at Rasmus, thinking whether she should tell him or not about the origins of civilization beyond the Blackcliffs. She then glanced at the journal in Rasmus's hand, he had already read the journal half way, and ever since he had kept himself busy with the record, his behavior seemed to have changed a bit more than before.

"I'll let you read that journal first. Who knows, maybe your father might have found out the truth about Blackcliffs," Aris answered as she pointed at the journal in Rasmus's hands.

Rasmus looked down at the journal, his distant gaze when he stared at it. He read how his father failed to notice everything that had happened around him. He read how a man was losing his sanity slowly, drained from all the horror, the suspicions, the fear, the anxiety that kept gnawing at him from his feet that had reached to his throat. He was surprised that his father managed to keep himself sane after years of chasing demonic cults that he didn't even know if they truly existed or not.

‎"He was still chasing something he was uncertain if it really existed or not. He went from one continent to the other, leaving and neglecting the Blackheart's estate and affairs. He was being used, but he had no choice," Rasmus answered as he kept his distant gaze at the journal. "However, we gained a lot of information. The possible culprits behind these events, the allies of King Fredrick from different continents, the demon worshippers," he continued.

‎"No wonder the Blackheart family is well-known around the world. So we know which royal families and which nations could possibly be vassals for the Fallen Watchers," Aris responded and took a sip of her wine.

‎"Yes, it narrows down the search," Rasmus nodded in agreement. "But I'm not sure if this journal will reveal anything related to the Blackwall, Aris," he looked at her with a stoic and cold expression.

‎Aris stared at the wall in front of her before she put down the glass and faced Rasmus.

‎"The Blackcliffs and the civilization that existed there, they were from a thousand years ago or even older than that," Aris said, glancing at Rullein teasing Yur in its little kid form, poking and tickling Yur as she pleased. "I don't know the details, nor did the elders care so much about it. But that civilization was the time where they hunted us Orthias down," she revealed.

‎Rasmus raised his brows, and finally found one of the missing pieces that had happened in the past. The Neva world was ten times bigger than Earth, and the area behind the Blackcliffs covered a quarter of Neva. With that being said, the civilization that existed beyond the Blackcliffs was still twice as large as the whole Earth.

‎"Nobody knew about the history behind that civilization?" Rasmus furrowed his brows, finding it weird that no Orthias cared about it at all, about the history behind their dark time.

‎"There is, Sanya," Aris answered and took a sip of her wine. "She has all the answers to every question that you want to know," she added.

‎Rasmus hummed as he put down the journal, and then turned around to look at Yur. Yur had existed longer than Aris, and Yur should have known about the event that caused Orthias to be on the brink of extinction.

‎"Yur, can you come here for a moment?" Rasmus turned around to look at Yur, who was being teased by Rullein, powerless and terrified.

‎When Yur realized that Rasmus needed Yur, Yur changed into an owl and flew away from Rullein. Yur landed on Aris's lap, seeking comfort after the terrifying moment with Rullein. Aris smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around Yur's fluffy body and caressed Yur's head.

‎"The Blackcliffs, what kind of civilization did they have back then?" Rasmus asked, looking at Yur, who closed its eyes from the comfort Aris gave to Yur.

‎"They were the most terrifying human beings that have ever existed in this world," Yur answered without hesitation.

‎Rasmus didn't expect those words to come out as the first answer that Yur would say. However, the way Yur said it, the look in its eyes, and how Yur showed a hint of terror were intriguing.

‎"Rasmus, what kind of human beings do you think they were, to be able to hunt down Orthias? Beings like Orthias were above human capabilities and power, and yet they could..." Yur asked, staring into Rasmus eyes.

‎Rasmus had pondered that for a year after he read the history of humankind and the Orthias race back then in the Magic Tower. He remembered the book he read, the title was The End of a Saga by E.B. He didn't know much about Orthias and how strong they were back then, but now that he knew, it was indeed a question that he would ask.

‎He questioned how his mother, Aristoria could be defeated by humans even though she was an Aristoria. However, the answer was revealed that she gave more than half of her life and power to him, and then used another half to Rullein, making her closer to human power.

‎"So humans were stronger back then?" Rasmus asked with his brows raised.

"Stronger because Orthias were the ones who taught them how to live. They were taught how to understand magic, to gain strength, and knowledge about this world. They were the first civilization of humankind," Yur answered, nibbling on Aris's hands to show affection and comfort.

Rasmus glanced at Aris, and she wore the usual stoic expression. She then nodded her head, validating Yur's words since she knew that much. However, she didn't know much more about the first civilization nor did she care about it.

"Still, they were capable of killing them?" Rasmus furrowed his brows because the numbers didn't add up with the result.

"Do you know about the first Saint?" Yur asked, tilting its owl's head and staring into Rasmus's eyes.

Rasmus remembered in the book that the first Saint was the beginning of humankind's revolt against Orthias. They were brainwashed by the Saint and turned against the race that had taught them everything. That Saint's name was never revealed by the author, and it remained a mystery.

"I don't know the name of the Saint, but I read the Saint was the beginning of era where humans chose to fight against Orthias," Rasmus answered as he tapped his fingers on the counter. "Do you know who the first Saint was?" He looked at Yur with his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Urius Zevrathi," Yur answered and hooted.

The moment Zevrathi's name was mentioned, Rasmus's eyes widened and his brows raised. He straightened his back and slowly faced his body toward Yur. He had been looking for that answer, but he never thought the one who knew the answer had been close to him.

"You know about Zevrathi all this time?" Rasmus furrowed his brows.

"But you never asked..." Yur lowered its head.

"Right..." Rasmus said under his breath, realizing he had been keeping that to himself.

"You should get some rest from that journal, you look different," Aris said as she stared into Rasmus's eyes. "You have been spacing out in the past two weeks, and you need to focus on what's ahead of us now," she continued.

Rasmus hummed as he looked at the journal, realizing that deep down, he was affected by it. He didn't know if it was an interesting journal, or if it was because his Rasmus Blackheart soul was the reason he became so attached and emotional to the journal.

"You're right..." Rasmus nodded and stored the journal in the spatial ring. "Let's focus on preparing the stage for our Jester," he said as he got up.