‎After the intense battle, everyone retreated and found a place to hide in a small village. It was early in the morning, and the villagers didn’t know about them, even the innkeeper was clueless about the people who rented the rooms.

‎Thalior walked toward the window and made sure they weren’t being followed. Once he was sure it was safe, he closed the window and pulled down his hood. He looked at Novia, Xena, Astrea, Lenin, and Uriel, who also pulled down their hoods.

‎There was only silence in the room until suddenly Novia lit her right hand on fire. She glanced at Lenin and created a magic formation right under Lenin. Lenin, on the other hand, only stared down at the magic formation and then glanced at Novia.

‎”You’re not my Master. Who are you?” Novia asked. “This magic formation should be enough to burn you into ashes…” she threatened as the fire around her hand grew fiercely.

‎Lenin observed the formation, and the formula of the formation was similar to how a blow torch worked. Pressure was used to feed the fire with elements like propane or different types of gas. She didn’t know what exactly the runes on one of the circles were, but he assumed it was the fuel that would feed the flame.

‎Lenin looked at Thalior and Xena, who were only staring at her. Based on their expressions, they also suspected that she wasn’t the real Lenin. Thalior and Xena then stared at Uriel, aware that she wasn’t the real Uriel either. She then tried to manipulate the magic formation using Mana, but then Novia pointed her burning hand at her.

‎”Don’t even try…” Novia warned the moment she noticed the Mana in Lenin’s right hand. “I swear I’ll kill you if you don’t reveal yourself!” She gritted her teeth and glared at Lenin.

‎”Do it,” Lenin said as she stared at Novia with a cold and serious expression.

‎Novia clenched her fist and activated the magic formation. The formation began to glow bright red, and when she swung her hand down, the flame on her hand combusted the magic formation.

‎Novia was expecting a fierce flame that would devour Lenin’s body, trapping her in the prison of fire. However, all she saw were tiny flames around the magic formation as if they were being docile around Lenin. She could see the Mana flow, and she was shocked that the Mana didn’t enter her magic formation as if the Mana was reluctant to harm Lenin.

“What… what is this…” Novia was shocked and in disbelief.

“This? This is the mage’s weakness. The moment Mana turns its back on a mage, they’re powerless,” Lenin answered, and suddenly the flames got extinguished, leaving faint smoke in the air.

“Who are you?” Novia slowly lifted her head and stared right into Lenin’s eyes. She was disturbed that the person in front of her sounded and looked exactly like Lenin, her master.

Suddenly, a black mist appeared around Lenin, covering her body with it. The moment the mist disappeared, everyone finally saw the real person who was disguised as Lenin. They were baffled that the one who pretended to be Lenin and was capable of creating such destructive spells that annihilated thousands of Corrupted and put the Prime Lord at a disadvantage was Rasmus.

“Count Blackheart?” Novia’s eyes trembled in disbelief as she took a few steps away from Rasmus. “Then, Lady Uriel is?” She glanced at Uriel.

A black mist appeared around Uriel, covering her body with it. Once the mist disappeared, it was Aris, the one who fought the Prime Lord head-on and the only one who was on par with him.

After it was revealed that Uriel and Lenin were Aris and Rasmus, they looked at Astrea. They were unsure if it was really her or not, but knowing that she could use divine power that withstood the Prime Lord’s power, there was nobody in Neva who could pretend to be her with such power.

“Your Holiness?” Thalior asked with his brows furrowed.

Astrea smiled as she shook her head, admitting that she wasn’t Astrea, but rather someone else who pretended to be her. At that moment, everyone got chills down their spines, their eyes trembling in fear because whoever pretended to be Astrea they weren’t someone ordinary.

“Who are you?” Thalior asked. “Who is she?” He looked at Rasmus, unsure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

Rasmus didn’t say a word, only a cold stare and a stoic expression.

“The world isn’t ready to know who I am,” Astrea smiled as she placed her index finger on her lips, staring at Thalior, Xena, and Novia. “This will be my cue to leave,” she bowed down gracefully like a high noble, and then left the room silently.

Thalior, Xena, and Novia were speechless, didn’t know what to say or react. After a whole minute of complete silence, Thalior swallowed his saliva and stared at Rasmus as he took a deep breath.

“What’s the meaning of this, Count? Who is she? How did you do that? What’s going on?!” Thalior asked, unable to process, and didn’t know what to ask, so he asked everything that came out of his mouth.

“The letter that I gave you, don’t you remember it?” Rasmus asked as he walked to the bed and sat on the edge. “The letter of warning that a powerful demon might ambush you and might annihilate your army,” he reminded Thalior.

Thalior lost the letter, it was a small letter, the letter that he showed Xena back then in his tent. However, they didn’t know that Rasmus would pretend to be Lenin and Aris would pretend to be Uriel.

“But why do you have to pretend to be them? What’s the point of doing that?” Thalior asked with his eyes narrowed. “Why do you have to use someone else’s face?”

“First, it’s to protect myself from being targeted by those demons. Second, the demons believed that humankind was weak, but I just proved them wrong and convinced them that humans were capable of killing them. Third, now the demons are clueless, and that gives us an upper hand. I can move freely without them knowing, and that’s a good thing too,” Rasmus answered as he stared into Thalior’s eyes.

“Tell me, Count. Is that really all there’s to it?” Xena stared into Rasmus’s eyes. “Why do I feel like you’re playing on both sides, Count? I’m no politician or schemer, but I have a strong intuition that you’re playing on both sides,” she crossed her arms and stared coldly at Rasmus.

“Interpret it however you want, Lady Xena. Prove your words and explain to Archduke Thalior and Lady Novia that I’m your enemy,” Rasmus raised his brows, and stared back at Xena.

“You can kill that demon back there, but you didn’t, why?” Xena asked with her eyes narrowed.

“Yes, Aris could kill him, but not Uriel,” Rasmus answered as he pulled his hair back. “Let me explain it to you. Aris killed a powerful demon before this, and it was as I had expected that a more powerful demon came to check the one who killed that demon. If I let Aris, who pretended to be Uriel, kill that powerful demon, what would happen? The emissary would hunt Uriel down and kill her since she would be a big threat to them. However, she didn’t kill the demon, and that would make the emissary believe that humans weren’t that weak, but not that strong. That alone is enough to make them focus on Uriel, but not to the point of hunting her down. With that opportunity, I can surprise them in the future war,” he explained with a calm expression.

“And what about the thousands of knights that died back there, Count?” Xena asked as she pointed at the window. “You could have come earlier, saving all of us, but you didn’t. Why?” She asked, and anger began to show on her face.

“The demons knew that Commander Uriel and Saint Astrea were on the south while we were on the northern part of the continent. Wouldn’t the demons find it suspicious that those two miraculously appeared at the perfect timing to protect everyone? Think about it, Lady Xena. Anger serves nothing here, keep your head clear and you will find all the answers to your questions,” Rasmus answered as he stared coldly at Xena.

“But you felt nothing when you saw thousands of our knights die out there, didn’t you?” Xena asked as she clenched her fists.

“No, I didn’t feel a thing for them. I would sacrifice thousands more if needed,” Rasmus answered as he shook his head. “Is that what you want to hear, Lady Xena? If so, then that’s the answer,” he said with a cold expression.

Xena gritted her teeth, feeling like she was being played emotionally by Rasmus. She believed there was more to it, but Rasmus just cut her off as if she were just a kid who annoyed him and gave an answer that would please her so she would stop bothering him.

“Why? You thought of me as an evil man, right? Then why is it that when I gave you the befitting answer for the image you have of me, you feel displeased? Am I evil, or am I not, Lady Xena? Make up your mind,” Rasmus asked, knowing the reason behind that expression on Xena’s face.

“I have the arsenal, the power to eliminate the demons, while you have none. You can play by my rules, or you can go and fight a losing war. You’ll bring more death than I, and you’ll lose everything,” Rasmus said as he stood up. “But don’t you ever blame me for not helping you. Because I already did, but you didn’t like it. So choose, how do you want to see your soldiers die?” he asked.

Xena shook her head and stormed out of the room, furious and sickened by Rasmus’s words. On the other hand, Thalior and Novia stayed in the room with him, silently listening to the whole thing.

“She left because she believed there was still another way, but you two are you staying because you know there is no other way, or because you’re still confused?” Rasmus stared at Thalior and Novia.

Thalior had experienced what Xena had experienced, which was Rasmus’s way of thinking and how brutal and heartless it was. However, he made a mistake by not listening to Rasmus, and the result? He made things a lot worse than what Rasmus offered.

“I’ll talk to her,” Thalior said and then left the room.

“What about you, Novia? Do you believe there’s another way?” Rasmus stared at Novia.

“No…” Novia shook her head, knowing how powerless she was in that battle back then. “I’m going to catch some fresh air…” she said and then left.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep