Based on the report, Rasmus watched the armies from the top of the city wall gather outside the capital city, preparing themselves before they marched to the Verdnan Kingdom, where the full force of the demons was seen. He then glanced at the wagons filled with sacks of letters from every soldier for their families. Those letters were their last string of longing for going back home and their last string of longing for comfort.

“Count Blackheart, Lady Aris,” Astrea bowed her head at Rasmus and Aris. “We will march soon. How do you feel?” She asked as soon as she lifted her head.

“We are ready, Your Holiness,” Rasmus answered as he lowered his head at Astrea.

Astrea smiled faintly as she stared down at the one hundred thousand soldiers beyond the city’s walls. She placed her hands on the railing and kept that smile on for almost a whole minute. The silence was comforting for her, and that would be the last thing she would feel comforted by before she set foot out of the city.

“Isn’t humanity beautiful, Count?” Astrea turned her head to look at Rasmus.

“Which part of it, Your Holiness?” Rasmus asked.

“The part where we are united to save humanity, the purest form of what humans are created by God,” Astrea answered and then looked at the soldiers again.

Rasmus didn’t want to argue with Astrea’s perspective because he wanted to respect her moment of serenity. He didn’t react or respond to her statement, nor did he bother to consider her words and what she felt.

“Count, there’s no need to be so quiet. Just be yourself, no need to be considerate,” Astrea chuckled softly at Rasmus. “Be the pain that brings me back to reality,” she turned around, fully facing Rasmus.

“Tragedy can be beautiful, Your Holiness. The thing you find beautiful will turn into a tragedy for humanity later on,” Rasmus said as he stared at the commanders laughing and smiling at their soldiers. “They sacrifice themselves for millions of lives, they’re willing to do so. But what would their families say? Would they be willing to let go of the ones they loved? If you said that it was the act of selflessness, weren’t they also selfish for leaving behind their families because they wanted to?” He asked.

“Humans are complicated. What’s beautiful for some, others will think otherwise. They want to think it’s beautiful because they choose it that way, not because it is,” Rasmus continued.

Astrea smiled as she stared at Rasmus, finding his way of thinking as fascinating as ever. She wished there was someone like him by her side, someone who would stand against her view but honor it at the same time.

“Then what’s beautiful in your perspective, Count?” Astrea asked.

“If I knew, I would have done something to achieve it, Your Holiness. Perhaps, what I’m doing right now, being myself for who I am, and how I thread my path would be the path to achieve that thing you questioned, Your Holiness,” Rasmus answered as he stared into Astrea’s eyes.

“But again, as you said, what you believed to be beautiful, the others would think otherwise,” Astrea chuckled, realizing the true words of Rasmus.

Rasmus smiled and closed his eyes as he nodded in agreement.

Astrea suddenly approached Rasmus and stood right in front of him as she stared directly into his eyes. She slowly put her hands on Rasmus’s cheeks, cupping them gently, putting Rasmus in a bit of discomfort. She stood there and stared at him for a moment before she took a deep shaky breath.

“Count, if I’m going to die in this war, I want you to protect my child, my only child, Aurelia. She will be the future saint, the saint who will guide the world on her own. She will face so many types of evil in this world, and I know she won’t be able to do it alone, so can I ask you a favor to protect her from them?” Astrea asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rasmus kept a straight face as he stared into Astrea’s eyes, and he could feel her hands trying to grasp onto his cheeks even more firmly.

“What if I’m one of the things that you fear, Your Holiness? Aren’t you worried that I’m going to be the thing that you’re afraid of that will happen to her?” Rasmus asked.

Astrea smiled on both her lips and in her eyes when she heard his question.

“If you’re evil, you wouldn’t be standing here with us, Count. If you’re good, you would have prevented evil from lurking. You’re neither, and I want you to stay that way. Be the law of nature that can wipe both sides when it’s necessary,” Astrea answered with confidence and without hesitation.

“Please, Count?” Astrea frowned, but kept the smile intact. “Can you promise me that, for me?” She asked.

Rasmus closed his eyes and nodded.

Seeing Rasmus’s response, it made Astrea’s hands tremble and ragged as she breathed. She slowly closed her eyes and nodded repeatedly, not knowing how to express her gratitude. Aris was staring at both of them from the side, not understanding what it was all about and why Rasmus had agreed to Astrea’s request.

Astrea slowly pulled her arms away from Rasmus’ cheeks as she took a few steps away. She then bowed her head once again at him before she excused herself to be with the others.

“You have been giving promises to two people in less than a day. Are you planning to accept and listen to their requests now?” Aris asked as she stared at Rasmus with a stoic expression.

Rasmus stared at the distant sky and slowly formed a smile as an answer to Aris’s question. Aris raised her brows when she saw his response and decided to brush it off since it wasn’t an important question in the first place, only curiosity. They both then went down from the wall and gathered with the rest.

Rasmus, Aris, and Javi wore their armor and put their helmets on before they left the city gate. The three of them walked side by side in the middle of the thousands of soldiers as the last people who had left the city to go to war. They were being stared at, and they knew who they were.

“Our survival depends on their actions,” Lenin said, standing among great figures like Thalior, Astrea, Xena, Uriel, and Agnesia. “They’re the shield, the blade, and the head of this whole army. We move when they make a move, it’s that simple,” she continued as she watched those three approach them from a distance.

“For the better or worse…” Thalior muttered as he nodded in agreement.

“For the better or worse,” Astrea smiled as she stared at Rasmus who walked in the middle. “Everything is subjective and a matter of perspective, isn’t it? Don’t overthinking it, Your Grace,” she smiled at Thalior and then looked at the front where the evil had descended and resided in the world of the living.

“Someone has finally let go of her last string of regrets,” Lenin looked at Astrea with a big smile on her face.

“Don’t be silly, Chancellor. We still have regrets in our hearts, it’s just that we are ready to face it,” Astrea smiled as she glanced at Lenin.

“You’re still the best student that has ever enrolled in the academy, Your Holiness,” Lenin chuckled, reminiscing about the time when Astrea was still a young adult and enrolled in her academy.

Astrea lowered her head, smiling as she remembered when Lenin was still a strict Chancellor who always gave her unnecessary tasks and lessons. She was grateful that Lenin had tempered her heart and mind so she could survive in the real world. It had been more than two decades, but it felt like yesterday at that moment.

Rasmus, Aris, and Javi got on their horses and lined up with Astrea and the others who were waiting for them. Everyone looked at Rasmus and nodded their heads at him, asking if he was ready. Rasmus looked at them for a moment before he turned his head to the front and pulled down his visor.

Thalior unsheathed his sword and raised it up high, pointing it at the sky. All the soldiers put on their helmets, and the sound of steel clanking was unified, echoing throughout the peaceful day. The moment Thalior’s horse began to move, the others followed almost instantly, marching to where death welcomed them with open arms.

(At the same time, on an island)

Videl stared down at the body of the dead Saint that he had dug from the ground. He watched the casket’s door move, and a pale hand appeared from the gap, pushing the door further.

“Welcome to the world of the living, Lilith,” Videl grinned as he stared down at the beautiful young woman with bright yellow hair and pale skin who tried to sit up.

“I’m not Lilith, at least based on the memories of this woman’s body,” Lilith responded as she brushed her silky smooth hair.

“Oh? Then who are you?” Videl tilted his head and raised his brows.

“Serena…” Serena answered as she got up from the casket and got out of it. “Serena Valentine…” she muttered as she looked up as the sunlight sipped through the leaves and hit her face.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep