Chapter 384: Halfway.

‎Aris, Rullein, and Yur stared at Rasmus who had just entered the room. Their eyes were focused on something around him, something that he began to see as well. The real depiction of Mana and energy, floating in the air with various colors.

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‎”You have awakened half of the power within you,” Aris said as she stood up and approached Rasmus with a glass of champagne in her hand. “Do you see it now?” She asked with her brows raised.

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‎Rasmus looked at the overflowing blue energy around Aris that had turned into Mana. It was the first time he saw the Orthias energy, their life essence, perhaps the purest form of Mana. He then glanced at Rullein and saw nothing but an abyss around her. A whirlpool of black smoke, moving in a circle that seemed to devour every Mana that got caught in it.

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‎”Yes, I can see everything now,” Rasmus nodded, looking at Yur and the light green that came out of its body. “Yours is blue, Yur’s is green, and Rullein’s is pitch black…” He pointed out as he looked at the three of them. “I can smell them too,” he added as he tried to find the difference in smell for each color that existed in the air.

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‎Rasmus remembered what Aris said about the different elements in the air that existed in the air. Each color represented a different element, and this time Rasmus could see them and smell them. He could smell hydrogen, oxygen, and the other elements in the air, something that he never thought it was possible. The smell wasn’t strong, it was so subtle and yet it was easy to distinguish one from another.

“Welcome to our world,” Rullein smirked and took a sip of her whiskey. “Now you’re a part of us, a transcendent being, beyond human’s capability.”

Rasmus hummed as he walked toward the table to have a drink. His face was a bit pale after he had just pulled something that even humans on Earth couldn’t possibly do. His hands were shaking both from exhaustion and excitement after what he had just created in the spatial space.

“What did you do? You shook the whole tower,” Aris asked.

“An experiment,” Rasmus poured a glass of whiskey and downed it in a single gulp.

Aris raised her brows, curious about what Rasmus did, and it always intrigued her when it came to him. She had seen enough of how he interpreted every information and knowledge, turning them into something that even Orthias couldn’t think of. Before she could ask, they heard a knock on the door and Lenin’s voice.

Lenin walked in with Novia, still shocked by what had happened in the Magic Tower. Rasmus didn’t know that he had just shaken the whole floating island with his experiment. The island was big, and whatever he did in the spatial space that was supposed to separate the two realms, both realms felt it.

“Count, I don’t think you can get away with this,” Lenin said with a serious expression, staring at Rasmus who was still shaking. “I’m talking about the damage you have done. No money could fix what you did, so what are you planning to do to pay for it?” She asked with her arms crossed.

Novia was surprised and anxious at the same time when Lenin chose to confront Rasmus in front of Aris and Rullein. She knew how risky it was because she knew too well that Lenin wouldn’t even be able to win against Aris if Aris chose to make Lenin shut her mouth or even kneel. She glanced at Rullein, seeing that thrill in Rullein’s orange eyes that reminded her of something primordial, a dragon.

“What do you want to pay it with, Great Sage?” Rasmus asked, filling the glass with whiskey again. “If it’s something I can afford, I’ll consider it,” he muttered and took a sip of the whiskey.

Novia was mildly surprised that Rasmus chose to entertain Lenin’s demands. She found it illogical and weird that Rasmus seemed to agree when he could easily brush it off and used power to shut Lenin down. This had always been the thing that made her so puzzled when Rasmus was an evil man but somehow being reasonable.

“Your next move, I want to know your next move. What are you going to do from here? Where are you going? What’s your plan?” Lenin asked as she walked toward Rasmus, ignoring Aris and Rullein.

Novia had never seen Lenin to be so straightforwardly desperate. She had been by Lenin’s side almost her whole life, and she had never witnessed something like this. She was a bit anxious when Lenin decided to double down on her demands after knowing Rasmus would consider it.

“That’s a quite cheap price to pay for what I did,” Rasmus said as he emptied the glass and put the glass on the counter. “I have no plan, Great Sage. I have done what I needed to do. I’m waiting for the war to break, that’s the plan,” he answered, staring into Lenin’s eyes.

Lenin stared into Rasmus’s eyes, searching if there was a sign of deception. But what she found was nothing but the truth, and she knew him well enough that he had never lied before.

“If that’s a cheap price, then I’ll demand something else, Count,” Lenin said as she poured a glass of whiskey for herself. “When are you going to join the war? Are you going to be the hero once again just like in South Neva?” She asked, downing the whiskey in the glass.

“It’s interesting that you said that when you, Archduke Thalior, and the others were the ones who fabricated that hero thing toward me,” Rasmus smiled as he shook his head. “How was it? How does it feel now when you tried to bind me as a hero figure, believing that would stop me from killing innocent lives?” He asked back.

Lenin didn’t say a word and kept staring at Rasmus. She knew it was a mistake, or perhaps a useless effort to bind him from doing what he pleased. Not only did that make them look like fools, they felt responsible for giving him the advantage of being a hero and lowered everyone’s guards because of that image they gave him. She knew that she was responsible indirectly for the deaths of those people that Rasmus had killed.

“To answer your question, no, I don’t care about being a hero or a mass murderer. I’ll join the war the moment you all fail to stop the demon forces,” Rasmus answered as he exhaled deeply, pouring whiskey into Lenin’s glass. “If you really want me to feel powerless, to make me lose my footing, try to win this war without me,” he stared into Lenin’s eyes, filling the glass full before he stopped pouring the whiskey into Lenin’s glass.

Lenin narrowed her eyes, wondering if it was a trap or if it was the truth. At that point, she didn’t know anymore, but one thing for sure was that if humans could win the war without Rasmus’s help, it would give humankind hope. She looked down at the glass in her hand before she put it down.

“You think I’m foolish, Count?” Lenin asked with her brows raised. “Lady Erlina and Carrion are your people, and we at the Magic Tower do need their Mana stones for this upcoming war. That alone is enough to say that you have helped us indirectly. Not to mention Saint Serena and your butler that are on Aurelia’s side right now. They’re all your people, and as long as they’re there, you’re indirectly helping us. No matter what we do, you’ll always be the one who controls the board while we are just your pawns. Isn’t that right, Count?” She asked with a cold gaze.

Rasmus smiled, knowing that Lenin would see it and could see through his plan. However, it was already too late for her or Aurelia to get rid of him and his people. They were placed in a perfect spot that removing them would only stop the gears from moving entirely.

“You have planned all this before you even set foot back in Central Neva,” Lenin said, realizing it was too late, or perhaps she was unaware of that in the first place.

“Do you think I’m that amazing, Great Sage?” Rasmus asked with his brows raised, crossing his arms.

“Hmm, I don’t have time for this, Count. I have somewhere else to be, so thank you for your information, and have a good day,” Lenin smiled before she turned around and walked away.

Rasmus watched Lenin and Novia leave the room, and then Rullein walked to the counter, taking Lenin’s glass of whiskey and drinking it.

“She’s bold, I like her,” Rullein said and kept sipping the whiskey.

“She’s a Great Sage for a reason,” Rasmus nodded in agreement.

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