The Kind of Evil

Chapter 608 - 608: An Anchor.

"I was surprised when I heard you wanted to leave," Anastasha said as she walked the hallway, staring at Rasmus. "Where to?" She asked and stood in front of him with a smile on her face."Khan Empire," Rasmus answered with a serious expression.

Anastasha's smile faded away when she saw the seriousness on Rasmus' face. She hummed and nodded with understanding before she put a serious expression as well. She already knew what kind of conversation Rasmus had with Zechariah from her mother, but she didn't know why suddenly Rasmus wanted to make a move.

"Give me a moment to pack my things," Anastasha said as she looked out the window behind her. "While you wait, you all should meet with my mother for one last time. She have something to say to you," she pointed out.

"Yes, the maid came and informed us that your mother wanted to see us in her chamber," Rasmus said and heard the door behind him open. Aris, Rullein, and Serena walked out of his chamber.

"Okay, I'll be right back," Anastasha nodded and looked at them before she walked away.

Rasmus and the others went to the other side of the castle to meet Natia. When they arrived, the door into her chamber was already open, and they walked in to find her sitting on the carpet. There was no opioid scent nor thick smoke in the room, and she let the sunlight bathe her room. She looked less lifeless, her skin wasn't pale and she was wearing something more appropriate this time.

"Have a seat," Natia muttered, her voice still as lazy and soothing as usual. She pointed at the cushions next to the table in front of her. "I have prepared this special drink for all of you. Something that I thought you might enjoy more than the tea you had last night, Count Blackheart," she smiled lazily and pointed at the teapot on the table with her left hand.

Rasmus and the others sat on the cushions and watched Natia pour the drink into their cups. She then signaled to them to give it a taste of the drink she had prepared for them. Rullein was the first to grab the cup and take a sip of the drink while everyone waited for her reaction. The moment she swallowed the drink, her eyes widened and a huge smile appeared on her face.

"What's this? This is delicious?!" Rullein looked at Natia with a stunned expression.

"What else? It's poison," Natia chuckled softly. "All the opium that I had consumed in the past decade had dulled my power, now that I have stopped consuming them, I have regained my power, allowing me to produce more powerful poison. Although, I can make something hundred times more stronger than this one once I recovered all my power," she explained.

Rasmus, Aris, and Serena grabbed their cups and took a sip of the poison that Natia had made for them. Unlike the poison tea that Rasmus drank last night, this one tasted more like a liquor with a strong floral and fruity taste, sweet and bitter at the same time with a hint of refreshing and cold sensation on the aftertaste. Every sip gave a strong numbness feeling to their tongues and brains, almost feeling like they were getting drunk.

"Oh, wow..." Serena was stunned as she covered her lips with her fingers. "I can get drunk with this! My divine power can't easily neutralized the poison..." She pointed out and looked at Natia in disbelief. "You have no idea how much I have been wanting to get drunk, Lady Natia. Thank you..." She smiled gently at Natia and lowered her head to show gratitude.

"If that's the case, perhaps I must make a few bottles of this," Natia smiled lazily at Serena and nodded.

Aris didn't need to say a word but her expression was enough to tell that she enjoyed the drink just like Rullein and Serena. However, she looked at Natia with a confused look, noticing something was off.

"You stopped dulling your power, meaning you're planning to regain your power. Consuming opium for a decade and decided to stop in a single night, and for what reason?" Aris asked with her brows furrowed.

Rasmus closed his eyes and took another sip of the drink after he listened to Aris' question. On the other hand, Natia's gaze turned blank as she stared at the teapot.

"As a Great Spirit that has lived in this continent for as long as I can remember, I can feel something is about to happen. It's what humans called it an instinct," Natia answered as she took a deep breath. "It's the movements of the other Great Spirits. I can sense them. Right now? They're flaring throughout the sky, like an animal trying to look big toward the threat that's approaching," she pointed out as she looked out the window.

Aris immediately used her draconic eyes and it was as what Natia had described. The sky was covered by silk cloths of various colors, waving through the vast sky. It was similar to when she felt the presence of divinity from South Neva, the night sky turned bright like the sun. She slowly got up and looked toward Southwest and still saw the divine power that flared to the sky and to her Northeast was where the colorful cloths were waving through the sky.

"Rasmus, do you think the angels might come here? If they found out what was coming to this continent was no other than Videl himself?" Aris asked as she stared at Rasmus with normal eyes. "After all, the Angels are also after Videl," she added.

"Then we might be trapped here," Rasmus answered as he opened his eyes. "I might be trapped her," he corrected himself.

Natia glanced at both of them back and forth, sensing something more dangerous might hit the continent.

"No plans?" Serena raised her brows and stared at Rasmus.

"Dealing with the uncertainty of that possibility? None," Rasmus answered as he shook his head. "But if I weren't alone, there's a possibility that I might be able to pull off," he pointed out as he put down the cup, not wanting to indulge in the numbness anymore.

Rasmus looked at Natia who had been staring at him like a predator. Natia could sense and smell desperation, but there was something else that made that desperation feel like motivation. She saw something similar a long time ago, and that was when she was with Zechariah during his time fighting for succession.

"Can you tell us about the land of the Great Spirits?" Rasmus asked with a serious expression.

"There was once a man who asked the same question, and risked my existence for that man because I gave him the answer he wanted," Natia sighed as her fingers brushed on the teapot. "It's a land where the living aren't allowed to visit or even to see. It's a sacred land and only the chosen can step foot there. That land has Great Spirits who have shaped Neva after the True Dragons went extinct. It's not a nest, it's an anchor. Removing them is equal to letting nature let loose of its restraint," she answered with a cold expression.

Rasmus looked at Rullein with his brows raised, and then Aris and Serena turned their heads to look at her as well. Natia tilted her head slightly when they looked at Rullein, and so she turned her head to look at Rullein with a curious look written all over her face.

"Can you do it?" Rasmus asked Rullein.

Rullein emptied the cup and licked her lips, not wanting to waste even a single drop of the liquor. She put down the cup and slowly a grin formed on her lips as she stared back at Rasmus.

"You should ask when, not if I could do it," Rullein chuckled mischievously.