The Kind of Evil

‎Rasmus stopped his horse, staring at the distance with a stoic expression. His draconic eyes and ears could see and hear the sounds of footsteps in the distance. The rustling sound of heavy armor and the heavy thuds on the ground filled his ears. ‎Aris and Rullein calmed their horses as they stared at the hundreds of knights and mages with different banners in the distance.

"Looks like some people don't value their lives..." Aris said, looking at her surroundings to see if there was any demon that instigated this whole situation. "No demons..." she muttered.

"That's not surprising at all. The moment some people lost their purpose, their minds always fall to embracing death," Rasmus muttered as he got off his horse and pulled out his cane. "I'll deal with this. I owe them to satisfy their anger and desperation. I caused this," he said and began to walk toward almost a thousand army with the cane in his hand.

Aris and Rullein stayed on their horses, watching Rasmus walk toward the army who had nothing to lose. They didn't need to be on guard or to make sure Rasmus was safe because they knew those knights were no match for him.

The knights raised their banners up high, showing from which lord they served. They had lost their lords, ladies, their families, and friends that were in the capital city of the Refenus Kingdom. So many knights and mages came from different nations, and they all stood side by side to face their source of pain and loss.

"Count Blackheart!" A man shouted his lungs out, glaring at Rasmus standing in the distance with the cane in his left hand. "You killed innocent lives! The lives that matter to us! Our brothers, sisters, our nieces, our nephews... everyone. You're a monster!" His voice was shaky with unshed tears.

"I am," Rasmus responded as he stood tall and kept his head high as he stared at them.

The grudges, anger, hatred, and disgust were written all over the knights and mages' faces. One of the mages raised his staff and began to cast magic formations, and the others followed suit. They combined their strength to create a greater spell, a Solar Orbs that appeared from the sky similar to fireballs but with much greater intensity and destructive power.

Rasmus glanced at dozens of blinding bright orange orbs in the sky that slowly grew bigger and bigger as the Sun fed the orbs. He slowly looked down and rested both hands on the cane, embracing the rage.

The moment the Solar Orbs flew down and hit the ground, the deafening blasts and explosions filled the air. The ground trembled like a heavy earthquake, and they could see chunks of dirt flying around. The rapid explosions were like endless airstrikes, and nobody could survive if they were inside it.

When the bombarding stopped, they saw thick smoke of dust lingering and floating in the air. They were hoping that it would be enough to kill Rasmus, however, when they saw Aris and Rullein still in the distance, unbothered, they all became anxious. The moment the dust thinned out, they saw Rasmus's silhouette, still standing still with his hand rested on his cane.

Rasmus slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head, unscratched by the destructive spell. There was no sign of arrogance or smugness in his eyes or expression, just an unreadable stoic expression. His eyes on the other hand, he reflected the anger, hatred, desperation, and fear of the army in front of him.

"He's a monster..." The mages muttered under their breaths, their hands shaking uncontrollably. They didn't have the strength to even lift their staves, or to be exact, they didn't have the will to wield them anymore.

"Argh!" A knight screamed his lungs out as he charged toward Rasmus, brushing off all his fear.

Everyone watched as the knight jumped down to the small crater and climbed back up to reach Rasmus. The knight coated his sword and body with Aura as he swung his sword at Rasmus. However, the moment the sword hit the Mana barrier, his sword flung off the knight's hands.

"Coward!" The knight screamed in front of Rasmus as he began to use his fists to punch the Mana barrier rapidly. "Fight me! Fight me!" He glared at Rasmus as his gauntlets began to bend and dent, hurting his own knuckles and fingers.

Rasmus stared at the desperation in the knight's eyes as he removed the barrier and began to grab the knight in the throat. His hand crushed the knight's windpipe before he snapped the knight's neck and killed him. It happened so quickly that the knight couldn't even scream in pain or even feel it happening. Rasmus released his hand from the knight's neck, watching it collapse in front of him with the knight's eyes wide open, still filled with unsatisfied rage.

The silence was deafening. The knights knew they couldn't win, not even with numbers on their side. Still, one of them raised his sword, eyes burning with fear, anger, and desperation. He stepped forward and that was enough to make the others follow. It wasn't bravery, it was fearlessness, the kind born when nothing was left to lose.

Rasmus drew his sword from the spatial ring and met their conviction head-on. Their fury and hatred couldn't smother the bitter respect they felt. He accepted their challenge, not as a victor mocking the fallen, but as a warrior acknowledging equals. This battle wasn't about who would survive, it was about fighting with the same determination until the end.

The knights charged and screamed off their last shred of hesitation and the lingering emotion. Rasmus swung his sword, clashing with a few knights at the same time before he overpowered them and swung his sword horizontally. The heads of the knights rolled to the ground as he clashed his sword with the next wave of attack.

"He could kill all of them in an instant, why is he waiting his time?" Yur asked, tilting its owl head, confused.

"In the human world, this is what they call respect. Rasmus has never belittled others, underestimated others, he sees them and gives them recognition if they're worthy of it. Right now, he's basically giving granting them their last wish before death embraces them," Aris answered, watching the numbers of the fallen knights increase significantly in every breath she took.

Rasmus moved so swiftly and no matter how many swords and spears that reached him, he could dodge them. Every arrow that could pierce through his heart, they ended up hitting the ground. Before each head fell, he locked eyes with them as if speaking without words, as if granting them acknowledgment in death. He didn't show disappointment or excitement, he only did and showed what was necessary in every life he took.

"He's not even using Aura, just his Orthias bloodline strength," Rullein smirked, as he watched the greenfield turn red with a pool of blood.

The loud battlefield from clashing steels, heavy armor dropping to the ground, and screams, it slowly and eerily became quiet. The screams of determination and fearlessness slowly replaced with the screams of fear and regret. However, it would soon disappear, leaving only nothing but silence.

Rasmus stood there, in the middle of the battlefield with almost a thousand bodies around him. Not a single one of them suffered, or that their deaths were prolonged, he gave them all a quick death. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, letting the silence linger more before he decided to walk back, leaving the pile of dead bodies until a single amber appeared in the air and slowly moved to the ground. The amber turned into a blazing flame that melted everything, to respect the dead.

"Are you going to deal with these weaklings again from now on?" Rullein asked with her brows raised. "I know you're not enjoying it, so why don't you just kill them not like it matters how they died," she watched Rasmus climb his horse and settle in.

"Yes, maybe there will be less of them in the future. Not everyone is stupid enough to throw away their lives, they will choose to cherish what they have left instead," Rasmus answered as he gently kicked his horse.

Aris and Rullein followed Rasmus and continued their journey to the Cerdentis Kingdom. They were only a few days away from their arrival, and they had heard information from the Black Hands about the situation there. Nemu seemed to have gathered more powerful people and nations to his palm.

"The Queen of the Cerdentis Kingdom is one of your student's older sister. Are you planning to kill her as well or are you going to spare her?" Aris asked.

"That depends," Rasmus answered, wiping off the blood on his body and suit. "Whether she stands with the people or not. Just like those knights, is she willing to waste everything away or appreciate what she has left."