The Kind of Evil

‎Josh was still in disbelief that the person in front of him was the young master, the son of the late Count Erglade Blackheart. He could see the resemblance of the master he had sworn his loyalty and life to. He looked at the cold expression and the way he stood was similar to Erglade, full of confidence and mystery.

‎"Josh..." Erd glanced at Josh who hadn't kneeled.

‎Josh snapped back to reality and immediately went down on one knee. He lowered his head, still with a shocked expression. His mind still couldn't process that Rasmus had survived on his own for more than a decade.

‎"Young Master, I..." Josh was speechless, couldn't utter his joy and disbelief. "Joshua Beryl is at your service..." He said proudly as he hardened his expression and slowly lifted his head to look at Rasmus.

‎"Erdinan Renafel is at your service, Young Master..." Erd said as he slowly lifted his head to look at Rasmus.

‎Rasmus looked at both of them, observing their worn-out attire and weakened bodies. He could tell those two had been living a hard life, a life that nobody would want to experience.

‎If it wasn't because of Yur who observed them silently and communicated with Aris telepathically, Rasmus wouldn't know who those two were. Rasmus chose to help them when Yur mentioned that those two talked about the Count, and how those two were strong enough to survive against a dozen possessed.

‎"You mentioned about the others, who are the others?" Rasmus asked as he looked at Erdinan. "I don't know who you two are, but your loyalty is oddly admirable," he said as he looked at Joshua.

‎"Young Master... we were the Black Hands, a secret and elite division of the Blackheart's knighthood. We swore our loyalty and life to serve the Blackheart family," Erdinan answered as he lowered his head. "There are fifty of us in total, the remaining ones..." He added.

‎"We have become nomads for almost fifteen years... We were—" Before Joshua could reveal the story behind their fate, Rasmus raised his hand toward them, making him stop talking.

‎"You two are exhausted, let's find a safe place for you two to rest. This isn't the time for a reunion, we need to get out of here first to remove our traces from the demons," Rasmus said as he looked at the distance and the damage he caused that might have attracted the demons.

‎Joshua and Erdinan nodded with understanding, and when they were about to stand up, they saw Aris walking past in between them. They couldn't feel her presence at all until they saw her from the corner of their eyes. They slowly turned their gaze toward her, witnessing her blueish silver hair, an Orthias, just like the Countess Blackheart.

‎Aris stood beside Rasmus and commanded the horses to come. Yur flew and landed right on Aris's shoulder, hooting at Joshua and Erdinan. The two of them looked like mountains in Joshua and Erdinan's eyes, something that they could never climb.

‎The Young Master that Joshua and Erdinan remembered, a cheerful and full of curiosity had turned into a man. The man in front of him who had nothing could reach far beyond what his father could reach, it was both petrifying and inspiring.

‎‎After they managed to leave the woods and went far away from the scene, they decided to take some rest on the hill. It was a perfect place to scout their surroundings without any blind spots.

‎Joshua and Erdinan made the campfire while Rasmus and Aris sat there, treated like masters. It was a peaceful evening, however, the silence was a bit too much for Joshua and Erdinan.

‎"The Black Hands. I have heard about it once from my father," Rasmus said, recalling the memories from Rasmus's childhood. "But I don't actually know what the Black Hands do," he looked at Joshua and Erdinan who sat across from him and Aris.

‎"The Black Hands were made to become the sole hands of the Blackheart family. We don't exist in the world, our world solely revolves around the Blackheart family. We were chosen and raised by the elders of the Blackheart," Joshua answered as he stared at Rasmus with determination.

‎"We did all kinds of things, Young Master. Assassination, embezzlement, fraud, manipulation, stealing, surveillance, and extraction. We follow what the current head of the Blackheart family orders us to do," Erdinan added as he put more branches into the campfire.

‎Rasmus had never heard anyone mention the Black Hands. In the memories of Rasmus's past during the execution, he didn't remember anything about the Black Hands either. He only remembered that all the Blackheart's knights died during the rebellion, leaving only his late father and mother. That meant, the Black Hands lived up to its name, didn't exist in the world.

‎"Young Master..." Erdinan stood up and immediately bowed down to his knees, his face touching the grass, unbothered by the heat of the campfire. "We weren't able to find you, and we failed to protect you when your whole family got executed. We were ordered to hide during the rebellion, we had no choice..." he said as he clenched his fists, furious at himself.

Josh looked at Erdinan and didn't follow him because he knew that it was pointless to apologize. He knew that it was too late, and apologizing would do anything. However, when Rasmus and Aris glanced at him, his heart stopped beating as if he was being judged for not groveling.

"He knows it's pointless to apologize, and I agree with him, so please stand up, Sir Erdinan," Rasmus said as he looked at Erdinan. "You were following orders, and there's no reason for you to apologize in the first place," he added.

Josh sighed in relief, and he never thought the aura that Rasmus emitted was similar or even more threatening than his late father, Erglade. He slowly lowered his head, feeling like he should have groveled and done exactly the same as Erdinan.

Erdinan slowly lifted his head and nodded with understanding as he took a seat beside Josh.

"Tell me, how did you two end up being chased by demons? How did they know who you are, and why they hunted you down?" Rasmus asked as he looked at both of them.

"We were searching for you, Young Master. We heard the news in South Neva that you became the hero who defeated the demon forces. That was when all of us decided to get back to our feet, gathered in one place to plan on finding you, Young Master," Josh said as he stared at the campfire with his eyes narrowed. "When we heard you were in the Holy Nation, we tried our best to reach you, but somehow the demons knew our intentions and who we were," he continued, staring into Rasmus's eyes.

"In the end, we were hunted by demons, forcing us to hide. If we didn't make a quick decision to retreat, we would have died a long time ago," Erdinan added.

"I heard from Great Sage Lenin that the demon forces have occupied the Blackheart's territory, is that right?" Rasmus asked.

Josh and Erdinan shared a look, thinking about what to answer, but then Erdinan took a deep breath as he nodded.

"Yes, Young Master. They burned everything to the ground, there's nothing left of it. They managed to erase the remaining image of the Blackheart from the world," Erdinan answered as he clasped his hands together, staring blankly at the fire. "They tried to find all the secrets that the Blackheart had gathered and dug into demonic cults. However, during the rebellion, we were the ones who managed to take those secrets away, putting them in a safe place for you to find, Young Master," he continued.

"Yes, Young Master. Your late father, Count Erglade had planned everything from the beginning. He wanted to let you find out the whole truth about this world, and he wanted you to use it, to get rid of them for whatever reason you have, Young Master..." Josh added as he nodded.

Rasmus didn't say a word as he listened to the sound of the crackling campfire. He began to connect the dots and found out how threatening the Blackheart family was to the world. If he could compare it, the Blackheart family was the only one who dove into the abyss of lies and gained all the power to destroy everything that was built with lies. However, that wasn't his main priority, but rather the thoughts of those two and all the members of the Black Hands.

"You two had followed my father and the Blackheart family. I want to know what do you think of them?" Rasmus asked with a stoic expression and cold gaze.

There was only silence for a few seconds because it was hard for Josh and Erdinan to answer such a question.

"We don't know, Young Master. We have never thought of that before, and we believe whatever they did, it was for to erase something that shouldn't exist in this world," Erdinan answered. "We see everything as a target or to ignore, nothing more, Young Master," he continued.

Rasmus closed his eyes as he nodded with understanding.

"Then you can follow me. My vision and my predecessors are the same," Rasmus said as he flicked his finger and put out the campfire in an instant without leaving a single trace of smoke. "Now, bring me to where the others are," he said as he got up.

"Yes, Young Master. They're all hiding in the Trivula Forest," Josh nodded as he stood up.

Rasmus slowly raised his brows when he heard the location, aligning with his destination.

"Lead the way," Rasmus said as he covered his head with a hood.