A cloud of black smoke flew and descended in front of Aris when Rasmus and Rullein came out of it. Rullein had to devour the demonic beasts that Rasmus had killed, which was why she arrived along with him.

"Don’t mind me..." Rullein turned into a big puff of smoke that expanded as wide as the bodies of the demonic beasts scattered on the ground.

"Looks like Agnesia and Marina are still fighting the wyverns," Rasmus stared at the dark clouds in the far distance with the fierce flashes of lightning that struck whatever was in their paths.

"It’s not as intense as before. They might have taken control over the situation there," Aris nodded and stared at the heavy storm. "I don’t sense any demonic beasts here. We have cleared this side," she pointed out.

"The damage is quite devastating. A few big cities and dozens of villages and towns. At least a million lives from this alone," Rasmus crossed his arms, watching the corpses evaporate and become one with the black smoke. "What’s next? There should be more of them out there, finding new nests for them to hide since the True Dragon is dead," he turned to look at Aris.

Aris also thought the same thing, knowing that not all the demonic beasts were going to invade the human nations. West Neva was a big continent and it had the most forest and caves compared to the other continents. It would be hard to hunt them all down, and she didn’t care much about killing them all as long as the humans were safe.

"We will let the humans deal with the rest of them. Our job here is done," Aris answered and watched the black smoke turn into Rullein. "Let’s regroup with the others," she looked at Rasmus and nodded her head.

The sun was setting and everyone had finally gathered once again. The day was long, especially for Rasmus and the others who fought the corrupted True Dragon. Doloran and the rest were exhausted after the chase and the fight to the point they decided to camp on the field.

Everyone fell asleep as soon as they could lay down except for Doloran, Lance, Rasmus, Videl, and Rullein. Aris was sleeping as well because she had been through a lot. She was sleeping next to Rasmus and unconsciously holding onto Rasmus’ suit. Yur was guarding Aris by sitting behind her back.

"Lady Aris looks tired..." Doloran said even though he didn’t dare to look at her sleeping face, believing it was disrespectful.

Rasmus glanced over his shoulder and could listen to Aris’ slow breathing. This was the first time he saw her sleeping because she had never slept since the first time he met her. The white blue-ish hair covered half of her face but not her pink lips that contrasted with her pale skin.

"A True Dragon..." Doloran tried to have a conversation because the silence was too much for him. "If all of you didn’t join the expedition, this continent would have been flattened by now," he said quietly.

When the True Dragon was mentioned, everyone vividly remembered the moment when it emerged from the mountain. Doloran and Lance realized how insignificant they were as living beings compared to a True Dragon.

"It’s not the True Dragon that you need to be concerned about. That thing is already dead and it only came back to life because of that thing that you all called as The Mother," Rasmus said and poured himself a glass of cold whiskey. "Right now, the numbers of the Demonic Beasts might have been decreased by a lot, but not all of them. They’re going to hide, reproduce, and worse, there might be more of that thing called The Mother deep in this land," he pointed out.

"This land might have more secrets that you think. Now that it has been revealed, what do you think the demons would do? How many uncharted areas on this land? How many mountains, how many islands. Efiva Mountain might be one of the many, you just haven’t seen it yet," Rasmus said and took a sip. "Now all of a sudden everything else doesn’t seem to matter anymore," he muttered and put his glass down.

Doloran and Lance went quiet and stared down at the red liquor in their glasses. Rasmus was also quiet, but his quiet was different than usual. He could feel something gnawing and crawling on his back. He felt that he had lost his grasp on the very thing that he needed to keep it at bay. The humans weren’t weak but the threat was beyond human capability, and the more he understood, the less he was certain about everything.

"The humans would argue once again, believing every solution they had would solve the probelm," Rullein chuckled softly as she glanced at Doloran and Lance. "You’re all going to waste your time, and in the end, all of you will be powerless in the face of that problem," she smirked, learning enough about human nature after her whole time following Rasmus.

There was no reason for Doloran or Lance to deny Rullein’s accusation because they had seen a True Dragon with their own eyes. The world had seen the might of a Primeval being and if there was anyone who believed they were capable of stopping that, it would be delusional.

"It’s not just the humans, we are also running out of time..." Rasmus said as he slowly got up. "The Saints are powerless, the ones who have sworn to protect humankind are weary, and the people are desperate..." He looked at the ones sleeping. "But the enemy, they feel none of that. They’re growing in numbers, they’re reborn, they’re getting stronger, and the worst part. They learn and adapt," he looked up at the stars with his blank stare.

"You sounds like you’re giving up already, Count," Doloran said as he stared at Rasmus’ stoic face.

"Is that how you see it? I suppose there are moments where you can only sit down and let the dice rolls," Rasmus narrowed his eyes, staring at the certain star that seemed to be blinking.

"You’re betting on the downfall of humankind?" Lance asked with his brows furrowed.

"Yes, but also giving the third party an opportunity to win," Rasmus answered as he looked down at Lance.

"The third party?" Lance arched his brows.

"The third party," Rasmus nodded.

Videl who had been so quiet slowly glanced at Rasmus, knowing exactly who the third party was. The cultists that Rasmus spared, the ones he made deals with, the ones that worshiped the Zevrathi family, the ones that could bring divine beings into the world of the living through sacrifice. He despised that idea, he despised the angels because they were nothing but slaves of God in his eyes. The worst part, those slaves were an unstoppable force unless God ordered them to stop. However, deep down, he didn’t expect that Rasmus could see it this far, and sparing those cultists seemed to be the right choice.

"(You’re just a human, but your mind is of an oracle)" Videl thought before he averted his gaze and minded his own business.

At the same time in the massive underground cavern where thousands of people wearing white robes and masks to hide their identity standing in line. The flickering torch and the echoes of droplets were the only things that filled the silence. They all stood there, staring at the 24 bodies covered in white cloths on the altar, laying them side by side. They weren’t dead bodies, they were drugged to the point they were in a deep sleep state.

A jasmine scent suddenly filled the cavern, making all the cultists drunk as the fire on the torches intensified. The cavern was dimly lit, but now it became so bright that it looked like they were being exposed to sunlight. Then suddenly, they heard footsteps from behind them that echoed throughout the cavern. All of them immediately went down to their knees, still feeling drowsy and drunk by the relaxing scent.

A tall person walked past the cultists, wearing a long white robe that got dragged on the ground, a hood that covered the hair and a golden mask that covered the face. The man walked onto the altar, staring down at the 24 bodies that were laid on the stone table. The figure slowly brought its hands onto the chest, clasping them together.

"We offer thee... the holy vessels," the figure with a soft and soothing man’s voice echoed throughout the cavern. "Evil has come, a promise has been fulfilled. Grants us your power, Lord..." the man spoke softly.

In an instant, the torches were extinguished simultaneously. All the cultists lowered their heads and kept kneeling as they prayed to the Lord.

Minutes had passed, and nobody stopped praying, following what the man was reciting. The unified repeated words filled the darkness until suddenly one of the bodies began to glow. Everyone began to pray even louder as they clasped their hands tighter.

The body glowed brighter and brighter until suddenly the body burned into ashes in almost an instant. There was no scream, no pain, just an instant death. Then the next body glowed, meeting the same fate as the previous one. However, the third body didn’t burn, it kept glowing brighter and brighter until suddenly the light dimmed and lingered on the skin.

The body slowly sat up and pulled the cloth that covered its body, revealing a man with a lean and muscular body. The man’s eyes were closed still, but he could see his own glowing body. When the glowing light around his body disappeared, he opened his eyes and revealed his glowing white eyes.

"Welcome..." The masked man lowered his head and bent his knees. "Oh, Holy One..."

The man stared at the cultists with glowing eyes before he turned his attention to the masked man. The man slowly spread his arms open and raised his head. It didn’t take a while when the remaining bodies to light up. Out of the 21 bodies, 8 of them survived and got up from the altar. They all stood side by side in front of the masked man with their glowing eyes.

"The Great Prince has a message for you, Aston Zevrathi, son of Osirus..." All the glowing eyes people spoke in unison. "Bring more vessels for us to reside in and your wish will be granted."

The masked man nodded his head. "Yes, Holy Ones..." Aston slowly raised his head with his glowing bright yellow eyes that were filled with rich and pure divine power in them. "For Our Lord, we will bring as many as you need..." Aston bowed and let the the mask he wore touch the ground.

The 9 Holy Ones stood there as they watched all the cultists bow to them.