Satan looked down at her plate, a piece of bread, cheese, cherry tomatoes, roasted chicken, and thin slices of beef. She looked at her plate longer than she should, but then the sound of bread being ripped in half made her lift her head. She stared at Rasmus, who was sitting across from her, at the table where only the two of them existed.

"Who would have thought we would be sitting at the same table and enjoying a plate of meals together," Satan said with a soft voice. "Seeing you so unbothered, it’s quite... pestiferous," she pointed out with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Rasmus crushed the cherry tomatoes on the bread before he ate it and put the cheese in his mouth after. He looked at his surroundings, Queen Anastasia, Serena, Aris, Marina, Agnesia, Ermaine, Illidan, and the Orthias were sitting at the big table. He then looked at Satan while he took a sip of his wine.

"You’re not afraid that Aris or Serena might kill your beloved little girl over there?" Rasmus responded as he stared at Ermaine.

Satan raised her brows, looking at Rasmus before she turned her head to look at Rullein. She watched Ermaine being surrounded by Illidan and the possessed Orthias. She knew if Aris had decided to kill Ermaine on the spot, it wouldn’t be an impossible task.

"What do you think? If a figure that’s prophesied to be the symbol of the end of time, the apocalypse to die before it happens, would He allow it?" Satan asked back as she ripped the piece of bread and put the crushed cherry tomatoes on it just like Rasmus did.

Rasmus never thought the answer would involve God, and how Satan casually spoke about it and ate the bread. He could see the slight rise of her brows when she tasted how decent the food was.

"I don’t speak about God and predict his way of thinking," Rasmus answered as he wrapped the cherry tomato with a thin slice of beef.

"Me neither, but wouldn’t it be peculiar if prophecies could be easily prevented? Prophecies are meant to happen, just like back on Earth where prophecies still existed. Books proved that they were inevitable, unchangeable, unpreventable," Satan nodded and copied what Rasmus did.

Aris, Seren, Ermaine, and Illidan, the four of them glanced at the separate table in the big hall. They looked at their leaders, the ones who led everyone on both sides to be sitting across from each other and eating their meal so casually.

"Is that what you believe, or is that what you want me to believe?" Rasmus asked and ate a cherry tomato.

"Does it even matter? There are truths in that statement of mine," Satan answered, her eyes never leaving Rasmus, observing every pulse, every air he breathed.

Rasmus realized what Satan was trying to do to him, to put the Seed of Idea into him. Satan was a being who never deceived, but she was a being who gave humans ideas that challenged them and made them walk to their demise. If he didn’t believe in her, he ignored the truth, but he believed in her, he would turn truth into belief, a far worse outcome.

"Agree to disagree," Rasmus nodded and took a sip of his wine.

Satan leaned forward and observed Rasmus’ face from up close, resting her elbows on the table while her chin rested on the back of her stacked hands. Rasmus on the other hand, he still enjoyed his food without showing any sign of nervousness or fear.

"Are you pretending to be calm or are you truly calm?" Satan asked with her brows arched.

"Does it matter?" Rasmus stared into her eyes, and he could see how she observed his heterochromatic eyes.

Satan hummed, and for the first time, she showed a genuine smile when she looked at Rasmus. She then reached for Rasmus’ plate, pulling it away from him so he could stop eating, to see his reaction. Rasmus on the other hand, he looked at her, with his brows furrowed. He could see the way she looked at him was like seeing an animal that she found it adorable, and she would do anything to see any reaction from him.

"Aren’t you capable of seeing people’s mind and thought? Why bother ask if you could find the answer?" Rasmus asked under his breath and reached for his glass of wine.

"You would be surprised that I can’t read everyone’s mind. I only read those I’m allowed to. And you, I have no power to look into your head, He doesn’t seem to like that idea," Satan chuckled softly.

"I never thought you would reveal such a thing to someone you’re supposed to make him lose," Rasmus replied, but deep down he wondered if that was the case or not because Satan could be hiding half of the truth.

"My, my... I might have talked too much," Satan pressed her fingers on her lips, but there was a mischievous smile that she didn’t plan to hide. "But I suppose, the idea of Him showing a shred of favor would make you feel uncomfortable in a way," her smile widened.

Rasmus usually enjoyed having a conversation with a unique mind, but not Satan. He knew his limitations, he knew that trying to win over a being who had no desire of free will when given by God, no desire to use the heaven’s knowledge for her own gain, and no desire to claim the throne when she was the closest to it. If there was a being with restraint, Satan would be the greatest creation even compared to the angels since they didn’t possess free will.

Rasmus sighed as he leaned back, trying to be as comfortable as he could be in that moment. He ignored Satan’s provocation, her plan to see ideas into his head. He knew enough that God did challenge him through Videl to see if he could destroy a better and more complex world compared to Earth. That statement alone was enough for him to think that God wanted to watch him do his best with challenges that had been prepared. The idea of God giving him a favor, he already had that conclusion a long time ago, but he didn’t need to speak it out loud to Satan.

Satan narrowed her eyes slightly, finding Rasmus’ way of dealing with information to be suspiciously calm. She had met countless of humans, saints, and people with utmost loyalty to God back on Earth, but all of them faltered and became vulnerable the moment God was the topic, when she made them believe God believed in them. She wondered how Rasmus perceived God, and his relationship to the being who created him.

"join me, Rasmus," Satan spoke with a serious expression.

Rasmus was trying to listen to the conversation on the other table where the others were, but then he froze for a moment when he heard Satan’s offer. He glanced at Satan and saw nothing but a serious expression with a genuine desire to have him by her side.

"I’ll give you whatever you want, and I mean it," Satan said, and she hadn’t blinked her eyes ever since her offer.

"Even if it’s to let me and Videl win the bet with God?" Rasmus asked with a serious expression.

"Yes, I will immediately send everyone away from this world. They will never question me and they will follow me wherever I go," Satan answered without hesitation. "If that’s what you want, we will disappear before the sun completely disappear into the night," she added.

Rasmus furrowed his brows, and for the first time he showed a glimpse of surprise and confusion. But even so, Satan didn’t care about that anymore, she cared about what kind of response he would give.

"Why is it that a being who wants nothing has decided to have a desire to want something?" Rasmus asked with a serious expression.

"Because this desire has nothing to do with my purpose of existence. I want you, that’s all I want. No orders, no rules, nothing," Satan answered without any ulterior motives or any deception in her words.

Rasmus stared into Satan’s eyes for a few seconds without saying a single word. He closed his eyes when he suddenly stood up, and that gesture alone was enough to make Aris and Serena move their attentions to him. The room became eerily quiet.

"Then try to win. In the end, the winner takes all," Rasmus said then walked away, leaving the hall.

Aris and Serena knew that they didn’t want to stay in the hall anymore when Rasmus had decided to leave. The two of them excused themselves and hurriedly followed him out of the hall.

Satan sat there, completely shocked that she couldn’t hide the huge smile on her face. The more she spoke to Rasmus, the more she wanted him, and that was when she realized she had a reason to win, not out of obligation.

"What had just happened back there?" Aris asked as she walked beside Rasmus.

"I just gave her a reason to fight for us," Rasmus answered with a cold expression.

Aris and Serena looked at each other, they both looked confused and had no idea what Rasmus was talking about.

"But you refused her offer. You even challenged her to win, how’s that making her to fight for us?" Serena asked with a confused look.

"Exactly that. Which means, she she can’t let anyone else take me," Rasmus answered, but his expression stiffened. "But I also had just awakened a desire to a being who previously had none. That’s also not a good thing," he revealed.

Aris and Serena looked at each other once again, and they realized the danger of the fire that Rasmus was playing with.