The Kind of Evil

Chapter 600: Shrink.

‎The evening party’s atmosphere was way lighter than the gathering that morning, or at least for Anastasha. However, for her siblings, they were busy maintaining their connections with their supporters and allies. Her siblings were confused because a few of their supporters had decided to back away from the battle, believing they were unworthy or too ambitious with their desires.

‎What shocked the guests were the announcement of the two sons of Zechariah who backed down from the successor position. It wasn’t Zeke or Zoran, but the two younger brothers that had so little influence from their little factions. Those two declared it during the family gathering in front of the elders and Zechariah. Their reason was simple, it was because of Anastasha, who had been recognized as a successor by Zechariah.

‎The party looked normal for the new guests, not those who were there during the gathering. However, the words had spread, all of them had heard of what had happened in the morning. They all looked for Anastasha, they wanted to see the woman who wished destruction for her own family. Many of the guests didn’t like the Asghar family due to the power they held over the people of the continent, but they knew obedience was the only way of survival.

‎Anastasha became the center of attention, they wanted to know what she was planning, to see if she truly meant what she said. She never had the chance to be alone even for a second because wave after wave of people came to greet her.

‎On the other hand, while the siblings were busy maintaining their foothold, Zayn was as calm as ever. It wasn’t arrogance, it wasn’t ignorance, it was an assessment of the situation.

‎Rasmus, Aris, Rullein, and Serena were on the side of the hall, away from the others. Their focus was on something far more important than the political game, it was the revelation of what was going on in South Neva. However, Rasmus couldn’t escape the board that he had decided to join when Zayn suddenly walked across the hall just for him.

‎"Count Blackheart, do you have a moment?" Zayn said with his head held high as he stared Rasmus in the eyes.

‎Zayn had observed Rasmus long enough and noticed something was different about him. The one he saw during the gathering, Rasmus looked arrogant, but at this moment, Rasmus looked nothing like the one from before. Something about Rasmus that made Zayn see a man with a gaze that looked beyond the mountain while others were busy admiring it.

Rasmus glanced at Aris and the others, he didn’t need to say a word or make a gesture because they already knew. Aris and the others then walked away, leaving him behind with Zayn while Anastasha couldn’t help but stare at her brother, wondering what he was scheming to approach Rasmus.

"You have every continent under your palm, and yet here you are trying to conquer another. People with ambition and power would choose to maintain the ones that already in their grasp, making sure nobody would dare to take what was theirs. And yet, here you are, doing something that no people with power would do," Zayn said with a serious expression as he maintained eye contact with Rasmus. "What’s your purpose? What is it that you’re after that those continents couldn’t give?" He asked.

"A man with your stature should already grasp the answer behind your question, Young Master," Rasmus answered and glanced at Anastasha.

Zayn slightly furrowed his brows before he glanced at Anastasha. He knew that Anastasha planned to bring down the Asghar family, he knew that she planned to break the tradition where blood was required to sit on the throne. She wanted reformation, and Rasmus supported her cause, meaning he wanted the same thing. However, he knew that Rasmus was someone who would see beyond that, perhaps wanted what was after the reformation.

After Zayn used that conclusion as one of the foundations to grasp what Rasmus was after, he thought of all Rasmus’ achievements in the other three continents. Rasmus was involved in all the wars in South Neva and Central Neva, and that was when Zayn managed to connect the dots to the foundation. He realized that Rasmus had managed to reform South Neva, removing conflicts through wars against demons, and erasing unnecessary factions. Rasmus did the same thing to Central Neva, reforming it into one solid continent and calling it Centriva. He then looked at what happened in West Neva, and he knew Rasmus had left that continent a lot faster compared to the two, but that was because of an appearance of a Saint, Ermaine. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"You want unification..." Zayn concluded from the information that he had.

Rasmus casually swirled the glass of wine in his hand, not reacting to Zayn’s guess. That alone was enough for Zayn to understand that wasn’t the correct answer. With that gesture alone, Zayn wondered once again if unification wasn’t the goal, it meant Rasmus looked even way further from that.

"You want a new world?" Zayn narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I’m not that ambitious, Young Master," Rasmus answered as he took a sip of his wine. "But that would be one of the consequences of what I’m after," he pointed out.

"Consequences? You called such a thing as consequence?" Zayn was mildly shocked. "If that’s not the goal, nothing in this world can give you what you want," he pointed out with his brows furrowed.

"Who said what I want is in this world?" Rasmus asked back and stared back at Zayn. freewёbnoνel.com

At that moment, Zayn felt like he shrunk, then the palace, then the whole mountain, then the whole continent followed by the other continents until the whole world felt small, existing beneath the man in front of him. He would find that ridiculous, he even laughed at people with ambitions to unify East Neva, but this time, he couldn’t react at all.

"Is there anything else you want to ask, Young Master? If not, I have an important matter to discuss with my wives," Rasmus said and made Zayn snap back to reality.

The deafening silence from Zayn’s perspective suddenly dispersed, the chatter and laughter of the guest began to fill the hall once again. He gave a simple nod at Rasmus and watched Rasmus walk away to be with Aris and the others once again. He looked at the people around Rasmus. He would call Rasmus’ words lies or pretentious, but seeing Aris, Rullein, and Serena on his side, he knew it wouldn’t be hard for Rasmus to rule the world, but that wasn’t the truth.

"(You decided to join the board of power, and yet you moved without following the rules and moved as you pleased without any consequences. You’re not playing like the rest of us...)" Zayn thought as he walked away with his gaze fixated on the throne.

Anastasha glanced at Zayn through the guest that surrounded her. She could see the deep in thought based on his calm and impassive expression.

"Did you find what you had expected to find?" Anastasia asked with the folding fan covering the lower half of her face.

The guests that surrounded Anastasha immediately walked away when they realized she was talking with Zayn. They didn’t want to be seen as favoring Anastasha in front of Zayn or their lives would be in danger.

"You wanted to see our world burn, didn’t you?" Zayn glanced at Anastasha with a cold gaze.

"More or less..." Anastasia smiled with her eyes.