Aurelia groaned and felt how dry her mouth was, waking her up from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and could tell that she had been asleep for a long time. The first thing she saw was a tree right above her with the sound of chirping birds.
"(Where am I?)" Aurelia slowly turned her head to the left. "(A forest?)" She furrowed.
"You must be thirsty," Rasmus looked at Aurelia who looked confused by her surroundings. "Don't get up. I'll help you drink," he said as he took a wooden cup from the fire pit.
Rasmus gently put his right hand under Aurelia's head and lifted her head slowly. He warned her that the water was a bit hot since he had just boiled it.
"Your hand..." Aurelia looked at the piece of shirt that was wrapped in Rasmus' left hand and the fresh bloodstain underneath it.
"It's the only way to keep me sane. I had to carry you away from people and that's why we are here right now," Rasmus explained as he gently rested Aurelia's back against the tree. "Worry about yourself for now," he pointed out as he walked back to the fire pit.
Aurelia closed her eyes again because she still felt a bit drowsy. She listened to Rasmus add wood to the fire which was quite calming and relaxing because of the crackling sounds.
"How did you do it? Nobody could contain my divine power except for my mother," Aurelia slightly opened her eyes to look at Rasmus.
"Everyone has a limit, so I did nothing and let you be until it stopped," Rasmus lied and checked the rabbit meat that he had grilled.
"And you endured it?" Aurelia raised her brows, compelled by Rasmus's amazing control over his mind to resist her power.
Rasmus didn't say a word and showed his left hand to Aurelia because it was enough to answer her curiosity.
"Are you hungry? If you do, I leave your share here," Rasmus put in a wooden bowl next to the fire.
Aurelia approached the fire pit and looked at the delicious rabbit meat in the bowl. She sat down and took a bite of the meat, shocked by how juicy and tender it was, and especially by how tasty it was.
(4 hours ago)
"Do you know what's happening to her?" Videl asked as he rolled up his sleeves. "If I open her eyes, you should be able to understand," he pointed out as he sat down next to Aurelia and reached out to her face.
Rasmus was slowly losing his mind, but he wanted to see what Videl was trying to do. He leaned his right shoulder against the tree and looked down at Aurelia's eyes. He was disturbed when he saw Aurelia's pupils become narrow like a cat's eyes with a bright golden color after Videl opened her eyes with his fingers.
"What's happening to her?" Rasmus asked as he pressed his left wrist, blocking the blood from going to his hand. His eyes were barely open because of the drowsiness and because of the divine power that lured him to worship Aurelia.
"You're an erudite, so you must have heard about Nephilim..." Videl answered as he closed Aurelia's eyes.
"Yes, they were mentioned in the book of Genesis. They were half angel and half human. Are you saying she's a Nephilim?" Rasmus furrowed as he looked at Videl.
"No, but she will produce one if we don't prevent her body from getting devoured by an angel," Videl answered as he put his hand on Aurelia's chest. "Right now, she's slowly being possessed by an Angel because they like her. How disgusting..." he added and released a black smoke from his fingertips.
Rasmus watched as the black smoke wrapped around Aurelia's body and seeped into her pores. He watched Aurelia's body twitching, resisting the unknown power that went into her body. He could see that she was disturbed by it, but she couldn't do anything.
"You called yourself holy and pure, yet your curiosity is as forceful as mine. What a disgusting and hypocritical being you are..." Videl pulled his hand from Aurelia's body, pulling out the black smoke that went inside Aurelia's body forcefully.
Aurelia's body got lifted into the air when Videl pulled his hand up. The moment she fell to the ground, her divine power disappeared, and it put Rasmus at ease. But Videl looked in pain after he did all that, especially his hands that were shaking uncontrollably.
"It's done. You can be at ease now," Videl shook his right hand, trying to get rid of the divine power that lingered on his hand like it was something filthy.
Rasmus let out a big sigh as he slowly slid down to sit under the tree. He looked at Aurelia's condition and noticed she was sleeping so soundly. He ripped his shirt to be used as a bandage for the wound on his hand.
"I haven't asked. How are you feeling?" Rasmus glanced at Videl who seemed oddly quiet and he could see Videl's eyes were blank as if he had tons of thoughts in his mind.
"That was my last string," Videl answered as he sat and massaged his right hand. "I never thought I would use my last power to save a life, ironic," he chuckled in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," Rasmus looked at Videl with a serious expression.
"A God's word can mean a thousand things, a sentence can have millions of meanings. If you try to understand, you'll lose yourself, but believing it blindly, you're as lost as trying to understand it," Videl pointed out as he closed his eyes. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?" He looked over his right shoulder to look at Rasmus.
"So this bet that you made with God, he played tricks against you?" Rasmus asked back as he looked at Videl. "Is this the end? That everything is just a set-up? That makes both of us believe it's possible to ruin this world?" He added.
"You're not wrong, but what do you think?" Videl sighed as he looked at Rasmus. For the first time, he showed vulnerability to Rasmus.
"Let's talk about this later..." Rasmus said as he lowered his head and looked at the wound on his right hand.
(Back to present)
Aurelia was enjoying the rabbit meat, and then she heard the sound of someone stepping on a wooden branch. She looked toward where the sound was coming from, and she was surprised when she saw Lenin.
Rasmus glanced at Lenin, surprised that it took her a while to come to see him even though she had been watching him for hours.
"It seems that you managed to solve the problem that you caused, Instructor Blackheart," Lenin said as she looked at the food and the fire pit. "There's no need for an explanation because I have heard everything from your students," she stared into Rasmus's eyes with a serious expression.
Rasmus nodded with understanding while Aurelia looked at both of them with a confused look on her face.
"You took the first warning when you caused significant damage to the dormitory. Luckily there were no casualties from your action, but this time, you harmed everyone in the academy, more than you imagined," Lenin said calmly with her sharp gaze that looked menacing. "The damage you have caused has harmed everyone, more than you can imagine, Instructor. This is your second warning, Instructor. One last warning, and you know the consequence," she reminded Rasmus.
"Yes, I understand, Chancellor," Rasmus nodded calmly.
Lenin nodded back and then walked away since there was nothing else to discuss and knew that Aurelia was in a good hand.
"What was that all about, Instructor?" Aurelia furrowed and looked at Rasmus.
"You must have heard about it from the trial. I was given three chances to prove myself worthy of teaching in the academy. I have used two, and I only have one left, then I will be kicked out if I make another scene," Rasmus explained as he fed the fire with logs.
"But it was my fault..." Aurelia frowned, feeling guilty about her action.
"You wouldn't scold a knight for bad behavior, you would scold the captain instead. It's my responsibility, so there's nothing else that needs to be discussed," Rasmus looked at Aurelia. "Finish your meal, and then we can go back to the academy," he added.
Aurelia nodded as she ate the rabbit meat quietly.