CHAPTER 432: GUIDANCE.

‎Rasmus swung the sword around, feeling its weight that he still hadn’t gotten used to. The greatsword was almost as tall as him, and yet it felt lighter than a short sword. Every light swung he did, it released such powerful energy that it was enough to cut clean a big boulder of rock in half.

‎"You have never held a greatsword before, let me teach you how to wield it," Rullein jumped down from the tree and landed on the riverbank where Rasmus had been playing around with the sword for an hour.

‎Rullein approached Rasmus and stood beside him, slowly reaching for his hands and slowly guiding him.

‎"First, you need to be aware of its length and size, then use your whole arms and legs to adjust its range. Bend your elbows, knees, and back. Second, your footing, mind the weight of the sword and the possible energy from every clash, keep the balance," Rullein’s hand held Rasmus’ wrist while the other hand gripped on his shoulder.

‎"One-hand style’s movements depend on your shoulders to adjust the sword’s range. Good for flexibility and versatility, but bad at close range," Rullein taught Rasmus the moves, how to swing the sword using one hand.

‎Rasmus could feel the difference between swinging the greatsword using normal sword techniques and Rullein’s techniques. He felt his body adapted to the movements, following Rullein’s guidance and slowly predicting the next move at the same time as if the sword was guiding him as well.

‎"Two-handed style’s movements, mainly on your elbows, your fingers, and your palm. Good for mobility and stability but the movements are limited," Rullein made Rasmus hold the sword with both hands as she guided him from behind.

‎Rullein guided Rasmus and noticed that he had grasped the basics. The moment she let go of her hands and moved to the side to watch. She didn’t know how to teach him properly, that was why she used her hands to guide him rather than with words.

‎Not long after Rullein taught Rasmus the moves, Rullein noticed it, noticing how he moved so flawlessly. She didn’t teach him how to move his whole body yet, and yet he knew how to swing the sword with either one hand or two hands. At that moment, she saw a glimpse of Aristoria in him, a glimpse when Aristoria showed her how to wield a greatsword.

‎"So? Which one do you prefer? One-handed or two-handed?" Rullein asked with her arms crossed.

‎Rasmus stopped swinging his sword and stabbed it to the ground. He looked down at the sword, coming back to reality after he felt like he was in a trance.

‎"One hand, I feel like one hand feels right for me," Rasmus answered as he looked at the engravings on the blade, similar to the one that Aris made on their Black Steel Sword.

‎"I know you would choose one hand. It fits with your personality because one hand is unpredictable, flexible, and spontaneous. Your moves depend on the situation, and will choose what’s the best possible outcome. On the other hand, two hands are more grounded, it requires discipline, and your moves are less creative," Rullein explained with a smirk on her face.

‎"Aris, you, and my mother, the three of you wield a greatsword with one hand. I have seen you and Aris wield the swords, and I guess that explains your personality and Aris’s," Rasmus said and nodded with understanding. "I’ll train more, but for now..." He paused to look at the woods. "It’s time to focus on everyone’s movements," he saw Erdinand and Ayla coming out of the woods, approaching him from across the river.

‎Erdinand and Ayla came back and reported about the situation in the Mayne Castle ever since Rasmus burned the castle. A few hours after Rasmus left the castle, Arandil commanded everyone to abandon the castle and to start moving to the capital city. They feared the demons would come for them once the demons found out that Rasmus was no longer there.

‎Half a day after Arandil and the others abandoned the castle, reinforcements came. Arandil told them the truth of what had happened at the Mayne Castle and ordered reinforcements to escort the refugees to the capital city. The news about what had happened spread around the Sun Empire, making Rasmus the most wanted person in Central Neva.

Ayla reported about Nemu’s force that had grown exponentially after Nemu had managed to defeat the demon army. His name and his followers attracted people who were in fear of the demon invasion because so far, the only one who could defend themselves from the demons was Nemu and his followers.

"What about Lady Eveline and the refugees from the north? Any news from them?" Rasmus asked.

"We haven’t received any information from them yet. We are planning to meet with the other Blackhands that are currently in the capital city of Sun Empire. It appears they have found another lead about the Ringleaders and their master," Edrinand answered. "They might have heard anything about the refugees from the north as well, so we will go there as soon as we finished reporting this to you, Count," he added.

Rasmus hummed with understanding and let those two rest since they had been working nonstop for the past few days. After he watched those two leave and went back into the woods, he continued his training under Rullein’s guidance.

A few days had passed, Rasmus was taking a bath in the river, completely submerged and lying down at the bottom of the clear water. His eyes were open, staring at the sunlight that was trying to blind him. He watched the fish swim above him, unaware of his presence until suddenly his surroundings shifted, the space around him morphing. He immediately swam to the surface, but the moment his face came out of the water, he was in a giant spacious bathroom and in the bathtub.

Rasmus wanted to move his body, but his body couldn’t move or to be exact too weak to move. He then heard a familiar hum behind him, and when he tried to turn his head, his head felt heavy and he almost fell to his back. Luckily, there was a hand that held the back of his head and prevented him from falling back.

"You’re here again..." Aristoria’s soothing voice was coming from behind Rasmus.

Rasmus felt a hand guide him around and slowly but surely he saw Aristoria in front of him, sitting beside the bathtub. He realized that he was taking a bath, and realized he came back to the past again, possessing his younger self, a baby who couldn’t even speak a single letter. He was startled when Aristoria suddenly picked him up and cradled him in her arms and wrapped him in a warm towel.

Aristoria placed Rasmus on the bed carefully and gently put baby clothes on him. She couldn’t stop smiling and staring at him, the love in her eyes for him was strange and foreign in his eyes. After she finished, she lied down beside Rasmus on her belly, staring at him with a gentle gaze.

"So? Where are you now? What kind of things you have done so far since the last time we met?" Aristoria asked, gently caressing Rasmus’ cheek with her index finger.

Rasmus stared into Aristoria’s eyes with doubts and suspicions that Aristoria could see them in his eyes.

"I see, you must have found out about something," Aristoria slowly rolled over and lied down on her back, staring at the ceiling. "What did you find? There are so many questions that I want to ask, but you’re still too small, too weak to speak. But is it about me? About my purpose? Your purpose? My successor’s purpose?" She turned her head to look at Rasmus.

Rasmus blinked his eyes slowly, answering Aristoria’s question with his gesture.

"I see, you must have found out a lot of things... perhaps you have found Erglade’s journal?" Aristoria raised her brows.

Rasmus once again blinked his eyes, answering Aristoria’s questions.

"I have no idea what’s happening out there, in your timeline, but I can see it in your eyes that you don’t trust me at all. Something must have happened to you, and I know that it must be because of us, me and Erglade’s faults..." Aristoria muttered, staring at the ceiling and letting the wind from the balcony brush her pale white skin. "Is the future really that grim?" She turned her head to look at Rasmus.

Rasmus blinked not once, not twice, but thrice, and that was enough for Aristoria to understand that the future was far worse than she could imagine. Rasmus wanted to ask a lot of things to her as well, but he couldn’t. He knew he could use the Dragon’s Breath to go to the Void Realm to find his mother, but he thought that his mother in the past, in this moment was different from the one in the Void Realm, something about her that was still a mystery.

Rasmus felt sleepy that he couldn’t resist because he was a baby, and the breeze of wind made him even sleepier after that warm bath. Aristoria looked at him for a moment and gently placed her finger in between Rasmus’ eyes and caressed it, making him unable to resist closing his eyes. As soon as he closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

"I hope we can see each other again," Aristoria muttered and kissed Rasmus’ forehead.

The moment Rasmus opened his eyes, he was lying on the riverbank with Rullein staring down at him with her brows raised.

"Did you fall asleep underwater? You almost drowned down there," Rullein said with her arms crossed.

Rasmus slowly sat up and pulled his hair back, feeling dizzy.

"I just got back to the past and met Aristoria again..." Rasmus said as he got up.

"Oh? What did you two talk about?" Rullein asked.

"Nothing much, nothing important," Rasmus answered as he shook his head and put on his shirt and trousers.