Yirald did not know what to do.
He stared at the arrow in his hand, and did his best to breathe in and out. He was so scared that he could barely move, however in this confusion, his mind turned onto fast forward and he began thinking at 1000 words per second.
'Kill them?'
'Do I kill them?'
'My comrades...'
'How could I kill them?'
'How could I kill them?'
'I can't do that.'
'Those lizardmen... did they truly succumb to the test and kill three of their own to become the slaves of these demons? I knew they were demons... I knew that better than everyone... and I came here knowing that.... I held onto hope. That's what it was. That was what lead me to this ruin... to this absurd decision. It was the fact that I hoped for a miracle where there was none to be found...'
He looked over to Relu and Fergo. Their heads were on the ground, and they didn't move a muscle.
Yirald had been through so much with them. Even if the three had come here to save themselves... Was that really the case? Yirald himself didn't even know.
Could he do it?
Would he survive if he did?
Even if he would survive, would he really be able to kill his own comrades to do so?
Would he be able to live with himself after performing such a heinous crime only to save himself?
"Do it, Yirald."
"Live on as the last birdman."
'These two... I can't believe them...'
Tears came to the face of Yirald.
How could they say something like this?!!?
Were they giving their lives for him?!
No.
He couldn't kill them.
Not after such a display of grandeur. Not after they selflessly offered themselves up for his sake. If they tried to cling to their lives, instead begging to be the one who killed Yirald, then perhaps he would have thought otherwise... but these were truly two good friends Yirald had made. He could not bring himself to be the hand who pulled the lever of death on such loyal friends.
"Forgive me, your excellency... may I call you that? I cannot kill these two."
Trevor walked in front of Yirald slowly with a look of disappointment on his head.
"It is fine to refer to me as your excellency. It seems that your love for your comrades exceeds any loyalty you wish to pledge to us?"
Yirald froze.
It was at this moment that he understood well that he was about to be killed.
Perhaps his comrades would be given a chance to survive instead of him... he was not fit to be the one to live on.
But would they not do the same thing he did?
They were willing to die for his sake.
Who was to say they would have the will to live at the cost of killing him?
Yirald bowed down with tears flowing down his face.
"Forgive me, your excellency! I cannot do it! I cannot become a monster and kill the two who I have spent my life with all these years!"
Yirald remembered back to his childhood- learning to fly with Relu, Fergo, Tora, and Erasalis.
'Come on, Yirald! Just jump from there! Even if you fall, it isn't too high!'
'No need to be scared! Just spread your wings and fly! You can do it!'
'Even if you fail, we are right here to catch you!'
Was his real sin leaving the other two behind?
Perhaps when they did so, they had already betrayed one another by budding off...
He remembered Erasalis, always experimenting with different exercising techniques, and leading the group into whatever trouble or adventures they could find themselves upon. Regardless of the situation, he always was able to take charge and encourage everyone else, and he always took the blame if they ever messed anything up. This was why he eventually came to be the leader of the clan.
Fergo, always studying- he couldn't keep his beak out of the books. Even as a child, he was nothing less than a genius. Among the birdmen he was always instructing others and helping when it came to practical problems. The birdmen were not an intelligent race as a whole, but Fergo made a point that one's birth did not determine their abilities by studying frivolously, and he had managed to design such grand scenery within the birdmen village as a result. The entire canopy paradise was made possible because of him.
Relu, always practicing his dancing and posing- always ensuring that he was the center of attention. He took the spotlight in each gathering, second only to Erasalis who lead everyone. He was adored by the ladies, and sometimes got a little overconfident- but he was a great friend to Yirald, and he never went so far that a good slap on the back and a hard laugh wouldn't fix things.
Tora was the bodybuilder of the group. He spent all day training and trying to refine his muscles. Sure, all the birdmen were infatuated with exercise, but Tora took that to heart, and was greatly overjoyed when Erasalis instilled it as a fundamental part of the birdmen culture. Yet now, with his wings clipped and his mind removed, he was reduced to no more than a husk of his previous self.
Yirald shook with fear.
He didn't want to die, but he also deeply regretted leaving those two behind- leaving their entire village behind.
If only he could do things over.
If only these demons did not descend onto this planet to become the pillar of chaos in a somewhat peaceful world.
The concept of peace is fleeting, and Yirald couldn't say for sure whether or not things were indeed peaceful without these demons... as a matter of fact, had they not existed the birdmen would be at war right now... but... this was a peace which was created through chaos, and ruled by fear. It was much more concerning than the roughly tranquil and simple problems which the birdmen had to face before.
"When the lizardmen came here", Trevor began to explain, "I knew without a doubt that the mother and the father cared deeply for their children. I could see the love and care in the way they treated them- in their expressions. Even though on the outside it may have seemed that they were fine with allowing their children to be killed, that did not mean that they did not show them the care that any good parent should show for their children."
Yirald looked up. What was this elf talking about? Children? Was he about to tell the story of how these lizardmen killed women and children to become their slaves?!
"I have met a parent... no, not just in this world... I know of many parents who did not care for their children. I could tell that even if those lizardmen parents raised their hands against their children to become our slaves... I could tell that they did it not out of a selfish will for survival... but because they truly wanted what was best for their children... unlike a certain other few parents..."
Trevor seemed to cringe and looked like he was about to spit on someone.
The spider people in the back seemed to react to his words with delight. They were beaming with smiles, and stood proudly at their positions behind the Determined, who had simply been watching quietly during the entire performance. The spiders looked... touched? Touched by the demonic and twisted views of the demon who stood in front of them in the form of an elf.
Was that the bar in order to become the slaves of these absolute rulers?
Did one have to have a sense of justice so twisted that it made a corkscrew seem straight?
"Those parents- despite the fact that they dearly loved their children, were willing to give them up... to kill them with their own two hands... because that was what was best for the children. It was not out of something silly like a desire to save themselves... no... quite the opposite. They were willing to allow themselves to live on and suffer, saving their children from the fate that they had put themselves into."
Yirald gulped.
"And so, the mother attacked her own children."
Trevor finished his story there, and didn't explain what happened afterward. His speech wasn't finished though.
"But you all... you three are different. You three are... friends? Comrades? Coworkers? Well.. whatever one may call you, your relationship is nothing compared to that which I could see in that mother with her child. So my test for you three was different."
'Different? In what way? Either way it would be a bloodbath.'
The blue demon now stood up and came close to the three to speak after being queued by the elf.
"You three... you left the others behind, no? You came here because of your own selfish desire to save yourselves... you were filled with greed and delusional hope... how shameless..."
It was as if his very heart and soul was being seen through by this demon. Yirald thought that her vein filled face glistened with a strange feminine beauty in the dim light that shone through the windows as she said this with a seductive yet disgusted tone.
"And so, your test was not to test if you would kill others for our sake. We don't accept scum like that into our dictatorship- people who kill only to save themselves. That lizardmen mother was not scum. She truly loved her children and did what she believed was best for them, until the very end.... but if you had selfishly taken the lives of your comrades, you would not have left here with your life either."
The red demon then stood up as well, stroking his chin with joy and intrigue.
"Well done, boys. You've become men. You have now lost all your rights- and in doing so, gained the right to everything."