The gates of freedom have opened. Despite her incredible rage, Gren pulled back and made way for Axel. The exit was in front of him. Thus, he went ahead.
Nyeander let go of him, dropping onto her knees. She watched as Axel stepped through the doorframe with tears streaming down the side of her face.
Emma stood silent, a vein bulging out of her forehead. Anger clouded her thoughts, so much so that she did not realize how hard she was clenching her fist, digging her nails into her palm, and drawing blood.
Yet, even in such a dark situation, there was a glimmer of hope. Despite the pouring rain and burning ruins, Nyeander saw a single star in the night sky. That star was named Axel.
As he stepped through the door, Gren's father made way. He would have attacked the boy, but his daughter's words left him in a state of shock.
"Oh, right," said Axel, stopping in his track, "I almost forgot…"
"What?" Gren growled, "Shut up and go! You should feel lucky I let you away."
"Actually, you were the one being lucky that I almost forgot."
"Forgot what?"
"Compensation. Give me money!"
Utter shock, followed by silence.
Gren's eyelid was twitching. She laughed out loud, mocking Axel.
"You… You want what? Excuse me? Are you blind? Can't you see the situation you're in?"
Axel shrugged. "It's raining pretty heavily. If you don't pick up the pace and give me my cash, I'm going to get a cold."
Gren gritted her teeth together, churning forward the sound of two heavy metal disks being scraped together.
"Are you retarded? Are you out of your mind? You… I could squash you like a bug! I stand atop hundreds of kilos of flesh bowing to my every command! And you… You're asking me to pay you?!"
"Uh-huh," Axel nodded. "Compensation for your assumptions."
"You're way out of your league here, kiddo," Gren commanded the flesh to bring him on an eye level with Axel. It brought her close enough to have her feel Axel's every breath.
There is a truth to reading one's breathing. Volume, rhythm, pauses. Every little aspect tells a lot about the state of a person. Whether they are in distress or pain, whether they are scared, you can tell these and a lot more all by concentrating on one's breathing.
Gren leaned closer to get a sense of Axel's breathing. She wanted to feel his greed; that greed that made him turn back to the abyss and stand on the edge again. She needed to feel it as it breaks down, as Axel's yellow-colored glasses break in halves when the abyss stares back.
That fear would be a proof of greed. That fear would be the proof of sin.
Yet… there was no breathing.
"What?" Gren's instinct screamed. "Is he not breathing? Is he holding his breath?"
Axel stared her back in the eye in complete silence.
"Does he know what I'm doing? Does he know I'm waiting to check his breath? If so… is that not enough proof of his sin? To conceal something so simple as his breathing so desperately… only those hide who have something to conceal!"
At that moment, as if he was reading her mind, Axel moved. His eyes narrowed. His mouth opened. He pulled away, but Gren followed.
"Yes, yes! Reveal it! Reveal your sin!"
And as such… Axel sneezed.
"Huh?" Gren froze, sneeze-drool covering her face.
"You see?" Axel wiped his nose. "I'm gonna' catch a cold if we stand around any longer. Pick up the pace and catch me my gold!"
Ba-thump!
Gren's heart pounded against her ribs.
Ba-thump!
Her eyelids twitched uncontrollably. This was the last straw. She could not be patient anymore.
Roaring at the top of her lungs, she pulled away, the meat tower erecting into the sky like a totemic idol. "How?! How can you be such a moron? Imbecile! I offered you freedom despite what you did to my arm! I would have let you go! And yet you remain just to beg for cash?! I will squash you like a bug, idiot!"
Meat tentacles burst out of the monstrosity, each possessing a spear-sharp end. They danced around furiously, ready to impale the infuriating boy.
A grotesque, terrifying sight.
However, Axel showed no signs of fear. Rather, something else.
"Excuse me?" Axel locked his arms. "Are you threatening violence against me? Why? I have done nothing to upset your moral compass. In fact, I did an excellent job leading a perfect life. I have never hurt anyone! So why are you threatening violence against me?"
"Shut up!" Gren shouted.
"And what is that nonsense about letting me go? I'm a free man! Why, did you want to imprison me like the others? How come? I have lived a perfect life."
"I did not know!"
"Then why didn't you ask? Did you just assume I was evil? Woah. That's rude."
"You are the only exception I've met!"
"And how do you know that? Did you ask the people you tortured? Moreso, even if you did, did you offer a thought to what they said? Because the way I see it, you pushed them around until you found something to stigmatize. Even then, I know you did not search for any real sins, but things that gave you the freedom to assume. That's no better than what high school girl groups do."
By now, Gren's anger turned sour. Despite quite literally towering above Axel, she felt tinier and tinier with every word.
His aura was incredible, his stance, his locked arms…
He has become the monument of judgment.
And finally, Gren was judged.
"I see," thought Nyeander with a quiet smile, "The reason Gren has not killed him yet is because he's exploiting Gren's subconscious!"
Thinking back on what she heard Gren say in the basement, how desperate she was for reassurance of her deeds, it all finally made sense to her. Even if she was a psycho, there was guilt buried deep in Gren's heart and an even stronger wish to be reassured.
"It must have plagued her to do all those horrid things and never face any consequences. In a strange way, Axel is giving her exactly what she wants," Nyeander's thoughts run.
However, that was not all there was to it. Axel's secret lay in magic.
For a person to use magic, they had to meet a variety of different criteria. The basis of them being a soul.
Magic worked based on your soul's power, but more directly, based on the thing that fuelled your soul. For warlords, that was anger and bloodlust. For adventurers, it was the money and the unknown. And for psychopaths like Gren, it was the reassurance of the outside world of what she had done was right.
Like a judge desiring to serve justice, Gren desired to judge those she deemed sinners. However, this desire was the by-product of Gren's greatest fear, her fear that she was not the saint she wanted to be.
Based on what little interaction they had, Axel was able to deconstruct Gren's entire existence to a single ball of fear that gained power with every little reassurance. He used this knowledge to find that pearl she hid within and crack it open to shove a mirror in its face.
Having no assurance to hide behind, Gren, that little pearl's soul was slowly drained of power. Thus, her magic disappeared.
The tower crumbled. Slowly, the meat melted off and became just that: meat, non-magical. Gren descended from her throne, breaking apart with Axel's every word.
"Shut up…" she muttered, but Axel did not spare.
"Your entire moral compass is flawed, and it has caused the suffering of innocent people."
"P-Please…"
"You hurt others just to satisfy your weak ego."
"No…"
"You are not just a sinner. You are a monster."
Gren sank before Axel with dead eyes. Mentally, she was utterly defeated. The guilt that he brought forth, the truth bomb he threw in her face was too much to handle, so her brain closed off, like a child, hiding in her closer when she knows she had done something wrong.
"Finally," Axel reached behind his back. Although he wore pajamas, he brought his blade along when he came down to inspect the noise.
Gren was unresponsible. This is what he was waiting for. Clenching the dagger's handle, he was ready to stab Gren in the throat with one swift strike.
But at that moment, something unthinkable happened. Something no one else could foresee.
"No," spoke a voice, "He's lying."
Lightning struck above. Everyone, even Gren raised her head and turned around.
"Do not believe a word he says," continued the voice, revealing itself to come from non-other than Emma. "I did not see him eat meat since we met. However, I know from experience just how selfish he is."
Axel was speechless for a moment, but as the eventual shock disappeared, he yelled out with an angry voice.
"The 'fuck are you talking about?!"
"I remember it. I was experimenting on the undead when we met. One of my most important subjects escaped into the wild. He found it before I did, and when I asked him not to kill it, he would only do so in exchange for money. He is selfish AND greedy, worse than your average sinner."
Axel breathed like a raging bull. His eyes were red from anger.
"Emma!" he roared her name while clenching his fist, "What do you think you're doing?"
She ignored Axel's threatening look and walked over to the ruins. She crouched down, and moving a few planks, pulled out her armour and weapon from beneath the rubble. Changing into her war attire, she looked at Axel with disgust.
"What you're doing is selfish and unfit for a hero, so let me take the lead and do this the right way."
"What are you talking about? What's your problem?!"
"True heroes do not fight with underhand tactics. They battle with honour and might."
Axel would have continued to shout at her, scolding her, and telling her to go and fuck herself, but he had no time. Hearing Emma's words were enough reassurance for Gren to regain some of her power.
In a fell swoop, she commanded some of the lying-around meat into a sharp lance, striking at Axel. He retaliated with his blade, deflecting the meat just in time to not lose an eye.
Quickly distancing himself, he readied his blade for another attack. But no attack came.
Gren laughed. "Hah! Cowardly worms like you are not deserving of my time. However," she turned to face Emma, "You are different from those other sinners. There is something special in you, something extra sinful. I like that," she cackled, "If I can best you, I will regain my righteous place above sinners!"
The challenge reinvigorated her. More meat moved to her command, as her soul regained purpose.
With the rain picking up and the stench of blood growing stronger, the battle entered its second phase.