CHAPTER 11
Weak people will claim that those who are strong have the responsibility. They do so to justify why they take no responsibility for their weakness and their unwillingness to become strong.
“What an unfair question. You ask that of me despite already formulating an answer in your mind. Yes or no? If I said no, would you believe me? Under the amount of suspicions placed upon me, isn’t that question rather redundant?”
“So you’re saying no?”
“Hahaha – haaaaaaah~. Alright, chuck those two over there. If they try to escape, chop their legs off.”
By now, little Tony’s wrists were bruising from being kept up in the air by a solid grip, whilst Sasha was whimpering voicelessly underneath the JanZe’s feet. Even when they were literally thrown to the middle of the room, because there was no noise, it wasn’t easy for the others to realise just how seriously hurt they were.
“Did I arrange this? Of course not. How self-important do you feel, that someone like myself would meticulously plan an assassination just so that you could stand there and chat shit about it?”
“You didn’t do it after all?”
“Amelia, Amelia, stop acting like a stereotypical airhead. You’re better than that. Do you think all of this is a coincidence?”
“Then why wouldn’t you answer properly?”
“Because what you asked was dumb as hell. Your question doesn’t even tell you what you needed to know, just a black and white confirmation to a story you’re already convinced on. What is it that you really wanted to find out, huh?”
“Did you… no, how were you involved in this?”
“The importance of phrasing the question correctly should be the first thing you learn. Everyone, myself and others, perceive you based on what you say. Asking a question like that gives me a chance to bring my story out, it means that you are open to other possibilities, am I understood?”
“Yeah.”
“The reason I’m involved is likely due to her.”
I pointed a finger to the wide-eyed Hazel. She tried to speak, but nothing could be heard.
“I’m going to make an assumption. I’m willing to bet you’ve told your siblings about a little loser at your school. Judging from your personality, I’m guessing you tried to turn me into some sort of fairy tale with a good moral conclusion, like how I get back up every time I fell.
Thanks to you, Brutus[1] and Iago[2] over here found me outside the school. They asked me for food, and I was like, sure. Not a big deal at the beginning.
Soon, they asked for more. When I tried to resist, they threatened me, saying that they would accuse me of wrongdoings in the school and get me expelled.
So, before I left, I gave them what they wanted – a lot of food. 5 whole-days-worth of it, but judging from their personality, I’d say it would’ve lasted less than 3. I knew they’d come back once it’s gone, and after another couple of days they’d believe I’m holed up inside the school. It wasn’t hard to assume they’d follow up with their threats, especially since they found a new source of food.”
“But… that wouldn’t have helped them! If you were expelled, you won’t be able to get the food from school!”
“You should’ve told them that. Plus, if I’m someone who could afford to get into QPCS, then I’d most likely wouldn’t be poor either.”
I crouched down and stared into the eyes of the two terrified kids. They were fighting with each other in order to use the other as a shield, but since the boy had an injured arm, he couldn’t resist the girl shoving him in front of her.
“After all, little Aaron never fights back. He just lets you hit him like a punching bag, and follow your orders.”
"You mobilised two JanZe to stop this assassination, when you could’ve done it alone? Don’t they have something better to do?”
“Of course, they’re not even from D’yora, and they’ll be leaving tonight too.”
“What were they doing?”
"Why would I tell you that, Taku?”
“I’ll give you this lemon sweet.”
“Fuck you. They were delivering a package.”
“…”
"Okay, conclusion – we have one vote to talk it out, one to pursue the truth, one to send them to jail and one, my vote, to execute them.”
"E-execute? Isn’t that going too far?”
“At least I’m willing to be responsible for my suggestion. Are you going to take charge of handling the talks?”
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“Umm, well, I still think it’s better than just executing them…”
“So you expected me to do it? I don’t have the time, and neither do you. Anyone else?”
"We could hand them to the police.”
“Kelvin wants to dump it onto the hands of others, who knows nothing of the situation. Okay, will you stay behind to answer their interrogations? To testify or present evidence?”
“But that’ll be the police’s job! We should be able to trust them, right?”
“And you’re certain it’ll work out? You seem completely comfortable placing the fate of someone else’s lives onto the hands of some strangers just because they call themselves ‘police’. That doesn’t sound like responsibility to me. Are you willing to go through with your decision to the end?”
“Why am I responsible for this?”
“Because I’m responsible for you. I’m also responsible for stopping this murder. Like I said, if I let this be handled in the way you suggested, and it goes wrong, it’s my fault too. You gave me a suggestion, yet you don’t seem willing to go through with it. What? Do you think I don’t have better things to do as well?”
“You do realise they’re little kids, right?”
“So is Hazel. As the saying goes: nip the weed at the bud.”
“They’re lives, not weeds. Surely, they should be given another chance?”
“Do to others as you would have them do to you – Matthew 7:12…”
“I think that was Luke’s-“
"Whatever, Amelia. The point is – second chances could mean either a chance to repent, or a chance to repeat. Now, which one do you think is more likely? It’s two lives to save many.”
“No! It’s two lives to save lives that potentially may or may not be taken! There’s no guarantee that they’d harm other people again, especially if you imprison them!”
“This isn’t Earth. So long as one wields mana, they are exponentially more dangerous than your everyday psychopath with a knife.”
“Innocent until proven guilty!”
“That is exactly how crafty bastards get away with their crime. As you said, we’re busy people. I don’t have time to leave plot points behind.”
After a few seconds of silence, it has been settled. Even as I took my time slowly stepping towards Sasha and Tony, none of the three raised any more objections.
That is, until Hazel raised her trembling arm slowly into the air. I stopped in my tracks, and nodded my approval to the JanZe silencing her voice.
“Please, let my siblings go.”
“Hmm… my question was posed to my students though. But alright, let’s pretend you’re my student for today. You’re proposing for us to leave this alone?”
“They were just trying to survive.”
“That applies to most people, yourself included. Give me another reason, Moses[3].”
“I… why are you doing this Aaron?”
“Because you decided to stop me. Now. Reason.”
“I don’t want them to die!”
A genuine smile leaked onto my face before I noticed. Unexpectedly, she’s already treading onto the stepping stones I’ve created.
“I see. Well, I can’t argue against that. Very good. Counter reason – I will be executing them because I want to kill them.”
“But why!?”
“This is getting repetitive…”
“W-what can I do to change your mind?”
“How do normal people do it?”
“… What do you want?”
“I should hire someone to say it for me at this point.”
“What else do you want!?”
“Right now? Nothing. It’s you who want to stop me, better start offering something that might change my mind.”
“I… Kill me instead! Don’t hurt them!”
“You what?”
“If you want to take a life, take mine. Leave them alone!”
“Your life would’ve been lost if it weren’t for us anyways. Also, why do you think your life is worth both of these brats?”
"I don-“
“Do you think that your wishes are more important than my own?”
“That’s wrong!”
“Yep. That is wrong. My strength supports my demands, and I demand them dead. As for you, what value does your life hold? How bright can a frigid ember be, below the sun itself?”
I started moving forward once more… only to be stopped once again by the same little girl.
“Really now? You realise I’m not the Aaron you had to babysit, right?”
Her eyes spoke volume of her conviction. There were the usual mixture of fear and anxiety in her defensive stance, but it was clear to me what unsettled her the most. She simply couldn’t comprehend someone killing another for no reason other than the action.
I reached out with my hand, in a leisurely but menacing way. Before my arm fully extended, a wall a fire burst towards me, obscuring the vision of everyone on my side of the room. Hazel immediately turned and pushed her siblings towards a broken window, mana flowing in her hands. Upon receiving her support, the siblings felt a surge of strength and desperately tried to flee. Hazel screamed at them to run, but it was unnecessary – they were going to do so without hesitation anyways.
Though it may look scary to an average person, none of us were affected by her flames. To create a larger area of fire, Hazel had to spread her mana thin, which made it meaningless as it simply couldn’t faze a prepared opponent. Even Amelia and Kelvin were two outstanding students at a combat school.
I ignored it.
Sensing my approach, Hazel quickly turned around, her fist shrouded in a fiery blaze, sweeping through the air towards my stomach. She even propelled herself forward like a rocket, with a burst of flames blasting from both soles of her now-ashen shoes.
I ignored it.
Honestly, if she truly wanted to protect the siblings and do all she can, she should’ve considered everything and be willing to do anything. Aim a little lower when fighting a male, grab a different hostage, whatever. Hitting me in my abdomen, a group of hardened muscles, would make any combat trainer slam their forehead to the wall.
Her hand took more damage from the impact than my body did. My fingers reached for her throat.
Hazel used her left hand in a circular motion, going from the right side of her body to the upper left side. In doing so, she tried to push my outstretched hand away from her vitals, and at the same time, attack my elbow with her throbbing right hand. A standard escape technique to a frontal choke hold taught at QPCS.
I ignored it.
By the time she noticed my arm didn’t even sway off course, it was too late. Still, she tried to jump back, forcing her chin down to protect her neck in whatever way she could.
My fingers took hold onto my objective.
“Got your nose!”
She was surprised by what I did, but not as much as the impact she felt when she crashed into both Tony and Sasha. She focused so much onto her battle that she completely ignored the exchange the two kids had with the two JanZe obstructing their escape.
“You’re so eager to throw your life away for others, Hazel. It’s as if you’ve answered my question already – what value does your life hold? Young lady, you should treasure what you have and be willing to do whatever you can to keep it.”
“If my life can help my siblings, then my life is worth it!”
“No no no, that’s not what I’m referring to. Your opportunity to die – treasure it. Do everything you can during your life before you claim it. Going there this early… it is simply infuriating. You, who know not the value of death, should learn to appreciate it.”
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[1] From the famous play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare.
[2] From the famous play Othello by Shakespeare.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Down_Moses