Return of the Fallen Volume 8 Chapter 11
Garn agreed completely.
“Your right, it is different. You murdered your king. The one whom you should protect through and through. The one whom your life belongs to from the moment you take your oath to the last breath you exhale, your magic, your blade and all of your strength belongs to your king, yet Tobern is no more and you still breathe. Meanwhile what I’m asking is to end the lives of a few people so that humanity can continue on. You have no loyalty to these strangers, no love nor hatred of any kind. They literally mean nothing, so why, why is what I’m asking too much and slaying your own king not so?”
Bozek shook his head. Garn took that as a sign that he had no real reason.
“Nothing to say halfbreed. I figured as much.”
“You’re wrong. Those people… it’s for those people that I killed king Tobern.”
“What?”
“You know how Tobern was. He was as quick to anger as you are prideful Garn. In his anger, he doesn’t think, he refuses to and because of that, nearly every decision he made was based off said anger. It was these decisions of his that cost millions of lives. Throughout my service, I always knew Tobern was not of a steady mind but as long as nothing drastic took place, the kingdom was still safe under my protection. However, that only included outside forces. Enemies that came for his Majesty, I could take them all with ease. Even when it came to you, a battle between us would be difficult but I’ve held a few cards especially for you. Things though started to worsen and the enemy was no longer an outside threat but King Tobern himself. His decisions were all brash and foolish and were fueled by anger. It was then that my loyalty went from his majesty to the kingdom itself, to the innocent people who reside within its borders. When he became a threat to them, I knew he could no longer remain alive. What I did, I did for all of them. This is something I learned far too late in life but I’m starting to fix my mistakes and atone for my own sins and crimes. From now on, I will no longer watch as innocent people die and are slaughtered by any who call themselves king or any other title of man. You telling me to burn a city of people is saying you wish to be my enemy.”
Garn became silent as he looked at Bozek in a different way.
“You think I want them to die Bozek?”
“You ordering me to kill them does it not suggest that or have I become a fool.”
Garn gnashed his teeth.
“In order for humanity to survive, their lives must be sacrificed. The Miasma has to be led to the desert, their lives will naturally attract it this way. It’s better for them to all be killed by you in a single swipe than to be consumed in agony by the Miasma. Your blade will be mercy, do you not see this.”
Bozek shook his head once more.
“If my blade is mercy then so is any other. Why then can you not do it yourself, Garn?”
Garn again became quiet but his face warped in fury.
“What’s wrong Garn, can’t do the dirty work yourself? Easier for some halfbreed like me to do. Then your hatred towards me can finally be justified. After all the times you’ve slain the innocent, after destroying the lives of how many, and what, now you decide to grow a conscious, or is it something else?”
“You know nothing of what I’ve done. Every life I’ve taken has been for a just reason. For me to take the lives of a few to ensure humanity lives on, there can be nothing more noble than that.”
“Is that true, are you sure? Then what about when you set that weapon of yours off and dug out the ground? You separated millions of soldiers and even more citizens on the other side. They either died from the blast or were left on the other side of that trench, left to be eaten and turned into Azirian’s. What were their deaths for, and what did their deaths mean for humanity’s survival? I’ll tell you what your action has caused, I’ll tell you what their lives meant. It meant more enemies for us to fight and fewer soldiers on our side. It means less farmland, and fewer farmers to harvest it. Mass migration from the front means more mouths to feed. It means families are torn apart and resentment building for you. It means even if we somehow survive all of this, we will be more divided and probably still face downfall.”
“What would you know, halfbreed? Pure-blooded humans are stronger than you think and we will overcome all of this. If the people hate me for saving them then they are no longer people who should be a part of my kingdom and they shall be cast out. Those that died because of what I’ve done, were too weak in the first place. At a certain point, everyone knew Azirian’s were coming. It was their own fault for staying in such places and not moving ahead of time. Am I supposed to be responsible for the foolish, for the weak who can’t do anything right? Can’t leave properly and in the end, can’t die for me properly either. Now they themselves have turned and are the enemy. So be it, I will kill them as well. Forget it, this war is far too important. I will burn the cities myself.”
Bozek could see a maddening look spark in Garn’s eye. It was the same look his king had as well. Garn turned and was about to fly up to his floating palace but Bozek quickly flew in front of him.
“What do you think you’re doing halfbreed?”
Bozek pointed his glaive at Garn.
“That look in your eye. It is exactly like King Tobern’s.”
Garn gnashed his teeth more.
“I have no time for this. You won’t do it, then I will. Step aside.”
Garn flew up but before he made it a few feet, Bozek’s blade was pressed against his neck. Garn’s eyes bulged as he shouted.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?”
This time it was Bozek’s time to shout. Power gathered in his throat before he roared.
“DID YOU NOT HEAR ME! I SAID YOU LOOK LIKE TOBERN! WHAT I DID TO HIM, SHALL I DO THE SAME TO YOU GARN!!”
This shout rang in Garn’s ear and clapped like thunder. A calm came over Garn as he realized what he was doing.
“To kill me, I’m afraid it would take more than a simple glaive. Are you really prepared to cut me? Are you prepared to take my head?”
Bozek without a single bit of hesitation answered in a serious tone.
“Without a second thought if I had to. The question is, are you really going to make me? If you even attempt to take another innocent life, I will no longer hold back and I will be forced to take out another mad king. So you tell me, are we going to that place or will you for once in your life not be such a stubborn bastard. To kill all of those people makes no sense. There has to be another way to lead the Miasma toward the desert lands. You the supposed genius, can you really not think of another way?”
…
Silence separated the two like a vast ocean yet at the same time the tension was like dynamite set to blow. Garn though sighed.
*Haa*
“I don’t know if there really is another way but…that doesn’t mean there isn’t another way. I…won’t kill them. I will think of something, I have to think of something. I don’t do any of this for myself, Bozek. You aren’t the only one who is thinking of the people. No matter how wrong you think I may be, just know that I really do care for their lives. For now, I will take my leave and try and come up with something. You on the other hand…Just be ready for anything that may come.”
Bozek didn’t remove the blade from him just yet.
“Promise me you won’t kill them, promise me that you will do everything in your power to find another way.”
Garn gnashed his teeth again before exhaling heavily as though he gave in.
“I promise. None of them will die by my hand and I will come up with another way. Now remove that from my neck or are we still going to fight?”
Bozek thought for a moment. To kill Garn, the world would be better off but at the same time, the world still needed him and his weapon. Bozek couldn’t let his emotions and logic intertwine. Bozek slowly flew backward and he pulled his blade away from Garn.
Garn seemed annoyed by this but said nothing else, before taking to the skies and going back inside his floating palace.
Bozek wondered at this moment if letting Garn go was the right decision. It was this decision to let him go that set things in motion.
The moment Garn entered his palace, the palace turned toward Bozek, and a large amount of power gathered in an instant. Every hair on Bozek’s body stood up and he knew exactly what this meant.
“GARN!!!”
Inside the palace, Garn smirked.
“I told you to be ready for anything Bozek.”
The scepter in Garn’s hand pointed at Bozek and at the same time, the power of lightning, fire, light, and dark all fired simultaneously in four large beams side by side. This attack could go toe to toe with an Ancient beast or a 6th-stage mage. The power alone warped the air. This was not something Bozek could go against.
Bozek roared at the top of his lungs.
“GARN YOU BAS….”
At the moment of impact, a bright light lit up and seemed to cover the world. A second later, just before this powerful beam of light was about to hit the ground, Garn stopped it, so to prevent destroying too much of the ground and giving the Miasma another free meal.
The light faded and the world returned to normal.
“You should have just done what I told you and now you are no more halfbreed.”
Garn waved his scepter and the entire floating palace teleported away.
A cold silence was the only thing left in this place.
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