Chapter 264: Closure, Part Eight

"Three years ago," Tristan began, "I went on a mission to clear a fortress full of orcs. I went with some allies," he elaborated. "People I trust. People I once called my friends. We ended up encountering an enemy we weren't expecting, however. An Orc Champion." 

Rin breathed in slowly, arms crossed as she listened. She was paying attention to what he said, but she wasn't dropping her guard. If anyone in the room so much as twitched, Rin's eyes would follow them. 

"A Rank A monster. Something far, far beyond what we were capable of beating. All we could do was run," Tristan said. "Or, at least, that's all that came to my mind. My 'friends'... An extra option came to them." 

Tristan paced from side to side. Rin could almost see the memories playing back in front of his eyes. 

"One of them slashed my left leg. And, as I fell to the floor, they took that chance to escape." 

"How did you survive?" Rin asked. 

"Something happened that none of us could have anticipated," Tristan continued. "The orc let me go." 

Rin's immediate response was: 

"That's impossible." 

"I don't blame you for thinking that, but that's what happened. Whether it was out of mercy, pity, or the orc just got bored, it doesn't matter. I lived because it spared me." 

Tristan walked around the room. The others there didn't look particularly surprised, they'd probably all heard the story before, and yet they were all listening closely. 

"I walked out of that dungeon, but I was still wounded. I roamed the lands for days, living off the wild to the best of my ability when I ran into others in a similar position to mine. A group of beastborn slaves who escaped from their masters took me in, and helped nurse me back to good health." 

Eventually, Tristan ended up back where originally stood, and he finally said: 

"I did something, then, that those beastborn had never experienced before. I spoke to them. We talked endlessly. In just one month, I grew closer with those beastborn than I had with my human friends over the course of a full year. But, they aren't here today, Rin," he noted, gesturing at the people around him. "Do you know why?" 

Rin remained silent. 

"Because a group of Cradle guards found us and cut them all down, right in front of me." Tristan locked eyes with Rin. "And, I killed them all in turn. See, Rin," he took a couple of steps closer, "It was when that happened that I realized something. This world is fundamentally broken. And, I set out to repair it." 

He gestured at those around him. 

"Look around you, Rin. Standing within Cradle, most of these people would be doomed to a life of forced servitude. The humans around us would only be marginally better off, all because they don't have enough varols in their purses. Do you think we can just keep going like that? I don't. And so, I began to look for others who don't. One by one," his voice grew louder, "I gathered others who agreed with me until I had enough people around me to make change happen." 

He spread his arms. 

"Do you think we want to live like this? Hiding in crappy ruins? No. But, we have to, because the world above us is a lot uglier than this. We must do what we do because someone has to. You've been to Cradle, right? Do you think this kind of treatment can continue?" 

"..." Rin remained quiet for a while. "Is that it?" 

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Tristan looked taken aback. 

"I-I suppose my story didn't shake you too much, but, yes, hehe," he laughed. "That's what I've been doing these last three years. I'm trying to change the world, Rin. For the better." 

"Is that right? And, you think you need to kill innocents to make that happen?" 

"Rin," he said, with a sad smile. "No one is innocent. Whether you're from Cradle or not, whether you're wealthy or not, whether you have power or not. If you are allowing things to go on as they are, you're culpable." 

Rin inhaled sharply. 

"Well, that confirms it, then," she murmured. "This isn't justice, Tristan. That's not your goal. You just want revenge." 

It was Rin's turn to walk around the room. The eyes of the Scorned's members followed her, glaring hard. They were all probably just waiting for the order to cut her down. 

And now, more than ever, Rin wanted to do the same. But, she needed to get this off her chest, first. 

"You don't give a shit about what's right, or who's really at fault for these peoples' struggles. You're just angry that a group of humans left you for dead," Rin stated. "Obviously, I agree that beastborn in Cradle have it pretty damn bad. And, yeah, something should be done about that. But, what the fuck do random people traveling from one place to another have to do with that? The innocents your group killed when you sabotaged the train, the innocents the monsters you've been training kill on a daily basis. Tristan, if you think any of that is making life better for beastborn, anywhere, you're delusional." 

"I don't expect you to understand immediately, but-" 

"No, I do understand, Tristan. That's the thing. I get it. You're angry," Rin told him. "That's all. You got betrayed and you want to take that anger out on people, and that..." Rin bit the insides of her cheeks. "That's turned my brother into nothing more than a cold-blooded killer. I understand perfectly." 

That tension from earlier returned. 

Rin could feel it. It was guaranteed now. 

"... We're not going to see eye to eye on this, are we?" 

Rin shook her head with disdain. 

"... I would have preferred it if you actually had died," Rin stated. Drawing the spellsign in her thoughts, as she'd been taught to do so long ago after she'd been teleported, Rin activated her [Spirit Flame], spawning white flames that wrapped themselves around her arms. "I'm not looking forward to telling mom about this." 

Every member of the Scorned there, pulled weapons out from their robes that they'd been hiding. Ava was handed one. 

"You won't be," he corrected her. "I really hoped I could convince you, but... Rin, This is bigger than you," Tristan shrugged. "Bigger than me. Bigger than any one person. If you can't see that, then..." 

The message did not need to be said. 

Today, an Asahiro would bleed. The only question was, which one? 

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