Chapter 32: Birth of a Tyrant
Cynthia shouted:
"You monster! How could you do that?! Six people died because of your actions! Maybe even more!"
Axel stood halfway up the stairs and looked down at the group, where a growing crowd had gathered to witness the scene. He slowed his descent and listened.
Lucas’s expression wavered briefly before settling back into its calm, seemingly uncaring mask.
"Six, huh..."
"Yes! You killed six people!"
Lucas snapped back:
"Cynthia, quiet down."
"Or what?!" she yelled. "Are you going to throw me out into the open as well?!"
"No. That would be a waste of necessary manpower. If you are to die, it will be for everyone’s benefit."
Lucas’s fraying nerves and growing impatience kept him from speaking rationally. He was far too emotional, and in the heat of the moment, he finally let slip something that hinted at the selfish feelings he’d kept hidden all along.
Axel grew increasingly afraid of where the confrontation was headed. The only saving grace was that Cynthia stood alone in her defiance.
However, after what Lucas had just said, Axel didn’t know how long she would remain alone. He wasn’t even certain he could continue standing by Lucas’s side.
Cynthia screeched:
"You really are a monster! Why do we follow you? Right, everyone?! Leora, Cory, you have to disagree with what just happened!"
Cynthia whipped her gaze around, desperately searching for someone to agree with her. One by one, the onlookers hesitantly avoided her gaze — even Cory. Her face twisted with rage, and she screamed:
"You’re all cowards and murderers!"
Cynthia brandished her weapon and lunged at Lucas, though she clearly had no intent to kill him.
Cynthia was just misunderstood. Or perhaps she understood too much.
She cared deeply for everyone around her. In truth, she possessed the qualities of a true leader; she merely lacked the confidence and cruelty demanded by their desperate situation.
After watching so many people be sacrificed under Lucas’s leadership, her mental had finally broken.
Lucas looked ready to kill her, but Zayn once again acted first.
Zayn swiftly blocked her blade and kicked her legs out from under her. Once she hit the ground, he planted his right foot against her neck, pinning her in place.
Lucas said nothing. He merely stared at the woman coldly.
Zayn towered over her and spoke:
"Too far..."
Zayn furrowed his brow, his expression briefly twisting as though he’d seen a ghost. He quickly composed himself and continued:
"Many people died after following his orders to raid that camp. You could have fully rebelled then. You could have taken up your sword against him alongside Cory. So why now? I know why. Back then, your life was in your own hands."
Zayn sighed before continuing:
"You followed Lucas because you knew that even if he ordered you to do something dangerous, you had other people around you to act as a buffer between you and the danger. Following him was your best chance of survival. You could complain, but you had no reason to rebel."
Zayn bent down and stared into Cynthia’s eyes as he continued:
"But now, with so many unknown factors, he has no choice but to take uncertain risks that may require sacrifices. And now, you’re just scared that you’ll be the next one sacrificed."
Zayn straightened and pressed his foot harder against her neck, yet no one moved to stop him.
Then he continued his tirade, speaking more than he ever had before:
"The thing is, what will you even accomplish with this act? You’re more likely to die if you succeed in this petty rebellion than if Lucas asks you to be a decoy. If you’re hellbent on dying, then at least do it in a way that benefits us instead of actively trying to get everyone killed."
Cynthia retorted sarcastically as she strained to lift Zayn’s foot:
"Zayn, I didn’t know you were so talkative."
Zayn responded with exasperation:
"I didn’t know we had someone so dull among us. I haven’t needed to speak up before because I could protect my own life with my own strength, no matter the situation. But now that survival requires cooperation, I have no choice but to quell some idiot’s rage."
Zayn sighed, then pressed his foot against her neck again and said:
"Who would have thought the two situations where I needed to step up would come not from facing a strong enemy, but a weak ally? We don’t need some useless person, and we sure as hell don’t need someone actively working against us. Either you abandon this idiocy and work with us, or we’ll leave you behind to die on your own."
Cynthia thrashed beneath Zayn, desperately trying to move his foot. She managed to force out a final plea:
"A... Axel. You’re a good man. S... Surely, you agree with me."
Axel didn’t respond. He only tilted his head away from her.
Cynthia stopped fighting and began to cry.
While Axel didn’t morally agree with what was happening, defying Lucas would lead not only to his death, but potentially everyone else’s as well.
Pragmatically speaking, keeping his mouth shut and following orders offered them the greatest chance of survival.
Axel drifted deeper into his thoughts.
There was once a nickname from his past life that Axel faintly remembered:
’Hero.’
But right now...
Axel was a pretty shitty hero.
Zayn crouched until his face was inches from hers and said:
"Choose. Do you want to fight with us or die now?"
Cynthia spoke slowly:
"Does it matter? If I stop now, you’ll just send me to die."
Zayn countered:
"Only if you continue to prove yourself useless. If you become useful, then we have no reason to use you as a sacrifice."
Given a moment to collect himself, Lucas finally cooled his head. He gestured for Zayn to back away and spoke:
"Zayn, you’re wrong. I refuse to send a single person to their death. I will only send people down the path to living."
Rage bubbled across Cynthia’s face as Lucas uttered such a hypocritical statement. A moment later, however, it faded into resignation.
Axel had to admit that even he was surprised Lucas had the gall to say something like that.
No matter how Lucas worded it, he had used those four as sacrifices for the rest of them.
’Wait... Did he plan this?’
’A week ago, I remember him convincing those three — our weakest members — to wield the tower shields. He’d even tried to convince Didier, someone strong, not to carry one.’
’Had he been planning to sacrifice them from the beginning?’
It finally dawned on Axel; or perhaps it was better to say he was forced to acknowledge something he’d been trying to ignore.
Lucas wasn’t merely a charismatic leader. He was a con artist who gambled with human lives and manipulated those around him for his own survival.
With Cynthia’s willpower drained, she spoke in a voice devoid of the rage she’d held only moments before.
"Bastards."
Zayn lifted his foot and stepped away.
"Just be thankful you get to live. Cherish the life you have before it leaves you."
Lucas cast an emotionless gaze over the woman lying on the ground, then declared:
"With this fiasco settled, let’s get to the matter at hand. We have thirty-six hours left. Where do we go from here?"
Nobody spoke.
Again and again, Axel recalled how quickly Lucas moved on from difficult conversations.
Axel’s initial impression had been that Lucas simply wanted to dispel the somber moods such discussions created.
But now?
Now Axel could tell Lucas cared far less about the people around him than he’d first believed.
...
Was Axel going to do something about it?
No...
The time to seize leadership had been earlier. But right now?
Right now, if Axel and the rest wanted to survive, they needed a leader like Lucas.
A leader willing to trick, deceive, and sacrifice those following him in the name of survival.
Still...
’When he brutalized that goblin before... Had he really done it to ease our fears?’
’...I doubt it.’
’No matter how much I think about it, there’s no way he planned that far ahead in the moment.’
’That guy...’
’Lucas...’
’He’s a psychopath.’
Silence stretched between them until the distant wails of the Obsidian Forest reached their ears, followed by several thunderous booms that sent tremors through the ground.
It was the first time any of them had been thankful for that horrifying noise.