BANG!
The surroundings exploded as earth shot throughout the horizons.
"How dare you!" the badger shouted in uncontrollable fury.
"You say that you didn't want to do this!? You kill one of my companions and say that you didn't want to do this? You had a choice! If you genuinely didn't want to do this, you would have decided against doing it!"
Gravis remained calm as he turned his gaze to the Inquisitor. "You are right," Gravis said. "I had a choice. Some beasts might blame the circumstances and say that they were forced to do this, but that is not the case. I had a choice."
The Inquisitor gritted his teeth as his frustration became so powerful that he even injured his gums by gritting them so hard. "Then how dare you say that you didn't want to do this!?"
"Because I had to," Gravis said. "I could have let him live and let bygones be bygones. In my opinion, Commander Rime didn't deserve to die for this."
"Usually, I judge situations based on the beast's intentions rather than their actions. If they intend to hurt me, it doesn't matter if they actually managed to hurt me or not. They are an enemy in my mind. Yet, I haven't done that in this case," Gravis explained.
"Because it suits your selfish goal?" the badger asked with disdain.
"Yes," Gravis said, surprising the Inquisitor. "The goal to reach supreme power is inherently selfish. We kill others to become more powerful. Yet, this goal is more important to me than my morality. In order to achieve this goal, millions of innocents have died under my hand," Gravis said as he thought back to the apocalypse he had wrought when he had fought the lower Heaven.
"I don't want to kill beings that have done nothing to me, but if that is necessary to become powerful, I will do so regardless. I avoid killing friendly and innocent beings, but to keep my path to power alive, I need to do so regardless."
"I have a choice," Gravis said, "and the choice is to choose between killing no one and remaining weak or kill everyone that is a danger to my path. I have chosen power, and I am fully committed to this path. If it is necessary, I am even ready to kill my companions. My goal is more important than nearly everything else."
"Nearly?" the Inquisitor asked with a cold voice.
"Yes, if I had to choose between my close family and supreme power, I wouldn't know what I would choose," Gravis said.
"You value your family more than your companions?" the Inquisitor asked with confusion and disdain. To beasts, family was irrelevant. So what if they shared their blood? They hadn't fought together with them, and they had no feelings for each other. Companions have proven their loyalty by fighting alongside one for the same goal. That was why companions were more important to beasts than family.
"To me, my close family is just as important as my goal," Gravis said. "Our values do not match, and we won't find a middle-ground, Inquisitor. Instead of continuing this discussion, we should return to the Empress. She will judge this situation," Gravis said.
The Inquisitor furrowed his brows. "You do realize that, even though Commander Rime has accepted the duel, you have still committed an act of betrayal? If you return to the Empress, you will be executed as a traitor. Though, you don't have a choice. I will drag you to the Empress regardless."
Gravis closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. "Inquisitor, you don't realize the way the world of leaders works."
These words made the Inquisitor angry again. "And what, pray tell, is the way of the leaders?" he asked with disdain.
"Sentient beings have created rules to serve the greater collective and their goal," Gravis said. "The Empress has made the rules for our Icy Pride Empire. Yet, in front of her, the rules don't matter. She has decided the rules based on her own mindset and goals, and if breaking the rules helps her to achieve that goal, she won't have an issue in breaking them."
The badger refused to believe something like that, but before he could answer, Gravis continued. "Commander Rime has realized this truth. As his title says, Commander Rime was a Commander, which is a position of leadership. He has realized this truth and knew that I wouldn't be executed."
"If he hadn't realized this truth, he wouldn't have sacrificed himself. After all, if the Empress executed me, his sacrifice would become meaningless to the land beasts. You are not a leader, Inquisitor, so you can't see the world from the viewpoint of a leader," Gravis explained.
"That is wrong!" the Inquisitor shouted. "In the end, Commander Rime has sacrificed his life to uphold the rules. If he didn't accept the duel, you would be breaking the rules and would become a traitor."
"Breaking the rules is not what makes a traitor, Inquisitor," Gravis said. "The intentions of the beast and its loyalty decide if someone is a traitor or not. I have no intention of betraying the land beasts, and I will continue to help them."
"There is a famous saying, Inquisitor. Rules are dead, and beasts are alive. Even if Commander Rime hadn't accepted the duel, I would still not be branded as a traitor by the Empress. My reasoning is understandable, and she will be willing to accommodate it to keep me as an asset to the Empire. Of course, I will still receive some sort of punishment in the end, but it will not be anything like execution."
"As for your claim that Commander Rime wanted to keep up the rules, that is also incorrect. Don't forget that Commander Rime has broken the rules first by interfering in my fight. He knew fully well that he broke the rules and would be punished, but for the greater good in his mind, he decided to do this regardless."
"As a leader, he has seen that breaking the rules would do more good than bad for the land beasts if he managed to save my life by doing so. Sadly, in the end, his interference had been unnecessary, which made the gains void while making the consequences heavier. Yet, instead of backpedaling on his choice, he doubled down and gained something out of it regardless."
Gravis looked evenly into the Inquisitor's eyes. "He was willing to break the rules for the greater good, and that's what made him an outstanding leader."
The Inquisitor was furious as he listened to Gravis. He saw sense in what Gravis was saying, but it was frustrating to acknowledge. Had his loyalty been incorrect? He had always followed the rules in the past and believed them to be the correct path.
Yet, when Gravis said that the Empress made the rules, his conviction was shaken. The Empress had made the rules, and if she decided to, she could also change them.
Surprisingly, after some seconds, the Inquisitor's mindset changed. Yes, he shouldn't follow the rules, but act like Commander Rime. Commander Rime had broken the rules for the greater good.
In the end, the rules only served the greater good, and this greater good was the survival of the Icy Pride Empire. Doing what is right for the Empire was more important than upholding the rules.
"You are correct," the Inquisitor said with a cold voice. "I shouldn't follow the rules but do what I think would be best for the greater good of the Empire."
Gravis remained silent.
BANG! SHING! SHING! SHING!
An unreal amount of spikes came from behind Gravis and penetrated his entire body, making him spit out blood.
"With your mindset, you will be a danger to the Empire in the future. Because of that, I will break the rules today and kill you!" the Inquisitor shouted.
Gravis only looked evenly at the Inquisitor as over ten earth spears came out of his body. Instead of seeing the fear or shock that the Inquisitor had expected to see in Gravis' eyes, he only saw calm. This was not the look of someone that was about to die. This was the look of someone that was in control of the situation!
"So that is your choice," Gravis transmitted calmly, "but it doesn't matter. I don't leave things open to chance. Just stay here. In four hours, I will return and kill you."
BANG!
Then, Gravis' body exploded into a bit of lightning. Yet, this wasn't nearly as much lightning as he should have had. This was only as much lightning as a level one King would have.
