The God of Gravity part 1: Demigod District

Kind Cruelty

-

*

"What the-" exclaimed Hiroki as the creature showed its face.

A warrior pulled an arrow using his bow and aimed at the creature. "Stop," said Sayuri. "Don't shoot." He looked at her hesitantly, but he stopped after a moment. The creature turned back ahead to the direction it was walking. Gradually, the tremors of its footsteps became faint, and they just watched it disappear into the forest.

They were all surprised, so they regrouped at Sayuri's position. "What was that, my lady?" asked Mato.

"Treant," she answered as she continued walking.

Mato followed her and looked like he still has so many questions, while his men became wary as they looked around. "What exactly is that thing?" he asked Hiroki.

"Uh...," he said while sweating. "According to what I was taught, they are creatures that roam the deepest and oldest forests of the world. They are trees that can move, and they don't attack anyone, as long as they don't attack it."

"So that's what it was."

"Yeah, but didn't the missionary taught you about these things?"

"He was in a hurry, so he didn't finish teaching us everything."

"Oh, that-"

"Chief!" shouted one of the men. "There's a river!" The man was way ahead of them, and down on a slope.

There was a thorny bush on Sayuri's path, so she frowned. "My lady!" called Hiroki at the distance on where they all went through. "This way."

She didn't mind him but used her powers. She let out a hundred blades and they flew swiftly around the bush. Then the way is clear for her to continue walking, and saw the wide river before her. It was a magnificent view to behold. From where she is standing, the ground was a little elevated for her to see the vastness of the river as it went from the west to the east. She couldn't see the other side of the river on the horizon, but she could see hundreds of islands in the river. The first island before her is about half a kilometer away, and the water between it and her is murky and calm.

Hiroki felt amazed by this wonder of nature and started to become more curious if not interested, that he went near the water, while the tribesmen discussed ways on how to cross it. The men were a couple of meters away from the water, but Hiroki treaded along the sandy shore of the river, hoping to find any interesting things to discover.

"Wow," he said to himself as he found a big tooth half-buried in the sand. "this is one big tooth. I wonder what animal this tooth came from." The tooth was like a dagger. It is as long as his index finger, and it curved like a knife.

"Hey!" shouted one of the men, and Hiroki looked at him as he ran towards him from the other tribesmen. It all happened so fast that he could only catch a glimpse of the other men looking nervous, on their guards. He was pulled by the man who approached him and threw him far from where he was standing. He rolled on the ground and saw a long, big mouth, full of teeth behind the man that sprouted from the water of the river. The mouth was as big as the man, and he just stood there without fear, while the other men panicked to try to save him, but it was too late. The beast dropped its jaw, and they were finally were able to make out what kind of beast it is as the splashes of mud and water settled down. It was a giant crocodile. The sound of cracking bones and the teeth against flesh was more than Hiroki could bear, as the men pulled him far from where he landed into a more secure place, and away from the water of death. The crocodile retreated into the water, and they saw its snout with the arms and legs of their comrade sandwiched between its teeth. It raised its snout and started to swallow the man. Hiroki felt guilty, and tears were streaming from his eyes just as the men let go of him, and they all calmed down.

He kneeled and bowed his head with his forehead against the ground. "I AM SO SORRY!!!" he cried. "I WAS THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO DIE!" The men just looked at him while taking in the feeling of horror and shock from what happened. "I am so useless, yet I-"

Someone kicked him up, and he lied down on his back. Sayuri was before him, and she looked at him in despise and anger. "You fool!" she growled. "I should've ended your life earlier, and this wouldn't have happened!" She pulled her sword from its sheath and prepared to cut him down. He just knelt down, bowing down, closing his eyes, and let his tears fall down on the sand, to accept his mistake.

"My lady!" said Mato. "Please don't slay him!" Sayuri looked at him in anger, so he swallowed, but said what he wanted to say. "We haven't told you this yet, but hear me out first, my lady." She lowered her sword. "At the ritual of putting our war paints, we have decided to protect the two of you in your journey in this dangerous place, even if it means that one or more of us have to die. We vowed ourselves that we won't have the right to the passage to the gates of Elysium if one of you dies. What my comrade did was his choice, and we saw his face that it was without regret, because he fulfilled his duty and his vow. If you kill him now, we won't be able to walk with our ancestors in Elysium, and his sacrifice will be in vain." He knelt down. "Please, my lady. Spare all of us!"

She looked at him with furiousness, as well as the other men, kneeling down with him. She turned to look at the weeping Hiroki again as she put her sword in its sheath. She grabbed him up with his clothes and looked at him in the eyes. "One more slip and I swear I will cut all of your limbs." She threw him away, he fell on the ground, and she went near the water.

"I'm sorry, Chief Mato!" he apologized as the man went to approach him. "I know a sorry won't bring him back, but-"

"That's right," he said. "any apology won't bring him back. He was a warrior ready to die anytime, I remember him as one of my men that have seen many of his comrades sacrifice themselves for others. There's no doubt that he felt the same way as you. I too have felt this way. My father, uncles, and friends have died before me, and for me, so I know how you feel. I managed to move on by thinking on how to not let their deaths become meaningless." Hiroki stopped weeping, but the tears are still visible from his eyes. "So I ask you this: Will you let his sacrifice be in vain?"

He just looked at Mato, looked down to the ground again, and said, "No, I will not." Mato grabbed the boy's shoulder and grabbed his hand to help him get up. The boy looked calmer now, but with a taint of guilt and courage.

"That's the spirit."

"What was his name?"

"Bemidii."

"I will remember him as long as I live."

Mato nodded, tapped him on his back, and he went to join the other tribesmen. Hiroki still feels heavy, as he went to follow them. They were before the fearless goddess who's already above the water, riding the wide sword she summoned. They just watched her as she closed her eyes to focus. Then she summoned a hundred blades that dived into the water. The men on the shores felt the sandy ground shaking, and the waters boiling with blood until tens of dangerous beasts, came floating into the surface. They could also see other fishes swimming away from her, and disappeared into the far waters. A wounded beast, that seems to be a giant hippopotamus, didn't escape the s*******r, as she sent the rest of the blades after it. It screamed in agony while the blades pierced its insides like a melon until it quieted down, and let the current carry its body and blood.

She looked at the men and said, "It's safe to swim now." Then they all nodded and swam without a second thought. Hiroki prepared to swim, but he was stopped by her. "Except for you," she said as she summoned another wide sword that went under him, and lifted him up near her as they flew above the men, swimming on the river.

"My lady-"

"Shut up," she said, so he did. Then there was a silence between them. "I want to kill you right now, but for the men's sake, I won't. Once they vowed with Elysium, it will never be revoked or changed. So I suggest that you should just shut up, and live, so I could kill you myself once everything is over."

He thought, "She's right, for the sake of these men, I will try my best to survive. That's the only way that I can repay my debt to Bemidii." He was at the right, and he can see her calmness as she watched the island to where they are headed. He thought, "To think of it, Lady Sayuri is a unique person. She's cruel, at the same time, kind. Killing is always cruel, but when she killed that old lady, it was out of kindness. For years, I was always thought that killing is always bad, even if for any reason. I never thought that killing is sometimes a way of being kind, but it is maybe just for her case. She's a goddess and went through a lot of death and destruction. Her sharp words against me, are, I don't know, but I think it is her way to hide her kindness. She dealt cruelty to these beasts to be kind to others. I don't know if it is the universal definition of being kind, but I guess she redefines it. I believe she is really a kind person, and her cruelty is her way of being kind."

*

-