[42] - An Inescapable Fate

                                    

                                          



Zeoff never wanted to play the villain.
Yet, when Hikaru had approached him with a deal months ago, he couldn't turn down the opportunity.
The choice had been easy to make: earn a place among Hikaru's army, and the oni would spare Zeoff's home region and its people.
That's why, when Hikaru had ordered him to kill Warren, Zeoff didn't hesitate.
After all, he was saving hundreds of lives for the price of one. It was justifiable.
The world was a dark, twisted place. Soon, Hikaru would take it all for himself, creating a new realm from its remains.
Death was inevitable.
Zeoff was only making the most of what little he could.
And, yet, here he was: lying in a medical tent in an unknown location, completely lost as to how he was still alive. He was uncertain as to what day it was, or if Hikaru had conquered the world.
But Zeoff did know one thing for certain.
His survival had been the oni's doing. It just had to be. Which meant...
Hikaru still wanted something from him.
A part of him wished he really had died. It would have surely been better than the situation he faced now.
Zeoff jolted up in his cot, watching as a shadow began to loom over the tent's entrance.
Hikaru's eyes bore into his own, alight with vicious malice.
"L-Lord Hikaru." Zeoff bowed his head, his throat suddenly becoming dry. "I don't... I don't understand."
"You have proven to be a formidable asset, Werewolf." Hikaru's response was laced with ice. "I still have use for you."
"What's happened? Did... did they get away?" Zeoff's head spun with memories long past.
But Hikaru only chuckled, taking a stand beside his cot. The oni crouched to the former elemental's eye level, a smirk growing along his lips.
"Humanity is such a weak species." Hikaru mused, studying Zeoff's grim expression. "I never fully realized until now."
"What do you mean?" Zeoff swallowed sharply, a pit of unease weighing in his gut.
"Phoenix and Manticore have joined the opposition. They helped lead a mass evacuation across Ninjago." Hikaru scoffed. "They have increased their forces, as if they expect to defeat me."
"But... this is exactly what is supposed to happen."
Zeoff's eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment at the oni's last remark, the pit in his stomach only growing tenfold.
"You... expected them to escape?" Zeoff asked slowly, the realization leaving him hollow.
"Manticore was much more rebellious during her trials... When Phoenix began to visit her, I knew it would only be a matter of time." Hikaru stated, as if the answer itself was the simplest thing in the world.
Yet, to Zeoff, the world had become flipped upside-down. It was as if everything he'd ever known had suddenly become nothing but lies.
"Then... why?" Zeoff questioned. "Why do any of this? Why let them go?"
"I gave Manticore a choice." Hikaru purred. "She refused to find her true potential within the Stronghold... So, now, she'll have to face the consequences of her actions."
The oni's pupils narrowed, a monstrous chittering noise emitting from his throat.
"Just as my other creations will."
Hikaru gripped Zeoff by his shirt collar, forcing him to his feet. The oni beckoned for him to follow before slipping out of the tent without another word.
The former elemental staggered to the tent's exit, a steady, pounding pain spreading across his chest as he moved. Though Zeoff barely even noticed it, much too engrossed in his own dread.
When he pulled aside the exit's curtains, his heart dropped in his chest.
Before him were the remnants of a once-mighty region. Hikaru's soldiers trudged throughout the scattered debris, plucking useful materials from the flame-licked rubble.
There were no locals in sight.
The only signs of life were Hikaru's army-- nothing more.
"Y-you--" Zeoff's breathing hitched at the sight. "You said you'd spare Metalonia!"
"A sacrifice for the better." Hikaru grabbed Zeoff's shoulder in a vice-grip, as if in warning. "Manticore destroyed my beast. Adjustments had to be made."
"You don't get it, do you, Werewolf?" The oni's voice lowered into a snarl. "Humanity isn't worth saving any longer. Manticore's little outburst has made me realize that your species is undeserving of my mercy."
Zeoff's blood froze as the oni dug his ruthless claws into his skin.
Even during his time in captivity, Zeoff was never fully intimidated by the villain. In his eyes, the oni was just like all the rest of the crooks in the world.
Now, Hikaru was unhinged.
It was as if Manticore's escape had ignited a primal flame within him. The oni's initiative had changed completely.
He wanted more than a new realm.
He wanted bloodshed.
He wanted to destroy Ninjago and its inhabitants until nothing was left but ash and dust-- just as he did to Metalonia.
"You're going to help me find them." Hikaru's cold tone snapped Zeoff from his revelation.
"Yes... Of course." Zeoff knew it was unwise to challenge the oni in his feral state, despite the growing tension between them.
"If you impress me... I may consider sparing your life." The oni released his shoulder, throwing him off-balance in the process. Hikaru laughed mockingly as the former elemental struggled to regain his stature.
Zeoff stared unblinkingly at the destruction before them, grimacing.
"The last human in my realm..." Hikaru turned away from him, folding his hands neatly behind his back. "What a grievous existence."