Chapter 286 - THE PEACE HAS ENDED 04 (1/2)

'You must not have thought of the plan backfiring when you are scheming against me'

Hirate was silent bit he closes his eyes and he sighed. He did not only trying to dispel the hallucination but he is also recounted the past.

The Psionic force revolves around his Disk trying to dispel as much a possible of the domineering aura that has begun affecting Hirate mind.

He then opens his eyes once again and sitting in front of him is the Death Monarch in his original height.

'I did not know how you know but it is not a secret that I try to schema against you. That was not the first time and I doubt it is the last. I see you still keeping that grudges alive.'

'But is that important now? Considering the many things that have changed since then?' Azief nodded

'It is not important considering our situation now. I'm just reminding you why I hate you'

And Azief finally take another sip of the tea, smiling. Hirate seeing this also takes another sip trying to calm down his burning heart right now.

'And Death Monarch if you want me to come here just to insult me, to hash out old things, then it is not too late to let me return to Island of Peace and wage war against each other.'

Azief eyebrows rose up

'I could still do that' Azief said

Hirate smiles

'But you didn't' Azief chuckles a bit.

Azief then sighed and ask

'Why did you trust me enough to let me bring you here to Pandemonium? It is quite surprising when you agree to my request'

'Does it really matter?' Hirate ask. Azief just nodded as he put down his cup and lean back on his throne.

Hirate put down the cup and then he said, trying to explain

'It is not really a hard choice to make' He begins.

'Especially because I have no other choice. After all if there is one thing l learned about people it is this. If you want people to trust you, you sometime have to trust them first. Especially when you don't have leverage over them'

And Hirate smirk a bit at that.

And then looking at those clear hazel eyes of the Death Monarch, he said this word

'I am not the man I was before. And I doubt you were the man you were before. At least I think we both could acknowledge that'

Azief nodded.

He still remembers the determination of the people inside the bunker room in Hawaii. They were prepared to die fighting if the fleet attacks Earth.

It surprised him to see that kind of determination and will

War brings out the worse in people.

But sometimes it also brings the good in people. Hirate then sighed as he said

'War brings out the worst and the best in people. Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men. War is romantic only to those who are far away from the sounds and turmoil of battle. I came back as better men as a result of being in that war and I would do it again if called upon. But each of us that participated in that war hoped that if we had learned anything from the experience it is that war is unreal, and we earnestly hoped that it would never happen again.'

Azief look at the fiery eyes of Hirate and there is a slight smile and slight puzzlement. He then ask

'What happens in the years that I was gone?' Hirate immediately answers

'War happens. You were not present in the early days of the occupations of Weronian and you were also not present during their last struggle. I have never seen so much suffering and such brutality in my whole life. It still keeps me up at night sometimes.'

Then taking a deep breath he said.

'Me killing people and fighting against people scheming against them while it is reprehensible, I have reasons for my killing'

Azief look at him and his eyebrows rose up. Hirate understand the irony. He just smiles bitterly and continues his word.

'Whether it be profit, some kind of personal sense of justice or because of interest, I have a reason for killing people. But I have never seen such senseless killing in such a massive scale the way that the war teaches me. In a way they were not really meaningless killing ,you know. It is an eradication. Genocide of the entire race of humanity'

Then he sighs and then looks wearily at Azief.

'You defeated Purunghasa and brought down the Pillars of the Weronians and weaken the Weronian on Earth. Most people would tell you that we humans started a counterattack since that day and we won every battle and manages to drive of the Weronian invasion. It was a moment of glory and triumph. It is also a great story'

Hirate said this sentence with a sense of sarcasm.

'The few Weronians that are still alive are in hiding somewhere in the world. They hides in some dark caverns or tunnels while there are still some people that are hunting them for their bones or their skins which can be used to make many things. And some are hunting them for some personal reason. There were many people that die that day. There are people with grudges. People who have their loved ones taken from them. And they still do not forget what happens to them'

Azief was silent at this. He understands hatred. He understands anger. He lived four lives as Azul.

He felt regret, felt sadness, felt sorrow and longing, felt love and heartbreak.

How could he not understand it? How could he not understand these desires and these feelings?

More than anyone he understands.

He is only thankful that while he understands those feeing, he still manages to feel empathy and not indifference.

At least he learns that much from Azul regret.

The real pity is when you feel nothing.

He let Hirate continues

'But it was not as easy as the people describe. It is not at all a successful counter attack where we won every battle. It is just that the battle that is won is more heavily emphasized. There is nothing we could do. I, Boris we all lie to the world. Because the world…in the absence of you….needs a new hope. So, we sell them hope…and by God we sell them a great story and they all bought it'

Hirate snorted a bit, not out of disdain to the world but to himself.

Azief sighed. But he also understands where Hirate is coming from. Nothing is more demoralizing than losing hope.

Hirate laugh bitterly as he said

'The last struggle of Weronians is terrifying. I saw it by myself. Their warrior tribes decide since they could not get Earth, they would rather try to inflict as much damage as possible. It is a scorched Earth tactics onto the whole world'

'How many people were killed in their crazed attacks and how many cities and villages were razed to the ground, how many men , women, children and people getting eaten by the Weronian. I walk the Earth and the only thing I saw was corpses, bones and ashes'

He closes his eyes for a moment and it was like he was reliving those moment all over again. Then opening his eyes he ask Death Monarch

'Tell me something, Death Monarch. When you experience something like that tell me, won't that kind of experience changes you belief and value?'

Hirate look determined as he look at that unmoving hazel eyes, a passive observer. In those eyes, Hirate almost could see a trace of feeling.

Then he said

'In your eyes I might look like some evil schemer and that is fine by me. I know what I am and I do not deny what I am. But I am not some heartless bastard. I like power. In fact I love power. But I also learn something. And it is etched on my heart since that day. I now understand the responsibility of people with power. You want to say that I schemed against you and it wrong?'

And the Hirate smirks

'It is wrong…to you. Yes, but it is not wrong to my people. Because at the time, my people wanted to expand the World Government and unify the hearts of all humanity under one banner. At the time, what is one measly life compared to the unity of humanity?'

Azief scoffed. Hirate continues

'The only wrong thing I did was that I underestimated you and that changes the entire plan. And instead of gaining the recognition of the world, my organization instead gained a powerful enemy we don't want. Trust me, if I could turn back time, I would take it back. But we know that is not possible' Azief only smiles mysteriously.