"I eradicated the evil inside you," Noah explained, resting his axe on his own shoulder. "If you were completely evil, that attack would’ve killed you."
"The evil inside...?" Redrum repeated, hardly seeming to process his state.
"Beneath all of that malice, there was a small light. It was faint, nothing more than a little ember, but it was there," Noah pinched two fingers together. "That’s my theory, anyway. I don’t think a soulless, evil monster would talk about his comrades with the kind of passion you did. That’s love."
"Love...? I don’t–" Redrum tried to protest, though the memories surfaced again.
In the mind of the confused orc, he recalled that which he’d never thought of again. It wasn’t a vital memory to him–there was no fighting nor was it of any spoils. A time between war, a moment of calm; between valleys, he sat alongside his comrades at a table, sharing in delicious meat and booze.
Some bickered and fought, others joked and laughed, even bumping into him as he ate his fill. While he reprimanded his warriors, scolding them and serving a fist upside their head, he couldn’t help but laugh with them.
["Is this...love?"]
The sweet memories faded as the orc blinked, finding himself knelt, looking past the young man towards the crowd of villagers looking on from up the hill.
"Kill it!"
"Finish the job!"
"Yeah! That thing doesn’t deserve to live!"
Even through the storm, the heated shouts of the people were heard clearly by both. Otto and Astrid stood right behind Noah, with the archer keeping his bow ready and aimed on the orc, and the mage readying her magic.
With all the hostility pointed his way, the orc didn’t flinch, instead letting his head hang as if showing shame, "Do it. You’re listening to them, right? Kill me." Redrum requested.
"I’ll gladly indulge that," Otto said, drawing the arrow back.
Noah raised his hand silently, stopping the archer from taking the orc’s life so suddenly. While the red-skinned figure sat on his knees with his head down, after some seconds, he raised it again.
"These...feelings–I can’t live like this, with this pain in my heart," Redrum choked up, unable to stop the emotion from pouring out. "So, just do it–!"
"That’s taking the easy way out," Noah responded. "You’re finally able to feel remorse. Dying isn’t going to do anything but make the world just a little bit bloodier."
Otto looked offended by the words that left his companion’s lips, "Noah? What are you saying?! You know what that thing is, right–? What it’s capable of?!"
"I know."
"So–" Otto protested.
A slight tug to the archer’s sleeve interrupted him as the meek mage set her gaze on the axe-wielder, "I trust Noah’s judgment. After all, he helped us, right?" Astrid added.
"That’s..." Otto clenched his fist, looking down. "I don’t care if it’s crying and feeling guilt, letting a monster roam free–"
"Who said anything about letting him go free?" Noah asked, glancing back at the bowman.
While the archer seemed partially curious, the resentment for the idea was still there, "What are you implying?" Otto carefully questioned.
"I’ll keep an eye on him, of course," Noah claimed.
"What?--" Otto immediately gasped.
"I can say with near certainty he won’t go back to his old ways, but understandably, nobody else can see what I’ve seen."
"About that..." Astrid stepped closer, cautiously glancing at the knelt, now quiet orc. "What exactly...did you do?"
"I extinguished the evil within him. It’s not an outright change, but it removed the root of his evil–only because there was some good in him," Noah explained, looking at his axe as it glistened with rain water.
"What the hell, man?" Otto sighed, shaking his head as if the very idea brought on a migraine. "I just can never get a read on what you’re capable of. Are you really saying you’ve made this monster into something...not destructive?"
"That’s up to him now, and what he wants. But, just look at him–I think you can tell," Noah answered.
All three looked at the knelt orc, who hung his head with utter grief. The audible cries had been snuffed out by the rain as the once prideful General reduced himself before them.
"What do you have to say for yourself then, orc?" Otto demanded an answer. "My friend here is vouching for you, but he might as well be the kindest soul in this damn world. So, I’m not convinced just yet."
"I don’t deserve a second chance," Redrum answered firmly, not shying his gaze away as he looked up.
"--" Otto didn’t have a response for that earnest look.
"When I think back on my memories, the time of plundering, conquering, killing...There’s this feeling, like my heart turns to lead. My stomach sinks, my throat gets tight, I get a bit nauseous," Redrum explained softly, touching his own neck in thought. "I don’t know what this feeling is, but it’s terrible, utterly deflating, yet...I feel without it, I would be unwhole."
"That’s clarity, and with it, guilt," Noah affirmed, crouching in front of the figure thrice his size.
"Is this normal for you? You’ve lived with this your entire life?" Redrum asked.
"Well, people don’t usually have the deaths of countless people weighing on their conscience," Otto chimed in.
The orc lightly shook his head, "What I’ve done is irreparable. I can never make it up. But, I promise you this...Never again will I take a life."
"I can make sure of that right now," Otto offered, squeezing his bow.
Noah stopped any notion of callously executing the surrendering monster, extending his hand to the knelt orc, "If you’re not sincere, I’ll kill you."
"I understand," Redrum acknowledged, accepting the hand. "You will not have to do that.’
The act of helping the wounded orc to his feet silenced the onlookers. As ignorant as he knew he was to the ways of the new world, even he knew that the decision he made was anything but digestible.
He led the way up the hill, walking right through the crowd of anxious villagers, who now looked at him confused looks as the orc followed behind.
At the back, cautiously watching over the orc, Otto walked with his sister beside him, not letting his eyes leave the monster’s back.