Tossing Kunnia her boot, she hastily puts it on. Her expression lightens as she untenses.
I strut up to her. "Don't go thinking it's over. You're only at the entrance of the den, the lions still within."
"Well... I only lost because you had to cheat," She refutes.
"I had no clue having a strategy was cheating. ...It seems no matter what, you're a slave to your ideals. So, I ask you... do you know why the concept of honor and patriotism was created?" I guide her towards the base of a large tree where a bench and a shovel lie waiting.
Kunnia looks at me, knowing she won't like my answer, but responds regardless. "It's a prestigious code amongst honorary knights to sho-," she begins to declare.
"It's the perfect tool for controlling weak-minded people. It does three things. One makes people predictable; nothing worse than a tool that doesn't work the way it's supposed to. Two, redirects the blame of the person controlling, saying it's for the sake of god or the country. That means the bellyaching boozehounds at the rung up the ladder won't ever see a finger pointed at them while they get to play puppeteer. And finally, number Three, it creates a false cause people would die for. A false higher purpose. So I ask you...why let such weak ideals bring you down?"
Holding up three fingers, I stand there for a moment, surprised that I hadn't stuttered or mumbled over any of my words. "Then again, who am I to talk? I'm just the victor." I shrug.
"That's not true! It's a common agreement held amongst noble fighters. It shows bravery, courage, and strength!"
"Can an early grave really convey that much?" Despite the fact that she towers over me, it seems like my side-eye has weakened her confidence.
But, her recited statement makes it clear to me that I won't be able to use her if she's this loyal to her ideals.
The rain now violently beats down against us, the tree giving us little cover. "Change of plans. It's time for your punishment. Ready to be dishonored?" I ask..
Kunnia blushes, covering herself. "What do you plan to do with me?!"
I look at her with dead eyes. "Pervert."
"WHAT?! Well, when you said... I-?!" She recoils in embarrassment.
I toss her a shovel "Dig."
"What? Why? What are you planning?" Her embarrassment vanishes as uncertainty takes hold.
"You are so desperate to live by honor. So why not let it drag you to your grave? If you hurry, I'll let you die with your sword."
"You can't be serious... you can't kill me? We're on the school campus."
"You saw how the teacher reacted today. They don't care what happens to us. They throw a bunch of strong people into a school and see which monster has killed off all the others."
"No way! How could a Luminary be a killer? That just doesn-"
"Aristotle believed that virtue could be taught. You may be a bad person, but if you follow the steps and act as a good person, even if the feelings behind them are fabricated, eventually you can fool yourself and believe in your actions, therefore evolving into a "good person". It's much easier to teach morals than raw strength. Right now, the government is shopping for a weapon by making us kill each other until only the strongest remain. Leaving them with an experienced and emotionless weapon. Once they have that, teaching them their "kindness" is simple enough. You'd be surprised how malleable human beliefs are."
"You know this, and you still strive to be a Luminary?"
"A Luminary? I'm no government hero. I am going to be a King."
Kunnia stands there, trying to process what I just said. Unsure of how to respond, she attempts to intimidate me. "Well...your edgy bluff isn't fooling anyone! As if you could kill me. You could never kill anyone!"
I take a seat and rest my hand on my head, tapping my fingers as I try to remember how long the last one took."...Four hours."
"What?" She steps back.
"In the past, it has taken the hydrofluoric acid four hours to dissolve a corpse. The bones can take a little while longer."
Realizing my violent intent, she begins to scout a retreat.
"Once I kill you... your body will be dissolved. No one will find you, nothing left, no legacy, no honor, no...Kunnia. You will be reduced to chemical elements. You're not the first body, and you certainly won't be the last?"
She looks at me as though I'm insane.
Yet I stare at her, simply...tired, my words almost bored. "If you knew how quickly people forget the dead, would you be trying so hard to impress people with your honor? No... you would see how short one's life truly is, you would live... to live."
As if I somehow instinctively knew how to use the contract I speak. "Do not dodge." My words boom with authority.
It seems to work as Kunnia struggles to resist, standing frozen; I pluck a coin from my pocket, imagining a knife.
Kunnia internally squirms as she struggles to escape but inevitably fails as I begin to move closer. "Why can't I-!! Get away from me!"
The blade pierces her abdomen, stabbing the right external oblique just missing her kidney as she cries out.
I guess I'm feeling kind, as I didn't use my usual serrated bowie knife. "You're bleeding out. So, if you hurry, you should be able to dig about six feet before you die. If you admit how stupid honor is, I'll... help you dig."
Kunnia puts pressure on the wound, hesitating for a moment before grabbing the shovel. "Damn it!"
She stands there wincing at the pain as I yawn, sitting down. Her eyes water as she attempts to put pressure on the wound.
Eventually folding to defeat, she begins to dig; I can hear her mumbling to herself. "...This can't be happening... I thought he was just a normal student... who the hell is he?... looking at his eyes, it's almost like... there's nobody there."
I try to take that as a compliment, as the tiredness begins to overwhelm me. Luckily, I chose a spot under a great, big weeping willow tree. It sways as the rain beats down. If I had to bury myself anywhere, this would certainly be a contender.
I guess it's technically not a weeping willow tree, somehow the parasite infected the flora life, leading to these... lively trees.
I sit on my bench, attempting to get some shuteye. Kunnia continues crafting her grave, cursing my existence almost like a lullaby, besides...the mean things she was saying about me. But she has a pretty voice, so I quickly fall "asleep".
Dirtying her white shirt with mud after each scoop, the monotonous sound of the shovel hitting the dirt as she mumbles to herself. "Think! Think! He's not strong. He just outsmarted me. I just need one moment, one opportunity."
Still futilely looking for a lifeline, Kunnia notices that I have my back turned and am "asleep".
She likely realized there's nothing preventing a betrayal. As the idea formulates in her head, her morals act as an anti-virus as she shakes her head.
Her internal moral clash is visibly projected on her face. "No! No! He's getting in my head again. Maybe I can challenge him again. I could offer, I could offer... there's nothing left... my life is entirely in his hands. ...I hate this feeling! It's as if I'm already dead." She breaks from her emotional breakdown as her optimism gives one last performance. "But... at least, if I die with honor, my life can stand for something. Right, I have to accept the loss like a true knight!"
She stands there for a moment with a weak, defeated smile likely thinking about what she has left.
This false hope doesn't last long as she begins breaking down in tears, falling to her knees, the salty tears drowned out by the rain and blood. "What am I saying?! I don't want to die!"
With what little remaining hope she has in her eyes, she looks up and sees her muddied sword lying there, unguarded. Slowly she picks herself up, fumbling for the sword.
With blurry vision from the tears, dirt, and rain, she stands there visibly conflicted. Yet she steels her resolve, For the reward is freedom.
She cries out as she stabs me in the back whilst I sleep on the bench.
...Or so she thinks...
I walk out from behind the tall tree in my briefs wearing a neutral stare shaking my head. "Backstabbing your enemy. Not even looking at their face before you take their life. How very barbaric of you. But...it looks like you finally understand how much your shackles weigh you down."
She quickly turns, surprised by my aliveness. "Wha- no... no. I- it was-" Kunnia takes a step back, confused as to what she had just stabbed. I roll a gold coin between my fingers as she double-checks her victim, only to see a CPR Dummy in my seat wearing my clothes. However, I doubt any amount of CPR would bring back a person where she had stabbed.
Marching up to Kunnia, she stumbles backward.
"Drop your sword," I command.
Kunnia clenches her fist, but as though an invisible force released the tension, the sword falls to the ground. She continues backtracking, almost falling into the three-foot grave she'd barely dug. I grab my knife from my back pocket. "Final words?"
She stands there speechless, defeated, the hope in her eyes visibly fading as she envisions the end.
It is almost refreshing to see. I'm so used to crocodile tears, someone just wanting to use me. But her tears were genuine.
Slashing the bridge of her nose, I push her into her grave. "Let this mark serve as a reminder of where your honor will get you. For I have loosened your chains. It's up to you to break them."
Kunnia lies in the muddied grave, motionless, staring up at the sky, rain bouncing off her glasses as her eyes widen.
"I didn't strike anything vital. The nurse's office closes in an hour, so let's see some hustle." I wave while sauntered away.
Kunnia must have realized she's not dead, as she begins to cry tears of life.
Nothing adds more value to something, than threatening its absence.