The Honest Guest: Night 15

       I did what I thought was right. It saved some lives, didn’t it? But…there were also plenty lost. I don’t know if I could make the right decision, even if there was one. I’m just not fit to be the one that leads and makes choices.

       The sound of a man’s singing caused the young man to come to a stop. Along with it was the sound of metal scraping, like something sliding down a railing. He curiously looked in that direction, but it was out of sight.

“Do you know, who I am~”

       The young man cautiously continued down the hall and peered around the corner. He looked just in time to see a pair of pink and yellow lights disappearing from out of his vision. The hallway went quiet, and the young man leaned back, relaxing. Suddenly, there was the sound of chain length unwinding rapidly from above him. He looked up and saw the metallic figure drop from the ceiling and fall in front of him, continuing to sing, “I am Judgment Boy~!”
       The scale-like creature jerked to a stop, with his weights a foot above the ground. The cages dangling from his arms still rocked back and forth. Grinning, with his sharp eyes settled on the young man, Judgment Boy began to proclaim, “You are out in the battlefield, in the middle of leading your comrades to safety across the rooftops. You all are running out of gas for your equipment, and time. Suddenly, something goes wrong. One of the other cadets is stranded on the street, having run out of gas. Two others dive in to try and save him. As a result, they also end up in the clutches of the enemy, and all three are about to be killed. You can either rally everyone to make an attempt to save them, or make a break for headquarters. What will you do?”
       The young man was briefly shocked into silence. With a tense sigh, he replied quietly, “If you really do know about that instance, then you should already know how it ends. You don’t need me to answer it.”
       Leaning forward, with just as much insistence, Judgment Boy repeated, “What will you do?”
       The young man made an annoyed noise. He looked down shamefully as he answered, “I told everyone to head for HQ. It didn’t end well. Look, I already know about this, you don’t have to-”
       “Let’s consult the Balance of Truth,” Judgment Boy interrupted, as if the young man hadn’t been talking. He then began to spin around rapidly, and the young man instinctively ducked down, with the lights sailing over his head. All the while, Judgment Boy shouted, “Judgment! Now!”
       Judgment Boy abruptly came to a stop and one of the cages opened; the pink heart tumbled out and shattered onto the floor in a soul-crushing manner. As the pieces settled across the ground and lost their light, Judgment Boy stated, “You choose to take advantage of the enemy’s distraction and make your way towards headquarters. The captive comrades all die. The rest of the trainees follow your lead, but, along the way, many of them get caught and killed as well. You and the remainder manage to make it to headquarters, but not without having lost dozens of soldiers. It was your choice. Now you get to live with it.”
       “I know…” the young man whispered, holding his head lower as Judgment Boy turned and went down the hall. The light of the golden money sign shone blindingly before being swallowed by darkness.