The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 63: The Collapse, Part One

The surviving adventurers burst through the double doors, catching Iris in the halls. The Pope flinched at the sudden sound, whirling around to face them in horror. "Y-you! You're here!" He shrieked. The adventurers drew their weapons, storming up to him. Iris held his hands up, trying to surrender. "P-please, wait-"

"Been through too much to deal with some fat old man's shit," Yin growled, his cigarette smoldering between his lips. Iris's back bumped against the wall, sweat dripping from his greying beard.

"P-please, surely we can talk about this! You look to be a very reasonable man, Mr. Rose! S-surely we can come to some sort of agreement? F-freedom, was it?"

The adventurers looked at him in disgust. He only cared about himself, up until the end. Iris was nothing but a coward. The Pope dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together. He was begging.

"I-I can't grant complete freedom! But I can free the slaves!" He whimpered. "They'll never be trapped here again! I-I'll even stop the monster hunts! I have that power! I can-"

"You're pathetic," Jasper muttered. "How many of us begged for our lives before being killed off like dogs? How many genocide campaigns did you send just for the sake of killing us off for good?"

Iris didn't answer her question. He only trembled where he knelt, his eyes watering. And finally, his fear got the best of hi., just as it had done in the Second Timeline.

"O-oh... P-please... I c-can clear your records," he begged. "I c-can stop it all... Please, Yin... You seem to be left with the decisions..."

Yin's face reflected the revulsion he felt when Iris crawled up to his leg, his wrinkled, fat fingers curling around his shin.

"H-Hero of Light, c-correct?" Iris stammered. "Would you r-really kill a defenseless old man?"

Yin pinched his cigarette between his fingers, blowing out the smoke. Iris become more unlikeable with each passing second.

"Yeah. You're gods damned right I would."

SPLLRRRCH!

Axe, greatsword, rapier, katana, battleaxe, magic, and hammer crushed down on Iris, his bones snapping to pieces, his eyes popping from their sockets as they killed him before he had the chance to beg. Yin took another drag from his cigarette before flicking the bud on the Pope's remains. He ran his hand through his blonde hair, heaving a groan.

"Ugh... All this work just for a guy who wouldn't even fight back," he muttered. "He's the same as he was in the Second Timeline. If he don't have nothing to hide behind, he's just a sad old man..."

"Prefer it that way," Sasha grumbled flatly. "We're still pretty banged up from dealing with Jack and Mono. Getting into another hard-as-balls fight before the First Vao would be the death of us. Literally."

Vao took a deep breath from his pipe, passing it to Hekue, who wordlessly smoked the marijuana. Salem felt bad for Hekue. The dryad was too innocent to go through this; her strength to even continue after the things she had seen was amazing. None of the Branwen family said anything. They were quiet. They hadn't said a word since Jack killed Violet. Yin sighed, walking towards his brother and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"... Hey. How're you doing?"

Vao turned his gaze to his brother, Yin feeling like he had been stabbed in the chest. Vao looked devastated. Yin understood; they had both lost their parents, and Vao lost two of his kids. This war had come with terrible costs.