"I did. And I didn't go around acting like I was merciful. If I hated someone who was weak like an ant, I would've had mercy on them either. Anything else? That man isn't a merciful god! If he's letting us leave and avoiding a battle, no way in hell is it because he's merciful! We can't fall for his words or his act."
Lia also snapped back in response. "You are always so good at your thoughts, and understanding the situation; why are you acting like a naive person who will believe anything that anyone says? You know there's a saying! Don't look at what I say; look at what I do! And you're focusing more on his words and his act?"
"We all know that it's a difficult battle. And instead of helping us with a plan or in trying to find that man's weakness, you have been trying to scare us since the beginning. Is that how motivation works before a war? By saying that the enemy is having mercy on us, so we should run away?"
A discussion between Raphael and Lia changed into an argument, and Azekiel couldn't do anything but stand back and watch.
He wanted to intervene, but both sides were getting so agitated that even he had a hard time finding a way to stop them.
Unfortunately, he couldn't let it go on for longer as that was bad for their team. After a long time, they had started working in sync. This argument was bad for them all, especially since it weakened their team right before an important battle.
"Shut up!" Ultimately, since no one stopped talking, Azekiel had to be even louder than them.
If he wasn't loud, he was being ignored in this argument.
"Both of you shut up!" He once again exclaimed.
Finally, Raphael and Lia stopped talking. Both of them stared at Azekiel. From their faces, it was evident that they were still angry at the other person, but despite that, they both stopped speaking.
"Both of you need to calm down! Don't forget; we are all on the same side! You can't lose your composure like this!" Azekiel reminded the two of them.
"Both of you, take deep breaths! For the next five minutes, none of you will say anything!"
To calm down the situation, first, he needed to make the two warriors calm down, and the best way to do that was to stop them from speaking.
He instructed them to stay silent for the next five minutes. Even though it was a short duration, he believed five minutes were just enough.
Raphael and Lia both stopped speaking. Even though they occasionally glanced at each other, but they looked elsewhere just as fast.
Fortunately, the short rest of five minutes did manage to calm their heads a little. Even though they were still a bit angry, it was way better than before.
"Now that you're both silent, listen to me! I think you two are fighting over nothing. First, Lia." Azekiel glanced at Lia. "Even though Raphael's way of telling us how dangerous the enemy is might not sound like a good news for us or for anyone's morale, he is just telling what he saw and felt."
"And since it's Raphael, there is a good chance that he might not be wrong. Then again, if we don't consider the enemy's strengths, how can we find ways to counter them? We can't just close our eyes to what that guy knows about us and fight blind?"
"If he really knows so much about us, then certainly he is more dangerous than Avila was. So instead of looking at it like it's fear mongering, can't we look at it like a session to understand the enemy and how he acts."
"I agree that he has an ulterior motive for not attacking us when he could, but Raphael never said that it was because he was merciful! So think about what he said from a different perspective. I'm sure you might be able to see what Raphael was trying to imply."
Lia didn't respond, but she did understand what Azekiel was trying to say. She also understood that maybe she became a bit too hyper for no reason, misunderstanding Raphael.
Azekiel didn't leave Raphael either. "Raphael, I know what you were trying to say. And I believe you completely. If the man knows about us, then it's certainly dangerous for us, but just because it's dangerous, we can't run away, can we? Throughout our journey, was there anything that wasn't dangerous?"
" Even when we fought Avila and the Soul Demon, we barely avoided death. It was by great luck. But that wasn't the only place where we were at risk. Ever since I started climbing the tower, I've been prepared for death. It's my second life, and I don't want to live like a coward in this life."
"Even though it might make me come off as stupid at times, but I don't care. Instead of running back, I would much rather prefer to stand and fight, even if it means death! And that's when the enemies were ordinary!"
"This man, however, is the person who is responsible for my entire life coming upside down! He's responsible for my mother's death, and now that I have an opportunity, if I run away, I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself! If I run away, I'll never be able to face myself! It'll be like throwing away my entire life again!"
"So yes, no matter how strong he is... No matter how much he knows about me... No matter what the outcome of this battle... I won't run away. Now, I won't jump blindly into the battle, but I won't run away, either. So we are here, and we are here to stay."
"I understand." Raphael nodded.
"Also, one more thing..." Azekiel further remembered one more thing. However, he couldn't say it before Lia.
He told Raphael to follow him. It was only after they covered some distance they stopped.
"What you told Lia about her past... That came off like personal attacks. I'm sure you didn't mean it, but still, I just thought I should mention it."
"I also realize that. I really lost my composure there. I should've been more careful. I will talk to her about it."
