Hunter x Edric - The Owl House

Chapter Nine - Flowers in Your Eyes

"As I was saying before the Owl Lady interrupted. One sacrifice is all I need. One of the two of you. One falls to the hand of the titan. The other bows before me, but lives to see another day." Emperor Belos explained.
Luz was to angry to speak. Hunter's eyes dropped and his expression darkened with fear of his answer.
"What are you getting at...?" He muttered.

"A fight to defeat." Emperor Belos announced.

"One becomes the sacrifice, the other bows before me until I require another sacrifice along the way." He explained.

Luz's eyes widened, and Hunters heart practically dropped. Eda was out of it, cold, laying in a pool of her own blood.

"No! I'd never hurt one of my friends. I know of loyalty! Unlike you!" Luz cried out.
"Oh really? But what about when it's more than just your neck on the line?" Emperor Belos questioned. He snapped his fingers, and the flames that hung below the cage burned higher.
"Luz! Luz help!" Willow cried.
"Hunter?!" Edric shouted.
"Edric!" Hunter shouted back. "Edric! Edric, it's going to be okay, I'm going to get you out of there!" Hunter shouted.

"The stakes are your friends. If you refuse to fight, they will all burn." Emperor Belos said as the flames quieted themselves again.

"You can't do this!" Luz called out desperately. "You can't keep getting away with this!" She yelled out, her voice straining as warm, angry tears forced themselves out of her eyes. Her glare was so harsh that her muscles ached. Her blood was boiling.

Hunter was less angry and more afraid than anything. He was afraid of loosing everything. Because no matter what direction the fight went in, he could lose everything at any moment. If he fought, he could kill Luz, and his friends, and Edric, would leave him. He could die at Luz's hand, loosing everything as he faded into the darkness. Or he could freeze in hesitation, and live a life where all of his friends died because he was to afraid to do anything. The dread was agonizing. He was a few words away from breaking down. But he couldn't. He had people, and himself, to keep fighting for. He could go and break down once this was over.

"I can. And I practically already have." Emperor Belos replied back swiftly.
"Now..." he said, her voice sharpening.

"F i g h t." He said. His voice sent a shiver down Luz's spine. His throne rose to where it was far above the ground, way out of reach of Luz and Hunter. It left the two alone in the throne room, with the quiet body of Eda, and dangerous stakes looming in the air. Hunter's heart thumped loudly. Luz's breath was heavy.

"Time is running out." Emperor Belos said, his voice echoing.

Hunter noticed something. Something in the back of his mind. Say that he did beat Luz, why would Emperor Belos sacrifice Luz if she lost..? He said he needed the most 'meaningful' sacrifice for the titan...so why would he sacrifice the loser of the battle? He had said that the other would live to see another day, while bowing to him. So it was not a battle to the death.
Just a battle to an eternity, burning in the shadow of Emperor Belos. But he had never been specific on who would be sacrifice, the winner or the loser.
So...Wouldn't the winner...

Be the most meaningful sacrifice for the titan?

Edric and Emira could only watch in horror. Raine was holding Gus and Willow, covering their eyes, whispering hopeful words that shook as they spoke.

Edric wanted to find an excuse. Why had Hunter done it? He thought he had changed. He knew Hunter was a good person, deep down, right? If not, who was the person he was talking to for so long? Who was the boy he fell in love with? Had he actually gotten to know him, or had he only met the mask?
He questioned if Hunter was ever the person he thought he was as Hunter attacked Luz.
He couldn't hear anything from so far away. Only small echos.