"Why don't you show them."
"What do you mean by that?", Troy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Garett looked around at all the people surrounding him after using analysis on the crowd... including the mercenaries.
Troy: (Lvl 12)- Warrior- Legionnaire
Wexus: (Lvl 13)- Warrior- Legionnaire
Lance:(Lvl 18)- Craftsman-Alchemist
Charlotte:(Lvl 14)- Thief- Reaper
Melody: (Lvl 20)- Battle Mage Assassin- Specialization: All
Pierre: (Lvl 16)- Thief- Ringmaster
'Interesting... Melody... she is the same level as us, and her specialization is.... different from anything I've seen before... however, from what I can tell, she doesn't even come close to the physical or magical abilities of Trevor or Ashley... and Samantha has game-breaking abilities of her own... if you add on the fact that my specialty in in crafting... and that my crafting skills are literally out of this world... without a doubt... our abilities completely outclass that of anyone else in this world... level means absolutely nothing when comparing us to others. It's as if our statistics have been completely inflated.... that is, we're ranked with a completely different measurement.'
Garett then took a look at Ashley, who grinned devilishly and started laughing.
"He he he... keh keh keh... fufufu...aheheheahahehahehahe...."
Everyone sitting at the table tensed up as they witnessed Ashley having a mini laughing fit.
"I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use this skill.... oh I've been so excited to use it... but there hasn't been a very good chance... finally... finally.... I can do this... heheheh....."
Ashley then raised her hand and waved it dramatically before whispering [Mass Terrorize], bringing it down, slapping the table.
The second her hand touched the table, every single person in the mess hall aside from the antiheroes and the mercenary group started to hold their heads in pain, screaming in horror as if they were having a nightmare.
"AGH!!!!!"
"MAKE IT STOP!!!!"
"HELP!!!!"
"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE MEE!!!!"
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!!!!"
"SAVE ME!!!!!!"
The entire group was filled with complete madness- Troy and Wexus included. There was not a single person within the entire resistance who was not holding their head and shouting in terror and agony.
Tears started to flow from the eyes of many, and some started banging their heads on the table.
A few of them seemed to be pulling out their own hair.
"No!!! AGH!!!!!"
"I can't do this on my own!!! Why would you abandon me!?!?!"
Every single person in the room was experiencing a nightmare- a manifestation of something which they feared the most. Exactly similar to Fargar's ability to create panic in others, Ashley was now using a magnified version of this ability in order to create terror in the minds of the people in front of her.
"Hehehe.... this is what you all get for testing our patience..."
The four mercenaries watched in horror. They had not undergone the test like the rest had, and they could only imagine what these people must be going through.
"W-what are you doing to them all?!"
"This... this isn't right!! These people aren't mere bandits, nor are they scum like the ones you took care of in that alleyway!! Even if they were.... this is too much!!"
"Please release them!!"
"If this goes on any longer they will all lose their minds!! I don't know what you are doing, but please!!! For their sakes... stop this madness!!"
The group, with Melody aside who seemed to be calmly watching, showed their true colors to Trevor, and he checked off another box on his to do list.
"I told you before, did I not? Perhaps you didn't hear me when I asked you the first time? Or perhaps you merely misinterpreted it? I made it very clear that by following us, you would be walking down a dark path... and it seems that you all are not prepared to walk it... what a shame..."
"Should I let these four see what's happening to the others as well?", Ashley asked with delight.
'Shes a monster...', Lance thought.
'I can't believe I looked up to these people...', Charlotte regretted.
'I should have never trusted them... these people... these elves... these... dictators.. they are not beacons of justice... they are not here to rid the world of scum... They are here to rid the world of anyone who dares lift a finger against them...'
'Monsters...'
'Monsters...'
'MONSTERS!!!'
'These people are monsters!!!!!!!'
'That one there... she is perhaps the only one who understands us... she is similar to us... she has been through a difficult situation for certain... these others... even Pierre, who seems to have killed before... he cannot handle something like this... ah well... I suppose we should let them off at this much...', Samantha thought.
"I think that's enough, Ally."
Ashley waved her hand, and when she did so the people of the resistance ceased their madness, and looked around at each other quivering and sniffling like babies.
"What... what was that!?!
"Where am I!?! Am I back from that hell!!???"
"Thank goodness... it was only a nightmare... agh... my head..."
Troy was staring forward with a blank and defeated face.
Troy had been sent back in his memories, and witnessed a terrible scene.
He was the executioner, and on the chopping block was Wexus, his parents, his younger siblings, and his comrades in the military.
He then executed each of them, one by one. He was fully aware of what he was doing, and he by all means didn't want to do so... but his body kept moving.
Chop.
Slice.
Pshhhhh...
Next.
He felt the sensation in his arms of taking a persons life- of slicing ones head off. He heard the screams and cries of the others as they witnessed each person be killed. He felt the splatter of blood on his hands and face, and looked intently at the face of each person he killed. He saw the terror and disappointment in their eyes as their facial expressions read 'why are you doing this?'
He felt the remorse of doing so, but he could not stop.
"Why are you killing us!?!?"
"We love you!! We didn't abandon you!!!"
"Please stop this, Troy!!"
Slice.
"I- I don't want to do this!!! My hands wont stop!!!"
Slice.
"MAKE IT STOP!!!"
Troy came to his younger sister, and brought down the ax on her neck.
"Wait!! Brother!!!"
Slice.
Then, Troy awoke... to see the four elves in front of him, smiling... and his men, all grabbing their heads- bloody and with hair torn out, some crying and others shivering in fear over what they had experienced.
Troy stared blankly forward.
'No.... no... no.... stop... make it stop...'
"Now then... those are some good looks in your eyes... it seems like we can now get down to business... you all will become our informers from this moment onward in this country... as for you four... I would be very happy if you all were to join this resistance... of course, I would like you all to keep quiet about who we are... at least for now... ah, Sarah... I think it's acceptable to reveal our true forms."
Samantha waved her hand and before the terrorized group appeared a group of 2 demons, a spirit, and an elf.
Samantha then smiled sweetly yet horrendously at the four mercenaries- all of which except for Melody were shaking with fear and worry.
"That's right... it seems you all didn't notice anything before... but unfortunately for you... we aren't some group of heroes who are trying to rid the world of evil for some just cause... well... we are trying to rid the world of scum... but not because we are trying to do what is right... because we are MONSTERS... and the only pieces of scum who we will allow to walk this planet.... are ourselves. You all picked the wrong people to follow."
Turning to the people of the resistance and folding his arms on the table in a businesslike manner, Trevor then made one last comment.
"I will be sending one of my trusted subordinates to be stationed here in the resistance. He is extremely capable, and should be a great addition to your military strength... however... if you wish to succeed in your plans to overthrow this senator... you will likely have to throw away some of your foolish ideals... well, I will leave that to him... you four may stay here, or you may come with us... however whatever you choose... just always know that if you tell anyone the truth about us... then you will find death quicker than the words can escape your mouths..."
Garett let free two spider cameras which crawled over into the pockets of Troy and Lance without them noticing to keep an eye on these people.
Garett smiled as he then addressed everyone in the room.
"We said before that we wish to change the ideals of this world... that we wish to uproot any sense of moral justice, and replace it with our own... but always remember...we are not here to perform justice... we are here to define justice."
With that statement, the antiheroes got up from the table, leaving the group completely shattered mentally- barely able to speak or move.
"But seriously... that skill was amazing... to think I could break people's minds so easily... heh heh... I love this world...", Ashley muttered.
"Will it be alright if we just leave everything like this?", Garett asked.
"According to my simulation... those people will be traumatized for a while, and won't be able to leave here for a bit... even when they come back to their senses, they will at first live in fear, and ensure never to speak a word about us. The chances of even a single person revealing information about us were less than a tenth of a percent, even before taking into account that those who are traumatized will try to stop anyone who is brave enough to do something about it. Not only that... but their fear will become a motivation for them. Now that they have us breathing down their necks, they are pushed to make progress and actually succeed in their goal.... for our sake... this is the iron rule of any business... if workers aren't motivated to succeed, they will never get anywhere... and that is exactly what I saw in this resistance... a bunch of workers who were simply trying to get by... they would fulfill their quotas, and that's it... nothing more... at the rate they were going they would never have succeeded... but after giving them this push... after instilling the element of terror... and that combined with sending over one of our own to pressure them... I estimate that they might have this senator uprooted and a new faction established to replace him in 2 weeks.", Trevor explained.
"2 weeks.... heh heh... you're brain sure knows how to get things done..." Garett responded.
"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from myself.", Trevor boasted.
"Is there anything you would like to add, Mrs. Always right?", Garett inquired.
"No, I don't feel like we will have any problems leaving things as they are... hehe... I had a lot of fun today...", Ashley replied.
"Well then... that's that...", Garett noted, as the four walked off.
"It's better that we put those useless humans and their senses of justice to use in this way... your plans are really amazing.", Samantha complimented Trevor.
"There is nothing in this world that cannot be used to our advantage. If others are naive, we will take advantage of that. If others are arrogant, we will show them that they have no reason to be. If others are powerful, we will use their power for our own benefit. If others are weak, we will use that to draw them towards us."
The four walked off, smiling and laughing.
"But what about the mercenaries? Won't they hate us after this?", Samantha asked. "They all seemed pretty disappointed, aside from that one woman."
"That shouldn't be an issue. If my simulations are correct, either they will come around to see things our way, or they will isolate themselves in fear of us, never to speak of us again. Which one of these will happen though... that much is undetermined."
The four continued walking, passing through the town before eventually exiting the cave
"It's been a long day. Why don't we all go out to dinner tonight?", Garett suggested.
"Yesssss.... delicious...", Ashley slurped.
"I suppose this is a reason to celebrate... we gained a foothold in the Empire for information... and we are ready to set off on a campaign soon... I would like to send Oraguth to the camp here in order to mold the leader of the resistance in the right way to become valuable pawns for us... but that will come after this war... for now, let us celebrate."
----
Emperor Percius IV, after a long series of preparations to leave the Empire with an envoy to the Ruthobold Kingdom, was finally heading off in a carriage.
He had sent a messenger to the Kingdom detailing his arrival and the basic reason of this sudden meeting, however he was still excessively concerned.
It was ludicrous for an Emperor to simply visit another country with barely any prior warning, however this was not the time to be sitting back and waiting months for documentation and procedure to fall through.
The Indeterminant- the leader of the heroes of the legends was present in the Kingdom. This was a matter of life or death for the Empire, which was in such close contact with the monster realm.
'If the Indeterminant is present in the world, then the Determined must also exist somewhere... and if the heroes exist in the world... then so too must the antiheroes...'
The antiheroes.
The beings of chaos- the rulers of the underworld who were destined to defeat the monster kings and rule over the realm of monsters as demon lords with power unimaginable.
Only the heroes were said to be able to defeat the antiheroes, and only if they all worked together and defeated the antiheroes with speed... before they became too powerful to control.
Tensions and conflict between nations and the respective heroes associated with each nation, would ensure that the antiheroes were given the time and resources they needed in order to become powerful enough to defeat the heroes. Who knows? Maybe they were already so powerful that they were unbeatable.
Percius hoped that this was not the case.
Which was why haste was of the utmost importance.
Percius wasn't doing this for his country, or for his people- but for the survival of humanity as a whole,
He believed the legends with his whole heart, and even though there were some who might mock him for doing so, the fact that the Indeterminant had arrived was proof enough that they were true.
He had to gather the heroes, and bring them to begin the campaign into the monster realm as soon as humanely possible to search out for and destroy the antiheroes, and ensure that peace was kept for a long time to come.
This was one reason why he had already sent off Caspus to invade the monster realm.
Not only would it give him a strategic advantage if he were to win, but because they were on a time limit, they needed to be able to rush through the monster realm as quickly as possible in order to find and defeat the antiheroes.
However... would things really go so smoothly?
The legends said that if the countries of the world were able to overcome their differences, and if the heroes were able to work together to defeat the threat, that humanity would be saved.
If not, humanity would fall under the rule of beings of pure chaos and evil- beings who would completely change the balance of the world, and rule as tyrannical dictators.
Percius shuddered just thinking about it.
'I feel that I might be able to reason with the Sultan... however King Ruthobold... and the isolationist dual rulers of the Alliance... it will be extremely difficult to convince them to simply hand over their heroes... but this is what is necessary for the sake of the world... if I need to, I am prepared to make sacrifices... even as far as to give up my own territory in exchange for the assistance of the heroes of each country.'
"We're ready to depart, your Grace.", one of the legionnaires stated from outside the carriage.
An entire entourage worthy of an Emperor was traveling through the capital of the Vythguard Empire, Turak, with their destination being the capital of the Ruthobold kingdom. It was a line of around 30 chariots and 5 carriages, as well as a guard of 50 horsemen who had been borrowed from the 2nd legion. It was a small force, but well enough to protect the Emperor in the case of attack.
He couldn't just enter a country with a small army, however going undefended would be ridiculous.
"Then, let us depart. I wish to arrive within the next two days. There is no need to tire yourselves out, however maintain a constant pace."
"As you wish, my Liege.", the soldier responded while returning to the unit and barking out orders to move out.
The entourage set off through the capital city, and the Emperor sat in his carriage worrying about the future.
----
The antiheroes clinked their glasses together at a middle class Greek style restaurant. Salads and fish spread the palates in front of them, and the group was enjoying themselves and laughing as if nothing odd had happened earlier that day.
"Eeeeeeee...."
Ashley was drunk off a small amount of wine, and leaning all over Garett.
"Good grief... she just can't handle it... I suppose she was always alone and never had any friends to go out with... I feel pretty bad for her...", Samantha remarked.
"She's just like whenever I extracted blood from her back in the village....", Garett said while trying to prop her back up.
Trevor merely was elegantly sipping his wine while pretending like nothing was wrong.
"Eeeeeee.... I'lllllll killllll youuuuuu,,,,, grrrrrrr..... hehehehehehehehe... that's a nice faceeeeeee.....show me more terrrorrrrrrrrr...."
"Hahaha..."
A nearby waiter seemed somewhat shocked by Ashley's tone while she was drunk.
"Is... is something the matter, dear customers?"
"No. Please get out of our sight.", Trevor responded coldly.
"At once!", the waiter exclaimed while quickly running off to serve another set of customers.
"Perhaps we shouldn't let her to get drunk out in public like this... she might let something slip."
"Haha... looks like we should stick to our domain...", Samantha noted.
"Still... wonderful job by everyone today. You were particularly of use today... I would call you useless woman, but I don't feel that that nickname is appropriate anymore."
"I was just doing what I am best at. Charming others and ensuring that they are always loving and respecting me."
"Of course. And you do a fine job at that."
Samantha felt warmth in her heart after being praised by Trevor.
Ashley was now reaching across Garett for a napkin.
"EEEEE!!!"
"Alright alright!! I got it!! Don't cause a scene!!"
'EEE!!"
Garett got a napkin and wiped the food off her face, with an embarrassed look.
"Just like a couple.", Samantha stated. "How romantic."
"Hahaha..."
The antiheroes soon after returned to the mercenary guild. It could be considered a somewhat regular night out, for the first time in a long time.