The antiheroes walked through underground sector of the fishmen village, with handcuffs on their arms and the two guards who they had defeated in combat behind them, as if they were criminals.
'This is beyond humiliating... not only did we lose badly to that elf, but his comrades didn't even so much as blink as we fought. They were certain that they would not need to intrude, even though it was a two on one. And now, they surrender to us!? I don't understand what they're thinking. Why would they surrender if they're as strong as they are? Just what do they have in mind? Are they just messing with us!?'
The guard who had fought with Trevor was confused at his motives, and ashamed to be pushing around the very person he was defeated by. It would have been better if these four had simply done as they pleased, but now he had to deal with the stares of the by passers who believed that the guards had defeated and captured a group of suspicious figures.
"I'm sure you two are very confused as to why we surrendered.", Trevor stated while walking forward, pushed on by the guards behind him.
"We are here to have a conversation with your leader.... Kota, I believe his name is. However, there is an interesting theory which needs to be tested. We have already seen how your leader would react to one who beams with power. I would like to know how much less would he treat a group of captured figures who lack the strength to even resist the stationed guards? To put it simply, I wish to see his reaction to negotiation with a figure weaker than himself."
"Why would you want to see that?"
Trevor looked over at the guards with a disappointed face.
"Ah, it seems you commoners cannot comprehend... well, to put it simply, whether one bows down to the strong or whether they stand against them in hopeless retaliation... that is one matter, for certain. This is dependent on the nature of a person. I have found many in this world who have put up a front of strength, only to crumble when they are faced with strength which they cannot fathom. There is a breaking point for everyone, the only difference is where that point is. Your leader may be stubborn, however if we were to take our time and pick him apart, he would eventually give in and beg to lick the feet of those above him."
Samantha then held out her hand as she continued the rant Trevor had started.
"But even if everyone is the same in their reaction to someone stronger than them, the reaction of one towards someone weaker than they are differs based on the person. This is what determines true character."
Ashley let out a crackling laugh before finishing the lecture.
"Basically, we are trying to find out.... is this leader of yours scum who will treat the weak differently from the strong, flaunting his own power over them in order to get them to do as he pleases, or does his delusional sense of justice and heroism have at least a small hint of consistency and truth behind it, and will he instead hold out a hand towards the weak? We will find out in this meeting, so you all better keep your mouths shut and rehearse your acting skills."
The two guards stiffened up at this.
'These four... I don't understand their motives at all. Are they trying to find some sort of reason to incriminate Kota!? Why would they need a reason though, being as strong as they are? No, wait... I have no idea how strong they actually are. They could just be stronger than me, but that doesn't mean they are stronger than Kota! However... I have a feeling that elf didn't use anywhere near his full strength when fighting me, so I have no idea where their limits are...'
"The unknown is frightening, isn't it?", Samantha asked the guard.
'Did she!? It's almost as if she read my mind just now. Is my facial expression giving off my thoughts!?'
"But you know, even if the unknown is frightening, sometimes you have to approach it, even knowing that there might be danger... sometimes you have to change your views, or even yourself in order to move forward. There isn't always a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes, even if you keep on walking, you will never know whether or not you will ever reach the end."
Samantha smiled demonically.
"But even if there is no escape from the darkness, then all you have to do is become accustomed to it."
----
The group passed through the entire fishmen village, and many of the people who were passed showed joyful and relieved faces.
A group of demons were walking in their midst, however they were captured by one of the guards.
This gave the people courage that they were strong enough to capture a group of upper beings. Even if the ones captured were among the weaker ones, the fact that they had been captured meant something great for the fishmen- who's strength shouldn't even come close to that of a weak demon.
Some who were previously wrought with fear after Kota's declaration of war on the demon who appeared in the throne room had their faith in the strength of the fishmen restored, and resolved themselves to continue faithfully serving their chief.
'Maybe we don't have to worry so much after all!'
'Perhaps Kota knows what he is doing! What a great leader... I can't believe he has been able to take such a heavy burden on himself, and face these impossible odds...'
'This is going to be a successful year for our tribe.'
Only the two guards who were pushing the four forward understood the gravity of the current situation, and even they only understood a small fraction of the overwhelming power of the antiheroes.
Garett breathed in a deep breath as he took in the scenery around him. The fishmen village was quite impressive. Despite the fact that it was built inside a large cave, the decor of the houses was well done, and the area resembled a tightly packed city. Buildings were spaced relatively closely, and made of interesting materials which would only be common near the ocean.
It wasn't as impressive as the dictatorship, which he had done most of the work on himself, but he wanted to run some tests on some of the materials and products of this village if he had the time to add them to his arsenal.
As they were heading to the royal palace, most of the fishmen seemed to beam with pride.
'What a bunch of idiots, to not be able to see through this facade. If any of them were strong, they would be able to understand the difference between us and these guards, and they would immediately realize that we are just pretending to be captured. Well, I suppose that's a good thing as it means our cover isn't blown.', Samantha thought as she read the minds of the people around her.
When they were getting closer to the palace, which had a large zigzag staircase leading up the plateau's side to it, an object was thrown right at the face of Samantha.
Trevor converted the four into rays of light, however on seeing the object, Samantha spoke to him while time was dilated.
"Let it hit me."
"Oh. I see. Alright."
Trevor reverted the group to their physical forms. Of course, not a single thing was noticed by the fishmen, as it appeared to be only a nanosecond which they were in the form of light waves.
A tomato hit Samantha square on in the face, covering her in mush.
Samantha wiped away the mush with her demonic hand, and looked over to the child who had thrown the tomato.
"Demon! Boo! Chief Kota will get rid of you all!", a young crab shouted.
Samantha merely looked at the child with a sweet smile, and didn't say a word.
'I'll make sure to kill this little shit later. Definitely.'
The child was behind his parent, who watched Samantha smile at him.
'Why is she smiling? She should be angry right now! I don't like that look on her face...'
"Let's get out of here.", the parent told their child.
"Ehh... I wanna watch the demons get arrested!!"
"Some other time."
The two walked off.
Samantha flicked the mush off her demonic hand, and continued walking forward.
'Nothing more than a smudge to be wiped off. Either way, having a dirtied face like this will help us play the part of the captured criminals.'
The four began climbing the stairs to the palace.
'You know, it sure is good being in a higher dimension. I don't even have to care anymore what others think about myself, as I am already in a position where I can eliminate anyone who tries to ruin me.'
----
Kota sat in his throne while continuing to bark out orders to everyone who came into the palace.
"Yes! If you perform this task successfully, then you will be a hero for all the fishmen!"
"Thank you Kota, for giving me this opportunity! I will do my best to live up to your expectations!"
'And if you don't live up to them, you'll just die. Why don't these people ever live up to my expectations? Are my expectations simply too high? No. You should never lower your standards for anyone, for any reason. Lowering ones standards is the same as giving in and allowing the enemy to step all over me!! If nobody can meet my expectations, then they simply aren't good enough. I just need to keep on searching until I find someone who is able to meet them. They clearly just don't believe in themselves enough!!'
"Next person, enter!", one of the elders exclaimed.
The doors to the throne room opened, and in walked two guards, with two demons, a spirit, and an elf at their trident point. They were cuffed, and one of the demons seemed to have tomatoes smeared all over her face. Clearly, they had been captured.
"What is this?", Kota asked, confused. "Who are these people?"
The guard stood forward, saluting and then spoke.
"We have found these suspicious figures and captured them, and we present them to you, Kota. Would you like to question them?"
Kota's face twisted with disgust and annoyance.
"Suspicious figures? Don't tell me that you are related to that demonic woman?"
"Are you referring to the Determined? Why yes, we are allies of her.", Trevor replied.
"So you too are going to insist that that woman is the Determined? Haha! What's next!? You will claim that you all are the antiheroes!?!? Ridiculous. Why are you even here? I am too busy to deal with you, so I will allow you all to leave with your lives if you leave immediately. If not, then I will have my guards arrest you and put you into custody."
'Hahaha! That demonic woman must have been a real idiot to send weaklings like these, who would get captured so easily. Perhaps defeating both the human attackers and that arrogant demon woman won't be so difficult.'
"We are here to have a discussion with you. Particularly, we are here to give you one final warning.", Garett stated with a straight face.
"One final warning, you say!?! About what!? Ahaha!! Are you all going to warn me that we aren't strong enough to beat back the Empire without your advice? Or perhaps you will threaten me that you will take us over, if I take such a tone with you?! HAHAH!!! Go ahead, what is this warning!?"
"Well, it seems that you've already guessed it. You aren't strong enough to beat back the invading force, unless you use the strategy which the Determined proposed to you. Also, it seems that you haven't yet pulled the working civilians back to safety. Is there a reason for that? Do you intend on having them fight, or are you simply ignoring them? Or perhaps you truly believe that they won't come under fire, because you and your little army will have no problems destroying anyone who attacks, without any preparations. And one more thing. Do you not understand the position you are in? Do you always insult anyone who tries to assist you, while giving you practical advice?"
"Practical advice? I only stand up for my own beliefs. It would be a pathetic and cowardly move to use strategy in order to defeat these invaders. We must show them that we will face them on an even playing field, and still beat them back!!! We don't need silly things like preparation!! We are the proud and just fishmen, and we will show anyone who attacks us that even if they catch us by surprise, that they will not be able to lay a finger on our people, for we are all heroic warriors, who will give our very lives to protect one another!!!! For the just will always be victorious in the end!!! And you all have no say in this!!! You are nothing more than a group of weak subordinates who have been captured by my men!!!"
As Kota said this, Ashley seemed to be bored, rolling her eyes and yawning. Samantha had put on a proper act of fear, as if she truly was a prisoner in chains, whose fate lied with Kota.
Trevor stood back and let Garett take the stage for now, however Kota continued his rant.
"You all are the ones who don't understand your position!!! Insult me any further and I will have you all arrested and executed!!!"
"Ah, but I have more to say. You see, the Determined... she was a kind demon, one who stepped back when you insulted her so.... should I say she was kind? No, perhaps not. Rather, she was patient. She had the patience to listen to your blabber, she had the patience to continuously try and convince you to make the right decision for your people. Yet you didn't listen. Now, we come to you, imploring you to change your mind and work with us. This is your last chance. If you change your demeanor now, and ask us kindly to assist you, we will... at a price. If you continue to reject our offer, we will not hesitate to back out."
"You all think you have the right to make me an offer!?! You all are so weak that you couldn't even beat a few mere foot-soldiers, and were captured so easily!!! Look at how pathetic you are!! One of you is covered in mush, and you have the audacity to even try and strike a deal with me!?! You all would not even amount to a single warrior, even if you were to assist us in this fight, which may not even happen!! How do I even know that the information regarding this attack is true!?! It is merely hearsay, from a demon no less! Guards!!! Take them away, and have them set to be executed tomorrow morning!!"
The two guards were struck with fear on hearing this, and they looked over to the antiheroes to see their reaction.
Garett held his thumb and index finger to his temples, as if he had a migraine.
"I really tried to play nice. I really did. It took everything I had to hold back, but now you've gone and rejected my great final offer. Kota. Let me ask you one more thing? Do you believe that your guards have the power to take us away?"
"GUARDS!! What are you all doing!?! I said take them away right now!!!"
Garett then pulled his arms apart, snapping the handcuffs in two, and the other three did the same.
"What!?! Those handcuffs were made from a highly strengthened material! It should have taken the strength of a demon lord to break them! And how dare you refer to me as Kota!! You don't have the right-"
Kota was then cut off by Garett.
"Don't tell me you thought that these little things could hold us at bay.", Garett said as he plucked off the rings from his arms, ripping the metal apart.
"We now know you're true colors, Kota. The Determined said before that you would suffer a fate worse than death. I implore you to eagerly await that fate, which has now been carved into stone."
The four antiheroes exited the building, without harming a single person. The guards ran after them, and Kota seemed to be shouting from his throne to capture them, to no avail.
When the guards caught up to the antiheroes, Trevor turned to speak to them.
"There is no longer any need to keep up a pretense. You all are free to go. Do not worry, we will not be the ones to destroy your village. However, that leader will receive his punishment in due time. Rather, I implore you all to brace yourselves for the coming attack. With that man at the helm, this ship has already been sunk."
The fishman who had been kicked in his fight with Trevor tried to say something, but stopped.
"I understand. Thank you for not harming anyone else."
Trevor simply grinned.
"It would not benefit me to harm anyone in this village needlessly. Rather, we will take advantage of how things progress on their own. After all, I already have simulated the events from here on."
The antiheroes walked off towards the gates of the city, and exited through the underwater pool.
"As I thought, Kota is a leader who has absolutely no sense of respect for those below him, and no sense of the strength of those above him. Nothing has changed from this meeting, and I understand that you all likely wanted to kill him then and there. But do not worry. I can assure you that there is a reason for leaving him alive for now."
Samantha washed her face in the cold water before the group submerged into the air bubble.
"We allow the Empire to take over the fishmen. We will not interfere in this fight for now, and simply allow it to progress without interference. Thank you all for going with my plan without questioning things from here on out. Now, I will explain how things will play out from here."
----
After Trevor explained the results of his simulation to the group, they all smiled in agreement.
"I love it."
"A wonderful plot."
"It's certain to work. My intuition says so, and I'm always right."
"Very good. Now then, I'm sure you know what to do, Sarah."
"Of course."
The four submerged into the underwater cavern, and soon enough they saw Ploritan swimming up to them once again.
"How did the conversation with Kota go? Will you lend us your strength? Or... did he offend you?"
"What do you think?", Ashley asked.
"Ah... so he offended you."
"We have no place to assist a piece of trash like that. We will watch from the sidelines as your village is destroyed."
"That can't be!! I beg you, antiheroes! Reconsider! I will do anything for you if you lend us your strength!! I understand how unreasonable of a leader Kota is, and that he must have offended you greatly... but even so! I will offer you everything I can if you assist us!"
Samantha smiled at hearing this.
"If you are so concerned about helping the people of your village, then why don't you go out there yourself and fight?"
These words were implanted in the mind of Ploritan, and he responded sheepishly.
"I... I would love more than anything to do so, however my lungs have been removed. I currently cannot exit the water of this underwater cave. I am trapped here! I cannot do anything!"
"How pitiful. A fishman who is only able to live in water, and yet you are trapped in this small cave. Then, how about this."
Samantha held out her hand, and channeled her mana into Ploritan.
[Heal]
Ploritan felt a strange sensation in his chest, as if it was inflating. The scars on his chest disappeared, and he felt as if he was stronger than ever before.
"What is this!?!"
"Go and fight with your people. This is all we will do to help you, however it should be enough to allow you to protect your people with your own two hands, no?"
Ploritan started to cry as he realized that his lungs had been restored. Of course, he was already in water, so the tears were mixed in with the existing water.
"An... antiheroes... thank you.... thank you so much.... even if you will not fight with us, you have given me the opportunity to fight alongside everyone... I... I didn't know what I would do trapped here alone while my brethren were slaughtered due to Kota's idiocy, but at least now I can join them. Thank you!"
"There is no need to thank us. Rather, now you owe us something.", Trevor stated.
"What is it? I will do anything!"
"When Kota dies, you must take control of the fishmen, and take the responsibility for their survival. This is your duty as former chief, no?"
"When Kota dies? Does that mean he is guaranteed to die?"
Ashley smiled and began to laugh insanely as she seemed to be imagining something gruesome.
"Keh keh keh.... ehehe.... ahahah!!!"
Garett smiled devilishly, and responded.
"The second he offended us, that much was already determined."