The moon rose high into the sky, creating a faint yet prominent light that illuminated the ghoulish pathways of the slime village.
The sounds of celebration, the clinking of drinks, the gobbling down of food, and the cheers and clapping of many could be heard from the dining hall.
Four beings- creatures which could not be quite described as humans- made their way down these pathways.
One of these beings seemed to levitate just slightly above the ground. If seen from afar, this being would appear as nothing more than a foggy mist, however upon closer inspection one could make out the features of a girl in her early 20's, though her almost transparent skin would counteract this appearance and suggest that she was not a being among the living.
Her eyes drooped, with dark lines and bags which were almost representative of the fact that this girl was not a human, but rather a spirit. One might think that during the lifetime of this girl that she did not have such an exhausted complexion, and that her hair might at one point have been combed finely as opposed to the ragged mess which it now was.
But that was not the case.
As a matter of fact, during the lifetime of this girl before she entered the realm of the dead, her appearance was exactly the same, save from the fact that her skin was now just slightly more pale than the already white as ice shade which it previously took.
She wore a simple white nightgown, one in which was fitting for a spirit. It was worn down and ragged, but not to the point of exposure.
Walking alongside this girl was a being which had skin the same crimson shade as blood. He wielded a menacing and demonic smile as two fangs poked out of his mouth, and two horns that were far more twisted and crooked than perhaps even his facial expression protruded from his head.
Veins created a maze across the arms of the being, and a purple blood pulsated through his veins visibly, as they seemed to oscillate with each beat of his corrupted heart. Tipping the fingers of his hardened and calloused hands, were a set of sharpened claws.
This demon wore clothing which looked to be a ragged and torn t shirt, and a pair of shorts to go with it.
Underneath their outfits, these two wore something which looked like a silver set of bandages that had been wrapped carelessly around their skin, as if a child had wrapped himself in toilet paper imitating the appearance of a mummy.
And on their necks, were two necklaces with a set of charms strewn into them.
These charms being a set of fingers which had been removed from a victim on the whim of these demonic beings.
As the two walked they could hear the clinking and clicking as the fingers stroked one another with each footstep they took.
Standing right next to these two, walking side by side in elegant fashion were two more beings.
The first was a female who had skin the color of the ocean in a clear and pollution free area, a turquoise which seemed to gleam in the moonlight.
Covering the face of this woman too, were a pair of fangs which adorned a wicked and yet mature grin, and topping off her head was yet another pair of crooked and twisted horns.
Similar to the other demon, purple blood coursed through her veins, and her nails appeared as if they were sharpened to the point of being used as weapons.
This woman too wore a ragged and plain white nightgown, and underneath her clothing was a set of bandages which seemed to cover most of her body.
The man on her side wore glasses that seemed to be perfectly rectangular- to an extent where the edges, which were cut at perfectly right angles, could be used as blades.
His ears were long and pointy, far longer than the ears of the average human, and his black hair which was gelled up acted as a witness for his style and professional appearance.
He wore a suit and tie, with pitch black pants and dress shoes that clopped as he made his way along the path. Underneath this suit, he too wore the set of bandages which the others were wearing, though they could not be seen as the suit covered his entire body.
He arrogantly grinned as he made his way through the town, looking around at it as if the city itself was his possession alone. One in which he stood behind with pride, beaming as if to say 'I made this'.
Of course, that was because he had.
This elven figure and his companions looked around at the walls made from flesh and bones that surrounded them and the eerie atmosphere with joy, only further being reminded of how far they had come from the time in which they entered this world.
Hanging from the wrists of the demonic woman and the elven male were two bracelets, which had the toes of a man strung into them, swinging about like beads on an abacus.
These four beings were the antiheroes, and this was the Dictatorship which they had built from scratch.
They made their way to their manor after the banquet feast, completely filled and satisfied at the luxurious cuisine which had been served.
The spiritlike girl, Ashley, turned to the others with a blank stare in her face.
"So? What's next? We took over 3 villages and now we've partied with the very people that we took over as slaves. What's our next move, Mr. mastermind?", she asked in a monotone voice while plucking her eyelid open, addressing the elf, Trevor.
"Well, I think we should obviously head back to our home and get some rest for the night before doing anything else. After all, it has been a long two days filled with many complications, though it has certainly been an interesting two days. Either way, we need to rest ourselves so that we may be at full capacity for tomorrow, in which we will need to be doing some serious planning to unite our three villages.", Trevor responded while pushing up his glasses with his middle finger, and checking his wrist only to realize that there was no watch on it.
"Gary, would you mind figuring out how to create a watch at some point? I can't seem to function at full capacity without one."
"Will do. But isn't there something we're forgetting?"
"Hm? Oh, you're referring to Coran, are you not?"
"Yep. Shouldn't we check up on him?"
"Well, according to my simulations which I ran continuously, he should at this point have found a village to invade, and perhaps has made contact with a few people after careful observation. Perhaps he has even taken up residence in the home of a caring person who doesn't view him as a beast. It's highly likely that he has gotten into a few scuffles and perhaps even killed a few people, but nothing more. Ah, but we did ask Berith to relay those orders to him, did we not? I wonder how he will adapt to those? Either way, it's unlikely that he has acted on them yet. He probably hasn't deviated from the original plan just yet. But, I do suppose we should view the footage which he has produced and check up on his situation. We shall do so when we arrive home."
"Ugh..... can I just go to sleep when we get home?", Ashley asked, annoyed.
"Well, if you want to, that's fine. But don't you want to see the footage yourself? It might not be as interesting as the entertainment we viewed just last night, but.... it could be interesting in of itself.", Trevor responded.
"Ooh!! Alright, I'm in! I'll stay up!", Ashley exclaimed as excitement blazed in her dead eyes.
"Are you sure that everything is alright? I mean, your simulations are accurate, but it's possible for them to be wrong, right?", the demonic woman, Samantha asked with concern.
Trevor put his hand to his chin.
"Well, the simulations which I underwent assumed a worst case scenario, so regardless of what has actually happened, I've already determined the minimum possible progress in which Coran has made, along with the maximum possible danger in which he has encountered. And neither of these are something to worry about. Unless a massive factor which was completely unpredictable made it's way into the equation, everything should be exactly as planned."
"And what if a massively unpredictable factor entered the equation?", Samantha asked, thinning her eyes.
"Then, to be honest..... anything could have happened. The entire series of actions which Coran might have taken could have derived from his usual patterns, and to be honest.... I would have no way to simulate or predict it."
"Then, we should check on him as soon as possible, right? It's been 2 entire days since he left. A lot could have happened since then."
Trevor nodded in affirmation of Samantha's suggestion.
"Of course. We will do so then."
The four continued to make their way down the pathways before reaching the massive palace which they had created.
Acting as a large dome surrounding the exterior of the palace was a massive ribcage, and inside of this ribcage was a heart that seemed to be pulsating, with veins and arteries spreading out from it into the city underground, acting as a pipeline.
On top of this heart was a structure which appeared to be a brain, and from this nerves seemed to make their way into the ground as well, flickering with sparks of electricity which ran through them.
This was the palace of the antiheroes- the heart and brain of the dictatorship.
They entered the palace which had walls made from what appeared to be cardiac flesh and brain matter, and after making their way up the stairs and down a series of corridors- most of which led to meeting rooms, one of which led to the throne room- they found a room which had been prepared for them to sleep.
Four extravagant beds were laid out in a 2x2 square. This was because the antiheroes were bound by a distance restriction, and could not leave the side of one another up to a distance of 3 meters from whatever was considered to be the center of the four.
In front of these beds was a screen that appeared to be made out of ectoplasm, and as Ashley jumped into her bed, spreading herself out across it, the other three one by one made their way to their own respective beds.
"Finally..... it's been so long.....", Ashley complained as she closed her eyes, hugging her bed.
"It's been one day.", Garett replied. "We came back here last night to sleep."
"But it feeeeels like it's been so long."
"Haha... indeed it does. I wonder why that is?"
"A lot has happened.", Trevor stated as he fixed his own covers and with the snap of his fingers changed into an outfit which looked like pajamas.
Using his [Speed of Light] skill, where he could transform anything into light waves and back, this included clothing. In an instant, the four were dressed in sleepwear.
They all laid in their beds now, and Trevor set up something which looked like a spider with a lens instead of eyes on a nightstand, and it began projecting to the screen.
And the movie began.
"Should we get some food?"
"We just had a banquet, Ally. Let's settle for some drinks."
"Ok. I'mma call the servant then."
"Do as you please."
Ashley seemed to be touching some options on a screen, and went into a call with someone, who responded immediately.
It was a female voice.
"Y-your excellency?! Is there something you need from me?"
"I want something to drink. Get me something."
"O-of course, your excellency!!! But.... do you have any more specifics? Is there any particular thing you want to drink? And where should I bring it to?!"
Ashley then put her hand to her chin, seeming to be in thought.
Garett, who was almost facepalming at this, leaned over to speak.
"You gotto be clear when you order people to do things, or they won't understand and will do it wrong. We're in the royal bedchambers, and as for what to drink.... I'll have a cola. Do you two want anything?", Garett asked Trevor and Samantha, who were lying in the two front beds.
"I'll have a sweet tea. It's been a while since I had one of those.", Trevor stated.
"Hmmm.... get me some herbal tea, 1 scoop of sugar.", Samantha replied elegantly.
"Just get me whatever.", Ashley said in a raspy tone. "As long as it's drinkable I don't really care."
"Don't get her alcohol.", Garett added.
"I understand, your excellencies!! I'll be up as soon as possible with your drinks!!"
"Thank you.", Trevor stated, and Ashley ended the call.
"Ugh... even with the people that I rule over it seems like I still can barely communicate...", Ashley lamented.
"Well, you're doing much better than before. At least you can speak to them and order them around."
"Yeah..."
"Let's get to the movie, shall we?"
Trevor played the camera at an accelerated pace so that it showed the entire adventure of Coran from the moment he left.
"Hm? That's strange. He appears to have gone out of his way to take out this nest of wasps. Perhaps he saw it as a threat to our country?"
"It appears that way."
The four watched patiently, interested in the scene as Coran seemed to fight his way through the nest.
"He's doing pretty well. I suppose we don't need to worry too much about him dying in a fight."
"Don't underestimate our enemies. He can face them only because they're not irregularly powerful."
"Yeah..."
Soon enough, the scene came to a climax where he was fighting the guards of the queen, but just as this happened, the antiheroes heard a knock on their door.
"Um.... I've brought your drinks."
Pausing the movie, Trevor called out to the voice.
"Don't make us come to the door to get them. Come on in."
"I-is that really alright for a servant like me to enter the royal bedchambers!?"
Ashley turned to the door and spoke out in a monotone voice.
"Just come in already. Stop wasting time on that pretentious stuff. We're too lazy to get our stuff ourselves."
"I understand.... then, I'm coming in!"
The door opened to reveal the cute face of a female goblin, who was carrying the drinks on a platter. She seemed to stumble in, nervous, almost spilling the drinks but just barely managing to catch herself.
"I-I'm sorry, your excellencies! I'm a bit clumsy... please don't hurt me!!"
Samantha rolled her eyes at seeing the girl make her way in.
"Just give us our drinks and leave."
"Right away!"
The girl rushed forward, placing the drinks on the nightstands of each respective person, however when she made her way to Trevor, she placed the drink just a bit too hard, spilling a slight amount so that it splattered over onto Trevor's shirt.
"I- I'm so sorry, your excellency!!! I've made a terrible mistake!!!"
The girl prostrated herself on the ground before the bed of Trevor.
"I-if you wish to beat me into submission then please do so!! I've made a grave offense against you, my master!! One that cannot be forgiven with a mere scolding!!"
While Samantha seemed annoyed, Garett and Ashley seemed somewhat amused at the performance.
Trevor however, merely chuckled.
"Don't worry about it. Just get me some napkins, and make sure to wash these sheets tomorrow. Of course, if you refuse to do that much, then I suppose beating you into submission would be the next step. We can't have slaves who refuse to do their work, but I don't intend to punish those who are willing to do what they can to make up for their errors."
The goblin who seemed to be trembling in fear over her mistake, looked up to Trevor with tears in her eyes.
"Y-your excellency?! Are you sure that you should be letting me go with just that?"
"If I were to punish everyone for simply making a mistake, then that would be nothing less than cruel. Furthermore, it would actually decrease the effectiveness of the punishment. People would fear me, for certain, but they would only fear the punishment, no? The right combination of fear and care should be used when raising perfect slaves. How many times in our world, did slave rebellions occur due to the mistreatment of slaves? I have no intention of giving my slaves reason to rebel against me. I will first ensnare them with hopelessness before encapsulating them with kindness, and ensure that so long as they are willing to do their part and make an effort, that they are not punished. While results are tremendously important, even more so than that is the effort involved. If someone goes out and fails to achieve a desired result, then can I blame them? Rather, perhaps I should blame myself for sending them on a task which was too great for them. After seeing the way Kota treated his subordinates, this is clear in my mind. Now go. Bring me some napkins for now, and then be gone and make sure to do your duty tomorrow."
"Y-yes, your excellency!!"
'His excellency is too kind.... sniff... I can't believe he can overlook something like this with virtually no punishment.... they are truly the greatest leaders of all time...'
The goblin walked off before returning with some napkins.
Trevor used some of them to wipe up the mess, as he ordered the goblin to merely stand by and not do a thing.
With the final napkin, he used it to wipe the tears off the eyes of the goblin.
"The only tragedy which I have witnessed here is not a spilled drink, but rather the tears that have been spilled from someone underneath my rule. Now go. And do not lament your mistake further."
"Yes, your excellency!! Thank you!!"
The girl made her way out of the room, and the four turned to continue watching the rest of the movie.
"Hey Theo?", Samantha asked.
"Yes?"
"There's something I'm kinda curious about. Just... who are you?"
"Who am I? I'm nothing more than a businessman who knows how to sell his product. And right now, the product which I am selling.... is our rule."
Volume 9 Afterword:
Wow.
Just wow.
To begin, Volume 9 was the longest Volume of this series that I have ever written.
Even to this point, I don't believe that I will ever write another Volume as long as this one, but we will see how things go.
First off, did anyone notice?
This is the chapter in which the prologue is based off of. I wonder if anyone remembered?
Now, I was talking with a friend about the story of Volume 9 and he seemed to be very interested in the whole 'what was to be' vs. 'what actually happened', so I am going to let you all know here.
To begin, I planned a long time ago to have an arc where children were kidnapped from an orphanage, however they were being abused and so they didn't actually mind being kidnapped- but everyone else in the town didn't see things the same way.
However, this arc was originally planned to happen much later in the series, and I originally intended for the antiheroes to be the ones doing the kidnapping, not Coran.
Now, there was a chapter a long time ago- Chapter 140 I think (Almost 100 chapters ago!!) where Trevor was just ranting about stuff and that was when the idea of sending Coran into the human realm first crossed my mind.
However, I originally just intended to send him there and have him make some friends and also kill some people who couldn't accept him because he was a monster, or something along those lines.
It was when I started writing V9 that it hit me- what if I were to combine these two plotlines?
And so Volume 9 was born.
Also, there was another certain plotline for V9 which I started to write but ended up changing before it was finished.
Veronica was originally supposed to be the owner of the orphanage who was abusing the children, however after writing her character and her backstory, I actually liked her too much to make her a villain. I was trying to make a villain who was interesting and even somewhat likable but evil at the same time, however I just couldn't do it. I enjoyed her character far too much to villainize her. So instead I created Mrs. Fera, and made her as unlikable as possible, so that my viewers would cheer on Coran as he mercilessly slaughtered the people who supported her blindly.
My story is supposed to be one where the main characters are evil, but the villains are even more evil, to the point where people cheer for the main characters, and I think I've done that pretty well here in V9. Please continue reading to see the conclusion of the Porta arc in V10.