Dr. Kraven squinted his eyes and breathed in a deep breath before continuing on with his conversation between him and the Senator.
His heart was racing, but not because of the adrenaline from his encounter with that monster. At this point, that had died down and now there was only one thing which filled him with an uncontrollable rage, which he desperately tried to keep bottled up inside of himself.
It was the presence of Mrs. Fera.
He could never forgive her for doing such horrible things to those children.
To traumatize them to that point.
Not once had a single one of those children attended his doctors office since Mrs. Fera took over as the head of the orphanage.
"Oh, they are all as healthy as can be! There's no need to waste your precious time on them. After all, this is a place for sick patients, no? And you're the only doctor in the village. If I brought every single child to you for something as simple as a checkup, then you would never find time to take care of the people who are truly in need."
Or so she had said.
While Dr. Kraven had insisted that she bring them in, should any abnormalities appear, she merely laughed it off with a nod.
'I thought you cared for them. I thought you were supposed to be the one person who gave those children attention. The one who gave them life. The one who showed them, that even without parents, that their lives had meaning. That they were human beings, with just as much worth as you or me.'
Kraven took note of the concerned look on Mrs. Fera's face.
'So you're afraid of losing your assets, eh? Or maybe you're afraid that nobody will be able to take revenge on the monster that took those fingers from you. The ones that I bandaged. Well too bad. You're not going to get your way this time. I won't let that happen.'
Kraven turned to the two, and began to speak, with a shaken voice.
"We all entered the mineshaft together..... it was a group of around 30 people. Some of them were trained warriors, others weren't. As you know, there were even some guards and mercenaries among the mix. We walked through the mineshaft, but at some point sprung off a trap that doused our torches in water, rendering them unusable. It might have been something set by the previous owners of the mines to prevent invaders or thieves, but either way it put us at a disadvantage. After that.... we exited the mineshaft into the cave system to see Coran's lair...."
"Coran's lair? Is that.... is that the name of this monster?", the Senator asked.
"I believe so. That was the strange thing. There was a maze made from spun cloth and webbing, and at the beginning there was a sign that spelled out 'Coran's Lair' made from webs. It was as if..... as if that thing had intelligence."
The expressions of Mrs. Fera and the Senator became all the more concerned the moment Kraven said this.
Mrs. Fera knew that the monster was intelligent enough to communicate, but just how intelligent it was remained a mystery- and it seemed all the more like a true nightmare had approached them.
Kraven did not have to fake his own terror as he spoke these words, for his terror was the truth.
But even so, he continued speaking.
"Well, anyways.... there were six pathways to go, so we all split into six groups of five."
"Six pathways? And an entire maze made from webbing!? Just how long has that monster been there? Surely it must have taken at least a week to set something like that up. Furthermore... to think it was intelligent enough to do such a thing...", the Senator murmured.
"I'm not sure about that myself. Perhaps that thing has been there for a long time, and only decided to rear his head recently. But anyways, we split into groups. My group headed for the first tunnel, and that was where we met the monster...."
The Senator leaned forward, listening eagerly.
"And then?"
"The other four attacked it, trying to kill it. I stood behind them.... was I too scared to shoot? Or perhaps I knew that shooting would have been useless? Either way, I didn't fire off any shots. After the monster killed them all, he tied me up and took me in- and that was where I saw it."
"He tied your up?! Like he did before to me?!", Mrs. Fera shouted.
"I believe it was something similar, though perhaps a bit different."
"Please, go on.", the Senator encouraged.
"I saw the children. They were in an unbelievable state. It was as if their minds had been filled with torment to the point where they simply.... refused to believe that the thing was a monster."
"What!?", Mrs. Fera shouted.
"That's right. They simply didn't even recognize it as a monster, and were not filled with a single shred of fear in their eyes."
"I-impossible! They're young children!! How could they not be scared of something like that!?"
"How indeed....", Kraven said while biting his tongue to stop himself from slipping a nasty comment.
"Eck... at any rate.... it was then that a few more tied up people showed up one by one, and eventually a group made it to where we were tied up.... they said they would stall the monster and cut us free, and the three of us fled together, leaving those others behind."
Kraven looked to the side as he said this.
"They likely all died. We are the only survivors."
"This..... is terrible.... out of all the people who attended this mission, only 3 survived? And you all just barely managed to escape by the looks of it....just..... just how strong was this monster?"
"I can't exactly say for sure. All I can say is that it was in another dimension."
The Senator looked at Mrs. Fera and then back to the three. The other two, who still seemed to be shaken, nodded to confirm this.
"And what of you two? Were your stories similar?"
"Well.... basically.", Patrick lamented.
"There was another.", Niri stated. "There was another monster who attacked my group."
"Another!?"
"A wasp queen..... she might not have been as strong as the spider, but she was powerful. I could tell just by standing next to her...."
"That must have been the slave which he carried within his bag...", Mrs Fera exclaimed with fury in her voice.
"I suppose you could say that."
"How many are there then!? Just those two, or are there more!?"
'How many more monsters are there in this village? Hah! You tell me.'
"I don't know."
"Grr...."
The Senator reached over and begged Mrs. Fera to calm herself.
"Mrs. Fera, we should calmly think this through. Clearly, this monster... no, these monsters are very dangerous. I believe that we cannot allow ourselves to underestimate them further."
"What do you mean by that, Senator?"
"I will contact Brutus, and send a request for Slith to be deployed."
"Slith!?! You mean that mercenary!? I see.... he certainly will get the job done.... but... can he be trusted??"
"I'm not quite sure about that... but I know for certain that Brutus can probably keep him on a leash.", replied the Senator.
"Hmmm.... well, I suppose the first priority is to kill that monster, so it can't be helped. Very well. Please send Slith to perform the job. He might very well be the only one who is able to do it."
"Yes... ah, you three are free to go for the night. Please, get some rest. I'm sure you all have had a very long day. Worry not, though. I will do everything I can to secure the safety of this village and it's people."
"Thank you, Senator..."
"I will return to my home then...."
"I.... need to get back home as well.... goodbye...."
The three walked out, still clearly distressed at what had happened- or at least in their acting they were.
And with that, the two were left alone.
"Mrs. Fera, isn't it about time you headed back as well? Is there something you have to talk to me about?"
"No, nothing Senator. I only wish to say one thing before I leave."
Mrs. Fera looked at her hand as her eyes wrinkled with fury.
"Slith can surely destroy that monster, right?"
"He is a prodigy. A genius beyond all geniuses. He reached a level which was thought to be unreachable for humans. The seventh tier."
"Seventh tier.... what does that mean exactly?"
"Well, for each tier of strength in the ranking system, one's overall fighting capability increases five times over. A harmless baby would be considered first tier. A soldier would be considered third tier. If we look at that directly.... then Slith.... well, he would be considered a one man army of over 600 soldiers, but that power has been concentrated into a single person, which makes him all the more powerful in a one on one battle. There is no way he will lose if he is sent on a mission. The only people in this world who he might lose to are the heroes themselves."
"Wonderful. Then, I suppose we will simply have to leave it to him."
"Indeed. Goodnight, Mrs. Fera."
"And goodnight to you, Senator."
----
And with that, this long night finally came to a close.
13,455.
This is the number of deaths which occurred on this day- monster and human alike, performed by the antiheroes and their subordinates alone.
Trevor looked at this number as it blinked on his screen, before he fell asleep, leaving Garett on watch.
But to Trevor, this number held little meaning.
It was a mere statistic.
A piece of data, which was only one small piece of the infinitely complex puzzle that composed of the workings of this world, and the history which was about to go down.
----
Oraguth awoke early in the morning after a nice slumber, inside this cave of bandits.
Somehow, it reminded him of his own village- the one where he once resided in fear of his father.
However, the scales had tipped.
Now, he was the one who held the lives of those around him within his hand.
But Oraguth was not his father.
He would not toy with their lives so long as they remained useful to his masters. He saw no purpose in sadism. The only goal he wished to achieve was the mission given to him by his masters.
As Oraguth awoke, he planned to get up and head over to speak with Troy regarding his plans for the coming day.
However, he received a call.
One from his master.
"Hello, your excellency. Are you calling to get a report on my activities?"
[Actually, I've just reviewed the footage, and I'm well aware of your position. Rather, I would like to give you further orders. There have been a series of events recently, and you are needed sooner rather than later.]
"The time for the resistance which I have molded to act has come already? I've barely had time to influence them, your excellency, but if you feel that they are prepared then I will obey your judgement."
[You are cautious, which is admirable, but have some more faith in your own work. You have done an excellent job at wrapping those people around your finger. To be honest, you blew away the expectations which I didn't have. I couldn't be prouder. However, there is now a critical job for you to perform. Listen closely, Oraguth]
Oraguth held his breath, so as to not miss a word which escaped the mouth of his master. He wished desperately with all his heart that there was some way to record and store them, however no such method was available for him, as far as Oraguth knew.
While he could write them, he did not have time to do so- only time to listen and pay attention.
'The spider object that Gary made seems to capture reality, and input it into a viewable scene. You can even hear what is being said, and see what is happening from the viewpoint of the object. It's amazing, and I wish I could somehow use it on my own.... but as far as I know it only works in combination with the abilities of their excellencies.'
Oraguth took care to review over the details of the plans many times over, and questioned his master thoroughly on any details he was unsure about. After all, he could not afford to make any mistakes here, and wanted to ensure that he knew what to do in every possible scenario.
The call then ended, and Oraguth then found himself walking to the room of Troy, the puppet leader of the resistance, though this time with a completely new purpose.
After making his way through the tunnels, he casually entered to see a man pacing back and forth, considering many things.
The man looked over to the door as it opened suddenly, and straightened himself at seeing Oraguth enter.
"Troy. We have orders from the higher ups."
"T-the higher ups? You mean.... those monsters?"
Troy was visibly shaking and his eyes were filled with fear at the mention of Oraguth's masters.
"Of course. It's wonderful. We've made so much progress in just a few days that we are going to be moving onto the next stage quicker than anticipated. This is exciting, isn't it?? To think that they were so pleased with my performance as to escalate things for me like this.... the fact that they are giving me such a great challenge means that they believe I can keep up with it. But Troy, in order to surpass the expectations of my masters, we have to work together. After all, we can't just be sitting here doing nothing more than paperwork while Brutus is out there, plotting behind the back of the Emperor, right? Who knows. Maybe more are being falsely accused just as Wexus was as we speak! We have to put a stop to him, right?"
Troy seemed to come to his senses and looked at Oraguth with a deep determination.
"You are right, Oraguth. Whatever your masters have planned..... I am prepared to fulfill."
"Perfect. Then, gather the other members of the resistance. We've increased to 60 members now, and we're still growing! You know a number of people flocked here last night, begging us to take part. Don't worry about spies, as I've already had each of their backgrounds thoroughly researched."
"I see..... then, I will gather everyone in the lunchroom, and meet you there. You can explain everything at that time."
Oraguth, who was dressed now only in the steel thread armor, cracked his knuckles one by one, before leaving while whistling to himself.
*Whistle *Whistle
"Ah, how delightful.... now then.... time to figure out how to get everyone on board with this...."
----
The mess hall filled quickly with people.
Almost all of them wore cloaks as to conceal their identities. Aside from a background check, they didn't want their true identities to be known, as they were technically working with an underground- and illegal- resistance.
Everyone was called here by the leader of the resistance, Troy.
He currently sat up front, with Wexus and his two comrades- Barnabas and Uriarus by his side.
Many of the people were restlessly chatting with one another, behind their cloaks and hidden identities.
"Why do you think we were all called here like this?"
"Isn't it obvious!? The leader must have some sort of statement to make to all the new members!"
"Or perhaps a large scale mission?"
"You think so?"
"We can only wait and find out."
At this moment, Troy stood up, and looking around, caught the eye of a person among those seated. At being signaled, he stood forward.
"Members of the resistance. I thank you, first, for joining us. It truly makes me glad to see so many who sympathize with our cause, and have witnessed the corruption within the Empire- specifically that of Senator Brutus! Those gathered here know of the misdeeds he has performed! Abuse of power! Theft from the poor! Unjust execution of those who are merely trying to help others! And worst of all....."
Troy frowned as he thought this.
"He has hidden all this from the eyes of his grace, our one and only Emperor, Percius IV. He is nothing more than a traitor who must be exposed."
Looking around, Troy could see that many nodded in approval. Clearly, everyone here had some sort of grudge or reason to hate Brutus.
"And so, our purpose is to expose him, however it is impossible for a mere group of criminals to gain an audience with the Emperor. So what shall we do? Shall we continue to sit on the sidelines, performing petty theft and weakening the Senator bit by bit? NO!"
Troy then turned to point to a member in the audience.
"One of the most talented members of this resistance has come up with a plot to accelerate our goals, and it was approved by none other than those who back him, his masters. To those who do not know of him, his name is Oraguth, and he will present us today with a plot which will allow us to gain an audience with the Emperor not years from now, but on this very day!!!"
"Today!?!?"
"What!?!?"
"How!?"
Many who were new were completely shocked, based on the information they had been given.
Although, those who knew Oraguth personally were not surprised in the least.
From the crowd, a figure stood up and began making his way to the front to speak.
This figure was wearing a hooded cloak. It was a ragged cloak, which had long sleeves that completely covered the being's arms, and he wore black gloves to cover his own hands. On his neck was a large scarf that seemed to wrap around his entire head, and he wore a mask to cover his face. Long pants completely covered his legs, and not a single piece of skin could be seen through the heavy layers of clothing which he seemed to be wearing.
Stepping up with a sense of confidence, people could almost feel the grin on the creature's face, though they could not see it through the mask.
"Now then. I suppose I should get right to the explanation. Today, this resistance force will cease to be a small scale resistance, slowly building up strength. Instead, we will become a full fledged faction by the end of the day."
"How is that possible!?"
"What is your plan!?"
The figure spread his hands out as if he was receiving the questions in his arms, accepting them.
"On this day, we are going to march right into the capital, and demand an audience with the Young Emperor."