'Ugh... what do I do? What do I do?'
Claire found herself surrounded by a group of over 40 people.
Men who served under both Fina and Ramrod had gathered in order to escort the group to the arena safely, despite Fina's claims that her own men didn't need to come. They were loyal to their leader and insisted to come.
After having agreed to work together against the ferrets, who had kidnapped two women, the group moved in unison in order to attend the hostage exchange.
'Just what will that crazed woman want?', Ramrod wondered as they made their way in and out of the streets. 'Money? No.... she will likely demand something more, depending on how highly we value the hostages. Did she plan this all out? Did she have people studying us and kidnap those who they know for certain are of high personal value!? They kidnapped the sister of the gerbil's leader as well, so it's very likely that this was some sort of planned maneuver.... I should've forced some men to go with Mori!! Shit!'
Claire looked over to see Ramrod deep in furious thought.
'I know what I have to do.', Claire decided. 'No matter what, I have to save these hostages. That is first and foremost.'
Resolving herself with this task, Claire continued to think.
'But.... how will I progress from there? All three of the leaders of this city will be in one spot. I can't afford to not take this chance to try and convince them to come to peace with one another. But.... with something like this happening... a hostage exchange.... I don't think I would be able to convince anyone to just shake hands and apologize....'
'What if you took that chance to show them where you're from and who you truly are? Isn't that your real goal here?'
'Hmm.... actually.... well, I would like to have convinced them to solve their problems on their own without exerting too much influence over them, but.... that might actually work.'
Claire found herself agreeing with the suggestion of Clarice.
'We'll see how things go. First I have to monitor this exchange.'
'Whatever you say.'
Claire couldn't help but think that she was agreeing with Clarice more and more often. While there were a lot of things they disagreed on, at the end of the day they were just different versions of herself- so they thought the same way but came to different conclusions.
Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she didn't know.
The large group walked through the town for quite a while before coming in front of an enormous metal building.
It was an arena. It had a huge dome style roof over it, and there were a few ferrets dressed professionally at the entrance.
"You all must be here for the hostage exchange. Our boss is currently inside the arena. We will lead you to her.", one of the men stated before motioning for the group to follow him.
Ramrod nodded stiffly.
"Understood. Retrieval of sister commencing.", Fina stated.
The group was led down the corridor and took a number of turns before arriving in a hallway which ended with a portcullis. The door opened, to reveal what was inside.
A woman sitting on what looked like an overdesigned throne, and lined up by the masses were hundreds of men. They were stationed all around the arena walls, and Claire's group made their way into the arena while they lined themselves up with Fina and Ramrod at the front and their subordinates behind them.
Claire took a position between the two.
The woman who reclined in the throne sat patiently with a disturbing smile as she watched the men file in. Her over the top outfit only served to show just how high she thought of herself- especially given that such luxuries had not been common since the slaughter of the sponsors, which was linked with their luxurious lifestyle.
The woman spoke confidently as she looked down on the people in front of her.
"The old man who has led the rats for 30 years now, but hasn't been able to make any progress all his life.... and in the very end, will lose everything to us. But what could be done? After all, with age the mind becomes number. You become slower. Your mind becomes unable to react as quickly. And eventually, you die out in a state where you've lost everything that you once gained. Pitiful, isn't it?"
The woman laughed to herself and as if planned, the rest of the ferrets laughed with her. Ramrod didn't flinch to such provocations, as there was no reason to flip out here.
"You think that old age has weakened me? I just had a bit of bad luck in the final stretch. If you don't think that I have the skills to take it all back, then you would be gravely underestimating me, woman."
The woman glared at him fiercely.
"It seems you don't understand your position here to speak to me like that."
Her bright red eyes seemed to flash as she stared at the man, and she then looked over to Fina.
"And over here we have the little arena prodigy who happened to survive some fighting and thinks that she can just take over the gerbils faction after killing a few people. It takes a little more than personal skill to lead a group you know? You lack charisma and don't have a personal link with your subordinates. Look at things now. You can barely even hold onto what you had. Ah.... but I heard that the reason you lost the other 2 factories in the first place wasn't your own fault. I heard that it was really because you had an incompetent little sister."
Fina's lifeless eyes became filled with fire on hearing her sister being badmouthed.
"Take that back. Now."
"Mmm.... I don't think I said anything that I would need to take back though? Which statement were you referring to? After all, if it's true, then there shouldn't be a problem saying it. But if it weren't true, then why would anyone get so mad?"
The woman smiled deviously as she looked Fina right in the eyes. Fina appeared to be about to run out and fight, but for some reason she froze in place, seeming to have stopped herself.
The woman then looked at Claire.
When she looked at Claire, her face seemed to become filled with anger and hatred as if seeing her filled her with horror.
"And who are you?", she asked, clearly infuriated with Claire's very existence.
Claire stood forward with an innocent smile and introduced herself.
"I am the Determined. Leader of the Antiheroes, Ruler of the Dictatorship- the newfound nation in the monster realm which contains most cities in the Northwest section of the monster realm. I am here to fix the problems in this city and convince the people here to stop fighting one another."
The woman sitting on the throne simply laughed in a high pitch.
"Hahaha!! You!? The ruler of a nation?! What a strange person. You may have the appearance of an angel, but I suppose you don't have a problem lying with such confidence."
The woman wiped one of her tears after laughing with a small tissue before crumpling it up and throwing it to the side.
The second she threw it to the side five men ran out and all began to brawl one another, fighting over the tissue.
"That's mine!!"
"Give it here!!"
"You don't deserve to come into contact with the tears of the boss!!"
"Neither do you!!"
Claire was dumbfounded at seeing the scene of fighting grown men in front of her.
'Wha- what are they doing!?!', Claire thought.
'Disgusting. They're worse than dogs on leashes.', Clarice responded.
'Why are they doing this!? Why are they fighting over a used tissue!?'
'I'm sure you already know. Wouldn't your own subordinates fight over your used tissues?'
'EH!?!?! There's no way they would.....'
Claire then thought back to the ultimate level of loyalty which the people of the dictatorship held towards their rulers.
'M-maybe they would.... but that's disgusting!! I would never want my subordinates to do something like that!'
'Haha maybe you wouldn't. But not everyone is a pure little angel like you.'
'Ehhhh.... that's horrible.....'
Claire looked up to the woman in front of her, and their eyes met with one another.
Her eyes didn't show a hint of empathy in them.
The only thing that Claire could read from this woman was an overarching air of confidence and superiority.
'But.... those red eyes.... they seem.... unnatural.'
'Don't they?'
Claire tried to open her mouth to continue speaking, but she found that she couldn't.
'Eh? What's going on? I can't speak.'
Claire tried to move her arms and walk forward, but her limbs seemed to be stuck in place as well.
Claire attempted to move her eyes to look around, however she could not.
They were stuck, looking right into the eyes of the dominating woman in front of her.
'Is this.... is this some sort of magical ability!?! What's going on!? Why can't I move!?!?!'
The woman smiled victoriously as she looked back and forth between every single person in front of her.
"My my.... it was quite the crowd that you all brought here today for this hostage exchange. Were those people so important to you all? I didn't expect for anyone to show up to be honest. Ah.... I'm sure you all are wondering why you can't move or speak? Al my darling, why don't you come forward and explain to these people what's happened to them."
The mafioso who had captured Lisa and Gina stood forward promptly, fixing his coat as he walked.
"You all are now under the spell of our boss. If she uses this spell while looking into the eyes of the target, they fall victim to paralysis. You will not be able to move until either our boss undoes the spell or runs out of mana.... but let me just say one thing. She isn't gonna run out of mana any time soon."
'Eh!?!?! She's paralyzed us all!?', Claire thought. 'Isn't this... really bad then?? I can't even do anything with my own abilities!!'
"But don't worry. I'll let everyone here go scot free as soon as I get what I want.", the woman said while crossing her legs and giggling quietly. "I'll make an offer then. There were two women who were brought to me earlier. We'll let them go. In exchange, the angel and the leader of the gerbils will come with me for a bit. But don't worry. I'll let you two go soon enough as well. I just want to have a little fun with you two!"
Claire was unsure what was meant by this proposal, but even so her heart was filled with hope.
'Eh? All she wants is for me and the gerbils leader to come with her? The rats don't even have to give anything up. It's a win win. Alright. I'll do it!!'
Ramrod was utterly confused at the request, and excessively suspicious.
'What the hell is this woman planning!?! There's no way she would give us back Lisa without anything in return. Or perhaps she found some worth in that angel, and she thinks we brought her?'
Fina however, was somewhat relieved.
'I.... will give up myself once more to save my sister. But this time.... things will end much quicker.'
Fina was not concerned in the least about the paralysis which she had underwent. She believed that she could escape it as soon as it was released and attack the woman even with her eyes closed.
'She will have to undo it at some point. When that happens.... I will kill this woman for daring to lay a hand on sister....'
The woman glared over to a few subordinates behind her, and barked out an order.
"Bring them out."
The men immediately rushed out of the portcullis behind the throne, opposite to where Claire had entered, and came back quickly while pushing two people in front of them.
One was a girl with the features of a mouse and pure white fur, and the other was a girl with the features of a gerbil and light grey fur.
It was Lisa and Gina.
However, the two no longer had faces.
The skin on their faces seemed to be completely roasted off, covered in scars and burn marks.
They were almost unrecognizable.
Claire saw the faces of the two and was filled with an undeniable rage.
'What.... did she do to them?'
"Ah, there they are. Do you all like the new makeovers I gave them? Their faces... they were just far too cute for me to accept. If they remained that way, then there might be that one in ten, or even that one in a thousand person who believed that these ones were more beautiful than myself. But with those faces.... I'm sure that only a 1 in a million fool would choose them over me. I am once step closer to becoming objectively the most beautiful woman in this city."
'What did she just say?'
'New makeovers?'
'Most beautiful woman in the city?'
Claire could not move her face as she was paralyzed, but if she could it would be wrinkled with rage.
Her demonic aura flowed like a bursting pipe up her arm as she saw the faces of the two girls in her peripheral vision.
Her anger only further was fueled at seeing the mocking face of the woman who sat upon the throne.
'Why is she.... just sitting there.....'
'She did that to those poor girls....'
'Their faces... they're gone....'
'And yet.... she's just smiling.... as if it doesn't mean anything.....'
Claire's mind snapped once more, completely taken over by Clarice.
'Scum.'
'This woman is scum.'
'I was wrong to think even for a moment that peace could come to this city through negotiation.'
'I will kill this woman with my own two hands.'
'No.... even better.....'
'I will make her suffer the same pain that she put those two through....'
Claire couldn't control her emotions and Clarice happened to overtake her entire body in an instant, all except for the angelic hand which remained.
Her halo disappeared and was replaced with disgusting horns.
Her wings seemed to wither as they went from the feathered wings of an angel to the demonic branches sprouting from her back, twisting and turning in all directions.
Her teeth became pointed fangs and her eyes sharpened, becoming red with bloodlust.
Veins crawled across her body, pumping with the black tar all across her skin.
And even the pure white gown she was wearing now transformed into a black dress- one which was elegant and fitting for a demon lord.
At this time, the woman in front of her happened to be looking behind her at the faces of the hostages, and Clarice- who now controlled the body of Claire- closed her eyes for a moment, averting her gaze from the woman.
"You saved me there. It really was convenient that you told me how that ability of yours worked.", a crackling and wicked voice stated. "All I have to do is not meet my eyes with yours, and you can't do shit."
The woman sitting in her throne turned back with surprise, only to see that the angel which was once in front of her was gone- now replaced with a demon.
"What!? What is that form!?!? And how did you escape my paralysis!?! That's impossible!! Anyone who meets my eyes, no matter who it is, won't be able to escape my paralysis unless I undo it myself!! There's no way you could have escaped it!!"
The woman was fiercely glaring at the demon in front of her, who had her eyes closed and grinned devilishly.
"Do you want to know? How I can move around right now? You just explained it, didn't you? Anyone who meets your eyes is frozen. The last time I checked, only one of us met your eyes. That foolish girl who tries to go around helping people and playing as a hero.... as an angel..... sorry to say, but even though I might be her, I'm also not her. I haven't looked into your eyes once since we got here."
"Why you..... how..... how..... HOW!?!?!?!"
The woman who sat on the throne seemed to explode with rage and her previous calm and collected demeanor disappeared as her beautiful red eyes became bloodshot.
"What's wrong??? Why are you asking how so many times?? Something wrong? Are you just too stupid to understand what's happening?"
"HOW IS IT THAT YOU'RE EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL AS A DEMON THAN AS AN ANGEL!?!?!?!?!"
The woman was beyond furious at this point.
Clarice merely laughed at this.
"Pfft!!"
"Grr..... that.... that's fine.... I can still be the most beautiful.... men.... kill that thing.... make sure I never see it's face again!!!!!! Make it so messed up that it's unrecognizable!!!!"
"Understood, boss!!"
Five of the men around the arena rushed forwards, pulling out knives from their coats.
A number of other men pulled out clockwork pistols, loading them and preparing to fire.
Some others prepared mini crossbows.
The ones with knives surrounded Clarice, who merely chuckled.
"Hahaha.... come on, try and get me. Though it's already been determined that you won't be able to do anything."
One man thrusted forward, and Clarice blocked the stab with her left arm.
The knife stabbed into her left arm, however the tarlike fluid which seemed to make up her left arm did not seem to be wounded in the least.
[Set condition. Time bomb.]
Clarice grabbed the dagger with her right hand, throwing it up into the air.
With her other hand she grabbed the neck of the man who had stabbed her, throwing him to the ground. The man hit his head and blood flowed from the spot of impact. If he was not dead, then he was certainly unconscious.
"Come at me.", she taunted.
The four men who still had their weapons charged forward, stabbing Clarice in all sorts of locations.
Once in the head, another in the heart, two in her side.
"Tap. Tap. Tap. And.... Tap."
Claire used her right angelic hand to bonk the noses of each of the four men who had thrusted their weapons into her.
"H-how is she still alive!?!?"
"What's with her skin!? It's like it's a fluid eating away at the weapons that cut into it!!!"
"This person is very strange!!"
The men were freaked out at the fact that Clarice seemed unwounded from being stabbed, but she held up her index finger and clicked her tongue.
"Tsk tsk tsk. You shouldn't be worrying about that. After all.... three.... two.... one...."
Claire snapped her finger after counting down.
The knife- which had been thrown extremely high into the air, hit the ground at this exact second with an enormous explosion.
The men surrounding her were blown to bits, and the explosive force shook Clarice.
Her right hand became a glitchy mess as it absorbed the brunt of the explosion.
And as this happened, time reset.
"Hahaha.... come on, try and get me. Though it's already been determined that you won't be able to do anything."