Oscar lay in a bed somewhere in an inn, in the downtown area of the Capital of the Vythguard Empire.
Surrounding him were three.... no wait, four women. One was sitting in the corner of the room clearly wasted beyond belief and talking to herself, so Oscar almost failed to count her until her ramblings hit his ringing ears.
Oscar held his aching head as he stumbled out of the bed, his golden hair swaying as he walked.
Even in a hungover state with reddened eyes and his complexion screaming that he was about to throw up, the women who were lying in the bed seemed to open their eyes and could not help but admire his looks.
"Indeterminant...."
"Where are you going?"
Rubbing their eyes, a couple of the beautiful women questioned Oscar, who turned back with an annoyed expression.
'Ugh.... where.... what did I do last night? All I remember is creating some liquor using my own ability.... can't create beer for some reason, but at least..... man it was good.... ah, that's right....'
Oscar's blank mind filled with memories of a night of pleasure and partying, filled with lecherous behavior and leading to this scenario where Oscar was surrounded by women.
Looking at the women around him, there was one who was still asleep on the bed, as if she was completely knocked out.
They were all gorgeous, so Oscar was relieved at that much.
'I would probably throw up if I found out that in my drunkenness I had picked up some ogre along the way.'
With a smirk Oscar walked over to the wash stand to splash cold water on his face.
The Empire was not developed to the point of having indoor plumbing and certainly not air conditioning, and so buckets of water would be fetched from wells, however the inn would provide these buckets for the rooms at no extra cost.
After drying his face Oscar looked over to the girls, slightly bothered.
'Something is wrong..... if I were back on earth, I would be satisfied with this situation. When I was on earth, the women wouldn't ever allow me to be with multiple at once. I had to hide them from one another.'
As Oscar ruffled his hair with the towel he threw it to the ground, and the two women crawled out of bed to grab it.
One took hold of it and held it to her own face with a loving warmth, and the other who missed the opportunity glared with envy.
"Hey. He didn't say you could have that. Give it here."
"He didn't say you could have it either. Why should I give it to you?"
"Just hand it over!!"
The woman grabbed the towel and the two began fighting over it until it ripped into two.
Oscar merely watched the scene with an arrogant smirk.
'I suppose the jealousy of women won't change no matter what world you're in.'
His headache was beginning to subside and so Oscar could clearly take a look at the women.
'But something like this..... it has to be due to my position as the Indeterminant. I am a hero, after all. A savior of the people of this world. Because of that, I am allowed to do things that I normally would never be allowed to do, such as having as many women as I want without so much as a complaint. I barely even have to do anything and they're fighting over me.'
"How about this. Each of you can keep half of it as a souvenir. Use it to remember me when I'm off saving the world."
The two nodded happily.
"I can't wait to tell everyone that I really met the Indeterminant!!!"
"The girls in my home village will be so jealous!!"
"Thank you, Indeterminant!!"
"Thank you, hero!!"
Flipping his hair, Oscar branded a flashing smile.
"You're welcome. It is my duty as the hero to help the people whenever I can. As much as I would love to stay by the side of you beautiful kittens, protecting you for the rest of your lives, I must go. I have a duty to perform as the Indeterminant."
As the girls heard this, they were overcome with a bitter sadness.
"Do you have to go right now, Indeterminant?"
"Please stay with us just another night! Or even just an hour!"
Oscar closed his own eyes with a smile.
"Forgive me girls. But there are others out there waiting for me to assist them. It is truly a painful thing to be a hero. I have to sacrifice so much for others. I am never allowed to settle in one place, and my duty is always calling on me."
'Something is wrong.... why is it that on earth I would have loved to be surrounded by women like this, but right now I feel.... empty?'
Oscar was satisfied with this situation. What else could he desire? Wherever he went he was surrounded by beautiful women who would fall on their knees for him in more than one way.
Yet there was something missing.
There was something which he longed for which he didn't have, but what exactly was it?
"So noble...."
"Indeterminant.... how sad.... it must be so hard to be a hero.... do you ever get scared? Aren't you scared of the monsters you'll have to face?", one of the women asked.
Oscar turned back with a bright smile.
"If I was scared of them, then who else would there be to protect humanity? I cannot allow myself to feel fear, for if not myself, then nobody will be able to stand firm for the sake of the people. Sure, I'm a little bit worried about it.... but what terrifies me even more is what would happen if I weren't to face them."
'He's so cool when he talks like that....'
'I'll treasure this cloth for the rest of my life....'
'I can't believe I really met him in person....'
As the two girls obsessed over Oscar, he came to a realization.
'AHH!! That's it!!!'
Oscar put his own hand to his chin in thought.
'That's how it is..... of course.... I can't believe I missed it....'
Nodding to himself, a grin drew itself across Oscar's face.
"I hope to see your lovely faces once more when the world is at peace and the monsters threaten us no more. I will return to this Empire someday, and when I do I will visit not only this capital, but the villages which you girls are from individually. We will see each other again when this is all over, so don't cry for my sake. Be happy. Know that I will one day come back for all of you."
With this statement, Oscar opened the door and left the girls with hearts in their eyes.
'He... said he would come back for me....'
'I can't believe it.... he would do that for me?'
The door shut, and Oscar grinned to himself.
'So that was it.... ever since coming to this world, everything was too easy.... the women fell at my own two feet, and all it took was the slightest effort. There hasn't been any accomplishment, nor any challenge.'
Coming to a realization, Oscar grinned in delight.
'I need to find a woman who isn't EASY.'
With a light chuckle, Oscar walked through the halls and waved to the female innkeeper who swooned over him.
"There is no need to pay for your room, Indeterminant! For you it's on the house! Please come back any time!!!"
Oscar barely even glanced over to her as he kept walking, as if he had expected this before she even said anything.
It was obvious that as the hero of humanity that he would receive a free room, however even in the strange case that he did not he would let the other girls figure out the payment.
'I need to find one who doesn't just fall over me immediately.... one who I can't just swoon with a single action of heroism.... one who perhaps is resistant to my advances at first.... perhaps even one who hates me..... a girl who hates me... could there really be someone like that out there? As if. I'm the hero of humanity after all. If there truly did exist a girl who hated me, then she must be some sort of demon. Haha.... well, I suppose I'll have to settle for something more realistic. A woman who is resistant to my own advances.... hmm....'
Oscar racked his own memories, however he could not think of anyone or anything coming close.
No woman had been resistant to his advances, whether or not he used his title of the Indeterminant.
His looks and his manipulative personality were always enough to have women falling before him if he wished. He never struggled in this sense.
'Oh... what about that princess in the Ruthobold Kingdom? She actually didn't seem to be infatuated with me in the slightest.... agh! Did I miss that chance!? Damn it! I should've taken her when I had the dirt on that King. Now it's too late, but I suppose I can always make her my own at a later point.'
Exiting the inn into the streets, Oscar began walking through the crowds of people who tipped their hats at him and extended their greetings.
"Indeterminant!!!!"
"How are you today, Indeterminant!?!"
"Would you like to come to my home for dinner tonight?"
Oscar politely passed up the many invitations he received, passing through the hordes of people who could not hide their love and respect for him.
'I suppose it's about time I head out to the Sultinate. Who knows? Maybe there will be a fine woman there who will show me a bit of resistance.'
----
The sound of flapping wings were the only sound which Vex heard as he flew through the darkened sky, with nothing more than the moonlight and the shining of the stars to guide him.
Since the moon was the only light within this demonic realm, his face was only dimly lit, however it carried an expression of deep concern- one which was unusual for Vex who typically didn't worry about anything.
The twisted black structures and demonic towers below him rushed by as he glided across the city, flying at speeds equivalent to a fighter jet.
'Ah.... last night was terrible.... I shouldn't have mentioned her at all....'
Wearing a new suit- this one painted with black and red vertical stripes, the orange skinned and red haired demon could not help but worry.
It was the morning after the meeting with the other house leaders, and the previous night had ended in disaster for Vex.
'Women really are complicated.... I can never get it right. She seems happy and content at one moment and the next she's looking at me with more hatred than if I cast a spell of wrath on her.'
The demon bitterly laughed, recalling the scene of the previous night.
Sitting across from one another in a restaurant which gave off an extremely local and homely feel with the demonic undertone aside, Vex sat with his date on the previous night.
His relationship with this girl was extremely on and off.
At one moment they would be in a dispute so great that even going to war seemed like a peaceful stroll.
At the next they would be happily walking together without a care in the world, just as they were the previous night.
The waiter had taken the orders of the two. After the girl had ordered what was likely the most expensive and exquisite thing on the menu, Vex merely laughed it off while glancing into his own wallet.
'Ah.... payday is too far away. Even as a house leader, I'm on quite the tight budget here.'
"Hey, eyes up here. Where are you looking?"
The girl in front of him beckoned for Vex to pay attention to her, to which he responded with a smile.
"Sorry sorry! Just ah, order whatever you want! Anyways! Did ya notice my new kicks? What do you think? Lustia said they looked pretty good on me. You think they go well with this suit?"
"Lustia? The queen of spirits? That embodiment of lust?"
"Er, yeah. She happened to be at the meeting between the 7 house leaders today so I asked her about them."
"So while I've been spending the day getting ready for you, do you mean to tell me that you've been spending your time flirting with that deceptive harlot?"
Looking up at the expression of the beautiful demon which Vex sat across from, he noticed that she was smiling, however it was not a kind smile.
It was a forced smile which hid a horrible anger behind it. Her mouth and eyes twitched as if she were about to erupt, and that smile was the smallest dam that held back the flood of wrath within her.
"W-wait just a minute! She was at a meeting for work!! I haven't even come into contact with her since the last meeting, and it was only for the purposes of work! I'm a house leader here. I can't just avoid the other house leaders when there are important duties to attend to."
"OH REALLY!? So you're telling me that spending time with that flirtatious man magnet is something you needed to do for work!?! HAH! Hey everyone, get a load of this two timing idiot! To think you're the leader of the house of wrath, when your heart is consumed by lust!"
The girl stood up with the loud slamming of her chair being pushed in as she left the store, leaving everyone staring.
"Er! That's not how it is!! She's just a bit antsy! Hahaha... please continue your meals everyone. Don't mind us!!"
Vex rushed out after the woman as the people returned to their meals, shrugging, however she was already long gone by the time he exited.
'Ah ah.... I've done it again. I just can't seem to get it right. Why do some things piss her off so much when others don't? I don't get it.'
Right now, Vex had left the city of devils in order to play his own part in this upcoming war on the antiheroes, so he would not be able to repair the damage which had been done the previous night until he returned.
'Agh.... I better return quickly so I can fix things up.... if I let her brood for too long she might really go nuts on me.'
Breathing a sigh of concern, a slight smile came over the face of this demon.
'Well, whatever! Things like this always happen. When I get back she will probably have blown off her steam and we can start again like new. Note to self. Don't mention Lustia ever.'
Checking his own watch as he flew, Vex took note of the time.
'8 am... I guess it's pretty early. Hmm.... I should be able to finish my work up for today and return later to talk with her. Alright! Let's see....'
Closing his eyes mid flight, a radar like beam seemed to radiate from his body, as if searching for something.
He continued flying across a chasm which marked the end of the city, where the buildings ceased. Beyond that chasm was an undeveloped land of darkness where rocky ground spread as far as they eye could see. In the far distance was a large mountain range that blocked the landscape beyond it, and so Vex increased his own altitude beyond that of the mountaintops.
[Detect Wrath. Target of Wrath: Antiheroes]
When one is selected as a Host of Sin, they are imbued with certain abilities pertaining to their own sin. In the case of Vex, his abilities pertained to the detection and manipulation of those who contained hatred for another.
There was one particular limitation though.
He could not influence one who held excessive hatred towards himself.
If one hated Vex himself, this hatred could override any of his abilities to manipulate the hatred of another.
This was why he could not simply use his own abilities to lessen the hatred of his own woman for himself.
'Ah, it sure would be convenient if things were that way.... but it isn't like that.'
Flying across the mountains, a frozen landscape of glaciers and ice came into sight.
A blizzard blew hard on the back of Vex, but he continued to speed through the landscape without so much as a shiver.
[Wrath scan completed. 3 Targets detected. Displaying signatures.]
'Whoa.... it looks like we're not the only people who the antiheroes have made enemies of. They've got people hating them all over the realm. Perfect. Which one should I pick? Hmm.... I suppose the closest one.'
Taking a direction that was mostly to the West but slightly to the North, a light grin came across the face of Vex.
'I wonder how they will react to this? Heh heh.... you've been sloppy, antiheroes. You've made too many enemies. Those legends won't come to fruition. I'll send everyone after you with the wrath of destruction.'
The frozen landscape sped by underneath Vex, and eventually the raging blizzard came to a cease. The snow in the land became thinner and thinner until eventually it no longer existed, and a field of plains was laid out before Vex.
Continuing to fly through the world with tremendous speeds, a certain village came into view in the distance.
Walls rose high above the village, but even higher than these walls was a bright green canopy of leaves.
Inside the walls seemed to be an entire jungle.
'The village of the birdmen, eh? I wonder just what the antiheroes did to them to incur such hatred. Haha! This is gonna be a lot of fun!!!'