"Right this way. We have prepared a large number of rooms on the second floor to properly account for each and every new inhabitant of our city. Ah, and as you all should know very well, please ensure to keep your ultraviolet gems on your person at all times. The energy from the gems will constantly flow into you, allowing you to keep awake indefinitely regardless of outside conditions, but should you lose them then you will be left asleep until someone finds you.... which there is no guarantee of."
The mustached butler now stood at the head of a rally of plant kin, ushering them into the enormous gothic mansion.
The two maids who had just earlier slaughtered the men at the simple orders of their master now stood perfectly still, each on one side of the stairway which the plant kin were to ascend.
They stood like dolls, not the slightest bit of emotion on their faces. One demon was pitch black and the other a bright white, with their own claws, fangs, horns and sclera opposing the color of their oddly smooth demonic skin.
"They're.... not going to slice our heads off when we walk past them, right?"
"If only I knew the answer to that question."
Niko let out a whisper to which Richtor responded in uncertain fashion.
The people of Iris came to a stop even as the butler ascended the stairway, to which he turned around and glared around the area.
"Is something wrong, dear guests? Do you not wish to see your rooms? Or perhaps there is something else which you all had in mind first?"
However, this statement was quickly cut off.
"Why did you all stop? Are we going to stand here all day, wondering whether or not we can trust those two? We're prisoners here. We've already been taken captive. They have no reason to kill us after taking us captive. If they intended to do that, then why would they have bothered to capture us in the first place?"
Stepping forth, the girl who had long leaves for hair stepped forth, a serious expression on her face as she looked back at everyone around her.
"I don't particularly care if you all want to stand there all day. If that's what you're going to do, scared of every little detail, then you'll be deemed as worthless in an instant."
And with that, the girl stepped forward, walking past the two maids without the slightest ounce of fear.
The people held their breath, and the girl walked past without incident.
Aside from one statement.
"Your lord is a real softy, isn't he?"
These words were whispered ever so quietly as the girl passed by the two maids, to which their emotionless expressions quickly became ones of irritation and indignance.
The two turned to look at the girl, desiring to snap back at her, yet they saw her walking forth with elegance.
Her flowered dress swayed as she ascended the stairs, and the two could merely watch from behind as she walked away, her back vulnerable.
'Lord Huberos....'
'Perhaps.... she is correct. For if Lord Huberos did not directly order us to keep our hands off them, then I would have slain her in an instant.'
The maids were left to wonder whether it was mere insolence, but instead another conclusion entered their minds.
It was not that she was insolent, nor was she being cocky.
She merely understood her own place.
She understood perhaps better than anyone here that her place was greater than what was led on by the demons around her.
'Was this part of Lord Huberos' scheme? To find a General?'
'He is.... truly amazing. To make something from the gutter trash of a village of weaklings.'
The two could not help but to lightly smile, and were further instilled with respect for their master.
Holding out their arms with their polite smiles, they motioned for the rest of the plant kin to follow the girl, to which they all stepped forward.
'We.... can't be scared of everything.'
'If we sit back and refuse to step forward, afraid of everything.... then we will never get anywhere.'
And so, one by one they ascended.
"There are many hallways, each lined with rooms. Any hall to the left is meant for your own housing, so feel free to pick whichever room you like. If there are any couples or families, you are free to take a single room for yourselves. And of course, the selection of a room is on a first come first serve basis, so if you would like to room next to others, please keep that in mind."
'It's strange.'
'It's too strange.'
Richtor walked forth alongside Niko, wondering to himself just what was going on.
'Why would demons treat us with such respect? This is not just a demon.... this is the Host of Pride. The sin of pride.... the deadliest of all sins. The sin of haughtiness, arrogance, and judgmental hypocrisy. The essence of pride is to look down on others. To disdain others as lesser than yourself. To weigh yourself on a lighter scale than you weigh others. Why then.... would he bother giving us rooms, food and drink?'
Twisting his expression in deep concern, Richtor came to focus on the scene around him as he heard the words of the boy beside him.
"Let's get some rooms beside Tera. I.... don't want her to be alone in this. I've let her go off on her own, doing what she wants.... but.... I suppose I should be the one standing in front and protecting her, right?", Niko said.
Richtor heard the statement of the boy who walked forth with resolve, leaving the older man behind in his thoughts.
'Am I the only one who is scared here?'
Looking around, Richtor knew that was not the case.
Fear was the norm.
They were in the lair of a demon.
Who knew what traps were laid?
But even so, Tera treated it like nothing, and as a result of that Niko was forced to stand up and catch up to her.
'What am I doing? Am I supposed to be the adult here? The experienced one? The boss?'
Richtor looked at his own withered hand.
The product of his own curiosity.
'Perhaps.... I've been holding myself back due to the fear of putting myself out there.'
Stepping forward with a mature grin, Richtor too advanced through the halls, making his way to the sides of the two who he could not look at as anything but children.
"You took a while boss. Is something wrong?"
"There are bathrooms in the rooms if you gotto shit."
Tera and Niko were waiting for Richtor, laughing to themselves as if they were old time friends just meeting up for a chat.
They didn't look concerned in the least, and this put a smile on the face of Richtor.
'Maybe.... it's my job to worry about everything for them. That's right. I'll be the adult here, so that they can just keep on moving forward. I'll.... do my best to remove any thorns from their paths.... and if need be, I'll become a shield for them.'
Looking at the two, Richtor placed one hand on the shoulders of each, resting his withered hand on the boy.
"Nah, not that. I'm just.... taking everything in. Tera. Niko. Everyone is worried."
Looking around, the people were shyly taking rooms for themselves.
Families, single men and women, and even some older folks were among the people here. Young and old, male and female, strong and weak.
The only ones who were not present were the men who had stood up against the demon earlier.
"I wonder just why they killed those men.... but nobody else."
"Isn't it obvious?"
Tera quickly replied to the murmur of Richtor, to which he immediately glanced over to her.
"You know?", he asked.
"They were arrogant beyond their means. They believed they held more strength than they did. And so he had them killed. To put it simply.... they didn't understand their position."
Richtor and Niko looked to the girl with eyes widened as she made such a callous statement. They quickly looked around to ensure that nobody heard before the boy whispered frantically into her ears.
"Watch what you say in front of everyone like that!!"
"That's right. If everyone heard that...."
"Then what?"
Tera looked the two into the eyes with an unyielding expression.
"Nobody would trust you if they heard you say something like that. That statement just now.... the way you said it... it almost reminded me of a demon looking down on us."
"That isn't what I meant.", Tera quickly corrected. "I meant exactly what I said. Everyone has a place, right? You should know this yourself, Richtor. You were out of place when you visited the ratmen and you paid the price. Anyone who steps out of line pays the price. I know that. And I have my place too. But our place.... for some reason.... is actually pretty high here."
"You're saying some scary things, Tera. But.... if that's the rationale which led you to walk by demons without an ounce of fear, then I can't say you're wrong."
Niko admitted that whatever logic she had used had not led her to a bad situation.
"At any rate, we have to protect them. Is that much agreed on?"
Richtor turned to Tera, who was currently being looked up to as a figure among the plant kin.
"Are you prepared to take the responsibility which you've undertaken? I'll always be at your back, pushing you forward."
"The same goes for me.", Niko added. "But are you ok with this?"
To these statements, Tera looked at the ground.
"I.... have just been going with the flow. I'm just doing what I feel like I should do, and it's turned out to be fine. But.... since everyone is looking to me now with such eyes, I can't let them down."
Looking up, the girl had a beaming smile as she closed her eyes.
"So I'll do what I can to lead us to victory, whatever that may mean. But as I said before.... don't blame me if I lead everyone to their deaths. After all.... I'm just as clueless as you guys are as to why a demon would throw us on the front lines. But...."
"But?"
Niko quickly pressed as Tera trailed off, for she seemed to be in thought on the final point.
"He may have said a whole lot about us being weak.... but I could tell. He had no intention of using us as mere cannon fodder."
----
A demon sat at a round marble table, alone in the room which was lit only by a chandelier hanging far above his head.
This indigo demon tapped his clawed fingers on the table, awaiting the arrival of his guests with an irritated expression, as if he had grown accustomed to such tardiness.
Rolling his eyes with a short sigh, the demon lifted his head high, carrying himself properly.
He wore a well tailored suit and his tie had been changed to a pure black one.
"Please go ahead and bring the food here. Knowing that idiot, the moment the food is brought out he will-"
As the demon tried to speak to the butler who stood at the doorway, he was interrupted by the loud sound of a crash.
The chandelier crashed down from above along with piles of rubble from the ceiling which toppled onto the table, covering the entire area including the indigo demon.
The butler however merely stood by as he looked up to the skies, not worried in the slightest about his master's well being, but rather focused on the ones who had made the disturbance.
"Did someone say food?"
Floating in the air as he flapped his wings, a largely built dragon kin with blue skin and deep blue hair carried a pink dragon kin in his arm as she flopped back and forth like a ragdoll, half asleep.
The two quickly landed and took some seats on the opposite side of the table- the side which was not covered in rubble.
"Where is the food? Is it here yet? Do I still have to wait for it? Ah! Where is Huberos?"
"You blubbering idiot. This is why I never wanted to invite you to my home again."
The rubble slid to the side and from it emerged the indigo demon who brushed the dust off his suit, biting down so hard that even his shortened fangs were now piercing his lower lips, drawing blood from them.
Checking his mirror and fixing his hair, glasses, and tie, the demon did not so much as look over to the other two as he spoke with annoyance.
"Just days ago you destroy my home, and now in mere seconds you have reverted my mansion once more to mere rubble. Gormand. What on earth is the meaning of this? I will hear you out, though only because I wish to understand the idiocy of your explanation."
Twitching his eye with annoyance, Huberos closed his mirror and walked over to the intact half of the table, taking a seat at a free chair.
"Well?"
"Apathia said that it would be faster to go in this way, and that we wouldn't have to talk to anyone."
"Ratting me out like that. Tch."
The blue dragonic man laid the woman in her own seat as he made this statement, to which she blew forth her green hair with the lightest effort possible.
"I wasn't ratting you out. Huberos is a good friend, so he doesn't care. Right?"
"Friend? And since when did the three of us become 'friends?'"
Huberos sat down, rolling his temples in complete and utter indignance as he glanced over to the butler, waving for him to continue the preparations.
"You know, I went ahead and asked you your reasoning for destroying my roof, in the hopes that perhaps, by some miracle, you had a legitimate reason for doing so. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was some sort of black hole that had appeared outside of my residence, and so in order to avoid it, you decided instead to use an emergency entrance. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and asked just to be sure, but after all, that is nothing more than my own idiocy in even thinking for a single moment that you would ever have a good reason to do anything."
The butler quickly bowed before he was sent off, and the conversation between the three resumed.
"Don't be like that, Huberos. After all, we were all once brothers in chains, right?"
"Do not speak of such vulgar things in my presence. And I held no such chains in the same manner you did."
"But being a peasant in this village was basically the same as having chains on you.... wasn't it?"
In a lazy tone the girl flopped her head forward, opening a single eye as she let out these words.
"Enough. I do not wish to discuss this further. Back to the matter at hand. Look at my beautiful roof. My chandelier. Do you understand how much those things cost to repair? Why is it that every time I call another Host to my home, they find it fit to make more work for me? Hm? Are we not supposed to be united in our suffering? Or perhaps I am the only one who still has to suffer here?"
Pressing the two, Huberos didn't bother to hide his own irritation.
"More importantly, where is the food?"
"The food will come after you have answered for my roof. And my table, at that. Did it even occur to you what would have happened if you destroyed the entire table!?"
"I..... would have had to eat with my hands?"
Huberos brought his own hands to his eyelids, dragging them down in complete disdain at the buffoon who could not comprehend what he implied.
"In my household, there is no 'eating with your hands. You will use manners, and eat at a table like a Proper. Decent. Demon."
"Eh. No fun, Huberos. No wonder everyone hates you."
Huberos felt the compelling desire to rip his own ears off as if the statements made by the one before him were too painful for him to endure.
"Stop. Enough. I have heard enough from your mouth. When dealing with you, sometimes I wish that Vex was back. Ah speaking of which, Vex is.... likely dead."
"Hmm..... he died? Auuu....."
The green haired girl with pink scaly skin let out a yawn, as if she didn't care in the least about the death of someone she knew, however this was actually quite the contrary.
For her to even put forth the effort to make a statement showed that she cared at least enough to mention it.
"Yes, he died. In this very city as well. An explosion.... and likely his own. The fool was not suicidal, but given the state that he returned that night..... well, I suppose I should explain from the beginning, shouldn't I? But first, promise me that you will compensate me three times over for the repairs of my ceiling. And if you break anything further, it will be five times. This is non negotiable."
"Got it. Long as the meal is good tonight, I'll agree to that."
"You truly are a fool with nothing more on your mind than food, are you not?"
"Could you shut up and get to the point already? Your voice is beginning to annoy me."
Apathia made this statement lazily as she lifted her head up from the table, her hair drooping about as she looked around her.
Huberos twitched once more with irritation, yet closed his eyes, calming himself, and spoke.
"Vex apparently fought with the Determined. He returned later that night and his mind was gone. He was a completely new man, and his usual vigor was completely lost as if he had seen something which destroyed the very meaning of his existence. Perhaps..... he found someone who held greater wrath than even himself? Regardless, on that night an explosion occurred- one which could only have been caused by Vex. And he has not been seen since that night. Everything in the area was reduced to dust, therefore it is likely he was among the victims of the event."
"Sounds like a pain to deal with.", Apathia breathed. "So now we got one less person and I gotto do more work?"
"Indeed."
"Actually.... I hesitate to bring you this news.... but we received a report just now which I believe should be brought to your attention immediately. Please forgive me Lord Huberos, Lady Apathia, and Sir Gormand, for interrupting your dinner like this. But this is an urgent matter, and I feel that it is a message which should be relayed to each of you."
The mustached butler stepped into the room, capturing the attention of the three.
"It would seem..... that the villages of Iciclaris and Volaciophus clashed today in battle, with an army of flame and earth elementals led by Lady Envidia and Sir Avarco themselves. Yet..... the result of this was complete annihilation of both sides. One of our scouts posted outside the city of Iciclaris to mark the progress of Envidia would like to adhere to his findings. May I permit him to enter?"
"Get him in here."
Apathia answered before Huberos even could, irking him even further as she ordered his own servant, who then looked to his master.
Huberos merely waved his hand, grimacing at her blatant disrespect.
Inside the room a young demon entered, this one wearing the outfit of a hunter with a green cloak and a cap with a feather in it.
Huberos sat up, notioning for the boy to speak, to which he nodded in response.
"Lord Huberos.... I will tell you what I saw plainly and simply. Envidia and Avarco brought an army of elementals, and in minutes the knights of Iciclaris were wiped out. Yet..... yet....."
The boy began to shiver as if he had seen something horrible.
"Then they appeared."
"They?"
All three who sat were now on the edge of their seats, and even Apathia raised her head in interest.
"They were..... monsters beyond belief. They defeated Envidia.... even after she activated her ability."
The eyes of all three beings sitting there went wide, and Huberos bit his lips further, causing even more blood to be squeezed out of his lower lip as if it were a sponge being pressed dry.
"The energy which those beings contained..... and the methods with which they used to counter the abilities of Envidia and Avarco.... there is no doubt in my mind."
The boy looked up, fear in his eyes as he glanced around as if he were scared that even now he was being watched.
"They were the antiheroes."