Death was not something that could be merely brushed off as an aside.
It was not something which could be merely swept under the table and forgotten.
Yet even so, the people of the world were overcome with a fear that far surpassed their own fear of death.
The fear of the unknown.
There is nothing more terrifying than the unknown.
The human imagination is a tool which may run wild at any moment, hyperbolizing a situation from painful and concerning to dreadful and overwhelming.
And with the Determined having defeated the Indeterminant, this unknown fear was present throughout the world.
These people had already experienced death at the hands of monsters.
And yet, was such an experience nothing more than a prologue to what was to come?
For many, this overwhelming terror was enough to make them tremble.
The Determinant was a woman of overwhelming and absolute power in this world.
She held the ability to take control of the bodies of each and every person, forcing them to bow to her despite not so much as being present.
And it was likely that her abilities far surpassed even this show of power.
Yet for some, this fear quickly turned to anger.
'How... dare she...'
Furrowing his brow and biting his lip, looking around himself in a plaza filled with people who were just now gathering their bearings, was the former Sultan, Lakeed.
The people of this city had been slain instantaneously by the dragonic demons who appears so abruptly, and Lakeed had awoken from his death to witness such a scene.
And having witnessed the death of the Indeterminant as it was shown to him within his mind, anger flowed within him.
'How dare she do such a thing..... to the hero.'
It was unforgivable.
No, unforgivable didn't even approach the level of malice within this deed.
The hero of nations.
The savior of humanity.
And each and every person within this world.
All of them had been brutally slaughtered at the orders of this demented woman.
Standing up with bulging veins, this man who wore a turban on his head looked around to his people, who just before were shouting the praises of the Indeterminant, cheering on for the victory of humanity over the monsters.
Yet now, they were dejected.
As if their souls had been stolen from them, they appeared lifeless before Lakeed.
"Unforgivable.", Lakeed stated with booming tone, enough to turn the attention of the people to him.
"She is... an unforgivable existence. A being of pure evil... a monster of malice. She is a creature..... who we should never bow to."
The Indeterminant had done so much for Lakeed.
He had assisted him in his time of trial, saved him from the betrayal of the Emperor, and taken revenge on his enemies for the sake of his people.
The fact that his nation still existed was due to the Indeterminant.
Therefore Lakeed felt that he owed that man his life.
"I will never bow to a monster such as that.", Lakeed stated, his voice resounding throughout the plaza.
The people looked up to him with fearful expressions, then they looked around to one another with concern.
Death was not something they could simply ignore.
The pain and terror they felt after having died was something which overwhelmed them.
Yet among them, some men were able to overcome this fear, pushed by the words of the man who once stood as their Sultan.
"That is right.", one man stated, standing up.
"We cannot give in to that monster.", another added.
"If we were to do that..... then how could we even call ourselves human!?", a woman shouted.
One by one people begun to stand, until around 20% of the people were standing, a fire having been lit in their eyes.
The other 80% however, merely looked up to these people with terror.
"Are you all idiots!?!?!?!?"
"Do you think you can stand against her!?!?!?!"
"Even the Indeterminant couldn't!!!!!"
Some people shouted out from fearful positions, criticizing those who stood with pride.
"This is not a matter of whether we can win or lose. This is a matter of our pride as humans."
"We will not give into these monsters."
With quick response, a large amount of the people nodded in agreement, and more people begun to stand until around 35% of the people were standing.
The other 65% however, remained crouching in terror.
'No no no... I have nothing to do with this!!'
'These people are making these decisions on their own!!'
'Please don't kill me, Queen of Evil!!'
[You are all to refer to me as your eminence.]
It was at that moment that a chill filled the air.
A chill which froze the hearts of the people, as if it was seeping through their veins and stopping every last bodily function of the people.
It was cold.
Freezing.
It was enough to make one think that a single movement would cause their body to chip away like a layer of thin ice.
[I suppose I didn't make myself clear the first time. Therefore..... it looks like I will have to assert myself. People of the world, please have a look at this scene for yourselves, and decide what to do from here.]
It was at that moment that an overhead view of the Capital of the Sultinate was broadcasted to the minds of the people all over the world.
And then, looking up, the people within the plaza saw it.
Before them was a woman who could only be described as one thing.
A demonic queen.
Standing behind the man once known as the Sultan, she looked at him with pure disgust in her eyes.
[I put each and every one of the people of this world into a class system, and I decided who I should and who I should not allow to live in this world. I am sure that many of you have noticed, but there are some people who did not return from the dead around you.]
Lakeed felt frozen stiff, as if turning around would make his very existence shatter.
Behind him was the Queen of Evil.
How desperately he wanted to run at that moment.
How foolish he felt just seconds ago as he made the statement that he wanted to go out with pride as a human.
Pure, raw terror filled his mind.
Terror that made him regret his very existence.
[That is because I decided that they were not fit to be my slaves.]
In that instant, the woman grinned.
Her grin wrapped around her demonic face, malice clearly present for all to witness.
Her eyes thinned, and she looked around at the standing people as if they were nothing more than worms.
[However..... it looks like my judgement was just slightly off.]
And then, sticking her hand straight through the chest of the man, Claire ripped out the heart of the Sultan.
The man fell to the ground in a pool of blood, his expression filled with terror as he died in that instant.
And in that moment the woman held up the heart which she had ripped out of the man, smashing it in her demonic hand.
As she did so, each and every one of the people who were standing within this plaza spit up an immense volume of blood, falling to the ground immediately with dead eyes.
[Consider this a warning, humans.]
With a grin, the demonic wings of the woman begun to flap as she rose into the skies.
[In a Dictatorship... the words of the ruler are absolute.]
At that moment, the demonic woman raised her demonic hand to the sky, and then made a motion as if she were turning off a light switch.
As she did this, the very sun ceased to exist.
Darkness spread across the world, and even the light of the stars or the moon was no longer present.
The entire world was engulfed in an eternal night.
[Goodnight, my slaves.]
With a gorgeous and compassionate voice, the woman said this with a smile, leaving the entire world to watch in pure awe at the control she held.
To hold power over even something as immense as the sun.
This was the Queen of Evil.
And with this, all possible seeds of rebellion against the her were quelled.
They were replaced with pure and utter terror.
----
"Where are we!?!?!"
"What is this place!?!?"
"Is this..... is this the realm of demons!?!?"
"The..... sun..."
"It is gone..."
Within a plaza in a city where the buildings were made from flesh and bones, a large number of people had been gathered.
All of these people were constrained in one way or another, and there were hundreds of them present.
Some were wrapped in vines, others in silk threads. Some were frozen into chunks of ice, and others were tied up with wires.
Each and every person was being held captive in this realm of evil.
Lamps lit the streets, however the very world had become one of night.
"I am a man of status!!! You cannot do this to me!!! Those images were fake, fake I tell you!!! The Indeterminant will save us at any given moment, and when he does he will make this evil woman and her monsters pay!!!!"
"Yes, that is right!!!!"
"You all will pay!!!! Damn monsters!!!"
Surrounding these people were a number of monsters, all dressed in high class attire and standing around in perfect order, awaiting their leader.
Monsters of all types.
Birdmen, Lizardmen, Snakemen, Ratmen, Demons, Elementals, Spirits, Dragonic Demons, Goblins, Insectoids, Plantmen, and even humans.
All these monsters stood in wait, not making a peep as they stood perfectly still, not so much as acknowledging the existence of the complaining men which they contained within this area.
"You will all be slain!! No, worse than that!!! You will suffer greatly for your offenses, vile beings!!! And especially so for your ruler-"
[Enough of your slander. None will speak ill of my precious subordinates.]
It was at that moment that the people within this plaza felt an overwhelming presence come into their midst.
Looking up, they saw it.
Sitting in five thrones before them were five beings.
As soon as they appeared, all the monsters who stood around these people immediately dropped to one knee, closing their eyes in reverence towards their rulers.
"Welcome home, your eminence and your excellencies.", they all stated in unison, as if they had rehearsed beforehand.
[I appreciate the wonderful welcome, everyone.]
Responding was the woman who sat in the center.
An angel.
Her appearance was that of a pure angel.
Her skin pure white, her wings pristine, and her halo floating above her head.
Her hair was silver, and her eyes as well. She said this with a beautiful smile that could make even women fall for her.
Yet this woman had a single flaw to her.
Her hand was clawed and corrupted.
The wretched hand of a demon.
And then, her expression changed.
While she kept her angelic form, she placed one leg over the other, looking down onto the people before her with complete and utter dominance and disgust.
[Now then... I suppose it is time to clean this world of the garbage.]
Sitting beside this woman on her left were two figures- a crimson demon who had a chaotic gleam in his eyes, and a demented spirit of whom the word madness could not even begin to describe.
On the right side of this woman sat a succubus who looked down on the people with a mature smile, as if they were mere toys to be played with, and next to her was an elven figure who held arrogance beyond all else.
These five were the Determined and the antiheroes, the Demon Lords of this world.
[Do you all understand... the suffering which you have caused to others?], the angel asked with complete and utter repulsion in her beautiful voice.
Leaning forward from her seat and folding her hands, the angelic woman thinned her eyes as she looked around at the people, who were teeming with rage yet unable to shout out in protest due to the overwhelming aura which the woman was producing.
[Hahaha... you do. You understand very well the pain which you have caused for others. And yet, you still cause it... for your own selfish purposes. In your inflated minds, each and every one of you believe that you are above others... that it is acceptable for others to suffer so that you may prosper..... that because you are higher than them, that it is perfectly fine for them to struggle while you feast.]
At that moment, the spiritual figure held out her hand, and each of the tied up people were pressed to the ground with gravitational force hundreds of times greater than normal.
[If you believe yourself to be so high above others..... then I will just have to show you.]
With a sadistic grin, the angelic woman laughed lightly to herself, mocking the people with her gorgeous eyes.
[How low you are.]
Standing up, the woman begun to walk through the crowd, one by one tapping each of the people with her left hand.
[Not a single person in this world is free of sin. Yet within every single person here... sin abounds. A hero..... is supposed to save people. A hero is supposed to redeem those who are evil... and protect those who are innocent. Those two things are the duty of a hero. Now let's take a look at the situation.]
As she walked through the crowd, one by one she touched the heads of each person, all of which were frozen in place and unable to do anything against this being.
[The innocent people of this world... have all died. So the hero has failed in that role.]
Continuing to walk through the crowds, the footsteps of the woman begun to seep into the hearts of the people, invoking terror within them.
'What is she doing!?'
'Why is she going around touching us like this!?'
'What..... is this terrible pressure!?!?!?'
'It hurts....'
'It... it's killing me.....'
'I can't breathe...'
[And now..... I have gathered all the people here who are in great need of redeeming. However..... how unfortunate for you.]
With a mocking tone, the woman laughed lightly as she continued to touch each person.
[I have no intention of redeeming any of you. It would seem that the hero failed in that duty as well.]
Stopping in her tracks, the woman laughed lightly.
[Heh heh heh.....]
Continuing to walk, she made her way down another aisle of the people who were pressed to the ground.
[I am merely here to punish you.]
As she stated this, the minds of the people were thrown into a fit.
'No..... no..... help!!! Help!!!! Indeterminant!!! HELP US!!!'
'You have to help us, hero!!! You have to save us from this woman!!!!!!'
'Please!!! Please!!! ANYONE!!! I don't care who it is!!! Save us from this demon!!!!'
As she finished her rounds, the woman sat back on her seat, crossing one leg over the other.
[I have just set a condition on you. One which is far more terrifying than death.]
The spiritual figure released the pressure, and the people were able to move again, however the fear they held towards the woman before them stopped them from doing so.
[The condition which I have just set on you all..... is that you are all alive.]
In that moment, the monsters around the people stepped forward, each grabbing a person and filing out of the plaza in an orderly march.
"Wait!!!"
"Stop this!!!!"
"Help me!!!"
"Where are you taking us!?!?"
"NOOO!!!!"
The people were taken away, leaving the woman who sat on the throne to watch as they filed off in the hands of her slaves.
Entering a building which was surrounded by a massive ribcage, the monsters carrying the people flowed into the central building of the Dictatorship.
"This way everyone.", a humanoid spider who stood at the front stated as he led the pack behind him.
Hundreds of monsters entered a set of halls in orderly fashion, and then eventually they came to a door.
This door was padded with numerous high security locks, however they all unlocked immediately as the door slowly swung open on it's own.
The train of monsters carrying the people proceeded down a set of stairs and into a dungeon, forming a conga line over to a room which then opened before the humanoid spider, to reveal a frozen refrigerator.
And within this frozen refrigerator, were hundreds of body parts.
Separated into their own classifications, these body parts were present in mass storage, and upon looking around, the people who were carried into this room were filled with horror unlike anything they had ever experienced.
"Are we..... going to become like that!?!?!?", the man at the front shouted as the spiderling placed him down into the freezer.
"Agh!!!"
"I don't want to become like that!!!!"
It was then that a full line had formed, running all the way from the plaza down to this basement.
Like an assembly line, each person was then passed along this line and placed into the freezer.
"Ah... no no, you won't become like that.", the spiderling stated as he worked to set down one person after the other.
"We.... won't?"
The people looked up to the spider, terrified yet with a slight bit of hope in their eyes.
"Of course not.", the spiderling replied as he placed more and more people in the freezer. "After all..... her eminence has set a condition on you. Regardless of how much we slice you up..... you'll remain alive during all of it."
It was at that moment that, out of the darkness, four people appeared.
A family of four.
A woman stood at the head wearing overalls, and her hair was in braids.
Holding their heads in each of her hands, were two children.
And behind her was a man.
Yet all four of these people had expressions of pure madness.
"Ah..... it looks like we just received a large order of lamb? Looks like we'll be cookin' a whole lot tonight, boys."
Thinning her eyes with an insane smile, the woman spoke in a southern accent.
"That's right, mama."
"We'd better get right to work."
The children responded with just as much madness in their voices.
"With all the produce that we got coming in, it's gonna be a feast for the entire city, isn't it?", the man asked.
And then, all four of them reached behind them, pulling out butcher knives.
"Darn right it is.", the woman said.
It was at that moment that the people who had been captured understood.
They were in the realm of demons.
The world as they knew it was gone.