"Hm..... where..... am..... oh my goodness...."
Reagan found herself sitting up in a pile of rubble.
Her brother, Arctus, sat right next to her, and the boy too seemed to be groggily waking from his slumber.
However it was not just these two.
It seemed that everyone in the entire area was awakening as if they had fallen asleep.
The entire city of what was once the proud capital of the Ruthobold Kingdom was now in ruins.
Reagan and Arctus were the children of the former King and the half siblings to the man who took over the throne for a short period of time, Kyle Ruthobold.
The black haired woman was bred and raised to strive in a harsh political environment, and as such she had acted as an advisor to the seven women who were given the titles of nobles during Kyle's rein.
Her brother Arctus, who had short cut blonde hair, was a man who enjoyed doing his own personal research on magic. Yet as a result of the unpredictable circumstances within the Kingdom, he too became an advisor alongside his sister at the time.
While as the 3rd son he was not raised to rule, he knew more about politics than the women in charge did, therefore he could at least assist his sister in those matters.
Yet that was before the Indeterminant had invaded the Kingdom.
Kyle Ruthobold was killed, and in the chaos the brothers of these two had hatched up a plot to retake the thrones and reestablish the noble hierarchy which was once present within this Kingdom.
Needless to say, their plot failed.
After publicly executing the seven women who Kyle had raised up as nobles, the Indeterminant had slain them in retribution for slaughtering innocent women.
Or that was the statement he had made regarding the matter.
Leaving the two siblings alive, they had taken partial control over the Kingdom as puppet rulers who were subject to the Indeterminant, the new Emperor of all human lands.
Yet right now, as these two awoke, they remembered what had happened.
"The castle..... was destroyed, right?", Arctus asked.
"The city as well.... right?"
It was then that the people begun to cheer and shout, excited at the victory which good must have held over evil.
After all, why would everyone be alive, had the side of good lost?
[Sorry to say, but that's not quite right. The Indeterminant is the one who has been defeated. As for you humans... hahaha... prepare yourselves for lives as slaves in my Dictatorship.]
----
Having experienced the memories which the Queen of Demons showed to them, the two were forced to accept this new reality.
A reality which humans had lost in the battle of humans and monsters.
"Sister..... what do you think we should do?", Arctus asked, looking to the woman with concern.
"I don't see a way to get out of this.", Reagan responded, standing up slowly with a bitter smile. "But I know that we can't afford to sit around all day."
As she said this, the rubble from the buildings disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place.
"Huh?"
And then, the castle was built up from the ground, now surrounding the two.
"What..... is going on?"
[I have torn everything down so that it may be rebuilt..... as I wish. After all..... this world was so filled with corruption that there was no other way to redeem it other than a hard reset.]
This voice entered the minds of the two, who stood speechless.
It was the Queen of Evil.
"A..... hard reset?"
Shivering at the word, Arctus looked to his sister.
Yet upon looking at her, he could see that she was smiling.
"I see. So that is how it is. That is..... certainly interesting."
"Sister.... you understand what's going on?"
Looking to Reagan with confusion, the woman merely nodded, stepping forth as her dress fluttered in the air.
"It would seem that this Queen of Demons is quite a skilled ruler. One who makes full use of everything available to her. Follow me. If I am correct..... then we are to serve as her pawns."
[You understand very quickly. As expected of a woman who was raised to rule from birth. I suppose a middle class girl like me can't compare.]
[After all, it took me trial after trial to realize my place in this world.]
Thus, Arctus and Reagan were added to the list of rulers underneath the control of the Determined.
----
The day passed.
To call it a day however, would be a strange statement, given that the entire world no longer held the concept of day and night.
Darkness engulfed the world.
Torches were lit throughout the cities, and the people of this world soon came to realize something.
The sun was gone.
The light of this world was gone.
And with it, all hope of being saved by the hero was gone.
They were ever reminded by this darkness that the Determined held control over even the skies, and everything underneath them.
"It would appear that my calculations... were correct. And even with that final risk we took when fighting the Indeterminant..... observing him as we did surely paid off."
Walking down the ghoulish streets of the slime village were four figures.
As they walked, the many monsters they passed by would kneel down before them, graced with their very presence.
The one who spoke was an elven figure with an arrogant grin and gelled up hair.
"Even when I attacked him, it didn't register. To attack something Indeterminant..... something which both exists and doesn't exist at the same time..... it would have been impossible."
Replying to the elf was a crimson demon, who looked up into the darkened sky with thinned eyes, no longer filled with the madness which they once held before.
"Even though I was fast enough..... even though I'm the origin of chaos..... I couldn't do anything to someone who didn't exist."
"And it was for exactly that reason which we were assigned to distract him during that time, so that the Determined had the perfect stage to face him. No? This is a grand success on our part, carried out without the slightest flaw.", the elf said with a smile as he pushed up his glasses.
"Heh..... I guess so.", the demon replied.
"However..... that man was far beyond any crooked being which we have ever met in this world."
Speaking up was a teal succubus who wore a leather coat over a red dress- a strange yet oddly appealing fashion statement.
"Ah..... that's right. You could read that jerk's mind. I don't even want to know what was in there. I could tell with just one look.", the spiritual figure with dead green eyes stated. "He was someone who was pampered beyond all others. A usurper who would do nothing on his own yet got praised for everything he did..... all because he was the hero."
"Don't even get me started. I feel violated just having read his mind. The amount of women he had relations with in the time he spent in this world..."
Thinning her eyes, the woman spoke as if she was spitting with disgust.
"He was trying to singlehandedly repopulate the entire world after killing all other men."
"Is..... is that so? What a strange goal."
Even Trevor was confused as he held his hand to his forehead in troubled thought, considering why on earth the man would want to do such a thing.
"I cannot comprehend it. If it is not too much to continue prying, can I ask what his logic was?"
"Hah? Logic? That man? He just wanted to bang every good looking thing on the planet and have em all lined up for him. He wanted his palace to be full of women to the point where they were outside the doors waiting just to be in a 3 meter radius of him."
At this statement, Trevor looked back to Samantha with eyes wide.
"That is....."
Closing his eyes with clear surprise, the man let out a whisper under his breath.
"One woman is enough for me, thank you."
"Hah!? Are you saying that I'm too much to handle?"
"I said nothing of the sort. However the fact that you immediately come to that conclusion despite the clear loyal nature of my statement may very well suggest the truth of your words just now."
"Eh? What the hell are you talking about? Speak English."
"I am, woman. Now come. Do we not have a banquet to attend?"
"Hehehe..... Bella was put in charge of the cooking again so we can't go wrong with this one.", Ashley said with a giggle.
"I heard that Claire..... or was it Clarice? Well, I heard that one of em placed a condition on the food so it's actually going to be a live meal."
"The fact that we did not know her name until this point is indeed strange, isn't it? We were required to avoid any and all usage of names due to the Indeterminant's ability to manipulate those whose names were known..... yet finally we are allowed to say them once more."
"It's great, isn't it TREVOR.", Samantha said with emphasis.
"To think that something as simple as hearing my own name would be such a major development... I haven't even heard it since I first came to this world."
Letting out a sigh, the man looked up into the dark sky as the four reached a banquet hall.
Although to call it a mere banquet hall would be an understatement.
This building was the size of a football arena, with enough capacity to seat thousands.
"We needed to expand everything a lot now that this city is the capital of the entire world.", Garett said with a prideful grin. "But that's not an issue so long as I'm around."
"The capital of the entire world... ugh..... does that mean that there's gonna be a lot of people coming to this city soon enough?", Ashley asked with a grunt.
"Well.... I'm not so sure if the humans will want to even come here. But eventually they'll catch on. Or maybe they won't and Claire will kill em first. Either way is fine by me."
With this statement, the four entered the hall to see a large number of people who were already in the hall awaiting the arrival of their masters.
Everyone who was sitting immediately stood up, bowing to their rulers.
"Your excellencies.", they stated in unison, respect in their tones.
As they entered, the four looked around, walking through the aisle before coming to a table at the front of the hall.
"Sit.", Trevor ordered as he stood before his own seat, causing the mass of people within the building to sit down, including Garett, Ashley, and Samantha who sat in their own seats at the front table.
With all eyes and hearts focused on him, the man fixed his tie once more, giving his slaves another prideful smirk.
"Monsters."
Saying this one word, the man closed his eyes, opening them before glancing all around the room to see the faces of all who were present.
Not a single major figure of the Dictatorship was absent.
Everyone who stood as a top slave, and even many who were in the lower ranks as mere civilians of the Dictatorship were here.
There was but one... or perhaps she was two? Only a single woman was not currently present.
"It is this term which the humans labeled us with. Our realm was called the monster realm, and our domain was that of undeniable evil. And perhaps..... they were right to label us so."
Looking up with condescending eyes, the man's smile wrapped itself around his face, extending almost to his pointed ears.
"For that is exactly what we are. Not a moment has passed since I entered this world in which I believed myself or my own actions to be right in a moral sense. Yet..... look around you."
The people looked around at one another as the man held out his hands with grandeur.
As he did so, the people watching felt as if he truly was taking the entire world into his arms.
"Even if my actions were not right in a moral sense..... no..... even if OUR actions and decisions were not right in a moral sense..... even if our decisions were by all definitions of the word..... evil..."
Holding out his hand and grasping his fist, the man spoke in sinister tone.
"That does not mean for a moment that my actions were incorrect."
Closing his eyes, the man chuckled to himself.
"For there has never been a moment in my life where I was wrong about anything."
Speaking with arrogance which exceeded all else, this elven man captured the attention of all around him, to the point where an unbreakable silence filled the room.
"Uh, wrong. That right there. You're wrong about that statement."
Yet as if to crumble his party, with a voice that resembled the scraping of metal, the spiritual figure with dark lines under her green eyes stood up, her expression one of complete chaos.
"Because I'm the one who is always right."
"The existence of one who is always right does not imply that I have ever been wrong."
"You've disagreed with me before. I'm always right. Therefore you've been wrong."
"Inconceivable. I have never been wrong in my life."
Speaking to one another without giving in, the two figures then begun to laugh to themselves.
"Heh...."
"Keh keh..."
"Hahaha....."
"Hehehe....."
"At any rate... the point is this."
Standing up, the succubus took the stage for herself.
"You insects exist for nothing more than our entertainment. And you have entertained us sufficiently. Now, the entire world is at our mercy."
Speaking with a smooth voice, the woman flashed a mature yet deceptive smile at those around her, lightening the hearts of those who heard her voice.
"So continue bowing your heads to us as you should, and we won't feel the need to take the effort to step on you. Kay?"
Despite such disturbing words, the people around could not help but smile, overcome with joy at hearing the voice of this woman.
"Heh... but for now, it's time to celebrate. Congratulations, all you freaks and abominations. The monsters won this battle. This is the victory of evil."
Standing up and creating a wine glass out of nothingness, the crimson demon held it up for a toast.
And then, in the hands of all the people, their own glasses of the red fluid appeared in the hands of the people.
"So tonight, let us drink the blood of those who dared to call us monsters, and consume their flesh without reserve."
And then, as if on queue, the door burst open.
Standing at the door was a woman, and floating around her were an insane number of platters of freshly cooked meat.
"Good evening, my subjects."
Speaking with a cheerful tone, the angelic woman smiled upon the people as she walked down the aisle, flicking her fingers as the platters hovered over to each table.
"It would seem that everything has been said."
The woman had the wings and halo of an angel, and everything about her was elegant.
Her dress was a pure white, and her silver hair draped down her head in gorgeous manner.
Her eyes were silver with white sclera, and she calmly stepped forward, her seat being pulled out for her without so much as the movement of her hand.
"Indeed. That man has died. This is our victory. Now let us celebrate."
With this, a glass of the blood red fluid formed in the hand of the woman.
Bringing the glass to her mouth, she prepared to take the first drink.
And then, in a whisper so quiet that none else heard, she spoke.
"To suffering."
And then, she drank.
As she did so, cheers erupted throughout the building.
"Your eminence!!!!"
"Your excellencies!!!!"
"To your leadership!!!!"
"To your power!!!"
That night, the capital of the Dictatorship was engulfed in celebration, and there were none who could calm the people of the monster realm down.
Truly, it was their victory.
The Determined and the antiheroes had spread chaos throughout the world.
They had defeated the man who they were destined to face, and their enemies were no more.
Nobody could stop them anymore.
The antiheroes and the Determined were now Dictators over the entire world.
----
A month passed.
And in the span of a month, darkness became the norm.
The light of the sun never appeared again in the world, constantly reminding the people of the one who ruled them.
Soon enough however, the humans were forced to come to a conclusion.
They had no choice but to obey their rulers.
Monsters begun to move into human cities.
Those who disliked it were soon enough forced to accept the new inhabitants.
"Why do I have to live next door to a monster....."
"Tch..... they're just walking through the cities like nothing is wrong....."
However, soon enough this reality ceased.
"Watch out!!!!"
As a man walked through the streets with his hands in his pockets and an irritated expression, an old watertower which was on the verge of collapsing threatened to crush him as it fell.
"Oh..... shit....."
With horrible creaking noises, the tower collapsed, and the man held out his hands, closing his eyes in terror as his life flashed before his eyes.
However, death did not come.
"Eh?"
Opening his eyes, this man looked to see that the tower had stopped in midair.
Backing up, the man stumbled behind him to notice that the structure was wrapped in silky threads.
"If you were to die in such a stupid manner, then their excellencies would not be able to reap the profits of your labor. Not that your weak human body has produced much for us."
Standing while holding up the water tower was a humanoid spider, who pulled the tower with his strings so that it fell in the other direction, smashing to the ground in such a way that didn't hit any people.
And then, disappearing before the man, he heard a voice behind him.
"You had better work harder to ensure that your life is worth the effort of saving, human."
And then, the monster disappeared.
The man sat there speechless, unable to so much as utter a statement.
Should he be grateful for being saved, or angered at being mocked and used?
He did not know himself.
However, it was then that a young girl approached the man, holding out her hand.
"That was Coran!! He's one of the head slaves of their excellencies!! I heard about him!! He was so cool!!"
Turning to the girl, the man looked over with surprise in his expression.
"C....cool?", he asked.
"Mhm! He just saved you, right? Wouldn't that make him a hero?"
At seeing the young girl make this statement, the man could not so much as reply.
"Ha... haha..."
Closing his eyes, the man slowly stood up, his hands trembling.
'That thing..... is a hero?'
Wobbling forward, the man couldn't help but laugh at himself.
'Ah... I see... so we're so powerless that even monsters are now heroes who have to save us. How demented that word has become.'
Looking back though as he walked off, the man saw the amazed expression of the excited young girl, and he couldn't help but smile with a slight amount of compassion.
'What does it even mean to be a hero?'