"This leads me to my next announcement.", Rocko boldly stated with a completely straight face.

"The one to do this to Pilir, ordered by the antiheroes after Pilir showed disrespect towards them.... was none other than Arlo."

Silence.

It was so quiet that one could here a pin drop.

Not even a baby dare cry. That was how ridiculous and unbelievable this statement was.

But Rocko, the leader of the lizardmen was the one saying it. It had to be true.

Arlo then stood forward.

"I have decided to become a follower of the antiheroes after witnessing their strength. I have no regrets, and I will be leaving the village this day. If anyone wishes to come with me, giving into the temptation that those devils have placed in front of us, then you are more than welcome to. I encourage you all to not show any sign of disrespect to my new leaders, or I will be the one to personally silence you."

Arlo stood back.

Rocko stood forward, defeated and angry. This was all of course an act in front of the people.

"As you all have just heard... as of today Arlo will be banished from the village as a criminal. If there are any here who sympathize with the antiheroes now, then I encourage you to leave now before you are banished as well. We proud member's of the lizardmen race will stick our heads up, even in the face of doom, however this time... things are different. The world is about to change."

Murmur. Murmur. Rustle Rustle.

"I will be waiting outside the gate after I have collected my things. If there are any who wish to give into the temptations of those demons and step into the land of wealth and power, while sacrificing ones souls in order to do so, then meet me there. I will set out tonight after the sun sets.", Arlo announced loudly.

Many people were shaken with fear at these words, however most simply looked down in shame. They did not dare shout out against the lizard who was once the idol of their village. While they were completely disappointed in the fact that their proud warrior would give in to the allure of power like this, they could do nothing against him,

They once respected Arlo greatly, and now that respect was lost. Shattered like a thin glass, with just a light tap.

Respect built on strength can only stand if strength remains in tact. The respect that Trevor built up among others was that of a complete psychological dominance, regardless of strength. The respect Samantha had built was one of kindness and compassion- on the surface at least. Even if it was a facade, it was something that had a resistance to the sway of external factors and influences. A respect built on strength alone would be shattered if it were found out that the strength was not much to brag about in the first place.

There was an infinite gap between being number 1 and being number 2.

Arlo had admitted to the crowd that he was not number 1.

This dampened the pride of the lizardmen who once believed with all their hearts that they could defeat even demon lords if things came to it- so long as their strongest warrior was present. While this was nothing more than a pipe dream- a delusion which they came under, it was something that each and every lizardmen had hoped was true. By not testing whether their beliefs were true or not, they allowed them to continue on without any challenges- and yet, now this was all shattered. Everything they had believed- the warrior they put their trust in, was nothing more than the pawn of the powerful.

One's delusions were always assumed to be right until proven wrong.

Even then, they would be modified and twisted to remain correct. The only way to knock someone out of delusion was to dominate them completely. And now, this had occurred.

For Arlo, the strong warrior and hero to be dominated by someone, it was a domination of the lizardmen as a whole.

Things would not end so easily like this.

Arlo walked off the stand and headed down towards the direction of his residence to gather his things before he left. He was prepared to be hated by all the lizardmen- disappointed in and spit on. If it meant that the people would understand the dreadfulness of the antiheroes, then he had achieved his goal.

Soon after, Rocko and the rest of the lizardmen leaders exited the arena, and the people began filing out, defeated.

They were unsure what direction their kind would take from here on out, but the future was bleak and hopeless.

-----

Arlo had gathered his things and was waiting outside the gate to see if anyone wished to come with him.

He had of course advertised the option of coming with him as nothing less than a deal with the devil. That- to Arlo- was essentially what it was.

He had an ultimate level of respect for the Determined, however after seeing the way the antiheroes had treated both the lizardmen and the birdmen, he could not see them as anything but demons.

He was scared.

Frightened.

Terrified.

Dismayed.

He wanted anything but to return to that place with those people, but he had sworn to himself that he would become a member of that 'family' even if it killed him.

Even if he were to be a slave, even if he were to be treated like dirt, he had to do something to ease the hatred that the antiheroes held toward the lizardmen even if it were just a slight amount.

Arlo did not want anyone to come with him to live with the antiheroes, however he knew that he should allow people to have that option. If they came with him, and they were able to merge into this family of theirs, then they would be protected from any and all harm.

It was possible that the people who left with Arlo today would be the only ones left of the lizardmen in the future.

Arlo waited for an hour. The sun was approaching the horizon.

A few more minutes and he would head off alone.

This was fine. If he went alone, he could live his life in secret trying to please those demons, and hopefully his sacrifice would not go uncompensated.

However, he then saw a family running out the gates. The guard seemed to stop them and was frantically speaking with the man, however the man simply pushed the guard aside.

"We have made this decision on our own. Allow us to follow through with it. This is a choice we have made as proud lizardmen."

A man, a woman, and two children, one male and one female around the same age.

They stepped out of the gate with resolve on their faces, and the father's eyes met with Arlo as he walked over dramatically.

"We have decided to come with you Arlo. The Determined, despite her atrocious power and horrid glance, was kind enough to have mercy on us when we did not know what direction to point her in. How else could we repay the kindness of sparing our lives? We will come with you, and work as the slaves of the Determined and these antiheroes if they are compassionate enough to allow us to do so."

Arlo was completely taken aback by the words of this father. Even the young children... what a determined look they had in their eyes! These were the eyes of hardened warriors, going off to battle.

Arlo was about to reprimand these people and send them back, but he could not.

Not with the determination they showed.

What absolute respect they must have towards the determined to wish to come with Arlo, against all logic.

With that, the sun hit the horizon. Arlo turned his back on the family and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"We are off to live in the nest of demons. Do not expect to get off so lightly as to be put into mere slavery"

-----

The antiheroes woke up after a wonderful sleep.

Life was good! Things were going well! Nobody was dead yet!

Or at least, that was what they would like to have thought. However, the guilt of having allowed Helen to be harmed once more stuck deeply with each member of the antiheroes.

The group had gotten up bright and early, and Garett had suggested that they head over to see Berith and Coran because he wanted to test something out. He had been doing some tinkering with potions and had discovered a certain reagent that 'could be useful if applied correctly'.

He said that he had used tactical analysis on it and was certain that there were no bad health effects, so he wanted to try it out on Berith.

The four walked through the streets over to the home they had set aside for the two spiderlings, which was now much larger than it had been when they had first given it to them.

It was multiple stories, and on the bottom floor was a tailor shop. On display were all types of fabrics that had been made from Garett as a result of extracting dyes from both herbs and slime gel, and combining this with the threads produced by the two spiderlings.

While Coran had been focusing on his training with Trevor to become stronger, Berith had been honing her skills as a tailor.

Walking into the store, they saw Berith hard at work at a loom which was connected to her own thread, carefully spinning with all six of her spider-like arms. Coran was nowhere to be seen on this floor, and Berith looked over happily to the antiheroes.

"Your excellencies! It honors me that you all would take the time to visit my shop! What do I owe you the visit?"

"I have been messing with some things and have come up with a [Potion of steel thread]. It is said to make any cloth as hard as steel, and is safe to consume, however does not appear to have any effect on regular people if they drink it. I was wondering what would happen though, to the thread that you produce if you were to consume it. Would the threat you sow become as strong as steel, and would you be able to create cloth that was as durable as armor?"

Berith looked delighted on hearing Garett's explanation.

"That sounds intriguing! What an interesting proposal! I shall test it out immediately!"

Berith happily grabbed the bottle from Garett and chugged it down.

"Oi! I know I said it was safe but hold back a bit! Anything is poison if consumed in too large a quantity!"

On hearing this, Berith stopped drinking.

"Ah! Forgive me, your excellency! I shall take your words to heart! How kind you are to care for me..."

"Mhm... if you were to get sick or die on us then our production of clothing products would decrease. You are a valuable asset to us.", Trevor said.

"Work hard to keep your own value high. If you lower your value we might dump you.", Ashley joked.

Samantha had a crooked and bitter smile. She knew that the two were joking but it sounded to her like they meant those words.

Berith simply smiled in a creepy manner. "I know that better than anyone, your excellencies. I will do everything I can in order to keep my value as a slave high." She lowered her eyes and placed the remaining potion in Garett's demonic hand.

"I will do everything I can to continue being of use to you all, even if it meant tainting my own soul."

Garett grinned at this statement, while Samantha felt uneasy. This girl was actually kinda creepy... Samantha had never noticed. She had always seen Berith as somewhat innocent, despite having gone through many hardships..., however... she was starting to realize that to corruption inside the spiderling might be deeper than she initially imagined.

There was a darkness surrounding her.

It was as if she played herself off to be an innocent little girl, while at the same time hiding the fact that she was a murderous ball of rage on the inside.

Even so, she was ultimately loyal to them... so Samantha surmised that it should be fine to leave her unchecked.

Probably.

"Well, that's all for today. Keep up the good work, and make sure to tell your brother we said hello. Let us know if anything strange happens, and if you are able to create armor like silk, then produce a few samples for us."

"Will do, your excellencies!"

There was that cheerful voice again.

It was as if she were two different people... was Samantha the only one who noticed this? Was it because she was a fellow female, or perhaps...

She was the only one who was bothered by the darkness that enveloped this spiderling?

"Well then... I think we should do some surveying of the area to begin planning for future development within the city... so many things to do. If only we were able to split up the labor, it truly is disappointing that we are stuck together like this.... we need to obtain more intelligent and competent subordinates if we are to get things done faster.", Trevor stated.

"We should be able to slowly increase the individual strength of our own followers through technology, training, and progress... however.... we could also still use stronger followers to act as a police force around the village.", Garett recommended.

"Mm... as long as we have them on a tight leash.", Ashley commented.

"But of course."

The antiheroes continued their tasks around the village. Garett continued to use his crafting skills to make improvements here and there, and Trevor used his skills as a businessman to draw up development plans for the city. Samantha and Ashley balanced each other's suggestions as to the graphic design of areas and the effects they would have on the comfort of the people living in the area. Samantha wanted things to look beautiful and creative, in order to inspire the visitors of the village that it was a nice place. Ashley, on the other hand, wanted to start designing fearsome building styles that made it look as if one was in a haunted village, in order to scare people off.

The two had compromised eventually, and drawn up a plan together of building styles and atmosphere that looked haunted and creepy, however also was an eye catcher to look at, like a work of art. The spirals and curves of the buildings and the iron gates tipped with spikes, dark looming towers and overarching walls.

All of this would require Garett to up his crafting ability and for their labor force to work extra hard, however a picture of everything was coming to mind.

When Garett finished sharpening a new stone ax for the goblin's to use in collecting wood, a notification appeared.

[Level up! (Lvl 15)]

[Player Garett: Strength +7, Dexterity +1, Perception +2, Charisma -2, Intelligence +4]
[Strength: 41](+4 Fanged Club)
[Dexterity: 9]
[Perception: 16]
[Charisma: 13]
[Intelligence: 26]
[Alchemy: Level 4]
[Enchanting: Level 1]
[Smithing: Level 1]
[Handiwork: Level 5]
[HP 170/170 MP 90/90]

[Player Trevor Strength +6, Dexterity +17, Perception +15, Charisma +20, Intelligence +23]
[Strength: 41]
[Dexterity: 98]
[Perception: 67]
[Charisma: 81] (+5 with cultured beings)(+20 vs bad disposition)
[Intelligence: 85]
[HP 160/160 MP 230/230]
[New trait: Rapid reloading. Reloading of the bow is extremely quick, taking almost no effort]

[Player Samantha Strength +4, Dexterity +3, Perception +5, Charisma +X, Intelligence +15]
[Strength: 21]
[Dexterity: 23]
[Perception: 31]
[Charisma: MAX]
[Intelligence: 69]
[HP 80/80 MP 210/210]
[New Maximizing skill acquired: Mind control. Active skill. Can be used without limitation, on any defined target, without time limit. A mind controlled target will not be changed mentally upon release of mind control from the original state of mind they were in, and memories of being mind controlled will not remain]

[Player Ashley: Strength +5, Dexterity +3, Perception +8, Charisma -6, Intelligence MAX]
[Strength: 25](+5 Against Defenseless)
[Dexterity: 26]
[Perception: 36]
[Charisma: -3] (+5 with lawful beings)(+5 Wish subjects)
[Intelligence: MAX]
[HP: 110/110 MP: 300000/300000]

Trevor was tapping his foot, partially in delight and partially in awe.

"Mind control, eh? We could have a whole lot of fun with this..."