Hiru was currently standing watch on the Eastern wall of the Dictatorship, now at the head of a large number of lizardmen.

He was truly grateful.

'Their excellencies have peacefully annexed my people, and now I no longer have anything to even look back at. The village which I once left.... it is now a part of this nation.'

Hiru had been told by their excellencies that he was free to visit the lizardmen village at any time, so long as he gave notice ahead of time.

At first, he had given up everything.

He had left his own people.

He set out with his family in order to follow Arlo, trusting in him that he was right to follow the antiheroes.

In the end, this resolve led to a scenario where he and his family were threatened with a test of loyalty- one which they passed with flying colors, yet one which made something clear.

Their resolve was not a mere trifle.

They were not setting out due to something as flippant as curiosity.

Hiru, his wife Lolop, and his children even, had bet their very lives when they left.

And they won.

Yet at the same time, they lost.

They lost the ability to return to their village, and to interact with their people.

However, that was no longer the case.

'The antiheroes must truly care about their subjects, to go so far as to take over the lizardmen village just so that we may once again be united....', Hiru thought as he looked into the horizon.

Rolling plains of green grass spread out before him.

Directly underneath the post atop the wall which he stood at was a moat of a purple poison, and behind him was an entire city made from flesh and bones.

The entire wall was covered in eyes which functioned as cameras, and evil eyes floated about the town, flapping their bat wings as they gazed around.

It was then that in the distance, a caravan emerged from beyond the horizon.

Hiru could barely make it out, but by the vast aura they emanated, he knew that there could be no other.

It was his masters, their excellencies, the antiheroes.

Behind the carriage which they rode in were the four humans who they had taken a liking to, along with hundreds of snakemen who were submissively slithering along.

'It truly is amazing..... just three days ago they took over not only the lizardmen village, but also the fishmen village.... and now.... just today they have taken over even more cities. This nation.... it has grown large. And I am sure it will only continue to grow.'

Soon enough, the caravan had approached the gates, and Hiru witnessed the overarching faces of his masters as they hailed to him.

He immediately flipped the lever, opening the drawbridge at the entrance to the city and allowing them in.

The necklaces of fingers and bracelets of toes which their excellencies wore sent shivers down Hiru's spine as he watched them jingle, yet he was further reminded of how amazing they truly were.

'It is a sign to all who dare defy them..... I cannot imagine the effect if must have on those who are facing them as enemies.'

Hiru continued standing diligently at his post as the people filed their ways in, looking around in shock and awe.

'This place.....'

'It's.... this is the lair of demons.....'

'How could something like this exist?'

'No.... I shouldn't even need to ask that question.... for those who have abilities surpassing even the provider.... surely anything would be possible.'

The people were led through the city, where Trevor then stood in front of the crowd and spoke out to all.

"Snakemen who have submitted to us as slaves. Welcome. This is the capital of our nation."

Trevor pointed a finger over to the center of the city, where one building stood high above the others.

It appeared to be in the shape of a heart, with a brain on top of it. Surrounding this strange building was a large ribcage, fencing it in. Arteries and veins seemed to spread all around the city, as well as nerves which had been tied together with them.

And on top of this ribcage, flying high, was a flag.

It was a purple flag with the black hand of a demon, wrapping itself around a heart.

Inscribed on this heart was the map of the entire world, and the heart was being squeezed to death by this demonic hand, so that blood seemed to splatter all over the flag.

Trevor pushed up his glasses with a grin, and spoke out in a confident voice.

"That is our symbol. We are the antiheroes, and welcome to our Dictatorship."

----

"Well then..... I suppose that many here are accustomed to organized labor? It certainly is nice to take over people who have been abused. After all, they become used to our conditions far quicker than any others.", Trevor said while looking around at the snakemen.

"Then, all men who are able to work are to be instructed alongside the lizardmen underneath the goblins. They will tell you what to do and how to do it, and you will merely follow their orders, which we will relay to them. As far as food and housing are concerned, there is no need to worry. You will be guided to the residential district where there are a number of homes that have already been prepared for the arrival of new slaves."

Garett then stood forward with a demonic grin.

"I'm sure you all are already aware, but you won't get any food for your families if you don't work. We aren't running a charity here. We're running a dictatorship."

"That is correct.", Trevor continued. "However, unlike your false leader, we do not distribute food with reservation. To all those who legitimately put forth effort and produce at least partial results, we will ensure that you will not even be able to consume the amount of food which you have been provided. Furthermore, every once in a while we will hold a banquet, in which all will be invited and may consume the cooking of our own personal chef."

'They are different.....'

'Their policies seem similar to those of the provider, but there is a fundamental difference between them....'

'They may be controlling everything just as the provider did..... but this is not control for the sake of power..... they are using their power and control for the sake of the people....'

Samantha smiled graciously at the people in front of her, captivating their hearts all at once.

"Our slaves will never starve. After all, the moment you became our property, your worth went up by a thousand times over."

----

The people of the snakemen were filled with awe at the policies of the antiheroes.

Despite their demonic appearances and their clearly evil actions, there was without a doubt something which stopped the people from believing that they were truly evil.

There was a righteousness behind them.

They had killed off a large number of people just earlier, and ensnared the rest in a cage to die.

Yet every single person here completely forgot about such actions, seeing that which was in front of them.

The city was terrible.

It inspired fear into the hearts of the snakemen.

It shouted with everything it had that this was truly the lair of demons.

That this was a place which should never be stepped foot into by an outsider.

Yet here they were.

Outsiders.

'Our provider preached against outsiders....'

'We would take part and support those sacrifices as if they were just.'

'We would support the slaughter of them.... and yet right now.... we are outsiders to this place..... to this hell on earth.....'

'And yet..... despite being outsiders, not a single person here is looking upon us with disgust or horror.....'

The snakemen were filled with surprise at the friendly demeanor and happy lives which not only the goblins, but also the lizardmen and slimes seemed to be living as they did their work here in this city of terror.

Thomar and Pliara of course, were surprised as well.

For these two, this was something which was completely new.

The snakemen were never allowed outside the boundaries of the city.

The military police would ensure that nobody entered and nobody left. Of course, Thomar had done this as well as part of his duties.

Yet he always wondered.

What was the outside world like?

This was why he had taken such an interest in the outsiders, so as to even wish to speak with them, despite this going against protocols and putting himself at risk of being found out and arrested for treason.

For this demonic city of blood and guts to be the first place that he ever witnessed, Thomar found himself holding in a laugh.

'The provider.... he always said that those outside were evil.... that they would try to corrupt our minds and fill us with horrible ideas and malicious goals.... yet to think that the outside world was like this..... haha..... it is..... wonderful....'

Thomar breathed in the air of the city, which by all means should have been filled with poison from those moats, yet for some reason was not.

"Pliara.... this is going to be our new home. Is that fine?"

The young girl, who was holding the hand of Thomar as they looked around, smiled as she looked up at him with a nod.

"I'm just glad to be with you, soldier.", she said.

The soldier looked down at the young girl with a nostalgic smile.

"Yeah... me too."

Following this, many goblins seemed to line up, bowing before the antiheroes.

"What a waste of time. I said this before, didn't I? There is no need to spend time on formalities like bowing to me when there is work to be done. Sigh...."

The elven figure seemed to be annoyed and lectured the goblins before one spoke up.

"Forgive us your excellency, but to not bow before you would be a sin!"

The elven figured seemed to chuckle lightly before notioning towards the plethera of snakemen.

"Among the able men here, each of you select a number of workers to train under yourselves. I understand that it is becoming quite the burden on you all as the managers of every aspect of this city, so if you need to then I would like you to select some of the able lizardmen underneath you to work as managers which you will then manage yourselves. We're building a company here. If we need more levels of management, we will add them."

"Your excellency, there is no such thing as too much work for your servants!! We would give our very lives if you gave the order!!!"

The elf seemed to sigh as he turned forward with the other three, waving at the goblins in dismissal.

"Exactly as I would expect it to be. Ah, you four. Come with us. It's time for your reports, followed by an evaluation."

The four humans stood forward on edge, walking behind the antiheroes.

"Yes, your excellency.", they replied in unison.

And so, the eight went off and the 10 goblin males were left to relocate the snakemen.

Thomar was eventually singled out by one of the goblins and ordered to follow with his family into a residential district.

Thomar stepped forward, however realized that Pliara had not followed him.

Looking back, he held out his hand to her.

"What's wrong?"

"He said for you and your family to follow. Go on, soldier. I will figure things out on my own like I always have. Thank you for everything you've given me, soldier."

However, the soldier grabbed the hand of Pliara, forcing her to come with him.

"What are you talking about? You've always been family to me."

----

The four antiheroes sat down in their respective regal positions on their thrones. The round table which acted as a desk had been moved to the side to allow them to sit in such positions.

Garett sat with both hands on the arms of his chair like a King before all.

Trevor sat with his arms folded, a sly grin on his face as if he was planning and calculating even at this very moment.

Ashley slumped down into her seat, her eyes thinned and the dark lines underneath them making it look as if she hadn't slept in ages.

Samantha sat with her legs crossed and her hands neatly folded as she smiled maturely before the four humans.

"You've all done well.", she stated. "Especially you, Melody. I am very pleased to see that you were able to prepare such a fine stage for us to step in and show those insects that we aren't here to play around with them. Or perhaps we are? Hahaha..."

Melody bowed her head with a grin.

"No no. The success of this plan goes purely to his excellency who informed me of each and every step to take. All I have done is carry out your orders exactly as you have stated."

"But there is one thing which happened which I did not inform you of.", Trevor stated, looking over to Lance. "I took into account your personality and was able to predict such an event, but I wish for you to take this as a lesson. Tell me, Lance. Was stealing that piece of meat worth it?"

Lance looked down with shame.

"It wasn't, your excellency."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Lance seemed to bite his own lip in remorse.

"I tried to do something to help someone. But doing so only ended up hurting them, and making them hate me even more. If I had followed the orders given to Melody, perhaps that husband and wife....."

Lance didn't dare to say the words.

His face was clearly filled with regret for what he had done.

'Perhaps they would not have rejected your rule.', he thought.

"Then, what have you learned, Lance?", Samantha asked.

"I've learned two things, your excellencies. The first is that I should never derive from your plans, and doing so will only lead me to something which I will regret. The second is that sometimes..... doing the right thing is not the right thing to do. I was in over my head. I was trying to help someone to the point of recklessness. I threw away all reason and caution, and did what I thought was right. I was reluctant about using your methods.... about becoming a villain in the eyes of others. About doing things that seemed wrong. I wanted to do things straightforward. I wanted to just go and help people."

Shaking his head, Lance looked up.

"But just because I have good intentions like that don't make my actions acceptable. And just because something seems evil, doesn't make it unacceptable."

"Keh keh.... you've learned, Lance.", Garett stated while standing up. "That's all that matters, right? Isn't that the whole reason you set this whole thing up, Theo?"

Trevor pushed his glasses up, grinning.

"Of course. I planned out every last detail of this expedition before it even begun."

"Now that you understand that..... you'll be able to serve us better. As a warrior. As an alchemist. But most importantly, as our slave."

Lance nodded.

"Thank you, your excellency. This is a lesson I will never forget."

Trevor then turned to Pierre.

"As for you, Pierre, I am sure you witnessed something significant here as well. Am I wrong?"

"I did, your excellency. I.... I have always wanted for criminals to be punished for their wrongdoings. And I feel that we have done exactly that."

"You three took care of all of those members of the military police on your own. That was quite impressive. How did you feel about that?"

Pierre looked down with disgust.

"They were disturbing. They had such respect for such a horrible leader, it was hard to even look them in the eyes. I can't imagine why they would serve someone like that with such loyalty."

"And you, Charlotte?"

Charlotte looked up with a face of resolve.

"I feel the same. Those people were serving a leader who used his people, harming them and destroying their minds for no reason."

Ashley then looked over to the four with a creepy grin.

"And we aren't destroying peoples minds for no reason? Keh heh....."

With a disturbing giggle, she slouched even further into her seat as she kept a single eye on Charlotte, her other focused on her necklace which she played with, rolling the fingers in her hand.

"I believe that if many were to see the things that you all have done, that they would see them as very wrong.... I am sure they would see you all as nothing more than demons. But I have seen the results of your actions, and I know that you are doing it for a greater purpose!", she shouted.

"Whatever you say..... but I'll let you know, girl."

Ashley's eyes flickered with bloodlust.

"I'm just doing this because I find it to be fun, playing with the minds of people."

Charlotte stepped back in fear over that split moment of insanity, but quickly regained her resolve.

"I believe that many people will see us the same way that we looked at those members of the military police. They will look at us and ask 'Why would they serve such horrible beings with such loyalty?' But that is because we know the truth behind you four. The people who were loyal to that cobra... the provider..... they were nothing more than power hungry soldiers who didn't go against their leader because he gave them power over the rest of the people of the village. He used them in order to keep his own position stable, and they used him in order to do as they pleased."

"Excellent. To think that you four would grow this much from this expedition..... it is truly excellent. Without a doubt, this was far beyond worth it, even if we ended up destroying the entire city and only gaining 100 slaves.", Trevor said with his hand to his chin.

Looking back to the four, he nodded.

"We are already aware of most of the things that you will need to report to us, as we had a camera installed, recording you from the very beginning of the mission. We've also already collected the carriage which you used to travel. Therefore, there seems to be nothing left for me to say, unless you all have anything else?"

"Actually.... there was one thing which I was curious about, your excellencies.", Melody stated.

"What is it?", Trevor asked.

"What will become of the people who were left there? Will they simply die off and that will be the end of them?"

Trevor smiled.

"Always thinking ahead of the others, as usual. No, that is not the case. There was a reason which I had Gary and Ally do such a flashy performance. We were sending a message forth."

"A message?", Melody asked.

"Indeed. Soon enough, we will be taking control of this entire realm. However, there still stand the most powerful groups in our way. I have run a number of simulations, though my information on them is dreadfully low, so the accuracy of such simulations is pitiful. Even so, I had Ally confirm the possible options with her terrifying intuition, which was what allowed me to come to such a decision."

Looking back and forth, Trevor crossed one leg over another and put his arm around Samantha as she sat next to him, who seemed to tense up at the sudden bold action.

"We were sending a message to every group and village left in the monster realm. These messages will be spread all over soon enough. After all, that was the whole purpose of the flag. We are announcing our existence to the entire world of monsters. Soon they will be faced with a decision."

Glancing over and confirming that Samantha had not freaked out over Trevor's sudden advancements, he continued speaking.

"They will have to decide among themselves. Will they team up with one another in an attempt to resist our unstoppable momentum? Or will they refuse to cooperate among one another, going out like the insects that they are?"

Trevor laughed in a sinister and evil manner while imagining all the possibilities.

"Whichever way things go, it will be an enjoyable simulation to play out."