"I.... forgive you. After all.... it was that whore who used such a DIRTY spell on you."

"Hahaha.... well, it's not like we're any worse than her, is it?"

Garett and Ashley gazed into each other's eyes with a disturbing madness, completely ignoring the undignified woman on the ground before them.

"Ahem... it seems that negotiations have gone down the gutter. Well, it was interesting while it lasted.", Trevor commented. "Even so.... this was quite the risk by my own calculations. I was unsure at first about the extent of her charming abilities, so I was very concerned about what would happen if she managed to charm each and every one of us.... but it seems that I was worried about nothing."

Sitting in his own seat while glancing at the screen before him, Trevor continued running numbers even now.

"I feel just a little bit bad for her.", Samantha commented with a sneer. "After all, she was under the impression this entire time that she could just charm us and be done with things. It must have been hard to control yourself after all my comments, wasn't it?"

Samantha used her own toe to nudge the cheek of the beautiful yet humiliated woman who crawled on the ground before her, unable to control her own movements.

"Sorry about that, Queen of Lust. I just couldn't help it."

Samantha thinned her eyes with a sadistic smile.

"I enjoy destroying women who remind me of myself."

Ashley then looked up, keeping her hands around Garett as she spoke.

"Looking around, I can't help but notice that all these people seem to love you. I'd say it must be nice..... but actually..... isn't it all just fake?"

With a guttural laugh, Ashley played with the necklace around Garett's neck as she spoke.

"You give your people a desire..... a lust for you.... to serve you, and to obey you. To make you happy before all else. You've given them that desire, and doing so makes them happy. I suppose it's a win win? I don't see anything wrong with it. But I'll ask, because it's itching at me."

Letting go of Garett, Ashley made her way around and walked over to Lustia, pressing her down with magical pressure so she wouldn't even be able to speak.

"Isn't that the same thing as what I'm doing with you right now, just with people's emotions?"

Using her own magic to raise the face of Lustia up so that their eyes met, Ashley stared into the terrified and angry face of the woman with a crazed expression.

"I order you to lift your head and you lift it. I order you to stand up and you stand. I order you to bow down, and you bow. I order you to lick my feet, and you lick. I order your servants to stand down, and they stand down."

As Lustia stared into the face of the spiritual figure before her, she came to a terrifying realization.

She had been concerned with the succubus.

The succubus had offended her time and time again, speaking in a rude tone in order to bring Lustia's attention to her.

'Was it all..... a distraction?'

As Lustia tried to speak out an order, she realized that she could not.

Her very voice was stopped by the sheer amount of pressure being emitted on her vocal chords.

'The reason that succubus kept insulting me..... was it because she was trying to hide.... the real threat?'

The green eyes of the horrid spirit before Lustia shined with a tremendous sadism, far greater than even those around her.

The girl had been ever so quiet, holding her tongue during the discussions with a bored look on her face.

She barely spoke, and when she did Lustia did not make much of it.

She didn't view this spirit as a threat.

Lustia was the queen of spirits, so she had believed that another spirit would be among the easiest to control.

Yet how wrong she was.

'She is.... something else.....'

Lustia wanted to throw up, but the pressure emitted on her did not even allow her to do that.

"Isn't it the same then? You order people to love you.... and they love you."

The words of the spirit cut into Lustia like a dagger, attacking her very being.

'W-what?'

"If an emotion is something that has been placed in someone through some sort of external law, then isn't it just a false emotion? These people around you.... they may actually love you as their queen. But you will never know that, because all you see is the result of the emotions you've placed inside them."

With a chuckle, Ashley waved her hand.

"Do you all love me, your new queen?"

Immediately there was a reply.

"Yes!!! We love you, our queen!!!!"

All the men around Ashley shouted these words at the top of their lungs.

"I can control their vocal cords and force them to say such things. But does that really mean they love me? HAHAHA!!!! If I believed that then I would be nothing more than a madwoman."

Turning back to her seat, Ashley plopped down with twitching eyes, and Garett put a demonic hand around her shoulders.

"And it is exactly that lie.... the lie that these people around you love you, when in fact they have been forced to love you.... that you are living. I may be insane..... heh heh..... for certain. But it is exactly because of my own insanity that I know..... you too are a woman who is distraught in your delusions."

Glancing over to a guard with a demented smile, Ashley spoke out an order.

"Attack your queen..... please."

"Of course!!", the man responded before unsheathing his sword and rushing forward.

The man ran forth and raised his sword above the head of Lustia, who was now looking up in fear.

'W-wait.... is.... is she going to kill me!?!? With my own subordinate!?!?! Stop..... Stop!!! Please!!! Stop!!!!'

Tears formed in the eyes of Lustia as she realized that she was on the verge of death at this moment.

Lustia was not a powerful member of the 7 households because of physical strength, but rather because her own ability to charm others was something which nobody could directly fight.

If someone attacked her, she would be able to easily take control of such a person and turn them against themselves.

It was for this reason that she remained the head of the house of Lust for hundreds of years, and nobody so much as tried to fight her. Any who did quickly lost their lives.

Yet right now, she was faced with the first people she had ever met who could resist her own charms.

'Wait.... please.... stop..... I..... I already know... I.... I already knew!!! Nobody..... nobody has ever liked me for me!!! That's why..... that's why I surrounded myself with these others.... with these people who were under my spell..... because I wouldn't be able to find anyone who loved me otherwise!!!!!'

The hair of the woman fell in front of her face, covering her saddened expression as she faced death for the first time in this life as a spirit.

The sword swung down at her neck with great speed.

However, death did not come.

"But... I guess I see something in you that I can't hate too much... I see someone who is broken beyond repair..... and perhaps I would feel guilty to kill you without even making an attempt to fix you."

The sword of the man had stopped just before hitting the neck of the woman.

"I didn't expect that of you.", Garett said with a chuckle. "Are you ok with that?", he asked, looking over to the crazed woman in his arm.

"Yeah..... I can tell already just looking at her....."

Ashley slithered over to Lustia, grabbing hold of her chin.

The woman's face was covered in her pure white hair, and her eyes were now dark with sadness.

"You already knew it, didn't you? The only people who ever gave you anything..... weren't real."

Ashley looked down upon the woman with a strange compassion.

"You can pretend like you're surrounded by people who love you..... you can act like everything is fine, and surround yourself with the creations of your imagination...."

Recalling her own past, Ashley remembered the times in which she would watch television shows and imagine herself as one of the characters, pretending in her mind like she had friends to surround herself with.

She would become attached to some of the characters to the point where she would truly believe they were her friends or even her lover.

"But at the end of the day, they're not real."

Ashley took the cap off her own head, and placed it back on the woman.

Wiping the white hair out of the way to reveal the face of Lustia, the tear filled eyes were now reddened after the woman had cried in sorrow.

The sorrow of her own existence.

She was the head of the house of lust.

She held the ability to make each and every person desire to please her, just with her very words.

However to her, this meant that there was no person in the world who could LOVE her.

No demon, no spirit, and no other person could accept Lustia for who she was, and so she became someone else.

Just as Samantha had changed her own demeanor, Lustia too had become an undeniable bitch, forcing others to desire her happiness under the false impression that her very existence gave them pleasure.

Yet this pleasure they received was not their own.

"Those eyes..... the ones that are reddened with tears and show not a single hint of perfection.... those flawed and darkened eyes that have been stressed and wrought..... those are the eyes that I like to see in those I take as my slaves. Heh heh heh....."

Ashley stood up and lessened the pressure on the woman before her, who looked up at her.

She cried.

"Ugh..... mmm..... mph..."

"You could try and charm me here and now..... but you won't. Because you know I'm right."

The woman dropped to the ground in tears, bawling her eyes out.

"Ugh!!! Ahhh!!!!!!"

"Don't you wanna destroy all the people who couldn't accept you?"

"Ugu.... uw....ah....."

The woman before Ashley was reduced to mere muttering as she grabbed the gown of Ashley, grabbing hold of her.

"Stepping on people didn't work. It didn't get you anywhere but a world of pretend. So why don't you try getting stepped on for size?"

"Huh?"

Lustia wiped her tears with her sleeves, looking up at Ashley with confusion.

"Why don't you become our slave? Come on. I know it sounds shitty, but maybe it'll get you somewhere. Give it a try."

"Eh? W....why would I do that....."

Lustia averted her eyes, slowly gathering her bearings.

She looked away and sat up, but she was clearly in deep thought.

"What if.... but..... mmm...."

"Don't you wanna try taking over the entire world? Why don't you help us out? I'll even forgive you for taking control of Gary. It's a pretty good deal."

Lustia looked up, flashing her eyes back and forth between the four.

"Sorry for messing with you so much.... haha...."

Samantha let out a lighthearted apology.

"We can assure your protection from others if you join us and inform us of what you know.", Trevor noted.

"And most importantly.... if you join us, then you'll become one of us.", Ashley said.

"One.... of you?"

Lustia felt a great meaning behind these words.

"The moment you become our slave.... you become ours. You will become our property, and every piece of you will no longer be your own. However.... that means that if anyone in this world lays even a single finger on you, we'll rip them apart limb from limb and consume their remains ourselves.", Garett said with a lick of his lips.

"But.... I.... didn't I do that to you?", Lustia protested.

"Hahaha..... so you made me obey you for a bit. But that's already been paid back, hasn't it? The only thing I'm worried about is her.... and the aftertaste, but I'll ignore that for now. Anyways... she seems to be fine with it, so I don't care.", he explained.

"There is no need to make enemies when we can make allies. I suppose this is worthless now, but I apologize for the antics of my comrades. What do you say? It is our goal to become the demon lords who control every aspect of this world, and those who stand by our side will not be given the lesser half.", Trevor offered.

Lustia looked up once more, unsure what to say, however she realized something.

Each and every one of these people were smiling.

Their smiles contained hints of insanity- some more than others, yet there were also hints of kindness within them.

Lustia saw something within them that she didn't see when they were originally negotiating.

'Could they..... actually do it?'

'Are they.... insane enough to be able to do it?'

These thoughts slipped into her mind, and the succubus spoke up as if responding to them.

"If you are curious as to whether or not we are insane enough to do something..... then you've come to the right people."

Leaning forward, Samantha gave Lustia a smile that was just a bit different from the smile she was giving earlier- this one with the slightest bit of compassion.

"If it is insanity we are speaking of..... we will not lose to anyone."

----

Lustia stood up slowly, her movements not being impeded from the pressure which had been forced on her before.

"Will you.... accept me?"

"Just don't take us over and we're good."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Ashley and Lustia had a back and forth with one another.

"Why would you accept someone like me?"

"Keh heh heh... don't you realize it, woman? We're supposed to be the villains here. We're supposed to be the bad guys taking over the world. What demon wouldn't want an army of ghosts to terrorize everyone and take over their minds?"

"So.... you want to use me for my abilities?"

Lustia was unsure how she felt about this direct response, however this was met with a laugh from the crimson demon.

"Do you really think that's the case when one of us can already take over the minds of others?"

"!?"

Lustia looked at Garett with surprise, however he spoke while pointing to Samantha.

"Don't you remember when my mind got rattled back and forth between you and her?  It was because she was taking over my mind as fast as you were. It's weird as hell to be charmed by people you know. I don't really wanna go under something like that again, but at the time I was extremely..... happy I guess?"

"Happy?", Trevor asked.

"Something like that. I guess I was happy to be by the side of the person controlling me, or something. But now that I've been released from it, those feelings are gone."

"Hmm..... so that is how the insects feel when I put them under my control.", Samantha commented. "Not gonna lie, that kinda creeps me out. But at the same time, they should already be filled with joy just to be near me."

"Wait just a minute.... so you mean to say that you already possess a charm ability!?!? Is that..... is that why I felt something so off about your demeanor?", Lustia asked persistently.

"Yep.", Samantha replied.

Lustia was taken aback, but now everything made sense.

"I see.... so there was no need for someone like me in the first place?"

"We do not take over others because we need their services. Certainly, they can prove useful to us, but to rely on another for their abilities is not how I do things.", Trevor explained.

"So.... is this your way of saying that you'll accept me..... as I am? Not as the queen of lust.... but as Lustia, myself?"

"Sure. Whatever you want.", Ashley responded casually.

Lustia smiled.

This time it was not a mature smile, but rather a smile of pure happiness.

It was a smile which Lustia had never given to her own subordinates, for she knew in her heart that they were nothing more than dolls which she had instilled with her own desires.

"Then..... if I give myself to you..... will you appreciate it?"

"It would certainly benefit us for you to submit here and now. After all, what kind of demon lords would kill every demon they encounter? It is our duty to unite the demons, no?"

With a sinister grin, Trevor seemed to be thinking towards the future.

"I can only imagine the looks on the faces of the humans when we invade their realm with hundreds of demons under our rankings."

Lustia smiled, bowing before the four while holding her hat to her head.

Her hair fell in front of her face, and she spoke softly.

"Then.... please allow me to become your slave. And as for my subjects...."

[Release]

The people around the group seemed to regain their own senses as if released from a spell which they had been under for a long time.

"They can decide for themselves what they wish to do.", Lustia stated.

"That is acceptable." Trevor noted.

Ashley retracted the pressure from the people around her as they began to look around with confusion.

"Hm?"

"What's... happening....."

"I... was that a dream? Or was it a trance?"

"Where am I?"

The people seemed to be looking around, however on looking over to Lustia, they seemed to recall everything.

"Ah...."

"That's her...."

"She.... took over our minds....."

"It's the woman who instilled in us a lust for her....."

The people's expressions became twisted and wrought with indecision, as if they were processing a large amount of information, however one person looked over with a smile.

"Well?? What are you idiots gonna do? I bet you feel like shit now knowing that everything was a lie."

The one who spoke was Ashley, yet the spirits did not writhe at her voice any longer.

It was as if their infatuation with their queen had caused them great torment, and an inability to accept the very existence of a spirit who was greater.

"Our queen...."

One man, as he looked towards Lustia, uttered these words ever so quietly, barely even a whisper- yet loud enough for all to hear.

These words struck the hearts of those around him, causing a chain reaction of smiles.

"I.... I don't particularly care if it was false."

"I don't mind that she took over our emotions.... because either way she still gave happiness to us."

Many people looked around confirming these feelings with one another, nodding in agreement.

"Lustia!!! Even if we have been released from this spell, you are still the one we wish to serve!!!!"

"That's right!!!!"

"We love you, Queen Lustia!!!!"

Many of the spiritual people began cheering, however Lustia shook her head.

"I am no longer a queen. I now serve these four. If you wish to serve me, then serve them."

"Ah, we have a number of similar circumstances elsewhere. It is acceptable to give you rulership over this parcel of land and it's people and leave things as they are for the most part, incorporating this place into our Dictatorship.", Trevor suggested.

Many of the people around began looking at one another, confirming things and nodding.

"Please, queen Lustia!! Agree to those terms so we can continue serving you!!!!"

Lustia looked at the people, filled with emotion.

Their smiles were genuine.

Their love was genuine.

For the first time in her life, without a forced desire, the people around her supported her.

And the reason why such a thing had happened was because of the antiheroes, who showed up in a chaotic scene, insulting her and wrecking her mind.

"Thank.... you...."

Lustia spoke these words softly to the four before her, who merely laughed.

Garett looked over to Lustia with a sinister grin and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Thanking us? For what? All we did was come here and insult you.... take your land.... your people.... and even your own body for ourselves."

----

[Note: Head of Household has been subjugated. 1/7. Revision to current quest: Defeat Monster Kings. Subjugate or Defeat the leaders of the 7 houses.]

[Level Up! (Lvl 26)]