"Right before he died..... I was asked a single question by the foolish demon that was known as the Host of Wrath. He asked me a single thing, with distress and wonder in his eyes."

Looking straight forward, Huberos spoke to the girl beside him without bothering to confirm whether she was listening.

He vented.

He spoke without restraint.

Something which he never before would have done.

And certainly not with someone who was below himself.

"Do the humanoids have worth as people?"

This statement exited the mouth of Huberos, and the two sat next to one another in silence.

"Never before in our lives have we demons ever considered humanoids to be worth anything more than our own creations. To us, you are nothing more than the experimental results of one of our deranged.... and prideful ancestors."

Tapping his fingers on his own thigh, Huberos spoke with serious tone.

"Yet Vex questioned that sentiment in his last moments."

"And what do you think?"

The girl spoke these words quietly, lightly pressing Huberos for an answer as she turned to him.

"What do I think..."

Mulling over this statement, the demon placed his hand to his chin in thought.

"The fact that I have not immediately shot you down says something about my current state of mind, doesn't it?"

With a chuckle, Huberos made this statement, lightly grinning to himself.

"Yep.", the girl replied.

"I am infinitely superior to all those around me. Therefore, when compared to myself.... I suppose the worth of the humanoids is approximately the same as that of other demons. However, for you plant kin in particular.... you hold worth.... as my soldiers. It is for that reason which I have accommodated you. No more and no less."

Standing up, Huberos appeared to have regained his own confidence.

"Though I will at least give you credit. You have allowed me to put my head on straight, and for that.... I thank you."

Tera nodded with a gorgeous smile as if she were an innocent young girl once more, witnessing someone overcome a great challenge.

Standing up casually, she flailed her arms back and forth as she walked out the doorway.

"Then, is it alright for me to leave for now?"

She asked this, though her hand was already on the doorknob and she was already opening the door to leave.

"You may leave. I will call you again tomorrow."

"See you then!"

Walking out with a skip in her step, the girl and the demon seemed to have regained their purpose,  the somber atmosphere leaving them.

"Just wait, antiheroes. I will destroy you, and I will show you that there is only one in this world who can claim the title of demon lord."

----

Two demonic maids stood outside the bedroom of Huberos, awaiting his every order and command. One was colored black with white fangs, hair, claws, sclera, and horns. The other colored white with the same features colored pitch black.

These two were Selna and Chiora- servants of the highest rank for Huberos, the Host of Pride.

Currently, they were finished with their daily duties and as such stood outside the bedroom of their master in the case that he called for them, to attend to his every desire.

However, something was strange on this night in particular.

He was speaking to someone within the bedroom.

The muffled voice of a female could be heard from the inside of the room as she conversed with Huberos, though the contents of their conversation could not be made out due to the thickness of the walls.

At hearing these words, the expressions of the maids twisted with irritation.

"It would seem that Lord Huberos is.... with a woman tonight."

"It..... would seem that is so."

With dejected tones, the two had a slight exchange, though short.

Awkward moments passed, and the one known as Chiora spoke once more.

"I have not noticed any women around here recently who have stuck their noses into his personal life. Is it not strange? Just where do you think this woman came from?", the demon with snow white skin and black features stated.

"I am unsure. I would hope that she is not some street tramp who happened to charm him, yet even suggesting such a thing would be an offense to Lord Huberos. Surely his own personal taste is something which is beyond even our own imagination. He is a man of class, and would not settle for someone below his magnificence.", the other responded.

"Though.... it is for that reason that I believed he would never find a woman for himself. For none could match him."

"Do you believe he has settled for less?"

"Absolutely not. Such a thing would be unthinkable."

The two nodded in agreement, coming to the same conclusion.

However it was at that moment when the bedroom door opened, and the voice of a young woman could be heard.

"Then, is it alright for me to leave for now?"

"You may leave. I will call you again tomorrow."

"See you then!"

A girl walked out of the bedroom, casually conversing with the one which the two called their master.

As the two looked to their side, they witnessed the girl.

A plant girl with leaves for hair and a dress made from the petals of flowers, with a gleeful smile on her face.

She was not gorgeous, but she was certainly attractive.

Yet to these two who witnessed this and heard the words of Huberos as the girl exited, they could not do anything but shoot glares towards the girl as she walked past them.

They did not say a word, and the girl merely passed through the two.

The door shut closed, and the girl walked down the hall towards her own assigned room.

However as she walked off, she stopped in her tracks.

"I'm not exactly sure why, but you two seem to be very irritated with me for some reason. Is there something you have to say?"

The two were filled with indignancy at the impudent words of the girl, to the point where they wished to attack her right now- yet they could not.

Doing so would be going against the will of their master, who they were completely and utterly loyal towards.

Therefore, they held themselves back.

"I have not the.... slightest idea what you are talking about, lower being.", Selna stated, choking down any anger which might have shown in her voice.

"That is right. I do not know what Lord Huberos could see in you, but you had bettered be grateful that you are allowed to see him to such an extent. If you do not treasure the time you just spent with him, then it would be extremely irritating that he wasted his time giving you an audience at all."

"Ah.... is that what you think I was doing? I guess that should be obvious. After all, what else would a man and a woman be doing in a bedroom alone in the middle of the night. Let me give you two a little bit of advice."

Turning around, the plant girl faced the two, looking at them with a serious expression.

"Perhaps you should strive to understand your master a bit better. After all, you seem to want to serve him so desperately.... but you do not even see where he is struggling. And it is perhaps because you see him as flawless.... that you fail to lend him the support where he needs it."

The two demons were shocked at the strange assessment of the plant girl, but she was already walking away before they could say anything else.

"What.... does she mean by that?"

"I.... do not know."

The two were left to think on the meaning of the girl's statement, irritated and feeling as if they had been one upped by someone of a lower state of existence.

----

'Hey Clarice. I..... have been doing some thinking on something.'

'Hm? What have you been thinking on?'

An angelic figure lay in a large bed, staring at the ceiling with eyes wide open as if she was having trouble getting to sleep.

'Between the cameras that we've now set up all over the world and the visions that I receive once in a while, I can see almost the entire world. I..... am starting to feel like I know too much.'

'You know too much?'

One voice was that of a normal young woman, the other of a demented succubus as the two voices spoke within the mind of the creature.

'I..... am starting to doubt my own decisions. I'm starting to wonder.... if killing Vex was really the right thing to do.'

'Eh? What do you mean, Claire? Don't tell me you felt bad for that scum, or for the shitty people he effected.'

'I.... think that I affected him. I believe that my words sparked a change in him. I think.... he was different from that man.'

'Eh? What are you talking about, Claire. Don't give a second thought to a demon like him.'

'No, I will. Because.... I heard the last conversation he had with that butler and the one with that other demon.'

There were three conditions which allowed Claire to witness events around the world.

The first: If the spider cameras which were produced by the antiheroes had reached an area, she had access to their footage through a shared database.

The second: If Claire was given a vision by the system, she could witness events which she normally otherwise would not be able to witness.

The third: If Clarice had set a condition or state on a person or object, she could witness the state of that object at all times.

For this reason, Claire had been clearly presented with the live footage, watching as Vex played out his own death according to her own condition.

'He was changed. Unlike that man..... who continues to seduce women.... who continues to rot the minds of the humans of this world..... who continues to spread chaos, while appeasing all those around him..... Vex was beginning to see something. And for that reason.....'

A horrible smile came across the face of the angel, making one wonder how an angel could make such an evil grin.

'I think I've changed my mind again. I'm going to make Vex my slave after all. Won't he prove to be useful tomorrow against the other Hosts?'

'Claire..... you..... heh. I see..... so that's how it is. Alright. I'll help you out a bit then.'

'Heh heh... what's wrong, my evil self? Did you think that I merely wanted to save him? Of course I would have a use for him. After all..... could I call myself the Queen of Demons if I were to go around saving people without reason?'

'But am I not supposed to be the one who is the Queen of Demons? Hahaha.... Claire, you surprise me each day. I never knew you had this in you. And I am you.'

'What are you talking about, Clarice? You're supposed to be the Queen of Demons? What kind of joke is that? How can only one of us become the Queen of Demons? After all, you just said it.... did you not?'

Closing her eyes, the girl went to sleep with a sinister expression.

'We are one and the same.'

----

Four figures sat at a round table, mounds of paperwork surrounding them.

"If we are to set out from Iciclaris and cross the mountains..... then it will take roughly 2 hours to cross the mountain and reach the outskirts of the city of devils from there by carriage. Of course, we could simply travel there ourselves and teleport everyone there..... but that would ruin the dramatic approach, wouldn't it?"

With so many screens in front of him that one could not count them on two hands, an elven figure dressed in a suit was running numbers at immense speeds- both within his mind and on the screens.

The elf with the brain of a supercomputer had slicked back black hair, and glasses cut at a perfect 90 degree angle- so sharp that one might cut their finger on them.

Tapping his chin with thought, a smile came across the face of this figure.

"I suppose in order to make for the best of both worlds, we will teleport the armies just outside of the sight of the city, and walk from there."

"All about performance this and performance that. Why can't I just squash them all like always?"

Sitting beside this man with sleeves far longer than her own arms, a girl with black hair that was so messy it would be an offense to the birds to call it a birds nest sat with dead eyes, leaning back onto her seat half asleep.

Her bright green eyes had bags underneath them to the point where one might think that ink was smudged underneath her eyes. She wore a white gown which was ragged in every way, and looked onward lazily with a slight bit of drool hanging from her mouth.

"Unacceptable. We must put on a show, and not for your own sake. As a matter of fact, do you even know why we are doing all this? This is a grand event. We are to be crowned as demon lords once we have defeated and enslaved the remaining Hosts."

The elf replied quickly, continuing to run calculations as he spoke.

"Hmm....."

The girl placed her sleeve to her lips in thought, looking forward with a confused expression.

"What is it?"

Asking out of concern, a crimson demon placed his hand on the shoulder of the spiritual girl whose skin was so pale it was almost see through.

This demon, with veins crawling across his skin and horns twisting about around his head wore a red suit with white stripes as he sat to the side of the spiritual figure. In front of him too were many screens and he was working on similar mounds of paperwork.

"Well.... I just.... felt like I wouldn't be able to do anything tomorrow."

"Is that your own version of saying that you're too lazy to get up tomorrow? Please do not joke like that. It is a big day.", the elf stated.

"No, not that.... I..... just had a feeling."

"What do you mean by that? You had a feeling..... tell it to me straight, Ally. Your skill [Always right] ensures that your intuition cannot be wrong. What feeling did you have?"

"I.... had a feeling that I'm not gonna be able to do anything tomorrow."

"That is....."

With wide eyes, the elven figure began to type numbers into his calculator.

"I see..... of course.... of course that would be the case. With that one on their side, that would be such an obvious move it isn't even unpredictable. How could I have missed it? Understood. I will be working under the assumption that you will be useless tomorrow."

"Eh.... you're just gonna throw me out like that? How harsh."

Despite the words of the girl, she said them in a dead tone as if she couldn't care in the least, and was merely mocking the diligent efforts of the man who smiled as he continued his calculations.

"Interesting, so they truly will use that piece? How truly interesting...."

The man began to smile to himself, a glint of madness in his eyes as he ran hundreds of thousands of simulations in his mind.

"Hahaha..... so if you move that piece there, I will be forced to pull out the Queen."

"Tr.... Theo, are you ok? You look a bit.... overworked."

"Overworked? Hardly. I am having the time of my life, woman. Never before.... never, never never..... never have I had so much fun while working overtime."

The one who reached out to the man was a teal succubus.

Wearing her hair in a bun, tied together by a human finger, she embodied maturity. She currently wore a yellow sundress and despite the purple veins which drew themselves across her skin and the human appendages which lined not only her hair but a bracelet on her arm, she was gorgeous in every manner.

Reaching this hand out towards the elf, their matching bracelets clinked together as she held him for a moment.

"Did you forget.... that we're here to destroy this world together?"

The man looked up into the eyes of the woman, who was squinting with a wretched smile.

On seeing her expression, the man could do nothing but smile even deeper.

"Of course.... what was I thinking, trying to figure everything out on my own..... after all, we are the antiheroes.... as opposed to the antihero."

Closing his eyes, the man sat back, fixing his tie.

"Perhaps.... that is enough for tonight. Shall we head to bed?"

Standing up, the crimson demon and the wretched spirit immediately began to walk off, without even answering yes.

"We've been waiting for you to say that. After all, you've already planned out so much. What is the chance of failure for tomorrow?"

"It was stunningly high, so I was trying to reduce it by at least another magnitude of order. Right now the chance of failure is at a disturbing rate of..... 0.01% However..... there is a certain..... risky move which I have been highly considering.... which will yield results much greater than if I simply ignore it. Therefore.... I believe we will be taking it. This will raise the chance of failure to....."

The man smile horribly as he looked up to the ceiling.

"25%"

"Ah, be quiet. 0.01%, 25%, going on like it's the end of the world. Although..... it is weird.... somehow, I can't say whether or not things will be alright tomorrow. It's almost like..... it really isn't determined? Meh."

The spiritual figure walked off as the elf and the succubus stood up as well, following behind and leaving the paper covered table.

Her green eyes brightened and she began to laugh quietly, cackling to herself in a strangely cute yet disturbing manner.

"Hehe.... well, whatever. Long as we win, the only one it's going to be the end of the world for..... is everyone else."

"However, we can never be too certain. There are so many elements which are unpredictable, so I would have liked to continue running simulations...."

"No more simulations for tonight."

The succubus put her arm around the elven man, giving him a mature smile.

"After all, you need to get some rest, don't you?"

"Rest is for those who are human."

"And you're the most human out of all of us."

"Sometimes I feel the least human among us."

The three walked towards the hallways of flesh which wriggled as if it were alive.

Blood pumped through pipes which looked like veins and electricity flowed through what looked like a brain connected to nerves.

"Why is that?"

The succubus looked at the man with concern, speaking softly into his ear.

Closing his eyes and laughing lightly to himself, the man grinned.

"Because I am the most human."

Looking out the window of the hall, the man thinned his eyes with nostalgia.

"It is because I still take this humanesque form that I cannot help but shake it. I have lost all sympathy for scum. I have lost all human empathy towards those who lower themselves to intolerable levels, or raise themselves up beyond all. But it is because I still take this human form that I look at myself and wonder..... if you three have become demons, then have I not become nothing more than a true monster?"

Running her hand down the spine of the man, the succubus instilled a jolt in him as she tickled his back.

"Don't say such sour things. After all.... that's just one more thing that I love about you."

Closing his eyes, the elven figure let out a sigh.

"I suppose that's right. There is no benefit in retaining my own humanity, after all. So long as I keep my ability to weigh decisions and negotiate..... it should not matter what I become."

With a grin, the man stepped forth.

"You truly are useful, woman. Even if it is only to improve my mental health."

"I'm a whole lot more useful than that and you know it."

"I suppose."

The four continued to walk until they reached a door which opened to a bedroom, however just as the spiritual figure was about to step inside, a ringing sound struck the ears of the four.

"It looks like we have a message.", the elf stated, tapping the screen.

"Ah, it's from that one. The poor thing. I almost feel like I picked on her too much when we met. Let's see...."

Sliding her face over to the same screen which the elf looked at, the succubus caught sight of the message.

[From: Lustia]

[Antiheroes, I am unsure whether this is significant enough to bother you with, yet something strange has happened recently. Eight people have been reincarnated as spirits. This has never happened before, and if you feel that it is of importance, then feel free to do as necessary. Here is the list of their names, which I was able to acquire.]

Below was a list of eight names, which the elven figure glanced down.

And at the sight of one name, his eyes first went wide, then they thinned with delight.

"How truly strange, fate is. Just after the Indeterminant throws his pawn aside, he falls right into our hands? Excellent. We will make full use of this..... especially against him."

Crackling to himself, the elf held his forehead, unable to cease his fit of madness.

"Welcome to our Dictatorship, Kyle Ruthobold."

----