"Ughhhhhhhh... we were about to go to sleeeeep.... do we have to go?"

"This is an urgent matter. If we fail tomorrow as a result of our own laziness right now, then I would never be able to live with myself."

A girl with transparent skin and ragged hair looked at the elven figure with strained eyes as if something had just slipped from her grasp.

Looking back into the room behind her, the walls of which were made from flesh, she longed for the comfortable bed- yet could not yet obtain it.

"UGHHHH!!!! FINE!!!!"

Scratching her face in irritation, she grabbed her cheeks, plucking them to awaken herself even after the long day of work.

"If you're tired then I'll carry you. You're very light anyways."

"Hehe.... thank you."

The crimson demon offered his back as the girl climbed on, resting her drooping sleeves on his shoulders as she hovered.

She nuzzled her head between his horns, resting it as she closed her eyes.

Her hair fell across the face of the demon in chaotic fashion, to which he stroked it aside.

"Let's go."

At this, the elven figure nodded, turning to the teal succubus.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with and get to sleep.", she responded with a slightly cheeky grin.

And with the snap of the elven man's fingers, the four disappeared from the hallway.

These four were the antiheroes.

The rulers of the Dictatorship, and the ones said to become the demon lords of this world, should they be allowed to grow powerful enough without interception.

----

Appearing inside a throne room, the four looked around to see a peculiar sight.

Sitting at a demonic throne was a spirit who wore a curious yet fashionable outfit, and her sharp eyes gazed upon eight figures before her.

A single male spirit and seven females, all of differing ages and backgrounds from the way they carried themselves.

The woman who sat on the throne immediately stood up from it, walking over with practiced motions before she bowed at the feet of the ones who had appeared in the room.

"Your excellencies..... as you can see, there are eight new spirits. I thought this strange enough to inform you, but that you would come here yourselves.... is it not a waste of your time?"

"Nothing is a waste of time if you can ensure that proper results form from it."

Trevor replied as such, smirking as he walked down the aisle of people.

"Based on our information from the spider cameras which have just recently invaded into the Ruthobold Kingdom..... we know a reasonable amount of the identities of these people. They are quite famous, after all..... and we were able to get their deaths on camera."

The eight looked at the four with confusion.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have no idea who you are or where we are. Nor do I know these women around me. Could you please explain what is going on?"

The one who spoke was the male.

As he casually made this statement, the spiritual woman who just before took a queenly posture looked over to the eight with fear, and shouted out before an answer could be taken.

"Forgive him, your excellency!! He knows nothing about this world, as he is a newly formed spirit! When a spirit is formed, they contain no memories about who they are or anyone around them, yet they contain the same level of common knowledge which they had before."

Trevor glanced over to Lustia who quickly defended the boy for his impudence.

"If I recall correctly, you have some sort of prior trauma relating to a lack of knowledge of your surroundings at the time of formation. Based on your tone of voice, it would seem that those experiences have invoked sympathy towards these ones. Is that the case, Lustia?"

The eyes of the woman went wide and she was unsure how to respond.

"I..... that is...."

"I was right on the dot, was I not?"

"Yeah, that's right. Don't bully her too much Trevor. After all..... I kinda feel bad. I've seen her past you know. She didn't know her place and started speaking up to the one in charge.... and everyone hated her for it."

Ashley responded to this while half asleep, resting her head on top of Garett as she murmured.

"Interesting. Very well then. Listen up, you eight. And listen well. For it would seem that given your lack of knowledge of yourselves and of who we are, you have not shown us the proper respect. Therefore.... I must instill that into you."

Placing his hand to his chest and bowing in elegant manner, Trevor smiled as he introduced himself to the group.

"My name is Theo, and I am one of the antiheroes. You are Kyle Ruthobold, a hero who was once destined to fight and defeat us..... yet through the foolishness of the Indeterminant and the humans around you, you were unable to live long enough for that. Ally, are you able to reinstill their memories?"

"Mmm..... but that would mean I have to walk over there...."

"I'll take you. Come on."

Garett walked over as Ashley lay lazily on his shoulders, bringing her close to the boy.

She placed her hand forth, sticking it into his mind.

"What are you..... ugh... urgh...."

The facial features of the spirit became a horrid mess as if it were one of Picasso's paintings, with distorted proportions and incorrect angles on every feature.

"All fixed up. Now he should know who he is."

The boy's face returned to normal as Ashley removed her hand from him.

"Excellent."

Trevor looked over to the boy with a grin, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Do you now understand who you are, Kyle Ruthobold?"

Kyle looked around in shock, then stepped back in caution.

"Who.... no, I now know who you are..... hah..... haha..... so you're the antiheroes, huh? The ones that we were supposed to..... team up to defeat. Is that right?"

"That is correct. However, forget not, Kyle Ruthobold. You have died. Do you remember your own death at the hand of Troy Ladia?"

"I..... do."

Kyle spoke with soft tone, recalling his own past.

"Why am I here? Why am I..... why do I have this strange body?"

"You are no longer a hero. You have been reincarnated as a spiritual demon, and your powers as a hero as such are no longer within you. But let me ask you something, Kyle Ruthobold."

Trevor walked forward, beaming above the boy with thinned eyes.

"There is only one reason why someone would end up becoming a spiritual being, from my current knowledge. Lustia, correct me if I am wrong, but those who end up as spirits are the ones who have..... a lingering connection to this world. No? Those who have a dying desire so great.... that they refuse to pass on."

"That.... is correct.", Lustia stated.

With a smirk, Trevor folded his hands.

"I see. How cruel a reality that is, given that your memories of past lives have been stolen.... and as such there is no way to resolve your regrets even in this second life.... under normal circumstances, that is. Kyle Ruthobold, would you take a look at the women next to you? Do you recognize them?"

Kyle looked over and as he did, his face became filled with horror.

His eyes filled with tears, and Kyle found himself breathless, unsure what to say.

The women were still looking around in confusion, but Kyle knew them.

"Mothers....."

His hands began to shiver with an uncontrollable trembling as he looked over to the four.

"Why..... are you all here? You....."

Turning back to Trevor, Kyle asked a question with fear in his voice.

"You just said that those who have a dying desire.... are to become spirits, right? You.... said that, right? Is that right!?!?!?"

The boy began to shout as he came to a realization, panicking as to whether it was true or not.

He pressed Trevor for an answer, desperately looking around with a face of complete despair and sadness.

"Does that mean..... that my mothers have died?"

Trevor closed his eyes, walking over to the boy and placing his hand onto the boys head.

"Indeed. Would you like to witness the method of their death?"

"I..."

Kyle's expression of despair and sadness soon became one of rage and hatred.

"Who killed my mothers?"

He spoke these words with an overflowing hatred, unable to control himself.

"Ah ah. That is not how you address someone who is able to grant your desire. Have some manners, brat."

Samantha corrected the boy, quickly addressing his foul demeanor.

The boy looked at the two, and as he did so he saw their expressions.

They were mocking him.

They cared not in the least about his struggles or hardships.

"Were.... you the ones who killed them?"

At this statement, Ashley let go of Garett, dropping to the ground.

She stepped forward with mad green eyes, looking directly into the soul of Kyle.

She was smiling.

She was smiling so much that it was unbearable.

Her sadism was something far beyond anything Kyle had ever seen, and she held out a hand.

It was then that Kyle was forced to the floor.

"I've heard enough of your shit, hero. You need to be taught your place. After all, we're here to help you, and yet you sit here and insult us like this? We went through all this effort to come here, and you blame us for the deaths of your mothers? HAHAHAH!!!!!"

Kyle's ears were pierced as the horrid voice annihilated his sanity.

His limbs felt terror beyond anything he could describe, and they were so tremendously heavy that moving even a single muscle would be an impossible feat.

'What..... what..... what..... what.....'

His mind was in that moment deteriorated to a mere record on repeat, as he was unable to comprehend the power contained by this being.

'What.... what.... what... what....'

It was then that the pressure was released.

Kyle looked up, his jaw chattering and his eyes filled with fear.

'What... are you?"

"What am I? I am the one that you were supposed to defeat. Ah, but that's too late now. Sorry, loser."

With crackling voice, the girl walked back, leaning once more on the back of the demon, who then spoke.

"Should we show him the truth?"

Placing one foot on the spiritual head of the boy, Garett asserted his dominance over the child with a cackle.

"The truth about the demons who killed his mothers?"

"Did.... you kill them? Did you..... did you monsters do it!?!?"

Kyle was now crying, his own saliva and tears pouring forth from the blubbering boy who couldn't gather his thoughts.

"Did you monsters.... kill my mothers?"

This last statement was made with horrible rage as the boy returned to his previous state, unable to control the strange fluctuations of emotions which had overtaken him.

"Why don't you have a look for yourself?", Trevor said.

And with the snap of his finger, a screen appeared before the boy as Garett took his foot off his head.

A screen which showed seven people lined up on execution blocked, and a crowd of people around them.

Standing forth was a man with golden hair- Reginald Ruthobold.

And at his command, the executioners brought down their axes.

As Kyle watched this, his face went from horror to rage to despair.

"Why..... why..... why why why why why why WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He began to shout, to the surprise of all.

He shouted, cried, and pounded his fist to the ground.

"WHY!!!!!!!"

"Why.... indeed."

Trevor snapped his finger, turning off the screen.

"It has been amusing to see your reaction, but I do not believe you offer us a reasonable benefit to keep you around. To put things simply..... not only are you weak right now, but I do not see you as a promising member of society. You are far too..... chaotic. Hah. How ironic for myself to say such a thing..... but Kyle Ruthobold, I will give you one piece of information."

Trevor raised a single finger, closing his eyes with a smile.

"The men who were responsible for the deaths of your mothers are now dead. That much has been taken care of. Yet.... there is another party involved with you, is there not? A man who changed your life.... and set it on the path to your.... and your mothers' destruction."

Kyle looked up, taking in a breath as he listened to the words of the elf.

"Yeah..... that's right....."

Clenching a fist, he looked forth with fury in his eyes.

"The Indeterminant..... was he the one who set all this up?"

"Exactly. Looks like you finally have realized something obvious.", Samantha murmured while twirling a strand of hair with a finger. "So? Should we kill these eight here and now? I'm getting pretty tired and would like to get back to sleep after all, and I'd rather not leave any potential issues around to hurt our people."

"Indeed. While it would be interesting to allow you all to live so that you may see your revenge fulfilled, I do not consider that to be..... worth the risk. Ally, take care of them."

The spiritual girl looked up with a crooked smile, giggling to her self.

"Got it."

Her green eyes flashed blue for a moment, and the eight spiritual beings were torn apart, dissipating into mist.

"Wha..... agh!!!!"

"Stop!!! What are you doing!?!?!"

"Please.... don't..... do...."

The women shouted out in pain, but these shouts only lasted a moment before they were gone, as if they had never existed.

Closing his eyes, Trevor nodded to himself.

"Acceptable. Now we can truly say that by our hands.... two heroes have been eliminated. And we have yet to even rise to the position of demon lords..... it would appear that things are ahead of schedule. Isn't that wonderful? After all, we're only a few minutes late to sleep. Is that not a small price to pay for a peaceful slumber?"

The four smiled, nodding to themselves while lightly laughing.

"But.... I still wanna get to sleep as soon as possible.....", Ashley stated with a yawn.

Looking over to Lustia, Garett waved.

"Thanks for letting us know about this. Keep watch. Tomorrow's a big day after all, so if anything else out of the ordinary happens, don't hesitate to contact us."

"I.... understand, your excellencies."

Lustia was bowing with fear in her eyes as she trembled before the four who had just erased the existences of eight people without question.

And with the snap of Trevor's fingers, the four found themselves in their bedroom once more.

"Yaay..... finally time to rest...."

Ashley jumped over to the bed, performing the movements of a snow angel as she lay in the cushioned mattress.

The other three took their own spots, laying down in their respective beds.

"It certainly has been a long day, hasn't it? Ah..... I wonder just what is in store for us tomorrow?", Trevor murmured as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Shouldn't you already know with all those simulations you ran?", Samantha asked.

With a light chuckle, he closed his eyes.

"Of course not. With the meddlings of a particular woman aside, there is nothing in this universe which is completely set in stone."

----

And so, the long long day had finally come to an end.

The antiheroes had taken over the cities of Iciclaris and Volaciophus, enslaving not only their people, but their leaders- including two Hosts of Sin and the Knight Captain, Evelyn.

Oscar and Risa had taken over the Empire which now engulfed all human civilizations within the world, with the Elven and Dwarven Alliance aside. As the new rulers, and as the only heroes who were currently awakened, they had taken everything under the name of justice and equality.

Huberos had gathered the people of Iris as his newfound slave warriors, and ended the day after preparations for war were completed.

Similarly, Apathia and Gormand returned to their villages, and Gormand sent out a message to all the people of Merphol, the city of dragonic demons, that they were to gather their forces and head to the city of devils the following day.

The gears of war were churning, and they were not stopping anytime soon.

Within the matter of a simple few days, between the actions of the Determined, the Antiheroes, the Hosts of Sin, and the Indeterminant, the entire world had been spun up into the chaos.

And this chaos would not cease until only one faction remained.

----

The light of the sun peeked into the bedroom of a woman who lazily opened one eye, jolted awake with a light smile.

'You know.... with each waking morning, sometimes I wonder how it is that I'm still alive.'

'What the hell is wrong with you? Nobody should have thoughts like that first thing in the morning.'

Sitting up with disheveled silver hair, an angelic figure with a halo above her head, wings behind her back, and dark lines under her eyes crookedly grinned.

'Haha..... it's another morning.'

'Don't ignore me, me. What's wrong with you today? You seem a bit less.... energetic?'

'Do you miss my energy?'

'HAHA! As if. It's that energy to protect and save people that has gotten me into so many shitty situations since coming here. I for one am glad to see you like this.'

'Is that true? Haa.... well, anyways.... it's a big day, isn't it?'

Getting up and brushing her hands through her hair to straighten the split ends, the angelic figure fluttered her wings ever so lightly as she looked into a mirror.

'I know how you feel. It really is a pain in the ass. Nobody understands shit. Nobody ever sees things the way they are, and so we have to force them to see them through a corrupted lens by grabbing their throats and shoving the hard to swallow pills down em. But..... that just makes it all the more fun, right?'

'Fun, eh?'

'You remember how Vex was before, right? He was cocky. He didn't care about anything but getting back to his girl, and he destroyed those people like they were nothing. But then there was..... his face after we ran him through the loop a few times. That was priceless. His trembling fingers.... his twitching eyes..... the bulging veins.... hahaha..... I'd like to see that man in such a state.'

'I might just be getting tired. Tired..... of everything.'

'Don't say that. There are still so many things to do. People to see. Shitheads to shove into the ground. Don't you wanna see that man having his one filthy desire stripped from him?'

Looking up into the mirror, the angel smiled with a fang peeking out.

'Yeah.... that's right. Haha.... alright, I'm ready.'

The girl stepped forward, a new light in her eyes.

'I'm ready to become the Queen of Evil.'