Patrick and Niri walked along the path side by side, leaving Kraven to wait for them in his office.
"This is crazy, isn't it? We've gotten involved in something major...", Patrick said timidly, unable to look the armed girl next to him in the eyes.
"Yeah. I've faced a few monsters before but.... never anything like them. Most monsters.... can't talk."
"Really? That makes this all the more strange...", Patrick replied.
Niri shrugged.
"But one thing is certain. Some horrible things have been going on in this town. Things that I didn't even notice."
She seemed to bite her lip with disappointment in herself.
"I didn't really notice anything either, but isn't that obvious? Even if we're both from this town.... both of our jobs keep us traveling from place to place, right? According to what Coran and the children said, these events all happened within the last 3 months. If we weren't in town often then it's obvious that we wouldn't have noticed anything.", Patrick replied, trying to comfort her.
"I guess.... but still...."
"I'll be honest. This whole thing saved me. I was about to turn myself in and live a life of solitude before this- probably to be executed. I don't know for sure whether I can control whatever is inside me, but Coran gave me some hope. He and Dr. Kraven both told me that it only seems to come out when I am under extreme stress, and so I don't really have to worry about it. It all makes sense, based on my experiences as well.
Looking down with relief, Patrick let out a quiet laugh.
"I'm glad that I met that monster, because I feel like I can now live my life free of worry."
Niri looked at Patrick with a gentle smile.
"You've been talking about that thing inside you for a while now. What exactly do you mean?"
Patrick became solemn at this question.
"To be honest... I don't even know myself. All I know is that sometimes I go unconscious and when I wake up..... everyone around me is dead. It happened in the tunnels as well. The last thing I remember was my group members saying something about how worthless the children were, and how they didn't care about them at all.... and I guess that triggered it."
Niri seemed to be in thought and nodded her head.
"I see.... so basically, you have some sort of split personality?"
"Something like that. And when he takes over, he kills everyone around."
"Is he strong?"
"Not as strong as that wasp queen. She was apparently able to beat him."
Niri breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then it won't be a problem! I don't think I could beat that wasp queen either, but as long as we have them around you don't have to worry. And even if they aren't around, I'll do what I can to keep you under control!"
Patrick looked up at Niri's eyes with gratitude.
This was the first time he had really looked at her face. She was quite beautiful.
"Thank you. It seems like ever since this incident, I've only encountered supportive people. I'm really lucky, you know. Even Coran and Alicia.... they may be monsters, but they supported me. Most people would deem me to be some sort of psycho or freak and run away or throw me aside to be executed. I really am lucky to have encountered such good people."
Niri looked away, her face a bit red as she scratched her cheek.
"I wonder.... Coran and Alicia.... they said that they eliminated a lot of people today. Do you think the reason why everyone has been so understanding is because they killed all the ones who wouldn't accept others?"
"Who knows. I hope so. They did save the children from that woman, so it's possible. It's weird to think that monsters could be doing all this, but I guess they're really just people with different bodies.... and I guess because they're monsters they can eliminate those people without any regret."
"Yeah...."
"Anyways.... we should get to the farms. Coran said to paint the doorways of anyone who we wanted to live with the blood of whatever livestock we slaughter for our meal as a sign that he shouldn't attack those homes. A strange request, isn't it?"
"I think he made such a strange request because nobody else would catch onto it, and there's no way someone would accidentally perform such a strange action. They would just think that we're crazy and not question it."
"Hmm... I see."
The two continued walking for a while before reaching the farms and picking out a pig for their meal.
"This one should do."
After bringing the pig to the slaughter, they made sure to drain the blood into a bucket to use to paint the mantle, and began butchering the meat with the tools in the butchers hut near the livestock pens.
"I suppose the farmers and the butcher were killed off in the raid today, so we're free to use this stuff."
"There aren't too many people left in the village."
"Soon it will just be us three and the other woman who was working with Coran... what will happen?"
"Who knows. I'm sure that Coran has a plan. We'll figure something out. Either way, I work as a mercenary and you work as a courier so we can continue our own work even if this village becomes a ghost town."
"Yeah... I don't think I'll have too many problems now that I understand how this split side of me works. I just need to stay away from a sketchy situation."
The two continued to butcher and prepare the meat before Patrick lugged a sack of it on his back, while holding the pail of blood in his other hand.
"Are you sure you can carry all that? Let me hold something.", Niri insisted.
"Even if you're a mercenary I'm the man here. Let me do at least this much."
"I'm used to pulling my own weight, you know."
"And I'm telling you that you don't have to right now."
"Alright.... but if it gets heavy let me carry it."
"Haha... fair enough."
The two made their way back to Kraven's office before Patrick set down the pail, taking a brush and painting the area around the door with the blood.
"This should be good. Now let's go inside and prepare this food."
"I'll do that then. I've done quite a bit of cooking in the wilderness on missions, so I know what I'm doing."
"I'll leave it to you then."
The two walked in to see Kraven who was pacing back and forth.
"Ah, you two are back. I was just considering what we should do next but... I suppose Coran will take care of things from here on out. I guess I won't be having many patients anymore from here on out.... then again, I will have 30 more that I haven't seen in a while soon enough."
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"That's right doc. You just keep doing what you've been doing. We'll figure out the rest.", Patrick said as he laid the sack of tender meat on the counter.
"At least let me help out with the cooking. I don't have too much experience with the scalpel, but I know enough to figure it out."
The three laughed before they all got to preparations for the meal.
"Things aren't going to be the same ever again, are they...", Kraven sighed.
"Nope."
A knocking was then heard from the door.
Opening it after checking to see who it was, Kraven smiled at the girl who was holding a basket of vegetables in her hands.
"I brought some of these for the meal tonight."
"Ah, Veronica. Please, come right in.", Kraven said with a welcoming smile. "We were just about to start cooking."
----
After a quick nap, Coran awoke to see that Alicia was lying with her head in his chest, uncomfortably close.
Annoyed, he grabbed her head and rolled it off before getting up and shooting out a wire which he used to reel himself onto the ceiling.
"Hey! What's the big idea!?", Alicia asked as she awoke from being violently shoved away.
"I had to get up and you were on top of me. Look. It's almost dark out. It's time to make our move."
'Eh?! I was sleeping on top of him!!??! Wait, I need to focus! That's right! We have a mission that we need to fulfill. Oh... and I should be careful. I don't want to wake any of the children around me....'
"Alright.", Alicia whispered while quietly getting up and making her way across the sheet where many children were laying on. "Then, let's go."
Coran smiled.
"Now you're acting more like a proper slave. Get in my bag."
Alicia frowned on realizing that she was once more going to be carried around in a bag, but didn't complain and made her way over to the bag which was in the corner of the room.
Coran climbed on the ceiling over to the bag which Alicia was now in, and put it on his bag before touching the gemstone on his teleportation pin.
"Just me and you are heading back for now. Let's go."
The space around the two warped, and they were now on the top of a mountain which looked down upon the valley in which the village of Porta was located.
They could see the vast fields around the village and the orphanage on its outskirts.
The hill above the mineshaft seemed to be caved in as if a sinkhole had occurred.
"Don't ever go back to that mineshaft. I'll have to tell that to everyone else in the village as well. It's filled with contamination and poison."
"Ah... ok... ah! Coran, I never got to ask you what actually happened!! What went on after you teleported me and the children out of that cave!?!?", Alicia asked while peeking her head out from inside the bag.
Coran started making his way down the hills towards the village and the sun seemed to be setting.
"He was strong. Strong enough to make me worry that I might actually lose. If I let my guard down or attacked recklessly, then it might have really been all over for me. To be honest, I'm relieved that my final backup plan was a success. If it didn't work I might have had to bother my masters with taking care of the opponent."
"But.... you won, right?"
"Yeah... I won."
"Then.... that's all that matters...."
Coran felt Alicia's human arms wrap themselves around his neck.
"I'm glad...."
He heard a light sniffle come from behind him as she continued.
"I'm glad that you didn't die.... I know you said that your masters would take care of everything even if that happened.... but I'm glad!!! I don't think I would be able to live on if you died!!!"
Coran stopped in his tracks, with a straight face.
"Ah.... I see.... if even a single one of my masters were to die, then I too would be devastated. And I'm your only master, so that means my death would make even more of an impact. But you know that even if I died, that I would come back, right?"
"Eh?"
Alicia stopped her crying and instead became baffled at Coran's statement.
"What do you mean?"
Coran smiled, his fangs poking out of his mouth.
"My masters are amazing.... they seem to have even found a way to get around death."
"EH!?!? Then you mean that even if you died...."
"Yes. Even if I died, they had a plan for it."
"But when you said they had a plan for it, I thought you meant that they would find someone to replace you!?"
Coran chuckled.
"My masters value productivity, and for certain they would not hold any sentiment when it comes to replacing someone in terms of position alone. But.... according to Theo, there is nobody which can replace a member of a true family. He said that there are many who pretend to be true members of a family, but these are disposable. People throw them aside like trash when they have served their purpose. But for a true family, you cannot throw other family members aside no matter how hard you try."
"Am I a true member of your family?"
Looking back, Coran brushed a piece of Alicia's hair out of the way of her face and grinned.
"Of course. Now that my masters have accepted you, there is nothing which can separate us."
----
The antiheroes spent the rest of the day expanding the walls and defenses of the city.
Through doing so, they gained quite a large amount of experience.
'It's strange.... it's as if our progress has sped up quickly.... perhaps it has to do with those souls which Ashley absorbed? Is that the true power behind this [Soul Manipulation] skill? I didn't account for this in my simulations.', Trevor thought as he looked at the statistics and level counters.
[Level Up!] (Lvl 22)
[Level Up!] (Lvl 23)
[Level Up!] (Lvl 24)
[Level Up!] (Lvl 25)
[Player Garett: Strength +5, Dexterity -30, Perception -45, Charisma -52, Intelligence +22]
[Strength: MAX]
[Dexterity: -35]
[Perception: 2]
[Charisma: -40]
[Intelligence: MAX]
[Maximizing Skill: Complete Elimination (Strength)- Using your own physical prowess you can now pulverize anything this skill is used on. The object will be overloaded with energy to the point where it will cease to exist.]
[Maximizing Skill: Craftsman Sovereign. Your crafting skills have entered a new dimension. You are able to use equivalent exchange on materials to change them into completely different objects with different properties. Furthermore, crafting is instantaneous, and can be done using any materials within your sight radius.]
[Alchemy: Level MAX]
[Enchanting: Level MAX]
[Smithing: Level MAX]
[Handiwork: Level MAX]
[HP 700,000/700,000 MP 300,000/300,000]
[Player Trevor: Strength +5]
[Strength: MAX]
[Dexterity: MAX]
[Perception: MAX]
[Charisma: MAX]
[Intelligence: MAX]
[HP 400,000/400,000 MP 350,000/350,000]
[Maximizing Skill: Ultimate Arrow: When you shoot your bow, your arrows become strengthened to the point where they literally cannot be slowed or stopped. They will pulverize anything they pass through, insofar as the user wills them to. The arrow will not penetrate through anything that the user does not will to be destroyed, and will stop itself at the point decided upon by the user. The direction of the arrows can also be altered at any given moment, as they will follow the path laid out by the player.]
[All skills for Player Trevor have been maximized]
[Player Trevor has acquired title: Overlord of Exploitation]
[Player Samantha: Strength -49, Dexterity -53, Perception +47]
[Strength: -50]
[Dexterity: -60]
[Perception: MAX]
[Charisma: MAX]
[Intelligence: MAX]
[Current Status: HP 250/250 MP 400,000/400,000]
[Maximizing Skill: Mind's eye: Enhancement to ability to read minds. Allows one not only to read the minds of a target, but when activated allows one to experience the senses and emotions of the target. Use with caution.]
[All buffing skills and barrier skills have been upgraded. Barriers are now invincible and can be created indefinitely.]
[Player Ashley: Strength +42, Dexterity +21, Perception +45]
[Strength: MAX]
[Dexterity: MAX]
[Perception: MAX]
[Charisma: NEGATIVE MAX]
[Intelligence: MAX]
[HP: Infinity MP: Infinity]
[Maximizing Skill(Strength): World Destroyer: As implied, you can destroy entire worlds with the swipe of your palm. Use with caution]
[Maximizing Skill(Dexterity): World Destroyer Precision: You can control the exact area of destruction, specifying it to be any location and any range as you please.]
[Maximizing Skill: (Perception)- Origin of Energy. You are now the very source of all dark energy that exists within the universe. The energy itself is now an extension of yourself, and lies await for your commands.]
[All skills for Player Ashley have been maximized]
[Player Ashley has acquired title: The Archduchess of Calamity]
As Trevor patiently watched these level ups and simulated the possibilities, a chill was sent down his own spine.
On the tier scale, where 9th tier would be the strength of the heroes and the current monster kings, the antiheroes right now were roughly placed around the 30th tier.
Roughly 450,000,000,000,000 times stronger than a hero.
Yet, it lay in their ability to completely conceal this power, that the universe itself was not destroyed by their mere existence.
'We had best be careful. A slight slipup, and we might accidentally destroy the universe. I suppose there is such a thing as too much power....'
----
The sun was setting, and Coran found himself and Alicia descending upon the town of Porta- a shell of what it used to be.
Nobody was outside.
Many of the workers in the town had been killed off in the recent expedition, and everyone had been quarantined to their own homes until Slith returned with the good news that the beast had been slain.
But no such good news arrived, and so the people of Porta waited in their homes, hoping and praying that they would be released from such a spell.
Minute after minute, hour after hour, time passed but salvation was not reached.
Nobody ran through the streets screaming "We've done it! The monster has been killed!!"
And so, time continued to pass.
Terror made it's way into the hearts of the people.
'Surely, Slith could not have lost?'
'The Senator went out of his way to hire the strongest man in the entire world.... if he lost, then isn't this the same as the world being doomed?'
'But... what about the heroes of the legends? Surely, Slith was not as strong as they are. Even if he did lose, maybe a hero would be able to win!'
The heroes.
The ones meant to save the world from the constant and persistent attacks of monsters.
The rumors of the arrival of the Indeterminant in the Ruthobold Kingdom had spread even to the backwater town of Porta, and people placed their hopes now in a hero.
'Yes! Even if Slith failed, there are still the heroes and the Indeterminant!'
'For sure, they will defeat that monster! And then, we can continue living in peace!'
But that night, no such hero arrived.
While they were cooped up in their own homes, too scared to even go outside, the people did not realize that a bloodbath was about to occur.
An angel of death was about to descend on the town of Porta, slaughtering all those who did not have the sign of protection on their homes.
The blood of livestock, painted on their doorways.
And for the transgression of ignorance, the town of Porta would be no more.
Coran stepped forward, with Alicia in his bag, looking around the empty town as the suns light disappeared, replaced instead by the light gleam of the moon.
"It's hunting time."