Augustus had never in his life put himself into a position of danger.

He was a quiet man who silently took opportunities when they were offered, and he often did not find himself stirring up trouble anywhere.

He was the type of man to let others take the helm while he rested in his own cabin.

He would overlook any sort of mischief or malice if it meant that he would benefit from it. He wouldn't stick his nose into the business of others if he didn't have to, and only if it inaction would hinder his position would he make a move.

He had accepted the support of Brutus knowing that he would not be putting himself into any danger even if Brutus was found out. He could easily claim that Brutus was working on his own, and Augustus was merely trying to adhere to his own domain- a small town in the countryside which nobody would think twice about.

He lived a peaceful life, but it was also one of mediocre luxury.

While he did not live in a mansion, he had people underneath him, following his orders. So long as he didn't stick out, he could live comfortably and not have to deal with the issues of others.

Mrs. Fera was using child labor to produce equipment in a factory within his own town.

So what?

The Senator couldn't just ignore this, but if he could get rid of the problem by hiding it- by convincing the people not to say anything of it, then he would do so.

After all, he benefited more from allowing her to continue. He gained public support by lowering the taxes and his net income increased.

Sure, he could have been greedy and not bothered to reduce the taxes- earning even more to pocket for himself, but Augustus was a practical man.

He understood that if his own people did not support him, that he would draw attention from the higher ups- potentially the Emperor.

He did not want this attention, so he made sure to keep everyone happy while taking what profits he could get.

Everyone except a select few certain orphans, who's opinions would never come to see the light of day.

But right now, Augustus was faced with a situation that was far more concerning to him than Senator Brutus being removed from his position as the Senator.

As a matter of fact, to Augustus, this situation was even more concerning than the death of the Emperor, and the new rule of Percius V.

A monster was at his door, and Augustus had fallen backwards in shock on seeing those bloodthirsty eyes.

The door opened, and the sounds of the pouring rain became louder as the monster stepped into the home, water dripping off his body.

Looking outside the door, Augustus could tell that the two guards who had been stationed outside had been killed.

Their blood was sprayed across the stairway leading up to the home, and their heads had been removed from their bodies, which lay limp on the ground.

"You.... you're not Slith.....", Augustus whispered with a crackle in his voice, barely able to get the words out of his mouth.

Never before had Augustus been in a position of true danger.

He never tried to stick out, and always kept to himself, not trying to interfere too much with the matters of others.

But right now, Augustus was faced with the greatest danger in his life.

"Ah, you must be that Senator that Veronica mentioned. The one who ignored her letter, acting as if nothing wrong was going on. Well, I don't really think you did anything wrong in particular. I'll be honest, if she didn't predict that you would form a deal with that woman, then it was her loss, right?"

With a horrifying smile, Coran bared his disturbing fangs at Augustus, thinning his four eyes.

"That witch beat her fair and square because she was able to better control you."

"W-what are you saying?"

Augustus found himself crawling backwards in the hallway, and he then heard a voice call out.

"Augustus? Was it Slith at the door?", Brutus inquired.

"G-get away from here!! It's the monster!!!", Augustus shouted.

The monster seemed to roll his eyes.

"Now I have to go and ensnare them before they escape. Ah well. We can continue this little talk in a second."

Coran shot out a thread from his arm and wrapped it around Augustus in an instant, trapping him in a cocoon, and moved faster than Augustus could even perceive into the other room.

Coran ran into the other room to see a man and a woman who were standing up to see what the commotion was, but Coran moved quicker than they could even notice.

Before they knew what had happened, their bodies were wrapped in thin wires and they were hanging from the ceiling like puppets.

"Wha-!? I can't mo- AGH!!! The.... the monster!!!!"

Mrs. Fera tried to struggle but her body was entangled in the wires, so it was futile.

"What's going on here!?!", Senator Brutus shouted before his eyes landed on Coran.

When he took a glance at the monster who was now standing in the center of the living room, he felt his heart leap with fear.

"W-what is that!!??? Is that the monster!?!? Hey, somebody answer me!!"

Coran then casually put his index finger to his lips in a 'Shhh' motion, before slowly walking into the hallway and bringing the cocoon containing Augustus into the room.

After hanging the cocoon by a wired thread on the ceiling as well, the three were now lined up and ensnared.

"Agh!! Augustus!!! What is that thing!?! Why can't I move!!??"

"It's the monster!! It must have escaped Slith just as you said, Brutus!! It must have run him around the entire country, and now it's made it's way back to the village!"

Coran looked at the three who were all struggling, confused. However, as if a light bulb went off in his head, he came to a realization.

"Ah, I see what you all mean. Bingo. Correct answer. As a matter of fact, when I tried to escape from that monster, I didn't just travel across the country. I was chased all the way back into the monster realm and back."

Brutus became worried as he looked around frantically.

"Then, Slith will likely be after you any second now!! He'll surely come back here. There's no way that he's lost track of you, monster!! I know now that you're fast.... tremendously so. But you won't escape him!! You had better run while you still can!!"

Coran let out a sinister laugh at hearing this.

The woman was staring at him with spite, and Augustus seemed to be filled with fear. Brutus on the other hand, was now filled with confidence.

"It's true that I ran away from that mercenary who was sent after me, but what makes you think that he's still alive to save you?", Coran asked as he dropped the backpack and jumped up, crawling on the ceiling in a very spiderlike manner so that his face was mere inches away from the face of Brutus, upside down.

"Of course he's still alive! No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to defeat Slith. He's the strongest mercenary in the world. He wouldn't die so easily, even against a creature like yourself."

"Hahaha! I see. Then, you seem to have complete trust in him.... no, rather in his abilities. Very well. Cling to your delusions as you will, but I'll let you in on something. He was quite difficult to kill. It required a dirty method that wouldn't be fit for anyone but a monster like myself. Especially so after he powered himself up with that potion."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"That's impossible! You're bluffing!"

"I'm sure he'll be here any moment! Just you wait!"

While Brutus and Augustus refused to believe what Coran said, the anger that Mrs. Fera displayed towards Coran seemed to amplify.

She seemed to glare down at her constrained nub of a hand before once more aiming her gaze at Coran, who crawled over to her.

"So, let's see... who do we have gathered here then? Three important people, I presume. Let's see.... of course in the center we have the witch who owns the orphanage. We've met before though, haven't we? How's the hand? The fingers were quite delicious. Perhaps I'll help myself and my slave over there to another delicacy tonight."

"You monster!!!"

Making his way over to Augustus, Coran spoke up again.

"And we have the Senator here of this town. What was I saying before? Ah, right. I don't blame you for what you did in the least. After all, when Veronica sent you that letter, she failed to do research on your personality. The woman next to you, on the other hand, managed to convince you to side with her. Then, it was that woman's victory, right? Because the one who manages to come out on top in the end, no matter how cheap the method, is the winner. Right?"

Mrs. Fera could not take this slander any further, and she shouted out.

"Of course!! Are you trying to tell me that you have some sort of sense of justice, monster!?! Don't make me laugh!! Are you trying to right things by spelling out our wrongdoings before you kill us!?! That makes you nothing more than a monster who is pretending to have a reason to kill!!"

"Oh! You got me there. But let me make one thing clear. I don't have a reason. I'm going to kill you either way, regardless of what you've done. The only difference is the difficulty of the death you will face. To be honest, I just don't like you. I can't agree with you. So I'm going to make you suffer as much as possible."

Coran licked a drip of poison that seemed to have collected at his fang.

"But.... you said it yourself then, right? You agreed that whoever comes out on top in the end, regardless of the method, is the winner. Right? Well.... unfortunately for you, it seems like Veronica... and not you.... is the one who came out on top in the end."

Coran chuckled sinisterly as he explained, approaching Mrs. Fera as he spoke.

"She chose a method that would strip her of her humanity to defeat you. You may have been a monster, but you would never go so far as to allow that to be known."

With a mocking glare, Coran whispered as he brought himself mere inches away from the face of Mrs. Fera.

"And that is why you lost to her."

"W-what are you saying!?!", Mrs. Fera exclaimed.

"I'm saying that you paid off the Senator to defeat her. You captivated the people around you, and put her in a position of isolation. Which was a good move. One that would normally have left you with a complete victory.

Coran grinned horribly as he looked into the eyes of Mrs. Fera.

"But.... she was willing to lower herself to the point of teaming up with a monster to defeat you."

Backing away, Coran seemed to nonchalantly throw his arms up behind his back.

"It was because you lacked the tenacity to lower yourself so far, that you lost."

"Grr!!"

"Now then... where was I? Ah yes, so now we have our third guest.... no, I suppose I'm the guest here? And an uninvited one at that. I do apologize, Senator. I've come into your house without warning nor invitation. Ah well! Anyways.... let's see.... I heard that your name was Brutus? Could it be...."

Coran seemed to be in thought.

'Is this the one who had to do with Oraguth's mission? Did my masters know that he would show up here? What should I do with him? Perhaps I should contact them and ask myself?'

"You're the corrupt Senator, right? The one who does what he wants, taking from others as he pleases without considering the consequences? There are quite a lot of people out for your head, from what I've heard. But.... I suppose I'll let my masters deal with the likes of you."

"What are you talking about!?!? I've done nothing corru-"

"Ah, that's enough speaking."

Interrupting Brutus mid sentence, Coran disappeared from the sight of the three, and when he reappeared, Brutus's mouth had been stitched together so that he was unable to talk.

"Now then.... for the Senator, I suppose I'll grant you a quick death. After all, you were just taking the opportunities as they came, right?"

"Wait!!! Stop!!!"

Augustus shouted out in torment as Coran loaded the blowdart, bringing it to his mouth and firing it off.

The dart was fired with an extremely low amount of power so that the man's head would not explode and get poison on the other two.

His eyes rolled behind his eyes, skin turning purple and his mouth foaming up before he died on the spot.

"Augustus!!", Mrs. Fera shrieked, as her anger now turned to terror.

A man had just been killed in an instant next to her.

"Let's get my masters on the line....", Coran said while making a quick call.

[Hello. What's going on, Coran?]

It was Garett who answered.

"Ah, there's been an interesting development here in Porta. Senator Brutus was here for some reason, so I have him tied up right now and I'm not sure what to do with him. Should I just kill him? Or do you all have another idea?"

[Hey, Theo. Or should I say 'Overlord of Exploitation'. What do you think of this?]

[Ah, yes. Just as I thought. In many simulations this situation came about. We'll have him stored in the dungeons and extract information from him. The Archduchess of Calamity has been quite restless recently, so I suppose we can let her mess around with this one when we're done with him.]

[Heh heh....]

[There you have it, Coran. We'll come pick him up right now.]

And so, the antiheroes appeared inside the home of Augustus in all their glory.

Two demons, a spirit, and an elf wearing a suit and tie.

It was a strange sight, but their very presence was so overbearing that the minds of the two humans who were still living were thrown into chaos.

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

'What are they....'

'What is this....'

'I can't think straight...'

'My head....'

'It hurts....'

'Agh!!!'

'It's too much!!!'

'What's happening to me!?!?'

However, in a moment, the four were gone, and Brutus was gone with them.

Mrs. Fera looked around, her head now cleared from the pressure.

She felt like it was about to explode, and she didn't even have time to perceive what had just happened.

It was as if for a moment, she completely lost all sense of self.

'What was that!?! WHAT WAS THAT!?!?!?!?! It was horrible..... I.... if my hands weren't bound, I would not be able to stop myself from shaking.... I can't even speak.... my mouth won't move! It was only for an instant, but I can't even speak!!! Something was there!! Something beyond comprehension!!'

"Now then.... as much as I would love to consume more of your fingers, I think there is a better way to take care of you. I believe in payback. When someone is wronged, I like seeing them punish the person who wronged them. So, I'll be right back. It doesn't seem like you're going anywhere anytime soon."

The monster disappeared from in front of Mrs. Fera, and came back with a total of 31 people.

Veronica, and the 30 orphans.

'They.... they're all still alive!?!?! This monster.... I know that he was working with Veronica.... that bitch..... but all the orphans were still alive!?!?!? Heh.... heh.... haha.....'

"Haha....heh heh....AHHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!! Y-you all were still alive!?!?! AHAHAHAHA!!!! Yes!!!! I can continue where I left off!!! My products are still in tact!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Come now, children!!!! Set me free from here!!!! Show that monster that he has no control over you!!!! If you don't, then none of you will ever get food again!!!!! Slith probably isn't dead!!! He'll come here at any moment and save me from this monster, and if you all don't listen then you'll get punished!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!! Your loss, monster!!!! You didn't kill off any of my lovely children because you were trying to save them!?!?! Is that it!?!?!! A monster, like you!?!?!?! Trying to save children by kidnapping them!?!?!? Don't make me laugh!!!!!! I'll take it all back!!! You've shown me that there still exists a path for victory!!! No matter how strong you are, if there is even a shred of hope, then I will grab onto it!!! You may have known about the potion, but he probably just didn't use it!!!! He probably will show up at any moment now, and slaughter you!!!! And then I will take back everything!!!!!!!!!!! NOW!!! Come, children!!! Come by my side, and help me out of this mess!!! If you need to, act as a shield for me!!! Protect me from this thing until Slith comes to save us all!!!!!"

Veronica stepped forward with dark eyes, and Coran sat back and watched, alongside Alicia.

"Should we do something?", Alicia whispered.

"No. This is not my fight to finish. I've only set it up, but it's their responsibility to end it."

Mrs. Fera had been tied up and completely cornered, and perhaps due to being cornered, her mind snapped.

She clung onto some false hope in her mind that there was still a chance for her to be saved, and for everything to go back to the way it was before.

Coran adjusted some of the strings which Mrs. Fera hung from and was tied up in, so that her body was lowered to ground level.

Veronica approached first, and brought back her hand.

Slap!

She slapped Mrs. Fera in the face as she seemed to be laughing maniacally.

"You bitch. Do you understand anything? What you've done? To these children?"

"Veronica!! How dare you slap me!! I'll have you executed for doing that!! As soon as-"

"As soon as help arrives? For a piece of shit like you?"

It was Nathan who spoke.

"There isn't going to be any help coming. And we're not going to help you either. Why would we?"

"Be quiet, you brat!! The other children will become my shields then!! I'll have you sold off as soon as-"

Nathan grinned, and chuckled quietly.

"I said that we're not going to help you. Right?"

The children started smiling devilishly, and laughing to themselves.

"Heh heh...."

"Hehehe...."

"Hahaha...."

"Keh keh keh...."

"Kill the witch...."

"Kill the witch...."

Mrs. Fera was now surrounded by not one or two monsters, but over 30.

A bolt of lightning struck, and Mrs. Fera's snapped mind seemed to come back to the reality of the situation.

"Why you.... you all are going to let me just die right here!?!?! You little demons!!! I'll have all of you wish that you never-"

"Hahahaha!!!!"

"Heh heh heh!!!!"

"AHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

The laughter of the children became louder, along with the strength of the storm in the background.

Their eyes thinned and they all gathered around her.

From their backs, they took out blades and weapons.

Smaller ones for the young children like daggers, and larger ones like axes, spears, polearms and swords for the older children.

They were the weapons which they had endlessly labored to produce.

"W-wait!!! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING!?!?! PUT THOSE THINGS DOWN!!!!"

"They're taking after you, Coran.", Alicia whispered tenderly as she looked upon the children with the love of a mother.

"I know. I'm so proud of them."

"Die, woman. You will be slain by the very products which you oversaw the production of. Now which products am I referring to? The blades? Or perhaps.... the children themselves."

The children stepped forward in unison with their weapons aimed at the woman who was tied up in the center of them. Their eyes flashed with malice and bloodlust, and Mrs. Fera was then penetrated with each and every weapon, as if she were in an iron maiden.

"AGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Her blood splattered all over the room, onto the children around her who killed her. Even after being covered in blood, they kept laughing.

The woman then became silent, slaughtered in the midst of the demonic faces which mocked her.

"AHAHA!!! She's dead!!!"

"The witch is dead!!!"

"We don't have to go back to the factory anymore!!!"

"We just have to work for dad now!!!"

"Dad, can we go play now that this job is done?"

"I'm tired. Dad, Mom, can we go to bed now?"

Coran and Alicia looked at their children with love. Veronica walked out the door with satisfaction, and Coran gave her a wave before she exited into the rainstorm.

"Let's get to bed, children. After all, we've finally taken back your home."