'The hero.....'
'The women that he considered to be his own mothers....'
'They.... have been killed.'
Seven thumping sounds resounded throughout the plaza as the heads of all seven women hit the ground.
With these sounds, the people of the Kingdom came to a grave realization.
The hero of the Ruthobold Kingdom, Kyle Ruthobold, was dead.
The shock that came with this realization made it so that not a single person uttered a word, stunned at the event which had occurred before their very eyes.
'No way.....'
'The hero.....'
'He.... truly is dead?'
Time passed, every second feeling like an eternity as the people looked into the eyes of the man before them, who stood proudly as if he had done something righteous.
'He just..... executed those women..... and for what?'
'For treason?'
'For rebellion?'
'What did they do?'
'What did they do to deserve this?'
"What did they do to deserve this!?"
One man shouted these words, and this statement caused a look of surprise on the expression of Reginald.
"What did they do to deserve this? Do I need to explain that again?"
"They didn't deserve such a thing!!!"
"How could you kill them like that!?"
"Just because they were peasants, and you didn't like them sitting in the seats of nobles!?!?"
"You tyrant!"
"You dictator!"
"You MONSTER!!"
The people became restless, and Reginald looked around with unease and irritation.
"It seems that they don't understand at all..... perhaps I shouldn't have expected anything from these peasants. Men. Prepare to suppress them."
Reginald spoke out to the knights around him, all of whom replied quickly.
"Yes, my King!"
The knights readied themselves for battle, drawing their swords.
"To any and all who are foolish enough to support a false king who took this throne through an act of murder, I will not tolerate this! As the rightful heir to this throne, there should be no doubt that these women were usurping you all! Because they were once peasants, they pulled on the strings of your hearts and invoked your sympathy, but in doing so they have done the very thing which they fought against! They placed themselves above you all, and nothing changed! The only difference was that the leadership was placed into incapable hands!"
"Is that reason to slaughter them?"
From the back of the crowd, a single man spoke with enormous force, capturing the attention of all.
His golden hair swayed in the wind, and his eyes met with Reginald, piercing him with a righteous glare.
Standing next to him was a beautiful woman from the southern nation of the Sultinate, and these two radiated justice from their very beings.
It was then, from the alleyways surrounding the plaza, hundreds of legionnaires stormed in and surrounded the crowds.
Reginald looked around with concern and annoyance.
'Was I too late? There were this many.... and they've already arrived in the Capital?'
"Indeterminant, I take it?", Reginald replied.
The man brushed his hair to the side with a confident smile.
"That is correct. I've returned to this Kingdom after realizing how chaotic things have become. And I come back to see such a disturbing scene."
The people held their breath, instinctively making a path between the two parties.
"Do you think you can just do whatever you want, throwing your people aside?"
The one who made this statement was Risa, the hero of the Sultinate.
"I never intended to throw my people aside.", Reginald quickly replied. "It is merely that they cannot comprehend the damage which Kyle Ruthobold and his mothers have done to this nation. Therefore, I have set aside their own immediate wishes for the bettering of the Kingdom."
"All I heard was 'I killed those women because they offended me and I couldn't handle it, so I threw a temper tantrum on the scale of a king.'"
Risa replied with a sharp tongue, having returned to her usual self.
She had seen far too much death and destruction today, and was just sick of it all.
"You..... your words remind me of that hero.", Reginald muttered as he stepped forth with an irritated look.
"Hold your statement, Reginald Ruthobold. Kyle Ruthobold was a man who was..... mad with his own form of justice, and he needed to be stopped. That much is certain. But let me make one thing very, very clear."
Oscar stepped through the crowd, approaching the stage with elegant steps.
"It is with great remorse that I admit that we..... yes, we, as in, myself and two other heroes, were forced to kill Kyle Ruthobold. However, I will make one thing clear to you. It was not because he was vulgar, nor was it because he was a peasant. Rather, it was because he threatened the very essence of the heroes, and his own eccentric views would cause great pain to many."
"Do you not agree with me then, Indeterminant?", Reginald questioned.
"I do not. Because just now, you accused that woman as well of being the same as him. And I will tell you here and now. They are nothing alike."
Oscar stood proudly forward, defending the hero of the Sultinate before all.
"To the people of the Kingdom. I apologize greatly. I am sure you all loved and respected Kyle Ruthobold and his ideals..... ideals which I tried to inspire within him. However, I must admit my own failure. Kyle Ruthobold..... was a failure as a hero. He was a man who lost his mind. None of you may have seen this, as his own madness was something which only those who personally knew him had witnessed..... but I will say this. There is no longer need to fear. I will pick up where Kyle left off."
The people witnessed the scene in confusion, unsure what to think.
'So..... the Indeterminant.....'
'And that woman there.... who is a hero.....'
'They killed Kyle!?'
'Why?'
'Why would they do such a thing?'
"I sense your unease. I do. But as the Indeterminant, it is my duty to ensure that this world and it's people are cared for. People of the Ruthobold Kingdom!! Let me ask you something."
Oscar turned around, looking at all the people around him.
"Do you trust me? Or do you trust a hero who ruled this land for such a short time?"
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The people looked to one another with conflict, yet one stood forward.
"The entire reason we trusted in the hero.... was because he was a hero. That was why we did not question the slaughter of the King and the neighboring Emperor. Yet.... you are the man to lead the heroes. Therefore..... if by your judgement you have deemed Kyle to be too far gone to take the name of hero..... I will trust you."
One by one, the people stepped forward.
"I will trust you as well."
"You are the Indeterminant."
"You are the one who will save humanity from the Determined and her antiheroes."
"If we did not trust you, who could we trust!?"
And so, the crowd was swayed with Oscar's words.
"And as for you, Reginald Ruthobold..... you are not fit to be a King. Kyle Ruthobold may have gone mad, but his values were righteous! People of the Ruthobold Kingdom, Kyle was not wrong to prioritize equality and fair treatment of those on the lower end of society! Therefore, I will offer you another solution. Do you all wish for this man to become your new king, lording over you like a tyrant, just as his father did!?"
"NO!"
"That would be the worst case, Indeterminant!"
"Anything but that!"
The people were swayed over to Oscar's side, and Reginald was left grinding his teeth in irritation.
'With just a few words, he was able to manipulate the masses so easily....'
"Then I will offer you another alternative! Darius, please step forward!"
"I understand, Indeterminant."
A man stepped through the crowds of legionnaires which had surrounded the plaza. He was middle aged with dark brown hair and a beard that wrapped itself around his face in a clean cut fashion.
He wore the armor of a legionnaire with the dark green mane representing his position as a legion commander, and stepped forward with pride, saluting as he placed his fist to his chest.
"To all people of the Kingdom! I am Darius, Commander of the 2nd Legion of the Vythguard Empire. We have come to this nation due to the chaos which has ensued as of recently, in order to annex these lands. However, worry not! This Kingdom will be incorporated into the Empire, and every person in this Kingdom will be granted full citizenship!!! You all will become subject under the Emperor, Percius V, who has vowed to serve the people with his utmost sincerity, unlike the man you see before you!! The Indeterminant will be working alongside our Emperor to rule this massive nation, and it will become the greatest nation in the world!!"
Darius shouted these words to all, and the people, while filled with despair at first on hearing that they would no longer be members of the Kingdom, were also filled with an excitement.
Excitement at the prospect of a new ruler.
'If the Indeterminant is working with this Emperor....'
'Then perhaps things truly will improve....'
'Maybe things will become even better than when Kyle was the King....'
The people were filled with hope.
"Wait just a moment! You cannot simply walk in here and-"
"We can't just walk in here and take over this country?"
The dark skinned woman laughed lightly as she responded to the man.
"Yes, we can. Don't you see all the soldiers around you?"
When Reginald tried to protest, Risa quickly snapped back with an obvious statement, denying him all credibility.
"As long as we are treated well, it doesn't matter who's on top!"
"Yeah!"
"Please ensure that the one ruling us does a proper job, Indeterminant! That is all I'll ask for!"
Many people shouted out, and Oscar stepped forward with a smile.
"I will do that, good people of this nation. If the one leading you decides to turn his back against you, then know one thing. I will never turn on you. Even if there is nobody left in the world who will support you, I will be here. For I am the Indeterminant. I am the one who is tasked with the protection of humanity. And if there are no rulers who are willing to protect humanity, then I will remove all of them, and rule humanity myself."
Turning away with the flare of his jacket, Oscar left the plaza, surrounded by cheers.
[/kill Reginald Ruthobold (Heart Attack)]
[/kill Sylvester Ruthobold (Heart Attack)]
The two men on the stand immediately fell to the ground, a pain enveloping their chests as they were unable to speak.
'Wha-'
'How-'
'Ugh....'
These men died quickly, surrounded by the cheers of the crowd as not a single person payed attention to the murder which went on in their midst.
Oscar walked out, accompanied by Darius and Risa as they left the plaza towards the palace.
'Tch..... going and killing off my potential harem members. I didn't even get their names, so I can't revive them for later.'
Looking back at the headless women, Oscar grimaced in disgust.
'Ah well. I suppose I've already been with those women, so it's not like I'm missing out on anything.'
----
The soldiers of the Empire quickly filled the Capital, and the leftover knights who had gathered were powerless to resist.
They gave up immediately, unable to face numbers which were more than 20 times greater than their own.
By 5 pm, the peace had been temporarily restored in the capital.
Oscar now stood inside the palace with Risa and Darius, making their way through it's halls.
The legionnaires now stood at the walls of the palace, and they were stationed not only throughout the Capital, but now they had been sent in small units all around the Kingdom to various cities.
100 men to each city, the Kingdom was swiftly annexed by the Empire.
With almost no knights left alive, the takeover was quick, and not a single further casualty was had.
"There.... was a lot that happened today."
Risa spoke softly as she walked with Oscar, a concerned expression on her face.
"Are you concerned about the unknown enemy?"
"That too...."
"Are you worried about your people?"
With a light nod, Risa admitted that Oscar had hit the target.
"Then.... why don't we drive back and check up on them?"
"Will.... you do that? Is that alright to do that?"
"Of course it is. Darius, will you hold the fort here while we head off? We can go report this to the Emperor as well afterwards."
"Can you do that, Indeterminant? Ah, you used that strange machine to travel very quickly, if I am not wrong. That is certainly useful..... if we could use those on a campaign for communication purposes...."
"No. I can only make it for myself. Sorry, Darius."
"Ahaha.... of course, Indeterminant. You've already done enough for us. Thank you. If you would report everything to the Emperor that would be great. I am not sure how he will take things, given his hotheaded personality, but I hope that he will be mature and take up the responsibility to properly lead these people."
"I hope so as well.", Oscar responded with thinned eyes.
With that, Oscar and Risa headed outside the palace.
With a quick command, Oscar created a new car- this time a black BMW.
"Shall we go?"
Oscar opened the passenger door, holding out a hand towards Risa.
She smiled lightly, taking the hand of Oscar as he helped her in.
"Let us go."
Closing the door, Oscar then made his way around and got into the vehicle before grabbing hold of the hand of the girl.
"It really has been a long day, hasn't it?"
"It has."
"So much happened."
"Yep."
The car drove slowly through the streets of the Kingdom at first, and when they left the walls Oscar increased his speed.
"Are you alright? Acting like a hero in front of everyone is tough, isn't it?"
"Yeah..... but I..... it's not something I'll ever get used to. There was too much death today. There was.... so much suffering. Even so.... I suppose.... it was nice to see the smiling faces of the people at the end there."
Risa spoke with soft tone, admitting her true feelings.
"It is exactly because of all that death and suffering that heroes are necessary. Even if we are just regular people.... even if the burden is too great for us to handle..... we have to handle it. Because if we don't, then nobody else will.", Oscar said.
"We can't save everyone..... but from those who are out there, trying to create chaos.... we should do what we can."
"Yep."
"Especially that enemy. We have to find out who they are."
"That is our biggest issue right now, isn't it?"
"But for now, let's go check on my people. I..... I suppose I'm a bit excited to see what their faces will look like when they receive the shipments of grain."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm."
The two drove off as the sun began to set, heading South into the horizon.
"Then, we had better hurry up so you can see their smiles."
With a grin, Oscar hit the gas, revving the engine and rolling down the windows.
"After all, this is what it means to be a hero!!!"
----
A man sat in a lavish tent, surrounded by high quality rugs which resembled a Persian style.
He wore a turban on his head and high class robes on his body. This man, who had a black shaggy beard, was the Sultan of the Asarith Sultinate.
Lakeed II.
In his hands, a piece of paper was lit by the candle at his side.
The eyes of this man were widened, and his hands began to tremble as he put his hand to his face in distress.
"This..... cannot be....."
The man fell to his desk in distress, overtaken by remorse.
"Indeterminant..... what should we do?"
In his hands, an official document carried the seal of the Emperor.
A letter.
-To the Incompetent Sultan of the Asarith Sultinate,
Pathetic.
That is the only word which comes to my mind when I consider the state of your nation.
Food and water are the most basic and obvious necessities.
Without these two things, no life can exist. This is obvious. So painfully obvious, that they should be the first priority for the leader of any nation.
The people should have access to food and water, and a means to produce them.
Yet you are such an incompetent leader, that you cannot even manage that much.
You have gone to another nation, to this Empire, in order to pathetically beg us for such commodities.
Even if we were to provide them to you, with such leadership that couldn't even do that much for it's citizens, your nation is sure to fall. And soon.
Submit your nation to my Empire. By doing so, your people will no longer have to suffer under the pathetic leadership which is currently leading them to ruin.
Or choose to fight me, without food or water to feed your armies. Whichever one you choose, you will lose.
My legions will lose to nobody, and certainly not to your men.
Therefore, surrender.
This is your one and only opportunity. Resistance will not be taken lightly.
-Emperor Percius V
The letter carried the seal of the young Emperor, proving that this letter was not a prank or a joke, nor was it some sort of scheme.
It was an official document, from one leader to another.
"I..... accepted the deal to lend our hero to the Empire, and this is how things turn out?"
Lakeed slammed his fist on the table, unable to control his emotions.
"Indeterminant.... what is your take on this? Did you know of this? Or is this a surprise to you as well?"
The man spoke to himself, questioning the very hero who had appeared just the previous day.
"I..."
Looking up, Lakeed sighed with a submissive expression.
"Unless the Indeterminant is willing to step in, the only option I have is to submit. I will step down from my position as Sultan."
The man stood up, walking out of his tent to look upon the city around him.
'It is beautiful.... yet there is so much suffering within. My people..... they need food. And I was a fool to cling to the hope which I was offered.'
However, Lakeed then heard a certain loud sound.
A sound which he had never before heard, as it was the revving of an engine and the screeching of a car coming to a halt.
Grabbing a torch, Lakeed shined the light in front of him to see a vehicle.
'What is this?'
"Evening, Sultan. It's only 5:30 and it's already this dark out? Well, anyways..... we've returned. We were successful in our mission of defeating the hero of the Ruthobold Kingdom and taking the Kingdom for the Empire, and we've come back to check up on the people here. Have you received the rations yet?"
Lakeed watched as the two exited the vehicle, staring at them with a look of realization.
"So you didn't know....."
Looking up with a bitter face, he spoke clearly.
"Indeterminant. Hero. There will be no rations. The Empire has betrayed us, and they have asked for our peaceful surrender so that they may completely annex us."
----