These words hit Coran right where it hurt. The ghost was right on the bullseye.

Coran cringed at the term 'slaves', but the possibilities ran through his mind.

Was it the only option besides death?

Everything told him that that was the case.

"Now wait a minute"

The elf stood forward and begun speaking.

"While it would certainly benefit us to obtain these spiders as slaves, what will we do if they decide to revolt against us? Even further, what if we take them back to our land and they spread seeds of revolt among our own subjects? Not that I doubt the loyalty of the ones who have pledged themselves to us, however should we not be cautious in all endeavors? Let us ask these two what their honest opinions are."

The elf turned his face to Coran, and spoke with the elegance and aura of a ruler.

"To begin, I must ask you something. Are you related to the spider who lived in the web above this abyss? Also, are you related to the wild spiders who we just killed? If so, then I cannot offer any apology for their murder, as they attacked us first. On top of that, they were wild beings who have no sense of intelligence, and thus are useless as subjects to subdue."

'This person... he said that he has subjects, and land! Does this mean that these four are indeed rulers!?', Coran thought.

"We.... we are related to the spider who lives in the web above. That is our mother, and the spiders who have just hatched are our siblings. But! As you can see, we are different from both our mother and our siblings! We are not wild beings like them!"

"I see. Well then, as I said before, I will not apologize for killing your siblings, nor your mother. She attacked us first, and as such we retaliated. However, I will offer you a decision as a form of compensation for disrupting your lives."

Coran almost laughed on the inside as he heard this.

Disrupting their lives?

Their lives were already gone in the first place.

"I will give you the option to leave, and do as you please, under the condition that you assist us just once. However, if you wish to come under our protection, the offer to become our slaves still remains. Should you choose this option, while you will live under our absolute rule as citizens of our domain, you will live a more prosperous life than you could ever hope for in this filthy place."

Coran looked at Berith, who was bowing her head. Coran thought about the words that this elf had just stated.

Would they really let them go free if they helped them?

Should they even choose to go free in the first place?

Berith and Coran were weak.

They were extremely weak compared to the other spiders that their mother had birthed. Even a two on one against one of the partially evolved spiders would likely result in their deaths. Not only this, but those spiders would have continued to evolve as warriors should the fighting have narrowed the survivors further. These beings who were now offering Coran and Berith a hand had stopped that from happening.

Should they flock to the banner of these beings?

Coran looked at Berith, and saw that she had raised her head.

She looked completely determined. She was filled with hope and resolve now, completely different than before she had met these beings.

Were they monsters?

Absolutely.

Would becoming slaves mean working their abdomens off for the rest of their lives?

Highly likely.

But...

There was not only the allure of security, but also of the charismatic appeal of these beings that made Coran consider agreeing to their terms.

Not only that though.

Coran remembered the hatred he had towards his mother.

He almost wanted to spit on her corpse, now that he knew she was dead.

He recalled the cold eyes she gave him and his sister, those eyes that said "You are not my children. You are nothing more than a backup plan"

Why was it that the eyes of this elf... this demonic elf, who was backed by two literal demons and a spirit who held otherworldly power....

Why was it that these eyes showed more compassion than even his mother did for him!?

Coran wanted to consult his sister about this, but before he could even do so...

"We will become your slaves.", Berith responded, without even looking towards Coran for his opinion. She had a disturbing grin on her face as if she had come to a realization.

The elf smiled as if he had just gained the soul of a tempted person.

"Are you certain you wish to take this option, even knowing that I am the one who killed your mother?", he asked slyly.

"Our mother... she was no mother to us. She only viewed us as nothing more than abominations... beings who she only left alive in the case that something went wrong and she would not be able to obtain a successor... we were nothing more than pieces in her little game of torment. I have no complaints", Coran stated.

Whatever laid ahead of him, he was ready for it.

Berith nodded, resolved as well- grinning deviously.

They saw the elf smile devilishly.

"I got a good charisma roll... excellent"

----

Samantha pulled Trevor back by the collar and whispered to him in an annoyed tone.

"Oi!!!! What are you doing!??! Why would you tell these kids to become our slaves!? Not that I mind having others serve us... but the word slaves... isn't that a bit... doesn't that sound really bad? Normally it would completely put people off and make them think of us as bad guys right?"

"Exactly."

"Hah?"

"I am trying to paint our image as the 'bad guys'. Did you not see their faces? They were filled with fear. Fear of us. To them, we are tremendously powerful monsters that they could never hope to fight back against. So what do we do about that? Simple. We paint ourselves as evil, and we then crush their expectations."

"Hah?"

Garett and Ashley came over into the huddle and Garett too began whispering so that the spider children couldn't hear.

"Ghost girl... which is better? To be told that you are going to be rewarded, only for there to be no reward, or to be told that you're going to be punished, only for there to be no punishment?"

"Of course, for there to be no punishment"

"But the net results are the same, no? In both cases, you get nothing."

"Indeed. Thank you, Red. Do you understand now, woman?"

Samantha cringed and seemed to fight with herself, but once again she couldn't overturn the logic.

It was sound. What he was trying to say was that if you have low expectations, then even the same result will be more appealing and rewarding.

When a villain does something good, it is seen as magnanimous and compassionate. If a hero does the same, it is matter of fact and trivial.

By setting the spiders expectations low- by treating them as slaves, they would open their eyes up to the world they would create.

"There is another issue I want to discuss as well with the spider children... I will go address it now."

"You two! I have a question.", Trevor ordered.

"W- what is it? Master? Lord? Your Majesty?"

"Hm... how about you call us... ah. Yes... that sounds good. From now on, when referring to any of us, call us 'Your Excellency'"

"Yes, your Excellency!", the two spiders responded, quickly.

"Now, there are a few things I must notify you about before we head out. The first is that our domain is only a small village for now, composed solely of slime kin. It is my- no, our dream- to one day create a domain where under our absolute rule, there will be no displeasure with one another. No fighting among races, and no quarrels among neighbors. If an issue arises, it is to be brought to us, the absolute dictators of our land, to be swiftly and singlehandedly judged by us, and us alone. With that being said, I trust that you all will have no issues with the other members of the domain, regardless of race, personal morals, or any other reasons. Should there be any issue at all, you should never take things into your own hands, and always bring it to us, no matter how small. Trying to act on your own will be seen as no less than spitting on our absolute rule, and treason to your rulers. Do you understand?"

The two spiders nodded vigorously, as they shook with fear.

"Very good. Then, let us head out."