A fishman finished off a warrior near Lance and his group, pulling his trident out of the chest of the man. Melody began to run at the fishman.

The fishman had been bludgeoned in the stomach, and many of his scales were shattered.

"He's weak! All of you, with me!"

The other three stuck close to Melody.

"Lance!", Charlotte shouted, as they approached the fishman.

"I'm on it!", he said, fluttering his coat as he grabbed a bottle containing paralysis fumes, and threw it with skilled accuracy, so that the bottle shattered directly in the face of the fishman.

"You think silly tricks will wo... work... wo-"

The fishman slowed down until he was frozen stiff, as if he was a statue.

"Now!! Charlotte! Pierre!"

Pierre swung his whip so that it wrapped around the neck of the fishman, and pulled it so that the fishman fell down like a statue, with his stomach exposed.

With a jump and a flip, Charlotte's crimson cape stood out to anyone nearby as she dug her sickle into the stomach of the fishman, dragging it across his abdomen while still in midair, causing blood to spray up like a fountain.

The stomach of the fishman was prodded on the tip of the sickle like a piece of meat on a fork. Charlotte flicked it off, and prepared to kill the next monster.

'That's right. These are just monsters. They aren't humans like before, so there's nothing wrong with killing them.'

Or so she thought.

But on remembering the antiheroes, she questioned as to whether that was true.

'No, those ones showed human characteristics. Even if they are monsters in body.... I can tell. They are too human to be monsters. These fishmen in front of me are nothing more than monsters who only care to slaughter. It doesn't matter if I kill these ones.'

The group moved onto another fishman, and Melody cast another spell since her MP had recovered somewhat.

[Speed Up (Lvl 1)]

This time, their target was a fishman who's armor and scales were undamaged.

"Leave this one to me, but back me up!", Melody shouted.

The fishman this time looked serious, and not thrilled in the least to be fighting. He had the face of someone who had something to protect, and was merely doing what he needed to do.

'Am I merely imagining it?', Charlotte wondered.

This fishman, who carried a trident like most of them, approached the group as they ran towards him. He looked like a brave warrior, ready to die if necessary.

Melody stepped forward, and the two began to interlock their weapons, while exchanging blows.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the staff hitting the trident over and over again rang as the two furiously tried to get the upper hand over one another.

Lance couldn't get an angle to throw any sort of support poison.

The fishman jumped back and prepared to do a thrusting motion, however as he thrusted, Melody smoothly jumped out of the way, and placed her own staff in between the bars of the trident.

With her hands on either side of her staff, she jumped gracefully above the head of the fishman and behind him, bringing the trident with her, and twisting it about so that he was forced to let go, lest his arm be twisted off.

Melody let go of her staff with one hand, catching the trident with her free hand. She now wielded two weapons, and the fishmen put up his bear fists, however he was now surrounded with Melody behind him and the three in front of him.

Now was his chance. Lance grabbed a bottle of poison and threw it at the face of the fishman, while Pierre simultaneously wrapped his whip around the leg of the fishman, and after the bottle shattered on the face of the fishman, Pierre pulled his leg, tripping the fishman up and making him fall to the ground.

Acid began to burn the scales off the face of the fishman, however he didn't seem scared or scream out in pain. Instead, he tried to get up quickly, while enduring the pain.

Melody didn't allow for that.

She brought down the trident onto the face of the fishman, forcing the three spikes through his mouth and pinning him into the ground after his scales had been weakened from the acid. Water splashed up on the impact, and blood could be seen dying the shallow water that they fought in.

After doing this, Charlotte ran up to finish him off, and sliced the head off with her sickle cleanly.

"That's... huff.... two..."

Melody was out of breath, even after such a short fight.

She had been carrying the group as the tank and the magician, and she was exhausted.

A scream was then heard from nearby.

"NO!!! Tanu!!! His wife had just become pregnant with his child!!!"

An angry turtleman was running at the group, with tears in his eyes.

"You monsters!! How could you kill him!!! His child will never have a father now!!! His wife will be widowed!!!"

Charlotte froze, with the sickle in her hand.

A father?

A child?

A wife?

Could monsters even have such things?

Such human concepts?

Certainly, animals had offspring, but the bonds between parent and child that were formed in humans were of a higher level due to the aspect of love, and emotion.

Yet why then, did this monster seem to have emotion on seeing his friend die?

Why then, was he acting like a human father had just died?

Why then, was he acting like she was a murderer who had just orphaned a poor child?!?

Lance quickly threw another paralysis fume , which shattered upon impact with the shell of this turtle, and he slowed down in his running before freezing in place.

However, Lance too was shaking.

His hand quivered as he wondered if they had just killed a father, and orphaned a child.

'No no no.... I am no murderer... I simply assisted in killing a m-monster... that's all....'

Another stinging pain hit his head as he continuously wondered if that was true.

'Why... why.... these monsters... all of them.... why do they seem so human....'

He recalled the antiheroes, his conversations with them.... and now this.

'They... they have to be monsters, right? Right???? I'm just killing a group of chaotic killers, who hold no emotions or ability to have human interactions, right?? Tell me that's right!!! They're just beasts...'

Charlotte and Lance were unsure about whether they were doing the right thing, but their bodies continued to move in order to defend themselves.

Charlotte ran up to the paralyzed turtle, with eyes filled with fear and confusion, and sliced his head off quickly.

Another shout was heard from the distance.

"Doctor Herza!! No!!! How will you save any more patients if you are dead!!! Why did you come to the front lines as well!?! You should have been in the back!!"

Running towards them was a tiger shark, who seemed to be distraught on seeing all the dead fishmen around their group.

'N.... no... a doctor?! A doctor!?! Someone who saves lives for a living!?! How can these monsters have a doctor!!! They just want to kill!!! They can't have something like a doctor!!!!'

Lance and Charlotte's minds were both filled with anguish on realizing that they were killing not monsters, but humanoids.

Their faces distorted with insanity, and Pierre too was concerned for them.

They fell to their knees, wondering if everything they knew was simply a lie.

"Hey!! Guys!! Pay attention! If you don't get up, we're gonna get killed!!"

Melody ran off on her own to hold off the tiger shark who was running at them.

"Melody just ran off on her own!! Get up!!", Pierre shouted.

"We... we didn't just kill monsters...", Charlotte whispered.

"People... we just killed people...."

"No! Those were monsters!! Don't you get it!?!"

"Doctors... families... children... orphans... widows... we.... we're murderers..."

"We are.... scum.... we're no worse than that...."

Pierre looked over to see Melody running at the tiger shark, and let out a 'tch!', before leaving his two comrades behind to assist her.

"Don't die on your own over here! Wait for me and Melody to return from defeating this guy!!"

Pierre ran behind Melody, who had almost reached the tiger shark at this point.

The tiger shark looked concerned and distraught on seeing so many of his brethren dead, and he wielded a trident which was covered in his own teeth from the tip to the rod, aside from the base of the handle where he gripped it.

He thrusted his trident at Melody, with a speed much faster than she could react to.

She tried to dodge, but there simply wasn't enough time. This fishman was much more powerful than the rest.

However, just as the trident was about to dig into her side, something appeared in front of her, preventing it from digging in.

It was a barrier.

Pierre, Melody, Charlotte, Lance, and Ploritan, all then heard a voice resounding in their head.

It was the voice of Samantha. It was soothing and calm.

[No, no. You five are on our side. Don't be fighting among each other now.]

----

Ploritan heard a dominating voice in his head, as his hand shivered from the impact of slamming his trident into a barrier which was harder than even the strongest metal.

[No, no. You five are on our side. Don't be fighting among each other now.]

It was the voice of one of the antiheroes. The woman who had healed him.

Ploritan looked around in confusion, and for a moment forgot his own anger and the fact that he was on a battlefield.

Where were they?

Why could he hear her, yet not see her?!

[Ploritan. Prove your worth to us. If you are willing to forgive these ones who have killed your comrades, and work with them to eliminate Kota, then we will consider saving your tribe.]

Ploritan didn't know what to do.

Should he listen?

Should he team up with these horrible humans who had killed his people as if they were nothing more than bugs?

He looked over to the people.

And what he saw, astounded him.

Two of them were on their knees, shaking.

They had eyes of sorrow and remorse.

'Those two... they did not want to kill my brethren... but why then are they here?'

Ploritan looked back at Kota.

He then looked all around him.

He saw something terrible.

Ten thousand soldiers stood at the entrance to the underwater cave, blocking anyone from passing through.

Some of the women and children of the fishmen were currently inside the underground area of the village.

The others were frantically running from their homes, as the soldiers around them invaded their homes, driving them out and causing them to run towards the cavern. Many homes and workplaces were being burned, and it was complete chaos.

The people desperately tried to reach the entrance to the underwater cavern, only realizing that the soldiers had taken over once it was too late to escape.

It was a slaughter.

The soldiers guarding the entrance to the underground cavern were in formation to defend, and killed every woman and child who approached them, trying to get through to the cavern. They had nowhere else to go, so if they couldn't make it into the cavern right now, then they would be overtaken by the soldiers invading the homes, who seemed to be chasing them back to the main unit, and so they ran to their deaths.

Due to Kota's idiocy, due to the fact that he had forced all the warriors to face this enemy head on, due to his false sense of pride or courage or bravery or whatever, and due to his lack of preparation and warning for those on the outside...

The enemy now stood in a position where they essentially had all the women and children in the underground sector of the village as hostages, and the rest of them on the outside were being slaughtered as he spoke.

There was no way the unit that Kota led could break through an army like that, no matter how much stronger they were on an individual level. Much less the women and children who tried to make their way through.

Ploritan's heart burned with rage.

He was no longer angry at the four in front of him for killing off his brethren.

This was war. They were simply doing their part.

Rather, he was infuriated with Kota.

His false sense of ideals had allowed the innocent and weak people of the village to be trapped helplessly, and slaughtered by the enemy.

And what was Kota doing right now?

What was he doing right now!?!?!

He was ignoring the enemies at the cave, who were in the midst of killing off their people.

He was continuing to order the soldiers of this unit to attack these enemies- the mercenaries on the shore, despite being surrounded on all sides.

Why!?!

This was not the situation to continue fighting.

They needed assistance.

They couldn't just all die here and allow the enemy to make their way into the underground village.

They needed external help.

Ploritan knew what he needed to do.

He needed the assistance of the antiheroes, who had so graciously offered it.

He would grab it with his last thread of hope.

"You four!! Did you hear that as well?", Ploritan shouted to the group.

The woman wearing the futuristic armor who he had just attacked nodded.

"Yes, I heard it."

The man with the beret and the whip as well replied.

"I did."

The two who seemed to be terrorized continued resenting their actions while on their knees, staring into their hands, which were covered in blood and muttering to themselves.

"M... murderers..."

"We're murderers..."

"Not of monsters... of people...."

"We killed those people...."

"We orphaned a child...."

"All the patients who won't be saved now that the doctor is dead... it is as if we killed them with our own two hands..."

Ploritan noticed the two, who were completely overcome by the fears of having killed a person.

Pierre ran back to them.

"Guys!! What are you doing!?!"

Ploritan stood up then, and spoke loudly.

"You two are not murderers. Forgive my outburst earlier."

Lance and Charlotte looked up to Ploritan with repentant eyes.

"What?"

"What are you saying... we just killed..."

Ploritan looked firmly at the two.

"This is a battlefield. Anyone who has come here has already resolved to give their lives, and whether you are the one who performed the final blow... that much does not matter. We are all fighting to protect something, whether it is our own lives, our comrades, or our families. It is not your fault. It is the fault of the generals at the top who started this war."

This hit Lance and Charlotte in the hearts.

"It... isn't our fault?"

"We aren't murderers?"

"No. You are not murderers. You are warriors."

The two stood up.

"Warriors..."

"But, you must decide now as a warrior. Who, and for what cause will you fight for? The justice of a warrior is dependent on whether they serve a just commander. As for me...."

Ploritan looked back at Kota with disgust.

"That man is no commander of mine."

The four then looked to Caspus, who was standing behind his ten thousand men, guarding the underwater cavern while leaving the mercenaries to fend for themselves, and leading the slaughter of women and children as if it were nothing more than an everyday occurrence.

"And that man is no commander of ours."

"Then, we are on the same side, no? As we serve the same masters."

Charlotte, Lance, Pierre, and Melody, all nodded firmly.

"Yes. We serve the antiheroes."

----

[No, no. You five are on our side. Don't be fighting among each other now.]

When Lance and Charlotte heard this voice, they were on the ground, unsure what to do.

They had murdered people.

They now fully realized, that the ones they were fighting were not monsters.

How foolish they had been to think so.

A monster is one who gives no thought to the death of a comrade.

A monster is one who shows no emotion aside from pain and suffering.

A monster does not care for others.

A monster cannot instill happiness in others.

These fishmen were not monsters.

They were humanoids.

They were people, just like Lance and Charlotte.

They showed every aspect of humanity that Lance and Charlotte did, aside from their looks.

Samantha read the minds of these two, and messaged them personally.

[Do not be afraid of what you have done. Do you know why you have been unable to kill up until this point so far? Do you know what the difference is between a murderer and yourselves? It is a purpose. All your lives, you have lived with only a single goal- to survive. You have continuously trodded forward through your lives, only living in the present, and forgotten about your reasons for doing things. You have become mindless zombies, who do as you are told and listen to your own instincts.]

Lance and Charlotte shuddered on hearing this, knowing that the words they heard were the truth.

'We don't have anyone to protect...'

'We forced Melody and Pierre to do all the dirty work, while we celebrated with them...'

'How hard a toll it must have been on them...'

'We didn't even consider their feelings...'

[Do not worry about your comrades. They had a purpose, and were able to live with themselves for the sake of protecting you two. But now, look around. Do you see any purpose in this?]

"M... murderers..."

"We're murderers..."

"Not of monsters... of people...."

"We killed those people...."

"We orphaned a child...."

"All the patients who won't be saved now that the doctor is dead... it is as if we killed them with our own two hands..."

[Do not fear the abyss. Do not be scared of the darkness. You have been without anyone to guide you, but now... now you follow us. There is a purpose to your actions, so perform them without hesitation, knowing that you are assisting us.]

Ploritan then approached Charlotte and Lance, who were at a loss, and spoke with them.

After hearing what Ploritan had to say, combined with Samantha's encouragement, Lance and Charlotte came to a realization.

'A cause... yes, I know! This is why there has been a sting in my heart this entire time! This is why I cannot cease to forget the compassion and the humanity of those people!'

'Ah! It was so obvious! How could I have not noticed! There is a difference between killing for sport and killing for a purpose!'

'We are not murderers! We are warriors, who serve the antiheroes.'

'Those people... they were not beings of chaos, who meant to terrorize the people of the world.... they were instead shining heroes, who are to unite both monster and human alike under a greater purpose!'

"Yes. We serve the antiheroes."

----

As Caspus and his soldiers had reached the underwater cavern, Samantha turned to Garett and laughed.

"Haha! Looks like I won our little bet.", Samantha boasted, turning to Garett with a victorious smile.

"Keh keh... indeed, it seems I've lost by taking the less likely bet. Ah well, it was an interesting situation to see develop.", Garett replied, while tapping his fingers impatiently with a demonic smile on his face.

"So are we going to help out the humans then?", Samantha inquired.

"We will do so, however.... let's do so indirectly.", Garett responded.

"What do you suggest?", Samantha questioned.

"What if we submit Ploritan and the group of mercenaries to a little test? We try and see if they can overcome their differences, and work together for a common goal?", Garett suggested.

"That sounds interesting. Theo, Ally, what do you think?", Samantha asked.

"Let me run a simulation real quick, and I will inform you of the best course of action.", Trevor stated while his eyes went blank and he focused on the images inside his mind.

"Hehe... sounds like fun. I don't see anything wrong with it.", Ashley crackled while slouched down in her seat as usual.

Trevor seemed to be considering all the possibilities, and came up with a solution.

"Then, how about we have them take out Kota together? If they are able to overcome their differences, then they will be worthy pawns to take control over. If not, then they weren't worth the hassle, and we will allow them to kill each other off."

"Sound good to me.", Ashley replied.

"What are the chances of success?", Garett asked.

"50 50. A true gamble."

"Just how I like it."