The second the sun peeked out from the horizon, the four who were walking through the once silent city heard a barrage of sounds.

The slithering movements of large numbers of snakemen making their way through the streets.

The barging open of doors.

Shouting voices.

"We're doing a surprise inspection, looking for outsiders who have invaded the city!!"

"Anyone who has hidden them or had any relation with the outsiders will be subject to judgement by the provider!! Do not resist, or you will be put under suspicion!!!"

The four, who were walking through an alleyway, heard the sounds of yelling from just a couple blocks over and around the corner.

"They're really looking for us....", Charlotte whispered.

"So they truly did find out about us.", Pierre noted.

Melody walked forward confidently, towards the sounds of the screaming.

"Of course they would. After Lance pulled a stunt like that, wouldn't anyone normally find out?"

Lance put his hand behind his head and closed his eyes while laughing quietly.

"Haha.... sorry guys...."

Charlotte put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok!! This is all part of the plan, right Melody?"

Melody nodded from in front of the three.

"It is now. Lets go."

----

The four stepped out to witness a horrible scene.

Dozens of guards were running all over the place going from door to door, barging in and inspecting the homes of the people.

It was not only the homes, but every inch of the city.

Clearly, they were after whoever had invaded, and they were not messing around.

"I suppose I should let you all know this beforehand.... we are not to flaunt our strength just yet. Right now, we are a group of foolish weaklings who dared to invade the territory of the snakemen, trying to stir up chaos and inspire rebellion."

Melody pulled out four items from her pockets- rings.

"Place each one of these on your finger. They are items crafted by his excellency, enchanted with an interesting effect."

Each ring had a different colored gem, and each gem was smooth and elliptical as opposed to sharp and jagged. Red for Melody, purple for Charlotte, green for Pierre, and blue for Lance.

"These are rings of masking. They allow us to completely mask our own strength. Watch this."

Melody swung her own wand like a baton, lightly tapping the arm of Pierre.

"It didn't hurt, did it?"

"Of course not. You barely even touched me."

Melody nodded.

"But don't forget, we are now beings of the 9th tier. Even the slightest tap from us would be a full fledged attack to a regular person. However, because we are both 9th tier beings, a tap from me is a tap to you."

Pierre nodded.

"Alright. So what?"

"Now everyone put the rings on."

The other three placed their rings on their fingers, and Melody then brought her own wand over to Pierre.

She once more tapped him lightly, however this time a bruise formed on his arm, completely swelling it up.

"Eh? It didn't even hurt, but for some reason it looks like my arm was maimed!!!"

Melody nodded.

"The effect of these rings is that it makes it look like we've taken the same damage that a tier 3 human would have taken. Well, that is to say, it makes it look like we are as strong as we were before meeting their excellencies."

"Whoa...."

The three were amazed to see just how strong they had become compared to their previous selves, to the point where even the slightest tap would cause such swelling and injury to a regular person.

"Take the ring off and put it back on, Pierre. Lance, use an invisibility potion on the rings. We can't have the snakemen taking them from us when we get arrested."

"Got it."

Pierre took the ring off and the wounds seemed to disappear as if they were nothing more than an illusion in the first place, and Lance then took out the invisibility potion, placing a single drop on each one of the rings alone.

"We can afford to let them take our equipment for now, but these rings we will need.", Melody stated.

"Eh? We're going to let them take our equipment?", Lance asked.

"Of course. If we get arrested, they'll take everything from us either way, but that won't matter."

"Ah, I suppose you're right.... we're strong enough to escape on our own at any time, even without my potions and tools."

"Our number 1 goal is to come into contact with this 'provider' and take him by surprise. If we don't even have access to our own weapons and tools, then he will believe that we are just as helpless as babies."

She then grinned sinisterly as she walked forward, out of the alleyway and into the open.

"We will teach them that if they aren't careful, that even a powerless rat could be hiding a deadly disease within it."

----

"Somebody check over there!!! We can't leave even a single corner of this city unsearched!!!", a guard shouted out while pointing over in the direction of an empty alleyway.

"I'm on it!", another replied, rushing over.

However, as this man was heading in the direction of the alleyway, four people clumsily walked out of it.

One was a redheaded human with long hair. She wore a strange outfit which looked like some sort of synth suit, and wielded a wand with two red orbs, one on either end.

Another was a blonde girl with short cut hair who wore a red cape and leather armor, with a sickle at her side.

The third was a male with dark brown hair who wore a dark blue trench coat over his leather armor, wielding no weapon of his own.

And the final person was a male with shoulder length blonde hair who wore a frilly long sleeve shirt with black dress pants and shoes, and white gloves on his hands. On his side was a silver whip which looked more like a lasso made from wire, rolled up into a loop.

The guard who was about to head over to that area immediately shouted out to his compatriots who were searching the homes of the people.

"It's.... humans!!!!! I've found a suspicious group of humans over here!!!! Quickly!!! I need backup!!!!"

Almost every guard in the vicinity heard this call and ran over to the area. Even the ones beyond the alleyway heard this call and rushed over so the four were now surrounded on all sides by snakemen wearing military uniforms.

They all took out their batons, however one in particular made his way through the crowd.

This was the snakeman who wore a black uniform- the Commander.

"Well well well.... it looks like we've found the rats which have snuck into our city. And humans at that? I have so many questions to ask of you, I'd like to question you thoroughly later on, but right now we've got you surrounded. Do you plan on fighting? Even if you do so, we have no intent other than taking you in alive. Fighting back will merely encourage us to increase the amount of suffering you're put through."

Melody stood forward with a grin, brandishing her weapon, and even spinning it around a few times like a baton.

Her smile seemed to run from ear to ear, and her eyes were closed.

"M-Melody? W-what are you doing?", Charlotte asked, as the remaining three stood back to back to each other, watching as Melody stepped forward.

"So you plan to fight?", the Commander asked. "I will make sure to torture you even more so than the others to wipe that arrogant smile off your face. Your actions in this city are an offense to the provider. You have sewn the seeds of rebellion, and attempted to spread the corruption of the outside world to our people. And for weak humans to do so at that? We discovered a letter saying that the invaders were the slaves of the antiheroes, but what a laugh that is. Even if the antiheroes truly did exist, why on earth would they even bother taking mere humans as slaves?"

Melody, who was walking forward slowly with her eyes closed, then opened her eyes as she brushed her hand past her hair, feeling the scar behind her ear.

And when she opened her eyes, they were not the eyes of someone determined to fight to the last breath.

Nor were they the eyes of an overconfident woman who was looking down on a group of insects.

They were the eyes of a woman who had gone mad with ecstatic joy.

She held forward her own wand with a single hand, smiling fanatically.

And she dropped it.

"We surrender. Take us in. Do what you want with us. Can I ask you one thing though? This provider of yours.... is he really such a great leader?"

Many of the men surrounding the group became infuriated as Melody asked this question, as if she had hit a nerve.

"Do you dare question the greatness of the provider!?!?"

"The provider is the one who has united this city under his astounding ability to provide sustenance for all!!! There could be no greater leader!!!"

"This is why outsiders are dangerous!! We will not allow you to go unpunished for trying to spread false preachings about our leader!!!!"

"Commander, please ensure that this woman will never forget the offense she has just committed by slighting the provider!!!"

The other three, who thought at first that perhaps Melody had lost it and intended to fight, were somewhat relieved to see that she was doing this all according to the plan.

Charlotte and Pierre dropped their own weapons, and Lance threw down his trenchcoat, filled with all sorts of poisons and potions.

"We surrender.", Pierre said as the three put their hands up.

The Commander, who was gazing directly into the eyes of Melody, stepped forward, not taking his eyes away from her.

'This woman..... is insane.... just looking into her eyes feels like I am staring into an abyss.... an abyss of fanaticism.....'

Never before in his life had he ever witnessed such insane dedication.

The Commander himself was the leader of the military force of men who were utterly and completely loyal to the provider.

The people of the snakemen village had been brainwashed to the point of obsession with the provider.

And yet, this woman's complete infatuation with whoever she served completely surpassed all of that.

The Commander felt a chill down his spins as he stared into this woman's eyes.

'Just how could someone be so engrossed with their leader?? Even compared to the Fuhrer, who is believed to be the very source of life in this town..... her fascination with the ones she serves is to a point which I never believed could be reached...'

"You will suffer far greater torment than the others, who surrendered without testing us. Men. Take these people in. I want this one to be the first in the torture chamber."

'I will break her..... I will destroy her fanatical obsession with her masters.... I have to.... I will make her talk, and get her to beg for her very life..... I will make her reject the very masters she serves!'

----

The four were led down the streets with a procession of guards.

They could still hear the sounds in the distance of the guards searching every corner of the city, for even if they had found and captured the people who were likely the invaders, there could be more than one group.

They were placed in handcuffs, and their belongings were confiscated. The guards pushed them through the city streets, leading them to the walls around the inner sanctum of the city.

"There is no need to blindfold them, for they will never make it out of this place alive to tell the story of what lies within.", the Commander stated.

And so, the four were led through the portcullis, into the inner sanctum where farms were tilled by slaves and animals were locked into walls of cages, mass producing the meat on a ridiculous scale.

As they passed this, Charlotte and Lance were clearly disturbed on seeing the horrible sights up close, however they merely bit their lips and said nothing, for soon enough they would destroy these horrible practices from their root.

They were then led to a stone shack, which one of the guards unlocked. It led to a stairway underground, and the four were led down the stairs into a long hallway of cells.

This was the jail.

All of the people who were taken into the inner sanctum who worked as slaves resided in the jail, however when it came to outsiders, the policies were a bit different.

Any outsiders who were captured within the city would first be questioned, and then a ceremony would be held to decide the fate of the outsiders.

This would almost certainly end up in a sacrifice to the provider, who would attend such a ceremony publicly.

The provider was a being who rarely showed his own face in public. The matters of the city were strictly controlled by the military police, according to his own orders, and so for him to show up was nothing less than a momentous occasion.

The sacrifice would serve a twofold purpose.

The first reason why outsiders were sacrificed was because according to the provider, outsiders were dangerous and would try to deceive the people into heresies and false beliefs, spreading lies about the provider and claiming that his methods were evil.

The ceremony would serve as a celebration that the evil outsiders who would try to disrupt the peace of the village had been captured by the provider and those loyal to him, and thus nobody within the village would have to suffer as a result of the lies they would spread.

It was a celebration that the provider, who was the heroic leader of the snakemen, had taken down those trying to harm his people with false teachings.

The second was to show anyone who sympathized with them what would become of them, should they support the outsiders and act as such.

In the minds of the snakemen, the provider was the source of everything. Disobeying or disrespecting the provider was evil, and anyone who did so was evil. Doing such a thing would result in punishment, and this punishment was the hand of justice striking down evil.

As the four walked down the halls, one of the guards used his key to unlock a certain cell, and three were thrown inside, with Melody being kept in the custody of the other guards.

The door was locked, and the three were left staring at Melody with concern, but Melody had a smile on her face, so they said nothing.

The guards left, walking down the hallway, and the three were left to look at one another.

"Melody.... was smiling....."

"She was smiling as she went to be tortured...."

"Then, this is all part of her plan, right? She didn't tell us about this though...."

"I'm going to trust in her! She clearly knows what she's doing!!"

"Me too."

"Alright. I guess all we can do for now is wait."

The three nodded to themselves, confident that their comrade knew what she was doing.

Lance touched his own finger, feeling the invisible ring.

"This entire place.... it's horrible..... there are so many horrible things happening.... and all of those people have no choice but to listen....."

Charlotte nodded.

"And then there's Pliara and that man.... she isn't even allowed to so much as exist...."

"We'll save them. We'll save them all.", Lance said firmly. "Whatever plans their excellencies have set up, I'm sure we'll be stunned just watching them come into play."

Walking over to the jail door, Lance grabbed the bars with his own hands.

"Funny.... if I wanted to, I could just bend these bars and we could escape right now. We've really gotten wrapped up into something amazing, haven't we?"

----

Melody walked through the halls, being pushed forwards by the guards.

"Walk faster you damn outsider!"

A guard shouted this as he smacked his own baton into the head of Melody.

Because this was a wound to the back of her head, one could not witness the bruising which was shown, however the ring which she wore made it appear that there was a large bruise on the back of her head.

Yet, Melody felt not a single tang of pain, for the hit was so weak it was not even registered in her mind.

Instead, she was completely focused on something else.

There was a voice speaking into her very head.

[Very good. Head to the torture chamber and have them question you. Respond within my commands]

----

The day before Melody had been called to leave for this mission, she had been personally called up to see her masters.

As she stood before them while they sat in their thrones, Ashley slithered over to her with a light smile on her face.

"I'm going to look inside you for a sec."

The hand of the ghostly woman seemed to phase through Melody's head, and Ashley closed her eyes as she read the memories of the redheaded woman.

"Geh..... this is worse than my own past..... if he were still alive I would find that man and rip him to shreds on repeat."

Ashley opened her eyes, and held out her hand.

"Gary. Camera."

Garett stood up with a smile and reached into his pocket, taking out one of the spider cameras and putting it into Ashley's hand.

"You seem to have some room inside that brain of yours, so I'm going to make use of that.", Ashley said with a giggle as she pushed aside the hair behind Melody's ear.

"Come help me with this surgery. I'll keep her soul in her body, so there won't be any need to worry about her dying."

Garett walked over to Melody, taking out a syringe and injecting it behind her ear.

"That should numb it.... and now...."

Using his claw, Garett sliced open the scar behind Melody's ear, revealing the section of bone which had been glued back in. He cut that as well, taking the piece out and revealing the section where her brain had been eaten away at.

Ashley then took the spider camera and placed it inside that space, linking up the lens with her optic nerves.

"And now.... we seal it off....."

Garett placed the piece of Melody's skull back, and fused it into place before repairing the skin which had been cut open.

"Sarah, come fix the rest of this. I can change the properties of the skin to reattach, but I can't heal the scar like you can."

Samantha stood up and walked over, holding out her hand to the girl's ear, but when she did so, Melody looked up.

"Your excellency, I thank you for showing such great concern for myself, but could you leave the scar in place?"

Garett and Ashley were confused at Melody's strange request, but Samantha, being able to read the mind of Melody, understood.

"Ah.... so you believe that the scar is a part of you, reminding you of the parasite which once took over your very mind..... I see. Then, I won't heal it."

Melody bowed with a grin.

"Thank you, your excellency."

And so, everything within the sight of Melody became a camera which was displaying their progress and uploading video into the database of Trevor.

Melody continued to walk down the corridor before she came to a room with a large metal door, which seemed to have bloodstains leaking out from underneath the door.

"We're taking you in here, woman.", the Commander stated. "I'm going to make you spill every last one of the plans you have in mind, and every detail about those you are working for."