The day after Kyle had arrived at Ethan's place to refine his skills as a blacksmith, he was then taught by Martin and Ralph some of the basics around the forge.

They begun with the safety precautions, proper equipment and clothing, and the cleaning and other preparations that are needed before actually using any tools.

After that, they begun to show him around the shop and explained each tool and it's uses.

From there, Ethan stepped in and started to show Kyle how to light the forge.

"Stay back for now and don't touch anything. Just watch and soon enough you will be able to do this as well.", he said as he was blowing the fans to heat up the coals.

When he finished heating up the furnace and explaining how to do so, he then acquired a long cylindrical rod of metal and placed it into the flames to heat it.

He was of course wearing heat resistant gloves and a face-mask to protect himself, and he held the rod in the flames for around a minute before taking it out.

He then started hammering it into shape, and it slowly bent into a good form. He reheated it soon after, and repeated this process many times.

When it was starting to take the rough form of a blade, he took it over to the bucket of water and laid it in to cool it off.

He then took it over to the grindstone and began sharpening the sword.

Once sharpened, he measured the dimensions of the blade and took note of them, and he then selected a mold that was the right size to fit a handle into. The mold was in the shape of a short T, and at the top had a hole where the iron rod perfectly fit into.

"You gotto size your rod to fit into the mold, and then you pour the molten metal so that it melts right around the base of the sword. The most important thing in this process is the interface between the metal rod and the handle. If the interfaces aren't properly coated, then the entire blade could rip right out of the handle. This is the weakest point of a sword if not done right, but if done right can produce a reliable blade... assuming the material used has been strengthened well through numerous beatings."

He then took some orange-golden metal- likely a bronze or brass- in ingot form, and brought it over into a stone kiln that was smaller than the forge. He heated the flames at the bottom of the kiln before placing the ingots in a stone cup and using a holding rod to place it inside the heated area.

He held it in their for quite a while.

"The melting temperature of this rod here is higher than that of those ingots, so I don't need to worry about the rod melting... still, it's gonna be red hot when I pull it out. Make sure to stand clear."

After waiting for some time, he pulled out the stone cup which was now full of the molten liquid and he poured it into the mold, which the blade was already firmly held inside of. He then doused the tools in the water so that they would cool off.

After the molten metal began to harden, he extracted the finished sword from the mold and took a carving tool in his hand. Ethan then began to carve some designs into the metal while it was still somewhat soft. After doing so, he placed a few gemstones in the flowing metal and pressed them with a bar, and then placed the entire handle in the water to stiffen.

"And just like that, we have made a wonderful sword! I used my best quality materials on this one because it's the sword that the hero is going to use!"

"Amazing, Master Ethan!", Martin exclaimed.

"No wonder you are the leader of the smithing guild. To be able to crank out such a high quality sword so fast... other blacksmiths would take days to do something so well.", Ralph commented.

Kyle merely nodded, agreeing with his colleagues.

To think that this man who he had seen so often in the brothel with one of his mothers was so skilled at his work, and so well renowned for it. Kyle's eyes were being opened to a whole new world. Things were not as they seemed. There was much more out here than just the stories he heard from his mothers.

Perhaps there was more to life than just pain and suffering?

Almost every single one of the woman of the brothel came there after having experienced some sort of downfall. Kyle knew the stories of each and every one of the women who he considered to be his mothers, and he understood well that the outside world was not a friendly place.

They were people who were not welcomed by others, and yet they had been welcomed by Irene and accepted as prostitutes.

Kyle made a fist and resolved himself to improve their situation in society.

'Soon enough I will be able to make weapons like this and use the money to support my mothers...'

-----

Yirald, Fergo, and Relu stood at the entrance of the Dictatorship.

Fergo wanted to hold his head in agony as he pondered whether the atrocity in front of him was possible.

Relu wanted to fly away in disgust as he viewed the horrifying scenery in front of him. It was anything but graceful. Particularly those eyes that covered the walls, and the acidic fumes that emerged from the pit of death below them.

Yirald merely laughed, completely resigned to the situation. He held his head low and put his wing over his face, merely spouting the laughter of one who had gone slightly mad.

"The antiheroes... the antiheroes! There is no doubt! They are certainly those beings of the legends... the new demon lords of the world!", Yirald ranted, quaking like a madman.

"This is... how? How is this possible? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?! HOW DID THEY BUILD THIS ENTIRE FORTRESS IN A FEW MERE WEEKS!?!?!?!", Fergo exclaimed in horror and confusion.

Relu seemed to be hyperventilating. The eyes were staring at him, and no matter where he went they seemed to continuously follow him.

Were the antiheroes watching him through those eyes?

Were they forming plans to cook him up and serve him as a four course meal right now as he stood? Was it pretentious to even assume he would be served as a meal? Perhaps he was nothing more than an appetizer.

Should he have instead run away? Was it the wrong idea to come here?

"Hufff... hufff... I... ugh.... huff..."

Suddenly, at the towers, two figures appeared.

Two lizardmen- both wearing an odd bandage-like attire covering their bodies. They looked like mummies, and the birdmen would not have recognized them if it were not for their frames. One held a large club, and the other a spear.

One of the lizardmen they did not know, however the other...

It was Arlo, the lizardman who had been present at the meeting a few weeks ago. He pointed his club at the three and spoke boldly.

"Halt! You three- birdmen. I recognize you all from the meeting before. What business do you have in the Dictatorship? Do you wish to have an audience with the antiheroes, or are you here for another reason? If you are here as enemies, then we will take you on here and now.", Arlo demanded.

"W- wait! What are you doing here?! Should you not be back at the lizardmen village?", Fergo asked, confused.

Arlo smiled bitterly, however responded proudly.

"I am loyal to their excellencies, the future demon lords, the antiheroes! I am currently serving as a proud member of the punishment force of this esteemed dictatorship! Enough about me. What of yourselves?"

'It seems that this lizard had the same idea as us... will he prevent us from doing what we came here for?', Fergo wondered. For just a moment he forgot about the horror surrounding him as he held a normal conversation with Arlo.

Yirald ceased his hopeless laughter and looked up, addressing Arlo.

"Just like you lizardman, we have come to pledge our loyalty to the beings who rule this city- and to beg their forgiveness for the incident that occurred on their territory beforehand."

Arlo smirked.

The other lizardman also seemed to be looking down on the group with a confident air about him.

"Well said, birdmen. However, unfortunately, the antiheroes are not currently here. I can invite you into the Dictatorship- and I'm sure you all know what will happen if you cause trouble. Currently, her eminence the Determined is acting as the ruler of the village. I will have you escorted to her personally."

Relu looked up in fear, but was somewhat relieved that the antiheroes were gone. His heart was not ready to see them right now- especially not after seeing all this.

"Heh.. heh... I suppose it's now or never, boys. Let us walk with grace and style."

----

Claire was in the middle of discussing matters with Berith and Coran, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!", she exclaimed. Who could it have been? More work? Ugh...

Arlo walked in with the three of the birdmen who had previously attended the meeting.

Arlo kneeled on one knee before Claire and nudged the other birdmen with his elbow in order to do the same.

They all also got on one knee, and Arlo spoke.

"Your eminence, the Determined. I bring to you three more who wish to come under the rule of the antiheroes as their slaves. I understand that their excellencies are not currently present- so I brought them to you in order that you may decide whether or not to dispose of them"

"Dispo-!?!"

"Shhh! The Determined is about to speak! Those who are not property of the antiheroes have no rights!"

The three birdmen shut their mouths and bowed down further to Claire in fear.

'Is she going to consume me by herself here and now!?!?'

'This woman... the Determined... she didn't take part much in the meeting, however I heard that she is the one who is actually leading the antiheroes according to the legends...'

'How fearsome... to think this was the woman who was dancing and doing squats with us before... was that all an act to get on our good side?! To lure us into this trap!? Agh!!!'

The three shivered as their imaginations ran loose.

Claire opened her mouth to speak but was unsure what to say.

Surely another misunderstanding was waiting to happen. Should she try to clear it up, or should she let it fester? At this point, she was getting used to being misunderstood and overestimated...

No no no! She couldn't let things go like this! She wanted to help people! To HELP them! Not to invoke fear every time they heard her name! Even if the antiheroes wanted to be feared, she wanted to become a hero that the intelligent monsters and humans alike would look up to- a beam of hope for those without any support.

"I... uh..."

One of the birdmen- the owl- flinched back as if she was about to hit him with a 'hiii!'

'Oi, I haven't even said anything! Why are they so afraid of me now!? They weren't afraid of me back when I came to their village!! Then again... *Looking around*... I suppose this environment doesn't exactly scream hero or savior...'

"I should contact the antiheroes before accepting any new subjects.. give me just a moment... let me call them back."

The three birdmen froze.

'Call them back? Call them back!?! What if they become angry for having to come all the way back because of us and decide to behead us on the spot for wasting their time!?!?!!'

"Hello? Testing, Testing. Ah! It seems like the call is working. Yeah... um, guys... it seems that there is a group of birdmen who want to become our subjects... yes, very similar to how Arlo and the lizardmen wanted to do so... mhm... I see... ah! You're coming back right now? I see... I will see you all in a bit then. Bye!"

'Wha- who was she talking to!?!?', Yirald thought. 'Is she nuts!? Is she talking to herself? Perhaps she has a split personality or some sort of alter ego?! No! There's no way! Perhaps these antiheroes possess even the ability to speak across distances!?! And to a single target at that... they never cease to surprise me... Nothing is phasing me anymore when it comes to the antiheroes... they truly are beings beyond belief in every possible way.'