"I'm not a freaking vampire!!!"

Claire was losing her patience and shouted at the fishman, who squealed and reeled back in shock, hiding behind the trembling seahorse.

Both of them were quaking in fear while wielding their tridents at her, with desperate looks in their eyes.

"Move. I need to speak with your leader now."

Claire had completely lost every sense of patience.

She was trying to help these people, and they greeted her with fear and suspicion. Was this why Ashley was so twisted? Did she experience this on a regular basis, to the point where she simply lost all sense of social tension?

Claire didn't know, but she marched towards the gate.

"Open this gate now."

"Right away!! Eek!!!"

The men quickly grabbed what looked like a lever connected through seaweed chains to the portcullis gate, and the gate sunk into the ground, allowing Claire to pass.

Claire stomped into the town.

She was done.

She was done trying to look like a hero.

She now understood well what Trevor meant when he explained how annoying it was to try and get others to see you in a positive light.

She understood why Garett enjoyed showing off his demonic side to anyone who dared enter their nation.

She understood why Samantha no longer bothered trying to look good in front of others, despite the fact that she used to be so obsessed with it.

It was a pain in the ass.

Trying to keep up appearances and please other people was nothing more than a fools errand.

It was time to leave the manipulation to the manipulators.

Claire was here for one reason, and it was not to look good. It was not to be praised as a hero, nor was it to be cheered on as she walked through the streets.

It was to help these people, whether they liked it or not.

If she had to, she would shove her help down their throats and choke them out if they refused to accept it, however she was not about to waste another calorie of energy trying to get these people to like her. To respect her.

It was time to use force to get people to listen to her, regardless of their opinions.

Claire stomped through the village with her hands balled in fists, shooting a nasty glare at each and every fishman she passed.

She didn't spare the children her nasty glare either. If these people didn't want to appreciate the lengths she was taking to save them, she wasn't about to waste time playing nice with them.

The pufferfish followed her from a distance. He was scared witless, however it was his duty to inform the chief of this visitor, so he had to make his way there.

"I- is that a vampire!?", Claire heard someone whisper.

"I heard that a vampire queen arrived in a tremendous chariot pulled by steeds of darkness... that must be her without a doubt..."

"Don't look her way!!! She doesn't look like she is in a good mood at all!!!"

"Stand clear everyone!!!"

The rumors had spread like wildfire. They even beat Claire here, even though she just arrived.

The fishmen parted like the red sea, forming a path for the furious woman to march her way through the exquisite town.

It was a truly amazing sight to behold. If Claire was not so annoyed she would have loved to appreciate the scenery. Every building was made of shells and coral or other underwater minerals and plant materials.

There were deep waterways that spread throughout the town that served for both transportation and for public use. The fishmen were not able to survive indefinetly above water, so they needed to take a swim once in a while.

Small boats with one or two people in them traversed the waterways, however on seeing Claire the people in the boats ducked down to avoid being seen.

"Who is that woman?! What a terrifying aura..."

Claire continued making her way through the town until eventually, she made it to a mountainous palace in the center. Water flowed down the incline, exiting pipes from the palace that was on the top of it and flowing into the lower channels. A large twisting stairway led up the mountain and to the palace.

It looked to be made of mostly marble with shell decorations all over, and coral pillars.

Claire made her way up the stairs, angrily glaring at anyone who came within a vicinity of her.

Not a single person dared come near her. Her beautiful yet irritated face spoke volumes of the rage she would release on anyone who dared to break this unspoken rule.

On reaching the top, Claire saw two guards- one who was a hammerhead shark and the other had the body of a human and the head of a clam, with two eyes peeking out from within the shell. Both were of course wielding tridents.

The pufferfish approached from behind as Claire gave the two a condescending look.

"I am here to speak with your leader. Let me in, or you will regret going against me.", she said while holding her hand out and making a grasping motion as if she was crushing their very hearts.

The two fiddled with the door immediately, scrambling to get it open. They opened wide and stood far out of the way of Claire to allow her in.

Claire could hear them breathing hard as she passed them by, entering a grand hallway. She turned to the pufferfish behind her.

"Oi. Where should I wait for this leader of yours? Bring him to me, and on the double. I don't feel like waiting too long. I only came here to HELP you people. It should be obvious that you should treat me as a beloved guest, and your leader should be bowing at my feet in order to receive the assistance I've come to offer."

"Right away!!! Please have a seat in this room over here!!! I will send some refreshments your way while you are waiting, oh queen of vampires!"

"I already said that I am not a vampire. Get it right."

"Of course!!! My apologies!!!"

The pufferfish ran off, and Claire took a seat on a chair that was made of a large shell with sponge padding.

She crossed one leg onto the other, and put her hands behind her head, relaxing.

'Ah.... I guess being with the antiheroes really is effecting me for the worse... I sounded like Theo just now when I spoke to that fishman... ah whatever. I suppose I shouldn't take up such an arrogant tone with the leader.... geh... but I really am getting sick of all this. At least being rude to everyone made things a whole lot easier on me...'

----

Ploritan was just informed that a vampire-like woman who claimed to be human was in the waiting room, waiting for him to arrive. He quickly dried himself off and threw on the chief's robe, heading out to see what she wanted.

'Just who could be here on the day before the Olympic festival? And she was mistaken for a vampire, but apparently isn't one? What on earth is going on?'

Ploritan headed for the waiting room, where the pufferfish told him that she was waiting. What he saw was something that blew his breath away.

A woman was sitting there, in a luxurious position while elegantly and flawlessly sipping from a cup of tea that had been brought to her.

She was a ruler.

There was no doubt in Ploritan's mind.

Ploritan had served as the chief for a year now, and understood well what it took in order to lead others.

The way this woman carried herself told him that she was a leader of the highest level. He couldn't even compare someone like him who was voted in for only a year to a natural born ruler like her.

Was she some sort of queen?

Was she truly not a vampire? Ploritan had never met any humans who carried themselves with such grace and style... and her beauty surpassed any fishwoman he had ever seen.

Ploritan worked up his courage and entered the room, sitting across from the woman.

"Welcome to our village. I am Ploritan, the acting chief of this village. Is there something you need with me?"

The woman carefully laid down her cup after taking a long sip and putting her index finger to her chin, while looking upwards as if she was thinking about something. The precision and execution of each and every one of her actions stunned Ploritan.

"Yes... I have come to warn you. I am the Determined, the leader of the antiheroes and ambassador of the Dictatorship. You may refer to me as 'your eminence'. Out of our great kindness and ever expanding reach towards those near us, we have decided to show concern for your village here, and warn you of the incoming danger."

The woman shifted her legs and folded her hands together with a compassionate smile.

'The Determined! The savior of the monster realm, and the leader of those beings who will become the new demon lords according to legend! I cannot believe she sits right in front of my eyes! I never dreamed I would live in the same era as such a legendary person... no wonder she has such a dominating presence...'

"What do you mean 'incoming danger'", Ploritan inquired, gulping.

"Ten thousand human soldiers from the Vythguard Empire will be attacking this village. They will be setting out less than one week from today. I have seen the layout of the village, and even if the main sector is defended by the underwater cave system, it is not unreachable by humans. I swam here myself under the current. That being said... it would be difficult for the humans to swim under there with armor on, and it would create an efficient bottleneck on anyone who is attacking the main village, so long as you all are prepared for the attack."

"Thank you for this information. I will begin the preparations for a siege immediately, however surely you haven't come here out of the kindness of your heart? What do you wish in compensation for this valuable information?"

The Determined was said to lead the new demon lords- the ones who would flip the order in the monster realm upside down, and establish a new order based on their whims.

While they acted as a hero to some, they would be the bane of others. The legend which the fishmen had heard was one which could go either way...that the antiheroes would give a choice to the fishmen, and that either terror or prosperity would follow, depending on what the leader of the fishmen chose.

The Determined was not a hero. She was one who would lead those under her to greatness, while slaughtering any enemies who stood in her way, with no discernment for good nor evil. She was a being of chaos, yet it was said that the chaos which she controlled was a logical one. She must be here for some reason, for some sort of benefit.

"Is it really so unbelievable that I would be doing this out of the kindness of my heart?", Claire said with a disturbing smile.

Ploritan was unsure how to answer. He knew one thing for sure.

'If her words are true, I absolutely cannot get on her bad side... it could mean the end of our people...'

"I... is that how it is? Even so.... surely there is something you desire? Ah! Perhaps some entertainment.... we of the fishmen tribe pride ourselves on our yearly Olympics. If you would like to stay the night in this palace, I will have a guest room prepared for you, and you may stay for the festivities tomorrow. What do you think? I will be participating as well, as the winner will take over the position as chief over the course of the next year."

"Ah! That sounds like a lot of fun. Sure. I'll stay."

The Determined became much more relaxed as if a switch had been turned off. What caused the sudden personality switch? Perhaps he said the right thing? Perhaps inviting her and welcoming her into the village was the right answer.

"Then, I will do as I have just said. Is there anything else you need to talk about?"

"Well... if you are no longer going to be the leader as of tomorrow, then I suppose I should stick around and have another discussion with whoever is going to be the new leader. Don't you agree?"

"Ah, of course."

"Do your best to win so that I don't have to waste my time with another discussion."

A bead of sweat made it's way down the neck of Ploritan. The pressure was really on now.

Not only would the Determined potentially become annoyed should he lose, but if she were to have a conversation with Kota as the leader...

No, even if that went fine... if Kota were to take over as the leader of the tribe right before a massive battle...

It spelled disaster.

Ploritan absolutely had to win this fight.

"I will do everything I can, your eminence."