Humans.
Arguably the most prominent beings on Salome. They're believed to be intelligent, resourceful, and powerful, as they're the most technologically advanced species. There was some truth to that statement at least from the viewpoint of humans.
But, what about the other races?
How did the races that had all been affected by the influences of humans view them? The answers vary. But, they were all often very similar.
Humans were disgusting, worthless pieces of trash that wasted air as much as they did lives. Because of the mere fact that they outnumbered all races, they believed that the world belonged to them alone. The world's dark history proved that fact.
In Salome, there were seven continents, each controlled by a kingdom. Out of those seven, only two of them were run by races other than humans. Their relationship with the other five wasn't the most ideal.
The primary cause behind that was racism. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to claim that humans were the ones responsible for it.
It was human nature to control—to dominate. It made them feel powerful to make up for their weaknesses. Humans weren't naturally as strong as the other races at birth. So, of course, they trained to build up their strength. If some couldn't get stronger using training, they turned to science. They'd modify their bodies, engineer them, create weapons and technology.
No real shame in that.
But, then came the question as to what they should do with that strength. The answer was as clear as day. They'd showcase their power and strength under the pretense of protecting humanity.
From the first floor of a run-down tavern in Spero Town, the truth of humanity displayed for all to see. Big, fat, sweaty men loudly chatted among themselves, holding tightly onto chains with their free hands. On the other end of those chains, however, were people of various races.
Most of them belonged to the Beastia Race—humanoid beings with physical animal characteristics such as ears or tails.
Out of all races, humans despised the Beastia's the most. No, that wasn't right. Feared would be the correct word.
Slavery was a suitable way to showcase the might of the most dominant race. Beastia's were the most common targets of slavery. One would fetch an exceptional price for the specimen.
Most of the slaves on the first floor were young, probably around ten to twelve years old. They were battered, bruised, and starved. Far too weak to even lift their heads to beg their masters for food.
However, some of them looked up to the second floor, where their hope of escape resided. Leaning against the railing on the second level was a young man, no older than nineteen. He stared down at the slaves with a smile of sheer arrogance. Despite his expression, his appearance brought sparkles of hope to the eyes of the slaves.
The ears on the sides of his head relaxed, his long, sleek, furry tail wagged back and forth. Best of all, not a single collar or chain was around his neck--further signifying his freedom.
He was free to save them from their pain and suffering. Or at least that's what they hoped.
Their supposed savior, however, had no intention of saving them. His smile of arrogance was directed toward everyone on the first floor, regardless of their status. Nobleman, soldier, officer, slave, none of those mattered to him.
In the end, they were all beneath him.
Why would he bother wasting his time with the weaklings downstairs? No matter how long the slaves desperately stared at him with pleading eyes for salvation, he ignored them.
They weren't worth it—especially his fellow Beastia.
He prided himself on his strength and the might of his race. Those that couldn't live up to the expectations of the race didn't deserve his sympathy or attention. If they were so weak to get captured by humans in the first place, then they deserved to become slaves.
The young man's attention was drawn to the entrance of the tavern once the doors swung open. The music came to an abrupt stop as nearly everyone turned to watch a group of men enter the establishment.
There were five of them.
The one in front was a large, rugged man that had the best-looking equipment out of the group. The group of men made a massive scene as they moved around the tavern. They openly mocked and jeered the others on the first floor, stole their food and beverages, and groped the waitresses in their tiny miniskirts.
Some of the bar's patrons stood and left, knowing better than to stick around when those group of men entered.
"Anyone find anything good here?" The leader of the group, Eugene, scanned the first floor searching through the stack of wanted posters in his hands. None of the people matched the images on the posters.
"Nothing yet, boss." His lackeys replied.
"Hmph," Eugene shook his head and continued to search. He noted that there were a lot more people on the first floor than usual. He spotted several instances where ten people crowded around a single table. The man arched his eyebrows and looked up at the second level. His eyes soon rested on the Beastia upstairs.
The entire establishment kept silent as the two traded glances. Eugene narrowed his eyes and scowled at the Beastia, knowing that the mongrel was challenging him. The man raised the stack of wanted posters in his hand and searched through them. He stopped and smiled once he found one that matched the appearance of the Beastia.
It read, "Wanted Dead or Alive" Dire. Underneath the picture was the price rewarded for his capture—fifty thousand Axia.
With a confident stride, Eugene and his lackeys headed up to the second floor, eventually surrounding their target of interest. The man sneered as he held the wanted poster close to the Beastia's face for verification.
It was a perfect match.
"So, you're Dire?" The large man addressed the Beastia with a proud voice. "The one that caused all that trouble on Albus? Destruction of noblemen houses, churches, orphanages, the slaughter of dozens." He listed off a few of the man's crimes.
Dire's ears perked up, and his tail wagged after being pointed out. He understood that the men were Bounty Hunters. His wanted poster was of him—back when he was ten years old.
Eugene set the wanted poster on the railing. From there, he plunged his knife into it. The blade punctured the picture through the eye.
"You've got some nerve coming into my town with such a hefty price on your head. Fifty thousand Axia for your little head? We could live like kings." Eugene leaned in and increased the volume of his already incessant voice, "Shouldn't you be wearing your subjugation collar? Those belonging to the Beastia race should always wear those when out in public with their masters."
Subjugation collars.
A dominating piece of technology created by humanity to control their slaves. It was rather simple. A collar embedded with Ignis Vitalis was attached to the slave with a chain held in the hands of the owner. Should the slave try to escape and remove the chain from the collar; a sixty-second time frame would be given before the collar exploded.
A gruesome display of fireworks.
As for master, Eugene referred to another large man nearby that sat alone at a table, enjoying his cuisine without a care in the world.
Tall and imposing he was. Eugene and his lackeys couldn't help but feel intimidated by the man. His rough and rugged face, and evident muscular physique they, certainly couldn't compare to him.
However, the leader of the group felt nothing of the man. As far as he was concerned, the two of them were equals. He approached the table and pulled up a chair, sitting down next to the man.
"You the master of that mutt?" He asked.
The large man looked up from his food, shooting the bounty hunter a displeased glance. Even from that single glance, all the bounty hunters on the second floor felt their blood run cold. A freezing touch of death pierced their bodies as if warning of them of the potential danger that awaited them.
The people on the first floor felt anxious, a sense of foreboding left them frozen in anticipation to see what would become of the Bounty Hunters should they continue to mess with the two on the second floor.
"Don't take this personally, but we're gonna take that mutt and turn him over to the police. He's a wanted criminal, and it'll be in your best interest to hand him over to us. If you cooperate, I'll give you a percentage of the reward money." Eugene snaked his arm around the man's shoulder, trying his best not to lose his composure in front of his men. "You can buy a lot better food and alcohol than these table scraps that you're having."
When the Bounty Hunter reached his hand out to grab the alcohol, the large man gripped Eugene's arm.
"Don't. Touch. My. Alcohol." The large man demanded.
His grip on Eugene strengthened, causing those within earshot to cringe and grimace as the Bounty Hunter's yell combined with the creaking and grating of his armguard resonated in the tavern. Eugene stumbled out of his chair the moment his arm was released. His lackeys crowded around him, ensuring that he was okay.
"Are you alright, Boss Eugene?!"
"Damn. I didn't hear his arm break, Gigas." Dire complained as he looked over at the large man at the table. "Soft as always."
Gigas rolled his eyes and returned to his meal as if nothing happened. As far as he was concerned, nothing did.
But, to Eugene and his men, Gigas had committed one of the most heinous crimes. They were some of the top Bounty Hunters in the town. No one dared to disrespect them or their authority until today.
"Son of a bitch! I'll have both your heads!" Eugene, in a fit of rage, pulled out a giant sword from the sheath on his back. He brandished it around dangerously with a flushed face.
"You can't do that, boss! If you kill the target, you'll lose seventy percent of the bounty!" One of his lackeys warned him.
"And we can't kill the other one. I don't see a bounty in our stack of posters." Another one warned.
"There's no need to cry, idiot. We're right here in front of you." Dire placed his hands over his ears. The man's hollering irritated him.
"Use your inside voice," Gigas ordered. He reached for his drink, but then quickly retracted his hand once Eugene sliced the wooden table in half with his sword.
Laughter erupted from the group while Gigas stared at the food and beverage that spilled on the floor. The people on the first floor held their breaths, knowing that the bounty hunters made a mistake of a lifetime, as did most of them beforehand. Angering Gigas, that was a mistake they would take to their graves.
A mistake that even if they spent an eternity in the afterlife—it would never manage to compensate for angering that man.
"Oh, you shouldn't have done that," Dire said to the soon to be dead men.
Gigas stood up from his seat, glaring daggers at the man that ruined his meal. When he stood, his shadow loomed over Eugene and his men. An immense pressure exerted from him, nearly suffocating and overwhelming everyone nearby. Even some parts of the tavern took physical damage from the force. Tables broke, walls cracked, railings on the second floor collapsed to the level below.
Eugene and his men wanted to run. Their fear registered throughout their entire bodies. But, they couldn't budge a single inch from their positions. They believed that any movement, no matter how slight, would incite Gigas to kill them on the spot.
"Let's take this outside." Gigas stopped in front of Eugene. With a fierce straight punch, he sent the Bounty Hunter flying out from the tavern.
His lackeys exclaimed in shock at the sight of the human-shaped hole left in the wall. They rushed over to the hole then looked through it, capturing a glimpse of their leader lying flat on his back in the middle of the alleyway.
"Out of the way," demanded Gigas, his words alone were more than enough to frighten them away. He exited through the hole in the wall and dropped down to the alleyway down below to confront Eugene.
Dire followed close behind, not wanting to miss out on all the fun.
Eugene leaned up from off the ground, glaring at Gigas with eyes filled with pure hatred. It was like the punch dispelled all the fear he felt from before. Blood trickled down his nose and stained his clothes.
"He's mad, Gigas." Dire pointed out.
"Don't care. He ruined my meal." Gigas bluntly responded.
Eugene stood to his feet and tightened his grip on the handle of his sword. He recklessly raised it and charged at the two. At first, it appeared as if his target was Gigas. But, that was a ruse.
His actual target was Dire.
He lunged at the Wolf Beastia with his sword at the ready. Gigas stepped out in front of Dire and batted the sword away thanks to the protective vambraces on his arms. Eugene recoiled back, but quickly regained his balance and continued to swing away.
The Bounty Hunter's display of swordsmanship was pathetic. His skills were that of a complete novice. He had no tact to his swings. If they could even be called that, it looked more like flailing.
All of his attacks contacted Gigas' vambraces. Thankfully, the seemingly never-ending stalemate stopped once Eugene pulled his arm back to deliver some single strike.
Again, and again that man proved to be a novice. His actions left him wide open for a moment. A moment in which Gigas took advantage. He closed the distance between them and punched the man in the face, sending him reeling farther back down the alleyway.
"This is getting embarrassing to watch," Dire announced while scratching the back of his head.
Eugene seemed so arrogant in his skills, but, he couldn't even manage to land a single hit on Gigas. His arrogance was no longer amusing to Dire. It was insulting.
"You're telling me." Gigas agreed.
Dire and Gigas looked down the alleyway once more to see the Bounty Hunter on his feet. His legs quivered, more blood stained his clothes and the ground beneath him. After only taking two shots to the face, he had trouble standing.
The difference in strength between them was as clear as day. However, Eugene didn't learn from his mistake. With a desperate roar of intimidation, he charged. Gigas took a step forward and threw another punch aiming for his face. But, his fist didn't make contact.
Eugene surprisingly showed a bit of athleticism by ducking under the punch then diving for his sword on the ground nearby. Once he grabbed the sword, he turned around and swung. But, he only sliced through the air.
The corner of Dire's lips nearly reached his ears as he watched with glee while Eugene frantically searched the area for any sign of Gigas. It was impossible for a man of his size to disappear out of thin air.
"Where did he go, you filthy Beastia!" Eugene set his sights on Dire, brandishing his sword again.
"Weren't you paying attention? Don't you know that you're not supposed to let the enemy leave your sight during a battle?" Dire taunted him, treating the entire situation as if it were a game.
Why wouldn't he? There wasn't a single threat to him in the entire town.
"So, he got scared and ran away, huh? Fine by me! I'll finish what I started with you!" Eugene raised his sword and rushed Dire again.
Ordinarily, Dire would've kicked the man's head clean off his shoulders. The thought crossed his mind. But it wasn't his fight. He leaned against the nearest wall and waited for Gigas to finish Eugene off once and for all.
That time soon came. A portal opened above Eugene. Out from the portal came Gigas' hand. He grabbed onto the back of the man's head. His entire body soon came out afterward, landing directly on the man's back. Eugene slammed into the ground, losing consciousness almost immediately.
That was a knockout.
Flawless victory.
No contest.
Perfect.
"Now it's over." Gigas removed his hand from the man's head then stood up.