"I am... nobody." Aster smiled while answering. Seeing him being nonchalant and easy-going was the contradictory act that would be engraved in all of their minds. A ruthless killer who acts like he did not kill at all.
They were a bit at ease and disappointed with his 'nobody' ending since it was not as epic or horrifying as they imagined it to be.
Even Grappler was nodding from the fact that the scary guy's words were not that much scary than he thought it would be. 'I need to regain my muscular pride in front of the new recruits. Screw these old-timers, I just need to indoctrinate the newbies with how great I am.'
"You..." Grappler was about to take the lead with the conversation but Alcor already beat him to it.
"Are... you fucking kidding me?!" The weirdly voiced young master complained. "You just obliterated a... servant that is... the same level as... me. You are going to pass that up... and say to my face that... you are some nobody!"
"Woah... woah! I kicked that guy because he was trying to enter into my premises without permission." Aster denied like an innocent guy and said. "I only kicked him lightly so he should just be fine. He was just knocked quite far away, he is fine. Besides, I did it so fast that it was basically done in a second. How could you say I killed the guy without even clarifying the facts, bro?"
'Why is this guy being such a humble braggart? You killed the guy within seconds we know that, you don't have to restate it in the words of someone who is not guilty because you are without a doubt, guilty.' The intellectual gangster said in his head but he was too scared to blurt it out. Normally he would be sarcastic and outgoing but his instincts tell him that something would go horribly wrong if he sounded out words with his mouth.
Everybody else except the unnaturally crazed Alcor now had the feeling of running away from the scary 'nobody' but their fear of him was somewhat overcome by the fear of death that would clearly happen if they run away.
Like so, the poor guys were stuck in a cycle of fear. They knew that they would survive longer if they choose the option where their fear is slightly milder than the other.
"You... you are..." Alcor wanted to retort with the best retort he could give. His perfect plan was being broken in succession and he even acted like a fool in front of people he looked down on. He had a short temper but he knew how to suppress it and act smart. 'Being an angry fucker would not do me good here. This guy just killed my servant like it was nothing and it implies that spouting nonsense about my Dren family background would not do me any good here.'
Alcor's subconscious was screaming to play along and play nice, so that is what he did. "You are... correct. We did not know... about the fact that you own the... house. Sorry for... trying to trespass. But, we are looking... for some WHO..."
He was about to blurt out 'whores' in anger but thankfully stopped himself when he felt a spike in murderous intent that drenched all of them. "I mean who... men... uhm.. women. I apologize for my sore... throat acting up."
Aster smiled like a devil in their eyes and asked, of course he knew the answer but playing them like timid rats was a bit fun for him. "Why are you looking for some women? What are you going to do with them and what has that got to do with my newly bought house?"
"We are going to have some..." Grappler and his limited processing mind were about to say something that would kill them all and his supposed fanboy could not help but give a stomp to his foot.
"Respected Grappler, deal with it for now. You were about to say something that should not be said to that guy." The fanboy gang member whispered to the smallest audible tone he could give. His senior members were nodding at him in commendation while feeling sick from having to be associated with the dumb muscle bloke.
"Uhm! I mean... that we are going to have some muscle training. Yes! Muscle training. I am the muscle coach of the girls." Grappler salvaged his words with whatever came to mind and his muscles were always on top priority. He flexed while explaining with a pained smile. "Look at my muscles. They are all-powerful and buff. The girls found it charming and wanted to have muscles like mine."
'What sort of dogshit excuse is that?' The entire group that was in Aster's opposition wanted to find a hole to hide their heads on. The embarrassing excuse was unbelievable even for uneducated gang members but they could only nod along like Grappler was correct.
"Yep, Mr. Nobody! You never know how many people want to line up and train under Grappler's tutelage. Haha! The woman we are looking for is among the lucky bunch to be trained with us." Even the intellectual dude in the gang could not help but defend the sorriest excuse he ever heard in his lifetime just to fool the killing youth.
'These dumb fuckers are really going to be the death of me. At least, this guy should be a newcomer in town and don't know these guys' cruel infamy. The situation is still salvageable.' Alcor cursed while his face was smiling along and he even said. "Yep! Mr. Grappler is the best in the whole city when it comes to body cultivation."
Grappler felt the support and interpreted their words as words of encouragement. His acting was now over the top that he said. "If you want, I could be your coach as well. I am a respected and rare body cultivator after all. You are powerful in cultivation but my body cultivation techniques would surely increase your firepower. I..."
Before the bloke could continue, Aster who was stationary all this while suddenly punched out to the left with his left arm. The air at where he punched seemed to ripple and a strong rush of wind flapped their gangster attires. An audible jetting sound could be heard after that and it only served to give another stun to the already stunned group.
'What sort of freak did we fucking offend?!' This was what they screamed in their minds as they saw the doubly shocking display. The muscle bloke was somewhat feared due to the power of his body but they were never informed that a lean youth could even be more powerful than him.
"No thanks! Besides I already know what your plans are with the girls. There is no need for the pathetic excuses. It was fun to bully you while it lasted but it just got a bit over the top with the whole body cultivation thing." Disregarding their shock, Aster came clean and rejected the arrogant muscle pig with his own arrogant display of true body cultivation. 'Damn! I feel like some sort of boss at this moment. It is like asking them to give their best while I shut them up with something better than what they have.'
The lot of them were now having the sensation of falling into deep despair. They were supposed to be cursing or blaming the poor Grappler for messing up but they knew that it was pointless.
Why blame someone for messing up something that was already bound to mess up anyway? They were being played from the beginning and could not do anything about it.
"Uhm... mister... nobody... please let us go..." Some weak-willed newbie from the Unkillable Rat faction buckled from the sensation and fell to his knees and begged. Alcor felt disgusted but he was drowned by the incessant pleas of other Unkillable Rats in the group. All of them felt shame from having to go down on their knees. Normally, the opposite would happen and every other person they messed up with would be the one begging them.
They even mocked them like some omnipotent mobster. They already heard a lot of pleading in their life that they felt it was redundant.
A girl would say 'please don't do this to me' but they would do it anyway. A man would be on his knees and paying whatever ransom money they asked for but they would still kill the person they kidnapped along with the man himself.
They would ask an old man to choose which of his grandson they should spare. The old man would be conflicted of course and would say 'pick me, instead' and at other times the grandfather would be able to pick a grandson to save. Whatever the case, they would kill all three anyway.
They just had to add some drama to make their murder have some style. Every single thing put a bad taste in one's mouth but it was the reality of the world and their memories are the ones to prove it.
The Unkillable Rats who were quite indifferent to killings felt their mind being haunted by the faces of the person they had done wrong and killed. It was being played in their heads like a show that just wouldn't stop. They would normally laugh it all off in their sleep and even brag about the dream with their gang mates.
This time it was perceived by them differently from seeing how cruel the death of their murdered ones was, they felt fear from having to have the possibility of experiencing the same thing happen to them.
Aster felt that everybody was a hypocrite including himself but this overreaction just made him realize that hypocrisy comes with regrets. Every other person had done things that they found exhilarating in their lives only to find out later on that the thing they just did had filled them with guilt.
To drown that guilt, people would either make things right or drown that guilt with more guilt that one could take in. The first option is the best way while the second option just makes the person become used to the guilt.
A wise person once said that repentance always comes in the end. The trembling and pleading thugs in front of him was a great example of how they want to repent because they can feel that it is near their end.
"Why are all of you begging me when I haven't even done something to you? I just revealed your dumb plan and dumb excuses. There is really no need to plead like it is the last day of your lives." Aster said without emotion but the murderous feeling in the atmosphere just can't seem to go away for the group.
"You say that... you won't do anything but your intent to kill... is just visible to us." Alcor said with great effort because he was fed up with the lies that Aster was feeding them. Every other person in their group including the Initiate rankers like Grappler and his servants could see the dark red and gloomy will he is radiating. Of course, the image and the murderous vibe were courtesy of his Murderous Will skill but Aster did not have to disclose that.
"Well, what do you guys want, then?" Aster asked in fake ignorance while Alcor said. "What do you want us to do? We had plans with those girls and you seem to be angry about it. Now that we have said that, how do we patch up like civilized adults here?"
"Finally, someone said it. It is quite simple really. You just have to follow me while I'll talk it out with the girls." Aster with his fake smile turned around towards the meadow while he urged the scums to follow him.
The rest of the pleading group followed along because they had no other choice. If they run, they felt they would die. As mentioned previously, the option where they are less likely to die is what they will do.
Like puppets to a string, they followed along with every command of Aster's hand and the poor chaps were like pigs being led to a slaughterhouse.
'Negotiating things about the siblings like it was nothing is a big no-no. There are if-situations in the world but your if-situation just leads you to death.' Aster thought while he diverted the crowd from snooping neighbors. He will kill but at least witnesses would be minimized while he does so.