"The killing must wait…." Kaze muttered under his breath.
"You again. How much money would it take for you to film something and post it on social media?" He asked the geeky blonde-haired man next to him.
"I… I don't want any trouble. Or to be involved in a m-murder—"
"Murder? Cease such simple-minded rabble, you buffoon! You don't [film] yourself killing someone. You let it spread word of mouth so people's imaginations magnify their fear." The emperor scoffed.
"I want you to film me pummeling a few pretentious jocks from the shadows. Surely, your grizzled self wants to watch such a thing live, yes?"
The young man's eyes widened in disbelief. "I…."
"Gain some minor confidence, you craven milksop. You could have a harem if you had a divine technique and a few centuries." Kaze asserted mockingly.
"I can give you that, Earth permitting, but it starts with a video.
Jocks, merciless beating, social media. Name your price."
"H-Harem?" The man stuttered in disbelief.
"Yes, a harem. Are you deaf?" The emperor scoff-laughed in disbelief, "Now, give me a number, before I rescind my offer, and you die a hopeless virgin on the cusp of despair."
"I-I… five dollars?" The teen stuttered.
"Yes. Finally talking some sense." Kaze muttered while checking his pockets. He found his old wallet and looked inside, only to find it empty. There wasn't even a credit card.
Memories of his past life flashed before his eyes, and he closed them with a twitching eyebrow.
"I… yes. Will you do it as a favor, by chance?" The emperor requested in humiliation.
"L-Look, man, I'll do it for free." The young man stammered, "I'm Jacob Hays, but people just call me Jake."
"Heh. Smart man. I'm glad you recognize power when you see it." Kaze replied with half a dick drawn on his face.
"R-Right." Jake replied awkwardly, averting his gaze.
The emperor's eyes widened in confusion before turning back to his image in the mirror. Murderous wrath overtook him, and he quickly set to work scrubbing his face.
"Well, it's as good as it'll get." Kaze scoffed while staring at his sloppy, acne-riddled appearance, "I can't believe I have to do this before having the basic necessity of a haircut."
Jake waited patiently with an awkward expression.
"Jake. What time is it right now?" Kaze asked calmly.
Learning from his past mistake, the man replied instantly. "3:32 pm."
The emperor's expression froze, and then he looked at the man with a panicked expression. "We need to move. We'll barely catch her before they arrive!"
Jake froze in shock. Unwilling to let the man's hesitance drag him down, Kaze took his hand and led him out of the bathroom.
Everyone in the hall watched in bafflement at the geeky boy leading the other from the bathroom by the hand. He hated to see women snickering, but there wasn't time.
When they reached the necessary hall, he pushed the young man into an indent leading to a door. "Don't start filming until you see the jocks beginning to act. Not the lead-up. Do you understand?"
Jake nodded in a haze and pulled out his smartphone.
"Good man." Kaze said while lightly slapping him on the cheek twice with a genuine smile. Then he walked down the hallway.
His target was Evalyn Meadow Skye, a beautiful athlete with a blonde bob-cut layered with hazel highlights. She wore a loose white t-shirt and black form-fitting leggings, highlighting her athletic body.
Her final class for the day had just ended, and she was on her way to meet up with three fellow athletes as part of her daily routine.
Countless students got distracted by Evalyn's stunning smile, which she flashed whenever called to. However, when Kaze called out, her smile turned into an expression of astonishment.
"Hello, Evalyn. You're looking stunning, as always." Kaze remarked with a charming voice from her back.
Evalyn turned around in confusion, uncertain who had called her name. To her bewilderment, it was the person she initially thought, but her mind couldn't process the connection between the voice and his words.
Kaze Lexicon, the geeky boy from o-chem, was the one who called to her in a hypnotically charming voice.
However, his appearance didn't match his voice or personality. He was dead silent—always. Evalyn only recognized his voice because she tried to speak to everyone at least once.
"Y-Yes? Can I help you?" She asked hesitantly.
"Not exactly. On the contrary, I'm here to help you." Kaze replied with a slight smile.
Everyone in the hallway turned to the young man with shocked expressions. They were just as confused as she was!
"I… don't understand," Evalyn replied with confusion flickering in her crystal blue eyes.
"Oh, yes. I'm certain you don't, as what I'm offering has yet to come." Kaze chuckled wryly while gliding his eyes to the left. He realized how awkward his warnings would be.
"Okay…?" She replied awkwardly.
Kaze snapped back to focus. "Evalyn, there's a good chance the atmosphere on earth will shift drastically tomorrow, the sky will open up, and men will fly down to meet you."
After a moment of stunned silence, the women in the hall burst into laughter, leaving Kaze annoyed and Evalyn bright red and uncomfortable.
"Evalyn, focus." Kaze demanded while snapping his fingers.
"These ants are insignificant. Their meaninglessness won't change tomorrow, but you'll notice it for the first time. So listen to what's important."
His arrogant confidence left her bewildered and shocked the people in the hall. Their indignation hadn't caught up to their confusion, so they hadn't acted on it.
"What do you want?" Evalyn asked meekly.
"As I said, men will fly down to greet you tomorrow. They'll tell you that you have a divine-grade body—"
The women burst into mocking laughter, leaving Evalyn flushed.
"—and give you a technique called Frosted Blades. When you get it, come find me. " Kaze requested while growling at the others, "I'll be at Jackson Street Park under a large maple tree."
"I'm painfully aware of how absurdly hideous at the moment, so I understand how ridiculous this will sound. But trust me, Evalyn. I can bring out your body's true potent—"
"Yo! What are you doing near my woman?" A voice gruffed.
Evalyn cringed and closed her eyes when she heard the voice coming from behind the emperor.
Kaze turned to face the man and walked a few steps to the left, moving away from Evalyn to prevent cross-fire. While people thought he was preparing to run, he stopped and gazed at the man with a mocking smile.
"Evalyn's no one's [woman], least of all yours, Gregory." He said with a murderous smile, "Don't insult her with your vulgar delusions."
The students in the hallway were stunned-silent by Kaze. It was one thing to spew delusional UFO conspiracies with confidence, but it was another to insult three muscular men with the same arrogance!
Jake began filming on his smartphone with a beating heart. While he was afraid to watch Kaze get hurt, he was given orders and felt strangely driven to follow them.
"Heh. Is that so?" Gregory, a chad with a blond-tipped haircut, replied while turning his head and approaching Kaze.