A delicate hand stopped Prince from further attacking, but only barely.
Prince turned to the person who had stopped his attack, and found that it was the beautiful white-haired woman. She looked as stoic as could one could be. Prince scanned her.
Name: Irina Volkovich
(Iron Throne Faction of #2Y-B379)
Race: Human
Origin: Earth (#2Y-B379)
Level: 23 (F-Grade)
She wore a tight-fitting black suit that seemed to allow ease of movement. Then, on top of it, she wore a loose blue-and-white robe that seemed quite comfortable.
"Well!" Prince grinned. "Aren't you strong?"
Irina's eyes widened when Prince began to lift her. Heaving, Prince threw her to the side with his full strength, sending her flying.
She was surprisingly light.
She broke through a window. Zane took chase, leaping upward with herculean strength. He landed right in the window, disappearing further.
Prince assumed they had started fighting, because shockwaves emanated from their battle up there.
Prince then turned to Marcus, who now had a gun pointed at Prince. Only, this gun wasn't a regular gun. It felt as if it was built for Essence.
While this was happening, Zora just stared at the little guy.
"Aw!" She laughed. "You're so short!"
"You know," He said. "I didn't really want to do this. You seem like a nice person."
A deer rammed into Zora. It was gigantic, with stony brown fur and powerful muscles. Each step it took left imprints in the asphalt.
The deer hit Zora full-on, sending her flying past Prince and slamming into the opposite building.
"Well, shit." Prince turned to the little guy. He scanned him.
Name: Bastian Jackson
Race: Human
Origin: Earth (#2Y-B379)
Level: 26 (F-Grade)
This guy's strong. And he isn't a part of Marcus' faction. If that's the case, why work for him?
Bastian was flicking a penny into the air, over and over again. He wore a button-shirt and some khaki shorts.
The dear snorted, clouds of steam escaping its nostrils.
Earthen Elk - Level 20
The Earthen Elk is a species of deer that are inclined toward the earth attribute, displaying intense durability and mastery over that Essence. Commonly, earthen elks are highly territorial, and have deep familial bonds.
It's an actual monster, not a byproduct of Essence. Is he some kind of Beast Tamer?
"Woah, woah," Bastian said, placing a hand on the elk's hind leg. "No need to get so rowdy, girl."
Zora grunted, throwing a piece of debris off of her. "Now look what you did!" She said. Her hoodie's zipper had been broken, leaving it permanently un-zipped. Her hair was now also messy.
"Sorry." Bastian said. He did actually look a little sorry.
"PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" Marcus shrieked. He summoned a katana from somewhere and swung wildly toward Prince.
The blow would've beheaded a human, but Prince ducked under the slash and delivered a Thunderous Palm, no affinity.
Marcus shot back into the door to his main building, blowing it off of its hinges and skidding to a stop on the floor. Marcus wheezed, coughing up blood, as he lay on the door.
"Hmm." Prince hummed as he stepped into the house. It was a nice place, rich-people things, really. "Nice. You know, I find it funny how your lackeys are stronger than you."
The thing was, Marcus was only level 15. Prince could've killed him easily with that Thunderous Palm, but he had held back for a reason.
Marcus fired off a few shots in quick succession, with perfect aim. Each bullet seemed to be made out of Essence. Marcus must've had a skill for that.
Unfortunately, Marcus wasn't yet at the point where he could change his trajectory at the last moment, so Prince just dodged them as he walked toward Marcus.
"Mark," Prince said. He flashed forward, grabbing Marcus by the collar and throwing him into the ceiling. The ceiling broke like cardboard and Marcus landed on the second floor.
Prince leaped upward, landing on the second floor. From the windows here, Prince could see outside. A crowd was watching the fighting, and a few looked up at Marcus' house, hopeful.
Marcus lay against a wall, rubble around him. His katana was a few feet away from his hand, but he still held the gun.
Marcus raised it shakily. "Motherfucker-"
"Mark," Prince said again. He clenched Marcus' wrist. Tightly, so much so that he crushed it. "Where is your Nexus Crystal?"
"S-Shit." Marcus laughed. "I'm screwed."
Prince slapped Marcus so hard that some of his teeth flew outward in a bloody display.
"Answer me," Prince said, his aura bubbling outward. "Where is your Nexus Crystal?"
Marcus raised up a shaky middle finger. "F-Fuck you. I'm not telling."
"I see." Prince said, backing away.
Then his hand shot forward, piercing Marcus' chest. Prince wrapped his fingers around the man's heart.
Never in a million years did Prince imagine he would do something so grotesque and decisive.
Did human life mean nothing? He couldn't just... Kill people, could he?
But Prince found his mind cold and uncaring.
Prince ripped out Marcus' heart. Felt it pulse weakly in his hands.
See, to explain this in a biologist's terms, decapitated people have a consciousness span of around 5 seconds, and when the damage is to the heart only the person would last much longer, except they would die a lot quicker.
They would feel really weak instantly, the pain would be numbed, and they would even have time to show you a sad face, silently asking "What was that for?"
This is exactly what happened to Marcus. Prince showed the man his heart. Marcus' eyes widened.
Blood overflowed, choking out his words.
"F-F..." Marcus sputtered.
Prince shoved Marcus' heart into his mouth.
The man's eyes went blank.
Prince finally felt his rational mind come back, his battle-mode disappearing.
W-What... What did I just do?
Prince scrambled backward. This was a human being. A living, breathing intelligent creature. And he'd killed it without a second thought.
No. This man deserved it. I need to get to terms with my new reality. In this reality, people kill each other without batting an eye. I need to get with the program. He's no different than a goblin.
Prince nodded to himself. He would only kill that ruthlessly when one was genuinely out to kill him.
Prince turned around, punching the window to smithereens.
He stared down at the crowd. "The battle is over. Marcus is dead. Now then, we simply need to find the Nexus Crystal, and you all will be free."
The people stared up at him.
They noticed the blood on his hands.
And they specifically noticed his despondent eyes.
As if he didn't really care about any of them.