Seeing the weapons pointed towards me, I couldn't help but scowl. Vacuo is known for being the least civil of the four kingdoms but I figured it would take a bit longer to encounter such unpleasantries.
It can't be helped I guess. My hand inched to my pocket where Nezu rested but before either of us could engage, a voice called out.
"Hold!" The person, a man, called out, causing the men and myself to pause.
Slowly but with murmurs, they parted, making way for a man to walk through. He towered over the rest of them with bulging muscles but he still wore wraps of fabric as clothes. As did the rest of them.
"Who are you and what is your business here?" The man said, his voice no higher than a growl.
"I am but a simple wanderer, merely looking for a place to settle down." I answer, getting a few laughs from the crowd.
"Can you believe it?!" A particularly loud one mocked from amongst the scores of people. "The boy thinks he's tough!"
That only got more laughter from. I only give a frown at their reaction. Despite the circumstance, the only other person who isn't laughing is the buff man.
From the way they deferred to him on his arrival, it's safe to say he's their leader. He only gave a frown.
"How did you evade the creatures of the forest?" He asked, his voice somehow managing to silence the crowd for a moment.
Vacuo is special in the sense that it has creatures not found in many other places. Mole Crabs, Flatback spiders and Crevice worms are just a few to name. That's other than the grimm.
I encountered two mole crabs on the way here, Nezu killed one and I the other with my bone weaponry.
"I didn't." I said, watching his face for any reaction. His eyes only narrowed.
"Kahn!" He called out. I notice the man who laughed loudly earlier walking forward while barely holding in his laugh. "You say you're looking for where to settle down but I can't simply allow you to stay here just like that."
Kahn was a buff man of average height. Hjs stature seemed only second to this leader.
The frown on my face grew more pronounced. "Need I remind you that this is not the only settlement in Vacuo. Allow me passage and I'll be on my way."
I could barely call them a settlement. Their numbers could only classify as a tribe at most.
"If you want passage then he will be your opponent." The man said, turning to Kahn who had a savage grin on his face. "Otherwise, get the hell back where you came from."
I could turn back, I could but I don't want to. I did not travel this far to be impeded by a glorified caveman with an ego.
Kahn seemed to take my frown as a signal, rushing forward to grapple me. I dodged his grip, leaning backwards from him.
He may have experience in brawls but that doesn't mean he has the upper hand. My enhanced body is much stronger, proven as I grabbed his arm, pulling him towards me.
In the instant that I touched his skin, I could kill. I could stop his heart, stop his brain, there were many ways I could win but I have a lot of anger and frustration to work out.
Kahn didn't expect such strength from my lean stature, stumbling forward only for my fist to crash into his jaw.
The blow knocked his face to the side but that was only the beginning. I buried my fist into his stomach, causing him to fold, clutching it and his jaw.
Maybe I've finally gone mad or maybe it's because I'm finally letting go of the reins I've held onto for so long but the next few minutes blurs past me.
Punch after punch and kick after kick, I pummel Kahn into a writhing mess and only when I felt the warmth of his blood on my knuckles did I stop.
He writhed on the floor, barely alive. All he could do was let out painful moans and groans even as I stopped my assault.
Looking back at the score of people, their surprised looks were clear. There was even fear in some. I don't blame them.
Turning to the leader who grimaced open, I see that he was now wary, having taken a step back a moment ago.
At that moment, the solution came to me.
Kicking Kahn away from me, I make my way to the leader, two others creeping forward from beside him, hostility clear. That doesn't matter.
Slipping into their personal space, I grasp their hands, blood pooling and pouring from their eyes a moment later. The gasps were quite loud but that didn't hinder me as I now stood before the man.
"It's clear that you're at the top of the hierarchy here." I said. The grunt he makes goes unacknowledged. "Surrender to me."
Why look around for a place to settle in when I could just take this one? Had they acted differently, I would probably have been content with simply passing by.
I don't necessarily feel bad for them. The king imprisoned me because it was within his power and everyone obeyed. I might be over correcting but I want to have a taste of that.
That and the ideas that I'd had while in the forest. I fear death, yet with my semblance I can live on for centuries without looking a day older. I can control organic life with but a touch.
I'm not some prophesied hero or paragon of Justice, I don't have an overwhelming desire to save the world from Salem, yet I cannot wander forever.
Millennia in the future, Vale was overrun with Grimm, Mantle and Atlas was destroyed, Mistral declared unsafe due to Lionheart's action and Vacuo was Salem's next target.
In essence, I can think of nowhere that was truly safe from her. If that is so, why not create my own safe haven? A place to call my own.
"You must be an arrogant fool." The man sneered at my suggestion. A tiny part of me hoped he would resist. In ancient times, killing the leader was a qualification to take their place.
Let's see how that corresponds here.
My movement was a blur, my hand tearing through the air and grabbing him by the neck. He resisted, barely managing to budge from my grip but that's enough for me.
His struggle stopped as his eyes widened. A moment later, he went limp, slumping in my grip. I stopped his heart. He's dead.
Letting the corpse fall to the floor, I steel myself, turning to the people who once jeered and mocked me. Their eyes held fear as well as begrudging respect, the body language in submission as they took a unanimous bow.
Vacuo is a kingdom where the strong rule the weak. It's sad when I think about it but I push the thought to the back of my mind as I surveyed the crowd of around forty.
There isn't much that needs to be said. I'm in charge, there is no question about it. I take a breath to center myself. This is only the beginning.
I've got a long way to go.