Cosmic Seal

A frail, pale-looking young man was standing and resting his back against a broken wall, with a grass stuck to his mouth as he chewed it like an animal.

His eyes were piercing each and every single corner of the market as he watch people pass by. He was wearing a brown flat cap and a tattered black coat. He was standing barefooted and he looked more like a street rat than a normal person.

"They are finally here," Alator muttered with a smirk and straightened his back.

"Everyone, bring out your tax money, now!"

A voice suddenly rang out in the open space. A group of men appeared in the market with broadswords resting on their shoulders and daggers hanging at their waists.

Some of them weren't wearing clothes and had tattoos all over their bodies, while others were putting on grubby robes and boots. Some had silver rings piercing through their noses and big earrings dangling from their ears. They looked like a gang of thugs and bandits.

They began to beat people up, destroying their goods and forcefully taking people's money from them. Even the ones that willingly gave them, they would still snatch all their money and beat them up.

The market soon descended into chaos; people began to run, fearing for their lives.

Alator was now moving through the crowd and watching the thugs closely as they continued their operation in the market.

"What is this nonsense? Your tax is 1,000 Relics!" A fat man among the gang yelled at a man selling clothes.

"This is all I have, please," the man pleaded.

"Bang!"

The fat man slammed his palm on the table in front, scaring the man.

"Stop messing with me. What is that thing on your waist? Is that not money?!" The thug yelled at the man and pointed at the small leather bag hanging on the man's waist.

He suddenly reached out his hand and snatched the bag of money from the man.

"Give it back!" The man cried out and lunged at him.

"You piece of sh*t!" The fat thug said in annoyance. He raised his broadsword and sliced off the man's head from his body in a single sweep.

"Swizzz!"

"The man's head flew off, and the headless body collapsed on the ground, spilling blood all over the place, and it splashed against the chubby man. But he feigned ignorance as if it wasn't a human he had just killed.

"These bastards," Alator muttered as he hid behind a shaky wooden shop.

"Are these people really working for the officials?" he thought as his eyes scanned around the market. He stood there watching the thugs killing and forcefully taking people's money in the name of paying tax.

Alator slightly shook his head.

"Bullshit! These people are clearly bandits. I don't think the Domain Lord will allow such people to work for him," he said. "Well, we all are the same. But, let's show them who's the king of bandits."

He adjusted the edge of his flat cap and partially covered his face as he began to walk towards one of the thugs.

Just as he approached one with broad shoulders, he purposely bumped into him.

"Bang!"

"Hey, you stupid kid, watch it!" The man yelled at him.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized and walked off with a smirk on his face. He headed towards another two of the thugs beating a man at his store.

Alator got there and walked around as he deliberately brushed against them. The place was too crowded and the thugs were too busy dealing with the man; hence, they didn't notice him at all.

Alator walked out of the crowd with a satisfied smile on his face. He suddenly tossed a bag of money in the air and caught it. He smirked and slid it into his pocket.

"Guess that's enough for today," he muttered and began to walk away from the place.

Just then, he saw the fat thug who killed the man selling cloth earlier walking towards his direction with five bags of money hanging on his waist. His eyes shone with interest. He quickly adjusted his flat cap and tugged at his tattered coat, pulling them together as he walked towards the man.

As he approached the man, he slightly knocked into him and staggered a bit.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and pretended to be scared.

The man glared at him and turned to leave. Looking at him, the thug assumed he was just a poor street dog; hence, he has no business with such a person.

Alator smiled, juggling the five bags of money in his hand as he walked. Then he slid the money into his pocket. Just then, he felt a strong grip on his left shoulder. He froze at the spot and narrowed his eyes to the side.

"Give me your tax money." An eerie voice entered his ears. His brows tightened as he slowly turned. He saw the fat thug standing right in front of him with his palm spreading widely in front of him.

The man had changed his mind after seeing a bulge in his pocket earlier. So he thought the young man must be hiding and pretending to look like a beggar.

"These assholes won't even spare me. I'm sure they will likely collect tax from dogs and snakes if they see one," he thought in his mind.

Looking at the man, he smiled and tossed a bag of money towards him. The fat thug caught it and smirked. Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly froze. He glanced at the bag of money in his hand and looked down to his waist. All his money were gone.

"You little bastard," he said as he quickly turned. He saw the young man already making his way out of the market and walking into an alley.

"You, stop there!" the fat thug yelled after him.

Alator looked over his shoulder and saw the man charging towards him with his sword.

"Sh*t," he cursed under his breath and dashed into the alleyway to his right, making a run for his life.

"Stop that brat! He had stolen all the money!!" The fat thug shouted to his colleagues. They checked themselves and discovered that all the money they had gathered were all missing. All of them quickly sprang into action and chased after Alator.