"Die, filthy xeno!"
The girl was shoved into a puddle of mud, which splashed onto the rags she wore as clothes.
"Vermin like you aren't welcome," Gustavo added, as he kicked the girl's ribs.
She felt the air leave her lungs, and pain coursed through her body, but she wouldn't complain.
"Hahaha, she's got it coming," Joan laughed, spitting on her. "Right, boss?"
Joan turned around, however, he was confused when he saw Lloyd's reaction.
The young man was trembling with rage, his fists clenched tight, and his red eyes were fixed on Gustavo.
What had happened?
"What the hell are you doing?" the blond roared.
Lloyd had first felt confusion, he'd woken up in an unknown place.
The first thing that came to his mind was sleepwalking, he'd left his house while asleep and ended up in a part of the city he didn't know.
The only problem was that he'd never suffered from sleepwalking before. Though there's always a first time for everything, right?
Lloyd couldn't keep reflecting much, since he heard someone being harassed.
Seeing some brats bothering a poor girl, Lloyd got furious; but he couldn't just beat up those kids.
He'd have to use words.
"Well... beating up this xeno."
Gustavo responded as if Lloyd had asked something obvious, which pissed the young man off more.
"Really? What the hell is wrong with you!? Why would you do that?" Lloyd felt the veins in his forehead swelling, they were really getting on his nerves.
And what did he mean by xeno in the first place?
"Uh... because you asked us to," Joan said, also as if he were pointing out something obvious.
"What? I didn't..." A sharp pain interrupted the boy.
He felt as if a drill was piercing through his head. He couldn't help but grab his temples.
The pain began to fade, while Lloyd started recovering memories that didn't seem to be his.
"You okay boss? You look terrible," Joan commented with concern.
But the blond didn't answer him, he was still processing what he'd remembered.
He was Lloyd Morfeus, son of Baltazar and Barbara Morfeus. His mother was a powerful merchant, and his father was the head of a mafia that controlled the entire province of Valupurgis.
"Yeah, just a bit of a headache," Lloyd replied as he pulled himself together.
What was all this? Did it even make sense?
The boy let those thoughts drift away and focused on the girl again. She was staring at him fixedly, with her expressionless golden eyes.
Wasn't it strange that her eyes were that color?
Lloyd wondered this, however, when he noticed something much stranger: coiled around her abdomen, right where Gustavo had hit her before, were feathers that seemed to wrap around the area.
The boy blinked, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing; too realistic to be a costume, those were definitely wings.
Xeno.
That word echoed in his mind; that's what semi-humans were called. It was a derogatory way to refer to them.
Was she really a xeno? If so, he was definitely Lloyd Morfeus, and therefore... This wasn't his world.
Palingenesis, metempsychosis, or the most well-known term: Transmigration.
Lloyd had devoured hundreds of books and novels that dealt with this subject. He'd always wished to reincarnate, but he'd never seen it as a possibility.
Because of this, a part of him wanted to deny what was happening and search for another possible explanation for what was occurring.
"If the boss isn't feeling well, maybe we should head back," Gustavo said.
Lloyd returned to reality. That chubby redhead was the butcher's son; he'd known him since childhood. He always brought big lunches to share in the afternoon, though he always ended up eating them all.
"But what about the xeno? We're just gonna leave her?" Joan replied.
That scrawny boy was the complete opposite of Gustavo; together, they were nicknamed the dot and the I. He was the barber's son, and he deeply hated xenos.
"I suppose so."
They were his friends, there was no doubt about that. They were the town's troublemakers, they'd tormented many.
He had mixed feelings about it; on one hand, he didn't like those jerks, but on the other, he had many memories with them.
They were lifelong friends, or at least of this body.
No, even if that was the case he couldn't tolerate it, but acting strange could raise suspicions about his transmigration.
Lloyd didn't know how well his father would take learning that his son's body was being possessed... And knowing who he was, it was better not to cross him.
"Let's go," Lloyd said with a serious attitude, as he turned around. "I've decided, chasing those filthy xenos is pointless. In a way, the fact that I gave them attention is a gift they don't deserve."
The blond decided to improvise, he'd use pride as an excuse to cease activities against xeno children.
"You're really going to do that? But they're vermin! We're helping society, you said so yourself," Joan retorted.
The boy always heard the discussions his father had with the barbershop clients.
Many often commented that the streets didn't feel safe with so many xenos around. Words that carry much more weight if you remember that this city is dominated by a criminal organization.
Joan believed those words, that's why he'd joined Lloyd's cause. Having fought for it for so many years, there was no point in giving up now.
"Joan, you're contradicting me," Lloyd turned slightly, glaring at the boy. "Don't you know your place? You should be careful, I remind you that in terms of authority, you're closer to the xenos than you are to me."
The blond's words were harsher than Lloyd himself could imagine.
There was another reason why Joan hated xenos, his mother had been murdered by them when he was young.
The reason his father had moved to that city was that the mafia had promised protection.
That's precisely why, when xenos started occupying the city's slums, rumors began to spread.
"Is that so? Am I just a slave to you? Ha... I thought we were friends," Joan's voice trembled, in a mix of sadness and rage, the boy himself didn't know which one to feel.
"Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that," Gustavo commented, trying to calm the situation.
Lloyd sighed.
"Look, what we're doing really doesn't make sense," Lloyd pointed at the girl. "It's clear this idiot has no friends; we're probably the only ones who pay attention to her. That's why she doesn't even cry when we bother her."
The boy had to make something up; otherwise, his argument might fall apart. He'd underestimated how seriously they were taking the task of "exterminating vermin."
"The same goes for the others, the simple fact of paying attention to them is a mistake. We should ignore them, if we do, they'll get bored with us and leave, you'll see."
Lloyd didn't even believe those words himself, but they were the first thing that had come to mind.
"What the boss says makes sense, don't you think Joan?"
The blond was surprised at how quickly he'd convinced Gustavo, though surely Joan wouldn't be so easy to convince.
Right?
"Mmmm, it's true that even after tormenting them for years, the brats we've tormented have kept showing up. It's like they've just gotten used to it," the barber's son reflected.
Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief, he'd succeeded.
"Good, you heard him," Lloyd said, turning toward the girl. "We won't get in your way anymore."
The boy assumed the brat wouldn't care, or maybe she'd even feel relieved. She'd probably think Lloyd was an idiot for reaching such a twisted conclusion.
Who would want his attention?
Though Lloyd couldn't care less, his objective had been accomplished, now he had more things to think about.
"Watch out!" Joan exclaimed.
"Huh?"
A sharp pain struck Lloyd's forehead. The boy, confused, felt the spot where he'd been hit.
Fresh blood slid down his forehead from the wound. His mouth opened in confusion, and his eyes finally settled on the girl.
She still had her hand extended, as if she'd thrown something. Lloyd's gaze descended to find the projectile in question.
A stone... That girl had thrown a stone at him.