The Worst Kingslayer

[Crona]

Crona still needed to get used to the feeling of being transported to another verse after using one of the strange gates that dotted the Nexus, but he didn't have the time to complain, he needed to find this 'Gilgamesh' so he could pay his debt back to the Empire. From then, maybe he could find a nice, quiet room where he could huddle up in a corner and forget about the world...

The boy shakes his head to stop himself from drifting into a daydream, he wasn't safe yet, not with the Empire was on his back, and with that thought in mind, he steps forward and takes a look of his surroundings. The gate had taken him to some sort of grassy plains that stretched to the horizon and dotted by strange-looking trees, though it was only now the climate of the place hits him. Crona almost reels from the sudden onset of humid heat as he clears some distance from the gate, immediately craving water or shelter, and looks around desperately to find some source of relief.

"Ugh, Crona." Ragnarok whines, lazily oozing from the boy's back to voice his complaints. "You. Stupid. Idiot. Couldn't you pick a target that didn't live in the middle of nowhere? Aargh, this must be what it feels like to be on the Runaway Train."

"But...but... how was I supposed to know? Its not like the dossier says a... uhm... like a warning or something." The child was more paying attention to where he could escape the climate then to his demon companion, but then he sees something in the distance! A set of buildings, so be sure, and with a huff of effort he immediately starts forward, and Ragnarok slinks into Crona's back to escape the weather.

The closer he got, the more trees populated the area, and soon the details of the rugged town came into the boy's view. Most of this stuff seemed mostly run down to him, and he was surprised to even see people living among the rubble, it was definitely quite a difference from Death City, and not even comparable to the technological marvel of Coruscant.

Regardless, the boy pressed on and entered the town, shuffling along the dusty road that led closer to the center of the town. He needed to talk with someone, get information, follow a lead... or at least, that was the idea, but as he nervously continued down the road, he could feel a hundred different eyes watching him, the locals looked like... cowboys, for lack of a better description, and Crona's weak stature and timid appearance made him easily stand out. Naturally in a town like this, someone so pathetic-looking would also make him a target.

"'Ey, girly." A husky sounding voice speaks, Crona stops and turns to see a rough and built looking man leaning against the side of a building, pushing himself off and making his way confidently over to the shaken boy. "Lookin' for ya mutha'? Tell ya' what, you give us what goods ya' got, and me n' my buddy 'ere make sure ya' get 'ome nice and safe, aight?"

By now, the boy was absolutely petrified, and it didn't help his condition as a similar looking man comes up behind him and cracks his knuckles to add to the intimidation. "I...I... Oh, no, they're trying to scare me. I think it worked. I can't deal with being scared, its too scary. What do I do?" The boy stutters out, visibly shaking, before Ragnarok's voice pops into his mind. "Eat them."

The two highwaymen exchange confused faces, something had changed in the boy, he stopped looking, he was still shaking, but it wasn't from fear anymore, it was something else, something darker. "Eat them?" Crona repeats, licking his lips. It had been so long since he had a human soul, when would he get another chance? Now was the perfect time, surely one wouldn't be too bad. "Oh, I didn't know that was an option."

"Ey, I'm talkin to ya, you little--" The first man begun to speak, but was interrupted by a blade being lodged in his stomach. Crona stares up at the man, wide-eyed, and with a gruesome smile, which horrified him to the core before he breathed his last breath. The boy would have enjoyed eating the man's soul if not for being summarily attacked by the other bandit standing behind him, a rusted longsword swinging through the air and colliding with Crona's shoulder. Surely a normal boy would have been decapitated, or at least killed, but the bandit looks on with a mix of horror and confusion as the child turns around, smiling manically, without a scratch.

"My blood. Its black. I wonder what color your blood is. Could be orange, green, blue, purple. Or maybe its just red, boring blood red." The man was too stunned by Crona's hardyness and change of demeanor to swing again, and the boy lifts his blade to point at the mans stomach. "If you don't want to find out, answer quickly. I'm looking for a man named Gilgamesh, where is he?"

If the demonic child wasn't enough to attract attention around the town, the name 'Gilgamesh' certainly got quite a few onlookers looking at the encounter. The bandit was near panicked as he looked down on Crona with fearful eyes. "Gilgamesh? The King? Hes likely in his castle, New Babylon, in Nippur, to the north. Hard to miss, fairly nearby, he comes here--." The man answers quickly, but not quickly enough, and as soon as he finishes speaking the boy slashes deeply right across the mans chest, watching curiously as he slumped to the floor and bled out.

Two human souls, a hunger Crona had not been able to feed for quite some time, and it felt -so- rejuvenating to feel the two bandit's force drain into him, his blood pulsed with power, and he looks down at his blade as Ragnarok added the souls to its own strength. Now he was well fed, and he had the location of his target. He breathes in and out heavily, today would be a good day after all.

Until, of course, the child's bloodlust ran out, and he found himself the center of attention as the locals watched curiously at the corpses and the boy, whispering in shocked tones amongst themselves. Crona rubs his elbow, quickly shuffling off and hanging his head to avoid any more scrutiny, soon leaving the strange rugged town behind him as quickly as possible.

It was quite the distance to this so called castle, and Crona quickly drifted off into a daydream as he made his way across the savannah. Gilgamesh the King? Resided in his castle? He thought this would be an easy target, perhaps he should just turn around, pick someone else who might be easier. Though, he didn't want all his efforts to be for nothing, and Ragnarok would torture him if he went back on his decision now after putting the demon through this heat, so he pressed on, wading again over the sweltering grass plains for what felt like an eternity before a new building came into view.

The boy was struck as he lay his eyed upon Gligamesh's Palace, it was beautiful to the point of awe, but stuck out like a sore thumb among the grasslands. Surely this must be the place, Crona could feel his heart pumping and his stomach churning as he closed the final gap between him and the castle, a billion questions fluttering through his mind, though he wasn't even able to think long on them before someone had stopped him in his tracks before he could try and enter. Had they said something? He was sure they said something, but it went through one ear and out the other.

"I said." The servant repeated, clearing his throat. "You walk in the Great King Gilgamesh's land, stranger, what is your business here?"

"Oh, me? I need to... uhm..." The boy paused for a moment, it occurred to him that stating his true intentions wouldn't get him easy access to the castle. "Sorry, I need to meet w-with him, just quickly, is that... uhm... OK?"

The servant looks quizzically, before holding his hand up and turning on his heel and making his way inside. Crona let off a loud sigh, he hoped he haden't gotten in over his head, and he certainly felt like he was doing this wrong, but he didn't have all that much choice, and there certainly wasn't any turning back now, he would just have to wait and see what happened after this supposed 'King' hears he has a visitor.