"The world is mine for the taking!"
Xander lifted up his hand and encompassed the sun with his hand, his bearing melancholic and great. Standing before him, a vast playground filled with a multitude of kids presented itself.
There are also numerous nametags scattered across this vast playground. A few of them are near, while many of them are far from where he stood.
Xander, equipped with his mother's god-given gift of a protective suit and a pair of shoes, jumped heroically into the vast playground.
Of course, he also observed the surroundings previously, curious at what kind of place and environment the complex of his household looked like.
The trees are numerous and neat, the road is smooth and clean, the people are kind and healthy, and the houses are designed to be space-efficient yet still show that modernization aesthetic.
Not bad. Tsk, his parents truly have good taste. It's just a shame they kept many Extraordinary knowledge from him. He was so curious!
"Hahaha! Can't catch! Can't catch me!"
"When I catch you, I'll take your entire bag of candies!"
"Blewgh~!"
Many kids ran across the playground, playing without a care of this world.
Xander quickly climbed to the utmost top of the myriad of recreational amenities, his head turned upward in a 45-degrees angle, his bangs swaying dramatically.
Due to how massive the recreational amenities in this playground, the highest point of this whole ground actually reached ten meters high. This is simply a real-life children's castle!
The top of the world... What a heavy endeavor it must be!
"I... Shall bear the weight—!"
"Freak, give me your toys! With that scary look, it'd be better if you got killed by the Calmos monsters!"
Wow, what a heavy-handed word you used there kid! Damn, you really interrupted me like that!
Xander sat at the top height of the whole recreational amenities as he watched the commotion from up above. A somewhat big kid, probably four years old, along with his group of kids, surrounded a very cute little girl.
However, there was a terrifying black smark that looked smudgy and eerie on her right cheek, like an ugly smudge on a pure white dress, ruining her cute, small image.
Xander rubbed his chin as his brain automatically reasoned on its own regarding this situation.
"In the world of the Extraordinary, Calmos is synonymous with evil and horror, along with its malevolent, dark aura. According to the records within the history book titled "Calamity, the Origin, and How it All Started" there are indeed some unfortunate cases where a person was too compatible with Extraordinary Factors that their body absorbed them on its own from the moment of their birth, resulting in uncanny, even terrifying appearances when the absorption was uncontrolled."
"Looking at the fearful look of the parents around here, it seems like such information is not really widespread. Or is it that humans don't really give a damn whether it was true or not, as long as their righteous indignant was fulfilled..." Xander rubbed his chin.
Xander decided to watch it first. He wasn't a hero like Ua, the Savior of Humanity, but if he could, he'll lend a hand. The problem is, if his conjecture was correct, even if he explained it eloquently, people would only take the fact that he sided with this 'malevolent' 'evil' little girl.
Prejudices are as heavy as mountains. This couldn't be any more true.
Tsk tsk, who knows he would discover such an interesting thing the moment he stepped out of home.
"Look, how did he get up there! I also want to be the King of the Castle!"
"It's fine! Let's bring him down! As long as there was no King of the Castle, we could easily take that title for ourselves!"
The highest point of this whole playground was actually just a very high tower in the middle of the recreational amenities, and Xander, with his intelligence, could easily decipher the method to climb up the tall tower.
These kids, wanting to bring him down when they're incapable? Tch!
Xander sent a look of disdain towards them, which made them red-faced.
"Damn! What's with that look! I feel so disgruntled!"
"I decided to fight to the death! Down with the Old King!"
Ignoring these noisy loitering kids, Xander turned his eyes toward the unfortunate little girl. It seems like she had long been used to it, her blank dark-purple eyes remained unaffected as she lowered her head and talked to the doll in her hands.
Xander couldn't hear what she just said, since the distance was too far. It was only because of that big kid's loud voice that he was aware of them.
"What are you mumbling about? Calmos Freak, are you mute?! Haha! Good riddance! A thing like you don't need to speak!"
"Hehe, do you think her mom and dad are eaten by her? Or perhaps she personally killed them with her own hands!"
The remarks from the kids are becoming more harsh. They even made Xander wince slightly. Kids are so mean sometimes. They don't really give you any faces. So uneducated and tactless!
Look, although the adults also talked, they at least whispered. You really hurled out those insults like they're some sort of great promotional deals or something.
Xander gradually understood why his mother sometimes had an urge to beat up some kids when she saw them. With kids like these around, who doesn't want to beat them until their throats are hoarse from calling out for their mothers?
It seems like the little girl's defense wasn't unbreakable after all, and tears of sadness and grievance began to fall from her big eyes. Her small form trembled, and it was especially apparent from his view.
A little girl clutching her doll, crying tragically, surrounded by kids that towered over her. It was indeed a bit too heartbreaking.
Xander remained silent this time.
It's somewhat embarrassing that a grown man, though stuffed into a kid, couldn't even speak up for a little girl.
In the end, due his body's immature prefrontal cortex, his body acted on its own. As a kid, it was too easy to act impulsively. He wasn't as stable as he used to be when he was an adult.
Ultimately, he was still just a kid. Even with adult intelligence, he was still just a kid. And a kid was prone to let their feelings run wild.
"Tsk tsk, a bunch of big boys, what's there to be proud of when you're just bullying a weak little girl. If you have the guts, pick someone your size!" Xander's disdainful voice was particularly jarring, causing the surroundings to turn silent for a moment.
The biggest boy quickly turned red and lashed out ferociously, "She is a Calmos Freak and deserves to be beaten! Are you siding with a Calmos Freak?!"
Xander's nostrils are practically his eyes. He looked down disdainfully, "Calmos? When a Calmos appeared, the Security Bureau would immediately subjugate it. Are you saying that you're better than the Government?"
"What are the characteristics of a Calmos? Would they let you lash them out without retaliation? Tsk, if a real Calmos was standing before you, you won't even have a chance to open your big mouth before it tore you apart like a candy wrapper!"
"Picking on a little girl, I feel ashamed for you!"
Xander shook his head, and not only that, he also looked around in utter disdain, including those chattering adults, "Such a simple logic that even a kid like me could grasp. I feel ashamed for you adults! Really ashamed! Justifying a bullying by some utter nonsense! My parents taught me how to be a proper human being, and you lot are not proper at all!"
At the very top of the tower, Xander stood proudly, his hands secured on his hips as he snorted at everyone. I, Xander, shall dominate the playground!
The bullies trembled, and a hint of tears misted in their eyes. Xander did not stop, his disdain clear for the world to see, "Cry? Why are you crying? You deserve to be beaten! Wait until you are beaten before crying! If humanity has you lot who identify a little cute girl as a Calmos in the future, then I might as well give up on humanity! Might as well die!"
"You adults are even worse. You talk so much, yet you can't even set apart a little girl and a Calmos! You are the stains of this complex! I am ashamed to be in the same neighbourhood with you lot! I'd rather die than experience the same feeling again!"
Xander was so tactless that not a single person who was involved in this bullying, directly or indirectly, had any faces left. When the rumors spread, they're probably too ashamed to face others in this neighbourhood.
As for possible retaliation? Heh, I, Xander, am just a kid. You, who took a kid seriously, are really ridiculous. I disdain you with every fibre of my being. I'd rather die than talk with you.
"Y-You! Y-You... Waaaah!" The big bullies ran away and cried. It seemed like the previous bullying had emptied out their word reserves, causing them to be speechless when facing Xander's eloquent, disdainful remarks. After all, how many words little kids like them could possibly know, really?
The adults were simply too ashamed, their faces torn and stepped on directly and tactlessly by a little kid. Retaliating would only made them even more embarrassing, and they had no choice but to leave with the kids of their bosses.
Not every adult was as loose-lipped as them. Even now, all adults that were not involved had a look of schadenfreude on their faces. Tsk tsk, they didn't expect to see such an amazing drama! And it was all started by a little kid!
The kids not involved in the bullying, witnessing such an epic display of dominance, were simply stunned. The bunch of little kids who wanted to recreate the classic scene of 'down with the Old King' are now clasping their hands, their big clueless eyes looking up at Xander with a look of awe.
"So cool! So amazing! Big Brother, teach me how to be as cool as you!"
"I wholeheartedly agree with your status as the King of the Castle!"
More and more kids gathered around the tall tower, their little faces filled with awe and amazement. So cool! So cool! For kids, coolness was number one!
Even the adults showed a look of gratification, their eyes looking up at the disdainful kid up above the tower. Whose kid was this? So impressive!
While Xander turned his head upward in a 45-degrees angle, disdainful towards the world, the little girl, who was left alone, clutched her doll tightly.
Her dark-purple eyes are set on that dazzling person, who stood at the highest pedestal of this playground. A subtle blush appeared on her little face.
So... S-So cool!
And did he call me cute just now...?