For a moment, there was silence.
The kid's finger remained pointed in exactly the same defiant flare, yet there hadn't been a single reaction.
Then, a laugh.
"Who's lost child is this?" Arden belted, struggling to hold back his laughter. The kid took at step back, unsure of what to say.
"Wh-what's so funny!" he yelped, almost tripping on himself. "I meant every word that I said!"
With a great sigh, Arden stepped forward, lowering himself to the kid's level. "Look, kiddo, I understand that you kids like to play 'adventurer,' but now is not the time for that. You see, the boy behind you did something really bad to me, and he has to learn what it's like to live in the grown up's world."
The boy looked back at the thief, hesitation written all over his face. "Is this true?" the boy asked.
The thief shook their head, eyes half-closed and cheeks puffed out from the repeated beatings.
The boy's face hardened.
"So, you see, if you would be so kind as to step out of the way, then--GAHH!"
Just as Arden had been moving in the thief's direction, the air erupted from a sudden impact.
Arden's figure, big and round, spun in the air to the point that he looked like a flying frisbee.
And there sat the boy, fist balled in front of him, and steam hissing from his knuckles like a snake. "Don't condescend me, I can tell when someone's lying. That's not the real reason you're doing this," he said, watching as Arden's quick descent into the ground erupted a geyser of dirt and dust.
The three Kingsguard all shuddered at the scene, but that didn't last long.
Immediately, the sliding of metal could be heard. Then three indistinct shadows hovering over him, blades unsheathed. "Kid, I don't know where your parents are, but violence in the 101st District is strictly prohibited," one said.
They grew closer and closer, but the boy didn't forfeit an inch of ground. "The 101st District...?" he muttered under his breath, before quickly turning to the thief on the ground. "So, do you want me to beat these guys up?"
The thief let out a quick exhale, looking around as if there'd been anyone else the boy could talk to. "Huh... me?" Then, they touched upon their cheek lightly, wincing at the terrible pain. Their eyes dropped. "Please do! They hurt me horribly!"
In less time than the thief could react, the boy had already leaped to a man's height, leg raised behind them.
The Kingsguard opposite to them looked up, but by then, it'd already been too late.
A metallic screech resounded throughout the Outskirts, closely following the imagery of metal zipping through the air.
It only took a second for them to be out of view, hardly a dot from how far they'd been flung.
One Kingsguard flinched, taking an involutary step back, while the other readied their blade. "Why, you..." they growled, intending to strike while the boy was distracted.
Like a guillotine, sharp metal swung down into the hard dirt, barely missing the boy who'd spun around its blade like a dancer.
The Kingsguard turned his head left, then right, but he couldn't see the boy. "What?" he asked himself.
The thief, however, saw it clearly. And the sight made them grin.
Metal groaned, and organs squelched as the Kingsguard gasped for air--or, rather, exhaled for life.
The boy was clinging onto his midsection, wrapping his arms and legs around them while squeezing with all their strength.
"Wait... please...!" The Kingsguard begged, struggling even harder to get out each word. But to no avail.
His armor had fully bent inward, and only once his groaning stopped did the boy stop as well.
The Kingsguard dropped onto the ground, and so too did a puddle of red. He was still breathing though, much to the thief's surprise.
The third and last Kingsguard stood there, shaking and stammering. Every second, he would raise his foot as if to run away, but it would drop on the ground just as fast.
It was only after the third or so attempt that he tripped on himself, falling to the ground.
The boy didn't care. Instead, he continued his way to the Kingsguard, his gait orderly yet contained.
"W-wait!" the man begged, waving both of his arms in front of him. His blade fell to his side. "I mean no harm, I was just doing my job!"
The boy tilted his head to his side. "Job? What's a job?" Slowly, he lifted his leg over the Kingsguard, preparing for a stomp.
Then, a hard sizzle.
The thief closed their eyes, unwilling to view a man's death, but as the sound grew longer and longer, the unsettlement in their chest dissipated.
There was a large puddle underneath the Kingsguard, but instead of the typical red, it was clear.
"He pissed himself," the thief laughed, getting up and taking a moment to pat themselves free of any dirt.
The dangerous air that'd been surrounding the boy was gone. Instead, his whole body seemed to go soft, matching his childish appearance.
"Wow, that was amazing!" the thief yelled, eyes lighting up like the night sky. "How did you get so strong?"
The boy looked back at them, then to the ground.
Thwip!
He vanished.
"What..." they said, looking around--this time, at the vast outskirts where none could hide.
Suddenly, there was a light tap on their leg, prompting them to jump up in the air. "Woah, my allergies are getting to me!"
Instinctually, they looked down, jumping up again once they saw the boy--or, rather, his head--in the ground. "The hell!?"
The boy laughed, fully submersing themselves in the earth. "Follow me."
The only trace of him was the hole in the ground, leaving the thief speechless.
They dropped to their knees, looking down upon the tunnel made. It stretched on and on, and yet, they could just barely make out the boy.
With a great sigh, they started with their arm, then knees, then head. "Disgusting," they reproached. "How can someone move through the dirt like this?"
They looked forward to where they'd seen the boy before, but they were gone. "Huh? Where'd they go--AH!"
The boy popped up right in front of them, coming from directly beneath them. "The name's Nash. You'd do well to remember that," Nash said, grinning ear to ear. "And it's not so bad once you get used to it."