In a dark alley located in the slums of the capital city of the Ruytsian kingdom, was a figure shaped like a deformed beast, hiding behind a pile of trash, its dark blue crystalline eyes watching a group of 5 men beating up a single skinny boy, no older than 15.

The group of 5 men were merciless kicking and stomping on the boy, who was curled up, his hands protecting his head. The way he didn't make a sound and took the beating pointed out the fact that he was used to it. 

The beast watched unmovingly, its lifeless eyes watched with cold intelligence, one that was about to do something he would love and wanted to do it for weeks now. 

--- --- 

"TAKE THIS! AND THIS!! Just because we left you alone for a few weeks, you suddenly have the balls to disobey us?!!" said a bulky man, his head bald, his mouth missing a few teeth. He was the most vicious in beating the boy, going for areas that would cause the most pain.

"Boss!! snap out of it!! Don't injure him too much, he is the best among the brats to bring us money!" the other four men have stopped beating the boy, worrying their boss might kill their best thief, one that fed their bellies every night. All of them thought only about the loss of money they would receive if the boy got injured too seriously.

"Huh! YOU BASTARDS!! Have you all gone soft!! you might think he is cooperating but once he sees that you wouldn't punish him for disobeying the rules, he will do it more and more!!" The bald man looked at his lackeys, getting irritated seeing their fattened stomachs. 

"But it isn't something that needs to be punished so much over for, I don't think it's worth killing him over a single coin that he used to feed his siblings." One of the lackeys replied, not wanting to see their easy money source being injured severely just because their boss's rules were broken just one time.

"Are you challenging me, my authority? I can do whatever I want to anyone on these streets!! You better watch what you say next!!" The boss stared viciously at his lackeys, promising them pain if any one of them spoke out. Seeing them all quiet he snorted, turning back to the bleeding body that was laying on the ground. 

He raised his feet, wanting to give a final kick to the body. As it was coming down, the boss saw his feet getting sliced from the knee, watching his feet tumble to the ground. It was only a few seconds later that his mind registered it lost a limb, the firing of intense pain signals that caused the boss to tumble to the ground and shriek like a pig getting slaughtered.

"AHHHH!! MY LEEGGG!!" the boss was unable to think of anything, the pain blinding him, before his mind registered another limb getting sliced from the rest of his body. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! MY ARMMM!!", but it wasn't long before yet another limb was cut off, this time there was no scream, as his throat was stepped on by a deformed beast made of metal, which increased its pressure on the boss's throat slowly and painfully.

"Is this punishment adequate enough?" The voice that came from the beast sounded like a young adult, it was calm and quiet, as if it wasn't the one torturing and killing the bald boss.

"AHHH!! A MONSTERR!! A MONSTER IS INSIDE THE CITY!!!" the other four men were shaken to the core as they saw their boss's throat getting crushed utterly, his body going limp a few seconds later. Two froze on the spot, unable to move due to intense fear that flooded their bodies. The other two had run for a few meters before their heads rolled, their bodies continuing to run for a few more seconds.

The beast of metal stood over the two frozen lackeys, who now soiled their panties with shit and piss at the same time. It looked at them with cold unfeeling eyes, even though its crystal eyes couldn't convey such emotions.

"So, is one of you able to tell me where I can find the Einhart Academy?" It asked with such quietness it unnerved and frightened them so much that one passed out completely. The beast of metal raised the front of his left paw, flexing its jagged and sharp claws before it slowly touched the passed-out lackey's chest, before dragging the sharp claws from top to the stomach slowly, watching the man's guts spilling out.

The other lackey watched the cruelty of the beast, he was so shocked by it that his mind fractured instantly, falling into madness.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAHHHHHHH!!!" He started with an unhinged laugh, his lips cracking, his jaw almost falling before feeling intense pain in his stomach, lowering his head, he saw his stomach penetrated by the huge claws of the beast of metal. 

BAANGG!!

The lackey was thrown to the side of a house, his limp body slowly falling to the ground, his ripped-out guts spilling out. Done with its frustration release, the beast came close to the trembling boy that was huddled in a corner, his eyes showing intense fear.

"Now, can you point me in the direction of the Einhart Academy?" The beast swiped his paw, the blood from his slaughter splashing onto the side of the street.

"AH..it's…IT's ahh.. please… don't kill me!!" The boy said with a shaken, quiet, and crying voice, unable to even look at anything besides the ground. His mind tethering on the verge of collapse from witnessing the gruesome scene.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, so long as you tell me where I can find the Einhart academy." The beast of metal's voice was quiet, not indicating any aggressiveness or any emotion at all. 

"Please.. ahh... It's .. please.. wait…. It's outside the city.. a few kilometers west.. please.. don't kill me." The boy was shaking like a leaf, his head lowered to the floor, his hands covering his head, the instinctual form he took whenever he was about to be beaten up by the thugs.

The beast of metal stayed silent for a few seconds, staring silently at the frightened boy.

"Do you fear me?" 

"..Huh?.." the boy raised his head, confusion and fear present on his face that was running with tears and snot.

"I asked if you fear me?"

"Ahh.. what?.." The boy was unable to process what was happening, his mind filled only with the thought of him getting ripped open.

"For the final time, DO YOU FEAR ME?" 

"YES!! YES!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!" The boy lowered his head to the ground, prostrating and begging to not be killed over and over again.

…….

A few minutes passed, and the place fell quiet save for the continuous begging of the boy. After a few more minutes he raised his head, and looked around, finding the place empty except for the dismembered bodies on the ground. Bodies that just a few minutes ago controlled his life and fate yet were now minced meat. He stood up, wiping away his tears.

He walked to the sliced body of the boss, watching with cold and emotionless eyes at the dead face of the boss. 

"Hmm.." The boy raised his leg, putting it in the flattened throat of the bald boss, comparing his leg and the beast of metal.

….

"Do you fear me?" He raised his leg and kicked the crushed throat, flattening it even more.

"Do you fear me?" he kicked again, and again and again, and again. His legs were sticky with blood and other disgusting fluids.

"DO  YOU FEAR MEEEEEEE?" He screamed, his legs striking for the final time as he separated the head and the torso, before kicking the head of the bald boss into a corner.

--- --- --- 

'Damn! I think I overdid it a little, I just wanted to test my strength against normal humans, and so have chosen those ruthless thugs I found murdering people in broad daylight as a target. I didn't expect they would die so easily.

I was now climbing the huge city walls dead in the night, doing my best to steadily climb with my claws ripping into the wall. The gates were too guarded, and only the section of city walls next to the slums was without patrolling guards, thus the reason that I came and hid in the slums.

At last, I reached the top and looked back at the city, it was enormous, stretching for kilometers, the other side of the wall barely visible from my position.

The entire city was divided into 3 ring sections, the center of which was a huge castle, filled with towers and other buildings. It was surrounded by shorter thick walls. The middle part was filled with different-sized mansions, greenery, and parks, some small, others big. The third part was the biggest, taking at least 70% of the city, and was filled with big houses the closer it was to the second enclosure of walls that enclosed the second part. The houses got smaller and smaller as it got closer to the edges, shacks and debilitated houses making the majority of houses close to the wall I was standing on.

Then I looked at the second section of the city, more specifically the western part, where I saw towers in close range of each other, one of them was in ruins, barely standing. 

My claws dug into the wall, giving one last look at the city, I jumped to the other side of the wall, dragging my claws on the side as I slowed my fall. It took nearly a minute to reach the ground, which was filled with mud. I saw a forest a few kilometers away to my left and began to run in its direction. Moving at a speed of 5 m/s, passing by fields of crops, the full moon of this world illuminating my form.

Now that I found the location of the academy after running and hiding from the guards of the city for 2 weeks straight, I can fulfill the last wish of the ..old man.