On a mountain hill, in a small cave, the sound of water droplets hitting the ground could be heard. Léo, close to those drops, was recovering in silence. Four days had already passed since the explosion and his escape from the secret base.
Léo had already recovered quite a bit. His charred skin had regenerated, and the broken bones were healing rapidly. Only his internal injuries would still take a few weeks to heal. Luckily, he was a Viltrumite — his need for food and water was extremely reduced compared to other species.
Three days ago...
"Emperor, emperor, urgent news!" Running quickly and shouting as he entered the palace of the Thraxan Empire, an old Thraxan could be seen carrying something similar to a tablet as he kneeled before the emperor.
The emperor was an old man of decrepit appearance, his features were sickly, and he could apparently die at any moment. He was seated on a throne made of wood and iron, giving an air of elegance to whoever sat on it. The throne fit his body perfectly, making even the old emperor look elegant and imposing. He wore white robes and carried something made of gold around his neck — the symbol that he was the emperor. And beside him, two personal guards ensured his safety while holding weapons.
"Speak, Right Minister." His eyes were expressionless, and even the movements of his lips were slow as his voice echoed through the palace hall.
Not daring to keep his emperor waiting, the Right Minister quickly stood up and said, "Does the emperor remember the explosion at our base 15!?"
"Of course I remember, I myself ordered you to investigate what happened at that place!" The emperor's tone was impatient, apparently not having much time for question games.
Realizing this, the Right Minister got straight to the point. "My lord, it turns out that it wasn't an accident as our investigations believed..." As if afraid to pronounce the following words, the Right Minister paused for a moment and then continued. "Our investigation team managed to recover the security box... the audio and recordings were found...!"
The Right Minister walked toward the emperor while turning on the tablet in his hand and showed something that would haunt him for the following nights — that is, if he could still sleep after that...
"No, this isn't possible..." He murmured. His voice trembled, his face showed disbelief and fear as he watched what was on the screen. And what he saw there was clear — it could be nothing else but Léo completely massacring base 15.
"What is that thing!? Tell me quickly!" He shouted as he stood up, his previously almost lifeless body temporarily restored by the adrenaline rushing through it — he even forgot he was on the brink of death.
"My lord, be more careful." One of his guards said, supporting the old man who was holding onto the last remnants of vitality in his body.
"Right, right." Seeing that he had lost composure before his servants, the old man sat back on his throne and let his minister speak.
"Majesty, I searched some old files from base 15, and several generations ago, this young man who appears in the recordings arrived on our planet through a spaceship." As he spoke, he fiddled again with the object similar to a tablet and found an old record of Léo, along with a photo.
"In these old records here, Emperor, it says that besides having a slower aging process compared to our species, he was similar to us Thraxans in physical capabilities." Finished the Right Minister, handing the device to the emperor.
After a quick look, the emperor looked at the Right Minister and said, "Right Minister, summon the Left Minister and tell him everything that happened here. I know you have your differences, but this is a threat to our entire species." And then continued: "Also, have him issue an order to the council so that no one leaves the empire. And you have full authority over the army to contain this threat."
Hearing the emperor's orders, the Right Minister nodded and then departed.
'Heavens, who did my race provoke to attract such a calamity?' the emperor thought silently.
A few weeks had passed, and it wouldn't take long for Léo to fully recover from his near-death experience. At that exact moment, he was writhing from hunger and thirst. Even though he was a Viltrumite, he could still be considered — at best — a teenage Viltrumite. His body still needed many nutrients for rapid growth, especially after so much damage had been done to it.
Léo then decided to explore the mountain range he was in, as it was a place filled with trees and vegetation — and where there's vegetation, there are animals. He decided to leave because, even though he hadn't fully recovered, he didn't believe there was anything there that could harm him. In fact, on the entire planet, he thought few things had the capacity to kill him.
Already in the forest, Léo was hunting some local animals. It was a totally new experience for him — not because he had never killed an animal before, but because they were completely strange beings compared to those on Earth. There were animals with six legs and three eyes, animals with one eye and two tails.
That entertained Léo for a while, but he soon lost interest. So he went to do what he came there for: eat. Being extremely hungry, he didn't bother roasting the animals he killed, and it was unclear whether it was because his palate system was slightly different from humans, but raw food didn't taste so bad. Viltrumites likely developed this natural evolution after millennia of conquering planets where they couldn't afford the time to roast their food after a hunt.
After feasting to the brink of bursting, Léo felt much better. Even his healing process seemed to accelerate slightly. It had been many years since he last felt his body develop rapidly. The last few years had involved few meals a day. Whenever Léo thought of that, he wanted to exterminate every Thraxan on this planet for making him lose precious years of evolution.
Léo cleared his mind and decided to kill a few more animals to store in the cave he was staying in, so he could isolate himself there until he fully recovered, as he knew the Thraxan Empire probably already knew that the cause of the incident at their base was none other than him. And until he was fully recovered, he didn't want to be hunted or try to exterminate the Thraxan Empire.
Determined to store some food, Léo killed some animals similar to bulls. He had found the meat of these animals to be the most beneficial for his recovery, and they were the best-tasting animals. Besides, they were among the largest animals he had encountered, so he would have food for a long time. He then grabbed one of the animals by the skin with one hand and the other by the skin with the other hand and headed back to the cave.
Another peaceful week passed, and Léo was already healed. Since the day of the hunt, Léo had a regeneration boost due to the nutrients in the meat, which helped immensely — apparently, Viltrumite physiology has a capacity to absorb nutrients for recovery far greater than that of humans; the comparison is almost ridiculous.
Even though it was a peaceful week, Léo didn't stop training — even the development of his powers was accelerated after consuming large amounts of calories.
"Alright, now I feel completely fine, this regeneration ability is almost scary." Said Léo as he stretched after waking up.
Because of his tail, he usually slept clinging to rocks similar to iron supports, so he didn't need to sleep on the ground — not that it was uncomfortable, since practically nothing could disturb his body that was resistant to almost everything — but rather because he hated dirt, especially since he couldn't bathe in that place.
'Now that I'm recovered, I don't need to fear for my life so desperately anymore, I'll find a lake to clean myself up.' Léo thought, levitating and leaving the cave, heading into the forest in search of a river.
It didn't take long for him to find a place to bathe near the beginning of the forest and start taking off his clothes to bathe. He then took off his clothes, and the appearance of his physique could be considered divine. His well-defined abs were perfectly combined with his fat, giving a charm to his belly; his chest was firm, and no one could ever say it was the chest of a boy who looked like he was twelve years old. On top of that, his thighs were incredibly thick, and his legs weren't far behind—anyone would die of envy at that physique.
He then entered the water and took his bath. After 10 minutes, he came out, still naked, and could hear sounds of bushes and branches breaking. Without letting his guard down, he slowly followed the noise, and when he got close enough, he darted like a cheetah. Just as he was about to strike, a scream followed by a gentle, feminine voice could be heard.
"Aaah! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to see you naked!" said a girl who appeared to be the same age as Léo's body.
'Hmm… A Thraxana girl?' Léo thought, and curiously asked, "What are you doing here, and how do you know I'm not a wild animal or that I'm naked?"
The girl, now a little less afraid after seeing Léo stop trying to attack her, decided to clarify, "Ah, that's easy. I know you're an alien. Almost all intelligent beings walk on two legs and don't have hair covering their whole bodies, and you also speak." Then, after pausing a bit and looking at Léo's waist, blushing and turning her face away, she added, "Besides, grandma told me that anyone who walks upright, speaks our language, and has that thing swinging is a man…"
"...."
'Seems like the planet Thraxan isn't as unknown to other civilizations as the series made it seem.'
"Could you put on some clothes, please!?" the Thraxana girl interrupted Léo's thoughts, saying it with a squeal, blushing even more.
"Alright."
Léo went to his clothes near the river, with the Thraxana girl behind him. He got dressed, then turned to her and asked, "Satisfied?"
"Much better. What's your name? Mine is Angela. And by the way, why aren't you with your race that came to our planet?" the girl asked, seeming confused.
"My name is Léo, and…" Léo quickly thought of a lie and said, "I'm here because I got separated from my team."
"Really!? Lucky that you found me before going deeper into this forest—there are many dangerous animals here!" she said, emphasizing the last part.
She then grabbed Léo's arm and said, "Come with me, let's go to my house. I don't know how you ended up so far from the empire, but you must be hungry, right?"
By reflex, Léo almost tore her head off, but since it had been a while since he had any fun, he decided to go with the girl. It wouldn't take long before he started dominating this planet anyway—what harm was there in enjoying himself a little? So he held back and remained silent, letting her lead him.
Not long after, Léo and the girl spotted a small village, and the excited girl said, "This is where I live!"
Without saying anything, he continued following her. Some curious glances came from the village streets, from inside the houses, and even from some people who intentionally walked close to them to get a better look—but nothing beyond that.
Léo then got curious and ended up asking the girl, "Don't these people find it strange to see me?"
"Actually, for many of us, it's the first time seeing an alien. But many, many years ago, a great emperor created a rule to treat all intelligent alien species normally when they come here for trade agreements."
She then looked Léo up and down and continued, "And since I see that you look like a child who's probably about my age, for you to have come to our planet, you must be someone important's child. So we can't risk causing an interstellar war by offending someone."
Léo nodded and kept following the girl until they reached her house. Upon entering, Léo saw a complete family: a mother, a brother who looked about 17, a little sister who looked no more than 2 years old, and finally an elderly woman.
"Everyone, I found an alien from another planet who came to make a treaty with our planet!" she said cheerfully, assuming that as she entered the house.
Everyone who was apparently eating—except the two-year-old girl who was happily playing with her food—dropped their spoons as they turned and saw the girl with Léo, and in unison, they screamed in despair: "What!?"