Anya Romina

Moments earlier

Anya was frozen with sorrow, and fear. These horrible people had just charged into their village, and began capturing and slaughtering people with no mercy. Her nextdoor neighbors were probably dead, and many of her friends and even their children were in cages or chained up on display on this stage. Her husband and son were here somewhere, but she hasn't seen them since they all got dragged here. They had both been beat pretty badly.

She had at least a little comfort in not seeing her daughter among the people they captured, but that all changed only a few hours ago, and her heart was as still as a frozen pond. Cecilia had been dragged in here not too long ago, and everything had just felt wrong. Not only that, but the fight that was always present had been lost in her dear daughter. Her eyes looked like someone who accepted that they were already dead, or worse. They didn't even let her see her, no matter how much she had yelled. Cecilia hadn't even noticed her, as her gaze was fixed on staring off into space.

And then, roughly 15 minutes ago, these horrible people offered an exclusive pre-auction sale to Baron Wendall Ozark, the man who started all of this in the first place. He was the slimiest looking asshole you could possibly imagine, yet the rumors were that he was B rank, possibly even B+. It was infuriating how these awful people grew stronger.

In the cruelest twist of fate she could have possibly imagined, this smug of a man salivated while looking at Cecilia, and practically dragged her away. Even with her spirits broken, Cecilia did react negatively to the cruel look in the man's eyes, and fear was present in her gaze, and it made the Baron smirk.

And now... they were all being paraded around like commodities, being put on stage, locked in their cages until it was their turns, and even being dragged around violently. Many of those still fighting back had got slapped around pretty badly, but thet made sure to avoid damaging their faces. One woman, a friend of hers, was getting her back stomped on by a big man twice her size.

"JUST STOP! LEAVE US ALL ALONE YOU MONSTERS!" Anya screamed at the man, and even though her anger was justified, this man didn't like that too much.

"You mouthy bitch." The man sneered as he kicked the woman in the side, and then stomped on over to her place on stage.

While she was a bit older, she was just as beautiful as her daughter, so she was being placed as their hottest seller currently, or whatever that asshole had told her. All the people here were scum.

The man was about halfway to her when the ground began to shake, and it caused the man to stumble, and look around frantically.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, looking around, but no one seemed to have a clue.

"It was probably just a shift in the Earth, or some stupid mage testing a spell. It happens all the time. We have a job to do here. This is going to be splendid." The slimy auctioneer said, and you could practically see the greed dancing in his eyes.

"Yeah... sure. Now." The man said, resuming his gate towards Anya.

Their was another shaking noise, but one far less obtrusive. Anya'a ears twitched, but there must be a privacy ward inside of this room or something to eliminate sounds coming in and going out. The auctioneer grinned.

"You see? It's settling. Now, move it along, and get all of the merchandise ready." He added, and that made Anya's blood boil.

"WE ARE PEOPLE, YOU DAMNED PIGS!" She said, glaring daggers at the man standing right in front of her now, "And you, beating on defenseless people. You're nothing but a coward!"

This unfortunately did not sit well with said coward, and he lunged at her, and grabbed her by the throat. She gagged, and began to kick and flail at the man that was much bigger than her.

"YOU NEED TO LEARN TO KEEP YOUR DAMN MOUTH SHUT, CUNT!" He roared into her face, his own red with rage.

"HEY, HEY, DON'T DAMAGE THE GOODS! I TOLD YOU THIS A DOZEN TIMES!" The auctioneer yelled at the man, grabbing his arm, but the bigger man just flung him backwards.

"I SHOULD FUCK YOU AND SNAP YOUR NECK!" The man yelled again.

Anya struggled, but try as she might, she wasn't strong enough, and she couldn't breathe. What did her people do to deserve any of this? Nothing! They were living their normal happy lives like they always had, and then just as suddenly, it was taken away. She didn't want this to happen. She just wanted to see her family one last time... and not this disgusting man. She-

*CRASH*

A loud boom echoed throughout the auction hall, followed the sounds of the outside screams and panicked voices from those in the reception hall. Not only that, but a pressure like nothing Anya had ever felt washed through the room, and every had gone pale as this ominus energy tore at everyone's senses.

It was strange though, as, while she did feel it, it wasn't making her feel the fear that it was obviously making these terrible men feel. The grip on her neck loosened, allowing her to take a breath, but his large hands were still wrapped around her neck in such a way that she still couldn't escape. Regardless, she was able to crane her head over to the source of the commotion, and her she had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

The man that stood in the middle of the room was tall, quite so, and built solidly. His clothes were a little ragged, but that also allowed for his muscular limbs, as well as his chiseled abdominal muscles, to be visible for all to see. His features were shrouded in a dark aura that surrounded him, and the vast power behind it took her breath away. It was simply the strongest thing she'd ever felt in her entire life.

"How strong was his class? S? No, S+?" She wondered, but she had never felt the aura of either of those ranks, but he was vastly stronger than the one A rank she had met in her life.

He had stark white hair that cascaded down his back and chest, but that wasn't the thing that drew her attention. It was his eyes. They glowed a deep an ominus red, like luminescent pools of blood, and they were filled with anger, yet also more. She could see more than most due to her nature as a Cat Beastkin, and she saw more than just rage, though that was the most powerful feeling from them. There was sorrow, anxiety, fear, and a strangely gentle feeling behind it all.

Her eyes met hers, and then he roared, and shot forward. She didn't even blink once, and he was there, standing before both of them. His hand slashed down, a black energy blade coating his hand as he did this, sending blood spurting everywhere as he severed the man's arm at the elbow, which feel limply to the floor. The sudden movements sent her falling to her rear, and as she felt, she looked back up, and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

The man threw out once punch at this man's chest, and most of his body just... exploded. The force was so great that his whole upper body just kinda imploded outwards from the strength behind that one punch. In the instant after that, dozens of shadowy figures rose from the ground around this man, and they had no features except for the vague shape of a humanoid.

"Kill these bastards, and free the Beastkin." He said in a commanding tone, and then knelt down in front of Anya.

She tensed, but she was surprised and speechless as he gently wrapped his arms around her, and began speaking in a soft tone.

"Cici! I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm here now baby." He said, rubbing the back of her head.

She was also surprised as a warm feeling enveloped her, and all of the pain and aches in her body went away. Did he heal her? And did he mention Cecilia?

"This man thinks I'm Cecilia? I mean, we pretty much look the same... but how does he know her..." She thought, and then her brain caught up to the rest, and she blurted out, "Wait, baby?!"