"… In other news, The city of Holibar in the distant lands of Ult'hurh in the Southwestern continent has been ravaged by a sudden attack of monsters" the news reporter woman spoke with a solemn and melancholic tone. "The city of more than seventy-thousand inhabitants fell after five days of constant battling"
"Five days of constant retaliation and hoping to not be killed on that monster attack?" an old, fat man with dog ears asked in an offended tone. "Didn't the kingdom of Ult'hurh send any support to their city?"
"Now's not the time to get on crazy conspirations! So many people tragically died and you're here wanting to discuss how corrupt a kingdom can be!" a third news reporter angrily spoke up against the Berus man.
"It's a tragedy, yes. But Holibar is not, and won't be, the only city these kinds of attacks happen. And what happened next, eh? An entire city fell, how will a kingdom that offered no help react?"
"The authorities have announced that the city will now be considered lost, and that any attempt of retaking the city won't be a possibility in the near future."
"That's even worse than what I had imagined!"
"On said announcements, they mentioned that a squad was sent to look for any survivors. However, a famous raiding group in the Southwestern continent occupied a small portion of the city and have caused several atrocities while dealing the monsters"
And so, the program from a certain kingdom continues discussing several topics.
---
The absence of Titiana startled and worried me more than I would usually be, considering what happened last night. Titiana's father was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any second, if he got angry enough to confront me using his sins as backup and his own weapons from his time in the army, that means something must've happened to Titiana if she's not here today.
"Worried about her, kid?" the Taurus man asked me while setting up his spot at the market street.
"Of course I am, who wouldn't be"
"I wanted to make you feel embarrassed, but you alone are no fun" he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed disappointed.
"This isn't a time to be joking"
"Hu—!" he flinched at my sudden change of tone. "Yeesh, sorry. I just wanted to lighten up the mood"
"I'll go look for her, I wouldn't want something bad happening to her"
"She's protected. No one on this town would dare touching a single strand of that girl's hair." His words were enough to stop me before I left the place.
"Not even someone who has nothing to lose?"
"Everyone has something to lose, kid. Just like you have that crown on your waist"
"Someone very close to Titiana has nothing to lose now."
"You don't mean…" he didn't dare finishing that question before he quickly tried denying it himself. "No, he's afraid—afraid of what he could do."
"He's not that afraid if Titiana can show up on a day with bruises on her skin"
"Forget about it! She'll be okay. But I won't stop you if you personally want to go and see if she's fine"
"I'll be back in no ti—" before I could finish my sentence, someone bumped me.
"Ugh! Sorry man, but I need to go there fast." the young adult yelled back at me while not stopping on his advance.
Actually, a lot of people were going that man's direction.
"What's happening?" I asked in confusion as I scanned the street.
Most merchants had surprisingly left their posts unattended to see whatever the crowd was going to experience. But the ones who stayed at their posts sent someone else with the promise of telling them everything in detail.
"I can't believe today's happening!"
"Never have I thought the young master of the pirate mafia would get into a fight on daytime"
"Right!? I've heard that he only operates at night"
I didn't know what the moving crowd was talking about. I turned around with a puzzled expression, about to ask the old Taurus what that pirate mafia was. But I was only met with his open-eyed expression.
He abruptly stood up from his chair which ended up on the ground. "No, no, no. It can't be"
"Wha—"
"Kid, run! follow the crowd, Titiana is in trouble!" he yelled at me while leaving me behind, entering the sea of people walking towards the same direction.
Body Strengthening technique: Light Feet.
I quickly ran perpendicular to the line of people walking, toward a small enough building.
Double Body Strengthening Technique: Leg Muscles—Burst.
I used the technique and stopped, crouching down to charge up the explosive jump I planned to do. I felt the muscles all over both my legs. I felt my calves hardening and rippling, generating the sufficient strength for me to jump high enough.
Cracking the concrete ground below me, I jumped. I jumped high enough that I ended up passing the height of the building and going above what I needed.
Once I landed with a painful feeling as my legs hit the ground, I began to run. Jumping from building to building, and running from one end of the roof to the other, keeping my eyes focused on the people running the same direction.
"What is happening for so many to go and watch?" I audibly questioned while finally visualizing the end goal of the crowd, the place they all wanted to get to.
I stopped once I was on the house in front.
On the street, Titiana was on the floor, holding herself with her arms on the floor while she sat, her legs clearly with no strength to support her. She was slouched and looking at the ground, clearly crying.
On what I assume to be the door of her house, Titiana's father held a small Miw kid with brown hair in one hand, and a bloodied butcher knife on the other hand.
The Miw kid was crying and terrified. "Mom!" he yelled as he thrashed and tried to free himself.
On the ground, in between the father with his hostage and Titiana, a Vogel woman lay on the ground with her throat sliced open. She died instantly, the cold corpse was above a pool of her own blood.
On the left of Titiana, separated by a couple meters of distance, the older and athletic brother stood with his fists clenched. Due to my angle, I had no idea of what kind of expression he might be making.
The crowd circled the whole scene, not interacting in any shape besides commenting and gossiping between themselves.
I clenched my own fists in anger upon seeing this whole thing happening. I understood that the dead woman is Titiana's mother, and the father killed her. Titiana could do nothing to save herself, to save her from the embarrassment of having this whole stuff be used as an act for other people—something they watch for themselves.
I went to the other end of the roof and got ready to run.
"I'll save you from that hell, Titiana"
And I ran, picking up speed as I got closer to the end of the roof.
Body Strengthening Technique: Leg Muscles—Burst.
With a powerful jump, I elevated myself into the sky, bypassing any crowd that could've stopped me from saving her.
---
It finally happened today. The worst day of Titiana's life.
She already suspected the day was going to be bad when Uli brought an injured dad and told her nothing of what happened. When she saw the big bruise he had on the left side of his jaw. She knew it was going to be a harsh day when her father woke up cursing and asking opening a beer first thing in the morning. She knew today was going to be horrible when she later opened the door to her mother, who she hadn't seen in two weeks straight.
Titiana's mother came together with her kid from another father. She mentioned that she was dropping him at an aunt's house after she talked with dad.
The mother actually did something that surprised Titiana, she asked the fire-headed Vogel girl to take care of the Miw kid—Titiana's brother—while she talked with the father.
Titiana felt awkward when looking out for her younger brother. And why wouldn't she? Titiana had never interacted with the little kid due to her mother wanting to keep him as far apart from the family as possible.
The Vogel girl didn't know what to talk with the little boy as they both sat on a couch in awkward silence.
"How… How are you?" Titiana asked with a shy tremble on her voice.
The kid answered with the same awkwardness as his older sister. "F-fine… dad works a lot… But… at least mom spends more time with us now… at our house"
Titiana felt conflicted by that declaration. She could feel the kid's happiness and hope over spending more time with his family, while Titiana could only feel negative emotions over her mother spending a happier moment with another family.
She had no reason to feel as bad as she felt. She had already accepted that her mother would abandon and cut ties with her. And she thought she didn't care—the mother she once loved was now a bitter and sarcastic person with them. Yet, Titiana still felt bad. Deep down, she still clung to that memory of what once was her mother.
"You whore! Leave my house now before I kill you!" Titiana's father's rageful voice was heard through the entire neighbour.
Titiana's mother left the room she was in, yelling back at the man while she let tears run through her cheeks. She grabbed her kid and planned to leave.
"I won't ever come back! I am officially leaving you and I don't want my next baby to get involved with any of you!" the mother yelled.
"Next baby…?" Titiana muttered.
The next seconds blurred out in Titiana's mind. At one moment she watched her mother leave while angrily confessing to never come back, to finally starting her new life. Then, to her father snatching the little Miw boy and attacking the mother with a knife. To being on the street, with no power in her legs as she cried over the dead corpse in front of her.
She couldn't stop anything from unfolding right in front of her eyes. She didn't notice when a crowd formed behind her, nor when her older brother arrived. Whatever Uli talked with her father, she couldn't hear.
She wanted to run, to escape. She wanted to yell and punch her father on the face. She wanted to leave and never come back.
She wanted, she needed to be saved.
And that's when she saw it happen.
From the air, Grey fell down and cracked the ground beneath him with the strength of his scaly legs shielding him from such a fall.
Despite this moment lasting mere seconds, to Titiana they felt to go in slow motion. She could see the dust slowly rising as Grey's body finally was done landing.
When he stood up and looked back at her. She felt as if he was a hero that came to save her.
"Let me take care of this" he stated in a calm tone while looking at her. Titiana felt the weight of Grey's yellow eyes on her—eyes meant to protect her.