Author Note: TRIGGER WARNING, heavy female abuse scene. Read with a steady heart and remember dears. This is a novel.
*********************
Evelyn was waiting patiently to see which woman would be her model. A few very abused ones walked around her, and Evelyn could feel many gazes locked onto her while trying to see her reaction.
Evelyn knew they wanted her anger to surface. She knew that the moment she showed any favoritism or any offense, many would have a chance to trip her.
Therefore, besides an initial glance, she looked away after they were not her model.
After a while, Evelyn finally saw her model being pushed in front of her, and her lips twitched. 'Fuck, they are sick in the head.'
Yasenia and the others also saw her, and they all couldn't help but frown. Yasenia commented aloud with pure disgust, not intending to be hidden from the crowd. "Not even wild animals are this deranged in the head."
The tiger kin looked at Yasenia and squinted, sending a wave of pressure. Our dragoness felt like an invisible hand had just grabbed around her and squeezed hard. She almost grunted but didn't show anything on her face and raised her head with external ease.
Yasenia looked back with a sneer and didn't move from her spot. "What? You know I'm not wrong."
The man was surprised, and he stopped after a few moments. 'Hm, that dragon woman is not simple.'
Although Yasenia spoke aloud, only the top cultivators could listen to her words as she didn't increase the strength of her voice.
Yasenia looked over and observed the woman standing before Evelyn.
She had a hint of black hair, but since the hair was dry and dirty, the color looked yellowish and malnourished. Her cheeks were sunken, and her chin was very pointy. Even then, she still had a hint of her true beauty, a curse in the continent she was born in.
Her face was not spotless, quite the opposite. It was filled with a few purple marks and wet with different fluids, which was what made Yasenia and the others frown in disgust.
Her face was numb and emotionless, and her black pupils looked glazed.
This woman's bad luck didn't end with her face, as she had enormous breasts even when her bones were showing on the skin. As if Fate had decided to make a sick joke on this woman and give her attractive features, body shape, and skin, even after being malnourished, abused, and who knows how many other things.
Evelyn was close enough to smell that the wet on her body was not water, and the white fluids dripping down her legs made her stomach revolt. 'Did they use her and give her to me right away? They are really sick in the head.'
Angel and Kali could not look on and walked beside Yasenia to dove into her embrace. Yasenia naturally opened her arms and allowed those two to hide their faces in her bosom as they looked away. "I'm here, dears. Between my arms will always be safe."
Yasenia's body warmth and scent, presence and voice, and her warm kisses on their forehead made their tensed bodies soften as they rubbed their faces on Yasenia with dependence.
Elder Song commented. "Don't get us wrong, Yasenia. Even we think that this time they took it too far."
Jorey nodded. "It's not like I'm not guilty of selling slaves to others like this, but to just present them in public to provoke other humans. That has crossed a step too far."
Yasenia didn't say anything. These beast humans still thought that the wrong thing was that the scene was too traumatic for the public, not that what the human woman had gone through was too much. Therefore, her sympathy for them is null, and her connection to these powers is always professional and never personal.
At least, in the Sky Continent, there are rules to protect slaves. Here, they are less than living-being. They are less than an item.
From the start, she knew what kind of conditions the humans had. Hence, she could take this with a calm heart. As she caressed and kissed Kali and Angel, she looked on with cold and indifferent eyes.
Evelyn sighed and walked toward her. The second she took the first step forward, she felt like most of the arena locked onto her location, making her feel even worse. 'I know they are not all the same. I do know it. But the things I've heard until now really make me want to go on a Beast-human hunt. I almost feel like our continent is the karma of those beast humans that die in this continent.'
It was just a thought, nothing serious, nor anything she wished upon anybody. 'But some… They really do deserve it.'
Evelyn was not angry. She was a bit irritated that their cheap tricks went this far.
After Evelyn approached, she looked at her up and down and waved her wand, summoning a cleaning towel she specially used at night. It was very good at cleaning filth in general.
Then, she used the towel and a layer of energy on her hands to avoid touching the filth and cleaned her slowly.
The woman naturally didn't react. Her heart had burnt to ashes long ago.
Evelyn didn't even see a reaction when her hand approached her eyes, and she sighed again. 'It is at times like these, when I see the world besides what our dragoness shows us, I remember how cruel our World is. What's worse is that this is by far not the worst thing the world has to offer.'
Evelyn closed her eyes for a second and remembered all of Yasenia's smiles. Her seductive one, her playful one, her laughing one, her tender one, her bright one, her scolding one. With each smile of the dragoness that flashed in her mind, she felt her sinking heart cleansing itself and becoming pristine again.
'Yes. My dragoness is my little heaven in this cruel universe. I was lucky enough to find the little oasis where happiness seems to be the water and love the greenery. Thank you, love. I love you.'
Meanwhile, the judge looked at Evelyn and asked aloud. "Why are you cleaning her, contestant? Empathizing with the models will get you into trouble quickly. Stop your movements right at this moment!"
Evelyn looked at the judge, and her face had zero of her usual playfulness, looking as cold and emotionless as the Moon in the sky. "Do you want the clothes I make to be stained by the filth on her? Just smelling the stench, I can tell that the people who smeared her will die of an STD, so I would like to clean her not to infect the judging personnel. Can I do it, judge?"
The judge and those observing her were stunned at such a blunt answer. Moreover, the underlying tone of cursing all the people who touched the woman to die did not escape unnoticed as a few faces became ugly.
However, they didn't say anything, as the tiger kin's previous warning toward the bunny woman made it difficult to speak up.
The judge also couldn't say anything as every word of Evelyn seemed to look out for them, so he could only smile and nod. "G-Good. I hope you present a worthy dress, then."
Yasenia commented lightly to Angel and Andrea. 'You might be tested similarly. If you feel like you want to save someone, tell me. I can afford to save one or two unrelated people.'
They all looked at Yasenia's calm golden eyes and nodded. Angel asked with a clearly gloomy tone. 'Yasenia… Why does this happen?'
Yasenia lowered her head and kissed her forehead softly. 'Baby, the world is driven by interests. Do you think a mid-level Parus is a lot, baby?'
Angel shook her head. 'It's very little.'
Yasenia sighed. 'However, some parents would sell their children for less than that amount. What is the reason? Well, there may be many, or they may be none. These are just tragedies that you can't stop and will continue to happen as long as we are thinking creatures.'
Angel bit her lip and looked back at the arena. 'Can't we do something?'
Yasenia patted her head. Cecile answered. 'All we can do is try to increase the living quality of humans. We can't go against an entire Continent, and Yasenia won't allow us to be in danger unless a few exceptions appear. Therefore, remember to cuddle with Yasenia when you feel bad. She is our light in this dark world, Angel.'
Angel nodded and went back to hugging and sniffing Yasenia together with Kali. They were so comfortable that they almost started purring.
The judge spoke at that moment. "Good, every human is in place. Start creating the dresses. You have only an hour."
Evelyn first used her spiritual sense to look at the woman's figure. She had a similar height to herself, but the body proportions were on Kali's level, with big breasts, a curvy butt, and a slim waist. Evelyn didn't understand how the woman could maintain such a body shape even in this condition.
Even if the shape was similar to Kali's curvy body, it was much less perfect. The large breasts couldn't stand proud against gravity, the skin was cracked in a few places, and the skin was also a bit yellowy because of the malnourishment. The legs were also shorter, making the body shape a bit chubbier.
After being cleaned, she looked good, but besides the seductive curves, she was nothing extraordinary.
The previous tiger kin and the other six Epoch Core cultivators discussed Evelyn's reaction.
'She didn't flinch. Moreover, she could get one on the judge with clever wording.' Said a woman.
'Yes. She reacted as if the person in front of her was a rock on the side of the road. She just cleaned her, and now she is working as if her eyes don't see any markings.' Commented another.
'This is a first. Every human has had a reaction in the past when presented with fellow humans in dire situations. A few even snapped and began shouting we were sick, hahaha.' Laughed the tiger kin.
'Right, we could instantly size them and change them to slaves. Sadly, this one didn't fall for the trick. She looks outstanding.' Commented the first woman.
'But her beauty is nothing compared with the others besides that dragon woman. Just look at the red eyes one. I really want to grab her and make that indifferent and proud face despair.' Said an older lady with a twisted smile.
'You are a bit sick in the head. Not that I don't understand. After all, that model comes from your camp, leader of the Five Shadow Fangs.' Answered the tiger kin.
'Speaking of which, who is that dragon woman? She is the most beautiful woman I've seen in my life.' Asked one of them.
The tiger kin commented. 'I'm not sure, but I think she is from a new power named… Sky Clan?'
'Astral Sky Clan.' Corrected the Five Shadow Fangs leader.
The first woman commented. 'Right, she has attacked one of your subordinate clans, the Mouse Bone Clan. What will you do about it?'
'Nothing. I would rather befriend her than offend her because of a little mouse clan.'
'Oh… You old fossils look at the human. Such a beautiful handwork.'
Their eyes refocused on the competition, and they all became impressed.