"Where were you running into, huh?"
Arina was so tierd that her arms became loose, So I slipped out of her. One of the men in black approached her, and took her from the shoulder so she can stand up.
Arina's gaze resembled moments before her death in our previous life, as if she was seeing and not in the same time, lost in confusion.
Blood slipped from her forehead, I guessed it had injured her temple causing her to be dizzy.
The man holding her from shoulder turned to two others and said, "Well, what should we do now? It seems her family doesn't have the money to pay for her release."
"If you two idiots had paid attention in finding the target, none of this would have happened."
"What do you think about selling her as a slave to the mongers?"
I was trembling with fear and confusion until their words shook me further.
'What are they saying to themselves?'
"hmmmm..."
He grabbed Arina's chin tightly with one hand and examined it carefully.
"She undoubtedly has striking beauty. Surely someone wealthy will find her stunning. Perhaps even wealthier than her own family."
"I think we've done them a favor." They burst into dirty laughter.
I couldn't bear this situation; I wanted to rise and choke them all with my bare hands. But my weak and small body, now filled with fear, couldn't even move an inch.
They were taking Arina towards an area with many more trees... 'Is everything going to end like this again?'
I clenched my fist so that some soil from the ground stuck to it... 'Get up, you damned body '
With each step that Arina went further than me , tears streamed down my face more intensely...
'Pull yourself together.'
Step...
'You're ...'
Step...
'Loosing her...'
Step...
'Again ...'
The misery inside me led me towards loud sobbing ; even I was surprised by how loud it was. Suddenly, Time stopped and I was surrounded with green numbers and English letters whose meanings I couldn't understand; one word changed while another began anew. There were a few other words that quickly passed before my eyes. In utter bewilderment, my mouth shut tight; nothing moved except for these numbers being typed and shifted around. After what felt like an eternity passed by in this state until finally all the numbers and words faded away slowly. Time began moving again...
"Oh right! We forgot about this one."
"Damn it! What a hassle!"
My eyes widened in astonishment; unsure whether to cry or just stare at them in disbelief.
For the first time, someone other than my family members had noticed me...
"She doesn't even look appealing; just a nagging child."
"No one would buy this trash; what should we do?"
They looked at each other and simultaneously said,
"Kill her."
I looked at them with my mouth open. "What's going on? Are they trying to kill an infant?"
I felt like they were going to shut me up so no one would hear. But killing a child a bit cruel isn't it?
One of them pulled out a knife from his pocket and approached me. Out of fear, I pulled myself back on the ground and screamed, "Stay away from me."
"Calm down, little one. It only hurts a bit at first. Since you can't walk at this age, there's a chance that you'll get paralyzed or or be too weak to endure the pain. So it's better that we finish this before you suffer from it in your adulthood.
" Due to the pain of my injured hand my movements were slower than usual.
Of course, even if my hand was fine, taking a two-year-old who can't even walk isn't an easy task.
My body and hands were dusty and muddy from dragging myself from the ground And the cold wind was hitting my sweaty face.
'Damn! With this situation, I'll definitely catch a cold.'
He sat beside me and pulled me by my injured hand. My scream filled the area. My eyes were only on his knife.
It looked like a knife he made himself—simple with a wooden handle yet the blade itself was sharp and menacing.
I didn't scream anymore or struggle. It was such a sin that the knife had committed and how much blood it had shed covered by him.
I felt the weight of my sins on my shoulders at once... "It's true; I don't deserve another life." I smiled sadly. I had surrendered; I was ready for death. He knelt down on all fours and laid me on his knees standing up with his eyes caught by the knife above my head. Today is my last day alive... "Go to hell, Azima!" With round eyes, i stared at that covered in blood-soaked mask intensely... " how you kn_" Suddenly, intense light emanated from behind him. The sound of explosion and cries made both of us look towards the source of light. Two men in black lay wounded and lifeless on the ground... And Arina was surrounded by a halo of sparking light.
"What the hell happened here?"
I stared confounded at the scene in front of me. So many strange things happened one after another that I couldn't digest them.
In a split second, I felt like I was floating in the air. And when I came to my senses, I was in Arina's arms.
"So you're a PURE one, Huh? The fact that you can use it without a spell proves it in itself."
'Huh? Pure one? Spell? What are these things?'
I looked at Arina, confused and bewildered, with the blue aura still surrounding her, sparking.
Two black-clad figures, who had been lying lifeless on the ground just a few seconds ago, were now standing in front of us with trembling legs.
"This makes you even more valuable. Get her."
At that person's order, the two black-clad figures charged at us with a roar. I don't know how or how fast, but Arina dodged both of them and this time ran towards the mansion. Her speed was so high it was like I was riding a Bugatti at 180 mph. Well, that was my feeling, maybe she was moving slower than that. The wind whipped at my face and my eyes closed. Suddenly, I heard a loud thud from behind me. I turned with difficulty and looked behind us. What I saw was unbelievable. One of the black-clad figures was in the air, moving fast towards us . And what was holding him in the air were several long, cartilaginous bones protruding from his body.
'What is this? Doctor Octopus?'
"Stay right there, you slut!"
Since we were faster, we left him behind, and it didn't take long for Arina's foot to get caught on the root of a tree. She hit the ground hard and whimpered. In truth, despite her previous injuries, the fact that she was able to outrun them was a cause for wonder. I finally managed to snap out of my daze and looked at Arina with concern. She was holding me in her arms and panting. Her clothes were torn in places and her body was covered in scratches. I called out to her worriedly. She looked at me with her tired eyes. Hearing the thud, she got up woth struggle and hid herself among the bushes and trees. She sat me down on her lap and rested her head against the tree. A few seconds passed in silence, broken only by Arina's breath sound. She cautiously tilted her head from behind the tree and looked behind us to make sure they hadn't caught up to us. I looked at her twisted ankle. It was bruised and swollen, clearly broken. I gritted my teeth.
'This is all my fault. Because of me, Arina was deprived of a happy life. Because of me, Arina entered this damn world. Because of me...'
"Forgive me, Angela! This is all my fault."
I looked at her with astonishment. I saw that my vision was blurred with tears.
"What?"
"If I hadn't left the group and brought you with me because of my selfish feelings, you wouldn't be in this situation. I'm truly sorry. But don't worry..."
She put her hand behind my head and gently pressed me against her chest.
"I'll protect you."