Sarina stopped.
"Someone else is here, and they're coming toward us!" Sarina said as Darius began looking around.
After a few tense moments, a group of men emerged from the lush green bushes.
They all wore red armor—not full armor, just shoulder guards and chest plates.
There was a crest on their chest plates with something written in Qumi, the universal language of Thius: "Azure Guard."
"Why are most fantasy worlds obsessed with the word 'Azure'?" Darius thought as he looked at the group.
There were five men, all wearing the same armor and crest.
One of them stepped forward and said in a commanding tone, "We are Respected Guards from the Azure Empire!"
Darius flinched for a moment, then stepped forward and said respectfully, "We're travelers, and we lost our way. Can you help us reach the Azure Empire?"
That Goobly Guy had taught—or maybe just inserted—the language into their minds. Whatever he did, it was helpful.
The man looked past Darius and pointed at Sarina.
"Who is she?"
"She's my wife," Darius said, still using the same respectful tone.
The man smiled and placed a hand on Darius's shoulder.
"She's not your wife."
"How the hell does he know that?" Darius thought, panicking inwardly.
His face, however, remained naturally aloof as ever.
"She's not your wife anymore," the lead guard grinned, turning back to his comrades. "She's ours now. Like the last one. And the one before that."
"Mm. This one's prettier than the priest girl. Remember her screams? Gods, I still dream of that night."
"I'll go first. I want her bleeding before she begs."
"Nah, we should hold her down, let her feel it. Break her in slow. Like the twin sisters from that village."
"She's already been used," one sneered. "Shame. I wanted to take something sacred."
"'Used' just means she's learned her place. Might even thank us when she starts to feel good."
"Bet she cries the same way they all do. First it's 'Please stop!' then it's just sobbing and shaking. I love that part."
"Look at her. That body… we should carve our initials into her back—like we did with that merchant girl."
"And when she passes out? We keep going. The quiet ones last longer."
"I want her broken. On her knees. Calling us masters."
They all looked at Sarina like she was an object—no, worse than that.
"Shut the fuck up," Darius muttered under his breath, trying to control his anger.
That control lasted only half a second.
"Shut the FUCK up!" he roared as white flames erupted from his body.
"Magic shouldn't work in this forest! How is this guy conjuring flames?" one of the guards shouted.
"Idiot! He's a Null like me—he's using a Null ability!"
How dare they talk about Sarina like that?
No… not just Sarina. They shouldn't talk about anyone like that.
But they did. They dared to talk about Sarina like that.
"I'll kill them," Darius muttered, gritting his teeth. His voice had lost all its softness—only coldness and hatred remained.
His voice echoed through the entire forest.
His eyes burned with fury.
"Let me kill them," he heard Sarina's soft voice.
Why was she so calm? Wait—why was she smiling?
Darius looked at her. She nodded.
"Darry, I want to kill them. Let me kill them," Sarina said with a devilish smile.
---
Sarina's POV
Sarina was smiling because—
"I won't feel bad killing them."
Their dehumanizing, objectifying words might be new for Darry, but for Sarina, they were all too familiar. She had just… forgotten that people like this still existed after her adoption and after meeting Darry.
On Earth, as a street kid, she had seen countless women dehumanized by monsters in human skin.
If not for Ryan White adopting her, she would've been one of them—as soon as someone noticed her.
She wouldn't be Sarina. Just a nameless street rat.
---
In the present…
"But—" Darry started, but Sarina interrupted him.
"I have no problem with you killing these monsters, but… there's someone else watching us. I want you to be ready for that danger while I gather some fuel for my ability," Sarina said.
Darry nodded.
"But… let me help," he said as the white flames began to morph into something.
A double-edged longsword. Similar to her training sword on Earth.
No—an exact replica of it.
"This sword will burn everything except you. Kill them all, Sarina," he said.
"Thank you, Darry," Sarina said with a soft smile.
Darry returned the smile and walked away from the fight.
Some distance away, he sat down and closed his eyes to disintegrate the remaining tree in his soul space.
Sarina smiled as she looked at the disgusting creatures in front of her, still grinning ear to ear.
"Most likely, Darry used all his essence to create this sword. After the disintegration, his mind will be strained too. I hate to admit it… but my ability is useless until I kill someone," she thought as the five men unsheathed their weapons.
"Sarina, focus!" she muttered to herself.
"First: they can't use magic in this forest. That means they lose all their advantages over me.
"Second: one of them is a Null."
She paused as she recalled what Goobly Guy had explained about Nulls:
"In simple terms, Nulls are a lesser version of Unbound. They can't use magic either. But Nulls can form a soul core and gain abilities—though those depend entirely on the soul essence stored in that core.
But you Unbounds… your souls don't follow conventional rules. Your powers are unique to you. That's why higher beings want them. On Thius, you can disguise yourself as a Null."
"I don't know if any of the others are Nulls. So my first target… is that Null," Sarina said as she tightened her grip on the white sword.
She could feel everything Darry had felt while creating the sword—
Hatred. Disgust. And more than anything—the desire to protect her. No, not just protect her… He wanted her strong. Proud. Happy.
Sarina smiled softly as she watched the group of men rush toward her, swords drawn.
"I'm sure some of them will try to attack Darry…"