I froze, blinking rapidly as the woman in my arms spoke. In the heat of the moment, and through the fog of anger, all I saw was the white hair and fur, green eyes, and the cat features that Cici had, although hearing her speak in a more mature voice, I knew immediately that this wasn't Cici. I pulled back, and looked the woman in the eyes, who stared at me with both wonder, fear, and confusion. I instantly made the connection, as they looked very much alike, and I would be lying if I said I didn't blush a little bit. She looked more like Cici's sister than her mom.
"Uh... hello... are you... Cici's mom?" I asked, and she stiffly nodded.
"W-who are you?" She asked, and it was at this point that I realized I was still gripping her shoudlers. I released her.
"Sorry, ma'am. My name is Elias." I answered, my tone respectful, which surprised her, and she just kept staring at me, then around at the army of Abyssal summons.
During all of this, they were killing these slave traders by the handfuls, while also freeing many of the captives. It was a really useful skill, and they followed my orders to a T. I also didn't give a fuck if scumbags like this died.
"ANYA!" A male cat Beastkin shouted as he sprinted towards us with a younger one hot on his heals.
"MOM!" The boy yelled, his speed overtaking the older one.
The woman, Anya, began to tear up as she opened her arms just in time for the boy who I assumed was Hiago, the brother that Cici had mentioned, to crash into her, and he buried his face into her impressive bosom. I can definitely see where Cici gets everything from.
"OH MY BOY! YOU'RE SAFE!" She sobbed into the boy's hair, "Everything's okay now... mommy's here..."
The scene made my eyes sting a bit. I remembered days like that... so long ago.
The older man, who I assumed was Cici's father, slid to his knees beside them, and engulfed them both in his arms. They all cried and held each other, and the scene made me smile. Almost out of habit, I used Abyssal Eye on them, and their information was displayed before me.
[Name: Anya Romina]
[Age: 37]
[Race: Beastkin (Cat)]
[Class: Florist (C)]
[Designation: Plant Whisperer]
Interesting. She had a C ranked class. These system designations were odd, but they described shit pretty well. Plant Whisperer was an interesting name. Also, the fact that this woman was almost 40 and looked so young and beautiful was insane to me. Cici had some damn good genes in her. After her, I moved on.
[Name: Warren Romina]
[Age: 41]
[Race: Beastkin (Cat)]
[Class: Hunter (D+)]
[Designation: Provider]
His class was a lower rank than his wife's. I assumed a hunter like him mainly used his class to hunt for game or something for his family, given his designation, which was pretty normal for a change. I viewed her brother next, although I didn't get very much.
[Name: Hiago Romina]
[Age: 11]
[Race: Beastkin (Cat)]
[Class: N/A]
[Designation: N/A]
I used my eye on the other Beastkin around us much the same, and I got similar results. Everyone was F to D rank in their class, and the only C rank here was Anya, and that looked to be in the weaker stages of C rank. These fuckers actually targeted a group of village people because of their race, and because they couldn't fight back. I looked at one of the dead slavers, a slimey looking man in a nice suit, and I sneered at the body. Good riddance.
The sobbing family trading hugs and kisses, with Anya kissing the man so fiercely at one point that I thought he might pass out. This should have me made me smile, and normally it would, yet... something was bothering me a lot right now. I saw a lot of people, Cici's family included, but she was nowhere in sight. Shouldn't she have come found them by now?
"Where's Cici??" I asked, my voice slightly panicked, and Anya eyes opened wide as she looked at me, as did her family.
"Thank you for saving us." Hiago said, and I nodded at him as I waited for the answer to my question.
"Who are you?" Warren asked, and I gritted my teeth.
"Cici! Where is she?" I growled, but I felt terrible a moment later, and I added, "Sorry, but I need to know if Cici's okay."
Anya seemed to notice something in my eyes as we traded looks with one another, and she seemed to understand immediately.
"I don't know what happened between you two... but there's something there, isn't there?" She said, and then continued before I could say anything in reply, "That can wait. The Baron took her not long before you got here. Please, Elias, save our girl. I can feel you are incredibly powerful... so please don't let anything happen to her." She finished, tears falling down her face, "Please..."
My blood boiled. That goddamn Baron's title popping up again, and he had my Cici. I had to hurry. I turned, and saw a small army of guards rushing into the auction house doors. There were at least 30 from my count, but upon using my Eye on them, they would pose no threat to my shades.
"Protect the Beastkin, and bring them home. Have them show you the way. Listen to what they tell you, and don't let single one of them die." I said, knowing it would be fine, before my wings sprouting out of my back once again made everyone gasp.
"What in the eternal hells?" Warren asked, his voice shakey.
I ingored the comments and mutters and turned back to Anya.
"Where do I go?" I asked, and she paused, and that made me curse.
"I... don't-" Anya began, her eyes wide at the wings on my back, but a voice next to me actually made me jump.
"I'll show you! My father can't keep doing this! I won't let this happen!" Clarissa said next to me, and I blinked in surprise. I had completely forgotten about her, but this was actually perfect.
"Your father...?" Anya said, venom in her tone, but her eyes changed and softened when she saw the guilt, tears, and hurt in Clarissa's eyes, and I had to admit, I felt for the girl. I knew what it was like to have a shitty dad.
"She's not like the Baron, I know that much. She came here to try to help you all." I said, and Clarissa nodded, while still looking guilty.
"He's still my dad... so I feel responsible... but he's awful! I hate what he's doing, and I hate him for this!" She said, tears in her eyes as she looked at me, "He has to be stopped..."
I placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at me, surprised at the gesture.
"I get it. I'm counting on you. But just so you know... I'm going to kill your father. He took someone that means everything to me. I will stop at nothing to get her back, and... I'm telling you this so can prepare for it." I said, my tone gentle, but firm. I felt bad for her, but only for her sake. She also knew her father was a piece of shit and needed to be stopped. I could have been less blunt, but currently, I wasn't in the sugarcoating mood right now.
Clarissa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded. When she opened them again, I saw a fire and anger in them that I didn't expect.
"Everything he's done... it's unforgivable. He is my father by blood only, but to me personally, he's a rabid beast, and he needs to be put down. Seeing all of this... I won't accept it." She said, and I gave her shoulder a squeeze. It took a lot to say that, but I could tell she meant it, even if it would hurt her in some way. Even towards her own family, she had strong ideals. I liked her.
When I looked back at her family, Warren had a complex look in his eyes as he looked at me, while Anya had a softness in hers that reminded me so much of Cici it hurt. My words must have struck them, and I meant everything I said. Cici was my world now, as I'm sure her and her brother were to their parents, and I had to get her back. I aimed my palm up, and used a beam of Abyssal fire to blast a hole clean through the roof. Everyone yelped and gasped.
"Holy, EEE-" Clarissa started, before I picked her up into a princess carry, and she stared at me with wide eyes. I turned back to the Rominas.
"I'm going. I will bring Cici back, I promise, so for now, please get back to the village. My shades will protect you." I said to them, and they all nodded at me, and the hope in Anya's eyes made me feel a tad lighter, but it was overshadowed by Cici being in the hands of someone doing god knows what.
I shot through the hole in the roof at great speeds, causing Clarissa to bury her face into my neck and let out a muffled scream. I stopped when I had a view of the entire city.
"Clarissa, where do I go?" I asked, and she shakily turned her head towards the right, and pointed a trembling hand.
The place she pointed at was the most obvious damn place in the whole town. It was basically a gated estate, and the biggest and most expansive building in this town.
"Hold on tight." I said, and the air cracked like thunder as I shot towards the building, Clarissa screaming into my chest the whole time, "I'm coming Cici. Please be okay."