The man tried to stand up, but his body refused to move. He tried to speak but his teeth were glued together. He tried to breathe but his lungs remained still.
“Boy, I asked if he hits you.” Even from up close, even with his black aura flooding the three humans, the Void felt that the child was still more afraid of his father than of the stranger. “You don’t have to be afraid.
“Just be honest with and I promise you this nightmare will end.” He said as the fangs in his mouth formed a grin that nothing had of reassuring. “Boy, this is your moment. The occasion you’ve dreamed about every day of your miserable life.
“If you don’t stand up for yourself, no one will. No one is going to come and save you so I’ll ask you one more time. Does. He. Hit. You?”
The boy looked in his father’s eyes and for the first time in his life he saw no threat or rage in them, only fear. The same fear that plagued the boy’s heart.
“Yes.” He said amid swallows.
“What about her?” Derek’s smile widened up to where the ears were supposed to be, his voice still the mockery of a person trying to sound kind.
“Mother never touched me.” The more he spoke without consequences, the more the boy found his courage. “She never does anything for me. Good or bad.”
The boy lowered his gaze in shame, thinking there had to be something wrong with him if no one loved him. He had tried his best to change, to be good, but it was never enough. He never got anything right and his father was always angry at him.
“I see.” Derek’s eyes twitched in ill-contained fury as flashes of his past turned him back into a child terrified of his parents.
A child who now possessed more power than he had ever thought possible and a twisted imagination. Derek looked at the woman’s stupid face and her eyes told him everything he needed.
Even confronted by the words of her child, she wasn’t ashamed of what she had done, only worried about the consequences of being caught. She had used the shift of the Abomination’s focus to take a few steps back, giving no thought to protect the boy.
“I know your kind, woman. You are as disgusting as your man. You picked him to not have to use your brain and didn’t care about anything as long as it wasn’t your own problem, correct?”
The woman said nothing, ugly crying to get away with her actions like she had always done in the past.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you either.” The Void said and the tears stopped as quickly as they had begun. “I’ll just teach you a lesson about motherhood.”
A flick of Derek’s wrist, a tendril of Spirit Magic, and the woman threw herself at the still-downed man, slapping him with more strength than she had.
“A mother should always defend her child.” The Void bent his forefinger and she dished an even stronger backhand slap. “No matter the cost. No matter how scared you are.”
The man stared at his wife in utter confusion and disbelief that were soon replaced by anger.
“I’m sorry. He’s making me do it. It’s not me.” She said.
“Now you talk.” Derek closed his fist and so did she, a huge smile forming on his face. “See? It’s not that hard.”
The woman punched her husband on the nose, breaking it. Blood poured out of his nostrils and his eyes misted with tears. He wanted to yell. He wanted to stand up and defend himself but his body remained frozen like a statue.
“Again.” A flick of Derek’s hand and the woman hit the broken nose, almost making the man faint from the pain.
Almost.
“Again.” Her right foot moved on its own stomping his crotch.
“Again.” She performed a left hook that cut his lips over his teeth and broke her fingers.
“Again.” The broken hand punched the man’s right ear, making them both cry in pain.
“I’m so sorry.” The Void oozed sarcasm and venom as he laughed at them. “Does it hurt?”
The woman’s fists struck the man’s cheekbones, eyes, and temples like hammers, cracking his skull and breaking her fingers. They cried in pain and begged for mercy but the Void had none to spare.
“How does it feel to be the victim? How does it feel to take a beating from the people who are supposed to protect you? How does it feel to know there’s nothing you can do to stop me?” Derek opened his palm and a piece of stone flew into the woman’s hand.
“There you go. You can use your broken hand to hit your man or the rock. If you use your hands, he won’t suffer much but you will suffer with him. If you keep the rock, he might die but your pain will end here.
“The choice is yours.”
“He’s lying. I can’t open my fingers, I swear!” The woman lied, refusing to let go of the stone so that when the next pulse of Spirit Magic came, her broken fingers were spared from the impact.
The blow to the head made a dull sound and caused blood to spurt from a deep cut in the man’s forehead, snapping the boy out of his reverie.
“Stop it! Stop hurting my parents!” He moved in front of the Void, hoping to put an end to that violence.
“What parents? They treat you like an animal. Wake up, boy. They don’t deserve your loyalty.” Derek’s voice was a low snarl as he emitted another pulse of Spirit Magic and the rock struck again.
“Please, Magus Verhen, stop.” A feminine voice said, making him turn around. “They may be bad people but they are still people. Leave them to us. Let justice take its course.”
The Void looked at the Constable and for a moment his vision blurred. The person in the uniform suddenly became identical to Kamila. He saw her long black hair held up in a ponytail, her lively brown eyes, and her dazzling smile.
His stomach churned in shame for his actions until the illusion broke. The Constable in front of him was a woman, but she looked nothing like Kamila. She was accompanied by a five-man unit of the Knight’s Guard who protected her without interfering with the beating.
“The law?” Derek snarled, outraged at his own weakness. “Where was the law while this boy was beaten like a dog? Why do people like you care more about protecting the criminals than the victims?”
“That’s not true. We-”
“Not true?” The Void unfurled his wings, releasing a wave of darkness mixed with killing intent that sent everyone but the boy and the Constable crashing against a wall. “Are you telling me the boy’s wounds are not real?”
“They are real.” The Constable licked her lips, trying not to pout more oil on the raging fire in front of her. “But that doesn’t justify your actions.”
“He’s right.” The boy nodded. “Please, mister Verhen. You are a good guy. You have always been my hero.”
