***ROAAAARRR***

Serah's eyes go wide. A huge bear had appeared out of nowhere.

Stunned, she stood still from the shock of the roar, not even bothering to raise her shield and sword.

“Protect the girl!” A voice calls out as a man jumps into the fray, swinging a two-handed sword.

The sword slashes and cuts into the bear. But it didn't seem deep enough; the bear swipes away the blade and claws at the man. The man tries to jump away, but not before a claw cut into his leather armor, slicing away a bit of skin.

Serah looks and suddenly another man was in front of her. With a twang, he releases an arrow from a large bow, causing it to whiz forward and bite into the bear’s shoulder.

The bear lets out another roar and the man with the sword takes the opportunity to lunge his weapon forward, into the bear’s neck. It cuts deep, and with an unfortunate struggle, the bear collapses, bleeding from its neck.

Serah watches all of this, stunned.

The man with the bow turns around and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Ugh, yes. I’m fine.” She forces herself to say. Her cheeks felt a little hot. She’s never been the damsel in distress before.

The man with the sword also approaches. “What are you doing all the way out here? Don’t you know its dangerous?” He asks with a deep voice, causing Serah to clear her throat from unexpected emotions.

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“Ah, you know, just taking a stroll. Enjoying the scenery.” Serah says with a bitter smile.

“Well, it’s getting dark, and you don’t seem to have any camping supplies. Did you want to rest with us today? Tomorrow we’ll lead you to town. Your family is probably worried sick.” The man with the sword says, trying to sound well-meaning.

Serah’s brows furrow in suspicion. If this was any sort of normal situation, she would definitely say no. But he was right; Serah didn’t have any camping supplies. She was content to sleep in a bed of leaves if she had to, but she had a feeling that these guys wouldn’t let the matter go so easily.

“It’s okay. I’ll make it through the night. Thanks for the help. Maybe I’ll see you guys in town.” She says before trying to walk away.

“Wait.” The man with the sword says, as he grabs onto Serah’s wrist. “Stay a while. We can get to know each other.” He says with a grin, his voice sounding much more sinister.

Serah’s eyes widen as her heart begins to beat faster. “Let go!” She yells as she tries to struggle out of the man’s grip. But he was stronger than her.

The man lets go of his sword and grabs Serah’s body while trying to pull her to the the ground.

Serah collapses, breathing heavy breaths from a primal fear. “Let me fucking go!” She yells, feeling tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. But it was no use; she was fully pinned down.

“Just try to enjoy it.” The man says, before letting out a chuckle.

Super strength! Super strength! Come on! She thinks with anxiety. Suddenly she feels her body become lighter and with an effortless pull, her hand frees itself from the man’s grip.

The man’s eyes widen. But it was too late. Serah throws a punch and it lands heavily onto the man’s face, causing him to fall backwards.

Serah struggles to get up, tears slowly coming out of her eyes. “Fucking. Bastard.” She says through heavy breaths. She unsheathes her sword and plunges it into the man’s neck, cutting deeply until the sword touched the soil. Like the animal the man had just slain, he put up a futile struggle as blood overflows from his neck.

With red eyes, Serah looks at the man with the bow, her righteous fury, still yet to be fully unleashed.

The man stares wide-eyed and quickly pulls out a dagger. “I had nothing to do with that. I wouldn’t harm you. You can relax now. Put down your sword.” The man says with a gentle voice, attempting to coax the anger out of Serah.

“Fucking guilty by association. Bastard.” She says before rushing forward.

An effortless but heavy slash comes swinging down at the man, and he tries to block it with his dagger, but the sword forces its way forward and bites into his hand, cutting off a few fingers. “Aaaghh!” The man yells.

But Serah doesn’t stop. With another slash, her sword cleanly cuts through the man’s neck, causing his head to fall to the ground, wide-eyed, followed by his collapsing body.

Serah continues to stand with her sword raised, panting heavily. Her faces scrunches up into fury, shame, and a deep, deep hatred. “Urrrghhh!!” She exclaims through gritted teeth before collapsing to her knees, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to stop her tears. “Fucking men!” She yells, embarrassed and ashamed. “Fucking bastards all of them!” She yells as tears continue to flow freely from her eyes.

The anger slowly starts to fade, and all Serah feels is a deep sadness, buried in the depths of her soul. God… Why… She thinks to herself. But no one answers.