ã€ŠCrimson Magister: Kingdom of Red Dawnã€‹


 Deicide

    The supreme god was in such dire condition that he couldn¡¯t even keep his humanoid visage instead having to resort to discarding his visage in favor of his original form of light.

    As another immense pillar of flame collapsed upon a being of light he started disintegrating with a pained scream. For what seemed like an eternity the flames conjured by the elf before him burned his very essence, it was erasing him.

    If he dies here, it would be like he never existed, his followers would lose his boon, the lands he blessed would become infertile, and flying temples constructed in his image would collapse.

    ¡°NO, I REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR YOU PUNY MORTAL, I AM THE SUPREME CREATOR OF THIS WORLD¡± Being screamed as it tried to reconstruct itself just enough for it to launch one final attack.

    ¡°You mortal will regret entering my sanctum, DIE!¡± A beam of energy rushed towards the young elf woman as she smiled before being completely engulfed by the holy energy.

    As the light disappeared all that was left of the elf was ash, the god drew a sight of relief as his last-ditch attack worked but it only lasted a moment, as the god watched the girl turn into ash it was like it never happened, in one moment she was ash and now she stood before him unharmed with a smirk on her face, oh how much he hated that smile now, he wanted this elf for himself for so long that he decided to exterminate all that she held close so that she might turn to faith, turn to him.

    For a hundred years, he plotted and made sure his plan was successful, ever since she was born he made sure there was nothing else other than faith in him to turn to, in the beginning, it was fine but suddenly she vanished from his sight.

    Those blue glowing eyes, that red hair and fair face, such beautiful body, truly a consort worthy of a god of his stature, and yet she stands before him, she stands at the brink of his oblivion, a target of his desire is the architect of his downfall.

    But what went wrong, why did she decide to kill him, he didn¡¯t know, for all his power he wasn¡¯t omniscient, but she should have been his, she should have been in his bed as all others before her.

    He couldn¡¯t accept it, no mortal could hope to scratch him, what is so different about this one, for untold millennia he was able to get as many mortal wives as he wished, he could murder and bless and rape mortals with no restrictions, and none of them were able to even gaze upon him.

    So why, why was this woman wielding such immense power capable of obliterating him, not just flames, the power of time itself was bending to her will, such control allowed her to make most of his most devastating attacks null and void, such mastery of magic was unheard for mere mortal race.

    He launched attack after attack as the flames continued consuming him, exhausting what little power he had left.

    Nothing worked, whatever he threw at her was either countered or just had no effect on her, any blessing he withdrew from the mortal world to empower himself was not enough, he took away the power of all of his subjects, and yet it was not enough

    It was impossible, He the ruler of this world, the undisputed god, absolute ruler of both death and life would die here, He would die to a mortal.

    ¡°IF I WILL DIE SO WILL YOU,¡± he screamed making the sanctum echo and shake with his voice.

    ¡°BEGONE WORM!¡± he screamed before trying to unleash one last explosion by sacrificing himself and his remaining essence, but it was not enough the explosion should have killed her and yet she stood there unscathed.

    The God of this world has died, the age of divinity has passed and the mortal that slayed this god will usher in a new age of mortals, or that was how it was supposed to be.

    ********************************

    She stood in front of the so-called god that made her life until now living hell, elves lived for thousands of years, and yet ever since she was born this so-called god took everything from her.

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    Oh how wonderful it is to burn him, turn him into nothing, and make his kingdoms crumple, so many priests that follow his decree shall remain powerless, and all of the blessings will be gone.

    She placed her fingers on her circlet, she moved her index finger across the center ruby, this gemstone was all that was left to remind her of her family, and her entire race.

    How many of his temples has she burned, she couldn¡¯t remember, so many kingdoms were reduced to ash so many millions of his followers died.

    It is truly wonderful, His lack of vision allowed her to grow in strength to such a level that not even the god could contain it.

    And now she is here, in front of her tormentor and he screams in agony

    ¡°If he wasn¡¯t such an asshole, I would even feel sorry for him¡± she whispered to herself.

    When he blasted her with one of his last-ditch attacks she was distracted and directly hit, but even while she herself was turned to ash time itself would not allow her to die before fulfilling her destiny.

    At the moment of her demise clock of time ticked back for her and returned her to her original state.

    It was a truly magnificent spell, altering time itself to attain the result you wish for, and yet playing with time was incredibly dangerous, a small mistake could cause consequences spanning all space and time.

    She preferred to not rely on this spell but instead some other death countermeasure, but against the supreme god? She couldn¡¯t afford to not use her full power.

    She smirked at the so-called god as she reveled in his face contorted by anger, before increasing the power she pushed into the flames that now consumed the god, it was almost over.

    She placed both of her hands on the ground as a massive magical circle appeared below and above the god, the moment after his entire being was consumed by flames, while her flames until now were crimson these had a black hue to them.

    ¡°Soon the world will be free of your tyranny and so will I, this is for all you have taken from me!¡± She shouted but it fell on deaf ears as the god sacrificed the last of his essence to attempt and eliminate the elf.

    God¡¯s divine form bloated more and more, his entire being about to explode.

    ¡°IF I WILL DIE SO WILL YOU, BEGONE WORM!¡± the god¡¯s voice echoed around her, the power washing over her almost knocking her back.

    As she noticed this she decided to surround herself with a barrier of flames, but as the holy energy surrounded her it was like it wasn¡¯t meant to kill, but something else, it was like a hand grasping her entire being and pulling her by force, like a leash yanking her towards a direction.

    Before she could even react both her and God¡¯s remnants were now in the skies of the unknown world, falling quickly towards the ground but with the divine corpse disappearing within her flames she knew it was over, and yet he got another small victory over her, he was able to pull her to another world.

    ¡°NO, YOU ASSHOLE JUST ACCEPT DEFEAT.¡± She screamed at him as the dead god slowly disappeared from existence, consumed by her flames.

    She conjured her flaming wings and with great speed rushed towards the remnants of the dead god, with her touch she placed her hand, and conjuring a burst of power she surrounded divine remains in a black flame, moment after the remnants were gone.

    As any opponent consumed by her black fire, she absorbed his essence, she felt herself become something more, more than she ever was before.

    Her blue eyes gained a ghostly blue glow leaving a trail of blue fire as she fell, her fiery wings gained an angelic form whenever she called upon them, and her circlet turned into a halo of fire floating above her head with her family ruby taking a center piece of flame halo.

    She felt her entire being change, her power growing more than she could even imagine, she felt divine energy surge within her and her soul generating more and more of it.

    As she floated above the new world she looked at her hands and she knew.

    ¡°I have become something divine, and yet I have no desire for it, no ambition... I feel nothing¡± She said softly, perhaps it is because she does not wish to become like the former supreme deity of her world, Perhaps she should just continue as she did before.

    She thought as she gazed around the heavily forested area with only a narrow stone road stretching across it that perhaps she should think of how should she call herself in the future, how will people of this new world know her.

    She thought for a moment, her birth name was forgotten by all except her, supreme deity made sure of it.

    But her endurance despite the cruel god¡¯s whims and her rapid growth in power earned her the moniker ¡®Crimson Magister¡¯

    Despite all, she still embraced the title, in her old world she only called herself by the title, but now perhaps she should introduce herself to this world as her original self, as much as is left of it.

    She crossed her arms and nodded her head as she came to a conclusion

    ¡°They shall know me as Aqua, The Crimson Magister¡± She smiled as she flapped her wings and with immense speed rose into the sky, allowing her to search for any sign of civilization.

 Ambush

    Ambush

    An ornate carriage plated in gold and finest mahogany was rushing through a narrow stone path leading through the Ebon Forest.

    Ebon Forest was one of the largest forests in the world, with such thickness of trees which gave it its name that traveling without flight or through already established path was near impossible, and yet what made it easy to travel was that the entire forest was incredibly flat as if crafted that way by deliberate actions of a creator.

    The carriage was guarded by 30 heavily armored knights and 10 spell casters with one knight riding in front of them carrying a green flag with the same insignia as the carriage, all of them were so heavily armored that you couldn¡¯t make out their gender or build.

    They were escorting a carriage with a single passenger, a princess in any sense of the word, a young elf girl, with flowing platinum hair, red eyes, an elaborate tiara, and a long black dress.

    All went well until they ran into a man-made blockade, and multiple trees fell blocking their paths not allowing them to retreat easily before a multitude of arrows and spells rushed out of the dark forest canopy killing 4 spell casters and 2 knights.

    The leading knight shouted ¡°Ambush!, knights form a wall, let the ranged units return fire!¡± to the escorting soldiers as they got into formation before getting attacked by all sides by unknown fighters.

    This day couldn¡¯t get any worse for Sheira, one moment she was peacefully riding a carriage with her father¡¯s elite guards surrounding her and ensuring her complete safety.

    All went well until they entered the Ebon Forest, as they rode through the thick forest she wished to enjoy the slow ride until arriving in the Red Dawn Kingdom and made a request to her escort to slow down.

    Red Dawn was a human kingdom, one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms on the continent, their army was relatively small but their training and equipment were supreme, not to mention having multiple Inquisitors as they call them.

    But not all was well, many of the nobles practiced slavery, and many of them organized ¡°Elf hunts¡± to gather young elves that could serve their families for generations.

    And yet due to the threat of the neighboring savages sharing a long southern border with the Elven Kingdom, the king decided to ignore their crimes and send his only daughter to strike a deal with the monarch of the Red Dawn and ask for support.

    ¡°It just isn¡¯t possible for anything to go my way¡± She didn¡¯t want to go to Red Dawn, she knew what it meant for her to go, she would have to give all of herself just for a chance for her people to survive.

    She leaned her head against the carriage wall before the carriage suddenly stopped knocking her forward and making her fall right on her face.

    All she could make out as she fell was the words Ambush being shouted by her childhood friend and captain of her guards.

    As she slowly rose she heard yelling and shortly after swords clashing.

    ¡°Oow, what is going on outside!?¡± she rubbed her nose as she slightly opened the carriage curtains, what she saw horrified her more than anything before in her life.

    Outside the carriage, her guards were getting slaughtered, slaughtered by unknown humanoids covered by dark hoods that obscured their faces.

    Some were getting decapitated, some were frozen to a crisp and some were turned into grotesque zombies turning them against their former allies

    These people were launching devastating attacks against her guard before retreating into the forest and launching their attacks again.

    Princess wondered if she just encountered one of the ¡°Elf Hunts¡±

    ¡°But the nobles would never attack a royal carriage, what is going on here¡± she whispered to herself as she bit down on her lip.

    A horrible feeling was rising in her throat as she watched her best guards that served her family loyally since her childhood getting killed as if they were pigs.

    She wished to help, she didn¡¯t want her loyal soldiers to die, and yet deep within herself she knew.

    ¡°I¡¯m weak...¡± she exhaled as she watched the battle unfolding from a small slit between curtains.

    She didn¡¯t know how to use a sword; she didn¡¯t have magic knowledge and she certainly didn¡¯t have a divine blessing.

    All she had was the royal blood, only special for its immense healing capability, a single drop of her family blood could heal any wound, it could even regrow limbs, the only limit was that it couldn¡¯t revive the dead.

    That blood was the only reason her kingdom even had any leverage to negotiate without being annexed by a more powerful neighbor.

    But as much as it was a kind of blessing it also made her family a target of extremely sinister people.

    After she was born, she couldn¡¯t even go outside the castle without heavy protection, in a way it was suffocating, and it was all because she was weak, she was so weak that her disgust towards herself grew more and more.

    For an elf she was pretty young, with only recently turning 170 she was still considered only a teen, and ever since she could remember she tried to lean into mystical arts.

    But no matter how many hours she spent practicing chants, how many mana circles she drew, no matter what divinity she prayed to, it all was for naught, she didn¡¯t have any talent and no god wanted to lend her aid.

    It truly infuriated her to no end, all she had was her healing blood, she was no different than a farm animal for most people, a swine to be slaughtered.

    Recently, even human kingdoms started acting belligerently with their people, it was only a matter of time before they declared war, and for what?

    Just her family¡¯s blood was just a curse, it brought only misfortune to her and her family.

    Her status as a princess meant nothing, everyone else in her family was able to perform at least basic acts of magic or divinity.

    But she had nothing, tears swelled up inside her eyes ¡°Why am I so useless...¡±

    <hr>

    A tall hooded man watched the battle unfold from deep inside the forest, ready to offer reinforcements to his boys, but this job was proving to be easier than he thought possible.

    This was such an easy job, when he heard the amount the client was willing to pay he couldn¡¯t believe it, in most circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t risk such an obvious trap.

    500,000 crowns to capture a single girl, no matter how much he thought about it, it would always seem like a trap, but he went through with the plan, and for now, nothing went wrong, that amount of money could set up his entire band for life as lords for next decade.

    He smiled as he thought about his future, he didn¡¯t know why his client needed this girl, but on the other hand, it wasn¡¯t his job to ask those questions, when someone offers him enough money to make him a lord he is happy to stay quiet and fulfill his job.

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    Guards were falling like flies, but it was not surprising, for this amount of money he only brought his most elite fighters, each of them could easily handle even Red Dawn Inquisitor.

    He relaxed a little as he enjoyed the massacre, he ordered his boys to not harm the princess, as the client wanted her unscathed, but the guards could do whatever they wanted to them.

    He truly marveled at the way he trained them, such power and speed, it was magnificent.

    He nodded his head as he continued to review their performance.

    ¡°Their technique requires more work, but I¡¯m really proud of all of them¡±

    He watched them dodge each slash, each magic missile was perfectly countered and each prayer was silenced with a single mithril powder-tipped arrow from the dark canopy.

    As he watched them he decided they didn¡¯t need him as he turned his back to the battle and made his way through the forest towards their encampment.

    With his agility and speed he could navigate these trees like they were a flat road, in a couple of minutes he could traverse tens of miles.

    Dodging occasional wild beast trying to ambush him and various natural obstacles was second nature to him, he didn¡¯t even need to think about it and could put his mind on other stuff, like how to spend his new fortune once his boys deliver the princess.

    <hr>

    She hated to admit it but these attackers were each equal to her in skill.

    In all her years as the captain of the royal guard, and Princess Sheira¡¯s personal guard she was never challenged in battle, all of her opponents would be killed without any effort on her part, she was Azure the undefeated champion.

    And yet these bandits, no she couldn¡¯t call them bandits they were far too strong to be simple criminals.

    Even her sword before now never missed and couldn¡¯t even land a scratch on any of the attackers, and any time she attacked them they would dodge, and counterattack her.

    It was frustrating and what was even worse her own comrades were falling like it was nothing

    As she looked at the scene around her a fireball hit her helmet, due to its magical effect it was able to resist the heat, but even with the heat gone, the force knocked her back letting the enemy fighters use the opening.

    ¡°Shit!¡± she exclaimed as one of the hooded fighters struck right in the Armor gap piercing her flesh.

    Before she could hit him, he retreated letting more bulky fighters take the front.

    She was sure these people were not mere criminals, but what were they?

    They were at the border of Red Dawn so it would be logical to assume it would be their own operatives, it could be one of the ¡°Elf Hunt¡± parties, but why would they kill anyone here if that was the case?

    A single elf would outlive multiple generations of humans even if they were mistreated which made them coveted as slaves in any kingdom that practiced it.

    Noble would pay thousands of crowns just for a low-quality elf slave even if untrained, which made these parties avoid killing or badly maiming any of the elves they ambush.

    No matter how much she thought about it she couldn¡¯t wrap her head around it.

    ¡°Who are these people¡± she talked to herself as she slashed at them.

    With each passing moment, her men were getting fewer and fewer in number, and she had to think fast.

    After a moment of deliberation, she decided to rely on her divine blessing, she never wanted to do it as the blessing was not from a god one would wish a blessing from and yet she had no choice.

    She had a great blessing that many kingdoms would wage wars just to obtain, but such a grand blessing requires sacrifice.

    She didn¡¯t know what the goddess would ask of her, or what she would do to her, as the god that granted her the blessing was the goddess of misfortune and monsters.

    She could turn her into a grotesque monster permanently binding her to her will and condemning her soul to her realm, or it could make it so that no matter what she does in the future after this would always be riddled with misfortune.

    But to protect her friend and liege, she had to do it.

    ¡°MEN FORM A SHIELD AROUND ME! CASTERS FORM A BARRIER BUY ME SOME TIME¡± she barked an order as the rest of the guards formed a shield giving her a moment to pray.

    She gently removed her helmet, and as she kneeled down she stabbed her sword into the ground before uttering a silent prayer while she relied on her comrades to buy her the time she needed.

    As she closed her eyes she was transported into a different space, she found herself surrounded by nothing but water and yet she was not sinking, she stood on the water with nothing except the full moon above her head in a starless sky and what looked a 9-year-old human girl playing with a stuffed toy.

    She took a step before the girl turned herself towards her.

    ¡°You are finally here, are you finally ready to accept my gift?¡± the girl said gently while staring at her, usually talking to such a young child wouldn¡¯t invoke fear, but in Azure, she invoked only that.

    She knew this girl was not who she seemed to be, she was the mother of monsters, and no mortal race dared speak her true name, but right now she was here to beg for support, she was her only way to get her liege out of this ambush.

    She inhaled deeply before dropping to one knee in front of the girl while holding her head as low as possible¡± PLEASE, I need your help¡±

    ¡°I know why you are here, young one¡± The goddess with the visage of a child picked up her stuffed toy before casually walking towards Azure.

    ¡°Then you must...¡± the girl put a hand on her head while gently patting her interrupting her with her own words.

    ¡°You surely do not expect to just ask a Favor of a god¡± the girl giggled as she said these words.

    ¡°Of course not my lady, I will pay whichever price you wish of me!¡± Guilt gripped her chest as she offered the payment, at best it would be her life.

    The goddess walked in circles around her for a minute while humming.

    She suddenly stopped in front of Azure¡± If you only accepted my blessing sooner, you could have been so much more than you are now, rise your head young one¡±

    Azure obeyed as the goddess gazed into her eyes, she no longer had the visage of the child, but instead, she looked exactly like her friend and liege.

    She brought her head down to her ear and whispered ¡°You are afraid of me; I understand but I wish you no harm¡±

    She pulled herself back before continuing ¡°All I wish is for you to become perfect, become one of my children¡±

    Azure knew what this meant, to become one of the children meant to become a monster, a monster hunted by everyone and hated by all.

    The goddess spun back on her heel before continuing ¡°I usually don¡¯t offer this but, You do not even have to let go of your ugly mortal form, I could make an exception for you when you wish to return to your imperfect form just focus on what you used to be¡±

    Azure looked at the goddess with confusion but before she could even ask anything goddess continued

    ¡°You have a greater blessing young one, you are already one of my favored children, if you had only accepted it you could have saved your little friend without losing anything¡±

    The goddess turned around and placed her palm on Azure¡¯s forehead ¡°Do you accept my blessing child?¡±

    Azure knew she couldn¡¯t reject this offer, this was her last line of defense she uttered the word ¡°Yes¡±.

    As she said the word the goddess smiled wickedly before the realm faded around her, she felt pain in her entire body, her entire being was being reshaped.

    As the realm collapsed she returned to the battlefield, her comrade¡¯s defense was almost gone, the barrier had been broken and only 4 of her comrades lived.

    Azure screamed as she transformed into a new monstrous form, her Armor and clothes breaking as leathery green and black skin took over her body, her arms were replaced by multiple tentacles, and many eyes appeared over her body as her screams got replaced by terrible monstrous roar, Her blessing turned her into an Argus, one of the most terrifying monsters in the known world.

    It is said anyone who would look into the eyes of Argus would be melted as if by acid.

    As she transformed all 4 of her surviving comrades were blown away, knocking down a couple of trees, all of the animals pulling the carriage died and the two attackers who were just about to stab her melted in front of her.

    As she completed her transformation into Argus she couldn¡¯t allow her friend to gaze into her eyes.

    Despite all of this Azure still had her sentience intact, perhaps because this is a blessing or perhaps some other reason.

    As the attackers retreated she stretched one of her new tentacles managing to graze one of the fighters.

    As Argus¡¯s tentacle touched him he screamed in agony as he melted into a puddle of green goo.

    Any attacker and any weapon that touched her was gone in an instant.

    She continued defending against their attacks until 6 of them were dead and the rest retreated into the forest.

    But she couldn¡¯t afford to leave the carriage unattended and chase after them, she focused on her previous form as the goddess told her as she returned to her elven humanoid form, and yet it wasn¡¯t the same, she had patches of green skin over her body, her right eye attained a sickly green glow, her Armor and clothes were gone from transformation but she couldn¡¯t be bothered by it now.

    She was exhausted but she decided to drag herself to the carriage and check on her liege.

    When she got to the door she gave a quick knock but nobody answered.

    Panic gripped her as she pulled at the door, after some struggle she opened it and her fear came true, in the chaos her friend was gone, and her sacrifice meant nothing.

    ¡°NO NO NO PLEASE...¡± she closed the door and opened it multiple times but what she saw was true.

    She was gone, she couldn¡¯t protect her, even with all her training she fell into despair as she cried acidic tears.

    She wept for a moment before she felt a warm touch on her shoulder.

 Aftermath

    From what she could tell, this couldn¡¯t even be called a battle, in every sense of the word this ambush was a one-sided massacre.

    Aqua flapped her flaming wings as she focused on observing the conflict, her superior vision even allowing her to see everything as if she were standing next to the combatants even while being tens of miles up in the sky.

    She crossed her legs as she contemplated her next move.

    It has only been a day since she arrived in this world and according to all of her metrics, it was not much better than her old one.

    Gods still did what they wished without repercussion while mortals had to endure their whims.

    Only mere hours after her entrance into this world multiple divine beings tried to establish influence over her as the former supreme deity of her world once did.

    But compared to him, these gods seemed like insects, their petty attacks having no effect greater on her than a mere mosquito bite, annoying yes, dangerous no.

    What intrigued her more than that was that all of the humans and elves under her had some kind of divine chain on them.

    In her eyes their souls were not free, they were bound to their masters, some more fragile than others.

    ¡°Interesting, all of them have at least some degree of divine influence on them, Not even the supreme deity bothered with blessing so many mortals¡±

    While more minor gods did give out blessings they never gave too many, as they would not gain anything from such an act.

    She closely analyzed each of the attackers and then the guarding soldiers.

    She scratched her chin as she noticed 2 unique individuals, one in her vision instead of chains around her soul shined faintly and the other looked like she had a proper blessing on her, her soul had no chains but instead, it was enveloped by bright divine light she knew well.

    But even if the light wasn¡¯t a chain around the soul, it still bound her to the will of the divine, but the light was so faint, it was something that could easily be missed even by her eyes.

    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a blessing but divine heritage, and yet that made no sense to Aqua.

    When observed Children of the Divine heritage burned brighter than the stars in the night sky, and yet this girl barely held any shine, It was intriguing.

    Both of these individuals were completely unique to her, she had never seen such a powerful blessing and such faint divine light in one place.

    ¡°It would be a shame if they die now¡± Aqua stretched her arms and legs before preparing to teleport herself on the battlefield.

    But just before she could she noticed an individual with a strong blessing burn brighter like a flare in the silent night, mere moments after she started transforming into a legendary monster, a monster that not even children of the divine could hope to defeat, an Argus.

    As she noticed this transformation she stopped mid-charge closely observing the transformation, it was so impressive to become an Argus through a blessing that she decided to not interfere, if such a monster was in the play mere mortals had no chance of defeating her anymore.

    And yet while she transformed two individuals slipped into the carriage she was guarding and just before Argus¡¯s transformation was complete they dashed through the forest with an unconscious elven girl.

    She already knew where they were going, she already saw the encampment east in one of the major clearings in this forest.

    Aqua was sure that these attackers didn¡¯t intend to kill her, because what other reason they would have to capture her alive?

    ¡°Perhaps I should protect her just in case¡± She smiled before stretching her hand and pointing at the elf before casting [Heart of Phoenix].

    The girl¡¯s body glowed slightly before returning to normal only placing a small mark in the shape of the wings on her palm.

    With the spell on her, she wouldn¡¯t be killed but instead would return after 3 hours of incubation inside an impenetrable phoenix egg, and if the spell was activated she would know that she needed to rush over and help.

    Aqua crossed her arms while nodding her head, it was nice to be able to help sometimes, even if just slightly she wished someone would have helped her in the past.

    She didn¡¯t get time to dwell on her past as she saw the Argus melt anyone who attacked her, most of the attackers didn¡¯t even get a chance to react.

    But it was normal, Argus was after all a horrible monstrosity, and yet this one was quite tame for Argus standards, no Argus she knew would allow enemies to run away and yet this one did.

    The massacre didn¡¯t even last seconds before it ended, what she saw was incredible, after Argus finished off its enemies and allowed some to escape it transformed back into the elven girl, modified yes but still a humanoid.

    Aqua didn¡¯t have any doubts in her mind, if anything this individual was worthy of her attention.

    She dispelled her flaming wings and more divine visage taking the form of a younger elf girl like she once was, her halo becoming a circlet with the ruby taking front central part of it, her flaming wings disappearing as if they never existed before opening a portal to the surface.

    Stepping into the portal she found herself on the ground next to the former Argus, she gently placed her hand on her shoulder to not startle her.

    But it did not work as she took a defensive stance immediately.

    It was clear the woman was afraid, she didn¡¯t even know who she was or where she came from.

    Aqua raised both of her hands in surrender before speaking loudly.

    ¡°I am a friend I assure you there is no reason to be afraid of me.¡± and yet she knew this wouldn¡¯t be enough to convince the girl.

    <hr>

    Sheira didn¡¯t know what happened one moment she was watching her guards fight against the ambushers and the next moment she was knocked out and woke up in the bandit camp tied up in a small cage located in a damp cave.

    The cave was illuminated with multiple torches, with some already going out, which made her sure that she was there for multiple hours at least.

    All of the protective items were stripped from her and her dress was gone, her mouth was gagged by a piece of cloth, and her arms and legs were chained to the cage with her barely not being able to move, all her captors gave her was what she could assume human peasant clothes, they were ragged and dirty, and worst of all they made her itch all over, and what she found even worse than on this coarse wooden floor they didn¡¯t even give her shoes but instead let her suffer the splinters in her feet.

    As Sheira struggled to try and break free, she wondered what happened to Azure and the rest of her guards, but she didn¡¯t want to think about it, if she was here that meant her friend was dead.

    Grief overcame her as tears flowed down her face, and yet due to the restricting chains she couldn¡¯t move much, her tears hit the wooden floor of the cage.

    As she was moving her limbs as much as she could trying to find a way to escape she noticed something on her palm, she turned it and saw a small scar in the shape of the wing.

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    She didn¡¯t know what that mark meant and why was she branded like this but the only thing that she could assume was that someone captured her as a slave.

    She wondered why someone would go through so much trouble just for her, and yet deep within herself she knew, they just wanted her blood.

    But she didn¡¯t recognize this mark, her father made sure to teach her all of the slave owner insignias in case she needed to stay clear of them, and yet this one was unknown to her.

    Sheira didn¡¯t know how long she was captive but it certainly felt as if it was forever.

    She was not allowed to grieve the loss of her dear friend for long before she heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her cage.

    She noticed 3 men approaching her, she could make out that they were talking about something but she couldn¡¯t hear what, but she did not care much.

    What occupied her mind most right now was her friend¡¯s death and what seemed like her dark future, she expected to become cattle for some rich noble who would exploit her blood for his benefit, and Sheira was sure no noble would ever stop at just that.

    She shuddered at what these people had in store for her, she didn¡¯t want to think about it and yet that was all that went through her head.

    She closed her legs as much as she could as she shut her eyes in anticipation, all she hoped for was that these people finish quickly as she knew what would happen to the captured elves even if they were to be sold.

    But her worries didn¡¯t come true as 3 men stopped right in front of the cage, the middle man carried a cane and was dressed in very expensive clothes, he looked like he was in his 60s and he was quite skinny and seemed he could barely walk without his cane, while 2 men that stood on his sides were hooded in the same way as the attackers were.

    She relaxed a bit but still kept her private parts as hidden as she could before the middle man turned to the man on his left and spoke.

    ¡°Master will be quite pleased with your work, he has spent so many years trying to obtain this kind of specimen¡± The way the man looked at her made her disgusted, he looked at her like she was just an item to be traded.

    Man tapped his cane on the ground before turning to the two men ¡°You two get out of here, I would like a moment alone with this specimen¡± he turned back to Sheira as he wickedly grinned

    ¡°My master has already sent a carriage with a reward to your headquarters, go and arrange transport for this specimen to the City of Razul,¡± he said as he placed his hand on the cage.

    Two men bowed before disappearing leaving the infirm man alone with Sheira.

    Sheira watched in fear as the man stroked the metal bars of the cage as he gazed at her, in his eyes she could make out... arousal.

    The man dropped his cane as he held it to the bars of the cage he pressed his face between the bars as he stared at her before whispering ¡°You are beautiful, it¡¯s a shame you were the only one we were able to procure¡±

    He shook his head before continuing¡± But even if it¡¯s just one of your kind, you were worth every single crown master had to give for you, we have so many experiments in store for you, I¡¯m sure we could at least make couple hybrids with your unique properties with enough experiments¡±

    He cackled like a lunatic before catching himself and coughing into his hand.

    ¡°Anyway, your new home is already waiting for you¡± he held onto the cage with one hand while grabbing his cane with the other.

    Sheira just couldn¡¯t deny it to herself anymore, she was truly going to become someone¡¯s slave, and once again like any time before, she was helpless.

    She wanted to scream and yet the gag in her mouth prevented her, the man kept circling the cage staring at her with a creepy expression, like he just found a precious new enchantment ingredient.

    Multiple times he even pushed the cane through bars and poked her just to enjoy her discomfort, she squirmed as much as she could but she couldn¡¯t escape, she was truly helpless and nobody would save her.

    After what seemed to be hours of torment the man seemed to get bored and slowly walked out of the cave leaving Sheira alone once again.

    <hr>

    He was quite worried about what happened after he left his fighters to deliver the princess, in one moment they executed the ambush flawlessly and then one of the defenders turned into a monster.

    He pulled back his hood and mask allowing himself to breathe some fresh air after all this time, as he removed his hood and mask he revealed a face that was full of old battle scars, with one of his eyes blinded.

    Some of those idiots even said it was an Argus, but if that was true then none of them would make it back.

    He trusted them with his life but they were surely mistaken, it was true that they lost some of their best fighters to a monster but it could have been something else, especially with them being able to escape.

    It could have been a Basilisk, or even a Gryffin, while these monsters were capable of killing some of his men they still wouldn¡¯t instill so much terror.

    There weren¡¯t many monsters that could kill even one of his fighters and here it killed multiple and traumatised rest.

    It was a terrible loss for him, but the reward they earned will cover it, after all for him every life has a price.

    500,000 crowns will make sure that they never will have to risk their lives ever again.

    And yet he couldn¡¯t take his mind off the monster that managed to kill his fighters, if it was truly an Argus they should have run as fast as possible and delivered the princess to his client in the shortest time they could.

    For many monsters, he was confident in his ability to defeat them, including some lesser dragons, but against an Argus his confidence was thin.

    The observer his client sent had already gone into the holding area to check on the princess, he was there for hours.

    He didn¡¯t know what he was doing down there for so long, but as long as his master paid up it would be fine.

    The observer asked two of the guards he assigned to him to leave him alone with the elf princess, but thankfully he confirmed that their reward was already on the way.

    All they had to do was deliver the princess to the city of Razul.

    He didn¡¯t want to waste time, so while his men were preparing to rest for the night he decided to scout nearby woods.

    Even if the forest was pitch dark it wouldn¡¯t matter to him as he could still see as it was mid-day.

    He wanted to make sure that the monster that attacked his men wouldn¡¯t sneak up on them.

    But there was nothing, no monster in sight, all he could see were wild animals.

    ¡°Nothing suspicious,¡± he said as he rubbed his chin, The lack of monsters was normal as the Ebon Forest was very scarce with mana, which made the creation of greater monsters impossible.

    And yet that just makes the question of what killed his men even more confusing.

    He thought for what seemed to be forever before concluding ¡°Shit, a Blessed Child¡±.

    That was the only thing that would make sense to him, if the enemy had a blessed child it would certainly be possible for defenders to fight them back, as most blessed children have great blessings bestowed upon them by their gods.

    But that didn¡¯t answer all of his questions, If the enemy had a blessed child why were they allowed to kill so many defenders?

    Why were they able to snatch the princess from the blessed child¡¯s hands, the more he thought about it more confused he became.

    Perhaps the blessed child awoke right then, but that also was unheard of, as all blessed children had their blessings awakened by the age of 5 no matter the race.

    Another point was that he never heard of the blessed child being able to turn in the monster.

    This situation was unprecedented, it just wasn¡¯t possible.

    It wasn¡¯t possible and yet it happened, and that was what worried him the most, The Impossible happened, and the perfect plan was almost ruined.

    Luckily, they still had the princess, and their crowns would be delivered and given to them once the princess was in his client¡¯s hands.

    He still didn¡¯t know what his client wanted with her, and it wasn¡¯t his place to ask that, he would be paid and he would finish his job, that was all there was for him.

    He gave the dark forest one final scan before rushing back to the camp, they had to prepare transport and get the princess to Razul before the next day.

    They still had a couple of hours before sunset, but he didn¡¯t want to risk the blessed child finding them.

    He decided he would prepare the horses and deliver the princess personally with some of his men acting as guardians.

    He couldn¡¯t afford to fail this job, he already lost too many men, if he had to leave some acting as decoys so that they could fulfill this job so be it.

    As he arrived in the camp he walked slowly towards his tent before being stopped by the observer.

    Observer tapped his cane to get his attention ¡°Excellent job Golden Fang, you truly live up to your reputation¡±

    He coughed before continuing speaking ¡°I checked on the specimen, and It was completely untouched and in great condition, my master will surely be pleased.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t sure why this man kept referring to the elf as a specimen, but he didn¡¯t care, Golden Fang had more important issues to take care of, such as transporting the princess before she was found by the blessed child.

    Golden Fang bowed before the infirm man before speaking ¡°You honor me, any job we take on will be carried out perfectly.¡±

    Observer tapped his cane before answering ¡°And you proved so, I hope the specimen will be delivered soon.¡±

    Golden Fang nodded ¡°Yes, I was just on my way to prepare transportation for the prisoner¡±

    Observer smiled ¡°Excellent, I will be traveling with you to make sure the specimen is delivered, please don¡¯t let me distract you¡±

    Before Golden Fang could even answer him the man disappeared from his sight.

    Such an infirm man just disappearing like this from his sight was worrying, but everyone had their secrets, and it was not his place to ask questions.

    He went into his tent and started preparing transportation plans.

 Captive Princess

    Aqua dodged slash after slash, the speed of this woman was impressive, even while being so exhausted that she could barely stand she still fought so fiercely.

    Each of the swings had enough force to cut a good amount of forest, and each lounge struck with immense power that could punch through the thick castle walls.

    Her wounds reopened and it seemed to not slow her down at all.

    While to Aqua¡¯s eyes, she moved incredibly slowly, for a normal elf or any other species in her old world it would be incredibly fast and unavoidable.

    The woman jumped back as her slashes were being dodged and used some kind of enchantment spell, her blade glowed with green light for a moment.

    A moment later she charged back at Aqua, the speed of her attack was much faster than before, and yet it seemed to lack finesse unlike before, it was just brute power.

    ¡°Just power alone isn¡¯t enough¡± Aqua said casually as she caught Azure¡¯s blade within her hand and threw it away from them.

    The warrior in front of her gasped in surprise, as her life-force-enchanted blade was caught so easily, but she couldn¡¯t quit yet, she needed to redeem herself for her failure.

    ¡°I''M NOT DONE YET!¡± The warrior screamed as she launched a barrage of punches at the red-haired elf in front of her.

    Aqua smiled as her form shimmered with a bronze aura for a moment before dissipating.

    The moment the first punch connected it was like hitting a brick wall.

    Warrior¡¯s hand bled as she kept punching the monster in front of her, this being might look like an elf but her power would make her question it.

    Azure kept asking herself a single question, ¡®Why was an elf here?¡¯.

    In her mind she must have worked for the attackers, but why.

    Why would an elf help anyone in the Red Dawn, she thought for a moment before concluding her mind.

    Elven Slaves, elves that were sufficiently mind-broken obeyed their master no matter what, but even then Azure couldn¡¯t imagine someone enslaving such a powerful elf.

    She kept attacking her with kicks and punches, she even picked up blades from her fallen comrades and yet they all shattered.

    Even with all the power she gained she couldn¡¯t even land a scratch at her.

    Azure kept kicking and punching but she seemed to do more damage to herself than the girl in front of her.

    She didn¡¯t know who this was, but she needed to get rid of her, as she was working for the attackers.

    She noticed that the girl hadn¡¯t even moved a single step ever since she switched to using her hands and legs.

    There was no way that the red-haired elf in front of her was someone¡¯s slave, and if she was, Azure dreaded who could have captured someone like her.

    But it still didn¡¯t make sense to Azure, if someone powerful enough to withstand her last ditch life force enchanted blade existed, why didn¡¯t she hear of her?

    Then it dawned on her, was this elf one of the Red Dawn Inquisitors?

    It was said that each of them was many times more powerful than Azure, and their identity was secret.

    Her strength was failing her, the transformation earlier has exhausted her, and now fighting against this unknown left her barely standing.

    ¡°Why would an elf work for Red Dawn who regularly enslave our people? ¡± her arms shook as she barely made herself stand upright.

    ¡°Why do you serve those who hate us?¡± She fell to her knees as her strength finally left her.

    Azure had no choice but to accept her destiny, she would die, and perhaps that¡¯s what she deserved for failing her duty.

    As her eyes closed she at least could find solace it took a Red Dawn inquisitor to kill her.

    ***

    Aqua had no idea why she was asked such a question, after all, she just arrived here and she had no idea what Red Dawn even was.

    She didn¡¯t have time to question her as the woman collapsed in front of her feet.

    She was truly impressed with her performance, she was more powerful than most elven champions she met in her old world.

    ¡®Champions that were slaughtered like pigs by the god¡¯ shook her head in denial, she did not want to think about what happened before, but it still plagued her mind.

    She liked to believe herself emotionally distanced, and yet she couldn¡¯t deny that she still was hurt from the loss she suffered.

    She shook her head again as she knelt down in front of the unconscious elven warrior.

    She didn¡¯t want someone this powerful to die for nothing, she turned her on her back before placing her hand on her forehead.

    Aqua was torn between fully restoring her with time authority or using her flames, there was one more issue, she displayed her monstrous form only after a prayer in the fight, using her authority over time would most certainly make her lose her blessing, and most certainly draw the ire of her god.

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    She didn¡¯t want another fight this soon after coming to this world.

    She was certainly not afraid of the divine in this world, but fighting them without knowing anything would be ill-advised even to her.

    After all even weaker beings could beat something much more powerful by using unknown methods and strategies.

    She decided against going with restoring the woman using the Authority of time, and she did not want to use more of her powerful spells to help her, after all, it would be a bad idea to reveal what she was capable of, while she believed no one could observe her using magical methods it was good to be cautious.

    She pressed her palm on her forehead as she closed her eyes, she channeled her power.

    The tendrils of flame spread over her body cauterizing all wounds and stopping the bleeding that she sustained while trying to fight Aqua, after stopping the bleeding the flames gained a golden hue as all of the wounds were covered by them and disappeared from her body.

    Aqua let the flame disappear as she made sure the woman wouldn¡¯t have any scars remaining.

    As the tendrils of flame dissipated, the tendrils of water took their place, while the flame fixed all damage, Aqua wanted to restore her energy levels so she could finally talk to her.

    Watery tendrils crept inside her mouth as the warrior¡¯s body glowed.

    She saw her take a deep breath before coughing loudly expelling excess water.

    As the warrior gasped for air and with stare less hostile gaze pointed at Aqua, she asked one question ¡°Can we talk now?¡±

    <hr>

    The lab floor was completely covered with crumpled research notes and various kinds of containers, some were empty while some contained various organs and body parts and some were shattered and their contents leaked over the floor.

    The Centre of the lab was taken by a massive container with purple liquid bubbling inside it, multiple smaller tubes were left floating inside the liquid.

    It was so large that one could fit multiple humans inside quite comfortably, multiple pipes were leading outside the container leading into walls bringing the unknown liquid elsewhere.

    One large table took part of the space with magical lights lighting the entire lab to not leave a single shadow.

    The old man who looked like he passed well into his 100s and yet looked like he was as fit as he was in his youth read a message he received from his loyal servant, a message that brought his spirit to the new high.

    He could feel he was nearing the end of his life, he tried everything to avoid death and yet it was now here ready to collect him.

    But it seems it was not over, his most loyal advisor used one of the rare dimensional mailbox items to deliver him the news that could make even dead dance.

    The specimen he was searching for was captured and is currently being transported to the City of Razul.

    Transporting a specimen through Red Dawn was the easiest route available to him, as the nobles could easily be bribed, and he did not plan to spare any expenses.

    Annoyed by the failures of finding Holy Blood specimen, he decided to hire the legendary Order of the Golden Rose.

    They were more expensive than any other mercenary band but he did not regret it now.

    He would pay even more than the promised 500,000 crowns just to finally get his hands on the Holy Blood.

    Where all others failed the Golden Rose was able to not only capture but promise quick transport, as his Observer described they were true professionals, unlike other bands he hired.

    His decades of research led him to findings that would lead to the creation of the Immortality elixir, he was able to devise a recipe that would grant user youth and immortality.

    And yet the only thing that he lacked for years was the Holy Blood, but soon he will have it, soon he won¡¯t have to fear death.

    He stood up from his chair and approached the empty container before nodding to himself ¡°I will soon have the holy blood, and I will be Immortal¡±

    It was his servant who suggested hiring Golden Rose, at the beginning he hesitated due to their price but it was the right decision.

    He approached the door of the lab before making his exit.

    Perhaps his servant could deliver the specimen faster than the Golden Rose as he always seemed more reliable than anyone else, but he decided to leave it to his most trusted servant who made his life work possible.

    <hr>

    The transportation was ready, a carriage with the cage containing the captive elf was fully loaded and horses were fed and rested, in mere moments they would be on the road to the City of Razul.

    The elf prisoner has been sedated and is fully unconscious, her cage was exposed but it wouldn¡¯t be for long as they finished their preparations.

    ¡°The blessed child still hasn¡¯t come after us...¡± Golden Fang rubbed his chin as he thought about it.

    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t the blessed child that killed his men but an actual monster, yet he did not want to believe a mere monster would be able to defeat his finest fighters.

    It still gnawed at his soul, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it but it must not distract him from the mission.

    It was decided that before sunset, Golden Fang, Observer, and 4 Thorns would escort the carriage while the rest would stay and provide cover with a small detachment of remaining forces executing another part of his plan.

    He instructed the remaining forces to prioritize their survival if possible and escape in case of Blessed Child¡¯s attack.

    Everything was ready, and all that was being waited for was Observer himself, he insisted on coming with them and yet he was late.

    But he couldn¡¯t blame the man too much even if he seemed to be more than he let on, Observer was still old and frail and most certainly couldn¡¯t move too fast, and yet they couldn¡¯t wait for him forever.

    Golden Fang walked past the cage before loudly shouting an order to the escorting unit¡± Put a cover over the cage and let¡¯s go! MOVE MOVE!¡±

    4 Thorns would ride their horses making sure to cover each flank as they travelled.

    As he shouted his order the unit as a well-oiled machine put a cloth cover over the cage making sure no outsider could see the contents before Golden Fang himself jumped on the carriage and took the horse reins.

    He was just about to shout an order to go before noticing the observer right next to him sitting on the coach box.

    The old man creepily smiled at him before speaking ¡°To think you would just leave me here¡±

    Observer shook his head before tapping his cane on the wooden floor of the coaching box, he turned back to the covered cage before casually speaking to him ¡°You did succeed where many others failed, so I¡¯m not overly disappointed but do not try to get rid of me again, it would make my master quite unhappy¡±

    A chill ran down Golden Fang¡¯s spine as he heard the man speak, it was clear to him now, that this man might look like an old man but he was something more.

    While before he had the voice of a weak frail old man, now he could sense a power behind the words, and not to speak of the issue of him appearing next to him.

    There weren¡¯t many people that could sneak up on him so easily, especially with his specialty in stealth, and yet the man was here.

    He didn¡¯t want to speak to the observer too much so he just nodded his head, the man crept him out too much as he did not like unknowns like him, once they delivered the prisoner to the City of Razul they would never have to interact again after all.

    Golden Fang urged the horses forward as they started the final phase of their mission, delivery of the prisoner to the client.

 Introductions

    The woman looked at Aqua with pure confusion, and both were silent for minutes, the silence was so deafening that Aqua had to say the first words.

    "As you can see, I was not an enemy" Aqua raised her hands while giving her a gentle smile as the elven warrior finally regained consciousness.

    Signs of fear and doubt could be seen on the elven warrior''s face but she could tell that she was mostly confused.

    Aqua stretched her hand to the elven warrior offering her a helping hand.

    The woman hesitated for a moment before grabbing Aqua''s hand and accepting the help.

    "Why did you spare me, what do you want with me!?" the woman asked with clear suspicion in her eyes as Aqua pulled her back on her feet.

    Aqua sighted at the question once again, she was getting tired of being regarded with such suspicion, even in her past most people she came across were suspicious of her when she only wanted to help" It was not my intention to fight you, you were one to attack me first without provocation"

    The woman made a hostile expression as she took up her guard ready to continue fighting but still giving Aqua the benefit of the doubt "I know you are working for the enemy, inquisitor!"

    ''Again with the inquisitor title, I have no idea what that even means'' Aqua thought, but she had time to ask questions later, she first had to clear the misunderstanding between her and this warrior that attacked her.

    It was true from her point of view, she was attacked for no reason and had no reason to spare this woman but she still did, Aqua incinerated people who threatened her life before but she still showed mercy.

    Normally this woman would be a pile of ash but she was still spared, it was perhaps because she was one of the elves that reminded her of her dear home that was lost so long ago.

    The truth was far simpler, this woman was just ambushed by a group of very powerful fighters, and from what she could tell her lady was kidnapped right under her nose.

    A guard who failed their duty would usually commit suicide out of shame, and yet this woman stood here, exhausted and broken but still alive.

    Perhaps if Aqua hadn''t appeared at the exact moment the elven warrior would have been lying next to the others, but not by the enemy''s hand.

    She couldn''t blame her for being distrustful and hostile towards her, no perhaps she should introduce herself to the woman, if they exchanged names perhaps the hostility would drop.

    As she was deep in thought she noticed the woman slowly trying to reach for any kind of weapon before stopping as Aqua gazed at her.

    Aqua crossed her arms as she shook her head before saying "No, no let''s drop the hostility, I am not your enemy you can trust me on that, why not start with a proper introduction?"

    Warrior eyed her with suspicion before answering "Why would I ever trust an inquisitor, you are the enemy of our kind and you are a traitor to all of elven kind!"

    What the woman said was interesting to Aqua, while she spoke with suspicion and hostility she still gave Aqua the benefit of the doubt.

    ''So these inquisitors are something akin to the divine exterminators that hunted elves in my old world'' Hearing this made Aqua sad, but what ticked her more is that she was compared to that scum, she needed to correct this misunderstanding as soon as possible.

    Why was her kind always hunted like this, Aqua did not know but she wasn''t able to save her kind in the past, part of her wished to change that and yet she found it hard to care for most of the elven race, she didn''t even know where to start with fixing of the issues.

    For all the power she obtained she still did not know so much, but there was one thing she could be sure of, almost everything bad that happened to her and her kind was the fault of the divine.

    She was sure it was because of them that elves in this world were being hunted like this.

    Whenever the divine were involved in anything, without fail it would end up badly for mortal races.

    Aqua shook her head before replying "You will have to trust me, if I was one of the inquisitors it would seem you would have already been dead, and yet you are alive, I even healed your wounds"

    As Azure checked her body the words the elf before her were true, she was fully healed, but she still didn''t know who this girl was.

    The elf before her dressed in a way that not many elves except more wealthy ones, her clothes were made of incredibly high-quality materials.

    No matter how much she wanted to trust her she couldn''t, she was just too suspicious, and yet the girl did not show any hostility to her.

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    Azure decided to give her the benefit of the doubt as she finally dropped her guard before declaring "I am Azure Hallowshield, sworn shield of the royal family and captain of the Royal Honor Guard"

    Azure thought about if she still deserved to call herself the shield, or even her rank of the captain, she lost all right to it after losing her dear friend to those bandits.

    But if the girl in front of her was willing to help her rescue the princess, this could be her final act as the shield.

    Azure gave a deep bow before letting the girl in front of her speak.

    ''So her name is Azure, it''s a pretty name and it seems she was quite important'' Aqua thought for a moment before speaking "I''m Aqua, the Crimson Magister, but you can just call me Aqua" Aqua gave Azure a slight curtsey, as she did not want to mess up the etiquette too much even if she did not care about it.

    ''Crimson Magister, I have never heard of that title before, and certainly not in the elven Kingdoms.'' Azure thought to herself but she let it go for now as her mind was full of one thought.

    What Azure wanted to do the most was to rush to her liege and rescue her or at least retrieve her corpse in the worst-case scenario, but if she wanted to have any chance, she should have someone reliable to count on.

    The girl in front of her seemed powerful but she did not trust her at all, but no matter how much she did not trust her she didn''t have a choice.

    If she was caught alone, she would be overwhelmed quickly and dispatched before she could do anything as the enemy proved when they ambushed her that she alone was nowhere strong enough.

    She gave the girl in front of her a smile before answering "It''s an honor to make your acquaintance lady Aqua."

    Aqua smiled lightly before answering "Likewise lady Hallowshield"

    Azure thought of a way to interact with the girl in front of her, despite the gentle appearance she remembered how she couldn''t even land a hit on the young elf before collapsing, she did not want her as an enemy even if she was suspicious and yet if she wanted to harm her she would be dead.

    She tensed up as the young girl gazed at her with a small blush on her face before looking down and seeing that she was almost completely naked, with only ruined scraps of clothes remaining on her.

    Instinctively she covered herself with her hands, even if she was not ashamed of her own appearance, even with the current mark of Misfortune decorating patches of her skin she was still proud of her body even if her assets were modest at best.

    ''I still should cover myself up, even now I should at least keep some dignity'' Azure thought as she scanned her surroundings for anything she could use to cover herself.

    What amused her the most was how the girl in front of her was blushing, she did not expect someone as powerful as her to be that sensitive to the naked body.

    This made her suspicion of the girl drop quite a bit, and yet doubt was still present.

    "You are acting like you have never seen a female body" Azure smirked before turning her back to Aqua and slowly approaching one of her fallen comrades.

    "Forgive me, for failing you," Azure said with sadness showing on her face, knelt in front of the dead knight.

    She really did not want to defile them, but it was a necessity, she carefully removed the heavy armor pieces and putting them aside, she moved to one of the fallen casters and ripped parts of their robe, wrapping herself in the cloth before putting on the Armor of her former comrade and turning back to Aqua.

    She smirked a bit before asking "Better? Are you still flustered"

    Aqua shook her head trying to hide a blush on her face before answering "No, you are just pretty so I was lost!"

    It wasn''t many times she had someone compliment her, but it did feel nice, Azure smiled gently as she finished putting on the last strips of the armor, it didn''t fit her the best but it would have to work.

    Azure brushed off the remaining dirt and dust with her hands from the armor before speaking "I know we met in a bad situation, and that you have no reason to trust me, but could I ask for a Favor?"

    Azure swallowed her pride, or what was left of it, and spoke to the young elf before her, even if she declines helping her she still couldn''t afford to miss any opportunity to find her friend.

    Aqua casually replied with a serious expression "What is it that I can do for you lady Hallowshield?"

    Azure had a worried look on her face for a moment " I saw how powerful you are, and I want to request your assistance in the rescue of Princess Sheira"

    Azure took a deep breath before continuing speaking "Of course, you will be rewarded for your service, so what do you say lady Aqua?"

    Aqua smiled warmly before answering "Of course, I will help you, I won''t allow people like them to harm our kind, but we don''t even know where their encampment is"

    Aqua knew exactly where the camp was, but she also knew that the princess would be safe until they reached their selling point.

    While in the unlikely event she is killed, her spell would activate, shielding her from any harm while she is resurrected.

    In truth, she did not care much for most elves except special ones, like the kidnapped elven princess and the woman in front of her.

    Why she did not rescue an unfortunate elven princess even when she could, the reason was simple, Curiosity.

    Aqua wanted to see what Azure would do while searching for her friend, and in addition, she was curious about why would the attackers need her, taking out the band at this moment would be bad as it would most certainly not resolve the issue of the princess being hunted.

    ''I could investigate it myself, but someone whose duty is to protect the victim is still alive, and the last thing I want to do is deny her''

    Azure''s mood visibly improved as she got the affirmative answer "Then let us go, we can''t waste a single moment"

    Azure took one of the swords from the site of battle as she approached her new companion.

    She turned her head towards the site of battle once again, gazing at the loss she suffered.

    ''I will have to come back to bury my comrades'' Azure had a sad look as she thought about how many of her old friends and subordinates she would have to bury.

    But it was not something she could afford to do right now, as doing proper rites would take too long.

    "Forgive me" She gave a bow to her fallen comrades before turning back to Aqua.

    Azure hoped that their corpses wouldn''t rise as undead with a lack of proper burial, but she made a vow to herself that she would do proper rites as soon as possible.

    Azure curtsied in front of Aqua for a moment before both elven women rushed deep inside the forest in search of the traces of the attackers.

 13 Inquisitors

    While the transport was proceeding smoothly, it couldn''t be said it was quiet.

    Bickering between some members made their entire band look unprofessional in his opinion even if he couldn''t make out exactly what was the topic of their conversation, and yet he could not deny them the relaxation time, even when an unknown observer sat right next to him.

    Other than the unprofessional behavior and unease he felt due to the presence of an observer, the transportation mission was excellent.

    He made various precautions to prevent the blessed child from tracking them and at the same time making sure to not use magical means of hiding their tracks, he was sure they would be able to deliver the captive to the end destination and get paid.

    But most blessed children could easily track the residual mana, it would be too risky to use his perfected shadow spells.

    It would take them 2 more hours to get out of Ebon Forest and reach the first checkpoint, observer assured him that they didn''t have to worry about the passage as he would take care of it.

    ''He isn''t even trying to hide his influence anymore'' G. Fang thought to himself as he kept his eyes on the road.

    While it was rare Ebon Forest could cause occasional monsters to materialize, but most of them would be weak enough that even the weakest thorns could dispatch them easily.

    But that was no excuse to drop their guard, after all their job almost turned into a complete disaster due to the unknown, He would not allow it to happen again.

    His band might have suffered massive losses, but the job still proceeded smoothly, he hoped to retire after this job which meant he would need to name his successor.

    After all, he himself was getting pretty old for a human, he was approaching his late 50s already, He had 2 more years at maximum to find and teach a successor before his strength started leaving him.

    He urged the horses to go as fast as they could while grabbing a handful of wind stones and crushing them in his hand to further increase the speed of the horses.

    The wind stone particles rushed forward as they enveloped the entire band around them increasing their speed.

    He did not like using the wind stones as they were pretty rare, but if it made the job quicker, it was worth it.

    Their effect when used like this would last for mere minutes, but he has enough stock to get their transportation job completed, and their additional effect prevented their carriage from leaving tracks in the dirt.

    He turned his head to observe as he felt the man started to stare at him with a creepy glimmer in his eyes.

    ''No matter how much time I spend with him he still sends chills down my spine...'' He dismissed the thought as he focused on the road ahead.

    ********************

    8 People sat around an ornate round table each of them wearing Red Hoods that covered most of their faces leaving only their mouths visible, 13 thrones of various designs surrounded it with a massive golden chandelier illuminating the participants from above with painted glass depicting an angelic creature covering the walls.

    They were Inquisitors of the Red Dawn, the enforcers of the Kingdom of Red Dawn, It was their sacred duty to uphold the Edicts of the God King, one true living god that would rule over this world.

    Each of the 13 Inquisitors was granted a boon, a power dwarfing even the blessed children.

    No god was more generous than God King, and thus the 13 inquisitors swore loyalty and devoted their whole being to the God King, as it was only due to him that beings more powerful than the Blessed Children could even exist.

    All of them were immortal and could live indefinitely, no mortal-crafted weapon could ever scratch them, ever since the creation of their sacred kingdom they had free reign to choose whatever method they wished to enact their lord''s will.

    Only once has there been conflict inside their rank, at the very beginning when their glorious god gathered them and gave them their boons.

    The God King has expressed his will that only humanity may reign over this world while all others will either submit or die.

    The first Inquisitor of Frost due to his weak will, feeble loyalty, and arrogance has sheltered a group of non-human offspring and females.

    Instead of making them useful to the cause of the God King they were left to roam the holy land without a leash and greater purpose.

    Unacceptable it was for the rest of the loyal Inquisitors, they had raised their concern to the God King himself.

    But their pleas were dismissed as their god in his infinite wisdom said that it was a matter they needed to handle themselves.

    And thus 12 other inquisitors ambushed the Inquisitor of Frost by the orders of Inquisitors of Space, his vile strays repurposed into more useful thralls, his cities razed and his body split into 6 parts.

    Even as a vile traitor god never took away his blessing, at that time they questioned the decision, but it made sense to them after some thought.

    Forevermore, the Traitor would endure a fate worse than death, unable to die, and serving his duty.

    Head, Body, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg, Left Leg.

    Each part of the Body was used to forge powerful sentient magical items.

    Each item harboring a piece of his will would never truly be him, and thus perfect tools were created and distributed to the most loyal nobility that had been chosen to rule over the territories of Red Dawn.

    Dukes of Razul, Oria, Malrom, Iris, Veris, and Estos each received an item containing a piece of the former inquisitor.

    6 duchies of Red Dawn, being protected by a single inquisitor, some would envy such a role and would not consider it a punishment.

    It was only relatively recently that the new Inquisitor of Frost was appointed, more precisely it has been only 80 years since the 13th seat had been filled.

    The New Inquisitor of Frost was peculiar, he was weaker than most of the 13 inquisitors, but the tools and weapons he could build revolutionized the weaponry of the Red Dawn and improved the daily life of the common man significantly.

    With his inventions, even the child of a disease-riddled beggar could kill a normal knight with little to no difficulty.

    But his recent activities worried them all, he started acting strangely recently, he was leaving the kingdom regularly without any notice, his new inventions slowed down, and He needed to be investigated as he could stop being useful to the God King''s designs.

    All 8 inquisitors, placed their hands on the table before chanting "For the glory of the God-King, May his light guide humanity into a brighter future, and may all our enemies perish by his wrath!"

    A silence descended on the hall, letting the followers of God-King think.

    A moment later, one of the inquisitors loudly spoke "As the first order of business, we must discuss the appearance of a new blessed child!"

    He let the silence take over for a moment before continuing "I''m sure we all have noticed a significant shift in the currents of mana."

    He stood up as he slowly approached the end of the hall "Such a massive shift has only ever been felt once before when our Glorious God King granted us our boons"

    As the other inquisitors followed him with their gaze he reached the wall before turning back to the other 7.

    "Inquisitor of Death has volunteered to investigate this occurrence, and if necessary eradicate the blessed child..."

    He pushed one of the bricks into the wall as the wall slowly rotated, revealing a small room behind it.

    The room was filled with nothing except an unknown large item covered by white cloth.

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    As the fake wall disappeared completely he turned towards 7 remaining inquisitors.

    He nodded before saying "Gentlemen, this event requires our full attention! And so"

    He turned back to the room before revealing a large pitch-black rectangular box.

    Box had no visible entrances or hinges, but even then it radiated unnatural and unholy power.

    While divine light would give light to where it manifests, this object took that light away.

    Before he could even speak a female inquisitor spoke with an angry tone "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE, do you know what happens if we use that!"

    While she did not see others due to her focusing on the man that revealed the black box she could sense her brothers and sisters were agreeing with her.

    How could they not the item that the man revealed was "The black hand", an Artifact that contained the power of flowing time.

    It is said that before current kingdoms even existed, there existed 5 artifacts of immense power, each held by a holy temple since times untold.

    "The black hand" had the power of flowing time itself within it, even if it looked like a normal clock hand, it was a weapon of no equal other than 4 other temporal artifacts.

    Long ago, before Red Dawn was established, a mad goddess of frost ruled most of the world, her icy touch freezing all life and twisting it in her own design.

    Her power was immense, so immense that even while not of a divine nature not even gods could best her.

    Armies could not march through the frozen wasteland lest they succumb to the frostbite.

    Only select individuals could march within her territory.

    So many blessed children lost their lives just to challenge the so-called "Empress of the frozen wastes"

    Her servants ambushed and attacked them, wearing them down as they approached her frozen castle.

    Alas all of them failed, no blessed child could fight her, and no child could even get close to her.

    Gods themselves weren''t able to punish her for the sin she committed against the world, she was truly untouchable.

    The story says that God King himself led the final charge, nobody knew how but he obtained "The Black Hand" and the knowledge of how to find the empress inside her domain.

    With his own power, he crushed servants of frost, god king alone was able to reach her castle where so many other self-proclaimed heroes failed.

    His Black Armor absorbed all light his divine crown radiating new divine light serving as a torch of hope for all of those that came before, he stood proud in front of the frozen castle as he swung the legendary artifact at the frozen gates shattering them in moments.

    It took the god-king almost no time at all to reach the frozen throne room once he was inside.

    On both sides stood frozen statues of blessed children that challenged her before, she kept them as decoration.

    Heroes of old who gave their lives, to take back their world, are used as an ornament by the monstrosity-wearing skin of a human girl.

    She smirked before conjuring a portal to the worlds of frost, making a cascade of ice and snow towards the God-King, the portals led to the worlds that her power fully consumed, a fate of so many worlds that the God-King had to prevent for his own.

    Empress, in a way, was quite beautiful, her long flowing pink hair reaching down to her back, her unnerving white eyes still not diminishing her beauty, and her revealing blue dress complementing her slender physique.

    And yet he did not care as he stood tall in front of the empress taking the damage, it was not the time to admire his enemy, as his face twisted in anger.

    It is said that God King was so furious about her acts that he threw the black hand at the empress at such speed that not even the light could follow.

    Empress did not realize the power of the artifact and before she could even react, her existence was finished, her immortal existence had reached its end.

    That was the power of the artifact, anything that was touched mortal or immortal would reach its end.

    But no power was free, as the artifact lodged itself into the corpse of the empress a spectral clock appeared above the world.

    A single tick, a single moment passed.

    With each tick, the empress''s corpse became more translucent

    Then next, and next.

    And finally, the corpse disappeared, letting "The Black Hand" harmlessly fall to the ground.

    It is said that all living and non-living creatures in the world grew older at that moment.

    Long-lived races like elves lost their youthful appearance and grew at the same speed as humanity.

    The time itself took its due, for ending a deity in all but name''s life, the price was paid in the life of the world itself.

    It was rumored that even gods lost a part of their youth, not even God-King was safe as his face lost some of its youthful appearance and some of his strength left him.

    The artifact''s power reached the heavens and hells.

    But the price was paid, and the world knew peace, the frost eventually melted and life once again flourished.

    Afterwards, God King established the Kingdom of Red Dawn, and in the black box sealed the "The Black Hand" so that it may never be used again lest the price becomes too heavy to bear.

    The black box was said to absorb divinity and mana like a black hole devours everything around it, it was only possible to open with special methods unknown to all but god king and inquisitors, or overwhelming power, the power that not even god-king could display anymore.

    It was ordered to never use it again, and even touching the artifact was grounds for excommunication and then followed by swift execution.

    ''And yet this idiot wants to undo the seal that god king placed himself'' she shook her head.

    "Do you not agree with me, brothers? The God-King himself said that it is to not be used!" she spoke with fervor as she mentioned the God-King.

    A larger-looking inquisitor stood up and spoke, his voice giving the impression of an older man. "I agree with Sister May! The word of God King must be placed above our own will, Julius!"

    Others followed suit exclaiming their support.

    "Explain your reasoning Julius!, do you intend to commit blasphemy against our god king!" Spoke a smaller inquisitor that kept his tongue tied until now.

    "Dear brothers, and sister he said with slight disdain in his voice. I had no intention of sinning against our glorious god-king!" He gave them a slight bow as he spoke, visible traces of anger showing in his demeanor.

    "I assure you that the coming times bring a catastrophe, that only the black hand can prevent!" He exclaimed while holding his hands in the air.

    He noticed sister May trying to say something again but with a loud voice, he interrupted her, much to her annoyance.

    "I am well aware of the consequences of using this artifact, but remember! It was a goddess, in all but name that was slain using this artifact, and that is why the price was so steep!"

    He exhaled slowly as he picked up the black box and slowly brought it to the middle of the round table.

    "But now! We will use it to deal with the great blessed child that was born!" he exclaimed as he chuckled while reaching towards the black box.

    Before he could touch the seal May stopped him by grabbing his arm while talking with cold fury in her voice "And where is your proof, FOOL! What kind of blessed child could even pose a slight threat to one of us, even the greatest of blessed children fell before us in the past!"

    "You mentioned a disaster! What kind of disaster would warrant risking the life of the entire world? Do you realize that the only reason gods even allowed this artifact to be used was due to the necessity and our glorious God King!" May shouted.

    Other inquisitors nodded before staring at Julius.

    "Do you think they would sit idly as the seal is undone?!" May spoke with clear disbelief.

    Julius sighted before retreating his hand back "Then so it may be, do you think that any god could influence the kingdom of god king himself! Even 8 of us that are currently gathered even without Inquisitor of Death or Inquisitor of Life we could fend off most deities!"

    He exhaled as he pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing after a brief pause "You are all unbelievers!, you all lack faith! Real inquisitors would do everything in their power to suppress a new threat!" he stood up before storming out of the meeting hall.

    May slumped down on her throne as she gazed at the black box ''Why was that idiot so adamant about using one of our most important assets, he was always so stupid''

    But even if she thought he was stupid he was still right that the changes in mana currents were bad, with a greater blessed child being born, this could signal the coming of an era where deities would try to challenge their god-king.

    ''This could not be allowed, God King must reign eternally!''

    She thought Julius was stupid but his heart was in the right place.

    ''He needs to realize there are other ways of doing things other than just destruction! These are new times'' she contemplated within her mind as other inquisitors returned the box to the hidden room.

    She snapped out of her thoughts as the hidden wall returned to its place "I need all of your opinions, what did you make of his proposal?"

    "Heresy, that is what we all think sister May." Exclaimed a deep male voice, he was the Inquisitor of Earth, one of the physically strongest inquisitors out of 13.

    He crossed his arms before continuing "It seems he has not learned from the mistake of Inquisitor of Frost, and I suggest that we teach him that lesson again!"

    While May was not the strongest of inquisitors, she was still respected as the Inquisitor of Space, while not weak by any means her portals were able to expand the influence of the god-king far and wide while her unique fighting style kept her on the level of even the strongest inquisitors like those of Life and Death.

    And her near fanatical devotion to the god-king was truly something to behold, after all, she was the one who was responsible for the punishment of the treacherous inquisitor of frost.

    Even if most inquisitors were on good terms none of them knew how any of the others looked under their crimson hoods that covered most of their faces.

    After all, judging with eyes is flawed, they all knew each other through something deeper, they knew each other through divinity and the grace of god king!

    She smiled warmly before speaking "We shall decide on the proper course of action at a later date, Julius might not be the brightest but I do not doubt his loyalty"

    She gave other inquisitors a moment to relax before continuing "Now, we originally gathered to discuss the operations of new Inquisitors of frost"

    Other inquisitors nodded but did not wish to interrupt her as she proclaimed "I will personally investigate his dealings, and if Inquisitor of Frost betrayed us we shall distribute proper punishment to the heretic, Glory to the god king!"

    She spoke with such fanaticism in her voice that many would be scared, and yet all it did was inspire inquisitors.

    "GLORY TO THE GOD KING," All inquisitors said in unison before bowing and leaving back to their duties, leaving May alone in the hall.

    ''Now what to do with the newbie'' she thought to herself.

 Petals and Thorns

    Azure rushed through the forest at speeds she never thought possible before, she felt stronger than ever before, and she felt faster than ever before.

    She could not have noticed it before from the exhaustion, but the moment Aqua healed her she felt her stamina, strength, and speed rise exponentially.

    As she was now, she felt not even the full-scale ambush from before could even scratch her.

    And yet she wished to not dwell on the past as much, her mind was consumed by only one thought ''Find Sheira and escape back to her country''

    She pushed her body to the limits, using the trees to launch herself further and more.

    And yet the red-haired girl from before was effortlessly keeping up with her newfound speed.

    Her pride would not allow her to fall behind someone so she pushed herself to rush even faster.

    She turned her head for a split second as she noticed the girl right behind her, following her closely but still letting her take the lead.

    Her pride was hurt, but she still was happy that someone as powerful as this girl agreed to help her.

    It was only a matter of time before they reached the road, as the forest cleared two girls arrived at the dirt road, after a moment of investigation Azure noticed a track showing which way the enemy went.

    ''These tracks are fresh, they will surely lead us directly to the enemy'' she thought to herself.

    She turned to Aqua before asking "What do you think, is it likely that the enemy took Sheira this way, or would they still be holding her at the camp"

    Even if the girl was practically a stranger to her she still wanted to hear her opinion.

    Aqua shook her head before answering "It is likely that they would try to transport her as soon as possible to their destination, especially after learning about the destruction of their strike squad but it is quite likely that the wagon is a diversion and she is still held at the camp"

    What Aqua said made sense to Azure, they surely would try to distract the pursuers while transporting the captive princess to wherever they wanted.

    She rubbed her face as she groaned, she was unsure of how to proceed.

    The wagon would already be many hours away at best, and at worst it could already be out of the Ebon Forest.

    ''If they reach the main road we won''t be able to track her, and my shame would be too great for me to bear...'' Her thoughts gnawed at her so much it started to hurt her in both body and spirit.

    She felt a gentle hand touch her on the shoulder, making her snap out of her thoughts.

    Azure turned around and saw a smiling red-haired girl, Azure thanked the gods for having someone that could help her snap out of her destructive thoughts.

    If she were to fall into depression alone, the chances of rescuing Sheira were slim to none.

    If Aqua didn''t appear when she lost her dear friend she would most certainly taken her own life by now.

    She did not speak with her much, but just having the presence of someone else was enough to at least keep her cool.

    "I know how you feel, you lost someone very important to you," Aqua said solemnly

    Aqua stood in front of her and gently whispered "I too have lost all that I help dear, that is why I will help you find your friend with all of my strength, I promise we will find your friend"

    Aqua stretched out her hand before pulling Azure back to her feet.

    Azure could only nod at her words, she had no strength nor will to speak, and yet she felt her suspicion of the red-haired girl drop, she felt that she could trust her.

    Azure smiled before muttering "Thank you, After all of this is done I will make sure that you are properly rewarded"

    Aqua shook her head before casually answering "There is no need for a reward, I wish to help you out of my free will"

    Azure smiled warmly as she finally had the will to stand proud as she was before "Well what are we waiting for then, let''s go after that damn wagon, with our speed we should be able to reach it!"

    "Indeed, let us go lady Azure" Aqua responded as both women rushed to the direction of the tracks.

    As both women ran at breakneck speeds Aqua only had one thought in her mind ''She finally trusts me, I promise you no harm will come to your little friend or you''

    Aqua smiled warmly as she felt that she finally had gained a friend who wouldn''t be taken away by the evil of the divine.

    ''Perhaps I should make sure that the goddess couldn''t reach her again...'' she dismissed the thought as soon as it came.

    After all the blessing Azure had obtained was a true blessing, and she felt no malice behind it, but she still must be wary of the divine behind it, no matter how benevolent they appear they will always be horrible creatures that have the capacity for mass destruction.

    ***

    Aqua observed the blessing placed upon Azure as they rushed towards the carriage that was likely transporting her friend, the blessing was seemingly burning even brighter than before, It was too suspicious.

    She tried her best to analyze, to find a clue, or just a trace of the divine corruption.

    The corruption would eventually disregard her free will and force her to obey the divine, and yet she could not find anything remotely similar to what divine beings usually did.

    She acted like it was alright, she wanted to believe that this blessing might have been true and pure, and yet she refused to believe it as she observed it grow more powerful.

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    Aqua knew how divinity operates, they cared not for the mortals they cursed with their blessing of control.

    And yet this one was eluding her, either the god that placed the blessing was truly benevolent, or what was more likely to her was that she was powerful enough to hide it from her eyes.

    No other "god" was able to hide its influence from her eyes in the past, and the deities of this world seemed to be even less competent at hiding their influence.

    Finding that there was at least one that did what no others could was alarming, she was close to a pawn of a powerful god, a god that she could never trust, and yet the same god''s blessing showed no trace of the corruption, no chains on Azure''s soul, no burden, it was impossible.

    She knew her eyes could see through any and all divine deceit, and yet the only logical explanation was that there was no catch with this blessing.

    ''''It''s impossible, no god would freely give so much power without trying to control their chosen'''' Aqua muttered to herself, quiet enough that Azure could not hear her even while the elf was only a couple of meters in front of her.

    She couldn''t rationalize it, and thus it was not worth the effort to look into it at the current time, she had to investigate this suspicious blessing.

    But what was even more important for her right now was to make sure Azure trusted her enough that she could take a closer look inside her soul.

    It was possible that the god that blessed her was interested in the elf princess that got kidnapped, and only gave its blessing to retrieve their guinea pig and would dispose of Azure once her usefulness had run out.

    She would not allow it, after all ever since she saw these two she grew to like them, after all, they reminded her of herself in the distant past, and she would be damned if she let either one die now.

    The first time she gazed at the blessing it truly looked like it had no strings attached, but as it grew more powerful so did her suspicion.

    She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts as she noticed Azure signaling her that they approached a stone path that connected to the main road, with a carriage parked on the side.

    What was suspicious was that the carriage and its escort just stood on the side, chatting and laughing.

    Azure stared at the carriage, thinking of a plan to take back the princess, and yet why was the carriage here, they should have been close to the border already and yet they were just parked much further away.

    ''Something isn''t right here...'' Azure knew something was amiss here, and she was sure her red-haired friend knew too.

    She felt this was a trap, a trap that could kill her old self, but now, she felt so much more powerful.

    ''Bring it on you monsters, I will show you what it means to mess with the royal family'' she gritted her teeth as she remembered what these monsters did to her people.

    But she still needed to investigate, her friend could be under the white cloth covering the carriage.

    She needed to be careful and yet bloodlust filled her head.

    She wrapped her fingers around her sword as she shouted "GIVE ME BACK MY FRIEND YOU MONSTERS!"

    As she unsheathed her blade she was already close to the enemy, her speed even surprising herself, while they heard her shout the first unfortunate soul was not even aware that Azure drew her sword as his head was separated from his body.

    Her eyes glowed green in her anger as the next unfortunate victim was caught by her acidic gaze, melting him and leaving nothing but a puddle of acid where an enemy once stood.

    She rushed towards another enemy that tried to fling a fireball at her, her blade splitting the mage in two.

    Her bloodlust increased more and more, so much that it was suffocating for anyone unfortunate enough to be in her path.

    The rest of the hooded figures tried to flee, and yet they were caught one by one, only one was left alive.

    One that was about to be killed like others, but before she could strike him down a barrier of fire blocked her blade as the hooded figure fell to the ground, trembling in fear.

    Azure slashed at the barrier over and over.

    "Wait Azure, princess isn''t here!" Aqua called to her, she was next to the carriage, cloth removed from it revealing the cage was empty.

    But Azure did not listen, as she kept slashing at the cowering enemy, to no avail as the flame barrier stood firm.

    Aqua approached her before pulling Azure backward, making Azure fall on her back.

    Aqua put her hands on her head before forcefully turning her to the empty carriage.

    "Look!, the carriage is empty, this was a diversion!" Aqua yelled before grabbing Azure''s hand and lifting her.

    She smiled as she watched Azure regain some of her sense, that frenzy was certainly making Aqua suspicious of her goddess.

    Aqua smiled warmly letting Azure regain her sense before saying "We need that man alive, otherwise we will never know where they are keeping your friend!"

    Azure nodded at her as both turned their attention to the cowering enemy, which now was trying to crawl away but was trapped inside a barrier of flame.

    He tried punching and kicking, and yet the barrier did not budge.

    "Now you would like to answer some of our questions, wouldn''t you" Aqua smiled warmly as she crouched in front of the trembling hooded figure, her fingers gently removing his hood, revealing a somewhat handsome face, and yet nothing too special, the man had brown eyes and long black hair with scars decorating his face.

    Azure wanted to interrogate this survivor herself, but admittedly it was not her specialty, she was better suited for battle.

    ''Aqua seems to have this under control, I can''t believe I lost control and almost killed the only source of information we have left'' Azure thought as she investigated the carriage, no trace of Sheira was to be found here.

    She was tricked, and she was tricked again, these people shamed her enough, and her anger was boiling over so much that you could taste it in the air.

    She leaned against the carriage before Aqua turned back to her in the next moment, Azure observed the red-haired girl place a hand on the man''s forehead before burning him and leaving nothing but ash.

    ''I should have guessed she was a magic user... I do not want that to happen to me'' she joked to herself as she walked ahead to meet Aqua.

    She smiled before casually saying "That man only knew that their orders were to escort the carriage deeper inside the Ebon Forest, and they did not know what they were transporting"

    She stopped for a moment letting Azure take in the information before continuing "More information would likely be left over in their camp"

    Azure lightened up slightly before saying "We already know where it is, and if we rush with the full speed we could reach it very quickly, I do not want them to hold Sheira longer than they already are!"

    Aqua smiled before answering casually while placing her hand on Azure''s shoulder" Azure, there are no guarantees that Sheira will be held at the camp, all we can do is get information on where they are headed"

    Azure sulked a little before Aqua interrupted her again she stepped back a couple of meters before closing her eyes "You won''t tell anyone about this, right?"

    She was about to question her red-haired friend before she sprouted flaming wings from her back.

    ''I don''t think anything can surprise me anymore'' she thought as she responded to Aqua''s question "Not a soul, you have my word! But since when do elves have wings?!"

    Aqua laughed at her response as she restrained her divine form to only wings, not revealing any other divine aspects to not attract the suspicion of the deities more than she already did.

    "It''s a secret" she smiled as she grabbed Azure and flew high into the sky.

    "I don''t think it is a good idea for me to say that I''m afraid of heights?" Azure Squirmed in her embrace as she flew hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.

    "Don''t worry I won''t drop you, this way it will be faster, we will be back there in less than a minute!" Aqua laughed slightly as she answered her.

    She grabbed Azure and wrapped herself around her with arms tightly holding her before encasing her fragile companion in a thin veil of flame, the veil that would protect her against friction while flying at hypersonic speeds.

    Aqua flapped her wings as she flew at speeds surpassing sound towards the encampment of the bandits.

    "WAIT I WASN''T READY!!" Azure shouted as Aqua carried her towards the encampment.

 Golden Rose Encampment

    Golden Rose Encampment

    None of them knew why Golden Fang had decided that their carriage was to stop at the side of the road just before reaching the main connecting path, they were ordered that they are to not remove cloth from the carriage under any circumstance and escape in case of attack.

    Most of the escorting Thorns were confused as to why they had to go deeper inside the forest instead of going by Eastern Road towards Red Dawn, but it was not their place to question their leader.

    After all, he led them for years, and not once have they run into issues while following his commands.

    Most of them took their time relaxing and chatting with each other, but it was not something thorn Ivar indulged in.

    After all, if none of them had their guard up, they would most certainly be found and killed by the blessed child before escaping.

    He made sure to patrol the site as much as he could before returning to the carriage and leaning against it.

    It was ordered to stay here until the dawn of the next day, Ivor could assume only one thing, they served as a diversion.

    Golden Fang has likely taken the eastern route towards Red Dawn while leaving them to serve as a distraction.

    ''That would explain why he was adamant about us escaping in case of an attack...'' Ivor thought as he closed his eyes.

    The task was pretty simple, stay put until dawn, and then go back to the camp to wait further instructions from Golden Fang himself.

    All seemed to go well, his patrols led to no discoveries, and he finally felt that he could relax.

    But it was not to last, he saw a glint of silver flash and in the next moment screams of his fellow thorns could be heard.

    He knew what this meant ''Shit, Blessed child found us'' he thought, but it did not matter, he collected himself as he rushed back to help his fellow thorns, but most of them were already dead, and surviving ones were not surviving for long.

    What he saw was insanity, a berserker, an elven berserker, with acidic green eyes slashing and melting his comrades.

    He had to warn others, but it was no use in a moment the berserker''s gaze was on him, and with the speed of lightning she slashed at him making Ivor fall to the ground but he was not dead.

    He opened his eyes to see the mad berserker slash at him, but he was still alive.

    Her sword was stopped by some kind of fiery barrier, he wanted to thank the divine, but on the other hand, he was still terrified.

    The woman in front of him kept slashing at him but fortunately the barrier held firm.

    For the first time since his first training session with Golden Fang himself he felt helpless.

    This barrier was the only thing that was keeping him alive at the current moment.

    While the woman was seemingly getting exhausted Ivor tried reaching out of the barrier and possibly running into the forest, he needed everyone at the camp before it was too late.

    And yet same way the barrier was keeping the mad berserker out, it was also keeping him in, he had no way of escaping.

    He almost gave up his will to live before the berserker got pulled to the ground by what he could make out to be a young elven girl.

    ''Another blessed child... why are there two of them here!'' he felt it in his bones, one who cast the barrier was this elf, and he knew why he was kept alive, he was about to get tortured and interrogated.

    ''I will not allow them to break me, That berserker woman might have been scary but it will take more than that to get me to spill the information'' he smirked in his mind.

    He saw the two of them exchange a couple of words before thinking to himself ''When I think about it both are elves, and they are notoriously bad at torture''

    He whispered words of resolve to himself "Golden Fang, I will not break!"

    He saw the red-haired girl slowly approach him before crouching in front of him, he instinctively looked between her legs but she seemed to have covered herself.

    ''Shame, to deny me a view of woman''s treasure is truly cruel'' he shook his head inside his mind.

    She dispelled her barrier before approaching him slowly, her face getting closer to his.

    He still had strength left, he could have tried fighting his way out, but he knew it would be for nothing.

    He sensed something wrong with this girl as she stared at him with her gorgeous blue eyes.

    As she stared at him he wished that he would have bought himself an elf, but it was for nothing, she removed his hood before smiling.

    "Now you would like to answer some of our questions, wouldn''t you" the elven girl smiled warmly at him while asking him.

    ''What kind of interrogation method is this, Golden Fang prepared me for much worse you bitch!'' he almost laughed at the girl in front of him as she asked this question.

    ''It seems the rumours about elves being horrible interrogators are true, these women might be powerful but they know nothing about this, they lack the finesse and skill!''

    He remembered the drills Golden Fang used to do with each of his members, so many methods were drilled in his head and in the heads of his fellow thorns that there was nobody in this world that could get the information out of their heads.

    Golden Fang was truly committed to creating perfect fighting machines, and he succeeded, no other band could compare to them, even the weakest of thorns could easily fight many enemies with little to no issue.

    The girl turned her head for a moment, likely to check on her partner, but how wrong he was, as she gazed back at him it was no longer the warm gaze of beauty, but cold cruelty alone in the eyes.

    These were not the eyes of the elf before now, these were the eyes of a monster.

    Ivor instinctively tried to flee and yet his legs froze.

    The woman gave him a bit of time to collect before speaking "I do not know why your kind keeps on hunting my kinsmen, and you are unlikely to know, but I see what a disgusting soul you have."

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    She shook her head as she caressed his face, her touch almost burning his skin. "You do not need to tell me anything, after all, extracting memory is a simple task"

    Ivor''s eyes widened in shock, no one could do that, and yet she spoke with such conviction.

    He did not get a chance to think before she placed her hands on his head, her eyes glowing with pale blue light and her fingers enveloped by a black flame dug into Ivor''s skull as his mind unraveled itself to the whims of the woman in front of him.

    That was the last thought that Ivor had before he was truly gone.

    His thoughts were no longer his, he relived all of his past once again, from birth to his abandonment by his family and finally to the adoption by the golden rose and training under Golden Fang, and finally the current mission.

    Ivor''s body spasmed as the red-haired woman in front of him stole all of his memories, as she finally let go of his head he was truly gone, his brain fried by the black fire.

    His mind was scrambled, Ivor was no more, his body but an empty husk, all of his training led him to nothing, as he never got a chance to use it.

    Aqua smiled cruelly before whispering to herself "We can''t have Azure seeing this now..." as she looked at the empty shell in front of her.

    She placed her hand on the braindead Ivor, which was his name as she learned from his memory.

    Her hand glowed for a moment before Ivor''s body erupted in flames before being reduced to ashes in a moment.

    ''You may have thought me a monster, but nothing I could do could compare to the cruelty inflicted on my kin'' She shook her head before standing up and returning to Azure as she wore her usual smile.

    ***

    The camp has never been more silent, after all, only a handful of thorns have been left to guard it as their leader headed out to deliver the captive personally.

    Most of the tents were disassembled at were ready to be transported once the order was given, horses were fed and morale was high even after the recent disaster.

    It would be a maximum of an hour before they were on their way to catch up with Golden Fang.

    While most of them enjoyed the ambiance of the Ebon Forest, not many wished to stay for longer than necessary, especially with what they knew was a blessed child on their trail.

    While many of the thorns panicked and wished to leave as soon as possible did not sway their loyalty.

    After all the order from Golden Fang was clear, buy the time for the transport part of the mission and then run away towards the City of Razul.

    While most people would be scared, someone with the prestigious rank of Golden Petal would not fear, after all, their leader was quite capable of creating perfect plans for any situation.

    He was not so respected for no reason, every single thorn that worked under him started with nothing, and only thanks to his cunning and power was he able to make all of them into formidable force.

    Most of the thorns consisted of Orphans and Low Life People that society rejected, but each of them was taken into the Golden Rose, and trained to become powerful warriors or casters depending on the discipline they excelled at.

    After finishing their training Thorns had an opportunity to leave and make a new life for themselves with their newfound strength, and yet almost all remained by Fang''s side.

    After all ultimate loyalty has to be earned, and if anyone has earned it was the leader of the Golden Rose.

    Each thorn was loyal to its core, after all, who would not show loyalty to the only organization that took you in after everyone else threw you on the streets?

    And their loyalty was well awarded, they all lived in comfort due to their cooperation.

    Eventually, when thorns have earned enough merit, they would be promoted to a Golden Petal, while someone of this rank was not necessarily more powerful in battle than the rest of the thorns, their skills in other areas let them differentiate themselves from their brothers and sisters.

    Some of them were great leaders and strategists while others were able to use divine magic like it was second nature to them.

    One more thing differentiating them was that they rarely wore the classic masks covering the faces of many thorns, instead, they used gilded crowns in the shape of rose petals with their faces uncovered.

    The only Petal that was brought on this mission was Laura, the main strategist and advisor to the Golden Rose''s leader, Golden Fang.

    She had short brown hair, with soft green eyes, while standing at 177cm tall her build was quite muscular for a woman but still considered quite attractive among her brothers and sisters of Golden Rose.

    But any relationship inside the organization was strictly prohibited, it was not wise to bring the romantic personal life of the thorns inside the organization where efficiency is most important as the wisdom of Golden Fang dictated.

    Laura''s strategic mind could rival Golden Fang himself according to many, but even with her skill, she could not understand what the man was thinking for the most part, as she would only be able to interpret his plans and make adjustments.

    Power wise she was much weaker than even the weakest thorns in the Golden Rose, and yet her mind allowed her to rise to the rank of a Petal.

    With her strategies, and with her bits of advice to the Fang, she was able to secure victories where it should not even be possible.

    Her most impressive achievement was leading a successful attack on the Inquisitor of Water''s Slave convoy.

    With that raid alone she was able to fund Golden Rose operations for years.

    Slaves were mostly elven which made them quite valuable and they were able to smuggle them to less than loyal nobility of Red Dawn and gain a significant sum of crowns.

    She only hoped that the inquisitor of water would not find out that it was them, while she took precautions an inquisitor coming after them would possibly cripple the Golden Rose.

    While Golden Fang liked talking about how Golden Rose thorns could fight off an inquisitor, she knew it was not true.

    ''Even the strongest thorn would instantly be vaporized by any of those monsters'' She thought to herself.

    They were all powerful and yet against them it meant nothing, Laura witnessed the power of an Inquisitor of Earth when she lived on the streets of the City of Iris.

    A rebellion of slaves took place there and yet, even with thousands of slaves rising, the Inquisitor of Earth cast a strange spell that turned them all into stone statues, and with a mere flick of his wrist entire slave army was turned into dust.

    She did not want to draw Ire from any of them, particularly the more ruthless ones like Inquisitors of Death, Space, and Fire.

    Her beloved Golden Rose would be destroyed and equally beloved Golden Fang would suffer more than just death, and there would be nothing she could do.

    She did not wish for it and he did not deserve it after all he did for them all, so she did all in her power to make sure her strategies would not antagonize any of the Inquisitors of the Red Dawn.

    And she was certain she never antagonized any of them, but an angry blessed child was equally bad for them.

    A blessed child that they angered when they committed to a job that would pay enough to make everyone live like lords for a long time.

    It was worth the risk, and yet a single blessed child should never have been able to kill so many of her brothers and sisters, which meant that the enemy that was chasing them was A Greater Blessed Child, being that was more akin to demigods than anything close to mortal level.

    "Everyone, we will be moving out in minutes, anything that remains will be discarded!" She shouted for the rest of the thorns to prepare to move out.

    ''At least everything was proceeding to her and Fang''s plan'' She smiled in her mind as she thought of her leader.

    She looked at the thorns running around as they prepared to leave, as she was about to meet up with them and order the convoy to go towards the city of Razul she felt a presence behind her, a presence as hot as hell and in the same time as cold as the primal frost itself.

    "Where do you think you are going young lady" A young female voice came from behind her, while she might have been weak she should have noticed someone.

    And yet all she could do right now was to freeze as the voice continued as she felt someone put a hand on her neck.

    "I have some questions to ask of you, you see I am searching for a very important person and you seem like someone important'''' she felt a mocking tone in her voice.

    But she could not turn, whoever this is, one thing was certain it was the blessed child chasing them.

    She felt a hand on her neck before being forcefully turned to see a beautiful young elven girl.

    "You may have a chance to live if you collaborate" the red-haired elven girl smiled at Laura with a creepy smile.

    Laura tried to trash and punch the elven girl before her and yet each punch and kick did nothing.

    As she felt the squeeze on her neck grow stronger almost crushing her neck before releasing her and letting her fall to the ground she knew ''So it seems it is the end for me, all I can hope is for Fang to succeed in the transportation so that he may live comfortably, that was all she wanted''

    She smiled as she kept Golden Fang in her mind, not even death would take away her admiration and love from her.

 Road to Razul

    Golden Fang could see it, the City of Razul, a jewel of trade and the target where he would deliver the captive and reap the rewards of a lifetime.

    He ran out of wind stones a while back, but he was thankful he had enough on his person to last him until the end of the mission.

    Fang chuckled to himself as he thought ''At least Observer fulfilled his promise of allowing us safe passage through the border''

    The moment the carriage exited the Ebon Forest everyone noticed a large shift in elevation, while the forest was unnaturally flat anything outside it was surrounded by hills and uneven natural terrain which made the forest seem even more unnatural.

    When viewed by flyers the forest would be described only as a shallow crater.

    He recalled how weird the guards acted around him, it was like they weren''t themselves once he spoke, the man was incredibly suspicious and yet they were here, just mere minutes before they entered the city and delivered the captive to the client.

    ''I know he plans on something, but I must not judge this early'' Fang nodded in his mind.

    At the moment they entered the city they were surrounded by marvelous large intricate buildings opposing both sides of the path, with carriages and various beasts of burden going their way, with pedestrian citizens walking on the sides.

    All his Golden Rose had to do now was to deliver the captive to the underground lab that the observer would lead them to.

    The City of Razul was never large, but even despite its relatively small size it was the center of trade of the Duchy of Razul, it was the only established trade route connecting Ebon Forest with the Red Dawn, the city was lit up by magical lamps as far as the eye could see and everything surrounding the city itself knew no night.

    But the trade was not what would be expected of a border city, this city trade was made mostly of slaves captured from other countries in large consisting of Elven and Dwarven kind with occasional Lizardman.

    The City of Razul is where all captured nonhumans were taken to be broken and trained for nobility and residents of blessed cities.

    The captives were all processed in a special facility located in the western quarter of the city, a new slave would be sent to the imposing metallic gray building surrounded by a fence akin to the prisons where they would be trained, educated, and neutered unless they were selected as breeding stock.

    It is said that the training was so effective that the slave would be under a similar effect as mind control, and unlike the spell, it could never be dispelled.

    It wasn''t known how it was done but all of their minds would only be repurposed as tools for their new masters, in a way they were similar to golems and automatons.

    It was speculated that Inquisitor of Mind had something to do with the special training and processing of new slaves but it was far too absurd for most that one of the inquisitors would bother with such menial tasks.

    Each month a new batch would be processed and driven off to auction houses in other duchies, while defective goods would be discarded and turned into fertilizer so that they may serve God King in death.

    The city itself was surrounded by a thick stone wall, with layers of magical enchantments placed upon them which gave them a bluish glow, enchants which could deflect even ancient dragon''s breath were placed by Inquisitor of Water long ago while it was sustained by the amazing sentient artifact held by the lord of Razul.

    As a city blessed by one of the Inquisitors themselves people living here were awarded many benefits, it was a utopia as defined by the god-king.

    Each resident was granted a free elven slave of their preferred gender for less physically intense work and one dwarven slave to use for heavy manual labor while they could earn additional slaves by serving god-king.

    All that while being provided necessary living items by the kingdom treasury, it was truly a heaven for all humans.

    The city was divided into 4 Wide crossways heading out in 4 cardinal directions with a large Bronze statue depicting God King with a spear in his hand and donning heavy armor decorating the center of the city, the statue''s face showing the splendor of their king and savior.

    A large number of guards and automatons guarding every dark corner of the city made sure that no crime or runaway slave outbreak would be possible.

    Most of the houses were quite large with yards stretching in front of them with nonhuman slaves working on them all day.

    Due to the edicts of the god-king, all humans were given as good of life as possible, and yet it was only limited to the blessed cities of each duchy.

    After all even Red Dawn did not have the resources necessary to provide for its entire population.

    Due to that all humans yearned to one day live in one of these cities, and yet only small amounts were given the right, it was unknown how the citizens were selected, but one thing was known, one needed to prove useful to the Red Dawn.

    Only after years of service would the family be allowed to move into a blessed city, and even then they would need to provide their services to the kingdom.

    After all entire kingdom was a meritocracy foremost, not even nobles held their positions if their performance was not up to the standards of the Red Dawn.

    Not even inquisitors, the most loyal servants of the god-king were irreplaceable, In the history of Red Dawn there was an inquisitor who was replaced after all.

    The Eastern quarter of the city was dedicated to the Clergy and Priests in service of God King, Multiple smaller shrines with a large cathedral and its surrounding yard took a large part of the quarter.

    Each building was constructed out of marble with a gold-plated roof decorating them, giving a sense of opulence over the entire quarter.

    Each 15th Day of the month at noon most of the city population would move to the clerical quarter to do their service to the god-king.

    Every citizen of any blessed city was obligated to offer prayer and sacrifice to the god-king, sacrifice could be anything from minor artifacts, and nonhuman souls to gold in accordance to the ability of the devotee, all that mattered was that the offering was made to their God.

    While the Last Two Quarters were commercial sectors where all citizens lived in spacious stone manors, everything from basic shopping to slave purchases would happen there.

    Streets were spacious with various well-dressed humans walking about while some had their slaves carrying bags full of food, blacksmithing tools, and various miscellaneous items.

    Seeing these scenes did not fill Golden Fang with pride after all, these people did not need to work for anything in their lives, just being a citizen in the blessed city would make sure you would never need to work again.

    ''These people don''t train their slaves and they don''t earn gold for themselves, their lives are empty'' He put his thoughts about the city aside as his carriage turned into a more sparse residential district.

    They slowed down to a comfortable speed as they relaxed, not many people were around them and they were only moments away from the drop-off point.

    In mere moments the captive will be in the hands of the client and Fang would be able to enjoy the hard-earned reward.

    ''I lost so much for this...'' he thought to himself before dismissing the thought.

    His Golden Rose was hurt by the attack of the blessed child, and it hurt his soul deeply no matter how much he tried to hide it, he tried to push it aside as he prayed for the rest of his Golden Rose to arrive safely.

    It was mere moments of riding on a quiet road before a strange old man appeared in the distance, he wore a simple gray shirt and brown pants with thick glasses on his eyes, this was the man who hired him and his Rose to deliver the princess.

    ''Mission is done'' Fang smiled in his mind as he celebrated his largest mission ever.

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    They approached the man as Fang stopped the carriage, Observer was the first person to hop off as he knelt before the man.

    "Master, The mercenaries have delivered the princess" Observer spoke with reverence in his voice as the old man approached him.

    "Excellent work, I knew I could put my trust in you" Man smiled as he praised his subordinate before turning to Golden Fang.

    "You... you did what others could not" He slowly approached Fang as he coughed a small bit of blood onto his hand.

    Before Fang could react the old man continued "Do not worry about this, it is just a condition I have to live with, until now that is" The man smiled as he grabbed Fang''s hand before shaking it.

    Golden Fang could certainly feel the gratitude from this man, but he learned to not trust it fully, he kept up his strict poker face as he spoke with his hands down the sides of his body.

    "It''s an honor to complete this mission, sir!"

    The man cackled before answering "Relax, the mission is done and with your results, you can afford to talk casually with me, after all, you have done me massive Favor"

    Man slowly walked to the carriage, masked thorns letting the man pass as he pushed aside the cloth covering the cage.

    He looked at the tear-stained and chained unconscious elf princess, it was everything he wanted. ''A sample of holy blood, live sample!'' he thought to himself with the fervor of a child.

    He wanted to take her to the lab as soon as he could and yet he couldn''t, he had to appear dignified in front of the heroes that brought him what he wished for.

    ''Yes, This man and his men are heroes of mankind, there are no other ways to put it'' he was barely containing his excitement as he put back the cloth over the cage before returning to the Fang "Ah yes, a matter of compensation, It was already sent to your headquarters!" he said with a happy tone as he coughed up more blood.

    Man-made a step before almost falling over before Observer appeared next to him and helped him stand up.

    Observer whispered something to the old man before speaking "Thank you for your service, please follow me to the place where we want the cage to be placed"

    The observer was quiet for a moment before helping his master up and leading him toward an unassuming marble building.

    Fang did not question the man as he ordered his thorns to slowly remove the cage from the carriage before carrying it closely to the pair of old men.

    ***

    Laura was afraid, no it could not even be said she was merely afraid, she was horrified.

    The red-haired elven girl that just grabbed her looked not like the beauty most people would expect but instead to Laura she looked like a monster.

    What else could she look like when she was likely the blessed child who slaughtered most of the strike team?

    She felt herself being strangled before the blessed child dropped her on the ground, making her almost collapse on her knees due to her relative physical weakness.

    She took a moment to take a breath before reaching into her pocket, attempting to find a specific item that would allow her to escape.

    Her fingers searched every part of her pocket but she could not see the pale white gem she carried with her.

    Instead, she saw the red-haired girl twirling the gem between her fingers as she looked at her with a confused look on her face.

    "Looking for this?" she said in a mocking tone as she crushed the gem leaving nothing but dust.

    This was a gem of teleportation, allowing users one-time use of [Teleport] magical art, it was Laura''s last-ditch trump card that would ensure her survival, and yet before she realized she lost it.

    Laura looked at the gem with a horrified expression as the dust of her lifeline was spread to the wind.

    "You shouldn''t be trying to run away now, teleportation wouldn''t work with me anyway," she said with a slight chuckle as the other girl took out her sword, ready to slash her in two if she made any moves.

    "I will never betray my boss you arrogant bitch!" Laura shouted as she collected her strength and lunged at the girl in front of her with the hopes of at least inconveniencing her.

    And yet it was the same, she felt like she hit an enchanted stone wall with full force while shattering her fist in the process.

    She grasped her arm for a moment trying to gather her bearing as the blessed child grabbed her by the neck, she felt her consciousness slip as the elf whispered something.

    The Elven girl turned her head towards the other woman "I will read her mind, please watch my back, Azure!"

    The other woman nodded as she took a defensive stance leaving Laura and Red haired elf alone.

    She tried to flail and free herself but she felt an intrusion inside her mental space.

    Laura tried to resist as much as she could, playing tug of war for control of her mind.

    She was proud of her mental fortitude and she knew she could resist most forms of mind control, and yet it felt like she couldn''t even begin to resist this intrusion.

    And so she let the woman enter her mind, after all, she knew this woman would easily overpower her resistance, even with her fortitude she knew her limits as the elf entered her mind and so she would be left with more damage if she tried to resist.

    She relaxed as she let the elven girl have near-free reign in her mind, which would make the elf drop her guard and let Laura construct fake memories for the girl to find.

    Almost in the same instant, her entire life flashed before her, all her memories laid bare before her as she fell into a trance not allowing her to construct a suitable false memory.

    Laura desperately tried to keep her consciousness as she was read like an open book.

    All her joy and sadness, all her embarrassing memories, her love for Fang it was all laid bare, even her orders and information about Golden Rose were being revealed as if it was nothing but text upon parchment.

    Just as she felt as if she was about to reveal everything the sensation stopped, the intruder in her mind retreating as if nothing happened, her blurry vision focusing once again.

    But it did not matter, the invasion of her mind sapped her strength more than any fight ever could, but she noticed remaining Golden Rose Thorns gathering around the trio, their blades at ready.

    ''Why didn''t you run you morons!'' She screamed inside her mind as her comrades approached the two elven girls, caution visible on their now unmasked faces.

    She was not sure how these two snuck into the camp and caught her alone so easily, and she knew better than to cause unnecessary deaths of her comrades.

    Not many would be able to get past all of the members of Golden Rose. And those who could were to not be underestimated.

    ''A smart thing to do would be to run, I know they understand that they probably stand no chance, but they were here to save one of their officers even if it costs them their life.'''' She couldn''t help but smile with their display of loyalty.

    Two elven women spoke something that she could not overhear before the red-haired girl took three steps forward toward the mob, leaving the other girl to guard Laura and observe her partner''s fight.

    The red-haired girl''s form shimmered, Laura did not know what kind of trick she just used, but it required no incantation or the rune circle.

    ''How is that even possible, there are only 4 possible ways to use the magic known to humanity, and even blessed children should be bound by them!'' She tried to understand how the elf cast the spell and yet it did not fit in any of the known methods of casting.

    In all of the human knowledge, Laura was able to gather, there were 4 methods used by all of humanity including primitive casting of lesser species.

    In verbal and Somatic Casting, using their body movement and words a caster would be able to shape the mana in their environment to their whim, be it to take the shape of ice, fire, or anything else depending on the skill of the caster.

    Second was casting by use of Catalysts, which would include Staves, Wands, and various jewelry, Catalysts were used by casters that usually lacked the skill to shape mana and thus needed a crutch to help them learn the control which would limit them to a set number of spells.

    The third method is a runic circle, by drawing runes in such a pattern that the flow of mana can be directed in a specific way a caster would be able to create permanent magical effects but a drawback of this method was that it required constant source of mana otherwise the circle would fail and so for this end, many kinds of Gems or living batteries were used, for example, enslaved elven mages would generate mana for millennia when used as a battery for a divination circle in various facilities in the Red Dawn.

    The fourth method was divine prayer, Prayer to god would allow the caster to become a living catalyst for divine power, and a drawback was that it required a long time to invoke the spell and it had a high possibility of god not hearing your prayer.

    ''I couldn''t hear anything or see any movement from her'' She analyzed the scene to try and find an explanation, if she could figure out which method of casting this elf used she could find a way to counter it and run away.

    Laura calmed herself as she kept eliminating possible methods used ''I can safely discount prayer as the shimmer was instant without an act of piety shown, and same can be said about verbal and runic''

    She stood up slowly to not look like a threat to the woman that was standing next to her ''The only thing I can think of is the catalyst, but I couldn''t see anything of that sort on her, if we can find it and destroy it she will be powerless and we would be able to escape''

    She tried to analyze the woman from the back, her hands had no wand, no jewelry, and certainly no staff, perhaps she had a ring, or...

    She gazed at her back as she noticed a glint of the ruby gemstone on her forehead.

    Laura dramatically fell to the ground as she pretended to not have any strength left.

    ''Unconventional but possible that she uses that gemstone in her circlet'' She smiled as she covertly drew a [Message] Runic circle under her body.

    She could draw this circle with her eyes closed with how many times she had to do it.

    Her fingers glided through the dirt where she "Fell" The outer circle was very simple, as it was meant to only transfer the sound, but the inner circle needed to convert her thought into a voice that would be sent to everyone she designed as her allies.

    The standoff between the thorns and the blessed child was intense, Laura felt like she could cut through tension with a knife at this point, at any second fighting would break out, and if she couldn''t send the information about the weakness of the enemy they would be killed after all most of their own casters were already either dead or gone with Fang himself.

    Her hands shook as she finally finished her runic circle, she channeled a small amount of mana, just enough for a message to be sent to the entire Golden Rose.

    "The Ruby on her circlet seems to be her catalyst, destroy it and we might have a chance to run to Razul, elves won''t dare follow us there no matter how powerful!" She sighed with relief as she sent the message to her comrades.

    Their faces showed that they understood the message.

 Soul and Aether

    Aqua was impressed, the woman she just probed was already up and scheming against her and Azure, if she wasn''t the enemy of her people she would even applaud her, and yet.

    ''You are filth like all of the others that would harm my people!'' she shouted inside her mind while keeping her composure as calm as possible.

    She left Azure to guard the woman as she seemed to be more valuable than the rest of the trash, as she got closer to them she invoked [Temporal Barrier].

    A bronze shimmer surrounded her for mere moments but the barrier was indeed there, and it would act as most perfect armor, not letting anything past it.

    ''[Temporal Barrier] stops time just above the user''s skin, making any attack strike at something that can never move and could never pierce, I''m quite proud of this spell if I say so myself'' Aqua smiled as she approached the mob of humans in front of her.

    But instead of their fear growing they seemed to steel themselves, intently following her movement.

    It caused a moment of confusion before she glanced back at the woman whose name was known to her as Golden Petal Laura.

    ''She tried to hide some kind of Aether Circuit under her body? She must have used it to inform her comrades of some kind of a plan'' Aqua chuckled as she thought about it.

    ''What could she possibly think of to get out of my grasp'' Aqua crossed her arms as she calmly approached the enemy mob.

    In a moment, an enchanted arrow struck right into her head, trying to pierce her family ruby.

    ''What? Was this their plan?'' Aqua was confused, about what could these people possibly accomplish by targeting a gemstone instead of vital organs.

    Arrow after arrow slid past her Barrier, as the barrage stopped 4 people charged at her with blades held high ready to slash and hammers to crush her.

    As enemies kept attacking Aqua noticed Azure readying herself for battle before charging in front of her, cutting off the heads of many of them.

    "I am fine, Azure you should keep watch over the trickster over there" Aqua pointed back at the lying woman as she nonchalantly punched one of the melee attackers sending him into a nearby tent.

    "But, you just stood there taking attacks, I thought you needed support" Azure responded with a worried tone as she slashed another enemy.

    "These guys are small fries, you need to make sure our backs are covered, that one is more dangerous than them" Aqua pointed towards Laura.

    Azure groaned before answering "Fine! I will do it but don''t blame me if you get hurt!"

    Azure stopped for a moment while looking over the terrified enemy and then over her companion before softly asking her "If possible could you please not kill them unless necessary, they need to stand trial before our King and they seem to have lost most of their will already!"

    Aqua really enjoyed seeing her companion worry about her, even if it was only because she needed her help to rescue her princess friend, and what intrigued her more than that was that despite her rank she seemed so naive, like her in her youth before Supreme Deity destroyed everything.

    "I promise this will be over quickly and we can rush to your friend" She smiled as she slowly uncrossed her arms, her presence almost setting the surrounding air on fire.

    How much she enjoyed their fear, it was delightful, she could feel their fear and Laura''s fear, and none of them could hide it.

    "How does it feel, to feel what your victims felt, every single one of you is a monster that deserves to burn!" She spoke with wrath adorning her youthful face.

    With each of her steps, the heat rose, and the enemy lost the grips on their weapons, their Armor singing their flesh and their cloth burning.

    "Maybe, some of you think you are free of sin, but you are surrounded by sinners, in my eyes all of humanity is guilty!" She was mere step away from the mob before stopping.

    "Look at you, not able to fight for your own pathetic life" She chuckled before temperature suddenly dropped to normal.

    "Alas, my friend over there pleaded to not unnecessarily harm you, so your punishment will wait" She pointed towards Azure before turning her attention back.

    "And so, you WILL lead us to your leader, or else your entire merry band will be burned" She shouted as for everyone to hear her voice.

    "I have Gathered from your dear strategist''s mind that Elves aren''t exactly welcomed, and since your merry band is so well known you will provide us escort to the so called City of Razul,'''' She spread her arms as she announced the plan.

    "As far as the border guard is concerned we were always part of your little Golden Rose" She slowly turned her back towards now stunned mob before walking to Laura.

    "You don''t really have a choice, I have gotten everything I need to know from you anyway" She grasped Laura''s arm before pulling her up.

    ''She still has her wits, even while exposed to my aura, her mental fortitude is on another level compared to others'' Aqua was impressed, not many could withstand her aura even at this output level.

    She turned to her companion to see her as shocked as others ''Ah, I never showed her my power did I''

    Aqua wanted to slap herself for not explaining what she planned to do but alas it was too late, she turned her head to Azure.

    "See, I didn''t kill them" she said with a warm smile, contrasting her previous wrath.

    "I guess you didn''t, but what exactly is your plan, I heard entering Red Dawn as non human is almost impossible without permission of inquisitors and even then its too risky?" She asked with visible worry and unease adorning her face.

    "We might not know each other for long, but please trust me, we will enter this damn kingdom and rescue your friend" she let go of Laura as she grabbed both of Azure''s hands.

    Laura took opportunity to clean up dirt from her clothes before asking the duo "Sorry for interrupting the moment but you have what remains Golden Rose in your clutches, what do you plan to do to us"

    Before Aqua could respond, Azure took initiative and stood in front of Laura "You and your band will stand trial before our king, but if you help us reach the princess you kidnapped you might be allowed to keep your lives!"

    Laura chuckled before answering "I guess we don''t really have a choice, but I have to warn you even if you have seen my mind, Red Dawn is much more dangerous than you two could comprehend, especially to non humans."

    "We are aware, but you forced us to take the risk" She said with anger in her voice.

    Laura shook her head before pointing towards one of still standing tents.

    "You can pick up some spare uniforms as disguises" Laura pointed two elven girls towards one of the tents letting them disguise themselves.

    "I''m so going to lose my head over this, Fang please forgive me for this" Laura spoke to herself, after all trying to illegally sneak non humans into Red Dawn would make death best possible outcome, not only to her but entire Golden Rose.

    Most of her men recovered from the intense heat, with most of them having statements and questions ranging from "Not even a blessed child should be that scary!" to more brave "What the fuck was that!?" Same question she asked herself many times, she deflected the question to best of her abilities while sending everyone to pack up and get ready to move to Razul.

    ''We couldn''t destroy the catalyst, which means it is too high grade for our weapons'' she shook her head, it was no use thinking about it now, she was about to put Golden Rose on the line.

    ''Perhaps she would get opportunity to get vengeance for death of her Golden Rose'' she sighted as she gazed into the ruined tents.

    ''But for now I need to play along if I want to have even slight chance of salvaging your Life''s work, Fang'' She sighted heavily as she slumped down on nearby stump.

    It was mere minutes before two women exited the tent, their elven features humanized, and wearing Golden Rose Uniforms.

    ''Even I would need a double take if I saw them'' She looked over both women, their appearance pretty similar but their ears shortened, and hair colours changed to pitch black.

    ''They look like sisters'' Laura was impressed, she couldn''t even sense the illusion but she knew they had to be two elven girls.

    "We should get going, faster we get to your princess the better chances for her to still be herself" Laura warned two women.

    "I saw your memories, Slaves brainwashed to only become tools" Anger building up in Aqua''s face as she spoke of this.

    Aqua knew they needed to be careful, but she wasn''t worried about herself, she was worried about the capability of the kingdom.

    ''I should always assume unknown is more powerful than me, isn''t that right dear master'' she thought to herself as she remembered her deceased teacher and friend.

    "Lets get going before we give the disciples of mind time to brainwash your princess, the process usually takes whole week, but I guess you do not wish to take chances" Laura spoke with what appeared real concern

    Azure gripped her sword tightly as she heard this, but she knew only thing she can do is to trust Aqua on this.

    ***

    The tent Aqua and Azure were sent to was nothing impressive, just black and white cloth put over a metallic skeleton with the bare minimum amenities needed to support someone living there.

    By all margins it was nothing but a normal tent, meant to be easily disassembled and carried, Aqua slowly opened the flap which served as the entrance letting Azure enter first before following shortly after.

    Inside was surprisingly clean and spacious, with the top of the roof open leaving space for smoke from the central fire to safely exit the tent.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    2 bedrolls were situated on two opposite sides of the tent with sacks full of clothes already packed and ready to go sitting against the tent''s metallic support.

    "Feel free to have your pick and change Azure, I won''t peek I promise" Aqua teased as she looked over Azure''s flushed face.

    Azure shuffled for a moment before answering "Lady Aqua, we are both girls, and you already saw me naked!" her cheeks flushed red as she turned her head to hide her embarrassment.

    ''ADORABLE, I will need to fix her Divine corruption and she will be perfect!'' Aqua smiled as she looked at Azure, to her it was like watching a mirror image of her old self.

    From her naive demeanor despite her position to the will of the divine implanted in her, it was truly a mirror, although on a lesser scale.

    "Well I will need to see you if I am to apply illusion on you and not botch it, so please undress and stand in front of me, you weren''t this shy when you teased me back when we first met!" She smirked as she saw Azure shuffling about before nodding.

    Azure averted her gaze as she slowly removed her oversized Armor, dropping it aside before removing her makeshift clothes revealing her slender physique not fit for a fighter relying on strength "Please be quick, being without Armor makes me feel vulnerable"

    Aqua smiled as she gazed over her, she could get a proper view of her companion, while she looked amazing in Aqua''s eyes, it would be true for all elves.

    Until now she never had a chance to take a good look at Azure, like she had blue eyes even though they were paler blue even if her right eye was taken by the green glow courtesy of divine, her hair long and so blonde that it bordered white was now stained by her transformation turning it completely white.

    What caught Aqua''s eye was that the Divine influence spread even more, the green patches of Argusian skin covering slightly more of her elven skin.

    ''So the influence didn''t just grant her a boon, that figures, but what is even more concerning is that it seems to spread even faster than before'' Aqua thought about burning away the influence, but making enemies in an unknown world more than she already has would be a disaster.

    ''I will allow it for now, once I learn which divine parasite granted her this I will make plans, I''ll make that parasite regret showing itself!'' She chuckled in her mind as she thought about eradicating yet another divinity that threatened her people.

    And yet she couldn''t act without information, while unlikely, for all she knew the parasite that granted her this blessing would be even more powerful than the supreme deity of her world.

    "Lady Aqua please don''t stare that much!" Azure was flushed completely red as Aqua was in her thoughts.

    "Oh sorry Azure, I was just admiring your look" Aqua responded as bluntly as she could, after all, it wasn''t a complete lie.

    Azure took a small step back before answering "So you can even cast illusions, I''m impressed Lady Aqua"

    Aqua gently placed her hands on Azure''s head her hands glowed eerie purple and blue light as Azure''s form shifted and changed.

    It was a simple spell for a caster of Aqua''s skill and power, after all, it was just a means to disguise two girls and trick the senses of others.

    It was unfortunate but Aqua wasn''t the best at illusion, her proficiency was by her own admission in pure destructive power, but that did not mean she didn''t have various other tools at her disposal.

    After all what kind of caster would only specialize in one area and neglect everything else, a true master would need to have a deep understanding of the defensive and utility usage of their power.

    ''If I lacked even one of my defensive spells I would have been killed by the supreme deity so many times'' She sighed as she reminisced about the battle of her life and world.

    Resurrection, Time manipulation, Space manipulation, all of these were necessary to face someone as powerful as the creator of the entire world.

    While Aqua''s mastery of Time was not at the highest possible level she could still influence the flow of time to a limited degree.

    But for this scenario, she had to use one of her weakest areas, which is illusion.

    Aqua let go of Azure looking over her new form, Her hair color turning pitch black, her eyes turning brown the green patches of skin disappearing under the veil of illusion, and her beautiful elven ears turning into human ears.

    "Spin around for me Azure" Aqua took a step back letting her make sure that illusion was perfect.

    Azure nodded before spinning slowly.

    "Good, this should fool almost everyone we come across" She smiled as she confirmed a successful spell on Azure.

    Azure picked up a clean uniform from the sack before slowly sliding it over herself while comparing it to the sensation of wearing Armor, for her this was something to wear only on official visits and celebrations and yet she knew that she couldn''t complain.

    ''Greatest feat I''m able to do is a full-body illusion, and by the usage of [Beyond the Veil] which would combine Space manipulation, illusion, and elemental power hide from sight from even the creator of the world for a while'' She chuckled as she undressed, her clothes and ruby placed in pocket dimension only Aqua herself could reach.

    Aqua didn''t even register Azure''s surprised expression as she continued her thought ''Master Umbra even while only being human had such mastery of illusion that she could construct fake worlds, indistinguishable from reality'' Aqua remembered how hopeless she was when she started training.

    ''Your senses would be useless after all only reason I was able to be unnoticed so long by Supreme Deity was because of her illusion covering the entire country where I resided, and unlike mine, her illusion was permanent and nigh unbreakable'' She smiled as she thought of her master''s power before her face gained a sad look. ''But in the end humans, no matter how powerful can live forever''.

    She picked up the uniform from one of the sacks which contained most spare clothes and uniforms before placing it on the nearby bedroll, letting herself take in Azure''s reactions while her companion was trying to avert her gaze.

    Aqua chuckled as her own form changed under purple and blue haze, her form changed to a similar form to Azure''s but she took a form closer to Umbra, her former master, her hair slightly shorter than Azure''s, and instead of brown eyes, they turned green.

    ''These forms are close to Umbra''s'' She smiled as she checked herself before asking "Hey Azure, could you check if everything looks good?"

    She did a spin, letting Azure look her over for a while ''She looks so embarrassed'' Aqua let out a slight chuckle as she gazed at her companion''s blushed face.

    Azure closed her eyes as Aqua turned around and slowly put on her Golden Rose Uniform.

    "Lady Aqua, I have some questions if you don''t mind," Azure asked while averting her gaze.

    Aqua raised her brow before answering "Go ahead, you deserve to know if we are to travel together on this rescue mission"

    Azure took a moment to think before crossing her arms and asking "What kind of magic do you use?"

    Aqua understood where this question was coming from but she couldn''t understand what exactly Azure was asking "What do you mean?"

    "When your form shimmered earlier and now when you threw your clothes into some kind of portal, it didn''t look like you used any of the known casting methods" Azure replied.

    She took a moment to pick her words before continuing "And not only that, your mastery of both physical prowess from what I experienced and combined with magical mastery is abnormal"

    Aqua was taken aback by the statement for a moment "Abnormal? What do you mean?"

    Azure took a moment to explain the 4 known casting methods, surprise visible on her face as the mage before her didn''t understand.

    Aqua scratched her chin as she thought for a moment before bluntly answering "No, These methods are inefficient and primitive, no self-respecting caster should use them"

    Azure was taken aback by the answer, after her entire life she was taught that only 4 ways of magic casting were possible.

    "Then lady Aqua, how do you use your power, It is known that only these 4 methods are possible when it comes to magic casting, and yet your spells are instantaneous without either catalyst, body movement, chants, or prayer" Azure''s new face was completely washed in shock and disbelief, she wasn''t that knowledgeable about magic but she knew enough to see the absurdity in Aqua''s words.

    ''Hmm, seems this world''s understanding of Aether Energy is limited'' Aqua thought for a moment before answering "Do you know about the connection of Aether Energy and Mana?"

    Azure''s face betrayed confusion before asking "I know about mana, but what do you mean by Aether Energy lady Aqua?"

    Aqua leaned back, taking a moment to think before casually replying while crossing her arms "To explain the Aether Energy is quite difficult, but it is a building block of mana, you can think of it as a raw ore which you can refine into mana ingots"

    As she noticed a puzzled look on Azure''s face she reached into a space pocket and retrieved parchment and mystic pen.

    "Azure, look closely as I draw, The methods you mentioned are well known to me, but they all have one thing In common" She slowly drew 4 stick figures describing casting methods.

    Aqua glanced for a moment, seeing Azure was attentive she smiled as she continued.

    "Can you tell me what they have in common, Azure?" She put down the parchment before her.

    Azure took a long look over 4 stick figures, first showing a figure standing in a pose with multiple lines around it while channeling a spell, second showing a figure holding a staff, third showing a figure standing over a rune circle, and last showing the figure in prayer.

    "Uhh, they all have external components, but I don''t understand why that matters" Azure answered with a puzzled look.

    Aqua giggled for a moment before answering "Partially correct, these methods use World''s Mana, not the user''s"

    Aqua made a small pause letting Azure process the information before continuing.

    Azure nodded her head.

    "If casters use the world''s mana how come they can suffer from mana exhaustion"

    Aqua scratched her head for a moment before continuing "Because World''s mana burdens the soul, there is no such thing as mana exhaustion..."

    Azure didn''t let Aqua finish before interjecting "How is that possible, I have personally witnessed casters fall unconscious because of them running out of mana"

    "To understand that, you must know more about the soul" Aqua replied casually, before drawing a more complex figure, with lines contained inside and very closely to the figure.

    "The soul is basically a super-powered generator, from where all beings get their power including divinity" She continued her explanation while generating soft glowing orbs from her right hand.

    Azure gazed at Aqua with a confused look.

    Aqua sighted for a moment before continuing.

    "See, the Aether Energy isn''t mana by itself, one needs to convert it by herself into whatever is needed" Aqua explained before crushing the glowing orb in her hand.

    "You aren''t a caster, so you might not understand. But what you need to remember is that the 4 methods you describe, steal that same energy from the World''s Soul"

    Azure shook her head for a moment "But Lady Aqua, that doesn''t explain why mages suffer from mana exhaustion"

    "Mana you are used to is a mere residue of World Soul''s natural generation, and it''s not your own!" Aqua explained bluntly

    "What casters do is that they absorb that residue or already created product, and only after that would they shape it with exception of prayer"

    "But think of it like a full mug that is constantly getting filled by a faucet above it" Aqua smiled as she looked at Azure, her face finally showing understanding.

    Azure raised her hand before speaking "So you want to tell me, that all our teaching is wrong?"

    "Only partially, you still use mana same as me, but your casters lack knowledge of the soul so they aren''t able to utilize pure Aether energy which is a crucial first step! Leaving them to only be able to use World Soul Mana"

    Aqua took a moment to get her breath before asking "What do you think would happen when you add more liquid into an already full mug?"

    Azure gazed back with a confused look once again before stating "It would spill"

    Aqua gave a small applause before continuing "Indeed, it is similar to the thing that happens to the soul!"

    "Your soul generates a near infinite amount of Aether Energy, and instead of using that ocean of power, your casters do what?" Aqua asked Azure with a small smirk visible on her face

    "They... add even more power" Azure answered.

    "Indeed, you as a warrior might not notice it as you never had to add that much power but depending on the caster some can''t even take in a small amount of World''s Mana before their soul gets overwhelmed... the condition you fittingly call Mana Exhaustion"

    Aqua crossed her arms as she explained the cause of mana exhaustion.

    "But do not get me wrong, not many people can utilize Aether Energy to its full potential, but ALL living things can utilize it to some level and convert it into mana to such quantity that stealing World''s Mana can''t compare." Aqua slowly opened the same black portal before putting in the parchment and the pen back.

    "And an additional advantage is that it does not require movement, prayer, or catalyst or a rune" Aqua smiled warmly as her new friend understood her.

    "The only different method is prayer, prayer borrows the mana from the divine instead of the World, but problems are the same as the already filled mug gets overfilled"

    Azure was left speechless, with her mouth agape for a moment before asking "How do YOU have this knowledge lady Aqua, if using Aether Energy to convert to mana is that much more powerful, someone in the royal court would know about it?"

    Aqua shook her head "That, I do not know, Azure.''''

    ''''But I will explain more once we rescue your friend" Aqua smiled as she approached Azure and gave her a hand.

    Azure smiled as she grabbed Aqua''s hand "I will hold you to that lady Aqua, Sheira will most certainly have questions for you too."

    Aqua casually replied, "I''m sure she will, let''s go I think our escort is almost ready."

    Two girls nodded to each other before turning to the exit and leaving the tent while wearing uniforms of their enemy and different faces.

 City of Glass

    Divine realm, place of infinite light, infinite city of glass.

    A place where divinity resided and ruled over the garden that is the world, those chosen by gods would be transported into this city for eternity after their mortal lives ended.

    All divinity from lesser deities to the greatest of gods lived here and ruled over the city of glass.

    Each building leads into domains of the god that the soul worshipped.

    The city that was usually quiet with the only flow of mortal souls making any sort of noise was different this time around.

    Greater gods have gathered inside Glass Palace which floated above the endless city landscape.

    The interior of the Glass Palace was drastically different from the glass exterior, while the exterior was pure glass, the interior could be changed to the will of the occupants.

    A palace that was inaccessible to anyone but greater gods.

    As the goddess of monsters and misfortune made her way to the palace she left the scenery of light and glass, and with a step through the great door she made her way through the interior that looked like an empty space of cosmos and yet she was not floating or flying but instead, she was standing on the hard floor, which still existed even if not visible.

    Stars lit the way, and the world was below them, 12 great golden thrones bathed in divine light floated in place, each meant for greater divinity, with only 6 of them being filled.

    Thrones formed a semi-circle, with a dark large crystal orb floating in front of them.

    As Goddess made step into the hall she was greeted by a rumbling voice of one of the greater gods.

    "Laleyn! Long time no see" The voice shook the realm each time it spoke

    "I see you still like pretending to be a child" He spoke before starting to laugh, his laugh shaking the entire city of glass.

    Laleyn shook her head before giving a bow and answering with a warm smile on her face "Good to see you too, venerable elder"

    Laleyn slowly walked towards the throne, before kneeling before the Great god.

    His body was chiseled and brimming with muscle, flowing white beard reaching down to the bottom of the throne, and his eyes glowing with golden divine light.

    He was the head entire pantheon, his title earned by not only power alone but also his wisdom and leadership, his status showing with his throne floating above the rest.

    "Please, Laleyn take your place" God''s tone changed as he motioned for the goddess to sit on the throne.

    Palace usually was quiet, as it was only ever used in cases of emergency, and this time it indeed was an emergency in the divine realm.

    All of the present divinity knew, including 6 absent gods, not only was Red Dawn on the move to subvert the divine will once again as they did so many times, but an additional threat in the form of the unknown had descended on their garden.

    While Red Dawn was only a mortal kingdom they somehow possessed the power to resist the will of the divine due to the power of their so-called "God King"

    Due to the heretical power of their king, they could not directly influence the affairs of the kingdom, and so a meeting between all greater gods needed to happen eventually.

    And the moment was now.

    Chief god looked around before speaking "6 out of 12 greater gods have gathered here, thank you all for answering my call,

    Laleyn- Goddess of Misfortune and Monsters, Runas the God of Magic and Knowledge, Mortas the God of Life and Death, Lan the Goddess of Light and Day, Len the Goddess of Darkness and Night''''

    "I Peron your Chief Deity and God of Divinity'' have summoned you all, I''m sure all of you noticed a shift in your domains, not only your domains but a shift in the world as a whole'''' Chief''s voice echoed in the void that was their chamber.

    5 deities nodded as the chief spoke.

    The first god to speak after the chief was Runas, a scrawny-looking deity, covered by a cape black as midnight and oversized wizard hat obscuring his face, letting only a golden glow pass the shadow of his visage.

    "Yes venerable elder, actions of Red Dawn have caused massive issues with control of World''s mana" Stated the scrawny deity as his hands conjured images of 13 entities.

    "While even us, greater gods can''t get much info about Red Dawn, I have learned about actions of 13 Inquisitors over the past century..." he stated as the image shifted.

    "Our influence is nearly nonexistent in that heretical kingdom, we must do something about it, I will not stand for even one more century of their existence! " Shouted Len interrupting the god of knowledge.

    "It''s enough Sister! If we could we would have already dealt with their king long ago before Age of Frost Ended, but it was not possible and neither it is now with his following growing" stated Lan bluntly.

    Both goddesses glared at each other, two sisters representing two sides of the same coin, both dressed in revealing dresses, one black as the midnight sky and the other as white as fresh snow proudly showing off their visage''s assets, one having long golden hair almost as blinding as the sun and other hair short and pitch black which swallowed the light around it, their eyes glowing with divine golden light in same fashion to other gods.

    "Listen to your sister Len, you are a relatively new goddess so you do not understand the terror of their so-called god-king, it is because of his usage of Black Hand to end the Age of Frost that we lost a great deal of authority over the world!" Said Mortas the skeletal god as he moved his hand in the air, his skeletal frame hidden beneath robes usually worn by the priests, only leaving his pristine skull with two golden lights in the sockets where eyes were supposed to be.

    "But Mortas, we are supposed to be rulers of the world! How can some mortal prevent that" Shouted Len

    The chief raised his hand and with a stern face, his booming voice echoed in everyone''s ears "Silence! You are all greater gods, I will not have you acting like children. Let Runas finish with his discovery and everyone here will get a voice afterward!"

    Laleyn looked at the chief with admiration in her eyes her divine glow leaking beneath her facade, his authority over the divine was truly something to behold ''Chief was always so cool!'' she thought with childlike fascination despite being one of the older gods.

    In the instant that the chief spoke all of the present gods fell in line, letting Runas continue speaking "Thank you, Venerable elder, I shall continue with my discoveries over the last century!".

    He started explaining the state of Red Dawn, changes in their politics, and various activities of Inquisitors, while most have acted the same way for ages, one man, in particular, was of note.

    Runas waved his hand, switching the crystal orb''s image to a hooded man before speaking "This man here is one that carries the title Inquisitor of Mind".

    The crystal''s image switched once again, showing masses of slaves being processed "In the last century, he developed a method to reprogram the mind of captured sentient beings, basically modifying our divine creation to his twisted image"

    The silence in the hall was deafening, but Runas did not stop as the orb switched the image again "Not only did he reprogram many of the humanoids we rule over. The so-called disciples of mind have been on the rise for the last 50 years, their abilities second only to inquisitor himself..."

    Runas sighted as he continued "Their brainwashing, has cost us many followers, but unfortunately, I have no information about the elusive inquisitor''s whereabouts or specifics of his methods, he has proven to be difficult no... impossible to track, even more so than others."

    Chief scratched his beard before speaking "So is he the biggest threat at the current time, Runas?"

    Runas bluntly stated, "No, while he is dangerous it still takes a long time for him to reprogram great numbers of sentient beings and so we have time to find a way to stop him from taking our followers".

    Runas took a deep breath before continuing "What I will show you next is a direct danger to us as divine!".

    With another wave, the image switched to an empty sky, but instead of a still image, it showed the sky breaking open, a great crack which showed a void between worlds opened, and from the crack fell two entities.

    One looked like a heap of divine flesh, burning in black fire and the other was what looked like an elf but with aura to rival even the gods.

    In the next moment, the elf approached the divine corpse before black flame fully consumed it.

    A collective gasp from gods followed as the entity with divinity as high as the chief was consumed by black fire and his essence consumed by the elf.

    Len was first to speak up "WHAT IS THAT!? Wasn''t that thing on a similar level to Chief?"

    Laleyn raised her hand "May I have a word, Venerable elder?"

    Chief answered "Go ahead, my child"

    Laleyn took a deep breath before speaking with a worried tone "Recently, I have noticed a similar aura to the elven demon that used black flame close to my favored child."

    Chief nodded, with a booming voice he spoke "Do we have any more information about who was the absorbed god, and who is the woman that killed him, neither seems to originate from this world"

    Lan answered softly "Very recently, both I and Len sensed a being without a patron deity appear in the world"

    Len nodded before continuing "We both tried to establish a connection with the woman but she resisted our full efforts, and not only that, when we tried to push our will on her our whole being screamed in pain which forced us to back off, we felt like we were being burned alive!"

    Both sisters nodded.

    Runas stood still for a moment, full of thoughts.

    ''These two beings might have been rival gods from a different world, but that does not explain how they appeared here. It is not easy to travel between worlds!''

    He silenced the voices of his fellow gods as he thought about it.

    ''Perhaps we should approach her diplomatically, there is a small chance she would be more cooperative than Red Dawn'' Runas thought to himself, his mind calculating possibilities.

    An unknown god, with the same level of power as a Chief, appears, right next to him is an elf that uses what seems to be the most heretical flame that is capable of devouring the essence of divinity.

    ''And now she can resist two goddesses and even fight back against their influence, we must proceed with caution'' Runas sighed before speaking.

    "You might have questions, but we must gather more information, do not act carelessly"

    Chief nodded before shouting "Indeed and because of that I have made my decision since Laleyn seems to have some knowledge and is closest to the dangerous stranger. She will have the honor of gathering information about this danger, and if possible find a way to control her!"

    He silenced himself for a moment letting information be absorbed by his fellows before continuing without noticing Laleyn''s anxious face "Nobody is to interfere with this entity without permission, If you disobey this order you will be severely punished!"

    He then turned to Laleyn before speaking "You will work with Runas to gather information about who she is and who the dead god was and make plans to neutralize this threat, Understood?!"

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Runas and Laleyn spoke in unison "Understood, Venerable Elder we will not fail!"

    Laleyn tried her best to hide her panic, her mind jumbled mess from the information she received.

    ''The woman my child was traveling with was some god-devouring monster, and now I am supposed to gather information and plan against that entity, and what is worse, I have to put my Azure in danger...''

    She shut out other god''s voices as they continued speaking about Red Dawn, but to her, it did not matter she did not care about Red Dawn after all, whatever the creature that had the visage of an elf was, it was a threat to them all, including her and her child.

    ''Perhaps, I could ask my Azure if she knows anything ''She chuckled in her mind.

    Indeed it was ideal for her child to gather information, while the devil with the appearance of the elf didn''t seem to wish to hurt her child she was still too dangerous to not control.

    ''Why did I have to speak, now I have to work hard, or else Venerable Elder will be disappointed''

    She groaned softly before being pulled back from her thoughts by Peron.

    Peron smiled at her once again before speaking "I know you do not wish to endanger your children but If you require support, the entire pantheon will rush to your aid, Laleyn"

    She couldn''t help but smile, after all, Venerable Elder had supported her ever since she ascended to the status of a greater divinity, without his support she wouldn''t be who she was.

    She smiled warmly at the chief before answering "Thank you, I promise I will do my best"

    And she would, mission might put her child in danger but she would hate for the great Peron to think less of her.

    Peron clapped his hands, making the other gods stop talking, he took a deep breath before speaking once again.

    "While Runas and Laleyn work on finding a way to deal with the new threat that appeared, the rest of us including others who were absent will work on finding a crack in Red Dawn''s defense, so that we may finally put a stop to their heresy and reclaim the full control of the world!"

    With those words Peron, God of Divinity stood up from his throne and disappeared, leaving other gods behind in the Glass Palace.

    Len turned to face Laleyn, and with a strict gaze in her eyes spoke "Laleyn and Runas, do not fail your task. I don''t want god slayers walking around the world I am supposed to rule, you hear me!"

    Lan couldn''t do much but shake her head at her sister''s antics, so she decided to stay quiet as the two sisters departed the Glass Palace.

    Laleyn was sighted as two sisters left the palace, leaving only Runas, Mortas, and Laleyn on their respective thrones.

    ''Len is really something isn''t she...? But at least her sister keeps her in check.

    Mortas was next to leave, with the only parting words being "Good luck."

    ''He never likes to speak much when the chief isn''t around does he?'' Laleyn shook her head as the skeletal god left only Runas and Herself in the Glass Palace.

    "Laleyn, I know you do not interact frequently with mortals, so if you require support in gathering information tell me, after all, we depend on each other and knowledge is my domain!" Runas spoke with his hands crossed and face completely hidden by the oversized wizard hat.

    Laleyn did not know how to respond to such offerings of support, when dealing with mortals she was feared and despised and her fellow deities mostly avoided her, but Chief and Runas always offered their support.

    She could never get used to it no matter how many eons passed.

    All she could do was smile and thank Runas.

    "Thank you, Runas I will return to my domain to prepare" She stood on the throne and gave a small bow to Runas before she was transported to the black lake that was her domain.

    Her mind still racing, she was afraid for her child that she was about to put her in danger, but she knew that Azure had it in her to succeed in divine mission.

    "Now let''s see what Azure is doing" She giggled as the lake rippled under her feet.

    As the lake rippled its dark surface changed, its colors shifting to show events in the world.

    ***

    3 wagons, all carrying what remained of Golden Rose troops in the Ebon Forest encampment moved through an intricately paved road towards the borders of Red Dawn.

    Front and back wagons carrying what remained of fighters while in the middle was a wagon carrying Laura, Azure, and Aqua.

    The border was almost in sight, Aqua and Azure rode on the same wagon as Laura, and as the Golden Rose approached the border, the road became smoother and smoother.

    What at the beginning was a bumpy ride over an old rough stone road, now became so smooth that one could fall asleep while riding the carriage.

    "Such craftsmanship, I haven''t seen such attention to stone cutting outside holy temples" Aqua spoke as she looked at the road ahead.

    The road that leads outside Ebon Forest was wide enough for 2 large carriages to pass side by side, with Mystic Lamps illuminating each side through the entire day and night without rest.

    Laura was the the first to speak up "Red Dawn is the only known kingdom on the continent that can afford and has the means to put such attention to detail for their infrastructure".

    Azure took a while to gather her thoughts before answering with a small hint of sadness showing on her face ''''Not even elven capital would be able to afford so many magical lights and wards.''''

    The ebon thick woods and foliage grew sparser as the scenery was taken over by more and more artificial constructs.

    Instead of trees, the surroundings were replaced by wards preventing any monster from wandering into the road.

    While the depths of Ebon Forest had no dangerous monsters, that was not true for the outskirts, once close to the edge of the forest monsters would be possible to find.

    From measly slimes to the fearsome petrifying Basilisks and wild Dragons, all of these could be found everywhere, except near the borders of Red Dawn.

    Laura shook her head before speaking "Red Dawn is an anomaly, you shouldn''t have your pride be hurt that humanity was able to build it"

    As Laura explained to both Aqua and Azure, Legions of Red Dawn would regularly sweep both the borders and kingdom clean of any wandering monsters and non-humans.

    "Their military is equipped in the best possible Enchanted Equipment money can buy, from the lowest soldiers to the highest ranked officer " Laura spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.

    "But that is not the only thing that secured them their supremacy over their neighbors. The 13 inquisitors and their king allowed them to even resist the wrath of the divine in the past." Laura gave both elves a warm smile, hoping to at least rile them up.

    While Azure showed a hint of panic, Aqua just looked with curiosity in her eyes.

    ''That is quite interesting, so they can isolate themselves from divine will'' Aqua thought that perhaps she could learn something from the monstrous Red Dawn.

    In her past no kingdom was able to isolate themselves from the divine, any that tried were smitten and their history erased by followers of divine tyrant.

    Such was the cruelty of gods, the most despicable of creatures, and yet always existing no matter which world.

    ''And yet the stark difference is the sheer amount of divine entities I feel'' Aqua thought to herself as she let Azure and Laura talk.

    Aqua leaned back as many thoughts went through her head ''Not nearly as powerful or influential, and yet felt the same as the parasite that ruled over her old world.''

    She could sense their gazes suddenly disappearing one by one from herself, all but 2 of them.

    The same goddess that had her filthy influence over Azure, was now watching Aqua too.

    Watching but not trying to establish control.

    The second gaze was more subtle, barely noticeable, like a professional thief hiding in the dead of night.

    And yet even that presence was only watching.

    It was impossible, no divine would merely just watch.

    ''She is up to something, Perhaps I can gleam something from her'' she thought as her mind entered a state of trance.

    A technique she used once before to find where the divine chain of supreme deity attached to her led back.

    While current deities did not have any control or influence, It was possible to find where their domains were from their presence alone.

    A meditation that would free her soul and expand her senses to even hidden realms of the divine.

    ''You won''t hide for long, parasite'' Aqua concentrated on a more visible connection as she followed it.

    But before Aqua could locate the divine parasite, the connection was cut off completely, she couldn''t sense the divine gaze anymore.

    ''Impressive, so that parasite knew I was about to find her. Perhaps the more subtle connection will yield a better result'' She concentrated on the barely visible tether that was the connection.

    And yet, she couldn''t find who it belonged to, no it was like one who was observing them didn''t exist at all.

    ''God of Illusion perhaps'' Aqua strained her mind and soul, and yet she couldn''t find the observer.

    ''Useless. I can''t even find the second parasite'' She sighed as she was shot out of her trance.

    One parasite noticed her and cut the connection while the other wasn''t even able to find her.

    ''God of Illusions, or something similar... '' She thought about possibilities.

    Whatever the parasite was doing, it reminded her only of master Umbra, ability to trick the world and to make reality itself think one does not exist.

    ''I was right to not underestimate them. I will need to find a way to figure out what these divine parasites are up to.'' Aqua finally opened her eyes, looking at worried Azure shaking her furiously.

    "Lady Aqua! Wake up, what is wrong!" Azure''s face carried visible worry about her new friend.

    "Azure, I am fine. I was just meditating" Aqua put up her hands defensively.

    "Why do you have to keep worrying me." Azure squeezed Aqua''s shoulders as she let out a tear.

    ''She is crying... for me'' Aqua had no idea how to react to the girl crying above her.

    "I was trying to wake you for a long time, but nothing I did worked" Azure spoke as she squeezed even harder.

    ''Long time? Is it possible that my search took longer than I anticipated'' She thought.

    "Please, Azure you do not need to worry about me. Also, you are grabbing me really tightly." She smiled as she gestured at Azure squeezing her as one would a toy.

    Azure''s eyes widened as she let go wiped her tears and stood back up "Forgive me lady Aqua, this was unsightly"

    Aqua shook her head before answering "You shouldn''t be ashamed of your emotions, even if you don''t believe so"

    Aqua tried to keep a straight face without laughing at the girl crying out of worry.

    She was sure she only worried because of the rescue mission and only because she needed her help, and yet she seemed like she cared more than that.

    ''Could it be possible that she already considered her a real friend'' She thought.

    It was surreal, Aqua knew Azure was naive but she didn''t realize Azure would be this attached after only a short amount of time.

    Aqua appreciated it even if she didn''t say it ''Perhaps we could be real friends, without any mission bringing us together one day''

    Their exchange was interrupted by Laura shouting to other wagons.

    "We are approaching the border! Prepare for inspection!"

    Both Aqua and Azure sat next to each other, trying to look like they belonged inside this organization.

    Aqua felt a change in the atmosphere as they approached the border of the kingdom.

    The mana in the air was almost nonexistent, which would make any caster that she met until now powerless.

    She looked around as she scanned the surroundings near the border checkpoint.

    Many crystal pillars sticking above the ground, each distanced evenly from the other in a deliberate way.

    "Siphons..." Aqua spoke as she scanned each pillar.

    Siphons were used even in her old world as weapon batteries, they were capable of sucking in World Soul''s excess mana and storing it for later use.

    While these Siphons were smaller, they were even more advanced than siphons used in her old world.

    While Siphons Aqua knew of would reduce mana in the air and ground to a great degree, these Siphons reduced that mana to 0.

    ''Impressive.'' Aqua was indeed impressed at such a display of mystic engineering.

    Mortal hands built something to rival even the divine constructs of the most powerful priests.

    This Kingdom already had her interest before, but now it was her top priority to investigate.

    As the wagons approached the checkpoint, 4 men dressed in full-plated armor, bronze in color and yet sturdier than any steel.

    On their backs they carried large metal packs, each pack radiating intense power.

    ''Mystic Batteries'' Aqua looked over each man as they approached the first wagon.

    Such a small size for a mystic battery and yet so much power was stored inside, and this was given to a mere border guard.

    And it was portable, most unbelievable fact for Aqua was that all these batteries weren''t only powerful, but they were also light enough for a human to carry.

    ''This world seems to be even more advanced than the one ruled by the Divine Tyrant'' Aqua thought it was only natural after all.

    These gods seemed to be weaker, and thus couldn''t curb the development of mystic engineering, which allowed this kingdom to develop technology far surpassing her old world.

    It was incredible, she wanted to explore the kingdom, and yet she knew how they treated her people.

    No matter how impressed she was before even entering the kingdom, she couldn''t forgive such actions against her kin.

    Be it Mortal or Divine tyrant, both are the same in the eyes of the oppressed people they were supposed to lead.

    Aqua took a look over her companion, the illusion still holding strong, but she was visibly nervous, her legs shaking slightly.

    How couldn''t she be nervous after all, this is the kingdom where most elven kind would never gain their freedom.

    Aqua knew that if she was in Azure''s position she wouldn''t trust an illusion to keep her safe.

    Alas, it wasn''t only the illusion keeping her safe, but Aqua herself would incinerate everyone here to protect her companion.

    While they were surely proud of their siphons, they couldn''t prevent Aether Energy conversion.

    ''Nothing can prevent conversion...'' She thought about all of the priests of the divine tyrant who tried to restrain her.

    She was pulled from her thoughts when the guards approached their wagon and ordered all occupants to exit and follow a pair of guards.

    Both Aqua and Azure obeyed as they followed closely to Laura as men entered the empty wagon and searched it.

    The trio were led by two guards to a nearby building before they were ordered to take a seat.

    Trio was alone inside a room with only a table, and chairs, nothing that could be used as a dangerous weapon could be found inside the room.

    The room had no windows and only a steel door serving as an exit.

    After a couple of minutes, a well-dressed man who unlike other guards did not wear full plate but instead wore what could easily be recognized as some kind of officer uniform, his build looking more like that of a caster than a physical border guards and his face almost childlike.

    ''This one seems to be important'' Aqua leaned forward as she observed the man.

    Many things could be gleaned from the way someone walked, talked, and acted.

    From the way he walked, and from his confidence Aqua could tell he was a man of importance, and yet it was suspicious they were stopped.

    Aqua focused on connecting her mind to Azure, and with a bit of work she was able to establish a telepathic connection to her companion.

    [Azure, this seems suspicious. Do not act rashly] As she finished speaking connection was suddenly cut off, not allowing Azure to even start answering.

 The Disciple of Mind: Gabriel

    Aqua noticed that Azure was confused as she glanced back at Aqua, but it did not last as she noticed Aqua''s serious expression which forced her to focus.

    The man pulled out a chair as he sat before the trio, he did not speak as he closed his eyes and sighed.

    "Golden Rose, I presume" He spoke with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

    His gaze washed over 3 women as he continued "Golden Rose already passed into Red Dawn."

    He crossed his arms as he observed the trio with suspicion, his eyes analyzing the women to the best of his ability.

    "We were not expecting additional wagons. And yet here you are." He spoke plainly.

    Laura was about to speak up before the man raised his hand, not allowing her to speak.

    "I will not have excuses, you will tell me who you are." He shouted as he leaned towards 3 women.

    His face turned from Laura to Aqua and then finally Azure "All of your wagons will be seized, and you will be arrested. But you can collaborate by telling me who are you, which could reduce your sentence for impersonating Golden Rose members."

    Aqua was worried that this man saw through her illusion, but it still held firm as she glanced at her companion and then at her own hands.

    Something fishy was going on, and she needed to know what, she did not know about the structure of the golden rose but from what she gleamed from Laura''s mind is that their leader would never abandon them.

    Before she could do anything she was pulled from her thoughts by Laura''s words.

    "That is not possible. We are the remaining Golden Rose fighting force" Laura produced an insignia in the shape of a small rose made of pure gold, before placing it on the table.

    Man picked up the insignia before inspecting it "This seems to be genuine" He sighed as he handed the insignia back.

    "You 3 stay here" Man ordered as he exited the room, leaving 3 women alone.

    Once the coast was clear, Azure was first to ask "Lady Aqua, what is happening?"

    Aqua could only shake her head, she did not know, and could not say anything but one thing.

    "It seems your beloved leader betrayed you, Laura." She spoke in a quiet tone as she turned to Laura.

    While two disguised elves were confused, it wouldn''t be comparable to Laura almost having a mental breakdown.

    Calling it a breakdown was putting it lightly, she was trying hard to process the information while keeping herself calm and collected but failed terribly.

    Both Aqua and Azure looked at their former enemy with concern, after all even if she was the enemy, betrayal would still hurt and anyone could sympathize with it.

    "They are lying, they must be lying!" Laura slumped down as she tried to process what Aqua said.

    ''No, Fang would never betray me or Golden Rose'' She shook her head.

    He would never throw away the organization he spent so long building up, that Laura was sure.

    Which meant, that the guards were either tricked or worked to deceive her.

    ''And yet the guard seemed to be as confused as us when he saw the insignia'' Laura bit her lip as she tried to explain the current situation to herself.

    Just after what seemed like moments, the man returned with 2 hooded figures at his sides.

    Their grey robes flowed to their feet, their hoods obstructing their faces, and with a silver eye sewn into the hood, in their hands they held a plain-looking staff.

    These were disciples of mind, a group that was responsible for the brainwashing of so many elves.

    Man took his seat before speaking "You 3 will submit to examination of the mind, as is your duty as officers. If you pass we will let you pass the border"

    He spoke as he gestured to two hooded figures bowed and then approached Aqua.

    "You first, young lady, stand up and submit to examination of the mind" Aqua was the first one that was ordered to submit.

    Two figures took the stance next to the table as they awaited.

    Laura and Azure gulped as Aqua confidently stood up and spoke "It will be fine, Examination can''t hurt" she winked at Azure.

    Aqua took a spot between the two figures as she smiled they planted their staves on opposite sides of Aqua.

    The flow of mana rushed from nearby Siphons directly powering their spell.

    Man took a moment as he observed mana flow before announcing "You may begin examination."

    Figures nodded as their staves glowed, they placed one hand each onto Aqua''s head.

    Aqua shuddered a little as two strangers touched her

    ''Do they have to touch me...'' she thought as two men tried to invade her mind.

    While their attempts were not the strongest, she would allow them to examine her mind.

    It was just a moment before they spoke in unison.

    "Golden Petal Aqua, rank Golden Petal, Race Human" Both disciples of mind spoke in unison, giving it a creepy tone.

    While Laura wasn''t surprised that the disciples didn''t see through the illusion, she was surprised her mind managed to trick them.

    Even then while Aqua passed inspection, she doubted her and other elven girl''s ability to hide from disciples of mind.

    Laura was ordered to approach next, and in the same manner as Aqua, they probed her mind.

    But despite Laura''s expectations, she felt no intrusion in her mind, instead they just called her name, rank, and race.

    And similarly, the same thing happened to Azure, who was now at her limit, where even a slight push would cause her to faint.

    Man sighted before sending two disciples of mind back before sitting back down.

    "It seems you were speaking the truth, you may proceed to Red Dawn" He shouted as he took out a parchment, before stamping it with a bronze stamp and handing it to Laura.

    It took mere minutes before Wagons were ready to be on the way again.

    They proceeded past the checkpoint as they finally arrived in the Kingdom of Red Dawn, and soon after Great Walls of Razul would be visible on the horizon.

    "Lady Aqua, Lady Azure. I know we are enemies but I would like to ask you to help me find our leader once we arrive at the City of Razul" Laura spoke with deep sadness in her voice.

    "I know he would never betray us, and I need to confirm it myself otherwise I won''t be able to live with myself." She continued speaking, her head held by her hands.

    Azure was first to speak up "Laura, of course. Once we rescue my friend we will find your leader. After all, he has a lot to answer for" She sat closer to Laura as she patted her back.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Laura nodded "I will submit to your judgment once I know that my dear Golden Fang wasn''t a traitor. Something must have happened!" As tears welled up in Laura''s eyes Azure hugged her.

    ''Azure, being that merciful will come back to bite you'' Aqua sighted at her companion''s behavior.

    One should never comfort their enemy who only cooperates with them due to a threat.

    ''And yet it fits her that she is so caring'' Aqua smiled as she looked at her good-hearted friend.

    ***

    Disciples of Mind were humans that with their whole being surrendered themselves to the study of mind under the great Inquisitor.

    A society of people rose up, with a desire to emulate and embrace ways of mind as was taught by the great Inquisitor.

    Each and every single one of them was aware that their spells and techniques wouldn''t be on the level of the great Inquisitor.

    As such most disciples of mind would often work in pairs or even larger teams, just for a singular goal, Approach the Majesty of great Inquisitor.

    And for that end, there was no greater joy than to serve at the Kingdom''s borders, where disciples would get frequent opportunities to practice both mind reading, mind control, and partial mind rewriting.

    Occasionally daring nonhumans would attempt to sneak into Red Dawn, which would allow border Disciples to practice without repercussion.

    Only greater joy for a disciple of mind would be working as one of the Mind Programmers in the City of Razul, and yet this was unattainable for most.

    Mind rewriting was an incredibly taxing technique that required a massive amount of power and expertise to change even one non-human, so only those born with talent could be trained to work at such a prestigious facility.

    But partial rewriting was possible for most, even for someone like Gabriel.

    He did not possess the mastery of techniques of mind nor the vast power needed for a full rewrite, but he was able to rewrite small parts of memories.

    After years of grueling hard work and study, he was finally sent to work at the border checkpoint between the City of Razul and Ebon Forest.

    A place where many nonhumans would attempt to pass, accidentally or for some foolish act of heroism.

    But recently even that number dwindled which meant Gabriel and his partner weren''t getting proper practice over their techniques in a long time.

    Heroic nonhumans were growing less and less in number, and so they couldn''t not be subjected to Gabriel''s experiments.

    They were forced to only use their mind-reading techniques to interrogate suspicious humans passing through the checkpoint.

    Such as the current suspects, Gabriel did not expect to be called in today as it was his and his partner''s day off, but once he saw 3 beautiful young ladies that he was supposed to examine, how would he be able to refuse?

    Gazing into the minds of people, especially cute ladies was always a joy for him.

    While he did enjoy his work, he also preferred to not work when not necessary, unless the one he would be examining was a young woman.

    He knew that his partner thought the same, every time they would examine the minds of young ladies, they would be able to peer into their most intimate moments without them ever knowing.

    And if they noticed, women couldn''t do anything, as they were all at the mercy of two disciples.

    One word to confirm a suspicion would be enough to either execute, enslave if they were nonhumans in disguise, or just throw them into dungeons.

    That influenced the duo to have events that would happen at the Ebon Forest Checkpoint.

    Their word could influence any decision on who would pass the border and who wouldn''t.

    And visitors knew that, as such they had no choice but to fully submit their mind to the disciples of mind.

    Many would most certainly consider their actions vile but who could blame him, any man in his position would use it to peek at good-looking women.

    And the trio before him was a jackpot, 3 beauties, and from what he could tell two of them were sisters.

    ''They must have some delicious memories together'' Gabriel smirked under his hood as he and his partner approached.

    The first woman stood up and approached two disciples, letting them begin their preparation.

    ''She is obedient for a suspicious person, I wonder what we will discover in that pretty head of yours'' He chuckled as his and his partner''s staves glowed.

    Two disciples placed one hand each on the woman''s head, letting them feel the silky hair of the lady in front of them.

    ''This softness, this silkiness, this woman must be quite wealthy'' Gabriel thought about not peeking if it was indeed someone powerful, but his desire was stronger.

    While the disciples did not need to touch the ones they examined, it was common practice for Gabriel and his partner.

    Two disciples closed their eyes as they cast their spell.

    Once he and his partner entered the mind, they would be separated which would allow them both to search every corner.

    Gabriel was transported into a woman''s mindscape, but instead of gazing into the vault of memories as so many times before, he was floating in the middle of the void.

    Gabriel couldn''t move, cast, or speak as he was stuck in what was supposed to be a mind, with only his thoughts accompanying him ''Did I botch my spell? No that is not possible, I''ve done this thousands of times.

    Direction had no meaning, space did not exist all that existed in this mindscape was... nothing.

    The voice never left his mouth, he tried to scream and yet even that never left his throat.

    Gabriel tried to cancel the spell and yet he was stuck in place, his spell being fuelled by something else.

    Panic gripped him for what seemed like months before a speck of light appeared in the distance, he grasped towards the light as it suddenly expanded.

    The mindscape that once was nothing was filled with light, once infinite darkness was filled with orange, yellow, black, and red.

    He felt his very soul burn as the world before he transformed, the colors coalesced as the scenery before him turned into a land flowing with magma and flame, the sky covered by thick smoke and the ground itself scorching his feet.

    A spitting image of hell, not only the scenery but sounds around him were equally terrifying, screams of tortured souls, and the smell of burning flesh was deafening.

    His hood disappeared as the scenery was changed into what looked like a palace.

    Before him stood a woman he was supposed to investigate, she approached him, and without a word, her form shimmered as the illusion was dispelled.

    Before he stood a non-human, in more ways than it was expected, her halo of flame radiating scorching heat to everything around her, angelic wings of pure flame dragging on the ground, leaving a trail of fire after them and her blue eyes leaving a trail of ghost blue as she walked.

    ''So a nonhuman, she better have a good explanation for this'' He smirked as he took a step before the elven woman.

    He knew that this was only a mindscape, the worst she could do was to kick him out no matter what kind of illusion she made and if she did, she would be announced as a suspicious person.

    "You better have a good explanation for these tricks, woman! Otherwise, both you and your companions will be enslaved!" He shouted at the suspicious elven woman.

    "Oh, you will never leave this place, Human" her voice echoed inside the palace walls.

    Step after step she slowly approached before stopping mere meters away.

    The palace collapsed, revealing a familiar void, but this time it was occupied by two of them.

    "I can''t have you preventing me from entering this damned kingdom, human" She spoke softly as she placed her hand on Gabriel''s face.

    Masses of black flame appeared around her and in moments the void was filled with the black fire.

    The flames coalesced more and more, forming chains around Gabriel''s limbs.

    "WHAT IS THIS YOU WITCH" He shouted with a panicked voice.

    "Black Fire, Human. Did you think mind and soul weren''t connected" Her giggle echoed inside an infinite void.

    "Both you and your partner''s mind and soul will forever be bound to me, your free will no longer exists" She spoke with a hint of sadism in her voice as she spoke while caressing Gabriel''s face.

    "No... THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE..." Gabriel screamed before his voice was silenced, and his attempt at screams would never be heard as Aqua continued speaking.

    "You will forever live in the world burned in flame as all creatures that stood against me would, as your body serves your mind and soul will exist forevermore inside the hell of my own making." She laughed as the scenery collapsed he was once again transported into the land of flowing lava and scorching earth.

    Aqua disappeared, leaving Gabriel, chained in black flame to forever suffer the heat of the world that once was.

    ******************

    Aqua sighted at her cruelty which reminded her of the tyrant''s own, if she just used mind control it would have been quicker, and yet, it would have been easy to discover.

    But consuming a soul of Disciple using black flame would leave a shell, that would only require a piece of soul that would obey her to inhabit it.

    A piece of soul would be able to continue conducting its host body''s regular duties and yet it wouldn''t contain its former personality, the advantage is that the spell wouldn''t exist and by extension would be undiscoverable.

    She felt no sadness for the necessary cruelty she committed on the disciple, after all, she had done worse in her quest to destroy the Tyrant of her old world.

    Two souls being trapped in the scorched world that was part of her mindscape would not even be in the top 100 atrocities she had to commit.

    After all, they were still alive in some form and could be recovered, and yet she had no plans on doing anything to these two souls just yet, so they were left trapped in the scorched world.

    ''It was necessary...'' She repeated to herself.

    If she and Azure were discovered it would most certainly attract the attention of Red Dawn, which Aqua wished to avoid, at least until Sheira was safe.

    Red Dawn after all seemed quite advanced and worse of all, they were unknown.

    Aqua knew nothing about them, and their inner working, and as such they had to be dealt with with great care.

    She was pulled by the voices of puppets confirming her identity as one of the Golden Rose shortly followed by the same confirmation for Laura and Azure.

    ''I hope I won''t need to do this again'' she thought as the trio returned to the wagons before departing for the City of Razul.

 City of Razul

    Her companion was incredibly scary, things she had done in a short amount of time she knew were not normal, Azure groaned as their wagon finally entered the City of Razul.

    Not only was Aqua untouchable in physical fights but she discovered that she was a powerful caster.

    Azure looked around, her gaze sweeping across the bustling city, travelers and residents trading and each building masterfully constructed with precision she had never seen before but she did not care about the majesty of the city before her, nor did she want to admire the architecture of humanity.

    After all, Azure was here for only one reason, and that was to rescue her friend before the Disciples of Mindgott their hands on the princess.

    While it would take a long time for them to brainwash her dear friend, she would not allow them to hold her for even a second longer than necessary.

    At least that was what she hoped, once She and Aqua entered the city, both women were completely lost.

    And even Laura, someone who was her enemy until recently had no idea where the princess might have been held.

    And Aqua, who she already considered a friend ever since their initial skirmish told her precious little.

    ''I truly do feel like I can trust her, even if she is kind of scary'' Azure smiled as she followed Laura and Aqua closely.

    Their illusions still held firm, but Azure still didn''t fully trust in magic alone even if she did trust her new friend to keep her safe.

    Red Dawn was after all an enemy territory for non-humans, and hostile at best for those who were invited.

    Alas, Azure had no way to prove to guards that she was part of the royal convoy, and as such she was liable to be taken prisoner at sight.

    Even as royals they would be taken advantage of and arrested for any minor transgression.

    She had no idea why King would even risk his daughter by sending her to Red Dawn, even if the threat to their kingdom was great, it wouldn''t make sense to risk royal blood by sending a delegation of elves into a human supremacist kingdom.

    She tried to think, she knew her home was being threatened by other nations, but why would her king send them to Red Dawn?

    Perhaps Sheira knew, but Azure was kept in the dark with all but necessary information for her mission.

    Escort Sheira to Red Dawn and support her as she tries to negotiate support for her nation.

    She couldn''t understand the king''s logic, and she didn''t need to, her duty as a shield made her obey even if she didn''t understand.

    She didn''t question the king''s decision at all until now that is.

    She only ever heard stories about Red Dawn''s advancements in technology and practices of slavery, but she always wrote them off as over-exaggeration or fearmongering.

    But stepping into the City of Razul broke that veil of ignorance, she witnessed her own kin serving and carrying items for their human masters, her proud kin acting like dogs for humans, not only elves but other humanoids as well.

    And she did not want to think of what twisted life these enslaved elves would have in the homes of their masters.

    While humans seemed to enjoy a life of luxury and wealth, all humanoids she saw were bound to their masters, following silently as they were ordered.

    The scenes made Azure sick, she couldn''t believe her king would try to negotiate with these people.

    ''We should have been waging war to liberate our kin, not seek alliance!'' She screamed internally as her gaze washed over the city.

    She followed Laura and Aqua into what seemed to be an Inn which was recommended by Laura, a sign hanging above an intricate door {Wanderer''s Hope}

    Laura entered first shortly followed by a duo of disguised elves, they approached one of the empty tables before sitting down.

    ''This Inn seems pretty cozy'' Azure relaxed slightly as she slumped in her seat.

    The inn was rather spacious, with two sets of stairs leading to the second floor which Azure assumed were living quarters, a bar was situated between two stairways, obscuring a door that had a sign {Kitchen- Only authorized personnel allowed} engraved right above it.

    She looked over other tables, all humans dressed in the finest silk and adorned by jewelry were enjoying various foodstuff and drinks.

    Azure looked over as she saw elven girls carrying trays with food and drinks back and forth their faces and eyes lifeless, almost like a zombie.

    ''What is wrong with these elves?'' Azure spoke to herself as she looked at the elves with a disgusted look.

    Her proud race was reduced to servants of humans, not only waitresses but in what she could only assume were VIP lounges she saw Elven girls being used as exotic dancers.

    What all of them had in common was that they all had the same dead look on their faces, and their movement almost mechanical in nature.

    ''Is this the handiwork of Disciples of Mind that Laura and Aqua mentioned...'' Azure thought while suppressing her rage.

    She thought she could handle everything, even the enslavement of her people, oh how wrong she was.

    The moment Sheira''s escort left Elven Kingdom Azure''s world turned upside down.

    Where she thought she was unbeatable before, now seemed that every second person she saw was more powerful than her.

    First the attackers of Golden Rose and then Aqua, she wanted to laugh at the absurdity, she was a captain of honor guard and undefeated champion, weaker than some mercenaries.

    While she could accept being weaker than Aqua, who seemed unreachable with feats she could do, and she dreaded to know what her full capabilities were.

    She couldn''t forgive herself for being weaker than the mercenaries of Golden Rose.

    Azure glanced at Aqua and then at Laura, while she did not blame Laura for the direct attack, which had shown the woman in a more favorable light than the ones conducting the attack and kidnapping Laura was still not blameless.

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    While she had no reason to help Laura search for her leader, it was necessary to bring the monster to justice, and if that monster betrayed his most loyal followers she couldn''t leave Laura to suffer alone, even if she once was an enemy.

    Azure was supposed to be a shield and that shield was pierced by thorns of Golden Rose, she couldn''t live with herself knowing that. She knew what needed to be done, she needed to start her training from scratch. She needed to learn basics once again and improve to greater levels than she was before.

    But her training would wait until her friend was safe and sound, and if she is spared of execution, she would commit her whole being to getting stronger for her liege.

    From the corner of her eye, she witnessed a blond female elf girl approach their table her blue eyes lost their shine of life long ago, and she was dressed in standard maid dress giving her a charming look, at least if one could get past her lifeless stare.

    An elven slave approached their table and after giving a deep bow, with a tired voice said.

    "May I... have your orders..." She spoke in a way machine would, rigid and emotionless.

    While her body didn''t seem thin as one would expect from a slave, her free will was still bound.

    Azure glanced at Aqua, hoping that her new companion would say something, or at least offer a way to help these elves, and yet her new friend said or did nothing, but instead only stared at the unfortunate girl.

    Her rage was boiling deep within her heart but she knew she was helpless, if in her rage she did something rash, it would put Sheira, Aqua, and even Laura in great danger.

    Azure sighed as she had only one hope, that Sheira wouldn''t end up like elven girls serving in this Inn.

    And for that purpose, she needed to hurry and find her friend.

    ****

    Incredible, that''s all Aqua could say. While monstrous and unforgivable she could at least say that their expertise in brainwashing was second to none.

    All of the elves she saw in this city were not elves in the true sense anymore, both their mind and souls altered permanently to be something else.

    She could see potential in such a technique, but despite its potential humanity used it to make mindless tools.

    ''All non-humans in this city are more akin to automatons, but organic in nature'' She gazed at the elven waitresses moving mechanically through the inn.

    She knew Azure was furious at this scene, but these girls couldn''t be saved, their souls and minds were twisted beyond repair.

    A technique so dangerous that it could only be practiced when not under the gaze of the gods.

    She could sense their soul existing inside the husks that once were elves, twisted and broken but at least possible to salvage with great care, but their mind was well and truly beyond repair, even for her.

    What made it even more impossible to save them was that she couldn''t see the familiar shine of life essence but in its place, there was a black haze instead.

    These Elves had neither chain of divine nor faint signature that all life produces, they were more akin to undead and yet they were most certainly alive as the presence of soul proved.

    It truly made her sad that her kin was used like this, but she knew that it was a bad idea to do anything rash at the current moment.

    A poorly thought-out decision could draw the attention of unknown parties.

    And for better or for worse, the spell that she placed on Sheira still held, which meant that she was alive.

    But knowing that these people could do this to her people meant that her spell might not protect her. She truly underestimated this kingdom, a mortal kingdom, powerful enough to bar the divine influence completely and practice the most monstrous techniques a mortal can possess.

    While she could sense the divine gaze over the kingdom, the divine parasites were incapable of spreading their corruption.

    ''Perhaps we need to speed up this rescue mission. If I do this alone both Azure and Sheira might avoid unnecessary danger'' Aqua thought.

    But if she took away Azure''s act of redemption she would most certainly end her own life.

    While clearly impressed she didn''t know how to treat this kingdom. After all this kingdom until now proved to be hostile to anyone who was not a human but their fight against divine parasites was something she could fall in love with.

    In the end, she decided it would be best to leave the mission to duty-bound Azure and only step in if Sheira seemed to either be near death or her mind and soul were in danger of being rewritten.

    She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn''t notice a lifeless elf approach their table before speaking "May I... have your orders..." which pulled her out of her mind allowing her to observe one of the husks up close.

    Upon closer observation, this girl seemed to not have any physical mistreatment visible on her face and skin.

    ''Possible that husks used by hospitality establishments were taken better care of so that the guests might enjoy their presence more'' She leaned closer, ignoring stares from both Laura and Azure.

    She was about to touch the husk, but before her hands even reached her she heard a shout.

    Then a human male who Aqua could assume was the owner as he was the only human around rushed to the table.

    "MISS!, please do not touch the Slaves! If you are interested in pleasure-oriented slaves you will need to visit Night''s Desire Brothel. You will be able to find it close to Eastern Gate." Man caught his breath as he stood next to the elven husk.

    His gaze falls over 3 women with a condescending look.

    He was quite fat, both his body and face taken over by his apparent gluttony, his silken clothes barely holding his body contained and his brown hair short and sparse.

    Inn most likely only existed to provide shelter for travelers, since from what she saw in memories of both Laura and Duo of Disciples at the checkpoint. Humans did not need to work as long as they were residents, but that didn''t mean crowns were useless, after all, they could be used to procure exotic goods from elsewhere.

    And what better way to obtain profits than using free sentient tools, this man most certainly had a great amount of wealth stashed somewhere, waiting for its use.

    Aqua didn''t know what use crowns had other than trading with merchants coming into the city.

    Memories of all the people she gazed into didn''t contain that information.

    Perhaps it could be used to purchase additional non-human slaves in addition to trading with travelers.

    No, it took Aqua a moment but she understood, that these profits could be used in cities that weren''t considered blessed cities.

    In memories, she saw, only a portion of humans lived in these utopias while most lived in other cities where they weren''t afforded luxuries like free slaves.

    And it seemed that nonresidents were considered lesser in this city from the way man was looking at them.

    Laura was first to speak "Please forgive my friend, this is her first time in the city"

    Laura bowed deeply as she apologized, making the man huff.

    Man looked over the trio and after a moment of silence, he huffed and shouted.

    "Do not let it repeat, outsider!" The man shouted before making his way to the back of the Inn.

    ***

    Laura sighed as she took her seat.

    "Server, We want to order 3 portions of dragon steak and white wine, go!" Laura ordered the server.

    Husk bowed deeply before saying "It shall...be done...mistress"

    As the server disappeared in the back of the Inn she glanced over at both Aqua and Azure.

    She didn''t know how to feel when giving orders to an elven slave in the presence of two elves who could kill her in an instant.

    While Azure seemed annoyed and ready to tear her throat out, Aqua fortunately seemed rather calm.

    ''Thank the divine that she seems more reasonable than her friend'' Laura sighed as she remembered that Azure could be quite emotional.

    The duo of elven girls was the only way for her to uncover if Fang betrayed her.

    ''No, I don''t want to entertain that option. There must be an explanation'' She tried to convince herself.

    It took almost half an hour but she noticed a duo of elven slaves, both sharing a similar appearance, like twins would.

    The twins were carrying their food and slowly approached their table and placed the food in front of the girls.

    Laura gave the slave a small pouch of crowns to one of the slaves as payment before shooing them away "Good job, begone now".

    A duo of elven slaves bowed deeply before walking away, carrying the pouch to the fat man.

    "Now, Let''s plan our next move while we enjoy the lunch" Laura smiled nervously as she slowly cut a piece of steak, ignoring Azure''s annoyed expression.

 Kings Forge

    Trio finished with the food before making their exit outside the inn. Girls decided to explore the city and search for information about Sheira, or at least any clue that could point them to her.

    While walking around aimlessly was less than preferable, none of the three girls knew where to even start. So the trio decided to walk around the city, making sure to watch out for any suspicious activity.

    And yet, nothing seemed to point them to even a trace that could lead towards the direction where Sheira was located.

    Every citizen that was asked about Golden Rose activity had no clue what the girls even asked them about at best or thought they were insane at worst.

    It was almost like Golden Rose never passed through this city, and yet there was no way for Laura to lie after all her memories were read by Aqua.

    And so for Azure, it was clear. The leader of Golden Rose surely lied to his men and from what she could assume lover from how much she seemed to care about the man, He and his escort never went to this city, but instead elsewhere.

    It took them some time to reach the giant statue in the middle of the city, but from there they would be able to more easily navigate the city.

    "This might be a bit much isn''t it..." Aqua said with her eyes focusing intently on the statue.

    "It''s a statue that honors the God King of this kingdom, lady Aqua. Leaders of the duchy spared no expense in making sure he is glorified." Azure stepped closer to Aqua while speaking.

    "They wasted so much bronze just to make a statue," Azure spoke softly.

    "A powerful kingdom like this one can afford to spend excess resources to honor their god" Laura spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.

    Aqua shook her head, the statue itself wasn''t the issue. What Aqua was referring to was the amount of divine energy emanating from the statue.

    It was like a powerful demigod was standing right in front of her eyes. The sheer power dwarfed even Azure''s Blessing. Why would it be necessary for anyone to create a statue so saturated with divinity? And a better question for Aqua was ''How?''.

    It seemed almost like the statue had a soul, and yet Aqua couldn''t recognize even a trace of anything resembling a soul in the construct.

    ''Perhaps a defensive automaton'' Aqua crossed her arms as she inspected the statue. If it was indeed a defensive automaton, then it was the most powerful one she had ever seen in her life.

    And yet the way it was constructed, it was like it was chiseled from a solid block of bronze. Joints did not exist nor could she notice any mechanism that would allow this construct to move, and so it wouldn''t be possible for such a massive statue to move by normal means.

    While she was curious about how this thing would act as a defender, it wasn''t something she could easily examine without drawing attention.

    She sighed as she noticed Laura and Azure slowly walking away before running after them and catching up.

    ***

    While finding clues about Sheira''s whereabouts was a top priority, Azure wanted to get new equipment in case she needed to fight.

    So they closely followed Laura they were led towards the eastern commercial district. Making their way past the residential area they were welcomed by many rows of general shops and artisanal workshops.

    Each shop is filled with nonhumans working on selling or creating new products, with their human masters either close by or missing completely.

    It wasn''t long until they came to a Blade Smith workshop. Various bladed weapons were displayed proudly, from mighty Great swords and Longswords to Daggers and Stilettos. Truly a specialized workshop, forging blades no matter the warrior''s preference.

    Laura turned towards Aqua and Azure before proclaiming "This is a workshop that supplies many of the weapons for the Golden Rose. I can guarantee their quality, Miss Azure!"

    As they pushed the heavy wooden door open they were greeted by rows upon rows of bladed weapons, each neatly ordered by material and quality rating.

    In the middle of the store, a male elf bowed deeply and with a mechanical tone greeted the trio "Greetings... Valued... Customers... Welcome... To... King''s Forge... Please... Browse" his lifeless green eyes looking through the trio as if they weren''t there at all.

    In the corner of the workshop, a Bulky lizard-like humanoid stood lifelessly like all other slaves the trio met, a large great sword at his back. Likely a protection-oriented slave, his grey scales noticeably battered from combat.

    A constant clinging of metal against metal could be heard coming from the backroom, intense heat emanating from the room which two elves figured was a forge.

    Azure suppressed her disgusted expression as she saw another member of her kin in this state, instead deciding to look for a weapon she could use to free her friend. Her eyes ignored the enslaved humanoids as she looked over great swords.

    She took one by one from the rack, making multiple swings before putting the swords back. The swords had great quality and their quality seemed to be incredibly good. They lacked Mana Conductivity.

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    Azure couldn''t use her Life Force enchantments with these weapons, basically sealing her trump card. This was a reason she wanted to get a new weapon and not take one from the Golden Rose, after all, Golden Rose got their weapons from this city. All weapons they had couldn''t channel mana, but instead Golden Rose had to use different tools.

    Sadly her old weapon was left behind as it was one swing from shattering into countless pieces, forcing her to find a way to get her hands on a Conductive Sword. And yet the swords here had 0 conductivity.

    She sighed deeply as she put back the final weapon "These won''t do. I can''t use my techniques with them."

    Aqua placed her hand on Azure''s shoulder before speaking "Azure, just get a good quality weapon. I assume you talk about your life force blade you used against me?"

    Azure nodded as she answered, "Yes, if I don''t find a conductive sword I won''t be able to use my trump card."

    "You do know that technique uses your life force right? Even you have a limited amount of it." Aqua spoke with a worried tone.

    "I do, but to rescue Sheira I will have to go all out to even stand a chance." Azure curled her fist as she thought about the misfortune that befell her.

    "Azure, I want you to trust me. Get a weapon that seems to fit you and I will make sure you won''t need to use your life" Aqua spoke quietly.

    Azure looked at her companion curiously before letting a sigh and picking up one of the great swords. "Aqua, I hope you are right. This weapon is a hope for me and my friend. I must save her and while I know you are strong I do not wish you to stand in harm''s way once we find her."

    Aqua let out a soft giggle as she heard Azure speak "Azure, let Laura pay for the weapon and then give it to me. I will make sure you have your hope."

    Azure smiled warmly at the encouraging words of her companion as she placed the weapon before the elven slave.

    Laura looked over curiously as she heard two elves talking, but not wanting to interrupt she continued to look through the collection of daggers, her encounter with the duo taught her that she needed close-range weapons, and she did not know a better place to get them.

    She saw Azure bringing a weapon to the counter prompting her to finish her search faster. Laura took multiple daggers, small enough that she could hide them inside her clothes. While these weapons weren''t the best, they were slightly better than mass-produced weaponry that was supplied to Golden Rose.

    She brought her weapons to the counter, letting the elven slave charge them.

    "1740... crowns... dear... customer" Slave spoke lifelessly as he put out a hand, awaiting the payment.

    Laura noted that the prices had increased since the last time she was here, but fortunately, she still had funds. While she hated to waste Golden Rose''s funds to help what were supposed to be her enemies, she had no choice.

    If she knew Golden Fang was fine, she would have been more conservative with her crowns. But while these girls were her enemies, they were also allies who agreed to help her figure out what was going on with Golden Fang.

    Elf took the crowns, and after what she could tell was counting he took the funds to the back, likely to his master''s safe.

    "Enjoy... your... new... weapons" Elf spoke while giving a deep bow.

    Azure took her great sword while inspecting it, it wasn''t what she hoped for but her companion promised to help.

    Laura slowly hid the daggers inside her boots, shirt, and sleeves. Making sure she had plenty of tricks if she was cornered. She hoped Fang didn''t betray Golden Rose and that the checkpoint incident was just a coincidence, but she needed to be ready for the worst.

    As they left the shop, Azure handed the new sword to Aqua, letting the elf girl inspect it herself.

    Aqua focused on the blade, as her gaze focused on the blade she could tell many things about it. From the material, it was forged from to its true quality. While she had no real obligation to Azure other than her own will Aqua still wanted to provide her tools to succeed with her own power.

    ''I will enchant this blade to the best of its ability'' Aqua slowly dragged her fingers across the broad side of the sword. The blade glowed orange as if being forged once again as its nonmagical nature was restructured.

    Aqua knew that Azure wanted this sword to be conductive, so that she may channel her life force, but she would do her best to make her not rely on it. In her mind, many aether circuits were engraved onto the blade, immense heat contained inside.

    The blade that once had no magical property was restructured and reforged into a masterful spell blade. Its material''s previous nonconductivity was remedied with the usage of Aether Circuits. Blade became a conduit for powerful enchants as the Aether Circuits would pull and convert Azure''s aether energy to mana from her soul instead of letting her use her life force needlessly.

    While the enchanted blade would be a crutch for most people, she knew that Azure was ignorant of Aether''s usage so the enchanted blade would help her. But it was equally important to add offensive enchantments in addition to adding a way to channel her techniques.

    Aqua focused her gaze, her fingers moving in precise motion, her power channeled into a stream, flowing like water. As it washed over the blade enchantments settled in.

    Godslayer Blade - by converting mana into black fire a blade would allow the user to cut through divinity in many of its forms. Authority of Crimson Fire - as named by Aqua herself would empower the blade with flames similar to Aqua''s own, allowing a user of the blade to send waves of Crimson fire, burning all in its path and if someone was unfortunate enough to get cut, their body would combust if they weren''t powerful enough.

    While these enchants were basic, only allowing a mortal to fight back against divine tyranny, they wouldn''t be enough against an actual deity or even a demigod if the user wasn''t strong enough. But against someone with a blessing and low divinity, this blade would be able to burn them to ash before they realized what happened.

    Aqua let out a satisfied sigh as the blade was able to contain the enchants, in next moment she made a final tap on the blade, engraving its name as a way and seal to contain the power.

    [Mortal Hope]

    With its name engraved she focused back at Laura and Azure staring at her, she smiled before handing the sword back to Azure.

    "With this, you shouldn''t have issues, Azure" Aqua smiled as Azure took the blade.

    Laura looked at the sword with a panicked expression as it now glowed with a slight crimson glow, massive power radiating from the sword. "Is that even the same sword?"

    The glow slowly disappeared but the power could still be felt, while the sword might attract attention Aqua thought that these basic enchants wouldn''t draw too many eyes.

    Aqua nodded "Yes, It is the same blade, I have applied enchantments to the blade, basic they might be but they will make sure that Azure won''t use her life force."

    Azure looked at the blade, her mouth agape at the masterpiece of a blade, even if she couldn''t comprehend the amount of power contained inside "Thank you, Aqua. I will not forget this!"

    Aqua smirked "I know you won''t, let us continue looking for clues."

    It was a moment before the trio heard a raspy voice from behind them.

 The First Disciple of Mind

    Azure learned to not question Aqua''s techniques. After all, they were in enemy territory and she would need to trust her abilities. But the power she sensed from the previously normal sword was insane, the seemingly ordinary steel blade was turned into a container of immense power that could be considered a national treasure.

    Enchants of this magnitude were unheard of and yet her companion surprised her once again by calling them basic.

    And yet she did not care, no matter what kind of monster her new friend was, all that mattered was that she was lending her power to rescue Sheira.

    She looked over the blade with a satisfied look before wrapping it in a piece of cloth and loosely tying the great sword to her back.

    Once both Azure and Laura got their weapons they were once again lost. They were equipped for a potential fight, and yet they had no idea where to continue looking.

    While most humans that passed them paid no heed to their presence but instead went by their business some still gave them weird looks as the trio frankly looked like lost sheep.

    "You Ladies are members of Golden Rose, are you not?" A raspy male voice came from behind them, getting an immediate reaction from the trio.

    Laura was the first to answer, after all, she recognized this voice. It was the voice of the observer that was in their encampment. Finally, someone who recognized them is what Laura thought. If anyone would know why they couldn''t find Golden Fang and why most people seemed to not even know that Golden Rose passed through the city. It would be him.

    "Oh, it''s you! Yes, I''m Golden Petal Laura. These girls are Golden Petals Azure and Aqua" Laura spoke while giving a slight bow.

    Man looked over them with obvious suspicion in his eyes before answering, his gaze piercing through two disguised elves "I haven''t seen these two girls at the encampment, but no matter. Follow me."

    As the man started walking away Laura tried to ask him "Why does nobody know that Golden Rose passed through the city?"

    Man cackled before answering "No. Follow me now and stop asking unnecessary questions."

    Trio looked at each other before following the old man shortly after. The man leads the trio through Eastern Street, his stride slow and unsteady.

    "Golden Fang is awaiting you, Laura." Man spoke as his cane hit the ground providing support for him to stand.

    ''Why is he pretending to be weak'' That was all Aqua could say about this man, while his charade could fool lesser eyes it couldn''t fool Aqua''s.

    The sheer power he emanated dwarfed even the statue in the city center. He has cleverly hidden his power, forcing even her to put some effort into seeing past his concealment.

    Man did not use any illusions, and yet his concealment was about as effective as a master illusionist.

    Whoever he was, it was almost certain he would lead them to neither Sheira nor Golden Fang.

    ''It is a bad idea to follow a strange old man, but I''m quite interested in what he is hiding'' Aqua mused as they quietly walked behind the man.

    She fully expected a trap, and yet neither Laura nor Azure expected a thing. ''Well that is expected, he concealed himself extremely well''

    His apparent mastery of illusion-like magic was worrying, after all, the illusion wasn''t something she had much knowledge of.

    While sufficient destructive power would be enough to remove illusion, she knew she couldn''t destroy the city, especially with Azure and Sheira being in this city and to some extent Laura.

    While she expected Laura, who was experienced in deception to at least get a hunch that something was wrong. She couldn''t say the same for Azure, who proved that she was still too naive and trusting.

    Perhaps this was a good test of man''s perception as she channeled power into two spells. Both Laura''s and Azure''s forms shimmered for a mere moment as [Heart of Phoenix] settled in them, marking them with a scar in the shape of wings in the same manner as Sheira was.

    Aqua carefully observed the man, and yet it seemed like he noticed nothing.

    ''That is reassuring, even if it seems that not even my two companions noticed anything'' She sighed as she wondered how none of them noticed a flash of color even if it was so brief that the naked eye could barely perceive it.

    Following a slow old man made the travel time longer than it would have taken them alone, but eventually, they arrived at a marble building like many others. The surroundings were unusually quiet as they entered.

    While the front yard was luxurious as all estates in the city were they were still eerily quiet, be it for lack of slaves working on it or for different reasons.

    The man opened the heavy door of the building with no effort whatsoever before gesturing the girls to follow him, getting a surprised reaction from both Laura and Azure.

    The man leads them down the intricate stairs, leading deep underground. Illuminated by Mystic Lamps as far as the eye could see.

    The quiet while they were walking down was unnerving, forcing Azure to speak up despite wanting to stay quiet.

    "I don''t like this place, it''s giving me creeps!" Azure stated as she placed her hand on the sword handle, ready to defend herself despite no danger being present, and yet a presence was gnawing at her mind.

    Observer scoffed at her comment before speaking "You 3 should be the last Golden Rose members to arrive right?"

    Laura was next to speak and with a suspicious tone answered "Yes, we are the last ones. Why do you ask?"

    Man let out a creepy giggle as the group finally approached a door at the bottom of the stairway "Good, please enter. Honored guests." Man opened the door revealing a large basement room, with many people standing inside.

    Laura gasped in shock as she recognized many people inside the room, they were the remaining thorns of Golden Rose both the ones who escorted Fang and the thorns that arrived with her, and in front, she recognized Golden Fang.

    She found him, at long last. But he did not seem to be ok, his face lifeless and movement almost nonexistent.

    But she did not care, she had questions to ask, and despite her better judgment she rushed towards him and hugged him tightly.

    Stolen story; please report.

    "Kill her, Thrall!" Observer''s former raspy voice was replaced by a booming voice of a demigod.

    While Laura never truly confessed her feelings, she truly loved the man, a love that made her blind and deaf to Observer''s voice and the dagger in her neck, a dagger that pierced her flesh by the hand of Golden Fang.

    A man who betrayed everything that he built, he abandoned all as Laura''s consciousness faded into the dark sea.

    As her life flashed before her eyes she had only one thought ''No, I do not wish to believe that he would do this''

    Laura never had a chance to even scream as her life was extinguished by the hand of a man she trusted the most.

    In her last moments, she saw Azure rushing towards her while Aqua just stared at each member of Golden Rose.

    "Golden Rose belongs to me. My plan only requires Golden Fang your unexpected arrival has no use, so DIE!." Said the observer as his former frail body and aura of weakness were replaced by an aura of immense power, threatening to suffocate all in its vicinity.

    ***

    As Laura''s lifeless body hit the ground Azure was first to reach for her sword, despite the terrifying presence of the man in front of her she had no choice.

    As Laura said, this man was at the encampment and likely knew Sheira''s location.

    "Elves, are you not? Here to rescue your princess? Intriguing that nobody noticed. No matter I will have my answers from your corpses!" Man Laughed heartily as his piercing eyes swept over the duo of elves.

    "Perhaps It is time. Thrall Kill them!" Man ordered as Golden Fang rushed towards Azure at insane speeds, far surpassing even her awakening.

    And still, Azure was able to dodge and escape his grasp.

    "Impressive display, to keep up with Golden Fang, but you stand no chance elven scum!" His laugh quaked the very walls.

    Fang in his life trained with many weapons, including his fists.

    As his fist collided with Azure''s blade it felt like the steel would shatter, and yet it did not only endure but it enveloped Fang in Flame, burning his skin away. While the hit did no damage as it was blocked, Azure was thrown back into the wall with immense speed, making her lose balance.

    Fang did not let the opportunity pass as he charged at her, and with a powerful punch made her fly into the ceiling, shattering it.

    Azure coughed blood as Fang jumped back, getting ready to attack again.

    Azure''s blade glowed red as a slash of crimson flame was sent towards Golden Fang. Crimson Flame ate away at Fang as he pushed past it, his burns severe and yet not diminishing his power or speed.

    "Impressive blade, for an elf. But a powerful weapon is nothing to someone incapable" Man scoffed as he watched his Thrall pummel the elven woman, the illusion still unbroken, and yet he could sense she was an elf.

    Each punch brings her closer to death, each kick weakening her. While the elf was powerful, she had no chance against his Thrall who was powerful before he was turned into a thrall and now granted blessing by First Disciple.

    And yet the blade was doing insane damage to his thrall, it cut through blessing like paper, and each wound didn''t heal.

    "Thrall! Stop playing and kill that insolent wench before you die!" He screamed as his eyes went to the second girl.

    He could sense she was also an elf, and yet her power was non-existent. Perhaps the woman would be a good distraction.

    He smirked as he appeared behind Aqua with immense speed, his fingers threatening to dig into her throat, and yet she showed no fear.

    "You fools are facing First Disciple Rolan! You will die today! Same as Laura did!" He shouted, getting Azure''s attention for a mere moment.

    And yet that was enough for Thrall to punch a hole through Azure''s abdomen, her body collapsing as the sword landed close to Thrall''s feet.

    Azure desperately tried to reach for the blade as she looked up at Aqua, her companion seemed unconcerned even with the enemy threatening to execute her on the spot.

    Azure''s last thought was about regret for not saving her duty, but perhaps she deserved such a fate. With her final breath she spoke "Aqua, please save...Sheira"

    "Thrall, take that blade. It will be useful for my plan" Thrall picked up the blade as it grunted and brought the blade to the observer.

    "Oh, Is that sword one of Elven treasures, I must thank you wenches for bringing it to me. It will surely serve me well." The man admired the blade as Azure lost the last sign of life, falling helplessly, an illusion finally breaking as her life was snuffed out.

    While the observer was busy admiring the blade, he did not notice an orange egg forming around the two corpses.

    Azure''s life came to an end as both Laura''s and Azure''s corpses were slowly enveloped by warm orange and red flames, their corpses quickly encapsulated inside an impenetrable egg.

    "So you killed both of my companions so quickly? Even Azure who was a blessed child." Aqua spoke without a hint of fear or hesitation, her tone giving a slight scare to Rolan.

    "Your fighter is dead, wench. Time to die. You..." He dug his fingers into her throat, and yet he couldn''t pierce the skin.

    Rolan felt like he was trying to pierce a wall of blessed city, panic gripped him as he disappeared behind his thrall.

    Rolan knew that his mind was his greatest weapon, while physical power was reserved for brutes like Golden Rose.

    "Kill her!" Rolan shouted as Thrall charged at Aqua, shortly followed by the rest of the enthralled Golden Rose.

    ***

    Aqua looked over the man that once was Golden Fang, like all members of Golden Rose inside this place, he had a black haze around him, similar to the slaves around the city, and yet his soul and mind were still whole.

    Perhaps Rolan did not have time to fully rewrite his being.

    While she hated to watch her companions die, it did not matter. After all, they will return in a mere 3 hours, death has long ago become meaningless in her presence.

    Phoenix egg was something even she would struggle to break quickly. And so she had free reign to learn about this demigod in disguise.

    She let herself be hit by the charging thrall as she grasped herself like she was hurt.

    "I know you are too powerful for me to even hope to defeat you, but please tell me what are you before I die," Aqua said with a pleading tone.

    Man laughed, shaking the very walls once again "That pathetic face suits you well, wench. I am First Disciple of Mind, Rolan. I am to inherit the will of the Great Inquisitor. And for that end, I used one of the great scientists for years to obtain the holy blood that you so graciously delivered to my pawns!"

    Golden Fang hit her once again, sending her into the wall as Rolan continued speaking "I am one in charge of a great facility that makes your kind useful to God King!"

    Golden fang hit her over and over again, and despite that, Rolan did not notice her not having a scratch on herself.

    "I am everywhere and nowhere, I am a shadow of Inquisitors. I AM THE FIRST DISCIPLE!" He shouted, booming voice echoing.

    "Alas it does not matter to you, wench. You are not worth turning into a slave, so just die!" He ordered Golden Fang to charge once again.

    As the fist was about to connect with her she casually dodged out of the way of Golden Fang. Unlike Slaves, this man and his soldiers could be saved.

    As she dodged Aqua jumped on his back, and with a simple cast of [Paralysis] he and his former men were out cold, letting Aqua face the observer.

    "Well you at least gave me the info I wanted, After I''m done with you I will resurrect my companions and get back so so-called Holy Blood" Her smirk mocked him.

    Rolan gasped as he saw the entire Golden Rose fall, perhaps the girl was a worthwhile tool. He raised his cane in the air as he cast [Psychic Chains].

    Shadowy chains wrapped around Aqua, restraining her in place.

    "HAH, You are a mere elven scum. With no power or blessing. You won''t play with me!" With immense speed that the eye couldn''t follow he appeared behind Aqua, his hand grasped the neck of the elven girl as the illusion finally disappeared.

    Her mind was invaded in a similar way to what disciples on the border did but with immensely more power and technique.

    Even though Rolan''s Physical power and Magical powers were far above average blessed children, his strength didn''t lie in those aspects but instead in the battlefield of the mind.

    Nobody but the great inquisitor himself would be able to beat him as he invaded Aqua''s mind.

    Rolan entered the mind of the elven girl, but instead of the vault of memories, he found himself inside an unknown city, a city that was burning with the heat of the sun itself.

    "Fabricated mindscape? This woman is more dangerous than I thought. But no matter Nobody will beat me in the fight of mind!" Rolan Looked around, but unlike lesser disciples, he was able to freely roam the mindscape without fear of damage.

 Sun God

    Sun God

    "I welcome you, to the world that once was ruled by divinity" Aqua''s voice echoed through every corner, every crevice. Even Air itself echoed.

    "You are in the Holy Empire that once was most zealous of fanatics of the so-called Supreme Deity"

    Rolan roamed the mindscape, his will holding strong, his mind a fortress. He would not be broken by mere fabrication.

    When it came to mindscapes, a stronger would always prevail. Neither party would have their magic, and yet it seemed like power radiated from every corner of the girl''s mind.

    "Show yourself Elven scum! I shall rewrite your mind quickly if you do not resist! I will even curb my desire for vengeance and will not send you to be used as a pleasure slave If you surrender!" Rolan shouted, his voice echoing, reaching nobody but himself.

    While in mindscape he could not use many of his abilities, but the battlefield of the mind could be manipulated to create anything one imagines.

    And this time it was no different, while this mind was suffocating Rolan was still able to conjure many items and spells.

    And yet despite his expertise in the ways of mind, he could not change the terrain of the mindscape.

    He has never experienced such a thing since the Great Inquisitor taught him the ways of mind so many years ago.

    "Your efforts are futile, this is not the mind of a powerless little girl. Oh, so-called First Disciple." Aqua''s mocking voice cut through him as Rolan pushed himself to seize control of this mind.

    "Did you think I would allow someone like you to sneak up on me and invade my mind without a plan?" Aqua mocked him as she appeared, her Angelic form almost blinding.

    The mindscape collapsed as the scenery was replaced, instead of his previous location he now stood in front of one of the disciples of mind, bound by chains of black flame.

    "Perhaps you will learn, that your mastery of mind means nothing. My mind and soul are fortresses that none may breach." Mindscape collapsed once again, returning Rolan to the scorched city.

    His form was enveloped by black flame, but unlike previous disciples he resisted. His will was enough to escape." My plans won''t be foiled by elven scum like you! Your kind is destined to serve!"

    Rolan ran as fast as he could, and yet distance had no meaning, no matter how much he ran he never moved from the place where he stood.

    "Impossible!" He shouted as he struggled to materialize some kind of power inside this mindscape, each moment that passed felt himself get weakened.

    He was losing in a battle of mind against a mere elf, He wouldn''t suffer such shame, and yet he knew he was outmatched. The moment he saw the true form of the elf girl, Rolan knew that he stood no chance.

    She was some kind of goddess or divine being in nature, and he needed to escape, all he needed to do was inform the Great Inquisitor and he would deal with this insolent wench.

    He knew not how a goddess passed into Red Dawn without being noticed, but it did not matter, once Inquisitors heard of it her end would come shortly after, and in the end, she would serve as all non-humans serve.

    "It was a pleasure to meet you, Goddess... Alas, I know when I am outmatched. Inquisitors shall know about you I assure you!" Rolan shouted with a mocking tone as his mind started disappearing.

    Aqua sighed as the man attempted to escape the scorched city that was her mindscape, she would not let someone as dangerous as Rolan escape so easily, so instead of trapping him she decided that a man this dangerous needed to die.

    With a swipe of her hand his form was engulfed by black flame, he would be consumed as all before him were.

    With a guttering scream, his mind was erased, and yet it seemed like he was not dead. Instead of feeling pleasure as the essence was absorbed, she instead felt empty.

    She focused back on the material world as she saw the old man lying on the floor, dead.

    ''Black flame did not work... How?'' Aqua questioned herself, in all her years of using the cursed black flames she never had them fail.

    No, it wasn''t fully correct to say they failed. But instead,d they consumed something different. It consumed something unknown.

    "Well, this was a disaster." She spoke to the silent room, Paralysis over Golden Rose still holding strong with only a hum of Phoenix Eggs as noise.

    She underestimated the enemy once again, while they weren''t powerful they were certainly crafty. She knew that from this moment forth, Sheira''s life was on a short-timer.

    She slowly approached the burned Hulk of a man, his skin and muscles burned beyond recognition.

    Azure did a lot of damage to this man, and yet he endured, be it from his constitution or the influence of Rolan. It did not matter.

    He was at death''s door, and if she did not act now he would die. His mind was still shackled as he grunted, trying to attack her.

    ''Why do I even care if he dies? It''s not like I cared about Laura.'' She glanced at the phoenix egg before approaching the collapsed Golden Fang.

    With a heavy sigh, she placed her hands on the former thrall. She wanted to keep saying she did not care, and yet in all her actions she proved otherwise.

    "I''m such a hypocrite" She smiled as tendrils of water and fire rushed out of her hand, like ants building their nest the flesh was restored.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    While he was weaker than before, by courtesy of Rolan he was still a formidable fighter. Just restoring his body will ensure he lives.

    Aqua focused with the intent of unshackling the mind.

    While all slaves around the city were twisted beyond repair, Fang and the rest of the Golden Rose were whole in both mind and soul, even if their mind was damaged.

    As her gaze pierced the black haze that surrounded Fang''s being she saw what bound him. It was not the curse, it was not divine energy but something else.

    Something more primal and powerful, It was like she was watching a piece of time itself miniscule as it is locking the mind.

    Despite being a mere speck it would require great care to remove and not permanently damage Golden Fang.

    With a deep sigh, she spoke "Why do I do this to myself?".

    ***

    It took Aqua an uncomfortable amount of time to untangle the solidified piece of time from Fang''s mind. The process was far from simple; the fragment had embedded itself deeply, entwining itself into the very fabric of his consciousness. But after painstaking effort and finding a single loose thread, she managed to unravel the intricate weave that bound his mind to the fragment.

    Finally, with a gasp of relief, she retrieved the shard. Exhaustion hit her like a wave, and she slumped onto the cold floor. Her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath, her fingers curling tightly around the fragment.

    The shard, no larger than a flea, pulsed with unimaginable power. Its size belied its true nature, for its strength came not from aether but from its connection to Time itself.

    Aqua''s eyes narrowed as she studied it, her thoughts swirling. Time was a force beyond even Aether Energy¡ªmore primal, more potent, more dangerous. None should dare to meddle with such a thing. Yet here she was, holding a fragment of a kingdom''s reckless ambition.

    Her gaze shifted to the room around her, to the collapsed forms of the Golden Rose members scattered like broken marionettes. Each one bore their own shard, a piece of the kingdom''s hubris embedded in their beings. Aqua groaned as she pulled herself to her feet.

    "I need to retrieve every fragment," she muttered to herself. The task ahead was daunting, but there was no other choice. With determination in her steps, she moved to the nearest hooded figure.

    Golden Fang''s fragment had been a nightmare to extract, it was deeply rooted and fiercely resistant. Compared to his, the remaining shards were much smaller, their connections weaker. Untangling them was no less precise, but the effort required was far less grueling.

    One by one, she worked through the room, her hands glowing with ethereal light as she extracted each shard. As the final fragment was removed, she stood over the still bodies of the Golden Rose members. The oppressive black haze that had surrounded them dissipated the moment their shards were extracted.

    Her eyes lingered on the paralyzed forms, and she furrowed her brow. "This black haze... it''s connected to the fragments," she murmured, holding the condensed pieces of time in her palm. They glimmered faintly, their energy potent yet incomprehensible. Though studying them revealed little about their origins, one truth had become glaringly clear: Red Dawn had found a way to manipulate time.

    A chill ran down her spine at the thought. Such power should never exist in mortal hands.

    Reaching into the void, she summoned a small satchel, its fabric shimmering faintly as though it, too, existed outside normal time. Carefully, she placed the fragments inside, each one vanishing into the enchanted container. Once the last shard was secure, she cast the satchel back into the void, its presence erased from this reality.

    Though she longed to study the shards further, there was no time. The incubation would finish in less than two hours, and the two girls she''d left behind would undoubtedly be confused when they awoke.

    With a final glance at the motionless Golden Rose, Aqua closed her eyes and focused her power. Though phoenix eggs were impenetrable, the same couldn''t be said of these men. She had a plan to ensure their safety¡ªfor now.

    "By the grace of the Phoenix, the cleansing fire will sweep across the world. Come forth, my dear friend. Come forth, God of no divinity. Come forth, SUN GOD!"

    The room erupted in flames as a vortex of primal fire swirled into existence. From the heart of the inferno, a phoenix emerged, its fiery feathers shimmering in hues of brilliant orange and red. The creature''s form was ever-changing, shifting with each passing moment as though it couldn''t decide what shape to take.

    "I have been summoned after so long," the phoenix said, its voice a mix of crackling flames and melodious chirps. Its fiery eyes turned toward Aqua, studying her with a piercing gaze. "Do you seek my guidance once more, dear Aqua?"

    The bird''s form stilled for a moment as it surveyed its surroundings. Then, it tilted its head in recognition. "This isn''t our old world, is it?"

    Aqua smiled, warmth flickering in her eyes as she regarded her old companion. "It''s good to see you, dear friend. And no, this is a different world."

    The phoenix¡ªoften called the Sun God¡ªwas more than a mere being. It was the living avatar of her old world''s soul, a manifestation of its primal energy. Despite its divine title, it held no true divinity, and yet its power dwarfed that of most gods. It had been her first mentor, teaching her the ways of flame and the delicate art of aether conversion.

    For a moment, the creature''s ever-changing form froze, as though in deep thought. When it spoke again, its voice carried a note of frustration. "Then I cannot remain here long. The world soul of this place is already rejecting me."

    Aqua''s expression grew serious. "I know I ask much of you," she began, her tone soft yet firm. "But could you guard these people until they wake? I can''t say how long the world will tolerate your presence, but I would be deeply grateful."

    The phoenix ruffled its fiery feathers, its annoyance palpable. "You''ve always had a knack for demanding the impossible."

    Though it irked her companion, Aqua couldn''t hide her excitement. The very fact that she''d been able to summon the Sun God proved something extraordinary: interdimensional travel was possible. It was a feat once thought impossible, and the implications were staggering.

    Yet even as the realization filled her with hope, a shadow of doubt loomed over her heart. What reason did she have to return to that cursed world? There was nothing left for her there¡ªno home, no future, no people. Her actions had seen to that.

    Her old world had burned beneath her flames, its civilizations reduced to ashes. She hadn''t regretted it then, and she didn''t regret it now. A world so scarred by sin had needed to be purged, its divine parasites eradicated. From its ashes, new life would rise¡ªa life untainted by the gods'' tyranny.

    "Aqua, I will do this favor for you," the phoenix said, pulling her from her thoughts. "But my deepest wish is to burn this world with you again."

    Aqua shook her head, her gaze resolute. "I don''t intend to destroy this world. Unlike my old one, this world can still be saved."

    The phoenix sighed a deep sound that resonated with the crackle of flames. "Very well. I will guard these mortals. But you owe me." Its form shifted again, growing to the size of a vulture before expanding further to match Aqua''s height.

    Relief flooded her, and without thinking, she threw her arms around the fiery creature. The embrace threatened to crush its formless body, but she didn''t care. "Thank you, dear friend. I''ll be back soon!"

    Aqua couldn''t resist herself as she gave the phoenix a kiss, ignoring Sun God''s rising temperature that would melt most mortal beings.

    The phoenix squawked in protest, its flames flaring brightly. "You really do treat a world soul like it''s a mere beast!"

    Aqua laughed, releasing the phoenix as it thrashed its wings and flew a short distance away. Its form settled briefly, glowing with a deep red hue.

    "You truly are insufferable," it muttered before settling near the motionless Golden Fang. "Go. I''ll watch over them."

    With a grateful smile, Aqua turned and dashed out of the building. There was no time to lose. The incubation was nearly complete, and her work was far from over.

 Holy Blood

    Aqua did not even bother applying an illusion to blend in with the crowd of the city. Instead, she opted to use [Beyond The Veil], allowing her to rush through the city unseen and unnoticed.

    The moment Rolan escaped her black flame, she knew she was on a timer. A moment of hesitation could lead to unknown forces complicating her mission to rescue the elven princess.

    Because of this, she couldn''t wait for Azure to complete her resurrection. While she didn''t want to take away Azure''s moment of redemption, she couldn''t afford the delay.

    If her theory about the fragments of time was correct, Aqua needed to address the situation herself before something irreversible happened.

    If even a minor fragment like the one she found in Golden Fang''s mind was enough to subdue someone stronger than a blessed Azure who had used Aqua''s enchantments then someone like Sheira would be permanently twisted. It would make saving her impossible, much like the enslaved within the city.

    There was only one potential solution: reversing time. Yet, it was possible that Aqua''s authority wasn''t enough to handle the fragments of time, minor as they were.

    Aqua refused to lose such a unique elf over her indecisiveness or her selfish wish to give Azure her moment.

    ''Her current power would only put her friend in danger... it''s just not enough.'' Aqua sighed as she ascended into the air, her spell concealing her from prying eyes.

    She didn''t like letting Azure "die," but the enemy believed Azure had fallen in battle, making her less likely to be targeted. The only remaining target for Rolan and whoever he might bring to guard his prized prey was Aqua herself, the only one she trusted to face the dangers of the city.

    Although the chances were slim, an enemy might still appear at their building. But someone she trusted as much as herself was guarding their "corpses."

    Aqua smiled at the thought of the Sun God. Her teacher, though limited to the power of flame, was formidable in his own right. He was a world-soul avatar, an existence surpassing most gods¡ªsave for beings at the level of a supreme deity.

    She was confident the Sun God could handle any threat that might appear to recover the fragments of time.

    ''Now that I think about it, they''re almost certain to come for the fragments,'' Aqua thought, shaking her head as she rushed toward the faint flicker of her spell on Sheira.

    For now, she needed to stay as inconspicuous as possible, even though Rolan had most certainly alerted the authorities of her presence. She could only hope the Sun God wouldn''t scorch the city off the map.

    Yet despite the turmoil beneath the surface, the city seemed tranquil. Humans lived their best lives, served by innumerable non-human slaves. Guards remained stationed, and life continued as it had when she first entered the city.

    Within moments, she found herself above the source of the spell''s flicker.

    ''She''s so heavily guarded...'' Aqua gazed through a kaleidoscope of colors. The entire facility was full of guards.

    While some were shrouded in a Dark Haze, reminiscent of her earlier encounter with the Golden Rose, the vast majority seemed to be there of their own free will.

    Aqua couldn''t see beyond the outer layer of the building. She could not perceive through walls, didn''t know the facility''s layout, and had no clue what the guards were doing.

    With a heavy sigh, she landed before what appeared to be the entrance. The building was unremarkable compared to the others in the city. No, that wasn''t accurate it was identical to countless others, blending seamlessly into the cityscape. And yet, it reeked of blood, death, and gore.

    When Aqua pushed against the heavy door, the metallic screech echoed through the hall behind it. The door was locked, designed to open only from within.

    ''Interesting...'' Aqua muttered, scratching her chin as her push barely budged the door. The metal bent and screeched, but it refused to yield.

    While breaking it down would be quick, it would also attract unwanted attention. Aqua dragged her fingers over the dented steel, examining every corner before placing her palm in the center. She glanced around to ensure no humans or enslaved humanoids were nearby before dispelling [Beyond The Veil], revealing her divine form.

    She hadn''t bothered with illusions until now, relying on the pinnacle of invisibility spells. This time, she didn''t conceal her true nature.

    Much as she hated to admit it, the divinity within her had changed her ever since her black flames consumed the remnants of the divine parasite. She was no longer truly an elf but something closer to an angel. She hated it. She despised divinity, and in a cruel twist of fate, she had become one of the very beings she loathed.

    She inspected her fiery wings, which radiated immense heat. Once shaped by her hand, her wings now bore a feathery yet fiery appearance. The ghostly blue glow of her eyes gave her a monstrous visage, and her fiery halo confirmed her angelic nature.

    She couldn''t deny the sheer power the transformation had granted her, but she detested it. When she consumed the Divine Tyrant, she hoped to acquire his abilities, only to curse herself with divinity.

    She had no one to blame but herself. To her, she was still an elf, no matter how much divine influence coursed through her. Illusions could hide her true nature, as they had until now.

    ''At least this form will make intimidating these fools easier.'' Aqua chuckled as the door in front of her melted into a puddle of orange liquid, granting her entry into a dark corridor.

    Her fiery wings trailed along the ground, leaving a melted path behind her. Each step echoed as she approached a wooden door. Behind it, she sensed multiple guards waiting.

    ''They''re prepared for intruders,'' she noted, smirking as she extended her hand. A quick [Fireball] reduced the door and its surrounding stone walls to ash, the flames tinged with holy light.

    She no longer cared about drawing attention. The only exit was behind her, and the place was isolated enough that no one would alert Rolan in time.

    With the crackling fire from her wings trailing her, she stepped into the room. Her fireball had already dealt with everyone inside, save for one man. His fear was palpable, but his resolve remained firm.

    "Who the hell are you? Do you realize where you are, you filthy non-human?!" The man''s hands shook as he readied his blade, though his legs nearly gave out.

    He had likely expected just another elf attempting to rescue their princess. Instead, he faced an Angel of Flame, an angry one, advancing with a cruel expression.

    Despite his terror, he clung to his duty, finding solace in the idea of death and the God King''s embrace.

    With his final act of courage, he charged, blade raised. But as he approached, his form ignited, reducing him to ash.

    "You didn''t even have resistance to flames. How did you survive my fireball, I wonder?" Aqua mused as she crouched beside the ashes, noticing a glint of silver. She retrieved a seemingly ordinary silver ring the only item to survive her flames.

    She didn''t know its purpose but suspected it was the reason the man had survived long enough to strike. Tossing it into the void, she muttered, ''I''ll examine it once my job here is done.''

    Stolen novel; please report.

    With her focus shifting, she turned to the corridor leading deeper into the building. Flickers of life both normal and those enveloped in Dark Haze rushed to intercept her.

    Her fireball had drawn their attention. Aqua could no longer turn back. She would rescue Sheira herself and return to Azure before her resurrection was complete.

    ***

    All that stood before her were ordinary humans, some terrified, some resolute in the face of their demise, using their zeal as a shield, but it did not matter. All of them were reduced to ashes as they approached the unleashed form of Aqua.

    "Why does every world have these kinds of fanatics? They would throw their life away for nothing." She mused as she casually walked down the corridor.

    It wasn''t long until she reached another steel vault door, this time enchanted to not easily be broken, strong enough that even a mountain falling on it wouldn''t as much as dent it.

    ''And yet it does not matter to me...'' She placed her hand onto the vault door, its enchants attempting to hold back her power. Alas, it was not enough. One by one, protections broke as the vault door melted into a puddle of orange liquid.

    As she stepped through, multiple humans waited for her, armed to the teeth and ready to throw their lives away for a useless cause.

    "Just hand over the girl and you will be spared" She spoke, her voice carrying the power of the divine themselves, and yet these people were only startled.

    They had no fear of the divine, after all, they lived under the protection of their God-King who made sure no divinity ever influenced this kingdom.

    ''Perhaps they feel like they will survive this.'' Aqua scoffed at their bravery, she took a step closer before stopping, mere steps away from the enemy, guards holding their blades at the ready.

    Aqua could see fanaticism in their eyes, their lives meant nothing as long as they died in service of the God King.

    She had seen such fanaticism and zeal before, and it did not stir good memories. They believed that everything they did was in service of their God and for that end, fear was not an option.

    It disgusted her, they should be valuing their lives more, and not devoting them to a cause that would see them die meaningless deaths.

    Alas, it did not matter, with each of her steps more and more of them combusted before being reduced to ash, and walls burned and melted as she approached what looked like a stairway that led both up and down.

    The upper floor was of no concern for her, Sheira was on the bottom floor and she would rescue her at once and nobody would stop her.

    Guards never had a chance to charge at her as they combusted, allowing her free passage. Guards stationed to guard their prized prey were nowhere near enough, Aqua could tell these men were trained decently well but they were common grunts compared to Rolan or even the two disciples she trapped.

    As she made her way down she was greeted by soldiers covered by black haze, and a multitude of people carrying a chain of divine, and yet this chain did not lead upwards like usual but instead it circled them.

    Aqua gazed carefully at the chains ''Perhaps due to the source being God King.'' She shook her head as she approached terrified people.

    These men were afraid, they were not expecting someone to so easily get here. Even if they were blessed they showed more fear than those without such a crutch.

    "Why do you fear, Is it because you have more to lose? Or is your faith in your so-called God King just a sham!" She shouted, her voice echoing, threatening to shatter sturdy stone walls.

    Alas instead of her making them quake in fear, her insult towards the God-king just rallied them together, renewing their vigor. "For fucks sake, why are you so eager to throw your life away?!" Aqua placed her hand on her face as she saw these humans desperately casting spells of protection as they formed a wall.

    "We do not know who you are, monster. Or how you got here. But insulting God King is a sin worthy of painful death!" One man spoke, his armor was more ornate, a captain perhaps.

    Alas, it did not matter, they were an obstacle ''Fanatics...'' Aqua sighed as she flicked her wrist, making the entire room erupt in flames, drowning their screams as they were reduced to ash, leaving only charred room behind as she finally entered the room where Sheira was held.

    So much life has been taken by her hand since she arrived in this kingdom, it always weighed heavily on her, and yet, they were servants of cruel divinity. Same as servants of the Supreme Deity of her world, they deserved no mercy.

    After all, divinity was always the same. Cruel, uncaring, arrogant, and deserving of annihilation, both them and their loyal servants.

    If one served divinity with their own free will they were guilty. And Aqua herself would deliver punishment she deemed appropriate.

    When she first arrived in this world, at least the god that granted Azure''s blessing seemed benevolent, something she had a hard time believing, and yet ''These gods seem to have the same capacity for cruelty.'' Aqua sighed, once again rationalizing her hatred for the divine order.

    While she was divine at this point she knew she would not fall into the same trap, she would not be one of those parasites. While their cruelty was their very nature, Aqua''s cruelty was born of necessity.

    But what else would willing servants of divinity deserve other than the very same cruelty they inflicted upon the world?

    With a quickened stride she kicked in the final door leaving only splinters behind, unlike previous doors this one was an ordinary wooden door, but beautifully designed anyway, revealing a lab, a lab with only 2 flickers, both surrounded by dark haze. "NO! What have they done?!" Aqua screamed as she saw a naked elven girl floating in a tube of purple liquid, her form enveloped by the thickest veil of dark haze she had seen since entering this city.

    Tubes were connected to her unconscious body, constantly drawing blood, and yet making sure she was alive, her mouth was stuffed with air ducts, making sure she could breathe, and her limbs were bound to the insides of the tube of purple liquid preventing her movement completely as she was harvested for her blood.

    "This is disgusting." Aqua looked around the lab, extracted blood was carried elsewhere and she couldn''t tell where, but that did not matter.

    What interested her more was the man not even noticing her presence, but his presence was unmistakeable, this was Rolan.

    "I was expecting you, Goddess..." Rolan chuckled, his new body even older than his previous, and yet, he seemed to have as much vigor as a young man.

    He slowly stood up as he approached her, but stopping before her "I see, you took good care of my men. But you are too late" He cackled as he circled the lab.

    "You see, the final ingredient for my Magnum Opus was the holy blood you came to retrieve." His creepy voice echoed.

    "Unfortunately, you are too weak. I already have my prize." Rolan spoke mockingly, knowing that the goddess before him had to restrain her aura or else her friend would die.

    Aqua was taken aback by Rolan''s confidence "Why do you need this girl so much, why inflict such cruelty?"

    "Cruelty? One cannot be cruel to beings that are not sentient. Only humanity was blessed with such a gift. All others are destined to serve, and that includes you!" Rolan spoke with a mocking tone, his arrogance rising with each word as he took a step forward.

    With a solemn look, Aqua gazed into the man''s eyes "How... could you." Man''s confidence grew, as he approached the Angelic figure.

    "Power, you should know that. I have sought holy blood to reach true immortality, and prove myself as a worthy successor to the great Inquisitor!" He shouted, his form saturated by divinity even more than before.

    Rolan took another step, making sure to stick close to the tube."Your friend, as you have probably noticed is completely dominated by me. There is nothing you can do to save her" He laughed as his fingers streaked across the glass.

    "You are wrong, you will die here. I let you escape last time, and it''s not gonna happen again!" Her form flared up, and yet despite her suffocating presence, the usual heat was nowhere to be seen.

    "That is where you are wrong, goddess. Do you know what my Magnum Opus does? Do you know why I haven''t spared any expenses in procuring holy blood!" Man asked with sickening mockery imbued in his words like poison and yet spoken with pride, almost like he wanted to tell her, to gloat about his accomplishment.

    His words did not bode well, he spoke with such confidence that he lacked when he ran away for the first time, Aqua sighed heavily before asking "Speak, I will listen."

    "I AM EVERYONE, If you kill this body I will only become someone else, and what will you do then? Goddess." He laughed as he spoke, his mockery cutting deep.

    "And If you kill that body, I will merely take over one of the countless souls I have control over! You are too late now. This body was my first test subject once he fulfilled his purpose of finding about Holy Blood." He mocked once again. Rolan knew he couldn''t kill being in front of him but it did not matter, her hands were tied, and she had no options remaining.

    "And soon I will make you my vessel. Oh, how much power I could have. I merely need to clip the ears and you will pass as a younger human!" he shouted as he charged at her, his speed surpassing sound as he struck Aqua, his hand carrying what seemed to be an ordinary dagger, but whatever it was it never reached her body.

    His words infuriated Aqua to no end, no she was livid by these words. She would not let this man even think about tarnishing elven beauty. "YOU WILL DIE!" Aqua shouted as she appeared behind Rolan, his shocked expression visible as she surpassed even his speed.

    "Elven Beauty is not for you to tarnish, scum!" With a gruesome crunch, Rolan''s head splattered like a grape squished by a child, blood splattering everywhere as it sizzled from Aqua''s presence.

    In the next moment black flame consumed Rolan''s host body, but once again not consume his actual soul.

    Her anger subdued as she looked at the Sheira''s container, with a gentle knock the container broke, leaving only restraints and tubes attached to the girl''s limbs.

    "They will not get even a drop more of your blood," Aqua swore as she slowly removed the tubes, making sure Sheira was fine before removing the shackles, finally freeing the unconscious elven princess.

 Temporal Storms

    Aqua slowly picked up unconscious Sheira before bringing her to a nearby table, her body was bruised from heavy restraints, and many punctures were also visible as points of blood extraction.

    The dark haze was thick enough to cut with a knife; Sheira''s entire body was practically oozing it.

    The sheer thickness dwarfed Fang''s own by orders of magnitude, Aqua now knew that this haze was produced by fragments of time.

    She couldn''t afford to dally she needed to take the fragment before Sheira''s mind was fully taken.

    With a deep breath, she placed her hands on Sheira''s body, Aqua''s blazing power surging through the elven princess, searching for a thread to unravel the fragment of time.

    And yet she could not find it. The fragment was so entangled in Sheira''s mind that she couldn''t even begin to search.

    With an exhale she looked over at Sheira once again ''I need to make a small cut.''

    Aqua placed her hands back onto the princess, her power now channeling more and more destructive power, and yet precise enough to rival a surgical scalpel.

    She needed to be careful, one wrong cut and Sheira''s mind would be damaged permanently, leaving her a cripple.

    Alas, before she could even attempt to make an incision, a haze coalesced, Sheira''s body absorbed the miasma fully before she awoke.

    With a great kick, she knocked Aqua through the wall, making a large hole in her path, making the fiery angel tumble and roll a large distance.

    "It''s too late, goddess. Inquisitors know about you. And I am Immortal, there is no escape, you can kill me and yet I will return!" Sheira''s voice was tinged with mockery, and her bruised body rapidly healed as power grew within her.

    "I know I cannot kill you, but what will you do now? Your friend is no more, do you have it in your heart to kill her." Rolan spoke through Sheira''s mouth, his mockery trying to cut into Aqua.

    Aqua slowly rose as the dust settled around her, her form not even scratched from her journey through the solid surface of a wall.

    "I won''t need to do anything... Fool!" Aqua shouted before slowly approaching, her stride slow and steady.

    "Have you not noticed another influence in the body of Sheira?" She spoke mockingly, hoping to rile up the body snatcher.

    Rolan stopped for a moment, realization hitting him like a truck, Sheira''s mind wasn''t the only obstacle in his control of the holy vessel.

    No there was something more, a primal heat that nested within Sheira''s very body and soul.

    Something that even Rolan couldn''t take over, and yet the heat was growing with each moment.

    "The moment you took over her body, she was considered dead. And I have placed a small blessing on the princess you see." Aqua spoke as she approached, Sheira''s body was slowly encased within the phoenix egg, yet still moving and breathing.

    "In case she died, she would be reborn, and you. You are considered a foreign body."

    Step after step Aqua approached now immobile Rolan, Sheira was indeed considered dead to the conditions of her spells, allowing her to not have to even lift a hand to hurt the princess.

    "No, You will not eject me." Rolan Howled as he attempted to struggle against the egg, and yet it was unbreakable. In a mere 3 hours, Rolan would be eradicated, leaving resurrected Sheira.

    "You are too dangerous, I do not know your techniques. I will make sure you and that fragment are out of Sheira soon!" Aqua spoke as she placed her hands on the newly created phoenix egg.

    Rolan was slippery, it was like his mind and soul were never within vessels he controlled. It was almost like he was an idea.

    A part of the subconscious that took over the mind, the original soul couldn''t fight it and that part of the mind would take over.

    Aqua couldn''t kill him, no she could kill what remained of the original victim, and yet the part of the mind would learn everything and transmit it to the original, allowing that original body and mind to merely activate the subconscious seed in another vessel.

    Aqua knew that this man could take control of any number of slaves or who knows how many entities in this city alone had a fragment of time.

    He could take control over them no matter how small, yet why was such a massive fragment needed for Sheira?

    Sheira was by all means weaker mentally than Laura, had no physical strength like Golden Fang, and wasn''t chained to the divine either.

    In all senses, it was a waste to use such a massive fragment on Sheira alone, there must have been another reason than mere body snatching to use it on the elven princess.

    That did not matter at the current time, If Aqua wanted to get rid of this nuisance she needed to find Rolan''s real body and consume him, otherwise, she would have to keep burning innocent victims.

    ''I''m on a timer. I will have to get Sheira''s egg out of here before I have to burn down the entire city'' Aqua muttered to herself as she took a long look over the newly formed phoenix egg, Rolan''s will was ejected and removed from Sheira, as she was encased within the primal flame of the phoenix.

    It was only a matter of time before Inquisitors caught wind of her, and if they were as strong as Rolan''s own power suggested then the city would be destroyed.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    And yet she did not care, so what if a city full of the most sinful of humans burned, it wasn''t like she spared larger cities in the past.

    Aqua placed her hands back on the egg as she channeled her power, she wouldn''t let Rolan take over again. And for that purpose, she needed to get the fragment out.

    With a gentle touch egg pulsed with power, she would make a precise cut in the threads of Sheira''s mind, letting her more easily unravel the fragment.

    She was transported into the mindscape, a world so chaotic that she found herself unable to know what was up and down, what was left and right, time flowed backward before fast-forwarding to the current time.

    Storms seemed to be forming constantly before dissipating and beginning that cycle anew.

    What looked like a city replaced the sky, and Aqua found herself walking on the vast blue landscape that was supposed to be the sky and yet solid as rock.

    As a moment passed Aqua regained her senses as she looked around, her confusion evident and yet there was only one place to go, the city that loomed over this reversed world.

    Aqua unfurled her wings as she flew at high speeds towards the ''City Sky''.

    "I have never seen a mindscape this chaotic, Time seems to be in a loop," Aqua spoke as she flew upwards, taking mere moments before reaching the city, resisting the fragment''s attempt of trapping her within a loop with her own authority.

    ***

    No matter how much Aqua flew upwards, it seemed like the upside-down city was close yet always out of reach. Flying so fast that not even light could reach her proved insufficient, as the city was seemingly at the same distance.

    ''The fragment must be wrecking chaos in Sheira''s mind for it to be this chaotic...'' Aqua sighed as she stopped flying upwards.

    Storms around Aqua kept forming and dissipating moments later, the entire mindscape was stuck in a time loop and space was distorted to an almost impossible degree.

    Such mindscape was unheard of before, they always had oddities depending on the person, and yet this one was a mess in every sense of the word.

    Just as Aqua began trying to find a solution mindscape changed again, what once was a city sky was now underneath her, and the blue sky-like ground was now above her, finally giving normalcy to this world.

    And yet storms that kept forming and disappearing never ceased, time was still a mess in this place.

    If a weaker entity had dared enter this place they would have been torn asunder by raw Temporal storms that appeared for mere moments.

    Fortunately for Aqua, she wasn''t defenseless against temporal storms, her authority was certainly enough to offset the effects of a large fragment of time, not only were the storms harmless breezes to her but she was able to easily track the source.

    Aqua landed gently onto the ground of what looked like an ancient elven city, buildings in a constant state of crumbling before repairing themselves and a castle in the distance covered by a storm that unlike others did not dissipate.

    "Bingo!" Aqua shouted as her eyes locked onto the castle, she did not know how long she had before the world would flip again, and with great speed, she rushed towards the shrouded castle.

    The closer she got to the shrouded castle the storm grew more powerful, thicker, and more chaotic.

    What''s more, creatures started to appear, beings made of storms themselves, they looked like tornadoes, and yet Aqua could see their malice seeping through their very being, they were a result of this storm, and they kept coming, in mere moments Aqua was surrounded by Temporal Storm Elementals.

    Their forms were unstable and yet the time loop that gripped this mindscape kept them from fizzling out.

    Flames gathered around her, and yet each spark would destroy countless elementals, they would still return a mere moments later, not even black fire was enough.

    She had no choice, these elementals could only be defeated by using the authority of the time.

    With a deep breath, she focused, her hands closing together as a bronze clock appeared behind her, its ticking speeding up with each move of the hand.

    While her normal flames would not work, the time-based attack would certainly do the trick against Temporal Storm Elementals.

    As the clock made its final revolution it stopped at Noon, with a shout Aqua cast [Altered Time- Reversal].

    A spell with a variety of uses, she would be able to make it so that the elementals never formed, as long as her authority was higher than the shard that caused the storm itself.

    A bronze Shimmer washed over the entire city, temporarily breaking the loop as her authority of time caused all temporal elementals to dissipate.

    "Thank goodness that worked, time elementals are always tricky to deal with even if they are merely an annoyance" Aqua let out a pleased sigh as she continued dashing towards the shrouded castle.

    With the use of her time authority, she was able to gain a moment outside the time loop, causing storms that until now dissipated to fully form, shrouding the entire mindscape in a great temporal storm.

    Aqua regretted using time authority as the entire mindscape was shrouded"That is not good at all...".

    She needed to deal with the source as fast as possible, while the loop was broken at the moment the shard would most certainly cause it once again.

    Elementals that she made disappear would not return, but it did not fix the issue of the storm, no matter how many times she would clear the skies they would darken.

    With a heavy heart, she cast another time spell. [Altered Time-Stop].

    These Storms might not pose any threat to Aqua, but a raging storm would wreak havoc on Sheira''s mind.

    While Fang''s fragment was easy to extract it wasn''t as imbedded as this one, Aqua had to enter the mindscape of Sheira to even have a chance of precise extraction.

    "How did Rolan even manage this...?" Aqua muttered to herself, it would be impossible to do something like this in her old world, Supreme Deity was far too paranoid of Time Authority.

    The only thing that made sense was that it was another part of this world''s superior Mystic Engineering.

    Supreme Deity despite his overwhelming pride was smart to not dabble with time, and any meddling would have been punished severely.

    And yet these mortals not only researched it, they made tools to control people using it. Aqua was not sure if she should be impressed or appalled at their hubris.

    Even she avoided using [Altered Time] unless necessary, and these people used fragments of time to merely make slaves and vessels.

    Perhaps the only saving grace is that the only instance she found was inside the mindscape, time would still be dangerous and yet it would be isolated inside that mindscape.

    She unfurled her wings as she rushed towards the castle once again, with her authority forcing time to stop the storms were a nonissue for the mind, and the castle was in sight.

    Buildings were suspended in their state of crumbling, storms quieted down and the mindscape wouldn''t flip.

    It pleased her that her Authority was enough to wrestle control from the shard, she was worried and yet it seemed the shard wasn''t strong enough to resist her.

    It took her a mere moment to reach the castle, its thick storm suspended in time as the rest of the mindscape was.

    With a gentle step, Aqua landed in front of the entrance of the castle, while the city seemed to be in a constant state of crumbling castle seemed to be in top condition, the storm not damaging it at all.

    "So this is the Eye of the Storm, I reckon Sheira''s mind is trapped together with the fragment itself." Aqua looked around as she reached a great gate, with a gentle push the wood shattered, letting her access the inner halls.

 Ascension

    The palace was incredibly tranquil, its interior pristine as if a massive temporal storm outside the castle did not wreak havoc across the entire mindscape.

    This place seemed to be only part of the mindscape that was not completely shrouded by chaotic storms.

    Step after step, Aqua made her way deeper inside what she could only assume was Sheira''s childhood home. Many mindscapes use the places of their birth as the most stable sanctuary.

    A palace safe from the storm, stable and pristine. It was bizarre behavior, but perhaps it was only a final fortress to fall.

    With guidance from her instinct, she entered what looked like a throne room, and yet it was empty, for a throne room the entire place was empty, white walls, floor was undecorated, walls were plain white and windows were painted white.

    The memory was incomplete, it was like she tried to construct what she thought the throne room looked like and yet she failed, making it a creepy white color instead.

    Her goal wouldn''t be found in an incomplete memory; Aqua needed to find the most comforting and stable memory possible.

    She closed the throne room door as she followed the castle halls, carefully observing to ensure she followed a more complete path.

    The path led her to what seemed to be sleeping quarters, with stable and vibrant hallways, indicating that it was part of the mind sanctuary.

    Aqua opened door after door, each room empty and painted white as the throne room was, Aqua checked each room carefully before finally reaching the final room.

    The theory of why the rooms were white led to only one thought ''Poor girl never fully explored her home palace before...'' Aqua''s saddened expression was visible as she opened the final door.

    Instead of the room, she found herself in the middle of a courtyard, various exotic flowers and herbs decorating the entire yard. A well-crafted fountain was in the center, and a gravel road streaked through tamed nature.

    By far this was the most well-established memory, and it showed that the details upon details could be seen on each centimeter of this courtyard, giving a sense of calm to this place.

    Aqua was on the right track, that she was sure of.

    While Sheira was not here, just the sheer stability of the place made it clear that she was getting very close to Sheira''s most stable memory.

    Aqua slowed her stride as she enjoyed the view, Sheira must have enjoyed spending time in this garden, surrounded by flowers and nature.

    It was a very calming memory, but Aqua couldn''t spend time admiring it.

    She made her way past the fountain towards the exit, slowly opening the door she found herself inside what looked like a royal room.

    Calling it royal was an understatement, opulence and excess was a better way to describe it.

    Massive banners hung from the walls, serving as curtains, Large royal bed in the center of the room, with a study station next to the window.

    A mahogany dresser was situated against a wall, and the opposite wall was taken by a large bookshelf, containing many books, with most of the space being empty.

    While the layout was simple by royal standards, gold and silver trimmings on every item inside the room added a sense of opulence.

    "Why do royals always prefer such tacky designs..." Aqua muttered to herself as she looked around.

    The most striking feature of the room was an elven girl, completely chained in dark chains, bronze shimmer only thing betraying their temporal nature.

    A large shard was the apparent source of this darkness, The Girl was in a fetal position, her mind fully unconscious as the shard was used to dominate her completely.

    Bronze cracks covered her form, a bronze color well-versed caster could recognize as the effect of time-related spells.

    This was the method of dominating nonhumans, using a shard of time to break their mind, leaving them mere husks that Rolan and likely the Inquisitor of Mind use as empty vessels and slaves.

    Within those chains, a fiery essence acted like a glue, an opposing force to the shard of time.

    An image of a phoenix struggling against corruption, and yet it proved to only be enough to hold back the chains and darkness that threatened to shatter Sheira.

    While Hearth of the Phoenix could easily overpower smaller shards, it seemed that larger shards like this one were beyond its power.

    While the heart was locked in the struggle, Aqua had a thought.

    ''Perhaps this is the best time as any to see exactly how they are using these shards to brainwash people...'' Aqua slowly approached the battlefield that was occurring within the dark chains.

    Her steps did not make any difference as the Phoenix struggled against the shard of time.

    While it was not losing, it was not winning either, the shard and phoenix would be locked in an eternal battle for control, one force to shatter and one to repair Sheira.

    It was unacceptable, she needed to know exactly how Red Dawn used these shards, and once she knew that she would figure something out to free Sheira without damaging her.

    Or at least she hoped to.

    With a gentle touch, she felt the pulsation of the shard, its chains more like living and breathing tendrils of a deep sea monstrosity than an inanimate object.

    With a deep breath, she pushed against the resistance, grabbing the chain and stopping its rotation, with a squeeze she pushed her magic through it, not in a way to destroy but to investigate.

    Her mana coursed through the Shard, reaching every inch, every link, and the shard itself.

    "So that is how you do this, you clever bastards!" Aqua chuckled as her magic revealed what was unknown before.

    A way these shards dominated was that the human would cast a [Mind Control], combined with [Psychic Binding] which would place the victim within these chains, and control their mind.

    Afterward, the shard of time would be inserted, which would put these two spells in an infinite time loop, forcing the victim to forever be trapped, but while the loop was infinite, the minds of the victims couldn''t resist forever and would shatter, leaving nothing except the shard.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "That is why the process of rewriting takes a week. And Sheira was on the verge of breaking only due to the size of the shard. They wanted her as a vessel as soon as possible huh." Aqua finally understood, their technique while evil was ingenious.

    The usage of time was too dangerous, and yet these humans used it to create a technique that would only harm the victim while they remained safe.

    Aqua smiled, despite all these humans did, she could respect the audacity, and yet she couldn''t forgive the technique to be used on her kin.

    Her fist clenched around the chain, cracking them but making sure to break them.

    This large shard was too close to the mind of the girl, Aqua needed to find a way to free her of the influence without destroying what was basically a part of her.

    ''I should not remove it, perhaps she could use this shard herself...'' Aqua thought to herself.

    While time was dangerous, if this girl learned to control the shard''s power she would be able to fend for herself against almost all entities she encountered until now besides Rolan.

    Aqua nodded as she shattered the chains, the shard still partially integrated within Sheira, Aqua placed her hand, and the Heart of the Phoenix circled around them both, understanding its purpose, instead of dark chains a phoenix made its home within the shard.

    The darkness of the shard was replaced by warm crimson flames, flames that now gained Bronze shimmer as they would burn forever, Heart would take the burden of the shard while Sheira would utilize the power of the Shard and Phoenix.

    The cracks that once were visible all over Sheira were now long gone, the loop of dark spells not broken, but changed and concentrated within Shard instead of Sheira its nature representing Flame and Time, in a similar way Aqua''s own nature was.

    "Rise now, Sheira. Slave to none, You are now Phoenix reborn. Wake from your nightmare and follow my guidance." Aqua spoke, her power empowering the young phoenix more than Sheira could even think possible.

    Sheira''s once platinum hair was burning, its color changing into pitch black, her eyes turning bright red as primal fire merged with her very being.

    ''She will need a lot of guidance.'' Aqua thought as she witnessed the ascendence, Sheira''s holy blood would make it easier to control her new powers but that did not mean she wouldn''t be in dire need of guidance.

    After all, Aqua could not allow the inexperienced elf to deal with the control of primal time and ferocity of fire by herself.

    While the shard was incredibly powerful, its influence was not enough to affect the flow of time itself, its power only manifesting within the mindscape and victim itself.

    It did not matter, she would offer her guidance, and Aqua would be her guiding hand and protector until Sheira was safe from the destructive effect of the shard.

    As the ascendence concluded, Sheira was released from suspended state and fell into Aqua''s embrace.

    ***

    Aqua gently laid Sheira down on the bed. While the girl was caught in many unfortunate events, she would gain something from this whole thing¡ªthe power to defend herself.

    A primal power of flame, similar and yet so different from Aqua''s own.

    How would it differ when Aqua''s aether energy would control the shard of time Sheira now carried within her?

    Now, Sheira had three pillars of power within her: the Heart of the Phoenix, Holy Blood, and Shard of Time.

    Pillars that would feed her divine blood, pillars that would provide a path to ascension for the elven princess.

    Pillars that would be cornerstones of her newfound strength. And yet Aqua couldn''t leave the girl without supervision.

    The moment she was reborn, the faint divine light within her flared, it was almost like the sun itself descended onto the world.

    The entire mindscape was enveloped in brilliant light, so brilliant that even air itself would burn, light burned away the storms and the mindscape itself was scorched, the city was reduced to ashes and the land became glass.

    And yet it did not last, as the light retreated entire mindscape changed and rearranged itself.

    Forests rose from the ashes, followed by majestic elven buildings, before finally even the entire castle was rebuilt beneath Aqua''s feet.

    The chaos was no more, the entire mindscape returned to what it was supposed to be, and yet differences could be felt in each corner.

    The sheer amount of divinity this girl''s mind produced was overwhelming, or at least it would have been overwhelming for anyone else.

    For Aqua, it was something else, it was a shock. Only a single thought bounced through her head. ''Did I just create a new goddess?!''

    For a mere moment, Aqua thought about burning the girl. A thought she squashed almost immediately.

    This ascension wasn''t something Aqua was willing to stop, after all, it was the only way to prevent the complete ruination of Sheira''s mind. And in a way, this new goddess was her child. Not someone to destroy but someone to nurture.

    Aqua shook her head as she dispelled her intrusive thoughts, she might have hated divine, but this one did nothing to her or anyone else. On the contrary, she was one who suffered more than most mortals by just being treated like cattle for her blood.

    She was a newborn, a powerless mortal who ascended to godhood by no fault of her own.

    She couldn''t bring herself to hate her, when she first saw her glow she did not realize what it meant, but now it was crystal clear.

    Holy Blood was a seed of divinity, a seed that only needed support to grow.

    A seed that by itself was completely meaningless but with a proper power source, much like watering a plant would sprout into a beacon of divinity.

    And Shard of Time, with the help of [Heart of the Phoenix] would act as a catalyst and power source for her.

    Phoenix instead of resurrection, provided power for ascension. While shard acted as a catalyst.

    Sheira was now a Fledgling goddess of Fire and Time.

    "She will most certainly struggle to control the newfound power..." Aqua looked over the new goddess.

    "I will not abandon you, You will not be alone in this path of power." Aqua squeezed Sheira''s hand before she was transported outside the mindscape.

    She found herself next to unconscious Sheira, she lifted her hands with a sigh.

    "I guess she will need some clothes."

    Aqua opened a pocket dimension as before, this time retrieving an elegant crimson dress, its golden embroidery showcasing the majesty of the Phoenix.

    It was a dress Aqua was quite fond of, but it seemed fitting to pass it to who was basically her daughter.

    Wind around Aqua and Sheira coalesced, its gentle tendrils lifting Sheira, allowing Aqua to pull the dress over the elven girl, the fabric rearranging and fitting itself to the perfect size for an elven princess.

    Aqua looked over the girl while nodding.

    "This will be fine. I can''t let her go barefoot either..."

    With a statement she reached back into the void, she needed to find a pair of shoes for the girl to wear, after all, Aqua couldn''t let her new daughter suffer even if she was supposed to be a god.

    Her hand disappeared into the void once again, searching for something Sheira would be able to wear.

    The dress would cover up most of the footwear, but it did not matter, she pulled out a pair of heels, black as night, and yet the golden tinge giving it an ethereal shine.

    "I hated wearing these..." She slowly slipped them onto Sheira''s feet, and their magical nature fitted them to size almost immediately, similar to how the dress did.

    Her gaze washed over the girl, Aqua nodded to herself before wind tendrils gently placed her back on the table.

    Aqua did not know how long it would take for the girl to awake but she was sure she would wake sooner than others.

    But in any circumstance, she couldn''t stay here with Sheira, it was only a matter of time before Inquisitors would show their ugly faces which would force her to burn the entire city to the ground.

    Her hands slid beneath Sheira, picking her up in a princess carry. Her eyes glanced over her before the space before them tore open, creating a rift between the lab and the place where the battle with Golden Fang happened.

    "I hope Sun God did not run into any issues..." Aqua smiled as she carried Sheira before her.

    She was sure the Sun God wouldn''t fail to protect Azure and Laura; and if anyone were powerful enough to try, this entire city would have been ashes by now.

    Aqua looked back at the lab once again, still not fully sure of what the enemy had in mind. But she would do her best to discover what they needed Sheira for, after all, why would you need a divine seed to merely make a powerful vessel?

    ***

    Aqua stepped through a swirling portal, carrying an unconscious Sheira in her embrace, her gaze swept over the room, piles of ashes everywhere while Sun God was sitting in his phoenix form, clearly just finished with eradicating pests.

    ¡°I see you took care of issues, Sun God.¡± Aqua couldn''t help but smile.

    ¡°Like I would not take the opportunity to reduce some worms to ash¡± The bird flared.

    The phoenix eggs were about to break, they would surely have so many questions once their resurrection was completed.