Her companion was incredibly scary. The things Aqua had done in such a short time were not normal. Azure groaned as their wagon finally entered the City of Razul.
Not only was Aqua untouchable in physical fights, but she also discovered that she was a powerful caster.
She is also so beautiful.
Azure looked around, her gaze sweeping across the bustling city. Travelers and residents traded in the streets, and every building seemed masterfully constructed with a precision she had never seen before.
However, 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 Mind got 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, whom 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, enemy territory for nonhumans and hostile at best for those who were invited.
Alas, Azure had no way to prove to the guards that she was part of the royal convoy, and as such, she was liable to be taken prisoner on sight.
Even as royals, they would be taken advantage of and arrested for any minor transgression.
She had no idea why the 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 human masters and carrying their belongings, proud elves reduced to obedient dogs. And it was 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 with jewelry were enjoying various foodstuffs and drinks.
Azure looked over as she saw elven women carrying trays with food and drinks back and forth, their faces and eyes lifeless, almost like zombies.
What happened to these elves? Azure thought 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 women 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 movements were almost mechanical.
Is this the handiwork of Disciples of Mind that Laura and Aqua mentioned... Azure suppressed 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 the Elven Kingdom, Azure's world turned upside down.
Where she thought she was unbeatable before, now it 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 the honor guard and an undefeated champion, weaker than some mercenaries.
While she could accept being weaker than Aqua, who seemed unreachable with feats she could do, she dreaded knowing 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 Sheira, she was still not blameless.
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 the 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 the 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 were spared execution, she would commit her whole being to getting stronger for her liege.
From the corner of her eye, she witnessed a blond elven slave approach their table. Her blue eyes lost their shine of life long ago, and she was dressed in a standard maid dress, giving her a charming look, at least if one could get past her lifeless stare.
An elven slave approached their table, gave a deep bow, and spoke in a tired voice. "May I... have your orders..."
While her body didn't seem as 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 woman.
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 the elven women serving in this inn.
And for that purpose, she needed to hurry and find her friend.
****
Incredible, that was all Aqua could say. While monstrous and unforgivable, she could at least say that their expertise in brainwashing was second to none.
None of the elves she saw in this city were elves in the true sense anymore; both their minds and souls had been permanently altered.
She could see potential in such a technique, but despite its potential, humanity used it to make mindless tools.
All nonhumans 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 women couldn't be saved; their souls and minds were twisted beyond repair.
It was a technique so dangerous that it could only be practiced outside the gaze of the gods.
She could sense their souls still existing inside the husks that had once been elves. Twisted and broken as those souls were, they could still be salvaged with great care. Their minds, however, were 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 a chain of divine nor a faint signature that all life produced; they were more akin to undead, and yet they were most certainly alive, as the presence of a 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.
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 did not know how to treat this kingdom. It had proven hostile to anyone who was not human, yet its ability to bar divine influence was something she could almost admire.
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 be either 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 woman had no visible signs of physical mistreatment on her face or skin.
It was 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 whom 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." The man caught his breath as he stood next to the elven husk.
His gaze fell on the three women with open condescension.
He was quite fat, his body and face overtaken by apparent gluttony, his silken clothes barely containing him, and his brown hair short and sparse.
The inn most likely existed to provide shelter for travelers. From Laura's memories and from the memories of the two Disciples at the checkpoint, Aqua understood that human residents did not need to work.
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 nonhuman 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 her memories, she saw that 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 men looked 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.
The 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 three portions of dragon steak and white wine, go!" Laura ordered the server.
The husk bowed deeply before saying, "It shall...be done...mistress."
As the server disappeared into 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 two elven women were her only way to uncover whether Fang had 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 before two elven slaves approached, both similar enough to pass for twins.
They carried the food to the table and placed it before the women.
Laura gave the slaves a small pouch of crowns before shooing them away. "Good job. Begone now."
The two bowed deeply before walking away, carrying the pouch to the fat man.
"Now, let's plan our next move." Laura smiled nervously as she cut into her steak, ignoring Azure's furious stare.