Ch. 137

“Where are you, Annie!”

[Hey! Kid!]

“Annie!”

This prison was much larger than the first one I’d found.

There were a lot more young women around my age, which put me in a foul mood—and even other races were captured here.

From a slave trader’s perspective, it was stocked with merchandise that could be sold for a much higher price.

Bastards. Instead of killing them nicely, maybe I should tear them apart piece by piece.

With a deep scowl, I went around unlocking each cell, but no matter how many I opened, Annie was nowhere to be found. Strange. If she wasn’t here, then where could she be?

They’d said there were only two prisons.

“Wh-Who are you?”

When I irritably opened the last cell and saw Annie wasn’t there either, what I did feel was an entirely familiar aura.

The figure huddled in the corner in fear carried the scent of wind, just like Master Yael Roenin. Meaning, she was a Spirit Mage of wind.

Why was there a Spirit Mage in here?

“You… are a Spirit Mage?”

“What? How did you…?”

“I can smell it. Why didn’t you run away and let yourself get caught?”

As I stepped into the cell in curiosity, I noticed that no matter how close I got, her skin seemed dark.

It didn’t take long to realize—locked in the innermost cell was an elf with black skin.

A very rare race commonly called dark elves.

Good grief. I guess slave traders couldn’t care less about the Cransia Peace Treaty between humans and other races. To kidnap a dark elf, of all things.

“It’s because of this… I can’t use my power.”

Perhaps sensing that I was also a Spirit Mage, she showed me her wrists despite her fear.

A magic-suppressing shackle was clasped there, a tool meant to block the use of mana.

Normally used to imprison criminals capable of escaping by force—like powerful mages or warriors—it wasn’t something easily obtained.

I’d heard of them but had never seen one in person. I couldn’t help but be appalled that a slave trader would have something like this.

“Rai. Can you remove it?”

[I can, but it’ll take some time.]

“What if you just eat it?”

[Can’t eat it in its current state. It’s enchanted. Unless it’s a pure mana crystal like a dragon heart, human magic is nothing but filthy impurities to a spirit like me.]

“So what do we do?”

[If you hold her hand for a few minutes, I can take care of it. I’ll eat away everything except the inscribed parts of the magic. With nothing to anchor to, the spell will collapse on its own.]

Got it.

I extended my hand to the dark-skinned elf, and though cautious, she took it and rose from the corner.

As our faces drew closer, I could see her long ears poking through her hair, and catlike vertical pupils unlike those of humans.

“Thank you for saving me. You came to rescue us, right?”

“Hmph, I didn’t exactly come to rescue you.”

“That snake… it’s actually a spirit, isn’t it? I can feel it. Something powerful.”

“…You’re the first person—no, the first elf—to notice.”

As expected of elves—they really were different from humans.

Perhaps because their race was born with natural talent in spirit magic, she seemed to recognize Rai immediately.

“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Daria, the twenty-first daughter of the Guardian of Verdant Tranquility, where the Thousand-Eyed Cloud sleeps.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to such a foreign greeting. Maybe this was a custom unique to dark elves.

Dark elves were said to live in the deepest, lightless forests, similar in appearance and ability to elves but with very different beliefs and temperaments.

Unlike elves, dark elves were known to be more aggressive and cruel—but the woman before me didn’t seem that way.

“I’ve heard dark elves are far fewer in number than elves, and much stronger. So why are you here?”

Since she’d spoken formally first, and given that a dark elf who looked my age was probably at least five times older than me, I found myself speaking formally too.

“Because I was kidnapped.”

“…I get that, but aren’t dark elves all exceptional Spirit Mages and warriors? Not the type to be captured by humans.”

“Normally, yes. But I’m lacking in training… and our religion forbids us from killing anything. Escaping was the best I could do, but I was recaptured and fitted with this.”

The shackle was an unpleasant, murky color.

Just looking at it was enough to sour my mood—it reeked of magic that went against the flow of nature.

As a Spirit Mage, it was only natural to be disgusted by such things.

“Still, I managed to call for help from my brother, an Eradicator. I’ve been waiting for him to come.”

“Eradicator?”

“A select few dark elves permitted to take life for the sake of our kin. Most outsiders think our race is aggressive because they’ve only ever seen Eradicators.”

Dark elves were so rare, and so reclusive, that almost nothing was known about them.

It seemed even the little information that circulated was inaccurate.

It felt like every time I ended up in a prison, I met someone people rarely saw even once in their life.

Last time it was a prince. This time, a dark elf.

What next, I wondered.

“I have a lot of questions, but let’s get out first.”

“Can we? I wasn’t out for long before they caught me again.”

“I don’t have any religious restrictions, so I can just kill them all. Don’t worry.”

“Oh! That’s a relief.”

Seemed their religion only cared if ‘they’ did the killing.

Daria nodded in genuine relief.

—

Leading the way up the stairs, I sent Undine ahead to check if anyone was outside.

With thirty terrified slaves trailing behind, plus a dark elf I had to keep holding hands with, the climb felt longer than usual.

Looking up, I saw sunlight breaking faintly through the door at the top.

It seemed the rain had stopped completely. The clearing skies weren’t welcome—without rain, my location would be easier to discover, and my actions would be exposed quickly.

I’d already taken out about ten slave traders, broken down a wall, and freed the slaves. If we ran into Grak now, it would be a huge hassle with all these people in tow.

I rarely felt uneasy being alone, but right now I really needed someone I could rely on.

[Master, that person is outside.]

“Who? Grak?”

[No. Someone you like.]

Undine fluttered back to me, gesturing.

Who could she mean?

Spirits could act like pets at times, reacting keenly to emotional cues, perfectly distinguishing between people their master disliked and those they liked.

It was a vital sense—on the battlefield, it helped them tell friend from foe by reading intent.

If you had a proper bond with your spirit, having your thoughts read was natural.

Tilting my head, I stepped outside and followed Undine’s point. That’s when I noticed a commotion.

“Step away from the gate!”

“I know you brought that girl here!”

“What’s your problem? Got proof?”

Beyond the hulking, ugly main gate was a familiar face.

“That girl isn’t a slave. Let her go!”

“Tch. If you want to live, get lost.”

“Get lost, I said!”

Wrestling with a few slave traders at the gate was Ash.

Looked like he was trying to get inside—and I couldn’t be happier to see him.

“Perfect timing. I needed someone to boss around… I mean, someone to help.”

“Is he a friend of yours?”

“Yep! Friend!”

Gripping Daria’s hand, I headed straight for the gate.

But with such a large group moving, it didn’t take long for the guards to catch on.

“Who are you!”

“Intruder!”

“Yeah, thanks for the effort.”

So much for staying unnoticed once the weather cleared. Raising my right hand, I swung through the air like slapping someone’s cheek.

Two men blocking my way were struck by a huge, muddy hand that rose from the ground, sending them flying.

Undine might be a low-level spirit, but she understood me better than Undaine and could control water exactly as I wanted.

Undaine was more powerful, but Undine was the one I could wield like an extension of myself.

“Stop right—ugh!”

The prison wasn’t far from the gate, but there were still plenty of pests in the way.

Men blocked my path, others attacked the freed slaves from behind, but a wide sweep of my arm sent them all flying.

“Guaaah!”

Water hands were strong—softer than stone, but much harder than mud.

I swatted aside the oncoming slave traders like flies, calling out cheerfully,

“Ash! You’re late! But just in time.”

Ash seemed to notice me then—maybe because of the screams of the men I’d just sent flying.

“…Geenie?”

“Intruder!”

“Tch, these guys are a real nuisance.”

Two hands, and of course, two water hands.

I brought down watery fists on the men confronting Ash outside the gate, pounding them like a whack-a-mole game.

Since they’d charged me with weapons, this was pure self-defense.

Their twisted limbs and crumpled bodies were an eyesore, so I flicked them into the bushes with a watery hand.

“Good timing. I’ve got a job for you—hm? Why the surprise?”

“Why… why are you coming from in there? When did you even go inside?”

“A while ago.”

“You know Annie’s been taken?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

He looked baffled that I’d arrived before him.

I could fly, after all.

Lox and Chad had seen it, but Ash hadn’t.

“Behind you!”

At his sharp warning, I turned to see about twenty armed men charging toward us.

So, they were starting to swarm.

The slaves behind me screamed and crowded toward the gate, terrified of being recaptured.

“Come on! Geenie, hurry! It’s dangerous in there!”

Oh? Dropping the honorifics all of a sudden—was he that flustered?

I strode up to the bars where Ash stood with his hand outstretched toward me.

Now that I thought about it, Lox wasn’t here.

“Ash.”

Facing him through the bars, I stayed silent for a moment.

As the slave traders closed in from behind, I finally spoke.

“I hate slave traders. You know why.”

“…”

“You do, right?”

His pupils tightened, and he gave a small nod. I grinned wide, pleased to have that acknowledgment.

It struck me how simple I really was.

“Of all people, you’re the one who shouldn’t try to stop me.”

With that, I happily turned and faced the approaching swarm head-on.