???
"Let me go! Let me go, you meanie!"
Heh, this brat surely is a lively one…
A cloaked man stood in an abandoned alleyway, at the part of the town that no normal person would ever deign to visit on their own. To enhance the defensive capabilities of the city, in case of it being attacked or occupied by foreign forces, it was designed to be almost labyrinth-like in its structure, to confuse invaders who wouldn't be familiar with the layout of the streets and buildings. It allowed the kingdom's locals to mount a more effective resistance, perhaps even utilizing guerilla warfare, attacking one second and vanishing the next.
And that was exactly what this man had just performed.
He was an employer of a certain slave trading company with ties to the underworld. Or rather, the company itself rose from it. They used to be mere ordinary bandits and robbers, before they became black agents of said company, kidnapping people to be made as slaves. Sure, kidnapping is a crime in this country, and anywhere else for that matter, but slavery is not. And the moment you become a slave, no matter what or who you are before you become one, you will forever be a slave, meaning the kingdom would not care in the slightest that you are being sold and bought against your will.
He was a mage attuned to the dark element, with one special expertise, that is, using a certain spell as nimbly and in the most stealthy way possible.
Shadow Merge.
It was a spell that allowed the caster to generate a special shadow that he or she could submerge into. And not only that, the caster could also move with the shadow. The caster is also able to grab someone else and bring them inside their shadow if they so choose. Utilizing this spell, he would sneak up on his targets, line his shadow right under their feet, then drag them right under. Done well, which is perfectly in his capability as he had experience doing this for a long time indeed, the victim wouldn't even have a chance to scream. After the victim was swallowed by his shadow, he would immediately retreat. With how busy the bazaar was and how everyone's eyes were certainly not staring down towards the ground, no one noticed the strange, silent shadow that could move on its own.
And that was what he just did to his newest target, Erika.
It wasn't because she belonged to the Greenwood Family—the people who were responsible for the assasination of one of the Magocracy's Council. Oh no, he wasn't aware of that in the slightest, as the news had yet to reach. Erika was simply unfortunate enough to be born with bright blue eyes and beautiful fluffy golden hair. Not to mention her unblemished skin as well. One of their customers was a certain duke who took a liking to cute little girls like her so he would always pay a generous sum if they would bring any lovely young females to his doorstep. He knew perfectly well of course what said duke was doing with them inside his estate, away from prying eyes. But he was never the moralistic, hero type. He was perfectly fine with the life of a scoundrel. It's just a fact of life that bad things happen to good people.
In the alleyway there were already four other men, waiting for him to come. They were his subordinates, ready to help him with the up and coming slave if she decided to be too feisty for her own good. Not that he really needed their help though, since the victim was just a weak young girl that wouldn't be able to fight back, even if she was brave enough to do so.
"You meanie! Big Sis will get you for sure!" She shouted as she struggled with the black ropes that tied her hands and legs.
Shadow Bind. Another one of the man's dark magic.
"Your big sister?" One of the other men came to her, grinning in a mocking manner. "Heh, ahahahahahaha! Forget about her, young missy! You'll never see her again."
"You lie! Big Sis will come for me for sure!"
"Oh, really? Then I suggest she'd better come soon before we sold you off to our client!"
"Gaspard, enough. Put the collar on her and let's be on our way," the cloaked man interrupted.
"Sure boss," the burly man shrugged. "Alright little Missy, be a good girl and stay still while I put on your—ouch! You little brat!"
SMACK
Erika had responded by biting into his hand while he attempted to put on the collar he got in his hand. And he retaliated by smacking her in the face, making her fall to the ground from the sheer force coming out of his large hand.
"Gaspard! What are you doing? You know very well our client doesn't appreciate it if we ruin his merchandise," the cloaked man warned.
"Aw, boss, surely we can have some fun with her first? We can just patch her up with some healing magic before we send her off to him!"
"U-uwaaaaaaa!"
"Oh great, now the little brat is crying. Right after she's acting so tough too. And God, why is she so loud?"
"...Fine. Knock her unconscious."
"Aye aye, Sire!"
With the cloaked man's permission, the big man kicked Erika right on her head, knocking her out in one move. The cloaked man shook his head. Sometimes he disapproved of the brutishness of his comrade.
After knocking her out, the man called Gaspard undressed her completely, even down to her panties. As the cloaked man burned her old clothing with a fire spell, he put on what could only be called slave rags on her, before finishing the makeover with a collar, along with chaining her hands together.
"Dye her hair. Just in case," the cloaked man ordered.
Using a dye they had obtained from an alchemist, they turned her hair black. It wasn't a permanent dye of course. It was really another precaution to prevent whoever her big sister was from recognizing her, at least from afar.
It was quite the ingenious method, really. Since slavery was accepted here, no one would bat an eye on a little girl asking for help, as long as she's dressed like a slave. Even the town guards would be obligated to return any runaway slaves to them. When a decent chunk of your economy is made out of the slave trade, you better treat the slave merchants with the same rights as you would with any other types of merchants. Slaves are not people. They are merely goods, to be bought and sold.
"We'll make her more docile first in our headquarters," the cloaked man ordered. "The customer wants his goods to be all nice and dolled up when they enter his doors. A week of whipping and beating should break her spirit. Then she'll think of our customer as her savior."
It was basic psychology, especially effective to kids like her. Make her suffer as much as possible, then hand her over to the customer who would treat her well. It's fine for them to be hated, but the best slaves are the ones who love their masters.
The cloaked man and his subordinates then departed back to the populated streets, with Gaspard slinging Erika's body over his shoulder. They merged with the crowd as much as they could, with the cloaked man taking off his hood, revealing that he was actually a black-haired man around his twenties. Unlike Gaspard and his other subordinates, he was actually pretty good-looking, with a cold gaze that some females would find very attractive indeed.
As expected, only a few people even gave them a glance. Runaway slaves happened somewhat frequently, and they just thought the little girl must be another runaway, and that they were agents of the slave company, sent to fetch her back.
Not everyone was heartless however. Some did sympathize with Erika's plight. But they knew better to involve themselves. It wasn't like they had any obligation to save her. And if they did indeed decide to save her, then what about the other slaves? Should they save them too? They would be hypocrites if they only save one while ignoring the others, right? So no one bothered, with their concern being forgotten not even a minute later when they returned back to their own tasks.
And that is why, when a certain girl disrupted their normal daily lives, they shouldn't complain either.
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It first started with an earthquake—a tremor whose epicenter was where the bazaar was held.
"A-an earthquake?"
"Why is there an earthquake here? We have never had any earthquakes before!"
"Everyone, get out! Don't stay inside!"
And then, just a few seconds after that, a tree burst forth from the grounds, piercing through the stone pavement like it was nothing. It grew and grew and grew until it towered its surroundings. There weren't many tall buildings in the city, so the tree stuck out even more like a sore thumb.
"W-what? What is that?"
"A-a tree? Why is a tree there?"
"Did the earthquake bring it out or something?"
"I-it's a spell! That mage girl raised her staff to the air and then the earthquake and the tree appeared!"
It didn't take long until Marina's surroundings realized what she just did. She didn't try to hide it in the slightest. She now had her wand changed into its staff form, and she was looking at the tree with a determined expression on her face.
"A-a spell? Is there a fight going on?"
"Gwahahahaha! The young lady has lost it! She's now going to— hrrmmmmmgggpppphhtt!"
A vine shot out from the ground underneath the old man, wrapping itself around his mouth. It was Marina's work of course. It seemed she had enough of his speech.
The elf, seeing what was transpired, wisely decided to flee. Unlike the others there, who barely knew anything about magic, she knew that Marina was at least a Master-level Earth mage, just from the giant tree she had brought forth into being. Any ordinary guards or soldiers wouldn't stand a chance against her.
And speaking of them, the town guards immediately converged to the location, including the trio from before.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The female guard drew her sword. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Don't get in my way," Marina replied with an emotionless voice. "I'm going to find Erika, even if I have to turn this whole city upside down in the process."
She raised her staff once again, and three creatures appeared out of thin air—a fairy, a dryad, and an owlbear.
"M-monsters! She's summoning monsters!"
"Everyone! Attack n—gwaaahhh!"
Roots burst forth from the ground beneath the soldiers, immobilizing them in an instant as they wrapped themselves tightly around them. The female guard managed to cut one of them, but she wasn't fast enough to prevent the others from throwing her sword away while yanking her hair backwards.
"Stand still," Marina spoke again. "This shouldn't take long."
She turned back to face the tree, raised her staff, and yelled, "Yggdrasil! Ent form!"
In quite the bizarre and horrifying sight, one by one humanlike figures started to peel off and fall from the wood of the tree. They were ents, humanoid tree monsters that could walk and attack adventurers who dared to get near them, thinking they were just ordinary trees. They were a smaller version of them however, with only being the size of a normal human. After around a hundred of them came out of the big tree, they scattered to all directions, leaving the great tree itself quite smaller and thinner than before,
Cue the screams as the crowd finally got the idea that their life might be in danger. They all ran away. Even the stall owners all abandoned their shops.
"Ents! Scour the city and look for Erika! And you, owlbear, you remember her scent, right?"
"Roarrrr!" It replied.
"Good. Track her down. And if you find her captors, you can attack them. But the priority must be Erika's safety."
It roared once again before charging away, running at a surprisingly high speed using its four legs.
"Y-you're doing this just because of your sister?" The lady guard yelled. "Are you mad? You've just basically earned yourself a one way ticket to the gallows! The royal soldiers would be here soon and it would be the end of you!"
Marina didn't humor her with a response. Instead, she simply moved on to her next method of searching.
"Lady Dryad. I'm going to aid with the search with Yggdrasil as well. I'll need your help to extend the range. Flower Fairy, you're the only one capable of flight. Search for my sister from the skies."
"Of course, my lady," The dryad replied, doing a curtsy in the process.
"Leave it to me!" The fairy answered.
The dryad had transformed quite severely after her evolution. She was no longer naked for starters. She wore a fancy-looking dress, signifying her status as a lady. Her personality had changed as well, being quite a bit more polite now.
The fairy flew away, while the mage activated her transformation spell, turning herself into a dryad. She then let herself be absorbed by the great tree, with her dryad summon doing the same as well.
Of course, all this made her even more terrifying to the captured guards, who started to think she wasn't just a mage but a tree demon as well. Even more guards started to stream in, only for Ygdrassil's roots to capture them effortlessly one by one.
Just who is this girl? The guard lady wandered.
---------------
Marina
All the pieces are now in place. Now I just have to focus on my search. And I have to do it quickly, as doing this would no doubt urge her kidnappers to leave town immediately. Not to mention the adventurers and the soldiers from the castle all coming after me. I have no faith in being able to handle all of them at once.
I focused my mind to my dryad senses. In this state, I could "communicate" with the great tree itself, accepting all the information it experienced at a rate far higher than what a human would be used to do. That's also why I need my dryad to help as I can't handle the information all by my own. Imagine having hundreds of eyes all sending images into your brain at once. It is similar to that.
Using this ability of manipulation and sense-sharing, I spread the roots of Yggdrasil as wide as I could, popping out from every floor and crevice like tendrils who searched for the presence of Erika. Or, to be more exact, her life force. In this form, I am more attuned to the life force of all living things, and each creature that walks on this world has their own unique life force. And I know very well how Erika's life force feels.
Of course, in the process, I would no doubt cause quite the serious property damages, with the roots ruining people's floors and what not. But I vowed not to harm anyone.
It doesn't matter though. They are all screaming in terror every time one of my roots popped up. I guess it really is terrifying to their perspective…
…
…
…
...No, where is she?! Why is she nowhere near here?! I can't go on much further! My Ygdrassil's range cannot reach the entire city! My ents can't travel far as well before losing its magic connection to their mother tree, turning them back into ordinary trees! And the owlbear can't follow Erika's scent. It's as if she had been swallowed by the earth itself!
I thought I could avoid this. I didn't hesitate to unleash all I had on Erika's search, just so I could catch the culprit before they ran away far enough that I would lose her forever. I could certainly make less of a commotion by only using the flower fairy or my owlbear, but I chose to go all out like this, precisely to prevent a scenario like this coming to fruition.
I… I was too late! Erika… ooh, Erika… I shouldn't… I shouldn't have—
Miss…
I'm going to… I'm going to lose her too… Father… Mother… Hugo… and now, Erika as well…
Miss, listen to me!
I gasped. I felt a pair of hands hugging me from behind. Or rather, I felt the sensation of someone hugging me from behind. I wasn't actually being hugged physically, as I was currently inside the tree after all.
It was my Lady Dryad. She had come to my rescue to calm me down.
There's still a way! My name… you must say my true name and call upon my real self, Miss!
You… you agree with my proposition?
Yes, Miss! I want to become your strength, Miss! You have gone through so much and I am ashamed of myself for not being able to help more! You called upon me when that ice witch attacked you but I could not even slow her down one bit for your escape. And now you're in another crisis like this and I refuse to let you fall down into despair once again! So please! Form a familiar contract with me! Say my true name!
…
"Nysa Eucalyphis! Heed my call!"
A bright green light shone from the giant tree, blinding anyone nearby.
Yes, this is it! This surge of power! I can now extend the range of the tree even further!
The dryad immediately overrode my control of the tree, extending the roots even further, beyond the radius thought to be the limit. More people screamed in terror, fleeing their houses as small roots popped out in their houses and on the streets.
I found her! There! Carried on the back of some man! They're running away!
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???
What in the world is going on? After the earthquake, a giant tree suddenly appears in the middle of the bazaar and now people are running away, saying how a horde of ents appear from it? Is this city under attack by some powerful mage or something?
For once, the leader of the band of kidnappers was sweating. He might be skilled at using shadow magic to kidnap people, but at direct fights, he's pretty bad at it.
"Oi, 'guv, what should we do?" The man named Gaspard spoke.
"Isn't it obvious? Just run away as fast as we could. If the duke gets murdered because of this, then we can still sell her to another buyer later on. We just have to run away and survive for now," he replied.
He certainly could move faster by using his shadow magic, but he's not the type to abandon his comrades, especially in a dire situation like this. They've been through many perilous situations before, back when they were still common bandits. Like hell he's going to abandon them just because of some crazy Earth mage going on a rampage.
"If we have to split up, then we'll split up. We'll meet up again at our hideout outside near the—"
CRASH
One second, a series of giant roots popped out of the ground, surrounding them from all four directions. The next second, they wrapped themselves around their legs and arms, forcing them to drop their weapons and to fall down to the dirt as they lost their balance.
No one was fast enough to dodge. Even their leader, the shadow mage, was captured by the roots.
However, only he had the means to escape. If he could chant his Shadow Merge spell, he could sink down to the ground, escaping from the roots' grip entirely.
Only for the roots to take out his wand from his pocket and snap it into two, shattering his dreams of escape into pieces.
Another rumble came from the ground—his ear who touched the dirt being more sensitive to it than the other. And then, two other large things appeared from it. This time however, it wasn't just tree roots.
It was a pair of dryads.
"So, you are the people that kidnapped Erika." One of them spoke, her pitch black eyes showing what could only be described as cold anger. "Now what should I do with you?"