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 wathe 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.