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—save 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.'
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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.