As the Magitechnocratic Republic of Arkhan's capital city, Arkhana was a testament to the nation's progress in pushing magitech and sorcery to heights unseen.

Upon approaching the city gates, one is greeted by shimmering barriers of arcane energy, a testament to the city's advanced magical defenses. The air was infused with a subtle hum of magical currents and the soft glow of enchanted street lamps that illuminated the winding streets below.

Tall spires and towers of polished stone and gleaming metal reached towards the sky, erected in key locations along the walls. Their surfaces were adorned with intricate runes and glyphs that channel the mysterious power of sorcery.

Arkhana's streets were a monotonous tapestry of colors, but it was bustling with a diverse mix of ethnicities. Walking through the busy streets, were people in white buttoned-up shirts, various shades of dark pants, and some kind of coat to help ward off the cold winds that seemed to prevail all year round.

Not all of them were dressed like that though.

Rarely, one may encounter a few individuals donning Victorian-era fashion infused with wizardly elements. Standing out even among these people were a few purple-robed men and women with wands — sticks of twisted wood with numerous small runes glowing along their surface — strapped to their belts, receiving gazes of awe and fear from those around them. Mixed with the steps of hundreds of people were the rhythmic clanking of metal as a troop of golems marched through the streets on patrol.

Truly, one would be unable to find a better bastion of arcane knowledge and technology even if one searched the entirety of the republic.

The capital city was not without its contrasts, however. Amidst the gleaming facades and technological marvels, narrow alleyways shrouded in shadows harbor mysterious shops and clandestine gatherings. In this corner of the city, where darkness hid rotting corpses and other sinister actions, few dared to tread.

Unfortunately for Elsamina, these kinds of places just happened to be where she lived ever since she was enslaved.

Her dead green eyes blankly stared forward as she walked deeper and deeper into the darkness. Over the years, she'd grown quite accustomed to walking around with minimal light, which was just another one of her misfortunes since this made it easier to see the vile things that happened around her.

What was undoubtedly a homeless man was rummaging through a corpse's pockets for anything valuable. Elsamina had no doubt that the corpse had been another homeless man, who'd been unfortunate enough to fall unconscious in these alleys, prompting a vulture to strangle him in his sleep.

To the side were three drunk men having sex with a woman who was obviously drugged out of her mind. Once the woman came to, she would likely wake up in a brothel with a collar of enslavement around her neck and a belly full of fluid from countless strangers. Perhaps the brothel would be the one Elsamina worked at. If that were the case, she pitied the girl, but would do her best to help her out.

And worst of all were the ones who seemingly weren't doing anything. After all, if no ordinary people loitered in this place willingly.

"Elsamina!" One of the men called out to her, a dirty grin on his face as he licked his lips. He made no signs of hiding his predatory gaze. Even without proper lighting and the heavy cloak hiding most of it, her body's silhouette must have made for a pleasant treat to the hoodlum. "Lookin' good! You've really got the best ass and tits I've ever laid eyes on! Fuck, my dick's so goddamn hard..."

"I didn't need to know that." she walked on, ignoring the man. "And I don't really care."

"Heh, what I'm saying is you should lemme buy you. I'll show you a good time!"

The man was about to make a grab for the passing woman, but his companions stopped him.

"Stow it, fool. You can jeer but you can't touch Ballor's girls. We don't want Xanthus coming after us... he can take our gang out on his own!"

"Yeah. Settle down and we'll drop by the Sultry Siren later. My treat."

Hearing the three hoodlums back off, Elsamina secretly heaved a sigh of relief and let go of the pistol hidden underneath her cloak — an ancient weapon from Aizen's founding that they've long thrown to the side, but a lethal armament nonetheless, especially to ordinary folks like her and the gang hooligans in Arkhan's alleys.

'Luckily, Ballor's name still holds some weight around here.'

Very soon, that would change, however. And Elsamina didn't know whether to rejoice or despair at the thought.

Her steps brought her deeper and deeper into society's underbelly, and in contrast to the earlier incident, nobody bothered her anymore. There were no more corpses or drugged girls being preyed upon, and the sources of light steadily increased, revealing her luscious red hair and the cleaner surroundings.

However, Elsamina was fully aware that despite the lack of visible crime, this zone was where the most heinous ones happened.

'This place would be better off burned to the ground...'

Her trembling fists clenched in righteous anger, recalling all the things she had to go through — all the things everyone had to go through because of the people residing in the darkness. If she had to continue living the way she did, she'd rather just die.

'No. Don't give up just yet, Elsamina. You still have to find where your brother is.'

She wasn't the only one sold into slavery. Her brother was bought as a "set" with her.

And she hadn't seen him in years.

For Elsamina, whose life pretty much had no meaning anymore, reuniting with her brother was one of the only things driving her forward.

'I have to find him.'

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Elsamina didn't have to walk far. Eventually, she made it to the place she called her home — if you could call it home — since her parents were coerced into selling her off. In this opulent building filled with sighs of smoke and women, she grew up to become the woman she was today.

Tucked away in the deepest reaches of Arkhana's dark underbelly, amidst flickering lanterns and the distant laughter of men stood a notorious establishment called the "Wishing Fountain". With its beautiful crimson walls engraved with golden embellishments and red curtains, it proudly made its presence known as a brothel. The sounds of laughter, clinking glasses, and lively music spilled out onto the streets, enticing passersby with promises of pleasure and forbidden delights. Inside, the dimly lit interior was adorned with ornate furnishings, plush seating, and intricate tapestries that whispered tales of seduction.

'They're using the good stuff today. I guess someone important is coming...'

Elsamina's nose wrinkled. This did not bode well for her at all.

The air was heavy with a heavy mix of perfume and tobacco, adding to the allure that permeated every corner of the establishment. However, Elsamina could still make out the familiar scent of something different — something evil. Elsamina sent a silent prayer for all the customers in the establishment, for all of them would likely be coming back here for more, whether they intended to or not.

Elsamina covered her nose with a handkerchief before sliding into a side door framed by bulky guards. As she passed by, she could feel their sticky gazes trying to peek into her cleavage and measuring her plump buttocks, but she'd grown used to these things at some point. Besides, as mere bouncers, they likely didn't have the necessary qualifications for Ballor to let them use her, so looking was all they would ever be allowed to do unless these thugs somehow learned how to cast spells better than her owner.

She made her way through winding corridors and hidden entrances, eventually making it to her owner's office. Anticipating the unpleasant audience, Elsamina's eyes darkened and her enchanting face grimaced. However, she quickly forced herself to look expressionless, knowing that Ballor delighted in eliciting negative emotions from his slaves.

Knock Knock Knock

"Is that you, Elsa? Come in, babe. Quickly."

A familiar raspy voice — more unpleasant to Elsamina's ears than the wailing of a banshee — responded to her knocking. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Ugh." Elsamina's mask of indifference was immediately broken once the heavy smell of glimmerweed forced its way into her nose.

"Ah, sorry about that." Ballor sounded entirely unapologetic as he spoke from within the room. "Come in, come in."

Even though she really didn't want to, the collar on Elsamina's neck would try to strangle her until she obeyed. As such, she stepped into the room, staring straight at the man who owned her — she knew that looking away or appearing feeble would somehow excite him, so she did her best not to break away.

'Disgusting...'

Despite not letting her gaze falter, Elsamina still noticed a few things in her peripheral vision. Like how the one-piece robe Ballor wore was open, revealing his skinny chest. And the dress that was carelessly thrown to the floor. Naturally, she didn't miss how Balor sent glances under his desk from time to time.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Elsamina didn't live in a brothel for more than a decade in vain. She knew someone was sucking this bastard's dick under the table right now.

'Probably someone new. Poor girl...'

Holding back the curses in her heart, she decided to comfort the unfortunate girl later.

Ballor flicked back his sweaty black hair, revealing a gaunt face. He smiled as he sat behind his desk, and gestured toward the velvet seat in front of it. "Sit."

"Yes, Master." Elsamina obeyed. She unhooked her cloak and let it fall to the ground before sitting down.

"Now, we have things to talk abo—AH! I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR TEETH!" Ballor stood up in rage. He dragged the girl out from under the table and gave her a swift kick. "Do I have to kick out all your teeth until you learn? You stupid bitch!"

The naked girl did her best to stop the man's relentless assaults, shouting incomprehensible words in some foreign language. However, his brutality eventually won. With blood oozing out of her orifices, the poor girl slumped to the floor. Despite Ballor's continuous kicks, her body lay limp.

Elsamina stayed seated, unable to do anything but watch because of the collar around her neck. Nonetheless, her eyes seethed with concealed rage as her fists clenched.

"Hoo." Ballor eventually calmed down, realizing what he'd done. He clicked his tongue and sent another, harder kick at the woman's corpse. "Fuck. I paid a lot to have that bitch carted over from Pentagoria... That's a whole 'nother continent, y'know!"

In anger, Ballor raised his foot to restart his kicking, but then stopped. A smile bloomed on his face.

"I can still sell this to that freak who liked fucking corpses. I'm a genius!" Ballor slapped his forehead and cackled before plopping back down on his chair. He sent a look toward the only other living human in the room. "Now, where were we?"

"... You called me." Elsamina tried to stop her voice from trembling. "And I came. As you ordered."

"Ah, right, right..." Ballor bobbed his head while fiddling with a pipe. He took out a wand from a desk drawer and produced a few embers with sorcery. "Hoo. That's the good stuff right there. Anyway, business, business... Elsa, babe. You know about Aizen, right?"

"Of course, I do."

'Who wouldn't...?'

When she was still a little girl, and her parents' business was still going smoothly, a few books from Aizen trickled into the market, and Elsamina was given a few as a birthday present.

'That felt like such a long time ago...'

It had been a time when she, her brother, and her parents were happy. Memories from that time should have made her happy, but Elsamina found that she could barely remember them now. Lots of things — horrible things — had happened between that period and the present.

'I can't remember them anymore...'

"Hello~? Elsa, babe? You still alive?"

Elsamina broke out of her thoughts when Ballor started tapping at the table with his pipe, a "worried" expression on his face.

"Hey, did you suck up too much glimmerweed? Stay with me alright? I still need your tight pussy to squeeze some VIP dick. Don't go crazy on me yet, people surprisingly love your little dead-fish act."

"...Yes, Master."

"Speaking of your pussy, someone important will come later. Pretty yourself up and give 'em a good time, eh?" Ballor snickered as he sucked on his pipe. "Fwoo... Speaking of, the guest is vital for my next expansion. Well, he's not actually important, but his connection to someone important is. We're gonna expand the business to Aizen, baby!"

"Wh-what...?"

"Heh. Surprised? You may not know this cuz you've been too busy getting railed, but relations between Arkhan and Aizen have improved lately. Get this, aside from the land route, the fastest way to get to Aizen is a sea route passing through the east gulf, yeah? A few years ago, the kingdom made their westernmost outpost, the one right next to the gulf, into a sorta shared territory with Arkhan! Oh, but they also have a shared territory on our side, but that doesn't matter right now."

Elsamina frowned as she listened. To be honest, she'd known about the city a long time ago. What surprised her was the fact that Ballor wanted to expand into Aizen.

'This guy finally went nuts from all the drugs...'

Everyone and their mothers knew how terrifying the Aizen kingdom was. Back when their countries had been hostile with each other, lone knights had toyed around with Arkhan's golem legions. Only battle mages — Arkhan's core forces — could put up a fight. And even then, they'd have to heavily outnumber the knights.

'What in the world gave this human filth the courage to expand into such a dangerous place when he's having so much trouble with the other organizations here!?'

"Gahahaha!" Ballor banged his pipe on the table, throwing burning embers all over the place. "It may be different in their actual cities, but Aizen doesn't give a fuck about Worgon, it seems. Works for us, since that'll give us a way to make some money out of those foreigners! The exchange rate is crazy right now, so for every coin we earn over there, we get a sack of moo-lah here! I bet that with a few days of business there, I could buy ten of you! Gahahaha!"

'Is it really that lax...?'

Elsamina seriously doubted whether the kingdom truly left a city in their lands alone. But she chose to not say anything.

'If this guy ends up getting killed over there, that can only be a good thing for the world.'

The collar assured obedience, but Elsamina didn't have to warn the bastard about anything. Even if her body obeyed him, her heart and mind never would.

'Good riddance.'

She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of this vile man getting his just deserts.

"Oh, that's rare. Smiling, eh?" Ballor didn't miss her change in expression. "Well, here's some bad news for ya. The VIP you're fucking later? He's in charge of smuggling us into Worgon and he's also into some really rough stuff! He's killed a bunch of my girls, actually. Don't worry though, I told him I'd literally kill him if he went too rough on ya. Plus, I've got a potion in reserve."

Elsamina's shoulders trembled. But she soon calmed down.

'It's not like this is the first time.'

Seemingly sensing her relief, Ballor continued his tirade with a dirty grin on his face. "And I know you hate my guts for all I've done to you, so I'll do you a favor! After we cross the border, I'll be handing you over to a VIP over at Worgon as a bribe. I sent him your full-body portrait, and he couldn't believe it! He wants to see you in person. Heh."

Her face showed no movement but she visibly paled at the man's words.

But it seemed it wasn't over yet.

"Anyway, since we won't be working with each other soon, I'll tell you a secret you've wanted to know for loooooooong time." Ballor stood up and leaned over the table. "It's about your brother."

"Wha—!" Elsamina's mask shattered in an instant. Her lips trembled as she pleaded. "Wh-where..."

"You wanna know? You really wanna knooooow?"

Ballor spun around for dramatic effect, his back turned toward her. He stood like that for a few seconds before suddenly turning back around with the nastiest smile Elsamina had ever seen on his face.

"He's DEAD!"

The nasty bastard's words were a huge blow to Elsamina, stunning her into silence and causing her mind to blank out.

In the depths of her mind, Elsamina concealed the pessimistic notion that her brother had departed from the realm of the living. The mere thought weighed heavily on her, depriving her of sleep, even after serving a man for most of the night.

But she'd held on by silencing those despairing thoughts. Dreaming of the day she'd meet with her brother again. And perhaps if they were ever freed, they could move to a quiet village in the east of the republic, far away from war or the filthy claws of the underworld. She didn't hope to find a man that would accept someone as dirty as her, but watching over her brother's children as the neighborhood aunty would have been enough for her to be happy.

'He's dead...'

Cold, harsh reality was finally sinking in for Elsamina. If one thought about it with a clear head, there was no way for a young boy to meet a good fate in Ballor's hands. If they didn't get their minds broken from having narcotics and hallucinogens tested on them, they would be forced into being drug mules, ferrying drugs across city borders until they got caught by guards and executed publicly.

There was also the possibility of being dragged into the violence of gang life, and meeting their end in a street brawl.

Thinking about the horrors that her poor brother must have had to face in life, Elsamina suddenly became aware of the tears that had started falling from her eyes.

"Beautiful." Ballor climbed over his desk, throwing aside everything that had been on top of it. He pushed his face closer, marveling at her countenance with a face marred in ecstasy. "You're beautiful, Elsa. If I'd known you could make a face like this, I would've fucked your brother to death in front of you instead of selling him to that faggot!

"Ack!" Elsamina cried out in pain as she was pulled by the hair and thrown to the floor. The clothes she wore were ripped off her haphazardly, exposing her pearly white skin, free from blemishes. Biting her lips and closing her eyes shut, she prepared for what she knew was coming.

"Your sadness, your grief, your despair! I FUCKING LOVE IT! You make me so fucking horny! Screw tonight's customer, I'll be having you for myself!"

Without a care in the world, Ballor pinned her to the ground and ran his tongue all over her body, focusing on the soft mounds of flesh on her chest.

This was not the first time Ballor would ravish her, but all the same, she felt defiled. With the confirmation of her brother's death, she didn't even feel like life had any meaning at this point.

'Maybe I should just end it all...'

The gun wouldn't work as a suicide tool for a slave like her. But the tightening of the collar and the paralyzing electric shocks it emitted when she disobeyed would likely be unable to stop her fast enough before she jumped off the third floor. It was a proven fact since plenty of slaves had used a similar method to take their own lives.

As if reading her thoughts, Ballor laughed while grabbing her neck, his tight grip causing her to gasp for hair.

"Don't even think about offing yourself, bitch. I know how close you are to the little ones upstairs. It'd be a shame if they had to serve the wrong customers! They're so young, do you want them to follow in your brother's footsteps? Hm~?"

"DON'T YOU DARE DO ANYTHI—"

Before Elsamina could finish bellowing out the words, she was cut off when her head jerked to the side, searing pain on the left side of her face quickly following.

Ballor raised his hand and hit her again. And again. "I love the angry look on your face too, but you know I don't like backtalk, right?"

Elsamina glared daggers at him but said no more. She once again closed her eyes and turned away, wishing for him to finish as fast as possible.

"Good! You understand. But good god, Elsa. You've been getting rammed by dick for more than a decade now, you'd think that was enough time for someone to give up and accept their fate as a cock sleeve. But you just wouldn't give up! I absolutely love that about you!"

Unable to resist, Elsamina's tears continued to flow as she cursed her fate. Knowing what was to come, Elsamina desperately wished to escape her nightmarish reality. Anything would do, she just wanted to mentally flee.

That was when she recalled the Aizenian storybooks she'd read. Strangely enough, her memories about the parents who sold off their children were fuzzy, but the joy and excitement she'd experienced while engrossed in those tales remained with remarkable clarity, as if she had devoured the pages just yesterday.

Her favorite stories were always the ones about knights fighting against evil, enacting justice, winning glory for their liege, and saving the damsel in distress.

The exhilaration from those cherished narratives made Elsamina think about the possibility of a knight in shining armor coming in from nowhere and saving her from her plight. But Elsamina quickly threw those foolish thoughts away.

She was a prostitute.

Although Ballor raised her as a high-quality product, only letting VIPs use her body, she was still, in the end, a prostitute.

Her body was impure. Although much fewer than her comrades in the brothel, plenty of men had had their turn toying with her body.

No story would have her as the heroine. And no hero would accept her into their heart.

No one would save her.

There would never be a hero in her story.

Her life was a tragedy. It wouldn't have even made for a creative story.

A tale as old as time itself.

That was her story.