(Author's note: ?I got too much into the writing and made this chapter too long. Take it as an apology for me not being able to upload as regularly as I used to. I'll be getting my laptop back in a week, so I'll start uploading more then. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter)
In the Moonspire of Luna temple, in the centre of Lunareth.
Elaria had already returned to the temple a long time ago after spending only 5 days to monitor Nolan's recovery. During her short absence, the whole temple was in an uproar over her disappearance.
She held a high status not only within Lunareth but the whole empire. So, the temple desperately tried to hide her disappearance from the outside world in order to prevent panic within the empire.
Holy knights were secretly dispatched throughout the city and the nearby villages to search for her discreetly. This was why she decided to come back early.
She wanted to stay with Nolan a little bit longer but since the desolate village wasn't too far off from the city, she knew it was only a matter of time before the knights came to look for her there.
If that happened, and they found her, news would have spread throughout the empire and the desolate village would have attracted the attention of many people. This would cause Nolan a lot of trouble and hinder her growth and future plans.
...
At present, Elaria walked into the High Priestess's office as she greeted her mother.
"Greetings mother."
"Ah! Is my adorable daughter here to visit me again? You've been coming by a lot since you came back from your journey. It seems that I have to thank that child of prophecy for this when I meet her." Selia said as she beamed into a smile.
For some unknown reason, Elaria had started spending more time with her since she came back. This made her happy, but she also wondered what Nolan had said or taught Elaria during her short stay.
On the other hand, Elaria had a solemn smile on her face as she heard this. During the short time she spent with Nolan, she had learned a lot. Nolan had told her about her previous life; she grew up as an orphan and had never seen or met her parents.
All her life, she had been alone and had to depend on herself. Even after being reincarnated into this world, she still had no parents and had to take care of herself in a completely new environment.
Elaria, who was lucky enough to be raised by both her parents felt that she was truly fortunate. She secretly made a vow in her heart that she would spend more time with her parents while they are still alive.
"Ahem! That's beside the point; I have a favor to ask." Elaria spoke after snapping out of her thoughts.
"Oh? What is it? Going out again?"
"No. I need about 300 slaves."
"Huh?! 300 slaves? What for?" Selia was shocked as she asked.
"It's not for me, it's for Nolan. She needs an army."
"An army? But why slaves?"
"I didn't ask. All she told me was that she wanted young slaves, it doesn't matter whether they are human, beastkin, or half-demons. As long as they are below the age of 20." Elaria elaborated as she fell into deep thought.
Selia looked at her in silence, thoughts and speculations rushing into her mind.
The temple couldn't possibly purchase slaves officially under their name. This would ruin their reputation for sure and cause riots among the citizens.
She knew that Elaria knew that as well, but to still ask her to purchase slaves regardless meant that Nolan was in a tough situation. Reborn in a new world without any connections and now a chief of a desolate village.
She realized that Nolan really had no one to ask for help other than the one who received the prophecy from Goddess Luna. She also realized that the prophecy received by Elaria was so she could help Nolan gain a firm foothold before the world noticed her existence.
Not to mention, Nolan probably didn't have enough funds to buy the slaves on her own. As one of the biggest temples in the empire, the Moonspire of Luna had more than enough funds to purchase all the slaves in Lunareth.
Elaria's own personal funds were enough to buy 50% of all the slaves by herself.
"Mother, I have more than enough funds for 300 slaves. So, I ask that you convert the money in my treasury and hand it over to Nolan. She said she would like to come to the city and pick the slaves herself if possible." Elaria suddenly said. Although her mother was the High Priestess, she knew that Selia secretly had connections to the city's underworld.
Her only maternal uncle was used to doing business in the underworld and was very close to her mother. But only 2 people knew of this, and that was Elaria and her father.
"Two days, I'll use my own funds." Selia said with a firm voice.
"But mother..." Elaria tried to refuse but was cut off by Selia.
"You are my daughter and the Saintess. I don't want you spending your own money on such dirty things, me and your uncle will handle everything. Just send a message to Nolan to come to the city on the morning of the 3rd day." Selia's gaze was strict and unwavering.
Elaria had no choice but to agree.
"Alright. I'll send the message tonight using the whispering crystal." Elaria reluctantly said as she looked a little disappointed by the fact that she couldn't directly help Nolan.
"Hmm. Now come sit down, I want to sleep on my cute daughter's lap." Selia continued as her expression took a complete turn. From a stern and strict mother to a loving and doting mother.
Elaria felt helpless, this mother of hers was truly a cunning person. She even wondered how her honest and righteous father fell in love with such a woman.
After a few hours of struggling to get away from Selia, Elaria finally managed to leave the office and send the message to Nolan.
That night, Nolan received the message from a whispering crystal Elaria had left behind before she left so they could communicate easily.
After receiving the message, she made preparations to leave for the next 2 days. To make sure the village would continue to function without her while she was away, she appointed Sandy in charge of the mansion.
Vigil was still in charge of the unfinished constructions in the village while Drellis and a few guards were in charge of guarding and patrolling the village.
...
...
Around 4 a.m. in the morning of the 3rd day, Nolan left the village heading for Lunareth. She used flight magic since it was a bit far.
Since she still hadn't fully recovered, she still had a limited number of times she could use magic. At present, she could only use flight magic for a maximum of 4 hours continuously.
The city was 8 hours away from the village, but this would not be a problem for Nolan since her flight magic would get her there in half that time.
But this also meant that she wouldn't be able to use magic anymore as soon as she arrived. This didn't matter because she was still a level 5 Elemental sword master so she was confident she would be able to fend for herself even without magic.
Sandy had also insisted she dye her hair and eye color with magic since black hair and eyes were practically non-existent in the entire empire. She even thought that Nolan was probably the only person with such unique features in the empire.
Following this, Nolan dyed her hair and eyes brown with magic in order to easily blend in without attracting attention in the city before leaving.
...
...
...
Exactly 4 hours later, Nolan landed near the hidden cave where Drellis had previously dropped off Talia and met Elaria. Since she didn't have an identity token to enter the city, Elaria had instructed her to meet at this spot. And Drellis had given her the accurate location of the hidden cave.
As soon as she arrived at the entrance of the cave, she saw the figure of a person inside. She cautiously drew her short sword and walked in.
As she approached, the figure became clearer. It was a middle-aged woman with ash-blonde hair with streaks of grey, an ordinary appearance and gentle lines on her face. It was none other than Selia, Elaria's mother. Nolan had heard of her from Elaria, so she withdrew her sword upon realizing who she was.
On the other hand, upon seeing Nolan, Selia beamed into a radiant smile as she saw through Nolan's magic. She was a 6th circle divine magician after all, so she could easily see through the spell Nolan had used to dye her hair and eye color.
Divine magic was like a type of holy power, granted only to the priests and the Saintess recognised by Goddess Luna. It was stronger than Dark and Ordinary magic.
In her eyes at this moment, she saw through Nolan's true form. This little girl in front of her was a truly a beauty, even the brown hair and eye color spell did little to hide her captivating beauty.
"Are you Elaria's mother?" Nolan asked as she stopped in front of her.
Upon hearing this, Selia was even happier. Everyone in the temple called her "Madam High Priestess" or "Holy maiden." Even after she had Elaria, no one ever called her, "Elaria's mother" like Nolan just did.
"Ah! Yes! I am Elaria's mother!" She said as she pumped out her chest in pride.
"Oh... I thought Elaria was supposed to be the one to meet me here."
"Elaria doesn't know much about the city's underworld and I'd like to keep it that way, so I'll be your escort today!" Selia said as her eyes scanned Nolan up and down from head to toe.
'Such a cute child dressed like a dark prince ready for battle. It would be a shame to let her looks go to waste.' She thought.
"Can we go now?" Nolan suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on Selia's face, "No. We can't go into the city with you looking like that." She said as she pointed at Nolan's usual outfit.
"Huh?" Nolan was confused.
...
A few minutes later, Nolan was turned into a beautiful little girl, wearing a red dress that was up to her knees. Showing a rare sight of her white tender legs and arms.
A red rose hung on the side of her hair. She was speechless, other than that one-time Luna had persuaded her to wear a dress, this was the second time she had ever worn a dress since coming to this world.
Nolan: "..."
'Elaria was right, this woman is truly cunning. If possible, I should try my best to never meet her again!' Nolan thought to herself as she helplessly stared at Selia in defeat.
After that, Nolan and Selia left the hidden cave and went into the city. As a 6th circle divine magician, Selia's magic was enough to hide Nolan so they could enter the city without having to go through the gates.
An hour or two later, they rode on a carriage on the busy streets of Lunareth. Selia was disguised as a wealthy noble woman, she had also used magic to dye her hair color brown like Nolan's and altered her facial features so no one would recognize her.
She wore a red dress that matched the one she'd practically forced Nolan to wear. The 2 of them looked like mother and daughter.
Inside the carriage, Selia stared at Nolan's face as she smiled.
...
"...What?" Nolan finally couldn't bare it anymore and asked.
"You have a cute face you know? I don't know how many noble families would kill to have a daughter-in-law like you. Even the Royal family would snatch you up if they saw you."
Nolan: "..."
After that, Nolan tried to ignore Selia as she hurled compliments at her. On the way, Nolan saw the city through the carriage window.
Since she arrived in this world, this was the first time she really felt like this was truly another world. The desolate village was too isolated and didn't have much. But Lunareth was different, it was bustling with all sorts of people. Street vendors, performers, Knights, nobles, merchants and many more. Nolan couldn't look away as she witnessed all these different types of people mixed together and seemingly in harmony.
But she knew better than to believe what was shown on the surface. She saw through these people's facade; many were desperately trying to survive while others looked for opportunities to extort the people around them. The nobles acted high and mighty, doing as they wished. Even priests from the church roamed the streets with their arrogance out for everyone to see.
Slaves could be seen accompanying their masters amidst the crowd, battered and chained like dogs on a leash. Nolan looked over, a frown appearing on her face.
Selia noticed this, "You are the only one who can save them you know," she said as Nolan's gaze shifted back to her.
"The reason I associate myself with the underworld is so I can monitor it closely. In this corrupt world, there's no way for the church to completely get rid of them, especially with so many corrupt priests. The more of them we wipe out, the stronger they return. Only the presence of a powerful being beyond our grasp can completely clean up this world. I hope you make that prophecy a reality." Selia said as she looked outside the carriage.
Nolan remained silent, there was no need for her to reply. But she already had an answer in her heart, her coming to the city to buy slaves may seem like a trivial matter to others. But to her, this was the most important part of her plan. The slaves she would buy here would be core members of her troops in the future, this was why she came to pick them herself rather than let Elaria and Selia select them at random.
2 more hours went by as the carriage continued deeper into the city, finally turning into a dark pathway in between some abandoned buildings. The atmosphere suddenly changed, this place was dark and gloomy. The deep east-end of Lunareth.
The sunlight had no place to shine here, beggars filled the streets along the way while some suspicious people watched from the shadows, coming with schemes of their own as they laid eyes on the carriage.
Shabby and broken houses were lined up on the sides, the streets were damp and dirty with sewage water, causing a strong stench in the air.
This place was the dark side of Lunareth, the underworld. Many criminal organisations and guilds resided in this place. It was beyond the control of the church's knights since it was in the slums.
This was not because the church couldn't handle it, but because they were not interested in cleaning up this place. Especially with the church having so many corrupt higher ups.
At this moment, within the people hiding in the shadows. A man wearing a black cloak looked at the carriage as he frowned, shortly after he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Inside the carriage, Selia felt something and looked over in the direction the man had disappeared with a smile on her face.
"It seems like they've noticed us. Prepare yourself." She said, still looking outside the window.
"Enemies?" Nolan asked, since arriving here, she had felt a lot of malice directed towards them from all directions.
"Don't worry, we are valued customers here. So, no one will dare lay their hands on us. Actually, they've even sent someone very powerful to protect us in the shadows."
"You mean that dark magician?" Nolan asked, surprising Selia.
"Oh? You noticed him too? I'm impressed."
"That's only because he suddenly used his magic, otherwise I wouldn't have sensed him since he had no malice towards us. But is he really that powerful?" Nolan was curious, since she had used up her mana reserves for the day, she couldn't sense that dark magician's true strength.
"He's a 4th circle dark magician." Selia replied.
"Huh? But aren't dark magicians the weakest among the magicians. Not to mention he's only a 4th circle dark magician."
"Indeed. Dark magicians are the weakest type of magician there is, but he's different."
"How so?"
"He's a dark elf. The last of his kind..." Selia paused before continuing, "The dark elves were extremely talented in dark magic arts before they were wiped out. Their dark magic is almost on par with divine magic, he may be a 4th circle dark magician but even a pinnacle 5th circle ordinary magician may not be able to beat him."
"Dark elf..." Nolan was surprised, she didn't expect to find one here all of a sudden.
"Seems like we're here." Selia said as the carriage stopped in front of a wall at the end of the street where there was no one around. Selia stood up and got off the carriage, followed by Nolan.
"Come," she said as she held her hand out to Nolan.
Nolan grabbed a hold of it; they had planned to go in acting as a mother and daughter duo after all.
Standing before the plain-looking wall, a magical glyph shimmered into existence. Revealing a hidden door carved with ancient runes. The glyph pulsed once, as if scanning them, then faded. The stone parted noiselessly, opening a narrow passage into the darkness.
Nolan followed Selia into the passage, her steps quiet, but her mind alert. Despite trusting Selia, she didn’t lower her guard. Her sharp eyes scanned every inch of the dim corridor lit by flickering blue torches embedded in the walls.
Selia walked with ease, clearly familiar with the layout. "This place is older than the city itself," she suddenly said.
"An ancient ruin converted into one of the largest underground slave markets in the empire. It’s called The Hollow Exchange. Few on the surface even know of its existence."
"Underground... how fitting," Nolan muttered. "A rotting system hiding its shame beneath the city's feet."
Selia chuckled lightly. " You have a sharp tongue too. But you’re not wrong."
They passed through a series of winding corridors, guarded by silent, heavily armed mercenaries who didn’t spare them a glance. Nolan noticed the absence of any religious symbols or noble crests, hiding one's identity and background was sacred here.
Eventually, the corridor opened into a vast underground chamber as they continued forward, a subterranean marketplace illuminated by glowing crystal lamps hanging from the high ceiling like suspended stars. Cages and pens lined the area in organized rows.
Slaves of every race and age were locked within, humans, beast kin, half-demons, and a few more rare species. Some were silent, eyes devoid of life; others watched with a mix of hope and suspicion.
Merchants in hooded robes stood beside each cage, ready to pitch their "goods." The air was thick with magic suppressants, and a faint but ever-present stench of despair lingered, drowned by the high-pitched voices of the merchants' salesmen.
Selia leaned close to Nolan and whispered, "You’ll find all kinds here. Some were born into slavery. Others were sold by desperate families, and a few were once nobles who fell from grace. Choose carefully. Many are broken, they need someone strong to guide them."
Nolan frowned as she spoke, "Don't worry, I'm not looking for loyalty. I’m looking for potential."
She stepped forward, brushing past Selia as she looked at her tiny figure from behind. Selia wondered why the Goddess would bestow such a heavy burden on such a young and fragile child.
...
As Nolan began her slow walk through the marketplace, something stirred within her. Her instincts, honed through decades of killing in her previous life awoke. Her gaze was clinical, precise. She passed rows of caged children, ignoring the merchants' pitches.
She looked calm on the surface, but she was furious on the inside. Scum who did this kind of business were people she hated the most even in her previous life.
As they continued forward, one cage suddenly made her pause.
Inside were three children, barely ten years old. Two boys and a girl. All half-demons. Their horns had been sawn off, leaving jagged scars. But unlike the others, their eyes burned with quiet rage. Not fear. Not despair. But pure rage.
Nolan crouched before them, staring through the bars as Selia stood behind her, extremely alert. Since they entered the marketplace, Nolan's beauty drew the attention of many who saw her. Even with her unique features hidden by magic, Nolan was still no doubt the most captivating person in this place.
Since Selia couldn't risk revealing her identity by using magic, she was very cautious and alert. But luckily for them, the dark elf magician was secretly following them. Within the marketplace, being followed by him meant that they were no ordinary people.
Any threat towards them would be met with the retaliation of the marketplace's executives. 'Phew, looks like my brother took care of everything.' Selia thought to herself as she felt the presence of the dark elf.
"What’s your name?" Nolan asked the girl in the cage, who stood in front of the 2 boys as if trying to protect them.
"...Rika," she said quietly. "You buying us?"
"I might," Nolan replied. "What would you do if I let you out?" Nolan asked.
The girl blinked, then answered, "Protect my brothers. Kill the ones who caged us."
Nolan smiled faintly. "Good answer."
After that, they moved on. Selia watched Nolan’s process with interest. She wasn’t choosing based on physical strength, talent or beauty, but fire, spirit, ability to survive, and tenacity.
By the end of their walk, Nolan had picked 320 individuals, all under twenty years and of various races and backgrounds. There were 100 humans, 100 beastkin, 100 half-demons and 20 demons.
Their pickings had caused an uproar within the market. So many slaves, and all of different races. Not to mention, they weren't the strongest since they were all children between the ages of 6 and 19.
Everyone couldn't guess what someone would want with so many young and useless slaves. But one thing was clear, these people were clearly of high status to be able to buy so many slaves.
However, they would have to wait for the negotiations to be completed in order to confirm their speculations.
In a VIP back room of the marketplace, Selia handled the negotiations with the underworld broker, a man with a wolf mask and a voice like gravel. The transaction was discreet, but Nolan noticed how the broker’s tone grew cautious when he addressed Selia. The Moonspire’s reach was clearly deeper than she expected.
Eventually, the paperwork was settled. The slaves were marked with temporary ownership seals bound to Nolan’s mana signature, and a special magical token was crafted for her, a pendant that could control or release the seals at will.
Later, as they walked out of the Hollow Exchange, the atmosphere outside felt lighter. Nolan stared at the pendant in her hand.
Selia glanced at her. "Have you decided what you’ll do with them?"
"I’ll train them," Nolan replied. "Break their limits. Mold them into something more. They’ll be my secret army. Not slaves. But my soldiers and citizens."
Selia raised a brow. "And what will you call them?"
Nolan looked down at the pendant. Then, without emotion, she said, "The Black Dawn."
A while later.
As the carriage rolled back toward the centre of the city, the scene shifted perspective to one of the chosen slaves back at the marketplace, Rika, reflecting on the strange girl in the red dress whose gaze made her heart tremble, not with fear, but with hope.