Готовый перевод Общий файл / Does Force Bind to Responsibility?: Глава 19

Chapter 19
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*Marius*

Marius hovered thoughtfully above the floor in one of his crypts. Tentacles woven of translucent shadow hung lazily around him, as if caressing a marble crypt. Opposite him, on one knee, was Lias.

/This scene reeks of annoying imperfection," the lich remarked to himself. "Something is missing...

Marius glanced around the crypt. Massive patterned columns, between which there were marble tables for the dead, were crowned by a ceiling reaching far upward. There were no windows; all the illumination came from magic torches on the walls.

/Everything is perfect. Strange feeling.

Lich deigned to turn his attention to the "apprentice". He had mastered this trick of divided thinking yesterday. One part of his mind was fixating on what was going on around him, and the other part was thinking. When something atypical happened and it was necessary to react somehow to it, the second part of the consciousness stepped in.

Marius instantly reviewed everything the student said.

"So you claim to have mastered the first part of the White Flame. I didn't tell you to do that, so I'm guessing it has to do with the last practice session? That's interesting. I had no idea that *you* could master it at all, at least not in your lifetime. Well," he waggled his palm. "Show it to me."

Lias got to his feet, concentrated, pointed his open palm at the lich, and began reciting the incantation. Marius, noting to himself the mistakes in the vocalizations - and there were surprisingly few - waited.

Lias finished, almost shouting the last words. Nothing happened.

"I'm not impressed. "The lich remarked snidely.

"Excuse me, Master..." Lias began frantically rummaging through his bag for notebooks. He found one and with a trembling hand quickly flipped through the pages to find the right one.

"But I did everything right, didn't I? Why...?"

"Because you just memorized the text. It's not enough to master the spell. I know it's not obvious - not to you, anyway. And I remind you that I've already opened your eyes to this nuance. Twice."

"But the book gives absolutely precise instructions on how to activate..." Lias was confused.

"Exactly. Activate. Saying a spell doesn't construct it. When a spell already exists in you, when it's already part of you, your soul, and your source of power, the invocative component triggers it. Casting a spell is just one way to start the process you've prepared. You, on the other hand, know the White Flame only in a descriptive way. It's not a part of you. So when you cast that spell, you're just shaking the air."

"How do I... Construct it, teacher? There are thousands of books in the city library, which ones do I need to read to understand it?"

/Interesting. Lias came to the same question as I did, and almost as quickly. I have a power infinite compared to a mere mortal, and I am just as far from understanding the fundamentals.

"Tens of thousands of books," the lich corrected, raising his finger admonishingly. "And that's what we're going to do now."

Marius stroked his chin, stopped hovering, and paced leisurely from side to side.

"Once here, you had the confidence to cast four spells. Three of them had a slight effect on living vertebrates, restoring their functionality at the expense of your personal spiritual powers. Another one affected the residual emanations of souls, making them fearful and unwilling to interact with the small area around you. You told me how you trained in these spells, and from your words and my attempts to teach you something new, I drew the following conclusions."

"The first is that you don't have enough intelligence and energy to master a spell ranked higher than a beginner from a scroll, or by mastering written material."

"The second is that you are capable of mastering new forms of spirit manifestation. Not spells in my usual sense, but very similar."

"Third, you can comprehend forms of spirit manifestation that are new to you in at least one way. Namely, by being under stressful conditions. How exactly this happens, I can't tell you yet; we'll find out and document it in the foreseeable future."

"I simulated various stressful conditions for you after I made these conclusions. At this point, the method that was tested yesterday and confirmed this morning can be considered the most - and the only - effective one."

"You forced me to fight the undead you raised, Master. At the most desperate moment, I... It was just the knowledge that came to me. If it hadn't, I would have died," Lias replied with a touch of resentment.

"Not the preferred outcome, I agree. Still, some breakthrough has been made. You have given your spiritual power a form that can be seen as a means of inflicting direct damage."

"I was desperate and did the only thing I could do!"

"That's the point. Notice that it took you not years, but literally days to learn a new magic skill. It's all in the approach, I think... Anyway, your mastering of a new skill can be attributed to one of the types of "constructing" magic. Do you remember in detail how you do it?"

Lias thought for a while.

"It is difficult, and I cannot describe the whole process in detail. I imagine what I want to do, and something inside responds to my desire. Only it's very long and it's easy to lose focus."

/This is it, noted the lich with satisfaction. Some progress.

Marius himself had been trying to find the keys to his powers for quite some time. To figure out exactly what happens when he activates his magical power. From day one until now, nothing worked. Lich had infinite diligence and the same patience. He was willing to spend any amount of time and effort to get to the bottom of it. The only problem was that he had no idea exactly how to approach the case to achieve the desired result.

And now his accidental apprentice made it possible at least to observe the development and formation of something new, from the very beginning. Even though Marius was a stranger to light magic, there was still the possibility that the principles could be generalized and used in research.

"Of course, the performance will still have to be worked on." Lich brushed aside Liase's attempt to say something. "If you can reproduce this "spell" in a state of relative peace, you won't need to trigger a life-threatening condition just yet. That will be your task for the next class. If you succeed, we'll explore the subject of invocative and symbolic activation in more detail next."

"I'll do my best, Master," Lias bowed obediently. "I still have questions..."

"That's good," the lich nodded graciously. "Ask."

"Master, you're saying that casting a spell is just a way to trigger an existing form, right?"

"Exactly."

"What about spell casters who simply memorize words and gestures? After all, they can do it, and I've read of people with no magical gift at all sometimes using magic?"

"That's a good question. Ask me more of those, and I'll despise you less. You see," the lich paced from side to side again. "Pure invocation is like a condition for a reflex. It is intended to induce your mind and spirit to unconsciously perform a series of predetermined actions. We'll talk about this, as I promised, in the next session. And you asked about a method that involves not only the voice, but also gestures and, as a rule, various objects and symbols. It's a way of forcing the environment, or the ether, so to speak, to perform preset actions on your behalf. It is a rather risky practice. In this case, the caster usually does not fully understand what forces and how exactly will be involved. There may be side effects, or, if you make a mistake, something may happen that does not correspond to expectations at all."

"What if I want to try? I'm sure that with your guidance I will succeed! Besides, as far as I know, that's what most magicians do..."

"Sad is the fate of a world populated by idiots. In general, I think it's a waste of time. But you can try it, if you can find a suitable manual and let me read it beforehand. I'd be very surprised if you could find something like that in the city libraries. Also, you should remember that my direct assignments are a higher priority."

"I got it. I also wanted to ask... Is it possible for me to move to the city?"

Marius thought for a moment.

/Logical. The desire for comfort is obviously more attainable in an environment optimal for its species. If given such an opportunity in the form of a bargain, perhaps performance would increase... One might try it.

"In theory, yes. Justify your wish."

Here, in Necropolis, there is no way to live normally. There is no water and food, they have to be brought here, especially for me, and I have never seen any offerings to the dead. There is no place to sleep, the sarcophagi are very cold, and in general, there are no living quarters, only reception rooms and crypts... I won't try to escape, I swear. Let me live where... Where I can live a normal life. I think I can afford a corner, I've still got the money you gave me the first time. At the very least, I'll find a job, as a clerk, or in a temple, there's a lot of them here, I'll be able to get a job somewhere.

/I hadn't even thought about offerings. I need to learn more about the traditions involved.

"So you're seriously considering settling down here. Hmm. You do realize you're a stranger in the city, don't you?"

Lias scratched the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Well, that's true. The strange thing is, the city is huge, and yet everyone I meet knows that I'm not from here. The guards on every corner shake when I get out. Although all know and respect you here, and I'm your apprentice. So they don't like me, but they don't chase me away."

"Hmm. You gave me an interesting idea. Well," Marius said thoughtfully. "I'll let you live in the city. You choose where you want to settle down, and I'll arrange everything. Here are my terms. First, you'll naturally stay in my training, with all the consequences that entail. If you don't do well, I'll revoke your permit. The second is that you really should become a servant in the temple or a library. If you can't do either within a week, let me know."

Lias nodded eagerly.

"And three. Selena Rangeso will live with you. She'll keep an eye on you so you don't do anything stupid or skip studying."

Lias took on a depressed look.

"Whatever you say, teacher. Аh... Is it necessary, Lady Rangeso?"

"Is there a problem? I thought you were getting along pretty well."

"Oh, no, there's no problem, of course. We get along. Well, at least she doesn't try to eat me, tells me lots of interesting things and all that. She just makes fun of me all the time and... I'm afraid of her, anyway."

"It's insignificant," the lich brushed off. "The living are quick to adapt to conditions they can't change. I'll bring her up to date. I have other tasks to perform, and you can go."

Lias bowed and headed for the exit. Marius hovered above the floor again-maintaining the weightlessness spell required less attention than supporting himself in any other way.

/Lord Cassius, in a conversation with Lord Katsuba, once mentioned that it takes twenty-one days to develop a steady habit in a human being," the lich pondered, seeing the boy off. /In twenty-one days I will find out if this fact applies to a man of this world. And if he can get used to the vampire's constant presence around him, perhaps he will begin to appreciate her as a person and not as an otherworldly being. In that case, the crossbreeding experience will be easier to accomplish.

Marius had been pondering the idea of increasing the vampire population since the first days after the "event". There were only two species of relatively intelligent undead under his command - lichs and vampires. However, only the latter possessed a personal, relatively independent self-consciousness, and unlike the liches, Marius could not create them at his will. The blood curse bestowed on the noble families by Lord Cassius went far beyond what Marius could do.

/Without self-awareness, self-determination, without a full-fledged self, there can be no development. Without development comes stagnation, the accumulation of experience and resources becomes meaningless, and eventually decay sets in. Of course, self-awareness is not the only necessary factor for development, and yet it is what makes progress possible. In the example of Lias, I see this very clearly.

The probable problem was that the number of vampires was fixed, and it had never changed positively in the history Marius knew. And it was, from his point of view, completely insufficient.

Just in theory vampires could transmit this curse to living humanoid beings. All that was required was mutual consent. Without the consent of the one being turned, he became not a vampire, but a mindless ghoul, an undead creature of much lower rank. Obedient and rather quickly incapacitated.

Marius thought about the possibility of expanding the population in this way but dismissed the idea. The citizens of Dawn City would not voluntarily do such a thing. And even if they could persuade someone, William would be a problem. Marius was sure that the king would never allow such a thing, and if pressed, he would snitch on the Prophet.

How the Prophet would react to such an initiative, Marius did not know and did not really want to find out.

Considering any of the natives as candidates for conversion was an even more dubious idea. Archlich was not sure that the aboriginal mentality would allow them to assimilate with the dark factions of the Dawn without a whole bunch of problems. Both on his part and that of the noble families, who were pious about tradition and did not regard any outsiders as equals. It was also worth considering the likelihood of the convert's flight and the subsequent uncontrolled spread of the gift of cursed blood.

This could lead to chaos, which was not Marius' intention. So, all that was left was to try to increase the population the "natural" way.

The ability of vampires to reproduce classically was very much in question. Vampires of both sexes were capable of copulation, though they had no interest in it at all. Except that the males did not produce semen. At all. Marius planned to deal with that, but much later. For now, he wanted to see how a live male would handle fertilization.

/It's annoying to have to go around and create so many influences for the sake of one alive person. I hope the result will be worth it. We'll see in twenty-one days.

He returned to his previously interrupted musings.

Illadria relayed the Prophet's words that he would contact everyone later. This is so unusual that Marius hesitated for a moment before he believed her. At that moment, he ran through every possible motive for the elf to lie, and he saw none that was likely. A parsing of her intonation betrayed sincere confusion and even a certain timidity.

Something was going on, and Marius felt the physical pain of not being able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

/The Prophet left us alone. This is a great stress for each vassal. At the same time, each was given an ambiguous task.

Wilhelm... He was assigned to perform the old duties under the new conditions. I suppose the pitfall was that the administrative apparatus was not designed to work under such loads. And yet the King still managed to overcome this obstacle and guessed to ask for help from me. The younger Leeches turned out to be exemplary bureaucrats.

Illadria was entrusted with nothing at all. That might seem strange if you don't dig deeper. She's indecisive, shaky. Obviously, the idea was to encourage her to take the initiative on her own. Find out if she's capable of doing something on her own. It looks like she is.

Warboss wanted war and he got it. I suppose the question was whether he was capable of waging it as a general or just fighting in person. And the kind of enemy with whom screwing up is not scary.

Draga, a demon in human form, assimilates into society. She is of little use if she is incapable of it.

It's not clear about Malikriss. Obviously, she has a subtle effect on significant people, creating social tension. This, on the one hand, is bad. But on the other hand, she emphasizes the weaknesses of the organization without destroying it. Except that with Wilhelm, she seems to have gone a little overboard. Or was it meant to be? It is not clear.

I, on the other hand, was assigned an apprentice. And despite the seeming irony, this apprentice helps me to comprehend new things - improvisation, multivariate. A new perspective on my research. Such a useful gift, I have so many plans connected to it. And at first, I was going to turn him into the undead...

Stress in such a case is a powerful engine of thought. With no rigid framework other than their fear of screwing up, everyone puts in as much effort as they would not in a normal situation.

If you see it as a test, it seems elegant at first glance. And yet... It's not everything. It can't be all. Too obvious, too simple for the Lords. There is something else here, something important. And the news from Illadria confirms it directly.

Correlating Malikriss' actions and Wilhelm's willingness to do the irreparable... Something must happen. If He does not intervene right now, tragedy will ensue. She is hardly the goal. Doesn't fit the Prophet's chosen pattern of behavior.../

At the same moment, Marius's mind was unceremoniously invaded. Marius, receiving his instructions, felt a profound satisfaction at being right.

Something very interesting was brewing.

+ + +
*Talik*

Talik rode a horse for the first time in his life. Draga sat him down in front of her as they rode out, firmly declaring that it was unbecoming of him to walk on foot over mud and bumps.

In the game, he used riding mounts all the time. That experience was nothing compared to what he was experiencing now. In the game, it was more like moving on a mobile platform. Just mentally controlled movement in one direction or another. The sensation was starkly different now. The movement of the demon racehorse's knobby muscles felt like you could feel it through the saddle. His own body, moving in time with the horse's footsteps, experienced a whole range of unaccustomed sensations. For the first couple of minutes, Talik feared that he could not keep his balance and fall. Then he realized that even in this case he was in absolutely no danger, and continued to enjoy the new experience.

Although they wouldn't let him fall anyway. He was sitting almost on Draga's lap, and the demoness was practically hugging him, holding the reins.

+Interestingly, I did not pay attention to the fact that she is almost a head taller than me. I've never seen her before, but practically every Dawn unit is taller than me if you look at it that way. It's designed to make it harder to pick me out in a crowd. That's why I changed my first skin. I liked it better than this one though.

He leaned back carefully, leaning against Draga. She did not expectantly object. The relief of the armor felt strange through his clothes. The smooth sway of the ride made him sleepy.

He decided not to wait for the return of the rangers who had been sent to find the murderer, or at least his tracks. Daimon's desire to leave this place as quickly as possible was quite reasonable. Talik decided that there was no practical reason to wait for news by sitting still. The adventurers decided to go with him after all, and that was a good thing. If they'd decided to separate from him and go their way, they'd have to think of something to cover for them. And looking back on a dead Spy, stalkers weren't a panacea.

+Their life is all about risk, and they act like it's normal. That's someone with balls of steel. I envy them a little bit. It'd be great to get them to come to City with me. It just doesn't seem like they'd go, and to force them... I don't want to.

He turned to look at the adventurers. The three walked in a chain behind the horse, at their usual marching pace. Daimon had a detached, somber expression on his face, and Bryce, at the back of the procession, had his hand on the hilt of his gift, listening intensely to something. Every now and then a flicker of fire flashed through Era's hair from beneath the hood. I couldn't see the girl's face.

The stalkers were checking the woods ahead and to the sides, but they didn't show their faces. Talik couldn't understand why Era was so tense in their presence. Before Draga spoke to her on the sidelines before they left, and after Era became less tense. Though she was even more distant than when she first met her.

+It's a pity, of course. On the other hand, I'm sure we'll meet again later. She knows a lot of the things I need, and I can at least hire her. Even if not as a friend.

Half an hour after he left, as agreed, he was contacted by Marius. Talik could not determine exactly how much time had passed, but he relied on the extremely pedantic and meticulous undead.

"Prophet, the time has come."

"All right, open the portal."

Talik wanted to see if the malfunctions of the portals were tied to a specific location, or to something else. He looked around carefully. A portal funnel, though black, would be hard to miss even at night.

The plains stretched on, covered with sparse vegetation and sparse groves. The moon was shining bright enough to see even the individual leaves on the nearby trees. There was no portal.

"Send a skeleton."

"Done." Archlich paused briefly. "I've lost control of the skeleton, and right now I'm witnessing its destruction."

+About three kilometers. The boundary can be considered the area where the connection begins to fail, it is quite clear, a couple of steps only. Okay, looks like they got the keys. Okay, guys, I respect that, that was smart. Let's take a look at your processing power.

"Marius, how many portals can you open at once, did you find out?"

"Yes, Prophet. At this moment I can support the work of two global or nine small ones."

"Yeah, that's not great. But okay. It takes you about one and three seconds to open a small portal, right?"

"One and three? A second and a third, if I understand correctly. Yes, exactly that long."

+Is he counting in fractions? Yeah. I mean, how could he... Okay. Shit, and I'm the only one who can open the com channel, and there's no mana.

"Marius, I want you to do the following. Equip a gang of skeletons and Pudge. Engage Illadria on my behalf, and create portals from Necropolis to me. The point is to constantly create new portals from different locations. The distance need not be great, but always different. One step, three, two, two and a half, five, that sort of thing."

---When closing portals that have already been created, choose a random one and don't repeat the order number. Make sure that portals are not created simultaneously. Each of the existing portals must go to at least one object, no matter what kind. A skeleton there, or a stone, it's a different weight and the fact of the transfer that counts. Keep in mind that we are likely to lose this object, so don't send anything of value.

--At some point, the portal will open, but the object will not move. Then let the skeletons burst, with all their might. After making sure that the skeletons get to their destination, throw in the Pudge, in the same way. Do not attack anyone on the spot without my direct command."

"It will be done," Marius's voice suggested that the archlich was smiling predatorily.

Talik interrupted the message and exhaled. Soft, irresistible fatigue came over him in waves, and he wanted to close his eyes and relax. The feeling of inner emptiness, indicative of a completely depleted mana supply, lulled him to sleep. He shook his head, pushing the feeling away. It was too soon to relax.

Talik looked around, waiting for the portals to come into view.

It was an old trick to fight interceptions. The cunning Yggdrassil thugs, having intercepted the keys, more often than not did not have enough resources to calculate a particular crossing. So by default, everything within a single transport line was intercepted. And if there was too much diverse data on a single thread, the processing center - most often a specialized NPC or a chip connected through a mod - froze up dead. To stop the interception before the calculator "jammed", one had either to know exactly what was going to happen and in what order, or to have great experience and good intuition.

The method of fighting was very expensive, not everyone could afford so much mana. And it always worked.

Nothing happened for half a minute, then Bryce's anxious voice was heard.

"Hey, guys, look around!"

Everyone turned around.

"What is it?" Era asked in fascination.

Very far away, over the Plains of Kaz, the northern lights were slowly breaking out. A bright-line appeared high in the sky and slowly turned into a deep crack. It grew wider and wider, and then another one appeared, and another.

After a couple of minutes, the light from this phenomenon became brighter than the moonlight, and everything around it was colored in soft blue-green tones.

"Thaler?" Daimon said tensely. "Would you be so kind as to clarify?"

"We just stand and wait. It will all be over soon."

In fact, Talik had never seen such an effect. Before, everything happened without the visual component.

+Well, that's a good thing. At least I remembered the direction. Wait for a visit, faggots.

The shimmer of light in the night sky let his guard down, and Talik blacked out for a moment. Terrible crushing pain in his shoulder brought him to his senses. His head was dizzy, his ears were ringing, and his body was slow to listen. He jerked, trying to get out of the grip, but it was in vain.

"What the..."

He was finally able to focus his naughty eyes. A black, gauntlet-clad heel dug into his shoulder. A strong jerk turned him around to the rider sitting behind him.

Draga, with a kind of alien, evil expression, studied his face with eerie black eyes. There was no shadow of the familiar adoration in them. This was no fanatical bodyguard, but a beastly demon.

"...heck?!" Talik finished the question.

Or rather, he thought he had finished. He realized that he hadn't actually made a sound, just moved his lips. Talik tried to scream, and the air only hissed out of his lungs.

Draga snarled, and Talik jerked as hard as he could, trying to pull away. Something inside of him predicted that he was about to have his throat literally torn out.

And I woke up - the difference between the dream and the reality was quite palpable.

He turned back quickly to see Draga pulling his hand to his shoulder in surprise and confusion. He brushed it away nervously with the back of his hand. There was a look of hurt and something akin to fear on the demoness' face.

+What the hell is going on? thought Talik tensely, searching Draga's face for signs of the madness he'd seen in his nightmare. There were none, though it was faintly comforting.

+After that chapel, this is the second time I've had a breakdown. Well, the main thing is to get "home," and then we'll see.

"What... What is it...?" Draga's voice was confused and uncertain.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Don't mind me."

"But I..."

"It doesn't matter. We need to go home first. Just protect me, please."

"As you command."

The adventurers paid no attention to this situation - their attention was undividedly occupied by the light show in the distant sky. The cracks and splits in the sky were no longer pulsating but shining steadily.

+I wonder how the rest of the locals will take to this light show. It must be a hell of a view, Talik thought aloof.

In an instant, it was all over. The northern lights just went out, as if they hadn't existed. Talik was secretly expecting an explosion or something as the climax but it didn't.

+Although who knows what happened there, on the spot. Maybe it blew up.

There was a tense crackle in the air around, and black holes of portals burst into the air all around. A moment later, decayed skeletons in dingy, dusty, and dented armor poured out in an avalanche. The Guild insignia on their breastplates, clearly visible in the moonlight, caught the eye.

There were dozens of them. Silent and determined dead men, armed with swords, ax, or halberds, surrounded Talik's company. Empty eye sockets glimmered with blue gleams. The portals closed and opened again, releasing more and more undead.

"Thaler," Daimon growled, standing at the ready and looking around frantically. "Do something, or we're all fucked! I've seen undead like this before, and we're no match for them!"

"This is going to sound strange, but no. It's for me," Talik replied as he got off the horse.

Not far away another portal opened, and a Pudge emerged from it. The carcass, four meters tall and almost as big in girth, was flaunted by a thick apron of dark stains and splotches. The entire body was mottled with sloppy, diverging stitches, bound with metal staples. Bare muscles and lumps of fat were visible from beneath them.

In his left hand, he held a butcher's cleaver as big as himself. In his right hand was an ominous-looking hook on a chain, the other end of which was fastened directly to the bones of his wrist. The face, sewn from separate scraps, sported uneven, muddy eyes. Large yellow teeth protruded from the crooked mouth, which looked more like a laceration.

The stench of decomposing meat was thick and almost physically palpable. Talik grimaced. He'd requested a Pudge based on the characteristics of this necromorph, and he'd completely disregarded the smell.

+I've never encountered such a stench in Necropolis, even after shifting. And there is no mana to "cleanse". Brrr. On the whole, the news is good, the pudge got through, which means that the interception does not work. Home, home. To cleanliness, comfort, and safety.

Pudge staggered toward the group.

"Play?" A gurgling bass was heard. The huge knife whistled in his thick fingers.

Talik saw the blue sparks flickering around Era's deathly pale fingers, and Daimon about to launch a suicidal attack. Bryce, with his hand on the hilt of his dagger, looked around expectantly.

+Oh guys, how different we are. I'm sorry, for God's sake.

"No, play later," replied Talik to Pudge, heading toward him.

"Later." The monster grumbled disappointedly and bowed aside.

All the undead obediently parted, giving Talik passage to the last portal. He turned around.

"I have to go, guys. I enjoyed traveling with you. It's a shame it won't happen again. If you still want to know who I am... You'll have to come with me."

"What if we don't want to know it?" Daimon asked tensely.

"Then we'll say goodbye here. I think we'll meet again in the future. All of this," he circled the dead host, "looks rather unsightly. So I understand how you feel. I wish you'd come with me. You could give me a lot, and I could give you a lot. But, as I promised, I won't force you."

"Thank you for the invitation. We have to decline it. Have a good trip, Thaler." Daimon said smoothly.

+It would have been foolish to expect otherwise, Talik thought and smiled sadly.

"Thank you. Then one last little request. When you tell someone what happened, don't mention Draga." He saw three simultaneous nods. "Well, good luck with that."

He waved his hand and stepped into the portal. Like the last time, he went to the other side instantly, without the slightest delay. He was followed by Draga, who emerged from the black vortex.

Talik found himself in the main square of Necropolis, at the foot of a monument that had been destroyed by "time". He looked up at the low, gray sky with relief.

The other portals flickered at the edges of the square, and one by one the skeletons of cover arrived. My heart felt a slight tingle of anxiety, but it was relieved when a pudge appeared from one of the funnels.

At the edge of the square, a meter above the paving stones hovered Marius. Not far from the monument could be seen the figures of Illadria and Wilhelm. Both the king and the elf were "in full equip". Wilhelm in his massive armor and sword at his belt, and Illadria in the "Endless Winter" set and with the staff of the "Lord of Storms".

+Weird, I thought he'd be waiting at the Palace.

Talik smiled guiltily and spread his hands.

"Well, I'm home."

The elder vassals shot him hostile glances. Wilhelm's cold voice was heard:

"Draga, whom and why did you bring to our home?"

+ + +
*Daimon Group*

The adventurers, tense to the breaking point, stared at the undead disappearing into the portals. When the last gap in space lingered, Era exhaled noisily and sat down on the ground. Daimon relaxed a little, too.

"Guys, I owe you an apology. I insisted on taking him with me. It was a huge mistake."

After a few seconds of silence, he was answered by Bryce's laughter, full of a kind of excitement and lightness.

"What are you talking about, Dai? Guys, this is the most epic quest of our lives! Haa! We've seen real Wraiths, we've seen the curse of the Kaz Plains dispelled, we've even seen the fuck knows what to call this horde of dead men! And yet we're still alive, and I've got tons of gold in my pockets and a blade that's worth unmeasurable! Any bard would hang himself with envy, would you?!"

Era laughed, too, sitting on the ground. The nervous tension didn't leave her until the end, but the laughter was not hysterical, but relieved.

"And you're right, Bryce. And to be honest, I even thought about following him. Who knows what I would have seen and learned... If it weren't for the elves and that crazy woman."

"What's wrong with her?" Bryce asked, sitting down next to her. "She sounds interesting enough to me. I'd like to play around with her."

"She promised to feed me to the dogs if I followed them. I didn't think she was joking. I guess Thaler doesn't know about it, so it might as well have been. Still, I'd take my chances if it weren't for the elves."

Daimon sat down heavily third.

"Refrain from going into detail, they may be nearby and hear everything. We have to hurry. Right now there's probably panic everywhere because of that light in the sky. We should get to the guild quickly and tell them what we saw. It might help restore order."

"You're right," Era looked around nervously.

Bryce nonchalantly stretched himself.

"Leader, you've ruined the mood. You're right, though. Time to hit the road."

+ + +
*Talik*

Talik looked from Wilhelm to Illadria, frozen like an ice statue, and felt a strange lightness.

He'd been terrified from day one of something like this. That the revived NPCs would see him as an impostor, a weak, insignificant man in his essence. He had no right to enjoy the privileges and power of the materialized Guild.

Now the worst thing that could have happened had happened. There was nothing to be afraid of, and it was as if a tight knot had been untied in his soul. Talik felt a previously unknown feeling - the proximity of death. And still, he smiled brightly. Because now the threat was clear. Obvious, clear, and predictable.

Draga stepped forward and said with a ring of metal in her voice:

"Wilhelm, you should be torn to pieces for what you said. How can you not recognize the one who breathed life into us?"

"Demon, you have lost your mind. The creature behind you... How could it deceive you? There is nothing in it of the one whose return we await. Do you realize what a sin you are committing, passing off a stranger as the Prophet?"

Draga clenched her fist with a gnash.

"When He punishes you for those words, I will enjoy every moment of your suffering, you foolish king. Step aside. I must lead the Prophet into His temple."

"Do you really think I'm going to let you take an impudent stranger into the Sancta Sanctorum? That any citizen of the City would let him in other than over his own dead body? You really are mad! My troops are ready, waiting only for orders to go in search of the true Prophet. Kill this stranger and join us. Your knowledge of this world can be of great use to the success of this quest. In this way, you will redeem yourself, at least in part."

Draga slowly turned to Talik. Over her shoulder, she looked at him with the same aloofness that Talik had seen in his nightmare. She gave him a hard look and then turned back to Wilhelm.

"I know how you feel. And I know how wrong you are in your judgment. So I will kill you without a shadow of a doubt if you even think of harming Him."

"Then do it!" Wilhelm shouted and launched himself into the attack.

Until this very moment, Talik thought it was possible to resolve the matter peacefully. The NPCs had become sapient, and it was possible to try to negotiate with them. It was the perfect opportunity to relinquish his obligations and responsibility for the well-being of the revived Guild. Just walk away and leave the NPCs to their own devices.

He knew it was a coward's choice, and he honestly admitted to himself that he was a coward. To save his life in such a way as to flee would condemn this continent, or even the world, to chaos. There were creatures in the Guild so strong that no one would be able to fight back. And if they set their sights on conquest - and in the case of Wilhelm or Warboss, there was no doubt about it... They could easily do whatever they wanted.

+The pictures I saw will come true. A sea of blood, mountains of dead bodies. Though it looks like there will be someone to confront them if everything comes true. Do I want it to? Certainly not. Would I care how it would end if I were killed?

He didn't want to die asserting the right to unnecessary power and burdensome duty. To die in earnest, for real, with agony and pain. He hesitated - and now Wilhelm had robbed him of his choice.

The two armored figures crossed swords with a clang. Draga parried the blow easily, and with a twist of her two-handed blade, she struck a powerful blow from the side. The King put up a hard block, and sparks flew apart.

Talik saw out of the corner of his eye that Illadria had begun to act

+She seems to have adhered to a predetermined order of recognizing aggression. Now Wilhelm, an ally, was under attack. The enemy is identified, and now...

Illadria began to cast a "Mark of Ice" spell on Wilhelm.

+This is not good, it means she will hit with AoE. It is in the presets only when there is more than one enemy. So I am also recognized as an enemy. Mark to take out the Friendly fire, launch "Ice Age", two point attacks, then a hurricane from under the glacier, bombs, and Nova. Well, well.

Talik was surprised to realize that he was assessing what was happening from the gamer's point of view. He saw what was happening through the same eyes, but the prism of perception was not the one he had come here with. Not the polite, fearful philistine. But a cold, calculating, gambling cyber-sportsman.

+It's for the best. Okay, what do we have? Marius freezing, buff tank/nuker vs hybrid/heel, two on two. Burst setup against faggots, only faggots have healer dressed like shit, dry and oneshot. Okay, kids, let's see who's pro here.

He snapped his fingers in Illadria's direction, casting a sleep spell. The elfess interrupted her reading of the "mark" and almost fell down - she was immediately awakened by Wilhelm's shout.

+The first invocation interrupted. Сuldown of mark 6.29 seconds, two lances or three lightning bolts. She accelerates the ice, so there will be ice.

Draga missed the blow, not having enough time to repel the king's lunge. The sword struck the armor hard. Draga immediately counterattacked, unleashing a barrage of brutal blows on Wilhelm. Wilhelm didn't manage to block all of them - there were a few blows to the body. His armor held the blows - for now. The King was forced to retreat, one step at a time.

Talik noted that when Draga received the blow, guilt and regret stirred in his chest - and at the same time, there was a slight flow of mana.

+The " Compassion" talent works, which means you guys are fucked. In 2×2, I'll do people like you even naked.

In the mind instantly appeared the scheme of the battle.

+I wish Marius would stay up until we're done. Or not at all - he'll sneeze us off on his floor.

He immediately used [message].

"Draga, it's coming from Illadria. Stop and take the hit, Wilhelm will withdraw for a " dash," an "impaction" into him as soon as the distance allows. Don't let him out of Illadria's sight."

"I will," the demoness grumbled grudgingly.

Talik noticed in passing that he didn't need to spell out the entire text - Draga was instantly aware of the thought that had been formed.

It was time to retreat around the corner of the ruined monument - he couldn't be on the list of likely targets for a pinpoint spell. He took a step back, and a moment later saw an ice cone the size of a motorcycle fly into Draga's head. Draga kept her balance, only twitching her head.

"The Ice Spear" shattered into shards, revealing the aftermath. Half of Draga's body was covered in frost, and the frostbitten skin on the right side of his face was cracked and scarlet-black. The feeling of mana flowing in intensified.

The demon growled briefly, regrouped, and with a loud pop of air left her field of vision. A moment later, the ground beneath her feet trembled, and there was a rumbling, cracking, and triumphant roar. Talik waited for another sound of a shattering block of ice and peered out from behind the monument.

In one of the crypts in the corner of the square, the columns were shattered and the wall partially collapsed. There, in a cloud of dust, sparks of polished steel flickered chaotically. Draga steadily pushed Wilhelm into the open space.

Illadria began to cast the "Mark of Ice" again. Talik interrupted her with a "Penance," putting Illadria in a trance-like state. Wilhelm was distracted for a moment and barked:

"Wake up!"

Illadria immediately woke up, and, against Talik's expectations, didn't use another pair of "ice spears. She scattered golden fireflies, teleporting off to the side. From the corner of his eye, Talik caught a distinctive flicker - Illadria appeared a hundred and fifty paces from the center of the square, in a wide paved street between two tall mausoleums.

+That's not very good, whether she has more brains or... It doesn't matter.

He assessed the likely angle of attack. From the elf's position, it was impossible to hit either Wilhelm or Draga. But she could see Talik perfect.

Talik ducked to the corner of the monument, tumbling to land and sending Draga "regeneration" at once. It wasn't the best option, it took most of his mana but he didn't have time for anything else. He'd barely made it around the corner when the "icy breath" hit the square.

The air froze for a moment, and then, with a terrifying howl, the strongest gust of wind hit, carrying fragments of rock and razor-sharp ice. Everything around him was instantly covered with a thick layer of steamy frost. An eerie cold hit the body, chilling the limbs. Fingers, ears, and face instantly stiffened.

"Oh, fuck," Talik howled, his eyes bulging and his palms tucked under his armpits.

There was not much to counter Illadria in this situation. From the available options, Talik saw only playing through obstacles. He didn't take direct damage but he didn't like the "frostbite" debuff in the new realities at all.

Talik, from his position, could not see Draga and Wilhelm fighting. From the slow arrival of mana and the lack of sounds of landscape destruction, they were still warming up with simple chopping, without the use of skills. Draga had nowhere to draw soul shards in 1×1 combat, and Rage was building up too slowly in a simple exchange of blows. Wilhelm had practically no combat skills, only buffs.

+So, they're in there for the long run. Damn, it's cold.

He heard Illadria's voice as the elfess began to chant the "ice bombs" spell. He couldn't reach her at that distance, and he didn't see any way to knock the cast off. After comparing the distance to the nearest passageway to the crypt and the time of the spell with the flying time of the bombs, he decided to take his chances.

Jumping out from around the corner, he rushed straight toward the fighting tanks. His feet were stuck in the crisp frost that spread all over the square, and the feeling of the wild cold intensified, though a moment later it didn't seem possible. Talik appreciated the magnitude of the impact - the frost was everywhere, spreading far and wide beyond the square, covering the "streets," the walls, and the roofs.

"Draga, don't let Wilhelm hurt me, keep him here until he falls off."

Draga executed the order in the best possible way. She changed her "stance" to an attacking stance and unleashed a hurricane of swift, powerful blows on Wilhelm. She couldn't afford to do such a thing under the threat of Illadria's strike - that stance greatly increased the incoming damage.

Talik skipped behind her back to the breach in the wall. As he moved, he saw crystals falling from the sky, blindingly glittering. Once he was inside the funeral hall, he commanded:

"Start an "army"!

And rushed behind the nearest sarcophagus.

It rumbled so loudly that Talik's ears seized up and his eyes snapped wide open. There was a nasty whistling sound in my head for a few moments. The floor bounced like a ship on a wave. Overhead flew granite blocks of the wall, the size of a good travel case, and the torn-off lid of a sarcophagus. Dense clouds of dust filled everything around, through which the light of a dull gray sky cut through. Frost quickly began to spread across the floor with a crunch.

+It won't kill Wilhelm, but it will hurt him badly. Have you learned how to prioritize? I give you a standing ovation. Did you know that he has nothing to heal from?

He thought the latter as he made his way through the rubble to the "normal" exit of the crypt. He was a priority target for Illadria, and it was a shame not to take advantage of it. The exit to which Talik headed led to another "street." AoE spells weren't particularly effective there, lots of obstacles and cover. Playing catch-up with an inexperienced mage was a good idea.

As he flew up the stairs, he ran head-on into the elfess, who seemed to have guessed his thoughts and intercepted him.

Illadria smiled victoriously, folded her hands in a sly pass and inhaled deeply.

+Good move," Talik noted, flicking his fingers to send her to sleep and catching her gently in his arms. "Except it's not very forward-thinking, getting out of the sight of someone who can remove control.

He laid Illadria gently beside the marble steps. The elf's face expressed serenity and peace.

The fight was actually won. Wilhelm had no chance in a 1×1 fight with Draga, especially getting hit by "ice bombs". The most he could do was delay his defeat by a few minutes. Any damage he inflicted would easily vampire back from him, simply at the expense of the armor bonus. That's not counting the simple math of damage. He could keep Illadria asleep until tomorrow - the duration is half a minute, the rollback is nine seconds, and he has enough mana to last a very long time. He was out of sight of Draga, and "compassion" did not bring mana - and still it was quite enough.

Though, of course, he couldn't hurt her, either, he'd wake her up. But there was no need, no... Desire.

+I won, and it was easy," Talik reflected, breathing into his frozen palms. "Not least at the expense of their ineptitude in tactics. All that remains is to finish Wilhelm off by keeping him out of Illadria's line of sight. It was a matter of minutes... I win. But what next? Kill? I don't want to. The way I've become a stranger to them, the way they behave... They're not really people. They're more like highly sophisticated machines. They have presets, patterns of behavior, and settings. They appear to be personalities, following the story prescribed to them, but they behave exactly like machines. Which can become human someday.

Talik sat down tiredly on the steps. His hearing began to return after the blast stunned him. The sounds of the battle between the two cells - the clanking of metal, the shouting, the clattering of stones - began to be heard.

+Why kill, for what? From the point of view of their program, they are doing absolutely the right thing. It's not their fault that the program started to malfunction. I do not know how to return everything to normal. Though it's naive to think that by winning this fight I've achieved something. Marius didn't disappear, did he?

Suddenly the sounds stopped, and there was literally a ringing silence. Talik looked up in surprise to see that everything around him was frozen. The snowflakes, the dust, the falling stone crumbs - they stopped as if poured into a glass.

+Marius unfreeze after all... Pity

Talik was almost indifferent to what was about to happen. He himself was surprised by this indifference, by the coldness of his own judgment - it wasn't something he was used to. Not to this extent, anyway. What he wanted most was to lie down and close his eyes.

+Time Stop... The old rules just let you use up to five spells at a time, regardless of cast time. Looks like time really stops here. Not completely, though.

He took a small pebble out of the air and flicked it forward. As soon as the stone crumb left his hand, it froze in the air.

+The light waves have definitely not stopped, the eyes perceive everything as usual. Interesting phenomenon, I would like to study it.

A shadow fell on Talik from above. He looked up to see Marius descending through the air. The archlich's robes fluttered slowly and smoothly, sometimes revealing the armor hidden beneath. In his right hand, Marius held a staff - a staff beautiful in its ugliness - like the spine of some creature, oozing gleaming black filth from its articulations. A heavy, graceful curved blade crowned the "shaft" instead of the skull.

"You did decide to interfere, didn't you?" Talik asked idly, leaning with his back on the crypt steps.

"I'm sorry," Marius bowed gallantly. "I do not wish to see further destruction in my domain. And the only way to stop it is to eliminate the root of the problem."

"Do you think I'm an outsider, too? Why didn't you intervene from the beginning?"

"It wasn't easy for me to overcome myself. All my senses tell me that you are an outsider. My whole being demands that you be turned to ash. It is clear to my mind that this is a mistake. You cannot be anything but a Prophet. Too many factors rule out any other option. To deceive me, an outsider would have had to replace you even before you left the City."

"That is, it is still possible to deliberately go against the settings."

"Settings? I'd be interested in learning more about it. But not right now. I feel that my mind will soon be unable to fight the temptation to blindly follow the urge to destroy you, and have taken the liberty of buying some time for... Request."

"Request?" Talik grinned. "Well, come on."

"Help me," Marius raised his head and stared at Talik with the blue lights in his eye sockets. "Not to kill you. Please. That Death Curse you brought with you is driving me mad."

Talik's lethargy and apathy were relieved.

"A Death Curse?" he clarified.

"Yes." Marius pointed his finger at Talik's chest. "It rips your soul from your flesh, distorts the perception. You cease to appear to be what you are..."

+A Death Curse, eh. Holy shit. Well, it gives me options.

In Yggdrassil, Death Curses were a subspecies of high-level debuffs. They caused no direct damage, but they were a fierce detriment to stats. Each individual Curse had its own set of problems. Their main problem was that, first, they couldn't be undone except with a World Item. And secondly, they didn't disappear when the character died. When the character was resurrected, he still had the debuff on him. The only way to get rid of a Death Curse was to wait until its duration expired. And wait it out online - the timer stopped at the logout.

Well, there was also another option - to force the one who imposed it to remove it. Sometimes the injured party even paid a ransom for the removal, though it was considered a vicious practice. Revenge, from Talik's point of view, was more practical.

No more than four Death Curses could be cast on a single target otherwise, the new ones would supersede the old ones, and the curser could not cast more than one curse of the same kind.

+And here's the chance to fix it.

"Then, we'll try to undo it now."

With these words, Talik removed the rings from his hands and stood in front of the Archlich, who towered over him by a head and a half.

"During a Time Stop, you can use up to five spells. Kashchey put five Death Curses in you, I remember that for sure. Use them on me."

"But... What's the point?" He tilted his head to his side.

"Just do it."

"As you wish."

+ + +
*Nigun*

His palms, which were on the floor, trembled tensely.

Inhale.

His arms bent, lowering his upright body so that his chin touched the cold granite slabs of the floor.

Exhale.

His arms straightened, lifting his body back to its starting point. Hot droplets ran down his forehead and temple, circling the swollen veins.

+Two hundred. I am so pathetic.

My muscles were literally crying from the exertion, the heart drumming in the temples. In normal times, Sir Nigun wouldn't even be tired from such a workout, but now he had to listen to the demands of a barely recovered body.

The new, unruly, capricious muscles and tendons had to be trained, re-invested with reflexes and resilience. It was easy to damage them now if they were strained in the usual way.

Sir Nigun reluctantly got to his feet.

It was very quiet in the cell of the temple complex, which went deep into the stone depths. Thick walls, carved directly into the rock base, dampened any sounds from outside. Even a faint draft of air passages was completely silent.

The four-by-ten-foot stone room, without windows, contained only a stiff wooden couch and a small altar, lit by a single candle. A perfect place for contemplation and meditation.

And for regrets that could only be shrugged off by concentrating on training.

After the urgent report, the Inquisition investigators came to him and questioned him thoroughly about what had happened. He didn't hide or lie about anything, just left out a couple of minor details. And from that moment on he was alone and in limbo.

Against his will, the picture of his defeat reappeared before his eyes. The bitter weight of humiliation and the sense of weakness, of helplessness in the face of evil, was again upon his heart.

Sir Nigun closed his eyes, trying to drive away the image of a hate-filled enemy who could not be defeated even by using holy relics.

+Punishment for my pride, no less

His ears caught the rustle of the door being shut. Sir Nigun, inwardly twitching, turned around quietly.

+The interrogator again? I shouldn't have kept it quiet... They didn't ask - a weak excuse, why did it seem so good to me before?

At first he did not recognize the man who had entered. A moment later, he knelt and bowed his head.

A withered old man with a carved cane, dressed in cloudy white and with the same beard down to his waist, entered the cell. His age had not spared his skin, which was riddled with wrinkles and age spots. Only his snow-white hair, flowing like a waterfall down his shoulders, had stood the test of time. The old man seemed to glow, spreading around him a sense of confidence and power. His eyes were clear, bright blue, without the slightest sign of senile lividity.

The Archivist waved off the guards on the other side and closed the massive door behind him. Sir Nygan could not see, but he heard the old man walk softly past and sit down on the bed.

There was silence for several minutes. Sir Nigun went over the possible reasons for the visit of the top official.

+The council are extremely busy people; they never waste time. Why did he come to me, instead of me being delivered to him?

It was impossible to guess what the Archivist was thinking, and Nigun waited patiently. Finally, a squeaky voice was heard.

"This place smelled like sweat. You're keeping your body busy to distract yourself from spiritual torment?"

"A pure soul does not tolerate idleness," Sir Nigun quoted, not taking his eyes off the floor.

"That's right, boy. But will the pure soul tolerate a lie on their lips?"

"I..."

Sir Nigun was interrupted by a palpable poke on the top of his head with a cane. It felt as if a nail had been hammered into his head.

"You ineptly tried to hide what you should have said in the first place. Why? Shame? Or something else?" The old man stood up and hovered over the man, examining him coldly with a sharp, attentive gaze.

"Shame," Nigun said.

"Have you been overpowered by a woman? You never once stated the gender of your enemy, formulating general phrases."

"Yes, Archivist. I didn't want to make my shame public."

"You should be above that," the old man exclaimed. "For someone like you, doubt and morality should mean nothing more than dust on your clothes. You serve the greater good, and you give yourself to that service with all your might. The opinion of the crowd should not concern you, no matter what you have achieved. I thought you already understood this simple truth... Well, that's not important right now."

The old man fell silent and sat back on the couch, deep in thought. Nigun waited patiently, fighting the urge to put his hand on the bruised area.

Finally, the old man continued.

"Are you sure it was the human being you were fighting with? Think hard, it's important."

"No," answered Sir Nighan after a little hesitation. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Justify your doubts."

"The smell told me it was human. In addition to blood and shit - peasant food, blasted earth, houses where other people lived. Neither inferior races nor demons smelled like that. Of the inferior races, only an elf could get in among the heretics, but it would take him many years to stop smelling like an elf. And in this case, I can't imagine any reason for creating such a masterful illusion that hides only appearances."

"A demon, if she found the self-control and the reason to join human society, could not get a guild badge. I heard that even the possessed cannot join the ranks of these mercenaries, they are immediately exposed and destroyed. All that said, that heretic is human."

The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Why the doubts?"

"A man can't use that kind of power without hurting himself. From the speed I saw, a man's hair would be torn from his head. The blows would break bones. When we warriors of the holy Scriptures go into heavy combat, we strengthen our bodies with magic and alchemy. We spend years learning not to cripple ourselves in battle. Every movement is calibrated and honed. I did not see that in her. Only unimaginable, unstoppable power. So, Archivist, I'm not sure if it was human.?"

"I see... Nigun, what do you know about the demon invasion two centuries ago?"

"Only what is written in the sacred texts. In general terms, the palace of the demons fell from the heavens, out of which came legions of unclean men and turned a now-defunct country into flames. Afterward, their emissaries enslaved the souls of the rulers of other nations. Through their mouths the demons compelled the nations to submit to evil. Those who refused were slaughtered without mercy. Only the holy church was able to put up a good fight against the evil one. Through faith and valor, demonic overlords in five years were defeated one by one, and their army defeated and exterminated."

"What about those demonic overlords?"

Nigun went pale.

"Do you mean to say..."

The old man nodded.

"Exactly. Vampires are unafraid of sunlight. Demons whose human form could deceive anyone. Monsters who single-handedly slaughtered entire armies."

"But the Holy Church exterminated them themselves and uprooted their accursed seed. Holy texts cannot lie! And a demon of such power could not have remained in obscurity for two centuries."

The old man sighed and shook his head.

"It's true that those demons were exterminated, every last one of them. And those who laid with them, and those who only wished to do so. All their offspring were consigned to the flames. The demon spawn we deal with these days is no match for those who brought so much trouble to our world."

"Then... How?"

"Isn't it obvious? New demons have appeared. There are many signs... A green-skinned invasion from the great forest, something driving entire peoples of the unclean from their territories. A rift of world matter in the sky over the cursed plains. Strong gifted ones coming from nowhere.

---People are once again facing a great war. That's bad enough, but what's worse is that not everyone realizes how terrible the threat is. You," the old man pointed a skinny finger at Nigun, "are fully aware of that, Nigun. Just imagine if there were hordes of creatures like the one you met."

"Sinless, I will sacrifice myself and whatever it takes to protect our world without the slightest doubt. Tell me, what should I do?"

"Your squad is destroyed. How quickly can you recruit new warriors to replace those who have fallen, if you are given the right to draft?"

"About two months. If I'm allowed to use the Gate, three days."

"I'll grant you permission and four days to do everything."

"I will gather the men. But, Archivist, I ask you in advance to forgive me for my doubts. I do not believe that I can gather enough forces to face such a threat."

"The ones you recruit aren't needed for the war with the demons. Most likely, they won't live to see it. A detachment under your command will take on the elves. You'll sneak across the neutral lands, enter the forests they occupy, and terrorize them. We have no reconnaissance, so rely primarily on your intuition, experience, and what you can get out of the survivors. Act as quickly and brutally as you can. That way, you'll distract a significant portion of their frontier forces."

"We will be slaughtered, and fast enough. The Praetor said there was no point in such an invasion, it would deplete our troops."

"Didn't you say you were willing to make any sacrifices? This is a bad way, Nigun. It involves great losses, which we always try to avoid. But there is no good way. It's the only way we can quickly reduce the threat on our borders, if only temporarily. Those who appear for your head will leave their patrols in neutral lands, the raiders will cease to be a threat to the border villages and fortresses. This sacrifice will give us time to regroup our forces and prepare for a much heavier war."

"I got it. I'll get it done."

"One more thing, Nigun. It is your responsibility to survive in any case. In the coming war, every warrior trained to handle the relics of the Heroes will count. We might even have to use a half-breed."

Sir Nigun gnashed his teeth.

"Zetsumey? This half-animal... How are you going to keep this creature in check?"

"That's not your concern," replied the Archivist coldly.

The old man stood up, leaning on his cane. For a moment it seemed to Sir Nigun that he was not an omnipotent demigod and indestructible pillar of the state, but a simple, tired old man.

"It might be a matter of days, Nigun. Soon the demons will settle in and show their appetites. We have to be prepared for that. Come on, I'll take you to the Gate."

+ + +
*Necrarch*

The ritual hall was unrecognizable. Usually, the place was dark, dull, and lifeless. The outlines of the most complex spells were not at all visible at other times - at least to normal eyes. Sometimes, when complex and energy-intensive rituals were performed, the control lines would become oversaturated, and then they would give off a barely perceptible glow.

Sovereign has always treated magic rationally and with care.

Now the great hemispherical cave glowed in a way that Sovereign had no suitable comparison. Every outline, every line, every rune was ablaze, and the stone in which they were embedded was beginning to glow.

Flickering, tearing symbolic constructs filled the entire space between the floor and the walls. Flashes, as bright as the sun that suddenly peeked out from behind the clouds, which heralded the destruction of another circuit, flashed more and more frequently. Barely a few seconds passed between the last ones.

Sovereign worked hard, trying to fix his mistake.

Finding the keys that the Kings used to distort space wasn't that difficult. It was to be expected; the magic of the pseudo-gods was always the same, at least at first. The only difficulty was that these Kings used it surprisingly infrequently - it wasn't immediately possible to predict the "ins" and "outs" for key-finding.

A long rumbling sound came from the depths of the mountain, the floor trembled, and Sovereign felt a wave of uncontrollable power approaching swiftly. Another storage unit failed.

At first, the Necrarch considered the capture of the necroconstruct a stroke of luck. Of course, he had hoped for a much bigger fish - ideally, one of the Kings would have fallen into the trap. But their craft was a great prize, too. It was unbelievably powerful but dumb enough that it was impossible to seize control of it. It was perfect.

The value of the specimen was much higher than even other-world artifacts. The creature resisted so stubbornly, clinging to its pseudo-life. It "died" for so long that Sovereign had time to record in every detail all the subtleties of the interaction of the elements embedded in it. Some of the knowledge gained saved decades of experimentation. Some were revolutionary. What artifact can compare with the ability to produce such monsters?

A wave of pure, furious energy swept through the hall, sweeping away the pitiful remnants of the controlling circuits. The stone of the walls and floor caught fire and flowed, distorting, and destroying the etched patterns. The energy shattered everything in its path, releasing new energy. Like an avalanche, this wave amplified itself.

Sovereign abandoned his futile attempts to keep this power in check. He wasn't sure that he could even survive being caught in this raging sea of mana.

+Kings have always been predictable and naïve. What has changed, in what way?

The tracking spells let him know of the new portals as the Necrarch finished preparing the captured monster. He rejoiced, believing that the aliens had underestimated the threat and simplified the task of exterminating them. And at first, he was very surprised to see the skeleton that had appeared behind the barrier. A fine specimen for its category, nothing more. Sovereign put it to rest with only one small effort. As he pondered what such a drop in "quality" might mean, another appeared, then another, and another. Nekrarch realized that he'd been outsmarted when not just any undead thing came tumbling out of another portal, but an enormous, slick granite block. Covered in dust and moss, it landed on the patterned floor, crumbling an unresponsive skeleton in armor.

The spells aimed at intercepting portal magic were very sensitive and independent. Sovereign built the whole system so that it would do its work instantly and without interference from his side. And it was impossible to stop their action just like that. It could only be done by destroying the fruits of the labor of the past hundreds of years. He didn't dare, and now the energy he was taking was gushing in an endless stream into the storage that couldn't hold it. It was like food being pushed into a mouth unable to close, despite its already bursting belly.

Nekrarch quickly surveyed the impeccably luxurious observation halls. It was the last place the tide had not yet reached - and there was still something to be done here.

Crudely, irrationally, sacrificing all his rules to speed, the Neckrarch reshaped the force lines, extinguishing some spells and creating others. By the time the wave came, everything was ready.

+Although I would punish any of my adepts very severely for such work.

An irrepressible and merciless wave of pure power whipped into the hall, and, caught in the embrace of the restraining circuits, took the easiest path. Into the sky.

+Such a loss... To literally hold such wealth in my hands and be forced to simply throw it away... And at the same time, to lose what I have accumulated over many decades. It's excruciating.

The tearing sky high above shone with wild flames, illuminating the mountain and the whole area for hundreds of miles around with an unprecedentedly bright green-yellow light.

Sovereign grimly counted the preliminary losses. There was much unplanned work to be done.

Внимание! Этот перевод, возможно, ещё не готов.
Его статус: идёт перевод

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/82326/532548

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP