История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: Глава десятая. Мастер. Новые замыслы и новые проблемы архиврага Героя Королевы Эльфов

Chapter Ten. Master. New Plans and New Problems for the Arch-Enemy of the Hero of the Elf Queen.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 14:42

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Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 14:42

DIyarten. Underground.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 14:42

"Master! Master, what’s wrong?! Master! Calm down, you’re alright! Master!"

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 14:46

Frozen in his chair, Master—who had been convulsing and breathing heavily—stared for a few agonizingly long moments at the terrified faces of Saya and Bazita, who were leaning over him and trying to hold him steady. Behind them, the equally worried faces of the dark elves and Violetta were visible, while the head of the Petty One poked out near the armrest. *Damn it...* With a deep, heavy sigh, Master ran his hand over his body, confirming that the flames of the deep hadn't burned him alive—that he was perfectly fine, safe and sound. The same went for his subtle body; it hadn't been scorched by the crimson fire either. Those sensations had all belonged to the spider-woman. The moment Master realized this, he practically lunged out of the chair, shoving the girls and Violetta aside and barking only a brief word at them:

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:12

"I'm fine!"

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 14:47

He then fixed an intense gaze on the reflections in the mirrors arranged on the table, trying to fathom what had actually happened. Alas, the mirrors that had previously shown the spider-queen’s temporary lair by the fissure now revealed nothing but thick billows of black smoke streaked with occasional flashes of crimson flame—or else the images had vanished entirely. This could mean only one thing: the monitoring crystals to which they were attuned had been destroyed.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:13

Cursing, Master extinguished all the temporarily useless mirrors with a single wave of his hand and projected a 3D map of the entire city above the table instead; at the same time, he fully activated the palace’s defensive, offensive, and scanning wards—casting all concerns about secrecy aside. He needed to understand immediately what was happening in the city! What about the ritual? What about the Terror?! Come on, damn it... Aha!

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:35

The projected city map transformed before their eyes as it gained access to the scanning and search systems of the occupied Dark Elf palace—systems Master had brought to full power, using them to literally X-ray the city, particularly the area around the fissure that had split it apart. The first thing the systems revealed—after struggling somewhat to pierce the billowing clouds of suffocating black smoke that blanketed the area—was highly encouraging. The fissure was effectively gone! In its place lay a massive, solid mound of debris formed by the collapse of its walls and fragments of several nearby structures that had finally given way. Even more buildings had been damaged by the liquid subterranean fire spraying in all directions; fires were already beginning to smolder in a couple of them.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:15

The sight, however, brought Master a wave of immense relief. It had worked! Since the fissure was sealed and the Terror of Diyarten wasn't bursting out, the ritual had succeeded after all! Now, what about the cocoon? I need to gauge the extent of the damage... Right, let's tune into the necessary spectrum... What the...

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:37

For a few seconds, Master stared at the city’s projection in bewilderment. Then he shifted the spectrum of his magical sight. Then again. And once more. But the result remained the same. Fear pierced his heart as the realization of what had happened struck him, yet he refused to believe it until the very last moment, frantically recalibrating the palace’s search and scanning systems. Because if his hunch was right... The city’s projection shifted again, and Master peered feverishly at Diyarten’s magical background—specifically at the areas surrounding the city along the perimeter of the underground cavern where it was situated. And his terrible suspicion was fully confirmed. No—no, no, dammit!!!

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:16

Realizing that his assumption was correct after all, Master could not contain his emotions; slamming his fist onto the table, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:37

"Spawn of the depths, damn you! Abyssal monstrosity! Why—why did you have to show up now?! Right now, of all times—not a day later—damn you, you wretched assholet!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:39

"Master..."

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 17:21

Violetta’s quiet, wary voice made Master—breathing heavily—turn around sharply. His puppets and the Edelhart family were gazing at him with expressions of extreme tension—if not outright fear—clearly unable to fathom what had happened or the cause of his anger. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Master snatched his goblet, which still held a little water, from the table and drained it in a few gulps, spilling some onto his chest. After setting it back down and wiping his lips and chin, he let out a heavy sigh and spoke.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:50

"We have a serious problem. That accursed Terror of Diyarten disrupted the ritual at the last moment with its parting gift. I had already activated it in a desperate rush, without proper preparation, and then that spawn of the depths had to go and interfere with its fire—damn it all..."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:42

After exchanging glances with her children and Master’s puppets, Violetta cautiously asked for clarification.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:43

"And just how bad is it?"

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 17:32

With a darkened expression, Master turned back to the projection of the city and pointed at it, illuminating sections of the magical background along the perimeter of the underground hall.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:44

"Right now, things are going pretty well. But the key word is "right now." And it is very hard to say how long this "now" will last."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:45

Frowning, Violetta peered intently at the projection of the city, trying to understand what Master meant. After examining the highlighted areas several times, she asked for clarification, her voice still cautious.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:45

"I don't quite understand what you mean, Master. As far as I can see, everything turned out exactly as we wanted—the city is now in a spatial lacuna..."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:46

Turning to Violetta, Master fixed a gaze upon her that was at once heavy and sympathetic, then said with a grim smile.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:46

"Which merely indicates your lack of sufficient qualifications as a specialist of the School of Space."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:47

"I never even laid claim to that title," Violetta parried instantly and with perfect composure.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:50

"That’s a pity—it’s an extremely useful School, even if it’s quite difficult to master," Master said, smirking grimly again as he turned back to the city projection. "Though right now, even my knowledge wouldn't be enough to fix the situation. Take a look..."

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:09

Zooming in on a section of the underground hall's side wall, he explained.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:50

"As I said, the Ritual was distorted by the interference of that accursed Terror. We are not currently inside a stable, enclosed spatial pocket as I had intended—though it might appear that way. But no! Look at the streams of energy surrounding this underground chamber! They are not static! That means we are in the midst of being transported. Because of that accursed Terror, the cocoon failed to create a spatial pocket; instead, it teleported the entire underground hall!"

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:08

Violetta’s eyes widened at what she heard. And she wasn’t the only one; her children and Master’s puppets were just as shocked.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:07

"What?! But... how... that... that would require a simply enormous amount of energy..."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:50

"Or a very good foundation. For example, a gigantic cocoon created by a Master of the School of the Silken Web."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:51

"Where will we be transported? And when?" Dacus interjected, casting tense glances back and forth between Master and the projection of Diyarten.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:52

"Now that, Detective, is the right question," Master said, smirking grimly once more and again uttering that word no one understood. "Both of them, actually. I’m unlikely to be able to give a precise answer to the first one, for the simple reason that no movement vector was set in the first place. The only thing I can surmise is that it’s highly unlikely we’ll be spat out onto the surface. In all likelihood, the transit will take place within the confines of the Underworld. As for the second..."

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:06

After casting a glance over the currents of magical energy surrounding the city, Master spoke slowly.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:53

"Given the absence of an initial displacement vector, the ritual's original purpose, and its sheer power... I believe we have about twenty days—though, again, I’ll only be able to make reasonably accurate calculations once I’ve properly analyzed the aftermath of the Terror’s interference and assessed the results..."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:54

"Are you absolutely certain there’s no way to fix this? Not even with the help of the Tablet?" Violetta asked with undisguised hope.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:54

Lost in thought, Master addressed—with a mental command—lines invisible to anyone else. Glancing over them, he slowly shook his head without turning toward Violetta and spoke thoughtfully.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:55

"Completely? No. Not even with the power of the Tablet. Although if I were to use all the gifts I’ve acquired... Hmm... No, even then, it’s unlikely I could change anything fundamentally. It’s not my area of ​​expertise. I’m quite good—without false modesty—at creating and using portals, but this requires something else. Something the Apostate was famous for. If I had a specialization like "Architect of Space," then yes, perhaps I could have fully repaired the damage... I’ll certainly try to do *something*, but a fundamental fix is ​​unlikely. And it’s all because of that damned Terror—damn it all..."

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:01

"Did he damage the cocoon that badly?" Violetta asked cautiously.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:55

"Worse," Master said, shaking his head and hissing viciously. "He destroyed it."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:56

"What?! How?!" the Edelhart family and Master’s puppets cried out, almost in unison.

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 11:59

"That last bit of interference—damn him! Fire and webbing mix about as well as oil and water, as you’ve likely noticed! Under normal circumstances, his parting gift would have merely damaged isolated patches of the cocoon—just like last time. Unpleasant, sure, but nothing our spider-lady couldn't handle. Hell, even I could have patched it up if I put my mind to it! Well, maybe not quite as fast, but... That’s beside the point! The key thing is that only *parts* of it would have been damaged. But the cocoon was absolutely saturated with energy, primed and ready for the ritual!"

Camrad_RIP 27.09.26 в 12:00

With a wave of his hand, Master added a schematic image of the destroyed cocoon to the city projection, visually illustrating his words.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 06:59

"It was like setting fire to an ordinary thread versus one soaked in a mixture for alchemical fire! The result was that, under the influence of the Terror’s abyssal flame, the entire cocoon instantly burst into flames and burned away in a flash!"

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:00

Obeying Master’s will, a swift wave of fire swept across the schematic image of the cocoon enveloping the entire city.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:01

"In a way, this actually intensified the ritual's effect! However, instead of serving as the foundation for a stable, self-contained spatial pocket, the burnt-out cocoon acted as a single, massive portal for the entire underground hall."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:01

Silence fell over the room for a few seconds, broken first by the grim and tense Dacius.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:02

"And what are we supposed to do now?"

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 17:33

Turning toward Violetta’s son, the Master muttered grimly.

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:05

"To begin with, deal with our dear spiders! Well, those that haven’t burned yet. And at the same time, we need to put out the remnants of this damn flame. Then we will think about what to do when we are moved somewhere."

Camrad_RIP 26.09.26 в 07:06