Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 15. Провалившийся план

Chapter 15. The Failed Plan
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The sword missed the target by a mere ten centimeters, frozen in midair, as was Professor Lockhart himself. One of the Endbringers, a woman—an angel five meters tall—held Niceguy in place with her arm outstretched, humming wordlessly.

"The Endbringers are programmed to prevent any attack on me," the man said softly, "and the last person I expected to attack was you, Professor Lockhart."

"That's why Jack sent me!" Niceguy managed to flip the sword in his hand, and its blade seemed to cut through invisible bonds.

Breaking free from the grip of the angel woman, Lockhart launched into a new attack, shouting.

"You shouldn't have made Jack angry!"

"Jack, I see, is a real joker," the man grinned, without moving from his spot.

A bubble with barely visible gray walls formed around Lockhart, and Professor Niceguy slowed, as if stumbling into thick syrup. His swing continued, and the Hero's sword advanced, as if cutting a path through for Lockhart, but very, very slowly. And with every second in the bubble, the professor aged noticeably, to the horror of Taylor, who watched it all unfold. By the time the Hero's sword touched the gray wall and cut through, the professor had transformed into not just a very old man, but a man who had somehow miraculously managed to survive, to reach somewhere beyond old age. Then the bubble burst, the miracle ended, and Professor Niceguy, tumbling to the cave floor, died instantly. From his hand, which now resembled the limb of a fresh mummy, rolled the rusty, tarnished cylinder of the sword, thudded a couple of times against the stones, and stopped.

"You were close, friend," the Dark One said, looking down at Lockhart's aged body, "but still not close enough, and not quite friend enough. Now that the pleasantries are over, let's get down to business. But first..."

His hand shot up, and he found himself wrapped in glowing force fields instead of clothing. At the same wave, one of the Endbringers separated from the crowd. A two-headed wolf with the body of an elephant approached the Dark One and stood beside him. Fire erupted from one mouth, and cold wafted from the other.

“Guard,” the Dark One ordered, pointing at Wormwarts’s students.

Then he turned and drew a horizontal line in the air with his hand, ripping the fabric of reality, revealing a portal slit there, twitching and sparking, as if from an excess of energy. He grunted with satisfaction and moved his hands as if he were about to rip someone's mouth apart... and nothing happened. The force-field clothing vanished, and the man looked at his hands, as if hoping to read the answer there.

"He's lost his powers!" Lisa shouted.

How? Taylor glanced at Amy and realized she hadn't been mistaken about the reason. Amy had already run up to Victoria, trying to lift her and drag her toward the portal. The two-headed wolf-elephant leaped forward, blocking the portal with its bulk, and growled, baring its jaws. Fire and ice struck in both directions, cutting off the path to the side. The only clear path was back, deeper into the cave, to where the eighteen Endbringers stood motionless, awaiting commands.

"Lisa, help Amy!" Taylor shouted, jumping forward.

She leaped, snatching up the Hero's sword, releasing its telescopic baton—blade. The sword unfolded slowly, as if rusted from the years spent with Professor Niceguy in the time acceleration field. There was no time to think, and a cloud of insects flew out of Taylor's suit, rushing toward the wolf's eyes, trying to blind him. Taylor activated the sword as she ran and kicked a rock, sending it flying. The blinding and sound trick didn't quite work, but the wolf was distracted for a split second, and the Hero's sword sliced ​​diagonally through his paw. Taylor immediately fell, rolling across the rocks, dodging the blow from the other paw.

The rest of the Endbringers stood their ground, not intending to interfere.

"You need to hit its core!" Granger shouted from somewhere in the distance.

No, she was close. Taylor realized she was deaf or shell-shocked; the sounds were coming from behind a thick wall. Another lash of the tail caught her, throwing her back, almost into the Dark One. He was kneeling, his hands buried in his head, as if trying to draw out his superpowers, flip a switch, and revive what Amy had shut off.

"I need help!" Taylor cried out in desperation.

She lashed out and lunged, dove and dodged, struck, even grazed the wolf a few times, but the wounds healed as if nothing had happened. Taylor lacked speed and numbers; if she had at least a couple of swarms to create decoys, there might have been some hope.

However... at least the other Endbringers didn't interfere, thanks for that!

"The portal is closing!" Lisa's voice was heard.

The crack was indeed crackling and closing, like a mouth trying to snap shut. Taylor even jerked toward the Dark One, intending to yank the power out of him, but then stopped. Even if she managed to suck the power back, what would she do with it? How would she control it? How long had it taken the Dark One to gain such control? By the time Taylor got the hang of it — even with Lisa's help! — they'd all die of hunger and thirst! Especially since with the Endbringer on her tail, she wouldn't be able to absorb the power, no matter what.

So what? So she has to defeat the Endbringer before the portal closes!

"Run to the portal!!" Taylor screamed, charging forward.

Distract the Endbringer, engage him in combat! She was going to sacrifice herself anyway, so what difference did it make? Something glittering flew past, catching the blow of a wolf's paw, and Taylor managed to close in on the Endbringer. Victoria, having regained her composure, grabbed the tail and fought it, keeping it from reaching Potter, and Taylor seized her chance. The Hero's Sword slammed into the Endbringer's heart, cutting through its body like a knife through butter.

"More!" Lisa screamed from behind.

Taylor felt her friends try to run away, but the Dark One pounced on them, grabbed their legs, and wouldn't let them go.

"Help them!" Taylor shouted to Victoria.

The sword whistled and spun in her hands, Taylor wielding it like a baton. The wolf no longer attempted to attack, retreating, whining pitifully. It tried once with ice and fire, but Taylor merely leaped aside, and the Endbringer wounded itself. Slicing off its right front paw, Taylor returned and continued slicing at the wolf's chest and stomach. Victoria threw the Dark One back with a punch, and a battering ram of water launched by one of the Endbringers shattered without a trace against her shining shield. Grabbing Lisa and Amy, Victoria rushed toward Taylor like a rocket, skimming over the rocks and glittering in the gloom.

"To the portal, fly to the portal!" Taylor screamed, stabbing the wolf.

And this time she succeeded; the Hero's sword, ripping through the wolf's body, reached its core. To Taylor, it looked like a heart—huge, pulsating, smooth—and only a second later did she realize it wasn't a heart pulsing, but rather that her vision was blurring, blurred by fatigue, sweat, and adrenaline. As soon as she realized and exposed the core, Taylor's strength vanished, as if it had never been there. The sensation of insects vanished, and her focus on the task vanished. Victoria collapsed onto the rocks, rolling along with Lisa and Amy toward the wolf, who bared his jaws, roaring with pain and rage.

"Don't touch my friends!" Taylor leaped up, forgetting everything, pushing off from Victoria's shoulder and soaring into the air.

In a leap, she plunged the Hero's sword up to the hilt into the Endbringerr's core, which was already beginning to close over with a protective film of tissue and muscle. The wolf howled and fell, nearly crushing Taylor, and the power returned as if it had never left.

Lisa screamed incoherently through her bloody mouth.

Desperation and hope spurred Taylor on. She understood her friend and sprinted toward the portal with all her might. Victoria, grabbing Lisa and Amy again, butted Taylor in the back, throwing her into the now-shimmering, vanishing crack of the portal. The four of them flew out and rolled across the rocks, adding to their wounds and bruises. Something crunched loudly, and Taylor felt a stabbing pain, her right arm ceasing to obey.

Granger shouted.

A wave of flame erupted from the portal, sweeping away everything in its path. Taylor felt her hair curl at the tips as it burned, and she pressed herself even harder against the stone. Her back was burning, pain shot up her arm, keeping her from losing consciousness, and everything was swimming before her eyes. Blinking, Taylor realized she'd lost her glasses somewhere, and now she could barely see anything, couldn't sense the insects around her—in other words, she was practically blind. Still, she managed to make out a huge paw pushing through the portal's crack, pushing it open, but she didn't have time to do anything.

The portal collapsed, cutting off the paw.

Lisa's tired and relieved cry was heard.

A cool hand rested on Taylor's forehead, and suddenly she felt easy and calm, the pain and fatigue gone. Then her senses returned, and her vision returned to normal. Amy, who had already managed to heal Lisa, merely smiled at her friend. Victoria fluttered about the cave's vaults, jabbing her fist at the molten rocks and cursing.

"Where's the exit?" she shouted from above.

"Yes, why aren't we in Wormwarts?" Taylor asked, surprised.

"This...," Lisa waved her hand in the air, "remained cautious until the very end. He decided not to take any risks and release the Endbringers outside of Wormwarts."

She grabbed her head, rubbed her temples, and added.

"Or maybe he simply couldn’t open it any further and decided to save energy."

"What?" Taylor frowned. "Wait! Flitwick and Dumbledore saw traces of Endbringers from the Dimension of Secrets, back in Wormwarts, back in the fall! Although if the virus was forcing him, and the Dark One himself wanted to conserve energy, hm…"

"My head's about to explode, but you'll definitely tell me later," Lisa leaned back against the stone with a sigh and closed her eyes. "I don't know what you exchanged there, but it seems the Dark One has taken all of your Dark One powers except your natural one."

"It's wonderful!" Amy, unlike her friends, was beaming and happy. "And this… power cancellation… it washed away everything foreign!"

"What?"

"No kidding, lucky," Granger waved her hand lazily. "If I understand correctly, these things were made as weapons against capes..."

“That’s right,” Taylor confirmed quickly.

"Then Eidolon should have a monument erected to him for hiding them. And then tear that monument down for not hiding them securely enough!" Lisa spoke slowly, her eyes still closed. "And this thing with the Core... It's like the last line of defense. As long as the core isn't touched, the Endbringer will heal, but when the core is exposed, all superpowers disappear. Suddenly, the cape is defenseless against the Endbringer, who kills it, heals, and the whole thing starts all over again."

"Absolutely correct, Miss Granger," Fortuna Dumbledore's voice suddenly rang out.

She emerged from the portal that had opened in the cave, calm, collected, and poised, as if nothing had happened, as if the terrible things hadn't happened in Wormwarts for a whole year. Taylor realized she was angry at the headmistress; she could have taken the Hero's sword and fought the Endbringers, couldn't she? She'd slain one, hadn't she?

That's why Hero embodied the power that destroys forces in a sword incapable of disabling the core of the Endbringers. However," Fortuna's gaze swept the cave, lingering for a moment on the enormous, severed claws, "it no longer matters now."

“Why?” Taylor frowned.

If the headmistress was going to push the responsibility of fighting the Endbringers onto her... but Potter didn't have time to finish her thought; Lisa intervened.

"The key to the Dimension of Secrets remains in the Dimension of Secrets, right? So now it can't be opened!"

"Yes, the key is still there, but I wouldn't be so sure about 'it can't be opened,'" Fortuna smiled. "What one opened, another can open too. But the danger is gone now, that's true, and if you don't want to spend the rest of your life meditating in this cave, I suggest you enter the portal and return to Wormwarts. After all, the end of the school year is coming soon, and exams are just around the corner, aren't they?"

"Won't we get automatic credit for saving Wormwarts?" Granger immediately perked up, even sitting up, staring at Dumbledore with wide eyes.

"You got an A in Survival," Fortuna didn't argue, "but what about planning and teamwork? Not to mention that to automatically pass the exam, I'd have to provide a reason, and then you'd be facing trial."

“For what?” Amy recoiled.

"You've learned a secret you had no right to know." Dumbledore's smile was now sad, and his fedora seemed to have slid down, obscuring his eyes. "I won't erase your memory, but I strongly advise against sharing the events of today or what preceded them. Anywhere, ever."

"But can we discuss it among ourselves?" Lisa immediately asked.

"Only if you're two hundred percent sure the secret will remain within your circle. But I'm afraid even at Wormwarts you won't have that guarantee. Whatever you think about the school's systems, Miss Granger, they keep an eye on the showers and toilets too."

Taylor felt herself blush with equal parts anger and embarrassment.

"You have come into contact with one of the darkest secrets of Cape society," Dumbledore continued calmly, as if oblivious to her students' reactions, "a secret I myself would prefer to forget, or even better, not know. So... decide for yourself, of course, but as soon as you cross the line, the answer will follow, and it will not be as gentle as mine."

Taylor snorted angrily, but kept the words that were about to burst out and asked about something else.

"What about the Defence teacher?"

"Next year, I will personally ensure that he is not associated with either Jack or the Dark Cape, I give you my word of that," Dumbledore replied.

"If Professor Quirrell…"

"He wasn't dangerous," Fortuna interrupted, "until he became intimately acquainted with the Dark Cape. He changed him, and now Jack is very dangerous, but also beyond my reach. I can imagine he bears a great deal of resentment towards Zion de Mort, but I can't even begin to predict what his next move will be."

At this point, the conversation somehow petered out, and the girls, along with Fortuna, returned to Dumbledore's office. Taylor looked in surprise at the chaos there, and then suddenly realized that the Hero's sword couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere. So she had done this? Like in the Great Hall?

"Don't worry, Miss Potter, the office will be repaired, although I would of course prefer to have the Hero's sword back in its place."

"So now there is no weapon against the Endbringers," only now Taylor not only understood this, but realized it, so to speak, to the depths of her soul.

Those figures in the cave — if they were released into the world, it would be a catastrophe. And she, Taylor Potter, had destroyed the weapon capable of defeating them with her own hands! Of course, the Dimension of Secrets isn't called secret for nothing, but Headmistress Dumbledore herself said it could be reopened!

"Nothing is permanent in this world; everything ends and everything happens for the first time," Headmistress Dumbledore replied calmly. "A new hero will emerge, or a new power, or something else. There's always a way out."

On this optimistic note, the students left Fortuna's office.

"You made a body that shuts off powers?" Lisa asked Amy quietly. "Based on what you did to Taylor?"

“Yes,” she admitted quietly. “But…”

"Shh, it's okay. We're a team, and we'd better act as a team," Lisa replied.

"Hey, what are you whispering about?" Taylor turned to them.

"That Dumbledore is right, and some things are better discussed... prepared," Granger said, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "During the summer holidays, for example!"

"And now?"

"And now we'd better prepare for the exams."

The team. Amy had cured Taylor's sight. This gave Lisa hope, but also terrified her. To get rid of Snape, she would have to involve her friends, and who would win in a battle of the Thinkers? Would she end up putting her friends under Snape's control, who was hungry for even more power? Lisa didn't know the answer, but she knew she couldn't do it alone, and she knew the team had, so to speak, been reborn.

And Taylor Potter's power may cope where her Thinker power failed.
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To be continued:

Taylor Potter and the Prisoner of the Cage

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