“Nothing shines for you,” I put my hand on Aran's shoulder. “Now KEEP WASHING THE FUCKING WALLS!” Fucking fireball!
***
I'm on the stairs. I'm covered in sweat and suffocating. I was again summoned to the tower of the Gods... only now I'm standing in front of the door with the sign "Amedeo - God of Death". And the funny thing is, Albertine's room is opposite.
There is only disappointment in my heart. Amedeo killed us again, and all because of me. How many times do I and my friends have to die for my power to awaken? What the hell am I doing wrong?!
Alester, come on in.
No sooner had I knocked than they called me. Do the Gods have cameras built in somewhere?
Opening the door, I went in. His room is luxurious, everything is decorated with paintings, Persian carpets. The golden statues of the Griffins were pleasing to the eye. Social life in all its glory.
God was sitting at a wide table, covered with papers and seals. He didn't have the usual snake smile on his face. Why did I feel uneasy. Fingertips pricked on hands.
“Alester, tomorrow is your last chance to awaken the power. Amedeo sat down in a luxurious armchair. If you can't, we'll send you home with your team.
My heart sank. For a couple of seconds, I couldn't even speak. But when he got together he said:
- What about my team?
“You are the leader of the team, which means everyone will pay the price. How else? God chuckled. - Now - to the exit. And get ready, against you I will put the strongest Renegade.
Before I could look back, I was standing on the stairs. Behind the door slammed loudly. Now cold sweat is running down my back. Hands were trembling...
What should I do?..
***
Cold morning. The sun has just begun to show its rays, illuminating the earth.
All the cadets gathered at the first range to watch, because this is the last day of training. Last day to awaken your magic...
Aran, Vanya, Eva and I prepared for the inevitable. Yesterday, when I returned to the hostel, I told them what awaits us because of me ... Nobody condemned me. They just accepted everything I said with a smile.
The renegade that Amedeo had set against us was already on the field. He looked no different from ordinary walking corpses. But there was something about him… just what?
“Beginning,” Amedeo waved his hand.
“We act the same as always,” I said to my comrades.
Like the wind we approached the Renegade. They habitually attacked with quick blows of swords. The Renegade was a little faster than his predecessors, and stood out in a few other ways. Water flowed in his hands, turning into blades. I heard about it. God can control the magic in the body. But… other than blades, that's all he can do. Easy win.
As soon as my team and I started attacking again, we heard:
— Stop!
The renegade froze in place. The blades in his hands disappeared, turned into two puddles. The dead man did not move. Amedeo embraced the Renegade with his black flame. He waved his hand, and at his command, the Renegade flew into the wall, punching a hole in the training ground.
The gray-haired man was clearly dissatisfied… That's all. Because of me, everyone will be expelled, what have I done ...
~~~
Gritting my teeth, I cursed myself for my weakness and for not being able to awaken magic. But… okay me. I messed up the future of Aran, Eva and Vanya... There is no excuse for this...
"It's okay," Aran patted me on the shoulder.
“We tried, it’s already good,” Vanya nodded.
"Life won't end there," Eve chuckled bitterly. “Damn… that’s embarrassing…”
While I stood like a pillar and cursed myself, Amedeo walked towards us with a light step ... In his eyes I saw a thirst for blood, the same one when he killed us in training. But why?!
A cold wind picked up. Just a colossal black flame came out from the body of the God of Death. God's energy was felt on a subconscious level. His eyes glowed blood red. Black flames surrounded us, taking the shape of a dome.
What was going on outside no one could see because of the black veil.
“Amedeo, what are you…
I didn’t even have time to finish, as the black flame of Amedeo flew to Vanya, but he managed to dodge with the help of magic, turning into a mouse, and the flame passed from above.
“Not bad, Ivan,” God smiled like a snake. “But… it won't work anymore. After all… you will all die today. Only one person is to blame for everything, ”Amedeo began to walk around, burning us with his eyes. “The fault lies with Alester alone!”
- What?! What have I done, why...
- I will kill all your friends and I will not return their souls, and only YOU will be to blame for everything. You disgust me. I despise you,” the God of death put an end to our conversation and stood in front of us.
What got into him?! Is he joking?! So right?! No... this is not a joke. He really was going to kill us. Forever and ever... My hands are trembling, my legs are petrified. But I won't let my comrades down! Not now!
“Everyone use magic, he’s not joking!” I yelled at the top of my lungs to my comrades. - Aran, strike from the far one, Eva - too! Vanya, we are close, first with swords, then you know who to become.
Without question, everyone began to follow my commands.
"That won't help," Amedeo chuckled.
God covered himself in black flames. The air seemed to grow heavier, became stale. This is his power… power that the average person cannot understand. The legs didn't want to move. And then I smacked myself in the face. The pain brought me to my senses.
I pulled the sword out of its scabbard, Vanya too, with one jerk we got to the God of Death and at the same time began to cut him. But the black flame did not allow us to break through. Amedeo stood motionless, as if nothing had happened.
Aran and Eva managed to take positions on the sides, they began shelling, but how long it will last is another question. I gestured to Vanya to act and ran away from them. For now... I'll be a burden.
Vanya began to glow. Bright scarlet beams wrapped around his body, and at that moment I saw how the human silhouette began to change. Its neck lengthened, arms and legs became more massive, claws appeared, and two wings grew on its back.
The light disappeared in an instant. And we all saw a scarlet humanoid dragon. Vanya trained for a long time, and it turned out ... He spent hours researching photographs of lizards and creating in his head the image of a man like a dragon. I was so sincerely glad, but this is not the time to rejoice. The enemy is not defeated!
“Destroy it with one attack!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Vanya took a flame into his lungs, liquid golden fire ran from his mouth. Aran collected a fireball in his hand, which increased in size. Eve slashed her vein, blood wrapped around her finger, which she pointed at God. It looked like a pistol.
- Dragon roar!!!
- Fire ball!!!
- Blood shot!
From three sides, magic flew into Amedeo. I covered my eyes from the flash. I kept hoping that everything would work out. But when I opened my eyes, I saw an unharmed God and indifference to these attacks in his expression…
Raising two hands with spears of black flame, Amedeo waved. The black fire turned into raging waves that repelled the attacks. The flame instantly solidified, as if it had become a stone, right in front of Aran, Vanya and Eva.
He stopped! Huge waves of black flames froze in front of my friends. He did not continue the attack. I knew it, it was all just another workout.
Just as I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, thin spikes flew out of the black waves. They pierced the bodies of my comrades. Blood poured out, and wheezing filled the dome.
- N-e-e-t!!!
No… no… it can't be…” I said in a trembling voice.
The flames again turned into a gaseous form and surrounded the god of death, who was approaching me step by step.
"They're dying, Alester, and it's all your fault," Amedeo barked irritably.
- WHAT AM I FAULTY? I yelled.
You are the weak link and cannot protect anyone. If you're a Godslayer and I'm a God, why do you think I'm doing this? Through my dome you can’t see what’s going on inside, somehow I’ll get out in front of Albertina, I’ll say that it was an accident, I didn’t manage to return souls during training, it happens to everyone. But I'll give you a chance, their souls will not depart for another world for about another six minutes. If you can defeat me, I will return them. Or will you lay down your life for your comrades? The choice is yours.
What should I do? I can't beat him no matter what. What should I do?! What should I do?! What should I do?!
I slowly began to go crazy with hopelessness, Amedeo just looked at me with some pity. Like I'm a worm in his eyes.
“Well, will you fight for your subordinates… or death?”
I couldn't say a word. From impotence, he fell to his knees before the God of Death. Here it is, my end... my comrades must not die because of me. So the answer is obvious...
"Death," I whispered softly.
“Then,” a huge spherical black flame materialized in Amedeo’s palm, “die!!!
The god of death raised his hand, the ball increased in size. I felt hot… felt my inevitable demise.
Amedeo waved his hand, black fiery death flew at me. The world seemed to freeze in my eyes. Everything got so slow. It got so damn quiet until a voice spoke in my head.
-You are pathetic…
I looked for my savior. But he was not there, and time still passed slowly. Who is it?
— Who am I? It doesn't matter. There is only one question, and it is the most important. Will you let yourself be killed?
If I had the power… then things would be different. Desperation gnawed at my head. I no longer understood what was happening.
“Strength, yes… understandable. If you crave it so much… then open your eyes, you pitiful creature.
Time accelerated in an instant, I felt that I could move, and that the world around me came to life.
The fireball hit me directly, but I didn’t get hurt and didn’t feel the heat of hell, on the contrary, I suddenly felt incredibly cold… I felt the power inside me. She literally tore me apart, I was capable of anything.
A blizzard of ice flew around me, it protected my body. This means… My element is Ice!
“Unbelievable, you have awakened,” Amedeo laughed.
We have to come up with something. Think! Think! I do not have much time!
“Magic is something from the head. Everything that I imagine, at best, is embodied. Something like this, ”I recalled the words of Eva in training.
Imagination is the key to a successful magician.
I looked at the floor. Pointed at him with his hand. A picture was drawn in my head. And I decided to try. After all, I had no choice.
- A spike of ice!!! I screamed like a mad animal.
A spike of ice rose from the ground with great speed, throwing Amedeo into the distance. It seems that the god of death was at a loss, he did not expect that I could at least do something.
I need a weapon. Weapon!!!
The image of a sword familiar to me began to be drawn in my head. I felt power flowing into my palm, it was cold and hard to control. But I subjugated the magic and, squeezing my palm, I felt a hard surface. A sword of ice materialized out of thin air.
“Excellent,” Amedeo began to laugh madly, “show what you are capable of, man !!!
A black spear materialized in the Death God's hand.
- Let's! Attack!!!
I accepted the challenge. With a quick jerk I got to Amedeo, and he to me. God threw a spear at me, I successfully repelled the attack, and the blizzard still protected me.
We met, I attacked him with quick sweeping blows. Our weapons entered the clinch, and the confrontation between the magic and the energy of God began. From the part where the swords touched, sparks began. Amedeo's energy was, of course, stronger than my magic, and I was pushed back.
Stepping closer, I cut sideways, Amedeo parried my attack, breaking my sword.
Don't get lost, don't panic, you will win, only victory and nothing else.
Jumping away from the God of Death, I started running around him. Introduced a spear, it immediately appeared in my hand. He began to throw them at Amedeo, not stopping and still moving in a circle. God fought off the spears and could not take a step, it is clear that he is getting a little tired.
Throwing the spear at the same time, I quickly charged towards him like a lynx. This was the last attempt, I knew my comrades didn't have long to go.
With a quick blow, when Amedeo deflected my spear, I cut off his right hand. He shot a spike of ice at him, which pierced through his stomach, and nailed him to the barrier.
Her hands were shaking from adrenaline, and a crazy smile appeared on her face. Joy, happiness, that I could. I managed.“I didn’t expect this,” God said in complete confusion, but immediately coming to his senses, he looked at me. - You're awake. And now. - Amedeo broke my ice spike, as if nothing had happened - it's time for me to revive your comrades.- What does it mean?God dusted himself off and went to my comrades. The barrier was asleep, the doctors are already there. As if they knew everything in advance.- Was it a performance? Full of anger, I asked.“Yes and no,” Amedeo gave an incomprehensible answer.The God of Death took his severed hand and pressed it against the stump, the limb immediately fused. Not even a scar left.“If you hadn’t awakened, your comrades would indeed have died. You're a Godslayer, do you think we'd kick you out of the academy just like that? Moreover, do you think you could easily defeat me, the second generation of Gods?- Of course not. But not by
We entered the classroom and collapsed on a free desk. All the candidates were whining in pain, and I could see in their eyes how they were cursing everything.“Al, if I die, don't send my corpse in this armor to my parents. If they also bury me in them, my spirit will definitely not rest,” my friend asked me.— Aran, calm down, we will survive. Look, it's hard for Vanya and Eve too, but they hold on. We will endure everything, brother,” I said with hope in my voice.The Goddess entered the classroom. Her black hair was blowing in the wind even though we were indoors. Some kind of magic...Hello candidates! Let's start the lesson." Minerva smiled at the whole class.Ah, a ray of light in pitch darkness. We listened carefully, this knowledge will keep us alive. She explained that she would teach with us for five months and would hammer all the necessary knowledge into our heads. Today's lesson was dedicated to the Renegades and the fourth generation. Everyone knows everything she said
The New WorldThe sun lazily rolled over the huge massive mountains. It was damn hot, so Aran and I crawled into our room and lay silently on our beds. A month passed, and we got tired of suffering garbage. I was ready in a week to go to either Amedeo or David. I even already missed the blue armor that woke us up every morning. The body was filled with energy that you no longer know where to put. After all, the God of War clearly specified that magic cannot be used. Dot.There was a knock on the room. Aran rushed like lightning to an unknown guest. I opened one eye and watched. A man in blue armor stood in the aisle. He gave two bags to Aran and closed the door.Rising up, I inquired about the contents of the package.- It's armor! Aran shouted joyfully and threw one of the two packages in my face. - They said to put on and go to the second training ground.Frowning, he thought of swearing at his friend, but finally he wanted to see his armor more.- Let's see ... Wow, how light, I ca
“Okay, but your friend won’t come with you?” she looked at me.Aran, oh you are a semi-finished store product. That's betrayal! No, this is different, this moron laid eyes on her, you can immediately see how he sticks to her. At the same time, winking at me so that I would go to him, and not refuse ... Okay, what to do with him, I won’t leave him."Oh, I'll be right there.Here is our trio from the second squad of Elementalists assembled again. Catherine stood before us like a teacher before the youths.“Show me a couple of times, and that’s enough for us,” I sighed. “Otherwise one comrade forgot the word friendship,” I looked at Aran.- I have one question - how to control the flow of magic in the legs? Because I took quite a bit, but it didn’t turn out the way I wanted.Amedeo kept looking askance at our trinity. But apparently, he understood that Ekaterina would teach us. So, it makes no sense to come up to us and show how it's done. After all, the first detachment was just as scre
“I don’t even know… It’s okay to make Space with your feet, but with your hands?! It’s impossible, your fists simply can’t handle it,” Ekaterina began to reason. "Maybe you could try something else?"“No, I decided that I would do it,” I gave my answer."Then," the girl shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not your helper." I'm sorry, I have more people to help.As soon as she started to leave, she turned around and said goodbye:Tip: Come up with something new. Do not stay on the same place.Yes, and now I'm in a complete stupor. Even Catherine can't help me.Assuming the posture of a sage, I began to reason. What will help me do this? I cover my hand, and I am carried away into the distance ... and if you pour in magic and envelop not my fists, but my whole hand with ice! Let's try...Approaching the column, I began to pour magic up to the shoulder blade and cover it with ice. The ice was flexible, but hard, and it exuded magic.Hit! There was an explosion, like a cannon being fired. The co
Van, are you all right?" - moving away from Eve with Aran, I asked the drooping Vanya. “Don’t worry, everything will be chirp-chirp, I assure you. And about corpses and bones, accept it, because now the whole world is like that. The sooner you understand it, the sooner you'll get used to it.“You're right, you have to accept it,” Vanya said with a small smile. “It's just…everything was fine until we left the forest and headed for the city.We need to find a home for us so that we can rest in it, and preferably in several cities. And it is necessary to distribute who will do what. This will distract them.“Vanya, you will get food,” I began to distribute duties. “Eva, you will cook,” the girl immediately wanted to argue, but I managed to interrupt her. Don't mind, it's women's work. Aran and I will be on the lookout for enemies, and send you Gadget messages to gather. We will change. Today I'm with Aran, tomorrow with Vanya, then with Eva. And we start now. No objections, you need to c
Our team is ready. We left our shelter, hid in the same house and waited for a message from Vanya, where the Minotaurs would be.They waited a long time, a very long time. It became boring ... But what can you do.As for Aran, I know what spells he has, but what Eva has, I found out today. She can use Blood Needles - a long-range spell that needs a lot of blood, the second - Sword, the third - Slash and the last - infuse magic into the armor. Will go. It was not for nothing that Vanya caught animals for her this morning and hung them on her. She has plenty of blood. She won't get lost. There are three Minotaurs, everyone takes one for himself, as soon as someone kills the Minotaur, he goes to the aid of someone who can't cope. So we decided.Here is a message from Vanya, they are in the southeast of us, about six kilometers. Let's go, we have about ten minutes to get to them.Using Space, we finished in five minutes. They hid in a dilapidated house. Time to start.I sent a message to
“I agree, if we infuse more magic, we can defeat them. We just weren't ready for this...We both nodded as if we had answered all the questions.Let's take a look at the village. Aran suggested.- Yes. Still no choice...Agreeing with Aran, we went deep into the cave. Passing by wooden houses, I looked at people whose eyes read that they were not welcome to us. Yes, but it's their own fault. The people here are all in torn clothes, shaggy, and the stink here is unbearable. But what to do, they live underground and, of course, they will not have beauty salons and fashion boutiques.There are few people in the cave, about three hundred people. Most of the men are over forty and old, there are almost no women, I am silent about the young, only one girl who brought us, and five guys. But why don't they go to the dome? There they would be safe and live normally, and not like now. We need to find the main one here and find out everything.Approaching the man who was sitting near the house o
The Rancia empire prospered. Those terrible times when the Ransians fearfully expected the birth of their own children are far behind. With the accession to the throne of the new emperor Claude re Tigras the First and Empress Daisyre re Tigras, the people stopped living in fear and excitement. Now every Ransian, human or not, had the same right to life and happiness. The persecution of non-humans stopped, because the ruling family also did not belong to the human race, mixed marriages began to appear more often, and cities grew. Life became calmer, now the imperials were not afraid to travel between cities, risking being in the mouth of some monster. All creatures, of course, did not disappear, but as a result of a number of innovations introduced by Claude from the experience of his mercenary life, they greatly facilitate the fight against these creatures, forced them to go away from human habitation or hide deep in their holes. Man again became the dominant race on the planet, and e
- Oh, those boys. Alita purred as she slid off her man's lap and sat down on Claude's bed. “In general, sweetheart, when we burst into the hall, we only made it to the finale, when you, with completely wild eyes, rushed towards the door until you stretched out on the floor, not having reached us a few steps. And then Alexander quickly stepped forward, ordering that you be lifted and taken to the imperial chambers and called for a doctor, and then he explained to everyone present that according to some ancient law, I don’t know where he dug it up, you become the next emperor, taking the place of the deposed you ruler. We didn't even believe what we heard. You are Claude and the emperor. It sounded kind of unbelievable. And to be honest, they also managed to catch this cold, so they thought it was the result of a fever. But as it turned out, no, they heard right and you were really glorified as the future emperor. He cleverly organized everything here. So even the few dissatisfied witne
- Infections... It's people like me that you call an infection?- Yes. To be honest, I even liked you a little, not often non-humans managed to hide from my eye for so long, and your stupid principles ... naive, frankly childish, but noble, made me smile. However, the fact that you are a monster cannot be changed and you have no other destiny than to die.“It’s like seeing which one of us is a monster.— Ha! Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?“Appearance says nothing about a person. Yes, my eyes and ears are different from human, but there is much less blood on my hands than on yours.- What are you talking about. Turn around. All these people could live if not for you.“My fault for their death is no less than the one who set them on me. At least I was only defending myself, not sending them to their deaths.They died because they were doing their duty.Or because they were left with no choice.This conversation did not lead them anywhere, without bringing clarity or sat
And now only three of them remained, the horses carried the tired mercenaries forward, whipping dust into the air and crumbling the age-old stone into the sand. Two hot streams of steam escaped the air from the wide, nervously quivering nostrils of the driven horses. No one believed that they would catch up with the warrior, only hoping that the emperor would not realize his terrifying plan immediately upon the arrival of his assistant. On the horizon in front of them rose the towers of San Pen, brightening up the dull landscape with each kilometer growing higher and higher, delighting and frightening at the same time. Claude did not know what awaited them in the capital, for the first time he did not have at least some slightly thought-out plan, only one desire to be in time, not to be late, to stop. Inside, everything was shrinking from a bad premonition, but the guy drove away uninvited thoughts. You should never take on a job with a gloomy attitude to its failure, otherwise, every
Leata's voice broke through her rage-clouded consciousness. "Finally!" the guy exhaled, looking at the best thing to do in order to retreat without consequences for his health and life. It was not far to go, the creatures had already almost pressed him to the failure, from which the mercenary was separated by several steps, he needed only a couple of three seconds to get the coveted vial and jump over to the other side. Taking a step back, he seized the sword more comfortably and threw the dagger at the creature closest to him, slashing the blade across the entire expanse available to him and forcing the creatures to retreat a couple of steps. Here are his seconds. Rushing back, he removed the blade with one hand, and with the other he felt for the coveted cork. Which is specially marked so as not to be confused with others. The previous experience of using this remedy in the battle with sectroses taught him decently, but there was no time to sip drop by drop. Let it be what will be.
Aiyana, hurry up. Something is not happening.- One more second. Here it is! - the girl purred enthusiastically, pressing the lever near the capsule, and completely not noticing what was happening around.- We have no time. It's time to go.- Not! Until I find it, I won't leave.- Crap! Is it worth your life?- Yes!Discouraged by the answer, the mercenary fell silent for a few seconds. That's devotion! She could be admired if he and his comrades of life did not depend on her.Tell me what to look for! - finally, unable to stand it, he grunted, finally entering the room and feeling the cold enveloping from all sides.- You don't know the language.But I can see. I'll find it by sight. Show me or we'll all stay here.She did not argue further, obediently showing what symbols she had to find. There were few of them, at most four, of which one was a letter, and the rest resembled modern numbers. It was not even a name, but rather a code. He moved along the nearest shelving unit, running
At Leata's remark, Claude only shook his head, as they approached the ruins, Leatrice became more and more irritable and angry. He did not know what was eating her, most likely she was also afraid. After a quick bite, they hit the road. The sounds that accompanied their breakfast didn't help their appetite, and neither did their conversation. In anticipation of a meeting with the owners of these voices, people unanimously grew gloomy, but walked, carefully looking around. It gradually began to get light around, mischievous rays gently ran across the grass, reflected in drops of dew, flashed on people's weapons, playfully looking into their eyes and blossomed with a gloomy rainbow, reflected from the surface of the lake. The one that Leata called the "Lake of the Dead". For what it received such a name, no one knew, but the assumptions were different. Maybe the ancients drowned their dead in it, or maybe this is due to some mysterious story, since the lake was no different from its cou
- What the hell! cried Claude with a loud splash as he went under the water. The turbulent river picked up its prey with the joy of a small child who discovered in his power a toy he had long desired. The big man was twisted and twisted, sometimes hitting the side of the shell. Water clogged in his mouth, nose, forcing him to spit, smearing haze before his eyes. You can't give up! Claude remembered that he was not alone in the water, but he did not have time to really see the creature that had so cleverly discounted him. However, this did not give a reason to underestimate her. Ripping up the water with powerful strokes, he forced himself to swim up. Thank the Gods, he did not have time to take aside. The shell, like a native, clung to him, dragging him along, trying in vain to pull him under him. The body already almost did not obey him, bound by a terrible cold. Pushing off from the surface of the water, Claude desperately jumped up in an unsuccessful attempt to grab the edge, feeli
— Falcon. Daisyra prompted, following his gaze. For her, this distance was not a problem. - Beautiful.- Yes. And lonely.- How are you!- What did you get?“This is how we met you in that tavern.- When it was. Seems like another life.- Yes. And I'm glad we met.- And I.They had a strange conversation, they seemed to be talking and at the same time not. Pictures of their meeting floated before his eyes, taken apart by the words of the girl, and seeing himself, he looked and did not recognize. Now he was no longer the same person. Claude has changed. Becoming somehow something ... more integral, but still in his chest did not want to melt a tight lump that appeared there in childhood, as if not allowing him to free himself from the cage created by himself.- For me, he is not alone, but strong. Rolk muttered thoughtfully.— Who are you talking about? Caer joined in, also following his eyes sparkling in the rays of the sun, following the bird circling above them.- About both.“We wi