Chapter 18

Chapter 18. Resurrection.

-Power of Spirit and Necromancer ...

-Um, teacher, but he's still alive!

-Yes? Okay ... Fireball! So, by the Power of Spirit and Necromancer ...

Attributed to Creole Ursky.

Sephiroth. Two days before Lucy's letter was discovered.

I was returning to my home from the guild - for today the restoration work was completed - the rain that began scattered everyone. The mood was slightly spoiled - and all Makarych and his desire to benefit from the current situation, no, the old man is quite understandable, in his place I probably would have done the same, but damn, how stressful it is, as one lazy 80 level said. ..What happened? Hmm, the master decided to slightly raise the shaken authority of the guild, and at the same time quietly hint to the Council that the Fairies have teeth, so ... he did not give any explanations to interested persons and asked the knowledgeable guilds to be silent about some points, from the words of the 'free' witnesses the picture came out next. At first, without particularly straining, I stop the shot of Jupiter with my bare hand, then in one fell swoop I destroy this same Jupiter, call the chosen magician a pathetic fake, endure half of his army walking around and hide in the Phantoms guild, after which a monstrous rune complexity and power appears circle, and the head of the 'Ghosts' goes missing. Makarych was seen only by our group, and the survey and research of the Council's operational group showed the following picture - the Master was seriously exhausted before the enemy attack and remained seriously exhausted after, Polyushka honestly said that she had written this 'old fool' to bed rest and prevented all attempts of the SICK Master to leave infirmary. What can I say, it's beautiful ... only now all interested persons believed that another magician of the level of God-chosen one appeared in the Fairies, which added to the guild reputation points, and therefore - orders that were now very much needed, but personally I have such an interest in I didn't really like my own person - taking into account the devoured demon and the not-too-humane policy preached by me personally, the investigators literally bored me, trying to 'get to the bottom of the truth' and arranging endless interrogations, well at least they did not think of conducting a search, although the right to private property in Fiore was well protected by the law, and without any serious suspicion, supported by evidence, the servants of the Council had no right to enter the house.

But now I'm finally at home. Hmm, Juvia is sitting nearby again, should I invite her for a cup of tea? Hmm, why not?

- I understand that wet bushes are a wonderful and comfortable place in every sense. But maybe you deign to come up and talk, and not continue to hide? Although I must admit, you do it well, - there was a surge of embarrassment and panic in the bushes and soon Juvia appeared from there - a little crumpled and a little wet.

-You? I already thought that someone decided to ambush me, but if pretty girls are sitting in ambush, then ... I have no chance, - the former sorceress of the 'Ghosts' was even more embarrassed.

-Well ... I ... uh, - very informative, and most importantly, understandable.

- Hmm ... maybe you will agree to have a cup of tea with me? Anything is better than standing on the street ... or sitting in the bushes, - the sorceress blushed and nodded, - then please, be mine (the girl shuddered, and real panic, mixed with joy , was hammered in emotions) a guest (the panic was gone, and where a slight disappointment appeared on the verge).

We went to the kitchen, where I quickly boiled a kettle (fire magic is very useful in everyday life) and poured the aromatic drink into cups.

-Sorry, but in our last meeting it was not possible to find out your name, could you name it now?

"D-juvia," the water sorceress squeezed out of herself.

- Nice to meet you, my name is Sephiroth, by the way, thanks for the wonderful dinners - it was delicious.

- You guessed it was me?

- Who else could it be? - I smiled, - tell me ... - we talked with the girl for about forty minutes, at first the sorceress was terribly shy and nervous, but gradually she got involved and even began to be interested in me in some things, so, nothing specific - where I have been, what I saw, there were no questions about my personal life, however, there is nothing surprising here - to be frank with a person whom you see for the second time in your life ... it is doubtful, but then the rain ended and Juvia, referring to some cases (clearly invented just now) , almost ran away from me like a bullet, grabbing, for some reason, my cup (already without tea). Sighing, I went to check my mail - the box glowed slightly, indicating that there was something in it.

In the box there was a sealed ball for long-distance communications, immediately called by me Palantir. Hmm, it's getting more and more interesting. When I reached my office, I set the ball on a stand and poured in some energy - let's see who is on the other end. For some time the ball remained transparent and showed no signs of life, but a face appeared in it ... well, that's about what I expected.

-Good evening, Ultear.

"Greetings, Sephiroth," the girl replied. I winced.

-Let's switch to you? I'm not a lover of ceremonies, like Aida, and I certainly don't want to kick up with a pretty girl - I start to feel old and unnecessary, ehh - I sigh 'like an old man', I think about grunting a little more in the best traditions of Makarych, but perhaps it will be brute force.

- As you wish, - Ultear stammered slightly, - however, it doesn't matter, I want to congratulate you - the story with the 'Ghosts' made a very strong impression on the council, some even whispered that it would be nice to somehow 'chill' the presumptuous magician.

-So how? Well, thanks for the warning, but I don't think that's the only reason you decided to contact me right now, is it? Or was I wrong and you just miss me? - I could not resist at the end.

-Hmm, - the girl slightly choked, - yes, there is one more reason - the question about 'missed' was prudently omitted, - Jellal almost finished with the tower. Another month or two and he will start looking for a suitable body. In his mind ...

-Elsa, - I finished for the girl, - he clearly breathes unevenly towards her, and since childhood, though his interest is somewhat unhealthy ... - Ultear nodded.

-And why did you offer me that deal, if you yourself know everything perfectly?

- Another source of information is never superfluous - if the information supply channels have double or triple duplication, you can immediately notice which of them is trying to start its game, - I smiled, seeing how the sorceress pursed her lips in annoyance, - as for your question - then the answer remained the same - I'm interested in myself, but the fact that in addition to this I get additional benefits and communicate with a beautiful girl, well, it's a nice bonus. However, let's not talk about it now. Tell me, does Jellal still want to get the energy he needs from Aetherion's shot?

-Yes...

-It's great, when such a question comes up for a vote, I need you to be in the ranks of the vacillating, and ideally - to be against such a decision. You will only need to vote 'yes' if the shot does not take place otherwise. Yes, you don't need to destroy Etherion after that either, the main thing is to prohibit the second shot ... yes, it will be possible to convince the old fighters that this weapon is simply not effective against the Tower.

-Okay, but why? Ultear was surprised.

-Yes, then, after all the details are revealed, the Council will be disbanded anyway and will be recruited, and staying there brings a lot of benefits - both to you and to me, if you declare that you were initially against and tried to appeal to reason the rest, then it will not be difficult for you to get into the updated roster.

-Okay, after some hesitation the girl agreed.

-Then that's all, I propose to keep in touch once a week, at about the same time, well, or if there is any news. For this, I take my leave - I still have a lot of work to do.

Saying goodbye to Ultear, I turned off the connection and began to analyze the conversation and the reaction of my interlocutor. It seems that everything is fine, but I cannot completely trust the sorceress - from such a distance it is damn hard to monitor her through the planted symbiont, however, as long as she sees her benefit, she will work, and after meeting with Ur ... hmm, there may be a lot options, half of which are independent from me, except to prepare Ur herself for a meeting with her daughter, by the way, and the ice sorceress, I should see how things are going.

In the spell room, everything went on as before - cold, glowing letters and the soul of a witch 'gathering' in an ice crystal. Hmm ... the 'condensation' rate has clearly increased, but how? The more essence in the crystal, the more quickly everything else is drawn in? Or is it all about the monstrous, there is no other word for it, magical emissions nearby? It would be necessary to clarify ... having called the heavily thickened tome, I made a request.

- The magic of souls, theory and basic concepts, - scarlet letters began to appear on black paper (I tried repeatedly to change the color of the pages to normal, but nothing worked - the damned little book rested and did not want to repaint in any, I had to continue breaking my eyes), wearing speed reading glasses on his nose, u plunged into the jungle of theoretical magic, not forgetting to pick up similar sections from Jose's memory.

In the meantime, two old Soboots ... uh, I mean, respected magicians.

- Tell me, Makarych, have you thought of retirement yet? How much can you strain? I heard that the last time you almost died ... - a short old man in a funny hat chewed a sandwich with relish.

- I thought, Yamych, how not to think about it, but my spies cannot be left unattended. Who do I trust the guild to? Mystogan - I have never met a more antisocial personality. Laxus, - the old man winced and shook his head sadly, - until he grabs his head, I don't even want to think about it. Elsa? But she is sometimes too hot ... Mira has just recovered from her 'illness' and what is going on in her head now - I have no idea, but she is a responsible, good girl ... and such a cutie ... - The Master rolled his eyes dreamily ...

-E, old, come back to the ground, what, gray hair in the beard, devil in the rib? - the Council magician poked his old friend.

-Yes go, Yamych, nafig, you can't even dream. However, there is still a new one - Sephiroth, but he is too ambiguous and what he will throw out, I cannot imagine. He has gathered a flower garden around him and is enjoying himself ... a bit like Bob in this respect.

-Hmm, it seems to me, or do I hear some envy in your voice? As for this young mage ... if you decide to transfer the guild to him, please warn me in advance.

-Mmm? - Master 'Fey' bitterly bit into the snack.

- I want to submit my resignation letter before the Council has to deal with this guy, - Makarov slightly choked on a sandwich that had recently been sent to his mouth, - Speaking of Council, do you know that 'Tail' has another defender there?

-Khe, from where? I'll find out about everything from you! And who is it? Is our old evil bearded acquaintance suddenly inflamed with love for 'Fakes'?

-No, he still sleeps and sees how to disperse you, but the beautiful Ultear just stood with her chest to protect your guild, you do not know why?

-No, but my heart senses, it was not without a certain silver-haired magician with a funny philosophy ... the main thing is that our girls do not know about this, otherwise he will not live.

-Eh, youth ... one more?

-Lets do it! - two old friends took another sandwich ...

Somewhat later, Sephiroth.

-So, removal from the mortal shell ... implantation into a doll ... hmm, not quite what you need, although the general principle is clear, but it would be nice to practice ... I need 'volunteers', preferably five, or better ten ... So, with that clear, now what do we have on the Dark Arts? Nothing ... it's sad, but if so ... a request ... the magic of Darkness, Spirits, Letters ...

And some time later ...

Was your consciousness floating in the dark, or rather, in the Darkness? Again this is a strange place, only, this time everything is much sharper ... the voice, I hear someone's voice that is constantly whispering in my ears ... I listen to the words.

-... communication ... more energy ... break the channel ...

I don't understand, what energy, what channel? In general, all sorts of voices in my head, even in a dream, are not buzzing, as far as I know, and even if the voice seems strangely familiar ... I try to understand where it comes from, but I see only a picture - in front of me is the ocean into which they fall four rivers - fiery, in another one can see a playing fish, some algae, living creatures in one word, the third - on the contrary, is lazy, calm and completely transparent - no movement is felt, but I would not swim in such a suspiciously clear river. what money, why - I don't know, but a clear feeling came that it was better to go plunge into the fiery stream. Well, and the fourth ... the flow of ink, neither the bottom, nor any living creatures could be seen, but she was definitely there ... moreover, it seemed to me that she was very hungry. The voice came just from the side of this river, I tried to get to the source, but each step required more and more strength, as a result, at some point I just realized - I would not get there. Well, let's leave this riddle for later, I already turned around and moved back when ... I just woke up.

Oh, my head seems to be slightly overhauled - I didn't even notice how I passed out ... but what was it? Sleep? I have not had dreams for a long time, since I ceased to be a human being. And if consciousness demanded rest, then it simply sank into darkness ... or were there dreams, I was just not able to remember them? Hardly, the absolute memory should remember the visions created by the brain during unloading ... hmm. visions? Why's that? I have never been a prophet ...

My reflections were interrupted by a sharp sound, as if someone very evil was knocking with something very heavy on a very strong door ... my door. The brain was awake with difficulty. Need to open ... probably. Somehow I got up, wrapped a fluffy white robe, created the same slippers on my feet and trudged off to open the door. Yes, a bathrobe, yes, a fluffy one, well, not going around the house all the time in street clothes is rather uncomfortable, and a fluffy bathrobe ... mmm, this is a fluffy bathrobe, okay, I was distracted by something. I go up to the door and swing it open. I notice a fist flying in my direction and reflexively correct its movement, depriving the opponent of balance and swinging in order to knock out the victim ... and only then I realize that the 'enemy' has suspiciously familiar scarlet hair and a pretty face to my eyes.

-Um ... hello, Elsa, I'm sorry - somehow it happened reflexively ...

-Yes, well, you have reflexes ... but it doesn't matter, Lucy is gone! - went straight to the point of the warrior.

-So, such matters are not discussed on the doorstep, come in, - only then I noticed that Natsu and Gray were looming behind her, and Mira caught the eye, - ..you, - I finished the phrase, giving the whole honest company go into the house. The girls looked askance at my outfit, in emotions I felt some fun, but it quickly passed, crushed by the seriousness of the situation.

-In general, here - I was handed a note, where in Lucy's handwriting was displayed a short phrase 'I'm going home'.

-AND? - I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

-What 'and'? Natsu blew up, she is one of us. We must get her back!

- That is, she was not kidnapped, not intimidated, not deceived, but she herself just wrote a note and left?

"As far as we know, yes," Mira nodded.

- Well, then all that remains is to prepare the birthday cake for her return.

-Uh? - mmm, how I love surprise, this feeling tickles the taste so pleasantly, it can only be better than curiosity and pleasure from gaining new knowledge ...

-Explain, - and here is Elsa and her curiosity.

-Everything is very simple, the 'Fairies' have only one rule, right? - the girl nodded gloomily, already guessing where I was going, - it was her decision and we can only agree with him ... but we can believe in Lucy and her choice, so I suggest you, beauties, think about how we can meet our friend and show how we love her - uh, why did the female part of the team look at me after this phrase? Oh ... I'm a fool, okay, let's assume that this is awake.

-Hey, why only girls? We love Lucy too ... - Natsu ...

"Because, my fiery friend, we will also participate and look for a suitable gift ... somewhere, as far as possible from the kitchen and my provisions," I whispered to myself under my breath. Gray broke out into a coughing fit, yeah, a cold mage ...

-What are you hinting at? That I eat a lot? - the dragonseer frowned.

-No, Natsu, I eat a lot, and you, my friend, destroy any food in the most banal way in the range of visibility ... - I grinned rather.

-Sephiroth, can we use your kitchen? - intervened Mira in the jokes over the Dragon Slayer ... hmm, a little embarrassed and averts her eyes, eh, it would seem that our rapprochement seems to be not happening, it's sad.

-Of course, she will be completely at your disposal, - I could not resist a little prompting, - Elsa should navigate well here, she has experience, so she knows where she lies, - mmm, as a reward I got again a small cocktail of feelings and a short skirmish of views - well, then we'll go and look for a suitable gift.

-Yeah ...- the girls obviously began to think about a plan, I hope, not my murder. As for the basement, I was not afraid, firstly, Mira was not brought up so as to rummage through the basements in someone else's house herself or to allow someone else to do it (not that I suspect Elsa of something, but sometimes her character is unnecessary straightforward), and secondly, finding the entrance to the unit where I am engaged in ... suspicious experiments is not so easy. And so, Natsu and Gray and I went out into the street.

-So gentlemen, do we have a plan?

-Flowers? Gray suggested somehow uncertainly.

-Mmm ... dress? - I did not expect this from Natsu, the guy has just seriously grown in my eyes.

-Fish? - Hmmm, I think there is no need to introduce the author of this idea ...

-Hmm ... the options are clear, I also have one idea ... let's do it this way: we have two or three days before Lucy returns, I propose to split up for this time and find something suitable. Meet me at the same time in three days, okay?

The guys shrugged their shoulders, nodded and dispersed to choose a gift, but I rushed full steam out of the city - I had to overcome several hundred kilometers and talk to people that could be involved in the future ruin of Lucy's father, and one of Jose's stash will just be in that direction and, if my memory does not lie to me, just a suitable gift may be found there ...

Some (not too long) time later.

I squeezed my hand, there was a crunching sound, and the recent convulsive wheezing turned into a cheerful gurgle. I frown in annoyance - even though I am wearing a demon mask, but still it's a pity to lose resources, even if they are of such low quality, but nothing can be done - there is no other way to these ... creatures. What happened and who did I just painstakingly choke? Excuse me, now I will clarify everything.

I managed to get to the first destination quickly - at maximum speed, but straight ahead without stopping - a couple of hours, no more (it passed through, though I was notable - the wind above ... cool), only the building of the not quite bright guild 'Sinners' I needed turned out to be completely empty. So the not very high mood fell even lower. Further inspection and quick flights to neighboring cities showed a rather sad picture - a redistribution of power began. As soon as rumors reached these places that Jose had dropped out, like a pack of jackals that he held in his fist, imagined himself to be the masters of this territory and tried to convey this message to the rest of the inhabitants. And everything would be fine, except that there were several such 'flocks' and there was no smell of love between them - the former head of the 'Ghosts' led a very competent policy, guided by the principle of 'divide and conquer', he set up a couple of situations that make it impossible not to what a union, but just a neutral attitude of his toys to each other. In other words, they fiercely hated each other and only looked for a reason to grapple. And to report to 'respected Jose' about ... let's say, withholding part of the income by competitors was a holy thing. What can I say - for all that cruelty of the chapter of 'Ghosts', his brain worked very well, even if Jose was my enemy who tried to kill me, but there was something to respect him for ... hmm, he could try to correct his brain and suggest cooperation? On my terms, of course. Extraneous reflections did not prevent me from looking for the 'dark ones', moreover, there were even some plans for them ...

It was possible to find the magical rabble (no one higher than C rank was there) in a few hours, these ... mmm ... not very reasonable people did not come up with anything smarter than to arrange a massive scuffle in order to decide who is in charge, hmmm, better I will leave my opinion on this to myself, and so not a very peaceful symbiote, plus my lousy mood and irritation due to long searches ... I clearly understood that in this state I risk cutting out the entire future network of informants before this the net itself will appear ... not good, but the solution was already known ... I put on the 'demon mask' and the corresponding image of a dark-haired and red-eyed man and descended into the circle of the ringleaders of the 'jackals'.

-Good evening, gentlemen - the chances of a peaceful settlement of the conflict and the 'bloodless' transfer of this garbage under my command was estimated at 2.4%, but suddenly ...

- Who else are you? - asked the thug, armed with a pair of knuckle dusters and with such a face that it was immediately obvious that the quarries were crying for him with burning tears ... It seems that Jose knew this guy under the pseudonym 'Kid' ... well, how original, well, and The real name of this scum, the chosen one of God was not interested, he remembered the nickname only due to the fact that he was amused by the contrast ...

- Cedric Lansher, - I calmly answer, - your new owner, - I try to speak in short phrases, there is a suspicion that he may simply not understand long ones.

-What? Suffocate, you didn't * f * eat? Yes, I do you ... - the big guy swung, this genius was not even embarrassed by the fact that the enemy was in the center of the crowd of 'dark' by some unknown means, and the assessment of the magician's strength by his dimensions ... I wonder how long Makarych would have laughed?

-Yes, it was more interesting to fight Jose, - these words strained the magicians standing next to me - I clearly felt their fear, but the bloated 'child of the quarries' obviously did not attach any importance to them - the blow of a heavy hand fell on me ... without strengthening magic, a crunch was heard and the thug howled, grabbing a limb, it seems, he broke several fingers. C versus S rank - this is not even funny - in an open battle there is no chance - it simply cannot inflict any damage to a body pumped up by magic. Okay, it's time to finish, and at the same time, to demonstrate the master's whip to future 'workers'.

"Stupid," I grab a howling big man by the throat, whose name I never asked. Howls give way to wheezing, now you need to create the right atmosphere, these dregs only understand the language of power and fear ... well, I'll show them fear, - You have two options. Either you work for me alive ... or you work for me dead. I squeezed my hand, there was a crunching sound, and the recent convulsive wheezing turned into a cheerful gurgle. No, it is irrational to lose such a resource, besides, I needed 'volunteers' ... I am waiting for the connection between body and soul to weaken. Experienced magicians like Bickslow can rip a soul out of a living victim, but I am still far from this level, in fact, all I have is theory, but the concept of the 'Dark Arts' and not the fact that it is correct. .. but you have to start somewhere? As a last resort, I'll just 'raise' the corpse with the help of Simba - with Death Magic, I also have more questions than answers so far. But I didn't have to lift anything - the soul of the big man fluttered in my hands - so defenseless, so fragile, so ... delicious. Hmm, if I weren't wearing a 'mask', I would be surprised, but now ... I just watched how the thin flagella of the symbiont dug into the luminous essence and seemed to suck it in, a moment later a feeling of satiety and a small increase in strength came ... How interesting ... I have not read or heard of anything like this, which means that with a probability of 73.068% it has nothing to do with magic , can symbionts really eat souls? Unlikely, though ... Merging ... I just had a series of questions for the creators of these, in every sense, wonderful creatures.

Such a demonstration was more than convincing - judging by the smell of the public toilet, many were very, very strong. The surviving leaders of the dark guilds (it turns out, I managed to bite the head of those very 'Sinners' whose disappearance so saddened me quite recently) were immediately filled with respect and reverence, if they did not smell so much of fear, I would even believe .. . may be.

- Are there any more people wishing to work for me in a dead state? Not? For some reason, I thought so - to stretch my lips into a smile, in combination with the eyes in the 'demon mask' works just flawlessly ... the smell intensified, but I didn't think about that, however, it doesn't matter.

-W-we, s-happy s-to serve you, Mr. S-sed-d-drik-k, - from the crowd of frightened people that was previously behind the bruiser, whose name I did not recognize, a peasant of years 30-35, a small beard, red hair and a figure not distinguished by a special athletic make-up, however, he also did not look like a 'shkiletic', so, an ordinary average person with a small beer belly and a sly look, although the latter is not a fact - now everything has been replaced by animal fear ...

- Correct thought ... - there were no special problems further - to put a little Simba on the heads of the gangs, knock out information from them on the situation and order them to do the same thing that they were doing before for Jose - collecting information and rumors about which they needed to think once a week - I was not going to give them my coordinates, but I can 'read' through Simba the thoughts of these ailments, although I have to pay with a headache. But most importantly, the picture has now become clear how exactly Lucy's father managed to lose a truly gigantic fortune - more than one hundred billion precious ... sounds. The whole trick consisted of banking machinations, some connections and the talent of one magician from the 'Black Cornflowers' guild (hmmm, the local imagination is very strange ...), well, without the Guild of Assassins, of course it would not have done - their task was to provide lack of questions and understanding on the part of the victim. The plan itself was developed by Jose in case of 'contingencies' and was kept in strict confidence. It's funny, the worlds can be very different, go along different paths of development, but the concept of raider capture is unchanged in any space ... people, what to take from them ...

After parting with the 'dark' almost friends, I went to Jose's funeral. After removing the 'Demon mask'. I will not say that I suddenly began to roll in remorse on the ground and pull out my hair, but a certain feeling of disgust and a certain disgust, or something, did take place, however, the mood quickly improved thanks to a gift from old Jose. In the magician's vault (protected in accordance with the most demanding paranoia, by the way, it was good at least I knew where and why) many pleasant trophies awaited me: lacrima crystals of various sizes (an explosion spell hung on a part - you won't defuse in time and you will be left without prey. .. at best), several interesting potions (a couple of poisons written down as general strengthening does not count, but an interesting technique, worth remembering), fifteen million precious coins in small denominations, well, and most importantly, ready-made artifacts. Staffs and rings were of little interest to me now - there was nothing outstanding, but there was only one silver Key. Judging by the image of the shield on it, something of a protective type. It's hard to find the best gift for a spirit charmer, I think Lucy will like it, and there is already a box ... Leaving all the other trophies in a spatial pocket, I opened my wings and rushed back to Magnolia.

And again villages and small towns glided under the wings, while I reflected on what I saw. As it turned out, Jose's departure from business had very profound consequences, in the canon they did not bother about this, but the real world made its own adjustments. One of the ten God's Chosen, the former master of the 'Ghosts' was a weighty, very weighty figure in the political arena, and given his character, by his very presence he kept many hotheads from hasty decisions. Who will pass a law restricting or somehow infringing on the rights of magicians, if there is a very big chance after that to be quietly smothered by a spirit sent right in a dream? Will such a crime be investigated? Who! It is known who, magicians, of course, whose very rights the deceased tried to cut off, given that this world is somewhat simpler and more honest than the one from where I came from, then these same magicians can send such an initiative in plain text, well, or in extreme cases, simply nothing to find - guild solidarity is not an empty phrase here - guilds and individual wizards can squabble between themselves as much as they like, but if someone from the outside tries to get into their meeting ... both disputing factions are piled on him with great pleasure and then they will return to their own disassembly. But now one of these pillars of power of the wizards is gone, there is no lethal thing, of course, it will not lead, but a holy place is never empty - a redistribution of spheres of influence will begin, but what, it is already underway, even if at the level of any punks - more solid 'players' are only looking at the freed up resources, assessing their needs and capabilities, perhaps making alliances and alliances with others to achieve their goals. It is a pity that I paid the main attention in Jose's memory to magic and secret places, somehow I did not think about the political situation, although, it is understandable why - I really did not want to get into intrigues and local dirt, from somewhere a clear feeling came - this is very, very big hemorrhoids, it is better to go somewhere to the village and start growing ficuses. But, as much as I would not like to stay away from politics, you need to know the basic alignments - otherwise they can try to play 'dark' and well, if only by me, and not by the whole guild, but I think everything will be all right here - Makarov may be a good old man, but if necessary, he can be tougher than Jose, it was not for nothing that during his time the 'Fairies' from the middle peasants rose to the level that worried the master of the First Guild Fiore.

While thinking, I almost forgot about the second purpose of my visit - human material, fortunately (well, for me), with a sense of life, it was not difficult to find the necessary 'volunteers' - a cave fifteen kilometers from a small town contained about two half a dozen large living objects (more precisely, it was impossible to determine from the air, and so I spotted it only by the fact that there were no animals and other living creatures around the cave, as a result of which it stood out well against the general background). Or is it a large family of bears (well, or their magically altered counterparts ... those are still creatures, somehow happened to collide on one of the missions ... brrr), or those I need. Moreover, the place is very successful - a protective pattern can be applied on the walls of the cave in order to hide unnecessary emanations, and the distance from the city is decent - the probability that they will be detected is less than three percent, but I will have time to wash away in any way (if my soul does not come God's chosen one, of course).

Gentlemen robbers were really sitting in the cave, the respectable audience was having fun. Apparently, they recently managed to plunder a small caravan, so now the freaks were resting, drinking expensive wine and raping the girls, which most likely were in the role of servants in this caravan. This time I did not put on a 'mask' - it was enough to change my appearance - after all, the magician Sephiroth is now rushing around the shops and looking for a gift for his girlfriend, but the dark magician Cedric has long planned to practice in some not very popular areas of witchcraft ...

Then everything was quite simple - the bandits busy with entertainment did not even manage to figure out what had happened - I just moved between them at maximum speed, knocking out one and moving on to the next. Unfortunately, it was not without losses - having recently dealt exclusively with magicians, I somehow lost sight of the fact that ordinary people are much less ... hmm, strong, so the first robber vilely splashed his brains on the floor, instead of just to 'lie down to rest'. Another corpse was organized by one of the captives - one held her hands, and the second had already lowered his pants with quite clear intentions, but then I happened and knocked out the one that was holding the girl's hands - after which she almost instantly freed herself from the grip, tore off the holder her man's knife and stabbed him up to the hilt in the neck of the failed rapist ... ahem, sternly, but rightly.

There were no more excesses, as a result, I captured nineteen bandits and six prisoners, three of whom were in serious condition - injuries to internal organs, fractures ... I generally keep quiet about such trifles as dislocations and bruises - the only completely whole was only that the girl who stuck a knife in the neck of her failed rapist. And now this girl was looking at me with a question in her eyes - what next? I look into her emotions - relief, concern for her friends and slight apprehension directed at me - no shock, no worries about killing a person, nothing at all, as if she crushed a cockroach, however, here I agree with her - to worry about for such personalities it is not worth it, although it is strange to see in a young girl (16-17 years old), psychological stability, more suitable for some veteran.

-Thank you, thank you, - the sobs of another captive broke the silence.

-Thank you for your help, did my father send you? - the voice of this 'veteran in a skirt' turned out to be unexpectedly powerful and harsh - you can't really sing that much, but the order expressed by such a voice will reach the brain of any private in the shortest possible time, in whatever situation he is given, it becomes more and more interesting.

-Not. To be honest, I have no idea who your father is, and that there is someone here besides the robbers, I also did not know.

-So, you followed them here, sir ...? - the girl raised an inquiring eyebrow.

- Cedric Lansher, and yes, I came here for this meat. But maybe you will give your name? - an interesting person, very interesting, and pretty, however, too young, but the last 'drawback' tends to pass very quickly ...

-Oh, excuse me, I am Leona Alster and I, nevertheless, are very grateful for your salvation and would like to hire you to escort to the nearest city - you will still need to hand over these criminals to the authorities? I promise to make the payment as soon as we get to town - hmm, who is she? Certainly not an ordinary servant, she is too confident in herself, and it is also evident that she is used to giving orders. Alster ... I seem to have heard something about this surname or read it somewhere, hmm ... since I can't immediately remember with absolute memory, it means that I heard about them from the memory of the 'seized', that is, from Jose , and he did not communicate with just anyone ... such an acquaintance could be beneficial, but damn it, I have no time, and thoughts went on just to clean up their memory a little, but leave it somewhere in the woods near the city, but now it is possible and revise.

- I'm sorry, but you have to get there yourself - I still have things to do.

-But maybe ... - our conversation was interrupted by the groan of one of the girls, the one where I determined deep internal injuries, perhaps without an ambulance, she will die, and if you consider that you will not find normal magicians-healers here in the afternoon with fire ... My interlocutor changed her face, and her emotions were flooded with anxiety and fear, and now in front of me is no longer a domineering aristocrat who got into some difficulty, but an ordinary frightened girl of 16 years old, oddly enough, but I am glad of this change - otherwise I began to get the impression that she is the daughter of Chuck Norris and had seen something else. Meanwhile, Leona ran to her ... hmm, friend? Companion? The maid? However, it does not matter - a general examination followed, accompanied by new groans if the girl touched the victim.

-Crites, I hate ... - Hissed young Alster, there were tears in her eyes.

-Do not cry, lady, - quietly asked the dying, probably still a servant, - I am glad that they were satisfied with me and did not touch you ... - more precisely, they did not have time, a thought flashed, but I brushed it off irritably, deciding some dilemma for myself. I could have saved this woman, it doesn't matter, with the help of Life magic or Simba disguised as Life magic, but this can lead to very unpleasant consequences, although, on the other hand, this appearance was not built with the expectation of .. hmm, not entirely legal actions? Interestingly, what would I do, being in the 'mask'? For some reason, the thought came to mind that 19 test samples is good, but 25 sounds better, or 24 and one brainwashed puppet ... grimacing at such thoughts, I preferred to focus on reality. In fact, Leona was rushing to me.

- Tell me, Cedric, can you help her? I'm ready for anything, just save them! - how much determination and pressure.

-So that's all? - with obvious skepticism in my voice, I raise an eyebrow a little, I wanted to look at her figure with a greasy look ... but now is not the time and the wrong place to joke like that, and you need to deal with the girls who remained at home, and not stir up a new one an affair, and if you still don't remember my principles, in general, well, it's nafig. So instead of 'greasy' the girl was greeted by a cold and indifferent gaze of reddish eyes - this is a very loud statement, girl, you shouldn't give such promises to a person you know for less than an hour - my interlocutor just stubbornly pursed her lips and clenched her fists, - you understand, that all three victims can only be helped by a Life Mage? Anyone else can only ease the suffering.

-I understand, - the girl wilted, about the chances of finding a Life mage of the necessary qualifications, and even in a short time she had an idea. Damn, what the hell? I am not a saint, but why not help a person, if, by and large, it costs me nothing, except for the possible consequences in the form of a search for a `` terrible magician of Life '', but ... damn it with them, from this you can try to lay down, Well, no, I'll just change my appearance and let the whole Fiore, even before greening, look for Cedric. I sigh heavily.

-You will be silent about it ... and you will fulfill one request for each saved life ... within the limits of your strength ... and conscience. A request from me or from someone else, if I deem it necessary to transfer this right.

-Uh? - Leon did not understand, but as she realized my words, hope flared up in her soul, - The Alsters never broke their word, - pff, how much pathos, - I promise to keep your secret and fulfill your requests, if it is in my power!

-Well, let's see ...

To patch up the body with a symbiont is not a particular problem, but all three of my patients were in an extremely emaciated state, and they had a vid ... in general, I decided to combine useful with even more useful - to practice the magic of Life under the strict control of Simba. First Life Draw on one of the 'volunteers'. In fact, I just bit him with life energy, like one pink-haired monster chewing on fire - the body of the bandit shrunk right before our eyes to the point of a skin-covered skeleton, and his death brought me another portion of strength. Then patching up the injured with the help of a symbiont, combined with the infusion of the selected life force - while I could directly use the magic of Life only as a kind of 'battery' and a stimulant, it was too long and dreary to draw a full-fledged ritual for healing wounds - the patients could corny not survive.

The infusion of someone else's life force had one funny effect - my experiment ... uh, the charges took off for five years, heh, now, if they get caught, I will know how to pay off. The whole operation took about two hours, after which I woke up the former half-corpses and sent them on foot to my friends. The returnees were looked at as immigrants from the other world, which, in fact, was not far from the truth, however, this did not bother me much, the experimental data obtained were much more interesting, and the side effects in the form of rejuvenating my patients due to the life force of the bandit It is very curious, if Zeref purely reflexively pulls out even crumbs of life from the surrounding world, then it becomes clear how a simple mortal lasted more than four centuries, although the option with changing his own body should not be discarded either. I went into thought thoroughly, somewhere in between I explained to the former captives how to get to the city, and also assured that there were no predatory animals and other gangs here. After parting with the girls, I hastened to return to the cave - it was necessary just in case to shield myself and start work, that the rescued could, in gratitude, bring the same Rune Knights at me - I could feel the guests long before they they will notice me, which means that I will have time to escape too. Now it's time to get to work ...

I will not describe the whole process - it is unpleasant for me, fatal for the victim, but necessary from the point of view of practice, I will only say that for a beginner 'soul catcher' the only vessel with which he can work normally is a part of the victim's body, in other words, to plant the caught essence (the souls of the workers of the knife and ax were rather plain and weak, the same chapter of the 'Sinners' was much ... richer, however, for a start, just weak souls are good) I managed only in a bone figure made from the body of victims, yes, before Bickslow, that he could shove a captive soul into any material object, I still have to plow and plow, but the general principle is clear, now let's try to complicate things a little ... among the bandits there were two close relatives, it seems, brothers, they became the next a stepping stone in my understanding of working with souls. Their essences were quite close, and the differences in blood were minimal, in general, I tried to swap them - to bind the soul of one to the body of the second, alas, this did not work out with a 'pure' spell, I had to use ritualism and help myself with drawings and drawings, then the process began, it's a pity that I could only work on the dead - the living organism stubbornly resisted my influences, most likely there was a different principle of action, and maybe some other catch - in some places in the books instead of answers there was already one that brought me to a nervous tic 'ask the teacher', so I couldn't find out for sure.

In approximately this vein, the two days allotted to me passed - experiments, cleaning up unsuccessful results and again experiments, encouraged by the success with the brothers, I tried to attach the soul in a similar way, but already a completely stranger ... so I lost ten experimental subjects - there is no attachment I wanted to pass, but I still used a 'similar component' - human bones ... well, that's sad. A breakthrough has been outlined in the last couple of hours, since I did not have enough skill to put a soul in a doll, even with a ritual, then I need to make this doll a part of the ritual, let it draw the essence to itself. The correct selection of the drawing took another five people, but the required result was achieved - a small bone figurine containing the soul of a former robber. At the moment, this prison was completely useless - the captive soul did not even have the strength to broadcast its thoughts, not to mention any magical actions, but the very fact ... with the implantation of the soul into the new, problems no longer arose - just place the doll in an empty shell, start life processes in the aforementioned shell and merge the doll with the main skeleton, at least slightly damaging the drawing on it and order - a soul appears in the body. After finishing the experiment and destroying all the material (some of them died again), I hastened to leave the cave, having previously walked through it with a fiery tornado - no extra evidence is needed. Taking off in the air, I headed to Magnolia, this time I certainly did not forget anything. It's strange, even without a 'mask', I calmly conducted, to put it mildly, inhuman experiments on living people and ... nothing, no pangs of conscience, no some kind of remorse ... although no, somewhere deep inside you can feel the satisfaction of a successful experiment it seems that in a past life I was more humane, or not? I don't remember, but, just in case, I will need to conduct another examination of my carcass - perhaps something affects the thought process ...

Leona Alster. Daughter of Baron Alster. Around the same time.

Leona literally burst into her native estate - first an attack on the motorcade and the killed guards, then being captured from the bandits from the high road and watching their "entertainment", and then a strange rescue by that eerie type with a cold look. The girl shuddered, as if from a draft, while she was getting to the city, while driving home from the city, various options were scrolling in her head, ranging from a happy coincidence of circumstances, ending with the thought that that magician ... Cedric, could have arranged all this with from the very beginning - the ease with which he killed that bandit spoke volumes, although, on the other hand, with such opportunities he would hardly bother with bandits - there are much simpler and ... less shocking ways to get her family's favor, if he needs it at all. Her father's joyful voice pulled the girl out of her thoughts.

-Leona, thank Gods, you are all right, I could not find a place for myself when I found out about the motorcade, how are you, daughter? - Baron Risten from the Alster clan ran up and hugged his daughter with his only hand - he had long lost the second while serving in the king's guard, in gratitude received a small allotment of land and a kick in the ass, however, the old (if such a word fits a thirty-year-old strong man) soldier is not began to get discouraged and decided to try himself in trade, investing all his small fortune at that time in the purchase of a ship and goods. Former colleagues helped with the team, and the crippled guardsman became a free trader. Ten years have passed since then, Risten received the nickname 'Master of the Seas' and held firmly in a single fist all of Fiore's maritime trade. He took up charity work and began to collect a collection of old paintings - this hobby he picked up in one of the eastern kingdoms.

- It's okay, dad. True, it was scary ... very much, - the girl began to tell her father about her misadventures, the merchant nodded, at times asked some clarifying questions, when it came to the appearance of the man who had saved his heiress, the man's face changed.

-You know, they recently brought me a picture ... I need to clarify something, let's go, - Leona, who doesn't understand anything, went to get her father. On their way to the art gallery, they stopped in front of a large canvas. Time, unfortunately, did not spare the work of an unknown artist - the colors faded, and in some places they were even blurred to such an extent that it was almost impossible to distinguish the landscape - either some kind of gloom, or some ashes, but the person was very well preserved, depicted in the picture - from the tarnished canvas, the cold, indifferent gaze of the very magician who saved her from the bandits looked at Leona, even the cloak and hairstyle were the same, although it was difficult to distinguish exactly - the notorious state of the canvas. The girl looked at the signature - 'Dark magician Zeref in the forest. 357 year '

-It can't be, - the girl whispered quietly, her father only frowned gloomily - it seems that his family has a debt to a very dangerous person ...