Chapter 510
Chapter 510
{«The formation that kills on approach?!»} – Lana was genuinely surprised at such a ruthless suggestion. It seemed especially strange because of the recent healing, during which the sister spent almost all of her energy. In this regard, the head of the Dance sect had her own thoughts, but she was not going to voice them.
{«And how do you plan to implement it?»} – she asked after a short pause.
{«We will impose destructive formations on Zosimos. We will also impose related formations on them. If anyone damages or gets within one kilometer of the related formation, they will send a signal… We will have to use the keys of light and darkness of the overlord phase to get it to reach the target, wherever it is. I just have a few from that massacre with demons ten years ago.»} – Gina explained.
{«But what can guarantee that none of us will secretly send a task force to kidnap Zosimos?»}
{«Nothing. But what's the point? You won't get satisfaction from his punishment, and raising your successor remotely… In general, if I find out about this, I will send the appropriate signal, and then your "servant" will turn into a dead man.»}
Lana mused. She had no wish to fight, and not only because no one will emerge victorious from such a battle. She also didn't want to kill Zosimos. It turns out that her sister's proposal suited her quite well. As they say – a dog in the manger.
{«Deal.»} – the girl agreed, raising her shining eyes to her interlocutor.
For 320 years, Gina has mastered formacy up to the 2nd rank, and Lana up to the 3rd, and if she wasn't lazy, she wouldn't give in to her sister. Such skills are vital for controlling the sect.
The former daughters of Zosimos entered invisibility and descended from the sky. They found the fake father sitting on a cobblestone with his head drooping wearily. His unhappy and sickly appearance caused an attack of sadness and compassion in the girls.
Lana sighed softly and stretched out her index finger in the direction of the sufferer. A thread of energy entered the man's forehead and formed the slot there, and then the formation. Zosimos could not feel its imposition in any way due to the huge difference in development, as well as his half-dead condition. Then Gina repeated the same.
A whole kaleidoscope of emotions was in the last looks thrown by the girls at the "father". The initial anger and rage were easily replaced by other more complex feelings. It is not known if they will ever be able to see Zosimos so close again, to smell him… These thoughts made their hearts shudder painfully. They're not supposed to behave like that.
Gina and Lana, reliably hiding emotions rushing out behind a mask of composure, flew 10 kilometers away from Zosimos and superimposed binding formations on each other. From now on, if they get closer than a kilometer to the messenger of the goddess, then, according to the previously agreed conditions, the binding formation will work, and his head will explode.
Having completed all the necessary actions, the sisters looked at each other with hostility and, coldly grunting, flew apart. The degree of enmity between them has decreased enormously since their last meeting. Previously, they were ready to scratch out each other's eyes, but now everything was limited to caustic phrases and sharp glances. Was it because they had promised Zosimos not to fight each other? Or because they're sisters? Everything is much simpler: over the past year they have become closer. And even 3 centuries of enmity could not completely break this kinship, even if created by the fake father.
…
Some time later.
Lanatelle felt that someone powerful had crossed the palace barrier. She instantly squeezed the medallion in her palm, and a transparent sphere distorting space formed around her, after which the woman went to the throne room.
An extraordinarily charming girl in a slightly provocative dress of dark tones sat on the throne, carelessly crossing her slender legs. She gave the empress a disdainful glance and rose with a bloodthirsty smile.
«Who are you, and what are you doing in my palace?» – Lanatelle said with a threat.
«I just dropped by to shed the royal blood… You don't mind dying today, do you?» – with the last word, Lana disappeared and attacked the empress in the head, but her blow was blocked by space distortions.
A booming roar swept through the entire capital. The entire palace building was shaking violently. The windows rattled.
The head of the Dance sect felt the aura emitted by the barrier and instantly jumped 10 meters back. She was touched by just a tiny particle of this burning cleansing power, but she was already deathly pale, covered with cold sweat and numb with horror. She was trembling all over, like a tiny bunny in front of a monster. There is no doubt that the creature that produced such an aura is capable of incinerating planets and absorbing worlds!
Lanatelle chuckled coldly and carefully examined the attacker: «You don't look like a killer from the Walders family… Then who are you? However, it doesn't matter. I will say this: I have just taken control of a negligible part of the aura of an ancient mythical creature. If I release it fully, then the flame will engulf the entire earth. Forests will burn, mountains will melt, seas and oceans will evaporate, and the sky will fall. My death or my will will mark the death of all living things.» – the steel voice of the empress sounded extremely intimidating and convincing. – «You may not believe me, but if you start acting, you will make the biggest mistake of your life.» – the woman promised.
«The death of all living things? It sounds unconvincing…» – Lana smiled ironically. She tried to provoke the woman to say something else in order to get more clues, but the empress simply remained silent, then removed the barrier and calmly left.
Lanatelle skillfully hid the fatigue that had fallen on her behind a mask of calm.
Lana hesitated for a while, assessing the chances, then clenched her teeth and left the palace, thinking: {You are lucky to have caring parents… But I am not.} – she decided to leave because she understood that such an aura could only be generated by an ancient legacy. The chance that this is not just a toy for intimidation is too high. Recently, the girl received a new life with purified keys, and she was not going to risk such a treasure.
…
The main educational institution of the Dance sect was located on the outskirts of the Saturn empire, around the gigantic mountain of Ascension. It is believed that the higher the place where students study, the more authority they have. At the very peak, cutting through the clouds, there is a grand temple of indescribable beauty made of emerald marble, built in the antique style.
The head of the sect, Lana, used to live here. Only senior elders could get an audience with her, and only by invitation or on a very important matter. Now, after her disappearance, elder Vilia settled here. She won the position of the temporary head of the sect by brute force. Even though many people objected to her living in the temple of the great Lana – after all, this is sacrilege – she did not listen to them.
A rather beautiful woman in her 30s seemed to like the current state of affairs. She lives in a temple worthy of the gods, admires the endless peaceful landscapes every day, and also enjoys massage services from Lana's personal servant – the former king, whose heart was conquered by the head of the sect. He even mastered the art of foot massage to perfection. Just now, the stocky man was diligently puffing over her feet.
Suddenly, screams of terror from the guards were heard outside the temple.
Vilia jumped up and, strengthening her voice with energy, angrily shouted: «Who dares to come to my home without an invitation?!»
«Your home?!» – an even more impressive, albeit somewhat young, voice rang out.
The deafening sound wave took the elder's breath away. A girl with wonderful orange eyes that cannot be forgotten appeared in front of her… They can only belong to the great and mighty head of the sect!
«Y-y-your holiness, you… You're back…» – the woman murmured with great difficulty.
«How could you have taken my house for yourself?! Are you looking for death?!» – Lana thundered sternly, releasing pressure to put her arrogant subordinate in her place. Of course, she had no intention of killing the devoted sect member.
The elder turned pale, knelt down and banged her forehead on the floor: «F-forgive me, worthless fool… I-I committed the unforgivable sin and will accept any punishment… Y-your holiness, you're back, that's what really matters…»
Meanwhile, the man, seeing his beloved one in the guise of a young girl, was speechless. Now Lana seemed a little less feminine than before, but much more sweet and innocent… His heart was melting with warm feelings. Without hesitating for a second, the former king rushed to the head of the sect and, slipping his knees on the floor, fell with his forehead in front of her feet.
~BOOM~
The head of the sect sent the masseur flying with a kick.
«Get out of my temple!» – Lana ordered. From just the sight of the man fawning over her in the hope that she would allow him to massage her feet, the head of the sect experienced an acute attack of contempt. Nothing like this has ever happened before… On the contrary, she liked it when the servant behaved like that! What has changed since then? It seems that a whole year spent next to the real man changed her…
Soon, a group of senior elders and other influential representatives of the sect broke into the temple. Recognizing their one and only head, they knelt down with reverence on their faces and greeted her… Although they were extremely surprised by the changed appearance of the lady, as well as by her outfit.
Lana looked like a young girl because of the messenger of the goddess. She could not grow up by force, because her biological clock was reset. As for the dress made by Zosimos, she did not want to take it off at all… It's too pretty.
Soon, the main elders, the only ones who knew about the disappearance of the head of the sect, held a secret feast in honor of her return. They noticed how much their mistress had changed. It's not about her appearance or character, but about her changed behavior. She seemed to have cooled off and lost interest in everything. She was almost not pleased with the good news and was not upset by the bad. She drove away even her best masseur (the former king), as if she was no longer interested in him. Her absent melancholy look spoke volumes. Everyone was interested in what she had experienced over the past year, but the girl refused to comment on her absence in any way.
Lana returned to the temple and slumped on the soft throne, propping her cheek with her fist. For some reason, she could not rejoice at her return to the sect, new strength and even youth, although, it would seem, she should "squeal with happiness". Something important was missing. This feeling can be compared to a successful bank robbery. Everything seems to be fine, but deep inside something is irretrievably lost. Something very simple and heartfelt.
Gina was sitting in exactly the same position on an almost identical throne in a very similar temple a hundred thousand kilometers away. She was sitting in a dress made by the fake father, and stared absently at the ceiling. From time to time, her long eyelashes trembled, and her charming emerald eyes were filled with a dreamy veil. She recalled her life as the daughter of Zosimos and did not understand how this was possible: why did she get more pleasure, emotions and impressions in one year than in a hundred years as the head of the sect?
It would seem that Eve was doing such insignificant things: watching useless films and cartoons, doing unnecessary tests and tasks, developing the virtual character, fooling around and caring for some pot-bellied lout… But then why is the heart bursting with pain? As if something vitally important was irretrievably torn out of the soul, something that could never be returned.
No one would believe it if they found out that the rational and emotionless head of the Virgo sect, famous for her contemptuous attitude towards men, greatly misses the serene life as the daughter of the bald mature man. Despite the fact that he commanded her, he surrounded her with truly parental care…
…
Earlier, Kyon, after talking with his daughters, spent 2 minutes and all his energy on the healing technique. It is good for wound healing, but not for restoring the working capacity of internal organs. However, he felt a little better – it's already good. Alas, there was no response from his daughters, which means that he needs to get out of here as soon as possible, because Leila recently destroyed the carriage and the imperial servants with it. The empress's people will be here any minute, and it would be better for him not to meet with them.
In his current state, Lovr could not run – he was barely conscious. The only way to quickly leave this place is to teleport to a pre-prepared trigram. It would be stupid to move to the city, yet the city barrier stops any smuggling. Only Boston, a town nearby (500 km from here) and the basement of the house in the order remain. Unfortunately, his keys are only enough for one trip.
Kyon chose the latter option because he had to appear "completely healthy" in public as soon as possible. Thus, he will take away from himself any suspicions on the part of the zeroth general that he is "The Dark Baron". After all, this man should be in a coma with a paralyzed body and in general have been dead for a long time.
This choice – returning to the order and continuing to work under the guise of Dick – is very risky, but he could not do otherwise. He just has to save Valeera. He needs to infiltrate the palace, becoming a student of the empress. Maybe there will be a chance to take revenge on the bloody bitch.
But before moving, Kane made sure through visual formations, with which the whole house was dotted, that there was no one inside and all the objects were in their places. Only after making sure of this, he took out the teleportation trigram, stood inside and activated the movement. He disappeared after 2 minutes. A second later, he soaked the trigram-evidence with a spatial attribute (through the formation) and moved it to him.
Lovr knelt down and coughed up blood. His head was spinning. Everything was blurry in his eyes. The internal organs were on the verge of failure… Even a royal phaser would have died from such internal injuries in a few hours. Besides, he recently lost his daughters, and Valeera is in captivity… Mood – it would be better to die. It will not be possible to change it with Synergy, since there is too little of it. Everything goes to more important things.
In addition, Kyon needed to show himself in public as soon as possible, so he reserved as much Synergy as possible and began to change his personality. It took him an hour to become Dick!
Lovr got to his feet with difficulty and hobbled out, forcibly gave himself a cheerful look and walked with a calm step to the market, and then returned back. That's it, now the alibi is ready – safe and sound. After closing the door, he turned pale abruptly and spat blood again.
Climbing to the second floor seemed to Kyon harder than climbing Everest. And now before his eyes was the desired bed. After drinking a bottle of water in one gulp, he put his head on the pillow and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Imagine Lovr's surprise when an hour later he woke up from an alarm from Synergy… And the reason was that a blonde he knew well was standing near the entrance to the young man's chambers. She held a drawn bow in her hands and aimed at his forehead.
«There you are, " The Dark Baron"!» – Elsa announced solemnly.