Chapter 7 Chapter 6

I don't know if Lemont will take out the file, let alone what I will do.Maybe I'll pick another candidate for mirror magician. But we didn't have a chance to do it. At first I noticed a change in Lymont's face.He stared in one direction, the direction of the road. Then I heard the roar of the motor, and I turned my head away in response. A white van sped up from the road, made a sharp turn, and easily smashed down the symbolic wooden fence surrounding the Lemont Villa, rolled over dirt and pebbles, and braked amidst the screeching sound of tires rubbing against the ground. Stay in the car.

The rear doors of the car had been removed in advance.Two jumped out, while a third remained in the vehicle and opened fire with a machine gun mounted on a gun rack. Foma was the first to react.As soon as the car drove into the garden he erected the protective shield.Maybe he didn't cover it?Maybe it was just a protective spell - something he had put in place in case something like this happened? The machine gun roared, and the sound of the gun resonated in the car, as if amplified by a huge iron horn, and it came straight to our side, followed by bullets.But none of them flew to us, and they stopped limply halfway, hanging in the air for a second like a special effect in a shootout movie, and then fell to the ground.

The two who jumped out of the car were wearing black masks. They hid on the side of the car and fired with submachine guns.No one else emerged from the car for the time being. What's the matter with them?Are they all idiots? Semyon waved his hand a few times, and I found that he used the harmless "Morpheus" and the fast-acting "Opium", the former giving the attacker ten seconds to continue the war game.But the spell didn't work, and the shooting continued, the bullet still stuck in the air halfway through.I took a closer look, no, they are not others, just ordinary people.But everyone has a talisman flickering on their chest.

"Don't kill them!" Lemont yelled seeing me raise my hand.All I had was two quick-acting three-bladed knives - I never expected to run into such trouble.The first flew by, and the second hit the target, reducing the weapon to a heap of fine scrap metal.The gunshots became quieter, only submachine guns remained, and the momentum gradually weakened, as if they had touched an invisible barrier.That would be nice.Each protective measure has certain limitations, and if it is a machine gun bullet, it can destroy the protective measure in no time. It was ordinary people who attacked us!Ordinary people, but they wear amulets.Not only has such behavior never happened, but it seems extremely stupid.Ambushing a magician with a remote-controlled weapon is another matter, of course, but shooting face-to-face like this, three shooters against three magicians... what can they expect?

It may only be to divert our attention! I turned my head just in time to catch a glimpse of a puff of white smoke coming towards us.The shells were fired from the roof of a high-rise building less than one kilometer away from us.It was apparently remotely controlled and flew straight for the pavilion. "Foma!" I yelled, and used the "quick freezing technique" to randomly block the floral shell to the side.It was not known whether the spell that applied the temporary freezing missed the target, or whether the shells had the power to resist magical interference, but this trick failed.

"Enter the Twilight Realm!" Remont yelled. Sometimes it's better to follow orders than to come up with some ingenious methods.I stepped into the twilight world and immediately entered the second floor.Next to him was Lymont—he also felt that the first floor was not reliable enough.But to my surprise, Foma didn't stay in the second floor, he waved his hand and entered a deeper place.Although I didn't quite understand it, I followed him to the third floor.Why do you want to do this?Violent explosions in the real world can reach the first level, but in any case not the second level... If Foma is worried about the most terrible and incredible scenarios, then nuclear energy can destroy any level of any world.

White flames lit up the gray haze.The ground under his feet trembled slightly.It's light, but it does vibrate. "Where is Semyon?" I called. Remont just spread his hands, and he had no way of knowing.We waited a little longer for real-world shrapnel to fall, flames to die, and smoking fragments to fall from midair. Then we stepped out. The glass in the beautiful villa in Lemont was all broken, and the whole house was covered with dust.A thick branch was stuck in the window on the second floor, and it was shaken from a nearby tree. The car rolled over to the ground, and the two stiff corpses beside it remained motionless.A third man was crawling slowly toward the fence on immobile legs—either the machine gunner or the driver who jumped out of the car just in time.

I have no sympathy for him.He is a gangster, used to divert our attention from the shells.He knew the consequences of what he did. A small pit appeared at the location of the pavilion, and it was full of white sawdust.The playing cards were spinning and falling from overhead—not being burned, but thrown into the air in the midst of this strange fight. Semyon turned out to be beside the car.He was encased in a gleaming, transparent sphere that seemed to be made of crystal.The sphere rolled slowly, and Xie Miao stretched his arms and legs and spun in it.This pose is very funny, like imitating the famous painting "Golden Section", which made me laugh.Semyon, who is short and stocky, with short arms and short legs, does not look like the muscular man described by Leonardo da Vinci.

"This is a very uncomfortable spell," Lymont said with a sigh of relief. "Though it's solid." The crystal ball cracked and turned into a puff of smoke. At this time, Semyon happened to be head down, but he turned his body over flexibly and landed on his feet.He rubbed his ears with his hands: "Mr. Lemont, does this happen every Saturday here? Or is it specially arranged for our visit?" Reymont ignored this direct and harsh question. He tilted his head, as if he was listening to a certain voice, and then frowned, and the frown became tighter. Immediately afterwards, he quickly built the shiny tunnel entrance in front of him, and said to us:

"Follow me, everyone. I'm afraid this is just to get our attention." Before I had time to ask him what he planned to do with the overturned car, the destroyed pavilion, the creeping criminals, and the neighbors gathering on the road, the second tunnel appeared in front of me—the other one. Jumped out of it one by one. They weren't just the Lightbringers of the Night's Watch patrol, they were all wearing police uniforms and bulletproof vests, helmets, and submachine guns ready to fire. Thomas Rivermarch, you can talk nonsense!Underestimated technology!I can see how you underestimate technology...

Lymont stepped into the tunnel.I dawdled for a while, trying to wait for Xie Miao.But he stopped suddenly, stared at a thin chestnut-haired man, and shouted: "Kevin! You old guy!" "Simon! You fool!" the chestnut-haired man also exclaimed happily. "Where are you going? Wait a minute!" They hugged each other and slapped each other on the shoulder with the energy of those two happy bunnies in the battery ad. "Wait a while, let's have a good chat later," Xie Miao muttered as he broke away from Kevin's embrace. "Look, the tunnel is about to disappear... I brought you wine from Sevastopol, remember? Moose-scented sparkling wine!" I spat and shook my head.What are these words—"Wait a minute, wait a moment..." If the protagonist in the movie said that to an old friend, he would die soon. Thankfully, we're not the protagonists of a shootout. I stepped into the tunnel entrance. Surrounded by a milky white halo.A lightness that only astronauts can experience.A secret path beyond the reach of ordinary people. What will the other in police uniform do there next?Erasing memories from the minds of neighbors who happened to be witnesses, erasing all traces of the fighting, interrogating attackers if they survived, and so on.In fact, these things are the daily work of the patrol team. Who would dare to do that?Attacking members of the inspection team is already a crazy move, but this time the target of the attack turned out to be the head of the inspection team and two foreign magicians—it was simply unheard of.And in the process, ordinary people are used... It suddenly dawned on me that the Frenchman I met in the "burrow" was also an ordinary person.Either a senior magician who hid his identity in front of me, or an ordinary person.But he is very smart, calm, and full of acting talent.Unlike those gangsters who went to die, they were all used as pawns.Couldn't it be the cannonball that the boy fired at us? And vampires.Is it really Kostya?Did he really survive? Additionally, the gangsters carry amulets that buy them some time.Vampires don't make amulets.That's what magicians, wizards and witches are all about! Who are we fighting against?Who would venture into Twilight to find what Merlin left behind? Can he enter the seventh floor... The tunnel ended abruptly as usual.The white halo shrank into a ball, and when I stepped into it, I suddenly felt my shoulders being grabbed and pulled down to the left——I was pushed under the temporary fence, which was overturned by several sheets. The table is spliced ​​together. So timely!Bullets flew overhead. I was in the "Scottish Hole".In one of the front rooms. Beside him was Lemont hiding in the fence, and I was dragged to the ground by a dark-skinned first-level Other.Judging by the number of spells "hanging" on his fingers, he is a combat magician. The gunfire rang out again.Shot from behind the open door leading to the next room. "Foma, what's going on?" I looked at him in bewilderment. "Why are we lying down? We should put on a protective shield..." Remont didn't even move, a barrier appeared in front of the door, blocking the door tightly.Before I could express my astonishment at the stupidity of the Scottish magician, and my pride at my sagacity, another barrage of bullets followed.Bullets whizzed past our heads - the barriers couldn't catch it. "I'm sorry, I was too impatient..." I said softly. "How about entering the Twilight Realm?" "It's as dangerous as dodging a shell," Lemont explained. "Enchanted bullets go to the second floor." "We go through the third floor!" "There are obstacles on the third floor!" Remont reminded.I shut my mouth in shame. The dark-skinned magician got up and threw a few spells towards the corridor.I see "Quick Freeze", "Opium" and "Ghost".Then there was another burst of gunfire in response, still with a single rhythm and lack of change... "Lymont, that's a submachine gun!" I quickly made a judgment. "Lymont, it's the same as the submachine gun that shot at me that day." "So, simple spells won't stop it. You want to throw a few fireballs and create a fire that will cause the bridge to collapse on top of us?" No, Thomas Rivermarch was not lost, nor was he desperate.Obviously, he was trying to recruit.Maybe he already has an idea, but I don't want to delay it for a moment... Semyon came out of the tunnel still hanging in the air, and immediately crouched down and moved towards the fence.Yes, experience is sometimes more important than energy... From a distance—behind the walls and doors—there came a cry, a piercing human voice, staccato and shrill. …Rage is sometimes more important than experience. I slide into the twilight world. level one.Set up just like the real world.Gypsum cardboard and plastic panels turned into stone walls, dry grass rustled underfoot.Perhaps, the space of the Twilight World is constructed by the imagination of ordinary people-too many people who have been to the playground, they really follow the rules of the game, and try to make themselves believe in the burrow. Trust burrows and basilisks. A tiny basilisk with red scales leaned against the stone archway, blocking my way.The basilisk was as tall as my shoulders. It supported its body with its claws and long spiral tail. Its webbed wings flapped impatiently on its back. Its two compound eyes stared straight at me, then suddenly opened Open your mouth and spit out a burst of flame. Look, this is what your "Shooter U" looks like in the Twilight Realm... I leapt toward the wall and threw fireballs at the basilisk, small fireballs so as not to shake the real world. I myself entered the second floor. The burrow has not changed.The basilisk grows dark and tall in this layer.The eyes were bulging and no longer glowing, and ears turned outwards appeared.The scales become a layer of tough short hairs, or needle-like cuticles that cling to the skin.Its mouth protruded forward, and its wings became small claws, shaking slightly.I think that's what a Cheburashka-Gona hybrid should look like. The basilisk opened its mouth, and a beam of blue sparks hit me. I took a few steps forward while dodging, and rushed to the third layer of the twilight world, forgetting that there were still obstacles. At first I felt like I was hitting a wall—soft, springy, but impenetrable.But this is only a temporary feeling. In a blink of an eye I reached the third floor. I immediately understood why there was a scream of ordinary people dying just now. Someone broke through the barrier again, with the blood of an ordinary person. But there are no basilisks here. I sprinted down the corridor without thinking about annihilating the robot shooter—Lymont had his way, no doubt.For me, it is more important to catch the murderer, whoever he is - vampire, magician or wizard, whether he is a guy I don't know or an old acquaintance... This is probably the center of the "burrow".The intersection of energy, the center of the funnel, and the keyhole.It was the same River of Blood, only here it looked like a ditch full of black slurry, thick as wax.A gleaming black table with a dead body wrapped in blood-splattered white robes. It appeared that the man killed this time was an ordinary man employed by the Edinburgh Night's Watch patrol, an anatomist working for Lemont, or some other expert in the field. Didn't Lymont arrange a reliable guard in the cave?Didn't set an ambush for the gangsters?Could it be that he has the heart to let ordinary people who trust him be at the mercy of fate? I took one glance at the real world and understood it all. He deployed his guards and set up an ambush. But he underestimated the strength of the enemy. I found six dead bodies in the room.Three of them were aliens, wearing anti-military uniforms that didn't represent any unit, and carrying submachine guns, the clips glowing dimly with the charms attached to their ammunition.One was a first-class Lightbringer. He was hit by a submachine gun bullet fired at close range, and his body was almost cut in half.The unexhausted energy is like a cloud of white mist, slowly rising from the magician.The other two shot were ordinary people—employees of the Night Watch Patrol.The amulet that failed to save their lives sparked on the chest.They all died with a weapon in their hands—even when they died with a gun in their hand. How many attackers were there?How many have entered deeper than the third layer? Before I could figure it out, another group of gray shadows flashed quickly in the twilight world, rushing from the first floor towards the third floor where I was.Bruce appeared in front of me. The Vampire Master looked out of shape.The chest was full of bullet holes.He was breathing heavily, and the fangs in his mouth gleamed. "Aha!" I yelled in surprise, and Bruce immediately understood what I was thinking. "Wait, Lightbringer!" he yelled. "I'm on your side! Remont invited me!" "Who shot you?" "Robots in the corridor!" I squinted my eyes and scanned "Vampire Road".Indeed, from the entrance of the "burrow", there are Bruce's footprints along the corridor.He didn't do the bloody battle. Lo and behold, this is the warrior Lemont is counting on to take down the robot shooter.Even enchanted bullets can hardly work on a dead guy. "Who is he?" I didn't make the question very clear, but Bruce got it. "I don't know! It's not ours! Aliens! He brought about twenty men, all dead. Lemont's guards are also dead!" "We follow him!" I ordered. Bruce hesitated, and glanced at the bloody corpse—unlike the other corpses, this one had just passed away not long ago.His breath of death immediately spread to all layers of the Twilight Realm.Death is a very powerful magic... "Don't even think about it," I warned him. "He's useless again," Bruce whispered back. "He's good for nothing, but I don't know who to fight yet!" It's a mean thing to say, but it's true.However, using colleagues who died in battle to feed vampires... "If you drink blood, the blockage will reappear," I found a favorable case. "Let's go, bear with it." Bruce pouted, but didn't object.He buried his head low, as if preparing to dash towards the obstacle.He rushed to the fourth floor. I slid in after him. Bruce stood there with his hands on his chest, trembling.The fear in his eyes was palpable.There's no one here but Bruce.No one, no object.The burrows were gone, only sand scattered aside—gray and multicolored, and black boulders here...a pinkish white sky with no sun. "Anton... I can't go any deeper." "Have you been to the fifth floor?" "No!" "I haven't been there either. Let's go!" "I can't get in!" shouted the vampire. "Damn, I'm almost dead if I don't see you!" "You're already dead!" Bruce frantically shook his head as if trying to shake it off his neck. If I had even the slightest suspicion that he was just putting on a show, I would have forced him to keep going.Of course, coercion or persuasion. However, entering the fourth floor has obviously exhausted his last energy. "Follow Lemont!" I ordered. Bruce breathed a sigh of relief, and ran in the direction he had come, like a dying diver rushing back to the surface from the depths of death. I began to look for my own shadow in the sand. It's definitely there.I can't throw it away.I must find it. Otherwise misfortune may befall you. Merlin, for example, would emerge from a pile of dead bodies.And the Mirror Sorcerer will come to assist the Edinburgh Night's Watch patrols who have suffered heavy losses.He's going to do his best to keep his balance. Magician Yegor. This will be his most glorious and shining moment.Before he disappears and melts into the Twilight, he will be mercilessly reduced to nothingness by raw energy. Aren't we used to hiring ordinary people? I roared and took a step forward.You shouldn't look for shadows in the sand, but in the depths of your heart. The cold wind beats me - I leap into the fifth level of the twilight. Lie face down on the green grass. A cool wind blew through, and the sun's rays soaked through the purple clouds floating in the sky. The clouds were thick, like snowdrifts.The rolling plains spread out towards the sky, and the ground was covered with thorny weeds.In the distance the thunder rumbled, the lightning flashed on and off—just the opposite, the thunder went up from the earth into the air, into the purple clouds. I stood up and swallowed—I was a little deaf.The oppressive feeling that was common in the twilight world, the accumulated exhaustion, and the desire to return to the real world as soon as possible all disappeared.Energy is balanced in the fifth layer.After my eyes got used to the environment, I took a closer look and found that the surrounding colors were still not vivid enough.The grass was green, but dull.The clouds are more grey-blue than purple.Even lightning is too dim to sting the retina. But...he seems to be able to survive here. I looked around and saw Guardians in the unevenly packed grass. It's made of clay and activated by magic.This kind of monster is very rare and has not been produced for a long time.It is a medieval robot, sometimes used for labor, but more often as a guard. Only traditional types of monsters have human form.They are activated by words inserted into special holes (magicians usually have a bad way of humor). This huge monster looked like a snake, like an anaconda made of clay, about ten meters long, as thick as an ordinary person's torso, with a head baring its teeth at each end of its body.Its hide was reddish-gray, the color of unsuccessfully fired bricks.The clay troll's eyes are wide open... its eyes scare me the most.Exactly the same as human eyes. Indeed, since it was made by Merlin, why do you still say "exactly the same"... The center of the snake's body was very thin, and there was a palm-sized groove on it. Inside was a square gray stone, and the Celtic writing on the stone was faintly legible. Weird clay monster.The inscription didn't activate it, it killed it. Or immobilize it--if you can judge by its vicious eyes. I looked around again.No one else but me and the motionless clay troll.The grave robber went deeper. Ok! I called up combat spells from memory—the most powerful spells I had acquired.I put them on "rapid response".Always ready to go into battle.Of course, if I could go deeper... "Wait a minute, Anton!" There were three guys in the air—Lymont, Semyon, and a black guy I didn't know.Semyon and the black man were dragged in by Lemont.He is indeed powerful, very powerful... "How beautiful!" Semyon looked around and couldn't help sighing. "Oh...we are here..." Seeing the clay monster, Semyon stopped talking.He approached it, kicked it cautiously, and shook his head. "Oh... what a ferocious beast... Anton, did you knock it down?" "I'm afraid it's not so easy to bring down." I hinted at the inscription, then turned to Foma and said, "Mr. Lemont, shall we go on?" "can you?" "Try it." Lemont shook his head suspiciously, and glanced at the black men again. "You can't go any further. I pulled you in because of... the beast. But there's no way for you to go any further. Wait as long as you can, and go back if you can't wait." The black man sighed deeply and disappeared into thin air. I took a step forward. no response. Step two, step three. "No?" Semyon asked sympathetically. what happened?I rushed to the fifth floor, everything is normal, why can't I go forward? One step, one more step.Where is my shadow? "Anton..." Semyon shook my shoulder. "Anton, wait. You're wasting your efforts." "I can do it," I whispered. "I have to..." "You don't have to do anything. Lymont's more experienced. He can handle himself." I shook my head vigorously, trying to relax myself.I rushed here with anger... maybe, I can go down with peace?Before me was nothing but a watershed.There is a tight "membrane" between the world and the world, and life energy begins to accumulate outside this boundary.The first floor is almost lifeless, dry and barren.The second layer is a little more dynamic.The third and fourth layers have some similarities with the real world.The fifth floor... You can basically survive in the fifth floor.It's colorful, and the climate is cool but not freezing; the grass is lush here; there is wind, rain, and weird thunder.What will the sixth floor look like?I need to know where I'm going.Is it a icy, desolate, lifeless world?Is it a place where it's hard to breathe, walk, or even talk? No.The sixth floor should be a different scene.Brighter, more vibrant, and closer to the real world than layer five. I smiled to myself. Then it went from the fifth floor to the sixth floor. It's night here.Maybe not a summer night, but warm.In the sky above me I don't see a single star, but there is the moon.Not the strip of gray dust in the sky on the first level, nor the three brightly colored little moons on the second level, but the most ordinary, most real moon that looks to ordinary people. But not a single star.The stars do not belong to others. The world seemed very real under the white halo of the moon.The trees are real, alive, with leaves rustling in the wind.There was a smell of grass, mixed with burnt... I suddenly realized that this was the first time I felt a smell in the twilight world.If you chew the grass leaves, you can probably taste the bitterness of the juice... Burnt? I turned around and saw Lemont.However, he is no longer that tough, elderly man, but has changed, showing his appearance in the Twilight Realm. Thomas Rivermarch turned into a light-haired giant nearly three meters tall, with a dull milky glow on his skin.He grabbed strands of white and blue flames from the air, rubbed them in his giant palms like snowballs, and threw them far away.My eyes followed them--the flames whizzed across the plain in a ball, hitting the few trees in the way, and finally extinguished in the dark clouds that were gradually moving away.Burning trees indicate where it's gone. "Foma!" I shouted. "I am coming!" The giant stroked the huge ball of fire in his hand, coughed, and threw it towards the dark clouds, then turned around. His face is surprising: ancient and modern, kind and fierce, handsome and terrifying. "Young magician overcomes obstacles," Thomas growled. "The young magician rushed to help..." He didn't feel at ease now—all the Others did after they had turned into Twilight in the heat of battle. Thomas stepped up to me in just a few steps.I even felt that the earth was shaken by his steps. "They didn't make it, my friend..." The old musician put his giant shovel-like hand on my shoulder. "They stopped short on the sixth floor. Thomas drove them back, yes, Thomas put They drove back, just like driving away some timid puppies." Remont brought his face closer to me, and said mysteriously: "But the enemy didn't respond. They spent a lot of time here and realized that they couldn't enter the seventh layer of the Twilight Realm." "Thomas, how many are there?" "Three, my friend. Three. A very reasonable number." "Did you see them clearly?" "Looked vaguely." Thomas shook his head.The bioelectric field cannot be recognized here, but Thomas can basically see it clearly.One other of the dark force is a vampire; one of the other of the light force is a witch doctor, and another is an inquisitor who is also a combat magician.The three guys set off together to snatch what Merlin left behind.They almost went in.Three higher others.But even the High Other cannot reach the seventh level of the twilight. "Darkbringers, Lightbringers, and Inquisitors?" I was amazed. "Are they together?" "Merlin's legacy appeals to everyone, and Lightbringer is no exception. What do you think, young wizard, why Thomas doesn't want the patrol to know you're here?" "Are they all men?" I asked. "All men? All women? How did Thomas know! Thomas didn't touch them. Thomas just glanced at their bioelectric fields..." "Thomas, we should get out of here too." I glanced at the behemoth. "Thomas, it's time to go back, go home." "Why?" asked the behemoth in surprise. "It's good here, young magician. You can live here. Magical land, a kingdom of fairies and wizards... Thomas can move here. Thomas can find shelter here..." "Thomas Lymont, you are the leader of the night watchman inspection team! The whole of Scotland is under your protection! Witches, vampires, monsters...you won't let them run amok, will you?" Thomas didn't speak, and for a moment I felt that he would not agree with my proposal, that he had found the fairy kingdom.It is said that he has been here four hundred years ago. Of course, the Dark Emissary will not act recklessly. England, Ireland, and Wales will send aid, and the Emissary of Light can also be found in Europe and America. They will support the Scottish patrol team without a leader. However, will the disappearance of Lemont cause Yegor to become a mirror magician? "Come on, my young friend," said Lymont. "You're right, you're right, I'm in such a hurry...it's not the time yet...but listen, young magician! How quiet it is here, the crickets sing in the grass, the birds Flapping wings in the night sky..." I don't know if he wanted me to hear it on purpose, or if all this is really the case, anyway, through the giant's heavy breathing, I can feel the silence and hear all kinds of sounds. "Look, how vigorously the flames are burning, the silvery leaves are embracing the moonlight, and the grass under your feet is dark in color..." Remont muttered to himself. "You can stay here..." I see it all. "There are very few others who can reach here during their lifetime..." Remont sighed. "We can only come here after we die, you know? Once we come, we can never go back..." I get goosebumps on my back - I think of my dead colleagues on patrol.Igor, Xiaohu, Andre... "Did you know it was going to be like this? Did you know it before?" "All senior magicians who have been to the fifth floor know." Thomas' voice was full of sadness. "However, it is too dangerous to know, young magician." "why?" "Don't need to know what will happen to you when you die. Thomas knows, so he's miserable. Thomas wants to come here. Far away from ordinary people, who are cruel and greedy. Far from human good and evil. How sweet it is to live in the world of others ..." "live?" "Yes, young magician...even vampires don't need blood here. It's completely different here. It's a different thing. Everything follows the rules. This is the real world...the fifth floor, the sixth floor The seventh floor and the highest floor. Here, the ivory towers of the wise men soar into the sky, and they study the mysteries of the universe; the city is full of vitality, full of light and darkness; We're coming here...I'll be early, you'll be late...Friends will come out to meet us. I'll welcome you too, young wizard..." The giant's arms wrapped around my shoulders, as if hugging a child.Foma sighed heavily, and went on: "But it's not time yet... If I can reach the seventh floor... I won't come back. But here my energy is not enough. Yours is not enough, young magician." "I'm not in a hurry," I muttered. "I have got……" have what?wife and daughter?They are all Others, higher Others.We can go together.Go to the city of light and darkness, where Alyssa and Igor live happily, where no one will speak of stupid humans... I shivered.Is it an illusion or have I really grown taller?Or Lemont was getting shorter. "Foma, let's go!" "Wait a minute. Look at this." White sparks danced above our heads.Foma stretched out his big hand and pointed to a plank hidden in the grass under our feet, made of transparent red stone.what is this?Tray-sized rubies? I knelt down and ran my hands across the smooth surface.Take a look at the string of Celtic letters above. "Foma, what are you writing?" "This was written by Merlin," Lymont could hear thinking in his words. "This was written by Merlin. It is both the keyhole and the last key. It says..." He paused for a moment, "If you use sublime language, it is..." "Any style of language, hurry up!" I called out instinctively, feeling the passing of time. said Foma in a thin, half-singing voice.As soon as he opened his mouth, the letters carved on the stone slabs glowed, as if a powerful electric lamp had been lit beneath the stone.One by one, the letters turned into slender beams of light, shooting straight into the sky. As Remont finished speaking the last word, the letter at the end also flashed white. "I hate karaoke," I said. "what does this mean?" "Thomas doesn't know any more than you do, young magician." The behemoth threw his arms around me. "Now let's retreat!" I thought Lemont would step back into the real world.Not so.He stepped into the fifth floor first, and waved to Semyon and the black man: "Let's go!" No need to try to persuade them.Lymont winked at me, leaned over the clay troll, and tore Merlin's inscription from the boa constrictor. The beast's eyes were full of anger.The body is knotted, curled up in the air, and the two mouths are opened at the same time. But we're already out of reach of the Guardians.We are back in the real world of ordinary people.回到了满是尸体的屋子里。 上了年纪而且身体有些发福的莱蒙特放下我，栽倒在地。他的脸上满是汗水，就连竖起的胡须上都挂着几滴。 周围是一片忙碌的景象——光明力量的他者在采集生物电场的痕迹，查验尸体，从躯干上取下一些组织和血液进行化验。他们警惕的目光立即盯上了我以及紧随我出现的谢苗。巡查队员们用一串串咒语在我们身上探寻，发现我们是光明使者，而且级别很高，这才尴尬地收回了咒语。 我在一旁见到了布鲁斯。吸血鬼大师看上去已经不再像具活尸，面颊上甚至泛起了红晕。他蹲在角落里，正在喝一杯东西。我没仔细看他喝的究竟是什么。 “真带劲！”谢苗摇头晃脑地说，他看上去非常满意。“我连做梦也没想过能跟格谢尔或者托马斯·里弗马奇一样到第五层去。喔……现在就是死了也值……” 他朝我挤了挤眼睛。 “我得把你的嘴缝起来，”莱蒙特用熟悉的语调说道。“黄昏界的第五层不是用来饶舌的。” “嗯哼，”谢苗马上表示同意。“我……我就随便一说。” “福马……”我伸手把魔法师扶了起来。“谢谢你……让我们平安归来，谢谢你给我看了那些东西，谢谢。” “我们走。”福马快步走进另外一个房间，来到一个“停靠点”，深色的水面上漂着一艘小船。我跟着他走进来。莱蒙特在我们四周罩上“安静之伞”，一切嘈杂顿时消失。“你有问题要问我？” “是的。他们是谁？” “不知道。”福马取出手绢，擦掉脸上的汗。“有些家伙已经冲着梅林的遗物来过好几次了。但我不敢肯定全是这帮他者……最后一次是在一个多世纪以前。当然，以前大家并未如此广泛地雇用过普通人……安东，局势非常严峻。还好我们走运——梅林的第三把钥匙把他们给难住了。” “那段文字是什么意思？” “是个谜。安东，当时很流行猜谜。大家都认为应该给敌人提供战胜自己的机会。哪怕非常含混不清，但总归是个机会。” “有一点很清楚：要到第七层去，除了直道，还有一条弯路，”我说。 “也许吧。不过我不知道该如何回答你。即便知道我也会守口如瓶。” “你要把梅林的密室一直保存到世界末日？” “尽力而为吧。”莱蒙特用手把玩着碑文。他叹了一口气：“至少护卫者又开始守护第五层了。下次敌人又得费尽九牛二虎之力才能到达那里。” “毁了它，福马！” 他摇摇头： “事情没这么简单，安东。如果毁掉碑文，护卫也会消失。我会把它安全地藏起来，你不需要知道详情。还有……谢谢你的帮助……” “这句话的意思是'你可以走了'？”我笑着问。 “这句话的意思是'谢谢你的帮助'。旁人越多，这里的事情就越复杂，我很感谢你和谢苗。机票会送到你们旅馆去的。” “明白了。谢谢您，福马。”我对他点点头。“光明与你同在！” “等一等，”托马斯温和地说。然后走过来，出乎意料地抱了抱我。“我说的真是'谢谢你'。你别介意。我们马上要应付很多麻烦事，会有很多从宗教裁判所过来的客人。你不会真想在这儿耗上个把月吧？” “看好'万物之冠'，福马。”我停顿了片刻，然后说道。 “安东，继续琢磨你所看到的东西。我相信，你的同胞中有人与发生的一切相关联。你自己再想想这件事——我们还会见面的。” “我会把我们这边的人揪出来，砍断他的腿，再插进他的耳朵里，”我向福马许诺。“再见，托马斯·里弗马奇！” 走到门口我又补充了一句： “对了，我们习惯坐头等舱！” “不把你们当成行李托运就该感谢我了。”福马用同样的腔调回了一句，然后转身朝自己的部下走去。

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