Chapter 15 Chapter 6

We arrived at Devil's Plateau at 3:30 in the morning.On the way, we passed a small mountain village—less than ten adobe huts were next to the road.There was a bonfire burning on the only path, and about ten to twenty people sat tightly around the bonfire.It appears that the earthquake has terrified the residents of the mountain villages so much that they dare not stay at home overnight. Alisher continued to drive.I dozed in the backseat, thinking about Edgar. What made him betray the Patrol and the Inquisition?Why did he dare to disobey all prohibitions and ensnare human beings to participate in their plots?

Incredible!Edgar, like all Darkbringers, is a fame-seeker, despite everything they've got.For this he can kill, he can do anything.What's more, for the Dark Messenger, there is no morality at all.But if he can really do this, and be able to oppose all others, he should be obsessed with power to the point of obsession.After all, Edgar has the stable and self-sustaining character unique to the peoples along the Baltic Sea.He has done well in his official career for decades.Why put all your chips on one bet?It's really puzzling. How much does he know about the spell "Crown of All Things"?What did he find in the archives of the Inquisition?Who else does he want to recruit?Vampires of the dark forces and witch doctors of the light forces?Who are they?Where do you come from?Why collusion with the Inquisition?What purpose do the Darkbringers, Lightbringers, and Inquisitors have in common?

I'm not particularly concerned about their purpose, though.There is only one purpose.Nothing less than power and strength.We lightbringers and other forces will say that we are not seeking power for power's sake, we are here to help humanity.That may be true, but we still need power.Every other is familiar with this intoxicating allure, a bewitching feeling that makes you feel the power of your own self: the vampire who bites a girl by the throat, the witch who revives a dying child with a wave of his hand. Doctors feel the same way.The only difference is that each has a different understanding of how to use the power they have.

What makes me far more disturbed is another factor. Edgar participated in the investigation of the book "Fu Alan".He had contacts with Kostya Shoshkin. This reminds me again of the unfortunate teenager Viktor Prokhorov.Reminds me of Kostya's little friend Weijia... All signs pointed the finger at Kostya Shoshkin again.What if he somehow managed to escape?Will he rely on the little remaining energy to put a protective shield around himself that the vampire can reach, and have enough time to tunnel through and escape from the burning space suit?Then he got in touch with Edgar!

No, of course it is impossible.The Inquisition examined this issue very seriously.But what if Edgar had already played the game of Two-Face?Suppose he falsified the findings? Still clueless.Why would he save a vampire he had hunted not so long ago?Saved him, then colluded with him again.What can Koscan give him?Without "Fu Alan", he can't think of anything!And books were destroyed, that's absolutely true.The pursuit of the book was more meticulous than that of Kostya.What's more, it has been determined through magical means that it has indeed been destroyed.The enormous energy released when destroying such a powerful ancient magic weapon cannot be confused with other things.

In short, judging by all the signs, it was impossible for Edgar to save Kostya—this was one of them.Besides, I don't think it's necessary to save him at all--that's the second. after all…… Alisher stopped the jeep and turned off the engine.The sudden silence was unbearable. "Looks like we've arrived," Alisher said.He touched the steering wheel and said approvingly: "Good car. I didn't expect us to arrive safely." I turned to Alfonky, who was already awake.At this moment, he was closing his lips tightly, looking at the scattered and scattered strange stone statues in front of him.

"They're still standing there," I said. Alfonki looked at me with a look of fear on his face. "I know what's going on," I said. "Something unfortunate has happened," Alfonky sighed. "A disgraceful thing. It tarnishes the image of the Lightbringer." "Alfonky, are you Rustam?" I asked bluntly. Alfonky shook his head and said: "No, Anton. I'm not Rustam. I'm his student." He opened the door and jumped out of the jeep.After a moment of silence, he muttered: "I am not Rustam, but I will be Rustam..."

Alisher and I exchanged glances and got out of the car. It was quiet and cool outside.Nights in the mountains are always cool, even in summer.It was just dawn, and the plateau, which I knew from Gesar's past, had hardly changed.It's just that due to the erosion of wind and rain, the stone statue has been worn down a lot, and it looks a little blurry, but the outline can still be discerned.Among them were a group of magicians who raised their hands to pray for the manifestation of the spell, there were shapeshifters, and there was a running magician... I feel cold all over. "This..." Alisher murmured. "What happened……"

He reached into his pocket and found a cigarette and a lighter. "Give me a cigarette too," I said. We light cigarettes.The surrounding air is extremely fresh, and the pungent tobacco smell makes people feel friendly, a bit like the smog in the long-lost city air. "Are they... are they ordinary people?" Alisher asked, pointing to the stone. "It's the other," I corrected. "They've already..." "They're not dead. They're petrified. They've lost all sense, but they've left their sanity, attached to the stone." I looked at Alfonky, but he was standing aside thoughtfully , maybe staring at the battlefield where the flames of war used to be, or looking at the east, where the sky showed a faint red.

So I looked at the plateau through the twilight world. The sight was indeed peculiar. What Gesar saw two thousand years ago aroused fear and revulsion.What I see today evokes pity and pain. Almost all dark emissaries who have been turned to stone by the "White Mirage" are insane.Lost all senses, their reason can not make judgments.The halo of color looming around the rock seems to be a burning brown flame.If you want to use an analogy - it looks like a hundred crazy people are spinning aimlessly in place, or on the contrary, it seems that they stand still in place; they are shouting, laughing, moaning, crying, murmuring, drooling , scratching one's own cheek, or attempting to gouge out the eyeball.

Only a few bioelectric fields still left the shadow of sanity.Perhaps the masters of the stone statues possess extraordinary willpower, perhaps they are full of vengeful anger, but their sanity is running low.What is left is endless anger, hatred and desire to destroy everything. I looked away from the twilight world, and looked at Alisher in a blink of an eye.The magician was still smoking, completely oblivious to the burning filter, and he didn't throw away the cigarette butt until his finger burned. "The Dark One deserved what he deserved," he said. "You don't feel sorry for them at all?" I asked. "They're taking advantage of our mercy." "But if we lose our compassion too, what difference is there to them?" "There is an essential difference." Alisher looked at Afangji. "Where can we find Rustam, Alfonky?" "You've found him, hard-hearted Lightbringer," Alfonky said softly, then turned to us. In the blink of an eye he had completely changed.He was a head taller than we were, and more bulky.His shirt began to crack and tear, and the first button that was torn off with the cloth flew off.To my surprise, his complexion began to lighten and his eyes became blue.I had to tell myself that the appearance of the inhabitants of Asia two thousand years ago was completely different from what it is today.Today, if an Asian told you that their ancestors had hazel hair and light blue eyes, the Russian would laugh, while the European would keep silent.But these words are far more true than our contemporaries can comprehend. But Rustam's hair was still black.His countenance also bears oriental features. "You're still Rustam after all," I bowed to him. "Welcome, Archmage! Thank you for answering our request." Alisher knelt down on one knee with reverence and pride like a heroic knight facing his ruler. "Alfonky is not Rustam," said the aged magician.His eyes were dim and dim, as if he was listening to someone's voice. "Afonki is my student, friend, and guardian. I am no longer in the human world. My home is the Twilight Realm. If I need to come to the human world, I will borrow his body." I see... I nodded in agreement, and said: "Great Mage, do you know why we came here?" "Yes. I am willing to answer Gesar's question." "Gesar said, you..." "I owe Gesar. This is what I should pay." Rustam's eyes flashed with anger. "I remember our friendship, and I also remember our hatred. I once asked him to leave the patrol team, and asked him to stop fighting for mankind... It was out of our friendship and for mankind itself. But Gesar and this Like young people..." He looked at Alisher and said nothing. "Will you help us?" I asked. "I just answer questions," Rustam said. "Answer a question. In this way, the favor I owe Gesar will be canceled. Ask, and don't make a mistake." Fortunately, I didn't blurt out a question like "Do you really know Merlin?"These are all traps... ask a question, make three wishes... "What is the 'crown of all things', how can I get it in the seventh layer of the twilight world?" I asked. A slight smile appeared on Rustam's face. "You remind me of a man in Khorizmia. A cunning businessman, to whom I was in debt...so I granted him three wishes. He thought for a long time, and said: 'I want to be young, Cure all diseases and become rich—that is the first wish.' No, young magician. Let's not play this game again. I don't fulfill your wishes, I only answer questions. That's enough. You Wondering what, what is the 'Crown of All Things' or how to get it?" "I don't want to play the role of Pandora and ask 'how to open this box'." I muttered. Rustam laughed, arrogance in his laughter. What else can this Lightbringer give us?He has melted into the Twilight and lives with his enemies who have suffered untold suffering for him.He may be punishing himself, or he may be repenting.Punishment and repentance are slowly torturing him... "What is the 'crown of all things'?" I asked. "This is a spell, it can break through the Twilight Realm and connect the Twilight Realm with the human world," Rustam replied immediately. "Young wizard, your choice is correct. My answer to the second part of the question will disappoint you." "It's okay, if you answer a question, answer it honestly!" I said loudly. "Tell me how this spell works and what it does!" "Okay," Rustam agreed with unusual ease. "The energy of others is to use the energy of ordinary people flowing through the layers of the twilight. Our world is like a huge plain, on which springs are constantly gushing out - human beings are constantly releasing their own energy, but they Energy cannot be manipulated. We other are just a trough into which springs from hundreds of springs flow. We cannot give a single drop of water to the world. But we are good at preserving and using what is of others. We can gather what is of others Energy - so we are able to sneak into the Twilight, pass through the barriers between the layers and harness increasingly powerful energies. A spell invented by the Archmage Merlin can remove the barriers that separate the human world from the layers of the Twilight. What do you think, Young magician, if so, what will happen?" "Disaster?" I speculated. "The twilight world... is different from the human world. There are two moons on the third floor..." "Merlin thought differently," Rustam said.He seemed to be talking vigorously, and after answering my question, he didn't object to continuing the conversation. "Merlin believes that every layer of the twilight world is a human world that has not yet been formed. It is a possibility that has not yet become a reality. It is a shadow cast on the existing world. The human world will not perish, but it can destroy the twilight world. Just like sunlight Erase it like a shadow. Energy is like sea water, which can drown the whole world. And under the ocean, who can sneak into the twilight world, and who can't, has become unimportant. The other will lose his energy. Forever lose." "Is that true, Rustam?" "Who knows?" Rustam spread his hands. "I will now answer your second question. I don't know the answer. It may be so. Humans will not even notice the change, but others will become ordinary people. This is the simplest answer. Isn't the simple one always correct? ?Maybe we are facing catastrophe. Two small moons will collide with one big moon, and moss will grow in the wheat fields... Who knows, magician, who knows... Maybe the power of the other will fade, but it will still survive Part of the power. Something incredible might happen. That's something we can't imagine. Merlin wouldn't dare risk using the spell. He invented it just for fun. It makes him happy to know he can change the world... but he doesn't intend to .I think Merlin is right. There is no need for us to touch what Merlin hides in the Twilight Realm." "But someone's already searching for the 'Crown of All Things'," I said. "Too bad," Rustam said flatly. "I would like to persuade you to stop this attempt." "Not us," I said. "It's not us at all. It's the Inquisitors, the Lightbringers and the Darkbringers in collusion." "It's interesting," Rustam said. "It is rare for enemies to unite for the same purpose." "Can you help us stop them?" "cannot." "But you yourself said it was bad!" "There are many bad things in the world. But usually attempts to overcome evil lead to more evil. I advise you to do more good, only then can victory be achieved." Alisher snorted angrily.Hearing this high-sounding but meaningless conclusion, I also frowned.I'd like to see how you overcome evil, Rustam, didn't you use the dreaded "White Mirage" with Gesar?Although I feel pity for those imprisoned emissaries of darkness, I have no doubt that if they kill you two emissaries of light, then the others and human beings you guard will suffer misfortune, and what awaits them will be a terrible death... It is true that evil cannot conquer evil, but good alone cannot promote good. "You can at least guess what they're looking for?" I asked. "No." Rustam shook his head. "I won't. To eliminate the difference between human beings and others? But that would be too stupid! That should eliminate all inequality in the world, between rich and poor, strong and weak Inequality between men and women. The easiest way is to kill everyone.” He laughed, and once again I sensed that the great magician was a little flustered, which made me feel terrified . But I still say politely: "You are right, great magician. This purpose is very stupid. There is an Other trying to achieve this purpose with the help of "Fu Alan". Indeed, he wants to use another way to turn human beings into Others." "What a juggler," Rustam said flatly. "But I agree that the two approaches lead to the same goal. No, young magician! Everything seems more complicated." He narrowed his eyes. "I think the Inquisition found something in the files. The answer. The answer to what the 'Crown of All Things' is." "That's it?" I asked. "That's an answer that would satisfy everyone. The Darkbringer, the Lightbringer, and the Inquisitors of Equality would be satisfied. It's strange that there is such a thing in the world. I'm even a little curious. But I've said what I know Everything. Merlin's spell can erase the differences between the layers of Twilight." "You inhabit the Twilight Plane yourself," I said. "It's best to give me some hints! If the Twilight Realm disappears, you will also be destroyed!" "Maybe I'll become an ordinary person and live the rest of my life," Rustam said calmly. "Everyone who enters the Twilight Realm will be destroyed!" I yelled.Alisher looked at me in surprise.That's right... He didn't know that the end of the other's road was on the seventh floor of the Twilight Realm... "Mortal is mortal. We are not much better off." "Just speculate, Rustam!" I begged. "You're more resourceful than I am. What might happen? What will the Inquisition find?" "Ask him yourself." Rustam held out a hand.Then his lips quivered, and a blinding white light shot from me to the Toyota Jeep. If I hope to see Edgar on the plateau, I may find him myself.But it is also possible that no matter how carefully the search is made, nothing will come of it.Because he was not invisible in the twilight at all, nor did he use any ordinary spells that could be manipulated by others.Edgar hides from our sight with a magical amulet.This talisman worn on the head may look like a small embroidered cap, or it may be similar to the invisible cap, but the size is much larger.Think of it as an invisible embroidered cap, we're in Uzbekistan after all. I mechanically built a protective shield around me, and I saw that Alisher had done the same. The presence of the Inquisitor did not disturb Rustam at all.Rustam's white light caught Edgar off guard.The Inquisitor sat on the roof of the car, his legs dangling, watching us impassively.At first he didn't seem to understand what was going on.Then the embroidered hat on his head began to smoke.Edgar lowered his voice and threw the flower hat to the ground cursing.Only then did he realize that we were looking at him. "Hello, Edgar," I said. He hasn't changed a bit since we last met.That time we fought Kostya Shoshkin together on the train.Instead of his usual suit and tie, he was dressed casually and comfortably: gray linen trousers, a thin white cotton turtleneck, and fine platform shoes...all in one pair. The dress of a well-groomed European upper-class man, so that in the wastelands of Asia he looked both like a good-natured immigrant who had just escaped white oppression not long ago, and like a British agent in the era of Kipling and political adventure, Russia and Great Britain. These regions have all played political games. "Hello, Anton." Edgar jumped off the roof and spread his hands. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation." He was a little embarrassed, which was strange.So, in the face of the geological disaster triggered by the spell suddenly falling on our heads, should we be calm?You have to look ashamed when you see him? "What have you done, Edgar?" I asked. "As a last resort." He sighed. "Anton, I don't even want to prove my innocence! It's not convenient for me to say." "Isn't it convenient for you to say it in Edinburgh?" I asked. "Isn't it convenient to cut the throats of patrol members and hire bandits?" "Very inconvenient," Edgar nodded. "Besides, everything seems to be in vain. We failed to pass through the seventh layer of the twilight world." Alfonki or Rustam laughed loudly, and kept patting his waist on both sides with his hands.I don't know what Rustam's gesture signifies, nor what Alfonki's gesture signifies. "It's not convenient for him!" said Rustam. "He's always inconvenient and always in vain!" Edgar was obviously embarrassed by Rustam's reaction, he could only watch helplessly as the magician laughed.I took a quick look at the Inquisitor (maybe ex-Inquisitor) through the twilight. Yes, he was covered with talismans like a Christmas tree with toys.But there is one more thing besides the talisman, which is the amulet.This is a combination of very common natural ingredients, these ingredients do not need to be filled with too much magic, they can easily obtain magic power through a slight touch of energy.In this way, nitrate, coal, and sulfur, which are harmless in themselves, can be turned into gunpowder, and as long as there is a spark, it will catch fire and explode. Edgar didn't choose cotton, linen, and leather for nothing.Natural substances have an affinity with magic.Chemical fiber clothes cannot be used as amulets. It was these amulets that transformed his single garment into a magical armor, which made me ashamed.Amulets are weapons of wizards and witches.Magicians rarely use it.I can't imagine Edgar soaking his pants carefully with grass juice. Could it be other members of their criminal gang?Is the witch doctor of Lightbringer?Yes, the witch doctor is very good at using amulets, and I know this very well from Svetlana's practice. "Edgar, you understand that I must detain you," I said. "What if it doesn't work?" Edgar didn't expect me to answer.He stared at Rustam, chanted the spell, and the fingers of his left hand trembled slightly.I suddenly understood what was going on, but at the same time hesitated whether I should remind Rustam.It's a little strange, but for my own purposes, I hope Edgar can succeed... "Rustum, he's saying 'confession'!" I yelled. He was, after all, once the Lightbringer, an aged magician in his former glory... Edgar cast an incantation instantly, and shouted at the same time: "How can I get the 'Crown of All Things'"? It seems that my four bracelets that can force others to confess everything are useless! We watched Rustam silently.He touched the chest hit by the spell, raised his head, looked at Edgar coldly with light blue eyes, and said: "Use your hands." Alisher laughed.Edgar got an ambiguous answer.Despite being attacked by powerful spells, Rustam is as deft as the mathematician satirized in a joke, giving accurate but useless answers. Then Rustam moved his lips slightly and cast a spell to fight back.He used a spell we were not familiar with.No earth-shattering effect was produced.Edgar swayed from side to side, and there were red marks on his cheeks from being beaten by invisible hands. "Stop putting pressure on me," Rustam said lecturingly after the slapping scene was over. "Got it, Inquisitor?" Before Edgar answered, I was secretly glad I didn't use my series of combat spells on Rustam.I raised my hand and said to Edgar the four incantations tied to the bracelet, all of which had only one function—to make him confess the secret.The talisman on the Inquisitor burned, but it was too late to consume all the power of the spell. "What did vampires and you do in Edinburgh?" I cried. Edgar's face twisted, and he tried painfully to stop the words rushing to his lips.But he couldn't stop it. "Shoshkin!" cried Edgar. Rustam laughed again, and before leaving he said: "goodbye!" Alfonky was himself again.It was like a rubber doll blown down by the wind—his head shrunk, his shoulders narrowed, his face became wrinkled, his eyes dimmed, and a tuft of beard fell off in the wind. Edgar and I looked at each other hatefully. Immediately, I gathered energy and began to chant the mantra.Edgar was badly wounded.It rained fire, and the shields on me and Alisher were burning.Afangji, who was still awake, panicked.But there was no spark around him, and it seemed that the protective ring was working. Attack and counter-attack form the next scene.Alisher wisely handed over command of the battle to me, stepping back to recharge our shields, occasionally using magic for short strikes.Gesar probably invited the best seer in the patrol team to equip us, or he may have been the one who went into battle himself.After the fire comes ice and snow.The blizzard roared in the air, and razor-sharp snowflakes tried to pierce our protective shields like razors, but they could do nothing but melt around Alfonky.Before the blizzard stopped, Edgar was attacked by the spell "Viper's Kiss" again.The rocks beneath his feet were splashed with concentrated acid.Once again Alfonky was protected.I glanced at him, and found that the old man was not idle, and was making a weak, but clever and unusual spell.He may not be able to succeed, but if he has something to do, he will not wander around. The fourth spell Edgar uses is "vacuum attack".This is exactly what I want.When the surrounding air pressure dropped rapidly, I held my breath and continued to repeat the incantations "opium" and "death" in turn.Alisher was behind me attacking with fireballs and ice cubes from her wand.The combination of fireballs and ice cubes works great, and the blue goo splatters like exploding shrapnel.I found that the talismans the Inquisition used to fight were losing their power. The problem is not with talismans.Edgar, a first-level magician, was able to fight back against us while resisting the attack of the two of us!Maybe he's gathered an excess of energy... maybe he's gone beyond a level.I don't have time to exhaustively examine his bioelectric field. The failure of the vacuum dampened Edgar's passion.Although this curse is extremely rare, we came prepared, much to the embarrassment of the Inquisition.He bypassed the "Toyota" car and began to back slowly. Due to acid corrosion, the car was charred and smoked, and the body was covered with a layer of white crystals.He tripped over an ice pick stuck in the car door and nearly fell; trying to keep his balance, he swung his hands and narrowly missed my opium. "Surrender, Edgar!" I yelled. "Don't force me to kill you!" This sentence stung the Inquisition.He hesitated for a moment, then tore a strange pendant from his waist—a tuft of gray feathers held together like a duster.He tossed the feather into the air. The feathers turned into a flock of birds, much like big sparrows, but with coppery beaks.There are twenty or thirty of them in total, and they are rushing at me at this moment, and at the same time, they are also deftly dodging my counterattacks, like ultra-modern warheads, which are the weapons that the generals of the missile force are proud of. The "lucky star" on my neck split and flew off the chain.A flock of sparrows with copper-colored beaks fluttered in the air.They didn't dare to get close to Edgar, but they couldn't attack me either. They could only hover in the air until Edgar waved his hands cursingly, and they disappeared. Alfonky also completed his spell, and seemed to have pierced Edgar's amulet, but it didn't affect him in any way.Edgar continued to back off, returning fire from time to time.The halo on his chest became brighter and brighter—the amulet hidden under his clothes had been activated and was about to take effect.For a moment it occurred to me that Edgar might have prepared himself a suicide spell like "Shahid" or "Gastello" that would take us to the grave with him. "Make the shield more powerful!" I commanded, and Alisher did his best to energize the shield around us and Afonki. But Edgar was clearly not suicidal.He launched a brief attack again.He pressed his hand to his chest, on the halo of the talisman.The blue outline of the tunnel flashed in front of Edgar, and he sped forward, gradually disappearing from our sight. "He's scared," Alisher said.He sat down on the rock, but then jumped up screaming, his pants smoking. The power of the "Viper's Kiss" has not faded. I stood motionless, feeling empty inside.Alphonse laughed from the sidelines. "What are you laughing at... laughing at him?" I asked. "From now on seventy-seven times, as long as he makes out with a woman, what awaits him will be a great shame for a man!" Afangji said triumphantly. "No one can break the spell." "Fantastic," I said. "It's completely an Eastern counterattack." I use a few short spells to clear away the magic marks left on the ground.The acid stirred up countless bubbles on the rocks, like dough that was fermenting. Shoshkin! After all, it was Shoshkin!

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