Chapter 25 Chapter 6

hot. I was walking on the old streets of Arbat.On the road, there are painters who draw dull portraits, musicians who play monotonous music, vendors who sell the same small commodities, and foreigners with standard interested expressions in their eyes, hurrying past the nesting dolls with common anger. Passing Muscovites... Want to cheer yourself up? Want to see a little show? Want to watch Juggling?Want to swallow real fire?Shall the pavement crack open and spew mineral water?To heal ten begging disabled people?To feed waifs with pies conjured out of air? Why? People throw me handfuls of change for those fireballs that are supposed to be used to fight demons and ghosts; The Han parted ways because they had long understood that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Yes, I understand Gesar, understand all high magicians who have struggled against the darkness for thousands of years.Can't live forever with nothing to do, can't sit in a trench forever -- that's going to do more damage to one's own army than enemy bullets. But what does this have to do with me? Must I sew a flag of victory with my love? What does this have to do with humans? The world is easily overthrown and built, but who can help people not to fall? Can't we learn any lessons? I knew what Gesar was going to do, exactly what Svetlana was going to do on his orders.I saw what he was going to do about it, and I could even imagine what loopholes in Joli he would use to justify his meddling with the Book of Fate.I have grasped the time of action, the only thing I can't imagine is the location of the battle and the objects whose fate will be changed.

It was really meant to be. It's time to ask Zawulong for help. Then it disappeared directly into the twilight world. I walked to the center of Arbat Old Street, when I felt—slightly, just felt, a kind of power moving.Someone's doing magic right next to me, not a lot of power, but... dark! No matter what I think of Gesar, no matter how much we argue, I'm still a warrior of the Night's Watch. I reached into my pocket for the amulet, summoned my shadow, and stepped into the Twilight. Oh yo, everything seems to be deserted here. It's been a long time since I entered the center of Moscow in the twilight world.

Moss covered everything like a dense carpet, and the slow, quivering strips of moss were creating the illusion of sloshing water.Circles of energy are leaking out of me—the moss absorbing my passion while trying to get farther.But now I'm not interested in these things in the twilight world. In a gloomy space, under a sunless sky, I am not alone. I looked at the girl who was standing with her back to me.I watched, and felt a smug smirk across my face.A smile not befitting a light mage.What a "little energy"! Level 3 magic interference? Oh yo yo! It's serious, girl, it's serious, you're probably going crazy.Level 3 - This is not your own power, you are using someone else's amulet.

I'm trying to figure this out on my own. I walked up to her and she didn't even hear footsteps on the soft green grass.Blurry figures moved briskly around—she was too focused. "I am Anton Gorodecki, member of the Night Watch," I said, "Alyssa Tonikova, you are under arrest." The witch cried out and turned around.In her hand is a magic weapon - a crystal prism, through which she observed pedestrians just now.Her first instinctive action was to hide the prism, but then she pointed the prism at me. I grabbed her hand and stopped her.We stood side by side for a while, and then I slowly increased my strength and twisted and dislocated the witch's arm.A similar scene between a man and a woman would be rather shameful.But our, the other's strength does not derive from gender, or even from bulging muscles.Our power comes from the surroundings - that is, the twilight world and the people around us. I don't know how much power Alyssa has absorbed from the surrounding world, maybe more than me.

But I met her at the scene of the crime, and there may have been other patrol members nearby.If she wants to resist the patrols who formally announce her detention, then I have a reason to eliminate her on the spot. "I didn't resist," Alyssa said, and let go of her palm.The prism gently fell into the moss, and the moss immediately waved like a frying pan, covering the crystal prism. "Magic prism?" I asked, "Alyssa Tonikova, you performed a third-level magical intervention." "Level four." She answered quickly. I shrugged. "Third, fourth—there's no difference in principle, and you're going to court anyway, Alyssa. You're out of luck."

"I'm not doing anything." The witch tried in vain to appear calm. "I have a personal license to carry the prism. I haven't started using it yet." "Alyssa, any senior magician can get all the information from this thing." I lowered my hand, forcing the moss to spread out, and letting the prism jump into my palm.It's cold, very cold. "Even I can read past events from it," I said, "Alyssa Tonikova, Other, Dark Force, Witch of the Day Watchers Patrol, Force 4, I now formally accuse You are breaking the peace. If you try to resist, I will have to kill you. Put your hands behind your back."

She obeyed.Then she spoke, speaking quickly and eloquently, as if using all her reasons: "Anton, wait, I beg you, please listen to me... Yes, I tried the prism, but you see, they entrusted me with this amulet of power for the first time! Anton, I'm not a fool, Attacking people in the center of Moscow, why would I do this? Anton, we both - are other! Let's settle this peacefully, Anton!" "How to solve it peacefully?" I asked while hiding the prism in my pocket, "Let's go." "Anton, I am willing to exchange for level 4 or level 3 interference! Any kind of interference within the range of level 3 mana is definitely beneficial to the Lightbringer! It is not my stupid prism game, but once A real intervention!"

I could understand why she was panicking.It would discredit her.To be a member of the Watchman Patrol, to drain life force from people for private purposes--what a scandal!Alyssa will definitely be handed over by the dark forces for punishment without hesitation. "You have no right to make such compromises. The leadership of the dark forces will not recognize your pledge." "Zabulong will admit it!" "Really?" Her firm tone made me a little puzzled.Maybe she is Zaburon's lover?It's kind of weird anyway. "Alyssa, remember the time when I made a personal agreement with you to settle..."

"Of course I remember, you must know that it was I who suggested to forgive you for interfering with humans." "What happened to this agreement?" I smiled slightly, "Do you remember?" "This time the situation is different, now I broke the law," Alyssa lowered her eyes, "you will have the right...the right to fight back. Don't you need the authorization of the third level of light magic? Any kind of right to interfere with light magic Don’t you want it? You can use this to transform twenty villains into good men! Burn ten murderers to ashes on the spot! It can prevent disasters and make time shrink locally! Anton, this is not worth my stupid act Is it? Look, people around me are alive! I haven't had time to do anything, I've only just started..."

"Everything you say will be against you." "Yes, I know, I know!" Tears welled up in her eyes, and maybe it wasn't fake.Under the essence of a witch, she is still the most ordinary girl.A lovely, timid, guilty girl.Was she wrong to take the dark path? Sensing that my emotional shields were about to be bent, I shook my head a few times and said: "Don't pressure me." "Anton, I beg, let's settle this peacefully! Do you need third-level intervention?" Oh... of course, any light magician fantasizes about having similar unlimited powers to act freely!It's good to feel like a well-deserved soldier even for a moment. No one wants to be the kind of lice-covered soldier who stays in the trench and looks dejectedly at the white flag of truce. "You have no right to make such suggestions," I said firmly. "There will be!" Alyssa shook her head and sighed deeply: "Zha Wulong!" I clutched my war talisman disc in one hand and waited. "Zabulong, I'm calling you!" Her voice turned into a scream.I noticed that the figures around me moved a little faster: people felt inexplicable uneasiness and quickened their pace. Could she call the head of the dark forces again? Like the time when Zaburon almost beat me to death with "Xabateng" in the "Magolaju" restaurant? He almost beat me to death that time. Even though that provocation was planned by Gesar, Zaburon seemed to really think that I was the sinner who slaughtered those dark magicians. So, he has other plans to settle accounts with me? Could it be that Gesar intervened secretly and imperceptibly so that I survived that time? I don't know, as usual, not enough intelligence for analysis.Thirty-three versions can be conceived of on this matter, all of which contradict each other. I even hope that Zaburon will not answer.Then I can pull Alisha out of the Twilight, call the boss or some combat team member, and hand over the silly woman directly, and get a bonus at the end of the month.Alas, but now can I survive until the time to receive the bonus? "Zabulong!" she cried imploringly, "Zabulong!" She cried unknowingly, and the tears melted away the eye shadow and flowed down like ink. "It's no use," I said, "let's go." At this moment, two black doors opened about two meters away. At first we felt a bone-chilling cold, so that we were nostalgic for the heat that enveloped the human world.Suddenly the moss caught fire and burned all along the street.Of course, Zaburon didn't mean to burn them, it's just that opening the gate requires a force so great that the moss can't digest it in time. "Zabulon." Alyssa whispered. Five meters away from the stone road, a purple light rushed into the sky.The flash was very dazzling, and I squinted my eyes involuntarily. When I looked in this direction again - there was a blue bubble moving slowly in the dimness.A bearded monster covered with scales struggled out from inside, looking vaguely like a human being.Zaburon walked through the second or third layer of the twilight world in response. Compared with the second or third layer of the twilight world, time here passes as slowly as human time for us. I suddenly felt vulnerable to a vulnerability I seemed to be used to.Those talents that Zaburon or Gesar used with such ease seemed to me not only unattainable, but even miraculous. "Za Wulong!" Alyssa still put her hands behind her back, and rushed towards the deformed ugly monster.She leaned against him, buried her face in the piercing scales, "Help me!" Of course, Zaburong's appearance as a demon is not to impress me.If he appeared in a human form, he probably wouldn't be able to survive a minute in the depths of the Twilight Realm.And now he would probably have to stay for hours, maybe even days. Ugly looked at me with narrow eyes, slipped out a long tongue that was divided into two halves, and licked Alyssa's head, leaving white mucus on her hair.He grabbed Alyssa's chin with his sharp claws and carefully lifted her head - their eyes met.The exchange of information is ephemeral. "Silly woman!" roared the demon.The tongue retracted between the teeth in the mouth, almost being bitten by the canine teeth. "Greedy fool!" yes.I haven't tasted the taste of third-level intervention rights yet. The demon's bobtail twitched Alyssa's leg, ripping her silk dress and throwing her to the ground.Ugly's eyes lit up—a dark blue light enveloped the witch, and she immediately became like a stone. Alyssa was not helped. "Can I take the arrested man, Zaburon?" I asked. Ugly stood a little wobbly on his bowed legs.The sharp claws on the toes sometimes retract and sometimes slide out again.Then he took a step and stopped between me and the motionless girl. "Please confirm the legality of the detention," I said, "or I will have to seek help." The demon begins to transform.The proportions of the body changed, the scales disappeared, the tail retracted, the penis no longer looked like a thick stick with nails on it, and then clothes appeared on Zawulong's body. "Wait, Anton." "What do you want me to wait for?" The face of the dark magician was elusive.It seems that he felt more emotions in his demon form, or at that time he didn't think it was necessary to hide them. "I agree with the promise Alyssa made." "what?!" "If this matter can not be done business-like, the Sun Watcher Patrol Team will tolerate any kind of interference from you, including the third level." He looked very serious. I swallowed.Get this assurance from the head of the Day Watcher Patrol . . . "Never trust the Darkbringer." "Any kind of interference, including second-degree." "Is that why you don't want to publicize it?" I asked, "Or why do you need her?" Zaburon's face twitched: "Yes, I love her." "I do not believe." "I beg you, the leader of the watchmen's patrol, Anton the watchman, to settle the matter. It is possible, since my ward Alyssa Tonikova has not yet brought the people As a kind of compensation for her 'attempt'," Zaburon emphasized the word "attempt", "the Day Watcher Patrol has three levels of dark interference with your personal, including Any kind of bright magical act, including the second degree, reached a settlement. I do not ask you to keep this agreement secret. I do not restrict your actions at all. I want to emphasize that Alyssa, the patrol member, will He will be punished severely for his transgressions. Let darkness be a witness of my words." The ground trembled slightly, there was a rumbling sound underground, and there was the whistling sound of an approaching hurricane.A small black ball appeared on Zaburon's palm and spun. "It's your turn to speak," Zaburon said. I licked my lips and looked at Alyssa, who was bound by the spell.Anyway, she was a detestable villain.And I have a personal grudge against her. Maybe because of this, I don't want to use a compromise method to solve this matter?Not at all because of the dangers of making a pact with the dark?Alyssa uses the magic power of the prism to interfere with the human world, trying to absorb part of the energy of someone's life.This is third or fourth level magic.For this I'll be granted a level 2 right of intervention.This is -- a lot, a lot of interference.In fact, it is total intervention!I can prevent a crime from happening day and night, and make a wonderful and beneficial invention appear at the same time.In the history of the patrol team, there have been many times when we needed three or four levels of intervention power, but we didn't have it, so we had to act blindly and wait for the countermeasure in fear! And now the secondary right of intervention is at hand, and it's easy to get. "Let the light be a witness of your promise," I said.Then he extended a hand to Zaburon. I have never yet called upon the powers that have existed since ancient times to bear witness.All I know is that it doesn't require any special incantation.However, there are not many times when the Light condescends to vouch for what we do. White sparks burst out of my hand. Zawulong frowned, but didn't move his hand away.Darkness and light met between the palms of our hands as we shook hands to sign the agreement.I felt a prickly pain, like a needle without a sharp point going into my body. "A deal has been signed," said the dark magician. He frowned, too, and felt a sting too. "Do you want to profit from it?" I asked. "Of course. I always want to get the best out of everything. And it generally gets there." However, at least the signing of the agreement did not make Zaburon feel obvious joy. No matter what purpose he tried to achieve through this agreement, he obviously did not have much confidence. "I know what and why the messenger came from the East to Moscow." Zawulong smiled slightly: "Great. The situation made me nervous, so it's nice to know that now I have someone to share that anxiety with." "Zabulon! Has there ever been such cooperation between the Night's Watch and the Day's Watch before? Has there ever been a real cooperation, not in capturing traitors and lunatics?" "No. Any cooperation would represent some sort of failure for both parties." "I'll be careful." "Be cautious." We even gave each other a polite bow.It seems that they are not two magicians of opposing forces, not a supporter of light and a servant of darkness, but a very good acquaintance. Then Zaburon walked over to the motionless Alyssa and gently lifted her on his shoulders.I waited for them to leave the Twilight Realm, but they didn't leave immediately. The leader of the dark forces smiled at me warmly before walking into the gate.He paused for a moment, then slowly disappeared.I go in the other direction. I didn't realize until now how tired I was.The Twilight Realm likes people to go inside it, and even more - people are not at peace in it.The Twilight Realm is a whore who never refuses anyone who comes, and who is insatiable. I chose a place with few people, and suddenly jumped out of my shadow. The eyes of passers-by are habitually looking sideways.People, how many times in a day do you meet us, the lightbringers and the darkbringers, magicians and shapeshifters, witches and medicine men.You see us - but have no right to see.Even in the future. We can live for a hundred years, or even a thousand years.We are not easily killed, but the problems of human life are as insignificant to us as a first-grade student who writes vertically in a notebook. But there are gains and losses.I'd rather trade with you if possible, human.Please take away the ability to see shadows and enter the twilight realm, and accept the guard mission of the patrol and the ability to change the consciousness of those around you. You will give me the peace that I have lost forever! I got hit on the road.A stocky, shaven-headed guy with a mobile phone around his waist and a gold chain around his neck looked at me from head to toe with disdain, grumbled a word through his teeth, and continued, shaking his arms. Go his way.His girlfriend, on his arm, imitated him clumsily, and also gave the "happy fool" look that is typical of punks. I laughed heartily. Yes, probably I look really good! I stood there in the middle of the road, staring at the uninspired bronze statues, matryoshka dolls with the faces of national leaders, and fake Hochloma paintings in the window. Now I have the power to cheer up this whole street.Conduct a total moral realignment—send the shaven-headed chap to work as an orderly in a mental hospital, send his girlfriend sprinting to the train station, and take the train to the provincial town of the man she's managed to forget Go to the side of the dying old mother. Wanting to do good—and itching to do it! So it won't work. Even if the heart is pure and the hands are hot, the head should still be calm. I am a mediocre other.I do not have and will not have all the power of Gesar and Zaburon.Perhaps because of this, I have my own perspective on what happened.Even this unexpected gift - the magical power of light - I cannot take advantage of.This is in line with the chess game rules I have always followed. And my only chance is - to leave this game. And take Svetlana away. Yes, this will destroy the long-prepared battle of the night watch patrol team!Yes, stop being a combatant!Become an ordinary light magician who can use his own mana.This is the best case, and the worst case is - waiting for me will be the eternal twilight world. Just today, at midnight today. Where exactly?Who is the target?Whose book of destiny will the female magician open?As Olga said, the battle has been prepared for twelve years.It took twelve years to find a great magician who could hold in his hands the little bit of chalk that has been stored to this day. stop! I really want to howl all over the Arbat, what a fool I am.But the look on my face says it all. Why bother dubbing this obvious expression. High magicians count many moves ahead, and there is no such thing as chance in their games.There are queens and pawns, and there will never be any extra pieces. Yegor! A young boy who nearly falls victim to an illegal hunt.A man who walks into the Twilight in fear to avoid sacrifice, and thus is thrust into darkness.A little boy whose fate has not yet been determined, whose bioelectric field still preserves the freshness of a baby.Yes, it's rare, and it was a shock to me the first time I saw him. I was amazed - and then forgot.I later learned that the boy's latent abilities were intentionally injected by the boss in order to attract dark forces and at the same time allow Yegor to resist vampires a little. In this way he was nothing more than a personal defeat for me, since I was the first to discover that he was the Other, and a good Other at that.For the present he is a man, and in the future eternal struggle between good and evil he will be an enemy of ours.Only somewhere in the depths of my mind remembers that his fate is yet to be determined. He could also be on either side, and his future holds vague and undefined possibilities.An open book.Book of Destiny. When Svetlana took the chalk into her hands, he would stand before her, willingly—and before that, Gesar would explain to him, wisely and earnestly, what had happened.He, as head of the Night's Watch patrol, head of Moscow's Light Forces, great old wizard, would speak well.Gesar will speak about the correction of mistakes.This is the truth; Gesar will talk about the great future that opened up to Yegor, you know, this is the key, and this is the truth.The Darkbringer would have made many protests - but no doubt the court would have considered the fact that in the first place the little boy had suffered because of the Darkness's actions. Presumably, Svetlana will be told: Yegor's failure torments me, the patrol is busy saving her, Svetlana, and the boy is tormented. She wouldn't even doubt the words. Whatever she should do, she will do it obediently. She was exposed to chalk, ordinary chalk, with which she could draw on asphalt or write "2+2=4" on the blackboard at school. She can also use it to arrange her undecided fate. What are they going to use him for? make him what? Is it the chiefs, the leaders, the chairmen of new political parties and revolutionary organizations? A prophet of an as yet unfounded religion? Is it a thinker who creates a new theory of society? Musicians, poets, writers who change the consciousness of millions of people through their creations? How many more years will the Light Forces take it easy? Yes, the innate nature of others cannot be changed.Yegor will be a very bad magician, because of the intervention of the Night Watch Patrol - he will become a bright magician after all. But to change the destiny of the human world, it is not necessary to become the other.Being other is even getting in the way.Far better to use the support of the Night's Watch patrols... to lead, to lead those people who so need our imaginary happiness. He will lead the crowd.I don't know how he will lead or where he will lead the crowd, but he will.It's just that the Dark Emissary will react accordingly. Every president has his assassins; every prophet has a thousand interpreters who will distort the original meaning of religion and replace the flame of light with the bonfire of the Inquisition; every book will someday to be thrown into the fire; symphonies will be turned into pop ditties and played in taverns; every bad thing will find firm philosophical grounding. Yes, we learned nothing.Maybe we don't want to learn. But, at least I still have a little time.And the right to make his own move, the only move. If only I could still know how to play this move. Ask Svetlana not to agree with Gesar, not to master the highest magic, not to manipulate the fate of others? But why?To know that everything is right.In doing so it is possible to right the mistakes made and create a happy future for the individual chosen ones and the human world as a whole.Doing so also unburdened me of making mistakes.And for Svetlana, she will realize that her success comes at the expense of other people's misfortune.She will join the ranks of the great witches. What is the cost of my vague doubts?And what are the real concerns in these doubts, and what are the petty self-interests?What is light and what is darkness? "Hey, friend!" A peddler carrying a load of goods stood beside me and looked at me.He wasn't malicious, but angry. "Would you like to choose something?" "Am I like an idiot?" I asked. "Of course. Buy something or go away." His words have his truth.But at this time I contradicted: "You don't understand, it's your luck. I'm drawing crowds and attracting customers for you." He is a unique peddler.The body is strong, the face is rosy, the arms are thick, and the fat and muscle on the arms are evenly proportioned.He looked at me, obviously not feeling any threat, so he said sarcastically: "Okay, solicit. Just be active. Pretend to buy something. You can also pretend to pay me on purpose." His reaction was really strange, which surprised me. I smiled and replied: "Do you really want me to buy something?" "What do you want them for? They're all junk for tourists." The peddler stopped smiling, but the tense, hostile look on his face was gone. "It's hot as hell, so I want to blow off whoever I catch, if only it rained." I look at the sky and shrug my shoulders.It seems that the sky has changed a bit, and something has moved over in the clear blue sky like an oven. "I think it's going to rain soon," I said. "It would be nice if that was the case." We nodded to each other, and I left, joining the flow of people. Even if I don't know what to do yet, I already know where to go.That's not bad either.