Encounter

I abruptly got up from the floor, but the shortness of breath wouldn't let me go. I felt a little disoriented, but I think I was able to withstand it and run the same distance that it took me to get from Flir to here.

Alec remembered Flir and many aspects of this world, as his soul was mixed with Noctua's soul. He had memories that didn't belong to him.

However, it was his personality that was dominant, so he could be aware of himself and distinguish his memories from others.

Now he felt that he was in great danger and therefore decided to follow the instructions of the voice in his head to escape from here.

Sometimes there were voices in his mind, but they were very different from those that had attacked him earlier. He understood that it was Noctua's personality before, but now it was something else.

He didn't fully understand why he was suffering from these hallucinations, but he still guessed that they had something to do with that masked man.

With these thoughts, he left the village hut and headed even further south, away from the forest and this village.

He reached the local chapel and was about to move on when the bell suddenly began to chime. The majestic ringing echoed throughout the village, deafening Alec, who had been surprised.

At the same time, the hallucinations intensified, the body was thrown into a strong tremor, which caused him to lean against the wall of the church, sliding down it and falling to his knees.

The ringing still did not stop and, on the contrary, intensified too. Hundreds of colorful images flashed in his eyes, which made Alec crouch over the ground and vomit on it.

Suddenly, someone came up to him and stepped on his head, causing him to hit his face in his own vomit.

He raised his hand and attacked the stranger, but did not feel that the blow had been struck. Finally, he was able to lift his head and shake the unpleasant substance off his face.

He looked around, but found no one nearby. Next, he looked up, but the bell was in its original position, only reflecting the rays of the sun.

"What happened? Did the hallucinations get worse?" Alec thought aloud.

This is very bad. The enemy is near.

He got up from the ground and wanted to continue running, but as soon as he walked a few meters, he fell exhausted again.

"That's enough for you," a man's voice came from behind, the speaker of which Alec did not see.

This voice was very similar to the one he had heard in the dungeon of that aristocratic manor yesterday. It belonged to that masked man.

I tried to get up.

"Lie down," the man said, which made my body numb at first, and then go limp and I collapsed on the ground.

I prayed quietly to the Master, hoping to regain the energy to escape.

"That's better," the man rejoiced.

He walked along the country road and came closer and closer to him as he said this.

"Hm?" he suddenly stopped. "You look different. Are you a flesh mage too? I've been hating them lately."

I didn't understand what he was talking about, but I felt a surge of strength again. I tried to stand up, and this time I succeeded, even despite the force of the order.

Except now it wasn't the desire to escape that burned in me, but the desire to kill the enemy. I had difficulty controlling my own impulses.

***

Father Boniface was holding a hand-sized crystal ball. Inside, a small Fragment of flesh-colored light glowed, sometimes shimmering with the colors of blood and ivory.

He ran his finger over the crystal ball, drawing an invisible sign. It was an oval with a circle inscribed in it, from which more circles departed, closing near the boundaries of the original oval.

After that, he carefully peered into the crystal ball, observing the various scenes.

"These deceptions really interfere with divination, I can't identify the original body," he said after a while.

"What did you see?" asked Father Bill.

"First of all, it is important to understand that divination, even by a fragment of the soul, does not give a complete picture, only hints and symbolic images," Boniface replied, preparing for a long speech.

"I saw several people, first there was an elegantly dressed woman in a gray dress and with a bone-colored tobacco pipe in her mouth, it was bright but quiet around her."

"The second was a boy of about 10 years old in an old but clean shirt and black pants, children were running around him."

"The third was a man in a tweed coat and top hat, holding a bone-colored cane in one hand and a glass of alcohol in the other. It was bright but quiet, like the first person, but the places were clearly different."

"The fourth was an old man in a dark brown coat, with the same cane as the third man. It's very dark around."

"They are arranged in the order of proximity, that is, the girl is closest to us now. I can start guessing again, but this time solely in order to find her."

"What about the other personalities?" Fulkran asked.

"This is also possible, all actions in general will take no more than 10 minutes," Boniface replied.

"Then get started," Bill nodded.

***

The boy with mixed souls got to his feet. His body slowly changed, a third eye opened on his forehead, his arms acquired a normal size and shape, and dragonfly-like wings grew behind his back. Most of the metal stains were still on the body.

What I noticed from the very beginning was the presence of legs. When we first met, he was deprived of them, but now he had them. It's most likely a gift from the flesh mage. His current transformations can also be attributed to him, because he is at a demigod level, as it is supposed.

The enemy looks aggressive, but I didn't feel any real threat to my life. In any case, my colleagues are nearby and will be ready to help me if there are any problems.

I asked them not to interfere with my hunting, but I'm not stupid enough to refuse their help at all.

A scythe appeared in my hands, consisting entirely of darkness. The monster flew up sharply when it saw the weapon in my hands, and then swooped towards me.

"Stop it!" I shouted an order, which made the enemy hesitate for a moment.

I took advantage of this and jumped back, after which I cut the air in front of me, causing wind ripples that quickly floated towards the enemy.

He landed, kicking up dust, after which my spell hit him, leaving a deep cut on his body and throwing him back a couple of meters.

At the same time, I ran forward, jumping up on the spot and cutting off his right arm with a swing of my scythe.

He let out a loud cry of pain as he flew up.

I jumped off the ground and flew higher, using my wind magic, after which I struck him again, ripping open his belly.

His left arm turned into a bone sword, which he swung immediately after my blow, leaving a shallow cut on my right shoulder.

I recoiled from him, watching as his stomach and the stump where his right arm was were slowly rotting away.

At some point, the monster screamed again, his left arm was again covered with metal growths, turning into a kind of bird's wing, the third eye on his forehead closed, and he abruptly began to lose attitude.

It seems that the influence of the flesh mage was not enough to support his assistant.

I went downstairs, ordering my energy to stop devouring the boy's body.

"Use your dark cover immediately!" a bone-armored Seracin shouted as he walked out of the chapel building with Agnes.

I looked at my right shoulder, which had a completely black eye instead of a scratch.

"Let there be darkness!" I read the spell, covering myself with the dark armor, cleansing my own body of the parasite.

Dealing with flesh magicians is really dangerous and annoying.

***

Catherine was sitting at the bar, at a table that was in the least illuminated corner, having previously ordered a mug of beer and a simple breakfast consisting of an omelette and sausage.

Now the place was practically empty, only the bartender was conducting a small audit, wiping tables and glasses, preparing for the evening influx of visitors.

At some point, a tall man in a tweed black coat with a red handkerchief in his breast pocket and without a headdress entered the bar.

He was a young blond man with bright yellow eyes and a pleasant appearance.

First, he ordered a glass of wine from the bartender, after which he headed in her direction, sitting down at an unoccupied chair.

"Greetings," Catherine smiled, puffing on the smoke of her tobacco pipe. "I've been waiting for you."