In the Cage

Ink frowned. The walls of the ornate hall seemed to be crushing obstacles. He felt like a beast in a siege, but soon relaxed and allowed himself a mocking grin in the direction of the magician.

- Decided that you can make me a new toy? - Ink decided to follow the plan, hastily conceived earlier.

"Already done," there was an obsession in Michaelon's gaze, mixed with manic triumph. - Now you…

"I," Ink interrupted the magician . - Right. A miserable little magician from an empty powerless zero world ... Do you really think that your knowledge is worth anything? Do you think you know the truth, and all the other people below you? Knowing who in front of you you decided to play your children's games?

Ink looked around, staring at the people around him. What changed in his feelings, as if some kind of power flashed in his head, a little deeper than the eyeballs. The world began to look a little different. Ink understood the mood of those around him. Someone was interested, others were indifferent, others - allowed some fear. There was doubt in Michaelon with growing confusion.

"Now, I just continue to intimidate him," Ink thought , feeling the calm growing inside. "Who said magicians cannot be fooled?"

- ABOUT! Did you really think that the place I came from looked like a buffer? Or maybe one of the numbered worlds? Who would have thought that the magicians of this world are so naive.

"You ..." Michaelon grimaced. He clearly wanted to say something, but could not find the words.

"Come on," Ink waved his hand permissively. - Did you say something about the experiment? Why don't you sprout the planted grain?

Suddenly Michaelon obeyed. The magician brought his fingers together in a strange way and waved. The captive in the cage wheezed, and Ink partially plunged into the white space. The metal stripes hesitated, as if they were being blown by an unknown wind, but soon subsided.

- What? Does not work? - Ink allowed himself another mocking smirk.

- Is it because of the artifact? Someone in the audience asked.

"An amulet," Ink corrected . "The cross of Alzuria is not an artifact."

Around it became noisy. Several people from the crowd made their way forward, sparkling with greed in their eyes.

"I would like to buy it," the pale man in a brown suit stroked his already licked hair. "I can offer a lot." What about…

"Idiot," Ink snorted . - I was reborn in the buffer, and did not go through the ascension process. Have you even tried to find out who you are trying to eat? Why would a descendant of higher powers come to this energy-poor world? For the sake of resources? Are you so arrogant that you think there is something to profit from? It's like going to the desert for food! The main possibility of a zero world is the rebirth and reconstruction of the body. I do not have the Cross of Alzuria. You can look for it somewhere in this world ... Perhaps you will find a person who was exalted to the buffer, but did not use known treasures. Protection is not in the amulet, it is in the soul. The only reason you are still alive is common sense. " Ink looked at Michaelon and tried to make a contemptuous mine. "It's pretty stupid to use a grenade to kill a bunch of cockroaches."

"Young man," the pale man walked a few more steps. - Amulet ... Cross of Alzuria ...

"Take it if you find it," Ink dismissed . "I don't care about him."

"I'll take something, too," Arsi seeped into the cage with the captive and stuck her hand directly into his body. a blue spot spread on the man's chest, and after the girl's hand extended a bunch of wriggling stripes. Very similar to those that Ink saw in his mind.

Arsi turned a parrot and sat on Kiass's shoulder . The sprouted grain of the demon disappeared, as if it did not exist.

"If you cannot handle the Cross of Alzuria, you know where to look for me," Ink nodded to the pale man and received a polite bow from him. The man's face was filled with joy. Unknown quickly looked at Grank and his eyes widened , as if he had just understood something important.

"I didn't use famous artifacts ..." muttered the pale one, "well, of course!" Not a single force claimed it.

"True thought," Ink looked at the motorcyclist, too. Grank became noticeably nervous. - Unfortunately, there is no amulet with him. You still have to look for the Cross of Alzuria.

"May I have problems with the amulet?"

"Perhaps," Ink shrugged. - There will be no problems with the ascension, but if you accidentally activate the protection, someone can lose a life.

- Thank you. In that case, I will ask for help, "said the pale-faced man and suddenly disappeared.

Ink was so confused by this scene that he almost ruined his entire game to the public. Quickly cursing himself and returning calm, he finally reached the exit from the hall. Behind the door was the roof of a tall building. In the distance, one could see the lights of the evening city, the sounds of cars and that vague ceaseless people's ceaseless even after sunset, which distinguishes the densely populated city from the hinterland.

Stumbling over the unexpected kind of Ink and shoved in the back Kiass .

"He really is made of iron."

Arsi immediately jumped onto Ink a's shoulder . As soon as Glam's disciples were outside, Michaelon's voice came from behind.

- Cockroaches? Did you compare me with them? Then I will make you show your trump cards!

An invisible wave caught Ink and carried forward. He managed to marvel at the feeling of weightlessness, notice the confused expression on Kiass a's face and the tense Grank a, look at the butler Michaelon who was closing the door and realize that there is no longer a roof below. There was an abyss underfoot.

- The mansion of the master has the opportunity to open the entrance and exit in different places. This is the most remote. To ensure such protection, several knowledgeable masters of the space of space worked, "the servant of the magician explained.

"Interesting," Ink muttered , causing force field bubbles. After falling onto a stone sky in a buffer, he was almost not afraid of heights.

"I am also one of the experiments," the butler bowed. - Accept my respect and admiration. You managed to defeat the planted demon. I am not so strong and now I am forced to obey the master.

The man waved his hand, and gravity pulled everyone down. The transition was so sharp that all the bubbles of the force field exploded in a rainbow suspension. Earth was approaching too fast. Awareness of this froze Ink a. He understood that something had to be done, but nothing crossed his mind. The body flew to the earth faster and faster, as if a gigantic palm decided to slam the bug.

- Grab it! - cried out next to Grank . Ink without hesitation took the motorcyclist's foot with both hands, and when he was already thinking about the strangeness of the situation, his hands jerked up sharply. Something snapped in his shoulders. Ink hissed softly, and Grank began to swear loudly - his sensations in his leg were hardly pleasant. Motorcyclist held by the ankles Kiass well.

Electricity flashed, the golden-skinned twitched, steam fell from his whole body. Kiass's face was contorted in a silent scream, his fingers twitched frantically and failed to clench into fists, but the fall slowed down greatly. Just a meter away from the ground with lumpy cracked asphalt, they simply hung in the air. Ink unhooked, Grank and Kiass fell awkwardly. It took some time to get up.

- What was it now? asked Ink .

"The effect of superconductivity," said Grank , almost laughing . - Have you heard of this?

"I heard ..." Ink grumbled . "And what should this smug look of yours mean?"

"Well, you are stupid," the motorcyclist nevertheless allowed himself a nervous laugh, which accompanied him with a slap on the shoulder of a golden-skinned man. "When my nascent source of lightning turns into a full-fledged one, I can fly." Is there no reason for joy?

"I don't think Kiass would agree to that," Ink said , pointing to a battered look, trying to catch his golden-skinned breath. However, his color has changed a bit. "Hey, you're red now."

"The metal ... has oxidized ..." the metal said with difficulty.

Kiass extended his arms forward, brought his palms together and the air began to distort around his body. The skin changed color from copper red to the color of milk chocolate.

"Fire control," he explained. - One of the most important skills for an alchemist. I wasn't hurt, so don't worry about me. Consider visiting a super-efficient tanning bed.

- Darling, you're so cool! - the girl from the parrot has turned into her already familiar to all children's uniform.

- Thanks, Arsi . How do you feel?

- well! - the girl looked at everyone in turn. - Thank you for helping. He will be safe now.

"Not necessarily," Kiass shook his head . "They can just kill him or use him in other experiments."

"Not anymore," Arsi almost shone with complacency. - Nothing more threatens him.

The confidence in the words was so unshakable that Ink aroused suspicion.

"By the way, we never met Glam," Kiass twisted his legs in half-burnt trousers, wrapped his trousers. An attempt to hide the tanning did not greatly improve the appearance. The thing seemed to scream to everyone around about an unfair attitude.

"It stinks burnt," Ink stated . - It's time to leave here.

"Exactly," Grank looked up. - This type changes the force of gravity. A terrible ability ... I also want this.

Everyone laughed, relieving tension. It seemed to Ink that even Arsi had a hard time surviving a moment of unexpected fall. Leaving quickly did not work. Granck limped on one leg, and Kiass looked like a rusted robot in some places. Agility in metal movements has become much less.

"Are you all right?"

"Don't worry, Ink ." It's a little difficult to move, but right now I'm improving my mastery of the metallization skill. You could say I was very lucky, " Kiass glanced at Grank ," although I would not call the feeling of current flowing through my skin pleasant.

Ink and his comrades managed to hobble past a couple of houses, one store with a half-blank signboard of a name and a cluster of drunken youth nervously jerking their limbs to the sounds of several portable speakers. Of all the speakers, different melodies played, but it didn't interfere with the revelry of either adult-looking schoolchildren or infantile students.

A familiar minibus stopped nearby. In the cabin, except Trosh, was Narkert. Now he was without disguise, and a luminous sign on his cheek invitingly blinked Ink . From the symbol, the affection of a puppy was felt, meeting the owner with a quiet whining and wagging tail.

"It seems to me, yes? - Ink looked at the comrades who climbed into the salon. Kiass seemed self-absorbed. The metal seemed like a bunch of joy and pleasant excitement, seasoned with a slight fright and fatigue. Arsi sat on Ink's lap , exuding peace, growing into a mysterious depth. From a motorcycle enthusiast, it carried a mixture of springs compressed to ringing, disbelief, hope, a tiny bit of joy and apprehension. The troch exuded satisfaction from an almost completed job. Narkert seemed like a well-fed beast watching a frolicking dinner nearby. From the last, Ink w was uneasy. "It doesn't seem to be."

"You know, Ink ," Grank showed a complex expression on his face. His fingers stroked the seemingly inconspicuous beads of the piercing. - Thank.

- In terms of?

- What else is "in the sense", huh ?! - exploded Grank . "I'm just trying to be thankful." What, so hard to say "please" ?!

"Yeah, please," Ink decided not to drink . "It's just you and gratitude ... Wild dogs do not think that you need to say thanks to people for throwing a sandwich." They would rather believe in their coolness and tribute to them than ...

- Yes, you go! - Grank cut short Ink's taunts and turned to the window.

There was growing joy from the rider. Ink felt that the compressed spring inside Greck was gradually straightening.

The troch stopped near a familiar restaurant. He explained that he needed to work and said goodbye. After descending into the basement, Kiass began to move noticeably easier. Arsi turned into an adult girl and stretched. Grank breathed a sigh of relief.

- Are you going back? - Ink held Narkert by the shoulder.

- Yes, I need to meet the guests.

"Glam, will it finally appear?"

- Glam? - Narkert gave Ink a look of disbelief. His eyes flashed with anger and thirst for murder. - No, this asshole will not be able to solve his problems for a long time. This is a great time to sell his little students who managed to pinch the pride of Michaelon. Fortunately, you have nowhere to run from here.

- What do you want to say? Arsi said incredulously .

"These," Narkert ignored the girl and turned to the man with gray temples standing at the front desk, "don't let me out of here."

He nodded, and the "friend of Glam," whistling a cheerful motive, stepped back from the buffer zone. Ink flinched at the sound of a door slamming. It seemed to him that it was not the partition between the room and the staircase that was rumbled, but a huge and durable cage.

"And what idiot had the idea to go to Michaelon? .. Ah, well, yes ... It was me"