Chapter 1

"Sir, we've been attacked!" But you have nothing to worry about," the guard opened the door of the limo.

— Your security will deal with everyone now. You, most importantly, do not worry.

— Whatever you say, — lazily answered him, and continued to look indifferently out the window. I was frankly bored. Outside the window, there were shots from ordinary weapons and the rumble of spells being used. Incomprehensible people in incomprehensible masks did understandable things. They wanted to eliminate the heir of a noble family, that is, me.I even felt a little funny. An attack? Which one is already on the bill this week? The fifth? And they all failed. Pathetic amateurs! On the third, I even suddenly wanted them to finally succeed. At some point, I even wanted to open the armored and enchanted door to help the hapless militants a little, but all the doors were centrally blocked at the moment of danger. It remained to rely on the professionalism of the attackers. Maybe at least in one of the attacks I would have been kidnapped so that I could live a normal life. Although, most likely, this will never happen. Here, honestly, it's funny. Every time, in such situations, I am on the side of the attackers. My life is hard... The life of the eldest heir of the ruling Family. If this was my first life, everything would be different. But, alas, this is not the case, which makes my situation a disaster.

— Alex, are you hurt? — another guard ran up to me, who, for a moment, is a master of fire. He pretends to be worried about me, come on. I already know such nits as you well, with a smile on your face and a muzzle in your pocket, although no, rather, with a dagger. And this is my guard! What can we say about the rest of the "relatives". Fucking serpentarium, fucking falsehood, fucking life. I'm seventeen now, but earlier. There used to be a lot more... And believe me, I ate people like you for breakfast every day. And I loved breakfast. And he loved his life. I had a funny one. As for me, of course. I don't think the local slugs shared my fun. He took the remote control in his hand and pressed the button of the mirror, which drove straight out of the roof, and leaned forward a little to see himself in more detail. The leather seat of my armored car creaked pleasantly. Yes, in appearance, an ordinary limousine was stronger than army armored cars on the outside, and more comfortable than many stationary dwellings inside. Is that what happened to you, Sandr? Dressed like a dude. You're driving in an expensive car that doesn't belong to you, but to your pompous family. In fact, you don't have anything of your own, and also you don't have a future. Not such a rebirth was promised to me by the Hunter's Code... I have moments of weakness when I think too much. They usually come at the moment when the battle is very close, and I can't participate in it. It upsets me, but there are reasons for it. A huge explosion sounded outside the window, but my transport doesn't care about all this. It is ancestral and better protected than many estates of poor aristocrats. Then there were more explosions, which meant that it would soon be over, and again without me. A massive beam of the bridge floor fell nearby, on which these amateurs ambushed me, waiting for my motorcade. And after her, two partially burned bodies crashed onto the asphalt. And one of them, it seems, was still alive. Stretching out his hand, the half-dead attacker tried to cast something "with the last" of his strength, but an ordinary bullet from an ordinary pistol blew the head of the hapless gifted. Stupid death of a stupid person. I chuckled, and turned back to the mirror. From the mirror, the same sad guy was looking at me, at whom it was sour to look at all these years. No, he... more precisely, I was not a freak — moreover, by local standards I was considered almost handsome. Tall, black-haired, with a good relief athlete's body. Stupid habit. I just COULDN'T let my body be weak. Sometimes, getting carried away, I caused gossip of the staff, shocked by my constant training. But, damn! Where are all my scars? I had a lot of them in my previous life as a Hunter, and I could be proud of them now... The damn Black Hydra ate me... But I took that thing with me to hell. I have been tracking her for so long and have succeeded where many have retreated. This strong and graceful creature was old and oh-oh-very strong! I could still smell the poisonous fumes of the Adyghe swamp, where this creature had dominated for centuries, occasionally getting out to other worlds to bring pain and chaos there. That was my last kill... What a pity... At the memory of hydra, a pleasant warmth spread in my chest. Clear work... Pleasant excitement... Adrenaline rush and pride in a job well done. How I miss all this!!

Good hydra. Was. And a grin came out on his face, which drove everyone who saw him into natural horror. I caught myself and quickly hid it away, returning to my face the bored-detached expression of a well-born and stupid scion of a noble family. You can't see him any other way yet, it's too early. Or maybe it's just the right time? I am now going to my father, who has to announce an official decision on his own heir. If only I still needed it. However, my relatives don't really need it either. But traditions... However, I have thoughts that everything will be fine. My vaunted intuition, which was admired and even envied by my brothers. They knew it was better to listen to my words than to bite their elbows later. The attack ended without really starting, and I was taken further under escort. But as soon as we drove not too far away, the attack was repeated again. Maybe the past was just a rehearsal? This time there were more attackers, and they prepared a little better. The leading car of the motorcade flew into the air in a flash, enhanced by magic, explosion. On the other hand, she didn't have as much protection as my limo. The attackers rushed towards us from all sides, shouting something. I grimaced again. Shouting is a sign of uncertainty and a desire to cheer yourself and your comrades by merging into a single crowd. Why is that? If you can just kill your enemy. Silently and efficiently. If only all the guards were killed now, and I would be missing! Oh, sweet dreams. Until my father's decision is announced, then they will give me a hell of a place to go. My "carcass" is too valuable to just take and lose it, and even more so, let it be destroyed. No, I am not a submissive son who will wait for an answer and shake with horror because of his father's attention. There are blanks, but so far everything is going fine. Two minibuses screeched their brakes nearby, covering my car with their hulls from the attackers. Help arrived, called by my guards. I sighed heavily. Not today... Well, at least not right now...

—You're late," was the first thing my father said. Henry Godart looked, as always, immaculate and majestic. As befits a noble head of a certain Family. A tall, gray-haired man with a straight back, as if he swallowed a mop. And this facial expression, this eternal discontent. It seems that he never smiled, and he perceived his surroundings and events as an annoying and unpleasant misunderstanding. By the way, I'm Alex Godart, and in my previous life I was just Sandr. They called me, however, in different ways, but it was just Sandr that I liked the most, short and clear.

— We were attacked three times in one trip. It seems to be a kind of record," I answer him in the same indifferent voice.

— I had to stay a little longer and explain to the attackers that they were wrong.

— Probably, he defeated them all, and now he will tell us all how they died of terror, trembling before his gift, — ue gave his own... nasty voice is my little brother. Everyone present smiled. There were even quiet chuckles. "It's better to see once than to hear a hundred times," I shrugged my shoulders with a straight face, and called on my Gift. At the same moment, a Creo dragon of ash, infected with rot, flew out of my palm and soared under the high ceiling of the Meeting Room. Spreading his webbed wings, he looked around, and roared furiously. There were no guards here now, as only family members were inside. And my dragon fell on my brother, resounding the vaults of the ancient palace with an ominous cry. The little asshole was sitting relaxed in a comfortable business chair at this moment, and did not expect this in any way. Out of surprise, he fell down and screamed.

— I'll kill you, you bastard! My brother shouted in a thin falsetto.

— He had a transitional age and now his voice was "breaking"

He jumped up and activated his lightning gift. His gift was already real, not an illusion. The relative's face was filled with a different range of feelings, especially noticeable in his eyes was the rage from another humiliation. Despite the fact that he was humiliated by a person who was born higher in status, but lower in strength. My real brothers remained in the Order. Everyone was brothers there, and the relationship to each other was special. What does the randomness of being born in the same family have to do with it, especially like this... miserable? Not by strength and nobility, but by fact. However, again I was carried to the wrong steppe. The nasty little brother fired a white-hot spherical lightning bolt right at me. He may have partially lost self-control, but not completely. The lightning flew slower than it should and probably anyone who didn't have the gift could easily dodge. And I could... But why? He remained standing in his place, and looked at his brother with a grin, enjoying his bewilderment and confusion. Because you need to think before you do something! With your head! Lightning won't kill me, but he doesn't know that, and neither does everyone else. Including my father's wives, of whom there were three. If he kills me in front of the whole family, then he will not see the place of the head of the Family, which he expects so much after the death or resignation of "papa" Henry. I stand and smile with might and main, looking at him. The puppy is stupid and naive. Too stupid to realize that I'm not his friends, whom he intimidated with his strength. You'd think it was a fucking force! A simple zipper... Everyone in the hall watched what would happen next, but no one dared to interfere. Although the mother of the youngest really wanted to correct the reckless act of her beloved son and dispel his witchcraft. She was a strong gifted, and it cost her absolutely nothing. But the father was the main one here, and it is he who decides what and how will happen next. When the lightning ball had less than a meter to reach me, and I already felt the heat from the incandescent ball on my skin, the elder Godart finally reacted. "That's enough," he said calmly, and the lightning exploded. Particles of high-temperature plasma sprayed in all directions, burning through my smart clothes, burning my skin and causing severe pain. There was a noticeable smell of burnt meat in the room. But not a single muscle twitched on my face.

— That's it, brother! I have no strength, but you have plenty of it. But your spirit is worthless," I blurted out right in his face, hoping to cause another outburst of anger. This brat is a weakling who... I didn't have time to think about it. I was blown to the wall by my father's mental attack. Of course, I sensed his preparation for the attack. The vaunted speed of "dad" only made me smile. But, I felt everything, but it was impossible to resist. Eh... That's the life. The father is harsh and an asshole, in addition.

—Don't get cocky," was all he said, looking at my sliding carcass on the wall.

— We are a fighting family, and all you can do is use your clown tricks. How many times have I told you not to use your power on your brother anymore? Yeah... So, I was also guilty! How I want to break your head with something heavy! But you can't... The first time I used my power against my brother at the reception, and he reacted the same way. But there was an Andal snake from the tip of the tail to the top of the nose, about thirty meters. He then significantly tarnished his reputation, in the truest sense of the word, haha... Henry then said that I was of zero use. Not only can I not help Rod in any way, but I also harm his reputation. Almost nine years have passed since that moment. Of course, I did not listen to him, and since then I have done this more than once.

— If you are not dying and are ready to listen to why I called you here, then sit down, — my father turned to me again, pointing to a chair. I sat down on an antique carved chair with a grunt, pretending to be unperturbed in every possible way, although my skin was burning with an invisible fire. I wanted to tell him everything, but I can't... I'm so tired of saying the word "impossible" to myself in recent years. The code stated that the next life would be lived for pleasure. So I have a question for the Code. Where the fuck is the most fun?!.

— You are my eldest heir! You turn eighteen in a month, which means I have to announce you as my successor," my father said, looking at me carefully.

— So, I have made a decision... How interesting to me, you have no idea. And what decision did you make?

— I'm listening, — he held his face like a brick.

— You have to die!

— the father's stern answer sounded, which gave rise to a deathly silence in the hall.

— Your Gift is a mistake that will not lead our family to success and prosperity. But I can't help but appoint you as a receiver, so I'm giving you a choice — fictitious or real death. How much it took me to remain silent, it is even difficult to convey in words and with all the letters of the world. It's been a long time since I've had to make so much effort to restrain myself. —A fictitious death," I try not to give myself away, but I'm really worried myself. After my words, it seemed to me that my brother and his mother sighed with regret. Were you thinking of getting rid of me forever? With a guarantee? Fuck you! "You've always been smart," my father smiled. — It's even a pity that fate played such a cruel joke with your Gift. The gift of creating harmless illusions in a fighting clan that achieved everything by force, this is the mockery of fortune. "Like I have a choice?"

— I allowed myself a "sad smile".

— There is always a choice, even if it seems that there is none, — the father grinned once again.

— Well done for not being hysterical, I praise you. Where do you want to go into exile after all... hmm... formalities? I have read about such operations and I know how they are carried out. There are a lot of pitfalls, the size of a yacht, but if there is a plan, then everything can work. — The Russian Empire! — I inform him of my choice and desire.

— Good choice. Your mother was from there, and you look a lot like her, to my deepest regret," Henry thought.

— Do you know the language?

— I know, I taught, — I answer him in perfect Russian. While my younger brother was suffering from bullshit, I studied, and studied a lot.

— Great, then I'll prepare everything, and you can be free, — he gives the go-ahead with his hand. "I'll call you when it's ready." Or I'll send the documents.

— Yes, brother... you can be free," my youngest does not miss the opportunity to hurt me, for which he receives a weighty slap on the head from his mother. Interestingly, it turns out that I was smacked against the door, and he was just slapped on the back of the head. Leaving the meeting room, I could not believe that I had been treated like this. Looking around and not noticing anyone nearby, I allowed myself to give a slight slack. A happy smile appeared on his face. Oh, the Code! I've been preparing and making plans for my coming of age for so many years, and they just kicked me out themselves! I learned seven languages perfectly because I didn't know where I would end up after running away. I have spent so many years studying the cultures of different countries. And they just took me and kicked me out like a flea—ridden, rootless puppy, and not the heir of a great family - Alex Godart! What haughty faces everyone present had, except for the father. He was just doing his job, but the others were really happy. They were always on good terms with each other, it was only I who "did not fit into the court", and was considered almost a "leper". If they only knew how carefully I built this image. My mother is a runaway imperial noblewoman who married her father for convenience. As a result of their marriage, I was born. Or rather, my body, and I realized myself in it closer to the age of six. When my Gift awoke, my father and mother quarreled, and he drove her away, saying that her blood was weak. After all, he had given her protection, and in return she had to give him a strong heir. Of course, they didn't tell me all this directly to my face, but I sniffed out these details myself. It was simple, given the general dislike of "relatives" for me. In fact, it was the "secret of the Polichinel". And I suspect that it was opened to me specifically to hurt as much as possible. Fools, as if that could change anything! All my life I had to play the role of a trusting, intelligent, but very naive guy. And now it's all over.