«Bli-i-i-n," Dulio weighed the burden on his arms wearily. The thick, metallic shackles, scrawled with various magical ligatures, sucked away his strength and stamina. Like a vise, they prevented his hands from separating and sucked out all the magical reserves with stamina. At first, it was not the most reliable measure, especially for people of his level, but until his strength ran out, Vasco would personally look after him. - Master, can we take it easy?
Vasco didn't answer, still calmly heading for an unknown destination. They had already traveled a couple of kilometers from the battle site, but it had taken so long because of his turtle-like speed by their standards. Emeric suspected that Vasco had stretched out the trek so that more of Dulio's strength would go nowhere.
They finally stopped in some unremarkable woods before Vasco spoke into the void:
«Georg, if you'd be so kind....
Emeric tensed as a funnel of mist formed a few meters away from them. Unusual, poison purple and in places shimmering into other colors. The unusual density and some ephemeral sense of emptiness led him to disappointing conclusions.
A young man of pleasant appearance emerged from the layer of fog. Brown hair, glasses on his face, and an outfit consisting of parts of a school uniform and a magician's robes. He gave the impression of a rather unconventional aristocratic wizard. Some magical grimoire in his hand only added to the picture.
«Señor Strada," Georg nodded to the giant and turned toward him to bow politely and introduce himself. - Senor Gesualdo, it is a pleasure to meet you! I've heard, I've heard... My name is Georg Faust, deputy commander of the Hero Faction and wielder of the Lost Dimension...
With each new detail this man said about himself, "Dulio's" eyebrows flew higher.
First, Georg Faust was a famous magician and demonologist who became famous for making a contract with Mephisto Felles, a living legend of Hell.
Second, Georg's introduction confirmed his initial hunch. The Mist was a manifestation of his Longinus, the Lost Dimension, otherwise the Mist of Extinction. Longin of the "higher" tyre, much like Dulio's Storm of Zenith. This Sacred Mechanism allowed him to work with space and dimension simply on an unreachable level. A fascinating personality, related to a legendary magician, and a Longinus on top of that....
«Nice to meet you, Mr. Faust," Dulio put on his lazy smile again. - Your name is... uh. you're not "the" Georg Faust, are you?
«Oh, no, no," Georg waved his hands flatteringly, as if they were old friends, not enemies. - I am only a descendant, señor, but I hope I will not dishonor my ancestor's name.....
«I'm sure you'll succeed," Dulio nodded. - You are, by the way, quite frank about your origins.....
Georg only adjusted his glasses and smiled enigmatically.
«Soon the whole world will know about us... - Georg turned toward Strada, who was quietly listening to their conversation. - Señor, would you mind a little chat with our leader before I bring you to your base?...?
The elderly man sighed irritably, but nodded. Of course, Georg was their only "transportation", try to refuse. Emeric was curious about Vasco's reaction to this "leader", apparently they already knew each other.
The violet mist reappeared, only to have a new protagonist emerge from its swirls.
This was where Emeric had to tense up again. A young, handsome man with the charismatic aura of a true leader. His face was Asian, but it was what he held in his hand that was most important.
A beautifully decorated spear that gave off an incredibly high level of holy energy.
The Spear of Longinus. The Holy Spear of the Setting Sun. The spear that pierced Jesus..... The First and Strongest Longinus.
Just like that, three of the four strongest Longinus gathered in one place. Spear of Longinus, Storm of Zenith, and Lost Dimension....
The Chaos Brigade was more dangerous than he had previously thought.
The new incumbent smiled confidently at him.
«My name is Cao Cao, and the rest of the world has heard about your exploits, Mr. Gesualdo," Dulio shook his outstretched hand.
«It's a pleasure," Emeric nodded with a smile. He didn't even have to act lazy; the shackles had already reduced Dulio's strength considerably.
Vasco Strada finally couldn't stand their deliberate delay and turned to Cao Cao, the leader of the Hero Faction, with a smile.
This individual most likely also took the name of his famous ancestor, the great warlord of Ancient China. Is it possible that everyone in their organization is a descendant of famous heroes and has strong Sacred Mechanisms?!
«Young man, you wanted to talk to me?
Cao Cao cleared his throat.
«Senor Strada, you, as a true representative of humanity, have always been a reference point for us! A true hero who dedicated his life to protect people! - Quite heatedly he began to speak. - I don't quite understand why you didn't accept my invitation to the Hero Faction, the last stronghold of our race! With your strength and my leadership, we can destroy all supernatural contagion!...!
His speech was infectious and charismatic. It was obvious that this young man was passionate about his cause. But Wisdom was very clear that there were several levels of set-up. Not outright lies, but this guy will bite the elbow off.....
Interesting personality, this Cao Cao.
«Hm," Vasco grinned at his enthusiasm, slowly approaching Cao Cao. To the guy's credit, he didn't get cold feet and smiled calmly even when he violated his personal space. However, small beads of sweat still formed on his forehead. No matter how brave you are, but against Vasco Strada, such boasting is nothing more than a joke. - Cao Cao, honestly, I like your enthusiasm. Young and full of faith in your cause..... I don't even feel like pulling your noodles out of my ears, it sounds so pleasant....'' - He spoke the next words in a whisper and through his teeth. The temperature was rising inexorably between the two men. - But I can smell the stench of the pagan gods from you a mile away....
The smile didn't come off Cao Cao's face, but the sweat and the increasing grip on his spear spoke of an emotional state that wasn't the most stable.
Vasco Strada is not a naive boy ready to believe in any cause. He is a true Legend who has broken his enemies and seen too much in his lifetime.
Cao Cao slowly lowered his spear and nodded to them.
«I won't waste your time...'' - Cao Cao turned to Georg and nodded. He also waved goodbye.
The next moment a violet mist engulfed the two of them and carried them to the...
Solomon's Temple.
Emeric regarded with widened eyes the relief so familiar, yet foreign at the same time. A common style of black stone, but this time not drifting off into the heavens. True, there were signs of destruction and wear and tear everywhere. The temple from 'visions' was characterized by imprecise details, but a whole structure. It was as if he'd gotten to the same place, but thousands of years later.
«It's Solomon's Temple... - Vasco immediately confirmed his hunch. - We are under Jerusalem, my young apprentice.....
«But how?!...
«The local has been on our side for a long time," the giant shrugged and led him through the numerous corridors, lined with crusaders, who stood at attention as soon as Vasco walked by them. - This shrine has long since lost its power, but we chose this place as a symbol that unites us....
Emeric couldn't understand what was happening. In his "dream" he saw the king walking him through the same corridors!
It turns out that Solomon's Temple was not a place outside of time and space as he originally thought! Solomon somehow used this place so that he could appear right here, only thousands of years ago! He had already walked these corridors, but during the reign of the King of Israel!
Wait! Purely theoretically, the Templar Order could have found some great artifact of this king, which was precisely what brought down his Wisdom? That's a very likely outcome of events, which would explain his inability to "read" either Vasco Strada or any of the Order's warriors... Just which one? The Temple of Solomon is out, it lost its power long ago. That leaves the Ring, the Keys and the Ark of the Covenant....
This adventure has already yielded far more than he bargained for! All that's left is to rescue the hostages and get out of here alive. It was nothing, really.
«You said something about God's Revelation.... - Dulio turned to Vasco, who almost brought him to the local jail. - What did you mean by that?
«I've always considered doubt of any kind my worst enemy, Dulio," the exorcist shook his head. - It was their absence that gave me so much strength. Perseverance, perseverance and perseverance again, that's what I've always taught you..... And when the Church split, I began to have inner doubts, but in one moment, when Ewald and Theodore secretly came to me, it was as if I realized it all at once.... My place is here, on the other side of the demons and the fallen. Together with my like-minded companions.
Emeric inside Dulio was just tearing his hair out from the whole situation.
Holy shit, crazy old man, don't you think there's a lot of weird stuff going on here?! You apparently wanted to find relief from your inner torment, and after a secret meeting, you just made up your mind! Now find a few surprises in your own statements.
But if such an experienced individual didn't notice any inconsistencies here, it's most likely the intruders' intention. In this whole affair, there are more and more various obscure details every second....
They had finally arrived at their destination. How did he realize it? Single cells with bars through which the high ranking prisoners could be seen. Barakiel put his palm to his face as Dulio waved at him with an awkward smile.
Vasco Strada, calmly led him into the cell and, after checking that all his strength had been squeezed out and that there were no artifacts, silently left. He didn't even say goodbye!
After half an hour, when Emeric realized that only the guards remained, he covered his eyes and concentrated. Invisible streams of the power of destruction, destroyed in the heads of the crusaders associations with the prisoners and their "absence". You can't roll them into unconsciousness, those ones were wearing some kind of signaling spell. Well, they would just forget about their mission for a moment.....
In one fused motion, Emeric is relieved to have his mask detached. Dulio falls to the side with a groan. The Cardinals, the Pope, and Barakiel watched the action with dazed eyes, glancing at the guards, not understanding why the hell they were just ignoring it.
«Emeric?! - Barakiel whispered to him, but spoke in a normal voice when he realized the guards didn't care. - What are you doing here?!
«I realized that I couldn't go on living if I didn't ask the Pope if he'd seen the Eurotour," at which point the Pope gave a hilarious grunt and almost fell over on the spot. The other cardinals looked away, it is not good to see your own bosses' blunders, it is bad for your career. Meanwhile, Emeric began to destroy the shackles and bars of the prisoners. The mask allowed him to hide an escape artifact on "himself". He was even surprised when he realized that everything had gone so smoothly. However, he immediately mentally slapped himself when he realized that the artifact refused to do the "piercing". - Why isn't it working?!
«Let me see," Barakiel took the artifact in his hands, but also to no avail. The whole company, consisting of the Pope, the cardinals, the fallen angel, and Emeric and Dulio, began to look around uneasily. Only the hope of escape that had appeared began to slowly give way. - Would we be able to break through with a fight?
Very doubtful. Dulio was almost completely squeezed out by the artifact, just like the others.
But there was one option.
While the others tried to activate the escape artifact, Emeric used Wisdom to figure out why it wasn't working. Azazel's unprofessionalism in a situation like this was unbelievable.
The results were mixed, haphazard, but one thing was certain. In such close contact with the "source of interference" of his Wisdom, it was still able to produce something worthwhile.
Yes, the Templar Order does indeed use some of Solomon's great artifacts. Wisdom couldn't tell which one. And it "covered" the entire area with it. That was why they couldn't activate the 'piercing' of space. The Lost Dimension apparently somehow managed to bypass the defenses, well, or Vasco had given some form of permission. Emeric would have bet on the latter. But still...
Solomon is one, Azazel is zero.
There's only one option left.
Only Emeric, who was not subjected to magical shackles, could break into the heart of the Temple and "turn off" the great artifact, so that their device could get everyone out of here. And he could do it only alone, the others in their weak state would be more of a burden.
All this means is that he'll have to fight Vasco Strada ...
God help him.
***
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