The icy wind fiercely whipped the warm clothes the gathered people, and not only they, had wrapped themselves in. With irritation and anxiety, they turned their faces away from the fine snow falling from the grey sky.
Little children clinging to women caught the uneven flakes with surprise, trying to examine them up close. But the snow immediately melted on their tiny palms, prompting them to yelp amusingly from the cold. Nonetheless, for the children, it was still some form of entertainment.
While the youngsters enjoyed the snowfall, which was a rarity in these parts, their parents were less joyful.
Over the past weeks, even the least attentive could notice the relentless change in the climate. Nature was desperately feverish, and each day only grew worse.
In this world, snow was only seen near or on mountains.
Add to this dying crops and sick animals, and it becomes clear why the daimyo of the remaining countries were in such a dire state.
However, let's divert our attention from the worsening weather and focus on the reason why so many different people had gathered in this desolate and uncomfortable place.
"Om-om-om-om-om," the chanting of several priests neared its end, and the surrounding warmasters and samurai briefly bowed their heads, sending the deceased on their final journey.
Another gust of wind tried to snuff out the smoking candles near the altars, but they had clearly been treated by alchemists. The vanished wisps of smoke began to rise again into the merciless heavens.
The white and black fabric on the banners fluttered, as if clapping for those departing on their final journey.
Due to the number of dead and the severity of the circumstances, there was no possibility of arranging individual funerals for each corpse. Moreover, a large number of bodies remained unburied on the battlefield. Knowing chaos's penchant for desecrating the dead, one could be certain of their fate.
It was also important to remember that a large portion of the monks participating in the battle had met their end there. Despite being slightly stronger and more robust than ordinary people, they were still weaker than even the samurai.
In the ensuing carnage, they had almost no chance to retreat and survive.
That's why the lucky surviving ones proposed organizing a joint funeral ceremony, attended by all the war's participants. Yokai were present too, led by the Nine-Tails. Although their strange appearance was drawing wary glances from the majority, there were no significant objections. After all, it was hard to argue with a giant tiger crackling with lightning.
Finally, one of the monks finished chanting, followed by the others. Due to their bald heads, Stas found it hard to tell them apart.
"The ceremony is over. And before you can bid farewell to your loved ones, the floor is given to the leaders. In these difficult times, words of support are very important," the monk declared and, considering his speech sufficient, stepped aside to clear the stage.
Judging by how Jishin was the first to head to the platform in a practiced manner, the order of speeches had already been agreed upon.
Stas didn't bother listening to what the head of the Sumada clan said, followed by the Mizuno and the new head of the onmyoji.
All his thoughts revolved around the captured warlock and the elusive connection he had almost grasped.
Only when Leviathan nudged him with her tail did he snap out of it and realize that everyone had already started to disperse.
Stas slowly walked to the simple stone altar and bowed his head.
'Mari, if you can somehow hear me, I regret that I never became the master you deserved. But even so, I will do everything in my power to avenge your death.'
Saying no more, Ordyntsev turned and strode away resolutely.
He already had some ideas that he intended to implement immediately.
He was not one to make empty promises.
Even if he spoke them to the dead.
*****
A flash - chaos raging within a magical seal had tested the strength of its prison once again.
But unlike all previous times, Stas, on the contrary, encouraged such an active response.
"Come on, get a little more pis-s-sed off!" Ordyntsev hissed, tormenting the unconscious warlock by sending various charges of energy into his body through the spikes implanted in it.
The unconscious body of the cultist twisted and trembled, releasing uncontrolled waves of magic into space.
Right now, Ordyntsev was testing his new idea. To determine the energy source, Stas needed as powerful a flow as possible, but allowing the warlock to cast spells would be sheer madness.
That's why the earthling turned to chaos itself, forcing it to react to external stimuli unbeknownst to its host.
With prana, attempting the same was bound to fail, due to its quite inert nature, but chaos energy had too much of its own will, even while supposedly belonging to the body's owner.
And it worked!
Stinging discharges of prana, ether, and natural energy "hurt" the impermanence, but not enough to destroy it.
They retreated and immediately returned when least expected.
It was like using thin serrated needles that, although they didn't inflict significant wounds, literally drove one mad when they were inserted and removed.
Stas felt like an insane matador, teasingly turning his back on not merely a huge bull but something like a Nemean lion.
The essence of the "game" was that the man deliberately weakened the seals, allowing chaos to almost reach him, yet retreating at the last second, forcing chaos to send a request for even more energy to its source.
A game with death, where a mistake could cost an immortal soul and centuries of unimaginable torment in the stomach of some demon.
The finest of calculations, teetering on the edge of reason. A challenge that could easily devour those daring to undertake it.
"Come on, just a little more," urged Stas, addressing one of the dominant forces of creation. "Here I am, just a bit more; strain yourself; you've almost reached me. You almost devoured me once before. That random teleport that transported me here? It was your doing. No one else's. So come on, try once more! Yes... Yes... Come on!" Ordyntsev exclaimed passionately, feeling the restraining barrier finally crumbling and the truth imprinting itself in his brain.
The wave of rot energy from the warlock's body was so strong that it literally incinerated all the restraining seals and, not stopping there, rushed towards Ordyntsev.
Stas himself froze, overwhelmed by the visions that had flooded his mind, which he had so striven to access.
When the energy of chaos was about to greedily swallow him, inconspicuous seals on the floor burst with a bang, sending part of the surface along with the earthling vertically upward and ejecting him from the radius of the warlock's powers.
At that exact moment, the entire underground complex became shackled by even more powerful seals, some of which Stas could not have created, no matter how much he wanted.
"Did you find out everything?" Takehiro Satoshi, who had survived the defeat of the allied army, demanded tensely. Once he knew what Ordyntsev was up to, he offered his support in developing the whole complex with little to no hesitation.
"Yes," Stas exhaled, coming to after such a sudden jerk and hit. "Activate!"
"With great pleasure," the old man chuckled maliciously, delightedly launching a prana pulse. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
At the same time, the warlock, having come to his senses, hatefully tore the prana-charged spikes out of himself. Rotten blood flew in all directions, but the wounds rapidly healed.
Obeying the magic of the chaos servant, his flesh swelled and began to expand, producing limb-like growths. They functioned poorly but could perform basic functions, keeping him on his feet.
Jumping off the operating table, Taishi the Red Plague stretched with pleasure and habitually activated a teleportation spell, only to realize reluctantly that the space around him was well-protected.
A moment later, he noticed the seals beginning to appear on the walls.
It didn't take the powerful warlock long to understand what was happening.
An attempt to connect with other warlocks also failed. Satoshi had taken care of that thoroughly.
Meanwhile, it was no longer possible to keep one's eyes open in the room, as the light pouring from all sides became unbearably bright.
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And then the warlock, who had lived for almost a century, finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Shiro Sumada! May the worms of chaos gnaw your insides for an eternity! May your soul never know peace! Be you cursed..."
An instantaneous increase in temperature literally erased his body from this reality, and the subsequent activation of compressing seals increased the density of the fire by manifold.
The scientists standing at a distance winced when a powerful wave of hot air hit their faces.
"Interesting reaction," Satoshi mused, examining the bubbling lava lake in the distance. Part of the heat released after the destruction of the seals melted the surrounding rock. "Well, colleague, was it worth it?"
"Yes," Stas nodded grimly. "I did indeed learn something, although not everyone will like it."
*****
Stas was greatly surprised when, upon requesting an urgent gathering, all faction leaders agreed without delay.
What more is there to say when even Yamato, the dragon leader, arrived at the Citadel almost immediately upon receiving the message?
Such readiness to cooperate evoked great suspicion and tension. All these intelligent beings had a multitude of extremely important matters, and they were ready to postpone them for a conversation with him.
Stas saw no reason for such great trust and respect for his person. Nonetheless, the looks cast at him by the assembled contradicted this.
Katashi, Jishin, Yamato, the Nine-Tails, and Temotsu Shigero, the son of the deceased leader of the onmyoji, Hidoro Shigero. They all sat in a semicircle, visibly acknowledging their mutual equality.
"You asked us to come here, and we came," the leader of dragons stared directly at Stas with a gaze that shimmered with gold. "You, Serpent, have earned some reputation in my eyes and those gathered here. I hope the reason for this is indeed significant."
"It is," Ordyntsev confirmed, suppressing a slight tremor. Every conversation with this ancient being stirred a strange feeling in him. "But before that, I ask you to wait while Takehiro Satoshi activates a defense against eavesdropping. Everything I say in this room must not leave it."
At Stas's nod, the old man standing aside began to gradually activate chains of hieroglyphs. And as they noticed the number of used seals, the eyes of those gathered widened in surprise.
Upon hearing Ordyntsev's request, Satoshi decided to have some fun in his manner and drew something so complex that he spent almost all of his reserve just on activation.
The streams of emerald energy passing through the walls left no one indifferent. Now, even if the Kami themselves descended to earth, they would have to exert an effort to hear this conversation.
Receiving an approving nod from Takehiro, Stanislav turned back to the leaders.
"Several hours ago, I finally managed to crack the defense of the captured chaos warlock. Despite the risk, I was able to track the chain of energy acquisition and understand how warlocks can create and sustain such powerful magic."
Stas paused, glancing at the Nine-Tails, who tensed under his attention.
"And now I ask you not to interrupt me. I understand the information may shock you, but nevertheless, it is true," the earthling took a deep breath. "First of all, I want to reassure everyone, there has been no breakthrough into our world. The defense against invasion is still holding, and no archdemons have arrived here in the last several centuries."
Stas chuckled sarcastically.
"However, chaos found another solution. The warlocks, on whom the remaining demons in our world decided to bet, took a different path. If one can't strike from the outside, one might try from within. They needed something with a massive connection to this world and capable of acting as a key to the defense. I won't keep you in suspense, this key turned out to be the Great Serpent. At this moment, he acts as a bridge through which chaos penetrates our world, and from him, it distributes to all other warlo...
"Impossible!" The Nine-Tails incredulously shook her fiery mane of hair. "The Serpent King would never do such a thing. Chaos has deceived you and..."
"Silence, Fox, let him finish," the rough voice of Yamato cut her off, nearly causing her to attack him.
Fortunately, the conflict was quickly resolved, thanks to the other participants.
"Lady Izanami," Stas patiently looked at the Kitsune refusing to accept reality. "I understand why you think so. The Serpent King indeed would never agree to do something like this. And he didn't."
A surprised look turned into suspicion.
"What do you mean? You just said..."
"Yes, I said that he acts as a bridge and a key to the defense of this world. But the point is that he does this not of his own will. The rot of chaos, with which he was infected during the last invasion, has so thoroughly permeated his body and thoughts that he is unable to fully control himself. And although he still struggles, it does not prevent the warlocks from using him as they please."
"How can this be," the Nine-Tails wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Why must everything end like this? First, the Crow, then you and Teruko..."
"Nothing has ended yet," Jishin growled angrily, disapprovingly looking at the great spirit coming unglued. "Izanami-san, we have not lost yet and do not intend to. Snap out of it, and let's continue listening to Shiro-san."
"Yes, please forgive me," the fox sighed briefly, regaining her self-control. "We have lived together for so long that learning such news about someone closer to you than anyone else..."
"I understand." Jishin surprisingly nodded softly. "Serpent-san, please continue."
"In general, I have already explained the most important part," Ordyntsev shrugged. "And here I enter the territory of planning our further actions. As you understand, at the moment, the Great Serpent is the most important and, paradoxically, despite all his power, the most fragile element of chaos's plans. That's why he did not participate in the battle."
"So, we just need to destroy the Serpent, and the warlocks will lose their powers? Humanity is lucky that you were born one of them. The mind of a dragon clearly burns in you." Stas merely bowed in response to Yamato's smug - in the way only dragons could deliver - compliment.
Jishin and Katashi irritably ignored the insult to their race. They were more concerned about the strangely silent Nine-Tails's reaction. Her suspicious quietness "sounded" ominous.
"So we need to destroy Great Serpent and then..." the new leader of the onmyoji began, turning to Stas for explanations.
"Cutting off their energy supply will hit not only the warlocks, although they will feel it the most. Champions of chaos and spawn will also suffer, even if to a lesser extent. Eventually, the wound in the world's body will close, and we will no longer see snow falling outside the window."
"But that's not all, is it?" the leader of the yokai suddenly spoke, casting a heavy gaze at Stas. "You still wanted to add something, human. I feel there's something left unsaid."
"That's right," Stas nodded, cursing the perceptiveness of certain beings. "Killing the Serpent King is just one way out. As you know, I have worked a lot on ways to combat chaos. And I have hope to try to reverse the process."
The room fell into dead silence.
"Moreover, if we manage to return at least some control to the Serpent King, he can strike chaos much harder, inflicting incomparably more damage. In that case, the warlocks might even cease to be a problem."
"The risk is too great," Jishin finally said regretfully, turning to the Kitsune, who bristled in protest. Forgive me, Izanami-san, but remember how much your friend is already permeated with this filth. Do you think he still has a chance to recover?"
"Remember Minoru," the name of the traitor from the mouth of the reserved onmyoji made everyone present wince with disgust, and Izanami turned deathly pale. "We can never fully trust the Great Serpent after this."
"Nevertheless, Shiro's second proposal is very promising," Katashi suddenly spoke up. "Our forces are in quite a sorry state. The elimination of all warlocks is something we cannot simply ignore."
A debate immediately erupted, and the faction leaders desperately tried to decide what to do next.
But one thing was certain.
Today, they regained hope.