Orario.
As soon as I found myself in a replica of the house, which had been covered with multiple layers of Closed Fields before we left, a little dragon flew in through the open window and pressed its whole body against my face.
- "Oya? Looks like someone's been missing me?" I chuckled and, picking her up like a cat, scratched her chin, which made her purr in a peculiar way.
- "Mr. Archaman, I would like us to get down to business," interrupted Griselda, who, of course, had come here with me. "And why are we at your house? Isn't your friend..."
- "He's not my friend," I interrupted her with a raised eyebrow and, allowing the little dragon to wrap itself around my neck, created a cup of coffee and then took a sip. "We're not exactly at my house, but that's not important right now. And before I remove the protection, we need to do something."
- "What exactly?" she asked. "I'm ready for any challenge."
- "In that case, let's get started," I smiled and, unexpectedly for her, touched her forehead, transporting us inside her mind. A moment later, we found ourselves in the familiar cathedral, where the Beast was still bound by my chains.
- "What? Why are we here again, Mr. Archaman?" Griselda asked, confused.
- "Since, according to your own words, you are ready for any trials, you will have to trust me," I said suggestively.
- "The Almighty trusts you, and who am I not to do the same?" was all Griselda said, causing me to roll my eyes and look at the Beast.
With a snap of my fingers, the chains retracted into the walls of the cathedral, dissolving but leaving behind my magic circles, as if to remind us of their existence. The Beast, maintaining an indifferent expression, stood up and stretched, then gave me a feigned offended look.
- "You have wounded my heart, Magician," she began. "But I am willing to forgive you if you fulfill your part of the bargain, and then I will fulfill mine."
- "Of course," I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure you heard everything Griselda and I and the Biblical God said, and you've already drawn some conclusions."
- "About 'changing' me?" the Beast asked, now with amusement. "For such powerful beings as you and him, you are charmingly naive. And I am terribly intrigued as to how you will try to do it."
- "Well, it's not exactly naivety, but rather a departure from normality," I shrugged. "I know what sin you embody, and the place we've arrived at is perfect for it."
Another snap of her fingers, and the barriers around the house collapsed, allowing the atmosphere of the city of Orario to penetrate inside, including here.
In just a second, the Beast's body began to fill with power, and her face filled with anticipation. Her cheeks flushed, her gaze turned upward, and her hands moved to her secret feminine place.
- "Ah! What a beautiful place!" she moaned voluptuously. "Another world where the Counter-Force has no influence! A city full of desires that is about to turn into a feast! A feast just for me!"
- "What is she talking about, Mr. Archaman?!" Griselda asked anxiously. "Where are we?!"
- "Be quiet, dear, you're getting in the way," the Beast said, instantly appearing beside me, pushing Griselda away and pressing herself against me, her eyes looking straight into mine, her hands clasping my back with desire. "You have given me such a delightful gift that I could not have dreamed of! What do you desire, Magician? Just say the word, and it will become reality!"
I ignored her words, then stretched out my hand and pointed to the cathedral doors, which opened, and at the same time, my magic circles on the walls faded away.
- "Ah, I understand!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "But before you leave..."
At these words, the Beast fell silent and tried to kiss me. In response, I turned my face away and nodded toward the exit, as if hinting that she should leave Griselda's mind quickly.
Thanks to the third magic, I managed to slightly adjust the connection between Griselda and the Beast VI/S, making them similar to Goetia and me. I also added a couple of functions in case of unforeseen circumstances, and I believe they could well come in handy in what I had in mind.
Of course, the Beast looked offended, then practically skipped out of the cathedral, and then out of the nun's mind. And, of course, the latter definitely didn't like it.
- "What have you done?!" she asked, panic in her voice. "Whatever this other world is, you've doomed it to death! Why did you do that?! Why?!"
- "As far as I remember, you said you would trust me, didn't you?" I smiled and brought us back to the real world, then sat down on the sofa with a cup of coffee in my hand.
- "I did say that, but what you did is completely insane! The evil of humanity is running rampant right now, and..."
- "Nope."
- "What?"
- "Right now, she's a 'young' Beast, not a full-fledged one. She needs to mature, and only then will we act," I said indifferently.
- "Young?" Griselda was puzzled, then dismissed the thought and latched onto my last sentence. "But why?! Why are you willing to sacrifice so many lives for..."
- "When I told you about the Beasts, I forgot to mention one detail," I began, and Griselda froze for a moment at the sudden change in tone. "Each of the Beasts embodies not only a sin, but also love. Albeit in an extremely perverted form."
- "Love?" she asked in a calmer tone, apparently because her curiosity had overcome her panic. "Are you crazy?"
- "Well, actually, a long time ago, but that's not important now," I shrugged. "Each of the Beasts 'loves' humanity in its own way. Goetia, for example, pitied humans. And he did so to such an extent that he wanted to rewrite the world, burn the Human Order, to make it new and, as Goetia believed, perfect. A world where the very concept of 'death' would not exist."
Griselda said nothing, but sat down opposite me, clearly interested in why I was telling her this.
- "Goetia believed that the fear of death makes human life meaningless, as do the sufferings that go hand in hand with it. And if you consider only the goal, it can be considered noble, can't it? Except that this was the goal of the Beast, who bore the title of Evil of Humanity."
- "That's..." Not knowing what to say, Griselda fell silent.
- "I think there's a very accurate phrase in the Bible about this," I smiled and took a sip of coffee. "Returning to our Beast, I don't quite understand how she 'loves' humanity. It seems to me that this is a clue to our goal, and the other world we have moved to is perfect for exploring it. Here, we will be able to avoid casualties in our world."
- "So, you are consciously condemning the inhabitants of this world to death?" Griselda asked reproachfully.
- "Yes," I replied calmly and fell silent, giving her time to think about it.
I already had a guess, but it was based on what Beast VI/S was like when it was in Nero's body.
It preferred 'the flesh of the fruit just before it rots'. And, perhaps, Orario perfectly suited this requirement, as I understood from Zelretch's words.
The Labyrinth City itself is the center of this world, where absolutely everything converges. That is, Orario was a direct likeness of Rome, and the Tower of Babel was a reference to the structure of the same name from universal human history, albeit with a different purpose.
In addition, the vampire mentioned that after our departure, which had happened only a short time ago, the city had undergone changes. This was particularly noticeable from the outside, but what about the inside? Again, according to Zelretch, ideas had been planted in people's minds, and now all they needed was a single drop of water to grow and entwine both this city and the rest of the world. And that, in my opinion, was what Beast VI/S had to do.
This would allow it to become a full-fledged Beast, and only then could it be suppressed, whether by force or by conversation.
Getting up from the sofa, I headed for the door, glancing briefly at Griselda.
- "While the Beast is gaining strength, we can afford to explore the city," I said. "Let's go. I think you'll find it interesting to see the inhabitants of a completely different world."
Griselda said nothing, apparently resigned to my methods, at least at this stage, and followed me.
It was time to see how much Orario had changed. In particular, I wanted to visit Uranus, whose presence I could still feel in the Prayer Room. He surely had something to tell me. Yeah, right.
-0-
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