Sona Citri (but in the human world, her surname was Shitori) looked wearily at her sister, who was behaving as befitted a demon lord: sprawled on the sofa in the student council office, devouring a packet of crisps. Yes, that was sarcasm. And Sona knew how to use it. The girl sighed and adjusted her glasses. Her first day as student council president had not ended as she had expected. Her sister knew how to surprise her. Unexpectedly.
"I'm glad you decided to visit me, sister," Leviathan perked up and looked at Sona with almost puppy-like enthusiasm. She shrugged her shoulders in slight fear. Sithri loved her sister, of course, but... The love in return was too overwhelming, if she could put it that way.
"But aren't you supposed to be negotiating with the fallen right now?"
"They just ended, and I'm very glad of that," Serafall stretched with great pleasure. Sona couldn't understand how the expensive suit hadn't torn yet.
"Azazel is an old fool and a cunning bastard," the Lord said in a tone that brooked no argument, and Sona just sighed heavily. For a chief diplomat, the woman was expressing herself extremely tactlessly, to say the least! Sithri rubbed her nose and took off her glasses. Her sister was behaving too childishly, despite her age and status. The girl understood the reason for this, which made her sad.
"Sona," Leviathan's tone changed abruptly from playful and cheerful to cold and businesslike. Sitri immediately straightened up at her sister's change of mood. When necessary, she knew how to transform into a true Lady. But Sona couldn't understand why such a change had occurred.
"When I came here to replenish my energy," the girl's left eye twitched. This "replenishment" included hugs and other displays of affection. Needless to say, this embarrassed Sona, especially when her servants or her best friend were nearby.
"I've found a renegade," Sitri tensed and frowned as Serafall settled into a chair opposite her. Renegades were always a problem. For everyone. But especially for people these creatures loved to eat and torture.
"And, as expected, you decided to destroy him. Except..." Leviathan closed her eyes, frowned, and sighed slowly. Sona had known since childhood that at moments like this, her sister was thinking about something serious. So Sithra braced herself for bad news. Most likely, the renegade had managed to ruin several people's lives...
"He was already dead.
"Dead?" Sona asked. Neither she nor Rias had seen any renegades in the city or its surroundings for six months. After all, Kuo was not Kyoto or Tokyo. However... Sithri was betting heavily on the fact that few would venture here due to the presence of two higher demons.
"Frozen. Turned into a perfect ice statue: all the details are perfectly preserved," Serafall frowned even more. "This is beyond my control. To add to your concern, I didn't sense any magical traces.
"What?" Sona looked at her sister in surprise. Despite her knowledge, Sitri couldn't remember a similar episode in history. Usually, there were always traces that led to the target or at least narrowed the search.
"Did you or Rias-chan notice anything suspicious?"
***
"I'm not good at relationships, he said! Drayg, don't use your aura to make me more attractive, he said! That's gross! And what do I see?! Someone decided to enrol in an academy that was for girls a year ago! It's a flower garden!" The dragon's voice was tinged with discontent, resentment and indignation. It also had a grumbling tone characteristic of older people suffering from dementia, anxiety and irritability.
"I'm not old! And my head is perfectly fine!" His indignation only confirmed Castor's conclusions, who had applied to the academy via the Internet. This was another advantage of this invention: the ability to submit documents, place orders in another country or part of the world, and obtain an education remotely. It was worth forgiving the local population for the opportunity to order coffee from Brazil...
"Don't ignore me, you damned sorcerer!" — further proof — outdated speech, typical of the uneducated and elderly. Ddraig was a representative of both groups at the same time. Brinel closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and exhaled slowly. Who do you have to share your inner world with... Disappointment after disappointment.
"We're together, but not together," so the dragon turned out to have an unconventional sexual orientation? The mage shook his head and took a sip of the tart drink.
"It's been almost a month, and that's been enough for me to realise one thing: you're a bastard! So, to my question," the spirit abruptly changed his indignant tone to a calm and businesslike one. Castor smiled a little warmer. He liked hearing the emotional tone in Ddraig's voice. Being locked up... It could drive you mad, just like the horrors of the depths. If it weren't for the help of his sister and an old friend, the mage would have hanged himself out of despair.
"Seriously, why do you need to go there?"
"The travel costs are insignificant," Brinel began to count on his fingers while his eyes followed the kittens as they playfully kicked a ball of yarn. "This elite educational institution is renowned for its teachers and the quality of its education. And I need relevant knowledge in various local sciences.
"Why?" Ddraig seemed to jerk his head. "You have incredible magical knowledge. You could just sit there, churning out alchemical gold and not giving a damn."
"A lone alchemist capable of producing high-quality goods becomes a very attractive target for those who want easy money," Castor's smile lost all its warmth and became cold. "My goal is to become the most ordinary person possible, despite obstacles in the form of mythology and you.
"It's unfair, but fair."
The dragon fell silent, and Brinel began to explore the Internet, adding the titles of various works he planned to familiarise himself with to his favourites list. Here he found not only classics of world literature (Ddraig proved useful — the mage could read books in their original language), but also various films, TV series and animations. An interesting thing... Cinema. Moving pictures that turn into a full-fledged piece of art with a certain talent and effort on the part of those working in this field. Castor shifted his gaze to the electronic calendar, where the days of his planned vacation were written down. He planned to travel the world and visit the largest museums and exhibitions to absorb the cultural layer of the local people. Yes, the Internet allowed him to see paintings, statues and archaeological finds without leaving his home, but Brinel... He longed to see them. To touch them with his soul...
"All people are the same. Some are addicted to sex, others to alcohol, and still others to delicious food. One of mine wants to satisfy his soul."
"Ddraig, your words once again prove the fact that..." The mage stopped his train of thought when he received a message on one of the so-called messengers. Convenient apps for communicating with people from all over the world. If he had something like that at home, months of travelling for a single meeting would be a thing of the past... Let's be honest, if eighty per cent of Earth's technology were in Kaine, his homeland would blossom like a newborn flower. What a pity that all that time has already been wasted.
"And it's much easier to make friends on these messengers and social networks than in real life," said Castor, quickly typing a message on the keyboard. Learning to type wasn't that difficult — his typing skills from the typewriter came in handy. So transferring one to the other didn't cause any particular problems for the young man, who...
"By the way, partner..."
"What is it? Right now, I'm busy telling a friend in Germany that I don't know anything about a game called Titan Quest.
"Were you going to do something with that pentagram?"
Castor leaned back in his chair, resting his palms on the table and bringing the pads of his fingers together. Brinel glanced sideways, looking directly at the dark-coloured parchment with the pentagram on it. The mage was familiar with this symbol due to his knowledge of the occult, although in Kaerne it was slightly different. But its main function was similar — to summon the spawn of chaos, and the more energy, sacrifices or blood were offered as a gift, the more powerful the demon that could be summoned. And if in Kaerne this could lead to premature death, then here...
"We will grant your every wish..." Castor read the text on the piece of paper. Slowly, savouring each letter. Any... Wish... Brinel exhaled wearily and shook his head. Only gods are capable of granting any wish, and even then only when they are in the mood. Demons, especially local ones... Deception to gain a servant, a soul, or energy. Or money, depending on the scale of the desire...
"Hmm..." The mage's smile widened slightly, and his right hand grabbed the piece of paper. Slip it into the mailbox and hope that the person will follow the ritual printed on the back? Well, demons lie about their omnipotence, luring gullible people into their nets. Castor didn't like this, so he decided to conduct a real experiment with unpredictable consequences. It would attract a lot of attention, but... He would attract it anyway.
"What do you think, Ddraig, if I pour enough energy into the print to wipe out an army, will the Lord come to me?"
"What are you thinking?" the dragon asked cautiously, a hint of fear flashing in his voice.
"A very cruel and unpleasant joke for a demon. What is the process of preparing and executing something like this called?" Brinel thought for a moment, then nodded. "Trolling, exactly. But what does this mountain creature with a primitive mind and a strange urge to rape women have to do with it?"
***
Serapholl frowned. All her usual playful mood had disappeared and had no intention of returning. No, it wasn't because of Azazel and his habit of annoying those around him, but because of the incident in Kuo. That frozen renegade bothered the woman, and not only because Sonya was in the city. It was too... Too wrong. Leviathan bit her lip, putting aside another old tome with inner irritation. Her entire office in Lucifer's palace (more of an honorary title than an actual place of residence for the bearer of that title) was littered with books of various dates and quality. She had already skimmed through a hundred of them, but still had no clear answer.
The woman leaned back in her chair and massaged her nose, pushing the open book aside. Her eyes were red from fatigue, and her head refused to process the information and the whole situation in general. Some incomprehensible magic, created in some unknown place, in the realm of demons and right next to Sonya! Serapholl was annoyed by it all, but inside, her interest in the creature that had created this was slowly growing... A work of art! And the ice that crumbled into snow instead of melting as it usually did! It was like an illusion of ice, but it was real! Whoever or whatever did this, they possessed incredible control and skill.
"What's there..." The woman looked wearily at the pentagram in front of the table. It was usually used as an anchor for teleportation, but it could also serve as a receiver for incoming calls. But that was very rare! However, now the symbol was glowing bright blue (she preferred pink and red, but the colour of the family was the colour of the family), calling for a response to the call.
"How is this even possible..." The woman blinked, not believing her eyes. To summon the Lord as a demon who grants wishes, one must give up a great deal of energy or make many sacrifices. And Serafall would not want to look at the creature that had decided to take the latter option.
"But anyway, how interesting!" Her playful tone returned as curiosity began to tempt Leviathan to accept the challenge. She quickly gave in, setting only one condition: if it was a maniac on the other side, she would quickly finish him off, but if it was an extremely powerful mage... "Then why not look him in the eye, since he wants it so much?"
"But first!
A soft blue light enveloped the woman, replacing her boring formal attire with the costume of the sorceress Levi-chan! The woman held a wand in her right hand, and stars appeared in her eyes for a moment. It was just a cosmetic effect, nothing more! But how cool!
"The little witch Levi-chan is rushing to the rescue!
***
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