Serapholl looked at the man in front of her. The strange, incomprehensible, and mysterious blond man's expression and emotions remained virtually unchanged. For some reason, his calmness, composure, and confidence made the demon's instincts look at the mage warily. Everything seemed fine, but her intuition told her that something was wrong with this Castor. Leviathan couldn't understand the specifics of her unease, but the fact itself spoke volumes. She felt the same way around the strongest members of the factions, as well as around Sazex. But this was just an ordinary mage! His appearance literally screamed it! Was he trying to fool his potential enemies? The woman didn't think so. He was too much like Brinel... Too straightforward and indifferent for such a move, but who knows?
Serapholl frowned, losing all her feigned cheerfulness and the image of a sorceress girl. The situation was too extraordinary, incomprehensible and mysterious. A man claims to be from another world, yet he has provided no serious evidence... And yet Leviathan could believe it. With a stretch, but she could. A strange aura, energy, and feeling... It was difficult to put into words. Very difficult, despite her extensive experience in politics and diplomacy. You just had to feel it with your skin and instincts to understand.
And then there were his eyes. Seraphoff narrowed them slightly, looking directly at Castor. There was something hidden in them. Some kind of hidden mockery of the whole world around him, or an understanding of something that was inaccessible to ordinary mortals. But when he unexpectedly challenged her to a fight, the woman almost fell off her chair, although she hid it behind a feigned calmness.
"No one in their right mind would challenge the Lord of Demons, especially me or Sazex," flashed through her mind as her gaze continued to search for any clues in the young man's appearance or eyes. And nothing! Absolutely nothing. Brinel was too "ser," too simple for such a title. No grey hair, no scars, no haunted look. Nothing! If it weren't for that smile and those eyes, the guy would look just like any other ordinary person!
Too many oddities for one person, even if he was a mage. He couldn't be a demon, that was for sure, nor a fallen angel.
"You have a strong spine to calmly challenge the Lord of Hell," Leviathan said sarcastically in a condescending tone to provoke the man sitting in front of her, who was calmly eating pizza and looking at her neutrally.
"I've seen worse. I've fought worse.
Serapholl finished her piece in silence. She hadn't expected such a quick and cold response to her taunt. Usually, she saw fear, anxiety, or defiance, but not so much... An indifferent look! As if Leviathan was just another mob to farm! And yes, Ajuka had infected her with his gaming vocabulary, the bastard. Or a minor obstacle that could easily be jumped over! Such a cold attitude almost made her angry! And it's not easy to anger a sorceress!
"And if I challenge you, will you accept?" the woman asked with a twitching eyelid and a forced smile. Castor looked at her. Neutrally.
"It's infuriating! Infuriating, that's exactly what it is!"
"No," Brinel shook his head. "I don't see any practical point in this duel. The theoretical cost of effort and time exceeds any useful information I could gain. But in the event of an attack or extreme provocation, I will be forced to use force.
Leviathan couldn't say what angered her more: such disrespect or absolute indifference towards herself and her title! She didn't get it for her pretty eyes, as some like to think! In the past, she had shed a lot of blood... Both her own and that of others.
"You're strange," the woman concluded with a sigh, massaging her nose. She had no normal answers to her questions, and the source of it all refused to answer normally. And he talked like a robot! What kind of person is this? It had been a long time since anyone had given a woman such a nasty headache. And so many questions. He had managed to outdo even Odin and Azazel! And they were the gold standard of assholes! Perverted assholes, to be precise...
"The one who wears strange clothes and holds the title of Lord of Hell tells me — for some reason, the woman thought she saw a hint of mockery in his smile. She immediately narrowed her eyes.
"And I have a guess as to why you are behaving in a manner unbefitting your duties and title," she replied with a smirk and raised an eyebrow. Would the person she had known for less than an hour be able to read her mind?
"I'm all ears," the Lady smiled sweetly, closing her eyes slightly. She was ready to hear any nonsense. What the heck! She would even laugh!
"According to my unwilling neighbour," Serafall made a mental note to find out more, not quite understanding the expression on her face. "You are the chief diplomat and representative of Hell. Diplomatic work is extremely exhausting, monotonous, and incredibly difficult for the mind. The ability to talk to everyone, smile at everyone, regardless of your own feelings and mood," the woman snorted. There was truth in his words.
"Every time, you are left feeling drained, with no time for a personal life or entertainment. And you are so tired of the image of the eternally kind diplomat that you have decided to create a new image for yourself, becoming..." Castor exhaled slowly. "Exactly that. Levi, who ignores others and entertains herself. Because Serafall Leviathan has no right to do so, but the image she has created does. It doesn't matter whether you forced everyone around you to accept it through force, authority or money, what matters is that only those closest to you see the real you.
The smile disappeared from the Lord's face halfway through his conclusion. With a snort, she crossed her arms over her chest. The boy turned out to be no fool. Or maybe he just pointed his finger at the sky and hit the right spot. Although Serafall doubted that very much. Brinel didn't seem like a mage who would take risks or say something rash."My father was the same," "Was," she sighed sadly. She had never lost anyone close to her... Only not seen them for months. "A polite, diplomatic and experienced governor who always smiled at his friends and enemies," the woman saw Castor's smile become much warmer, adding life to his face, and his eyes closed contentedly. "Behind the walls of our home, my brother, sister and I saw a loving father who complained to my mother about his work, his stupid subordinates and the intrigues of the court. We saw his shoulders slump under the weight of the burden placed on him.
"I know what people like that look like firsthand, Serafall Leviathan. Don't be surprised that you were exposed so quickly," the guy added at the end, opening his icy eyes, which looked at her with longing.
***
"With your words and behaviour alone, you oppress an entire Lord. What next? Will you seize the throne of the Bible?" Ddraig asked in an overly serious bass voice.
"I could add that she had to kill many guilty and innocent people in her life, but I didn't. It wasn't part of my plan anyway."
Night blades, inquisitors, and sorcerers have always had keen senses. This included not only the organs of perception of the surrounding world, but also other, more otherworldly ones. The feeling of magic in the air, water, earth, or living beings. Determining its "polarity," density, dispersion, and other parameters that allow one to determine the approximate strength and affiliation of a creature. The more experienced are even able to understand whether someone has killed intelligent beings and how many. It is difficult to explain this feeling in words, even for Castor. It is more of an acquired instinct.
And the time spent with Serafall allowed the mage to understand how strong she was, what she was capable of controlling, and whether she had blood on her hands. And what he understood... To be honest, Brinel was curious. Her ice magic was at a fairly high level, which was rare. After all, elemental magic, like any other, leaves its mark on the user. If you are prone to anger, then fire will only fuel it inside your soul. The exceptions are mutants or those who have broken certain laws, like Castor himself. But there, he had the help of a friend.
"That was a strange encounter," Serafall said neutrally. The archmage looked at her and took a sip of coffee, his gaze expressing his disagreement. For him, the meeting had been productive and eventful. It had been a long time since he had spoken to someone alive (not counting dragons), intelligent and not insane. Or rather, not insane in a bad way. He had had enough of mad scientists, warriors and mages in his lifetime.
"What a picky partner I have! Look at him — he wants a female to talk to!"
"How much does it cost for an exorcism to drive the parasites out of the soul? Especially large and insolent parasites," Serafall Castor asked calmly, receiving a surprised look from the demon, who certainly did not expect such a request from him.
"Exorcism? Are you asking a demon something like that?"
"Your world is different from mine," Castor shrugged. "And nothing prevents an occultist from banishing a demon or a spawn of Juti back into the abyss.
"I can't argue with that..." the woman drawled, then narrowed her eyes at Brinel. "And what kind of parasite is that?"
"A big red lizard that thinks it's some kind of ancient dragon. It's always unhappy, whines, and prevents me from concentrating on my work," the archmage explained coldly, causing Ddraig inside him to howl.
"You bastard! It's one thing to badmouth me behind my back, but to do it like this? I thought you were a gentleman and all..."
"You can't argue with the facts. And the facts say that you're just a big red lizard. You may have been a great dragon once, but your time has passed. It's an objective fact that your glory, valour, and strength are gone forever."
"Here..." was all the dragon said before falling silent. Castor could have chosen kinder words, but that would not have changed reality in the slightest. Although... Brinel had lied somewhat about the irreversibility of the situation. If they could obtain at least some of the dragon's blood, then with the help of necromancy, occultism, and mysticism, they could restore the body and place the soul back inside it. The latter would rebuild the flesh to the desired state.
"Wait, you're also a Securite?!" The archmage did not understand the cry of the woman who had jumped up, so he silently finished his coffee and leaned back against the kitchen table. An idea popped into his head that was worth considering, but while the demoness was trying to shake him, he couldn't concentrate.
"Okay, okay, I'm calm," Serafall let go of him and began to pace around the table with a gloomy expression, gesticulating wildly. "No! I lied! I'm not calm at all! I don't understand anything and I'm starting to go crazy! I need answers!
"Everyone needs them. But all knowledge requires effort to be revealed and blossom in the hands of the seeker," Castor stated the obvious, smiling a little warmer. But Leviathan didn't like that.
"What do you want?" Her tone became much colder than before, and her blue eyes flashed dangerously."Relaxation, peace, tranquillity, and a grey life," his icy eyes glanced at the Lord of Hell, who looked at him and then sighed wearily.
"I understand.
Was he going to trust a demon? No, no way. Any deal with such creatures must have a lot of clauses, including small print, as well as many safeguards. And to create one, he would have to demonstrate some of his abilities. And since the topic of direct confrontation had been dropped, all that remained was to declare a desire for a little sparring. Without using destructive magic, of course. Only physical parameters and protective spells.
"Don't you want to test yourself, Serapholl Leviathan?"
"Huh?" the woman drawled, looking at him strangely. "You again?"
"Yes. And now I'm extremely serious.
***
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