Large doors of the hall on the opposite side from the entrance opened and a group of cells of different sizes was brought inside. All were covered in black cloth. Anticipation appeared on the faces of those present.

"You still brought this little genie?" - the landlord looked at Arsi with a mockery. - A useless trifle ... It was not worth spending such an expensive drink on this creature. However, for your sake, Ink Fate, I am ready to close my eyes to this.

"What is this nasty smile? But what about yesterday's remark about the attitude to the name and all that? Already found out mine and ... what? I wanted to show my awareness? Or was he trying to convey some other thought? Sorry dude, but I got into the world of reflection with twelve points and I don't have any knowledge about your undercover games in zero world or the buffer. I'm just too dumb to understand your tricky trick. "

Inc, of course, did not consider himself really stupid, but recognized the lack of knowledge about many important things. He would like to express something like that in the face of the arrogant owner of the mansion, but the situation did not have.

- ABOUT! Arsi , you already drank everything. Come on another glass or two. Will it creep into you?

- At least ten! - the girl answered kindly.

Michaelon was skewed, and he turned away. Ink did not know what was the reason: his abuse of hospitality or Arsi's indifference to the contempt of a master of magic. One way or another, Michaelon went to the center of the hall, where with one wave of his hand he made the black fabric fly up and hover with a dark tent under the ceiling. Many sparkling decorations turned out to be closed, which made the room immediately darker. The guests' faces crossed out the shadows, giving a grotesque appearance.

"A terrible sight ... They became like hungry bloody meat of animals"

There were strange creatures in the cells. Just a couple of them were creatures that looked like people. One from the eyes on the floor of the face diverged a black web of patterns. You could take them for a tattoo or makeup, but Ink did not even consider such versions. The ears of the other were pointed, and spikes protruded on the back along the line of the spine, the largest of which reached about four centimeters in length.

Ink saw a completely black beast, a kind of jaguar, but with a very large body, not inferior to an adult tiger. There was a lizard with leathery wings, also black. Calling this creature a dragon, despite Ink's fearsome size, didn't turn his tongue. There were several others, but they looked like sculptures in the style of super-modern. Stripes of black material spinning from the center into an incomplete ball, which Ink could not determine. A stone or a tree - just looking for sure you will not say. There was also a fish, which instead of a tail turned out to be a mess, similar to molten stone. Something completely obscure - a frame of thin black threads. With a big stretch, one could say that it had to be a parallelepiped, which was inflated from the inside, and then burned a bunch of uneven hole sizes.

"Drip tar or what ..."

"As you can see," Michaelon addressed the guests, "only four samples were able to survive." And two, unfortunately, retained the shape of people, which makes them useless for us. Their life expectancy has increased and if someone does not like to look for a new servant every few decades, I can help with the selection of staff.

The others laughed merrily.

"I prefer fresh blood," the words of the blood mage supported with an approving hum.

"And yet," the master of the house continued, "two samples turned into new creatures." This is my first step towards success. The final stage of my revolutionary research is still far away, but everyone can be provided with servants and guards.

- Perfectly!

Who exactly was the first to cry out - a woman or some squeaky guy - Ink did not catch. From what was happening, he felt uneasy.

"How many mortals can you convert?" - after the question of the blood mage, the environment was slightly quiet.

"In the future, an unlimited amount," smiled Michaelon.

- I would like a more accurate figure. Say for a month? How many of these guards can be created?

- Not more than a dozen. Given my need for experimentation, seven or eight I can provide.

"Only the guards?" - the blood mage continued to inquire. "Can you make hounds out of them?" I also need material for research, and the frequent disappearance of mortals in one place ...

- Understand. We all face the same obstacles to education and development. Don't worry, my friend, they are reasonable enough. You can entrust the task of catching, but I do not risk releasing them too far from me.

"For a blood mage, this is not a problem."

"Then, may I ask? .." Michaelon pointed out invitingly to the cage with the jaguar.

"Of course," the unpleasant type took out a metal cigarette-case from the inside pocket, but inside were not cigarettes, but scalpels on short handles.

One of the tools a blood mage slipped into the palm of the owner of the house. Scarlet liquid did not accumulate in the streams, but took off in a few drops. Ink noticed an open desire on the faces of some people .

"Do they want this blood? Or get help from a type with a scalpel in taming creatures? "

Drops touched the body of the jaguar and seeped in. Only a second passed and the creature roared. A cry of pain and a plea for mercy thrilled the crowd.

"What an interesting feeling," Michaelon squeezed and unclenched his palm, devoid of even a hint of the previous wound. "What an unusual ... power!"

"Disgusting," Ink almost began to back away from these madmen. His knees were trembling slightly. The oblique look of the blood mage helped to recover. "In such a situation, you cannot allow yourself weakness."

The room began to brighten. The black canvases again fell to the cells. A group of people began to take them away. Now Ink looked at these workers in a completely different way. He could not even imagine what they had gone through in the service of Michaelon.

"Yes, and whether it is a service ... He is simply a slave owner."

The hall again became bright and sparkling. Gold, jewelry, elegant guests, a table with sumptuous dishes and a feeling of disgust. Ink suddenly realized that he really did not like a certain type of insect. All those around him seemed like huge spiders that they were about to throw off the shell of people and spread their long multi-jointed paws ...

"We have to leave," the voice made me start, but it also helped me to my senses. - It seems that they decided to probe you.

"I just started to hate spiders," Ink Glam admitted , trying not to look at Grand a and Kiass a who came with him .

"And thoughts of that half-melted fish began to haunt me," Arsi said strangely .

"These two also got it," Glam sighed. - I hope that you will begin to perceive this suggestion as an incentive for a faster study of cinema. Desires move progress forward, but without control they turn people into monsters. Do not make the same mistake.

"Do they prey on humans?" What do you want to do this? - Kiass tried to speak quietly.

- People also hunt animals. These guys do not consider themselves a mortal relative. They don't see much difference with primates. To use a mouse or a person in experiments - for them this is not a matter of morality, but of efficiency and convenience. Many of them live very long, and over time, views on many things change. Witch hunts, bullying in society, each has its own reasons for not liking humanity. They simply have the power to give vent to their revenge. Yes, that there, people not so long ago treated their own kind as consumables. It was not the wizards with the witches who started two world wars, although for them that time was very fruitful.

Everyone did not go to the exit of the building - they lagged. Ink thought about what Glam said and he felt better. For himself, he made only one conclusion:

"When you meet a bunch of unpleasantly smelling heaps on the road, you should not be like it. The strength is not to become the worst among monsters, but to preserve your humanity. Even when you visit a magician. "

Already on the street, someone called Glam "for a few words."

- Go do your own thing. I will come when I am free.

"Good," Kiass nodded . "After this show, a good, long sleep will help me."

"Sleep? It's unlikely, " Ink was still impressed by his acquaintance with the magical community of the zero world.

As soon as he entered the house, the relief became almost tangible.

"I walked like a minefield, but I just had to cross the road"

"Well, it's creepy ," - Grank began to flex his shoulder and was about to sit in a chair, not even turning on the light.

"Nothing's over yet." We have to get out of here, " Kiass's voice sounded strained but collected. No one even thought that he was joking. - Glam after the restaurant specially drove us around the city to give us a chance to escape ... In short, we have to get to the place where we had breakfast, turn to the same waiter and go to the refuge for him. Our house has a second exit.

Ink followed Kiass om without question. The reason for his stress after leaving the restaurant became clear, like a subject of conversation with Glam.

"I didn't think the code phrase would sound right tonight."

- Maybe you made a mistake? - said doubtfully , climbing over the fence. An invasion of foreign territory was the only way to leave home unnoticed.

Ink jumped off, landing on a flowering bush and soft damp earth. The slowness of the metal during overcoming the next obstacle worried him much less than the experiences of the owners of a luxurious flowerbed.

- Desires of people, yes?

- What are you talking about? Whispered Arsi in her ear .

"Glam will probably be disappointed, but I succumbed to my desire to live." Maybe the owner of this courtyard will consider me a monster for trampled flowers, but I do not care.

Arsi laughed softly, not answering.

- What? - asked Ink , stumbling upon the disapproving look of Grank . - Yes, I am scared by a new meeting with these psychos.

- Man or not? - asked the motorcyclist, clutching at the top of a new obstacle. "Although, you know ... let's move faster."

They managed to cross several yards when they found themselves on another street.

" Over here," Kiass pointed out . - After two lanes we turn right.

"No," Ink went the other way. - While dangling with Glam around the city I managed to notice there a small passage between the houses. He drove past him three times today. We shorten the path.

Then Ink led . In the passage he was talking about, there were puddles in the stinking stagnant water. He ran into one of them. At some point, everyone lost their nerves and they started to run. Near the open terrace of the restaurant they were unexpectedly fast, which is why they were even confused.

"Waiter," Kiass repeated, as if by a spell . "We have to find a waiter."

Weak lighting was enough to highlight their figures on an empty area, so Ink hastened to move into the shadows. Through the glass it was clear that there were no visitors to the establishment. Several people turned over chairs and washed floors.

- There he is! - Kiass threw himself joyfully , but Ink om was stopped .

- No. This is another.

"Open your eyes," Grumbled grumbled . "This guy served us in the morning."

"He has ..." Ink was embarrassed how ridiculous it was that he was about to say, "the skeleton is different."

- What the hell ?! Is this a joke? - Grank tried to speak in a whisper, but it turned out all the same loudly.

- Fuck off, I get it. I know myself that sounds stupid, but the impression is just that. If you want to make a complaint, you can spit on a brochure with a description of a cinema.

- Enough.

A voice from the darkness made everyone startled to stand still.

"There really is a guy with a different skeleton." Surprised that you could recognize this, - the waiter serving them stepped into the spot of light. Without form, but with the same golden watch.

- The joints are located in other places.

The waiter nodded, satisfied with Ink a.

- Behind me.

They only went around the restaurant building, going into some kind of basement, when the sound of an explosion was heard.

"From the side of the house," said Grank , looking at the stream of fire rushing into the sky.

"Then talk," the waiter urged. "You need to cover yourself from search spells." Faster.

Jumping a few steps on a poorly lit descent, Ink rushed down to the door that the waiter had already opened. As a restaurant employee managed to overcome the distance in an instant, there was no time to think. As soon as everyone ran in, the door slammed shut.

The waiter led them past the counter with a bored guy. People screamed from the passage ahead, but the waiter led Ink and the others into the side passage. Long corridors with doors on the sides, intersections with vending machines for food, drinks and various small goods, gloomy and funny people ... the movement ended in a small dead end and gave out the keys to one room.

"You will stay here for a while," then the waiter left.

"I already miss personal space," Grumbled grumbled .

"This is not the most important," Kiass wearily sat down on a creaking stool, "this guy has more than twenty thousand points of ability ..."

Was it a lot? Ink thought so, but the essence of the golden-skinned words was different. Judging by the face Grank but he also remembered the words Kiass but about the ability to determine the absolute power abilities. Metal words can mean only one thing.

"We are in the buffer!"