At that moment, a car approached the house from the front entrance

.Keijigen stepped out of it. He got

a pair of dark glasses from somewhere and, without taking them off, opened the gate and said

,« Oh, we have a Christmas tree here?» Have you ever met Santa

Claus? The team is ready, please sit down!

Damiel sighed and went to the car, while Reana

hurried inside to change into something more suitable for

the trip.

«That’s it, I’m ready!» Where should I sit? —

Stop it! «she shouted as she ran out into the street.

Keijigen reached across his right si-

denier and opened the front door for her.

She sat up and buckled her seat belt. The leather seat was

cold, but very comfortable.

– All right, let’s go. The ex-demon switched on the radio and

stepped smoothly on the gas.

41

«Our world… our home… our cosmos… our light… our

darkness… our glory… our world…» whispers sounded everywhere.

The large circular room was dimly lit. Its

uneven walls looked like a tangle of vines,

so thick and dense that it was impossible to

see what was behind them. But these were not

plants, but the proper structure of these walls.

The «creepers» were gathering in the center of the room, where a

huge red crystal, as if made of a single ruby,

was hanging as big as a man. «Vines» wrapped around it

from above and below and held it so that it hung exactly

in the middle, between the floor and ceiling. The crystal gave off a

slight glow, and if it wasn’t for that, the room would have been completely

dark. Standing next to him was a two-meter-tall creature

that vaguely resembled a huge black Gothic

gargoyle. It was looking at the crystal.

«Our cosmos… our light… our darkness… our glory…

our world… we are emptiness, we are abundance, we are nothing and

everything is different… we are others…» the monster whispered, and the whisper carried

on the walls, carried on in all directions.

One of the walls opened, and another similar creature entered the room

.It knelt and bowed

its head.

42

– The Great Swarm, – the words echoed around the room

and dissolved in it. – We continue to register

minimal traces of divine energy activity

on Earth, in various parts of it. A few, but they are there.

– Find and collect everything…

The creature rose from its knee and walked away.

– …We will destroy them all… in the name of life… in the name of

prosperity… in the name of perfection… for the sake of a great goal…

43

PARADISE»

At first we rode in silence. Everyone was thinking about their own things. Damiel

struggled to remember what had become of the silver sword. Kei-

jigen was trying to figure out the best way to talk to Arfi-

mino. Reana began to wonder if she

was doing the right thing by jumping into such an adventure – going

off somewhere with strange strangers. After all, if

something happens, she will not be able to stand up for herself, and no one will look for her

will not be. The enthusiasm has passed, the desire to perform feats

has become dull. Despite the cheerful music, I felt a little

sad and restless.

Keijigen was driving very fast, exceeding all

possible limits. Reana couldn’t stand it:

«Is it okay that this is the fifth time you’ve flown here?»

How many penalties have you already collected…

He grinned:

– It’s all small things, I can afford!

«Uh, look at the road, please,» she said worriedly.

Reana. – It’s already too fast…

«I’m a pro,» the ex – demon grinned. – Tell

us better, did you learn anything new?

«We didn’t understand it ourselves,» Reana began.

44

«Yes, yes,» Damiel nodded from behind. – It is not known what

it did. I didn’t feel that anything had changed.