Chapter 87: Observer's Consultation

  The meeting with the Observer was to take place in a few days. This time was used by Justinian for intensive training, through which he hoped to move closer to the third level of Foundation Stabilization. During this time, Seweryn's condition remained stable, and although there were no signs of an imminent awakening, it still had a positive effect on the rather fractious atmosphere in the household.

  "Noble Brothers! We should ride to this whole de Deviliare and show him what a hellish foray means!"

  "You are a fool! Better to bribe someone to take care of him!"

  "Where is the honor in that, you drunken fatso?!"

  The Sarmatians could not reach an agreement regarding how to take revenge, until finally information appeared that de Deviliare was currently visiting one of the higher dimensions. What Justinian noticed during this time was the fact that during the discussions of the Noble Brothers, Nikodem Rudnicki was surprisingly quiet. As a nobleman distinguished by wealth and strength among his peers, he commanded great respect and could undeniably decide on the type of revenge.

  'Apparently he realizes that such a mission is suicide...''

  De Deviliare was someone whose opinion the Voivodes took into account. Even if his own cultivation was not that powerful, his connections made him untouchable to a group of shouting drunks.

  At the same time, Franciscus avoided appearing in company. He spent whole days in his room, not even letting in Bogna, who tried to inquire about his well-being. Doctor Totius, in a rare moment of speaking with sense, suggested letting the young devil be alone.

  In this way, the day of the consultation with the Observer arrived.

  The meeting took place in one of Micromegas's ancient, column-filled estates. Everything here was built of white stone, and despite the visible wear and tear of time, particular craftsmanship was evident in the perfectly preserved vault. Six large openings of equal size formed a circle, between which the illusion of another opening was created, smaller than each of the others by 1/3.

  Justinian stared at this ceiling, finding a strange beauty in it, an incredible order falling under a predetermined norm. His admiration was cut short by Septima.

  "This is what the original ancient temples of the Lord of Hell looked like."

  "Why is the seventh opening only illusory?"

  The deviless looked at the seventh circle, the only one smaller than the others. Her face sank into thought, not letting even a small glimpse of her world out. After a long pause, she began lightly.

  "It symbolizes the difference between the old and the new order. It emphasizes incompatibility with enemies from the heavens."

  Justinian remembered well that devilish symbols often seemed to be the complete opposite of the Church of Justice. This was especially visible in numbers - those that were holy to the heavens were considered cursed in hell, and vice versa.

  However, he did not expect Septima's next declaration at all.

  "It also emphasizes that the Devilish Virtues are not constant."

  "They are not constant?"

  The deviless smiled gently, though her eyes still expressed no emotion.

  "Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth... These are the current Devilish Virtue..."

  "Can you shut up already?"

  Septima, who had been interrupted, looked toward an irritated, balding devil with a long face. Along with her and Justinian, six other finalists were also waiting for the lecture in the ancient estate. The interruption came from a subordinate of Svarticus from the 61st dimension, who sat nearby, glaring at the Grim Judge.

  Besides those two, Bahadyr from the 64th dimension, one of the alchemists from the 62nd dimension, Ivan from the 63rd dimension, and Ataman Ihor from the 65th dimension were also waiting for the Observer to appear.

  With the call from that long-faced devil, the attention of the entire room focused on dimension 66.

  On one hand, backing down here would be a loss of face for them, signaling weakness. On the other hand... Svarticus, the son of a voivode who cultivated the Devilish Virtue of Wrath, was clearly looking for an excuse just to be able to attack.

  Justinian himself had already had enough of the constant provocations from the adepts of the 61st voivode. He was just about to retort when someone else beat him to it.

  "Why is it always the weakest ones that are the most annoying?"

  To the Grim Judge's surprise, the source of this comment was the calm Septima. The devil to whom she directed the comment shouted in anger, and his superior stood up abruptly.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  At the moment when the situation seemed to be getting out of control and Svarticus was clearly preparing to attack, a terrifying source of energy suddenly flared up behind Justinian. It was so great that everyone in the room simply paralyzed!

  "Consider where you are."

  This source was none other than the observer Envidius, who materialized in the air, giving everyone a look full of contempt. His handsome figure of a young devilish man and unique aura seemed to blend perfectly with the ancient estate.

  The energy emitted by the observer had something majestic inside. As if a cosmic beast was demanding homage be paid to it. Justinian turned paler and paler, feeling the bones in his body begin to creak under its pressure.

  'Does this madman want to kill us?!'

  Septima, nearby, did not turn pale, but she frowned as the pressure of the aura increased further.

  At that most poignant moment, when the adepts were beginning to feel real horror for their lives, the pressure simply stopped.

  Envidius looked at everyone without any enthusiasm.

  "The next hour will probably be the most important in your lives. It will be essential for you not to waste it."

  Saying this, he turned and headed to a stone platform in the middle of the hall, evidently prepared for speeches. The only sound that echoed in the silence was the rumble of a great weight collapsing onto the ground. The balding devil had lost consciousness as a result of the earlier release of Envidius's aura.

  At the same time in the 66th dimension.

  Shedim Medaiash, the popular Orange Prince, was showing a group of elder devils around the defensive walls of Gedania. Beyond the city, the camps of numerous merchants who could not find a place in the city were visible. All this was because of Master Twardowski, who had prevented any interdimensional travel until the next Voivode was selected.

  "Devils come to me and they say these are the toughest walls they have ever seen. We have done a fantastic job. The walls are beautiful, they are unbreakable."

  The old men behind him, representatives of the city council, looked at each other and nodded. Regardless of which side they approached them from, these walls were truly solid. Initially, they had a very cautious approach toward Shedim, due to rumors about what was happening in Ukuun.

  Everything changed when he started the project to improve the old city walls. One of those devils was particularly impressed by the work done.

  "Such walls could even withstand a voivode's attack!"

  The Orange Prince looked at him as if it were an obvious fact.

  "One voivode's attack is nothing. Nobody knows more about building than I do."

  The tour lasted for a few more minutes, after which the city council was bid farewell, and Shedim Medaiash was summoned to his chambers. Urgent correspondence was waiting for him there. Sitting behind a large desk, behind which hung portraits of previous city leaders whom he had painted mustaches on, he looked at the letter he had received.

  It was closed with a seal decorated with a coat of arms known to him. One of his assistants watched this with concern, as if unsure whether the prince should open it. However, he calmed him down.

  "It is from Zygwulski, I like him, though he is a tough cookie."

  Then, reading the letter, his eyebrows involuntarily rose. This did not escape the attention of his assistant.

  "Did something happen?"

  "They intend to hold an election to choose the next Voivode. These guys are completely insane."

  The Orange Prince hesitated for a moment, then eventually shook his head and handed the letter back to the assistant.

  "It is a pity, but we have our own work to do. Write to him that they do not have to wait for me."

  While lecturing on the hell cultivation system under the leadership of the King of Names and Symbols, Envidius was not happy at all. His thoughts kept returning to the annoying incident from several minutes ago when he revealed himself to the gathered adepts.

  'How can that trash from the 61st dimension be so weak?'

  The earlier manifestation of the aura had a specific purpose. Envidius simply did not like Justinian and everything he represented. Starting from the way he passed the arena test, through the barbaric behavior with the dance, to the non-devilish way of cultivation.

  Therefore, the Observer appeared closest to this human, knowing that the strongest impact of the aura would make him suffer the most.

  'Yet even here, the wretchedness of these bugs shows.'

  Contrary to expectations, it was not the most exposed human who fell first, but one of the devils further away. What's more, Envidius saw the other hellish adepts might quickly follow the same path. Therefore, to avoid the complete ridicule of his distant kin, he calmed his aura.

  'This only shows that rewarding these talentless fools with our knowledge is a waste of time.'

  During his lecture, he did not convey actual, deep knowledge on cultivation topics. What would be the point of speaking of beauty to beings who, at most, wasted air?

  Instead, he took a close look at the foundation of the gathered adepts.

  'It seems that only Svarticus has mastered one of the devilish virtues. However, its version is relatively weak.'

  The rest did not even qualify for that rank. Ihor from the 65th dimension had some potential, but his tendency for relying on schemes obscured the essence of the Devilish Virtues for him. Similarly, Ivan from the 63rd dimension, who, although he easily lost himself in anger, was actually driven by fear.

  'There is still the issue of the 66th dimension...'

  Envidius did not like the two cultivators from there in particular. The young deviless with long black hair and slightly crimson eyes hiding a deep darkness. Beside her, the man, the main cause of his dissatisfaction, who deviated from the philosophy of hellish virtues so much that he should not be here at all.

  The assessment of the former was not too complicated. She had good foundations, the norm for someone who had sealed their original cultivation. It was true that this had not yet introduced her to the path of devilish virtues, but she had everything to make it happen.

  The matter was different with the human.

  'Even though his foundation is obsessively cultivated, it is based on idiotic assumptions. It already looks ridiculous now. With each subsequent step, its incompatibility with the hellish system will only grow.'

  Envidius wondered for a moment if he should get involved. A mockery from her highness Alia, who was currently working on her Third Oath, flashed in his memory. Dolovarius, the head of their mission, also opted for as little involvement as possible in local affairs.

  The handsome devil, however, saw it differently.

  'Since I am supposed to teach this vermin, is it not better to do it by example?'

  His lips moved slightly in a subtle smile, and he spoke to the gathered adepts.

  "Can any of you explain to me what makes the system of the King of Hell's so great?"