Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      - Are we obligated to attack Uzushio? - The morale of our ninjas is undermined after sabotage by the enemy. The Uzumaki clan has been our faithful ally all these years and did not even give us the opportunity to doubt it. – said a white-haired ninja of about forty. This man, a seemingly harmless and calm ninja, in battle turned into a real berserker, whom even the kage would not want to see in their opponents. His distinguishing features were two red dots on his forehead and pale skin with white hair. All these signs identified him as a member of the Kaguya clan. The Kaguya clan had completely different customs. If in other clans the title of head of the clan was usually occupied by the most influential or respected ninja, then in the Kaguya clan there was a strict selection for the position of head. They had a tradition that once a year any member of the clan could challenge the head of the clan. It is worth noting that the head did not have the right to refuse the fight, because then he would show his weakness in front of his subordinates. Naturally, if the head of the clan lost in this battle, then he transferred his position to a stronger member of the clan, however, it is worth noting that before the final assumption of the post of head of the clan, the winner had to pass a standard test for understanding global politics, as well as the loyalty of the clan . The current head of the clan, Yoichi Kaguya, has been in office for over ten years. This man was famous for his iron grip, as well as the confidence in his every word. Perhaps he is the only person, not counting Ashina and Michiko, who could openly criticize Byakuren's policies on the world stage. It is worth noting that in peacetime this man was calm and knew how to express his point of view very constructively. Even the First Mizukage had a hard time finding understanding with this man, so it was not surprising that his son, still a young and ardent native of the Hozuki clan, could not get along with this extraordinary person.       - What a problem he is... - thought Gengetsu. He knew full well that diplomacy was not his best side. This man was very fond of intrigue. He could build very cunning chains in his head to achieve his goals. He was also not lacking in strength. After all, his father was a legendary shinobi. – The cloud transferred all its forces to another front. According to our intelligence, most of their forces are now in the Country of Fire. The chances of the fall of Konoha are very high, so I see no point in maintaining contact with Uzumaki, because after the fall of the village of hidden leaves, the second raikage will turn his attention to us. He can easily attack our country again, causing irreparable damage. However, I believe that our chances of repelling Cloud's attack are quite high if the Uzumaki do not want to stab us in the back at this moment. I know that we trusted them all these years, but now the question is about the existence of a village hidden in the Mist. Can we take that risk? – he asked a completely appropriate question to the second mizukage, looking at his subordinates.       - There’s too much at stake. You are right, Mizukage Dono, we should destroy the village of long life. – So said calmly, who had already returned home from the Land of Fire.       - The situation is controversial. There is no right choice here until we know the specific circumstances, and I don’t see any reason why Ashina Dono can abruptly break the contract with us. – Mamoru spoke, whose face was quite thoughtful. This man did not like the fact that some boy took the post of head of the village, but he could not do anything. The majority of clans voted for his candidacy. Everything looked correct from the point of view of the laws, but Terumi knew that Hozuki Gengetsu simply had no competitor. Michiko Yuki was currently absent from the village. He understood perfectly well why this outstanding shinobi remained in the land of fire... there was no direct order for him to retreat, and the Uzukage student would not have arrived in Kiri in time. This was simply impossible, given the rumors that were circulating around the world. Even Mamoru, who had seen a lot in his life, only came to respect this man from rumors, because, in fact, the front with the Stone was the only one that could hold out.       - There is a reason and it is banal. All Uzumaki are very impulsive and emotional. What will happen to the Uzumaki when they find out that their main heiress has died? I'm not even talking about the Uzukage student, who is now in Konoha. I believe that the Uzumaki clan will look for those responsible for all of this. Of course, they will hate Sand, Rock and Cloud for this, but so will we, because it was we who made it possible for the opponents to break through the front with Sand, which forced all the Konoha ninja to retreat. So the reasons for their behavior are already quite obvious. – Gengetsu clarified the situation.       - The Kaguya clan will not participate in this senseless attack. - I believe that Ashina dono is a much more adequate person than you imagine, so my clan will not shed the blood of the seal masters. Yoichi said in a cold voice. Throwing a contemptuous glance at the second mizukage, he rose from his seat and then left the meeting room. All this took place in deathly silence. Gengenzu could only shake his head helplessly. Of course, the Kaguya clan is a very strong clan with its own special improved genome, but even without them, Hozuki believed in defeating Uzushio. Now the second mizukage could not do anything about the arrogant clan of owners of the bone genome. Any actions against the Kaguya clan will entail very unpredictable consequences. Gengetsu understood perfectly well that his power was not omnipotent, and his influence on the other clans was in serious question. So there was a high probability that one of the great clans, the same Terumi clan, could side with Yoichi. And two clans can already start a full-fledged civil war, which will open the doors to the village of Mist, that is, the same Cloud can easily invade the territory of the Country of Water, starting to exterminate its inhabitants and steal resources, which in turn will cause irreparable consequences. Why didn't the Cloud do this now? The answer is quite obvious. The inexperienced Second Raikage decided to destroy his main enemy first before collecting his rightful spoils. That is why it was important for Gengetsu to kill Sanshi, because the first raikage would not have done that. He would have driven the Land of Water into such a crisis that it would have taken several decades to recover, while kneeling before other villages. The second raikage simply fulfilled part of the deal that Gengetsu and Sanshi made. He couldn't even imagine that this was exactly what Hozuki needed. The Second Mizukage needed time to raise forces to defend his territories.       Several days have passed...       Our squad moved along the water surface. We ran quite quickly, because chakra was constantly being wasted, and for a long time it was difficult to maintain the supply of chakra to our legs. This, of course, happened on a subconscious level, because all members of the squad had long ago honed this skill, but this did not change the fact that their legs were numb from ordinary fatigue. I scanned a huge space with the help of my sensory waves, but the opponents would fall through the ground. I was about to check with Tobirama about our intelligence when my intuition screamed about danger. An enemy with a tanto appeared from behind from the water, with which he tried to inflict a puncture wound on me. I reacted instantly. Having moved away from the direct attack of the enemy, I stabbed him with three ice senbon, which were in my right hand, with a precise blow, but the enemy simply turned into a puddle of water. Ten meters from us, a slender, tall man emerged from the water. He had long blond hair combed back, a perfectly black thin mustache and a small beard with a wedge, no eyebrows, black pants.       - Who do I see... the second hokage himself is here. This is simply amazing! What did such a legendary shinobi forget here, in the territory of Uzushio, when his village is ready to fall to the onslaught of the enemy? Was the brother of the Shinobi God afraid for his own skin? – this ninja suddenly spoke with arrogance in his voice, but in his eyes I read absolute coldness. He provoked us and it was more than obvious. The question was... why was he trying to provoke us?       - Haven’t you heard yet? Konoha is no longer in danger. The troops of Stone, Sand and Cloud lay down at the walls of my village. But your voice and manner of communication are already familiar to me. So who are you? – the albino answered calmly, without even changing his face from his opponent’s words.       - Yes, you're lying! You couldn’t repel such a large-scale attack, because you had virtually no strength left to do so! – the unknown person blurted out in anger. Even in his eyes there flashed a hint of anger and irritation.       - And I didn’t need an army to defeat you. My successor did all this. – Senju answered, hinting at me. Only for a second did Tobirama’s gaze shift to me, but this was enough for our enemy to understand who we were talking about...       - I thought your student would become the third hokage, not this one... - the ninja fell silent, beginning to peer into the features of my appearance. - How dare you put the Kiri ninja at the post of Hokage! This is mind boggling! – the fair-haired one blurted out with widened eyes in shock.       - Unfortunately for you, he is now a Konoha shinobi. – Senju remarked coldly, pointing his gaze at the protector of the village of hidden leaves, which rested on my shoulder.       - I am Gengetsu Hozuki, the second mizukage of the village hidden in the Mist, and I order you, head of the Yuki clan, to kneel before me. – Byakuren’s son demanded.       - Hmm, so you became the mizukage? – I asked a rhetorical question with indifference. - But what's the difference? You can retreat right now, because Konoha is ready to squeeze you from another front. She will not tolerate an attack on Uzushio. – I continued in the same bored voice. In fact, I was amused by this situation. The man who is the leader of the great ninja village was now seething with anger and indignation just because he was not being taken seriously.       - Today two legends of the ninja world will die, and the village of long life will fall before the greatness of the Mist. – Gengetsu stated, forming only one seal of concentration. I perfectly felt how huge streams of Hozuki's chakra rushed into the water. The waters under our feet began to move. We were ready to jump back or resort to countering the attack, but the shocks did not come from under our feet, but somewhere in other places, so I realized that this was not exactly an attack, but something else, but I was also extremely wary, ready for the fact that this is just a trick of the enemy. After about ten seconds of this shaking, huge shells with the area of a semicircle began to appear from under the water. On each such shell there was a sign of a village hidden in the Fog. When these huge shells floated to the surface, it became obvious that these were huge mollusks. Their shells opened slightly, which was not entirely usual for these creatures, after which the Mist ninjas began to emerge from there.       Holy shit, you understand that this guy can use his summons to move ninjas under water, so we couldn’t even theoretically detect them. How do ninjas survive such high pressures? I don’t have a precise answer, but I can assume that this is due to the characteristics of its mollusks.       - What should we do? – Yumiko asked, recovering from her shock. It was obvious to all of us that we would not stop the army that stood in front of us. There were about two and a half thousand ninjas here. The chances weren't very good. Yumiko, of course, is a strong jounin, but she can easily be crushed by a crowd. A similar situation is with Isao. The melee master was able to fight against several opponents with us, but here his skill will clearly not be enough. Although Ashina's son was very resilient, like all Uzumaki, he could still be taken by a crowd. Tobirama was better in this regard. He had a teleportation technique, which freed his hands quite well, so his capabilities were limited only by his chakra reserves, for which members of the Senju clan were very famous throughout the world. They are far from Uzumaki, but still, by the standards of ordinary ninjas, they stood out greatly. What about me? I'm completely... My body aches from pain and fatigue. There’s a lot of chakra, but what’s the use of it if the body won’t listen to me? The Ice Deity's technique exhausted me much more than it seemed at first glance. It was only because of the chakra stimulation that I was still standing.       - We need to retreat. – I noted gloomily, starting to distinguish between my opponents.       - And you have grown up, boy. Became more courageous or something... - So drawled with a shark-like smile, in whose hands was... Samehada. As far as I know, Byakuren took her for himself. This means that the old man is really dead... and I was still hoping for the best...       - But you haven’t changed a damn thing! – Yumiko snapped back with a grin, who more comfortably intercepted Kubikiribocho.       - I can only carry three people with me. I can't handle four. We have been moving on the surface of the water for too long. – the albino answered coldly, although for a second I saw sadness in his gaze. It is obvious that some of us will have to sacrifice ourselves so that others can be saved. The Mist Ninja were still leaving their special water, or rather underwater, transport. They were reforming to make one coordinated attack on us. Gengetsu just smiled at all these actions, keeping one eye on our actions.       - Ehhh... boy, don’t spoil my dad. Tell him that I always respected and loved him. – Isao spoke with a sad smile on his face. He made his decision.       - I need time to teleport! Don't let enemies near me! If they interfere with me, I'll have to start all over again! – Tobirama said, casting a questioning glance at me. Without further ado, I froze the surface of the earth, an area of fifteen meters, into ice. After the albino’s words, my bride literally jumped up, heading towards So. It was obvious that she had long wanted to compete with him. I would be glad to watch their fight, but my opponents would not let me do it. Isao, taking out his blades from behind his back, went towards the Jounin of the Mist, who were ready to use some kind of group technique. Luckily he made it on time. And who is left for me? Gengetsu, behind whom stood an elite detachment of a village hidden in the Mist. In their hands I discovered five of the seven relics of the Mist that I had recently held in my hands. A difficult opponent...       - Give up, Mi-kun. I won't even kill you. A fair trial awaits you in Kiri. – Hozuki asked me quite politely.       - Ice Element, Storm of a Thousand Needles! – I said the name of the ninja in response. About a thousand ice senbon appeared behind me and immediately headed towards my enemies. The attack was like a perfect storm... a deadly storm, ready to sweep away any defense in its path.       - Demonic Illusion: Steam Multi-Storey Building. – the second mizukage responded with his technique. Four huge mollusks, which had previously transported the troops of the Fog, began to blow out a huge amount of steam. My needles were already close enough, but all the swordsmen were not even going to do anything... all except one. One thug stepped forward, holding out his sword, called Shibuki.       - Explosive Sword Technique, explosion! – the ninja proclaimed in a high and rough voice. At the same moment, the seals in the scroll, stored in the sword itself, caught fire. A huge explosion lit up the entire battlefield, touching my needles. I didn't take any further steps just out of interest. He was indeed able to block all my needles with a regular explosion. The next moment I already felt the moving technique. This was a basic movement technique - shunshin, which, in fact, was simply the movement of a ninja at his maximum speed using chakra.       I hesitated slightly, so I didn’t have time to strike, which is why I had to block the enemy’s attack. My physical condition was taking its toll. Summoning Morgana's blade, I brought it out to meet... hell, the opponent turned out to be the owner of the Kabutowari, or Dull Sword. In fact, it was not really a sword... a single-sided ax and a hammer, which were tied together with a long belt. I quite calmly accepted the blow of the ax on the block of my blade, but the enemy did not reduce the pressure, which is why I had to grab my blade with both hands, but the swordsman only increased his pressure, delivering accurate and powerful blows to the ax with a hammer. I behaved quite confidently, but suddenly I heard a whistle at the edge of my hearing, which really bothered me. I only managed to move slightly under the onslaught of Kabutowari. Obviously my movements were not enough. The next moment, two deep wounds appeared on my calf muscles. I fell to my knees because my legs stopped obeying me. The owner of Nuibari was a girl with attractive features. Now she confidently held on to the metal fishing line, controlling the long needle, which wounded me. I barely had time to turn my head when my intuition screamed about danger. I wanted to shift my body weight to escape the blunt sword's owner, but I simply couldn't do it. In the next moment, another swordsman appeared behind me, in whose hands was Hiramekarei. The ninja poured a decent amount of chakra into it while approaching me, after which the twin sword itself was transformed. Having released a huge amount of chakra, Hiramekarei took the form of a chakra hammer, the blow of which I fully felt on myself. After flying several hundred meters through the water, I fell onto the surface of the water, trying to freeze the wounds on my legs to regain my mobility. One of my arms was broken, so Morgana took over the temporary treatment.       - You won't last that long. – the sorceress noted with a hint of concern in her voice.       - I know. – I growled, already freezing my wounds on my legs.       - Lightning Release, Lightning Fang! – the voice of an unknown person was heard somewhere nearby. I broke out in a cold sweat, and my intuition screamed with renewed vigor about mortal danger. My legs had not yet completely moved away, so, standing on my hands, I jumped to the side, avoiding a powerful lightning strike, but before I could land on the water, I heard the voice of my cohabitant.       - Be careful! – Morgana screamed with a hint of alarm. My senses reacted much later than my body, so if it weren’t for the witch, I would already be dead.       - Water Release, Water Gun Technique! – I heard it almost in my ear. It was Gengetsu, placing his index finger on the back of my head. I had to bend over my stomach to avoid the water bullet he fired. While still in flight, I tried to cut Hozuki into two parts with my blade and I succeeded, but, to my regret, the second mizukage turned into a puddle of water, showing me his grin. Damn, things are very bad... Landing on the water, I began to breathe heavily. Within two seconds I discovered that I was completely surrounded by enemies.       - And this brat was able to fight Madara on equal terms? – the owner of Kabutowari said with arrogance in his voice.       - Don't underestimate him. He didn't even show a tenth of his capabilities. – the owner of Hiramekarei coldly noted.       - I already doubt that he is the same, the legendary blue-haired devil. – the only girl among the swordsmen noted with disdain in her voice.       - Kanga is right. Don't delay with him. – he coldly ordered Gengetsu, who did not like the fact that his subordinates treated his main competitor for the post of mizukage this way.       - Fuinjutsu, breaking the seal! – I said, opening the flow of spare chakra into the body. It became a little easier, but this was clearly not enough against such opponents. – Ryuchi Cave Absolute Sage Mode! – I added, entering one of my body strengthening modes. My aura immediately changed, becoming more powerful and oppressive. Obviously, the swordsmen sensed the changes in me. This could be seen in their distorted grimaces. They were not afraid, but now they were not so sure of their victory.       I began to feel more comfortable in absolute Sage mode. The pain in the body subsided, giving blissful moments of peace... moral peace, because constantly being under such sensitive pain could not only lose consciousness, which in my opinion was the best way out for an ordinary ninja, but also simply go crazy.       - You don't have much time. Your body is too weak after releasing the full power of the ice. – Morgana noticed my weakness.       - How much time do I have before I pass out? – I clarified with calmness in my voice.       - About twenty minutes, unless you enter the third stage of ice evolution. There, time will already go by seconds. – the witch answered me. I have a lot of chakra, so I need to take advantage of it. It is better not to engage in close physical competition.       - Element of ice, covering the surface with ice. – I whispered on the verge of hearing. The ice quickly covered an area of hundreds of meters with ice, making it easier for me to control. The water on which our battle took place made it easier for me to create my genome techniques, but there was a significant drawback. Each of my opponents mastered the element of water, so they would be able to feel the slightest fluctuations, which would reveal my main trump card - the element of surprise. Few of my previous opponents expected to use techniques without folding seals. In fact, most even strong and experienced shinobi did not believe that it was possible to achieve such control over the chakra of their element.       - Ice element, storm coming technique! – I decided to start first. Having collected a huge amount of ice-elemental chakra in my lungs, I blew out a huge clot of blue flame, the cold of which could be felt a hundred meters from the use of this jutsu.       - To the side! – Gengetsu shouted, jumping to the right. All the swordsmen reacted immediately. Since the second mizukage himself ordered them, then it would obviously be worth listening to him. Why? Yes, if Hozuki was confident that he could stop this ninjutsu, then he would have done so, trying to show his superiority over the enemy.       - Where is he? – the owner of Nuibari, who was the first to notice Michiko’s disappearance, cried out in surprise. Everyone else quickly began to look around in the hope that they would be able to find their opponent. The big man with the ax and hammer was not surprised that the enemy had chosen him as his target. This had happened many times before, because the volume of chakra of this ninja reached only the norm of an elite jounin, but nothing more. A needle appeared from the water, flying at incredible speed towards the ninja's head. The wielder of Kabutowari did not want to test the power of this weapon on himself, so he covered himself with his sword, putting both hands forward, hoping to block the attack. He couldn't dodge such a direct attack. Imagine the swordsman’s surprise when the needle whistled next to his head, heading towards his comrade.       - Shiro! – the owner of the blunt sword screamed, but before his words could leave his lips, the ice turned scarlet. The swordsman with the explosive sword was the slowest of his squad, although he was superior in chakra to many of them. The problem was the sword he was using. He simply did not provide the swordsman with such an opportunity, which is why this ninja was now on one knee, holding his stomach, from which blood was flowing profusely. The needle hit this shinobi at the moment when he relaxed a little. His carelessness played a cruel joke on him.       - Where are you looking? – I screamed, jumping out of the water right in the place where the owner of the Kabutowari was supposed to land. The words were just a convention; the enemy only managed to hear half of them when his head left his body.       - Bastard! – Gengetsu growled in anger. Obviously, I ruined all his plans. I already realized that he spent a lot of effort teaching these ninjas how to use the Swords of the Mist.       The soft landing on the water gave me a very unpleasant pain in my legs, reminding me of the time that was quickly flying away. I looked around, assessing the situation. In the distance, Yumiko was still fiercely pressing So, in whose eyes I could see the excitement of battle even from here. Isao had already managed to chop up several dozen Mist ninjas during this time, but there were also visible cuts on his body that were bleeding. The wounds were not serious, but their number slowly and gradually reduced his speed and the power of his blows, which some Jounin of the Mist skillfully took advantage of. Things are bad... We need to call for help... there is still a lot of chakra...       - You are sure? This is a very dangerous technique, because you haven't mastered it enough. – Morgana spoke. I could clearly hear a hint of panic in her voice.       - I know, but this is necessary to call for help. – I answered her sadly, starting to concentrate a huge amount of chakra.       - What is he doing? – Gengetsu asked himself in horror. – So much chakra... this is an S-rank technique. You need to be careful. – the second mizukage finished his thoughts, continuing to observe Yuki’s actions. The surviving swordsmen were also in no hurry to attack. They were too alarmed by the volume of chakra that their enemy concentrated.       - Veil of a millennium of pain. – I loudly said the name of the most unpredictable technique in my arsenal. It was one of the few techniques in my arsenal that I was afraid to use. It did not belong to the techniques of my improved genome. It was based on an exceptional amount of chakra, as well as its excellent control. The Shroud of a Millennium of Pain is a technique in which I forcibly compressed my chakra, thereby compacting it into my body. This allowed me to strengthen all my techniques, as well as increase all my physical parameters to an unprecedented level. This technique also had its drawbacks. Theoretically, you can compact as much as you like, that is, you can increase your speed, agility, impact force and power of techniques, but in reality there were serious limitations. For example, even doubling the amplification in the normal hermit mode led to the fact that my chakra channels could no longer withstand the power of the energy streams that flowed through them. Absolute Sage mode allowed me to withstand the power of this technique up to a five-fold increase. The name of the technique had a direct meaning. I used it only once, after which I went away for about two weeks, suffering from difficult recovery from torn muscles and joints, which healed very slowly and painfully on me. In two seconds, I doubled my chakra. Now it could be seen with the naked eye. The very next moment I found myself at the owner of Nuibari, raising my blade to strike. To my unspeakable surprise, she skillfully dodged the attack, starting her movements even at the moment I raised the blade. Her agility was amazing. She dodged one of my fastest attacks, but the very next blow I struck from my foot still caught the girl by surprise, causing her to fly. Hearing the sounds of sparks, I caught the corner of my vision as both swordsmen tried to launch a joint attack on me from both sides. One of them, passing chakra of the element of lightning through the blades, accelerated, trying to make a horizontal cut on my stomach. The second one divided his Hiramekarei into two swords, intending to wield them in a fight with me.       - Die, bastard! – the young kunoichi spoke expressively in my direction, trying to touch me with her blades. My speed increased significantly after entering the new mode, so I dodged her attacks without much difficulty. The second swordsman was ready to cut me in half vertically with one of his blades, but I substituted my blade in time for his attack. Turning around, I grabbed the girl’s wrist, sharply pulling her towards me. Her moment of confusion resulted in another swordsman being seriously injured. The owner of Hiramekarei could not even predict such an outcome. In his chest was one of Kiba's blades. The swordsman's body trembled from the splash of lightning. This did not last long, because I decided to end the suffering of the girl, whose eyes began to well up with tears. With a slight movement of my weapon, I cut off the girl's head. It was truly unclear to me why the new leader of the Mist did not intervene in our one-sided battle. I found the answer within a few seconds. There was an explosion in the air from a signal flare, which painted the sky black. Was that... weird? To my knowledge, none of the five great villages had a signal light of this color. Looking back at the battlefield, I noticed that Isao was already seriously wounded, continuing the battle only on the survivability of the Uzumaki. Ashina's son had a deep wound on his stomach from some kind of sharp weapon, several kunai were sticking out of his back, and his face was covered in blood... not his blood... but the blood of his enemies... Yumiko also had a shallow wound on her right shoulder. So still managed to hit her, but the girl quickly healed her wounds with the help of her mystical palm, it was because of this that Hoshigake did not let her go, trying not to give her time to use iryunjutsu. So turned out to be much tougher than he seemed at first glance. Yumiko has already begun to lose ground. I was ready to rush towards my daughter-in-law, because I already felt two huge clots of chakra moving in my direction, but I stopped abruptly. A herd of goosebumps ran down my back, and my palms began to sweat involuntarily. The reason for my nervousness was a new source of chakra that was approaching us at incredible speed. I felt the power of this man with all the cells of my body, so for a few seconds I froze in place, collecting my thoughts. This time was quite enough for the unknown to arrive at the battle site.       It was a ninja wearing an ANBU mask. He was wearing a completely black cloak, but even this attribute of clothing could not completely hide his sculpted body. An unknown dojutsu was looking at me from the eye slits. Gray eyes with concentric black circles that extended from the center, where a dot of the same color was located. From these eyes one felt greatness and unimaginable danger. My eyebrows knit together at this, showing everyone my concern about the new opponent, who was clearly not for Uzushio.       - Michiko! Let's leave! - Tobirama shouted, snapping me out of my state of complete tension.       - Divine attraction. – a majestic voice was heard from the arriving ninja. At the same moment, I felt that my body stopped obeying me, as if some huge creature grabbed me with its paw, not allowing me to move even my little finger. An invisible force began to pull me towards an enemy with strange eyes, who had a strange black receiver in his hand, which had a fairly obvious purpose. I could only look with horror into those gray eyes, looking at me with cold indifference, as if a man was looking at an ant... as if a god was looking at a mortal...       - Resist! You can't give up! Remember Yumiko! – a voice was heard at the back of my fading consciousness, when I was already close enough to the enemy. Obviously, it was Morgana trying to get me to do something, even if it wasn't particularly adequate, to try to avoid the fate of being impaled. But what could I do? My body simply did not listen to me, and my heart was filled with only one feeling - a feeling of fear, forcing my heart to beat at triple rhythm... The sorceress tried to attack the enemy, turning into a needle. She didn’t even hope to hurt the owner of such strong eyes; Morgana just needed to distract him for at least a second, but she couldn’t do that. The unknown person caught the ice needle flying in his direction with one hand, after which he pierced me in the stomach area with his pin. I fell on the ice, bleeding. Consciousness began to float, showing only residual images of people... I no longer saw their faces... there were only blurred spots, which after a few seconds merged into one dark picture...