HP: Spirit Talker

The girls lie in the middle of the square, with brightly burning braziers at the corners. And outside the square is fenced with a rope "shimenawa" — this ritual attribute protects the place from evil and evil spirits, as well as marks the places of appearances or appearances of deities, kami. In this case, shimenawa will not allow foreign influence to interfere and spoil everything at the last moment.

Magicians themselves are strongly associated with miracles and mysticism, so we have intuition — be great! If that bastard senses anything, he'll interfere and start all over again. I pick up the Shakujo staff and start. In such cases, it is best to work with light magic, but not with sterile, cold light, but with the color of warm, golden sunlight.

Step by step, word by word, the lines sprinkled with rice flour, chalk and salt were filled with golden light. It is harder to let the magic of the spiritual plane through than my own, so I had to extend the time of the ritual — I don't want to "burn out" from impatience.

The staff in my hands also glows and warms my palm with a soft warmth, and the melodious tinkling of the rings on the top and the clattering of the metal against the polished stone slabs scatter golden sparks around the staff. After about an hour, the air in the ventilated cave was no longer cool, but warm and pleasant, and the sparks from the staff were accompanied by an electric crackle.

The more time passed, the harder it was to keep from rushing: the ritual had gathered so much energy that light was literally pouring in from nowhere, as if the air itself was glowing, it seemed that it would be enough, that it would be possible to strike. But no.

I could guess where the thoughts were coming from, but I had to strike twice to break both seals at the same time. It's even harder to walk, the air thickening to a sourness, though strangely it doesn't bother me to breathe. Still, I was ready to strike. The magic had accumulated so much that I had no doubt about the result.

A few swings of the staff, ritual words, catching the staff with both hands, raising it vertically as high as the length of my arms would allow. A pause to look up and strike the staff against the stone floor.

A bright golden flash... should illuminate the cave and break the seals. In an instant, strange, evil magic descended upon the hall. The Shimenawa flashed with a cold white light and crumbled to ashes on the floor.

The trembling veil protecting the seals shattered, but the twin golden spears had already lost some of their power, leaving the giant cobra with metallic scales, bloodshot eyes, and golden fangs deeply burned. But it didn't die.

Instinctively, I touch the chain of symbols on my staff, remembering the bright burning sun. Shakujo, which I had personally crafted from magical wood and gold, instantly transformed into a spear glowing with bright sunlight. I spared no effort in throwing it. It seemed as if the spear did not fly into the spirit, but drew a golden line connecting my hand and the evil spirit.

The cobra didn't even have time to hiss as it was shattered in the explosion, but spiritual flesh wasn't like material flesh — it floated slowly like light flakes of ash, gradually disintegrating.

A heavy, powerful wave from the death of an elder spirit traveled through the spiritual plane, but it did not go out into the material world. Suddenly, a young man's voice sounded in a language I didn't recognize.

— Yes! The Master will be avenged!

— He will come! — The girls shouted in unison, then began to laugh madly and spit saliva.

Meanwhile, the voice continued to speak. The only thing I could make out of the whole stream was that the word "Keimnvati," which I heard five times, meant the name of the family, and the word "Badru" meant the name of my enemy. This was also confirmed by the fanatically screaming girls. I looked at Genoske.

The man was listening intently, frowning as if remembering something. I touched the bracelet with my mind and had a skein of sacred rope in my hand. But I had barely taken two steps when I heard a man's voice laughing louder than before, echoed by the sisters... and then something hot hit me.

I didn't even realize what had happened. The sounds stopped abruptly, my clothes became wet and clammy, and there was a smell in the air. Very unpleasant and familiar to anyone who had been involved in the autopsy or disembowelment of animals or humans. Already guessing what I was about to see, I turned my head to the tables....

There were only shapeless pieces of flesh, bones, and chains glistening with gold, all drenched in blood. "There was no sound of an explosion at all, how did this happen?" — A thought flashed through my mind as I realized what had happened here. Blood-spattered Shimenawa, ruined and useless, fell to the ground. "And how did he manage to break through the goblin defenses?" — A lethargic thought surfaced, and I couldn't even move from the shock.

The sound of footsteps caught my attention and I followed Genosuke's wobbly gait as he approached the tables. The man stared mutely at the mess his daughters had left behind for a few seconds before he turned to me. The dead eyes reflected nothing.

Genosuke Mene knelt on the splattered and debris-covered floor and bowed low. An unexpectedly deft movement and the tanto in the man's stomach. No face trembled, no sound was born. In absolute silence, the man committed seppuku without breaking eye contact, finally collapsing on his side.

— Goblins... — In the midst of the flaring and gnawing hatred, an idea was born.