Gabriel stood in a destroyed passage, his figure radiated such power that the air around him literally vibrated. On closer inspection, the archangel looked even more impressive - almost two and a half meters tall, broad shoulders, shackled in a heavenly armor the color of molten silver. The armor plates covered his body from the neck to the feet, every detail was engraved with sacred symbols that glowed faintly in the dark.
Behind the archangel's back, huge wings slowly unfolded - not feathered, as in children's books, but consisting as if of pure metal. Two wings, each the size of a car, radiated dazzling power.
Gabriel held a mace in his right hand - a weapon of truly frightening size. The metal handle, almost a meter long, was crowned with a massive head covered with sharp spikes. The weight of this weapon would be unbearable for a person, but the archangel held it with one hand like a children's toy.
- Get away, demon," Gabriel said in a voice that made the windows of the surviving windows tremble. - Don't make me waste time on such a trifle as you.
Alexander squeezed the handle of the Space Breaker tighter. The sword seemed to respond to his determination - the blade began to glow weakly, and the gray-black pattern on the metal played with shadows.
- You know what, Gabriel? - Alexander grinned. - Fuck you.
Master," the sword voiced. "This opponent is much more dangerous than all the previous ones. I recommend using the space section.
"I know," Alexander replied mentally. - "But first we need to distract him. Give Mikhail time to take the child away."
He rushed to attack, aiming his sword at the gap between the armor plates on the archangel's chest.
Gabriel didn't even twitch. He just waved his mace, and Alexander was forced to jump back so as not to get a fatal blow to the head.
- Fast, - the archangel stated. - But not enough.
He went on the offensive, waving his mace with such force that the air whistled from each blow. Alexander dodged, retreated, tried to counterattack, but Gabriel seemed to read him, so it was impossible to approach him.
- Mikhail! - Alexander shouted, blocking another blow. - Take Charlie away! Right now!
The sound of footsteps was heard from the back room. Mikhail, holding a baby wrapped in a blanket, helped Charlie get to the service exit.
Gabriel heard their movement and turned his head:
"No one will leave," he growled.
The archangel flapped his wings and rose into the air, intending to fly over Alexander and catch up with the fugitives.
- You can't wait! - Alexander shouted.
He fired a powerful lightning discharge right into the flying archangel. Electricity hit the armor, causing Gabriel to hang in the air for a moment.
- Does it hurt? - Alexander asked mockingly.
"Tickly," Gabriel replied and fell on him from above.
The blow of the mace passed an inch from Alexander's head, split the floor of the snack bar. Fragments of concrete flew in all directions.
And the engine of Mikhail's car has already started outside.
- No! - Gabriel roared, realizing that the child was slipping away.
He turned to the exit, but Alexander clung to his leg:
- Stop, bitch! Your opponent is here!
The Archangel tried to shake him off, but Alexander held on with a dead grip. Then Gabriel hit him on the back with a mace.
The blow was of monstrous power. Alexander felt his ribs crack, and the air was missing in his lungs. He flew away to the wall and collapsed on the floor, spitting blood.
"Fuck," he thought. "He'll kill me before I have time to use dissection."
Gabriel was already on his way to the exit when Alexander shouted:
- Hey, bird! Do you know what kind of sword it is?
The archangel stopped and slowly turned around:
- What are you talking about?
- Space Breaker, - said Alexander, rising to his feet. - Maybe you heard this legend? About the blade that only the Elder Gods can create?
Gabriel's face was distorted by a grimace of rage:
- This weapon should not exist! He destroyed all the swords of the Elders!
- Apparently, one was missed, - Alexander grinned.
He used the conversation as a distracting maneuver. Mentally turned to the sword:
"Ready for dissection. Start eating."
Got it, master. Get ready. It will hurt.
Thin needles dug into Alexander's palm came out of the sword handle. The pain was hellish - as if red-hot spokes were plunged into my hands. But he gritted his teeth and endured.
- Where did you get this weapon?! - Gabriel demanded the answer. - Speak!
- I got it from... your mother," Alexander wheezed through the pain.
The needles greedily sucked his blood. One second, two, three... You need to hold out for ten seconds.
- You will die for these words, - the archangel roared, raising the mace.
Four seconds, five, six...
Gabriel swung for a fatal blow. And then I noticed what was happening with Alexander's sword.
The Space Breaker began to glow. Not weak, as before, but bright, dazzling. The blade pulsated with energy, and the air around it began to distort, as if from extreme heat.
- What... - Gabriel started, but didn't finish.
Seven seconds, eight, nine...
"It's too late, bird," Alexander hissed.
Ten!
The needles retracted back into the handle. The sword was ready for battle.
Alexander raised his gun above his head. The blade glowed so brightly that it hurt to look at it. The monstrous energy contained in the metal was bursting out.
- DISSECTION OF REALITY! - he shouted and struck.
Not according to Gabriel - according to the space between them.
The blade cut the very fabric of the universe. The air cracked like glass, revealing an absolute emptiness. The crack in reality went through the entire snack bar - from floor to ceiling, cutting everything in its path.
Gabriel tried to dodge, but it was too late. The edge of the crack hits left wing and part of the armor on the side.
The archangel cried out in a voice that made all the windows in the neighborhood burst. Part of his body was simply cut into two neat halves.
He collapsed on the floor, writhing in inhuman pain. It was not blood that poured from the wounds, but pure light.
- How... how dare you... - Gabriel wheezed. - Use the power of the Elders against the servant of God...
"It's very simple," Alexander replied.
But it took him a lot of effort to say these words. The use of the dissection of reality required all his energy. My legs were bent, my eyes were dark.
And then the bleeding started.
First from the nose. Warm drops were dripped on the floor. Then bloody tears flowed down my cheeks from my eyes. The body could not cope with the overload from the use of the power of the Elder Gods.
- Master! - the sword sounded alarmed. - Will you die too?
Alexander wanted to answer, but he didn't listen to the language. The world around floated, the colors faded. The last thing he saw was Gabriel, slowly dissolving in the rays of his own light.
The archangel was dead. Mission accomplished.
Alexander collapsed unconscious.
* * *
A familiar feeling of weightlessness. Familiar reddish twilight. The familiar smell of sulfur and old books.
Alexander opened his eyes and saw a table, and behind it - a familiar figure.
- I woke up, - said the Devil. - Okay. I thought I'd have to resuscitate you.
- What... where am I? - Alexander wheezed, sitting on the marble floor.
- I have, of course, - the Devil replied. - You lost consciousness after using the dissection of reality. Your body couldn't cope with the load.
- Is Gabriel dead? - Alexander asked.
- Yes. You killed him. Very impressive, by the way, - approval was heard in the voice of the Devil. - Heaven is shocked. Archangel killed by the power of the Elder Gods... This hasn't happened for a long time.
Alexander tried to get up, but his legs were still shaking:
- And the child? Charlie?
- They're alive. Mikhail took them to a safe place. The mission was completed successfully.
- Great, - Alexander sighed with relief. - So now you can...
- Stop, - the Devil interrupted him. - Just like last time, I forgot to give you the promised ability again.
Alexander blinked:
- Oh, yes. Exactly. I've already forgotten myself.
- Well, - the Devil got up from the chair and came closer. - This time I'll give you something more useful.
He stretched out his hand, and black threads wrapped around Alexander's body stretched out of his fingers.
- Now you can fall into the shadows and move over them, - the Devil explained. - But there are limitations. You'll find out about them later.
The threads disappeared, leaving barely noticeable black patterns on Alexander's skin.
- Um, thank you probably.. - Alexander said. - It will come in handy.
- Sit down, - the Devil pointed to the chair that appeared. - Let's talk.
Alexander settled down in a chair, feeling his strength gradually returning:
- About what?
- About your sword, - answered the Devil. - And about the Elder Gods.
He returned to the chair and leaned back:
- Do you remember you asked about them last time?
- I remember, but I asked you not only about that...
- So, - the Devil interrupted him. - The Senior Gods are those who created, destroyed, well, in short, gods in one word, but not ordinary... Mmm, how easy it is for you to explain... Ah!
- There are people on earth and they believe in a certain deity that can create worlds and absorb a certain person from them. Guess what for? That's right, just to be like you. They fumbled around different worlds and universes, suffering from shit. - The Devil continued with a smile. - You probably had a question about why you need it. Well, it will be more difficult to explain, so about it, next time. So, there are several layers of the multiverse, and each layer has its own deities. They, in turn, create their own layers, where there are fewer deities. Usually these are lower-layered deities. Your god from Earth will be classified as medium-layered. I, in turn, belong to the same division, to call it that.
Alexander listened to the Devil with his mouth open, not understanding half of the information that flew out of the Devil's mouth.
- So, the Elder Gods are the same lower-layer deities who were once people chosen by some god, after which they began to travel to different worlds, just like you. Hence the recognition of your sword, as it was created by a person who may also have once been in movies in which you were also present.
- And what happened to them? - Alexander was interested.
- They're gone, - the Devil shrugged his shoulders.
- Some died, others went to other dimensions. The reasons are different. But after them there were... artifacts.
He pointed to the sword in Alexander's hands:
- Your Space Breaker is one of such artifacts. Who exactly created it is unknown. I know only one thing - all its previous owners were killed by the same sword.
- What? - Alexander involuntarily loosened his grip on the handle.
- The sword is alive, - the Devil explained. - He has consciousness, will, desires. And his main desire is to drink blood. Sooner or later, he begins to consider his master as a source of food.
- What the fuck... - Alexander muttered.
- That's why he was thrown into the Void, - the Devil continued. - They considered it too dangerous. But now you have it. And, apparently, so far he behaves decently.
Alexander looked at the sword. He was silent, but Alexander felt his presence in the depths of consciousness.
- What if he tries to kill me?
- Then you'll die, - the Devil replied cheerfully. - Or you'll find a way to control him. These Artifacts are unpredictable.
- Encouraging, - Alexander said gloomily.
- But honestly, - the Devil grinned. - And now another question. Are you ready for the next task?
- Already? - Alexander was surprised. - I thought there would be a break.
- The break will be in hell, - the Devil waved it off. - In the meantime, you are needed in other movies. There are also enough problems that require... a non-standard solution.
Alexander thought about it. On the one hand, he is tired of constant battles and dangers. On the other hand, there was no alternative. The deal with the Devil did not involve a vacation.
- Okay, - he agreed. - Where to this time?
- You'll find out when you arrive, - the Devil answered mysteriously. - See you, Alexander. Try not to get into the penalty area.
"I'll try," Alexander muttered.
The devil disappeared, the chair also began to dissolve. The familiar darkness swallowed Alexander, taking him to new adventures.
At the last moment, he heard the voice of the sword:
Master... be careful. I feel... something strange in the next world.
- What exactly? - Alexander asked mentally.
I don't know. But it's something ancient.
And on this terrible note, Alexander's consciousness plunged into nothingness.