Chapter 46: What Is Delayed Is Not Lost

  At the moment Justinian made his sacrifice and was the first to enter the Foundation Stabilization level, many different tornadoes existed on the moon. The two largest belonged to Felix and Septima, but two others, slightly smaller, also stood out. They belonged to the Orange Prince and Belisara, respectively.

  Justinian took a deep breath, observing the spiritual organ he had created with the successful completion of the ritual.

  'So this is what it's like to cast off the burden of mortality.'

  His perception of the world changed completely—his senses became sharpened, and the power that once trickled now surged like a river.

  Now, focusing on the distant, raging cyclones, he frowned.

  'Felix and Septima are both incredible, but why does Belisara's seem so strange?'

  The tornado of Greedius's adept, although it hadn't created its own domain, was second only to the two top adepts. At the same time, the energy it created was significantly different, as if it didn't belong to hell at all.

  'This would confirm what Boruta said earlier... only, there's something more to it.'

  His eyes clouded for a moment with memories of all the moments spent with the she-devil. From the mission at Severin's, through the tournament on Boruta's mountain, and the pilgrimage on Mountain of Envy and Conflagration.

  Soon, decisiveness appeared in them.

  The best course of action was a personal confrontation to clear things up. That was exactly what he intended to do now.

  Sensing clearly the direction from which the echo of Belisara's energy was coming, he jumped up and for the first time in his life... leaped through the air, traveling at enormous speed!

  This was one of the powers that came with achieving Foundation Stabilization, one he had once seen Ignatius use.

  He had only just reached this level, and the moon was huge—because of this, he moved much slower than the inept Emptyhead. However, he still traveled so quickly that his meeting with the familiar she-devil was a matter of minutes away.

  His actions were met with a mixed reception among the devils observing the event from the infernal ground.

  "The Grim Judge's stabilization only confirms his nasty character!"

  "For what sins must we endure him here?!" some howled.

  "Now he's flying off somewhere! What is he plotting now?" others lamented.

  Of course, the mountain lords were also watching everything, and the way Justinian had stabilized the foundation left them completely stunned.

  The fact that his tornado had managed to outshine Felix and Septima, and also to overcome the changes brought about by the latter's domain, was unbelievable!

  "What a disgrace," the Voivode shook his head, coughing weakly from time to time.

  He couldn't get over the fact that during the culmination of the sacred ceremony, the one who made the biggest impression was... a human.

  Eusebius had no such problems and did not hide his admiration for the boy's achievement.

  "This is no reason for sadness; it will bring good motivation for our disciples on future pilgrimages," he stated.

  In truth, he had a certain fondness for Justinian. Besides the fact that he was fascinated by human culture, he was also simply pleased with the results of the judgment days the boy had organized on his mountain.

  'I just feel sorry for Aldona...'

  Her death was a terrible stain on what had been a perfectly good pilgrimage. Thinking about it, he noticed something strange, and after he tried to sense the presence of the lord of the Mountain of Envy and Conflagration, his brows furrowed.

  "What about Greedius?" he asked the other lords, surprised.

  This question tore Maleficius from his thoughts; he couldn't believe that someone had been able not only to defeat but even to disperse his disciple's domain. Unlike the others present, he knew what Septima's darkness symbolized.

  It was Boruta, however, who answered.

  "I sense his aura at the Emptyhead's place," he said with a wave of his hand. "It's better for Ignatius that, despite his paranoia, a friend still visits him regularly."

  Eusebius, remembering Ignatius's strange behavior in recent months, couldn't disagree.

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  'It must be because of those 20 years in prison,' he shook his head.

  "By the way," the Voivode spoke up again, "that kid from your mountain, what was his name?"

  "Felix."

  "Don't you think he should have stabilized his foundation by now?"

  This question made the lord of the Mountain of Research and Development pensive. Felix had incredible talent, and his character was a perfect fit for devilish cultivation. So why hadn't he finished the process yet?

  'Now that I think about it, considering how much energy he had from killing the serpent...' Eusebius frowned and looked up. '...something here is indeed not right.'

  Meanwhile, on the moon, more and more adepts were creating their tornadoes. None of them were as magnificent as those of the top adepts, but it still showed their progress and the fact that the number of devils in the dimension with a stabilized foundation would increase significantly.

  In the spirit world, Twardowski was meanwhile speaking with each of them.

  "Why are you even doing this? What do you hope to gain by hiding in this dimension at the end of the world?" he asked an irritated Septima, who was fighting hard to reach the next level.

  Her case was different from Justinian's—she was well-prepared in terms of sacrifice and character, but Mister Twardowski could see that her will was rather weak compared to the rest of her foundation.

  "None of your business."

  When the two-meter rooster behind the devil heard these words, he grimaced at her harsh tone, but his master paid it no mind.

  Finally, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

  "Fine, you have my permission, but if you want to survive the next few years..."—a glint appeared in his eye—"...you'd better keep your head down."

  Septima glared at him silently. At that very moment on the moon, her tornado transformed into a gold-and-scarlet beam, which was then absorbed by her.

  This elicited shouts of enthusiasm from the devils on the ground, who had been largely unfamiliar with Maleficius's adept.

  Elsewhere, Mister Twardowski looked with disgust at the barely visible, blurred creature.

  "Let's make a deal" the being said, extending a cup of specially prepared, spiritual alcohol.

  The dimensional spirit shook his head and turned away from his interlocutor.

  "I will let such a filthy thing as you pass out of respect for the ancient treaties. However, do not become too insolent."

  After his words rang out, the cyclone of Orange Prince started stabilizing which led to another warm reception from the devils.

  However, it only increased the worries of Eusebius, who was becoming more and more nervous about the fate of his own disciple.

  'Could the matter with Aldona have affected his foundation?' he thought in shock.

  In the spirit world, Mister Twardowski observed Felix Faustus with unconcealed curiosity.

  "You're an interesting case," he finally said to the adept, who had essentially done nothing since appearing in his dimension.

  Of course, the memories and cultivation evaluation had already taken place, but Felix hadn't said a word about the sacrifice. Instead, he sat wrapped in the incredibly energy-rich spirit of the legendary serpent and refused any interaction.

  Finally, the silence was broken by the impatient crowing of the dimension spirit's rooster, who hated waiting. Seeing this, its master smiled.

  "So be it," he said, after which... Felix's cyclone began to devour his very essence!

  The boy's skin started to crack, and his energy was being sucked into the whirlwind. It looked as though Felix was about to fail the stabilization ritual!

  When Justinian saw the tornado with Felix's echo begin to waver, he paused his flight through the air for a moment. He was surprised that someone so strong was having trouble advancing to the next level. At the same time, he suspected the reason for his hesitation.

  'The very echo of it emits carries pain and regret...'

  Aldona's disappearance was a thorn in his own heart as well.

  He soon continued his journey, drawing closer and closer to Belisara's tornado.

  At the same time, he was constantly probing the moon for the echo of Sagittarius's power, which he remembered well.

  'Considering how many cyclones have already formed, he should be here somewhere...'

  As his search proved fruitless, he focused on reaching his destination as quickly as possible.

  Not more than a few minutes passed before he stood before Belisara, whose whirlwind was just transforming into a stream of scarlet liquid.

  'Unlike me, it seems she didn't make any missteps...' he thought, seeing how the impressive tornado hadn't harmed the she-devil but had elegantly transitioned into the next phase.

  He hadn't noticed it before, but she now seemed truly talented to him—after all, despite a late start, she had advanced to the next level right after Septima.

  When she opened her eyes and saw Justinian, she immediately smiled.

  At the same time, Greedius XXIII was feasting with his great friend, Ignatius. Unfortunately, the friend he was visiting was now a shadow of his former, self-confident self and now only kept repeating how someone was after his life.

  "Who would want to do something like that?" the burly devil asked in disbelief.

  "Th-th-that's the worst part!" the Emptyhead replied, stuttering slightly. "I've lived my whole life as an exemplary devil, so no one should have a reason to!"

  His companion, who poured the paranoid devil more wine, just shook his head.

  "You're talking nonsense. Who would dare to mess with a legacy like yours?"

  But Ignatius would not be calmed.

  "That's what I'm talking about! I've thought about this for a long time and I see only one solution!" he replied, stressed.

  Broad-shouldered devil raised his eyebrows, genuinely intrigued. He glanced at the time, however, as if he had something planned and was hesitant to get involved. Finally, he spread his hands.

  "Well, tell me then," he said to his friend.

  Ignatius, a little excited but mostly scared, ran quickly to a nearby cabinet, swaying from side to side. He looked like someone who had drunk far too much.

  'His head isn't what it used to be...' Greedius shook his head sadly as he returned.

  What he brought was a drawing of three eyes pierced by a large nail.

  The devil from the Mountain of Envy and Conflagration frowned upon seeing the symbol.

  "What is this sinister symbol? I've never seen one like it before."

  "Exactly, neither have I!" the Emptyhead grew excited. "My adept asked me about it and the matter troubled me for a long time. You know that I once learned the symbols of all the stupid devilish cults in the human world as a joke."

  His companion didn't rush him, just listened intently until he finished.

  "Finally, I turned to the old Boruta to see if he had any important information in his library." He paused for a moment here, as if realizing the world was going to the dogs when even he had to go to the library. "Do you know what I found?"

  "I have no idea."

  Here the Emptyhead smiled triumphantly.

  "That such a cult doesn't exist at all!" he shouted, excited, but still mostly scared.

  Greedius looked slowly at his watch, and then into Ignatius's eyes.

  "So what is the conclusion?"

  "And this is where it gets interesting," his companion smiled, going into the details of what he had managed to establish.