Path of Spirit (Disgardium Book #6): LitRPG Series, Dan Sugralinov [the reader ebook .TXT] 📗

“Of course!” Kiran ground his teeth. “But Nergal made his summons to destroy the temple of the Sleepers! The Supreme Legate encountered the player army and could not survive.”

“And Sheppard was the one who activated the Sleepers,” Bellamy said darkly.

“He is getting stronger,” Kiran said, sighing. “Fortune protects him, he has a tamed beast god, he’s almost finished building the second temple in the desert and he’s getting ready to erect a third — a third! — on Terrastera! But that isn’t the worst of it!”

“What is the worst?” Menfil asked, his voice kindly, but with a sharp edge of menace.

“The Sleeping God has given him a quest. To put an end the Destroying Plague.”

“And? Is that even possible?”

“The AIs that control the gods compete for the world. Remember, they believe themselves to be real gods, with no suspicion of their true nature. The Celestial Arbitration — the group of AIs that controls Dis, — has no influence on the fabric of the world. Like an overseer, it merely ensures that the actions of the inhabitants conform to the laws of creation. For them, balance is top priority. All is connected. If even Nergal can be lowered to the level of a protoplasm by depriving him of Faith… The Sleeping God that Sheppard brought to the Nucleus hacked the code of the Destroying Plague and identified a game object that can be used to break the connection between the Nucleus and the Nether, from which the Destroying Plague takes its strength. That will destroy the undead faction. And Sheppard is going after that object — Concentrated Life Essence.

“The prize for winning the Demonic Games,” Bellamy clarified for Menfil. “If Scyth wins, then all he has to do is reach the Nucleus and use the essence. Without the Nucleus, all the undead will disincarnate.”

“And no, we can’t just take him out of the equation,” Kiran said, seeing where Menfil was going. “Unfortunately, eliminating Alex Sheppard himself will achieve nothing. There is a very high probability that his character will continue playing, under the control of his patron god’s AI. In addition, someone upstairs is favorable to Scyth, for some reason. It’s strange…”

“Right,” Arto Menfil agreed. “I have information that our projects aren’t the only secret ones. The founding fathers came up with something else twenty years ago, but I don’t have access to it. Just scraps of information. What about the player legates?”

“That reminds me, regarding Mogwai,” Chloe interjected. “Fen Xiaoguang has written an open letter. He’s raging, demanding that we solve the problem of his illegal imprisonment! He’s threatening to sue and wants us to give his lost levels back!”

“He’s just playing to the crowd, it’s all part of the gameplay,” Kiran noted.

“All the same,” Menfil frowned. “Is there any way to free them?”

“Convince Hinterleaf to let Mogwai go, he’ll summon the others,” Bellamy answered. “But there’s no point just yet — the legates won’t be any use during the Demonic Games. They can’t infect anyone. And while they languish in prison, they’ll save up some righteous anger…”

“What do we have on Hinterleaf?” Menfil asked.

“Apart from the fact that he isn’t Otto Hinterleaf? Nothing. If we pressure him or offer him…”

“What for?” Chloe interrupted. “Mogwai isn’t the Supreme Legate anymore!”

Looking around with a smile on her face, she declared:

“Eileen Waters, leader of the Widowmakers, has overtaken Mogwai’s level. The Nucleus promoted her to Supreme Legate! I only just found out.”

“Good!” Menfil nodded. “As I understand it, Waters has a serious grudge against Sheppard. That can only be to our advantage. But if she and the other legates can’t handle it… Then it is critical that Scyth be neutralized!”

“Removing him from the picture may not be an option,” Kiran mused, glancing at the others. “But no citizenship means no Threat. The boy has his citizenship tests in a month!”

A furious discussion began. The idea was welcomed; it solved all their problems. Only skeptical Menfil quietly asked Kiran:

“Are you sure he won’t finish off the Nucleus in a month?”

“First he has to win the Demonic Games, which he will fail to do. More than that, he won’t even show up there. When the scenario of the Destroying Plague was originally written, this option was considered for neutralizing the initiator of the undead invasion.” Kiran paused and whispered: “The Celestial Arbitration. No, we won’t influence its decisions, but it can’t fail to intervene. The one who brings the undead into the lands of the living will be sent into Banishment forever!”

Menfil closed his eyes for a moment, showing that he understood. He rose from his wheelchair, rapped his fingers on a tray taken from a nearby drone and shouted:

“Colleagues! We will be taking a short break, and then we’ll be getting down to the details!”

The room livened up. All those present had touched the corporation’s secrets, which naturally boosted their self-esteem, but after the break, they would finally stop playing the role of listeners and get to work.

Arto Menfil took Kiran Jackson by the arm and whispered:

“Let’s take a walk.”

They disappeared through the door of the relaxation room. With a barely perceptible smile, Menfil watched as Kiran read a message that just came in:

My dear, I’m afraid we aren’t a good match for each other. Irma. P.S. Sorry, but you’re going to have to get a new head of security. Farkhad tripped and broke his neck.

“Irma…” Menfil said dreamily. “How do you like her, Jackson? Good squeeze? But listen, you have to be nicer to girls like that, don’t you agree?”

“How do you..?”

“Doesn’t matter how! Let me give you some advice. Never order the assassination of someone you know nothing about. You might get return fire.”

For the next few moments, Kiran felt as if he was looking into the eyes of death. Menfil’s