章 3: Hello Venice!

The next stop on my journey was Venice. In a previous life, when I was still an ordinary person, I had wanted to visit this wonderful city. But I knew perfectly well that with my income it was not possible for me to dream of such a trip. Now, my impossible dream from my previous life had come true: I was in a city where canals were instead of roads and gondolas were instead of taxis. However, only when I arrived there and lived there for a few days did all the charm of the city disappear. Why? It was because of the smell. I had a very sensitive sense of smell, and could smell the sewage that went down into the canals, thanks to my new snake heritage. There were no goldsmiths and the water in the canals was almost stagnant. Even if there was some current, it was very weak. The smell of feces coming from all the houses nearby was still a pleasure for me.I also came here, not only because of my dream, but also at the invitation of the head of the Badoer family, Francesco. He was the head of one of the most powerful families in Venice and was a squib like many of his ancestors. The last magician in their line was born five centuries ago. He invited me hoping that I could help his 9-year-old daughter who had been sick with an unknown illness for a year and none of the doctors he had brought in could help her. She was getting weaker every day and had frequent fevers, no appetite and constant apathy.Two months ago, when he returned to Rome to visit me, he heard about a young talent who had already achieved the rank of master healer and used an unconventional school of magic in their practice. He clung to me like a lifeline, because all other respected healers simply shrugged after examining his daughter. At that time, his daughter was barely able to get out of bed, and her sleeping hours were steadily increasing. Francesco adored his daughter dearly, and he was terrified that one day she might simply not wake up.

Now I'm in Venice, visiting Francesco at the Badoer home. He's in the baby's room, where the child is sleeping, diagnosing her condition. It didn't take long, but the results sparked fierce anger and the desire to kill within me. What they intended to do to this child was a heinous crime, and I shall personally seek out the perpetrator and devour their heart! The Naga spirit within me was raging.In the moment of my anger, I did not hide my aura well, and now, Francesco, who was in the room with me, looked pale from the pressure of my yaki. My desire to kill could be felt with my hands, so strong was my intention to kill. This manifested itself in the physical world, making the air thick and sticky. But I quickly regained control of my emotions and curbed my anger.

— Francesco, I'll be able to help your daughter, and congratulations to you! I said with a wry smile, but it was more like a grin of a predator that's smelled blood and is on the track.

"What do you mean?" he asked quickly, his thirst for blood forgotten. He stopped stuttering and managed to ask his question.

— Your daughter was born with a magical gift, not very powerful, but rather rare and dangerous. She is a dream walker and dream magician. With the proper training, she could pose a serious threat to any magician if he doesn't have the skills to counter her magic. And given the current level of training among modern magicians, there are probably less than a hundred such people in Europe. This is because it is a rare gift that is most often found among magicians from the East, where it is still extremely rare.

I didn't hesitate to help Francesco educate Maria. After all, my Slytherin library has books that can help preserve and develop her abilities. And I would like to practice this branch of magic myself. But after becoming a wizard, I gained access to this field. Because it is closely linked to the main ability of the serpent people - the magic of illusion.

"But how does that explain her condition?"

No way, it's just not good to drag suspicious people home. They put an illusion on her, an illusion of such power that her body believed she was an ordinary person and not a magician, and this would have led to her quick death because her body was in conflict with her magical soul. She would become an obscura, unable to take in magical energy or let it out. After hearing this, he imagined what would have happened to his daughter and to all those who were in the house.

"And it's only because she was a dream walker that she was able to avoid death within a month, which would have been inevitable if she were just a magician. While falling asleep, she traveled through the world of dreams, where she spent her energy. But every day, due to frequent use of magic, although she spent the accumulated magical energy, she also developed her inner strength, which is why she produced more and more magic every day.

After saying these words, I went to the table next to me and, picking up a glass, poured lemonade into it and wet my mouth. At the time of the outburst of anger, I experienced a partial transformation of my oral cavity and vocal cords. Fortunately, Francesco did not see this, as he was standing behind me. After returning to my human form, there were unpleasant sensations in my mouth.

"So, that's why she has been sleeping so much? Trying to survive, she entered the world of dreams, where she spent her strength. Every day, she had to sleep more than before - she fell into a chair clutching her head.

"I nearly brought her closer to death with my own hands. I ordered the servants not to let her sleep much. Do you know who might have done this to her?" Francesco's grey eyes were like a blade that was rushing between your own eyes. He wants revenge!

— No names, no surnames. I only know what kind of creature it was—its species.

I could get rid of Maria's imposed illusion in two ways. The first is to influence her body with my own magic in order to make her believe again that it belongs to the mage. The second option is to perform a ritual that will break the illusion. After considering both options, I decided that it would be better to use the ritual. It is still unclear what consequences my magic will have on her, and how her body will react to such a long period of being under the influence of an illusion. My magic may harm her since her core is still developing.

— What do you mean, Svyatozar? What kind of creature are you talking about?

— They are called kitsune. These are a race of fairy man-eaters, which, in addition to their true form as a fox, can also take the form of human girls. They live in the East, and small enclaves of them can still be found in China and Japan. I am very curious about where your daughter might have encountered this creature.

Now I could see how a puzzle had apparently formed in Francesco's head, and he said: "Creature!!! I will destroy it !"

- In more detail, Francesco, who do you suspect? I will explain one nuance immediately. I don't think there is anyone else in the city who can kill that creature. Seeing his desire to object, I continue: "I don't argue. A star paladin with magician-inquisitor abilities could destroy it, but it won't fight. The kitsune aren't fighters, but they have enough strength to sneak out of the city quietly. They're masters of illusion, and local magicians don't have the means to recognize their tricks. That's their racial ability."

- A year and a half ago, I hosted a reception in honor of my daughter's birthday. All the prominent families in Venice, including the Acquisition family, were invited. There has been a long-standing feud between our families, but on her part, there were earlier attempts to reconcile, and even hints of an engagement for our younger children who are not heirs. At that reception, the couple of Alberto Acquista, head of the Acquista family, was a guest from their house and a trading partner from China, Miss Ho Lin.

I need to clarify something:

— Francesco, don't be hasty in your decisions. It may be that the head of the Akustik clan has also fallen into the Kitsune's network. And do you know if this Chinese woman is still in Venice?

— Yes, she has been here for almost two years, establishing trade relations with local houses. She lives in the home of the Akustik. It seems like negotiations are underway with the doge of Venice regarding the purchase of her clan house in our city where they will reside.

Ah, that's it. Now, a lot of things are becoming clearer. In the home country of these monsters, there are many powerful clans of wizards, and there isn't much room for kitsune to expand fully. After all, in order to grow and develop, young foxes need to consume gifted individuals, and until they have gained strength through this method to form a third tail, it is impossible to create their own magic source. Only after a kitsune has a third tail can they develop on their own and become stronger simply by living for years.The Chinese and Japanese have lived side by side with cannibals for thousands of years, and have been able to resist them. If they start to attack, several strong human clans could unite and defeat the cannibals. They sit in their country, like mice under a broom, not wanting to cause trouble. They are content with eating the ungifted Muggle-borns who do not have a clan or sect behind them. There are many of these people.The creature that cast the illusion on Maria had at least four tails, although it is likely that she had five. And if we go by the worst suspicions, a six-tailed emissary from Asian faerie werewolves had come to Europe to expand its range in order to increase the clan's food supply. But I am probably the only magician in Europe who can expose them and see their true essence. This is thanks to the fanatical and rabid Inquisition of the 10th and 11th centuries, which wiped out almost all strong shamans and astral magicians capable of seeing the essence of things. Only through astral vision can one see the true appearance of these faeries. There is, of course, also spiritual vision, which allows one to see souls, but that is an even more rare gift than astral sight.

— Francesco, will there be any social event in the near future where Ho Lin will be present?

I was sure that the fox would not be able to figure me out and recognize me as his enemy. After all, now I have power, corresponding to at least eight tails, and maybe even nine. The power of the Archmage and my racial characteristics have lifted me to heights unattainable for mortal magicians. Nagi and Kitsune cannot stand each other, they are natural enemies due to their opposing bestial natures. Ordinary foxes feast on snakes.But with regard to our magical races, everything is completely the opposite. As a species, we are much stronger than they are, and in terms of development, we gain strength faster than those cannibals. Although, why am I doing this? The Nagas also eat humans and are very fond of human meat. But the delicacies of my kind are considered to be fairy flesh, especially the heart of the Kitsune, which, when eaten, can give a significant increase in strength. Well, if the creature itself isn't much weaker than Leg.

— Next month will be Mario's name day, the heir to Alberto Aquisti's. The whole colour of Venetian society will be there, and not just it. And that thing will also be there. Would you like to attend it? Badoer replied, still seething with anger.

— Yes, and by that time, I will have your daughter on her feet again, Francesco. Don't worry, I can do it, and there will be no difficulties with her recovery. However, we will have to leave Venice together. I need a place that is far away from the strongholds of the Church and the magicians, so that during the ritual required to remove the illusion from her body, I don't attract anyone's attention. Therefore, think about where we can do this, and I've already started planning my actions for when I meet the kitsune.

These creatures are very agile, far superior in physical condition and dexterity to humans, but slightly inferior to Nagas in this area. However, in terms of magic, I have a significant advantage. Snake magic overpowers fox magic. Kitsune's illusions are material, and although we can use them too, our focus is more on closing the mind of the victim, which directly affects us. Foxes can also affect space and the material world. Both approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, but snakes will never be fooled by material illusions. We Nagas, on the other hand, need to put in effort to see through kitsune's material illusions, but our actions against foxes depend on the difference in strength between the two sides.

We have a small estate forty leagues from Venice, and there are no other properties within thirty leagues of it. There are only swamps, meadows, and a small forest nearby.

- That's fine. Then let's go there tomorrow. Who else will be going with Maria and I?

Still, it was unexpected to meet such an extraordinary person here in Europe. Dream walkers are always worth their weight in gold and I am very fortunate that I have manuals and methods ready for their training. This ability is not hereditary and its owner is not necessarily a magician. Even non-magical people can have this gift. I will not let this person go anywhere until I understand everything and learn the mechanics of the dream walker's ability.

- As I understand it, you need to take only reliable and trustworthy people with you. And after receiving an affirmative answer from me, he continued, "Then my middle son, my cousin, and five of my bodyguards will join us. They are magicians and strong fighters who have participated in many battles. Decent people who can keep their mouths shut."

But for me, these security measures were not sufficient.

— Francesco, the ritual that will be necessary to help your daughter is forbidden. Therefore, all those who go with us tomorrow will have to sign a magical non-disclosure agreement, "I looked him firmly in the eye. I should have made it clear that I would not do something like this if not.

The ritual that I need to perform on Mary requires a human sacrifice. More specifically, it requires a significant amount of prana to activate, equal to the lives of at least five intelligent people. However, I can circumvent these requirements by drawing power from my own secondary soul principle. By consuming this prana through my anus, I will not be impoverished, and the cost will not exceed my natural prana production.

Even so, this does not negate the fact that the Church recognizes him as Dark. If it becomes known that I performed this ritual, the Inquisition will begin hunting me. I do not wish to cause another Plague-like outbreak in Europe like Slytherin did in his time.

- If there is no other way, then everyone will have to sign the contract. - Francesco agreed, without much enthusiasm or enthusiasm.

The next day, we went to an estate belonging to the Francesco family, which was far from Venice. I removed the girl's illusion there. Everything went smoothly without any unforeseen difficulties. However, I overreacted and put the girl into healing sleep after giving her some potions from my personal supply. A week later, we were back at the estate again.

— So, you want to make Maria your personal student?

Francesco still doubted my words, although I explained to him that there was no one else in Europe to teach the girl except me. Even if there were still craftsmen, they would certainly not take her on their training program, but most likely would simply strangle her to prevent competition.

— Francesco, I really hope that, by checking the information I gave you, you didn't arouse any suspicion and didn't attract attention to yourself. If anyone finds out about your daughter's gift, her life could be ruined.

Stubborn. Although it can be understandable. After all, he expected to find a healer for his daughter who could help her. At the same time, he did not expect a magician who intended to take her on as an apprentice. Apprenticeship with a magician is a serious matter, after all. Until the magician decides for himself that his apprentice has mastered everything they wanted to teach them, they will remain their apprentice. And during apprenticeship, a magician's word carries more weight than a parent's and has considerable power over their student's future.

— I have had no reason to doubt your words, Svyatozar, yet. But, you understand me! He exclaimed angrily, raising his voice slightly. "You are telling me about some incredible magicians who you say cannot be hidden from. At the same time, these magicians can both kill and transform anyone who does not know how to deal with them into a puppet. And you are telling me that my daughter is one of these magicians, but all my known magicians have never heard of anything like that. Only our family's alchemist was able to confirm the existence of dream walkers, but he did not know their abilities or how to distinguish them from other people. He read about them in the Vatican library where he was allowed to access because he had been ordained and had once served in the Inquisition."

He spread his arms apologetically, as if seeking both forgiveness and understanding for his situation.

— You know, Francesco, you have time to make a decision before I deal with Kitsune. If I don't receive an answer from you by then, I will simply leave your city, and the only teacher who could give your daughter the necessary knowledge and proper education will be lost to you forever. After all, I'm not going back to Venice anymore.

Oh, yes, tomorrow I will ask you to provide me with the money that was promised for the cure for your daughter. Well, if I don't get your consent, I'll simply kidnap her.

— Did you dislike our beautiful city so much?

Wow! He was very offended by my words about not wanting to visit his city again, although he didn't show it. It turns out you are a passionate patriot, Francesco!

— No, I really liked the city. But I'm a born potion maker, which is why I have a very strong sense of smell. So, sorry, but sometimes it just smells unbearably bad for my sensitive nose, especially in stuffy weather when the sun is very hot.

"But you're a magician, isn't there anything you can do about it?" - He was surprised.

- "There are many ways to protect yourself from odors, but I repeat again - I am a born potion maker with a very strong gift, so isolating your sense of smell from smells for me is like having to use only one hand instead of two."

And if you consider that I am bare, then everything is kapets. For us, smell is also a sense of others' mood, a second sense, as well as a way to detect magic fluctuations. To lose all this due to unwillingness to smell... fire me. Our conversation with Francesco didn't last long: after knocking on his office door, a servant came in to notify the house head of the arrival of their trading partners from an allied house. After that, Francesco went to see them, and I went to my apartment.Once in my bedroom, I fell onto the bed, thinking about the possibilities that Mary's apprenticeship offered me. Why did I even need it? It was all about her talent. To be more precise, the talent of a dreamwalker is not magical in and of itself. What, then, is a talent? It is a spiritual tool/organ/area of the soul, where several spiritual abilities come together. This allows for incredible manipulations for any other intelligent being and reveals abilities that depend upon a particular talent.The gift of a dream walker is a spiritual artifact that exists at the intersection of the sensory and mental realms, based on the energies of which dreams are formed. It allows one to travel in the dream world, penetrate into others' dreams, and influence them through those dreams. Once inside the dream of another person, a skilled dream walker can access their memory, view their memories, influence their worldview, and reshape their personality as desired. They can also drive them crazy or even kill them entirely, by forcing them to believe in their own death in the dream, causing their body to die as well.I, who do not have a gift for sleepwalking, can learn this as well. That's just because it will be necessary for me to teach my sensual spirit and mental shell to work together and find the right balance and state of energy in these shells of my soul, where the energy of dreams forms. And then, the path to the dream world will open up for me. Of course, I won't be as skilled at this as Maria will be. She's like a bird in the sky, while I'll be more like a hang-glider pilot. But that's all because of our different magical gifts. My mana may not be as suitable for manipulating and influencing the world of dreams as hers, but it's still capable of doing so. And once I learn how to generate dream energy and use it to enter the dream world, I can compensate for the lack of dream power with my mana supply.By teaching my student, I will be able to personally observe the processes involved in her dream walking ability, how the energy of dreams is generated, and how she controls them. This will allow my own learning of the art to be hundreds of times faster and more effective than if I were to try to comprehend it without a visual example.

It's just a jackpot! I'm willing to put up with the stench of Venice for decades as I teach her. I will teach her conscientiously, because she will be my personal student. If she does not get several master's degrees in magical disciplines by age thirty, then it will be a diminution of my ego. Salazar also had these traits, and I took them from him, along with his knowledge and soul. That is why he didn't take personal students, because it would have taken most of his time. He was busy trying to prolong his life and become immortal. When he got what he wanted, he would find a personal student, but I am not limited by that.Therefore, I will create a masterpiece out of Maria Badoer, whose name will be remembered for centuries, or else I am not Svyatozar Zmiev!Her magic core is not very strong. She was invited to Hogwarts, but she was unlikely to become a second Morgana without my help. I have techniques and rituals that can take young gifted people to unprecedented heights, but they are all forbidden. I will have to kill dozens or hundreds of gifted people and use their organs to prepare drugs. I'm "the noble one", so I only let marginals and scum go under the knife, and everyone benefits - Maria and magical society.The three weeks leading up to the reception at Akuisti's house flew by unnoticed. During that time, I got to know my future student better. However, she was not yet aware of her future apprenticeship, and her father was still only thinking about the inevitability of it. Thanks to my appearance, knowledge, and ability to engage in interesting conversations, I charmed the child. Well done, Svyatozar - take a pie off the shelf; you were able to win over a nine-year-old girl with your charm and charm, you're just an incredible catch!I spent a lot of time in the Badouer family library. Maria often kept me company there, unless she was busy with tutors or communication with her family. She was not alone but accompanied by a chaperone. I really liked the atmosphere at this house. All the family members stood up for each other and appreciated their blood ties. I do not idealize them, but even though some were brutes and sadists, they were sensitive, understanding, and loving within the walls of their home. This made them very worthy in my eyes and caused genuine respect and affection.

On that day, I went to the Aquisti house with Francesco and two bodyguards as magicians.

— And how are you going to act at the Akušti house, Svyatozar? So far, I have only been able to verify your qualifications as a healer, but this family has many powerful magicians in their service. The head of the Akusztik Guard, they say, usually has the rank of master of combat magic. Are you underestimating your abilities?

Mm-hmm. In fact, after hearing Francesco's doubts about my abilities, I should have challenged him to a duel. However, he has already realized that I don't adhere to aristocratic etiquette with all the curtsies, but only follow it when it is beneficial. A couple of days ago, I directly stated this to Francesco, asking him to be honest about his doubts. It was difficult for me to listen to his verbal lace when he tried to express his thoughts without offending my noble honor. After all, his true thoughts and feelings were like an open book to me despite all his protection artifacts. But wasn't it too late to ask these questions, already being at a place where perhaps I would have a fight with a kitsune today?

— Don't worry, Francesco. Neither you nor I are in any danger in this house. You should not have brought what is in your right sleeve with you. You won't need it.

He looked at me in surprise, and the magicians behind him even tensed slightly. A negator of magic was hidden on his right arm by his clothes, but he could only suppress magic from magicians no stronger than the fifth octane. At the same time, its range was no more than thirty meters, so it posed no danger to me, aside from the fact that we had to talk.

We got into a decent-sized hall where there were already a lot of people, to be precise, one hundred and thirty-three sentients were there right now. The servant led us to see Alberto, head of the House of Aquisti, and on his right side was a girl with an outstanding figure in certain areas. As soon as I saw her, my world froze.This couple was only three meters away. My mind was working at incredible speed right now. I was using all the power of my mind and body. In front of me, not a young kitsune with four tails, nor even six, as I hoped in my worst-case scenario, but a creature that had been around for at least five hundred years, which meant it was already a disaster on the scale of a large city, so if there was a prolonged battle between us, only memories of Venice would remain.Without hesitating for a second, in order not to give her any chance to respond, I took off at full speed. From the outside, my figure blurred in the air as I appeared next to Ms. Ho at the same time. Transforming my hand into basilisk skin with claws on my fingers that were not inferior to my fangs, I pierced her chest with them. When her heart was in my hands, feeling the beating of life in its closed palm, I pulled it out with a sharp jerk, causing blood to gush from the hole in her chest as she stared at me in disbelief. My poison was already corroding her magical soul and killing her flesh, affecting her organs.When she fell to the floor, a look of immense surprise was frozen on her face and my perception returned to normal speed. The hall filled with screams and many of the guests grabbed weapons or wands, but they didn't know what to do about my spontaneous and unjustified attack on Mrs. Ho Lin, the guest of the Akusti family. After all, it was a dark creature lying there instead of her, not a human being. There's no way to describe a humanoid fox with seven tails as cute, because their true appearance is very different. Their muzzle and body are covered in short, prickly hair that looks like wire. Their eyes are completely black, with no iris or pupils, just solid darkness. Their mouth is elongated and full of sharp teeth. They are not cute at all, but rather frightening. In my previous life, they were depicted in manga with a distorted image that was based on perverted fantasies.If you read ancient tales and legends from Japan and China, it is written in black and white that kitsunes are bloodthirsty demons. The women, seeing the cooling corpse of a kitsune, begin to scream. Some even faint. But Alberto Aquisti behaves very stupidly.

- The creature!!! The idiot exclaimed, and he rushed at me, pulling a dagger from his belt. It was stupid to reach for the sword on the box.

Shifting slightly to the right, I avoided his dagger thrust into my chest. Then, with a light blow to the head, he rendered the leader of the house unconscious. Why didn't you use magic? All this time, since the moment I had thrown myself at the kitsune, I had been watching the surrounding situation, which allowed me to notice an interesting figure. An elderly man, close to old age, but still exuding strength and not losing his strength. He was dressed in a simple monk's cassock, but a massive chain bearing a silver cross, obviously ancient, and a cardinal's ring on his index finger, left no doubt that he was far from ordinary.That's why I didn't use magic on such an ambiguous witness, after all, he could see my movements while clearly holding a high position in the Catholic Church. When I stunned Alfonso, the guards from the House of Aquisti rushed towards us, and Francesco and his son, who were standing next to me with their bodyguards bristling with weapons. I was thinking about what to do - hit everyone in the room with a spell of paralysis or sleep, but...

— In the name of the Holy Church!!! Everyone, put down your weapons! - the powerful bass of a very priest, who attracted my attention, rumbled. Yes, such a voice would be more suitable for a commander on the battlefield, not for a priest.

"And who are you?" I wondered, seeing how everyone froze and lowered their swords and wands when they recognized who had ordered them to do so.

It wouldn't be long before I found out: a cardinal in a plain monastic robe was approaching us now.