"You know, I think it's pointless, and also that it’s not what the good Mr. Machronus would have liked.”

“Silence!” Zamioculcas grunted, extracting the vital essence of the first traveler he had met. “I do not care what Machronus would have wanted, and if I could I would have sacrificed you too!”

“I do not know if you’re aware but something that’s already dead can’t be...”

“I know! Now let me work, you dirty ectoplasm. Demon!”

"I answer your call, master," the demon answered immediately, adjusting his monocle and his book for the thousandth time.

“Did this ghost tell the truth? Did Machronus really unleash the infernal bell on me?”

"It is indeed true," said the demon, picking up the traveler's soul. “Your soul is now promised to the afterlife.”

“No ... I can’t believe it ... Curse you, Machronus, to have meddled with what did not concern you in any way. I was finally seeing the end of the tunnel, I was starting to feel free from the fear of death. I wish you were still alive so I could murder you again, you miserable assassin..."

And for the first time in a very long time - the last time traced back to the time of his apprenticeship in the dark arts - Zamioculcas was seized with a sudden urge to sob. The trees around him suddenly seemed gigantic and terrifying. They were inanimate beings, and yet they would live longer than him. The traveler lying on the ground suddenly inspired him with an irresistible fear - one day he would be like him. After a ridiculously short time, he too would become a corpse.

Robert, floating near the dark wizard's shoulder, glanced at the corpse that was now lying on the ground.

"You know, this traveler you just killed, perhaps he thought the same of you” suggested the peasant in a humble tone.

“I only have ten years to live, I do not have the time to worry about the wishes of a worthless wanderer” Zamioculcas said with a disdainful gesture.

“Ten? I had heard nine.” Robert pondered.

"My ears were filled with the sounds of battle," said Sentinel's gloomy voice, "but I was sure I heard eleven bell sounds.”

“Enough! Stop confusing me!” roared the necromancer. “Because of you I will not even know how much time I have left!”

Clearing his throat, the miniature demon emerged from his master's sleeve and announced in his nasal voice:

"For a very low price, I can reveal the number of ...”

“Shut the hell up! "