Dragon

The hunt for Rat has already begun to tire him. Like a real rat, his opponent found the perfect hiding place for himself in the sewers. It is not clear why he took this opportunity only now, but for more than half an hour the Dragon chased him around the area, and the Rat repeatedly eluded him using underground communications.

To make matters worse, most of the undead were still on the other side of the city, and would come here by evening at best. Portals for its transportation did not work, because after a dozen past 'passengers' the portal collapsed, and the Horse needed a minute to prepare for the next attempt.

Of course, Dragon tried to use the local surviving population to create a new undead, but then came up an unpleasant moment. He could subdue a ‘ready’ zombie in a split second. But to turn a living person into an undead required some effort, and this action took about ten seconds. Too slow to talk about a massive rise.

Now it is clear why the Rabbit went on the path of infection with the 'virus' of the zombie through the bite. Although this method was slower, it did not require personal attention. But in order for this mechanism to work, it was necessary to first become the undead. To be honest, Dragon didn't see much use for slow-moving undead, even though they could sense the living. So, after a little thought, he raised several hundred undead... dragonflies. Now they could not only fly, but also feel the presence of life. And the golems, along with the usual dragonflies, had to cope with the capture of prey. Well, at least in theory.

But in practice, Rat went through cold water pipes and shit-filled sewers at the speed of a car. He was doing exactly forty kilometers per hour. So, the plan to 'catch up and punish' failed on the first clause.

In principle, it would be possible to go the hard way and force the golems to literally level the city with the ground. It would not be fast, but it was guaranteed to deprive the Rat of all possible shelters, expelling him to the open air under the attack of dragonflies. Apparently, such development of events considered as uninteresting by Players, so they gave the remaining figures only three hours to clarify the relationship. If the winner is not determined by sunset, both will lose.

Naturally, Dragon was not satisfied with this, but the Rat did not want to lose, apparently preferring to act according to the principle of 'neither yourself nor people'. So, time passed and the game of cat and mouse did not bring results.

In the end, Dragon spat on the search for the enemy and was decided to solve the problem in a radical way, as he always did - with the help of a good nuclear explosion.

Ordering his troops chasing the Rat in the background, he moved to the central part of the city. As it turned out, there were bookmarks here 'with cheats' for all Zodiac Signs. You just had to ask yourself the right question like 'is there a nuclear bomb here by any chance?'. In such a simple way, he was able to find out that there is still hidden the corpse of a dragon for a necromancer, and photos of all the game figures for the Horse. Unfortunately, Dragon couldn't use the latter, because the Horse didn't have the brains to do it. In a literal sense. What the organizers of the game left for the Dragon, he could not understand. I don't think they left anything.

So now Dragon was moving straight for the cache where a nuclear bomb with a capacity of about a hundred kilotons was waiting for its moment. At first glance it seems a little bomb. At least in a normal situation, this would not guarantee the instantaneous destruction of all people in the city. But keep in mind that the city is surrounded by an impenetrable barrier, so that the explosion will reflect off the walls and set up a total Armageddon here.

It was quite obvious that the Dragon himself would not survive this explosion. But he wasn't going to. Before initiating the countdown, he planned to turn himself into an undead.

Finally, his vehicle reached an inconspicuous store, in the basement of which the desired device was located. After examining it, the Dragon came to the conclusion that he could use the power of the Sheep to enhance one of the characteristics of the explosion. Naturally, he chose to amplify neutron and gamma radiation, even at the cost of reducing the overall power of the explosion.

The next step was the construction of escape routes. After all, the Dragon was going to win, and the prospect of burning in a nuclear flame somehow contradicted this. Therefore, he decided to build two buildings, the Pig’s good power is perfectly suited for this.

The first structure was to be a pipe through which the mud golem would lift the charge to a height of a hundred meters. This would make the explosion as aboveground, slightly changing the characteristics of the blast wave.

And the second structure was also a pipe, but horizontal, leading to the outskirts of the city to its very border. There, the force of impact had to be minimal, so the protection from the golem shell and the overall endurance of the undead should have been enough for the Dragon to survive. More precisely, it was enough to save body in one peace and save intact one of the three vulnerable organs.

Construction of pipe took almost an hour. After that, the Dragon returned to the center, checked how his golem built the tower, turned himself into an undead, and went to the bomb to dial the activation code. Rat was somewhere on the outskirts of the city at that moment, so there was no need to worry about it.

And so, the five-minute timer began its countdown. Loaded inside the golem, the Dragon with all possible speed went away, destroying the passageway behind him. Four and a half minutes later, he reached the prepared shelter and positioned himself in its center. There were a lot of golems around him, which were supposed to act as a dampener cushion, absorbing the force of the blast wave.

As he waited for the explosion, he felt the blast wave crumple all the defenses he had built and flattened his body.

Rat

The scuba gear found in a sports store was a gift of fate for him. With it, he could come out of an immaterial form inside water pipes and sewers, which immediately solved problems with poisonous insects. Moreover, it turned out that in an immaterial form inside the water column, he can move much faster than underground or in the air. So, he banally glided along the lines of underground communications, hiding from pursuit.

Of course, it did not give him the slightest chance to win, but he no longer hoped for it. The fact was that the Dragon moved on the surface even faster than him, plus he didn't tend to approach, always staying at least a couple of kilometers away. In such circumstances, it was clear that the Dragon would win as soon as one of his minions reach the enemy. Rat could only run through the maze, pretending to be a Pac-Man.

Once again, Rat shifted to a disembodied state and moved forward, calculating the options for the future. Only this time the fifteen-minute borderline reached to the point where he died instantly, without even being able to understand what had happened. Immediately running another line, Rat changed the route, but got the same result. The next time he guessed the transition to an intangible form a second before the 'Hour X'. Then he saw how the whole pipeline flattened. The length of the line was not enough for more.

After waiting fifteen seconds, Rat created a new line. In it, he climbed to the surface and could see the brightest nuclear explosion vaporizing the buildings around him. Immediately he in the real world changed direction to be as far away from the epicenter of the explosion, at one time going through the options of the future and looking for a place to hide.

Alas, the longer he ran, the more convinced he became that there was no escape. There was only the mad hope that he could survive the Dragon by simply holding out for a few extra minutes. Finally, he chose an option in which he was able to survive the explosion itself.

For a start, he got out of the sewer and got into a refrigerator in one of the stores. There he waited for the right moment and at the very last second switched into an immaterial form. The nuclear explosion destroyed the building along with the refrigerator, but not far from this place formed a small shelter in the form of fallen 'house' concrete floors. They saved him from the heat of the explosion, and he took the breathable air from the scuba tank. Previously he had to change cylinders a couple of times, running to the sport stores for a few minutes, but now there wasn't time for that, so he had oxygen only about twenty minutes, if he didn't breathe much.

So, lying in this semblance of a crypt, where even it was impossible to unfold normally, Rat looked through the variants of his own future, feeling in advance, as under the influence of radiation gradually refuses his whole body. With a last effort he turned on a small flashlight so as not to lie in the dark, and to have at least some idea of whether he is alive or not.

Dragon

Dragon had not lost consciousness, but he had certainly experienced some shock. The arms, legs, and head remained relatively intact. But the chest was flattened, shattering the ribs and sternum. Fortunately, his heart, spine and brain were almost intact, so there was no immediate threat of repose.

Habitually taking control of the surrounding golem, he began to dig out of the rubble. His senses told him that the Rat was still alive and less than an hour was left until the end of the game. Fortunately, the golems did not have any health problems, so they quickly ran towards the Rat.

The area where the enemy was hiding turned into a burning hell. All the buildings were reduced to piles of rubble, and everything that could burn was burning, or even trying to, because there was not enough oxygen in the surrounding air. But the temperature was like in the oven, and the water evaporated as soon as it appeared on the surface.

It was possible to wait for the natural death of Rat for several more hours, if not days, so Dragon began transform the rubble in the mud, just moving forward at the maximum possible speed. As an undead he had a sense of life, so he was oriented by it.

He wanted to create new dragonflies-zombies, but at this temperature, their wings and chitin cover melted, turning the dragonflies into useless worms. However, not completely useless. After some thought, he placed the undead available to him inside the Golems. Those he created from rock extracted from the ground, where the temperature was only twenty degrees. And due to the massiveness, the golems had to heat up long enough. So, after a couple of minutes, small golem-crabs stuffed with zombies-began to run away from him, searching the area.

This tactic proved successful, and he sensed the presence of life under one of the rubbles. He did not dig out the shelter, so as not to disturb the enemy ahead of time. Instead, the Dragon transformed the passage to the Rat into mud, simultaneously turning it into a golem. Finally, he was able to form an 'eye' on the opposite end of the golem and make sure that the opponent was unconscious or close to it. True, the man's face was covered by a scuba mask, but his breathing and heartbeat indicated that the enemy was 'on the edge'.

However, Rat could remain in this state for a long time, so it was necessary to help him cross this line. And he even chose a rather interesting way to do it.

Rat

Rat was almost unconscious. His thoughts were confused, all his abilities failed and now he only breathed air occasionally, obeying the survival instinct that kept him alive. But that was what he wanted, wasn't it? Continue to live until there are no winners in this game.

Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest. The next breath was difficult, but it was not the consequences of radiation exposure. It reminds... reminds...

At that moment, a cunning lamb's face appeared in front of his face. She squeezed between the concrete 'ceiling' and the scuba mask, squinted and then bleated viciously.

It was like... a sheep that had climbed on his chest. Realizing this, Rat breathed one last time, then the explosion tore him into small pieces.

Dragon

I finished watching the memories of the participants of this show and returned to the present. Yes, this really was like a game. But I don't want to do that anymore. I have not experienced for a long time such swings of emotions, such intensity of passions.

Also interesting was the way in which the organizers of the game 'deprived' me of all abilities to magic. In fact, my soul remained in that light-filled hall all the time, and my body's sensations were transmitted remotely. It was somewhat like virtual reality, except that I was connected to a real human body.

Distracted from my thoughts, I shift my attention to the Broadcaster of the show which radiated dissatisfaction.

“Did you finish watching the memories?” - He asked.

“Yes.” - I nodded.

"In that case, let's move on to the second question. You can make one wish, and I will try to fulfill it.”

The wording is not very clear. What does he mean under word ‘try’? He will try, but he'll mess everything with his crooked hands? Or did he mean that he would try, but he wouldn't do it? It doesn't matter. I have only one desire.

"I want you to remove the parasite that sat in my soul.” - Since we were communicating telepathically, I didn't need to explain what kind of parasite it was. The parasite after my words began to radiate obvious interest, carefully watching to Broadcaster.

"I will not fulfill that wish!" – Broadcaster immediately disclaimed, spreading emotions, as if I hit his head with a dusty sandbag.

"But you didn't even try, even though you promised," - I said. The parasite nodded, confirming my words.

“NO!!!” – Now, I could feel the fear coming from him. - "I won't even try!"

"Well, then let me make another wish.” - I suggested.

“No! You already spent your chance, no more wishes. Anyway, get lost!”

At this moment, I was thrown out from the space of light, and I was again in the void. A few minutes later Being found me here.

"I didn't expect that from you.” - Being slowly said, critically looking to me like a limping running cockroach. - "You didn't meet my expectations.”

"Why would that be?" - I was surprised. - "I won."

"Yes, you won.” - Being nodded. - "But you weren't the funniest.”

"Who was the funniest?" - I asked dumbfounded, though I didn't really care.

“Rabbit. He couldn't kill anyone in the entire game.”

"But I won." - I continued to press with my argument.

"And your wish is amazing.” - Being ignored my argument. - "That was supposed to be the funniest part of the show, where the Broadcaster fulfills a wish in the best traditions of Genies. Who's going to laugh at your wish?”

"What is wrong?" - I asked suspiciously. I have some vague doubts.

“Are you even know that more than a hundred Players’ hair turned gray, trying not to laugh at this moment.”

"So, is it a funny wish after all?" - I clarified.

“No! That's all, the question is closed.” - Being answered too quickly. - "Anyway, listen to my advice. Forget about getting rid of your symbiont. You can't do it yourself, and no one in their right mind will agree to help you.”

"So. Am I need to accept that after nine hundred years this thing will eat me?"

"You cannot prevent this. This is the fate of the best game figures. Anyway, if you make an agreement with it, maybe it won't eat you. Well, as long as it doesn't get bored with you.”

I didn't even have the words for such a suggestion.

“Who is my parasite that from one of its mention even Players tremble in fear?”

"You're not supposed to know that. In fact, you should be thinking about the next game right now. In general, it's too early for you to play in your league. So, your next task will be moral assistance to another game figure.”

“Only moral?” - I asked incredulously.

“Exactly. You don't have to personally intervene in world events. Your help should be limited to advice, encouragement and caustic comments.”

"That's a great help." - I assessed the prospects of my future 'client'. – “And what should be the result of my help?” - I asked, just in case.

“Your fosterling should win. In his case, this means that events should more or less correspond to the canon and end with the same ending.”

“Aha... I once believed that to achieve such a result, nothing should be done at all. The canon itself makes its way into reality by adjusting events.”

“Not always.” - Being sighed sadly. – “This is a high-difficulty game. In other words, the enemies are ten times stronger, so the game figure needs to be twisted in all possible ways. And I have a problem there. When the soul was implanted, there was too much fusion with the astral shells of the main character, and as a result, the hero's insignificance resonated with the insignificance of the implanted person, so that we got a spineless slug with only the memories of the main character of the story. With such initial data, the chances of successfully following the canon are zero. That's where you appear on stage. You will help my figure to snobbishly overcome all obstacles. And keep in mind that if he loses, it will also be your loss. Second in a row. After that, you can't count on leniency. You already know what happens to losers in your league.”

At this point, Being disappeared and I was thrown into the new world as a ghost.