«R» is a powerful sound, like a pile of other sounds… – someone whispered to him in his sleep. – Ray. This is power. The name will say everything about you… Destroyer.
Destroyer first of all himself.
Your aspirations and ideals.
I am a soldier of the Bale Empire. My code name is Destroyer. I answer only to Sixten Bale. My main task is to get into Paxbright territory and destroy Johann Shelter. I have no right to allow myself to die before Shelter’s death. The reward for Shelter’s death will be my own death.
Leclerc, noon.
University of Iridology, common room.
A lifeless face in a gas mask stared back at him from the eye-shaped mirror. Steel shape, cold machine gun, unusually broad shoulders. He looked more courageous than ever. Under the uniform hid a body withered from long-term hunger, under the gas mask – hated acne spots and gray-yellow eyes, empty like tunnels. The appearance of the Destroyer impressed Rey much more, so he began to associate his guise with the unwillingly taken image of a robot-like Sinister interventionist.
The Destroyer saw in the reflection how a plump woman in colorful robes approached him. She was noticeably worried at the sight of the interventionist and timidly looked away when she realized that the interventionist was looking at her.
– How can I help? – she asked in a trembling voice.
The Destroyer turned around and looked at the iridology teacher from head to toe. She was wider than him in size – the bulky Sinister uniform seemed boyish against the backdrop of the curvaceous form of the teacher.
– Are you 72372? – the Destroyer asked in a mechanical voice.
The teacher nodded as if she expected that the nod would be followed by some kind of retribution. The Destroyer, feeling 72372’s fear fill him with energy, slowly asked:
«What’s a woman with a Sinister name doing in Paxbright’s town?»
72372 began to tremble so violently, as if she was having an epileptic attack. «Her fears were confirmed, she heard what she feared most,» the Destroyer thought contentedly and, without waiting for any answer from 72372, asked the following question:
– Why is there no name on your forehead?
The Destroyer was sure that the question would remain unanswered, and waited for 72372 to faint from fear, but 72372 found the strength to answer this question.
– They took me to the Zionville clinic. Laser. I managed without donor epithelium.
– Do you know Elias Kritz? – the Destroyer immediately blurted out – and achieved the desired effect.
To avoid fainting, 72372 sat down on the floor and, after a moment of thought, her wide head swung first to the left, then to the right.
«Are you a follower of the teachings of the Great Liar?»
72372 wanted to answer something and had already opened her mouth to do so, but the Destroyer brought the machine gun to her very face, touched, and gently touched, her nose.
Surprisingly, 72372 has not yet thought about losing consciousness. The Destroyer lowered his voice, brought his head in a gas mask closer to the teacher’s fleshy ear and whispered:
«We both know that what you are saying now is not true.»
The Destroyer moved away from 72372 and looked searchingly into her deathly frightened eyes. Oh yes, 72372’s ability to read thoughts in the eyes seems so useless now! The Destroyer could only be glad that the gas mask hid the sadistic pleasure of the gray-yellow eyes, which 72372 would instantly recognize as Rhea.
«We know that you are in close contact with Elias Roderick Kritz,» said the Destroyer. – You could say he is your close friend. My master requires information about his current location.
«I don’t…» From lack of air, 72372 took several breaths intermittently. «I don’t know where Elias is.»
The destroyer pointed his machine gun at the teacher and pointedly touched the trigger with his finger.
– And so? So do you know where he is?
72372 began to breathe even faster, her voice became higher and more intermittent.
– Well… well, I don’t know either…
«Are you a follower of the teachings of the Great Liar?» – The Destroyer repeated loudly and pretended to pull the trigger.
72372 shuddered all over and after realizing that the shot had not been fired, she answered with some relief in her voice:
«I swear… I swear that I’m not lying!»
The Destroyer looked for a long time into the eyes of 72372 – into those narrow small slits in his unkempt, fat face. The longer the machine was pointed towards 72372, the more doomed her gaze became. But her fear of dying is nothing, an empty worry compared to his reluctance to live.
The Destroyer took his sights away from the teacher and placed the machine gun on his shoulder. He allowed Ray to intervene in his mind to ask the following question:
– When and under what circumstances did you see Elias?
72372’s gaze still did not leave the machine gun. She sighed slowly, looked back at the walls of the empty university as if she was trying to apologize to them, and then began to say:
