"You don't need to have your eyes open to see the sun, nor do you need to have sharp ears to hear the thunder. To be victorious you need to see what is not visible."

Sun Tzu (The Art of War).

A narrow gap appeared out of nowhere in a corner surrounded by trees in the Redenção park, in Porto Alegre. On the other side, a city made entirely of crystals could be seen. Stealthily, three living beings crossed it and the opening closed right after. They looked around to make sure there was no one to see what had happened and went out to the street.

"Are you sure he's here, my love?" Eduarda asked.

"He's not far, according to the detector," Igor looked at his fiancee and laughed. She learned to disguise herself and had the appearance of an old woman all wrinkled and hunchbacked. "Ouch, Eduarda, you're too ugly. Couldn't you have toned it down a bit?"

"Look who's talking." She also laughed. "And you look like an old pirate with that parrot on your shoulder and the eye patch."

"Parrot, parrot," Gwydion shouted. "I feel kind of ridiculous this way, so see if you can find him soon."

"Igor, where could he have gone?"

"According to what you said, he was in Rio, involved in politics and in about fifteen days he returned to Porto Alegre," the groom commented, thoughtful. "Is there any event here involving politicians?"

"Isn't it the time of the Expointer?" Eduarda wondered. "It is, and now I remembered that the president was going to the opening of the fair."

"You're right, angel, but the fair is in Esteio and he's in the central region of Porto Alegre," the groom agreed. "It would be the perfect time for that bastard to take over the president. Personally, I hate that woman, but that demon would be incomparably worse."

"Let's check the Piratini Palace or the downtown hotels.

Igor transported them to the Matriz Square, next to the Júlio de Castilhos monument, a place that should be empty, but, to his bad luck, there were a lot of people there. A woman saw the three appearing out of nowhere and started screaming and pointing at the couple. Forgetting that they looked like beggars, they hurried towards the governor's palace and, soon after, they were surrounded by three cops who held them. At his request, Gwydion took off and flew overhead, while the couple was taken to the front of the Legislative Assembly building, where there were some police cars. With the privileged position, they both saw the president and the governor getting into the official car under a shower of boos from the population watching. The two looked at each other and laughed, while undoing the handcuffs. They held hands and disappeared into nothing, leaving a bunch of policemen very astonished and also scared. The jump was short, just a few blocks ahead because he needed to guide Gwydion, who appeared two minutes later. They still saw the special escort group doing their jobs, but that didn't interest them anymore.

"It doesn't seem to me that the attack will be here, in the city," Igor said, thoughtful. "Sweetie, take care of us that I will concentrate on the crystal locator."

As soon as he picked up the detector, he found out that the creature was no longer there but about twenty kilometers away. The couple held hands, looked around and disappeared from the street to reappear next to a group of trees, near the entrance of the Assis Brasil park and already inside it. Igor pointed ahead:

"There are the information counters, but it's better to change disguises. Beggars, here, will attract attention right away."

"That's true, honey." Eduarda pointed to some guys who were walking around. "How about we play the cowboys? That way we pass as exhibitors. Faking a badge is a piece of cake!"

"Excellent," Igor agreed. "And Gwydion?"

"I think it's better for Gwydion to stay as a bird so they don't mess with him," Eduarda suggested. "But he can go back to being a hawk—"

As a miracle, the three changed shape. Now Eduarda looked like a beautiful brunette with very black hair, wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt accompanied by a leather jacket and boots. On her head, she wore a hat. Igor also followed the same style, but he couldn't resist saying:

"Wow, sweet love, you're hot as hell and I feel like giving you some good squeezes. How about we sneak away and—"

"Stop with that nonsense, Igor." She laughed, delighted with the compliment from his groom. "Later we'll have our private party."

"You're right." At the information counter they found out where the president was going to speak and went to the place, which had a strong security scheme.

"He won't attack here," Igor commented. "He needs to kill and take her form."

"And I just located him, honey." Eduarda pointed to a woman about thirty meters away. "The son of a bitch is using my face."

"Well, my beautiful, at least he has good taste." Igor laughed at her face. "Gwydion, do you think you can keep an eye on him from the air?"

"Easily" said the dragon, taking off and staying fifty meters high, flying in circles. "But I think they'll think I'm a vulture, spinning here non-stop."

"Come on, Gwydion, they won't even look up!" The wizard laughed. "The way they are angry with the government, it will be a booing only."

When the president went up to the podium, Igor's prediction proved to be a fact and he took more care because, in the confusion, things could get complicated.

At that moment, the fake Eduarda started screaming:

"Gun, gun, watch out," pointing to a man in the crowd who, without understanding anything, looked around.

The panic formed at once and the attendees hurried away, running in all directions, including the supposed criminal.

Only Samuel did not move and, seeing this as a golden opportunity, Igor threw a ball of plasma over the demon, who was hit in the legs, falling to the ground.

Knowing that he would become a target, he raised his personal barrier while Eduarda, with her ring shining brightly, did the same and moved away from the groom to shoot the creature from another angle. She began to feel the adrenaline and excitement of the imminent battle, giving her more strength and confidence.

The security guards covered the president with their bodies and, while some took their weapons to look for the source of the danger, others tried to get her out of the danger zone.

The creature, while in human form, was much more susceptible to being hit, but now it was furious that they had messed up her plans. It got up in a hurry, jumping back just in time that Eduarda's plasma bomb reached her, grazing her. Samuel, scared and seeing that the greater danger was Igor, retaliated, throwing a black sphere that hit the wizard without any effect, undermining the monster's confidence for the first time. In the meantime, there was no one else on the lawn except the three fighters and Samuel decided to hit Igor at his weakest point, preparing a fatal attack against Eduarda. To make matters worse, the wizard also became a target of the army who judged him a terrorist. While the creature retreated and prepared her counterattack, Igor saw what she intended to do and started running towards the bride because he knew she didn't have a strong enough barrier to withstand the enemy, but, terrified, he concluded that he wouldn't reach her in time when Gwydion reacted and dove, starting the metamorphosis in mid-flight.

The moment some of the soldiers heard a loud roar and looked up to see a hawk turning into a gigantic lizard spitting fire, they scattered screaming, thinking that was too much even for them.

The demon received a new violent charge and backed away, very distressed. He turned to attack Eduarda again, but was hit again by Igor who tried to protect her at all costs. Gwydion began to emit a curtain of fire and smoke, but this proved to be a gross tactical error because the creature opened a portal and fled quickly covered by the smoke.

With a loud curse, Igor ran to the place of escape and tried to feel where he had gone, but was very disturbed when a whole battalion of police and the armed forces attacked the trio with heavy and super-heavy weapons. Annoyed, he threw over them a network of intense static electricity, managing to neutralize the police forces, who writhed with the discharges, and opened a portal in the approximate direction of the enemy, signaling the two to pass.

Powerless, the military watched the terrorists disappear as if by magic and without being able to identify them.

― ☼ ―

In the world where they went, the three joined and started talking, with a very excited Eduarda and a worried groom. It was an empty and wild place on the edge of a lush forest. There was a group of rocks that they used as a seat to talk and think about the action. The temperature was a bit low and Igor made a fire appear out of nowhere along with some firewood to keep it.

"Well," he began, thoughtful, "the creature did not resist us three and that is a great start."

"The mistake was all mine," said Gwydion, desolate. "I rushed and ended up helping his escape. Sorry."

"It doesn't matter, Gwydion." Eduarda smiled at the huge dragon. Since he showed her his previous life she had a very special lecture by the beautiful creature. "At least now we know we can do something against Samuel and that we are no longer at his mercy."

"No doubt. Besides, you prevented him from hitting Eduarda, Gwydion, and I will always be grateful for that." Igor put another log on the fire, brightening the flames. "He must be close. Nothing that my detector can't solve."

"I think I better do a quick reconnaissance from above to see if we're safe" said the dragon.

"It's a good idea," Igor commented, "but I can track him down easily and it's just a matter of time before we destroy him."

"If it's just a matter of time, honey," Eduarda said, suspicious after the dragon took off. "Why do you have such a concern and silence?"

"Eduarda." Igor took her in his arms, almost trembling, and kissed her with ardor, laying her on the ground while caressing her face with all the softness, "I love you more than anything in this Universe."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"That's why I don't want you to stay with me in this fight," he said, very serious. "You are not trained for a more serious combat and I can be hit trying to protect you. If he destroys me, there is no one else with enough power to catch him, not even Ezequiel."

"It happens, my love, that Ailin was a great fighter and Gwydion awakened me all the past memories or did you forget that?"

"It also happens, my love," Igor retorted, laughing, "that the only way he can destroy me is by hurting you and that demon knows it. He will make a point of trying to kill you to hit me."

"Really?" she asked, mischievous. "And how would he hit you."

"I think I would die inside if they killed or hurt you, my love." Igor got even more serious and she stopped playing with him. "I don't know if I could take it."

The girl kissed him. When she stopped, she smiled and said, very naughty:

"Well, I could think about it, but only if you promised me one thing" she said. "Little thing, a little nonsense."

"And do you think you're going to catch me again?" He laughed. "My princess, you will have all the children you want as long as you go to the Citadel to wait for the final confrontation, but only after the crisis is over; I promise."

"Agreed." Eduarda laughed, happy. "And since we are only the two of us on this beautiful and uninhabited planet, how about we train?"

"We are not only the two, my love," Igor shook his head, smiling, "although it means nothing to Gwydion, but you know I'm very shy, right?"

"Okay." She kissed him. "I love your shy side, I always loved, since college, even before you turned into a grotesque monster that almost scared me to death."

The groom couldn't take it and let out a laugh.

― ☼ ―

Igor opened the portal to the Citadel, and Eduarda went to meet her parents and friend. Seated with the detector in his hands, he tried to determine the whereabouts of the creature when a portal opened behind him and Eduarda returned.

"Goodness, my love," Igor said, a little upset. "We had already agreed that you would stay in the safety of the Crystal World."

"Sorry, Igor, but I can't. I won't be able to handle it if something goes wrong. That's why I came back. Don't be mad with me, sweetheart. I did it because I love you."

Eduarda approached slowly, raising her arms around his neck and smiling, offering her lips to her groom. Igor, also smiling, lifted her off the ground. But before she could kiss him, he hurled her with all his might against the tree behind her. Using his powers in the maneuver, the force was so brutal that the tree split in two.

"You made only one mistake, Samuel," Igor said with a threatening smile. "I am the only wizard in the Universe who can traverse all dimensions at once. Eduarda would have to pass through three or four portals, especially since she has little experience with it and would need to rest. In other words, she would never return so quickly. Even you have your limitations, monster."

The creature's eerie and terrifying laughter echoed loudly as the fake Eduarda stood up. When Igor looked at her, he saw his fiancee naked and provocative.

"Would you have the courage to harm me, Igor?" she asked, sensually approaching. "Especially me, the love of your life?"

Even though he knew she wasn't the bride, Igor hesitated. It was only for a brief moment, but it didn't cost him his life by a hair's breadth, thanks to Gwydion's immediate intervention. As Samuel prepared to strike him with one of his dark energy balls, which would have hit Igor squarely since the wizard was unprotected, an intense flame struck the "woman," causing her to recoil with strident laughter.

"You know it's not her, so control yourself," the dragon warned.

As if awakening from a trance, Igor shook his head, silently grateful. He advanced toward the fake Eduarda and delivered another powerful blow, sending her flying. Igor was angry with himself for hesitating, and it showed in his actions. He raised his hands, and a powerful surge of high-voltage sparks hit the creature, causing it to writhe and fold in on itself. Within seconds, it returned to its amorphous shadow form.

The wizard charged at Samuel, who turned and ran, moving as fast as he could. Igor couldn't contain his joy at having won a round of the battle for the first time. He was beginning to learn some of the enemy's characteristics, and now he was certain that victory was only a matter of time. As he thought, he quickened his pace, pursuing the creature. Cornered, it hastily opened a portal and fled to another world. Gwydion landed beside him and said:

"You scared him, but you must maintain better control over your emotions. That's where he draws most of his strength."

"I've just realized that," Igor replied calmly. "At that moment, he started to grow, but then he weakened again. It's not the only way he gains strength, but it's by far the most efficient. I'm certain he can't defeat me anymore. He always managed to elicit an emotional response from me, but now I'm prepared. That's why Ezequiel could hinder his progress, even though he didn't win. His greater life experience prevented emotions from surfacing."

"Exactly. So, what do we do now?" Gwydion asked.

"We'll hunt him relentlessly. He won't escape so easily because I can track him," the supreme guardian replied, smiling cheerfully. "That's why I let him touch me, to absorb the flows. Turn back into a hawk; I'm opening the portal. If the world is inhabited, try to mimic a local bird or animal."

"But that also gave him the same ability," Gwydion commented, shifting forms in a hurry with a little help from his friend. "Wasn't it a mistake?"

"It's true, it did, but it's far from being a mistake because now I'm the one pursuing him," Igor laughed again. "Good. Ready?"

The portal opened, and both stepped into a world that was a true paradise. The place where they emerged resembled an uninhabited island in the Pacific. The beach was full of curves and small turns, with rocks jutting into the sea, which had a blue-green hue more reminiscent of a tranquil lagoon than a vast ocean. The forest lay about thirty meters from the cove, lush and filled with birdsong. The sun, tinged with orange, was already halfway down the horizon, and the temperature was mild and delightful.

Recognizing the world, Igor said:

"This planet is deserted, without intelligent life." He thought more and concluded. "As a certainty, Samuel has on borrowed time and will never be able to escape from me."

He gave no further explanations and, soon after, saw the strange footprints that went towards the forest, pointing them to the dragon. He sat on a rock and picked up the crystal detector. He knew that the creature had not yet opened another portal to escape, since he would feel the disturbances of the planar particles. As soon as he found out where he was, he grumbled:

"I should have guessed."

He signaled to Gwydion and got up, starting to walk quickly into the woods while the dragon followed him in the air. The vegetation was sparse, so he could walk fast and without difficulty, but still, he walked for almost an hour until he reached a small lake with a nice waterfall.

Contrary to all logic, Igor continued to walk into the lake without, however, sinking, staying above the water and stopping in front of the waterfall. He looked at the curtain of water, which opened in the middle, and crossed it, entering the dark cave. The creature was inside, but it was invisible because of the darkness. Without any kind of transition, a globe of bright white light appeared over the wizard's head, who saw the demon in a corner.

"You will never escape from me, Samuel, never again," the young man began, very serious. "I know every place you choose to run away, dude."

"You can't know all the planets in the Universe, you fool." The creature growled the answer projecting such a wave of hatred that Igor even felt it on his skin.

"You're right, but I know all the planets that the wizards know and you absorbed that knowledge from Caroline," Igor replied, keeping calm. "I know that because this world was her favorite. Why don't you go back to your plane and leave us alone?"

"Because I can't open that plane," Samuel confessed, annoyed. "Besides, I don't like it there; it's boring."

Igor sighed, feeling that it was going to be much harder. Samuel moved sideways, as if looking for a strategic position to hit the opponent and that did not go unnoticed by the wizard.

"Nothing you do will be strong enough to affect me and I know you're getting weak, Samuel." The young wizard tried an intimidation tactic. "So I give you two alternatives: either I kill you without mercy or you surrender and you can return to your plane, because I open a portal for you."

"What guarantees do I have that you don't deceive me?" Samuel asked.

"My word of honor," Igor replied, solemn. "But you must return the essence of the lives you took."

"How do you know about the essences?"

"I am the Supreme Guardian, Samuel, and not just anyone; so, I know how to reason very well."

"Well, I intend to risk it." The demon acted very fast and Igor was hit by a ball of black energy that weakened him and eliminated the lighting of the cave.

The young man was surprised by the unexpected reaction and escaped because Samuel was weak, but did not waste time. Reacting with dexterity, he unsheathed the sword whose shining blade increased in brightness and struck a blow against the creature, who came running to attack him.

The black demon, as Igor liked to call him, was hit in one of his limbs and let out a sharp, unreal scream. He backed away to the back and opened a portal, fleeing again. Igor let him go to recover from the attack, since he knew exactly where the opponent fled.

― ☼ ―

The dragon bird waited on the edge of the lake when the guardian crossed the waterfall again. Igor looked at him and said:

"Gwydion, I would like you to go to the Citadel to support the final clash, if necessary. The creature is no longer able to defeat me, but, in the world where he fled, it will not be possible for you to go with me because of the inhabitants. I will open a portal so that you do not waste time or get tired."

"All right," said the dragon. "I will be ready to help. I will tell your consort that she has nothing to fear."

"Thank you. Tell everyone to get ready for the next few days. I will try to make him come out in the central square, where it will be easy to surround him when he is so tired that he cannot open a new portal to escape." Igor opened the passage and, seconds later, found himself lonely in that paradise world.

As soon as he was alone, he changed his appearance to resemble a creature from the planet where he was going. He became only one meter and fifteen, with a very large spherical head, maybe thirty centimeters. The eyes were so inside the skull that they looked like two holes and the ears very small, almost nonexistent. The head was covered by a thick black hair, which looked like wool, and the body had a red fluff. As a mouth, he had a thin beak and was not able to speak. In compensation, it was a race of telepaths.

Although they seemed wild, they were beings of a very intelligent species, but aggressive and superstitious, whose technology resembled the twentieth century of Earth.

Finally, he opened the passage and crossed. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a city and, in that place, things seemed anything but normal.

A little more than thirty meters away there was, on the ground, a dead passerby and many fellow citizens around him, looking scared while the authorities surrounded the place in a way that reminded a lot of how it was done on Earth. Curious, Igor asked one of those who looked:

"Hail, brother," he said, using the most common greeting of them. "I just arrived and I know nothing, what happened?"

"Hail, I've been here for a very short time," explained the subject questioned, "but it seems that a black creature crossed that wall. It was shapeless and very ugly, they say; but, after that, this thing turned into something huge and too scary, something that was not of this world."

"But what did it turn into?"

"It was too ugly, gigantic, they even say that two 'nasifs' fainted when they saw it, so scary that it was. The legs looked like two monstrous columns and the head was too small for the height. But the eyes, gray, were very scary because they seemed to jump and fall from his face. The ears were so big that he should fly with them, like the legend of the 'Assarat' giant that could fly with his ears, and the worst thing was the nose, because it was so prominent that almost a child could hang and swing. And look that instead of a beautiful feeding beak, he had a horrible hole! I have no idea how he doesn't starve to death." The description was accompanied by the mental image and Igor was crazy to laugh. "To make matters worse he wore a white robe, with a cape and everything, like the 'provider of death'. The creature passed here, grabbed at the waist a large, sharp object and killed our brother in front of everyone. It certainly was not of this world. They are saying that it is the announcement of the end of days."

Igor made the traditional sign to ward off evil and said goodbye to the other, following his way. The creature had changed to his appearance, perhaps thinking that he would enter his original form and arouse the fury of the citizens of that world against him. The young wizard had noticed that Samuel had not absorbed much about him and now thanked the Goddess for that because things would be much more difficult. Even the time travel was a consequence of an exchange of ideas with Caroline when they were at the beginning of the basic higher level, something that he did not even remember anymore because he did not find it relevant, although for the friend it must have been very important to the point of having thought of a theory for that, a theory that proved to be correct too much.

Igor also concluded that the mutilation did not destroy the creature, which should regenerate and reinforced the hypothesis of being indestructible. He sped up the pace, trying to find the demon when he felt another planar disturbance, a sign that Samuel fled to another place again. He looked for an empty region and created the opening, following behind him.

― ☼ ―

The official name of this park is Farroupilha park, but most citizens call it Redenção (Redemption), a large park in the central region of the city. A. N.

A gigantic agricultural fair that takes place annually in the city of Esteio at metropolitan region. A. N.

Esteio is a small town a few kilometers away from Porto Alegre. N. A.

Piratini Palace, at downtown, is the state government palace. N. A.

The Assis Brasil Exhibition Park is a huge area where many events take place, especially the Expointer and the Multifeira, two fairs focused on agriculture and livestock, among other affinities. The biggests of Latin America. N. A.