Lina-tachi regrouped once again outside the temple. Ame and Sylphiel screeched to the other sorcerers about their finds, and Gourry smiled proudly, sporting his new sword in its sheath. This new one worked in much the same manner as the Hikari no Ken, but had different properties. The sword had a false blade for normal battles, but when attacked by Mazoku, demons, or other monsters, this blade could come away, revealing a blade of astral energy. It functioned much like the Shamanist spell Astral Vine, but at a much greater strength.
The group started to walk off, happy with their finds, when a whirlwind of dust appeared before them. It accumulated into a thick, spinning cloud resembling a tornado, then dissipated, revealing a form cloaked by swirling shadows.
Unlike most villains, the figure didn't waste time with petty words about how it would defeat them. Instead, it rose into the air, the shadows trailing behind it slightly, revealing patches of a black cape. Lifting a weapon above its assumed head, it began to chant in a low voice, a definite male voice. Amelia stood in front of the others, Gourry close behind her, ready to slash out at it with his sword as she shielded them.
The shadowy figure finished the spell, crying the words "Blast Bomb!" into the air. Balls of light shot forth from the weapon, raining upon Amelia's shield as they exploded, each with the power of a Burst Flare. The defence began to fall, then shattered suddenly. The other magic casters barely had time to defend themselves as the flames swept up on the ground around Amelia and Gourry, taking each almost simultaneously.
"Kisama!" Zel shouted, preparing a Dynast Breath. His enemy simply chuckled at him darkly, waiting for the assault. The shaman released his spell, the surge of crystals soaring to meet the enemy. He merely floated out of the spell's way, then slammed against Zelgadis, his weapon left protruding through his chest, almost pinning him to the dry ground. The cracks filled and overflowed with Zel's blood as the enemy removed the sharp end and phased away.
Lina stepped up next, tearing her tear-brimmed eyes away from her fallen comrade as she defended the remaining group against attack. Since she didn't know Shamanist spells high enough to damage this guy, she decided to try a high black magic one instead. She muttered the Chaos Words as she approached the shadowed form.
"DOLPH STRASH!" The spear-like shockwave of power slammed into the figure, creating a sonic boom. He took the brunt, but it halted him slightly. Sylphiel ran to the chimera, casting Resurrection as quickly as she could utter the words.
Seeing that hadn't worked well, the fiery-haired sorceress started to use her lesser fire shamanist spells, hoping to buy the shrine maiden some time. Flare Bits, Flare Arrows, all fell harmlessly against the opponent's shield. Damn, she thought. He must've watched us entering the temple and just waited till we came out! I've got to conserve my energy so that I can Laguna Blade his ass out of existence once I have back-up. Can't afford it now. She looked back to Sylphiel and Zelgadis, the girl still desperately healing him.
"DYNAST BREATH!" she called, knowing it wouldn't do much good, but praying to every god she knew of that it would distract him long enough. Lina looked back again, seeing that the Resurrection was almost complete.
Her hopes were crushed as he thrust forward again, catching her off guard. He knocked her to the ground and raised his weapon above his head.
"Who...who are you?" Lina panted.
The figure paused, as if considering whether to answer her last question. Then the weapon raised fully again, prepared to slash down and kill the Bandit Killer.
Lina flinched, determined not to close her eyes to the death blow. The silence of the air was interrupted by a small voice, quietly chanting. The breeze blew the words to her "...may the fools who stand before us be destroyed..." Her eyes widened. "Sylphiel?!"
The shrine maiden stood, her own eyes narrowed in grief, anger, and concentration. "...by the power you and I possess. DRAGU SLAVE!!!"
The power of Ruby Eyed Shabranigdo seared through the air, cruising towards the attacker and his prey. Lina barely managed to escape the fiery explosion that engulfed her assailant. She ran towards Sylphiel as the girl fainted from exhaustion, catching her and laying her down on the ground next to a rousing Zel.
"Come back into the fight as soon as you can, Zel. I can't hold him against us much longer."
"Hai," he grunted.
Lina stood erect again and drew her short-sword. She figured a Dragu Slave wouldn't have finished off this guy, so it was time to bring out the big guns. Softly, she cast the boost spell for her talismans, then put almost all her concentration into building her power for the next spell, only sparing some of her awareness for watching her attacker. Said attacker phased in, black shadows still surrounding his form. Lina glared at him and began the most powerful spell she still allowed herself to use, the highest spell she had that she hadn't sealed away.
"Lord of the dreams that terrify, sword of cold and darkness, free yourself from the heaven's bonds! Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the gods! LAGUNA BLADE!!!"
The chaotic, black, crackling sword of power came to life between the sorceress's hands as she channelled it into her blade, using its enchantments to give her further control.
The noise of the spell distracted her from noticing Zelgadis's approach and attack. He yelled out the final words of his spell and released a bright blue ball of light towards the shadowed man. The ball suddenly broke upon impacting the figure's shield, washing the entire area in a bath of brilliant light.
When their vision had cleared, Lina and Zel turned back to the sight of the impact. The shadows still shrouded the enemy as he chuckled once more.
"Useless."
A gloved hand reached out from behind the blackness, and a ball of gold crackling with black formed. The ball sped towards Zelgadis, striking him again in the chest. He barely had time to scream out as the energy ripped through him and slammed him into the ground.
"...Zel?" Lina cried. Her eyes went blank for a second, the shock of her friend and closest companion lying in a pool of blood at her feet overwhelming her. Her senses returned to her as the spell tried to break free. She reigned it and turned her attention back to the floating figure, now descending to the ground. Apparently, he had decided to finish her off with that wicked weapon of his.
She glared at him, her ruby eyes as cold and hard as the gemstones they resembled. Lina lunged at the man, swiping her blade down over her head and into his body as he sent volts of electricity in Zel's direction.
The Laguna Blade bit through the shadow barrier, and she could hear his screams as it plunged into his as well. Zelgadis had begun to scream again, urgently yelling to her, but the words were lost in the static sound of her sword of nothingness.
Another noise joined the chorus. The man's laughter. But this time, the deep, menacing voice had been replaced by a gleeful cackle. A familiar cackle. I know that laugh, she thought, her brain trying to wrap itself around the sound and find a face to go with it. She memorised the sound then blotted him out of her hearing as she focused on driving the Blade through him. She came out of her reverie, still confused by the laugh as she heard the man chanting.
"...Buried in the flow of time...
In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness."
Oh shit, the bastard is gonna kill me using my signature spell! Gods, why didn't I think about the vision again until it was too late!
"May the fools who stand before us be destroyed...
By the power you and I possess..."
The shadows dissipated dramatically as she got the Blade further and further in, as well as herself. She could clearly see the weapon now, but before she could place it, the thing vanished, allowing its master to call the blood red energy into his pale gloved hands. She saw her end at hand, and tried once more to run him through with the Laguna Blade's power.
Her brain finally processed something. Hey, if I can see his hands, I should be able to... she looked up. Oh gods.
Lina froze in her efforts as she stared at his face, full recognition in her eyes and a sinking feeling in her stomach. The man looked down at her, smirking in an evil parody as of his usual grin. The smirk widened into a feral smile as he uttered the last words.
"DRAGU - " was all he managed as her spell finally tore down. He screamed again as the two parted, the ruby energy disappearing with the shadows as the trickster lost a great deal of power with the blow. He clutched at his midsection, trying to hold his physical body together. The mazoku's violet slit pupil eyes opened in a wince, glaring at the sorceress as she did the same, her spell still crackling between the two of them.
He fell to his knees as Lina approached him, the concentrated sword at his throat. She stared at him, pain, suffering, and betrayal marring her features.
"Why Xelloss?"
He looked at her like she had suddenly sprouted wings. "Why?" he chuckled. He closed his eyes and grinned. "Sore wa himi - "
She pushed the sword closer to his throat. "Finish that phrase and you die right now."
The priest sighed and opened his eyes again. "...duty," he croaked.
Lina pulled the sword away, confused, and let the Laguna Blade run out. "What?"
"It was my duty. Juuou-sama decreed that you had been allowed to grow too powerful, and sent me to kill you all. As it stands, I'll probably be killed for telling you this much, so you may as well do it."
"Was that all you came here for? To kill us?"
"It was the main reason, yes."
"But not the only reason."
He smiled. "Of course not! I always have my own agenda; you've figured that much out."
The sword returned to his throat. "And this little trip's agenda?"
"Lina-san..."
"Tell me!"
"I can't! SHE'LL hear!" he whispered anxiously.
"You're not getting any further from an imminent demise, Xelloss."
"I wanted to see my future, alright?!"
"That's all?"
"Basically. Everything else had to do with that or this."
Lina looked back at her friends. Sylphiel had regained consciousness and crawled over to Gourry and Amelia, trying to heal their wounds. The two still lay unconscious on the ground, burns all over their bodies. Zel didn't appear to be as badly injured as the first time. He had sat up and begun healing himself, keeping an eye on Lina and Xelloss as he did so. She turned back to the mazoku.
"You failed. Go back to your master, and if I ever, EVER see that smiling face of yours again, I'll Giga Slave your ass out of existence, understand?" she growled. He nodded grimly and phased away. Lina sheathed her short sword and walked over to Zelgadis, aiding him with healing his wounds.
"Why did you let him go?" he asked.
"You know how strong Xelloss is. Even in our current conditions, he would've beaten me. It's no use trying until I'm back up to snuff."
Zel shifted so that he could better hold himself upright. "You should be helping Sylphiel, not me."
Lina looked over to the others and saw the shrine maiden huddled over Gourry, sobbing as she cast Recovery over his broken body. She could barely keep the tears back herself as she nodded to Zel and went over to help heal Ame.
For being hit straight on by a Blast Bomb, the young shaman looked a lot better than the swordsman did. Blood came from her mouth and ears, but no pool of the crimson liquid surrounding her. Lina decided to take that as a good sign as she cast Recovery. The burns slowly disappeared and the bleeding stopped, leaving the princess sleeping peacefully.
The sorceress then moved to help Gourry, and cringed at the sight. The spell had burned completely through his armour in some places, the melted metal fusing with strands of his singed golden hair. The rest of his body was burned severely, and his breath came in shallow gasps as he lied in his own blood. The blood mixed and diluted itself with Sylphiel's tears as her shaking hands continued to cast healing spells over his body. Lina joined in, though she already feared the worst. She'd never seen Gourry this badly injured before. Hell, normally he was the only one who wasn't badly hurt in a fight. His skin knitted back together, but the internal injuries he had suffered were very severe.
"He's too weak for Recovery," Sylph sobbed. "We have to get him to a healer, Lina-san!"
Lina nodded. "I think I still have enough energy to fly to Tromper. Raywing!" she shouted, launching herself and Gourry into the air, heading in the direction of the city. Sylphiel simply collapsed on the ground and cried.