Carved into the floor was a summoning circle in the form of a hexagram with incense burning at each of the six points. The glyphs that made up the circle hummed softly with power as wisps of energy danced along the edges. A gentle illumination emanated from the magical device as it held back the darkness that encompassed the room.
Walking out of the darkness into the light of the circle was a person dressed in a black robe with the hood pulled over the face. Standing at the very edge of the circle, taking care not to break it, the figure raised his arms as he started to chant in a lost archaic language. Materializing in the air before the warlock were magical runes as they formed into what he was saying. Energy started to crackle from the circle as sparks of energy split from the floating runes into the circle.
Finishing the last of the incantation, the runes burst into pure energy, splitting apart and touching each of the points of the hexagram. Fire erupted from those points, then drew themselves along the line until the entire circle was outlined by fire. Flickering in place for a moment, the entire circle exploded into a column of flame reaching up to the ceiling. Watching the display with an utter disregard to his own safety, the warlock merely smiled beneath the hood.
As the flames died down, leaving only the burned outline of the circle on the floor, there knelt a tall warrior of unearthly origin. He wore a plate armor that seemed to be scorched by flames to a charcoal black with a red smothering cloak draped over his shoulder, nearly touching the floor. The collar section was drawn up to hide the lower half of his face as a bright fiery gem the size of a cherry resembling an eye rested in his forehead. Opening his eyes , which were filled with pure fire flickering out of its sockets, he looked at the warlock. He had short spiky red hair and attached to his belt was a long sword, flames dancing along the length of the scabbard that held it.
Studying the warlock silently for a moment, the warrior spoke in a hollow tone, "Why have you summoned me forth from the Inferno?"
Crossing his robe arms across his chest, the warlock smiled, "You are an Infernal Avenger, a fallen one, who glories in the carnage of battle. Your kind derives pleasure from incinerating the champions of good. I require a being of your talent."
"What is it that you desire of me? By the contract forged in the summons, I am bound to fulfill the task that you assign to me," stated the Infernal Avenger as he closed his eyes, but wisps of flames still seeped out of the closed eyelids. "I suspect that you have brought me to dispose of someone."
"You are correct," the warlock replied as he gestured with one arm. "Look upon the image I have called forth."
A pool of colors materialized in the darkness that surrounded them, shaping into the image of a group of people walking down the road. Walking in the lead was Lina Inverse commenting about something as she trudged along. Zel was retorting something back, but Lina wasn't paying any heed as Amelia and Gourry just shrugged. The four continued to walk on as the pool distorted and eventually faded away with a gesture from the warlock.
"Those are the people that I want you to kill," the warlock ordered as he turned to the warrior. "They are on a divine quest to become true heroes. I will instruct you to strike when the time is right."
"Understood," the Infernal Avenger nodded before he stood and with a gesture dissolved the circle around him. "What can you tell me about them? I trust they aren't any kind of ordinary being to be dealt with. The chimera stinks of a magical signature."
"You are correct in your assumptions," the warlock commented with amusement. "These people will be far tougher then anyone that you have ever met before. They have dealt with numerous mazoku and they have survived encounters with a Demon King,"
The Infernal Avenger stared at the warlock silently. His eye blazed with fire that left little wisps behind as he scowled beneath the cloak.
"The leader of the group is Lina Inverse, known by the many aliases: Bandit Killer, Poster Girl of Destruction, Enemy of all who live, and Dra-matta. Those are only naming a few of them, of course. She is considerably skilled in the use of black magic and is a fair practitioner of shaman. The four talismans she wears allow her to boost the power of her spells. Her most deadly attacks are derived from the source of nothingness. Greed and arrogance are two of her shortcomings that should be exploited if you care to undermine her."
"Zelgadiss Graywords is the chimera that you noticed, he was turned into that form due to an ill-negotiated pact with his great-grandfather. He is the most versatile of the group, having skills in the areas of a warrior, wizard, and rogue. Shamanism is his specialty though he has learned most of the black magic spell in the offense spectrum. Though his chimeric form grants him stone skin, your mystical blade of fire should have no trouble hurting him. Besides Lina, he is the most powerful of the group and you should consider taking him down first."
"Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, the crown princess of Saillune, the kingdom of yuppies living a foolish dream of peace and justice. Her spell casting capabilities are spread out among white, shaman, and black with a fair knowledge of most of the spells. You can consider her the main healer of the group, though she is likely to leap into the middle of battle at any given moment. Ear plugs might be needed if Amelia decides to start singing, a potential psychological attack."
"Gourry Gabriev is a simple swordmaster of the group and you should have nothing to fear from him at all. Though his skills are exceptional, without the aid of a magical weapon he will be unable to actually hurt you. He is the self-proclaimed bodyguard to Lina, so expect him to try to interfere with any attempts to dispatch of her. Ignorance is his biggest flaw, he hardly understands what is going on and you should use that to your advantage."
"An impressive ensemble of mortals," the Infernal Avenger hissed to himself. "I don't particularly care about their exploits. All that I know is that I'll see them consumed of in the fire of wrath."
"Don't underestimate them, many have fallen due to that mistake," the warlock warned as the Infernal Avenger scoffed at the comment. "I'll leave you to your own device for now."
"So be it," the Infernal Avenger stated as the warlock returned to the darkness. "I'll test their mettle before I deal with them."
Wolf Pack Island was located far off the coastline of the Demon Peninsula, obscured from the rest of the world thanks to the veil cast over it. Residing on this island, far from the eyes of humans and others, was Greater Beast Zelas Metallium. She is one of the five Mazoku Lords that were created by Shabranigudo for the sole purpose of destroying all existence. Assisting her in this endeavor are the Mazoku that have sworn alliance to her. Xelloss, her priest, is her personal servant that she trusts to deal with the most important tasks too complicated to give to other mazoku.
Reclining back in her bed as Xelloss knelt before her waiting for her to address him first, she smiled a bit as she sipped the glass of Zefilian wine. Zelas made a note to have Xelloss procure some more, since her currently supply was starting to run low. Though that would have to wait for another time, since there were more important issues at hand.
"So what is it that you have to report?" Zelas inquired as she put the glass away and pulled out a smoke. "There is something about it that is troubling you a bit."
Betraying nothing to his mistress, Xelloss replied, "I have seen evidence that Lina Inverse is undertaking a divine test set down by Ceiphied to prove herself to be a true hero. Though I must say the whole thing seems to be quite laughable, it appears to be very real."
"The test," Zelas commented as she lit the smoke. "I haven't heard of that in a long time now. Despite its obscurity, I assure you my servant that the test is very real. Though I doubt it was Ceiphied that truly made the test. This situation does interest me since my knowledge on it is vague at best,"
"You desire me to observe them?" Xelloss asked anticipating his orders, keeping his eyes fixed to the floor. "I admit there is something peculiar about this whole thing, the scion's power is far surpassing that of any I've known."
"Yes, watch over them," Zelas commanded fixing her eyes on the priest. "Ensure that nothing capable of endangering the Mazoku comes into their hands. I'll leave the rest of the task to you."
"As you wish," Xelloss obeyed bowing a bit further in respect, his bangs hiding his eyes.
"Don't allow things to get too out of hand of course," Zelas added puffing out ring shaped smoke. "I'm not all that happy at how the Dark Star incident turned out. You shouldn't have made such careless mistakes like that. One might think you were getting rusty or even soft after all these years."
"I assure you that I'm fully capable of handling the task," Xelloss smiled as he stood up flashing his trademark smile. "There is nothing to worry about, I always complete the task as you wish it to be."
"See that you do," Zelas said turning her gaze away. "Should you start to fall below my expectations, I have already set about obtaining your replacement."
Xelloss gulped a bit at the comment; his mistress was not that pleased with his conduct and if he got out of line this could be bad. A nagging thought in the back of his mind was the identity of his possible replacement. How did his mistress find someone even capable of replacing him and even matching his loyalty to her?
Zelas smiled as she could sense some confusion emanating from her servant and that was good, she couldn't allow him to be so reckless in future cases. With the diminishing power of the Mazoku thanks to the destruction of two Lords, any true Mazoku must be carefully guarded. Which made it important that Xelloss learned to guard himself a bit better.
"You may go now," Zelas gestured leaning back in her bed.
"As you command my mistress," Xelloss said as he teleported off.
"He is gone," Zelas said as a figure came walking out of the shadows. "I must say, my dear little servant seems a bit uncomfortable at the possibility of his position being in danger."
"It can only be expected, mother," Jedah smiled.
Sanboa, the lovely port town that was known as much for its shipping business as its dangerously proximty to the Valley of Tears. This prominent center was plagued a few years ago by a series of dreaded sea serpent attacks on its shipping industry. Luckily the serpent was driven away after it had attacked the port itself. Times were starting to look up again for this peaceful place as its shipping business slowly started to recover from those attacks.
"Ah Sanboa," Lina exclaimed as the group walked down the streets. "This place will be just perfect for us to find a ship to takes us where we want to go. Soon the honor and respect of a true hero will be mine that I rightfully deserve."
"Are you sure about that?" Gourry asked scratching his head, before Lina answered him with a jab in the stomach.
"Lina-san, shouldn't you be a bit more courteous to Gourry-san?" Amelia asked Lina merely ignored the question. "Well, I must say it is pretty interesting to come back again since the last time we were here. The place looks a lot emptier without all those heroes everywhere crowding the streets and cafes."
"You've been here before?" Zel inquired as Amelia nodded.
"Yes, back when Lina-san and Gourry-san were on the run from the law thanks to the copy of Rezo-san and Eris-san. Lina wanted to take a boat to Sairaag instead of scaling the treacherous slopes of the Valley of Tears. So in order to sneak into town we all dressed up like sisters. You know what, one of the heroes here, Volun, was so smitten by Gourry-san in his disguise he even proposed," Amelia explained as Gourry sweatdropped at that story.
"What weirdness you get into is none of my business," Zel commented as he rolled his eyes.
"Hey, why are all of you lagging behind? Come on, we have to find a ship and get to the caste before it decides to move again," Lina called down the streets as the three looked at each other.
"Is it me or is Lina seem overly enthusiastic about all of this?" Gourry asked confused.
"Well, Lina-san is acting a bit out of her usual character," Amelia muttered.
"Probably due to this whole thing is a sort of ego boosting thing for her and probably because the reward for it isn't all that bad either," Zel stated as the three caught up with Lina. "I hope you're sure which way we are supposed to go."
"Easy," Lina smiled flashing the ring given to them by the Avatar on her gloved hand. "The ring is guiding me in the direction toward the castle. Apparently it's located for now on some island off in the great blue yonder."
"Why are you wearing a ring over a glove? Shouldn't it be underneath the glove?" Gourry asked looking at the ring Lina was wearing.
"Idiot, if I wore the ring under the glove, then how can I tell what direction it wants me to go?" Lina snapped back.
"Well you could try not wearing the glove?" Amelia answered as Lina rolled her eyes at that comment.
"That would look just plain weird for one thing. What kind of person goes around wearing only one glove?" Lina muttered crossing her arm and looking away.
"Then why don't you just take both gloves off?" Gourry resolved snapping his fingers.
"What would be the point of me even having gloves if I don't wear them then?" Lina retorted as Zel snorted at the comment.
"Just like how you can have a brain in that head of yours but never use it," Zel muttered to himself loudly.
Zel then took an impromptu trip off the pier aided by a nicely given punt by Lina. He went soaring off for awhile before gravity worked and brought him plopping down to the watery surface. There was a magnificent splash leaving a trail of bubbles slowly fading from the surface. Amelia and Gourry both looked bugged eyes at that little spectacle as Lina merely brushed back by her hair and walked down the pier.
"Ah shouldn't we fish Zel out?"
"Zelgadiss-san is probably at the bottom of the ocean by now."
"Leave him there, I'm sure he'll find his own way of getting out," Lina stated back to them. "Instead we should concentrate on finding us a boat to us to out destination."
"That's harsh," Amelia muttered as they followed Lina.
"That's Lina," Gourry corrected her.
After probing through some of the captains that were available to make the voyage, the group hired a notable, though slightly eccentric captain of a ship known only as the 'Sea Swan 150'. It was a seaworthy vessel compared to some of the other boats. Plus its crew was not composed of a majority of chimps or having only three people besides the captain on board.
The captain name was Billy Threepwood; a pirate in training who recently converted his business into a tourist vessel with the infamous glass bottom hull. Dressed in a long black coat with no shirt underneath and black slacks, a traditional pirate hat with a skull and cross bone on his head, the pair of shades he wore to shield his eye from the glaring sun completed the image. Though he lacked any visual tattoo or even a missing limb, he did carry around a wooden stick that had a sword in it.
"So where are we heading off to?" Billy inquired of Lina, as the two stood on the prow of the ship as it cast off. "You were slightly vague on that subject matter, though as long as there is adventure, it doesn't really matter."
"We are going to be heading to an uncharted island with only this ring to guide us," Lina stated flashing the ring before Billy.
"Why are you wearing a ring over your glove?" Billy asked as Lina facefaulted.
"Not you too," Lina grumbled to herself as she pushed her hair back. "Anyway, just have your men follow my directions and there won't be any trouble." Looking around the deck of the ship, Lina muttered," Now where the heck is Amelia and Gourry?"
"You mean the swordsman and the princess?" Billy muttered scratching his chin in thought for a minute. "Well, I think went down below to look at the ocean through the glass bottom hull we have. With it, you can see all the wonders of the sea without the threat of a hostile environment."
"Yeah," Lina replied as she left the captain standing on the prow and climbed down to the hull to find Gourry and Amelia down there. "I can't believe you two would be so fascinated by a simple glass bottom thing."
"But it's so pretty to look at," Gourry replied as Amelia nodding in agreement. "Besides, look. There's Zel."
Sure enough, visible through the clear glass bottom of the ship was Zel sitting there on the bottom of the ocean. He wasn't looking all that pleased as he looked up at the ship that was passing overhead with a glass bottom.
Later after the crew had got some nets and hauled Zel's sorry carcass up from the drenching bottom of the ocean, they had to tie him to the mast. This was more for the safety of the general crew since Zel seem rather eager to dish out some revenge onto Lina. The rest of the trip proved to be rather uneventful, except for the storm whose wake they got caught in. Billy insisted that everyone stand on the prow and take the brunt of the storm as a way of having a good time.
After going for several days with only fish to eat, the group was more than happy when they managed to run aground upon an island with a majestic castle on the top of a cliffside. Lina insisted that this was the castle that they were looking for and that soon their quest would be done. The words of the old tale were true however on the guardians that protected the castle. Lina and the others soon found their hands quite full with taking care of the occupants.
"That was a lot of monsters," Lina sighed as they climbed up the staircase. "I think all of the legends were being a bit understating the forces of the monsters that were located here. I mean, sure you can expect some monsters, but not the likes that we've seen."
"Well at least we managed to get through them all. All we have to do now is climb this staircase and get the stone right?" Gourry inquired as he used a sword he picked up during the battle as a weight support.
"I think Lina-san is just a bit upset about having to tango with those three dragons all at once. I mean if Lina-san wasn't able to cast Dragu Slave so many times, we would have been toast," Amelia commented, wiping some sweat off her brow.
"Plus there was the harpy and the gorgons followed by those three beholders," Zel added solemnly as he brought up the rear.
"You mean those floating orbs with all of the eyes? Didn't Lina swear a lot when she found out that their big eye keeps her from casting her spells? I didn't even know Lina knew that many bad words," Gourry exclaimed in amazement.
"And what's wrong with me knowing such things?" Lina inquired as they continued their trek.
"Well it's not good for young people to be mouthing off such things," Gourry replied back before Lina booted him in the head.
This sent him flying down the steps into both Amelia and Zel.
"Stop fooling around all of you and let's go," Lina barked as she looked at the tangled heap of the three. "If we keep lagging like this, we might have to fight some more monsters and frankly, I'm getting sick of all of them."
"Then why don't you just give up and go home?" Zel offered as he pulled himself free.
"Hah, the only reason why I'm doing this is so that I can finally prove myself better than my sister. For years I was force to live under her shadow and submit to her every desire, but with passing this test and proving my worth as a true hero, I can finally be free of her dreadful shadow once and for all!"
"Is that your sister over there?" Zel asked pointing behind them.
"What?" Lina freaked jumping three feet into the air before noticing that there was no one there. "Very fun, Zel."
"I try," Zel said as he glared back at Lina.
The sound of hollow laughter interrupted the two followed by a fit of coughing and then some mutter about air conditioning. The two looked at each other before they raced up the stairs followed by Amelia and Gourry.
Reaching the uppermost chamber, it was illuminated by a globe of light centered on the ceiling. There was no sign of anyone or anything that produced the sounds heard. The room was completely empty, except for an intricately wrought platinum casket inlaid with gold and adorned with a dazzling array of smaller jewels, a single one of which was worth a small fortune. The framework held the casket some four feet off the floor. Its lid was open, and though the object inside did not glitter in the light, it nonetheless radiated a distinctive aura of power. It was perhaps a foot in length, made of a hard white substance shot through with a delicate tracery of black. Its shape suggested an immense egg.
"We have reached the top," Lina proclaimed proudly as every filed into the room.
"Be careful of a pit leading straight back down," Zel warned as they look around the room a bit. "I don't see any sign of who could have made that laughter. Something isn't right, we are not alone here."
"You're just being paranoid," Lina assured him as she walked up to the casket and looked at the stone. "This must be that divine stone thing that we need to bring to prove our worthiness. I wonder if they'll let me keep the casket?"
"You shouldn't be greedy about these things," Amelia lectured. "The honor and recognition of being considered a true hero should be enough to make your heart explode with joy."
"Um, yeah," Gourry muttered trying to add something to the conversation.
"Well, I guess that we should get this stone and leave to get our wishes," Lina smiled as she closed the casket and picked it up.
"Oh no you don't."
A bolt of lightning crackled out of nowhere as it struck Lina, sending her sprawling across the floor with the casket falling from her grip. Slowly materializing before them was a stark raving lunatic gripping a staff that sparked with lightning. His eyes were bulging in their sockets and darted left to right quickly; his mouth twitched nervously as he rambled insanely; his chin was covered with stubble, and his hair was wild; his clothes were stained and unkempt. The aurora of a powerful mage emanated from him as his eyes flashed with the spark of madness.
"Lina," Gourry cried as he leaped to Lina's defense, striking the crazy figure with the sword that he had found on the island.
The man's eyes rolled up into his head as staggered backward and away, bony hands clutching spasmodically at the wound, mouth open in a soundless grimace of pain. A peal of thunder, louder than a dragon's roar, ripped through the air, and the stones of the keep began to tremble faintly.
The shaking grew stronger with each passing moment. Tremors rippled upward from the castle foundations, and blocks of marble and obsidian fell from the ceiling, shattering with a spray of powder and shards. Glancing outside a window confirmed that the castle walls, tower, and outer buildings were also falling quickly into ruins.
"Well this was certainly an unexpected turn of events," Zel commented as he looked at the collapsing room. Scooping up the casket, he said, "Let's go."
"Right," Amelia nodded as she help Gourry pick up Lina as they quickly fled from the collapsing castle. From the beach looking back at the ruins of the castle, Amelia muttered, "I wonder if that was ever part of the actual legends?"
"Who cares," Lina muttered as she gripped the place where the bolt and had struck her. "We got the stone, so where is that blasted avatar?"
As if answering the question for them, the shredded upper half of Xelloss came falling down from the sky to land right in front of them. Following behind him was the lower section, but as soon as it hit the ground it quickly faded away to nothing. Lifting up his head a bit, Xelloss smiled at them for a bit though pain was evidently etched onto his face.
"What the heck? Xelloss?" Lina cried as the surprise appearance of the priest.
Suddenly standing above Xelloss was the knight clad in the shinning golden armor, the very same who offered them the opportunity to take this quest. His startlingly blue eyes held each of theirs for a moment, as if searching for something that couldn't be expressed in mere words, and a wide grind spread slowly across his face. Then as he bowed at the waist in a gesture of deep respect, and rose again, spoke in a tone conveying equal measures of wonder and gravity.
"You are to be congratulated. So few have come so far! Truly, you are every inch as worthy as I foresaw. Now earn your just reward and deliver unto me the token of your valor." So saying, he held out an armored hand, palm up.
"What happened to him?" Gourry asked gesturing to Xelloss.
"That spawn of evil tried to pry into matters that are forbidden to his kind. I made sure that he wouldn't interfere with your quest," Garndof stated as he glared down at the smiling head of Xelloss.
"I was trying to find the truth amidst the legend," Xelloss smiled as the scion frowned and stomped down on Xelloss' head. The remains slowly melted into black mist as they flowed upward to reform into a complete Xelloss. "Now that wasn't very nice of you."
"Be gone, lowly worm," Garndof roared as he hurled a bolt of energy at Xelloss.
Blocking it with his staff, Xelloss said, "Well I know when I'm not wanted."
Watching Xelloss teleported off, Garndof turned back to them and said, "The stone, please."
"Wait just a moment," Lina said stepping between the stone and Garndof. "Before we fork over the stone, let's get our wishes done first."
"But, you don't complete your quest until after you've given me the stone," Garndof remarked as the wind blew a sagebrush by them.
"He's right you know," Gourry commented as Amelia nodded.
"Drat," Lina muttered stepping aside as Zel handed Garndof the stone.
Accepting the stone, the knight bowed a second time and said gently, "Your names will be remembered until the end of time itself, for you have passed the essential test of valor."
"But one more trial remains before you may claim the reward that waits: the test of character. This test will come upon you suddenly, when you do not expect it. When this second trial begins, you must choose the correct path. I suspect you will have no more difficulty passing the next test than you did this one. Remember: Be on your guard, you will not know the second trial until it begins. Farewell!"
In a flash of light, he vanished along with the stone.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Lina roared at the space previously occupied by the knight. "Tacking on another test after you got the stone."
"Forget about it, Lina." Zel said as he walked toward the ship. "There is nothing left for us here, so we might as well wait for the next test."
"Come on, Lina," Gourry called as they head toward the ship.
"Well I want my wish now!" she pouted and stormed after them.
Garndof appeared in a chamber mired in darkness as he walked up and pulled the stone out of the casket it resided in. Holding the stone out in his hand, it floated up toward a multifaceted crystalline globe approximately 3 feet across, suspended several feet above the marble floor into a framework of what looked like wrought iron studded with long iron thorns suspended it.
Smiling as he looked at the stone humming in the center of the globe, he said, "You may come."
The Infernal Avenger stepped out of the shadows as the gem in his forehead glowed briefly in the darkness. Looking up at the stone in the framework of iron thorns, his eyes spat out bits of fire that floated away like bits of ember.
"Shall I go after them now?"
"Yes," Garndof said crossing his arms. "Kill them all."
Chapter 3 | Fanfiction