It had been six days.
Six days since Lina last slept in a nice soft bed in an inn. Six days since she had a satisfyingly full stomach. Six days since she's had a long warm bath.
Well, the good thing was that some of her magic was back. She figured that she was about 75% of the way to full recovery this morning so by tomorrow she'll have all her magic back. Then she could fly away and leave this sorry mess behind her.
"Just because your magic is coming back, don't think you can escape from me."
Lina pouted. What was this boy? A mind reader?
"Of...of course not! I was just wondering when we're going to take a rest."
"You had several hours of sleep last night."
"You've had us walking since before sun up!"
"Rezo is still following us."
Oh yes, it was just a group of war mantis yesterday, ogres the day before that, and cyclops on the day they first entered the pass into this small valley.
"I still think it was luck that they stumbled on to us," Lina grumbled, pulling her cape more tightly around herself.
"I don't believe in luck."
Lina just gritted her teeth and kept trudging behind Zelgadiss, following the path he made through the mud. The rain had been coming down on and off since they entered the valley. Right now it was on.
She maliciously wondered if Zelgadiss would grow moss or lichen if his stone skin was left damp for too long. It would serve him right for making her walk through mud and rain like this. And unlike him, she didn't have a hood to keep the rain away from her face.
"I want a nice warm room. I want a nice warm bath. I want some nice warm food."
"You need a nice tight gag."
"Do you know how much I hate you?" Lina noticed Zelgadiss flinching, which in his case meant he got even stiffer than usual.
"The feeling is mutual I'm sure," he replied softly.
The crisp, and sprinkling, evening air lay thick and heavy, making Lina feel like she was walking through a very hot steam sauna. Her clothes and hair were sticking to her clammy skin. Her boots and cape were caked with mud. And she was soaked to the bone.
"Damn it, isn't there a town ANYWHERE near here?!?" Lina screamed at the top of her lungs.
Startled birds flew from their roosts.
Zelgadiss actually stopped and turned to glare at her. "Would you be quiet!" he hissed.
"Good day, travelers!"
Lina and Zel looked at the lump of mud speaking to them. No wait, it was actually an old man in a ratty brown cloak and tattered hat with a drooping feather. He squinted at them in the dim light and smiled, revealing a mouth of many missing teeth.
"On your way to Stillwater?"
"You mean there is a town near here?" Lina almost pounced the elderly man in her eagerness.
"No, we're just a small village. No fancy things but if you young folks are looking for a place to put your feet up..."
"Anything!"
The old man chuckled. "Well then, I could show you the way but my horse here seems to be having trouble." He affectionately patted the old bony nag harnessed to a wagon laden with logs.
"Did you check the hooves for lodged stones?" Lina asked, noting the horse favoring a leg.
"Eh? Stone? My dear, I am almost blind." And to prove his point, the old man removed his hat so Lina and Zelgadiss could see his eyes more clearly. They were a cloudy milk-white.
"If there's a village nearby then we should get going," Zel said with a hint of impatience. Even if this old man could barely see, Zelgadiss did not feel at ease around other people. "It's better to be under a roof before night falls too deeply."
"It's just a stone in the nag's hoof, Zel," Lina reprimanded as she pulled out her knife to pry the lodged stone. "There you go. Your horse can go now, Mr..."
"Halland. Everyone calls me Old Man Halland," Halland said cheerfully as the cracked leather harnesses creaked with the strain of pulling the wagon. "Ceiphied must be looking down on me today, having me meet you both."
"Oh?" Lina wasn't crazy about fate and destiny and other similar stuff.
"Yes. Very few people come through here. In fact, in Stillwater, I'm about the only person that ever leaves. Plus recently there has been trouble so people are even more reluctant to step out of the village."
Zelgadiss, who was walking silently before them, stopped and held out a hand to signal them to halt as well.
"By trouble, you wouldn't happen to mean wolves?"
Old Man Halland looked toward Zelgadiss in surprise. "Why yes. How did you know?"
Slipping out of the woods like shadows, ten very large wolves dashed into the open, surrounding the three travelers. Lina had never seen such large wolves, each one easily coming up to her waist. But then, she's also never seen a wolf pack coming out of nowhere and attacking travelers.
"Are they rabid?"
Zelgadiss snorted at the idea. He concentrated on the alpha male, surprised by the hostility he sensed coming from the creature. The scent of something evil didn't help. These were most definitely not normal wolves.
Lina's fingers twitched as she kept an eye on as many wolves surrounding them as she could. They were only pacing back and forth, occasionally giving off a deep throat growl. Zelgadiss was locked in a staring contest with the largest one of the pack.
Didn't look like he was going to be of much help. Alright then, Lina thought, let's see just how much magic I have back. It was a problem being surrounded on all sides, attacking one way leaves your back open for attack by someone else. But no matter how big they were, wolves were animals and if sufficiently scared, will run off.
Unless they were mad or very desperate. Lina hoped neither of those options were true.
"Close your eyes," Lina whispered to the old man behind her. First things first. Grab the element of surprise. "Lighting!"
Instantly, the road brightened into the intensity of daylight not seen for several days. The wolves were flash-blinded and stepped back slightly. That was all the room Lina needed.
"Fireball!" Lina traced a spherical shell of fire around four of the wolves and closed it. Everything inside was incinerated.
"Must you announce to everyone in the valley where we are?"
"Humph. At least I did something!"
Zelgadiss decided to refrain from retorting that he was doing something as well. But he didn't want to go explaining exactly what it was to her.
"Let's keep going." Zelgadiss stepped over the limp wolf on the ground at his feet.
Lina blinked. "What happened to that one?" It looked like the one that Zel had been holding a staring contest with.
"I broke its neck during your pyrotechnics display."
"Fire - " Lina paused, the orb of fire in her hand ready to be thrown into the pool of water. It was almost the middle of summer. Did she really want a warm bath? She poked her toe in. Chilly. " - Ball!!"
Zelgadiss heard the explosion caused by the rapid expansion of air created by the fireball hitting the much cooler water. He also heard the splash and Lina's happy squealing about finally getting a bath. After all, he was just sitting on the other side of the partition that marked this water hole as a spot for bathing and not for drawing water or other more mundane uses.
Lina began scrubbing off the accumulated dirt and grime in the magically heated water. Old Man Halland had been right. Stillwater just barely had services for strangers. But after hearing about her great rescue of Halland, the townspeople welcomed her readily.
Zelgadiss of course was a slightly different story. He had pulled on his mask and hood when they first sighted Stillwater. His stance was rigid, his words brief and cold, nothing to reassure the already jittery villagers that he was not be a threat.
"You really need to work on your personality," Lina grumbled as she combed through the tangles in her hair.
"You really need to work on restraint."
"So says the person who created an earthquake to swallow a troop of cyclops?"
"It was already open ground. At least I don't leave a mile-wide trail of scorched earth and trees."
"It gets the job done so what are you complaining about?"
"Discretion is something mages never learn."
"Yourself included?"
"Magic is not my first reflex."
"I noticed. You go for your sword first. So then, why do you know magic?"
"Why else?"
"Is there anything you do that isn't motivated by revenge?"
"Says the one whose only motivation is greed."
"Oh shut up!" Lina threw a wash cloth against the partition approximately where she guessed Zelgadiss was sitting on the other side. "Insensitive jerk."
She sank into the water up to her chin, tilting her head back to look up at the clear night sky. All this running and hiding made her forget just how beautiful the outdoors was. The soft moonlight, the gently rustling of leaves, the low murmuring of crickets, the pounding feet...
Zelgadiss's eyes were open but they weren't focused on anything before him. His sensitive ears had caught the sound coming toward them except that it was coming from the other direction, from the other side of the partition.
Lina frowned, magical energy already flickering at her fingers. Why was it whenever she stepped into the bath something would happen? Well, it wasn't really every time. In fact, she could only remember one incident.
"Helphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelp!!"
A young boy plowed into the wooden partition, it and him coming down like a knocked down door into the cordoned off bathing area.
"Wolves!!"
The second screamer was a...Lina guessed it must have been a young man despite the long hair because of his voice. But with the several wolves clamped onto him it was hard to tell. And they were all in a rough and tumble in her bath.
Zelgadiss pulled on his hood.
"Dill Brando!!"
The sound of earth exploding and yelps of surprise burst through the previously quiet and calm night air. A very predictable end, Zel sighed, wondering exactly where everyone and thing would land. It would be a very bad impression if Lina killed one of the villagers, accidentally or not.
Zelgadiss looked up and saw a dark shape just above him.
Oh hell.
The young man with the long hair came crashing to earth, which was a bit harder than he expected. He was quite sure there weren't any rocks in the immediate area of the bathing hole. And the earth should have been still soft from the frequent rains. He sat up, rubbing places that would surely be bruising beautifully come morning.
And he was roughly dragged up by the collar of his rough knit jerkin.
"You trying to get some peeks, you Peeping Tom? Pervert!"
The young man received several ringing slaps from the furious red head.
"I'll show you the cost of messing with me!" The girl dropped him, pulling her hands back and chanting something.
"Wa-Wait!" pleaded the young man. "I didn't mean to intrude or anything. It's just that the wolves were chasing us and we were just running the most direct route back to the village and..."
"And you're sitting on my back."
The young man looked down at the hard ground he had fallen on twice. Except it wasn't the ground but another man wearing a very muddy pair of clothes, laying out on the ground.
"Oops. Sorry," apologized the young man as he got up. "And sorry for startling you."
Surprised by the apology, Lina let go of the spell. "Oh forget it. You're not worth another spell," she grumbled, crossing her arms to cover the fact that the towel she had hastily wrapped around herself was slipping.
"More wolves?" Zel asked shortly, part of his mind loudly complaining about the mess of Zel's clothes.
"Yes. They've been a problem lately. Are you travelers?"
Lina rolled her eyes. "Yes."
"Are you a mage?" the young man asked, looking at Lina.
"Yes again." Lina fidgeted under the young man's intense glare. There was something about him...
"Oh please do something about the wolves!!" begged the young man on his knees in the muddy ground. "For all that is good and righteous and worthy of justice, you must help!"
"If you have a problem with wildlife, get a hunter!"
"But these wolves aren't natural."
"Just because they're bigger than most wolves doesn't mean - "
"They're worgs."
Lina and the young man looked at Zel who was examining one of the dead wolves.
"They look like wolves to me."
Zelgadiss ignored Lina's snide remark. "Other than that they are larger and most definitely evil, they are wolves. However, if this village has only been attacked by them recently then the pack must have only arrived recently as well."
The young man nodded. "The priest told me that the wolf attacks have only occurred during the last several weeks."
Lina frowned. What was it about this young man that struck her as odd? "You don't...sound as if you're from around here..."
"Oh no. At least I don't think I am. My name is Migel, or that's what everyone is calling me. I don't remember who I am."
Lina blinked. Migel? Now she had heard that name somewhere before.
"But the people here have been so kind to me even though I can't remember anything. I wish I could do something..." Migel looked pleadingly at Lina who backed away.
"No way. You can't expect me to teach you magic. That takes years of training, not like swordwork."
Zelgadiss bristled. "As if swinging seven pounds of metal for an entire day doesn't tire you out."
"You don't have to learn at least four ancient languages to read old spell tomes."
Zel acknowledged her point. Migel just looked between the two.
"Well, then could you teach me how to use a sword? I want to help protect the village and right now as you saw, I could barely protect myself."
That was true and reminded Zelgadiss of something. Worgs were known for attacking humans. But this time, they didn't appear as if they were trying to kill Migel but more like...restraining him?
"When it comes to swords, Zelgadiss is your man," Lina grinned, slapping Zel heartily on the shoulder and winced at her stinging hand.
"Really?" Migel's eyes became glittery as admiration and idol-frenzy set in. Zelgadiss began to back away.
"Of course he will. And while he's at that, I'll - "
"Protect the village with your awesome magic because of a cloud of evil has descended on this innocent valley!"
Lina nearly facefaulted into the mud. "What?" she squeaked.
"I know this is true!" Migel, still kneeling, turned his starry eyes to the night sky above. "The Dragon God Ceiphied guided you two here to save our poor village from the dark hands of Ruby Eye. With your magic and sword, this valley will be purged in a fiery storm of all corrupting darkness."
Lina and Zel sweatdropped.
"They'll be a fiery storm all right," Zel muttered. "But it won't be purging anything. The way he talks he must have been a priest himself."
Lina nodded and then chewed on her lip. Just what was it about this Migel that was bothering her!
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Migel grinned widely, grabbing Zel's hand and shaking it vigorously. "Let's get started!"
Zelgadiss, in his shock, found himself being pulled along behind Migel.
"Get started? On what?"
"My sword training!"
"Now?!"
"No time like the present!" Migel replied happily. "I must quickly learn the way of swordcraft so that my holy blade of light may assist in cleaving the darkness that grips my adopted home!"
"When did I ever agree to this!"
"Come on, Zel!" Lina called after him. "One good deed can't kill you!"
"I most certainly hope not."
The new voice came from a person who appeared in Migel's path, shadowed by the passing cloud obscuring the nearly full moon. He seemed to peer into the darkness.
"Migel," said the man in a reproving tone. "What are you doing to that poor soul at this god-forsaken hour of the night?"
"I'm sorry." Migel didn't sound very sorry. "But he said - "
"I said nothing of the sort!" Zelgadiss interrupted.
"But he said," Migel continued as if Zel had never said a word. "That he would teach me how to use a sword so I can help protect the village."
"He must be one of the two travelers that saved Old Man Halland."
"Really?" Migel asked brightly. "Then I am certain that they were god sent! Don't you agree, Priest Quar?"
"QUAR?!?"
The young priest Quar looked at the person who yelled his name loudly enough to wake half the village. He rubbed his eyes and stepped a bit closer.
"Lina? Are you really Lina?"
"And who else would I be?" growled the girl. Lina stomped up to the priest with a broken branch she picked up from the ground and was now wielding as an improvised club. Quar backed away, arms held up in surrender.
"Yes, no one can imitate that angry aura. I believe you. Ummm, Lina? I said I believe you. You can put down that club."
WHACK!
"What brings you to Stillwater?" Quar asked, smiling painfully with a bandage on his head from Lina's rough greeting.
"Wrong question. The question is why are you here?" Lina retorted, leaning back in her chair and glaring at the priest from across the table. "Last I heard, your hermitage was on the other side of the road to Atlas."
Quar continued to smile painfully. "The priest here asked me to come and be his substitute for several days while he went on a purification trip. And it simply isn't done to deny a request from a fellow member of the faith."
Lina snorted.
"But you know why I'm here. Why are you here? And how did you pick up such a unique companion?"
"Companion isn't the word," Lina frowned, cocking her head to hear catches of Zelgadiss reprimanding Migel about his sword stance. The two were practicing within view of one of the church's windows.
Quar raised an eyebrow, fluttering a hand to his mouth in surprise. "You don't mean to say..."
"Say what?" Lina asked crossly.
The priest leaned over the table and lowered his voice. "You don't mean to say that you two are..."
"Are?"
"It is not something that a man of my position should bluntly ask about."
"Eh?" Lina blinked and then scowled. "I hate it when you build everything up and then drop it because of some stricture of your faith."
Quar sat back down in his chair, shrugging slightly as he folded his hands together. "It really isn't any of my business what you do. I am after all a hermit priest who has cut off all ties to the world." He ignored Lina's disbelieving snort. "However, I must admit that I am relieved that you are here."
"Migel isn't it?"
"As perceptive as ever."
Lina frowned as she glanced at the two people sparring in the moonlight. "There is something about him that I just can't place. I'm not sure if it's his name or something about the way he talks..."
Quar followed Lina's glance. "Yes, there is something I feel from him but it isn't anything I can put a finger on. I suspect that the recent troubles with wolves that the village has experienced may be related to this young man. It's only been two months since he was found but the wolves have raised quite a stir during the last several weeks that they've appeared. Just the night before, one of the families was attacked and everyone killed."
Lina returned her attention to Quar. "But why would the wolves..."
Quar shook his head, looking intently at the candlelight. "I'm not sure it was done entirely by wolves. You see, the man of the house was found nailed to the wall with several iron spikes."
Lina paled.
"No wolf, no matter how large, could be capable of such a feat unless..."
"Werewolves."
"You follow my train of thought exactly. However, none of the human victims were infected with lycanthrope, they were simply killed slowly and painfully."
The sorceress crossed her arms in thought. "Werewolves are known for their savageness."
"And perhaps it was simply coincidence that during that day was the first time that Migel was ever confronted by a pack of wolves."
"You really don't like the guy do you?"
Quar spread his arms open in a gesture of resignation. "He and myself are the only new fixtures to this quiet village. The wolf attacks were happening before I came and never occurred before he appeared."
"But there was a period of time before the wolves came," Lina thought aloud. Migel. Wolves. The way Migel spoke. "What is it about Migel?"
"Yes it is rather odd. The villagers naming him after-"
"Migel Lathanel the holy knight who defeated the Hand of Ruby Eye Abran about 500 years ago!" Lina blurted out.
"So you do remember."
"I remember nee-chan scaring me silly with bedtime stories about Abran!" Lina retorted. "Why did the villagers name Migel Migel when - oh. It's because Migel Lathanel's long hair, fair skin, slim description fits this Migel as well isn't it."
Quar nodded. "Hardly the best of reasons to give a name and of course there are many people who could fit the description of the great Migel Lathanel. The villagers have even gone so far as to imagine that this mysterious young man is the reincarnation of that holy warrior."
"Oh gods," Lina groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. "Did they tell Migel that? It would explain his...behavior."
"No. That seems to be entirely due to his own self." Quar smiled slightly. "But it does help their favorable impressions."
"And he thinks it's his duty to purge this blanket of evil from the valley with our help," Lina continued to groan. "And the wolves are supposed to be the hidden dark master's personal servants sent to destroy or capture this supposed reincarnation. Oh great, now I'm talking like him!"
"You are completely worthy of the title of genius."
Lina glared at him to see if he was joking but with Quar's poker face, she never could tell. Gods, she could never tell what he was thinking, nothing seemed to phaze Quar. So why he decided to 'retire' as a hermit she never understood.
"Great. Wrapped up twice in Shabrinigdo's problems."
"Ever the lucky one. You never did tell me why you're here."
"It's a somewhat long story," Lina laughed weakly.
"It always is around you," Quar shook his head.
Zelgadiss frowned, looking down at the girl sleeping on her folded arms on the table. He spent half a night teaching a complete stranger how to use a sword for a reason he still didn't comprehend and he was more or less awake. She spent half a night chatting with the local priest who apparently was an acquaintance of hers and she was sleeping past sun up.
"Wake up," Zelgadiss growled, roughly shaking her shoulder.
"...don't wanna..." Lina mumbled in her sleep.
"Wake up now or I'll throw you into a freezing cold river."
Lina made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort.
"Fine."
Zelgadiss moved to pick her up when he heard a soft clearing of the throat. Turning around, he saw the young priest with shoulder length black hair coughing politely into his hand.
"You wouldn't be planning to do anything mean to her, now are you?" asked the priest with the blue-gray eyes.
Zelgadiss regarded the other man narrowly. "I, that is we have urgent business and need to leave immediately."
"Is that all?" Quar walked up to Lina's companion, who was radiating distrust like the sun though not as visible. Lina usually was a good judge of character but her old friend preferred to err on the side of caution. "If you want to wake her up, there are much more easier and safer ways to do so."
Zelgadiss didn't budge as he watched the priest's seemingly easy-going appearance. When Quar determined that the other man wasn't going to let him by, he stepped around him and whispered something into Lina's ear.
"WHAT?!?" Lina shrieked, snapping awake instantly and jumping to her feet. However, as she was seated at the time, she instead slammed her knees on the underside of the table, tangled her legs in the chair, and fell in a heap onto the floor.
"Now that," Quar said, turning to look at Zelgadiss. "Is how to wake her up."
Lina gripped the back of her head where a lump was forming. "Q-U-A-R!!"
"Good morning, Lina," Quar smiled pleasantly. "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Where?!"
"Being kept warm in the kitchen," Quar spoke to empty air as Lina's nose caught the scent and was off and running before he finished. "And that is how to keep her from killing you."
"You know her very well then," Zelgadiss replied coldly.
"All my life actually."
"Humph."
Quar studied the hooded man from the side of his eye. "What are your measurements?"
"What?" Zel exploded.
"Your measurements. What are they?"
Zel sputtered incoherently for several moments before stomping furiously out of the room and slamming the door that lead outside. Quar tipped his head to one side, thinking.
"Hey, where did Zel go?" Lina asked, washing down part of her breakfast with the jug in one of her hands.
Quar shrugged. "Outside. All I did was ask him his measurements and he stormed out in a huff."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Try to help the boy and that's what you get."
"You think you can do better?"
"Me? Ask him for his measurements?" Lina wasn't sure whether to laugh or blush. "He'd definitely get the wrong idea!"
"What did you think he thought when I asked him?"
"If he knew it was my idea, then my reputation will be utterly destroyed."
"Which reputation? Enemy of All That Lived? Bandit Killer? Dra-matta?"
Lina glared at him but didn't hit him like she would have anyone else. Hitting Quar never accomplished anything, he didn't react to it therefore giving her no vent for her frustration.
"Anyway, he can't keep walking around in those clothes and furthermore - "
"Priest!!"
The door was blown open by the breathless kid who burst into the room screaming at the top of his lungs. His eyes were wide with fear and his breaths came as labored, harsh gasps.
"What is it, lad?"
"It's Migel. Migel is gone!"
Elyk couldn't help grinning.
"You're certainly happy," snickered Dilgear, standing in the second floor hall of the old castle.
"Idiot," muttered a man with a chin of stubble and unkempt wild hair. "He isn't smiling. His facial muscles are frozen like that."
"Lusius," Elyk reprimanded in a brittle voice. "Be more polite to our partner of convenience."
Lusius bowed his head but beneath the hair falling over his face, his lips curled back in a silent snarl.
"We brought you your little human," Dilgear sniffed. "So now you hold up your end of the deal."
"Of course," Elyk shrugged, the billowy white shirt hanging from his bony frame. "Though I must admit, I was surprised when you appeared here with...Migel."
"No need to hide the mortal's true identity," hissed a robed person with only a long white beard visible from his face.
Elyk studied the newcomer. "So that's it. If it had been one of you then naturally you would know. I was just suspicious of this beastman."
"He doesn't know nor does he need to," replied Zorom. "I will be below."
"Hey, Zorom!" Dilgear called. "What about Rezo-sama's orders?"
Zorom paused and faced Dilgear who could feel the heat of the Mazoku's stare even if he couldn't see the eyes.
"I obey and aid my master in any way possible," said the Mazoku cryptically before he vanished.
Dilgear scratched his furry head. "Now what did that mean?"
Lusius snickered. "The buffoon really doesn't know anything does he?"
"What did you say?" snarled the beastman.
Lusius just looked straight at Dilgear's eyes. "You're just a lap dog, doing whatever your master tells you and never knowing why."
"Kisama!"
"Enough." Elyk's brittle voice broke the growing tension between the two. "We had best prepare for our...guests."
"No need for that! Even they couldn't figure out where we are with Zorom just plucking that Migel person out of thin air. We'll just go to them!" Dilgear laughed.
"Is that so?" Elyk noted, that ridiculous grin still on his face as he peered out of one of the windows lining the southern wall of the hall. Voices drifted up from the courtyard below.
"So this is the place?"
Dilgear froze.
"Of course it's the place!" retorted an irritated female. "It's the only old, creepy, located in a somewhat remote location castle there is in this entire valley! Doesn't that just scream 'evil villain's hideout'?"
"I thought you didn't like cliches."
"I don't. But it certainly makes things easier to predict."
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?!?!?"
Lina and Zelgadiss looked up from the castle bridge that lead to the castle Lina pegged as a evil villain's hideout. It wasn't that bad of a location, built on stone outcroppings at the head of a high waterfall. And there, sticking his wolfish mug out of a second story window was a very slack-jawed and surprised Dilgear.
"Ya-Ho!" Lina called, waving an arm. "Fancy meeting you again!"
Dilgear snapped his head back inside as all of the windows became covered with a slab of stone.
"Welcome to my humble abode," greeted a brittle voice. The doors before Lina and Zelgadiss opened. "Please step inside."
"A trap."
"Oh really, you think?" Lina snapped.
Elyk turned his attention away from the bickering duo at his doorstep. "These two don't seem like very much of a threat."
"Anything would be a threat to this beastman," Lusius smirked.
Dilgear sputtered in anger. "You, you haven't dealt with them!"
"And we won't have to," snickered Lusius. "There's no way they can get through the creatures and traps we have in the front hall."
"Yo!" Lina poked her head through the doorway that lead to the stairs connecting the first and second stories of the castle. Elyk, Lusius, and Dilgear took several steps back in surprise.
"Impossible!"
"How could they be here so soon?"
"I told you so!"
Guess who said that last line.
Lina stepped fully into the room with Zelgadiss following. A faint burnt smell wafted up from the lower levels leaving little doubt as to the fate of the defenders downstairs. The young sorceress peered around the room and then fixed her gaze on the three occupants.
"Alright. Where is Migel?"
Elyk waved Dilgear and Lusius to move away. He stepped forward. "Migel? I am afraid there is no 'Migel' here."
Lina snorted. "Fine. If you want to play it that way, where is Abran?"
Lusius was obviously startled, Elyk and Zel only held theirs under tighter control. Dilgear was simply lost.
"So you know."
The sorceress smirked. "It's really simple." Of course, recognizing the accent in Migel's speech helped out. That speech pattern was nearly half a millennia old. That and the fact that only about two or three people knew that Migel Lathanel was actually a she. Lina would have expected some discomfort if a girl had been reborn in a male's body. "During the climatic battle of Abran, the Hand of Ruby Eye, and Migel Lathanel, a holy warrior of the church of Ceiphied, both fell but the body of Abran was never recovered. Which could be very easily explained if his remaining followers had taken the body away and preserved it, letting it sleep and heal for 500 years in order to defeat the reincarnation of the knight that defeated him. But he woke up too soon and you weren't ready so he managed to get away with no memories. That's when he was found and adopted into the village of Stillwater."
During Lina's entire lecture, Elyk's face grew darker in expression, paler in complexion. It began to loose its fullness, becoming tight and gaunt around his facial bones. The smile that never left his face became the remains of dead skin that stuck around the yellowing jaw bone.
"So am I right or - " Lina looked at the decomposing body that was Elyk. "Ewwww. Why am I running into so many disgusting things in the past days?" She asked, turning to look at Zel.
Zel only glowered at her.
A crackle and a hint of metal in the air were the only Lina got. And the only ones she needed as she, never looking, rolled away from the bolt of lightning that flew by where she stood.
"You know too much," Elyk growled in his brittle, and artificial, voice. He pointed a bony finger at Lina, chanting in a long forgotten tongue that only very few knew today. How lucky that Lina was one of those people. She immediately began to cast a counter.
"Vice Freeze!"
The highest Shaman Water spell manifested as a massive ball of ice hanging in the air.
"Burst Flare!"
Also in the air appeared Lina's counter, the highest castable Shaman Fire spell that could vaporize even human bones.
Together they made one huge and very thick steam cloud. Elyk silently curled back his lips, or would have if he had any. Where was that brat? The very ancient mage blinked, he still had one eyelid hanging on by a corner, as a dark figure leaped in front of him. Lina's leg whipped around in the air, easily snapping the mage's head from his neck with her flying roundhouse.
If you asked her though, snapping his head off wasn't part of her plan. The kick was only to knock him out. Heck, she wasn't strong enough to kick someone's head off. So when the head went flying, she was quite surprised. And even more surprised when there was a shattering of glass and a fading stream of curses dating back 500 years.
"Master Elyk!" Lusius yelled as the steam cleared to reveal a headless body wandering aimlessly around searching for its head.
Dilgear and Zelgadiss watched the rather comical scene with disbelief. Lina watched the decapitated body and then slammed her fist into her hand.
"So that's it!"
"What's it?" Zel asked sourly.
"This guy must be a lich."
"A what?" Dilgear asked in his turn.
"A mage who turned himself into a undead in order to gain more power, immortality, or other ridiculous ambitious reasons," Lina snapped at the ignorant beastman.
"Wasn't he rather pathetic?" Zel watched the stumbling body.
"Actually yeah. He doesn't live up to their fearsome reputations." Lina shrugged. "Either way, without his head, he can't really do much."
Case in point would be the still wandering body which Lina torched with a fireball. It was getting annoying, bumping around and groping whatever it ran into.
"Alright you two," Lina grinned evilly. "Where is Migel/Abran?"
Neither Lusius nor Dilgear answered. Lusius however was tapping his foot nervously and though both looked around at everything, they never looked at the floor.
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
"Befis Bring!" A circular portion of the floor before Lina vanished. Good thing that this castle was built entirely of stone or the spell wouldn't have worked. She peered down the hole. "Seems rather deep. I bet he's downstairs, call it woman's intuition. Take care of these two, okay Zel?" Lina waved as she jumped down.
"Why am I even doing this?" Zelgadiss asked the old stone walls, perhaps in their many long years they would have an answer. Unfortunately, they didn't give him as much of an answer as his chibi self did. He was here because he couldn't let the girl out of his sight and she insisted on coming here to rescue Migel or Abran or whatever his name currently was because of one person that priest friend of her mentioned. Someone named Luna.
Almost as an afterthought, Zelgadiss unsheathed his blade, whipping it up and behind him to block the descending blade of Dilgear. The beastman growled as he jumped back again, he was sure the chimera was distracted.
"Always the one for underhanded techniques."
"Damn," growled the wolfman. Dilgear glared at Lusius. "Don't just stand there! Give me a hand here!"
"I don't follow your orders," Lusius huffed.
"If he goes berserk, no one is going to be following orders except from Death."
Zelgadiss's grip on his sword tightened, if it was normal skin and not stone covering him, his knuckles would have whitened.
"Whatever. I have my orders." Lusius gave Dilgear a superior look as the change came over him. The bones under his skin seemed to move and change. This was only obscured by the rapid growth of dark hair, no fur all over the visible areas of skin. The man, the werewolf was in an ecstasy of pleasure as his human form morphed into that of a hybrid wolfman. His dark tail swished behind him as he finally brought his half-crazed eyes down to face the other two in the room.
"Shall we get started?" Lusius snarled, flourishing one clawed hand. "It befits my master's plan that Abran be awakened. He will be even more pleased when I bring him that girl's head."
Lina sneezed. Was someone saying bad things about her behind her back? She sneezed again. No, maybe it was all of the dust in this wine cellar. And the cobwebs, must not forget the cobwebs. This had to be the narrowest wine cellar she had ever been in, and she grew up in a wine country. Not to mention dark.
"Lighting."
The globe of light only revealed more detail to what she already figured was down in this room at the end of her tunnel. Two large wine racks lined one wall, empty because their bottles were strewn all over the floor. There was a wooden ladder that didn't look too safe on the opposite wall. Another wall had an iron gate, which Lina decided to ignore for now since a very bad stench was coming from that direction, and the back wall didn't appear to have anything.
Appear being the key word. After examining the wall, she found a keyhole under a layer of dust and cobwebs. But she didn't have a key. Like the great Lina Inverse ever needed something that mundane.
"Unlock."
The lock clicked open. Obviously, whoever took the troubles to hide this room didn't take into account that a mage could pop it open with a simple spell. Thieves would make a fortune if the only spell they ever learned was that one.
Lina nudged the door open with her toe, ready for any traps or monsters waiting within. Nope, nothing. She let the light spell float in before her. Treasure!! She bounded over to the three large, unlocked chests and flipped back their lids. Gold gold gold! The would-be rescuer of Migel/Abran forgot about her quest as she began to fill her hidden dimensional pockets in her cape with handfuls of ancient gold coins. Even while doing this, her mind went over and calculated the value of the other things in the room. A five-foot tall marble statue, 1000 gold, a magical shield, no use for that, finely crafted wooden chess set, 500 gold from a collector. The chess set she could also take but the statue was a bit much. Perhaps later.
And that reminded her of why she was here. With a reluctant sigh, Lina parted the treasure room, promising herself to come back when this was all done and finish the looting, er that is finishing gathering compensation for her services.
Unfortunately, the only way out of the wine cellar appeared to be that iron gate. Lina covered her nose with a handcloth but the stench still permeated. Gods, something, a lot of somethings must have died down here. Pushing open the squeaky gate, Lina nearly lost her breakfast as her light revealed the source of the stench. Rotten carcasses of deer and sheep and quite a few human bones lay about the floor.
She did not want to hang around to know what was living down here. Immediately, she turned to her right, following the stone-carved passage until she found another door that was crudely blocked up with stone bricks. Well, if it was blocked than there was probably no decomposing bodies in there. That was as good a reason as any for Lina to go in.
"Dam Brass!" The red ball of energy impacted with the brick-covered door, vibrating through the layers of stone, creating a new entrance for the sorceress. With a sigh of relief, Lina followed her light inside.
And it was another room full of dust and cobwebs with no other entrances. What a surprise. Lina studied the ground, carefully following the footsteps in the several inches of dust and dirt. They lead to a bust of some person, and then walked away into a wall. Meaning secret passage. After closely looking at the bust before her, Lina turned it to the right. Lo and behold, a door opened in the wall.
"I'm not called the genius sorceress for nothing," Lina smirked to herself, stepping through the secret passage and having it close behind her. The sounds of the waterfall could be heard and there were steep steps leading down into darkness. Another treasure room? Or perhaps the way to the family crypt.
"Why can't any villain just for once use an open air, single story, bright ranch for a hideout?"
The stairs went down far, probably even to the foot of the falls. At the bottom, Lina passed through the typical rooms of a tomb. There was the ornate entrance, a tiled hallway lined with statues of knights, and then the tomb which only had two stone sarcophagus. There was no way she could move them so Lina continued on.
Next thing she knew, she was running down a narrow dark passage with only her light spell before her and a growing number of mummies popping out of urns behind her. And thanks to her very thorough education on the undead pounded into her when she was younger, she knew that you could only really hurt a mummy with a magical weapon. Still, six mummies and more were not what Lina called a fair fight. Plus, in such a confined area, any spell she tossed may catch her as well. And if they touched her...
"Eek!" Lina rolled under two more mummies that just broke out of their urns. And rolled by four more urns holding four more mummies. That brought the number up to what? Twelve mummies?
"Diem Wing!" Lina sent a blast of wind down the corridor behind her, praying that it will delay the mummies for a bit. She burst into yet another hallway, this one only adorned with a statue of an amorphous creature with ruby eyes. Lina's sixth sense was screaming trap but she figured that any trap was better than dealing with the mummies.
She almost retracted that thought as blades began to eject from the wall. It was quite a dance of near misses, jumps, ducks, flips, and rolls to avoid all of them. Actually, it did remind her of a dance she learned -
"Oops!" Lina skidded against the floor as she dove a blade. Then there was nothing. She peeked out from behind her arms protecting her face, she was outside of that hall and in a much larger chamber. There was light in this place, coming through the large platform to her right that was curtained by the waterfall. In the center of the other portion of the chamber was a statue of a young man, about thirteen feet tall, facing away from her. It practically shouted evil and magic.
In the direction it was facing, was Migel, or Abran, seated in a marble throne engraved with skulls, before a mural of demons running around and causing havoc in a city street. Lina could feel the threads of the mural's enchantment trying to touch her mind but her black headband prevented such mind magics from working on her. She focused again on the young man seated at the throne, surrounded on both sides by bronze censers on tripods on which incense burned. If that incense wasn't also magical, Lina would give up her magic and become a housewife.
Migel, or more accurately Abran, sat in his throne with his head buried in his hands, oblivious to her presence. He kept shaking his hand, sometimes covering his ears as if to keep out someone's words. Lina listened carefully, there was a slithering seductive whisper echoing in here. But from where?
"So, a little mouse has slipped in."
Lina forced herself to remain still, surprised as she was by the bodiless voice. From what she had assumed was a shadow behind the throne rose a Mazoku. A low level Mazoku, but a pure one nonetheless.
"About time you made an appearance," Lina smirked. "I was beginning to think that with all this hustle and bustle, you Mazoku forgot all about the re-awakening of your Lord's Hand."
"I must admit, this was an unexpected development but one that I welcome nonetheless. Once our Lord is reborn, all will be ready to greet and serve him."
Oh boy. That was the last thing Lina needed. She was already up and over her head with just the rebirth of Ruby Eye but now she had to stop the re-awakening of one of his mortal champions as well. It wasn't too late to just turn around and pretend this never happened. But her conscience, and nee-chan, would never let her do that.
"Well, this genius gorgeous sorceress won't let you get away with either of those two," Lina boasted, sounding much more confident than she felt. The sinister whispering was still continuing, enticing Abran to attack her. So it wasn't this Mazoku who was doing it. Then who?
"Though my orders were only to follow you, I don't think a little fun would be out of line. You mortals are always so confident of your abilities." One of the Mazoku's arms lengthened into a whip wreathed with fire. He lashed the fire whip toward her.
"Freeze Arrow!" Ten arrows of glistening ice flew forth at her command. One struck the whip, freezing it, as the others continued on toward the Mazoku. He vanished.
Lina blinked. Damn pure Mazoku and their ability to cross dimensions!
Two more fire whips appeared suddenly before her. She jumped over one then ducked her head to avoid the other. Actually, if this went on, it would seem just like jump rope. Of course, she didn't think any parents would approve of this game being done with flaming ropes.
Then her danger sense kicked in and Lina covered her face with her arm. Something, several sharp somethings, pierced the raised arm with a numbing cold. Her fingers began to tingle, becoming stiff.
"Where are all of your smart remarks? Little girl."
Lina swore that this Zorom was laughing at her. Until the numbing wore off, she wouldn't be able to cast anymore offensive spells! Zel was still somewhere else, and Abran, well, if it was Abran she didn't want his help. That would be like asking for a knife in the back. Migel on the other hand...
"Hey Migel!" Lina shouted. "What are you doing just sitting here? Here's one of those evil beings that you wanted to cleave with your holy blade of light to protect your home and friends!"
"Nothing you say will work."
"Oh shut up," Lina snapped at the Mazoku. "You wanted to purge this valley of the cloud of darkness right? You've helped the people of Stillwater for the last several months haven't you? You saved that boy last night remember? Are you just going to let some silly whispers tell you how to run your life?!"
Abran/Migel buried his head even further into his hands. "I don't know. I don't know. I remember...all of these things I've done. People I've killed. They feel so right. But...those people, the villagers...they didn't hate me. They accepted me...What do I do?"
"Be a man!" Lina screamed. "Stop being so wishy-washy!!"
"It's useless." The Mazoku chuckled, slashing at her with his fire whips again.
She dodged them again but with one arm as dead weight, she lost her balance and tripped. The god-damn Mazoku was toying with her!
"I thought...Rezo wanted me alive," she growled as the Mazoku approached.
"Oh the master probably does. But he never said how alive."
Underneath the hood, Lina could see the Mazoku's forehead open and many things sparkle in it. That's where the needles came from! Well, that was interesting but he was too close right now and she wouldn't be able to get away from all of them!
"So..."
Lina shut her eyes tight.
"Why there you are!"
That wasn't Zel's voice. Nor was it Migel's.
"Eh?" Lina opened her eyes again. And her jaw dropped.
There, standing behind the cleaved halves of Zorom was, Ceiphied bless his empty head, Gourry!
"Where did you get lost to? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"
The idiot savant walked around the pieces of Zorom and helped Lina stand up. Lina just continued to gape.
"Ho-how did you get here?!"
Pulling off that fairytale-like dramatic rescue. Which was quite a stretch of reality since just how by Ceiphied's tail did he get down in this underground crypt anyway?!?!
"Get here? Well, I was just going to sit down next to a tree but then I fell down some stairs. And I fell and fell and fell and fell and fell and fell and then rolled for a bit and fell and fell and - "
"I get it already!" Okay, so he must have fallen down some secret passage, maybe even the same way that Abran escaped from here before. Talk about coincidences. "Why do I feel like I'm being completely set up?"
Then Gourry suddenly grabbed Lina and pushed her away as he dodged the other way. Fire roared through where they last were.
The Mazoku stood there with his hand outstretched.
"So...who is this new one?"
"Me? I'm her bodyguard. Didn't I just kill you?"
"Feh. Whatever you are, it doesn't matter. If you prevent me from getting her, you are my enemy."
"So it seems," Gourry shrugged, holding his sword at ready.
"Um, Gourry?"
"Not now, little girl." The blond swordsman dashed toward the Mazoku.
Lina sweatdropped. Um, using a normal sword doesn't work against him. Didn't he learn that from the first try?
The Mazoku lashed out with fire whips and silver needles again but Gourry deflected them all. Lina remembered back when she saw Gourry and Zel fight in the marketplace. Then, she could at least see the swords flashing from a distance. Now she was much closer but she didn't even see him swing!
Gourry was very very very good then. But that meant he hadn't been going all out against Zelgadiss that time. She focused back on the fight to see Gourry slice the Mazoku in half. Again.
"Lina, watch out!"
Lina barely blinked before Gourry was behind her and the sound of silver needles tinkling to the ground was heard. That Mazoku had teleported behind her! And he didn't look the least bit injured. Figures.
"For someone so young, you're very good," the Mazoku remarked flatly like a comment on the weather.
"Ah...a Mazoku," Gourry replied just as flatly.
"Of course. Therefore you understand you can't cut me with a normal sword."
That was true. If it was a creature such as a Lesser Demon or Brass Demon, you could destroy it with normal means. But pure Mazoku were tied more closely to the Astral plane, meaning, physically, you couldn't really hurt them. Now if you had a magical sword with several magical talismans you could do it. Or if you had...
"Gourry," Lina hissed. "Use the - "
"Sword of Light?" Zorom finished.
"What?!"
"So you know," Gourry acknowledged as he fiddled with the sword.
"Of course. After all, we are one and the same."
Now what did that mean? The Sword of Light and the Mazoku were the same?
"Well then," Gourry smiled holding the blazing sword before him. "Let's go."
"I don't think so."
Gourry and Lina nearly face-faulted. No wait, that wasn't the Mazoku speaking. It was Abran who had risen and now stood behind the Mazoku.
"Fufufu," chuckled the Mazoku. "Now you will learn why Abran was called the Hand of our Lord."
Migel laid a hand on the Mazoku who suddenly screamed in pain. "I'm not going to be used by you or anyone anymore." Tearing itself away, the Mazoku growled.
"You dare to turn against our Lord?" hissed the Mazoku, clutching itself where Migel had touched him.
"I am not Abran anymore. I am Migel."
The Mazoku snarled, backing away from the three, no four opponents. "You will not live to see the sun set."
It vanished. Gourry kept his Sword of Light at ready, not sure what to make of this newcomer dressed in an ornate suit of black plate mail. Migel blinked, looking at the empty space where the Mazoku had been and then looked over at the blond swordsman.
He promptly fell on his knees and began to beg. "Please accept me as an apprentice, oh great holy warrior of light!!"
This time, Lina really did facefault.
Gourry only blinked at the young man kneeling at his feet. "Apprentice?"
"Yes! I have seen how with only your blade of light that marks you as one of great purity and goodness, a champion of justice, have driven away a feared Mazoku one of the nefarious servants of the evil Ruby Eye Shabrinigdo! Teach me so that I may also serve the good people, cleaving darkness before it takes root!"
Gourry scratched his head.
Lina continued laying on the ground, trying to figure out exactly which item she had that was cursed and causing her all of this weirdness and misfortune. Well, things hadn't gotten as weird as when she traveled with a certain tall person who shall remain nameless but the situations were becoming much more dangerous. At least this near crisis had been averted. Migel's current fixation with Gourry's holy warrior of light image apparently overcame the seduction of becoming Abran again.
Speaking of seduction, Lina could still hear that whispering. It was lower than before, but more enticing, even desperate in its tone. She tried to pinpoint its source. Not the throne, not the murals, not from above, somewhere behind her...that statue? Ignoring Migel's loud pleading and Gourry's confused replies, she walked up to the statue and looked at it. Yes, the whispering was definitely coming from here.
The whispers became more insistent, Migel's exclamations of justice and goodness became more passionate. So if she somehow shut up the statue then maybe Migel will shut up as well. Lina looked this way and that, turned around to make sure the two men weren't paying attention to her, then touched it.
The statue shattered at the destructive energy channeled through it. The whispers ceased. Unfortunately, Migel's justice trip didn't.
"Oh gods," she groaned.
"Lina-san?"
"Yes Migel?"
"Where is your friend? The one who taught me last night how to use a sword?"
Lina could have hit herself in the head for forgetting Zel but she didn't want to appear forgetful before these two. Instead, she just laughed. "Him? He's still upstairs taking care of that guy and Dilgear. Don't worry."
Still...it has been a long time. Perhaps he couldn't find his way here?
"Then we must go and help a fellow ally of justice and goodness!" Migel grabbed both Lina and Gourry and headed for the nearest way out. Which was the room with the flying blades.
"Migel, you idiot!"
A yell that Lina continued to use again and again on their way back to the wine cellar that Lina first landed in. Oddly enough, Migel was able to trip a number of other traps on their way. Gourry was the one who did most of the saving and was quite out of breath by the time they reached their passage up. Migel was also winded from running up the steps but his enthusiasm hadn't diminished at all.
Lina looked at the two tired men, and then at the magically created holes above leading to the second floor where she last saw Zel. The fact that it was very quiet didn't reassure her. There were no signs of Zel down here, and if he wasn't up there then where did he go?
"Damn, I thought he wasn't going to let me out of his sight," Lina grumbled. "Hey you two. I'm going to fly up there, but you two will need to find another way up."
"There's a secret passage up to the first floor right here," Migel pointed out. Said secret door was actually a trapdoor in the ceiling.
Lina poked at it. "Hmmm. Unlock." The magical lock fell away. Lina gave the trapdoor a good pull and it fell away to reveal a dark chamber above.
"That used to be a storeroom," Migel explained as he climbed up first. "I accidentally opened the door when I was young and it took the servants a day to find me."
"So you actually grew up in this castle?" The legends of Abran were very vague on his origins.
Migel shrugged uncomfortably. "Yes, but I'd rather not dwell on those memories. Follow me."
So Lina and Gourry followed Migel out of the storage room, through the long unused kitchen, roasted about six eight-foot in diameter giant spiders, and re-entered the scorched Great Hall where Lina first roasted Elyk's defenders. The place was still eerily quiet. Lina was getting worried.
"I'll check upstairs," she yelled, dashing up the staircase and into the second story hall. However, there was nothing there except the ashes of the lich's headless body. "Where did he run off to?" she muttered.
"Ummm, Lina-san?" Migel's voice echoed from below.
"What is it?" she asked testily, stomping down the staircase. Gourry and Migel were looking through the large double doors that were the entrance to the castle. "What are you looking at?"
Silence.
A silence Lina soon joined as she took a look at what was so interesting outside. It was a bloodbath.
The castle bridge that connected the castle to the land was littered with dead and dismembered monsters of all types and varieties. Trolls, ogres, goblins, cyclops, beastmen, you name it, it was there, whole or in pieces. Just crossing the bridge would have been treacherous with the slippery blood and gore lining the stone walkway. It resembled a chimera lab she once broke into.
And on the cleared land before the bridge, there was still a large number of monsters circling and attacking in turn their victim in the middle.
"Such unfair numbers do not stand in the truth of justice!" Migel declared, brandishing a sword that Lina assumed he must have picked up somewhere. "I must aid the side of justice in its neverending battle to subdue evil!!"
Lina twitched her right arm, the numbness finally disappearing. She grabbed Migel and literally knocked some sense into him.
"Are you out of your mind? Take a look at that battle!"
Though it was true that they couldn't see very well into the center, but it was obvious by the number of disappearing heads that the 'victim' was holding his own. If barely.
Dilgear grinned at the chimera's labored breathing. As the wolfman figured, no matter how good the chimera was, fighting all of them non-stop would wear him down. After all, who needed an enchanted blade when you could shove a normal knife through a person's mouth into his brain?
Zelgadiss killed yet another war mantis, cleaving it through the middle. But another three moved up to take its place. It seemed like Rezo really wanted to wear him down this time. Or force his hand.
Was Rezo trying to push him toward this? Zelgadiss didn't want to do it. He had done it only maybe once before, when Rezo's hired help had cornered him, Rodimus, and Zolf when they broke out of Rezo's lab. Rezo knew Zel had done it then. And he was counting on Zel's own principles to keep the chimera from doing it again.
"How the mighty have fallen," snickered Dilgear. Zelgadiss's white clothes were liberally streaked with dirt and blood where it wasn't cut. Not exactly an image to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies. "With you gone, it'll be just the girl."
That's right, the girl. If she fell into Rezo's hands... she didn't have the keys but Rezo didn't know that. Once he did, he'll surely kill her. But that might be a mercy.
"Let's finish this now. You have nothing left." The wolfman sneered as he licked the edge of his scimitar.
Zelgadiss stood, surrounded by the monsters, head bowed. His shoulders shook. A low chuckle escaped from his lips.
"Nothing...that's right. That's the way it's always been. I have nothing." The chimera looked up with an eerie grin on his face, something akin to madness touching his eyes. Everyone stepped back as the chimera seemed to grow, an aura of power flickering around him. Zelgadiss pointed his sword at Dilgear. "Thank you for reminding me. I have nothing. So, there is nothing to lose."
"Your battle is with me."
Lina rolled her eyes and turned around to see that green-robed Mazoku with the long beard floating in the air of the Great Hall.
"Didn't you already forfeit by running away earlier?"
"I was strategically removing myself from battle. A timeout you might say to discuss the changed situation."
"You mean Migel?"
"That is one."
"I will never side with the evil Mazoku!"
"You're going to kill him? Or force Abran's persona to the surface?"
"Oh we won't kill him. He is too important to our Lord to be killed."
"Right. Migel, you stay out of this. Gourry, your turn." Lina waved the blond swordsman to the fighting ring.
The Mazoku didn't flinch as Gourry brandished the Sword of Light before him. "You wish to battle me with him? Then come. I, Zorom of the Mazoku, will return the Gorun Nova to its true people."
Black whips uncoiled from Zorom's fingers and flew toward Gourry. The wielder of the Sword of Light struck them with his blade but...
"It doesn't cut?"
Of course it wouldn't. Those weren't just black whips, they were whips of darkness. So whenever the Sword of Light and the whips crossed, they'd cancel. At this rate, the fight would go nowhere fast.
"Keep to your faith, Gourry-san!" Migel cheered on. "When you fight for what you believe, you will always win!"
Lina resisted the urge to sweatdrop as she ran to one side, flexing the fingers of her right arm. The numbness was almost all gone. Good, she could try a spell. Since normal physical attacks, Shaman elemental magic included, didn't hurt Zorom then she'll try something else.
"Fehlzareid!"
This astral spell should deal some damage and hopefully its spiraling nature will catch Zorom even if he dodges.
Zorom vanished.
And the spell caught Gourry by surprise, knocking him off his feet and into a wall. Groaning, Gourry tried to sit up, looking at himself and expecting to see a big hole from all the pain he was feeling. But he was still in one piece.
"What the hell was that?"
"Lina-san is an ally of good! Her spells will never hurt those allied on her side!"
Gourry would have contradicted that observation but he lost the train of thought.
Lina came up, scratching her head and laughing weakly. "Oops. But don't worry, since it's an astral spell the damage will heal soon."
"I don't believe you," Gourry grumbled, holding the hilt of the Sword of Light, its blade still shining brightly.
Lucky!
Lina swiped it from him. The blade grew even longer into a bastard sword.
"Hey!"
As she expected, he was too weak to get up and fight her for it.
"Behind you!" Migel warned as Gourry turned Lina's head around to face Zorom.
"You are beginning to annoy me," growled the Mazoku as black whips flew from his fingers again.
Lina rolled away, muttering another spell only to realize her mistake. By taking his sword, she left Gourry completely defenseless. And Zorom had no qualms about killing him.
"Looks like the little girl abandoned you," snorted Zorom, looking down at Gourry.
"Lina-san would never abandoned a friend!" Migel retorted, earning a scathing glance from Zorom.
"Elmekia Flame!" Lina was almost pushed backwards by the force of the astral spell.
Zorom teleported away as Gourry covered his head from the wide blast of light. Migel ducked the spell as well, confident that Lina-san's spell wouldn't harm him but decided that he didn't really want to find out.
"It doesn't matter what you use if you can't hit what you're aiming at," Zorom sneered appearing right before her!
No time for a spell! Wait a minute, what was she doing? There was a blazing Sword of Light in her hands!
"Light!" Lina yelled as she sliced the Mazoku in two. Actually, it was rather pointless to yell 'light' when the blade was already there but she felt like saying something.
Gourry cautiously looked up after ducking his head. That Mazoku was gone and Lina was walking up to him with a dazed look on her face. In her hands, the Sword of Light flickered and wavered.
"What the heck was that?" Gourry wondered and looked up at Lina for an explanation.
She was looking at the sword in her hands. So it was as she suspected. The Sword of Light wasn't magical per se, after all, Gourry could use it. No, it was based on the wielder's will. The 'light' was simply a way of manifesting that mental force. So naturally, when she used the blade it was longer, mages had more training to control their will after all.
"This blade and I were made for each other!" she giggled crazily, hugging the hilt.
"Oi!" Gourry grabbed onto her cape and yanked. "That's mine!"
"Aw, let me have it! I saved your life!"
"I saved your life earlier! I told you before and I'll tell you again, you can't have it!!"
"I'll pay for it!"
"No amount of money is worth that sword! It's a family heirloom!!"
"Then I'll make it my family heirloom! Come on, let me keep it!"
"No!"
"Lina-san? Gourry-san?"
"What?" Lina snapped.
Gourry grabbed back his precious sword as he staggered onto his feet. Lina pouted.
"There are more important things to worry about. We need to come to the rescue of that person over there!" Migel reminded them.
"Rescue? Whose rescue?"
"For Ceiphied's sake! Just follow and use your sword to kill whatever I tell you to! Come on Migel!" Lina yelled, running and almost slipping in the gore on the bridge as they ran to Zelgadiss's 'rescue'.
"Who did all of this?" Gourry wondered, as they half ran, half skipped to the land and the monsters.
Lina just looked around silently. Did Zelgadiss do all of this?
"It looks as if the side of good is winning!" Migel cheered, being the first to make out what was going on with the swiftly dying monsters.
Just as they stepped onto land again, they saw Dilgear fall into several pieces. Zelgadiss stood over him, his bloody sword still wearing gore from earlier kills. There was something different about him, even Gourry noticed. Like a tangible aura of power that sought to find more things to sate its rage.
Was this the berserker Dilgear was talking about?
With a guttural growl, the crazed blood-drenched fighter leaped toward the three. Gourry was pulling out his sword when Lina stepped in front of him.
"Zel, stop!"
The berserker seemed to falter but Lina wasn't taking any chances.
"Diem Wind!"
The air gathered into her hands and she released the winds against Zelgadiss. For a moment, he stood against them until she added more power to it and he was knocked backwards, falling into the gory mess on the ground.
"Oh my swordteacher must have become enthralled by the Mazoku!" wailed Migel. "I'm so sorry. I swear on your grave that I will avenge you!"
"Isn't that a little premature?" Lina winced at the pitch Migel was hitting.
"That's who you came to save?" Gourry asked incredulous.
"Long story. Hey, Zel, you alive?"
A groan answered her.
"I guess that means it's safe to go over."
Gourry followed Lina with a wary eye and a tight grip on his sword. Migel nearly pounced the chimera who never moved from where he had fallen. Lina hopped over and knelt besides him. Then she pried the crying and apologizing Migel off before she poked him.
"I said, you alive?"
"What do you want?" he asked finally. "Even when I'm dead, you still bother me?"
Lina's eyebrow twitched. She punched him right in one of the bleeding wounds, one of the worse ones that still hadn't healed yet.
"Itai!"
"Hey, is that any way to treat an injured person?" Gourry protested.
"Lina-san! You shouldn't do such things!" Migel took a moment to scold Lina before rejoicing that his teacher was still alive.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Zelgadiss growled, trying to get up.
"To prove to you that you're still alive," she smiled sweetly.
Gourry and Migel sweatdropped as Zelgadiss looked at her balefully.
"He does seem to have the devil's luck doesn't he?"
Standing not to far away from them was Red Priest Rezo, or to be more accurate, an image of him projected from a floating eyeball.
"Rezo you - " Zelgadiss tried to stand up but his legs buckled beneath him. Lina and Migel caught him and Gourry moved in between them and the image, Sword of Light drawn and ready.
"You've led me on a merry chase, my dear girl," smirked the priest. "But why don't you hand the two keys over to me now?"
Did he know or was he just assuming?
"Even if I had them, I don't see how I could hand them over to a phantom image," Lina retorted.
"Don't play with me." The red priest's expression betrayed a growing anger and impatience. "I can easily kill you where you stand."
"Like how?"
"Like...this."
Zelgadiss screamed as power raged through him, setting every part of him ablaze in pain. Twisting away from the support Lina and Migel gave, he collapsed onto the ground in spasms.
"Zel!" Lina stared in fright at the thrashing boy overwhelmed by some sort of internal energy backlash. Lightning seemed to rip in and out of his body and kept her from getting close enough to try to stop it. "Stop it! You'll kill him!"
"What kind of cold-hearted person are you?" demanded Migel.
"The keys."
Gourry looked between Rezo and Zelgadiss, undecided on who to deal with. Lina stood up, eyes narrowed.
"Alright."
"You're joking!" Gourry gaped at her.
"Lina-san! You can't just give in to someone as immoral as this!"
In the haze of pain that had become his world, Zelgadiss faintly heard the girl's answer. "...d-don...t..."
Lina gritted her teeth. "First, stop torturing him. It's obvious you can do it at will. I bet it's something you set when you created that form for him. If I don't comply, you can always do it again."
Rezo thought about that and shrugged. The lightning around Zelgadiss disappeared. His body fell into shock, shivering, as all of the pain and fatigue crashed into him. But his mind held on to one thought.
"...don't...Lina..."
Lina blinked. It was the first time he ever used her name. She smiled. "Trust me."
The sorceress walked up to the image of Rezo, pulling something out from her cape. She kept it behind her as she looked up at the vision.
"So, how am I supposed to give it to you?"
"Just hand them to me," Rezo ordered, holding out his hand.
"Hey, stay still!" Gourry scolded, trying to keep an eye on Zelgadiss and Lina at the same time. Not an easy feat when one was in front of you and the other behind you.
"Please lay still," Migel added, easily keeping the weakened chimera down with both hands.
"Well, if you say so," Lina shrugged.
"Don't!"
Lina's hand whipped out from behind, the knife already cutting through the air and into the eyeball. Rezo didn't even get a last word before the vision broke.
The three men stared blankly as Lina gingerly slipped the thrown knife back into its sheath. She had to be careful not to touch it for too long or she might get caught in its curse.
"So you were bluffing the entire time?" Gourry finally managed to ask.
"Of course! You didn't think I'd really hand them over to him?" Lina huffed indignantly. "If I had them that is."
"I always believed you, Lina-san!"
"Sure didn't sound like it," Lina snorted. Migel had the grace to blush.
"Nice to know you still treat your companions with the same lack of care." Quar stepped out from behind a tree, obviously having had watched the entire fiasco.
"Why you no good, dirty, cowardly, son of a - "
"You shouldn't say such words, little girl," Gourry frowned, covering Lina's mouth. She jabbed her elbow hard into his gut and the tall swordsman fell over. Migel stared, but then remembered how Lina was about to hit him last night.
"Is it just me or do you happen to like hitting fighters?" Quar wondered, walking up to them and surveying the mess.
"You want me to hit you?" Lina growled at the priest who held up his hands in surrender. "It's a good thing you showed up. Zel's completely worn out and I doubt I could have flown him back to the village on my own."
"After that berserker rage, most definitely. He must have cut down over 200 monsters, I am most impressed. Migel you take one arm and you the fighter take his other arm."
Gourry pointed at Migel's free arm.
"No, I meant take the young man who is wearing quite a bit of monster blood and gore on him."
"Oh."
"Alright then. Lina, if I create the wind barrier can you handle the Ray Wing?"
Lina nodded. "You mean like that time when we had to escape from the inside of an erupting volcano right?"
An erupting volcano?
"Exactly. Now then, gather around please. Windy Shield!"
A sphere of wind encircled the five before Lina's flight spell took control and it rose into the air. Under the sorceress's mental commands, it flew across the valley to the small village of Stillwater.
Unknown to them, a pair of eyes watched their departure from the massacre. The feral eyes narrowed and then their owner turned away into the woods. All forest animals fell quiet as the unnatural creature slowly changed into a predator, a wolf. It fell on all fours and began to run. Its master would want to know about this.