Hovering in that place between conscious and unconsciousness, Lina lay quietly, resting as memories of the past several days flowed around and through her. The tether that bound her to life was still bright and vibrant, there was nothing to fear from that. But her magic was another question.
Overextension, drawing from one's own life energy to fuel a spell, carried a heavy price with several possible outcomes. One was a temporary but complete drainage of all energy stores, forcing the mage to do nothing but eat and sleep to regain her energy. That was why her hair was now a ghostly white. Some others were death, broken health, or broken mind. But the worst by far was burn out, when all capabilities of magic were forever burned away.
That was the outcome Lina feared most. Even if she wasn't struck with that from the outset, if she tried too hard to recover her magic or overexerted herself in any way, burn out could happen. So for better or for worse, she had to depend entirely on Gourry for protection, even more so than during that time of month.
"...he is still alive..."
The parting words of that female Shabrinigdo echoed in the vast mindscape in which Lina's fragile shell lay. What was that supposed to mean? It was meant as a warning but was it really? Who was it talking about?
The Demon King of the North perhaps? Lina didn't want to know why Ruby Eye's pieces would want to destroy each other. They should be all of one mind after all. But based on the Demon King's assistance in defeating the piece resurrected within Rezo, that must not be the case.
Lei Magnus, one of the world's greatest archmage and creator of such destructive spells such as Blast Bomb and the highest Black Magic spell now commonly known as Dragu Slave, was consumed by the piece of Ruby Eye sealed within him 1000 years ago. Only mages and scholars remembered his name now. And only a more select group knew more about that great mage.
Lina had been well taught about him. Knowledgeable enough to recognize one of the very tiny inscribed sigils on the compass to be one of his. When she had taken the time to study the compass, she saw how time can distort history. The compass could lead to Ruby Eye, because it was created by one who later became the Demon Lord. This compass was one of Lei Magnus's directional compasses that were linked to each of his many labs around the continent.
When she understood this, Lina quickly figured out the command words as the design was similar to some magical items in her home. Several locations were imprinted in the device but only the island suited her purposes. No sense in drawing the enemy to a populous location. And as she figured, Rezo had followed them, albeit faster than she had planned for.
Activating the compass's communication beacon had been a last ditch attempt to stack the odds in her favor. Lina had no idea what kind of opinion the Demon King of the North had about her, but he surely had to know of her given how often she cast his spell. With his help, the world was saved but she couldn't help wondering what kind of repayment she might have to do.
Once the mutual enemy was eliminated, the enemy's enemy rarely remained a friend. Lina shivered in her deep slumber at what kind of attention she had called onto herself.
Gourry stopped, noting the shiver that traveled through the sleeping sorceress on his back. When nothing else happened, he sighed quietly and continued walking down the road. Hopefully, they would reach a town by tonight. Sleeping on the road was not good for Lina in her condition.
A condition that he felt responsible for. It wasn't just bringing the statue to the island, that was only part of something larger. He wasn't as simple as he often appeared though his acting even fooled himself at times.
Before he met Lina, he met and was hired by a cloaked and hooded person. The job sounded innocent enough, find the treasure of a certain bandit corporation and make sure it stayed out of a certain person's hands. Hooking up with the sorceress was only convenient because the bandits he was after were all after her because she was the one carrying the treasure.
Gourry didn't begin to think anything was wrong until he met up with Lina again in the marketplace when she was dealing with that Zel-something or other guy. Lina had just been about to sell the treasure that he was hired to keep away from the person she was selling it to. His mind dismissed it as coincidence at first, that the priest had brought him just in time to prevent this.
However, the swordsman's suspicions went to red alert when the priest mentioned the Sword of Light. It was too perfect. No one should have known about his bearing the Sword of Light. And it finally clicked in his mind.
He had seen this man before, this priest garbed in red robes. It had been years ago, before he ran away from home. Then it made sense, why this priest knew that he, Gourry, was carrying the Sword of Light. What Gourry didn't know and didn't want to find out was exactly how much this Rezo person knew about him.
Unfortunately, he learned quite well how much Rezo knew about him when the priest confronted him during his search for Lina after their separation. Rezo knew who Gourry was, and he was quite alright with using that knowledge to force Gourry to help him. It was by his directions that Gourry found that hidden passage into the castle and managed to save Lina from that Mazoku. It was by his magic that forced Gourry to bring the statue to Ruby Eye's site of resurrection and to speak to no one of their encounter.
It seemed that from the beginning he had been used like he had always been used to further the ambitions of other people who thought him too simple to recognize the manipulation. But despite it all, this sorceress on his back had overcome everything.
The least he could do was make sure she was fully recovered before leaving. If Rezo had recognized him, there was no telling how many others may know of Gourry Gabriev.
With such heavy thoughts, Gourry entered the town glowing with candle and torchlight as the sun set on another blessfully uneventful day.
"And don't disturb me even if another Demon Lord wakes up!" Lina slammed the door in Gourry's face after he wheeled in the fifth cartload of food to her room. Sure she could eat it all, he just wondered where was there room in that room to put all of those wheeled carts.
Since her closed bedroom door wasn't feeling up to talking, Gourry wandered downstairs into the common room. What was he going to do? Lina would be shut up in her room for the next several days and under pain of death he wasn't supposed to have anything to do with her other than bring food. That left a lot of free time.
Gourry pulled out a chair and sat down at a table. Folding one arm on the table, he leaned his chin on the other propped arm. Remotely, he heard someone ask him if he wanted something to eat.
"Just bring me five portions of that barbecue rib, six portions of today's special, and three tankards of milk."
The waitress blinked. "Are you expecting someone?"
"No - "
"Ah Gourry-san!!"
Gourry's chin slipped from the hand supporting it and connected painfully with the thick wooden table.
"Are you alright?"
Desperately willing himself to disbelieve, Gourry looked up at the former Leg or something of the Demon Lord. Migel smiled brightly down at him, still wearing his ornate platemail, light brown hair hanging loosely around his young face.
"What are you doing here?"
"To fight evil, cleave darkness, right wrongs, do overall nice things."
Gourry looked flatly at the newly converted champion of good.
Migel laughed nervously. "Well, Quar-san convinced the people of Stillwater that it was selfish to keep me there when the whole wide world was in chaos with evil and strife."
Gourry raised an eyebrow. Everything looked fine and dandy to him.
"So I'm traveling to understand the world as it is now. Mind if I sit down?"
Gourry waved him to go ahead and Migel sat down with a great sigh of relief.
"I don't remember this platemail being quite as hot."
The waitress returned, struggling under Gourry's huge order.
"Oh, let me help." Migel took some of the plates from the heavy load, earning a shy smile from the waitress that he completely didn't notice. Disappointed, she left the two fighters to their meal. Gourry dove in with a gusto.
"So where is Lina-san and Zelgadiss-san?"
"Arorearon."
"Please don't talk with your mouth full, Gourry-san."
Gourry swallowed whole that big chunk of meat. "Zel left us outside of Atlas and Lina is resting upstairs."
"Is she alright?"
Gourry shrugged, biting off another chunk of meat. "We'll be staying here for several days. Her orders."
"That's great! Then can you educate me in the ways of the great holy warriors of light?"
Gourry fell out of his chair but kept the meat in his hand from touching the ground. Migel looked over the edge of the table at him.
"I can't believe you."
"What's wrong, Gourry-san? Am I not worthy of being your apprentice?"
"It's not a question of worthiness. Just where do you get the idea of my being a 'great holy warrior of light'?"
"But you have that Swo - "
Gourry hastily stuffed Migel's mouth with a rib before the naive young man announced his secret to the world. Then he looked miserably at the lost piece of food.
"Guess I'll just order another one," sighed the blond swordsman. "Hey! Can I have another...no, two more plates of ribs?"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" The waitress screamed, hands covering her mouth as she stared in horror in their direction.
Gourry blinked. He didn't think that the order sounded that bad. And this was only a snack. He looked over at Migel who was calmly and neatly nibbling on the rib. Perhaps there was some public nicety he had forgotten.
A large pickaxe impaled itself in the table between Gourry and Migel. The two men blinked. They followed the pickaxe up its handle to its wielder, a skin and bones man(?) with sunken dark eyes and apparently barely able to swing that pickaxe in its hands.
"Perhaps she was screaming because he's only wearing a loincloth?" Migel suggested.
"Or maybe it's the straggly hair? Girls seem to go nuts over the silliest things."
Migel thought about that. "I wouldn't really know. I barely knew any girls. What about you?"
"Eh...well, Lina mostly...but I don't think she'd scream."
The 'man' finally succeeded in pulling out his tool and raised it above his head again, arms straining to keep it aloft.
"What would she do?"
The pickaxe swung down again, this time aimed for Gourry. He pushed his chair back, letting the tool cut air, and kicked the scrawny legs out from under his attacker who fell over the table.
"Hmmm. If he fell on her food, she just might beat the crap out of him."
"Speaking of food, this guy could really use some," Migel said, easily holding down the struggling man on the table. "Would you like a rib?"
Gourry bent over the man of skin and bones and sniffed. "He smells rotten."
"Gourry-san. That wasn't nice to say," Migel frowned.
"No, I mean he smells rotten. Like something dead."
"How can he be dead when he...oh. No pulse."
"So he isn't alive? How can he be moving?" Gourry asked, leaning on the apparently dead man struggling beneath both of them.
Migel chewed on his lip. "I remember Elyk mentioning something like this. I believe that some dead things can still move if imbued with magic or negative energy. In the case of reanimated corpses, they are usually called zombies."
Gourry blinked. The only word he caught was zombies. "Zombies? Are they those really smelly things with skin and stuff falling off of them and are a pain to kill because each part still moves even when you cut it off and they like to chew on other people?"
"That's right. What's really disgusting is when they try to pry into your head to get to your brain so they can eat it. Ara?" Migel looked around the common room to find it empty of patrons. "Where did everyone go?"
"Ano, Lina..."
"Whatever it is, it can wait."
The door slammed into his face again. Gourry sighed as he went downstairs to where Migel was waiting.
"Did you tell her?"
"I got about two words."
"That's better than last night when you didn't even get to say anything." Migel patted Gourry on the back. "I'm sure we'll eventually be able to tell her about those zombie incidents around the city."
Gourry nodded morosely. It was probably just a random incident, nothing he had to worry about. Nothing connected to him. Wait a minute. Did Migel just say...
"Incidents? As in more than one?"
"Well yes. Didn't you hear the rumors? Not that I'm advocating eavesdropping or gossip, both being very impolite advocators and furthermore all of the guards were talking about it when we were released from questioning yesterday."
"There was more than one zombie sighting?" Gourry interrupted.
"Hm? Oh yes. At least three were reported by the city guards. But there is some speculation running around about the bodies. Seems that some people recognized some of the dead bodies."
"Like bodies that should be resting peacefully in the grave are now running around trying to attack people with pickaxes?" Gourry asked.
Migel nodded.
"And now as one of those people that were involved in one of the attacks, we're probably going to get hired to deal with it."
"I do believe you're right," Migel smiled as he looked up at the middle-aged woman, merchant by her dress, who strode purposely to their table. The chivalrous man rose and pulled out a chair for her.
The merchant blinked in surprise before accepting the offered seat. After she was seated, Migel sat down himself and smiled again.
"What business do you have, my lady?"
"My name is Lora and I am no lady. I have heard from the city guards that you subdued one of the zombies yesterday and wished to hire your services."
"You fear more attacks?"
Lora hesitated. "Not that exactly. I would like to know where these...creatures came from."
Gourry slammed a fist against the table and pointed at the merchant woman. "I know you!"
"What!"
"Gourry-san, you have met her before?"
"No, not exactly. But she was going into the guards house when we were leaving yesterday."
Lora paled slightly. Migel whistled in admiration.
"And you noticed and remembered? Is the sky falling?"
Gourry gave Migel a hurt look.
"That's right." Lora took a deep breath. "I was at the guards house yesterday. You see, one of the...bodies was my father. I went to the church and they insisted that my father was buried properly in blessed ground. However, they refused to let me exhume the body to be sure. So I wish to hire the both of you to find who is behind all of this."
Gourry scratched the side of his face. It may not be the best of ideas to be running around the city with Lina bedridden and helpless. Migel on the other hand didn't seem to bear any such considerations.
"Of course we will do it! Right, Gourry-san? We simply can not stand by and let such atrocities as reanimating the bodies of lost loved ones to murder the living! Wielding the light of truth, we shall reveal who is responsible for such dastardly deeds!"
"That's a little overdone don't you think?" Gourry winced.
"But Gourry-san!"
"I am not asking you to work for free. I will pay each of you 50 gold plus any reasonable expenses. In addition, one of my merchant ships recently captured a pirate vessel that if you wish can be yours once you've discovered the culprit."
"We couldn't possible accept payment - "
Gourry clamped a hand around Migel's mouth. "We'll take the job."
"Gourry-san," Migel complained. "It isn't right to accept payment for doing work for good."
Gourry sighed as he and Migel headed toward the church where their employer suggested they start. "Look. We are going to be here several days and do you have any idea how much it costs just for meals?"
"Only the burning passion of justice and the feeling of doing a good deed that alleviates the suffering of others can let you carry on for days with no need for any sustenance."
"And how does that pay the tab?"
Stone letters forming the word 'tab' fell on Migel. Gourry sighed.
"You never had to worry about money have you?"
"Paladins do not concern themselves with material goods!"
"Hai hai."
They walked in silence for several blocks before Migel spoke up again.
"Um, Gourry-san?"
"Hm?"
"Exactly what are we doing?"
"We're trying to find out where those dead things came from."
"But we're only wandering around."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Gourry-san," Migel reproved the other man with a frown. Both ignored a construction sign they passed by. "It isn't like the solution will open up right before uuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssssssssss!!"
The construction sign read: 'Please watch your step. Very large and very deep potholes.' Scribbled beneath the warning in sloppy letters was: 'What a fall.'
"Gourry-san?"
"What?"
"Are you alive?"
"...I think so."
"Oh."
"What about you?"
"Something broke my fall."
"That would be me."
"Oops."
"So get off."
"Oh, right. Sorry Gourry-san. Ow!"
"What happened?"
"I think I hit my head against something. Please wait a moment. Lighting."
A small orb of light came into existence between Migel's hands. Gourry's eyes stung a bit at the sudden light but quickly adjusted.
"You can cast magic?"
"Just a little. Lighting, Recovery, little things. It's all part of being a holy knight," Migel said modestly. "Now what was it that I hit..."
His voice trailed away as he looked up, and up again at the smelling, wart covered, muscular, bluish-green body of a razor-toothed, pointy eared troll.
"Is that a troll?" Gourry asked. If it was, it had to be one of the ugliest and smelliest ever.
Migel thought, ducking the enraged and temporarily blinded creature's clumsy swing that was aimed at ripping off his face and then rolled away from the follow-up disemboweling claws. "They seem, pardon the expression, rather fishy. No, I think they're the trolls' aquatic cousins."
Gourry blinked. Then swiftly pulled out his sword as he whipped around to slash off the descending arm of another troll. "So you mean that these trolls and normal trolls share parents who are siblings?"
"Not exactly." Migel let the light orb float above them, fully illuminating the chamber they had fallen into. He looked at the two swords, one belted on each side. "Captor. Calibur. Captor. Calibur. Which to use?"
"So these have the same regenerative abilities?" Gourry gritted his teeth as he cut off the upper half of the troll's head before slicing the headless body in half.
"No, they only regenerate in water. So if we don't let them get into any, then there's no problem. Let's see, trolls and their watery cousins called scrags are considered unredeemable so I'd be using Calibur." Migel unsheathed the holy long sword. The scrag before him, snarled as it began to back away. "Don't even think you can escape this holy blade!"
With two quick strokes of his blade, Migel's scrag opponent fell in several pieces to the ground.
Gourry poked some of the pieces with the tip of his sword. "Are you sure they won't grow back?"
"No, Gourry-san, they won't." Migel looked up at the pinpoint hole of light in the distant ceiling. "How irresponsible of them to leave a hole like that in the middle of a city street. I must report this to the proper authorities when we get back up."
After following some footsteps that Migel insisted belonged to the scrags, and trudging through two feet of water that left their boots and anything inside soaking wet, the two lost warriors found themselves in a twisting maze of tunnels.
"So now what?" Gourry asked as they stood undecided before two ways.
"When in a maze, put your left hand on the wall and follow it and eventually you will find your way out," Migel quoted from someone.
As it was the best idea at the time, Gourry shrugged and followed along. With only Migel's light orb to lead them, they traveled the underground system of tunnels and caves, nimbly avoiding sudden pitfalls and quite a few unexpected roof collapses.
"Nimbly my - "
"You should watch your language, Gourry-san," Migel scolding, shaking a finger.
"You weren't the one who barely escaped falling down a pit just to be half-buried under a fallen roof."
"I'm getting you out aren't I?"
"Hurry up already," Gourry grumbled underneath said pile of rubble.
"Patience is a virtue," Migel quoted. "It'll take me twice as long to clear this away by myself. When we did it together it took about an hour."
Gourry sighed. By now it must have been dinner and Lina was no doubt on a rampage for food since he didn't bring her any. Perhaps it was safer to just remain here.
"Where the hell is that jellyfish?!?" Lina fumed as she stormed downstairs to the common room. But he was nowhere in sight. "I knew I could never rely on him. Hey, you there! Give me three portions of plates one through four!!"
The waitress hurried to comply.
Lina slumped in her chair, head resting on her arms on the table. Even on the third day of doing nothing but rest she was still this tired. But that didn't necessarily mean that something was wrong. She hoped.
Gourry yawned widely, nearly cracking his face in half. Even with Migel's holy swords providing the two protection for the night, neither had slept very well in these twisting tunnels. The holy knight's first light spell had expired and now they were using a second one as they tiredly stumbled through the caves.
"I could use some steak, some grilled fish, a large double-decker chocolate cake..."
"Gourry-san. Must you always think with your stomach?"
"I'm hungry. I didn't eat lunch, dinner, or breakfast. I can almost smell all that food Lina must be eating now and gloating over," Gourry said tearfully.
Migel sniffed the air. "I only smell something rotten."
The two stopped, both sniffed the air, and looked at each other. "Rotten?"
They ran down the tunnel until they reached its end where the rotten, and dry and dusty, smell hit them with the force of a wall. Sitting there, arms hanging limply at their sides, sunken eyes looking at nothing at all, were zombies not unlike the one that had appeared in the city two days before.
"The evil mastermind must be near!" Migel crowed, striking a valiant pose. Which was ruined by a deep growling in his stomach. It echoed through the caves.
"I can't believe you."
"Me? It's all your fault, Gourry-san! Always talking about food," Migel retorted.
"That's because I'm normal."
"And I am not?"
"How do you expect to beat up the bad guys when you haven't eaten for several days?"
"It's only been one day, Gourry-san! Surely your burning desire for justice can calm the rumblings of the stomach!"
"Speak for yourself. Either way, if we don't find a way out of here, we'll die of starvation first." Gourry looked around the bare room.
Migel in a huff went over to sulk next to the zombies taking the light with him.
"Migel, send the light over here."
"Why?"
"Because I found some footprints and would like to know where they're going."
Migel flicked the light orb over to where Gourry was standing. Unfortunately, it didn't help very much since the footprints would go up to a point in the middle of the tunnel and just disappear.
"Hey, Migel. Do you know any flying magic?"
"Of course not."
Gourry frowned. Terrific. He looked at the light orb. Migel had just flicked it with his finger to get it to move. Would it move if he touched it? Gourry gave the orb a little push upward and it began to drift up.
"What are you doing, Gourry-san?" Migel asked, finally getting up and going over to Gourry as the light in the tunnel dimmed. "A rope ladder?"
The rising light sphere revealed a rope ladder extended from high above through a shaft that opened in the ceiling above them. However, the end of the rope ladder that should have hung down to the floor was hooked up near the opening of the shaft above them.
"That's our way out."
Dilen and Namdar were in a very happy mood. You see, they had just learned that the scary undead creature they met in the underground ruins was not a much feared lich but simply a crypt thing, an undead guardian that was nowhere near as powerful. So with great cheer, and fatigue from nearly a day's worth of research, they returned to their secret lodgings, a warehouse, and were preparing to enter their underground tunnels the next day. What they did not expect was to find two men already in their warehouse, one devouring their food, the other scolding the first person.
"Gourry-san! You can't simply eat the food without permission!"
Gourry wasn't listening as he washed down another mouthful with a wineskin. Instead, he pointed with a half-eaten drumstick at the two stunned people standing in the doorway.
"You!" Migel pointed, drawing his long sword Calibur. "You must be the foul villains stealing the bodies of the deceased from their rightful rest and forcing them to work for you!!"
Dilen and Namdar snapped out of their astonishment and immediately prepared to deal with these intruders. Their plans were to close to fruition now to be allowed to be derailed by some common adventurers.
"Shadow Snap!" Dilen cast, flicking the dagger toward the shadow of the black armored fighter with his sword drawn. The dagger flew unerringly until it was about 10 feet away from Migel when it shuddered and then clattered to the ground. "What?"
"Sorry, but magic won't effect me. All holy avengers create a circle of magic resistance," Migel grinned. "I, on the other hand, can knock you out quite easily."
The holy knight got Dilen in the got and the mage crumpled over a storage crate. Migel looked around. "I could have sworn there was a second person. Did he leave?"
Gourry swallowed his food and shook his head. "I don't remember seeing anyone leave."
Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
"Damn fly."
Gourry took a wide backhanded swing at the annoying insect and his arm hit something solid. The blond swordsman blinked. He waved his arm in the area of something solid that he couldn't see. There wasn't anything.
"Maybe it was my imagination?"
"Good job, Gourry-san! You got the other one!"
Gourry blinked several times. Migel helpfully pointed down at Gourry's feet. There sprawled on the ground and seeing stars was a priest, the aforementioned Namdar.
"Where did he come from?"
"That doesn't matter. Now it is time to ascertain their level of guilt." Migel whipped out a chart and a pen. "Have you ever killed anyone?"
"Ummm, Migel? I don't think he can answer if he's unconscious."
"Gourry-san, please don't interrupt an interrogation. I repeat, have you ever killed anyone?" Migel addressed the unconscious Dilen. Oddly enough, Dilen's head just happened to roll forward then. "I'll take that as a yes."
Gourry shook his head as Migel continued to 'interrogate' the two strangers.
"Well, that was certainly anticlimactic," Gourry mumbled in between bites of dinner.
They had turned over the two to the city guards. From their confessions, they had been paid by some purple-haired priest to excavate the ruins of a magic tower that had been buried beneath the city for nearly 200 years. The zombies were the corpses they procured from the undertaker that served the city's church. So the church was cleared of any wrongdoing, the bad guys were behind bars, and Gourry's and Migel's fees were collected.
"If it had been Lina, probably half of the town would have been gone."
"Pretty easy way to earn 50 gold."
"And a ship."
"Are you listening, Migel?"
Gourry poked the depressed holy knight with a fork. Migel hadn't said a thing since the two guys they caught confessed.
"This isn't over!" Migel announced, suddenly jumping out of his seat, knocking back his chair, and planting one booted foot on the tabletop.
Gourry looked mournfully at the salad in which Migel's foot was implanted.
"Gourry-san! Though the people may be satisfied that the threat is gone, I know there is still something evil afoot!"
"But those two guys confessed that they were responsible for the dead people."
"They may have created the zombies but they were not the ones that made them appear in random locations around the city! You remember what they said."
Gourry thought. "No."
Migel lost some of his hot air. "Gourry-san! Oh well, here we'll just do a flashback."
"We did create the zombies but it wasn't us that made them attack the people!"
"Yeah, there was this skeletal thing down in the ruins! It was the one that did it."
"See? Gourry-san."
Gourry scratched his head. "I don't remember that."
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we must go to vanquish that evil before it spreads its maladies across this fair town. We must be off!" Migel proceeded to march out the door, dragging Gourry by the collar.
"Come on, Migel. How do you know they weren't just making that all up to get a lighter sentence?"
Migel dropped Gourry on the cobbled street and placed his hands on his waist. "Gourry-san. We haven't yet fought an all powerful, reeking with evil, so ugly even its mother wouldn't love it, mastermind of darkness. How could this chapter end like that? Besides which, it's only about eight pages right now!"
"Huh? Did you just go and break the fourth wall?"
Migel ignored Gourry's question as he continued to drag the taller man behind him.
"So they mentioned something about a magic tower and that's where this skeletal creature is supposed to be. It's probably in the same area we first fell into but didn't notice because we were following the scrags' footsteps."
"And when we find him we'll do what?"
"Defeat him with good and justice of course!"
Gourry rubbed his eyes. Standing before him was a skeleton with glowing purple eyes and a tattered brown robe. Where had that come from? He looked at Migel. Migel shrugged in reply.
Gourry tried to backtrack. They had found the magic tower quite easily after falling through another unmarked very large pothole in the street. There were a lot of dead bodies and some more zombies plus the expected rubble and broken walls. They had been in one relatively well-kept room when a triangular archway suddenly glowed. Migel had taken that to be the portal to the final bad guy of the chapter and charged through with a battle cry. Gourry followed with considerably less enthusiasm.
And after passing through that glowing archway, they were both here confronted by some moving skeleton.
"Could this be the great evil that sends zombies to attack innocent townspeople in the midst of their meals?" Migel demanded.
"Who sent you?" rattled the skeleton.
"Um, no one?" Gourry replied intelligently enough.
"You are not one to whom I may grant passage. Leave this place or be destroyed!"
"He really doesn't look like much," Migel whispered to Gourry.
"But what if he's a rich thing that Lina talked about before?"
"Rich?"
"Yeah, that guy whose head she kicked off?"
"Oh, you mean Elyk. He isn't rich, well he was but he wasn't a rich, he was a lich."
"Right, and what if this is that?"
Migel crossed his arms and thought. "Then we're dead meat."
"Why don't we try what Lina did?"
"Kick off its head?"
"Or chop it off."
"You trespassers must pay the price," hissed the skeleton, raising its bony arms. Gourry vanished, all that remained was a burning smell and piles of dust.
"Gourry-san?!"
"And now you."
Migel pulled out his long sword. "No kiddy gloves with you. You've shown yourself to be purely evil. Therefore I will show you no mercy just as you showed none to the great holy warrior of light Gourry despite his touching pleas for mercy! Have at thee!"
The skeletal creature raised its hands to strike down the holy knight but the holy avenger in his hands negated the magic. Without breaking stride, Migel swung downwards, breaking every bone from collar to pelvis. The bones fell to the ground, collapsing into dust.
"Gourry-san, I have avenged you."
"Ano...I'm still alive."
Migel spun so quickly around that he fell on his posterior. Looking up at the person who had been behind him, Migel smiled in relief and hugged Gourry's knees in joy.
"By divine providence you were delivered!!"
Gourry kicked him off. "Let go!"
"Just did," mumbled the knight.
"So you defeated the skeleton?"
"Yes!" Migel recovered immediately. "It had no chance against my righteous fury!"
"Uh huh." Gourry sloshed past Migel, water dripping from everywhere and some seaweed artistically styled in his long wet hair.
"Gourry-san? Why do you have a big pink jellyfish on your head?"
"This?" Gourry pointed up at said living head ornament. "It won't come off. I don't know what happened, but I found myself suddenly over some water and fell in. When I got out, this wouldn't let go."
"I see."
"You do? I can't really see it very well myself."
"And that's why that pink thing is still on your head?" Lina asked, poking said thing with a fork.
"Don't be so mean to it, Lina," Gourry frowned, putting a protective hand around the affectionately named jellyfish Bubblegum.
Migel and Gourry were recounting their adventures in town to Lina as she inhaled enough food to feed half of an army regiment.
"So did you ever find some great, all-powerful, ugly as hell evil boss man?"
Migel sighed sadly. "No, there weren't any monsters or evil after that skeleton. Only some traps that Gourry-san took care off. The only thing we did find besides that was a treasure room."
Lina's ears perked up immediately.
Migel, not noticing, continued. "It was all stacked up against the walls. Chests of gold, silver, and gems."
"I remember a silver-inlaid suit of field plate armor with a matching shield," Gourry added.
"A large gold-framed mirror."
"Some gem-studded goblets with matching decanter."
"An ivory hunting horn."
"A coral statue of a dolphin."
"Some books and scrolls that I guess were magic spells."
"Remember that adamantite bastard sword?"
"Oh and that suit of armor, shield, and helm all made from the hide of a green dragon!"
"Where are they?!?" Lina burst out, unable to contain her greed any longer.
Gourry and Migel looked at her as if they just realized she was there. "Where is what?"
"The treasure!"
"Oh that?" Migel sat back smugly. "We donated it all to charity."
Lina's jaw dropped to the table.
"After all, holy warriors of justice have no need for such a superfluous amount of material wealth. We are rich where it really counts, in our hearts."
"No...way..."
"We even gave away that pirate ship that was part of our fee for investigating the zombies. It wasn't as if any of us knew how to run a boat anyway."
Lina's head hung down, her pink hair hiding her face.
"Ano, Lina?" Gourry asked, trying to look under the curtain of hair. "Are you feeling tired again?"
"You..."
"Me?"
"You two..."
"Both of us?"
"You two IMBECILES!!!"
Lina lifted the table up and smashed it over both of their heads. Then she stormed to her room upstairs and slammed the door hard enough to cause the rafters to shake.
"What's up with her?" Gourry groaned beneath the wreckage of the table.