Pain.... Not enjoyable pain either..... pain that was excruciating and almost intolerable. Pain that filtered through the every essence of his soul and ripped it apart. He held back the screams that threatened to shake out of him, tears of agony, if he could cry in his astral form, would be streaming out of his eyes. As it was, he wished to be dead due to his carelessness and the suffering he was being put through as a result.
Of course, Zelas wasn't about to leave her prime servant there, so she quickly teleported to the astral plane, and sighed at the amount of damage that he'd sustained. "Baka..." She sighed, and set about healing him and taking her good time at it to teach him a lesson not to be careless again. "Never trust anyone. Never. No matter who they are, you should put no trust in them, well other than me, but that's different." His presence indicated he understood, and she shook her head. "I should have warned you, but we didn't even know for sure at the time. It appears that Gaav has defected and become a traitor. But we weren't sure. Now that you've been attacked by one of his prime minions, we can be sure. Lei has something he wants to talk to you about later after you're better."
She continued healing in silence, thinking to herself about events and how she might handle things. She knew why he'd been attacked by this particular servant, but apparently neither he nor Valgarv knew the truth hidden underneath that she knew. How ironic things could be...
She sighed and continued her healing for hours and days on end, until he was reasonably healed to survive without her help. She transported them both out of the astral plane, and saw to it that he was lying in bed for resting and internal healing, before going out and plopping on her couch to do some catching up on her wine, cigarettes, and thinking.
After a bit, she felt a strong presence, and glanced up to see the tall gentleman standing there. "Ah, Lei, sit down." She gestured. "He's resting."
Lei nodded. "He is something, that's for sure, despite how impetuous he is...."
She grinned. "Yeah, that's why I like him. But he'll learn in a few hundred years, give him time."
Lei chuckled and strode down the hall. "I promised him a reward if he succeeded, which he did." He opened Xelloss' door and stepped in calmly, then approached the bedside to see the pale priest looking up at him. "You succeeded in your task, I commend you Xelloss." He said solemnly inclining his head towards the priest. "I believe Zelas also is impressed in your behavior, since she's upgraded you to her Priest from just a minion." There was a smug look of glee from Xelloss at that that made Lei Magnus smile. "And as promised, I also have a reward for you." He reached into his robe and took out four ruby red stoned on silver talismans. "These are very powerful trinkets to which I give you Xelloss." He put them on the night stand. "They're called Demon's Blood stones, and there are four of them just as there are four dark lords in the universe beneath L-sama. Death Fog, Ruby Eye, Dark Star, and Chaotic Blue. They draw power from all four Dark Lords, and are unique." He gazed down at the priest who looked slightly taken aback by the huge gift. "I give them to you because I can forsee something happening in the future to myself, and you will need them to battle with the enemy."
Xelloss kept a locked gaze on the mazoku priest, and nodded slowly in reverence. "I am honored.." He managed to choke out weakly, and Lei smiled and patted him lightly on the head, then he turned and left, leaving the amulets on the bed stand beside him. "I will do what's right..." Xelloss whispered quietly.
And from that point forward, he did.....