Slayers - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

2: Bad Guys Come, Even When You Most Expect Them

Well, our visitor sure looked suspicious. He was clad head to toe in white: white cape, white robe, and a white hood drawn so tight around his face that I could only make out his eyes. And he wasn’t alone.

“Well, well...”

I didn’t bother to hide my change in expression when I saw he was with the mummy man who’d sicced the trolls on me earlier. The two of them slowly stepped into the room. The mummy man was limping a little.

Gourry closed the door behind them. The mummy man looked over his shoulder in alarm, but the man in white was completely unfazed. They came to a stop in the center of the room, with Gourry and me flanking them.

“So you and Mummy Man here know each other, huh?” I said.

“Mum—!”

The mummy man’s eyes went wide in outrage, but before he could lay into me, the man in white stopped him.

“He sure knows how to make a strong first impression,” I added.

“I’m sorry about that,” replied the man in white. “His name is Zolf. He takes his responsibilities very seriously, but that inclines him to impulsiveness at times... I hope you can forgive him.”

“Sure, but it’s still gonna factor into my price.”

It didn’t dawn on me until about this point in the conversation that the man in white wasn’t human. I hadn’t noticed before in the dim lamplight, but what I could see of the area around his eyes looked like it was something more solid than skin. I mean, I wasn’t about to reach out and touch it, so I couldn’t be certain... but it sure looked like it was stone or something.

I thought he might be a golem for a second, but I dismissed that theory quickly. Golems were created to serve humans, and this man had the glint of self-determination in his eyes.

“Very shrewd of you... but fine. Let’s negotiate,” he said.

“Okay. You want to buy something off me, right?”

“Yes. Something you took from a bandit hideout a while back.”

“What something, exactly?”

“I can’t say.”

“You can’t say?” I questioned with a scowl.

“No, I cannot.”

“This isn’t how buying things works, in my experience...”

“Just hear me out. If I start by telling you what I want, you might try to overcharge me. Or you might get curious about why I want it and then refuse to sell, no? So here’s my offer: Put a price on all the items you’ve acquired recently. Then we’ll pay your asking price for the particular one we want.”

“I think I get it. But I’ve gotta say, you don’t really look like the type to be buddying up with bandits...”

“I’ve been looking for this item for some time,” the man in white said. “Zolf was one of several men I sent to search it out. He infiltrated that bandit gang, and one day, they stumbled upon the item in question. Zolf had the bandits steal it, and he planned to make off with it and bring it to me at his next opportunity.”

“But then I showed up, huh?”

“Precisely.”

“Still, using bandits to steal something, only to run off with it yourself... That’s kinda petty, don’t you think?”

“You’re one to talk about pettiness.”

Ahem!

“Well, your terms seem fair, at any rate. Let’s get down to business. My inventory consists of a statue, a knife, and a couple of old coins. I’ve got some gemstones too, but I figure we can leave those out of this. It’s clear they’re just ordinary gems; no one would let me name my price for them.”

The man in white nodded in agreement.

“Okay, let’s see here. Starting with the knife...”

I proceeded to set a price for each item, as requested. The man in white took a few staggering steps backward, the mummy man’s eyes shot wide open, and Gourry’s jaw went slack.

Men! They’ve got no guts and no balls. If you let the seller set the prices, you’d better be ready to pay a hundred times market value!

Actually... I just realized I’d inadvertently asked for about enough to buy myself a whole furnished castle. Whoopsie! Hahaha.

“I was prepared to pay double or triple the market price, but...” the man in white managed to stammer after a few moments.

“Yeeeah, I guess a hundredfold markup is a little outrageous. Aha, hahaha...”

“You didn’t even realize what you were asking?” the man in white asked, exasperated.

“Anyway, since that’s definitely too high... slash everything I just said in half.”

“Only in half?!”

“Th-This little brat is trying to take us to the cleaners!”

“Shut up, Zolf.”

Brat?! Rrgh!

Ooh, there goes that temper of mine again...

“I don’t suppose you’d agree to an installment plan or be willing to send an invoice later?”

“In your dreams. Why would I accept stupid conditions on top of the grief of being called a brat by a third-rate sorcerer who can’t tell Fireball from Lighting?”

“Wh-What?!” Apparently Mummy Man was just now realizing how he’d been duped. “I called you a brat because that’s exactly what you are! You little—”

“Zolf! That’s enough!” The man in white scolded Mummy Man so harshly that it left him shaking in his bandages. “All right, here’s my final offer. Would you work with me? In one year’s time—no, in half that—I can pay you two to three times your original asking price.”

“Hmm.” I folded my arms. “Seems like you want whatever this thing is pretty bad... So I bet if I say no, I go right from bargaining partner to enemy, right?”

The man in white didn’t respond beyond slightly arching one eyebrow.

“As for me, I’d like to limit my dealings with your ilk as much as possible. I can’t exactly say why... Let’s just call it women’s intuition.”

“Hmm.”

“And right now, my intuition is telling me that I’d be better off dead than working with you.”

Zolf leaned forward angrily. He clearly had something to say, but he stopped dead in his tracks mid-breath. He seemed to lose his nerve the second he noticed the air of hostility swirling between me and his companion. The sheer force of the man in white’s aura told me that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Our staring contest lasted a few good seconds, but it was the man in white who eventually backed down. He let out a deep sigh.

“We’re at an impasse, then... But I suppose that’s life, strong-willed girl.”

“Yeah, it’s too bad.”

“I will withdraw peacefully for today, as promised. But I will return to take the item, by force if necessary. The second you leave this inn tomorrow morning, you and I are enemies.”

I gave him a small nod. He then turned to leave.

“Let’s go, Zolf.”

“B-But...”

The man in white ignored Zolf’s protests and made for the door. Gourry opened it just in time. Zolf lingered a minute, then hurried after his companion.

“Oh, I forgot to mention...” Just on the other side of the door, the man in white stopped and said without turning back, “My name is Zelgadis.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Gourry promptly shut the door behind our visitors.

“They’re gone,” he said after a few minutes. “So, why’d you put those outrageous prices on everything?”

“Would you have been happier if I’d sold them what they wanted at a reasonable price?”

With a wry smile, Gourry shook his head.

“Ahh, what nice weather...”

I was currently stretched out on the ground, gazing up at a perfectly clear sky.

The sunlight was like heaven, warm and toasty. The road we’d been following mostly ran through forest, but we’d come out into a relatively open plain for now. The sky was bright blue, the birds were singing, and... the smell of blood was in the air.

“It doesn’t get much better than this...” I murmured.

“Say, Lina...” Gourry said, heaving for breath as he collapsed next to me. “You can’t just leave a guy to do all the fighting... while you lounge around enjoying yourself...”

I glanced back at the mounds of berserker corpses Gourry had left in his wake.

“Aha, sorry ’bout that. But hey, I did chip in a little...”

“Only at the start and only a tiny bit. But then, instead of casting even one attack spell to help me out, you just said, ‘You take it from here.’”

“...Yeah, I guess I might’ve done that.”

“No, you definitely did,” Gourry argued, using his sword to struggle to his feet.

“You should rest a little while longer,” I encouraged, but Gourry shook his head.

“We need to reach the next town by nightfall or they’ll come after us again. Let’s get moving.”

I couldn’t blame him for being frustrated. I’m sure he wasn’t pleased that I’d sat the fight out, and his own exhaustion seemed to be fouling up his mood. But I continued to just lie there instead of responding.

“Lina,” he said in the tone of a scolding father as he walked up to me with surprisingly steady legs.

“C’mon, just a little longer. The sun feels so nice...”

“Enough already!” he shouted, grabbing my right arm and yanking.

No, not that!

“Urgh!” I unwittingly groaned in agony.

“Huh?” Gourry stammered as he released me.

I curled up into a fetal position, pressing my forehead against the ground. I don’t like to admit this, but I have a really low pain tolerance.

I whispered a faltering Recovery spell, focusing the power in my right hand into my wound. Bit by bit, the pain began to recede. Normally a wound this size would’ve healed a lot faster, but this one was especially slow going. I had to wonder...

“...Lina?”

“Hmm?”

I looked up at Gourry, trying to remain as calm as I could... even though I knew there was no hiding it now.

“Are you... hurt?” he asked.

I gave him a little smile, which probably didn’t do much to reassure him.

“Just ate too much.”

Gourry moved around in front of me, sat down, and looked at me hard.

“...What?”

I stared into his eyes. He stared back into mine.

“Urgh!”

I groaned again as a new jolt of pain ran through me. Gourry had thrust his hand into my cape, incidentally brushing the wound on my right side. He quickly pulled his hand back when he saw how I responded, however.

“You...” he whispered in a hushed voice. “You’re covered in blood...”

“...I’m fine.”

I was doing my best to grin and bear it, but I was also telling the truth. The pain was still steadily receding.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I said I was, so I am. I’ve got a Recovery spell going, so the wound will close soon.”

“But...”

“You know, this is exactly the kind of fuss that I was trying to avoid when I decided to ‘lounge around enjoying myself.’”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. But I really will be better soon, so you should take it easy until then too.”

“S-Sure...”

Gourry obediently sat down again in front of me, his eyes alight with worry. I appreciated the concern and all, but I’d never exactly been comfortable with this kind of attention.

“So you were wounded at the start of the fight?” Gourry asked.

“I underestimated them, yeah.”

“Then you were focusing on your healing... I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

“I told you, it’s fine.”

Gourry said nothing more after that. We stayed put for a while, simply letting the breeze blow past us.

“So, about what those guys are after...” I finally spoke up, breaking the silence. “After we parted ways last night, I looked into a few things.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Remember what I said yesterday? About how the mummy man had probably marked the item with magic?”

“Did you figure out what it was?”

I disappointedly shook my head.

“What I swiped from the bandits included an orichalcum statue, a large knife with an enchanted blade, and a few gold coins that would make a collector go bug-eyed. None of it had a marking spell on it.”

“But then...”

“That means it’s safe to rule out the coins; they’re not innately trackable. That leaves the knife and the statue.”

“Isn’t all this talking irritating your wound?”

“Huh? Oh... No, I’m fine now. I’m nearly all healed up.”

“Nearly?”

“I’m fine, really. Now, as for what we have left, the knife’s enchantment... is kinda nasty, but it’s trackable. On the other hand, the statue is made of a metal called orichalcum, which has some degree of magic-sealing properties.”

“So it’s not trackable, then?”

“It is, actually. When you run a search on the astral plane, the spiritual waves traveling in the direction the metal lies in— Are you following any of this?”

“Nope.”

“Well, the point is that the statue is indeed trackable too.”

“Then it has to be one or the other, right? But why are those guys so desperate to get their hands on it?”

“That’s the question, yeah. I’m still working on that. Orichalcum is a ton more valuable than gold, and the enchanted knife is a real piece of work. Yet neither object is worth the trouble they’re putting themselves through to nab.”

“They even said they’d pay you triple your asking price in six months, which tells us just how much it’s worth to them. Maybe it contains the location of a big hidden treasure or something.”

A somewhat whimsical theory, but not impossible.

“Or perhaps it’s a key of some kind,” I added.

“A key?” Gourry asked, looking at me quizzically.

“With certain applications of magic, you can turn something into a key. I’ve heard of noble estates in the City of Magic that are rigged up that way. If a young woman enters a fountain in the courtyard, for example, it opens up the door to the treasure vault or something... In that instance, the young woman is the key.”

“So the key doesn’t have to be magical itself?”

“Exactly.”

“So either the statue or the knife...”

“...might unlock something. That’s one possibility, at least.”

“I don’t feel like we’ve narrowed this down at all.”

“We’re still short on clues. Ah, here we go...”

There, I managed to pick myself up. My legs still felt a little unsteady, but I could walk, at least.

“Hey now...”

“I’m fine. I swear. I’m just a little tired. But we’d better get going, right?”

Gourry looked at me disapprovingly as he stood up, and then...

“Yeek!”

I let out a little shriek as he swept me up into his arms.

“H-Hey! What are you doing?” I shouted, well aware I’d turned beet red.

“I’ll carry you awhile. I don’t think you’re in any condition to be moving around on your own.”

“I told you that I’m fine! And you’re still pretty wiped out, aren’t you?”

“My grandmother always told me to be kind to children,” Gourry said with a wink.

There were footsteps out in the hall. And I wasn’t just hearing things.

I’d been resting in bed at the inn for a while now, and despite being tired, my churning thoughts were making it hard to sleep. That restlessness might have just saved my life, however. These weren’t the footsteps of a drunk old man heading back to his room after a nightcap. It was a group, trying as hard as they could to not make a sound.

I sat up in bed. There was no way to know for sure that I was the one these intruders were after, but given recent events, it seemed pretty likely. I decided to play it safe and prepare for the worst.

Little by little, the footsteps drew nearer.

I grabbed my cape hanging next to the bed. As a precaution for times just like these, it was the only thing I took off when I slept.

I silently made my move. Soon after, the footsteps stopped. Right outside my room. Just as I’d suspected.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a group of strange figures poured into the room. They were expecting me to be in bed, so when I wasn’t there, it threw them into confusion.

“Where is she?!” one of the intruders shouted.

“Right here!” was what I wanted to say, but decided against it.

Instead, I simply stood up. It probably sounds a little silly, but I’d actually only been sitting next to the door. Sitting wasn’t all I was doing, though—I was preparing.

My chant was now complete. I took my hands, held close together in front of my chest, and slowly pulled them away from each other. In the space between them, a glowing ball of light appeared.

This one wasn’t a Lighting spell. It was an honest-to-goodness Fireball!

The intruders whipped around in a panic, but it was too late. I unleashed the Fireball on the room as I ran into the hall (which I’d checked in advance to make sure it was assassin-free) and shut the door behind me. A Fireball going off in an enclosed space tends to be about twice as destructive as the regular deal.

Bwoom!

Right on cue, there was an impressive-sounding explosion inside the room. When I’m in top form, a direct hit from my Fireball can melt iron. But...

“What? What’s going on?!” Gourry said as he flew out of his room next door. Typical mercenary; he’d apparently had the same idea I did and slept in his usual gear, sword and all.

“Assassins!” I shouted.

With that one word, he was up to speed on the situation.

“Did you get them?” he asked.

“I don’t know!” I answered honestly.

If this had happened yesterday, I could have replied with more confidence. But as I suspected...

The second I said that, the door to my room burst open. The strange figures came running out, wreathed in flames and smelling of char.

“Tsk!”

Gourry immediately drew his sword and tore into the intruders, dropping one of them in a flash. I could see now that they were mostly trolls, armed with swords and simple armor.

Not good!

Gourry sliced at a second intruder, but even with smoke still rising from his body... he managed to block Gourry’s sword with his own. And that was no mean feat. This guy—a well-built middle-aged man who was the only human in the bunch—must have had some real skill.

“Are you with her, young man?” he asked.

“You’re not bad, old man,” Gourry responded.

“I’d better be after all these years.”

Both of them jumped back at the same time.

The troll Gourry had cut down a minute ago was already slowly getting back on its feet. Their regenerative powers were really something to behold... but I didn’t really have time to sit around and enjoy the show. We were in a pretty dicey situation here, no matter how you sliced it.

Since Gourry was occupied with the old man, handling the trolls fell to me. Gourry was talented with a blade, but the old man was nothing to sneeze at either. He was keeping Gourry too busy to help me out any.

Unfortunately, there was no way I could defeat the trolls by myself right now. My magic was in a sorry state.

Any other night, I’d have polished them off before Gourry was even out of his room. He’d say, “Did you get them?” And I’d wink and say, “Easy-peasy!” Then we’d clean up the aftermath of my Fireball, and that would be that, but...

Sadly, here in reality, all I’d done was scorch the assassins’ clothing and singe off their eyebrows. Otherwise, they were still in perfect fighting form.

I couldn’t deal a fatal blow with my magic right now, and my sword wouldn’t be much use either. I’m a pretty good swordfighter—maybe even as good as Gourry—but only against human opponents. As I mentioned before, when fighting trolls, you have to take them out with one strike... say, by lopping off their heads, for example. But while I might know how to get my sword up against a troll’s neck, I didn’t have the power to seal the deal. I needed to decapitate them in one strike.

And if I couldn’t do that, then I’d just have to fight smart.

My plan was to leave the real fighting to Gourry while I used some cheap magic tricks to distract the baddies and back him up. The narrow hallway we were in would keep them from all crowding him at once, so we needed to take advantage of that and thin their numbers one by one.

That was pretty much our only option. It was gonna be annoying, but... Ugh. So be it!

“All right, here we go.”

But just as I was getting ready to roll...

The trolls suddenly froze in place. The old man fighting Gourry suddenly stopped too, just standing there stock-still. The light had left their eyes.

Ah, this was a “Marionette” spell.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult spell, and it was no surprise to see simple creatures like trolls falling prey to it. That said, the man who’d succumbed to it along with them was another story. Humans were a bit more complex, after all. Meaning... there had to be an exceptional caster behind this.

Your typical Marionette spell typically only worked on one target, and even then, casting it required a certain amount of time and materials. To take over this many people, and to do it instantaneously... The caster must have specifically studied how to apply the spell to large groups. Maybe next time I had time to kill, I’d give it a try myself.

“What’s with them?” Gourry asked.

“I cast a minor spell on them,” someone answered.

And no, it wasn’t me.

“I don’t know who started things here, but I’m afraid all this noise will bother the other patrons,” said the same voice.

I looked down the hall, past the trolls, and spotted a priest. He was standing there so silently that there was no telling when he’d arrived on the scene.

His face was porcelain white and seemed to radiate benevolence. His age was hard to read; he looked simultaneously young and old. His eyes were firmly closed—was he blind?

The most interesting thing about him, though, was his outfit. He was definitely wearing a priest’s robes, but every thread of them was red. Typically, priests wore white. Some might wear lavender or jade depending on where they hailed from and what god they worshiped, but either way, they still tended to prefer muted colors.

Meanwhile, this man’s robes were such a deep red that it looked as though they’d been woven out of blood itself. Perhaps they just seemed especially striking in the dim lamplight of the hall...

“Thank you. You really saved us,” I said. “May I ask who you are?”

“Ah... a mere lodger at this inn, no different than yourselves. I heard the footsteps of intruders approaching, so I thought I’d poke my nose where it didn’t belong...”

“You’ve found a kindred spirit,” Gourry muttered sarcastically.

I glared daggers back at him. This was supposed to be a serious scene!

“Are you also the one who cast the Sleeping spell on the other lodgers here?”

“You could tell?” he asked in turn, sounding impressed.

Ha! Don’t underestimate me!

“Call it an educated guess. I mean, all this noise and nobody came looking?”

“Innocents flooding the halls only would have made things worse. There was no reason for them to get involved.”

“What about you?”

At that, the priest snapped his fingers. The trolls and the old man immediately filed out the exit, zombie-like.

“Judging from their makeup,” he said, “I would assume Zelgadis sent them.”

“You know that guy?”

“But of course,” the priest answered with a nod. “He seeks to use something in your possession to revive Dark Lord Shabranigdu. He is my enemy.”

Now that was a bombshell!

“Huh? Who’s Sha... Shara... whatever he just said?” Gourry asked.

“I’ll explain later,” I hissed before turning back to the priest. “Are you certain?”

“There can be no mistaking it. Zelgadis transformed himself into a mixture of human, golem, and brow daemon. He seeks to revive the Dark Lord in order to acquire even greater power and cast the world into chaos.”

“Why on earth would he do something like that?”

“I fear I know not,” the priest answered with a shake of his head. “But what I do know for certain is that he’s our common enemy.”

Hmm...

“Our common enemy, huh? What is it that makes him your enemy, exactly?”

“Unworthy though I may be, I am still a priest. I cannot simply sit back and allow the Dark Lord to be revived.”

“Hmm...”

I pensively folded my arms. Gourry just stood there, blankly staring into space.

“Are you proposing a team-up, then?” I asked.

“Certainly not,” the priest denied quickly. “Can I assume that his minions are pursuing you because you unknowingly came into possession of the key to reviving the Dark Lord?”

“Seems that way.”

“Would you give the key to me, then? That would free you of all this trouble.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster just to smash the thing?”

“Please, no!” the priest suddenly shouted. “That is precisely the action that would revive the Dark Lord!”

“But if I give the key to you, you’ll have to fight off these guys all by yourself.”

“Fear not. Impressive though their forces may be, I, Rezo, shall prove them more than a match.”

Rezo...?

“Hang on a minute! Are you Rezo the Red Priest?!” I shouted, suddenly realizing who this guy really was.

“That is one name I am known by, yes,” he admitted with a troubled smile.

Rezo the Red Priest... He was always clad in red robes and had spiritual power on par with the High Priest of Saillune. Yet rather than throwing his lot in with any particular kingdom, he simply traveled the world performing miracles. Or so the rumors said.

In addition to clerical white magic, he’d mastered both shamanistic and black magic too. He was hailed as one of the Five Great Sages of our day. There were just two things holding him back. One: He’d been born blind. Two: He seriously had the name of a villain. Even five-year-old children had heard of him.

I felt a tug on my cape. It was Gourry.

“Is this guy famous or something?” he whispered.

Seriously, dude?!

“I’ll explain later!” I snapped before recovering my calm and resuming my conversation with the priest. “We would be absolutely honored to fight them with you, sir.”

“Er... Pardon?”

“After what you’ve told me, I couldn’t possibly lay the burden of such a dangerous item entirely on your shoulders.”

“Your consideration is appreciated, but—”

“Please, sir. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that if there’s a chance the Dark Lord might be revived, then this is my problem too. I realize my powers are trifling compared to yours, but if there’s any way I can help, I want to do so.”

“But—” the priest stammered, looking rather troubled.

“There’s absolutely no need to worry. I’m a fairly capable sorcerer, and my companion here possesses incredible skill with a sword. I promise that we won’t disappoint you.”

“Very well,” he said with a heavy sigh. “If you insist, then I accept.”

“You mean...!”

“Indeed. Let us join forces.”

“Yes, sir!”

Gourry tugged on my cape again, but I just ignored him.

“In that case, allow me to take the key into my custody,” the priest offered.

I silently shook my head. The red priest looked wary.

“They aren’t yet aware that we’re working together. I’d like to ask that you let us act as bait while you support us from the shadows, sir.”

“But... that would expose you to great danger. If someone is to draw their fire, then surely—”

“Please, sir. If you take the key, they’ll realize we’ve been in contact. They’ll assume we must have worked out a strategy, and that would defeat the point of having a decoy.”

“That much is true, but—”

“Please. Have faith in me, sir.”

It would take a real bozo to keep insisting after all that... So I guess Gourry might do it. Fortunately, however, this guy was smarter.

“Very well. I shall leave the key in your care, then,” the priest conceded.

He then walked over to my door.

What in the world...?

He plucked a small orb-like object from his pocket, tossed it into the room, and closed the door. A quiet chant drifted from his lips. It sounded a bit like a Resurrection spell, but not quite.

And when he was done chanting, that was that. It didn’t seem like anything had happened, but...

“Now, I shall return to my own room. Tomorrow, as we agreed, I shall begin aiding you from the shadows. Goodnight to you both,” he said, and then walked swiftly away.

“Huh. Your room looks normal to me,” Gourry said as he poked his head through the doorway. “What’d that old guy think he was doing?”

“Let me see.”

I poked my head in too, and...

Bwuh?!

I was stunned into silence. Gourry was right: the room was perfectly normal. Slightly disturbed bedclothes and cheap white curtains, all as it should be. Not a single thing was amiss. It looked exactly as it had before I threw that Fireball earlier.

I knew that I’d be getting an earful in the morning if the innkeeper found my room in cinders, so I’d been trying to figure out what to do about the damage, but this... I don’t know how he’d done it, but Rezo the Red Priest had completely un-fried my room.

“...He sure makes an impact...”

“Huh? What did he hit?”

“Forget it, Gourry. We’ll talk this over tomorrow. Let’s call it a night. Don’t wanna miss our beauty sleep...”

With that, I closed the door to my room, barged into Gourry’s, and curled up in the corner.

“Hey! Little miss!” Gourry shouted after me. “This is my room!”

“I know that.”

“...”

“If I go back to my room, I could end up getting jumped again.”

“But if you stay here—”

“Then at least we’re together, right?”

“...Fine. But sleep in the bed, at least. I’ll take the floor.”

“You know I can’t do that. I’m the one imposing.”

“Okay, fine.”

Perhaps realizing it was pointless to argue, Gourry simply plopped himself down on the floor on the other side of the room.

It was my turn to ask this time, “Why don’t you sleep in the bed?”

“Stupid. What kind of man could take the bed while a young lady is sleeping on the floor?”

“Suit yourself,” I said with a wry smile. “Goodnight, Gourry.”

“Goodnight, little miss.”

He’d really be a pretty great guy... if only he’d stop treating me like a kid.

“You’ve honestly never heard of Dark Lord Shabranigdu?” I asked Gourry as we walked side by side down the sun-dappled forest road.

We’d been walking through the exact same kinds of trees for days now, so I was getting sick of the monotony, but oh well. The main road to Atlas City cut through Cheresus Forest, so it was no surprise that the scenery was so verdant most of the way there.

“Hmm...” Gourry thought long and hard for a few minutes. “No, I honestly never have.”

The legend of Shabranigdu was rather famous, and not just among sorcerers. I thought everyone knew it, but...

I let out a sigh.

“Okay, fine. I’ll start from the beginning. Just remember: this is legend, not history.”

“Sure thing.”

I let out another sigh, hoping I wasn’t wasting my breath here.

“There are worlds out there besides the one we inhabit. Each of these worlds lies on top of a staff, which someone thrust into the Sea of Chaos ages and ages ago. Worlds are round and flat... Hmm, think of them like pies balanced atop fence posts. That’s where we stand right now,” I said, pointing to the ground for emphasis.

This was the broadly accepted theory among my fellow sorcerers, though I had my doubts about its veracity. Bringing that up would only confuse Gourry, however, so I refrained.

“Now, across the various worlds that exist, two breeds of beings have been battling it out since ancient times: gods and demons. Gods try to protect the worlds, while demons are out to destroy them in order to steal the staves that hold them up. In some instances, the gods won and brought peace to their world. In others, the demons won and destroyed their world. And in others still, this war is yet ongoing.

“Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu and Flare Dragon Ceifeed once fought for control of our world. Their battle raged on for centuries, for millennia even, until at last, Ceifeed cut the Dark Lord’s body into seven pieces and scattered them throughout the world, sealing them away.”

“So the god won?”

“Ceifeed only sealed Shabranigdu away. He didn’t destroy him,” I said, shaking my head.

“I thought he cut him into seven pieces?”

“You don’t earn the ‘Dark Lord’ moniker if you’re that easy to kill. Anyway, sealing away Shabranigdu consumed the last of the Flare Dragon’s power, and he plummeted into the Sea of Chaos.”

“That wasn’t very smart of him.”

“Don’t worry. That wasn’t all. Fearing that the Dark Lord might one day revive, the Flare Dragon created four clones of himself with the very last of his power—the Earthlord, the Airlord, the Flarelord, and the Aqualord—each of which was given dominion over a cardinal direction. They say this all happened five millennia ago, so let’s flash forward four—to a thousand years before the time we’re living in now.

“It was then that the very thing Ceifeed had feared came to fruition. One of the seven pieces of Shabranigdu revived, and then hijacked the body and soul of a human in an attempt to resurrect himself. He set a trap for the Aqualord, protector of the North. They fought, and in the end, the Aqualord was destroyed. But Shabranigdu’s body was also bound to the ground beneath his feet, effectively holding him in place.”

“So neither really won.”

“They were too evenly matched, yeah. Anyway, all of that upset the balance that kept the world at peace, which is what caused what I’ll call ‘beasts of the dark’ to begin to appear.”

“Huh...” Gourry sounded genuinely impressed.

Now, questions of accuracy about the exact details of the story aside... we knew for certain that something named Shabranigdu did exist long ago. Something powerful enough to unabashedly call itself “Dark Lord.” We also knew that, far in the lands to the north, there was another “something” just like it. Maybe even made up of the same substance.

“So it sounds like this Zel... er, the white-cloaked guy... wants to revive Dark Lord Part-Two-of-Seven, right?”

“Seems so. Assuming Rezo the Red Priest was telling the truth, anyway.”

“You know,” Gourry said softly in the just-barely-audible voice he seemed to like so much. “For going all-in on politeness last night, you don’t seem to trust this Rezo guy very much.”

Another sharp observation.

“Aha, very astute of you,” I said, joining him in a whisper. “For one thing, I’ve got no proof that he’s actually Rezo. The dude is basically a walking legend, and allegedly no one’s seen him for about ten years.”

“So the man we met might be one of the bad guys who’s only using Rezo’s name to gain our trust?”

“Exactly.”

“What does it mean that you trust me, then?”

“Maybe I don’t,” I said playfully.

“That’s harsh...”

“I was only kidding. I’ve got a better eye for people than you might think.”

“Thanks, little miss,” Gourry said as he patted my head condescendingly.

Not this again, dammit! 

“Quit treating me like a kid!” I barked. Though I’d actually gotten pretty used to this, so I wasn’t as mad as all that.

“You keep saying that. How old are you, anyway?”

“Twenty-five.”

Gourry froze up, visibly stunned.

“Kidding! I’m really fifteen.”

“Sheesh, don’t scare me like that... But that makes sense. You’re only fifteen, so you are still a kid.”

“Only fifteen?! I’m... Okay, so maybe I’m not quite an adult, but I’m still not a kid anymore.”

“It’s a difficult age, yeah.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about... Oh, right, I almost forgot to mention.” I’d gone back to talking in normal volume at some point, so I started whispering again. “I’m not going to be able to use my magic for a few days. I’ll need you to handle most of the fighting in the meantime.”

“You’re not going to be able to use your magic?”

Gourry looked surprised, but he was at least smart enough to keep his volume appropriately low. I nodded firmly in response.

“Oh...” Gourry said thoughtfully. “That time of the month, huh?”

......

“H-Hey, Gourry!” I snapped, my face flushed crimson.

“What?” he asked in complete obliviousness.

I was the one who had to look away in embarrassment.

“How... How do you know... about ‘that time of the month’?”

The price a woman paid for the ability to have babies was being forced to undergo a little suffering once a month. For a few days around that special time, female sorcerers, shrine maidens, and priestesses would feel their spiritual power wane, if they didn’t lose it entirely.

Conventional wisdom taught that during such times we “lose our maidenhood” and become “ordinary women,” but I didn’t buy that for a second. I figure it’s probably just an issue of spiritual focus.

I’d felt my powers weakening yesterday, so I figured it was on the way. Then lo and behold, right on schedule... Well, never mind about that part.

The question here was how Gourry, Mr. Ogrebrawn Slimebrain (a punchy appellation, if I do say so myself), managed to learn something as basic as “can’t use magic” equals “that time of the month.”

“It’s not that big a deal,” Gourry said. “When I was a kid... I guess I was around five, but there was this fortuneteller lady who lived nearby. Her shop would be closed a few days out of every month, and when I asked her why, she’d just laugh and say, ‘It’s that time of the month.’ So I always figured that was code for not being able to use magic... but I guess it has some other meaning too? Can’t you explain it to me, Lina? I don’t get it.”

“Why, you...”

I was starting to think this jerk really got off on teasing me!

“But all joking aside,” Gourry said, suddenly stone-faced as he came to a stop. “I think it’s time we got serious, little miss.”

I followed suit and came to a stop too. To our right was dense underbrush and trees. To our left was an open clearing.

And dead ahead was a man standing in the middle of the road, blocking our path. He was wearing something like a coat, and he was rather good-looking. Probably around twenty years old, I’d say, give or take.

But... his skin was made of dark blue rock, and the hair on his head was silver and thick, almost as if the strands were thousands of metal wires. He held a broadsword in his hand.

I recognized him immediately.

“So,” Gourry opened. “Got tired of waiting and decided to show yourself, did you, Zegaldis?”

Hey!

“I think you mean Zeldigas, Gourry,” I corrected him.

“It’s Zelgadis,” the man in question corrected us both.

“...”

“...”

Aaand there goes the mood! We were at risk of losing our building sense of tension. Better get things back on track!

“Yeah, Zelgadis! That’s what I said!”

“M-Me too,” Gourry insisted.

“Never mind about my name,” the man remarked, clearly annoyed. “I’m going to ask you one more time to hand over that item. If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to take it by force. Now, which will it be, Sofia?”

Huh?

Gourry and I looked at each other for a second, and then...

“Oh!”

We both clapped our hands together in unison, suddenly realizing what was going on here. Zelgadis thought the fake name I’d given Mummy Man Zolf was my actual name.

“My name’s Lina,” I said.

“Huh?” Zelgadis scoffed, his jaw dropping in a way that seemed beneath his dignity.

“I’m Lina. Sofia was a fake name I gave that Zolf guy.”

Zelgadis just stood there, unsure of how to react.

Looks like my plan to steal his thunder had worked! Okay, so it was more a thing I stumbled into than a plan, but just let me have this one, okay?

Now, while his guard was down—

“No one cares about your name,” someone suddenly interjected.

This new voice came from behind us. I turned to see who it was and spotted a werewolf standing there.

Technically, werewolves are supposed to be half-wolf and half-human, but this one looked like a wolf—troll mix. I don’t know what else to call him though, so I’m sticking with “werewolf.” His face was predominantly lupine, and his body mostly humanoid. He was wearing leather armor for some reason (I don’t know why) and carrying a big scimitar.

“We just have to swipe the statue from the girl, right, Boss Zel?”

“Dilgear!” Zelgadis shouted reproachfully.

The werewolf stared at Zelgadis for a long second, unsure why he was being yelled at.

“Oooh, you hadn’t told them what you were after yet, huh? Well, it won’t matter in the end. They’re gonna die here either way.”

“Don’t be so sure,” I said, taking a defiant step forward. “I don’t know how tough you are, but you’re no match for me regardless.”

“Oho?” The werewolf narrowed his eyes. “Big talk from such a little girl. Let’s see what you can do, then!”

“Happy to oblige. But two on two would be over too quickly to be any real fun. One of us is more than enough to handle both of you. Go get ’em, Gourry!”

“Gwuuuh?!” Gourry cried in an overly dramatic fashion. “Hang on now, little miss...”

“What?”

“No need to quarrel, you two,” said yet another voice, although this one was familiar. “I’m here too.”

Go figure. The third character to step out and join Zelgadis was the old man who’d been leading the armored trolls last night. Since we were outside today, he was carrying a halberd—presumably his real weapon of choice.

“Wait, three on one definitely isn’t fair!” I shouted.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Gourry yelped in a panic.

Jeez, talk about a lack of inner calm... Though I guess a little panic was justified in this case.

“You got the drop on me with that strange spell of yours last night, but you won’t be so lucky today.”

All right, so we might really be in trouble here. I was starting to think about how to cut our losses and run, when—

“Forget it! Attack!” Zelgadis called.

He made the first move, thrusting his right hand out and firing a dozen Flare Arrows from it.

“Tch!”

Gourry and I swiftly dove in opposite directions. The Flare Arrows tore through the ground where we’d been standing. Dust billowed outward from the impact, clouding our vision. This wasn’t good. We’d been separated.

Through the smoke, I could hear the shrill cry of metal hitting metal. It sounded like Gourry was already clashing blades with one of them.

“Gourry!”

I called out to him, but when I did... I saw the flash of a blade.

“Uh-oh!”

I leaped backward and drew the sword on my hip.

“You seem to have skill,” my attacker declared as the dust gradually settled. “Allow me to put it to the test!”

“Zelgadis!”

He let out a warcry as he sliced at me again. I moved to parry—

Clang!

The blow was so heavy, I almost dropped my sword.

Zelgadis was good. Each of his swings had just the right combination of power and speed behind it. My arms wouldn’t last long blocking strikes like these.

I didn’t want to admit it, but he was too much for me in my current state. Placing my bets on strategic retreat, I turned tail and dashed into the forest. Since I was the one he was really after, I knew that Zelgadis would follow me. I’d find a way to lose him in the woods, then return to the fray and give Gourry a hand.

At least, that was my plan. But I’d underestimated Zelgadis. He ran right into the forest after me. That much I’d expected, sure. The part I didn’t see coming was him catching me instantly. Before I knew what was happening, he’d driven a knee into my solar plexus. I tried to swing my sword in a counterblow, but all I caught was empty air as I flew backward into a tree.

“You should... be more gentle with girls...” I wheezed, the wind knocked out of me.

I wasn’t down and out just yet, but that blow had really done a number on me.

“I wouldn’t have to be rough with you if you’d just give me what I’m after.”

I got my bearings and slowly backed away. Zelgadis didn’t close the distance, but instead just watched me carefully. I made my move and sprang into a run. Zelgadis gave chase. This was my chance!

“Light!” I shouted, tossing a Lighting spell behind me.

Zelgadis charged right into it.

“Gwah!”

Obviously that wouldn’t be enough to stop him, but it would at least blind him temporarily. Even in my current condition, I could still use minor magic like that. If I tried to cast Fireball, though, I wouldn’t get so much as smoke.

I didn’t bother to go on the offensive here. I had a feeling my sword wouldn’t pierce that rocky skin of his, anyway. I just kept running.

The treeline came to an abrupt end and I found myself at a small lake, which wasn’t good. There was nowhere to hide here. I turned back toward the forest, but Zelgadis was heading straight for me.

No choice...

I made the snap decision to cut around the lake.

“You won’t escape!” Zelgadis cried.

I think he threw something at me. I zagged to the left to dodge without turning to see what it was, but...

Hey, why couldn’t I move all of a sudden?! I looked down to see a small shard of metal impaling my shadow on the ground. Ah crap, shadow binding! This was a minor trick that still required some skill to use. It restricted a target’s movements from the astral plane.

“But that won’t stop me!”

I chanted another Lighting spell, shining the glowing ball downward. My shadow vanished and I regained my freedom, but it was too late.

I turned just in time to find Zelgadis upon me. And then...