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Slayers - Volume 15 - Chapter 3




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3: A Meeting in a Distant Land, Under a Foreign Sky

“You’re leaving already?” Rubia, standing at the door to the small flower shop, sounded chagrined.

It wasn’t long after Xellos had vanished.

“Well, it seems like we’ve gotten ourselves into another fine mess and all,” I said awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. “I couldn’t even start to guess what’s really going on... but if we stay here, it’ll only mean trouble for you.”

“It’s no trouble at all, really...”

“Besides, if anything happened to the greenhouse, I doubt we’d be able to get someone to repair it again. And I won’t stand for that!” I clenched my fist tight. “I won’t let it be destroyed! That greenhouse is the pinnacle of human civilization!”

“I-I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but...”

“The point is, we have business elsewhere and any delay in tending to it is just going to make things worse for everyone. But I’m glad we got to see you, Rubia. I’m glad you’re doing so well.”

Rubia averted her eyes slightly when I said that. “Hardly...” She let out a small sigh. “I was thrilled to see you all after so long, but you know... what I went through... It isn’t something I can ever forget.”

Ahh, that look in her eyes... It was a deep exhaustion.

“But I’ll make do somehow.” She turned to me with a smile to conceal her sadness. “Take care on your journey, then. I hope you’ll come back to visit if you can.” With that, Rubia gave us a small bow.

Her moist eyes in that moment left a striking impression on me.

I knew the source of her melancholy. The sorcerer she’d once served had gone on a murderous rampage, and Rubia had been forced to kill him with her own hands. What emotions still lingered in her heart over the incident? It wasn’t hard to guess. To be forced to end someone’s life like that... Like she said, it wasn’t something she’d ever forget.

In truth, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was feeling. But regardless, she’d chosen to live and continue walking toward tomorrow. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

“Is there something on your mind?” Mephy asked, peering at me from the side.

“Oh, um... Just trying to figure out where to get dinner and lodging for the night,” I lied.

We’d just left Rubia’s and returned to the city’s main drag.

“Hmm...” Mephy acknowledged offhandedly. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be all right. Though I won’t presume to ask what happened.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Oh, yes, of course. Lodging for the night,” she replied, playing dumb.

Darn it... She’s got pretty good instincts from time to time.

“Well, we’re a bit between two stools in that regard,” she said with a glance up at the late afternoon sun.

Indeed, it was too low in the sky for us to make it to the next village or town before nightfall, but it was also too early to find an inn and get some shut-eye. We were indeed between two stools. Normally we’d just hang around in the city at times like this, but we’d only just been victim to an ambush, and I wasn’t eager to invite another onto someone’s doorstep.

“We’ll have to save that question for later,” said Milgazia.

I realized then that he’d stopped in his tracks. Gourry had too. Mephy and I turned to follow their eyes.

“Eh?” she remarked, while I gasped at what I saw. There, at the end of the road—which was even more deserted now than it had been that morning—stood a lanky young man with an unremarkable face and unassuming gaze.

Bradu?! Darn it! I thought he’d scarpered!

And just as I thought that... Thwum! My body shook. My muscles went limp.

Is this... that unknown attack from earlier?! I saw a few other passersby twitch and collapse.

Vvvvvmmm! Mephy’s armor hummed to life. My strength returned. And then...

“Hraaah!” Milgazia howled! The beam he shot out streaked in a seemingly random direction, shaking the tips of the branches of the trees along the lane until...

Skreee! A strange cry echoed out around us, and the brainbug revealed itself from—or rather, collapsed out of—the nearby greenery. There was a big hole in its central brain, presumably from Milgazia’s beam. Its legs continued to scrabble at the air for a while, but eventually stopped, and its whole body crumbled like a dry sandcastle.

The passersby probably had no idea what was going on, but it was obvious enough that trouble was afoot. They quickly took off screaming. That left the four of us alone with Bradu... although I was betting the dead tree demon wasn’t far off.

“That was pointless,” said Milgazia, his eyes fixed on the unflapped Bradu. “That demon rubbed its legs together to produce sonic vibrations that human ears can’t perceive. Humans would never be able to identify the source, but Mephy and I could with ease.”

Of course... So that was the brainbug’s ability. Mephy pegged it and had her armor vibrate at a different frequency to drown it out.

Once you knew the trick, it was easy to counter. But since the sound was totally inaudible to humans, we hadn’t stood a chance of stopping it ourselves. It was tailor-made for fighting us... and I don’t know what we would’ve done without Milgazia and Mephy.

“Please. It’s no skin off my nose.” Bradu merely waved his hand in an unconcerned fashion. “Once I realized they had a dragon and an elf with them, I deemed Vaidaz useless anyway. I mean, it was still worth a try, but the failure was expected. And since he had nothing else to contribute, there’s no real loss in sacrificing him to declare my hostile intentions, is there?”

“I thought he was your precious friend,” I sniped.

“Oh, indeed... He was,” Bradu said jokingly in response. “And when a precious friend is killed, one channels one’s sorrow and anger into a quest for vengeance... You humans love that kind of story, don’t you?”

“I prefer one-sided smackdowns of second-rate villains who kill off their own teammates. Those really get me.”

“What a shame. It appears we have different tastes. But I have to correct you on one point... From my perspective, I’m the star of this show. You are the villains.”

“You’re a pretty pathetic leading man in that case. Didn’t you just turn tail and run because Xellos smiled at you?”

“So I did... Consider this our rematch. Though I recognize it’s a bit early for one.”

“And your ‘friend’ there died two seconds in. If you’re the hero of this story, it seems like you’re gunning for one tragic ending.”

“Does it? I don’t see it that way. Perhaps we should put our claims to the test?”

“Not much else to do, is there?”

“Of course.”

The moment Bradu responded... Crash! The flagstones of the road erupted, and the dead tree demon burst forth. Correction! Make that three of them!

“I’m afraid we know their trick as well!” Milgazia howled and fired three beams of light, each of which raced toward a different tree demon.

“You think you can win just because you know the trick?!” Bradu smiled mockingly and conjured a bullet of light.

Ker-psh! One of Milgazia’s beams shattered midair. And then... Blam! All three tree demons exploded in the same instant!

“I do,” Mephy said confidently.

While Bradu was focused on Milgazia’s attack, Mephy had fired a beam along a different course, smashing through all three trees simultaneously. But...

“Are you so sure about that?” Bradu asked coyly.

With a yelp of surprise, we leaped away from where we were standing. Wooden spears, the likes of which had claimed the muscly demon’s life earlier, pierced up through the flagstones... then transformed into four dead tree demons!

Wait, there’s more?!

“You see?” Bradu taunted.

As we scattered, each of the four dead tree demons pursued us individually. I dodged woody arrows as I chanted under my breath. Milgazia howled and Mephy unfurled her armor. Gourry’s sword flashed, and...

Roarrr! Three of the four trees were felled almost instantly! But I hadn’t finished my spell quickly enough to take out mine! The lone remaining tree demon fired its wooden arrows in random directions, promptly producing three more of its kind.

“Excuse me! What are you doing?!” Mephy barked.

Shut up! You know it takes humans time to recite spells! I managed to finish my incantation, picked my moment, and... “Elemekia Lance!”

Vwoosh! I unleashed my spell at the dead tree demon in front of me. Milgazia and Mephy also unleashed their beams. Gourry flashed his sword too.

“Nope, too bad.” Bradu unceremoniously fired a bullet of light that intercepted Mephy’s beam midair. The result? We defeated three of the demons, and yet again, the surviving tree fired off wooden arrows to propagate.

Darn it. These guys aren’t tough on their own, but...

Given the way they’d taken out the muscly demon, the tree demons clearly knew how to pack a punch, but they had scant defenses and simple attack patterns. Frankly speaking, they were pretty lame as pure demons went. The trouble was that they kept regenerating. There were only four of them, but no matter how many we beat, they kept springing up like bamboo shoots...

Wait... Wait a minute!

While dodging another simple attack from one of the tree demons, I recited the Demon Blood talismans’ amplification chant. Then I incanted under my breath... “Zellas Bullid!”

The beam of light I produced streaked toward the dead tree demon immediately in front of me. But just before it hit... the beam changed course for the spectating Bradu!

“Child’s play!” Bradu leaped out of the way. My light gave chase, but a fifth dead tree demon appeared to intercept it. Smash! There was no time for the beam to change course, so it crashed into the fifth demon and destroyed them both.

“Was that supposed to be a surprise attack?!” Bradu shouted mockingly.

My tone, meanwhile, was triumphant. “No, that was an experiment! Listen up, everyone! These things are all an extension of Bradu! If we defeat him, they’re toast!”

“What?!” Bradu exclaimed in shock.

Yep. Called it! The fact that the dead tree demon had originally shown up solo led me to believe it was an independent entity, but that was just part of the trick.

At first, I’d thought the dead tree demons had the same relationship as the Red/Gray demon we’d fought a while back, but I was dead wrong. Bradu and the tree demons were more like General Sherra and the magic sword Dulgoffa—in other words, a master and their extension. United yet separate individuals. The dead tree demons would continue to regenerate as long as Bradu was alive, and when he kicked it, so would they.

Watching the way the dead tree demons kept springing up, it had crossed my mind that they were a lot like bamboo—that is, one central organism with roots that spread out and budded aboveground. But if that was the case, then where was the core?

The answer was easy: right in front of my eyes.

Bradu had named the bone demon and the brainbug demon. He’d even called them his precious friends. But not the dead tree demons. Why was that? Was it because they were merely an extension of himself? I’d had to wonder.

And then there was Xellos. When the Priest first addressed Bradu, he intentionally put his hand on a dead tree demon. Maybe that had been a declaration—“Your tricks won’t work on me.” Bradu’s connection to the tree demons would also explain their ability to reconstitute themselves indiscriminately. Maybe protecting them repeatedly was a bluff to give us the wrong idea.

“I see! I trust you, human!” Milgazia produced a dozen... no, dozens of balls of light that streaked toward Bradu.

“Guh!” Bradu’s form flickered as it threatened to vanish into thin air.

Vwummmm! Mephy’s armor then resounded like buzzing wings, anchoring Bradu to our world. And finally...

Ka-kroosh!

A hit! When Milgazia’s countless orbs burst, all we could see was the tree demons—Bradu’s extensions—in a burned, twisted, interlocked mass.

I see. So he uses them both as swords and as shields.

That’s when Gourry charged in. Krrshashashashah! His sword flashed through the air in a whirlwind, and then he leaped back. And just as the diced-up “shield” was about to fall to bits...

“Dynast Blas!”

Crackle-crackapop! I fired magical lightning straight into it!

“Graaah!” Bradu screamed as his wooden fortification exploded, revealing him once again. He looked like he’d been through hell... but he wasn’t out yet!

Milgazia roared, conjuring a pale blue light in his hand.

“W-Wait!” Bradu begged.

Yeah, like anyone’s gonna do that.

“Do you know what’s really going on in Sairaag?! What’s happening there?!”

Okay, yeah, that one gave Milgazia pause. I mean, I had to admit that we were pretty curious about that...

“Really, no need to tell them,” came a new voice.

Bradu gasped, but before he could do anything—Bwoosh!—a black drill appeared from nowhere and bisected him along the waist.

“That’s...!” Milgazia gasped just as Bradu’s body turned to white ash and began to scatter on the wind. A moment later, the fragments of his shield and his remaining “extensions” met the same fate.

By then, the black drill that had destroyed Bradu was already gone.

“Yeeeeeah, I figured you were still around... Xellos.”

“Oh? You don’t seem particularly surprised, Miss Lina.”

I could hear him, but he didn’t appear. His voice seemed to be coming from all around me. I’d seen those black drills once before. They were presumably part of Xellos’s true form.

“I’m not. You said you were neutral, right? But knowing you, that doesn’t mean you won’t interfere. It just means you’re happy to watch from the sidelines as a disinterested third party.”

“A very accurate interpretation,” he replied with an audible note of a wince.

“You said you interfered before because you didn’t want to lose more demons. But I suspect you’re even less eager to see your big plans go to waste. So you masked your presence and stayed close. If Bradu withdrew or let us kill him, that would’ve been fine. But the moment he showed any sign of giving the game away... This was your contingency, right?”

“Excellent instincts, Miss Lina. Truly excellent,” Xellos said with satisfaction.

Whenever this guy gets involved, you just know there’s bad news afoot...

“At any rate, the second-rate ‘star’ is dealt with now and thus my business here is concluded. Miss Lina, Master Gourry... I wish you both a fine journey to Sairaag.”

“Wait! Xellos!” I shouted quickly—but my call went without answer.

Things went pretty smoothly after that. Obviously, the demon attacks were still ongoing in the wider world and we had to punk a few roaming demidemons on the road. We even encountered a pure demon every now and then, but Milgazia took care of them easily and that was that. So yeah, by most standards, our trip was a stormy one. But compared to being stalked by a demon of Bradu’s caliber, it was basically a walk in the park for us. Point is, there were no major incidents after we left Atlas.

We hadn’t seen Xellos since we left either. Knowing him, he probably wouldn’t show up again (so long as another fool like Bradu didn’t threaten to spill the demonic beans). We also hadn’t caught sight of my doppelgänger—presumably some other demon in disguise—since setting off. All in all, you could say the journey was going well, but there was no way to guarantee our good fortune would last. After all, we were almost to Sairaag.

We were currently walking down a wooded road through the forest around Sairaag City, once known as the Miasma Forest. We were the only people around.

“Be careful, humans,” Milgazia whispered suddenly, a stark tension in his voice.

The miasma that had once lingered in the forest was long gone, but a different, curious feeling hung over the place now. It didn’t feel like an awaiting ambush. I don’t know how to put it. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant or uncomfortable. It was just a feeling of... something hanging thick in the air. What it was, I couldn’t say. That was the best I knew how to describe it. But Milgazia’s superhuman senses—or rather, his extraordinary instinct—seemed to have sussed out the cause.

“The atmosphere is certainly strange... Do you know why?” I asked.

“I don’t,” he replied flatly.

Well, so much for that, I guess!

“I don’t know, but something is amiss. And because I can’t identify it, that’s reason for you to be on your guard.”

“Okay, but... it’s a little hard to be on my guard against the unknown.”

“I just mean keep your wits about you.”

“Was already doing that, thanks.”


No offense, but how stupid would you have to be to let your guard down in a situation like this? I still didn’t know why the demons had called us to Sairaag, but it was pretty obviously not for crackers, cake, and a nice meal. Moreover, while we weren’t in the city yet, we were definitely close now. The “welcome” could strike at any time.

“Someone’s here,” Gourry announced while Milgazia and I were talking.

We peered curiously in the direction he was looking and couldn’t see anyone down the winding, tree-lined road. It wasn’t long, however, before two figures—previously obscured by the forest—stepped into view.

The minute we saw them, we all stopped in place.

The two figures just stood there watching. They were waiting, no doubt, for us.

They were both women who looked to be about twenty years old. One was tall, with short blonde hair that shone like the sun. Her gaze betrayed no sign of hostility, and she was dressed like an ordinary traveler. She didn’t appear to have weapons or armor on her person, but she had an ever-ready air about her. The other woman was more delicate, with long, flowing black hair. She wore a blue dress made from unmistakably high-quality material as well as quite a few accessories that were extravagant without being too gaudy.

Unlike the blonde, the dark-haired woman didn’t look like a traveler at all. Anyone on the road in that getup was just asking to get jumped by bandits. Even if you were lucky enough to avoid such a fate, the hem of that nice, fancy dress would be in shreds from scraping along the road before two days were out.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” the raven-haired woman said quietly. There was neither aggression nor warmth in her voice. It was an utterly businesslike greeting.

“Who are you? Well... I guess I don’t have to ask,” I replied, smiling wryly at my own question.

In appearance and presence, both women seemed human. But after being invited here by demons, we didn’t need to guess too hard as to the true nature of our little welcome party.

“Who are they?” Gourry asked me from the side.

C’mon, man, work that brain of yours... Actually, never mind. Knowing Gourry, he’d probably say he thought it over and still couldn’t figure it out.

“Think of us as something like receptionists,” the raven-haired woman said, whether in response to me or Gourry, I couldn’t say.

Receptionists? Not exactly the answer I expected...

“I’m sorry to say so after you came all this way, but we’ll need the esteemed dragon lord and the esteemed elf to remain here,” the blonde said in a strangely formal tone.

Wow. It was easy enough to peg Mephy, but the fact that these women could tell at a glance that Milgazia was a transformed golden dragon—also known as dragon lord—at a glance... They must be pretty powerful, even as demons go.

“The invitation was only meant for the esteemed Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev.”

Heh... I let out a little snort. “Sorry, but do you really think we’re gonna agree to split up? Why would we do that?”

“You are the only two who are invited. If the esteemed dragon lord and elf will simply wait quietly, no harm will come to them.”

“All the more reason—”

“They’re not going to listen,” said Mephy as she and Milgazia stepped forward, inserting themselves protectively between us and the two ladies.

“No harm will come to us, hmm? That suggests that harm will come to the two humans.”

“I don’t know what you could possibly have against these humans, but I’m afraid we can’t let them accept your invitation.”

Hey, what’s with that emphasis? Seriously, Mephy! That might be even ruder than the blonde calling me “most esteemed.” Bitch.

“Hmm...” The blonde looked a bit troubled. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything more.”

By contrast, the dark-haired woman just seemed amused. “We should have just done this from the start,” she said, then snapped her porcelain-white fingers.

Suddenly, Milgazia and Mephy lurched away. No, it wasn’t just them... The two demons, and the very scenery around us, seemed to speed away from us.

“What?!” Gourry shouted in surprise from beside me.

He and I remained the same distance from each other. And obviously, it wasn’t like we’d suddenly started running backward or anything. It was a strange situation... but I had an inkling as to what was happening.

“Dimensional interference?!” I heard Milgazia gasp. He sounded close by, despite his figure growing ever more distant.

Indeed, I’d experienced something similar once while helping to resolve some family drama in Saillune. It wasn’t this dramatic, but I’d suddenly felt far away from the person in front of me and couldn’t catch up no matter how fast I ran. It was like something out of a dream. Then, the next thing I knew, I was tossed out into another dimension—a place that wasn’t anyplace in particular.

This was that same phenomenon in play. Gourry kept running in an attempt to reunite with the others, while I was standing still. Yet the two of us remained side by side.

“I won’t let you get away with this!” I could see Mephy’s armor in the distance open into six white wings. Vrmmmmm! A sound like the buzzing of insects hummed low around us.

Then Milgazia spoke... no, howled in an inhuman incantation. The movement of the scenery around us slowed. But that was all. They were only slowly getting away from us now, but the momentum of the situation hadn’t reversed.

“Wh-What?!” Milgazia groaned in shock.

Only then did the reality of the situation hit me. The dark-haired woman was trying to use dimensional interference to drag me and Gourry into another dimension, and Milgazia and Mephy had tried to stop it.

Forcibly created pocket dimensions weren’t particularly stable. When I’d gotten dragged into one in Saillune, I’d escaped by summoning a pigeon. As long as you could create even the tiniest connection back to the world you came from, you could pop the dimension like a soap bubble and return.

But even Milgazia with his magic-enhancing gear and Mephy with her Zenafa Armor created by dragons and elves had failed to pop what should have been a highly unstable dimensional wall.

Worse yet, judging by how the two demons were acting, only the raven-haired woman was using any power. The blonde one was just watching her, looking mildly miffed.

“That was very reckless. Just a reminder, by the way—don’t hurt the dragon or the elf,” she said.

“Oh, that’s right. Those were our orders.” I could still hear both women’s voices. “Then I’d better finish the job...”

Then, suddenly and unceremoniously, all sound stopped. The sky above us opened into vastness. The greenery of the forest grew distant. The ground below us rapidly broadened at our feet.

Gourry and I were standing on an expansive, featureless plain.

“What?!” He took a few steps and came to a stop. He’d been running this whole time, but he’d only just now made any actual movement forward. “What is all this?!” he asked in shock and confusion. “There’s no place like this, even in Elemekia!”

He was right. There were no mountains around us, let alone forests or towns. It wasn’t a desert, though. Just a flat sheet of ground. There wasn’t a single blade of grass growing on it and no sign of life to be seen anywhere. I looked up and saw only the cloudless blue sky above. The air around us was steeped in a more concentrated version of that strange feeling I’d sensed hanging over the forest.

Even knowing it probably wouldn’t work, I decided to try summoning a dove. And as expected, it just flew off into the empty sky overhead. Yeah, figured that wouldn’t work. Which suggested that whoever created this dimension was far more powerful than the schemer in Saillune. Either that or they’d found some way to stabilize the space.

“What are you doing, Lina?! This is no time to be summoning doves! Struggle! Panic! Where the heck are we?!”

“Calm down, Gourry. We’re in another dimension.”

“Another dimension?!” Gourry shouted and looked around him again. “Where?!”

“Uh, well, it’s...”

“You’re still in Sairaag,” answered a voice from beside me.

Gourry and I both whipped around in surprise. Standing where I’d sensed no presence whatsoever was a crimson figure. Aside from their color, his cape and hood were reminiscent of the grim reaper and he wore a white mask over where his face should be. The mask had no nose and no mouth, and for eyes... it had two sparkling rubies.

Don’t tell me... I could feel sweat beading on my forehead.

“But although this is where Sairaag is located, we are in another world, separated by a paper-thin barrier. A temporary world I created for this purpose.”

Don’t tell me... you’re... I tried to say the words, but they froze in my throat. I didn’t want confirmation.

I couldn’t detect any presence from the red figure at all. It wasn’t concealing it, mind you; it simply blended naturally into the unusual air around us.

“This is... a world filled with magical power. Magic is a power that fundamentally should not exist in your world. But just as this world is separated from yours by a thin barrier, the barrier between it and other worlds is also exceptionally thin. Thus, magic permeates the air. Perhaps you felt it before... the magic power that brims forth from this world.”

I see... so the strangeness I felt was concentrated magical power.

The red reaper continued, “In this world, woman, your blade of void shall not be so quick to extinguish. You shall have no need to chant spells, as you can activate them through sheer will and words of power. And you there, man. That sword of yours channels nearby magical energy to enhance its edge. Here, it should be able to wound me. In other words... you now have the power to defeat me.”

“What... What the hell are you after?!” Gourry demanded.

“This is a ritual!” the red figure proclaimed, spreading its arms wide and revealing deep crimson robes beneath its cape. “Do you remember what I told you both when you defeated me once before?!”

I knew it! I heard a grinding sound. I could tell it was my own teeth.

“I told you we would never meet again! But it seems the age in which you live has seen fit to arrange our reunion! And thus, I must defeat you—as my first step toward turning the world to void! It would have been easy enough merely to kill you, but that would have no meaning. When I defeat you, who have the power to slay me... then and only then shall my authority be consummate as the king who would destroy a world. That is why I invited you here to this land, to this place. The residual miasma from the magical beast of old, the evil of Hellmaster, and the distortions left by the Golden Mother... I used it all to create this world.”

“I see...” I eked out, actually managing to speak this time. “But that all seems pretty petty for the so-called king of demons.”

“It is because I am the king that such ritual is important.”

Smoothly, the red figure took a step forward. Gourry and I reflexively took a step back.

“I don’t especially want to go along with this. I don’t see any upside for us,” I said.

“And yet, you must.” Slowly... Slowly but surely, a black hand appeared from beneath its red robe. It was holding something like a baton. “There is an upside for you. This world, which I created and I maintain... If you destroy me, it will break down and return you from whence you came. But that’s only if you can defeat me—Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu.”

Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu...

The demon who, in ancient times, fought Flare Dragon Ceifeed for the fate of the world. Whose body was then broken into seven pieces and sealed away. The Dark Lord of legend.

But... Gourry and I knew Shabranigdu was more than just a legend. Two years ago and change, we’d witnessed the awakening of one of his slumbering fragments.

“We shan’t ever meet again...”

There were only two people besides me and Gourry who knew that the Dark Lord had spoken those words. One was off on a journey somewhere. The other... was Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu himself. That meant the being in front of us now really had to be...

“Not that it matters, but couldn’t you at least give us a little warning before you drop in on us like this?!” I found myself snarking. Call it a gut reaction, even though my voice was shaking something awful. “I mean, we’ve got lives, we’ve got schedules. We could use a little emotional prep time!”

“Such things are irrelevant to me,” he said, then took another step forward. The Dark Lord was approaching. The fight was upon us.

Unable to bear the pressure anymore, Gourry and I leaped to the left and right.

“Elemekia Lance!” I spoke those words of power. This opening spell wasn’t so much an attack as it was an attempt to confirm what the Dark Lord had said. And, indeed, my spell activated without a full incantation. What’s more, the spear of light I produced in midair was far brighter than normal. “Go!” When I shouted, the spear of light streaked toward the Dark Lord!

Thunk. The Dark Lord thrust the rod in his hand into the ground, producing a red gem the size of a human head on one end of it.

“Heh.” With that small breath, the Dark Lord swung the rod. The jewel at the end glowed faintly, and my lance of magical light broke into a mist that swiftly faded.

Of course. That stick... no, that staff...

Even as the Dark Lord moved, Gourry charged at him—silently, and with his sword drawn.

He’s fast!

But... Zing! The Dark Lord deflected Gourry’s sword, which could cut through magic itself, with his staff.

That thing must be... The Dark Lord’s demonic weapon, the Bone Staff, spoken of only in legend. It was probably an extension of him too, just as Dulgoffa was to General Sherra.

Using the momentum of his deflected sword, Gourry changed his stance and lashed out fast with another strike from a new direction. The Dark Lord’s staff continued its trajectory toward Gourry, unslowed and unaffected. Even if it looked like a staff, as the Dark Lord’s weapon, it had to have unspeakable destructive power behind it. What would happen if it struck a person?

Gourry must have had a similar thought, because he further changed the course of his blade to deflect the staff and leap back some distance.

All this transpired in the blink of an eye. Both fighters moved with incredible speed. Had I not received sword training from Gourry, their exchange just now would have looked like nothing more than a quick clash followed by a withdrawal to me. But being able to follow such a fight from a distance and physically being able to keep up with it were two totally different things. If I had to cross weapons with the Dark Lord myself, I’d probably be dead in a few moves.

The Dark Lord moved after the retreating Gourry. He then took a wide swing at the big lug.

That’s nothing. Gourry can just leap back to— Just as I was thinking that, the wind of miasma—no, of magic itself—produced by the swing roared at Gourry!

“Ngh!”

Gourry leaped back further. The Dark Lord dashed forward in pursuit! He probably meant to strike Gourry as he landed, before he could regain his balance. But...

Not so fast! In that exact moment, while there was some space between Gourry and the Dark Lord, I could back him up!

Thump! I slammed my hand into the ground. “Astral Vine!” I recited a chant for a weapon enhancement spell—rather, simply the words of power. People normally used Astral Vines to imbue swords with the power to harm demons, but I’d cast this one directly on the ground.

Unable to grasp what I was up to, the Dark Lord momentarily shifted his attention to me.

When he did—Thump!—I slammed my other hand onto the ground. “Earth, heed my call! Dug Haute!”

Vwoosh! Responding to my command, the ground swelled up, forming countless spikes that surged toward the Dark Lord. These pillars of mundane dirt would never be able to harm a demon under ordinary circumstances. But right now? They were infused with the power of my Astral Vine!

“Tch!” The Dark Lord halted and brandished the Bone Staff. The jewel glowed once more, and the magic-infused earthen spikes were smashed to pieces. Just then...

Bursting through the collapsing spikes, Gourry was on top of the Dark Lord once more! Zing zing zing! His sword flashed with white light that flew in a beeline for his foe. Caught unawares, the Dark Lord was forced back a bit. But...

Vrsh! Suddenly, a blackness wreathed the Dark Lord and expanded outward.

Gourry, ever vigilant, jumped away. In that same instant, a crimson figure leaped forward, tearing through the darkness! The tip of its outthrust staff met Gourry’s sword and knocked it away with some kind of pressure!

A look of unguarded surprise appeared on Gourry’s face, but he moved with the momentum of his deflected sword and let it carry him past his foe’s staff. Then, with a series of leaps, he arrived back at my side.

Slowly, Shabranigdu turned back to face us. Gourry spoke to me quietly, his eyes still locked on the Dark Lord. “Lina! I want to get in close to him!”

“Got it!” I responded, slamming my hand to the ground once more. “Dug Haute!”

Bam! The earth between us and the Dark Lord ruptured into countless spikes, racing at the crimson figure once more! Ruby-Eye raised his staff, ready to meet them. Our line of sight on each other was broken by the rising dirt...

And I added one more! “Dug Haute!”

Crash! The ground around us swelled up like a tidal wave, surging toward the Dark Lord—with Gourry on top of it!

I wasn’t sure if it was the result of a spell from the Dark Lord’s staff or what, but my spikes and my wave of sand began to cave in before invisible globes. When they did, Gourry crested the sand tsunami... and jumped!

“What—” Gourry shouted in midair.

Hey! Don’t call attention to yourself now, man!

The Dark Lord, after flattening my spikes and wave, raised his staff against Gourry once more.

Yet Gourry continued in anger, “—the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

For some reason... his cry seemed to make Ruby-Eye hesitate. Slash! The Dark Lord pulled back slightly, just as Gourry’s sword cut a silver afterimage through the air. He’d landed the hit, but it was a shallow one!

The Dark Lord placed his free hand over his face. Gourry came to a stop, standing perfectly still.

“I asked you what the hell you think you’re doing!” he bellowed, his voice filled with rage.

The Dark Lord didn’t move. Nor did he answer.

Gourry kept going. “You can’t change the way you fight that easily. Your swordplay is just the same as it was, not to mention the way you use darkness as a distraction and wreath your weapon in wind!”

“Hahh...” The Dark Lord’s shoulders slumped as he heaved a great sigh. He sounded tired... Exhausted, even. “Figured it out, huh? Thought maybe I’d gotten away with it. An’ I sure didn’t think you would be the one to see through me...”

I took in a small gasp. That voice... It wasn’t that of the Dark Lord. It was one I knew well. One Gourry knew well.

The crimson figure removed the hand covering his face. Clunk. The mask Gourry had split in two fell to the ground.

And in a voice barely above a whisper, I spoke his name.

“L... Luke?”



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