Slayers - Volume 6 - Chapter 2

2: The Battle Starts in Vezendi

Yes... Standing in the doorway was none other than Seigram, a demon we’d previously thrown down with. We’d managed to beat him at the time, but he’d slipped away before we could finish him off for good. I was unhappy enough about Zuma showing up again, and if this guy was back in business too...

“It’s been a while,” Seigram said as he approached with a smooth stride. “You’re looking well... unfortunately for me.”

He’d been powerful enough to tank a strike from Gourry’s demon-slaying Sword of Light last time, though I was sure it hurt him pretty good. I’d assumed it would take him a lot longer than this to revive, actually... Guess he was tougher than I thought. We’d since powered up ourselves, however, so if Seigram wasn’t completely recovered, we’d have this in the bag... Okay, maybe not technically in the bag, but our odds were way better.

“I came back to repay the debt I owe you,” he said quietly.

“And brought a few friends along for the ride?” I jeered.

“We’re his assistants, in a sense,” came a voice from atop the stairs. It was the stylish demon, Duguld. While fiddling with his hat with his right hand, he continued, “He wants to beat you and that blond man himself while Guduza and I polish off the leftovers.”

“Oh?” Zel’s eyebrow twitched. “You’ll pay for that slight, you bottom-ranked demon.”

“Hold your temper, you wretched chimera.”

Uh-oh! Talk about touching a nerve!

“What was that?” Zel growled, radiating hostility. “Say it again.”

“I told you to hold your temper, child.”

Boy, the sparks were flying now...

“Sounds like I’m fighting you, then!” Amelia announced, pointing boldly at the remaining demon in the back of the room, Guduza.

“Heh, the agonies of a dying human... I haven’t feasted upon them for some time.” With those eerie words, the corners of Guduza’s red lips curled upward.

“Then it’s all settled,” Seigram said, slowly spreading his hands. “Let us begin.”

Magical light appeared in his palms, signaling the start of the deathmatch inside the demons’ barrier dimension!

With a hiss, Duguld jumped forward. He was coming straight down the stairs at Zel!

Zel drew the broadsword from his back and quietly began to chant a spell. His blade was a fine one, but it was still mundane. Against demons—fundamentally astral beings—it wouldn’t even scare them, much less harm them. Zel must have known that too, and yet...

“Let’s go!”

Cape flapping behind him as he descended, Duguld thrust out his right hand. A dozen tiny bullets of darkness shot from his fingertips at Zel.

Zel quickly leaped back. Pop-pop-pop! The dark bullets bore small holes in the wooden floor around Zel’s feet with the ease of a hot knife through butter. But no sooner had they made contact than Zel finished his chant and activated the words of power.

“Astral Vine!” he incanted, the blade of the broadsword in his hand beginning to glow faintly red.

Is that...?!

“What?!” Duguld cried and quickly changed course midair.

Zel leaped, kicking off the floor to meet the airborne demon, then lashed out with an upward slice from his broadsword!

Thunk! Both fighters landed at the exact same moment.

“Not bad at all. At the very least, better than I expected,” Duguld said quietly.

All the sword had done was cut a deep gash through his cape, though I was pretty sure a demon’s clothing was still a part of their body. And when the faceless demon flipped his cape back, indeed, it was perfectly mended.

“I take back what I said about you being ‘leftovers.’ I see... Infusing a normal sword with magic? I’ve never seen such a trick,” he continued.

Yeah, I dunno when or where Zel had learned that, but Duguld was right. The spell he’d cast imbued his sword with magic, functionally turning it into an intermediary for striking an opponent with magic directly. I didn’t know how powerful it really was, but the evidence so far was compelling.

“Now... I suppose I’ll have to take you seriously,” Duguld said as a dozen new dark bullets appeared in the air around him.

“Let’s go!” Amelia cried, dashing straight for Guduza while quietly chanting a spell.

Charging in unarmed? Girl, are you crazy?!

The demon chuckled, “Coming to me, are you?” Her hair rustled around her as she moved to meet Amelia.

Amelia finished her chant, and as she did, Guduza’s shadow on the floor stretched toward her. Amelia tried to avoid it, but she was a little too late. The shadow reached her leg...

Thunk.

“?!”

With a silent cry, Amelia struggled for a minute only to realize she was held fast in place. It was the doing of Guduza’s shadow. Probably some way of binding from the astral plane, similar to a Shadow Snap.

“Pathetic... Now, I’ll tear you to shreds.” Guduza closed in on Amelia immediately, her black hair rustling...

“Elemekia Lance!”

Amelia let that sucker fly! Elemekia Lance damaged an opponent’s spirit directly, which would affect even demons, but...

“Fool,” the demon whispered, sidestepping the blast altogether.

Not good! Amelia wouldn’t have time to chant another spell! Yet as the magical javelin she’d unleashed passed right by its target...

“Break!” Amelia shouted.

Huh?!

The Elemekia Lance burst into pieces next to Guduza!

“What?!” Doused with the magical fragments, Guduza let out a scream of surprise and leaped back. It must have broken her concentration, because the shadow on the floor disappeared, and Amelia was freed.

What Amelia had done was take an Elemekia Lance—a simple spell you usually just launched in a straight line—and tweak it to explode on command. Little alterations like that were possible if you had a deep enough understanding of a spell’s chant.

Of course, breaking it up in that fashion weakened it compared to normal... The blast probably felt no worse than a slightly-too-hot shower to Guduza. It was only surprise that had driven her back.

“Hmm... you think highly of yourself for a mere human child!” Guduza hissed, her words seething with loathing.

But Amelia was already chanting her next spell. Guduza smoothly closed the distance between them to try again.

Last but not least, Gourry and I were locked in a battle of our own. It started around the same time Duguld was jumping down the stairs and Amelia was dashing across the room...

“Eek!” I yelped.

The two magical lights that had manifested in Seigram’s hands streaked toward us. I began chanting a spell as I leaped to the side to escape, and Gourry... He just charged straight for them!

“Light, come forth!” he roared, seconds before making contact.

A brilliant beam of light appeared from the bladeless hilt in his hands—this was the demon-slaying Sword of Light, which channeled its bearer’s will in weapon form.

“Hahh!” With a shout, Gourry slashed at the incoming magical lights! Zing! Vrrring! With ear-splitting peals, they were both harmlessly dispelled. Meanwhile, Gourry continued to charge at the demon who’d fired them.

It was about then that I finished the chant for my own Elemekia Lance... But it was too soon to use it. I recalled Seigram had the power to manipulate darkness and blink through space. If I unleashed my spell now, he could easily dodge both it and Gourry’s attack at the same time. I needed to wait for Gourry to attack first, then unleash my spell when Seigram reappeared.

So I watched as Gourry swung the Sword of Light, and Seigram... jumped?! Counter to my expectations, Seigram just leaped into the air to avoid Gourry’s attack. Near simultaneously, he manifested two more spheres of magic light in his hands... and chucked them at Gourry below!

“Wugh?!” Gourry quickly moved to cut them both down. No sooner had he done so than Seigram landed right next to the big lug. Before he could even pull his sword back to defend... “Gah!”

Seigram had planted a kick right into his stomach.

Holy crap, this demon’s fast!

Gourry went flying backward. I took the opportunity to fire the Elemekia Lance I had on tap at Seigram. But the white-masked demon, seeming perfectly unconcerned, knocked it out of the air with more magical light manifested from his left hand.

“Ugh... ghk...” Gourry groaned, getting back on his feet across the room. Seemed he’d leaped back with the kick to dull its impact.

“Are you even taking this seriously?” Seigram asked, his tone perfectly unaffected. “If so... you’ve grown weaker.”

This was bad news. Not only was Seigram fully recovered, he was actually stronger than the last time we’d tussled...

“Come at me, child!” Duguld shouted mockingly.

“As you wish!” Zelgadis cried in turn, rushing the guy.

“One!” Duguld shouted with a backward leap.

At his call, the dark bullets that wreathed him shot toward Zel, who easily batted them away with his magic-infused broadsword.

“Oho?! Well, then... two!”

Another round of bullets, these with slightly different timing and trajectories, homed in on Zelgadis, but he scattered them as well.

“And... three!”

The third wave too met the same fate. Duguld now had his back against the wall. He had nowhere left to run. And before he could make his next move, Zel finished the spell he was chanting.

“Goz Vu Row!”

A black shadow appeared on the floor and raced toward the demon. If it hit him, it would target his astral form, but...

“Not bad at all!” he remarked, sending his remaining dark bullets raining down on the approaching Goz Vu Row.

Ker-crack! Black plasma sizzled and both spells disappeared—but Zelgadis kept charging! Duguld had nothing left to protect him now. Zel raised his broadsword high, and...

Vrrrz! With a sound like insect wings, Duguld’s body dissolved into the wall behind him!

“What?!” Zel exclaimed in shock.

Zunk! What should have been his killing blow sunk harmlessly into the wall instead.

“That was close... You nearly killed me,” called a languid voice from right behind Zel.

He dislodged his sword and turned around quickly to see Duguld rising up from the floor. I don’t know if that was a perk of the barrier dimension or a special ability of Duguld’s, but either way, the guy was clearly quite a trickster.

“Impressive that you can use your enchanted sword and your spells at the same time,” he said, tilting the brim of his hat ever so slightly. A swarm of dark bullets appeared around him once more. “In fact... I may need to put forth some real effort.”

“Shut up!” Zelgadis shouted, breaking into a charge again.

It looked like Duguld was going to hold his ground this time and simply shower Zel with dark bullets en masse. Zelgadis, however, clicked his tongue and charged regardless. He knocked away most of the flying bullets, but...

“Geh!”

He missed one, which nailed him in the left shoulder. A second shot then grazed his right leg.

“Tch!”

He didn’t let it stop his charge. Dragging his leg, he kept running and—Krrsh!—ran his broadsword right through Duguld.

“Gwaaah!” the demon wailed.

“Graaah!”

The howling Guduza cleared the distance to Amelia in the blink of an eye. Vwoosh! The demon’s long, black hair began to streak toward her, yet Amelia dashed forward again nonetheless. She was in the demon’s face in a flash. She thrust her left hand forward... but Guduza’s hair tangled around it!

Snap! A dull crack rang out. Guduza’s smile widened. But without so much as a cry, Amelia drove her other fist straight into the demon’s stomach.

“Elemekia Lance!” she then incanted, unleashing a spell simultaneously.

“Gwuh?!” The demon shouted and leaped back, naturally releasing Amelia in the process. “How... How dare you!” Guduza hissed, her voice rife with agony and hatred.

A blow like that obviously wasn’t enough to end a demon, though it did seem to hurt her good. The exchange, however, had also left Amelia with a broken hand.

“Are you mad, child?! Sacrificing your own left hand...”

“It’s the only way to win!” Amelia declared, undaunted.

She was clearly in pain, mind you. The fine veneer of sweat on her face proved as much.

“I see... I was mistaken,” Guduza whispered to herself as Amelia began chanting. “I was hoping to beat you to death while feasting on your fear and anguish... but it seems I can’t afford to take it easy with you...”

And as she spoke, Guduza touched her shadow on the floor. Burble... Her hands melted into it up to her wrists.

Just then, Amelia shuddered. Guduza’s hands had emerged from Amelia’s shadow behind her and were grabbing her ankles tight! Nevertheless, she continued chanting her spell without interruption.

“Heh heh... I’ll tear you to pieces,” Guduza whispered.

Her black hair began to grow, dancing and writhing like so many slender snakes. It hit the floor, slithered into her shadow, and then slowly crawled up out of Amelia’s. It wound around her feet, slinking upward... then suddenly stopped.

“You brat! That incantation...” Guduza gasped, at last seeming to realize what Amelia was chanting.

Good ol’ Ra Tilt, the strongest attack spell in all shamanistic magic. It was single-target only, but it dealt astral damage powerful enough to kill a demon like Guduza in one hit. Dodging it wouldn’t be easy.

Guduza hesitated for just a second. She seemed to be weighing whether or not her hair could kill Amelia before Amelia finished her incantation. She finally seemed to realize it couldn’t...

“Tch!”

Her hands and hair released Amelia, withdrawing into the shadow whence they came. Her white face suddenly dimmed, darkening to the same color as her body. Was she trying to run away?

Good thing Amelia was faster!

“Ra Tilt!”

With that—Vwoosh!—a blue pillar of fire consumed the demon and disintegrated her body without even giving her a chance to scream.

“My bad,” Gourry said as he readied the Sword of Light with an intrepid smile. “Looks like you’ve changed up your attack patterns since the last time we fought. You kinda caught me off guard.”

Hey, uh, Gourry! Don’t go telling him stuff like that! 

If we were out in the middle of a field, I might be able to get some distance and smash Seigram with a Dragon Slave. But Gourry and the others were nearby, not to mention the fact that we were in the city. It was clear this was a pocket dimension of some kind, but I didn’t know its exact properties, so I had no idea if unleashing a Dragon Slave here would affect the outside world or not. That limited my options pretty severely.

I decided I’d just have to provide assistance from the sidelines with minor spells, being as careful as I could not to hit Gourry with any friendly fire. So without much other choice, I began prepping another Elemekia Lance.

As I did, Gourry dashed forward. At the same time, Seigram stepped smoothly toward him...

Gourry was right—Seigram had changed up his moves. The last we fought, he always waited for his opponent to come to him before blinking away at the last second and retaliating from an unexpected location.

Could this mean...

An idea suddenly crossed my mind. What if Seigram wasn’t completely recovered after all? What if he wasn’t using his blinking ability because he couldn’t?

While I was contemplating that, Gourry and Seigram collided. Gourry let out a battlecry as he brought down a diagonal slash... that Seigram couldn’t dodge!

Crackle! The Sword of Light came to a halt, scattering magic or light or something (not really sure). Seigram had blocked the blade with another orb he’d conjured in his right hand! He then quickly followed up by throwing his right leg out at Gourry’s stomach.

“Tch!” Gourry used his own leg to block the demon’s kick.

Seigram moved lithely, retracting his arm and leg and retreating a step back. Gourry lashed out with a fierce overhead slash, and Seigram charged forward like he was waiting for just that. He thrust his left palm at Gourry, another magical light appearing within it!

Gourry swung the Sword of Light upward at the demon’s extended left arm. But, seeming to anticipate this maneuver, Seigram pitched forward and slammed the magic sphere in his right hand down upon the blade. His left hand then shot toward Gourry and...

Bwoosh! The magical light in his left palm went out when my Elemekia Lance struck it.

Gourry and Seigram leaped back simultaneously.

To be honest, I’d meant to nail Seigram... but keeping up with their back-and-forth was hard, so I’d missed the mark a bit. Granted, that was better than getting Gourry, I guess.

Still, Seigram’s movements were decidedly faster than the last time we’d tangled. It was hard to believe he was giving Gourry as good as he got in close-quarters combat. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what more I could do...

Of late, I’d actually been managing to follow Gourry’s attacks an eensy smidge—probably the result of hanging out with him for so long—but that didn’t mean I could predict them. One wrong move and I’d end up blasting his head off or something.

Slowly but surely, Gourry and Seigram closed the distance between each other again.

Duguld’s scream lingered even as it faded. Zel smiled slightly. But...

“Just kidding,” the skewered demon suddenly said jauntily.

Zel’s eyes went wide with shock moments before a magical blast erupted loudly between the two of them. Denied the chance to react, Zelgadis was blown back and—Crash!—sent flying into a nearby table.

“Very careless of you, child,” Duguld said, tipping his hat in the direction of the laid-out Zel. Zel’s broadsword was still sticking out of his stomach. “You didn’t even notice? My bullets robbed your blade of the magic you infused into it. A mundane hunk of steel can’t harm me—even like this.”

There, the demon unceremoniously removed the broadsword from his stomach, tossed it aside disinterestedly, then turned and sauntered toward where Guduza and Amelia were fighting.

“I... I see,” Zel managed with a twitch.

Duguld stopped mid-step. “Oho,” he whispered in amusement, glancing over his shoulder.

Zel had just gotten to his feet, and was now picking up his broadsword. He seemed worse for wear, however. His legs were trembling.

“You’re right... I was careless,” he said, a smile nevertheless reappearing on his face as he readied his sword again.

“I see...” Duguld turned back. “I was careless too, child. I underestimated your strength. Had you been a mere human, that blow would have killed you. I hadn’t taken your... enhancements... into account. I won’t hold anything back now.”

For a third time, Duguld was swarmed with a shroud of dark bullets.

When the blue pillar of flame died down at last, Guduza was gone. Amelia let out a little sigh. But as she did...

Wham! A magical shockwave hit her head-on!

“Gwuh?!”

The blast threw her into a wall, where she then collapsed to the floor. As for the spell, it had come from... Guduza?! Her stark white face was hovering at just about eye level, no body attached.

“Hmm, hmm... That looked like it hurt,” Guduza mused as darkness radiated outward from her face. In seconds, it came to form her hair and her body once more.

“Ngh... hng...” Amelia let out a low whine, looking over at Guduza from where she lay on the ground.

“That spell could have killed me... but we demons can easily evade the meager spells you humans use. I left only an empty astral shell for a decoy, and you fell for it.” Guduza slowly approached Amelia, her hair rustling as she moved. “Now... I suppose I’ll go about killing you.”

Guduza’s crimson mouth twisted into a smile.

Gourry and Seigram were still locked in combat.

I was keeping tabs on Zelgadis and Amelia as the situation allowed, but I can’t say things were looking good. Zel was still bleeding from a bullet hole in his left shoulder, while Amelia was crumpled on the floor.

What should I do? Go help Amelia and Zel? But what would that really do for us? Should I bust the barrier, then? No, how would that help?

All the barrier was doing was keeping us walled off from the real world. There was no miasma here, so it wasn’t powering the demons up any. They didn’t seem to be using it against us, either. So if I broke us out of the barrier and into the real world, all I’d be doing was dragging innocent people into our conflict.

Wait a minute...

Something finally hit me. If that was the case, why had the demons bothered to erect the barrier in the first place? I’d fought another demon once who, for some reason, refused to get bystanders involved. Was that what was happening here? If so, busting the barrier would actually work in our favor.

I decided to chuck the Elemekia Lance I’d already chanted at Guduza. I was hoping to catch her in a blind spot...

“Eh?!” But she simply let out a little cry, dodged my spell, and turned toward me.

Oh, right! Guess you don’t have blind spots when you don’t have eyes!

Regardless, while I had the demon’s attention, I started my amplification chant. The talismans on my neck, my belt buckle, and both wrists began to emit a faint light.

“Demon Blood?!” Guduza cried in shock.

I’d bought these puppies off of Xellos a while back, and they had the shocking power to enhance a caster’s magic capacity. The required amplification chant seriously drew out a spell’s casting time, but it provided a commensurate boost in power.

“Amplification, eh? Not so fast!” Guduza howled—and charged right at me! Would my spell make it in time?!

“Don’t touch her, Guduza!” It was Seigram that stopped her. “We had a deal.”

“But... Seigram...”

While Guduza hesitated, I unleashed my spell!

“Flow Break!”

A six-pointed star burst with shining light that engulfed the room! And when it faded... we found ourselves amidst a buzzing crowd.

You know the types. A bunch of gruff-looking men sitting around the tables, one old guy who looked already drunk, and a middle-aged man serving food... They were all looking at us. Given their expressions, I imagine we’d popped out of thin air—demons included, obviously.

“Tch!” Seigram tutted ruefully.

Gourry wasn’t about to miss such a golden opportunity. He unleashed a high slash and almost had the demon, but Seigram used another ball of magic in his right hand to block the blow. Gourry didn’t stop there, however. He slipped by Seigram, pivoting with his blade where it met the magic ball, and smashed the hilt of his sword into Seigram’s white mask!

Krik! I heard the sound of stone cracking.

“Gahh!” Seigram leaped back with a cry, holding his mask to his face with his right hand. “Guduza, Duguld! Retreat!”

“Ah, and just when things were getting good...”

“If you insist.”

The three demons then turned and flew out the door, leaving behind a chattering, baffled tavern of people.

Of course, the rest of us stayed put. If we tried to pursue them, they’d put up a fight—and we needed to help Amelia first.

“Amelia!” I cried out as I ran over to her.

“I’m... I’m okay,” she squeaked with bravado through the pain.

“Take it easy, girl,” I said as I gently helped her up.

Her left hand was broken, and while she didn’t have any other obvious injuries, that magical shockwave had really done a number on her.

“I’m okay... I’ll cast a spell...” she whispered before beginning a chant.

It was Resurrection, the ultimate recovery spell. She must’ve gotten her clock cleaned good...

“How is she?” Zelgadis asked as he approached. He was looking pretty shaky himself.

“She’s healing herself, but you get over here. I’ll take care of your shoulder,” I offered, beckoning with my free hand.

“That’s all right,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I can heal this on my own.”

“What? You know healing magic, Zel?”

“Recovery, yeah. She taught me a while back,” he said, indicating Amelia before he began reciting the chant.

“Excuse me, folks...” A man who looked like the innkeeper addressed us timidly. “What in the world is going on here? You just appeared out of nowhere... And who were those people who ran out?”

“Oh, that’s, uh... Er, it’s complicated, see...” All I could do was stammer.

Me, Gourry, and Amelia returned to Laddock Lanzard’s house well after sundown that night. Zel stayed behind at the seedy inn.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Amelia?”

“Right as rain!” she declared with a heroic pose. Seemed she’d recovered mentally as well as physically. “She caught me by surprise with some of those nasty tricks, but the next time we meet shall be that wretched villain’s last!”

Such were the conversations we shared as we walked through the gate to the Lanzard estate. And as we made our way into the house...

“My, my. You’ve had quite a time of it, haven’t you? Hahaha.”

“Not at all. Such things are all part of serving one’s master.”

We could hear Xellos speaking with an old man in a different room. I peeked in to find Raltark the butler having a pleasant little chat with our “friend” over a game of chess.

Grr... I felt a boiling anger bubbling up inside me. We were out fighting for our lives, and he was playing chess?!

“Hey! Xellos!” I found myself shouting.

“Oh! Welcome back, all,” he greeted us with his usual smile.

Rrrgh...

“Don’t ‘welcome back, all’ me! We were in serious trouble out there!”

“Oh?” He cocked his head, seemingly unbothered as he moved a piece on the board.

This guuuy...

“I do believe that’s checkmate.”

“Hmm... Yes, so it is. You’re truly beyond me, Master Xellos,” Raltark whispered sternly.

“Really, it’s nothing. Hahaha.”

Hahaha, my ass!

“Hey! We were fightin’ our butts off out there and you’re sittin’ in here laughing?! What the hell kind of jackass—”

“You’re in no position to criticize,” came a sudden voice from behind me.

“What was that?!” I whipped around to see Laddock’s son standing behind me in the corridor.

“I mean, honestly. My father hired you as his bodyguards, and the first thing you do is go traipsing around the city. Then you come back here and chew out a companion for trouble you wandered off to find? The sheer heartlessness of it!”

Urk!

For a moment, I was at a loss for words. I understood that, from Abel’s point of view, we were fully in the wrong... But Lina Inverse doesn’t take that crap from just anyone!

“Xellos doesn’t deserve human compassion!” I declared proudly.

Behind me, Gourry and Amelia pitched over. Xellos himself showed no reaction.

“Besides, I told your father out of the gate that Zuma would come for me before him! You were there when I said it! Weren’t you listening?!”

A complicated expression—a combination of fear and hesitation—flashed briefly across Abel’s face before he said, “You said you ran into trouble in the city... Was it with Zuma the assassin?”

“...No...” I thought about lying for a second, but decided to be honest.

“Aha, I knew it,” Abel said triumphantly. He then struck a pretentious pose, slicking back his hair. “Is there even really an assassin involved in all this?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“For starters, how do I know the letter my father received is actually from Zuma? It seems to me that some down-on-their-luck mercenaries could have pegged my father for an easy mark and decided to send a forged letter from Zuma demanding that he hire them.”

Grr!

“Hang on a minute! That’s—”

“Wait, Lina,” Amelia interrupted me, glaring in Abel’s direction. “Are you asking us to leave?”

Abel’s eyes remained on Amelia and me as he sniffled, “I’m quite a sensitive soul, you see. Just the thought of sharing a dwelling with you ragtag mercenaries makes me sick to my stomach.”

What was that?! Grrrrr... This is why I hate rich spoiled brats!

“So, if it were up to me, I would kick you out forthwith, but—”

“Enough!” thundered Laddock’s voice, swiftly approaching from down the hall.

“Dad?!” Abel cried out in shock. “But didn’t you hear what I said?! This whole thing might be a scam!”

“And if not, what then?”

“But...!”

“Oh, shut up, Abel!”

Abel clicked his tongue and fell silent. Nice one, man! Let him have it! But even as I cheered Laddock on internally, he cast a sharp look my way.

“You’d better stop this nonsense, too. I can’t have you going out on your own. At least get my permission first!”

“What the...? We left a message with your butler that we were heading out and everything!”

“So I heard! But I still never authorized it!”

This duuude...

“Excuse me, but as I explained earlier, Zuma—”

“Will attack you first, right? I know that! My point is this: Whatever the facts may be, at least superficially, I am paying you people money to protect me! You can’t just go leaving this mansion whenever you feel like it!” he railed, still furious.

Grrrrrrrr!

“Well, whatever! I’ll overlook it this time! Dinner’s ready, so I’ll send someone to show you the way! Let’s go, Abel!” he spat.

I didn’t even have time to snap back at him before he’d disappeared down the hall.

“What in the heck?! What is wrong with these people?!” I raged, slicing through my mutton steak as if it had killed my father.

A servant had shown us to a small dining room. Fortunately, Laddock and Abel were supping separately. Apparently the loathing was mutual between us, which suited me just fine, as I wasn’t eager to spend my precious mealtime looking at their stupid faces. The food itself was pretty good, though not nearly good enough to quell my anger.

We’d caught Xellos up on the situation before I’d launched into my litany of complaints. It was just the four of us in the dining hall—me, Gourry, Amelia, and Xellos. So I took the liberty to keep ranting.

“I’m not gonna remind him of the huge favor I’m doing him, but I could! How could he treat someone who agreed to protect him like this?!”

“Maybe he’s stressed out because his life is in danger?” Amelia offered sheepishly.

“I know that!” I said. “And I know that Seigram’s attack had nothing to do with Old Man Laddock or Little Brat Abel!”

“Then what does it matter?” Gourry said, unbothered as could be as he chewed on some broccoli, which was blanched just long enough that it retained its dazzling green color. “I’ll admit, the father and son don’t really seem like nice people. But complaining about that won’t change anything, will it?”

“I know that too! I’m just venting stress here!” I squawked, spearing a broccoli stalk on my fork.

“C’mon, Lina...”

“Of course, I understand what you’re going through,” Xellos said quietly, as he—for some reason—cut up a stewed carrot with a knife and fork. “I believe you mentioned earlier that Seigram’s and Zuma’s only connection here is to you and Master Gourry. Neither has anything to do with Miss Amelia or Master Zelgadis, yet your association with them has now imperiled their lives. I’m sure you feel terrible, Miss Lina, but you’re too bashful to admit to it... So it’s only natural that you need some other way to decompress.”

Well, I see someone’s got his armchair psychologist going... I cast a sidelong glance at Xellos.

“Wait a minute... you don’t actually think I’m a good person, do you?!”

“Not in the slightest,” he said firmly with a beaming smile.

Okay, a little harsher than I was expecting...

“But you do seem like the kind of person who likes to compartmentalize her comrades that way.”

Ugh... His bluntness made it hard for me to know how to respond. It would be a little weird to get offended and deny it...

Following that, there was only the sound of clinking dinnerware for a time.

“Oh, that’s right, Gourry,” I eventually said, suddenly remembering an idea I’d had for a while but kept putting off.

“Hmm? What is it?” he asked while slurping down his pasta side.

“I wanted to ask... would you care to join me tonight?”

No sooner had those words left my mouth than...

“Oh, Lina! So bold!” Amelia squealed.

“My, it seems our girl’s growing up,” Xellos threw in.

“H-Hey! That’s not how I meant it! C’mon, Gourry! Quit blushing!”

“Well, I mean... y’know...”

“I did not mean that! I want you to help me with my sword practice!”

“Oh, is that all?” Amelia said in disappointment.

“What a shame,” Xellos echoed.

“Still, this isn’t like you, Lina. Why do you suddenly want sword training?”

“Listen, not that I’m a huge fan of the whole ‘blood, sweat, and tears’ thing, but...” I said, scratching at my head. “I had a hard time keeping up with Zuma before, and just watching you fight from the sidelines feels like a waste. Charging in blindly is dangerous too, so...”

“Hmm... that’s true,” Xellos said absently as he cut into some chicken thigh meat. “There’s no substitute for proper training. More importantly, you really should be able to defeat someone of his caliber yourself.”

“That’s why I’m gonna try putting in a little sweat,” I responded, popping a potato fritter into my mouth.

The next day, Gourry and I headed back into town. Obviously, we got permission from Laddock this time. He wasn’t thrilled, so we ended up leaving Xellos and Amelia to babysit... but my main order of business today was buying a replacement for the pauldron that Zuma destroyed at the start of all this.

Is it just me, or have I really been burning through these puppies lately? I would’ve preferred simply to have mine repaired, but I’d bought this particular set in Saillune. There probably wasn’t anyone here with the know-how, let alone the materials, to do the job.

Vezendi was a pretty big city, but it was seriously lacking in magic shops. I wasn’t sure if that was true across the Duchy of Kalmaart or if it was unique to this area. Anyway, we talked to some locals and eventually found our way to the one and only gig in town.

“Let me see... Yes, I doubt you’ll be able to get this fixed here.”

It was a one-room magic item shop. I asked the elderly proprietor—who didn’t seem to know much about magic at all—if she could repair my pauldron, and the answer was about what I expected. She wasn’t an arcane specialist, but rather just a typical merchant.

She scrutinized the pauldron I’d handed her, however, and continued, “The blacksmiths in these parts don’t deal with this kind of material. Well, there was that one time... A sorcerer like you asked to have their breastplate fixed. I turned the job to a blacksmith in town who was willing to give the repair a shot. He filled the fissure in with lead or iron or something. When the sorcerer came back, they raised a real racket. ‘I can’t wear this heavy thing! I’m not paying for this!’ It was a right mess.”

I would be mad too, yeah.

“Now, you’ll probably want to replace the right one wholesale rather than repairing it. I won’t say it’ll be cheaper, but in order to fix it up, I’d have to send it back to Saillune... It’ll take two or three months at the soonest. And with shipping charges, you can expect the repair fees to total a small fortune.”

“Hmm... Figures,” I said, crossing my arms.

While I was hashing all this out with the shopkeep, Gourry was staring at the magic items lining the shelves, goggling like a child in a toy store.

“By the way, are you a traveler? I don’t think I’ve seen you ’round here.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“In that case, I hope this doesn’t sound too unfriendly, but walking back to Saillune for the repairs yourself would probably save time and money.”

“I would love to, but I can’t,” I said with a grim smile. “I’m in the employ of a local named Laddock—”

“Ah! I see!” The woman nodded in understanding. “So you’re the one Master Laddock was searching for... Lina, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I see, I see. Bet he’s treating you real nice.”

...

“Yeah... sure,” I responded vaguely.

Is that unsociable asshole nice to anyone? I pondered this while the old lady just kept on talking.

“His father was an excellent merchant... but between you and me, he wasn’t the friendly type. But Master Laddock is so good-natured. He doesn’t have the knack for mercantile like his old man did, but he travels all around for pleasure. Gets the most out of life, you know? Of course, some folks call him a dilettante, but I say all the money in the world means nothing if you don’t have a good heart—don’t you agree?”

“Well... I guess that’s true.”

Ack! This old lady’s trying to catch me in her web of idle gossip!

“Now, you see, Master Laddock asked me to help him with something...” I decided to follow her lead on the “master” bit as I tried to steer the conversation back on track. “Of course, I’m not at liberty to reveal the details, but I’m serving as his bodyguard. I don’t have a lot of time to spare, so I’m just going to have to buy new pauldrons!”

“I see. In that case...” The old woman thought a minute. “Enchanted pauldrons, eh? I do have a few in storage. One set made out of hollowed-out raja dragon bone...”

“Oh?” I found myself gasp.

Raja dragon bone was light and sturdy, but raja dragons were rare these days, so armor made from them was out of stock pretty much everywhere. The people who did have it were loath to let it go for anything short of an exorbitant sum. To find a piece in a place like this...

“It’s expensive, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. The last ten owners all died horrible deaths, so I’ll make it cheap.”

“...Pass.”

How can you even sell something like that?

“Really? Well, I also have leather ones embedded with jeweled amulets, ones lined with wyvern wing...”

Hmm, none of these options were really grabbing me. Not that I was in a situation to be picky...

“Oh, I know!” The old woman clapped her hands together. “I have a set a traveler sold to me a little while back... Don’t know what they’re made of, though. Care to see them?”

“Sure,” I agreed readily. I was willing to give it a shot.

“Let me see... I think it was...” The old lady rooted around in the back of the shop for a while. “Here you go.”

She came back with a set of black pauldrons. They were of a material similar to the filed-down great turtle shell guards I used to wear, but the texture was slightly different. They were unpolished and rimmed with metal, each embedded with a jeweled amulet in the center. They didn’t have much in the way of ornamentation, but they were surprisingly light when I picked them up—and, more importantly, sturdy.

I didn’t know what they were made of, but they had to be better than cursed bone pauldrons or basic naught-but-leather ones.

“Are these pricey?” I asked hesitantly.

“Oh, no,” the woman replied with a dismissive wave. “I don’t know what they’re made of, and I didn’t pay much for them. I’ll cut you a deal.”

Yes! My gut was telling me this was an incredible find. Of course, if I acted too eager, she’d rob me blind!

“Hmm... Well, they’re better than leather, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable buying something of an unknown material...”

Let the haggling begin!

“Man, what a score!” I’d gotten my hands on new pauldrons for less than I expected, and accordingly left the shop on cloud nine. Gourry walking along beside me, however, was drained. “What’s the matter? You look exhausted.”

“Oh, well... I kind of regret coming shopping with you.”

“Huh. I guess looking at magic items isn’t much fun for you, is it?”

“Actually... that’s not the problem,” he replied, letting out a big sigh as he looked up at the setting sun bathing the city in crimson light.

Ahh, yeah. I guess we had been in the shop a while, what with all the bartering and the gossip and such.

“Anyhoo... What should we do now? Stop by and see Zel?”

“Nah, I think it’s fine. Nothing’s happened since last night, and our boss’ll probably get mad at us if we’re back too late again.”

“Fair enough... Hey, after dinner, would you give me some more sword training?”

“Sure. And speaking of... You’ve got an unconscious habit I need to tell you about. You don’t do it every time, but when you’re trying to avoid a frontal attack, you almost always dodge to the left. You should probably fix that.”

Huh?

“For real?”

“Yeah,” Gourry said, nodding easily.

Well, if I’d realized it, I guess it wouldn’t be an “unconscious habit.” I’d have to pay more attention tonight.

“Great! Let’s do this!”

I shouldn’t have gotten so excited...

I was in the room I’d been allotted on the second floor of the Lanzard mansion. I laid my exhausted body on the bed as self-reproaching thoughts entered my mind.

Gourry’s assessment this evening was right. I really did favor my left when I dodged. But if I thought too much about it, I didn’t react in time.

(Training had consisted of Gourry using a thin tree branch to poke at me again and again. I think the bastard even found it amusing which, let me assure you, it definitely was not.)

Worse yet, trying to dodge in ways I was unaccustomed to had made me unusually tense. It left me with a good case of workout fatigue after our sparring session. I’d already had a nice soak in the bath and was more than ready to get some beauty rest.

Boy, my muscles are sore... I thought as I began to drift off.

But then it hit me. I sat up straight in bed, grabbing my cape and sword. I’d felt this before. It was like a premonition. Like something just wasn’t right.

I recognized the source.

“You’re there, aren’t you?” I said to the window.

There was a moment of silence, and then...

“Indeed,” replied a familiar voice.

It was Zuma.