Slayers - Volume 7 - Chapter 4

4: And Now... Chaos Dragon

General Rashart made the first move.

“Let’s go!” he roared, charging Xellos with his sword at the ready. Whatever he had planned this time, it seemed he was going to keep it here on the material plane.

Crack! With a small yet solid sound, Xellos parried the blow with the staff in his right hand. At the same time, he extinguished the walnut-sized energy balls coming at him from the left (courtesy of Raltark) by enveloping them in his cape.

Incredible... My eyes went wide in surprise. I’d assumed this would be the kind of battle where crashing waves of power sent sparks flying and deflected magic blasts took chunks out of the landscape... Just a big ol’ spectacle, you know? But, to be frank, this was shaping up to be a perfectly straightforward fight.

Still, it didn’t look like either side was holding back. There was just shockingly little excess in their power usage.

The most likely explanation was that they were trying to avoid collateral damage, since an all-out battle between these guys would probably end up obliterating the whole freakin’ mountain. Xellos didn’t want us to get hurt, and Raltark and Rashart didn’t want to do anything that might turn the dragons against them.

But while the fight that I could follow—the attack-blocking and the spell-sealing—continued to play out, it seemed the demons were now engaging on the astral plane as well. Once in a while, I’d catch a glimpse of a black drill flitting in and out of existence above Raltark’s head. Or the sword in Rashart’s hand would seem to blur for a second. Or Raltark would let out a pained groan... I could imagine that some sort of back-and-forth was transpiring; I just didn’t have the details.

Granted, I didn’t exactly have time to kick back and watch them fight. The red and gray orbs were headed toward the rest of us, albeit slowly. I figured these were demons Raltark had dragged here from the astral side of reality. Gourry and I had fought these more abstract creatures once before in Saillune, but judging by the uncertainty on Amelia and Zel’s faces, this was their first time.

“Watch out, Zel! Amelia! They might look a little silly, but they’re probably tough!” I cautioned.

“Obvious enough, but...” Zel mumbled.

“I still don’t really wanna fight them,” Amelia responded.

With that, they both broke into chants. Meanwhile, Gourry drew the Sword of Light, and I started working on a spell of my own.

“Elemekia Lance!” Amelia incanted first.

And the moment she let it fly, the gray orb dipped down to intercept its trajectory. Pwash! The spear of light soaked directly into it, and in that same moment, the red one fired out multiple spears of light—straight at Zelgadis!

“Astral Vine!” he cried, using his spell to infuse his sword with magic. He then either dodged or cut down the inbound spears.

Now it was my turn.

“Dark Claw!” I shouted, summoning a shapeless mass of magic that hovered like a swarm of black winged insects around me.

It swiftly charged at the red orb—Zoom!—but the gray one made a beeline for the incoming danger yet again, clearly intending to defend Red by taking the hit instead!

Vrum! As Gray took the hit, Red spewed black mist right at us!

“What?!”

We quickly leaped away and took shelter behind a nearby boulder. I then heard what sounded like water spraying against the ground. When we emerged from cover, we could see countless small, shallow holes eaten out of the other side of the rock.

Was that... the doing of a Dark Claw spell?! Of course! It looked like the orbs’ strategy was for Gray to absorb our attacks and then, somehow, for Red to fire them back at us amplified.

“Everyone! Aim for the red one!” I called.

“Right!” Gourry responded, readying the Sword of Light as he charged.

Gray floated up in front of Red to block his strike. As it did, Red fired a few streaks of light at Gourry. He easily sliced through them, slipped by Gray, and kept charging for Red. Red quickly took its distance, almost bouncing its way up before stopping abruptly in midair, too high for the sword to reach.

Or so it thought! Gourry fired the Sword of Light’s blade at it, but... the red orb suddenly paled gray while the gray orb turned red!

They switched places?! The now-gray orb was speared on the blade of light, while the now-red orb was returning multiple shots at Gourry from behind.

This wasn’t good! He wouldn’t be able to dodge them! He whipped around in time to see the blades of light speeding toward him, and just then...

“Gaav Flare!”

A streak of fire raced through the air, engulfing the light racing at Gourry! Nice one, Amelia! She’d used a spell she’d prepared as an attack to intercept the barrage instead.

“Sorry! And thanks!” hailed Gourry as he retreated a safe distance.

Still, that was a pretty clever trick for a silly pair of balls. They could change color and swap properties at the same time.

Wait, was it possible... that they looked like two entities, but were they actually a single being? They were way too in sync to be distinct individuals. Maybe its real body was on the astral plane, and these were just facets it was projecting into our world for attack and defense. But whatever the explanation, it didn’t change the fact that we had to beat ’em.

The new Gray and Red regrouped, ignored Gourry, and charged straight at the rest of us. (I say “us,” but of course, I was still their real target!)

“I think we’ll just have to hit both at once!” Amelia said, sizing them up.

“Very well. You take one; I’ll get the other,” Zel responded, leaving our side to flank the orbs.

They were slowly gaining speed as they surged toward us through the air... Then, at the same time, they both unleashed a lighting strike!

Whaaat?! Amelia and I quickly leaped away from where we stood. The two spheres gave chase, continuing to lash lightning!

Fortunately, I’d finished chanting my spell. The rest would be up to Zel, so... I cast a glance his way, and he gave me a firm nod. Great! It seemed he was ready to play too. I nodded back.

“Elemekia Lance!” we shouted in unison.

Two spears of light thus hurtled toward the orbs. And just before they pierced their respective balls—Snap!—something invisible deflected them!

Geh! These things can’t just counter the spells, they can block them too?!

The two spheres continued to accelerate, closing in on me fast! Were they just gonna crush me between them?!

Panicked, I started another chant... but I wouldn’t finish it in time! Just as the red sphere got right up in my face...

“Vis Farank!” Amelia shouted.

Slam! There was a dull sound, and Red immediately disappeared from my sight.

Amelia had pooled magical power in her hands and sucker punched the orb. It rightfully hadn’t been expecting anyone to straight-up punch it, so it ate the blow dead-on. The world’s a big place, but I think the only people who could beat a demon to death with their bare hands were Amelia and her father.

Well, okay, maybe my big sister could pull it off...

Red went flying from the hit, and Amelia gave chase, slamming her fists into it a second time! I heard something—Kreeeeeeee!—probably a scream. Both spheres put out a sound like vibrating metal.

This had to mean they were the same entity after all.

As Amelia kept pounding on the red one, the other charged at her and... Vwing! Zelgadis closed in and sliced Gray in half with his magically-infused broadsword! And then... Ba-bwoom! Both Red and Gray exploded!

“Ugh...” I sat up with a soft moan.

My body ached all over. I wasn’t too banged up, but I must have blacked out there for a second. My head was still fuzzy. It was hard to hear, too; the explosion had probably blown out my eardrums.

That’s right. The balls exploded suddenly, and...

“Amelia! Zel!”

I quickly looked around and found the two of them collapsed, after being slammed against a rock face that had stopped their flight. It seemed I’d escaped the worst of the blast because I was farther away, but Zel and Amelia had taken it nearly point-blank.

Zel was trying to sit up with a groan regardless, but Amelia was lying completely still.

No way...

“Amelia?!”

I ran over to her in a panic. I took her arm and felt for a pulse... Good. She was still breathing.

But she was in rough shape... Casting Recovery was my only option. Too bad it depleted the target’s stamina in order to heal them. Unfortunately, given the severity of Amelia’s injuries, it was hard to say whether I could even close her wounds before I sapped her strength entirely. Either way, it was clear she wouldn’t last long in her current condition.

If only I could use Resurrection, which converted surrounding life force into healing power... But there was no point now in lamenting what I didn’t have. I crouched down next to Amelia and began chanting Recovery.

“I don’t think you’ll make it in time like that,” said a male voice. Kneeling down next to me now was...

“Milgazia, sir?”

Still in human form, he held a hand over Amelia’s body.

Hru... u... u... Sounds a human voice could never produce drifted by on the wind. He seemed to be reciting a chant.

At last, his palm began to emit a faint blue light. It was a rather sickly color, but it was probably a healing spell. I watched as Amelia’s wounds began to close before my very eyes. Whatever spell he was using, it might’ve been even more potent than Resurrection.

“You’re saving her?” I asked quietly.

“Why should I abandon someone who is within my power to save? She is no enemy of mine,” he replied, his eyes still focused down on Amelia.

“...Thank you...” I said earnestly, then turned my gaze back to Zel.

He may have hated his chimeric body, but his stony skin must have severely mitigated the damage he’d taken. He was already up and casting Recovery on himself. When he realized I was looking at him, he gave me a small nod. Seemed he could handle himself just fine.

Gourry, meanwhile, had been far enough away from the explosion that he was completely unscathed. “How’s Amelia doing?” he asked, concerned, as he arrived at my side.

“Sir Milgazia is treating her. I think she’ll be okay.”

“That’s great,” he said with a sigh of relief.

But damn... this was my first time fighting demons that exploded when you beat them. Maybe that was Raltark’s aim from the start. The orbs were probably going to self-destruct on me eventually one way or another. Raltark’s only miscalculation was that their blast didn’t pack quite the deadly punch he’d hoped for.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that Zel and Amelia had taken a big hit because of me. That meant... it was time to return the favor!

“Gourry! Hand me the Sword of Light!”

“Got it!” he replied, tossing the sword—blade retracted—my way.

I caught it in my right hand and set my sights on Raltark, who was still deeply engaged in his battle with Xellos. I had a feeling I might be about to play into the hands of Xellos and his gang... but Raltark, Priest of the Dragon, had to go.

Anyway, let’s do this! Dragon Slave Blade time!

Thou who art darker than twilight

Thou who art redder than lifeblood

I swear in thy exalted name

Obscured, deep in the flow of time...

While I was chanting my spell, Raltark—who was to Xellos’s right from where I stood—realized what I was doing. That is, chanting an attack spell that called on the power of Ruby-Eye Dark Lord Shabranigdu. But as long as that power had to be channeled through the meager capacity of a human... well, it wouldn’t do nothing against Raltark, but it certainly wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

However...

I had a trick up my sleeve I’d tried once before. See, when I cast a Dragon Slave through the Sword of Light and focused its red light into a blade, it gave me something with significant destructive power.

Raltark had no way of knowing this, but he wasn’t about to let me just go about whatever I was up to. That message came in the form of a small ball of magic he fired my way.

Not good! I could have just batted it away, but I was worried its tiny size might belie some major blasting power. Smacking it down like a rock or something could mean an explosion practically to the face. And yet, if I just dodged, it would hit the others behind me...

Ugh! Let’s give this a test, then!

Just as I made up my mind to knock it out of the air... the approaching ball of magic was swallowed up by the air around it and disappeared. Probably Xellos’s protective handiwork again. Raltark looked stunned to see his attack nullified so easily.

And in that moment, I finished my spell: “Dragon Slave!”

Responding to my words of power, the Sword of Light in my right hand produced a crimson blade! And with it at the ready, I raced across the ground toward Raltark! While looking somewhat shaken, he expanded his spiritual presence.

Bwoosh! The ensuing wave of pressure stopped me in my tracks. I could lean into it if I wanted, but while I called it “spiritual presence,” it was more akin to miasma. Continued exposure would chip away at my stamina and make it hard to keep going.

So instead, while fighting against the pressure, I gripped my sword in both hands and...

“Go!” I shouted, firing the ruby blade at Raltark!

Hit him, darn it!

Raltark clicked his tongue, and just as he tried to dodge—Whoom!—a single black drill appeared out of empty space, impaling his stomach! Xellos!

“Graaaaaaaaagh!” Raltark bellowed in an echoing scream.

Then... Crash! The crimson light I’d shot pierced the screaming Priest of the Dragon straight through the chest. As Raltark reeled back, another black drill appeared out of nowhere and pulverized his head! And that was the end of Dragon Priest Raltark.

Bwush! His body burst apart like a piece of fruit beneath a sledgehammer. All that remained was an indigo sludge dripping from where he’d once been, but that too was soon gone—either carried off by the wind or sunk into the ground.

The only ones standing now were Beast Priest Xellos, smiling like always... and the thoroughly dumbfounded General Rashart.

“S-Sir Raltark...!” Rashart gasped in a trembling voice as he slowly turned his gaze to Xellos.

“Now then,” Xellos said, and...

“Aaaaah!” Rashart disappeared with a pathetic scream.

...

A long silence followed.

“Ah... he got away so easily,” Xellos whispered at last, scratching at the tip of his nose.

“Gaaah! He didn’t get away! You let him go! Why?!” I found myself yelling, frustrated by Xellos’s perpetually unflappable nature.

“Well, it just happened so suddenly. But Miss Lina, I must greatly thank you for your aid. Goodness, the way you distracted Master Raltark... I daresay I was genuinely in trouble for a moment there. Are the others quite all right?”

Ack, of course! I didn’t have time to be arguing with Xellos! I turned right around and headed back to where Zelgadis was resting on the ground.

I returned the Sword of Light to its rightful owner and said, “Thanks, Gourry. How are you holding up, Zel?”

“It’s not so bad. For me, at least...” he said firmly, though he looked pretty beat. “How’s Amelia?”

“Sir Milgazia is treating her. I’ll go have a look,” I said, heading that way next.

“The treatment is finished,” the golden dragon elder said to me calmly. “She should be fine now.”

Amelia was still lying there unconscious, but her wounds had closed and she was breathing normally. Whew... That was a load off my mind.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, bowing to Milgazia.

“No need to thank me,” he said bluntly, averting his eyes.

Was he getting bashful on me? I felt an urge to tease him, but...

“The door seems to have disappeared,” he muttered then, still looking away.

“What door?” I asked, following his gaze.

There was now a large hole in the cliff that towered over the road leading up to the peak. Wait...

“To the Claire Bible?!”

“Indeed.”

I walked up to the gaping hole in the rock face, where the path to the Claire Bible had been hidden, and reached out experimentally. My hand would have passed through the wall before, but now it met with the hard surface of the rock. Probably thanks to the explosion Raltark had set off from inside...

“Does this mean... the Claire Bible is gone too?”

“This is not the only ‘door’ to the disruption,” Milgazia whispered to me. “The meager power he released would not have been enough to destroy its nexus, the Claire Bible itself. Although I can’t be certain that the disappearance of this door had no influence on it whatsoever.”

Welp, so much for hearing more about the Sword of Light and learning how to restore Zel’s humanity... I’d have to find another door somewhere else.

Hey, that’s right...

When I stopped to think about it, Xellos had known there was a door to the Claire Bible here. That meant he probably had the scoop on others too.

I turned back to him and asked, “Hey, Xellos, you know where else I might find a path to the Claire Bible?”

He looked back at me, troubled, hemming, “Well... I do know of quite a few... but they’re not easy to get to, and I can’t actually tell you where they are.”

Figures.

“Why not?!” I decided to argue, even though I could imagine the reason just fine on my own.

“Well... my job was merely to deliver you to the Claire Bible the first time. If I went leading you to another door just because this one is now gone, I do believe I’d be in for a stern talking-to.”

“Ever the grudging errand boy, huh?”

“Well, we insignificant lower demons must abide the wills of our greaters. The only reason Raltark and Rashart were able to turn against us was because they were ordered to do so by their progenitor, Chaos Dragon Gaav.”

“But if demons are so beholden to orders from above, why doesn’t Gaav follow the orders of his progenitor, Ruby-Eye?”

“Now... that’s a rather complicated story.” Xellos began to descend the mountain road toward us as he spoke, nonchalantly. “It started with the Incarnation War a thousand years ago. Ruby-Eye and Chaos Dragon fought Aqualord directly, and when Aqualord was destroyed, Chaos Dragon more or less died striking the killing blow. Now, to say that one of our kind ‘dies’ doesn’t mean total annihilation. It only means that our power is temporarily sealed away—that we lose our ability to influence the world until it recoups. Under normal circumstances, we revive naturally in time.”

“You guys come back to life?”

“Well, it depends on the individual demon’s power and the nature of the defeat. Those who are annihilated... that is, their will, memory, and soul are fundamentally obliterated... might see their power carried on in a new vessel, but they will never reconstitute in the same form again.

“Meanwhile, those that merely ‘die’ may lose their ability to manifest in this world, but they may yet regain their power somehow or other as time passes, allowing them to return once more.” Xellos came to a stop as he reached Zelgadis, who was now standing on his own two feet, albeit shakily. “Lower-level demons frequently end up manifested as lesser demons, brass demons, or other half-formed creatures barely worthy of the name before they manage to muster their true power again... But a being as powerful as Chaos Dragon would have achieved a perfect revival in time, under normal circumstances.

“However... Aqualord placed a curious seal on Chaos Dragon. Just before he was destroyed, he used a piece of his own soul, most likely using their similar draconic natures as a catalyst, to force the dying Chaos Dragon to reincarnate into a human body. But the spell apparently wasn’t perfect—and so, after countless reincarnations, Chaos Dragon eventually recovered his memories and abilities. All well and good, of course, except...”

Speaking as a human, I daresay that wasn’t “well and good” at all.

“Through the chain of reincarnations, that shard of Aqualord’s soul achieved its intended purpose as an intermediary and merged part of the revived Chaos Dragon’s spirit with his human host’s. Obviously, his demonic traits are fundamentally dominant, but his human traits interacted with them in an unexpected way that served to isolate him from Ruby-Eye’s control. He then actively began to oppose Ruby-Eye, and even dragged the subordinates he once created into his cause! Really, young people these days... What is one to do?”

“‘Young’?”

“Ah... merely a figure of speech. I’m sure Chaos Dragon simply thought that a traitor like him could not possibly survive if demonkind remained united under Lord Ruby-Eye. The only part of Ruby-Eye currently active is the Dark Lord of the North in the Kataart Mountains, and should anything happen to him... the demons, their lord lost, would simply begin to act in their own individual interests. That would increase Chaos Dragon’s own chances for survival. I expect that’s why he’s trying to rally the humans, dragons, and elves in an attack on the Kataart Mountains. He wishes to use the chaos to slay Ruby-Eye, still half-sealed by Aqualord and unable to bring his full powers to bear...”

“And yet you crushed those plans,” said a voice from behind us.

I hurriedly turned to see the knight in dragon armor standing there, naked blade in hand.

What, this guy again?

“Ohh... You’ve returned, Master Rashart,” Xellos said breezily.

“I can’t beat you myself with Sir Raltark gone... But I can at least finish off that girl,” Dragon General Rashart hissed, his hateful eyes locked on the Beast Priest.

“I see. I sympathize, to be sure, but I’m afraid—”

“Xellos!” Gourry shouted, interrupting him. As he did, I felt a new presence upon us.

“Ngh?!” Xellos whipped around, a rare note of panic in his voice.

Just then, a red flash appeared in thin air!

Vrm! Unable to dodge the strike fully, Xellos was parted from his arm at the shoulder!

What the—?! While I was still processing what had just happened, another swipe from the side cut through his stomach!

With a gasp, Xellos quickly drew back. It didn’t seem to be a fatal blow, but it brought him limply to one knee. Before his severed arm could hit the ground, it turned to black mist and disappeared.

“Xellos!” I ran over to him without thinking.

That strike had seemed to come from nowhere, just like those black drills Xellos used...

“Attacks from the astral side were your thing, weren’t they, Priest?” said a deep voice.

I turned to see an unfamiliar man standing there, as if to block my escape from Rashart. He looked about twenty years old. He was broad-chested, muscular, and clad in a coat the color of ivory. He carried a single-edged crimson longsword in his right hand, the spine of which was resting against his shoulder. He had a sort of unkempt handsomeness about him, but his face was plastered with a wide grin that bordered on wicked. His long red hair was blowing in the wind.

“It’s been quite some time...” Xellos muttered from the ground, “Chaos Dragon Gaav...”

Of course... Rashart had disappeared and then reappeared because he was calling this guy to the scene.

“It has been a while, eh? Since the Incarnation War, yeah?”

He sauntered up to the crumpled Xellos, walking right past me and Gourry on our guard, and continued to talk like he was catching up with an old friend. As a demon, Xellos didn’t shed a single drop of blood; there was just a pristine white cross-section where his arm had come off. Bloodless though the scene was, however, it was plainly obvious that our usually-cheerful friend was in a bad way.

“You’ve changed a great deal in the thousand years since I saw you last, Chaos Dragon...”

“Oh yeah? Was I a little more even-tempered in those days?”

“Quite the opposite... I think you were much quicker to anger back then.”

“Maybe so,” Gaav responded with a smile. “But you’re still the same Priest Xellos I used to know, aren’t you? Taking two hits from me and still kicking... I admit, that would’ve easily obliterated Rashart or Raltark.”

Rashart, who was standing farther down the road, naturally looked unhappy about that comment, but chose to keep his mouth shut.

“Nevertheless, this should keep you down and out for a while. Though you will recover...”

“I am aware... Injured this badly, I’m not sure I could beat even Rashart...”

“‘Even’?!”

“Still... I’m sorry to say it, but you’ve been a real thorn in my side,” Gaav continued, ignoring Rashart’s objection. “All those little schemes, then killing Raltark... I thought we were doing pretty well at the secrecy thing, sneaking around so we wouldn’t harm any humans or draw your attention. Losing Gyria City really hurt, you know. We were working especially hard there.”

“Oh, please!” I found myself shouting and pointing at Rashart. “He tore up the whole place just to try to kill me!”

Hearing this, Chaos Dragon scowled and looked over at me. “What are you talking about?”

“Ah, I see... You haven’t caught on,” Rashart said. “It was Xellos who razed Gyria.”

What...? Instantly dumbstruck, I turned my eyes on Xellos. He said not a word... just remained where he was on the ground with that same implacable smile on his face.

“B... But...”

“I’ll be clearer, girl,” Rashart said to me. “My job was to bring the Kingdom of Dils to heel, as well as win over the dragons and elves. Finishing you off was Sir Raltark’s duty. It’s true that I thought to take you out myself once I learned you were in the city... but I had no intention of doing so immediately.

“I wasn’t lying at the palace. I really did want you to give magic lessons to my soldiers, empowering them to deal damage to low-level demons. My thought was to kill you once you’d done that. But before I could even put my designs into motion, Xellos showed up, changed his voice and appearance, and tore the palace and city to shreds under the pretext of attacking you. Raising an army was impossible after that.

“Think about it, girl. Of course I knew you were a part of Hellmaster’s plot... but what kind of fool would I have to be to willingly sabotage my own plan—and a very important one at that—just to try to foil a complete unknown?”

Ahh...

“Xellos... you...” I whispered hoarsely, staring at him.

The Priest of the Beast remained silent.

So that was it... He’d simultaneously crushed Chaos Dragon’s army and framed Rashart for it, inflaming my rage against Gaav’s faction and making me all the easier to manipulate. I thought I was walking into this with eyes wide open, yet he’d still managed to go one better on me...

But if that was all part of his plan, then—

“Well, now you know the story,” Gaav said in the same friendly tone. And then...

Crack! He delivered a swift kick to Xellos’s chin.

“...I take back what I said,” Xellos said, picking himself up. “Your temper... is precisely as bad as it ever was...”

“Is it? Well, no matter.” Chaos Dragon pointed the tip of his shouldered sword at Xellos. “Time to come clean. What the hell is Fibrizo planning?”

“I’m afraid Lord Hellmaster hasn’t told me anything of his plan,” he said, repeating the same answer he’d given to Amelia.

But Gaav replied calmly, “I see. Let’s try asking this way, then. Has anyone besides Hellmaster—for instance, Greater Beast—told you the plan?”

“Huh?!” A small cry slipped my lips.

Dude was right... Xellos had never said he didn’t know the plan.

“How astute of you,” Xellos said with a weak smile. “You are correct... Greater Beast Zellas Metallium told me the details of the plan. Our objective is...”

“Is what?” Gaav parroted.

“A secret,” Xellos answered with a grin.

And with that... he disappeared without a trace.

“He’s escaped?!” Rashart cried out in shock.

“Pursue him, Rashart,” Gaav said, remaining calm. “I’ll follow soon after. Although, in his current condition, you can likely beat him yourself.”

“Sir!” Rashart responded, then disappeared too.

“Now, let’s see...” Gaav whispered, now slowly turning toward me.

I took a big step backward. There was no doubt in my mind what his next move was.

He’s going to kill me.

“I still don’t know what Hellmaster’s up to... But I need you dead, whatever it is,” he said, spitting out the exact line I’d been expecting. “Partly to crush Hellmaster’s plan, but also as payback for all you’ve put us through.”

“I won’t let you do that,” Gourry responded. He readied the Sword of Light in his right hand, slowly moving forward to step between us.

“Ohh... you have Gorun Nova! Very cool,” Gaav said, like a child who’d just seen an interesting toy.

Gorun Nova... Wasn’t that what the Claire Bible had called the Sword of Light?

“But let me warn you: there’s no way a human can beat me with that. No point in risking your life on a losing battle, is there?”

“I’m her guardian,” Gourry said, even smiling. “Self-declared, of course. But even so... a self-declared guardian is still a guardian. I can’t just stand back and watch you kill her.”

“Same here.” This came from Zelgadis, who spoke up in a hoarse voice. He must not have been completely healed yet, because his footsteps were unsteady. Still, his eyes were locked on Gaav. “I’m no guardian—just her companion. But I still won’t let you do this. Even though... in my current state, the best I can manage is probably a few attack spells...”

“Regardless, we’ll give it everything we’ve got!” came a cheerful voice from my other side.

“Amelia!”

All right! I don’t know when she’d woken up, but just like always, she had her chin up proudly, and she was pointing boldly at Gaav!

“I don’t know how tough you are, villain, but as long as we do our best, good will always triumph!”

Ohh! She was really back in business!

“Hey, Amelia! Are you okay?”

“Hah! A heart that loves justice can survive a little explosion or two!”

I guess she doesn’t remember being on death’s door back there...

“By the way, Lina, just who is this man?!”

Blam! Our heads all exploded at that. Even Chaos Dragon’s expression was strained as he turned his eyes in Amelia’s direction.

“H-Hey, Amelia! Don’t spew out Gourry-class stupidity at a time like this! When did you even wake up?!”

“Around the time he said, ‘I still don’t know what Hellmaster’s up to, but I need you dead.’ From that I intuited he was a villain, which triggered my justice rage!”

“Arrrgh! Okay, fine! This is Chaos Dragon Gaav! He just took out Xellos, who ran the hell away!”

“Chaos... Dragon?” Amelia frowned slightly. “Hah... You’re not how I imagined you at all! I figured you’d be cooler looking!”

“I’m no fan of all that bluster,” Gaav said in a calm tone that turned dry as he continued. “I could take a more monstrous form... but I like this one. Transforming into a monster wouldn’t make me any stronger, and you wouldn’t do me the decency of being intimidated... so it’s all a waste of effort.”

But Amelia, true to form, kept her finger on him and declared, “Regardless, you dragged the courts of Saillune and Dils into chaos and tried to kill Lina! You’re unquestionably evil!”

“Don’t make me laugh,” Gaav replied with a snort. “Good and evil have nothing to do with this. I’m just doing what I have to to survive.”

“So you harm innocent people and sow chaos across the land merely to serve your own ends?! What is that if not evil?!”

“All right, then let me ask you this... To save her own life, Lina over there is willingly serving Hellmaster despite knowing it will bring chaos into the world. Doesn’t that make her evil too? And as her companion, aren’t you evil by association?” Gaav asked mockingly.

“Guh?!” This took Amelia’s breath away.

“What’s wrong with fighting to survive? Or should I be like those idiots in the Kataart Mountains whose only purpose in life is to destroy everything, including themselves? Hmm?”

“Destroy everything?!” Amelia echoed.

“Yeah. Demons want to destroy the world, then destroy themselves, and return everything to chaos. It’s what they were originally created for.”

Of course... That’s right.

“A thousand years ago, I thought the same way they did. But after dying and being reborn inside a human body over and over again, I started to change my mind. I can’t stay with the Kataart bastards anymore. True, I could just keep running from them, but... if something happens to revive the other Ruby-Eye fragments, I’ll be destroyed along with the rest of the world sooner or later.

“That leaves me only one option: attack and destroy the Ruby-Eye fragments one by one myself, starting with the Dark Lord of the North in Kataart.” There, Gaav turned to face me again. “Destroy Ruby-Eye to survive, crush the plans of Hellmaster to survive, kill you to survive... That’s what it all comes down to. I’m fighting to survive—I’m like you, in a way.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid like ask for you to let me kill you... Resist all you like and try your best to stay alive. Your allies are free to help,” he said, slowly readying the sword in his right hand.

“Then prepare yourself!” Amelia shouted and began chanting a spell.

It was... a Ra Tilt, the ultimate shamanistic spell usable by humans! It had power enough to take out most demons in one hit, but this was Chaos Dragon... How much effect would it really have against him?

Eventually, she finished her chant, and... Fwee! A sound like a whistle came from Gaav’s mouth.

“Ra Tilt!”

Amelia unleashed a blue pillar that temporarily consumed Gaav’s body, and then... Kringgg! With a piercing sound, the blue pillar shattered!

“What?!” Amelia gasped, her jaw dropping in shock.

Yep, figured as much... Except this was no time to act smug.

“A straight-on hit from a spell like that is no worse than getting nipped by a kitten... But it would still hurt, so I decided to block it.”

His casual description rendered Amelia speechless.

“Gorun Nova, in human hands, wouldn’t do much damage either. About the only one of your kind who’d stand a chance would be that Knight of Ceifeed I’ve heard so much about.”

Oh?

“She’s busy waiting tables, actually...” I said.

But Gaav ignored me, perhaps assuming I was talking nonsense. Well, fine, whatever. At any rate, I decided...

“Gourry! Let’s go!”

“Right!”

Realizing what I was trying to do, Gourry nodded and readied the Sword of Light. As for me, I started working on a chant.

“Dragon Slave?” Gaav scowled a little in mockery. “That won’t work either, just so you know.”

I was sure it wouldn’t... if I hit him with it directly, that is.

Chaos Dragon made that whistling sound again, which I assumed was a defensive spell.

“Dragon Slave!”

Fwsh! As I called forth my spell, the blade in Gourry’s hand took on a red gleam!

“Oh?!”

Half surprised and half amused, Gaav took a defensive stance for the first time. The fact that he wasn’t aware of our little trick suggested that Rashart hadn’t shared the details of Raltark’s demise.

“You can do that, eh? Interesting! I was thinking of killing you offhandedly with an attack from the astral plane... but this makes things a lot more fun!” he remarked in a voice that sounded delighted rather than scared. He then turned to face Gourry. “Well... let’s go.”

There, he sprang into a dash. This guy was fast!

“Whew!” Gourry managed to block an upward slash followed by a thrust.

Clink! Clash! Each time the ruby Sword of Light blocked a strike from Gaav’s own crimson blade, it released shockwaves and sparks of red plasma. It was a sign my spell on the sword was losing power. Meanwhile, there wasn’t a single nick on Chaos Dragon’s blade. Gaav and Gourry seemed about even skill-wise, but Gourry was at a clear disadvantage—the Sword of Light would eventually go out.

That meant I just had to finish things before then. I was the only one who stood any chance of dealing real damage to Chaos Dragon. But now that I knew its true form, I felt even more hesitant to use that...

Still, I couldn’t just let Gourry die.

Okay, okay, just do it! There’s no chance of it going out of control in this form!

As with a Fireball, I held my palms in front of my chest, a little ways apart. Next, I recited the amplification chant. Responding to the chaos words from my lips, the four Demon Blood talismans on my wrists, belt, and necklace let out pale light in different colors. Then I raised my right hand high to the sky and began the spell...

Fragment of the Lord of Nightmares

Blade forged of the freezing black void,

Be released from thy worldly seal

Become mine, become part of me

Let us mete destruction as one

Smash even the souls of the gods...

“What?!” Chaos Dragon bellowed in surprise when he heard my incantation. Gourry sliced at him without missing a beat, but all his blade did was put a light scratch on Gaav’s chest.

I’d made some adjustments to the chant based on the knowledge I’d gained from the Claire Bible and my own speculation. Yup. This was the perfected form of...

“Ragna Blade!”

Vrummmmm!

The very air itself seemed to tremble as a blade of pure void manifested in my right hand!

“Ngh!” I couldn’t help but let out a groan. The power was... incredible! Even more than before! I couldn’t believe how intense it was!

Of course, that made the burden on me all the greater. It was taking all of my stamina and spiritual power just to keep the blade under control. I wouldn’t last long like this!

“Hyah!”

I ran with all my might and slashed at Gaav, who was still shaken by the sight! He readied his red blade to parry me. The moment I swung my black sword, everything went hazy for a second.

Is the depletion that insane?! Just as I thought that, the sword began to go wild. As my strength left me, I brought the black blade down...

And felt nothing.

The black blade simply fell, soundless and sensationless, cutting through Chaos Dragon Gaav’s crimson sword—right along with his arm.

“Graaah!” he cried in agony.

But I was at my limit. The black blade returned to the void, and I fell to my knees in disappointment.

Hahh, hahh, hahh... My breath came heavy and ragged. I was drenched in sweat from head to toe. The upkeep on the spell had been far more taxing than I’d imagined. I had almost no stamina or spiritual power left.

“Gourry!” I called hoarsely, mustering the last bit of my strength.

“Right!”

Heeding my call, he sliced at Gaav—and Gaav let out a roar!

“Raaah!”

His spirit flared up, channeling into a shockwave that blasted both me and Gourry backward!

“Erk!” I went rolling limply across the ground. I tried to straighten up, but my body felt weak.

I looked up to find Gaav walking slowly toward me... I could see what remained of his severed right arm being eaten away by something black, little by little.

“I will kill you!” Chaos Dragon howled, his red hair rippling.

And then, the next instant...

A death rattle echoed across Dragons’ Peak—coming from Chaos Dragon Gaav!

(To be continued!)