Slayers - Volume 8 - Chapter 2

2: General Rashart Stands in Our Way

“Hsshah!” With a snakelike hiss, Rashart slashed downward with his blade. We were far outside his reach, so it shouldn’t have hit anything, but...

Vreew! Something like a shock wave produced by the swing cut through the air toward us! The three of us quickly leaped away as it blew past and disappeared against a brick building behind us. There was no sign of damage to the wall, but that didn’t mean the attack was harmless to humans.

Welp, time to fight back! I unleashed the spell I’d finished chanting: “Dam Blas!”

This one converted magical power into a wave of vibration to pulverize a target. Obviously, it couldn’t damage pure demons—let alone one as powerful as Rashart—due to their fundamentally spiritual nature. But I wasn’t aiming for the General of the Dragon. Nope! I was going for a nearby brick wall!

In all honesty, I had a grand total of two spells that could potentially defeat General Rashart. One was Ragna Blade, which had even taken a chunk out of Chaos Dragon Gaav. But because it manifested as a sword, I’d have to get close and physically hit him with it for it to work. And if I brandished it out here, he could float up out of my range and play keep-away as long as he wanted. I’d be burning up my own magic power for nothing.

So to avoid that, I was gonna bust through the closest wall to make it look like I was escaping. And then when he came after me, I’d nail him with my Ragna Blade in the confined indoor space! Or such was my plan, anyway.

But my Dam Blas smashed into the wall... and that was it. A spell that should’ve turned solid rock to powder didn’t so much as crack the bricks.

“What?!” I shouted in shock.

“It’s no use, Lina Inverse! You still haven’t caught on? You’re already inside my barrier! None of your attack spells can affect the city environment! You’re trapped!” Rashart said mockingly.

Of course... he’s gonna keep us here until it’s over, one way or another.

But to take another perspective on the situation, that also meant I could Dragon Slave the whole area without causing any damage to the city. Of course, there was still a question of whether we’d escape unscathed...

While I was thinking through all that, Amelia completed her spell: “Ra Tilt!”

Yet the moment before she unleashed it, I saw a slight ripple go through Rashart’s body. He was bathed in the pillar of pale blue flame all the same... and then appeared to shatter within the azure light!

“Did I do it?!” Amelia called out uncertainly.

Unfortunately not! The air behind her contorted and Rashart appeared, his sword heaved aloft! He’d left a fragment of his spiritual form behind as a decoy while he blinked through space—a trick I’d seen another demon use in the past. Rashart took aim at Amelia, and...

“Ra Tilt!”

This one came from Zel. He must not have seen it coming, because the Dragon General was truly doused in flame this time!

“Graaah!”

Rashart let out a howl of rage. But... that was all. Amelia sprang back from where she stood, and almost simultaneously, the pillar of blue light fizzled out of existence.

“Impudent brat!” Rashart roared, his face twisted with rage as he released another shock wave from his sword.

Zel easily dodged it. But just then, the air near him warped and the white demon Mordirag appeared—right behind him!

“What?!” He didn’t even have time to regain his balance after dodging before Mordirag hit him head-on with a magical arrow! “Gah!”

It knocked poor Zel straight to the ground. He’d clearly survived the strike, but if I didn’t finish this up fast, things might really start to go pear-shaped. Time to focus on Mordirag, who I at least stood a chance against!

“Ragna Blast!” I incanted.

The split second I released the spell, the white demon vanished into thin air. My magical pillar unleashed its dark plasma on nothing.

Mordirag had disappeared a little too quickly to be fleeing my attack... She’d probably decided on a hit-and-run strategy in advance. I had to say, that was going to be a real pain in the ass for us. Where would she next appear? When? And who would she be going after?

The fact that this was all up in the air made it almost impossible to anticipate where she’d strike next, and catching her with a spell would require committing to a chant in advance. In other words, dealing with Mordirag was going to be tough. We might stand a chance with Gourry’s Sword of Light, but there was no point in lamenting what we didn’t have... This just meant my only option was to take out Rashart with a Ragna Blade!

And if that was the case, then it was time to put the plan into action! No room for hesitation! Using the power of my amplification talismans, I began chanting my spell...

Blade forged of the freezing black void,

Be released under heaven’s seal

Become mine, become part of me

Let us mete destruction as one

Smash even the souls of the gods...

It was Ragna Blade—although the imperfect version. The perfected one would certainly have more power, but it would exhaust me that much faster. If I missed the first strike, I wouldn’t get a second. This one would still drain me pretty quickly, but I could keep it up a little longer and it should still pack quite a punch.

I dashed at Rashart, and...

“Hrngh?!” By the time he realized what I was doing and turned toward me, I was already up in his face!

“Ragna Blade!” I cried, activating the spell at close range! In my readied hands, a blade of pure darkness appeared! I immediately slashed at Rashart, but...

“Tch!” With no more than a click of his tongue, he leaped to the side and evaded my strike.

Was Rashart faster than I thought?! Given our proximity, I had assumed he would parry. I never dreamed he’d be able to dodge it... As if wary of my dark blade, Rashart quickly backed away from me.

Argh, okay! Time for experiment number one! With my Ragna Blade still active, I ran past where Rashart was standing and sliced into a brick wall.

Vrum! Yes! It worked! The wall protected by Rashart’s barrier effortlessly gave way under my black blade!

“No!” Rashart shouted in shock.

All right! Keep it up! With a little fancy bladework, I cut open a hole just large enough for a person to pass through. What was I doing, you ask? What else? I was falling back on my original plan—leading Rashart indoors to challenge him blade to blade!

That said, I was already feeling the draining effects of my spell. Keeping the incomplete Ragna Blade active, even for this short a time, was taking everything I had.

Still, I have to try! Yet just as I thought that...

Rashart leaped back, putting a great distance between us and him.

“You broke through my barrier, but no matter... we’ll settle this next time!” he shouted, then disappeared into thin air without waiting for a response.

“Huh?” Amelia scowled at his extremely abrupt departure.

“Did he really leave? Or is he just making it look that way?” Zelgadis asked, hauling himself to his feet and carefully scanning the area for a hidden Rashart.

But none of us could sense another presence anywhere nearby.

“I think he’s really gone,” I whispered, then finally let myself breathe easy.

“Hmm...” I grumbled, poking at my wine-braised lamb with a knife and fork. It wasn’t that the food was bad. It wasn’t the best thing I’d ever eaten, but it was perfectly palatable. I just had something on my mind. It had now been three days since the attack in Ruald City. Rashart hadn’t come after us again since, and we’d finally crossed the border into the Empire of Lyzeille.

“What’s the matter, Lina?” Amelia asked, prompted by my grumbling, as she packed in her own share of wine-steamed lobster in cream sauce.

“Well... it’s just... I’ve been mulling over a few things,” I said, noshing a bite of a carrot garnish.

“Things?”

“Yeah. Rashart withdrew in Ruald City pretty readily after I broke through his barrier. It was weird.”

“He’s always been like that, though,” Amelia replied, popping a potato into her mouth. “Remember? He doesn’t want to get innocent people hurt.”

“Yeah, I know... I’m just trying to figure out why that is,” I whispered, a wrinkle forming on my brow.

Amelia and Zel shot me curious glances, clearly puzzled as to why this was suddenly a concern.

“To get the dragons and elves on their side, right? Their way of saying, ‘We’re not like those Kataart bastards,’” Zel put forward.

“And to help stay under the radar,” Amelia added. “They were afraid Hellmaster and his lot would catch on to them if they made too much noise. Although it turned out that was for naught.”

“Right...” I nodded absently in response. Those were indeed the most likely reasons the Chaos Dragon faction had been so careful to avoid collateral damage. I understood that much. But—

“Mistress Lina?!” someone suddenly called out from the entrance to the restaurant.

Huh? That sounds like... I turned around in surprise and saw a familiar figure. It was a girl of about twenty with long, silky black hair and pale purple vestments.

“Sylphiel?!”

Indeed, this was the cleric we’d met in Sairaag and later accompanied to Saillune. The last time I saw her, she’d fainted from the dream-crushing trauma of meeting Sir Phil and finding out what he was really like... But, naturally, she would’ve had to wake up eventually.

“What’s up, Sylphiel? What are you doing here?” I asked her as she made her way past the tables to approach us.

“I’ve heard stories of bandit gangs being destroyed throughout the area, and when I arrived in the city, there were rumors of a flat-chested sorceress gobbling her way through the menu at this inn. So I thought...”

Is she trying to start something? Sylphiel was a stunning beauty who spoke with utmost politeness all the time, but damn if she didn’t have a nasty streak.

“I’m not talking about that! I’m asking what you’re doing here in Lyzeille!”

“Ah, well, first...” Sylphiel turned to face Zelgadis. “It’s been quite some time. Thank you for all your assistance back in Sairaag.”

“Sure. I’m not good at pleasantries, but... I’m glad you seem to be doing okay.”

“I am, thank you,” she said, now turning to Amelia. “And who might this be?”

“Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune,” Amelia said, standing up and bowing politely.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sylphiel Nells Ruda—” Sylphiel started, and then her smile froze on her face. “Amelia Wil Tesla... Saillune?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“That’s right,” Amelia said.

I leaned over to whisper into Sylphiel’s ear, “She’s the daughter of your beloved Prince Philionel.”

“Noooooo! Don’t say thaaat! Don’t remiiind me!” Sylphiel screamed, clutching her head and sobbing.

Seemed she was still pretty traumatized. I totally understood how she felt, of course. I was more or less desensitized to it by now, but calling that oaf a prince still gave me the willies.

Zelgadis, who hadn’t met Sir Phil for himself, and Amelia, who had grown up with the guy, were kinda left out in the cold by our little exchange.

“I-Incidentally,” Sylphiel said, recovering with some effort and looking straight at me, “it appears that Sir Gourry is not with you...”

Urrrgh! That’s right... She was kinda sweet on Gourry, wasn’t she?

“Don’t tell me...” With that, she drew closer, and I instinctively scooted back in my chair. “Don’t tell me, Mistress Lina... that you sold him off!”

“Of course not!”

“Then did you steal the Sword of Light and abandon him by the roadside?!”

“Just what do you take me for?!”

“Then tell me what happened to Sir Gourry!”

“H-He’s, uh...”

“Where is he?!”

“Well, shucks, see... the ol’ lug went and got himself kidnapped by Hellmaster Fibrizo... teehee!”

A short second later...

“Ooh...” Sylphiel fainted dead away. “But this is no time for fainting, is it?” Yet she revived with remarkable speed and took a seat next to me. Her knees were trembling a little bit though, so she didn’t seem entirely recovered. “May I ask exactly what transpired?”

Zel, Amelia, and I all shared a glance. The circumstances were easy enough to explain, but doing so would mean dragging Sylphiel into the middle of things. Still, realistically, I’d already mentioned Hellmaster’s name. Moreover, I wasn’t sure the “I can’t tell you because it would get you mixed up in this” approach would be enough to convince Sylphiel to stay away.

“Let’s see...” After a moment’s thought, I let out a sigh. “Okay, before I tell you, I need to be sure of one thing. We’re caught up in some pretty serious business. Telling you means you’ll be involved one way or another. I mean, I guess you sticking your head in the dirt might still be an option, but... Well, anyway, you still want to hear it?”

“Yes,” she said, immediately and without hesitation.

“Okay. Here goes...”

And so I gave her a quick rundown of recent events. With Xellos. With Chaos Dragon. With the Claire Bible. With Hellmaster. With Gourry getting kidnapped. How we were on our way to Sairaag after him. And how the surviving member of the Gaav faction, General Rashart, was now trying to kill me.

A long minute after I finished my story...

“I see...” Sylphiel whispered softly. Her tone was calm, but I could tell that she was trying to suppress some internal shock. “In other words... he took Sir Gourry away to call you to Sairaag?”

“That’s... what it boils down to, yeah,” I admitted. My survival instincts had me scooting away from her a little.

“I see, I see...” But she just kept repeating those words as if working something out in her mind.

“Um... Sylphiel?” I prompted.

At this, she finally looked up at me and immediately changed the subject: “That’s right... I haven’t told you yet why I’m here.”

“R-Right...”

Ignoring my slight bewilderment, she began her tale: “I’ve been staying with my uncle, a magical doctor in Saillune City, and working as his assistant. One day, a patient of ours came in with a curious story. This man is a traveling merchant, you see, and he told us that when he last passed through Sairaag some time ago... the large tree was gone. He wasn’t sure what had happened to it.”

“Wait, Flagoon’s gone?” I said, frowning thoughtfully at Sylphiel’s words.

Flagoon was a great tree that stood at the heart of Sairaag City, absorbing ambient miasma in order to grow. Now that Sairaag had been destroyed again, it should be the only thing standing in the middle of a desolate wasteland, but...

“Do you mean, like... it fell? Or someone cut it down?” I asked.

But Sylphiel shook her head and replied, “No. He said it was quite literally missing.”

Missing? Are you kidding me? Flagoon was... well, not quite as big as a mountain, but at least as big as a sizable hill. Its trunk was as broad as a city block in places. How could something so huge just up and vanish?

“I too thought it was strange, so pressed him for more details, but...”

“But what?”

“His answers merely confused me more,” she said quietly. “The more I asked, the less anything he said made sense. And when I voiced my concerns and asked him for clarification... he said that the city of Sairaag was there.”

“Huh?” I stopped my cup of tea halfway to my mouth, baffled by her words. “The city was there? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, apparently. That Sairaag was present and full of people, as though it had never been destroyed. Flagoon alone was missing.”

“Huh...” I whispered thoughtfully, my brows knitted.

I could say with absolute certainty that Sairaag was a former city. Zel, Sylphiel, and I had seen it laid waste with our own eyes. That was only about half a year ago, and you didn’t go from “barren wasteland” to “functioning metropolis” in that kind of time. The part about Flagoon being missing just made it all the weirder.

“You’re sure he didn’t have it confused with some other city?” Amelia asked in the silence. “Even I know about the big tree in the middle of Sairaag. I also know that the city was destroyed by some unknown force recently... There’s no way it could have bounced back already.”

“Destroyed by some unknown force”?

“Oh...” Zel and I said at the same time, instinctively exchanging a glance. Now that I thought about it, we’d never filled Amelia in on the whole Sairaag incident, had we?

“What is it?” she asked, confused.

“Ah, nothing. We’ll explain later,” Zel replied, hastily waving his hand before turning to Sylphiel. “For now... are you indeed sure the man wasn’t simply mistaken?”

“I thought he might be, so I later stopped by a bar that’s popular with travelers to ask around... Their stories only deepened the mystery. Those who’d been through Sairaag recently all said the same thing our patient had. But those who’d passed through longer ago said that there was no city, just a large tree in the middle of a wasteland. In other words, something seems to have changed at a definitive point in time.”

Hmm... curious indeed.

“Now, if these stories are true... what’s going on?” I asked.

“I fear I don’t know,” Sylphiel said firmly. “That’s why I’m on my way to see for myself.”

“Really? You’re still planning to go to Sairaag after everything I just told you?”

“Of course. I cannot simply turn back knowing that Sir Gourry is a prisoner there. That said...” There, she trailed off briefly as she fell into thought. “I intend to go alone ahead of you.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Because I wish to save Sir Gourry myself.”

“No way!” Amelia, Zel, and I all shouted in perfect harmony.

“This is Hellmaster Fibrizo we’re dealing with! Evil incarnate! Master of destruction! Sworn enemy of all creation! You can’t fight him alone!” Amelia declared.

“I am aware that it is a fruitless endeavor,” Sylphiel responded calmly. “But if Mistress Lina reaches Hellmaster, the consequences will be calamitous. His schemes place the whole world at risk.” She cast a meaningful glance in my direction, apparently having put together what Fibrizo was plotting. “Still, I cannot ask you not to go, nor would I expect you to listen to me... So wouldn’t the ideal solution be for someone else to save Sir Gourry first? Setting aside the likelihood of their success.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that, but still...”

“I will not deny that it terrifies me to be the lone member of the vanguard. But, Mistress Lina, as long as the remnants of the Chaos Dragon faction are after you, I cannot divert numbers from your side. That necessarily means that the best possible plan is for me to go alone.”

“Well, maybe, but isn’t it a little too risky?”

“Do you know of a less risky plan, Mistress Lina?”

“Urgh...”

She had me there. We were already on our way to Sairaag to rescue Gourry ourselves, so we weren’t really in a position to lecture her about risk-taking. Even if we couldn’t defeat Hellmaster, I’d still have to come up with a way to outsmart him and get out alive...

That said, I’d learned of one surefire way to get his goat. The golden dragon elder Milgazia had mentioned it when we were leaving Dragons’ Peak: “Maybe I should kill you now while I have the chance.” And he had a point. My death would bring Hellmaster’s plans to a grinding halt. But Milgazia didn’t go through with it because he said that’s how demons like Chaos Dragon Gaav behaved. In the end, he chose to remain on Dragons’ Peak rather than get involved, and said goodbye with some cool line about leaving the world in my hands.

Still, there was no guarantee that me prematurely kicking the bucket would ensure Gourry’s safety. Plus, even if it foiled his plan, Fibrizo might decide that killing Chaos Dragon was good enough and still chalk it up as a win. And most importantly, I really didn’t want to die just yet.

So we’d just kept heading for Sairaag without any real strategy in mind. It was true that Sylphiel’s plan was better than no plan at all, but there was no way around the tremendous danger it posed to her.

“You needn’t worry about me. I have no death wish. I know that I will be fighting Hellmaster, yet I do not intend to act recklessly. But I should clarify... I am not asking for your approval of my mission. I am merely informing you of it.”

“In other words... it’s pointless to try and stop you?” Zel asked.

“Precisely,” Sylphiel replied with a firm nod.

Later that night, after we’d split up into our own rooms at the inn, there came a knock at my door. I’d just removed my cape and pauldrons to get some shut-eye when I heard it.

“Mistress Lina, are you awake?” came Sylphiel’s voice from the hall.

“Yeah, I’m up,” I responded as I unbolted the door.

The beautiful cleric was on the other side, her expression terribly serious. She greeted me with, “There is a matter I wish to discuss with you. May I?”

“Um... sure, yeah. What’s up?”

She entered and silently closed the door behind her, then took a seat on the cheap chair in the room. I sat down on the bed across from her.

“Allow me to ask you this bluntly,” she said, peering straight into my eyes. “What do you think of Sir Gourry?”

“That he’s a jelly-brained sword geek.”

My answer was instant, and it struck Sylphiel dumb for some reason.

“That isn’t what I meant,” she said after a moment. “I mean to ask if you like him or not!”

“Oh, well... I wouldn’t be traveling with him if I didn’t like him. I’d have cold-cocked him and rummaged through his pockets ages ago.”

For some reason, this caused Sylphiel’s eyes to glaze over. She heaved a deep sigh before responding, “Very well... Allow me to ask another way. When we journeyed together from Sairaag to Saillune City, I asked you why you were traveling with him. At the time, you said it was because you desired the Sword of Light for yourself. But now it seems the Sword of Light is a demonic entity, and you are unlikely to retrieve it from Hellmaster. So even if we are able to best Hellmaster and save Sir Gourry... will you not lose your reason for traveling with him?”

“Huh...”

Girl had a point. I’d been so focused on Hellmaster that I’d never even thought about it, but she was totally right. The Sword of Light wasn’t coming back, and even if it did, Gourry wasn’t gonna let me swipe... er, I mean, borrow it from him on a permanent basis.

“Yeah... I guess we wouldn’t have any reason to stick together in that case, but...” I said, folding my arms pensively.

For some reason, a pained smile appeared on Sylphiel’s face as she asked, “Could it be... that you’re trying to think of a reason to remain by his side?”

“Huh?”

“If so... then why? Why is it that you’re searching for a reason?” she asked me, still pained.

I, uh, didn’t really have an answer. I mean, it was a good question, okay?!

“I see.” I wasn’t sure what it was that she “saw” exactly, but Sylphiel rose to her feet, her expression unchanged. “I will depart the inn early tomorrow. I promise to find a way to save Sir Gourry.”

I was still dumbstruck.

“Goodnight, Mistress Lina,” she said, then exited the room.

She left me alone with an unexplainable, strangely uneasy feeling in my chest.

“So she really went for it, huh?” Amelia whispered as we walked a road that cut through a field, bathed in the gentle light of early day. Sylphiel was already gone by the time we got up that morning. “I sure hope she doesn’t do anything too reckless...”

“Well, she said she’d be careful. At the very least, doing things this way means she won’t get dragged into our fight with Rashart the next time he attacks. So it’s for the best, right?” I offered.

“But from the way she was talking... she’s in love with Master Gourry, isn’t she?” Amelia responded nervously despite my cavalier tone.

“Huh. Pretty good catch from such a brief acquaintance.”

“I mean, it was sorta obvious... But even if she doesn’t intend to do anything stupid, once she actually has Gourry right in front of her, she might act without thinking.”

Urgh, that was... unfortunately possible. Sylphiel was especially inclined to impulsiveness. But even if we rushed to catch up to her now, she’d be doing her best to stay ahead of us and get to Sairaag first. Gosh, we were running into problems left and right... and now there was another one right in front of us.

We all stopped in our tracks.

Fwsssh... The wind blew through the green grass.

We were the only ones on the road, which stretched on straight into an endless blue horizon. Since there’d been mountains in the distance until a little while ago, I figured we had to be trapped in some kind of spell.

“One of Rashart’s barriers!” Amelia said as she carefully scanned the area.

I couldn’t see anything other than a flat plain of grass grown as high as my chest. And all of a sudden...

Fwshfwshfwsh! A large ripple moved through the grass to our right like an oversized beast was tearing through it. Whatever it was was cutting a chaotic path, but it was definitely headed our way.

“Incoming!” Zelgadis called out, and suddenly the undulation stopped.

At the exact same time, I felt a hostile presence behind us. Was the movement in the grass just a feint?! While chanting spells under our breath, all three of us leaped in separate directions. Not a second later, a flash came at us from behind, burning the very wind in its path. I turned back to face its source... and saw nothing but more grass swaying in the wind. The malice I’d felt before was now completely gone.

Had it... blinked away? The moment I thought that, I felt the hostility again. It was behind me—in the same direction the grass had been moving before. I reflexively moved away, then turned back to see...

Vwush! A spear of light pierced through the grass, heading straight for a startled Amelia! She dodged immediately, but earned herself a scorched lock of hair for the trouble. The streak of light then disappeared into the blue sky beyond.

It had come from within the grass. I’d felt a hostile presence there before, but I now saw and felt nothing. I would’ve caught a glimpse of it if it had teleported, and there was no other sign of anything hiding in the grass either.

Wait, could it be... I began chanting a spell.

Rays of light continued to fly at us, cutting through the grass here and there. Amelia and Zel both had spells at the ready, but being unable to see their opponent forced them to focus on dodging.

And then... I finished my spell: “Zellas Bullid!”

A beam of light streaked from my fingertips and changed its path through the air in accordance with my will. It struck through some of the green ground in one section of the grass!

Graaah! A scream echoed inside my very mind. There was a split-second warping in the scenery around us... And then the view returned to normal, distant mountains and all. Indeed, the barrier was broken.

“That barrier... The ground, the entire world within was the demon, right, General Rashart?” I asked, turning to the enemy I expected to see.

“Indeed, it was me,” said a voice as Rashart appeared from a ripple in the air. He was wearing his trademark deep red armor. “Well solved. I thought it would give you more trouble than that...”

The lack of bravado in his voice suggested that my blow had done a number on him. But even if it had been in barrier form, the idea that I’d been inside this dude for a little while kinda skeeved me out.

“No matter... I’ll just have to fight you face-to-face!” he declared, drawing his sword in one smooth stroke.

Right on cue, Amelia unleashed her spell: “Ra Tilt!”

“Useless!” Rashart barked, sweeping his sword upward and slicing vertically through the blue pillar of flame!

Without missing a beat, Zel fired one of his own: “Ra Tilt!”

This time, Rashart’s body was shrouded in azure light proper!

“Graaah!”

His screams echoed around us, but that one strike wouldn’t be enough to defeat him. Amelia quickly fired off another Ra Tilt—just as a second malicious presence appeared behind us!

Mordirag?!

Too bad for her I was expecting this kind of sneak attack now. I turned around and let fly the spell I’d meant for Rashart.

“Gaav Flare!”

A tongue of magical flame sprang from my extended right palm and leaped at the white demon—or so it should have. But the key words of power meant to activate the spell just drifted uselessly away on the wind...

What? My spell didn’t work?! My incantation, my gestures, and my mental control were all flawless. So why...

While my words echoed emptily, Mordirag fired several spears of light in Amelia’s direction. Fortunately, she dodged them all with ease.

For real though, why hadn’t my spell activated? Rashart hadn’t sealed my magic while I was in his barrier space the way Mazenda had once, had he? This called for a quick experiment! Thus I laid into a Dragon Slave chant.

Right around that time, Amelia finished her incantation and released a Ra Tilt on Mordirag.

“Roooooh!” But one howl from Rashart easily shattered it.

Without missing a beat, Zelgadis fired another Ra Tilt at Mordirag.

“You’ll never succeed!” Rashart snorted.

Nevertheless, Zel let his spell fly. Rashart roared again to protect Mordirag, but... Fwoom! Rather than the white demon, the blue pillar of light engulfed Rashart himself!

“Whaaat?!” he cried out in surprise.

Oh, of course. Zel had made it look like he was targeting Mordirag, but he’d gone for Rashart instead by sensing his location on instinct. Still, I doubted that blow would hurt the general any more than the last one had.

“Dragon Slave!” I shouted, firing off my own spell an instant later. A crimson light appeared from thin air, coalescing near Rashart.

Aha! It worked! But Rashart seemed to have been expecting this play, as he promptly cut through my crimson light with his magic sword. Tch! No dice, huh?

Still, the fact that I’d successfully used the spell meant my magic wasn’t sealed, at least.

What gives, then? I blinked as an idea flashed through my brain. Could it be?!

That would explain everything... But to see if my theory was right, I’d have to run another test! Thus I started working on a second Dragon Slave.

“Try it all you like, brat! It will never work!”

I easily dodged the shock wave Rashart produced from his sword, then finished my spell.

“Dragon Slave!”

Just as I let that fly...

“Ra Tilt!” Amelia incanted, firing her spell at Mordirag.

Nice! She’d intentionally staggered the timing so she’d hit her target at the same time! Rashart would now have to choose between abandoning Mordirag and eating a Dragon Slave himself to save the white demon. Except...

“Not so fast!” he roared, negating the blue pillar and crimson light at the same time!

Dude extinguished two completely different spells on two different targets simultaneously?! Damn... how could he handle all that? I guess his “Dragon General” title wasn’t just to be fancy.

Despite having already taken multiple Ra Tilts, he still seemed to be pretty light on his feet. But... how about this?!

“Dragon Slave!” I determinedly fired another spell at Rashart. As expected, he blocked it easily, but not to be dissuaded, I began chanting another one.

While I was cooking that up, obviously, Amelia and Zel were slinging spells of their own. Sometimes at Rashart, sometimes at Mordirag. And every single one was getting blocked.

This pattern kept up for a while, and then...

Okay, let’s try it!

“Dragon Slave!” I shouted, firing it for the umpteenth time. And after Rashart blocked this one too, I made a show of heaving my shoulders and breathing hard. “Ugh... my magic is...”

“What’s wrong, Lina Inverse?!” Rashart shouted triumphantly, perhaps having heard my whisper. “Did you use up all your magical power on that pointless spell? You fool!” he proclaimed, holding his sword aloft.

Amelia began chanting a Ra Tilt to try to save me, but just before she finished her incantation...

“Amelia! That way!” I shouted, pointing at the white demon behind me.

She quickly changed her target from Rashart to Mordirag accordingly. If my theory was indeed correct...

“Ra Tilt!”

This time, the pillar of blue flame successfully swallowed Mordirag’s body!

I knew it!

“Gruuuuungh!” With a groan like the howl of a dying beast, the white demon was consumed by the light.

“No! Mordirag!” Rashart cried regretfully. “Tch! I’ll get you for this someday!” he spat, then glared at Amelia as he disappeared into thin air... Just like I expected.

With the battle seemingly over, Amelia and Zel stood there suspiciously while I was grinning confidently.

“What’s going on here?” Zelgadis asked, casting a dubious glance my way after a period of silence. Amelia was also looking at me, clearly hoping for answers.

Their curiosity was understandable. The way Rashart and I had fought this time didn’t make any sense. I’d spent the last half of the fight mindlessly mashing the Dragon Slave button, and Rashart had failed to defend Mordirag at the most crucial moment.

“I think I found a way to defeat Rashart,” I said with a slight smirk.

The flagstone road went up and over a low hill. To my right was a small forest. Mountains were still visible in the distance, but other than that, it was fields of wheat all around. Once I crested the hill, I should catch my first glimpse of the city.

Bathed in the gentle afternoon sun, I continued up the road alone. Yes, you read that right. Alone.

See, I’d sent Amelia and Zel ahead to catch up with Sylphiel. I figured that would make things easier for me. They’d moved out the day after our last attack, and I’d spent the three days since on my own.

As I followed the deserted lane, I came to a sudden stop. I realized I’d passed this way before. That was back when Gourry and I were on our way to Sairaag, and we’d gotten ambushed right around here... Boy, was this place cursed or what?

“I can sense your hostility a mile away, my dear General. If this was supposed to be an ambush, I can’t give you a passing grade,” I whispered to the wind.

“I don’t see your little escort,” a voice replied from behind me.

I turned around, my cape streaming in the breeze, and laid eyes on the Dragon General. His vermillion armor stood out amongst all the greenery.

“I sent them to Sairaag ahead of me. It’s a little harder for us to cut loose with them around,” I said.

“Oho.” A broad smile appeared on Rashart’s face. “So you’ve made your peace with death, then?”

“The opposite. If I go all out, I’m more than enough to handle the likes of you.”

“You’re bluffing. But either way...”

“Yep! We should probably settle this,” I said. I then jumped back to get some distance and moved right into chanting a spell.

“Very well! Have at you!” Rashart held his left palm out, sending a whole mess of magic orbs flying at me!

I leaped to the side. A moment later, the orbs burst against the flagstones at my feet, leaving countless holes in the ground.

Okay! Let’s finish this now!

“Dragon Slave!”

“I told you that was pointless!” Rashart jeered.

Little did he know he wasn’t my target this time. The crimson light I summoned coalesced on the ground below him! Kra-koom! The subsequent explosion shook the air and rustled the grass. Obviously, that wouldn’t hurt a pure demon like Rashart. But I wasn’t done.

Before all the noise and reverberation died down, I charged at the general through the swirling dust, chanting my next spell as I ran. When I emerged on the other side, Rashart was practically right in front of me.

“Fool! Did you think you could blind me?!” he howled.

He then raised his sword to unleash another shock wave. He wanted me to dodge so he had a moment to regroup... but I wasn’t gonna give it to him!

I kept charging, picking up speed... and then closed my eyes!

“What?!” Rashart shouted in surprise.

If his shock wave had struck then, I would’ve been toast. But...

Vwnn! He released it after a moment’s hesitation, and it breezed past my right ear.

Just so we’re clear, it wasn’t that my unexpected behavior had thrown him off. It was that he couldn’t actually hit me.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Rashart standing before me, trembling with fear. But I didn’t hesitate to cast my spell!

“Ragna Blade!”

Vrum! The dark sword I conjured pierced straight through Rashart’s chest this time.

“You... How did you...”

“You’re just kind of a bad actor, I guess,” I said with a triumphant smile as he looked at me in agony. “Though I guess it’s not fair to compare you to Xellos and Fibrizo, General of the Dragon. Or should I use another name? Since you’re Hellmaster’s lapdog now and all.”

“What?!”

That’s right. Rashart wasn’t doing this to avenge Chaos Dragon. He was shadowing me on Fibrizo’s orders.

How’d I figure that out, you ask? There were too many things that felt off. If he’d really wanted to kill me to show up Hellmaster, there was no need to erect a barrier in Ruald and then make tracks when I busted it. With Chaos Dragon’s plans up in smoke, the easiest way for Rashart to take me out would’ve been to blast the town and flee the scene—collateral damage be damned.

Yet for some reason, any time I was cornered or low on magic power, he’d contrive some reason to bow out first. It was the same in our last fight too. When I was just about out of magic, he went as far as sacrificing Mordirag so that he’d have a reason to retreat. On top of that, he always waited a couple of days before reappearing—in other words, enough time for me to recover physically and magically.

Moreover, despite all his talk of wanting to kill me, whenever we did cross blades, he focused mostly on Amelia and Zel while throwing only perfunctory attacks my way. It took one lousy actor to put on a performance that bad.

But what had really convinced me of my theory was the simple fact that my Gaav Flare spell had failed. It drew upon the power of Chaos Dragon Gaav, so it fizzling meant the dude was toast. Granted, I didn’t know exactly what drove demons to serve other demons, but given that full demons like Rashart and Raltark were so devoted to Chaos Dragon Gaav that they’d turned on Ruby-Eye for him, it seemed that they were completely loyal to their progenitor. Chaos Dragon himself was the one exception to this pattern of behavior, thanks to the human will mixed up inside him.

So, all that being said... if Chaos Dragon Gaav really was gone for good, then who was Rashart serving now? The answer was simple. The king of all demons in our world—Dark Lord of the North, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu—and Hellmaster Fibrizo, his scheming second-in-command.

“Looks like I was right,” I whispered, sweeping the black blade to the side.

“Raaaaaaaaaaagh!” Rashart’s deathly cry shook the very air itself. His body then dissolved into countless red snowflakes, which scattered across the green field.

And with that, General Rashart, puppet first to Chaos Dragon Gaav and then to Hellmaster Fibrizo... finally met his unsung end.

Figuring out that he was now Hellmaster’s retainer had given me confidence that he wouldn’t kill me even if he tracked me down alone. That was why I’d sent Amelia and Zel ahead and faced the general on my own.

Despite that, I knew that if I used the Ragna Blade normally, he could easily dodge it. That was why I’d started off with a Dragon Slave to get in close and hide the spell I was chanting. Then by closing my eyes just as I reached him, I’d cast him into a moment of uncertainty. He’d intentionally missed me with the subsequent shock wave, hoping it would scare me off... but I’d taken full advantage of his hesitation and charged in to deal the killing blow.

Still, this made it crystal clear what Hellmaster was after once and for all. Why in the world would Hellmaster send Rashart after me like this? To drive me to the brink, of course. Too bad Rashart couldn’t sell the role.

However...

I turned my gaze back to the road up the hill. Beyond it lay Sairaag, the erstwhile City of the Dead. Waiting for me there... was Hellmaster himself.