1: The Time Has Come; Hellmaster Makes His Move

The Time Has Come; Hellmaster Makes His Move

There was a white hand. It was a … woman s hand, maybe? Just a single, thin, white hand.

“Wha—?” I breathed, too stunned to say anything useful. My eyes focused on that hand, my gaze so morbidly curious that the world could’ve fallen down around me and I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

The Ragna Blade attack I’d used on Chaos Dragon Gaav had sliced through both his crimson sword and his right arm. It was pretty successful, admittedly, but I was left with nada for magic energy; all I could do was look up at Gaav from my position sprawled on the ground. He’d been ready to take advantage of that fact, as he’d marched toward me with all the confidence of someone who couldn’t lose … until he’d suddenly screamed when a single, slender arm had emerged from his belly. You understand my surprise.

“Wha—?” Gaav like me, didn’t even get a full word out—but based on the look on his face, there was a good chance that it was hatred (and not blinding shock) that choked him off. He whipped his head around to look behind him.

“You!” he shrieked. “When did you … ?!”

The pain and malice in his voice finally made the situation clear. My blood ran cold.

Someone had thrust a bare hand through Chaos Dragon Gaav’s belly from behind. From the looks of it, it’d happened the instant Gaav had focused all his attention on me. It wasn’t anybody from my party, obviously. Normal spells couldn’t even scratch Gaav, so ripping through him like wrapping paper was a phenomenon reserved for someone as powerful as—

“I’ve been here,” a clear voice rang out from behind Gaav, “but it looks like nobody noticed but Xelloss.”

Two things struck me at once. One, the voice wasn’t a woman’s—it was from a kid. And two, the voice actually sounded familiar.

What the hell?

“It’s been a while, Lina Inverse.” A small head popped out from behind Gaav. A pair of eyes focused on me, and maybe through me, considering that I practically felt a chunk of my brain fall out at that moment.

A small yelp broke free of my dry throat. I knew that face. Black, wavy hair. A boy of about eleven or twelve who looked kinda like a girl.

It was the boy from Galia City, the one I’d met while trying to uncover Gaav’s plans. The little boy who’d died when Xelloss had burned down the city.

Without even thinking, and half aware of the truth as the words came out of my mouth, I managed to stutter, “Y-you’re supposed to be d-dead.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “No one said I was dead— you just assumed I was. Xelloss wasn’t lying when he said I had no heartbeat. I just don’t have a heart; it can’t beat if it’s not there, right?” The boy beamed, not looking guilty in the slightest.

My mind flew back to that moment in Galia City.

I had to admit that the situation was very like Xelloss—his specialty wasn’t lying, it was leaving out important details. The entire thing made a sickening amount of sense.

“Is that a little boy?!” Amelia suddenly squeaked from nearby.

Based on how broken her voice sounded, she was still having trouble comprehending what was going on.

The boy smiled at Amelia. “Sure,” he replied. “I’m in the form of a child, anyway. I can take any form I want, but this one is the most convenient. Humans are such interesting creatures … they let their guards down around children, which allows me to play all kinds of great tricks.”

I swallowed the bile rising in the back of my throat. “Then that’s why you never … gave me your name,” I murmured.

“And I still haven’t, have I?” The boy cleared his throat and made a small bow. When he looked up, I could see that his pupils were an empty void.

“I’m Phibrizzo,” he said calmly. “But you can call me Hellmaster.”

Hellmaster Phibrizzo. Hellmaster Phibrizzo.

Amelia, Zel, and even Milgazia were stupefied into silence, and I sure couldn’t think of anything to say. Really, what do you say to something like that?!

Gourry, who had apparently gotten up at some point, regripped the Sword of Light and glanced in my direction.

“So, is he famous or something?” he asked.

I didn’t even bother being surprised with Gourry’s now-predictable stupidity. He probably didn’t remember Phibrizzo’s name because it had too many letters in it.

Phibrizzo shrugged, apparently not bothered by the comment.

“I’m famous in some places,” he admitted, “but not really among people.”

That’s a way to put it!

Gourry nodded knowingly. “I get it,” he said, pointing the Sword of Light in front of him. He was facing Gaav, but I’m pretty he’d shifted his target to Phibrizzo.

I gritted my teeth. When that little urchin kid had “died” at Galia City, I’d blamed Chaos Dragon and his cronies. I’d been really, honestly angry.

Xelloss had known that kind of instigation would get me dancing to Phibrizzo’s tune.

“You got me,” I muttered through my clenched jaw. “You and Xelloss fooled the hell out of me.”

A small smile tugged the corners of Phibrizzo’s mouth. “You did do exactly what I expected you to do. Gaav, too.” His gaze began to shift. “But before this goes on any longer,” he murmured as his eyes settled on his impaling right hand, “you’ll have to excuse me.”

Gaav, silent and unmoving until then, suddenly howled in anger and swung an arm back at Hellmaster. It didn’t do much good.

FWOOM!

With a low, explosive sound, Gaav’s left arm was blown off.

“AAAAAAAGH!” Gaav shrieked as he fell to his knees.

“Don’t waste your time, Gaav. I’m stronger than you; you’re incomplete … let’s be reasonable here.” Hellmaster calmly looked down at the hand he’d pushed through Gaav. “I figured that you’d drive out your human parts after a while, but it looks like they got mixed in strangely. The Water Dragon King really got you, huh? And it looks like the old Chaos Dragon can’t be resurrected even if I do kill you.”

Gaav snarled. “You little … !” He twisted his entire body to glare at Phibrizzo. His sneering bravado couldn’t hide the shadow of death in his voice and movements.

“At any rate,” Phibrizzo continued, “I sincerely doubt you’ll submit to Lord Ruby Eye again in your condition. That being the case …”

“DAMN YOU!” Gaav roared.

“… this can only end one way.” Calm as you please, Phibrizzo paused.

And Chaos Dragon Gaav’s body burst into ash.

It all happened so fast. As the white, powdery remains of Gaav danced away in the wind, all I could do was stare like the useless spectator I was.

DAMN.

That disturbing sight did explain a few things. Chaos Dragon hated Hellmaster with a burning, bitter passion because Hellmaster was stupidly powerful. Even though I’d wounded Gaav and even though Hellmaster had surprised him, no one just vaporizes the Chaos Dragon with a smile.

Everyone else seemed too shocked or confused to really react to the situation; they just stared at Hellmaster dumbly. I didn’t really blame them.

“I get it,” I muttered, looking decidedly wimpy as I turned my head toward him from my spot on the ground. “This was all part of your plan, too. Wasn’t it?”

Phibrizzo smiled again. “More or less,” he said with all the spunk of his kiddie form. “I sacrificed one of my minions so that one of Gaav’s could learn about my plan to use you. After that, I borrowed Greater Beast Zelas Metallium’s Xelloss and had him join you—to watch you, if nothing else.”

“So after nearly getting me killed a bunch of times, you crawl out of the woodwork and stab Chaos Dragon in the back.” I glared daggers. “Looks like you got the easy part.”

“I suppose, Lina Inverse, but let me tell you something.” He raised an eyebrow. “I was the one who guided you to Xelloss when you were lost in the space leading to the Claire Bible. Xelloss can be pretty handy, but even he would’ve needed more time in a place like that.” He waved a hand dismissively. “No need to thank me, though.”

Gourry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Uh,” he said dumbly. “I don’t get it.”

Of course you don’t.

“He used me as bait, Gourry,” I said thinly. “I got the traitor Chaos Dragon Gaav to show himself, and Hellmaster got to punch a hole in him.”

“That was definitely part of the plan,” Phibrizzo admitted.

“Part?” I narrowed my eyes. “You means there’s more to it than that?”

Phibrizzo paused. “I thought you’d already figured it out,” he said after a moment. “Unless you do know and you’re just trying to bluff. Either way, the result will be the same.” Phibrizzo seemed to suddenly lose interest in me and instead focused on Gourry.

“I have to admit,” he murmured, “I never thought I’d see Goln Nova in a place like this. You just made my choice for me.” Gourry blinked. “Choice for what?”

Phibrizzo began to walk toward Gourry, his voice disturbingly calm. “My choice of bait.”

Crap!

“Huh?!” Gourry blurted. He quickly leapt backward, readying the Sword of Light in his hands.

Phibrizzo gave another one of his creepy little smiles. “Don’t be scared,” he purred. “Just because I used the word bait doesn’t mean I’m going to eat you. Just relax and—”

“Ra Tilt!”

Amelia’s voice suddenly tore through the air. I hadn’t noticed her chanting the spell, but she had excellent timing.

Phibrizzo’s words were cut off as his body was engulfed in a pillar of blue flame.

FWOOM!

The flames burned for a second, then vanished into nothing. Hellmaster still stood there with the exact same expression on his face.

Amelia’s jaw dropped. “What?!” she yelped.

As if in slow motion, Phibrizzo’s eyes moved to

Amelia.

“You surprised me,” he teased lightly. “A Ra Tilt with no warning? If I’d been a low-ranking demon, I’d have been done for.” He flashed his teeth. “Good thing I’m not!”

Amelia audibly swallowed. “It can’t be,” she breathed.

It was bad enough that he’d brushed off her attack with a smile, but it was a lot worse when that spell was the strongest in Shamanic Magic. A human can’t control a Shamanic spell any stronger than Ra Tilt, and it can blow away a normal opponent or, say, a low-ranking brass demon or something in a heartbeat. Phibrizzo was a top-rank Mazoku, but she’d hit him head-on when he hadn’t expected it.

Ladies and gentlemen, we were screwed.

“Where was I?” Phibrizzo turned back to Gourry, his wavy hair brushing against his cheek. “Right. I’d like you to come with me to a stage I’ve prepared.”

Gourry lowered his head slightly, his eyes still on Phibrizzo. “And if I refuse?” he asked. The Sword of Light immediately swelled brighter.

Phibrizzo seemed unimpressed. “Talk is cheap,” he responded dismissively. “Threatening is one thing, but actually doing something is another.” He raised his pale right hand and snapped his fingers.

The lit blade of Gourry’s sword vanished.

Gourry practically jumped. “What?!” he shouted.

Since I was on the ground, my mouth opened so wide that it actually touched the dirt. I wanted to yell some sort of denial, but all that came out of me was a weird croak-squeak.

He can do that?!

“That,” Phibrizzo said evenly, “is not for human hands.” He snapped again.

Dozens of black tentacles suddenly sprouted from the Sword of Light. Before I could blink the tentacles wrapped around Gourry’s entire body

“HUH?!” I finally managed to cry. I heard my shout of surprise echoed by everyone else.

I’d never seen, or heard, or even fathomed that that sort of crap could come out of the Sword of Light’s hilt. Even Gourry looked shocked, and he owned the thing. He struggled ineffectually against the tightly wrapped tentacles.

“‘The Sword of Light’ is a name you humans probably pulled out of a hat.” Phibrizzo’s voice dropped to a serious, careful tone. “That object’s true name is Goln Nova. It’s one of the five weapons of Dark Star, Demon Lord of another world.”

I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Demon Lord of another world.

Memories started flooding through my mind. When I’d bought Xelloss’ talismans off of him, he’d mentioned a few names. Dark Star, Demon Lord of another world, was one of them.

“That sword was brought into this world some way or another, don’t ask me how. It eventually fell into human hands.” Phibrizzo shook his head. “It may have the form of a sword, but it’s a portion of Dark Star—a part of his existence. Since that practically makes it a demon, it’s more similar to me than to you humans, and I can align it with myself more easily.”

Phibrizzo leveled his gaze at me. “It was a Demon Lord’s weapon to begin with, Lina Inverse. That’s why you were able to infuse Dragon Slave, and that spell, into the blade above the limits of your capacity.” He paused. “Then again,” he added, “if you used that spell perfectly, it would be too much even for Goln Nova.”

A little bit of good, old-fashioned hate started to swirl around with the alarm inside me. I glared at Hellmaster with all the malice I could project.

He raised an eyebrow. “Have you realized what I want you to do?” he asked. “Even if you have, you’re in no condition to do it right away—and I don’t expect you to go along with my plan so easily, either. So this is what we’ll do.”

In a particularly infuriating example of his attitude, Phibrizzo calmly gestured to the wrapped-up Gourry.

“I’m taking him with me to my city of Sairaag.”

The breath caught in my throat. “Wait!” I tried to cry, but before I could get the full word out, a weird zapping noise filled the air.

ZZZZZ!

Phibrizzo and Gourry vanished into thin air.

“G-Gourry!” I shouted and as I fought to my feet. I couldn’t get all the way up before dizziness suddenly grabbed me so badly that I fell back to the ground.

That son of a … ARGH!

I figured that Phibrizzo had probably used his power over Goln Nova to pull Gourry along for a ride across space. That meant they were on their way to Sairaag City in the Raizel Empire, just like he’d said.

But he’d called it “my city.” What did that mean?

In the aftermath of everything that had happened, the sudden absence of Phibrizzo and Gourry made Dragon’s Peak disturbingly quiet. We stared at the empty air, shock filling the silence between us.

“What’s going on?” Amelia finally whispered. The breeze picked up her voice and carried it off into the sky.

★★★

I had a dream that night. I couldn’t remember it at all after I woke up. It was frightening, maybe, or sad… but whatever it was, I rose in my bed the next morning on an impulse I didn’t really understand. I brought a finger to my cheek.

It was wet.

So it hadn’t been good. Since I had no memory of the dream, all that remained of it were the tears on my face.

White daylight had begun to creep into the darkened room through the wooden window shutters. I blinked my blurry eyes and stared at the lines of light.

Morning, huh?

I sighed.

Still feeling sluggish for some reason, I slowly got out of bed.

After the whole incident of the day before, Zel, Amelia, and I had left Dragon’s peak and found an inn at a nearby village. I must’ve been exhausted, because I’d skipped supper and collapsed into bed. I hadn’t even moved in my sleep—I woke up on my side exactly as I’d fallen.

I dragged myself out of bed and down to the dining room on the first floor. Zel and Amelia were already at the table; it looked like they’d been waiting for me. I unconsciously started looking around for Gourry.

Get real, my mind snapped after a second. He’s not gonna be here, Lina.

I let my eyes drop to the floor. Murmuring a very insincere “good morning” to Amelia and Zel, I took a chair and sat down. I only ordered a double portion morning set from the menu—that’s how much I’d lost my appetite.

After a minute, Amelia cleared her throat. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked nervously.

I forced a small smile. “I’m fine. It looks like I slept like crap, though—I had a weird dream.”

Amelia pursed her lips. “That’s good,” she said vaguely, which was an unusual tone for her.

Nobody said anything after that. A waiter came by with our food, and I dug into my breakfast. I was hiding my face in a long sip of tea when Zelgadiss finally broke our self-imposed silence.

“What are you going to do?” he asked flatly.

Amelia gasped. “Mister Zelgadiss!” she exclaimed, apparently bothered that he dared to ask.

“Being depressed won’t help anything,” he said. I lowered my cup a little, and I could see his eyes boring into me. “Whatever we’re going to do, we’d better get on it as soon as possible.”

Depressed? I wondered. I hadn’t thought I was depressed, but apparently the two of them had noticed something. I set down my tea.

“I know,” I told him. “I mean… I know that.” A small sigh escaped my lips as I tapped the table. “Let’s just think about this calmly, all right? There are a lot of things to consider.”

I looked up at both of them. “We’re going up against Hellmaster Phibrizzo. He literally tore Chaos Dragon Gaav apart without breaking a sweat, and a surprise Ra Tilt didn’t even scratch him. The guy’s a monster. I could probably fire Dragon Slaves off at him all day and he’d brush them off like mosquito bites.

“That means the only way I can save Gourry is if I go to Hellmaster and do whatever it is he wants me to do. But he didn’t even promise me Gourry in one piece if I do that, so even that might only put Gourry in more danger.” I let out a breath. “He’s safe as long as he’s a hostage. The smart thing to do would be to avoid Sairaag for the rest of my life.”

I let that soak in for a minute. Since Zel and Amelia only stared at me in silence, I eventually flashed them a pained smile.

“But I can’t do that, either. He made himself my guardian, or whatever he calls it. I’m not gonna just leave him there.”

Amelia sat up. “Then …”

I nodded. “We’ll try Sairaag.”

Satisfaction flooded Amelia’s face. “That’s my Lina!” she said with a wide smile. “Even though your deeds usually seem evil, indiscriminately gluttonous, short-tempered, and ruthless, you come through when it counts.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“You’ve proven that, deep down, you’re not evil!” She paused. “Although I wouldn’t call you good, either.”

I rolled my eyes. I’ll give her points for honesty, I guess. Amelia slapped her fist into her palm. “Now that that’s settled, let’s go to Sairaag! There’s no time to—” “Hey!” I snapped, quickly waving my hands in front of her face. She was well on her way to Self-Absorbed Righteousness, and I had to nip that in the bud. “Calm down, Amelia! I’m going alone.”

Amelia’s smile dropped as the haze of Justice faded from her eyes. “Huh?” she blurted. “What do you mean, ‘alone’? Like … by yourself?”

“Yes, by myself.” I rubbed my temples. “It looks like Hellmaster’s only after me. Nobody else has to get involved.”

“That’s true,” Zel admitted with a murmur.

Amelia whipped to him with saucer eyes. “Mister Zelgadiss!” she cried incredulously for the second time that morning.

Unlike Amelia, Zel replied with an “inside” voice. “What could you and I accomplish by going with her, Amelia? Our spells won’t even scratch Hellmaster—at worst, we’ll be slowing her down.”

Amelia moved her eyes to the table. “I guess,” she said. “But…”

“I said ‘at worst.’ ” Zel looked away, and I swear he colored a little. “I didn’t say we should let her go alone. We just have to make sure that we aren’t in the way.”

I stared at him in confusion. Did he just embarrass himself by saying that? I wondered. Who blushes at their own words?

Amelia immediately perked up. “That’s right!” she declared, slamming a fist on the table. “Even against an invincible foe, a path will open to courageous seekers of Justice!”

If only life worked like that. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

No matter what courage or genius or “Amelia feelings” we barged in with, we were still pretty much toast. Milgazia was the elder of the Gold Dragons, and even he’d stayed back when Hellmaster had grabbed Gourry. But what was I gonna say? Amelia and Zel knew the risks.

I guess it’s a team project, after all.

“We still have something to clear up,” Zelgadiss added coolly. His gaze locked on me, and I knew the instant he opened his mouth what he was going to say.

“Do you, or do you not, know what Hellmaster Phibrizzo wants you for?” He crossed his arms. “After his speech earlier, I figured you might—”

“Stop!” Amelia interrupted.

Zel glanced at her. “What?”

Amelia shook her head. “Whatever he’s planning, I don’t want to hear it.”

Huh?

Zelgadiss and I stared at her in surprise. What was wrong with her this time?

“I don’t want to hear it,” Amelia repeated, her mouth a tight line.

“Amelia,” I said carefully. “Why not? Isn’t truth the foundation of Justice to you?”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to hear it.” Amelia looked down. “Whatever Hellmaster’s planning, it can’t be good. Hearing the details might compel me to stop you by any means necessary—including abandoning Mister Gourry. So I just don’t … I don’t want to know this time.”

I stopped at that. Zel, finally, gave a weak smile.

“Fine,” he said. “Then I don’t want to hear, either.” He let out a breath. “I doubt I could do anything about Hellmaster’s plan even if I did know.”

The whole “see no evil” thing coming from Amelia and Zelgadiss was pretty weird. It made me uncomfortable.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked.

Amelia gave me a bright smile. “This isn’t about right or wrong,” she answered. “We’re all going to go save Mister Gourry—that’s enough, right?”

I paused. After a second, I swallowed and looked away.

To be honest … it was the first time in my life I was really happy to have friends.

★★★

Sairaag City.

It’s a city that is—well, was, near the center of the Raizel Empire. It prospered for a long time as the “City of the Sorcerery” until Demon Beast Zanaffar destroyed the place. That left it with its second, more notorious name: the “City of Ghosts.”

Sairaag eventually recovered and become a bustling metropolis, but a more recent tragedy had torn the city down yet again. The incident had involved me personally. I knew the city was a wasteland because I’d seen it with my own eyes; all that remained of Sairaag at that point was a single, gigantic tree.

I had no idea why Phibrizzo wanted me to go to Sairaag of all places, but I figured it would make sense once I got there. Since we were in Dilse, we were a good twenty days’ march away. The only good news was that the path would be clear with Chaos Dragon destroyed.

There was only one thing left to do.

“Mega Brand!”

KA-BOOM!

My spell lit the darkness, sending screaming bandits in every direction.

I let out a long, contented sigh as I cracked my knuckles. After traveling for three days, I needed an outlet for all my stress. Would you be able to sleep, wondering if you’d get your lug-headed buddy home safe without going along with an insanely powerful demon’s Plan of Mysterious Evil?

After spending several nights staring at the ceiling, I’d finally decided to do something about it.

I’d slipped out of our inn, searched the nearby forest for a bandit hideout, and had proceeded to blast the hell out of it. Bullying bandits is the perfect remedy for a maiden’s wavering heart.

I was sick of being hated, so it was time to beat on somebody with no rights who would get me the love of the townsfolk and some sweet free contraband.

Circumstances may change, but my methods never will.

“AAGH!” a nearby bandit cried from the ground. He covered his face protectively. “Who are you? Why’re you doing this?!”

I wanted to tell him that bullying bandits is my sacred duty as a human being, but I wasn’t sure he’d get it. I tried something more straightforward. “I’ve had a lot on my mind,” I explained. “And you’re here. Comprendé?”

The bandit’s eyes bugged out of his head. “A lot on your mind?” he repeated. “You’re crazy!”

I scowled at him. “I was being honest. And if you didn’t want to deal with crazy people, you shouldn’t have become a bandit!” I put my hands on my hips. “If you don’t wanna get pounded any harder, bring me your loot. Now.”

The bandit gasped. “B-but… that’s cruel! ”he cried.

“You do it to everyone else all the time! Now get moving!”

The bandit cursed. Since bandits are usually all about the do-unto-others-before-they-do-unto-you, screwing them over usually throws them for a loop. He paused a second, then changed his expression a little.

Oh, no, you little twerp.

“We, uh, get it,” he mumbled. “Just don’t kill us, okay? We’ll bring it out, just give us a—”

I ignored the obvious lie and starting chanting my next spell as I whipped around. Sure enough, a lone bowman in the distance had an arrow aimed right at me.

Bah. I’d felt his bloodlust and had noticed the talking bandit suddenly regain his nerve. Did those guys seriously think they could pull the wool over my eyes?

I was about to release my spell at the bowman when something unexpected happened.

The bowman’s chest was ripped apart.

I blinked. Huh?!

The man dropped like a stone. The night breeze suddenly went heavy with the smell of blood.

I hadn’t done it—my spell was still inactivated. And the attack had definitely come from behind the guy.

Before I could think any more on the subject, a mass of light flew out of a thicket and into the bandits nearby Heads and chests were crushed as bandits piled up on the ground.

“Wh-what’s goin’ on?!” I heard from the bandit behind me as he audibly shuffled backward. I ignored him as I quickly searched the area for presences.

An ominous darkness emerged from the trees under the light of the crescent moon. The area was filled with a sharp, cold bloodlust unlike anything bandits could give off.

My eyes widened. No way.

“I’ve found you, Lina Inverse,” a voice drifted by on the wind.

I knew that voice. I couldn’t see where it came from, but I knew that voice.

“Rashatt?!” I shouted.

“Indeed,” he responded from nowhere.

General Rashatt. He paled in comparison to Xelloss, Gaav, and Phibrizzo, but as one of Gaav’s retainers, he was still a high-ranking Mazoku. The last time I’d seen him had been on Dragon’s Peak, when he’d chased after a wounded Xelloss. Because so much had happened since then (out of sight, out of mind), I’d actually forgotten about him.

“Well,” I called into the darkness as I kept searching the area. “I forgot you were on the Peak after I stopped sensing you. Does this mean you finished off Xelloss?”

“I did not defeat him,” he said, an odd lack of regret in his voice.

“So why are you crawling out of the woodwork now?”

“I’m sure you can imagine,” he replied. His tone was condescending, but it had the edge of a threat to it. “You and Xelloss made a fine mess of things. Thanks to you, Sir Raltaak and—thanks to Hellmaster’s trap—my liege, Lord Chaos Dragon Gaav … were both destroyed.”

I stopped. Based on his words and the way he said them, it sounded like he was blaming me. Like, blaming me blaming me. Vengeance-worthy blaming me.

I raised my eyebrows. “Wait a second,” I called. “You didn’t … come here to get revenge on me or something stupid like that, did you?

“And if I said I was?”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious! Phibrizzo’s the bad guy here—he planned everything! Go take your revenge out on him!”

I desperately wanted to pin all responsibility on Hellmaster Phibrizzo. To be blunt, fighting Rashatt was a fight I didn’t want to have—the guy wasn’t called “General” for nothing. Even if he didn’t hold a candle to the absolute monsters I’d been dealing with, several Dragon Slaves still probably wouldn’t take Rashatt down. With Xelloss off somewhere and Hellmaster chilling in Sairaag, I wasn’t confident I could fight Rashatt by myself and win.

“Revenge against Hellmaster?” Rashatt repeated after a moment. His voice had quieted a little. “Perhaps, but I would likely be destroyed myself if I were to assail him. Right now, there is but one thing I can do to take revenge upon him—I must smash the core of his scheme.”

Crap!

“W-wait!” I shouted. “That’s not—”

RIP!

With a violent sound, space itself seemed to close around me as numerous points of light appeared. I leapt backward as fast as I could.

The darkness was torn, causing the lights to flash as another sound roared through the air. I’d just barely avoided being flattened.

“I expected you to avoid something so meager.”

Rashatt’s voice suddenly came very clearly from my side. I whipped my head to sec a human silhouette emerge from the darkness. He was wearing his dragon scale armor, and a naked sword gleamed in his hand.

General Rashatt fixed his gaze on me, clearly not interested in the screaming bandits that escaped around us.

“Still,” he said lowly. “I have something you will not escape. Moldirag!

The instant he shouted, I felt a seething bloodlust pop up behind me.

Somebody else is here?! I thought frantically as I leapt to the side. Needless to say, I was starting to get worried.

light tore through the darkness and into the ground where I’d been standing. I looked up to see a lone figure floating in the sky. It looked like a human woman— from the waist up, anyway. Her face seemed almost fake in its emotionless beauty, and her long, black hair stood out in sharp contrast to her almost transparent white skin.

From the waist down she was a tree. A clutch of tangled tree roots extended from her abdomen in all directions.

Seeing a white monster like that floating in the darkness was creepy as hell. If I’d seen her as a kid, she would’ve given me nightmares.

I swallowed. Moldirag (or whatever her name was) turned her expressionless face to me.

“Look at that,” I murmured to Rashatt, trying to sound sarcastic. “You actually found yourself a date at this hour.” Moldirag ignored the joke, but Rashatt gave me a calm smile.

“I can still call upon numerous brass demons and lesser demons,” he explained. “Some enjoy using them in numbers, but I personally believe in quality over quantity. You will not escape Moldirag.”

Quality over quantity. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

From the looks of it, Moldirag was about as strong as the demons Dugld and Gduza I’d fought earlier—a Mazoku I could take down in a one-on-one fight. But with Rashatt doing the fighting and Moldirag on support duty, I wasn’t even sure I could run away.

Now what?

Rashatt suddenly shifted his feet. “Prepare yourself, Lina Inverse!” he cried as a number of light balls emerged around him.

“Ugh!” I made a heavy sideways leap and circled behind the nearest large tree.

BOOM!

When Rashatt’s energy balls smashed into the tree shielding me, I ran out and continued chanting my own spell.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far—the darkness in front of me suddenly warped to release the swaying white form of Moldirag.

Yes, she’d jumped across space. And yes, I’d been expecting that.

I finished chanting my spell and released it the second she appeared. “Elmekia Lance!” I shouted.

The Elmekia Lance inflicts damage directly to an opponent’s spirit, so I knew it would at least hurt her pretty badly. I planned to cut across the area as soon as she intelligently dodged.

She never did. The lack of expression still frozen on her face, Moldirag shot a lance of light that easily cut mine down.

My blood went cold. Uh-oh.

Another lance immediately emerged from Moldirag.

I didn’t have time to chant a spell; I just changed the direction of my dash as fast as I could.

“Give up!” Rashatt called from behind me as I began chanting my next spell. I swerved again just in time to avoid a set of exploding lights that went off by my feet.

Through dodging and weaving, I managed to avoid a wave of attacks and put some distance between Rashatt and me. And just as I expected, that was Moldirag’s cue to appear right in front of me.

It was exactly what I’d been waiting for.

I released my spell at her. “Dragon Slave!” I cried.

The Dragon Slave, as you probably know by now, draws its power from the Demon Lord of my world: Ruby Eye Shabranigdu. It was sure to either kill Moldirag or at least injure her enough to let me to finish her off. Crimson light blew out of the darkness to converge on Moldirag.

Something roared like a wild animal from behind me. The same instant I heard that, the Dragon Slave’s light dissolved into the darkness.

I stared at the empty air in shock and horror. No way, I thought. I really needed that one!

“You mustn’t do that!” Rashatt shouted victoriously.

I clenched my fists so hard, my knuckles turned white.

That stupid Rashatt had put out my preclous Dragon Slave! It wasn’t that weird for a high-ranking demon like him, but… you don’t do that to Lina Inverse, dammit! It’s just not right!

I’d jumped out of the frying pan and into the inferno. I couldn’t beat Moldirag and I couldn’t run, so that left me with one option: dying.

My mind raced for a better idea. A Ragna Blade would definitely work on the two demons, but I was screwed if they dodged it—especially since it would deplete my magic energy and leave me as weak as a kitten. So what did that leave me with?

Moldirag shot another lance at me. Like I’d been doing, I altered my course to dodge, but that also made me step on something wet. The ground slipped from under me and the world went into slow motion.

Not… now!

Before I even hit the ground, I managed to grit my teeth and twist my body to the right. It wasn’t quite good enough.

I choked as a burning shockwave ran up my left leg. With my balance completely thrown, I fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.

A wet pain washed over me. I knew my leg had to be hurt pretty badly; my boot had been turned to mostly ash around the ankle. I couldn’t feel or move anything below that, which is never a good sign.

I heard footsteps. I looked up as Rashatt approached, his steps slow and deliberate on the littered floor of the woods.

“It seems you’ve reached your end at last, Lina Inverse.” He stopped a short distance away from me, his eyes on my ankle. “You won’t be moving any farther on that leg.”

Moldirag silently floated a little ways away. She was as silent as ever, and it was creepier than ever.

“While you are formidable for a human,” Rashatt admitted, “this is the end you were destined for. A peaceful death would be—”

Rashatt suddenly stopped mid-speech. He whipped his head to the white demon floating nearby.

“Moldirag!” he shouted.

“Ra Tilt!” Amelia cried.

Amelia’s fantastic timing (which was becoming more common those days) wasn’t quite good enough. Moldirag melted into the darkness right before she could go up in blue flames.

Rashatt clucked his tongue and turned back to me. “It seems we have uninvited guests,” he said lowly. “You will escape with your life for now, but time yet remains. I doubt you will arrive at Sairaag in proper health.

His villainous declaration complete, General Rashatt vanished into the darkness.

Good riddance, I thought bitterly. I let out the breath I’d unconsciously been holding. “Lina!” Amelia cried.

I lifted my eyes from my hurt ankle Amelia and Zelgadiss came crashing through a thicket, calling but as they did so. “Are you okay?!” was Amelia’s cry.

I rubbed some dirt from my cheek as she ran up. “My leg got pretty trashed,” I explained. “But, um … what are you guys doing here?”

“Anyone would’ve heard all this noise so close to the village.” Amelia grimaced as she looked at my leg, then began chanting a Resurrection spell.

That sent a clear message—my wound was as bad as it looked. Recovery is the spell for normal injuries; Resurrection is for everything worse.

“The man who vanished before we got here.” Zelgadiss looked over to the empty space. “That was Rashatt, wasn’t it?”

I nodded. “He said he wanted revenge for Gaav,” I muttered.

Zel raised his eyebrows. “Revenge?”’.he repeated.

I shrugged. “I guess he’s an honorable guy. For a demon.”

Amelia made her mouth a tight line. “It sure sounds that way He brought that white ‘Moldirag’ Mazoku with him?”

Zel paused. “I guess I should say ‘I see,’ ” he said after a moment.

“Yeah,” I mumbled as I looked grimly up at the night sky “And it looks like our trip just got a whole lot harder.

★★★

Horse-drawn wagons clattered along the wide road of Lualdo City. The area was packed with crowds of pushy people. Shops lined the road and the cries of ware sellers overlapped each other noisily.

Lualdo is the southernmost city of the Kingdom of Dilse, a trading city close to the border of the Kingdom of Ralteeg. I planned for us to pass through Lualdo to Ralteeg, enter the Raizel Empire, and finally make our way to Sairaag. Temporarily entering another country may sound like the scenic route, but it’s the shortest way to Sairaag. And no, I’m not being sarcastic.

“Okay,” I said, turning from the bustle to my partners. “Let’s lodge here for the day.”

Amelia’s eyes turned into dinner plates. “WHAT?!” she cried in her especially loud tone. “Mister Gourry in still in the hands of the enemy, Lina! And with Rashatt after us, we don’t have the time to take a break!” She pointed randomly toward the sky in determination. “Rashatt can’t hurt us in Sairaag—we have to get there as soon as possible!”

I cleared my throat and tried to pretend I didn’t know her. I knew where she was coming from, but all that screeching and posing in a crowd was completely embarrassing. I sent Zelgadiss a glance that said, “Pretend you don’t know her either.”

Zelgadiss ignored me and instead bent to whisper in her ear. “Hold on,” he told her, maybe in response to her screaming or to the fact that she grabbed me with her free hand. “Sairaag will definitely protect us from Rashatt, but that’s only because we’ll have to face Phibrizzo there.”

Hellmaster’s name wiped the determined look off of Amelia’s face. “Oh,” she murmured, dropping my sleeve.

None of us liked Rashatt, but he was preferable to Phibrizzo. We were left to choose between Bad and Worse.

“I know we have to hurry,” I told her. “And I know it’s early in the day, but think of it this way—it’ll be nightfall before we reach the next village or town, and camping out in the open is like putting up a sign that says ‘come kill us’ and just waiting for Rashatt to show. He’ll be all over us, and fast.”

I shook my head. “And even if he doesn’t come after us, we’ll be so tired from the extra walking and crappy sleep that we’ll start slowing down. That’s not good, either.”

“I suppose, but …” Amelia looked at me in surprise and disappointment.

“Lina,” she said quietly. “Aren’t you worried about Mister Gourry?”

For some reason, I felt the need to look away and scratch my cheek. “Well, I answered, “I came close to killing Gourry dozens of times, but I always got the feeling that killing him wouldn’t actually kill him. I don’t know if Phibrizzo could kill the guy, y’know? And it feels like Gourry’s safe.” I paused. “For some reason.”

Amelia, strangely, broke into a faint smile. “I see,” she commented. “Then I guess we’re lodging here for today.”

“Right.” I ignored her weirdly gentle agreement and started scanning the area. “First, we need to find a place to

sleep. Then we need supplies and—” I stopped cold. For a second, in the crowd of the people, I could’ve sworn I…

“What is it, Lina?”

Amelia’s question snapped me out of my concentration. I abruptly turned to her.

“Maybe I’m crazy,” I said, “or maybe he’s got a twin. But I think I just saw him over there.”

“Saw who?”

“A familiar face,” I answered as I turned back to the crowds.

“Saw who, Lina?!”

I paused, then croaked out two words: “Hellmaster Phibrizzo.”

“WHAT?!”

I know, I thought. You took the word out of my mouth.

“But … that’s not possible!” Amelia cried. “He said he’d be waiting at Sairaag! Why would he be here?!”

“I might just be seeing things,” I admitted. “It doesn’t make sense that …” As the figure once again passed my line of vision, I felt the words die in my throat.

He was only visible for a second, through a gap in the crowd. But there was no mistaking that dark-haired, effeminate boy shuffling by in his black mantle.

And his eyes, bright with a piercing, freezing light, briefly met mine.

Phibrizzo. The boyish Mazoku once again vanished into the waves of people.

“Over here!” I shouted as I ran off in his direction. I pushed my way through the people until I’d reached where I’d seen him, but all the speed I’d gained from shoving wasn’t good enough—there was no sign left of Hellmaster.

Zelgadiss caught up to me a minute later. His gaze darted in all directions. “He was really here?” he asked.

I swallowed. “No,” I said, although I didn’t sound convincing. “I guess it was just… someone else.”

It had to be someone else. Right? The boy had looked exactly like Phibrizzo, but I’d also only seen him for a split second. And he’d already—

“Over there!” Amelia suddenly shouted, pointing toward one side of the road.

A small person in a black mantle made his way onto a lane off the main street.

He wasn’t getting away again.

“After him!” I declared, shoving my way through the crowd again. Hellmaster or not, I had to find out!

The lane was a small alley spaced between two buildings, only wide enough for a single person. The high brick walls on either side buried the lane in darkness. Since there was faint light filtering in from somewhere beyond the entrance, there was probably something at the other end of the alley.

The small silhouette, like a black dot against the light up ahead, shrank as it walked away from us. Even from his back, I could tell—that kid was Hellmaster Phibrizzo.

“Wait!” I ran into the lane, but the black silhouette kept walking. I chased after him with Amelia and Zel hot on my heels. In the narrow alley, my shoulder guards were kinda in the way, but I didn’t have time to take them off.

What’s he doing?! my mind spun as I ran. It’s not like he can’t sense us! If the kid really was Phibrizzo, he knew it was us, and him not turning around to kill us or make a stronger-than-thou speech didn’t make much sense. What was going on?

The figure continued into another lane that branched off to the right. We followed as he cut across the thin and darkened alley.

No matter how slowly he walked, we still couldn’t catch up … which meant, at the very least, that we weren’t chasing a human. We hadn’t gotten much farther before space suddenly expanded in front of us.

I slid to a halt, my eyes wide. We were suddenly in an open area big enough to fit a small house. It didn’t look like a consciously constructed plaza or anything; the place was surrounded by high, windowless brick walls that blocked out much of the sunlight.

The boy was gone. I scanned the place and even checked for the lane that stretched ahead, but no dice.

Zel sighed from beside me. “So he vanished,” he muttered.

“Maybe. But…”

Something about the situation still wasn’t right. It was easy (and predictable) for Phibrizzo to disappear by jumping across space, but if he’d wanted to avoid us, why hadn’t he done that earlier? Why had he lured us into that area?

I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“It’s good that you’ve come, Lina Inverse,” boomed a voice from the lane we’d just left. It was a bodiless voice I was really starting to hate.

Dammit!

I whipped around.

The boy in a black mantle stood there behind us, and he sure looked like Hellmaster Phibrizzo. But the voice that came out of his mouth was a lot older and more pretentious.

“I was certain you’d follow me if I took on this form,” Rashatt’s voice said from Phibrizzo’s mouth. His form shuddered, then wavered slightly.

His body transformed into its usual shape a second later. Rashatt leveled his gaze at me, the faint light reflecting off his dragon scale armor.

I groaned deep in my throat. “I can’t believe we fell for that,” I muttered.

It was an amateur’s mistake. For a high-ranking Mazoku, a human form is just a disguise—most of them can probably take whatever form they want. Turning into a little boy had probably been a cakewalk for Rashatt.

Nice job, Lina. Get your head out of your ass!

Rashatt cleared his throat. “I was interrupted before,” he said. “But you cannot escape from this place.”

Based on the fact that running back down the lane would leave us open to whatever he sent flying, I was inclined to believe him. We were also a.) in a city I was hoping to not destroy with giant spells, b.) going against the Dragon General, and c.) probably seconds away from a surprise attack by Moldirag.

Summed up, it meant we’d all die.

We had no choice but to try fighting. Amelia and Zel had already caught on, because we all began chanting spells at the same time.

“Now,” Rashatt called, his voice echoing in the wide area. “Let us begin!”