Let’s Settle It Here and Now

Let’s Settle It Here and Now

“Amelia!” Alfred cried. His eyes nearly popped out of his well-groomed head. “What are you doing here?!”

Amelia placed her hands firmly on the verandah’s railing. “You could trick the entire world,” she declared, “but nothing fools these Eyes of Justice!” Singing a bit of her own fanfare, she threw off her priestess’ robes to reveal white, flowing fighter’s garb.

She then turned and disappeared into a doorway. I heard her running in the halls inside the house, only to suddenly appear on the verandah again with her arms outstretched. She grasped the rail and lifted herself high up into an arcing somersault.

“Ooo!” Amelia cried out jubilantly as the rest of us looked on.

I gotta admit, the girl had her acrobatics down. Amelia soared through the air, flipping gracefully, but it didn’t seem… no, she definitely wasn’t timing her descent too well—

SPLAT!

Amelia didn’t quite stick the landing. And by “didn’t stick” I mean “plowed face-first into the dirt yard that fronted the old house.”

Ouch!

After an uncomfortably long pause, Amelia finally got to her feet and dusted herself off. She sauntered on over to us, cool as a cucumber, like the most painful pratfall I’d ever seen hadn’t just happened.

Well… she’s got spunk, at least. Then again, she is Phil’s daughter, and Phil is surprisingly tough for a mangy old coot.

Amelia defiantly pointed a finger at Alfred. “You’ve gone far enough, Al!” she declared. “Give yourself up right now or else!”

“Dammit!” Alfred cursed through clenched teeth. “How’d you find out?!”

Amelia crossed her arms. “I followed you out here! I couldn’t sleep tonight and decided to go for a walk in the courtyard, but then I noticed you sneaking out of the complex and smelled something fishy. I tracked you until you met up with a group of slimeballs and picked a fight with Miss Lina and the others. That’s when it came to me—you’re actually evil!”

That conclusion would’ve come to a comatose monkey at that point, but whatever. I suddenly wondered how long Amelia had been standing there. Had she been twiddling her fingers up on that verandah, watching us get creamed and waiting ‘til Clawfell got in a pinch before intervening? Can someone say bonehead?!

Unlike me, Alfred seemed to take her speech pretty seriously. He ran a hand through his locks and snorted.

“Fine,” he replied. “You mean I can go ahead and kill you as well? Good!” Rage suddenly flared up in his eyes.

“Don’t get excited, Alfie, you might hurt something,” I snapped. “Besides, you don’t want people to think you are a second-rate villain who likes to pick on little girls.”

“Villain?!” Alfred rebutted angrily. He cackled ominously, way louder than he needed to. “Don’t be ridiculous! A commoner like you couldn’t possibly understand the justice I’m doing! If I become king, this nation will become prosperous beyond its wildest dreams and gain its rightful place as head of the world! I’m no villain—I’m a leader, a dreamer!”

I rolled my eyes. Had I said second-rate? He didn’t even deserve the compliment.

“Is that right?” Amelia challenged. She strode forward. “If justice is indeed what you possess, then you can prove it by defeating me!”

With Amelia distracting Alfred’s attention, I could focus on protecting Clawfell and making mincemeat of Alfred’s underlings. We suddenly had a shot at making it through the night alive. Clawfell, probably realizing how much of a liability he was alone, quickly ran to my side.

While all this was going on, Gourry and Zuuma were locked in on each other like a couple of wildcats. I didn’t envy Gourry’s position, but my hunch was that Gourry, with his Sword of Light, was better equipped than I was for a rumble like that.

The two fought in a cycle of attack-and-retreat: Gourry charged with his sword and drove Zuuma back, then Zuuma counterattacked with a spell and sent Gourry ducking for cover.

“Sheesh,” I heard Gourry grunt, “this isn’t working.” Zuuma didn’t reply, so Gourry slashed out again and forced Zuuma to lurch backward. The assassin raised his hands for another spell.

“Dark Mist!” Inky darkness swirled from Zuuma, crawling out to envelop the surrounding area.

“Whoa!” Gourry shouted as he quickly withdrew. From out of the darkness, a shadow took shape. It hovered silently for a second, thick and opaque, before leaping through the black mists and heading straight for Gourry.

“Haa!” Gourry grunted as he buried his sword deep into the shadow. Unfortunately, the shadow wasn’t Zuuma, but a rogue corpse! Zuuma had thrown one of the dead men from the ground like a literal meat shield. With Gourry momentarily distracted, Zuuma shot from the cloud and made right for him.

If his opponent had been anyone lesser than Zuuma and his sword anything less priceless than the Sword of Light, Gourry would’ve had no qualms throwing his weapon aside and grappling free-handed. But it was Zuuma and he did hold the magic hilt, so Gourry hesitated for a split second… and, making my suspense even worse, I suddenly lost track of their movements in all the surrounding fury and confusion.

I did catch a glimpse of Zuuma launching himself in the air; with his arms circling in wide arcs, he whipped his legs at Gourry. Clang!

The near-deafening sound of cloven metal rang through the air. Blocking Zuuma’s kick with his blade had, apparently, cost Gourry a blade. The force of the attack sent Gourry hurtling down the street with his broken sword in hand.

That’s when I heard Alfred cry “Flare Arrow!”

I pushed off the rogue I was fighting and whipped back to Amelia. A barrage of ten flaming arrows shot toward her in the night, but they each bounced away just inches in front of her. Turned out Amelia had already summoned Wind Barrier.

I physically felt my heart start up again. I was impressed by Amelia’s quick thinking and Gourry’s fortitude against Zuuma, but watching both fights was gonna give me a stroke.

“What?!” Alfred barked, his foppish face twisted in anger. He quickly began chanting a follow-up spell. Since Amelia’s Wind Barrier was obviously powerful enough to deflect smaller attacks, there were no two ways about it—Alfred had to kick the battle up a big notch.

Amelia was, at the same time, beset by an array of those pesky shadow beasts. But I have to hand it to her; she didn’t lose control. Instead, without flinching or panicking, she quietly chanted a new spell and finished reciting it before Alfred could make his next move.

“Diskang!” Alfred shouted.

The spell caused Alfred’s shadow, which was caused by the lighting spells emanating from the lampposts, to grow to immense proportions. The monstrous shadow took the shape of a dragon’s head. I knew what that meant—that dragon was a low-ranking astral plane demon. Lighting spell would be useless against it.

Not good!

The shadow dragon, its huge maw opened wide, advanced toward Amelia.

Needless to say, I was still protecting Clawfell and kicking thug ass while all this went on. The lackeys were a cinch to fend off one-by-one, but their sheer number kept me too preoccupied to direct any attack spells to aid the others.

“Man!” I groaned. “No saves, no glory, no fun!”

I launched a spell at several incoming hoodlums and wondered if Gourry was all right. It looked like his breastplate had taken the brunt of Zuuma’s kick, so that was good news. The bad news was that skidding across the ground from the force of the kick had still left Gourry with a lot of nasty bruises.

Gourry cursed, leaping back to his feet. Zuuma made an immediate beeline for him; gripping his halved sword in his right hand, Gourry tucked his left hand along his flank and retreated farther.

“Fireball!” Zuuma called.

A ball of pale-blue light sprung forth from Zuuma’s chest. At that instant, two things happened almost simultaneously; Gourry pitched something lefty, and Zuuma quickly bent his body backward.

ROAR!

An explosion ripped through the air and lit up the night sky. Gourry had thrown a rock at Zuuma’s emerging fireball, causing an impact right in front of Zuuma’s face.

As the flames evaporated in the night air, Zuuma emerged from the columns of smoke. But Gourry, by then, was ready for him; he surged forward, his broken sword glinting as he slashed.

“Flow Break!” Amelia’s voice boomed impressively, loud and clear over the battle racket. The ground beneath her began to glow brightly; it was the same kind of luminescence lighting spells emanate, but Amelia had cast something far more effective.

An instant later, the points of a large hexagram pulsated out from the glowing aura and spread widely in all directions. On contact with the light, the dragon shadow and shadow beasts blinked out of existence, leaving a dumbfounded Alfred standing alone with his jaw slack. Then, as quickly as the hexagram appeared, it vanished.

Want me to explain that one, do ya? Amelia’s spell had worked a lot like the one I’d used to break free from Kanzeil’s space distortion: the hexagram’s warding field had temporarily opened a portal to the astral plane and forced back a natural balance. That means that any and all demons—whose existence in our world is unnatural and unstable—had been pushed back to their own realm where they belong.

“Th-this can’t be!” Alfred sniveled as he took a step back. He darted his eyes this way and that, clearly unable to believe what he was seeing—or, really, wasn’t seeing. By the time he focused his attention back on Amelia, she was already in his face.

“Wha?!

Amelia cracked his jaw hard with her elbow. Alfred’s head snapped back and with a weak groan he went down like a sack of bricks.

Way to go, Amelia!

I was impressed—the girl had settled her score with that scheming little worm and didn’t even break a sweat.

“This one’s for you,” I announced to Amelia as I bludgeoned the last of Alfred’s men with an abandoned shield. The soldier folded like an accordion and went down in a heap.

That just left Gourry’s fight with Zuuma. I turned to see Gourry lunging at the assassin with his broken sword and a loud cry.

“Haa!”

Even if his sword had been at full length, Gourry’s attempt still would’ve been a stretch—Zuuma was too far and definitely too crafty to fall for an attack like that. But as I looked closer, I realized that Gourry was a step ahead of us all. As he charged, he slashed with his sword and simultaneously released the blade’s clasp, launching the jagged piece of steel at Zuuma.

Zuuma’s arm moved in a blur, streaking in front of him and deflecting the airborne blade with a sharp ding. The steel glinted as it spun away to clatter elsewhere in the darkness.

But before I had the chance to say, “Whoa,” Gourry made his move. Zuuma’s near-superhuman deflection had still given Gourry the split-second window of opportunity he needed.

“Light come forth!”

A blazing shaft of light burst from the sword hilt. Startled by the sight of the Sword of Light in action, Zuuma twisted his body and tried to hurl himself out of the way. But he wasn’t fast enough. Not this time.

“Aagh!”

The light blade caught Zuuma’s shoulder, cleaving through flesh and bone like a knife through butter. Zuuma staggered backward, grunting and panting, then gripped the scorched nub of bone on his right shoulder. Gourry had lopped the arm clean off at the joint.

Not only had Zuuma lost a limb, he’d obviously lost the fight. His expression turned from wide-eyed shock to bitter resignation. He staggered backward a bit before spinning around and leaping away, but I wasn’t about to let him bolt so easily. That prick hadn’t yet felt the fury of Lina Inverse—ready or not, he was gonna get a load of it now!

“Flare Lance!” I shouted.

Guessing his escape route, I unleashed my spell the instant Zuuma began to sprint down the street. There was no way he could dodge that spell with one arm… but that’s the trouble with badass assassins. They do all sorts of things they shouldn’t be able to.

Zuuma whirled around and jerked up his remaining arm, parrying the lance an instant before impact. The lance exploded in a shower of red sparks, flash-burning his arm and pretty much vaporizing it into ash.

It was a nasty sacrifice, but better to lose your other arm than your life, I guess. Zuuma spun back around, now completely armless, and vanished off down the road.

I let out the breath I’d unconsciously been holding.

Whatever… I think that bastard earned his escape.

Amelia wiped the dust off her hands. “Well!” she chirped. “I’d say justice has been done here!”

I nodded, a little reluctantly. Maybe things were tidying up pretty nicely for Amelia, but the fight was far from over for me.

Kanzeil was still out there, probably downright manic to get to me now.

* * *

The cold, foggy night gave way to a gloomy dawn. Heavy clouds hung over Saillune City and stifled the usual gleam of the Royal Palace. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the collective moods of Gourry, Clawfell, Phil, and I—after we’d brought Phil up to speed on the events of the evening—had something to do with the nasty weather that morning.

Alfred had offered no resistance when we’d hauled him in—the benefit of capturing somebody who’s knocked out cold. He was put under lock and key in a compound not far from the palace grounds. But while Alfred posed no immediate threat, his father still did. Christopher knowing about the assassination plots, or even working as an accomplice, were definite possibilities. So, our next step was to find out how involved Christopher really was in his son’s conspiracy.

Gourry and I tagged along when Phil went looking for Christopher around the palace, and the three of us finally found the man sitting alone, pensively, in the lobby of the main hall.

I got the feeling Christopher had already heard about Alfred’s arrest. Streaks of silver now glinted in his dark hair and his shoulders hunched in uncharacteristic defeat.

“Chris?” Phil asked calmly.

Christopher slowly looked up, gazing at us with bloodshot eyes. He made a sound in his throat like a stifled laugh; then, with a self-mocking leer on his lips, he muttered, “What sort of brother am I?”

Phil exhaled deeply. “So you’re already aware of what’s happened.” He drew up a chair across from Christopher and took a seat. Gourry and I stood on either side of Phil, ready to draw our swords if Christopher tried anything funny.

Christopher nodded weakly, a wan, ironic smile crossing his lips. “What’s become of him?” Christopher asked. “Al, I mean.”

“He’s still unconscious, but he should be coming around soon.” Christopher sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands. “I’ll admit it,” he moaned after a moment. “This is all my fault.”

That caught Phil off guard. He locked his eyes on Christopher, his brows laced.

“I’m the one who filled his head with these ambitions,” Christopher explained. “Now that I think of it… whenever he came to me for advice, all I did was complain to him about my own circumstances.” He sunk in his seat and shook his head despairingly. “I’ve always been jealous. And I ranted to him all the time about how, if I’d been born first, it would be me instead of you as heir to the throne.”

I sensed confusion and anger simmering from Phil. He was obviously trying to keep a lid on it as he momentarily shifted his gaze over to me and then to Gourry. Christopher, however, was oblivious!

“How much happier we’d all be right now,” he said, “if I had stopped him when he introduced me to Kanzeil and began speaking openly about his plot to seize the throne.

There was a part of me that wanted him to succeed, and yet each day I hated what my son was intending to do more and more. It seems that, though I never admitted it to myself, entangling my son with my own ambitions was the cause of this whole disaster.”

Christopher fixed his reddened eyes on his brother. “If nothing else,” he said in a cracked voice, “as a father, that’s what I regret most of all.” He sighed again, slumped in his chair, and let a single manly tear roll down his cheek.

Sniffling, Christopher continued, “I care not how I’m judged. My ambitions nearly ruined us all—they began with me and they shall end with me. However… please have mercy on my son. Understand that he was merely a victim, blinded by his foolish father’s vain ambitions.” He glanced sympathetically at Gourry and me, “I know it depends on the severity of his crimes, but please do not punish him too harshly.”

Phil clasped his hands and perched at the edge of his chair. “That,” he said thoughtfully “depends on Alfred.”

At that moment, a sudden clamoring emerged from the guards outside. The doors burst open and a figure appeared in the doorway silhouetted by daylight.

There was no mistaking that frantically pawed hair. Alfred.

What, already back for more?!

Alfred stood with squared shoulders and panted heavily. He lowered the drawn blade in his hand.

Christopher jumped out of his seat. “Al?!”

A small stampede of guards rushed through the doors, swords and spears in hand. They kept their distance from Alfred, though, the way you do from a mad dog in the street.

“Stay back!” Alfred roared at them. He turned his glare in our direction and began skulking toward us.

“Al?!” Christopher repeated, his voice a few pitches higher. “What have you—?”

“I broke out, Father! What did you think? That I was going to stay locked up in that doghouse forever?!”

In his typically quiet tone, Phil asked, “And what about the guards?”

Alfred broke out in a fit of laughter. “Guards?!” he threw back He shook his head, a frenzied smile on his lips.

“Don’t make me laugh! You think a couple of your pathetic guards are going to keep me put? You’ve got some real arrogant soldiers working for you, I’ll give you that. Want to know what they said to me?”

Alfred struck a prissy pose, and in a babyish sing-song cooed: “We can’t wet you weave here. Now get in your wittle woom and stay quiet!” He cackled like a maniac, and I think everyone in the room got just a little more uncomfortable.

Alfred halted a few feet away from us and stared admiringly at his sword. “I let them know what I thought of their attitudes,” he drawled. “And I’m sure they’re regretting it right now… in Hell!”

“Al!” Christopher interrupted. “That’s enough!”

Nice work, Dad. What next? You gonna ground him for a week?

The guards stood poised at the doorway, ready to make a move against Alfred. But, like Gourry and me, they were unsure of what to do. It had suddenly become quite a hothouse in there. For the time being, all any of us could do was stand our ground and wait for something to happen.

“Stop,” Christopher pleaded, his voice shaking. “Please, no more, Alfred. It’s over.”‘

Alfred’s eyes blazed and he shook his head furiously. “No, it isn’t! You’re wrong, Father! It’s not over yet! It’s not over at all!”

He drew closer to Phil. That maddened look in his eyes officially worried me—and Gourry too, apparently, because we both drew our swords just as Phil rose to his feet.

“No!” Christopher cried. He suddenly jumped forward, stepping between Phil and Alfred. “Stop this, Alfred!”

Alfred gnashed his teeth in frustration so loudly I could hear it from where I was standing. “Father!” he snarled. “Step aside!”

“I won’t,” Christopher shot back emphatically. “Stop this madness right now!”

“Out of my way!” Alfred lunged past his father toward Phil.

“Alfred!”

SMACK!

The two of them collided. Christopher, in a flash, grabbed Alfred’s shoulder with one hand. Then a thin trickle of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

Alfred crumpled to the floor. His tongue flitted from side to side, and his mouth made trembling movements like he was trying to say something. It was when my eyes fixed on Alfred’s chest that I realized what had happened: Christopher had run his self-defense dagger straight into Alfred’s heart. A thick red stain slowly spread across his shirt.

“It… ends here,” Christopher grunted. A sad, resigned smile came over his face. “I’ve been a failure… of a father…”

And as if that bit of drama hadn’t been enough, Christopher then turned the dagger around on himself. He was about to thrust the blade into his own belly when Phil jumped in and stopped him.

“Brother!” Christopher wailed, tears spilling down his cheeks. “Why won’t you let me die?!”

“Because,” Phil replied, prying the dagger out of Christopher’s hands. “Because you’re my brother.”

Phil flung the dagger and stared with pitying eyes as the broken, shuddering Christopher slowly sank to his knees. Phil paused a moment, then carefully knelt down and wrapped his arms around his brother.

It was a touching scene, I have to admit. Gourry cried. I was fine, though.

… Sniff.

* * *

“Heading out already?”

That chirrupy voice could only belong to one person, particularly that early in the morning.

“Yeah, Amelia,” I continued to pack up my things as she skipped into my bedroom. “There’s still some business

I’ve gotta take care of. It’s… well… kinda pressing.” My business was, in fact, a face-to-face with Kanzeil, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

I didn’t much savor the idea of leaving the comforts of the palace now that all the noise had died down. And my idea of a much-deserved rest certainly didn’t include squaring off with a teleportation-happy Mazoku. But sounding worried around Amelia would’ve just gotten the girl all worked up.

“Mm-hmm.” Amelia didn’t sound too convinced. In fact, she glanced at me a little dubiously and sported a small frown. “Are you keeping something from me, Miss Lina?”

Keeping something? Where’d you get that idea?

“N-no,” I blurted. Just to drive my point home, I waved a dismissing hand at her.

“Not me,” I continued, chuckling this time. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not about to run off with the palace silverware.”

Wow, that wasn’t funny. Especially since I’d stashed a very nice spoon in my cloak pocket.

“That’s not what I meant!” Amelia complained. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“Something else?”

“Yes! Like, wasn’t Kanzeil trying to kill you? I bet you’re going after him.”

I shrugged. “And since when do I go looking for trouble?” Oops. I think we both knew the answer to that question.

“I knew it!” Amelia snapped her fingers. “You’re after Kanzeil! Who is he, anyway? Why is he so bent on killing you?”

“Whatever,” I said, still trying to sound nonchalant. “He has his reasons, I guess.”

But as to what those reasons were, I honestly had no clue. They definitely had nothing to do with royal rumbling in Saillune, so I didn’t feel the need to get into it with Amelia.

“Really?” Amelia asked. “You mean he’s got reasons to hold a grudge against you?”

That girl was not gonna get off my back!

“That’s what I said,” I replied shortly. “Reasons. But what’re you so curious about, anyway?” I figured if she was going to poke into my business, I could poke right back.

“Because,” she proclaimed with a raised fist, “justice burns in my blood.”

Uh, okay. Good luck with that.

“See, lately I’ve sensed all sorts of things kicking up… like dust in a storm.” She began to pace, her forehead slightly wrinkled in sage contemplation. “I’ve sensed it in places I can see and places I can’t. I feel like something big has been set into motion. Call it a feeling about the Fate of the World,” she parted the air with her hands, “but my Justice Sense tells me that evil is afoot”

What the hell is Justice Sense? I’ll have to pick some up on my way out.

I was willing to concede that whatever Amelia could feel was tied to her priestess powers, but calling it Justice was just tacky. “Lina,” she continued, “I know from the bottom of my heart that you’re a good person. And yet I don’t know why or how, but I get the sense that you’re bound to whatever evil is stirring up out there.”

Amelia had put me in a tight spot. She was right, of course—evil was at work somewhere out there, and it was going to involve me. But I wasn’t about to admit that her intuition was on the money, and get her tagging along with us on our quest for Kanzeil. That was an absolute no-no. So, I tried to downplay it.

“You’re thinking about it too much,” I told her with a flippant smirk.

Smooth, Lina. Very smooth.

* * *

Knock knock.

I knew that double tap. “Come on in,” I called from the edge of my bed. I glanced up from staring at my feet to see Gourry poke his head into the room; his smile as vacant as ever.

“Yo!” he said.

Gourry and I had checked into a small inn in the bustling heart of Saillune City. Sure, we could’ve blown out of the city after leaving the Royal Palace that morning, but the streets were a lot livelier now that the dust and smoke of political danger had settled. We’d treated ourselves to a day of sightseeing and one fabulous and monster-free supper.

“Something on your mind, Gourry?” I asked him.

“I dunno,” he replied vaguely, sinking into a big chair beside the nightstand.

Gourry sounded spaced-out. I wasn’t much in the mood for small talk so I just went back to staring at the floor. I must’ve been awfully quiet, because Gourry—who’s usually clueless about these things—eventually asked if I was all right.

“I’m fine,” I replied. “Why?”

“C’mon.” Gourry frowned. “You swung from bubbly to broody and back again all day today. And at supper, you were real quiet; you usually chat up a storm while you’re piggin’ out.”

“So, out with it,” Gourry said. “What’s bothering you?”

“Mmm…” I wasn’t sure how to put it.

“Look,” added Gourry, sitting up in his chair. “I know I’m not the smartest lantern in the tool shed, but you can at least trust me. And even if I can’t help you, talking about whatever it is might make you feel better.”

From the tavern downstairs came the rowdy chorus of men’s voices, all drunk and ignorantly happy. I sighed.

“Well,” I said at last, “I guess I can’t keep it from you forever.” I caught his eyes. “This morning, Amelia said she felt a powerful evil stirring, Gourry. An evil I’m connected to.”

“That’s a pretty harsh thing to say.”

“Y’think?” I sighed again. “Anyway, that’s why I’ve been so down in the dumps.”

Gourry chewed on the edge of his forefinger. “So,” he said after a moment. “Do you always think about deep stuff like this?”

“Deep stuff? My life’s on the line here, Gourry! And I need to know why Kanzeil wants to kill me!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Gourry threw out his hands. “What does Kanzeil have to do with powerful evil?”

This is gonna be a long night.

Luckily, Gourry was willing to try and catch up. He thought deeply for a few minutes, and I could’ve sworn I smelt burning rubber.

“Kanzeil,” he muttered at last. “You never met him before Saillune, right? That means he couldn’t be after you for, like, getting a fist in the mouth during one of your legendary bar fights.” He drummed his fingers on the chair’s armrest.

“Wait a sec!” Gourry suddenly jumped Up like his butt had hit a tack. “He mentioned Seigram and how he sucks once, didn’t he? Maybe Seigram went crying back to Kanzeil after we beat him up!”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Seigram bawling like a baby after we’d given him a thrashing. “Cute,” I replied. “But, I don’t think so.”

“Damn.” Gourry flopped back in his chair. “That was my best guess. Why do you think he’s after you, Lina?”

“Honestly,” I told him, “I have no idea.”

That’s when it hit me. Maybe Kanzeil didn’t have anything against me—nothing personal, anyway. Maybe he was after me at the behest of the entire Mazoku race.

When I told Gourry my theory, he looked at me with such confusion that I thought he was going cross-eyed. I’d definitely fried his brains with that one.

“That definitely explains it,” I commented, biting my lip. In fact, my theory fit the situation perfectly, and it was beginning to freak me out.

The short version goes like this: A little while ago, Gourry and I fought the very high-ranking Demon Lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdu. Through a combination of hard work and extreme luck, we’d even taken the guy down. But there was more to it than that—Shabranigdu comes with a social and historical context.

It all began in ancient times, back in the Age of, Legends, when Shabranigdu—was sundered into seven pieces. Now, every sorcerer and warrior (except for Gourry) knows that tale. The twist, however, took place about a thousand years ago, when one part of the Demon Lord was revived but sealed in the ice of the Kataart Mountains. From there, it’s said he began to preside over all the Mazoku of the world.

Kanzeil potentially pursuing me at the orders of the Demon Lord of the North suddenly made a lot of sense. I mean, would you let someone who had destroyed a part of your own flesh and blood get away with it? Of course not. Even Gourry would vow revenge.

“Did you,” Gourry began slowly, “do anything recently that could’ve ticked off the Mazoku?” I read no sarcasm in his tone. The guy was straight-faced and totally serious.

Gourry!

“Hello!” I called to him, reaching over to make a knocking gesture against his forehead. “Don’t you remember our little incident with Ruby Eye? The guy I destroyed with a spell even stronger than Dragon Slave?”

Gourry, his eyes screwed in my direction, nodded blankly. “Uhh… what about it?”

“Gods!” I cried, slapping my own face. “Don’t you get it already?!”

“Nope,” he replied serenely. “I sure don’t.”

I paused. “I apologize,” I muttered at last. “I thought you just might have a brain.”

“Do I really seem that stupid to you?”

“LISTEN,” I snarled, hammering each word like a nail into Gourry’s head. “When we defeated Ruby Eye, we proved it was possible for a human to bring down a top-ranking Mazoku. Okay?

“We definitely destroyed that piece of Shabranigdu, but since that battle I’ve thought plenty about the other piece of the Demon Lord, the one sealed in the Kataart Mountains to the north. The scattered pieces of Shabranigdu are probably separate parts of a single consciousness, with each piece connected to the others regardless of the distance between them. So, when I dispatched Ruby Eye with a spell even more powerful than Dragon Slave, that naturally pissed off the Demon Lord. He must’ve immediately ordered his demon assassins to hunt me down, and Kanzeil could easily be one of ‘em.

“That’s what Amelia was talking about,” I concluded. “That must be the evil she sensed at work in the world.”

Gourry’s expression was as vapid as ever. Nothing came out of his mouth except for a bit of spit at the comers of his lips.

“Don’t-you-get-it?“ I asked through my teeth, desperately trying to reign in my frustration.

“I-I think so,” Gourry driveled. “You mean things are really messed up right now, right?”

“Really messed up,” I insisted. “If I’m right, even if we destroy Kanzeil, the Demon Lord’s only going to send more assassins after me. More and more… until one of them kills me.” I swallowed, my exasperation with Gourry quickly giving way to the dread of imminent death.

“Whoa,” mumbled Gourry “You’re taking this really calm, considering.”

“No, I’m not, brainiac.” I waved a hand. “And there are still things that my theory can’t explain.”

Gourry gave me a sidelong look. “Like?”

I raised my right forefinger. “For instance,” I offered, “why did Kanzeil use the attacks that he did? If he’s really trying to kill me, why didn’t he let loose with some heavy stuff during that in-city fight? I get the feeling he’s holding back, but Mazoku aren’t the type to go easy on anyone— leastways humans.”

“Maybe he was afraid of messing up the block.”

“Yeah, right,” I drawled. “Somehow, I don’t think a Mazoku give a rat’s ass about property damage.”

Gourry settled back in his chair. “Hmm… whatever it is, it still sounds like you’re planning on chasing him down for a final fight.”

“Like I have a choice.” I shook my head. “If I don’t, he’ll just come after me again and again ‘til my luck runs out. Better I find him than he finds me.”

Gourry slapped his knees and stood up. “Well, whatever happens, I’m glad we had this chat. I find talking things through always helps settle the mind, don’t you?”

“Anyway,” I said, “I’m not sure how much it helped, but thanks for looking in on me.”

Gourry blinked. “Are you trying to tell me that nothing I said helped you?”

I had to smile. If anything, Gourry had cheered me up a bit with his nonsense, and that was definitely worth something.

“Hey,” I said after a minute, getting to my feet. “How about you and me grab a late-night snack down in the tavern? It’ll be my treat.”

Gourry raised an eyebrow. “Well, well,” he murmured. “That’s strangely generous of you.”

“Well, the first course is on me.” I stretched out my arms and winked. “Then you’re on your own.”

* * *

Gourry and I traveled a wide gravel highway that wound its way for miles and miles through the woods and forests before finally reaching the Kingdom of Gairia.

And there, at the side of the road, stood Kanzeil. He waited calmly for us as he leaned against a tree.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said evenly.

Kanzeil shrugged. “I’ve been waiting to kill you for a long time,” he answered coldly. “And a few extra days mean very little when you’ve lived as long as I have.”

Even with the distance we’d traveled, we were still close enough to potentially torch Saillune City if we fought where we stood. My first priority was to somehow get us as far away from there as possible.

I shouldn’t have worried. Kanzeil began walking away from the city, following the highway.

“This way,” he ordered. “I know a more suitable place for combat.”

Gourry and I glanced at each other. Kanzeil seemed like a smart guy—I’m sure he knew that if he challenged me in the middle of the city, I’d have to fight with my kiddie gloves.

Unless he planned to fight in a different city? That, of course, led me to a pressing question.

“Kanzeil,” I asked after we’d tramped along for several minutes, “where are we going?”

“We cannot fight so close to the city” he murmured. “We would risk harming or killing other humans.”

Okay—that threw me. Gourry and I went bug-eyed with puzzlement.

“Th-that’s very humane of you,” I stuttered at last.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Kanzeil replied hastily. “Nothing would please me more than to raze the entire city of Saillune. But I’ve been ordered not to harm any human beings—other than you, of course, and any human assassins I’ve hired as help. I’m merely following orders.”

Ah ha! So that was why when we’d faced off against Kanzeil in the city, he’d disappeared as soon as we’d started using Alfred’s men as shields. Then again, if Kanzeil was forbidden to harm humans, why was Zuuma exempt from that order?

If you think getting inside Gourry’s head is difficult, try a Mazoku-it’s damn near impossible.

“Whose orders?” I asked.

Kanzeil turned around suddenly pointing at Gourry. “You, human—Gourry, is it? I will not destroy you. You will still be alive, hence I cannot reveal my master’s name.”

Fine. Be that way, ya big meanie!

That got me nowhere. Quickly, I switched angles with a different question. “Okay, so then why are you after me?”

“You’re in the way,” Kanzeil replied flatly.

“Of course I am,” I pressed. “But why am I in the way? If we’re gonna fight to the death, then I think I at least deserve the courtesy of knowing why I was challenged in the first place.”

“And I’d like to tell you. But it just so happens that I don’t know the reason, either.”

I tried to edge a bit of disdain into my voice. “So, you’re just an errand boy, is that it?”

“That is correct,” Kanzeil answered, apparently unperturbed. So, the guy was composed and orderly in addition to being evil and murderous.

“Since we haven’t gotten to our battleground yet,” I went on, “I’d like to ask you a few other things. Whatever happened to Zuuma? Last time I saw him, he was short one arm and barbequing the other.”

“I don’t know,” Kanzeil replied. “After that fight, he vanished. I know nothing more.”

“By my last count, you made, let’s see… three attempts on me at the Royal Palace. Am I right?”

“Correct. And they failed for the same reason I couldn’t fight you properly in the city.” In other words, loads of pesky humans around.

As he spoke, Kanzeil turned at a fork in the road and onto a narrow path leading deeper into the forest. I got the feeling our stage was nearing.

While I had Kanzeil talking, I thought I’d try another question. “Where’d you get those weird, creepy monsters for attempt number two and the nasty beetle for attempt number three?”

“Those monsters you’re referring to,” he answered, “were low-ranking demons. When they manifest themselves in this world, they cannot continue to exist on their own power unless they possess an inhabitant of this realm or transmogrify. Their form in their natural realm is quite distinct; I don’t know how they appeared in your eyes.”

Whoa. I’d always wondered about lesser demons. That also explained why physical attacks hadn’t worked against our lunch.

It was real gracious of Kanzeil to let me in on all this. I’d have to write everything up if I survived our fight; the Sorcerer’s Guild would pay a pretty penny for that kind of report.

“The third attempt,” Kanzeil continued, “made use of one of the demon beasts slumbering beneath the magma of Clawveil Volcano. I’m sure you know of its might.”

“One of them?” I asked, unable to mask my stunned surprise. “How many are there?”

“Even I don’t know that.”

“Any other questions?” Kanzeil asked flatly.

I thought about that for a second.

“I’ve got one more for you, Kanzeil. It sounds a bit far-fetched, but you didn’t, by any chance, have anything to do with that little brouhaha back in Saillune, did you? What I mean is, did you put Alfred under your spell and make him do those crazy things?”

“You’re reading too much into it,” he snapped. “Alfred was looking for a strongman to put his plan into action. I merely arranged for him to find me.”

“I see,” I said. “All right, that clears that.”

“Good.”

We continued our steady tread on the narrow path. After a few more minutes, the forest opened onto a surprisingly wide, grassy plain the whole of Saillune City could’ve fit into. Convenient.

The path cut the plain before continuing through the forest on the other side. It was a weird place for a giant meadow—like mammoth hands had cleared a space in the center of the forest as some sort of afterthought—but it was definitely spacious and secluded. It seemed as if all the birds and animals had fled the area before we’d even gotten there, probably sensing the imminent battle and wanting to clear out beforehand. I didn’t blame them.

Kanzeil stopped at the entry to the meadow and turned to us. “We have arrived at our destination,” he announced. “The gentleman must now depart and leave us to our business.”

I definitely didn’t want Gourry to go. “Oh, c’mon,” I drawled as convincingly as I could. “Just let him stay. You could beat us both with your hands tied behind your back, right?” Rule Number One for getting an opponent to lose the advantage: stroke his ego.

Kanzeil glared at me with his snakelike eyes, then flicked them over to Gourry. “As you wish,” he replied after a moment. “Shall we begin?”

But we were way ahead of him; Gourry and I had already sprinted off across the meadow. I know that running away from a Mazoku with teleportation powers is pretty meaningless, but I wanted to buy myself time for some spell chanting.

When I spun around, I was surprised to see that Kanzeil had hardly moved. Was he waiting for me to strike first? Sounds good to me, I thought as I chanted my first spell.

“Ragna Blast!”

CHOOM!

A reverse pentagram blazed in the ground around Kanzeil. Its five interior sides tapered upward ‘til they met and formed a black pillar that surged downward, ensnaring Kanzeil. Black plasma shot from all sides of the pillar, charging the inside with deadly energy levels. The power was intense enough to vaporize a brass demon in a blink

But not Kanzeil, apparently.

“Ha!” he laughed from within the plasma pillar. “Not bad… for a human.” His tone was disturbingly nonchalant. “And yet far beneath my kind.”

As he spoke, Kanzeil clenched his fists and flung his arms outward, breaking the bonds that held the pillar together. The spell shattered around him like a piece of glass.

“What?!” I cried out, stumbling backward.

Kanzeil raised his arm. A magic light, as thin as a thread, shot from one of his fingertips and made a beeline for me.

“Not today!” Gourry boomed. He threw himself in front of me to deflect the beam with his Sword of Light. But just before it came within reach, the magic beam suddenly zigzagged around Gourry and shot right into my legs.

“OW!”

My knees buckled from the overwhelming jolt of pain and I tumbled onto the grass. Both my thighs and my ankles had been seared; it wasn’t heavy damage, and I wasn’t bleeding, but it hurt like hell.

It wasn’t a bad strategy: immobilize your opponent before going in for the kill. “Lina!” The color in Gourry’s face had drained, and he looked absolutely terrified.

“I’m all right!” I shouted. “Minimal damage.” I managed a weak—and probably really awkward—smile.

“Just the way I like it,” Kanzeil murmured, his words curling into the afternoon air like smoke from a smoldering fire. His voice sounded almost seductive or blissful, like he was getting the foot massage of his life. “I won’t finish you off quickly. Whether you die from pain or from madness, just know that your death will not be peaceful either way.”

A chill ran up my spine. Kanzeil was enjoying this. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find any glee in hearing that my infinitely-more-powerful opponent had just decided to torture me to death.

“What’s wrong?” Kanzeil asked. “You seem disappointed.” His lips contorted into an icy—strike that, crazy—smile.

Disappointed? More like freaked beyond belief, but he was on the right track. I didn’t want to encourage him any more by wincing, so I struggled to my feet with as straight a face as possible. I needed to act, and fast. I probably only had one shot, so I figured I’d put some flavor into it.

“Back off!” Gourry shouted. “What are you tryin’ to do?!”

Uh… kill me! Haven’t you been listening?!

Kanzeil turned his gaze to Gourry “Do you not know what Mazoku consume to live?” he asked darkly, his glare unwavering as he slowly walked toward us. “The source of our power is miasma, the negative emotions that living things produce. Fear, anger, sadness, despair… to my kind, these are supreme delicacies. The agony of torture is simply the most effective method to bring them forth.”

My blood ran cold. I suddenly realized why Kanzeil looked and sounded almost hungry, and why that hadn’t come out until now. He had all the time in the world in this field—no random humans to dodge, no other conspiracies to play along with. He was planning on a nice, slow feeding, and whatever anguish he could draw from Gourry and me was the main freakin’ course.

Just get a goddamn sandwich and leave us alone!

The good news was that during Kanzeil’s cryptic little lecture, I’d chanted my next spell.

“Dragon Slave!”

“What?!” Kanzeil halted in his tracks. “Dammit!”

KABOOOM!

A brilliant red light engulfed the Mazoku, who only had the chance to sneer before a tremendous explosion went off with him inside it. The shockwave hit Gourry and me with considerable force. I painfully dug my heels into the ground and threw my arm up over my face, squinting against the blast to watch the resulting incineration.

Dragon Slave is considered the most powerful spell a human can cast. Since it draws its power from the overlord of all darkness and Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, even a powerful Mazoku lacks the strength to resist it.

“Got him!” Gourry cried exultantly.

I cringed from the pain that coursed through my legs, but still managed to give Gourry a quick wink of acknowledgment.

“Hmph,” came a voice, “got me indeed.”

I jerked my head up. A lone dark figure emerged from the dispersing veil of smoke. As it got closer, I realized that the spell did have a pretty nasty effect on Kanzeil, but definitely not the kind of effect I’d been expecting.

Kanzeil no longer had any hair, just a few singed wisps here and there on his bare head. He had no ears, no nose, no mouth, and the skin on his face looked as blue as a frozen corpse’s. Weirdest, though, were his eyes—they were lidless and way bigger than any human’s.

Ew!

It was Kanzeil as he really was; his true form on the earthly plane. But blue-faced or not, how was he still walking when I’d hit him with Dragon Slave?

“It seems that you underestimated the Demon Race. Even a spell that draws its power from Shabranigdu must still be channeled through a human. Such a spell may be sufficient in neutralizing a low-ranking demon, but against a midranking demon such as myself, it’s hardly enough to wipe me out with a single blow.”

“M-mid-ranking?!” I blurted.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a real Mazoku’s power?” Kanzeil’s giant eyes narrowed. “Or did you not consider that the Mazoku you’ve thus far confronted have been of the lowest order?”

He slowly drew closer to me as he spoke.

“Stay back!” Gourry shouted, holding his Sword of Light aloft. He stepped in front of me and whipped the blade hard in Kanzeil’s direction.

“Out of my way!” Kanzeil roared. He raised his left hand skyward, unleashing a shockwave. Gourry parried the shockwave with his magic blade, but since it was stronger than he’d prepared for, the wave forced him backward and out of the way

Now there was nothing between Kanzeil and me.

A strange rasping chortle came from Kanzeil. His giant eyes relaxed, and he seemed to almost smile, if smiling without a mouth is possible. He raised his forefinger and pointed straight at me.

The magic beam shot out again, skewering me in my side! My voice clenched in my throat as I collapsed to the ground, coiled up against the pain.

“Stop it!” Gourry cried, running furiously toward Kanzeil with his Sword of Light blazing.

Kanzeil was following through on his promise: by missing all my vital organs, he was on his way to torturing me to death. The pain searing in my side spun my senses and blurred my eyes. Kanzeil halted his assault for a moment, just long enough for me to regain my senses and, assumedly, get hurt again.

He shot another beam, this time into my other side. I gasped and arched my back as a silent scream exploded in my head.

Gourry shouted something and took a wicked swing with his sword. But in the instant before the sword hit its mark, a blackness swallowed up Kanzeil, shielding him and repelling Gourry’s attack.

“Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!” Gourry cried.

Kanzeil laughed gleefully as Gourry hacked away with his sword.

“Yes,” Kanzeil exclaimed. “Yes! I can feel your anger, your despair! How delicious you are.”

I must’ve blacked out for a moment because when I next gained consciousness, I found myself cradled in Gourry’s arms.

I don’t know how he did it. Not only had Gourry managed to shield me from further attacks, but he had moved me out of Kanzeil’s reach.

“Lina!” Gourry pleaded. “Hang in there! Lina!”

“G-Gourry…” I breathed, struggling to get my bearings back. I could barely move and my eyes were blurred with tears, but I was aware of one thing: I wasn’t going to die.

Gourry pushed his lips to my ear. “Listen to me,” he whispered hoarsely. “Lina, you’ve gotta use it.”

“It?” I mumbled vaguely.

“Use that spell,” Gourry insisted. “The strongest you’ve got! You hear me? Use it!”

That spell? My mind snapped to attention. Giga Slave was the most powerful spell I knew, and I was possibly the only one who could cast it. It drew on the power of a Mazoku even greater than Ruby Eye: The Lord of Nightmares. In fact, I’d used Giga Slave to defeat Shabranigdu.

It was a far more powerful spell than Dragon Slave, and even Kanzeil, that cocky bastard, was unlikely to survive it. There was one drawback, though. A major one.

Me.

“I can’t,” I whispered to Gourry.

“Why not?!”

“I can’t control the spell while injured like this. And if I can’t control it, it’s too great a risk. I might kill everyone.” When I said I could kill everyone, I meant everyone. Not just me, Gourry, Kanzeil, and the inhabitants of Saillune City. I meant everyone on Earth.

And since Giga Slave absorbs a massive amount of life-force energy from its wielder, I knew I could get killed just trying the damn thing. I pondered this for a moment.

“You got any other options?!” Gourry asked feverishly “There is,” I sputtered, “but—”

“No buts!” he exclaimed. “Just do it!”

Well, Gourry had asked for it, and now there was no turning back.

“What do you want me to do?” he whispered.

“First thing, keep him off me. Keep at him with your sword like you were doing before. Use everything you’ve got!”

Gourry nodded. “What else?”

“Leave the rest to me.”

Gourry nodded again. “Gotcha!” he said, rising to his feet and regripping his sword.

Kanzeil, hairless, faceless, but still in the game, watched as Gourry turned to him.

“Coming back for more?” He still wore that jubilant expression on his non-face, his eyes absolutely twinkling with glee.

Kanzeil jutted his palm out, emitting a flash of light that knocked Gourry off his feet and sent him tumbling through the grass.

Meanwhile, I gritted my teeth and managed to get to my feet.

“Oh ho,” Kanzeil twittered cheerfully. There was even a hint of admiration in his voice. “Look at you.”

I tried to ignore his blather and instead focused on chanting Dragon Slave, but with a new spin.

Thou who art darker than night…

Kanzeil’s face contorted into an ugly display of scorn. His eyes bore into me with disdain, as if I were some doddering idiot not Worth his time.

“Is that Shabranigdu’s incantation again?” he spat. “Please, don’t waste your breath.”

Gourry, in the meantime, had stumbled back to his feet. He took a deep breath, readying his sword.

… Thou who art redder than the flowing blood…

“How pathetic,” Kanzeil growled. “Your final stand and that’s the best you can do? I’m sorely disappointed. I took you for someone a bit more… imaginative.”

… Thou through whom timeflows…

I could hear Gourry call to me. “I can’t take more than one or two more hits, Lina!”

That’s when Gourry began tearing through the grass toward Kanzeil. He drew his sword all the way back, ready to deliver his first blow, charging like a rolling thundercloud. I’ve gotta hand it to Gourry—when things get nasty, he pulls out all the stops.

… I call upon thy exalted name…

Gourry slashed his sword upward, slicing at the column of darkness that enshrouded Kanzeil.

… I pledge myself to darkness…

The Sword of Light smashed against the pillar and was instantly repelled. Gourry grunted as he staggered backward, but then just snarled a cry and charged again.

“You are a pest and a bore,” Kanzeil snapped. “I’ve had enough fun.”

… Let those fools…

Light flared from the hand Kanzeil held high. There was no way Gourry could survive another attack from that distance—but I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t help him!

Gourry!

“AAAAGH!” Kanzeil shrieked as a blue flame suddenly engulfed him.

Ra Tilt?!

Kanzeil whipped around in the direction of the attack. I saw, not far beyond where Kanzeil stood, a silhouette against the trees.

Amelia!

I had no idea how she’d found us, but that didn’t matter—she’d bought me the time I’d needed to finish casting my spell. All that remained were Chaos Words.

Gourry swung the Sword of Light one last time. That was all I needed.

“Dragon Slave!”

Kanzeil, for all the agony he was in, still wouldn’t drop the attitude. “Don’t waste your time!” he cried. “I’m more powerful than any of your paltry parlor tricks!”

Then, before those bulbous eyes of his, something happened that I’m sure he never expected: the Sword of

Light’s whitish blade was set ablaze with a furious crimson radiance.

“Whaaat?!” he roared.

Gourry brought down the Sword of Light, slicing Kanzeil in half from top to bottom. Before he even hit the ground, Amelia unleashed another Ra Tilt just to finish the foul thing off. The flames immediately consumed what was left of Kanzeil, turning the Mazoku into white ashen powder. The winds that had been circling the meadow throughout the battle quickly scattered the powder to the skies.

The wind settled, and we all looked at each other. I gazed up as tiny specks of Mazoku sprinkled from the clearing sky…

I didn’t even feel myself hit the ground.

* * *

“Hey Lina!”

Not now, Gourry.

“Lina!”

Let me sleep.

“LINA!”

“WHAT?!” I snapped, abruptly rolling over in bed.

Gourry, who was on the cot across from mine, immediately shrunk back. “What’d I say?” he murmured sadly.

I sighed and dropped back on my pillow.

We’d only just defeated Kanzeil the day before, and someone had dragged me to Saillune’s mystic infirmary and treated with White Magic spells.

Somebody wake me up in three weeks.

“Sheet changes in fifteen minutes, Miss Inverse,” Mr. Gray chirped far too cheerily as he passed through. “Up, up, up! You can sleep after we’re done.”

I groaned. Lucky for us, Mr. Gray was the head physician at the infirmary It seemed that our adventure in Saillune had given his business quite a boost—beaten-up guards and soldiers, mainly—so he was busy, happy, and sickeningly efficient. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and recuperate in peace.

Oh, and he’d told me that Sylphiel was still suffering occasionally from nightmares, but would eventually recover, just like Saillune itself.

I sighed and looked up at Gourry my eyelids still half-closed. “Whaddaya want?” I croaked. It was the first sentence I’d uttered since the battle.

Gourry fiddled with the fringe on his pillowcase. “I just… y’know, wanted to know how you did it.”

“Did what? Beat Kanzeil?”

“Yeah. What’d you do with Dragon Slave?” Gourry asked.

I rubbed my eyes with the back of a hand. “I just directed Dragon Slave into the Sword of Light. The spell converged with the blade, amplifying the spell’s power enough to destroy Kanzeil’s defenses.”

Gourry smiled. “Nice, Lina!”

But then the smile dropped from his face and he froze as if he’d just realized something horrible.

“What a sec,” he muttered.

“Yeah?”

“Weren’t you worried that the Sword of Light might, you know, blow up or something when it converged with Dragon Slave?”

“W-well,” I stammered, “that’s, uh… ah ha ha!” I smiled as sweetly as I could, hoping Gourry might be won over by how adorable I could be. But he wasn’t having any of it.

“Don’t gimme that dopey smile! You knew there was chance of that sword exploding and me exploding with it, didn’t you? But you went through with it anyway!”

“Hey!” I yelled back. “Didn’t you tell me to ‘just do it’ no matter what the consequences were? I was just following your advice! And there was good reason to take the risk. Remember, Gourry your sword once absorbed the power of Giga Slave. The chances of it breaking under Dragon Slave were pretty low.”

Gourry frowned, unconvinced. “And what do you suppose the risk was?”

“Oh,” I answered vaguely, fishing for a number, “I’d say fifty-fifty.”

“Whaaat?!” Gourry exclaimed.

“Just kidding, Mr. Jumpy. The risk was closer to 10 percent, probably even less.”

The danger had passed. Even though the risk had been small, I figured the least I could do was level with Gourry now. Unfortunately, the truth didn’t make him feel any better.

I knew that The Sword of Light was more powerful than any human who might wield it, but I still wasn’t completely sure of its powers… hence my constant plot to swipe the sword from Gourry long enough to take up research on it. And keep it, if at all possible.

“I’d like to know something!” It was Amelia. She’d been standing in the doorway, listening in on us. “How did this stuff between you and Kanzeil start, anyway?”

“He was just following orders,” I replied. “Seems the puppet master is still at large.”

I was now certain that whoever was behind Kanzeil wasn’t the Demon Lord of the North or Ruby Eye Shabranigdu. I’d come to that conclusion after reflecting on my conversation with Kanzeil. He’d never referred to Shabranigdu by an official title or with any honorific. Mazoku are very strict about their code, so Kanzeil’s slip-of-the-tongue had been a clue to something else, or rather, someone else.

“In any case,” I commented, “you really saved our butts the other day, Amelia. I wanna thank you for helping us out. But why did you happen to follow us into battle, anyway?”

“There’s an easy enough answer to that.” Amelia smiled. “I convinced Father to let me out of the Royal Palace, asked around to find out where you were headed, and traced your steps straight out of the city’s gates. When I noticed magic spells going berserk in that field off the main highway, I just followed the lights and noise and found you guys.”

“Er, no,” I muttered. “Not how, why. Why were you so concerned about what happened to us?”

“I told you already.” She stepped into the room from the doorway. “Remember when I told you something big was going on?”

“Yeah. You said I was mixed up in it.”

“That’s right. Now I don’t know what that something is, but if it’s something evil, I wanna be there to smash it with…” Amelia clenched her fist and raised it high in the air. “With my Iron Maul of Justice!”

Gourry and I looked at each other skeptically, but the young priestess was too fired up to notice.

“So, I’ll be tagging along on your travels, if you don’t mind,” Amelia declared. “It’ll be wonderful working with you.”

I stared at her, still unsure whether or not to take her seriously.

“The pleasure is mine?” I said shakily. “But Phil’s gonna flip when he finds out—”

“I told you,” Amelia said emphatically. “I convinced him to let me leave the palace and do my own thing.”

Youdidwhatnow?

Was Phil such a pushover? I doubted Amelia had convinced him so much as nagged the hell out of him ‘til he gave in.

“It’s not fun and games out there, Amelia.” I furrowed my eyebrows. “Gourry and I lead dangerous lives. One slip could cost you your life.”

“I’m aware of that, thank you very much,” she retorted. “But where I come from, it’s proper for daughters to journey forth in their youth, enduring life’s myriad hardships while charged with a sense of justice. I’d so much prefer that to living cooped up in some Royal Palace all my life. I wanna know what it feels like to really live!”

Gourry still looked shell-shocked by Amelia’s proposition. He turned to me. “Um… I don’t think we can talk her out of this.”

I gripped my temples. I could definitely feel a headache coming on.

“Well,” she said cheerfully, “now that that’s settled, Miss Lina where will we be heading next?”

But now that she mentioned it, I hadn’t really given our next step much thought. I’d spent the past day either unconscious or trying to get my head together. If it weren’t for the fact that a host of Mazoku (minus Kanzeil, thankfully) were lurking out there and just waiting to kill me, I’d have gone home to pay my folks a nice long visit. But there were more immediate matters to sort out.

I had to find out why all the Mazoku were suddenly after me.

“The Kingdom of Dilse, Amelia,” I told her, “the land where dark legends slumber.”