Chapter 04 - Rising Revival
It has been 4 hours. Lina's right eyebrow twitched incredibly. She and Gourry have been following this guy for 4 hours. Does it take 4 hours to get to where they need to be? No, it does not. Lina concluded. She glared at the back of Halshifom's head. He had led them off the green path and into the deep forest, getting them as far away from Saillune as possible. What if, her red eyes squinted, it's all a trap? Well, she smirked, she'll know soon enough. Lina rolled her eyes when she felt Gourry grab her hand again. She's been trying to ignore him for the first 10 minutes, but Gourry kept walking close and it has been a task to push him away.
"No, Gourry." Lina hissed and shook him away. "We are working!"
"But, Lina," He frowned. She gave out an evil snarl through her teeth, making him sigh and stuff his hands into the pockets of his brown trench coat. "I just wanted to hold your hand." Rolling her eyes, Lina looked back at him, still walking behind the criminal.
"Can't you last 10 seconds without touching me?"
"No." He honestly answered. Blushing, Lina opened her mouth to reply only to notice that Halshifom had stopped in front of her. She quickly took her revolver from her right hip holster and positioned it behind his head.
"We're here." The once-silent man spoke. Lina looked over his figure carefully and moved her eyes to the open area in front of her. Towering into the afternoon sky, there was a large 3-story stone mansion and between them, the bounty hunters eyes grew to see a graveyard, the size of a football field. It was obvious there was no caretaker for the graves since all were dug up and the top cover of the caskets were broken into. Lina and Gourry walked next to each other as they walked through the graveyard, grimacing at the rotting corpse of men, women, and children in the open caskets. Lina looked at Halshifom; the corpses had no effect on him.
"Who dug up these graves?" Gourry asked softly, his eyes flinched when he breathed into a smell of decaying human flesh and quickly covered his nose.
"It's the power of the Lithium." Halshifom said and stopped in the middle of the pathway, Lina and Gourry paused behind him. "This is its power." His hair fell off his shoulders when the wind picked up, his white laboratory coat moved as well. He turned his sight upon the stone statue standing up in the middle of the yard; it was of a naked woman with her hands lifting to the sky.
"I never heard of an energy source that can dig up dead bodies." Lina made a face when she saw a fresh corpse with maggots crawling out of the soft grey tissue.
"You irrelevant beings," Halshifom chuckled into the wind. "Would not understand the great capability of energy Lithium holds." He turned his head, resting his unyielding eyes upon the two weapon-carrying persons. A smirk developed on his face, making them wince.
"But you will see soon." He said so quietly whilst he continue walking towards the mansion. Lina and Gourry exchanged quick glances before following their prisoner. When they were just adjacent to the woman statue, Halshifom paused to stare emotionlessly at it and walk by without a single word. They were just about to leave the horrific setting when Halshifom stopped the moment his feet stepped out of the yard, Lina and Gourry came to a halt as well, only they were still inside of the graveyard.
"I used to be like you." The culprit whispered. He moved his body slowly around, making Lina raise her weapon between his eyes. Halshifom smiled gingerly as he faced his two opponents. "An irrelevant, optimistic, fool who dedicated his entire life in futile objectives for what he believed in and that his efforts and uphill struggle had a significant purpose." He shoved his hand into his pocket suddenly.
"Get your hand out. NOW." The gun slinger pulled back the hammer of her revolver. "Unless you WANT to see your brains splattered against the ground." She threatened. Halshifom just chuckled, his head shaking when he did.
"Fools." He obliged to her orders but only because he wanted to show off the remote that he had in his pocket.
"What is that? What's in your hand?" Lina glared, her grip tightened when he lifted his thumb to the red button on the remote. "DON'T FUCKING MOVE." She blasted a warning shot near his feet, stopping him from doing anything.
"NEXT TIME, I WON'T WASTE MY BULLET." She snarled. Halshifom released a soft chuckle.
"I thought you want to see the 12 girls?" His smirk grew wide when Lina and Gourry flinched. "Or was it 9?"
"You bastard!" Gourry charged at him. Lina gasped, she called after her partner to stop but Halshifom had pushed the button of the remote and threw it to the ground, destroying it into pieces. Gourry raised his steel blade over his head and swung at Halshifom, whom dodged the fast sword and kicked the young hunter in the stomach, flinging him to the ground next to Lina. She released the rest of her bullets at Halshifom's feet, trying to get him to stop running. When he finally did, he was standing in front of the large mansion.
"HALSHIFOM!" Lina picked Gourry to his feet and reloaded her revolver. "MY ORDERS ARE TO TAKE YOU IN ALIVE!" She placed her hand to her left hip. "BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH TURNING YOU IN, BARELY ALIVE." Lina kept her stance until Halshifom slowly turned around. A wicked smile appeared on his face. Just when she saw his smile, pale hands erupted out of the ground and grabbed both of Lina's ankles, keeping her from moving.
"WHAT THE HELL?" She unleashed bullets near her feet. Releasing an agonizing high-pitch shriek, the hands let go of her and sink back into the ground. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
"Lina." Gourry spoke her name, catching her attention. "You hear that?" He cringed to hear creaking noises coming from the dug up graves. "It sounds like… something is coming out of the graves." Expecting the worst, their backs pressed against one another, surveying the area around them as the mad scientist let out a teasing chuckle into the wind.
"Now," He sighed and crossed his arms across his chest, watching the two hunters panic. "Open your eyes and see the power of Lithium." Lina moved her eyes everywhere around her. The noises of wood breaking and soft emotionless moans filled her ears. Her heart beat grew fast and loud every second she listened to the growing moans.
"What is that?" She couldn't concentrate her eyes on one single thing. "What the FUCK is that?" Lina snarled. Then she felt Gourry pushed against her back with a sudden jerk, she turned her head over her shoulders and looked at what got him to jump. The two bounty hunters froze in their position, their eyes stayed still on the grave in front of Gourry. Rotten, decaying hands had reached the top of the freshly dug-up hole. With dried bones poking out from openings of failing skin, the moving entity hissed when it lifted to the afternoon air.
Rested since its death, the corpse turned its hollow eye sockets to Lina and Gourry, who couldn't believe what they were seeing. A dead person was lifting out of its grave on its own. It was Lina who made the first move. She shoved Gourry to the side and blasted her revolver into the corpse's head, only to make it release a loud screech. Lina switched out her revolver to her sawed-off shotgun that was strapped against her back. She loaded it with her own specially made rounds and shot the corpse in half. Lina turned her head when Gourry called her; she stared at what had gotten his full attention. Climbing out of their graves and stalking towards them, Lina saw more than a dozen corpses around them.
"This is impossible, right?" Gourry watched as an undead person let out a horrible shriek and limp to him. He looked at his partner. "Lina, this is all a trick, right?" Lina moved her eyes to each moving dead body coming towards her. The shotgun in her hands slightly trembled. Growling, she turned her head to the man responsible but he was walking away, laughing as he did so. In a fast movement, Lina unlatched her pouch at her hip and swiped three ruby-colored daggers, shaped as arrows.
With great accuracy, she chucked two steel daggers into the man's back, striking him like lightning bolts. Halshifom fell to one knee, squirts of blood pushed out from the sharp edges of the ragged steel. When he tried to stand up, Lina targeted his hand. He released a painful screech when the third blade struck the back of his hand, pinning him into the stone porch of his mansion. Halshifom grabbed the dagger by the handle but failed to pull it out; he looked back at Lina with a murderous glare. She smirked and puckered her lips at him.
"Stay and watch the fight." Lina snickered. Taking another dagger from her collection, she held it against her forearm while putting her shotgun away.
"How much, Gourry?"
"Four dozen." Gourry noted. He and Lina carefully looked at the surrounding undead, keeping an equal distance away from all of them. Lina snorted.
"I don't have a lot of rounds left so I'll be the diversion." She moved away from Gourry.
"I'll lend you my back." He smiled. They both nodded and in an instant, Lina turned swiftly around and rushed at her partner, Gourry bent his body slightly forward and held his position. Stepping on Gourry's back, Lina leaped into the air by jumping off his shoulders. She flew over the growing crowd and landed gracefully on her feet, grabbing the attention of more than half of the zombies. Leaving Gourry, Lina ran to the other side of the graveyard, stabbing and slashing whenever she got a chance.
As time passed, she found herself being surrounded and switched to her shotgun. Blowing holes into every dead face she sees, Lina saw the woman statue nearby and climbed to the top of the tall gargoyle, where the corpses were unable to reach her delicious body. The huntress looked across the yard to her partner, he was almost finished slicing his crowd of opponents. In the meantime, she returned her shotgun to her body and began shooting to any corpse that got close enough to touching her feet with her two revolvers.
"Dammit!" Lina shook the last of her bullets out of the chamber and glared at the mass collection of undead at the bottom of the statue. She had no more rounds for her revolvers. All she had left were 4 rounds for her shotgun and 15 piercing bullets for her sniper rifle. How was she going to get out of here alive with just a small supply of rounds when there is an army of the undead reaching out to eat her? Slapping the palm of her hand to her forehead, Lina hated the fact that she had to sit to the side and rely on Gourry, it made her feel weak. She sighed, only to release a loud curse word when one of the zombies grabbed at her ankle and she kicked its face away. As if someone was hearing her thoughts, Lina turned her head around when she heard a loud cry that belonged to a horse. Riding on horseback with his blade sticking out on one side, Zelgadiss guided his horse into the graveyard.
"Zel!" Lina cheered from the top of the statue, her arms waved in the air. Chopping off heads of the undead, Zelgadiss rode the large animal to where Lina was located and jumped off; his horse sprinted away in a flash. Swinging his steel blade at every direction, he cut every monster within sight into pieces. Cutting the last one down, Zelgadiss returned his blade into its sheath while Lina jumped off and landed next to him. "How'd you find us?"
"I heard the gun shots." He answered quickly and reached into his coat. "It's not your blend of bullets but it's something." He threw her a large sack of regular revolver rounds. "You also might need this." Zelgadiss took out Lina's ultimate creation, the Dragon Slave, from his inner jacket pocket.
"You are a lifesaver." She strapped the large barrel gun to its rightful place on the side of her leg. They were soon joined by Gourry, who had victoriously got the rest of the zombies. Zelgadiss scanned his eyes over the fallen corpses; his black bandanna covered his nose and mouth to block off the horrible decaying smell.
"How did this happen?" He asked sternly, not an ounce of shock in his voice.
"Lithium." Lina answered, she was lifting her own white bandanna cloth over her nose. The three of them looked over the terrible mess and exchanged looks.
"Let's go to that messed up, son-of-a-bitch and find out what the fuck just happened." Leading the pack, she and Gourry were careful to not step on any body parts whilst Zelgadiss didn't care when he crushed a head into pieces. Lina released a loud groan when she spotted the front porch empty.
"That fucking guy is so persistent!" She looked over the large pool of blood and dragging marks he created on the porch. Following the blood trail, they went through the front door of the mansion with their weapons out. It wasn't long until they spotted him; he was crouched in the middle of the room, his back turned towards them. The three hunters stared at the panting scientist, he was sitting in a large pool of blood and the two daggers were still in his back.
"Halshifom." Zelgadiss tucked his bandanna down. "You are under arrest for kidnapping charges-"
"SURRENDER NOW OR I WILL ACCIDENTALLY PULL THIS TRIGGER TO THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD." Lina held the end of the revolver to his head. The culprit just stayed quiet, his breathing getting louder and heavier. Getting rather annoyed by his silence, Lina stepped forward, breaking the distance between them.
"My significant purpose." He finally spoke, stopping Lina from getting closer. "It cost the life of an innocent person." Halshifom released a weak chuckle and shook his head. "A woman."
"A… woman?" Lina repeated carefully. Her eyes lowered when the scientist's hands tighten into a fist, she motioned her partners for cover and they obliged.
"Dearest Rubia." Halshifom said in a low, rough voice. As Gourry crept to the left and Zelgadiss went to the right of Halshifom's side, Lina kept her position behind him. "She believed in my beliefs, in my purpose, and in me." Slowly, his face cringed, his eyes eventually glaring at the marble floor beneath him. "She promised to be by my side, to hold and care, to love and make love, for me, and only me."
"Then," His chest began to raise quickly, his breathing getting heavier and faster. "My life killed her. It stabbed her repeatedly in the heart, raping her of her soul, and taking away the only thing she had left, her life. She used her last breath to smile upon me and confess her dying devotion for me and only me." Unable to lay his eyes on anything, Halshifom raised his head and turned it around to Lina, who was staring at him with widen eyes.
"She died, don't you understand?" His voice was now just a mere whisper. "She died because of me." Lina moved her eyes slightly off him, disturbed from his sad tale of his lover. He let out a soft scoff and lowered his head again.
"But… I found a way." Lina looked back at him quickly when Halshifom suddenly released a low chuckle which slowly built up into a sadistic and hysterical laughter. He brought his body back as he roared a loud laugh that shook the ground beneath them. The grip of her revolver tightened, Lina watched as the once-sane man laughed in front of her. Eventually, his laughter died down and he hung his face low, his bloody left hand barely covering his twisted face. He didn't care that his face was getting painted by blood.
"I found a way." A wicked smile slipped open on his distorted expression. His body shook uncontrollably and his head jerked from side to side. Then he looked up at Gourry, who winced to see his face. It showed regretful pain and sorrowful grieve, an expression that only love can create when it had been taken away too soon. Noticing Gourry's changed facade, Zelgadiss rushed at the mad man, his revolver pressed against Halshifom's temple.
"Didn't you hear me earlier, bastard?" He grunted. "You are a wanted criminal and we're taking you to prison for the rest of your miserable life. I suggest you shut the fuck up and come with us quietly," The hammer to Zelgadiss's triple barrel revolver was pulled back, making a soft click. "Or I will." Halshifom just turn his face to him, his wicked smile grew.
"I found a way," He repeated again and lifted to his feet hesitantly. "I found a way to get her back, you see." Stumbling towards him, Zelgadiss took a few steps back until he was standing nearby Lina, Halshifom's hands still placed over his broken bitter face. "By using Lithium, I can get Rubia back from the dead and it would be like she never left me."
"That's impossible." Lina snarled. "You can't bring anything back to life if the soul has moved on." Chuckling at her, Halshifom shook his head. He watched Gourry as he went to Lina's side; he looked at the three hunters together.
"See, that's why you're all insignificant beings. You do not understand the magnitude of this power." Then, his crooked eyes slightly closed. "But I do." Suddenly, the tile floor beneath them was swiped away. Catching the edge of the drop, the bottom half of Lina's body dangled in the trap hole while her other half cling to the smooth marble floors. She tried to pull herself up but her arms struggled from the immense weight and the smooth texture, she looked down the hole and winced.
"Don't you FUCKING let go!" Zelgadiss shouted. He and Gourry were holding onto her ankles, their heavy bodies dangling next to hers. Gourry released a loud whine to see nothing but darkness beneath their feet.
"I don't want to die!" He yelped. "DON'T LET GO, LINA!" Already dripping in sweat, Lina clung to the edge with all her might. She looked up when Halshifom limped over to her folded arms; he bent his body forward and grabbed the specially-made revolver that she dropped.
"Unusual gun." He muttered as he inspected it. She growled when he popped the barrel out and checked the bullets. "Made from a combination of titanium alloy and gold." Halshifom looked over Lina's excruciating expression. "You know your metals."
"I'm a gunslinger at heart, dagger specialist in soul, and a master metal bender." She released a loud yelp when Gourry slipped due to her leather pants and Zelgadiss caught him by his wrist, making Lina nearly lose her grip on the edge. "STAY STILL, DAMMIT!" The redhead screamed at her passengers. She cursed loudly the moment she heard a clicking sound of her revolver, she faced the end of her own barrel pointing at the middle of her forehead.
"I should kill you and get you out of my hair." Halshifom chuckled evilly. Lina glanced at the large puddle of blood he was creating under his feet and back at his sadistic face.
"But," He lowered the gun and moved his foot on top of her folded arms. "I'd rather hear your dying screams."
"Dying screams, huh?" Lina scoffed with a smirk. "Be careful what you wish for. It might not come true."
"Well, I will gladly see to it that it does." Halshifom snickered and kicked her arms off but Lina caught herself again by her fingertips, she growled at the tremendous weight on her three fingertips. Coming closer to the edge and into view, Zelgadiss released a bullet from his barrel and shot the mad scientist in his shoulder. Halshifom screeched in the powerful pain and fell backwards, his blood splashing everywhere on the marble floor.
"Don't let go, Lina!" Gourry started climbing up her body. "I'm almost there!"
"I can't…" One finger left the edge. "I-I can't…" Lina whimpered. Sensing her strength leaving from her fingertips and Gourry was nowhere near the top; Zelgadiss looked down at the darkness below him and sighed. He shoved his gun into his hip holster and tugged his coat tightly around him. Fuck, he hated being a fucking hero.
"I'll survive." He suddenly said aloud. Lina and Gourry's eyes widen at his statement and looked at him. Smirking, Zelgadiss broke his hold on Lina's ankle and fell straight down in to the thick darkness.
"ZEL!" Lina screamed and her fingertips gave up on her. In time, Gourry made it to the edge and caught Lina by the wrist before she joined Zelgadiss. Gourry easily tossed Lina's tired body over the edge and pulled himself up. Once out of the trap safe and sound, Lina and Gourry looked into the dark hole and called out for their comrade. "ZEL!"
"ZEL, ARE YOU ALIVE?" Gourry shouted. No response. Exchanging looks, they were about to express loudly to one another that their friend and partner have finally met his end until they heard a soft echo that sounded like profanity.
"ZEL? IS THAT YOU?" Lina breathed easily when she heard another echo and raised her arms above her head. "DAMMIT, ZEL! DIDN'T YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM LAST TIME? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE CONCEPT OF TEAMWORK?" She began to scold him.
"YOU THINK YOU ARE A HERO NOW FOR SACRIFICING YOURSELF FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM? NO! YOU ARE JUST AN IDIOT WHO IS TRAPPED IN A FUCKING BASEMENT!"
"Shut up… Flat chest…" She heard the echo say.
"DON'T MAKE ME FUCKING BLAST THIS DRAGON SLAVE, YOU ASSHOLE!" As Lina continued to scream at her third teammate, Gourry was searching around the floor.
"Hey, Lina, that bad guy is gone again." He told her when he didn't see Halshifom. Lina quickly spun her head around and released a loud groan. Behind her was just pools of blood and drag marks that led away from the room, Lina turned her head to the hole.
"HALSHIFOM IS GONE! GOURRY AND I ARE GOING TO FIND HIM! GET YOURSELF OUT OF THERE QUICK AND FIND US AFTERWARDS!" She ordered and left the trap's edge. Lina picked up her main revolver that Halshifom had touched with his bloody hands and shoved it into her holster. Instead, she picked her second gun on her other hip and loaded it with bullets.
"Alright, Gourry. We are officially NOT following orders anymore."
"Were we ever?" He questioned but Lina didn't hear him.
"I want this guy dead." She exclaimed as she pushed the filled chamber into her revolver. "Nobody fucks around with me and gets the fuck away." Lina snarled and began following the trail of blood leading out the room. Sighing, Gourry scratched the back of his head and calmly let after her. It's times like this when it's best to keep his idiot mouth shut. You never know what will happen to you if Lina is in a pissy mood.
Zelgadiss turned around in the corner and calmly walked in the dark, his hands were tucked into his coat pocket. He walked quietly, turning his sights only when he saw something move. He must've been walking continuously in the dark for a few minutes before hearing the other pair of footsteps joining his. His head moved to one shoulder, allowing his eyes to glance behind him unknowingly. Not noticing his action, the unknown person behind him continued to move behind him, keeping a good distance between them. Zelgadiss's eyes squinted slightly; he moved his head back while maintaining his calm walking speed. Seeing there was a turn he had to make up ahead, Zelgadiss removed his hand out of his pocket and slipped it into his coat to his shoulder holster. He picked his revolver out and kept it close to his body. He turned the corner and quickly pressed himself to the wall, positioning his gun close to his face. Waiting patiently for the unknown person, he listened to the footsteps as it got closer and closer. Clicking the hammer back on his revolver, Zelgadiss jumped in front of the individual once she came to his sights, the end of the barrel pressed against her forehead.
"Move and you're dead." The person said nothing but just raised her hands. It was too dark to see who she was but Zelgadiss could tell it was a young woman and she was very petite. Shoving her hard to the wall, he kept his gun at the back of her head as his free hand patted her body down. He ignored her soft whining when his hand rubbed down her thin legs and up her inner naked thighs, but he stopped the moment his hand touched her stomach since she began to squirm.
"Did you not hear what I said?" He dug the end of the barrel to her hair. "Move and you're dead." The woman nodded with a soft whimper and kept her body still for him to inspect. That was when he noticed that the woman in his midst was VERY familiar. TOO familiar. Running his hand up her sides, he knew exactly who she was the moment her trembling body spasm when he stopped his hand right below her chest. Amelia whimpered. She was quickly regretting disobeying everyone. She never thought she would be held up against her will and a sick, disgusting pervert will touch her young virgin body. This isn't what she thought being a bounty huntress was like! Suddenly, the gun lifted off her head. Her eyes widen when the man's hand left her stomach and moved to her shoulder, he pulled her off the wall. Sighing, Zelgadiss wasn't surprised that she followed but was a little disappointed that she did.
"Amelia." He spoke. Amelia jumped at the familiar voice. Now, she knew who it was. Beads of sweat began to fall from her brow. If she thought she was in trouble before, she was in BIG trouble now.
"U-Uh," She stuttered. "Yes, Zelgadiss-San?"
"You are a fool." He said bluntly. Amelia giggled nervously and nodded.
"I know." She turned around and faced him with vibrant eyes. "But Zelgadiss-San, I just wanted to help!"
"And die in the process?" Amelia bit her tongue and kept quiet. He was obviously disappointed in her. Lowering her head, she stared at the minimum space between them, an apprehensive feeling developed around them. After a few minutes of silence and listening to her quivering breath, Zelgadiss bent his neck and dropped his head on her shoulder, their faces next to each others. Amelia smiled at this and her fear of losing her friend's trust had soon disappeared.
Never able to ask for forgiveness for anything because of his proud and insensitive pride, Zelgadiss always prefer to show Amelia, and only Amelia, that he was remorseful and apologetic by placing his head on her shoulder and not saying another word. In that tense moment, it quickly turned to him apologizing silently for being so rough on her. In return, she would tilt her head to him, making the tips of her hair touch his neck and nothing more. It showed him that she was sorry too and hopefully, she won't do it again. His heart skipped a beat when Amelia released a cheering sigh of relief and her hands moved to his chest, placing them flat and secure. Despite them being lost in a dark basement that had long passageways and there was a crazy lunatic on the loose, Zelgadiss couldn't help but shut his eyes and savor this quiet loving moment he rarely had with Amelia. She smelt like vanilla and other beautiful things, he concluded.
The moment finally passed when they heard a loud noise nearby, his head instantly lifted off her shoulder and immediately took his revolver out. With Amelia here, he couldn't be as reckless as he wanted to be. Zelgadiss glanced at her carefully, she was looking around the dark and it was clear that she was frightened. He took her hand in his, making her turn her eyes to him. Unable to find the words to explain, he just stared with eyes filled of distress and worry. She seemed to understand since she closed the gap between their hands and nodded. Holding hands tightly, Zelgadiss led them through the dark tunnel with his mind on two things. One, he needs to find a way out. Two, he needs to find a way out so he can get Amelia to safety.
They have followed the blood trail into the living room in which, to Halshifom's favor, the trail went cold. Figuring he was nearby but still heavily injured, Lina and Gourry split apart to look for him. Whilst, Gourry looked to the kitchen and outside, Lina checked the bedrooms. Checking every room, she went to the last bedroom and kicked down the door. She stood in the doorway and moved her eyeballs across the room. It looked like the master bedroom because of the large windows and expensive furniture. Stepping inside silently, Lina kept her finger on the trigger of her shotgun; she kept it steady next to her body until she stopped in the middle of the room. Nobody was in there except herself; she released her breath and called for Gourry. Once she got a reply from him, Lina began to investigate the room. She found dust and cobwebs in every crevice, her tongue spilled out of her mouth when she saw dead rats in the closet. Closing the closet, she turned her body to the large bed and spotted a framed photograph on the small bed stand.
"He's not in the kitchen or outside." Gourry arrived to the room. He spotted Lina standing next to the bed, her shotgun dangling next to her body. She was staring intently at something in her hand. "Lina?" Gourry called her and she turned around.
"She's beautiful, Gourry." The redhead raised the picture frame in the air.
"Who is?"
"Rubia." Lina tossed the photo to him and he caught it. In the black and white photo, there was a younger version of Halshifom in his laboratory coat standing over a woman in a simple white dress sitting in a wooden chair; they both had a gentle smile plastered on their faces. Gourry lowered the photo and looked at Lina; she was now scratching her head with the end of her shotgun, an irritated expression on her face.
"He goes crazy over the death of his girlfriend," She began and paced around the room. "He finds a way to get her back to life with the use of the Lithium, just like how he got all those dead people back to life." Lina stopped in front of Gourry and pouted.
"So, he knew how to get Rubia back," She paused and stroked her chin. "Why the hell did he have to kidnap those 12 girls?" Gourry shrugged his shoulders; he gave the photo back to Lina whom stared at the photo again. Her eyes squinted angrily as she kept staring at the once happy couple.
"Gourry?"
"Yeah, Lina?"
"If something happens to me," Lina walked to the bed stand and placed the photo back to its original spot. "Promise me you won't ever blame yourself nor do anything stupid."
"What are you talking about, Lina?" He chuckled softly. "Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm there to protect you." Still, Lina was left worried.
"At least promise me that when I die, you won't grovel over my death and continue to live your remaining life without me." She said without looking at him. Gourry stared at her back until he lowered his eyes and sighed.
"I won't." He answered. A smile appeared on Lina's face and she turned around to face him, Gourry's eyebrows lifted to see such a happy expression.
"Thanks, Gourry. I won't either." She said with a soft blush. Eventually, he smiled back and nodded. Their heads spun around and weapons leaped into their hands when they heard a horrible screech erupt in the mansion. The two bounty hunters rushed out of the room and followed where they thought the scream came from. Another scream followed but it was different from the first one. Racing up the spiral staircase to the top floor where they found spots of blood splattered on the marble floor in front of a slightly open door and a third scream. Lina and Gourry walked around the blood and with the tip of her foot, the redhead quietly pushed the door wider. It was the door to the attic above. She poked her head in first and looked at the long wooden staircase that led to another door. She and Gourry jumped to heard a forth scream, it was definitely coming from the attic. Taking a very deep breath, Lina looked at Gourry and he looked at her. Nodding to each other now, the two bounty hunters sprinted up the stairs and kicked down the door to the large attic room.