"Just how many of these guys are there?" Etna knocked aside two more skeletons, only to have three more rush her. She had been slowly pushed back by their advance, and was now perilously close to the edge of the stone floor. She could feel the discomforting heat of the bubbling lava below. Why do so many demons insist on having pools of lava in ther castles? Etna wondered dismally, not being a fan of hot climates. (Kind of ironic, since she's named after a volcano?) She parried a strike from a skeleton's lance, and delivered one of her own. Unfortunately, the two other skeletons were ready for a followup. A sword and a mace scored glancing hits upon the demoness, who was quick to return the favor. Another sweep of Longinus bashed them aside, but still more skeleton soldiers advanced.

"Getting tired?" mocked the manticore from behind his skeletal army.

"Tired? No. Annoyed? Yes." Etna put her spear away and began focusing demonic energy into her hands, getting ready to use her most powerful attack. Some skeletons immediately rushed her, but she leapt backwards, causing them to collide into a boney heap. She then threw a small cluster of energy balls at them, scattering them into bone shrapnel. Still more skeletons advanced, only to get hit by the big energy ball at the end of her Chaos Impact. Etna landed perilously close to the edge of the floor where the lava pool began. Her landing was also greeted by the manticore lunging toward her, claws extended. Etna was siezed by the throat and held above the boiling lava pit, her feet barely making contact with the edge of the floor. She could feel the heat creep up her back.

"Gotcha," the manticore said triumphantly, his claws constricting Etna's neck. She realised too late she had bitten off more than she could chew. Perhaps taking on an entire skeleton army and their leader solo was a bit ambitious? "Any last words before I barbeque ya?" the manticore breathed in her face.

"Yeah. Ever heard of a breathmint?" she almost gagged. Unfortunately, this answer did nothing to aid her situation. She was abruptly released, and felt hot air rush all around her as she descended toward the fiery pool below. For one eternal second she knew she was a goner, then something collided with her, and she began soaring up and away. Opening her eyes, she came face-to-face with her vassal, Jeryk. He was holding up his gun, which had a grappling hook attached that had been fired at the ceiling, and they were now swinging on it. The James Bond theme was playing from some mysterious source.

"Heya mistress Etna. Looked like ya were headin' for the deep end, so I thought I'd swing by."

Etna simply sighed. "Guess I'm not the only one who's in the mood for bad puns today." They landed on a large pillar in the middle of the lava pool.

Back at the pool's edge, the masked manticore was throwing a rather childish fit. "Gggrraaarr! Get back here! I'll rip every hair out of your head! I'll break every bone in your body! And where the hell is that music coming from?"

"That's the least of your concerns." Xavia the swordmaster had appeared beside him, holding her blade to his throat. His eyes moved from side to side to take in the sight of his remaining skeleton warriors lying in pieces on the ground, and a young demon with a red scarf and an evil grin rolling his foot on one of their skulls. In no time flat the manticore was tied up on the very pillar he had tied Flonne and Nikka. Overlord Laharl's entire reunited company now surrounded him.

"Well now," Laharl began, his arms crossed. "An interesting place you have here. But sight-seeing is over. We need to have a little talk with your Overlord. Where is he?"

"Forget it, brat!" barked the bound manticore. "I'm not telling you a thing!"

"I see," Laharl smirked. "Normally I'd handle the persuasions myself, but..." he nodded to Flonne and Nikka. Both grinned sinisterly, produced giant, flaming feathers, and advanced on their ex-torturer.

"N-n-nooooooo!" his cry echoed throughout the halls.


They eventually managed to get a decent amount of information from the manticore. It turns out they were in the lower section of the castle, and the only way to reach the overlord's chamber in the upper part is to go through a dimensional portal. Unfortunately, the portal room was on the far side of the castle, and Laharl's company was finding it difficult to navigate the many halls.

"Whoever designed this castle is definitely going on my 'To Kill' list," Etna grumbled, still sore from her skirmish with the skeleton mob. Flonne had patched up most of the party's wounds, though some were feeling drained from excessive combat or, in Flonne and Nikka's case, several near-death experiences.

"I wanna go hoooooome," Nikka whined, trudging along in her expensive shoes she had been so concerned with up until now.

"Keep it down," Ricon advised. "We don't want to alert any more guards."

"That's not a bad idea actually. I'm starting to get bored." Laharl started playing with a ball of his demonic fire.

"Shouldn't you save your strength Lord Laharl?" Xavia said, trying to sound casual rather than concerned.

"Nah. The overlord here is probably a wimp, judging by his wimpy vassals. Whatever weakling guards appear, I'll just blast them aside and make my way straight to the throne room. Haaaaahahahahahaaa!..."


About half an hour later, they had found the portal room, and...

"Great. Dragons..."

Three huge dragons stood between them and an equally huge dimensional portal. Unlike the small, wimpy ones they had fought on Blackness Peak, these were not wild pack demons, but strong, intelligent sentries. "Yep, they're dragons alright," Etna chimed in. "They look pretty tough too. Watcha gonna do, Prince?"

"You don't suppose they'll let us through, do you?" Flonne asked hopefully, though knowing full well the answer.

Laharl stepped forward to face the draconic guardians. "Hey, you guys! I'm the great and terrible Overlord Laharl! I demand to see your overlord at once! Let us pass!"

Two of the dragons snickered, while the third, their leader, snorted fire. "You're in no position to be ordering us around, brat. Go home." He spoke in a deep rasp.

Etna felt the need to point something out; "Uh, we can't exactly do that, even if we wanted to. We're kinda lost in here."

"Is that so?" rasped the dragon guard leader. "There's no helping it then..."

"S-so you'll let us pass?" Flonne meekly asked.

"No. We'll burn you to ash." The dragon leader stated matter-of-factly.

"Gee, how accommodating," Etna drew her spear just as Laharl swung out his sword. The dragons were upon them in seconds, spewing flames in force. Flonne cast a shield spell to blunt the impact. The raging fire overcame the spell, but it left Laharl's company enough time to avoid the blaze. In a flash, Ricon leapt up and connected with a roundhouse kick to one of the dragon's abdomens. He noticed the hardness of the beast's scales as his knee impacted the dragon's belly. The dragon, slightly winded, spun around with a mighty flap of his wings, attempting to smash Ricon away with his tail. A blazing fireball cast by Nikka suddenly impacted the dragon's back, but it just brushed harmlessly off him.

"Hey, that's no fair! Why didn't my spell work?" Nikka protested loudly, flailing her staff in a childish fit.

"Fire is their element, they're strong against it, ya ditz," Jeryk pointed out while firing off a bullet storm. "For a mage, ya sure are an airhead."

"Shut up, Jerk-ryk! Maybe we should see how fire resistant you are!" Nikka held her glowing staff menacingly close to Jeryk's head.

Another dragon landed inches from the quarrelling duo, ready to rent them apart with his claws. Etna stepped in just in time to block with Longinus. "Uh, guys, you can kill each other later. Let's focus on not getting slaughtered right now."

Xavia had joined Ricon to fight off the first dragon, getting a surprise attack in while Ricon dodged another stream of fire. When the dragon turned to deal with the swordmaster he was hit with an upward kick from the shinobi. Ricon executed a King of Beasts combo, but was foiled at the end when the dragon grasped hold of him and held him downward as they plummeted. Xavia leapt up to meet them, slashing away at the dragon's arms, causing him to release Ricon just in time. The dragon impacted the stone floor with a loud crash, creating a large crater.

Ricon nodded to Xavia in thanks after they landed, but they had barely time to enjoy solid ground before the dragon rose up again, furious for recieving the bloody cuts on his arms. "For that, you burn!" On that word he sent a burst of flames streaking towards them like a monstrous flaming runaway train.

In the eye of the storm, Laharl battled the dragon guard leader, Reigash. Laharl's black Cosmic Blade met the grasp of Reigash's diamond-like claws. They struggled, trying to unbalance each other. Reigash leaned forward, using his superior size as leverage. Laharl was losing his grip on his sword. He focused his demonic aura into the blade, causing it to radiate with energy. This was enough to disturb Reigash's grip, and in a flash the blade was released and Laharl had cut into him. Reigash staggered back two giant steps, but got back into a ready stance immediately. It would take more than one cut from this kid overlord to fell the great dragon guard leader. Still, he was strong. This would be an interesting battle...

Laharl leapt forth, ready to deal more damage to his draconic foe. Reigash rapidly swung around, whipping Laharl with his mace-like tail. Laharl blunted the impact with his sword and backflipped from the force of the blow. Laharl landed at the edge of the stone platform near the large gate. "All right, you asked for it!" He focused his aura into the blade once more, and unleashed a powerful Dimension Slash. Reigash barely had time to react. With a strong flap of his wings he managed to avoid most of the slash, taking a glancing hit to his right side. The aftermath of the slash caused stone rubble to fly everywhere as it impacted the ground and wall. A thick layer of dust kicked up, concealing the dragon from Laharl's view. Seconds of eerie silence ticked by...

"Show yourself!" Laharl challenged, swinging his sword impatiently at the swirling dust causing some of it to blow aside. This proved to be a mistake as the dragon, with a now clear view of the young overlord, answered with a blast of flame. All Laharl could do was brace for the fiery impact. The temperature around him soared as blinding flames engulfed him.

"Laharl!" Flonne screamed, witnessing his disappearance into the fire. She darted up the stairs to the platform where he had been standing, fearing the worst. Could Laharl withstand such intense flames? She could feel the heat from her location below. She was halfway up when the fire suddenly parted.

Laharl emerged like a phoenix, slightly singed, but otherwise intact. "I actually felt that," he scoffed, raising his sword toward Reigash. The dragon let out a growl of fury, and with a mighty flap of his wings, took to the air, ready to divebomb the arrogant demon child. This was fine with him though, as Laharl leapt up to meet him. They clashed once more, blade on claws, then flew back to the pillars on each side of the chamber. As soon as Laharl landed, he saw himself glow and felt a new surge of power flow through him. Flonne had cast the Braveheart spell on him. "This will be too easy now," he stated with a grin. He looked forward to see Reigash already swooping towards him. He leapt forth again to meet the dragon in mid-air, but this time he had the advantage. He parted the dragon's guard with one mighty sword swing, then delivered a punishing Nightsever attack. Reigash was defeated. He plummeted to the ground and landed with an earth-shaking crash that nearly broke the platform in two. Laharl landed nearby, sword ready, just in case.

Flonne, panting, reached him. "Is he...? Oh, I hope he's still alive. I think you overdid it, Laharl."

Always compassion for the enemy, Laharl sighed in his head. What a love freak... "He's fine, I didn't cut him too deeply. Besides, we might need him alive so we can use this ga-" Laharl's mouth dropped.

"What's wrong Laharl?" The fallen angel looked over and saw it. The gate had partially collapsed from the violent force of the battle. Large sections had crumbled away, including the crystal that was powering it. Flonne could just imagine what Super Robot Thursday would say if he were here: 'BEEP BEEP BLIP BEEP. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ABOVE 68%. BROKEN! BROKEN! BROKEN!'

The other two dragons broke off from their battles, knowing the fall of their leader meant impending defeat. Laharl's company gathered near their overlord, some looking worse for wear. Xavia had taken the brunt of a dragon's breath attack and was badly burned. Flonne immediately began tending to her wounds. Nikka had drained her magic, and could barely walk due to exhaustion. She almost drifted off to sleep in the arms of Jeryk, who was also very drained, and could barely produce any more magical ammo. The two dragons landed near the fallen Reigash, making sure he was still alive.

Etna was the first to notice the destruction. "Nice going, Prince. Way to destroy our only way of reaching the overlord."

"Gimme a break. You try fighting a dragon guard leader without destroying anything," Laharl retorted childishly.

"What are we going to do now?" Flonne asked, her demon tail twitching unconsciously.

"Too bad we don't have the dimensional gate repair team with us," Etna remarked.

"Yeah, that would've been handy," Laharl observed gravely. Before they had any more time to sulk over the situation, a faint swirl of energy began to form in the remnants of the gate. "What's going on? Is a dimensional portal being formed from the other side?"

"It looks like our master wishes to meet you," boomed the deep voice of Reigash, who was being supported by his subordinates. "Consider yourselves unlucky."

"What are you muttering about? I'll just clobber him like I did you." Laharl shot him a cocky grin.

The fallen dragon guard leader let out a deep foreboding laugh. "You are strong, young overlord. But our overlord is a terror among demons. You're in over your head."

"We'll see about that." Laharl turned away from Reigash and faced the portal. The other side was now visible. A crystalline hall, much like the one they had seen before they were seperated, lead to a bright florescent chamber filled with pillars and glowing symbols on the floor.

"That looks like an important room. Y'think it's the throne room?" Jeryk adjusted his hold on Nikka so she wouldn't drool all over him.

"I'll bet some of that stuff is worth a fortune..." Etna gazed at the glistening room gleefully, eyeing the crystal chandeliers in particular (sooo much nicer than the one Lyle stole).

"We should be cautious. It could be another trap," Ricon pointed out, not much enjoying the last experience.

"That's a good point," Laharl raised his sword to the injured dragon's face. "Maybe we should send one of these guys ahead of us to make sure."

The two subordinates growled in protest, but Reigash merely looked Laharl in the eye. "I swear by my honour as a dragon guard, it is not a trap. If you are not convinced, send me in first."

Laharl pondered for a couple seconds, then lowered his blade. "No, that won't be necessary," he said indifferently. "Etna, Ricon, follow me through the portal. The rest of you stay here."

"But Laharl, won't you need us?" Flonne squeaked. "What if you have to fight the overlord?"

"That's my problem. Besides, the rest of you are too tired or injured to go on. You'll only get in my way."

"But, Lord Laharl..." Xavia began, only to flinch with pain from her burns, only semi-healed by Flonne's remaining power.

"You're staying here, and that's that," Laharl firmly stated. He turned to the dragons once more. "And if you guys try anything funny while I'm gone, I'll make you wish you never existed. Got it?"

The two subordinates glared, but Reigash let out a deep chuckle. "Concern for your vassals, I see?"

"N-no! It's not that. I just need them alive, because...they're useful. It would be a pain to try and find decent replacements. That's all." Whatever their overlord might say, they all knew Reigash hit the nail on the head.

"We are defeated. There is no further need for us to fight." The Dragon Guard Leader assured, succeeding in masking the jolt of pain that suddenly coursed through his wounds.

"Good." Laharl stepped up to the portal with building anticipation. Etna and Ricon followed stride. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep our 'host' waiting any longer."

"Good luck!" Flonne called off after them. Their images became blurry as they passed through the portal leading to the overlord's chamber. She knew a final showdown between overlords was about to take place…but who would win?


Part 8 -Fin