(Hey! Chapter 21, we're getting really close to the end! :3 I still do not own Slayers.

Beware of sad scenes later on in the chapter- you were warned!)

21- Final Battle! A not-so-fond farewell!

"So this is Phibrizzo's dimension, huh? It's kinda... empty..." Gourry observed.

"Yeah, kinda like your head." Lina commented.

"Yeah, kinda... HEY!" Gourry turned to Lina and she laughed.

"You two, this is no time to be making jokes." Filia scolded. The group had made their way into the dimension that they had sealed Phibrizzo in. It was an easy task- much easier than it would be making their way out.

"Sorry, Filia. But where do we go?" Lina asked. "It's as if it continues infinitely in every direction, but there's nothing here."

"It's mirrored." Xellos said.

"Mirrored? What does that mean?" Pokota asked.

"It means that this area ends somewhere, but we can't see where because it's like a mirror. Do you understand?" Xellos replied.

"Yeah, I guess so." Pokota replied.

"I don't understand." Gourry said. "Can you explain it again?"

"Just forget about it." Xellos sighed. "Now let's see where we're supposed to go- huh?"

"What's that?" Pokota asked. The group looked around. They were suddenly surrounded by an enormous horde of monsters.

"Wh-where did all these random monsters come from?" Lina gasped.

"I have no idea!" Filia replied.

"Phibrizzo must have summoned them to get rid of us!" Xellos said. "And in that case, we have to defeat them."

"But there are hundreds of them!" Pokota yelled.

"Then let's get started!" Lina exclaimed. "Damu Bras!" Several monster were blown away by Lina's attack, and she grinned in satisfaction. However, twice as many appeared to take their place. "Oh, come on! That's no fair!"

"Elmikia Lance!" Pokota exclaimed, shooting a powerful attack at the monsters. He met the same results that Lina had, destroying several monsters only to have them replaced by even more.

"There's so many of them!" Filia gasped.

"They're very weak though." Xellos observed. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"You think maybe Phibrizzo's using them as a distraction rather than actually trying to hurt us?" Gourry asked. The entire group paused to stare at him incredulously. "What?" He looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"You're having one of your smart days today, aren't you?" Lina asked.

"Gourry has smart days?" Pokota questioned.

"Forget about that! I think he's right!" Xellos said. "Monsters this weak wouldn't be effective for actually hurting us, just for buying time. We can't let Phibrizzo have the amount of time that it would take to defeat them all- by that point it would be too late."

"But what can we do about them?" Filia asked.

"We'll fight them- I mean you, me, and Pokota." Xellos replied. "Lina, you and Gourry go find Phibrizzo and destroy him. We'll hold off these monsters to the best of our ability!"

"You got it! Good luck!" Lina exclaimed.

"Right!" Gourry nodded. "Thanks!"

Lina and Gourry ran off, trying to figure out where Phibrizzo went. "What did you thank them for?" Lina asked.

"For letting me come with you." Gourry replied.

"Why?"

"Because I have to protect you. It's my job, and if they had tried to separate us, I would have protested. But they were nice enough to let us stay together."

Lina shook her head. "Oh Gourry... only you would think about me at a time like this."

"You're all I ever think about." Gourry responded, and Lina didn't know whether blush and stammer a 'thank you,' or to whack him over the head for being overly sentimental at a crucial time.

"We've got to find Phibrizzo!" Lina exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, how do we do that exactly?" Gourry asked.

"Simple. We have to figure out where it is that this portion of the dimension mirrors. If we can locate the plane of reflection, that will show us where the barrier between this part of the dimension and the next is." Lina explained.

"Uh... what was that about plains?" Gourry questioned, a clueless look on his face.

"Just forget about it..." Lina sighed. "And here I thought you were being intelligent today..."

"Sorry." Gourry apologised. "I want to understand it, I really do... but it's just-"

"Gourry! Look!" Lina said, silencing him and pointing forward.

"Uh, what am I supposed to be looking at?" Gourry asked.

"Those columns! They are kind of random, but if you draw a mental line right there, they are reflected perfectly over it!" Lina said.

"And that means..." Gourry asked hopefully.

Lina gave him a whack on the head. "It means that line is the entrance to the place where Phibrizzo is hiding!"

"Oh! I knew that!" Gourry exclaimed.

"You did not..." Lina sighed. "But whatever! Let's just get going!" The two ran as fast as they could toward the plane of reflection where Phibrizzo had set up a barrier. Sure enough, when Lina tried to pass her hand through it, it disappeared into another portion of the dimension.

"Whoa! That's kind of scary!" Gourry exclaimed.

"Who cares? Let's go beat Phibrizzo and get out of here!" Lina replied, throwing herself onto the other side of the barrier. Gourry quickly followed.

"This place... looks like some sort of..." Gourry began, trying to figure out what the dimension resembled.

"Some sort of temple." Lina finished. She observed the varied columns and statues that were arranged in the space. Like the one before, it was mirrored, so it appeared endless.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't Lina Inverse and her little swordsman friend?" A voice called from behind them. The turned around quickly to see Phibrizzo sitting on top of one of the tall columns.

"Say, isn't that dangerous?" Gourry asked. "What if you fall?"

Phibrizzo burst out laughing while Lina gave Gourry a few good whacks over the head.

"First of all, he's Hellmaster Phibrizzo, so he can obviously levitate! Second of all, this is his dimension, so he can do whatever he wants!" She fumed.

"You're right, I can do whatever I want in here." Phibrizzo nodded. "In here, my attacks are at their most powerful. There's no way you can escape."

"We don't need to escape! We just need to beat you!" Lina growled.

"Oh, and you really think that you can do that?" Phibrizzo laughed some more. "Let's have some fun, shall we? Or... you could use the Giga Slave in a last-ditch effort to save yourselves. I mean, it didn't go berserk in Taforashia, so maybe it'll work in here as well. Just maybe..."

"Not a chance!" Lina exclaimed. "I'm here to defeat you without using the Giga Slave!"

"Is that even possible? I doubt it." Phibrizzo replied. "But I suppose that, if you're feeling especially defiant, I could go with Plan B."

"Plan B? There's a Plan B?" Gourry asked.

"There's always a Plan B." Phibrizzo responded, grinning. "Anyone who plans something has to have a backup plan to fall back on in case their original is ruined. In this case, I've figured out something else. It's kind of roundabout, but it'll work. Since I'm the controller of the dead, all I have to do is kill you. Then you'll become my puppet and I can make you do anything I want. Sound good?"

"What?" Lina gasped.

"So, now that you know you're not safe anymore, I'll proceed to kill you, Lina Inverse. Gourry, I'd recommend that you stand aside, if you fear for your life." Phibrizzo said, standing up on the column.

"Never! You know I'll protect Lina no matter what!" Gourry exclaimed.

"Oh, pity. I thought you would be good and back down. No matter. I'll just work around the obstacles." Phibrizzo sighed.

"Hey, Lina," Gourry whispered. "Wouldn't it have just been easier to kill you in the beginning instead of going to all this trouble to trick us?"

"Yeah." Lina whispered back. "But I get the odd feeling that this guy has some sort of obsession with complicated and intricate plans."

"Oh, right. I see." Gourry nodded. "But then..." He was suddenly cut off by a huge explosion.

"Gourry! Quit talking! Phibrizzo's going to destroy us if we don't focus!" Lina yelled.

"I'll destroy you even if you do focus, Miss Lina." Phibrizzo said, grinning. "You haven't seen just what I'm capable of in this space yet."

"Capable of, huh? I guess I haven't. Show me then." Lina replied.

"With pleasure." Phibrizzo said, narrowing his eyes. He shot a barrage of powerful attacks toward Lina, which she just barely managed to dodge.

"Lina!" Gourry gasped, seeing her almost hit again and again.

"You're quite nimble." Phibrizzo commented, sounding slightly annoyed. "But pure power trumps accuracy any day, wouldn't you agree? I was saving this attack as a last resort, but I think I'll use it now. It'll finish things faster." He raised his hands and created an enormous ball of dark energy. It appeared to be difficult to control, even for Hellmaster Phibrizzo. He thrust it at Lina with all of his strength. The attack shot forward, and Lina was nearly hit by it. But she jumped out of the way at the last minute, watching the horizontal pillar of energy fly past her. It continued its path through the space, completely disintegrating everything in its path, until finally being stopped by the barrier.

"Lina!" Gourry cried, rushing beside her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." She began, getting up. Gourry helped her to her feet, and held her close, trying to comfort himself more than her. "But that attack... it was so powerful..."

"I know." Gourry replied. "I've never seen anything like it. Or, if I have, I don't remember it."

Lina didn't make any comments about Gourry's less-than-reliable memory at the moment. She was too busy watching Phibrizzo. "What is he doing?" She asked.

Phibrizzo was still standing atop the column, in the same position he had been standing in when he fired the attack, his eyes closed. "Uh... maybe he got tired and decided to take a break?" Gourry ventured.

"Unlikely." Lina replied. "Perhaps... maybe that attack he just fired at us was so powerful that he has to take time to recover from it."

"Recover from it?" Gourry asked.

"Yeah. Like, it takes so much energy to fire that one attack that he becomes suspended in motion until he regains his powers. There are some attacks that have that effect, but I've never seen one before. It requires very concentrated magic, and draws all its power from the user."

"Huh? I thought all magic drew power from the person who cast it." Gourry said.

"Well, yeah. But most really powerful spells draw magic from another source as well. Remember how the Dragon Slave wouldn't work on Shabranigdo because it drew power from him?" Lina reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." Gourry nodded. "I think..."

"Well, Phibrizzo is strong enough that he doesn't need to rely on spells that draw their magic from other beings. But if the attack is strong enough, it will drain his magical ability and cause him to be in a state of suspended animation, like he is now." Lina explained.

Gourry nodded. "Right... but how long is he going to stay like that?"

"I don't know." Lina replied. "It would depend on the power of that previous spell, and what kind of effects it has."

"I'm kind of confused... but basically what you're saying is that the attack he just shot at you is really, really powerful, right?" Gourry asked.

"Right." Lina nodded.

"Should we attack him while he's frozen like that? Would that work?" Gourry questioned.

"I don't know..." Lina replied. "I think it's a good idea, but..." She cast a levitation spell and flew up to where Phibrizzo was standing, still frozen in time. She examined the boy carefully, trying to see if there were any magical barriers that would keep her from attacking him in this state. Suddenly, an explosion shot her off the column back down to the floor.

"Lina!" Gourry yelled, running up to her.

"Well, well. It appears that my attack didn't work as well as I had intended. You're still alive. Too bad. I'm surprised that you didn't attack me while I was frozen in time like that, but I guess that's good for me. Now I have another chance to kill you." Phibrizzo said with a mischievous smile.

"Phibrizzo!" Lina spat. "What kind of attack was that anyway?"

"Oh, it was a special attack that wounds not only the person, but their life force as well." Phibrizzo explained. "Once hit, a person's life force will slowly disintegrate, taking their physical body with it. It takes so much power to fire that I end up getting frozen for a small amount of time afterwards, but it doesn't matter, since whoever I hit will be dead by the time I wake up anyway."

"How horrible!" Lina spat. She tried to move toward Phibrizzo, but found that some invisible magic had bound her to the spot where she was standing. "Wh-what is this?"

"Oh, just a precautionary measure to ensure that my attack won't miss this time." Phibrizzo replied, readying the attack he had used earlier. "Finally, after all this time, Lina Inverse, you'll meet your end!"

Lina screamed as the attack was shot directly at her.

"Geez! It took so long! There were so many monsters!" Pokota exclaimed. "At least we finally managed to defeat them all."

"Right." Filia nodded. "But now we need to help Miss Lina and Mister Gourry."

"And to do that, we'll need to find Phibrizzo." Xellos added.

"Didn't Lina and Gourry go this way?" Pokota asked, gesturing to the invisible barrier."

"Yes, they certainly did." Xellos nodded.

Pokota flew forward to where the barrier was, but instead of passing through it, he simply ran into it like a wall. "Ow..." He murmured, recoiling from the impact. "That hurt. What is this?"

"The barrier." Xellos said, placing his hand on the solid, reflective wall. "Phibrizzo must have solidified it so that no one can get in or out."

"But Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are in there!" Filia exclaimed. "What are we supposed to do?"

"The barrier will dissolve if Phibrizzo decides to destroy it, or if he is killed. One or the other." Xellos replied.

"So... we can only stand around and wait until Lina and Gourry destroy him?" Pokota gasped.

"We can only hope..." Xellos murmured.

Lina heard the piercing explosion of Phibrizzo's attack, but she had her eyes shut tightly and had no idea what was going on around her. Suddenly she was released from Phibrizzo's magical hold, and fell to the floor. She didn't feel any pain... had she really been hit?

"L...Lina...?Are you... okay?"

Lina's eyes flew open, and she gasped in horror. "G-Gourry..." She choked. The swordsman knelt down beside her with one arm around her shoulder protectively. The other arm was clutching at the wound on his chest- not so much of an injury as a gaping hole that was slowly growing larger as it engulfed Lina's protector. Gourry was disappearing.

"G-Gourry, you... no! No!" Lina stammered.

"You're okay, right? I couldn't... let him hurt you..." Gourry said.

"But what about you?" Lina demanded.

"I'm your protector... it's... my job..."

"Gourry!" Lina yelled. "How could you...?"

"Here. Take this." Gourry pressed an object into Lina's hand. She looked down at it incredulously.

"The... the replica Sword of Light?" She asked. "You're letting me borrow it?"

"It's yours, Lina." Gourry said. "You always said... that you... wanted it, right?"

"B-but..." Lina stammered. "You always said that it was your family heirloom! That you weren't going to give it to me! How could you just give it up now?"

"I won't... need it... anymore..." He replied, staring at her seriously.

"N-no... NO! If that's the case, then I don't want it! I refuse!" Lina yelled, throwing the sword in another direction frantically.

"Lina, please... you have to..." Gourry begged. "I'm your protector. I knew from day one that... eventually I probably would end up dying to protect you... but it would be for nothing if you didn't stay alive and fight back... please... promise me that you'll defeat Phibrizzo..."

"No! No! NO!" Lina yelled.

"Lina... promise..." Gourry grabbed her hand.

"... alright... I promise..." Lina choked, her eyes getting blurry. "I'll beat Phibrizzo. I won't let him win. I won't!"

"Thanks, Lina." Gourry replied, smiling again. "And I really don't mind the way things turned out. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters. I really do love you... Lina..."

Lina stared in horror as her companion disappeared, the last thing being his hand, which Lina clutched tightly until it dematerialised, leaving her grasping nothing but air. "No..." She breathed.

Lina stood up and approached the place where the replica Sword of Light lay. She stared at it for a long moment, and then kicked it violently. "You stupid, idiotic, jellyfish-brained moron!" She sobbed. "How could you do this to me? It's not fair! Not fair!"

Lina stood for another moment, her seething anger and frustration beginning to subside. "Gourry..." She murmured, picking up the sword. "I promised him... that I would defeat Phibrizzo..." The mention of the dark lord's name suddenly alerted her to the situation, as she heard a laughing voice behind her.

"Well, what do you know? Looks like we're pack to Plan A." Phibrizzo laughed.

Lina turned around swiftly. "Plan A? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about my first objective, of course." Phibrizzo replied. "Remember? That swordsman was the one who was supposed to die in the first place. I eventually gave up on going to all the trouble to kill him when you were the one I wanted, but it seems that he got in the way. Still, he's gone now, and that's what matters."

"Y-you!" Lina hissed. "I can't believe you, you monster! Does it not even matter to you that I love him?"

"Of course it does." Phibrizzo replied with mock sympathy. "That's the whole reason behind killing him. It creates an emotional response from you, which I can easily use to my advantage. So..." Phibrizzo grinned. "...he's dead. Feel like firing the Giga Slave now?"

Lina narrowed her eyes. "Never." She murmured softly.

"What was that? I can't hear you?" Phibrizzo replied teasingly.

"I said never! Do you hear me, never! NEVER! I HATE YOU!" Lina yelled violently. "Light come forth!"

The Sword of Light blazed, reflecting Lina's flaming emotions. She was not going to let Phibrizzo off so easily now.

"Huh? You're going to fight me with that puny thing? No way! This ought to be interesting!" Phibrizzo laughed.

Lina suddenly realised that she couldn't take on Phibrizzo with nothing but the Sword of Light. If I do that, then he'll definitely kill me, and that can't happen. I promised Gourry that I'd live- and defeat Phibrizzo! If only there were some way to make it stronger, then... Lina paused for a moment.

That's it!

"Are you going to attack or just stand there? If you choose the latter, then I'll have to attack you instead." Phibrizzo teased.

Lina clutched the sword firmly. "I sure hope this works..." She murmured to herself, and began an incantation.

"Lord of dreams that terrify,

sword of cold and darkness,

free yourself from the heavens' bonds"

"What is she doing now?" Phibrizzo wondered. "That spell isn't the Giga Slave, although it does get power from the Lord of Nightmares as well..."

"become one with my power ,one with my body,
and let us walk the path of destruction together!
power that can even smash the souls of the gods-
RAGNA BLADE!"

The dark magic of the Ragna Blade did exactly what Lina had intended it to- it flared up around the Sword of Light, the light and dark energy mixing perfectly together. The result was a super-powerful Ragna-Blade-Sword-of-Light mix.

"The... the Ragna Blade and the Sword of Light... together...?" Phibrizzo gasped. He took a step back warily.

"That's right." Lina nodded. "You're the one who never shows any mercy. So now... I won't show any mercy towards you!" She lunged towards him, the sword blazing in her grip. I will destroy him! She told herself. I will! I have to! That murderer! I hate him!

Lina's strike was too fast for even Phibrizzo to go anywhere. She struck the monster with the immense power of the Ragna Blade and the Sword of Light combined. The hit caused an enormous explosion, and Lina was pushed back from the very force of it. She stood, panting and attempting to see through the dark smoke. She'd finally done it. There was no way that Phibrizzo could have survived an attack like that. It was the most powerful combination she had- next to the Giga Slave, which she was not going to use.

Suddenly, the dark smoke was pierced by the sound of maniacal laughter. Lina froze. It couldn't be...

"I'll have to admit, that was impressive, combining the power of the Ragna Blade and the Sword of Light. But if you think that you really could have beaten me with it, you're just being overconfident." Phibrizzo waved the last of the smoke away with his hand. "Now will you perform the Giga Slave for me? Or will I have to kill you first?"

No... Lina thought. No.. this can't happen! How could he have survived that attack? It's not possible! Oh, Gourry! What am I going to do? You're the sword expert! Please... I need help... there's got to be some way to beat Phibrizzo without the Giga Slave! There must be!

What am I doing wrong?

(A/N: Alright, Phibrizzo has officially gone too far for Lina- and she made a promise to destroy him! But now what is she going to do?)