Zier sighed as Furda punched his way through yet another dead end in this maze of hallways. Just like the past five times he had done so, there was another room behind it.

"This place is a maze! Quit playing games, Ryu!"

"Quiet, Furda! There could be enemies anywhere."

"Guposu!"

Two streams of metallic powder burst through the floor, blocking a barrage of bullets and a blast of purple fire.

"Sorudo!"

Bonez took out both of his swords and lunged at the source of the attack. More bullets hit Bonez and knocked him off his feet. A beam of light emerged from the ground, enveloping Bonez. Ian ran towards the light, but Zier stopped him.

"Don't try it. Bonez can take damage. You need to protect his book. Any of you recognize the spells that were used?"

"That one mamodo that I fought has a spell that uses bullets. He's dangerous, an elite and a member of the cobra clan."

"Mitar, you can go help Bonez. The rest of us should look for that other mamodo."

A ring of purple flames suddenly surrounded Zier and Felix, and they disappeared.

"Show yourself, Ryu! Unless you'd rather hide behind your traps!"

Slash stepped out from another corridor, smirking as he walked past Bonez's body.

"I guess you got me."

With a swift hand motion, Polvora wrapped his powder around Slash. Polvora ran up to Slash and punched him in the face.

"A black eye won't make me talk. If that's the best you can do with all of your powers combined, then Ryu won't even have to blink to take you all out at once."

"Where are Ryu and the other mamodo!"

"You've got one here in front of you."

"Cut the crap and tell me already!"

"You don't have enough common sense to know, so I'll tell you a basic rule for battling any opponent at all: remember to watch your back."

"I know-"

The wall behind them burst open as a speeding figure flew past Polvora, grabbing him and his bookkeeper. A beam of light enveloped Polvora and his bookkeeper, and they disappeared.

"Gazurogaruga!"

With his body freed from Polvora's spell, a massive lance appeared in Slash's hands. Slash threw the lance.

"Garon!"

A massive spiked battering ram slowed the lance down enough for Furda to grab the lance and hurl it back at Slash. Slash let the lance tear through his shoulder blade, but continued his assault.

"Hokekeruk!"

Slash became surrounded with a white aura, and spikes grew on his arms. Before anyone could react, Slash ran towards Ian and tossed him into the pillar of light where Bonez was. The pillar of light shined brightly, and Bonez and Ian disappeared along with the pillar of light itself.

"Gigano Garanzu!"

Slash wove around the drill and slammed his open palm into Mitar's face. Mitar swung the spell around in a frenzied panic, bowling over the triumphant Slash.

"Is this the best the cobra clan can do?"

In a blind rage, Slash tore the still-embedded lance from his arm and hurled it at the drill. The lance hit the other spell and fell to the ground with a loud clang.

"Amuruk!"

Furda's fist smashed through the wall where Slash had been seconds earlier.

"Amuruk!"

Slash dodged the massive fist again.

"Amuruk!"

Slash ducked and rolled under the spell.

"Amuruk!"

Furda's fist narrowly hit Slash, who brought up his mangled arm to block.

"Are you done wasting your heart energy yet?"

"Waste? I enjoy watching you dance around my spells. A prodigy like yourself is too good to actually do any fighting, am I right? If this is what fighting a "prodigy" is like, then it's no wonder that King Zatch beat so many of them."

"You arrogant son of a-"

"Can it, you fake!"

"A fake, huh? Could a fake do this?"

"Dioga Hokeiron!"

Slash abruptly fell to his knees, panting and clutching his head.

Furda looked at Slash, puzzled.

"He's an elite and a prodigy? What kind of elite or prodigy can't handle that much heart energy in one battle? I know some elites have problems with keeping their power in check, but this guy doesn't give off any kind of energy at all. On top of that, all elites were trained to use their weaknesses in developing an approach to battle. This guy can't be from the cobra clan, they only send their best mamodo."

In a nearby corridor, a man clutched a spellbook to his chest, panting, with the other hand gripping a pistol. He would catch those fools off their guard. A couple shots through their book owners or one shot through their books would take care of them. Then maybe he could finally be free of Ryu and this crazy battle.

"Wait up! I can't run as fast as you can!"

The man composed himself and sprinted around the corner, catching a mamodo off-guard. His aim was true, and the bullets sped to their targets. The last thing he saw was a flash of purple before he fell to the ground, exhausted and relieved.

Zalior crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Your big mouth actually did something good for once."

Nita sighed. To say that Zalior was an interesting mamodo would be an understatement. He couldn't even remember why the mamodo insisted on fighting against this "Ryu".

"I sense a powerful mamodo somewhere over there."

Zalior pointed to the corridor on their right.

"Give me a sec. Need to catch my breath."

"No time. This mamodo could be more powerful than Ryu himself."

"Wait, Zalior. This guy was a book owner."

"No time to worry about that. It's one less mamodo in my way."

Zalior stopped dead in his tracks and scowled.

"I can't sense anything anymore."

Zalior punched the wall angrily, leaving a massive dent. Zalior withdrew his bruised fist and looked at the dent he left in the wall, cursing under his breath.

"All of the others get to fight the weak links of Ryu's organization. I won't settle for the worst, let them take one another out. How is it that I can't find a single worthy opponent? It doesn't make any sense at all. I would sense it if a mamodo was defeated, but how else could such a power simply appear and disappear like that?"

"Zalior, maybe we should go. I can make arrangements for a company jet to pick us up."

"What a waste of my time."

Nita shrugged.

"You ditched some powerful mamodo there. Io and Bonez are nothing special, but Furda and that speedy guy are something else. If they don't take out Ryu, then they'll at least make a dent in his forces."

"Laufer's halfway around the world now, but it's not like it matters. They can take out Ryu's top agents or Ryu himself, then run away with their tails between their legs like cowards."

"Hey Zalior, didn't we pass by that unconscious guy a few minutes ago?"

"This isn't a normal maze, is it?"

A robotic tendril shot out from the ground under Zalior's feet. Zalior grabbed the tendril and stepped on it to prevent it from moving.

"I thought you stopped tracking me months ago!"

The robotic tendril retracted, and the walls, which were a faint grayish color, turned into a dull white as a pile of gray goop settled on the wall behind Zalior. The goop solidified to reveal a fearsome-looking robotic mamodo. The mamodo lunged at Zalior, but Zalior swung his fist backwards, catching the mamodo in the face and sending it hurtling backwards. The robotic mamodo twisted in midair, landing on its feet.

"Behold my ultimate form, villain!"

"Scillor!"

The scythe bounced off of the robotic mamodo. Zalior caught the energy scythe with his bare hands and swung it at the robotic mamodo's head. The mamodo thrust its palm out, smashing Zalior so hard into the ground that a small crater was left from the impact. Zalior slowly eased his way out of the small crater, and got up on his feet shakily.

"I thought they had given up after sending their most powerful mamodo after me."

"Don't let your guard down. We would only give up if you could escape our fastest mamodo or any of our generals."

"So, they sent a genuine nutcase after me."

"I am not a nutcase! I am one of King Zatch's elite knights!"

"Most of his inner circle were in the top 30 in the last mamodo battle, or were powerful enough to justify their positions. What makes you special, seeing as you're neither, Coral Q?"

"I only need to be so powerful to beat a young mamodo like you. You and your friends won't cheat on the king's watch!"

"Friends?"

"Yes, Io and Bonez."

"You and your big mouth, Zalior. When will you stop?"

"You can't take a competitor out of the tournament entirely just for one offense!"

"Correct. You, however, are a repeat offender. Ryu was kind enough to accept the knights here to intercept you, and he told us of your twisted experiment."

"Repeat offender?"

"Enough talk!"

Coral Q rammed Zalior through a wall, and threw Nita in after him. Zalior fell flat on his face in the desert sand.

"If you can win a single battle without cheating, then maybe I'll reconsider my punishment."

"I can't beat a knight!"

"I never said I would fight you. I'm just a handicap."

"Then who's-"

Zalior grabbed Nita and strafed sideways, narrowly avoiding a plume of flame that shot up from the ground.

"If you can beat Ryu…."

A blast of fire shot past Zalior's leg, singing his skin as he winced in pain.

"….then you should have no problem beating a mamodo who works for him."

Zalior's eyes widened in realization, and he dived to the side. He landed at the feet of Firebrand, who kicked him in the face, and proceeded to throw him fifteen feet away.

"Caught you in a bluff. You can't even see my spells comin', can ya? Ryu was right about you. Nothin' to worry about with this weak link."

Zalior struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth as he tried to wipe the blood off of his bruised and battered face.

"You are going to pay for that, Firebrand. Insulting me is one matter, but only the scum of the earth would dare insult the scythe clan."

"Go ahead, then, Zalior."

Zalior ran a hand across his brow to wipe off the sweat as the temperature began to rapidly increase. He attempted to dive out of the way, but found himself face-to-face with a wall of flames, which knocked him back into another wall of flames. Zalior, with burns and wounds covering nearly half of his body, struggled to get up. Firebrand laughed ruthlessly as he snapped his fingers. Zalior smirked a little before raising up one finger on his left hand.

"Scillor!"

Zalior formed a scythe of purple energy in his left hand and swung it at the wall of flames. Before he could reach it, however, a torrent of fire enveloped the space between the walls. Zalior attempted to escape, but Firebrand snapped his fingers again, and the flames expanded to create a ring. Zalior swung his wrist and the scythe slashed into a giant purple wave of energy that destroyed the flames around him.

"Just try to prove me wrong, Zalior."

A wave of flame emerged from the ground below Zalior's feet, enveloping him in flame. The entire ring of fire converged on Zalior's position and coated him in its deadly flames.

"I guess you can't. Oh well, it was worth a try."

"One down, two more to go."

Coral Q and Firebrand walked away, but a blast of purple energy buzzed in Firebrand's ear as it flew straight past his head.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

Zalior, his skin charred black from the fire, his skin covered in burn wounds, was standing, his legs shaking from weakness, but with a resolute determination in his eyes.

"Take care of him, Firebrand."

Firebrand ran at Zalior, but as he approached, Zalior grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground.

"I told you, didn't I? Nobody insults the scythe clan."

Zalior's body began to glow with a furious mixture of dark and light purple energy.

"Well, this is harder than I expected."

Zalior charged at Firebrand again, launching a barrage of punches. Firebrand glowed with a orange and red glow as he became coated in a fiery aura of energy.

"I guess if I want to become king, then I'll have to play ball with fools like you."

"Too bad I hold the upper hand, you zany pyromaniac."

Firebrand threw back his head and laughed at Zalior's joke. Zalior's face curled into a wry grin and he began to chuckle as well.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Only this time, the stakes are higher, and I'll be the one who wins!"

"We'll see about that Firebrand!"

The two mamodo collided, forming a massive shockwave of purple and red energy that decimated the walls around them as they struggled for dominance.

- - - - - End Of Chapter 36. - - - - -

I'm back, you guys! I didn't get you any presents, and I didn't even get you a lousy t-shirt. Aren't I just awful? Well, see you later!

- Iostorm (What, Were You Expecting Something Clever Or Witty, Huh, Huh, Is That All I Mean To You, Isn't This Witty Enough, Readers?).

P. S.: I'm not really upset, that's just a lack of a witty phrase there, and as for lack of updates, well, what can I say, life got in the way.