(Much later on that same night at the Inn)

Lina and Katibree awoke with a start as a massive explosion rocked the very foundations of the inn, causing one window after another down the line of the establishment to blow out in succession as the two girls leapt from the bed to see what was going on.

(L) "What in the four hells was that??" The redhead exclaimed while running to and peering out the now glassless window with the ex-assassin beside her as people began to scream and the sound of footsteps running to and fro could now be heard clearly throughout the building.

"From what I can tell from here, that was the sound of the room you were supposed to be staying in tonight going up in flames." The half drow replied while hurriedly putting on her gear as smoke began to billow into the night and panicked people began streaming out of the inn.

"My room - - awww that's just great, most of my stuff was in there!" The sorcery genius fumed.

"Check the pack in here, I'm pretty sure the merc outfit's still in it…" The mostly platinum haired warrior replied while jumping onto the windowsill in a crouch and scanning the area for anyone that looked suspicious.

"That's fine and dandy, but every other piece of my gear is in the room that's currently on fire…" Lina replied while flinging off her nightgown before tearing into the travel sack that the half elf had indicated.

"The blades and your talismans should stand up to the heat just fine at least…" Katibree began before trailing off as she squinted through the smoke and caught a glimpse of a decidedly inhuman looking silhouette hovering about in the distance. "And it might be a good idea for you to cool that room off and go get them before you show up… She added while giving the redhead a meaningful look.

"Soshurn's making his move huh?" The younger girl deducted while zipping up her leather vest.

"I think so yeah… I'm going on ahead." The ex-assassin replied before jumping out the window and onto a nearby ledge.

"Fine, but try and leave some for me already!" The sorceress called after the larger girl before griping and tightening a forearm guard strap with her teeth.

(?) "That was a pretty nice shot there Zifolis!" A black wraith like Mazoku said to a much larger metallic looking one in glee as they made their way through the billowing black smoke and into what remained of Lina's inn room.

"Keep your voice down Rahtarimu, we still haven't found the body yet…" The metallic looking creature snapped while scanning the still smoldering debris suspiciously.

"There's no way that little witch could have survived a surprise attack like that in her sleep, she still only human after all…" The wispy creature replied haughtily. "We should just go and deal with the half elf as well and kill two birds with one stone."

"Serpent Master's orders were to dispose of Lina Inverse and by any means necessary and then return to base!" Zifolis snarled in annoyance. "And incase you hadn't noticed, two more of sorceress's companions are staying here as well so we don't have much time - -"

(G) "I'd say your time's just about up!" Gourry interrupted while stepping into view through the smoky doorway leading to the hall before brandishing his sword and taking a combat stance with a confident smirk.

(Ra) "Gourry Gabriev… rumor has it you've lost your precious sword of light, so tell me…" The wispy creature taunted while floating closer to the swordsman savant. "Just how do you expect to defeat 2 honest to goodness Monsters with a worthless little trinket like that…?"

The blonde swordsman lowered his 'trinket' and began laughing at this. "Oh that's easy!" He replied good-naturedly. "Like this…!" He said while taking a knee and revealing the shrine maiden standing behind him. "Go for it Sylphiel!"

(S) "Right… Ra… TILT!" She exclaimed sending a blast of white and blue energy directly into the creature's face.

(Zi) "Rahtarimu you idiot…!" The metallic looking creature shouted as his wraith like partner howled miserably and faded from sight before turning and sending a volley of spikes at the offending shrine maiden.

(G) "Now that's my cue." Gourry said while standing to cover Sylphiel once more and easily deflecting the countless flying spikes bearing down on them with a blinding flurry of parries before charging the Mazoku.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The swordsman savant shouted while jumping up in the air and coming down with a diagonal slash across the mazoku's body…. with no affect. "Huh…?" "Oh yeah… I forgot…" He said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck as the metallic looking creature glowered at him. "Heh, eh… heh, heh… what do ya say we just call it even - -WHOA!" He exclaimed while barely dodging an angry bolt of energy before taking off running comedicly.

Katibree showed up just in time to see the blonde swordsman in the midst of his theatrics, evading volley after volley of energy blasts while running for his life in true Gourry fashion.

"You're hopeless, Gabriev…" The mostly platinum haired warrior said under her breath while making a quick sweep of the area with her luminous gaze and spotting Sylphiel making her careful way out of the ruble of the ruined room, apparently out of harms way for the moment.

(K) But then again, appearances can always be deceiving. The half elf thought to herself as her hyper sensitive ears picked up the now all too familiar sound of tearing as a rip in mid air began opening behind an unaware Sylphiel.

(Ra) "You know, that little stunt you pulled on me back there really hurt…" Rahtarimu hissed as he stepped out of the astral plane, causing the shrine maiden to spin around at the sound of his voice with a gasp. "How a weak little white mage like you ever managed to learn a spell like that is beyond me…" He continued while a ball of green energy began to radiate from his mouth as he widened it in preparation to fire. "But that's no matter, now do me a favor and - -"

(K) "Die." Katibree completed for the creature while coming up behind him and severing his head with both blades, leaving a red crosshatch afterimage. "Cowardly little shit…" She added in disdain while turning to get another fix on Gourry's current whereabouts.

(S) "Oh, you mustn't use such language Miss Katibree…it's just asking to be cursed by the Gods…" Sylphiel balked while covering a hand with her mouth in maidenly shock.

"Give it a rest Nels Rada, Red's been barking up that tree since the day we met…" The half drow replied with a smirk. "How many more are there…?" She added as she finally spotted the swordsman savant still battling with his Mazoku adversary a few rooftops over through the smoke.

"Just the one that Gourry dear is fighting from what I've seen…" The raven haired girl replied. "And speaking of Gourry dear, he no longer has the sword of light - -"

"Yeah, I've got him covered there." The half elf said before jettisoning herself off of a wall and up to the roof.

"Miss Katibree…?" The shrine maiden called after her.

"Nels Rada…?" The mostly platinum haired warrior glanced back to ask.

"Thanks for before." She said with a smile. Regardless of her past, Miss Katibree really is a good person.

"Fight now, pleasantries later Nels Rada…!" The ex-assassin called back while already bounding to the next rooftop and sprinting in the direction of the ongoing skirmish.

Well… I suppose she does have some edges that could use smoothing… The raven haired girl added to herself with a small laugh and sweat-drop while Ray Winging from the ruined room.

As Katibree finally closed in on the fight from behind, Zifolis managed to hit Gourry with an energy blast to his chest plate with enough force to dislodge his sword from his grasp and send him flying backwards, toppling toward the edge of the rooftop end over end.

The half drow dove for the 2 handed sword, catching it hilt first just as it was about to go over the side of the roof and rolled to her feet while charging it, cracking a little smile as it began to glow an angry red. Looks like it's holding the charge just fine, you are indeed a genius lover… She thought to herself wryly while giving the blade a quick once over.

The blonde swordsman slid to a stop at the edge of the roof just before going over himself with a grimace while Zifolis walked toward him deliberately with a viciously vindictive grin that sported several sharp metallic looking teeth. "You're certainly good at running away Gourry Gabriev, but this is where it ends." He taunted as he closed the distance between himself and the blonde swordsman.

(G) "I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Gourry said with a smile of his own as he gestured for the metallic looking creature to look behind him.

(Zi) "What nonsense - -" Zifolis began to sneer.

(K) "Hey ass-tral pirate, heads up!" The mostly platinum haired warrior called while flipping the now charged sword around to hold it like a javelin before chucking it blade first at the Mazoku as he spun around in dismay, barely phasing out and reappearing in time to avoid the attack.

(Zi) "It's pretty moronic to warn your enemy before you attempt to strike the killing blow isn't it?" Zifolis asked before beginning to laugh mockingly as Gourry reached up and caught the sword that the creature had just phased to avoid hilt first and flipped to his feet with a grin behind him.

(K) "Considering what I used to do for a living…I'll give you that, but only if the attack was actually meant to be the killing blow." Katibree replied coyly as the creature's black eyes widened in realization of his error as he was split from head to toe by Gourry from behind.

(K) "That was… pretty unsportsmanlike like there, Gabriev." The half elf teased.

(G) "Hey, he just said himself that it was stupid to warn someone before you strike the finishing blow didn't he?" "And besides, the warning you gave him before had to have counted for something!" The swordsman savant joked back.

(Zi) "Jest while you can…" Zifolis growled while crumpling to his knees in agony. "But the Mazoku race… always has a backup plan!" "Do it Filzinia…burn this town to a crisp!!" He roared at the sky before his form lost all stability and he disintegrated into black fumes, laughing even as he died.

(G) "Filzininina… who's that…?" Gourry asked.

"I'm assuming he means the monster way up there." Katibree said while pointing at a barely visible growing orb in the sky directly above them.

"No way we can get to that…" The swordsman savant mused.

"Yeah, I'm thinking our star player's pretty sick of watching from the sidelines by now anyway though…" The ex-assassin said wistfully.

"I'm betting you're right!" The blonde warrior laughed.

Having been given the signal, Filzinia prepared to release the devastating blast of unholy energy that she'd been building to wipe the town from existence from hundreds of feet above the settlement.

However, just as she was about to expel the assault, an unexpected flash of red and while light from behind her caught her attention…

"What in the name of Ruby Eye…?" Was all that escaped her lips before she turned to look and found herself on the receiving end of her dear father's own spell and met with oblivion as well.

Sylphiel, Gourry, and Katibree shielded their eyes and braced themselves as the night sky lit up and the aftermath of the Dragon Slaves aerial explosion sent a shockwave through the town as the residents now crowding the streets, watched the display with mixed reactions of horror and amazement.

As soon as the sky darkened once more, the 3 made their respective ways to the general area that the unofficial beacon had come from and found the owner of that signal lounging on the shoulder of a towering maiden sculpture pouring water into the middle of a fountain.

(G) "Hey, there's our star player now!" Gourry said cheerfully as they all made it to the fountain.

(L) "You know it!" Lina said while flying down from the statue with a giggle.

"Thank goodness you're alright Miss Lina, after we found out that the attack had been on your room we…" Sylphiel began before trailing off and merely staring at the redhead's gear with an unreadable expression on her face.

(G) "What's wrong Sylphiel…?" The swordsman savant asked before taking a double take at the sorceress and beginning to gape. "Lina… w-what kinda sorceress's outfit is that??" He stammered.

The half elf merely took a seat at the edge of the fountain while doing her best to act 'natural'… whatever the hell that meant. Beanpole… HA...! She couldn't help but scoff mentally.

(L) "Actually… this is a disguise I bought while Kat and I were on the road." The sorcery genius replied while taking her own seat on the edge of the fountain.

(S) "…Well it… it certainly makes you look very… mature Miss Lina…" The shrine maiden finally managed with a slight blush.

(G) "I can believe that you bought the disguise easily enough…" Gourry said while closing the distance between himself and the redhead. "But… did you buy those too…?" He added in disbelief while blatantly staring down her newly discovered cleavage.

(S) "Oh, Gourry dear…" The raven haired girl said with a wince in anticipation of one violent sort of explosion or another.

(L) "Nope Gourry, it took me a while to even realize it myself… but they've actually been there for quite some time." Lina replied serenely while looking up at the sky with an odd expression on her face. "Anyway, if you two are done gawking… we've really got some more things to discuss after what just went on tonight.

(G) "Uh, right!" Gourry said distractedly while sitting down on the ground in front of the sorceress.

(S) She didn't blow her top about what Gourry dear just said at all…? Sylphiel thought to herself in disbelief. Maybe that's what's different about Miss Lina, she certainly is allot mellower that usual… especially when it comes to subjects like that

(L) "You with me there Sylphiel…?" The sorcery genius asked, noticing the far off look in the shrine maiden's eyes.

"Oh, r-right." Sylphiel finally replied her voice echoing much of the same distractedness the blond warrior's before her just had. And speaking of the attack tonight…Miss Lina couldn't have been in her room and gotten out of that explosion completely unscathed could she have?

(L) "So first things first, it's obvious that Soshurn and his crew are hot on our trail now…" The redhead began. "His lackeys even had enough information to not only find out what town we were headed to, but specifically which inn we stayed in and which room to ambush to try and get me out of the picture."

(S) And even if she had managed that, other than her talismans and the weapons that she's wearing… I don't see a bit of fire damage…Sylphiel continued to muse perplexly.

(K) "Well, I can't necessarily say that I'm impressed with Soshurn's henchmen as far as information gathering goes…" Katibree began while lounging lengthwise on thefountain's ledge, the still fairly unfamiliar sound of her velvety voice snapping both Gourry and Sylphiel out of their individual thoughts.

"You are famous Lina, and that makes Gabriev and Nels Rada here famous by association." "That alone makes it easy enough to track our movements just by word of mouth on this side of the barrier as it is even without the lot of us moseying into town and taking out half a restaurant with a huge explosion not even 45 minutes later.

(L) "Eh heh… point taken…" Lina said somewhat sheepishly.

(S) "Well…then I take it that there is something that you were 'impressed' with about the henchmen Miss Katibree?" Sylphiel asked.

"I think the word 'concerned' would probably fit better." The ex-assassin replied with a sigh. "Because I was certainly impressed with the quality of the lackeys that were sent to try and assassinate Lina."

(L) "…That's right, normally henchmen are sent out to do dangerous dirty work because whether they succeed or not, they're easily replaceable..." The redhead mused.

(S) "And those three that we fought just now were all full fledged Mazoku, at least one of them strong enough to withstand a Ra Tilt and live…" The shine maiden continued for her.

(K) "Which means that although Soshurn will most likely be annoyed that he's lost them; Filzinia and the other two were probably among the weakest that we'll have to face from here on out." The mostly platinum haired warrior finished for the raven haired girl matter of factly.

(G) "Yeah and on top of that, one of the monsters that blew up Lina's room knew that I'd lost the sword of light before even fighting me. Gourry added somewhat dejectedly.

(S) "And he also knew that I specialize in primarily white magic, so this Soshurn has definitely done his homework on us." Sylphiel tacked on quietly.

Lina got up and began pacing back and forth at this last comment. "And if he and his lackeys already know that much about you two, chances are research has been done on the rest of the gang as well…" Which gives him that many more targets to try and use as leverage against me should he choose to… She continued to herself in frustration.

(G) "So what do you want to do next Lina?" Gourry asked while resting his sword, sheath and all on his neck and hanging an arm over either side of it.

"Well, the only logical thing that I can really think for us to do is head to Seyruun…" The sorcery genius mused while scratching her head as she brainstormed. Amelia's by far the easiest out of all of us to track down at any given time, although she'd also be the hardest for a Monster to get to at this point…

(S) "The Holy Kingdom?" The shrine maiden asked worriedly. "Should we really get Miss Amelia involved in this whole thing when she already has the weight of training to become the possible next successor to the throne of Seyruun on her shoulders?"

"I'd definitely rather not Sylphiel, but whether she gets involved in this or not really isn't up to just me anymore…" Lina explained conflictedly. "Even if I decide to try and leave her out of it, Soshurn may have other ideas and she'll just get dragged into this whole mess anyway."

"The Holy Circle radiating from the capital does weaken Mazoku, but it doesn't repel them completely… we know that from the assassination scare that we had with Phil a few years back."

"And it's not like I can just… send her a message that warns her to beef up security or something..." The redhead continued. "She'd just insist on leaving to find out what's wrong in the name of 'justice' and Phil would just let her go on her merry way." Although it's not like he could actually stop her even if he tried… She added to herself wryly.

"Anyway, I honestly think that the best thing to do would be to go there and fill her and Phil in on the situation in person so we'll have time to cover all of the bases." The sorceress finally finished with a rustle of her crimson colored mane.

(K) "Well it sounds like it's settled then; we head for The Holy Kingdom of Seyruun." Katibree said while hopping up from the ledge of the fountain. "So now the only pending question is… what to do for the rest of the night?"

(S) "That's right… I don't think that any local Inn owners will exactly jump at the chance to rent more rooms out to us after what has already happened tonight and earlier today." The raven haired girl agreed somewhat sheepishly.

(L) "All things considered, we've already stated that we're concerned about the potential strength of the enemy…" Lina said quietly. "So going incognito again is probably going to be our best bet until we can work out some sounder battle tactics for fighting multiple monsters in close quarters, or at least until we can accumulate a few more allies to combat them more effectively." She continued as she began walking back in the direction of the impromptu battle site. "Anyway, stealth and subtly really aren't my strong points, Kat's better at that sort of thing... so I'll leave explaining that part of the plan to her."

"Excuse me Miss Lina but, where are you going…?" The shrine maiden called after her.

"Oh, I was trying to remember the exact incantation for that Reverse Time spell that I saw Rezo cast all those years ago, and I think I've got it now…" Lina called back nonchalantly. "I should still be within the time limit to try and invoke it and salvage some of my stuff from the room those two monsters just totaled."

(S) "I-I see…" Sylphiel stammered. Miss Lina's powerful enough to invoke a spell like Reverse Time now? She thought to herself in amazement.

(G) "So you're explaining the rest of the plan while Lina goes to take care of something then Katibree?" The swordsman savant asked with an expectant look on his face.

"Well, the basic concept is to reverse our schedule so that we're traveling and completely on alert when we'd normally be most vulnerable to an enemy sneak attack and least expected to be traveling." The half elf explained. "While on the other hand, we'd be sleeping while rotating watches during the hours that we'd normally be expected to travel while only going to towns when it's absolutely unavoidable in the mean time."

(G) "So… traveling at night, and setting up camp and sleeping with someone on watch during the day then…?" The swordsman savant asked while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"That's the basic gist of it Gabriev, yes." The mostly platinum haired warrior affirmed.

(S) "I could definitely see someone having difficulties staying on our trail with a routine like that…" The shrine maiden said with a giggle. "It's a bit odd, but if you think it will help… then I don't mind giving it a try."

(G) "Yeah, that is a pretty crazy sounding schedule, but I think it might just work!" Gourry agreed with a laugh.

"You two sure are easy going, the first time I suggested this to Lina, she went on about me forcing a delicate maiden to disrupt her routine for hours…" The half elf said with a smirk.

Several minutes later, Lina made her way back to the trio with a travel sack slung over either shoulder. "So we all set then…?" She asked while shrugging the pack off of her right shoulder and tossing it to Katibree.

"I take it we're all checked out?" The ex-assassin asked while catching the travel sack with a grunt.

(G) "…….Probably as checked out as we're ever going to get…" The blonde warrior said while lowering his eyelids suspiciously at the now sweat-dropping sorcery genius.

"Miss Lina, how could you?" Sylphiel chided crossly.

"Hey, I paid for the collateral damage that I actually caused earlier today, and I did fix the room up some at least…" The redhead said while rubbing the back of her neck. Granted I only fixed the parts that I was trying to salvage my stuff from…She added to herself while stifling a giggle.

(K) "Why don't we continue this little moral debate on the road?" The mostly platinum haired warrior suggested while already heading in the direction of the town gates. "The further we get away from Stock Town before they start looking for us again at this point, the better."

(L) "Can't argue with you on that one…" Lina said with a stretch as she and the others began to walk as well.

(K) "I win, that's 6 to 5 Red." Katibree called back matter of factly.

"Past midnight V, start of a new day." The redhead called back coyly.

"Fine 1 to 0, I'm still ahead." The half elf replied.

"Yeah, we'll see how long that lead lasts…" The sorceress scoffed.

(S) "Do you have any idea what they're talking about, Gourry dear?" Sylphiel asked the blonde warrior.

"Not a clue." The swordsman savant answered with a chuckle as the two girls continued their verbal jousting back and forth.

As the lively crew first made it to the outskirts of town and then into the surrounding forest, a familiar figure sporting his trademark red gemmed staff phased into view, lounging on a distant clock tower as he watched them retreat into the brush.

Well, that little tip off that I gave Soshurn's lackeys certainly proved to be entertaining! Unfortunately I'm still no closer to figuring out what exactly it is that they have in their possession that is keeping Lord Shabranigdo's essence from influencing our favorite half breed…

Huuummmm… her shrewdness really is becoming bothersome, spying on and manipulating the group was enough of a chore with just Lina on watch before, but now it's become nearly impossible to do. The priest mused to himself before phasing out once more.

Oh well, I suppose that I'll just have to change tactics.