Chapter Two: Zelgadiss, a New Companion

Chapter Two: Zelgadiss, a New Companion

A tall, cloaked Mazoku appeared in front of her, its eyes glowing bright yellow. Its eyes and hideously wide mouth were all that showed beneath its black cloak. Kera jumped a few steps back, drawing her sword. Being a sorceress of black magic, she didn't have an easy way of destroying Mazoku. In fact, most of the black magic spells derived their power from Mazoku. After seeing what damage a full-blown Dragon Slave could do, she also hesitated from using such a powerful spell. That moment of hesitation almost cost her a life.

Grinning evilly, the Mazoku attacked, using its extremely long claws to slash her. Using her sword, Kera managed to deflect the majority of its strikes. In spite of that, she received a number of minor wounds that started to hurt almost immediately. If she finished off this battle quickly, she would be able to heal herself easily but her problem was that she could not destroy this Mazoku without causing immense damage to the landscape. Also, the longer the battle lasted, the worse her injuries would become. The Mazoku sensed her dilemma and attacked more furiously, knowing that she was weakening. A particularly vicious blow knocked her to her ground. Suddenly, an invisible barrier appeared in front of her. She thought, Air Valm! But who was the one casting it?

The hooded spell caster stepped out of the trees. He was dressed in a pale beige from head to toe and sunlight glinted off some violet hair. Surprised, the Mazoku turned towards him, preparing to attack. The young man did not let the demon have a chance to do so. Placing his hands together in front of him with palms facing outwards, he chanted aloud, "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite...RA-TILT!"

A blue-white blast of energy emitted from his hands shrouded the Mazoku. When the dust cleared, there was nothing left. Dusting his hands with satisfaction, the hooded man walked towards Kera, who was healing herself. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice muffled by his mask.

"I think so," said Kera, slowly standing up. She dusted herself and smiled at the man. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Don't mention it. If I'm not wrong, your specialty is black magic, right?" he continued.

"Yes. But I'm afraid that I am not very good at it," lied Kera. "The spell you used was 'Ra-Tilt' wasn't it? That's neither a black magic or white magic spell."

"Yes. It's actually a spell derived from the astral plane. It's quite effective against Mazoku."

"I noticed," said Kera, smiling. "My name's Kera Yurion. What's yours?"

"Zelgadiss Greywords," he said, removing his mask and hood.

Kera stared at his stony face and metallic hair. "You're… not human?" she asked pensively.

"About a third, actually," said Zelgadiss, smiling gently. "I used to be fully human, but I was changed by the spell of an evil priest."

"So your life was destroyed, like mine," said Kera sadly, in an undertone.

Since he was obviously not meant to hear that, Zelgadiss courteously pretended that he had not heard and changed the subject instead. "So, where are you headed?"

"Zoana. What about you?"

"The same," replied Zelgadiss.

"Perhaps we could travel together then," offered Kera.

"I don't see why not," agreed Zelgadiss.

So, with a new travelling companion, Kera continued her journey to Zoana.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Zelgadiss found that travelling with Kera was very different from travelling with Lina, Gourry and Amelia. For one thing, the young sorceress was more serious and less emotionally immature than either Lina or Amelia. She was probably about Lina's age or slightly younger but she seemed older because of her maturity and the way she carried herself. Also, unlike Lina, she didn't seem to mind being rescued from monsters or bandits along the way, since she claimed that she was not very skilled in magic. However, her skill with a sword was quite good, so she was able to handle herself in a physical fight. The greatest difference was that she did not eat as much as Lina. In fact, she hardly ate anything at all. It seemed that her definition of a satisfying meal was a bowl of soup. Initially, Zel thought that it was because she did not have much appetite after going through an emotionally scarring ordeal. However, as the days passed, Kera seemed to be recovering from her trauma but she still ate as little as ever. Finally, one day, while they were having lunch at an inn, Zelgadiss asked her about it.

"What's wrong with my appetite?" Kera asked, open-eyed. "I'm eating as much as usual."

Zel stared at the bowlful of rice and slice of meat on her plate and sweatdropped. And the others thought I ate very little, he thought, sighing. His meal seemed like a mountain compared to what Kera was eating. It was amazing that with so little nourishment, Kera was still able to walk for miles without having to rest. Zelgadiss shook his head. The girl was a puzzle.

When she asked why he was going to Zoana, he told her that he had to fulfil a contract with the king. In exchange for getting the rumoured Clair Bible and hopefully, his cure too, Zel would act as the king's bodyguard. Zelgadiss just assumed that Kera was going to Zoana to look for a relative or something, so he did not ask, not wanting to cause her any more unhappy memories.

Kera wondered why he had not asked her about it. Maybe he felt that it was a personal question and did not want to intrude. Or maybe, he did not care. She felt that it was the latter and was depressed for the rest of the day. Zelgadiss noticed her depression and tried to cheer her up by telling her jokes about his past adventures. Fortunately, he did not mention any of the names of his companions. Even though Zelgadiss was not very good at telling jokes, Kera still smiled politely at his inept attempts. In return, she even told him some of the funny incidents that had happened to her in the past and was rewarded by his laughter. She refused to believe it at first, but Kera realised that she was slowly falling in love with her travelling companion.

No, it could not be, she told herself. Perhaps it was because Zelgadiss was the first human man (…well, almost) that she had been travelling with for such a long time. Maybe it was because he was always so kind and considerate towards her, always willingly protected her from monsters and was always the perfect gentleman. She knew for a fact that Zelgadiss usually took the longer watch when they had to spend nights in the forest. It helped that he was extraordinarily handsome too. Kera couldn't help wondering if someone had already had stolen his heart. She suddenly thought of Xelloss and shook her head, smiling. That Mazoku! If he were here now, he would surely tease her unmercifully.

"A gold coin for your thoughts," said Zelgadiss, who noticed her smiling.

The two were sitting around a campfire, after having their dinner of roasted fish.

"Wha-what?" Kera looked up at him and blushed, saying, "My thoughts aren't worth that much, Zelgadiss."

"Why not? Anyway, I just wanted to know what you were thinking," said Zelgadiss. "You looked so amused."

"That… that is my secret," said Kera, still smiling.

"Fine then," said Zel. "I shouldn't have asked."

"Well, I was actually thinking about a Ma… person that I met before I met you," said Kera. "He liked to say that whenever I asked him a question."

"Oh really? He must be rather irritating," said Zelgadiss thoughtfully.

"Yes, he teased me non-stop," said Kera, shaking her head. "But he was rather fun, though. I wonder where he went."

"Well, since you like him so much, maybe you'll meet him again some time," said Zelgadiss, smiling.

"What? I certainly hope not!" Kera exclaimed. "He's such a supercilious jerk. I get this feeling that he knows everything and is not telling anyone about it."

"You're contradicting yourself," remarked Zel. "I guess you must really like him."

"Zelgadiss! How dare— " Kera's face was completely red.

"Now you're starting to sound like one of my former travelling companions," said Zel, smirking. "I hope you don't become as violent as she is."

Kera's hands flew to her burning cheeks. Well, at least he doesn't suspect that I'm in love with him, she thought, sighing. Zelgadiss looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. I'll take the first watch. You sleep first, ok?"

"Sure, but don't tire yourself out," said Kera as she lay down near the fire.

~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter Two ~ ~ ~

This chapter's a little short, but bear with me, ok? Chapter Three is coming up soon… I think. Don't forget to review! ^_^