Chapter 23:

Chapter 23:

"Please come in." With a yelp, the blond mercenary tripped and fell upon his face with a bump.

The blond lady coughed. "And do watch your step."

Floating into the mansion, cross-legged, Xelloss's amethyst eyes flicked to the lady. "Nice house…very nice. And by the way, you haven't introduced yourself."

"Oh my, how rude of me!" Clasping her hands in front of her, the armoured lady bowed. "I am Scylla, general to Deep Sea Dolphin."

The group went after Scylla, who proceeded to explain the layout and complexed architecture of the mansion with evident pride in her gentle voice. Luna was resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the blond general before her. However, as though reading the Knight of Ceipheed's mind, Dolphin's general stopped speaking.

They had reached a dead end.

Spouting strings of curses, Lina began running her hands through her red hair in frustration. Scylla sighed. "Such impatient creatures, humans are."

The bandit killer blinked.

To everyone's astonishment, the floor twisted and warped itself, before finally, all that stood under them was a large, gaping hole.

And they fell, screeching.

Landing, the Knight of Ceipheed gazed around the dark area. Light, translucent mist surrounded them, as though hiding something within it. The Trickster Priest landed beside her with a smirk.

"What an interesting way to discover the ever elusive basement."

The Slayers group lay in a heap in the corner, groaning in agony. Poking them with a stick, the brunette Earth Dragon attempted to awaken them.

Scylla appeared in the mist, her face crinkled in a smile, slitted blue eyes glinting. "Now that we're all here…we can finally get started."

Luna's purple eyes narrowed, while Xelloss's lips curved up.

Six silhouettes appeared within the drifting mist, approaching the group in a leisurely pace.

"Of course, with every party, comes the introductions." Clapping her gloved hands together, Dolphin's general flashed a roguish wink. "Sit back, relax and enjoy yourselves."

"First off, we have my mistress, Deep Sea Dolphin."

A portion of the mist billowed away in swirls, as the first silhouette cleared it with a flick of its wrist. The Fire Dragon's golden eyes turned to hearts.

Stepping forward was a gorgeous navy-haired lady. Her hair was tied up in a delicate ponytail, swinging each time she moved. As though that was not enough, her curls were decorated with beautiful seashells, and her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked.

"Next, the Chaos Dragon: Gaav."

Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor in complete shock, as the "dead" Mazoku Lord came out from the mist. Gourry just looked befuddled as usual. The Slayers cast chose to ignore him.

"Hellmaster, Phibirizo."

Eyes bugged and grew as wide as saucers, as a second "dead" Mazoku Lord bobbed out.

"The Beastmaster: Zellas Metallium."

A cloud of smoke penetrated through the mist, before the slender lady moved into view, her lips upturned. "Long time no see, Xelloss."

The Trickster Priest gave her a respectful nod of his head. "Zellas sama."

With a smirk, the lady joined the three Mazoku Lords at the side.

"The Supreme King: Dynast Grausherra."

Rairyuu's golden eyes narrowed sharply. Grau…Sherra?

The silver-haired Lord glided out of the mist, his cape billowing behind him. His hazel eyes blazed silently as they roved around the Gods.

"Last but not least…"

"Wait."

Scylla paused, as the Supreme King came forward. "I wish to ask you a question…" His hazel eyes fixed themselves upon a cool figure amongst the Dragon Gods. "…Rairyuu."

The Thunder God never moved.

"Are you the one who murdered my general?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Rairyuu nodded, while the Water Dragon gave a gasp of fury.

To the amazement of all around, Dynast smiled.

"Dark claw."

Glowing shapes appeared before the Supreme King, changing rapidly into the form of hundreds of winged insects. Wings beating hard, they flew towards the Thunder Dragon.

Rairyuu leapt away, but not before several of the insects had brushed their wings against the sleeve of his shirt.

Golden eyes widened as the sleeve disintegrated completely.

The insects positioned themselves behind their silver-haired summoner, whose hazel eyes flared with sadistic amusement at the sight of the astonished Thunder Dragon.

"Should any of my dear creatures here have touched that arm of yours, it would have met the same fate as your sleeve."

Scratching his head, the blond mercenary turned to a gaping bandit killer. "Oi, Lina, what are those things?"

The fiery-haired Lina merely took to acting like a goldfish.

"Ah, perhaps I shall be able to provide an answer, Gourry san."

Gourry turned to blink at the smiling Trickster Priest.

"Dark claw…that is a high level black magic spell. Those insects you see before you are not insects at all, but are actually magical energy balls resembling the shapes of insects. Upon touching an area, these balls could disintegrate it in seconds. A blow to the arm could remove it immediately. And a blow to the chest…"

Amethyst eyes flicked to a listening Rairyuu. "…would mean instant death."

Placing his hand upon his chin in a reflective way, Gourry scrunched his face up in concentration.

"You didn't understand a single word I said, did you Gourry san?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, the mercenary grinned at Xelloss. "Yup!"

Dynast laughed softly, his tenor voice echoing around them. "Such interesting things, you humans are." Gesturing at the Thunder Gods general direction, the Supreme King smiled. "But enough talk." The hazel eyes hardened.

"Die."

Hundreds of insects flew towards Rairyuu from all corners. Ceipheed dashed forward, a spell in hand.

"Burst flare."

A ball of light floated gently down in front of the Thunder God. The Water Dragon paused to stare in curiosity at it.

With a burst into tongues of bluish white flames licking around Rairyuu, the ball of light destroyed the magical energy balls. The once dark room was filled with a blinding glow.

Not a word was spoken from the Supreme King. To everyone's amazement, he turned around with a swish of his cape and marched towards the other Mazoku Lords.

Before the boisterous Lina could voice the question on everyone's mind, a pair of familiar figures sauntered out of the mist.

Eyes bugged really widely.

With identical smirks on their faces, Ryo and Rui gave the gang a nod in greeting.

The sandy-blond Scylla bowed.

"And last but not least…our Lord, Shaburanigdu sama."