Chapter 33:
Silence returned to the room as the Water Dragon King and the Dark Lord(s) glided gracefully to the centre of the room. Wisely, everyone moved to the best place of safety: up. With a disarming smile, the brunette Ryo stepped to Ceipheed, hand outstretched.
"May the best triumph."
Matching the smile, the Dragon God took his hand and gave it a firm shake, before breaking away.
Almost immediately, there was a blast of raw power from both sides. As the dust cleared, two dragons stood in their places, rearing to their full heights with thundering roars.
Lina stared at the towering red dragon beneath her. "That's Shaburanigdu?! The last time we fought him, he was in the shape of some monstrous crab!"
"Of course. That was only a single piece of him."
Zooming away with a screech, the bandit killer latched onto the chimera as her elder sister appeared out of the blue by her side.
Xelloss offered a cup to the Knight. "Tea, Luna san?"
"No thank you, Xelloss."
Below them came the first of many explosions to follow, a great gust of wind blew up into the air, catching everyone and crashing them into the wall behind. With the exceptions of the Mazoku Lords and Dragon Gods, who had conveniently used teleportation.
Smashed against the wall, the Trickster Priest sipped at his coffee, seemingly unaffected by the impact. Beside him, the Knight of Ceipheed rolled her eyes to heaven in a sign of exasperation.
Suddenly, a gentle voice entered their minds, seeking them. They perked forward, concentrating.
Please…please help me to save him.
The Princess of Seryuun blinked. "Save who?"
Kazeryuu…I've already lost Tsuchiryuu…so please…
Gourry who was gripping Sylphiel desperately about the waist looked around, searching for the Wind God. Pushing herself from the wall, the fiery-haired Lina levitated up, her eyes flickering round the room.
Calmly, the Trickster pointed at the bottom right corner of the room.
There cowered the great Wind Dragon, obviously still in pain from the last blow.
With a sigh, the cursed youth flew down. "Since I'm nearer to him, I'll get him up. Why am I always stuck with herding the idiots?"
A familiar scream of anguish resounded behind him. "Who's an idiot?!"
Shaburanigdu's bright maroon eyes glowed as it opened its gaping mouth.
"Die."
A large blast of red energy soared out of the dragon's mouth, spiralling like a torpedo at the Water Dragon King, who reared back, forced to counter with an equally enormous energy ball.
Attempting to pry Kazeryuu's fingers off the ground, the chimera's sapphire eyes widened considerably at the impending explosion. Throwing his hands forward, he rushed to the front of the trembling Wind Dragon.
"Windy shield!"
His cape billowing behind, the cursed youth gathered the wind around him, forming it into the shape of a suitably large shield around both the Dragon God and himself.
Almost immediately, everything turned white as the two energy balls smashed into each other.
Whipping around by the wind, Lina swallowed. Zel!
Concentrating on the shield, Zelgadiss's hands trembled slightly from the amount of power he was using. "Kazeryuu, I could use some help here." The Wind Dragon only gave a whimper in reply.
The chimera felt himself being pushed back, his feet sliding across the floor. Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath. A bluish aura emitted, surrounding him as he fought against the pressure of the explosion.
Sapphire eyes narrowed as a part of his defense barrier chipped off. "Shit…I can't hold this much longer…"
Zooming down, the bandit killer held a spell in her hand, screaming the chimera's name.
Zelgadiss gazed calmly at the widening crack in his shield. "…."
A tiny ray of light forced its way through the gap, shooting right through the chimera's chest. Spurting out blood, the man collapsed along with the shield. Kazeryuu was allowed a final shriek before the raw energy engulfed him entirely.
"Zelgadiss!"
