Evil Can Be Fun - Zelgadiss's Side Story
Well it's been a couple of weeks since I've worked on this, about
since I came home for the summer. Home is where the heart is and all,
but it's also where there's so many things going on that you don't have a
chance to think, much less write. But I've finally gotten my act together
on this. All my standard disclaimers and warnings apply. On with the
show.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaning against the decaying outer wall of a deserted temple ruin,
Zelgadiss fought the urge to sulk. The latest lead for a cure had been as
false as every one before it. He was getting tired of these never-ending
quests, the constant roller coaster of hopes, fears, and the inevitable
disappointment. Sometimes he could swear he felt his emotional turmoil
grinding away at what was left of his conscience. The more desensitized
to his feelings he became, the more he considered what he was rapidly
starting to believe was the only option left to him.
Perhaps he should become a mazoku.
He was already one third of the way there. And what, after all, was
he really clinging to? An amorphous quality of kindness, compassion and
generosity labeled humanity? True humans shoved it aside at will. Any
time they were confronted with something they feared, or didn't
understand 'humanity' took a position on the sidelines, only coming back
into play when whatever it was causing the disturbance was gone. Or
dead. He had seen that, again and again. The only people who had
never done that were his friends, Lina and her group. And now Lina was
a mazoku herself, Gourry was dead, and Amelia had run crying home to
her papa.
If he became a mazoku, he'd have the acceptance he craved. Okay,
so it wouldn't be the acceptance of humans, but after years of being the
target of blind, ignorant terror, he had lost most of his respect for his
own species. If demons were cruel and evil, at least they did it because
they liked it.
His only warning was a swift vortex of energy forming somewhere
above his head. Cursing, he threw up a shield and dove away from the
temple, covering his head with his arms. Behind him a swirling ball of
black energy blasted through what was left of the crumbling temple.
Rolling to his feet, he turned to face his opponent.
Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. Floating in the air,
radiating a dark battle aura, was a mazoku. At least he thought it was a
mazoku. The monster in question was thin to the point of emaciation,
his skin had the sallow tint of one who never saw the sun, and his hair
was long and somewhat scraggly, a faded red that spoke of age beyond
imagining. All this would seem to imply that no matter what race this
creature came from, he shouldn't have been able to summon the energy
that had torn the temple apart. His eyes said otherwise. As faded and
old as the rest of them, nevertheless they were filled with a restless
energy, a raging hatred and madness directed totally and exclusively
at...Zelgadiss.
When the aged mazoku saw that his blast had missed the intended
target, he screamed and hurled imprecations at the bemused Zelgadiss.
It wasn't until the creature began readying another ball of energy that Zel
snapped out of his daze. Dodging quickly to the side, Zel snapped off a
Ra-Tilt, hoping to broadside the psycho bastard from the side. With a
familiar sense of frustration he watched the mazoku phase out just
before the spell hit, and phase back in once it had passed. His thoughts
grim, he settled in for a long battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gasping, Zelgadiss leaned against a partially toppled pillar. His
skin was tough to break through, but it could chip, and it hurt like hell.
He was at the end of his strength, he knew. All that was left was for the
strange mazoku to find him, and finish him off. And he didn't even know
why! That was the worst of it. He was going to die, by the hand of an
unknown mazoku, who hated him for some unknown reason. He didn't
mind dying, particularly, but it grated to be killed for no apparent reason.
The mazoku phased into being a couple of meters above Zel's
head. A malicious sort of amusement replaced the unreasoning hatred
for a moment. In a way, Zelgadiss was a little relieved to see it, though it
boded ill for his immediate future. This was more like the typical reaction
mazoku had towards other creatures.
The strange mazoku gathered a swirling sphere of black magic that
looked to be fully capable of blowing him apart. However, just as the
monster was about to hurl black death at him, another mazoku phased in
behind the first and laid a hand on its shoulder. Startled, the first
mazoku dissipated the magic globe and turned to look at the newcomer.
Zel did the same.
The new mazoku was a stark contrast to the first. Tall and gaunt,
but muscled in a lean sort of way, the mazoku had platinum blond hair,
eyes so black that their slitted pupils disappeared, and strangest of all, a
faint blue tinge to it's skin that reminded Zelgadiss of his own skin. More
interesting that his appearance, though, was the old mazoku's reaction to
the new one. Fear, rage, and a desperate loyalty.
The first mazoku executed a trembling bow.
"Dynast-sama, I-"
As Zelgadiss's eyes widened, Dynast Grausherra moved his free
hand in a sharp slash.
"Silence Grau. You attacked this mortal against my express
orders."
Trying desperately to figure out why Dynast Grausherra would have
any interest in whether he lived or died, Zelgadiss almost missed the old
mazoku's terrified flinch.
"But, Dynast-sama, I'm your Priest! You can't repla-"
Again the sharp slashing motion.
"Your mistake was in thinking the services you provided in the past
would allow you get away with this, Grau. No one disobeys me."
"Dynast-sama, please, no! NO! NO-AAHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh"
As the old mazoku was pleasing, Dynast had tightened his grip on
Grau's shoulder. A few seconds later, the disobedient monster went up
in ice blue flames. Soon, all that was left was a cold sky blue stone that
dropped neatly into the Mazoku Lord's hand. Done with his task,
Grausherra turned his black eyes on Zelgadiss.
Zelgadiss knew that the demon lord would be able to feel his fear,
but he'd be damned before he would show it outwardly. Actually, now
that he thought about it, that wasn't such a remote possibility at the
moment...Using his inflexible stone face to advantage, Zel calmly asked
the first question that came to mind.
"What the hell was that all about?"
Though Dynast raised his eyebrow incrementally, he answered
readily enough.
"That was my Priest, Grau. He's been around nearly as long as I
have, and his stability, in recent years, has left something to be desired.
Therefore, I began making plans for his replacement. Unfortunately,
somehow Grau found out my plans, and the news became the catalyst for
out and out insanity. Apparently he set out with the idea of killing his
replacement."
Examining the gleam of satisfaction in Dynast's eyes, Zelgadiss had
to wonder exactly HOW the mazoku Priest had found out his lords plans,
and whether it had been an accident at all, but there were more important
issues to be discussed.
"Alright then, why did he attack me?"
The gleam of satisfaction in Dynast's eyes turned to vague
disapproval.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? He attacked you because I've
chosen you to be his replacement."
Zelgadiss choked.
"Me??? Why, in L-sama's name, would you choose ME as your next
Priest?"
The gleam of satisfaction was back.
"Because, Zelgadiss...I am your father..."
If anime characters could faint, that's what Zel would have done.
As it was, he plastered his face to the ground in a rather ungraceful face-
fault.
Dynast's lips tugged into the faintest of smiles as he observed his
twitching 'offspring'.
"Well, sort of, anyway."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's the end of Zelgadiss's side story. Back to our regular
program next time. Read and review and all that muck. Or email me at
madame_meow@hotmail.com.
Well it's been a couple of weeks since I've worked on this, about
since I came home for the summer. Home is where the heart is and all,
but it's also where there's so many things going on that you don't have a
chance to think, much less write. But I've finally gotten my act together
on this. All my standard disclaimers and warnings apply. On with the
show.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaning against the decaying outer wall of a deserted temple ruin,
Zelgadiss fought the urge to sulk. The latest lead for a cure had been as
false as every one before it. He was getting tired of these never-ending
quests, the constant roller coaster of hopes, fears, and the inevitable
disappointment. Sometimes he could swear he felt his emotional turmoil
grinding away at what was left of his conscience. The more desensitized
to his feelings he became, the more he considered what he was rapidly
starting to believe was the only option left to him.
Perhaps he should become a mazoku.
He was already one third of the way there. And what, after all, was
he really clinging to? An amorphous quality of kindness, compassion and
generosity labeled humanity? True humans shoved it aside at will. Any
time they were confronted with something they feared, or didn't
understand 'humanity' took a position on the sidelines, only coming back
into play when whatever it was causing the disturbance was gone. Or
dead. He had seen that, again and again. The only people who had
never done that were his friends, Lina and her group. And now Lina was
a mazoku herself, Gourry was dead, and Amelia had run crying home to
her papa.
If he became a mazoku, he'd have the acceptance he craved. Okay,
so it wouldn't be the acceptance of humans, but after years of being the
target of blind, ignorant terror, he had lost most of his respect for his
own species. If demons were cruel and evil, at least they did it because
they liked it.
His only warning was a swift vortex of energy forming somewhere
above his head. Cursing, he threw up a shield and dove away from the
temple, covering his head with his arms. Behind him a swirling ball of
black energy blasted through what was left of the crumbling temple.
Rolling to his feet, he turned to face his opponent.
Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. Floating in the air,
radiating a dark battle aura, was a mazoku. At least he thought it was a
mazoku. The monster in question was thin to the point of emaciation,
his skin had the sallow tint of one who never saw the sun, and his hair
was long and somewhat scraggly, a faded red that spoke of age beyond
imagining. All this would seem to imply that no matter what race this
creature came from, he shouldn't have been able to summon the energy
that had torn the temple apart. His eyes said otherwise. As faded and
old as the rest of them, nevertheless they were filled with a restless
energy, a raging hatred and madness directed totally and exclusively
at...Zelgadiss.
When the aged mazoku saw that his blast had missed the intended
target, he screamed and hurled imprecations at the bemused Zelgadiss.
It wasn't until the creature began readying another ball of energy that Zel
snapped out of his daze. Dodging quickly to the side, Zel snapped off a
Ra-Tilt, hoping to broadside the psycho bastard from the side. With a
familiar sense of frustration he watched the mazoku phase out just
before the spell hit, and phase back in once it had passed. His thoughts
grim, he settled in for a long battle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gasping, Zelgadiss leaned against a partially toppled pillar. His
skin was tough to break through, but it could chip, and it hurt like hell.
He was at the end of his strength, he knew. All that was left was for the
strange mazoku to find him, and finish him off. And he didn't even know
why! That was the worst of it. He was going to die, by the hand of an
unknown mazoku, who hated him for some unknown reason. He didn't
mind dying, particularly, but it grated to be killed for no apparent reason.
The mazoku phased into being a couple of meters above Zel's
head. A malicious sort of amusement replaced the unreasoning hatred
for a moment. In a way, Zelgadiss was a little relieved to see it, though it
boded ill for his immediate future. This was more like the typical reaction
mazoku had towards other creatures.
The strange mazoku gathered a swirling sphere of black magic that
looked to be fully capable of blowing him apart. However, just as the
monster was about to hurl black death at him, another mazoku phased in
behind the first and laid a hand on its shoulder. Startled, the first
mazoku dissipated the magic globe and turned to look at the newcomer.
Zel did the same.
The new mazoku was a stark contrast to the first. Tall and gaunt,
but muscled in a lean sort of way, the mazoku had platinum blond hair,
eyes so black that their slitted pupils disappeared, and strangest of all, a
faint blue tinge to it's skin that reminded Zelgadiss of his own skin. More
interesting that his appearance, though, was the old mazoku's reaction to
the new one. Fear, rage, and a desperate loyalty.
The first mazoku executed a trembling bow.
"Dynast-sama, I-"
As Zelgadiss's eyes widened, Dynast Grausherra moved his free
hand in a sharp slash.
"Silence Grau. You attacked this mortal against my express
orders."
Trying desperately to figure out why Dynast Grausherra would have
any interest in whether he lived or died, Zelgadiss almost missed the old
mazoku's terrified flinch.
"But, Dynast-sama, I'm your Priest! You can't repla-"
Again the sharp slashing motion.
"Your mistake was in thinking the services you provided in the past
would allow you get away with this, Grau. No one disobeys me."
"Dynast-sama, please, no! NO! NO-AAHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh"
As the old mazoku was pleasing, Dynast had tightened his grip on
Grau's shoulder. A few seconds later, the disobedient monster went up
in ice blue flames. Soon, all that was left was a cold sky blue stone that
dropped neatly into the Mazoku Lord's hand. Done with his task,
Grausherra turned his black eyes on Zelgadiss.
Zelgadiss knew that the demon lord would be able to feel his fear,
but he'd be damned before he would show it outwardly. Actually, now
that he thought about it, that wasn't such a remote possibility at the
moment...Using his inflexible stone face to advantage, Zel calmly asked
the first question that came to mind.
"What the hell was that all about?"
Though Dynast raised his eyebrow incrementally, he answered
readily enough.
"That was my Priest, Grau. He's been around nearly as long as I
have, and his stability, in recent years, has left something to be desired.
Therefore, I began making plans for his replacement. Unfortunately,
somehow Grau found out my plans, and the news became the catalyst for
out and out insanity. Apparently he set out with the idea of killing his
replacement."
Examining the gleam of satisfaction in Dynast's eyes, Zelgadiss had
to wonder exactly HOW the mazoku Priest had found out his lords plans,
and whether it had been an accident at all, but there were more important
issues to be discussed.
"Alright then, why did he attack me?"
The gleam of satisfaction in Dynast's eyes turned to vague
disapproval.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? He attacked you because I've
chosen you to be his replacement."
Zelgadiss choked.
"Me??? Why, in L-sama's name, would you choose ME as your next
Priest?"
The gleam of satisfaction was back.
"Because, Zelgadiss...I am your father..."
If anime characters could faint, that's what Zel would have done.
As it was, he plastered his face to the ground in a rather ungraceful face-
fault.
Dynast's lips tugged into the faintest of smiles as he observed his
twitching 'offspring'.
"Well, sort of, anyway."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's the end of Zelgadiss's side story. Back to our regular
program next time. Read and review and all that muck. Or email me at
madame_meow@hotmail.com.
