Chapter Ten
"Shiroi…………………" Rain murmured, as the white-clad figure descended from his perch, landing gracefully next to her.
"So, you have regained your power, Shiroi?" Tern growled.
"Yes. And it seems that your days of terrorizing this realm are through. You shall atone for the annihilation of the Mazoku race with your life." Shiroi said, with anger in his ice blue eyes.
"The Mazoku…………….." Amelia whispered.
"Are gone…………..?" Teim finished, shocked that such a thing had happened.
"Yes, that was the whole reason why Xellos had been taken from you; Tern wanted him to witness first hand the destruction of the Mazoku race. Xellos is the last of his kind." Shiroi said, as he gave Tern a look that could have frozen fire.
"Poor Xellos-san………….." Amelia said, softly.
"So all this was just for your revenge?! You destroyed the lives of hundreds just to get back at one?!" Ashram asked, infuriated.
"But of course, knight of Marmo! Now that you all know, you must also die!" Tern roared, as he assumed dragon shape and started shaking the fortress down on top of them.
"We must get out of here! This whole place is about to collapse!" Parn shouted, as he and others started running to the exit.
"Oh hell!" Ghim shouted, as he and others grabbed onto those that could Raywing and flew out with them. They reached the outside just as the fortress collapsed.
"Whew…………." Spark muttered, relieved to have gotten out alive.
"But it's not over yet!" Zelgadis shouted, as Tern erupted from the ruins, in all his fiendish glory.
"Hey! Where's Filia-san and Xellos-san?" Amelia asked, suddenly realizing that the two weren't there.
"Right here, Amelia." Filia said, as she walked out of the shadows, with Xellos leaning heavily on her shoulder.
"Filia! Xellos!" Lina yelped, looking relieved despite herself. Within moments, the entire group had reunited and was gazing at the formidable sight of the dragon Tern.
"He's so big!" Leaf murmured.
"But Shooting Star was about the same size." Cecil said, looking tired as he held a wound in his arm closed.
"Yes, but we don't have a lava pit to drop him into like we did with Shooting Star. We'll have to think of another way to destroy him." Ashram said, as SoulCrusher pulsated in his hand. Then an idea came into Neese's mind.
"Sir Parn, King Ashram, why don't we send someone to the Dragon Rider kingdom and get Mycen?" Neese suggested.
"Mycen? The Golden Dragon guardian of that kingdom? What makes you think he'd be willing to help?" Ashram asked.
"Well, he did come and fight against Narse, the dragon of Marmo." Deedlit said, thoughtfully.
"But who will go and get him?" Spark asked.
"I will." Filia said, as she stood up.
"You, Filia? Are you sure?" Lina asked, since she had knowledge of the mighty dragon, Mycen.
"It's the least I can do." Filia said.
"I'm going with you." Xellos said, struggling to his feet and standing alongside Filia.
"Well, what a switch! You're actually gonna help us this time, Xellos?" Lina asked. Xellos said nothing, as Filia changed into her dragon form and he climbed onto her back.
"We'll cover for you, then. Good luck, you two." Cecil said, as he watched Filia take off. Before Tern could set his sights of Filia and Xellos, the rest of the group launched into an attack. A number of well-aimed Freeze Arrows froze Tern's wings into blocks of solid ice, making him unable to fly.
"DRAGON SLAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lina cried, blowing Tern's wings completely off with that one powerful spell.
"You little bitch!" Tern roared, as blood spewed from the places where the wings had been. Lina merely smirked in satisfaction. But Tern had a trick up his sleeve; within seconds, he had grown back his wings and spat fire in every direction.
"What the hell?!" Lina screeched, leaping to get out of the way before the flames could burn her.
"I hope Filia and Xellos get back with Mycen soon! I don't know how long we can last!" Rain shouted, putting up a protection spell before some flames could reach her.
Meanwhile, Filia and Xellos were soaring across the watery divide between Alacrast and Lodoss.
"Filia-chan, turn to the south. The Dragon Rider kingdom is in the mountain range closest to Lodoss' shoreline." Xellos said. Filia nodded and flew in the direction Xellos had indicated. She looked back when Xellos coughed harshly into his hands.
"Are you all right, Xellos?" Filia asked, with concern in her voice. The Mazoku smiled weakly at her. Filia knew, at that point, that she had to take Xellos somewhere first, in order to get his wounds tended to. Within the hour, they could see the kingdom below them, barely discernible from the mountains surrounding it.
"Hello over there!" a jocular female voice called. Startled, both Filia and Xellos looked around for the source and saw that a Dragon Rider was flying alongside them.
"Hello." Xellos said, in response, giving Filia a look that meant she had to remain silent, unless she wanted to scare the Dragon Rider away.
"You've got one gorgeous dragon! She almost looks like a smaller version of Mycen! Where did you find her?" the Dragon Rider asked, while Filia blushed from the compliment.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" Xellos replied, in his usual cheerful tone. For once, Filia was glad that he had chosen to respond like that!
"Aw, c'mon! I'll keep bugging you till you do tell me!" the Dragon Rider said, teasingly.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you." Xellos said, before wincing a little and wrapping an arm around his waist.
"Hey, are you hurt or something?" the Dragon Rider asked, noticing the pained look on Xellos' face.
"I've had a rough time with a Demon Dragon. A band of warriors is on Alacrast now, fighting it. They sent me to find the guardian dragon, Mycen." Xellos replied, twisting the facts around in order to protect Filia.
"Then you must see Queen Shiris. She must know of this! Follow me!" the Dragon Rider said, as she changed direction and started heading for the only prominent building in the mountain range; a castle.
Ashram and Zelgadis struggled to stand after a blast of dark energy from Tern had knocked them aside.
"I…………..I don't think any of our magic is cutting it…………." Zelgadis gasped, as he leaned on a boulder for support.
"We need a dragon to beat a dragon." Ashram murmured, ignoring the blood running freely down his face.
"Fools! No mortal creature could ever hope to defeat me! This land will be your grave!" Tern roared, as he let loose another blast of fire.
"Spirit of water, blessed maiden! Shield us from the dragon's flames!" all of the elves in the group shouted, releasing their water spirits in a collective counter-spell.
"I call upon the spirit of the wind! Break the wings of our foe and render him unable to fly! Now!" Shiroi shouted, calling upon his natural magic to try and bring down the dragon. There was a mighty roar, and a thundering crack, signaling that Shiroi's efforts were not in vain.
"I should have killed you a long time ago, Shiroi!" Tern snarled, as he fired what appeared to be an Elmekia Lance at Shiroi. But, before anyone could react, a brilliant red light surrounded Shiroi, protecting him from the attack.
"What the………………?!" Lina yelped.
"Rezo…………….." Zelgadis and Rain muttered, shocked at this development.
"Rezo………………….he's come back from beyond the grave to help…………." Teim murmured, stunned when the red light took the form of the dead Red Priest.
"Thank you, old friend." Shiroi said, getting a slight nod from the ghostly image of Rezo, before they both turned to face the dragon.
"We're all together again, even though one of us is in spirit." Rain said, as she and Teim took their places beside the Red and White Priests.
"What are they doing, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia asked.
"I don't know." Zelgadis replied, as he watched the four Sages of the Age face the dragon.
"We call upon the power that was endowed to us, at the time of our births! Build us a wall to defend our friends! Dragon Wall!" the four shouted, their staffs letting off powerful amounts of energy.
"Foolishness." Tern growled, before letting loose an attack. To his surprise, the invisible barrier repelled the attack!
"What?!" Tern roared, infuriated.
"You never counted on this, did you, Tern?" Lina asked, in her usual smart-ass way. Tern merely growled and tried again, getting the same result as before.
"Let's hope that barrier holds." Parn said, as he watched Tern attack the barrier with all his strength.
"That's about all we can do now." Spark said, as Neese added some strength to the barrier by calling upon Marfa.
"You mean Parn and the rest are on Alacrast fighting a dragon?! Why didn't they come and get help from this kingdom?!" Shiris, queen of the Dragon Riders, asked.
"I guess they didn't have time to." Xellos replied, silently noting how alike this woman was to Lina Inverse.
"And you came all this way on your own to get Mycen's aid?" Orson, the newly crowned King, asked, quietly.
"Well, not exactly." Xellos said, as he looked at Filia (who was looking in on the conversation through a window).
"I see. Well, since Parn and Deedlit are my friends, I might as well go to their aid. Orson, let's go and see if Mycen is up to fighting that dragon alongside us." Shiris said, not noticing the look of relief of Xellos' face. As they all walked down into the cavernous hiding place of Mycen, Xellos could feel fear creep into him. This was the most powerful Golden Dragon to ever live on this world, and he was going down to meet him, face to face. Filia, who was still in dragon form, reassured Xellos with a gentle nudge. When they had finally arrived inside the dragon's lair, all of them, even Filia, was amazed by what they saw. There, lying in a sleeping position, was the mighty dragon, Mycen!
"It doesn't matter how many times I see this dragon, he's still an amazing sight!" Shiris murmured, watching as Filia approached the larger golden dragon. The moment he sensed her presence, he opened his great eyes and looked at her. Filia froze; she could sense that Mycen was making sure she was what he thought she was. Finally, he spoke, and all activity ceased in the cavern.
"What brings you here, young one?" Mycen asked, in a rumbling, yet gentle, voice.
"My friends need help, Mycen-sama." Filia replied, not noticing when Shiris nearly fell over herself.
"Why do they need my help, child?" Mycen asked.
"They are being attacked by a demon dragon." Filia replied, looking up when she noticed that Mycen was gazing at Xellos.
"That one, is he here to help his friends as well?" Mycen asked. Filia gave Xellos a meaningful look.
"I don't have much else left, since my kind has been eradicated by the demon dragon, Lord Mycen." Xellos said, quietly and honestly.
"It seems that Karla's meddling has finally come to a head." Mycen said, as he stood on all fours and stretched his great, birdlike wings.
"What do you mean, Lord Mycen?" Shiris asked, curious as to what he meant.
"Young human, in order to tell you all that Karla has done since the fall of Kastuul is to go back almost two thousand years. It would take far too long to tell you of what happened between the four races. But, I can tell you this; she was responsible for the outbreak of those wars and others throughout this world's history. And now, after all that time, the final product of it all has resurfaced, taken his revenge, and is now fighting some would-be slayers. If we are to save your friends, then we must hurry." Mycen said, as he prepared to leave his nest.
"Lord Mycen?" Xellos asked, with an out of character note of anxiety in his voice.
"Yes, young Mazoku?" Mycen asked, turning his great head to look at Xellos.
"How did this 'Karla' manage to influence the Mazoku?" Xellos asked.
"The only one who could have answered that question was Zelas Mettallium." Mycen replied. Xellos' eyes widened, then he looked away, a grimace coming across his face.
"Xellos?" Filia asked, concerned.
"I think…………..I think it's best that I remain here, Filia-chan………..I won't be of much use on the battlefield." Xellos said, his eyes glazed with pain.
"I'll see to it that he gets to a healer. You go with Shiris and Mycen. I'll be along after you." Orson said, as he shouldered Xellos' weight and looked at Filia. Filia nodded, gave Xellos a parting look, then went after Shiris and Mycen, hoping that they weren't going to be too late.
Shiroi winced when another assault landed on the barrier he and the other three Sages were holding between them and Tern. The battle was going badly; the fighters were beaten and bloody from the long battle, and the healers that were with the group were wearing themselves thin trying to keep them alive.
"We……………..we can't give up now…………….not when that dragon is still on the loose." Ashram gasped, as Pirotess bound an abdominal wound in what remained of her traveling cloak.
"But we're not strong enough. Even the Four Sages are having a hard time keeping the dragon at bay." Leaf said, as she tried to bandage a painful looking gash on Gourry's left arm.
"But we can't give up! Xellos and Filia went to get Mycen! We can't very well die before they can get back with him!" Lina said, trying to keep everyone's hopes up.
"She's right. If we lose hope now, then Filia and Xellos would have wasted their time trying to get help. We've got to hang on!" Spark said, determinedly. Then Sheen stood up.
"Mairi, great god of war, give us the courage we need to continue this fight!" Sheen cried, as light came from nowhere and surrounded the weary group.
"In the name of Justice, we will triumph!" Amelia added, and, for once, everyone agreed with her.
"And in the name of the Dragon Rider kingdom, you guys are off the hook!" a woman's voice shouted, from above.
"Oh no………….not her again." Cecil muttered, as Shiris and a host of her Dragon Riders arrived on the scene, in full battle regalia. Behind them was Mycen and Filia.
"All right, the cavalry's here!" Lina shouted, pleased that they had arrived just in time.
"And not a moment too soon!" Pirotess said, greatly relieved. Tern roared when he saw Mycen descend into position in front of him.
"So, you are the great Mycen, eh?" Tern asked, with a sneer.
"Yes. And it is time to put the last of Karla's ghosts to rest." Mycen replied, as the battle began between the two dragons.
"But why are you here, Shiris?" Parn asked, dropping formalities for the moment.
"To get you and your friends away from here. Mycen is going to take that demon dragon out in the only way he knows how; incineration. He agreed to let us come along so we could evacuate you guys from the area before he does that." Shiris said.
"So our battle is over, then?" Amelia asked. Shiris nodded.
"Then we can let the barrier come down now." Shiroi said, having heard the conversation with his sensitive ears. The two other living Sages nodded, and walked away. Rezo's ghost remained where he was for a few moments, before he faded away. Within the hour, all of the adventurers were on dragon-back and were flying away from the battleground.
"I hope nobody at home considers us cowards for leaving that battle to Mycen." Lina said, guiltily.
"If they do, then they would not live to see tomorrow." Ashram said, hinting at Lina's great power with that one statement.
"Damn straight!" Lina said, agreeing with Ashram wholeheartedly. Just as they reached the coast of Lodoss, there was a tremendous explosion.
"Seems that Mycen's doing what he'd told us he was going to do." Shiris said, as they all descended into the mountain range.
