Chapter 14
Metamorphosis
I can't breathe.....
I can't speak....
I can't touch....
I can't walk.....
I can't do anything.
Anything at all.
I can't escape this feeling.
I can't escape this feeling of confinement.
I can't escape this feeling where I cannot do a single thing.
I can't escape this feeling of displacement.
But I can feel myself.
I can feel myself.....
...changing.....
It's like my body is warping.
Mutating.
Disfiguring.
It is like every square inch of my body is being infected with a crippling disease.
It is like something is swallowing me up very slowly.
It is like I'm being sucked into a vacuum of change.
It's like I'm being consumed by an immense power.
I open my mouth but no scream comes forth.
Consciousness came drifting back into Zelgadis' mind. Although he was covered with bruises, bruises that even the protection of his stone skin couldn't withstand, his mind was dazed and his mouth was filled with dust and dirt, he could still receive signs of function within every portion of his body.
Dust? Dirt?
Slowly, Zel raised his head, out of the rubble beneath him. What the hell.....?
He raised his head to survey these new surroundings. And to search for answers....
The scene that greeted the chimera was nothing short of utter devastation. Where once stood a house was now a scene of blasted rubble. Sharp pieces of wood jutted out here and there. Pieces of stone and brick were scattered all over the place. Small groups of flames dotted the chaotic scene. Yet whilst the house's walls had fallen and collapsed into pieces, it's foundations still remained - proof that the house had ever existed. And amid the broken pieces of wood and the scorched stone, there lay pieces of charred bone and blackened cloth that may have once been magenta-coloured. The members of the cult had been completely vaporised - leaving absolutely no trace of what they were up to or whether they had succeeded in doing so. And whilst the cult had been removed from existence, the house itself had gone with it - completely blown apart by the explosion.
Then it hit him. The explosion! The cultists! Amelia! Zelgadis' mind catapulted into top gear at the thought of his missing friend.
Even as every joint in his body groaned in protested pain, Zel slowly moved from his prostrate position up onto his knees. It was then from here that he managed to, in spite of the pain inflicted onto him, ascend to his feet.
But as Zel gathered his wits together, his ears pricked up at the sound of a soft moan.
A soft moan was weak yet quite close.
And oddly familiar.
Gourry!
Zel flicked his head around in the direction of the moan.
Only to make an alarming discovery.
He had found Gourry all right. But the swordsman was lying at Zel's feet - bearing an expression of pain across his face. Whereas Zel escaped any damage inflicted from the explosion, thanks to the protection of his stone skin, Gourry wasn't so lucky. The swordsman was in absolute pain: his clothes were torn and singed, his skin was riddled with hideous cuts and his muscular arms were bedecked with huge amounts of blood. Yet in spite of his lousy condition, Gourry was still able to utilise his vocal chords to moan out the ghastly pain he was in. And it was this moaning that told Zel that he was still alive.
Zel grimaced at the sight of the injured Gourry....
....before having his thoughts interrupted by a new noise.
"ZEL!"
Zel flicked his head around at the sound of his name. Lina!
There, running towards the chimera, was a whole group of people. Unsurprisingly the explosion had woken up each and every villager in Dakeyras. The villagers had all risen from their beds, and had all come out in their bed-clothes to investigate. And at their head was Lina. There was also another familiar face.
Zel blinked. Sylphiel!? What was she doing here?
The crowd swarmed around the chimera and the fallen Gourry.
"Zel!" Lina said. "What the hell's going on here? What's happened?! We all heard an explosion....."
"Zelgadis!" Sylphiel exclaimed. "Are you all right?"
"Don't worry about me!" Zel replied. "Gourry needs healing and fast!"
It was there and then that Lina and Syl caught sight of the stricken swordsman. Instantaneously, Lina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"GOURRY!" she screamed.
Immediately, she moved into action.
Before being cut off by an intervening arm.
"No Lina!" Syl said. "This is a task I'm best suited for!"
Then, acting upon an instinct forged from being a shrine maiden, Syl knelt down and began healing Gourry. She didn't cry, she didn't shake, neither did she allow herself to be overcome with any emotion. Yes, she was quite upset at seeing Gourry beaten up like this but now was not the time to cry about it. Now was the time to do what she did best:
Her duty as a shrine maiden.
And as a loyal friend.
Acting upon a strength that was forged from her time in Sairaag, Sylphiel began the process of using her power to heal Gourry. Now was the time for action and concentration - Not the time to let things stand in her way.
Lina turned to Zel. "What exactly happened here?"
Quickly Zel explained what happened to the sorceress and the villagers. And as Lina took everything in, her expression turned grim.
"I see" she said. "And where's Amelia now?"
"That I do not know." Zel said, slowly. He then turned away from the sorceress.
"You know....." Lina began - before falling into an abrupt silence.
Zel blinked at this sudden change.
"Lina?" he inquired. "Are you all right?"
Lina didn't answer. Instead she laid a hand on his arm. At this gesture, Zel turned around.
And then he saw it.
Syl stood up, her healing spell complete. She stood up and turned towards Zel and Lina.
"I've healed Gourry!" she said. "He should come around any minute....."
Syl stopped mid-sentence. It was there and then that she noticed Lina's discovery. And it was there and then that Syl joined her friends, and the villagers, in staring in awe at this oddity.
There, rising up above the ruins was a streak of flame. But this was unlike all the other flames that were spotted amongst the ruins. This was much larger and it was blue - a sign that gave away this flame's magical origins.
Suddenly the flame shot upwards! The flame shot upwards to tower above the crowd of onlookers. The flame also began swelling: It began to grow fatter and fatter. It was as if it was anticipating something extraordinary to happen.....
In seconds something did.
The ground that the flame was sitting upon spilt open. The ground split open in a crack. A crack which grew in size with every passing second. And as the crack grew larger, it gave way to the formation of a web of cracks. A web of cracks that tore apart portions of the ground it resided in. A web of cracks that quickly grew into a hole.
Then, a loud scream filled the air. A loud scream that rang from the depths of the hole. A loud scream that chilled the blood of all who heard it.
A loud scream which heralded an arrival.
Seconds later, something else emerged from the depths of the hole. It came in the form of a large suit of armour. A large suit of armour that was consisted of a breastplate and a helmet. A breastplate and helmet that was decorated with a design of iconography that was at once hideous, disturbing, ornate, and ancient.
Bathed in the blue flame, the suit of armour loomed before the crowd before it.
At the sight of the monstrosity, the villagers backed away nervously. But this was not the case with Lina and Zelgadis. They didn't move. They didn't back away. They didn't adopt an expression of fear. They just stood defiantly, before this suit of armour. Sylphiel, although bearing wide eyes and a worried expression, too stood her ground.
Suddenly a voice emerged from the depths of the armour. A voice that was loud. A voice that was booming. A voice that was more like the roar of thunderstorm.
"Aaaahhhh!" Said the voice. "It feels so good to walk on this earth again! How I have longed for this moment for so long!"
Lina blinked, unimpressed.
"And who are you?" she snapped. "Like I care...."
The suit of armour, still floating within the blue flame, leaned forward towards the sorceress.
"I am the Great Lord Damenamecus!" the armour boomed. "And after centuries of banishment I have risen again! Risen again to reshape the world for...."
"Yeah, yeah!" Lina interrupted, revealing her lack of interest for this nutter. "Cut to the chase!"
The armour calling itself Damenamecus was taken aback. It seems the world has indeed changed dramatically since his last visit.
"And who are you to challenge me like that? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm Lina Inverse!" the red-head retorted. "And I've faced many cretins like you before!"
Damenamecus cocked his head.
"Who?"
It was at that point that Lina fell over in exasperation. What? This lunatic hasn't heard of her?! Where has he been?!
But Zel wasn't having any of this arguing. Instead his expression was thoughtful.
"Wait!" Zel exclaimed. "I've heard of you!"
"Are you" the chimera went on, addressing the armour, "By any chance, the greater mazoku Damenamecus who fought alongside Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu in his war against Fire-Dragon Cephied?"
Upon hearing this, Damenamecus roared with laughter.
"That I am!" he boomed. "I did fight in that great war as one of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu's most trusted lieutenants! I led his legions to many a victory before Cephied defeated me!"
And not only did he triumph over me, that dragon drained me of all my power before sealing me away in a prism of a prison! But now, I've been freed! Freed to roam this earth and bend it to my will!"
"That's really nice ya know." Lina yawned. "But I don't really care much for your life story! To me, you're just another goon who doesn't know who he's messing with."
"Uh....Lina" Zel said with a sweat-drop. "If he hasn't heard of you then most likely he doesn't know who he's dealing with."
"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you." Damenamecus warned the red-head.
"Was that a threat?" Lina retorted. "I'll have you know, I once defeated your master Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu!"
Upon receiving this information, the armour paused - as if uncertain as to what to make of Lina's claim or how to react.
Seeing Damenamecus pause, Lina grinned in triumph.
"Yeah, that's right!" she boasted. "Now what do you say to that? Not so tough now, eh?"
"Obviously I must take care." The armour replied. "If you were capable enough to defeat Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, then it may pay me to get some assistance...."
Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightening burst forth from the flame, heading for Zelgadis. The chimera tried to jump out of the way, but wasn't successful. Zel was struck by the full force of the bolt and went down on his back.
Lina blinked in astonishment. Syl, bearing an expression of distress, knelt down beside the chimera.
"You see" Damenamecus proclaimed. "I was once a wizard. A wizard who experimented with magic and science. Yet in my pursuit of knowledge and power, I made a pact with Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu. In return for my servitude, I was granted with the most forbidden of knowledge. And it was through this boon that I continued with my studies. Eventually, I used my powers of knowledge and science to create the ultimate life-form. A life-form I dubbed a chimera!"
Lina gasped at this revelation. "You mean....?"
"Yeah that's right" the armour mocked. "I was the first to bring this forbidden science from the mazoku plain to the world of the living! I was a pioneer to this magnificent art!
"And since I was the first to master this science" he went on. "I can easily bend any chimera to my will!"
And with these words, Zel suddenly sat up - much to Sylphiel's astonishment. The chimera opened his eyes - to reveal a pair of triangular objects filled with sinister orange light.
Zel jumped to his feet and drew his sword. Clutching his wicked blade, Zel advanced towards Lina, with murderous intent.
Lina's expression hardened. She knew what Damenamecus was up to. He had, somehow, gained control over the hapless Zel. The chimera was being forced into fighting Damenamecus' battle! That ruthless bastard....
Suddenly, the chimera aimed the blade of his sword towards Lina. Then, with this blade raised high, Zel charged right towards Lina!
Thinking quickly, Lina jumped out of the way. Consequently, Zelgadis' charge went wide.
This gave enough time for Lina to think. What should she do now? Should she cast a spell? Should she try and stop Zel? No! She's not the type to harm one of her friends - whether they're being manipulated or not!
But none else of her friends have the protection of a rock skin.....
And besides, if she doesn't do something quick, she wouldn't be here much longer!
Should she take out Damenamecus? That's possible, but if he really is who he claims to be, she should take caution - particularly if she has no concrete evidence of how much power he has.....
By now, Zel had turned around and was now preparing for another charge towards Lina.
The time to decide was now....
In the end, she bit the bullet.
I'm sorry Zel. Lina thought.
"MEGA BRAND!" She shouted, hoping Zelgadis' stone skin will save him this time.
Suddenly the ground underneath Zel exploded! A huge mass of rock burst from the ground underneath Zel, taking the chimera up into the heavens. Zel was catapulted into the sky.
With Zel now gone, Lina turned angrily towards Damenamecus. The armour chuckled, amused by the proceedings.
"Well I suppose that would be one less to deal with"
"YOU BASTARD!" Lina screamed. "You coward! Using people like that for your own ends! Why when I get my hands on you....."
Damenamecus merely laughed.
"Once again you have no idea who you're dealing with" he mocked.
"You see" he went on, "My master was most pleased with my efforts in bringing the creation science to the this world that he elevated me to position in the mazoku hierarchy!"
"You mean....?" Lina gasped.
"That's right." Damenamecus said. "I'm a greater mazoku."
"Hang on" Lina said. "If you're a greater mazoku and you've also been sealed away for centuries than that must mean your power must be much weaker then it was!"
"That is true" Damenamecus boomed. "Yet while my power is weak, it does however grow stronger, the longer I remain on earth! And I am only here because I have a soul to provide a host body. A soul in the shape of a teenaged girl!"
Lina blinked. Teenaged girl? Surely he can't mean Amelia?!
"And while I may be weak" the armour continued. "I am still quite a force to be reckoned with!"
And to prove his point, the armour unleashed a bolt of pure power right at Lina. The red-head tried to dodge out of the way, but wasn't fast enough. The bolt slammed right into the sorceress, knocking her to the floor.
Damenamecus chuckled. Yes, those two annoyances had fallen. Now nothing can stop him! Nothing can interfere with the return of his powers! And once that happens, nothing would interfere with him roaming this earth! Nothing will stop him!
But in his haste, Damenamecus made a fatal error.
Once, he'd arrived to earth, he was challenged by three mortals. Two of which were perceived as a threat and, as a consequence, eliminated. The other mortal didn't seem like much of a threat and so he ignored her.
And that's where Damenamecus failed.
Sylphiel has crouching down on her knees. Her eyes were closed and her lips were mouthing silent words. Something had happened to Syl. Whether it was the presence of a greater mazoku or the shock of Zel being manipulated only to be taken out or the sight of Lina being blasted, something did happen to Syl. Appalled by what she was seeing, the priestess knelt down and closed her eyes, wishing Damenamecus and all this mayhem around her would go away.....
And then it happened. Syl felt something ignite within her. She could feel something trigger within her. She could feel a call within her. A call to take action. A call to destroy Damenamecus. A call to help her friends in the time of need.
Words floated into Syl's brain. Forbidden words. Forbidden words she had memorised. Forbidden words she had used once before. Forbidden words she had sworn never to use again.
But now the situation had become desperate.
Foolishly, Damenamecus had chosen to ignore Syl. His ignorance was her advantage. This gave Sylphiel enough time to get ready....
Eventually she stood up and stared defiantly at the greater mazoku.
Then she said but two words:
"DRAGON SLAVE!!!!!"
Suddenly a bolt of pure destructive energy erupted from the priestess' fingertips and thundered towards the greater mazoku. Damenamecus turned around to face the priestess in alarm. Dragon Slave? Hey! He knew those words!
But it was too late. Syl's Dragon Slave ploughed towards Damenamecus. And with his powers in a weakened state, he had little chance of survival.
A web of cracks appeared across Damenamecus' breastplate. A web that shattered the ornate casing within seconds! Following this, the armour exploded in a shower of dust! And from the explosion, something catapulted from the depths of the armour. Something catapulted far into the air. Something that looked like Amelia.....
Now with his armour lost, Damenamecus screamed. Screamed a terrible scream. Screamed a scream of defeat. Screamed at the irony that, after centuries of waiting, his time on earth lasted only a few minutes!
With a bloodcurdling wail, Damenamecus was pulled back into the depths of the earth. Back to the underworld. Back to his prism prison. Back to the mazoku realm, never to bother any mortals ever again.
And then he was gone. And without it's source of power, the blue fame died away to nothing. Leaving the ruins as quiet as tomb.
Sylphiel breathed a huge sigh of relief. She couldn't believe what she had done. She had used the terrible Dragon Slave spell. She had used such a destructive power - even when she swore never to do such a thing ever again.
But in her heart of hearts she carried a sense of triumph. She had done something good. She had managed to banish a greater mazoku from this mortal plain. She had managed to find the courage to stand up to the evil forces that had plagued her life.
Yes, she had done something good. And damn, she felt good!
Suddenly, something came plummeting from the sky. Something that landed within several feet of Sylphiel. Something that looked like Amelia.....
Amelia?!
Syl moved towards this discovery. If it truly was Amelia, then now would be the time to tell her of Philionel's message! At long last, her quest would be over!
Syl knelt down next to her discovery.....
And suddenly she gasped in horror. Her eyes widened and she raised her hand to her mouth in shock.
This discovery certainly was Amelia. Well, it looked like Amelia.
But something was different. Sinisterly different.
Amelia's hair strands had hardened - hardened to become like needles. Her skin, which had once been soft and smooth had now hardened as well: It had become rocky and hard. What's more, Amelia's skin had turned blue and became dotted with large indigo speckles of rock.
Sylphiel gasped in horror.
Amelia was no longer a princess.
She was a chimera.
What?! Amelia's got Zelgadis' chimera curse?! Quick! Turn the page!
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