SLAYERS TIME
In the lowest level of the Seyruun Royal Palace was a dungeon. In days long past it had been a series of cellars and pantries. Now, it contained those dismal creatures who were unfortunate enough to have pitted themselves against Seyruun's princess and gotten away with their lives. one of the typically dark and abandoned hallways suddenly lit up as a minor light spell broke through the deep gloom, it's flickering light casting two long shadows up against the rough stone wall.
The shadows belonged to Lieutenant Hendrick, the man in charge of keeping prisoners under control, and Lina Inverse, general major of the Seyruun army. As they walked, Hendrick kept up a running commentary while Lina Inverse kept mostly to herself.
"This way, General Inverse," Hendrick gestured down the winding hall towards a heavy wooden door with several locks, both magical and normal, attached. "Its cell is just down this hallway. It's amazing how efficiently your spell worked. The moment the monster stepped over the barrier, it was rendered completely useless. We were able to bring it here without any struggle."
Lina gave a nod of appreciation but declined to comment. In the past seven years, since she had discovered the L-stone, she had destroyed so many of the mazoku that it hardly seemed worth mentioning. She was just surprised that one had dared to come near the city. It was common knowledge that the monster race stood little chance against Lina's recently developed magic. It stripped them of their power and left them helpless shadows of their former selves. Only the most powerful mazoku had been able to resist it, and even then, they had always turned tail and retreated to recover. No monster had come within a day's journey of Seyruun in years. They had taken to attacking the country's outer limits, ravaging small towns and villages. The once glorious army of the monsters was reduced to petty vandalism and the occasional mad attempt at revenge. But it always ended the same: with Lina victorious.
"Even so," Hendrick continued after a pause, interrupting Lina's thoughts, "We believe this particular mazoku may be an official of some sort. It seems to be very dangerous and extremely powerful. I beg you to exercise the greatest caution, General."
Lina smiled slightly. She was known throughout the kingdom for her quick temper and carefree attitude. Some had thought her suicidal in her early years as general. They had thought Princess Amelia crazy. Lina had proven them all wrong on both accounts. "Of course," she replied.
"The real question is why it came here in the first place," Hendrick mused, voicing Lina's own thoughts. "Perhaps it was a dissident." Lina considered. It was a possibility; ever since the mazoku had discovered that Lina could use L-magic, as it was affectionately called, to drain them of all their energy, Dynast and Zelas, the ringleaders, had very suddenly disappeared from the picture. Indeed, it was rumored that they had decided to just stay tucked away safe in their respective homes until Lina, being the only known person who could control L-magic, met some unfortunate end or other. However they had given their minions orders to keep fighting, however hopeless the chances, placing their generals in charge of overseeing the war. And supposedly many of the mazoku were angry at what they felt was a complete desertion by their superiors. Some how though.
"Maybe, Lieutenant," Lina responded, "but I can't really see any of them betraying their masters. Loyalty is a pretty big thing among the mazoku. And anyway, I think they'd prefer death to joining the humans."
Hendrick fell silent for a ways. Then he stopped abruptly. "Here we are," he said gesturing at the entrance to the cell. "We put it in here." He reached out and unlocked the door and hesitantly swung it open. Lina peered into the ill-lit cell room and made out a dark shape being held by two heavily-armed guards. They were both equipped with Lina's enchanted brooches, jewelry which not only pleased the eye, but also contained her L- magic. It kept the prisoners constantly exposed to the magic's effects, rendering them weak and subdued. Additionally, Lina wore several enchanted bracelets herself. Still, the whole affair was so shady that she felt a little bit uneasy.
"General Inverse" one of the guards said, bowing his head in respect as he stepped forward. Lina looked up. The dark figure had the form of a man. His hands were chained together and his head was bowed so that his long hair fell into his face, obscuring his features. Even so, there was no mistaking him. At that moment, the dark figure lifted his head and flashed Lina an undaunted grin.
"Xell-chan!"
"Lina-sama!"
The trickster priest broke free from his bonds as though they were made of paper and not iron and threw himself at Seyruun's infamous general. Before she knew what was happening, Lina found herself standing in the middle of the room with the monster known as Lesser Beastmaster Xelloss reclining in her arms, his hands flung affectionately about her neck and his face just a little too close to hers.
"In your dreams!" she snorted and lowered her arms, letting the mazoku general fall unceremoniously to the floor with a loud thud.
Lina noticed that Hendrick and the prison guards were regarding her with a mixture of horror and amazement. She ignored them. "You know," she commented airily, "From the description they were giving me of the captive, I was expecting someone a lot more impressive."
"Oi, Lina-san, that hurts," the mazoku general whined, though whether he was referring to his pride or his backside was uncertain.
"General Inverse," Hendrick ventured nervously, "please be very careful. He may not look like much, but we believe he is actually very dangerous..."
"No sweat," Lina brushed his worry aside. "This one is nothing special."
"Oh my. I didn't come here to be insulted," Lesser Beastmaster muttered sulkily.
"Then why did you come here, General? I am sure even you are aware of the boundaries set up along this city.and of their extreme effectiveness. You couldn't have believed you could sneak in here without my knowledge."
"On the contrary, Lina-san. I came here just to see you." The monster gave her what was probably supposed to be an endearing smile, but which looked rather suspicious.
"Uh huh," Lina's left arm slid onto her slender waist as she relaxed her weight onto one leg, "Because we both know how your unbeating mazoku heart shatters every day we don't see each other. That's why I haven't laid eyes on you these past few years."
"Well, you know what they say...Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Xelloss' trademark grin widened. "Actually, Lina-san, I'm here on business. The truth is that I came here in peace, you know, white flag and all that. But your soldiers apparently don't respect the ancient rules of war." He shot a contemptuous look at the guards for good measure.
"General Inverse," Hendrick stammered defensively, "There was no way we could know whether or not he was trustworthy! And we didn't want to take any risks...."
Lina waved a dismissive hand in Hendrick's general direction, her gaze flickering to him a moment, "Don't let him get to you," she advised, turning back to the mazoku General, "And I suppose you have a reason beyond your overwhelming desire to tour the city and recall fond memories."
"Oh, well I suppose there is the little matter of our treaty..." Xelloss left his sentence dangling, one curious eye opening slightly to regard Lina.
"There is?" Lina questioned, watching that lone visible eye as if to try and see what he was thinking. However, all experience, reasoning, and pessimism she had gathered from knowing Xelloss had already made that effort fruitless long ago.
"Of course! That is, I came here rather hoping that you would agree to one." The priest's smile turned sheepish.
Lina thought for a moment. Abruptly, she straightened up. "Hey, you think we could move to a more. casual setting? I'm getting hungry and being stuck in an uncomfortable dungeon discussing politics with a obsessive- compulsive trickster isn't helping." Her eyes moved to regard Hendrick as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Do you really think it would be wise?" Hendrick started, but seeing the look in Lina's eyes, he gulped and cut himself off. "Well, of course, as you wish, General." With many a backwards glance at Xelloss, Hendrick escorted the pair back along the winding hallways and out of the makeshift dungeon. Xelloss seemed a bit restless as they passed the dozens of L-magic protection spells that littered the dungeons to prevent anyone escaping, but when they left the cellars behind and emerged into the warmer, friendly, and relatively L-magic free halls of the living quarters he recovered his usual composure. The two guards, who had followed a bit behind the group, now ushered them into a large, rather formal room used for minor conferences. There were several buffet tables assembled to provide refreshments for guests should the need arise, and these Hendrick now filled with non-perishable food stuffs which were stored in a nearby closet and put them at Lina's disposal.
"My, my!" Xelloss said with admiration as he helped himself to a large, cushioned armchair. "Princess Amelia's residence is quite elegant. I must say, I haven't been this well-received since.oh, since Greater Beastmaster and I paid a visit to a wealthy, demon-worshipping sorcerer some 200 years ago!" At this comment, Hendrick looked quite agitated, but he refrained from voicing his feelings.
"That's great, Xelloss," Lina said, sounding less than enthusiastic. "but I only moved here because I was hungry," She was proving this quite effortlessly by waving a drumstick at him, since there was already half of another in her mouth. Swallowing, she continued, "and not because I was really enthused about your whole treaty thing. I doubt if even you can talk fast enough to change my mind, unless I've forgotten something in my hunger." She rubbed a hand regretfully over her stomach.
"Well now, Lina," Xelloss was suddenly all business, although his voice and expression remained jovial, "it's like this: we monsters are experiencing some. unforeseen difficulties. And we just can't be bothered to keep up our war with the humans right now. It's all very inconvenient, I understand, but we'll just have to call it off until circumstances change."
"Oh, is that so?" Lina questioned, pausing to munch thoughtfully on her next mouthful. "Since the whole world revolves around you, and all." But she moved away from the refreshments after finishing the short snack with a glass of wine and sat down opposite Xelloss, leaning forward intently. "I'm sure our men could do with a break from fighting, but how do I know you won't, say, accidentally forget to mention to me that the treaty's off before you recommence with your attacks?"
"Oh ho ho, Lina!" Xelloss said defensively, as though her implication stung him. But then he suddenly lapsed into silence, his face completely expressionless. After a few awkward minutes had elapsed he shrugged and said, "I guess you're just going to have to trust me!"
Lina gave a derisive snort and waved her hand at Xelloss, pushing herself out of her chair and beginning to pace. "Huh, trust you?"
"Listen, Lina!" The mazoku general held up a gloved hand in defense, and for once he sounded really rather serious. For the first time Lina noticed a sort of tired, creased look around his eyes. Although his physical body remained eternally the same, unaffected by the demands of time and age, he seemed somehow different. Perhaps he looked thinner or.less substantial. It was hard to explain. Perhaps it was the nearness of the L-magic charms. Lina was wearing her bracelets after all. "You may feel that this is a game to me," Xelloss continued, "but really I am in earnest. I can promise you that the human ranks will be quite safe for awhile merely because we will be too busy to attack. And lest you think this is a good opportunity to catch us at a disadvantage, let me warn you. Should the monsters fail in their current endeavor, the humans will inevitably fall as well."
In the lowest level of the Seyruun Royal Palace was a dungeon. In days long past it had been a series of cellars and pantries. Now, it contained those dismal creatures who were unfortunate enough to have pitted themselves against Seyruun's princess and gotten away with their lives. one of the typically dark and abandoned hallways suddenly lit up as a minor light spell broke through the deep gloom, it's flickering light casting two long shadows up against the rough stone wall.
The shadows belonged to Lieutenant Hendrick, the man in charge of keeping prisoners under control, and Lina Inverse, general major of the Seyruun army. As they walked, Hendrick kept up a running commentary while Lina Inverse kept mostly to herself.
"This way, General Inverse," Hendrick gestured down the winding hall towards a heavy wooden door with several locks, both magical and normal, attached. "Its cell is just down this hallway. It's amazing how efficiently your spell worked. The moment the monster stepped over the barrier, it was rendered completely useless. We were able to bring it here without any struggle."
Lina gave a nod of appreciation but declined to comment. In the past seven years, since she had discovered the L-stone, she had destroyed so many of the mazoku that it hardly seemed worth mentioning. She was just surprised that one had dared to come near the city. It was common knowledge that the monster race stood little chance against Lina's recently developed magic. It stripped them of their power and left them helpless shadows of their former selves. Only the most powerful mazoku had been able to resist it, and even then, they had always turned tail and retreated to recover. No monster had come within a day's journey of Seyruun in years. They had taken to attacking the country's outer limits, ravaging small towns and villages. The once glorious army of the monsters was reduced to petty vandalism and the occasional mad attempt at revenge. But it always ended the same: with Lina victorious.
"Even so," Hendrick continued after a pause, interrupting Lina's thoughts, "We believe this particular mazoku may be an official of some sort. It seems to be very dangerous and extremely powerful. I beg you to exercise the greatest caution, General."
Lina smiled slightly. She was known throughout the kingdom for her quick temper and carefree attitude. Some had thought her suicidal in her early years as general. They had thought Princess Amelia crazy. Lina had proven them all wrong on both accounts. "Of course," she replied.
"The real question is why it came here in the first place," Hendrick mused, voicing Lina's own thoughts. "Perhaps it was a dissident." Lina considered. It was a possibility; ever since the mazoku had discovered that Lina could use L-magic, as it was affectionately called, to drain them of all their energy, Dynast and Zelas, the ringleaders, had very suddenly disappeared from the picture. Indeed, it was rumored that they had decided to just stay tucked away safe in their respective homes until Lina, being the only known person who could control L-magic, met some unfortunate end or other. However they had given their minions orders to keep fighting, however hopeless the chances, placing their generals in charge of overseeing the war. And supposedly many of the mazoku were angry at what they felt was a complete desertion by their superiors. Some how though.
"Maybe, Lieutenant," Lina responded, "but I can't really see any of them betraying their masters. Loyalty is a pretty big thing among the mazoku. And anyway, I think they'd prefer death to joining the humans."
Hendrick fell silent for a ways. Then he stopped abruptly. "Here we are," he said gesturing at the entrance to the cell. "We put it in here." He reached out and unlocked the door and hesitantly swung it open. Lina peered into the ill-lit cell room and made out a dark shape being held by two heavily-armed guards. They were both equipped with Lina's enchanted brooches, jewelry which not only pleased the eye, but also contained her L- magic. It kept the prisoners constantly exposed to the magic's effects, rendering them weak and subdued. Additionally, Lina wore several enchanted bracelets herself. Still, the whole affair was so shady that she felt a little bit uneasy.
"General Inverse" one of the guards said, bowing his head in respect as he stepped forward. Lina looked up. The dark figure had the form of a man. His hands were chained together and his head was bowed so that his long hair fell into his face, obscuring his features. Even so, there was no mistaking him. At that moment, the dark figure lifted his head and flashed Lina an undaunted grin.
"Xell-chan!"
"Lina-sama!"
The trickster priest broke free from his bonds as though they were made of paper and not iron and threw himself at Seyruun's infamous general. Before she knew what was happening, Lina found herself standing in the middle of the room with the monster known as Lesser Beastmaster Xelloss reclining in her arms, his hands flung affectionately about her neck and his face just a little too close to hers.
"In your dreams!" she snorted and lowered her arms, letting the mazoku general fall unceremoniously to the floor with a loud thud.
Lina noticed that Hendrick and the prison guards were regarding her with a mixture of horror and amazement. She ignored them. "You know," she commented airily, "From the description they were giving me of the captive, I was expecting someone a lot more impressive."
"Oi, Lina-san, that hurts," the mazoku general whined, though whether he was referring to his pride or his backside was uncertain.
"General Inverse," Hendrick ventured nervously, "please be very careful. He may not look like much, but we believe he is actually very dangerous..."
"No sweat," Lina brushed his worry aside. "This one is nothing special."
"Oh my. I didn't come here to be insulted," Lesser Beastmaster muttered sulkily.
"Then why did you come here, General? I am sure even you are aware of the boundaries set up along this city.and of their extreme effectiveness. You couldn't have believed you could sneak in here without my knowledge."
"On the contrary, Lina-san. I came here just to see you." The monster gave her what was probably supposed to be an endearing smile, but which looked rather suspicious.
"Uh huh," Lina's left arm slid onto her slender waist as she relaxed her weight onto one leg, "Because we both know how your unbeating mazoku heart shatters every day we don't see each other. That's why I haven't laid eyes on you these past few years."
"Well, you know what they say...Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Xelloss' trademark grin widened. "Actually, Lina-san, I'm here on business. The truth is that I came here in peace, you know, white flag and all that. But your soldiers apparently don't respect the ancient rules of war." He shot a contemptuous look at the guards for good measure.
"General Inverse," Hendrick stammered defensively, "There was no way we could know whether or not he was trustworthy! And we didn't want to take any risks...."
Lina waved a dismissive hand in Hendrick's general direction, her gaze flickering to him a moment, "Don't let him get to you," she advised, turning back to the mazoku General, "And I suppose you have a reason beyond your overwhelming desire to tour the city and recall fond memories."
"Oh, well I suppose there is the little matter of our treaty..." Xelloss left his sentence dangling, one curious eye opening slightly to regard Lina.
"There is?" Lina questioned, watching that lone visible eye as if to try and see what he was thinking. However, all experience, reasoning, and pessimism she had gathered from knowing Xelloss had already made that effort fruitless long ago.
"Of course! That is, I came here rather hoping that you would agree to one." The priest's smile turned sheepish.
Lina thought for a moment. Abruptly, she straightened up. "Hey, you think we could move to a more. casual setting? I'm getting hungry and being stuck in an uncomfortable dungeon discussing politics with a obsessive- compulsive trickster isn't helping." Her eyes moved to regard Hendrick as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Do you really think it would be wise?" Hendrick started, but seeing the look in Lina's eyes, he gulped and cut himself off. "Well, of course, as you wish, General." With many a backwards glance at Xelloss, Hendrick escorted the pair back along the winding hallways and out of the makeshift dungeon. Xelloss seemed a bit restless as they passed the dozens of L-magic protection spells that littered the dungeons to prevent anyone escaping, but when they left the cellars behind and emerged into the warmer, friendly, and relatively L-magic free halls of the living quarters he recovered his usual composure. The two guards, who had followed a bit behind the group, now ushered them into a large, rather formal room used for minor conferences. There were several buffet tables assembled to provide refreshments for guests should the need arise, and these Hendrick now filled with non-perishable food stuffs which were stored in a nearby closet and put them at Lina's disposal.
"My, my!" Xelloss said with admiration as he helped himself to a large, cushioned armchair. "Princess Amelia's residence is quite elegant. I must say, I haven't been this well-received since.oh, since Greater Beastmaster and I paid a visit to a wealthy, demon-worshipping sorcerer some 200 years ago!" At this comment, Hendrick looked quite agitated, but he refrained from voicing his feelings.
"That's great, Xelloss," Lina said, sounding less than enthusiastic. "but I only moved here because I was hungry," She was proving this quite effortlessly by waving a drumstick at him, since there was already half of another in her mouth. Swallowing, she continued, "and not because I was really enthused about your whole treaty thing. I doubt if even you can talk fast enough to change my mind, unless I've forgotten something in my hunger." She rubbed a hand regretfully over her stomach.
"Well now, Lina," Xelloss was suddenly all business, although his voice and expression remained jovial, "it's like this: we monsters are experiencing some. unforeseen difficulties. And we just can't be bothered to keep up our war with the humans right now. It's all very inconvenient, I understand, but we'll just have to call it off until circumstances change."
"Oh, is that so?" Lina questioned, pausing to munch thoughtfully on her next mouthful. "Since the whole world revolves around you, and all." But she moved away from the refreshments after finishing the short snack with a glass of wine and sat down opposite Xelloss, leaning forward intently. "I'm sure our men could do with a break from fighting, but how do I know you won't, say, accidentally forget to mention to me that the treaty's off before you recommence with your attacks?"
"Oh ho ho, Lina!" Xelloss said defensively, as though her implication stung him. But then he suddenly lapsed into silence, his face completely expressionless. After a few awkward minutes had elapsed he shrugged and said, "I guess you're just going to have to trust me!"
Lina gave a derisive snort and waved her hand at Xelloss, pushing herself out of her chair and beginning to pace. "Huh, trust you?"
"Listen, Lina!" The mazoku general held up a gloved hand in defense, and for once he sounded really rather serious. For the first time Lina noticed a sort of tired, creased look around his eyes. Although his physical body remained eternally the same, unaffected by the demands of time and age, he seemed somehow different. Perhaps he looked thinner or.less substantial. It was hard to explain. Perhaps it was the nearness of the L-magic charms. Lina was wearing her bracelets after all. "You may feel that this is a game to me," Xelloss continued, "but really I am in earnest. I can promise you that the human ranks will be quite safe for awhile merely because we will be too busy to attack. And lest you think this is a good opportunity to catch us at a disadvantage, let me warn you. Should the monsters fail in their current endeavor, the humans will inevitably fall as well."