Chapter 6
Better Living Through Chemistry
Thyruss glared suspiciously at the mazoku. Who was this guy? Judging for this appearance, he doesn't look anything special. He doesn't look like the type of person to sneak into his citadel and elude all the guards in order to confront the warlord himself. Such a task was better suited to a warrior with incredible strength or impressive cunning.
But this 'Xelloss' doesn't seem the type to possess either,.....
Nevertheless, if he's come all this way, then he must have something important to say....
"So, Xelloss" the warlord said. "You seek sanctuary?"
"That's right" the Trickster priest replied, opening his eyes. "In fact, I wish to join you in your cause. I want to join your crusade to overthrow the Saillune ruling house"
Upon hearing this, Thyruss' gaze hardened.
Hang on.
That name....Metallium.....
"How do you know about that?" the warlord snapped. "How can you know of my intentions when I've told only so few?"
Xelloss softly chuckled as he closed his eyes and delivered his answer:
"That's a secret!"
Thyruss could feel his fingers twitch with rage but he still carried on with the conversation regardless.
"You say you have information that can help me" he growled. "Otherwise you wouldn't have gone to all this effort to speak to me"
Thyruss was certain he had heard the name somewhere before. But where.....?
"Of course" The mazoku replied, opening his eyes. "But it all depends on how badly you want this information."
Thyruss sighed.
"All right then." he said. "You win. I'll grant you sanctuary in my crusade."
"Very sensible, Thyruss" Xelloss said, using the warlord's name for the first time.
"So tell me" the mazoku went on. "How many men do you have ready to aid you in your revolution?"
Upon hearing this, the warlord's expression grew with embarrassment
"Erm.... Five"
Upon hearing this, the Trickster priest fell over backwards in disbelief - backwards into the wall.
"Five!?!?" Xelloss exclaimed. "You expect to overthrow Saillune with only FIVE?!?!?"
"Yes." Thyruss replied calmly. "Of course, I do have a secret weapon....."
And it at this, that Xelloss' gaze hardened. A secret weapon eh? Now he was interested.
"But in any case" the warlord went on. "We could always do with an extra spare of hands. So I hope your information is worth all this trouble."
"Trust me, it is." The mazoku said. "Ever heard of Lina Inverse?"
"That I have" Thyruss answered with a raised eyebrow.
"Then you might be interested to know that she is a friend of the Saillune ruling family." Xelloss said firmly. "In fact she is here, right now, in this very city."
The warlord paused as the enormity of this revelation sank in. He had heard stories of Lina and those stories were truly the stuff of legend. He had heard of her incredibly destructive prowess. He had heard of her motivation drawing on her on a quest to find a half-decent meal. And he heard of her lightening fast temper.....
But he had never believed such accounts. He had always found her achivements and her reputation difficult to comprehend. Henceforth he always laughed at such stories, dismissing them as just that - stories. Old wives only believe in that nonsense...
However, in any case, if the rumours were true then he must take caution....
Xelloss caught the warlord's expression and guessed what he was thinking.
"I can assure you that Lina is certainly a major obstacle in your path" the mazoku said. "And I speak from someone whom has spent a long time travelling with Lina."
"Really?" the warlord growled. "Then how do you expect me to trust you? For all I know, you could be working for Lina"
"Well then" Xelloss shot back. "If you feel that way, then you're discarding the only reliable source on Lina Inverse.
"Besides" he added. "Lina couldn't care less about what happens to me!"
Thyruss shrugged. "Makes sense."
"Well then" he continued. "I see no reason as to why I should refuse your offer."
"Thank you" Xelloss grinned, as he closed his eyes. "Rest assured that you have made the correct decision."
And with that, he turned to go.
....wait a minute! Metallium! Of course he has heard that name before!
"Wait!" The warlord yelled, as he leapt from his desk and walked toward the mazoku.
The mazoku turned around, his facial expression one of intrigue.
"Xelloss Metallium...." Thyruss mused. "The name sounds familiar...."
The Trickster Priest didn't reply. Instead he smiled a malevolent smile.
"Of course!" The warlord yelled. "I know. You're cohorts with the Lord of Wolf Pack Island!"
"Indeed I am" the mazoku grinned.
Thyruss blinked at this revelation.
"Holy L-sama" he murmured "I have a mazoku in my midst.....
".....FANTASTIC!"
And suddenly, before Xelloss could do anything, the warlord grabbed him by the waist and scooped him up into a massive bear hug.
"Marvellous!" Thyruss said with delight. "With a mazoku in my command the revolution is as good as won!"
"Yeah....." Xelloss grimaced.
"Why did you have to be so rude?"
"You shouldn't have told him you know"
"Sorry?"
"Why did you go and tell that man about my cursed form?"
Meanwhile in Saillune, Amelia and Zelgadis were busy making their way through the many crowds and the busy streets that made up Saillune.
But no amount of noise from the populace could conceal any form of argument, big or small.
"Come on Zel!" Amelia said. "I've known Konstantin for years! He's a nice man!"
"Nice enough to be trusted with the knowledge of befriending a chimera?" Zel retorted.
"Now that's ENOUGH!" Amelia shouted, sternly.
Indeed, such was the force of Amelia's words, that Zel stopped dead in his tracks. His eyebrow raised upwards at the princess' outburst.
Amelia, bearing an expression of anger, walked around front to face the chimera.
"What's gotten into you Zelgadis?" she demanded. "You've changed!"
"It's .....nothing"
But if Zel thought that was going to stop Amelia, he was wrong:
"No, it IS something!" she yelled. "You have grown more distant over the past few days! This isn't like you at all! First you try to murder that bandit, then you knock me back in the palace and now you refuse to associate with a long-term friend of mine just because he comments on your skin!"
As the princess paused to get her breath back, Zel said nothing. His face was as hard as ever and his eyes showed little emotion.
When Amelia saw Zelgadis' facial expression, her wrath subsided. Her voice grew softer and more gentle and her eyes went from angry to sympathetic.
"It is because of your skin, isn't it? It's all because of what happened in Dakeyras, right?"
Zel sighed heavily and nodded.
Amelia blinked, as memories flooded into her head. Memories of being a chimera herself. Memories of bearing the hardships of being perceived as a freak. Memories of experiencing, first hand, the frustration that had constantly dogged Zelgadis' mind for many years.
"Zelgadis" she said slowly. "I know the pain.
"Sure you have had your chimera curse longer then mine, but in that time, I....."
"No you don't know!" Zel interrupted.
Amelia blinked in shock as the chimera continued.
"You don't know what it's like to live every day in torture! You don't know what's like to wake up every morning to continue on a journey to nowhere! You don't know what it's like living a life where you treated no better then scum!"
"But I do know that I should live a life that is not controlled by bitterness!" Amelia shot back, quickly.
Upon hearing this, the chimera fell silent.
The princess then moved her face closer to Zel and continued:
"I can understand your frustration" she whispered. "But you shouldn't let your rage cloud your perceptions. In the end what matters is not the skin but the heart that beats underneath.
"I know you're a good person Zelgadis. A good person with a noble heart and kind intentions. But nobody can see such goodness when you allow yourself to be blinded by your rage
"If anything, I believe you can do it"
Zel blinked at the princess' wise words. Eventually he smiled a small smile.
Satisfied with his response, Amelia reached down and grabbed his hand.
"Come on" she grinned. "Lets get back to the palace. I bet Daddy has already got that banquet together!"
Aldebrand went through one end of the city to the other with Sylphiel. She was quite grateful to her rescuer and seemed eager to repay him for saving her life. It was now that they made their way into a tavern (thankfully, this was one of the more respectable kind) to have something to eat. They found a table and gave their orders to the waiter.
But as they waited for their meal to arrive, something bothered Aldebrand. He was sharing dinner with someone he had just met. And someone whom he had just saved from certain death from a tavern brawl at that. But there was also the nagging annoyance that he had seen her somewhere before. He was certain that this wasn't the first time that they had crossed paths. Indeed, his battle-forged instincts told him that he should be wary of Sylphiel....
"So Aldebrand" Sylphiel smiled. "Why did you come to my rescue like that?"
"Think nothing of it" the mercenary said. 'If I didn't, no one else would've and you would already be dead!"
Upon hearing this, Sylphiel's expression paled and her eyes grew apprehensive.
Seeing this change in Sylphiel's expression, the mercenary quickly set about changing the subject.
"What were you doing in there anyway?" the mercenary then asked.
"I was looking for a friend of mine" Syl replied.
"Yeah? Who?"
Suddenly the door of the tavern was thrown open with such a force that all the diners fell silent. All eyes turned towards the door to see Lina, Gourry and Naga barge in.
"All right!" Lina grinned. "I haven't been to this place before!"
"Great!" The swordsman agreed. "I can't wait to sink my teeth into their many delicatessens!"
"Gourry?" Naga said. "Don't you mean delicacies?"
When the sorceress got a blank stare in return, she sighed.
"Forget it."
Watching this group, Aldebrand then turned to Sylphiel.
"Does that answer your question?" The shrine maiden groaned.
Just then Lina caught sight of the two diners.
"Syl!" she yelled. "Hiya Syl! Gourry! Naga! This way!"
And before either the mercenary or the shrine maiden could escape, the three adventurers of enormous appetites descended upon them.
Upon seeing these newcomers, Aldebrand's blood turned to ice. He recognised these three from the encounter earlier this morning. Needless to say, he grew apprehensive. There could be a chance that these people will recognise him. And when that happens, there's a strong chance they could all turn on him.....
But fortunately for the mercenary, they didn't seem to notice him. Yet.
"Hey there!" Lina grinned, addressing Syl. "What have you been up to, eh?"
"I've been looking for you!" the shrine maiden replied, in exasperation.
Then, Naga noticed the man whom was sharing Syl's table. "Hey, who are you?"
"Oh!" Sylphiel said. "He's Aldebrand. We've just met"
"Oh yeah?" Lina said, eyeing the mercenary up and down. "How's that?"
"He saved me from a tavern brawl!" the shrine maiden replied.
Lina blinked. Syl? In a tavern brawl? Odd - it wasn't like her to be a tavern let alone a brawl!
"Hold on a minute" Gourry said to Aldebrand. "Haven't we seen you somewhere before? You look kinda fam....."
The swordsman never got to finish his sentence. For Aldebrand caught on quick as to what Gourry was going to say. Thus, in order to prevent his cover from being blown, the mercenary stuck his foot to deliver a sharp kick to Gourry's shin!
Gourry let out a yelp of pain - But not that anyone really noticed.
"So tell me....Aldebrand" Naga said, conversationally, "What exactly do you do for a living?"
"I'm a sword for hire" the mercenary replied, in a rather definitive tone.
"Yeah?" Gourry said - now that that the topic of discussion shad changed to swords he was now ready to give his undivided attention (if such a thing existed in Gourry).
"So what are you doing now? Hunting someone down?"
Just then, Lina pulled Gourry out from his chair and away from the table - by the ear.
"Excuse us" the red-head said. "Gourry and myself have gotta have a little chat...."
Lina pulled the swordsman away as Naga, Syl and Aldebrand exchanged bemused glances.
"Is that normal?" Aldebrand inquired.
"Yes it is" Sylphiel sighed as Naga nodded.
Now a fair distance from the table, Lina began whispering at Gourry.
"What the hell were you thinking?!"
"What?" Gourry protested.
"Don't give me that!" Lina snapped. "There's something about him I don't like."
"Oh?"
"This guy could still be after us!"
"You think so?" Gourry replied diminutively. "He seems like a nice guy to me."
"That's what he wants you to think!"
"Huh?"
This made Lina slap her forehead in frustration.
"Okay listen" she said. "I'm just saying that we should be on our guard with this guy. He could be dangerous!"
"Okay! Okay!"
Satisfied with this conclusion, the two adventurers went back to the table.
"Have we come to a conclusion?" Naga grinned
"Yeah!" Gourry beamed. "We've decided that Aldebrand is...."
But the swordsman never got to finish his sentence - For Lina brought her foot down on his own! Gourry grimaced with pain but, fortunately, not a sound escaped his lips.
The red-head then cleared her throat.
"Wow Syl" she chuckled teasingly. "I didn't you were into the warrior types!"
Sylphiel blinked
"What are you talking about?!" Gourry demanded. "She spent over a year chasing after me!"
Upon hearing this, a long-forgotten and painful memory triggered in the depths of Syl's heart. A trigger that was enough to dim the spark in her eyes and pale her complexion.
Seeing this change in Sylphiel, Lina slapped her forehead in frustration. Dammit, Jellyfish Brains has done it again.....
Aldebrand blinked at Sylphiel. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, which he then gave to the shrine maiden.
"Here" he said.
As Naga, Gourry and Lina blinked in astonishment, Sylphiel took the handkerchief and used it to dry her eyes.
"Thanks" she said.
Gourry blinked at Lina.
"He could be dangerous eh?" he whispered.
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