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ZELGADISS TORN
___________________ Part 2 _________________
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The next day while Lina, Amelia, and Gourry were finishing breakfast, Zelgadiss excused himself from the table 'to get some fresh air'. It only took him a few moments to be clear of all other signs of humanity, where he still felt most comfortable.
There he recognized another figure at some distance, standing in the mist, leaning on a tree, back turned. The not-so-much-a-chimera slowed from run to walk, making sure to step on dry, crackly leaves so as not to appear to be sneaking up on the Mazouku.
The figure cocked his head at the sound, turned, and smiled in recognition, "Ah, my dear friend. Good evening, Zelgadiss."
"It's morning, Xelloss. It's customary to greet someone in the morning with 'good morning'," Zel said too sharply for Xelloss to miss.
"Yes, morning …already? Yes it is…" mused the purple haired Mazouku.
"Something's wrong?" Zelgadiss asked curtly. Xelloss was being quiet making Zelgadiss suspicious. The new fine hairs on his arms tingled with his rising adrenaline levels. Something in the demon's aura alerted him.
"Hmmm? What makes you think anything's wrong?"
"I smell fear on you." Zel bit off the words. He clenched his jaw starting to hide his anxious trembling. "And your aura's…different."
"Yes, well…" Xelloss opened his eyes, deep, dark slanted eyes, and looked into Zel's blue-green ones. "How very perceptive you are. I'll tell you this, then: Mazouku are coming…for you. I won't help you. I won't help the humanity in you," Xelloss spat the word with an edge of hostility. "However… Ah, here come your friends. I'm sure they will stand by your side. Lead them to their deaths if you must in your quest to prove yourself. You may win, of course. You may not," Xelloss warned.
"I'm not asking for your help." It was good of the demon to forewarn him, so Zel's tone was less harsh as he added: "I understand that as a Mazouku Lord you shouldn't be out murdering your own kind. I also understand that as a human, my human will is being tested, and you can't help me do that either. I appreciate the warning." Zel took a step back and straightened, "However…I have no desire to join you or become your thrall." Zelgadiss said evenly.
Xelloss smiled and closed his eyes, resuming his usual poise. "Then we understand on one another…" Then noticing Zel's eyes scanning the area tensely, Xelloss asked, "What?"
Zelgadiss asked, "Can you tell me how many?"
"You should be able to scan the astral plane and tell yourself now. Try it," he suggested.
"Scan? Oh…" Zel nodded and closed his eyes to concentrate better, "Five? T-two full Mazouku, one chimera of some sort, and two low level demons, I think."
"See how well you can do, when you put your mind to it?" Xelloss patted him on the shoulder. "Use your powers. They should be sufficient to dispose of your enemies. Oopsie! Time for me to go then. Goodbye, Zelgadiss." Xelloss smiled and disappeared into the mist.
Gourry, Lina, and Amelia pounded through the forest. "There he is! He's okay!" shouted Gourry.
Lina reached Zel first. She panted briefly by his side, then asked, "What…is it?"
Zelgadiss looked down on her and answered, "Five Mazouku are after me. They'll be here shortly."
"No problem. We've got plenty of fire power here!" Lina laughed proudly.
"Lina…Gourry… Amelia, I must be the one to destroy them. My humanity must win this struggle, but…it's good knowing that you'll be watching my back."
"We'll be right here!" promised Gourry.
Amelia grasped Zel's now-softened, human arm, "We're here. We care. Please, keep thinking positive, happy thoughts!"
"I'll try, but you'll help me with that, won't you?" Zel smiled the tiniest amount. Amelia nodded, glowing with hope and joy.
Lina punched Zel's arm gently, "Hey! Time to fire up that aura, flesh-boy. Over THERE!"
A lizard-like demon materialized at the far end of the clearing, and whipped it's tail around menacingly. Zel closed his eyes, focussing and whispering the words Xelloss had taught him. A surge of magic power tingled along his skin, causing his hair to stand on end, his fangs to elongate, and his eyes to glow through Mazouku slits. The demon inside Zel became alert.
Hissssssss "He'ssss a pretty one," sneered the lizard-demon.
Growl Beside the lizard, loomed a boar-like demon. "Coveted by Lord Xelloss, that one is. We must be watchful, careful…" it advised.
Hissssssss "He'ssss not here. No Maaaassssster."
Growl "Then I'll take on this weakling!" The boar-demon rushed Zel, attacking with his tusks and spiked club. The creature was swift and his long reach caught Zel off-guard, tearing his tan cloak with a spike.
Zel drew his sword and twirled to face his enemy, all the while chanting a magic spell. " ASTRAL VINE!" Zel screamed, sending a powerful spell from his hands, down through his sword.
Zel's blade sliced diagonally through the boar-demon and the astral spell exploded, causing the demon to roar with pain. It disintegrated into a gray mistiness.
Hissssssss "He hassss an Elven blade? We mussssst be more careful."
The lizard-demon used his tail like a whip and lashed at Zel's sword arm, trying to disarm him. Zel parried the attack with ease, but barely avoided being slashed by the fangs dripping with poison, as the demon leaped onto his back. Remembering how cold-sensitive reptiles could be, Zel recited an incantation. Knives of ice shot from the chimera's hands, freezing the creature in seconds.
Zel followed that spell with a rapid-firing of "FIRE BALL!", which contact-exploded the frozen demon with rapid temperature changes.
"Two down, three more to come!" Lina shouted.
The chimera appeared. This one was barely human. It sported three head-horns, a reptilian tail, and, Zel was soon to discover, strong magical skills. Zel and the demon-chimera faced off and traded spells, blocking one another's attack spells with defensive ones.
Lina looked at her teammates, "What do you think? Zel? Do you need us?"
"No! I'm fine, just watch!" Zel reassured her. Neither chimera cared to speak, so a silent battle was fought, peppered with grunts of effort and
oaths of error. The demon-chimera appeared to tire less and gauged a moment when Zel's energy was waning to begin an energetic round of physically bruising charges. He drove his horns into Zel while knocking his feet out from under him with his tail.
Amelia drew her breath, then cried out, "You CAN win, Mr. Zelgadiss!"
But Zel remained unmoving on the ground. Gourry made a move to his side, but Lina's arm shot out to stop him. "Wait…"
Zel had been pretending to be unconscious. He could sense the other chimera preparing a killing spell, while completing one of his own. He grinned, fangs showing then screamed the final words, "ASTRAL VINE!" The incantation sent a powerful exploding ball directly into the demon-chimera's torso, instantly vaporizing it in a dazzling flash of light.
Zel's friends now rushed to his side, helping him up and congratulating him, when the final two Mazouku appeared. They were surrounded by angry black auras.
Mazouku#1 queried in a hollow voice, "So…why hasn't Lord Xelloss claimed you yet, chimera? So powerful…so much potential…he must be going soft to let you slip through his fingers."
Mazouku#2 lisped nervously through long fangs, "Or…it'ss a trap."
Mazouku#1 replied angrily, "You sound cowardly! Take this one out before Lord Xelloss enlists him. Those are our orders! Now carry them out!"
Zelgadiss listened to their evil banter, holding his aura in check, and chanting in a whisper. As the incantation was nearing completion, he drew his sword, enchanting it with "ASTRAL VINE!" He leaped at the fanged Mazouku slashing off an arm.
Mazouku#2 oozed tendrils of astral material from the gaping wound. It screamed in agony, "It caughts me by sssurprise! Welth, not again!"
Mazouku#1 responded by sending spell after spell after the chimera's retreating, nimble figure. Zelgadiss dodged the dangerous blasts and shielded himself from the others. "I'm fine…as long as my defenses hold…but I'm weakening…"
Lina shouted to Gourry and Amelia, "He needs some back up here, gang! Start singing!" And they began to sing a song of happiness and joy, a little off-key but their hearts were in it—and that was what counted.
Despite the seriousness of its wound, the fanged Mazouku was not dead. It had managed to crawl into the shadows undetected, but as the weakening chimera moved into range, it crouched, ready for a rear attack.
"Zel! Behind you! The first one!" screamed Lina and Gourry in succession.
Zelgadiss spun on his heal sending off a series of powerful spells: "FIREBALL! FIREBALL! FIREBALL! "
Each fiery blast took down the wounded demon, exploding into it's flesh-like exterior. Zelgadiss continued to parry blasts with his sword from the other Mazouku, while preparing another spell.
"ASTRAL BRIS!" The shaman focused his spell through his sword, and then in one stroke blew off the creature's head, returning its astral essence to its creator.
"Did you see that? His sword didn't even touch that demon!" Gourry observed.
"I never heard that spell before either…" mused Lina.
"It was powerful, but look how tired Mr. Zelgadiss is now…and there's one more left! You can you do it!!!" cheered Amelia.
Her outburst drew the unwanted attention of the first Mazouku, who suddenly materialized a couple feet from her. "Ahhhh!" she screamed and put up a protective barrier.
Gourry drew his sword, magic glowing around its edges, and stood ready to protect his companions. Lina prepared a Dragon Slave spell.
Zelgadiss had destroyed the fanged demon but lowered his defenses to funnel all his shaman power into the spell. The first Mazouku disappeared, then reappeared, popping in and out of sight via the astral plain and hitting Zel with power blasts.
"ZEL! Can you fight?" yelled Lina, worry straining her voice to shrillness.
Amelia threw up another barrier and runs to his side. She applied a healing spell to a side wound, which left a bloody patch spreading on his tunic. He smiled weakly and whispered between ragged intakes of breath, "Keep singing…it's…helping…really…" Then he closed his eyes and refocused his demon protection spell, giving his skin an aural glow and his blue Mazouku eyes brightened. "Thanks, Amelia…" he whispered.
"Where are you, you craven Mazouku! Hiding in the shadows and fighting where you can't be followed? Come out so I can take you on!" Zelgadiss shouted.
"Why not release the Mazouku within you, reveal your true nature, and fight with your full power?" taunted the only remaining, powerful Mazouku.
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction. You shall lose to a human!" Zelgadiss sneered and began his strongest spell.
The Mazouku darkened his aura into a writhing mass of sooty coils, "Lose? To a mere human? You are no human, just blau demon trash I feed to wolves!"
On the word 'wolves' Zel completed his chant of "RAW TILT!" and threw his enchanted, elven blade through the Mazouku. The demon screamed in agony as the immensely powerful astral spell ripped through its protective barrier, inducing interior explosions. The Mazouku swelled with pulsing blasts and glowing embers. Seconds later, the dead demon disappeared into a whiff of astral smoke. Zelgadiss wiped off the sweat streaming down his brow as he retrieved his sword impaled in the ground. "Well, that's that," he muttered grimly.
Lina, Gourry, and Amelia cheered their champion, pounding him on the back and promising him 'the meal of his dreams'. "So, tell us how that felt!" Lina encouraged him.
"I felt that I had true and complete control over the demonic part of my make-up. I could use its capabilities and strengths, without having to listen to its incessant chatter or having a battle of the wills and wits." He paused to smile faintly at his friends, then continued, "I beat it into submission…this time…with the help of this sword, and you, my friends, forever. I-If I can continue to dominate, I'll have… no… I'll BE everything I've always wanted to be!"
Alas, falling from his high, Zel felt a tingle up his spine, and a hiss escaped his lips, "Xellosss!"
End Part 2 Zelgadiss Torn.