Demons! Aid From an Unlikely Source

As the gang was coming down the road, they beheld a giant beast. Most likely it was some sort of Chimera that had escaped a laboratory; the creature certainly looked like it had been put together like a puzzle. But before anyone could fire off a spell, it was done for them. The midnight black energy struck the creature dead center and killed it in one blow. Looking behind in the direction the attack came from, Mina beheld a strange man. He had short purple hair that framed his face, and his eyes were closed. His shirt was yellow, his trousers and cape black, and he wore leather boots and gloves of a gray fabric. Around the edge of his cape was a pattern in gold, and simple steel clips with small red gems on them held it in place. And in his hands was a large oak staff with a red gem on top. He looked friendly, but Chisa began to growl.

'I think this man is a Demon of sorts,' Mina thought, 'The feeling I get from him feels really dark. Yet he did save us. But if he is a Demon, then he probably has a motive for the rescue. Not a good one either if I had to bet on it. At least I should hear him out and see what he wants from us. Aunt Amelia said that sometimes even Mazoku can fight on the side of good if they can find a benefit for themselves in it. But you should never rely on them and always watch your back in case they try to double cross you in the end.'

"Well, that was a close one. It was a good thing I happened to be coming along when I did. You see, I am a priest traveling towards the temples of our faith in the northern lands. One of our more out of the way establishments has recently lost contact with the rest of them, and I was chosen to go there and check it out myself. Can you five be so kind as to take me there? Or do you have other plans?" the man asked.

Shawn stated, "Mina-sama is our leader, so you must ask her before you can be allowed to come with us. We too are heading there, hoping to rescue a friend of hers from evil spirits, and anyone who can help us is a welcome sight. But I don't know if she wants people with connections, or if anyone can come."

Mina looked at the man as if to say she didn't trust him. "First of all, you take off your mask now. I can sense the spirits and know you're no ordinary man. You are a Demon of sorts. However, if you come clean with your motives, perhaps we might be able to forge a working relationship. I know a few people who managed to do that in the past, my swordswoman friend knows the same ones, and my twin compatriots happen to know a few more. So, tell me who you really are, what you're really up to, and why you're here."

"The why part, my dear Mina," the man began, "Is a secret. But as to who and what, I can give you that. My name is Xellos. I am out to destroy the spirits that have taken residence in the northern lands by order of my superiors. That is the truth…" he began muttering, "Well, all that you humans need to know."

"Xellos eh? Well then, I'm sure we can work out a deal with the infamous Trickster Priest. Let's see, now how did Master Lina say was the best way to handle annoying Mazoku again?" inquired Victoria. Not that she really knew a good way to handle them, but she figured that throwing the name of her former mentor out in the open would give them enough leeway. If Xellos knew that they knew who he really was and that they'd trained under his former "associate", then he would know that there were things he couldn't get away with. Not that he wouldn't try, he'd just know that they wouldn't buy his bogus tales as easily.

Sandi continued, "Yeah, and remember what Aunt Amelia taught us Mina. A Mazoku's biggest weakness is the happy thoughts of life. If we can contain Xellos with happiness, he won't be able to double cross us if he tries. So, should we take him along with us on this little venture? Or leave him way behind?"

Shawn was mortified. "We are going to take a Mazoku along? Mazoku and their wicked ways took the lives of those in my hometown, and tortured them after death. As a priest in training, I say we shouldn't rely on the evil powers of Demons. Instead, let us go and find the allies of the gods. They will protect us."

"I cannot trust him," Victor stated, "He betrayed and backstabbed Master Lina so many times. I still cannot understand how she was able to use his services all of the time. But then again, there was much about Master Lina that I found confusing. However, that's not the issue here. The issue is what to do with this tagalong. I vote that we leave him behind." He shot a cold, stiff glare at the Mazoku in question.

"Neither can I Victor. However, if you remember what Master Lina told you in her stories half as well as I remember what Uncle Zelgadis and Aunt Amelia told me, you would know that Xellos would come with us even if we did leave him behind. Better to take him with us, keep him in line with Aunt Amelia's secret weapon, and know where he is in battle. If we don't have a clue where he could be, it might be a lot more dangerous should he decide to turn on us. Therefore, he can come along," Mina said, sighing at her words. This was going to be a long haul now. She'd never thought the infamous Mazoku who'd traveled with her mentors would follow them. He must have underlying motives, but she'd figure all that out later on.

Xellos told the team, "You should not worry. I have no intent on betraying your team. You should know that this world's destruction lies within the hands of many, but only we Mazoku have the right. My mistress, Lord Dynast, and Lady Dolphin have decided that we will wait until A) Lord Ruby-Eye comes back to life and B) Lina Inverse is no longer a threat. Since we've failed to kill her before, we don't know what will happen should we try something else. Not that hard since she's only a mortal despite her powers. You will have no fear of us. However, those without the right to destroy the world are trying to. Thus, we must stop them; else there will be nothing left for us to destroy in a few hundred years. So I will help rescue the boy."

Mina felt that story to sound believable. He'd supposedly said as much when the team fought with Dark Star. Perhaps Mazoku were really that vain about the world's destruction. But she still vowed to keep her eyes on him. He could very well be telling them some cock and bull story just to let down their guards and take the Key of Creation from Noel for the Mazoku to use in resurrecting Shabranigdo. He may also be looking for the Key of Destruction with no knowledge that it was never born into the world due to some error.

But she had to keep strong for the sake of her team. "Ok, now that our numbers have risen to six, we are on our way to the northern lands. Our objective is to rescue Prince Noel de Greywers Seyruun from the clutches of a spirit named Belladonna. Her objective is to steal the Key of Creation within Noel, and to find the Key of Destruction. With both of them in possession, she could destroy the world. Now then, we will march to the lair she has made for herself, and take the prince back with us to his home in Seyruun."

'Of course Mina,' thought Xellos, 'My dear you have no idea of what awaits us there. Perhaps the little orphan would like to tell me about her plight. Her emotions, although she tries to hide them, make for a delicious meal. I feel the pain that overcomes her. She will prove to be a useful human on this venture.'

Teefa's Last Words...

Since Xellos wanted to use energy from Dark Star to revive Shabranigdo (in his deal with Sirius and Erulogos during the search for the final weapon), I'd assume that the Mazoku are waiting for his return to commence the final destruction of the world. And since Lina has already proved able to blow up a part of Shabranigdo, there is a chance that he wouldn't be able to kill her if she made it before he was fully revived. Thus, since humans are mortal, it would save time and energy to simply wait for Lina's demise. Seeing as they knew who he was, he couldn't weasel his way out of it like he did throughout most of NEXT. Thus, he needed to gain their trust. Besides, in Xellos's mind, there's always a chance that Shabranigdo will be brought back early if they find a way, and Lina's magic wouldn't be able to stop it if the right procedures were done to revive him completely. Thus, they might be able to go at it sooner. The part about planning it for a few hundred years may or may not help it get off early. If it does go off early, Mina and her friends would be in a false sense of security, and so would their mentors. Besides, he's still got a few secrets locked away in there.