Everyone stared at the message on the wall briefly before turning to Lina.
"What does it mean, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked nervously.
Lina opened her mouth to speak but quickly snapped it shut again. She hesitantly shook her head and muttered, "I don't know." She saw Xellos give her a startled glance. She looked back at him, willing him to stay silent. "I have no idea what Hellmaster is trying to tell us," she lied easily. "I don't really have a home. I've been on the road for most of my life you know."
Gourry stared at Lina, pondering her words. "Lina," he said questioningly. Hadn't she said something about having a sister that lived in Sairaag?
"Anyway," Lina quickly said trying to keep Gourry from continuing, "I need to think about this for a while. Besides," she said with a false smile, "you guys have more important things to do than running after a demon anyway. That's my job you know." She nodded at Amelia. "You have work to do at the circus, don't you?"
Amelia nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I do. But-"
"Right!" Lina exclaimed as she turned to Gourry. "You've got to go to work pretty soon don't you? The people aren't going to protect themselves and besides that, doubtful as it might be, you might hear something useful at the station."
Gourry frowned and muttered, "But Sylphiel…"
Lina nodded and said, "I know Gourry. We're going to get her back. I promise." She tried to find something else in the room to occupy her attention so that she didn't have to see Gourry's sad expression anymore. Thankfully, Xellos was still there. "Xellos…" she muttered.
Xellos nodded cheerfully. "Right Lina, say no more! I'm sure I have something important to do back at the church." He shrugged and added, "And if I don't, I'll make something up!"
"And as for you Zelgadis… Hey, where's Zel?" Lina asked as she glanced around the room. The enigmatic man was nowhere to be seen.
"He had to leave," Amelia said with just a hint of sadness in her voice. "He did say that he'd see you tonight though."
"Right," Lina said with a wink. "You all need to be going too, I'm sure." She stood up and began to shoo the rest of the group out of the room. "I'll get back to you as soon as I find something out, okay?" Without waiting for an answer she grinned and said, "Okay then! Bye!" before slamming the door in their faces.
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A few small candles were all that illuminated Vrumugun's office in the church basement. As one of the senior members of the Sairaag chapter of the Slayers, he was given a small "office" in which to deal with the church red tape that invariably came his way. He looked around the room briefly and snorted in disdain.
Vrumugun would have had more personal space in a prison cell. The walls were slick with moisture and smelled faintly like mold. Jammed into the corner were a rickety desk and a stool that was missing one of its four legs. Along one wall was a small bookshelf that held the Slayer's meager personal effects.
A cheap gold chain, given to him by a mother long forgotten, was lying on the shelf. Alongside it was a small family portrait that was so faded that one would be hard pressed to tell that it had once depicted a happy family. Now, the moisture had all but destroyed the image in the frame.
Vrumugun stared at the picture and briefly tried to recall what his life had been like before he entered the service of the church. He quickly shook his head, dismissing the past. A Slayer had no past. When he had learned the truth about the creatures of the night, the church had required that he sever all ties with family and friends. He had done so gladly, eager for the opportunity to smite evil. He chuckled dryly. How foolishly idealistic he had been back then.
The truth was that the life of a Slayer was an unending loop. In addition to having no past, there was no hope for a future either. A Slayer was a Slayer until death. There was no retirement, no light at the end of the tunnel. The church couldn't risk allowing a Slayer out of the Order. There was only death. Death in the streets or death by old age.
Staring at the faded picture, Vrumugun wondered, not for the first time, what he had given up when he had taken his oath. He sighed and turned back to his work. He was penning a letter to the capitol. He was certain that Lord Greywords had been assisting Lina Inverse and her allies last night. Now the High Priest would have to be notified…
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Lina walked down the street alone, lost in her thoughts. She briefly considered going back to the inn for some sleep but decided not to after some thought. Hellmaster would probably know where she had been staying and it wasn't safe anymore.
Besides, there was Sylphiel to worry about too. She probably wasn't sleeping right now. Somehow, Lina knew that she was alive though. That was why Hellmaster had left that bit of Sylphiel's hair back at the clinic.
Hellmaster was luring Lina in. Not that it was really necessary. Lina would have pursued him to the ends of the earth even if he hadn't taken another hostage. The pained look on Phibrizzo's face was still fresh on her mind. That child had never asked for this, neither had Sylphiel. It was always the innocent that suffered in these situations.
Lina shook her head angrily as she cut through an alley. How had she ended up fighting someone as powerful as the Hellmaster? For that matter, how had she managed to get involved with all of these people?
Things had been so simple before. Before she had arrived in Sairaag, it was a rarity for her to speak to anyone, let alone make friends. It wasn't all that bad the more that she thought about it. She'd met Gourry, hadn't she? He was nice enough. He wasn't a genius or anything, but it was kind of nice to have someone ask her questions. It made her feel important. Like someone actually cared about her and what happened to her. She sighed happily, thinking about her protector.
And Zel, he was a little rough at first and Lina still didn't know everything about him, but she had a feeling that he wasn't a bad person. She'd seen how he'd looked at Amelia. Despite the fact that he had used Lina as a human projectile, it was kind of cute to see him get flustered over the acrobat.
Lina giggled as she continued to ponder her newfound friends. Then there was Amelia. She was nice, Lina thought. A little scary with the love and justice stuff, but nice just the same.
Lina sighed. And finally there was Sylphiel. Even though she had only met the girl a couple nights ago and under rather unpleasant circumstances on top of that, Lina found herself liking the healer. She'd helped Lina without the slightest hint of jealousy or resentment about Gourry. No wonder the swordsman loved her, Lina thought. She was perfect. "Gourry," she whispered sadly.
Gourry asked, "What Lina?"
Lina jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. She turned and grabbed Gourry by the front of his shirt and shook him violently. She snarled, "Damn it Gourry! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry, I thought that you heard me," the swordsman said apologetically as he fought to keep his balance after the shaking Lina had just given him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, noting that she was staring at him confusedly.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Lina snapped. "I thought that you had to go into work."
"Nope, I quit," Gourry said with a dismissive wave.
"You quit?!" Lina said incredulously. "Why would you do something like that?"
Gourry frowned and sighed, "Because I can't stop thinking about it Lina."
"Thinking about what?" Lina asked quietly. Something was really bothering Gourry. He seemed deadly serious for once and in all honesty, it scared her a little.
Gourry fixed his solemn gaze upon Lina and said, "I can't stop thinking about what I saw last night. I thought that you were dead Lina. I never want to see anything like that again." He shrugged. "So, this morning after we split up I went down to the station and quit." He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I can't protect you if I'm not with you all the time, you know."
Lina pretended to cough and covered her mouth to conceal her smile. "You know Gourry," she said, "I have been doing this Slayer thing for a while now and I haven't been killed yet."
"Well, that's true," Gourry admitted with a nod. "But this way, I can be sure that you're okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Thanks. That's reassuring." Lina thought for a moment before looking up at Gourry. "How'd you find me anyway?"
"That Xellos guy told me where you were going." Gourry looked at Lina disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have lied to me and Amelia earlier. Why'd you tell us that you didn't know what that Hellmaster guy's message meant? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of us."
Lina stared at the ground, trying to quash the guilt that she was feeling. She found herself becoming angry with Gourry. Who was he to judge her? She didn't need his help. Besides, with that stupid prophesy she didn't really have a choice, did she? She had lied to him and Amelia for their own good. That was it, she thought with a satisfied nod. She looked up to tell Gourry exactly what she thought but stopped when she saw him smiling at her.
"We just want to help you Lina. You shouldn't have to do it alone."
"I… well, uh… thanks, I guess," Lina said weakly.
"So," Gourry said with a grin, "Now that that's settled, do you mind explaining some things to me?"
Lina nodded. "Sure."
Gourry's brow furrowed in thought as he tried to think of the simplest way to phrase his questions. "Okay," he said after a long moment, "What's a Hellmaster and why is it doing what its doing?"
"Not a Hellmaster, The Hellmaster," Lina corrected. "There's only one, thank Ceiphied. Are you familiar with the story of Ceiphied and the creation of our world?" she asked. Noting Gourry's blank stare she nodded and continued, "It's not surprising. Even though church attendance is mandatory few people do more than pay lip service to the scriptures. I'll just start at the beginning. When the world was young, there was nothing but the light of the great Flare Dragon Ceiphied. Nobody knows where he came from. What we do know is that Ceiphied, desiring companionship, created the human race. He fashioned humans from the very light of his own being, and in doing so, diminished his own brilliance. The dimming of his light created the first shadow, the Dark Lord Shabranigdo."
"Shabranigdo," Gourry repeated making sure that he pronounced it right. "But what about the Hellmaster, Lina?"
"I'm getting to that Gourry," Lina said patiently. "Now Shabranigdo, being born from shadow, was quite evil. However he was still Ceiphied's shadow and, in a way, desired the same things that Ceiphied did. He wanted to create. So, while Ceiphied fashioned the human race, Shabranigdo, in secret, added darkness to the nature of humans. That's why people suffer from fear, anxiety, and hatred. It's the dark part of human nature."
"I see…" Gourry nodded, hoping that Lina would let him ask questions at the end of the lecture. She was going pretty fast.
"Good," Lina said encouragingly. "Now, Ceiphied was more than a little peeved to find that his perfect creations were flawed. In a fury, he cast Shabranigdo off of this world and set about making things right. To this end, he created Heaven as a goal for humans to seek. He also created angels, creatures of the light, to guide the human race back to him. In this way, he intended to bring the humans closer to the light.
"Angels?" Gourry said questioningly.
"I'll field this one," Xellos answered cheerfully as he stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley. "I am very impressed that you learned your history so well Lina!" he said with a satisfied nod.
"Is there anyone who isn't following me?" Lina muttered as she gave Xellos a reproachful glare.
A moment later, Amelia quietly cleared her throat. "Hi," she said, throwing a nervous wave to the dumbfounded Lina from her perch atop a nearby fence.
Lina threw up her arms in frustration and irritably motioned for Xellos to continue with his explanation.
Xellos gave Lina an apologetic grin before turning to Gourry and Amelia, both of whom were watching him attentively. "I believe that Lina was talking about angels. Angels, as she said, were created to bring the human race closer to the light. Supposedly they possess the form of exceptionally beautiful humans with grand feathery wings."
"Hmm, beautiful humans with wings…" Gourry muttered to himself while scratching his head. He stole a quick glance at Lina's back, wondering briefly if she had wings. Maybe they were invisible? Curious, he reached out and pinched her back.
Lina yelped in surprise before whirling around and slugging Gourry in the face. "Don't you start getting weird on me!" she growled at the swordsman.
"Sorry," Gourry apologized as he massaged his jaw.
Xellos grinned at Lina's antics as he continued his lecture. "The reason that the angels were created in such a way was to demonstrate Ceiphied's greatness. By giving human form combined with wings almost as grand as his own, he hoped to show humanity what they could aspire to if they rejected the darkness."
"Yeah, but Shabranigdo wasn't happy," Lina said as she continued to glare at Gourry. "He felt that humans were just as much his creations as Ceiphied's."
Xellos nodded. "Quite right Lina, so Shabranigdo set about making his own world, Hell. In addition to creating his own dark world, he also created demons in mockery of Ceiphied's angels. The Hellmaster is the most powerful of these creatures and Shabranigdo's most trusted servant."
"And that's the bad guy that looks like the kid, right Lina?" Gourry asked excitedly.
Lina nodded, "That's right Gourry, The Hellmaster. As a servant of Shabranigdo, he is sworn to spread evil throughout our world and bring everything back to darkness. He's the master of fear. That's why everyone saw what they did when we fought him last night. The human mind is his plaything, and it goes without saying that I've never faced a more dangerous creature."
Gourry nodded and scratched his head. "I guess so. But why is he here now? And how are we supposed to kill him?"
Amelia nodded at the Sword of Light hanging from Gourry's belt. "That has something to do with killing Hellmaster, right Mr. Xellos?"
"Very astute, Miss Amelia. As I explained before, Rezo slew the Hellmaster 1000 years ago using the Sword of Light." Xellos shrugged. "It would make sense that it would work again."
"As to the question of why he's here now?" Lina looked at Xellos, hoping that he had some answer for them.
Xellos just frowned and shrugged helplessly. "Your guess is as good as mine. I can assure you that it's not an accident though."
Lina nodded. "Right, a demon that powerful doesn't suddenly decide to take a leisurely stroll through our world. There's definitely some very bad reason for him being here."
They walked on in silence for a moment.
Lina looked up to see the burnt out remains of her old home. "We're here," she told the others quietly. She sighed, "Let's see what Hellmaster's left us."
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"You have got to be kidding," Lina fumed as she flung a ruined cooking pot across the room.
Amelia yelped and ducked before glaring at Lina. "Be more careful!" she admonished.
"Oh, you're not hurt," Lina snapped at the acrobat. "Two hours of work for nothing? Is Hellmaster playing with us or what?!" she said angrily as she looked at Xellos.
Xellos held up his hands defensively. Unlike the others who had been working nonstop picking through the rubble for some clue, he didn't have a spot of dirt on him. He had cited his bad back as the reason for not helping and been content to sit in the corner, occasionally making mostly useless comments while the others worked. This had not made him the most popular person as the afternoon had worn on. Even Amelia had become a little resentful towards him.
"Hey Lina," Gourry whispered as he knelt next to her. "Any luck?"
"What do you think?" Lina growled angrily. She noted Gourry's disapproving expression and shook her head. "Sorry, but it's just been so frustrating." She grunted as she struggled to flip over a stone that had once been part of the chimney.
"Let me help you with that," Gourry said as he easily moved the rubble for Lina. As expected there was nothing out of the ordinary. "You used to live here, huh?" he asked as he looked around the area. "It's nice."
Lina smirked. "You're lying, but thanks anyway." She sat down with a sigh and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. This had the effect of turning her entire face a sooty gray. "What?" she asked innocently when she noticed Gourry trying to contain his laughter.
"Nothing," Gourry said, quickly shaking his head. "So what are you going to do after we save Sylphiel?"
"I don't know," Lina said with a shrug. "I know that I'm not going to hang around here. Things have gotten so weird since I came back to Sairaag. I wish that I just kept moving after I killed that vampire."
"Oh," Gourry said in a hurt tone. "Well, it hasn't been all bad has it Lina?"
Lina thought briefly about the events of her brief stay in the city so far. She had been nearly killed by Lupin, roughed up by a werewolf, caught up in Zelgadis's mysterious agenda, basically been told that she was going to kill Gourry, and now she was challenging the most powerful demon in the world. She nodded at Gourry and said, "Yeah, it's pretty much been all bad. Although…"
There had been good things hadn't there? There was the bath that Sylphiel had given her. Sylphiel had treated her exceptionally nicely without even knowing Lina. There was the time that she and Zel had spent in the library. There'd been some bonding there, hadn't there? Admittedly, he had threatened to kill her but they'd gotten past that little quibble. Lina's face lit up and she said, "Oh yeah!" as she recalled the day at the circus. That may very well have been the best day of her life. Everything had been so wonderful; the food, the show, the games, and spending time with Gourry.
Lina looked up and opened her mouth, meaning to tell Gourry that maybe things hadn't been a total loss. She frowned when she saw that he had moved over beside Amelia and was chatting with her now. "Oh," she said simply and turned back to her work. She shouldn't be wasting time anyway.
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Hellmaster and Sylphiel walked down the afternoon street hand in hand. She was walking along quite woodenly, while he skipped happily along beside her.
Hellmaster giggled and looked up at the sullen Sylphiel. "We're almost home 'Sis'. Aren't you excited?" he inquired.
Sylphiel stared ahead, a frown etched on her face. Hellmaster hadn't done anything too permanent to her yet. He had made a couple of superficial cuts that had been easily concealed by her cloak.
The idea of posing as Sylphiel's younger brother had been a stroke of genius, Hellmaster thought. They looked similar enough that it was a believable lie. He didn't know if Zangulus had told the City Guard what he looked like yet and even if the alarm hadn't been raised, a child walking alone through the rough part of town would have brought unwanted questions anyway. But this was lovely.
Hellmaster brought Sylphiel's hand up to his cheek and rubbed up against it lovingly. He waved cheerfully at a passing guard, who returned the wave with a smile. "Stupid sap," he muttered as soon as the guard was out of earshot. He looked up at Sylphiel and asked, "When do you think we should tell Lina and the others to come look for us?" He slapped his forehead and corrected himself. "I meant come and look for me of course. Nobody cares about you Sylphiel. I'll bet they don't even know that you're gone."
Sylphiel's lips trembled ever so slightly and her chin drooped.
"Smile, damn you, people are looking!" Hellmaster hissed as he squeezed Sylphiel's hand harshly. "Everyone should be lucky enough to have a brother like me!"
Sylphiel nodded and smiled insincerely. She actually managed a sad little laugh and leaned down to kiss Phibrizzo on the cheek.
"That's better," Hellmaster said with a happy nod. "Now there's the small matter of finding a messenger boy." He looked around briefly before his gaze fell upon a young man handing out flyers to passing pedestrians. He whispered, "Bingo."
"That's right. Admission is only half price with the flyer sir. Hope to see you at the show tonight," Alfred said tersely as he handed an elderly gentleman a brightly colored flyer advertising the circus. He really should be nicer to the paying public but it had been a pretty bad day. "Damn it Amelia," he muttered darkly. She should have been out here handing out flyers with him, but he hadn't seen her since she botched the act at the show yesterday. On top of that, Zanafar had been hurt last night and was half blind so he'd probably never be able to wrestle again.
A child's voice brought Alfred back to the present. "Excuse me?" he asked. Standing before him was a child of ten and a woman that he assumed was her.
"I asked," Hellmaster repeated, a wicked grin on his face, "How do you feel about spiders?"
Alfred made a disgusted face and shook his head. "I can't stand them. They're creepy."
"That's what I thought," Hellmaster said with a nod. He nodded at something on Alfred's leg and muttered, "Then I guess you're probably not going to like that."
Alfred looked down and gasped. The flyers fell from his numb fingers and were instantly scattered by the breeze. Sitting atop his foot was a hairy black spider the size of his fist.
Phibrizzo giggled happily. "He's a big one, huh?" He eyed Alfred's boots dubiously. "And would you take a look at those fangs? I'll bet they could punch right through leather. What do you think Alfred?" He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "And you know that the damn thing is poisonous. Look at it! That's no common house spider is it?"
The spider slowly made its way up Alfred's shin and moved off his boot and onto his pants. He started to shake it off when he heard Phibrizzo's voice.
Hellmaster wagged a finger reproachfully. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. They can sense fear you know." He grinned wickedly and chuckled, "Too late."
As if sensing Alfred's growing terror, the arachnid quickly scuttled up his body until it was comfortably situated on his chest. It stared at him with bright red eyes and slowly moved up his torso until its forelegs touched the bare skin of his neck. With a quiet hiss, it reared back on its hind legs exposing its fangs.
"Oh, I think its mad now," Phibrizzo said with a wink. "I wouldn't make any sudden moves if I were you."
Alfred struggled to keep his breathing even and keep perfectly still. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face and his eyes rapidly darted from the spider to Phibrizzo. He noticed with no small amount of horror that the boy's eyes had taken on the same ruby color as the spiders.
Phibrizzo nodded and said, "That's smart boy. You may get out of this yet. Now I want you to run a small errand for me and in return I'll tell you how to get rid of mean old Mr. Spider. Doesn't that sound nice?"
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"How are you doing, young lady?" Xellos asked as he knelt beside Lina.
Lina looked over at the priest and smiled wearily. "I don't think I've ever been this tired in my entire life." She stifled a yawn and continued to work. Her back was starting to ache again where Mimi had wounded her a couple nights ago, but she wasn't going to admit that. The last thing she needed was for everyone to start worrying about her.
Xellos gave Lina a thoughtful look before shaking his head and saying, "That's not what I meant Lina. How do you feel?"
Lina quickly glanced over at Gourry and Amelia. They were both out of earshot, occupied with their own work. She lowered her voice and said, "I've never been so scared in my life. How'd I go from hunting small fry to taking on the Hellmaster himself?" She grabbed Xellos's arm and whispered, "I don't think that I can do this!"
Xellos nodded reassuringly. "Feel better now?"
Lina slowly nodded. It had been nice to get that off her chest. "Well, what do you think?" she asked the priest.
Xellos stroked his chin for a moment, carefully pondering Lina's inquiry. Satisfied with his answer he responded, "I think that Ceiphied has a purpose for all of us and finds a way to put us where we are supposed to be." He put a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder as he continued, "Ceiphied chose you for this task for a reason."
"Yeah?" Lina said hopefully. "And what reason is that?"
Xellos shrugged a goofy grin on his face. "Who knows? Maybe you're supposed to be a martyr and you're violent and utterly horrific death will inspire others to continue the fight against darkness."
"Oh, I feel a lot better now," Lina growled through gritted teeth. She tackled the priest, knocking him onto his back. She wrapped her hands around his throat and yelled, "You idiot! What kind of lousy priest are you?! You're supposed to comfort me!" She squeezed tighter and growled, "Comfort me, damn it!"
"What's Miss Lina doing, Gourry?" Amelia asked as they watched Lina rough up the elderly priest.
"Offhand, I'd say she's losing her mind," was Gourry's nervous answer. He stood and cautiously approached the ranting Lina.
"Well?!" Lina growled. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Xellos shifted slightly under Lina's weight and grimaced. He muttered, "I think that I'm laying on a nail."
Lina shook her head angrily and snarled, "We're not talking about you! We're talking about me! You always helped me feel better before, so why won't you help me now?"
"Let him go, Lina," Gourry said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come on. This isn't helping anything." He gently lifted her off of Xellos and set her on her feet.
"Well, it'll definitely make me feel better," Lina seethed.
"Thank you Gourry." Xellos grinned and sat up. He looked at where he had been laying and nodded after a moment. "Broken glass. Lovely." He looked at Lina and was about to say something when the faint sound of footsteps behind him distracted him. "Oh?" he muttered as he turned to look at the new arrival.
Alfred stood a few feet away from the group with a terrified expression on his face. He was hyperventilating and appeared to be on the verge of passing out. His eyes darted around the area as if he had just realized where he was. His gaze settled on Lina and he breathed a sigh of relief. With shaky hands, he reached down and pulled a small dagger from his belt.
"Alfred, what's wrong?" Amelia asked as she cautiously approached him.
Alfred blinked at his cousin in surprise. "The spiders," he said in a shrill voice. "Can't you see the spiders Amelia?!" He laughed, a shrill and hysterical sound, and raised the dagger to his throat.
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Next Chapter: Lina and the others are quickly running out of time. Can they reach Hellmaster before he completes his plan?
Notes: Spiders… Brrrrr! When all else fails, write what you know and I know that spiders scare the hell out of me. Hope everyone enjoyed the origin of Hellmaster. It's all lies, but whatever. My favorite part of the chapter was the bit with Gourry mistaking Lina for an angel. It just struck me as being incredibly cute. Hope you liked it as well.
Reader response:
Pogo, I swear that Sylphiel is one of my favorite characters. And don't go away for too many weekends. I miss hearing from you!
Miss Gabriev, I'm glad you liked the bit with L/G. Did you enjoy the one in this chapter? Zel is Zel. No chimera by night or anything like that. Hmm, isn't it strange that for a vampire he seems remarkably resilient to sunlight?
CT, the bit with the rats probably came from my twisted little mind. Or I picked it up somewhere. I dunno. The climax of the story is inspired by a nightmare I had, so look for that.
No, Otaku girl! I love Sylphiel darn it! It's just that Hellmaster isn't that fond of her, you know?
Xelena welcome aboard! Always nice to have a new reader. Hmm, all your questions have been answered in recent chapters or will be addressed in the future.
Thanks a bunch Boo!