Lina lovingly examined the stranger's familiar face. She gazed into his liquid blue eyes and ran her fingers through his long flaxen hair. He was so perfect.
The stranger smiled hungrily as he caressed the modest swells of Lina's breasts. When he leaned forward to kiss her a moment later, she responded passionately, leaning up to meet his lips with her own.
"You," Zelas said as she glared at Sylphiel. "I really don't know what to do with you. Lina's such an impulsive creature, plagued by confusion and self-doubt, but you're a different type of animal entirely, aren't you? So loving. So pious. So very repugnant." She shook her head and sighed, "I'd make you an offer similar to Lina's, but I suspect that you wouldn't accept, would you?"
"Of course not!" Sylphiel said with a vehement shake of her head. "And why did you tell Miss Lina those horrible lies?"
Zelas smirked and glanced over at Lina. "Does it look like she cares?"
Lina was quivering in anticipation, oblivious to Sylphiel and the rest of the world. She shared a fiery kiss with the gorgeous creature sharing the pillow with her. She gasped and clutched his blond mane tightly as he began to trail kisses down her chin and then onto the soft flesh of her throat.
"Let her go," Sylphiel commanded. "You've put her under some sort of spell, haven't you?"
"Let her go? I've freed her," Zelas corrected. "Now there is just the small matter of dealing with you." Her muscles began to ripple under her skin and she seemed to grow. A moment later, gray fur exploded from her cream colored skin and her face began to distort.
Sylphiel whispered, "Ceiphied help us," as she watched Zelas's appearance change from goddess to demon.
Now resembling a humanoid wolf, Zelas snarled, "There is more to my power than lust, Sylphiel. I also represent hunger, another of humanity's baser instincts." She ran her tongue over her fangs as she spoke. "I think I'll skin you before I eat you." She crouched low, preparing to pounce.
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Tasked with the burden of displaying even more people than before, the knives sang a metallic song as they danced through the flesh of Hellmaster's scrying tool. The magic that rejuvenated the man's body was hard pressed to keep up, resulting in a blurry picture at times.
Hellmaster uttered a vile curse and muttered, "Damn reception," as he beat on the man. The picture cleared and he returned to his seat. "Huh, would you look at that," he remarked as he watched the action between Zelas, Lina, and Sylphiel unfold. "That oversexed slattern actually did it," he begrudgingly admitted. He was lounging comfortably on the body of a man contorted painfully into the shape of a chair. He reached down and grabbed a handful of popcorn from a bowl on the floor in front of him and began to toss it into his mouth, piece by piece. "Who'd have thought the stupid Inverse girl was that love starved." He thought for a moment, pondering Zelas's technique. Maybe it was possible to catch more flies with honey than vinegar, he mused. "Not nearly as fun though," he snickered. "Don't you agree?" he asked the man who was acting as his throne.
The individual in question was an emaciated creature who at that moment was desperately reaching for a piece of popcorn that Hellmaster had dropped on the floor. Given the fact that his face made up one leg of the chair and his arms two of the others, this was no easy task.
Hellmaster watched this new humiliation with a broad grin on his face. Just as the man was about to touch the popcorn with his outstretched fingers, Hellmaster snatched it up and ate it. "This is good stuff," he said to the unfortunate soul. "Needs more butter though." He turned back to watch Lina as she was groped by the stranger. He rolled his eyes and threw popcorn at the screen. "Oh, come on Lina!" he yelled. "Can't you see that he's playing you like a fiddle? He's just going to break your heart. Maybe some other stuff too." He giggled evilly and said, "Oh, I love a good show." He was a little disappointed that the Slayer hadn't put up more of a fight. And now it looked like dear Sylphy was going to meet her painful end as well.
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Lina trembled as the stranger began to undo the buttons of her blouse. She felt a twinge of apprehension as she watched him expose her scarred torso, but moaned, part in relief, part in pleasure, as he greedily kissed the tops of her breasts. He didn't care how she looked. "You love me," she whispered gratefully.
The stranger ceased his ministrations to look at her quizzically.
Lina looked back down at him, expecting some sort of response. Finally, she repeated, "You love me."
The stranger smiled lustily and resumed his task of unbuttoning Lina's blouse.
Lina trembled again, not in desire, but in fear. "You do… right?" she asked hesitantly.
Between kisses, the stranger hissed, "I want you."
Lina's eyes widened as she realized what Zelas had really offered her. A lie. "No!" she shouted, shoving the stranger off the cushion onto the floor. "That's not what I want!" She looked up to see Zelas looming menacingly over Sylphiel and growled angrily. "Zelas…"
Zelas's ears perked up at the sound of Lina's voice. She turned to face the Slayer and smirked. "What's the matter Lina? You seemed so eager a moment ago. Wasn't he your type?" She nodded at the man sitting on the floor and said, "How about now?"
Lina turned just in time to catch the stranger's wrists in her hands. He was no longer the handsome man that she had seen before. Now, he was a slavering beast that looked like a cross between a man and a dog. "I let you kiss me?!" she yelled disgustedly. When the beast lunged for her throat with its fangs, she rolled with the momentum and, placing her feet on its stomach, flipped the creature off her body.
The dog man crashed into an ornate candelabrum, knocking it to the floor.
A moment later, one of the lavish cushions caught fire. The flames quickly spread through the room.
The dog man climbed to his feet and growled menacingly at Lina.
Lina drew her sword and glared at the beast furiously. Her hands shook with barely controlled anger as she took a step towards her foe.
"How interesting." Zelas ceased stalking Sylphiel in favor of watching the upcoming melee. It was a rare creature that was able to refuse the advances of one of her servants. Invariably, those people would end up begging for her touch, but it was always a great deal of fun to break them.
Seeing her chance, Sylphiel dropped to all fours and quietly crept over to the Sword of Light. She didn't understand how a sword with no blade could help them, but Lina had been trying to reach it when Zelas was ensnaring her.
At that moment, Lina was finishing up her rather brutal dispatching of the dog man. As expected, it had been fairly clumsy and none too bright. Hence, it fell rather easily to her blade. Now she hacked at its twitching form, flinging large splotches of blood through the air every time she pulled her blade back. Shoving the point of her sword into its skull one last time, she looked up at Zelas and snarled.
Zelas watched Lina impassively. "That was very good Lina," she said with an approving nod. "A more vicious killing, I haven't seen." She sighed irritably and said, "I suppose that now you think that you're going to kill me as well. Is that right?"
In answer to Zelas's question, Lina raised her sword over her head and lunged forward, driving the silver blade into the Greater Beast's heart. "Gotcha," she hissed angrily.
Zelas gasped and her body stiffened up.
"Miss Lina!" Sylphiel said hopefully. One lucky strike and Zelas had been defeated, she thought. The Sword of Light was temporarily forgotten.
Lina shoved the blade deeper and whispered, "Does it hurt? I hope it does."
Zelas's eyes were wide with surprise. She looked into Lina's crimson eyes before looking down at the weapon buried in her chest. She wrapped her hands around the blade as she fell slowly to her knees and whispered, "It … it …"
Lina grinned wickedly.
"It … tickles," Zelas said with a terrifying giggle. Before Lina could respond, she had backhanded the Slayer, sending her flying into a wall a dozen feet away. She climbed to her feet and casually pulled the blade from her chest. Despite the fact that the blade was coated with her black blood, she seemed to be unharmed. "Commendable, Lina," she said as she slowly advanced on the redhead.
Lina sat on her hands and knees, her breath coming in big whooping gasps. She'd hit the wall back first and had the wind knocked out of her. She looked up and tried to focus on Zelas, but found her vision to be a blur of flame and smoke.
The chamber was an inferno by this point. Bodies still writhed sensuously on the blazing pillows, oblivious of the flames and carnage surrounding them.
Zelas held Lina's sword up for inspection as she approached the fallen Slayer. "L.I.," she read aloud. "Family heirloom, Lina? I expect so. The craftsmanship is too fine for a mongrel like you to afford." She grinned and snapped the blade in two. "So sad," she said, her voice full of mock sympathy.
Lina watched in horror as Zelas tossed the broken weapon aside as if it were garbage. "No," she whispered. "That belonged to Sis!"
"And this?" Zelas said while holding up a familiar necklace.
Lina stared at it and then glanced down at the spot where her medallion should have been hanging. It was gone. "How?" she asked.
"While you were wallowing in self pity, I took the liberty of relieving you of this. I must tell you that I'm not pleased. Ceiphied has no place here and neither do his trinkets. I'll dispose of it now." She glared at the medallion, willing it to disintegrate.
The silver glowed white hot briefly before returning to its original color unscathed.
"How can this be?" Zelas muttered darkly. "The Flare Dragon has no power here." She turned back to Lina just in time for Lina to thrust her foot into the Beast's face. She staggered and dropped the medallion to the floor.
Lina snatched the medallion up as she scampered between Zelas's legs. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered as she tucked the chain in her pocket for safekeeping. There was no doubt in her mind that Luna was watching out for her today.
"Miss Lina, here!" Sylphiel called out.
Lina looked up to see the Sword of Light sliding across the stone floor towards her. She grinned as she reached out for it. "All right!"
Zelas caught the sword just before it reached Lina's hands. A second later, she'd picked Lina up by the collar and held her up several feet off the ground. "Child, you are beginning to upset me," she growled angrily. "And what is this?" she asked while looking the Sword of Light over. "Another broken sword, Lina?"
"Oh no!" Sylphiel squeaked as she watched their hope for victory skitter into the hands of the enemy.
"Hey," Lina gasped, trying to take a breath. The fabric of her cloak was clinched tightly around her throat, making breathing quite a chore. She pulled at the clasp on her cloak frantically, trying to allow some air into her starving lungs and hissed, "That's mine! Give it back!"
Zelas shook Lina roughly, rattling her teeth. "Quiet, little one. I'll deal with you presently." She swung the Sword of Light a few times and muttered, "There's something here. Some secret." She turned to her captive and said, "Tell me what it is."
Lina, quite blue in the face by this point, saw her chance. She noted that Zelas was holding the hilt so that it was aimed at the side of her head. She kicked wildly, swinging herself forward while simultaneously releasing her hold on her collar in favor of reaching for the sword. Her vision immediately went black as what little air she'd had before deserted her. She felt Zelas's warm flesh beneath her right hand and thought for a moment that she'd missed her target. A second later, her left hand found cool metal and breathed a mental sigh of relief. She couldn't speak, so she prayed that the Sword of Light could read lips or something. "Light come forth," she mouthed mutely.
Sensing Lina's touch and her desire, the Sword of Light responded violently, lancing Zelas's cheek, and disintegrating a number of the demon's teeth in addition to her tongue.
Zelas screamed unintelligibly and dropped both Lina and the sword in favor of clutching her ruined face. Black ichor flowed freely from between her fingers and hissed angrily wherever it dripped onto the floor.
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Hellmaster rolled around on the floor with tears of cruel mirth streaming down his face. "Oh my," he snickered. "I'd give my left arm to see that again! That was amazingly gratifying!" He stopped snickering for a moment to think about the situation.
This apparently proved that demons could die, or at least get maimed, on their home plane. That wasn't the most pleasant thought, but Hellmaster supposed that it really didn't make much difference. There was no way that Lina was going to beat him in his home. Despite her endless luck, she was still only human.
More somber then a moment before, Hellmaster settled back onto his chair to watch the rest of the conflict.
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Lina sat on all fours, coughing violently as she tried to suck in a much-needed breath of air. "God … I hate … my job," she wheezed. "I hate … my job. I hate my … life. This sucks … so much." She spat up a bit of bloody phlegm and grimaced. "Phibrizzo, you had better appreciate this."
"Let me help you," Sylphiel said as she took Lina's arm and helped her to her feet.
"Thanks," Lina said in a raspy voice. "Zelas!" she yelled. Her voice cracked in the middle of the name, but the demon heard her just the same.
Zelas turned slowly to face Lina. Her visage was a ruined mass of blackened flesh. A scrap of skin that might have been part of her cheek clung tenaciously to her jaw. She reached up and ripped the dangling bit of flesh free and tossed it on the floor before uttering an inhuman roar that caused the room to quake. She advanced on Lina murderously.
"That's right," Lina said. "Just a little closer. Let me finish what I started," she snarled as she held up the Sword of Light.
Zelas paused and indecisiveness flashed across her face. She eyed the unlit sword, then Lina, and finally glared at Sylphiel. A moment later, she turned and fled into the inferno on all fours.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Lina wheezed exhaustedly. "Everyone cowers before the mighty Lina Inverse." She leaned down and picked up the sad remains of her blade. She doubted that any smith could repair the damage. "Sorry Sis," she sighed. "It had a good run though." Her surroundings became blurry and she briefly wondered if Hellmaster had dreamt up some new trick to torment her with.
A moment later, Lina felt hot moisture on her cheeks and realized that she was crying. She dropped her ruined sword, covered her eyes, and vented all the rage and humiliation that had been inflicted on her that night. Her body was wracked with heaving sobs as she cursed the day that she'd first seen Phibrizzo. Xellos had been right. This wasn't worth the cost. Thinking that made her feel even worse about herself.
Sylphiel knelt next to Lina and put a comforting arm around the redhead's shoulders. "It's okay," she said quietly.
"No!" Lina sobbed loudly. "No, It's not!" A moment later, she said, "I should have just let Hellmaster have Phibrizzo and called it even."
Sylphiel sighed sadly and said, "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do! This was a mistake." Lina thought of how Zelas had manipulated her feelings and how she had almost been ensnared.
"Maybe you're right, Miss Lina," Sylphiel said with a nod. "Maybe you shouldn't have come. But you did. Because you wanted to help that poor child. You're not going to give up on him now are you? You just made Zelas run away in fear. There can't be anything here much worse than her, can there?"
Lina sniffled and chuckled dryly. "Don't ask questions like that Sylphiel. You're just tempting Fate." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and began to gather the pieces of her sword again.
"Do you think that you could have killed her?" Sylphiel asked as she helped Lina to her feet.
Lina carefully sheathed the remaining half of her sword before smiling wearily and saying, "Not a chance. Let's go. We've still got to find Phibrizzo, right?" She actually managed to wink at Sylphiel and felt some of her confidence returning.
"Right!" Sylphiel said with a determined nod.
"Sylphiel?"
Sylphiel raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"Don't tell anyone what happened here, okay?"
Sylphiel nodded. A moment later she frowned and asked, "Well, if you don't think that you could have beaten Zelas, how are you planning to fight Hellmaster?"
"Well …" Lina said thoughtfully, "I guess we'll have to burn that bridge when we come to it, huh?"
Sylphiel sighed and said, "You don't really inspire much confidence, Miss Lina." She supported Lina as they haltingly made their way through the incredibly hot chamber.
"Well, I never asked you to come with me, you know," Lina panted. She reached up and wiped the sweat out of her eyes with the back of her hand. If they didn't move quickly they wouldn't have to worry about Hellmaster. The flames would get them first. She sighed wearily and let her chin rest on her chest. "I need a vacation," she muttered as she watched the floor dance in and out of focus.
Sylphiel saw Lina's head droop and the Slayer go limp against her. "Oh no," she whispered apprehensively. "Is she…?" A moment later, the sound of soft snoring reached her ears and she smiled. Miss Lina deserved a break, no matter how short it might be. "I just wish that she wasn't so heavy," she muttered.
Lina's ears twitched and she mumbled, "Whadja say?"
"Oh, nothing!" Sylphiel said with a nervous chuckle.
"S'what I thought …" Lina said as she slipped back into a doze.
Sylphiel looked up and gasped in surprise. It seemed that Lina wouldn't be able to rest after all. "Miss Lina," she whispered nervously while gently shaking the redhead.
"Lemmie alone! Can't it wait a second?" Lina groused.
Sylphiel said, "No, not really. Miss Lina, please look! It's important!"
Lina shook her head exhaustedly. "No. Too tired to lift head."
Sylphiel sighed in resignation and grabbed a handful of Lina's hair.
"Ow! Hey, what's the big idea?!" Lina yelled as her head was jerked up to a level base. "Oh," she said. "That is important, isn't it?"
Standing before Lina and Sylphiel, wearing a cocky smile, was the Hellmaster Phibrizzo. Lurking just behind him was a great beast composed of jagged bone.
"Well, you led us on a merry chase," Lina said as she yawned. She released Sylphiel and shakily stood on her own. "Finally decide to stop running, Hellmaster?"
Hellmaster shrugged, his smile growing wider. "Still full of empty bravado. You're almost as irritating as Rezo was. It seems that egomaniacal blowhards are always thwarting my lovely designs. You people just never stop talking."
"Oh, and I'm sure that you're the poster boy for modesty," Lina said with a smirk.
"I don't need to be modest," Hellmaster boasted. "I'm the Hellmaster!"
"I'm the Hellmaster!" Lina repeated in a mocking tone. "Like I haven't heard that before."
Sylphiel grimaced and leaned over to whisper in Lina's ear. "Miss Lina, do you think it's a good idea to antagonize him like that?"
"Sure," Lina whispered in return. "Guys like the Hellmaster love to hear themselves yap. If you get the bad guy talking it gives you more time to come up with a plan. Watch." She nodded at the beast lurking behind Hellmaster. "Well Hellmaster, if you're so powerful, why'd you bring your lackey along?"
"Oh him?" Hellmaster said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Surely you remember him. Grau, the demon of bone."
"Oh yeah," Lina said while nodding. "So ugly, where's your little playmate?"
Grau glared at Lina with blood red eyes. "Grou never returned from your world. What did you do with him?"
Lina shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not your brother's keeper."
Grau rumbled angrily and took a thunderous step towards Lina. In doing so, he inadvertently bumped into Hellmaster, knocking the much smaller demon off his feet. An instant later he realized what he had done and mumbled, "Sorry boss."
"Clumsy idiot! You're making me look like a fool!" Hellmaster jumped to his feet and began to mercilessly beat on Grau. Given the fact that he stood only as tall as Grau's knee, Lina and Sylphiel found this quite comical. "Look at that!" he snarled while pointing at the two giggling girls. "They're laughing at me! Back to the pit with you!"
"But sir …" Grau mumbled.
"Don't give me that! I gave you an order!" Hellmaster snapped his fingers, causing Grau to explode in a hail of bone shards. "Idiot," he muttered darkly.
Lina and Sylphiel immediately stopped laughing.
Sylphiel gasped in surprise at Hellmaster's cruelty. He'd killed his own servant for a simple mistake? Staring at the demon angrily, she whispered to Lina, "Miss Lina, can I try to talk to him?"
Lina shrugged and said, "Sure. Knock yourself out." She relaxed and tried to clear her mind. They wouldn't be able to beat Hellmaster on their own. It would take something more. Her eyes came to rest on her medallion. "Worth a shot," she whispered thoughtfully.
Sylphiel smiled warmly as she addressed Hellmaster. "Mr. Hellmaster, will you please give us Phibrizzo? We don't want to hurt you. We just want to take him home. Can't we be friends?"
Hellmaster raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You're a few coins short of a purse, aren't you Sylphy?"
Sylphiel quietly said, "You just called me Sylphy."
Hellmaster blinked in surprise and said, "No… no, I didn't!"
Sylphiel smiled and leaned forward to embrace the childlike demon. "You are in there! Come on out Phibrizzo! You can beat Hellmaster."
"No he can't!" Hellmaster protested. "Get off of me Sylphy! You're crazy!"
Lina smacked her forehead in frustration and mumbled, "Sylphiel, I think I'm going to have to agree with Hellmaster on this one."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sylphiel asked as Hellmaster squirmed out of her grasp.
"Phibrizzo can't get out by himself. We have to help him." Lina stared intently at Hellmaster. "You'd never surrender him quietly, would you? You've got to get back at us somehow for foiling your plan."
Hellmaster had a crooked grin on his face. He shrugged and said, "What can I say? I'm a petty demon. For what you've done, I think that you'll spend eternity watching me torture Phibrizzo. It's your fault that this happened you know. If you hadn't interfered, I would have given the boy a swift, relatively painless death in gratitude for the use of his body." He sighed and shook his head. "But now..."
"Now things are going to get ugly," Lina said as she hefted the Sword of Light. She locked eyes with Sylphiel meaningfully and then glanced down at the medallion adorning the healer's neck. She hoped Sylphiel understood what she was trying to say.
"Oh, what are you going to do, kill me?" Hellmaster snickered. "That would defeat the purpose of your trip down here wouldn't it? Phibrizzo can die. As for me? I am eternal."
"Zelas didn't look very eternal to me," Lina quipped. "So why should it be any different with you? Besides, who said anything about trying to kill you? We're going to make you give Phibrizzo back. One way or another." She quickly turned to her companion and said, "Sylphiel, do it now!"
"Right!" Sylphiel leapt towards Phibrizzo while simultaneously pulling the chain bearing her medallion from her cloak. She pressed the cold metal to Phibrizzo's face with dramatic results.
Hellmaster shrieked in agony and ugly gray steam erupted violently from his cheek.
Sylphiel squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, "I'm sorry Phibrizzo. It'll be over soon."
Snarling with murderous fury, Hellmaster placed a hand on Sylphiel's face and, with horrendous strength, shoved her away.
Sylphiel was thrown through the air, limbs flailing helplessly, until she slammed into the floor a dozen feet away. She bounced once and then rolled several times before coming to a rest.
"Sylphiel!" Lina yelled. The healer lay motionless on the floor.
Hellmaster dropped to his knees, screaming in agony and fury. He tentatively reached up to touch the spot on his face that Sylphiel had burned. He jerked his hand back with a snarl when his fingers began to burn where they made contact. He slowly turned towards Lina, revealing a flawless image of the Flare Dragon seared into his cheek.
Lina saw the murderous intent in Phibrizzo's amber eyes and knew that a moment of hesitation would almost certainly mean death. She pulled her own medallion from within her pocket and lunged at the childlike demon.
Hellmaster quickly sidestepped her attack and snarled, "Slow." He drew his hand back and wicked talons exploded from Phibrizzo's fingertips. Grinning wickedly, he thrust his claws into Lina's shoulder, reopening the angry wound that she had received from Grou earlier that night.
Even as the pain hit, Lina realized that he was right. She was slow. She hadn't eaten in days, hadn't slept in more than that. Coupled with the wounds she had received that night, she was well past the limits of what she could do. There was no doubt in her mind that if she fell, she'd never get up again. Accepting that fact made her push herself all the harder. She wasn't going to die here. Not at the hands of this arrogant monster.
Fighting through the fresh pain, Lina whipped the medallion around again, meaning to shove it into Phibrizzo's face, only to find him standing a foot away from where she had struck. Still too slow. She overbalanced and fell to her hands and knees in front of Hellmaster, panting heavily. "Not... good enough," she whispered. Her shoulder burned fiercely where he had stabbed her. Some kind of poison? She'd worry about it later, she decided.
For his part, Hellmaster's fury had been replaced by confusion and self-doubt. Ceiphied had no power here. Sylphy's trinket should have been just that: a trinket. Instead of making Lina and Sylphy crawl and beg for death, he was actually trying to avoid the Slayer's strikes. Avoid them! In his own realm! The utter ridiculousness of the situation gave the demon pause. There was some force at work here. Something far greater than a couple of mortals that refused to lay down and die.
Just then taking note of Lina's vulnerable position, Hellmaster sneered and viciously kicked her in the ribs. He smiled when he felt her ribs give under his foot and savored the sound of her strangled shriek of agony.
Lina flew a short distance, landed next to Sylphiel, and immediately began to roll around on the ground in terrible pain. She clutched at her side and screamed when she felt her ribs shift painfully. She rolled up onto her knees with her forehead pressed against the hot stone floor and tasted copper in her mouth Moaning helplessly, blood dripped from between her clenched teeth to pool on the floor.
Lina's years of working as a Slayer had given her a passing familiarity with anatomy and medicine. After all, you couldn't spend five years of your life cutting things open without learning a thing or two. If she was spitting up blood it could only mean one thing. Her shattered ribs had punctured something and she was most likely bleeding to death.
The thought didn't frighten Lina. In fact, it gave her a new feeling of freedom. Now that she didn't have to worry about her own survival, she just had to concentrate on making sure that she took Hellmaster with her. It was comforting to have such a simple goal.
Maybe death wouldn't be so bad, Lina thought as she arduously crawled over Sylphiel. "It can't be any worse than this," she whispered. She laid her head down on the healer's chest in exhaustion, noting that the girl was still breathing. That was good, she thought. A moment later, she began to cough violently, expelling more blood. "Nope," she whispered even more quietly as she picked up the healer's medallion with trembling fingers. "Can't be worse than this at all."
"Trying to hide behind Sylphy?" Hellmaster said with a chuckle as he watched Lina drape herself over the healer's body. He smiled wickedly, but secretly felt a wave of relief. If Lina was dying, that meant that whatever was going on was almost over. He would win, if not the entire game, than a small personal victory at least. There was always the next millennium in which to fulfill his goal of uniting the worlds.
"I must give you credit, Inverse," Hellmaster said amicably as he slowly walked towards the Slayer. "You've fought harder than anyone that I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of people, Lina." He stood next to her and rolled her onto her back with his foot. "It was a valiant effort, but it all ends here." He added, "In failure," unable to resist taking a final shot at the dying girl's pride.
"You're right," Lina croaked. "It is over." She thrust her fist up at Hellmaster's face, making a last effort to burn him with her medallion.
Hellmaster sighed as he casually batted her pathetic strike aside. He closed his eyes and snorted. "Really Inverse, haven't you-"
While Hellmaster was talking, Lina brought her other hand, containing Sylphiel's medallion, up. Instead of striking the demon with it, she did something far more terrible.
Lina slipped the chain over his head.
Hellmaster shrieked, trying to bat at the offending object, but finding himself burned whenever he did so. The chain sizzled against his neck and his flailing about flung the heavy medallion against points all over his upper body. "Damn you!" he bellowed at Lina.
Lina leaned against Sylphiel and watched Hellmaster flail about with an immense feeling of satisfaction. "Let him go, Hellmaster!" she called out weakly. "You have to let him go!"
"No!" Hellmaster snarled, determined not to let Lina gain even that small a victory. "I won't give you that!" A moment later, the medallion came to rest just below his breastbone and sent white-hot pain lancing through every fiber of his being. At that instant, he decided that maybe it wasn't really worth it to hold onto the kid. The little bastard would be dead either way, right?
As Lina watched, Phibrizzo fell to his knees with his mouth agape. His eyes rolled back into his head as he belched up a large cloud that looked as if it were made of liquid darkness. A moment later, the child fell face first onto the ground.
Lina smiled. It had worked. She quickly rolled onto her side, gasping in pain as she came to rest on her shoulder. At least she was more or less facing Sylphiel though. "Sylphiel," she whispered while making a feeble attempt to shake the healer awake. "Sylphiel, you have to wake up."
Sylphiel moaned and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Lina she gasped in shock, and quickly sat up.
Lina looked like a living corpse. Her skin was incredibly pale and had a waxy look to it. Blood ran from her mouth at a steady rate. She shivered uncontrollably despite the intense heat of the room. The only thing about the girl that didn't tell of her impending death was her fiery eyes. They burned with a fierce resolve.
"Thank Ceiphied," Lina whispered. "Take Phibrizzo. Get out of here."
"What are you going to do?" Sylphiel said as she crawled over to the boy and scooped him up in her arms.
"Finish him off," Lina said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the dark cloud that was beginning to take a more solid appearance.
"You can't!" Sylphiel said helplessly.
"Well ..." Lina muttered thoughtfully. "I'll buy you some time then. Maybe a thirty second head start on Hellmaster?"
"But-"
Lina tried to chuckle, but only managed something that sounded like a hiccupping cough. "How many times do I have to say, 'No buts'? Get out of here" Lina sighed in relief when Sylphiel finally sprinted away with Phibrizzo in tow. "Now, time to put an end to this." She turned painfully to look at Hellmaster and grinned. "Sis, help me this one last time and I'll come home. Just one more time."
Hellmaster looked like he did the first time he had transformed back on Lina's world. Only now, without the constraints of a human host, his form was more grandiose and horrible. Ugly horns jutted from myriad places on his body and his skin was a shiny ebony color. He stood several feet taller than he had before and loomed over the fallen Slayer. He looked at the fleeing Sylphiel and rumbled, "I will get them, you know."
The chamber shook violently at the sound of Hellmaster's true voice.
Lina grinned as blood began to trickle from her ears. The demon's voice felt like knives in her skull. "I know. But I have to try." She struggled to her feet as Hellmaster enjoyed every small pain associated with her doing so. "It hurts," she whispered as she clutched at her ribs. "It hurts so much."
"Then allow me to end your suffering," Hellmaster said with an ugly chuckle. He took a thunderous step towards Lina, threatening to knock the girl back to the floor.
"I won't go easily," Lina said as she lifted the Sword of Light. "I'll fight you until my last breath."
Hellmaster cracked his knuckles threateningly. "So, about five seconds from now, then?"
"If that's what I have left," Lina whispered. "Then yes." She closed her eyes and murmured a quiet goodbye to Gourry. "I'll miss you, jellyfish." Then she steeled herself for the upcoming battle.
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Next Chapter: An ending & a beginning
Notes: Did everyone enjoy the portrayal of Zelas? I thought that it was fairly interesting myself, and quite fun to write a villain that didn't want to kill the hero (well, not at first anyway). One way or another, the next chapter is the end of the current story arc.
Reviewer Response:
Yep, I'm a Potter fan Pogo. And as a matter of fact, Lupin (along with Sirius) is one of my favorite characters, although the name of Lupin wasn't really pulled from the books. It's actually just a play on Lupine for the purpose of setting up the whole werewolf/vampire joke way back in chapter 1.
Otaku, you're a mind reader, huh? Or maybe the story is just really predictable. Glad you liked Zelas, although I think she's going to be the only demon besides Hellmaster to make an appearance. I had ideas for the others, but couldn't think of a way to get them in the story. Did you remember what you wanted to tell me?
Miss Gabriev, you'll get to see what Gourry does when he finds out that Lina's gone in the next chapter. And don't worry. I'm not worried about you. I just really miss talking to you. As for the story, I'll try to get something out of that mess, but it just won't be the same without your insane touches.
Oh, and thanks to Jakub for taking the time to write to me about his thoughts on the story. Thanks a bunch!
Finally, a huge thanks to Pogo for betaing!