From darkness into chaos shot with flickering light and moving shadows, Sylphiel emerged into the square at a dead run- and almost collided with Rasmus as he came to an abrupt stop. "It's a Mazoku," Rasmus told her even as something black with flaming red eyes launched towards them. Sliding his feet into a secure stance- putting himself between her and the threat, Rasmus turned and flung his hands out, "Elmikia Lance!"
Lifting a hand, Sylphiel winced from the shocking bright light, and looked back to find the beast gone. She didn't have time to gawk, though, for there was more than just one of those beasts loping around the square, leaping from shadow to shadow as they chased townspeople. Instead, she took a moment to figure out the situation. The men had taken up whatever weapons they could find to fight back with, and they were the ones that had gone down first. The women and children were now being chased around the square in a herd that had no chance of getting away. Those that went for cover either screamed and dived back into the square or screamed and weren't seen again. Those that ran from the square entirely met the same fate.
In the center, Lina was throwing fireballs as fast as she could, aiming for beasts chasing the children even if all she seemed to be doing was catching things on fire. The bandstand was a pillar of flame, a house on the west side of the street was on fire, and the bonfire had taken over the entire kitchen area. Despite all this, the square was still full of flickering shadows and terror. Gourry was out in the fray but he might as well have been swinging his sword at phantoms.
"Sylphiel," Rasmus grabbed her shoulder, "Grab the kids and get them close to the fire, I'll cover."
Shaken from her daze, Sylphiel nodded and dashed off at an angle to intercept a herd of children heading their way even as Elmikia Lances slashed through the air over their heads to hit whatever was behind them. Terrified, they packed around the shrine maiden, and she herded them towards the bonfire. "Lay down," she told them, "Put your hands over your heads, it'll be alright, just lay down here." She directed, figuring that the best option was to keep them still so they were easier to guard.
Rasmus stood over them boldly, firing off flare arrows and Lances even as Lina came to stand beside him, doing the same. "Rasmus!" Lina shouted over the cries of children and roar of fire, "How do we fight these things!"
Shaking his head, "Thing," he corrected, "It's one Mazoku and it's moving through the shadows. Sylphiel, start casting lighting spells and throw them around us."
Looking up from healing one of the children, she nodded and stood, "Lighting!" she flung the spell upwards, followed by another- as fast as she could cast, she threw spells out while Lina and Rasmus continued to hold the prowling half seen monsters at bay.
Fairly soon, the area was brighter than day and Rasmus closed his eyes, focusing on the Astral energies in the area. "Rasmus, it's too bright! I can't see anything now!" Lina complained and Gourry had meanwhile come to join them, standing protectively over the few children that were left out of the mess. There were only fifteen or so of them.
"I can, Lina, the Mazoku's reformed into one mass," Rasmus replied calmly and there was no hint at all that he was frightened in any way. "Lina, start casting Lighting, Gourry make some torches and throw them around the area if you can."
Nodding, the blonde immediately got to work, albeit slowly as he had to work by feel alone, the light too bright to open his eyes. Lina hesitated briefly, "You plan on fighting it by yourself?" she asked softly, trying to not let Sylphiel hear.
Shaking his head, Rasmus answered, "No choice. I'm the only one here that can see auras. I know where it is."
Unable to argue with that, Lina cast, "Lighting- you'd better not get yourself killed!"
Flushing, though it was impossible for anyone to see it in the brilliant light that surrounded then, Rasmus replied warmly, "Thanks... I won't." Turning, he dashed away from them.
Eyes tightly closed against the bright light, Sylphiel kept casting her spells, throwing them upwards and away as far as she could, trying to get an even scattering of them to make the area as bright as possible- having no choice but to trust Rasmus. And if it truly was moving through shadows, she was determined to keep it bound to one place as best she could. Behind her, the children sobbed, but stayed on the ground, their heads down and covered as the only adults left worked to keep them safe.
Despite sounding and acting calm as ever, Rasmus was trembling with terror. Was this about to be a repeat of what he'd done to Sairaag before? Or would this Mazoku prove to be too much? It was powerful- and getting even more so the longer it stayed in the area, feeding off the fear the children- and what few adults that weren't dead- were emitting, as well as his own. On a deeper level, it annoyed him that he was giving his own enemy power by being afraid of it, but that didn't stop him from having second and third thoughts about volunteering to go kill it by himself.
But then, he was the only one that could see, so it really wasn't volunteering, but necessity that made him come out here alone. It was hard to keep telling himself that.
Striding as confidently as he could, he sacrificed his own comfort in favor of trying to set the others at ease and make them think he could handle it and had it all under control. He couldn't tell what the emotions of the others were, but he hoped it was working, and reached into his pocket to pull out a weapon of some sort.
The first thing that came to hand was a staff with a ring on the end supporting other metal rings- the same staff he'd used during his fight with Lina the first time around. It brought back bad memories, but it was a weapon and he would cleanse it just as he cleansed his own conscience of the people he killed by saving others. In his hands, the staff rang musically and the Mazoku- quite capable of sight still, stood in the center of the square, held to one form by the light, but not immobilized.
"So, you come to face me on your own, little bug?" the Mazoku gloated, having taken the form of a twelve foot tall humanoid with hands that could easily crush a toddler and claws like swords. It still had those same red flaming eyes the shadow beasts had, "You're a fool." No more effort was wasted on speaking, and the demon shot an appendage out- which elongated impossibly.
With his eyes closed, all Rasmus could see was the blob of aura that was coming towards him. Dodging to the side, he concentrated his magic through his staff and swung it to connect with a solid clang against the arm that had reached for him.
Obviously unhurt, the Mazoku retracted its hand and darted in towards Rasmus's back with the other. Having seen the shift in its aura, the mage dived down and rolled to his feet as the left arm swiped over him and the right slammed into the ground where he'd been laying. Launching forward, Rasmus cast through his staff, "Elmikia Fire!" At least this seemed to do some damage, and Ras ducked under an arm and tripped over something soft and wet.
It was a person- a dead person- and thus Rasmus couldn't see it. Scrambling to his feet, he was knocked flat by one of those powerful arms connecting with his chest in a backhand that sent him flying several feet.
The Mazoku strode forward, following its target even as Rasmus struggled to breathe and get to his feet again. Casting a shield this time as the Mazoku attacked, he waited till the hand withdrew to drop his shield and come dashing in again to deliver another blow with an Elmikia Fire. There was damage, but not enough to do much good. He needed to cast a Rah Tilt, but didn't have the time to. The Mazoku was advancing again, chasing him- herding him across the square. Unfamiliar with this place, Rasmus couldn't guess where exactly he was and tripped over a bench in his efforts to retreat from what he couldn't fight without risk to the innocents around him.
Still, the Mazoku threw punches at him, and though he dodged, they kept him sufficiently distracted that he couldn't cast anything bigger that would have done more damage. Slowly, but surely, the demon was wearing him out. "You see how futile this is?" the Mazoku chuckled menacingly as Rasmus dodged again.
"Elmikia Flame!" Rasmus threw at the head of the monster- or what he assumed was the head. It hit, and the monster reeled back slightly. Taking heart at this, he continued to aim for the head, driving the monster back a step at a time with the same spell, but he still didn't have the time to cast Rah Tilt, and he was running out of energy- even with Flagoon's power. It took his energy to direct Flagoon's power, after all, and when his power was gone, he would be helpless.
Roaring in annoyance, the Mazoku lifted both its arms high and slammed them on either side of Rasmus as he dodged back. Onward the Mazoku came, catching Ras on the shoulder and knocking him to the side. He just barely had the chance or wits to roll before the other hand slapped down on the ground where his head had been. Where he'd had little time to cast before, there was less now, and all he could do was duck and dodge.
His luck ran out when the Mazoku laughed and the light that had been painting what he could see bright crimson disappeared. The shrieks of the children filled the air and Lina was desperately casting, "Lighting! Lighting! Lighting!" Sylphiel was chanting behind her, but the desperation in their voices made it obvious that the Mazoku had done something to seal the area in darkness.
Rasmus dared to open his eyes.
Those flaming red eyes and a hand coming down for his head was the last thing he saw.
It had seemed, from what she could hear, that the fight was going well enough with Rasmus steadily beating down the monster with a multitude of smaller spells. But abruptly, his spell casting had stopped and the sound of his yelps of pain and hard impacts on the ground told Sylphiel that things had taken a turn for the worst. It was then that darkness had covered the light and even the fire, which was still burning behind her cast no light.
In that darkness, there'd been nothing but a pair of glowing red eyes.
In that darkness... Sylphiel heard a wet crunch and knew, without a doubt that Rasmus had just been killed.
Lina gave up casting light spells and dashed out into the darkness, "Elmikia Fla- AHHH!" And her voice sailed overhead to crash through something glass.
"Lina!" Gourry shouted and then charged off, following his wife to the same fate of a sickening crunch and thump towards the opposite direction.
The Mazoku laughed, chuckling louder, "Yes! Tremble in fear little insects! But know that I'm not going to kill you straight off. No. I promise you'll live for a very...very long time."
Sinking to her knees, Sylphiel hung her head, the fear and despair washing over her stealing her breath.
Sairaag was gone- all the adults that had been in the square were likely dead, likely anyone who hadn't been in the square was dead, the children behind her were likely going to be tortured for a very long time and wish they were dead, and ...Flagoon was gone again- and likely gone for good. There was no sight or sound of Lina in the darkness, no sound of Gourry moving on the other side of the square. But worst of all, Rasmus- the man she'd slowly begun to forgive- and perhaps just as slowly, begun to like- or more than like- was now dead. This time, though, he'd died doing something good. He'd died trying to protect them! He'd learned his lesson and had tried to do better this time, but in the end, his second chance had been cut short and ...it wasn't fair!
Tears sliding unseen and unnoticed from her eyes in the darkness as those red flaming orbs approached them, Sylphiel gasped for breath, trying to think of one thing that might help them. "Darkness beyond twilight..." she whispered, there was nothing in the rest of town to save, so destroying it with a Dragon Slave wasn't going to endanger lives.
The Mazoku laughed, its hand snapping out just past her shoulder- grabbing something on the ground beside her. Shrieking, the child flailed and fought as hard as she could, "Ms. Sylphiel!" she screamed.
Despair filled her, choking off the spell she would have cast, and Sylphiel lifted her eyes to the flaming red that was staring down at her, gloating. Sylphiel couldn't cast the spell when her target held a hostage. This was the end... all hope was lost.