Slayers – Order in Chaos

by Steven P. P

Lina Inverse and Xelloss struggle with their lives and each other, while the gods and demons threaten the existence of humanity. An attempt at believable L/X romance. Chapter 6: Lina and Xelloss travel to the Kataart Mountains in search of answers, but first they must face questions they need to ask themselves... if they can even remember who they are.

10. The Demon King's Decision, part 1

Chapter 6. The Demon King's Decision - Part 1.

Drip.

"Looks like they've survived. They are tougher than we thought."

Drip.

"Oh well, it's no big deal… Let's just have a little fun with them, I say."

Drip.

"They won't last another day like this, anyway."

---

Streams of feeble sunlight danced on the cave wall. They provided little illumination, leaving most of the chamber wrapped in shadows. The roar of the wind came from the outside, and melded into the sound made by drops of water hitting a small puddle on the floor at a steady, unchanging pace. All these monotonic sensations, though, were dwarfed by another: the omnipresent feeling of coldness, which penetrated everything. The temperature inside was only barely above freezing.

The sorceress could not remember how long she'd been lying there, gazing at the wall. She supposed she must have been sleeping for a while; if the direction of sunlight entering the chamber was any indication, it was still early morning. She forced herself to sit up, and winced as her back gave her a painful summary of all the stones that had been embedded into it through the cloak during the past hours. She regarded her resting place, a rocky, uneven stone slab with plenty of smaller pebbles, wearing an odd expression.

How did I manage to fall asleep here? Didn't I even change for the night? The sorceress tightened her oversized cloak around herself as she stood, trying to shield herself from the cold, and her gaze soon fell upon the simple but elegant golden-colored shapes on the black fabric's trimming.

Her eyes widened slightly. This cloak isn't mine…

She glanced around, seemingly in a daze. Her mind searched for handholds to comprehend her present situation, but only bits of memories came back to her, almost garbled beyond recognition.

"Right, I know why I'm here," she whispered to herself. "I have to find a demon sealed into ice, and… ask him some questions?" She tried to concentrate, but the memory-fragment would not tell more. "Eh, it doesn't matter, I… can think of that later when I find him. I should really head out before I become one giant ice cube." The sorceress walked to the mouth of the cave, trying in vain to shake off the slight sluggishness in her step. "I wonder, what's there to eat around here? Maybe… err…"

She trailed off as her gaze fell upon the scenery outside. Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but barren, snowy slopes, with no sign of civilization or even life. Numbing wind carrying icy vapor hit her in the face. Towering, white mountain peaks glimmered in the distance.

She could feel the cold sensation intensify, not just around her, but, for some strange reason, inside her as well.

"Man… trying to find a magical block of ice here sounds pretty… crazy," she muttered, dumbfounded. Then, surprising even herself, her lips curved into a smile. "But hey, who'd I be to shy away from a challenge? A few stupid mountains are nothing for… for…"

She nearly stumbled. Her mind dug through her memories again, this time with frantic desperation, but the search turned up nothing.

The sorceress stared down at her gloved hands.

"I… don't remember… I… who… Who am I?!"

---

The morning arrived dry and hot, typical of mid-summer. The sun's rays made short work of the last remaining traces of yesterday's rainy weather, shining brightly on the large garden, and in the middle of it, the Temple of Flarelord Vrabazard. The building's aged walls, barely recognizable statues and ornaments, normally not a pleasure to look at, managed to give off a surprisingly favorable impression basking in the sunlight.

Officius kept his back against the locked entrance doors as he took in the surrounding view of Atlas City. The sight itself was deceivingly ordinary; what eerily stood out was the sound, or more precisely, the lack thereof. He could not hear people strolling about and chatting in the garden. Not a peep reached him from carts or travelers passing through the nearby road. The entire town was wrapped in a frightening, impossible, but also fitting silence: fitting, as the sprawling city in the heart of Lyzeille was every bit as empty as the stillness suggested.

"I guessed you would turn up here sooner or later." A female voice pierced the silence. "Looks like it was sooner."

The priest of Flarelord Vrabazard glanced to the side: where moments ago was nothing but a patch of grass, now stood a tall, blond man clothed in spotless white, along with a much shorter sorceress with brown hair, dressed in an attire similarly lacking in color with its intricate black and white patterns. The two did not come alone: men and women dressed in similar, fair colored robes stepped forth from the garden trees or behind the temple's walls, surrounding Officius from all sides.

He did not look particularly intimidated.

"Lina Inverse and the traitorous golden dragons," the priest in red asserted in a neutral tone. While his visitors all looked perfectly human, their common choice of wardrobe and their unnaturally intense stare gave them away to those with experience regarding their kind. "I see you managed to prevent another city from seeing the truth of things to come. Are you afraid that the people would turn against you?"

"Not really," the sorceress responded dryly. "And as much as I'd love to take credit, this wasn't our doing. We were actually hoping you'd give us some clue about what's going on, but from the looks of it this wasn't your handiwork either, huh?"

Mild surprise crossed over Officius' face, if only for an instant. "Even if you really knew nothing of it, you should be aware that there is but one race capable of such a thing. There's no sign of struggle or panic; all of the citizens were teleported away in a matter of seconds. Could it be that your mazoku allies are working behind your back?"

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," Lina retorted. "I'll let you know that I've yet to make any kind of deal with mazoku. But I guess you're right: they'd had to have been my allies, since if they were the mazoku on your side of good and righteousness, they surely wouldn't have left a single house standing." Her mirthless voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Officius knitted his gray brows and refused to give a reply.

"Human, you say we ought to fear the spread of the 'truth' you wish to bring to your brethren," Milgazia took up the word instead. "Do you truly think your people would accept their demise and turn against the ones trying to help them if they could all get a glimpse of the prophecy?"

The priest faced the dragon elder defiantly. "Those with wisdom will see what needs to be done."

After a moment of contemplation, Milgazia approached him with slow steps. "Show it to me then."

"H-Hey, you sure about this?" the sorceress called after him as the other dragons also regarded their leader with apprehension.

He did not answer, but stopped a step away from Officius. The two locked gazes for several seconds, before the priest raised his right hand to the dragon's temple.

A frightening, deep noise filled the air. It was like the growl of an age-old, giant beast, ready to once again unleash its campaign of terror upon the unsuspecting world after eons of absence. Some of the golden dragons fidgeted nervously, searching for the source, but the noise disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Is this already part of the prophecy?" Milgazia asked unsurely.

Officius looked just as hesitant. "No, this… this has never happened before—"

The terrifying growl once again cut into the air. Realization spreading over their features, the dragon and the priest both turned their heads to stare at Lina.

"What?" She glared back at them. "I barely ate two loaves of bread for breakfast! It's no wonder I'm hungry."

"Indeed." The elder let out a cough and turned back to Officius. "Forgive the interruption. Please continue."

The priest nodded curtly, and the holy magic symbol engraved into the skin on the back of his palm flared to life with a flash of golden light.

Milgazia let out a low cry, his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the stone pavement.

"Supreme Elder!" The dragons ran towards him, many also looking inclined to blast Officius to pieces while they were at it, but Milgazia stopped them with a gesture as he forced himself off the ground.

Lina watched with concern as the elder sat up and waited patiently to regain enough control over his limbs to stop them from trembling. "It happens this quickly…?" she whispered.

Finally, the dragon rose; he appeared clearly shaken, but as he looked down at the two heads shorter, aged priest, his gaze remained clear and resolute.

"Alarming, but not at all conclusive. As to be expected from a prophecy," he stated in an even voice. "I'm afraid this is not enough to change my allegiance. So either I am lacking in wisdom, or your proof is not as convincing as you hope it to be." He turned his back to him, and went to return to the sorceress' side. "If you wish to battle Lina Inverse here, you will battle all of us. Make your choice."

Small cracks of bitterness appeared on Officius' mask of defiance. "I have no reason to be afraid of any of you," he stated almost defensively. He made no move however, except to raise his head, his eyes searching for the tower of the church, his former home, above him.

Lina recognized his indecision, and pounced on it immediately. "Yeah, Officius, let's fight," she urged. "We can probably make up for what my 'mazoku allies' forgot to do to your hometown in a minute or two. A few destroyed cities shouldn't matter anyway as long as you can get rid of me, right?"

The priest in red tore his gaze away from his temple, anger flaring up in his eyes.

"No. I will not soil this holy ground," he muttered with determination forced into his words. "Our battle will be postponed… for now."

With that, Officius began to walk away. The dragons let him pass, and he quickly disappeared behind the trees and bushes of the garden.

"Odd. I did try to throw him off balance, but he still gave up pretty easily compared to the last time we met," the sorceress remarked. "I guess with both dragons and mazoku divided, it's no longer as easy to point fingers at people. It's a hell of an irony though that he had no such doubts when the demons looked to be backing his cause in complete agreement."

"We should feel lucky that he does have those doubts now," Milgazia replied, his voice devoid of emotion. "Otherwise, we would have had no choice but to flee."

"Run?" Lina's eyes widened at the elder. "Wait a minute, I know he's strong, but—"

"I felt his power, Lina. That seal on his hand gives him strength that rivals high-ranking mazoku, but without the demons' vulnerable ego to keep that power in check." Now the dragon's tone was markedly grave. "Aside from the shinzoku and the lords themselves, he may be the greatest threat we have to contend with, and those I at least have a vague notion how to fight. With him, I do not know."

The sorceress gave a tired sigh. "Oh goody. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen: another morale-boosting speech by the Supreme Elder himself."

Milgazia smiled awkwardly at her remark. "I'm not ashamed to admit that a number of those notions I learned from you to begin with. I have faith that the ingenuity your short-lived kind possesses will come to our aid when the time is right." His smile turned faint and disappeared. "Having said that, there is one more thing I must tell you, Lina."

"I can hardly wait to hear it," she deadpanned.

"We fight with you, but not for you. We will protect your race to the end, but if I witness what I just saw in the prophecy coming true… I will stop you at any cost," the dragon elder asserted coldly. "I hope you understand."

Her lips pressed into a thin line, Lina could give no more than a slow nod in response.

---

From the entrance of the cave, a six-foot wide, snow-covered path led up the mountainside. The sorceress could not see how far she was from the top, as the intensifying snowstorm obscured the peak from view, but she trusted her intuition, which told her to climb upwards.

It is not as if she mulled on the subject much, though; her thoughts were preoccupied with an issue she considered far more pressing.

"Okay, no need to panic," she muttered. "There must be a clue somewhere. Maybe something I wear has my name or at least my initials sewn or carved into it… "

She checked her sleeves, removed her gloves to see whether she was wearing any rings, studied her earrings, bandana and short sword, but aside from numerous magical symbols, she could find no inscription on them whatsoever.

"Oh, I know! If I'm a sorceress, I must have a couple of spellbooks with me. I had to write my name into at least one of them— " She reached into her cloak, but her hand immediately fell down. "—that is, if I were wearing my own cloak, which had all my equipment. Argh, damn it!" She stomped her foot in anger. "I can't believe this! What's with all this insanity?! Why is everything so damn cold?! And… why the heck do I keep talking to myseeeel—?!"

All too late did she realize that her stomping had loosened the layer of snow under her, and the sorceress fell backwards, down the icy slope.

"LEVITATION!" she declared, the Power Words leaving her mouth by instinct, but her dizzying and painful descent down the mountain did not slow down one bit.

My magic's not working…?!

After a couple of seconds of tumbling down in what seemed to be a rapidly growing snowball, her fall stopped abruptly. The sorceress found herself on a larger terrace covered in deep, relatively fresh snow, likely from a recent avalanche, which lessened the impact of her arrival.

She hastily brushed the white powder off her clothing to keep it from getting wet. Her hand reached into her sleeve again; only now upon examining it for the second time did she realize how very thin the fabric was.

These clothes are not fit for such weather at all… It's one thing that I feel very cold right now, but I shouldn't have even survived the previous night like this!

The sorceress looked around, eyeing her surroundings with newly found suspicion.

"This is a set-up, isn't it?" she spoke in a loud voice. "I'd never make it here like this on my own, which means someone brought me here on purpose. Whoever you are who did this to me, you better enjoy the show while you can, because once I get my hands on you—"

"My, aren't you the noisy one." A cheerful sounding male voice reached her ears. She was not sure, but it seemed as if it came from the ground beneath her feet. The sorceress half-expected some monstrous or sinister creature to materialize from the loose snow right on cue, but luckily no such thing happened.

"Who are you?" she asked. There was no response. She looked around once more to make sure she did not miss any clue or potential hiding place. "Why don't you come out so we can blow each other up like civilized people?"

"Sorry, but as much as I'd like to, I cannot do so at the moment," the voice spoke once more. Now she was sure it came from the ground. "It appears that I'm trapped here."

Trapped? Wait, wasn't I supposed to find a mazoku trapped in ice for whatever reason?

"Hey," she called with a grin, "aren't you a mazoku by any chance?"

The answer came after a hesitant moment of silence. "Well now," the voice sounded intrigued, "that was either a very lucky guess, or there is more to you than meets the eye, miss… um…"

"I might tell you my name if you tell me yours," the sorceress evaded the inquiry. So he's the one? Just below the cave? So much for my intuition…

"Ah, too bad." The mysterious mazoku was having none of the deal. "Then it seems I have no choice but to refer to you as 'Loud-san' from now on."

A vein popped out on the sorceress' forehead. "Oh really? Well, then I guess you'll have no complaints if I call you Mr. Spooky, huh?"

"Err… you do realize I am a demon, not a ghost, right?" A slight hint of displeasure crept into the unknown voice.

An evil smirk formed in the corner of her mouth. "Of course I know. That's what makes it so much fun."

"I see. How… interesting," the mazoku drawled. "Well, pleased to meet you… I guess? This certainly looks to be the beginning of a most intriguing acquaintance, to say the least."

The smirk grew into a small chuckle. "You can say that again."

I'm going to find out what's going on here, whatever it takes!

---

The north-eastern part of Lyzeille was a land of rolling hills and lush forests. As the main trade routes were farther to the south, this area was not very densely populated, with small towns few and far between. This fact made it a good hiding place for those who wished not to be found: fugitives, bandits… and people seeking refuge from war.

Guided by the members of the Sorcerer's Guild and a small makeshift unit of former city guards, the residents of Sairaag, along with people from other nearby villages, hid among the forest trees. Morale was not very high, to put it lightly: while they took whatever they could carry with them from the City of Magic, food was nonetheless scarce, the tents provided to them small and crowded, and the general mood was one of perplexity and hopelessness; most of them had no idea what was happening or where they could go from here.

At least, that was the mood until this morning. Now, as Lina and the group of dragons entered the camp, it seemed that the feeling of uncertainty had been washed away by sheer terror.

The terrified atmosphere covered the camp like thick fog, without an apparent source. The sorceress was about to question one of the refugees about it when she saw Jane and Markus, the guild chairman, hurrying through a group of people to reach her.

"Magistress… thank Zoamelgustar you're back," the old sorcerer managed to say between ragged breaths; this kind of exercise did not come easy for him at his age.

"What happened here?" Despite her question, Lina did not sound very eager to find out the truth. In fact, she already had a pretty good idea of what was happening, and this knowledge did little to lighten her mood after the morning's events.

"We have, err, good news and bad news, Miss Lina," Jane spoke up sheepishly. "The good news is that I succeeded in finding Nilian among the refugees; a group of guards saw her on the street and they took her with them from Sairaag. The bad news is, well… some mazoku are here."

The sorceress' expression turned sour as the dragons behind her whispered among each other nervously. "Oh great, just like I thought. It's Zellas, isn't it?"

Her pupil winced; the news definitely made Lina annoyed, and making her so was always a bad idea regardless of the circumstances. "W-We're not sure, although they did not cause anyone harm yet. But when they arrived an hour ago, a blond woman came here and, err, warned us not to leave the camp if we don't want to forfeit our lives. We've never seen her before."

"At first we thought that they would attack us right away, so when the woman came closer, one of my more reckless students fired a spell at her," the chairman continued. "It was the Ra Tilt, cast with all the power he could put into it. She walked right through the pillar of light like she didn't even notice."

"A blond woman…" Lina muttered to no one in particular, before turning to Markus. "Did you see if there were any humans with them?"

"I'm not sure, Magistress; they withdrew to beyond the hill very quickly," he answered, then added in a troubled voice, "But I am sure there are more of them than what we saw near Sairaag yesterday. Thousands of demons. After that ultimatum, we did not want to risk following them. The people here are terrified enough as it is."

"Sure, sure." The sorceress waved her hand dismissively, turning towards the top of the nearby hill. "Let's get this over with," she sneered. "I'll go talk to that 'blond woman' or whoever she is; it doesn't matter."

"Wait, you can't just go there alone!" She saw Filia stepping forth from behind one of the tents. "For all we know, this could easily be a trap to get you killed, Lina-san!"

"If so, then there would've been no reason for them to spare the humans here, but otherwise, I agree," Milgazia spoke. "Regardless of whether this truly is the Greater Beast, confronting her alone would be unnecessarily reckless with so many demons nearby. Even if they want to negotiate, they might take you hostage to gain an advantage."

The sorceress' hands slowly clenched into fists. She regarded both dragons with a fretful glare. "Look, I appreciate the concern and all," she hissed in a very unappreciative voice, "but I don't remember asking for your opinion on this. Or did I?"

For some strange reason, the priestess did not take the remark well. "L-Lina-san!" She marched up to the sorceress and stared her in the face. This was the moment when Jane thought it would be a good idea to back away a bit. "Don't be selfish! You might make a habit of putting your life on the line for no good reason, but this time it's not just about you! You have a responsibility here! If you don't care what happens to you, then you should at least think about what might happen to the people around you!"

"Oh, wow, I never thought of that before!" Lina shouted back with scathing sarcasm. "Since when did you become the boss so you can order people around, Mommy Dearest?!"

"I'm not ordering people around!" Despite her rebuttal, Filia shrunk back a bit, looking hurt. "I'm just worried about you… We all are…"

The sorceress either did not notice her wounded tone, or did not care. "Well, thanks a lot! But you know, I think I might be old enough to decide what to do on my own!"

"Really? Right now, you sound a lot like a ten-year-old brat to me."

Her mouth hanging open, it seemed as if Lina was frozen solid. All heads turned towards Jane.

"W-What?" she mumbled. "I didn't say anything! Honest! It was… it was, err… Oh no, i-it was me… in a way…"

"Poor child," Milgazia lamented, "may you rest in peace."

"Wait, I can explain! It's never happened so far, but it's possible that I might say some things which are not really uttered by me, as I'm not the only person inside my, err, my head and…"

"What inscription do you wish to be put on your gravestone? You may want to decide while you still have the time," the guild chairman added.

Jane looked like she was about to cry. "P-Please, Miss Lina! This is a misunderstanding! I… I…"

"Sorry."

The girl's whimpers abruptly stopped. "M-Miss Lina?"

The sorceress stood with her back to the others, her head lowered. "I'm sorry," she said in a barely audible voice. "You're right, that was childish. You guys risk a lot by being here, so I can't just put you down like that. It's just… oh, gods damn it…"

"I hate to intrude on this touching scene, but are you all done hesitating so I can finally have a word with Lina Inverse?"

Lina snapped her head up, and saw a tall woman with short blond hair standing in front of her. She wore rather plain traveler's clothes, without any visible weapons. Her most distinguishing features, however, were the shrewd glint in her seemingly friendly gaze - and the faint but very much noticeable aura of darkness that surrounded her.

"So it really was you, Zellas," the sorceress stated.

"What? She's Zellas?" Filia asked from behind her in confusion. The alarmed expressions of the other dragons, though, indicated that they had little doubt about the woman's identity.

Lina did not answer the priestess, but flicked her gaze to the left. A figure materialized next to the mazoku lord who, aside from his new staff made from black wood, looked a lot more familiar to everyone present.

"Xelloss," she spoke in acknowledgement.

"Lina-san," the priest inclined his head cheerfully.

In the next moment, Lina's clenched fist smashed into his face. There was no evading it; Xelloss was rather unceremoniously pummeled into the ground.

"Hey, I feel much better now!" The sorceress raised her fist into the air with a wicked grin, before turning her attention back to Zellas. "Alright. If you want to talk, we can talk. No showing off your army, no threats to my friends. The two of us, alone."

The Beastmaster closed her eyes, looking satisfied. "Just the words I wanted to hear." She moved her index finger upwards, and both she and Lina disappeared from view.

Xelloss remained there in a sitting position, his hand touching his nose which featured a large, fist-shaped imprint.

"Well… that went better than expected," he said in an even voice. His palm swept in front of his face, erasing the damage in a blink, and as he glanced at the others, his expression instantly lit up. "Oh, how rude of me! Greetings, everyone, how are you today?"

Needless to say, his question was met with nervous silence.

---

The sorceress knew very well that sitting down on a cold rock in the middle of a snowy field was not especially good for one's health; still, perhaps it was the numbing cold, or just some morning drowsiness, but she found the big lump of stone to be unusually inviting.

"So, err," she began as she pulled her feet up to her chest, trying to hide her entire body under the oversized black cloak, "how did you end up here? Who trapped you inside the snow?"

"Why do you wish to know?" the mazoku asked back.

The sorceress scowled. "You know, where I'm from, answering a question with a question is considered rude."

"It is not a question for a question, but rather an answer for an answer," the demon replied in a cheerful voice. "It is only fair, I think."

"Fine," she huffed. "I came here to seek out a mazoku trapped in ice… although snow probably counts too. I have to make sure that you're the one I'm looking for."

"Is that so? Then I fear I am unable to help you with that. I do not know how I've become trapped in this place."

Great. Figured I wouldn't be getting a real answer in return.

"Still, perhaps you could tell me what your goal was in finding that mazoku," the demon continued. "That may yet prove useful in determining whether I am the one you seek or not."

My goal…? I think I wanted… I wanted to question him about something, but… I can't remember what…

"Thanks, but no thanks," she rejected his offer curtly. "You got too much free information out of me already, and I'm not giving away more just like that."

"Is that the real reason? Or perhaps," the mazoku spoke in a lower, insidious voice, "you simply don't remember, do you?"

What?! The sorceress jumped to her feet in shock. "How did you—?! What do you know about what's happening to me?! Speak up!"

"Not a lot, to be honest," the demon replied smugly. "But it looks like I was right. You were beating around the bush a bit too much, so I figured—"

"You expect me to believe that?! I'm no idiot!" she yelled, kicking her foot into the snow like she was trying to stomp on him. "I could've had a gazillion reasons for beating around the bush! That makes no sense!… Wait…" She stared down at the ground, her expression gradually taken over by glee. "Now that I think about it, it actually does. You could relate to my situation because… you don't remember anything either, right?"

Long seconds of silence followed.

"My, that was sloppy of me," the mazoku finally admitted in a displeased tone.

"Hey, don't be so depressed, Spookster." The sorceress crouched down and patronizingly patted the snow. "Looks like we're both in the same boat. Who knows, maybe together we can get out of it, too."

"It indeed seems that way, although I wou— did you just call me 'Spookster'?" the demon sounded mortified.

She nodded with a grin. "Yep, you just earned yourself a nickname. I hope you feel honored!"

"Oh, lovely," the mazoku commented in a saccharine-sweet voice. "How many stages to go until we kiss?"

His question was met with another annoyed kick into the snow.

---

Lina found herself several hundred feet above in the air. She was not levitating; as far as she could tell, the only air movement around her was that of a gentle breeze. Nonetheless, her feet felt like they were standing on solid ground, although there seemed to be absolutely nothing below her.

Zellas stood a couple of steps ahead, regarding her with an appraising look. Even in the bright sunlight under the clear sky, her figure seemed to be wrapped in a thin layer of shadow emanating from within.

"So we meet again, Lina Inverse," the Beastmaster's friendly but strangely deep voice cut into the silence.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all yours," the sorceress replied, her tone more uneasy than she would have preferred. "This isn't the first time I've seen you like this, but you do look very different from yesterday, without the silver hair and all."

"Oh, this? This is just my outdoor wear," the mazoku lord replied with a shrug of amusement. "I was in such a hurry to help you the last time, I didn't even have time to change. Can you imagine?"

Lina frowned a little at her response; the Greater Beast not only looked different, but her mannerisms and temperament changed as well, and she could not help but wonder which version of her was closer to her true personality.

The answer, if she had to guess, was very likely 'neither'.

"Alright, what is this all about, Beastmaster?" she asked, pushing the topic aside in her mind. "I might be wrong, but it looks to me like you're turning against the rest of the mazoku race. Whatever your reasons are, judging from what happened to Garv, you either have to be really crazy, or really sure of yourself to pull something like that."

Strands of half-transparent dark matter shifted around Zellas' form as she considered the question. "I prefer thinking of myself as being both, at least in part. But that is beside the point; you will see my reasons much more clearly after I've told you what this supposed 'mazoku-shinzoku alliance' truly is."

"Good, that would've been the second point on my list…" Lina nodded slowly - then froze. The empty blue sky disappeared, and was replaced by an all-encompassing sickly yellow haze. Even more disturbing, however, were the ghostly, black silhouettes that appeared around them; after a moment she recognized these as being the outlines of people, strolling around in random directions. It felt like she and Zellas had suddenly teleported into one of the main thoroughfares of a town inhabited by ghosts, covered in dense citron fog.

"The plans of the shinzoku don't need much of an explanation," the mazoku lord spoke, prompting Lina to turn her head back towards her. "In short, they want to stop Lord Ruby Eye's fragments, including one which they think resides within you from resurrecting, for good this time. There's only one single way to do that: kill all the humans, one…" she pointed lazily at a silhouette, and the dark figure burst apart, "…by one, until none of your kind remains." More people-like shadows began to explode randomly around them, disintegrating into black pebbles which quickly disappeared in the mist - and just as rapidly set Lina's nerves on edge.

"Obviously, if we let that happen, we're finished; without the shards we stand no chance against the gods. But… what if we could still use this situation to our advantage?" Zellas' form faded into the yellow haze, and reappeared near a few of the remaining silhouettes. "What if we were to help the shinzoku wipe out most of the humans, but keep a couple of them alive in secret? They would be mostly useless to us by themselves of course. The children they would later conceive, on the other hand…"

Realization hit the sorceress like a bolt of lightning. "Since they'd be the only humans left, Shabranigdu's fragments couldn't be reborn anywhere else," she whispered. "You'd have all the remaining pieces right in front of you!"

"Yes, that is the core of Dynast's plan." The mazoku lord rested her hand on the nearest dark silhouette's shoulder. "This so-called truce between the forces of creation and destruction is actually a gamble of cosmic proportions. The gods know it just as well as we do: if both sides follow through with this, the battle of mazoku and shinzoku will soon come to an end, one way or the other. The sad thing is," her voice darkened, her grip on the human-shaped shadow much more forceful now, "that this gamble I'm quite sure we will lose."

"You think your kind could not fool the gods just like that, huh?" Lina offered.

"It was Flarelord Vrabazard herself who approached Dynast with this truce in the first place. Like I said, they know we would attempt this, so they want to keep tabs on us the best they're able. Still, that's not even the biggest failing of the plan," Zellas stated matter-of-factly. "Your legends say that the humans who are to carry the shards of our creator are chosen by simple chance - but that claim is very likely false. Take the famous Knights of Ceiphied for example, who hold part of a similar being within them. In the last thousand years, we knew of a knight in almost every generation. Don't you find that strange? This world is a far bigger place than the peninsula we locked ourselves up in for a millenium! Many of those knights should have been born outside the barrier, yet they were not. And what of the three pieces of Lord Ruby Eye that have awakened so far? Were they scattered across the continents?"

"No," Lina muttered to herself. "They all appeared here… both a thousand years ago and now."

"Do you understand, then?" Zellas' voice abruptly came from behind her back. The sorceress did not turn around; she did not want to give her the satisfaction of seeing her startled expression. "There is some kind of pattern behind this, one which we cannot predict or comprehend. And because of it, it's more than possible that even if we do manage to capture a number of humans alive," dark flames consumed the remaining silhouettes in a blink, "both they and their descendants will be completely useless to us, and Lord Ruby Eye's shards would be lost forever."

As the mazoku lord finished her explanation, the mist around them was blown away by a gust of wind; Lina had to narrow her eyes while they adjusted to the radiant sunlight from the clear sky once more.

"Okay, let's say that makes sense," she said thoughtfully. "What doesn't is why any of you agreed to this truce then in the first place, if you knew the dangers involved?"

"Zellas-sama and Dolphin-sama disagreed with the truce from the beginning, to put it mildly, but Dynast-sama regrettably decided to play dirty. He has a tendency to do that." The sorceress turned her head, and found Xelloss twisting his new staff around in the air a few feet away. "He claimed no less than that his plans were agreed to by the fragment of Ruby Eye-sama residing in the Kataart Mountains. That, well, pretty much silenced all opposition."

"He may be sealed away by Aqualord's curse, but Lord Ruby Eye's word remains the absolute authority; his decisions may never be questioned," Zellas added, and Lina could swear that she heard a bit of distaste in her voice. "Neither I nor Dolphin could thus go against the truce at the time. Now however, with Dynast occupied elsewhere, things are different. It is time to expose his claims as the lies they are."

"If we can talk to Ruby Eye-sama and convince him to condemn this operation, the mazoku race will be obligated to protect humanity against the shinzoku, as unthinkable as that may sound," the priest commented. "Not to mention that it would put Dynast-sama in a most embarrassing position."

"And that's probably also great, I'm sure. Care to answer one more question, Xelloss?" the sorceress spoke in a flat voice, pointing a finger at the priest.

"Of course, Lina-san."

"Which part of 'the two of us alone' didn't you understand?"

The priest nervously put a hand behind his head. "Well, err, Filia-san and the others were not in a very talkative mood down there, so I thought I might as well—"

"Here, I'll spell it out for you," Lina cut him off. "Get. Lost."

"Leave us for now, Xelloss," Zellas spoke in a nonchalant tone, taking a few steps to stand in front of the sorceress again. "But don't go too far. We'll be in need of you soon."

"As you wish, Juu-ou-sama," her subordinate replied with an unreadable expression, and disappeared.

The mazoku lord regarded the place where he had been standing for a moment. "That's interesting. You do realize Xelloss was merely following my orders yesterday, don't you? And still, the animosity you have towards me is nothing compared to what radiates from you when you're near him."

"It's none of your damn business," Lina muttered, not looking her in the eye.

"Very well." The Beastmaster gave a disinterested shrug. "You now know everything you need to know, so listen to my proposal: I offer the assistance of not only my servants, but of the mazoku race itself. In return I ask only that you accompany Xelloss to the Kataart Mountains, and find out the truth from Lord Ruby Eye. That is all. Once Dynast's plot is uncovered and the truce is over, I believe the gods will quickly reconsider starting another War of the Monster's Fall over a mere suspected shard. The conflict can end as soon as this day."

The weight of those last words hung heavily in the air long after the Greater Beast finished talking.

With a sigh, the sorceress closed her eyes in thought. "Sounds pretty tempting, I got to admit. Even too tempting, to be honest." Her eyes snapped open, and now she met the mazoku lord's gaze intently. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you, Zellas? You talk about speaking with Shabranigdu as some great feat, but as far as I know he's actually trapped in ice in the middle of mazoku territory. Why would asking him be so difficult? And while we're at it, why do you need me of all people to go? It might be Dynast's home turf, but if you and Dolphin were to go there together, he would have no way of stopping you both! So why didn't you do this ages ago?"

The Greater Beast's mouth twisted into a small, almost playful smile. "As you put so well before, that is not your business to know. We may both have our secrets, right?"

"My secrets won't make people end up dead," Lina retorted. "I'll think twice before nodding to any deal that involves risking my neck or anybody else's for something I cannot understand. Unlike Xelloss, I'm not your errand boy, in case you didn't notice."

Zellas stared at her for a second, her aura of shadow darkening, before her calm expression cracked and she let out a loud, if slightly forced laugh. "Ha! You definitely have spunk, I'll give you that much. But let's not get silly. How do you even plan on evacuating all the nearby humans to safety by yourself? That Filia might have taught her tribe's teleportation magic to the late Aqualord's dragons, but their number is still like a drop of water in the sea. You need my help, Lina Inverse, at least as much as I need yours. Remember, if I hadn't interfered, the incidents in both Sairaag and Atlas City would've probably ended in disaster."

Lina's brows furrowed when she heard the towns' names. "I knew it was you who made all the people in Atlas City disappear. Where are they?"

The mazoku lord's eyes glinted with the satisfaction of a spider which has lured prey to its web. "Take a look below, and you will see."

The sorceress glanced down. It took her a while to recognize the landscape from such a height, but then she quickly found their camp next to the hillside: she caught glimpses of tents and people moving about among the forest trees. The other side of the hill, however, stood out a lot more; the trees were apparently cut down in a circle several miles wide, and an army of mazoku filled the clearing like a sea of darkness. A moment later, she also found those she was looking for: humans, numbering in the thousands, huddled closely together, surrounded by demons on all sides.

If the refugees in her camp were deeply shaken by the mazoku presence, then there was no telling how these people could have felt at that moment.

"Let them go," she hissed.

She knew what was coming as soon as she saw Zellas' widening smile.

"Oh, I will. Right after you've agreed to our deal," the mazoku lord stated simply.

And with that, Lina had to admit, the negotiations were more or less over.

---

The sorceress stared at the snowy ground with a surprised look. "An astral seal?"

"At least, that is my best guess," the mazoku's voice answered from beneath her feet. "I do know something is keeping me from accessing the abilities of my true self on the Astral Plane. I am barely able to manifest this voice, and can only vaguely sense what is around me."

"And for the same reason, I can't cast any of my spells," she commented. "Yes, this makes sense - it doesn't explain everything though."

"The memory loss is probably just a side-effect, if a rather annoying one," the demon added. "Humans don't live on the astral side, but you still don't exactly enjoy being cut off from your own souls."

"That's not what I'm talking about." The sorceress' hand unwittingly moved toward her chest. "You can feel it too, can't you? This icy, numbing cold inside; I blamed it on the weather at first, but now I'm sure it's something else. It slows you down, confuses you and kinda freezes your thoughts in place. If you don't fight it, it feels like your mind becomes an empty void."

The mazoku fell into a hesitant silence. "Hmm… you may be onto something," he finally said in a lower voice. "I recognize what you mean… when it comes to the emptiness, especially."

"And I know how you can get rid of it."

The sorceress snapped her head to the side. She saw a man of roughly twenty years, wearing somewhat dated-looking leather armor below a thick fur coat; he was short in stature, around the same height as she. The ever so slightly feminine features framed by his long brown hair would have made him look considerably younger than he really was, if not for the muscular, well-developed frame which betrayed his true age. The handle of a dagger could be seen sticking out of the open coat near his belt, along with an empty scabbard that likely used to house a sword.

When did he get here?! the sorceress thought, alarmed. The snow-covered terrace did not offer a lot of hiding spots, so unless the man had been hiding under the snow itself, it seemed impossible that he could get so close without notice.

"Could you tell us who you are, first?" If his concerned voice was any indication, the demon was thinking the same way.

"Oh, sure, I'm Garen," the swordsman answered eagerly. "Don't let my appearance fool you; I'm no stranger to the sword, but right now my role is to keep the game going. You two must be the new players."

"A game…? Are we supposed to be part of a game of some sort?" the mazoku asked, bewilderment showing through his calm façade.

"That's right, fella," Garen replied, stepping closer. "And if you win, you'll get back to normal and can leave this hellhole for good."

"And if we don't win?" the sorceress spoke, examining the swordsman further. She drew a short, sharp breath; as the man walked towards her, his feet left no marks in the snow.

He shrugged theatrically. "Well, then you won't leave. But there's no need to get so negative so early on, right? Come on, let me fill ya in on the basics of the competition first." He extended his hand towards the sorceress. She stared at it for a second, then reached forward - her own hand, however, went through his like she was trying to grasp fog.

The guy's a ghost!

"Haha, fooled ya!" Garen gave a short laugh as he turned around. "Anyway, just follow me, and—"

"One moment," the demon's voice interrupted. "I obviously can't go anywhere in such a condition. Would you have the means to free me, perhaps?"

"Sorry, can't do that. But there's no need, anyway." The swordsman pointed at a small lump of snow next to the sorceress' feet. "Dig up some of that, will ya, lady?"

"Why?" she shot back, suspicious.

"Ah, come on, trust me with this, I'm just trying to help," Garen flashed a toothy grin.

The sorceress' annoyed expression remained unchanged, but she still crouched down, shuddering as she reached into the icy snow. She could immediately feel something solid within; she grabbed hold of it and pulled it free.

It was a priest's staff; made from dark wood, it featured a large red gem on top which was housed in a brass socket adorned by twisting vines of metal. It reached a bit over the top of her head, obviously belonging to someone of much greater height.

"That's part of your mazoku friend, isn't it?" The swordsman's tone made it clear that this was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. "Bring it with you. He'll be able to see what's going on just fine." With that, he began climbing up the mountainside, still leaving no trace at all in the snow.

The sorceress examined the staff, searching through her blurred memories for any connection she might have to it, but came up empty handed. Her gaze lowered towards the ground. "What do you say to that, Spookster?"

"Interesting…" She nearly dropped the wooden weapon; the mazoku's voice now came from within the red gem on top. "He was right, I can use this. I'm able to see things more clearly as well, somehow. It's nonetheless strange that I did not realize this part of my projection even existed until now…"

"Something tells me the strange stuff is only getting started," the sorceress murmured in a low voice. "What do you think of a game that's held in the middle of nowhere, and the referee is an undead ghost?"

"Hmm… that it has lethal implications and a low success rate?"

"Exactly." She gave a grave nod. "And players who likely didn't volunteer for the part."

"You could very well be right, Loud-san," the demon agreed cheerfully. "But that still doesn't change the fact that our only lead to the mystery of our condition is also this game. Don't you agree?"

"And that makes you happy why? Looking forward to watching me kick the bucket?" the sorceress growled. "I might just drop this oversized toothpick and leave you here, you know."

"Ah, but t-that's not what I meant at all! I'm just interested in where all of this would lead…" the mazoku replied hastily. "Also… you wouldn't simply leave someone behind who you already gave a nickname to, would you?"

The sorceress rolled her eyes, and began to follow after the swordsman, who already had a considerable lead on them. "What I would or wouldn't do are things I'm not really sure of myself," she muttered.

It's so odd though… Ever since I've been holding this staff, the cold inside doesn't feel nearly as bad at all…

---

Found at its northmost point, the Kataart Mountain Range was the largest and highest such geographical feature of the peninsula. The tallest mountains reached well over ten thousand feet; the further one wandered northwards, the more barren the scenery became, not only because of the latitude, but also because of the elevation. A sizable region existed within where no plants or animals could find permanent residence, or even survive for long.

Even so, it would have been entirely false to claim that those parts were empty. In fact, they were teeming with life, even if the beings who called the place their home were the antithesis of existence in many mortal terms: the Kataart Mountains had one of the largest concentrations of demons in the world. The mazoku lord Dynast Grausherra and the Demon King of the North itself both resided here, a fact which gave the inhabitants of the surrounding lands, mostly belonging to the Kingdom of Dilse, plenty of reason to worry.

Lina knew all of this well - but when she and Xelloss arrived at their destination, what she saw there still managed to take her by surprise.

The mile-wide snowy field was covered with pieces of steel. Countless swords, armor parts, helmets and other unidentifiable objects littered the ground - they were very old, mostly eaten by rust, but for some reason they had not been obscured by the snow over the years. They lay there as if their owners had dropped them mere minutes ago while fleeing from battle.

"What is this place?" the sorceress muttered, her gaze fixed on the odd scenery.

"I'm sure you remember the story of King Dilse the Second, also known as Dilse Ron Gyria," Xelloss spoke in a light tone next to her. "The monarch gathered thousands of soldiers and led them against Ruby Eye-sama's fragment here, often called the Demon King of the North." He gestured towards the field. "For most, this was as far as they could go; those standing guard here decimated the army in a matter of minutes. Dynast-sama ordered an enchantment to be placed upon the area, to preserve it as a warning… and a reminder."

"A reminder to humans that they should know their place, I take it." Lina scowled. She glanced at the priest's face; Xelloss' eyes stared back at her almost cautiously from behind his slitted eyelids, scrutinizing her expression, measuring her reactions. Lina could feel her anger rise. "What are you looking at?" she growled.

The mazoku tilted his head to the side. "A sorceress in a very bad mood, apparently?"

"Damn it…" She turned away and threw her hands up in exasperation. "Damn it all! Why the hell did I have to end up with you of all people on this blackmail-mission?! This is probably part of Zellas' scheme to get back at me for walking off on her yesterday…"

"Dynast-sama might have left some powerful guards here, Lina-san," Xelloss answered calmly. "An escort weaker than a priest or general would not have sufficed, and Juu-ou-sama likely thought that coming with you in person would be too much of a risk. She is currently regarded as a traitor to the mazoku race, after all, so it'd be wise for her to keep a low profile." He fell silent for a moment, as if considering whether he should say more, then continued, "May I ask why you seem so strangely disturbed by my presence?"

"Make a wild guess," the sorceress grumbled.

"Oh, believe me, I am making quite a few. In fact, when you left yesterday I thought I had things all figured out. In the end, though, none of those ideas stood up to scrutiny. Your anger isn't terribly shocking in itself of course, but like Zellas-sama mentioned it is certainly—" Xelloss abandoned the sentence, his head turning towards the snow-covered summits beyond the field.

"What happened?" Lina glanced around nervously.

"I've taken us to the edge of Dynast-sama's domain so we can ascertain just how strong of a resistance we might encounter before going any further," he said, his gaze still searching for something unseen around the mountains. "It seems we are about to find out."

The sorceress tried looking in the same direction, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Did they see us?"

"No, this is likely just a routine patrol," the priest explained. "I've hidden our presence from other mazoku; only someone of similar strength could have a chance of—"

His words were blocked out by the powerful noise of something of great size and weight crashing into the snow only a couple of yards away; it hit the ground like a cannonball, scattering the remains of Dilse's army in all directions.

"Finally! I was bored out of my mind waiting for you here!"

It was a woman who stood there, although someone seeing her for the first time might have had doubts: such huge muscle mass was a rare sight to see anywhere, even more so on a female form. She appeared to be in her late twenties with a steel blue gaze and mid-dark hair cut at her shoulder line, but two locks above her forehead were kept long and fell into her face. Her right eye was shut with a lengthy vertical scar running over it, offsetting her almost silly hairstyle for a more serious look. The armor plate and pearl-like shoulder guards she wore seemed more like accessories than true protective gear, but the same could not be said for her sword: the enormous two-handed blade split into three separate spikes at the end, resembling a trident.

Lina threw a flat glance in the priest's direction. "You were saying?"

"Good morning, Riksfalto-san." Xelloss ignored the comment and addressed the woman instead, his eyes opening slightly. "I must say I did not expect to see you here."

The name was not unknown to the sorceress: Riksfalto was Deep Sea Dolphin's general, the counterpart of Priest Huraker. Like Xelloss, she was among the strongest mazoku in the world - coming across her was not a good sign at all.

"Yeah, well you didn't expect it because you're always overcomplicating stuff." The woman gave an impatient shrug. "I've been sitting here alone since yesterday evening. All of Dynast-sama's goons took off, so I couldn't even beat someone up to pass the time. Talk about dull…"

The priest cast a surprised glance northwards. "All the guards have left, you say? That is interesting."

"Interesting for your warped mind, maybe," Riksfalto replied with a sour expression. "Watching the wind blow snow into your face is anything but. I was hoping to pick a fight with Sherra at least; Huraker said she came back from the dead and now she can read minds and everything, but nooo… Anyway, let's just get this over with, alright?"

"Get what over with?" Lina asked tersely.

"Eh, I don't know, whatever you came for!" The general seemed confused. "Dolphin-sama just told me to wait at this place and keep an eye on whatever you're supposed to be doing without… err, without… you… noticing… that I'm here… Oh crap."

She tried to move, but noticed only then that her previous impact left her buried almost to her waist in the white ground. With an expression both embarrassed and enraged, Riksfalto wiggled herself free, and pointed her sword at the pair.

"D-Don't you dare tell her about this! If anyone asks, you never saw me, got it?!" she yelled and quickly flew off, disappearing behind the blanket of falling snow.

Lina could not help but flash a small smirk as she watched her go. "Heh, I wonder if Deep Sea Dolphin has realized by now what a grave mistake she made by sending Riksfalto of all people on a reconnaissance mission. Well… unless… she did this on purpose?"

"I would say yes." Xelloss turned back to the sorceress. "Dolphin-sama will not support us directly, but wants us to know that she's interested in what we can uncover. And thanks to her, we now know that Ruby Eye-sama is supposedly unguarded."

"Supposedly being the key word here," she added thoughtfully.

"Indeed. Whatever Dynast-sama planned to keep intruders away, it seems to be more complicated than simply using brute force. Let us be careful." He offered his free hand to Lina. "Shall we continue on then?"

The sorceress stared at the gloved hand for a second, then stolidly reached past it and grabbed on to the mazoku's shoulder. "Let's go."

Xelloss let his arm fall down - and in the next instant, the ancient battlefield was empty.

---

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the next round of 'The Curse of Icy Doom', a game played at high altitude with even higher stakes! Will our contestants regain their pasts and return home? Or will these snowy slopes become their final resting place? We will soon discover the answer!"

The sorceress eyed Garen with an incredulous look. To her chagrin, instead of showing the way to some warmer locale, the ghost of the swordsman simply led her back to the cave entrance, and started shouting apparent nonsense just as she managed to catch up to him after a lengthy climb. "Who are you talking to?"

"The audience, of course," Garen answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And where is this audience, exactly?" she insisted.

"Hmm…" The swordsman looked to be deep in thought. "I have no idea. But I don't want to stray from the protocol in case someone is actually here watching this. Our sponsors would be very upset."

She gawked at him with a blank look. This guy's nuts.

"Spookster, you're the one who can see the unseen; is or isn't there anyone around besides us and this lunatic?" she whispered angrily under her breath.

"I don't think so, Loud-san. As far as I can tell, Garen-san's fears of angering his 'sponsors' are unfounded," the mazoku's slightly mocking voice came from the gem upon the staff in her hand. "I wonder if—wait. Actually, there is someone coming out of the cave. "

Maybe there were more people inside? Come to think of it, I didn't look around much when I came to…

"Now, let's give a hearty round of applause to my beautiful assistant, who also happens to be my beloved sister!" Garen declared.

A woman stepped forth from the mouth of the cave. Unlike the swordsman, it was immediately obvious that she was a spirit; the sorceress could easily see through her frail, half-translucent form. While this made the details hard to discern, she seemed to be slightly older than her brother, had long blond hair and wore violet-colored robes below a fur coat similar to his.

"Say hello to the audience, Sis!" the swordsman addressed her with a grin. The ghost did not say a word; she merely raised her hand, and slowly, mechanically waved towards the mountain slope.

Creepy…

Meanwhile, Garen turned his attention back to the sorceress. "The two of ya understand the rules, right?"

"No, not one bit," she deadpanned. "It's kinda hard to understand something you've never told us."

"Oh, don't worry, you can figure it out as you go," the swordsman responded in a tone that was likely meant to be encouraging. "It's time to begin the first round! Sis, the game master podium, please!"

Her blank look unchanged, the translucent ghost trudged back into the cave, and reappeared with a human-sized block of ice floating in front of her. As she slowly 'pushed' it in front of her brother, the sorceress looked on – and shuddered.

"The size of that blasted thing is no coincidence… I can see something… no, someone inside it," she whispered in horror.

"A very muscular woman with a large trident-shaped sword. Yes, I see it as well," the mazoku whispered back. "A previous contender, perhaps?"

The sorceress swallowed hard. "I sure hope not."

The block of ice descended to the ground, and Garen hopped onto it, holding an open book in his hands.

I think I can just make out the title from here… it's… oh, come on…

"How good are you at trivia, Spookster?" She cast a sidelong glance at the staff.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The guy's book is titled 'One Thousand and One Quiz Questions'," she spoke in a dull voice. "My vast array of knowledge dates back to exactly an hour ago when I woke up in that cave. What about you?"

If a piece of wood could look disappointed, then that was exactly how it appeared at that moment. "Sadly, the first thing I remember is you falling down the slope in a giant snowball."

"Thought as much. We're so going to own this game."

"Quite."

In the meantime, Garen paged through the book, stopping somewhere around the middle of it.

"Let's get started!" he pointed a finger at the sorceress. "The first question will be yours, miss! Can you tell me in which year the Kingdom of Saillune was founded?"

"I…" Left without other options, the contestant in question launched herself into the midst of her jumbled memories once more.

I know that name sounds familiar! Come on, think! Think! THINK!…

"Well? What is your answer?"

"I…" She lowered her head angrily. "I have no idea."

"Oh, that's too bad," the swordsman said with relentless enthusiasm. "In that case, I'm afraid your team will have to suffer a 10 point penalty."

"Hey! What do you mean 'penalty'?!" the sorceress yelled.

"Woah, come on, no need to be upset. If you tell me the right answer, you and your friend get 10 points. If you don't know the correct answer, you'll lose the same amount. It's easy," the apparition explained. "And don't ya forget, you have to finish the round with a score higher than zero, or you're gonna lose the game."

"Right. How could I forget…" she muttered in a dark voice. "Who knows, maybe it has something to do with the fact THAT YOU NEVER TOLD ME‼"

"Err, moving on, the next question is yours to answer, Mr. Demon!" Garen declared, ignoring her outburst. "What is the square root of seventy-two million seven hundred and ninety-five thousand twenty-four?"

"Eight thousand five hundred and thirty-two," the mazoku barely let him finish the question.

The ghost of the swordsman stared at the staff, his mouth agape. "Oh… well, ahm… Alright, 10 points for ya. That leaves the total at zero."

"Hey… that was pretty impressive!" The sorceress patted the red gem. "Who knows, with questions like this, maybe we can—"

"Next question, miss: what is the name of the sole surviving composition of the famous magician, marksman and guitarist Zelgadiss Graywords?"

"Zelgadiss… Gray… words? Grrr, you really have me singled out, don't you?!" She glared daggers at the ghost.

"Of course not," Garen grinned. "But if you have trouble answering, why don't you use up your help card and ask the audience? Maybe they know."

"What? I-I have a help card?" the sorceress blinked. "Okay, sure, let's use it!"

"You got it!" the spirit nodded cheerfully. "The help card is now in play!"

Long moments of silence followed. Even the howling, icy winds died down a little.

"So, what did you find out?" Garen asked after a while.

"Find out? When?" she asked back in confusion.

"Oh dear…" the mazoku winced quietly.

The swordsman innocently gestured towards the slope. "What did the audience tell ya? Was it helpful?"

After a few more confused blinks, the sorceress' eyes narrowed into smoldering red slits. "I… hate… you…"

"Well then, do you think you can answer my question now?" Garen continued to grill her with boundless cheer.

Gloved fingers clenched around the tall staff. "You… you little… rotten…"

"Oh shoot, I'm afraid I'll have to take that as a no," he shook his head with an overdone, fake pout. "And thanks to that, you're at -10 points again. What a shame—"

"THAT DOES IT‼" the sorceress bellowed, and charged towards the block of ice, her expression taken over by rage. "This is going to be a huge shame all right, but not for me! FIREBALL‼"

Without thinking, she summoned an orb of red flames into her free hand, and threw it at the self-titled game master. The fiery spell passed through the ghost's intangible form, and made a sizable dent in the mountainside behind him.

Only as the flames died out did the sorceress realize what happened. "It… It worked?" She raised her palm in front of her face. "LIGHTING," she whispered - but this time the Power Words were to no effect.

"My, my… I could clearly feel something change about you, Loud-san, if only for an instant," the mazoku spoke with amazement. "Who knows, perhaps you just uncovered the curse's weak point."

"No, that's impossible. How on earth could she do that out of the blue?" the swordsman asked. The previous mocking cheer was no longer present in his voice; he sounded entirely baffled.

"Shouldn't you be the one more knowledgeable on the subject, Garen-san? After all, you did promise to free us from this curse if we succeeded," the demon noted with slight sarcasm. "As for my own theories on the matter, well…"

"Well?" the apparition urged him on eagerly.

"…I'm afraid those are a secret," he stated lightly. "Especially to you, if I may be blunt."

Garen nearly fell off his ice podium. "Nnnh, alright, suit yourself." He put on a forced grin. "Another 10 point penalty then."

"Excuse me?" Now it was the mazoku's turn to sound bewildered.

"What's so confusing? You didn't answer my question, ya know," the ghost spoke, something akin to evil glee hiding behind his happy face. "The new total is -20 points."

It seemed as if the demon's staff shook in annoyance - but while that probably would have been fitting, the source of that movement was actually the sorceress, whose whole body trembled with cold. After her successful Fireball, the icy feeling within her shot up, blanking her mind and sending shivers through her hunched form.

Ugh… Even if Spookster's right, I'm not sure I can pull this off too often… As much as I'd like to obliterate Mr. Fun And Games, we have to… have to make it through this round somehow… She gritted her teeth, trying to get the involuntary shivers under control. The hard part is: how? It's pretty damn tricky to fake something you don't know, unless the— Wait a minute!

The cold sensation finally lessened a bit, allowing the sorceress to stand upright and address the spirit in a businesslike manner. "Sorry about before, I got carried away. Can we move on to my next question?"

"Oh, sure!" Garen turned to her readily. "Tell you what, miss, to show just how much I root for your success, I'll make the next question worth 20 points. Is that all right with ya?"

"Wow, great, thanks!" …for nothing. I know you're hoping to put all of that into the negative, you jerk.

"Okay, here goes! What is the name of the famous merchant family from Vezendi, which the terrible assassin Zuuma can also trace his lineage to?"

The sorceress glanced at the staff in thought, then looked the apparition in the eye and said with an entirely straight face, "The Doodleliners."

The swordsman put a hand to his chin, probably to keep it from hitting the ground. "Err, sorry, what?"

"I said they're the Doodleliners," she repeated without hesitation. "The family was founded by Trillian Menc Doodleliner, who made a fortune from selling second-hand table covers. Some generations later, a man called Mizantropiel Van Doodleliner wanted to sell toothpicks too, but the rest of the family was against it – so he became the assassin Zuuma out of spite. True story."

"Just a sec… something's not right here…" the ghost mumbled with a look that was nearly as blank as his sister's. "You say the guy sold table covers and toothpicks before he became a famous assassin?"

"Apparently he was a man of many talents, Garen-san," the mazoku commented cheerfully.

"A… Alright… I guess…" the swordsman said, still sounding lost. "Then, err, the new total is zero points again. Next question."

Ha! Try messing with us now, sucker!

Garen nervously paged through the book again, until he found a part that he seemed satisfied with. "Tell me, Mr. Mazoku, which royal house was well-known for its scandals and injustices through generations in the Kingdom of Remotia, that existed two thousand years ago in the farthest eastern reaches of the continent?"

Since he lacked a face, it was impossible to tell whether the demon was deep in thought or was simply struck dumb by the esoteric question – but either way, he remained quiet.

"Don't worry about it, just make something up!" the sorceress whispered, leaning close to the staff. "Remember when you answered the first one with the numbers? The guy seemed really unsure about the whole thing, but didn't look into the book even once before he accepted it. The whole game is based around the assumption that, because of the curse, we can't answer any of the questions - the right answers are not in the book, and he doesn't know them either! All we need to do is lie!"

"…No," the mazoku whispered back after another small pause. "Unfortunately I can't do that."

"What?! Why the hell not?"

"It's difficult to explain, but to tell a straight-out lie is not something I'd feel comfortable doing," he answered, his tone almost flustered. "Somehow, the idea to succeed through making false claims feels oddly… cheap."

"Oh come on, our lives are at stake here! Don't tell me that you'd rather take a hard-earned failure instead of a 'cheap' win?!" she grumbled, impatiently circling the tip of the staff in the snow.

The wooden stick halted in her hand in protest, refusing to move. "Of course not. That's simply not the way I deal with things." The mazoku raised his voice. "Garen-san, may I ask that you clarify the question?"

"Err, okay, sure. What would you like to know?" the spirit responded, taken by surprise.

"Just what type of scandals and injustices are you referring to?"

The swordsman glanced at the book, but did not seem to find anything of relevance within. "Nothing specific, just scandals and injustices in general," he answered. "Why?"

"Well, you see, that is very important," said the demon, and now there was something close to smug satisfaction in his voice. "Considering these nobles lived so long ago so far away, the fact that they are remembered to this day means their crimes must have been enormous. But herein lies the catch: it is quite unlikely that any royal family alone could have committed such deeds for generations. The outrage of their fellow nobles would have quickly swept them away, unless… unless the others were just as depraved as them. Or, if for some reason they were not, their reluctance to take action still made them just as guilty, no? So, Garen-san, if your question was about which royal house committed notorious misdeeds in general in the Kingdom of Remotia, I think the true answer must be none other than: all of them."

The ghost's fake smile slowly wavered, cracked and then crumbled. He finally let out an irritated sigh. "10 points."

Yes! We're finally above zero! Now all we need to do is stay there…

"Just one more thing before my next question." The sorceress lifted her hand. "Can you tell me how much time we have left from this round?"

"How much time…?" Garen echoed. "Well, hmm, let's see…"

Heh, this guy knows no shame. He's really making the whole thing up as he goes.

The swordsman's expression suddenly shifted into faked shock. "Oh man, I just realized there are only 20 seconds left! That means ya better hurry, miss! Here's the question: what do the Elmekian philosophers consider the ultimate meaning of life, the universe, and everything?"

3… 4… 5…

"Oh, I know that!" the sorceress exclaimed proudly. 8… 9… 10… "I always loved the Elmekian philosophers! Just a second, let me think… Hmm…" She scratched her head with a thoughtful look. 13… 14… 15… "The whole thing's so simple, and so complicated at the same time… It's right there on the tip of my tongue…"

18… 19… 20!

"Oh dear, I'm afraid time's up," the mazoku spoke lightly.

"It sure looks like it," she shrugged. "Well, damn. And here I was, about to give a long philosophical lecture on the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Too bad."

"You're right, that's too bad." The ghost folded his arms. "Especially since it cost you 10 points. That means—"

"I don't think so, Garen-san," the demon interrupted. "You would not break the rules of the game, now would you?"

"Breaking the rules?! What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped, his lighthearted tone completely evaporating. "She didn't—"

"She never said that she didn't know the answer. In fact, she claimed quite the opposite," the mazoku explained with boundless patience. "The rules state that if we don't know the answer to the question we get a penalty, but the only thing that happened here is that the game ended before the answer could be given. That means the penalty does not apply to us, and our score remains unchanged at a positive sum of 10 points."

Garen scowled at the sorceress, then scowled at the staff –then finally turned around, and jumped off the block of ice. "Whatever. Fine. You win." With that, he marched angrily towards the cave.

"Well played, Loud-san," the demon spoke in a lower voice to the sorceress.

"Thanks. You weren't too bad yourself," she replied with a wink.

"But don't forget! This was only the first round!" The swordsman called back from the entrance. "You'll have to do much better than that to win 'The Curse of Icy Doom'! The next round is going to be terrible! But before that…" He raised his index finger threateningly into the air. "…it's time for a few words from our sponsors."

Gaaaah‼

---

"What happened? I don't think we're anywhere near Ruby Eye yet," Lina spoke as she glanced down from the mountaintop Xelloss had teleported them to. The peak was not far from their previous stop, a couple of miles at most; she could still faintly glimpse the final resting place of Dilse's army down below to the south.

"Some small complications came up, unfortunately." The brief troubled look on the priest's face was quickly replaced by his trademark smile. "Shabranigdu-sama is not as unguarded as Riksfalto-san thought. I can't blame her for not noticing, though; these sentries are rarely seen and don't often respond to the presence of mazoku – only to mortals. For your sake, I did not think passing by them through the Astral Plane would be wise."

"From what you're saying, I get the feeling that these 'sentries' are not mazoku themselves," the sorceress commented warily.

"No, they are not. Although I could say mazoku are what they were originally intended to be." Xelloss pointed towards the northern slope. "Ah, here they come."

At first, all Lina could see in that direction was a dark patch near the foot of the mountain, amidst the whiteness of the snow. It gradually grew in apparent size as it came closer, however, and she could soon make out a swirling cloud of amorphous, black mass - reminiscent of the aura of darkness she noticed around the Greater Beast's form not long ago.

"Lina-san, allow me to introduce you to the shades," the priest spoke in a carefree voice.

The sorceress made a face. "Hate to say it, but it doesn't look like they're going to wait for introductions."

"Indeed, certainly not. The shades are mindless constructs of astral energy, several steps below even the weakest of our race," Xelloss explained. "Five thousand years ago, when Zellas-sama and her siblings had only recently appeared in the world, they tried to create a few subordinates for themselves without sacrificing too much of their power. The shades were the result of giving up even less energy than is needed for lesser demons to form. They cannot respond to orders, and will attack any mortal life they come across - or anything else in fact, if provoked. Deemed a failure, most were reabsorbed, but an amount of them did survive, and those were later transported here to guard Ruby Eye-sama's shard after the War of the Monster's Fall. For this task, their abilities proved surprisingly useful."

"How strong are these things?" Lina asked, still scrutinizing the incoming cloud. Around its edges, she could see dark strands flailing about; for an instant, they reminded her of elongated, twisting limbs, but she quickly discarded the disturbing thought.

"Quite weak, if somewhat resilient; I will probably be able to scatter them with an attack or two. Still, their usual tactic is to overwhelm their opponents through sheer numbers, and against some, that can be very effective." The priest's smile darkened. "To tell the truth, Dilse's army wasn't defeated by mazoku guards… before those even noticed what was happening, the humans were already overrun by the shades. Right now, it seems they're trying to employ the very same tactic against us."

Lina walked a few steps ahead to the edge of the slope. "Fine, let them come," she said, newfound fire burning in her eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, blowing a few brain-dead demons to smithereens this morning is just what the doctor ordered! RAY WING!"

"Wait, Lina-san, you don't…" Xelloss trailed off, his warning obviously in vain. Scratching the back of his head, the mazoku resigned himself to watch the events unfold.

The sorceress flew rapidly down the slope, straight at the approaching cloud. Once she was no more than twenty yards away, the wind barrier around her burst and she whirled around in the air, magic energy shining within the palm of her outstretched hand.

"BALUS ROD!" She moved her hand as if striking with a sword; but instead, a whip of white-blue light materialized within, its other end tearing into the darkness. A grating shriek escaped the black mass as the spell burned away everything it touched.

Her trajectory adjusted slightly with Levitation, Lina used her remaining momentum to maneuver herself above the cloud and lash out with the whip once again. With shocking speed, however, the darkness changed directions; its volume contracted as it moved to the side to avoid the rope of light, which cut into the snow instead with a loud hiss. In the next moment, the sorceress felt an ominous shadow fall upon her; even faster than before, the cloud shot back in her direction, expanding, towering over her like a tidal wave.

While she could have easily hit it with her spell, that would not have dealt enough damage to keep the black mass from reaching her, so Lina chose to dismiss the whip of light, and re-cast Ray Wing with a mental command to move further away…

…except she did not budge. The cloud approached rapidly while she still hovered in the same spot as before. The sorceress was confused; she knew the Ray Wing was working flawlessly, but some force refused to let her move.

She noticed something pulling at her left foot. Glancing down, her eyes widened with shock.

A large, pitch black claw seized her leg, connected to the cloud through a long, hazy appendage - vaguely but all the more disturbingly resembling a human arm. Lina managed to summon a ball of furious red energy into her hand to blast it off, but never got to use it: dozens of similar arms shot forth from the black mass and latched onto her arms and legs, immobilizing her completely and pulling her in.

A second later, the Ray Wing collapsed under the overwhelming strain - and the wave of darkness came crashing down upon her.

"Behind you."

A burst of brilliance cut a horse-sized hole into the black mass as the wave scattered over the slope. The cloud could no longer move as one single unit; it swirled in random directions, as if its composing entities were confused by the sight of the sorceress floating high above them in the air, looking completely unhurt.

Finally, the darkness shot up, countless arms springing forward even faster to grab her. Lina merely smirked. "Not this time." Before the claws could reach her, her form disappeared in a flash of gold, only to reappear behind her enemy once more. "DYNAST BRASS!"

As the spell's intense amber lightning spread through the cloud, it fell apart completely; dozens of smaller blobs rained down on the mountainside, creating puddles of hazy black goo on the ground. The sorceress' boots dug into the snow as she descended to take a closer look.

"Weak or not, this was suspiciously easy," she muttered, regarding one of the puddles at her feet. The moment those words left her mouth, the blackness stirred and began to move towards her, crawling on the ground like a giant amoeba. "Ugh!"

She jumped away with disgust, but could feel the air moving behind her already. Without time for an incantation, Lina grabbed her short sword and whirled around, swiping blindly towards her back.

It felt like she had thrust her weapon into a bucket of glue; the handle slipped from her grasp, and from the corner of her eye she watched her sword plunge into the snow, its blade stuck inside the black blob that she had parried off course – with many more of those approaching from the other direction as well.

"Alright," she hissed, "I've just about had enough!" With a flash, Lina teleported ten feet to the side. "DARK CLAW!"

Shards of chaotic energy blasted several of the flying blobs apart. The rest did not care; they changed directions to rush at her again.

"Want some more?" Another flash of gold. "RAZA CLOVER!" Dozens of dark patches burst to pieces. Even more came still. "Heh, I'm getting the hang of this spell." Flash. "GARK RUHARD!" More blobs cut to ribbons. "Don't you know when to quit?" Flash. "DISLASH!… It looks like you don't." Flash. "DISFANG!" Flash. "ELMEKIA LANCE!" Flash. "BLAST ASH!" Flash. "DOLPH STRA—"

Just as she was about to release her latest spell, Lina felt a gloved hand grabbing her arm - in the next moment, she was standing next to Xelloss again on the mountaintop. The mazoku relaxed his grip, and offered the small weapon he was holding in his other hand to her.

"Your short sword, Lina-san," he spoke in a courteous tone.

The sorceress' eyes narrowed at him as she took the blade. "Don't tell me you dragged me back just to give me this."

"No, of course not." The priest smiled. "If I may suggest, please do not overuse that spell. The fact that you've learned to control it to such an extent so quickly is worthy of praise, but I don't think you're fully aware of the strain such teleportation magic can place on your body. It may wear you out much faster than you'd think, and we still have a long day ahead of us."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Well, thanks a lot for the tip," she stated in a dry tone. "I'm nowhere near tired though, so if you don't… mind…"

Out of nowhere, the sorceress could feel a wave of freezing cold wash over her; the world began to spin in front of her eyes, and she fell to her knees. The cold feeling then disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving weakness and slight nausea in its wake.

"What… but how…?" she mumbled blankly.

"Oh dear… It seems my warning came too late," she heard Xelloss' mildly concerned voice from above her. "Even I didn't think it would happen so soon; then again, this spell was never used by humans until now…"

Lina forced herself off the ground and grabbed on to the priest's jeweled cloak strap for support, pulling him down to her eye level. "This is not exhaustion, you hear me?!" she growled. "What kind of an amateur are you taking me for?! I don't understand what's happening to me, but I know when I'm feeling tired and this isn't it!"

"Far be it from me to take you for an amateur, Lina-san. But even if what you say is true, we can't safely continue on while you're in such a state, now can we? Perhaps you would agree that a short break is in order?" the mazoku suggested diplomatically. With an angry huff, the sorceress released the clasp and slumped back to her knees. "That said, we ought to get rid of our pursuers first."

Summoning his new staff back into his hand with a gesture, Xelloss pointed it down the slope, where the countless blobs of darkness still crawled incessantly towards them. His eyes snapped open, and Lina waited for the mazoku's overwhelming aura of power to blanket the air… but no such thing happened. Instead, after a couple of seconds, the priest casually turned around and helped the sorceress to her feet.

"Hey, aren't you going to blast them?" she asked, bewildered.

Xelloss curtly shook his head. "There's no need for that. I realized that I can pass this rather tedious job to someone else." He then called out in a louder voice, "Oh, how sad! We have to waste our time driving off these creatures! Who knows how long this is going to delay our mission? My, if only there would be someone to do battle with them in our place while we go about our business!"

The next thing Lina knew, there was someone else standing beside them at the mountaintop.

"Riksfalto-san, what a pleasant surprise!" the priest greeted the newcomer cheerfully.

"Cut the funnies, Xelloss! I can take a hint." Dolphin's general tried her best to look angry, but the grin of anticipation on her face as she launched herself down the slope told otherwise. "Okay, pipsqueaks, show me what you got‼"

A giant explosion hurled tons of snow into the air below, forming something akin to white fog that hid Riksfalto and the shades from Lina's eyes.

"Now let us find a place to take a breather, shall we?" Xelloss gestured in the opposite direction. "Can you walk on your own?"

"Of course I can," she murmured, still slightly irritated. The truth was that her sense of balance did play tricks on her every few moments, but she forced one foot after the other and started marching down the southern slope regardless.

After only a minute or two, a cavity in the mountainside came into view. It was not a real cave by any means, but a cart-sized hole in the rock that was slightly better shielded from the winds and the snow than its surroundings.

"Hmm, this will do." The priest flicked his staff towards the cavity, and a floating ball of flame appeared in the middle of it, melting away the traces of snow inside in seconds - although when Lina came near, the sphere felt only comfortably warm.

The sorceress regarded the glowing ball of light. "That's nice, but won't cut it in this weather. Now that we're not running or teleporting around, it's really started to chill me to the bone," she commented while retrieving a bedroll from one of the pockets of her cloak, where it should never have fit in the first place. She unfurled it over a relatively flat part of the ground and sat down, her hands fiddling with a large red gem she wore on her belt in front. Eventually, a small click was heard, and the gem fell out of its casing into her palm.

In the same moment, her monochromatic clothing swapped colors: the black parts faded out into clean white, while the white areas darkened into pitch black.

"There. I inverted the enchantment." She let out a sigh. "It won't work nearly as well against the cold as it did against fire, but it's better than nothing." After pocketing the gem, she stared down at her hands with a thoughtful look. "Back there it felt almost like I'd fallen ill from one second to the next. Does this place have any kind of special aura or protective magic that might be causing this?"

The priest sat down cross-legged on a rock. "None that I'm aware of," he replied simply.

"You think I'm only making this up to save face, don't you?" Lina laid down on the bedroll with a scowl. "Well, here's a shocker for you: I don't care." She defiantly closed her eyes. "I'll stay like this for a couple of minutes just to prove you wrong… and then I'm going to find out… what's really going on…"

A minute later, the sorceress was snoring.

Sitting still, Xelloss watched her sleep with a small, but nonetheless smug smile on his face that Lina no doubt would have found infuriating beyond belief. Only every once in a while did he turn his head momentarily to the side, listening to the distant noises of battle coming from the opposing slope of the mountain.

Then, without warning, the noises grew quiet. The priest glanced curiously above their improvised shelter as if his gaze could penetrate the rock - perhaps on a certain plane of existence, it actually did.

"My, Riksfalto-san, it's so very unlike you to leave a battle while the enemy still has all of its limbs intact," he spoke in a lower voice to avoid waking the sorceress.

"Shut up, Xelloss." The general's reply came from above; she sounded not only annoyed, but also strangely exhausted. "I left because I've had enough. No matter how many pieces I hacked those bastards into, they just refused to die. I've driven them off for now; you better be happy I did even that."

The priest raised his head further. "Are you saying that you were unable to destroy the shades?" he asked, visibly baffled. "You have to know that cutting them apart rarely does any good; one has to obliterate the pieces completely in order to stop them…"

"But that's just it! I couldn't!" Riksfalto's voice was now beyond frustrated - perhaps even slightly afraid. "You know what these are: they're powerless jokes! I'm supposed to wipe them all out with nothing but a nasty look! But when I try to do that, it's like I'm not even—"

Just like the sounds of the battle earlier, the general's words fell into abrupt, inexplicable silence.

Xelloss rose to his feet, his open eyes scanning his surroundings suspiciously. "Riksfalto-san?"

No answer came. The priest stepped out of the cavity, into the snow - and a single, tiny drop of icy cold water ran down his brow. As he put a palm to his temple, several more hit his head and gloves from the sky above. He brought his hand in front of his face.

"Rain?" he murmured, gazing at the drops on the glove, which sparkled with a slight reddish glint. "In a place like this…?"

He could say no more.

End of Part One.

(Do read on though! :) )