"She had opened herself up to the astral plane enough for Joyrock to be able to attack her." Zelgadis intoned.
Gourry sat slumped, as had become his normal posture for the past three weeks. He stared at his hands.
Lina watched Gourry with compassion. She no longer felt anger or betrayal over his marriage to Sylphiel. Not because the competition was dead, but because she had discovered something more important than her own feelings.
She had watched one friend die, and another partly die as a result. Gourry had described the effect of Sylphiel's death on him at the funeral. "It's like tearing out part of your heart without a painkiller," he had said. Not normally what one would say in a public venue, but people also don't normally find their loved ones killed by a mazoku as a result of being helped by them, so Gourry could be given a pass.
The funeral had been beautiful, and while many of those who spoke gave eloquent eulogies, it was Gourry's genuine and heartfelt words (imbued with newly-accessible intelligence, Lina had realized) that really moved those in attendance.
"I don't get it, though," said Lina. "If that room was designed to keep evil beings out, how did Gourry get in with Joyrock in his head?"
"I think I know," answered Amelia. "Gourry-san must have acted as a buffer for Joyrock. When Gourry entered, the enchantment must have seen only Gourry-san because, at the time, he 'surrounded' Joyrock."
At this point, Gadget had another rare flash of intuition. "If the room was supposed to be bad for evil, it might have weakened him enough for me to kill him." He shuddered. "I've never killed anything before. Other than flies."
"Speaking of which: What did you do to him, Inspector?" asked Zelgadis. "It looked as though you wrapped your arms around him and cast Digger Bolt."
Inspector Gadget looked flustered. "I…really don't know." A long pause. "It's like…something…took over when that monster shot at us." He looked at the floor. "I really wish I could have stopped him from killing Sylphiel."
A white-gloved hand appeared in his field of vision, and he looked up to see Gourry. "It's okay," said the swordsman. "You've been through a lot. I believe that you did your best."
Gadget smiled sadly as he took the proffered hand and slightly shook it. "Thank you, Mr. Gabriev."
Work in Progress...