With a crystalline screech that pierced Zelgadis straight to his soul, the spider fell still, skewered on his sword. To any who would be watching, the arachnid the size of the chimera fighting him seemed to be quite dead. Instead of yanking his weapon free, Zelgadis narrowed his eyes and widened the rend in the dark green carapace. Black blood ran free, and he aimed a Flare Arrow straight into the wound.

The spider howled, the sound of several bells clanging in dissonant harmony. Zelgadis winced and stumbled back at the noise, his back hitting the half destroyed wall of the ruin. A mistake - the spider pulled itself free from his sword and limped away, skittering on five uneven legs into the darkness, deeper into the depths. Zelgadis snarled and followed, keeping an eye on the shimmer of dark green and the black oozing blood. The blood started to taper off, making Zelgadis's teeth grit. It was healing. Quickly, he drew one hand back, letting another Flare Arrow grow in it before launching it at the hint of green in the darkness.

Direct hit. The spider howled again, and the air filled with the scent of it burning. For a moment, Zelgadis found himself wishing he had Lina with him. Fire magic seemed to be the way to go with this thing, and she had a way with fire magic. It didn't matter, though. He was about to take it down for good.

He needed something stronger than a Flare Arrow. He could cast Val Flare, but the damned spider was leading him further and further inside. Doing that would be a bad idea in an enclosed area. He could-

Another skitter behind him made him pause, his blood running cold. When he had expressed interest in exploring these ruins, the village elder had explained about the spider, and had offered a reward if he did encounter it and managed to kill it. But he hadn't said there was more than-

Zelgadis spun around, his hands already moving to cast Flare Arrow.

Another spider, twice the size of the one he was hunting, landed on him, knocking him to the ground. Zelgadis just barely managed to get his sword between him and the chelicerae. Digestive liquids splashed around him, forcing him to scramble backwards to get to his feet. He had to kill this thing, and fast. Straining his ears, a chill ran through him as he heard more skittering, the sound of dozens more of these spiders.

Had he been tasked to clear out a nest, or led there to be fed to the monsters?

Zelgadis flexed his hand, mentally running through his spell list. Fire seemed to be the enemy of these spiders. But he was so far into the ruins now that he had to be careful. His stone skin would protect him from burns, but anything too powerful could bring the ruins down on his head.

Skittering behind him made him turn, knowing he would be too late as he did so, a Flare Arrow already in his hands.

Only for the spider behind him to stop suddenly, and steam to escape from its carapace. Suddenly, the pressure building inside it caused it to explode, covering Zelgadis in thoroughly cooked guts. Around him, one after another, every single spider met the same fate.

"Oh my, my." Zelgadis spun suddenly at the irritating words, still holding the Flare Arrow, even though he knew it would do nothing against a Mazoku like Xellos. "You certainly do get into some interesting predicaments!" As he spoke, Xellos dropped down next to Zelgadis, his feet not bothering to touch the gore strewn ground as he smiled at the chimera. "So tell me, Zelgadis-san, what are you looking for here, in the Ruins of Amtolae?"

Zelgadis let the Flare Arrow die in his hand. "What do you think?"

"Mm." Xellos tilted his head upward, almost innocently scratching his chin. "I suppose such a ruin from a culture well versed in White magic would have some information on obscure cures. If a cure for your condition actually did exist."

The words stung. He knew Xellos had to have heard Rezo tell him no cure existed for his chimeric state. "I'm not looking for a cure," he told him, trying to hold onto some dignity despite being covered in spider guts. He sheathed his sword and started to pick his way through the carnage, trying not to slip on anything as he made his way through the halls of the ruins. It disturbed him at the fact he still saw spider remains as he walked, no matter how far he went. "I'm looking for research."

Xellos floated next to him, not even getting the tips of his shoes or the edges of his cape dirty. "Oh? What kind of research?"

"Is Lina asleep? Is that why you're bothering me? You can't annoy Lina, so you've come to play with your second favourite toy?"

"Second favourite?" Xellos tilted his head. "My, you think highly of yourself, Zelgadis-san!"

Zelgadis grabbed Xellos by the collar, pulling him in close. "What are you doing here?" he growled, almost shaking him.

With a sigh, Xellos let the ever present smile drop from his face. "Well, in a lot of ways, that is a secret! But I really am interested in what kind of research you're doing."

"So you can destroy it before my eyes?"

"If I need to."

The words made Zelgadis let go of Xellos slowly, something horrible uncurling in the pit of his stomach. Xellos looked down at the smear of gore against his shirt, sighed, and within an eyeblink the shirt was pristine again. "Is there something like that in these ruins?" Zelgadis asked, his voice tightly controlled.

Xellos paused for a moment, turning his head away as if he was thinking. Then he looked back at Zelgadis, the smile back on his face. "Nope!"

"Then you can go away."

"Well, see, I can't exactly do that right now, Zelgadis-san."

Zelgadis spun towards him, intent on grabbing him again when his foot slipped on the ground. He hit the floor hard, his head buried in spider guts. Disgust, horror, nausea, and embarrassment flooded through him all at once as he scrambled back up to his feet, wiping the filth off his face and hair.

"You see!" Xellos only smiled at him. "You're only going to hurt yourself if you keep up like this, Zelgadis-san."

"Don't you even deny you enjoyed that!"

Xellos only smiled.

The Ruins of Amtolae were benign. Anything of magical value had long been stolen or destroyed. Zelgadis might have found information to further his knowledge of Shamanistic spells in what remained, but even those odds were high. All that remained was human history and possibly things of monetary value.

But right now, he had to make sure Zelgadis didn't research himself into a new Rezo. While his Mistress didn't fear Zelgadis awakening the Ruby Eyed Shabranigdo incorrectly with his research, there were other things he could awaken that would cause all sorts of problems for them. And he had to be there to stop whatever attempts there would be.

What would Zelgadis be researching? The Red Priest himself had said there was no cure to his condition. Xellos could think of ways to split the brau demon and golem parts from the human, but naturally none of those ideas were cures, only ways to destroy Zelgadis utterly. So what could it be that he was looking for?

Whatever it was, he didn't find it in the ruins of Amtolae. Xellos did find what seemed to be a rather delightful pudding recipe. He'd have to slip that into Zelgadis's pack for him to see at a later date. To have the hope rise that something useful had been in his notes and he hadn't remembered it… only for it to be a delicious pudding recipe.

Oh, he would have to be there when Zelgadis found that.

Hm. Interesting.

Did Zelgadis remember to pack any food at all?