Lina's back hit the tree and she let out a pained grunt as she lifted her arm, jamming it up under the snarling beast's chin. Her other hand cupped growing magic, and she jammed it right into its belly. "Fireball!"

The beast's fur lit on fire, the Fireball bursting through its back and coating it in the flames. But it continued to snarl at him, snapping. Lina's eyes narrowed and her teeth grit as she moved her hand again as the beast drew back, crouching for another pounce.

She didn't let it.

One finger pointed at the beast, a growing ball of black and gold building at the fingertip. She had just thought up the theory behind this spell, but she hadn't used it in practice. If she did it right, though… "Fien Shot!"

The force of the spell shot her hand straight upward once it left her finger. She lowered it again, steadying her arm with her opposite hand, waiting as she watched the spell hit the beast. When it only stunned it for a second, she grit her teeth again. That wasn't the intended effect. But what she was using to kill this seemingly unkillable beast- She could use a Dragon Slave, but that would blow everything up and she wasn't done, damn it. There was a bandit lair just up ahead. If she used a Dragon Slave, it would blow them up too and all that loot they had. Astral spells didn't work. Then again, she had never bothered to study the Ra Tilt, letting that be Amelia and Zelgadis's spell.

Boy, was she feeling that lack of knowledge now. She'd need to brush up on her astral spells. Elmekia Flame just wasn't enough. The Ragna Blade would definitely take this asshole out, but she couldn't take the time to chant it while Gourry was busy with a beast of his own.

What were these things? If they had the Sword of Light, they could easily take them down. Or… theoretically. There was a possibility even that wouldn't work. She didn't think they were Mazoku since they acted and reacted only like mindless beasts, but it was possible they were.

So, no Dragon Slave because she wanted the gold. No Ragna Blade, because she didn't have the time to chant it. She'd have to fine tune her new Fien Shot on the fly, calling further upon the power she only touched when things got really bad… Lina took a deep breath, the new ball at her fingertips coloured far more golden than the last time. Chaos magic sparked at her fingers as she aimed the ball. "Fien Shot!"

Her arm didn't fly upward like last time, thanks to how her other hand stablised it. And this time, when the Fien Shot hit, the beast howled before disintegrating. "All right!" Lina crowed, turning her attention to where Gourry was fighting. "Gourry, duck!"

The Fien Shot flew over Gourry's head just as he ducked, hitting the beast. With the same howl, the beast turned to dust as Gourry turned to look at her, eyes wide. "Wow, Lina! When'd you learn to do that?"

Lina grinned. Finally, a Chaos spell she could just fire off without chanting. She certainly could chant and make the spell stronger, but having a spell she could cast as fast as a Fireball… that was nice. "Oh, just something I made up." She took one step towards Gourry-

And fell right over, her stomach protesting very loudly.

"Whoa!" Gourry ran over to her, one hand on her shoulder as she sat up. "Are you okay, Lina?"

"Yeah… I think I just overextended myself a little." She tried grinning at Gourry again, then let it fall as the worry didn't smooth from his face. "I'm fine. Besides, we have bandits to take out! We haven't seen a gang this good for a while."

Gourry shook his head. "We can come back. You need to rest."

"Gourry!"

"What if they have a sorcerer too, Lina?" His eyes grew wide. "Some of them have one because of you!"

She waved a hand. "I can take out any third rate sorcerer, easy."

"Yeah, but I don't want to risk it." Suddenly, the weight on her shoulder meant more as Gourry's eyes softened. "You could get really hurt."

Lina felt a blush crawl across her face. "Fine," she managed. "But we're not going far." She shrugged off Gourry's hand and stood carefully. When she remained upright, she nodded at Gourry.

The Fien Shot… it was going to be useful, but it drained her magic faster than she realized. Normally, she'd be able to gauge it better, but… She'd have to pull that out only when she needed it. If she could shove a Ragna Blade up their ass instead, she'd have to go with that. She was much more familiar with how to use the Ragna Blade and mitigate the power drain from that.

… huh. That was a thought. She used her Demon Blood Talismans so she could cast the Ragna Blade. Maybe if she did the same with the Fien Shot? No, she had created it solely for its fast casting time. Boosting it would only take time she wouldn't have.

The Lord of Nightmares' power was far more impressive than she realized, and she could fine tune it more than she originally thought. Maybe, someday, she'd be able to do something even smaller and not get wiped out like this.

Lina sighed as she sat next to a stream, closing her eyes as Gourry prepared for fishing.

Gold-

Everywhere.

It wanted her-

Lina gasped, opening her eyes. She must have been asleep. The sun was about ready to set, and Gourry was cooking the fish he had caught. It was probably enough… for her. She didn't know if it'd be enough for the both of them.

"You okay, Lina? You sounded like you were in pain." Gourry looked up at her.

"Mm, just a bad dream." She scooted closer to the fire, holding a hand out. "Fish."

"Would it kill you to say 'please' for once?" Gourry pleaded, but handed her a cooked fish.

Any response to that was lost as she bit into the fish.

And that night, as Lina fell asleep, the sea of gold returned to her dreams.