Happy Monday again to everyone! As usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!
34-A Few Minor Scrapes
"You mean to tell me" Lina began through gritted teeth, "that we had the Key of the Aqualord with us this whole time and yet we ran all over the continent searching for it?"
The sorceress wasn't angry, she was furious, and nobody could blame her.
"But it wasn't all in vain. We learned a lot of things in the meantime." Pestis offered timidly. "Aren't you happy that you got that chance- as a scholar, I mean?"
"I may be a scholar, Pestis," Lina breathed, trying her hardest not to blow up at the sensitive professor, "but I am a mother first. And I'd be damned if I let a scholarly opportunity get in the way of caring for my babies. I don't have time for this."
"She's right." Zelgadis spoke up. "You may be free to do what you like, but the rest of us have families and responsibilities to worry about."
Gourry groaned. "Can we not argue about things that have already happened? That's all in the past, and we've got bigger things to worry about now."
Lina pouted, but nodded her head in agreement as she snuggled closer to Gourry. The group was all sitting together in the library, trying to figure out what to do now that they'd uncovered the information they were looking for.
"I'm so sorry. When Miss Lina first mentioned the Key of the Aqualord, I thought about this possibility. I vaguely remembered reading about the Banisher being called a key at some point, but I was unsure because it had been so long since I'd read anything about it." Miss Hayze was beside herself, despite having little reason to be upset.
"It's not your fault." Amelia assured her. "Remember that none of us knew anything about it either."
"But-"
"What's important now is figuring out what we're going to do about Azarel." Zelgadis interrupted. "Now that we've found the Key, we're one step closer to repairing the barrier. The only thing that stands in our way now is Azarel."
"Azarel is my problem." Pestis sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "Our grudge goes back to before any of you were even alive. You guys shouldn't have to deal with this."
"We're already in too deep." Gourry responded coldly. "If you'd wanted to protect us, you should've said something before Azarel grabbed Zara and ran off with him."
"He's right. We're too involved to quit now." Shizuri spoke up. "But I have some questions that aren't related to Azarel."
Lina raised an eyebrow. "Like…?"
"What does this mean now for the Banisher? Like, is Lyos ever going to be able to use the sword again?"
The question brought a new silence over the group. Lyos visibly stiffened and looked around.
"Are you kidding me? Is that even a question?" he snarled. For a moment he looked almost vicious, but the mask dropped away quickly. "…is it even a question?"
"According to this book, the reason the Banisher isn't responding now is because the barrier in the North has been damaged." Pestis reached for the book again and began flipping through the pages. "With the damages that Azarel has made to the barrier, the Key of the Aqu- er, the Banisher- has to be pumping more energy than ever into the barrier to prevent it from breaking. Taking that power and channelling it into the sword for use as a weapon would likely result in the breakage of the barrier altogether, which, of course, we don't want."
"I don't understand." Lyos replied. "I thought the Banisher used my power."
"Yes and no." Miss Hayze was the one to provide an answer. "You have to look at it from the perspective of a sorcerer. The power of the Aqualord is not yours inherently. You are the only human in the world whose magic capacity is designed specifically for its use. Think of Miss Lina and her almost-patented Dragon Slave spell."
"Can I get that in writing?" Lina muttered under her breath.
"Yes, Miss Lina uses the spell, but the magic that she uses is not hers. The Dragon Slave calls forth the power of the Demon King Shabranigdo, and therefore the magic is not Lina's own. However, not every person has the ability to channel such power, and it shows a great deal of talent and hard work on Miss Lina's part to control such a power. Lyos' grasp of the Aqualord's power is much the same."
"But I still don't get it." Lyos demanded. "If the Banisher transfers the Aqualord's power to the barrier, then why can't I just channel more of the Aqualord's power into it?"
"Because the Aqualord's power is not something you can just pull out of nowhere. It's a fixed amount, spread out in the universe." Pestis corrected.
"What?"
"Think of it this way. The energy of the universe- the great force that supports all life- is like a heterogeneous mixture."
"And I have no idea what that means." Lyos quipped.
"A heterogeneous mixture is not uniform throughout. Like… like… Lyos, you drink orange juice, right? It's like a glass of orange juice. It's all technically orange juice, yes, but some parts of it have lots of pulp, while others don't. It's made up of different pieces all sort of swimming together in the same glass. The energy of the universe is like that, and the Aqualord's power is just one part of the mixture."
Zelgadis groaned and placed his head in one hand. "Can we not with the drink metaphors?"
"Sorry, sorry. I understand your aversion, but let me finish." Pestis waved a hand. "Lyos, you can't just pull the Aqualord's power out of nowhere. The power that you're channelling into the Banisher- whether or not for the sake of supporting the barrier- is being taken away from the barrier. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I guess." Lyos murmured. "But…"
"If the barrier is damaged beyond repair, your scramble to find this Key and defeat Azarel may be for naught." Miss Hayze spoke. "What are you going to do if that's the case?"
"If the barrier is damaged beyond repair, there are only two options." Pestis sighed. "The first would be to repair the barrier with our own power- er, my own power."
"Can you do that?" Amelia asked.
"I don't know. But I'd be willing to try. Anything to keep from having to destroy that part of the Demon King."
"…which is option number two, right?" Lina asked.
"Right." Pestis nodded. "That's what could send the Mazoku race into turmoil. I wouldn't want to be around if that were to happen."
"But what will happen to you if you use your power to reseal the barrier?" Amelia asked, grabbing onto Pestis' arm. "Would that be safe for you?"
It took the professor a few seconds to answer.
"…no." He shook his head slowly. "No, it wouldn't. There's no way I could even think about repairing something constructed by a god unless I gave it all the power I have. It might not even be enough, but maybe we'd be lucky-"
"I will defeat the Demon King of the North before I let you sacrifice yourself to become part of some barrier." Lina interrupted. "Nobody is getting sacrificed on my watch."
"But Lina, think of your family. You can't-"
"I didn't say right away." Lina cut him off. "Gimme a couple months; let me recover and get back on my feet. I can leave the baby with Gourry and Zara for a couple days while I go beat up any demons that need disciplining. No problem."
"Lina, you're not being serious." Zelgadis scolded.
"Oh, do you have a better idea, Zel? Do you want Pestis to sacrifice himself for a cause that might not even work?"
"Of course not- and I don't want you doing the same."
"There's no guarantee the Demon King would kill me."
"Be reasonable, Lina. You've fought the Demon King before. You should know better than anyone how much danger that entails."
"But that also means that I know how to beat him-"
"Are you guys ever going to answer my question?!" Lyos' voice broke through the conversation. He stood up, glaring at the two who had been arguing just moments before.
"What question?" Zelgadis was genuinely confused.
"Were you even a part of this conversation?" Lina demanded, pointing back and forth between herself and Zelgadis. "No? Then kindly save your comments until this is resolved, thank-you-very-much."
Lyos growled. "Just… just forget it!"
"Mister Lyos!" Amelia called out for him as he stormed out of the library, slamming the double-doors behind him as he went. The entire room fell silent as everyone stared. No one wanted to move.
"…should someone go after him?" Pestis asked.
"Be my guest." Zelgadis waved a hand in the direction of the door.
"W-well, I didn't mean me!" the professor sputtered.
"You were the one who told him that he could never use his sword again." Gourry finally spoke up. "Maybe you should be the one to say something."
"I-I can't do that!" Pestis stammered. "Lyos is… such an angry youth… and an old codger like me doesn't work well with angry youths!"
"Well, somebody has to say something." Lina groaned. "We can't just leave him like that."
"Perhaps we can." Miss Hayze suggested. "What Lyos may need now is some time alone for introspection. He is a confident young man now, much moreso than he was when I last met him, but he is still learning about himself and about the power that he has. It's important to respect his boundaries and let him figure out some things on his own."
"Yeah, that's fine, I guess…" Lina seemed to take the response as a scolding towards her and moved sheepishly away from the others.
"In the meantime," Zelgadis spoke up. "there's an important part of the piece that we haven't addressed."
"Which is…?" Shizuri questioned.
"All of the speculating we've been doing on the barrier just now was assuming that we had already defeated Azarel. But we haven't yet. So… what about it? Any ideas?"
The whole group was silent.
Lyos just needed to get rid of some pent-up energy. It was how he was able to think, sort out ideas, and get a general sense of what to do next. With the snowstorm the way it had been, he hadn't been able to run alongside the wagon like he had done at times during the trip when he needed to get something figured out.
Of course, it wasn't prudent to run through the hallways of a large estate. That was the kind of place where people were coming and going, and if a person were to run blindly, it wouldn't be long before there was an unforeseen collision.
Lyos didn't mean to run into the boy, he really didn't. In fact, he'd seen noticed the figure out of the corner of his eye and moved to avoid colliding. But the little boy had clearly had the same thought, and they had both moved to avoid each other in the same direction.
It was a very young child, and Lyos practically tripped over him, stumbling a short distance before falling on his face. The boy had dropped the stack of towels he had been carrying and was starting to bawl loudly. Lyos cringed. This was not what he needed right now.
"I am so sorry, kid. Please don't-p-please don't cry! Stop it, will you?"
The boy didn't pay any attention, continuing to wail louder. "It huuuurts! I want my mommy!"
"Shhh, shhh. Don't cry. I'll find your mommy for you if you'll just calm down." Lyos had no idea who the kid belonged to, but he'd do anything to keep him quiet.
Much to Lyos' relief, the boy's sobs began to subside. "Really?"
"Of course. Who is your mom, anyway? Does she work here?"
"Yes. She's a maid here." the little boy replied. "I was helping her with her work." He indicated the stack of towels that were now strewn about the hallway.
"I'm sorry I knocked you over. I didn't mean to." Lyos began gathering the towels and folding them again.
"Why were you running?" the little boy demanded. It was almost cute, how hard he was trying to be angry. "My mommy tells me never to run in the hallways 'cause it's dangerous."
"Heh, your mom's right. It's dangerous and I shouldn't have been doing it." Lyos chuckled sheepishly. "I guess… I was running because I was really scared."
The little boy's eyes went wide. "You were running from something?"
"N-no, not exactly."
"Then you were running to something?"
"No, it's not that either.
"Then what?"
Lyos looked around and sighed. "I'll tell you about it on our way to find your mom. Come with me." He stood up, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his left knee that had been scraped up on the carpet. Still, he extended a hand to the boy, who took it and stood up about halfway before falling back onto the group.
"My ankle," he whined. "I twisted it."
Lyos sighed, looking around again before scooping the child up in his arms. "Okay. I'll take you back to wherever your mom is working, and she can help you."
"But Mommy's all the way upstairs. The kitchen is down this hall."
"Kitchen?"
"Ice. For my ankle."
"Oh. Right. We can get something frozen from the icebox." Lyos nodded and took directions from the boy until he managed to find the kitchen a few rooms down the hallway. With the child's directions, he finally located the "icebox," though it was more of an "ice room," being large enough to walk into without bending over. The little boy jumped from Lyos' arms and led the way inside, limping melodramatically, as a child would. Lyos shivered as the frigid air enveloped him.
"It's almost as cold in here as it is outside. Let's get something to put on your ankle and get out- hey! Why are you closing the door?"
"Mommy told me never to leave the door open because the food will melt and the mistress will be unhappy.
"I guess there's that." Lyos looked around at the variety of meats hanging- mostly freshwater fish. Frozen fish was at least better than salted fish, that was for sure.
"Mister," the child began again, shuffling around some bags of frozen produce, "do grown-ups usually run around when they're scared of something?"
"N-no." Lyos replied.
"Then why were you doing it?"
"I was just… being stupid."
"Well, yeah, that's a given. But why were you doing it?"
Lyos stared daggers down at the boy. "That's a lot of sass for such a small mouth."
The child was unfazed. "I call it like I see it."
"How old are you, anyway?"
"How old are you?"
Lyos looked away from the boy. "Twenty-one…"
"You're old."
"I am not!"
"Why was an old man like you running down the hallway?"
"I'm not old!"
"What was an old man so afraid of?"
"I already told you, I'm not-" Lyos was getting frustrated dealing with the boy. "You know what? Just forget it. You wanna know why I was so scared? It's because of this."
He reached for the hilt on his belt and pulled out the small Banisher, spending a few moments just wondering whether or not he would ever see it at its full size again. The boy was quickly enthralled with the weapon.
"A knife?"
"It's not a knife, it's a sword… or, it's supposed to be."
"Maybe a sword for a dwarf." the little boy shrugged his shoulders. "But, hey, if the shoe fits-"
"I am not a dwarf! Won't you listen? This sword is the key to something really big and really important! And if I ever use it again, I might put the whole world in danger!" Lyos was done listening to the child's attitude.
"A key?" The boy blinked curiously. "Let me see it." He reached out for the sword, but Lyos pulled it away.
"You wouldn't understand."
"I'm not stupid. Tell me about the Key. Is it really that tiny sword?"
"I'll tell you, but not in here. It's too cold. Take your frozen beans and let's go somewhere warmer." Lyos reached for the door handle to get out of the frigid icebox, but when he tried to turn it, it wouldn't budge.
"Huh?"
The Knight of the Aqualord spent a moment struggling with the doorknob before turning back to the little boy. "D-did you accidentally lock it behind us?"
"No." the boy responded candidly. "It wasn't an accident."
There was a brief pause, and a look of horrified realization crossed over Lyos' face. His hands fell from the doorknob and he sank to his knees.
"…stupid… I'm so stupid…"
For the first time since they'd met that day, the little boy giggled.
"You really are."