Chapter 12
"Alliance"
That's true – she had expected this, and yet Kirei's confession left her completely speechless.
She stared silently at his expectant face, unable to define her own feelings. Of course, she knew what Rei wanted to hear, but could she say it? Did she love him too? He was incredibly dear to her, but they were friends, so their relationship was supposed to be a typical one… right? At least, that was how Amelia had always tried to explain it to herself. But now, she was forced to look at the situation from a different perspective.
What if Rei had never seen their bond as just friendship?
"Akama..." Rei suddenly began, but seeing the confusion on her face, he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to your new name," he explained quietly. "Amelia..." he started again. "I know I have no right to ask this of you, but still... I wish you would let me try – give us a chance. You know I would do anything for you. I will protect you, just as I always have. So please..." His last words were almost a plea.
Kirei's face was filled with determination, but in his grey eyes, she saw fear – fear of the answer he was waiting for. She felt her heart breaking, but she still couldn't find the right words or gather her thoughts. Kirei must have noticed because, in the end, he let go of her hand, sadness shadowing his face.
"I don't understand..." he murmured. "We are such good friends, and yet... Tell me, Amelia, what am I lacking?" There was bitterness in his voice.
"Rei, we are friends," she repeated, emphasising the last word. "I could never love you the way you want me to, I'm sorry..." she said, averting her gaze and taking a step back. "Besides, I don't even know if I can trust you anymore. You lied to me..."
"It's not like that..." he sighed in resignation. "Anyway... it doesn't matter. You're doing the right thing. I'm the fool for asking you for something like this despite everything. Maya warned me, but as always, I had to see for myself."
"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.
Rei lowered his head and shook it in silence. After a moment, he looked at Amelia and took her hand again without a word.
"I hope one day you'll forgive me," he said, planting a kiss on the inside of her palm. Then he gently pulled her along the path back, and she no longer had the courage to speak or resist.
(…)
Zelgadis stood with his back to the wall of a ruined house. His fingers tapped nervously on the wood behind him, while his eyes carefully followed every movement in the area.
He was listening.
Lina and Gourry crouched across the street, also waiting in silence. As Zelgadis concentrated on the sounds of the city, he realised that it wasn't as lifeless as it had seemed. From time to time, the clanking of chains and sounds resembling human voices - though not quite human - echoed in the air. But the footsteps he was waiting for never came. Frustrated, he let out a loud sigh that wasn't lost on Maya.
"Don't worry, they should be here soon," the priestess said calmly. She slowly made her way to the barricade in the middle of the road and sat down on one of the sandbags.
The entire street was no more than ten metres wide, lined on both sides with destroyed buildings. Most of the wooden structures were nearly burned to the ground, while the concrete ones had been reduced to piles of rubble.
Tamaki followed Maya, standing behind her without a word. Tamaki never took his eyes off her, and Zelgadis suspected it was because of the girl's remarkable power. If she could identify the Undead from a distance, she was an invaluable asset to the rebels, and Tamaki had probably been assigned to protect her in Kirei's absence. Stranger still, a similar role had been assigned to Daiki, who remained at Liliya's side at all times. Having witnessed Liliya's power firsthand, Zelgadis could understand why. Maya herself had said that they were much stronger together, and Liliya had only just joined their group - she had certainly not yet revealed the full extent of her abilities.
As if in response to Zelgadis' thoughts, Liliya lifted her head and looked directly at him with her unnaturally dark, wide eyes. Her face, however, remained impassive, as if she were listening to a particularly dull story. Embarrassed, Zelgadis averted his gaze, glancing up at the windows of the burnt-out house across the street—only to almost cry out in shock.
Nirali?!
The white-haired girl stood in the shadows, staring directly at him. When she saw that he had noticed her, she smiled faintly, but her expression quickly hardened as she shifted her gaze to Maya. Shaking her head in disapproval, she spat on the ground, making her opinion of the priestess abundantly clear. Finally, she gestured towards the far end of the street, silently urging him to follow her, before vanishing.
"I'll be right back," Zelgadis said, starting to move when Maya's voice stopped him.
"I told you they would be here soon—there's no need for you to go looking for them, Zelgadis."
He stopped with his back to Maya and glanced sideways at Lina, who was watching him suspiciously. He wanted to tell his friend the truth, but for now, he decided to act alone.
"I need to see a man about a dog. Surely you won't forbid that, my queen," he sneered, and without waiting for Maya's answer, he quickly left.
"Liar."
The single, heavy accusation came from Maya a moment later.
Zelgadis stopped again and turned to look at the girl. Maya sat there, unperturbed, adjusting her robe.
"I can tell by the colour of your aura," she added nonchalantly, shrugging. "But if you must, go ahead, see for yourself that they're all right."
Zelgadis let out a small sigh of relief. Maya had caught his lie, but fortunately, she had misinterpreted it, thinking he was going to look for Amelia. Well, he would have to remember that lying in her presence was out of the question. He realised immediately that this was going to be twice as difficult now that he had started working with Nirali.
He had just reached the end of the street, at a crossroads, when he heard a voice calling him.
"Over here!" Nirali hissed, standing in the doorway of a house that, interestingly, had been left in surprisingly good condition.
Zelgadis glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone had followed him. When he was sure he was alone, he quickly made his way to the white-haired girl.
"You shouldn't show up so suddenly," he said as he stepped inside, and Nirali closed the door behind them. "I almost gave myself away!" he explained, suddenly realising that Maya's inability to be fooled was becoming a serious problem.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't know when I'd get another chance to talk to you," she said, throwing her arms around his neck without warning and pulling him into a tight embrace.
Although there was nothing romantic about the embrace, Zelgadis recoiled as if burned.
"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted, a little louder than he had intended.
"Oh, shut up, it was a greeting!" she snapped, offended, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, never mind that. You have to listen to me!"
Nirali was impatient, and Zelgadis noticed she was also nervous. She tried to hide it behind a forced smile and a deliberately relaxed posture, but her eyes kept darting over the walls and windows, searching for potential danger, and her body was far too tense. Zelgadis followed her gaze but found nothing suspicious.
"Something wrong?" he finally asked, still scanning the empty room to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
"Pff..." She tossed her long white hair back in an exaggerated motion, lifting her head proudly as she narrowed her strangely familiar blue eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Surely you don't think I'd be scared of a few Undead?" she replied defiantly.
"I didn't come here just to argue with you, Nirali," he replied calmly, giving her a cold look. "Someone like you wouldn't run away from the Undead - you know how to use magic. But clearly, something else is bothering you..." He trailed off, watching her closely. "Could it be...?"
Nirali bit her lower lip lightly and took a deep breath as if to say something, but after a moment, she just sighed in resignation.
"Looks like you're right," she admitted reluctantly, looking away. "I don't feel very safe with that bunch lurking around." She practically spat out the last word in utter contempt.
"You mean Maya, Kirei, and the others?" he asked, though he didn't really need to, he already knew she was talking about them. He wasn't too fond of them himself.
"Yeah..." she muttered. "After all, to those idiotic hypocrites, I'm more or less a traitor," she admitted, a small, cynical smirk appearing on her pale face. "That's why I called you. Ever since we parted ways, I've been watching you and making your path easier whenever possible. What I mean is... if a few Undead disappear, no one will suspect a thing..." she revealed, and Zelgadis nodded in understanding.
"That explains why I haven't seen any Undead since we last met," he remarked, allowing her to continue.
"Well, everything was going well until now. You even split from Kirei, which honestly was a great decision, but..." She trailed off, giving Zelgadis a serious look.
"But?"
"But I couldn't do anything when Ira showed up," she finished in a whisper. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help then. I would have been exposed immediately, and then..."
Zelgadis guessed that Ira was the demon who had attacked them today. He winced slightly at the memory of those blood-red, murderous eyes.
"It's all right," he said before Nirali could start explaining the terrible consequences of betraying demons. He could imagine them well enough himself. "I don't blame you. In fact, I'm grateful that you're helping us. Besides, no one seems to have been hurt. Amelia disappeared somewhere, but Maya seemed sure that Kirei would bring her back..."
He sighed, sitting down on a broken cabinet near the door and rubbing his face with both hands.
"Yeah, she's fine. I just had to scare her a bit with magic. Your girl got it into her head to go off on her own."
She snorted in amusement and shook her head, clearly finding such an idea utterly ridiculous.
"Then that white-haired idiot showed up, and oh, I almost threw up when he declared his love for her..."
Shocked, Zelgadis lifted his head, but for a long moment, he was unable to speak.
"So it happened..." he thought, feeling a sudden wave of gloom wash over him.
"Did they...?" he finally asked, forcing his voice to sound indifferent.
Nirali looked at him in surprise.
"I didn't think those comments about your girl had any basis in reality. In other words, I didn't expect you to care at all," she explained, still puzzled by his reaction.
Zelgadis remained silent, unsure of what to say. It took him a moment to fully comprehend the meaning of her words. Of course. How could a beautiful princess ever be with someone like him? A chimera who didn't even look human. He would never find a cure for this curse and would remain alone forever. It was time to accept that. It would be better for Amelia if she could be with someone she truly deserved – or at least someone human.
"You're right, it's complete nonsense," he finally said, his face settling into an unreadable mask of indifference. "But that's not why you called me here," he added, rising from the cabinet and lifting his head proudly.
"Yes..." the white-haired girl murmured, seemingly a little embarrassed by her own behaviour. "The thing is, you shouldn't trust Kirei or the rest of his group."
"Oh, what a revelation," he scoffed cynically and shrugged. "I knew that from the moment I arrived in this world."
"Kirei – let alone Maya – must never find out that you're the bearer of the Twin Blade. It would be best if you didn't use the sword around her at all," she explained calmly. "Besides, I think that since you have magical potential, Maya might want to use you to help find the second Tear of the Mother of Nightmares. Now that they've found the fifth priestess..."
"The fifth priestess?" Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. Could she be referring to...?
"Please, Zelgadis! Use your head for once! Who do you think that black-haired girl they brought with them is? You can't seriously believe that five Divine Priests, now that they're all gathered, won't use this opportunity to find the Tear as quickly as possible. By doing so, they could merge the divine fragments sealed inside them by the Divine Lord, and he could be reborn, ending the war in this world once and for all!"
"So Lillya really is the Fifth Priestess..." Zelgadis thought, and finally, everything began to fall into place in his mind.
When he had seen her terrifying, dark power today, when she attacked the demon Ira, he would never have guessed that it could be a divine fragment. The legend Nirali had told him flashed through his mind, saying that before his death, the Divine Lord sealed pieces of himself into the bodies of five mortals. Kirei, Maya, Tamaki, Daiki, and now Lillya – that makes five. Now that they're all together, it's clear they'll do whatever it takes to find the Tear and resurrect the Divine Lord sealed within them.
On the other hand, what's wrong with that? He wouldn't mind if the people of this world finally experienced peace and freedom. Zelgadis began to analyse the situation intensely, until the brutality of their position dawned on him.
"Impossible!" he hissed, finally understanding why Maya couldn't find out that he wielded the Twin Blade.
"Do you understand now?" Nirali asked gently, stepping forward and carefully grabbing his arm. "If they find out, they won't let you go. No one can take the sword away from you, so they'll definitely find a way to force you to obey them and use it for their purposes!" Zelgadis immediately thought of Amelia and realised that this was the only way they could force him to do anything. He looked at Nirali with concern as she stood before him with her head bowed. "You're right. They won't hesitate to sacrifice you or those you love, all to end the war..." she whispered, letting go of his arm and walking over to the window. Zelgadis could almost feel the sadness emanating from her.
"It happened to you, didn't it?" he asked, standing behind her. She had mentioned earlier that she was a traitor, but it seemed that she was merely a victim.
"He's still alive, Zelgadis." Nirali's voice suddenly carried a distant longing, and she became fragile and vulnerable. Lifting her face to the dark sky, she wrapped her arms around herself and added softly, "I don't want you to end up like me."
"Is that why you're helping me?" he asked quietly, and as she turned, he felt her blue eyes become familiar again, though he didn't know from where and couldn't remember. Her face was serious as she stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, a sad smile crept across her face, but she didn't answer the question.
"You see, my beloved wasn't anyone special, and neither was I, at least not at the time. We met as children, and then one day it turned out that our feelings had matured and it just... happened." Another smile crept onto her face. "Honestly, it was an extraordinary love. I lived in the same temple you're in now, and Kirei and Maya were already leading the survivors. That was about three years ago; Kirei was sixteen, just a child like the rest of them. But as Divine Priests, they had extraordinary abilities that made people feel safe around them. It was Kirei who could create barriers, and one of those barriers protects the temple, so the Undead can't get in. I won't deny that it's a very practical ability..." She nodded slightly. "Everything changed when our group of scavengers was attacked by Ira one day. He recognised my sword..." she finished and fell silent for a long moment. "I had no choice. They took him; now he's being held in the Manor of Death, and as you probably know, he won't leave there alive unless they free him themselves. I had to protect him."
Suddenly, Zelgadis saw Nirali before him, but she was very different from the one he had first met. This Nirali was good, she wanted to protect those she loved, just as he did.
"Just promise me that you won't get involved in this mess and that you'll run away, taking your friends with you."
"You have my word," he promised, but his mind was already making plans.
Though his steps were quick and decisive, he felt as if his own heart was betraying him, pounding mercilessly in his chest. He thought the whole world could hear it now. Could they hear it?
Step by step, he nervously glanced behind him to check. He tried to calm his breathing, knowing that his sudden nervousness wouldn't escape Maya's sharp eyes, but it was no easy task. He could still hear Nirali's words in his head, repeating over and over like a record on a loop. For a moment, he found it funny. Yesterday, he hadn't known anything about the weapon he held in his hand - just an ordinary sword that had saved his skin more than once - and today? Today, it suddenly turned out that the weapon he had always possessed could bring ruin to them all. He glanced at the sword strapped to his hip and stopped abruptly. With a soft sigh, he took a deep breath and looked at the weapon again. The gleaming hilt protruded from its sheath like a military standard on enemy ground, ready to bring death.
"Calm down, Zelgadis," he told himself and took another slow breath.
He needed a plan.
"And new weapons," a small voice added in his head, and he felt his galloping heart finally begin to slow.
He had to make sure that neither the demons nor, perhaps more importantly, the Divine Priests knew of the sword's existence. He wasn't so much worried about himself as he was about Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and... Nirali. No matter how much he denied it, deep down he knew that Nirali was now his ally. The small voice echoed again in Zelgadis' mind—was this all about an alliance? He knew the answer all too well. Of course, it wasn't just about an alliance, and the simple fact was that he needed this girl on his side.
No.
He felt a sense of belonging; in a strange way, he knew they belonged together. They were from the same world, the life they had once shared. When he closed his eyes, he saw Nirali again, standing with her back to him, her face turned towards the leaden sky.
"I don't want you to end up like me."
Though he hadn't seen her face when she said it, he could hear the sadness in her voice, but also the concern. Concern for him. It shook him so deeply that he knew, and swore to himself, that he would do everything in his power to free Nirali. He owed her that. And the only plan that formed amidst the chaotic thoughts was simple.
Kill the demons.
Even if it seemed simpler than it really was. Zelgadis opened his eyes and instinctively tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. He had a plan.
"For now, my friend..." he spoke softly to the sword, "you will stay hidden."
When he saw familiar silhouettes in the distance, he breathed a sigh of relief upon realising that Amelia was among them. He was about to smile and run towards them when Kirei appeared like a shadow behind the princess. Speaking to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, but the girl simply shook her head.
What had Nirali said?
"Then that white-haired idiot showed up, and oh, I almost threw up when he declared his love for her..."
Well, Zelgadis had known from the beginning that Rei loved Amelia, but now that he had finally said it out loud, it became something no one could deny. Zel knew this all too well, and perhaps that was why he felt bitterness spreading through his heart as he watched the two of them from a distance.
It wasn't about Kirei. It could've been any other man. A human. Exactly, a human, and that was the crux of the matter, because Zelgadis wasn't human, or at least didn't feel fully human. Silently, he stretched out his hands, seeing the bluish skin and sharp shards of stone embedded in his body. Through his spread fingers, he could still see Amelia and the others. They stood there, completely unaware of his presence.
Would that be better for everyone?
A small voice laughed mockingly in his head – of course it would, he heard.
What could he give them? So far, all he had done was drag his friends around the world in search of a supposed cure for his curse. As good friends, no one had ever complained, but did they really want to keep doing this? Where had it led them? It was because of him that they had followed Kazuki, because of him that they had searched for the Book of Chaos, which had finally led them here and almost cost Amelia her life...
Lina, Gourry, Amelia... they could have made a different, better life for themselves than constantly chasing after illusions. Lina could have become a great, powerful magician if she had only taken the time to study. She might even have had a chance to become a high priestess, who knows? Gourry, on the other hand, could have become a fencing master, perhaps even opened a small school to teach his skills. And Amelia? Well, Amelia was a princess and had indeed become the sole ruler of the mighty capital of White Magic. She could have been a wonderful queen, with beautiful children and a prosperous country. But she needed a prince, a king worthy of the title of king. And him, Zel? He was a chimera. He didn't come from a noble family, he had no special skills or talents. He was worthless and a burden to his friends. He unconsciously clenched his outstretched hands into fists and struck his thighs.
Suddenly, he understood, and the brutality of the truth he had just realised almost shattered him. He should have left long ago, freed them all from himself. Not asking them to follow him in pursuit of unreal desires. And though it was unimaginable, Zelgadis felt an enormous weight lift from his shoulders, and the whole plan he had been forming in his head suddenly became childishly easy. Of course, he saw this as a sign that he had made the right decision. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice when Lina appeared in front of him.
"You look like you just ate a rat," she said suddenly, and it made Zelgadis jump in surprise at her presence, but then he stiffened again. For a moment, he had the absurd impression that Lina had heard his thoughts. "Are you all right? Where have you been for so long?" she asked.
"I..." He tried to form his words into a coherent sentence, but after a moment, he closed his mouth with a smile. He looked calmly into his friend's eyes, full of living fire, and he already knew... this would be their farewell. "It's nothing." As he walked past her, he placed his hand on the top of her head and gently ruffled her red hair. Lina's surprise didn't last long.
"You don't think you can brush me off like that, Zelgadis!" Lina shouted, running after him and blocking his path.
Zelgadis chuckled with amusement, of course, he could have predicted that Lina would start to annoy him. That was just the way she was.
"Just trust me," he said calmly, putting his hand on her shoulder and adding quietly when he saw her determined expression: "Please."
For a moment, he saw her pupils widen with anger, but she simply turned her back on him and marched towards the group watching them. Zelgadis followed in silence, and when they reached the others, he didn't even glance at Amelia or Gourry.
"That will make it easier," he said to himself, and turned to Maya with newfound determination.
"I guess we should thank you after all," he said in a resigned tone.
Maybe Maya was playing her own games, but now Zelgadis wasn't going to be just a pawn. He needed Maya and the others, even if he was ashamed to admit it. In their current situation, they were their best protection.
"I'm glad we arrived at the right moment..." Maya replied, lazily looking at the sky. "You already know that we are priests. The five of us, wonderfully chosen, in whom the Divine Lord sealed parts of his soul, hence our supernatural powers."
"Why are you telling us this now?" Amelia asked, her voice revealing that she still felt wounded by the betrayal of her friends. "How could you keep this a secret all this time? From me?"
"Amelia, it wasn't easy. Besides, things got a bit more complicated. When Lillya finally found us, we were finally complete," Maya explained carefully.
"How did she find you? That girl could barely keep track of what was going on around her!" Lina remarked, and Maya gave her a stern look.
"When the Mother of Nightmares created the five pillars, it was the fifth one she cherished the most..." Unexpectedly, the quiet tale began with Kirei, still standing behind Amelia. He was so close to her that she must have felt his breath on the back of her neck. "As a token of her love, she offered two identical swords to the ruling Dark Lord and the Divine Lord. When joined, the blades could create a powerful fusion capable of destroying even the Mother herself. She wanted to show them that she considered them equal to herself. Unfortunately, the Demon became jealous and raised his blade against Davine Lord. A great battle ensued between the two. However, no one expected that the blood from their wounds would mark a pair of children with extraordinary power. These children would become the heirs to these mighty blades. Time passed, and the Demon defeated God - or so he thought. When he left God to die in agony, the Divine Lord found five individuals in whom he hid parts of his soul and power. The Divine Priests. Yes, we are the five. Meanwhile, the Demon took God's sword and marched toward the Mother, intending to use the power of the swords. But he found that he could not fully unleash their power alone. The Mother of Nightmares barely managed to defeat him. Only two swords remained. The cause of the world's downfall. The swords changed shape and found their way to the children marked by the blood of God and the Demon. The Mother of Nightmares tried to take the swords from the children, but it proved impossible. The only option was to take one of the children along with the sword and send them to another world, so the blades would never meet. The Mother took one of the children and sealed the fifth pillar. The swords would never meet. Saddened by the destruction, the Mother shed two tears as she sealed the pillar. Unfortunately, one of the tears fell on the Demon's remains. Thanks to this fragment of the creature, the Demon was able to resurrect, but only in several parts. To fully reunite and regain his lost power, the demons would have to find the second tear of the Mother. However, the same desire was held by the Divine Lord, who sealed himself in the bodies of five mortals..."
When he fell silent, he gazed at Amelia with pain, as if there was something more hidden in this story, something that Zel had no idea about.
Zelgadis swallowed the lump in his throat. He had heard the same words from Nirali and had passed them on to his friends. He hadn't mentioned the swords, though, for reasons that were clear to him... He hadn't told them that he was one of those children either... He wondered whose blood had actually marked him - God's or the Demon's? Something inside him suggested that he knew the answer... Meanwhile, Lina and Gourry didn't seem particularly shocked. Since they didn't know who possessed the swords, they seemed completely uninterested.
"It's the real story, repeated by everyone here," Tamaki explained with a shrug. "Sort of like the poems in school."
"Thank you for that historical introduction," Maya said with a warm smile. "So, as you understand, our priority is to find the Tear of the Mother of Nightmares. However, in order to reunite God's soul, we all had to be present. When the Divine Lord sealed his soul, he bound these separate pieces to our souls in such a way that they could never be separated. It's like a magnet; each of us attracts the others in an inexplicable way. We just feel like we have to go in a certain direction. Rei found me first, then Tamaki and Daiki, and now finally Lillya."
"Wait, wait... why were they looking for you? Shouldn't you all attract each other? Isn't that how it works?" Lina asked.
"Of course, Maya felt the pull as well, but since she was the only one without combat skills, she couldn't move freely among the demons and the Undead to find us. However, she was the only one who knew what had happened; we were like children in the mist," Tamaki explained with a broad smile.
"Maya has the memory," Daiki said roughly, anticipating Lina's next question. "The memory of the Divine Lord, of course."
"In our case, different... abilities appeared first, and only later did Maya explain to us what had happened and where our power came from. We didn't really have a choice, but... it's still great, because at least I don't feel powerless." Tamaki raised his long arms and stretched, obviously pleased with himself.
So that was it, Zelgadis thought, understanding why he had felt from the very beginning that Maya was the leader of this group.
"So..." Gourry began hesitantly, "what exactly are your powers?"
"Man, it's awesome, I'll tell you!" Tamaki laughed and snapped his fingers, pointing at Rei. "He has the best."
Surprised, Rei blushed and quickly looked away, embarrassed.
"That's not true. Anyway, why do we have to talk about it? It's irrelevant..." he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Each of us has some traits of the Divine Lord, and therefore powers associated with each of those traits," Maya began, removing her friend from the centre of attention, where he really didn't like to be. "I have knowledge, memory, which is why I have the gift of seeing auras. It's like looking inside someone. Daiki has the spark of life, that's why we call him the healer."
"The Divine Lord has the spark of life because he can create it, while I can only heal the body. There's no comparison," Daiki scoffed, shaking his head in indignation.
"Anyway..." Maya went on, "Tamaki is a creator. He can't create the material world, but he can create a perfect illusion of it."
"At your service." The redhead bowed deeply with exaggerated politeness.
"As for Rei, he received as a gift all that was most delicate in the Divine Lord, but also his light, his love, and his compassion. Rei is a protector. He can create barriers that prevent demons from entering a certain place, but also barriers that prevent them from escaping. That's why the temple we live in is protected."
"Love and compassion?" Amelia repeated quietly, looking at the white-haired boy.
Embarrassed, Rei shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other.
"It's not like that..." he began, "I... ah... Why couldn't I have gotten something else...?" He looked pleadingly at Maya.
"Come on, bro! Your skill is the best! Thanks to you, we can protect so many people," Tamaki exclaimed enthusiastically, waving his hands energetically.
Amelia, still staring at Kirei, unexpectedly approached and hugged him.
"This is wonderful," she said softly, burying her head in the folds of his cloak. Surprised, Kirei just shyly stroked her neck.
Meanwhile, Zelgadis' insides twisted into a tight knot, and for a brief moment, all he wanted to do was look away, but he couldn't. He couldn't. He had decided earlier that he would free everyone from himself, so he would have to get used to the idea of not being a part of other people's lives. He endured. He watched them until Amelia pulled away from Kirei.
Lina broke the awkward silence:
"Everything's great," she began, "but I suppose you're not going to tell me that she's got a bit of your God inside her too?" She pointed at Lillya.
"Lina Inverse," Maya began seriously, "nothing in any world is all white or all black. Lillya is extraordinary, for she possesses divine wrath, all the shadows cast by His light. Lillya is the darkness through which she absorbs existence and brings nightmares. It's an incredible power," she finished with admiration.
"If you like, I can demonstrate it to you," Lillya interjected with a grimace that she probably intended to pass as a smile.
"Enough," Maya said briefly, to which Lillya shrugged slightly, still wearing the same grimace on her face.
"So, what do you want?" Gourry asked finally.
"Our abilities aren't magic; it's not enough to find the Tear. Especially since the demons are stronger than us," Maya began calmly.
"So we need your help..." Rei finished for her. "This is our last chance. The demons already know that we're complete, so they'll want to find the Tear faster. They won't hesitate or hold back. But we also want you to leave our pillar safely. We'll take you to a witch who will surely restore your powers. All we ask is that you help us find the Tear," he lowered his voice and fell silent for a long moment, the tension hanging in the air.
Zelgadis exchanged glances with Lina and Gourry. Finally, he nodded in agreement. Well, this was more convenient than he'd expected.
"So where is this witch?" he asked.
"Actually, we're already here," Rei replied calmly.