Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Search for the Darkstar ❯ Gateway, Torn Asunder ( Chapter 26 )

Disclaimer: "Slayers" isn't mine, but belongs to Kanzaka Hajime, Araizumi Rui and those who represent them. I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while and will return them intact. Except for Gourry. He might be squished just a little. This story is set after the manga arc "Knight of Aqualord" and is an alternate take on the TRY season of the anime.

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Search for the Darkstar
- Chapter 23: Gateway, Torn Asunder

Wolf Pack Island:
Several hours after the battle at the Ancient Dragon Temple

Xelloss strode through the tall grasses that surrounded the center of Wolf Pack Island. Zelas did not believe in maintaining any sort of dwelling that separated her from the outdoors that she loved and the enchantments placed around the island ensured that not only did the weather never change, but that it always remained night. His master had an affinity for the moon and stars that Xelloss could appreciate. It was at night, Zelas once explained, that the greatest mysteries of the Lord of Nightmares could be felt and the full extent of her creation be appreciated.

He could had teleported straight to his mistress's side. He should had been able to do it. The thin, twisting path that cut through reeds as tall as trees were for the use of Lesser Mazoku. But when he had obtained the weapon and tried to return to his mistress's side, Xelloss found that he couldn't do so. With a touch of annoyance, he started down the long path knowing that it would take at least three hours to get from the outer edges of the island where the path began to his mistress's side. It left him plenty of time to think.

Zelas rarely blocked his access to her. The last time had been when Hellmaster Phibrizzo had demanded his services in tailing Lina Inverse and trapping Gaav. Xelloss figured that he had a right to feel somewhat uneasy after that incident. Indeed, Lina and her group provided an endless source of amusement, but the task itself had been most unpleasant. A wolf howled in the distance at that thought and his lips curled into a vague smile. The nervous twinge in the pit of his stomach was perfectly justified.

“I can't believe that you stand for this, condone it even!” Deep Sea Dolphin's tense, slightly shrill voice cut through the night, indicating that he was close. “You know what happened in Kunan! The girl doesn't deserve to live, much less run around in search of these weapons!”

“Need I remind you, Dolphin, that Hureika's failure was just as much a product of her own swelled head as it was Lina Inverse's power. You yourself said that her self-absorption would one day lead to her downfall.” Zelas's cool, slightly sarcastic voice calmed Xelloss and he agreed with his mistress completely. Hurieka had the looks of a cockroach. She had been cunning, but too entirely too confident in her own abilities.

Dolphin didn't say anything for a minute. “I hate it when you're right,” she hissed and Xelloss grinned.

“Lina Inverse is a useful tool,” Zelas commented.

“She's been extremely useful in getting most of us killed off!”

Xelloss lightly stepped into the clearing in time to see a seated Zelas level a stare at Dolphin that normally caused most Lesser Mazoku to whimper in terror. “Lina Inverse is directly responsible for one the the pieces of the Dark Lord. She assisted in killing Hureika. If you forget, Dolphin, Phibrizzo was actually the one to kill Gaav. The Lord of Nightmares herself struck down Phibrizzo.”

“Who was called down here by Lina Inverse.”

“After being provoked by the Hellmaster!” Zelas pushed out of her chair.

Dolphin bared her teeth. “Are you sticking up for her? A human?”

“I'm just saying what's there, Dolphin. Nothing more. Lina Inverse has saved us considerable legwork in locating, safekeeping and obtaining the Darkstar weapons.” Zelas's gaze flickered over Dolphin's shoulder. “Am I not right, Xelloss?”

He emerged from the shadows, the last weapon in hand. He dropped to one knee and lowered his head respectfully. “Yes, my lady. Lina-san was able to use her Ragna Blade to obtain this weapon. My powers alone would not be sufficient to release the seal around it. That required a power equal to or greater than Darkstar's.”

Zelas did not say anything, but Dolphin huffed out a breath of air. Ignoring her companion, Zelas approached Xelloss and took the bow. “So this is it?” she asked. The bow activated, forming a string and arrow as soon as she took it. Zelas considered the weapon for a moment, lifted it and shot the arrow. The light attack tore through the tall grass, igniting it in its wake. She lowered the weapon and turned her back on the fire as a dozen Lesser Mazoku oozed out of the shadows armed with buckets of water.

“It's powerful,” Zelas acknowledged as her minions proceeded to extinguish the fire. “This will work with the other weapons to appease Darkstar.”

“Then let's get to it,” Dolphin stated and dissipated the anti-teleporting ward with a wave of her hand. In seconds, the three were at the gateway, the four weapons still humming in the sockets they'd been placed in a couple weeks earlier.

“Game plan?” Dolphin asked as Zelas strode to the center of the platform.

“Negotiation. Darkstar will come through the gateway. We offer the weapons in return for either his services in locating and reviving the remaining pieces of Ruby Eye or aligning within us to fulfill our destiny in this world.”

“And if it should fail?” Dolphin placed a hand on her hip.

“We use the weapons to destroy him.”

Dolphin indicated the gateway with a sweep of her hand. “So the three of us will utilize these five weapons? You have many admirable talents, Zelas, but even being able to use two weapons at once is beyond your capabilities.”

Zelas's nose wrinkled slightly. “Damn it,” she hissed, then with a flick of her wrist summoned two Lesser Mazoku. “Take those weapons,” she commanded, pointing to the Sword of Light and Ragud Mezegis.

The Lesser Mazoku swept toward the socketed weapons and placed their hands on them. With twin shrieks piercing the silence, they immediately dissipated into nothing. Zelas grunted. “Well, that won't do.” She lifted a hand to summon two more, but Dolphin grabbed her shoulder.

“How many Lessers will you go through to find two stable enough to handle these other weapons?” Dolphin demanded. “Despite popular opinion, our supply of Lesser Mazoku is limited.” She frowned at the weapons. “I'm amazed that these weapons do not do you damage.”

“What we know about these weapons comes our study of the man the humans call the Swordsman of Light, who just happens to travel with Lina Inverse,” Zelas replied. “His family retained control of Gorun Nova for a few centuries. Through him, we discovered that these weapons are operated by willpower, something that is lacking in our lesser Mazoku.”

“From what we know, Gorun Nova is the weakest of the Darkstar weapons,” Xelloss spoke up. “If our Mazoku don't have the willpower needed to use it, using the other weapons would also be useless.”

“He is right.” Dolphin strode out on front of Zelas, her long hair streaming around her. She pushed wisps of it out of her eyes. “Lessers do not have the will to strike out on their own. You know how our society works. Xelloss can use the weapons because not only does he have your blessing to do so, but he has enough of his own willpower. Our middle-ranked Mazoku have greatly decreased and they are the only other ones with the power to do so.”

Zelas considered this. “We can summon Dynast's priest and general, but my efforts to contact him remain fruitless.”

Dolphin rolled her eyes. “Is he still pissed that you beat him in poker three hundred years ago?”

“Dynast has always been one to hold a grudge,” Zelas replied just as a loud shriek pierced through the area. The Mazoku immediate looked up to see the gateway pulse. All sound died away with the exception of a pulse that vibrated through the area. Before any of them could react, a tear emerged in the air and a long, pulsating tentacle reached out of it.

“Almayce-san wasn't kidding when he said the gateway wasn't stable,” Xelloss commented.

Dolphin rolled her eyes. “You think?” She eyed the bow and grabbed it from Zelas.

“Wait!” Zelas grabbed Dolphin's arm. “You want to attack that thing?”

“Somehow, I don't think your tactic of negotiation's going to work, Zelas,” Dolphin yelled. With a burst of power, she blew Zelas across the platform and into one of the socketed weapons. Before either Zelas or Xelloss could react, Dolphin pointed Galvayra at the gateway and shot an arrow into it.

“My lady.” Xelloss kneeled next to her and Zelas waved him off. Her face remained impassive as the gateway opened wider and a second tentacle emerged. She closed her eyes, concentrated on the immense amount of power being contained on the other side of the dimensional fabric. Darkstar wasn't their lord, but he was a dark lord and she could still sense the energy coming from him, not to mention the rage. No, negotiation was not going to work.

It was up to them. If they had managed to summon Darkstar themselves, they would had been able to lure him into helping them resurrect the missing pieces of Shabranigdu. But no, that idiot dragon Valgaav had to mess up everything. It was time to scrap this plan and think of something else.

“Get Lina Inverse,” she ordered Xelloss. “If she and her crew are so keen on killing Darkstar, then they can take care of that task for us. You're charged to help her by any means necessary in doing so.”

“Lina Inverse?” Dolphin shrieked and stamped her foot slightly.

Zelas and Xelloss exchanged a look, then Xelloss teleported across the room. He plucked the weapon from Dolphin's hands and disappeared before she realized that it was gone. Zelas stood, glaring at Dolphin. She chanted beneath her breath and extended her power to freeze Dolphin in place.

“Zelas!” Dolphin struggled against her bonds. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Look what you did.” Zelas's cold voice had Dolphin immediately cease her struggles. The Mazoku glanced skyward and noticed that the small gateway had grown much bigger thanks to the attack. The two tentacles they'd seen earlier turned out to be attached to a giant creature, much bigger than she ever expected it to be.

“You expect a mere human to slay that?”

Zelas shrugged. “What can I say? She's more expendable than we are. Look at it this way, Dolphin. If they fail, your wish comes true and she, along with most humans, will be exterminated.”

“In that case, I'm placing all my bets on Darkstar.” Dolphin broke free from the bonds and disappeared.

Zelas stared at the spot where Dolphin had stood, then at the Sword of Light. As much as it pains me to think it, I'm placing my bets on Lina Inverse. Again.

——-

Cold! Lina scrunched up her face and shivered, patted her hand behind her for the covers that Gourry had apparently stolen. Again. She grabbed the blanket and pulled hard, jerking enough of it to cover her chest. She contemplated rolling to her other side so she spooned against his back, leeching off of his body heat. She yawned and started to do just that when she got the distinct sensation that something was very wrong.

She cracked open one eye and saw a pair of violet ones staring back into hers.

The scream coming from Lina and Gourry's tent had Zelgadiss and Lyos rushing out of theirs, swords in hand. Seconds later, a loud explosion brought Shizuri, Filia and Amelia out of theirs. Smoke billowed from the tent seconds before it collasped, shortly followed by the rip of fabric and a furious sorceress - dressed in nothing but a blanket wrapped around her - shot out of the debris.

“Lina, what happ…,” Zelgadiss started to ask, but was cut off when a ball of fire formed in Lina's hand and she hurled it at a figure that had appeared at the corner of their camp.

“Xelloss!” Lina bellowed and readied another fireball. “Show your face right now! I'm going to make you regret that you were even born.”

Xelloss flickered into view a few feet away. “Now, Lina-san, it was just a mistake!”

“A mistake? A. Mistake? You were in my tent in the middle of the night!” Lina shot the fireball at him and Xelloss dodged it.

“Lina-san! How was I suppose to know that spring had finally arrived and you figured out that Gourry-san was actually useful for something other than holding a sword?” Xelloss barely avoided a Burst Rondo.

Lina's response was a scream of pure rage as she tore across the camp. Her fingers barely brushed the skin on Xelloss's neck before he teleported a safe distance away again. “You get back here and take your punishment like a man!”

“Ah, but Lina-san, I'm a Mazoku!”

“Still doesn't change the fact that you're a yellow-bellied coward!”

“That's taking it too far, don't you think, Lina-san?” Xelloss faded into view and his gaze swept her body. “Although, I do have to admit that finding you in that state did finally prove that you actually have brea…” His words cut off as Filia's mace slammed into his back and he slumped to the ground in pain.

Lina didn't need any further incentive. By the time a fully dressed Gourry emerged from the tent debris, Lina had Xelloss in a headlock and was venting her anger in the form of fists, Flare Arrows and, to cap it off, a knee in a very vulnerable part of his body. The resulting whimper revealed that he did bother to form the right plumbing when he created his human form. She stood, dusting her hands off, then scowled at her partner. “How'd you find your clothes?”

“I folded them and put them next to the bed. You know, Lina, if you just picked up your clothes instead of scattering them everywhere…”

Three seconds later, a cowering Gourry was on the ground next to the still-cowering Xelloss. The rest of the group silently parted as Lina stomped back to the remains of her tent, fished out her clothes and took over Amelia, Shizuri and Filia's tent to dress. Five minutes later, she was back out and looming over Xelloss, cracking her knuckles as she did so. Amelia had taken pity on Gourry and healed him. He, along with everyone else, was sitting a safe distance behind Lina.

“Now then.” She deliberately cracked each knuckle, the evil smile growing bigger. “Let's discuss your recent crimes to humanity. First of all, you stole the final weapon. Second, and most important of all, you were robbing a beautiful sorceress of her extremely precious sleep - sleep that was greatly needed in preparation for our flight across the world tomorrow in pursuit of you.”

“Are you sure you weren't needing sleep for other reasons?” Xelloss winked at Lina.

She let out a short shriek of frustration. “Just what do you want, Xelloss?”

“I apologize for the inconvience that our last meeting brought to you,” he said with a wave of his hand, ignoring the resulting snort from Lina. “But, I was merely following orders then as I am now. I am here to make a deal with you.”

“What sort of deal?” Lina asked warily.

“You see, we encountered a slight situation regarding Darkstar and need your assistance to solve it.” Xelloss flashed a smile at her. “Mainly, we accidentally opened the gateway.”

“What?” The entire group yelled.

“You tried to use Galvayra to kill Darkstar and failed, causing the gateway to open entirely? What the hell were you thinking?” Zelgadiss shouted.

Xelloss shrugged and decided that it was a very wise idea not to alert them to what had transpired between Zelas and Dolphin. It simply was none of their business. “It was a logical guess at the time. After all, Almayce-san simply said that the fifth weapon needed to be used to kill Darkstar. He didn't clarify that the other four weapons would need to be used with it.”

“You're trying to blame this all on a technicality?” Filia growled. “How… How Mazoku of you!”

“Need I remind you that if it hadn't been for your temple, Filia-san, we wouldn't be here in the first place…”

“Okay, shut up! All of you! Let me think.” Lina pressed a hand to her forehead and did her best to form coherent thoughts through the headache that was fast brewing. “So, because you know we'll do it, you want us to go use the Darkstar weapons with you. Why not just force other Mazoku to do it?”

“Well, my fellow Mazoku aren't exactly an endless commodity…”

“Oh, great.” Lina rolled her eyes. “You're using us because we're expendable.”

“Don't think of it that way, Lina-san,” Xelloss chided her. “You had plans to come back to the gateway anyhow, With my help, we shall expedite the trip. Filia-san and I can teleport the group to the gateway.”

“How did you get past the barrier?” Amelia asked.

“Oh, that was never a problem to me. I'm surprised you didn't try teleporting, Filia-san,” Xelloss said in a suggestive voice that set the priestess's teeth on edge. “Then again, I suppose that's just the superior thinking of us Mazoku…”

Filia let out a scream and was barely held back from having her mace get reacquainted with Xelloss's face once more by Shizuri. “Don't,” she hissed. “He's only doing this because he enjoys it too much. Don't give him the satisfaction of your anger.”

“Too late,” Xelloss said lightly and turned his focus back to Lina. “So, do we have a deal, Lina-san?”

Because they had no other choice, Lina accepted. “But,” she said, “we're going to have a nice little chat when this is all said and done with. And I will lead this final battle, not you.”

Xelloss considered it for a moment. “Will the chat involve violence?”

“Count on it. Now, how many of us can you teleport at once?”

“We'll split the group in half.” Xelloss nodded to Filia. “Our dear priestess over there can handle Shizuri-san, Lyos-san and Amelia-san. I will take you, Gourry-san and Zelgadiss-san.”

“Fine.” Lina turned back to the group. “Okay, here's the plan. I want those with the highest capacity for power on the weapons as soon as we get there. Gourry, grab the Sword of Light. Zel, get Razud Mezegis. Lyos, you get Bodigar and Amelia, Nezzard. Shizuri, we may need your illusions to distract Darkstar. Filia, be ready with any shielding spell that's needed.”

“For you,” Xelloss offered Galvayra to her.

“Keep it. You're going to be working in this battle. I'm going to hang back in case I need to cast the Ragna Blade. I don't want to tap into it if necessa…what?” she yelled, whirling around to give Gourry a cross look as he tugged on her cloak.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don't act rash.”

“I'm not going to act rash! What the hell you think I'm going to do, cast the Giga Slave at will?”

When he simply stared at her a knowing look that infuriated her, Lina turned her back on him. “Stupid jellyfish,” she muttered as she stomped toward Xelloss. Yes, yes, she would use the Giga Slave if needed. He didn't have to make her feel bad about it! Besides, we've got more of a chance to survive a Giga Slave than rely on what my sister predicted.

Xelloss extended his arm and Lina grabbed hold of it. Gourry and Zelgadiss's hands settled on either side of hers. Before she had a chance to check on Filia and the others, the world suddenly faded into a great rush of darkness. It only lasted a second, but the moment seemed to last for days. She remembered the feel of Gourry's hair whipping against her face and Zel's rocky hand brushing against her own. Then they were inside of the gateway, standing in the circle formed by the four weapons.

Lina stared up at the gateway and the huge creature hugging it. She hadn't noticed it during the battle, but the actual gateway was a long, suspended series of chambers that hung over the top of the tower. They were now open, dark energy pouring from it. “It looks like there's no turning back from this now,” she said and looked back at Gourry and Shizuri, who had arrived with Filia, Amelia and Lyos. They knew what she meant.

Shizuri inched her way forward and placed her hand on Lina's arm. “We'll find an answer. After all, there's still the weapons.”

But will they be enough? Lina craned her neck and saw the blackness of the Sea of Chaos stretching wide above her. Her heart clenched and a distant memory came back to her.

“I've been there.”

She startled, stared at Gourry who was also looking into the gateway. “I've been there,” he repeated. “I remember something. You. A lady looking like you but who was gold-colored. She was taking you away from me.”

She could see it as well, memories locked away that were now starting to come back at a terrifying rate. She pushed them away. “Get the weapons, folks! Go!” she yelled.

Amelia started toward Nezzard and was stopped by a hand to her shoulder. She looked over it and blinked with surprise at Zelgadiss. “What's wrong, Zelgadiss-san?”

“Are you going to be okay using a weapon like that?”

She smiled gently and patted his hand. “It's for the cause of justice, isn't it?”

The four grabbed the weapons and activated them at the same time as Xelloss. Lina surveyed the room and despite the dire situation, felt a sense of accomplishment. The five weapons are finally together. She pointed toward the gateway. Time for round one. Let's see what power we've got. “Gourry, use your weapon! Fire a shot off at it!”

She'd seen him do it once before, use his willpower to release the blade from the Sword of Light and use it like an arrow. It took a lot of energy on his part, but with his being one of the weaker weapons, it would be a good gauge to see how much damage they could do with all of them. Gourry drew back his sword arm, then swung the hilt forward. The light blade disengaged, then hurled into the gateway. It blasted through the darkness and a moment later they heard a sharp howl.

Black jets of horrendous energy shot through the portal toward Gourry and he threw up the Sword of Light in reflex. Lina sprinted across the platform, grabbing onto his shirt and casting a shield just as the attack hit. The magic didn't hit them, but the pressure was enough to send them both crashing to the ground. Lina forced more magic into her shield, then noticed that the others were also casting their own. Zelgadiss's shield served to cover himself and Shizuri while Filia had ran to Lyos and cast one over the two of them.

When the attack subsided, Lina let the shield drop and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She surveyed the gateway and saw that several of the columns had broken away, debris littering the area where Amelia stood with Nezzard. “One on one isn't going to work,” she said.

“We'll need to use the weapons to divide Darkstar,” Zelgadiss said. “Almayce confirmed that when we talked to him while you were fighting Valgaav.”

“Then do it!” Lina yelled. “Everyone, focus on trying to merge your weapons with each other!” They concentrated on the weapons and an energy shield sprang to life around them. Tentacles from Darkstar struck the barrier and were repelled back as the blades of light from the five weapons grew bigger and more powerful. Lina looked around and saw that while Gourry, Zelgadiss and Lyos were barely keeping their weapons contained, Amelia was fighting a losing battle. The petite woman gritted her teeth, but the force from the weapon had her sliding across the floor.

Before Lina could say anything, Shizuri ran to Amelia's side. She placed her hands against Amelia's shoulders and back and braced herself hard. She slowly reached forward, her hand wrapping around the hilt of Nezzard just above Amelia's. Her willpower was enough to where Lina could see the strain lessen from Amelia's face.

“What do we do now?” Filia asked Lina.

“Channel it toward Darkstar!” Lina turned to Xelloss. “You didn't happen to get an instruction manual from Almayce during your brief liasion with him, did you?”

“No,” Xelloss admitted.

“Fine then!” Lina turned back toward the group and saw that the circle of light maintained around the group. It must have something to do with the four main weapons being in proximity to the portals used to activate the gateway. “Release your attacks together in three, two, one…now!”

The ring of light lifted from the platform and shot through the gateway. It wrapped around Darkstar, looking as if he was being encased in chains of light. He thrashed against it, the gateway going wild as he did so. Suddenly, the gateway snapped close with a loud clank, leaving part of the dark mass in the tower thrashing above him.

“We got him! Part of him at any rate,” Lina cheered as one by one, the light weapon users relaxed their hold on their weapons.

“So, this is Darkstar,” Filia said in a mixed tone of awe and fear.

“I'd say we managed to cut his power in half.” With the thrill subsiding, Lina stared up at the dark lord. “He's still much stronger than Phibrizzo was. We can't rely on our ordinary spells against his.”

“What about taking a page out of your book?” Zelgadiss suggested. When Lina raised an eyebrow at him, he merely grinned and pointed Razud Mezegis at Darkstar. “Rah Tilt!” he yelled, channelling the spell into his weapon and releasing the attack. It struck the beast and he howled in pain.

“Well, guess that is a page out of my book,” Lina grinned, then motioned to Filia. “Filia! Help Lyos!”

When the priestess moved over to Lyos, Lina grabbed the Sword of Light just above Gourry's hands. Their eyes met, held, then she activated her talismans and started to chant the Dragon Slave. The attack wrapped around the light blade and merged with it, the sword glowing red for a brief moment before she yelled out the final chaos words and Gourry released the blade of the sword once more.

The combined magical attacks with the blades of light tore through the beast. While he thrashed around, it didn't appear to make any visible difference. Amelia lowered her weapon and wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. “Combining a spell with the Sword of Light worked against Zanaffar, but this doesn't seem to be doing anything.”

“We can do what we did against Hureika,” Lyos suggested. “We can combine Aqualord and Airlord's powers and channel them through Banisher.”

“Good idea,” Lina said and started toward him, then froze when she saw something strange. She frowned at Darkstar. “Is it just me or is he reacting to something?”

“We haven't done anything in a minute or so,” Zelgadiss said.

The beast seemed to be fixiated on Filia and Lyos. Its great mouth opened and closed several times as it stared at them. Filia frowned, then pressed a hand to her chest. She reached inside her cloak and took out the orb that had contained the memories of the Ancient Dragon elders. It glowed with a blue light and seemed to be reacting to Darkstar itself.

“Why would that thing be glowing?” Lyos asked.

“I don't know,” Filia replied. Before she could think of an answer, Darkstar gave a powerful roar. They stared at the sky and watched, stunned as a full-figured beast began to take shape, taking on a form that reminded her of a dragon in its natural form. Incredible pressure filled the chamber, forcing them all to the ground. “He's trying to fly away from here or something!” she yelled to Lina as the tower walls started to crack around them.

Lina tossed her hands over her head as the tower walls gave way. Under her breath, she chanted a shield spell and felt it ripple into place. After a minute, the pressure lifted and she jumped to her feet in time to see Darkstar out of the tower and flying through the sky. She cursed. “Filia! We've got to follow him!”

“Right!” She yelled, transforming immediately. They took to the sky, but it was apparent that her speed was no match for Darkstar's.

“What will we do?” Amelia asked Lina as they clung tightly to Filia's back.

“Go higher!” Zelgadiss suddenly yelled. “The world is round. The higher we go, the more we go toward the outer edge of the atmosphere and the circumference around the world gets smaller. We'll be able to travel a greater distance?”

“Huh?” Gourry and Lyos gave him a blank look.

“You know, you could had suggested this when we were looking for the weapons!” Lina yelled at him as they started to rise.

“There's a drawback,” he told her. “The atmosphere is thinner there. It's harder to breathe.”

Suddenly a blast of cold air had Lina shrieking and Zelgadiss winced. “And it's rather cold up here as well.” He then motioned to Lina and Amelia. “Cast Recovery on her. Filia! As soon as they do so, dive toward Darkstar!”

“Right!” As soon as she felt the cool waves of the healing spell wash over her, Filia angled herself toward the ground. The maneuver brought them into line with Darkstar. Filia strained, pushing herself to go faster as Lina and Amelia alternated casting Recovery on her.

“Look, up ahead!” Lyos yelled and Lina pushed aside her weariness when she recognized the building they were headed toward. “The Flarelord temple!”

It was the final straw for Filia. She landed and collapsed, landing in Lyos's arms. Lina and Amelia both dropped to their knees, exhausted from the magic it took to keep Filia in the air. Lina waved off Gourry's help, keeping her eye trained on the glowing orb in Filia's hand.

“Golden Dragons… Golden Dragons…”

An eerily familiar voice resonated from the being in the sky and it hit Lina at the exact moment that Filia gasped. “It can't be…”

“Valgaav!” Lina cried.

-----

Author's Note: Greetings! I apologize for the delay in releasing this chapter. A very hectic chain of events happened during the past almost four months that included two and a half months of severe overtime, a move to a new apartment, a new boyfriend and other fun things. The good news is that this is the next to last chapter in the story. There's one more chapter and a chapter-length epilogue tying up all the loose ends.

Much of how the Mazoku system works was taken from KanzakaDex and does its best to explain why Xelloss and the other Mazoku just didn't bother to use the weapons themselves. Mazoku depend on each other in a hierarchy system and I am guessing that they wouldn't have the willpower to make the weapon work if they couldn't at least take a human form. With Lina and those associated with her rapidly depleting the number of these stronger Mazoku, I can see them being content with having them do the work.