Slayers - Volume 15 - Chapter 4

4: Demon Slayers

Rustle. The red cape and hood drifted up into the sky, carried by the wind. And before they could fall to the ground again, they blended into the air around them and vanished.

“Hey there. Gotta say, that stuffy old thing was makin’ it kinda hard to move right,” he whispered in his usual tone. As he spoke, the robe he’d been wearing morphed into light clothing and armor.

He now looked just like his old self with three key differences: the staff in his hand, the red cast to his clothing, and the fiery crimson color of his hair.

“Oh... this?” Perhaps noticing the direction of my gaze, he smiled abashedly and played with his hair with his free hand. “Yeah, I’m a natural redhead. I dyed it, since... y’know. She said she didn’t like red hair.” He sounded exactly like he always did, except for the air of quiet sorrow in his words. “But sheesh... You got me good, huh? I figured you might. You got good instincts an’ all. In fact, you saw through it so quick, it’s kinda makin’ the whole thing awkward.”

“What in the world...?” I muttered, straining out the words at last. My voice was barely audible. “What in the... What is...”

“Yeah... Guess I owe you the whole explanation, huh?” he said. He spoke haltingly, like a kid who’d been called out on a prank. “There was another me inside me, see? Not even I realized it was there... but I’m bettin’ you guys know what I mean, seein’ as you were there for Rezo Shabranigdu’s half-awakening and all.”

I said nothing in response. We... Gourry and I hadn’t really discussed those events with Luke and Mileena. He knew we’d defeated the Dark Lord, but he shouldn’t have known the identity of the host. The only beings who would were the seven parts of Ruby-Eye—pieces of the Dark Lord sundered millennia ago that shared a single consciousness. The other fragments.

Luke continued. “What makes me different from Rezo Shabranigdu is... I took this on willingly. This... The guy who I am...” // “...and that which I am...” // “...are united as one.”

Two voices came out of his mouth in succession—Luke’s voice, and that of the Dark Lord.

“You’re kidding me,” I found myself gasping hoarsely, my voice carried away by the wind. “But... you can see.”

“‘See’? Oh, that’s a whole misunderstandin’. Comin’ from the name Ruby-Eye, I guess. The fragment wasn’t sealed into Rezo’s eyes or nothin’. It was deep inside his soul. The minute he ate the Philosopher’s Stone—a shard of Demon Blood that amplifies and unleashes magical power—that freed it. In my case...” Luke started, then stopped with a heavy sigh. “It’s just like you said,” he started again, his solemn eyes on me. “The hatred just wouldn’t go away, no matter what I did. I left Selentia hopin’ to forget it all... But I just couldn’t. The littlest things kept remindin’ me. Y’know how they say time heals all wounds? Yeah, that’s a load of crap.”

For a moment, I saw in Luke’s eyes a shadow of what I’d seen in Rubia’s during our reunion in Atlas. She’d told me that she would never forget what she’d been through. But Rubia carried a burden of love and self-loathing inside of her... And Luke? His burden was hatred.

“I don’t blame Ceres anymore, but the next thing I knew... I was blamin’ all of humanity. The world itself.” Luke was no longer looking at me. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance beyond. Something so far away that he could never reach it. “That’s when I realized I had somethin’ else sleepin’ inside me. I joined with it willingly. And that’s pretty much that.”

“Why?” I sounded so dumbstruck that I hated myself for it.

“Luke,” Gourry began quietly, his voice far steadier than mine. “What happened that day... A demon was behind it. Did you know that?”

“Yeah. Thinkin’ back now, I’m bettin’ that Zord guy only got messed up in the head when he fused with a demon too. But even knowin’ that... Or maybe because I know it, I resent it all the more. I resent humanity for thinkin’ up the whole crazy-ass demon fusion thing. And I resent demonkind—includin’ that asshole Dynast—for cookin’ up the whole damn scheme for his sneaky little game.”

“Game?” I whispered.

Luke nodded. “Graushera told us he was just havin’ a meal, but everything’s been leadin’ up to somethin’ else. Just like what Fibrizo did a thousand years ago—usin’ war as a wake-up call for the soul of the Dark Lord sleepin’ inside someone out there. It was a pretty damn shoddy gamble, if you ask me. Barely even a plan.”

Ah... I see. So that’s what all this was about...

I finally felt like I understood everything. Why General Sherra had created a demon sword to corrupt human souls and left it lying around for people to find. Why she’d smiled in her final moments. It was because she’d been seeking a soul that couldn’t be corrupted by a mere General.

In other words, it was a ritual to locate the Dark Lord’s next host. And in Sherra’s final moments, she’d finally found it—someone who could hold the demon sword Dulgoffa without being consumed. She’d found Luke. With a triumphant smile, she’d conveyed that information to Dynast somehow... and then perished.

This whole charade was why Dynast Graushera had kicked up a commotion in Gyria City after we left. He was hoping to call us back. He’d then gone to the additional trouble of fusing someone we knew with a lower-ranked demon to send after us. To make the fight more painful. To use the angst and hatred that inspired to awaken the Dark Lord’s soul.

Thinking back—even discounting having Milgazia and Mephy on our side—the demonic attacks we’d suffered then were strangely lacking in intensity. At the time, I’d assumed the demons were just playing with us, but I was wrong. They were trying to use the heightened emotions that came with combat to awaken the Dark Lord in Luke’s soul.

They’d also known that their grand plan would all be for naught if they actually killed Luke in the process. But it’s not like demons knew how to fight humans while restraining themselves just enough not to kill. So they couldn’t hold back, but they also couldn’t kill... This, due to their nature, had weakened them. And as a result, we’d won that battle with the Dark Lord inside Luke still fast asleep.

But when trouble went down in a different city, the death of his beloved had sparked his hatred. That tragedy, in a sense, wasn’t wrought by demonic hands. Humans had awakened the soul of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu.

“I blame humans. I blame demons. I blame this world where they coexist. I’m thinkin’ if I can liberate my other self up north, together we can grind the world into dust.”

His other self up north... By that, Luke meant the Shabranigdu slumbering in the Kataart Mountains, sacrificially sealed in ice by Aqualord during the Incarnation War a thousand years ago. The Dark Lord of the North.

If two of the Dark Lord’s seven parts were active at once, it could indeed spell the end of the world.

“Demons crave destruction. After destroyin’ everything else, we’ll destroy ourselves, and soon, it’ll be nothin’ but chaos. That’ll be my revenge against this world,” Luke proclaimed.

“But this is the world that allowed you to meet Mileena, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah... You’re right. That’s true.” He scratched at his head bashfully like he always used to. “That’s why... I dunno what to do anymore. I mean, I like you guys. There’s plenty more good people out in the world. But the fact remains there’s awful ones too. Besides, I hate this world now. So I’m at a loss. That’s why I called you guys here an’ created this place where you could kill me. I was hopin’ you’d help me find the answer... Is it the world that oughta be destroyed, or me?”

“You can’t be serious,” I rasped, averting my eyes. “You expect us to just go along with this?”

At last I understood why the supposedly neutral Xellos had shown up to get rid of Bradu. To fulfill his demonic purpose, the unflappable Priest couldn’t let me and Gourry meet the newly resurrected Dark Lord. If, by some small chance, the Dark Lord were slain by humans, then the demons’ ultimate goal—the destruction of the world—would’ve taken a massive step backward. Gourry and I represented that “small chance,” so their best bet would have been to kill us before we arrived here.

But Xellos was probably curious. He knew that the Dark Lord’s new host was one of our comrades. When we found out we had to fight Luke, how would Gourry and I react? I figured that was why Xellos had insisted on his neutrality.

Seriously... what a jerk, am I right?

“I’m sorry. I really am,” offered Luke.

“I don’t want your damned apologies!” I shouted. “Okay, so what? The one sending Xellos and those weird demons after us, not to mention my doppelgänger... Was that all you?!”

“To tell ya the truth, I wanted to go get you myself. But you guys got such good instincts that I knew you’d figure me out too soon. Plus, if we traveled together again, it only woulda made it harder to fight you now. Never thought you’d peg me just from my fightin’ style, though... Anyhow, that’s why I had to get someone else to guide you here. Y’know the black-haired lady at the ‘entrance’? I left the details to her. But the other me frozen in Kataart... I don’t think he wanted me meetin’ up with you. I mean, bein’ trapped in ice an’ all, he kinda has trouble expressin’ himself, but the feelin’—the sense of his desire—got through. That caused some confusion among the small fry. Some figured the frozen dude’s will was more important and so they decided to try to stop you guys, while others heeded me when I told ’em to get you guys here in one piece. That’s how things got kinda messy. Though I guess you ended up makin’ it safe an’ sound in the end...”

“Safe and sound, my ass,” I whispered. Then I realized something. “Wait a minute. Speaking of safe and sound, who were those receptionists of yours? They seemed pretty powerful. Are Milgazia and Mephy okay?”

“Yeah, they’ll be fine. Like I said, the frozen dude’s got communication issues, and he don’t feel so threatened by those two. So I ordered my girls to just leave ’em alone, drag you two into this world, then close the entrance and leave. I’m bettin’ old dad-joke dragon and picky-eater elf are just kinda confused right around now.” A mischievous grin, achingly familiar, crossed his face.

“Well, that’s nice and all, but—”

“So,” Gourry interrupted, “the low-level demons spawning in huge numbers and the strange weather we saw... Did you make all that happen?”

“I wouldn’t say I made it happen, exactly,” Luke replied with a shrug. “But those little guys... Just me awakenin’ made ’em all stronger, and they really started cuttin’ loose. I didn’t feel obligated to stop ’em, so I just left ’em to it. That’s all. As for the weather... I guess that’s on account of me buildin’ this world here, maybe? I wasn’t really thinkin’ too hard about it.”

“I see...” Gourry’s voice echoed as he trailed off.

“Now...” It was Luke who broke the silence. “You guys ready to get started?”

I gulped.

I’d known... Yeah, I knew damn good and well that it would come to this. This was what Luke had summoned us for, after all. It was a ritual to him—a ritual to sever his last connection to our world. He’d said he liked us. That he wanted us to fight. Either we would die by his hands, or we would bury him ourselves. Whatever happened, he’d be bidding the world goodbye.

“Luke...”

“Look, there ain’t no changin’ things now,” he said. There was sorrow in his voice, and a hint of liberation.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! You can’t spring this on us out of nowhere... Did you think we’d just go, ‘Oh, yeah, sure’?! There’s... There’s got to be some other way! Isn’t there something we can do?!”

“Look, I don’t believe in fate or nothin’. If someone told me ‘this is what destiny decided,’ I’d laugh in their face and try to find a way out just like you are now. If the Dark Lord was tryin’ to force my hand, I’d fight him for all I was worth too. But this ain’t foreordained, and no one made me do it... It was my choice, plain and simple. I’m gonna fight you and get my answer. Of course, I can’t make you fight if you don’t wanna. I’ll send you back to where you came from... then I’ll free the Dark Lord of the North and destroy the world. Maybe I’ll run into you again in the process. But when that happens, we’ll be enemies and nothin’ more. So, what’ll it be?”

“What’ll it be...?” There was no way I could answer that. There was no way I could fight Luke to the death just because he asked for it either. But if we refused, then he’d make good on his word and set about destroying the world. It was a terrible ultimatum. “This is absurd! You’re forcing Gourry and me into an impossible decision! I don’t agree to any of this! There... There’s got to be some other way! Your hatred of the world... That has to be the Dark Lord inside of you too!”

“Nah, it ain’t,” Luke said, shaking his head. “At the end of the day, I welcomed the Dark Lord into me. But even without him, my hatred of the world burned strong. I know that much. This is my will, no one else’s. Even if there was a way to separate me and the Dark Lord and you managed to pull it off, it wouldn’t change how I feel. If the Dark Lord was manipulating me, I don’t think I’d have called you here and challenged you to a duel in the first place. I woulda gone straight to awaken the guy up north and get busy destroyin’ the world. In other words, yeah... What’s happenin’ here right now is all me.”

“But...”

“This is how it’s gotta be. It’s the only way to stop these feelings.”

“Fine,” Gourry said quietly at length. “I’ll play along.”

“Gourry?!” I found myself shouting. “Hang on! Don’t you realize what’s going on here?!”

“I do,” he said, looking at me with kind eyes. “And I wouldn’t play along if it was predestined or the Dark Lord’s will either. But... this is the choice Luke made for himself, right? So I don’t think he’ll back down, no matter what we say. He knows his mind better than anyone, and he’s the only one who can change it. Which means we’ve got two options: Do we play along, or don’t we? It’s gotta be one or the other. And since Luke is the one asking, I figure... why not play along? Obviously, I don’t want to fight him. But if I say I’m not gonna do it and he can go on his way... I feel like we’d be the ones leaving things up to fate and other people.”

“I...” At this, I fell silent.

“Besides, even if he does send us back, until the demons attack us or someone else does something to stop him, we’d be worried about this until the day we died. I’m not living like that. Plus, I’m also your guardian, so I can’t leave your safety down to luck. So... while I still have the chance to do something about this, I’m gonna. If you can’t take it, Lina, you can stay out of it. I’m going to do this, even if I have to do it alone.” Gourry spoke plainly, his gaze focused on Luke. I could see a determined light in his eyes.

“That’s not fair, Gourry,” I whispered heavily. “When you put it like that, I can’t just say, ‘Okay, go for it. Good luck. It’s none of my business, so do whatever you want.’”

For my future and Gourry’s... For the futures of everyone we’d ever met, I couldn’t just leave this up to chance either. I knew that if there really was some kind of “destiny” at play and I was going to try to change it somehow, it had to be now. The sorrow, hatred, and angst of losing the person you loved most... If this truly was the only way to free Luke’s heart of that burden, then...

“Okay,” I said, looking at Luke with a wincing smile. “I’ll play along with your selfish little game.”

“Sorry ’bout this.”

“It’s okay, really. But just so you know—when I play, I play hard.”

To fight a friend with everything I have... To swallow my true feelings...

“Sorry.” Luke winced right back at me, a white mask appearing in his hand. It was slightly different than the one before. The shining jewels in the eyes weren’t the deep crimson of the Dark Lord, but the sepia color of Luke’s own. He affixed the mask firmly to his face, then turned its visage toward Gourry. “It’d probably be too hard for you if I used my old face. But a word of warning... I won’t be holdin’ back like I did in Selentia.”

“Right.”

“Neither will we.”

He nodded and took a few steps back. The staff in his hands changed shape, becoming a sword with a red jewel in the hilt. And then, in the Dark Lord’s voice, he announced the start to the battle... “Let us begin.”

He’s given us the power to defeat him. I switched my mind over to battle mode, silenced my emotions, and ran some quick mental calculus.

Based on what Luke had said, Gourry’s Blast Sword could channel nearby magic into its edge. That gave him the option of using this dimension’s naturally bountiful magic power or Luke’s own magic against him. As for me, I could activate spells here without an incantation. My sword of void, the Ragna Blade, would also last longer than usual.

Numbers-wise, this was a two-on-one fight, but we hardly had the advantage. Gourry’s swordplay was normally superior to Luke’s, as was my spellcasting, both in terms of sheer power and repertoire. But after fusing with the Dark Lord, Luke was a match for Gourry’s physical prowess as well as my magic. That meant our victory was contingent on our teamwork—and spell choice.

I already knew spells that drew upon the Dark Lord’s power wouldn’t work on his incarnations. That was common sense to anyone who’d ever studied a bit of sorcery. But it begged a certain question... Would power borrowed from the Dark Lord’s lieutenants work on him? Even with heightened power due to the magic-rich nature of this dimension, it was hard to imagine. Elemental spells never worked on pure demons either, so they were out. That left astral-type shamanistic magic... and spells that called upon the power of the void.

Giga Slave was one such spell that invited the Lord of Nightmares into me, and it was off-limits. Luke had said this world was only separated from ours by a paper-thin layer, and that the entire place was steeped in magic power. In other words, even if I used the imperfect Giga Slave here, there was a very real chance of my body being taken over. And unlike Hellmaster, the Dark Lord probably wouldn’t do something so foolish as to mistake her for me and attack.

That left me with my sword of void, the Ragna Blade. But it had one fatal flaw—I had to get in close to use it.

I could probably maintain the usually short-duration Ragna Blade for quite a while here, but its range was still that of a basic sword. It’d be useless if I couldn’t get in close enough to land a strike. Plus, my swordplay was pretty middling. I didn’t stand a chance against someone on Gourry’s level. Was it even possible for me to land an attack on Luke? That was the question. If I tried and things went wrong, I’d be dead on the spot.

Did that mean our best shot at victory... really lay with Gourry, then? At the very least, I felt it was best for him to be the one in melee while I offered support at range.

I quickly decided on my tactics during the brief stare-down. Then, as if he’d been waiting for that, Luke—no, the Dark Lord made his move.

As the Dark Lord took off in a run, Gourry charged to intercept him. I began chanting a spell as was my usual habit... And the Dark Lord disappeared!

Blinking through space?! Then he’ll reappear... I instinctively turned around to find the red figure right in front of me! Damn it! Wait, this makes perfect sense. He knows he’ll be at an advantage engaging me in close combat and keeping Gourry at a distance! How could I not have seen this?!

In the span of an instant, several things happened. “Elemekia...!” I began to unleash my words of power, but the red figure was gone.

Blinking again? No... He’d used footwork at point-blank range to get around into my blind spot. And even though I couldn’t see him, I knew without a doubt that he was about to swing his blade. The smell of death was upon me, thicker than I’d ever sensed it.

“Not so fast!” Gourry howled.

The big lug raised his sword high. Obviously, he was too far away to strike. I assumed he meant to throw the blade—a risky bet, if you asked me. And yet... the smell of death vanished. I realized immediately what had happened. The Dark Lord had guessed what Gourry was up to, and rather than take his chances against a master swordsman, he’d chosen to back off.

With that realization, I whipped around. “...Lance!”

The moment I turned, I fired my spell at the red figure. He used the sword in his hand to slice through it. Crash! There was a flash of light. In that instant, I leaped back.

The red figure tore through the flash, closing in on me. I jumped back again... as another figure streaked past me from behind! Gourry!

Zing! His sword, capable of cutting through magic, clashed with the Dark Lord’s blade, causing the very air of the pocket dimension to tremble. They exchanged blows in the blink of an eye.

The lingering smell of death still loomed over me, but I snapped myself out of it to focus on the battle unfolding. Strike. Slash down. Slash up. Dodge. Deflect. Press. The two fighters swapped places at blinding speeds as they traded blows. And the instant they broke apart...

“Bepheth Bring!”

The earth spell I unleashed removed the ground beneath the Dark Lord’s feet. It was like opening up a hole under him. This would’ve left most people fatally vulnerable, dumping them down below... but the Dark Lord immediately seemed to begin floating. He wasn’t shaken in the slightest, as if he hadn’t even noticed the ground disappearing underneath him.

That’s when Gourry moved in. Even if the Dark Lord was floating to avoid falling, having nowhere to plant his feet should put him at a disadvantage in a direct swordfight.

Zing! Clang! Clash!

However, greatly betraying my expectations, the Dark Lord found sure footing in the empty air as he tangled with Gourry. Their blades clashed again and again, with the Dark Lord slowly being driven back. Gourry continued to move forward until he reached the edge of the hole I had made. Not even my boy here could walk on nothing.

“Whew!” Instead, with a sharp exhale, Gourry leaped back and out of the clash.

The Dark Lord also retreated, and—Fwash!—he began emanating a concealing darkness. I didn’t know if it was dangerous or not, but Gourry drew back even further out of an abundance of caution. The inky something-or-other then began to coalesce in five places... and suddenly, five Dark Lords formed before us.

A diversion?! Only one of them was probably real. The other four were just decoys made of... whatever that black stuff was. But decoys or not, they were creations of the Dark Lord. There was no telling how powerful they were. Writing them off was reckless. Regardless, all I could do was try to thin their numbers!

“Zellas Bullid!” This time, I used a spell borrowing power from Greater Beast Zellas Metallium. I didn’t have high hopes that it would work on the Dark Lord himself, but I thought it might be a nifty way to smash his toys.

I visualized the spell splitting into five. More precisely, I mentally rewrote the chant and applied it to my visualization. It was easy to alter incantations, just like you would when splitting a single flaming bolt into multiple arrows. Of course, in the real world, it was impossible to split the Zellas Bullid. In this world where magic was very dense, however, it was worth a shot...

But despite my efforts, I only produced a single beam of light. It pierced through one of the inky Dark Lords and then turned it to mist. A decoy!

Just then, the remaining four descended on Gourry. In a tangle like that, anything I fired risked hitting him. The Dark Lords’ black swords all swung for Gourry at once...

“Not gonna work!” Vavavroosh! Zing! Gourry’s sword sliced through three of the Dark Lords instantly, then parried the sword of the fourth. “The shadows are slower!”

“In that case...” The still-black Dark Lord shoved Gourry’s sword away, then split into three figures that all struck at Gourry!

“Still too slow!” Gourry howled and cut the two new decoys in half. But when he did—Fwoom!—they exploded!

It wasn’t a particularly large blast, but it was enough to set Gourry off his balance. It must not have been magical in nature either, because the Dark Lord stood there unfazed as he raised his sword aloft!

Gourry!

The Dark Lord swept at Gourry around thigh-level. As the explosion surged, Gourry—realizing he wouldn’t be able to fully dodge the strike—used the force of the blast to dive away and get his distance. He rolled along the ground a few times and went to get up again. His leg buckled and he fell to one knee.

The Dark Lord really got him?! He was a sitting duck if the Dark Lord moved in to finish the job...

“Dynast Blas!” So I unleashed my spell!

Lightning crackled around the Dark Lord... But with one swing of his sword, he deflected it toward Gourry! The big lug tried to use his arms to get away, but—Crackle!—the raging lightning consumed him!

Thud. I heard the terrible sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

“Gourry! Gourry!” I cried, but his body only twitched in response.

“He isn’t dead,” the Dark Lord said casually.

I should’ve known... Our teamwork made things difficult for the Dark Lord, so he’d acted like he was after me to corner Gourry and deny us time to coordinate.

“He isn’t dead, but he lies grievously injured. You might be able to save him if you can defeat me and return to your world for treatment swiftly enough. But if you don’t... Do you understand?”

He’s going to die...? My lungs contracted as the thought flashed through my mind. I won’t let that happen... ever!

“A one-on-one duel... with a time limit, then.” My voice was so quiet, it surprised even me.

Slowly, the Dark Lord approached.

“Let’s do this!” I brought my hands together. “Elemekia Lance!”

Vwing! I unleashed my spear of light. The Dark Lord didn’t even try to dodge it. He took it head-on without batting an eye.

“Please. You didn’t expect that to hurt me, did you?”

“As if! That was just a little test!” I said, bringing my hands together again. “Blood of the Lords of the four worlds, grant me magic beyond mine!” At the call of this abridged incantation—rather, these chaos words—the Demon Blood talismans began glowing. The gems of the Dark Lords of four worlds—Ruby-Eye, Dark Star, Chaotic Blue, and Death Fog—shone in their distinctive colors, amplifying my magical power. Then... “Elemekia Lance!”

The Dark Lord took the hit head-on once more. “I see... A worthy test. That was indeed stronger,” he said lightly.

Ugh, so annoying! In that case...

“Zellas Bullid!” I fired an amplified beam of light, which he easily dispersed with a swing of his sword.

“You can assume you have only one shot,” said the Dark Lord, still walking toward me. “And that’s to cut me down with your blade of void. Basic spells won’t work on me. But with that, you could cleave through both me and my sword. However...”

“Dynast Blas!”

Crackle, crackle! The magical lightning enveloped him, but he swept it aside with yet another casual swing of his sword.

“I have foreknowledge of this fact,” the Dark Lord continued.

I know this won’t work, but... “Freeze Bullid!”

The ice spell I unleashed encased the Dark Lord in a big block of ice. I hoped it would hold him in place, but he passed through it like it wasn’t even there.

I knew it... Even if the effects of magic are stronger, the basic principles remain the same. Elemental shamanistic magic won’t work on demons in this dimension either. I moved back quickly.

“Thus shall I evade your sword and strike, and in our duel be victorious. Will you strike true, or miss your mark? You have but one chance to see it through.”

I continued to back away as the Dark Lord continued to press toward me. He didn’t seem in a hurry to close the distance between us. It was like... he was waiting for me to work up the nerve.

“You want a big dramatic showdown, huh? How manly of you! Too bad I’m a woman!” I yelled, the gears of my mind turning at light speed. The gamble the Dark Lord had proposed was one with terrible odds for me. It would have to be my absolute last resort. Actually, given the discrepancy in our abilities, it was less a gamble and more an act of utter desperation... Wasn’t there some other way?

How about this?!

“Ra Tilt!” This spell wasn’t in my standard repertoire. High-level magic required not just incantations and hand gestures, but a certain degree of visualization, and I had a hard time conceiving spells like Ra Tilt. But...

Vwsh! I managed to unleash it. The pillar of pale blue light wreathed the Dark Lord... until he dismissed it with another swing of his sword.

“I commend you for mustering a spell that is normally beyond you... Yet it is nigh harmless against me.”

That didn’t work either?! Still, one thing was clear to me now. The Dark Lord had used his sword to sweep away spells like Zellas Bullid, Dynast Blas, and even that Ra Tilt. This behavior suggested to me that he didn’t want to be hit with them. But whether they would hurt him a little or a lot... I didn’t know.

This left me with two strategies. I could either hit him with an instakill spell like Ragna Blade or wear him down with multiple hits from ones like Zellas Bullid. Unfortunately, neither was particularly realistic. It’d be hard to get him with the Ragna Blade, and he wasn’t gonna just sit around and take it while I chained Zellas Bullids on him.

Other than that... there was the powerful healing spell Resurrection, which I couldn’t normally use. It would certainly fix Gourry up, but that was out too. It would take time to use, and the Dark Lord definitely wasn’t gonna give me that. Even with the amplification of the Demon Blood talismans in a dimension steeped with magic power, the Dark Lord was overwhelmingly—

...

I stopped in place. It was just an idle thought, but it was worth trying before I went all-in with Ragna Blade.

“You’ve steeled yourself, then?” he asked.

The Dark Lord was about to dash at me, when... Clink! I bit down on the talisman on my left arm—the blue Demon Blood jewel!

The stone that had seemed as hard as a rock, for some reason, simply burst in my mouth and disappeared. The Dark Lord had said a Demon Blood talisman was essentially a complete Philosopher’s Stone—an incredible amplifier of magical power.

“Ruler of another realm, Chaotic Blue!” What left my mouth wasn’t an incantation. Just a plea spoken in chaos words. “In exchange for thy bloodstone, reveal to me thy might!”

“What?!” the Dark Lord exclaimed in shock.

If this world was separated from ours by a hair’s breadth, then it was only as far away from other worlds too.

Roarrr! The sky above me filled with light. Waves of it expanded like ripples on the surface of a pond, and a pale blue pillar shot down at the Dark Lord.

“Graaaaah!” The soundless pressure brought a scream from his lips. His crimson figure was bathed in the shining light, and...

“Aaaaah!” Then a crimson flash forced the light back into the blue of the sky! The sky calmed, and the Dark Lord remained standing. “A spell... from a Dark Lord of another world?”

That one got him good! I can tell! In that case...

“Ruler of another realm, Death Fog!” This time, I used the white jewel on my left arm. “In exchange for thy bloodstone, reveal to me thy might!”

Bwsh! The air around the Dark Lord turned white with a substance that really did look like fog. Vrrrrsh! The fog swirled and the air howled, tearing through the Dark Lord of our world.

“Raaaaah!” He let out a cry of exertion. Or was it pain?

Crick! The soft sound of something breaking followed, and then... Fwish! With a sound like a splash upon water, the white fog dispersed. The Dark Lord stumbled one step forward. Faint but visible cracks appeared along the magic sword in his hand.

I grabbed the talisman from my belt and put the black jewel in my mouth. “Ruler of another realm, Dark Star! In exchange for thy bloodstone, reveal to me thy might!”

Vrumm... The air around us let out a low hum. Darkness manifested, suddenly expanding and contracting with the red figure inside! It sucked in even his voice as it shrunk into an infinitesimally small point. Into nothingness.

Then, without a sound, the dark point burst. Unsteadily, the crimson Dark Lord regained his footing. He really seemed to be hurting, but I had only one talisman remaining. And it belonged to him—Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, Dark Lord of our world. That wasn’t going to do much for me, which didn’t leave me with much to go on...

...

Actually, I had my answer. Maybe I’d had it all along. In fact, I think I had.

“Is that it?” The Dark Lord looked toward me. Countless hairline cracks had formed in his mask. There was little vigor in his voice now. “Then the time has come for us to settle things... Have at you!” the Dark Lord howled and took off in a dash.

My three hits had significantly slowed him, but he was still closing in fast. I braced myself and faced him.

Not yet... Not yet! The distance between us narrowed. The Dark Lord’s hand, wrapped around his sword hilt, moved ever so slightly. Now!

“Ragna...” I raised my right hand high! “...Blaaaaaaade!”

My black sword cut through empty air. The Dark Lord had leaped back in the nick of time to dodge the strike, but he immediately leaped back at me. I swept my right hand to the side, twisted my body with the momentum... and swung the black sword in my left hand!

“A second blade?!” the Dark Lord cried in surprise.

Our red and black streaks crossed. Nrrrm! I felt no resistance at all as mine moved forward, but the only thing my blade of void cut through was the blade in the Dark Lord’s hand!

“I have won,” he declared as he pulled back. His blade regenerated itself before my eyes.

I ducked down and popped the talisman on my chest into my mouth.

Thou who art blacker than darkness...

The Demon Blood burst between my teeth—Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu’s Demon Blood.

Thou who art redder than blood...

I held my hands up, extinguishing my two blades of void.

Ruby-Eye, buried in the flow of time...

A red glow appeared in my palms.

“Dragon Slave!”

Rooooar! My crimson blast consumed the Dark Lord. Red radiance scorched the land of the unknown world.

A small sigh drifted from my lips, and then... a figure appeared as the flames dimmed. I’d seen the same sight once before. Déjà vu.

“Surely, you must know...” Dancing over the bellowing of the wind, the Dark Lord’s voice reached me. “A spell that borrows my own power cannot work on me...”

Indeed, I knew that. It never would have worked—under ordinary circumstances.

“So why did you do it? And why...” The Dark Lord’s form emerged from the swirling flame. “Why... am I dying?”

Because... I fell to my knees.

The red color that painted the Dark Lord’s body was already fading, and the sword he was using to support himself was breaking apart in his hands.

“I think you know the answer,” I replied. The winds whipped around my hair and cape. “A spell that calls upon the Dark Lord’s power would never work against the Dark Lord... It’s idiocy to ask for your help to kill you, right? Unless...” After all I’d done, I felt a cry leak from my lips. But I choked it back and kept talking. “What if you yourself wished for death?”

A gust of wind blew.

“Ah... gotcha.” The voice that drifted by me then wasn’t the Dark Lord’s, but Luke’s. He sounded deeply exhausted but at peace. “Yeah, I guess I just... I just wanted to go where she was. And for you guys to send me there.” He sat down on the ground. “Y’know, back at the temple... when Mileena asked for you to leave us alone... she told me... She said, ‘Don’t hate people.’”

Another gust blew, carrying his words.

“But I just... couldn’t stop.” His voice grew fainter and fainter. “Sorry...”

Who was that apology meant for?

A final gust of wind blew. He turned into sand, which began to collapse. And then... the world he’d created was gone.

I heard a knock.

“It is I,” announced Milgazia.

“Oh?” Gourry tried to sit up, but I stopped him.

“It’s open,” I called without turning around.

After all was said and done, me and the injured Gourry had reappeared in the center of Sairaag City. Well, I call it a city, but it was more like a small town, still in the process of rebuilding. Fortunately, Gourry wasn’t as bad off as I’d feared, so we’d gotten a room at an inn and set about treating him.

It was now the next day. I was sitting in a chair next to the bed where Gourry was convalescing, and I’d just finished explaining exactly what had gone down after he’d collapsed when I heard the door open and felt two presences enter. I didn’t have to look to know it was Milgazia and Mephy.

“Excuse me! How could you just disappear like— Wait, are you injured?!” demanded Mephy from over my shoulder.

“He’s all patched up now. He’s just on bed rest to be safe,” I responded.

“What happened?” Milgazia asked hesitantly.

There was a period of silence before I answered in kind, “We... defeated the Dark Lord. That’s all.”

“What?!” they both gasped.

“Truly?” Milgazia inquired further.

“Why would I lie?” I replied wearily.

“If it’s true,” Mephy said, stunned, “that’s incredible. You two really are... the demon slayers!”

“You think I want a stupid title like that?” I spat.

Another period of silence followed.

“We’ll take a room at this inn as well,” Milgazia eventually said rather meekly. “Once things calm down, I’d like to hear the whole story. Let’s go, Mephy.”

“Ah... right.”

Clack. The door closed, and I could feel their presences recede.

“Lina,” Gourry whispered, gazing at me. I was expecting him to chide me for my behavior. “Are you crying?” he asked instead.

“I think it’s perfectly obvious that I’m not.”

“Actually, it’s perfectly obvious that you are.”

“I think you need your eyes checked...” I started, then stopped. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m crying.”

“Just lashing out, huh?”

“It only just hit me. We never learned Luke and Mileena’s full names... And the thought of that just made me... suddenly...”

“Hey, it’s okay to cry.” Gourry gently reached for my cheek. “Even if it was what Luke wanted, it doesn’t change the fact that we killed him. But... no matter how heavy the burdens we carry, being human means we have to keep moving forward. Rubia’s working on that right now. Luke couldn’t beat it. But Lina, knowing you... I think that you can. And to make sure you can, for now... It’s okay. It’s okay to cry.”

“Stupid...”

Darn it... How come this idiot is so steadfast at the weirdest times?

And so, for just a little while... I cried.

“I think it’s about time we went our separate ways. Well, Mephy?”

“Yes. I agree, Uncle.”

This completely unexpected declaration came on an afternoon just a few days later. Gourry had completely recovered and eaten his usual portion at lunch (green peppers nicely removed), and we were now out on Sairaag’s main thoroughfare.

Well, I call it a thoroughfare, but again... still a small town, still rebuilding. The road itself was wide enough, but the houses along it were sparse and so were the people. Still, it had that unique energy of a city on the mend.

When you lose something, you have to do more than just grieve. To create a better tomorrow, eventually, you have to start walking again. Humans are tremendously resilient creatures.

“You’re leaving? That’s pretty sudden... Where to?” I asked.

“Gonna hibernate?” Gourry slipped in there.

“...”

“Aaaaah, sorry, sorry! I won’t say anything else.” Gourry frantically waved his hands in apology as Milgazia silently advanced on him.

Hang on, Gourry... Did you do that on purpose?

Milgazia withdrew and set his eyes on me instead. “Though the cause is resolved, the large number of spawned demidemons haven’t simply vanished,” he said with his usual stoicism. Of course, I’d explained the whole incident over the course of the last few days. “Mephy and I are going to continue traveling for a while and clear the last of them up.”

“And besides, we’ve learned there are quite a few very nasty demons lurking around. There’s Xellos, not to mention those two women,” Mephy added, then turned to Milgazia. “By the way, who were they? They seemed quite powerful...”

“You didn’t recognize them, Mephy?” he responded with surprise.

“You did, Uncle?”

“Not precisely, but they were most likely Greater Beast Zellas Metallium, and Deep Sea Dolphin.”

Bwuh?! Mephy and I both did a spit take at how casually he said that.

“I sensed power from them even greater than that of Xellos. And as far as demons more powerful than Xellos go... they’re really the only possibilities.”

“Really? If that’s the case, they’re pretty impressive receptionists...” I muttered.

“I’m... impressed that we survived,” Mephy added.

“Indeed. I suspect we wouldn’t have been so lucky had we made any further attempt to interfere. Fortunately, they disappeared immediately after stealing you away, but it makes me tremble just thinking back on it.”

Actually, you’re looking pretty stone-faced right now. You sure you’re scared?

“At any rate, this is our intent. Perhaps, humans, we shall meet again one day,” he concluded.

“Sure thing. Take care...”

Then, with almost anticlimactic ease, Milgazia and Mephy turned away and departed.

“They left, just like that,” I whispered.

“I think they’re relieved,” Gourry responded, watching them go.

“Relieved?”

“Yeah.” Gourry plopped a hand down on my head. “That you’re feeling better. They’re relieved enough that they can go take care of other business now.”

“Did I really seem that depressed?”

“A little, I think,” Gourry said, looking from me back to the road. Milgazia and Mephy were already out of sight. “Well, then... What do we do next?”

“Good question. We don’t really have another obvious objective. Actually, how about you decide for yourself for once instead of leaving it to me, Gourry?! Go ahead! Have an opinion!”

“Hmm, okay. Let’s see...” Gourry stared straight into my eyes. “How about taking me to meet your family?”

“Uh?” I felt my heart skip a beat and quickly averted my eyes. “Er, Gourry... Do you even understand the implications of what you just asked?”

“Yeah... I do.” His voice was terribly gentle.

“Huh...?” I trembled a little again. I could tell I was blushing deeply.

Gourry continued softly, “You said once that Zephilia’s famous for its grapes, right? I think they’re in season right now.”

“You just want food?!” I shouted with lightning speed as I bashed him with the slipper I pulled out.

“What, you don’t like grapes?”

“It’s not that! I just... Arrrgh, fine! Whatever!”

“Zephilia it is, then.”

“How do you figure?!”

“Because you said we’d go where I wanted.”

“Oh, come on...”

“Besides, I think it’s good to visit home every now and then.”

Jeez... Although, the guy kinda had a point. He was being weirdly pushy this time too. Was he doing it on purpose...?

“Okay, fine. We’ll go see my family. To Zephyr City, capital of Zephilia! Okay?”

“Right!”

And so, Gourry and I set off walking side by side.

I had a feeling we’d get wrapped up in plenty more adventures on our way. We’d meet people. We’d lose some. We might even go through another tragedy like this one. But... I wouldn’t close my eyes to the sadness and the pain. I’d embrace them, and I’d overcome them.

I would always face tomorrow with a smile.

Slayers: The End