Chapter 6

Wowzers, I've really been updating this one...;O

--

Lina stared down at where the spirit had incinerated in open-mouthed horror. His words had rang through her ears and chilled her bones. Her? The cause of humanity's extinction?

She shivered and glanced at Xelloss, who was no longer smiling. So it had effected him to an extent. He turned his head to Lina and glanced between her and the spear. "We can leave if that's what you'd prefer. You don't have to do this."

Lina bit her lip and considered this for a moment. If they left now and sought out a better way for Lina to defend herself then she wouldn't have to risk ever touching the spear, and if she let Xelloss take it with them she'd be risking the death of everyone around her. In a split second decision, she replied, "Thanks for the offer, but I have to go through with this. I don't know why but I need it."

Xelloss nodded, and stepped forward to take the spear off of the pedestal. He knew that if it was Lina holding it, then the effect would be completely different. But Xelloss was immune to whatever spells the Heiliege Lance held, no matter how powerful its influence was it could never effect a mazoku.

She had faith in herself and her ability to overcome whatever the spear held in store for her. She knew that she could do it, or at least she hoped she could.

--

After taking the lance from its perch, the mountain's barrier had been reversed and Xelloss could easily teleport them to the bottom of the mountain. They walked from there to the nearest village for a late lunch.

Lina didn't have much of an appetite as the old man's words had left a bitter taste in her mouth. It appalled her that there was any possibility that she could ever have any thoughts of destroying the world. She was supposed to be one of the few sorceresses left that actually wanted to protect the world, she wasn't supposed to bring harm to it.

Xelloss watched Lina absently chew on her biscuit, a faraway look in her amber eyes. She was sitting right in front of him and yet she was a million miles away, lost in her own world of thoughts.

He didn't even bother to attempt to wake her mind, she deserved the right to sit and think for awhile. Today had probably unsettled her a great deal, and it had even made Xelloss worry just a little as well.

His gaze was drawn to spear leaning onto his chair, sitting like it was only a useless ordinary object. But Xelloss knew of the agony it could bring to this world, to Lina herself. The over-whelming urge to set the spear on fire suddenly came to mind as he thought about the sorrow it was causing Lina, but the thought subsided as he dampened his temper with questions to himself. When had he felt a need this strong to protect Lina?

He sipped at his tea while watching Lina again, a load of questions came to mind, but he refrained from verbalizing them. He didn't need to upset her anymore that she already was.

"Ano...excuse me?" A small voice sounded from beside the table, and both Lina and Xelloss looked up. A girl stood shyly next to their table, and even to Xelloss she was surprisingly beautiful. She looked to be about 16 or 17, still only a maiden really, with her big blue eyes, and her long golden hair wrapped tightly into a braid that fell onto her shoulder. Her apparel's similarity to Lina's caught Xelloss's eye.

"Are you by any chance," She swallowed nervously and shifted her feet, "Lina Inverse?" Lina set down her glass and laid her elbow on the table, turning her body at an angle to face the girl in a dominating manner.

"Yeah, I'm Lina Inverse." The young girl sighed in obvious relief, and raised her hand to her chest. "My name is Hiyo Takahashi, and I am a sorceress just like you, Ms. Lina." Lina inwardly groaned, this was like another Amelia.

"I live here in this village, and there have been rumors of your appearance. Some say that you were seen heading for the mountains up north; where the old legend of The Spear of Destiny lies. Is it true? Did you really dare to go that far into the mountains and face the journey all by yourself?" The girl named Hiyo's eyes were dancing now, the childish excitement shone brightly in her pretty face.

"Actually, I had a little help." Lina smiled and jerked her finger in Xelloss's direction, who smiled politely at Hiyo. "Pleased to meet you, I am the humble priest Xelloss." He flashed her a smile and she blushed while bowing simultaneously. "Yes, pleased to meet you too...I apologize for not seeing you before, Mr. Xelloss."

Xelloss waved away her apology with a grin and extended out an arm, offering her the chair in front of her. Hiyo sat herself down into the chair and politely nodded at him. "Anyway, Ms. Lina, I am actually here for a more serious reason. It would seem that the barrier around the mountain has faltered, and if you could imagine what could happen if..." She trailed off, her eyes widening as her gaze slid down to the spear lying against Xelloss's chair legs.

"Oh dear kami...Ms. Lina you didn't." Lina smiled arrogantly and once again pointed at Xelloss. "I didn't, we did." Hiyo sighed and leaned back against her chair. "Ms. Lina you must know the consequences of using that spear, you could end up killing yourself as well as other people around you."

Lina rolled her eyes, growing tired of this argument coming up in her latest conversations. "Yes Hiyo, I am very aware of what could happen, but I have it under control."

"Oh Ms. Lina how could you have it under control? This spear will use your mind, it will affect your entire body with the influence of pure evil! How could you possibly keep something like that under control?"

"Let's just say that it is worth the risk."

"Oh kami no..."

Xelloss looked back and forth between the two sorceresses as a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he raised his tea cup to his lips before breaking in, "Ms. Hiyo, don't worry about us. We'll find some way to keep the spear from causing anymore death." Hiyo looked up at him with tears now welling up in her blue eyes, and he noted the spark of anger that flashed inside them.

"No! I can't let you leave here with that spear!" She pointed down at the object in question. "Now Ms. Hiyo-" He tried again, thinking that he could charm her into dropping the subject, but he was interrupted when she suddenly stood up with a defiant tone to her voice.

"I've decided," She started, slamming her tiny hands onto the table, "I will follow you and your priest Ms. Lina so that I can do everything in my power to stop you from using the lance! I feel it is my duty as this town's protector to stay with you and prevent you from causing chaos in this world."

Lina rubbed her forehead between her thumb and index finger, sighing heavily. Did Amelia and Gourry have a child she didn't know about? "Listen you annoying little-"

"Why of course we'll allow you to follow us Ms. Hiyo, we'd be happy to have the pleasure of your company." Lina's head snapped to Xelloss, who ignored her and instead graced Hiyo with his best smile.

The whole rest of the lunch Lina hadn't said anything else, only glared at Xelloss who continued to feign obliviousness and engage in polite conversation with the newly recruited little sorceress.

OoO

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lina hissed at the priest who was now floating in the air cross-legged, sipping his tea calmly. "I was only trying to calm her down, Lina-san. She could have started screaming at the top of her lungs what we now carry in our possession." He replied, not bothering to look down at her.

Lina ran a frustrated hand through her red locks and started pacing the room again. "But we can't just drag around a kid everywhere with us Xelloss, it could get dangerous. I don't want to have another innocent death over my head."

Xelloss raised an eyebrow at the pacing Lina. "You were younger then Ms. Hiyo when you defeated The Dark Lord Shabranigdo, and you embarked on many more dangerous quests after that too. Why, you were only 16 when you met me." The suggestiveness in his voice embarrassed her and a light blush rose on her cheeks.

"T-That's not the point."

"Then what is the point, Lina-san?"

"The point is that I was alot stronger then her, I could handle more then she can. She looks like she'd start crying if she broke a nail." Lina crossed her arms and turned her back to Xelloss, attempting to regain her composure.

Xelloss smirked and opened one eye at her. "I don't know Lina-san, she could prove to be stronger then she looks." She turned back to him, and her temper rose another notch at the teasing manner in his voice. "Keh, as if."

He descended down from his perch and strode to her, ignoring that she was seething with anger. With both eyes opened now, he cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm sorry Lina-san, but it had to be done."

Her anger melted away as her eyes peered up into his, and she felt all her resentment leave her mind. Why had she been mad again? Xelloss smiled down at her, and pressed his lips to hers gently letting her sink into his embrace.

She unfolded her arms and reached her hands up to brace her palms onto his chest, leaning deeper into the kiss. It had felt like forever since they had shared a kiss, and she realized that she'd missed it. The feel of his lips over hers made her feel safe, and like nothing around them mattered anymore.

Her eyes fluttered open as Xelloss slipped his tongue between her parted lips. The feel of his tongue caressing the inside of her mouth was an oddly pleasant sensation, and she felt herself actually start to like it as her eyes closed again. She would have never imagined that a man's tongue in her mouth would please her this much.

It pleased her so much, in fact, that she moaned delicately into his mouth. Embarrassed, she pulled away and lowered her head, purposely avoiding his gaze. Xelloss chuckled and lifted her head up by her chin. "It's normal Lina-san, this is pleasure you're feeling."

Lina blushed shyly and bit her lip. "So that noise wasn't a bad thing?" Xelloss chuckled again at her naive question, and instead of answering slid his lips over hers again. This time she didn't hesitate to hold back the moans of pleasure as he deepened their kiss, melding their tongues together.

His hands roamed her tiny body, claiming every untouched piece of creamy skin as his fingers glided up and down. In an instant her cape had been untied and feel to the ground behind her, along with all of the rest of her protective gear. All that was left were her slacks and flimsy shirt.

She groaned again into his mouth as he backed her into the wall, letting his body pin her backwards. Her tongue flicked over his teeth in a sign of approval and his hands climbed under her shirt to reach upwards for her perky breasts.

He palmed them through the annoying fabric of her bra and massaged them gently, waiting for the sighs of pleasure that erupted from her mouth. He tore his lips from hers and kissed his way down her jaw to the sensitive skin on her neck, sucking at it tenderly. Lina moaned and clutched at his shirt, raising her leg to rest it against the wall.

Xelloss was the only person who had ever made her feel this way, the only person who had ever brought out the side to herself that she'd never imagined existed. But she still didn't know if she liked this passion-crazed Lina that he always seemed to evoke with his magical hands.

"Ms. Lina! Ms. Lina I have to-Oh dear kami..." The door to Lina's hotel room opened, and both heads turned to the intruder. Hiyo turned away from them, facing the open door. Xelloss could practically feel her blushing all the way across the room. "I-I'm sorry Ms. Lina, I just needed to ask you a question. I'm so stupid...I should have knocked first. But I just wasn't thinking and I didn't know that I'd be interrupting anything. I knew that this was a bad time but I just had to see you..."

By the time she had stopped her nervous babbling Xelloss had released Lina, and she had pulled down her shirt attempting to try and look decent. Hiyo turned back to them hesitantly, and Lina could just imagine that she was blushing just as strongly as the innocent maiden.

"It's ok, Hiyo. Just tell me what is so important." She was pleased to find that her voice wasn't shaking as much as she thought it'd be, and she'd managed to keep her voice as firm as she cold manage.

Hiyo dwindled her fingers and responded, "There is a man in a white hooded cloak downstairs in the waiting room; he asked for you in particular. And he specifically requested that you not bring down the," She swallowed and glanced nervously at Xelloss, "Idiot priest."

--

I don't know why but I've suddenly gotten the nerve to start writing...alot. This is three chapters within 12 hours, without coffee either. lol. I guess I can't hold back my fingers when my mind needs to let it out;3 review please!

 

Chapter 7

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Xelloss rubbed his cheek with his index finger. "Idiot priest?" He cocked his head to Lina. "I wonder who that could be?" Lina rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up her discarded cape. While she tied it securely Hiyo spoke again, "I-I really am very sorry that I interrupted your...um...conversation. Please don't think of me as a rude person because I'm really not Ms. Lina it's just you had a visitor and it sounded urgent and-"

Lina held up a hand to silence her. "It's fine Hiyo, really. We were just in the middle of," She glanced irritated at the smirking Xelloss, "A business conversation." Xelloss chuckled. "Mmm, yes. Business."

"Shut up."

Hiyo held up a polite finger. "I'm sorry to interrupt again Ms. Lina, but your visitor?" Lina nodded absently and hitched her sword to her side. "Yeah, thank you Hiyo. I'm right behind you."

She gave Xelloss one last glare before leaving, but only gained herself another chuckle as she strode past Hiyo and into the hallway. "I suppose the idiot priest will stay here then?" Lina rolled her eyes again, and took the steps to the downstairs lobby two at a time, a frantic Hiyo just behind her.

"Ne, Hiyo?" Hiyo scurried down the stairs behind Lina and followed her down the hall. "Yes Ms. Lina?"

"What did this guy look like? The one that asked for me?"

"Why Ms. Lina I don't know...his face was covered by the hood he wore." Hiyo cupped her left elbow into her opposite one while resting her fist on her cheek. "But his hair was indeed a very strange color Ms. Lina; it was a grayish blue, very abnormal."

Lina smiled to herself. If her memory served her well she knew exactly who'd be just around the corner waiting for her. But what was he doing near these prefectures? A sinking suspicion crept into Lina’s mind as she rounded the banister that led to the waiting room.

He must be after the lance.

Hiyo bowed before excusing herself to her own hotel room upstairs, and Lina ventured alone into the sitting room. She approached the sitting hooded man with a wary eye, doubting her earlier accusations as she closed in.

If he was who she thought he was, then really she nothing to worry about, but if he was just another 'old friend' after her for something she did ages ago...her hand hovered over her sword, preparing for what might be the worst from the man.

“Long time no see, Lina.” The cloaked man stood, and pulled back his hood to reveal his face. Relief flooded through Lina as she stepped forward to embrace him in a warm hug. “I see you didn’t bring that idiot Xelloss, it’s a good thing too.” Lina laughed and stepped away from her old friend, feeling a rekindled happiness light inside of her as seeing someone she once held so close made her feel a bit giddy.

“Zel! Jeez it’s been forever! Where have you been all this time?” Zelgadiss shrugged and sat back down on the couch, and Lina followed suit down into the fluffy chair opposite to him. “The same as usual; hunting down powerful artifacts and finding out how useless they really are.” He answered gloomily, his head lowering.

Lina nodded sympathetically, and clasped her hands in her lap. “So what brings you here, Zel? It isn’t like you to stop by just for a hello to your old friends.” She chirped, trying to lighten his mood a bit.

“I could ask you the same thing, Lina.” His eyes lifted to stare accusingly at Lina.

She squirmed nervously in her chair and feigned ignorance in a desperate attempt to clear the sudden heaviness in the air. “I do try to keep up with you and the others Zel, but I travel a lot.”

“You know what I mean.”

“What?”

“Don’t play stupid Lina. I know you have the spear.” Damn. How could he guess? If Lina denied it he would probably barge upstairs into her hotel room and tear the place up looking for it, and not to mention he’d try to beat Xelloss bloody in the process.

“So what? I need it.” She answered, trying not to back down under his gaze. Zelgadiss picked up the sake glass on the table next to his couch and drained it before answering, “So do I.”

“I got it first.”

“I can take it away from you.”

“Not while Xelloss is with me.”

“What is he? Your pocket priest?”

“Ha Ha.”

“Lina this is serious, you can’t just carry around a world domination handy helper everywhere you go.” Zelgadiss tried to stare Lina down, but she wasn’t giving up. She crossed her arms over her chest and just stared right back at him. “Lina…”

“Zel, listen. I know you need the spear to turn yourself back into a human or whatever, but I need it to partake in a legendary war between the ryu and the mazoku. Which do you think is more serious?” Zelgadiss rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as well.

“You are aware of what you could do with the spear aren’t you? The whole take-over-the-world-thing doesn’t bother you in the least?” Lina snorted and turned her head away from him.

“I can handle it.” Was her terse reply to his smart-ass question. He laughed mockingly and gave her a snort of his own. “Yeah right…” Lina’s head reared back so that she could bore her eyes into his, earning her a widening of his eyes. She was so tired of everyone telling her that she couldn’t handle this damned spear, it wasn’t like she was helpless or anything.

“Just shut up Zel! Seriously you don’t anything. I can take the Heiliege Lance any day! So stop acting like I can’t do anything on my own, and if you want the spear then just try and take it from me!” Lina gave him a livid glare before turning and stomping up the stairs to her hotel room, leaving a speechless Zelgadiss behind.

Lina knew she might of over-reacted just a teensy bit, but she couldn’t help it. The arguments against her use of the spear were irritating her to no end as between the old man on the mountain, the innocent sorceress maiden, and now even one of her oldest friends?

Maybe she should just send the damned thing to Gourry and Sylphiel as a late wedding present, not like Gourry would ever notice anything out-of-the-ordinary.

 

Chapter 8

--

Xelloss watched, half amused and half concerned, as Lina rampaged about her room spouting some nonsense about her long time chimera friend he assumed to be her mystery visitor. Xelloss knew of the rock man's terrible temper and that he tended to let his mouth slip when angry, and he did get angry alot. It was unusual though that Lina would be so upset by the chimera's insults. Normally she would be the only one able to soothe his angry wrath.

It appeared that this time he had gone too far, whether he had realized it in doing so or not. Whatever he had said probably had only started out as an innocent slur of stinging derogatory comments, but instead turned out to be very hurtful insults. Xelloss felt a little sorry for the chimera who'd had idea that Lina had been very on-edge as of late, the reason of course had been the spear she now possessed.

"-and that damned chimera! He can go to hell for all I care, him and his stupid cure. Why doesn't he just shut up and accept what he is? I will not let him insult me like that! Me! The infamous Lina In-" Xelloss drowned out Lina's rambling and teleported soundlessly from the room, not wanting to disturb her.

He materialized in the sitting room below where Zelgadiss sat on the couch, his face placed in his cold stone hands. "Hello there, Zelgadiss-san!" Xelloss sang, purposely startling the chimera into jumping up with his sword drawn dangerously close to Xelloss's neck.

"Now, now, Zelgadiss! It's me; Xelloss. You can put the sword down now." An evil grin spread over Zelgadiss's face and he pushed the sword's tip ever so close to Xelloss's Adams apple. "Why would I want to do that?"

Xelloss merely chuckled and, with his finger tip, gently pushed the sword away. "Always the sweet talker, aren't we Zelly-chan?" Zelgadiss growled darkly, but seemed to decide on his own that the mazoku wasn't worth it.

He collapsed back down onto the couch miserably, and leaned his head back. Xelloss studied him silently before sitting down himself onto the same perch Lina had settled in. "What the hell do you want with Lina, Xelloss? You don't usually stick around this long just for the fun of it."

Xelloss laughed knowingly, and held his index finger into the air. "That is a secret, dear Zelgadiss-san. You needn't worry yourself with me though, for it is Lina-san you are troubling yourself over."

Zelgadiss honestly looked far too exhausted to argue with the annoying mazoku, and for once simply nodded and held his tongue. "Whatever did you do to upset her?" Xelloss ventured, his voice soft and soothing

"None of your damned business." He couldn't help but smile at that, it was just too typical of an answer from his old traveling companion. "Mm I suppose it isn't, but wouldn't you like to know why Lina is so upset?"

This brought a spark of interest to Zelgadiss's eye, and he sat up straight, resting his elbows on his knees. "If you really think you know, and then tell me, why is Lina so upset?"

The mazoku raised his finger again, thoroughly enjoying this, but his index finger was suddenly being crushed in Zelgadiss's clenched fist. "Why. Is. Lina. Upset?" He repeated, stressing each syllable, his face growing darker with each word that passed his lips.

Xelloss pulled his finger from Zel's hand and pouted. "Ow, that hurt Zelly-san." Zelgadiss hardly blinked, only stared at Xelloss expectantly.

Xelloss sighed and clasped his hands together in his lap; he was very disappointed that Zelgadiss had spoiled all his fun. "Lina-san, as you already know, now has the spear with her thanks to my aid in her journey up the mountains. On those mountains we encountered the guardian spirit whom we easily defeated, but this spirit upon his last breath told Lina she was to be the sole cause of the extinction of humanity. As you can probably guess the spear will be her guide on this path of destruction."

Zelgadiss cursed and leaned back again into the couch cushions. "Why doesn't she just leave it here?"

"I don't quite think she can, Zelgadiss-san."

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course she can."

Xelloss shook his head solemnly. "The spear has already chosen her. It is now her fate to wield the spear, but it will be her choice also whether or not to fight against its evil influence. I didn't realize it before but now it is very clear; the lance has decided its new master."

 

Chapter 9

"Does she even know about it?"

"No, not quite."

Zelgadiss slammed his hand onto the little glass table, forgetting his inhuman strength, and it shattered into pieces. He stared down sheepishly at the table for a moment before regaining his composure and looking back up at the mazoku. "Damn it Xelloss why did you help her take it?"

Xelloss shrugged and answered simply, "It isn't my place to tell Lina-san what to and what not to do."

"Don't give me that, Xelloss, you could have stopped her. Something had to of occurred to you that it wasn't right." Zelgadiss was obviously growing frustrated, and as usual he had chosen Xelloss as his venting target.

"Why, of course I knew something was wrong, but I hadn't the faintest idea of what it was. Even if I had it has come to my attention that the spear was drawing her in far before we had ever reached the mountain." Xelloss had gotten the feeling that Lina had gotten desperate to find the relic, especially when she had become so devastated when there had been a block in the way of retrieving it. She had been so upset that something was between her and the spear that she hadn't even been thinking right, that much was obvious when she failed to come up with the simple solution of just blowing the boulder up.

That had only been the beginning of his suspicions after finding the lance, but this was no time to reflect. There had to be some way for Lina not to use the spear. But how? Eventually the war would break out and Lina would be forced to join with either sides of the armies-the ryu or the mazoku-and fight off the main lords of each opposing side. The spear, supposedly, would be her aid in defeating either all-powerful lords.

If she even so much as touched the spear, ideas of killing off every living being all over world would cross her tiny human mind, and she would act on its influence. Of course he himself could attempt to help her while the spear was not in her grasp. Xelloss was powerful, yes, but not powerful enough to defeat Gav’s inheritance.

Lina could fend for herself with just her magic, and do quite a good deal of damage, but the problem was that she had a limit to how much power she could use. It had been a fairly smart decision for Lina to seek out a higher power to help her in the upcoming war, but she was poorly misled into believing her best chance was this spear.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Zelgadiss broke into his thoughts, snapping him back to their conversation.

“Nothing, nothing. It doesn’t matter anymore. How long will you be with Lina-san?” Zelgadiss thought for a moment before grudgingly responding.

“From the looks of it I’ll be with her for as long as she has that spear with her, which means I’ll be fighting in your little war. But that does not mean that I’ll be fighting for you, in fact I hope the ryu burn you to a crisp.”

Xelloss chuckled but agreed all the same, feeling oddly relieved that Zelgadiss would be there to help Lina control her urges. The question still remained though if it was at all possible for anyone to stop her once she’d gotten her hands onto the spear?

OoO

It had been over an hour that Lina had gone on about her annihilation of the chimera downstairs, and by the time she had realized that Xelloss was gone it was nighttime already. Wondering where he’d gone, she went into the washroom to draw a nice warm bath for herself.

It had been an unnaturally unpleasant day for the young sorceress, but also a very intriguing one of sorts. The uneasy feeling the spear had given her all morning had distressed her greatly so she had decided to let Xelloss keep it hidden somewhere in his cape of mysteries.

She stripped herself of her clothes and accessories swiftly before slipping into the enticingly warm water. After a long day of climbing mountains and ass-kicking it did a girl well to relax for awhile-even a renown sorceress such as herself deserved a break every once in awhile.

“Ah…” She sighed contentedly sinking lower into the warm abyss. In truth she felt a little guilty for snapping at Zelgadiss earlier, he didn’t know anything of her troubles from earlier in the day, how could he of? And he did make a valid point, just like everyone else had all day.

For some reason though she wasn’t sure she wanted to let go of the spear, she felt like she couldn’t do it. Something about the relic had mesmerized her, and she wasn’t sure it was in a very good way.

What if the old man on the mountain was right? What if while wielding the spear she became power-crazed and wiped everything with life off the face of the earth?

Her mood now dampened by her disheveling thoughts, she exited the tub and washed her face before dressing for bed. Settling herself between the sheets she yawned and let her eyes drift closed, momentarily forgetting the day’s troubles.

 

Chapter 10

Lina groggily climbed out of bed, and wandered over to the washstand. She was a bit out-of-it as she absently splashed the cold water onto her face and stared into her reflection.

After putting on her clothes, she left her hotel room, still tying her cape when she walked into the dining room below. She spotted the odd trio of Xelloss, Zelgadiss, and even little Hiyo seated in a corner table.

They all greeted her with warm smiles except for Zel, who stood up to speak, “Lina, listen, I’m sorry about last night I-“ Lina waved her hand nonchalantly, cutting off his apology with a cheery grin. “It’s fine Zel, I’m sorry too.”

A look of relief passed over Zelgadiss’s stony features as they both sat down with bright smiles. “And isn’t that just sweet?” Xelloss commented dryly, a cruel grin plastered onto his face. He couldn’t help spoiling such a sickeningly cheerful moment.

Lina’s small, but quick fist came swiftly in contact with his face. She gave him an angry growl before turning away to give her order to the waitress standing patiently next to their table. He had made her mad again, not that it wasn’t something that happened frequently upon many of their encounters, but for some reason an odd knot twisted his stomach uncomfortably and he saw no reason to smile about this particular occasion.

As soon as the waitress had scurried off to fill Lina’s unnaturally large order, the perky Hiyo spoke. “Ms. Lina, where do you plan to go now that you have the lance?”

Lina blinked. That was good question. Where did she plan to go? She didn’t plan at all, actually. She really had no idea where to go from here. Now that she had the spear there wasn’t anything else to do. If she were still traveling alone then she’d simply go around blowing up bandits till someone, like Xelloss, came to inform her that the war had begun.

Now that she had traveling companions again, she had to ‘plan’ everything out. Keh.

“Well…err…that is…” She stuttered, trying to rack her brain for idea on where to venture from this point. Unfortunately she had nothing.

A crash sounded at the front of the diner and ominous stomps were heard all the way to the door. “Lina Inverse!” All heads turned to the sudden male voice in the doorway, and Lina squinted. He didn’t look familiar…

“I challenge you, evil sorceress! You may be able to spook dragons but I shall pose as a greater threat than any mere dragon!” The sound of his sword being drawn made Lina roll her eyes in annoyance; this seemed to happen more and more everywhere she went.

“Have nothing to say? Hah! That is the might of my tremendous power, and you shall face it head on! I will have my revenge, sorceress!”

Revenge? What the hell was he talking about? She hadn’t done anything that bad lately, in fact she’d been keeping a pretty low profile.

“Alright, alright. Just tell me what I did to make you want revenge, before I start to get mad.”

The supposed knight blanched, not expecting such a calm approach he was a bit dumbfounded, but he quickly gathered himself again.

“You corrupted my humble village with your hateful essence.” He spat.

Lina snorted. “I did what?”

“Corrupted! You corrupted my village!” The man was reaching near-hysterics now, and his eyes started to look a bit wild.

“What are you babbling about, baka? I did no such thing!” Lina was started to pass the stage of being annoyed, and was venturing into the grounds of being pretty pissed off.

“The head priest in my village said so himself! Just a month or so ago, as soon as you passed through our village, everyone started to fall ill and some even died! It is blatantly obvious that it is your doing, as you yourself are a plague to the entire world! You will pay for your sins, demon!”

Xelloss chuckled at the misuse of labeling, these humans could be so stupid.

Lina was mad now, and she slammed herself out of her chair. Hiyo placed a hand on her arm, attempting to calm down what now represented a small ball of fury. “Ms. Lina! Don’t harm this man; it is obvious that he has been horribly misled if what he speaks is not true. It is not his fault!”

Lina contemplated that for a moment. Never had she been faced with such solid logic in an attempt to soothe her temper. She looked down at the maiden sorceress and felt that she had gained a new respect for her companion.

Xelloss nodded. “Yes, Lina-san. Maybe it is this head priest you should confront instead of his blinded puppet?”

Lina gently removed Hiyo’s hand from her forearm and sat back down, still eyeing the crazed knight.

“What is the name of this head priest that told you these things?” Zelgadiss spoke this time, not really knowing why he had bothered to ask such a question.

The knight brought himself up to his full height and spoke with proudness, obviously beaming for the respect of his head priest.

“He goes by Rezo, The Red Priest.”

 

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