The Slayers: Reward
Chapter 9: Relax. A Moment to Recoup.
By: Lord Archive
The Slayers belong to Hajime Kanazaka, Rui Araizumi, TV Tokyo, SOFTX,
Software Sculptures Ltd., and many others. I do not own them. I'm only
borrowing them. I'll return them as quickly as I can since Lina and
Gourry are eating away bank account.
This begins a few months after Slayers: Try. There are a few spoilers in
this; I won't specifically explain anything, but I will refer to them.
If you don't want even vague spoilers, I suggest that you don't read
this.
Lime Warning: The reason why this warning is here is very evident in
this chapter. Sexual comments WILL be made in this part, but nothing
descriptive.
-------------------*
A casual observer would view the table as an all out brawl over every
last morsel of food. For those who knew the chief two combatants, the
battle was actually quite tame. The surprise of surprises was when
Gourry and Lina fed each other meatballs.
"Are they always like this?" Ravven asked.
Zelgadis shook his head. "Normally they're not that civilized."
Amelia sighed dreamily. "And they've never fed each other before
either."
Both Lina and Gourry went to the plate heaping with spaghetti and forked
over a large helping of noodles. They both slurped a rather long noodle
strand.
Amelia giggled when she noticed they were eating the same noodle. When
they got to the middle of the spaghetti strand, their lips met in a
kiss. Lina and Gourry paused for a moment, pulled away, blushed, and
went back to the spaghetti plate to see if they could do that again.
Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "I think I liked it better when they wouldn't
admit their feelings."
Amelia's eyes widened in shock. "Mr. Zelgadis, how could you say
something so UN-romantic?!"
Zelgadis looked away. "More like being afraid of romance."
Amelia looked like she was about to cry.
Ravven leaned over and whispered to her, "You just have to show him
there's nothing to be afraid of, and he'll be following you like Gourry
trails Lina around like a whipped puppy... a horny pussy whipped puppy,
that is."
Amelia blushed fiercely and punched Ravven into a wall. "How can say
something like that!"
Zelgadis scowled angrily. "What did he say?"
Amelia fidgeted. "Nothing really...."
Ravven smirked. "Until you're ready to commit to her, she's fair game.
So, don't get jealous over someone taking a chance." He winked at
Amelia.
Amelia blinked cluelessly.
Zelgadis growled. "Just stay away from her, pervert."
Ravven chuckled. "Or what? You don't have a right to keep other guys
away from her yet. What commitment does she have to you, none? And why?
Because you're afraid. Well, I'm not afraid to take a chance."
Zelgadis stood up.
A butter-knife imbedded itself into the table next to Zelgadis, and a
fork shook in the wall above Ravven's head.
"That's enough from both of you," Lina said flatly. "Or will Gourry have
to use the spoon?"
A spoon twirled between the fingers of Gourry's right hand.
"He started it." Zelgadis motioned toward Ravven.
"You won't finish it," Ravven sarcastically remarked, motioning toward
Amelia.
Amelia grabbed her head and rubbed in fiercely. "I don't understand.
First Ravven suggests I pussy whip Zelgadis and then he acts as if he
propositioned me. What does pussy whip mean anyways?"
Zelgadis blinked he repeatedly. "He what?!"
Ravven thumped his head against the wall. "You just defeated everything
I was trying to do."
Lina laughed. "That's a very dangerous game you were playing. It
wouldn't take much for Zel to kill you."
Ravven shrugged. "You guys would've stopped it if it ever got that far,
right?"
Those at the table looked away.
"Right?" Ravven repeated.
"Maybe," Lina offered.
"MAYBE?!" Ravven freaked.
Lina glance back at Zelgadis. "All right, what's the next plan? We're
out of Gemi before any nobles showed up and spotted Amelia. But I don't
have any leads for your cure."
"The only clue I have is that it might be in mazoku hands." Zelgadis
sighed. "Know of any places the mazoku might use to store Claire Bible
Manuscripts?"
"Xellos said something about being a priest of a temple that contained a
manuscript when we first met him. Do you think he wasn't really lying
about that?" Amelia questioned.
Lina folded her hands. "It's possible. But he's Zelas's 'priest' meaning
it could be located at Beast Island."
Ravven took his seat at the table. "If they have been collecting those
manuscripts, I doubt they'd concentrate them at any one place. Each of
the Greater Lords are likely to have some of the manuscripts." He leaned
back. "But I know for a fact Gaav didn't have any."
"And how would you know that?" Zelgadis questioned.
Ravven shrugged. "You're just going to have to trust me on that."
Zelgadis glared. "But I don't trust you at all."
"Your loss." Ravven smirked. "But there might be some at Dynast's
fortress."
Lina waved him off. "We can't be sure of that and I hate snow. Any idea
Gourry?"
"Ah... early to bed, late to rise," Gourry offered since he hadn't paid
any attention.
Lina smacked Gourry in the head. "Should've seen that coming. Amelia?"
Amelia looked deep in thought. "About the only solution to finding out
where they would store the manuscripts is getting Xellos to tell us
where they are."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Like Xellos is going to walk in a say, 'hello,
Lina' and-"
"Hello, Lina," said a firm voice.
Lina looked over at the door and blinked. "With that cue Xellos
should've showed up, not you."
Towermere stepped forward. "Lina Inverse, your blasphemy against
Ceiphied has gone on too long."
"Who's this guy?" Zelgadis thumbed the new arrival.
"High priest Towermere, of Flare Cathedral. And he's the one that got me
married to Gourry, only he thought I was the princess of Edo-- since I
kind of switched places with her," Lina informed.
Towermere grumbled. "Will you accede to Ceiphied's will now, or will you
continue to go against your god?"
Lina smirked. "Sorry, but my God is Ceiphied's mother. So, I don't have
to follow your line of hypocrisy."
Towermere shook in anger. "How dare you say such things?!"
Zelgadis glanced over. He was still upset at the crap Ravven had pulled
earlier and he didn't particularly like the priest's attitude. "Mind if
I take out the trash?" Zelgadis offered.
"Trash?!" Towermere cried out in outrage.
"Be my guest," Lina chirped.
Amelia touched Zelgadis on the arm. "Don't hurt teacher too much."
"I won't." Zelgadis blinked. "Teacher?"
"Yes." Amelia nodded. "He taught me almost everything I know about white
and spirit magic."
Towermere level a grave look at Zelgadis. "I am acting upon Ceiphied's
will, so do not interfere."
Zelgadis scowled back. "You're annoying my friends, so I'm afraid I must
do that."
"Oh, Zel, he's immune to magic somehow, so you'll have to beat him up
physically," Lina informed.
"Not a problem." Zelgadis smirked.
"Your loyalty to friends is admirable, construct, but this does not
concern you-- only Lina Inverse." Towermere tried to push past Zelgadis.
"Step aside or I will have to unmake you."
Zelgadis gave a short laugh. "I wish."
Amelia glared at Towermere and then looked softly at Zelgadis. "Dear,
you should know teacher can hold his own in a fist fight against my
father."
Zelgadis stared at Amelia.
"Dear?!" Towermere squeaked. "That's the man you've ran away from home
for? That freak isn't even human!"
Zelgadis growled and punched Towermere.
"And it's a long flying Towermere out of the inn," Ravven called out and
then blinked. "And Zelgadis is running to catch him?" He sweat-dropped.
"Ow, and the throw to bank wall. And yes, that's the orihalcon siding of
the bank vault he bounced off of. Ew. He'll be feeling that in the
morning. Just how does Zel run so fast?"
Ravven was ignored.
Zelgadis dusted his hands off as Towermere's legs hung out of a garbage
can. "What now?" he asked.
Lina sighed. "Time to go to a new town."
-------------------*
Another day, another town, another inn, another morning of screwing
Gourry back to sleep after waking up, but no clue as where to go next.
Lina sighed. She hated this part of the adventure. She knew something
great lay over the horizon, but wasn't sure which path to take to get
there. Her new spell, Dragon Slayer, was yet another spell to add to the
do not cast list, which meant she would probably have to cast it again
for some reason.
About all they could do at the moment was to avoid the annoying priest
until the annoying mazoku decided to show up.
"Do you have to do that every morning, Lina?"
Lina turned around and waved cheerfully. "Morning, Zel. How was your
night?"
Zelgadis sat down at the Lina's table. "Fine. But I could have done
without the early morning wake up call from you and Gourry. Besides, did
you have to lie to me?"
"Lie? Which lie?" Lina questioned, but was relieved Zelgadis wasn't
pursuing the first part of his conversation.
Zelgadis folded his arms. "About the vacancy of the inn."
"Sorry. Amelia made me do it," Lina chirped.
Zelgadis growled, and then opened his mouth to say something but relaxed
a little. He began to massage his forehead. "Before this adventure I'd
know you were lying, but now...."
"Amelia is running out of options and time." Lina leaned forward. "So...
anything happen?"
Zelgadis blushed and turned away. "That's none of your business."
Lina scooted closer to him. "OH! Something did happen. What did you two
do?"
Zelgadis scowled. "I said it was none of your business."
"Is she no longer a shrine MAIDEN, or did one of you get a tongue
lashing?" Lina pressed.
Zelgadis flattened his eyes. "I'll tell you if you answer a question for
me."
Lina shrugged. "Sure, now give me details."
Zelgadis turned away while his blush deepened. "We just kissed, that's
all."
Lina blinked and pouted. "Just kissed?"
Zelgadis nodded. "Yes. Just a kiss."
"How long?" Lina inquired.
Zelgadis fidgeted. "About an hour."
Lina laughed and patted him on the back. "Way to go."
Zelgadis grumbled. "Now about that question."
"Sure, what is it?"
"I want you to explained what happened with Dragon Slayer."
Lina froze for a moment. "W-why do you want to know about that?"
"Not all of my senses are human, Lina. I know there was something odd
going on when you cast that spell."
Lina turned away. "It's nothing to worry about. Consider the spell
banned. I certainly won't use it again."
"What if Dynast, Dolphin or Zelas decides to claim your head? Won't you
use that spell before Giga Slave?" Zelgadis questioned.
"I just won't use it. Okay!?" Lina insisted.
"I answered your question, now I want you to answer mine." Zelgadis
glared. "And don't lie to me."
Lina looked like she was going to protest, but shriveled under
Zelgadis's gaze.
"Fine." Lina sighed. "Truthfully, I'd rather use the full-perfect of
Giga Slav before the full-perfect of Dragon Slayer."
Zelgadis blinked. "Why?"
Lina looked down. "The Lord of Nightmares still has a use for this
world, but Shabranigdo wants it destroyed."
A cold shiver ran down Zelgadis's spine. "You don't mean that the Dragon
Slayer would summon Shabranigdo, do you?"
"Well... only one of the shards."
"But you cast the full version...." Zelgadis paled even further. "Have
you become a shard?"
"I didn't cast the FULL version... I left out a verse. So there's a good
chance I'm not a shard." Lina forced a smile.
"You left out a verse?" Zelgadis wondered.
"Yes." Lina nodded firmly. "After I said 'I pledge myself,' I was
supposed to add 'I bind myself.' So, by failing to add that in, it
should keep me safe as long as I don't cast it again." She patted her
friend on the shoulder. "Now don't worry about it."
"Ah, sure...." Zelgadis got up and walked back toward his room. "Don't
worry about it, she says.... Who is she kidding? Of course I'm going to
worry."
Lina glanced out the window. "Xellos... you have a lot to answer for."
She slumped back into her seat. "Now if only you'd show your ass so I
can pound the answers out of you."
Zelgadis blinked and stared as he noticed Ravven exiting a room with the
bar maid that served them last night.
"So, how long are you going to be staying in town?" the bar maid asked
shyly.
"Not long, I'm afraid." Ravven brushed some hair out of her face. "But I
should be around for the next couple days at least."
The bar maid blushed. "Too bad we didn't make the most noise last
night."
"Those two are newlyweds and are normally noisy. But we can try again
tonight," Ravven smiled suavely.
"It's a date if those newlyweds don't break my back first with all their
food orders." The bar maid giggled.
Zelgadis stomped past. "Pervert."
"And proud of it." Ravven smirked.
-------------------*
"Care for a sparring match?" Zelgadis asked.
"Sure." Gourry shrugged. "Don't know how good I'll be against you with
this sword, though."
"The sword is merely a tool. Talent makes it useful."
"Whatever." Gourry motioned for him to attack. "Ready when you are."
Zelgadis swung several times, but came nowhere near touching Gourry as
the swordsman parried each attack.
"You need to attack seriously if you hope to win," Gourry commented.
Zelgadis sweat-dropped. He was fighting seriously. He decided to try to
distract Gourry. "When did you get that sword?"
"Lina bought it for me shortly before we got married. It proved to be a
lot better than we expected," Gourry answered.
"What happened to the one those Peace-Men guys gave you?" Zelgadis
questioned.
Gourry smiled weakly. "It broke when I used it on a bandit wearing some
oreocon armor."
"You mean orihalcon armor?" Zelgadis guessed.
"Yeah, that's it." Gourry nodded.
"How well do you think it'll work on a mazoku?" Zelgadis asked.
Gourry shrugged. "Not sure, haven't used it on any yet. It won't work as
good as the Sword of Light, I can tell you that."
"You'd need the Blast Sword powered by Lina's magic to do that."
Zelgadis was annoyed that despite the conversation Gourry showed no
signs of being distracted.
"What's that?" Gourry parried and smacked his opponent on the head.
"Just another legendary blade." Zelgadis pressed his attack.
"Oh." Gourry blinked.
"Gourry, keep an eye on Lina." Zelgadis caught Gourry's blade with his
own.
"I like keeping both eyes on her." Gourry pushed Zelgadis away.
Zelgadis growled. "What I mean to say is that she'll have more mazoku
problems now that she knows Dragon Slayer."
"What else is new?" Gourry didn't seem bothered.
"Some of them, Xellos particularly, may try to hurt her."
"I'm her protector. If anyone hurts her, it means I'm dead and there
wasn't anything I can do to stop it." Gourry disarmed Zelgadis.
Zelgadis nodded and picked up his sword. "Should've expected that. Just
be careful, Gourry. Without the Sword of Light, your not much good
against a mazoku."
"I'll just do everything that I can." Gourry smacked Zelgadis on both
cheeks with the flat of his blade.
Zelgadis smirked. "And somehow I think that'll be enough, even if you
can't hurt a mazoku."
"Thanks." Gourry brought the pummel of his sword down on Zelgadis's
head.
Zelgadis collapsed to the ground. "OW! So maybe you can hurt a mazoku."
-------------------*
Xellos's notes:
Stay tuned for the next wonderful chapter staring me, Xellos! As I
finally join Lina's rag tag bunch and play a game of twenty stupid
questions.
As for the Blast Sword, no Gourry doesn't have it. Archive put in the
reference since his next Slayers series, The Slayers: Finesse, will not
follow Try continuity, but more of the novel continuity with an anime
slant to them.