Lina stared at Eris and Zelgadis,
shaking her head. “I… I don’t believe it.”
“Neither do I,” Xellos admitted,
“But I must. The grandchildren of Juuou… I knew that she’d had a son under
the orders of L-Sama… but…” Something else occurred, and Xellos went as
white as a sheet. “Your parents…?”
Eris’ expression was grim.
“Our mother was a powerful shaman, Rezo’s own daughter Masiko. Our father
was a human who had made the Pact without her knowing. To protect us, she
was forced to kill him.”
Lina blinked. That means…
But she didn’t get the chance to finish the thought.
“Don’t worry, Mister Zelgadis!
Even though you may be part Mazoku, you’re still our friend! And I promise
not to hold it against you if…” Amelia’s voice cut off as Lina did something
that she rarely ever did: clobbered Amelia upside the head in order to
shut the girl up. There was a dangerous black cloud forming over Zelgadis’
head, and if he really had the power of a Mazoku…
“Zel…” Lina started as she
kneeled beside her friend who looked all too human. “I don’t care what
you are… as long as you’re Zelgadis Greywords… you’re my friend. I mean,
knowing this makes a lot of sense…”
His upheld hand stopped
her in her tracks. With a weary voice, he sighed. “I’ve been part Mazoku
for so long in the chimera’s body… what difference does it make now, right?”
Lina bit her lip. She wasn’t
headed in that direction, but if that’s how he wanted to feel…
Zelgadis stood and looked
at Xellos. “The next time you see my grandmother, pass along my regards…
and tell her to stay the hell out of my life.”
Xellos blinked, then smirked.
“Oh… I can tell her. But she doesn’t always listen to me…”
Lina just stood there, uncertain
what to do. But then Gourry opened his mouth and saved her from having
to open hers. “So… Xellos’ master is Zelgadis’ grandmother? Does that make
Zelgadis a Mazoku?”
Everyone including Xellos
fell over.
After everyone had recovered
and Lina had beaten the knowledge into Gourry’s head the hard way, an uncomfortable
silence had fallen over the group. Finally, Lina made a decision. She'd
refocus them by dragging them all immediately into another adventure. And
what better way than... “Well, we can’t stay here and waste our lives
worrying about what we can’t change. And now that we don’t have a cure
to go chasing after, there’s a few old temples protecting some really powerful
spells nearby. And I intend on reading a few of those…”
Lina was almost out the
door when Amelia shrieked. “Miss Lina! Those are holy temples of Cepheid!
You couldn’t!!!”
“Why not, Amelia? I’m just
going to read them. I mean, someone ought to have the spells…”
The door closed behind her.
Six heartbeats passed as
everyone looked at each other.
“She won’t like it when
they tell her no…” Amelia whispered.
“She’ll likely blow the
places up,” Zelgadis conceded.
“We should go with her and
make sure nothing bad happens.” Sylphiel decided.
Zelgadis, Eris, Sylphiel,
Gourry and Amelia sprinted for the door.
Xellos grinned, and lifting
his staff, opened his eyes. “Well… here we go again!”
And then he too was gone
from the room.