Forgotten King: Chapter 13
Next chapter is up and we are getting down to the end of this fic. Don't worry that this chapter cuts off without full closure. I'm working on an epilogue for this story so be patient and it will be out soon.
Zel and Lina ran down the halls of the Hellmaster's abode trying to find him. As they raced down one hall Zel stopped and looked around hesitantly. "What's wrong," Lina asked stopping short of Zel.
"I feel this odd building of power near here," Zel mentioned as he focused on the energy he felt.
Lina focused for a second and replied, "I feel it but sensing power isn't really my thing...black magic and all you know."
"I know so just follow me and I should be able to find the source of this," Zel said as he started moving down a hall to his left.
"Right behind you," Lina shouted as she ran after Zel.
Outside the battle raged on between the combined forces and the Hellmaster's army. The armies traded blow for blow but neither side showed any signs of giving away. As the battle continued the leaders of the forces joined together in the center of the courtyard. They turned back to back and began to fight trying to swing the tide of battle in their favor. "Xellos how are your men doing," Zelas asked as she fought back to back with her servant.
"We have taken some casualties but most of our fighting force is still operational," Xellos replied while parrying an attack by one of the ground troops.
"How about you and Dynast," asked Sylphiel as she tended to a wound on Zelas' arm.
"We have taken a good bit of casualties. Hellmaster's men were positioned to take on our units as they attacked the walls," Dynast replied as he thrust forward and impaled a soldier on his sword.
"The main thing keeping us in this fight are the magic armors," Xellos commented as he watched the armors make short work of the soldiers they squared off against.
"Well look at it as a blessing and continue fighting. We can't let up. If we flee now then the Hellmaster will come after us and finish us off," Zelas said as she fought with more soldiers.
As the fight continued it seemed like the Hellmaster's forces never had an end to them. The allies would fell many just to have more take up positions on the front lines to replace the fallen warriors. As more and more conscript continued to throw their lives away for the sake of the Hellmaster the fight was beginning to look hopeless. As another squad ran forward the allies prepare to knock them away but the squad was taken out by a blade of white energy.
The allies turned quickly to see a cloaked figure with a white scarf wrapped around the figure's neck while also concealing facial features. The figure moved forward while shouldering a large scimitar. The figure walked until coming parallel to the group of allies and just stopped. The figure waited for a second before setting it's feet in a fighting stance while hefting the scimitar into an attack position. As another group of soldiers came towards the allies the figure swung the scimitar like it weight nothing and the same white energy shot out and hit the line dead on. After the attack the figure just shouldered the blade and continued to walk towards the mansion without looking at the allies or saying anything at all.
Lina had been following Zel for quite some time and now even she could feel the power building to immense levels. As the round the corner they were meet by giant double doors. Zel stopped and concentrated on the power he had been following for a while. He then ran towards the door and knocked them open with his shoulder. Lina followed in behind him to see a circular room that had been made into a summoning circle. Around the circle where many men chanting and in the center was the Hellmaster himself. As they watched the energy began to dance around the Hellmaster as he finished his chant. "Come fighter of promise. Come and serve the one who beckons you servant of the dark lord," with the utterance of the last word the energy turned black and began to solidify in the center of the room.
As the energy cleared there stood Vladimir in the center with his sword in the floor in front of him. Vladimir's eye caught Zelgadis and said, "Well, well it looks like the young prince has made it this far," as he leveled his sword.
"Vladimir what is the meaning of this," Zel asked as he stepped forward.
"You never knew it Zelgadis but I am the knight of shabarnigdo. I serve the dark lord or any mortal that makes a contract with him. And now the newest contract wishes you dead. I'm sorry about this but I can't undo the contract made by summoning me," Vladimir responded as he rushed forward.
Zel quickly drew his sword and made a fragile parry against Vladimir charging strike. He stood in a test of might with Vladimir until he started to lose the match of strength. He shifted his blade so Vladimir's sword would slide down the blade. When it did he tried to use it as an advantage but Vladimir quickly reposted and meet Zel's blade. He looked at the young man and said, "You are very good with that sword, but not good enough," as he kneed Zel in the gut and sliced at his chest.
Zel fell back at the ferocity of the attack and lost his balance. Lina caught Zel and looked down to see a good cut across his chest and it was bleeding . She leaned him against the wall and stood in front of him while drawing her rapier. She stood defiant in front of Vladimir and said, "I don't care if you rip me to pieces you're not getting to Zel," while trying to control the shivers she felt in her body.
"Don't get in the way. Why die in vain? I'm only contracted to kill him, don't throw your life away," Vladimir said as he looked at the defiant girl.
Lina was a bit shocked that he wasn't just attacking her out right but she wasn't about to let her guard down. She backed into a defensive position and said, "I don't care what you think. If you are going to kill Zel then you'll have to kill me first."
Vladimir seemed to hesitate, seemed to be reluctant to attack. Then the Hellmaster yelled, "Just kill her!"
Vladimir nodded and leveled his sword at Lina saying, "This could've been a lot better for you," before a white energy blade hit him in the face that was protected by his mask.
Lina turned to see a figure standing in the doorway with a huge scimitar on it's shoulder. The figure walked forward and said from under the scarf, "Your fight is with me Vladimir not Lina," while shedding the cloak and scarf.
Lina's mouth dropped when she saw that purple hair that she knew belonged to her older sister. She then asked, "Luna how do you know that traitor of a mazuko?"
"I traveled with him once...once before when he was human," Luna said somewhat forced while not turning towards Lina.
"Heh, time to stop hiding that little secret my dear Luna...Or should I say sister," Vladimir replied as he stood up to reveal his mask had been knocked off by Luna's attack.
Lina stared at Vladimir at the utterance of the name, 'sister,' and saw that he looked a lot like her if she had been a male. He was a decent bit taller than her but his face looked like her and Luna's. People would say the were related just by looking at them. She noticed the main things that were different were that his face was hardened, more like someone who had seen too much in there life. She also noticed his neck length red hair with the silver streaks running through them almost making him look like he was going gray in old age. She looked at him and asked, "What do you mean sister?"
Luna glanced back at her sister and said, "We never told you Lina but we had an older brother. It's just we both had different paths. I was chosen to serve Cepheed, and your brother chose to serve Shabarnigdo."
Vladimir smirked and said, "Yes, but you Lina, you are the youngest sibling. You were allowed to leave your life free and how you wished."
"Well right now I'm doing what I want...and no one is getting past me," Lina said as she continued to protect Zel.
"Don't worry he's mine," Luna said as her face hardened and she charged at Vladimir as he mimicked her movements.
Lina watched in shock as he sister and new found brother struck and parried each other through the room. She then turned to Zel and asked, "Are you ok? How bad is the wound?"
"I'm fine," Zel answered as he stood after healing the slash Vladimir had given him across the chest.
"Well, I guess we need to take care of him while Luna holds off Vladimir," Lina said while pointing at the Hellmaster.
"Ahead of you," Zel shouted as he rushed forward and swung at the Hellmaster with his sword. Zel's sword bounced off of a magical barrier before he swung again and fought against the barrier. Zel pushed his hardest but he was only made a small bit of headway. The Hellmaster smiled at Zel and said, "You think a sorcerer such as I is totally defenseless?"
"Yes," came a shout from behind as Lina let off a flare arrow that pierced through Phibrizo's barrier since most of the energy was focused towards the front.
The arrow hit the Hellmaster in the shoulder and he went flying to the other side of the room. After a moment he stood and shouted, "You'll pay for that you bitch," as he thrust his hand forward.
Lina smirked when nothing appeared out of his hand and waited. She didn't see the black tentacles that shot up behind her. Before she could fire a retort she heard, "Lina look out," as Zel knocked her out of the way.
Lina was knocked down but saw the black tentacles shoot out and impale Zel in multiple places. She shouted, "No," as she leapt up and used her rapier to hack the tentacles down.
She caught Zel as he fell for the second time. She held him close to her and whispered in his ear, "Zel tell me your ok...Please don't leave me," as he clothes became stained with his blood.
"Lina...I'll be ok, but take care of yourself," Zel whispered as he passed out from the lose of blood.
Lina concentrated and sent almost all of her energy into a healing spell and she succeeded in stopping his bleeding. But, with all that energy used in one spell she felt slightly dizzy as she stood up. She quickly, more out of instinct then thought, drew her rapier and charged towards Phibrizo. She quickly stopped when she felt him erect his barrier against her. She glared at him as her mind came back to her and waited for a moment. Soon the Hellmaster shot a ball of energy at her and she choose this moment to move. She quickly dodged the ball and launch her own fireball at him. The fireball pierced half way through the barrier. 'Just as I thought,' Lina began thinking of a plan, 'His barrier loses strength when he attacks. So I just have to get him to use a big spell.' "Hey Phibby, is that all you got. Heh, a toddler could do better," Lina taunted hoping to draw Hellmaster out of his defensive position.
"How dare you, you little bitch," Hellmaster said as he drew in power and shouted, "Shadow wave."
Ducked out the way of the flying black shards as she launched another fireball. It exploded and Lina stood up watching as the smoke cleared. When it did she saw the Hellmaster floating in the air unharmed by her attempts. Phibrizo smiled and said, "Well, looks like your strategy was to attack when I used my energy to attack. I know my shield weakens when I attack that's why I hold a bit of my power in reserve. Now take this, Flare Bit!"
Lina ducked and dodged to the best of her ability but couldn't stop from being hit here and there. As the assault ended she tripped and fell on her face. She felt the pain surge through her body from the small, yet painful, wounds she had received from that attack. She picked herself up and taunted, "Is that all you got," while she knew she couldn't take much more.
Hellmaster smirked and said, "So you like it rough do you? Then you'll love this one, Blast Ash!"
Lina's eyes went wide when she saw the void coming towards her. She had no time left to react the void would be upon her in moments. She closed her eyes and said, "Goodbye Zelgadis."
Lina braced for the moment of pain before the end but that pain never came. She cracked an eye to see Zel kneeled in front of her. Her eyes went wide when she realized Zel was using the last vestiges for his energy to erect his shield in front of them. Zel didn't even look back he just grunted, "Lina do it now," as she concentrated on the shield.
Lina nodded and began to concentrate on the spell she knew would help them both. She chanted for a moment when a spear of black energy formed in her hand and she shouted, "Hell Blast," as she threw the spear at the Hellmaster.
Phibrizo didn't have time to react at all. He had sent everything at Lina this time thinking there was no way she could escape. He gasped as the dark spear pierced his middle and he went crashing to the ground. He writhed as the spear began to drain his life to the point where he stopped moving. After the Hellmaster fell Lina looked down to see Zel's body heaving deeply from the strain from keeping the shield up. He looked at her and said, "You're safe now," then fainted.
Lina dropped quickly and caught Zelgadis. She brought him to her and held him to her as tightly as she could. She positioned him so that his head was in her lap and she ran a hand over his face. "Rest now Zel," she whispered before there was a loud crash from the other duel going on.
Luna and Vladimir had been dueling for quite a while and neither looked to be gaining any ground. At the moment they stood staring at each other waiting to see who would blink and attack first. They resembled two tigers ready to fight over territory but neither want to start the fight. All or a sudden Vladimir disappeared and reappeared behind Luna. Luna predicted the attack and parried as she spun around and tried to knee Vladimir as his forward momentum brought him close to her. At the last moment her rolled with the momentum and moved to her side and reposted in a defensive position. Luna saw his movements and tried to take advantage by pressing a full attack. Vladimir skillfully parried and dodged all of her shots until they resumed the staring position. They both crouched down and in a spilt second jumped into the air at each other. They both landed soon after and turned to face each other. Suddenly a cut is Vladimir's trench coat appeared in the sleeve and showed a small cut across the arm. Luna's cloak strap cut away and a piece of her shirt cut open and showed a cut the same caliber of Vladimir's. Vladimir smiled and said, "You're holding back Luna. I thought I taught you better than to hold back no matter who the opponent is."
"Can't you understand that your still my brother...you're still the older brother I always looked up to," Luna asked while not flinching from her position.
"Let's put it this way...If you don't take me out then I'll have to do that to you, and then Lina as well. If any family left then you have to kill me," Vladimir said as he pointed his blood red sword at Luna and then raised it to where it was over his shoulder but still pointing at it's target .
Luna lowered her head in acceptance of what she must do and drew in energy. She began to glow white as she continued to concentrate. Her brother began to mimic her actions but her glowed with a deep onyx black. As the power reached it's peak the two warriors dashed at each other letting off a flurry of energy blows that seemed to either missed or be blocked by another energy wave. As the firing died down both opponents were kneeling across from each other and where breathing heavily. After a moment Vladimir coughed and what looked like blood came up. He smiled and said, "Good job Luna, you did it," as he fell backwards and a large cut became visible in his chest.
Luna let out a breathe she had been holding in a sob as she stood and walked towards Vladimir. She carried her arm gingerly because it had been hit by one of Vladimir's energy waves. She stood over her brother and looked at his dying face. She kneeled down and ran a hand over his face. She let a tear fall as she heard him say, "Goodbye Luna...my dear sister."
Luna got up and walked over to where Lina and Zelgadis were resting and said, "Give me a moment and I'll heal you two."
After their healing Lina, Zel, and Luna walked out into the courtyard of the mansion. There what was left of the allies had won the day against the armies of the Hellmaster. When they saw the prince emerge alive they let out a cheer of, "Long live King Zelgadis!"
After they had gotten their wounds tended the allies parted ways and head back to their own areas of control. All but Zelas she stayed behind. She waited for a moment when Lina and Luna were talking when she whispered, "Zelgadis."
Zel's hearing picked up on her and he followed her into a garden that she had hid in. "What's up," Zel asked.
"I just wanted to give you this," Zelas said as she pulled out the king's scepter which had been missing since the death of Zel's father.
"Where did you get this," Zel asked almost too shocked for words.
"Well did your father ever tell you about your mother," Zelas asked.
"No," Zel answered lowly.
"Well, the real queen died giving birth to a dead baby," Zelas started, "It was soon after the king got desperate for an heir so he came to me and well...," Zelas cut short.
Zelgadis hugged Zelas unexpectedly and said, "Thank you mother. The truth is I did know about the true queen's death. I had found her grave one day and didn't say anything...I knew that she wasn't my mother but my father was adamant about my roots so I went along with it."
Zelas returned her son's embrace and said, "Even thought you are my child no one needs to know. That and I was never around to raise you to keep up the rouse. So I have no clue on how to be a mother to you," Zelas said as she backed away and turned from her son.
"You don't have to know how. I've grown up and I have what I need to live on. Just go on being you," Zel said as he turned and started walking, "If you'll excuse me I need to get back to Lina."
Zelas sighed and turned when she heard Xellos say, "So you finally got to tell him?"
"Yes...I did. But, now we must go back to business as of usual," Zelas replied as she began to walk back towards her men.
Back in the summoning room of the Hellmaster's mansion Vladimir's mask sat undisturbed. Soon a figure appeared in the room and picked it up. Illianna ran her hand over the mask as lovingly as she would his true face. As she did the eyes flashed red and then went out. She smiled and thought, 'Now to just find a host,' as she looked about the room. Her attention was soon captured by a grunt from the other side of the room. She looked to see one of the acolytes still hanging on to life on the other side of the room. She walked over and looked down at him as he coughed up blood and looked up at her. He hoarsely said, "Please help me," as he reached his hand towards her.
She kneeled down and said, "Don't worry it will be all over in a moment," as she placed the mask over his face.
The eyes surged to life as black energy coarse through the acolytes body as it rose into the air. Soon the short black hair began to grow to mid-length red hair. The body began to grow in size a bit and the flame red hair started getting sliver streaks running through it. Soon the clothing formed around the body as it set down on its feet. The figure was totally healed and looked towards Illianna. The body held out it's hand and Vladimir's voice came from it as he said, "Mortis to your master's hand.:
The red blade known as Mortis appeared in his hand a second later and he sheathed the sword right after. He turned to Illianna and said, "Thank you for finding a new host. I wouldn't want to sleep for another decade or so before someone actually put the mask on," as he embraced the young girl.
"You know I don't like to wait," Illianna replied as she lifted the mask off of his face.
"I know...," Vladimir trailed off as he kissed Illianna and they both disappeared into nothingness.
Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from The Slayers do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.
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