Slayers: Chaos

Chaos 16

Slayers: Chaos

Episode 016: Trials! The Never Ending Journey

Time passed and the evening of Topaz Ebony's house warming party at his new mansion at the Coastal States arrived. Luna entered the town, immediately noticing that there was danger all around. 'A trap,' she thought. The black dragon had been acting strangely when he invited her, albeit the oddity of his behavior could only be noticed by the particularly observant. Strangely, the town was deserted and a feeling of dread hung in the air. Luna quickened her pace towards the mansion. The tall front gates were open, leading to a cobblestone carriage driveway, which reached to the steps in front of the mansion's entrance.

Luna hurried past the inviting gates and towards the beckoning double doors of the main entrance that were already open. With great speed, she dashed past the doors into a grand hall decorated with dark colors, black, grays and wine, accentuated with topaz jewels. At its center there was a gray marble fountain with water flowing from the mouth of a dragon statue that resembled Aqua Lord Ragradia. The atmosphere was still and silent, foreboding. Luna wielded her knife, "her whole body glowing golden. "You're certainly a daring one to challenge me," her voice was calm yet fierce.

From the top of the grand staircase that overlooked the fountain, there came a man who was actually a dragon. His hair was black and shiny, perfectly straight, tied in a low ponytail and reaching to his mid-back under his black cloak. His eyes were a piercing gold, angular and long, like the shape of his face and his tiny nose. The rest of his clothes were also dark in color, presenting various shades of gray, making the topaz decorations on his belt and the front of his cloak to stand out more. "I will not be your opponent," the dragon replied with confidence. "I am merely a negotiator. Would you give up your life in exchange for the lives of the townspeople?"

Luna was not one to be easily pressured, nor was she one to panic. With a calm demeanor and solid serenity that somehow existed in harmony with the fierce power in her glowing eyes, she replied. "I have no guarantee that they will be freed once I'm gone. Furthermore, I'm sure that the plans you're trying to accomplish by getting rid of me will result to be far worse than the extinction of this town."

"Far from it, traitorous knight," Topaz argued.

"Traitorous?" Luna perceived that it was more than just a random insult.

"You are meant to try with all your might to defeat the monsters and yet when given the opportunity, you refuse. Is that not traitorous to Ceifeed?" Topaz accused.

Luna's expression morphed into a mocking grin. "No hurt feelings, eh? I knew you would insist upon that."

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A month prior... Zephilia was a very special human town, known to produce a great number of skilled individuals. It was a place where no enemy spy would dare to go, a place where not even the bravest and strongest bandits could endure. It was a town of sorcerers and swordsmen, a place of skilled magic users and mercenaries. Yet on the surface it had the appearance of a quiet country village where people spent most of their time farming grapes.

Topaz entered a boutique near the front of the town. Ladies were busily moving around making sure all the merchandise was perfectly arranged. They immediately notice the visitor and greeted him politely. The owner of the store, Tatjana Dayward, approached with a smile. "It is good to see you Mr. Ebony; it has been far too long."

"It has indeed, Miss Dayward," Topaz gave her a charming smile. He had not spoken to the formal designer since his fiance, Jewel Ivory, was killed by Xellos to please Zelas' whim of wanting a dragon hide designer purse as a Christmas present. The young white dragon had been quite a fan of Tatjana's kimonos and Topaz often gifted her new ones. Of course, Topaz had no idea that Xellos had secretly gone to Tatjana to craft the purse where her rival, Marty Lenford, had failed to create a product that met the needed standards. Very much less, he had no idea that Tatjana had done a stellar job and the final result had pleased Zelas well. "Pardon me for appearing on such short notice, but I wish to purchase a fine product from your selection of hand crafted jewelry."