Slayers: Chaos

Chaos 17

Slayers: Chaos

Episode 017: Critical! The White Knight Falls

Words could not describe the indignation that Topaz felt after hearing Luna's reasoning. "If what you're saying is true," his tone held only a thin veil of politeness as if he was ready to go into a fierce, and even personal, debate. "Then everything we do is useless because we'll never achieve a total victory, as such a victory will be a sentence towards a permanent defeat."

"Exactly, and it is because no victory is absolute that it is worth going on, to achieve the next victory and to survive the next defeat, learn from it and achieve yet another victory. To evolve, to remain in motion, to conquer, to do something beyond simply existing, that is to live." Luna didn't think Topaz understood. He was in the middle of the raise to power; he wanted to be a hero.

He wanted the glory he had never tasted and he thought he could bask in it forever. He had always been chasing something and didn't know what it was like to have what he wanted. He wanted fame, he wanted glory, he wanted to be admired rather than criticized for his somewhat greedy ways and power-hungry moves. Topaz wanted what he did not have; he had not experienced holding his goal in his hand and realizing that he wanted more. He held the illusion that once he obtained what he wanted in the present, what he had wanted for his whole life, he would not be in want of anything else ever again.

"Ridiculous," Topaz half growled. "Your mission is to defeat the monsters as is mine. Yet you say we must dance around victory never grasping it in an endless charade? Would the monsters do the same? They don't care about stagnation, all they want is destruction and when they kill all the living beings of this world, then there will be true stillness. That is what the monsters want; by defeating them we prevent the catastrophe!" By this point, he was shouting.

Luna's features were adorned with a mocking grin. She did not like ignorance and had little patience for it. "You are not a very convincing politician," she critiqued. "My choice is final, I will not be involved in your foolish pursuits and by the looks of it, the majority of the dragon race agrees with me." Topaz's frustration was evident on his face and as if reading his thoughts through his expression, Luna added. "How do I know? Because if they agreed, they would already be taking action without consulting me; you need me to convince them for you."

Topaz clenched his fists and teeth. "They do not agree with you," he growled. "They may not believe me, but they do not agree with you. Once I prove that I really can get rid of the monster lords, they'll regret waiting this long to trust in my words. I'll obtain their support sooner or later. I'm sure that the other dragons want the monsters gone too. They are loyal rather than holding on to such twisted notions of balance such as yours. The monster lords will be gone and it will all be thanks to me!"

"Leave," Luna's eyes flashed under her long bangs and the aura of power around her incremented. "Now," there was a pulsation of golden energy and the bracelet around her wrist shattered. It was fine platinum with genuine garnets of top quality, but the gems shattered as if they were made of fragile glass.

Topaz stood up. If the pulse of energy had been aimed at him, he would have been seriously injured and this was just a relatively small wave of power. He knew that the Knight of Ceifeed had to be strong, but he didn't realize she was this strong. "Farewell, Knight of Ceifeed." Without another word, Topaz Ebony swiftly left Zephilia.

xoxox xox xoxox

A week passed and Topaz later sent Luna a letter of apology excusing himself for his rude behavior. He wanted to make it up to her and invited her to a house warming party at his new mansion at the Coastal States. She had politely declined the invitation in correspondence, claiming she was too busy. Yet Topaz would not give up. He appeared in person at Zephilia again and politely pestered the Inverse family until Luna agreed to assist to the party. His behavior had been most apologetic and surprisingly humble. He could have tricked almost anyone, but not the Inverses.