| Slayers |
| Episode 10: JACKPOT! The Great Life or Death Gamble! |
| Shabranigdo narrowed his evil red eyes, and then brought himself up to his full height, as Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis stood facing him. "So you've come, Shabranigdo!" Lina yelled. Gourry and Zelgadis tensed themselves up as well, and got ready for battle. Shabranigdo towered over them, looking very formidable, indeed. His huge feet pressed into the ground, and broke the stony ground apart, demonstrating his strength. Shabranigdo and the Slayers continued to stand facing each other. "So, at last you've decided to face me," boomed Shabranigdo. Lina replied that they were, and that he was going to regret fighting them. The Dark Lord chuckled at this foolishness. "By becoming my servants, you would have been guaranteed long life. Embarking upon a hopeless battle... that is the summit of stupidity!" he declared. Zelgadis and Gourry looked back at him, unfazed. "Stuff it!" Gourry yelled back, not about to give up. "That sorcerer Zolf and the old man who died with him were fools. But compared to them, you are even greater fools!" Shabranigdo continued. Zelgadis looked back with hatred. "How dare you!" he yelled back. A flashback of Shabranigdo was seen, and the death of Zolf and Rodimus was seen again; they yelled as they were destroyed by the blast. "Zolf... Rodimus... You dare to call them fools?!" Zelgadis asked Shabranigdo, furious. Gourry and Lina expressed equal distaste. Shabranigdo was unaffected. He claimed that their foolishness would be proved by their deaths. At this, Zelgadis drew his sword. He walked slowly towards Shabranigdo, and broke into a sprint, preparing to attack. Shabranigdo raised one of his feet, and stomped it into the ground. An enormous wind swirled up the dust as a result, and Gourry and Lina shielded themselves, and backed away from the huge energy. All around them in the forest, dust and debris could be seen spreading. Zelgadis landed back on the ground, on his feet, as he was thrown backwards. As the wind continued to blow, Lina decided to cast a spell. "Gaav... Flare!" she shouted, and a bright ball of pink and black energy shot straight towards the Dark Lord! Cruising through the ground, dust trailed from it, as well. And when it hit Shabranigdo... he stopped it with his hand, and absorbed it. Lina sighed. "Oh man... why'd I even try?" she asked herself. Shabranigdo chuckled evilly, and fired the Gaav Flare back at Lina in lots of small trails of energy. Lina was singed, and dodged the rest of the blasts. Gourry looked behind Lina to see what she was doing, and then dodged the energy just in time. "What are you doing, Lina?!" he demanded. "Just seeing if it would work!" Lina replied, sheepishly. Zelgadis, meanwhile, ducked down to avoid another blast. As he came up, he started chanting an incantation. After he finished, he put his hand to the earth; yellow energy swirled upwards around his hand. "Vlave Howl!" he shouted. The rocks in the range of the spell flew upwards in a blinding wind, and out of the crack emerged an large orange-black trail of fire; it seemed to have the form of a giant worm. Shabranigdo muttered an acknowledgment, unsure what to think. The blazing fire towered over him, and it suddenly launched itself onto the Dark Lord. Lina and Gourry stood by, watching the scene. The fire poured down, and molten rock spread everywhere nearby. As soon as all of it fell to the ground, everything suddenly hardened. Blackened rock was all around, and a structure shaped roughly like Shabranigdo was in the center of it; it seemed the enemy had been turned to stone. Zelgadis threw back his cape, and all three Slayers surveyed the scene. "Did it work?" Gourry asked, hesitantly. As if in answer, the blackened form of Shabranigdo suddenly split straight in half. "No!" cried Lina in alarm. She exhibited sounds of surprise as the ground began to shake violently. Water erupted everywhere out of the ground in steady streams, to the bewilderment of the Slayers. Zelgadis clenched his teeth; something strange was happening. After the water, the blazing molten rock poured out once more, so that it was all around them. Lina turned around, and saw, out of the fire of the biggest break in the ground... Shabranigdo, just as he was before! Everyone tensed up, and could only stare at the Dark Lord, amidst the lava; it was all around them now. "No good!" Zelgadis declared, eyeing Shabranigdo. "An amusing trick," their enemy said. "However, you should use lava like this." The air hung with a feeling of dread, and the lava bubbled. Out of the liquid rose strange monsters made of lava, and Zelgadis looked back in alarm. Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis all stood against each others' backs, so as to avoid being attacked by the monsters surrounding them. "Go!" Shabranigdo commanded, and the creatures all flew into the air with a piercing sound, and then dived down at them. The Slayers all ducked to get out of the way. Gourry swung his normal sword, cutting one of the creatures in half; it crumbled into dust. "This'll take forever!" Gourry stated. "Then I'll settle this with one shot!" claimed Zelgadis. Using hand motions, he cast another spell. "Van Rehl!" Blue energy was shot into the sky from Zel's hands, and it exploded into a glistening web. As the monsters touched it, they all crumbled to dust. The web, its job done, then vanished. "All right! Way to go, Zel!" Lina said joyfully, congratulating him. Then, she noticed a creature flying up behind him. "Watch out!" Lina cried, but it was too late. The beast flew towards Zelgadis, spraying fire onto the ground from its mouth. Zelgadis failed to dodge the blast, and was thrown onto the ground, on fire. Lina and Gourry could only watch Zelgadis's burning body. "Zel!" Lina exclaimed. Shabranigdo laughed mercilessly in response. Lina looked back with hatred. "Gourry, let's do it!" Lina hollered. "OK!" Gourry replied. She fired a Freeze Arrow at one of the creatures, causing it to roar fiercely. Lina then cast a Ray Wing, and flew off into the sky, with the creature following close behind. Lina dove towards Shabranigdo, with the beast still tailing her. Suddenly, she flew up. Shabranigdo looked up at his own creation, which was about to smash into him; he destroyed it just by flaring his eyes. "And there's more!" Lina announced. From nearby, she went into the familiar hand postures, and cast a Fireball at Shabranigdo. The Dark Lord didn't even have to defend; it simply hit him, and had no effect whatsoever. "Do you still refuse to see that this is futile?" Shabranigdo demanded, his ruby eyes as cold and evil as ever. "Now! Do it, Gourry!" Lina ordered. Shabranigdo looked back at Gourry in curiosity. "And now it's my turn!" Gourry proclaimed, casting aside his normal sword, and summoning the Sword of Light from its hilt. He jumped up, and swung it at the Dark Lord with all his might. The energy blazed through the air, and hit Shabranigdo. There was the sound of a slash, and then... nothing. Gourry looked up at his enemy with frustrated, confused eyes; Shabranigdo had caught the Sword of Light in his hand! "It... it can't be!" Gourry sputtered. "The Sword of Light doesn't work?!" Lina asked in disbelief. "The Sword of Light... it slayed the legendary Demon Beast Zanifar..." Shabranigdo boomed, "but it will not slay me!" With that said, he fired a blast at Gourry, which threw him to the ground. "Gourry!" Lina yelled in alarm. "Don't sound so worried, Lina," Gourry assured her, getting up. "I'm not quite dead yet!" "Neither am I!" Zelgadis announced; he was still alive and well, though singed. His golem body must have protected him. "I'm still ready to fight!" Lina looked back at them with a gladdened expression. "Zel! Gourry!" "You can still move?" the Dark Lord roared, drawing himself up to his full height. From his hand, a large ball of yellow energy gathered. As he shot it, golden spikes of energy materialized. Zelgadis and Gourry gasped as they were struck by the blasts repeatedly. Lina gasped in alarm. "Such lovely screams!" Shabranigdo declared evilly. "Such screams as I've longed to hear!" As the blasts ceased, Lina demanded to know what he was talking about. "The monster race feeds off negative human emotions," Shabranigdo announced. "Terror, anger, sorrow despair... All of these become my power." "No..." Lina said in despair, quietly. "For thousands of years, I existed within the blood of men," Shabranigdo continued, and images of random individuals are seen in a flashback. "Being reborn again and again. At last I found this man, Rezo..." - Rezo's image is seen - "whose body would be most suitable for me." The flashback faded, and Shabranigdo is seen again. "Now I must accumulate as much power as possible. And for that, the fear I find in your powerful human souls is most preferrable." With that, another round of golden spikes through the air at Gourry and Zelgadis. They yelled in pain once more, and pieces of Gourry's armor were broken off. "Let me hear your screams!" demanded Shabranigdo cruelly. "Let them become my power! And by that power I will destroy the world, and return it to a Sea of Chaos." "So that's what you monsters are after!" Lina realized. Shabranigdo spoke again: "I give them to you as well... terror and pain!" Another round of spikes were fired, but this time at Lina. She tried to dodge the blasts, but one streaked along the side of her leg, and she fell to the ground. Shabranigdo loomed over her. "It is finished," he announced. While Lina tried to cast a healing spell, Shabranigdo told her that it would not change the outcome. As he started to fire another blast, Lina gasped in alarm. Gourry, seeing this, threw his sword to her. Lina caught it, and muttered, "The Sword of Light..." She sat blinking at it. "Gourry..." she said. "Use it!" Gourry yelled back. "Easy for you to say..." Lina replied. Holding the sword, the energy from it suddenly erupted, surprising her. Shabranigdo looked at her again, and powered a blast. As he fired the spikes once more, Lina cast an Elmekia Lance while holding the sword. The energy shot forth brilliantly, and pierced Shabranigdo. His eyes widened, but he caught the energy. Roaring, he broke the Elmekia Lance in half. Zelgadis's eyes widened, as well. "That was the Elmekia Lance! Such power!" he exclaimed. As the debris cleared, it was seen that no effect had taken place. "Still you refuse to understand..." Shabranigdo announced. "That level of magic will not work against me!" "Is this the end?" Zelgadis asked quietly. The Dark Lord powered up another blast, and prepared to fire it. Lina desperately thought to herself, unsure of what she could do now. She closed her eyes, and then suddenly opened them. "One chance. One more spell to try...but..." Shabranigdo interrupted her thoughts, telling them not to worry, and that they would not be the only ones to die. All of the world's deaths would follow. "Stop it! Enough! Do you really intend to destroy the world you so longed to see?!" Zelgadis yelled suddenly. "Rezo!" At Zelgadis's remark, Shabranigdo began to quiver slightly, and he uttered confused hesitant gasps. "REZO!" Zelgadis screamed again. Lina still stood at attention to the Sword of Light. Lina wondered why Shabranigdo would be affected by this, as images of Rezo continued to flash back and forth; she sensed Rezo's presence. Now, she knew that Rezo's soul had not been completely destroyed. They had a chance. Smiling, she stood at attention, and held out the Sword of Light. "Okay!" Lina announced. "If this doesn't work, I'll give up completely!" "Lina?" Gourry asked, wondering what she was up to. "Even using a spell as powerful as the Dragonslave... you cannot defeat the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo!" the enemy declared. Lina replied that no matter how strong he was, power from an even stronger Lord would be able to defeat him. "What?" Shabranigdo asked in alarm. "You see, I've heard of another legendary Dark Lord," explained Lina, newfound determination seen in her eyes. "The power of the Lord of Nightmares!" The Dark Lord gasped in anticipation once more. Gourry and Zelgadis could only watch what was happening; they would witness a spell that called power from an even greater Lord. "Can a human being handle it?" Zelgadis asked. "If anyone can, it's her!" Gourry replied confidently. Holding the Sword of Light, Lina continued to talk. She would reveal her most secret of secrets - the Giga Slave! Shabranigdo tensed up, getting ready. "Sword, give me your strength," Lina whispered to the Sword of Light, and energy gathered to it. Dust began to swirl up around her, revealing the strength she was going to use. Black energy streaked with blue electricity covered the sword, and the energy of the sword extended high into the air as Lina began to cast her final spell. "Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night," Lina began, as the chaotic energy touched the sky, covering all in darkness. "King of Darkness, who shines like gold within the Sea of Chaos!" Shabranigdo stood before her, watching. "One slip here, and I'll be consumed by darkness," Lina muttered. "Impudent insect!" the Dark Lord roared in defiance. Lina continued the spell: "I call upon thee! Swear myself to thee! Let the fools who stand before me... be destroyed... by the power you and I possess!" Lina finished. "Sword, accept this darkness, and obey my command!" The Sword of Light, consumed by the powerful chaotic energy, was held by Lina towards Shabranigdo. Shabranigdo began to power up a blast of his own, to his full power. Red energy erupted in a circle around him, and he began to charge energy above his head. Lina stood against this chaos, and began to talk to Rezo. She told him that he could either let his soul be consumed by Shabranigdo, or he could take vengeance upon him! "You fool!" Shabranigdo yelled. Lina smiled. "We're about to see who the fool is, here!" With that, she launched her spell. "GIGA SLAVE!" she yelled, and hurled the energy from the sword with a blinding flash. Chaos soared toward Shabranigdo; the Dark Lord fired a red blast toward Lina in return, and when the blasts met, some of the chaotic energy rushed upwards into the sky. Electricity coursed everywhere, and Lina screamed as she was hurt by the energy. Meanwhile, Shabranigdo stood in a haze of red. "Dark Lord..." a voice suddenly said. Rezo is seen rising up out of the mist in Shabranigdo's thoughts and entity. The Red Priest then opened his eyes, and they were clear and foreseeing. "Don't interfere!" the Dark Lord demanded. The chaotic energy from outside coursed towards Shabranigdo as he tried to defend. "No, you must be destroyed, after all," Rezo said, decisively. "DON'T INTERFERE!" Shabranigdo roared. It was too late. The energy hit him, and a brilliant explosion took place. Rocks flew everywhere, and all three Slayers were blown back, as the largest explosion any of them had ever seen took place. As the smoke cleared, Lina stood looking up at Shabranigdo, and Gourry and Zelgadis started to get up from the ground. For some reason, Lina's hair had turned from her usual red to white. Shabranigdo was still there, looming over her. Lina gasped, looking at him. She fell to her knees, and then to the ground. Shabranigdo chuckled. "A valiant effort," he declared. Suddenly, he turned to stone, and Lina looked up at him expectantly. "You, mere humans... To have destroyed the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo... I have granted you and Rezo the honor of having killed me. It was fun while it lasted..." His body crumbled to dust, and Lina continued to watch in disbelief. Gourry and Zelgadis witnessed the event, as well. "Did she do it?" Gourry asked. "Shabranigdo is no more," Zelgadis said. At this, the sky turned from its smoky black to clear blue, once more. Lina lay back, and breathed a happy sigh of relief. They had finally won. Gourry and Zelgadis got to their feet, and congratulated her. "Lina, your hair..?" Gourry asked. "It's OK," Lina replied. "I just kind of overexerted myself." Then, from the sky, a voice: "Thank you. I'm sorry..." Rezo's voice was heard form the sky. The three continued on their journey, and Gourry asked how she won against Shabranigdo. "Does this mean you're stronger than him?" Gourry asked. "Oh, would you cut that out?" Lina asked in annoyance. "I had a snowball's chance in hell. I only won because of the help of Rezo and the Sword of Light." She then went on to explain that the Rezo's spirit held Shabranigdo back. She explained that she was only one-third of the reason they won. "Maybe resurrecting Shabranigdo and turning Zelgadis into a chimera wasn't the work of the real Rezo.." Lina philosophized, and Zelgadis opened his eyes in interest at this. "Maybe, as he was trapped inside Rezo's body, Shabranigdo took control of him over a long period of time." "Are you trying to say I should believe that?" Zelgadis asked. Lina replied that perhaps Rezo wouldn't have helped if he really was like that; Zelgadis could believe what he wanted. Gourry patted Lina on the head in congratulations, treating her like a kid again. As they advanced, Gourry suddenly stopped. "Hey, I can see Atlas City from here," he announced. Lina told him that he had only agreed to accompany her this far, but Gourry, as usual, didn't remember. When Gourry asked her where she was going next, she replied that it was wherever he was going. Until she got the Sword of Light, she was going to cling to his side. Zelgadis put a hand on Gourry's shoulder, and announced that he had to go. In a city that big, a chimera couldn't be seen. Lina shook Zelgadis's hand happily, and then they parted ways. Lina and Gourry ran towards Atlas City. |
| Overall Episode: 10 |
| Episode 3 of Video 3 |
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