He hovered above the forest, scanning the horizon. "I never would have thought Sonjia-chan would actually use the spell herself," he mused. "Especially on a large enough scale to hide five people." A flash of silver caught his eye, and he turned his attention to the town he killed, which was glinting in the fading sunlight.

"Oh, so there you are, my dear..." he said, sneering. "I should have guessed from the start." The girl needed to be kept in his control. She was fun to play with, but he couldn't risk letting her get too comfortable with the humans. He knew that some humans were remarkably resourceful creatures, especially the one known as Lina Inverse. She would have to be dealt with. No use taking chances. And no playing around this time.

Jadarin landed in the middle of town and surveyed the surroundings. The town was dead. Dead quiet. He pricked up his ears, flicking them from side to side, scanning for any sound. There it was. The dull chatter of a conversation about a block away. "Gee, I wonder where they are?" he said to himself sarcastically as he walked over to the house the sounds were coming from.

Pressing his ear against the door, he decided to eavesdrop a little before making his move.

"Wow, I never really stopped to think that you might look different as a goddess!" said Amelia. "So what do you really look like?"

"It's not important," said Sonjia. "I don't exactly feel like being gawked at right now, thank you very much."

"So what? You have an alternate form. That still doesn't make you a goddess," said Zel. "Besides, your story still has a few major flaws."

"You mean how Magic Lock can still be cast if my sister is dead?" Sonjia asked. Zelgadis blinked in surprise, then nodded.

"Maybe the Gold Dragons took it," suggested Lina. "There's a theory about transferring the power of a spell from one being to another that my sister told me a long time ago. She said that a god or Mazoku can willfully transfer their power to another of any race. But it had to be voluntary. Except if you find a way to kill the god or Mazoku, there's a very brief period of time at the time of their death that you can draw their power out of them."

Sonjia stared at Lina in shock. "Who the heck was your sister if she knew something like that?!"

Lina fidgeted a little. "She's, uh, a Knight of Ceipheed....."

"Oh..." Sonjia shook her head. "Anyway, yes, I think that's what happened. I think the Gold Dragons extracted my sister's power upon killing her. So that's why the spell is still able to be cast."

"But if they've had the spell this whole time, why haven't they used it?" asked Amelia. "It seems like something the Gold Dragons would want to make good use of if they'd kill one of their own for it."

"They must have wanted it pretty badly," said Gourry. "People who want my Sword of Light don't usually try to kill me for it."

"Oh, poor Gourry!" said Lina. "I know! You can just give the sword to me, and then everyone will stop hassling you for it!"

"I've already said 'no' to you about a hundred times," said Gourry.

Lina shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for trying. Anyway," she said, returning to the matter at hand, "what we've hypothesized so far is that the Gold Dragons may have control of the spell. But if they did, they would have used it by now, and it's obvious they haven't, since we're not exactly having a Mazoku shortage."

"Maybe they don't know how to use it," suggested Gourry, having a lot of experience in that field.

Lina smacked herself on the forehead. "Gourry, would you please stop coming up with the obvious explanations? They're making us smart people look like idiots."

"Sorry," said Gourry.

"Before we deal with the Dragons, don't you think we should take care of that Mazoku that's been pestering us?" Zelgadis reasoned. "Other than Sonjia, he's the only one who knows the spell who can be considered a threat."

Sonjia lowered her eyes at him. "Oh, thanks."

"How in the world are we supposed to defeat him?" shouted Lina. "You've all seen that no magic can get through his shield. There's absolutely no way to hit him!"

"Sure there is," Sonjia interrupted.

All eyes went to her. Lina grabbed her by collar. "Oh now's a fine time to tell us that!! So spill already!"

Before Sonjia could speak, there was a knock at the door. Everyone froze.

"Maybe it's Xellos-san...?" Amelia ventured.

"Hello?" came a voice from the other side. "I have a large pizza here for a Miss Lina Inverse. Sorry, I couldn't make it in under a half hour, so the pizza's free."

"It's about time!" shouted Lina excitedly. "Finally! Food!" She bolted for the door.

"Lina-san, wait! It's gotta be a trap!" Amelia called after her, stating the obvious.

But Lina's hunger had overridden her logic, and she hastily opened the door to relieve the pizza boy of his burden. Of course, I think we can all guess who was at the door instead.

Jadarin smirked at Lina's horrified expression when she realized who he was. "Special delivery." He swung one arm up, catching Lina full in the stomach and sent her sailing across the room, only to smash into the wall on the other side.

"Lina-san!" Amelia shouted, running to her aid.

"What? No tip?" said Jadarin, blocking the door--the only way out. Zelgadis and Gourry stood protectively in front of Lina, swords drawn. Sonjia still sat in the chair, shaking her head in annoyance.

Lina stood up unsteadily, leaning on Amelia. "What do you want from us, Jadarin?" she asked.

"Well, you see, you've gotten in my way," he explained, pointing his chopstick at her. "And those who get in my way once inevitably do so again. So I have no choice but to eliminate you."

Sonjia stood up, picking a kitchen knife up off the table. "I don't know what you're planning to do, but no one may use the spell as recklessly as you have been." She threw the knife straight at him. It wasn't a very precise or skillful throw, but it was enough. Jadarin quickly flicked his chopstick into the air, then phased slightly, letting the knife pass right through him. He then caught the stick as quickly as he had released it.

"Really, you people should know that swords do not work against Mazoku. You can't even scratch me like that."

They needed some way to escape. But they seemed to have flat run out of options. Swords and magic wouldn't work against him, and they couldn't blow down one of the walls to make a makeshift exit, since all the walls were magic-proof. The only way out was through the door.

Lina stepped forward, a stern look on her face. "I know we can't get around you or through you," she said. "So I have a different idea."

Jadarin stepped back a bit. True, it could just be a bluff to get his guard down, but there was still the possibility that there was something that she knew of that would work against him.

"I do believe we shall go... under you!" She slammed her palm to the dirt floor, which hadn't been affected by the spell. "Dug Haut!"

A pillar of rock erupted from beneath Jadarin's feet and skyrocketed upward, taking him with it. The magic pillar couldn't go through the ceiling, but pinned Jadarin against it instead.

"It worked!" cheered Lina. "I had a feeling indirect magic like that would have some effect on him."

"Bravo," said Zelgadis. "But now what?" he said, motioning to the door, which was now blocked by the large stone pillar.

"Um, Damu Bras?" said Lina, throwing a handful of magical grapeshot at the pillar, disintegrating it. "Just run! Ask questions later!" The five beat a hasty retreat over the rubble while Jadarin reoriented himself.

"Curse you, Lina Inverse!" he shouted after them. He pulled himself out from under the fallen column and pursued.

"Guys, we should split up," said Lina. "Sonjia, go with Gourry and Amelia to the other side of town. Zel and I will keep going this way."

"I'll go with them... but not because you told me to," Sonjia replied.

"Oh, whatever," Lina grumbled. "Just don't get caught or killed or something." The five parted ways into their respective groups of two and three.

"Okay, Zel," said Lina, "it looks like about all we can do right now is throw rocks at the guy. And since earth shamanism is your specialty, I'm counting on you to find a way to--"

"Lina, why the heck did you do that?" Zelgadis interrupted. "You sent 'Miss Goddess' with the two people who are too dense to see through her act! She'll end up getting them killed!"

"Zel, have a little faith!" Lina retorted. "It's gotten to the point that there's a good chance that she's actually telling the truth. Why do you still insist on doubting her?"

"Simple," said Zelgadis. "Her ribbon."

Lina blinked in confusion. "What about it?"

"It changed color," he explained. "Not just from silver to blue, but silver to red. Red from blood. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think gods bleed. Especially not from wounds inflicted by swords."

Lina rubbed her chin in thought. "I... guess you have a point there. But she didn't bleed when Xellos blasted that hole through her chest. What was different about that?"

Zelgadis shrugged. "Physical versus magical damage, maybe?"

Lina shook her head. That couldn't be it. All through this entire escapade, both god and Mazoku weren't getting hurt when they should have, and getting hurt when they shouldn't have. Sonjia had gotten a cut on the arm, and couldn't even heal it. Then later, she got a hole blown through her chest, and that healed right away. But why couldn't she heal....?

Lina's eyes widened. "That's it! You can't heal it!" she exclaimed in realization.

"Pardon?" said Zelgadis.

"That's gotta be how you defeat this guy!" she said excitedly. "The spell blocks and disables all magic! Which means all you have to do is--"

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to finish that thought, as a fireball erupted behind her, throwing her and Zel apart. Through the clearing smoke, Jadarin stalked towards them.

"Lina Inverse..." he growled. "I think it's time to shut you up for good..." He raised his hand and unleashed another fireball.

Lina rolled out of the way and shouted, "Zel, get him! He's using magic, so his shield must be down!"

Jadarin spun around and whipped out his chopstick just before an Elmekia Flame caught him in the back. But he was too quick, and the spell evaporated as soon as it hit him.

"So, I see you've worked out a little strategy against me. But it will do you no good," he remarked. "I see my hunch was right on target that you have a knack for figuring things out. Unfortunately, the only place you'll take that knowledge is to the grave."

Lina crossed her arms defiantly. "So what are you going to do? As soon as you drop your shield to cast a spell at me, Zel can hit you with a spell of his own."

Jadarin lowered his head and smiled menacingly. "Who ever said I was going to kill you with magic...?" He tucked his chopstick into his pants to free his hands, and got ready to pounce.

Lina gulped. She hadn't counted on this. Jadarin growled and leapt into the air at her. Lina scrambled out of the way just as his claws hit the ground where she had been standing.

"Never underestimate the usefulness of brute strength!" he shouted, remaining on all fours like some sort of demented lion.

Zelgadis drew his sword and stood in front of Lina. "Don't worry. With my stone skin, he can't get through me."

"Save the macho talk, boy," Jadarin growled. He swung his arm sideways, backhanding Zelgadis in the side of the head, sending him flying across the street. Now Lina was completely exposed. Jadarin grinned and raised his hand, ready to strike with his claws.

"Wait!" said Lina. "Aren't Mazoku supposed to, you know, torment their victims first or something? You don't want to kill me right away..."

Jadarin snorted. "Nice try." He grabbed Lina by the neck and lifted her off her feet. "I'm not letting you get away, little girl." With that, he swung her around and threw her full force against a wall. There was a crack, and it was obvious that that had broken her arm, and maybe cracked a few ribs. Lina fell and slumped backwards against the base of the wall. Jadarin rushed forward, ready to finish her off, but at that moment, Zelgadis Raywinged in between them and pulled Lina out of the way, letting Jadarin crash into the wall.

He watched them fly off and shouted, "Run all you like, but I will not rest until I have killed that girl!" He spread his wings and took off after them. Realizing at this point that no one would be casting any spells at him, he dropped his shield and charged up a fireball. "Crash and burn time," he chuckled, letting the fireball loose.

Zelgadis didn't know what hit him. Actually, he did know what hit him. A fireball. He just wasn't expecting it. It caused him to lose his Raywing spell, and both he and the injured Lina went crashing to the ground on the edge of a ditch outside of town.

"Ow..." moaned Lina. She tried to open her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a pair of bat wings and black claws descending upon her.

"Lina!" Zelgadis shouted. But it was too late. Jadarin was already on her, his claws easily piercing her flesh.

"Listen well, Inverse, the chase only ends when you are dead," he growled, digging his claws deeper into her arms. Lina tried to cry out, but her broken ribs made it hard to even breathe. And she was far too weak to even fight back. Which meant if he hit her again like he did before, he could very well kill her. But what could she or Zel do?

"It's been fun, but it's time to end this," said Jadarin. He picked Lina up and threw her against Zelgadis. He then put his hands together and let loose a highly concentrated blast that caught Lina in the chest, sending both her and Zelgadis flying into the ditch behind them.

Zelgadis groaned from the impact and tried to get up, but realized Lina was crumpled on top of him. She wasn't moving, and was bleeding from several wounds and char marks. He shakily raised a hand and checked her neck for a pulse, then noticed Jadarin standing above them, ready to hit them with another fireball.

Zelgadis dropped his hand and called up hoarsely, "Don't bother wasting your energy."

Jadarin paused just for a moment to hear an explanation for this. "And why shouldn't I?"

Zelgadis sighed. "Because..... Lina Inverse.... is dead."