A young woman stood alone in the still burning wreckage of her town, tears flowing down her face. She walked slowly to a patch of clear ground where she had just buried her loved ones. Kneeling brokenly before her parents’ graves, she vowed, "Lina Inverse! You have destroyed my home and my life. You will pay for this… I will make you pay!!"

Not far away, a cloaked figure sitting in the branches of a tree heard the girl’s shout. "Hmm… How interesting," he said, smiling. Then he vanished.

The girl staggered back to the remains of her house. The fire had not touched her magically protected clothes. Not caring if she was seen or not, Kera Yurion stripped off her burnt clothing and put on her travelling clothes that consisted of a blue tunic over a pale yellow shirt and tights. She put on her matching gloves and boots, then took out her prized hand-dagger. Kera gritted her teeth and cut off all of her beautiful, dark brown, knee length hair except for a few locks at the nape of her neck. Keeping her hair would only remind her of her parents. She braided the remaining locks together. Sheathing her dagger, she buckled on her long sword and blue-green cape, then gazed at the direction where Lina and her gang had taken. She hooded herself and walked out of the burnt village.

Suddenly, there was a person in priest’s robes in front of her. The purple-haired man smiled genially at her, then he opened his eyes. She stared, then said, "Mazoku!"

"Hmm… you’re perceptive," commented Xelloss. "However, I’m not here to fight you. Whether you believe it or not, I want to help you."

"Because I look pathetic?" Kera asked sarcastically, keeping her hand on her sword hilt.

"Tsk tsk, if you think that way, you’ve already lost half the battle," said Xelloss, wagging his finger at her. "Besides, that hair-style makes you look good too."

Kera ignored that last statement. "Then what do you want? Do you really expect me to believe that you will help me?" Kera asked, still not completely at ease with the presence of a Mazoku.

"No, not really…" said the Trickster priest. "But it make things much more convenient."

"You still haven’t told me what you want with me," said Kera, crossing her arms.

"I haven’t? Oh… That’s my secret," said Xelloss, winking at her.

"Is that right? Well, good-bye then," said Kera, walking away.

Undaunted, Xelloss followed her, still smiling. Kera ignored him pointedly. After a long while, the priest caught up with her and said, "By the way, my name is Xelloss. What’s yours?"

"That is my secret," said Kera, smiling slightly.

Xelloss raised an eyebrow, then said, "Whoa, that’s a long name. Can I call you Secret or would you prefer being called Kera?"

Surprised, Kera whirled around to stare at him. "H-how did you know?"

Xelloss winked and raised his finger, about to say his pet phrase again, when Kera interrupted him, "Never mind. I don’t really care, since we’re not going to be travelling companions."

"Oh, aren’t we? We’ve been together for quite some time now," Xelloss said.

Kera did not answer that but continued walking. "It’s all right if we don’t talk that often," remarked Xelloss. "I understand that you’ve just gone through an emotional trauma and your head is not very clear yet, so-"

"Shut up or get lost, Xelloss. If you want to travel with me, that’s fine, but don’t talk so much, ok?" Kera said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, so you’ve finally decided to accept me as your travelling companion. Is that right?" Xelloss said.

"Well, it looks like I have no choice. You’ll just follow me anyway," said Kera, still walking.

"That’s true. Well, for one thing, you do know where you’re going, don’t you?" Xelloss asked.

"Frankly, no. I’m just following the path that Lina and that blond swordsman took," replied Kera. "Do you know where they’re heading?"

"Yes," Xelloss replied, to Kera’s surprise. "They’re going to Zoana. I think they heard something about a Clair Bible there."

"A Clair Bible? But there isn’t a Clair Bible in Zoana," said Kera, raising an eyebrow.

"They don’t know that," said Xelloss, winking. "Anyway, they will probably meet a couple of their companions there so it wouldn’t be a wasted trip."

"Huh? How do you know all these? … Wait, I know. It’s your secret, right?" Kera said, sighing. "Oh, forget it."

"Yep. That’s right. I can’t go around revealing my secrets, now, can I?" Xelloss said.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There was a short silence. The two of them continued walking towards Zoana. "So what are you going to do when you reach Zoana?" Xelloss asked Kera.

"I’m not very sure," she said. "I guess I will check Lina out, see how good she really is."

"And then…" prompted Xelloss.

"Plan on how to teach her a lesson," said Kera, clenching her fists.

"Just like that? You’re not going to kill her?" Xelloss said, seeming surprised.

"No. I’ve had enough of killing," said Kera.

"Why? Ah, I see. You did something in the past that you regretted deeply, so…"

"Shut up, Xelloss."

"Ah ha! I’ve hit a nerve, haven’t I?"

"So what if you have? It doesn’t change anything anyway."

"Maybe if you told me what happened? At least it would make you feel better," said Xelloss. "Or maybe you would prefer to call it your ‘secret’?"

Kera stared at him, startled. "A Mazoku feeling concerned for a human? That’s a laugh," she said cynically.

Xelloss put on a hurt look. "Mazoku are not all bad, you know?"

"Yeah, right. And pigs can fly," said Kera dryly.

"You can make a pig fly," disagreed Xelloss.

"Just shut up, ok? It wouldn’t hurt your mouth to be rested for a while."

"Fine, fine. Oh, by the way, I won’t be going to Zoana with you," said Xelloss. "I have a little business to attend to."

"Good riddance," said Kera, smiling.

"Don’t worry, I’ll find you again once Lina and the others leave Zoana."

"Damn," muttered Kera in an undertone.

"What did you say? Aw, come on… I know you simply love my company and will feel terribly lonely without me," said Xelloss, smiling at her. "But we won’t be separated for long, so don’t miss me too much, ok?"

Frowning, Kera did not reply to that.

"And you’re such delightful company too. I will miss you, bye," said Xelloss, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Ugh!" Kera exclaimed, wiping her cheek hastily. "You pervert! What did you do that for?! Xel- Oh. He’s gone. Finally."

Sighing in relief, Kera continued on her way. Now that Xelloss was gone, she relaxed more and inevitably started recalling what happened scarcely a few hours ago.

* Flashback *

Kera was on her way back to her home village when she saw thick, black smoke being emitted from that direction. Horrified, Kera started running along the trodden path, carrying the cakes that she had been sent to buy from the town. A terrible sight greeted her shocked eyes. Almost all of the wooden houses were on fire, including the one she shared with her parents. The huge fire devoured any living creature, its choking smoke finished the job of killing the inhabitants of the village. Kera knew that this was sorcery almost immediately. A few of the remaining villagers were chasing a couple of travellers— a redheaded sorceress and a blond swordsman out of the village. The others were trying to put out the fire, but in vain. Kera wished she could help, however, she was unable to enter the burning village because of the heat and smoke. Vexed at being so helpless, Kera put down all the things she had bought, then cast a Bomb Di Wind that blew away most of the fire. Unfortunately, it also blew away most of the roofs of the village huts, but that couldn’t be helped.

She dashed immediately to her house. However, she arrived too late to save her parents. They were only two among the many casualties of the village but to her, they were everything. Wiping away her tears, Kera buried them in a clear spot near the back of their house.

* End of Flashback *

From the headman of the village, Kera had discovered that the sorceress who had caused this disaster was known as Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer. From what the headman said, Lina was quite a well-known and powerful sorceress. The pair had been eating their dinner when a couple of Mazoku appeared in the village square. Lina and the swordsman attacked them for interrupting their meal. The swordsman managed to destroy one using the legendary Sword of Light while Lina recklessly killed the other using a Dragon Slave. That was what caused the fire in the village. Naturally, the couple got away as fast as they possibly could.

Kera clenched her gloved fists. If only she had arrived sooner to put out the fire or stop Lina. She thought of the love that her parents had lavished on her when she was a child; how they never blamed her for learning black magic when she was not accepted by the white-magic priests. The first time she cast Dragon Slave… she destroyed more than one quarter of the village. Over forty people died because of her little ‘experiment’. But then, she was only six years old and had not known the consequences. Henceforth, the village council banned her from using any magic. She still cheated from time to time when it was more convenient to use spells and her parents never told on her. Nevertheless, out of respect and love for her parents, she never cast any major spells… until today when she cast Bomb Di Wind, and that was only because she was desperate.

Now her parents were dead, all because of the reckless act of a callous sorceress. Tears welled up in her jade-green eyes. Kera brushed them away irritably. She was determined to see justice done for the sake of her parents. Not only that, she now had no home. Fortunately, she had hidden a secret stash of money that she kept for emergencies. This was certainly an emergency. She could always figure out a way to earn more money later. Meanwhile, she continued walking in the direction of Zoana… until…

~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter One ~ ~ ~

A tall, cloaked Mazoku appeared in front of her, its eyes glowing bright yellow. Its eyes and hideously wide mouth were all that showed beneath its black cloak. Kera jumped a few steps back, drawing her sword. Being a sorceress of black magic, she didn’t have an easy way of destroying Mazoku. In fact, most of the black magic spells derived their power from Mazoku. After seeing what damage a full-blown Dragon Slave could do, she also hesitated from using such a powerful spell. That moment of hesitation almost cost her a life.

Grinning evilly, the Mazoku attacked, using its extremely long claws to slash her. Using her sword, Kera managed to deflect the majority of its strikes. In spite of that, she received a number of minor wounds that started to hurt almost immediately. If she finished off this battle quickly, she would be able to heal herself easily but her problem was that she could not destroy this Mazoku without causing immense damage to the landscape. Also, the longer the battle lasted, the worse her injuries would become. The Mazoku sensed her dilemma and attacked more furiously, knowing that she was weakening. A particularly vicious blow knocked her to her ground. Suddenly, an invisible barrier appeared in front of her. She thought, Air Valm! But who was the one casting it?

The hooded spell caster stepped out of the trees. He was dressed in a pale beige from head to toe and sunlight glinted off some violet hair. Surprised, the Mazoku turned towards him, preparing to attack. The young man did not let the demon have a chance to do so. Placing his hands together in front of him with palms facing outwards, he chanted aloud, "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite...RA-TILT!"

A blue-white blast of energy emitted from his hands shrouded the Mazoku. When the dust cleared, there was nothing left. Dusting his hands with satisfaction, the hooded man walked towards Kera, who was healing herself. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice muffled by his mask.

"I think so," said Kera, slowly standing up. She dusted herself and smiled at the man. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Don’t mention it. If I’m not wrong, your specialty is black magic, right?" he continued.

"Yes. But I’m afraid that I am not very good at it," lied Kera. "The spell you used was ‘Ra-Tilt’ wasn’t it? That’s neither a black magic or white magic spell."

"Yes. It’s actually a spell derived from the astral plane. It’s quite effective against Mazoku."

"I noticed," said Kera, smiling. "My name’s Kera Yurion. What’s yours?"

"Zelgadiss Greywords," he said, removing his mask and hood.

Kera stared at his stony face and metallic hair. "You’re… not human?" she asked pensively.

"About a third, actually," said Zelgadiss, smiling gently. "I used to be fully human, but I was changed by the spell of an evil priest."

"So your life was destroyed, like mine," said Kera sadly, in an undertone.

Since he was obviously not meant to hear that, Zelgadiss courteously pretended that he had not heard and changed the subject instead. "So, where are you headed?"

"Zoana. What about you?"

"The same," replied Zelgadiss.

"Perhaps we could travel together then," offered Kera.

"I don’t see why not," agreed Zelgadiss.

So, with a new travelling companion, Kera continued her journey to Zoana.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Zelgadiss found that travelling with Kera was very different from travelling with Lina, Gourry and Amelia. For one thing, the young sorceress was more serious and less emotionally immature than either Lina or Amelia. She was probably about Lina’s age or slightly younger but she seemed older because of her maturity and the way she carried herself. Also, unlike Lina, she didn’t seem to mind being rescued from monsters or bandits along the way, since she claimed that she was not very skilled in magic. However, her skill with a sword was quite good, so she was able to handle herself in a physical fight. The greatest difference was that she did not eat as much as Lina. In fact, she hardly ate anything at all. It seemed that her definition of a satisfying meal was a bowl of soup. Initially, Zel thought that it was because she did not have much appetite after going through an emotionally scarring ordeal. However, as the days passed, Kera seemed to be recovering from her trauma but she still ate as little as ever. Finally, one day, while they were having lunch at an inn, Zelgadiss asked her about it.

"What’s wrong with my appetite?" Kera asked, open-eyed. "I’m eating as much as usual."

Zel stared at the bowlful of rice and slice of meat on her plate and sweatdropped. And the others thought I ate very little, he thought, sighing. His meal seemed like a mountain compared to what Kera was eating. It was amazing that with so little nourishment, Kera was still able to walk for miles without having to rest. Zelgadiss shook his head. The girl was a puzzle.

When she asked why he was going to Zoana, he told her that he had to fulfil a contract with the king. In exchange for getting the rumoured Clair Bible and hopefully, his cure too, Zel would act as the king’s bodyguard. Zelgadiss just assumed that Kera was going to Zoana to look for a relative or something, so he did not ask, not wanting to cause her any more unhappy memories.

Kera wondered why he had not asked her about it. Maybe he felt that it was a personal question and did not want to intrude. Or maybe, he did not care. She felt that it was the latter and was depressed for the rest of the day. Zelgadiss noticed her depression and tried to cheer her up by telling her jokes about his past adventures. Fortunately, he did not mention any of the names of his companions. Even though Zelgadiss was not very good at telling jokes, Kera still smiled politely at his inept attempts. In return, she even told him some of the funny incidents that had happened to her in the past and was rewarded by his laughter. She refused to believe it at first, but Kera realised that she was slowly falling in love with her travelling companion.

No, it could not be, she told herself. Perhaps it was because Zelgadiss was the first human man (…well, almost) that she had been travelling with for such a long time. Maybe it was because he was always so kind and considerate towards her, always willingly protected her from monsters and was always the perfect gentleman. She knew for a fact that Zelgadiss usually took the longer watch when they had to spend nights in the forest. It helped that he was extraordinarily handsome too. Kera couldn’t help wondering if someone had already had stolen his heart. She suddenly thought of Xelloss and shook her head, smiling. That Mazoku! If he were here now, he would surely tease her unmercifully.

"A gold coin for your thoughts," said Zelgadiss, who noticed her smiling.

The two were sitting around a campfire, after having their dinner of roasted fish.

"Wha-what?" Kera looked up at him and blushed, saying, "My thoughts aren’t worth that much, Zelgadiss."

"Why not? Anyway, I just wanted to know what you were thinking," said Zelgadiss. "You looked so amused."

"That… that is my secret," said Kera, still smiling.

"Fine then," said Zel. "I shouldn’t have asked."

"Well, I was actually thinking about a Ma… person that I met before I met you," said Kera. "He liked to say that whenever I asked him a question."

"Oh really? He must be rather irritating," said Zelgadiss thoughtfully.

"Yes, he teased me non-stop," said Kera, shaking her head. "But he was rather fun, though. I wonder where he went."

"Well, since you like him so much, maybe you’ll meet him again some time," said Zelgadiss, smiling.

"What? I certainly hope not!" Kera exclaimed. "He’s such a supercilious jerk. I get this feeling that he knows everything and is not telling anyone about it."

"You’re contradicting yourself," remarked Zel. "I guess you must really like him."

"Zelgadiss! How dare— " Kera’s face was completely red.

"Now you’re starting to sound like one of my former travelling companions," said Zel, smirking. "I hope you don’t become as violent as she is."

Kera’s hands flew to her burning cheeks. Well, at least he doesn’t suspect that I’m in love with him, she thought, sighing. Zelgadiss looked at the sky and said, "It’s getting late. I’ll take the first watch. You sleep first, ok?"

"Sure, but don’t tire yourself out," said Kera as she lay down near the fire.

~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter Two ~ ~ ~

Kera was asleep in a few minutes. Zelgadiss looked at her sleeping form, smiling. She was still very much a child in her own way. A child who had been forced to mature very quickly. He wondered how her life had been like. She hadn’t told him very much about her parents. Evidently, they had died very recently. Kera was probably travelling because of that reason.

Her magic skills had improved considerably after she met him; and she had learnt several new spells, including the Ra-Tilt, which he had seen her use against a Mazoku. When he asked her about it, she blushed and said that she had learnt it from watching him cast it the first time. At the rate which she learnt spells, Zelgadiss guessed that she could surpass Lina in less than half a year. However, she never used large-scale destructive spells such as Fireball and Dragon Slave, another factor that made her different from the destructive Lina. When in a fight, Kera preferred to use her sword instead of her magic. Maybe she was afraid of causing too much damage.

Also, she never seemed to run out of money. Zel wondered where the young girl got her hands on so much money. Surely it couldn’t be from attacking robbers, like Lina. He tried to picture her in Lina’s clothes, attacking bandits ferociously, but the image only made him want to laugh. It simply did not fit Kera’s personality.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A tree branch creaking interrupted his reverie. Zelgadiss stood up and drew his sword in one fluid motion. He glanced quickly around the clearing. A shadowy figure stood just beyond the trees. Squinting, Zel could make out glowing, red eyes and long, thin arms. Another Mazoku? This would be the third one this fortnight, at least during his watch. The Mazoku normally minded their own business. What made them want to attack him? Was it because of Kera? That seemed very possible. After all, the first time he met her, a Mazoku was attacking her. But why? What interest did the Mazoku have for a young sorceress like Kera? He didn’t think that Kera would know either.

Or was she keeping some secret knowledge from him?

Well, the Mazoku was going to attack anyway. Zelgadiss sheathed his sword and casted Ra-Tilt. Unfortunately, the monster refused to be destroyed so easily. It teleported out of the way and flew towards Zelgadiss with lightning speed. At times like this, Zel wished he had Gourry’s Sword of Light. After dodging the Mazoku’s first attack, he drew his sword again and cast Astral Vine on it. As the Mazoku flew at him a second time, Zelgadiss sidestepped easily and sliced through the monster with his magically enchanted blade, cutting it in half. The halves exploded in a burst of light that woke Kera. "What happened? What was that bright light?" she asked, gazing around the clearing.

"A Mazoku attacked," replied Zelgadiss, sheathing his sword. "I destroyed it."

"Another Mazoku? That would be the seventh one already," remarked Kera. "I wonder why they are attacking us."

"The eighth, actually," corrected Zelgadiss. "There was one that came while you were asleep."

"Oh. I can’t imagine how it would be if you weren’t here to protect me," said Kera, blushing a little. "Thank you, Zelgadiss. Sorry for troubling you like this."

"Er… you’re welcome," said Zel, also blushing. "It’s no trouble, really. I’m just glad that I am able to help you."

There was a short silence.

"Well, I can’t sleep now," said Kera. "Why don’t you rest first? I’ll call you when I get tired."

"Ok," agreed Zelgadiss, settling down.

Kera buckled on her sword and looked at the starry sky. When her eyes started to close, she walked around the clearing to keep herself awake. It was nearly dawn when she woke Zelgadiss. After she did so, she collapsed and was snoring before she knew it. Zelgadiss shook his head, smiling. The girl overestimated herself again. Meanwhile, he could prepare breakfast for both of them while she slept. Incidentally, there was a flock of wild pigeons flying across the clearing. Zelgadiss grinned.

Yawning, Kera woke to the appetizing smell of roasted pigeon. In fact, she was so hungry that she actually ate half of one pigeon. Zelgadiss was very surprised by this fact. After clearing up, they continued the last lap of their journey.

After a few hours, they arrived at the gates of Zoana. Neither wanted to part just yet so Kera went into the palace with Zelgadiss. The guards allowed them into the throne room where the king and a green-haired girl, presumably the princess, was. The king’s throne was located beneath a very ugly mask, thought Kera with distaste. However, the princess Martina seemed to admire it very much.

The skimpily dressed princess also showed an obvious interest in Zelgadiss but he ignored her, to Kera’s relief. Zelgadiss introduced himself as a travelling mage and Kera as a fellow sorceress. The king was delighted to get two for the price of one, so to speak, and welcomed them both. However, Martina was of a slightly different opinion. Since she had developed a crush for Zelgadiss once he stepped into the throne room, she regarded Kera as a potential rival and treated her that way. Nevertheless, Kera did not mind and humoured her since she was the princess.

Zelgadiss and Kera were shown to their rooms while the king awaited the arrival of the princess of Seyruun. In her lavishly furnished room, Kera felt very uncomfortable and she stood at the window instead, watching the townspeople go by. Suddenly, she caught sight of two very familiar figures. A red-haired girl in sorceress garb and a tall, blond swordsman. Lina Inverse! So Xelloss had been correct. She continued watching them alertly until they were out of her line of sight. Then, she levitated to the roof and continued to watch them.

Lina blasted a hole through the castle wall and the two entered one of the towers. They’re probably looking for the rumoured Clair Bible, thought Kera. Well, good luck to them, she thought, smirking. They were very unlikely to find it here. Meanwhile, Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun had entered the throne room. Both Kera and Zelgadiss were summoned by the king to stand by for orders. Kera stood in a shadowy corner, beside Zel. It seemed that Amelia used to be one of Zelgadiss’ travelling companions and quite a close one too. The princess was quite shocked when Zel appeared in front of her and drew his sword. In fact, she was so appalled that she did not even notice that the guards were tying her up.

Kera rolled her eyes, sighing. She quietly returned to her room while the king and Martina went to a tower to gloat over Amelia’s capture. However, their victory was short-lived as Lina soon blasted through the tower they were in, saying that they were here to save Amelia. Hearing the commotion, Kera flew to the roof once again. She was stunned to discover that Zelgadiss used to be Lina’s travelling companion. No! Why did everyone she met have to be associated with Lina Inverse?

"Lina, omae o korosu," said Zelgadiss, sounding very serious about it.

Kera had mixed feelings. On one hand, she wished that she could continue travelling with Zelgadiss and she hoped that Lina would be injured seriously, or maybe even killed. On the other hand, she wanted to punish Lina herself and wondered if Zelgadiss would turn against her in the future like he was now turning against Lina. Clenching her fists in confusion, she waited helplessly to see the conclusion of their confrontation.

Zelgadiss revealed that he intended to find a cure for his chimera curse in the Clair Bible and Lina told him that the rumoured book was not the Clair Bible but a manual for some sort of mechanical golem and was no use to him at all. Zel gave an irritated glance at his employer, then pointed his sword at the king’s throat instead. "Your evil ways are now at an end!" he exclaimed, sounding amazingly like Amelia.

Meanwhile, Martina had slipped off and was busy trying to operate the mechanical golem. Kera noticed her but did not pay much attention since it looked as if Zelgadiss was going to rejoin Lina’s group. She was not close enough to hear what they were saying but it was obvious that they had all forgiven Zelgadiss for being a mercenary and turning against them. Kera sighed sadly and started to leave when the ground shook and Martina’s huge golem appeared. "What the heck is that?" Kera wondered aloud, while casting Levitation again.

Lina and the others were just as amazed to see the giant golem and were even more astounded when a thin energy blast destroyed a large portion of the landscape. However, when Martina aimed at them for the second shot, the machinery went haywire and collapsed on top of both Martina and her father. The half-buried Martina begged Lina to save her and to everyone’s surprise, she agrees.

Unfortunately, her rescue method involved casting the Dragon Slave. Amelia, Gourry and Zelgadiss quickly sounded alarms in the city, warning the people about the disaster that was about to occur. Meanwhile, Kera was trembling with fear and anger as she levitated to a safe distance to watch. Was the Dragon Slave Lina’s solution to every problem? What kind of sorceress would be so destructive? Did Lina even care about the amount of damage she caused? With great power came great responsibility. Didn’t she understand this fact?

While Kera was contemplating the irresponsibility of her foe, Lina was standing on the remains of a tower and chanting, "Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in the flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!"

There was a colossal explosion and Kera had to shield herself by casting Raywing. When the dust cleared, the damage was absolute. Her eyes wide with horror, Kera surveyed the landscape. There were no buildings of any height still standing for a radius of about a mile. The palace and city were almost completely destroyed. A large sweatdrop forming on her head, Kera sighed, shaking her head in vexation. Lina and the others were nowhere in sight. A figure moved in the rubble. It was Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova.

Looking contrite, Kera smiled and said, "I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do anything about it. That spell was too powerful."

"Hmmph! I’ll bet you just didn’t want to," muttered the princess. "Seeing how that Zelgadiss betrayed us, you’re probably just as untrustworthy too."

Kera kept silent and did not point out the fact that it was Martina’s father who had first lied to Zelgadiss. "So," continued Martina, looking intently at Kera. "What are you really after? Why didn’t you leave with Lina and the others?"

"Lina Inverse is also my enemy," explained Kera. "She destroyed a large portion of the village I was living in with another Dragon Slave spell and… and…" Kera hesitated, then said softly, "She also killed both my parents."

Martina’s face softened, seeing that Kera was really telling the truth. She placed a sympathetic hand on Kera’s shoulder. "I’m sorry," she said, looking apologetic. "I shouldn’t have asked."

Brushing away tears, Kera smiled at Martina and said, "It’s all right. I’ve gotten over their deaths already. Sort of… Anyway, what do you plan to do now?"

"Well, I was sort of thinking that I will go after Lina to make her pay for what she’s done to my father’s kingdom. In the great name of Zoamel Gustav, I will punish her for her evil doings," said Martina, striking an Amelia-type pose.

A gust of cold wind suddenly came and she shivered, dropping the pose. Kera nodded and said, "We’ll better get you a cloak or you’ll catch cold, dressed as you are."

As they walked off, Martina said, "What’s wrong with my clothes? I like this costume! Don’t you think it looks very nice? … When it’s all nice and clean, that is."

"Never mind," sighed Kera, sweatdropping. She rolled her eyes as she thought, what have I gotten myself into? I wonder where Zel and the others are now.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During this time, Zelgadiss was wondering the same thing while Lina, Amelia and Gourry gorged themselves. "When are we going to leave? This is exactly why I prefer to travel alone," he muttered. "You guys waste too much time eating. If I was with Kera instead, we would have been gone hours ago," he said, thinking aloud.

Amelia paused between mouthfuls to ask, "Who’s Kera?"

"A girl of about Lina’s age who I met on the way to Zoana," replied Zel. "I travelled with her for quite some time. She’s quite skilled with both swordplay and magic. And she eats an incredibly little amount of food."

"She must be as skinny as a stick, then," laughed Lina.

"No, she isn’t," disagreed Zelgadiss, annoyed. "She’s only a little thinner than you are, Lina. And much, much more mature."

"She must be a really terrific girl, if you have nothing but praises for her," said Lina, her eyes narrowed. "Don’t tell me…"

"Lina-san!" Amelia burst out.

"What?" Lina said, looking at the younger girl strangely. Gourry and Zelgadiss also stared.

"Er… nothing," murmured Amelia, blushing.

"Then don’t interrupt me when I’m talking!" Lina exclaimed. "Where was I? Oh yeah, we were on the topic of that girl, Kira or whatever her name is."

"It’s Kera," corrected Zelgadiss.

"Yeah, whatever. Why did she want to go to Zoana anyway?"

"How should I know?"

"Hey, you were the one who travelled with her, Zel. You mean you didn’t even ask her?" Lina asked incredulously.

"Well… I think that when I met her, she had recently gone through some sort of trauma, so I didn’t want to make her feel worse," said Zelgadiss, blushing a little with embarrassment. "She was being attacked by a Mazoku when I rescued her. That’s enough to traumatize anyone."

"Woo hoo," taunted Lina. "The knight in shining armour, eh? So did she offer to repay you or something?"

"She did thank me, but she learnt more from me than I did about her," said Zel. "Would you believe that she actually learnt the Ra-Tilt after watching me cast it the first time?"

"No way!!" Lina yelled, standing up. Everyone in the inn stared at her. "That’s not possible!"

"Possible or not, it happened," said Zel stubbornly. "I saw her cast it."

"Maybe she learnt it before she met you?" Amelia suggested.

"No," said Zel, shaking his head. "She’s an amateur black magic sorceress. That was why I had to rescue her from the Mazoku."

"Oh. So she doesn’t know Dragon Slave yet?" Lina asked, sitting down again.

"I’m not sure," admitted Zelgadiss. "She’s a nice girl and doesn’t like to cast spells that cause a lot of damage, unlike someone we know…"

"Hey! Just what are you implying?" Lina retorted. "What is it, Gourry?!"

"Er, I don’t understand something," interrupted Gourry, scratching his head. "How come Kera can’t learn the Ra- whatever spell if she’s a black magic sorceress?"

"The Ra-Tilt is a spirit magic spell. It can only be easily learnt by those specialising in spirit magic or white magic. For a person who practices black magic, it is extremely difficult," explained Lina. "Believe me, I’ve tried. Learning the Elmekia Lance alone took me two whole months."

"Oh. So does that mean Kera is better than Lina in magic?" Gourry wondered aloud.

Lina’s fist crashed onto the top his skull. "How dare you say that?" Lina shouted. "We haven’t even met her yet!"

Sweatdropping, Zelgadiss and Amelia looked on while Gourry got severely beaten by Lina for that remark. Finally, Amelia dragged Lina away while Zelgadiss pulled Gourry out of reach. "What did I say?" asked a dazed Gourry.

"Something you shouldn’t have," said Zelgadiss as he sighed.

After Lina had cooled down and Gourry had recovered, they went back to eating.

Zelgadiss sighed and continued to watch them eat.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the meantime, Martina and Kera were walking through the same town that Lina and the others were. "I’m hungry," complained Martina, who was wrapped in a dark brown cloak.

"Be patient," said Kera. "We’ll have find an inn to stay for the night, then we can eat."

"You’re so nice to me," said Martina, looking at Kera with tears brimming in her eyes. "How can I ever repay you?"

"Don’t be too happy just yet," warned Kera. She jingled her purse and continued, "I’m running out of money soon. We’ll also have to find work to earn more money."

"Me, a princess? Work?!" Martina exclaimed, outraged. "I’ve never worked in my whole life!"

"Well, it looks like you’ll have to learn soon," said Kera. "I’m certainly not going to slog the whole day just to earn money for you to spend recklessly."

"Fine, fine," grumbled Martina. "But since you have money now, you’re going to pay for me, right, Kera-san?"

"I don’t have a choice, do I?" sighed Kera.

They entered an inn that was coincidentally next to the inn where Lina and the others were staying. The two girls found an empty table and sat down. After a waiter took their orders, Martina asked Kera what she was going to do now. The blue-clad sorceress thought for a while, then said, "Lina’s looking for the Clair Bibles, right? So… if we follow the rumours about Clair Bibles, we’ll be sure to find her there too," she said. "Anyway, I’m quite interested in the Clair Bibles myself."

"Why? What’s so interesting about them?" Martina asked.

"The Clair Bibles contain a whole lot of information about the world we live in," explained Kera. "As far as I understand, they were originally the Water Dragon Lord’s knowledge about the world. But they continued to exist after his defeat."

"Oh. I see," said Martina, even though it was clear that she did not quite understand. Kera sighed and explained further. "The legend says that they can reveal any knowledge possessed by the Gods. Wouldn’t you want to know stuff that a god would know?"

Martina’s eyes widened and she nodded excitedly. "How come you know so much about it?" she asked suspiciously.

~ ~ ~ The End of Chapter Four ~ ~ ~

Kera was about to answer her when a familiar purple-haired person in priest’s clothes abruptly entered the tavern and seated himself down at their table. "Hey! Can’t you see that this table is occupied?" Martina exclaimed indignantly, banging her fist on the wooden table.

"What are you doing here, Xelloss?" Kera asked sharply.

"Why, I thought you’ll be happy to see me, Kera-chan," said Xelloss, wearing his usual smile. "You’ve been alone for such a long time… poor thing."

"Very funny, but I’m not amused," said Kera, giving him a steely glare.

"You two know each other?" Martina asked in surprise.

"Of course we do," answered Xelloss. "I’ve known her for much longer than you have, Princess Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova."

"Huh? How did you know my name?" Martina asked.

Kera glanced at Xelloss, then rolled her eyes. Ignoring her, Xelloss wagged his finger and winked at Martina, saying, "That’s my secret."

Leaving Martina to digest this information, Xelloss turned to Kera and said, "I told you that I would find you, didn’t I? Anyway, have you found out anything about Lina Inverse?"

"Nothing much… She just destroyed most of Zoana with another Dragon Slave after discovering that the Clair Bible was not the Clair Bible," said Kera. "And… you were right that she met with her two companions."

"Ah…" said Xelloss, smiling. "So do you believe me now?"

"More or less," said Kera. "But, you still can’t be trusted completely."

"That’s too bad," sighed Xelloss. "I was about to tell you where another Clair Bible is rumoured to be. Since you won’t trust my information, well… I guess I should leave, then."

"Hey! Wait," said Kera, grabbing his arm as he turned to leave. "I didn’t say that I mistrusted you completely, did I?"

Xelloss looked at her, then glanced at her hand on his arm. Kera quickly let go of his arm, blushing. Martina looked at the both of them and grinned. Xelloss sat down again. "So it’s this way, huh? You won’t trust me but you still want my information," he said. "All right then, take it as a favour I’m doing to you, Kera-chan. The manuscripts of the Clair Bible are with the leader of a certain group of bandits…"

The trickster priest told them the exact location of the gang of bandits who had the manuscripts. He even went as far as to sketch a map for them. Kera grew suspicious and she said, "You’re being very, very helpful. Is there a reason why you want us to go there so badly?"

"A reason?" Xelloss looked confused. "No. I just happen to like your company, that’s all."

"Don’t you give me that answer again," demanded Kera. "Tell me exactly why you want us to look for the manuscripts."

Xelloss put his face very close to Kera’s, then murmured, "Now that… is a secret. Have a good night, Kera-chan."

"Ha!" Kera scoffed as he walked out of the inn. "Since you won’t tell, we won’t go. It’s as simple as that."

"But… Kera-san," said Martina. "I thought you wanted to look for the Clair Bible?"

"Not any more," said Kera decisively. "There are other parts of the Clair Bible out there. It won’t matter if I miss out a little bit of information."

"If you say so," said Martina doubtfully. She looked at Kera’s half-full plate and asked, "Aren’t you going to eat any more?"

"No, I’m full. You can have the rest of my food, if you want," said Kera, pushing her plate to Martina. "I’m going to the room now. Come up when you’re done. And don’t order any more food even if you’re still hungry, ok? We’re on a tight budget here."

"Sure, sure," replied Martina.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A little while later, it was lights out for most parts of the town. However, in Kera and Martina’s room, the princess was still not asleep yet. Martina tossed and turned on the bed while Kera was curled up on the floor. "Kera-san," whispered Martina. "Are you asleep yet?"

"Not now, I’m not," replied Kera. "What is it?"

"Are you comfortable on the floor?"

"What do you think? But it doesn’t matter much to me. I’m used to it," said Kera. "I can’t possibly let a high-born princess like you sleep on the floor, could I?"

"I think there’s enough space here on the bed for the both of us," said Martina.

"It’s fine, Martina. Go to sleep."

 ~ ~ ~

A few moments later, Martina whispered again, "Kera-san, are you asleep yet?"

"How can I possibly sleep when you keep asking me if I’m asleep?" Kera said, sounding rather irritated with Martina.

"I’m very sorry, Kera-san," said Martina apologetically. "But I need to ask you a very important question. It’s very urgent."

"What is it?!"

"Well… it’s about Xelloss-san," said Martina, blushing.

"What about him?" Kera asked.

"Um… are you and him together? I mean… as in a couple?"

"What?! No way! I can’t stand the sight of him," said Kera.

"But he seems to like you," remarked Martina.

"Nah," disagreed Kera. "He just loves to annoy me… that’s all. I wonder what his true motive is…"

"In that case, can I have him?" Martina asked. "I mean- since you’re not interested in him… well, I wouldn’t mind having a boyfriend like him."

"Huh?! Martina…but he’s a… oh, never mind," said Kera, sweatdropping.

"Don’t you find him kinda cute?" Martina said, sighing.

"Er… yeah, sort of. Ok, that’s enough. I’m not about to spend the whole night discussing him with you, Martina," said Kera. "Good night."

"Good night, Kera-san."

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Even though Kera thought that Martina was asking a silly question, it nevertheless set her thinking. Could Xelloss be genuinely interested in her? If so, why? Also, other Mazoku had been after her ever since she started this journey. Why? Was there some secret about her that she herself did not know about? With a troubled mind, Kera was now the one who was unable to sleep. Getting up, she decided to take a stroll around the town. She opened the window and jumped out, using Levitation to slow her fall. However, instead of having a quiet walk, loud explosions were heard nearby. Evidently, another sorceress had insomnia. And looking at the extent of damage done, Kera had a good idea who it could be. Lina Inverse!

Not her again… Kera ran swiftly towards the direction where the explosions seemed to come from. Lina was interrogating a hapless peasant who obviously did not know anything about the Clair Bibles. Kera clenched her fists but forced herself to remain hidden. It was not time for a confrontation just yet. "Lina!" came a familiar voice. It was Zelgadiss, Gourry and Amelia who were running towards the redheaded sorceress.

In addition, Kera spotted a very familiar figure standing on a burning, wooden post. What was Xelloss doing here? She crept closer to find out. "Ah! The famous Lina Inverse!" Xelloss said, jumping down to land in front of the surprised Lina.

"I’ve followed you for a long time, Lina-san," said Xelloss, his hair covering his eyes. "It looks like I haven’t been barking up the wrong tree. Indeed, you are as powerful as they come."

"Who are you?" Lina asked with deep suspicion.

"Don’t worry, I’m not a dangerous person. My name is Xelloss and I’m a priest," he said, smiling at them. "I have also been searching for the Clair Bibles for a very long time."

Xelloss glanced around them and spotted Kera. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, "Why don’t we go somewhere more convenient to discuss this further?"

"All right," agreed Lina.

The five of them promptly walked out of the town. Kera was about to follow when she heard a faint voice calling, "Kera-san! Where are you?!"

Martina! Kera had almost forgotten about her. "I’m here, Martina!" Kera shouted, waving.

"Kera-san!" Martina cried out as she picked her way among the fallen buildings towards Kera. "Why did you leave like that? When I heard the explosions, I thought that something had happened to you. How am I going to survive without you?" Martina berated her.

"I’m sorry, Martina," said Kera, her thoughts still on Xelloss’ sudden appearance. What was that Mazoku planning to do? Was he going to tell Lina about the bandits who had the Clair Bible manuscripts because Kera refused to go? It didn’t matter. She did not want to be used by him for his plan, whatever it was. Meanwhile… "Say, Martina, do you think we should we help to clean up this place?" Kera asked.

Martina looked at her strangely. "Whatever for?"

Kera starting casting Aqua Create to douse the fires. "Maybe the townspeople will offer us a reward for helping them," she said. "Then we won’t have to work to earn money just yet."

"But… this mess? How are you going to rebuild all the buildings?" Martina asked. "It’s not very possible for two girls like us to-"

Kera sighed. "You’re right. If only I knew more white magic spells."

"So you’re still not going after the Clair Bible manuscript?" Martina asked.

"No. Anyway, Xelloss seems to have found some people who may be more willing to carry out errands for him," said Kera dryly.

"Huh? When?" Martina asked, looking confused.

"Never mind about that now. I’ll explain it to you later," said Kera as she continued dousing the fires. "Ok… I’m done. Let’s go."

"Wait!" A deep voice cried out.