Episode
#21
Synopsis written by Tim Miller (trmiller@bcpl.net)
After blasting her way through the outer door that leads to Rezo's sealed laboratory, Lina leads the others through ... only to find a much weirder-looking set of doors, which prove resistant to her fireball. Although she's ready to try "opening" them with her Dragu Slave, Zelgadis points out that Eris was looking for the Sword of Light - and the seal over the doors is exactly what she must have needed it for. Sure enough, Gourry's family heirloom, the legendary Sword of Light, is exactly what it takes to open the sealed doors.
Of course, opening the seal that way still attracts attention - how can you miss a massive pillar of energy, like the one the seal gives off when it's broken? Zangulus is busy bandaging his injuries (and his pride) when he sees the pillar, standing out like a beacon; Rezo and Eris see it as well, from just behind Zangulus, and the three of them head for the lab in pursuit.
As the pillar of light fades, the doors seem intact ... but not for long, and when the explosion clears, Lina gives Gourry a pat on the back. A really hard pat on the back, in fact - one that leaves him hopping up and down, yelling in pain. Gourry tries to tell her to knock it off, and gets another cheerful smack for his troubles; Sylphiel tries to intervene, worried that Lina's going to hurt Gourry, but Lina says it's all right. "This is just how I show my appreciation!" she says.
Lina and her allies have the head start for now, but they've got one major handicap: they don't know the layout of all the corridors and passageways the way that Eris does. Eris knows the laboratory very well, and is confident that her knowledge will let her, Rezo, and Zangulus beat the others. And in fact, Lina crashes into a door, behind which is a "pretty room," as Sylphiel describes it: a large room decorated with many large crystals, and already occupied by the 'terrible trio' of Eris, Rezo, and Zangulus.
Before Zangulus can challenge Gourry, though, Lina and her companions disappear in a flash of light as Eris activates the teleport, sending them into the lower levels. Zangulus has been following Eris's orders for now, because she's been paying him so well, but now he splits with the intent of fulfilling his own wish: to challenge Gourry in a fight to the finish. So saying, he steps into the teleport area and disappears.
Lina and Sylphiel materialize in a room full of statues, which give Sylphiel a scare before Lina determines that they're just a bunch of non- functional golems, leftovers from a golem "factory" that someone was running. As they head off to start looking for the others, they see a large relief of Rezo mounted on one of the walls. "Creepy," Lina calls it, and the two sorceresses move off.
Zelgadis and Amelia have arrived in a library, and Zel is already poring over the books, looking for a way to reverse the curse which left him in the form of a golem/demon/human chimera. Amelia, on the other hand, thinks that they ought to get on with looking for the others, and chastises Zelgadis for being so selfish.
And Gourry has appeared in a huge room with a great echo ... but he doesn't have time to admire the scenery; however, Zangulus appears before Gourry can start looking for the others. Zangulus says that the huge room is going to be the arena for their final battle, although originally it was probably a place to test new magic spells. He draws his Howling Sword; Gourry draws and activates his Sword of Light, and the two of them begin dueling.
Lina is examining the walls of the golem factory, hunting for secret doors; Sylphiel is very worried about Gourry, even praying for his safety. Trying to reassure her, Lina says that Gourry wouldn't die even if you killed him, but it doesn't really work. Lina admits to Sylphiel that she is worried about Gourry ... and just as the priestess thinks that Lina must be in love with Gourry too, Lina clarifies matters by saying that she's really after his Sword of Light. "With a weapon as powerful as that," Lina declares, "I'd be the most powerful person in the world!" That's all Lina wants, and the fact that such a powerful weapon as the Sword of Light is in someone else's hands bothers her - or so she claims.
Their conversation is interrupted by a faint sound, which Lina hears; however, the sound isn't repeated immediately ... and Lina is just relaxing when she hears it again - and this time, the golems start moving! Lina and Sylphiel are just able to dodge the first blows of the golems before the two of them start running, pursued by the golems; Sylphiel tries casting a Flare Arrow as Lina cheers her on, but the spell comes out more like a "Flare Carrot" which does little more than tickle the golem. Lina's Burst Rondo spell turns several golems into rubble, but there are dozens of golems in the cavern, and every last one is after the two of them.
Zelgadis's "research" in the library hasn't been very fruitful either - and Amelia has sat down with a book herself as she waits for him, but she's still trying to persuade him to come along and look for the others. Zelgadis declines, warning Amelia not to wander off; there could be all kinds of traps that they don't know about. Her response is a terrified shriek, and Zel puts down his book with a sigh and goes to rescue her. Amelia has already been partially absorbed by a wall, and protests that she didn't do anything; Zelgadis tries to pull her out, but the force being exerted by the wall is too strong, and they both vanish through the wall - right underneath yet another relief of Rezo - and then reappear next to Lina and Sylphiel in the golem chamber.
After ascertaining that Sylphiel's all right (and politely asking Amelia to get off of him), Zelgadis gets back to his feet - and casts a wind barrier, just in time to block another set of punches from the golems surrounding the four of them. Lina notes that the golems are combining their strength, a very logical tactic - and gets scolded for admiring them at this particular moment. Lina tells Zelgadis to drop the barrier when she gives the word, then orders Sylphiel to find out who's controlling the golems. Amelia gets shanghaied into helping Lina and Zel block the golems' attacks, and then they're off: Lina casts another Burst Rondo, reducing the current circle of golems to scattered debris, and the whole group starts running, with Sylphiel in the lead and the others covering their collective backs, hers included.
Sylphiel leads them to another relief of Rezo, which Lina destroys with a fireball, but while they're all catching their breath, her sharp ears pick up the sound of swords clashing: Gourry and Zangulus, still fighting. Guided by Lina's hearing, they set off in search of the swordsmen; Sylphiel has gotten the hang of the Flare Arrow now, and takes care of blasting holes in the walls so that they can go through ... but as Lina points out after an explosion toasts them, Sylphiel still needs to work on her control.
But sure enough, by the time the four mages reach the arena, Gourry and Zangulus are still going at it. Sylphiel says that they'll help Gourry, but Lina holds her back, knowing that Gourry would never forgive them for interfering at this point. Gourry grins, recognizing that they won't interrupt, and turns his attention back to the duel. Zangulus proceeds to really cut loose, unleashing the full power of the Howling Sword with a shockwave that keeps getting stronger as it reflects from the walls - and forcing Gourry to keep hopping if he doesn't want to get smashed to bits by the blast!
To encourage Gourry, Lina yells a promise that if he beats Zangulus, she'll buy dinner for him; with this incentive, Gourry catches the next shockwave on his sword, resonating the Sword of Light to absorb the power of the blast and then sending it back the way it came. The reflected blast hits the Howling Sword directly, and breaks it, knocking Zangulus backwards.
Zangulus starts to get to his feet, only to be interrupted by the Sword of Light at his throat: Gourry has won decisively, and his companions cheer. Gourry sheathes his sword and starts walking towards them; Zangulus asks if Gourry is going to finish him off, but Gourry just shakes his head, saying "That's not my style." Then he turns to Lina and reminds her of her promise. Lina immediately tries to convince Gourry that it was the other way around, but this time he's not letting her off the hook, and the two of them start squabbling.
Zelgadis returns Zangulus's hat, wondering aloud how such talented people can be so empty inside. Zangulus shrugs the question off, then tells them that Eris and Rezo are looking for something in the deepest chamber - a revelation which gets Lina and Gourry to stop fighting. However, Zangulus has no idea what it is that the other two are looking for, and they proceed to part ways. Just before running out after Lina and the rest, Gourry turns to Zangulus and waves, telling him what a great swordsman he is; Zangulus laughs and says, "Of course I am! ... and so are you," he finishes quietly after Gourry has left.
Episode #22
Synopsis written by Tim Miller (trmiller@bcpl.net)
As they head deeper and deeper into the laboratory, Gourry starts wondering how far down they're going to have to go; Lina tells him that she has absolutely no idea ... but if Rezo's legacy is hidden this far underground, then it's got to be something great. As she and Zelgadis explain to the swordsman, some pretty weird things can happen if a spell or magical artifact being worked on goes wrong somehow, so mages make their laboratories as deep as they can. That way, if the worst happens, there's at least a way for the surrounding area (above ground) to be protected. Lina remembers one laboratory she found, which had the body of a sorcerer at the bottom - and nothing else. He was trying to dig it as deep as he can, she figures ... and he died of exhaustion.
Zelgadis forges on ahead a little ways, sending a light spell as far down the next set of stairs as he can - and he actually discovers a chamber which doesn't have any stairs leading down from it, just a door. Lina opens the door ... and reveals yet another descending staircase. However, Amelia notices another door on the far side of the chamber, next to the stairway which they came down by.
Rezo and Eris, in the meantime, are proceeding through a different series of passages, guided by Eris's knowledge of the laboratory as Rezo handles the opening of secret doors. Eris is eager to reach the bottom, and claim Rezo's legacy for her own ...
... while Lina and the others are deciding what to do. Zelgadis notes that since Rezo designed this labyrinth of a laboratory, they should be prepared for a lot of 'bad jokes' - such as putting a set of impressive- looking doors in front of yet another stairway. Lina figures that the stairs might be a trap, and decides to see what's behind the other set of doors - even though they might be another dead end. Amelia asks what they'll do if the other doors just lead to more stairs going down; Lina's succinct response is, "Then I get violent," and opens the door.
Doing so does not reveal another set of stairs going down, but it does set off a gout of fire from the other stairwell, and the five adventurers hurry into the new passageway and slam the door shut. This passageway is a very long one, but Lina's explored enough dungeons to know that only the designer of such a place knows where all of the convenient shortcuts are - or at least that's the idea. However, they soon encounter a fork in the corridor ... and Lina, having no idea which way to go, turns to Amelia and Sylphiel, the two clerics, in hope that one of them can figure it out.
Sylphiel agrees to try, and summons her magical rod as she starts working ... but her mind wanders to her father briefly, and she has to try again. The second time, the rod wobbles a bit, then falls to point at one of the passageways; Sylphiel says that she senses something from that direction. Lina is hardly impressed by this, claiming that it's just like dropping a stick to decide which way to go.
In fact, the indicated passageway leads to a dead end. While Lina is busy berating Sylphiel, Amelia checks it out, and touches a lamp on the wall ... triggering the secret door. Lina give Sylphiel a slap on the back, and keeps going down the hall. On the far side is some kind of storeroom, with exactly one occupant: a three-foot-tall chicken wearing a vest.
When addressed as a "chicken," the creature claims to be "Tiiba-sama" (the great Tiiba) of the Mazoku. In fact, he dislikes being called a chicken, and shows himself off to the group, asking what they really think he looks like.
"A giant chicken."
"A chicken, from every possible angle."
"The chickenest-looking chicken I've ever seen."
Now distinctly upset, Tiiba asks Sylphiel what she thinks. Her response: "A very pretty ... chicken."
Introductions completed (such as they are), Lina proceeds to grill Tiiba about what he's doing here and what he knows about Rezo's research. Tiiba claims to have been summoned to help Rezo with his research, but balks at saying anything further - that is, until Lina threatens to turn him into a fried chicken dinner if he refuses to help them, and Tiiba reluctantly agrees to assist the group.
Elsewhere, Eris and Rezo are confronted by a group of Guardian Monsters. Eris mutters that they don't have time to fight their way through, but Rezo motions her aside and orders the Guardians to depart; they obey him, and Eris realizes that the Guardian Monsters would obey Rezo, since it was he who summoned them originally.
After going through a particularly harrowing teleport-warp, Tiiba leads Lina and her allies to the real deepest chamber. The door there refuses to open to brute force, and Tiiba says that it will only open for someone possessing great magical power. Lina promptly steps forward to give the doors a try; Zelgadis notes that she'll be really embarrassed if she can't open the doors. Lina tells him off, then casts a spell of opening. It works, and the doors slide open to reveal an immense storeroom.
Lina asks Sylphiel to try again to detect Rezo's legacy; she concentrates for a moment, then points at an ornament: "Don't you think it's cute?" Lina is seriously unamused, but Sylphiel protests that everything in the room is so magical that she can't tell where Rezo's legacy might be. Lina turns to Tiiba again, asking if he knows anything; all Tiiba is willing to tell them is that Rezo was working on something that would help to fight a really powerful Mazoku.
Lina and Zelgadis trade glances; they both remember that Rezo was planning to resurrect Shabranigdo to cure his blindness. However, Rezo hadn't expected Shabranigdo to be reborn in his own body, but somewhere else instead ... so Rezo must have been planning to go after the Dark Lord in a stand-up fight somewhere. Resigned, Lina orders the group to spread out and start looking; along the way, they uncover a couple of additional examples of the Red Priest's bizarre sense of humor. However, their search allows Tiiba to slip away almost undetected; Sylphiel notices him sneaking off, and follows covertly.
Tiiba makes his way to a pair of masks hanging on the wall, looks between the two of them for a second, then picks one of them off the wall. "This ought to be it," he says to himself as he fits the mask to his face ... and begins to transform. Startled, Sylphiel edges backwards - and tips over some kind of container that was on the floor. The noise alerts Tiiba to the fact that he has a spectator; Sylphiel screams, bringing the others running.
When Rezo summoned Tiiba, the Red Priest sealed Tiiba's power into a mask so that the Mazoku wouldn't be able to run loose. While the seal was in place, Tiiba was stuck in chicken form, but now that he's back at full power, his true form is revealed - still distinctly bird-like, but much more intimidating than a three-foot-tall chicken. Tiiba is dead-set against any humans laying hands on Rezo's research, or anything else which would let them fight back effectively against the Mazoku, and a fight breaks out.
Tiiba's major attack is a barrage of "feathers," effective enough to force Lina and her allies to keep their heads down and prevent them from launching an attack of their own. Warning Lina not to attack head on, Gourry draws the Sword of Light and goes after Tiiba, who evades easily. Tiiba also has a fairly standard energy blast, which knocks the whole group into a pile next to a pedestal which has stone tablets hanging on its sides; Zelgadis and Lina both call Tiiba chicken (in the bird sense, not the cowardly one), and his anger alone is powerful enough to knock one of the tablets loose. It hits Lina right on the head, stopping her from attacking ... but the power of the tablet protects them from Tiiba's attacks.
Now, Tiiba's panicking. That tablet is Rezo's legacy, and he knows it; Lina figures it out too, and casts Elmekia Flame while she's holding it. The blast injures Tiiba, and Zelgadis and Amelia combine their power to cast Ra-Tilt at the Mazoku, blasting him out of existence in a pillar of light.
It seems like Lina and her allies have won, but Rezo and Eris show up - and Eris uses magic to snag the tablet right out of Lina's grasp. With a triumphant laugh, Eris holds the tablet over her head: "This is Rezo's true legacy: the manuscript of the Clair Bible! Rezo's legacy is finally mine!"