Slayers: Volume 15 (eBook)

Hajime Kanzaka (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
250 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7492-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Hey, here's a question. When demons are transforming into bigger, badder demons, otherwise temperate towns are getting unseasonal snow, and you're catching sight of your own doppelgänger... that's a bad sign, right? And when it all seems to be pointing you toward Sairaag-basically the world's nexus of bad magical mojo-that's a REALLY bad sign, isn't it? But I know from experience what happens when you try to say no to a plot like this, so... let's just get it over with, shall we?

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Hey, here's a question. When demons are transforming into bigger, badder demons, otherwise temperate towns are getting unseasonal snow, and you're catching sight of your own doppelganger... that's a bad sign, right? And when it all seems to be pointing you toward Sairaag-basically the world's nexus of bad magical mojo-that's a REALLY bad sign, isn't it? But I know from experience what happens when you try to say no to a plot like this, so... let's just get it over with, shall we?

Textauszug

1: They’re Back?! The Goofy Elf and Dragon Duo!

It all started one ordinary day.

“Fireball!”

Ba-bwooooosh! The attack spell I unleashed sent the half-dozen bandits around the bonfire flying!

“Wh-What the?!”

“Is it the authorities?!”

“The authorities don’t shoot first and ask questions later, stupid! It’s gotta be that wretched organism of unparalleled violence—”

“Mega Brand!”

Ka-fwooom! My enraged second wave silenced their nonsense ramblings.

Darn it! I, delicate beauty and master swordsman-slash-sorcerer Lina Inverse, do not deserve to be treated as some unidentified organism! Now I’m really gonna make you pay! Ah, well, might as well hit ’em with a couple more attack spells...

But just as I was thinking that, I detected a hostile presence appear behind me and to the side. I immediately leaped forward when—Whooooom!—a burst of light flared up where I’d been standing.

An attack spell?! I leaped through the grass to get my distance. As I landed, a black-clad sorcerer came out, rustling the leaves. In the dry, scorching air, he and I stared each other down.

Hmm...

“Would you be... a bodyguard hired by the bandits, perhaps?” I asked. It wasn’t unusual to see wandering sorcerers who’d fallen on hard times resort to selling their services on the black market.

“And what exactly brings you here? Doing dirty work for the authorities... doesn’t seem to be your game,” he replied. I couldn’t make out his face, but his voice made him sound on the older side.

I puffed out my chest. “Heh. Can’t you guess? I was feeling bored and restless, so I came to do some bandit busting as a pick-me-up!”

“Who could ever guess that?!” the sorcerer jeered, then flashed an indomitable smile. “Heh... Well, no matter. One way or another, I’m in the service of these men. It’s simple bad luck that you would cross paths with me!” He sliced his hands through the air, tracing a pattern while chanting a spell. A blue light raced along the ground, taking the shape of a large inverse pentagram!

“H-Hang on a minute...!” I shouted in surprise.

The sorcerer’s mouth curled into another smile. “Come forth! My sworn ally, lesser demon Jaldung!”

Fwsh! The light of the magic circle grew brighter everywhere except the center, where a misshapen figure appeared in the darkness. Those twisted limbs, those dark wings... It was, indeed, a lesser demon.

“No way...” I whispered hoarsely.

Lesser demons are the lowest-ranked members of the demon race. They’re far from intelligent, but their magic power and defensive capabilities make them a genuine threat to your standard swordsman or sorcerer. But...

“You used that big ol’ magic circle and over-the-top chant... to summon one lesser demon?! Haha... bwahahaha!” I couldn’t stop myself from cackling.

“What’s so funny?!” the sorcerer snapped.

“W-Well... you made such a big deal about it, I just thought it was gonna be something cool!”

“Stop rolling around on the ground laughing! If you don’t understand how terrifying a lesser demon can be, then you will die cursing your own ignorance!”

“Raaaaargh!” As if egged on by the magician’s anger, the lesser demon howled.

Ah, fine, whatever...

I’d just started chanting up a quick spell when—Tha-thump—the world around me... shook? That’s the only way I can describe what happened.

Huh...?

“What was that?!” the sorcerer in front of me shouted in sudden panic. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who’d felt it.

Something about the chill of the wind and the smell of the air... There were no visible changes in our surroundings, but I felt a powerful sense that something was wrong. The sorcerer and I just stood there for a time, at a loss for words. Finally...

“Graaaaaaaah!” A scream from the lesser demon broke the silence.

A deathly shudder ran through the creature, and—Bwoosh!—its back exploded! No, it grew more wings! Suddenly it had two pairs trailing behind it like black rags in the wind.

I had no idea what was going on. And yet... I felt a sudden chill up my spine. In response to this foreboding premonition, I unleashed the spell I’d chanted. “Elemekia Lance!”

My spear of light sailed straight toward the lesser demon, but... Ziiing! A sound like the creaking of metal sounded out, and a glowing light appeared in front of the demon’s chest. In an instant, the light took shape!

An inverted pentagram magic circle?! The spell I’d thrown hit the pentagram and—Skeeeeen!—with a hideous squeal, it dispersed! Needless to say, the lesser demon behind it remained unscathed.

“What?!” I found myself crying out.

The spell I’d chosen was one that damaged its target from the astral side. I’d used Elemekia Lance to deal with more than my share of lesser demons, as well as slightly higher-ranking brass demons. But I’d never seen one use a barrier to block a spell. It’s not that lesser demons lacked the magic power to do so—they lacked the intelligence.

“What’s with this thing?!” I asked no one in particular.

“I... I don’t know!” claimed the sorcerer who’d summoned it. “This has never happened before! But... Ah, no matter! Lesser demon!” he called to it, and the thing turned its eyes toward the sorcerer. The sorcerer then pointed at me. “Kill that woman!”

The lesser demon let out a bestial growl. Instantly, dozens of spears of flame appeared... No, spears of light!

Krababababash! Cutting white streaks in the night, the spears impaled the sorcerer who’d summoned the demon! The sorcerer, still confused about what had happened, collapsed without so much as a scream.

Then, the lesser demon turned its gaze back to me.

I quickly began chanting a spell. Before I could finish, the howling lesser demon summoned more spears of light. It unleashed them—not at me, but slightly to my side. The rain of light pierced the darkness and... Krrsh! A sudden flash of silver scattered the bolts. A sword had literally cut through them!

Who was responsible, you ask? Who else?

I didn’t need to see the silhouette briefly illuminated by the light to know the only warrior capable of such a feat was my handsome blond super-swordsman and traveling companion extraordinaire. His brain was as sodden as the fields during the rainy season, and his name was... Gourry Gabriev!

“Graaah!” After tearing through the spears of light, he let out a roar and quickly closed in on the lesser demon. The demon’s four wings flapped as it tried to retreat into the air, but before it could get away, Gourry was up in its face. My boy was as fast as ever!

Slash! There was a glint of his silver blade, and the demon’s rag-like black wings scattered like dead leaves. An instant later, the demon’s body collapsed to the ground, cleaved in two.

“Hey, Lina!” Gourry called with a sigh as he sheathed his sword. “Were you sneaking out at night to bully bandits agai—”

“Save the lecture for later,” I interrupted as I scanned our surroundings with a grave expression.

The bandits had scattered in terror the moment the out-of-control lesser demon had killed the sorcerer. And now that the lesser demon was dead too, the area seemed free of enemies. That was why Gourry had sheathed his sword. And yet...

“The lesser demon transformed out of nowhere and then killed the sorcerer who summoned it. That shouldn’t be possible. Maybe the sorcerer just didn’t have the correct safeguards in place, but... I dunno. There might be something else going on. We shouldn’t let our guard down.”

“Oh... you think?” Gourry replied, quickly scanning the area around us too.

I already knew good and well there weren’t any hostiles nearby. This was my patented avoid-a-lecture strategy in action! Of course, it only works on the oblivious.

Little did I know at the time that there was far more going on than I could even imagine.

A dark sky. A frozen city. Each breath of the crisp, numbing air seemed to scorch my lungs.

Black-winged figures, too many to count, circled above. Unseasonable snow seemed to absorb all sound and leave things wrapped in empty silence. It was like a monochrome painting or a nightmare described by some mad prophet. But this was neither a painting nor a nightmare—it was reality.

“What... in the world?” I whispered, my voice trembling. I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or something else.

“It’s not winter yet... Is it?” Gourry, too, whispered dumbfoundedly from where he stood beside me.

It was now the day after my bandit hunt. Gourry and I had left our inn and stumbled across this small town in a mountain pass on our way to the next city. I’d been wondering for a while why it suddenly felt so cold, but when we crested the hill along the main road, this frozen domain ruled by demidemons was the sight that greeted us.

“Let’s go, Gourry!” I said as I took...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.8.2022
• Reihe/Serie: Slayers
• Reihe/Serie: Slayers
• Illustrationen: Hajime Kanzaka
• Übersetzer: Hajime Kanzaka
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Schlagworte: action • cute girls • Fantasy • female protagonist • Light Novel • Magic • Slapstick
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7492-5 / 1718374925
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7492-8 / 9781718374928