Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers For the Future: The Prophecy of Inverse ❯ The Pendant of Chaos….Hiero, You’re Insane! ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of "The Slayers."

Chapter 18

The Pendant of Chaos….Hiero, You're Insane!

(Note: This chapter is a bit confusing until you read the next chapter to understand what Hiero really is and can do. I apologize if it's hard to swallow, but once Chapter 19 is read, it might make more sense. Again, bear with me.)

Hiero Greywords sat atop the tallest building in Stylis Acres, staring across the distant hills at the dark clouds that were gathering there. It had taken a long time to get up here without being noticed, especially by his parents. They'd been prodding him all day about his knowledge of the past they never informed him of. Hiero was getting comfortable with them, too comfortable. He was blurting out things he knew not to say, things he couldn't know unless he'd read their minds and spied on their dreams.

His father had nearly yanked his ears off in trying to get him to confess, but a well placed light spell blinded the whole room long enough for Hiero to escape the inn room to the outside. He'd hidden in a pickle barrel for a good hour before he was sure their mental vibrations were a good distance away, all except Val's. Val knew Hiero wouldn't go far so his mind was still close by. Hiero didn't want to be jolted from his thoughts just yet, so he wasn't going to alert his friend to where he was.

The clouds were what concerned him….just like the dark clouds in his dream with Shabranigdo. 'Its almost time for destiny to grab me by my britches and drag me off into history. Lucky for me Shabranigdo isn't a god-type like L-sama. He's just a creation, one I can properly….handle. Depending on Mom. Its real stupid not to tell her I need her Giga Slave to do this until the last minute, but if she knew ahead of time, she'd try and stop me. Its not like I want to do this anyway, but keeping the creator of the Mazuko Lords and races sealed forever will protect this world from joining Terrian's fate. This place might actually live a few million years before their sun explodes…..hopefully. Too bad even that won't kill me….dammit.' he thought crossly, frowning as purple lightening crackled across the black clouds.

He took off his left boot as he went on staring, reaching in slowly to the bottom of it where his heal always settled. He tapped at it lightly until he heard a clicking sound. The secret compartment there flipped backwards, letting his fingers dive in to pull out its treasure, the Golden Demon Talisman. Decked with the seven ruby pieces of Shabranigdo, it glimmered wicked up at Hiero as he moved his gaze to it. As he put it around his neck, he felt a slight pulse come from it.

Come fight me, boy….release me and then we will see who has the last laugh. Hah, hah!

Hiero smirked as Shabranigdo taunted him from within the talisman, then tucked it safely under his shirt and shut the compartment in his boot. As he pulled the boot back on, he smiled. "Don't worry, Shabby Crabby, you'll get your change to face me….but I'll be the one laughing. And you'll be my faithful pet….no more chaos creation for you….that's my line of work. A genius should always be the one to take on such delicate tasks, not losers like you." Hiero chided at the hidden talisman, adding a slight chuckle in.

He could feel Shabranigdo's rage building at his audacity, but it only made Hiero laugh. 'I'll be laughing….I have foreseen it. And then…..then I can stop lying….I won't hurt Val anymore with the lies I've had to tell all my life. I'll tell him and my family my greatest secret. My most shameful secret….myself.' he thought wistfully, his laughter fading suddenly.

"Better go find Val and get this over with. The longer I keep my mouth shut, the longer I'll feel guilty. If they hate me, well, I'm used to it. Hate follows me like the wind, its nothing new." Hiero mused aloud, climbing down the brick chimney at the edge of the room, gripping each part tightly all the way down.

"Hiero!"

Val's voice startled him and sadly made him lose his grip on one of the bricks. He fell off with a choked yelp, getting the wind knocked out of him the second he slammed into the ground. "Oi….warn me next time you try that….gasp!" Hiero mumbled, trying to get some air back in his lungs as quickly as possible.

"Breath, Hiero. That must have hurt…..what were you doing up there? Why did you run away?" Val asked as he peered over him. Hiero made a lopsided grin before answering, picking his dust laced body off the ground. "Watching the storm clouds….by the Lost City." Hiero answered simply.

"Lost City? Where's that?" Val asked, looking a little puzzled. Hiero pointed past Val a ways at the sky and Val followed the direction he was pointing in until he saw the billowing, black clouds. "I've never heard of an Lost City, Hiero….how come you know that's what the clouds are over? Been there before?" Val asked quietly, still staring into the dark distance.

Hiero stepped up beside him and clasped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's where I meet my destiny. I saw that place in my dreams, Val. Its time to go now." Hiero said simply, tugging on Val's shoulder to encourage him to follow.

"Now? I never thought it'd be so soon. I didn't get to leave the note yet." Val replied. Hiero just smirked. "Go leave it now, I'll wait right here for you, Val. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon. I can be free." Hiero smiled, eliciting one from his friend.

~

Val took a couple minutes to run back to the inn and leave a note with the innkeeper about where he and Hiero were going. The man looked at him oddly after looking over the note, then simply shrugged and went back to sitting in his rocking chair behind the counter. Val left quickly to get back to Hiero, looking back for an instant at the inn to see his mother, aunt, uncle, and Justin entering the inn. 'Too close….if Hiero wants to stay ahead, we'd best start running.' He thought, pushing himself to run faster.

He finally made it back to the house the sapphire-haired Hiero had fallen, finding him still standing there in the exact same spot he'd left him. He had been smiling at first, but now he was frowning. "They'll find the note a lot faster than planned….we'll have to cheat run to the Lost City now…..I'll rest when we get there so my magic can work at full force." Hiero said quietly as Val stopped before him. Hiero reached out, looking like he was about to hug Val, but it turned out he was grabbing him by the shoulders and dark energy began to leak out of Hiero's body. In a blast of darkness, Val lost sight of the houses that surrounded them.

~ The Lost City ~

-Temple of Nightmares -

Val could see fully again after numerous teleports from the village to the darkened plains near the Lost City, but the sight was a bit surprising. The two men were standing in front of onyx gates with golden locks fastened and chained to them. The gates were a part of a massive golden temple littered with dark stones forming ancient words and pictures of the Golden Demon Goddess herself, so Val surmised. Val found L-sama's portrait to be very beautiful, the long golden hair and heavy bangs over her eyes, the malicious smirk plastered on her perfect features and the dark dress that decked her lovely form. Val was deeply impressed.

"Val, you're drooling. You and blondes….you're so addicted to them." Hiero teased, breathing a little harder than usual. Val blushed anyway, ducking his head shyly at his friend's words. "This is not the time nor the place for teasing, Hiero. Destiny, remember? Your destiny you wanted me to help you with." Val stuttered, pretending to cough to hide his embarrassment.

"My, my, aren't we in a little snit. Hold onto your charming scales, Val, I'm getting to that. I need you to bust the lock with your dragon breath. Only a dragon can break these chains and melt the lock, not Mazuko nor human, only dragon. But don't feel like I'm using you, the closer you are at this point, the better off you are. I brought you here because I trust you more than anyone," Hiero replied," And you haven't turned me in yet….so I put that high in my book."

Val smirked, but couldn't help but turn it into a smile. "Fine….I was thinking I'd be bored watching you save the world by yourself. At least I get to do something." Val shot back heartily," Just hold onto my clothes for me. Shredding my underwear is no biggie, but this is my last set of clean clothes."

"You got it….Mr. Modesty. We're both men here…oh yeah, eventually Mom and Aunt Filia will come here….ok….just get undressed already. If I have them timed well enough, their half-way to the city." Hiero said lazily, grabbing up Val's shirt and pants off his face after Val tossed them right at him with a grin. Val quickly kicked off his shoes and removed his bracers and ankle wrappings quickly, Hiero gathering them up and shoving them into the seemingly endless folds of his cloak.

~

Hiero watched in awe as his blue-green haired friend's eyes began to glow, emerald wings jutting swiftly from his back to spread out wide. Fangs grew in Val's mouth as he let out a roar, his body growing and shifting from it former human state to that of the large emerald ancient dragon he was. The golden eyes in the larger Val's head blinked a moment, then aimed at the gates. He opened his gaping mouth, the razor sharp teeth glistening perfectly white as a sudden burst of lightening flashed.

The burst of energy that shot from Val's mouth made Hiero shut his eyes. Being blinded now would really defeat the purpose of going in at full power. His curse of blindness had taught him great humility, but being tortured as he was in Terrian was all the humility he could stand. Delphine was just torturing him in this world as much as he could before Hiero gained control. 'Blindness, immortality, and making other powers dormant…..I could have lived with the blessing of mortality….but life always finds a way. Delphine always finds a way. I'm glad his mother's dead because of me….she got what she deserved for all the people she hurt just to get at me.' he thought, then way aware that someone was touching him. He opened his eyes to see Val was poking his shoulder as lightly as possible with his claw.

Hiero looked at where the gate was, the onyx gate still as flawless as before, but without all the locks and chains attached to it. He smiled, and gave Val's claw a gentle pat. The dragon began looking curiously at him, like a child would with something new.

"You can shrink now, Val. Time to give this world what it needs, a chance." Hiero shouted up at Val, getting a slow nod. Hiero opened the gates while Val became human again, entering the long abandoned temple carefully.

It looked like any normal temple, statues in every corner, pillars and pedestals of beautiful craftsmanship and design leading up to a decorated altar, one made of solid gold. 'If I didn't need this place intact right now, I'd loot this place. What a haul!' he thought, his eyes glimmering greedily as he looked the place over.

The altar had L-sama's likeness carved into it, as perfect as the one on the outside of temple had been, a tattered red carpet leading all the way up to it. He chuckled as his boot met with another lump in the poorly kept rug. "I guess not everything lasts as long as true and honest to L-sama gold. Yum….this place is a thief's dream. Shame I'm using it for something else. There's always tomorrow, hopefully." He murmured thoughtfully.

As Hiero reached the altar, his ears picked up on footsteps, padded ones, like bare feet would make. "Sorry Val, I forgot about your clothes. Get dressed quick. I can feel my folks getting closer." Hiero said quickly, his eyes gracing the altar and the impression of a pentagram with seven points jutting out all around it.

He took out the Golden Demon Talisman, smiling deeply as he fastened it into place on the altar. It glowed for a moment, then ruby tendrils of light shot out, overtaking the golden altar. "Almost there…." he whispered, grinning wistfully as the ruby tendrils began to infect the rest of the temple, creeping up the walls like freshly spilled blood.

"The Golden Demon Talisman!! It is still intact….I don't see why you need to summon Shabranigdo. Why is this your destiny? Why unleash hell on earth?" Val was saying beside him, fully clothed, his face rather pale.

"I have no choice….this world will die if I don't summon him soon. Some other fool would have summoned him and destroyed all of you if I don't do this right now. It's the only way to stop the final curse upon me….and to prevent this world from suffering like so many others have." Hiero said quietly, not bothering to take in the fact that Val looked very scared.

"You're not going to sacrifice yourself for this destiny crap, are you. Please say you aren't." Val pleaded, his golden eyes quivering. Hiero just smiled at him. "I play for keeps, Val-chan. I never lose a battle I start. I may lose other things, but I'll never lose a fight. Not in this world.

"You're not making any sense. Hiero, what are you talking about? Whoah, the red light, its taking over the temple." Val yelped, a slight tremor rumbling through the temple, then was followed by more.

"The spell needs to be cast. Get out of here, Val….I have to do this alone or not at all, and I can't afford to avoid this. Run now! Get the others near the temple, but don't come inside, no matter what. I can't protect anyone in here with Shabranigdo about be unsealed! GO!" Hiero snapped, his emotions drained out as the temple was complete blood red, shaking violently constantly.

"But….!" Val tried, but Hiero whirled on him and grabbed him by his shirt, tossing him right past the gates. The gates shut behind Val as he sailed through. "I won't let you all die because of me. This is my battle. I have to finish something for once in my damned life. Just do as I say, Val!" Hiero shouted, turning his attention back to the glowing altar. The talisman was practically screaming at him, pulsing madly with wild, demonic energy.

"Time to break L-sama's toy. Ok….," Hiero breathed out, placing his hands upon the ruby-decked talisman," Tainted gems of the Lord of Mazuko, answer my call! I summon the Body, the strength of the whole. I summon the Heart, black as midnight and of cold fire. I summon the Limbs, mobile for destruction! I summon the Voice, banshee wail of time long forgotten. I summon the Eyes, visions of Death and Chaos. I summon the Mind, the insanity of genius. And I summon the Soul, the demon king's infinite power! By the essence of the Creator and Nightmare Goddess, I shatter the seal of Ruby-Eyed Shabranigdo!"

The talisman went wild under his hands, shaking and shining brightly, the crimson colors draining out of the building right back at the talisman. Hiero felt like he was being crushed when it all shot back at the glowing altar, cracking the sides of it with unholy strength.

'Corny….but effective….come to Daddy, Crab-cakes!' Hiero thought before everything went red.

~

Val never expected Hiero to throw him, not in a million years, but he really never expected to be caught by Xellos, the Mazuko he hated more than anything. He supposed it was like being caught, only Val crashed into Xellos' gut and landed on him as they toppled over.

Val got up quickly, ignoring Xellos insults, to look back at the temple. The gates were already shut, bound by the ruby tendrils that Hiero had let loose. "I won't let you all die because of me. This is my battle. I have to finish something for once in my damned life. Just do as I say, Val!" Hiero shouted at him, turning his head back towards the altar.

"I hope he knows what he's doing…." Val breathed out, backing up a little as the ruby light got terribly bright. "What is he doing, lizard lips?" Xellos asked, not sounding too cheerful.

Val didn't bother looking at him. "He's summoning Shabranigdo right now. He said he has to or we all will die anyway."

Xellos chuckled slightly. "That makes very little sense. If the Lord of all Mazuko is resurrected….everything living would die. That boy is queer in the head….what a poor excuse for wanting power. Summoning Shabranigdo indeed…." Xellos laughed, a forced one.

"Why should you care if this world dies? You're a Mazuko, you're anti-life." Val snapped back, regretting letting out his anger when the purple-haired Mazuko grinned. "I happen to like the world. It's got millions of people I get to screw around with. Without the world, I can't have anymore fun playing tricks on the human race." Xellos said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, well I'll cry you a river later….where's Aunt Lina? You wouldn't be here if you weren't curious about why our group was running to this city. I bet Xellas is wondering up a storm." Val breathed out, looking back towards the temple. The light was making it difficult to see if Hiero was still inside.

"She's not far, neither is Filia-chan and Zel-kun. Justin is running a little behind. For all his skill with a sword, he's a miserable runner, just like good old Granny Amelia. Tee hee." Xellos chirped, then his face went sullen. He started looking at the temple with his amethyst slit eyes, the smile leaving his lips.

"What's got you all stiff in the face?" Val asked, barely aware that Lina and the others were several feet behind them, running as fast as they could.

"The seal just broke. Shabranigdo is free….Oh my, this will be interesting." Xellos said softly, then vanished. No sooner was he gone did the temple of gold erupt into the sky like an active volcano, molten gold and onyx stone spilling into the blackened sky.

"Val!!" It was his Aunt Lina, not too far off from what he gathered. He was too busy staring at the shattered temple to bother turning to greet his friends and family. "Val, watch out! DEBRIS!" his mother cried out, roaring a few second later. Val yanked off his shirt the second he heard the word debris and transformed into his ancient dragon form, the giant gold and black chunks of debris feeling like small pebbles rolling off his emerald scales.

He looks back to see his golden dragon mother shielding Justin Zel, and Lina from the rest of the debris, but she was small than he was. The debris was hurting her. He moved over them to protect them with his body, hoping the raining chunks would soon stop.

"Val, where's Hiero? What was in that temple?" Lina shouted up at him. He felt a painful twinge in his heart as he looked down at his aunt, her eyes demanding yet worried. "Hiero was." Was all he could say before the Lost City filled with the echo of demonic laughter.

~

Lina hadn't known what to expect when she read the note the Innkeeper gave her from Val, but to find her son and Filia's son were going into the accursed Lost City was definitely not a something she ever expected. When she was younger, her sister Luna had told her stories of the city with no name, since it was found abandoned and forever covered with dark clouds. She'd said it was the city where the Lord of Nightmares had a spectacular temple that had a special altar with the power to resurrect powerful demons for the evil or powerful beings of good for the righteous.

To have the knowledge that Hiero was going there didn't sit well with her as trouble just kept bursting out of every corner he got near. 'We didn't find the talisman before on him, but he could have hidden it. I was too happy to have my son back, the talisman wasn't number one on my mind.' She had thought as she ran out of the town and to the Lost City. Zelgadis had to pick her and Justin up when they got halfway to the city as they grew tired.

Now that they were here and getting giant boulders of gold rained on their heads, she knew Hiero was causing trouble again. Val was alone outside the temple with Xellos as they approached, but the odd Mazuko left after the temple exploded, leaving Val and Filia to shield them from the downpour of dangerous debris.

Lina just stared at the shattered temple, the black and red tendrils of light spilling out slowly, slithering their way upwards to merge with one another. Then they began to grow bigger as they solidified in a very familiar form, the great demonic body of Shabranigdo himself, many times larger than the piece inside Rezo was possessed by.

He was looking right at her, as best she could tell. His crab-like lower body pushed its way out slowly from the remains of the temple, his claws snapping frantically, as if begging to taste her blood. The upper body was that of a giant devil, the long bronzed horns of the Ruby-Eyed Demon King jutting out at either side of his ghastly and disgustingly deformed face, but he wasn't the only reason she couldn't stop staring. Hiero was embedded in Shabranigdo's chest, his arms spread out at either side of his body and his legs held tightly together. His head was held high though, his sapphire Mazuko eyes staring wildly at her.

"I told the brat I would win….though, he knew this would happen. He didn't fight it. Such a pity he gave up so quickly. But….I can play with my new toys right now….Lina Inverse, it's been so long. Did you miss me?" Shabranigdo boomed out, his sickly mouth jutting out then back into his face.

"I missed kicking your crabby ass, Shabranigdo. Let my son go or…." Lina began, but then the Demon King started to pulled Hiero's body further into his chest. Hiero looked unaffected by it and went on staring at Lina.

'Giga….. Unseal the…..Slave. Mother…..the Giga Sla….or this world….. dead.' She heard in the back of her mind, in Hiero's voice.

'No, I sealed that for a reason, its too destructive. I won't use it, you'll be killed.' She thought, wondering if she'd get an answer.

'Let me use the Giga Slave….its this world's only chance. Don't let me….kill another world….by failing you. Unseal it! I don't want to see you die….break the seal, mother please!" her son's voice pleaded loudly into her mind.

"I can't….NO! Get out of my head. This is all a trick, get out of my head Crab-ass!" Lina shouted, grabbing her head and shaking it madly. Zelgadis put his hand on her shoulders to calm her, the other hand aiming his sword at the laughing demon king.

"Me….? I may play with my toys rather roughly, but mind games is only for those that carry my pieces within them. Your son is giving you a headache, huh? Let me kiss and make it better!!" Shabranigdo cackled, rushing forth on swift and plentiful bronze legs at the group, his claws bared for the kill.

Val rammed him, breathing his dragon breath at the Demon King, but he was being too careful about it. Lina knew he didn't want to hit Hiero, but Val was getting multiple wounds and deep gashes from planning his shots too long.

'MOTHER!! Unseal the Giga Slave, I'm begging you! PLEASE! I don't want you all to die! Unseal it now! You can seal it up once I use it, I swear on everything that's sacred in this world. Just do it! He's going to kill you all if you don't help me!! MOTHER!! ARGHHHH!!!! IT HURTS!!!! AHHHH!!!!" Hiero's voice screamed into Lina's mind, making her collapse from the shock of it into Zelgadis.

"HIERO!!!! NO! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I didn't let my sister or Xellas take my baby away without a fight, and if this is how you're going to play it….time to play hard and dirty!" Lina shouted, raising her angry fists up as Zelgadis helped her to her feet.

"Source of my soul and all creation. Unlock the barrier I have place upon thee. Crash through the astral plane and the gates of hell to ascend into the world of the living! Arise Giga Slave!" Lina chanted, sparks of dark lightly rising from the ground below her, nearly knocking the wind out of her as the spell shatter the barrier that kept Giga Slave from the hands of the living.

Lina thought she saw Hiero Grin from within the fleshy prison he was half-encased in. 'I love you, Mother. Forgive me for all that you will see.' Were the last thoughts she got from him before he began the chant.

"Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night! Lord of Darkness, shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos, I call upon thee, swear myself to thee! Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess! GIGA SLAVE!!" Hiero chanted, Shabranigdo's eyes bulging upon hearing the spell.

"You're immobile, you're under my control!! You can't cast any spells inside me!! Argh, stop it, you little brat!" the Demon King growled, but his words were in vain. The dark energy of the Lord of Nightmares had totally surrounded Hiero, ripping him free seconds later from Shabranigdo's chest.

Lina had to close her eyes for a moment, the blinding white light that erupted from within the dark ball of negative energy too much for her eyes to take. As it subsided, she looked back slightly.

Hiero just floated there, his form overlapped by that of the Lord of Nightmares herself. Yet, she looked like she was in great pain and Hiero looked totally docile. Shabranigdo was reeling backwards with his exposed torso healing from the wounds Hiero had given him as quickly as he could.

L-sama seemed to shift in and out of sight, changing in form from male to female over Hiero floating and tranquil form. The male form didn't look like Hiero, it was a short-haired blonde with bangs just like L-sama, his body decked in white robes. Golden light finally erupted from his body, casting L-sama out with the male form to be over Lina and Zelgadis' heads.

Time seemed to stand still as the male form looked at L-sama, smirking, then looked back at Hiero. L-sama looked puzzled, as far as Lina could tell by the way her mouth was opened slightly, her hands laid on her chest as her black dressed billowed about her.

"You did what I asked, beautiful Hiero, my precious disciple….you've earned the last curse to be broken. Time to use your skills for the benefit of all races….for yourself. I Delphine grant you your powers anew!" The male said, his body aglow with white light until it was all he was. The white light shot into Hiero's chest, knocking him out of mid-air onto the ground in a tumbling heap.

Lina was too shocked by all this to move, all she could do was stare at her son laying there with his eyes wide open, but filled with pain. "You never will leave me….I guess I was too hopeful. Sickening little brat god." Hiero mumbled loud enough for even Lina to hear. He got up slowly, his head turning towards a partly healed Shabranigdo and then to L-sama as she floated above his parents still looking terribly confused.

"Now I can fight my way….the way I've always wanted to ever since I had that stupid dream about you, crab-ass. Time to fight like the freak of nature I am, by cheating," Hiero laughed wickedly, putting hands together tight as if in prayer, both pointer fingers sticking out and aimed at the sky," Phase Void! Overtake me!!"

Lina felt herself get whisked backwards, Justin hanging onto Filia's retreating tail and Val flying over them swiftly as dark lightening crackled about Hiero's body, the energy nearly frying them where they stood. When Zelgadis stopped, Lina didn't see Hiero as Hiero anymore. She saw a gargantuan black dragon with six wings and spiky scales jutting out of its head glaring down at startled Shabranigdo, which was short lived. The dragon Hiero became was 3 times as tall as the Demon King was, but Shabranigdo fired his dark energy right into the chest of the giant dragon.

The dragon flinched slightly, black blood pouring out of the wound the attack made. "Ouch." The dragon growled and promptly slammed his massive tail into the Demon King, slamming him through several nearby buildings. The Demon King got up and hurried back firing more dark energy at the black dragon, missing and hitting pretty evenly as the dragon charged him. "I'm going to eat you alive….and punish you beyond the realms of your sick imagination! You'll be my slave as Void is. This dragon, I took him into my body thousands of years ago….You will die just like he did….a living death within me! RAHHHH!" the black dragon roaring, letting loose a massive purple ball of flames at Shabranigdo, catching him in his wounded chest.

The Demon King flooded out oddly colored blood, but dared not voice the pain. He dug his claws and horns into the dragon's legs and torso, ripping apart pieces of flesh and scale until he was bathed in black blood. The dragon heaved and roared out in pain, egging Shabranigdo on further to make the dragon suffer further.

Lina just balked as the dragon shot his head down at the Demon king and bit off both his claws in one snap, the odd blood staining the dragon's onyx scales. "Sucker…."the dragon crooned, letting loose another ball of purple flames at close range upon his opponent and then topped it off by slamming his tail down on the Demon King. Shabranigdo was a bloody broken mess, but he was still alive. Barely, but alive. 'Not for long….he's not even healing from it like he's supposed to. Hiero pulverized him, my son really wasn't on a power kick.' She thought, gasping slightly as the giant dragon started to shrink. She left Zelgadis' arms in a flash to get closer.

Hiero was in her sights again. L-sama several feet away staring at him. He was looking at the dying Demon King, saying something she had to run faster towards him to catch.

"……knew it would be like this. I always knew I'd win….yet I lose. I still can't escape what I am, like you can't escape being my slave, a living death within me," Hiero was saying, his bare hand and gloveless, bandaged hand pressing hard on Shabranigdo's bloodied flesh," Ow….why do you have to be so damn big….big ones hurt. IEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hiero was downright screaming bloody murder as his hands began to glow with a soft white light, the Demon King screaming even louder as his flesh started to ripple and drain away into Hiero's fingertips. Hiero was gritting his teeth tightly, his eyes slammed shut with great pain as he was literally absorbing the Demon King through his hands.

When nothing remained of Hiero's opponent, L-sama appeared before him, staring at him gently before reached out one pale hand. "I wouldn't, if I were you. The Prophecy has been fulfilled. What's happened before won't happen again. This world is saved until its sun dies away. My mistakes….have been amended….for now." Hiero told the goddess.

"What prophecy, little Hiero? I ordained no such thing." L-sama said crossly. Hiero chuckled lightly, not even aware that Lina was watching the two of them. He kissed L-sama on her outstretched hand. "I will always be your Chaos Child. Delphine and I will make sure of that, with me running the show. And thus the prophecy of the god within me has been fulfilled. What's happened before won't happen again. Not here anyway. This world was destined to die on this day if I was not the one to break your dark son Shabranigdo out of his ruby prisons. I saved this world….as I could not save the last. The prophecy of Inverse has been fulfilled. Shabranigdo will live on in me….as mine." Hiero told her softly, kissing her palm one last time before backing away from her.

Lina kept quiet even as Hiero's kisses made the great Lord of Nightmares blush a light crimson on her cheeks, but she was smiling inside. Her son was alive and had saved the world. 'This will really make us all famous. Oh….better not tell him that….unless Hiero really thinks like me.' she thought, giggling suddenly at the thought.

L-sama vanished without a trace at that, leaving Hiero to stare at his mother. "Forgive me, Mother….for using the spell, but I had to or the prophecy would have been made false and I would have lost all that I loved….Oh." Hiero told her quietly, his eyes quivering a little.

"Oh Hiero, stop being so damn self-less. Just think of this to be something that will make the name Inverse and Greywords even more famous." She crowed, flashing him a victory sign. He smiled at her and gave her his own victory sign back. "Gladly….means more free meals and treasure for me….I….Uh-oh….I forgot about the side-effects of this crap. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh….." Hiero was saying before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell on his back with a loud thud.

"Hiero!" Lina shouted, rushing to her son's exhausted form. Zelgadis and Filia were soon by with her, helping her hoist up their sleeping son's body. Val with his shirt wrapped about his waist trailed behind them swiftly with Justin as they raced Hiero back to Stylis Acres.

To Be Continued….