Mysterious!

The Secret Behind the Golden Eyes!

Episode 34

Tenkou smiled coldly behind Naga. His golden eyes were the most striking part of him, and Lina finally understood just what had been going on since she had arrived.

Well, she partially understood. She knew that this Tenkou being was behind all of those visions she'd been unfortunate enough to experience, but she couldn't figure out why. There was some crucial reason she couldn't make out.

"I'm pleased you've figured it out," chuckled Tenkou. "It would be a shame after all those hints I placed."

"Well, you weren't exactly subtle. I mean, using big fat yellow eyes in your face is like using a dragon slave to kill a fly."

Naga laughed. "Oh, don't be silly, Lina. If we had wanted it to be subtle, it would have been. But that wouldn't have worked for our purposes."

Lina groaned. "And now I suppose you'll indulge in stock theatrics and tell me with excruciating detail about every single plot point I missed along the way along with a few others you made up right now." She rubbed her head ruefully. "I wouldn't mind if I hadn't gone through this routine about a bajillion times before. First you say how original your plot is and invite me to guess just what you had planned..."

"Ohohohoho! What a perfect idea!"

Lina face faulted. "This is not shaping up to be a good day," she mumbled into the ground, feeling a strong headache coming on.

"Why not just kill her? I know you two share a long rivalry."

Naga shook a finger at Tenkou and tisked. "Na-ah-ah! It doesn't work that way. It wouldn't be right unless Lina understood exactly why she failed."

Tenkou sighed. "So while you explain she miraculously comes up with a way to escape and does so?"

Lina gritted her teeth. That was the normal formula for situations like these, but unfortunately Lina didn't have a way to escape, and couldn't think of any way to defeat Tenkou or Naga. Her magic was ineffective and since Naga's wish had brought her here, she had no route back to Konankoku.

"Nonsense!" Naga waved a hand trying to mollify him. "First off, this isn't some easily escapable death trap set up by some incompetent bandits, it's a watertight plan set up by Naga the White Serpent! Ohohohoho!"

"Kill me now," pleaded Lina. "Just shoot me or something before I have to hear that laugh again."

"It's such a wonderful plot that only someone of my genius and caliber could create! I met Tenkou-sama not long after arriving in Kutoukoku, and he instantly showed me how Nakago was trying to manipulate me. So we turned the tables on Nakago, and used him to make Tenkou-sama a god. Of course, we wouldn't let Nakago know, so I had to act like the poor weepy heroine, but that didn't matter. Still, that wasn't enough. You see, Tenkou-sama grows stronger on negative emotions, so I told him to send those visions to you in order to unbalance you and to make you feel more desperate and angry. Then Tenkou-sama absorbed your negative emotions and it made him stronger, strong enough so he could finally truly become a god."

Lina didn't hear anything Naga said after 'negative emotions.' The wheels in her head spun into life, cranking out the computations and fitting in the missing pieces, working on making her scattered information into one unified whole.

Her mind struggled with the concepts for a second, until the last loose end had been fixed into place. Suddenly, things made a lot more sense.

Whoever Tenkou was, he was either a Mazoku or something very similar to one. He fit all the patterns of a Mazoku. She knew she was feeling bad vibes from him, and this confirmed it. Instinctively, she had known he was Mazoku, and the information about negative emotions only clinched it. This whole thing, this whole farce was just its ploy to gain more power and more control.

A spark of thought flashed in her head. If he fed on negative emotions, why didn't he leave Naga the way she was and just feed on hers? Her natural rivalry with Lina, unnaturally magnified to bitter revenge, should have provided him with everything he needed to become a god. No... he needed Naga in her right mind so she could summon Seiryuu and give him that final piece of godhood. And Naga didn't realize she was also being manipulated because Tenkou had convinced her that Nakago was the manipulator instead. Nothing on Lina's part could convince Naga otherwise.

Of course, this knowledge really didn't help her in any way. It was nice to know why everything had happened the way they had (everyone was a puppet in the hands of the master puppeteer), but it still didn't tell her how to defeat Tenkou (would a dragon slave work on him, or would he even be affected by magic?) and it didn't tell her how to get out of this situation.

Lina gritted her teeth again. None of this was helping her in any way and unless she could think of something fast, she'd be killed. It was certainly not a particularly cheery outlook. Futility, frustration, and fear rose up in her, and she forced it back down again. No doubt Tenkou was feasting on her massive output of negative emotions right now. Every bad feeling she had would only make him stronger.

It was impossible not to feel despair at the situation. The worst part was feeling alone. It had been a long time since she had truly been alone. She worked better in a partnership, or in a small group. She was able to take care of herself, but sometimes, many times, she felt the need for support. Even when she had faced down Shaburanigdo she had the help of others. Whether she was with Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia, or with Tamahome and the Shichi Seishi, Lina had never been utterly isolated like this.

She had come to depend on the Shichi Seishi a lot. To an almost uncomfortable extent, actually, considering that she was supposed to return to her world after the end of the book - if that was even possible.

"Well Lina, this looks like the end for you. Ohohohoho! What better way to be done in then by your own overkill dragon spell? The one that branded you eternally as a dragon spooker and me a the goldfish feces?"

The dragon slave? But how did...?

"Darkness beyond the twilight and crimson beyond blood that flows..."

Lina froze in pure shock.

"Buried in the flow of time... In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness..."

Words sprang unbidden to Lina's own lips.

"The four directions of the sky,

"The four directions of the earth,

"The protector of the south, Suzaku,

"Come to us physically."

"Those fools who stand in our way will be destroyed by the power you and I possess..."

"Please make extinct every kind of evil

"By using your divine powers, protect us.

"Only I wish, please listen to this."

"Dragon Slave!"

"Please come do to us from the sky!"

A bright flash of red light enveloped Lina seconds before a second red light that pulsed wildly with magical power smashed into the place she was recently standing.

Light surrounded her - red light.

She stared up into the regal face of a young man. He was dressed entirely in red and gold, and ribbons flowed around him like flickers of fire. A pair of scarlet wings spread out behind him like molten gold. A shock of crimson hair brighter by far than Lina and Tasuki's hair combined rose from his head like a sacred flame.

"You have summoned me, my miko?"

Lina stared some more. Her mouth worked for several moments before she managed to gasp out, "Su-Suzaku?!"

He nodded. "I am Suzakuseikun, the scarlet phoenix of the south and protector of Konankoku."

Lina was speechless.

"You have called me forth, my miko. Merge your powers with mine. Three times you must say the phrase, 'Kai Jin' and summon me, and three times I will grant your wish."

Lina found her voice again. Alas, it was too late, as the avian man faded from view, along with her surroundings.

Tenkou stared at the smoking crater created by Naga's magic. Something was wrong. That little girl, Lina, had somehow disappeared a split second before she would have been hit by the spell...

"Ohohohoho! Finally, Naga the White Serpent has triumphed over her oldest enemy, proving that I am the ultimate sorceress!"

Tenkou shook his head. He stretched his new-found power out a little farther, into the realm of the gods, and found...

Suzaku had been woken. Suzaku had been summoned. Somehow, that little girl managed to call upon the phoenix god!

"She's not dead," hissed the new god through gritted teeth. "She's summoned Suzaku! Didn't you see that red burst of light? That wasn't your spell - that was her summoning Suzaku!"

"What?" gasped Naga in shock. "That's... that's impossible! You're just seeing things. Nothing can withstand the power of the dragon slave!"

Tenkou's gritted teeth ground down further. It was just about time to get rid of his final puppet, but he still needed to see what Lina was planning. "You fool! She summoned Suzaku before you could kill her with that spell! She was never in danger from it!"

Naga paused, then grinned. "Ohohoho! When she returns I'll just dragon slave her again!"

Tenkou felt a large headache looming on the horizon. If he didn't need Naga's magic, he would have killed her for her laugh months before.

A flash of red light distracted them both. A figure stepped out of it.

"Think you could kill me that easily, Naga? Haven't you learned anything since we've been traveling together?"

"No way... that's impossible!" Naga shook her head, but Lina did not disappear. "How could you have summoned Suzaku?!"

She faced down Naga and Tenkou again. This time, she wasn't afraid. This time, she had the power of Suzaku behind her.

This time, she wasn't alone.

Seven distinct presences sparkled in the back of her mind.

Knowledge flooded her. That came from Chiriko, whose youth did not diminish his bright mind. The character for stretching glowed on her foot.

Compassion flowed into her. This came from Mitsukake, who cared for everybody no matter what. The character of rare cart shone on her palm.

Courage rushed into her, coming from Tasuki, whose fiery temperament burned away every fear. The character for wing flashed on her arm.

Experience swept into her. That came from Chichiri, who had traveled and learned the realities of life. The character for well gleamed on her knee.

Strength washed over her. This was from Nuriko, whose strength had no match anywhere in the world. The character of willow glistened on her chest.

Pride infused her. It came from Hotohori, whose dignity soothed her torn ego and allowed her to lift her head. The character for star shimmered on her neck.

Love, pure love, poured into her. This came from Tamahome, whose love was absolute and forgiving. It filled her with the power to fight back, the power to defeat Tenkou, and blasted away the loneliness that caused her so much despair. The character for ogre flared on her forehead.

She didn't know how they came to be there, and she didn't question their god-sent help. She didn't even wonder how she could feel the ki of people who were supposed to be dead, because she didn't care. It was enough that they were there, giving her strength and support when she needed it.

She looked at Naga and Tenkou, who were staring back in utter surprise.

She turned her face to the skies, where the blue dragon continued to linger, coils shifting restlessly.

She took a deep breath and then intoned the sacred phrase, as much a spell as any she had ever cast.

"Kai Jin!"

Continue: Episode 35: Shine! The Splendor of the Phoenix God!