The Human Ingredient

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.







Title: The Human Ingredient

Pairing: Eventual Zelgadis/Xelloss

Rating: Nc17

Summery:All mazoku servants receive their power from their creators, but for Beast Master Zelas, she decided to give her servant a little more...Over a thousand years later the piece that made Xelloss the most feared and powerful of all mozuku servants has been cast aside to the mortal world below to be left in the charge of a unpredictable comrade. In such dangerous company, will this ‘human’ ingredient find the will to live in the mortal world, or return to his Master?



Authors Notes: ARRGH! This took soooo long to write! Lots of talking and complex situations going on. I want to than the Slayers Wiki KanzakaDex for being my resource to make this story as viable as possible for the Slayers' History and Universe.



WARNING! This story is full of yoainess, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Flames will only be pointed and laughed at for my own amusement, so don't bother.

***



Ch. 5 The Temptation



“Why are you here?” Xelloss demanded of the Mazoku, trying vainly to mask his fear with anger. “My–our Mistress has no further use of me...or has she ordered my death?”



“Sadly, no.” The Mazoku replied in the dim firelight, his voice almost pitying. “She has given me strict orders not to harm you. Our Mistress is quite stubborn once she has made a decision, as you well know.”



“I know.” Xelloss snorted and turned his back on his unwanted guest to tend the fire. “If you’re not here to kill me, then don’t waste your time on me.”



“My, aren’t we testy?” The Mazoku tapped his red jeweled staff onto the dank earth before entering fully into the firelight. His clothing resembled exactly what Xelloss once wore, aside from the garments being entirely black. The sash and gloves were pale yellow, and the cloak was still black but the reverse side was the color of faded gold, which made the dark lean frame stand out against the inky blackness of the night. The Mazoku knelt beside the mortal, the expression in his eyes were obscured by long bangs the color of the fading night sky as he quietly watched the human’s futile attempts trying to ignore the intruder.



Xelloss tossed a another log into the fire with as much nonchalance as he could muster. As inexperienced as he was with human emotions, Xelloss was determined not to give the intruder a satisfying meal from his negative emotions.



“Really now.” The Mazoku Xelloss propped a hand under his chin. “You’re acting as if I’m sone sort of parasite! And we used to be so close to each other...” he chuckled “Although I can’t say that I miss the human weakness you harbor.”



The mortal Xelloss scowled and turned towards the Mazoku. “Are you here to gloat at me?”



“No.” The dark figure shook his head. “I came to observe you. I trust that your adjustment to mortality has been quite difficult?”



“I’ll manage.” Xelloss turned away once again to stir the embers with the same stick he had tried to use in his defense. “Don’t be concerned on my behalf.”



“Oh, But I am.” The dark creature casually tapped the red jewel of his staff. “I take it that you’ve been having nightmares lately?”



Xelloss’ grip on the stick tightened. “If I did, It’s none of your business” he replied a bit too hastily.



The Mazoku noted the mortal’s sudden anxiety and leaped at the chance to strike. “Then by now you must have recalled some of those painful memories, like the cleansing on Wolf Pack Island perhaps?” the Mazoku chuckled again, this time with more enjoyment. “Our Mistress is an uncanny one to have allowed humans to live in her domain just so that she could groom an individual such as yourself for her purposes. Did you know that you are the fourth ‘Child of Prophecy’ to have lived?”



“No” Xelloss whispered, the stick trembling in his hand as his eyes remained fixed, and yet unseeing into the flames.



“All of the other sacrifices were not worthy enough for our Mistress. Only you had the potential to wreck nasty deeds upon your fellow humans, and you were the only one that called for the darkness when other sacrifices were too terrified to even scream!”



“Shut up!” Xelloss flung the burning stick at the monster, who easily leaped back and caught the burning end with one hand. The flames did not singe its gloves, which were part of the Mazoku’s astral body. He smirked at his human counterpart. “Tender subject, hm?”



Rage filled Xelloss. His fists clenched as tightly as he could, his entire being delved for the power within him to attack the Mazoku–but the power was still blocked, and nothing came.



“You want to kill me?” the dark Xelloss regarded the human sympathetically with a small shake of his head, his eyes still obscured by his hair. He threw the stick back into the fire. “You know that attempting to do so is futile, and suicidal if I’ve not been ordered to refrain from killing you.”



Xelloss forced himself to relax and steady his emotions, he refused to fall into the Mazoku’s trap. “The child– and the human I once was died over a thousand years ago.” His emotions now collected, he turned away from his mirror image to watch the flames once again. “I am a product of our Mistress’s whims, this shell of body is the only thing remotely human that I possess. I have been a Mazoku for most of my existence I don’t know what else to be.”



“Is that so?” The Mazoku Xelloss drawled, tapping his bejeweled staff into the soggy earth. “With a human body comes human emotions, and a human reaction to past misdeeds.”



“Don’t!” Xelloss jerked around to face the Mazoku, his voice pleading. “I beg you, please!”



“You showed little remorse for wanting to kill off your entire village down to the last infant.” The black robed Xelloss tapped his chin in thought. “I believe that it is a different incident that we committed, and that you regret the most...”



Over a thousand years ago...



Five years had passed since Wolf Pack Island had been ‘cleansed’ of human contamination. It had been ten years since the Missionary party had left for the mainland, only to be caught in the middle of a conflict between two human kingdoms that were fighting for resources. Of the forty that had originally left for the mainland only twelve returned. The priest’s once glorious white robes were now reduced to stained tatters, their faces thin and dispirited by the failure of their mission. Many bore scars and mending bones from the long journey.



Most of the residing human kingdoms in the peninsula were busy preparing and competing for their own survival in the crossfire between the Mazoku and the God’s war. The Missionary party, however small posed a threat to the dwindling resources. Besides, both kingdoms did not look kindly upon outside religions interfering in their personal war. And now after a long and bitter journey the Missionary party have finally returned to their home only to find it in ruins.



“By the Goddess! What happened here?” One of the older priests exclaimed as he leaped off the boat to rush ashore.



“It’s all true! Everything that the merchants have said is true!” a thin voice from the boat rose to a pitiful wail “Our village is gone! Everything dead and gone!” Almost immediately the boats emptied upon the blackened sands. Some of the survivors began to curse and scream their sorrow to the winds, while others milled about with shock stamped upon their faces,



A young priest in his mid-twenties stood still in the shallow shores as he stared at the charred remains of his village. He was neither wailing or cursing like his comrades. Instead he walked impassively from the salty waters until he was striding though the ruined town, following some twisted path between the splintered and scorched wood. Every so often he would spot the bleached white of human bones among the wreckage, broken and gnawed by the sacred wolves that inhabited the island’s forest.



The young man brushed aside his sandy colored hair from his eyes as he continued his trek. He did not stop walking until he reached the sad remains of a small hut with only the foundation remaining. Here, the young priest Kris collapsed to his knees and openly wept his grief.



“No one was left to bury the dead.” Someone said behind Kris.



The young priest spun around at the sound of the familiar voice– and could only stare in disbelief as he saw his old friend sitting on a broken pillar high among the ruins of the great white temple. “Xelloss? Is that you?!” Kris stumbled over rubble in his haste to reach his friend, tears streaming down his face. “What happened here? Why is the village destroyed? My family–the temple–by the Goddess what happened to it all!?” Engulfed by the sea of overwhelming emotions, the young human failed to notice the change of appearance that his old friend now sported; namely the change of his wardrobe bearing black and faded gold–rather then the traditional white, and the addition of a red bejeweled staff.



Xelloss gazed down at the weeping human. He tapped his staff upon the bone-white marble pillar and smiled with eyes obscured by long bangs. “The Goddess had much to do with the fate of this village. After all, it was *she who allowed humans to settle on her sacred island in the first place.”



Still shaking with grief, Kris paused to wipe his eyes. “W-what? What do you mean?”



“I mean to say that this entire village was merely a sacrifice for my forthcoming.” Xelloss waved his staff to indicate the demolished buildings and bones that gleamed in the sunlight.



Kris’ face paled with sudden realization and started to back away. “You’re...you can’t be–who are you!?” he demanded.



“Why, my dear Kris...I am the same Xelloss you have known and befriended, though now I am even more capable to serve our Goddess. After all, the final clash between both the Mazoku and the Gods is about to unfold. A piece of Ruby Eye Shabranigdu is about to be reborn, and he will destroy the god Aqualord Ragradia and this world without fail.” Xelloss tilted his face toward the sun, his eyes closed in a serene expression as he enjoyed the sun’s rays. “As my Mistress’ one and only general and priest I must be the most deadliest of weapons to fight in her name, even if it means merging with a human to add his potent rage to my Mazoku essence in order to exploit on those emotions to add to my power.”



“You’re a Mazoku?” Kris’ quavering voice was barely above a terrified whisper. “Why this...why Xelloss?”



“Your village has done well to inspire my young human’s rage. He was understandably agitated once he realized that his people had orphaned him with the intention of raising him as a sacrificial offering to our beloved Goddess. That rage from the betrayal– cultivated through years of deceit by your temple, was as exquisite as the finest of wines.” The creature opened his violet eyes to fix his gaze upon the dumbstruck young priest. “The human Xelloss willingly took my Mazoku essence that was offered to him by my Mistress. We are one–the human and I, and he rejoiced in his rage as he was reborn in me. And we also rejoiced in the frenzy that was the cleansing of our island!”



The Kris shook his head, his eyes wide and staring with disbelief. “No! The Goddess would never do such a thing to her children” his voice rose to a hollow shriek “I won’t! I refuse to believe it!” The remaining humans began to trickle in on the scene upon hearing Kris screaming at Xelloss.



“It’s the Prophetic one!” one of the older priests whispered in a hiss and gestured to the dark figure up on the pillar.



The sounds of the voices, coupled with the sour taste of fear attracted the attention of the Mazoku. The small band of humans shuddered as Xelloss turned his face upon them–and they were surprised to see Xelloss’ eyes closed and a carefree smile on his lips. “As a gift, our Mistress was gracious enough to allow me the pleasure of disposing each and every one of those pathetic souls on this sacred Mazoku ground. I wonder, will you and your fellow kinsmen scream and beg for mercy like your families did before I ended their meaningless existence?”



“How dare you!” A middle aged priest with an ugly scar over his eye cried. “After everything we did for you–you filthy accursed creature!” The priest waved his battered staff in a challenging manner as he prepared an offensive spell.



“And what exactly do you plan to *do* to me?” the Mazoku asked pointedly “It would be no small feat for me to rip all your throats out in half a heartbeat, or would you still care to challenge me?”

The scarred priest ignored the warning and fired a Ra Tilt of considerable power at the demon. The blue white of the spell engulfed the Mazoku, who remained sitting calmly and unmoved upon the broken pillar. A few strands of his cropped violet hair floated slightly from the shamanistic spell’s effect. Suddenly the spell shattered with a sound like a lighting crack quickly followed by a burst of blinding light-- revealing Xelloss still seated upon the pillar without any indication that he had been affected by the Ra Tilt at all.



“My, my! This human ingredient of mine does add quite a boost to shielding my astral body, it hardly felt more than a kitten scratch!” He smiled delightedly at the dumbstruck scarred priest. “I had yet to test my new abilities against a Ra Tilt...” he made a casual wave of his finger towards the priest. “And I thank you for that.”



The unlucky priest barely had time to take half a step back before his entire body burst apart amid a spray of white-hot fire. The humans uttered small cries of horror as bits of their comrade’s charred remains thumped noisily onto the ground.



Xelloss leaped off the pillar to land among the remaining humans who hastily backed away in a panic, all except for one. The murderous intent rising in that particular young human did not escape the Mazoku’s attention.



“Gods Damn you Xelloss!” Kris seethed, his eyes glaring daggers of hatred. “You have no right!” The young priest’s hands twitched with the urge to strangle his enemy.



“I have every right” the corner of Xelloss’ mouth turned upward in a delighted sneer. “It was my mission to fulfill for my Mistress. It was quite an honor to exterminate the vile human rodents off this land!”



The Mazoku’s jibe hade the desired effect, it was that push that set Kris over the edge. With a shriek of rage he charged blindly at his tormentor with a small dagger raised. Xelloss countered the attack with laughable ease and grabbed Kris’ sword arm in one lighting fast motion.



“You bastard!” Kris struggled to escape Xelloss’ grasp. “Just kill me and get it over with!”



Xelloss released his hold on the human and callously shoved him to the ground. “No I will not. I rather like your flavor.” The Mazoku inched closer to the young human, who hastily backed away. “It would be such a waste to destroy such a delicacy such as yourself...”



Dismissing Kris, Xelloss turned to address the remaining humans who had stood silent and frozen with terror. “I will permit you and the rest of your pathetic rabble to flee with your lives intact” he waved a hand in a unconcerned manner at his rapt audience. “But you must do it now before I change my mind and allow the wolves to feast upon your carcasses.” Xelloss tapped his staff to the ground, the smile never leaving his face as he opened his violet eyes upon the terrified group of mortals. “Now scram”



Xelloss hummed a tune to himself as he watched the humans scramble over each other in their haste to get to the dusty shores. All were clawing, screaming, and clamoring over each other to get into the moored boats.



“Hmph, don’t they realize that such lack of organization will only waste more time?” Xelloss lifted both eyebrows up as if suddenly remembering something. He turned around to bow his head to the last remaining human who did not flee for the boats.



“Farewell my ‘friend’ Kris, we shall most defiantly be meeting again for another meal.” With that, the Mazoku disappeared with his parting laughter ringing in Kris’ ears.



Now.



Xelloss collapsed to one knee at the sudden rush of the frightening memory. His Mazoku counterpart laughed mockingly.



“And we did visit him many more times afterward. How utterable delectable his emotions were! Then years later, he finally took his own life to escape the madness and the guilt you stirred in him.” The Mazoku smirked at the effect his words had on the human. “And I do recall that you took a particular pleasure in tormenting him!”



“Why...” Xelloss ran a shaky hand through his hair in a desperate attempt to collect himself “why are you here?” he shot the dark creature with an icy stare. “Are you here to feed off my human despair, huh? Are you taking your fill from me yet?” he spat.



For the first time the Mazoku Xelloss’ face became suddenly serious. “I am not here to feed upon you” his eyes opened for the first time to reveal golden irises that glittered like cursed gold in the firelight. “I came to show you how vulnerable you are to human mortality.”



“Huh?” Xelloss blinked, caught off guard by this statement. “What do you mean?”



“As you may have noticed, you are incapable of using magic.”



“So?” the human huffed defensively and tuned away from both the firelight and his counterpart. “I’ll manage.”



“I think not. You still possess some mazoku qualities that feed off the frailties of your human body. Do you not feel your Mazoku half tearing at your human side?”



For a long time Xelloss did not answer. He jumped when gloved hands slithered from behind to wrap around his torso. Xelloss froze. He did not dare move, for a wrong thought or movement could end his life while being embraced by a Mazoku.



“Why...” the young human gulped as he nerved himself to ask his most dangerous question “why are you so affixed on me?”



For a few heart-pounding minutes the Mazoku did not reply, all that could be heard was the faint sound of the fire crackling in the distance.



The dark Xelloss did not ease his grasp upon the young human as he made up his mind to reply. “I have taken several appearances when I projected my astral self upon the physical realm, including many different human forms to suit my needs. Your body was destroyed in the merge, it was the *imprint* of your form that I consumed, and it was the blueprint of the human image that I permanently took– and it made it possible for me to flit around so comfortably and convincingly in the physical plane among the humans. And it was that original imprint that was taken away from my psyche to be made into your current physical body.”



The Mazoku leaned over to whisper quietly. “A part of me is inside you” the Mazoku breathed into the human Xelloss’ ear. “That part longs to rejoin, as do you wish to return to me.”



“What are you saying?” The human whispered back.



“The cliffs lie straight ahead. Without a body to anchor your soul, we should be able to reunite on the Astral Plane. Then you and I shall be whole again.” The arms withdrew. The human slowly tuned to face the Mazoku.



“Why don’t you just kill me yourself?”



“You know just as well as I do that it is impossible for me to interfere with our Mistress’ orders. She ordered that I do no physical harm, but anything else is up to you. The life she has granted you is yours to keep, or destroy.”



Xelloss’ eyes looked away in uncertainty, torn by the temptation. “How can you be certain that we’ll merge again?”



“I am not, but there is that chance.” The Mazoku gently tilted the young man’s face towards his, gold eyes met violet. “There is nothing for you here. Neither Mazoku nor humans will ever accept you as one of their own. You’ll never lose it...the warring conflict that you receive from violence and suffering. No matter what you do, you will never find peace in this physical realm. Only that is certain.” The golden eyes held as much pity as one of the Mazoku race could contain. “The question is, how long are you willing to endure that suffering?”



Tears filled the violet eyes. Xelloss jerked his head from the Mazoku’s hand. He took a few hesitant steps backwards, then turned and fled into the forest without looking back at the dwindling fire and the dark Mazoku who bore his face.



“Whatever you choose...” Mazoku Xelloss murmured to the darkness before melting away into the shadows. “We shall rejoin again someday. My precious ‘counterpart.’”



***



Black despair engulfed Xelloss’ heart. He wanted to get away from the Mazoku– away from the mirror image of his face that stared back at him with those glittering eyes...eyes that were like those that belonged to Zelas Metallium. And he wanted to flee from those horrible truths. That first fateful massacre on the island...tormenting Kris to his death...he himself took pleasure from all of it, and the human emotion of guilt he felt was almost too much to bear.



He crashed heedlessly through the underbrush, uncaring of the direction that he went. At times he ran on sheer momentum, as if some invisible force was pulling him in the direction that he knew in his heart wanted to go.



The trees broke open to reveal the empty Autumn night sky beyond the broken rock of a cliff’s edge. Sharp icy wind whipped Xelloss’ hair against his face, biting his flesh. Holding his cloak steady, he cautiously approached the brink of the cliff to peer down with eyes wide open at the yawning black void. His eyes stung from the icy wind blowing up from far below. The drop was immeasurable. He suddenly felt the urge to be swallowed by that darkness, like he once did many, many years ago.



‘Once again I chose the darkness to consume me.’ he thought sadly as he took a few slow strides backwards as he nerved himself and his pounding heart. He broke into a run as fast as he could toward the dangerous edge. ‘I am tired of this realm. I only want to find peace again!’ he leaped off the edge as far as he could and all thoughts went blank. The cold night air engulfed his body and for a moment his eyes caught a glimpse of the full moon and stars breaking though the clouds, then his body tilted downwards towards the inky blackness of oblivion.



TBC