Note: You didn't think it would be over this quickly, did you? What's a story without some sort of twist?


With his master dead, Neptune no longer had any reason to serve him. Although, he still had one last duty, to report to Leviathan's daughter. He left the island with no grudge towards Behemoth's Flame Haze or to Leanan-sidhe, for the duel had still ended honorably.

He found Lorelei with her back against him, still looking into the pool she had used to watch the duel. As he opened his mouth to speak, Lorelei went ahead of him.

"He's been defeated, hasn't he?" she said without turning.

"Yes," Neptune replied, unable to think of anything better.

"And you just let him die like that?"

"I—ugh!" Neptune was about to say, but he was suddenly impaled in the chest by a spear of pressurized water as Lorelei turned. Her Killing Intent was burning strongly.

"You are nothing but a failure," Lorelei said angrily as she sliced Neptune in half with a blade of water.

As the two halves of Neptune's corpse burned away, Lorelei looked up to the sea's surface.

"I will be the one to fulfill the dream of my father and mother," she said.

Chapter 6: Hand of Eden

When Khamsin came to, he found himself looking up at a dark, starry sky. His head lay on something soft, and when he tilted his head, his eyes met with Leanan-sidhe's.

"I'm so glad," she said with a soft smile.

"How long was I out?" Khamsin asked.

"You've been unconscious for half a day," Behemoth said. "I've taken the liberty to cure all of your injuries during that time."

"Half a day?" Khamsin repeated. "You've been like this for that long?" he asked Leanan-sidhe. She nodded.

Khamsin quickly tried to raise his head from her lap, but she stopped him.

"You used up every bit of energy in your body during your duel," she said.

"Indeed, it was literally the first time in ages that I have seen you go all out against a single enemy," Behemoth said.

"You need some rest," said Leanan-sidhe.

"Isn't this an inconvenience?" Khamsin asked her.

The Spiral Organ shook her head. "Not at all," she replied. "Please, just rest. You've fought enough for one day."

Khamsin relaxed himself and continued to lie down on her lap. "To be honest, I wasn't very certain that I would even survive, but I still did my best, for you. Who would have thought I would have fought so much like a warrior again?" he said. "Perhaps I just needed a reason to fight."

"Does this mean you'll stop being a tuner?" Leanan-sidhe asked him.

"Maybe, maybe not," Khamsin responded. "Only two things are certain: I will continue to aid the cause of our allies in Japan and establish a world where the two of us can live in peace alongside other Flame Haze and Crimson Denizens, and that I will always be with you."

Leanan-sidhe smiled again. "Is that a confession?" she said.

Khamsin peacefully closed his eyes. "Probably," he said.

He and the Denizen looked up at the night sky. The stars, which were as much as the sand on the beach, illuminated the dark ceiling of the world, twinkling and shining. Gazing at such a beautiful thing with the one they cared about was worth fighting to continue living.

After a time of peaceful silence, Khamsin spoke again.

"Behemoth, what do we do next?" he inquired.

"We call upon the powers my mother has left for the remaining brother," the Crimson Lord answered. "Together, we will summon the full power of the Hand of Eden."

Very suddenly, arrows of water came up from the sea before them and came straight at them. Leanan-sidhe reacted quickly enough to cast a spell that redirected the projectiles away from them.

Khamsin jumped to his feet and assumed a battle-ready stance. "I thought this was already over," he said.

"Unfortunately for you, it isn't over until my father's dream is fulfilled," Lorelei said as she came up from the water. She was levitating above the waves, and her eyes glowed blue like a pair of bright sapphires. "If you want to continue living on, help me see this through."

"We won't join you for such a cause," Khamsin answered.

"For one with so many years, that was a very unwise decision," Lorelei said as she lashed at him with a whip of water.

Khamsin and Leanan-sidhe avoided the attack. Lorelei attacked again with the same weapon, but Khamsin stopped it with a wall of sand.

As the barrier fell, Lorelei threw a spear of water at her enemies, but instead of harming them, it phased through them like they weren't even there.

"Decoys?!" Lorelei realized.

A small number of tall stone golems appeared at different angles. At the top of the largest stood Khamsin and Leanan-sidhe.

"Stop this!" Leanan-sidhe pleaded. "We don't have to fight. Don't you think your father, who willingly risked his life, would rather have you bring peace to the world rather than use your power for revenge?"

Lorelei laughed loudly and mockingly at that. "Fool," she said. "I am going to bring peace to the world, but not in the way you have in mind. I will do it the way my parents and grandmother envisioned."

She faced Khamsin. "To tell you the truth, although I liked you as a friend and temporary ally, I didn't wish for you to win against Leviathan," she said. "Not just because he was my father, but because I know that you would let the power of the Hand of Eden go to waste. Although the earth itself can change, it will always remain passive and unmoving unless there is outside influence. You, like earth, would not move on your own. Even with all that power, you would still allow yourself to be in the service of others, to work under weaker people. Truly, it is such a waste!"

"Do you really believe that if I gained the power of the Hand of Eden, I would become stronger than my allies?" Khamsin said. "In case you have forgotten, even the Snake of the Festival was not defeated by power alone. From what I have learned from them, power does not make one strong."

"So you're saying you are stronger than me?" Lorelei said. "Very well, let us see your strength, for only the strong can decide the way the world will be reshaped."

Khamsin directed every one of his golems to attack his opponent. As the boulders that flew at Lorelei from several angles were sliced to pieces by her water whips, sending chunks of rock past her, Khamsin leapt forward while Leanan-sidhe prepared to cast an Unrestricted Method.

When Khamsin was halfway there, Lorelei attacked all of his golems at the same time. Each one was torn apart by a number of water arrows. Fortunately, Leanan-sidhe had managed to get out of harm's way, and then she cast her spell.

Khamsin's running form suddenly seemed to multiply into three. Lorelei responded to this by unleashing a large wave of water that wiped out all three.

As Khamsin was blown back by the water, Leanan-sidhe cast another spell. Spell insignias wrapped around her enemy and pulled her towards the shore. But just before she was within the recovering Khamsin's melee range, a strong wind suddenly knocked down the Spiral Organ, and Lorelei broke free of her spell.

Khamsin quickly stood up and launched a boulder at his enemy, who merely raised her hand. He was astonished when the large rock suddenly stopped in midair.

"Did I mention that I now possess the power of the Hand of Eden?" Lorelei said.

"That would explain the sudden rise in power I felt," Behemoth said.

"That can't be possible, Behemoth is the only surviving brother," Khamsin said.

"And I am Leviathan's daughter," Lorelei said. "Like him, I too am able to become the Hand of Eden. But because you were knocked out, I took my chance to call upon Gaia's power."

Khamsin suddenly clenched his fist while she spoke, commanding the hovering boulder to crumble into many stones. Each of these stones entombed Lorelei and Khamsin quickly smashed her into the ground with them.

"Despite having much power, she has no experience with other elements," Behemoth said. "Even her skill with her own element should be less than Leviathan's."

"Damn you," Lorelei said as she got up.

She blasted him with air, but Khamsin remained where he stood, rooting himself to the ground beneath him. Lorelei tried to lash at him with her whips of water, but Khamsin countered these with whips of sand.

"Strange, even though she has the power of the Hand of Eden, she should be able to break through our defense with a simple attack like this," Behemoth noted. "Could it be that she has only half of my mother's power?"

"That's sounds logical," Khamsin replied as he continued to deflect Lorelei's attacks.

"Die!" Lorelei yelled as she summoned a rock and hurled it at Khamsin, who did not even need to move to avoid it. The projectile missed him entirely.

"Earth is tougher than wind and water, but it is also the least flexible," Khamsin said. "I've had this power for ages, and I can still barely hit a target at range. What more for someone with no experience? You won't win, so give up."

"Shut it!" Lorelei said bitterly. "Even if I lose, the Empire of Pangaea will still be founded."

She summoned many tentacles of water and prepared to attack. Right before she could send them towards Khamsin, Leanan-sidhe ran to Khamsin's side and blinded her with a flash of light, causing her to miss and leaving her wide open.

Khamsin used the earth beneath him to dash forward, quickly closing the space between them. The Flame Haze hit her hard with his elbow, knocking her down.

"No! I won't lose!" Lorelei persisted as she struggled to get up. At the same time, she called a number of stones around her, attempting to mimic Khamsin's giant golem armor.

However, Khamsin himself was able to form his armor in less than half the time, since he was the one who invented and mastered the technique. Before Lorelei could finish building her armor, Khamsin came at her in his and hit her hard with a powerful fist.

Lorelei was sent spinning through the air before skidding on the ground face-first. Khamsin and Leanan-sidhe approached her.

"You've done enough," Leanan-sidhe said. "You don't have to keep fighting."

"You can trust us to help bring peace to the world," Khamsin said.

"No, I refuse to give in!" Lorelei said stubbornly. "I will avenge my father, and I will make his dream come true."

With the last of her strength, she began to call upon the elements of earth, wind and water, but her enemies acted quickly against her. Leanan-sidhe created the illusion that Khamsin had multiplied into five. Each of these charged forward, but were blown away by either of the three elements.

But Lorelei failed to notice the real Khamsin coming from behind. His whole arm was wrapped in stone, and his elbow was sharp like a stalagmite. With that elbow, he struck the back of her neck with his full strength.

Lorelei fell forward and did not get up again. As she died, tears fell from her eyes.

"You left us with no choice," Khamsin said.

After a moment, he, Behemoth and Leanan-sidhe expected her body to burn away, but it didn't. They were astonished when it rose again. However, she now emitted a different presence.

The body of Lorelei faced Khamsin with glowing bright green eyes and stretched her hand towards him, or rather, towards his contractor's vessel.

As a string of spell insignias came out of the bracelet, Khamsin suddenly felt weaker. His tiredness from both battles of that day multiplied. He began to feel like an ordinary human boy.

"What's happening?" he said wearily. Before him, his enemy changed shape and her power grew as she was enveloped in a sphere of earth, water, wind and fire.

"When the body I am one with dies, I take over," said Gaia. "Although my vessel lacked half my power, I am able to retrieve the other half through my sons. She was not able to fully call upon wind and water because earth was not there to balance them. But now, I am able to bring all elements under my command."

"But, I wasn't defeated," Khamsin said.

"True, but it was I who planted the Unrestricted Method in the first place," Gaia said as her true form emerged.

Her legs turned into a never-stopping tornado of white wind. Her arms were smooth and made of clay. Her upper body and head was pure blue water. She had a very beautiful face and her eyes and hair were blazing green fire.

"I will give you one last chance," she said. "Please join me."

"Forgive me mother, but that is something we cannot do," Behemoth said. "Khamsin has made up his mind, and true to the element of earth, it is not easily shifted."

"Then I am sorry to do this to your Flame Haze Behemoth," she said as she raised her hand.

A powerful hurricane suddenly swept over the entire island, sending Khamsin flying. As the Flame Haze tossed and turned helplessly in the wind, he spotted Leanan-sidhe in the same predicament. He reached out toward her with his hand and she did the same. When they managed to grab a hold of each other, they hugged each other tightly.

When the winds stopped, they fell on top of a hill, near a cliff. After recovering for a moment, Leanan-sidhe planted an Unrestricted Method on the ground nearby, leaving behind a barely visible spell circle.

It did not take long for Gaia to find her and the Flame Haze, who was still too weak to even stand. Leanan-sidhe bravely stood in front of Khamsin with her arms spread.

"I won't let you hurt him!" she yelled defiantly.

"Very brave of you," Gaia said. "I'm touched. But I cannot stop now."

Before the Crimson God attacked, Leanan-sidhe fired a bright beam that looked much like a spell insignia at her. The Unrestricted Method was easily dodged, and it flew straight into the night sky. The Hand of Eden returned fire.

She created a ball of green fire in her hand and threw it down at her opponent, who quickly grabbed Khamsin and jumped away. However, Leanan-sidhe slipped and slid down the cliff side. They still held each other tightly, even as they rolled, until they crashed at the bottom of the hill.

Khamsin was still too weak to run, so Leanan-sidhe carried him. She knew they would not get far, but she still did the best she could to protect both of them.

"It's no use, we can't beat her alone," Khamsin said weakly. "Save yourself."

"I'm not going to live my life alone again," Leanan-sidhe responded. "And we don't have to fight this by ourselves."