Chapter 9: Finals

"Ladies and gentlemen, Digimon of all ages, please join me in giving a warm Metal Empire welcome to the Mon who has made this tournament all possible, Ambassador White!" The crowd clapped and cheered and laughed as Cruz finally introduced the Ambassador after a few minutes of comedic stalling. In the stands, Icebreak the Ikkakumon was giving her boyfriend a sour look as she thought he had overdone it. "I'll make it up to her when we're alone," thought the tiny white serpent. Turning to the KingChessmon beside him, Cruz continued, "Ambassador, do you have any final thoughts you'd like to share before I introduce the warriors?"

"First off, let me just say thank you for the warm ovation," said a truly grateful White. "Having to turn the three day event into two and then springing the three way fight on all of you, I couldn't be any more appreciative of your understanding and for that, I clap for you." The ring around Cruz's neck that acted as the microphone caught the literal clapping of White which caused the audience to cheer for the Ambassador again. "Please, please, it's not about me today. No, it's about the Digimon that have allowed us to witness some of the most impressive fights in the history of this tradition. I will now allow those same Digimon to take center stage. Good luck to all three combatants and may the best Digimon win!"

The large, light brown, circular platform began to shake at Ambassador White's words. As White walked off the stage, some of the many square blocks making up the platform began to rise, each one stopping at a different height.

"For this final fight, these pillars of varying size will be thrown into the mix to for additional strategy. As always, the force field will also act as a way to help all our viewers keep an eye on the action," explained Cruz, his quick voice hyping up the crowd even more. "Introducing first, the Mon that set the tone for his two opponents, a hero of the Greatest Sin War, the Legendary Warrior of Fire, Draaaaagggooooonnn the Aguuuniimooooonnn!"

From the entrance way below the rafters, a large fireball jetted out and onto one of the tall platforms. Perched up high, the passionate flames began to spin and they slowly covered the body of the raised rectangular pillar. The flames condensed into a thin, controlled pillar of fire before erupting outward as red and orange ribbons of fire that dissipated beautifully. Standing atop the pillar was a tall humanoid. He had long blonde hair colored gold by the sun and his red armor shined fiercely in anticipation for the bout. A large smile was on his face. Dragon raised his right arm above his head. "This is my victory!"

The crowd cheered at the spectacle. "Wasn't that something, people? This is the first time we see the Warrior of Fire actually use fire in this tournament. Le's hope it's not the last time as that was incredible. Now, moving onto the next opponent," continued Cruz with the same fast paced enthusiasm, "I'd like to introduce the silent, calculating insect that has proven he can endure intense heat. Let's see if his previous experience will help lead him to victory. It's Ghooooost the Stiiiiiinnnnggggmmoooonn!"

More clapping and excited calls of encouragement from the crowd. Those who remembered his first entrance looked to the sky and there they saw the green insect warrior, his exoskeleton armor truly looked haunting with the bright background adding to his intimidating look. Carried by his four wings, Ghost landed on a pillar that was slightly taller than Dragon's, his pose calm, legs together, left arm behind his back, a straight back and proud face slightly looking up. Extending his right arm so that it was perpendicular to his body, Ghost willed the purple stinger above his hand to grow. "I am ready," he said, the slight buzzing noise that insect's make audible in his voice.

"Things are heating up and we haven't even started the fight yet. You two certainly know how to make an entrance. Let's see if our final combatant can top either of you," inhaling deeply, Cruz bellowed his last introduction," combatant number three, the mighty beast man, introducing Leeeeeeoooooonnn the perfectly naaaaaamed Leeeeeeeeooooommmmooooonnnnn!"

Unlike his two opponents, Leon took his time while walking out onto the stage. The entrance path was right underneath the lowest level of seats in the coliseum. It was nice to be able to walk out and enjoy all the cheering. At the same time, it allowed Leon to calm himself. His opponents looked ready and Leon needed to be too and so he took those last few seconds to focus. Leon jogged up the steps to the battle area two at a time. Once at the top, he took the time to take in the layout. While some of the raised rectangles were far apart, others were deceptively close and wouldn't allow any of them to squeeze down the middle. This setup would be similar to fighting in a forest but with a little more space in some places. Leon hoped that would be an advatange for him. Noticing that there was a pillar that could prove cumbersome behind his starting position, Leon walked up to it and using the length of his arm, smashed straight through the thin tower, toppling the potential annoyance. Blue data fell and evaporated as the pillar was deleted.

The crowd cheered, Cruz smiled, and Ghost and Dragon chuckled in spite of themselves. Though he didn't know it, Leon had just destroyed the tallest tower on the battlefield. More than either the red or green warrior, Leon had fired the crowd up and a small "Let's go Leon, let's go" chant began. In acknowledgement of the crowd's support, Leon threw both arms up and roared. Cruz made sure to rile the crowd up further by encouraging them to make as much noise as possible, even Icebreak had been taken in by her boyfriend's charisma and was howling with glee.

By this time Ambassador White was back in his personal suite beside his wife and his recently returned daughter. White, Black, and Yellowtail all sat upon the technologically advanced thrones eager for the start.

"I rather like Leon, father," began Yellowtail, a curious grin on the fox Digimon's face, "he's a brute, but he's not mean. There's something honest about that."

"We happen to agree with you, Yellowtail, but might I suggest you word that better around Shirou," Black teased, gaining a little bit of redness on the cheeks of her daughter.

"She's not wrong though," reaffirmed White. "I'm rooting for Leon. More than Ghost, I want Leon to be the leader of my club."

"Your 'club' dear?" inquired Black, a playful tone in her voice. "What happened to Defenders of the Digital World?"

"Too long would be my guess," offered Yellowtail, a small smirk on the Renamon's face.

"Embarrassingly enough, you're correct, Yellow," admitted White. A stern look from his daughter and he corrected himself. "Yellowtail, you are correct, Yellowtail," said White in an exaggerated tone. White caught his daughter rolling her eyes at him and he momentarily forgot how glad he was that she had returned home safely. "Looks like the dome is going up. The fight is about to begin."


The room was large enough to fit the varying sizes of the seven Yggdrasil Council Members. There was an enormous, rectangular table shaped from the same crystal that made up the vast majority of the Yggdrasil Tree in the massive room. Around the crystal table were the seven seats of the Council Members and opposite the short side of the rectangle there was a large screen broadcasting the final match of Ambassador White's Champion's Tournament.

Centered on the short side of the rectangle sat the large humanoid bird man, covered in white feathers with two large wings on his back, a beautiful assortment of violet feathers upon his head and a sun emblazoned across his two arms. Council Leader Wise was more excited that he would have expected for this final fight.

On the seat furthest away from Wise on his left side sat the blue and red, god man Digimon, Spirit the Susanoomon. More than Council leader Wise, it was likely Council Member Spirit who had the most nerves due to being both excited and anxious. On one hand, if Spirit's Warrior of Fire succeeded then the Council would no longer waste precious time and resources on Ambassador White's proposition for his own personally raised defense group. On the other hand, if Spirit's Warrior of Fire were to lose, then Dragon the war hero may look incompetent and that could possibly reflect badly on Spirit.

Next to Spirit was young Excalibur. The inexperienced Imperialdramon was charged with finding the next generation of Royal Knights. Since his induction into the Yggdrasil Council, Excalibur had been successful in finding four Royal Knight candidates. Unfortunately, none were Mega level yet. Wise found it ironic that White was essentially doing the same thing as Excalibur and yet there was considerable resistance to his proposition. Then again, the Royal Knights' name alone was more than enough to convince people of their necessity.

Council Member Poseidon found himself in a similar situation. Unlike the Royal Knights however, some of the Olympos XII had survived the Greatest Sin War. As proud of their power as he was, even Poseidon had to admit that the Olympos XII only survived due to being underestimated, as opposed to the Royal Knights who were made a priority, by the Seven Great Demon Lords. Poseidon had made good use of his survivors as they had gone a long way in preparing the next generation and the only missing members were a Dianamon, Apollomon, Marsmon, and of course, the former leader Jupitermon. Looking at him now, Wise could see a hesitant hope in Poseidon's red eyes. Even the acting leader of the Olympos XII couldn't hide the anxiety of the coming war and, much like Wise himself, was hoping that something special would result from the tournament.

Next to Poseidon sat Council Member Gloria, the two friends sat to Wise's right. The female angel had her helmet placed on the table in front of her. She had her fingers laced and more than anyone, seemed to be watching the screen with a serenity that couldn't be faked. Gloria either didn't care about the coming war or she was truly invested in the tournament. Maybe both. Or perhaps she had hope that Leon or Ghost would be the hero that Ambassador White was looking for.

Sitting closest to Wise were the two golden dragons, Divine on his left and Core on his right. Both behemoths had done everyone the kindness of condensing their data in order to shrink their bodies to a much more manageable size. They always did as such whenever inside the Yggdrasil Tree. Though Spirit was also older than Wise, the two large dragons had a certain air about them that made them seem even older than they were, and they were quite old to begin with. Both dragons seemed tired, far more tired than Wise had ever seen them. They had both seen plenty of death but the coming war promised the end of an era, it was affecting them because they likely suspected what Council Leader Wise thought was a certainty, the entire Yggdrasil Council would die during the war.

Wise shuttered a bit as he snapped out of his own thoughts and back to reality. Now was not the time to start being pessimistic. "Old friend, I truly pray for your success in finding the heroes we need," said Wise to himself as he thought of Ambassador White.


The dome closed and there was silence on the battlefield. Dragon, Ghost and Leon stood in their starting positions, the three spots chosen to create a triangle. Dragon looked from Ghost to Leon. Ghost looked past Dragon and slightly above Leon. Leon faced the space in between Dragon and Ghost deciding to keep them both in his peripheral.

Without warning, flames burst from the holes on Dragon's arm and leg armor. Ghost immediately became airborne and darted backwards, the purple stinger on his arm still extended. Leon on the other hand charged the Warrior of Fire.

"Sub-Zero Ice Punch!" roared the Leomon. Leon wasn't surprised to realize that all the ice had melted off his fist by the time his punch connected with Dragon's face. The beast man allowed himself a small smile from the fact that his punch had caught Dragon off guard and the Agunimon had taken a few steps back.

Off to his left, Leon heard "Moon Shooter" and took a powerful jump away from Dragon as multiple large purple spikes went flying.

"Not enough," said Dragon who had already recovered after being caught unprepared. "Fire Dash," called Dragon as he allowed flames from his heels to propel him towards the oncoming projectiles. "Gatling Burst." Still dashing towards Ghost, Dragon caught all the oncoming needles with his second technique, his blindingly fast hands gathering all the stingers.

Closer to the powerhouse than he'd like, Ghost realized the dangerous situation he could find himself in and he began to ascend upward and away from Dragon but a thrown needle caused him to descend even closer to the ground.

Recognizing the trouble that Ghost was in, Leon concentrated some of his power into the palm of his hand and shot it at Dragon's back. "Beast Wave," said Leon. A projectile smaller than his Fist of the Beast King was launched forward. Rather than the gold-orange lion's head with a mane, the Beast Wave shot a bronze colored lioness head.

Still in his stride towards Ghost, Dragon looked over his shoulder for a split second and threw two needles back towards Leon. The first needle destroyed Leon's Beast Wave the second needle forced Leon to dodge, thus denying him a second chance at saving Ghost. Returning his attention to Ghost, Dragon saw that the insect warrior had taken the small opening to mount a counterattack and was now charging Dragon head on, the spike on Ghost's arm glowed menacingly. As if it were his plan the whole time, Dragon effortlessly kicked off the ground and flipped over Ghost. He rotated in midair and just as Ghost passed over the flames left behind from his Fire Dash, Dragon threw the remaining spikes into Ghost.

Ghost screamed as he felt the four spikes pierce into his armor and straight through to the other side. Landing hard, Ghost was pinned to floor where Dragon's fire still burned. Despite the pain, Ghost was glad he had made the spikes longer rather than thicker as his situation would have been much worse for it.

As Ghost flapped his four wings as hard as he could to escape his predicament, Dragon was jumping up some of the pillars. He reached the top of one of the taller pillars and looked down at his opponents. Ghost was still stuck despite his best efforts and Leon was once more charging head on.

"I like your tenacity," yelled Dragon as Leon reached his pillar. A haymaker of a punch from Leon crushed the foundation and forced Dragon to jump to a shorter pillar that was close by. A second powerful punch from Leon toppled the second pillar as well and forced Dragon into the air once more. "Pyro Darts," said Dragon as flames rose from the three holes on his left arm. Quickly swiping the palm of his right hand through the fire, Dragon launched three burning projectiles at Leon below him.

Leon looked up at Dragon, determined not to lose sight of the red armored combatant. Seeing the oncoming fire attack, Leon once more concentrated his power, this time into his knuckles. He roared as he threw his punch upward, "Fist of the Beast King!" The large lion head of pure energy rocketed upwards and devoured the smaller fireballs.

Dragon had used enough leg strength on the second jump to launch himself out of Leon's attack range but as his first leg landed on an even lower pillar, he noticed a purple spike flying at him. "Blaze Shoot," yelled Dragon, his leg was engulfed by flames as he kicked the oncoming projectile away. From below, Leon had once more punched through the pillar and due to his already unsteady footing, Dragon fell.

"Fist of the Beast King!" roared Leon a second time. The large lion's head formed once more and this time collided with an upside down Dragon, hitting him in the chest at point blank range. The silver piece going down the middle of Dragon's chest armor shattered at impact but the projectile attack didn't explode and instead carried Dragon backwards. Dragon crashed through and destroyed two pillars before the lion head lost its form in a concentrated explosion. Feeling he hadn't done enough, Leon ran towards the now downed flame manipulator, two Beast Wave projectiles already prepared in his palms.

"Salamander Break," whispered Dragon as Leon got close. The holes from Dragon's legs unleashed fire and threw him into a small spin on his shoulder blades. The burning kicks blocked the Beast Waves that Leon shot from his open hands before connecting with Leon's exposed ribs and legs. Using all the momentum of his spinning kick, Dragon was able to jump back onto his feet and end his attack with a fiery punch to Leon's face. "That was for earlier," said Dragon, his normal playfulness still in his voice, "and this is just because I want to win. Million Gatling Burst." Dragon's left hand reached out and gripped Leon by the arm. Now in a firm grip and still reeling, Leon was defenseless as countless fire covered punches began raining down on his face.

It was seconds before Leon felt his face begin to bruise. Those bruises in turn became large welts and those welts were quickly cut open by more punches, damaged red data bleeding into the sky as a result. Slowly, Leon felt his legs grow weak. His open cuts were being burned closed, allowing more welts to form and then be cut open again. Leon fell to one knee, his face burned equally from pain and fire. He fell to his second knee when he felt his teeth and nose break from Dragon's punches. Everything began turning red as Leon's eyes were sprayed by data.

"I'm going to lose," thought Leon as his peripheral vision went black. "No, I can't," he thought as he remembered Leelee and Ambassador White. In a desperate and reckless move, Leon moved his head toward the punch and ducked the oncoming fist at the last split second. He threw his left shoulder into Dragon's gut and lifted up.

Not at all expecting any more fight from Leon, Dragon was once again unprepared. Unable to adjust his weight from the sudden movement, that on top of having the air knocked out of him, resulted in Dragon being flipped over Leon's back and thrown to the ground hard.

"Still not letting go," coughed Dragon, a small grin still on his face.

"I beg to differ," sounded the buzzing voice of Ghost overhead. "Moon Shooter," said the newly escaped Stingmon. Much like Dragon had done to Ghost, Ghost had now pinned Dragon into the ground. One sharp spike poked out of Dragon's left forearm and as his entire arm lost feeling, his grip on Leon loosened. As Leon jumped back and away a few times, Ghost descended as fast as he could and brought both his feet down on Dragon's stomach, the double foot stomp breaking the Fire Symbol on his armor and the armor around his stomach as well.

Dragon could only gasp in pain as the blow caused him to spit saliva mixed with damaged data into the air. The unforgiving floor didn't budge making Ghost's attack all the more powerful. Still standing on Dragon, Ghost shot more of his purple needles towards the closest tower and created makeshift stairs for Leon.

"From the top, Leon," called Ghost.

Ignoring the pain he was in, Leon ran for the steps immediately. He jumped from one to the next and quickly ascended to the top of the pillar. Leon didn't stay up high for long as he jumped over the edge and towards Dragon and Ghost as soon as he reached the top. Legs straight behind him and both arms straightened forward above his head, Leon had already formed the large crimson-gold lion's head over both fists.

"Fall of the Beast King!" yelled Leon.

His ally close, Ghost jumped off Dragon hoping that the Warrior of Fire wouldn't have enough time to dodge the oncoming attack. To Ghost and Leon's relief, Dragon was unable to move in time and took the full brunt of Leon's two handed attack. A loud crunching noise sounded throughout the coliseum as Leon's attack created a small crater in the floor. Dragon was now free from his makeshift prison but he was badly hurt, a large amount of damaged data bled out of his injuries.

Leon stood up, Dragon behind him, "I think we got him," called Leon as he looked over at Ghost.

"Crimson Kunckle." A powerful fireball hit Leon on the back and shot him a few feet forward. "Not yet, boys," said Dragon. He stood up slowly, the grin gone and now replaced with a stern expression. "I like you guys but this is the Digital World at stake. You have to earn your victory over me the same as in a real fight."

"Ghost Maker," buzzed Ghost as he rushed Dragon with the humming, sharp blade on his arm.

Dragon spread his bent legs and slammed both of his fists together in front of his chest. Two small fire tornadoes came alive and began to swirl around his arms. As Ghost's stinger got closer, Dragon threw both his arms forward in a diagonally aligned two handed punch. "Burning Salamander!" A long, serpentine dragon made of red and orange flames howled as it crashed into Ghost and swallowed the insect warrior whole.

Leon stood off to the side, still hurting from the attack to his back. He was stunned to see how much strength Dragon still possessed. As the caterwaul of the fire dragon grew quiet, the flames grew smaller until they were just three streak of small flames on the ground. On his knees in front of Dragon was Ghost, the tip of his stinger touching the unprotected flesh of Dragon's stomach.

Ghost's green armer was singed black and was covered in cracks. Green flesh that had been cut and burned could be seen underneath the exoskeleton. Ghost turned his head until he found Leon's eyes. "You got this," he whispered before forcing his stinger to extend further, the pulsing blade easily tearing a hole into Dragon's navel.

Dragon let out a pained cry as he backhanded Ghost and his stinger away from him. The ten count that followed seemed to last for hours. Leon created strategies and refined them. He went over everything he'd experienced in the fight so far. "Leomon all have a sword," remembered Leon. "I do got this," he guessed.

"Ten!"

Dragon and Leon rushed one another, Dragon engulfed by flames, Leon shaking the earth with each mighty step. Both Mons threw a punch that connected with the other's face, a small wind burst occurred at impact. Dragon and Leon stood, a fist to the other's face, both trying to force the punch back with their face despite the pain.

"You call this a punch, Leon?"

"Says the Mon that had to punch me a hundred times to hurt me," the beast man fired back.

"Know," Dragon took a step forward, "when," a second step, "to stay down." Dragon forced Leon's fist off his face. As Leon took a step back, Dragon clapped his fire covered hands together and shouted, "Burning Slicer." The flames shot forward, taking on a thin shape reminiscent of a sword's edge and cut into Leon's right pectoral muscle, the heat instantly cauterizing the wound but still causing considerable pain that forced Leon to take a second step back. "Fire Slide," said Dragon. He dropped to one knee and allowed a carpet of fire that formed beneath him to rush him towards Leon.

Leon saw the low attack coming. He jumped high enough to avoid the quick tackle but low enough that he managed to grab Dragon by the jaw and pull him into the air. "I haven't named this one yet!" yelled Leon as he lifted the Warrior of Fire. Leon landed on one knee and dragged Dragon over himself. Using his full force, Leon slammed Dragon onto his back.

A moment before Dragon landed, he unleashed four large flames, two from his elbows and two from his heels, that acted as rockets that slowed the slam, softening the impact. "That was close," thought Dragon. "Pretty good," said Dragon aloud.

"You haven't seen anything yet," responded Leon, a fierce, broken grin on his face. Still in pain, Leon touched the burned cut as he stood up straight and jumped backwards, away from Dragon.

Dragon pushed his palms down on the floor and used fire to lift himself back onto his feet. "That really was good, Leon. You're definitely doing better than I thought but I think it's about time to end this."


"You can do it, Leon," cheered Leelee. She was still in her room in the medical ward. She'd been watching the fight and was getting riled up with all the action. She was worried when the cute Stingmon had gone down but she really believed that Leon could still win after the last slam. "Come on, Le-"

A knock at her door interrupted her mid-cheer. A little confused, Leelee still called out, "come in."

"Why thank you, Miss Leelee," came a young, confident voice. Shirou the Pidmon walked in, his two large wings tucked close to his back so as to fit through the door. "Sorry to interrupt your amusement, Miss Leelee but I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about."

Still perplexed, Leelee asked, "so you know me but who are you?"

Shirou opened his mouth but stopped before speaking, a large smile spreading across his face. "Of course, where are my manners? My name is Shirou and I will be your Squad Leader on the coming mission to the city of Medi Gintal in Ramor."

"Oh, sorry about that . . . Squad Leader," replied Leelee, a bit embarrassed. "I know we leave soon but I haven't really gone over the part of the file with my fellow members of the mission yet, I was going to do that with Leon tonight."

"Please, Miss Leelee, it is quite alright. Also, please just call Shirou," said the tall angel with a small chuckle.

"Will do so please drop the Miss. It's just Leelee," replied the small Palmon.

"Noted, Leelee," said Shirou. "Now, for what I came here for. Leelee, as the youngest member of our squad, I need to make certain that you are mentally prepared. You see, Leelee, you are most definitely at a level that makes you useful. I'd say you are at least as powerful as I was before my capture. Now, I know that Ambassador White gave you the file on The Gauntlet but I want to prepare you a bit better for the challenge ahead."

"Your report on The Gauntlet was pretty solid, Shirou," replied Leelee, "that part I read over a few times. How much more information could you give me, that seemed to have plenty?"

"Well, perhaps information isn't correct. Rather, I can make connections for you that you may not have made yourself. For example, you are Rookie level, you're susceptible to the PTA Virus," explained Shirou.

"Oh, that's true. I never thought about that, I assumed . . ."

"You assumed that you'd be at your Champion level whenever there was danger. But we will be in constant danger," said Shirou, his smile replaced with a serious look. "We will never be safe once we leave, Leelee. I want you to be wary of the dangers."

"I'm scared, I am," admitted Leelee, "but I can help. I appreciate your concern but I'll be okay. I'll believe in you, Squad Leader Shirou. For now though, I'd like to cut this short and relax."

"I see. Well I'm glad you are taking this mission seriously." Shirou opened the door behind him. "It seems I came here without needing to, Leelee. You are as mature as I had heard. Do enjoy this time to rest."

"Thanks," replied Leelee. She felt as if she were being mocked. "If you'll excuse me, it looks like Leon and Dragon are really going at it and I'd like to cheer at the hologram. I like to think Leon can feel that I'm cheering him on."

"You two grew close quickly."

"Guess that happens when somebody saves your life," answered Leelee.

"Of course."

Shirou left Leelee's room and walked down the corridor. While Leelee did seem to be a competent warrior, Shirou felt he had succeeded in placing the fear of the PTA Virus in Leelee's psyche. "Your fear will be taken advantage of, child," thought Shirou, a sly smile forming on his face. "Whether it's the PTA Virus or the F Virus that none of you expect, my Master will have new pets."


A kick to Leon, a punch to Dragon, both Mons had abandoned their fancy attacks and were now having a simple fight. Dragon launched a high kick but Leon avoided it by dropping down to his side. Once low, Leon rolled and used his entire body to sweep Dragon's balancing leg from underneath him. Dragon fell face first but quickly scrambled onto his knees and away from Leon.

Leon gave chase to Dragon, the beast man kicked the Warrior of Fire in the back to keep him off balance. As Dragon stumbled forward some more, Leon used his Beast Wave attack to once more take Dragon off his feet.

Grounded again and facing away from Leon, Dragon stretched his arms forward and created a burst of flames that sent him blindly flying backwards towards Leon. Leon wasn't prepared to counterattack such a fast attack and opted to roll out of the way. As the Agunimon flew, Dragon saw Leon once more in front of him and he created another sharp edge of flames in between his clasped palms.

"Burning Slicer!" screamed Dragon as he unleashed a horizontal attack at Leon's legs. The cutting technique hit Leon on his left ankle as he failed to jump out of the way in time. While painful, the wound was once more burned shut.

Placing the pain at the back of important things to note, Leon landed on his good leg, more shockwaves prepared in his hands. "Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave, Beast Wave!" He repeated as he launched the small lioness-head shaped projectiles.

Dragon turned sideways to avoid the first two, a fire covered hand knocked away the second and a whip of his long, blazing hair destroyed the fourth. The fifth of the Beast Waves managed to get through and hit Dragon in his exposed chest, knocking him back and into a seated position. Taking the moment to rest, Dragon inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly.

Through labored breath, Dragon called out to his opponent. "Hey, hey, Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"You suck."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," confirmed Dragon.

"You suck, too," said Leon. "I'm gonna win this."

"I know," agreed Dragon through a mix of a cough and a laugh. "I'm just waiting to see how."

"Get up and I''ll show you," challenged Leon.

From his seated position, Dragon threw a heavy arm over his legs and lazily, he forced himself to one knee before getting back on his feet and facing Leon. "Let's end this in a blaze of glory, Leon."

"And with a triumphant roar," accepted Leon.

Dragon spread his bent legs and locked both elbows back as he braced himself. All the holes in his armor erupted with crimson flames as Dragon conjured up all his remaining power for his final attack.

Opposite him, Leon was trying to control his breathing. "I have a sword. I can summon a sword. My sword can cut through anything," he thought to himself hoping that a positive attitude would help him.

"Burning!"

"Here it comes!" Roared Leon, his left hand open, arm slightly behind his back.

"Salamander!" yelled Dragon as he threw his double handed punch once more.

A dragon made of dark red flames howled as it rampaged through the air towards Leon. Everything within the dome grew dry, it became harder to breath and the heat of the serpentine dragon headed towards him seemed to already be burning through Leon.

"Shishiou-maru!"

Leon closed his grip on the hilt of a sword that digitized into place on the back of his jeans. The beast man unsheathed the sword in a reverse grip and sliced the air in front of him. The wide arcing slash separated the crimson dragon beginning at the jaw and cutting all the way through to the end of the tail and further as the attack continued until it hit Dragon, splitting the Warrior of Flame in half. The flames didn't disperse fast enough however, resulting in Leon also being hurt as he was still being cut up by the sharpness of the fire dragon's teeth and scales. As Leon expected however, the wounds were immediately cauterized by the flames. In addition, the attack was significantly weaker than it would have been had the Burning Salamander stayed together.

Leon stood in place, his arms crossed in front of him for defense, skin burning. Looking up, he saw Dragon in two pieces, separated at the waist and sprawled on the floor. The upper half was still moving despite the significant damage.

"Not done yet, Leon!" Dragon pushed himself off the floor and used flames to once more rocket himself at Leon.

Leon took a large step forward with his left leg and wound his right arm backwards. When Dragon was mere feet away from him, Leon stomped forward with his right leg and threw his open hand out and caught Dragon by the face. Leon closed his grip forcing his sharp nails into Dragon's skull where there was no armor. Leon slammed Dragon into the ground in the same swift motion that he used to catch the flame manipulator.

"Conquest of the Beast King," Leon whispered to Dragon.

Energy from Leon's body surged down his arm, through Dragon's skull and out onto the floor. The battle platform shook and shattered in the area around the two warriors. The special concrete of the platform threw thousands of little broken shards into the air as the roar of a ferocious beast sounded through the coliseum. Leon ripped his claws out of Dragon, the flame warriors eyes completely white. The motion slightly pulled the unconscious Agunimon into the air before gravity dragged the red clad warrior back to the ground. Leon stepped away from Dragon.

The forcefield dome shifted to show an aerial view of the damage done. The downed Agunimon was in the mouth of a lion's head that had formed in the broken concrete.

The ten count began. Leon looked at the crowd outside the protective dome for the first time since he made his entrance. They all seemed to be on the edge of their seats, eyes bulging slighting, faces perhaps a bit more red than normal in eager anticipation of crowning a winner.

"Ten!" Announced Cruz. "We have a winner!"

As the dome came down, the silence that Leon experienced was drowned out by the loudest cheering he'd ever heard.