Author's Note: I apologize for how long this chapter took to submit.A combination of work, exams, and a bout with writer's block added up to a very large delay in its production. But here it is at last, the next chapter, one of the last. I hope you appreciate it - this is a very, very important chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter Sixteen

Isaac and the others ascended the stairs of the tower, heading for the top chamber. To their surprise they met no resistance; no fell beasts of Lucithel lurked through the halls of earth and stone.

Does he expect my coming? thought Isaac. Or did Lucithel presume me dead?

They continued their ascent, all six Adepts with a purpose. They sought to free Weyard at last…for the age of death and destruction to cease at last.

Finally, they reached the top level of the tower. They entered the great hall of Lucithel, and there at the opposite end of the hall he sat, the dark king atop at his throne, scepter of chaos in his hand.

"Ah, Isaac," said Lucithel. "You come to me much quicker than I expected. I thought perhaps you had died…but I should learn not to count you out."

"Shut up," snapped Isaac. "I'm here to finish this! You have no right to be God of Weyard, and it is not your title! You shall die at my hand!"

"Die?" asked Lucithel. "I have died before…or so, a state so similar to death that I did not consider it life. When that wretched Epsilon sealed me away, I thought my life was gone…until that fool Alex entered my life, serving as the perfect host for my devices. But you slew him, did you not?"

"Enough idle chatter!" roared Piers. "Let's just get this over with!"

"I bear with me no sword," said Isaac. "But I do not need one to kill you, demon."

"It would do you no good anyway," replied Lucithel. "Weapons are no use – my flesh will only corrode them, destroy them! Now, as you were saying?"

Isaac thrust his arms into the air, and with little Psynergy he still held in him after being stripped of his power he created Odyssey. The great flaming blade hovered over Lucithel's head, but the demon king paid no heed.

"GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!" yelled Isaac. He swung his arms down, and Odyssey plunged down toward Lucithel below. Lucithel vanished before the blade could make contact, and he appeared behind Isaac. Swiftly Lucithel swung his black mace and struck Isaac in the back, sending Isaac flying through the air and skidding across the floor.

Lucithel turned to face the other five. "Go ahead!" he yelled. "Try to strike me down! Many before you have tried, but I have always lived on!"

Ivan and Sheba ran toward each other, clashing their staffs together. Combining their Psynergy they unleashed a greater Shine Plasma than ever witnessed before, it struck Lucithel directly. Jenna unleashed Dragon Fume, as Mia and Piers clashed their weapons together, unleashing a great Ice Horn that jutted up beneath Lucithel. Lucithel took all three attacks with no effect, and he swung his great mace, scattering the elements about his hall.

"You think that your weak Psynergy is enough to stop me?" he yelled. "I possess all of Weyard's Alchemy at my fingertips! I AM WEYARD!"

Lucithel reached up and cast down a great swirling orb of silver, destroying the entire roof of his tower as well as blowing a big hole in the floor of his hall. Sheba fell down the hole, and she barely managed to cling to the edge.

"I've got you!" Ivan cried, and he managed to pull Sheba to safety.

Lucithel laughed, and he advanced toward them, drawing forth a great black sword. He drew back, ready to strike them down.

Isaac saw his chance. Seeing that Lucithel was distracted, he took out the Venus Star and aimed it right at Lucithel, firing a beam in an attempt to drain the Earth Alchemy of the great demon. Lucithel noticed too quickly, and he spun around with his sword, creating a blade of wind that cut through the beam and slashed Isaac across the chest, opening old wounds. Blood flew everywhere as Isaac hit the floor in a battered heap.

"ISAAC!" Mia shrieked.

Lucithel let out a loud cry, and the heavens unleashed torrents of rain upon the earth. Lightning flashed as Lucithel tore a pillar from his hall with his bare hands. He then hurled it at Mia.

Piers reacted quickly. He hurled his axe at the pillar, which struck it and created a big crack in it. Piers then cast Ice Horn, creating a great glacier inside the crack, causing the entire pillar to break apart before it could strike Mia.

Lucithel wheeled on Piers. He held out his black sword and used his powers so that it became a black bow, then fired several arrows at Piers. Piers turned to flee them but he was shot in the back and sank to the ground.

"This is all too easy," Lucithel jeered. "You're all weak, all of you!"

Jenna, Sheba, Ivan, and Mia moved into a formation, all four staffs at the ready. "We shall pit our Psynergy together and create an attack that will tear down this demon king!" declared Jenna.

Together, the four Adepts summoned up their Psynergy, and they raised their staffs as red, blue, and purple light formed between them. It swirled around and a great ball of energy began to form.

Lucithel laughed it off. "That's all of your combined Psynergy can muster? TRY MY STRENGTH ON FOR SIZE!"

Rain pouring down in torrents into the chamber, Lucithel's cape formed into big black wings that he took to the air with. As he gazed down upon the abomination of a structure he had called his home. He thrust his right arm into the air, and it lit up with black flame, swirling darkness that wrought greater destruction than the flames of the highest volcano.

"I grow weary of this fortress," said the king of demons. "And I grow weary of these intruders!"

Lucithel dove down, clutching his right wrist with his left hand, trying to keep his attack under control before it made impact. He drew his right arm back to strike down the structure.

"NOW!" Ivan yelled.

The four Adepts unleashed their ball of Psynergy, firing it right up at Lucithel as he dove. The energy surrounded Lucithel but quickly dissipated as he continued his descent.

"HE'S GOING TO BRING DOWN THE TOWER!" Jenna shrieked, tears streaming down her face.

Lucithel let out a loud roar, the veins on his face rising up, and so he struck the chamber floor with his great flaming fist. There was a shockwave that sent all six Adepts flying back through the air, flying out into empty space. There was a monstrous rumbling as the entire exterior of the tower cracked, and it crumbled, all one hundred thousand tons of stone coming crashing down, Isaac's wicked creation destroyed at last.

All six Adepts plummeted to the earth below. Piers and Isaac finally awoke, mustering enough strength through their wounds to realize the dire situation.

Lucithel was frozen in the air, his fist still pointed to the earth. I…can't move? he thought frantically. This attack takes too much energy, even when I possess full Alchemy…but it doesn't matter, because those fools are dead now.

Isaac peered up and saw in the growing distance above him that Lucithel was frozen in place. "Now's our chance!" he managed to choke out. "He can't move! We can strip him of his Alchemy!"

"But we're going to die!" Jenna shrieked, crying profusely.

"We will die whether we do anything or not," replied Isaac. "This will be our final act…as we tumble to our deaths, we will free Weyard of Lucithel's wicked grasp. COME ON! WE'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE NOW!"

"He's right…" Mia said. She then pulled out the Mercury Star and thrust it above her head, wind whipping around her as she fell, and so the orb lit up, firing a single blue beam upward.

"Yes…" said Ivan, pulling out the Jupiter Star and holding it above his head. It lit up and fired a thin purple beam upward. "Our final victory…as a team."

Isaac pulled out the Venus Star. "I just pray that we can strip him of his power before we hit the ground and die," he said. He then thrust the Venus Star above his head, and it lit up, firing a thin yellow beam into the sky.

Sheba turned to Jenna. "Now for the Mars Star!" she said.

"I…don't have it," Jenna said. "Garet was carrying it…"

All six Adepts froze, feeling the horrible realization that everything had been in vain. They would fall to their deaths, Lucithel would continue his dark reign, and the wane of mankind would be complete.

Ivan looked down. "We have worse problems!" he cried. "These beams are going to reach Lucithel in time! We're going to hit the ground in a few seconds!"

No…no…no… Isaac thought over and over again. He couldn't put complete thoughts together, his wounds still bothering him, and he couldn't bear the fact that two things had just gone wrong.

Just then, the resulting collapse of the great tower caused great fissures to form in the earth. Immediately below them formed a fissure, one that was so deep it led all the way to the molten center of Weyard. They would have enough time before they hit the bottom of that pit.

Lucithel struggled to move, and finally pulled his fist back, regaining his composure. He was shaking from the force of that attack, but he was okay. "Perfect," he said to himself. "Now I've got a bit of unfinished business to take care of."

The king of demons looked down and saw the beams flying up toward him. What? he thought. Even in their death they attempt to defy me? NO!

As the six Adepts fell in the fissure, beneath the surface of Weyard, the beams from their Elemental Stars finally reached Lucithel. Lucithel had reacted too slowly, still shaken up from striking down the tower, and the beams bound him, stripping him of his Earth, Wind, and Water Alchemy. NO! he screamed silently as his power was sapped. NOT NOW! But wait – the Mars Star wasn't used! They can't complete the summoning!

"YES!" Lucithel declared victoriously. He would live…he would not face judgment at the hands of Epsilon after all. He then felt the grip of the Elemental Stars on his body loosen, and though he only possessed Mars Alchemy now, he was still the mightiest being alive. Once the six Adepts died, he would reclaim the rest of the Alchemy from the shattered Elemental Stars.

Lucithel was filled with ecstasy. It was all over. It was all over! He would now rule unquestioned, and his ambition that he had longed for during those millennia would finally be fulfilled.

In his celebration Lucithel noticed a fourth beam strike him in the back too late. It wrapped around him, the fiery red light of the Mars Star. The demon king cried out in agony as his Fire Alchemy, the last of his Alchemy, was drained from his body, taken inside the Mars Star.

As the six Adepts continued to fall, nearing the core of Weyard, in the very distance they could see this red light. "Someone used the Mars Star!" Ivan cried.

"Garet!" said Jenna, full of glee.

Garet stood at the base of the ruins of the tower, holding the Mars Star high above his head. He shut his eyes. Isaac, let's do this, he communicated using Psynergy.

Isaac heard this and couldn't help but grin in his final moments, knowing that Garet had rejoined him. All right, he replied. He turned to his fellow Adepts as the temperature grew unbearable as they neared the core of Weyard. "NOW! LET US SUMMON KING EPSILON ONCE AGAIN!"

Isaac, Garet, Ivan, and Mia all cried out at the same time. Piers, Sheba, and Jenna fueled their Psynergy, aiding them in this final hour. All seven Adepts were drenched in sweat as they unleashed all of their collected Alchemy at once.

Pure Alchemy ripped through the air with a great rumbling, and together the four forces clashed in the sky, below Lucithel. The demon king watched in horror as this energy formed a great gate, the diamond doors swinging wide open, and in a flooding of white light a great king came forth.

The great king Epsilon strode forth from the heavenly portal, clad in gold and silver armor. He wore a great red robe about his body. He wore a golden crown atop his head, adorned with jewels more valuable than any found on Weyard. He had twinkling eyes that could pierce the soul of any, yet they were soft and inviting. He had a sword in its sheath, the scabbard covered in gems of all kinds. He wore many rings upon his powerful fingers. He had a warm smile, one that welcomed yet showed great authority and strength greater than any other in all existence.

"Ye who have called me here," spoke Epsilon. "I shall ease thine pain."

The king put out his hands, and the six Adepts stopped falling, moments from striking the molten core of Weyard, and they were raised up out of the fissure, placed down at the side of Garet. Their wounds were healed instantly.

Lucithel was frozen in the air, unable to speak, overcome with fear. He stuttered, searching for words to speak, but found none.

"Lucithel, demon of olde," said Epsilon. "Thine day of judgment is come at last."