"No… Odin…" Bahamut moaned. "Run away…" He tried to beg.

Lich noticed him saying this, and grinned widely. "Listen to your fellow weakling, esper." He spoke with a laugh. He crossed his arms confidently in front of him. "I'll lay you just as flat as these two if you even try to challenge me. And no matter how hard an outer covering you have, I'll still shell you and devour the flesh inside."

"Hmm…" Kary mused near the statue. "I didn't think there were supposed to be three espers. No matter, though. This one's just as weak as the others. Weaker."

"Two? Three? What's it matter?" Lich spoke with a grin. "He's meat for me, just like his friends."

Odin glared darkly back, but took a moment to look over the area. He saw the piles of black ash, the bloody bones, and all of the destruction that had already been wrought in Lich and Kary's wake. Yet, Bahamut quickly realized, it didn't effect him much. He still remained firm and confidant. He betrayed not the slightest emotion. After a length of time, he turned his head back to Lich and Kary. His face was still dark and cold, not showing any emotion at all rather than his seriousness. He stood silent while Lich grinned maliciously back at him. Finally, Odin snorted at him.

"I'm not like the others." He finally said. "I am the warrior esper."

Lich merely sneered and pretended to tremble. "Stop it. You're terrifying me."

Odin calmly reached up to his neck and began to undo his cape. "You see…" He continued, now seeming to be addressing Bahamut and Wyvern as much as Lich. "I've known my destiny ever since I was born. I was born to be the greatest warrior of the espers. I was born to be their eternally victorious knight. While the espers played games, I trained every day my body and fortitude. I also mastered the Zantetsuken, the greatest weapon in the world." With that finished, Odin grasped the edge of his cape, and then merely flung it aside. His armored body was revealed, and strapped to his side was the sword he prized so heavily in its sheath.

Lich merely pretended to whine and cry. "Oh please don't hurt me." He chided.

"It's too late to beg for mercy." Odin coldly answered. "Long ago, I swore myself in as defender of humans, ever since that little one arrived in my home. You threaten not only the human race but everything that is good and just in the world, and you represent the greatest evil and oppression I have ever heard of before in my life. For that, I will destroy you. The retribution for your crimes has come today."

Lich merely opened his huge mouth and laughed loudly, dripping Bahamut's own blood off his teeth. "You stupid fool! That's the third time I've heard that! Yet look what has happened… Two espers nearly dead at my feet. You are pathetic. Your whole race is pathetic. I am an owner of this world. I'll do whatever I want, whenever I want, forever. And there isn't a thing in the world you can do to stop me, especially not in that puny body you have!"

Odin merely stared back coldly. "My entire life I spent with the tactics for battle in my mind. All of their skills I have mastered. Yet you know nothing of combat, just of being an ugly deformation of a creature. So I will teach you the first rule of combat right now...appearances can be deceiving."

At that, Odin reached to his side, grasped the handle of the Zantetsuken, and yanked it out. Almost immediately…for the first time ever…Bahamut and Wyvern saw Odin's true power. The grass and ashes at his feet began to blow, the latter forming a huge cloud as Odin's power was released. The dark esper's muscles appeared to bulge and enlarge, and the wind and energy charging the air was so strong that even from where he lay Bahamut could feel it. Odin's eyes blazed, and his feet began to dig into the ground. Lich's face turned to one of surprise, but Kary's face looked even more surprised as she stared at him from the statue. For the first time, she leaned off of the statue and stared at the new arrival. Odin grit his teeth and continued to brim with power. Bahamut stared in shock. He could sense his strength…and it was growing phenominally. Much to his shock…it surpassed both of them put together within seconds, and kept rising! Odin continued to grunt and strain for a few moments, but finally was at maximum power. The wind died down, the air stopped being charged, and Odin exhaled as he relaxed.

Wyvern blinked in wide-eyed shock. "He's…really…that strong!"

Odin grinned gently and merely began to crack his neck. "I have not evoked my true power in ages…fearful that I would inadvertantly destroy my brothers and sisters. But no longer. Now I get to relish this combat at maximum."

Lich hesitated for a brief moment, but then grinned maliciously again. "It doesn't matter how strong you become. The Four Fiends will always be overwhelmingly stronger. I'll spread you just like I did your puny little brothers, whether or not you have some pathetic sword."

Kary, however, reared up and snapped at the Earth Fiend. "Use your brain, you fool! His power is almost equal to yours now!"

Lich turned his head slightly to Kary and uttered a "huh"…which was all the opening that Odin was looking for. The powerful esper shot forward in a flash, three times as fast as Bahamut or Wyvern had, and started off by giving the Earth Fiend the back of his hand in the opposite direction. Instantly, Lich's head snapped around wildly as his cheek turned red, his eyes frozen in shock. Odin didn't let up, quickly smashing his fist three more times into Lich's gut, causing the Fiend of Earth to double over. With his head now perfect, Odin swung his sword right at his face, slashing the tissue and mesentaries that connected one side of his jaw to his face. Lich's eyes froze in shock again, before Odin nimbly jumped into the air and kicked a foot straight up, catching Lich right in the chin. The huge Earth Fiend staggered back as another red mark appeared across his face.

"Unbelievable…" Bahamut uttered in amazement.

Lich, however, quickly recovered, and soon began to turn purple again. He reached up to his face, and felt his disconnected jaw. Immediately, he fumed as blood poured out of the wound. "YOU WEAKLING!" He drooled and screamed at once, then shot forward and began his warpath attack. Odin remained cool and controlled the entire time, and nimbly dodged Lich's first fist. The creature swung at him again, but he stepped back, and then to the side to avoid Lich's next blow. He swiped his other fist in a backhand, but missed again. Odin took the chance to slash his arm with the Zantetsuken.

"UGH!" Lich screamed in rage. He crouched and lunged with super speed at Odin. The warrior esper quickly dropped to his legs, and rolled out of the way. The moment he got up, Lich swung his fists at him again, going twice as fast this time. But Odin nimbly darted his head to the side, tucked his stomach in, and all together frustrated every attempt of Lich to hit him. After vainly trying to strike him with both fists at once, Odin ducked inward and smashed his horned helmet right into Lich's skull, causing him to stagger back as blood shot out from the wound. His one good eye looked disorientated.

"Rule number two." Odin calmly stated. "It doesn't matter how strong you are, if you don't know how to fight. You should practice more."

Lich, of course, was even more enraged by this. He charged at Odin again, who simply leapt into the air and brought down both heels on the back of the Earth Fiend's neck. The creature cried out and fell to the ground, and Odin leapt off his body to deliver an axe-kick into the small of the sprawled-out monster's back. Lich screamed in anguish, and quickly leapt back to his feet. He swung again at Odin, who merely leapt over him with a nimble mid-air somersault, landed on the creature's other side, and then sliced open his back with his sword. Lich screamed in anguish, and tried to backhand him, only to have Odin nimbly duck and then smash his own fist into the creature's face. Lich scowled and swung his huge fist at Odin's head. Odin caught the blow with his arm, twisted in order to hold Lich for a moment, then with his other fist, not holding the sword, beat Lich three times in the stomach before smashing him in the face with an iron palm so hard that the thing's nose was instantly broken, and it went flying backward and to the ground. Odin merely straightened himself and cracked his neck, not even sweating.

"That's impossible!" Wyvern called out. "How…how…how could he…"

Lich, however, was far from beaten. He rolled back to a seated position, and held out his hand at Odin. "Terra-ject!"

Odin's eyes widened for a moment, but his other senses were in full effect. He felt the ground beneath his feet, heard it begin to crack, and at just the right moment ducked out of the way. The stone column narrowly missed him. However, another erupted in his new location soon after, and Odin had to dodge that one as well just barely. Another one erupted at his latest spot, forcing him to dodge again. Frowning, he changed tactics and began a series of somersault jumps forward, toward the hapless Lich. Lich's eye widened, and he tried to hit Odin even harder than before. But the esper was too strong and fast, and continued to somersault forward, dodging each and every column out of the ground while always getting closer. At last, Odin was right on top of him. He brought his sword down again, and sliced open the flesh between two of Lich's fingers. The Earth Fiend cried out in agony, and furiously rose to his feet.

Odin was already on him. Immediately, he slashed a Z into the front of Lich's flesh before he could even react. Lich roared out again, but was quickly silenced when Odin smashed his fist full force right into the monster's face. The Earth Fiend staggered back and fell to the ground once again.

"Amazing…" Bahamut murmured.

"He did it…" Wyvern added.

However, Bahamut's spirits soon sank again. Mad as a hornet, Lich shot up to his feet again, glaring evilly and in insane anger at his opponent. Odin had yet to have a single mark on him, and looked like he could give much more. Bahamut began to worry at this. Odin was doing well enough right now, but Lich, while his injuries were stacking up, hadn't slowed down at all. He was only getting madder. The Earth Fiend, while he thought this, reached into his mouth, grabbed one of many bloody teeth, and then ripped it out, having been knocked loose by Odin. If possible, the creature grew angrier, and put the tooth into his fist and crushed it.

Odin stared coldly at him for a moment, but then turned his head toward Kary, snorting at Lich as if he was a waste of his time. This only made the Earth Fiend more vehement and enraged. "Your little friend is pathetic." He sneered at Kary. "Tell him to stand down before I get bored and decide to take off his head with my next blow."

Lich fumed. He was covered with blood, but just as enraged as ever. "You son of a bitch!" He hissed. "You damned imbecile! I'll rip you to pieces! I'm not finished with you!"

"I wasn't addressing you, skull-head." Odin snorted in reply. "At least, that's what it's really starting to look like."

Lich's skin crawled with rage.

Kary glared at Odin for a few moments longer. But then, she smiled wickedly. She held up a single hand, and instantly a ball of fire materialized in it. It quickly began to grow, however, feeding on nothingness and getting larger and larger. Bahamut and Wyvern both saw this, and the former gaped in fear. He felt a tremendous amount of power in that ball…stronger than even Odin had mustered. It grew bigger and brighter yet, and Bahamut began to realize that if Odin was hit by that ball it would destroy him instantaneously, reducing him to so much ash as the other people in the village had been reduced too. However, Kary only laughed in her wicked voice slightly, and held the ball as it grew larger and larger, finally stopping at about half of her size.

"I don't waste my time playing with chaff." Kary smoothly answered. "I incinerate it." Then, with her horrible vivid eyes blazing madness and evil, she yanked her hand back and then threw the ball straight at Odin with all her might. "Macro-pyrobol!" She screamed at him as she did so.

Odin merely grit his teeth and planted both of his feet harder than before on the ground. He crossed his blade in front of him and held on tight. In his mind, Bahamut screamed for Odin to run, knowing that he would never survive that attack. He simply didn't have the power. However, Odin did not run. He glared at it and watched it approach, never budging an inch. The deadly orb of energy drew nearer and nearer, and the heat began to make Odin sweat, but he wouldn't move. At last, Odin opened his mouth and bellowed a war cry. As he did so, he brought his sword behind his head, held for a moment, and then slashed down on the fireball as hard as he could. For a moment, both froze, the attack of Kary as well as the sword in Odin's grasp. Neither of them gave way to anything. Odin grit his teeth and straight, and the ball continued to burn.

But then, Odin's muscles bulged and he pushed himself to the maximum power. When he did, the sword finally won out. Zantetsuken slashed right through the ball, and both halves of it went flying into the air in either directions. Bahamut and Wyvern watched as they glowing halves danced through the sky for a short while, but then began to arch down back toward the trees again. Both of them soon vanished within them, and a moment later a huge eruption of flame came from both of them. The wind whipped around both Wyvern and Bahamut, as well as the other three in the area, from the sheer force of the blast. A massive tower of flame and smoke arose from each place. Odin, sweating now, inhaled deeply and exhaled. Then, he calmly rose again, and sheathed his sword. He merely frowned at the both of the Fiends.

Kary now had a look of shock across her face, her hand still frozen in the attack she had thrown. "You…you cut…my Macro-pyrobol…in half…"

Odin snorted. "You two are boring me. I quit."

With that, Odin merely turned around and walked toward the nearest esper, Bahamut. Once he reached him, he easily bent over, picked him up, somewhat roughly, and began to carry him over to Slepnir. The horse had waited patiently the whole time. Bahamut, however, was overwhelmed at what Odin had done. He had thought that the esper would never have survived that attack, but he merely sliced it in two. He continued to stare in shock as he was placed across Slepnir's back. After that, he turned and began to walk over to Wyvern.

Lich hissed at him. "Where do you think you're going!"

"I'm leaving." Odin merely answered. "This is far too easy. I want a better challenge…say, all Four Fiends at once."

Kary bristled and scowled, forgetting her shock and turning to rage. "You fool! No one beats the Four Fiends! And our leader would never waste five seconds on you, which would be about how long you'd live!"

"If you're any indication of his strength, I'm not worried." Odin calmly answered. He picked the stunned Wyvern up, and began to carry him back to Slepnir as well. "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you two one year to get in shape. Then I'll come back and face off against all Four Fiends. Maybe then you'll be able to land a blow on me."

Lich sneered in rage. "How dare you make demands of the Four Fiends!"

"Have you any idea to whom you're speaking too!" Kary bellowed.

Odin wasn't impressed, and placed Wyvern on Slepnir as well. After that, he went over and calmly picked up his cape as well. "Two people who will be dead in one year unless you do better. That is…unless you'd like to try and destroy me now. Maybe both of you together would have more luck than just one." Odin spoke this last part with a confident smile.

Kary and Lich both fumed and seethed with rage, but neither of them, in the end, made a slight move against Odin. He even waited for them for a short period of silence. Seeing their lack of a response, Odin smiled wider as he fastened his cape around his neck.

"I thought so. One year it is then." He confidently uttered. After doing so, he extended himself over Slepnir, and prepared to spur him off. "Oh, and by the way." He coldly uttered. "If you plan on destroying any more humans, you better not send mental images to Palad again…unless you'd like to die before the year has elapsed. I won't tolerate your misbehavior again." With that said, Odin merely turned Slepnir around and gave him a kick. The horse whined, and then suddenly crouched and leapt into the sky. To the shock of both Bahamut and Wyvern, the horse was soon traveling faster than both of them as it soared into the heavens and left both of the fiends behind in the clearing and waste pile that had been the human village.

For a few short moments, both Bahamut and Wyvern lay still on Slepnir. Once the horse had soared high into the sky, it began to run on nothingness. It rushed forward on all six hooves, but wasn't touching anything. What more, he was going a lot faster than either of them could fly. At this rate, they'd be out in even shorter amounts of minutes. It made sense on how Odin had so quickly reached them now. Yet both of them still lay silent, in total awe of Odin's performance. At last, Odin was the one to coldly speak to the both of them.

"I thought I told you that I come with you for now on."

Bahamut and Wyvern were awake at that, and both of them stared at the dark esper. Wyvern seemed a bit more regretful, as he had done so badly against Lich. However, Bahamut was far more amazed. "Odin…that was incredible! You never… How come you never told… Why did… That was amazing! That was overwhelming! That was-"

"A bluff."

Bahamut instantly stopped his praise. "Excuse me?"

"A bluff. The biggest one I've ever done." Odin coldly answered.

Both espers were surprised at this. They looked to each other in confusion, and then looked back to Odin. "What are you talking about?" Wyvern spoke out loud. "You had Lich totally on the ropes. You got rid of Kary's attack like it was nothing…"

"Lich was a fool." Odin sneered. "The entire time he was stronger than me. If he would have used what was left of his brain he would have mopped the floor with me. Don't you remember what I said? It's not the power, but the skill that goes behind it. Every time I hit him it felt like I was punching rock…" Odin groaned after that, sighing the whole time. "I was reckless too. I thought I could beat him easily. I thought I would have been able to kill him with one blow. But each time, I had to hit him as hard as I could just to get him to feel it."

"What?" Bahamut spoke in amazement. "Then why didn't you cut his head off?"

Odin grit his teeth. "You idiot! I was trying to do that the whole time!"

Bahamut and Wyvern gaped at once at that remark.

"You think I was trying to play games with that hulk? I didn't strike a single blow that entire battle that wasn't meant to be fatal! He was too fast and strong the whole time! I could have cut a rock in half with the type of blow I needed to slice partially into his jaw! I told you I was bluffing. I had to make it look like I was having an easy time with him. I learned early in the battle that I'd never win."

"But…but Kary's attack…"

Odin grunted. "It took me everything I had. My arms felt like they were on fire the whole time, and that attack effectively drained me of any power I had left to fight. If I had tried any other weapon I would have been incinerated when it broke in half. As for Lich's attack…if he had been trying not to wildly hit me he would have done some serious damage, if not ripped my head clean off of my shoulders."

The two espers were overwhelmed. That entire time, they thought that Odin had been entirely in control of the fight. In reality he had been anything but. His abilty to adapt and go with the attacks was the only thing that had managed to spare him. In reality, Odin had been not much better off than they had been. He was definitely stronger, but the two fiends were far superior. That had just been a desperate ploy the whole while. And remarkably, it had worked. Lich and Kary hadn't dared try to stop him from leaving. However, a trick like that wouldn't work a second time. Bahamut began to realize just how lucky they were. Just like in their first battle with Lich, they had escaped by virtue of luck.

"So…what now?"

"We do what you said." Odin answered. "We start training for this battle. I got this year for us, not them. We train like mad for one year, then we take out the Four Fiends. Correct me if I'm wrong…did you say that Griever is at least ten times as strong as you two?"

"That's what Jadea said." Bahamut answered.

Odin snorted. "Then let's try not to mess with him. Already…I'm regretting not asking for ten years."

Bahamut and Wyvern were beaten and stunned, but at the same time realized that they would have to be up and at them if they wanted to look like they hadn't run off somewhere or that nothing had happened. So, with a great deal of strength, both of them managed to get off of Slepnir and begin to fly on their own again. Fortunately they were strong enough now to be able to fly. However, as they flew onward, alongside Slepnir, Bahamut turned his head to Odin. Out of all the espers, he knew the least about him, and he seemed the most cold and impersonal one by far. However, he did look at him none the less, and finally spoke to him.

"Odin…? Did you mean…all that you said…about how you had devoted yourself to the human race?"

Odin coldly looked forward, not saying anything. However, his face did turn mildly red. That was all that Bahamut needed to know. Amazing…how much that one single human had changed all of them…not to mention the huge mess that he had gotten them all involved in. Still, if one human could do something to unlock the heart of the steely armored man who was their darkest relative, then he was worth protecting in Bahamut's eyes. With a smile, he turned away from Odin and looked back to how they were flying. The hole was just ahead.

"You get back by moving right up through there, right?" Odin asked.

"That's correct." Bahamut answered.

Immediately, he and Wyvern took off for the hole up above. Odin hesitated below, and watched them. When he went down last time, he had descended into blackness and darkness. Now he wanted to see what it was like for someone else to go in. He watched both of the espers shoot into the sky, and both of them soon entered the funnel of clouds. They went up and up, into the darkness at the top of the portal. Once they reached it, they quickly faded out and vanished. Odin sighed for a moment, watching them go. No answers there. But still…why was there a portal at all? And how did the Four Fiends know they were espers…when they only learned who the Four Fiends were earlier that morning? Odin didn't know, but he had a feeling there was still more to this world that met the eye. The death of Jadea might have made those secrets lost forever, unless what Bahamut had said came true…unless they found them out for themselves. Odin groaned a little bit, and at last decided that he had spent enough wasted time waiting for another Fiend to pop out and engage him. He spurred his horse.

"Come on, Slepnir. Up the hole."

The horse whined slightly, but then did as it was told. Odin soon found himself also heading into the column of clouds. He rode up them for a moment, before he emerged into the black zone. Feeling the wind rush against him, he continued to ride up it. Still, he mused, it had been interesting to finally be in battle. Of course, all the blows that he expected would kill opponents merely infuriated his own. That would be helped soon, with any luck. He'd get to work right away with Bahamut on awakening his own powers. Also…fear seemed to be a powerful element in battle. So did his sword, the Zantetsuken. Suppose there was a way to have one utilize the power of the other? The idea did have merit… Odin would have to ask Bahamut, and he thought of doing so as he exited the blackness and entered into the column of clouds. The opening was just ahead…

Suddenly, Odin yanked on the reins and pulled Slepnir to a halt. The horse, thankfully, did not whine, but came to a stop. Odin stopped making the slightest noise, and froze hovering in that air tunnel. There was something going on outside. Despite all of his daydreaming, he had noticed it just as he had been seconds from exiting. It was a female voice…strong…powerful…the undeniable tone of Crusader. And right now…it sounded infuriated. Odin groaned inwardly. He had forgotten that she was supposed to be coming back. Obviously…so had Bahamut and Wyvern. They had walked right into her. The esper swallowed, and waited in the tunnel as he heard the noise.

"You stupid, stupid children!" Crusader screamed in a voice that shook the air around Odin. "I warned you! I've warned you since the day you were born! You could do anything you wanted in here… Have anything you wanted! And you only had to stay away from this one hole! But you couldn't even do that, could you? You worried me half to death, you little ingrates! You could have been killed! I tried talking to you before about this…but maybe this will help you to remember better!"

At that, Odin began to hear the sounds of blows. As he did, he heard both Bahamut and Wyvern cry out in pain. Odin's eyes gaped in astonishment. Crusader…actually hitting them? She had never hit them before in their entire lives… Though once again, Odin couldn't blame her. Odin would strike his own children if they put themselves in the kind of danger that the two of them had been in, especially with that monster called Griever below, or even things like Kary and Lich, who ate and burned all that came in their path. Still…he had never heard of Crusader losing control like this. Both of them were struck repeatedly, from what he heard, and finally Crusader shouted at them again.

"Don't you dare look at me like that! I warned you! This is what you get for breaking the rules! You're lucky you didn't get worse down there! Now get over here! Right now!"

Both Bahamut and Wyvern suddenly cried out in pain again. Both of their cries were lingering, as Odin heard Crusader continue to mutter about them both being ungrateful and worrying her half to death. For a moment…an idea occurred to Odin. Why not get the help of Crusader? However, he shut that idea down quickly. That would mean telling her what they knew about the world below. Besides, if Crusader knew about Griever and didn't want them going down there, then there was the chance…that Griever was even stronger than their matron. Odin feared that possibility…for he never honestly pictured himself being stronger than Crusader. But for now, he merely listened as the people drew away. Bahamut and Wyvern's crying out formed a perfect reference point for him to tell when they were out of range. Once they suddenly went much more quiet, Odin realized that he was in the clear. He whispered to Slepnir to move, and the horse obeyed.

Moving much slower now, Odin made his way out of the vortex and back onto the cool rock surface of the crater. He began to lead Slepnir toward the mountain range, being quiet as he did so and not risking the slightest bit of detection. However…he was disturbed at what he saw. Small amounts of blood were splashed on the rocks where he was pretty sure Bahamut and Wyvern had been before. He swallowed, and began to realize just how serious Crusader was about them not breaking the one rule. He moved even slower after that up the sheer cliffs. Luckily, Slepnir could scale anything, and easily made his way back up the rock wall. It took some time, but at length he finally reached the top. Once there, he dismounted, and inched precariously up the ridge toward the top, so that just his eyes could poke out and look to see what had gone on outside during the interim.

The moment his large ears cleared the side, he could hear again. Crusader was still speaking harshly. However, he saw her at a strange place…Bahamut and Wyvern's cliff. Even from this distance, he could see that something wasn't right… The cliff had been moved. His eyes managed to spot just one small little hole underneath it, that Crusader was yelling down through. Then, after she had finished, she reached over and grabbed the cliff…and to Odin's shock dragged it back over the top of the hole, until it was in its previous position once again. Odin was overwhelmed. No one had the power to move anything of that size…did they?

Crusader, however, softened the moment that she had covered the hole. As Odin looked closer, he saw that the other espers were nearby. Leviathan and Ogopogo both looked shocked at their nanny, and recoiled from her uneasily in their fear. Phoenix wept from the top of a higher rock hill, and Starlet likewise had collapsed into a ball and was crying. When Crusader turned to them, her face instantly filled with regret and remorse. She too grew very sad. She said something to them, but Leviathan and Ogopogo merely retreated from her in fear when she approached. Only Starlet stayed, and she hugged her tenderly. Then, he began to see Crusader crying as well, and very soon it was Starlet who was supporting her, not the other way around, as Crusader broke down and quivered in her grasp. Odin wasn't that good at reading lips, but he could soon see that Crusader was mouthing out something like, "I'm so sorry" and "I had to do it". It was then that Odin began to realize what she had done.

The esper bent back under the ridge and looked in shock out at the sky. She had actually done it… No one had ever been punished that greatly by Crusader before, but they had this time. That hole…Bahamut and Wyvern had to have been thrown down that hole. That was their punishment…to be stuck in that dark, deep place for who knew how long. Odin was amazed. He never thought that Crusader would have gone so far. Crusader, apparently, never thought it either… But that's what she had done, and that was the punishment.

Odin held back for quite a while. He didn't want to risk being seen. However, he did manage to adjust better to the sound coming from Crusader and the others. Mostly, it was Crusader and Starlet. Both of them were rather distraught. Once or twice, Crusader asked Starlet if she thought she was a good mother. She said that she loved them all so much…so much that she went mad with fear whenever she saw them going down to that evil place. She had broken when she saw Bahamut and Wyvern come back, beaten up as they were, having nearly been killed. She told them all at last what she had told Bahamut and Wyvern about how dangerous the place was, and begged them never to go down. Phoenix and Starlet were all that would really listen to her. Leviathan and Ogopogo retreated in fear, and every time Crusader looked at them she began to cry again. At last, she turned and left after about two hours, disappearing once again into the clouds that surrounded Ultima Nexus.

Only then did Odin finally sigh in relief and walk over the hill. Slepnir followed close behind. Once he was close enough, the esper mounted him and spurred him toward the others. However, he made one stop as he did so, back at his cave. He called for Palad to come out, who did so at once. After placing him on Slepnir as well, he rode over to the other espers. They looked up to see him as he came back, and Starlet readily got up and rushed to him. So did Leviathan and Ogopogo. He pulled his horse to a stop, and then both he and Palad got off.

"Odin! Thank goodness she didn't see you!" Leviathan exclaimed.

"Mother's gone mad!" Ogopogo cried as well.

Starlet wheeled viciously around to them. "Don't you dare ever say that in front of me again!" She hissed at them. Even as she did so, her eyes began to well with tears. She turned back to Odin and looked sad and distraught all over again. Holding her head down, she slowly related what had happened. "Crusader was mad…very mad…when she saw Bahamut and Wyvern come out of the portal… I barely recog-" Starlet cut herself off there, inhaled deeply, and then went on. "She hit them…then she pushed aside that cliff…" She pointed over to the cliff Odin had seen before. "There was a hole under it…and she dropped them both in it. She screamed at them as being ungrateful…and said she wouldn't let them out for six months. Then she covered it up…and she cried… She begged us all to forgive her…she became hysterical… She said she was a terrible mother…and that all of her children hated her… I tried to stop her from crying…" Starlet trailed off here, her own eyes turning misty again. She lowered her head and cupped it in her hands, and said no more.

A swoop of air rustled down, and moments later Phoenix came to rest on the ground. "She…she was just trying to do what was best…" She slowly spoke.

Palad, however, who knew nothing of Crusader, but only of his two friends, looked distressed and even upset for a moment. However, he then turned back up to Odin. "What about my family?" He asked. "The village? Is it alright?"

Odin paused for a moment, and looked down to the boy. Odin wasn't much for covering up the truth. Honesty, in his opinion, was best, especially when dealing with death. However…when he saw Palad's small little face looking up to him, that look of innocence in his eyes, he couldn't bear the burden of being blunt so easily. He inhaled a little, and then swallowed. At last, he bowed his own head. "I'm sorry, Palad." He stated.

Palad hesitated a moment, his own mouth opening. But then, his own eyes watered, and he turned away. Readily, Phoenix opened up her wings and wrapped him in her fire-colored feathers, letting him cry against the body of the massive bird. Both Leviathan and Ogopogo looked around in a bit of confusion to all of this. All they really knew, from the looks of it, that something bad had happened to Palad, Bahamut, Wyvern, and everyone else in just the span of a few hours, and they barely understood any of it. At length, Leviathan shook his head, and looked over to the cold Odin. "What happened? What the heck went on this morning?"

Odin turned his eyes upward and glared coldly at him. "Much."

An hour later, all of the espers looked equally distressed. Palad, thankfully, was still tired from last night, and cried himself to sleep against Phoenix's bosom. Phoenix felt like crying too, for the poor child's family and everyone else on the world below. Odin told them all everything that Bahamut and Wyvern had told him. About how they had returned…about how they had met Jadea…about how he had told the truth about the world below and about the espers' own hidden powers…about the Four Fiends and what they did to their victims…and at last about the failed attempt to stop two of them from massacring a village. All of the details, which Odin did not spare, mortified the lot of them. All of them stared with shock, horror, and disgust at all that had gone on. And now, they were quite overwhelmed.

"Horrible monsters…" Leviathan mused.

"No wonder Crusader wants us to stay back." Ogopogo swallowed. "Let's never go there again."

Odin frowned at this. "Have you not listened to a word I said? We have to stop these monsters."

"In one year?" Leviathan spoke in amazement. "Odin, you've been training your whole life and you couldn't beat them. Bahamut's been training his mind his whole life and couldn't beat them. Heck, he didn't even know what he could do until he went into that trance he told you about. I've been training my own mind like mad for two years and I'll tell you right off the bat that I'm barely any better for doing so."

"Palad's here. He'll be safe forever as long as he's here." Ogopogo added. "No one he knows is left back there. Let's just stay here from now on."

Odin merely frowned. "There are many Palads in the dark world, and all of them are at the mercy of Griever and the Four Fiends. There's no telling how many children just like Palad that monster Lich has devoured, or how many more were burned alive by Kary. This has to stop, once and for all. And Jadea was right. We're the only ones who can."

Starlet turned her head slowly toward Palad. She still saw the tears stained on his cheeks, and saw how miserably he had gone to sleep. When she did, a passion burned in her own eyes. "To think that not only people are being made to feel the pain that he feels by the hundreds…" She muttered darkly. "But are actually made to think that they're blessed for it. I'll stop that monster myself if I have to. I'm definitely going to help."

"And I will too." Phoenix announced as well. "I'll never have him cry himself to sleep against me again."

"Now both of you hold on a moment." Leviathan suddenly stated. "Think about what you're saying. This isn't some game, you know. This is serious. You saw how wild Crusader went at the thought of us going down there."

Starlet scowled at him. "Funny. You seemed to think she merely went mad before." She darkly spoke.

"Don't care about anyone who doesn't have gills, Leviathan?" Phoenix harshly added. "You always seemed to like Palad the least."

Leviathan wheeled angrily to Phoenix. "That's not fair! You know I care about him! But I care about us too! And I care about my own skin! And what good would it do Palad, the humans, or any of us if we went down there and got ourselves killed?"

"It'd be suicide." Ogopogo spoke up. "At least the humans are alive down there when they obey Griever…"

Odin sneered at him. "Worthless eel…I'd sooner die than live a day like they do."

"Would you really?" Leviathan asked challengingly. "Would any of us really want to kill ourselves over a bunch of people who truly don't matter to us? What good or evil have they ever done anyone? Can you really make a choice about them based simply on the fact that we find one stimulating as a pet? Is this just some crusade to save a bunch of creatures we find amusing? And are we all ready to kill ourselves over something so trivial?"

The other espers hesitated a moment after hearing that. Leviathan had certainly laid it out straight and clean for them, of what this came down to. The humans weren't espers…and deep down inside the only reason they ever took a liking to them was because Bahamut and Wyvern basically brought one home with them. Other than for that…they would have never really cared for them or found any use for them. However, it was Odin at last who spoke up again, straight and cold as ever.

"You ask if I'd rather die. My response is definitely yes." He coldly stated. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been wasting my life up here. While we've been living in comfort and warmth an entire race has been oppressed below. And what good will there be to just stay up here? To live forever in peace…and for what? We never do anything. We have no ambitions, no goals, no nothing. And while we live on, stay fat and healthy, and enjoy all the best things of life, the people down there will continue to suffer and die, all for the sake of being able to suffer and die further. Palad was actually terrified to come up here…to actually be well fed…to actually be warm…to actually not be sick or in pain or weak for one day of his life. He was afraid of that!

"I will never be able to rest again, after seeing what I did today, if the thought rests in my mind that I will do nothing about it. Yes, I am prepared to die. Because then my life has purpose. Then I can at least say that I tried to stop this evil from happening and didn't turn away. People are dying and suffering terribly down there. People who think and feel just like we do. And I am going to train to defend them. If I have to do it alone then so be it. But in one year's time, I am going to go down there and put an end to the Four Fiends and Griever once and for all. And if any of the rest of you want to just turn away and forget this whole thing ever happened, then do it now…and never show your face in front of me again."

The espers sat still for a short moment, unable to say anything. The power of Odin's bold words sank into them. But in the end, Starlet and Phoenix merely raised their heads and looked more determined than ever. Their own eyes shone with his power. After that, they looked to their two brothers. Leviathan, now ashamed, kept his head bowed for a few short moments. But then, he sighed, and gave a short nod. Ogopogo swallowed a bit, and quivered, but when he saw that his brother had said yes, he too ruefully nodded as well.

"Alright then." Odin flatly stated. "Together."

Hmm. Kind of makes it look like I've changed this fanfiction to, "The Story of Odin", doesn't it?

To be continued...