"Looks like one's already gone…" Wyvern remarked, staring down at the remains of Kary. "Oh well, there's still plenty left." He confidently added. "Which one of you will be first? Or all of you together?"

Tiamat staredexpressionlessly at Wyvern and his arrival.In then end, however, he raised an eyebrow, and then released Odin, letting the nearly drained esper fall to the ground once again. ButOdin had managed to recover a bit from the pain, and was now able to keep his head orientated in the right direction when he landed. He too was focused on Wyvern. To be honest, he was amazed to see his current status. Odin was the warrior esper. He wasn't as in tune with the Planet as the others, but his battle techniques had been clear as day in his mind ever since he was born. As the warrior esper, he thought that he was always destined to be the strongest. That was why he was fearful even if Bahamut and Wyvern arrived. But now, unless he was deceived, he believed that Wyvern's own power was higher than his maximum with his Zantetsuken.

Unfortunately…he still doubted it would be enough.

"Hey, Tiamat!"

Odin, though not addressed, turned his head to this, along with everyone else. They soon found themselves looking at Lich Z. The Earth Fiend himself was pointing back to the muddy patch of ground where the others had been buried alive. However, it was changing now. The crust of the soil was slowly pushing back, and something beneath it was coming out. Odin's own breath caught. It wasn't possible…but could it be?

A wave of relief came over him when he realized it was. The snouts of Leviathan and Ogopogo suddenly broke through the dirt, and wriggled out. As they pulled their dusty bodies, however, they also were coiled around things and pulled them out as well. They were the battered, dirt-covered bodies of Starlet and Phoenix. Both looked dead, but Odin heard them gasp for air as they broke through the surface. At once, it made sense to the warrior esper. Of course. Leviathan and Ogopogo could both stay submerged for hours on end, and their bodies were one giant rope muscle to propell themselves through surfaces. The two espers had just saved the group, however shortly…

Kraken snorted at them and chuckled. "No problem. It'll only take me a moment to bury them under twice as many tons of mud."

Tiamat frowned. "No wasting time with them this time. Just kill them outright. By now, Griever's probably wondering where we are."

"Uh, hello?" Wyvern suddenly announced. "Forget about me? You aren't killing anything else today or ever again. And by the way, after I've thrashed you into the ground, I'm going to go wipe the floor with your leader."

Tiamat turned back to Wyvern and snorted at him. "Well, this one's both foolish and ignorant. Griever is unstoppable. What more, he is the only one who can defeat me, so that makes me, for all purposes, unstoppable as well."

Wyvern merely grinned. "Heh. Not after today. I've attained a totally new level of strength. And since I've been training so much more than Bahamut has, I'd say that makes me the strongest in the world. But hey, you don't have to take my word for it."

Immediately, Wyvern dug his feet into the ground, flung out his wings, and began to summon his power.

"You can see for yourself the moment before you're destroyed!"

Wyvern opened his mouth. He didn't do a small Pyrin this time, but began to generate full strength for the biggest one he could muster. Accordingly, a fiery glow soon built up all around his mouth. A blazing, blinding fire came from his throat. All the air around him grew warm and rippled furiously, and the grass around him began to whip up and smolder from the power he was casting off. Tiamat raised an eyebrow again, but then simply turned and faced Wyvern, crossing his arms again. Wyvern's feet dug into the ground, struggling to contain the power. But still he put more into it, putting every last bit of strength he had. He thought about the agony that would be on Tiamat's face, and relished the thought of it. The Wind Fiend would never know what hit him.

At last, Wyvern opened his mouth wider and bellowed the attack. "Pyrin!"

Aconcentrated ball of fire ripped out of Wyvern's mouth, so powerfulthat the esper actually dragged his feet backwards a few feet from the recoil. His head snapped back violently. The ball had not changed size, but was now a blinding red and yellow. The light was dazzling and radiant, and a great cloud of fire and energy trailed off of it. The attack seared the ground around it, and both Lich Z and Kraken stared at it in surprise. But the orb wasn't for them, it was for Tiamat. And it bore straight at the Wind Fiend. In truth, the attack was slow. The Wind Fiend might have been able to dodge it. However, he didn't. He just waited for it to come. Wyvern recovered and watched his own attack.His gaze was earnestly fixed on Tiamat as he balled his claws into fists excitedly as he grinned. At last, the Pyrin was a moment from hitting the Wind Fiend…

Then,he smiled wide.

He uncrossed his arms, and with a simple backhand slapping motion, smacked the Pyrin away.

Odin, who had been watching this exchange, was shocked at how much power that Wyvern had managed to summon. Yet what he feared the most had happened now. The Pyrin was strong, but he saw as Wyvern continued to summon the strength he hit a wall once it matched his own power. Tiamat was unfortunately much stronger. The orb now cut a flaming arc through the air before striking the ground nearly half a mile away. Immediately, a gigantic explosion of fire resulted, and a shockwave of heat flooded over the area. Odin felt it too even from this distance. Pieces of dust rained down on all present, and closer to the explosion rocks and clods fell to the ground as well. A smoldering, blackened crater was left behind. The attack left even more damage than Kary's Macro-pyrobol had. But in the end, the only thing that was hurt was the ground. Tiamat hadn't even been phased by it.

All of Wyvern's excitement and revalry vanished in an instant. His grin and confidence were replaced by overwhelmed amazement. His jaw fell and he gaped at Tiamat, totally in disbelief that anything could exceed the power he had found. His arms fell limply to his sides in a gesture of defeat. "That's…impossible…" Wyvern spoke slowly. "That…that was my…strongest attack…"

Tiamat remained rock solid in his gesture, accentuating the moment of Wyvern's failure when he had so easily knocked the attack aside. But in the end, still smiling, he slowly lowered it. The back of his hand was smoking a little, but other than that Odin saw no damage at all. He blew on the end of it, and the smoke quickly cleared. "Impressive little trick." He acknowledged. "If I had let it hit me, I definitely would have gotten a little burn. But you seriously overestimated yourself and underestimated me. Like I was saying. For all purposes to you, I'm unstoppable. Invincible, even. And if you're the strongest esper, then I wasted my time coming here in the first place. We never had anything to fear from any of you."

Wyvern was aghast. Odin was cursing inwardly. He prayed to God that Wyvern had been too cocky, that Bahamut was indeed stronger. However, he doubted it. He couldn't fathom anyone else being that much stronger than him. The espers, he began to realize and fear, had reached their limit. But Wyvern couldn't move. The blow, Odin noticed, had fallen hardest on him. He looked totally unable to accept the fact that he was so much weaker…so minor compared to Tiamat…that all of his own increases were inconsequential. It seemed to rob him of the will to fight. Now, Lich Z and Kraken began to look to Wyvern menacingly, and began to grin and start their terrible chuckling and laughter again. Again their own cowardice vanished in the face of confidence and wickedness.

Odin desperately wished he had the power to communicate through minds. If he did, he would have told the others to run while they still had time, if they could. They may have dug themselves out only to die in a moment.

"I'd let Lich or Kraken finish you." Tiamat went on. "Lich has been talking of nothing but revenge against you and your brother for months. But your idiot brother is no doubt coming, so he can have him. As for you…" Tiamat grinned a bit wider. "I'd like to repay you for that little gesture by showing you a glimpse of my full power. You see…I have to be gentle with everything in this world. If I used my full strength I'd obliterate it before I even got close. You, however, seem to be capable of taking it."

With that, the Wind Fiend unfurled his wings, let loose his tail, and crouched a bit into a ready position. Wyvern merely continued to stare. After a moment, he trembled a little, and began to lean back, actually taking a step backward. Tiamat went on. "You're free to try and block this or dodge this, if you like. Why not try one of those silly Pyrin things again?"

Wyvern didn't move. He gaped and began to look a bit fearful.

"No?" Tiamat chided. "Fine. Here I come."

BAM

The ground rumbled from the impact of the blow. Odin blinked in shock, and then looked around to Wyvern. To him, Tiamat had suddenly vanished in a blur from his old position. If he had blinked he wouldn't even have seen the blur. But now, the Wind Fiend was on Wyvern, and his fist was imbedded in Wyvern's stomach. The esper was doubled over, and Odin could actually see a small bulge from the other side of his back. The esper wasn't groaning or breathing. His mouth was open, and it was evident that all wind had been knocked out of him.

Tiamat calmly smiled, and cooly drew himself back and up into a standing position. He calmly crossed his arms and relaxed once more. Wyvern remained in his hunched over position for a moment. Odin watched, and blood slowly began to dribble out of both sides of his mouth. Then, at last, the esper collapsed in a heap to the ground. He didn't even have the strength to clutch his middle in agony. His power had vanished completely in a fraction of a second, and the esper couldn't even move. Kraken gave out his hideous laugh again, and Lich Z soon joined in as well. They were all again the helpless laughingstock of the Fiends.

"I should thank you." Tiamat said. "That felt great, to actually have something last long enough for me to express my full power into it. I'd love to strike you again, but I know a second blow would kill you, assuming you aren't dead now or are going to be dead in the next few minutes." The Wind Fiend raised his head and looked to Lich Z, gesturing to Wyvern. "You can do what you like with him, Lich." He then turned his gaze. "As for you, Kraken, finish the others."

The thing grinned and dribbled slime again. "Gladly."

Lich Z gnashed his razor teeth. "My day has finally come."

Odin sighed and shut his own eyes. It was over now. He hoped somewhere that Bahamut would stay away, but even if he did he doubted he'd ever have the strength. Maybe he could get Crusader to help. That was their only chance now. For right now, they were dead…

Click.

Odin continued to look down in defeat for a moment, until he realized he had heard a noise. Something had just touched down. He looked up, and sure enough, the other Fiends were looking over to a new sight. At that, Odin's heart filled with dread. His luck was continuing to go bad. He knew he was here now. He had come, and Odin nearly cursed him. Couldn't he detect the enemy's power? Couldn't he see he had no chance? Couldn't he see how futile and useless it was at this point? He almost didn't want to turn his head to look at him. He couldn't bear to see another one of them die trying to save this world.

And yet, as he did look around, he began to sense his power…

There he stood. His wings were calmly folded. His eyes were stern and his features were cold. His own hands were in fists at his side, and he said nothing. He showed no confidence or fear. He showed nothing, nothing but his own resolve. His gaze burned firmly on Tiamat. He looked at nothing else. The Wind Fiend, on his part, looked back at him with his own arms crossed, and regarded him with nothing. The other fiends stared for a moment too. Lich Z, however, was gnashing his jaws together in anger now, and glaring evilly at him. His hate blazed in his vision, and he began to summon his own power to himself. But he never even looked at the Earth Fiend. The new esper focused entirely on Tiamat, as if his fight was with him and him alone.

Bahamut had arrived.

Tiamat continued to stare at him for a moment more. Bahamut said nothing to him, just glared at him coldly. In the end, the Wind Fiend cracked another smile. "I guess we will finish up today. Lich, kill him. I'm getting annoyed with his staring."

"Oh, way ahead of you, Tiamat…" The Earth Fiend hissed, malicious but no longer smiling. "I've been dreaming about you endlessly, trash. I've been thinking of nothing but slicing you to pieces. Now that I've transformed, there's nothing you can do to stop me." The thing hissed and continued to build its power. Red steam came from its eye sockets, and its bones seemed to grow bigger. It brandished its bone claw, and then, giving an inhuman roar, suddenly leapt into the air and lunged straight for Bahamut. It brought it's claw behind it, and prepared to give a mighty blow to the esper, a mortal blow.

"PREPARE TO-"

Bahamut, never looking away from Tiamat, turned his head in Lich Z's direction, and uttered a calm word. "Pyrin."

Instantly, a Pyrin bigger, hotter, brighter, and stronger than Wyvern's erupted from Bahamut's mouth. In an instant, the esper was lost in the blinding glare and heat for a moment before the attack went far enough away from him so he could be seen. To Odin's shock, as he watched this exchange, Bahamut hadn't moved an inch from the recoil of his attack. The burning ball shot right for Lich Z in mid-air, and the blinding sight soon turned him into a shadow. Before it even erupted, Odin felt the intense, burning heat from the attack. But then, the blast connected with the Fiend, and a tremendous fiery explosion erupted, twice as big as Wyvern's. Odin couldn't watch. The thermal heat and brightness was searing his eyes, and he had to close them. But he did hear the sound. Lich Z's war cry turned to agony as the violent flames engulfed him. The explosion immediately vaporized the monster's torso, but as his body parts flew aside from the blast, the flames quickly fragmented and licked up the rest of his bones. The Earth Fiend's rage turned to horror and agony. The flames in his eyes, dim compared to the rest of the fire, were swallowed up into nothingness and vanished forever, before his skull was likewise consumed.

The heat at last died down, and Odin was able to open his eyes. The other espers, save Wyvern, at this point, had enough of their bearings to watch the sight too. They all shared the same shock. Their mouths opened, and their eyes shrank in their sockets. Another smoldering black crater was in the ground now…the largest one by far. It was a good ten feet deep in the middle of it. But more importantly, there were a few fragments of black ash and dust falling down into the center of it. Odin saw and recognized immediately. That was all that was left of Lich. The rest of him had been totally vaporized.

The warrior esper was overwhelmed. He turned his head to Bahamut, and continued to stare in shock. The esper hadn't even strained himself. He didn't even look away from Tiamat the entire time. Where before he had given Lich everything he had, he had dispatched the improved Lich without even trying. Odin could feel Bahamut's new power clearly now. Much to his surprise, his previously thought limit had been totally blown away. Bahamut's own strength far surpassed Wyvern's. Perhaps, Odin wondered, he had found the level of Omniapex.

And yet, the warrior esper was still fearful…for he felt even more power coming from the remaining Fiends… But now, Tiamat at last looked genuinely astonished. His own jaw had loosened, and he gazed at Bahamut in disbelief. As for Kraken, he was that much more surprised.

"He…he just…he just…destroyed Lich…and he was supposed to be unkillable in his Z form!"

Tiamat stared a bit longer, but then frowned and looked to the Water Fiend. "Don't flatter him so much. I could have easily killed Lich in that form, irregardless if you would have had trouble."

Kraken didn't react. "You…you dare…" He addressed Bahamut. "Strike down…one of our kind?"

"Lich died for his crimes and immorality against the people of this world." Bahamut spoke up at last, his voice perfectly calm and controlled, and never looking away from Tiamat. "And you will too. Now step away from my brother."

Tiamat paused a moment, but then calmly grinned. "Oh ho…getting a little ahead of ourselves, I think. My compliments to you, to be sure. Your little esper kin down there," Here, he gestured to Odin. "Managed to off one of our kind too. Only he did it by using Kary's own fear against her. You actually used your own raw strength to annihilate Lich. As for your brother," Here, he gestured to his own feet. "He was overconfident enough to say he had surpassed you. I'm a bit surprised…and pleased…to report that he was wrong. You're much stronger than him. Still, Lich was weak to fire in his transformed state. And both myself and Kraken far surpass him. He was the weakest of our kind."

Kraken sneered. A hate built in his beady eyes for Bahamut. He raised his tentacles and began to crush and constrict them angrily. "You esper bastards… You're beginning to sicken me. I'll break every bone in your body before I kill you-"

"No, Kraken."

Odin and Kraken alike were surprised at this reply. Both of them turned and looked to Tiamat, who had just spoken. The Wind Fiend had suddenly looked happier, and seemed far more enthusiastic and excited. His grin had grown, and he held out a stopping gesture to the Water Fiend.

"You can finish off the others, but leave him to me." He instructed. "Not that I doubt your power or skill. Oh no, you could finish him…although it might take you a while. But I'd be a fool to blow this opportunity. It was wonderful being able to express my full power on his brother, even if for only an instant. It will be fantastic to actually be able to fight for a while at that level, with an opponent who has the strength to return my blows. I may never get another chance at this. And you, for that matter, may never get to see the full, unadulterated strength of the Fiend of Air."

Kraken paused a moment, but he wasn't about to dispute with his superior in strength and rank. After a moment, he simply grinned too. "Whatever you say, boss." With that, he turned to Bahamut and chortled at him. "Consider yourself either lucky or damned. Tiamat barely ever agrees to fight in our little dealings. I can only imagine the pain that awaits you."

Bahamut never looked away from Tiamat. He continued to coldly glare at the confident, evil face. Yet as Odin looked on, a clear voice was suddenly in his mind.

Odin.

The esper stiffened a bit on hearing that. "What?" He addressed aloud. Of course, no one else had heard anything. But he had clearly heard Bahamut's voice in his head. The esper, however, had never even looked away from Tiamat.

You and the others…try to stay alive for a few minutes. I can't handle both Kraken and Tiamat at once.

Odin blinked in disbelief for a few moments, but was even more shocked when he suddenly heard a new voice in his head.

Uh, Bahamut? We're kinda helpless at the moment. They've already beaten the life out of all of us.

Odin looked over to see the source of the noise he had heard. Soon, he focused on it, matching the voice to the body. Leviathan was laying in a pile with the others, but now his eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating as hard as he could. Bahamut's own eyes expanded a moment, but he kept his gaze on Tiamat.

Leviathan? You've learned telepathy as well?

It's not easy…and I can barely hear you…and I can't focus…but yes. What can we do?

Do whatever you can. Don't bother trying to fight Kraken…just use whatever power you have left to stay away from him. But don't run just yet. You guys have to keep him occupied. If he jumps in on this fight I'm doomed.

…Alright…I'll do what I can.

Odin pondered this latest turn. Well, someone else had surpassed him in another degree. It was a bit frustrating. However, he didn't focus on that right now. Instead, he tried to talk back. He wasn't sure if Bahamut could hear him simply thinking, so he simply said the words out loud.

"…They killed Palad."

I know. Now it's their turn.

Tiamat, oblivious to all of this, once again reared into his ready position. Kraken, on his part, grinned and chuckled, and turned to his victims. But Bahamut couldn't focus on them. He had to concentrate on the Wind Fiend. Immediately, he went into his own ready position, and prepared himself for a battle. He focused all of his energy on Tiamat, and readied himself for a furious assault. This was going to take everything he had. He couldn't afford any screwups. He had to fight smart or he'd be down in seconds. The two stared silently at each other for a moment, not doing anything.

Then, in a flash, Tiamat took off like a bolt once again. He was nothing but a blur, and for all of Bahamut's new speed and power, all the esper could do was stare blankly at the Fiend before he was on top of him. With one powerful clawed fist, the Wind Fiend slugged Bahamut right across the face. The blow was tremendous, and a terrible flash of pain went across Bahamut's cheek from a power he didn't think existed. But even as Tiamat hit him, he loosened his own body up to take the hit, not trying to resist it to maximize damage. As such, his body went flying backward, shooting over the ground. Tiamat laughed in delight, and shot after him just as quickly. He soon caught up with him, and interlaced both hands together to form a double-fisted gesture. He raised them over his head, and prepared to bring them down right on Bahamut's chest as he still was sailing through the air from the impact of the first blow.

But as Tiamat swung his fists down, Bahamut suddenly regained control and put on a bit more speed. He tucked up his body, and Tiamat's blow hit only air. The Wind Fiend looked genuinely shocked, and soon was more shocked that he had to duck a powerful mid-air counter-kick from Bahamut. This was amazing. He thought that Bahamut would have been stunned and all but helpless after taking one hit. He was wrong, evidently…and that excited him. Tiamat spun around after dodging Bahamut's hit, whipping his tail around to smack the esper in the side. But Bahamut quickly put on the speed again and shot high into the air, avoiding the blow. Tiamat's tail hit nothing, and he looked up to the esper.

The Fiend grinned, and bellowed confidently. "You can't escape me!" With that, the Wind Fiend put on his own speed, and soon shot up after Bahamut twice as quickly. The esper looked down, and now was also surprised at how fast Tiamat caught up with him. However, Tiamat felt even more relish when he launched a flying uppercut right under Bahamut's jaw, with all his speed and power behind it. The impact sounded like thunder, and as Bahamut's head went spinning back, he began to delight in thinking how much damage such a blow from his power had done.

He was definitely not expecting Bahamut to only be stunned for a fraction of a second, and then use the power from the hit to spin in a mid-air somersault and smash his tail under Tiamat's own jaw, with a blow much stronger than anything he ever expected from the esper.

Now, the Wind Fiend went flying back a few feet, while Bahamut remained in his attack position for a moment. Yet Tiamat soon stretched out his arms and righted himself, and then hovered in mid-air staring at Bahamut. Bahamut himself relaxed a bit. He breathed a little now, but his gaze remained fixed and cold on Tiamat. The Wind Fiend glared at him in surprise. Slowly, he raised a claw to his face and felt under his chin. He quickly winced from the pain. Bahamut's blow had actually dented one of his scales, and he felt a nasty bruise already forming underneath them. He was surprised a bit longer, but then returned to his own confident look and smiled.

"I never thought anything at all besides Griever could ever hurt me." He commented. "I could have let the rest of your kind attack me until they wore their own arms and legs down to bloody stumps, and still I would have felt nothing. Yet you alone managed to inflict pain on me with your first hit."

Bahamut said nothing in response, but now caught his breath and stopped breathing hard. Tiamat grinned.

"What a worthy opponent you are of seeing my pure strength!"

"Heh…alright. Who's first?"

Kraken began to slither over to the downed espers. Odin grit his teeth at him in fury. With renewed hope, now that the Fiends were down to half their starting number, Odin was struggling to get up to fight more. But the lightning had sapped his strength. He was barely managing to move his arms and neck to drag himself into a better viewing position. He needed more time. He looked over to Wyvern, but he was still motionless. For all he knew, Tiamat had killed him. As for the others, they were wriggling around like dying insects.

Kraken licked his slimy lips, and gazed over his victims. He came to a halt about twenty feet away and focused on Starlet. Starlet was still struggling to catch her breath from being buried alive, and she was only able to pitifully drag herself a little. Phoenix, nearby to her, lay motionless and still, also appearing rather dead. Starlet alone focused on Kraken, her eyes full of fear and desperation. He pointed a tentacle to her and Phoenix. "You two first." He sneered. "You're plump and juicy looking. The worms are too gritty and small."

The Water Fiend chuckled a little, but then opened his mouth wide again. He summoned his strength for a moment, but then bellowed out his frightful attack. "Aqua-ject!"

Immediately, a new blade of water ripped from his mouth, headed straight for Starlet and Phoenix. The lady esper stared in terror. She struggled to move more, but she couldn't. She would never dodge the blade, and it would slice her in two in no time. Odin gaped in fear, and for a moment it seemed like the end. But then, miraculously…something happened. Phoenix suddenly sprung back to life, and looked full of renewed vigor. The firebird spread her wings out, shot into the air, seized Starlet by the shoulders, and then dragged her back as fast as she could. Moments later, the blade of water harmlessly cut into the ground and dissipated.

Kraken frowned, and looked up to the esper. Odin did as well, and felt a pleasant wave of relief fly over him. Phoenix was hovering in mid-air now, holding Starlet under her. Of course, Odin realized. Phoenix had been beaten, but she hadn't actually been felled by Lich Z. She had exhausted herself trying to do that attack to him. And though she had taken her share of pain since then, she still was the least damaged relative to the rest of them. Unfortunately, Odin realized, she also was the weakest relative to the rest of them. Phoenix had tried hard, but her power had increased the least over the past months. She was just weak compared to the rest.

Kraken sneered at her. "Playin' possum, eh?" He chided. "Not like it'll do you any good. You only extended your lifespan a few seconds longer."

Phoenix didn't reply. Instead, she suddenly began to glow again. Starlet herself felt the heat around her increase, and she looked up to the firebird as her eyes blazed again. She realized she was summoning the attack from before again. Odin, still struggling to even drag himself over to the battle zone, grinned at the sight. She obviously learned how to do the attack again, and if she could injure Kraken like she had injured Lich Z, maybe they could hold the Water Fiend off yet.The esper threw her wings forward and announced her attack. "Pyrimshad!"

As before, a bird of fire sloughed itself off of Phoenix and shot straight for Kraken. It didn't appear to be any stronger than the last one, but it was still a good attack.Kraken stood his ground like all the other Fiends had, waiting for the attack to hit him. Odin grew a bit nervous at this, thinking he was planning some sort of counter attack. However, he was wrong. The Water Fiend merely let the flames come to him, and watched as the attack connected with his body…

Immediately, the attack fizzled and disappeared into a plume of smoke.

The espers watching all gaped. Odin was overwhelmed. He hadn't expected the attack to do much damage, but to simply vanish into nothingness… What was worse, Phoenix groaned after the move, and collapsed to the ground along with Starlet. She didn't look as drained this time, but the firebird still was holding herself up by her wings and panting hard. Starlet was in a heap nearby, barely able to get up. As for Kraken, he merely snickered.

"Heh. That kinda tickled."

"That attack…" Odin croaked from his own position. "It critically injured Lich… How did it do nothing to you?"

"Wanna know?" Kraken chided in response. "I'll tell ya'. Lich was weak against fire to begin with, but he was even weaker in his Z state. But as for me, my natural element is water. And I don't know how smart you little bugs are, but when's the last time you tried starting a fire on water? If that little bit is the best you can do, then I'm afraid you're toast."

Odin stiffened in fear. That attack probably was the best they could do. Everyone else was too weak to do anything else. Leviathan and Ogopogo were just starting to open their eyes and grow aware of their surroundings. Starlet was struggling to get in a crab position, but she still couldn't rise. Phoenix was too tired to move. Alone then, Odin scrambled to put his feet underneath him and push himself up. But as he spasmed to do it, his insides throbbed from the lightning strike, and he nearly collapsed all over again. Kraken chortled and opened his cavernous mouth again. Water raged and foamed deep in his black throat.

"Ain't got nuthin' else? In that case, let's pick up where we left off…me about to slice ya' into fish bait." He gaped wider, and began to bellow the words again. Odin clenched his fist in anger. There was nothing he could do. "Aqua-jec-"

Right as Kraken finished naming the attack, however, a shape shot up behind his head and gave him a powerful blow to the back of it. Kraken's mouth was immediately slammed shut as the top of his head was thrown down on top of the bottom. The black beady eyes gaped in surprise, and a moment later, dark purple blood splurted out from his mouth as the attack he was generating came forth anyway, cutting through his closed lips. Two horizontal cuts were made in his mouth, and the impact was great enough that the blade of water was knocked off target. The attack imbedded itself in the ground slightly to the left of Starlet and Phoenix. Odin noticed this, and he and an angry, bleeding Kraken quickly looked to who had done it.

The attacker was now on the ground, on its knees, barely supporting itself, and coughing up blood and who knew what else. Odin recognized it immediately as the fallen form of Wyvern. He must have recovered in the past few moments. However, it also seemed that any power he had recovered he had exhausted in that last move. He looked as pitiful as the rest of them now.

Kraken glared at him wickedly. "You guys are all just in a hurry to die, ain't ya'?"

Bahamut swung his own scaled fist at Tiamat's head, but the Wind Fiend quickly dodged and Bahamut hit only his blur. Instead, Tiamat bent over and brought his leg up, aiming for Bahamut's head. But the esper was just as speedy, and moved back as well to avoid the blow. Though they were in mid-air, Bahamut dropped a little and swung his legs in a sweeping motion at Tiamat's own. The Wind Fiend leapt over the blow, however, and spun around to bring his tail swinging toward Bahamut's own head. A great cutting sound went on the air as Bahamut dodged to the left, and Tiamat again his nothing. Bahamut spun around and aimed his own tail for Tiamat's side, but the Fiend did a mid-air flip to dodge it. As he came down, he stretched out his fist to bring it down heavy on Bahamut's head, and did so as quickly as he could to prevent the esper from dodging again.

However, Bahamut merely crossed one of his arms over him, and blocked the blow as it came down. The hit was powerful, but the esper still managed to stop it. Tiamat saw this and looked shocked, but not nearly so shocked as when Bahamut brought his other fist forward and smashed it into his face. The Wind Fiend's head snapped back violently from the blow, and his face looked agonized. But before Bahamut could even think about a follow up, Tiamat brought his blocked arm back with his other one, formed a double fist with them, spun around, and smashed both fists into Bahamut's own head. Now, it was the esper's turn to look agonized, and both his head and his body snapped back and went flying backwards through the air. Tiamat righted himself but took a breather, and watched the esper. He expected the esper to be a mile away before he could even move. However, Bahamut abruptly sprung to life, steadied himself, and halted his body in mid-air. Soon, he was flying in the sky again and holding, and he leveled his glare once again at the Wind Fiend.

Tiamat glared at him with a half frown for a moment. Blood trickled out of the Wind Fiend's nose, and his chin was swelling. His insides didn't feel too good either after getting pounded by another one of Bahamut's blows. But the esper wasn't doing that well either. His scaly lips were split and bleeding from both corners of the mouth. One of his eyes were black, and his own stomach was rather sore from Tiamat's beating. The esper was panting a bit, beginning to look short of breath. Tiamat was sweating a little, but other than that nothing. The Wind Fiend realized this, and smiled big at last.

"This fight is everything I hoped I would pit my full strength at and more." He announced in a pleased voice. "I'm actually feeling real pain from someone other than Griever. You're actually making me work to fight in this battle. I thank you for giving me a true challenge. You can't have any idea how disgusting it is to just stand in place to make your so-called opponents a joke, much less a real battle. You're worthy of my utmost skill and power.

"But now you have to realize what the outcome will inevitably be. Your base strength was lower to begin with, and now you're beginning to see a difference in our statuses. That divide will continue to grow until you are dead."

Bahamut continued to pant a little after hearing that. However, after a pause, he raised one of his own eyebrows. "You seem very confident." The esper commented. "I haven't even tried one of my special attacks yet."

Tiamat chuckled. "It doesn't matter. I'll let you in on a little secret, one your brother discovered too late. Your Pyrin attack can never be stronger than your basal power level. As long as you're weaker than the person you're fighting, it will never let you win no matter how much might you put into it. The same works for you. You're already weaker than me, so no Pyrin attack will save you."

To that, Bahamut merely smiled.

"Actually, I did recognize that drawback to the Pyrin. That's why I learned a new attack."

Now, it was Tiamat's turn to look surprised.

Bahamut immediately halted in mid-air, spreading his wings out. On doing so, he locked his neck and braced it, and then balled his hands into fists at his sides and tightened his position. He had to focus considerably to do this. He began to bring up the words locked inside his memory, and the attack that he had in mind began to come forward. It immediately burned stronger than the Pyrin. His throat was actually burning a little from the power of it. The light rays inside of hisbody began to pierce through, causing his neck to glow even as he focused. The air around him grew distinctly charged, and the sky seemed to grow a bit darker. Tiamat continued to pause and wait, but not with his normal amused expression. Instead, he fixated closely on the esper.

At last, Bahamut opened his mouth. His body tightened, and as a new blinding yellow light burst forth from his insides, small balls of light seemed to gather into his mouth. Very small balls, only specks, but still they gathered none the less. Bahamut's eyes began to blaze. The fire roared inside him as the air before him began to wave. His neck bulged slightly and the light continued to grow. Bahamut stiffened all over to hold the power. A burning sound began to be heard on the air, as if the attack was sucking air from all around to fuel it. Tiamat's eyes began to bulge, and somewhere inside them, the Fiend of Air seemed to get a light of recognition.

"It's…impossible…"

Bahamut was finally ready, and he snapped his head forward and announced his new and improved attack.

"Pyron!"

Immediately, not one, but many balls of highly concentrated fire energy erupted from Bahamut's mouth. The esper struggled to keep his head straight as one ball after another erupted from his open jaw. They came out like water from a geyser, erupted in huge masses one after another in an almost steady stream. But all of them were aimed straight for Tiamat. The Fiend of Air recoiled a bit, watching them roar at him, each ball packing considerable power, and holding a payload together that was no doubt impressive. Bahamut continued to breathe out the attack for a few seconds, before closing his mouth and watching the balls sail to their mark. At last, Tiamat threw his arms forward, and announced his counter. "Electro-volt!"

Bahamut recoiled a bit himself, bracing for impact. But the attack didn't come. Tiamat, rather smartly, wasn't trying to hit him, but detonate the Pyron early in front of him. Rather smart move, he realized. A bolt of electricity snaked out and connected with the first fireball. However, rather than making both explode, the fireball seemed to immediately envelop the bolt and surround it, turning the white-hot attack flaming red. Immediately, the other balls landed on the frozen electricity, sinking into it and filling it. Each ball seemed to penetrate the bolt and add to the bright red that surrounded it. The flames and energy grew brighter and brighter as each new one settled in. At last, all of them had attacked it. And the moment they did, as if each one of the balls was still there in its isolated form…each fireball exploded from within the bolt, setting off one giant explosion after another that culminated into one gigantic fiery explosion.

Despite being farther away, Tiamat had barely intercepted the Pyron. Now, he shielded himself with his wings as the attack detonated. A great ball of red-hot flame burned in the sky, destroying the blackness and bathing the whole area bright red. Explosions raged within the ball like gas burning on the sun, casting out great flaming tongues everywhere. What more, the blast seemed to cast off more balls of fire, and a few of the balls flew out from the impact into every direction. Most of them did nothing, but a few did sail in Tiamat's way and detonated into great fiery blasts against his wings. They weren't as big as the central Pyron blast, and they didn't seem to do more other than annoy Tiamat, but they still were no doubt painful and large.

At last, the blast dissipated and subsided. Tiamat slowly undid himself, and looked out to Bahamut in genuine amazement. Bahamut, a bit sweaty now, also relaxed, and stared coldly back at Tiamat. Even blocking the Pyron, it had been a powerful attack that had still gotten partially through. The sky still echoed with the blast, and everything seemed extra still and calm as it eased down, as if even microscopic bits of life had fled from it. Neither opponent said anything. They merely stared at each other. Bahamut, in particular, waited for signs of surrender or unease from Tiamat. The Fiend of Air did nothing, only continued to fly there for a few moments more.

Then, Tiamat's face suddenly turned into an expression of joy.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" He exclaimed, in a voice of dark happiness that made Bahamut uneasy, despite his resolve to look unaffected. "You continue to astound me! You're making yourself into a more interesting opponent all the time. In all honesty, I never dreamed that another one would be able to pull off the Pyron."

Bahamut raised an eyebrow to this…for Tiamat was talking as if he was familiar with the attack. Tiamat picked up on this immediately, and his face reverted into a wicked smile.

"Here…let me show you how a true Pyron is done."

To Bahamut's horror, Tiamat now spread his wings out and braced his body as well. Only he gave out a hideous cry as he did so, freely announcing the terrible words, and sounding altogether loathesome and wicked in doing so. Furthermore, his throat erupted into an even brighter burning glow in no time, and continued to do so as he kept focusing. His voice began to shatter the air as the power was gathered to him, and his own body began to stretch and strain far more under the power. The sky definitely did turn dark now, and small bolts of electricity snaked around the Fiend's mouth as he stared wickedly at Bahamut. The esper could only look back in fear as Tiamat continued to summon…and then finally released.

"Pyron!"

Balls of fire, bigger, brighter, having small vapor tails, and much faster than before erupted from Tiamat's own mouth and soared for Bahamut. These ones actually whined like birds and spiraled around each other as they came in. They moved much faster than before. The esper gaped at them. Very quickly, he tried adjusting a bit in the air. Immediately his worst fears were confirmed. The balls changed direction and moved after him. They wouldn't fall for the same decoy trap as Bahamut's own attack had fallen. He knew that if he had enough time he could have perfected them to seek their target, but he hadn't. These ones were perfected, and headed straight for him. He had to think fast, for he had even less time to save himself than Tiamat had.

Tiamat finished and grinned wickedly at Bahamut, waiting to see how he would deal with the new challenge. Bahamut, on his part, continued to watch the deadly Pyron sail straight for him.But then, at last, he reacted. Within a split second, he summoned another Pyrin attack into his mouth. This time he didn't try to brace himself, but rather aimed his head straight for the ground and fired it off. The heavy recoil sent his body flying up into the air just in time, and a fraction of a second later the first Pyron ball connected with his own Pyrin. Bahamut's body barely cleared the others as they rushed into the Pyrin attack much faster than any of Bahamut's previous moves. Once they had all reached it, something that took much shorter than with Bahamut's, the Pyron immediately exploded. Bahamut barely had enough time to shield himself and raise higher than the attack before the waves of heat, impacts from the explosions, and the cast off balls of fire struck him. Numerous minor explosions hit the esper, and the power and energy rocked him violently as he struggled to rise above it. Bahamut still felt small bits of burning heat and pain as it struck him and he struggled to rise higher.

After a few moments more, Bahamut stopped ascending, and he felt the last bits of the attack die off. The echo was much higher this time, and the sky was even clearer than before. Slowly, the esper unfurled his wings again and opened his eyes. For a moment, he saw the empty sky below him, and watched a few wisps of energy fade off into nothingness. It looked as if the place had cleared...

But then, the esper's head was violently thrown forward as a powerful, double-fisted blow smashed into the back of his head, sending him flying straight toward the ground. Bahamut's vision went black and his senses were sent in a whirlwind from the power. Red blood flew out of his nose and trailed backward through the air. Yet somehow, in the course of all that, Bahamut's semi-conscious senses realized what had happened. Another intelligent move on Tiamat's part. Bahamut had managed to dodge the Pyron, so he used it as a diversion instead to shoot right on top of him and smash him down to the ground.

Bahamut fell quickly, shooting like a stone to the earth. Within no time at all he was nearly upon it. He struggled to get his senses back together, but he couldn't shake it off so easily. He looked mostly like a boned fish when he finally hit the ground, smashing into it headfirst and quickly sinking into it the rest of the way. The ground cracked and swelled around him from impact, and dust and clods of dirt flew up around him as he touched down.

Yet somehow, the esper sprung back to life almost instantly. Now face down on the ground, Bahamut quickly tucked his legs and arms underneath him and sprung them out, launching him backward and away from the crater he had made like a cricket hopping from an incoming frog. It was good too, for Tiamat touched down a moment later, one foot extended and the heel pointed out, intending to jab his blow right in the back of Bahamut's neck. Instead, he merely caused another small quake as he landed, sending more dirt and debris flying everywhere and sinking in his foot to the ankle as he plunged it down. Tiamat, his face normal again, raised another eyebrow, and then quickly pulled out of the ground and planted his feet on it. He looked ahead to Bahamut, who was now breathing a little, but still staring back at him cold and hard.

"Fascinating." Tiamat remarked calmly. "Truly fascinating. You not only managed to dodge my attack, but you recovered almost instantly from one of my strongest blows. I wasn't even holding back on that last strike…" The Fiend hesitated, but then grinned darkly. "…not much, at any rate."

Bahamut said nothing, but continued to pant.

Tiamat cracked his long neck with a satisfied look. "I guess I can vent my full strength on you after all, without worries that you'll only be able to last a few moments. No, you'll be quite entertaining. Yet even now I can see you already starting to slip. Do try to give me a good five more minutes, please. I'd like this fun little spar burned in my mind for a good, long time."

The other espers could hear the sickening sounds of bones snapping and grinding as Kraken unleashed his malice on Wyvern. He wasn't satisfied enough with beating him to death. He was crushing him with his tentacles at the same time as he smashed him against the ground and slapped at him with his appendages. It seemed his tentacles had hooks or sharp scales of some sort with them, and he hooked and tore at Wyvern's own skin as he continued to beat him.

The others didn't know what to do. Phoenix was the only one up and able at the moment, and her attack was useless. Struggling and straining, Odin managed to pull his sizzling body to his feet. But Zantetsuken was lost somewhere among the mess, and even if he had it he would barely lift it. Leviathan and Ogopogo still looked mostly useless, and Starlet was still on her back. However, even now, Odin noticed that Wyvern was still conscious through the beating. He was able to keep his eyes open as blood dribbled from his nose and mouth.

Kraken sneered his cut lip and wrapped his tentacles around Wyvern's neck, then yanked him up to stare at him right in the face. Wyvern could do nothing but hang there.

"Why don't you just give up?" He mocked. "Surrender, and maybe I'll just rip yer head off slowly, and not eat you from the toes up."

Wyvern weakly looked back for a moment to the Water Fiend. He grunted and strained, seeming unable to move and choking for air. As he did, the other espers decided they had to make a move, and began to do whatever they could to mount an assault on Kraken. At last,Wyvern breathed in deeply, and spat right in one of Kraken's black eyes. The creature hissed and recoiled a moment, while Wyvern grinned weakly.

"I was saving my last breath…just for that…"

Kraken sneered and began to open his eye again. He tightened his tentacle grip, completely cutting off Wyvern's air. "You little…"

"Pyrimshad!"

Again, in a desperate move to save her brother, Phoenix projected her flame against Kraken. The flame bird hit him in the back, and he noticed it. He raised his eyes and sneered at Phoenix. The bird didn't bother trying to stand her ground, but struggled to stay alive by circling around Kraken's head. She summoned another flaming bird and fired it on Kraken, but it too was just as ineffective, and just annoyed him. Apparently, by now, she had learned her attack well enough to avoid it tiring her out.Meanwhile, Odin took the opportunity to summon strength he didn't know he had and charge at the beast.

Kraken merely grinned wickedly after a moment, and with a snap of his tentacles hurled Wyvern's nearly-dead body at Phoenix. The aim was true, and the firebird only had time to cry out for a moment before he collided with her with a sickening crash, and both of them fell to the ground. Not wasting any time, Kraken quickly used two of his tentacles to scoop up a good sized rock from the ground, then shot out two more tentacles to seize the charging Odin. After grabbing both, he quickly yanked both quickly to himself, only he aimed the rock straight for Odin's head. The esper barely had time to react before the rock smashed itself and shattered on his skull. Odin grunted in pain, and went limp again. If not for his helmet, the blow would have killed him.

Kraken chortled and hoisted Odin up in Wyvern's own position. "Ugly little human lover…" He sneered. "Tryin' ta' be the hero again? Feh. You look just like one of those humans. No wonder yer so weak."

Odin grunted and strained under Kraken's power, but couldn't even raise his arms to loosen the grip around his neck. He was dazzled and his head was swimming. However, both he and Kraken heard a slight scuffle. The Water Fiend turned his head to the noise, and soon found himself looking at Starlet. The esper seemed to have found Zantetsuken lying on the ground, and was now struggling to drag herself over to get the weapon. She was still a long way off, however, and it wasn't readily apparent what she could do with it when she got it. Odin paled at the sight. She was totally helpless, and didn't even seem to notice that Kraken noticed her.

The creature grinned wickedly, and turned his head back to the helpless Odin. "Just for that pale little stunt of bravery, I'm gonna let you hang limp like a dead squirrel again and watch as I kill someone else you love."

Odin paled. His brain filled with fear. He didn't want to see this again. Though he would never show it in battle, Palad's death had effected him greatly. No matter what, he didn't want to see this slimy horror so arrogantly destroy another innocent life, especially not his sisters. He manged to raise his arms to struggle against Kraken's tentacle, but it was a useless effort. Kraken laughed and mocked him as he turned his head back to Starlet. She had stopped going for the sword now, and turned to stare in terror at the beast behind her. She became frozen with fear, and couldn't move an inch as Kraken opened his mouth wide again and bellowed, "Aqua-ject!"

Another water blade erupted from Kraken's mouth, and this time sailed straight for Starlet. Odin looked around at the area, but no one was up. Phoenix and Wyvern were both down, and the firebird was just barely able to start rising. No one was there to save Starlet. Above, Bahamut was still fighting Tiamat. He didn't even know what was happening. No one could help her. He would just have to do nothing and watch another person die…

However, there was one still active.

"Contra-cycle!"

Starlet turned her head to the sound, and was just in time to see Leviathan shooting toward her. He was using the move again, but not for attack. Instead, he quickly winded his coils around Starlet's body as fast as he could, from the soles of her feet all the way to the top of her head. Before either Kraken or Starlet could understand what had happened, she was completely enclosed in Leviathan's body. The esper then struggled to shift his body, to move or avoid the incoming attack. But it was almost useless. The Aqua-ject came in, and sliced into his body. Though a fatal hit was avoided, the slash still sank good into his coils and traveled vertically up his entire body. The serpent cried out in agony as his dark blood flew everywhere, but still he stayed in position. The Aqua-ject passed at last, and again he was free. The serpent panted hard and his coils became dead weight on top of Starlet. But he had saved her. If he hadn't intervened, the attack would have sliced Starlet in half.

Odin was relieved, but neither he nor anyone else could see what was going on at Leviathan's body. Starlet, recovered and realizing what Leviathan just did, struggled to push herself up from the bundle of his tentacles. In the end, she only managed to poke her head out a bit, and look down to see Leviathan resting his own exhausted, pained head against her chest.

"Leviathan…" She echoed, her face tight with shock. She never in a hundred years expected Leviathan to do such a thing for her. She never thought he had that much devotion, though they were brother and sister. "Oh…Leviathan…" She remarked again, now looking down at his body and realizing the price the esper had paid. "You're hurt…"

"I had to…" The esper panted, looking out of breath and struggling to maintain his own pain level. "Would have…killed you…"

"But…but you could have been killed…"

Leviathan paused a moment, but then managed to weakly open his eyes. He looked up to Starlet, and she noticed that there was a longingness in his vision. She didn't know what he was going to say, although at that moment he looked like he desperately wanted to say something. It seemed like his voice was caught, that he was either too nervous or in too much pain to speak. But at the end, it didn't matter. Kraken's voice cut them off.

"Oh please…the only thing you idiots are good for is getting yourselves beaten to a pulp to buy your little friends a few more seconds of lifetime!" He snarled. "I've had it with all of you! You all got nothing on me, so I'll just wipe you and this entire landscape clean with my biggest attack!"

The other espers turned back to the fiend at this. Most of them were in too much pain or agony to look fearful, but those that could did. Kraken grinned at them, and looked like he was more than ready to summon another large attack. He turned back to Odin and grinning widely at him, exhaling his foul breath in his face. Yet even as he did so, an air of disappointment seemed to be mounting in him. Something about his pride made it look as if he didn't really care to use a giant attack to blow them all away. It seemed like a waste. Gradually, he smile turned into a frown, and he scowled at Odin instead, then, after doing so, he turned his eyes skyward.

There had been a few great explosions earlier, but now Tiamat and Bahamut were duking it out. At the moment, it was still too hard to see who had the advantage. They seemed to be matching each other blow for blow, and from this far down one couldn't tell who was doing better in terms of body damage. Neither was slowing. Immediately, the animosity and savagry returned to Kraken's gaze. Up above was his true hate and target…the new esper arrival. He too wanted to exhaust his full power. He too wanted to feel himself at maximum. And the little bugs he was busying himself with were hardly a challenge worthy of his full power. No…he wanted what was above.

In the end, he snorted, looked back down to Odin, and cast his limp body to the ground. "Lay here and rot for a few more minutes with your siblings." He ordered. "I'm gonna have a little fun…"

Tiamat shot at Bahamut like a missile, foot extended and aiming right for his face. His blow connected, and the esper went flying backward from the force. However, after only a moment, Bahamut spun back around, using the momentum of the blow, did a mid-air somersault, faced Tiamat again, and then shot forward himself to smash his crowned forehead into Tiamat's. The Fiend recoiled, but only a few feet before shooting back and clipping Bahamut in the face with a right hook. After snapping Bahamut's head one way from the hit, he quickly swiped his other claw out and smashed that into his face too. Then, to finish off the esper, he brought his fists over his head to smash down on Bahamut.

But he wasn't done either. He recovered quickly too, and left himself wide open for Bahamut to punch him in the throat. Immediately, Tiamat slackened and gagged, and Bahamut followed up by pounding him hard in the solar plexus. To finish off his own chain, Bahamut flipped himself again in mid-air, this time sweeping his feet upward to give Tiamat a double-kick under the head, and send him flying. Tiamat looked limp for a moment, and actually sailed back a good distance from Bahamut for a few moments, giving the esper time to right himself and pant once. But then, Tiamat came back to life and quickly hurled twin bolts of lightning at the esper. Bahamut's eyes enlarged, and he quickly dodged one, but the other struck him in the wing. He yelled out in pain, but somehow managed to stay afloat. What more, as he screamed out in agony, he used the opportunity to scream out another Pyrin attack, and soon a ball of burning fire was headed straight for the Fiend of Air. Tiamat saw it coming, and forced himself to right his body in mid-air, form another double fist, and then bat the Pyrin away at the last minute. As he did, a numbing pain shot into his hands and arms, but he was successful.

After this, both esper and Fiend paused. They were a distance from each other now, and staring at each other hard. Both were totally silent except for breathing and wing flapping. Bahamut's look was cold and unchanged. Tiamat, on his part, still smiled at him wickedly…

But both Bahamut and Tiamat knew better by now.

Tiamat was breathing hard. Bahamut's punch to his abdomen had knocked the wind out of him, and now he felt embarrassed to actually be struggling to catch his breath in this fight. His own brow was sweaty now, and his muscles began to feel strain. His mouth was still bleeding a little, and he spat out another wad of blood. One of his eyes was puffy and squinted. His hands and arms burned from Bahamut's last Pyrin. Though it was still too weak to have any chance of beating Tiamat, Bahamut still was strong enough to put sufficient power into it that it was causing Tiamat some pain.

That said, Bahamut looked even worse. He was beginning to struggle to keep up. His moves, while still executed intelligently, had grown less smooth than when they started. He looked sore and as if he had bones broken in numerous places. Cuts and bruises dotted his whole body. He was heaving a lot more than Tiamat was. To the Air Fiend, the inevitable conclusion of the battle was still a certainty.

However, Tiamat's amusement was quickly becoming forced. It was one thing to have an opponent who brought you to the maximum of your abilities. It was quite another to be getting a beating while engaging said opponent and to feel pain. True, Tiamat had never encountered one who could make him use his full strength before, but he had also never met one that had put him in so much pain before. The sensation was all but foreign to him, but Bahamut was quickly reacquainting him with the sensation. And the longer the battle dragged on, the more Tiamat realized he didn't like that feeling all that much. The temptation was beginning to enter into his mind to just finish the battle right off. But Tiamat realized that that wasn't a possibility either. Bahamut would be expecting his next Pyron, and to charge up enough power to kill the esper would take time.

How did this esper get so powerful, anyway? He thought inside. After a moment, he decided he might as well verbalize it. "Where did you get your power, esper?"

Bahamut stared coldly back for a moment, and it wasn't readily apparent he would answer. But answer he did after a time. "…Same as you. I was born with it. It's innate to all espers."

Tiamat grinned and sneered at that. "Ridiculous. All your 'innate' power served to do for your puny little relatives is let their bones break instead of shatter under our power."

Bahamut stared back silently for a moment. "You asked me. I told you the truth. Even now, I'm harboring something bigger than anything either of us has put out ye-URK!"

Mixed within Bahamut's statement, Tiamat vaguely heard Kraken's familiar voice yell, "Contra-cycle!" Now, Kraken's tentacles lashed about Bahamut's entire body. They quickly wound themselves tight and strong around all of his appendages. Three put his arms to his sides. Two locked his legs together. One held his tail down. The last wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air and speech. Bahamut's stern face had turned to one of panic and shock, and soon he began to struggle against Kraken hard. The Water Fiend had evidently leapt into the sky and seized Bahamut, and now all the esper could do was struggle to stay in one place, holding his weight and Kraken's. The Water Fiend chuckled and placed his head on Bahamut's shoulder, just so he could see him.

"Miss me, trash?" He sneered at the esper. He seemed rather full of himself at the moment, glad to have the upper hand on another esper. Bahamut, of couse, couldn't answer. He was too busy struggling to breathe. In the end, Kraken turned his hideous face over to Tiamat. "Finish him right now, Tiamat! One shot from yer Pyron attack will be all it takes!"

Tiamat didn't answer right away, and didn't even alter his behavior. He continued to flap in the sky and stare at the latest situation. Bahamut struggled and strained against Kraken, but the Water Fiend held him fast. He wouldn't be able to break free. For a long while, there was silence between all of them. Kraken looked expectantly at Tiamat, thinking he would end the battle at any moment with one blast. In the end, however, Tiamat snorted instead.

"I told you before, Kraken." He spoke solemnly. "I wanted this fight to be between me and him, so that I'd be able to see my power at its fullest. Now you had to go and snag him. There won't be any challenge to straight-out obliterating him right here. And it's not like I needed your help to destroy him in the first place."

Kraken's enthusiasm diminished a bit at that, looking a bit lower and dejected. Bahamut continued to strain. Somehow, he was able to breathe around Kraken's grip, but he couldn't free himself from him. Tiamat did nothing for a few moments longer. But in the end, he smiled wickedly.

"Oh well…I'll live with it."

With that, Tiamat outstretched his wings, and began to summon his Pyron anew.

Leviathan wasn't sure how it happened.

Perhaps it was the sudden push inside him. Never before had he tried so hard to defend his family, and maybe the emotional connection put it out. Perhaps it was the agony within him mixing with his anger that awakened it. Perhaps he was borderline the entire time and the loss of blood put his brain on a different wavelength, so to speak. Or perhaps this was waiting for him along with his developing mental status. But for whatever the reason…it had happened. Something had awakened inside him, and he now knew something that he hadn't known before.

Bahamut was right… He thought to himself. This…this is amazing…

Leviathan redoubled his efforts to bring himself fully to consciousness. He was hurt bad, and he didn't know how much good he was for. But he had to do something. Slowly, he managed to reopen his eyes. His vision, of course, was swimming, and he felt dizzy all over. His head pounded with the sudden onrush of stimuli. But after a few moments of being unable to focus or process anything, he became clear enough to begin to see his position.

He was still laying in a heap on top of Starlet. He was surprised he hadn't smothered her. He had dreamed that he heard her fair voice calling him…but she wasn't paying attention to him now. Instead, her look was turned to the sky, looking scared and nervous. Leviathan gasped and breathed hard for a few moments more, but then closed his eyes again. Focusing all he could, he retracted his Contra-cycle. His body thickened and began to slim down again as he shrunk back into his shorter length.

This attracted Starlet's attention. She looked back down to him, and seemed relieved. After a few moments, Leviathan was back to his old length, but still partially looped around Starlet. Both he and her immediately got to work unwinding him the rest of the way. As he did, he felt a bit stronger. He had been cut bad, but now that he was back to his older form, he had more volume to his body length, and the cuts no longer went as deep. He felt stronger already, and began to move a bit more.

"Leviathan, are you alright?" Starlet immediately asked.

"I'm…doing a bit better." He admitted. As he said this, he became aware that the air seemed hotter and charged. What more, he heard rushing wind, and it seemed to be growing darker around him. He noticed this as he managed to pull the last of his coils off Starlet, and then turned back to her. "What's going on?"

Starlet's face immediately turned fearful once more. She pointed up to the sky. "Look!"

Leviathan did so, and saw a fearsome sight. The monster Kraken had seized Bahamut in his coils, and the esper wasn't able to escape. Leviathan knew he wouldn't be able to. When the esper did Contra-cycle, he locked his spine in place and a ratchet effect seemed to also go into effect. His own coils were nearly unbreakable, so Kraken's definitely were too. But that wasn't the worst of it. Tiamat was charging up some powerful attack. It looked like a Pyrin, but was much larger. He could see the fire and power building in his mouth. Fear sank into Leviathan's stomach. This was very bad.

"We have to do something!" Starlet spoke up. "He'll kill him!"

"Worse than that." Leviathan added, his gaze not shifting from the scene and sounding dark. "If Bahamut falls, nothing will be left to stop Tiamat and Kraken. Bahamut's never going to be able to break out of those coils."

"What can we do?" Starlet desperately cried.

Leviathan didn't know why, but he felt a twinge of pain more at Starlet in distress than anyone else yet. What more, he wasn't exactly sure why he had risked his own life to save Starlet, but he felt a strong attachment to her, more so than anyone else… At any rate, that wasn't the issue. He knew how to get Kraken off of Bahamut. Anything that could distract him would break the concentration he needed to hold Bahamut down. Then the esper could escape. Yet as he looked down and surveyed the battlefield, they were in short supply of heroes at the moment. Wyvern and Odin were down for the count. Phoenix was getting up pretty quickly, but her attack would be useless against Kraken. Starlet seemed recovered enough to rise now, but she could do nothing from the ground. And then there was Ogopogo, who was coiled into a ball and cringing in terror at the moment. He couldn't help anyone unless directed by Leviathan. At once, the sea esper realized that left one person…himself.

And only moments ago, he had luckily gotten just what he needed.

"I'm going to try something…"

Starlet turned to him and looked at him in puzzlement, but already Leviathan paid no more attention to her. He had to focus hard on this. He had just attained this ability, and hadn't had time to practice or harness his control of it. He wasn't sure if he could aim it right. If he aimed it wrong, it would seriously hurt Bahamut…if not kill him. Or it could miss altogether and hit nothing. It was a risk to take, and what more, at the rate Tiamat was building, it looked like he wouldn't get another chance at this. He had to make the first shot count.

Well…here goes nothing.

This is for Palad, you monster.

Leviathan opened his mouth wide, leaving plenty of room for his attack to come. Then, he quickly focused on his newly acquired words. Silently he said them to himself. In reply, his body began to summon forth a power within it as well. Only this was water, bubbling and large within him. Where was it coming from? Perhaps it was in him from earlier. Perhaps it was condensing from the sky. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that it answered and came. And now, Leviathan struggled to aim his head right for a vital spot on Kraken… The tentacle around Bahamut's neck. It was perfect. He just had better not miss…and hit Bahamut instead. He finished the words within him, feeling the water beginning to rush over his mouth. Then, at last, he sounded it out in his screeching cry.

"Aqua-ject!"

Everyone on the ground had their attention drawn to this. They knew who had spoken, but they didn't believe it. Aqua-ject was Kraken's attack. But Leviathan had realized they were wrong. Once Tiamat began to use Bahamut's own moves against him, Leviathan began to realize their own powers were not unique. And now, that knowledge was clear in his mind, as he had learned his first true attack. To the shock and surprise of all, a deal of water erupted from Leviathan's mouth and into the sky.

Kraken looked down below, seeming to hear the attack too. He didn't look too worried though. Obviously, he thought no one could match his attack. That confidence soon turned to terror, however. The mass of water was headed straight for him, and just like his own attack it condensed and flattened, forming a blade-like shape. Kraken didn't move for some reason. Perhaps he was still stunned and in disbelief, but he continued to watch as it drew closer. By the time he did appear ready to move, the attack was on him. It didn't head for his face, but instead went right in front of it, toward the connection made by his tentacle to Bahamut's neck. Leviathan's aim had been true. However, not taking any chances, Bahamut stretched his head even further forward, getting out of the way and putting Kraken's tentacle in prime position.

The Aqua-ject connected. True to its form, it sank right into Kraken's slimy flesh. However, this attack was long enough to go the entire length of Kraken's extended tentacle. It went totally through it, from top to bottom. A moment later, the blade of water shot by, and Kraken's severed tentacle ripped free and began to splurt horrible purple blood everywhere.

The black beady eyes of the monstrosity shrank even smaller as he felt his first real pain ever. His massive mouth opened gigantically as he bellowed a scream of agony.

But at that moment, Tiamat was ready, and snapped his own head back as a Pyron larger than any yet erupted from his mouth.

What happened in the next moment was a blur, something that each individual esper had a hard time keeping track of. His head now free and extended forward, Bahamut quickly swung his head back and smashed his rear crown into Kraken's face as hard as possible. The blow added even more stunning pain to Kraken's original injury, and the beast loosened his tentacles. At the same time, deadly red balls of light began to shoot from Tiamat's mouth and head straight for Bahamut. But the tentacles were loose, and Bahamut swung his body down. The red balls connected, and soon a great red mass formed in the sky just as before, as a body took in the red light and power. More balls shot forward and joined it, making the mass of red light brighter and stronger than ever before. It grew blinding, illuminating a ten-mile radius area with bright light for miles around. The espers below were forced to recoil and shield their eyes. It was good too, for the light suddenly doubled in brightness as the mass went off, and a series of violent explosions ripped through the air. All of the espers present felt hot air beating down on them from the attack, burning and bright. The plants on the ground whipped violently, and the force pushed the espers below even lower. A thunderous roar bellowed in the sky.

At long last, the espers began to open their eyes again. Though it calmed down earlier, it was not until Odin began to feel a light substance land on him that he opened his eyes. When he did, he looked up to the sky and saw the situation. The others began to gradually follow suit as well. What they saw was Tiamat, looking shocked at what he had done…dumbfounded even. They also saw the source of the light substance. It was ash, slowly falling down from the sky, along with a single severed tentacle…

…All that was left of Kraken.

Bahamut was panting and nervous looking, but he was alive and back in the air. He had broke totally free with seconds to spare. The blast had hit the Water Fiend, and annihilated him. Kraken was wiped out, and now only one of the Four Fiends remained.

Bahamut didn't praise himself or gloat immediately. Instead, he looked to the ground, and his gaze quickly fixed on Leviathan. The esper was more preoccupied with the ash at this point, but Bahamut's talking quickly attracted him.

"Leviathan…you did it." He uttered, his voice sounding full of praise and amazement. "You did what took Wyvern and me a potion to perform. You've started unlocking your power all by yourself, and in only a fraction of the time it took me!"

Leviathan turned his gaze to Bahamut, and blinked in a bit of disbelief. That was all he was concerned about? That he had managed an Aqua-ject after that whole event? However, at the same time…a new chord was struck in Leviathan. Bahamut had never praised him before. No one had. The truth was, he was as timid as Ogopogo in many ways. The only difference was he had decided to take a chance today at a few acts of heroism where Ogopogo had not. They were really the same esper in all other respects. But that changed that day…that very minute. Leviathan was appreciated and acknowledged by his brother, his old enemy, for his risk. And today he began to feel the connection he shared with him and the other espers. He felt motivated to improve himself. From then on, Leviathan was never quite the same esper again, and he never had quite the same old relationship with Bahamut again…

But everyone's thoughts were cut short as an angry voice seethed.

"You…"

Bahamut turned his head to the voice, just in time to have his head ripped down at an angle by a vicious hook across his face. Tiamat had gotten up to him in record time, and had slugged him hard. Tiamat's amusement was gone. His anger had replaced it.

Not letting up a second, Tiamat quickly ducked and dug into Bahamut's stomach. He punched him three times hard there, moving quickly and listening hard for the sound of Bahamut's bones breaking. When he failed to hear it after the three blows, he snarled and flipped in the air like Bahamut, extending his tail and smashing it into Bahamut's head hard. The blow ripped Bahamut out of the sky and sent him flying through the air.

Bahamut sailed a few moments before righting himself, as he always did. But no sooner had he done so than Tiamat, savage as ever, shot up to him and smashed his own crested forehead into Bahamut's face. Blood splurted from the sight as the esper was knocked back again even harder than before. Tiamat again took off, fueled by rage and anger. He flew behind the sailing Bahamut, and waited for him. As the esper's limp body shot by, he smashed both of his fists into the small of his back, and sent Bahamut sailing for the ground. The esper was bent in a horrible curved shape this time, and looked too stunned and agonized to correct himself. Tiamat relented at last himself, and hovered in the air and waited for Bahamut to react.

Much to his anger, the esper somehow managed to recover. He moved sloppier and more slowly this time, but he managed to flip himself forward as he reached the ground. He quickly spread out all fours and landed hard on the ground. The impact was still huge, and pieces of debris and a crater formed from the force of his impact. Dust flew up and pebbles rained down. An echo came from the landing. But still Bahamut caught himself, and froze perfectly on the ground in his stopped position.

After a moment, the esper slowly raised himself from the ground. It was very slow this time. He looked weary and in pain, and he was somewhat hunched over as he stood up. Once he did stand, he panted from loss of air, and weakly extended an arm to wipe away as his bloody lip. He kept his gaze focused on Tiamat overhead, but was starting to look like he was no longer a match for him. Tiamat was staying up no problem. And now anger was at last coming out. However, he controled himself somewhat, and managed to speak relatively calmly again.

"I didn't really care whether or not Kraken died, although I will say that I'm a bit more infuriated that garbage like you managed to give him so much trouble. But that you would dare to humiliate me by tricking me into hitting him instead is unexcusable. You will die horribly for what you have done. You're already starting to slip. You will be dead within the next two minutes at most." At this, Tiamat managed a small smile again. But after doing so, he turned his head slightly to Leviathan, looking still up in wonder at the sight. "And unless you want to be first, worm, I wouldn't suggest trying that attack again. Don't think you can beat me with that simple Aqua-ject. Kraken's held a lot more power, and still I was invulnerable to it."

Bahamut continued to pant and breathe hard. The other espers stood in stunned silence. They began to see the truth as well. Bahamut was slipping. His power was beginning to fade, and Tiamat was gaining the upper hand. He would be dead before long. Tiamat sneered at him. "Now while nothing that lives, other than Griever, can match or defeat my own Pyron attack, and though I would love to see you burn and explode as Kraken did, I know you at least have enough stamina left in you to dodge it in the time it takes me to charge the attack. So I'll just have to beat you to death."

Silence reigned on the battlefield. Bahamut panted and heaved a bit longer. Everyone waited anxiously, waiting for him to do something, waiting for anything to happen and hoping for some chance to still exist. In the end, however, they were most surprised to see not Tiamat, but Bahamut smile at the Fiend instead.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you." He answered after drawing in his breath and wiping blood off his mouth. "But I could easily outclass your Pyron attack."

Both the espers and Tiamat were stunned at this boast. The espers blinked in disbelief at Bahamut, wondering if that was true. But as for thewind Fiend, he stared for a few moments at the esper, but then merely burst out into a wider grin and began to laugh. His laugh was dark and strong, and fully confident.He crossed his arms, kicked his head back, and laughed even louder after a few moments, appearing to be genuinely amused by the whole notion. His voice was dark and cold, and it rang through the air.

"Well…it seems as if one of my blows did some lasting damage to that brain of yours." He snickered. "Strong as you are, I'm still far superior to any esper. I am the Lord of the Four Fiends. None can outclass me. And while I did intercept your own Pyron earlier, and while it certainly would have hurt a bit if I let it hit me, don't delude yourself into thinking that it was nearly enough to destroy me. My own Pyron would cut through yours and still have enough power to obliterate you."

Bahamut was unchanged.

"I'm not talking about the Pyron."

Now, all of the espers looked puzzled, and Tiamat's smile faded as he raised an eyebrow.

"I've been unlocking my power for six months now." Bahamut went on. "I realized the limitations of the Pyrin in the first month, and went on to the Pyron. I then tried to develop it as much as I could. But then I remembered what I heard from Jadea about the Omniapex level. I figured that the Pyron couldn't be my limit. So I stopped working on perfecting it. That is the reason why it's so far behind yours. But two weeks ago, I managed to discover a new move. Since then I've been trying to master it as much as possible. It was a lot harder to pull off. It wasn't until a little while ago I finally felt confident enough in my control of it to risk coming out and using it. That's why I didn't come out with my brother and family earlier."

The espers stared at Bahamut, wondering if he was telling the truth about this. Odin was shocked himself. He was already overwhelmed at how much stronger than him Bahamut had become. How was that even possible? He was the warrior esper! As for Wyvern, he too was surprised at how much Bahamut had increased. How could that be? He had been working out for months while Bahamut did nothing, and he was still so much better. In the end, however, Tiamat smirked.

"Tell me…why haven't you decided to use this little move until now? Could it be because this little move is a little bluff?"

"No." Bahamut answered, not sounding the least bit insulted. "I told you I barely had a grasp on it. It's hard to pull off too. It requires a lot of time to focus and charge. A full minute at the very least. I didn't think you'd decide to give me the time to prepare it, and then just stand there as I used it."

Tiamat snorted a laugh. "Really?" He asked with a grin. The Fiend of Wind hovered in the sky a moment longer. No one moved a muscle for a short while. No one did anything but listen and wait to see Tiamat's reaction. At long last, the Fiend shrugged. "Very well. Have it your way." With that, the Wind Fiend dropped to the ground like a stone, and touched down on it lightly. Once he did, he planted his feet and folded his wings down. His arms crossed again, and he leaned his head back confidently.

"Hit me."

Bahamut raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Go on and hit me with your little attack." Tiamat simply responded. "I'll let you have a free one this time."

The other espers blinked in confusion at this sudden change of heart. As for Bahamut, however, he actually seemed to grow a bit concerned. "I really wouldn't." He warned the Fiend of Wind. "Not if I were you."

Tiamat's mouth burst open wide and he laughed deep and hard, mocking Bahamut all the while. "You flatter yourself. So did your foolish brothers. Both of them made similar, unfounded, idiotic claims about their own power, and they failed to even give me a rash with their moves. Before beating them into the ground, I shattered their idiotic notions by proving their abilities useless. Before you die, I want you to understand once and for all that your kind will always be weaker. Now will you take this opportunity or not?"

Bahamut paused for a few moments more. The espers stood and waited. They wondered which one of them was right, Bahamut or Tiamat. True enough, their earlier moves had done absolutely nothing to the Fiend of Wind. It was hard to imagine any attack able to. And Bahamut didn't seem to be too at ease about having Tiamat just stand there and take the attack. But in the end, the esper shrugged. "Have it your way. You can't say I didn't warn you."

"Do it." Tiamat snapped. "I grow bored."

Bahamut didn't say anything else. Instead, he extended his tail back and planted iton the ground. He planted both of his feet and dug them in. He tucked his wings into his sides, and then lowered his head.He took a few deep breaths, and then went quiet. After that, he closed his eyes and moved no more. The others stared at him blankly for a moment. Tiamat grinned and waited confidently. Only Leviathan, who had also mastered the ability of telepathy to a small degree, realized what Bahamut was doing. He was summoning an overwhelming amount of power right now, and chanting hard in his head.

The buildup of the attack wasn't as strong as with the others. The others had an overt move. But not so here. The first the espers noticed was Starlet's hair beginning to rise up on end. She looked at it in puzzlement, but the reason was the sheer power building in the air. It was growing charged again, far more charged than anything yet. The sky slowly began to turn dark again. Still Tiamat didn't worry, for he could do the same. Bahamut kept his head lowered, and as he did, small particles of dust seemed to fly into the air at his feet. After focusing a bit more, a creaking and cracking sound began to be heard from beneath the ground. Tiamat and the espers alike raised an eyebrow to this and looked it. Suddenly, the earth heaved a bit as cracks materialized under Bahamut's feet. The power he was gathering cracked the ground, and his claws sank in.

The air began to sizzle and hiss, and the sky grew darker and darker yet. Tiamat looked up to the sky, his smile fading a little, and watched as it turned even darker than it had for his own attack. He looked back down to Bahamut, and saw orbs of light begin to sink toward him again, coming into his mouth. But he kept his head lowered, and did not react to them. His wings slowly began to extend, and the air grew more charged yet. Sparks shot out from around Bahamut, little ones, and the sky overhead began to grumble. The air continued to snap and sizzle, and grew more and more loud as it did so. The ground heaved again, and Bahamut's whole bodydropped a little into it. He began to strain and tighten, and heat began to gather around his entire form. Tiamat's smile vanished all together now, and his arms began to uncross as he stared at Bahamut in surprise.

"What…are you doing…?"

But the power only continued to grow. A powerful crack of near thunder went through the sky. Electricity continued to gather around Bahamut, and the ground began to quake underneath everyone's feet. The sky began to wave, and Tiamat and the espers felt a breeze blow by hard of blistering hot air. But the air grew fiercer and warmer as time went on. The grass began to wither and die around Bahamut. His wings continued to unfurl, and now his head began to rise. Leviathan, the best at gauging strength out of them all, began to stare at Bahamut with a mixture of shock and fear. He had not fathomed that he would ever have been able to get this much power. He couldn't even think of anything having this much power. But rather than peak, it continued to rise even higher yet. It grew and grew, and the effect on the world grewas it did so. A light seemed to form around Bahamut that glowed more brightly as the heat built, which was good because the sky was beginning to go from dark to black. Tiamat also recognized Bahamut's power, which only continued to build. He stared at him in growing shock. His jaw began to drop. Then, quite suddenly, the Fiendsnapped and staggered back a foot.

"What…what are you?"

Yet the power kept rising. Bahamut's strength only grew more and more. A crater formed at his feet. The grass died even farther away from it, and the espers struggled to shield themselves from the hot air. The orbs continued to come to Bahamut's mouth, building his power with everyone.At long last, as he seemed to take on a definite light to his body, Bahamut finished. His wings finished extending, and his head was up. His eyes opened and he glared at Tiamat coldly. Leviathan and the espers were overwhelmed. This was incredible. Leviathan knew the others were only sensing tremendous strength, but he knew better. Bahamut's power had more than tripled as he gathered the attack. Tiamat, by comparison, was now outmatched in every way. And he knew that the Fiend ofWind knew it. Now, there was silence on the field, save for the air reacting violently to Bahamut's strength.

"I warned you." He simply stated.

Tiamat stood aghast, nearly cringing before the esper. However, he soon saw his position, and snarling he went back into his ready stance. "It's a trick!" He bellowed. "This is like your friend before! You're creating an illusion of strength to try and use my fear against me!"

"Now you're the one deluding yourself." Bahamut simply answered.

"Liar!" Tiamat snapped viciously. "You…you're power surpasses Griever's! I know that's impossible! There's not a thing in existance that can even surpass mine let alone his! You could never make anything able to defeat me! You're trying to trick me!"

Leviathan stared at Tiamat in amazement. Within a few moments, the Fiend's confidence and cockiness had vanished. He now sensed genuine fear coming from him. But it was not a familiar sensation. The monster had spent far too long believing himself invincible and unbeatable to be able to tolerate something stronger than him. It was driving him crazy.

"Your pride has made you delusional." Bahamut answered. "It will be the end of you, like it was for your friends. When I started this fight, I wanted to kill you for what you've done. And you've made it quite clear you deserve to die. I never even dreamed of something having such a low regard for life or others until I met you. But now that you've felt fear for the first time…now that you've realized that you aren't free to do what you want in this world and that others can stop you…I'm willing to see if you can learn the value of life. I'm willing to spare you. I'm sure Crusader wouldn't mind incarcerating you. And, sorry to burst your bubble of pride yet again, but she is also much stronger than you."

Odin and Wyvern both sneered at Bahamut at this. They would rather want Tiamat dead and be done with him. But they were both in a bad position to do anything about it. It was, in the end, his choice. But Tiamat wouldn't have it. A maddened look went into his eye, and Leviathan could see nothing coming from his brain but a stream of denial.

"You are not stronger than me!" He roared. "Nothing is stronger than me! I am superior to you and all of your filthy race! I'll kill you right now, trash!" Immediately, Tiamat planted his own feet, spread his wings, and began to gather his own power. It was stronger than before…more frightening than ever. He too generated violent wind and heat around himself, and the ground quaked around him too. However…it was already obvious to all the espers it wasn't enough. His power was still far weaker than Bahamut's, and he effected the environment much less than him.

"Don't be a fool!" Bahamut warned. "Don't let your pride kill you! You'll never survive this! I can't pull it back!"

But Tiamat wouldn't listen. He screamed bloody murder as he continued to gather the attack. The fire blazed in his throat, and soon it was at maximum. His eyes glowed with power and his mouth foamed with rage. "Die, weakling!" He bellowed. "Pyron!"

Immediately, Tiamat's attack erupted from his mouth and barreled straight for Bahamut. It was bigger and nastier than before. The balls of light were stronger and burning more intensely than ever. Leviathan looked to Bahamut, and saw he wasn't worried in the least. Instead, he simply sighed in regret, and then opened his own mouth.

"Mega-pyrin!"

In a force so strong it snapped Bahamut's head back and looked to snap it clean off, a blast of hot, burning power erupted from Bahamut's mouth. It gleamed much more fiery and bright than ever, like it was the heart of the Planet's core itself. It was all but impossible to look at it, but the espers managed to see it, and saw that while it appeared to be a wave, it was really a cloud of powerful, burning balls, rather like the Pyron. Only they were more compact now, almost forming a solid mass as they shot forward. They were all much stronger and powerful than any of the mere Pyron shots. They left a blazing trail from Bahamut's mouth though they were out in moments. The grass smoldered beneath them and the ground was compressed by their force. They met with Tiamat's Pyron attack, and tore through it like it was nothing. EachPyron ballerupted and fizzled out in a fraction of a second, rather like Phoenix's Pyrimshad had dissipated when it hit Kraken. Within a second the Pyron was gone, and the attack ragedunimpeded toward Tiamat.

The Fiend of Wind's confidence and pride were finally shattered. As the glare from the blaze enveloped him, his wide-open eyes shrank into pupils of terror. His delusions and denials burned up as easily as his Pyron had. He felt pure, unadulterated fear for once. For a brief second, he felt the terror that all of the humans he had ever murdered felt and that he thought so little of. He knew what it was to be helpless and about to die. Defeated, his arms fell to his sides, and his wings slumped down. The Mega-pyrin connected with his body just a moment later, but already the espers could no longer see him. They merely saw him bathed in orange light for a moment as he cried out in agony, and then the sound vanished as the Mega-pyrin enveloped his voice too in its own roar.

BOOM

The espers recoiled and covered themselves as not only searing wind but large chunks of rock flew past them. Flaming debris fell everywhere and the ground shook violently as the Mega-pyrin erupted. In truth, a series of explosions went off within the main one, but they were so close together that they formed one gigantic explosion among them all. The sky thundered and shook. Phoenix flattened against the ground to keep herself from being blown away. The others clung down desperately. Leviathan anchored Starlet to the ground as best he could himself. Their eyes were closed, otherwise they could have been blinded from the force, as the mass of explosions made one giant fireball that erupted into the air to be seen for a hundred miles in all directions.

At long last, the ball of fire died down. The explosion quit, and slowly things returned to normal. The air returned to its old state. The quake ceased. The sky began to grow relatively light again, for it was still shrouded with clouds. The last bits of ash debris slowly fell to the ground. And again, one by one, the espers began to open their eyes. They first simply looked around, struggling to see if they were still alive. But then, they turned their gazes toward the impact where Tiamat had been.

But there was nothing there. No body parts or ash this time. A great black crater was all that was left of the Fiend of Wind. It went a few feet into the ground, and high over their heads thick gray smoke was starting to thin out from the blast. A small trench of blackened ground was dug from the site of the explosion back to the source. There, on the other side of the field, panting but standing up straight, was Bahamut. He looked weary from the move, but not exhausted. After a moment or so, he managed to raise up, stop panting, and shake his head.

"At least he'll never hurt anyone again…"

The espers stared at the field, still in shock. They almost couldn't believe it. Sense they had started the fight, they had doubted it was possible. But they had been proven wrong. They were gone. All of them were gone. They had done it.

The Four Fiends of the Elements were destroyed.

To be continued...