Leviathan was right about the ripple. It wasn't nearly as bad as before. Luckily, Atomos didn't have nearly as much power as Odin despite being terribly destructive. Yet still, it was there, and it only served to drive the espers on harder as they made for Lindbulm.
It had taken a few hours regardless, during which they all grew nervous. What was going to happen when they got there? Were they going to have to fight Atomos? Or would he already be gone? In what state would the city be in? They continued to feel fluctuations in the Lifestream after the initial wave, which meant that the enemy was still attacking it. They had no idea how much damage was being done, however. No one was that precise in reading the Lifestream. Yet as they shot over the mist-covered valleys and the mountain ranges that blocked off each area, they felt mounting anxiety toward what they would find once they got there.
The sun was already up, and the morning had come, when the group of espers passed the area known as the South Gate of Lindbulm. A great wall built in a mountain valley, it effectively kept height limited airships from going through. After all, any higher and they would be outside the range of mist, and couldn't move. Lindbulm had managed to effectively cut access to Alexandria when they wanted by building a huge hatch into the wall, which could be opened or shut at will. It was open now, and Leviathan didn't know for sure whether or not it was in enemy hands. He didn't care, just as he didn't care as they went shooting through that some humans might be staring at them in shock. At any rate, once they had passed, it was a straight shot to Lindbulm.
Even from a distance…they could tell what had happened was not good.
Lindbulm itself was built onto mountains, making it all but inaccessible from the ground. But that had mattered little, it seemed. As they saw the towering city of technology approach, it was already belching a lot of smoke into the sky from multiple points. There were lights all over it, indicating that much of it was still in flames. All of the airships had been grounded…save one. The Red Rose, the personal airship of Queen Brahne, was still encircling the area. Leviathan immediately formulated a scenario. She had come just close enough to unleash Atomos on the kingdom. Once he had destroyed most of it, the navy had to have attacked and used black mages to finish the kingdom off. There were no signs of Atomos, which he knew they would have spotted easily from here. The esper was nearly mountain-sized himself. At that, Leviathan began to think they were too late to do anything, and probably should have turned back…
That was until he saw her.
Leviathan saw a twinkle in his lower vision, and turned down to see the source. Still far away from Lindbulm, yet in the big wide field between the espers and the city, he saw that someone was left. The pale blue esper Shiva was hovering in the middle of the field. As the espers drew closer, he saw that she had her back to the destruction and was looking to them. Immediately, he changed his direction and headed straight for her without a word. The others followed in compliance.
Within a few moments, it was clear that they were approaching Shiva. Her details became clearer. Moments later, they reached her butkept their distance. Leviathan, in the lead, halted about a hundred feet from her and hovered in mid-air. The others immediately fell in behind. They all froze and stared at her.
Shiva's look was angry, yet also unmoving. Most of her body was the same, though still, and hovering in mid-air. The most distinct thing, however, was what happened to her eyes. Normally they were an icy blue. Now…they burned like red flame. She turned that gaze to them and did not shift. She didn't even move.
Leviathan stared back at her silently. In truth…he was actually a little glad it was Shiva. She was the weakest out of the three rogue espers, and her mentality was far less formidable than Odin's. This would be a good experiment for him. By determining how to best to deal with this one, it might help them in their fights with the more powerful ones. Immediately, he began to probe her mind…
"Shiva…can you hear me?" Starlet called out meanwhile. Her voice was smooth and pleasant, very comforting and inviting. She addressed small children like this. "It's me, Starlet."
Shiva did nothing. Her eyes continued to blaze red, and her body did not move. Leviathan soon knew why. He reached her brain, and saw that it had been filled with some sort of cloud of junk that had stymied all movement. It was the equivalent of plugging up every passageway in a tall, fully functional termite colony with thick mud. Shiva couldn't hear Starlet, or likely even recognize her, because she had blocks preventing her from even seeing or hearing that information. It was likely she wasn't even aware of where she was.
Leviathan made his own attempt. Shiva…can you hear me? Are you able to respond?
Still nothing. Even a mental signal was blocked. Leviathan scanned it, and saw that his words impacted ineffectually against the mental blocks. The esper wasn't even being allowed to think independently anymore. She was effectively Brahne's puppet. That was odd…merely being allowed to summon her shouldn't have had this effect. Espers had to obey their summoners…but they weren't made their mindless slaves.
"Do you see anything, my lord?" Terrato finally asked.
Leviathan frowned and shook his head. "It's useless. It's like her brain has been filled with mortar. I could try to push it out…but I'm not sure if she would allow me to, or rather who is controlling her would allow me to."
Wyvern merely smiled and cracked his knuckles. "Then I'll just have to…pacify her…"
Leviathan and Starlet both looked uneasily up at that. They knew Wyvern far too well. He wouldn't be merciful on her. He would keep fighting her until she couldn't lift a finger to him. And given that her brain had likely been made immune to pain, that meant it wouldn't be until she was horribly wounded that she would give up…perhaps even dead. They didn't dare let that happen.
"I don't think that will be necessary." Leviathan finally stated. This caused Wyvern to look to him and snort. But after that, Leviathan turned to great serpent. "Your power should be greater than hers, Terrato. Use the Contra-cycle technique I showed you and bind her. Starlet can knock her out and we can take her back to Terratopolis."
The earth esper nodded. "Right." With that, the esper spurred on his own levitation, and he neared Shiva. When he did, the cold red gaze of the ice esper turned and looked to him instead, forgetting the others. She made no other reaction. Terrato continued to close in on her, somewhat unnerved by her gaze, but still holding strong. Already, he was planning his first move. At last, he was only about ten feet away from Shiva. Once there, he came to a stop, and coiled in mid-air. Shiva glared at him with that same look of anger, but did nothing. The two were silent for a moment.
Terrato made the first move. As fast as he could, he struck his head out straight for Shiva. The ice esper quickly twisted her body to one side, letting his head slash past. However, that was his intention. Immediately he performed the Contra-cycle maneuver. His body suddenly became elastic and lengthened, and he snapped back around to wide his coils around Shiva's body. Terrato knew his own power was greater than hers, and normally his speed would be too much for her…
Someone, however, seemed to forget to tell Shiva that, for she suddenly shot up just as the coils were closing, easily darting through them. Terrato gaped and looked up, and was just in time to see Shiva shoot back down and smash her foot into his face. The great viper hissed, and then felt his whole body ripped out of the sky and sent flying to the ground headfirst. He left a long trail of his own scaly body behind him as he did so, flailing about like a kite, and moments later struck the earth. A great eruption of dust resulted as he impacted, and his body slid a few feet afterward. Leviathan stared in a bit of surprise…
Did Shiva's power…just go past its normal limits?
Luckily, smashing an earth esper like Terrato into the ground had little effect compared to other espers. To him, it only felt good to rub his face in dirt. Soon, the snake spun around and was back in an upright position. It was good too, for its eyes widened as it saw Shiva shooting toward him, flinging icicle after icicle. The deadly projectiles were sharp as blades, and threatened to cut the snake to ribbons. Quickly, he began to slither backward, dodging the ice as it embedded in front of him where he was moments earlier. His tail narrowly dodged each hit as it came.
At last, Terrato reacted. Rather than keep running, he suddenly leapt up into the air, did a backward somersault, and plunged himself into the ground headfirst. Like an earthworm in mud, he sank in immediately and soon vanished into the ground. Shiva threw a few last ineffectual shards at the hole he left, and then stopped. The charmed esper hovered in mid-air and glared down at the ground a moment, looking to see where Terrato would come up from his hiding place.
She soon got the answer. Right behind her, Terrato suddenly shot out of the ground as if he was loaded in a geyser. His fangs flared, and his body began to enlongate as he danced through the air and made his way toward Shiva. The ice esper kept her body to him for a while, letting him come closer and closer. But then, when he got close to within range, she suddenly braced one of her arms and turned around. As she did, her other arm opened its palm, and a great piece of ice began to be generated within it. It grew quickly as she fed more power into it. By the time she turned to face the attacking Terrato, it was already as large as Wyvern himself. Terrato could only close his mouth and gape before the giant piece of ice smashed into him. Moments later, he was sent flying back to the ground, and this time was crushed between the piece of ice and the dirt itself.
Leviathan and Starlet began to grow uneasy. Shiva was far more vicious…and Leviathan could swear she wasn't capable of these attacks before. As for Terrato, he slowly picked himself up out of the ice, which had cracked on impact. His head rolled a bit from side to side, before he blinked and gasped. Shiva had already dove for him, and proceeded to give him a backhand across the face as she shot at his body. A blow like that Terrato could normally take…and yet it actually violently twisted his head to one side as he did it. Yet the snake wasn't finished. Hissing,he snapped his head back up even quicker and struck for Shiva. Yet the ice esper, now touching down on the ground, nimbly did a backflip to take herself out of range. Terrato whipped his tail at her next, and she simply flipped back again to avoid that. Terrato repositioned himself and tried another strike. Shiva stood her ground this time, and watched as he came. Yet just as he was about to land a blow, she crossed her arms sharply in front of her. Instantly, a piece of ice materialized right in Terrato's open mouth, incasing his teeth in ice and freezing his jaw in that open position. Shocked, the earth esper pulled itself back. Yet Shiva took the moment to dive forward soon after, seize the viper by the hood, and then brought his head down, ice, jaw, and all, onto one of her knees. The blow was far stronger than it should have been, and the ice was forcibly shattered as Terrato's mouth was closed. The sharp shards of it pierced his flesh, and blood flew from his mouth from cuts as well as teeth roots as his head went flying back.
Leviathan felt himself start to sweat. This definitely wasn't right…
Terrato, a bit wobbly now, managed to right himself, and immediately hissed. Moments later, several Terra-jects began to uproot from the ground, each one sailing for Shiva. Yet the ice esper merely followed up and shot for him, nimbly dodging each one. When she reached the earth esper, she punched him across the face multiple times, snapping his head back and forth with each one, before jumping off and backing up. Terrato was left dazzled from that assault, and Shiva took the opportunity to hold up one hand. Immediately, the air condensed and cooled around it, and began to form rays of blue, icy cold light that rippled from it. Then, she bent her hand down and fired. Leviathan recognized this attack at once. It was her Diamond Dust, her own Omniapex. Moments later, monstrous shards encased Terrato in a great ragged block of ice, while internal shards formed in his body to pierce him inside as well.
Yet it only lasted a moment. The ice stayed still and poured off steam for a moment, before it fractured. Moments later, Terrato sprung back out of it and shot into the air. He was panting, bloody, and tired now, but he still came forth. But again, he only had time to gasp for a moment before Shiva shot to him again and swept kick him across the face in mid-air, first one way and then the other. She finished up by driving her other foot forward, thrusting right in the center of Terrato's face and nearly smashing his teeth in. The viper could only cry out in pain before he was again taken out of the air headfirst and smashed into the ground. This time it was harder. As blood flowed from his nostrils, he was dragged across the ground a good fifty feet before stopping.
Now, Terrato couldn't react so well. Most of his body was numbed from cold. He felt internal bleeding as well as external bleeding. His face throbbed, and his jaw could be broken. His eyes were swelling and turning puffy. He weakly looked back up, and saw that Shiva was already on top of him. The ice esper landed in front of him, and glared down with murderous intent. Mercilessly, she raised an arm and generated a great ice crystal around it, turning it into a huge spike. Terrato couldn't move. He was too dazzled. He could only stare dumbly…
Previously unnoticed by Leviathan and his company, and still unnoticed at this point in the battle, there was another shape flying around Lindbulm. This one was far smaller than an airship. It was a small silver dragon, although its like was not that of the other dragons on the Planet. This one…looked almost to be a unique breed itself. The one on it was a unique breed too, and he looked down with a sickening smile, delighting in the death and misery that he himself had caused. However, he already had his attention drawn away from Lindbulm. He saw something out on the field ahead, and looked up to it with mild interest.
Far in the distance…it appeared other eidilons had come. These ones hadn't been contained in the girl. Perhaps she summoned them? No…for now, she was too weak. These ones had to have come of their own free will. Right now, the weakest of their group was getting the living daylights knocked out of it by Shiva. But he knew full well that she couldn't stand against all of them. Normally, he would let her go for now…but he thought it best to hang onto his eidilons for the time being, at least until he managed to ensure the summoning of the greatest eidilon…
Hmm…you know, that one over there actually looks like he'd fit the part…
Oh well, there'll be time for him later. Better not chance it. I'll know for sure when the cow summons him…
Still, he gave his sadistic, effeminate smile to this scene.
"Ah…the game's afoot…"
Shiva raised her spike, and prepared to deliver the killing blow. However…it never came.
Leviathan, realizing that Terrato couldn't beat this "new and improved" Shiva, had decided to intervene. Now, Shiva's red gaze turned around and watched as Leviathan's own Contra-cycle technique entangled her hopelessly in rolls and rolls of coils. Within moments, her entire body was pinned and restrained, and she was unable to make a move.
Well…relatively speaking.
Leviathan, who knew that his Contra-cycle move was more than enough to restrain enemies up to twice as strong as himself through locking joints and muscle fibers, soon found himself struggling to hold Shiva back. She dissipated the ice shard, only to furiously begin to struggle against her bonds. He began to sense her brain at work, acting without signals, a moment later. He knew what she was planning at that. The ice esper was no doubt going to coat her body with ice shards and force Leviathan to let go as she jabbed him. Luckily, though she technically didn't have a mind operational, he shut down the mental processes before she could do it using his own telepathy. Yet still…he found himself furiously struggling to hold her back. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that somehow being controlled increased her power.
"Starlet!" He called up with clenched teeth. "Hurry and knock her out! I can't hold her much-"
Leviathan found himself cut off, however, when a massive armored fist smashed into his face. The impact rattled him, and instantly his coils loosened as he went senseless. His body was flung away, and Shiva immediately slipped out of the coils to avoid being taken with them. While he was still returning to his former length, Leviathan struck the ground and slid away from the battle site. Unfortunately, he was not so immune to being raked against the ground…and he felt pain flash up against his side.
However, he still had enough of his bearings to realize that Shiva hadn't been the one who struck him. He looked up shortly thereafter, and saw that another esper had joined her. He swallowed as he did…for he soon found himself looking right at the hulking body of Odin. The warrior esper had come here in an instant, no doubt using the power of teleportation for summoning. He glared down on Leviathan mercilessly from his skull mask…and Leviathan saw the lights in the sockets burned the same red that they did in Shiva's gaze.
The esper swallowed. He knew for a fact that he couldn't beat Odin before. If his power had increased…then he was as good as dead. Even his Contra-cycle wouldn't hold him. Yet before he could shrink away or plan any sort of attack, a large red form dropped down in front of him, unfurled its wings, and planted itself between Leviathan and Odin, blocking the latter from the former's view.
"Why, hello Odin." Wyvern sneered confidently. "How nice of you to come by."
Odin said nothing. He merely glared back at Wyvern.
"You know…I used to think you were pretty mighty. I was actually jealous of you." Wyvern calmly went on. "But if you allowed yourself to so easily become the tool of humans, then whatever respect you have earned from me you can consider gone. I'm going to enjoy this, Odin. I've been waiting over a thousand years to have the chance to smash your little skull mask in."
Odin was silent at this. Leviathan blinked, still a bit dazzled, and looked up to Wyvern's head. However, as he did so…he spotted something else. There was a tiny object up in the sky, far away and yet circling the field. It was the only thing for miles. Even birds had cleared out. That aroused Leviathan's attention. He zeroed in on this object, and started to stretch out his senses to it. He had only begun to look over it when he reacted in surprise.
It's the other anomaly!
That was all he could figure out, unfortunately. At that moment, Wyvern took off for Odin. Once he was clear and out of the way, he saw that Shiva had recovered and was facing him. What more, she was aiming another Diamond Dustright for him. Gasping, Leviathan forgot about her and quickly wriggled backward and out of the way, just in time to avoid freezing cold diamond dust from freezing where he was.
Leviathan frowned as he reared back up into a ready position. There was little doubt in his mind now that this new anomaly hadn't only given the humans the ability to make black mages, but was behind the knowledge of how to transfer Garnet's espers to Brahne's control. He immediately believed that attacking him might be the better course of action. If he was controlling Odin and Shiva, then he was probably laughing his head off right now, enjoying his "puppets" as they danced. Yet he had to focus on Shiva now. Terrato had been banged too senseless. He needed Starlet to fix him. And until then, that meant taking Shiva alone.
Leviathan opened his mouth and fired off three Aqua-jects at his opponent. Shiva coldly rushed through them, freezing each one along the way so that it shattered on touching her. In response, the sea serpent reared up and blared a war cry as they connected, and their battle raged on.
Wyvern's first blow was terrible. The impact vibrated Odin's entire metal body, ripped him off his feet, and sent him flying. However, not satisfied with this, Wyvern followed after him, smacking him again and again in the face, and sending his body twisting one way and the other as he went on. Once he felt he had done enough, he put both hands together and swung them down, smashing Odin down into the ground. The impact was so hard that he bounced off, and Wyvern proceeded to give him a tail slap as well once he was up, knocking him into the air. Then, moving faster than Odin was, he shot back up into the air, passed him, and followed up with a smack from both claws that sent him flying to the ground at an angle. Odin, still senseless from the blow, could do little but sail toward the earth after Wyvern struck him. Still not finished, Wyvern decided to polish him off by opening his mouth and firing a Megapyron after him. He grinned in delight as his second most powerful attack shot after Odin's falling body, bearing with it a cloud of death and heat. Odin couldn't move. As he struck the ground, the attack struck him, and a series of blasts tore apart both the ground and where he had landed. The ground for miles shook with the power, and huge pillars of dirt were upheaved as each powerful explosion went off.
The dragon esper cackled in delight, looking down at what he had done with glee. However…that glee soon faded. The near mushroom cloud from Wyvern's attack cleared…and revealed that Odin was quite calmly standing right in the center of the destruction. He continued to glare darkly at Wyvern…and looked no worse for wear. Though Odin now possessed a suit of special armor, the armor was still capable of feeding signals of pain and distress to its owner. After all, it was more useful as a body that way. And it could be damaged. However…Wyvern saw nothing. No damage. No pain. Odin looked totally unaffected.
Wyvern's look turned to surprise, but only a moment before he sneered. "Think you're pretty tough, eh Odin? I'll rip that helmet off your head next."
With that, the dragon esper turned and went into a dive. He quickly put more power behind it, and was soon shooting for Odin like a thunderbolt. He reared back a claw and prepared to smash it into Odin's face with all his might. This time, he would make sure to at least dent the faceplate in. Yet Odin didn't react to him. He merely continued to stand there and glare at him. Not that it mattered, Wyvern thought, as he closed the last bit of distance. So much the better…
Clang!
Now, Wyvern's look really did turn to surprise. His sneer vanished, and had he still had eyes they would now be bulging. His fist had been stopped. Odin had calmly extended a hand at the last moment and intercepted his hand. Now, he held him and only quivered a bit, despite the power that Wyvern possessed. The esper blinked a moment…before Odin violently flipped him over and behind his head, smashing him into the ground and embedding him partway into it.
Wyvern was overwhelmed. Not even Bahamut had ever so easily stopped him and done that to him. However…that only made him madder. He quickly swept out his tail for Odin's legs, and rushed to get back to his feet. But not only did Odin leap over it nimbly, he raised his head off the ground just to have the still airborne Odin swing his leg around and smash him on the side of the face. Wyvern was ripped out of his small crater and flung across the ground again. His body soon skimmed along it like a stone. Still shocked, he lay motionless as he slowly came to a halt…and then gagged as Odin suddenly appeared right over him and leapt down on his body, driving both of his feet into Wyvern's stomach. The esper reared up andblood flew from his mouth.
However…Wyvern was quickly growing more enraged. He flipped himself back up, meaning to extend his neck and bash his own powerful crest into Odin's. The warrior esper responded by leaping back at once, and the blow hit nothing. Yet Wyvern was now free, and used the moment to flip back up to his feet. Now, his muscles began to bulge and tighten. His bloody face sneered as his anger grew. Odin, on his part, coldly stepped back and drew his sword. When he did, he calmly aimed it at Wyvern and waited.
"You cocky bastard!" Wyvern spat, and then rushed at him. As he drew near, he again aimed a fist for Odin's head. However, the esper merely sidestepped it as he shot forward, and Wyvern went sailing by. As he did, Odin swung his blade down…and hot pain soon flashed across Wyvern's side. The great wyrm cried out in pain as he stumbled past, feeling hot blood begin to pour from his right side. He stopped a moment longer, crouched, and put his back to Odin. He grabbed for the wound, and felt his blood wash over his hand. It wasn't deep…but Odin's woundsdidn't heal easily, and he'd continue to bleed for a while. That was the last straw…
Odin moved in to follow up his attack, but even he was soon surprised to see Wyvern's head snap around and fire a Pyron point blank into his face. The eruption took Odin off of his feet, and his body flailed backward through the air. Sneering in anger, and realizing his chance, Wyvern spun around and went after Odin again. This time, he dove forward and drove his fist first into Odin's stomach. The warrior esper collapsed around his hand in response, and then arched back violently as Wyvern gave him an uppercut next. The impact kept him flying through the air. Now, Wyvern reared back to swing his tail around and take Odin viciously back to the ground with a hard impact. But as he swung it around to hit him…Odin suddenly sprang to life. He seized Wyvern's tail as it came, and then used the momentum, to the red esper's surprise, to swing him around and fling him away. Soon, Wyvern was flying away from the battle at incredible speeds, while Odin twisted back around and planted his feet.
Not wasting a second, Odin immediately slammed his palms together as Wyvern continued to fly backward. He drew them apart just as quickly, and a Gunge Lance formed in his hands. He quickly spun it around, reared back, took careful aim at the flying Wyvern, and then flung it straight at him. The red esper was powerless to free himself from his own inertia, and the Gunge Lance was faster than him as well. Soon, the lance hit, and an explosion just as great and terrible as Wyvern's resounded. A huge orb of dirt was blown into the air, followed by a large black mushroom cloud. Odin stood there coldly, unmoving, even when the resulting shockwave from the blast rippled across the field and washed over him. He gazed into the cloud, and patiently waited as the thunderous explosion rippled through the air.
He didn't have to wait long. Moments later, a red streak came blazing out. Many of its scales were burnt and bent now, and blood was oozing from one shoulder where bare flesh was exposed. That arm was all but useless, but the other was balled into a fist, and Wyvern was nearly foaming at the mouth as he shot right back for the warrior esper. His rage had reached its peak, and he was ready for blood. He didn't bother striking him with his fist this time. Instead, he simply drove his head forward and smashed it as hard and deep into Odin's gut as he could.
The warrior was taken off of his feet and carried across the field as what sounded like thunder rippled through the area, a result of Wyvern's impact. Odin was helpless to do anything for a moment but flail around his body. The impact knocked Zantetsuken out of his hand, and the sword fell uselessly to the side. Yet that was only for a moment. Then, the warrior esper glared down on his opponent…and proceeded to make his own two handed fist and bring it down hard on the back of Wyvern's long neck. The esper gagged, and immediately fell to the ground. Odin was released, and the warrior leapt back and touched down himself.
Wyvern gagged, spitting up more blood. He looked up, but was only in time to see Odin kick him in the face, sending him flying backward and then sprawling. The red esper flailed out on the ground a moment, but then, still being fueled by his rage, spun around and went back up. Odin was already on him, but he was more savage. He quickly wheeled around and slapped the warrior along the side of his head using his tail. But remarkably…Odin merely pitched a bit to his side and then righted himself. That was, before he retorted with punching Wyvern in the stomach. The esper gagged and doubled over, giving Odin the proper angle to grab him by his horns and bring his face down on his knee three times. When he was done, and practically flung Wyvern's head back up, a tooth had been knocked out and blood was fountaining from his nostrils. Now, the red esper was too dazzled to fight back so quickly. Odin quickly shot forward, and first jabbed his elbow into the esper's face before following up with a backhand from the same arm. The red esper staggered back, and Odin used the chance to seize him by the arm, put his hand on his back, twist him around, and then drive him face first into the ground as hard as he could.
Wyvern flailed out on impact. But he was still too stunned to fight back. Using that…Odin raised his head up and continued to beat it into the ground, smashing his face again and again into it and bashing a somewhat deeper crater each time…
Leviathan sneered as he had to avoid yet another Diamond Dustattack. They were making him angry. Yet he couldn't respond to them with his own Omniapex. Water espers, he unfortunately remembered, were little better than fire espers against ones with the power of ice. Using his own Tsunami would be futile against Shiva. That meant he was left with his physical powers, and those weren't much…
As soon as he had dodged the latest move of Shiva,she had reacted. The ice esper was already on him, and was sweep-kicking him across the face. However…strong as Shiva was, and as good as she was doing…Leviathan was the more powerful. The blow stunned him and knocked his head to one side, but not much else. As he did, he stretched out his own snakelike body to seize Shiva by the leg. The ice esper looked down, but was unable to react in time before Leviathan yanked her off of her feet and slammed her into the ground.
Leviathan shook his head and looked back up, only to see that Shiva had risen up quickly as well. Leviathan could have hit her harder…but he didn't want to damage her too badly. He was deliberately holding back on his own offense, and hoped he wasn't being stupid by doing so. At any rate, Shiva generated ice spikes on both arms now, and darted forward to use them. Leviathan quickly had to dart back as she advanced on him, slashing and jabbing at him as she made her way forward. The sea esper dodged this for a while…before seeing an opening. Immediately, he narrowly dodged one spike, and then drove his own spiked bill forward and sliced Shiva across the face. The esper snapped her head back as blue blood flowed from the wound, and Leviathan followed up by giving her a slap with her tail. Again, she went flying from him and struck the ground.
Leviathan dashed for her next, but she was too quick. She quickly flipped back up on her own feet, and proceeded to assault the sea esper with a flurry of deadly ice shards. But Leviathan was fairly keen himself, and rather than avoid them he quickly swished his thin body one way and another to dart through and get to the target. He greeted Shiva with a headbutt. The ice esper staggered back…but only for a moment. Soon, she recovered and darted back for Leviathan, and this time one of her hands had brought out a new ice blade. The sea esper gaped, but quickly darted back to avoid it, and then gave Shiva not one, not two, but three slaps with his tail, smacking her head left and right, before lengthening himself to reach out and lash his coils around her neck. He didn't choke her, but he did take her off the ground by her head and flung her as hard as he could behind her. The power, combined with Leviathan's lengthened body, sent her flying upward through the air in a great arch before bringing her back down and smashing her hard into the dirt.
Leviathan quickly recoiled and went back to his former position. As he did, he turned to face her, and nearly groaned when he saw Shiva pop back up from the ground as quickly as she had fallen. He had definitely given her some bruises and blood now, but she still wasn't letting up. The sea esper groaned. He was pretty sure he would eventually win this, but it could take forever. They were too even in power to finish this quickly. And his worst fears were right. He'd have to put Shiva down violently to make sure she stayed…
"Shiva…" He called out at last. "Or whoever's in there using you…she can't beat me. You might as well give up now. I'll beat her until she can't fight anymore, no matter how long that takes."
"And he won't do it alone."
With that, both Shiva and Leviathan looked up and looked behind the former. Two more espers had joined up. Apparently, Starlet had finished reviving Terrato. Now, both of them stood on one side of the field and faced off against the ice esper. Their own looks were dark, and they were more than ready for battle. Leviathan sighed a bit in relief. This would make things easier.
"Shiva…please give up!"
The four espers turned at this newest voice. This wasn't one of the espers that was already there. However, Leviathan recognized it almost immediately. As he turned, he was just in time to see a new esper fly onto the field and dive for the ground. Ifrit touched down a moment later, still lacking his claw and nails, but otherwise regenerated. He glared at Shiva the whole time. For once, the esper wasn't reacting to something with anger. Instead, his look pleaded with Shiva, though the woman glared back defiantly at him, cold and heartless.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to!" Ifrit blared back at the ice esper. He slowly began to ball his hands into fists as he said so. He swallowed, and, for once, was not livid with rage. His canine face was turned down into a worried look, and his burning eyes became calmer and more innocent. If the esper own body heat didn't vaporize them the moment they formed, Leviathan was almost sure he would see tears. His fists slowly began to burst into flames. "Don't make me do it!"
"Ifrit! You should be resting!" Starlet called out in warning. She, like the others, was surprised to see that he had actually come. But she held the most fear for the safety of all espers. "You'll get yourself hurt! Leave this to us!"
"No!" Ifrit yelled back, not turning from Shiva. "If something's controlling her…I should be the one to beat it out of her! I want to be the one to set her free!"
Leviathan heard this, and in the end didn't argue. Alone, Ifrit didn't stand a chance. But with the rest of them along, his fire powers could be used to their full extent, and they could put Shiva down faster than ever. Besides…if this was Starlet, he would say and do the same thing. He wheeled back around and glared at Shiva. "It's over." He called out to whoever was there controlling her. "She can't beat us all. You might as well just give her up or surrender."
Shiva turned back to Leviathan, but also continued to look around the group. She was surrounded on three sides now. Leviathan took one, Ifrit took another, and Terrato and Starlet made up the last. All were priming themselves for battle…and it was true that she had no way of beating all four of them. Yet whoever was in control merely let her stand there a moment, and considered his options…
"Unevolved fools." The anomaly snorted.
It was insulting for the lower life forms to think they actually had him beaten. They were quickly growing annoying. All he had to do was bring Atomos along, and the tide would be more than turned in his favor. He believed that Odin might be able to do it alone by himself. After all, he had already taken down the strongest among them. He could take down these other weaklings as well. Atomos would merely ensure a quick and easy win. Perhaps it was best to simply destroy the eidilons that didn't conform to his plans…
"Kuja! What is going on out there?"
At that, the anomaly sighed. He rolled his eyes in response, and turned his head over to the side of his silver dragon mount. He tried to remember why he had been stupid enough to give the fatass some blades of Whisper Grass. Now he had to listen to her obnoxious voice constantly. He had been in the middle of preparing to slaughter these eidilons, and…
"What are you doing out there with my eidilons?"
This really did make the man, Kuja, snort. "Her" eidilons? What a fool. By now, she was probably already calling them "her" black mages as well. The worthless sack of lard didn't realize she was every bit his tool as they were. The woman was fast getting rid of anyone who no longer proved useful to her. That included that Paladin knight and the old man in the rusted armor, not to mention his two little imps he had worked so hard to provide her with. He was logically next in line. After all, he was the one who gave her this power. Why not eliminate him so he couldn't give it to anyone else? Perhaps he should send Atomos to inhale her little Red Rose instead…assuming that he didn't want to take the time to do it himself…
But then, he hesitated. No, that wouldn't be best. He still wanted the ultimate eidilon…and he wouldn't get it for certain until the queen used it against him. Even Odin was nothing compared to him. Because of that, the woman had to live until he had finished getting all he could out of her. Once he did…he would gladly make sure that her city was the first to die at his hand. After all…she had already destroyed every other good target. Her own kingdom would be enough to make sure that there was an adequate tremor in Gaia's Lifestream…
For now, she could keep these meaningless three eidilons she had gathered so far. Taking them now as his own property would only cause her to be more cautious before risking summoning the ultimate one. So long as she thought these three were securely in her pocket, and her pocket alone, nothing would stop her from summoning him when the proper time came. For now…it was best to lead her to the proper place for the next act of this grand play…
Kuja gave a light tug on his reins, and the silver dragon banked and began to make its way away from Lindbulm and the Red Rose…toward the ocean…
…and the Iifa Tree.
At once, Shiva suddenly vanished. Right before any of them could launch an attack or follow up on their ultimatum, she disappeared into thin air. The other espers gaped in surprise, and immediately relaxed. But Leviathan merely frowned. He knew what had caused it. He was afraid of this. Whoever had command of her didn't want to risk losing their esper just yet. He or she had summoned her back once they had found out that she couldn't win against this many other espers. That meant that Shiva was still in someone's pocket…and they had fought hard for nothing. It made him scowl just to think of it. Angrily, he cursed under his breath, and then chanted the spell to return to his human form.
The other espers looked around in confusion a moment themselves. Ifrit himself sneered. Furiously, he crouched to the ground and angrily punched it. He was the most upset by far. The others stood by a little, and then began to walk forward to Leviathan.
"What happened to her?" Terrato asked.
"Summoned away, obviously." Leviathan grimly replied. "Damn…just as we looked to win…"
Terrato grimaced himself and looked around. However…he soon stopped when his eyes rested on the area behind him. "Oh! Lord Bahamut!"
Leviathan whirled to the source himself, as did Starlet. Ifrit continued to sneer and punch the ground for the time being. As they looked, they saw that Odin had to have been summoned away too. But his aftermath remained. The sea esper restrained a gasp at what had happened. Wyvern was only slowly picking up his bloody, cracked body from the ground. He hissed and moaned as he did so, pulling his head out of a pile of dirt, caked around his skull with the blood flowing from it. He looked horrible. Leviathan was honestly overwhelmed. He had assumed shortly into his fight with Shiva that Odin naturally had his strength increased as well. But from the looks of it…it seemed to be enough to put him beyond Wyvern. That was a frightening thought…
Wyvern slowly staggered to his feet. His jaw was clenched when he did so. Had he eyes, he probably would have glared angrily out with them. Leviathan could sure feel the anger pouring off of his body. He was swelling with hate. It was taking all of his focus to stand there and not lash out in fury. He held a hand to his burnt, bleeding shoulder and seethed as his own blood dripped from his nostrils. The others drew forward, but then stopped. Terrato swallowed, and backed up a little. He didn't want to be around his master when he was this angry. The others were silent. They let Wyvern seethe and fume for a moment.
Then, licking her lips, Starlet stepped forward, beginning to hold out her hands. "Here, let-"
On seeing that, Wyvern viciously snapped his body back. "Don't you dare touch me, you bitch!" He angrily snapped at her. "Don't either of you touch me! You damned hypocrites! And don't give me that sad, pathetic look as if you actually give a damn about me! You know full well you wanted him to kill me! You wished he would have succeeded! That would have made it so much easier on you two, wouldn't it have? Huh? Just let Odin finish off the black sheep, eh?"
Terrato was taken aback at Wyvern's sudden and vicious words. However…hearing this reminded him of what had been said earlier as well. Again, his confusion was renewed, and he looked from Leviathan to Wyvern and back again. The king esper swallowed himself, and started to speak up again. "W…Lord Bahamut…"
"I don't need you!" He angrily snapped at Starlet. "I don't need your help or your sickening pity!" He wheeled viciously to Leviathan next. "I don't need you!" Finally, he looked to Terrato, who was taken aback in surprise. "And I don't need you! I don't need anyone! Leave me alone!"
With that, Wyvern unfurled his wings in a snap and took off. Before Leviathan could protest, or Starlet or Terrato could recover enough to say anything, he was already gone. He tore into the sky at blinding speeds, and immediately became as small as a dot before turning and shooting forward to vanish on the horizon. Leviathan slowly sighed in response. Within instants, he was gone, and they were alone once again. The sea esper also found out that their mysterious anomaly had taken the opportunity to flee as well, leaving them without their only lead and likely culprit. They stood there silently for a moment, looking into the sky and saying nothing.
Finally, however, Starlet turned her head back down with a grimace. "What now?"
"We return to Terratopolis." Leviathan flatly answered. "And gather as many espers as we can."
To be continued...