Chapter 85: Push towards victory
Emilia, Garfiel, and Otto quickly avoid the barrage of darkballs thrown towards them by a powered up Ansem.
Garfiel would punch away most of the darkballs throwing towards his and Otto's direction while Emilia would use her icicles to counter the attacks.
As these attacks continued to increase, wind around the area started to violently increase.
"Watch out!"
Otto shouted as he quickly ducked from a random tree flying towards him and Garfiel.
The demi human boy heard the merchant's warning and quickly turned towards his direction to see a large tree suddenly be thrown towards him.
Garfiel's instinct was to kick it with all of his strength which caused the tree to not only be cut in half but also pieces of it to violently explode.
As this happened, Garfiel looked at Ansem with an annoyed expression.
"Fight like a man!"
Ansem ignored him and just went for another combined attack of wind and darkness, forcing the demi human boy to jump out of the way. Otto looked at Garfiel while telling him:
"Taunting your opponent isn't helping us!"
Garfiel heard what Otto had said though he put his attention on Ansem, noticing that the Organization member had created a large dark ball.
"All begins and ends with darkness."
As Ansem said this, he threw the darkball towards Garfiel and Otto's direction, using the wind power coming from Zarestia's sphere to increase its power and speed.
The two noticed this which prompted them to do separate actions.
Since Otto Suwen can't do much against such an attack, he made the choice to run away from it.
Garfiel Tinsel on the other hand chose to block the attack, confident in his current strength that he can push the attack right back at Ansem.
"If ya think th's'll take us out, ya got another thin' comin'!"
Garfiel transformed his two arms into their tiger form in order to hold back the attack.
As he starts doing this, he can feel his hands slowly burning up which prompts him to use every ounce of strength to try and throw the attack back at his opponent.
"Take...th's crap back!"
Using one of his arms to hold the large darkball in place, Garfiel used his other hand to punch it with enough force to sent it back towards Ansem's direction.
"Pathetic."
Ansem prepared to use Zarestia's sphere's power to push the attack right back towards Garfiel only for him to turn his attention quickly on Emilia's attack when he sensed a few icicles heading towards him.
He used the wind to easily knock them away only to see the darkball he had sent towards Garfiel to be closing in on him.
This force him to use the power of the sphere to destroy his own attack before it hit him.
Ansem turned his attention back to Garfiel, noticing that somehow he had jumped high enough to reach him
"Take this!"
Garfiel goes for an attack only for Ansem to easily dodge it.
"Pathetic."
"Tck!"
Garfiel hated this which prompted him to try and land a kick only to be send flying back to the ground by Ansem's wind attack.
Just as this happened, Emilia once again send a barrage of icicles at him which catches his attention reluctantly.
"If this is all you can do, then perish along with these weaklings."
"Don't underestimate me!"
Emilia responds quickly to Ansem's comment, finding it a bit rude to be viewed in such a way since she hasn't shown all of her abilities just yet.
She put both her hands together while pointing them towards the Organization's direction before firing a powerful ice like attack.
Ansem moved out of the way though he did noted that this attack was for sure extremely powerful compared to anything he's seen her do.
She begins to create a couple of ice particles around Ansem while he was distracted for a few seconds.
Ansem looked at Emilia for a moment before looking at his surroundings, noticing that he was trapped.
"Take this!"
As Emilia closed her hand, making it a fist, the small ice particles around Ansem started to grow and turn into weapons.
Subaru had given her this idea, knowing that something like this might prove useful.
The Organization member was caught off guard by this sudden attack but only momentary before creating a barrier of wind around him.
This barrier was strong enough to block off the attacks from all areas. He looked down to see what the silver haired half elf's next move was.
As he looked, Emilia created some ice soldiers that resemble Subaru.
"Non Subarus, get him!"
As Emilia ordered this, the ten ice Subaru soldiers started to throw each other towards him.
This caused Ansem to not only avoid the attacks from these ice soldiers but also see that he would need to close the gap between himself and his opponents if he wishes to eliminate them.
He waits for the right moment before moving rapidly towards Emilia's position, viewing her the bigger threat between the three.
Before the Organization member could even harm her, one of the ice soldiers was close by to her which prompted it to get in between Ansem and Emilia in order to protect the latter.
As it got in between the two, Ansem's attack was enough to shatter the ice soldier.
This allowed Emilia to react to Ansem's sudden appearance by creating a few icicles to fire directly at him.
Ansem had only very few seconds to react to the attack, prompting him to teleport out of there.
Only two out of the seven icicles had landed on Ansem, landing a bit of damage.
As he teleported out of the way and a few feet away from the silver haired half elf, Garfiel and Otto both took the chance to attack the Organization member.
Garfiel stomping the ground while Otto used a red explosive crystal.
Ansem sensed the attack from Garfiel, prompting him to jump just in time before the ground he was standing in exploded though he didn't sense the red explosive crystal until it was close by and about to explode.
He quickly countered this attack by using the wind power from the sphere to send the crystal flying into the forest swiftly just before it exploded.
The explosion caused the forest to caught on fire, prompting Otto to be left stunned.
"...Oh no..."
Otto regretted using the red crystal now since he doesn't want the forest to burn, knowing that all the animals are now in danger of being caught by the spreading fire.
Just as the fire was about to spread like crazy, Emilia turned her attention towards the fire and quickly fired a powerful ice attack that would cover majority of the fire...or more or less prevent the fire from spreading any deeper into the forest.
As she did this, Ansem took his chance to land a hit on her.
"You saved the forest instead of focusing on the fight...how predictable."
"...is there something wrong with wanting to protect life?" Emilia questioned Ansem, not liking what the Organization member was saying.
"Yea! What's wrong with th't?!"
Garfiel shouted as he was also insulted by Ansem's comment.
The Organization member turned around slowly as he saw the demi human boy was close to him, attempting to land a hit on him.
Ansem prepared to use the power of darkness on Garfiel to finish him off, having found the demi human boy as a nuisance.
Just as he was about to attack him, a group of Zodda bugs started to attack the Organization member, prompting him to respond in kind by using darkness to cover over the Zodda bugs.
"Annoying insects."
"Don't speak to them like that!"
Ansem slowly turned towards the voice that shouted at him.
As he did this, he noticed Otto attempting to punch him as he was distracted.
He saw Otto's efforts in this has pathetic and meaningless to the point where he allowed himself to be punched.
As the punch landed, Otto looked and knew that it did jackshit.
He slowly looked at the merchant which caused him to be intimidated by the Organization's glare.
"Worm. If that's the best you can do, perhaps you should perish along with those insects."
He moved his right hand towards Otto, leaving him scared since he could sense that he's in immediate danger.
Before either could do something, Garfiel saw this and swiftly charged in towards the Organization member.
"Get away from Brotto!"
Knowing that his best friend and brother in spirit was in immense danger, the demi human boy was able to tackle Ansem away from the merchant, saving him from being killed by a darkball.
Ansem was caught off guard by this, prompting him to create a barrier of lasers around him, a defense of sorts.
"You'll all fall in darkness!"
He rapidly approached Garfiel, confident that the demi human boy would be stupid enough to try and attack him with his fists.
The demi human boy was calculating the best choice of action before once again stomping his foot on the ground with everything he had.
The second he did that, the ground underneath Ansem exploded.
The Organization member was surprised but not fully fazed by it.
He continued to approach the demi human boy, having a few seconds before the lasers guarding him disappearing.
Just as he was about to close in on the boy's position, Emilia stepped in and started to fire a barrage of icicles at him. These icicles were enough to push him back.
"Insolent brat!"
Ansem snaps his fingers, creating dark electricity from the ground, allowing it to spread around towards Otto and Garfiel's positions.
The two were able to avoid this attack all the while Emilia jumped as high as she could to attack from above.
"Ul Huma!"
Emilia summons massive ice pillars from the ground that are design to crash onto Ansem while he was a good few feet away from Otto Suwen and Garfiel Tinsel.
While she began to her attack with full force, she thought about a possible ability to finish off the Organization member.
'I could use that ability...absolute zero. That can end this fight...but...'
Emilia looked at her two allies, knowing that this ability of hers can put their lives in danger since anybody caught by the attack would have no chance of surviving.
She had planned on using this ability on the divine dragon back in the watchtower had she fought alone.
With that in mind, she continued to use her current attack, attempting to trap the Organization member only for him to start a counterattack by creating dark orbs around him.
These orbs contained lasers with them firing one at a time.
Although the speed was fast, using Zarestia's sphere, he used the wind to speed up the laser to try and catch the silver haired half elf off guard.
Emilia saw this and was barely able to dodge the first laser attack, with a piece of her hair having been burned off by the said laser she had dodged.
'That's too dangerous!'
Using the ability of her Ice Brand Arts: Icicle Line to create a powerful ice shield to protect herself from the lasers.
Once she did this, she was able to block off the laser that was about to hit her within the second. Her shield was able to block off the attack, barely able to withstand said laser.
Another few lasers were sent towards her, managing to block only two more of the lasers before the third one managed to destroy her shield.
A fourth one was heading towards her head, prompting her body instincts to react quickly by ducking.
She felt another piece of her hair being burned off, causing her to be annoyed by this.
"Stop that!"
As she shouted this, she created an ice axe with her Ice Brand Arts: Icicle Line ability.
Once she did this, she threw it with all her strength towards the Organization member's direction.
Ansem saw this and just allowed the dark orbs containing the lasers to eliminate the weapon thrown towards him.
It took three lasers before the axe had been destroyed, with the weapon having almost hit his forehead.
As this was going on, Garfiel and Otto kept their distance as they were planning their next move against the Organization member.
"His defense has certainly gotten stronger."
"Yea...but he seems t'focus on one of us at a time. Maybe th't'll help in kicking his ass!"
"You might be on to something, Garfiel-san." Otto closed his eyes as he thought back on what had recently transpired.
Ansem definitely views him weak enough to allow himself to get punched all the while he's puts a lot of pressure on Emilia and Garfiel though never at the same time.
"There's a possibility that he's either holding back an ability that could attack all of us at once, or he doesn't contain such an ability with him."
"Meanin' my amazin' self can go fer th'kill then!"
Just before Garfiel tries to rejoin the fight against Ansem, Otto grabbed his arm.
"Hold it there, Garfiel-san. We haven't come up with a concrete plan just yet."
"I know but we can't just let the princess fight all on her own for too long."
"...You have a point."
As much as Otto hates going into this fight without some sort of plan, he knows that they can't leave Emilia on her own for too long against someone as strong as Ansem.
He has evalutated everyone's strength with Sora being at the top of the Emilia camp, Roswaal coming a close second with only Subaru behind if and only if Beatrice is partnered up with him.
Otherwise, he can tell that he could match Garfiel in a fight with all the abilities he has learned from the Keyblade Master.
'Emilia, from the last time I had seen her fight, is higher than Garfiel in terms of power but even with that, she's still outmatched on her own.'
Garfiel could see that Otto was worrying, prompting him to pat him in the arm while telling him calmly:
"Ya don't have t'overthink th'situation. I trust whatever ya do but I gotta help the princess first before doing whatever ya come up with."
Otto looked at Garfiel and just gave him a nod, understanding what the demi human boy was saying while also trusting on his judgement.
"Go get him, Garfiel-san!"
Garfiel smirked when he heard this before turning his attention to Ansem, seeing that the lasers were giving the silver haired half elf trouble.
The demi human boy rushed towards Ansem's position and prepared to land a punch on him only to instinctively stop.
His instincts served right as the second he had stopped, he was inches away from getting caught by a sphere of electricity that suddenly surrounded the Organization member.
"...tsk!"
Ansem turned towards Garfiel's direction, having noticed his presence prior to summoning his barrier. He could tell that the boy was annoyed, giving him some satisfaction.
"Yield."
As that simple word was uttered by the Organization member, he extended his hand towards Garfiel's position.
As he did this, suddenly a dark portal of sorts was created underneath him which caught the demi human boy off guard.
"Th'Fuck?!"
The boy tried to jump but the darkness underneath his feet had a hold off him...and was slowly swallowing him up. This caused him to start panicking since he didn't know how to escape his current situation.
"Fall to darkness."
As Ansem said this, his barrier was hit with a barrage of ice based attacks which were strong enough to destroy it.
This caught his attention which prompted him to focus on the silver haired half elf once again.
As he turned towards her, Emilia closed the gap between the two of them and started to go on a close combat fight with him, attempting to land a kick on him.
Ansem dodged these attacks with some ease, but he did noted that these attacks were close to strength as Garfiel's in his human form.
They can do damage to him.
With this in mind, he chose to be on the defensive for now, avoiding any possibly threatening attacks.
While he was focused with her, Garfiel was still sinking down into the darkness despite trying to use all of his strength to escape.
This prompted him to rely on his beast form to grow big enough to not only have a better grip on the ground to push himself up but also the immense strength that comes with the transformation.
As he did this, he quickly used his strength to pull himself out of the trap before de-transforming back into his human form, exhausted from having to do that.
Just as it seemed like he was out of the fight, Otto came in and handed him something.
"Here, eat this."
"...W-What's th's...?"
"Just eat it."
Garfiel took a closer look on what he was given to see that it was a Bocco fruit.
Knowing what it is now, he didn't hesitate to eat the small fruit, knowing that it'll give him enough energy to keep going.
As he felt the Bocco fruit do its job in re-energizing the demi human boy, he turned to question his friend:
"How many ya got on ya?"
"Two more."
"Got it...ya got yer plan ready?"
"Yes."
"Aight, tell me."
Otto began to explain to Garfiel the plan he had come up with in taking Ansem down.
Having paid close attention to all that has transpired and the abilities he has seen, he knows what's the best course of action for the two of them to do.
Once the plan was told, Garfiel understood his role.
"Aight. Th't'll work fer me."
"Just...be careful. Unlike the one from the watergate city, this one is much powerful."
"I understand, no need t'worry Brotto."
Garfiel patted his arm before turning towards Ansem, noticing that Emilia was on the offense.
This prompted him to quickly jump into the fray and attempt to land a punch of his very own.
Emilia was surprised to see him but was also relieved that he was alright.
The two worked together in pushing Ansem back, doing everything in their power to keep him on the defense.
The Organization member looked at his two opponents, noticing how they were somewhat coordinating but can see that they haven't fought together like this a lot.
He prepared to change the ties of the fight, a couple more zodda bugs started to attack him.
"Enough!"
A sudden explosion had occurred, surrounding the area with darkness where Ansem was standing.
Garfiel and Emilia both sensed danger prior to this happening, allowing the pair to jump away from the explosive radius.
As this happened, the two were on guard as they waited for Ansem to make a move.
They waited for a few seconds before the darkness had faded away to show Ansem looking at the two with a serious facial expression.
"Let's end this."
He prepared to combine his darkness abilities along with Zarestia's sphere power only to see that he doesn't have the sphere anymore.
"Hm?"
He was puzzled when he heard this, prompting him to look around to see what could've taken the sphere.
It only took him less than a minute before noticing that behind both Garfiel and Emilia was the merchant in green, holding the sphere.
"You."
"Phase one complete...(And rather fast than I expected)."
"Ya got it!"
Garfiel charge at Ansem, now knowing that they have a better chance with the sphere in their hands.
Ansem, annoyed by this, snapped his fingers to summon an abundant of heartless.
The main ones being shadow type heartless while others were either soldier type, air soldier type, and one invisible type heartless.
"Ya think th's stop my amazin' self?!"
As Garfiel shouted this, he began to fight against all of the heartless created by Ansem. Emilia was about to assist Garfiel only to notice that Ansem was approaching them.
"Emilia-sama...I don't like the idea of asking this of you, but could you keep that Organization member busy."
"Okay."
Emilia trusted in Otto so she gave him a nod before turning her attention towards Ansem, the seeker of darkness.
"Stop right there, villain."
Ansem looked at Emilia, noticing that she was addressing to him.
He paused for a moment, wondering what was her next move.
Emilia remained silent as she was thinking the best way to go about facing Ansem.
She recalls the stories Sora had said in his encounters with the Organization member, recalling the ways he had gone about in beating him.
Once she had remembered all of the information, she had some idea on how to beat him.
She charged at the Organization member with everything she had.
As she closed in on Ansem, she began to go for a close combat fight.
Ansem dodged these attacks in an attempt to leave this fight in order to focus his attention in getting the sphere back from Otto.
Seeing that his only option is to teleport, he didn't hesitate to create a portal on the ground.
As he did this, Emilia attempted to grab him to prevent him from leaving the fight yet she was unsuccessful.
"Otto!"
Emilia shouted, having had a gut feeling that Ansem is after the sphere.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have left their fight.
The merchant noticed what the royal candidate had said, prompting him to just start running at a random direction.
He'd hope that it would help his situation yet this only made it worse when suddenly Ansem was right in front of him.
"Otto!"
Emilia was more worried this time when she shouted his name for a second time, prompting her to start firing a barrage of icicles at Ansem and Otto's direction.
The merchant noticed this and quickly jumped out of the way all the while Ansem simply responded by creating a darkness barrier in front of him, shielding him of the attacks.
This allowed him to turn back his attention towards Otto.
"I will only ask this once, hand it over."
Otto was on the ground with the sphere on his left hand while his right one was helping him get back up.
He felt an abundant amount of fear, facing death itself. Even so, the moment he was back on his feet, he looked at him with a serious facial expression.
"No."
Otto Suwen knew that this could get him killed, he knew that he had no chance to fight back if Ansem attacks him right now but he won't back down.
Ansem commended this but also found it foolish. He prepared to attack him only for Garfiel to jump right in between the two.
"I won't let ya hurt him!"
He once again forces Ansem on the defensive, annoying the Organization member.
Before he could respond to the demi human boy's offense, Emilia had managed to re-join the fight as well.
With the two back on the offense, they were getting better in their coordinative attacks, having managed to land one hit each.
This prompted the Organization member to jump high enough to gain a bit of distance for a few seconds.
In these few seconds, he stretched his arms in order to create two large dark orbs.
As the large dark orbs were created, they began to fire a barrage of darkballs at the demi human boy and the silver haired half elf.
Garfiel punched away many of these attacks while Emilia used her icicles to counter these attacks.
With these keeping both sides busy, Otto remained a distance away from them as he looked at the sphere, hoping that he could figure out how to use it against Ansem.
As he attempted to figure this out, someone tapped his shoulder.
"Ahhh!"
Otto was spooked by this, almost making him drop the sphere yet he was able to hold on tightly to the sphere.
As he got his balance, he looked at the person that tapped his shoulder and to his surprise, it was an ally...more specifically, Zarestia herself.
Normally anybody with her sphere would be dead but given that Otto is on her side, she allowed this one time to pass.
She extended her hand while trying to not sound threatening or intimidating:
"Hand the sphere over."
"...Why?" Otto asked as brave as he could, feeling so much intensity from Zarestia's voice. The great spirit of murder just gave Otto a nearly threatening look before responding:
"It's my sphere. It belongs to me."
Otto remained silent as he heard this before looking at the sphere, figuring that Zarestia wouldn't lie about such a thing.
There's also the chance that this could help in their fight against Ansem, considering Zarestia with her sphere returned to her could be a powerful ally.
Trusting his gut, he handed over the light sphere. Zarestia was satisfied by this, prompting her to make an effort to remember to not kill Otto.
As she regained her true power through her sphere, her bloodlust was starting to overwhelm her.
With that happening, she turned towards Ansem's direction, noticing him being pushed back by the combined efforts of Garfiel and Emilia.
She charged in at the three and just started to go all out in her attacks. This caught the attention of Ansem, Garfiel, and Emilia, prompting the three to jump out of Zarestia's attacks.
As this happened, Zarestia's mind was completely consumed by her bloodlust, wishing everyone to die.
The one closest to her was Emilia but before she could even consider attacking the silver haired half elf, something came to mind.
A small memory prior to the big battle.
During the journey to the capital:
Zarestia was walking on her own, wishing to be on her own while having a feeling that the old man was using her sphere.
This just seethed her already growing anger towards the man, still pissed that Xehanort and the Organization had stolen her light sphere.
'They will die...They Will Die!'
These thoughts intensified the more she thought about.
Before they could overwhelm her, she felt someone tap her right shoulder which not only snap her out of her thoughts but also surprised her.
"Eep!"
"Sorry about that!" Sora said, feeling guilty for scary Zarestia. "I didn't mean to spook you."
"...I wasn't spooked!" Zarestia tried to justify herself which caught the attention of Sora but also Subaru, who was standing next to him.
"Okay...are you okay?"
"Of course, I'm okay. What would prompt such a question?!"
Subaru wanted to face palm since he's seeing someone he didn't expect to act like a tsundere right now.
"He's just worried for you sake." Subaru answered the question for Sora, having a feeling that this was the case.
Zarestia looked at the two with a serious facial expression before looking away.
"There's nothing to worry about. I'm capable of holding my own."
"That's not...I know you are capable; you are pretty strong. I just noticed you were unhappy."
Zarestia continued to look away though hearing those words from the Keyblade Master was oddly comforting for her.
This is the second time she's felt this way, the first being in the city of Guaral when he gave her the 'puppy eyes'.
'Why is he making me feel this way?!'
She looked forward as she began to change the subject, wanting to feel something else other than the feeling she currently had.
"Once I get back my sphere, I'm killing that man and then I'll be leaving."
"That's understandable." Sora responded, understanding that Zarestia only wishes to be allies for this conflict before leaving to do her own thing. "All I want to say is you can count on us to get your sphere back."
"..." Zarestia looked at Sora and saw the warm smile of his. This only caused her to go red once again. She quickly turned away as she could only muster a response of:
"...w-whatever."
Zarestia was silent for a moment before hearing Sora say:
"No matter what, you can count on us!"
That voice...the voice of confidence and determination caused Zarestia to start walking fast, trying to keep her distance from the keyblade wielders.
Although what Sora said was something kind, it caused her to be wary.
("No matter what , you can count on us!")
That determination had caused the bloodlust side of her to calm down briefly, remembering the innocent look on the keyblade master's eyes.
This helped in reminding her that she should focus on the Organization rather those that helped her get back her light sphere.
She turned towards Ansem quickly in order to start their fight. While she starts to go on an all out wind attack, she began to shout at her allies:
"I'll handle him...! Go help him!"
As she finished speaking, she let the bloodlust consume her with the only target in front of her being Ansem, the seeker of darkness.
"Oi! Wait a minute!" Garfiel shouted, not liking that the fight was interrupted so abruptly. He was about to join the fight once again only for Emilia to grab his arm.
"Wait."
"...what, princess?"
Garfiel questioned, trying to be respectful since Emilia is his captain's girl, meaning he must be respectful.
Emilia looked at Garfiel for a moment before turning towards Zarestia's location.
She watched the dual and noticed that she was not only going all out but any sense of control is thrown out of the window as she's just violently throwing attack after attack.
"We can't get involved in this fight."
"Eh?! Why not?"
"Because Garfiel-san, it is possible that Zarestia has lost control."
Garfiel noticed what Otto had said, prompting him to look at the fight itself to see that indeed the great spirit of murder was out of control.
Emilia had noticed this when she had thought Zarestia was going right after her prior to turning her attention to Ansem, having noticed her eyes were murderous intent.
A part of them wanted to stay and help since they know that even without the light sphere, Ansem was a threat...but they have to trust their instincts that they need to help the rest.
"Where's Subaru?" Emilia went straight for the question, wanting to see her fiancé once again. Garfiel and Otto couldn't help but chuckle a little, having expected this.
"Cap'n's at th'city."
"Okay. Then let's go."
As Emilia was heading towards the city, she noticed that the two boys weren't following her.
"...what's wrong?"
"Sorry Emilia-sama but Garfiel-san and I need to help the others. We were ambushed by two of those Organization members. We left Theresia-sama and the others to deal with the other one while we dealt with this one before you arrived."
"Yea. Allow us t'handle th't bastard while ya go help th'Cap'n, princess."
Emilia remained silent for a moment before nodding at the two, understanding what they were going to do.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she extended her right arm towards the pair.
"May the blessing of the spirits be with you."
Otto Suwen and Garfiel Tinsel remained silent by this, a bit taken aback but very appreciative of Emilia's prayer to them.
They bowed in respect before they split paths, with Garfiel and Otto went to assist the others against Xemnas while Emilia went to the capital to find Natsuki Subaru.
As the three had left the area, Zarestia and Ansem were both throwing everything they got at each other.
Ansem using all of his skills in the power of darkness to counter while Zarestia was just throwing a massive amount of wind against the Organization member.
Ansem was forced on the defense when suddenly the great spirit of murder exploded with a massive amount of wind tearing the entire area they were battling.
Many trees getting shredded apart within seconds, the ground getting destroyed, and a few cuts landing on the Organization member before his darkness barrier was able to appear.
Once he was protected from Zarestia's remaining attacks, Ansem looked at his arm, feeling a sharp pain while also feeling a few cuts on his face.
This made the Organization member understand the true threat that is Zarestia. When they first got the sphere, she was fighting with whatever strength she could muster.
Now that she's at her true strength and power, he can scale her to be as strong as the top three strongest of the true Organization.
'She must not leave her alive.'
Recognizing the threat that would be of leaving her alive, he waited until her attack had died down in order to take his chance to go for the kill.
The exact second Zarestia's wind had died down, Ansem put down his dark barrier before pointing his right arm towards the great spirit of murder's direction.
"Perish!"
A sudden barrage of discs at the woman at first, wanting to at least take the offense first before throwing any serious attacks.
Once he forced Zarestia to respond to his barrage of discs with a barrier of wind, Ansem took the opportunity to create a large dark orb above him.
While creating the large orb, a few small orbs appear behind him, each firing a laser at the great spirit of murder one at a time.
These lasers managed to keep her at bay, preventing her from attacking him while he creates the large dark orb.
It only took a minute before the large dark orb was create, with its purpose being a bomb of sorts should it close in on his opponent while also throwing a barrage of darkballs at her.
As the large dark orb began to bombard Ansem's opponent with a flurry of attacks, Zarestia takes this opportunity to build up her wind around her despite having to also deal with the attacks being thrown her way.
As she was building her wind for a large counterattack, all she had was one repetitive thought,
'Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.'
This one single word kept repeating on her mind as she continued to charge up her wind power, wanting to create an attack even more powerful than the last one.
Something that'll guarantee in killing the Organization member even if he had his barrier of darkness on.
As she prepared for this attack, Ansem threw his large orb at her to make sure he can finish her off quickly.
With the large dark orb moving rapidly towards her direction, Zarestia continued to power up her wind power while also punching and kicking away the darkballs fired towards her.
She did this for a bit before noticing that the large dark orb was closing in on her.
This caused her intuition to warn her that this thing is dangerous and that she should keep a distance.
She used a bit of wind power to push the large dark orb back as much as she can before being forced to block off the darkballs fired towards her.
This was enough time for the large dark orb closing in on Zarestia before exploding.
She noticed the explosion about to happen and within those few seconds, she used all her stored up wind power as a counter to Ansem's attack.
With these two attacks hitting each other, it caused a large explosion which destroyed a large amount of the forest with both the Organization member and the great spirit of murder being caught in the explosion.
As this explosion had caused an enormous crater, one that was seen by Emilia, Garfiel, and Otto despite the long distance they were to the fight between Zarestia and Ansem.
Three were worried for Zarestia's sake yet they couldn't do much about it since they are each busy with their own objectives.
As the dust settled from the large explosion of energy, Ansem managed to slowly get back up, viewing this destruction as necessary to defeat his opponent.
He took a moment to inspect the area before concluding that Zarestia was indeed defeated.
"It is a shame that we lost the light sphere. A useful tool for Xehanort."
As he prepared to leave, he read something that prompted him to create with his last ounce of power a dark barrier around him.
Just as the barrier was up, a sudden explosion of energy could be felt around him.
He looked around once again, this time managing to see where this power was coming from.
The moment he spotted her, she rapidly charged at in such speeds that he didn't have time to react.
He attempted to dodge the attack in the last second but Zarestia's final wind attack was strong enough to break through his barrier as well as landing a fatal blow on him.
Once pulling off this attack, she struggled to stay standing up, having used up all her power and strength to deliver the final and fatal blow on the Organization member.
She collapsed to the ground as she finally had no more strength in her legs. As she collapsed to the ground, Ansem could feel himself fading away.
He looked up at the sky as he couldn't help but lament that he didn't get the chance to face Sora once again, settling the score with him.
He closed his eyes while having a smile on his face, being in peace with the situation before fully disappearing.
Zarestia managed to see Ansem disappear, allowing her to be aware that she managed to kill the Organization member.
She smiled at this, satisfied in his elimination before collapsing to the ground.
As he conscious was beginning to blur up, she had something in her mind.
While underneath all the destroyed trees, her desire to kill Ansem was at its highest, wanting to eliminate such a threat...but there was another thought in mind.
Her other thought was the mental image of Sora.
The boy had given her an extra boost to push through the low power she had which helped her eliminate Ansem.
She turned around as she was laying on her back side, resting herself as she thought before everything had gone blank:
"You better win...keyblade master."
With that said, Zarestia passed out.
Crusch and Wilhelm charged at Xemnas from both his left and right side, attempting to overwhelm him and distract him before Theresia went for an attack from the middle.
As Crusch and Wilhelm closed in on the Organization member, they swung their swords at him. The Organization member remained looking unfazed as by the two warriors.
He knows they are very skilled and might even be on the same strength as some of the members of the first version of Organization XIII yet against him...futile.
He closed his eyes and waited for the two to attack.
Once this happened, he swiftly summoned the two laser swords from his hands to block both attacks simultaneously.
"Weak hearts are always drawn to one another."
"Don't underestimate us!"
As Crusch responded to Xemnas comment quickly and calmly, she jumped back while also using her ability of One Blow, A Hundred Felled which allowed her to throw a wind sword strike.
Xemnas created a shield to block off her attack before turning his attention to Wilhelm, noticing that he was about to go for another strike with Theresia also going for an attack.
Xemnas blocks Wilhelm's attack first before dodging Theresia's attack.
"Disappointing."
He knocks away Wilhelm's sword before attempting to land a kick only for the old butler to swiftly dodge the attack while going for a counterattack.
As he tried to stab his opponent in the chest, Xemnas was able to block off the attack with ease before returning focus to Theresia.
The Sword Saint was arguably the most skilled out of the three swordsmen, meaning Xemnas knew that he can't take her lightly.
He pointed his hand towards her direction before firing a few laser shots at her.
The Sword Saint noticed this and quickly reacted by deflecting the laser shots with her sword.
While she did this, Crusch charged back into the fight and began to throw a flurry of attacks.
Xemnas took note of the royal candidate's determination, seeing that she's definitely a strong opponent.
He blocked each of Crusch's attacks with ease, noticing that she's adapting to his defenses as she almost managed to bypass one of his blocks.
Noticing this improvement on Crusch's part, he did not hesitate to go all out with the female warrior.
Theresia and Wilhelm noticed this and quickly attempted to assist Crusch, seeing how she was being quickly overwhelmed by Xemnas's full strength.
Before he could land a fatal hit, Grimm had jumped in to block off the attack which caused his shield to receive immense damage.
He looked at the shield, having seen that Xemnas's laser sword had caused a few cracks on his shield.
Despite the damage that his shield had received, his actions had proven to be helpful since it saved Crusch's life but also gave Theresia and Wilhelm a chance to go on the offense.
"Thank you."
Crusch said in respect Grimm, knowing that his actions had saved her.
Grimm only nodded before watching the royal candidate return to battle against the Organization member.
With the three attacking Xemnas, they were doing their best to keep him on the defensive until one of them are able to land a hit.
As they were able to push back the Organization member, Xemnas was beginning to be annoyed by this.
This continued for about a minute before Crusch was able to land a hit on Xemnas first, having landed on his right arm.
Theresia was the second in his other arm with Wilhelm landed a third hit on his cheek.
With these three minor injuries, Xemnas took the chance to create a dark barrier around him before moving with it away from the three warriors.
The moment he gained some distance from them, the dark barrier went down with Xemnas firing a barrage of lasers at the trio.
Theresia immediately was the first to respond to this attack by deflecting as much of the lasers as she could, allowing some time for Wilhelm and Crusch to go for a counterattack.
Crusch uses her One Blow, A Hundred Felled ability once again all the while Wilhelm closes in on Xemnas.
The Organization member created a dark barier around him before disappearing right before Crusch's attack could hit him or before Wilhelm had gotten closer.
The three were caught off guard by this which prompted them to look their surroundings to see where Xemnas had gone off to.
As they look around, Xemnas teleported behind Theresia.
"W-Watch out!"
Crusch warned the Sword Saint while trying to get to her before the Organization member harms Theresia.
The Sword Saint caught what the royal candidate had said, prompting her to turn around and try to block Xemnas quick attack only for Carol to have gotten in between the two, managing to protect her.
"You will not harm Theresia-sama!"
"Hm."
Xemnas just brush away Carol by landed a kick on her side which sent her flying a few feet away from Theresia.
This left everyone stunned, especially Theresia and Grimm.
Grimm immediately went to check on Carol all the while Theresia looked at Xemnas with anger in her eyes.
"How dare you...hurt my friend!"
Xemnas looked with a blank expression, not caring for what the Sword Saint had said and just proceeded to attack her.
Theresia was prepared for these attacks, prompting her to quickly block off his attacks.
As she was holding her own, Wilhelm and Crusch joined in on the offense which put the Organization member back on the defense.
As they return to being the aggressors, Theresia manages to land a slightly deeper wound on the Organization member's arm.
Despite the injury he received, he wasn't fazed as he grabbed the Sword Saint by the throat the moment he saw an opening.
"Let her go!"
As Wilhelm shouted this, he swiftly threw a barrage of attacks.
Although the speed wasn't as fast as Theresia, it was indeed impressive for someone has the butler's age.
Xemnas takes note of this, impressed by the old butler while also annoyed of him.
He waited for the right moment before landing a kick on the old man, sending him a few inches away while he fell on his back side.
Crusch saw this and knew that she the remaining fighter once again.
'I won't fall here. We won't fall here!'
Using every single skill, she's been taught her entire life against her opponent, viewing him as an obstacle to everything she's worked hard on.
Crusch threw everything towards Xemnas, trying to break his guard regardless how tough that task is.
She continued to throw attacks left and right with Xemnas just blocking every attack with one hand while holding a tight grip on Theresia's neck.
"Let her go!"
Crusch shouted as she continued to increase her strength and speed, trying to not only reach the strength and power her opponent has but also attempting to surpass it.
Eventually Xemnas found this bothersome enough to disarm the royal candidate with ease before pointing his hand towards her.
"You've reached the end, warrior."
Crusch was at a pause for a moment, trying to figure a way around this new problem while wanting to find a solution to saving Theresia before she was killed.
As her mind was racing for solutions, she noticed Wilhelm not only recover swiftly but he also joined back into the fight. He swung his sword right on the back of the Organization member's head.
Just before the sword could hit Xemnas, the Organization member summoned his laser sword on his free hand before blocking the old butler's attack without even looking at him.
Crusch was shocked for a second, slightly amazed that Xemnas blocked an attack from a total blind spot.
Xemnas turned towards the old butler with a serious facial expression, a bit intrigued that someone like him managed to recover so fast for his age.
Wilhelm went for a barrage of attacks which the Organization member just blocked away the attacks with ease.
As he did this, Theresia was beginning to lose conscious as she was unable to breath.
'I...I can't...fall...here...I just...can't...'
Before everything faded black, Crusch charged in and went to save the sword saint by grabbing her sword and going straight for Xemnas's hand.
Although he was focused on Wilhelm, he did noticed Crusch was attempting to attack him. He waited for the right moment to turn his attention back to the royal candidate.
As he did this, he stabs her in the arm while she stabbed him in the arm as well.
This caused Crusch to drop her sword while Xemnas had let Theresia go, allowing the sword saint to regain her conscious.
The moment she was able to breath again and regain her composure, she looked at Xemnas with fear.
Between him and Pandora, he's for sure the more aggressive one.
This prompted her to get back up after having grabbed Crusch's sword to join back in the fight.
With Wilhelm and Theresia fighting side by side, they fought in unison which managed to force Xemnas on the offense.
With their combine efforts pushing their opponent back, Crusch took a moment to look at her injury. Although it was going to leave a scar, she could still fight.
'I can ask Ferris to heal this.'
Confident that he could heal this, she looked around to see Theresia's sword laying around a few feet away. She was about to go grab it until she felt someone grab her hand.
"Hold on Crusch-sama. You are injured."
Crusch turned to see who it was speaking to her. When she saw, she was a bit surprise to see the merchant Otto Suwen though that thought was brief as she went to respond to what he had said to her:
"I understand the concern, but I must help."
"I know but we can't have you continue if your hurt."
"This injury is nothing concerning."
"Then let me heal ya first."
As Garfiel said this, he approached Crusch. She was caught off guard by his presences, not having noticed it. Garfiel took only a moment to heal her before telling her,
"Allow Brotto and I t'handle th's guy. Ya should help th'others out."
"Hold on, I won't leave this fight until it's seen through."
Otto didn't like this since this opponent looks to be much tougher than Ansem while Garfiel can't help but understand Crusch's desire to fight.
"Ya know what Brotto, we should let 'em fight."
"Are you sure about that, Garfiel-san? If something happens to a royal candidate—"
"I hear ya but ya can't deny her will t'fight."
As Garfiel says this, the three notice Wilhelm and Theresia both get pushed back as Xemnas manages to regain the upper hand.
"Th't's my cue."
Just as Garfiel was about to head into battle, he turned towards Otto to ask him one last question.
"Any advice on how t'take th's guy down?"
Otto was a bit taken aback by this, having put on the spot on what he could advice his friend to do in a situation like this.
Despite this, he had one thing in mind on what he could say, something fitting for Garfiel:
"Trust your instincts, Garfiel-san. And make sure you beat him no matter what."
"Ya got it, Brotto!"
He gave a thumbs up to the merchant before turning towards Xemnas and joining in on the fight.
While this was happening, Theresia and Wilhelm got back up and prepared to go for another combined attack.
Just as the two were about to charge in, Xemnas began to speak to the pair:
"Don't you see how futile your efforts are? Accept defeat and give in to nothingness."
"Evil won't win." Wilhelm responded as he looked at his opponent with pride.
"So long as we have the strength to stand back up, we won't be put down, no matter how strong you are." Theresia said in a serious tone, preparing herself for a hellish battle ahead. Xemnas remained silent as he viewed this prideful mentality as foolishness.
He prepared to end this fight only to notice someone else join in on the fight. A familiar demi human boy, walking past both Wilhelm and Theresia.
"I recognize you. You were involved in Saix's defeat."
"Well yea but my amazin' self wasn't th'only one who defeated him." As Garfiel said this, he turned his attention to Theresia and Wilhelm. "Who're y'all holdin' up?"
"We are doing well, Garfiel-dono." Wilhelm said, having been a while since he's seen the boy. The last time the two had spoken was during the events of the watergate city.
"Yes. We still have enough energy to fight." Theresia said confidently. Garfiel couldn't help but smile at this before looking back at Xemnas. He smashed his fists together while speaking in a confident tone:
"Ya know what, yer gonna die here, bastard!"
"Is that right?" Xemnas questioned, having found that comment amusing. Just before the fight began between the two, Garfiel said to the pair behind him:
"I got th's."
Wilhelm and Theresia noticed this and wanted to protest since this was their fight as well but Garfiel made it hard for them to say anything as he swiftly charged at Xemnas.
The Organization member noticed this and quickly teleported away from Garfiel's field of view.
The demi human boy stopped on his tracks when he saw this, prompting him to quickly use his instincts to indicate where Xemnas is going to attack next.
As he relied on this, he opened his eyes once his senses of danger had suddenly told him where to turn to.
He looked to his left side and noticed a laser rapidly approaching him.
Using his shields, he blocked the laser with ease before noticing another laser being fired on his right side.
He blocked this one as well before seeing that Xemnas has chosen to fight long distance.
This did bother him but only for a moment since he knew this won't stop him.
He continued on the defensive until he sensed a possible area Xemnas was going to appear.
Although it was within a few seconds, the demi human boy stomped on the ground as hard as he could, causing the ground itself to crack all the while the area Xemnas appeared suddenly exploded.
This caused the Organization member to not only be surprised by stunned for a brief moment.
That was enough time for Garfiel to charge towards Xemnas's position and land the first punch on him.
"Got ya!"
As Garfiel shouted this, he attempted to land another punch to the Organization member's face yet he had managed to teleport away from the demi human boy.
"Eh?"
Garfiel was caught off guard by this, yet he was able to spot where the Organization member had gone when he quickly looked at his surroundings.
Once he spotted him, he prepared to charge at his opponent only for his opponent to have suddenly moved rapidly fast that Garfiel barely had enough time to block away his laser swords attack.
"Tsk."
Garfiel used all of his strength and speed to keep up what it seems to be Xemnas's true speed and strength, barely holding his ground.
Just as it seems to be like Xemnas was about to break Garfiel's guard, Wilhelm and Theresia join back into the battle by attacking him from behind.
Xemnas caught on to this and swiftly turned around to knock the two away with a simple attack from his right hand laser sword.
Garfiel took this chance to go and attack Xemnas from his side while he was distracted.
He goes for a kick only for the Organization member to block it with his other hand holding a laser sword.
The demi human boy felt his foot burn intensely as it connected with Xemnas's laser sword.
Despite this, he pushed through and manage to break the laser sword with his sheer strength. As he broke the laser sword, he managed to land another hit on him.
This was enough strength to send Xemnas flying a few feet away for only a moment before he teleported behind Garfiel Tinsel.
Before he could react, Xemnas grabbed him by the throat and prepared to toss him up on the sky.
"We shall go together."
"What the—?!"
As Garfiel was tossed up on the sky, he began to teleport on the air where Garfiel was at just to attack him while he was disoriented from the experience.
Each attack would sent the demi human boy higher and higher until finally Xemnas kicked the boy hard enough to send him straight towards the ground.
In only a few seconds, Garfiel Tinsel crashed onto the ground, creating a crater.
As the boy was on the ground, Xemnas spared no time to fire a barrage of lasers at him.
Just as the lasers were going to hit the boy, both Theresia and Wilhelm intervened in the attack by blocking away the lasers with their swords.
While they were protecting the demi human boy, Crusch had managed to grab Theresia's sword in order to use her One Blow, A Hundred Felled ability to get his attention.
Xemnas turned towards Crusch's direction, noticing the attack thrown towards him.
He created a barrier to block off the attack all the while Garfiel swiftly gotten up, glad that he was on the ground since his divine protection shines more when he's stepping on the living ground.
Once back at full strength within a few seconds, he looked up with a smile before jumping as high as he could to reach Xemnas.
As he closed in on the Organization member, he looked at the demi human boy annoyed before shooting another wave of lasers.
Garfiel wasn't fazed by this attack, if anything he was motivated to brush through this in order to land his own blow on the Organization member.
"'F th's all ya got, then yer gonna know what defeat taste like!"
As he said this, he blocked away all of Xemnas's attacks before going for a punch.
As he was about to land the hit, Xemnas brushed the attack away with his laser sword before attempting to hit him with said weapon.
The demi human boy saw this and quickly responded by swinging his leg for a kick right before gravity drags him back to the ground.
"Take th's!"
The kick landed though just barely, meaning it didn't do the intended damage he wanted.
As Garfiel was starting to fall towards the ground, Xemnas charges at the boy while he's falling towards the ground.
In an attempt to eliminate him, he tried to land a few hits only for Garfiel to use this opportunity to land a strong enough punch to send the Organization member back towards the sky where he originally was at.
"Got ya!"
As Garfiel shouted with pride, he managed to not only land on his feet but also created another large crater.
Wilhelm and Theresia looked at him for a moment before turning their attention back to Xemnas, noticing that he was starting to get mad.
He teleported away once again, prompting Garfiel, Wilhelm, Crusch, and Theresia to be on guard for a moment before once again the Organization member targeted the demi human boy.
"Can you spare a heart?"
"Eh?"
Garfiel was confused by this yet he attempted to land a punch on Xemnas only to be trapped in what seems to be an electric prison, taking damage every second he's trapped.
"Garfiel-san!"
Otto shouted as he was worried for his friend's safety, prompting him to start running towards Garfiel's direction.
As he was closing in on his friend, another Xemnas had suddenly appeared and easily kicked him away.
"What?!"
The merchant was dumbfounded by this, shocked to see this specific Organization member make a copy of himself.
Wilhelm, Crusch, and Theresia noticed this and quickly split up, with the two female warriors going off to protect Otto while the old butler goes to save Garfiel.
As he was moving swiftly towards the real Xemnas's location, the other Xemnas that was near Otto's position disappeared for only three seconds before appearing in front of Wilhelm's position.
"Hm?"
"Begone!"
Xemnas shot two large energy balls towards Wilhelm's direction, forcing him to quickly jump back to avoid the attacks.
As he managed to escape this attack, he turned to his right side as he noticed the clone Xemnas teleport there in an attempt to use his ethereal blades to land a fatal hit on him.
Luckily for him, Theresia managed to protect him by getting in between the two and blocking off the attacks.
This bought Wilhelm some time to close in on the real Xemnas, knowing that every second they waste dealing with the fake is a second that could be used to save Garfiel Tinsel from being killed.
Just as he was about to attack the real Xemnas, another fake one appeared out of nowhere and manage to create a barrier that stopped him.
"What?"
"Perish."
The second fake Xemnas created another barrier wall right in front of Wilhelm, pushing him back.
This once again caught the old butler off but for a moment before he was able to block one of his laser sword attacks.
Crusch was the closest to Xemnas and was about to cut off his attack on Garfiel only for the fake Xemnas dealing with Theresia teleported away from her and went after the royal candidate.
The fake Xemnas manage to grab Crusch's face before tossing her away with immense force.
She was disoriented by this for a moment before landing on her feet and charging back towards the real Xemnas, determined to save Garfiel Tinsel.
While this was all going on, Otto Suwen looked back with concern. He wants to help his friend but has no real counters to the fake Xemnas appearing.
'I have to help Garfiel-san! What can I do?!'
As he prepared to wing it, he felt someone grab his shoulder, catching his attention. He turned to see it was Carol, having seemingly recovered from Xemnas's attack.
Next to her was Grimm, wielding a shield as he seemed eager to help. Carol set her sword on her shoulder as she asked the merchant,
"Need some assistance?"
Otto remained silent for a moment before nodding, seeing that this is his best chance at saving his friend.
Grimm and Carol both nodded at Otto and waited for him to make his move, both deciding to guard the merchant up until he reaches his friend.
As the three began to run towards Garfiel's position, Theresia noticed them and quickly ran towards them to provide some assistance.
Once she was by their side, the fake Xemnas that was dealing with Wilhelm teleported in front of the group, targeting Otto only for Theresia to step in and protect the merchant.
As she distracted this fake Xemnas, the one dealing with Crusch teleported away from her in order to teleport in front of the merchant, attempting to attack him as he views him a threat.
Before he could harm Otto Suwen, Grimm was able to use his shield with everything he had to block off the fake Organization member's attack.
As he did this, Carol took her chance to go for an attack to keep this fake distracted.
This not only gave Otto a clear shot to save his friend but Crusch a chance to save the demi human boy as well.
The two closed in with Otto throwing his last remaining red crystals at Xemnas.
When he did this, he had just noticed the royal candidate closing in on the Organization member.
"Crusch-sama! Up!"
"Hm?"
Crusch looked up and noticed the few red crystals thrown up on the sky, allowing her to figure out what the merchant was asking her to do.
Putting her trust on him, she used her long range ability to damage one of the red crystals.
This was enough to cause such a large explosion that caused the real Xemnas to take some damage as well as stop his attack on the demi human boy.
Garfiel fell to the ground, barely conscious as well as in pain all the while Crusch and Otto both look around for Xemnas's whereabouts, having notice the two fakes having disappeared.
As they were looking around with caution the others all looked around as well until they noticed the Organization member appear right behind Grimm and Carol.
Carol attempted to react yet she wasn't fast enough, leading to her and her husband to be knocked out of the fight first with a simple strong kicks to their sides.
Theresia, Wilhelm, and Crusch attempted to attack Xemnas only for the Organization member to disappear once again.
As the three warriors and the merchant were on guard, they looked at their surroundings only for suddenly Theresia to be send flying.
"Theresia!"
Wilhelm shouted before he felt a sudden sting in his back. This sting eventually felt like a burn. Upon further inspection, he had been hit by Xemnas's ethereal blades.
This caused the old butler to collapse to the ground, shocking both Otto and Crusch.
"Wilhelm!"
The royal candidate shouted in fear, worried for her butler. Xemnas turned towards the remaining two standing up, giving an annoyed facial expression.
"Let's end this farce."
With those words coming out of the Organization member's mouth, he teleports behind Crusch, wanting to knock her out before focusing on the merchant.
As Xemnas prepared to eliminate the royal candidate, Otto quickly used Dona to create a barrier to protect Crusch.
This barrier may have been easily destroyed by the Organization member but it was enough time for Crusch to put up some defense against him.
As Crusch was blocking each attacking, Xemnas eventually managed to break Crusch's sword with one strong attack.
"...?!"
Crusch was stunned by this.
"Perish into nothingness."
As Xemnas was going to strike down the royal candidate, Otto didn't hesitate to step in front of her and throw a punch to Xemnas's face.
Although Otto Suwen isn't a strong man, his instinct to protect a woman like Crusch had pushed his strength far beyond than what he was capable.
He managed to hit Xemnas in the face hard enough to cause him to be stunned for a moment, surprised by his strength.
At the same time, he had bruised his own hand having done this.
"Not impressed."
As Xemnas said this, he prepared to return the attack to the merchant by pointing his right hand directly at him, preparing to shoot a laser at him.
Before he could harm the merchant, Garfiel opened his eyes after giving himself a few seconds to rest and swiftly charged at Xemnas while transforming into his beast form.
Xemnas noticed this and quickly attempted to react to the demi human boy yet Garfiel had beaten him in taking action first, having landed a fatal blow on him by slashing him with his large claws before reverting back to human form.
As Garfiel collapsed on the ground, having used every ounce of strength to take down the Organization member.
"Yer...not going to...harm Brotto..."
As Garfiel said this, Xemnas remained still as he felt a sting on his body for a moment before noticing that he was beginning to fade away.
Otto couldn't help but appreciate Garfiel for saving his life as well as being happy that he was able to defeat another Organization member.
Crusch was impressed by how fast the demi human warrior was able to recover enough strength to beat Xemnas, having note that him starting to fade away is an indication that it's all over for him.
"You are beaten." The merchant couldn't help himself but sound highly when saying this.
"You are indeed right. I've been bested once again...and not by Sora this time." Xemnas looked at his hand as he was fading faster than expected. He turned towards Garfiel, having been left impressed by the boy's efforts before asking Otto and Crusch. "How much trust do you have on Sora?"
"I'd risk my life for him, that's how much I trust him." Otto answered swiftly, having Sora be one of the three people in the Emilia camp he wouldn't hesitate to give his life for.
Crusch remained silent for a brief moment to ponder on the question. Once she had the right words, she responded:
"If the Keyblade Master ever asked for my sword, I would gladly hand it to him."
Xemnas couldn't help but smirk at this.
"He must be a very lucky boy."
With those being the last words, he disappeared fully. Just as this happened, Crusch and Otto turned towards Garfiel's direction after noticing that he was back up.
"Good to see your doing well, Garfiel-san." Otto said. Garfiel smiled as he nodded at the merchant for a moment before putting his fist up.
"We kicked his ass!"
"We sure did."
The two fist bumped before the demi human boy turned his attention to heal those that were recovering from Xemnas's attacks.
While he went to help Theresia, Wilhelm, Carol, and Grimm, Crusch and Otto had a chance to speak on what had transpired.
"Do you think there might've been a reason for him to ask such a question?" The Duchess questioned.
"Unsure but we should assume that Sora-san is in danger."
"Well then, once everyone is at full strength, then we can depart into the capital of Vollachia."
Otto agreed with this, hoping that Garfiel could be a little quick on the healing since he worries for the others fighting in the city.
As they were waiting, Crusch noticed Rowan approaching them.
"Who is that?" She questioned, not wanting to assume that Rowan was a threat so she was curious to know if Otto knew him.
The merchant was confused at first but when he turned towards the direction the duchess was looking to see that it was Rowan.
"That's an ally."
As he said this, he turned his attention towards Rowan.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm still alive." Rowan paused as he looked at Garfiel, having noticed him healing Theresia and Wilhelm. "I noticed you have a healer."
"Yes, do you require some healing?"
"No. No. It's just that two knights require some healing if they wish to return into the fight."
"Two knights?" Otto questioned, having a bad feeling that it was someone he knew.
"Indeed. One with green hair and the other with red hair."
"...Yabuto...Kishida..." He whispered underneath his breath, his feeling having been true.
He prepared to alert Garfiel about their mutual friends only for him and both Crusch and Rowan to notice someone having suddenly flew towards the capital.
"Wait...who was that?"
"Another Organization member?" Crusch asked.
"No...he didn't seem like it. He wasn't wearing their coat." Rowan commented, having noticed that they were wearing black but it wasn't the coat that the Organization members wore.
Otto paid close attention to the attire, feeling like he's seen this before.
After a moment of deep thinking, he immediately knew who it was.
'Oh no.'
Otto turned towards Crusch to alert her of the problem that has just arise.
"We need to hurry and help the others. Someone dangerous has just arrived to the fight."
"Who?" Asked the duchess in a curious yet respectful manner.
"Someone who shouldn't be messed with...but we will need everyone's assistance."
Otto looked around and noticed that it'll be at most a bit before they can enter the city to help the others, especially against a new threat.
Crusch noticed the look on Otto's face, having some understanding on his concerns.
"There's no need to be concerned, merchant. Ferris should be arriving in a moment to help in getting everyone back to normal. If it's needed, you and your friend could go on ahead without us."
"..." Otto remained silent for a few seconds, trying to think if this is the best idea to do something like that.
Before he could say anything to Crusch, he noticed Felix approaching them with Frederica, Petra, and Felt by his side.
"Crusch-sama. Is it possible that you can join us the exact moment everyone's healed?"
Crusch nodded which gave the merchant some relief before he turned his attention to Garfiel.
The demi human boy had finished healing Theresia when he noticed his best friend approaching them.
"Just rest fer now."
Theresia nodded and allowed herself to rest for a bit, knowing that she'll need it.
As she takes a moment to close her eyes and rest, Garfiel turned towards the merchant.
"What's on yer mind, Brotto?" Garfiel asked, noticing that his friend seems to be a bit nervous about something.
"We need to head into the city, Subaru-san and Sora-san are in danger."
"They'll be fine." Garfiel said as he finished up healing the previous Sword Saint. "Nothin'll stop them."
"That is true...but they are already dealing with all of the Organization. Imagine if the one with that long sword that was fighting Cloud in Chaosflame city joins in."
Garfiel had paused for a moment to think back to the first time they had interacted Cloud, remembering what the blonde haired warrior was dealing with...a destructive warrior that gives the scent of death.
Once he remembered the warrior Otto Suwen was worried about, it prompted him to be conflicted since he can't just leave the rest unhealed, not having realized that Felix has just arrived.
Otto gives him this information which helps calm Garfiel down for a brief moment before the two turned towards Felix's direction, noticing that he's approaching the two with Frederica, Petra, and Felt by his side.
"What's the situation?" The healer asked.
"We got some injured knights. From what Rowan said, it seems Yabuto and Kishida pushed themselves beyond their limit."
"Of course." Felix said as he shook his head, thinking that perhaps it would've been Waraki that would be the injured one. "Nya better get to work."
As Felix went off to heal the rest all the while Felt confronted the two.
"How about big bro, how has he and my hero been?" Felt said, knowing that Garfiel and Otto have interacted with Subaru and Sora.
The two couldn't help but find Felt's concern face and attitude a bit adorable.
"They're fine. They haven't gotten into trouble...fer now."
"For now? What does that suppose to mean?" Felt tilted her head as she asked this, not liking Garfiel's tone at the end. Otto had wished Garfiel hadn't added that last part because...
"Is that witch here?!" Felt asked in a concerned manner.
"No...but something just as dangerous as arrive to the fight." The merchant responded.
As Otto said this, he turned towards the capital along with Garfiel, prepared to go off to stop the new threat that's arrived to the battlefield only for Felt to shout out:
"I'm going with you two!"
"Eh?" Garfiel paused as he heard this.
"If she goes, then I want to go too!" Petra added in.
"You can't, Felt-sama, Petra-chan. It's dangerous." Frederica said, not wanting Petra to be put in danger as well as Felt, having been warned that she was very brash. "You have to trust them."
"...but I want to help!"
Felt was frustrated that she can't participate in what seems to be a badass battle. Hell, she's still mad that Reinhard convinced her to be a bodyguard to Felix.
Garfiel could see the prideful warrior in the royal candidate sparking with fire though he wouldn't want her to be involved in the opponent he and Otto will be dealing with next.
All he could do was pat her and Petra on their heads while telling them:
"Don't ya worry, once everyone's healed, ya can help us out!"
Otto and Frederica didn't like this but seeing as it manage to get Felt and Petra excited to join the fight, it will do for now.
As the two sighed, Garfiel looked at Otto to see if he's ready for the next challenge. The merchant nodded at him confidently before the two charged towards the city.
"Ya better keep everyone safe!" Felt and Petra in unison shouted this, feeling the same sentiment. Garfiel and Otto turned around to give a thumbs up, giving their acknowledgements to their wish.
"We got th's, right?"
"We sure do!"
Despite the merchant not having the physical capabilities to fight, he knows that he can contribute in other ways...as well as wanting to be there to watch Garfiel get another win.