Fight scenes, yadda yadda yadda. Nothin' special; just the normal Argy-kicks-butt stuff. Not that that's bad, though.

Next chapter, though... We shall see.

-Der'gal shi'e moir-

Obliterator laughed wildly before sneering at me as I stood in the air in front of him. "That's right, lowlife! You're gonna die, along with the mortals! It's the price ya pay for being arrogant and not doing your duty!"

"Even if I didn't know about the duty until now?" Shrugging, I inserted my arms through the sleeves of my coat, reaching back to grasp Yamakaze's shaft as I settled into a fighting stance, my blindfold already down around my neck. "I cannot accept that."

"Thou canst and shalt, mortal!" Devastator's voice boomed through the night, whipping up a gale as he descended to the ocean's surface, setting his feet firmly down. "Thy mortal associates shalt feel the wrath first, then we shalt rip thy powers from thee before destroying you as well!"

He raised a hand and unleashed a bolt of lightning from his fingertips, the massive blade of energy lancing toward the girls, who screamed in fear as Aliza raised a shield of sugar. The lightning bolt exploded, then I spoke from behind the wall of solidified air I had created in front of the lightning to Aliza.

"Captain, what are your orders? Fight or retreat?"

Aliza stood up and clenched her hands into fists. "Can ya take 'em, Argy?"

I stared the entire group down, calculating and recalculating before turning one eye toward her. "Possibly."

"Then KICK THEIR BUTTS!" She whooped as she pumped a fist in the air, then I turned as Devastator began laughing, a deep, throaty sound that sent shockwaves through the turbulent air and cracked against the shield of air I formed around the girls like live lightning.

"Thou believest thy mere Sea Devil powers, not yet fully formed, canst defeat us? Thy pride is arrogance, mortal." Flicking one hand, he waved the other two Sea Devils forward. "Destroy him, servants."

"Understood." Mantis snapped her book closed and straightened up, her eyes beginning to glow with an infernal red light; beside her, Scorpion brought his tail around and smirked at me, licking it casually.

"I'm gonna bag me a Gorgon head, I'm gonna bag me a Gorgon head," he sang wickedly, then the pair began moving forward.

Lowering my head, my hand still gripping Yamakaze, I stared at them from under my hat brim.

"Amateurs."

They paused briefly to frown at me, then I disappeared from view, materializing behind them as, in one smooth motion, I drew Yamakaze and cut them both in half, looking down my nose at them as they stared in shock at me during their last moment of life.

"You never concentrate in one place; you never give your opponent your measure before the fight begins; you never hesitate once the battle begins; you only go for the killing blow. These are the rules of Sea Devil warfare, kids."

A gale erupted to life as a mountain leaped up, peak opening up like massive jaws and swallowing their tumbling bodies before snapping shut and returning beneath the waves, the gale howling around me and forming a tornado as I turned to the remaining figures and rested my ax on my shoulder. My eyes half-shut, I gazed at Devastator amusedly.

"I guess you now need three more Sea Devils, Titan of Storms."

He snarled, then Obliterator cackled and raised a finger. "My turn, loser! Sea Gods, forward and destroy him with everything ya got!"

The three looked uneasily at each other, then they started forward, their bodyguards moving ahead of them as they slowly advanced on me. Looking at them from under my hat brim, I couldn't help but begin chuckling; Poseidon looked at me from beneath stormy eyebrows.

"What is so amusing, Gargoyle?"

"I guess you didn't hear your master." As they frowned uneasily at me, I brought Yamakaze down and held it out at arm's length, the shaft running from my left shoulder out along my right arm. Bringing my eyes up from beneath my hat, I smiled at them. "Much as I would love to avoid this fight, those two idiots will kill my captain, her navigator and myself just out of spite. That means that I am giving this fight my all, which, in turn, means you had better do so as well or fall to my weaponry."

Surf rubbed the back of his head uneasily. "But, dude, I don' wanna fight ya."

"Doesn't matter." Bringing Yamakaze out in front of me, holding it horizontally across my body at arm's length, I stared at them over the shaft and beneath my hat brim. "Either fight a Sea Devil or defy a Sea Titan; your choice."

They looked between each other, then Obliterator snapped, "Stop yappin' and start slaughtering!"

"Shut up, moron."

He spluttered at me, then Luna shook her head violently at me. "Don't provoke him! You know the status quo!"

I knew it all too well; both the old one and the new one. My expression bland, I locked eyes with her.

"Sea Devils, Sea Gods, World Government. Each is controlled by a Titan, the greatest and most powerful beings in existence; they are this way to ensure balance is maintained between the sea, the land and the storm. They are powerful enough to quell any rebellious activity without qualm or thought. That is your status quo, Luna of the Tide."

Turning to look Devastator in the eye, I smiled amusedly even as I felt a trickle of sweat roll down the back of my neck; his expression was terrifying in how furious it was. "But the true status quo is more like Sea Devils, Sea Gods and Sea Titans; each governing different aspects of the oceans, each keeping a balance between themselves to ensure no one group becomes too powerful."

Smiling, Obliterator snapped his fingers, creating a ball of fire that began orbiting his body. "Yeah, you got the old-fashioned one, kid. Too bad we scrapped that plan ages ago!"

"Too bad it means you can be defeated."

His eyes widened as my afterimage faded and he turned to find me behind both him and Devastator, Yamakaze held across my chest with the head behind me, ready to slash. Snarling, he turned to glare at the Sea Gods.

"Old quo or no quo, you're still my servants; GET HIM!"

As they reluctantly moved to attack me, I hit upon a wild, idiotic scheme that might pay off if I survived. If, that is, I survived; mighty big if.

Cutting loose with my eyes, I began churning the energy running wild around us, creating a wind current that fed into the gale that was already blowing in response to Yamakaze's movement; water droplets began rising into the air as the ocean's physical connections began slowly destabilizing, allowing to begin literally tearing apart the ocean. Focusing as the entire group watched in surprise the massive show I was putting on, I began threading the energy together, then I raised my hand and pumped it into my palm. A glowing sphere appeared, then I looked straight at Poseidon.

"Choose which of your servants shall die."

The man straightened up, his trident coming to his side as he glared at me. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"This fight is serious for me, Sea God. Either begin treating it the same or you're all going to die without putting up a struggle." Lowering my head to shield them from direct contact with my eyes, I smiled toothily. "Now, I could slaughter you all while you're still trying to decide what to do, but you're honorable hesitation has earned you more than that." Raising my head again, I smirked at him. "So either attack without hesitation or I'll begin slaughtering your servants."

Lef'tune snarled and raised his own trident, lightning beginning to crackle around it. "You think you can defeat me that easily, demon?! You're just Gargoyle, Medusa's former underling that betrayed her and usurped her position! You aren't-"

"Shaddap, you!"

As every head turned to look at Surf, he patted Tina and Arlene's hands before waving them back.

"Girls, I want you to run as far and as fast from here as you possibly can." His expression losing every trace of amusement as he turned to face me and raised his hands, he continued speaking to Lef'tune. "As for you, ya idiot, he didn't just kill off Meds; he's also th' one that killed Leviathan and the Siren."

Several heads turned back to eye me in shock, while I closed my fist and caused the ball of energy to dissipate before waving my hand and clearing the air of my energy storm, lowering Yamakaze as I smiled toothily at him.

"For your intelligence, Surf, you get the platinum treatment."

Bringing Yamakaze up to my shoulder, I brought my other hand up and wrapped it around the shaft. "My full-on attack."

He snarled and snapped his hands back, creating a wave that sent Tina and Arlene flying away before he formed a fist and slammed it into the ocean, sending a tidal wave's worth of water surging toward me. Leaping into the air, I spun around and dug my heels into the air before I noticed that the surge of water was following me into the air, condensing tighter and tighter until several thousand gallons were focused into a missile eight feet long and one wide.

Flashing away, I was immediately forced to spin to avoid a pair of icy darts thrown by Tina and Arlene, who had returned to their master's side. Grimacing in revulsion over what I had to do, I dug my heels in and began flashing around, each flash barely preventing me from getting slammed by one of Surf's missiles.

Then lightning flashed and I smirked; Lef'tune was already charging, followed by his fellow Trident Watch and a focused scythe of wind from Poseidon's trident. They were finally taking me seriously; even as I thought that, the seven Wind Blades flashed into existence around me, with Luna in front of me, her sword leveled at me.

"As you wish for our full strength, you shall get it."

Grinning devilishly, I tightened my grip on Yamakaze. "And the same from me."

With that, Luna drew her sword back before slashing it forward, sending a scythe of wind at me. "One Blade Dance!"

As I dodged the strike, two more strikes lanced out at me. "Two Blade Dance!" Spinning to avoid them, I began flashing faster and faster as the attacks began coming faster and faster themselves. "Three Blade Dance! Four Blade Dance! Five Blade Dance! Six Blade Dance! Seven Blade Dance! Final Blade Dance!"

As she uttered the final dance, the air filled with razor-sharp wind blades and I grinned before grinding to a halt and bringing Yamakaze up.

"Sundering Tornado!"

Grasping Yamakaze with both hands at the bottom of the hilt, I began spinning on one foot, instantly creating a tornado focused into the diameter of my spin, the turbulence causing the wind blades to dissipate before I stopped spinning and leaped higher into the air, my expression forming into a smirk as the eight Luna Dancers followed. Bringing my hand down to point palm-first at them, I grinned toothily.

"Three Days of Dirges."

Luna's eyes went wide, then she skidded to a halt and screamed for her servants to do likewise; then I spoke from behind them.

"First Dirge; Flail of Hades."

Slashing Yamakaze at them, I unleashed thousands of wind blades at them, the blades forming chains that connected to Yamakaze's head and lashed out at the women. They screamed as the blades bit into their skin, then turned to glare furiously at me. Smirking, I began spinning Yamakaze; Luna's eyes went wide again.

"Second Dirge; Bark of Cerberus."

Yamakaze began howling from the speed which I was spinning it, then I flung the spinning weapon at them; Luna flashed in front of her fighters just in time to catch the brunt of the attack on her sword, slowly being driven back as I brought my hands back to my chest and held them, right over left and palm facing palm, approximately six inches from me. Energy began coalescing into a sphere between my hands, churning and spinning as I added turbulence of my own to it; behind me, I saw Surf, Tina and Arlene charging me, while Poseidon and the Trident Watch shot toward me from beneath the waves.

Smirking, I looked back at the Luna Dancers and flashed forward, driving my ball of energy into Luna's stomach with one hand as the other caught Yamakaze.

"Third Dirge; Wrath of Hell."

As she flew back, blood flying from her mouth, her seven Wind Blades shot forward, screaming in rage as their wings beat furiously, driving them toward me swords-first. Grimacing, I shot forward, slashing straight through them; on the other side of their line, in front of Luna's falling body, I materialized, Yamakaze on the other side of my body from where I had begun my slash. As I flipped Yamakaze around and leaped above Luna, the Wind Blades erupted in blood and died as a mountain snapped up and devoured them.

"I am sorry, Goddess of the Tide."

She stared at me bitterly, then my ax clove her head from her body.

As her body slowly fell toward the waiting jaws of the mountain below, I turned to regard the utterly shocked expressions of Tina and Arlene and the dour one of Surf.

"This is war; you and the masters you serve have declared that I am to die this night. Unless you take me seriously, you will die as they did."

Surf nodded sadly and brought his hands up, grinding his teeth as he clenched his fists. "So be it." Crouching down, he was joined by Tina and Arlene as incredible amounts of power began surging through the air around them. I felt my eyes widen to reflect the surprise I felt, then they snapped their hands forward in the ultimate, one-shot technique that was theirs and theirs alone.

"DAVY JONES' JUDGEMENT!"

The ocean leaped up, forming a huge head that easily swallowed my mountain's jaws; icicle teeth formed inside, creating huge rows of massive teeth that crackled with energy; I knew from previously witnessing it that it could easily pierce my skin no matter how much of my Gorgon Stare was focused on it.

Sighing, I brought my hat down over my eyes as the jaws began slamming shut.

"Guess I gotta change already."

As the jaws snapped shut, I could barely even hear myself shout, "Sea Devil Transformation; Battle Form!"

Then the jaws of water and ice slammed shut, creating a shockwave that sent huge waves rippling out in every direction, including toward the two girls. Aliza and Nicone stared in shock as the wave reached for them, then I burst from the jaws and jumped in front of the pair, taking the wave on my broad stone wings as I smirked at them, my blocky face leering from behind the four huge tusks emerging from my jaws.

"Clouse oune!"

Nicone shrieked and backed away, while Aliza set herself for battle. Chuckling, I pointed up at the hat on my head.

"Settle douwn, gurls. It's juwst me."

Aliza blinked at me, her fists lowering. "Uhh, Argy? Your face is... Uh... Weird."

Smirking as I ponderously straightened up to my full thirty-seven-foot height, I turned to smirk at the stony-faced Titans and the gaping Sea Gods. "Thus us mu bahttle fourm! Froum thus fourm I gout mu nahme, Gahrgoule!"

Obliterator laughed. "It fits, freak!"

Bringing Yamakaze around in front of me and holding it in my seven-fingered right hand, I smirked as I brought my three-fingered left hand up and scratched my forehead beneath the crown of stone horns ringing them. "Dunno ef you should be caullun anuoune freak, freak."

His eyes snapped wide open in rage, then he snarled and made a fist with one hand.

"Titan's Technique; Puppeteer's Rage!"

The eyes of the Sea Gods and their underlings began glowing, then they charged me with renewed vigor and deadly intent. Smirking, I brought the stone-encased Yamakaze up in front of me with one hand and grunted as I the ocean around me began turning to stone.

"MOUNTAIN CHOP!"

I slammed the ax down, obliterating Surf and his two comrades in an instant; Poseidon and the Trident Watch sent a surge of energy at me from their combined attacks which cut right through me. Aliza screamed and Nicone shouted, then Obliterator laughed as my top half began sliding off the bottom half.

"And so dies the upstart Sea Devil! Not so tough now, are you!"

I grunted and brought my left hand down, grabbing my lower half and dragging my upper half back onto it. "Aunnouyun' sauck o' traush, I oughtau smauck yu a goud 'un."

As my body began reforming, I raised Yamakaze back up and looked down at the last remaining Sea God, letting a little of the regret I felt seep into my voice.

"Sourry, bud; gouttau dou thus 'er mu caup'n dun' gou nouwhars."

Slamming Yamakaze back down, I finished off the wrathful-eyed Sea God with another Mountain Chop. Bringing the ax back up, I turned to regard the Sea Titans, who were the only ones left, and returned to my original form, feeling my bone structure cracking with a wince as I adjusted from having wings and horns to a normal human.

Devastator was the first to speak. "Thou art more powerful than expected, mortal."

I nodded in agreement, Yamakaze, now back to original form as well, resting on my shoulder. "I didn't think it would be that easy. Makes it more interesting now that I'm fighting you, huh?"

The Titans snorted and Obliterator stepped forward, one fist clenched in front of him. "Don't get cocky, punk! You still ain't nowhere near our power level, no matter what you think! You've gotta lotta nerve, talkin' like ya gotta chance against us!"

"But he does, fish-face!"

As Obliterator's face turned purple at the title, Aliza continued, "He jus' turned into a freakin' GIANT, for cryin' out loud! I think he's gotta better chance o' finishin' ya off than you do of him!"

The two of them began laughing, then Devastator brought his hammer out in front of him; above, storm clouds began circling while Obliterator cackled insanely and drew his fists back behind him at shoulder-level, whirlpools beginning to form around us. Lightning began dropping from the sky, while geysers erupted everywhere; a full-scale, hurricane-force wind burst to life as I hurriedly strengthened the air shield around the girls, then I had to strengthen it even further as massive waves began pounding the earthen pillar they were perched on.

"The difference in power, mortal child, is the same as between thine and a roach's."

Obliterator brought his fists down and clamped his arms to the side, enormous amounts of energy blazing to life around him as he smirked at us. "If ya've ever seen a school o' sharks when they've smelled blood, kid, ya'll find some similarities between that an' what's about ta happen here."