The Hero's Rumble had entered its final phase, the complexity of the match having been completely changed by its final entrant. Most of the fights stopped as the participants looked at the One-Winged Angel in person. "Well? Is the party already over?" he asked in an almost mocking tone.

Logan kept staring at Sephiroth, sweat rolling down the back of his neck. "I-It can't be him...!" The young Dream Defender's whole body trembled as he even took a few steps back, a detail that didn't go unnoticed by his best friend.

"Logan? What's wrong?" Tomada asked. "You know this guy?"

"Yes... Remember that one boss from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix whom I told you I had to fight an entire day and lost at least twenty times before defeating?"

The falcon's eyes widened. "I-It's him?!"

Whilst Logan trembled in fear, Poe was trembling in rage. "I don't know who you are, but I shall make you regret striking Lady Rachel in the back like this!" Before he could go on the attack, however, the sorcerer duck was stopped by Sora, who put his arm in front of him.

"No, wait, Poe. You don't know what you're getting himself into." The Keyblade Hero gave a serious look at the newcomer. "I know this guy: it's Sephiroth, the manifestation of the darkness within the heart of Cloud, one of my friends who also happens to be a very strong warrior. I actually fought and managed to defeat him twice - the first time was here, in the Olympus Coliseum during the Platinum Match, and the second time was Radiant Garden. Both of those fights were very hard and I was lucky to make it out alive. He's easily one of the strongest guys I know..."

This story left many participants shocked... Well, except for one. Maui took a step forward, a confident grin on his face. "Pff, don't worry, kid; I can get you rid of that guy faster than you can say 'crusty crab'. Just watch!"

"Maui! Wait!" Sora attempted to stop the Polynesian Deity, but in vain.

Maui began swinging his giant hook at Sephiroth, who effortlessly avoided by his attacks by taking simple steps to the side or the back. Eventually, he simply blocked the hook with his long sword, using only one hand. "You're bothering me; just leave me alone," Sephiroth said with a lack of interest as he simply kicked Maui back.

"No one brushes Maui aside! I'm a Demigod!" Maui bellowed and charged on the attack once again. He attempted to strike the One-Winged Angel with all of his strength. However, Sephiroth teleported away at the last second, re-appearing behind Maui to strike him with his sword, knocking him out of the fighting zone.

"I'm afraid Demigods are below me...," Sephiroth mumbled with an amused grin.

"Maui has been eliminated!"

Barely had this announcement been made that Logan finally found the courage to act and moved forward, attempting to strike Sephiroth in the back whilst he was looking away. He was close to the edge of the fighting zone; maybe if Logan could land a solid blow, he could knock him out and actually eliminate him from the match!

CLANG!

These hopes instantly died when Sephiroth's Masamune sword stopped Logan's Owl Buster, once again with only one hand. "... Attempting to strike me in the back was a good idea, kid. Unfortunately, you did no move fast enough." Sephiroth turned his head to look at Logan's shocked expression, then down at his weapon. "That's an interesting sword you got there. It actually looks somewhat familiar..."

"Cheese and crackers, I'm in the pickle!" Logan nervously thought, quickly pushing back and raising his sword. "There's no way I can defeat Sephiroth, of all guys, on my own! He's, like, an exceptional swordsman, probably on the same level as Rachel, and one of the strongest guys in all of Final Fantasy! Not only that, but he's in top shape while I'm practically out of juice... Alright, I'm going all out!" He pulled away Owl Buster and summoned Fenrir instead, holding it forward. "Limit Form!"

Once again in his beetle-themed attire and with his Bug's Justice Keyblade, Logan began sending slashes of black, red-outlined energy at Sephiroth. This last one dodged some of them whilst blocking the others with his sword. "Interesting. Your attacks are faster than before; I actually had to block some of them. However, I can still see a slope in your movements. Are you feeling tired?" A grin then formed on his face. "No, it's something else... Fear. Yes, I can see it in your eyes; you are afraid of fighting me. There is no resolution behind the swings of your weapon. Deep inside...you know you cannot win this fight..."

Logan trembled even more than before, a frown forming on his face as he shook his head. "Shut up! That's not true!" Right? He could defeat his much stronger opponent and win the entire thing...? With doubt forming in his heart, Logan started lowering his Keyblade...until a gloved paw grabbed his hands from below.

"Don't lower your Keyblade, Logan; it's the best way to be defeated...," said Roman as he gently pulled Logan's hands back into position.

"R-Roman?"

"I understand that you're afraid - I can smell that guy's aura, and quite frankly, it's murderous and dark. Not only that, but from what I've seen, his mastery of the sword is near-perfect," the wolf explained whilst glancing at Sephiroth and still holding Logan's hands in place. "But you can't give in to fear and despair, or you'll lose the fight. Keep a cool head and avoid to make any judgment mistake, okay?"

"W-Why are you saying that? We're supposed to be enemies in this match," Logan pointed out, now calm enough to hold Bug's Justice on his own.

"It's true... But after seeing that guy in action, I can tell that without a doubt that he's too much for me to handle. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's also your case. That's why I was hoping you'd accept to form a temporary alliance like you did with the jaguar guy and cat girl earlier. Unless we both wanna be taken out."

Logan looked unsurely at the ground. "I don't know..."

At this, Roman chuckled a bit. "Y'know, it kinda looks like what happened in the Virtual World, when we fought those Organization XIII guys. It seemed like there was no chance for victory... Yet, in the end, we prevailed." He turned to look at Logan. "Remember what Destiny said during your fight against Roxas?"

Logan nodded. "When you stand against impossible odds, yell in defiance with the resolve to never quit."

"Exactly." Roman twirled his survival knives before taking a good hold and assuming his fighting stance. "This is the precise thing we need here and now. So stop shaking like a frog and get ready to fight!"

The two friends were joined by Tomada, who brandished his double-bladed saber. "I'm gonna help too!"

"Me, three!" Aline announced, joining the trio.

Before long, every participant (even Ben) gathered up in one place, ready to make a united front against Sephiroth. They way things presented themselves, not a single one of them stood a chance against the One-Winged Angel in singles combat, so uniting their strength was the logical decision at the moment. Logan stared at everybody standing by his side, nodded and raised his Keyblade. "Alright! Together, then!"

Sora made the first move by charging and engaging Sephiroth in a sword fight. After trading a few strikes, they clashed their weapons, giving Sephiroth the opportunity to give a good look at his opponent. "Hey, I know you. You're that Keyblade boy I fought back in Radiant Garden, aren't you?"

"And here, in the Olympus Coliseum, yeah!" Sora confirmed. "As much as I enjoyed what happened in my third game, one of my biggest regrets is that you didn't return in it as a secret boss; it would've been nice to beat you three times in a row!"

Sephiroth let out a barely audible chuckle. "Believe me, kid, if I wanted you dead during our past encounters, you'd be dead by now. Do not get too cocky..."

Sparks were sent flying every time the Ultima Weapon Keyblade clashed with Masamune. Despite Sephiroth being an experienced swordsman, Sora also managed to lend some strikes on the One-Winged Angel throughout their fight. Eventually, Sephiroth jumped in the air. "Heartless Angel!" His body glowing ruby in color, Sephiroth got ready to drain away all of Sora's energy. However, two figures jumped on either side of him before he could do so.

"Shadow Swarm!" yelled Poe as he sent many gathered shadows toward Sephiroth.

"King's Flare!" Simba attacked with a jet of fire from the other side.

Unable to move in time, Sephiroth got sandwiched between the shadow and fire attacks. While it did not take him out, the double attack caused some visible damage. "... That hurt me..." In a split-second, the One-Winged Angel appeared before Simba, slashing him with his sword and taking him out of the fighting zone.

"King Simba has been eliminated!"

Practically all the animals in the arena were disappointed that the King of the pride Lands got taken out of the match. "This isn't good!" Poe exclaimed, turning toward Logan. "Hey, Logan, you said you defeated this man in a video game, right? Does he have any weakness that we can exploit?"

"I'm afraid not. Sephiroth doesn't have any weakness; the only way to beat him is to be good," Logan replied with a frown.

With Simba gone, Sephiroth turned his attention to Poe, charging at him with the intention to hit hard. Before he could reach him, however, he suddenly found himself in he middle of a fire jet that came from the ground and burned him. "You fell into my trap!" Roman announced before appearing near the One-Winged Angel and Superman Punching him across the face.

The wolf attempted to follow his hit by striking Sephiroth with his two knives, but he teleported behind him, letting him plant his knives into the ground. Sephiroth then rose Masamune and would've struck Roman down, had a spider web not caught the long blade and held it back. "Not on my watch, Silver Locks!" Spider-Man called whilst holding the sword back.

Roman swiftly turned around and planted his two fists into Sephiroth's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. From afar, Logan watched the fight unfold whilst hoping the best for his friends. "Stay at the ready, Jindrak." Logan turned to see Isabela addressing him whilst she faced him with her back.

"Isabela?"

"Don't get me wrong; I still didn't forgive what you did to Mirabel," the Golden Child of the Madrigal Familia clarified. "However, I am willing to pull that aside and work with you until that man is out of the match. After that, you and I will be fighting again, understood?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, but appreciating the act, Logan replied: "Yeah, loud and clear."

Back to the fight at hands, Roman got knocked back by a slash from Sephiroth after doing his best in close combat. Spider-Man took the tag by using his Electric Web gadget and stun Sephiroth with electric webs. He then shot normal web balls to trap the one-Winged Angel before jumping close to him, wrapping himself in a web ball, and then bursting into an explosion that sent his opponent flying off.

"Shadow Flares!" Thanks to his spider senses, Spider-Man was able to avoid a few fire orbs summoned by the One-Winged Angel, but two of them managed to connect, leaving burning marks, and allowing Sephiroth to catch him off-guard with his incredible speed. A sword strike is all it took the sent the wall-crawler flying out of the fighting zone.

"Spider-Man has been eliminated!"

Sephiroth cracked a few of his limbs before analyzing the wounds he sustained since entering the match. "I did not expect to sustain any form of injury in this arena... Seems like I made the right choice accepting to take part in this event after all..." He stepped to the side, avoided a punch from Roman, and then kneed him in the stomach, knocking him far away. "Now, now, don't be in such a hurry to be eliminated, little wolf..."

Before he could even take a step, Sephiroth found himself surrounded by gigantic plants that released a thick smoke, making him cough a lot. This smoke caused him to feel dizzy and see not one but tens of Isabela Madrigal all around him. "How do you feel, my friend?" the Isabelas all asked in confusing voices.

"W-What have you done to me?!" Sephiroth asked whilst struggling to stay on his feet.

"You just inhaled a special toxin that affects all of your senses while also causing hallucinations," the females all explained. "It should make it easier to take you out of the match!" The Golden Child made a vine swing to strike Sephiroth in the side and sent him crashing into a pile of cacti that stung a lot.

Due to his damaged senses, Sephiroth was unable to defend himself as Isabela smacked him with vines from every direction, ending her combo by trapping him in the middle of thorn bushes. "Splendid! Well done, sweetie!" Abuela beamed from the audience. Unfortunately, the moment of joy was short-lived as the thorns were all blown to ashes by pillars of fire that burst from the ground all around Sephiroth, destroying every plant that Isabela grew before.

Now free, Sephiroth gave a chilling glare at the defenseless plant user, immediately striking her down with a slash of his long saber that not only got her out of the zone limit, but actually sent her crashing into the arena's wall.

"Isabela Madrigal has been eliminated!"

"Isabela, sweetie!" Abuela exclaimed in shock not only for her granddaughter's well-being, but also at the fact that the final Madrigal representative had been taken out of the Hero's Rumble.

Roman did not give the Man in the Black Cape any time to rest as he assaulted him with punches, kicks and knees, pushing him closer to the edge of the fighting zone, well intended on taking him out. Eventually, Sephiroth regained his senses enough to catch the wolf's fist and, with a swing of his sword, cut him him down on the shoulder.

"Argh!" Roman exclaimed as he fell on the ground, clutching his shoulder in pain.

After dealing with the pain of his wounds, Sephiroth looked down at Roman, pointing the tip of his sword at him. "I acknowledge your courage for attack me using nothing but your fists and knives... Actually, you remind me of this young girl Cloud is secretly in love with. But I'm afraid your role in this match is coming to its end..."

The swordsman's finishing blow was interrupted by a shadow ball that hit him in the back, almost making him fall on his stomach. Turning around, he saw a grinning duck peeking out from his own shadow. "Surprised?"

"You...again?" Sephiroth groaned. "You can actually hide in my shadow...?"

"I can do pretty much anything when it comes to shadow, my friend," Poe replied.

Sephiroth rose his sword, ready to attack again...only to stop himself as he suddenly felt like not attacking his enemies nor fighting at all. "What is...happening to me?"

"That would be because of me." Turning his head, the One-Winged Angel saw Ben casually sitting on the ground with a grin as he twirled his shepherd's crook. "Usually, I prefer standing aside and letting the fight run its course until the right moment... But I'm also here to make an impact, and I have a feeling helping in taking you out is the perfect way to reach my goal."

Seeing the window Ben opened for them, Roman and Poe attacked Sephiroth together, the wolf delivering his close combat combos while the duck used shadow claws. "... Enough!" Sephiroth suddenly created fire pillars that knocked his two opponents back and he then started approaching Ben with a serious glare.

"How can you still wanna fight?! You're supposed to be under my Shepherd's Wool's effects and see me as unimportant!" the young wolf started to panic.

"Kid, I once came across a young girl whom I deemed unimportant before. And guess what I did: I pierced her with my sword out of necessity. Regrets are nothing to fear," Sephiroth explained with a malicious smirk just before striking Ben with his sword and sending him outside.

"Benjamin Burton has been eliminated!"

"Dang it! This guy's tough!" Roman groaned as he got back up alongside Poe.

Sephiroth turned to look at everyone. "Your struggle is admirable, but ultimately futile. Only a handful of chosen ones have the power to defy destiny - to decide what will come up next. No matter how many times you make me fall, I will always be there, like your own shadow." He chuckled a bit. "The very reason of my existence is because a brave warrior carries lots of darkness within his heart. And since darkness can never truly be defeated, then neither can I. Your fate was chosen as soon as I entered this arena. The fate...of defeat..."

The remaining participants just remained silent after that little speech... Until Woody decided to step forward with a serious look. "Listen, pal, I have no idea what you're talking about, but what I do know is that it's just a bunch of stupidity! Stop treating all of us like we're mere playthings, okay?!"

"Woody...," Tomada mumbled as he stared at the toy.

"I never played the games you're from, so I can't make a full analysis, but my guess is that, since you were born from negative emotions, then you never loved nor cared about anybody other than yourself before!" Woody continued. "And since nobody loved you in return, then you developed some sort of god complex that makes you think you have a hand over everybody's fate in the Magical World. I'll tell you something; that's not true!"

Sora went to stand beside his friend. "Sephiroth, you're so lost in your own darkness that you forgot every form of darkness needs light to cast it. Even now, you don't realize that your negative nature has allowed Cloud to form strong bonds with his friends. Not only that, but your presence even brought every participant of this match together when we're supposed to be fighting each other. Woody's right; you ARE suffering of a god complex."

Remaining silent for many seconds, Sephiroth chuckled a bit. "Those are big words for a mere toy. Let me show you how different the worlds we are living in truly are!" He dashed at an incredible speed, looking to strike Woody down.

CLING!

Just as the Masamune blade was inches away from the toy's face, Sora interfered and blocked it with his Ultima Weapon Keyblade. "Don't touch my friends!" He engaged Sephiroth in another duel during which Woody backed him up with his toy pistol. At one point, Sora used his Heal spell before throwing his Keyblade, only for Sephiroth to teleport away and then make a dash for Woody, whom he sent flying with one strike of his sword.

"Woody has been eliminated!"

Angered by his friend's elimination, Sora attacked Sephiroth with more aggressiveness, delivering strike and spells combos. In return, Sephiroth moved faster than before and used his Masamune to cover large area of attack whilst also summoning fire orbs of darkness that practically made it impossible for the Keyblade Hero to counter-attack. Luckily, Poe backed him up by destroying the orbs with his own shadow attacks.

"Attraction Flow: Mountain Coaster!" Sora summoned the Big Thunder Mountain train and began driving all around the fighting zone whilst shooting fireworks at Sephiroth. This combined with the most powerful shadow attacks in Poe's arsenal meant that Sephiroth sustained quite a lot of damage. The attack ended when Sora rammed straight into the One-Winged angel, actually making him fall down on one knee.

"They got him!" Aline beamed at the sight of their opponent's weak pose.

Unfortunately, Sephiroth was far from being defeated. Rather, he stood back up and started emanating an aura of dark energy that Logan and Sora immediately recognized. "Watch out, guys; he's about to get serious!" Sora warned.

Indeed, the One-Winged Angel teleported above the arena and bellowed: "Super Nova!" to call down a rain of meteors from above. The other participants all took evasive maneuvers, with Sora gliding everywhere, Logan cutting the meteors with his Owl Buster, Aline and Roman using their animal speed to run everywhere, Almyra taking cover behind a magic barrier, Tomada flying around with his speed, and Poe hiding inside a shadow. As soon as the attack ended and he came out of hiding, the sorcerer duck was surprised by a sword strike from Sephiroth that sent him out of the fighting zone.

"Poe De Spell has been eliminated!"

Refusing to give up, Sora bravely stood his grounds against Sephiroth. However, the dark energy aura made this last one even stronger and faster than before. With the fatigue of fighting for a prolonged period of time catching up to him, Sora quickly found himself on his back and at the mercy of Sephiroth. Before this last one could deliver the finishing blow, however, Roman interfered by tackling him from the side and giving a defiant glare.

"Leave the kid alone, man! Fight me!" he ordered.

Unfortunately, Roman did not fare better than the Keyblade Hero as Sephiroth practically danced around him and stroke every part of his body with his long sword. At one point, the One-Winged Angel came to a stop and held his sword forward. "That's enough!" He dashed past Roman at a tremendous speed, the wolf remaining still for a few seconds before many cuts suddenly appeared all over him.

"Roman!" Logan, Tomada and Almyra exclaimed in shock.

"Like I told the toy before you, we are living in two complete different worlds, wolf. You put on a good fight, but now, it's over," Sephiroth declared, ready to finish Roman off. The wolf in question slowly turned around to face him...with a wide, almost malicious smirk on his face?" "... What is the meaning of this smile?"

"Isn't it clear? It's because I'm beyond excited!" Roman responded, the smirk never leaving his face. "No exaggeration, you're easily the strongest guy I ever faced since coming to the Magical World! I'm practically at my limit and feeling excruciating pain... IT'S WONDERFUL!"

Sephiroth tilted his head, as if he could not make sense of his opponent's words. "You are talking nonsense. If you are truly taking part in a fight where your opponent is stronger than you, then you shall fear for your survival and start bathing in despair!"

Roman practically threw his head backwards and let out a heart-filled laughter, as if he had just been told a joke. "Fear? Despair? You're joking, right?! Let me tell ya something: it's easy to fight when you're the strong one, when everything is right and victory is near-guaranteed. It's an entirely different story when everything's wrong, when you're stack against impossible odds and there's practically no hope of winning! It's in moments like this that I truly thrive!" The wolf reached in one of his vest's pockets to grab an adrenaline needle that he planted in his neck. His pupils dilated, his veins getting visible both on the sides of his head and his arms, and a growl blasted out of his throat. "Listen carefully: I don't care whether you're a swordsman, a magician, an angel, a demon or even a god! When someone tries to keep me down, I don't just bow down like a dog; I bare my fangs and bite in retaliation!"

Everybody present was amazed by Roman's speech and attitude. "That guy's so coooool!" Polly Plantar beamed from the stands.

Using his energy boost granted by his adrenaline rush, Roman charged forward and engaged Sephiroth in combat once more. He was now capable of keeping up with the angel's speed, sparks flying off every time his survival knives collided with his Masamune sword. He even managed to land the first blow when he punched Sephiroth so hard in the stomach that he had to spit some saliva. On the other hand, some of Sephiroth's attacks managed to break through the wolf's defense, but they didn't halt his momentum for more. In fact, the more damage he sustained, the bigger Roman's smirk grew - at one point, he even began salivating like a wild beast.

The other participants watched the encounter unfold in silence. "... Your friend's completely crazy...and it's kinda admirable," Aline mumbled to Logan, who nodded in agreement.

At one point, Sephiroth dodged Roman and slashed him across the back. In response, the wolf punched him across the face so hard that he almost got knocked down. "Octoslash!" Sephiroth's body glowed with a dark aura as he began unleashing a barrage of swift, precise swings at an impressive speed. It also happened to be at the same time Roman's adrenaline rush passed, meaning he was unable to avoid the attacks and sustained many cuts.

"Oh, no, Roman!" Logan exclaimed, raising his sword as he got ready to interfere. "Hold on! I'm coming!"

"No!" Roman refused, somehow still standing after Sephiroth's attack ended. "This is my fight; if I lose, then it's gonna be up to you to finish this guy off!"

Sephiroth glanced at the hunter, almost looking...impressed. "I cut you with my sword tens of times... Yet, you are still able to stand on your legs? This is most...unusual..." Roman suddenly opened his arms. "What are you doing now?"

"I can't take another step... So just do what you gotta do, will ya?" the wolf asked with a grin.

"Very well." Sephiroth charged forward and struck Roman for the last time to send him outside the fighting zone.

"Roman Volk has been eliminated!"

With the encounter done, Sephiroth looked at himself and all the wounds Roman managed to inflict him during their fight. "... You fought very well, wolf. Even if the distance in our powers was very clear, you managed to hurt me using only your fists and knives where Cloud could only do so with his huge sword. For that, I commend you..." He turned his attention to the remaining participants. "I hope you others can do the same..."

"This is no good!" Tomada nervously exclaimed. "We were, what, twelve when we decided to form an alliance? Now, look at us; only five remaining!"

"I agree; things don't look so good," Almyra said. "But maybe if we give it our all and attack together, we can still take him out!"

"Stay back!" Sora suddenly called, glaring at Sephiroth with determination. "I'm gonna go all out and defeat him once and for all!"

"A-Are you sure, Sora?" Logan asked in worry.

The Keyblade Hero turned to look at him with a confident smile. "Don't worry, Logan; I defeated him twice in the past, and now, I've gotten stronger since. I'm more than capable of doing it a third time. Ultimate Form!" Holding his Keyblade above his head, Sora once again activated his strongest form, with his clothes turning black and white and his Ultima Weapon Keyblade getting replaced by a rainbow-colored sword. "Come at me, Sephiroth!"

He didn't had to ask twice as Sephiroth instantly charged at him, using the same dash attack that left Roman covered in cuts moments ago. Thankfully, Sora managed to block all of it by summoning swords Keyblades all around him using his Blade Barrier spell. He then sent many Keyblades flying after him from every direction, most of them being deflected or dodged, but one managed to cut the One-Winged Angel across the chest.

"I'll show you!" Sephiroth attempted to strike Sora from behind, only for this last one to make his Blade Barrier explode to knock him back and then deliver a combo of strikes with his sword and summoned Keyblades.

"Spiral Drove!" Sora exclaimed, creating a circle of Keyblades that struck Sephiroth down from above.

Even after this combo left him badly damaged, Sephiroth kept his cool and decided to re-use his technique of summoning fire orbs of darkness whilst also delivering a series of fast swings. Sora was unable to avoid all the attacks, despite the use his teleportation ability and summoned Keyblades for protection. He sustained many wounds whilst also getting pushed closer to the limit of the fighting zone, making his friends look in worry.

Once Sephiroth finally slowed down, Sora recovered in the air and got ready to get on the offensive once more. Teleporting behind his opponent, he blocked a swing of his sword before yelling: "Counter Blade!" This summoned blades of light that struck everybody around Sora, in this case, only Sephiroth. He then struck the One-Winged Angel with so much strength that he was sent flying away and almost crossed the zone's limit.

"This is splendid!" Almyra beamed. "Sora is completely dominating Sephiroth! He's gonna win this for sure!"

It did seem to be the case... Then why was Logan not feeling reassured for more?

Sephiroth charging dark energy into the blade of his Masamune before swinging it and sending a huge slash of energy at Sora. This last one responded by summoning many Keyblades in front of him to create a shield that stopped the attack. He then sent all these Keyblades straight at Sephiroth, leaving him with many strike wounds. Whilst panting in exhaustion, the One-Winged Angel couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"I had completely forgotten about your skills after so much time apart... You even learned new ones. Seems like I should've been more careful after all."

Sora was glancing nervously at his opponent, sweat rolling down his neck. "I'm almost at the end of my ultimate Form's thirty seconds duration! I need to take him out with the next shot, or that's it for me!" With the strength of hurry, Sora teleported near Sephiroth and immediately began delivering a combo with his rainbow sword and summoned Keyblades. "There!" Activating his finish, Sora attacked with tens of blades flying in every direction, ending everything with seven pillars of light that were released everywhere and send Sephiroth flying toward the limit of the fighting zone.

"He got him!" Aline beamed.

Sephiroth was about to cross the zone's limit...only to suddenly plant his Masamune sword into the ground to make his momentum come to a complete stop. His back was mere inches away from the limit and from elimination. "What?!" Sora exclaimed, his clothes turning back to normal as he collapsed on one knee due to fatigue. "Even that wasn't enough?"

After finding the strength to regain his composure, Sephiroth addressed a grin at Sora. "That was very impressive, kid. You almost had me there. However...it is clear that you have been fighting here for longer than I have, thus retain less energy. Had we crossed path sooner, you probably would've succeeded in defeating me... But, alas, it ends for you here." Rising his sword, Sephiroth made a dash for Sora and struck him with enough power to send him flying out of the fighting zone.

"SORA!" Logan, Aline, Tomada and Almyra exclaimed.

"Sora has been eliminated!"

The grin never leaving his face, Sephiroth turned to watch the other remaining participants. "Looks like it's just you and me now. Try to make it last long enough for me to enjoy it, will ya?"

Logan swallowed a lump in his throat. There was only he, Aline, Tomada and Almyra to stand against Sephiroth now. Could they actually take him out of the match?

Author's note: Wow, Sephiroth went on quite the rampage in this chapter, didn't he? But then again, what were you expecting from the guy who is considered one of the hardest video game bosses of our generation? The other participants pulled a solid united front against him and, while it failed to eliminate him, he did sustain a lot of damage, so there's hope.

While I'm overall very happy with how Kingdom Hearts 3 turned out, the one thing that disappointed me is that Sephiroth did not appear as a secret boss like he did in KH 1 & 2. Like, it would've been so cool getting to face him in every game of the official trilogy - plus, I still want a conclusion to his story with Cloud and Zack in that universe. I know it's not a new criticism, but KH3 had a seriously lack of Square Enix content, like characters and other elements. My guess is that the series is drifting further and further from anything SE related in favor of more Disney and other of its studios' content. That's how I feel like KH4 will be, unfortunately...

Woody's speech to Sephiroth was actually inspired by the scene with him confronting Xehanort in KH3. Even if the two never met in the franchise, I could totally picture Woody confronting Sephiroth about his way of seeing the world and calling out his god complex from the fact that nobody ever loved him. Roman going best mode against our One-Winged Angel whilst refusing to bow down is actually a call back to his fight against Xaldin in the Rescue Sora Arc. You gotta respect the wolf; he managed to hurt Sephiroth using only his fists and survival knives. In the end, Sora got eliminated after making a stand against the One-Winged Angel (I SO would've loved to fight Sephiroth using Sora's KH3 Ultimate Form...).

We're now down to the final five participants! Can the Owl, the Cat Girl, the Mystical Dancer and the Shaman take the One-Winged Angel out of the match? And if they do succeed, which one of them will win it all?

New eliminations:

-Maui, Simba, Spider-Man, Isabela Madrigal, Benjamin Burton, Woody, Poe De Spell, Roman Volk and Sora: all eliminated by Sephiroth