"This will be farewell, my loyal friends."

Standing at the center of the room, a fair maiden of the Cait Sith race stood, surrounded by 12 bright lights. For each of the 12, this would be the final time they saw this woman.

"Do not be sad. You are given the most important task I have bestowed on you all. No matter what happens to me, or this country, you must ensure that the Nine Tail's remains sealed."

One by one, the lights began to fade. As each one did, their respective signs on the door at the far end of the room lit until only one remained, with the symbol of Leo remaining unlit.

Shining in front of her, in the light of the giant crystal hanging overhead, the woman smiled and bowed her head. "Please, do everything you can. We must prevent the revival of that calamity, or the world will be plunged once more into chaos."

Give it your all

"Remember, we have to force it to regenerate seven more times! Don't hold anything back! Hit it with all you've got!"

"YEAH!!!!"

The second phase of the battle with the lion began with the Lion preparing to roar again.

"Oh no you don't!" Max busted in front of the others and let out a fire roar to meet the lions. The flames collided with an invisible force, exploding with a loud bang, obscuring both parties from view by the residual smoke.

The lion remained in place, waiting for his foes to emerge. Suddenly, Nel and Yuki burst through the smoke, using their blades to slice through the front legs, Nel taking the right with her short blade while Yuki skidded left, slicing through his with his sword. The lion howled as both blades sliced through its tendons in its front legs.

"Ok! Someone slug him!!" Yuki called out as he skidded to a stop by the beast's hind legs.

"Got it!!" Rodger called out. From the smoke a giant stone fist shot forwards, slamming into the lion's head, hard enough to force it back slightly, knocking some of its teeth out.

Charging along the pillar created, Allisa burst through the smoke, flames gathering on her blade. Reaching the end, she jumped off, swinging her blade overhead.

"Vermilion Strike!"

The flames slammed into the body in a crescent wave. The lion was forced back, the flames eventually cutting it in half. The sign of Scorpio lost its light.

"Alright! Another one down!" Rodger cheered. "If she does it six more times then we'll be through this thing in no time!"

"Yeah! I don't get how it works, but if Allisa can pull it off then we win!" Meracle added with glee at the prospect of the battle being over soon.

"If she can then yes," Melvin commented grimly. "However..."

Allisa collapsed to her knees, inbreeding her sword in the ground, panting very heavily as though she was out of breath. ".... Not.... Not yet." She said to herself as she stood back up.

"Allisa?" Meracle looked at her concerned.

"Allisa, how many times can you use that attack?" Nel asked her in a serious manner.

"..... My limit’s about six in a row." Allisa replied grimly. "But...." She continued to paint as she looked down at her black blade. "That thing's so strong, I have to put all I've got into the strike or it won't get through. Which means I'm burning through more mana than normal."

"So?"

Allisa swallowed. ".... Since I'm already out of breath, I think I'm only good for one more shot."

"I was afraid of that," Cliff said as he watched the lion getting back to his feet. "And we've still got six more lives to burn through. Guess we can't take the easy way out with this."

The lion then swept its paw downwards, sending four projectiles towards Allisa's position. Running across the ground, leaving grooves in the ground as it traveled along its path.

Stance 2: Supurasshu!

Yuki leaped in the projectiles way swinging his sword horizontally, letting loose a projectile of his own that smashed into the oncoming attack, miraculously canceling out all four attacks, blasting away parts of the floor by the backlash of the residual power.

"Then save that shot for the last life," Yuki said to Allisa, resting his blade on his shoulders.

Max then launched himself overhead of the Lion, a massive fireball forming in his right fist. "We'll take the other five!" He called out as he punched downwards, sending the flames crashing against the lions back. "Save that shot-" Max called out, preparing another fireball in his left fist. "For the final blow!!!" He launched the second fireball, which detonated against its back again, sending it to the floor, which cracked underneath the feet.

".... But," Allisa muttered, gripping her sword tightly, still panting heavily.

Cliff and Nel then walked in front of her, Cliff cracking his knuckles while Nel twirled her blades around.

"Hate to say it, but those two actually have a decent plan for once," Nel said.

"Think of it this way. You're our trump card to ending this thing. So get some rest and wait for us to get it down to one more life. Then we'll create an opening for you to hit it with everything you have." Cliff explained to her.

Allisa looked to the backs of her two friends, to the lion in the distance, then back to her sword. "..... Ok." She nodded, pulling her sword free and getting back to her feet. "I'll leave it to you."

Throb!

Allisa grimaced as another sharp pain emanated from her head. Come on.... Not now. She begged herself, holding her head. Looking forward, she gritted her teeth as a numbness spread through her body.

She didn't know what was happening to her lately, why she was having these random attacks and headaches, but now was not the time. Just... a bit longer. Her grip on her sword tightened. I can't lose it here....

Nel glanced over her shoulder, sensing the same mana spike from Allisa again. There it is again...

"Hey! You with us?" Cliff asked, breaking her concentration.

"....Yeah. Don't worry about me." Nel responded, raising her short blade.

"Ha, you're the last person to worry about."

"Hm. I guess so."

****

With smoke still emanating from its back, the lion tilted its head to look at the descending Max on its right upside down.

"Ha, looks like I really made it mad."

The lion then turned its body sharply left, faster than it should due to its size, raising its right paw.

"Uh oh," Realising what it was doing Max burst out flames from its feet rocketing him to the ground, just as the lion swiped its paw, sending the destructive projectile swooping overhead, leaving massive gouges in the wall as it hit.

Max landed back on the ground head first, flopping over on his back before sitting up rubbing the top of his head. "Ow... Probably wasn't a good idea,"

A long shadow loomed over Max as the lion raised its right paw and brought it down on where he was sat, slamming into the ground with enough force to split it.

Max had leaped out of the way before he was crushed, tumbling along the floor before righting himself, skidding to a halt. "Missed me!" He mocked before taking in a deep breath before letting out a fire roar, which slammed followed by a loud explosion. "Was that another life?" Max thought out loud, glancing at the door.

There were still six symbols still alight. The Lion suddenly burst through the smoke with its jaw wide open. Max reacted quickly, reaching out his hands to block the monster, grabbing the two front fangs to avoid getting eaten. The ground below him began to crack as the lion applied more force, eventually digging his feet into the ground, some of the earthwork behind him blasting upwards.

"D-Damn it...." Max struggled to keep the creature back.

"Lightning blast!"

A bolt of lightning passed overhead, catching the creature in the forehead, staggering it. Max used the opportunity to push back with all he had, eventually forcing it away.

He then jumped back towards Melvin, who had his wand out with a small trail of smoke coming from it.

"Whew..... Thanks for the save." Max said to him.

"I swear one of these days you're gonna get yourself killed," Melvin said to him. The lion recovered and once again stood before them, a smoking hole in the center of its forehead.

"It didn't heal?" Max observed. "Not from that hole or those burns I gave it."

"That's because I didn't kill it." Melvin clicked his tongue.

The lion crouched down, looking as though it was going to pouch at the two boys.

"It's coming!" Max said, putting his arms in front of him.

Suddenly, a mass of stop pillars shot up from beneath in seemingly random directions, ensnaring it.

"Don't think ya forgot about ya co-boss!" Rodger called out with both hands on the ground.

"Rodger!" Max called him.

"He's still calling himself co-boss?" Melvin commented quietly.

Rodger raised himself and pointed directly at the trapped lion. "Listen up you! I'm a proud warrior of Sterland Forest where I fought beasts much bigger than you every day! If there's one thing I'm good at, it's fighting opponents way bigger than me!!"

When Rodger finished his monolog, the lion roared, shattering all the pillars around it into fragments.

"Maybe you should've followed up instead of pointlessly rambling on!" Melvin pointed out as the lion broke free.

"How the hell do you think I am?" Rodger said, not losing his grin, as he opened his palm out. The countless rocks from the pillars then began to float around the lion, sharpening into spikes. "Special attack: Iron Maiden!!"

The rocks then charged into the lion, several stabbing into its tough skin, blood shooting from several of its wounds.

"He did it!" Max cheered.

"Iron Maiden?" Melvin said blankly in response to Rodgers' relatively strange name for the move.

"What do ya think! Bet ya happy ya brought me along now." Rodger said to him with a smug look.

"I wasn't against you coming.... partly," Melvin said quietly.

The lion then raised its head, rock spikes sticking out of its body like a porcupine, one of which was lodged in the hole in its head Melvin gave it, each one leaving a trail of blood.

"Still wasn't enough," Melvin said.

Max grinned at took a step forward. "I'll finish it-"

Before he could finish, Meracle jumped on his head and used it as a stepping stone to launch herself towards the bleeding lion.

I can do this.

Just as the lion lunged for her, Meracle jumped again in the air, launching herself above the lion's head.

I'm not gonna screw this one up!

She twirled in the air as she descended before drop kicking down on the spike in the head, landing on it as hard as she could, shoving deep into the lion's head.

She somersaulted back as a fountain of blood poured from the massive hole created in the lion's forehead, landing on back on the ground just as the lion dropped to the floor. On the door, the symbol of Gemini went out.

"Myaha, I did it!!" Meracle cheered fist-pumping.

"Nice moves catgirl!" Rodger said to him giving her thumbs up.

"Give me some warning next time catgirl!" Max complained, rubbing his head.

"My names Meracle you jerks!!" Meracle snapped at them.

"Wasn't your name Mary something?" Rodger said.

"Oh yeah, Allisa and Cor-something call you Mary," Max said.

"Only those two call me Mary. The rest of you call me by my full name." Meracle said sternly sticking out her tongue.

"Why only those two? Besides, Mary's easier." Rodger said.

"It's cause I said so!"

"Ahem..." Melvin coughed, getting their attention. "When you're finished we've still got problems."

On cue, the lion had just got back to its feet, completely healed. Even the rock spikes that were stuck throughout its body from Rodger's attack had gone.

"Huh? It's still alive?" Meracle gasped.

"Yeah, but we took another of its lives away," Melvin said. He glanced to Meracle, who was looking very nervous, noting her legs were beginning to shake. "I guess you're not very used to fighting stuff this big.

Looking surprised, Meracle grabbed her knees, trying to bring the shaking under control. "I-I'm fine." She tried to reassure him. "I-I can keep going."

"If you say so," Melvin said back.

"Well we got it down to five lives so were doing something right," Max announced, flaring up his fists.

"What are you gonna do?" Melvin asked him nervously.

"What else," Max smirked, and then rocketed himself towards the Lion. "I'm gonna burn those last few lives of his away!"

Max yelled as he punched his fist forwards towards the lion's face. When unexpectedly, the beast raised its paw in Max's path. "That ain't gonna stop me!!" Max collided into the beast’s raised paw pad with a fiery right hook. Flames burst from the impact, coating his entire body in fire as he tried to force himself through the beast's paw-like a commit, his fist punishing against the paw more and more.

Suddenly, the flames dispersed completely and Max found himself bouncing back. "Huh? My flames-" Before he could question what had happened the lion swatted its paw downwards, slamming Max into the ground.

"Mya!!! He got him!" Miracle exclaimed.

"That reckless idiot!" Melvin swore.

Max lay in the middle of the crater that was created when he was smashed to the ground. "Urg.... What the hell...just happened?" The lion loomed overhead, glaring at Max. It then raised its left paw, hovering it over Max, ready to crush him.

"Not good...."

Stance 3: Nami!

An invisible force slammed against the left side of the lion's head, forcing it back once again.

"Huh?" Max gasped at the surprised assistance. Then Yuki walked up beside him, making him cringe.

"You know, keep doing reckless crap like this and you're gonna be beaten to an early grave." He said casually with a smirk.

"Ha, like your one to talk." Max huffed as he picked himself up from the crater. "So.... Did that get him?"

"Since he took the last attack without being sliced in half, I have my doubts."

The lion slowly raised its head to glare at Yuki, revealing only a small scratch on the left side of its head.

"Seriously?" Yuki gawked at how little damage he had caused.

The lion then roared at the two of them, sending them flying backward along with several chunks of rock from the ground towards where Meracle, Melvin and Rodger were.

"Mya! They're in trouble!"

"Rodger!"

"On it!"

In response, Rodger slammed a hand on the floor, raising up a rock wall behind them, which caught both Max and Yuki, although they slammed into it hard enough to leave small craters in the wall.

"Got'em," Rodger said triumphantly as the two flopped to the floor front first.

"... Not the best save," Melvin said.

"Hehe, No thanks are necessary," Rodger said with a wide grin.

Yuki then kicked Rodger from behind, where he cartwheeled in the air before landing on his head.

"Ow... you could thank me a little ya moron!" Rodger snapped at him getting up while holding his head.

"That nearly broke my back you little twerp!"

"Urg... Felt like I slammed into a wall." Max complained, rubbing his back.

"That's.... Technically true." Melvin said quietly.

"Uh, guys...." Meracle began before herself away from the group.

"Huh?" Before the boys realized what was going on, the lion had launched a projectile attack at them, which destroyed the ground where they stood as they were blasted away, landing on their heads before flopping over.

"Are you ok?" Meracle asked, landing elegantly beside them.

"S-Somehow..." Melvin groaned.

"Honestly, you guys are hopeless." Cliff then walked past them towards the giant lion, which began to turn its attention to him. "Makes me feel like we're the only grown-ups in here, ay Nel."

"I suppose so."

Suddenly, blood erupted from the lions left eye, causing it to howl in pain. Before it realised who had attacked it, the same thing happened to the right eye. As the lion howled in pain while a waterfall of blood flowed from its damaged eyes, Nel suddenly appeared above the lion, blood drenching her short blade. She landed on the lions back then Quickstepped back into the air, reappearing just above the tail, inverted her blade and spun clockwise, using the momentum to slice off the tail.

Howling, the blinded lions wailed about in pain, blood pouring from the cut off tail and eyes. Cliff smiled and raised a hand. "Hey Rodger. Mind making me a hammer like that one before?" He called out.

"Huh?"

"Can't do it?"

Rodger smirked and drew out his hammer before slamming it to the floor. "How'd ya think I am?"

From his position, a large hammerhead formed with a thick rock staff shooting to Cliff's position. "An annoying brat for one," Cliff grabbed the handle and with one hand heaved it up from the ground. "but a good one." With a loud groan, Cliff gripped the hammer in both hands as he waved it overhead.

Sensing the potential danger, the lion steadied itself, sniffing out Cliff who was in front of him and paced slowly towards him with its jaw wide open.

"Oh no you don't!" Cliff swung the hammer to his right, slamming it against the left side of the lion, sending one of its fangs flying away.

Cliff caught himself and stopped the hammer's swing before it hit the ground. He then swung it at the lion once more, smashing into the right side of its head, this time breaking the jaw completely. As the lion staggered, its jaw literally dropping, Cliff pulled back the hammer and swung it overhead, smashing the lion's head into the ground, shattering the hammer in the process.

On the door, the light for the Taurus sign disappeared.

"Whew... another one down," Cliff let out a large sigh of relief as he began to back away from the lion.

Nel then appeared beside him, turning to the lion, of which was beginning to glow. "No time to celebrate. Here it comes again."

The lion then got back to its feet once more, and as usual, its wounds had gone. Even the tail that Nel had cut off was back.

"Already?" Melvin exclaimed, holding out his wand. "Seemed to recover faster than last time."

"We just gotta kill it three more times so Allisa can finish it off right?" Miracle asked, trying her best to keep her legs from shaking. "Can we really do it?"

"Cause we can," Max said enthusiastically cracking his knuckles. "We already took eight lives, what's another 4."

"Nothing gets you down." Melvin side commented. He looked at the lion again with a very concerned look. Is it just me.... or is it a little bigger than before.

"It's about to attack again. Brace yourselves!" Yuki called out, raising his guard.

On his instruction, everyone put their guards up as the lion began to crouch down. Then, unexpectedly, the lion disappeared in a flash.

"Wha- It's gone?!" Cliff exclaimed. Everyone else was shocked that it disappeared suddenly.

"Did it run away?" Rodger asked.

"I really doubt it," Yuki said gripping his sword tightly, glancing around the arena.

"Above us!" Nel called out, looking up. Sure enough, the lion was directly above them.

"Wha-" Melvin's draw dropped.

"You gotta be kidding?" Cliff exclaimed.

With the tips of all four sets of claws, the lion struck down all 16 blades of light towards the party that scampered out of the way as quickly as they could. All of the projectiles destroyed the floor below, sending the dismembered pieces of the floor flying in all directions along with the party that was caught in the backlash.

Amongst the blast, the party was separated. Meracle and Rodger blasted away together, in which Meracle grabbed him and righted herself, skidding to a stop. Nel, Cliff and Melvin were sent flying together. Only Nel righted herself while the other two tumbled across the floor. Max and Yuki were both blasted away on their own, both failing the landings.

"Mya, that was close." Meracle breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Thanks for the save, Mary." Rodger said, who was still dangling in her arms.

"I told you not to call me Mary!"

"Why not-?!" Rodger then stopped and stuck his finger over Meracle. The lion was directly behind her.

"Huh?!" Meracle froze as the lion loomed over her, looking overwhelmingly imposing to her.

"H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

Rodger's voice snapped Meracle out enough to realise that the lion had a paw raised.

"Mya!!" Meracle let out a small yelp as she leaped backward, avoiding the paw which slammed into the ground hard enough to shatter the earth.

Before the dust from the attack settled, a lightning bolt hit the lion on the side of the head, unfortunately leaving no damage at all. The lion turned its head to look at the source, Melvin, standing beside Nel and Cliff.

"Well, that drew its attention away from the tailed kids at least," Cliff said as he tensed up.

"I knew it wouldn't be enough to kill it again, but it's the same spell I used to partially open a hole in its head. It should've done more damage than that." Melvin said, clenching his wand.

"I thought so," Nel said quietly.

"Something to share?" Cliff asked.

"In short, I think it's getting stronger."

Before she could evaluate further, the lion in front of them disappeared, repapering behind the three.

"Seriously, how's it doing that?!" Cliff yelled in frustration as he and the others turned and jumped backward.

"Wind Blades!" Melvin pointed his want and launched seven wind blades that hit into the lion's face doing no damage at all. "Seriously?"

The lion began to raise its right paw when Cliff charged forwards, sending a right hook towards the lion's lowered head. "Time to knock your teeth out again!" The lion moved its paw slightly in Cliff's way, taking the blow on its paw pad. Cliff's fist buried into the paw pad and was then unexpectedly forced back as though he had a bungee cord attached to him, landing on his back by Melvin.

"Are you ok?" Melvin asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," Cliff said, getting back up, glancing at his fist confused. "What the hell was that?" He asked himself.

The lion loomed overhead; ready to crush the two when Nel suddenly aspired by its left eye, swiping her sword blade towards it. "You still have one weakness!"

Before it could hit, the lion vanished in front of her. "Wha-"

"LOOK OUT!!!"

Before any warning could reach her, the lion had reappeared in midair above her, swinging a paw down, slamming her into the ground, in which she bounced up, blood escaping from her mouth. The lion then descended onto her, determined to crush her completely.

Melvin then waved his wand, erecting a barrier that blocked the paw from crushing Nel at that instant. Cliff then charged in, grabbing Nel and jumping away seconds before the barrier was shattered.

"That was too close." Cliff breathed as he put Nel down and stood back up. "Are you ok?"

Nel groaned as she tried to get back up, looking very beat up by that last blow. ".... I'll live." She said in a strained voice.

"That was very reckless of you. You know it wouldn't fall for that again." Cliff said with a stern voice.

Nel didn't respond and just stood back up with an arm around her belly.

Cliff kept his gaze on the lion, which was turning to their direction, realising that he missed his target. "I know this isn't the time to bring it up, but you really need to get it out of your head for now."

"I know!" Nel snapped, drawing her dagger. I got to get that out of my head. Least until we kill this thing for good.

A loud explosion then erupted on the lion's right side, drawing its attention. Max stood a couple of feet away, fireballs forming on both hands. "Seems to keep forgetting there's more than one of us around." He said in a mocking tone.

The lion lifted up its front left paw to take a swipe at him when something cut deep down the left side of its face, leaving a scar extending from the muzzle to the bottom of its jaw.

"May have gotten tougher, but looks like I can still cut you." Yuki stood below it, swinging his sword behind him, leaving a small arc of blood.

The lion let out a roar and tried to crush Yuki, who dodged by leaping back. Max then launched himself towards the lion, covering himself in flames. In response, the lion lifted its paw to block him.

"Like I'll fall for that again!!" Just before hitting the paw, Max spun round, boosting flames from his feet to rocket himself over the paw, splining towards the lion and let out a massive fire roar that blasted against the lion's face.

He backflipped and skidded to a halt as the smoke on the lion's face cleared, revealing the golden fur burned at the point of impact.

"Looks like I can still hurt you," Max smirked.

"You know, I'm getting really tired looking at this thing," Yuki said, standing at ease beside Max. "What are we down to? Three? Four?"

"Who cares? Bottom line, it's on its last legs. Let's just finish it off." Max simplified it.

"Ha, good point."

The lion then disappeared from sight, reappearing behind them raising another of its paw. Just before it could attack, Max and Yuki grinned, Max's hands flared up while Yuki held his sword low. Both then turned sharply and launched their attacks right into the monster's face. "QUITE DOING THE SAME THING!!!"

The lion was forced back several feet, its claws dragging through the ground, leaving behind claw marks. Smoke smoldered from its face, which also had another scar running down its muzzle.

"Noticed too huh?" Yuki said to Max.

"Yeah," Max nodded cracking his knuckles. "He can do that teleporting thing like Allisa. And when it does it tries to appear in our blind spot."

"Well well, looks like there's actually a brain in that dumb head of yours."

"Hey!!"

The lion lets out another of its powerful roars directed towards the two in front of him. Both braced as they were caught in the attack, flying into the wall of the arena. It then raised a paw to send out a projection when a large rock slammed against the left side of its body.

It slowly turned it to where the rock had flown from when another large rock slammed against its face.

"Haha! Got it!" In the direction the rock had flow, standing several feet away was Rodger with his hammer drawn and Meracle, hopping up and down.

"Ready for another one?" Rodger called to Meracle.

"Right!"

Rodger slammed his hammer into the ground, which then launched a rock up to the air. "All yours Mary!"

"I told you not to call me Mary!" Meracle leaped up in a backflip, kicked the rock as she spun and set it flying towards the lion, catching it in the face once again.

"Bull's eye!" Rodger cheered as Miracle landed beside him. "That's some serious leg strength ya got there."

"You can thank Cory for that." Miracle nodded.

"Won't kill it like this, but it'll keep its attention away from the others."

Angered, the lion teleported up above Rodger and Miracle, preparing to slash down at the two.

"Think we'll fall for that again?" Rodger then slammed a hand to the ground. Giant spikes then erupted up around them, stabbing into the lion's belly, forcing it up as blood leaked from the holes that were punchier into it. "I knew ya were gonna do something like that so I was prepared," Rodger told it with a large grin.

The lion turned around and was about to roar down at the two. "Not this time!" Meracle leaped between the spikes, sky jumped forwards towards the lion's lower jaw and drop-kicked it, putting enough strength into it to force its mouth closed. "Mya, I did it!" Meracle cheered, trying to ignore the pain in her leg that she used to kick it. Since the monster was so strong, Meracle had to put even more strength into her kicks, which did send a rebound down her leg; similar to what she felt when she kicked the Wyvern.

The lion looked to Meracle with bloodshot eyes and pivoted around to try and swipe her when a fireball smashed into its side, pushing it off coerce. "Keep forgetting we're around, don't ya!"

In the middle of the fireball was Max, pushing the lion off course.

"Thanks!" Meracle said as both of them fell.

"No problem!" Max grinned back at her.

Back on the ground, Yuki was charging towards Rodger holding his sheathed sword. "Hey kid! Gimmie a boost up!" He demanded.

"You got it!" Rodger nodded. With his hand still on the ground, a pillar shot underneath Yuki, shooting him towards the lion, who saw him coming, raised its left paw to block him.

"Those paws of yours are like a spring pad, launching enemies like the big guy and that pyro back." Yuki grinned as he pushed his sword with his thumb. "Let's see if it can be cut, shall we?" He said with a grin as he positioned his right hand above the hilt, just moments before he reached the paw pad.

Reijingu Mizu, Stance 4: Rasshu!

After the attack, Yuki was launched back into the side of one of the spikes Rodger had created, keeping hold of both his sword and its scabbard with a grin of satisfaction.

The lion remained in the air, keeping its eye on Yuki. Suddenly, blood erupted from its entire left arm as it was sliced in two, part of it falling off.

Enraged, it flipped forwards to try and get an angle on Yuki and opened its mouth wide. Just below where Yuki was, a spike shot out towards the lion's mouth, running it through all the way out the other side.

The symbol of Sagittarius went out.

"Alright! Another one down!" Max cheered. He and Meracle had landed on one of the spikes that Rodger had created, hanging on the top.

Yuki had freed himself from the spikes side, landing on the new spike just below him. "Not bad kid." He said to Rodger below, who grinned and rubbed the bottom of his nose with a finger. Yuki looked back at the lion's corpse, which was beginning to glow once again. "Time for the next round." He groaned.

The lion started moving once again. The section that was cut off from the lion disappeared into white light, which rose up back to the left front leg, which began to grow back. It's jaw began to bite down on the pillar in his mouth, which began to crack and fracture under the pressure, eventually biting through it. The other end dropped on as all the wounds it received closed.

"Here it comes again," Yuki grunted as he put his sword up while Meracle and Max both braced themselves for what was to come.

The lion's eyes glowed as it faced the spikes and then took a deep breath in.

"Mya!"

"Oh Crap!"

"Jump!"

Just as the three leaped off their perches, the lion let out a powerful roar that obliterated the forest of spikes that had previously impaled it.

Rodger had managed to escape from the center, holding both hands over his head as the rocks from the destroyed structure crashed all around him. "That was close!"

Yuki then landed beside him, followed by Meracle and then Max who landed on his head. "Everyone alive?" Yuki asked.

"Yep." Meracle nodded.

"Urg.... Does landing on your face count?" Max groaned as he righted himself.

The lion then suddenly teleported into the air just above the group's front. "Looks like it's given up on surprise attacks."

The lion's claws began to shine as it raised them up. Everyone jumped out of the way as the released projectiles blasted past them, all jumping in separate directions.

"It's really angry now!" Max pointed out.

"It really wants to kill us!" Yuki added.

The lion teleported again, appearing just behind Meracle, a paw already raised to crush her. Meracle leaped out of the way as the paw smashed into the ground, twirled to right herself and skidded to a stop.

The beast teleported again, this time behind where Yuki was, releasing a projectile attack towards him, of which he leaped out of the way.

It then teleported to where Rodger was, standing on its hind legs, descending on Rodgers position, smashing into the ground just as Rodger leaped out of the way, tumbling across the ground. "It's way faster now!!" He yelled.

Max then rocketed himself towards the lion, his fists flaming. "Let's see who's faster! Me or yo-" He was then stopped when the lion lifted a paw in the way when Max was too close to dodge, in which he slammed into it and was sprung back, crashing into the ground leaving a trail that came to a stop beside Yuki who gave him an indifferent look.

"Did you forget what happened last time already or are you really that stupid?" He asked him.

"Shut up!!"

The lion then teleported into the air just above the two with its front paws raised.

"Tch, here it comes," Yuki said.

Suddenly, a fireball slammed into the lion's left side with enough force to send it into the wall.

"Huh?"

"What is that?"

Rodger and Meracle then ran up to the two to regroup. "Hey, Great job!" Rodger said, waving.

"Yeah, you forced that thing away," Meracle added.

Both Max and Yuki gave them blank stares back. "....we didn't do anything." They both said together.

Just then, something landed in the space between them, a large flaming dog with blackened armor. Both Meracle and Rodger jumped back seeing the monster before them. Yuki and Max, however, weren't too surprised by the newcomer, recognizing it as Cerberus, Melvin's familiar.

"Oh look, it's Cerberus," Max said cheerfully as he got back up.

"Oh great, not that mutt again." Yuki groaned.

"Hey!!" Melvin ran up to the group, running alongside Cerberus and patted him on the helmet. "Good job boy."

"Whoa whoa whoa! You know that thing?!" Rodger exclaimed waging his finger at Cerberus.

"Oh yeah, this is your first time seeing him like this. This is my familiar, Cerberus."

"Cerberus...? You mean that little dog thing that was following us back in the forest?" Rodger looked very confused. "That.... That's the same dog?"

"Yep." Melvin nodded. "I don't use him in this form since I can only keep him out for a short period of time, but he makes a pretty powerful ally in situations like this."

"S-So that.... That thing's on our side...? T-That's good." Meracle said, timidly picking out from behind Yuki.

"Uh.... When did you get there? Actually, what are you doing there?" Yuki asked.

"N-Nothing."

"Are you scared of dogs or something?"

"I-I'm not scared."

"Then stop hiding behind me."

"Uh... don't worry Meracle, he's very friendly." Melvin tried to reassure her, patting Cerberus on the head.

"Yeah, wouldn't hurt a fly," Max added.

"That's not true. These monsters are supposed to hurt others." Yuki said, not being particularly helpful. Cerberus then clawed him in the face lightly enough to leave behind grazes.

"WHY YOU LOUSY MUTT!!! I'M GONNA RIP THAT ARMOUR OFF YOUR HEAD WHILE I DISEMBOWEL YOU!!!!" Yuki roared with his sword raised while Max held him back while looking at Miracle.

"See, wouldn't hurt a fly." He said to her with a large grin on his face.

"Ahem!" Cliff and Nel then approached with blank expressions. "When you're done clowning around," Cliff said to them pointing. "We've still got a job to do."

The lion was beginning to get back to its feet after being knocked into the wall. Cerberus growled as the lion glared at him.

"Ready boy?" Melvin asked Cerberus. Cerberus nodded and Melvin backed away from him. The lion looked ready to pounce but Cerberus moved first, cartwheeling like a buzz saw, hitting the lion though its left side, the golden skin peeled off as it sawed past.

Cerberus stopped twirling, landing on all fours on the wall before launching itself towards the lion again, cartwheeling once more.

This time the lion teleported away, allowing Cerberus to slam into the ground, repapering above, ready to strike down with projectiles, but Cerberus burst from the ground, still spinning, catching the lion's belly, drawing a thick spray of blood as it tore through the skin. Cerberus changed direction and flew towards the descending lion still spinning, removing more of its golden fur, landing back on the ground on all fours as the lion came crashing down behind it.

Rodger and Miracle were gobsmacked. "Whoa... That dog things kicking its ass!" Rodger cheered.

"It's so strong." Meracle gawked.

"Why didn't you call it out sooner? We could've totally destroyed this thing by now." Rodger asked Melvin.

"I can't keep him out for long, about 5 to 6 minutes or so," Melvin admitted. "That's why I only use him as a trump card."

The lion forced itself up, blood leaking from the horrible scars etched all over its body, its eyes fixed on the flaming dog in front of it. It let out a loud, ground-shaking roar as it raised one of its paws to crush Cerberus, bringing down its paw with enough force to utterly shatter the earth around it.

Everyone was forced to brace themselves as the shockwave blasted over them.

"It's even stronger than before," Nel said observantly, shielding herself from the wind.

"Myaha!! Is that dog even ok?" Meracle asked.

"Relax," Yuki said casually. "That mutt won't die that easily."

As the dust died down, the lion lifted its paw back up, the paw pads on the bottom were charred black. In the center of a crater that the lion formed stood an undamaged Cerberus.

The lion roared and raised its other paw but Cerberus acted first, cartwheeling away as the paw shattered the earth, turning and charging towards the lion again. Before impact, the lion teleported out of the way, reappearing several feet away releasing projectiles towards Cerberus. Cerberus turned sharply and spun into the oncoming attack.

Cerberus's buzz saw attack collided into the projectiles, and the two forces were frozen in place, sparks of light and flames fired out of every direction as both the projectile and Cerberus competed together, trying to overpower the other.

Eventually, the lights dissipated and the projectiles shattered. Freed from the opposing force, Cerberus shot towards the lion like a bullet, passing by before stopping and turning around before landing and skidding to a stop. Just in front of him, the lion's front left leg landed with a loud thump. His attack had just severed the entire leg.

"Wow! It just took that things arm like it was nothing!" Rodger said, sounding clearly amazed.

"It's so strong." Meracle gawked.

Max smirked while clicking his knuckles. "Looks like it's nearly over."

"Looks that way," Yuki added resting his blade on his shoulder. The two were about to charge in again when Cliff passed by them, his body beginning to emit a small trace of steam.

"Let me take this one." He said to them.

The lion gazed towards the severed leg and then towards where it was attached to. It then let out a thunderous roar as it turned to face Cerberus once again. It suddenly raised its head and turned it round to see Cliff calmly approaching it.

"Mya! What's he doing!" Meracle asked, puzzled by Cliff's actions.

"So he's gonna use the Level up?" Melvin said with a hint of concern in his voice.

Cliff halted his advance, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Guess it's time I used my trump card." Steam began to build up from his body, his skin beginning to glow a light shade of pink. "Level Up!!" Steam erupted from his body as he tensed his arms to his side.

Rodger and Miracle, who hadn't seen this before, were stunned.

"Wha- What the? His body's smoking." Meracle gawked.

"What's going on with him?" Rodger asked Melvin.

"It's Cliff's trump card," Melvin said to them. "It's a mana focusing technique that boosts his strength."

"So... What about that steam coming off him?" Meracle asked about the steam.

"That's.... his sweat evaporating."

"Sweat?"

"Just shut up and watch," Yuki said with a glint in his eye. "Been wanting to see the big guy get serious for a while now."

Back at the lion's position, Cliff took deep breaths as the steam erupted from his body. "Ok. Time to get serious."

Just as the lion turned its body, Cliff began to charge forwards towards the lion. With only one front leg, the lion swiped a small projectile with its remaining leg, obscuring Cliff in a cloud of dust.

Cliff however, burst through the dust charging underneath the lion, sending a punch upwards into the lion's torso denting the ground beneath as the lion was sent flying up in the air with its belly caving in from where it had been hit.

A large amount of blood shot from the lion's mouth as it fell back to the ground, landing with a loud thump.

Both Miracle and Rodger watched in disbelief. "Wh-whoa," Miracle breathed.

"That's the big guy's trump card? Nice!" Rodger said.

"So that's it. Not bad." Yuki said as he and Max took a step forward.

"Should we back them up?" Max asked as he stretched his arms.

"Can't let them have all the fun can we."

"You two are hopeless." Melvin sighed.

"S-Shouldn't we leave it to them. They're doing well on their own." Miracle asked.

"There's still three more lives left. And those two are on a time clock." Nel spoke up; surprising everyone since she hadn't spoken in a while. "Honestly I can't do much in this situation. Fighting this monster doesn't suit my combat style." her eyes then glowed yellow. "I'll provide you with support, but it's up to you guys to take that thing down."

"Alright, Counting on ya!" Max said as he kicked his knuckles.

Yuki said nothing but rested his blade on his shoulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and put that lion down for good." Rodger said as he walked with the two, followed on by Melvin.

"I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve," Melvin said twirling his wand.

Meracle however, didn't more. Instead, she looked down at her legs. They were starting to shake again. She clutched her knees, trying to get the shaking back under control.

"We won't hold it against you if you stay back," Nel spoke to her, keeping her eyes on the Lion.

"B-But...." Meracle muttered. "I-I don't want to screw up again. Milady trusted me to go with you guys. I.... I can't just run away."

"Running away because you're scared and staying behind because you can't contribute are two different things," Nel said to her. "I can't fight that thing now. The only thing I can do is stay put and watch what happens, that doesn't make me any more a coward." She then tilted her head towards the entrance. "Same goes to you." She addressed. She then looked to Meracle. "Ask yourself, what is it that you can do?" She said firmly. "Can you contribute to the final push, or will you just be in the way. Either one you chose, you will be helping to end this fight."

".......... What I can do?" Meracle said softly, the shaking in her legs stopped.

Nel quickly glanced at her as something ran through her mind. The Arch Sage isn't a fool. She must have known something like this was protecting this tablet. If it's that important, then of all people, why send her with us her? She shrugged off her thoughts as her gaze fell back at the fight in hand. I'll have to find out later. For now, we need to focus on the monster In front of us.

Time to do or die

The lion slowly heaved itself up from the floor, balancing itself on its one remaining leg standing behind Cliff.

"Thought that wouldn't be enough to keep it down for good," Cliff said as Cerberus took up a position beside him. "But with those wounds, it can move like it use to."

The lion then vanished from its current position and reappeared in the space between Cerberus and Cliff, striking both with its rear legs, sending them several feet away before they both recovered and skidded to a halt. "Looks like I spoke too soon."

The lion then spun on its remaining front leg, both set of claws on the blacklegs glowing.

"Oh crap."

The lion suddenly leaped up, releasing the projectile sets at the two targets, both of which combined forming two massive blades of destructive power.

Not wanting to test out how strong they were, both Cliff and Cerberus leaped out of the way as the blades tore past them leaving behind massive slices in the earth. "That's new," Cliff commented, staring at the massive trench in the earth.

The lion then teleported in mid air, reappearing behind Cliff breathing in to let out a roar that would blast him away. "C-Crap!" Cliff swore as he turned to raise his arms.

Cerberus launched itself after the lion, cartwheeling to slice more grooves into its golden hide. The lion, however, changed its target, turning and roaring towards Cerberus, which stopped it from spinning and blasted it back. It then struck its remaining front paw out at Cliff in a sweeping attack, bashing him back.

Cliff grunted as he barrels rolled across the ground before getting back to his feet. Cerberus returned to his side as they both gazed at the giant threat before them.

"Looks like it doesn't want to take any chances, huh?" Cliff said to Cerberus, who growled in response. My punches are strong enough to cause it some serious damage, and if hit the right place I could take away another life. Cliff thought to himself gazing down at his steaming fist. It knows that too, so it wants to finish me off without getting close.

The lion then readied itself to strike another projection at the pair.

"Here it comes again!"

"ATTACK!!"

Suddenly, a large rock man rammed right into the lion, knocking it off balance. Once it was down, Max leaped up from its head and roared down on the lion, blasting into the downed lion. The rock man then reached out its arm allowing Max to land on it.

"Alright, nice one Rodger!" Max said to Rodger, who was riding on top of the rock man's head, giving him thumbs up.

"Haha! How'd ya like that! My Ga Ga Golem packs one hell of a punch don't it ya stupid monster thing!" Rodger boasted.

"Ga Ga Golem?"

"Cool huh! Thought of it all on my own."

Meanwhile, Yuki had joined up with Cliff and Cerberus, standing in front of them with his back turned. "Loving the steam works. You could probably work in a sauna or something." Yuki mocked.

"Ha, what kind of insult is that?" Cliff chuckled as he got back to his feet. "I'm on a time clock as it is, and so is the dog."

"Kinda figured that," Yuki responded holding his blade out. "Any ideas?"

"It knows I can hurt it, or cause some serious damage. I just need an opening."

"So like what we did with Bunny ears?"

"If you can take its other front leg that is."

"Ha, what kind of insult is that? No way in hell I'm gonna let my self get showed up by that lousy mutt."

Cerberus growled at Yuki in response.

Melvin then ran beside him, patting Cerberus on the head. "I may be able to help. I set something up while you and the others were keeping that thing busy during its last life."

"A spell?" Yuki looked to him.

Melvin nodded. "Problem is, since I brought out Cerberus, I can't do it again. I only have one shot."

"Then it's best you save it for the next life," Cliff said, standing beside Yuki. "For now, back us up."

"Right." Melvin nodded. He then looked to Cerberus. "Ready boy?"

Cerberus nodded his head.

Meanwhile, the lion had gotten back up, balancing on its three remaining legs despite the grievous injuries all over its body.

"Man that thing can take a hit," Max said, clicking his tongue.

"Ready ta go again?" Rodger asked, placing a hand on his golems head.

"You know it!" Max answered as he pounded his palm.

The lion then teleported again, appearing at the rear of the golem, letting out a roar that destroyed the entire creature.

Before that happened, Max had boosted himself up with Rodger tucked under his arm. "Ready!"

"Ya know it!"

When they jumped, Rodger levitated several large chunks of rock that began to crash together in front of them forming a giant boulder. When they were directly over, Max fired up both his feet and slammed them down into the boulder, sending the flames to the core exploding It from the inside, creating a small meteor shower that pelted against the lion.

Max and Rodger landed back on the ground as the lion turned its body to loom over them. Max's attack didn't damage its hide, but several of the small, still burning rocks, embedded themselves within the large cuts to its flesh that Cerberus had carved into it.

Cliff and Yuki charged in from behind. Sensing the approaching attack, the lion turned and launched a projectile at their direction. Before it hit, Cerberus cartwheeled in the way of the attack, clashing against the light blades before canceling them out, allowing Cliff and Yuki to charge on through.

"Nice going mutt," Yuki said to him as he passed by. The lion responded at once, lifting itself up to take another swipe at Yuki. "You know, I'm getting real sick of you." Yuki skidded to a halt just before the lion as its paw descended towards him, holding his blade in one hand, pointing out the blade straight. Stance 5: Piasu!

Yuki shot himself forwards as the lion's paw passed, blood poured from the large slice running alongside the paw. "Your clear big guy!"

"I told you not to call me that!" Cliff charged in while the lion was staggered, trying to land a solid hit on the lion. However, the lion teleported, reappearing above him, prepared to crush him with its raised front paw. "Damn, I forgot about that!" Cliff cursed himself as he braced.

Suddenly, Meracle shoots into Cliff's view, kicking the paw as it was raised. "Ok, Go!"

Cliff wasted no time. He leaped up pulling back a fist and slammed it into the lion's belly again. Digging as far in as he could. The lion was sent flying away like a rocket, crashing into the wall at the side of the arena with tremendous force.

On the door, the symbol of Aquarius faded.

Though obscured by the dust and smoke from the impact, the party stood by eagerly. Meracle for one was the most nervous of them all, holding her legs again.

"Hey. Nice save back there." Cliff said to her.

"D-Don't mention it." She said timidly.

Behind them, the severed leg began to shine and evaporate. "Next rounds about to start," Yuki said, resting his blade on his shoulder. "Best brace ourselves. It's gonna be doing everything it can to finish us off."

"I'm on a time clock so we can't waste any time," Cliff said. He then addressed Melvin. "You said you had something prepared.

Melvin nodded. "Yeah. I need you guys to try and lure it into the center of the room where it first appeared. I placed a powerful spell on that spot. I can only activate it once so I need it to be in that exact spot."

At that moment, the dust from where the lion had landed was blasted away. Emerging from a large hole in the wall was the lion itself, its wounds once again healed from the grievous injuries from before. Even the leg that was cut off had grown back.

"It's back for more huh?" Rodger said, who was still hanging in Max's arms.

"Ha, he's a persistent bastard, I'll give him that," Max said.

"Everyone get ready! It's about to attack!" Cliff warned.

On cue, the lion lifted up its body and struck down, releasing a set of projectiles that combined into two like before. Everyone jumped out of the way as the devastating attack passed by.

Without letting its foes a chance to recover, the lion teleported to where Cliff was, with one of its paws raised.

Unable to dodge out of the way, Cliff braced himself as the paw at full force hit him, holding the paw up with his arms, a small crater forming underneath.

"C-Crap!!! It's definitely stronger!!" Cliff groaned through gritted teeth as he tried to keep the paw from crushing him. Despite the boost, the paw was just as strong as it was before.

"Hey! Over here!!" Max called out, leaping into the air launching letting out a fire roar that blasted into the lion's side. However, the lion didn't even flinch as the flames hit it, and it slowly turned to stare at Max as he descended.

However, when it was distracted, the weight pushing down on Cliff lessened. Taking advantage of the moment, Cliff pushed up as far as he could and quickly brought back his right fist before slamming it upwards into the creature's paw, hitting it hard enough to force it upwards, temporarily staggering the lion.

Cliff then jumped back. "Someone else's turn!"

Yuki then rushed past him, swinging quickly his blade as he charged into the gap created, charging through the other sides. Small cuts opened up on the belly of the beast followed by a small spray of blood. "Tch! Too shallow." Yuki cursed as he immediately backed off just before the lion was drawn to his presence.

The lion turned sharply, swiping the ground creating a wave of rubble descending on Yuki. "Shit!" Yuki swore as the wave was about to overtake him when suddenly a large wall formed before him. "Nice save." Yuki thanked as he skidded to a stop beside Rodger who had a hand to the ground.

"No problem." Rodger nodded.

The lion then burst through the wall, launching at the two, who scattered as the lion slammed its palm into the ground.

Rodger barrel rolled and slammed his hammer into the ground, sending four earth fists flying at the lion. They all hit, but the lion barely flinched. In response, it roared at Rodger, who had instinctively raised a wall to protect him. The wall was shattered and Rodger was blasted away, tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop.

"D-Damn it!" Rodger swore as he tried to get up, not seeing one of the larger chunks of rocks falling towards him. "Huh? Uh oh!"

Fortunately, Yuki stood over him, striking upwards, cutting the rock in two.

"Thanks for the save." Rodger thanked him.

"Just be a bit more careful next time." Yuki scolded him.

Max meanwhile flared up his fists before rocketing himself toward the lion slamming his fists into the left side of its face. While the lion only flinched as it was hit, it was far from hurt. "What the hell?" Max backed off after his fourth strike, just before the lion twirled around, swatting him back a fair distance before he righted himself.

"Damn this thing's pissing me off!" Max growled as he turned to face the lion.

Cerberus was next to attack, cartwheeling through the skin once again, leaving behind marks as it cut through the hide. After the first pass, Cerberus, who was still cartwheeling, was still spinning, turned to make another pass. The lion, however, teleported out of the way, reappearing a few feet away, releasing a projectile at Cerberus how was caught off guard. The energy dispersed when it hit in a loud bang, and Cerberus was flung a fair distance, unable to recover as it rolled across the ground.

Max, Rodger, Yuki and Cerberus now surrounded the lion, trying to recover from the past attacks. "This thing's seriously powered up now," Rodger said as he pulled up his hammer.

"No kidding," Max said as he huffed and puffed. "Either that or we're reaching our limit."

The lion slowly turned towards Cerberus, who it identified as the biggest threat at the moment.

Cerberus lowered its body, preparing to dodge at a moment's notice.

Before the lion could move, Meracle charged up, landing a flurry of kicks on the right side of the lion's face.

"Whoa! Mary!" Max called out.

The lion then turned its head suddenly to catch Meracle off balance, then continued until it was directly gazing at the falling Cait Sith.

However, rather than looking scared, Meracle stuck out her tongue at the lion. "Fooled ya!" She mocked.

While Miracle served as a distraction, Cliff had charged in underneath the lion, punching upwards into the lion's belly once again, sending it flying into the air. "Not bad cat," Cliff said as Meracle landed.

"I have a name!"

However, the lion teleported while still airborne, reappearing back on the ground behind the pair.

"Shit!"

"Mya!!!"

Both tried to leap back as the lion was prepared to strike down at the two. Suddenly, something was thrown at it, stabbing it in the right eye, blinding it.

"Myhuh?"

"That was....?"

"We have to force it to the center, remember!" The pair looked to the direction the object was thrown from. Standing with her right arm out stretched was Nel with the familiar golden glow in her eyes.

The lion turned its attention towards Nel, teleporting towards her position, striking down hard enough to shatter the ground once again. Nel had used quickstep to dodge just in time, therefore avoided the blow entirely.

The lion was about to make another lung attain when Max grabbed hold of the tail, trying to pull it back. "Come.... On...." Max growled as he tried his best to force it back.

The lion looked back at the annoyance and was about to strike when four rock arms rose up and clamped down on the back legs, trying to force it to remain still. "Gotya!" Rodger said with both hands to the ground.

"Hey Pyro! Hold that tail!" Yuki yelled charging towards the lion's rear.

"You got it!" Max Pulled back, raising the tail as high as he could.

Yuki leaped up, raising his blade as high as he could. Stance 6: Taki! A powerful downward slash severed the tail. The lion wailed as it freed itself from the clutches of the hands. "Less limbs that can hit us, the better," Yuki said as Max discarded the part in his hands.

"Agree with you on that one," Max said.

The lion turned and raised its right front paw to strike down at the two with projectiles. At the last second, Cliff appeared and punched the blow away. The lion was almost staggered as its paw was blown off course, the projectiles missing their mark completely.

Meracle followed up by kicking the wounded eye while Cerberus slammed itself into the body. Moving it back several feet, leaving a smoldering burn in the point of impact.

"Max. Gonna need you for this!" Cliff instructed as he pulled back a fist.

"Got it!" Max said fairing up his fist. They both charged towards the lion who was still staggered.

"Raise it up!" Cliff called out just before they reached him.

"Right!" Rodger acknowledged.

The grown directly beneath its front leg's was raised up suddenly, raising the body up suddenly as both Max and Cliff leaped towards its exposed belly. "Eat this!!!" Both men slammed their fists into its belly, sending it hurtling backward, crashing several feet into the ground where it righted itself, right in the exact center of the room.

"What now?" Miracle asked.

"Alright kid, you're up!" Yuki called out.

"Got it!" Melvin said waving his wand. "Suffer under the eternal torments of Hell,"

The ground beneath the lion began to glow brightly as flames began to be emitted from the cracks in the rock. Before the lion realized what was going on, flames suddenly erupted, forming a massive cyclone of flames that went up to the giant crystal floating above. "Flame Vortex!"

"Wh-Whoa? That was amazing." Meracle gawked in amazement.

"Hoho, that's some firepower," Rodger added.

"Doubt it will kill it outright, but that's gotta do some serious damage," Yuki commented.

The flame vortex only lasted briefly. When it ended, the lion inside was scorched almost black. Its fur was nearly burnt off; the mane was still burning but not as brightly as it was before. The ground below was charred, almost melted under the heat of Melvin's spell.

"Time to finish it off." Melvin took a step towards the lion with Cerberus standing beside him. "Ready boy?"

Cerberus barked as he charged forwards.

"One true blade to smite the masses." Melvin Chanted as lightning erupted from the tip of his wand. "Havens Blade!"

He then lunged his wand forwards. The lighting flew over Cerberus and formed a massive blade of concentrated lightning just before the dazed lion. Cerberus leaped up into it, merging at the center as flames formed around the tip. With a howl, Cerberus, along with the blade of flame and lightning, shot like a comet, blasting a wide tunnel through the beast's body as it dispersed.

As the body fell down, the light of Virgo on the door went out.

"Mwaha! We finally did it!" Meracle cheered as she jumped up.

"Not yet," Nel said to her.

"Huh? But we already-" Meracle was about to argue but then her eyes widened in horror as the lion got back to its feet, completely healed. "N-No way..." Meracle collapsed to her knees, staring up in despair.

"Don't look like that," Yuki said to her very casually. "You're acting like we've lost already."

"B-but-"

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Nel said to her.

"Myhuh?" Meracle then looked around. As she did, her eyes widened all of a sudden.

"It's down to its last remaining life, meaning this is our last shot." Nel continued as the sound of footsteps followed. "And there's only one of us left who can finish it off in one final blow."

Yuki smiled to himself as he sheathed his sword. "I honestly thought she'd lose her nerves and act sooner. Guess she's got some battle sense."

The lion was about to make its move when it sensed something fast approaching. Looking up, a single girl with a sword blazing brightly was descending towards it.

Sorry guys... And thanks.

The lion was about to teleport out of the way when something tugged on its tail and pulled it back. As it turned around, it saw Max and Cliff with an arm around its tail. "Going somewhere?" Cliff taunted.

The lion roared and was about to strike out its legs when the earth rose up into four giant hands that circled around all four legs. It gazed at Rodger, who had a large grin on its face. "Alright boss, Finish it off for good!"

The flames around the girl's sword, condensing around the blade itself as the length increased. "I have to give this all I've got." The girl raised her blade overhead as the flames concentrated around the sword. With a fire in her own eyes, she brought down the finishing blow to the relentless guardian. "VERMILLION STRIKE!!!!"