Nakashibetsu, Japan—
Behemoth wrestled with Leviathan in the waters, knocking the serpent back. Ziz flew overhead, raining down lightning on the beast.
Waves of ocean rose to attack the Land Beast, who roared and formed a cocoon of rocks to protect himself. The rocks rose into the air and multiplied, crashing into the ground like hailstones.
"It seems our old friend will not submit so easily," Leviathan noted. "Master, your wisdom, if you would?"
Omariro formed his blade and cut down a barrage of rocks as he analyzed Behemoth. "Beast exerting more energy. Keep beast off ground, and beast will crumble."
Ziz swooped in, slamming into Behemoth. The beast withstood the blow, roaring loud enough to push Ziz back. While Ziz kept Behemoth occupied, Omariro lined his bow up at the Land Beast.
"Now!"
Leviathan swam over to Behemoth, and Omariro shot two arrows into his eyes. He roared and summoned a chunk of rock beneath his feet to stand on, with mountain spikes forming around him.
"Hiding behind your spawn, Omariro?" Behemoth hissed. "Come and face me like a man!"
Omariro jumped off Leviathan's back and slashed Behemoth across the chest hard enough to knock him off the rock, while Ziz zipped over and caught him. Behemoth recovered and sent rocks flying in their direction, which the Sky Beast narrowly avoided.
Leviathan rose from the waters, spitting ice from her mouth that kept Behemoth in place, but the beast flexed his muscles and broke free of the ice, rolling into a ball and slamming into Leviathan.
"Thou is getting more enraged by the second," Ziz realized. "Is there a way for thou to be tamed, or will this fight be doomed to go on forever?"
Leviathan swam around Behemoth fast enough to form a whirlpool around him, and the waters lashed out at his skin, causing mini-ice crystals. Behemoth headbutted her away, but she withstood the blow.
Bit by bit, rocks rose into the air, merging themselves with Behemoth's hide. In mere seconds, a full armor of rock surrounded the beast, and both he and Leviathan sized each other up.
"You try to fight smart, serpent," Behemoth taunted. "But you're forgetting something, water can never weather the rock!"
"You would be surprised, mammoth," Leviathan shot back. "Your biggest weakness has always been your overconfidence. Cease your foolish rebellion—-bigger issues are at play."
"That you are right. And those issues stem from the old man you so hastily carry on your back!"
A row of earthen spikes tore through the ground, and one impaled Leviathan through the stomach. The Sea Beast bit it into pieces, healing herself with the water around her.
Behemoth used rocks to maneuver his way to her, riding them like a surfboard as Leviathan kept eluding his grasp. She formed a spear out of the waves, firing it directly into Behemoth's helmet, which embedded itself inside.
"Argh!"
Behemoth used a tusk to strike Leviathan, but the latter responded with a powerful blast of ice that temporarily blinded the beast.
Ziz came in, picking Behemoth up and tossing him hard into the water. The impact was strong enough that the entire earth shook, and the Land Beast reemerged, eyes fuming.
"Careful!" Ziz warned. "Thou's power is rising!"
A stone slab erupted from the ground, followed by another, and another, and another. They fell like towers, forcing the other beasts to dodge. Behemoth hopped from slab to slab, unleashing devastating roars at his opponents.
Omariro continued to watch, silent, while Behemoth kept his eyes on the old man. Leviathan's waters formed two chains that restrained the beast, but with a pair of forceful steps, he broke free.
"The fools are trying to pin me," Behemoth thought. "A hopeless strategy. Coating the surface with water can only save that serpent for so long."
A slab formed beneath his feet, carrying him high into the air, where Ziz came to meet him. The Sky Beast used his wings to unleash a frigid gust of air, but Behemoth stood firm.
"A false king, riding on the back of another false king," Behemoth mocked. "Shouldn't your pride make you more independent, Ziz?"
"One's pride shall be thou's downfall," Ziz replied. "One has lost sight of thou's purpose."
Ziz uses his talons to scratch off a chunk of Behemoth's armor, taking off the entire shoulder. The latter tried to impale him with a tusk, but Ziz grabbed it and flung him into the air, raining down a gigantic lightning bolt that skyrocketed Behemoth downward.
BOOM.
The impact formed a crater, and the waters slipped through the cracks of it as Leviathan retreated further back. When the dust cleared, she and Ziz noticed Behemoth was standing there, the rest of his armor cracking off.
"One appears to be still standing," Ziz noted.
"Unsurprisingly," Leviathan remarked. "He has always been the toughest of us all."
Ziz and Behemoth both fired rocks and lightning at the same time, the attacks canceling each other out. Omariro teleported off of Ziz's back and onto Leviathan's, which caused Behemoth to shift attention.
"Running, are you?" he questioned. "Coward!"
With a clap, Omariro erased the rest of Behemoth's armor, allowing Leviathan to grab him with her water tendrils and slam his face into the ground. Ziz formed a lightning blade in his hand, slashing the side of Behemoth's torso.
Behemoth's tusks grew larger, and he used them as weapons to deflect against Ziz's blade, leading to a duel between the two beasts while Leviathan zipped around the scene. In the process, she swam past the kids.
"Master!" Zaria called out. "What's going on? Do you need us?"
"Back!" Omariro ordered. "Too dangerous!"
"But—-!"
Behemoth fired his tusks like darts, and Ziz chopped them in two. The Land Beast reformed his tusks in an instant, blocking Ziz's next attack.
Omariro zoomed off with Leviathan as the kids watched, and Nonoka tugged on Gakuto's arm. "Have you ever seen them fight like this?"
"Only once," Gakuto answered. "And it was a long time ago."
While Ziz kept Behemoth busy, Leviathan got Omariro close to Behemoth, but before Omariro could attack, the beast turned around and trapped Leviathan in his tusks.
"Fool!"
He spun around and tossed her away, but she used the water to soften her fall. Omariro jumped off of her and landed on Behemoth's back. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Kamigami no Kōsoku!"
Golden wires wrapped around Behemoth, and as he tried to thrash Omariro off, the old man held firm and used the wires to control the beast, who ran rampant.
"Get off, you old bastard!"
"Beast will submit!"
They crashed into the mountains, causing falling rubble to strike them both. Ziz and Leviathan both chased them down as Behemoth rolled into a ball, moving faster than the eye could see.
"Come, Ziz!" Leviathan shouted. "This fight will not go on Master's favor if Behemoth keeps this up!"
Ziz watched as Behemoth tossed Omariro off, attempting to ram the latter. Omariro stopped him with one hand, but a stomp forced Omariro back.
"Thou can only be calmed in one way!" Ziz shouted back. "We must take our places!"
The two caught up to Omariro and Behemoth, and Omariro delivered a potent punch to Behemoth's jaw.
"You plan to seal me again, don't you?" he hissed. "That's all you do! Lock away your problems!"
Omariro backhanded Behemoth hard enough to knock off a tusk, but it regrew, and Behemoth stabbed Omariro in the shoulder with it.
The wound healed, and Omariro aged even further, becoming more frail and short.
Omariro extended a hand, golden energy emitting from his body. Leviathan and Ziz's eyes immediately widened, and so did Behemoth's.
"Master!" Leviathan called out. "You've already aged too much! If you expend strength anymore, you may age backwards!"
"Beast must be stopped! Cost irrelevant!"
Behemoth charged at Omariro with full force, but a golden beam rose from Omariro's body, along with golden dragon wings.
〈Changing Loadout to: *Ōgonryū*〉
"No, no, no!"
"Ōgonryū no Kaijū!"
The beam absorbed the energies of all three beasts as Omariro stopped Behemoth in his tracks with one hand, his flesh aging rapidly to the point that he was as frail as a stick.
"You fool! You'll take us all down! You included!"
"No. Beast forgets place," Omariro said, weakly. "Beast will remember it."
With a powerful blast of light, all three beasts and Omariro disappeared just as the kids caught up to the scene.
"Master?" Zaria questioned.
???——
Ziz and Leviathan found themselves atop a white celestial platform, with nothing but golden stars and white sky in their vision.
"Hmm," Leviathan noted. "Deja vū."
Behemoth was in the center. His feet were all chained in large golden chains, as a tiny Omariro walked over to him, his body no longer big enough for his clothing.
"Hmph," Behemoth scoffed. "'Master.' Now a frail little ant. Tell me, was it all worth it just to seal me one more time? Eventually, I will break out, just as I have done!"
"Beast will not be sealed," Omariro stated. "Beast will rejoin. Take place. Protect land."
Behemoth laughed. "And what makes you believe I would ever do such a thing? All you do is use us for your little power trips! No respect!"
Omariro snapped his fingers, and visions of a dying empire flashed around the area. One vision showed Behemoth being worn down by a group of shadowy figures, with a golden light enveloping him and transporting him away.
"Danjon Bankai…" Behemoth realized. "Wait…I remember…those Munjinsha…"
"Beast has duty to land. Avenge old land. Protect new land."
"Yes," Leviathan agreed. "Have you forgotten your purpose? You would work with one of the architects of our home's destruction, while attacking the very Master that saved your life all those years ago?"
"Thou's rage has been misguided," Ziz agreed. "One must not allow the Mujinsha to reign supreme."
Behemoth struggled against his bindings, memories rushing through his head. One of Omariro sitting on a throne, another of a young woman with white hair walking through a lush field of grass, and finally, the image of blood.
"ARGHHH!"
The Land Beast collapsed as Omariro extended his hand, and golden light coursed through Behemoth's body. At the same time, Leviathan and Ziz both touched either side of Behemoth's torso, and a flash of white echoed throughout the room.
"It is time for beast to be born anew."
Nakashibetsu, Japan—
With a golden flash, the three beasts and Omariro reappeared in Nakashibetsu. Behemoth landed on the ground, turning towards the trio with a low bow.
"This fight has opened my eyes," he realized. "It would seem the target of my revenge hasn't been Master Nyugawa after all."
Behemoth approached Omariro. "I remember now. I remember my duty, and what has been lost, Master."
Omariro extended his hand. "Beast must come. Heal wounds. Restore what is lost."
The Land Beast stepped closer, and with a surge of energy, a brown link formed between the two, and for a brief moment, the stones around them began to rise.
"My authority has been restored to you," Behemoth clarified. "The Land is yours to command once again."
"It is good to have you back, old friend," Leviathan stated.
"Indeed," Ziz added.
The kids caught up to the beasts, where they noticed Omariro standing between them.
"Sir!" Zaria called out. "What happened? You look like you're about to fall over!"
Nonoka rushed over and picked him up. "You're like the size of a child, sir! Are you okay?"
"N—no worries!" Rika assured him. "I can heal you, sir!"
Omariro held up a hand. "Girl must not trouble herself. Curse cannot be healed."
"Curse?"
Omariro landed on the ground. "Job not done. Must heal boy."
"Yeah!" Sōshin exclaimed. "Friend Han is still in need of help! Land Beast must save him!"
Behemoth turned towards the kids. "This Han boy…I do not recognize that name."
"A burdened student who sacrificed himself in my domain," Leviathan explained. "Without your intervention, he will not survive."
Omariro tapped his staff on the ground. "Come. Student awaits."
——