Toji leapt off Byxx’s shoulders and grabbed him by the throat, much to Byxx’s surprise. “She’s fucking cheating,” he growled. “Fine. Two can play at that game.”

“It isn’t cheating. You failed to specify in the rules, Devil God,” Byxx countered. “Why do you think she was so keen on asking?”

He was right. The smug archfiend was right; Khazmine had asked several times for him to clarify, but Toji had given her sass and indifference. Byxx knew better than to play such games with the Augment, but Toji didn’t.

Byxx’s heart caught in his throat as he watched a black cloud appear behind Toji, coalescing into four large spiked tendrils that shot out to where Khazmine was. 

“Wait, no!” Byxx screamed, struggling to get free. “You’ll kill her!” 

“Not today, I won’t,” Toji said, his voice still low. “But you’re a different story.” His grip tightened. “You played me, Byxx. Didn’t you?”

Byxx stared back, saying nothing, his grip on Toji’s wrist tightening. “I didn’t play you, not one bit. I could have cheated, made you quit before the time was up, but no.”

The archfiend’s nails dug into Toji’s skin, but not enough to draw blood. “She wanted me to, but I didn’t. Why? Because I’m not a monster. Short of cold-blooded murder, I will do what I must for those I love, Devil God.”

“Does that include dying for them?”

Byxx stared. “What I must,” he repeated.

Toji snarled. “Have it your way.” With more strength and dexterity than Byxx thought possible, Toji hauled off and threw the massive archfiend across the field. Byxx flew several yards before landing hard, bouncing three times before rolling a few more yards and coming to a stop on his front, one arm bent awkwardly underneath him. The sun-dried summer grass cushioned his fall, allowing the archfiend to recover and assess his dwindling options.

Come on, man. Keep stalling for time… 

Toji advanced on him, throwing the blades off to the side where they disappeared into mist. Byxx groaned, shuffling to his hands and knees, one arm going around his ribcage.

Two broken, he thought with a grimace. Dislocated shoulder…bruised elbow, broken finger… He looked around and spotted Damocleaver several yards off to his right. Before him, however, was a furious Devil God surrounded by black energy, black tendrils shooting out with electricity, stabbing into the ground in a futile attempt to knock Khazmine off guard. What horrified Byxx the most about that attack, however, wasn’t the brutal or seemingly disorganized way in which Toji was doing it.

It was the fact the scarred man wasn’t even looking.

Did this man hold so little appreciation for life that he couldn’t bother telling friend from foe? He was brutal, savage, scattered–Toji Kanaki was dangerous, too dangerous to pull any punches with. Byxx had soaked up his tantrums, insults, and blows with as much patience as he could muster, but enough was enough.

Fine, Devil God, Byxx thought as he collected his wits. You wanted a fight, and now you’ll have one.

“You know, you could easily hit your own teammate doing that,” Byxx warned.

Toji didn’t even blink. “Hardly,” he said in a low flat voice, one that seeped into Byxx’s blood like tar. “Like I said earlier… She stinks.”

Byxx’s lip curled. That will be your last insult, whelp.

Teetering on shaky legs until strength returned to them, Byxx hauled off after Damocleaver, which was still nestled in the dried grass some distance away. As soon as the archfiend laid a hand on its hilt, a crackle of red energy sparked from pommel to tip, and the archfiend growled as he did Khazmine’s bidding.

The dried grass carried on for acres, yellow and withered, starved for water and bleached by oppressive late-summer heat. Every crunch of boots on the ground sent powdered remnants of long-dead field grass into the wind, carrying the smell of danger in the air. Not just danger.

Fire.

Fanning out in all directions, the tinderbox of a battlefield ignited from Damocleaver’s heat, scorching the ground wherever grass wilted. A westerly breeze added speed to the blaze, which rampaged unchecked… 

Directly toward Khazmine.

Flames licked the ground, spreading like ink staining a page, signing the death warrant of all who lived and breathed within. But not Khazmine. No, the Augment needed neither breath nor respite from the oppressive heat, and her body was too resilient to succumb to the archfiend’s attack.

With no magic to aid him, nor flight to escape, Tristan would be helpless in a blazing inferno. Khazmine had made sure of that. Punishing wounds to joints and limbs rendered the warrior practically paralyzed from pain and terror as the Augment continued her assault, unbothered by the approaching flames.

A terrible brush fire cascaded over the battlefield, burning all in its wake, and there would be no way out. It was ugly, it was cruel, but it was exactly what Khazmine had asked for. Surely, the barrier surrounding the combatants would keep the blaze contained and away from the spectators, but it also kept any help out.

If Natsu intervened to spare Tristan a death by asphyxiation, they’d lose. If Khazmine shocked the poor lad into submission, they’d lose. If Toji delivered a mortal blow, they’d lose. There were so many avenues open for immediate failure on the Devil God’s side, and all it cost Byxx was a few broken bones and a wound to his pride.

And that wasn’t including any of those horrific tricks the Augment had picked up after the Day of Dark Skies. Byxx wasn’t certain, not entirely, but goose bumps raised on his skin at the thought of falling victim to such fiendish designs. That young God Prince she had been toying with up until now was about to get a first-class education in zero-sum combat, courtesy of the only Deceiver to survive the ravaging of Old Sarzonn.

***

Iris wanted the fight to end the moment the two parties clashed and the earth under her feet shook. With each monstrous clash that rattled her ears, each maniacal laugh that roared out amongst the din, and the unmistakable scent of electricity in the air, Iris’s fear for her friends’ lives intensified. She tried to cover her ears, but she could still hear everything. She tried to close her eyes, but the visions played out behind her eyelids more vividly than if they were to be open.

She shook her head vigorously, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. “Make it stop,” she whispered. “This isn’t what I thought it would be, please,” she begged, turning desperate eyes on Natsu who didn’t look at her. “Please, Mr. Kanaki, make them stop!”

Silver, still on Natsu’s shoulders, his little paws folded with his chin resting comfortably upon them, an almost bored expression on his face, shook his head. 

“Please!” she begged as loud as she could, praying that maybe Natsu hadn’t heard her the first time. In frustration and panic, she let her head fall into her hands, sobs beginning to wrack her frail body. “Please…” she chanted silently, each word growing louder until she screamed, “I’m not worth this!”

“Bullshit.”

Iris flinched, looking between all the men who surrounded her. That word had been sung in chorus. 

“Everyone has value, Iris,” Natsu said softly, keeping his gaze on the fight. “Great or small, it doesn’t matter. Your friends out there are proving your worth right now. Toji wouldn’t put them through this if he believed you were worthless. Plus,” he turned to Curtis. “He likes Byxx.”

Curtis swallowed. “So…you’re certain he’ll be okay?”

Natsu smiled warmly, patting the young man’s arm. “He’ll be fine.”

Curtis’s brow furrowed and he shook his head slightly. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “Both of them… All of them, really… They look so…”

“They’ll be fine,” Natsu emphasized. “Unless he’s given a reason to, he won’t kill Byxx.”

Less than a minute later, he tensed, his eyes widening slowly. “Zayzann, let me ask you something,” he said, his soft voice level despite his rising anxiety. Zayne turned to him. “How far would Khazmine go for Iris?”

They all looked at him, bewildered by the unexpected question. Wasn’t this far enough?

“I don’t know,” Zayne said, shaking his head. “I’ve only seen them spar a few times, but it’s never gotten this intense before. Why?”

“Do you think she’d kill to win?”

Zayne’s eyes narrowed and brows tensed in utter confusion. “Wh-what?! I don’t—”

“Your friend isn’t a fighter…She’s a huntress.” He turned cold emerald eyes on the Paxoram. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

Zayne swallowed, shaking his head slightly. “I-I…I’m not sure…what you mean, exactly,” he said with growing bafflement.

“She’s not fighting Tristan; she’s playing with him. Drawing him out and away from Toji. Did you know she would do that?”

He shook his head fiercely. “No! I had no idea what they were planning.”

“I really hope not,” Natsu said, his voice lowering once more. “Because I’m worried that whatever she has planned may very well blow up in her face and she’ll end up doing something we’ll all regret.”

Zayne’s heart slammed into his chest, his breath ragged.

“Make no mistake, Zayzann,” Natsu continued, his stare penetrating deep into Zayne’s soul. “If Khazmine kills his nephew, the only family member he has left to care about in the Universal Core, Toji will not hesitate to tear her apart piece by piece.”

Zayne much preferred to avoid confrontation if he could help it, opting to go with a safer, more diplomatic approach to a situation. At least, until threats were made to his family, that is. He took a slow step forward, closing the distance between himself and the Japanese Devil God with the cold green eyes, his cranial and facial feathers shifting in, his eyes taking on their natural shape.

“If that happens,” he said, his voice smooth, slow, and in a tone Iris had never heard before, “then I don’t give a damn what you people are, I’ll end you myself.”

“Zay,” Iris scolded. “Don’t.”

Natsu held the Paxoram’s gaze. “Will you?” he said softly.

Zayne stared daggers into the Devil God, his nictitating membranes glazing over his eyes. The Paxoram gave off an intense, low-frequency growl that stopped even nearby birds from chirping. 

Natsu tilted his head. “Interesting.”

“Zayne,” Alden said, reaching for him. The Paxoram shook him off, allowing himself to grow an extra inch or two, easily towering over the Devil God.

Natsu was not intimidated. If anything, he was amused. “Good to know,” he said, a warm smile touching his lips. Zayne flinched, curious at the response. He backed down, returning fully to his human form. “Iris really does have strong companions to rely on,” Natsu added with a nod.

Silver giggled, propping his chin in his tiny paws as he gazed at Zayne. “Your eyes are pretty,” he commented.

Zayne started at the unexpected compliment, a blush spreading on his olive-skinned cheeks. “Th-thank you…”

Right then, Byxx’s body exploded out of a cloud of dust, hitting the ground hard. Curtis gasped and instinctively lunged forward. Alden grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere.

“BYXX!” he screamed. He turned to Natsu, eyes wide with pleading. “Stop this! Please, Mr. Kanaki, before someone gets hurt even worse!”

“No,” Silver intoned, his amber eyes steady on the poor, desperate man’s face. 

“No?” Alden blanched, taking a step toward the strangers. “What the hell do you mean ‘no’?”

“I mean ‘no,’” Silver said smoothly. “There’s still time left in the match and they’re not done yet.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Alden roared. His arm shot out, his finger jabbing at the action. “Those are Iris’s best friends out there and they’re getting beaten to a pulp!”

“Byxx is, anyway, yeah,” Silver said dispassionately. “He’ll be fine, though.”

“But—”

“Look, if they’re allowing Toji and Tristan to do that much damage to them, then they’re far weaker than Toji gave them credit for,” Natsu snapped. “I thought you had faith in your friends?”

“We do!” Zayne shouted. “But—”

“Get back!” Natsu suddenly yelled, pushing Zayne out of the way. He threw up a barrier, surrounding the group just as the entire world went up in flames, and Grim flew from the ground to disappear through the blaze, the wrappings disappearing into smoke.

***

Fire.

That big, red bastard set the field on fire! 

Toji’s marks swam over his skin, his claws grew, and he reached out his hand, summoning the Sword of Obliteration to him. Grim flew through the flames, directly to its Master who swung it around once, then flattened it just above his head the very second Byxx came at him, bringing the massive sword, Damocleaver, down as hard as he bloody well could. Toji snarled up at him, a literal growl, one akin to a wildcat, echoing from his throat.

“Are you trying to kill everyone?” he demanded.

“No,” Byxx said. “I’m trying to save my friend.”

“By killing everyone, you dumbass!” Toji threw him off, searching frantically for Tristan. The boy hadn’t mastered core breathing yet. If he didn’t at least try, he was going to pass out, or worse, asphyxiate. 

“Not everyone…” Byxx countered under his breath, just loudly enough for the Devil God to hear.

“Tristan!” Toji screamed, running toward where he thought his nephew might be. Fuck, don’t you die, he pleaded. Don’t you dare die! I can’t lose you, too!

Byxx raced after him. “Oh, no you don’t,” he snarled. He grabbed Toji by the collar and yanked him backwards off his feet, slamming him into the ground so hard, the earth broke under the force. “What was it you said earlier? You fight me. You pay attention to me?”

Toji’s eyes blazed and he emitted a loud, ear-shattering roar that knocked Byxx back several feet, covering his ears as he went. Toji arched his back and leapt to his feet, spinning as he swung Grim wide, energy crackling through the blade as it narrowly missed Byxx’s chest plate. Byxx swung up with Damocleaver, knocking Grim high before lunging forward. To his horror, he saw several black tendrils shoot from the blade and grab the mighty sword, flinging it skyward.

“What the…” Byxx marveled, watching his sword take flight before spinning three times on its way down.

“Don’t. Fuck. With me. Byxx,” Toji snarled. “FIGHT ME!”

“With pleasure,” Byxx sneered. He caught Damocleaver and swung forward, meeting Grim with a terrifying BOOM! Fire, energy, and something Toji had never sensed before exploded between the two ancient weapons, churning up a tornado of fire and lightning that blew their hair up and around their faces. Byxx swung again, this time harder… and harder… and harder.