"Hurry, keep up!" Wiper yelled to Kamakiri and the others beside him.
Riding their Wavers, they sped toward the Upper Yard, quickly fanning out through the forest as they raced toward their designated areas. They had formulated a comprehensive plan. Today was the day they would defeat Enel and reclaim their ancestral homeland, Shandia.
At that moment, Ryuuto and his crew were high above the island, inside the Ark Maxim.
It did not take long for the battles to begin.
Wiper soon encountered Shura, the priest in charge of the Ordeal of String. Kamakiri ran into Gedatsu of the Ordeal of Swamp, while Braham faced Ohm of the Ordeal of Iron. All at once, the Shandia warriors found themselves locked in bitter struggles.
The Shandia fought primarily with a combination of weapons and the power of Dials. The creative application of Impact Dials, Flash Dials, Axe Dials, and Flame Dials, integrated with bazookas, swordsmanship, and rifles, made for a unique and ferocious style of combat. Their fighting spirit was exceptionally fierce, every blow fueled by the singular desire to take back their home.
Blood trickled from the corner of Wiper's mouth. He stood his ground, a bazooka resting on his shoulder, his eyes scanning the dim, surrounding forest. But he could see no sign of Shura or his giant bird, Fuza. A chilling, unknown fear began to creep into his mind. "Aisa, where is the enemy?" he asked the young Shandia girl beside him, his voice tight with unease.
Aisa possessed a powerful form of Mantra, allowing her to sense the "voices"—the life forces—of all living things over a vast area and pinpoint their locations with precision. She closed her eyes, her mind reaching out through the trees, searching for any trace of Shura.
Screee!
A sharp cry pierced the air as Shura reappeared, descending upon Fuza. He held his long lance, aimed directly at Wiper in a deadly dive.
"Die, you reckless challenger!" Shura sneered, his two thin whiskers twitching with contempt.
He activated the Flame Dial on his weapon. A violent torrent of fire erupted from the tip of his lance, descending on Wiper with immense power.
"Look out!"
Aisa's warning came a half-step too late. Wiper's eyes widened and he tensed, preparing to dodge, but it was already too late. Shura's fiery lance was upon him.
"The Ordeal with a three percent survival rate isn't something you can pass so easily!" Shura shouted, thrusting his lance forward.
Bang!
With a loud cry, Pierre swooped down from the sky, carrying Gan Fall. The Sky Knight, wielding his own lance, intercepted Shura's attack, saving Wiper at the last second.
"The Sky Knight?" Wiper said in disbelief, wondering why a Skypiean would rescue him. But his battle instincts took over, and he leaped back, leveling his bazooka at Shura.
Elsewhere, the other two battles raged on. Overall, the Shandia warriors were no match for the priests.
"Vivi, don't touch that!"
Ryuuto's shout echoed across the deck of the Ark Maxim as plumes of black smoke began to rise. The entire ship lurched, tilting as it began to descend, plummeting rapidly toward the Upper Yard below. On the deck lay a puddle of spilled wine, which had caused a significant short circuit in the Ark's propulsion system.
"Ah… we're doomed! Captain, what do we do?!" Vivi shrieked, her body lifting off the deck as the ship fell. She clung desperately to the ship's railing.
Ryuuto, however, stood perfectly steady on the deck, a look of sheer exasperation on his face. "I told you not to drink! Now look what's happened! A short circuit completely knocked out the power system! But I can't just let us crash."
A flicker of lightning enveloped his body, and he vanished from the deck.
Crocus and Jean Bart gripped the railing tightly, bracing themselves against the rapid descent as the powerful airstream whipped their hair about wildly.
Ryuuto reappeared in the air directly beneath the Ark Maxim.
Boom!
A spiraling torrent of air shot upward, pushing against the massive hull of the ark, trying to slow its fall. But the Ark Maxim was far too large, and its momentum was too great to be stopped so easily. Ryuuto could only pour more power into the wind, increasing its velocity.
"The Ark Maxim!"
In the forest below, Shura, who was hovering in mid-air, suddenly felt a colossal shadow fall over him. He looked up to see the enormous ark descending from the sky and cried out in shock.
"Lord Enel?" Shura mumbled, squinting. He thought he could make out a tiny figure beneath the ship's hull.
"How dare you get distracted in battle! Take this!" Gan Fall seized the opportunity, leaping to Shura's side and thrusting his lance forward with lightning speed.
Crash!
Before Gan Fall's attack could connect, the massive Ark Maxim slammed into the canopy of the forest, filling the air with the sound of splintering wood. The great ship now hung just ten meters above their heads.
"What is that thing?!" Gan Fall's eyes widened in horror.
The full, six-hundred-meter length of the Ark Maxim now dominated their view.
"Hah… it's finally stopping!"
Seeing the ship's descent slow, Ryuuto unleashed a dozen more spiraling air currents from the ground. Between his efforts and the resistance of the trees, the Ark Maxim finally shuddered to a halt.
Thrown off by the tremor, Gan Fall's lance only grazed Shura's side, drawing a splash of blood. Both men tumbled toward the ground.
"What a huge ship!" Wiper and Aisa cried out in terror, staring up at the overwhelming presence of the Ark Maxim above them.
"Oh, it's you?" Ryuuto said, landing lightly on the forest floor. He looked at the small group gathered nearby, a hint of confusion in his voice.
"Who are you? Where is Lord Enel?" Shura demanded, scrambling back to his feet.
"Aren't you the priest Shura?" Ryuuto said with an amused smile. "As for Enel? He has already fallen to my blade."
"Impossible!" Shura's voice rose in disbelief. "How could Lord Enel possibly lose?!"
"Vivi, they're all yours!" Ryuuto called up to the deck, shaking his head. This was the perfect chance for Vivi to redeem herself.
"Captain, did you call for me?" Vivi asked, smoothing her messy hair and composing herself into the image of a prim princess. She leaped down from the deck, landing gracefully beside Ryuuto.
Shhh! Shhh!
Two figures burst from the trees and rushed toward them. "Why is Lord Enel's Ark Maxim here?" the newcomers, Gedatsu and Ohm, demanded.
"Well, this is lively. Looks like the whole gang's here," Ryuuto chuckled, turning back to Vivi. "Now's your chance to shine. Take care of all of them."
"Hehehe, leave it to me!" Vivi replied, a triumphant, slightly tipsy grin spreading across her face.
On the ground, Wiper, Aisa, and Gan Fall could only watch, utterly bewildered. They had no idea who these newcomers were and dared not make a move.