Garland VS Nightmare is a What-If? episode of Death Battle featuring Garland from the video game series Final Fantasy and Nightmare from the video game series Soulcalibur. (Images created by Shadow7615)
Description[]
The sword-wielding demons of fiction who swear their allegiance to no-one. Which of these knights will fall in the face of chivalry?
Interlude[]
Wiz: Demons are known to take on many forms, though of all possible incarnations, there are ordinary knights tainted by evil.
Boomstick: Or are bribed, either by their own convictions or the thirst for power...Or both.
Wiz: Garland, the knight of Cornelia who became the embodiment of Chaos.
Boomstick: And Nightmare, the possessed vessel of Soul Edge.
Wiz: I'm Wizard and he's Boomstick and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
Garland[]
Wiz: Warriors, just what do they seek beyond serving their kingdom?
Boomstick: Well obviously, they're in to screw the enemy over, kill many foes and brag about it in front of friends, comrades and the hunies! Damn, makes me want to get a harem now...
Wiz: Or in the scenario of Garland, it's merely to fight until the ends of time.
Boomstick: What!? And here I thought he'd be out for the bitches. Such a letdown.
Wiz: Garland was a knight of the great nation Cornelia, being one of the best warriors. Because of this, he was highly respected for his power and skill.
Boomstick: But like any warrior with authority, he became corrupt with power and kidnapped Princess Sarah, taking her to the Chaos Shrine.
Wiz: Using this as a form of bribary, Garland demanded that the king should surrender his kingdom to him.
Boomstick: This turned out to be his worst mistake as the king sent the Warriors of Light to end his tyranny before it spread.
Wiz: However, prior to his death, he allowed the Four Fiends of Chaos to drain the energy from the Crystals and released them upon the world.
Boomstick: The energy that was drained actually funneled into the shrine's Dark Crystal, opening a portal into the past. And it's actually confirmed that the fiends were sent from two thousand years ago.
Wiz: Then, after defeating the fiends again, who's in front of the Chaos Shrine? None other than Garland, who explains the time loop he made.
Boomstick: And yet, I still can't get my head around it.
Wiz: Basically, everytime Garland dies at the hands of the Warriors of Light, the fiends would send him two thousand years into the past in order to revive him. Once there, Garland would then send these fiends into the time where he died to cause chaos among the land.
Boomstick: Even then, I don't get it...
Wiz: ...Anyway, Garland's time loop was eventually broken by Shinryu, who transported him to World B to serve as the God of Discord's right hand man.
Boomstick: Basically, two Gods are in conflict and they summon warriors from the Final Fantasy verse to fight for them.
Wiz: So, you understood that, yet can't comprehend the time loop?
Boomstick: Well, it's pretty easy to get around Dissidia's plot, unlike the time loop.
Wiz: Fair enough. Continuing, Garland possesses one of fiction's largest and most complicated human sized weapons.
Boomstick: If that wasn't enough, he is able to morph the sword into a flail, an axe, two swords and a lance. Essentially, this is an all-purpose medieval weapon.
Wiz: He also has access to moves based on making sure the enemy doesn't escape from them unscathed.
Boomstick: This includes Flare, Tsunami, Blaze, Cyclone and Earthquake. Even with these, he has some powerful sword play, even having really strong physical attacks.
Wiz: But when things start to get rough, he is able to use his special move: Soul of Chaos. With this, he unleashes a barrage of attacks on the opponent and involves more than one form of his sword.
Boomstick: And once he's backed into a corner, he can become the embodiment of Chaos.
Wiz: Well, about that. You see, he's only capable of taking this form by absorbing the power of the Four Fiends, but once he does, his magic based moves increase a considerable amount at the cost of being unable to use his sword.
Boomstick: Due to being a knight for some time and having a great reputation, Garland is no stranger to battle. Heck, he relishes in war just because he can battle strong foes.
Wiz: He has taken part in the many cycles while serving under Chaos, battling some of the strongest combatants Final Fantasy has to offer, such as the Warrior of Light, Kain and even Golbez, someone who's supposedly on Chaos' side.
Boomstick: But he does have some faults as well. The first of which is his sword, which, while useful, makes him slow.
Wiz: Plus, despite his many years of training and battling, he prefers to beat up the opponent, pummeling them with his strength most of the time.
Boomstick: And yet this guy exists for one reason: fighting!
Garland: I, Garland, will knock you all down!
Nightmare[]
Wiz: Transcending history, there is no greater sword in the Soul Calibur verse than Soul Edge.
Boomstick: Heck, pretty much everyone wanted to have it, you know, despite being an evil sword.
Wiz: But before it was tainted and covered in blood, it was an ordinary blade created for battle.
Boomstick: Once it was drenched with negativity, a soul known as Inferno took residence within the sword, possessing all that dared wield Soul Edge.
Wiz: With that, very few could resist the soul's corruption. Only Algol was able to wield it with no negative effects.
Boomstick: Unfortunately, his only son stole it and tried to use it out of jealousy. This failed and, with a little bit of possession, killed his own mother.
Wiz: That's not all: his father had to kill him and the sword vanished, never to reappear until the 1500s. Desperate, Algol collected the purified shards of Soul Edge to create Soul Calibur.
Boomstick: Yeah, he managed to temporarily destroy Soul Edge.
Wiz: The sword happened to appear at an auction during this new time period and during its voyage, the dreaded pirate Cervantes stole it, claiming it as his own.
Boomstick: And yet Inferno wasn't pleased with its host, who was defeated at the hands of Taki and Sophitia. Though eventually, he found his ideal host.
Wiz: Like a naïve child, Seigfried picked up the sword and was corrupted by the sword's power, becoming the azure knight Nightmare.
Boomstick: Luckily, he was saved and after being freed from the sword's control, he would dedicate the rest of his life into defeating Soul Edge.
Wiz: Now hostless, the sword possessed the black suit of armor to serve as its host.
Boomstick: Nightmare may have been down for the count, but it was sure his return was imminent.
Wiz: Soul Edge's current host has no real limitations in regards to what a normal human can do, being able to wield the sword with relative ease, despite its size.
Boomstick: In addition, the sword's potential is so great that it managed to destroy a part of a castle with a single slash. It even went against entire armies and won.
Wiz: He's able to defeat a large number of foes by using Soul Wave, rain energy down on an opponent by releasing the Evil Seed and absorb the souls of others, though strong opponents are able to resist it to some extent.
Boomstick: However, he's not just limited to sword attacks, he usually doesn't follow any chivalry and would rather use underhand tactics to win, such as using his monstrous arm to punch.
Wiz: By using the sword's power, Nightmare can become Night Terror.
Boomstick: Now this guy's so cheap that it's unreal. He can now fly, avoiding ring outs as a result, has a bigger sword, shoot laser beams and is more resistant to damage.
Wiz: And even when Night Terror is defeated, Inferno can personally emerge from the sword, either to tempt the foe into taking Soul Edge or fighting the opponent head on. In this state, he can transport himself and his opponent into Astral Chaos, which is essentially what looks like hell.
Boomstick: Though this puts him at risk of being killed. Not like it matters due to his pyrokinetic abilities, flight and the capability of wielding any weapon.
Wiz: While Nightmare is able to inflict lots of damage on opponents, he still remains as a slow combatant who uses short combos.
Boomstick: Plus, if the sword is destroyed, so will the power being funneled to the armor and Inferno will be no more. The only problem is that Inferno exists on a different plain of existence, enabling him to continue existing, even after the sword is destroyed. If he's unable to possess someone quickly, he will effectively cease to exist.
Wiz: And even though the sword may present itself, it's reasonably ineffective against foes which like their swords already and have no intention of having the sword.
Boomstick: But watch out, or you may just end up being another meal for this cursed sword.
Nightmare: I will show you the greatest nightmare!
Pre Fight[]
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set, let's finish the debate once and for all.
Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!
Fight[]
Nightmare is seen strolling through the forest, after he found and combined the fragments of Soul Edge, when he notices a shrine. Curious, and sensing a soul inside, Nightmare enters it. Meanwhile, Garland is seen in a room with the Four Fiends before he sends them into the future. When the Fiends depart, the door to the room's entrance gets knocked down by Nightmare's monstrous hand. Not turning around immediately, Garland suspects the intruder to be the Warriors of Light.
Garland: It seems you're too late, Warriors of-
As he completely turns around, he only noticed an azure knight standing in the doorway.
Garland: I see, a different foe.
Nightmare: Your soul shall satisfy my thirst!
Garland: If you're wanting a fight, then a fight you shall receive. Let us battle to our heart's content!
After saying that, Garland drew out his sword which was rooted to the ground. His opponent merely gestures and walks into the room, dragging his sword in with him.
FIGHT!
Nightmare quickly rushes towards Garland and swings his sword down on the warrior, but the knight blocked the attack before pushing the cursed sword away with his sword. By increasing the distance between them, Garland begins to shoot fire at Nightmare, who dodges, blocks and attacks them in rapid succession, but while the flames were diverting Nightmare's attention, Garland extends the length of his sword to create a flail and smashes it into the azure knight, sending him into a wall.
Recovering, Nightmare runs towards Garland again, but just before they were in sword reach, Nightmare points Soul Edge into the air before slamming it onto the ground, creating a wave of fire that hits Garland, despite his parry. Receiving little damage, Garland retaliates with several sword slashes, which Nightmare replies with slashes of his own. As an opening appeared in Nightmare's defenses, Garland made his sword into a hammer and smashed it on Nightmare, creating a little earthquake and a hole in the process. Despite this hit, Nightmare gets up with relative ease.
Garland: Ahh, you are an interesting one, though will you be able to keep up when I'm serious?
With that, Garland made his sword transform into a lance before charging at Nightmare. The azure knight easily deflected the blow causing Garland to have his attack redirected to a wall, destroying it in the process. Making sure his target couldn't recover, Nightmare used Soul Wave, sending Garland outside the shrine, resulting with Nightmare pursuing his opponent.
However, Garland had anchored his sword into the roof of the shrine by extending it. Just as Nightmare was leaving the shrine, Garland jumped down and split his sword in two, letting loose a flurry of attacks. Surprised, Nightmare took some damage, causing him to falter. Even though he blocked a few hits, he wasn't able to block all of them and with some of the strength he had left, Nigtmare punhed Garland in the face, sending him back into the shrine.
Nightmare than charged at Garland and kicked him further into a wall which led to the shrine's center. Unable to handle the pressure, the wall gave way and both combatants are sent through the wall. As they both stood back up, it's clear that Nightmare has suffered from more damage.
Garland: Well, it seems as though this is the end.
Nightmare: (laughs), you pathetic mortal! You will never defeat me!
In a fit of rage, Nightmare then transformed into Night Terror, who immediately goes on an onslaught against Garland. While trying to hold his ground, the warrior deflects blow after blow before Night Terror flies into the air, releasing a few laser beams towards him. Being able to dodge them, Garland then jumps towards the monstrous behemoth, who effortlessly punches Garland away.
Night Terror: Now, tremble in fear!
Night Terror then flew and charged at Garland, who barely manages to evade the tackles. Just as one almost got him, Garland swiped his sword down onto the beast's head, making Night Terror fall to the floor, though he quickly gets back up, only to see Garland starting to shine and create a cyclone in front of him. Unable to react fast enough, the cyclones hit and Garland uses Soul of Chaos. However, despite the strong attack, Night Terror gets back up, laughing at Garland's effort to take him down. Shocked by his opponent's tenacity and durability, Garland could only grab and lean on his sword. Meanwhile, Night Terror slowly closes the distance, taunting Garland and relishing in his despair.
Night Terror: Your soul is mine!
As he said that, Garland muttered to himself and Night Terror raised his sword before casting it down on Garland. But before the blade could make contact, energy was released from Garland, causing the sword to bounce off and Night Terror only just manages to keep his grip on the floor. When the burst of energy subsided, a large figure stood where the knight was. Excited by the transformation, Night Terror begun to clash with the new opponent.
Night Terror cast his sword down upon the new foe, but Chaos grabs the sword and punches Night Terror in the stomach. While his foe was in pain, Chaos grabbed Night Terror and threw him towards the ground before following and smashing him into the floor. This caused many holes in the shrine's floors and the impact on the ground floor made the whole structure collapse.
Night Terror was the first to emerge before being tackled by Chaos' shoulder. As the azure knight was rolling, Chaos shot an explosion of fire at Night Terror, setting the forest on fire. Despite this attack, Night Terror still got up and flew towards Chaos, engaging in a fist fight that Chaos won. Night Terror then casted fire at Chaos, attempting to trap him. However, Chaos walks through it and shrugs the flames off, proceeding towards his foe.
Mortified, Night Terror tried to slash at Chaos, who grabbed Night Terror's hand, ripped it off and punched him straight through the stomach before punching many holes into Night Terror. As Chaos starts to walk away, Soul Edge begins to talk to its opponent, which surprised Chaos. However, once Chaos grabbed the sword, Inferno attempted to possess Chaos, but to no avail. This agitated Inferno and the sword transformed into his true form. The combatants get ready for their final clash.
Inferno begins by transporting the pair to Astral Chaos and Chaos summons forth a twister as well as a tsunami to try and extinguish Inferno's flames, but to no avail. Chaos then flies towards Inferno at blinding speed, only to pass through the entity.
Inferno: You fool! Now, be extinguished by my hands!
Fire erupts from underneath Chaos and inflicts damage upon him, but he seems unscathed. Seeing this, Inferno summons forth Soul Edge in the form of two swords before slashing Chaos with incredible speed, creating many wounds on the beast and causing Chaos to fall to the ground. No matter how many times Chaos attempts to hit his new foe, his attacks pass straight through the skeletal being.
Now kneeling on the floor, Inferno summons the true form of Soul Edge before slamming it on the beast, dividing him in two. After a few seconds, the nearest side of Chaos' body falls on its side. Then, seeing his foe dead, he escapes from Astral Chaos and takes the form of the sword once again, tempting anyone nearby into taking the sword as their own.
K.O!
A random bystander then picks up the sword before being possessed and turning into Nightmare.
Post-Fight Analysis[]
Boomstick: Well, that fight sure was hellish!
Wiz: Really? We have to start with a pun? Anyway, this was a relatively close fight, but what sealed the deal was Nightmare's many years of experience. Even though Garland may have been known as one of the best knights, it didn't mean anything in the face of centuries worth of practice.
Boomstick: And despite Garland's sheer strength, along with his large arsenal, he could only just keep up with Night Terror. It's true that Nightmare by himself was a fair bit behind in terms of battle capabilities, but the other two forms did redeem him.
Wiz: Also, Garland had no real way of shattering the sword, since it's doubtful his sword could cut through it. Even if he was capable of defeating Night Terror without becoming Chaos, he would rather claim Soul Edge as his own, resulting with Inferno possessing him.
Boomstick: It was pretty clear that Chaos was just too much for Night Terror to deal with, since he essentially became the embodiment of the God of Discord. But due to the real Chaos being in Dissidia, some of the more powerful moves and alternate form couldn't be utilized by Garland.
Wiz: Even though he was still powerful and was able to prevent Inferno possessing him, it was all over once Inferno took to the stage.
Boomstick: Neither of Garland's forms were capable of attacking Inferno due to him being on the astral plain of existence, which made attacking him impossible.
Wiz: Not to mention that things were made worse when Inferno brought him to Astral Chaos, increasing Inferno's chances of winning, even if Chaos was able to attack him.
Boomstick: Looks like Garland was half the man he used to be.
Wiz: The winner is Nightmare.
Boomstick: (Whispers) it's technically Inferno...
Nightmare vs Garland is an episode of SoMaShadow's Death Battles. It features the return of Nightmare from the Soul Calibur video game series, and Garland from the Final Fantasy video game series.
| Nightmare vs Garland | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dedicated to SuperSaiyan2Link | |
| Season unknown, Episode unknown | |
Vital statistics
| |
| Air date | Unknown |
| Written by | SoMaShadow |
| Directed by | SoMaShadow |
Episode guide
| |
| Previous | Next |
| Unknown | Unknown |
Description[]
Soul Calibur vs Final Fantasy! Once famed and respected knights, these two malevolent warriors have descended into darkness and sought power above all else. In a clash between demonic swordsmen, whose soul will be extinguished?
Interlude[]
Wiz: The symbol of a knight is one of safety, protection and heroism, but sometimes those virtues can be corrupted, and twisted into something more sinister.
Boomstick: And despite losing their humanity in the pursuit of power, these two demonic warriors remain iconic and legendary.
Wiz: Like Nightmare, Soul Calibur's malicious Azure Knight.
Boomstick: And Garland, the Rogue Knight of Cornelia. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills, to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Nightmare[]
Wiz: In ages long past, there would be an enormous sword, forged with the sole intent to be the deadliest weapon ever created. Designed to slaughter any enemy a warrior could face, the blade Soul Edge lived up to its reputation, as the wielders of this weapon were nearly unstoppable and left no survivors in their wake.
Boomstick: But there was more to this kick-ass sword than anyone else had thought. After countless battles, the sword bathed in the blood and hatred of all those it had slain, which breathed life into the blade, creating the demon, Inferno. Who was literally made of fire!
Wiz: Inferno craved nothing more than pure chaos and violence, but he couldn’t do it alone. He needed a warrior strong enough to wield Soul Edge and fall victim to the vile sword’s influence. Inferno planned to possess this warrior and transform them into the azure-clad knight of darkness, Nightmare.
Boomstick: Originally, Inferno tried his luck with the pirate, Cervantes de León, who at first proved capable, but he wasn’t the ideal host Inferno sought. Inferno tried again, this time with the knight, Siegfried Schtauffen, and from the moment that he picked up the sword, Inferno knew that he would be the perfect vessel.
Wiz: Siegfried was quickly overtaken by the foul blade, and was turned into the demonic scourge, Nightmare. And with Siegfried bound to Soul Edge, Nightmare achieved immense power, capable of conquering entire armies by himself and devouring any soul that crossed his path.
Boomstick: However, Soul Edge's power wasn’t fully complete yet. At some point, the sword had been broken apart, and the shards were scattered across the world. In order to unlock Soul Edge's true power, Nightmare set off to find the lost pieces of his sword and repair it. And as Nightmare discovered each shard, his power grew exponentially. He became known for decimating any village or city he came across with ease! Now that’s a badass reputation!
Popup: Multiple statements from the Soul Calibur series have said that Nightmare would be capable of wiping out a country. Whether this be by ending all life on it, or literally destroying the country, it certainly lends credence to his immense level of power.
Wiz: One of Nightmare’s many abilities is the power to infect others, corrupting them into a Malfested, a person gone mad with the need for destruction and carnage. Nightmare can control these Malfested, and feed off of their evil energies. This is a part of his ability to influence the minds of others, usually choosing to drive people insane, or to try and have them pick up Soul Edge and become the new host, should it be required.
Boomstick: Even just fighting him or being somewhat near to him can cause people to fall under Nightmare’s magical corruption. That’s how this not-so vampire guy, Raphael was going mad after their fight, because his blood got infected due to his wounds, and then this other lady got it too when she was cleaning his wounds. Poor girl. But, Nightmare’s got plenty of other things he can do as well. Stuff like teleporting, creating illusions, casting curses, slowly regenerating, and much more!
Wiz: He’s also capable of utilizing the fighting styles of warriors who have wielded Soul Edge before, and those who have fought against him, giving him a wide array of styles and stances to draw upon. Nightmare can also create energy blasts and channel fire and lightning through Soul Edge for vicious blows, whether it be through his unbreakable attacks or his Critical Edge, but one of his most devastating attacks is the Soul Wave.
Boomstick: The Soul Wave absorbs the souls of whoever falls within the range of the blast, and Nightmare has used this technique to absorb the souls of an entire army at once, taking out thousands in one fell swoop! We’re talking about a guy who can throw a person through solid stone for fun! Hell, he’s strong enough to fire this giant beam into the sky that pierced the clouds around it!
Wiz: By measuring the beam diameter to the mountains in the background and taking into account the average cloud thickness, we can estimate that this beam had a force of over 392 Megatons. Enough to wipe out entire mountains!
Popup: Nightmare has also fought the likes of Zasalamel (who was called Abyss at the time), who is capable of outputting a similar 368.89 Megatons of force, which also has enough power to level mountains.
Boomstick: No wonder everyone is afraid of this guy, he’s insane! With power like that, even the Hero King, Algol, is fearful of him, and that guy can create supercell storms! But the one person who wasn’t, was Siegfried beneath the armor, who was still fighting back after all this time.
Wiz: Despite Nightmare’s immense power, Siegfried longed to free himself from Soul Edge’s curse, and eventually, he succeeded. After Siegfried broke himself free from Soul Edge’s influence, Inferno gave life to the armour, making it his own physical body in the real world, also giving him access to Siegfried's fighting style.
Boomstick: The two warriors fought atop Ostrheinsburg Castle, where Nightmare would defeat his former host in a battle which would destroy the entre castle. Both fighters appeared to be nearly evenly matched, but in the end, Nightmare came out victorious, and one of the reasons, is that Soul Edge can’t be defeated by an ordinary blade. Throughout all of history, only one weapon has ever been able to harm it: the holy blade, Soul Calibur.
Wiz: Forged from the last missing shard of Soul Edge, Soul Calibur is a holy blade with the ability to create and control ice and crystallized matter, amongst other abilities such as reading souls, specifically that of its wielder. And similarly to Soul Edge, it seems to be capable of taking control of its host, although for a much more beneficial purpose, as it can hold the wielder’s body together to save their life. It also just seems to show up wherever it’s convenient for it to do so.
Boomstick: The power of plot convenience, Wiz. Siegfried ended up carrying the legendary blade for a while, and defeated Nightmare with it in the rematch, but even with the new magic crystal sword, it was very difficult for him to do so. The two blades are essentially equal, and their hosts follow suit. Siegfried is also capable of controlling and dodging lightning, so Nightmare should be capable of moving at the same speeds as well!
Popup: Both swords can also transform themselves according to their wielder’s preferred fighting style, or what is best suited for them. Like how when Siegfried and Nightmare had the blades, they were similar to greatswords, but when others like Xianghua, Patroklos and Pyrrha wielded them, they were shorter, one-handed blades. Xianghua’s was a Jian blade specifically, and Patroklos’ was an Iai blade.
Wiz: But after restoring Soul Edge to its full power, Nightmare has one last and ultimate form he can achieve; Night Terror.
Boomstick: This fly-ier version of Nightmare has wings which he uses for… well, flight, can fire laser beams out of his head, and has greatly enhanced power from the fully completed Soul Edge. Which all culminates in one of the cheapest bosses ever…
Wiz: But this new form grants greater access to the realm of Astral Chaos, a realm created by Inferno, and directly linked to Soul Edge itself. Astral Chaos contain fragments of the human world within it, and it’s been said that one who masters this power can create entire planets. The realm also appears to hold stars and even a possible Homunculus Nebula!
Popup: As Inferno has complete control over Astral Chaos, he is able to shape and manipulate its reality to his liking, giving him near unrivalled power whilst he is in Astral Chaos.
Boomstick: But even with all this power, the deadly combination of Nightmare and Soul Edge have been beaten before. Namely by prolific warriors such as Siegfried, Chai Xianghua, Sophitia, and Z.W.E.I., but most notably by the Hero King, Algol. Remember him from earlier? He’s actually the one who forged Soul Calibur in the first place. Though he kinda died right after making it, but he got better later!
Wiz: Right, Algol draws power from Soul Calibur and Soul Edge to stay alive, more specifically the realm, Astral Chaos. Using the power from Astral Chaos from Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, he was able to create a supercell storm worth 5.13 Teratons of TNT. Enough power to obliterate a small country!
Boomstick: But in a last resort scenario, should someone take Nightmare or Night Terror down, Inferno can manifest himself and drag his opponents into Astral Chaos, where he as full control. But Inferno coincidentally happens to exist on an astral plane, and can’t be harmed unless someone is capable of harming people on an astral plane. Helpful against most people, not so much against Dragonslayers…
Wiz: But even with a few losses to his name, Nightmare’s accomplishments far outweigh his shortcomings. He’s killed and absorbed the souls of thousands, sent entire countries to war and even ripped a hole between dimensions with Soul Edge itself. And worst comes to worst, he can always manipulate another into picking up the sword and becoming another Nightmare.
Boomstick: Only the best are able to match the of combined power Soul Edge, Inferno and Nightmare. And if not, he won’t hesitate to take your soul.
Nightmare: These despicable shackles that held me all these long years are now destroyed! None shall be able to stop me!
Garland[]
Wiz: What is your reason for fighting? A question that almost all warriors are posed, but one with many varying answers. Some fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves, whilst others seek power above all else.
Boomstick: But the coolest, and best, answer is purely for the thrill of it! The feeling of steel clashing against steel, a test of might, a battle where only the best can survive. And for the Cornelian knight, Garland, he lived for battle.
Wiz: In service to the Kingdom of Cornelia, Garland was known far and wide for his immense skill and power in battle. Capable of besting entire armies by himself, there were few who did not know of his reputation. But those who did, feared him.
Boomstick: But eventually, Garland grew bored. There were no worthy challenges left, none who could stand against his might. And, consumed by his power, he went rogue.
Wiz: Going uncontested by the entire royal army, Garland was the greatest threat the world had seen. He abducted Princess Sarah and fled to his temple, the Chaos Shrine, where he offered the King of Cornelia an ultimatum: hand the kingdom over to him, or Sarah’s life would be forfeit.
Boomstick: Though the king was stuck in a tough predicament, he employed his strongest defences against Garland, including the four Warriors of Light. Who would eventually give Garland the worthy challenge that he sought.
Wiz: But inversely, Garland was more than a challenge for them. Cloaked in intimidating, silver, full-body armour, including a helmet adorned with two horns and a dark blue cape, Garland’s mere presence was fear-inducing.
Boomstick: And that’s not even mentioning his epic sword! At over 6 feet long, and 2 feet thick, this beautiful blade is made for the sole purpose of crushing his foes. Literally! The sword is so heavy, that he just drags it along the ground, leaving deep scratch marks as goes. Like some sort of sign that he’d been here, and everything else was dead. And that’s just the beginning.
Popup: Though Garland’s blade is large and heavy, he is known for his astounding skill with the sword, and he uses it’s weight to his advantage to land crushing blows. So, it isn’t any hinderance in battle.
Wiz: The design of Garland’s blade is not the only unique thing about the sword. It’s capable of detaching and adjusting itself into a lance, an axe, a chain whip, and even breaking the sword into two separate swords. Unprecedented, yet very fascinating, it’s an all-purpose medieval weapon of pain.
Boomstick: You’re damn right it is! And he handles it with complete ease! Changing between the modes effortlessly and swinging it as if it were a just a plain old sword. But that’s not all this sweet baby has to offer. Garland can charge his weapon with the different elements controlled by his most loyal servants, the Four Fiends. Those being; Earth, Water, Fire and Wind.
Wiz: By-
Boomstick: And heart! Captain Planet!
Wiz: …By slamming his impressive blade into the ground, Garland can create short-range earthquakes, and by throwing the sword, he creates a deadly tsunami. He also can infuse the sword with fire for flaming projectiles or blazing swings, and he can even send cyclones at the opponent just by swinging hard enough.
Boomstick: What a kick-ass sword! Where can I get me one of those? But even without the abilities of the sword, Garland was kicking ass black and blue. Even in his earlier days, he’d be more than capable of taking out monsters like Earth Vampires, which can destroy entire chapels on their own!
Wiz: And in his efforts to rescue Princess Sarah, the King of Cornelia employed the use of Nitro Powder. An explosive powder, which causes a massive, and powerful explosion. By measuring the diameter of the planet, to the strip of land and the resulting explosion, it yields a result of over 84 Gigatons! Enough power to destroy entire islands! And not even that could put Garland down.
Boomstick: You can see why this man was feared across the world, he’s crazy! He’s cursed groups of soldiers, turning them into bats, can send magic blasts of energy known as Flare, and is capable of naturally heal himself faster than the average man. Average man my ass, he’s a nigh-unstoppable machine!
Wiz: But even with all of this power, Garland has greater abilities still, and one of his greatest, is the ability to access the power of the Chaos, the demonic God of Discord. Turns out, Garland was a direct reincarnation of him, and can tap into some of his godly power with abilities such as his Class Change.
Popup: Garland’s transformation into his demonic Chaos form grants him access to greater magic such as Blizzara (Ice Magic), Thundaga (Lightning Magic), Curaja (Healing Magic) and Haste and Slowra (Time Magic). His regular magic also gains an increase in strength, but his time-based magic only affects him and his opponent by speeding himself up, or slowing his opponent down.
Boomstick: With the Class Change, his armour and cape turn white, all of his physical stats are boosted and he can’t be knocked back during his attacks. Kinda like super armour in Smash Bros, you gotta get right out of his way. And an evil man in white armour? That’s got to be some sort of irony.
Wiz: Right you are Boomstick, but there’s one last ability his new power provides; a devastating finisher called “Soul of Chaos”. And with all of his strength, he even succeeded in becoming Chaos itself, but even with all of his newfound power, he was struck down by the Warriors of Light.
Boomstick: But unbeknownst to the Warriors, Garland had plans set in motion, should he be struck down. He had sent the Four Fiends to gather power from across the planet, and to channel it into the Dark Crystal in the Chaos Shrine, which would open a portal to the past, somehow…
Wiz: Garland’s followers sent him through the portal, to two thousand years into the past, where he would be safe, and after the Warriors defeated the Fiends in the present, who was there to greet them? None other than Garland himself, who explains the time loop he created.
Boomstick: Basically, every time Garland died at the hands of the Warriors of Light, his Fiends would send him two thousand years into the past in order to revive him. Once there, Garland would then send the Fiends into the time where he died in order to cause chaos among the land. A tedious, but effective, plan.
Popup: Even though he fell in battle, Garland is more than capable of keeping up with the four of them at the same time. The Warriors also likely utilized lightning magic, so Garland should be capable of dodging attacks of similar speeds.
Wiz: But this time loop would eventually be broken by Shinryu, where he would be summoned to the world of Dissidia, to serve as the right hand man of the God of Discord himself. In this world, two opposing Gods were in conflict, and they would summon heroes and villains from the Final Fantasy series to fight for them.
Boomstick: Kinda like Square Enix’s Smash Bros. Hey, that’s twice in one episode! Is that a new record?
Wiz: But for Garland, his temporary break from the time loop proved to be much more enjoyable than he could’ve expected. An entire world where he can fight to his heart’s content? For him, it was fantastic! And while in the Dissidia world, he came head-to-head with one of the Warriors of Light, where they would clash again and again.
Boomstick: And he could best other fighters like Gilgamesh, who has fought on par with other Final Fantasy characters who have planet busting power, and others who can move at relativistic speeds! Meaning that Garland should be able capable of this as well. Hell, during this Conflict of the Gods, he was not only the leader of Chaos’ forces, but actually won some decisive battles, 12 in a row, in fact. And when Cloud tried to attack him, he just bonked the guy over the head, stopping him dead in his tracks.
Wiz: But even with all of his impressive feats, Garland isn’t infallible. He’s still been defeated by the Warriors of Light before, and by Prishe, Zidane, Lightning and one of the Warriors whilst in the Dissidia world. And though his weapon is extremely powerful, it weighs him down, making him slower than some of his other opponents, leading to him not being able to land the ferocious blows he’s known for.
Boomstick: And Garland adores the challenge of fighting strong opponents, and will often goad them into using their full strength, just for the thrill of it. Though this might cause him to overlook a situation for the opportunity to fight a strong challenger, but even if he loses, he still enjoys the battle, regardless. Somewhat of a good sport, surprisingly.
Wiz: But do not mistake sportsmanship for honour. He’s far to enchained to conflict for his own good, and has often been criticized by his allied for being drowned in battle. And his demonic powers are not something he has readily available access to on his own, as he needs the Four Fiends with in in order to achieve his transformation into Chaos, so his Class Change and Soul of Chaos abilities are his most reliable in battle.
Popup: During his transformation into Chaos, his appearance gains a more draconic look, sporting red and gold accents along his body, along with large wings and a tail. Though this power does mean he loses access to his sword, it makes up for it in magical power.
Boomstick: Even so, Garland has proven time and time again that he is one of the most powerful warriors alive, and if you don’t provide a worthy challenge, then you’d better pray you die quickly.
Garland: I, Garland, will knock you all down!!
DEATH BATTLE![]
Conclusion[]
Trivia[]
- SuperSaiyan2Link was a huge inspiration for this matchup, and he made the awesome thumbnail! Go check him out!