Four Fiends ( Final Fantasy ) The Four Fiends are the primary boss es in the original " Final Fantasy " , consisting of Lich of Earth , Marilith of Fire ( Kary in the NES version ) , Kraken of Water , and Tiamat of Wind . The theme of four elemental demonic guardians carried over to some future installments in the series , hearkening back to the original four . Story . The Fiends are manifestations of Garland ' s immense hatred . The Fiends sent Garland 2000 years into the past with the power of the Dark Crystal to create a time loop that would revive him every time he is defeated by the Warriors of Light . In turn , Garland released his creations into the future to wreak as much havoc as possible . Four hundred years before the Warriors of Light appear in Cornelia , Tiamat destroyed the Lufenian civilization and made their Flying Fortress , home of the Wind Crystal , her roost . Two hundred years later , Kraken invaded the Sunken Shrine , home of the Mermaids and the Water Crystal . Lich had begun to rot the land near Melmond from the Cavern of Earth where the Earth Crystal awaits restoration , and after Lich ' s defeat , Marilith awakes two hundred years early and taakes up residence in Mount Gulg alongside the Fire Crystal . Gameplay . Kraken is the Fiend of Water who appears in the Sunken Shrine in a squid - like form , though his cape and stance give him a somewhat regal appearance . Kraken relies on heavy physical attacks as he can hit up to 8 times . He supports with Ink ( 25 % chance to use ) to inflict Blind status on the party . Lich appears at the bottom of the Cavern of Earth . He is undead with the appearance of a skeleton , and often considered the hardest boss faced yet at that point in the game . Due to a bug in the " Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary " version , if the game crashes while in the Lich fight , more Liches may spawn . This may also happen if the game is closed during the Lich fight . This can cause problems with leaving the cave . Marilith , the Fiend of Fire , appears in Mount Gulg as a woman with the lower body of a snake and has six arms , each wielding a sword . She relies on powerful physical strikes , as she ordinarily hits 6 times per attack . She also uses fire magic and other debilitating spells . Tiamat is the Fiend of Wind who appears atop the Flying Fortress as a multi - headed dragon . She is the most powerful of the Four Fiends , and uses several powerful attacks . Each Fiend must be defeated at least twice , first at the above areas to restore the elemental crystals , and then at the Chaos Shrine , 2000 years in the past , to gain access to Chaos . Other appearances . " Dissidia Final Fantasy " . The Four Fiends appear as summons . " Pictlogica Final Fantasy " . Some of the fiends appear as enemies . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Some of the fiends appear as enemies . Etymology . The original Japanese name is " four heavenly kings " . Marilith was called " Kary " in the NES version , a mistranslation of the Hindu Goddess of Destruction Kali ; the name change was probably an effort to avoid potential copyright issues with " Dungeons & Dragons " source material , similar to the changes made to the Beholder ( Evil Eye ) .