CHAPTER 14: Enter the Shadow Realm. Yugi vs. Lafiel
Preston gave his final compliments and stepped away from the duel arena. Without hesitation, Lafiel Alexis Wainright stepped up from her seat on the opposite side of the arena. She had been watching the duel with little interest. She already knew what it was to face Runa; she did it twice. The first time was in a friendly little duel about two months before Runa defeated her in the finals of the annual World Duel Tournament, which was held in Tokyo, Japan every year.
The two had met when they were young. They remained friends but foremost they remained rivals. The competition between them rose to scorching degrees but not once became a personal issue - just a rivalry between friends. Lafiel was looking forward to challenging her good friend again but knew it was not going to be easy getting there. The fact was that she knew that if Runa thought there was a worthy challenge in a duelist then they had to be one hell of a great duelist to pique her interest. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that with her and her opponent Yugi left that one of them had to be 2YV08, and she knew it wasn't her.
Lafiel raised a glance toward Yugi as she walked to the platform. Yugi was still sitting down, not really paying attention to the world around him. She had an immediate taste of sourness to his seemingly rude ignorance to the fact that he had an opponent that was ready to do battle. That bit of disdain dissipated and was replaced with a bit of admiration. She didn't know what it was but there was an aura of heroic defiance, as though this were not a regular kid but some great being of a power that even he could not fathom though it was his own. A frightening thought that she could not help but be comforted by. He emanated a calming wave of reassurance. She then thought to herself, "He may actually be the first to defeat Runa."
Yugi saw that his opponent was ready. She was very young for a former six-time World Championship winner. She was supposed to be over twenty, but she looked a little younger than that and reminded him a little of Sakuda. She had her hair out. It was long and a sleek, rich black. She was roughly the same height as Yami. She wore a knee length dress that a light baby blue color. Her eyes were also an odd blue-grey and very mysterious. Yugi felt as though she was not exactly what she appeared but could not place his finger on exactly what it was that gave him that impression. He wondered if anyone else had the same impression about her.
"Are you ready to duel 2YV08," Lafiel said bluntly expecting a shocked reaction.
"Ready when you are Ms. Wainright," Yugi replied neutrally, not shocked at all. "I thought you would figure it out by now. I'm sure that you probably suspected me some time ago,"
"What makes you think that?" She acknowledged to herself that he was right. She had noticed Runa hanging around him all the time with her arm around him. She wanted to see if he would admit to this himself.
"Never mind. It's not important. We should begin this duel so that the winner has as much time to prepare for their duel against Runa. I am sure it'd be of great benefit," he gave a warm smile that Lafiel could not help but return.
"All right then. I hope you're ready for a very tough duel. I was Shadow Duel's World Champion six years straight before Runa decided to compete rather than continue to sit behind the scenes. I came to see if I could take my title back. We have been friends for a while. I have dueled her several times and believe I have found a way to defeat her. Her Winged Dragon of the Sun will complicate that slightly but that won't slow me down," she looked over to where Runa had taken her seat ready to be entertained by two of her few actually challenging dueling friends.
"I will only do my very best. The outcome will be what it will be. I have my own reasons for dueling to win so I can't allow you to beat me. That very well may happen anyway but the least I could walk away with is the knowledge that I did my best to help Kenshin,"
"That's very noble of you. No wonder Runa likes you so much," Yugi cringed slightly when she spoke those words. The rest were stunned and in wonder of how she possibly knew of that situation. She continued with a brief pause to assess the reaction. "Let's get started then. May this duel not dissatisfy our hostess,"
"Okay then Ms. Wainwright. Shall I begin or would you prefer to start us off?"
"You can go ahead and start Yugi,"
"Very well, I start by drawing a card. Then I place one card face down and play Feral Imp in attack mode. That ends my turn,"
"Alright. I place a card face down as well and play Skull Red Bird. Skull Red Bird, destroy his Imp,"
"Not quite yet. I activate Trap Hole destroying your Bird,"
"Very well, I end my turn,"
"Prepare yourself; I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. Now I have both my monsters directly attack your life points,"
"Nice try but my Mirror Force will stop that. You will have to try again,"
"I place two cards face down and end my turn,"
"My turn again. I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode. I place two cards face down and that completes my turn,"
"I summon Faith Bird in attack mode. I place one more card face down and end my turn. Your turn once again Ms. Wainright,"
"This duel is starting to bore me. I play the magic card Hinotama to try and 'fire' things up. At the same time, you lose 500 life points. I then tribute my Celtic Guardian to summon Bottom Dweller and attack your Faith Bird,"
"I play Block Attack to stop your assault,"
"That is what I thought you might do. It doesn't matter because it is only delaying your inevitable defeat,"
"You may think so, but that is not going to stop me. This duel will continue for some time longer. I tribute my Faith Bird and summon Curse of Dragon. Curse of Dragon, launch your Burning Land attack,"
"Hahh! That attack activates my trap card, Mirror Wall. Any monster trying to attack my monsters or life points will have that attack reflected on that monster and cut its attack in half while I remain unscathed. Your Curse of Dragon is now only 1000 attack power strong,"
"Very nicely done. I end my turn,"
"First off, I activate Cold Wave. All of your magic and trap cards are disabled for one full turn. Second, I summon Gemini Elf. My Bottom Dweller destroys your Dragon and my Gemini Elf attacks you directly. You're down to 4950. I have a small bit of advice for you; you better duel against me as though you were dueling Runa. I am much stronger than you think. It would be a mistake on your part if you lose this duel because you underestimated me," She smirked as Yugi grit against the direct attack. Kenshin began to show signs of worry.
"There's something about her that seems familiar," May pondered aloud.
"Have you forgotten, May?" Sisi asked. What it was she was trying to say, May wasn't sure.
"I haven't underestimated you; I have just been trying to assess your strength. If you want me to duel at my best then I will. All I ask is that you do the same. I know that your skills are better than what you're showing me. I want to see that power just as much as you want to see mine," Yugi thought he saw her eyes flicker a bright red when he challenged her. He was certain however that she was now smiling pleasantly.
"Well, it seems we have both been playing the role of wolves in sheep's clothing. Or should I say a Hawk in human skin?" The former was heard by all but only Yugi heard the latter. She said it to him telepathically. It threw him for a loop because even Runa did not seem to know that Lafiel was capable of such an ability. If she did know, then she had never once mentioned it to anyone else. Nevertheless, Yugi replied to her telepathically.
"What on earth are you doing? How did you learn to communicate like this?"
"This is a secret between you and me Yugi. Here is what the deal is going to be. If you lose to me then you have to marry me. If you beat me and lose to Runa then you have to marry me. Understand?" She snickered at her own bluntness.
"Is everyone around me crazy? Why are you doing this?" Yugi was quite bewildered and thought of asking her if she were serious. He saw her eyes turn the signature red that was native to only Lucifer Hawks.
"As I can tell, you have noticed from where I must have gained my abilities. That's right. I am one like you. I was born into this world as part Lucifer Hawk and part human the same way you and the rest of the Rosencraft were. But I was left for dead. My parents threw me away as though I were nothing but a waste and a nuisance to them, once they found out of my having mixed blood. As though it were my own fault! I was only four at the time but I can even remember now, that night, as though it were yesterday. I could never forgive them for what it is they did to me! I had to live out my life on the streets awaiting the charity of anyone who happened to wander by and was willing to give up their spare change! I had to live like nothing more than a mere street rat; foraging day and night for a dry place to go when it rained and a piece of bread to put in my mouth so that I would live. For years, I thought that what my parents did to me was right; that I had done something wrong - what a fool I was then. I had no control over what my blood was like at my birth anymore than a child who has Downs Syndrome or Anemia. They could care less! I was a damaged good and I was no more a use to them. I automatically turned into an inconvenience, a liability, a traditional white elephant.
"I knew by the time I was ten that my parents were not a reflection of every human. In my days wandering those streets I saw parents who were kind to their children, even when they did something wrong. They would talk sternly to them and try to send them on the right path that a good person should follow, but not do what my parents did and throw me on the streets just because they were getting a little too much trouble!
"Eventually, I found ways of educating myself. Alone on the streets I had nothing better to do. I would steal into the libraries and schools and other such places, sit down, and commence to reading as much as I could. Of course, I had to start by finding my way through the alphabet and moved up from there. I taught myself everything that I know. But all the knowledge in the world cannot help that feeling of loneliness that is always present when you have no one to turn to. I've spent thousands of years watching the few people I met pass away with time like little sands in an endless hourglass. I'm tired of being alone. One way or another, my loneliness will end here today,"
Yugi listened to her story with great sympathy. He could not imagine what she must have had to live through but he knew it could not have been the least bit pleasant. His mind went into overdrive. He now had another issue to deal with in an already complicated and highly sensitive situation.
"Yugi, what's going on? Is everything okay over there?" Kenshin beckoned from below.
Returning to his telepathic connection with Lafiel, Yugi asked her a question. "I have two questions. One, would you see it best that we continue this duel here on Earth or back in the Shadow Realm? Two, do you feel that the others should know about this little situation?"
"The Shadow Realm would be best. As for the others, it doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, I will invite them in on this discussion of ours,"
Lafiel turned around. She extended her right hand and from it appeared a ring of red light. It grew to a portal large enough for them to travel through. "Alright everyone, let's hurry up,"
Yugi stepped forward without hesitation. The others were in shock at having this unknown person with the ability to open the gate to the Shadow Realm. Before they could ask what was going on, Yugi and Lafiel had already passed through. They now had little alternative other than to follow the two competitors.
Once they arrived in the Shadow Realm, Lafiel and Yugi were standing there awaiting their arrival. Sisi was the first to notice that a ring on her finger was glowing brilliantly in sync with the glow of her fiery eyes. Yugi spoke up with a slight shakiness in his voice.
"Everyone, Lafiel has something that she wants to talk to you all about. I think it is very important that you listen to what she has to say,"
They listened to the story that she had told Yugi; every part including the one that displeased Runa and Rini as well as cause Tea to cringe inside the pit of her stomach. It was a clear day in the Shadow Realm. They were near the Great Trinity Lakes of Sapphire. The lake reflected the sky very well, almost like glass. Once she finished her story, Lafiel turned back to Yugi ready to continue their duel. Yami spoke up before they could continue.
"Wait, Lafiel. Is all of this really necessary? Can't this be resolved another way?"
"No, it can't, Yami. Now you all will have to stay out of our duel. I will not allow anyone's interference. Now if you excuse me, my fiancée and I must complete our duel,"
Runa and Rini were highly angered by the insurgence by this stranger. They both understood what she had gone through but were purely upset by her claiming of their would-be husband. Tea stood in the back staring a vengeful hole straight through Lafiel. Her eyes seemed to be turning an angry red as well. The others stood perplexed, unknowing of what more they could do, so they did all they could do; they let the two finish their duel. It was watched with tentative eyes.
May still kept trying to figure out what it was that seemed so familiar. At the same time, Sisi seemed mostly unfazed. The marriage proposal did strike her as unexpectedly as it did everyone else, but everything else was as though she'd heard it all before.
Joining by the side of the duel field were Ra, Slifer, Suzami and Selenity. A power struggle was in place and only Yugi and Lafiel would be able to settle it.
"Where were we Yugi?" Lafiel continued.
"I believe I had just taken a direct attack from you so that would make it my turn," Yugi retorted.
"Alright then let's continue this duel,"
"I have one last thing to tell you before this duel continues. Even though you don't realize it yet, we are not going to leave you now. It's impossible for me to imagine what you went through, but I can promise you that, even if things do not go to your plan here today, that we will still be here for you. We won't leave you behind. However, this duel has to be won by me. As a duelist, I cannot lose to you or anyone else. That is how we duelists look at the game. We play to win. Always,"
"Very well spoken, fiancée. I have known that as long as I have been a duelist. Get ready to step it up a couple of notches; I am about to get a lot tougher in this duel,"
"Glad to hear it. I place two cards face down on the field. Then I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode. That will end my turn for now,"
"I thought you were stepping up your dueling. I will tribute my Bottom Dweller to bring out Summoned Skull. I have my Summoned Skull vanquish your Neo,"
"That is what I thought. I activate Bottomless Trap Hole. Your Summoned Skull is gone,"
"No fair! You're very mean. Fine then. I place a card face down and summon Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode and end my turn. My trap card is still in play and you won't be able to stop it," Although she was speaking very lightly with seemingly no care at all, her eyes told the story. She was serious about winning this duel. There was the same level of determination and seriousness in her gaze as was in Runa's. Yugi found himself thinking his situation over and wondering if it was just his luck that he would be in such a confusing situation.
"Here is the card needed to take down your wall. I play Remove Trap. Your wall is knocked down. Now, I summon Dunames Dark Witch powering it up with Malevolent Nuzzler and attack your Gemini Elf,"
"You may have knocked my wall down but I bet you never expected this. I activate a second Mirror Wall. Your little witch is down to 1550 attack. Too bad,"
"Ahh. You were right, I never expected a second Mirror Wall. Alright, I switch my Magic Swordsman to defense mode,"
"Once again I managed to trap you in my plan. That move activates my Gorgon's Eye. Any monster you place in defense mode will be frozen in its stone defense position. Once I destroy it, half its attack will be removed from your life points. Nice trick, huh?"
"I have no choice but to end my turn,"
"Thank you. Fun time is over. I play Monster Recovery. It allows me to bring one monster with the lowest attack back from my graveyard. I bring back Celtic Guardian. Then, I tribute him and my Giant Soldier of Stone to summon the Dark Magician. I activate Heavy Storm to blow away your trap and magic cards,"
"It seems I have led you into one of my traps. I activate Driving Snow. I can destroy a trap card of yours when you destroy one of mine. I take out your Mirror Wall down once again,"
"You are very clever. I can still take out a good piece of your life points by having my Dark Magician destroy your Dunames Dark Witch. And your Neo statue is gone with my Gemini Elf's attack, with 850 of your life points, taking you down to 2700. You're helpless against me,"
"Not yet. I place three cards face down and activate an additional magic card. It is called Rising Shadows. I can summon any monster with 'Dark' in its name straight from my deck. I chose none other than my Dark Magicain. Now Dark Magician, destroy Bottom Dweller. You are 850 life points closer to defeat. This show will last longer than you think,"
"Hah hah. Very funny Yugi. Seeing as how our monsters are of equal strength, I place three cards on the field as well and end my turn,"
"I place two last cards face down and a monster in defense mode,"
"I also place two cards and a monster in defense mode. Now I have my Dark Magician attack your defense position monster,"
"I activate Mirror Force,"
"I activate Fairy's Hand Mirror and send the attack back at you,"
"I activate Royal Decree,"
"I activate Type Zero Magic Crusher,"
"I activate Imperial Order,"
"I activate Repeat Offense,"
"I activate Magic Jammer,"
"I activate Gust,"
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon,"
"Well. It seems were right back where we started. Neither of us has made it any further in that last exchange. I congratulate you on being able to stop each of my spells, Yugi. A battle of Magicians will be interesting. My last card on the field won't be stopped. I activate Dark Energy Gathering. This magic card allows me to special summon either a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl. I chose a Dark Magician Girl. Thanks to the two Dark Magicians on the field, my Dark Magician Girl gains an extra 1000 attack. She may not be able to attack, yet, but that's okay. Lastly, I play from my hand Swords of Revealing Light. That is all for now. Next turn you are done in this duel. I can hear the wedding bells already. It's going to be fantastic,"
Runa, Rini and Tea were fuming at Lafiel. They struggled to maintain their composure. Kenshin's face was a twisted figure as it showed signs of joy as it appeared that there was no way he would ever have to marry Runa now but it also showed concern as his friend was about to be taken down by Lafiel, a girl whom they all knew very little about. The others were also concerned but knew there was nothing they could do. The two of them were determined to have this duel and were not going to let anyone interfere with it. There was no stopping it. All they could do was watch and hope Yugi could find a way to win. Then he had the same problem to deal with in his next duel. What a month this had been.
Slifer raised its head as though it sensed something coming. It groaned in delight. Anzu rubbed its head to try and quiet it but it remained fixed on the skies above the duel field. It was beginning to cloud over very rapidly.
"You may have me down now but that will change now. First I play Soul of the Pure to raise my life points by 2000. Then I play Tribute Doll. I use it so that I can summon my Dark Magician Girl. Once again we are even. Because it was a special summoning I utilize my normal summoning to bring forth Revival Jam. I also place a card face down and play Jam Defender forcing any attack on to my Revival Jam. I end my turn," Thick, dark clouds that held coursing lightning now settled the sky.
"I use Monster Reborn to bring back Summoned Skull. Are you ready for this Yugi? It is the only monster that could do any better to wrap up this duel. I use the special team ability of the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl," Everyone took a step back in surprise.
They knew very well what that meant. There was only one thing that the Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician could do together as a team ability. Slifer roared into the air. Lightning flew down and struck the just reborn Summoned Skull in a pillar of light that continued to rain down.
"I tribute my Summoned Skull through the power of the magic of my two mages in order to unleash the awesome power of the Saint Dragon of Osiris, Slifer the Shadow Dragon!" The lightning bolt retreated and coiled itself through the air. It took its shape. It was not something any of them expected to have to see here in this duel from Lafiel. Of all cards she could have, of all monsters she would summon, of all places to summon it, no one expected a Slifer the Shadow Dragon with one already sitting and watching from the sidelines; a real one. The dragon towered and roared its deafening, frightening roar.
"My Slifer is on the field now with an attack power of an overwhelming 35,000. I could attack one of your monsters but thanks to Revival Jam and Jam Defender it would be pointless. I will end my turn. You have no hope left for winning. There is no way you will be able to stop me now. All I need is a card to take out your Jam Defender and you will be my new husband. Don't worry; it won't be so bad. You can trust me,"
"Well, we know what was bugging Slifer. But why is he still so riled up?" Noa asked aloud.
"It's not over. Something else is coming and it knows what it is," Rini exclaimed with a bit of concern.
"A good question would be, where did she get a Slifer the Shadow Dragon. Yugi is supposed to be the only one with that card in his deck," Runa spoke with great anger. It was something they had not stopped to consider. How did she get a second Slifer the Shadow Dragon; unless of course she somehow took it out of Yugi's deck.
"Another great surprise there, Lafiel. Wow, Slifer the Shadow Dragon. What are the chances of that? I bet the chances of my next move are even smaller. I had another question for you but I think I will leave it for after the duel,"
"Suit yourself my sweet,"
"Please don't do that," Yugi sighed. "Back to my turn, first, I place a card on the field. Then I summon Horn Imp. I also activate Ultimate Offering so I can summon another monster at the cost of only 500 life points. I use Horn Imp as a sacrifice to summon this great creature,"
Lightning flowed down on the field once more. The body of the beast was coiled by the side of the one who summoned it. It roared its familiar roar with the same familiar ferocity as it always used in introducing itself. "Now you will have to deal with my Slifer the Shadow Dragon. It's you who won't win this duel, Lafiel,"
Three Slifer the Shadow Dragons were gathered, two in this duel and one real one, guarding the sidelines like an impenetrable fortress of power. It was an unprecedented event indeed. Never before had two of the same Saint Beasts occupied a field at the same time. Runa's theory about Yugi having his Slifer secretly stolen turned out to be wrong. The proof was looming over the field. It also raised another concern that added onto the ones they already had. How did this young woman – Runa thought it odd to call her a young woman now since she had obviously been around as long as she had been – come across a second Slifer the Shadow Dragon? As far as most of them knew, there was only a single card made for each Saint Beast.
How did this young woman become so skilled at dueling? Even Runa was impressed at her level of skill. She had obviously tried to refrain from using all her strength when they dueled each other. How powerful was she? That was not so much as important as how stable she was. If she were a lose cannon liable to go off at any time, they would hope she wasn't too strong. The real Slifer had settled back down now and watched the duel. It was Lafiel's turn and with them both evenly matched, the duel could, and likely would, end as soon as either one of them attacked. Two monsters, 35,000 attack each, invulnerable to most magic and trap cards for both them and all other monsters on the field, the duel rode on the next play.
"Let's see you stop this, Yugi. I place a card face down. Then I play Cursebreaker. Say bye bye to your Jam Defender,"
"That is fine, because I play Intervention of Savior. It prevents you from doing damage to me during your battle phase this turn,"
"Meanie! Humph! Fine then I end this turn,"
"Here goes. I play a second Jam Defender. Then I use the power of Dark Abyss. All my monsters of the same type are strengthened by 1000 attack points. I place a card face down and end my turn,"
"I'm done with this. Slifer, attack his Dark Magician now!"
"That won't work. My Jam Defender is still on the field,"
"Not anymore. I activate the face down Trap Jammer. Your Dark Magician is going to fall,"
"I thought you might. I activate Magic Cylinder. It will absorb your attack and send it back at you. I know it won't destroy Slifer because of its effect but it will protect my Dark Magician. It's over. When my turn starts, your Swords of Revealing Light will be over and I will be free to attack. You have nothing left to stop any attack I send out,"
Lafiel looked with astonishment. She did not want to believe that she had been outsmarted. She was even able to do what she didn't think she would have to, let out her little secret weapon. It was the one monster she never thought any duelist would force her to play with the exception of Runa, and she never summoned it against her.
But here it was that she did have to summon it and then was still unable to find a way past this adversary. Now she would have to rely on Runa to win so as she could claim her own prize after this defeat. "At least my husband can hold his own," she thought to herself.
"Alright," Lafiel said smiling, "I surrender. There is no card left in my deck that could help me now. You are the winner. I will hope for your defeat at the hands of Runa so you and I can live happily ever after,"
"Wait just one second lady!" Rini yelled. "Yugi is mine! I don't know where you came from but you can't have my Yugi!"
"Sorry but I didn't see your name on his forehead!" Lafiel countered.
"Neither of you can have him until I beat him so you can both stop arguing," Runa asserted.
"It looks like you have one hell of a battle ahead of you Yugi," Yami jeered. The three women bickered loudly with each other.
"This is a disaster. You would think that I was the last guy on the planet the way those three are fighting. We should get back to Earth before anything gets out of control. We did kind of leave in the middle of a live broadcast,"
"Right Yugi. Hey you three, we have to go now. You can argue later,"
"Thanks Tea, for not going crazy like those three,"
Yami re-opened the dimensional tear and they went back to the arena on Earth. Their disappearing act went unnoticed thanks to the backup override system that Runa installed just in case there was a need to leave abruptly. The three security guards inside and the four others that were called in at the disappearance were treated to a mind eraser. They did go ahead and announce Yugi the winner once the satellite connection was re-established. They then went along with Runa to her penthouse apartment at the top of the tower where Lafiel was supposed to explain the entire of her story.
"Where do you want me to begin?" Lafiel asked.
"First I want to ask you a quick question, if I may," Yami said.
"That's fine,"
"Your parents, they didn't work with the Sancrien diplomatic or science departments did they?"
"No, they didn't. Would that make a difference?"
"Yes, it would explain why they did not understand your powers and why my father did not know about you,"
"What do you mean Yami?"
"The reason that we have mixed blood is because our mothers were unwillingly implanted with Lucifer Hawk DNA. They were chosen because they were the ones with the closest ties to the project that was to form an alliance with the Lucifer Hawks. It was only after the subjects were put through the tests that they were told. Rumors had it that some people outside the departments were also infected. Because they were not members of the government and they were unofficially experimented on, they were therefore not told about it and would not have been able to find out. No records were kept on them so when my father destroyed the laboratory only those tied to the government had been notified. The horrible behavior of your parents reflects the attitude most people would have taken had they found out that we were half like Them. That story explains all of us here with the exception of Rini, Anzu, Tea, Yugi and me. Our blood is mixed by means of heredity,"
"That still doesn't excuse them,"
"Yes, you're right. It doesn't at all. It does make me wonder how many others there are like you around the world,"
"I have a question for you, Lafiel,"
"What is it Kenshin?"
"How might you have come across a Slifer the Shadow Dragon? You were able to summon it in the Shadow Realm so that eliminates the possibility that it is a fake,"
"I knew there was a second Slifer," Yami began. "Anzu, Rini, and I knew actually. My dad created two of each Saint Beast so as there would always be a balance. As dragons, the Winged Dragon of the Sun and Slifer the Shadow Dragon choose the duelist who shall control them and choose when they will appear to that chosen duelist. I'm still curious as to when you got it,"
"It was before I left the Shadow Realm and came here to Earth. It was shortly before I heard about you and Anastasia defeating Hiei and Kiram at the castle, before the attack on Earth by Genosa. It just came to me. All I remember was a light, a crimson light, which gave me the card. I kind of knew just from touching it that I was supposed to keep it and take great cares in using it. I understood and never used it until today,"
"Hold on a second," Noa said with alarm, "Who is Genosa?"
"You haven't heard of him?" Lafiel asked with surprise.
"No, but from your expression it sounds as though we should."
"He is Genosa Maxamillian DeVice. He is the most evil being this world has seen. He is of the highest order of Lucifer Hawk. His power dwarfs that of Hiei and Kiram combined and he has no fear in using it. He does, however, choose much of the time, to leave the dirty work to his underlings.
"After you all disappeared he came to Sancrien. He said his time was short but that he would use it well. He used some power to clear the minds of every person on the planet. He has two Saint Beasts; two Saint Paladin of Chaos, Obelisk the Tormentor. He used them on a three-day continual rampage of destruction across the planet, leveling city after city, and town after town. Millions died during his campaign leaving only five percent of the population to try and rebuild after his disappearance. It was disastrous. No one from the Shadow Realm could even attempt to stop him because he somehow closed off the gateway between the worlds. No one could get through,"
"This is very serious," Noa said.
"If we happen to be in one world and Genosa decides to attack the other, we may not have a way of getting there!" May exclaimed.
"Not necessarily. We could get through,"
"What do you mean Rini?"
"I mean Lafiel, that the lock must have been a spell. All we need do is launch a counter against it that is strong enough. We now have three Saint Beasts with us. Whatever the barrier, they could take it down for sure,"
"My sister is right, but there is another problem. An attack like that would surely be strong enough but it might be too powerful. It may be too much energy for the Earth to handle. The strain could rip the planet apart - not a pretty picture,"
"So what do we do about it?"
"What we do Runa, is nothing; for now,"
"How can we do nothing Yami?"
"The thing is he has been gone for over 13,000 years. I doubt we will be able to find him just by snapping our fingers. It's been so long I doubt there are any trails left for us to follow. For now, it's his move. Our move ended when whatever caused him to vanish took effect. If he is alive, then we have no choice but to wait for him to move. If he isn't, then we have nothing to worry about from him. Personally, I hope that he isn't alive, but I have a feeling that he is alive, I've had the feeling for a while now and I feel that he will make himself known very soon,"
While they concluded their discussion a man knocked at the room door to announce that everything was ready for the conclusion of the tournament. At sunset the final battle would commence and hopefully answer a few questions would be answered when it was over.