ARC-V Chronicles: Four Dimensions
Scale 9
Seize the Desired Future - Gear Chronicle
Disclaimer: I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game or Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. All rights go to the respective creators. I only own my OC's Kurogami Kurai, Ryugu Rena, Sonozaki Mion, Hojo Satoko, Furude Rika, and Minazuki Akio. Fenikkusumaru owns his OC Kururugi Kurogasa and The Azure Guardian owns his OC Sogabe Ryuuji.
Within the dark alleyways of Maiami City, as the sun began to set for the day and bathe everything in a fiery orange glow, a certain masked young man was currently dueling against an older woman who sported an LDS badge on her formal clothing, signifying she was a teacher. The masked man currently had only one Monster on his field - Stellarknight Deltatheros, while the woman had just been subjected to watching her own Monster - Splendid Rose - be destroyed by the effect of Deltatheros. The woman backed up in alarm, seeing the imposing Monster now staring down her empty field.
"Stellarknight Deltatheros! Attack the player directly! Black Sword Slash!" the masked duelist commanded. Following the orders of its master, the Tellarknight Xyz Monster tossed its sword into the air just above it, where it spun several times before being caught again by the Warrior-Type. Afterwards, he charged forward at the opposing player, raising his sword over his head before bringing it down in one clean slash, cutting through the air and creating a gust of wind to blow her back into the wall.
Masked Duelist: 2100
LDS Faculty: 1200-0
The masked duelist silently walked up to the downed faculty member, having already determined that she was of no help, and aimed his Duel Disk at her, unleashing the burst of light that would transform her into a card, despite her protests and pleas. He wordlessly picked up the newly-created card and sighed to himself.
Just then, the Tellarknight duelist heard footsteps approaching from deeper within the alley. He turned to see another tall young man with straight bluish-black hair falling to his chin and light green bangs in the shape of a wing partially tucked under some strands on the left. His face was concealed by dark glasses and a red scarf similar to the one worn by the Tellarknight duelist, and he wore a tattered blue trench coat, belted shut and adorned with belted cuffs. He also sported grey pants and brown shoes.
"Shun…" he greeted the newcomer. He glanced at the card in his hand and threw it at his companion unceremoniously, to which the green-haired young man caught it, looked at it briefly, and pocketed it. "Tch… Are you going to send that to them too?"
"We have to grab their attention somehow." Shun replied.
"And what if it doesn't work?"
"Then we just keep trying."
"But what do you expect to accomplish by doing this?" the Tellarknight user questioned. "We shouldn't be getting people from Standard involved. This isn't their fight."
"Then why did you come along?" Shun asked back.
"Because I know how you get, especially since all this started." the masked duelist sighed. "And I doubt Yuto would be able to keep you in check all by himself."
"Hmph…" Shun scoffed. "Listen, I get how you feel, but right now I need you to just humor me. Can you at least do that? We just need to get some answers."
"..." the masked duelist looked towards his companion wordlessly for a few seconds and sighed again. "Fine. If only because I know how important Ruri is to you."
"Alright then," Shun replied. "Good luck out there."
And with that, he walked off, leaving the Tellarknight duelist behind.
"Kurai, I swear, I'm going to murder you one of these days," Ryuuji grumbled, staring at his best friend while Mion was bandaging up his sore body and Rika gently patted the Twilight Knight duelist on the head to make him feel better.
"Why I have no clue what you mean." Kurai said innocently as he watched his friend get tended to, a coy smirk on his face.
"Now now, K-chan. You know that wasn't exactly fair," Mion chided as she slapped Ryuuji in the back, causing the young man to groan in pain. "I could understand you doing that if Rena was up against me because of what I did, but why did you have to make Ryuuji-kun suffer? You know how Rena gets when she's like that."
"I just… felt like stirring up some chaos." Kurai shrugged.
"Okay, I'm confused, what are you guys talking about?" Kurogasa spoke up.
"It's… best you didn't know." Mion answered, trying to act innocent after the topic was brought up.
"Anyways…" Kurai said. "No hard feelings, Ryuuji?"
Ryuuji averted his gaze from the Nekroz duelist, "You're as bad as Mion sometimes, you know that?"
"Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kurai and Mion asked at the same time.
"You both like to mess with others for your own enjoyment and then I end up on the receiving end of the punchline," Ryuuji explained.
The Nekroz duelist walked up to his friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Ryuuji, you know I'd never try and hurt you on purpose, right?" he said with a friendly smile. "After all, you're my Soul Brother."
A smirk spread across the side of Ryuuji's lip as he stifled a laugh, then placed one hand on top of Kurai's as he looked up at his friend with eyes full of longing, "And you're mine." The two of them stared longingly into each other's eyes and they seemed to forget about everything else around them, lost in their own world where only the two of them mattered.
"Wha…?" Rena tilted her head as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, which also caused her face to turn a deep shade of red upon realizing what was going on. Mion covered Rika and Satoko's eyes with her hands and smirked knowingly as she herself watched everything happening, a perverted expression on her face. Naomi, who was standing off to the side, looked thoroughly confused, and Kurogasa looked mildly disturbed.
"What's… What's going on…?" the Gusta duelist asked cautiously. "Why are they…?" He gulped as confusion overwhelmed him. And then he blushed bright red before turning away. "I don't need to see this!"
Everyone then turned their attention to Kurogasa and responded in unison, "Oh grow up."
"They're the ones doing something suggestive!" Kurogasa snapped while flailing his arms about comically.
"Relax, they do this all the time," Mion waved off. "It's how these knuckleheads bond after something like that last duel."
"Oh, but there was that one time-" Rena began.
"We will never speak of that again!" Mion interrupted.
"Huh?" Kurogasa looked confused.
"Let's just say that Mion started something." Kurai smirked. "You see…"
"Nope! No more!" Mion yelled.
"Anyways," Kurogasa rolled his eyes. "Any leads on those look-alike people?"
"Nothing yet." Kurai answered. "This whole thing is still shrouded in mystery."
"But going by what K-chan told us, there might be a pattern." Mion added. "What do you think, Ryuuji-kun?"
"Well Naomi does have Kurai's face and she uses Fusion, and this other guy Kurogasa talked about who also has Kurai's face was using Xyz," Ryuuji noted. "And then there was a similar incident with Yuya and someone with his face was also using Xyz… Maybe it's something to do with the different Summoning Methods?"
"I was thinking that too," Kurai figured. "But my question is… why the Summoning Methods?"
"Maybe these look-alikes specialize in a different Summoning Method?" Kurogasa guessed.
"Kurai-kun uses Ritual, Nao-chan uses Fusion, and there's another one that uses Xyz," Rena said. "Maybe there really is someone else that uses Synchro? Maybe?"
Ryuuji then glanced towards Naomi, "You said you were looking for your brother and he looked like Kurai, correct? What summoning method does he specialize in?"
"He uses Fusion, like me." the Spiritual Beast duelist answered.
"Two Fusions and an Xyz, but no Synchro…" Satoko wondered, then turned her attention to Ryuuji. "That doesn't exactly fit your theory of the different Summoning Methods."
Ryuuji shrugged, "It was just the idea that came to mind considering what we know."
"I still say it's making my head hurt." Kurogasa muttered.
Rika put her finger to her chin in thought before her eyes widened from realization. "Do you think this new Pendulum Summon could have anything to do with this? After all, they appeared out of nowhere with no real explanation why." she figured.
"And these incidents didn't start until shortly after Yuya revealed Pendulum Summon," Rena added.
"And then Valkyrus appeared only a few weeks ago... By then, Yuya had revealed them to the public." Kurai noted. "And I have a strong feeling that my Valkyrus, Naomi's Apelio, and this Stellarknight Deltatheros Kurogasa mentioned are connected somehow."
"Let's not forget Yuya-kun's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," Mion added. "He originally had Odd-Eyes Dragon but now he has this one instead. I doubt he'd have gotten rid of his original ace Monster, so whatever gave rise to these Pendulum cards must have transformed Yuya-kun's Dragon."
"And then Akaba Reiji was oddly interested in Yuya and his Pendulum Cards." Rena pointed out. "He looked like he wanted to find out more about him. Does he know something? Does he?"
"What's all this talk I hear?"
Everyone turned towards the entrance to the observation room, finding someone new standing in the doorway. Standing there was a young man around the same age as the Youth Class students with teal eyes and dark green hair that spiked out at the back, and in twin spikes similar to horns in addition to two ponytails bound with white rings. He wore a black sleeveless trench coat with golden trim, a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows, lavender pants, and simple black runners. His expression was calm and relaxed, and he looked towards the club members with curiosity.
"You're…" Kurai said as he noticed the new figure. "Minazuki-san, right?"
"Minazuki Akio?" Mion asked. "What's he doing here?"
"Minazuki Akio?" Kurogasa repeated. "Who is he?"
"He's the top student at this school." Kurai explained. "He's the best SDS has to offer in terms of ability."
"You flatter me too much, Kurogami-kun." Akio waved off.
"So what brings you here?" He asked.
"I actually came here to talk with you."
"Me? But why?"
"The Honors Society just got finished holding a meeting, and I had made a recommendation for someone to be added to the list." he answered before gesturing to the Nekroz duelist with a nod.
"He wants Kurai-san on the Honor Roll?" Satoko asked with a hint of surprise.
"He does have the grades for it," Rika pointed out. "But even I didn't expect this to happen."
"Uh… mind explaining?" Kurogasa questioned.
"To get on the Honor Roll, you have to have some of the best scores within a given field of study," Mion explained. "Normally the people added to that list are chosen at the beginning of the term, but you can also be recommended by an Honors Student if you meet the criteria. Given that Kurai is not only one of the smartest of us aside from Ryuuji-kun, but is also the top Ritual user at SDS, I had honestly been expecting him to be added at some point." The others nodded in agreement.
"Why did you recommend me?" Kurai asked.
"I've seen your talents and I thought that they were going unnoticed. That's hardly fair, don't you think?" Akio answered. "After all, if you were able to take down the nigh-invincible Vice Principal Heitmann, that alone is an achievement. There is a catch though."
"And that is?"
"I'd like to duel you for myself first before we finalize the process of adding you to the Honor Roll." the green-haired young man replied. "Of course, if you win, then you'll get in no questions asked. Beating me would solidify your spot. Should I win, you won't lose any favor, but we'd just need further analysis of your abilities. Does that sound like a deal?"
"I suppose so." Kurai answered. "If I can only benefit from this, I don't see why not."
"This I gotta see." Kurogasa smirked.
"This is gonna be exciting!" Satoko said. "We finally get to see Minazuki-san duel."
"That's true," Mion mused. "During the three years he's been here, supposedly nobody has seen him duel."
"I wonder what will happen, I wonder." Rena added as Kurai and Akio stepped out to the arena floor.
"What do you want to do about the Action Field?" Kurai asked his opponent.
"I do have something in mind, actually." Akio smiled. "Is that okay with you?" Kurai nodded in confirmation. The Honors Student then looked up towards Principal Narukami in the control room. "Principal, could I make a request for the field?"
"Of course."
"Can you activate the Darkness field?"
"The Darkness field?" the principal repeated. "That's rather old-fashioned. Interesting choice, Minazuki-kun." the older man then pressed a button on the console. "Action Field, on! Field Magic, Darkness, activate!" Within seconds, the entire arena had been shrouded in a thick black mist that was almost impossible to see through, though both duelists were still able to see each other.
"Ah, I see what he's doing." Ryuuji figured. "He wants to give Kurai a challenge by using Darkness. This way it'll be very hard for either of them to find Action Cards because of how dark it is."
"Guilty as charged." Akio chuckled. "I thought I would make this interesting. I've heard rumors about Kurogami-kun's abilities in Action Duels and I wanted to test them for myself." He turned his attention back to Kurai. "Now then, shall we get started?" the Nekroz duelist nodded.
"Duelists locked in battle!" Ryuuji began.
"Kicking against the earth and dancing through the air alongside their Monsters!" Mion and Rena recited in unison.
"They storm through this field!" Satoko continued.
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling!" Rika went on.
"Action..." they all said in unison.
"DUEL!"
Akio: 4000
Kurai: 4000
"Since you issued the challenge, you can go first, Minazuki-san." Kurai offered.
"Why thank you. Watashi no tan," Akio replied as he began the turn. "I start by activating the Permanent Magic, Gear Chronicle - Time Leap. Once during each of my turns, I can banish 1 Machine-Type Monster from my field in order to Special Summon a Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monster from my Deck with a different Level than that Monster. However, during the End Phase of the turn, that Monster summoned by this effect is shuffled into the Deck and the Monster I banished will be Special Summoned."
"Gear Chronicle?" Kurogasa wondered. "Zodiac Time Beast?"
"I don't think I've ever heard of those before." Ryuuji said while pushing up his glasses.
"If Ryuuji-kun hasn't heard of them, then it's unlikely that many have." Mion pointed out. "I guess we have the privilege of seeing these cards in a duel then."
"Next, I summon Gear Chronicle - Brass-Winged Hawk." Akio said as he slid another card onto his Duel Disk, calling out a hawk that appeared to be made entirely of brass clockwork pieces, with gears making up the bulk of its main body.
Gear Chronicle - Brass-Winged Hawk
LV 2
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK [ 1000 ] / DEF 0
"Because my Brass-Winged Hawk was Normal Summoned, its effect activates, letting me add one Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monster from my Deck to my hand." Akio explained as he used his Duel Disk's touch screen to scroll through the Deck before choosing the card he wanted, causing a card to stick out from the top after shuffling. "I choose to add Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit." He then put the chosen card into his hand. "I also activate the effect of Gear Chronicle - Time Leap. I banish Gear Chronicle - Brass-Winged Hawk…" the mechanical hawk vanished in a brief flash of light before a violet-colored portal opened in the ground, with an odd emblem circling around it. "…to Special Summon Gear Chronicle - Distance-Running Horse from my Deck."
Emerging from the portal in the ground was another creature made entirely of clockwork parts; a fully grown horse composed of steampunk-style gears, and a pair of mechanical wings on its back.
Gear Chronicle - Distance-Running Horse
LV 4
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK [ 1900 ] / DEF 0
"And with that, I Set a card and move to my End Phase." Akio concluded. "And as I do so, the effect of Gear Chronicle - Time Leap will shuffle my Distance-Running Horse back into the Deck and Special Summon Brass-Winged Hawk." With that, the gear horse vanished within a vortex appearing above its head, while a similar one gave rise to the mechanical hawk once again. Akio then revealed another card in his hand. "As a Monster was shuffled into the Deck, I'm allowed to Special Summon Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit from my hand." Appearing onto the field next to Akio's Monster was a small rabbit made of brass parts and gears, with an old-fashioned clock making up the majority of its torso.
Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit
LV 3
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK [ 1200 ] / DEF 1200
"And from there, my turn ends."
"That's an odd move," Mion commented.
"He summoned a Monster from the Deck only to send it back almost immediately." Rena added. "Is this part of his deck's strategy? Is it?"
"How should we know? All of us are seeing his deck for the first time." Kurogasa shrugged.
"Boku no tan! Draw!" Kurai called as he began his turn. "I activate the Ritual Magic, Nekroz Mirror! Using this, I'm allowed to Tribute the Monsters from my hand or field, or banish them from the Cemetery!" Kurai took a single card from his hand and discarded it. "I offer Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz as Tribute! Due to his effect, Schritt can be used to fulfill the entire requirement of any Ritual Summon when I summon a Nekroz Monster!"
As the ceremonial mirror appeared above Kurai, a total of seven white motes of light began to orbit around it before entering the reflective surface.
"Sorceress with the might of the dragon! With the secret arts, here and now, be resurrected and pass on your power! Ritual Summon! Emerge! Level 7! Nekroz of Gungnir!"
As the mirror shattered apart, creating a flash of light that blanketed the field, Kurai's signature sorceress wearing dragon-themed armor descended onto the field.
Nekroz of Gungnir
LV 7
WATER
Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect
ATK [ 2500-2700 ] / DEF 1700-1900
"Eh? Its ATK and DEF increased?" Kurogasa commented.
"That's the effect of the Darkness Field Magic." Ryuuji commented. "It increases the ATK and DEF of all Demon and Magician-Type Monsters by 200, but lowers the ATK and DEF of all Angel-Type Monsters by the same amount."
"I didn't realize that Action Fields could have other effects…" Kurogasa replied in surprise.
"Only specific Action Fields based around older Field Magics have this benefit." Rika explained. "I wonder if Minazuki-san accounted that into his choice of the Action Field."
"I activate Nekroz of Gungnir's effect!" Kurai announced as he discarded a card. "By discarding Nekroz Intercept, I target and then destroy your Brass-Winged Hawk! Dragon Puncture!" On cue, magic built up in the lance Gungnir carried before she spun it over her head and pointed it towards the metallic hawk. She let the built-up power release itself from her weapon, sending a bolt of magic at Akio's Monster and destroying it in the process.
"Nekroz of Gungnir attacks Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit!" Kurai ordered. "Dragonic Mage Burst!" Once more the sorceress gathered up energy in her weapon, which gathered at the tip, and shot forward seconds later in the shape of a spearhead, aimed for the defenseless rabbit.
"Trap Card, activate!" Akio countered as his Set card rose. "Gear Chronicle - Guardian Circle! When a Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monster I control is being attacked, I can activate this card and discard 1 Monster from my hand to have my battling Monster gain its ATK during this battle only." Akio plucked a card from his hand and discarded it after revealing it to the others. "I'm discarding Gear Chronicle - Summit Crest Wolf to have Stomach Clock Rabbit gain 1500 ATK!" On cue, a mechanical wolf made of clockwork parts dashed onto the field and stood in front of the metallic rabbit, as if guarding it.
[Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit: ATK 1200-2700]
Summit Crest Wolf and Stomach Clock Rabbit both charged forward right at Gungnir's oncoming attack, a whitish aura flaring around it. As Monster and attack clashed, an explosion kicked up at the meeting point and engulfed both Monsters, leaving nothing behind.
"Gear Chronicle - Guardian Circle can be placed face-down again instead of going to the Cemetery after its effect resolves." Akio explained as his Trap simply placed itself back down instead of vanishing altogether.
"Tan endo." Kurai finished before he darted off to the side, looking around carefully for signs of an Action Card.
"Watashi no tan! Draw!" Akio called as he began his turn. "Kurogami-kun, that was good work earlier. Despite what happened, you Ritual Summoned like it was nothing." He turned up the corners of his mouth slightly. "Now I'll show you my skill. Now that I see what you can do, I won't hold back any further… I activate the Magic Card, Duel! This lets us draw until we hold six cards."
As both players did what the card instructed, Akio took another card from his hand and slid it into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Magic Card, Gear Chronicle - Generation Stride! Using this, I Fusion Summon a Machine-Type Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!" The Honors Student took another two cards from his hand. "I'm fusing these two Monsters from my hand! Gear Chronicle - Lucky Pot Dracokid and Gear Chronicle - Iron-Fanged Hound!" After sliding the two Monsters into his Cemetery slot, the same two Monsters appeared on the field, taking the form of a small, mechanical dragon with brass gears melded into its body and a brass-colored wolf with broken-off gear pieces protruding from its body and green glowing circuitry lines running along its form. Both Monsters then vanished into a vortex above the field before a column of light came down and covered Akio's side.
"Young dragon giving support to the desperate! Hound that dashes outside the boundaries of time! Together you shall blaze a path, and make the whole world tremble! Fusion Summon! Level 8! Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon!"
Emerging from the light as it dissolved away was a massive draconic Monster colored in brass and violet, and made entirely of metal. Steampunk-styled mechanical parts comprised its entire body, while gears and gear fragments were present in several places. One such gear, larger than the others, floated behind its back, while several, smaller gears, made of a pair of makeshift wings. The Monster sat cross-legged while holding a large staff made of the same metallic parts it contained.
Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Fusion/Effect
ATK [ 2900 ] / DEF 2100
"Fusion Summon?" Mion questioned. "His specialty is Fusions?"
"Gear Chronicle - Lucky Pot Dracokid's Monster Effect!" Akio announced. "When used as Material for a Chi Machine-Type Monster, that Monster gains 800 ATK!" Chronos Command Dragon glowed faintly as it powered up.
[Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon: ATK 2900-3700]
"Chronos Command Dragon's Monster Effect activates!" the Honors Student continued. "When Fusion Summoned, I'm allowed to Special Summon a Machine-Type Monster from my hand!" He then took yet another card from his hand and played it. "I Special Summon Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle!" Rising up onto Akio's field next was a large tortoise made of brass machinery with what appeared to be a small clock tower on its back in place of a shell.
Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle
LV 5
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1700 / DEF [ 2200 ]
"Next, I target my Great Carapace Turtle and negate its effects!" the Gear Chronicle duelist added. "By doing so, I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster, Gear Chronicle - Gunner Gear Dracokid from my hand!" At the same time, another smallish, white dragon-like creature hopped onto the field. The Monster sported brass steampunk armor themed around the use of gears, with two large gear-shaped plates fitted onto its arms to use as shields. In one hand the Monster also carried a blaster of some sort.
Gear Chronicle - Gunner Gear Dracokid
LV 3
EARTH
Machine/Tuner/Effect
ATK [ 1300 ] / DEF 600
"A Tuner Monster? Does his deck also use Synchros? Does it?" Rena asked in bewilderment.
"I'm tuning Level 5 Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle and Level 3 Gear Chronicle - Gunner Gear Dracokid!" Akio announced as the small draconic Monster transformed into a set of three gates while the brass turtle broke apart into five white stars. Those same stars lined up within the gates that were once Gunner Gear Dracokid before a column of light speared down through everything.
"Immortal power! Light that shines on my fate! Tear apart the darkness! Synchro Summon! Level 8! The fierce wings of light, Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix!"
Descending onto the field was a large Monster, almost as large as Chronos Command Dragon, made entirely of brass-colored metal and shaped like a phoenix, with gears floating behind its back and wings, and another broken gear serving as a crest on top of the bird's head. It spread out its wings to their full length, revealing their violet tips.
Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Synchro/Effect
ATK [ 2600 ] / DEF 2100
"Next, I summon Gear Chronicle - Distance-Running Horse!" Akio continued as he played yet another card, bringing back the mechanical horse-like Monster from his first turn.
Gear Chronicle - Distance-Running Horse
LV 4
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK [ 1900 ] / DEF 0
"Then I activate its effect!" Akio said as a vortex opened up in the ground. "When this card is summoned, I can Special Summon one Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monster from my Cemetery and reduce its Level by 1! Return! Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle!" Rising back up onto the field from within the cortex was the hulking gear turtle once again.
Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle
LV 5-4
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1700 / DEF [ 2200 ]
"Two Level 4 Monsters…" Rika noted before her eyes widened. "That would mean…!"
"Using my Level 4 Great Carapace Turtle and Distance-Running Horse, I Overlay!" Akio declared as his Monsters transformed into streams of copper-colored mist that rose into the air and flew into a vortex above the field with lightning crackling from within as both Monsters entered.
"Burning sky, trembling ground! Crush all reason! Show me the realization of my vision! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long!"
Once more, descending onto the field, alongside Akio's other massive Monsters, was a Chinese dragon made entirely out of brass and other types of metals, with gears playing a major role into its motif like all of Akio's other Monsters thus far. The dragon sported multiple, tiny arms, but the ones at the forefront each held a glowing sphere made of fiery orange energy, making them appear as fireballs.
Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long
Rank 4
EARTH
Machine/Xyz/Effect
ATK [ 2500 ] / DEF 2000
"An Xyz?!" Rika and Satoko gasped in unison, both surprised.
"He uses all three methods as well?" Ryuuji questioned in shock, eyes widened. If he had a lollipop in his mouth, it surely would have dropped out.
"No way! He's like that Reiji guy!" Kurogasa gawked.
"While Metapulsar Huang Long has Overlay Units, all other Gear Chronicle and Zodiac Time Beast Monsters I control gain 500 ATK." Akio stated as faint auras rose around his other Monsters.
[Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon: ATK 3700-4200]
[Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix: ATK 2600-3100]
"But with Minazuki-san's Monsters so strong, Kurai-kun won't be able to defeat them…" Rena noted with worry for her friend.
"He only has one Monster that stands a chance against that level of strength right now." Ryuuji added. "But the question is, will he be able to summon it?"
"Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long! Attack the player directly!" Akio commanded. Just then, the glowing spheres held by the massive Chinese dragon began to glow brighter and brighter, until finally large lasers were unleashed from within each of them and cut their way through the ground as they made their way towards Kurai. Thinking quickly, Kurai grabbed a card from his hand.
"I activate Nekroz of Valkyrus' Monster Effect!" Kurai countered.
"Its Monster Effect?" Mion repeated. "From the hand?"
"What does this effect do?" Satoko wondered.
"Each of Kurai-san's Nekroz Monsters have an additional effect that can be used while in the hand," Rika mused. "Come to think of it, so far we haven't seen what Valkyrus can do while in Kurai-san's hand until now."
"Since a Monster my opponent controls is attacking, I can discard this card and banish another Nekroz card from my Cemetery!" Kurai explained as he discarded Valkyrus and pocketed the Nekroz Mirror in his Cemetery. "By doing so, I can negate that attack and then end this Battle Phase! Necro Barrier!" On cue, Kurai's new signature Monster suddenly appeared on the field in a flash, waving his staff in front of himself and Kurai to create a barrier around them that blocked Akio's Monster's attack completely. Once the onslaught had ceased, the barrier fizzled away, as did Valkyrus.
"Talk about cutting it close." Kurogasa sighed in relief.
"That effect is actually pretty useful." Ryuuji noted. "It's good for saving yourself if your opponent has a really strong Monster on their field or if you don't have any Monsters on yours. It surprisingly makes up for some of the Nekroz deck's weaknesses."
"How so?" Kurogasa asked.
"The Nekroz deck suffers from only being able to summon a few large Monsters at one time. Or at least that's what I've noticed." the Twilight Knight duelist explained. "And if those Monsters were to go away, then Kurai is left wide open."
"I see… So this is the other power of your new ace." Akio nodded to himself. "I move to Main Phase 2 and activate the effect of Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can add one Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monster from my Deck to my hand." After a few seconds of scrolling through the deck, Akio took a card from the top and revealed it to everyone else. "I add Gear Chronicle - Withdrawn Raven. And with that, I end my turn."
"K-chan barely skated by that one…" Mion commented while crossing her arms.
"I dunno if he can win this one." Satoko admitted.
"Boku no tan! Draw!" Kurai called as he drew his sixth card. He glanced at it and his eyes widened. 'It's here!' Kurai then held up a card in his hand for everyone to see. "I activate the effect of Nekroz of Unicore in my hand! If I discard this card, I can add one Nekroz card from my Cemetery back to my hand!" Kurai then reached into his Cemetery and pulled out his desired card, revealing it to everyone. "I choose… Nekroz of Valkyrus!"
"Is he going to summon it? Or does he plan to use it to stop more attacks?" Rena wondered.
"I activate the Ritual Magic, Nekroz Mirror!" Kurai announced, placing the card into his Duel Disk. "Using this, I banish Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz from my Cemetery and use his effect to fulfill the entire requirement for this Ritual Summon!" Much like before, the ceremonial mirror formed over Kurai's head and a total of eight spheres of light orbited the object before entering, showing the reflection of Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz before the mirror shattered, flooding the area with azure light.
"Ruler of ancient magic! With the inherited arts, at this moment, appear before me and pass on your power! Ritual Summon! Reincarnate! Level 8! Nekroz of Valkyrus!"
As the light once more subsided, standing there in opposition to Akio's three Monsters was Kurai's new ace Monster.
Nekroz of Valkyrus
LV 8
WATER
Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect
ATK [ 2900-3100 ] / DEF 1700-1900
"Now what's he gonna do with it?" Kurogasa asked.
"Nekroz of Valkyrus' Monster Effect!" Kurai declared as he held up two cards in his hand and discarded them. "I offer these two Monsters in my hand as Tributes in order to draw two cards! Necro Reinforce!" After drawing his next two cards, Kurai turned up the corners of his mouth. "The effects of the Monsters I just Tributed now activate! When Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz is Tributed, I can add one Magician-Type Nekroz Monster from my Deck to my hand!" Kurai quickly sorted through his deck list and took out a card. "I add another Nekroz of Unicore. And next! The effect of Dance Princess of the Nekroz lets me add one banished Nekroz card to my hand. I choose Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz!" Kurai then added his pocketed card back to his hand.
"He's-!" Rena realized.
"What is it?" Kurogasa queried.
"He's constantly cycling back Schritt in order to use it for Ritual Summons repeatedly," Naomi spoke up.
"You mean like recycling his cards?" Kurogasa questioned.
"Schritt, Caster of the Nekroz has an effect that lets it fulfill the entire requirement for a Ritual Summon that summons a single Monster." Naomi explained. "Kurai is using other cards to put it back into his hand so he can keep using that effect whenever he Ritual Summons."
"Continuing on, I activate the Ritual Magic, Nekroz Kaleidoscope!" Kurai announced as he held out another card from his hand - the one which he had drawn at the start of the turn. "Using this, I can send one Monster from my Extra Deck to the Cemetery…" On cue, the Extra Deck slot on Kurai's Duel Disk opened up and a card slid out, which the Nekroz duelist took and slid into his Cemetery.
"Oh ho~, Kurai's using his Kaleidoscope Ritual card?" Ryuuji mused with a smirk on his face.
"I send Gao, Protector Beast of the Sacred Tree to the Cemetery!" Kurai explained as a large, lion-like Monster with a bright red mane suddenly blinked into existence on the field. "And now, I'm allowed to Ritual Summon multiple Nekroz Monsters from my hand whose Levels total to 10!"
"Wait, he can summon multiple Ritual Monsters at the same time with that card?!" Kurogasa questioned in shock. "And he uses an Extra Deck Monster as the cost?! I thought that his deck was meant to counter Extra Deck Monsters."
"That's very true," Mion explained. "But keep in mind that K-chan is a Skill Duelist like the rest of us, he spent a long time since coming to this school learning new and creative ways to use his cards. This is one of the results."
"Kurai-kun has developed multiple special styles of Ritual Summoning." Rena added. "One of them was the Necroid Ritual you saw before, where he can Ritual Summon from the Cemetery as well as the hand."
"With what he's been able to accomplish, it's not surprising Kurai-san rose to the top spot in the Ritual courses so quickly." Rika complimented. On the field, a large, crystalline structure had materialized above Kurai, and as Gao seemingly was absorbed into the odd crystal, multiple reflections of the beast could be seen on the glassy surface as an azure aura outlined the structure.
"Twin dragons with the power to banish impure light! With the secret arts, here and now, be resurrected and pass on your power! Kaleido Ritual! Emerge!"
In an instant, the crystalline object had shattered away completely, flooding Kurai's field with bluish light that faded away seconds after it had appeared. This soon revealed two copies of the same Monster - Exa, Warrior of the Nekroz wearing white and gold armor modeled after Ally of Justice - Catastor.
Nekroz of Catastor (x2)
LV 5
WATER
Dragon/Ritual/Effect
ATK [ 2200 ] / DEF 1200
"Level 5! Nekroz of Catastor!"
"There it is - his Kaleido Ritual Summon." Mion mused, her voice hinting that she was impressed. "This is K-chan's go-to Ritual Method that he developed."
"Nekroz of Catastor attacks Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long!" Kurai announced as one of his armored Dragons dashed forward.
"Eh?! Why is he doing that? Akio's Monster is stronger!" Kurogasa questioned.
"Did you hit your head?" Satoko asked the older boy. "You already know what Catastor does."
"At this time, the effect of Nekroz of Catastor activates! As a Nekroz Monster is battling a Monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, it's instantly destroyed!" Kurai added as the Nekroz Monster cut through the mechanical dragon using its armored claws, destroying the Monster with no issues whatsoever. At the same time, the rest of Akio's Monsters were weakened slightly due to the absence of the Xyz Monster.
[Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon: ATK 4200-3700]
[Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix: ATK 3100-2600]
"Alright! He has this!" Satoko smirked confidently at seeing her friend start his counterattack.
"Now for the second attack! Nekroz of Catastor attacks Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon!" Kurai continued as the second Dragon rushed ahead and leapt up at the massive Monster. "And just like before, because a Nekroz Monster is attacking an Extra Deck Monster, that opposing Monster is immediately destroyed!" Once again, Catastor cut through the metallic dragon with no problems, ending its time on the field.
"Chronos Command Dragon's final Monster Effect!" the Gear Chronicle duelist interrupted as he placed his fingers over the top two cards of his deck and pulled them out in one swift motion. "When this Monster is destroyed and sent to the Cemetery, I'm allowed to draw two cards!"
"Alright then! The third attack is coming in! Nekroz of Valkyrus, attack Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix!" Kurai ordered as his signature Monster raised its staff above its head. "Blue Destruction!" At the utterance of the command, a large blue glyph formed in the air above the field, lighting up the darkness for only a few moments as it fired down a large beam of bluish magic that whizzed through the air towards its target, hitting and annihilating it.
Akio: 4000-3500
Kurai: 4000
"He most likely chose not to activate the effect of Catastor again because he was able to destroy Metallica Phoenix regardless." Naomi figured.
"He may not be able to defeat Minazuki-san this turn, but he's almost guaranteed to win on his next turn if the last attack goes through." Rena added, noting that Nekroz of Gungnir had yet to attack.
'That's true, but…' Naomi thought to herself as she let her eyes drift to the cards in Akio's hand. 'That card he added on the last turn with his Xyz Monster's effect… Something about that is bothering me.'
"And finally, Nekroz of Gungnir attacks the player directly!" Kurai declared as magic began to build up in the lance of his other ace Monster. "Dragonic Mage Burst!" Gungnir then thrust her lance forward, letting the power built up within surge forward in a spearheaded beam aimed right at Akio.
"I won't let you!" Akio countered as he revealed a card in his hand. "I activate the effect of Gear Chronicle - Withdrawn Raven from my hand! When my opponent's Monster declares an attack, Withdrawn Raven can be Special Summoned from my hand in order to negate that attack!" On cue, a small, mechanical raven made of brass clockwork and gears swooped down onto the field and flew in front of Akio before folding its wings in front of it, creating a greenish barrier that completely blocked Gungnir's magic.
"And he was close to getting a big hit in too…" Kurogasa said in disappointment.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't make this easy on me, Minazuki-san." Kurai laughed. "This has been pretty fun so far. I wasn't expecting you to have mastered all the Summoning Methods."
"You're right, this has been fun," Akio agreed. "Kurogami-kun, remember when I said before that I was done holding back?" The Gear Chronicle user smirked as he drew his next card. "I might have lied. Just a little."
"Then come at me with everything you have now." Kurai challenged.
"Very well." Akio nodded. "I activate the Magic Card, Treasure Cards from the Heavens! This allows both of us to replenish our hands back to six cards." After both players drew their cards, the Honors Student took a second card from his hand and activated it. "I also play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." After drawing his additional cards, the Honors Student took a pair of cards from his hand and held them out for all to see. "I, using the Scale 2 Zodiac Time Beast Chronoclaw Monkey, and the Scale 9 Zodiac Time Beast Chronodoze Sheep…"
"No way… is this…?" Kurai muttered in surprise.
"... Set the Pendulum Scale!" Akio declared as he slapped the two cards on either side of his Duel Disk, causing two pillars of bluish light to form on either side of him while two Monsters rose up within them.
One was a humanoid Monster resembling a monkey, made of brass and silver metal parts, with wild bluish-white hair, and sporting hands tipped in claws made of bright green light. The other Monster was a white lamb clad in pink and brass armor that continued the gear motif of Akio's Monsters, with brass rings adorned with green clock faces fitted on each of its hooves, and its horns resembling a set of twisted gears.
"Using this, I'm allowed to summon Monsters between Levels 3 and 8 all at once!" Akio explained as a large portal opened up above the field in between the Honors Student's Pendulum Scales.
"The Pendulum opens the way to the future, revealing the world I truly desire! Pendulum Summon! Come to me, my Monsters!"
Out of the portal came three masses of light that slammed down onto the field in front of Akio and gave way to a trio of new Monsters. The first was a small, purplish-red mechanical Monster resembling a pig that stood on its hind legs, with jet thrusters fitted onto its back and gear-shaped shields decorated with clear gems attached to its arms.
"Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary!"
Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary
LV 4
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK [ 1700 ] / DEF 1300
Pendulum Scale - 9
The second Monster was a bipedal, mechanical tiger colored in deep red and black with gold highlights. Its body crackled with crimson lightning as it stood firm on the field.
"Lead this world to the perfect future! Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger!"
Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK [ 2800 ] / DEF 2300
Pendulum Scale - 10
And finally, the third Monster to appear was a mechanical creature resembling a dragon colored in deep blue and white with gold highlights. Large, elongated jet thrusters took the place of its wings and a red scarf with gold trimming was tied around its neck and hung down to its midsection.
"Lead me to the future! Open a new world! Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon!"
Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK [ 2800 ] / DEF 2300
Pendulum Scale - 1
"He has Pendulum cards, too?!" Mion gasped in surprise.
"But how does he have them?" Satoko questioned.
"I'm not sure," Rena replied. "But do you think Kurai-kun will be able to fight against this? None of us have ever faced Pendulum Monsters before."
"Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary's Monster Effect!" Akio announced. "When Pendulum Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 Gear Chronicle Monster from my Cemetery. Return! Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon!" Appearing on the field once more was the massive staff-wielding dragon, staring down at Kurai intensely.
Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Fusion/Effect
ATK [ 2900 ] / DEF 2100
"And next is the Magic Card, Gear Chronicle - Superior Ride!" Akio added as he slid another card into his Duel Disk. "With this, I send Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary to the Graveyard…" Four purplish gear-shaped emblems, all exactly identical, appeared around the Pendulum Monster's body and began rotating rapidly until Chronodash Peccary was consumed in a whitish light. "... to Special Summon Gear Chronicle - Smithereen Colossus from my hand!" In place of the gear-themed animal was a tall, sleek giant of a Monster made of brass and violet-colored metal, with gears protruding from several parts of its body.
Gear Chronicle - Smithereen Colossus
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK [ 2500 ] / DEF 1200
"No way! He's going for overkill!" Kurogasa gasped. "There's no way Kurai can stand up to all that!"
"Kurai-kun…" Rena muttered with worry for her friend.
"Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger's Monster Effect!" Akio went on. "I Tribute Withdrawn Raven and target your Nekroz of Gungnir!" Just then, a vortex opened up behind the armored sorceress, slowly pulling her backwards despite how much she tried to resist. "By doing this, I shuffle Nekroz of Gungnir into the Deck, and then you must Special Summon a Monster with the same Attribute or Type, but 2 Levels lower."
"What?!" Kurai gasped as Nekroz of Gungnir finally vanished from the field after the force of the vortex overwhelmed her. "Damn… then I choose to Special Summon Exa, Warrior of the Nekroz!" Appearing in place of the sorceress was the draconic warrior, his claw-like weapons at the ready as he glared at the opposing field.
Exa, Warrior of the Nekroz
LV 5
WATER
Dragon/Effect
ATK [ 2000 ] / DEF 1000
"He can even influence what Monsters are on his opponent's field…!" Naomi managed in her surprise.
"I also activate Zodiac Time Beast Chronoclaw Monkey's Pendulum Effect! And now for the rest of this turn, you can't use Trap Cards when my Monsters attack!"
"Oh no, he has K-chan cornered…" Mion commented.
"Battle! Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger attacks Exa, Warrior of the Nekroz!" Akio declared. The bipedal mecha tiger complied by flexing its body and releasing a burst of crimson lightning from within, striking Exa and destroying it.
Akio LP: 3500
Kurai LP: 4000-3200
"Damn…" Kurai muttered before he took off, looking around carefully to make sure he didn't miss any Action Cards.
"Gear Chronicle - Smithereen Colossus attacks Nekroz of Catastor!" Akio continued. The brass giant obeyed, swinging his fist back and charging forward towards one of the armored dragons. He threw his arm forward, his fist glowing with power as he did so, and struck its enemy head-on, causing a small explosion from the power unleashed.
Akio LP: 3500
Kurai LP: 3200-2900
The resulting explosion alerted Kurai's eyes to an Action Card sitting on the ground to his left. Using the shock wave from the attack to aid him, Kurai dove towards the Action Card and caught it as he rolled to recover himself. "That won't help you! I activate Gear Chronicle - Smithereen Colossus' effect!" Akio interjected. "When it destroys a Monster by battle and it goes to the Cemetery, I can target a monster on your field and shuffle it into the deck! The Monster I choose is… the second Nekroz of Catastor"
"I won't let you! I activate the effect of Nekroz of Trishula in my hand!" Kurai countered as he flipped over one of the cards in his hand.
"What?" Akio responded.
"When my opponent activates a card effect that targets of my Nekroz Monsters, I can discard this card to negate its activation!" Kurai explained as he slid the Ritual Monster into his Cemetery slot, causing a fierce icy wind to kick up in the area, knocking Smithereen Colossus off balance temporarily.
"Very well. Then Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon attacks Nekroz of Valkyrus! And when it battles a Level 5 or higher Monster, Chronojet Dragon gains 500 ATK until the end of that battle!" Akio said as his humanoid mecha dragon flew forward, its thrusters igniting behind it.
[Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon - ATK: 2800-3300]
"I activate the Action Card, Evasion! I negate the attack!" Kurai countered as he slapped the Action Card he had found previously into his Duel Disk.
"Then I activate a Trap from my hand!" Akio said.
"Eh?! From the hand?" Kurai repeated.
"While I control 2 or more Monsters and one of my Gear Chronicle or Zodiac Time Beast Monsters is attacking, I can activate Gear Chronicle - Critical Trigger from my hand!" the Gear Chronicle duelist explained as he slid a Trap Card into his Duel Disk. "When this is activated, the Monster of my choice gains 500 ATK and the ability to attack twice this turn."
"I see! He's going to use that on Chronojet Dragon so that it can still attack!" Kurogasa realized.
My target is, of course, Chronojet Dragon!" Akio declared as his Monster grew slightly stronger just after Valkyrus dodged his attack.
[Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon - ATK: 3300-2800-3300]
"Chronojet Dragon attacks Valkyrus once more! And when he attacks a Level 5 or higher Monster, he gains 500 ATK!" Akio added as his Monster rushed forward again.
[Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon - ATK: 3300-3800]
This time however, Valkyrus was unable to defend himself or evade the attack, and so Chronojet Dragon's diving kick hit its mark, ending Valkyrus' time on the field.
Akio LP: 3500
Kurai LP: 2900-2200
And finally, Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon attacks Nekroz of Catastor!" Akio ordered, to which his larger Fusion Monster simply struck the ground with its staff, causing a pillar of raw power to come slamming down on the armored Dragon-Type Monster, obliterating it instantly.
Akio LP: 3500
Kurai LP: 2200-1300
"Tan endo." the Honors Student concluded.
"Tch…" Kurai panted quietly after enduring his opponent's onslaught. 'I have no idea how I managed that, but I did... ' He looked down at his deck in thought. 'This is probably my last turn, so I need to make it count.' Placing his hand on the top card of his deck, the Ritual user began his turn. "Boku no tan! Draw!"
The Nekroz duelist looked at what he had drawn and smirked competitively towards Akio.
"Looks like you got something." Akio smirked back.
"I'll start by activating the Ritual Magic, Nekroz Mirror!" Kurai said. "With this, I banish the two Nekroz of Catastor that are in my Cemetery…" As he pocketed the two Monsters, their very essences rose up from the ground and flowed into the ceremonial mirror, causing ten white stars to enter its reflective surface.
"Dragon that preludes the end! With the secret arts, here and now, be resurrected and pass on your power! Ritual Summon! Emerge! Level 10! Nekroz of Meteo!"
However, even as the mirror shattered in a flash of bluish light, there was no new Monster present on the field.
"Wait, what happened?" Kurogasa asked as he looked around in confusion. "He did summon a Monster, right?"
"Oh he did. Just wait for it." Satoko replied, sharing a knowing look with the others. Just then, Kurogasa happened to glance up, and as he did, he saw a very faint gleam up in the dark sky, as if a shooting star were passing by.
But after a few more seconds, the Gusta duelist realized that what he saw was Exa, Warrior of the Nekroz, albeit covered almost entirely, save for his head and limbs, in jagged, blazing volcanic rock. It took only a few more seconds for him to realize with a look of shock that the Monster he was seeing was in fact headed right for them.
Nekroz of Meteo
LV 10
WATER
Dragon/Ritual/Effect
ATK [ 2800 ] / DEF 2000
"H-Huh?! Wait a minute! That's thing's coming right at us!" Kurogasa panicked. "Shouldn't we be running now?!"
"Alright guys, brace yourselves!" Mion told the others, to which everyone nodded and prepared for impact.
"Nekroz of Meteo's Monster Effect!" Kurai announced, much to Akio's confusion. "When Ritual Summoned, all Monsters on the field are destroyed!"
"What?" Akio gasped in genuine shock as Kurai's new Ritual Monster struck the ground in between them. In an instant, the entire area around them was consumed in a massive, fiery explosion that would have thrown everyone back like ragdolls, had they not braced themselves in preparation for what was to come.
"Also…" Kurai said amidst the spreading flames that lit up the otherwise pitch-black Darkness field. "For each Monster that was destroyed, you take 500 damage!" Akio threw up his arms on instinct to protect him from the holographic flames that felt almost real as they suddenly spread out more violently.
Akio LP: 3500-1000
Kurai LP: 1300
"Incredible…" Naomi said under her breath. "With just one move he was able to wipe away every last Monster… Was I wrong about him before? Can he really help me find him...?"
"And I'm not done!" Kurai continued as he revealed another card in his hand. "I activate the effect of Nekroz of Alpha from my hand! By discarding him and banishing a Ritual Magic from my Cemetery, I can copy that effect!" After discarding his Ritual Monster, Kurai reached into his Cemetery and took out a Magic Card from among the stack of cards. "I banish Nekroz Mirror to copy its effect! By doing this, I can Ritual Summon a Nekroz Ritual Monster from my hand. I banish Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz from the Cemetery for the Ritual Summon."
Once more, the ceremonial mirror appeared above Kurai's field before taking in the essence of the old sorcerer, resulting in four white stars being absorbed into the mirror itself. Once more, the mirror shattered and let out a flash of bluish light.
"Sorcerer with the might of the beast! With the secret arts, here and now, be resurrected and pass on your power! Ritual Summon! Emerge! Level 4! Nekroz of Unicore!"
Appearing on the field as the light subsided was one of Kurai's signature Ritual Monsters, the younger version of Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz, now clad in armor resembling that of the Demon Roar God Beast Unicore.
Nekroz of Unicore
LV 4
WATER
Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect
ATK [ 2300 ] / DEF 1000
"I see…" Akio mused out loud. The corners of his mouth turned up. "Looks like you've beaten me. Come on then, hit me with your best attack."
"Will do." Kurai nodded. "Nekroz of Unicore, attack the player directly!" The armored Monster charged forward at Akio, swinging his weapon once he was clearly within range. In a matter of seconds, the remainder of Akio's Life Points vanished as the Honors Student stumbled back from the strike.
Akio LP: 1000-0
Kurai LP: 1300
Akio slowly stood up as the holograms vanished from the arena, dusting himself off while chuckling quietly. I see. Now," he said. "This is the extent of your skills… I'm surprised. I was honestly expecting a little less from you. I'm glad to know I was mistaken. I'll be sure to keep this in mind." And with that, the Gear Chronicle duelist turned and began walking towards the exit, waving to the club members as he did so.
"Hey, wait! You're leaving already?" Kurai asked.
"I've got business to take care of before the day is done for me," Akio explained. "Consider yourself on the Honor Roll, Kurogami-kun." He stopped short, as if remembering something. "Ah, that's right. You all are going to compete against another school soon, right? I wish you good luck." And with his business concluded, Akio left the arena without another word.
"So how did it go?"
Akio looked towards the young man who had asked him that question as he arrived at the platform above Leo Corporation's monitor room. He walked towards Reiji and stopped next to him before answering.
"He's strong. Much stronger than I thought at first." he replied. "Did you keep an eye on the duel like I asked you to?"
"Of course." Reiji answered as he pushed up his glasses. "We got some very strong readings during the course of it."
"Were they from a Ritual Summon?" Akio asked. Reiji nodded.
"And it was from one Monster in particular… the Monster Kurogami-san summoned called Nekroz of Valkyrus."
"It was Valkyrus… So that explains it."
"Hm?"
"That card has never shown up in any of Kurogami-kun's duels until recently. I had thought it was strange, but never really thought anything of it. But now…"
"Where are you going with this?"
"I believe there may be more to this than just Academia." Akio said. Reiji simply looked at his friend for a moment before nodding.
"I see. Then we should look into this further." he said as he looked towards the numerous monitors lining the far walls. "While also taking down our common enemy."
"Agreed."
Gear Chronicle - Brass-Winged Hawk
LV 2
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1000 / DEF 0
Effect - If this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster from your Deck to your hand. If this card is Special Summoned: You can increase this card's Level by up to 2 until the end of this turn. During either player's turn: You can banish this card; Special Summon 1 Machine-Type Monster from your hand.
Gear Chronicle - Distance-Running Horse
LV 4
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1900 / DEF 0
Effect - If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can activate 1 of these effects. You can only use this effect of "Gear Chronicle - Distance Running Horse" once per turn.
● Target 1 "Gear Chronicle" Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, but its Level is reduced by 1.
● Add 1 face-up "Zodiac Time Beast" Pendulum Monster from your Extra Deck to your hand.
Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit
LV 3
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1200 / DEF 1200
Effect - When a card(s) on the field are shuffled into the Deck, except "Gear Chronicle - Stomach Clock Rabbit", you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). After you Special Summon this card this way, you cannot Special Summon Monsters for the rest of this turn, except Machine-Type Monsters. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks: You can shuffle this card and your opponent's battling Monster into the Deck.
Gear Chronicle - Generation Stride
Normal Spell Card
Fusion Summon 1 Machine-Type Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using Monsters from your hand or your side of the field as Fusion Materials. If this card is in your Graveyard: You can shuffle this card and 1 other "Gear Chronicle" card from your Graveyard into the Deck, then draw 1 card. You can only use this effect of "Gear Chronicle - Generation Stride" once per turn.
Gear Chronicle - Lucky Pot Dracokid
LV 1
EARTH
Machine/Tuner/Effect
ATK 300 / DEF 300
Effect - When a EARTH Machine-Type Monster is Special Summoned to your field: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand), and if you do, you can add 1 "Gear Chronicle" card from your Deck to your hand. You can only Special Summon "Gear Chronicle - Lucky Pot Dracokid(s)" once per turn this way. A Machine-Type Synchro, Fusion, or Xyz Monster that used this card you control as Material gains 800 ATK.
Gear Chronicle - Iron-Fanged Hound
LV 6
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 2300 / DEF 1500
Effect - When this card is Normal Summoned: You can activate this effect; you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except "Gear Chronicle" Monsters, also Special Summon up to 2 EARTH Machine-Type Monsters from your Deck, but their effects are negated, also their ATK becomes 0.
Gear Chronicle - Chronos Command Dragon
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Fusion/Effect
ATK 2900 / DEF 2100
Materials - 1 "Gear Chronicle" Monster + 1 Machine-Type Monster
Effect - When this card is Fusion Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Machine-Type Monster from your hand. When this card attacks or is attacked: You can discard 2 cards; shuffle all Spell/Trap Cards on the field into the Deck. (This is a Quick Effect.) If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can draw 2 cards.
Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle
LV 5
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 1700 / DEF 2200
Effect - You can Normal Summon this card without Tributing, but its original Level becomes 4. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, while you controlled a "Gear Chronicle" Monster, except "Gear Chronicle - Great Carapace Turtle": You can target 1 Monster your opponent controls; shuffle it into the Deck, then draw 2 cards.
Gear Chronicle - Gunner Gear Dracokid
LV 3
EARTH
Machine/Tuner/Effect
ATK 1300 / DEF 600
Effect - Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1: You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Gear Chronicle" Monster from your hand or Deck, except "Gear Chronicle - Gunner Gear Dracokid". If this card is in your hand or Graveyard: You can target 1 face-up "Gear Chronicle" Monster you control; you cannot Special Summon Monsters for the rest of this turn, except EARTH Machine-Type Monsters, also negate the targeted Monster's effects, and if you do, Special Summon this card.
Gear Chronicle - Metallica Phoenix
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Synchro/Effect
ATK 2600 / DEF 2100
Materials - 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner EARTH Machine-Type Monsters
Effect - If this card was Synchro Summoned using a "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster as a non-Tuner Synchro Material, this card gains this effect.
● When this card destroys an opponent's Monster by battle: You can send 1 Monster from your Extra Deck to the Graveyard, then Tribute 1 other Monster you control; Special Summon 1 "Gear Chronicle" Monster from your Deck that is 2 Levels higher than the Tributed Monster's Level, but shuffle it into the Deck during the End Phase.
Gear Chronicle - Metapulsar Huang Long
Rank 4
EARTH
Machine/Xyz/Effect
ATK 2500 / DEF 2000
Materials - 2 Level 4 Monsters
Effect - When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 Machine-Type Monster you control; shuffle it into the Deck, then Special Summon 1 Machine-Type Monster from your Deck, whose Level is higher than the targeted Monster. While this card has Xyz Materials, all other "Gear Chronicle" Monsters you control gain 500 ATK. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; add 1 "Gear Chronicle" card or "Zodiac Time Beast" Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand.
Zodiac Time Beast Chronoclaw Monkey
LV 5
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK 2200 / DEF 800
Pendulum Scale - 2
Pendulum Effect : If you have a "Zodiac Time Beast" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can declare 1 card type (Monster, Spell, or Trap); this turn, if a "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster you control attacks, your opponent's cards and effects of that type cannot be activated until the end of the Damage Step.
Monster Effect : If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 "Zodiac Time Beast" Pendulum Monster or 1 "Gear Chronicle" Monster in your Graveyard, except "Zodiac Time Beast Chronoclaw Monkey"; add it to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Zodiac Time Beast Chronoclaw Monkey" once per turn.
Zodiac Time Beast Chronodoze Sheep
LV 1
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK 500 / DEF 500
Pendulum Scale - 9
Pendulum Effect : When this card is activated: You can add 1 "Gear Chronicle" card from your Deck to your hand during the End Phase of this turn. During your opponent's turn, when a "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster you control is targeted for an attack: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone, and if you do, negate the attack.
Monster Effect : When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 card from your Pendulum Zone, but for the rest of this turn, you cannot Special Summon Monsters, except Level 5 or higher EARTH Machine-Type Monsters.
Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary
LV 4
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK 1700 / DEF 1300
Pendulum Scale - 9
Pendulum Effect : If you have a "Zodiac Time Beast" card in your other Pendulum Zone: You can destroy this card, and if you do, place 1 "Zodiac Time Beast" Pendulum Monster from your Deck in your Pendulum Zone, except "Zodiac Time Beast Chronodash Peccary".
Monster Effect : When this card is Pendulum Summoned: You can target 1 "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it. You can discard this card, then target 1 card in your Pendulum Zone, whose current Pendulum Scale is different from its original Pendulum Scale; its Pendulum Scale becomes its original Pendulum Scale until the end of this turn.
Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK 2800 / DEF 2300
Pendulum Scale - 1
Pendulum Effect : You cannot Pendulum Summon Monsters, except "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monsters. This effect cannot be negated.
Monster Effect : If this card attacks a Level 5 or higher Monster, it gains 500 ATK until the end of the Damage Step, also if it attacks a Defense Position Monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If this card in the Monster Zone or Pendulum Zone is destroyed: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; place it on the bottom of the Deck. You can only use this effect of "Zodiac Time Beast Chronojet Dragon" once per turn.
Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Pendulum/Effect
ATK 2800 / DEF 2300
Pendulum Scale - 10
Pendulum Effect : You cannot Pendulum Summon Monsters, except "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monsters. This effect cannot be negated.
Monster Effect : During either player's Main Phase: You can Tribute 1 other Monster you control, then target 1 Monster your opponent controls; shuffle it into the Deck, and if you do, your opponent Special Summons 1 Monster from their Deck with the same Type and/or Attribute as the targeted Monster, but is 2 Levels lower. You can only use this effect of "Zodiac Time Beast Chronofang Tiger" once per turn.
Gear Chronicle - Superior Ride
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 face-up Level 4 or lower Monster you control; send it to the Graveyard, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster from your hand in face-up Attack Position, but it cannot declare an attack this turn. You can only activate 1 "Gear Chronicle - Superior Ride" per turn.
Gear Chronicle - Smithereen Colossus
LV 8
EARTH
Machine/Effect
ATK 2500 / DEF 1200
Effect - Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can Normal Summon 1 EARTH Machine-Type Monster, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. (You can only gain this effect once per turn.) Once per turn, if this card destroys an opponent's Monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; shuffle it into the Deck.
Gear Chronicle - Critical Trigger
Normal Trap Card
If a face-up "Gear Chronicle" or "Zodiac Time Beast" Monster you control attacks or is attacked: Discard 1 card, and if you do, target that Monster; it gains 500 ATK, then it gains these effects until the end of the Battle Phase.
● It can attack twice during the Battle Phase this turn.
● If it attacks a Defense Position Monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent.
If you control 2 or more Monsters, you can activate this card from your hand.
Nekroz of Meteo
LV 10
WATER
Dragon/Ritual/Effect
ATK 2800 / DEF 2000
Effect - You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned without using any Level 10 Monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card, then target 1 card your opponent controls; banish it. When this card is Ritual Summoned: You can destroy all Monsters on the field, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed by this effect. Then, if possible, you can target 1 of your banished "Nekroz" Monsters; Special Summon it. You can only use each effect of "Nekroz of Meteo" once per turn.
Nekroz of Alpha
LV 9
WATER
Warrior/Ritual/Effect
ATK 2200 / DEF 1100
Effect - You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Nekroz" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned without using any Level 9 Monsters, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can discard this card, then target 1 Ritual Spell Card in your Graveyard; apply that card's effect, then banish it from your Graveyard. You can only use this effect of "Nekroz of Alpha" once per turn. While either player controls a Monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, this card cannot be destroyed by Spell/Trap effects.