Mizael LP: 3400
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: Dragon-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 8/ATK 4000/DEF 2500 – 0 OLU
Spell & Trap Zone: 1 set card
Leah LP: 1000
Tiras, Keeper of Genesis: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2600/DEF 1900 – 2 OLU
Spell & Trap Zone: Spiritual Haven of the Borealis [Field Card]
"I place one card face-down and end my turn," Leah said, placing the last card in her hand onto her duel disk with shaking hands. The mixture of anger at failing her comeback so badly, and anxiety for what was coming next turn, was making it hard for her to think straight. "And during the End Phase, Tiras would lose an Overlay Unit, but with its effects negated it keeps them both."
"Tachyon Dragon's effect also wears off of itself, so its ATK returns to normal," Mizael added. The yellow aura surrounding the Number dissipated.
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: ATK 4000 → 3000
"My turn, draw!" As Mizael glanced at his newly drawn card, he hesitated, silently debating what to do next. He had planned to activate the effect of Overlay Connect from his Graveyard during this Standby Phase, but given his new draw and his current face-down, that seemed wholly unnecessary. He could always use it later – right now, it would be a waste of Life Points.
In this short lull between moves, he contemplated the blonde-haired girl standing opposite him. He'd heard fascinating things about her from Gilag and Alit's constant monitoring of the Deltas. She had collected a great deal of Numbers, was able to subdue them through sheer will alone, and had fought off the broken man, the mad scientist, and the empty child at least once each. On paper, those were all very impressive feats. He still recalled Durbe's last words to the three of them while they'd been waiting outside the building for the Deltas to arrive: "One last word of advice to all of you. Do not, under any circumstances, underestimate these children. Their leader, Matt, is by far the most formidable of them in terms of strength. We don't believe that he matches up to the Barians' power, but for the sake of safety, it would be best if either myself or Mizael took him on. The two girls, too, have nearly-impeccable dueling records. Exercise extreme caution when facing either of them. The two remaining boys are less skilled, but should not be underestimated. Do you understand me? These five children have accomplished much in the past few months, and are not to be trifled with…"
Yet Mizael wasn't seeing it. This girl had been nothing but a perpetual disappointment from the moment he'd met her in the caves. She run away terrified then, she was cowering before the dragon now, and her dueling skill... Mizael was seriously starting to wonder if he was dueling a different Leah to the one Alit and Gilag had described, and which Durbe had so fervently warned him about. This girl was making such feeble stabs at taking down his Number that it was starting to irritate him. He'd brought out Tachyon Dragon very early on to combat the girl's supposedly formidable skill, but what he was getting instead was, quite, frankly, pathetic.
"Come on, what's the hold up?" Leah shouted across the field, emboldened by Mizael's hesitance. "You can't be that scared of my face-down, surely."
A muscle twitched in the side of Mizael's neck. "How dare you... don't you ever accuse me of cowardice, human brat," he growled.
Leah frowned. "Human...?"
"Battle!" Mizael shouted before she got any further. "Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon, attack Tiras! Annihilative Tachyon Spiral!" The dragon drew up once more and launched a blast of purple energy down at the weakened angel. Leah felt her hand move involuntarily towards her face-down card, and willed it to be still. She mustn't act yet. If she activated that card now, it would mean certain death...
The attack was upon her in an instant. Tiras was completely consumed by the resulting explosion, and Leah cried out and covered her face as the blast struck her, the mere force of it pushing her back several feet.
Leah LP: 1000 → 600
"Coward am I, human?!" Mizael shouted. "Scared of a simple set card, am I? Never! At the end of the battle, I activate my other face-down card, Instant Overlay!" The Quick-Play Spell activated. "Like Overlay Connect, this card attaches itself to an Xyz Monster I control with no Overlay Units attached to it." With a flash of light, the card morphed into a tiny yellow sphere, which flew upwards to begin orbiting Mizael's Number.
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: 0 → 1 OLU
Leah's hand twitched again. 'I thought you might…'
"Tachyon Dragon's effect activates!" Mizael cried. "By detaching this new Overlay Unit, I can negate the effects of all other monsters on the field and remove their ATK boosts!" It had been there for just a few seconds, but even so, the orb was inexorably drawn towards the red gem set into the dragon's chest, and shattered against it.
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: 1 → 0 OLU
"Tachyon Transmigration!" The mechanized dragon folded back down into its sealed form, and with a brilliant flash of light, sent its pulses of rainbow energy surging across the entire field. The amalgamation of colour blended with the soft, shifting curtains of light forming the aurora beneath their feet, creating a stunningly bright and ethereal visual effect. "And since a card effect was activated previously during this Battle Phase – namely Instant Overlay – Tachyon Dragon gains 1000 ATK and one additional attack this turn!" The inverted metal pyramid opened up once again, and the dragon with reassembled itself into its formidable true form, now coated in that shimmering yellow aura.
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: ATK 3000 → 4000
"Go, Tachyon Dragon! Finish her!" the cloaked man shouted. "Annihilative Tachyon Spiral!" The dragon gave another rumbling, bone-chilling roar as it opened its jaw wide, preparing to launch the final attack.
"Ha!" Leah said suddenly. "I activate the Trap Card, Defense Draw!" Her set card activated. "This card blocks one instance of battle damage I receive, and then allows me to draw one card." A bright blue shield materialised around her, and Tachyon Dragon's attack smashed into it, ripping up yet more of the pavement – unseen by the pair of them, as the surroundings were still obscured by the Field Spell – but leaving Leah untouched inside.
Mizael's eyes widened with surprise. "What...?"
"I knew you'd try something like this," Leah said, drawing her new card as the barrier faded away. She glanced at it, and was pleased to see Aurora Draw – that would open up some options next turn. "You said that Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon spearheaded your Deck, and you've been spending most of your cards so far replenishing its Overlay Units, so you can capitalise on its effect as much as possible. I knew you'd try another double-attack to finish me, and I knew that I'd only make things worse if I used Defense Draw to protect myself from the first attack. So I let you do your thing, then sprung it on your second attack." She grinned. "Basically, you just wasted your face-down, and I got an extra card out of the deal."
"Nonsense!" Mizael snapped. "Don't over-credit yourself for that move. It's purely common sense to not waste a card like Defense Draw on a mere 400 points of damage. You just did what any logically-thinking duelist would have done."
Leah sighed. "You just can't acknowledge anyone else's skill but your own, can you?"
"Not at all true," Mizael replied. "My comrades Alit, Gilag, and Merag are all skilled duelists. Durbe is on par with me in terms of skill, and Nasch... he is perhaps stronger than all of us combined."
"All I'm hearing are random names," Leah said. "I don't know half the people you're talking about. Who are they?"
"No-one concerning you," Mizael said, his eyes narrowing beneath his hood. "Don't ever confuse arrogance with confidence, little girl. I will acknowledge skill where it is evident. My comrades and I work tirelessly to protect our home, and I see proof of their power every day. You, on the other hand, have yet to display anything even vaguely resembling skill."
"Ok, that's it," Leah said angrily. "If I hear one more condescending slight at my abilities, or if you call me 'little girl' one more time, I'll-"
"What?" Mizael cut across her. "You'll do what, exactly?" Before Leah could reply, the man held up a hand. "Wait, don't tell me. I want to see for myself. Maybe this indignation will improve your dueling, even if only a little. Now then, during Main Phase two, I activate the Spell Card, Overlay Regen! Which, after activation, becomes an Overlay Unit for one Xyz Monster I choose." He held the card aloft, and as though caught in a sudden gust of wind, it slipped from between his fingers and soared up into orbit around Tachyon Dragon, morphing as it went into another yellow Overlay Unit.
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: 0 → 1 OLU
'All this Overlay Unit replenishing… it's like dueling Kodoku again,' Leah observed.
"I end my turn there," Mizael said, lowering his hand. "And during the End Phase, Tachyon Dragon's ATK returns to normal."
Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon: ATK 4000 → 3000
"My turn, draw!" Leah glanced over the two Spells in her hand ever so briefly, before taking both of them to play. "First I set one card. Then I activate the Spell Card, Aurora Draw!" Two cards appeared on her field; one face-down, the other active. "If I have no other cards in my hand, this card lets me draw two cards." She drew them swiftly and turned them over, praying for something she could use.
Borealis Leger and Aurora Prominence.
Perfect.
"Alright, now I Summon Borealis Leger!" Leah said fervently. The bow-toting angel appeared in a flash of rainbow light.
Borealis Leger: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1400/DEF 600
Borealis Leger: ATK 1400 → 1500/DEF 600 → 700
"And due to its effect, when it's Summoned, I can increase the Level of any Spirit monster I control by one. I'll increase its own Level." The angel raised its bow and fire a single arrow straight up into the air. Almost the moment it left the bow, the arrow burst above Leger's head, showering it with light.
Borealis Leger: Level 4 → 5
"Then I activate the card I placed face-down: the Equip Spell, Aqua Mirage!" The card she'd set earlier to empty her hand for Aurora Draw's effect now flipped up. "This card can only be equipped to a WATER Attribute monster. But, while equipped, if the equipped monster is ever used as Xyz Material, Aqua Mirage can be treated as an additional Xyz Material Monster of the same Level." As if on cue, the Spell flared with blue light, and an identical copy of Borealis Leger appeared alongside the original.
Mizael chuckled scornfully. "So, am I to expect a Number this time? Or are you going to waste time with more regular Xyz Monsters? Maybe you'd like to try another Tiras, or perhaps an Adreus this time."
"Yeah, you keep on mocking," Leah said. "I'll make you eat your words pretty soon. Now, Level five Borealis Leger and Aqua Mirage, Overlay!" At her command, the rainbow-hued angel lit up a deep blue colour. Beside it, the clone – lacking an Attribute to dictate its colour – turned a pale grey. The two monsters then flew up into the air, making room for a galaxy-shaped portal to open up beneath them. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The bolts of energy chased each other down into the portal, which exploded with light. "Be born! Number 17: Passion Aurora!"
The green number seventeen flashed above the field and onto Leah's left hand, and a spinning sideways-oval crest rose out of the portal, sporting three sharp protrusions; two from the side and one from underneath. Protruding from the side of each 'spike' were two downy wings, making for six in total. Lines of light traced across the surface of the crest as it started to unfold. All six wings stretched out. A pitch-black humanoid figure, covered in shining gold armour, began to take form. Two scarf-like strips of fabric, one grey and one purple, hung from its waist. It had spikes on its kneecaps, and pointed feet. Everything about the creature looked synthetic, with the sole exception of its downy wings. With one final battle cry, the angelic warrior stretched out its arms and wings, then took its position ready for battle, orbited by two yellow Overlay Units.
Number 17: Passion Aurora: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800 – 2 OLU
Mizael looked up at the new arrival, a strange mixture of disappointment and expectation clouding his gaze. "Number 17..." he muttered. "So what can I expect from you...?"
"Well, I'll tell you," Leah smiled. The appearance of her Number seemed to have bolstered her spirits. "As long as it's in play, neither of us can Special Summon. But, by detaching an Overlay Unit, I can cancel that effect for an entire turn if I want to. In fact, that's what I'm going to do right now. Passion Aurora's effect activates!" A single yellow orb of light broke orbit and flew into the monster's helmet with a flash of light. A few feathers detached themselves from Number 17's wings and began to float in small circles around it.
Number 17: Passion Aurora: 2 → 1 OLU
"Is that it?" Mizael said angrily. "Is that really all your Number is capable of? Just what use is that if my Number is already on the field? I thought you were finished with the pointless moves."
"I don't make pointless plays, Mizael," Leah grinned. Suddenly, with no visible prompting from her, Passion Aurora began to change. Its armour extended, growing back over the black material that covered its skin. The wings on its back retracted slightly, and split into three groups of two as the synthetic angel changed shape. Finally, the transformation completed itself, and the Number was once again left encapsulated within its sealed form – a golden, crest-like, oval structure lying on its side, sporting three sharp protrusions around the outside, each with two downy wings attached to them. Beneath the now-resealed Number, a large, galaxy-shaped portal opened up, just like the one used in its initial Xyz Summons.
"Wait, that's... no..." Mizael said, his eyes suddenly wide and disbelieving. "It can't be..."
"I use Number 17: Passion Aurora to reconstruct the Overlay Network! Chaos Xyz Change!" Leah declared. Slowly, silently, the sealed form of her Number descended into the portal, which erupted like a volcano of pure light. "Appear, Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol!"
With the echoing sound of glass breaking, the green number seventeen on Leah's left hand shattered, only to be replaced by a much darker copy, which pulsated and glowed rhythmically in time with her own heartbeat. Slowly and deceptively serenely, a solid golden sphere rose up out of the portal, topped with a halo of thick, pure white feathers. Bright yellow lines traced across the surface of the sphere, which began to open out, revealing a humanoid yet angelic figure curled up inside. This creature was also dressed in what seemed to be black latex, but far less of it was visible, as adorned as it was with the deep-gold plates that had once been its sealed form, but which it now wore as armour. As the monster stood upright, the downy halo slipped down behind it, and affixed itself to the monster's back, where it immediately spread out and formed six beautiful white wings, three on each side. Then the angel opened its eyes – no more than two glowing yellow dots – and all at once the wings flared with light. But not just white light; it was red, green, pink, violet... every single colour imaginable. It was as though the northern lights themselves were draped over the angel's wings like curtains, contrasting beautifully with the rich golden armour that covered its body. Two yellow Overlay Units traced circles around the majestic golden monster.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800 – 2 OLU
"A Chaos Number..." Mizael breathed. For the first time in the entire duel, he seemed at a complete loss of what to think. "How? You're just a human... not even that, you're a human child! How could you possibly achieve a Chaos Xyz Change? It defies all logic!"
"Pfft, logic?" Leah scoffed. "We said goodbye to logic the moment the Numbers came into this world."
"Don't be smart with me, girl!" Mizael snapped. "Tell me now! How did you learn how to perform a Chaos Xyz Change? Where did you get the power such a feat would require?"
"Oh that's not important," she grinned cheekily. "What's important is showing you what it can do. "I activate Chaos Number 17's effect! By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can declare any type of Summon. Then, this effect will destroy all monsters on the field that were Summoned this way, except itself, and also increase Aurora Sol's ATK by 300 points for each one." One of the Chaos Number's two Overlay Units was absorbed into its forehead.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: 2 → 1 OLU
"What?!" Mizael gasped.
"I choose Special Summons," she declared. "And since your Number was Summoned via Special Summon, it gets destroyed!"
With a deep percussive thump, a pulse of rainbow-hued energy emanated from Aurora Sol's wings, and shot across the field as a shockwave. The concentrated blast of energy struck Tachyon Dragon in the dead centre of the chest, which until now had been a space reserved for absorbing Overlay Units. The dark dragon gave one last howl – one that clung to the inside of Leah's head like claws digging against the inside of her skull – before its body was completely consumed by the resulting explosion.
"Tachyon Dragon!" Mizael cried, sounding genuinely distraught. Leah was briefly caught out by this display of emotion on Mizael's part, before she regained her composure and continued her move.
"And don't forget," she went on, "Passion Aurora Sol gains 300 ATK for each monster it destroyed this way."
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: ATK 2500 → 2800
"Battle!" she declared. "Passion Aurora Sol, attack Mizael directly!" The angel raised both hands above its head and began drawing in energy. Slowly, tortuously, a crackling green sphere began to grow atop the Chaos Number's arms. It grew larger and larger, until its size dwarfed both duelists, and even the angel that was holding it. The monster allowed it to grow a little bigger, then swung its arms down and launched the sphere of energy across the field at Mizael, who looked down just in time to see it hurtling towards him, before disappearing in an explosion of pure light energy. Leah covered her ears at the sound of the blast. She felt the shockwave rip past her, and heard the invisible shards of concrete pelting the ground around her as the street Mizael was standing on was torn to shreds by the force of the blast. When the light and smoke cleared, Mizael was down on one knee, panting and clutching his shoulder... and glaring at Leah with pure, molten hatred.
Mizael LP: 3400 → 600
Author-made cards:
Borealis Leger
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1400/DEF 600
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 face-up Spirit monster you control; that target gains 1 Level.
Number 17: Passion Aurora
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800
2 Level 5 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Neither player can Special Summon monsters. During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; negate this card's effects until the End Phase.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800
3 Level 5 LIGHT monsters OR 1 "Number 17: Passion Aurora"
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. If you have 1000 or more Life Points, destroy this card. During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then declare 1 type of Summon (Normal, Flip or Special); destroy all other face-up monsters on the field that were Summoned this way, then this card gains 300 ATK for each one.
Spiritual Haven of the Borealis
Field Spell Card
All face-up Spirit monsters on the field gain 100 ATK and DEF for each face-up Spirit monster their controller controls. You cannot Normal Summon monsters (except Spirit monsters). Once per turn: You can Normal Summon 1 monster from your hand as an additional Normal Summon.
Fun Fact #51: Sorry about the Chapters being longer than they were before. It's just that we have the perfect places that we'd like to end each Chapter, but as we write them, there's always little bits that we feel deserve more fleshing out, so we find that we're having to cram more and more into each Chapter. In a related matter, we'd really like to finish this duel up in the next Chapter and move onto Matt and Durbe's duel straight afterwards. We have it meticulously planned out, so that the rest of the duel and the aftermath will fit perfectly. Which, knowing us and our track record, of course means that it will take at least another six Chapters to finish this duel.
Fun Fact #52: The funny thing is, Adreus would actually have dealt with Tachyon Dragon just as well as C17 did. Leah would've lost badly next turn as a result, but still...
Fun Fact #53: Three guesses what Mizael's going to do next.