Foreword: Hello everyone. Really sorry to be only uploading such a short chapter after a long hiatus. I'm reallllyyyy busy with stuff, and there's still more I need to take care of. But, I managed to squeeze this chapter out. So please enjoy it until the next chapter!
As usual, please comment if you have any suggestions!
Touhou Duel Masters Café
Chapter 24 – To the end of Reincarnation (4)
Reimu opened her eyes to the sun and sound of an enormous crowd cheering. Wincing, she covered her ears and looked around, finding herself sitting on a seat, under the shade of a large cover overhead. The others were waking up at the same time, puzzled about their whereabouts.
"Huh… what the…" The deafening roar of the crowd nearly drowned out Marisa's voice. "Where the hell are we?!"
"…That is…!" Looking towards where the people were shouting at, Sanae widened her eyes at the red sports car swerving beautifully around a corner, it's metallic red body glinting in the sun, widening the gap between it and the other competitors with no effort. "This is a sports car race?"
"What are we doing here?" Remilia frowned as Sakuya opened a parasol just in case. "Weren't we sleeping in the Constellations' headquarters just a few moments ago? How'd we end up here?"
"…Well, the most plausible explanation would be that Dione's problem was solved, and we were unaware of it." Alice offered. "…It would be most likely that Michael and Jonathan helped Dione when we were asleep."
"Hmph…" Reimu fanned herself under the heat that the rest of the crowd ignored with their high tension. "This…racing car thing. I guess that's what humans use to crave for the excitement of speed when they can't fly."
"Nonetheless, we should probably leave." Sakuya said. "I don't suppose anyone has an interest in this?"
The others shook their heads.
They nudged their way through the crowd, reaching the entrance of the racing ground just as the red car sped through the finish line, claiming victory as the crowd screamed in enthusiasm.
"Man, we sure don't get crowds like these to see us race in flying." Marisa commented, taking off her hat and fanning herself with it.
"It's Aya winning all the time, there's no fun in watching that all the time." Reimu agreed.
"Wait, is that that Rad person?" Sanae pointed the large screen on top of the entrance. The camera zoomed in on the red sports car and the driver who got out seconds ago, waving towards his fans with a broad smile.
"…It definitely is that guy." Marisa raised an eyebrow.
"I guess we'll have to contact him once this racing competition is entirely over." The blonde puppeteer sighed under the blazing sun. "We should find somewhere to have a drink and rest until then."
As the girls started the walk, Reimu took one last look at the screen, and saw Rad's sunny and cheerful face flicker into a lonely one just for a split second.
She knew what that face was. It was the mask that she wore after the last Hakurei miko, her surrogate mother, died, and before Michael arrived at the shrine.
Rad exhaled as he sat on the empty stadium. The sun was setting, the orange egg yolk slowly sinking into the horizon. Massaging his fatigued face, he was about to get up when a saw group of girls, dressed in weird clothes, walking towards him.
"Sorry girls." He apologized as he made an annoyed and disgusted face in his mind, tired of everything, the girls and media he'd put up with the whole day. "I'm done for today. No more autographs and photos for today."
"We're not here for that. We've come regarding Michael and Jonathan." The lead girl, dressed in red and white and a ribbon tied behind her head, told him.
"…!" The names sent a shock through his body as Rad looked up. "What do you know about them?"
"I guess it's not appropriate to discuss this matter here." The girl offered. "Would you kindly show us to the Constellations' headquarters?"
"….." Rad just sat there, his mind blank for a few moments. "Ah…of course." The redhead shook his head and answered. "Let's go then."
The lobby that was becoming a usual sight greeted the girls as Rad opened the entrance and invited them in.
"Have a seat, I'll go bring some snacks." Leaving that, Rad went to the kitchen.
"…So I guess this is the final world…" Sanae sighed a breath of relief. "It feels so long since we were trapped here…"
"Wonder how much time has passed outside?" Reimu propped her chin on her palms. "Hah… I'm definitely giving them a good beating once we're out."
"It's not their fault." Alice reassured her. "Though they really are making things more complicated by not appearing before us…"
"The duels we had were quite fun, after all." Remilia smiled. "I consider it some spice in our daily lives."
"As long as milady is enjoying herself, I do not have any problems." Sakuya added. "Though I do find this quite intriguing. A closed, repeating world made by the dead…fufu."
Reimu rolled her eyes. "I would prefer if Yuyuko could make these dead go away instead of me needing to exorcise them like this."
"The lazy shrine maiden as always." Marisa smirked.
"Ah?"
"Nothing."
"Fufu…" Sanae and the others chuckled. The usual banter between the two incident solvers was always entertaining.
They turned their heads towards the sound of footsteps coming towards them. Rad was carrying a tray of biscuits other snacks, and set it gently on the table.
"…Well, I guess we can get down to business then?" He inquired, and received nods from his visitors.
"…I see, so Michael and Jonathan are here too…" Rad stared at the now empty tray of snacks. "I guess I can believe you. You don't seem to harbor evil intentions. Please make yourself at home. We can set out tomorrow morning to find them."
With a quick nod at them, he picked up the tray and left the lobby quietly.
As Rad disappeared into his room, Marisa turned to the other girls. "Huh… He doesn't seem as…cocky as before."
"It's natural." Her fellow magician replied. "This is another reconstructed world after all. It would not be strange that their characters are different from before."
"Hm… It just feels kind of strange…considering how much of a butthurt he was in the last few worlds." Marisa scratched her head.
"That, I concur." Reimu agreed. "But it's all the same after all. We should just take care of this fast and go home."
"…" Closing his room's door behind him, Rad sat down on his chair and sighed. Looking around, he set his sights on the photo that stood on his desk. Michael, Jonathan and him, standing and smiling together as they held up the Constellation emblems they have inherited from their previous holders.
The last surviving members of the old generation of Constellations; his parents, and another famed duelist who had gone into hiding some time ago, passed on the mantle to Rad, Michael and Jonathan, and they succeeded the titles of Taurus, Cancer and Leo.
They solved a number of incidents, and to Rad, who had few true friends, they were the only people who understood him and supported him all the way through. Being with them made him feel he was alive.
Until the day that they disappeared without notice 3 years ago.
The laughter in this building disappeared, and so did the smile on Rad's face. He tried looking for them, to no avail. His searches always ended in vain, and in time, his duties, racing, and the unneeded attention from the public made him give up finding them. His parents' increasingly annoying care for him didn't help either, especially when his mother was always asking this and that, barely giving him time to breath.
And now, a group of girls in weird clothes, and one even sporting wings, claiming that they are here… He hoped that they were right and he could see his friends once again.
But there is nothing more despairing than a sliver of hope, and Rad feared that this search would once again be a failure.
This was once another chance he could pick up again, and in the end, he decided to believe in the girls and grasp this opportunity.
What would the future hold? Rad didn't dare to think. Hope and fear of betrayal battled in his mind, with hope gaining the upper hand.
But for now, he can only believe. Closing his eyes, his consciousness was plunged into darkness.
Rad opened his eyes, as the sunlight peeked through the small gap between the curtains. Rubbing the drowsiness out of his head, he quickly washed himself and headed out to the lobby.
He found the girls already up and ready to go, and Reimu quickly hid something under her sleeves, which she had been staring at previously.
"…?" Rad decided not to pursue the matter, and went to open the lobby doors, the girls behind him.
"Well, where shall we head to first?"
"…!" The sky warped and twisted, as a large gaping hole tore through the clear blue sky, like a hole through shattered glass. Rad and the girls headed in different directions, and his feet led him to a grassy plain some distance away from the Constellations' base.
"Kuh!"
A creature clambered out of the hyperdimensional tear, glowering at the first thing it saw; Rad.
"…Imen=Bugo!" Rad uttered the creature's name, and without hesitation, he pulled out his glowing as a duel table rose out from the ground. The green Beast Folk Go landed on the ground with a loud thud, and he too pulled out a deck.
"I don't know what you're here for, but I pretty sure you're not benevolent! I'll take you down here and now!" Rad declared. Imen=Bugo only growled in response.
"Duema Start!"
"I cast Mendelssohn!" Rad declared, and the top two cards of his deck revealed themselves as Batocross Battle and Mitsurugi Boost, dropping quickly into his mana zone. Smiling, the redhead declared the end of his turn.
"…" Imen=Bugo charged his newly drawn card into his mana zone. "Faerie Life." The top card of his deck, Cebu Algol, dropped into his mana zone too. "Turn End."
"Heh! I'll finish you here and now! Draw! I charge Manalock into my mana… I cast Faerie Gift!" Rad tapped 1 mana and revealed the spell in his hand. "My next creature costs 3 less to summon…"
"With 4 mana, I summon this guy!" The racer grinned triumphantly. "Ultra War Dragon Lord, Molt NEXT!"
The Gaial Command Dragon and Draguner burst out from a fiery tornado of flames, and with a mighty shout, struck the ground, summoning the Dragheart Fortress Heart Burn from the depths of the Hyperdimension.
"Now all my Dragons get Speed Attacker thanks to Heart Burn! Battle!" Rad commanded. "Molt NEXT! Double Break!"
With a flying kick, Molt NEXT shattered two of the Beast Folk Go's shields.
"Heh…after this attack I untap…" Rad started, but was cut short by his opponent.
"Shield Trigger. Intense Vacuuming Twist." Imen=Bugo's broken shield shone in his hand. "I look at the top 5 cards of my deck, and add Ochappi to my hand. Then I send Molt NEXT back to your hand!"
"Guh…" Rad winced as a blue tornado blew his card back to his hand. "Turn End."
"Draw. Mana Charge. I summon Pakurio and send Molt NEXT from your hand to your shields."
Rad growled in annoyance as a beam from the blue Cyber Lord locked his ace into his shields.
"My turn! Draw! …Mana Charge, turn end." Rad spat.
Imen=Bugo started his turn, summoning Geo-crashing Miranda and bringing out Victorious Ryuusei from his hyperdimension zone.
"Now all my cards are put into my mana tapped…" Rad thought as he drew his card. "…! I summon Mitsurugi Boost and put him into my mana zone to destroy Ryuusei!" The Armored Dragon Hunter sliced the Red Command Dragon into light, and immediately dissolved into the ground to become mana for Rad. "Turn End."
"My turn. Draw. I summon another Pakurio." Rad's last hand, Batocross Battle, was sent to his shield zone as a new shield.
"You bastard…!"
"Turn End."
"Ore no Taaaan!" Rad shouted, drawing the top card of his deck with all his might. "…! I summon Glenmolt Head!"
One of the previous forms of Molt NEXT crashed down on the battlefield, and instantly charged at Imen=Bugo's shields.
"Molt Head is a Speed Attacker! With his Mana Arms 7, I bring out Endless Heaven from my hyperdimensional zone!"
The church of the Light Civilization rumbled out of a hyperdimensional hole, and at the same time Glenmolt Head threw a barrage of punches at Imen-Bugo's shields, breaking two more of them.
"Shield Trigger. Ragnorak, The Clock!" The Outrage MAX sprung out of a broken shield, skipping Rad's turn, and of course skipping Endless Heaven's Ryuukai.
"Again!?" Rad exclaimed in annoyed astonishment.
"My turn. I summon myself, and equip myself with Boaroaxe!" A copy of Imen=Bugo materialized on the battlefield, grabbing the Nature Dragheart Weapon from the hyperdimension. "With Boaroaze's effect I put Cebu Algol from my mana zone to the battle zone, and with Cebu Algol's effect I put Victorious Prin into the battle zone. With her effect, Glenmolt Head cannot attack or block until my next turn!" The two Aliens entered the battlefield, and the Alien princess rendered Glenmolt Head powerless with her ability. "Then end phase, since the cost of my creatures exceed 20, Boaroxe Ryuukais into Boaropagos!"
The Imen=Bugo in the battlefield let go of the Dragheart Weapon, which rose into the sky, and letting off a bright light, transformed into the Dragheart Fortress. "Turn End."
"Kuso…! My turn! Molt Head untaps, and Heart Burn Ryuukais into Guy NEXT!" The Dragheart Fortress flexed its arms, and transformed into the fusion of Gaiburn and Gaiginga. "Draw!"
"…Faerie Gift…" Rad cursed his luck and charged it into his mana zone. "Guy NEXT! Final Break!" The Gaial Command Dragon raised his arms, and brought down his enormous sword, slashing away Imen=Bugo's final shield.
"Strike Back! I discard this broken shield and summon Ochappi from my hand! Then with Ochappi's effect, I put Faerie Life from my grave into my mana!" The Beast Folk Go declared, as the Snow Faerie entered the battlefield.
"…End Phase! Since I have more shields than you, Endless Heaven Ryuukais into Neverend!" Like Heart Burn, the Fortress flexed its body, becoming the Angel Command Dragon that awakened to true Justice. "Turn End!"
"Heh… This will be the end of you!" Imen=Bugo snarled. "At the start of my turn! The total costs of my creatures exceed 30! Boaropagos Ryuukai's into Verokibaoros!" And like the previous Dragheart Fortresses, Boaropagos transformed into the Jurassic Command Dragon.
"I summon Galamuta, and with Verokibaoros' effect, I put Macallan Fine from my mana into the battle zone!" Imen=Bugo declared, and the Dark Lord/Earth Dragon materialized along with the Humanoid Baku. "With my effect, all cards in my mana zone have all civilizations…and with Macallan Fine's Mana Arms, all my creatures have Speed Attacker!"
"Na…ni!?"
"Battle!" Imen=Bugo ordered. "Galamuta! Shield Break!"
The Dark Lord swung down his sword, breaking one of Rad's shields.
"Ha! Shield Trigger!" Rad smiled as he grabbed his broken shield. "Hero Mystery…!?"
The card did not respond to his command. "Na…!"
"Galamuta seals all Shield Triggers with his attack until the end of the turn!" Imen=Bugo kindly explained for him. "Verokiboaros, Triple Break! Then I put another Macallan Fine into my battle zone from my hand!"
"Kuh…!" Rad covered himself as the Jurassic Command Dragon swung his large axes and broke 3 more of his shields. "Macallan Fine! Prin! Clock! Break the rest of his shields!"
Rad knelt in despair as all of his remaining shields vanished, unable to save him for the onslaught of Imen=Bugo's creatures.
I'm sorry, Mom, Dad…Michael, Jonathan… I guess the road of the Constellations ends here…
Haha…This is the end, huh… I wanted to live a little longer…just to fully enjoy this world…
But now….
It was then he heard a voice, one that he hadn't heard for a long time, but was so familiar to him.
"Bolmeteus White Flare!"
Decks:
Rad: Gift Molt NEXT
Imen=Bugo: Imen Magician Loop
Another easy to guess situation, I suppose?