A/N: Finally we've reached Day 5 of the 5 day special. Hope you've enjoyed the frequent chapters all week. Time for the final one for the week.

"And here we are at the final match of the Vanguard Euro League!" the announcer called out to the crowd in the large stadium in London. "I hope you're ready cause this match is sure to be an exciting one! William Lewis versus Rose Orchards!"

As the deafening roar of the crowd echoed throughout the stadium, Elizabeth watched by the shadows. How badly she had wanted that to be her down there. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be this time. She had lost both to William and Rose during the current Euro League season. Even if she had made the finals somehow, she knew deep down that she wouldn't have won in the end.

Not winning the Euro League was bad enough for her as a cardfighter. But it hadn't done much to help with her standing in the Scarlet family either. She had always been an outsider in the eyes of most of them. She worked hard all her life to try and make them proud of her. Especially with Vanguard, she always pushed herself to get better. But in the end, if it wasn't victory then it was worthless. And that was made brutally clear to her whenever she failed to win the League.

'They're both so strong.' Elizabeth thought to herself. 'How? How can I be as strong as them?'

Time passed as the fight went on. Before long, a winner was decided as the crowd cheered with excitement.

"And there you have it! The winner of the Vanguard Euro League is William Lewis of England!"

William took a bow as fans cheered his name. It was his first time winning the Euro League, but he had always managed to get high standings in it.

As the awards ceremony occured, Elizabeth walked away. A fierce desire burned within her.

'I won't lose. Not to William. Not to Rose. Not to anyone.'


"So Elizabeth, I see you're as fierce as ever." Rose said. "Dear William couldn't have earned all the points that have your team in second place by himself."

"Like I told you before, I'm not the same as I was last time we faced off." Elizabeth said. "And I'll prove it to you in this cardfight."

Both players set drew their starting hands. Rose showed a smirk on her face. "I'm curious to see this secret weapon you mentioned before. Let's see what it is."

Together, the two girls started the game. "Stand up! Vanguard!"

"Pedigree Knight, Tigresse!"

Pedigree Knight, Tigresse

Grade 0, Power: 4000

"Calluna Musketeer, Elma!"

Calluna Musketeer, Elma

Grade 0, Power: 5000

"I'm first. Stand and draw." Elizabeth said. "I ride Blue Espada Dragon!"

Blue Espada Dragon

Grade 1, Power: 7000

"Tigresse moves back with forerunner." Elizabeth explained. "Turn end."

[Turn 2. Hand: Elizabeth(5), Rose(5).]

"It's my turn then." Rose said. "I ride Stokesia Musketeer, Daphne."

Stokesia Musketeer, Daphne

Grade 1, Power: 7000

"Elma moves back with forerunner." Rose said. "Now I'll attack with Daphne, boosted by Elma."

(7000+5000=12000)

"No guard."

"Drive check." Rose said. "No trigger."

"Damage check, no trigger."

[Damage: Elizabeth(1), Rose(0).]

"That's my turn." Rose said. "Your turn, Elizabeth."

[Turn 3. Hand: Elizabeth(5), Rose(6).]

"Stand and draw." Elizabeth said. "I ride Morion Spear Dragon!"

Morion Spear Dragon

Grade 2, Power: 9000

"Next I call Darkpride Dragon." Elizabeth said, calling the grade 2 unit out. "Darkpride attacks!"

(9000)

"Guard." Rose said, holding up a grade 1.

"Boosted by Tigresse, Morion Spear attacks!"

(9000+4000=13000)

"No guard."

"Drive check. Critical trigger! All effects to the Vanguard!"

"Damage check. Rose said. "No triggers here."

[Damage: Elizabeth(1), Rose(2).]

"Turn end. Over to you." Elizabeth told her.

[Turn 4. Hand: Elizabeth(5), Rose(5).]

"Stand and draw." Rose said. "Well Elizabeth dear, I can't go letting you get too far ahead of me. I ride Cyclamen Musketeer, Favila!"

Cyclamen Musketeer, Favila

Grade 2, Power: 9000

"Next I call Tessa and Rebecca." Rose said, calling Tessa to her front row and Rebecca to the back row of her other column. "Rebecca's skill. I counterblast and look at the top four cards of the deck. Superior call, Budding Musketeer, Amelia. I'll have her and Rebecca switch places. In addition, Tessa's skill will increase her own power by 2000 since a Musketeer was called from the deck."

'She never was one to wait for the attack.' Elizabeth thought. 'Then again, so am I.'

"Tessa will attack!"

(9000+2000=11000)

"Guard!" Elizabeth said, holding up a card with 5000 shield.

"Boosted by Elma, Favila swings in!"

(9000+5000=14000)

"No guard."

"Drive check, no trigger."

"Damage check, no trigger."

[Damage: Elizabeth(2), Rose(2).]

"Rebecca attacks next, boosted by Amelia!"

(7000+7000=14000)

"No guard. Damage check, no trigger."

[Damage: Elizabeth(3), Rose(2).]

"Turn end."

[Turn 5. Hand: Elizabeth(4), Rose(4).]

"My turn. Stand and draw." Elizabeth said. 'I'm lucky she didn't pull a critical or a stand there. I could have been in trouble if she did. I need to get this game back in my favor.'

"Dark dragon that stands at the pinnacle of strength! Annihilate all who dare make light of your power! Ride! Supremacy Dragon, Claret Sword Dragon Tyranny!"

Supremacy Dragon, Claret Sword Dragon Tyranny

Grade 3, Power: 11000

"Activating the skill of Tigresse." Elizabeth said as she retired the grade 0 unit. "Look at the top seven cards of the deck. Adding Claret Sword Dragon Revolt to my hand. Then since my Vanguard has Claret Sword Dragon in its name, I draw a card. Then I call Knight of Brawn, Grosne."

With the grade 2 appearing on the field, Elizabeth now had a full formation in her front row. She neglected to call anything else out however. 'With her Musketeer deck, she'll unleash a barrage of attacks next turn onwards. I have to conserve my hand.'

"Grosne attacks!"

(9000)

"Sylvia will block that one!" Rose said, showing the grade 2 in her hand.

"Claret Sword is up next!"

(11000)

"No guard."

"Twin drive." Elizabeth said. "First check, no trigger. Second check, critical trigger! Power to Darkpride and critical to the Vanguard!"

"Damage check." Rose said. "First check, stand trigger. Power to the Vanguard and I stand Tessa. Second check, no trigger."

[Damage: Elizabeth(3), Rose(4).]

"Darkpride attacks!"

(9000+5000=14000)

"Guard!" Rose said, holding up a critical trigger from her hand.

"Turn end."

[Turn 6. Hand: Elizabeth(5), Rose(2).]

"Stand and draw." Rose said. "You never change Elizabeth. You're still as fierce as ever in your cardfights. You really should learn to tone it down a bit though. How are you ever going to find a man in your life with that attitude?"

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth glared.

"Oops, did I hit a sore spot? My apologies." Rose giggled. "Now then, we'd best continue the cardfight." She took a card from her hand and held it out. "Warrior as graceful as a flower, let your beautiful slashes mesmerize those that look upon you. Ride! Lantana Musketeer, Rozeeta!"

Lantana Musketeer, Rozeeta

Grade 3, Power: 11000

"And now for the next part! Stride Generation! Maiden Lily Musketeer Captain, Virginal Cecilia!"

Maiden Lily Musketeer Captain, Virginal Cecilia

Grade 4, Power: 15000+

Elizabeth smirked. "Virginal Cecilia huh? A fitting unit for you, with the name Virginal after all. I can think of another word like it that describes you, despite your comments about me having boy troubles."

Rose found it hard to keep up her grin after hearing that. Anyone looking closely could tell that the French girl had no intentions of letting that comment slide. "Oh is that so? Well then, maybe it's time I show you how ferocious I can be."

"Bring it on."

"With pleasure! Stride skill! I look at the top four cards of the deck and call Mia Reeta behind Tessa! With Amelia's skill, I look at the top four cards of the deck and add one of them to my hand, and then Tessa's skill will give herself 2000 power!" Rose called out. "Virginal Cecilia's skill! I retire Amelia, Mia Reeta, and Rebecca! Then I look at the top seven cards and call Musketeers up to the number that I retired! Calling Amelia, Favila, and May Len!"

With Rose's formation, she had May Len behind Tessa, as well as Favila and Amelia in her other side column, as well as her Elma behind Cecilia.

"The units I called gain 3000 power since I have one Musketeer face up in the G Zone. then, Tessa's skill will give them each 4000 while amping herself up by another 6000. And with Favila's skill, I'll give herself and Tessa and extra 6000 power and Resist. Lastly, Amelia's skill will let me add one of the top four cards to my hand." Rose explained. "And now I'll kick things off with an attack from Favila, boosted by Amelia!"

(9000+6000+4000+3000+7000+4000+3000=36000)

"No guard." Rose said. "Damage check, no trigger."

[Damage: Elizabeth(4), Rose(4).]

"Now it's time for Cecilia to attack!" Rose said. "With Elma's skill, I send her to the bottom of the deck and check the top four cards for a Musketeer to call! I choose Tessa! She gains 4000 power, and then my other Tessa's skill will activate once again to give the other Tessa 4000 and herself 2000!"

'Well that's just great.' Elizabeth thought. 'But right now, I need to deal with the Vanguard attack.'

"Perfect guard!"

"Triple drive. First check, no trigger. Second check, heal trigger. Giving the power to the Tessa on the left and I heal. Third check, stand trigger. Power to the Tessa on the left again, and I stand Amelia! Boosted by Amelia, Tessa attacks!"

(9000+4000+4000+7000+4000+3000=31000)

"Generation guard! Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon!"

Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon

Grade 4, Shield: 15000

"With Plotmaker's Ritual 3, 10000 is added to the shield." Elizabeth explained.

"Not bad. But let's see what my other Tessa has to say, along with May Len's boost!"

(9000+10000+10000+5000+4000+3000=41000)

"No guard." Elizabeth said. "Damage check, heal trigger! Power to the Vanguard and I recover one!"

[Damage: Elizabeth(4), Rose(3).]

"Turn end." Rose said.

[Turn 7. Hand: Elizabeth(3), Rose(6).]

"Stand and draw." Elizabeth said. "Let's go! Stride Generation! Supremacy Black Dragon, Aurageyser Doomed!"

Supremacy Black Dragon, Aurageyser Doomed

Grade 4, Power: 15000+

"Stride skill! Retire Darkpride Dragon and call Black-winged Swordbreaker from the deck! Then she gains the skill to be treated as two units when retiring for the cost of one of my skills!" Elizabeth explained. "Then I use Swordbreaker's soul blast to draw a card. After that, I can use Darkpride's skill since it was retired. I search my deck for Darkquartz Dragon and call it to rear guard, then countercharge. Darkquartz's skill gives itself and my Vanguard 3000 power! Also, Grosne's skill adds 3000 to himself every time a grade 1 or less card is called out, so that's 6000 so far."

'She's steadily building up that formation of hers.' Rose thought.

"I call another Darkpride Dragon." Elizabeth said. "And now I use Aurageyser Doomed's skill. I retire Darkpride and Black-winged Swordbreaker. Then I reveal the top two cards of the deck and for each grade 1 or less among them I can retire an opponent's rear guard. Then I can add the revealed cards to my hand." Elizabeth took a look at the first card. "Morion Spear Dragon. While in the deck, it's considered a grade 1. So I'll go ahead and retire the Tessa on the left." Next was the second card. "Would you look at that. Taboo Mage, Cafar. A grade 0. I guess it's time for your other Tessa to bite the dust as well."

"Tch." Rose watched as her two grade 2 units were retired right before her eyes. It was going to be a tough fight without Tessa's skill.

"Let's not forget that Darkpride was retired. So like the last one, his skill will allow me to call out Darkquartz, which in turn allows me to give it and my Vanguard 3000 power, not to mention the countercharge. In addition Grosne goes up by another 3000. Then I call Morion Spear to rear guard."

Elizabeth's formation gave her four rear guards. Morion Spear and Grosne took up her front row spots, with a Darkquartz behind each of them.

"Here we go! Grosne attacks with a boost from Darkquartz!"

(9000+9000+7000+3000=28000)

"Generation guard!" Rose called out. "Bond Protector Musketeer, Antero!"

Bond Protector Musketeer, Antero

Grade 4, Shield: 15000

"With Antero's soul blast, I add 5000 to the shield."

"Well let's see how you like Aurageyser Doomed's attack!"

(26000+6000=32000)

"No guard." Rose said. 'She'll need two critical triggers to get me to six damage. It's a gamble, but I don't have much choice.'

"Triple drive." Elizabeth declared. "First check, no trigger. Second check, critical trigger. Power to Morion Spear and critical to the Vanguard. Third check…" Both Rose and Elizabeth waited with bated breath on what the card would be. "No trigger."

Rose let out a sigh of relief. "Damage check. First check, no trigger. Second check, critical trigger. All effects to the Vanguard."

[Damage: Elizabeth(4), Rose(5).]

"Morion Spear is up next! With his skill, he gains 5000 power when boosted by a grade 1!"

(9000+5000+7000+3000=24000)

Rose quickly held up a trigger from her hand with 10000 shield. "Guard!"

"That's all for my turn." Elizabeth said. "Your turn."

[Turn 8. Hand: Elizabeth(7), Rose(4).]

"Stand and draw." Rose said. "You know Elizabeth, comments like the ones you just made aren't very well suited for the Scarlet family, are they?"

"A Scarlet fights back when their pride is attacked." Elizabeth told her. "Besides, aren't you the one who loves to tease and play mind games with people."

A small giggle escaped Rose's lips. 'Well played Elizabeth. But don't think for a second I plan on letting you walk away victorious.'

"Generation Zone release! Flower of pure beauty! Now is the time to sprout up and bloom into a new future! Stride Generation! Maiden Lily Musketeer Captain, Virginal Cecilia!"

Maiden Lily Musketeer Captain, Virginal Cecilia

Grade 4, Power: 15000+

"Stride skill! I look at the top four cards of the deck and call Sylvia! Then I use Amelia's skill to look at the top four cards and add one to my hand! Then with Sylvia's skill, I call the top card of my deck if it happens to be a Musketeer! Calling Alain, and with his skill I countercharge! Lastly, I call Rozeeta from my hand!"

'Five rear guards.' Elizabeth noticed. 'Which means her next move will probably be…'

"Skill of Virginal Cecilia!" Elizabeth called out. "I retire all my Musketeer rear guards! Then I look at the top 7 cards of the deck and call Musketeers up to the number of cards retired!" Looking at the seven cards available to her, a grin came to Rose's lips. "Cyclamen Musketeer, Favila! White Clove Musketeer, Mia Reeta! Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Rebecca! Stokesia Musketeer, Daphne! Artemisia Musketeer, Kiara! Call!"

The five units appeared simultaneously, with Favila and Rebecca in one column, Mia Reeta and Daphne in the other side column, and Kiara behind her Vanguard. "There are 4 face up Musketeers in my G zone so 12000 is added to each of them! Then, with Favila's skill, I give her and Mia Reeta 6000 power and Resist."

"That's a pretty decent formation, considering it was in shambles when your turn started." Elizabeth said. "Let's see if it's enough to finish me."

"Get ready to feel the sharpness of a rose's thorns, Elizabeth dear!" Rose said. "I attack with Favila, boosted by Rebecca!"

(9000+6000+12000+7000+12000=46000)

"No guard." Elizabeth said. "Damage check, critical trigger. All effects to the Vanguard."

[Damage: Elizabeth(5), Rose(5).]

"Boosted by Kiara, Cecilia attacks!"

(26000+6000+12000=42000)

"Generation guard! Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon!"

Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon

Grade 4, Shield: 15000

"It's ritual adds 10000 to the shield! Then I intercept with Morion Spear and Grosne, and guard with Alain from my hand!"

'A 45000 shield. Meaning I'll need three triggers for this to hit.' Rose calculated. "Triple drive. First check, no trigger. Second check, critical trigger. All effects to Mia Reeta. Third check, no trigger." Rose swung in with her final attack of the turn. "Boosted by Daphne, Mia Reeta attacks!"

(11000+12000+6000+5000+7000+12000=53000)

"Perfect guard!"

A sigh escaped Rose. "Turn end."

[Turn 9. Hand: Elizabeth(3), Rose(7).]

"Stand and draw." Elizabeth said. "Time to end this, Rose. You wanted to see my secret weapon, and now you'll get your wish."

'Here it comes.' Rose thought as she readied herself.

"Generation Zone release!" Elizabeth called out. "Despair, as only pain and suffering awaits those who lack true strength! Be bathed in the flames of hell itself! Stride Generation! Dark Future King Dragon, Claret Blood Dragon!"

Dark Future King Dragon, Claret Blood Dragon

Grade 4, Power: 15000+

"Using my stride skill, I retire my Darkquartz Dragon behind Morion Spear for a brand new one with this one being able to count as two units when retiring for one of my skills. And with it's skill I give 3000 power to itself and the vanguard!" Elizabeth smirked dangerously as for what was to come next. "Now the skill of Dark Future King Dragon, Claret Blood Dragon!" She counterblasted a card and flipped a copy of itself while retiring the Darkquartz Dragon that had been called on her last turn. "I retire one of my own units to retire two of your own! I retire Artemisia Musketeer, Kiara and Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Rebecca!"

'She didn't aim for my intercepter. What is she planning?' Rose thought while retiring her backrow units.

The Scarlet heir's smile only grew wider. "Since the units I retired were grade 1 or less, my vanguard gains 5000 for each of them!"

With a whole 10000 power being added to the vanguard, Rose felt a bit of pressure being forced down on her.

"I call Blue Espada Dragon and Grosne to one column, and Night Sky Eagle behind my vanguard over Black-winged Swordbreaker. Gronse gains an additional 6000 power from two grade 1s being called, while Night Sky gains 4000 from being placed. Lastly I call Morion Spear Dragon in front of the Darkquartz I called! Morion Spear, attack the vanguard! Morion gains 5000 power when being boosted by a grade 1 unit!"

(9000+5000+7000+3000=24000)

"I guard and intercept with Favila!" Throwing down a critical trigger along with her intercept, Rose blocked the attack.

But the eager smile never left Elizabeth's face for a moment. "Now for your reckoning! With a boost from Night Sky Eagal, Dark Future King Dragon, Claret Blood Dragon attacks the vanguard! Generation break 3! When my vanguard attacks, I can retire three of my units to prevent you from calling grade 1 or greater units from your hand or field to the guardian circle! I retire the Darkquartz Dragon that counts as two retires, and Blue Espada Dragon for a total of three units!"

"What!?"

"And that's not all! If I retire two or more grade 1 units, then I also gain an additional 10000 power and a critical! Crush her now Claret Blood Dragon!"

(26000+10000+7000+4000+10000=57000)

"I don't have enough to guard this. No grade 1s means no perfect guards to nullify the attack.' Rose hung her head a bit low as she shook her head. "No guard…"

"Triple drive check! First check, no trigger. Second check, no trigger. Final check, critical trigger!" Truly going in for the overkill, Elizabeth tapped her vanguard. "All effects to the vanguard!"

"Damage check… No trigger."

And just like that, the game was over.

[Damage: Elizabeth(5), Rose(6).]

Rose let out a sigh. "Seems I lose." She looked over at her opponent. "So that card was your secret weapon? I must say, that was very impressive."

Elizabeth smirked. "What can I say? A Scarlet always aims to be the best. You fought well too, Rose."

"Don't think this is over yet. My team and I still plan to make it to the next round. We'll get you back for this when we face off later."

"Looking forward to it." Elizabeth said as Rose teleported away. A satisfied smile was on her face. 'I'm one step closer to it. Best in the world.' She looked up at the virtual sky. 'When this is over, I'm going to challenge you William. My longtime rival. And I'll be sure to win against you too.'


"Well fighters, we've finally reached the end of Day 2!" Sachi announced. "The standings went back and forth all over today, but at the end of the day here are the current standings!"

Teams all gathered together on the field as they watched the standings. Very few seemed to care about the teams in the lower rankings, except for the members of those teams who were currently sulking. Finally, the leaderboard reached the top ten. To no one's surprise, Team Apocalypse still held its position of first place while Team Round Table continued to keep second. But the standings for third and fourth place were different from yesterday.

Team Beautiful Thorn was in third place. And Team Cosmic Trio was in fourth.

"Take a look at that!" Aurora exclaimed. "We're in the top 4!"

Anthony blinked his eyes in surprise. "We really have a shot at this. We could actually pull this off."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We still need to stay in the top 4 by the end of tomorrow." Dan reminded them. "Although… it is a bit hard not to want to celebrate."

"Don't get too excited, Aurora." Sarah said as she looked over at the leader of Team Cosmic Trio. "We haven't given up either. By the end of Day 3, we'll be in the top 4 for sure."

"Bring it on." Aurora grinned.

"Yay! This is gonna be so exciting!" Sophia cheered. "We're gonna work extra hard tomorrow and get in the top 4 for sure!"

It was hard not to get caught up in the little girl's enthusiasm. Aurora and the others all shared a laugh, as they each wished each other luck in the next day. In the distance however, one player was eyeing the happy group. Allen kept his eyes narrow as he stared at them.

'The players here have been so weak so far. It's made this boring.' Allen thought to himself. 'It's time I do something to make things a little more fun.' A smirk came to him as he looked at one player in particular. Marcus Cersy. 'And I know just how to do it.'

Aurora: Phew, going through all these cardfights has been exhausting. We'll need to rest up for the final day of the second round tomorrow.

Rose: You've all done very well so far. But we don't plan on losing.

Sophia: Bring it on! I'm gonna go full power with my cardfights! It's gonna be super duper fun!

Sarah: Don't forget about us. We're in this tournament to win. Right Marcus?

Marcus: Yeah. By the way, has anyone seen Emma?

Aurora: Wait, is that her fighting Allen?! What's going on?!

Next time: Emma's Spirit

Card Gallery:

Dark Future King Dragon, Claret Blood Dragon
Stride
Power 15000+
AUTO VC: Take a face down card in your G Zone with the same name as this unit and flip it face up & choose one of your rearguards and retire it. When this unit is placed on the VC, if you have a heart with "Claret Sword Dragon" in its name you may pay the cost. If you do, choose two of your opponents rearguards and retire them. If the units chosen were grade 1 or below, this unit gains +5000 for each one retired.
AUTO VC GB3: Choose three of your rearguards and retire them. When this unit attacks, if you have a heart with "Claret Sword Dragon" in its name you may pay the cost. If you do, your opponent cannot call grade 1 or greater units to the GC from the hand or field. If two of the units you retired were grade 1, this unit gains +10000 power/+1 Critical until the end of the battle.