AJ: Back for Chapter 35, and you guys thought I was gone, didn't you?
Bil: Not really…
AJ: Oh…well…Here's the next chapter.
Bil: You idiot.
Chapter 35: Dusk to Dawn"Judai, the time slowly creeps closer to your defeat. Can you feel it, the pressure of knowing you face defeat?" Manjoume asked.
"Big words, coming from a guy who is losing the duel at this moment," Judai shot back.
"But it is a fact. I know that you know this; I can see it in your eyes. I know that you dueling like you are now is actually your weakness," Manjoume explained. Judai frowned. "You haven't drawn your Neos or a Neo-Spacian yet in your last two duels, unless you were going to immediately discard them from your hand. When was the last time you used a Neo-Spacian in a duel, hmm?"
Judai's eyes widened in astonishment. 'He's right. I haven't used Neos, since I dueled Asuka. I haven't even seen their Duel Spirits in that time. What's happened to them?' Judai looked down at his deck.
"I'll tell you why you haven't used them. Saiou-sama has already told me. You have lost their trust, as you have become as cold as a killer. They will never work for someone who is as evil as you, Richter Davis. And because of this, I now have the power to win this duel. Soon you will see Saiou-sama's power that he has given to me, so that I could defeat you."
'Can I win without them?' Judai wondered ignoring Manjoume. The boy then smiled evilly and licked his lips. "Heh, who needs 'em?" Judai finally stated.
Manjoume eyes widened, and he smirked. "Ditching your alien friends, then?"
"If they don't want to help me, why should I beg for their assistance? I don't need anyone's help. I've beaten you down before by myself, I can do so again," Judai stated. A chill went through the whole arena as the two glared into each other, causing an evil aura to rise from the duel field and spread throughout the arena.
(Judai's LP 3000, Manjoume's LP 2600)
Asuka watched the duel from where she was, gasping at what Judai had just stated. The screen zoomed in onto Judai's evilly grinning complexion. White-Asuka chuckled lightly. "See that man? The one you call Yuki Judai? You are part of the creation; that man that stands before you."
"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, annoyed at the women, though interested at her statement.
"The reason Richter Davis has risen from within Judai. He has become that due to his anger."
"What does his anger have to do with me?" Asuka pressed.
"It's not just you, but all the Society of Light in general. After all the stuff you guys did, you think he would just simply forgive and forget?" White-Asuka laughed haughtily. "Even Judai has a breaking point underneath his chipper exterior."
"You lie! Judai knows that we're fighting the Light of Ruin, and the people in the Association are just tools for that…thing!" Asuka shot back.
White-Asuka shook her head. "You just don't understand. Judai doesn't care about you, yet you continue to hold onto false strands of hope."
Asuka's brow furrowed. "Look, it's your fault he's back as Richter Davis. You helped bring him that way, even if you're not in the Society anymore."
"How's that?" Asuka inquired, her wall of confidence fading with each word coming out of the girl's mouth.
"You became bait for the boy to be lead into a trap against his brother. You didn't withdraw from the competition when Judai asked you, and then what happens? You are defeated by Saiou, and Judai snaps because you are unconscious."
Asuka lowered her head. "You're wrong…" she choked.
"If you think I'm wrong, then let us continue watching the duel." White-Asuka gestured to the vision. "We shall see where Judai's true loyalties lie."
"Interesting, you would go so far as to duel me with practically half a deck, Judai," Manjoume scoffed.
"Save it for someone who cares," Judai said darkly. "I told you, I don't need my friends to defeat you and that crappy Society of Light. It's cause of you people that I've been living in this hell the last half a year, and today begins the series of days where I put an end to your foolish beliefs, once and for all!"
"We'll see. But for now, it's my turn, Draw!" Manjoume looked at his new card, before selecting another card. "I activate Front Change! This Spell allows me to substitute a Combat Scissors Beetle for my Assault Cannon Beetle!" The entire scorpion-like tank split apart and began to readjust itself into a new tank-like object, with the scissors-like Kawagaturbo ontop of the formation.
"Combat Scissors Beetle, attack Tempest!" The projectile on top of Combat Scissors Beetle began to fly across the field due to the rocket on the back of the monster. It flew straight through Tempest, causing an explosion on the field.
Judai shielded himself from the explosion. "I activate Tempest's effect! By sacrificing one card on my field, I can save Tempest from being destroyed! I'll sacrifice my facedown Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, and Tempest stays on the field!" The smoke cleared, and true enough, the hero was still standing.
Manjoume chuckled slightly. 'With that last move, you have sealed your own fate, Yuki Judai,' the man mused. "I'll set a card and end."
"Draw!" He looked at his new card. "Yes," he breathed. "I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Captain Gold! By discarding this monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can bring one Skyscraper Field Spell card to my hand." He placed the new Hero into the graveyard, took out his deck from its place in the deck, and withdrew from it one Skyscraper spell.
""Now, I activate the Field Spell, Skyscraper!" The Osiris duelist raised his arm into the air and ejected a card slot underneath the duel disk. He placed the card into the slot and closed the Field Spell holder. Suddenly, extremely tall buildings began to rise from the ground and into the fictional sky, which had now transformed into night. "Now, when an Elemental Hero battles with a monster that has a higher attack power, the hero gains 1000 attack points!"
Manjoume smirked and chuckled, shifting his shoulders from the laugh. "You just keep getting more and more pathetic, you know that?" Manjoume said. "You're destiny has already been decided. You're just prolonging the inevitable."
"You're words keep getting bigger, but so far, your dueling hasn't backed it up too much, if you ask me," Judai retorted. "Go, Tempest! Destroy Combat Scissors Beetle! And thanks to Skyscraper, his attack increases to 3800, more than enough to destroy that oversized beetle!"
The hero charged up his cannon arm, which began to pulsate blue, before firing the stream of energy at the tank. The tank exploded in a blinding flash, as the crowd, which didn't know whether to cheer for Judai or not, began to "ooh" and "ahh". Manjoume shielded himself from the explosion, and the damage. He grunted as his LP decreased by 600.
Judai smirked evilly. "I'll end my turn. Not so tough, are we?" the boy sneered. "Looks like you're the one who doesn't have any witty retorts, now." The young man began to chuckle evilly, before breaking out into a cold laughter.
"This isn't good," Edo stated from the infirmary.
Areka nodded. "He's acting just like he was while he dueled Jaycen. I think he's lost it."
"But so far, he's been able to counter Manjoume at every turn," Misawa noted.
"I don't think that will happen for long. Remember, he has turned his back on the Neo-Spacians, effectively making him work with half a deck," Edo informed them. "Plus, Manjoume wouldn't be losing yet still be this confident if he didn't have a trick or two up his sleeve."
"Aniki," Sho whispered.
"Judai," Asuka muttered, shocked from Judai's unnatural laugh, "please, come back…"
"You only have yourself to blame, Miss," White-Asuka stated behind her.
Asuka fell to her knees and covered her ears. "Leave me alone!" the girl sobbed.
"It's true, and your reaction tells me you know it is," the cold voice spoke. The girl began to laugh, as Asuka knelt on the ground, covering her ears and closing her eyes, trying desperately to keep herself from being overcome by grief.
The Society duelist choked a laugh, which Judai mistook for a choke of pain. "So, Manjoume, still think your prediction is going to happen?" Judai mocked. Manjoume just smiled evilly underneath his arm. He began to chortle, before bursting into laughter. "What the…?" Judai breathed.
Manjoume lowered his arm, revealing his maniacal face, which looked even more diabolical with his mirth. "You just don't get it, do you!?" Manjoume shot. "Everything in this duel, your moves, your turns, your cards, they're all revealed to me via destiny! I know every move you are going to make, before you even make it! And thanks to your negligence of your Neo-Spacians just puts you into an even worse spot!"
"You still need to prove to me, that you can defeat me, Manjoume," Judai taunted. "If I recall, I have beaten you both times we have faced before."
"This is a new day and a new duel. I have yet to pull out my new monster, which, if my count is correct, will happen on the tenth turn of this duel. And, if my math is correct, the tenth turn comes now! Draw!" Manjoume smiled at his draw. "Judai, the countdown to your defeat begins now! I activate my facedown Permanent Trap, Call of the Haunted! With this I can select a monster from my graveyard in attack position! I'll bring back X-Head Cannon!"
Judai whistled tauntingly. "That's some monster you got there," the boy laughed. "I can feel myself trembling already."
"Just shut up and listen, will you?" Manjoume fired back. "This isn't my prized monster. Matter of fact, this card is just a stepping-stone. I sacrifice X-Head Cannon in order to summon White-Horned Dragon!" The robot disappeared into a blinding flash, and growing out of the flash, grew an enormous dragon, with a large white horn protruding from its skull. The creature let out an extremely loud roar, shaking the ground.
"Not good!" Misawa shouted.
"What's that thing?" Kenzan inquired.
"An extremely powerful monster," Edo stated firmly, narrowing his eyes.
"What's so powerful about it?" Areka questioned. "It only has 2200 attack points."
"That's just the start," Fubuki told them, looking up from his position. "White-Horned Dragon has a special effect. When it is summoned, it can remove up to five Spell cards from the opponent's graveyard. Then for each spell removed, that dragon gains 300 attack points."
"Oh no…Aniki has used five Spells already! That means…!" Sho noted loudly.
"Now, I remove from your graveyard, Judai, Polymerization, Elemental Sword, Light Eraser, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, and Dark Factory of Mass Production! Because of this, White-Horned Dragon gains 1500 attack points to 3700!" The monster began glowing with a reddish-white aura, and grew larger as its strength grew.
Judai laughed haughtily at the new monster. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall I suppose. That thing can't beat Tempest! I still have Skyscraper on the field, so he still will have 3800 attack points!"
"I'm not done with my Main Phase I yet. I now activate the Magic Card, Stamping Destruction! I can only activate this card while a Dragon-type monster is on my field. With it, I can destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field, and then you are dealt 500 points of damage!" The giant dragon roared loudly again, shaking the earth. The scenery soon began to crumble around Judai, as the Field Spell disintegrated into nothingness. Judai covered his ears, as the roar dealt him 500 points of damage.
Manjoume pointed up to his monster. "Now, White-Horned Dragon, attack Tempest!" The creature powered up a red-and-yellow ball of energy within its mouth, which grew to an enormous size. The duelist then thrusted a finger at Judai. "Enraged Dragon Flash!" The dragon fired the giant ball of energy directly at the powerless hero, incinerating it effortlessly. Judai shaded his eyes at the explosion, as the excess lowered his LP by 900.
"And just like that, the duel is now under my control," Manjoume taunted. "Still think that my declaration is incorrect!?" Manjoume began cackling.
Judai glared darkly across the field. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, for now I guess."
"Draw!" Judai looked at his new card, and growled in disapproval. 'Garbage!' He looked at his hand and selected a card. "I'll summon Clayman in defense mode and that's it."
"Not much you can do when your opponent has over 3000 attack points, is there? Draw!" He looked at his card. "Alright my dragon, destroy that pathetic excuse for a wall! Enraged Dragon Flash!" The monster again eliminated a monster, without leaving a trace. "I'll set a card. Turn end."
"Draw!" The boy smiled, before choosing his card. "Your monster is fairly strong, Manjoume, but I have a monster to defeat it without even attacking. I activate Miracle Fusion! By removing E-Hero Fusion-Material monsters on my field and in my graveyard from play, I can summon a Fusion E-Hero Monster! I'll remove Sparkman and Clayman to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero, Thunder Giant!"
"I activate the effect of Thunder Giant! When he is summoned, I can destroy one monster on the field whose original attack points were lower than his! And since your Dragon's attack was 2200 before you increased it, it's a viable target! Thunder Giant, Electric Shockwave!" The monster powered up a ball of electricity within his hands, and fired it directly at the heart of the dragon.
(Judai's Life Points 1200, Manjoume's Life Points 2000)
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AJ: Well, that's that for that Chapter.
Bil: What!? What happened to his dragon!?
AJ: You'll have to wait for the next chapter, which I am starting now. Dunno if it'll be done till tomorrow morning, but I plan on getting it done before I head for work tomorrow.
Bil: You…
AJ: The next chapter, Chapter 36: Redemption. You won't wanna miss it.