Touhou Duel Masters Cafe
Chapter 36 - Iapetus
"…So that's the state we're in right now." Demon Subaru concluded the story of their current being to his loyal servant, Hellvorof. "You might as well get used to it too when we get back to Gensokyo."
"…Gensokyo…" The wolf plushie scratched his chin. "To think that someone is strong enough to even bind Demon Subaru-sama to a geass… That Yukari must be extraordinary."
"I'd rather not probe into the depths of her powers. And the other strong energies I've sensed in Gensokyo too… It's best I stay loyal to her cause, until our contract is finished and we part our ways."
"What happened with our world? Will we be able to go back eventually?" Hellvorof inquired, looking up at the solemn-looking youkai. "And if we're in a different world, how am I here with you?"
"I don't know." Demon Subaru waved the card of Hellvorof gripped between his fingers dismissively. "Until Yukari gives me an answer, I might never know. As for you…you were somehow sealed into this card, so I can call upon you. And the other creatures…they don't seem to be spirits, just more of mindless holograms, so they aren't with me right now. Even the parts of All Over The World aren't responding, and we're cut off from our original world."
"Haa…" Hellvorof looked downtrodden as he sighed. "So much stuff has happened and I can't even do much."
"And we're going to deal with a cosmic evil deity…so you should be on your guard if something would happen."
"Al…alright…" Hellvorof shuddered as he thought of the formless god that is the manifestation of time and space itself, something formerly beyond the boundaries of his imagination. "I just hope that they don't actually summon that thing."
"That's why we're here."
"Right…"
"Welcome, gentlemen." A husky voice greeted the three duelists and one creature as they pushed through the doors of an underground basement located in the suburbs of the town. "I have been expecting you. You took…great care of one of my underlings, I see."
Jonathan looked around. The bricked walls of the relatively large basement were lined with pieces of paper, almost each with a magic circle of spell of some kind scribbled on them, along with various pieces of magical tools and ornaments that decorated that shelves that rested on the walls.
"No need to thank me for that." Michael replied with a huff. "You'll be joining her soon anyway, if you're still going on with the summoning of yours."
"Haha. Of course I am. Let me introduce myself. My name is Muspel. As you can see, I am a magician. I do not wish to enter in useless conflict here." The voice's owner turned, revealing himself as a gentleman dressed in a formal suit. "In fact, I am inviting you to join our cause. Travellers from another dimension, isn't that fascinating? You will be valuable assets…and you will know the power of our father and attain a part of it. Even just a little…you will be unmatched and unparalleled. I shall demonstrate it…a small application of the power bestowed upon me to see deeper into someone…"
Muspel squinted at the two former Constellations. "Hm… I see. So you're from somewhere called Gensokyo. Or at least, right now that is. Your origins are from somewhere."
"…"
"Michael and Jonathan, is it? Yes. Quite tragic, about what happened to your world. If you had some of our father's powers, you might have been able to stop that from happening, no? Or better yet…turn back time and return to your friends." Muspel lined his fingers along his bearded chin. "Isn't it tempting?"
"We live in the current moment, so we have no desire to do that. What's past is past." Jonathan refused. "What matters now is we protect Gensokyo…and that your summoning of Yog=Sothoth is a threat to our home right now."
"A shame." Muspel shrugged, now turning his attention to the youkai and the creature beside him. "And you, prince of the Twilight Kingdom?"
"I'm under a contract right now. I have no urge to break it…as of yet." Demon Subaru crossed his arms.
"So…you were a victim of one of our experiments." Muspel took another look at Demon Subaru and let out a chuckle.
"What…?" The latter narrowed his eyes.
"It seems that the reconstruction of your world has been disrupted by one of our attempts to connect to another world." Muspel explained nonchalantly. "Just on the verge of Genesis…our experiment clashed with your creation…and so you're here now."
"…You…" Demon Subaru growled as silent rage welled up inside his chest. "You dare meddle in my affairs and speak of it like nothing? You will pay the price for your crimes."
"Oh I don't intend to, your highness." Muspel replied, as two robed figures now blocked the exit. "If you are not willing to join our cult…then I'm afraid that you will have to be removed. Such a waste, really."
"I will personally deal with you." Demon Subaru bared his fangs and he tensed up for a fight.
"Oh, let's settle this like how duelists do." Muspel pulled out a deck as a duel table emerged from the ground, as did the same with his two colleagues. "A duel."
"Chi…Fine." Suppressing his anger, Demon Subaru obliged, expanding his duel pad and places his deck on it, as 5 shields materialized. Behind him, Michael and Jonathan prepared to duel as well.
""Duel!""
BGM: Kimera II (Darius G Burst)
"My turn. I charge Time Tripper and turn end." Demon Subaru snarled. "I'll make you regret you were born."
"I'll be looking forward to that." Muspel smiled as he drew a card. "I charge Apache Urara. Turn end."
"Draw." Apache Urara…I suppose it's that Dogiragon Buster card they had been talking about. "I charge Holy and summon Attacking Bonsura." The yellow Funky Knightmare possessing multiple limbs, each with a zipper mouth attached to their ends, appeared on Demon Subaru's field. "Turn End."
"Hm. My turn. I charge Faerie Life and cast Dimensional Spirit Mound." Revealing the two cost spell in his hand and tapping two cards, Muspel's deck fanned out in front of him, and he took a card from the pile. "I add Dogiragon Buster to my hand." The rest of his deck returned to its original position, shuffling itself.
Yahari ka… I'll have to make this quick then, if what they say about that deck is true. "My turn. I charge Ottakara Attakara and cast Bone Dance Charger!" Casting the graving spell, the top two cards of Demon Subaru's deck dropped into his graveyard, those being Ulvorof and Ninjariban, and Bone Dance Charger went to his mana zone. "Good… Now battle phase!"
"I attack with Bonsura…and Invasion! Duenyan Emperor!" Bonsura was engulfed in a sphere of bright white light, and as the orb of evolution pulsed on its surface, the cat-like Funky Knightmare appeared in Bonsura's stead. "Double Break!"
With a quick swipe of his claws, Duenyan Emperor splintered two of Muspel's shields, and the magician caught the reformed cards in his hand.
"No trigger."
"Alright then…Duenyan's effect! After his attack, I can put a non-evolution, cost 6 or less Funky Knightmare from my graveyard under him! I put Ulvorof under Duenyan. Then Bonsura's effect! His attack trigger still applies after he evolves, as he's seen as the same creature…so I destroy Duenyan Emperor!"
The evolution creature disappeared in a puff of smoke, and as the smog cleared, Ulvorof and Bonsura stood on Demon Subaru's field. "Duenyan's effect. When he's destroyed, I put all of the Funky Knightmares under him into the battle zone."
"Ho…" Muspel raised his eyebrows, but his composure didn't falter.
"Ulvorof's effect! I equip him with Go to Hell!" The wolf Funky Knightmare called forth the scythe from the Hyperdimension, and grabbed it with his gloved hands. "With Go to Hell's effect, I revive a cost 5 or less Funky Knightmare. Come back, Duenyan Emperor!" This time, Ulvorof was the one who transformed into the evolution Funky Knightmare. "Duenyan Emperor, attack! Then with Go to Hell's effect, I revive Ninjariban, and with Ninjariban's effect, I bring out Reddull and grant him Speed Attacker!"
Flinging the scythe, Duenyan Emperor splintered two more of Muspel's shields, and caught the returning Dragheart Weapon as it spiraled back towards him.
"Ninjariban! Final Break!" The last of Muspel's shields was gone as the Ninja Funky Knightmare pierced it with a shuriken.
"No trigger." Muspel recovered all of his broken shields.
"Hmph…Turn End."
"That was entertaining. Now I shall return the favor." Muspel drew a card.
"With an empty field and zero shields?" Demon Subaru scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
"I charge Faerie Gift. Then Bad Action Dynamite 2! I summon this creature for 2 less! Dorgan Churis!" The Beat Jockey clad in Dragon armor appeared on Muspel's field. "In case in you don't know, Bad Action Dynamite's demerit will cause Dorgan Churis to self destruct at the end of my turn."
"Cost 5…?" Demon Subaru narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me…"
"Exactly! Dorgan Churis has Speed Attacker, so battle phase! I attack with Dorgan Churis, and Revolution Change!" The Beat Jockey vanished, and replacing him was the leader of Team Hamkatsu. "Dogiragon Buster!"
"Chi…"
"With Dogiragon Buster's Final Rev, I trample a cost 6 or less multicolored creature from my hand or mana zone! I put Apache Urara from my hand into the battle zone!" The red and black Melt Warrior/Hunter hybrid rose from the ground, blades ready to strike. "With his effect I choose a card at random from your hand…and put a cost 8 or less Hunter creature that shares the same color as that card into the battle zone. I choose…that card."
One of Demon Subaru's hands floated upwards and revealed itself to Muspel, it being Ulvorof.
"I call upon Victorious Ryuusei Kaiser!" The Hunter/Red Command Dragon now joined the forces of Muspel's creatures as he leapt out from a hole to the hyperdimension. "Buster, Triple Break!"
"Kuh…" Demon Subaru shielded himself with his jacket as the Mega Command Dragon removed the blade from his jaws and slashed away 3 of Demon Subaru's shields at once. "No trigger…." He clicked his tongue as he looked at the reformed cards in his hand.
"Dogiragon Buster gives all of my multi-colored creatures Speed Attacker. Ryuusei Kaiser, Double Break!" Upon his command, Ryuusei charged through the remaining shields of Demon Subaru.
"Shield Trigger! Memento Guardian Shrine!" The white D2 field expanded, and Demon Subaru grinned as Bonsura now gained Blocker and would stop Urara's direct attack while not triggering his Put Into Graveyard effect.
"Urara, attack – and Revolution Change. Blade 3 Katsuemon!" This time the Melt Warrior was replaced by the red and green Mega Dragon modeled after a hamster and samurai. "Katsuemon's effect. I choose one of your creatures with Blocker and send it to your mana zone!"
"Na…" Demon stood stunned as his last line of defense was now sent to his mana, leaving him open to the incoming assault.
"Katsuemon, direct attack!"
"Guwaaa!" As a strike from Katsuemon threw Demon Subaru on his back, the duel ended and the cards dematerialized.
BGM: Magia Record – Normal Battle BGM
"So it's you again…" Michael narrowed his eyes.
"Glad you remember me, traveller." His opponent, still hooded, drew 5 cards.
"I'll make sure the result is the same our last duel." Michael did the same, and taking the first move, he charged Jojojo Maximum into his mana and ended his turn.
"I wouldn't be so confident." His opponent countered. "I charge Mitsurugi Boost and turn end."
"…" Looking at his opponent's Hyperdimension, Michael clicked his tongue in annoyance. Molt NEXT…I don't have a reliable way of stopping his one-shots except Shield Triggers… "My turn. I summon Yattareman. Then I cast Niyare Get, and add Danganoh, Pali Knights and Senno to my hand. Turn end."
"Good luck like last time. But how will you fare against this deck? My turn and mana charge. I cast Mendelssohn!" Revealing the top two cards of his deck, Michael's hooded opponent put Ryuusei the Earth and Molt Head into his mana zone tapped.
"…My turn. I summon Pali Knights and put Niyari Get into my mana zone from my grave. Then I summon Senno and turn end." Two more Jokers were added to Michael's arsenal of creatures in the battle zone.
At least this should stop Buster from coming out…
"Heh… My turn. I charge Bolshack Dogiragon and summon Mega Magma Dragon! I destroy all creatures with power 5000 or less with his effect!"
The Mega Command Dragon materialized on the battle zone, and with a blast of fiery magma, disintegrated all 3 of Michael's creatures and leaving nothing in its wake.
"Kuh…"
"Turn End."
"My turn! I charge Danganoh and summon Hakushon Mask and destroy Mega Magma Dragon!" The Joker wearing a cold mask gave a great sneeze, blowing the sole creature his opponent had into his graveyard.
"My turn. I charge nothing, and cast Scramble Change! Then with 2 mana…I summon Molt NEXT and bring out Heart Burn!" The red Draguner clamped his fists together, summoning forth the Dragheart Fortress that grants all of his dragons Speed Attacker. "Battle! I attack with Molt NEXT! Double Break!"
Molt NEXT spread his wings, and charged up an orb of energy, blasting it at Michael and ripping away two of his shields.
"Guh…No Trigger."
"Mana Arms 5! I untap Molt NEXT…and Heart Burn Ryuukais! Guy NEXT! Molt NEXT, attack again, and Rev Change! Dogiragon Buster!"
Michael grit his teeth as his opponent now had 2…no, 3 Dragons with Speed Attacker as Dogiragon Buster trampled Ryuusei the Earth, and with Ryuusei's effect his opponent put another card into the mana zone. "Dogiragon Buster, Triple Break!"
The remaining of Michael's shields splintered, and as they reformed as cards in his hand, two of them glowed a bright light.
"Shield Trigger! DNA Spark, and Shield Trigger, Hakushon Mask!" The duelist declared, and all of his opponent's creatures were bound of chains of light, rendering them tapped while he added another shield from his deck to his shield zone, and Hakushon Mask destroyed the creature with least power, Ryuusei the Earth, on his opponent's side of the field.
"Hun…Turn End."
Breathing a side of relief, Michael started his turn and drew a card. …It's hit or miss right now. "Mana charge! I summon Danganoh! He breaks two more shields this turn!" Gathering the power of the other Jokers in his right arm, Danganoh charged at the hooded figure, smashing through 4 of his shields.
"Hakushon Mask! Final Break!" Michael ordered, and an icy blast broke through his opponent's final defense.
"Well played...but you're one step away." Brandishing his last shield, his opponent summoned Batocross Battle with Shield Trigger, and Michael's second Hakushon Mask disappeared under the knuckles of the dragon.
"Chi…Turn end."
"I don't suppose you have another Shield Trigger do you? I summon Mitsurugi Boost and break your final shield with him!"
"No trigger…"
"I guess this is the end then… Guy NEXT, direct attack!"
"Kuha…!" The Cancer duelist was blown back by the impact, and landed beside Demon Subaru, concluding the duel.
"You two…!" As Jonathan delivered the final blow to his opponent with Dark Gaia King Alcadeias, his turned to look at his downed colleagues.
"So it's two to one… I assume that means your loss?" Smiling, Muspel turned to them, a grimoire in his hands.
"…Damn you…" Demon Subaru struggled to get up on his feet as Jonathan helped Michael up.
"You lost the bet…and now you shall be eradicated." The gentleman opened the magical book, but before he could utter anything, the basement shook as dust from the ceiling snowed down on them. "What's happening!?"
"Wha…"
An ear-splitting crash thundered, and the ceiling broke apart as a large figure crashed down from above.
"Now! Run!" It took a split second for the boys to realize what's happening, and quickly Jonathan pulled out a card, and channeling his soul's energy into it, a blinding flash enveloped the entire room.
By the time the dust cleared and the remaining Silver Key cultists had shook the daze from their eyes, the 3 duelists were gone, leaving a large pile of rubble and a gaping hole that gave the cultists a view of the orange sunset sky.
"…Thank you, Nekohana." Expressing his gratitude, Jonathan turned to the lioness youkai, who is now back in her human form. "It would have been troublesome without you attracting attention there."
"It's alright." Nekohana brushed it off lightly. "I can't stand by and watch after all."
"You have my thanks too." Michael thanked the girl as well, but Demon Subaru just looked away.
A deafening, almost crushing silence enveloped them, as neither of them was willing to break it, and they just stood there in a secluded park in the outskirts of the town, darkness creeping over the ground as the cold, yellow streetlights illuminated their surroundings.
"…So, where have you been?" Jonathan asked Nekohana, finally breaking the awkward quietness.
"I've just been alone…thinking what does it mean to be human." Nekohana answered. "I've still haven't found answer yet…but I do intend to find it eventually. My body isn't even fully human right now…as I can turn into a youkai form, never mind my soul. I don't know how it will take for me to reach a conclusion, really. But I do know now…that I've been beautifying humans too much. Humans and youkai are quite similar in various terms…There are good and bad humans, as the same with youkai... so we might not be too different, maybe. At least, I'll try to lean more on the boundary of humans if I can."
"…Saa na." Michael sat down on a bench, taking a deep breath. "We humans have a lot shorter life than you do, and a lot more fragile…so we try to make the most of it. That's probably what defines us."
"You sure talk big, when I can sense you fear just now." Demon Subaru sneered, leaning against a lamppost nearby. "The fear of death…"
"What's wrong with that?" Michael countered. "Everyone's scared of something. That fear is what motivates me to continue on to fight for my own justice…the fear of losing everything I have again…and slipping into nothingness…"
"Keh, that's why I don't put myself on the same line as you lowly humans." Demon Subaru spat. "I have my power…and I'm not afraid of anything."
"Yeah, while you hid your own fear behind that aggressive mask of yours like Nekohana said." The Cancer duelist smirked. "And if you're so powerful, you wouldn't be here with us now."
"Kisama…"
"Stop it." Jonathan cut in between them, a little fatigue showing in his eyes. "We need to find someplace to rest, and prepare for tomorrow again. Now that we know their hideout, they won't be too far. But they'll also prepared now…so we should be on our guard as well."
"…Aah." Michael agreed after a brief pause. "Let's do that."
"Hmph…"
"Let's go then."
A soft breeze picked up, sweeping up fallen leaves as the 4 duelists now walked off to find a place to stay overnight, and the lonely park soon fell into complete silence.
Decks:
Muspel: Red Green Buster (赤緑バスター)
Hooded Figure: Red Green Molt NEXT (赤緑モルネク)
Demon Subaru: Duenyan Loop (デュエにゃんループ)
Michael: Jokers t Blue White (t青白ジョーカーズ)