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DUEL THIRTY-EIGHT
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The Epic Clash
The Proxy
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Dante slowly came to.
He was lying on his back, in the arena where Jalie had sent him.
He sat up, and for some reason, looked at his Duel Disk. A deck was now in it, and the gems were a gleaming platinum color.
"Take this deck," said the voice of the being who had spoken last. "You may use it once. It is all the help we can give you…
"We can only hope that it will be enough…"
Dante stood up. He felt it was not his place to argue…
He sighed, and slowly reached for his hat.
Why is it that the Powers That Be think that they can give a guy a powerful weapon and tell him that the fate of the world now rests in his hands? he thought. I mean, can't they at least say "please"?
Maybe the Athar have a point in thinking that the gods have too much slack…
Dante didn't mean that of course. No-one liked being told what to do, but if this deck could truly give him a chance, he would be grateful…
And for some reason, he felt far more confident right now than he did before…
The plume of dark smoke appeared in front of him. Dante felt a more familiar aura of power, one that he didn't like. It had not been a moment too soon.
Jalie Squarefoot appeared from out of the smoke.
"So," said Jalie, as he appeared. "You're the last one…
"Dante… A fitting name for one who would challenge the powers of Hell…"
"Where are Ophelia and Jeb?" asked Dante.
"You interest me, Dante…" said the Lich-Fiend, not answering the question.
He started pacing back and forth.
"You know, I'm hardly the first one to desire to ascend to godhood…"
"But it's rare that someone actually tries it, right?" asked Dante.
"Hardly," said Jalie. "Tell me, have you ever heard of a sect called the Believers of the Source?"
"Uh…" replied Dante. "No."
"They were some big thinkers," said Jalie. "They believed in a concept similar to Nirvana… They claimed that all beings were being tested over a period of many lives. And they believed that if a mortal passed these tests over a period of hundreds of lifetimes, he would achieve divinity.
"But they also believed that mortals were not the only beings that were being tested… Angels, devils, and even gods were being tested, and once they passed the tests, they would achieve perfection, becoming one with the universe.
"The ultimate goal of creation, according to them, was for every living being to pass all the tests, and for everyone, mortals and gods alike, to achieve perfection. The end of physical form and harmony.
"Of course, the Believers of the Source were split on a lot of views. No-one was really sure what the tests were. Was someone supposed to be good, evil, or what? They spent a lot of time trying to figure that out.
"But eventually, they died out, as sects often do… It seemed that very few folks had actually achieved godhood by listening to them.
"That's the trouble with you mortals… You lack patience… Folks like me… We think more long-term."
"Where are Ophelia and Jeb?" repeated Dante, getting angry.
"Defeated," replied Jalie. "They aren't dead... In fact, victims of Investiture of Cania can't die. They're alive, but frozen in prisons of Eternal Ice, a special ice found in Cania and other incredibly cold realms. It doesn't melt when exposed to heat. I intend to leave you three as parting gifts to my lord, Mephistopheles, after I become a god. What happens to you then will be up to him…
"However… Their fate can be avoided…"
A sheet of paper and a quill pen appeared in his hand.
"What's this?" asked Dante.
"A Faustian Pact," replied Jalie. "I believe that's what you mortals like to call them, although they existed long before Dr. Faustus was even born. Simply sign it, promising your soul to Mephistopheles, and your two friends will be released."
"You gotta be kidding," said Dante.
"I never kid," said Jalie. "Of course, they'll have to sign some papers that will cause them to forfeit their souls if they ever oppose the forces of Hell again but…"
"Hold on one minute!" shouted Dante. "You're telling me that the Pact Primordial or the 'Rules of Hell' as you call them let you offer a Faustian Pact as a ransom demand?"
"Yes," said Jalie, nonchalantly. "Yes, they most certainly do.
"Now if you'll just…"
"Wait…" said Dante. "Why settle for one soul when your boss could possibly have three?"
Jalie looked at him.
"If I didn't know better, Squarefoot," continued Dante, "I'd say you weren't as confident in your ability to defeat me in a duel. Maybe you're even afraid that your plan might fail…"
Then Dante was knocked backwards, as Jalie literally erupted in fire. Dante looked up… The Lich-Fiend had seemingly doubled in size, and was standing in a blazing furnace of Hellfire.
"Now you listen to me, mortal!" he shouted. "I fear NOTHING! I wouldn't be about to become a god if I was afraid of someone like you!"
Then he calmed down, and reassumed his normal size, but flames still licked at his shoulders. Dante was starting to think he had crossed the fine line a little…
"So what will it be, Mr. Connors?" he growled, still with a touch of anger in his voice.
Dante took a deep breath.
Might as well test him as far as I can, he thought. Call me crazy, but I think that burst of anger seemed more like an attempt to convince himself rather than me…
Besides, what I have I got to lose?
"I'd tell you to stick it up your ass," he said. "But you're a walking pile of bones… You don't have an ass."
The Lich-Fiend glared at him. Then the fires went out completely. He placed the contract and the quill pen (which in all logic, should have been burned to ashes, but had not for some reason) inside his robes.
"You know, Connors…" he said, in a far calmer voice. "Most pit fiends would fly into a rage and tear you limb from limb if you insulted them like that… And I'm usually just like 'most pit fiends'…
"But strangely, I'm not angry… You see, your vulgar jab just reminded me of the last person to talk to me in such a manner, and he was, in fact, what inspired me to partake of my quest to reach the top."
"Do tell," said Dante.
"Yes, it was long, long ago…" said Jalie. "Several millennia, I believe… I was only an osyluth… One of a tier of devils that form the… lower-middle class of Hell or thereabouts…
"I was working with many other osyluths in a facility in Cania where souls belonging to Mephistopheles are processed after arriving. And our superior was an amnizu, a type of devil that belonged to a rank two above that of the osyluth's…
"He was a bloated, fat slob, who spent most of the time sitting on his behind, eating Baatoran slugs, swilling mugs of Gughalaki, and barking orders at his subordinates in the foulest expletives. He rarely did any real work, but he always took the credit for the work of others, and when he made a mistake, he was sure that someone else was blamed for it.
"Everyone hated him… But I was the only one who could think up a plan to oust him. I manipulated events at the facility to make sure that his biggest mistake, one that would cause a disaster at the facility, happened when Mephistopheles' constable was inspecting.
"As you might imagine, that mistake was his last mistake. And because I was instrumental in correcting the problem, I was able to skip a rank, gained promotion to amnizu myself, and got his job. It was my first step on my path to greatness…"
"And I assume that every time you made a step up the infernal ladder you had to kick someone else off of it?" asked Dante.
"In order for one to rise, another must fall," replied Jalie. "That's the very lesson I learned when I became an amnizu. There's a lesson that a devil learns every time it's promoted…"
"Even when it becomes a pit fiend?" asked Dante.
"Especially when it becomes a pit fiend," replied Jalie. "The lesson that it learns when it becomes a pit fiend is the hardest one of all. That lesson is, 'No matter how strong you become, there is always someone who is stronger'.
"It's a hard lesson for a new pit fiend to accept… When you've fought for thousands of years to achieve the station and are now truly one of the ruling class of Hell, the fact that you may never be the greatest is the first thing you learn.
"I never thought small… I always thought big… And if you three have to fall in order for me to rise, then so be it."
His Duel Disk activated.
"I tried to be civil about this, Dante," he said. "If you insist on dueling me, fine… If you defeat me, I'll release them anyway… But you won't. And when I defeat you, keep in mind… You could have saved them."
Dante looked at the deck in his Disk. Then he activated it.
Here goes nothing… he thought.
(Dante: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Jalie: 8,000)
"I'll start this off," said Jalie, as he drew a card.
He made a draw.
He set a card on his Disk, and a hidden Monster appeared.
"That will be all for now…"
"All right…" said Dante.
He took a deep breath, and made his first draw.
"I'll also set a Monster," he said, as a set Monster appeared in front of him.
"Then I'll end with this…"
He threw another card into his Disk, and a set card appeared in his Spell Zone.
Jalie drew a card.
His eyes glowed slightly more intently as he looked over his six cards.
"Outcast Devil Goap, reveal yourself," he said, as the card in front of him flipped into Attack Position.
A Fiend appeared with app the typical diabolic features: wings, a tail, hooves, and the like, with green skin, dressed in a toga. But his expression was sort of blank. In fact it was completely blank. He had no eyes, nose, mouth, or any other features on his face. (600 ATK)
"Due to his Flip Effect," continued Jalie, "I discard one Outcast Devil from my hand…"
He discarded Outcast Devil Armaros.
"…and then draw one card…"
He made a draw.
"Next, I use the effect of Armaros. I remove him from play, to reveal the top two cards on my deck, and then choose one."
Two cards appeared in front of him. One was Winged Minion. The other was a Field Spell that Dante didn't recognize.
Jalie quickly pointed to the Field Spell, and a card appeared in his hand as Winged Minion vanished.
Then he quickly opened the Field Slot on his Disk and played it.
"I activate the Field Spell, Prison of Baftis," he said.
As he played the card, the arena melted, away, and ruined, crumbling, derelict buildings rose around the two of them. Blood-red clouds were overhead, and lightning flashed from them.
"Some prison," said Dante, sarcastically. "Just how is an abandoned city that's falling apart supposed to hold a prisoner?"
"There are lots of ways," replied Jalie, "but Baftis is a special prisoner. He's not one of the Rabble of Devilkin, but he's still an exile. He used to serve Beelzebub, the Archduke of Maladomini, the Seventh Hell.
"You see... Beelzebub... He's not the most stable of Hell's rulers. He's longed for a city to reflect his greatness for millennia. But try as they might, his servants can't build one that will please him. They've built city after city, but he's never satisfied. Each time a city is completed, he judges it unworthy. Rather than order the unworthy city demolished, he abandons it and leaves it to rot, and then orders his men to start over at a new location. As a result, the landscape of Maladomini is dotted with the crumbling remains of the cities he's built over the years."
"And this is one of them?" asked Dante.
"Yes," said Jalie. "Baftis was once Beelzebub's chief architect. He designed this city and a dozen previous ones. When his master wasn't pleased with this one, he'd had enough. He told the Lord of the Flies, right to his face, that he was a lunatic.
"He was hardly the only servant Beelzebub with that opinion, but he was the first one who dared say so to his lord's face. Any other time, Beelzebub might have had a servant drawn and quartered for such insolence, but he was rather amused by it. He let Baftis live, but cursed him with powerful magic, so that he could never leave this city. Then he promoted another devil to the position of chief architect, and left to start construction at a new location, as he likely will keep doing until the end of time.
"Most devils say Baftis was a fool, but they can't help but admire him for having the courage to stand up to the mad Archduke. And this city is a symbol of the courage that all the Rabble had when they defied the Rulers of Hell...
"So much, that all Outcast Devils gain 200 Attack Points."
Goap's Score increased to 800.
"And should one fall in battle, I get to make one draw..."
"Oh, come on..." said Dante. "A Field Spell that powerful has to have some sort of string attached."
"Maybe, maybe not," said Jalie. "But you'll have to find out for yourself.
"I sacrifice Goap…"
The faceless Fiend vanished,
"…for Outcast Devil Azazel."
With a loud roar, the Serpent appeared in front of him, towering over the field. (2,400 ATK) –) (2,600 ATK)
He glared at Jalie, and gave an angry hiss.
"Seems your Monster doesn't like you too much," said Dante.
"I don't like him either," replied Jalie, "so it evens out.
"Azazel, destroy his Monster with Vile Venom Blast."
Azazel spit its poison at the facedown Monster, and it appeared briefly before the venom hit it. It was a large goat. That more or less described it.
"Eh?" said Jalie. "Which of your decks uses Beasts?"
"This one does," said Dante. "And because you just destroyed Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, I get to conjure up two Nordic Beast Tokens."
Two more large goats appeared, sitting in Defense Mode. (0 DEF x2)
Jalie took two cards from his hand, and set them in his Disk. Two set cards appeared behind Azazel.
I didn't expect a new deck from him, he thought. But no matter…
He looked at the remaining cards in his hand. One of them was Double or Nothing.
With Final Attack Orders set, I can use Azazel's effect to its fullest next turn…
"My move…" said Dante.
He drew a card.
"I summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts!" he shouted.
In an aura of light, a large, ferocious-looking horse with a golden mane appeared on the field. (1,600 ATK)
"Now, I'll Tune together Guldfaxe with my two Tokens…"
Lightning flashed. Guldfaxe galloped into the sky, with the two goats following.
"What's happening?" said Jalie.
Dante ignored him as the mighty steed turned into glowing rings, and the two goats flew through them, the whole turning into stars that glowed brightly, even when compared to those that heralded the arrival of other Synchros.
Behind Dante, a rider in a chariot appeared behind him, a chariot pulled by two giant goats…
"Power of the storm, strength unrivaled! The God of Thunder will ride into battle, holding his mighty hammer high…"
(*4 + *3 + *3 = *10)
"I Synchro Summon… Thor, Lord of the Aesir!"
The chariot vanished, and with a loud roar and a bolt of lightning, a colossal form appeared on the field. He towered over Azazel, was far more muscular, and radiated an aura of unspeakable strength.
There could be no mistaking it… It was Thor, the God of Thunder. (3,500 ATK)
"HOW?" shouted Jalie. "There's only one copy of that card, and Dragan has it!"
"You seek to be a god, Jalie?" asked Dante. "Well then, you should know that the gods are capable of powers that non-divine creatures can't comprehend. Thor created another copy of his card and gave it me in order to defeat you.
"As for why he did it… Well, it seems that the gods, in their great wisdom, have common sense. They realize the mistake you're making, and are willing to pull out all the stops to make sure that your mad plan ends here."
Azazel looked at Thor with an expression of panic. Then he looked at Jalie. If he had been angry before, Dante could tell that this had crossed the line.
"I use Thor's effect," said Dante. "He nullifies the effects of all your face-up Monsters until the End Phase.
"And now… Attack Outcast Devil Azazel with Thunder Pile!"
Thor's mighty hammer flashed with energy. He struck the Outcast Devil, flattening him with one smash. Jalie was knocked backwards, landing unceremoniously on his rump.
(D: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 7,100)
Jalie glared at him.
"Prison of Baftis activates…" he said. "I get to make one draw…"
He drew a card.
"It's your move, Jalie," said Dante, crossing his arms.
Jalie got up.
"I changed my mind, Dante…" he said.
He drew a card.
"I'm not going to send you three to Mephistopheles… Once I win this duel… I'm going to torture you all to death…
"I play Emergency Provisions…"
He played the card, and his set Final Attack Orders dissolved into energy.
"Now, Hand Destruction," he said, as he played another Spell Card.
He quickly discarded Outcast Devil Bist and Outcast Devil Kochbiel. Dante discarded Shield Crush and March Towards Ragnarok. They both made two draws.
"You know, maybe having Thor show up isn't such a bad thing…" he said. "I activate Call of the Haunted."
His other facedown card lifted up, and Bist appeared on the field. (1,400 ATK) –) (1,600 ATK)
"Next, I summon Outcast Devil Malarea."
He played the card, and the sinister-looking temptress appeared. (1,400 ATK) –) (1,600 ATK)
"Sorry, Jalie, but Thor isn't the type of god who's into that sort of thing," said Dante. "He is a patron of marriages, after all; he's not swayed by some whore."
"That may be true for the real Thor," said Jalie, "but his aspect still plays by the rules of Duel Monsters."
He discarded Double or Nothing.
"And if I discard one card, Malarea can bring one of your Monsters under my control."
"I don't think so!" shouted Dante, as his facedown card lifted up. "I activate Solemn Authority!"
Thor gave Malarea a cold glare, and she cowered from him.
"This Trap Card makes one Monster of my choice with the word 'Aesir' in its name unaffected by all targeting effects for the next two turns. So her effect won't work on him."
The two she-devils looked at Jalie.
"So what now, 'master'?" asked Malarea, sarcastically.
"Quiet, I'm thinking!" replied Jalie.
He threw two cards into his Disk, and two set cards appeared in his Spell Zone.
"That will be all…" he said.
(D: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 8,100)
"Draw…" said Dante.
He drew a card.
He lifted an eyebrow.
"I summon Mara of the Nordic Alfar," he said.
He threw the card on his Disk, and a grinning gremlin made of dark shadow, with a long, knobbed tail appeared in front of him. (1,000 ATK)
"This guy is a Tuner…" said Dante. "But it's no ordinary Tuner… When I use it to Synchro Summon a Monster, the non-Tuners can come from my hand, so long as they all have the word 'Nordic' in their names.
"So… I Tune Mara of the Nordic Alfar with Tyr of the Nordic Champions, and Garmr of the Nordic Beasts."
Two more Monsters appeared, one of them a Warrior in a blue cape and toga carrying a sword, the other a large, vicious wolf. Mara grinned even wider. The shadowy sprite flew into the sky, and the Warrior and Beast followed…
Darkness covered Dante's side of the field, and a Cheshire Cat grin appeared behind him.
"A Laughing Rogue born from the frigid wastes… Magical powers give rise to the coming of the Trickster!"
(*2 + *4 + *4 = *10)
"I Synchro Summon… Loki, Lord of the Aesir!"
Then the whole creature stepped forward, a being that was just as big as Thor, but not as muscular. Dressed in gaudy clothing, a wide-brimmed wizard's hat, with a pointed chin sporting a devilish goatee, it was clearly Loki, the God of Trickery. (3,300 ATK)
"Two of them?" gasped Jalie.
"What's wrong?" asked Dante. "You wanted to play in the domains of the gods, Squarefoot… I'm just showing you firsthand what it's like."
Loki chuckled.
"Good one," he said.
"Right," said Dante, "now let's really show him… And by the way, Jalie… In case you're thinking of trying to use those facedown cards to defend yourself… Loki's effect can negate one Trap Card per turn that's activated during the Battle Phase.
"Attack Outcast Devil Malarea with Vanity Bullet!"
The King of Lies formed a glowing ball of energy in his hands and hurled it at the she-devil. She screamed, and was blown into gibbets.
Jalie scowled, and drew a card.
"Your turn, Thor!" shouted Dante. "Flatten Bist! Polarizing Pound!"
Thor lunged at the second she-devil, and flattened her with one squash. Jalie fell over again.
He grunted, and made another draw.
(D: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,500)
Loki looked at Thor.
"You know…" he said. "Fighting the forces of Hell like this… Kinda reminds you of old times, doesn't it?"
"Careful…" replied Thor's powerful voice. "If this sort of thing happens too often, I might start to enjoy it."
"My turn is over…" said Dante.
"And I activate my Trap Card NOW…" said Jalie.
His facedown card lifted up.
"Shock Draw… Now I get to draw three more cards…"
He quickly made three draws.
"Now, I'll take my turn…"
He drew a fourth card as he got up.
Then his other facedown card lifted up. It was Dust Tornado.
That… isn't good… thought Dante.
The wind tore across the field, blowing the Solemn Authority card to pieces.
"Now that I've done that," said Jalie, "I play Foolish Burial…"
The Spell Card appeared, and he took Outcast Devil Amon from his deck, and discarded it.
"Then, Tenacious Rabble," he continued, as he played another Spell Card. "I can now Special Summon an Outcast Devil from my Graveyard, so long as I Equip it with this card."
Amon appeared in front of him. (0 ATK)
"However, its Score is reduced to zero, and it loses its effect. Next, I summon Outcast Devil Herodias."
He threw another card on his Disk, and the muscular, hooved devil appeared. (1,200 ATK)
"Now, be gone!"
The two devils turned into a bonfire of fiery energy…
With a roar, Geryon loomed over the field. (2,700 ATK) –) (2,900 ATK)
"And as your friend Jeb learned," continued Jalie, "when Geryon is summoned by sacrificing his servants, I can destroy one card for each."
Dante stepped back in shock as the two Aesir shattered.
"So…" said Jalie. "Not so confident now, are you?
"Attack him directly! Savage Stygian Stinger!"
The Wild Beast's powerful sting darted towards Dante, stabbing him in the chest…
(D: 5,100) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,500)
Dante fell to his knees, clutching the wound.
Had he been poisoned? Was he dying?
"Keep fighting, Dante," said a voice in his head.
Dante remembered that voice. It was neither Thor's nor Loki's… It was the third one.
"Jalie hasn't won yet," continued the voice. "I seem to remember something that one of your kind once said regarding this game…
"The duel isn't over until the last card is played."
Dante took some deep breaths.
Maybe Yukai Judai really did have friends in high places, he thought.
"I set one card facedown, and end my turn…" said Jalie, as Dante got up.
"And that means I can activate the effects of both Thor and Loki…" said Dante.
"By removing a Tuner in my Graveyard with the words 'Nordic Beast' in its name, I can Special Summon Thor back to the field. And by removing a 'Nordic Alfar' Tuner from play, I can do the same for Loki."
He pocketed Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts and Mara of the Nordic Alfar. There was a flash of lightning, and the two Aesir appeared on the field again. (Thor: 3,500 ATK, Loki: 3,300 ATK) They were clearly angry this time.
"But there's more…" said Dante. "When Thor is Special Summoned this way, he deals out 800 points of damage!"
Thor pointed his hammer at Jalie, and the Lich-Fiend screamed as lightning struck him.
"And when Loki is Special Summoned this way, I get to recover a Trap Card from my Graveyard."
Solemn Authority slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.
"So it seems you just fell flat on your face, Jalie… Or you're about to…"
(D: 5,100) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 3,700)
"It's my move…"
He drew a card.
"Thor, destroy Outcast Devil Geryon!"
Thor lifted his hammer.
"I activate… The Apocalypse Stone!" shouted Jalie, as his Trap Card lifted up.
"I remove one Outcast Devil in my Graveyard from play, and your attack is negated, and I get to draw once."
"As if," said Dante. "Loki can negate your Trap, remember?"
"No he can't," replied Jalie. "Not this one. The Apocalypse Stone can't be negated if I control an Outcast Devil."
Malarea appeared behind him and vanished into nothing, and Thor's hammer struck an invisible shield of force. Jalie drew a card.
"Fine…" said Dante. "Now what will protect him from Loki?"
Loki cast his dark spell, and hurled it at the deposed Lord of the Fifth. Geryon let out an unearthly scream…
Then an explosion shook the room, as the Wild Beast was vanquished.
"I get to draw once, due to my Field Spell…" said Jalie, sullenly.
(D: 5,100) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 3,300)
"Make your move…" said Dante.
Jalie nervously drew a card.
This is getting serious… he thought. I didn't want to admit that this Field Spell does have a big downside to it…
If he manages to destroy it, I'll take 500 points of damage for each time its effect was used. And I've used it four times so far…
He looked at the card he drew.
It was the Level 10 Monster that he had elected to put at the bottom of his deck when he had used Armaros' effect in his duel with Jeb.
Using this card was risky… Few devils who used this deck had ever taken the chance…
Azazel failed… he thought. Geryon failed…
Do I dare risk it?
"Interesting card there, Jalie?" asked Dante. "Something powerful? Maybe something you're afraid to use?"
Jalie stopped in mid-thought
He looked at Thor and Loki. Dante had summoned them without fear…
If word got out that a mortal had been braver than he was, he would be the laughingstock of Baator…
He took another card in his hand.
"I play Monster Reborn!" he shouted. "I'll summon Outcast Devil Kochbiel from my Graveyard."
In a flash of light, the overweight pit fiend appeared in front of him. (2,400 ATK)
"Next, I'll use his effect, and pay 1,000 Life Points to summon Amon from my Graveyard as well."
Amon appeared, now much healthier-looking than before. (1,700 ATK)
Jalie lifted the Monster Card.
"Dante, you leave me no choice…" he said. "The Monster I'm about to summon… He was not only once one of Hell's rulers… He was one of Hell's original rulers. He was one of the eight disgraced seraphim that fell alongside Lucifer… His power is so great, the other Rabble of Devilkin fear him, and even Dukes of Hell in good standing avoid him…
"I don't mind telling you that even in his current status as an exile, he's more powerful than I am…"
"Uh, you sure you want to do this?" asked Dante.
"To defeat you, I'd risk anything!" cursed Jalie, as the two Fiends in front of him turned into a blazing bonfire. "Arise…
"Outcast Devil Moloch!"
Dante stepped back in fear as the infamous devil appeared. He had heard of Moloch, as did many who had dealt with evil cultists and devil worshippers, but no amount of second-hand descriptions could have prepared him for actually seeing him.
Absolutely nothing about Moloch's appearance suggested that he had once been a native of the celestial realms. The deposed Archduke was just as big and just as muscular as Thor, a giant, square-bodied, hulking creature with hairless, dull red skin. His limbs were short and thick, and his hands and feet were huge. He had very large horns on his head like those of a bull, slanting, fiery eyes, and sharp, shark-like teeth in a gaping mouth. He carried a wicked-looking barbed scourge.
"Now there's a face that would make even a mother scream…" muttered Dante.
Moloch clearly took offense at that. His roar nearly knocked Dante over.
"To start with," said Jalie, "Moloch's Attack and Defense Scores equal the combined Attack Scores of the Monsters I sacrificed to summon him."
(4,100 ATK)
"And the Field Spell makes him even stronger!"
(4,300 ATK)
"He's nothing but a glorified Maju Garzett," said Dante, nervously.
Moloch glared at him.
"But he has an additional effect," said Jalie. "Because I summoned him using only Outcast Devils as sacrifices, all Monsters on the field with Attack Scores lower than his are now destroyed."
"No…" said Dante.
Before his unbelieving eyes, the two Aesir erupted into fiery explosions.
"So much for them…" said Jalie, as Moloch lifted his scourge. "Think of it this way, Connors… Better to die quick right now, isn't it?
"Attack him directly! Soul Flayer!"
Dante screamed in agony as the infernal weapon hit him, and he collapsed to his knees…
(D: 900) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 2,300)
"Well, that should just about…" said Jalie.
Then he stopped short. Dante was still breathing. Breathing heavily, but still breathing.
His eye sockets widened, as his enemy slowly reached for the cards that he had dropped.
"No-one could have survived a blow from Moloch's scourge…" he whispered. "That's impossible…"
Dante got up. He stumbled once, but managed it.
"That's your whole problem, Jalie," he said, as sweat poured down his face. "If you want to be a god, the first thing you have to do is start believing that impossible things can happen.
"I mean think about it… People have been doing impossible things for centuries. They thought man would never fly until the Wright Brothers did it. The idea of going to the moon was absurd until Apollo 11 was launched."
"Spare me the history of your pathetic species," growled Jalie.
"And the gods…" said Dante. "They do impossible things all the time."
"You survived an attack from Moloch," said Jalie, with a scowl, "but defeating him will be another thing entirely.
"You have no Tuners in your Graveyard to remove from play… Thor and Loki won't be back to help you again…
"Make your move…"
Dante looked at his hand of four cards.
He's right… he thought. And even if I drew Monster Reborn, neither of them could stand up to Moloch…
He drew a card.
He looked hard at Jalie.
"I summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant…" he said.
He threw the card on his Disk, and a shower of gold appeared in front of him. From it, a pretty, female, winged Fairy with blue hair wearing a white dress with red highlights materialized. (400 ATK)
"Because I Normal Summoned her while you have a Monster and I have no other cards," he continued, "I can remove two Monsters in my hand from play with the word 'Nordic' in their names, and then conjure up two Einherjar Tokens…"
He turned two cards in his hand forward, Svartalf of the Nordic Alfar and Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts.
"Think I'll get rid of these two…"
The cards vanished, and two soldiers wearing Nordic-style armor holding swords and shields appeared next to the Valkyrie. (1,000 ATK x2)
"Now, I'll Tune my Valkyrie with my two Einherjar…"
For the third time, the room melted away. Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant spread her wings, and flew into the sky with the two Einherjar following.
Lightning flashed again as they faded into stars, and the silhouette of a rider started to gallop towards Dante from behind him… A rider mounted on an eight-legged stallion…
"From the shimmering path of Bifröst to the darkest depths of the Underworld, the chieftain of the gods rides! Let the gates of Asgard fly open…"
(*2 + *4 + *4 = *10)
Lightning flashed again, and a form even larger than Thor and Loki started to rise…
"I Synchro Summon… Odin, Father of the Aesir!
Blinding light filled the chamber, and the Emperor of Asgard stood in all his glory. Though elderly, the sense of power he exuded was overwhelming, his grey beard and royal raiment in pure white and crimson shining with holy power.
He looked at Jalie and Moloch with his one good eye, casting a stern glance. He crossed his arms. (4,000 ATK)
Jalie Squarefoot looked back at the mighty Norse god…
Then he chuckled. Then the chuckle turned into an all-out laugh. Dante and Odin glared at him, clearly not amused.
"Heh… Excuse me…" he said. "I'm usually not one to laugh…
"I'm just struck by the irony… You managed to summon one of the most powerful Synchro Monsters in the game…
"And yet, you apparently can't do simple math… As strong as Odin is, Moloch is 300 points stronger."
Dante frowned, and then took the last two cards in his hand, and set them in his Disk. Two set cards appeared in his Spell Zone.
"Make your move, Squarefoot…" he said.
Jalie quickly stopped laughing. He made a draw.
He looked at the card. Then he looked at Dante's two set cards.
One of them is clearly the Solemn Authority that he recovered with Loki's effect, he thought.
The other one…
He looked at the card he had drawn again. Then he played it.
"I'm no idiot, Dante," he said. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon!"
The cyclone ripped across the field, and struck one of Dante's two cards.
Then Jalie stopped as he saw what it was. He had aimed for Solemn Authority.
That still left another one… One that he didn't know about.
He took another of the two cards left in his hand.
"I still have one trump card left, Dante…" he said. "I play Irresistible Command."
He threw the card into his Disk.
"For the next two turns, if Moloch is targeted by one of your card effects, I can remove him from play, and then deal damage to you equal to his Attack Score."
"He's not going to be very happy with you if you do that," said Dante.
"I don't care!" said Jalie. "Once I absorb Tharizdun's power, the creatures in this deck may well want to serve me by choice. And I may let them if they grovel enough.
"But enough about that… Moloch… Strike down Odin with Soul Flayer!"
Moloch lashed his scourge again… Odin barely moved, even as it hit him.
Then he shattered.
(D: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 2,300)
"Hear me assembled deities!" shouted the Lich-Fiend. "Not even Odin was a match for me! Is this not proof that I am fit to sit among you?"
There was a long pause.
"If you're waiting for a response, I doubt you'll get one," said Dante. "You see, they all know that you're full of nothing but hot air.
"Is that your turn?"
"Yes!" shouted Jalie.
"Then I use Odin's effect…" said Dante.
Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant fell out of his discard slot, and Odin rose onto the field once more. (4,000 ATK)
"By doing that..." continued Dante, "I get to draw one card…"
He made a draw.
"Now, it's my move…"
He drew another card.
"Now, I could use Odin's effect, which makes him immune to Spells and Traps for the remainder of the turn… But seeing as you have no set cards, I'm going to forego that effect…
"And here's why…"
He threw a card into his Disk.
"I play Nordic Relic Draupnir!"
Two bejeweled gauntlets appeared on Odin's wrists.
"The legendary symbol of wealth increases the Attack Points of a Nordic Monster or Aesir by 800 points."
(4,800 ATK)
"Gah!" shouted Jalie.
He shivered a little.
"This isn't over…" he hissed.
"I'm afraid it is…" said Dante, as his Trap Card lifted up. "Your Irresistible Command can't deal with this…
"Divine Relic Mjollnir."
Lightning flashed once again, and Odin held out his hand. A huge, iron mallet appeared in it.
"The inscription on Mjollnir reads, 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor'. And who is more worthy than the man who sired him and the ruler of Asgard?
"And by activating this Trap, Odin is allowed to attack twice this round."
Jalie said nothing, but his eye-sockets seemed to widen a little.
"Destroy Moloch!" shouted Dante. "Wrath of Valhalla!"
Odin lifted Mjollnir to the heavens, and the storm intensified. Holy energy filled the room, and Moloch screamed… Not in rage, like before, but in incredible pain…
Then, with one final scream, the fallen seraphim exploded into thousands of motes of light…
"You're next, Jalie!" said Dante. "Odin…
"Take him down…"
The Father of the Aesir took aim, and then hurled Mjollnir at his foe. The Lich-Fiend screamed and the sound of a thunderclap filled the room as the enchanted iron mallet stuck his ribcage, throwing the undead devil against the opposite wall.
(D: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 0)
Dante fell on one knee, breathing heavily…
"Dante!" shouted a voice.
At first, Dante thought he was hearing things.
But then he turned around, and was met by an embrace. Ophelia was hugging him. He felt like he was hugging someone who just came in out of a snowstorm, but he was overjoyed that they were all right.
"Ophelia? Jeb?" he said. "How did you two escape?"
"We had help…" said Jeb with a sigh.
Dante looked and saw what they meant. Thor and Loki were standing behind them in phantom form. Loki grinned, and they both vanished.
"When you've been fighting the frost giants of Jotunhelm for countless millennia," said Ophelia, "you tend to learn a thing or two about ice magic. We're still a little chilly, but we'll be okay…"
"So…" said Jeb. "Does this mean that the Norse gods are in our corner from now on?"
Dante looked at the deck, and sighed as it vanished.
"Sadly, no," he said. "This was a one-time thing… They couldn't sever their ties to Dragan, Brave, and Harald entirely… But they were able to give me this deck for one duel…"
They looked at Jalie, who was down on one knee, clearly exhausted.
"So what's it going to be, Squarefoot?" asked Dante.
"I suppose the decent thing to do would be to admit defeat," hissed the Lich-Fiend. "But no-one ever accused me of being a decent man, now did they?
He wanted to incinerate them with a Meteor Swarm right now, but he couldn't. The reason all went back to the real reason he had offered Dante the Pact.
No devil, no matter how powerful, could call upon the Rabble of Devilkin without it taking a toll. Every one of them was at least a former Duke of Hell, and many had once been just as powerful as Jalie, if not more so. They hated being at the beck and call of anyone, and despite being outcasts, still demanded a price for being summoned.
Ophelia and Jeb had fought back harder than Jalie had thought they would, and the toll that using the deck had taken had been an enormous strain at that point…
Now that Jalie had used it a third time, summoned Moloch himself, and lost on top of it, his energy was all but drained. He was now trying to harness what was left of his power.
As the three Shadowchasers approached him, he turned into a dark shadow again, and flew out a door behind him that Dante hadn't even noticed before.
The three Shadowchasers had no time to ponder the Lich-Fiend's apparent cowardice.
"You sure you guys are okay?" asked Dante. "Maybe you should sit the rest of this out…"
"Are you out of your mind?" asked Jeb.
"We want revenge against that walking cadaver," said Ophelia.
Then Dante's cellphone rang.
"What in the world?" he said.
He answered it, and as he did, a holographic projection, a very blurry one, came out of it.
"Hello?" said Jalal's voice. "Dante are you there? Can you hear me?"
"Yeah boss, I can hear you," said Dante. "The signal is a little weak, but…"
"Thank God you're okay!" said Jalal. "Listen carefully…"
There was some static, and then he went on.
"You must, at all costs, prevent Squarefoot from bringing the Hellfire Sentinel to life! He…"
There was more static, and the next words were unclear.
"Boss?" said Dante. "Boss!"
"I repeat!" said Jalal's voice. "Under no condition can you allow Jalie's creation to be activated! If it is…"
Then there was more static. Then the message died completely.
Dante turned to his two teammates.
"So what are we waiting for?" asked Jeb.
The three of them rushed down the corridor, after the Lich-Fiend.
Meanwhile, Jalie was now even angrier. He hated having to flee a battle, but he wasn't stupid enough to continue a fight that he likely couldn't win. Self-preservation was far more important than pride.
As he flew down the corridor, he managed one more spell to send a telepathic message to his three advisors.
"Malanus! Xon! Novolar!" he shouted.
"Plan B…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OUTCAST DEVIL GOAP (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 3
ATK: 600
DEF: 1,800
Card Description: FLIP: Send 1 "Outcast Devil" Monster from your hand to the Graveyard. Then, draw 1 card.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OUTCAST DEVIL MOLOCH (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 10
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
Card Description: This card can be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 1, 2, or 3 Monsters. The ATK and DEF of this card are equal to the combined base ATK of the Monster(s) Tributed to Tribute Summon it. If all the Monsters used as Tributes to Tribute Summon this card are "Outcast Devil" Monsters, destroy all face-up Monsters on the field with less ATK than the ATK of this card when this card is Tribute Summoned.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TENACIOUS RABBLE (Spell Card)
Equip Spell
Image: Outcast Devil Amon charging in fury with his mace held high at a pit fiend who is three times larger than he is.
Card Description: Select 1 "Outcast Devil" Monster in your Graveyard. Special Summon it in Attack Position and Equip it with this card. The Special Summoned Monster's ATK is reduced to zero and its effect is negated. If this card leaves the field or the Equipped Monster moves to Defense Position, destroy the Equipped Monster.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
IRRESISTIBLE COMMAND (Spell Card)
Equip Spell
Image: Similar to "Order to Smash", but with a pit fiend in place of Dark Ruler Ha Des, and a barbazu in place of Blindly Loyal Goblin.
Card Description: Equip only to a Fiend-Type Monster you control. When the Equipped Monster is targeted by a card effect controlled by your opponent, you may remove the targeted Monster from play to inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the targeted Monster. At your third End Phase after activating this card, destroy this card.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PRISON OF BAFTIS (Spell Card)
Field Spell
Image: A horrid creature resembling Demon King Dragon Beelze looming in the sky over a ruined city.
Card Description: All "Outcast Devil" Monsters gain 200 Attack Points. When an "Outcast Devil" Monster that is in Attack Position is destroyed, its controller draws 1 card, and 1 "Shackle Counter" is placed on this card. If this card is removed from the field, its controller takes 500 points of damage per "Shackle Counter".
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Next:
Dugan: Dante had defeated Jalie, but this was far from over.
Like I said before, as much as pit fiends would like people to think that they never made mistakes, they actually made them quite often. But pit fiends were crafty and clever, and knew that no plan was guaranteed success. Any pit fiend worth his salt had a back-up plan – or a few – in case his initial plan didn't work. Jalie was no exception.
He was about to enact that back-up plan, and the three Shadowchasers were in for a devil of a time (forgive the pun).
After all… The gods had intervened once… They likely couldn't do so again.
"Dark Pain; The Aspect" is coming soon.