Author's Note: For those of you who haven't realized it I'm also doing a crossover with WolfGeneral in his story The Infinity Chronicles. Check it out.
Chapter Fifty-Four: Elimination Surprise! VS Inferno!
The crowd was hushed with anticipation as the next two names lit up, showing exactly what everyone had known was coming. One of Obelisk Blue's top duelists, Kohana Meisuko against Miharu Kanzaki, the top duelist of Osiris Red. Harrison himself seemed intrigued by the match. "Both duelists have proven to be powerful, but can a rush burn deck such as Kanzaki's hope to face a control deck like Meisuko's?"
Mizuki looked over as the two duelists stood up and nodded to each other. Then she grinned at her Enzeru, Kaoru, and Shiro, who all frowned in response. "Oh come on guys, don't look so glum! This should be an exciting duel, and the winner here faces me in the final round!"
She did a little jig, looking frighteningly happy. "And thanks to their wins in the tournament Kohana is ranked fifth in the school, and Miharu is ranked nineteenth. So beating one of them could really shoot my rank up another notch."
Kaoru tapped her chin, feeling her curiosity getting the better of her. "Come to think of it, what is your rank in this school anyways? People call you the Rising Star because of a fast rising rank, but what is it? I'm ranked thirtieth in the school myself."
Enzeru nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "And I'm ranked twenty-sixth after my victory over Alec."
He looked over at Shiro, who grunted out his answer. "Fifty-second."
They looked up at Mizuki, who smiled and winked at them. "Lucky number seven."
Both Kaoru and Enzeru gawked at Mizuki, who giggled and turned around, watching as Kohana and Miharu walked up to the edge of the platform. "This duel should be a lot of fun to watch, and it will give me good chance to analyze their strategies and capabilities."
Kohana stopped in front of the ring whereas Miharu jumped straight up, her red hair flowing out behind her. "Alright, let's get to the next stage as quick as possible. I'm eager to get to the duel I've been aching for!"
Frost nodded to her erstwhile companion, and then held up her duel disk clad left arm. Slowly she reached towards it…and then placed her right hand over her deck. "I forfeit this match."
Mizuki's eyes widened at those words. "What? She's the fifth ranked duelist and she's forfeiting now? What is this?"
Saint frowned slightly, as he saw the girl's icy blue eyes looking up at him. "Conniving little girl aren't you? I should have known a True Sin with as great an intellect as you possess would have known that I wanted to see a battle of True Sins. You're avoiding letting me see your full strength."
His eyes narrowed as he watched the one called Inferno smirk and flick her hair over her shoulder, grinning at Mizuki. "Or perhaps you forfeit to allow that one a chance to duel Miss Mitsuhiro with no trouble. I wonder precisely what interest the two of you have with her."
Sanzo from his spot grimaced, feeling the raw energy pouring off of both of those girls. "Kohana's power is so cool and controlled, colder than anything I've ever felt. But its level, although restrained, is roughly the same level that Gluttony had at his peak using those pills."
The other one was different though. In his mind's eye she was a maelstrom of barely contained energy. A storm red aura shook around her body, leaping out as if she had no control over it. "Miharu's strength is completely unrestrained, and surpasses Gluttony's highest level by a high margin. I feel like just staring into that power could burn me alive."
The principle coughed into the microphone, grabbing everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, due to this unexpected occurrence we'll be moving this tournament onwards. The final round of the Rank-Farming Tournament begins now!"
A spotlight came down on Miharu, who smirked and raised her arms in the air, accepting the roaring praise eagerly. "First we have the strongest duelist of Osiris Red, who in this tournament has achieved a ranking of nineteenth in the school. Since a forfeit offers little value, her ranking is now eighteenth. Ladies and gentlemen, our eighteenth strongest duelist striving to be number one, Miharu Kanzaki!"
Then a spotlight came down on the surprised looking Mizuki, who blinked in confusion as she was cheered on. She was still barely able to accept the fact that Kohana had so suddenly surrendered. "And our second duelist who has risen rapidly in the ranks throughout her tenure here at the school, the seventh ranked duelist of Duelist Academy, Rising Star Mizuki Mitsuhiro!"
Mizuki took a deep breath and started walking towards the arena, with Kohana walking towards her away from the arena. As they crossed paths Kohana placed a hand on Mizuki's shoulder, halting her in place. "Mizuki Mitsuhiro, when you duel, I would like you to know what rides on this matter."
She frowned at the blue haired girl, not quite sure what she was getting at. "Okay…back up. What are you talking about Kohana?"
The icy eyed girl slowly drew her gaze towards Shiro, who shivered when their eyes met. "To begin, although you know me as Kohana Meisuko, my truest name is that of Frost, True Sin of Ice. And my companion Miharu Kanzaki is Inferno, True Sin of Fire."
"True…Sin?" An image of a blue eyed woman with wild black hair flashed through Mizuki's mind and then was gone.
Frost nodded once calmly. "That is correct. Inferno and myself have been investigating a certain matter, and depending on what we learn from this duel we may have questions for you. In order to bring out your highest level of performance, I have added insurance to push you farther."
"Insurance? Push me farther? What the heck are you going on about now?" Frost raised her left arm and pointed at Shiro, and Mizuki followed the gesture. When Shiro looked away, Mizuki's eyes widened.
"What have you done to Shiro?" Frost sighed and opened up her right hand, and briefly a flower of ice formed before dissolving away.
"If my name did not indicate it, my ability is the control over water molecules in the surrounding atmosphere. Specifically I can reduce the speed at which the electrons within water molecules move, thus reducing its energy and producing ice. At the moment, I have a seed of ice within Shiro Akugi's chest. At my command it can expand, puncturing his heart and thusly eliminating him." Mizuki's eyes widened and Shiro looked at his feet, his hands shaking.
Frost walked past her, and then casually sat down in her previous seat and put one leg over the other. Mizuki felt her entire body shaking with bundled up rage, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't just stand there all day Rising Star, come and fight me!"
Mizuki swung her head around, hair flying out behind her. She met eyes with Inferno, who beckoned her to come. With narrowed eyes Mizuki jumped up onto the arena and flipped open her father's old duel disk. "Fight you? Is that how you view this? A fight?"
Inferno laughed and beckoned towards herself with both hands. "That's right! A duel is just another method of battle, and in a duel I want to pit our respective strengths against each other! Can your dueling skill survive against the raw flames of my heart? Let's find out!"
The Rising Star slammed her deck into place while Inferno did the same. "You're insane!"
The red head cackled madly, and then thrust her right arm into the air. "Hah! I never claimed to have such a thing as sanity; all I've got with me is my deck and the fire that's always in me! So come and taste my flames Mizuki Mitsuhiro!"
Up in the stands Chizuma gulped and wrapped her arms around her body, looking to Kane and Sanzo for support. "Guys…how come Mizuki-sama looks so mad?"
Sanzo frowned, and glanced between Miharu and Kohana. "I can't say, but I know it has something to do with those two. They're dangerous, incredibly so."
From his space Harrison gritted his teeth, feeling the aura flooding off of the girl on the field. "That girl, she's like a raging furnace of power with no control whatsoever. Mizuki…even after the past seven days of intense preparation, are you prepared to face such a level of opponent?"
Saint leaned in eagerly, his eyes alight with passion. "I eagerly await your performance Miss Mitsuhiro. Show me precisely what you are capable of at your strongest."
Mizuki and Inferno reached for the decks at the same time, with Mizuki looking determined and Inferno appearing eager. "Miharu, or Inferno, or whatever you call yourself…get ready to face my wrath! DUEL!" (MLP: 4000) (ILP: 4000)
Inferno drew the first card for the duel and slammed it into her duel disk. "Let's start off with a bang! I activate Inferno Charity, which lets me view the top five cards of my deck!"
She snatched them off and instantly five giant holographic images appeared. Each one was a monster made of flame with blue eyes. "All fire and pyro monsters amongst the five are discarded, and for every one discarded I draw one card and gain five hundred life points!"
Mizuki showed little reaction as Inferno dumped all five cards into the graveyard and then was suddenly surrounded by blue flames. "Yeah, that's the way! The flames of rejuvenation!" (ILP: 7500)
Inferno grinned as wide as her face and her field slot opened. She slapped a card in and fire exploded all around them. Mizuki flinched away from the flames, which felt surprisingly real. "Welcome to my second home, Inferno Paradise!"
Fire was everywhere; they were completely surrounded by flames that leapt nearly as high as the ceiling. Mizuki felt sweat beading on her forehead from the heat. "You're adding heat to the fire, aren't you?"
"You catch on quick Mizuki-chan! Let me show you just what it does though, because now I activate the effect of my one and only monster. I remove all five Infernos in the cemetery and special summon five Infernos (1100/1900 X5) from my hand!" Mizuki grimaced as five skulls of flame formed on Inferno's field.
The flames surrounding Inferno suddenly turned blue, and Mizuki remembered the term 'flames of rejuvenation.' "The effect of Inferno Paradise now lets me gain the attack or defense of any Inferno removed from the game. So I gain nineteen hundred life points five times!" (ILP: 17,000)
Kaoru grimaced, seeing those life points shoot up like that. "I don't get it, is Miharu's strategy burn, rush, beatdown, or life gain?"
Enzeru gripped his knees tightly, feeling the heat coming from the arena as if it were real. And somehow he didn't doubt that it was. "Most likely her deck balances those four strategies together. It appears to be quite effective as well."
Mizuki stood up straight, letting the flames whip around her. "Gain all the life points you want Inferno! In my turn I'll beat down every last one of those monsters and smash your life points!"
Inferno laughed with delight. "That's the kind of confidence I love to hear from my opponents! I hope to see you try, but it'll be hard since Inferno Paradise increases the attack of every Inferno in play by three hundred for every one I've got. So each one gains fifteen hundred!"
The five identical monsters shot up to twenty-six hundred attack points a piece, but Mizuki didn't flinch. Frost smiled slightly as she watched the two. 'She's not worried Inferno, be cautious. This girl at her best…most likely she can equal my level, and perhaps even surpass it.'
The True Sin cracked her neck and slipped two cards from her hand down. "Go ahead and come at me Mizuki-chan! Breaking through my wall of monsters and my two face downs will be next to impossible in one turn!"
Mizuki reached for her deck, and Inferno's eyes widened when her opponent's eyes suddenly flashed blue. "That's what you believe, but I'll show you that as long as it's what I desire, I know I can achieve it! Drawing the right card in this situation to crush you has a probability of 1.3759 percent, however…"
She snapped the card off, and Inferno had to take a step backwards as she felt a strange power wash over her. Even Saint's eyes widened. 'That's the strongest level I've felt from her so far. She's actually aware and focusing her strength? This level of power is at least as great as Greed's!'
The Rising Star slowly pulled the card up to her eyes, appearing completely calm and focused. "When it is what I desire absolutely, I feel that the probability of drawing the card that I want is one hundred percent!"
Finally she looked down at the drawn card and smirked in a manner that seemed reminiscent of Harrison as she flipped it around to show to Inferno. "Rune Symbol-Tiwaz activates, at a cost of half my life points…everything…is destroyed!" (MLP: 2000)
Inferno threw up an arm up in defense as a wave of blue light swept over the field, brushing away the flames and shattering all seven cards that she had in play. "Impossible! All my work, gone with one card!"
Mizuki's smirk faded and she grabbed another of her cards quickly. "I hope you're not too shocked Inferno, because I intend to make good on the next part of my declaration and smash your life points! I activate Rune Charm-Summon!"
She slapped a third card onto her disk and a glowing white armored form of her mightiest monster took shape. "Rune Paladin (2600/2400) is special summoned! And joining him for my normal summon is Rune Ninja (1700/1400)!"
A lithe figure in a white ninja outfit appeared, brandishing throwing stars that glowed with runic symbols. "Rune Paladin, attack Inferno directly! Rune Energy Wave!"
Rune Paladin swung his mirror sheen sword down, sending a wave of blue energy rolling across the field. It swept over Inferno, but the duelist laughed, her body covered by a sphere of flames that protected her. "If you want to hurt me, try harder Mizuki-chan!" (ILP: 14,400)
"Try this one for size then! Rune Ninja, direct attack!" Ninja snapped out its hand, sending a handful of shuriken hurtling across the field at Inferno. The red head just laughed as they were incinerated by the flames around her. (ILP: 12,700)
"Still not enough! You've got to put some real energy into it to hurt me, and this just isn't cutting it at all!" Her flames dissipated and she chuckled…until she was struck with a barrage of shuriken. (ILP: 11,000)
Mizuki gave a brief nod to her ninja, which bowed to her. "You got cocky Inferno, and you paid for it. Rune Ninja can attack twice during the battle phase, and you let your shield down too early."
Inferno shrugged, and brushed her red blazer off. "Whatever, it's not like you really hurt me. But I'll admit that your turn was impressive. Had I not gained so many life points my first turn you would have gotten a one turn kill against me with that combo. Pretty impressive."
She closed her eyes briefly, then looked over her shoulder at Shiro. 'Don't worry Shiro, I won't allow them to hurt you. Even if I have to push myself past my limits I'll win this and protect you!'
"I play one card face down and end my turn! Now that I've crushed your efforts, can you recover Inferno? Let's see if you've got more than just a fire in your heart!" Inferno grinned and drew, looking darkly eager to prove herself.
"Hey Mizuki-chan, I hope you liked the flames, because once per duel I can add Inferno Paradise from my cemetery or deck to my hand as long as I have at least five Inferno in my grave or removed from play pile. So it's back to the fire with us!" The flames leapt up around them, once again cutting them off from the rest of the audience.
She cracked her knuckles and raised up her drawn card. "Dimension Shift lets me send up to five monsters in my out of play pile to my grave. Then I can add that same number of monsters in my removed from play pile or cemetery to my hand."
With a flourish she pulled the five Infernos out of her back pocket and exchanged them with the five Infernos in her cemetery, putting them into her hand. "Now I'll remove my newly placed Infernos to bring out the other set of Infernos (1100/1900 X5)!"
The same five flaming skulls formed, and their attack points began to rise. "Once more, thanks to Inferno Paradise each of my Infernos has twenty-six hundred attack. And of course, time for the flames of rejuvenation!" (ILP: 20,500)
Sanzo grimaced. "What an insane level of life points…"
Chizuma whimpered at seeing the red head's life points so quickly restored to a point surpassing their previous amount. "Mizuki-sama…be careful…"
"Since my monsters each have the same attack strength as your paladin, I think I'll just sacrifice one of them to clear it out of the way. Inferno, immolate that shiny loser!"
Mizuki pointed to her face down card, and suddenly the Inferno that had started to move forwards slowed to a stop. "Rune Symbol-Ingwaz prevents you from attacking for three turns, counting from your end phases. Meaning for the next three turns, your fireballs are dead weight!"
Inferno growled in frustration, and pushed a card into her disk. "Whatever, I'll just burn you down after those three turns."
As soon as Mizuki drew she took her previously left over card and placed it next to her ninja. "Rune Spearholder (1900/1200) in attack mode!"
Her white robed monster spun its spear in a circle, ending the flourish with the bladed weapon pointing at one of the living balls of flame. "I hope you're ready to have those fireballs of yours smacked down, because here I come!"
Inferno snorted and placed her hands on her hips. "What are you going to do? Even your strongest monster only equals the strength of each of my Infernos."
"You're wrong! My monsters have much greater strength, thanks to this card I've drawn! Rune Mark-Power, double Spearholder's attack for this turn!"
The fire wielding girl's eyes widened as her monster's attack shot up to thirty-eight hundred, surpassing even Rune Paladin. "Damn it…"
"Go and get one of them Spearholder! Rune Spear Strike!" With a bellow the spearholder thrust his spear forward, sending a lance of energy shooting out from the tip. The blast punched directly through the middle Inferno, splitting it apart. (ILP: 19,300)
Inferno frowned as her four remaining monsters shrank slightly. "With one fewer of them in play, each of my Infernos falls to twenty-three hundred attack. Now you can defeat another with Rune Paladin."
Mizuki shook her head and thrust her hand out towards Rune Ninja. "No, I won't let you get off that easy! By sacrificing the monster affected, I can change the target of that power to another monster I control! Rune Ninja, I bestow the power upon you!"
Spearholder bowed and shattered. Glowing light from its body floated to the side and settled around Ninja, getting absorbed into the monster's body. Its attack strength steadily climbed until it reached thirty-four hundred. "Now who's weak Inferno? Rune Shuriken Strike!"
A trio of shuriken slashed another Inferno into three even sections, which hovered in the air for a brief moment before turning to dust. "And while you take life point damage, your other monsters weaken!" (ILP: 18,200)
The red haired girl snarled, seeing what was coming next. "Che and your stupid ninja gets a second attack, so you can beat another of my Infernos."
'That's exactly right! Attack the next one and cut it to pieces!" The ninja nodded and threw a double handful of shuriken, piercing through the living flame in half a dozen places. The remaining pieces shattered seconds later. (ILP: 16,800)
Mizuki curled her left hand into a tight fist, and Rune Ninja faded away, leaving the energy from before left. "I tribute Rune Ninja to transfer its newly inherited power to my Rune Paladin!"
Enzeru gawked at the fifty-two hundred attack strength monster and at Mizuki. "This methodical dueling…she's like a dueling machine! Is she really the same duelist who I was able to actually challenge? At this level of playing, I wouldn't have stood a chance."
Kaoru slowly nodded, and wished for the life of her that she could see into Mizuki's heart to understand what the girl was going through. "Mizuki…why are you acting like this?"
Shiro frowned, bunching up the material of his pants as he gripped it with his hands as hard as he could. 'I'm sorry Mizuki…that you were put into this situation because I couldn't beat Frost.'
Mizuki pointed at the Inferno closest to Inferno with her right arm. "Rune Paladin, blast that one into nothingness with Rune Energy Wave!"
Rune Paladin's sweeping wave of energy completely annihilated the being of fire, and with the heavy difference in power even Inferno was forced to put up her shield of flame once again to guard herself. "That's really impressive Mizuki-chan…but I've still got an assload and a half worth of life points!" (ILP: 13,300)
The Rising Star closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and sooth the seething anger inside her. "End turn."
Frost narrowed her eyes as her compatriot drew. 'In moments you will revive your Infernos and directly damage Mizuki Mitsuhiro's life points. Focused though she is, the girl's anger will ultimately be a determent. Whereas for Inferno, anger gives her steady strength.'
Inferno drew and her set card glowed and revealed itself. "Inferno Sweeping Revival brings back all Infernos destroyed in the last two turns, and for every two revived I draw two cards. So here they all come back, and I get two draws!"
Mizuki felt a twinge in her heart, but suppressed it. 'Even pushing myself as hard as I can I'm not holding her down for more than my own turn. The only reason I'm maintaining an advantage is because she can't attack. And I'm using up all my resources just to dent her life points.'
The fiery duelist held up one of her two drawn cards. "I hope you like to share pain Mizuki-chan, because I've got a big blast coming at both of us! Go magic card, Tremendous Fire!"
The fire of Inferno Paradise swept to life, gathering together like a giant hand in front of each duelist. Mizuki screamed as the burning hand wrapped around her, while Inferno just laughed. "You know what they say, if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen!" (ILP: 12,800) (MLP: 1000)
When the hands released them, Mizuki fell to her knees, wincing in pain as the fire beneath her was nearly as hot as what she had just felt. Smoke rose from her body, and her Obelisk Blue uniform was singed. "Dirty strike…"
"Call it dirty if you want, but burn strategies are just as valid as any other. And in case you didn't know that card well, Tremendous Fire deals me five hundred damage and you one thousand. So we each took a bit of pain. Though in your case it nearly finished you didn't it?" She chuckled and reached for her other drawn card.
Shiro's eyes widened as Inferno held up the card she was about to activate. He started to move from his seat and open his mouth, but was silenced when he felt an icy stare against his back. 'That's right…Frost said if I called out to encourage Mizuki she'd freeze my heart in my chest.'
Enzeru didn't fail to notice Shiro's reaction, especially how he held himself back from speaking. 'My suspicions were correct. Whatever is making Mizuki act like this it's also the reason Shiro is acting so strangely. Most likely Kohana is behind it all, though what she's done I can't tell.'
He leaned towards Kaoru and whispered into her ear. "Kaoru, can you look into Kohana's heart and learn her intentions? I'm certain she's behind whatever is wrong with Mizuki."
Inferno laughed as fire gathered in her free hand, forming a fireball. "Ookazi is my card of choice, and it deals you eight hundred points of direct damage! Try this one on for size!"
She shot the fire out, hitting Mizuki in the chest. The dark haired girl screamed as the fireball exploded, hurling her a few feet backwards. Mizuki rolled around, holding her stomach with her hands. 'That impact felt too real..' (MLP: 200)
Her red headed opponent cracked her knuckles as if she had already won. "Another saying for you. If you play with fire, you'll get burned!"
Kaoru looked over at Frost and her violet eyes glowed. "Let's see what's in your heart Kohana Meisuko, and exactly what you intend."
Frost turned to look at her, and Kaoru gasped as to her mind it seemed as if her entire body was suddenly encased in ice. The world around her shifted, revealing an icy expanse. "Kaoru Tsukada, you tread on thin ice in this realm, for this is my heart of hearts, and only a True Sin can know the content of another True Sin's heart. You are not wanted here."
Kaoru withdrew, her body shivering from the cold she had experienced. "No, I can't do it. She's too strong for me…but I did learn that she's a True Sin, just like Nightmare. And just like that Miharu girl…she called herself Inferno. Whatever they are, they're too powerful for me to see into their hearts."
Enzeru sighed and rubbed his chin. "That's what I was afraid. It looks like at this point all we can do for the time being is sit back and leave everything to Mizuki. We have to trust that she can win this, even with whatever is happening."
From her place in the stands Chizuma punched a fist into the air. "Do your best Mizuki-sama, we believe in you!"
Then she raised a flag with Mizuki's name on it with hearts all around it and waved it around. "Mizuki-sama is the best! Go Mizuki-sama!"
Sanzo rubbed the bridge of his nose, a sweat-drop forming on the back of his head. "There's a limit to enthusiasm, and this girl crossed it a long time ago…"
When he looked back down at the field a card was shimmering into view in front of Inferno. "End turn Mizuki-chan! With two hundred life points left, do you think you can hold on much longer against me? After all, only one more turn left where I can't attack!"
Mizuki drew, and then pointed to one of the revived Infernos. "Rune Paladin, attack it!"
The living ball of flame shrieked and swooped down across the field, colliding with Rune Paladin. The warrior roared out his challenge and shoved his sword deep into the fireball's chest. The creature exploded, consuming both. "And both are destroyed. But mine will be back. I activate Rune Charm-Revival to bring back Rune Paladin (2600/2400) and I end my turn."
Inferno drew and chuckled. "Your efforts were in vain, I remove the destroyed Inferno to special summon the one I just drew! And not only do they power up again, but I gain the removed one's defense as life points!" (ILP: 14,700)
Mizuki bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw a bead of blood. 'No matter what I try she just recovers almost instantly. And top-decking like this makes it too hard to fight back.'
"I end my turn Mizuki-chan, ending the seal of your Rune Symbol. Next turn, next turn I get to attack and I'll burn you to ash!" Mizuki gulped and reached for her deck, feeling her confidence that she had drawn on earlier in the duel fading bit by bit.
She shook off the worming feelings of doubt in her mind and held up the drawn card. "Rune Symbol-Fehu lets me draw two cards."
With the next two draws she felt even weaker, like her strength was draining away. It was like dark fingers were clawing at her brain, sapping her of her strength faster than she could use it. 'No, I can't stop now. I have to go forward full force!'
"Rune Paladin, suicide strike against another Inferno!" For the second time Mizuki's monster clashed with an Inferno and both were immolated by the fiery creature's destruction.
Mizuki thrust forward one of her two drawn cards. "Blank Rune is a quick-play that can copy the effect of a Rune Symbol or Rune Charm in my cemetery! So I use Rune Charm-Revival to bring back Rune Paladin!"
Her strongest monster once again returned to the field, blade at the ready. "And since I revived him during my battle phase I get to attack with him again! Rune Energy Wave!"
The blast of blue energy crushed one of the weakened Infernos, punching a tiny chunk out of Inferno's life points. But nothing that the True Sin had to worry about. 'Even with my best efforts I'm still barely hurting her. That many life points is just too much to get around.' (ILP: 14,400)
Inferno placed her right hand on her hip and flashed Mizuki a cocky grin. "That all you can manage? This is all the so-called Rising Star can do? I'm not impressed at all!"
Mizuki slid her last card into her disk, feeling weaker second by second. 'She's right…I've got nothing…I don't understand this, how can she be so much stronger than me? I thought I had the advantage, but bit by bit I'm just losing ground.'
Sanzo gasped as he realized what was happening. 'The oppressive aura that's surrounding Mizuki…its not just because she's depressed, that aura is coming from within her, but somehow its not even hers! Something inside her is weakening her!'
Harrison frowned, feeling his own aura being pushed back by the darkly oppressive aura flowing out of Mizuki. 'Without a doubt, the source of that dark aura is Nightmare. Mizuki wasn't ready for this sort of attack, and she isn't aware enough of it to suppress it. If something doesn't stop it soon, she's going to…'
Inferno snapped her fingers as soon as she drew. "Since I can attack, its time for me to crush you! I activate the trap card Inferno Joint Strike! This allows me to combine the attacks of my Infernos together this one time. And guess what? All six thousand points are aimed at your Rune Paladin!"
The three Infernos merged together into one giant monstrosity of flame and began to blast across the field towards Rune Paladin. The paladin's armor began to melt from the mere presence, and Mizuki had to hold up an arm to hold off the heat. "Burn Mizuki-chan! Burn you false Rising Star! Burn you weakling!"
Rune Paladin groaned as his body began to crack and Mizuki reached out as he blew to pieces. Inferno cackled as bits of flame hit Mizuki, bombarding her and making her stumble backwards. "And that's the game Mizuki-chan!"
Mizuki stopped her stumbling and shook her head, her determination faded but still present. "No, it's not done yet." (MLP: 5400)
Inferno snarled and flames leapt from her body, her eyes sparking. "But I had you, I know it! How did you survive and gain life points?"
The Rising Star held up a card, revealing that she no longer had a set. "Rune Blessing-Gathered Life activates when a Rune monster would be destroyed in battle. Before damage calculation I gain the total attack points of all monsters in the battle as life points. So my life points reached eighty-eight hundred before I took damage."
The True Sin held up her right hand and bunched it into a fist. "I'll still burn you! When an Inferno destroys a monster as a result of battle the opponent takes fifteen hundred points of effect damage! And all three of my Infernos beat a monster in battle…so take three instances of that damage!"
Mizuki's body was suddenly engulfed in flames, a towering inferno swarming all around her. The audience was deathly silent at the sound of her screams, and Shiro looked like he was going to crush his kneecaps from the pressure he was putting on them. Even Chizuma couldn't speak. "How does it feel, to live in the flames? To always be surrounded by that unstoppable heat?" (MLP: 900)
The fire dissipated, and Mizuki's body was deposited face-down on the ground, steam rising from her back. "Heh, I guess you didn't like it. But I live always in flame, my body is suffused by it, I can't get away from it, so the only option was to embrace the flames! If you can't do that, you're seriously gonna die Mizuki-chan!"
No response came from the fallen girl, and still the dueling arena remained deathly silent save for Inferno. "Since you're not talking I'll move onto my second main phase and play Inferno Impact Revive! Every Inferno destroyed by a monster beaten in battle this turn is revived, so my two beaten Infernos from last turn are back!"
Twin blasts of flame joined the three already on his field, and their attack points rose again to twenty-six hundred a piece. "I hope you're intending to actually put up some sort of fight next turn weakling, because this, it's not even making me sweat!"
A card appeared behind the five beings of fire and Inferno planted her feet heavily on the ground. "Come on Mizuki-chan; face me with your strength, whatever is left of it at least! I don't want it to be done yet, since I'm finally getting a chance to go full power against an opponent!"
Shiro and Chizuma, from opposite sides of the dueling arena, at the same moment had the same thought. 'Get up…you have to get up!'
"Che, full power? That's not power at all!" Inferno's eyes widened as Mizuki's body began to stir and suddenly her body felt like it had just been hit by a heavy weight.
'What the heck is this level of power? It's stronger than me…it's actually stronger than Frost!' Mizuki's body lifted up as if being pulled by marionette strings, and the room dimmed, going grey.
There was no motion save for the two of them, and almost everyone in the audience had been grayed out just like everything else. "I'm curious little Inferno…what sort of power it takes to be considered a True Sin in your circle?"
Mizuki's eyes snapped open, and Inferno saw a shade of blue similar to her own. "You…you're the one we sensed…the True Sin filling this entire island with her foul dark energy!"
Mizuki's body changed, growing taller and more voluptuous. It was soon covered by a dress of shadow, and her duel disk darkened. Her hair lengthened and grew wilder, and her face matured by a handful of years so that she looked like an older version of Mizuki.
With a smirk on her face the blue-eyed woman bowed slightly to Inferno. "That's right. True Sin, Nightmare at your service."
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Author's Note: Again she appears.
Next Time: Nightmare has appeared once again, and the duel between Mizuki and Inferno suddenly turns into a deadly battle between two True Sins. As powerful as the mysterious True Sin has shown herself to be, even the deadly Inferno might not be able to match up. But victory in this case may be worse than defeat.
See it all in, VS Inferno; Extinguish the Flames!
