Demon Edo crashed on the floor with burns all over his brown suit, the cards from his deck scattered on the floor. Once the duel finished, the blue laboratory vanished alongside the creatures, reverting the surroundings to the gloomy college corridor. Much to Hajime's surprise, the red fog had dissipated and cleared the path, although the dim light coming from outside did him no great favor. After packing his own cards and sliding the deck back in his suitcase, he hurried up the stairs, Tsugumi's safety being the only objective he was focused on. Time had definitely been wasted while he was forced to face that corrupted version of Edo, but hopefully it was not too late.
A horrific sight awaited him as soon as he reached the second floor. Countless corpses decorated the corridor, bloodstains on walls, organs spilled out on the floor, looks of utter despair on each victim's face. Hajime suppressed the urge to vomit as he was reminded of Ken's sudden demise. He immediately recognized them as professors, janitors, guards and technicians, well-respected college staff who earned their living through an honest day's work. They did not deserve such a gruesome fate, in the end they were just collateral victims caught in this conflict.
"Hajime, someone, anyone, help me!" Tsugumi's cries for help echoed at the far end of the west corridor, sounding even more desperate than before.
Taking a deep breath, ignoring the rotten stench of decomposing flesh which assaulted his nostrils, the blond made his way through that massacre scene.
"Don't worry, grandma, I'm coming to save you!" he shouted back.
The noise of a door being slammed startled him. His grandmother's voice had ceased. With the exception of his rushed steps, everything had gone awfully silent. Upon further reflection, this was the perfect trap for someone like him. All that Shishima needed was to unnerve him to the point where his courage and determination were broken, and then throw him into despair by using a loved one as bait. The blond was well-aware that at that point he was most likely dancing to his enemy's tune, but in that situation there was truly no other option but to play along, and hopefully, things would somehow play in his own favor.
Hajime halted near a dead end where there were only four doors, two on the left and two on the right. Most likely Tsugumi was being hidden behind one of them, he just had to find out which. He tried the first door on the left, only to discover it was locked. The sound of something cracking alerted him and he looked back to find... nothing out of the ordinary. The young one sighed, most likely his mind was playing tricks on him yet again, then he went to the opposite door and tried opening it as well. Still nothing, but again he heard another crack, only this time it seemed louder and closer. He turned around to once again find nothing except the bleak corridor decorated with rotting corpses. As he headed to the third door, a part of him wished that the fog would have remained, for the sight of that slaughter was truly giving him the creeps. Once he placed his hand on the door knob, out of nowhere, he heard dozens of voices growling in unison, "Why are you not concerned about our fate, Hajime?!"
The brutally maimed cadavers were crawling down the floor on whatever limbs they still had, leaving trails of blood and organs, slowly approaching him.
"We were your professors."
"You pass by us every day."
"We wanted to help build your future."
"Do you care more about that old hag than us?"
"Are we that expendable to you?"
"Have you no soul, Hajime?"
"Answer us!"
As expected, the third door was also locked. He looked around for something, anything to defend himself with, but it was for naught. Before he could get cornered, he ran to the last door and pulled on it hard.
"Please, I beg of you, just open already!" Hajime desperately shouted.
The reanimated corpses all fixated him with their sunken eyes as they got closer and closer to their prey. Whatever hope he still had was vanquished once all he could see was the disgusting sight of decomposing flesh. Backed against the door and pushed to his limit, tears began to fall down the his cheeks.
"Ken, grandma Tsugumi, please forgive me. I have failed you," the youth whispered a final prayer as he awaited his terrible fate.
Suddenly, a light as bright as the sun appeared behind his pursuers and engulfed everyone. When Hajime opened his eyes, he had the surprise of seeing a floating dark purple gem with hands and a red eye in its center. He had seen it before, it had appeared to him in a short vision on the morning of Ken's demise. Now it stood before him once again, and although he had used it before in his deck, he could still do nothing be revel in awe at its greatness.
"Hajime Shirayama," the creature spoke, its calm voice leaving a deep echo ringing in his ears. "You must not fall here, for like your grandmother before you, you had been chosen to represent the Light civilization." A familiar creature also appeared, the serpentine dragon made of dark crystals. "As its King, I shall assign Kirazeus Savark as your guardian. I promise you that as long as you believe in us and yourself, you will be protected."
The dragon gave a mighty roar and fired a golden beam from the red eye on its chest.
The light vanished, returning Hajime to the darkened corridor. To his relief, he found that all the corpses had been reduced to piles of ash. Was it all one crazy dream, as he kept telling himself? Or had the two creatures shielded him from certain death? Despite his skepticism, he was grateful for their benevolence.
Out of the bloom, the opposite door swung open. Demon Sora shrieked and lashed out of the classroom right at him. Hajime jumped to avoid her, but her large sharp claws managed to scratch his left arm. Blood stained his turquoise sweater's sleeve from the inside. He gripped the wound tightly and tried to block out the sudden pain. Upon further inspection, he saw that the one who assaulted him wore a traditional green yukata, had flowing long green hair and ritualistic green tattoos all over her skin.
His mind immediately went to Tsugumi's best friend, who always used to drop by her mansion for a cup of tea and a pleasant chat, meaning that she was...
"Sora, you too?" Hajime asked, only for the demonized one to swiftly grab him by the neck and lift him up, her claws slowly stabbing his flesh.
"Your little lights show ruined all my fun," Demon Sora growled at him. "Now I have to personally make you join your whore of a grandmother!"
Upon hearing this, he instinctively kicked her in the stomach, making her drop him and back down.
"What happened to my grandma?!" he shouted, barely containing his anger.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" she replied, motioning to the open classroom.
Taking cautious steps, the blond remained at a safe distance from the monstrous girl, never taking his eyes off of her. Once he stepped inside, the sight which awaited froze him. Tsugumi's horribly mangled body lied on a seat. It seemed as if someone sloppily tried to sow it back up, but had done a poor job. There were two large holes in her shoulders, her neck was torn open, leaving her head hanging and on the verge of falling off her body, her mouth was widened in a permanent scream of terror, her dead eyes stared lifelessly at the ceiling, intestines were hanging out of her open belly, darkening her red dress with bloodstains, and there were stitches all over her skin. Hajime could not believe his eyes. All this time he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, his grandmother would have still been alive, but once again he had been hit hard by cruel reality.
"Kehehe, do you like my little work of art? I really tried my best in sculpting it," Demon Sora gloated from behind. "It all started with a little visit to the Shirayama mansion under the guise of my former self. You were attending courses back then. It was very easy to dupe Tsugumi into following me back at Edo's workshop. Once she was in, the trap was set. Sure, she tried putting up a good fight, but in the end we overpowered her. And then I personally dealt with her. First I sunk my claws into her shoulders, to make sure she would not fight back. Then I slit her throat open, so she would cease crying for help. Next I tore open her belly to savor the insides of my prey. When I had enough of her old flesh, I started ripping off bits of her limbs. Not her full limbs, mind you, for I wanted that bitch to still enjoy some pain before her pathetic death. That's just the kind of generous person I am, really. Lastly, I extended the hole in her body all the way to the chest, exposing her still beating heart, letting her bleed out until she was dry. Only then was she allowed to die. And trust me, I had never felt more alive doing all of this. As for you hearing her voice, that was me toying around with her vocal chords to lure you here, and you fell for it better than I had hoped."
Fully rendered speechless, Hajime stared into nothingness. His mind had gone blank from that traumatic revelation. Seizing the opportunity, Demon Sora lashed at him once more, her claws aiming for his back. As soon as he heard her steps, the blond grabbed a pointing stick, turned around, screamed out his anger and smashed it into her hands, breaking the claws. Shocked by his sudden retaliation, she backed down and said, "You fucking asshole, do you know how much I need to sustain these? Now thanks to you, I will need to get a really precise manicure!"
"You will not leave unpunished for what you've done!" Hajime threatened as he took out his deck.
That was strange, just a few moments ago he was struggling to process the revelation of Tsugumi's murder. How did he suddenly become so determined to fight back? Hesitantly reaching for her own deck, Demon Sora accepted his challenge, causing two dueling tables to appear in the classroom. Both went to them and set up their cards, five shields appearing above each player, announcing the beginning of the match.
"I summon Jaberu, Snow Faerie," Demon Sora said and a white gorilla donning a black suit and wielding a golden shovel appeared. "Mana Arms 3, I check the top four cards of my deck and take Gyou, Growthkind to my hand."
"I cast Miraculous Snare on Jaberu," Hajime said and a blue aura enveloped the creature, transforming it into a new shield.
"I summon Gyou, Growthkind." A green baby pterodactyl appeared, causing one of its owner's shields to be sent to the mana zone, the card being Ragmal, Spirit Knight.
"I cast Rainbow Spark and tap Gyou. Mana Arms 2, I draw two cards."
"I evolve Gyou into Gyogyou, Revolutionkind." The small creature grew in size, becoming a mature green pterodactyl holding an egg in its claws.
"I cast Dragon's Sign and bring out Kirazeus Savark! With his effect, I send the card of Gyogyou on one of your shields face up."
The slender serpentine dragon made of gold and dark purple crystal appeared and used its sword of light to cut down the pterodactyl, reverting it to its baby form.
"Gyogyou's effect still kicks in, I bring out Ragmal, Spirit Knight from my mana zone and send him back."
"I send Kirazeus Savark to my mana zone, but with his other effect, I burn Gyogyou off of your shield and my creature remains!"
"What kind of strange card is that...? It has both removal and removal resistance?" Demon Sora asked in disbelief.
"I thought your ilk were superior to mere humans. If you're so smart, figure it out," Hajime shot back, his tone defiant and arrogant.
"So you're a little a wise guy, huh? Oh, I'll have so much fun when I gut you just like your worthless grandmother! I summon Marinyan, Dragon Edge, which brings out Euru=Bucca, Mystery Dragon Ruins." A pink haired teenage girl wearing cat idol clothes appeared, followed by a green ruined building with a dinosaur's head. "With Euru=Bucca's effect, all my Nature creatures cost 1 mana less, so I also summon Ochappi, Pure Hearted Faerie and send Gyogyou from the graveyard to my mana zone."
"I cast another Dragon's Sign and bring out Miracle Star, Time Caster!" A white and blue bipedal angelic dragon donning a space suit appeared, allowing the blond to return Miraculous Snare, Rainbow Spark and Dragon's Sign from the graveyard to his hand. "Kirazeus Savark, attack and Revolution Change into Miradante Twelve, Time Pope!" The crystal dragon flew towards the opponent, then turned around and hi fived with a blonde angelic dragon with a click on its back and a pope hat on its head. "Final Revolution, you can't summon creatures which cost 7 or less, and with his other effect I cast Miraculous Snare on Gyou!" A pair of golden vines caught Demon Sora's hands while the baby pterodactyl was engulfed in a blue aura and transformed into a shield. "Go, Miradante Twelve, triple break her shields!" Heeding the youth's order, the Angel Command Dragon fired twelve beams from the clock on its back, taking down three opposing shields.
"Since I have two Nature creatures in the battle zone at the start of my turn, I Dragsolution Euru=Bucca into Rejiru=Euru=Bucca, Mystery Ruinskind!" Demon Sora announced and the building grew limbs and got up, its dinosaur head giving a battle roar. Then, much to Hajime's surprise, she broke the vines tying her hands, meaning she could somehow bypass the lockdown. "Now each of my creatures costs 2 mana less, so I summon Sasoris Rage, Terror Dragon Edge!" Of course, she had a creature which cost 8 mana... "With her effect I put the top card of my deck to my mana zone and equip her with Boaroaxe, Evil Tomahawk!" A green squirrel with long hair, donning a white mask and a tribal suit appeared in the battle zone while wielding a silver axe. "With Boaroaxe's effect, I bring out Ragmal, Spirit Knight from my mana zone into the battle zone and send him back."
"I send Miracle Star to my mana zone."
"Since the total cost of my creatures is 20 or more, I end my turn and Dragsolution Boaroaxe into Boaropagos, Evil Emperor Ruins!" The green squirrel tossed the silver axe into the skies and it transformed into a green ruin with three dinosaur heads.
"I summon Kirazeus Savark and send Rejiru=Euru=Bucca back to the hyperspatial zone." The dragon made of crystals reappeared and made the building creature disappear with a single slash from its sword. "Miradante Twelve, attack and Revolution Change into another Miradante Twelve! Final Revolution, again you can't summon creatures which cost 7 or less, then I also cast Rainbow Spark to tap Marinyan and Ochappi and also draw two cards. Now go, break her final shields!"
The green haired girl took cover as her remaining three shields were blasted. As she inspected the cards, she quickly revealed one and spoke back, "Shield trigger, I cast Euru=Bucca, Antique Dragon Ruins and send Kirazeus Savark to your mana zone. Mana Arms 5, I also send Miradante Twelve to your mana zone!" The two dragons were enveloped by a green light and both vanished into their owner's mana zone. "Don't think that you've won just because you've locked down my creature summoning, kid! I'll show you the true capabilities Nature's raw strength - I attack with Ochappi and S-Rank Invasion "Tribe", I evolve her into Sanmadd, S-Rank Tribe, triple break his shields!" The Snow Faerie quickly transformed into a hairy caveman wearing the skulls of slain beasts, who rammed his body right into three shields. "Sasoris Rage, break his final shields!" The green squirrel jumped into the two remaining shields, tearing them with a headbutt. "Marinyan, todo-"
A bright light came out of one of Hajime's cards, falling upon all of the opposing creatures and subduing them. "Shield trigger, I cast Novalty Amaze, tap all your creatures and draw a card. Then with its super shield trigger effect, I bring out Kirazeus Savark!" Out of the same light, the serpentine dragon made of crystals reemerged.
"Not that damn thing again..."
"My turn, I summon Kaiserbarra, War Dragon Elemental, draw a card and bring out Heaven's Rosia, True Dragon Edge along with Heaven's Heaven, Heavenly Justice. Then Gravity Zero, I cast Miracle Stop and you can't cast spells until the start of my next turn! Kirazeus Savark, attack and Revolution Change into Miradante Twelve, Time Pope! Final Revolution, you can't summon creatures which cost 7 or less and I draw a card." The crystal dragon once more hi fived with the angelic one, who upon entering the battle zone was quick to tie its golden vines around the opponent's entire body, binding her to the floor.
"Curse you, fucking brat!" Demon Sora spat at him, pure grudge in her hissed voice. "You just had to use her deck against us..."
"This one is for my grandmother, you pathetic being. Miradante Twelve, todomeda!"
Following Hajime's order, the dragon fired twelve beams from the clock on its back, Demon Sora screaming out her fear and frustration.