World 042: Humanity is Cheap
"Welcome, Veyron, to our brotherhood." The ruler of the Arena Beyond had been waiting for this day, when the final item would finally walk into his domain. "Hello Static." Though the one that wielded it made clear from the start that he knew who hid behind the face of Void. "Ahaha.. I suppose you harbor some animosity towards me for my earlier deceptions. Those feelings will all be swept away once you see what we can do with the power of all seven legacies. Wagnerok surely told you by now, that the old world will merge with the new. In our new realm, nobody will be able to touch you or your brother again." Static let out a powerful laugh that echoed across the arena. "My brother? But he is nothing like me now." The speed duelist proclaimed. "Not yet. But he could be, if you so desire. We can turn anyone we want into beings like us. There are so many candidates around us already!" Static paused to hear the commotion of the dueling players just outside his walls. "Let's give them what we want! Gather everyone!"
"I am affraid Zettai is a bit indisposed at the moment." Wagnerok said, laughing at his own joke. "Hmph. Very well, we do not need her. And this will not wait. The time has come, at long last!"
...
"You. You are Hikaru. You work for Himiko's mother." This was the first Zettai saw the man that Wagnerok had described to her, the man who came out of nowhere to challenge the Fire Princess. "I work for the Shintaro family." He corrected her. "The Shintaros? They are still involved with STHEREA?" Tycho twitched. He'd come across their name a few times too during his research into Exeter. "STHEREA is theirs, Alpha the First Flame." And apparently Hikaru had done his own research. He recognized the Salamangreat duelist on the spot, despite his new appearance. But he did not come here for him. "You will be my opponent, Fire Princess. Is that your name, or do you have another?"
"I do have a name! Olympia!" The Fire Princess blurted out. "Really? When did you think of that one? Does Echo know?" Cierze got excited despite the clear danger this man represented. "I came up with it recently! Because I remembered there was another flame that never goes out! I do not remember you though. But if you are the one who took Himiko away, then I will gladly duel you to get her back!" Olympia activated her crimson dueldisk and drew her five cards.
Hikaru's LP: 8000 Olympia's LP: 8000 -TURN 01-
"I am affraid that is not what I came here to arrange. You will know what I want, when our battle has come to an end." Hikaru got the first turn, and placed three cards face down. Then he summoned his first monster: a raccoon(4/500/2000) [Zone 3] with a lantern lamp for a torso. "Eh?" Of all the cards in existence, the Fire Princess would never have imagined herself facing this one. "Is that it?" On the one hand, Dracoon Lamp could technically raise its defense by discarding a wyrm monster from Hikaru's hand. And during battle it would use its defense for damage calculation no matter what. On the other hand, plowing through it would be easy for someone like her. "Was that the wrong card to start with? Well, go easy on me. This is only my second duel after all." Hikaru smiled politely.
-TURN 02-
"Yes, I am sure it is." She did not trust this at all, not with all those set cards. "I activate Onslaught of the Fire Kings and call out the Sacred Phoenix of the Nephthys!" She had to proceed. Her spell could special summon any FIRE winged beast from the deck to a field without monsters. Here she used it to special summon the original Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys(8/2400/1600) [Zone 1]. "And Prepreparation of Rites!" While everyone else bathed in the glory of the Phoenix, the Princess played her second spell to add one ritual spell (Rebirth of Nephthys) and one of its retrospective ritual monsters (Devotee of Nephthys) to her hand. "And I ritual summon the Devotee!" The Rebirth of Nepthys ritual spell started the ceremony of flames, burning up one Devotee of Nephthys as the tribute to special summon the other. The Devotee was a wind-elemental woman(2/1200/1200) [Zone 3] wearing blue/white skirt, cerulean armor and a mask shaped like the face of Nephthys. "As I sacrificed Devotee to summon Devotee, Rebirth of Nephthys also destroys one card you control!" The Devotee played with a fireball in her hands before tossing it down at the left trap.
"My my, that was my better card. This must be the intuition of a thousand duelist minds at work." Hikaru said, lamenting the loss of his Skill Drain trap card. "I have only just begun, mister Hikaru!" She declared and activated her spell card, Supply Squad. "The Devotee can also summon one NepHthys monster from my deck, though she herself will die at the end of the turn!" The cerulean servant called out the youngest of the tribe: the Disciple of Nephthys(2/0/2000) [Zone 2]. "The Disciple destroys one card I hold to add one Nephthys card to my hand!" Olympia explained and turned the Fire King High Avatar Garunix in her hand to ash. The remaining embers flew into the deck and ignited the spark of a ritual monster: Cerulean Phoenix of the Nephthys.
"Now, I Link Summon The Sacred Preserver! This servant will draw one level 8 winged beast and reclaim one ritual spell to from the graveyard!" With two Nephthys monsters as the materials; Disciple and Devotee, Olympia could carve out her winged idol of gold. The Sacred Preserver statue(1200/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright} [Extra Zone 2] loomed on top of the pyramid altar. "I add the Cerulean Phoenix of Nephthys, and the spell that will summon him! Rebirth of the Nephthys!" So it happened that the Princess seized the sacrifices for her strongest ritual. She tributed one Cerulean Phoenix to ritual summon the other blue winged godbird(8/3000/1000) [Zone 4]. Once more the conditions for Rebirth of Nephthys' second destruction effect had been satisfied. This time the spell shattered the right spell: Tyrant Farm. "The Cerulean will destroy one monster I control, to destroy one monster you control!" Olympia burned down even more of her cards, the Cerulean turned the original red Nephthys phoenix into a sphere of destructive fire.
"Hmm. Fool me once, shame on me." Yet this time Hikaru defended himself. "I activate Waterfall of Dragonsouls. It sends my wyrm monsters to the graveyard and draws one card plus one for each sent card." A cleaning stream of water poured down and swallowed the Dracoon whole. Hikaru then drew two new cards. "She missed! Oh no!" A worried Cierze flapped her wings. "That monster of his was just an enticement, as was his spell. I do not think he is a unskilled as he wants to appear." Zettai grunted.
"Maybe not, but he is helpless!" Olympia would take the opening regardless of how she got it. Also, since her own card got destroyed, she could at least draw a card with Supply Squad. "The Devotee will be reborn from the ashes of another Nephthys in my hand!" Her new draw (Matriarch of the Nephthys) could be destroyed to restore the Devotee[Zone 2] from her own sacrificial burning. "And I will link summon the Sacred Flame of Nephthys!" The Devotee and the Sacred Preserver combined to form the ultimate Nephthys incarnation. The Sacred Flame appeared with a red-scaled draconian body(2400/LINK 3) {Downeft/Down/Downright] [Extra Zone 1] with four clawed legs, two arms, long wings and a golden axe-tipped tail. "Nephthys and Nephthys! Attack Hikaru directly!" Both winged beasts unleashed their blue and gold flames from their jaws and surrounded the enemy with endless fiery fury. "That was an adequate attack." Hikaru remarked while emerged from the fire with no visible damage. "Shall I now retaliate?"
Hikaru's LP: 2600
-TURN 03-
"Not yet!" Though Olympia relinquished her turn, she did not relinquish her cards. "Since the Fire King Garunix perished, I can summon him back to my field now!" From another set of ashes, the phoenix of a different mythology emerged. Garunix was the fire-crowned bird deity(8/2700/1700) [Zone 1] with golden armor and feathers in many colors. "Now you are free to act!" Garunix would have destroyed all monsters he controlled at this point, but of course he had none. "Much obliged. I must say, your mythology speaks to me. So I shall be kind and show you my own in earnest. I summon Tenyi Spirit Shthana, as there are no effect monsters on my field." At last his true archetype came to the forefront, and he began with the spiritual ice drake of the frozen cliffs: Mapura(4/400/2000). "And I can use one Tenyi monster as a link material for the Monk of Tenyi!" The drake turned to pure frost and covered the fist of the warrior that emerged from the link circuit: the spike-haired and effectless Tenyi Monk(1000/LINK 1) {Down} [Extra Zone 2].
"I knew it." Zettai grimaced. Beginners did not use an advanced deck like this. Hikaru knew what he was doing. "Spell card, Vessel for the Dragon Cycle. I send one wyrm from the deck to my graveyard, and add one wyrm monster to my hand while I control a monster without an effect." In one move he set up his grave and hand by discarding Tenyi Spirit Vishuda and adding Tenyi Spirit Ashuna. "Of course, I intend to summon it." Because he still controlled no effect monsters, he could special summon the Tenyi of Ashuna from his hand. It materialized as a long Chinese dragon(7/1600/2600) [Zone 2] in golden light. "Here is my link 2. I can use two wyrm monsters to link summon Shaman of the Tenyi." Ashuna and the Monk dematerialized and recombined into the fan-wielding female shaman(1500/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright}.
"She does have an effect however. I may discard one card to revive one wyrm monster from my graveyard. That can even be the one card I discarded." With a statement like that it came as no surprise that he decided to discard and revive the same card through the Shamans effect: MareMare the egglaying seahorse(7/2100/1400) [Zone 4]. "Well here is how I will regain my monsters without effects: MareMare can create up to three tokens by reducing its level by 1 each time!" The seahorse(4/2100/1400) spawned three eggs from her pouch which hatched into Mini Maremare tokens(1/300/200) [Zones 1,2 & 3]. Because of them, he could activate the Ashuna spirit from the grave. "If I banish Ashuna, I summon one Tenyi from my deck. I choose Adhara!" The spirit duelist commanded the earth element as well, and summoned the whiskered drake(1/0/0) [Zone 1] of wood and bark through the ground.
It and the three Mini Maremares slammed into the right side of a fourway link circuit, and turned water and earth into pure light. "I take two plus wyrms to create and link summon the Tenyi Spirit Sahasrara! Each turn this card will create one token with the same appearance and power of your monster, Princess Olympia!" A golden-maned dragonwyrm(3000/LINK 4) {Up/Down/Upright/Downright} [Zone 3] wrapped in white robes emerged from the extra deck. It performed the ceremony of creation with its four arms, and shaped the lingering spirits in the air into a duplicate(4/3000/0) [Zone 1] of the Cerulean Phoenix. "Now, Vishuda I can banish while I control a monster without an effect. And if I do, one monster you control returns to the deck." Hikaru smiled and woke the spirit of the darkness drake. "Ah!" Olymphia shuddered. The dark flames of Vishuda scared off her Cerulean Phoenix, forcing her out of the cycle of reincarnation alltogether.
"I suppose she would rather have gone to the graveyard. Alas, those fates are reserved for your other servants." Hikaru moved on to the battle phase. "Are they? But as long as I control the Sacred Flame, you cannot attack my other monsters! And she cannot be destroyed in battle!" Olympia protested. "Ah, is that because she is like the olympian flame too? But I am affraid it is not that kind of death I am after." Hikaru began the phase with an attack from the Garunix-token. "When a monster without an effect declares an attack, the Tenyi Shaman can destroy one card you control!" The female Tenyi channeled the spirits of destruction through her fan, and directed it all towards Olympia's link Nephthys. The wind destroyed the crimson phoenix utterly, while the Garunix-token "It does not matter what death you dispense! My flames will always be reborn! I activate my skill, Immortal Flame! I shall destroy my monsters and reincarnation ritual summon one monster with a lower level. I summon the Devotee in defense mode!"
"Reincarnation?" Tycho flinched when he heard the term for what happened then and there. The Immortal Flame skill destroyed High Avatar Garunix, and used the levels of the latter as a sacrifice for the rebirth of the Devotee of Nephthys(2/1200/1200). Since she had been special summoned, Olympia could also special summon another Nephthys servant from the deck. She summoned a defense-mode Defender of Nephthys: the loyal blonde knight(2/1400/200) [Zone 5] with her golden armor and orange cape. And thanks to Supply Squad, Olympia could add a new card to her hand. "Whose memories was she made from again?" Tycho heard the story of how they were made from Charles, but he could not help but wonder if Echo used his memories in particular as an inspiration for the Fire Princess' personality. Certainly she reminded him of himself more and more.
"So you have avoided death. But is that what you seek to do in perpetuity? Indeed, can your kind even die the normal way?" Hikaru asked as he redirected his attack. The Garunix token burned down the Devotee of Nephthys. "I don't know. Why would I want to find out?" Olympia retorted. Nevertheless, her Devotee and Defender got torn to pieces by the wind and waterblasts of the Shaman and the Maremare. "I should rephrase then. Do you think you deserve to be immortal?" Hikaru left her with a question she did not understand, before the spirit Sahasrara and its token overwhelmed Olympia with rays of golden energy. "Ghaaaah!" Hikaru had proven that she could at least feel pain.
Olympia's LP: 2000
"Hmph. I can banish Adhara from my graveyard, and add one banished Tenyi monster to my hand again." Hikaru explained to no one in particular and banished the light wyrm to reclaim the light wyrm Ashuna. He also placed one trap card down, and combined Maremare with the Tenyi Shaman to link summon his overmuscled draco-ogre, Tenyi Berserker(3000/LINK 3) {Downleft/Down/Downright} [Extra Zone 2]. "My turn ends here."
-TURN 04-
"Olympia? Are you alright?" Cierze cried out. "I will be in due time!" Since her turn started again, she could activate every effect of the cards destroyed by effects in the last two turns. "Because my flames shall never go out!" The darkhaired and motherly Matriarch of Nephthys(2/600/600) [Zone 2], the original golden Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys(8/2400/1600) [Zone 3] and the Fire King High Avatar Garunix [Zone 4] could all special summon themselves from the grave. "You're.. kinda scary." The Harpy Lady shivered. She was not sued to seeing so much rage from any of her friends. "I have to be! We already know that they can kill us! But they do not deserve to! And they never will again! They will be the ones to lose everything!" The Matriarch brought no additional powers, but the Fire King Garunix would destroy all four of Hikaru's monsters. And the resurrected Sacred Phoenix would cremate his face-down trap card.
"That is not for you or me to decide, princess. I activate the Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi! Since I control a monster without an effect, I can negate your monsters effect!" Hikaru was unfortunately well guarded. The Berserker slammed into Garunix with his shoulder and dispelled the bird's deadly flames. "Then for whom is to decide? Your masters? Are they the only ones who may own this fountain of youth?" Zettai sneered at the man who merely served greater corruption. "Exactly. You are still a child, miss Zettai. You cannot begin to judge them. And neither can they who were not even alive one week ago."
"That does not give you the right to end us!" Olympia felt her mind move faster than her body, fueled primarily a burning hatred. "It does not!" She began activating effects with little forewarning or explanation. She destroyed a random card in her hand to have the Matriarch resurrect the cheerful child Disciple of Nephthys(2/0/2000) in defense mode. She used both as link materials to summon another Sacred Preserver of the Nephthys(1200/LINK 2) [Extra Zone 1], and activated the golden idol's effect to redraw the Cerulean Phoenix of Nephthys ritual monster and the Rebirth of Nephthys ritual spell. "Cerulean! Burn them all!" Once again she performed the ritual of the blue flame, sacrificing the second Cerulean Phoenix of Nephthys to bring out the third and final Cerulean(8/3000/1000) [Zone 1]. "Rebirth of Nephthys destroys Sahasrara!" Hikaru's LINK 4 Tenyi protected all other Tenyis as long as it existed, so it had to go first. But before it died, it did create another Tenyi token. This one(4/3000/0) [Zone 4] resembled the Cerulean Phoenix in form and color.
"Rgh! Stop hiding!" Olympia fumed and activated the power of the Cerulean herself. She destroyed one Nephthys monsters (Sacred Preserver) to destroy the Berserker of the Tenyi. "I am not hiding. Not anymore. When my Tenyi monster without an effect is destroyed, I can banish Shthana from my graveyard to bring it back to life." A burst of ice cracked the ground wide open, and in a flash of white the Berserker [Zone 4] jumped back to the field. "You will not defeat me! You may not be as new to dueling as you claim, but you lack the spirit that brings one to victory! You cannot prevail!" Olympia howled and reactivated Supply Squad to draw one more card for the turn. It was the spell, Circle of the Fire Kings. "Return Devotee!" She could activate the spell to destroy one of her FIRE monsters and special summon another from the graveyard. The Fire King Garunix gave its life for the lesser ritual servant [Zone 4]. Devotee got cast into the link circuit along with the golden Nephthys Phoenix and the Cerulean Nephthys Phoenix. "Link summon! Sacred Flame of the Nephthys!"
"This again? Wait, no." Tycho was surprised to see that the crimson Nephthys(3600/LINK 3) [Extra Zone 2] burned brighter than ever. "The Sacred Flame always needs one ritual monster as a link material! But when it uses two, it gains 1200 more attackpoints! And this time it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects! Now die, Spirit of the Tenyi! You lifeless husk of another lifeless husk!" The mighty fire lord called all ambient flames towards herself and poured them down on top of the Garunix-Tenyi token. The execution by fire ended the turn.
Hikaru's LP: 1700
-TURN 05-
And then, just like the last turn, the Fire King High Avatar came back from the dead. Garunix [Zone 3] roared as there were now multiple infidels, the Berserker and the Cerulean Tenyi token, who died in the flames of rebirth. "A lifeless husk? I suppose to you, I would look like that." Hikaru muttered. "You are just like them, you must have drawn a lot of memories from those above others, from the elite. You too look down on me. But you have no right to judge me either, princess. Nor do you have the right to judge the Shintaro family. You have no idea what they've done, just like her.." His voice trailed off. "Her? You mean... Himiko?" Zettai did not see who else he could have been referring too. "Exactly. She is a child who does not know how good she has it and still can have it, none of you do. None of you.. deserved this."
"It's my turn!" Since he controlled no effect monsters, he could special summon the Tenyi Spirit Ashuna(7/1600/2600) once again. At the same time he summoned a monster that one normally never saw on the field: Effect Veiler the angel(1/0/0) with twin tails of azure hair. "That card? He's going to synchro summon?" Tycho could think of no other reason for him to use that tuner here and now. "Yes! Synchro summon! Dracoberserker of the Tenyi!" The Veiler synchronized with Ashuna, eight stars collided and made the whole tower rumble under the weight of the newest Tenyi beast. Like its name implied, Dracoberserker(8/3000/0) [Extra Zone 2] looked like the original blackhaired Berserker, albeit with all of its humane elements transformed away and all of its clothes replaced with more dragon scales and horns. "He destroys Garunix!" The synchro berserker opened one claw and tore into the heart of the Fire King High Avatar. He pulled the claw back and caused Garunix to burst into flames of all the seven colors.
Olympia's LP: 1700
"So? It still can't destroy my Sacred Flame!" Olympia yelled. "No. But It can destroy you. You should not confuse your fate with that of your cards, princess." Hikaru laughed for the first time in this duel. "Huh? Why?" And much to the Fire Princess' dismay, the Berserker of the Tenyi(5700/0) grew stronger right before her. "The Berserker gains the power of that which it kills. And when it destroys another monster in battle, it can attack one more victim!" Now his Draco synchro unclenched its other claw and wrapped it up in flames. "I was never fond of princesses anyway." He said with a scowl, and declared the fatal attack. Dracoberserker plunged burning nails into the Sacred Flame of Nephthys. The damage did not end Nephthys, but it did end her master. "!" Hikaru's synchro monster grabbed her with its claws and held her tight.
Olympia's LP: 0
"Hey! What are you doing?" Tycho cursed. "Did you come here just to destroy it?" Zettai asked with a tone of confused disapproval.
"Oh I could very well do that, A technological wonder like her can still be deleted with the right commands. But what happens to her depends on her true master." Hikaru smiled while he watched the Fire Princess struggle in his monsters grip. "Until then, we will keep her for leverage. Have a good day." He saluted the remaining duelists and teleported away, leaving them to wonder what he could have meant.
...
But the message was not meant for them, it was sent to the ones that stayed behind in Pandemonium for safety. "What is this? Is this your doing, Scarlet?" At that exact moment a single Karakuri Steel Shogun wandered into the city, taking the long route through the labyrinth. The Fisherman immediately halted its movements by pointing a harpoon at it. "This one is not native to this sector, but I do not detect any unusual energy inside." Scarlet Rose theorized that only someone from up high could have taken control of an ADI directly without the use of the Crown. Not only could it move, the Karakuri could also relay images and videos through its dueldisk. "!" Like footage of the outcome of Olympia's duel with Hikaru, but also footage of Mephistar being surrounded by a hundred drones like it. "Olympia! Mephistar!" And once the Steel Shogun registered the cries of the Fisherman and Miss Echo, it switched to a different video source.
"So, you are the first of his unintentional creations." Two imposing figures appeared, one seated behind a wooden desk and one standing against a wall filled with swords and scrolls. "What a disappointment compared the ones that came after." The one standing, a tall man with a chiseled face and trimmed black hair, scowled at miss Echo. "And you are miss Scarlet's creations, the one we were warned about. We are not impressed." The woman with long black hair spoke with an equally dismissive tone. Scarlet Rose would have objected, though that would give away her identity. And she could guess who these two were.
"You're Himiko's mother and father." Echo did not have to guess, she could remember. "It seems to be true as well then, this one has absorbed the data of project flute into herself. Hansen stored too much on the Exeter side of the network." And they were indeed Mr. and Mrs. Shintaro, yet they said nothing about their own daughter. "Please! Let Olympia and Mephistar go! I will give you the memories back, if that is what you want!" Echo already knew that they had shown the fates of her friends for a reason, they wanted to trade for them. And she was ready to pry the orb of memories from her wheelchair. But they shook their heads in unison. "Perhaps you are not that slow of wit after all." "But we care not for the data, nor do we need STHEREA to recreate that power. But you do have something that you can grant us, Miss Echo."
"The Chalice of World Legacy."
"The Chalice? Why do you want that?" The Fisherman shouted. "We were not talking to that one. The choice is yours, miss Echo. Give the chalice to us, or see your creation destroyed. We expect an answer... Now."
(To Be Continued in World 043: Where Stars and Mountains Meet)
New Cards used by Hikaru
Dracoon Lamp
Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna
MareMare
Effect Veiler
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Dracoberserker of the Tenyi
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Vessel for the Dragon Cycle
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Skill Drain
Waterfall of Dragon Souls
Fists of the Unrivaled Tenyi
New Cards used by Fire Princess Olympia
Devotee of Nephthys
Defender of Nepthys
Fire King High Avatar Garunix
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Sacred Flame of the Nephthys
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Onslaught of the Fire Kings
Supply Squad
Circle of the Fire Kings
