After the Mystical Elf treated Cora and her party with some breakfast, they gathered in Avramax's war room, a small tower at the end of the cottage. His desks were covered with scrolls and journals, and an assortment of maps was hung on the stone walls. He had a table made of thick wood and held together with steel engraved with curvy designs. The map was three-dimensional and the towns were marked with little totems.
"So you wish to reach your friend in the quickest way possible, eh?" Avramax said. He looked at the entire group like they were nuts. "I pity each and everyone one of you. Now I know why the Mystical Elf wishes for me, Kanan, and Artemis to come with you. Honestly, Lord Mokuba, I thought you'd bring better warriors. Is this the best you could muster? Two scantily dressed tarts and an elf-girl afraid of her own shadow? I must admit, this one stands out from the rest," he said to Alexis. "Have you fought much?"
"More than the rest in my group," Alexis replied. "And I'd watch my mouth if I were you. Call my friends 'tarts' again, and I'll make tarts of your..."
Cora held out her arms to quell any tensions that were rising. "Hey, hey, hey!" she said. "Easy, now. We're here to find Seto. I need us all to be on the same page here. No hard feelings, Avramax. If I saw a warrior dressed like this, I'd be laughing my ass off, too. Hey, Uncle Mokuba, when we get out of this, be sure to tell Seto to fire the one responsible for designing the armor and gear for female players like this."
Mokuba scratched his chin and gave a long shrug. His armor clanked. "Sure. We might grieve a few customers but if that's what you think is best. But armor is not what we're here to discuss. We need to find a way to get to Seto. Do you have any ideas guys?"
Kanan, covered in her thick cloak with the hood down, walked toward the table and pointed at the dark part of the map next to the sanctuary. The Valley of the Tombstones. "That, I'm sorry to say, is your best bet to getting to Rondovia with little time. Even if you get past all the undead minions the Dark Clown summons, there is still the great evil that is said to live here." She pointed at a red skull. "It's a fell place known as the Temple of Skulls. There is a beast said to be living in there. A necromancer. It is the one responsible for disturbing the dead after the Mythic Dragon destroyed the valley. If we can destroy it, all the undead creatures it brought back to life will be destroyed, too. But..."
"But what?" said Alexis.
"I daresay, I'm not keen on going there and facing it. I fear there are some things in this world that are too powerful for even me."
"I'm scared, too," said Artemis. "But Lord Mokuba needs our help."
"That he does," Avramax said. "And Rhondovia is the place to go if you need information. It's also the way to get to here." He tapped the land in front of a dark tower. "It's the lair of the Mythic Dragon, the beast that caused all the evil that spreads in our great country. I have no doubt in my mind that the ones who have taken your brother are going to bring him here. The Citadel of the Mythic Dragon."
"He's got his own citadel, huh?" Kasumi asked.
"Yes. And the monsters across the land are no doubt stronger than usual. This is the time of year when the evil army starts scouring for offerings to be brought to it."
"Offerings?" Cora gasped. "You mean they sacrifice people to it?"
"Yes. The Mythic Dragon needs offerings so it can feed on the life force of those who have been chosen to be used as tribute. It's been doing this for the past two hundred years, but now I fear he will be brought back to life. The days have gotten darker. Monsters are everywhere. I feel it in my bones."
"I do as well," Artemis said coldly.
"Then you know what you must do," said the Mystical Elf, both her hands were on Candy's shoulders. "Artemis. Kanan. Avramax. I fear your journey with Lord Mokuba will not end at the Temple of Skulls. You must join them. Go with them to Sin Lou and defeat the Mythic Dragon."
"I was afraid of that," Avramax said. "I'd happily do this quest for you alone. But it's going to be tough keeping an eye on Kanan and Artemis. Even more so with this lot."
"I have complete faith in you, Avramax. Best of luck to you. Oh, which one of you is the one called Cora?"
"That will be me," Cora said stepping forward.
"Thank you, the Mystical Elf said. "I have a very special gift for you." She reached into a compartment of her robes and fished out a golden key. "Take this. It is said to open the most glorious treasure in all the land."
"Where do I find this treasure?" Cora asked as she took the key.
"Oh, I'm afraid I cannot say. You'll just have to figure that one out on your own, my dear. But I have this sneaking suspicion that it's going to pop up during your journey when you least expect it." She winked and patted Cora on the head. "Farewell, my friends. Have a safe trip."
"You won't come with us?" Candy said, gripping the Mystical Elf's arm.
"I'm afraid not, my dear. My place is in this sanctuary."
Candy's lips trembled and her eyes welled up with tears. "But...you've been so nice to me. Nicer than anyone's ever been in my whole life."
The Mystical Elf comforted her with a hug. "I'll always be with you, child."
Cora felt a ping of guilt radiating in her chest. She had to admit, she wasn't all that nice to Candy either. And after hearing about her tragic past, she felt lower than a worm underneath a rock. From that point on, she vowed to be a little more understanding and patient towards her. It finally dawned on her that the only people in her life to have ever shown her kindness were fake. A teddy bear and an AI from a video game.
She approached Candy and took her by the hand. "Come on. We need our fast Elven archer to tag along."
"Oh, indeed," Kasumi said. "And who knows. Maybe this quest might be fun."
"Fun?" Candy said. A word she didn't hear Kasumi say often. "Well, with you guys by my side, maybe this could be a little fun."
"That's the spirit," said the Mystical Elf. "Now, go prepare yourselves. May The Creator bless your journey, brave warriors. Be safe."
And so the group stocked up on potions and elixirs for mana. Much to Candy's dismay, it was time to say goodbye to the Mystical Elf. She gave her one last hug and followed her companions out of the sanctuary. For a while, the forests were calm and glowing brightly in the sunlight. But after they crossed the river and proceeded toward the mountains, it felt as though life was slowly being sucked away from nature. Then, as they reached the foot of the mountains, the land just died. Once again, the trees were bare, their limbs sticking straight up toward the cloudy sky like hundreds of wailing souls crying out at once. The sweet smell of flowers had gone and was replaced with putrid earth and rotting tree stumps.
"This is it," said Mokuba.
"There's no turning back now," Kasumi commented as she looked around. She tightened the gauntlets over her fists. "Remember what the Kaiba clown said. If we die here, we die in real life. The Church of Yeyu is going all out on us, guys."
"I'll be sure to make them pay for all of this," Mokuba said. He smashed his fist on his palm.
"Don't worry, guys," said Alexis. She had a firm grip on her sword. "I'm sure Kara will figure something out for us."
"Well, until then, we need to be careful," said Cora.
As soon as she said those words, an Armored Zombie jumped from the trees. "Raaaaugggrrr!" he wailed, holding up his bent, rusty katana.
"LOOK OUT!" Alexis cried.
Kanan sprang into action. She blocked the zombie's attack with her sword, then cut his arm off. The Zombie groaned and stumbled backward. He then got up and put his arm back on and his attack points increased. Avramax smirked. "Is this it?" he said. He extended his arm. A cone of cybernetic patterns formed over his fingers and he gripped a giant glass blade. He lunged forward, cutting the zombie in half and deleting him.
"Wow!" Kasumi cheered. "Nice moves!"
"Don't go celebrating just yet," Alexis shouted. She drew her sword and got ready as a group of Dragon Zombies started crawling out of the earth. They stank the air with their terrible perfume of death and decay. It proved too much for Candy. The smell was so overpowering and noxious, even with the points she gained in her constitution. She eventually leaned forward, hands on her knees, and vomited. A Clown Zombie then jumped out from behind a grave and attacked her with its scythe. She jumped out of the way in time. The curved weapon struck the ground. The clown lifted up its weapon and laughed at her. It saw the pool of her vomit on the ground. The creature slid its finger across the bile and put it in its mouth, sucking on it loudly. It licked his lips and laughed.
"Oh nooo!" Candy said, her face turning green.
"Sick!" Alexis shouted. She jumped and drop-kicked the clown so hard he flew halfway across the forest. But then a Zombie Warrior leaped out of the earth and grabbed her by the wrist. He spun her around and tossed her at a tombstone, smashing it to pieces. As she was about to get up, a thousand Hands of Invitation sprang out and grabbed her.
She tried to fight them off, but each hand was pinning her down with the strength of a hundred men. A seven-foot arrow shot out of the fog, striking the ground and zapping the hands with a wave of holy light. Artemis and her bear were beginning to plow down through the zombie horde and Kanan was slicing through them the way a movie hero would just mow down enemies.
As much as Cora tried to battle, she just couldn't. Even these regular enemies have been overpowered. She spent most of her time being on the defensive. One wrong move and she could be hit. And these creatures were given enough power to end them with just one strike. She hated repeating the consequences, but it sure kept her focused.
"Remember what I did last time!" Kanan called out to the group. "Attack points of the undead get stronger but they have one weakness!"
"Defense!" Cora said. "Anyone have a Shield and Sword card?"
"Got one right here!" Alexis held up her card. The attack points of the undead monsters switched to their defense points, which were zero. Cora unleashed one of her new abilities, a weapon enchantment that enveloped her sword in a blue aura and seemed to extend its reach by nine inches. She cut through four zombies with ease and this time, they didn't come back.
"Way to go, Cora!" Kasumi cheered. She ran towards a troupe of Clown Zombies and smashed their heads off with her fists. A Dragon Zombie reared up from the ground in an attempt to get her from behind, but she was too quick. She extended her long leg and kicked the dragon's head off.
"That's my girl!" Cora said. "Yeah!" she cheered, watching Kasumi bash in the skull of another Dragon Zombie. "That's it!" Another one got killed. "Kickass!" She punched another dragon's head off. "Baby, that's why I love you!"
"I want to beat them, too!" said Candy. "All right, let's see what you're made of." She confidently whipped out her silver flute, spun it around, and placed it on her lips.
"Now's not the time to be summoning that wimpy deer!" said Cora.
A thundering roar blasted from the forest, shutting her up. All the zombies paused and looked around, wondering what in the world made that noise. Two dead trees splintered to pieces as a Leogun jumped out.
He pounced on top of a Wandering Doomed and ripped it apart with his claws. He then sped toward a Dragon Zombie and was enveloped in flames. His mane turned into an inferno and his blackish-gray coat became molten red. His paws and the tuft of his tail were now like torches. Leogun jumped into the dragon's mouth and shot out of its tail. The dragon fell dead, smoke slithering out of his mouth. Leogun then ran towards Candy and snarled. Candy had a gorgeous smile on her face as she pet the flaming lion and jumped on its back. Leogun roared, turning all the zombies around him into cinders. Candy winked, pouted her lips, and formed a V for victory with two of her fingers.
Cora and Kasumi stood still side-by-side. "Wow..." They both said together.
"Hey, I'm not about to let you girls have all the fun!" Mokuba said.
He used his flamberg to cut down a small group of Zombie Warrior led by a Wandering Doomed monster that acted as their mage. Despite the power-ups it was supposed to give them, they meant nothing now that their attack and defense points had been switched. With his other blade, he gained more XP, making him stronger.
"I think I'm ready to summon this!" he said. "Swordstalker! Rip them to shreds!" He held up the card and summoned the monster within.
Swordstalker cackled viciously, holding his long, curved, blade toward his face. He let out a frightening scream that doubled the attack of the party for the duration of the fight.
Swordstalker cut down hordes of zombie monsters, clearing a path for their next destination. The Temple of Skulls.
There it was, waiting for them like the final boss of the level. A giant ribcage served as the roof and the skull of a giant ornamented the left side. A familiar cackled disturbed the silence. The group readied themselves as Ghost Kaiba appeared on the top of the skull.
"So, you've managed to beat my undead minions, eh?" he said. "Not bad. Although, I highly doubt you would have made it this far without those high-level NPCs by your side. I didn't anticipate those kinds of companions but it makes little difference. This is where your journey ends, ladies. Temple of Skulls!" He tapped the top of the skull with his foot. "Awaken!"
The Temple of Skulls suddenly shuddered and the giant skull started to move. It looked at the group and roared, summoning more undead monsters to fight the group. Meanwhile, the giant skull shot out blasts of green ectoplasm from its empty sockets. Kanan held up her magic shield, blocking the blasts, while Kasumi kicked up a twister that blew them away. Alexis used her wings to fly over the zombie horde and strike them down with lightning from her sword.
When the zombie army was defeated, Artemis notched one of her long arrows onto Apollousa and fired it into the skull. The skull wagged from left to right while groaning in pain. And then, it stood still. The Valley of the Tombstones was now silent.
"NO!" Ghost Kaiba shrieked. "You may have defeated the Temple of Skulls, but you stand no chance against the necromancer that lives within!" He laughed as he vanished into a cloud of purple smoke.
"Son of a bitch!" Kasumi muttered. "I can't wait to get my hands on him."
"Save a piece of me," said Alexis.
"Excellent!" Avramax said. "Great work everyone."
"Don't celebrate just yet," Kanan declared. "We still have to defeat this necromancer the Dark Clown was talking about. Everyone prepare yourselves."
One by one, the group entered the doorway into the Temple of Skulls. Kanan stayed by the entrance, counting Mokuba and the others just to be safe. Once they were inside, they were in a massive and tall chamber colored bone-brown. Columns formed a ring in the round structure and an oculus let in the sunlight. As soon as Avramax stepped into the temple, the massive steel doors slammed behind him.
They were trapped.
"Welcome to the end of the road, brave warriors!" taunted Ghost Kaiba. "Oh, great necromancer! Arise and bring ruin to these intruders!"
A black and red arcane circle formed on the ground. Black flames flickered from the ring and then the temple shook with the terrible call of the necromancer. A giant, black claw reached out of the arcane circle. And then another. The creature had risen and revealed himself to be a Berserk Dragon.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Cora cried out.
"Oh, no!" Kasumi gasped.
Now she was terrified. Just looking at the undead dragon was like staring into death itself. The dragon's long, white hair was like a veil of spiderwebs and its eyes were glowing red. It looked at the party and screamed. The pillars shook and sprinkled dust, trembling from the call of the necromancer. Berserk Dragon hovered over the floor. He then unleashed his devastating triple attack, firing three comets from his mouth that had an awesome blast radius that could deal tremendous damage. Kanan pushed Cora and Kasumi out of the way. Her cloak caught fire. She patted it out with her palm, then charged, raising up her sword.
Berserk Dragon spat one last comet at her feet. Though it was small, it had the impact of a hand grenade, knocking her off her feet. It was about to crush her with its foot until Artemis shot it in the face with one of her long arrows. Berserk Dragon reared its head up and groaned. The arrow hit him with enough impact to send him crashing into one of the pillars. He was out cold. Cora and Alexis hurried towards the creature's head and began to hack and slash, doing all they could to bring the dragon's health bar down, but they made very little progress. Kasumi joined in. She jumped and smashed her fist on the dragon's skull. She did a little more damage, but not enough. Now the dragon was awake. He swiped them away with his tail and stood up, then he picked the arrow off his snout. He shot three fireballs at Artemis. Her bear jumped out from a portal and roared, the soundwaves he created caused them to shatter, saving her from taking damage.
Mokuba charged in and hit the dragon's ankles with his sword. He did enough damage to cripple the beast, making it hop around on one foot.
"Good job!" Artemis cheered.
Mokuba used his leadership ability to conjure the Banner of Courage. He held it up as a triangle-shaped glyph formed underneath him and slowly rotated. The banner started to glow and he let out a valiant battle cry. The other party members raised their weapons and shouted battle cries. The same glyph slowly rotating underneath their feet, raising their damage by +5 and their defense +4. Mokuba, still carrying the banner, used all his strength to jump up and slice off the dragon's tail.
"NO!" shouted Ghost Kaiba.
Berserk Dragon screeched. He started to spin around, chasing Mokuba, hoping to fell him with his massive claws. Another one of Artemis's human-sized arrows struck him on the head, this time cracking the left horn. Kasumi hopped from column to column until she could see the dragon's chest. She used her flaming fist ability to strike the dragon on the chest. He grunted and smashed into another column. His health bar was now yellow.
"Keep it up, everyone, you're doing great!" Alexis said. She activated her wings and took off. "Woo!" she said. For a moment, the sense of fear had faded from her. Yes, she was a tad nervous, but seeing how well they were doing, she felt she had some room to be cocky.
It took a while, but they finally smout the dragon, laying his ruin on the temple floor. "This can't be!" said Ghost Kaiba. "They defeated him!"
"Is that all you've got!" Cora shouted at the clown.
"Ha!" shouted Ghost Kaiba. "You think you've won? He was just the first boss of our little game. I've got many more minions ready to take you on. And they are stronger than the Berserk Dragon. Far stronger!" He wrapped his cloak around himself and disappeared.
"COME BACK!" shouted Cora. "COME BACK!"
"Don't antagonize him, Cora," Kasumi said, taking her hand. "Take it easy."
"Oh...right. I'm sorry."
Kanan sat against a pillar and drank water from her canteen. "We've done it. I can't believe we've done it."
"What are you celebrating?" Mickey said. He and Tomba walked out of the darkness and into the light of the oculus. Nixie, in the real world, saw him on the screen and stepped back, slapping both hands over her mouth. "No..." she sobbed.
"You!" Kasumi said. "How did you two get in here?"
"We have ways," cackled Mickey. He looked at the ruin of the Berserk Dragon. "Man, they call this a dragon? Pathetic." He crushed the dragon's skull with his little foot and then the rest of its body turned to sand.
"We've got real monsters prepared just for you!"
"Tomba! Mickey! Stop!" Cora cried out. "Come on. This isn't a game anymore. We need to find Seto."
"We're not going to let that happen," said Tomba. "I know all that stuff you promised was just bull. I've been blessed by the grace of Yeyu. I can see past your lies."
"No. You've been blinded by a great lie to see the truth anymore!" Cora retorted. "We're not going to play around with you. Get out of our way, or we will hurt you!"
"You won't be able to," said Tomba. "Mickey and I have been Maxed out. You so much as even touch me, you die!"
"You bluff!" said Kasumi.
"No. I'm not bluffing. Get ready for the battle of your lives, girls! Feast your eyes on this card, sweetness!" Tomba boasted. He searched through his deck and found the monster he intended to use in this battle.
Mickey cheered. "That's it, Tomba! Show them what the holy might of Yeyu can do!"
Tomba's eyes turned to gold; the iris in his right eye turned into the Banner of Yeyu spinning slowly. Lightning bolts flashed across the sky and thunder shook the whole city. "I have been blessed!" shouted Tomba. Strange golden runes appeared all over his body. His little face became twisted and more nefarious than ever. The card in his hand started glowing and was engulfed in golden flames. "Do my bidding, slave! I summon Rush Dragon Dragears!"
An arcane circle resembling the Banner of Yeyu opened behind him and out flew a dragon from another dimension. He was a strange beast, colored blue with a violet-red orb on his chest. On the back of his head and near the base of the neck, Dragears had black appendages, tipped with glowing spearheads flinging all over the place as if they had a mind of their own.
"It worked!" shouted Tomba. "I can summon dragons!"
M and Nixie watched in both amazement and horror when they saw the creature on the screen. "Mickey stop!" she cried.
Mickey could hear her voice, enabling him to summon his own beast, too. "Watch out, Cora! Now it's my turn!"
"Don't do this, Mickey!" Nixie pleaded with him. "It's not too late. Please, back out of this now. Let me help you!"
Mickey's eyes started glowing and his right iris took the form of the Banner of Yeyu and golden runes grew out of his skin.
"The last time you said that to me, my father was crushed under rocks and you left me abandoned. Your family did nothing to take me in after what they did to me. You lived the good life while I was stuck in an orphanage eating slop! The Church of Yeyu took me in and raised me to be who I am today. Not you. You're greed, your negligence has paved the road to the final judgment. Watch what I'm about to do to Cora, you bitch! After I deal with her and her friends, I'm coming after you! You will burn in the Belly of Yeyu for all eternity and the power of the dinosaur fused into your soul will give the Banner just the nourishment it needs to get stronger so it can take down a God."
He raised up his fist and shouted: "I summon Shocklead Dragon!"
Red flames burst behind Mickey and from them jumped out a humanoid dragon in flashy white and red armor. His gauntlets were oversized, making him well suited for punching like a superhero.
"Impressed, Nixie!" Mickey boasted. He looked around, knowing she was watching from the real world. He pointed at Cora and shouted: "Attack!"
The dragon heeded his master's call and soared towards her. Just when he was about to punch Cora to oblivion, Mokuba's Swordstalker appeared and blocked the dragon's punch with his sword.
"NO!" pouted Mickey, stomping his foot on the ground like a spoiled child.
Mokuba then commanded Swordstalker to attack Dragears, who was inching closer towards Kasumi and Alexis. Swordstalker jumped up high, sword raised. Meanwhile, Candy's Leogun charged from out of nowhere and engulfed himself in flames. Both monsters struck the dragon at once creating a cloud of smoke.
"YES!" Mokuba said, pumping up his right fist. His glee turned to horror when the smoke cleared. Dragears remained where he was, his hand held up. He created an aegis of light that stopped the attack.
"WHAT!" Mokuba shouted. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.
"He blocked our monster's attack with ease!" Candy shouted. "But how? There's no way he could have blocked that."
"Looks like he did, Precious," Tomba said as the cloud of smoke dispersed around him. "That's the best your monsters can do, eh? Man, that's too bad. This game will be over before it even begins."
"Pathetic monsters," Mickey said, spitting out his gum. "You're holding out on me, too, aren't you, Cora? Come on!"
Dragears grabbed Swordstalker with its mouth. It bit down with everything it had, crushing the monster. It then tossed the body to the side. It fell with a great crash and then shattered into tiny pieces like glass. Artemis notched three arrows and released them toward Shocklead Dragon. He held up his armored wrist and blocked them, causing them to bounce away and fall like match sticks.
"They're too strong!" Nixie cried. "I don't know how much he's got left."
Artemis's bear tried to fight, but Dragears blasted him with a laser from the tip of its tail. The bear groaned pathetically and rolled to a stop. "NO!" Artemis cried. "Stop! Leave him alone!"
Her bear tried to stand, but Shocklead Dragon grabbed him by the neck and suplexed him against the column. That was it. Like in the movie King Kong, Shocklead Dragon forced the bear's jaws open. When it fought back, he punched it repeatedly to keep it still. Finally, Shocklead Dragon spread the bear's jaws apart and smashed the side of its head with his elbow. Artemis shrieked when a fiery pain started biting her heart. She smashed her hand against her chest and fell to the ground. Then, Dragears blasted the rest of the group. They all went scattering in different directions. The Temple of Skulls was falling to ruin and they had nothing left. They used their best attacks against the Berserk Dragon and most of their supplies were gone.
Candy sobbed, knowing that this was the end. "What...what do we do?" she asked.
Kasumi didn't know what to do either. She just looked at the girl sadly and held her hand. Cora reached over and did the same. Candy realized that they were out of ideas. There was nothing left for them to do except accept their defeat.
"Is that the best you got, girls!" Mickey barked. He stuffed another stick of sugary bubble gum into his mouth. "Dragears. Finish them off."
Dragears roared. He spread his wings and took flight. He was going to crush them with his feet. Alexis sighed and held Cora's hand. Kasumi held hers. This was the end.
Cora...Cora! Man, have I got a surprise for you!
Dragears zoomed towards the party. But then he crashed into something — a bright barrier of white! Something pushed him forward and locked claws with him. Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. Chaos MAX Dragon snarled, pushing Rush Dragon Dragears back away from Cora and her friends.
"That's Cora's ace!" Nixie whispered to Madeline.
"Oui, zat's him alright. It's good to see him again."
"YEAH!" M shouted. "YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT! KARA! YOU DA BOMB BABY!"
Chaos MAX Dragon roared into Dragears's face.
"What's happening?" Tomba cried. "Come on, fight them back you stupid dragon!"
Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon then cracked Dragear's claws and tossed him toward Shocklead Dragon. They crashed into each other, falling towards Tomba. Tomba whimpered pathetically and ran away before he got crushed. "HELP!"
"But that's impossible!" shouted Mickey. He used a scanner to check out Cora's power levels. A second ago they were so low, she couldn't even beat a sewer rat without being close to death. But now. Everything. Her stats. It all read MAX.
"No!"
"What happened?" cried Tomba.
"That hacker bitch! She was able to bypass not only the Church's new code but the holy magic protecting the game, too!"
Cora stood up, her eyes glowing bright blue like her Chaos MAX Dragon. She held out her hand and aimed it at Kana, Artemis, and Avramax. She gave them a boost in power, filling their souls to the brim with divine magical energy.
"Thank you, Cora," said Avramax. He held up his sword and said: "Brave warriors from the past. Answer my call. Lend us your strength and bring ruin to these foul beasts. Use your steel to send them both to the abyss!"
And just like that, he summoned the ultimate end. An arcane circle opened underneath Dragears Shocklead Dragon and teleported them to a dark dimension. Mickey was cowering at the farthest end of the chamber, wondering what in the world happened to his beast.
In the other dimensions, the two dragons awaited their judgment. First, Noble Knight Iyvanne swooped down from an arcane circle that resembled a medieval tapestry. He sliced the dragons once with his sword and flew away. Another circle opened. Noble Knight Custennin flew out and slashed the dragon two times. Then he flew back into the gate. Another gate opened. Custennin came back, but this time he was in his Sacred Form. He slashed both dragons ten times, his blade looking like golden streaks of sunlight. When the deed was done he soared back into the portal.
Noble Knight Pelinore came riding out of his portal atop his noble steed. He charged his blade full of lightning and kicked his stallion into a gallop. He cut the dragons with his blade and rode into another portal. To the dragons' horror, another portal opened. Noble Knight Bedwyr appeared, brandishing his multi-colored blade. He swung his sword three times and then sliced them before he flew away. Noble Knight Eachtar then emerged from a shadow portal. He stared down at the dragons, drew his sword, sliced the beasts, and soared off into the darkness.
When was it going to end?
All of a sudden, three portals opened. The Noble Knight Brothers flew out. They held up their swords and clinked them together. Then their bodies started glowing gold. They flew towards the dragons and hacked at them close to a hundred times before they relented and disappeared. Noble Knight Medraut appeared. He gallantly spun his twin blades in the air and assaulted the creatures with multiple slash attacks. He nodded and flew away. Gwalchavad was next. His silvery armor shined in the dark abyss like a star. He used his shield to bash the dragons' skulls and then stabbed Dragears in the chest with his sword.
Noble Knight Gawayn showed himself. Slash! Slash! Slash! Clang! Clang! The dragons tasted the steel of his golden sword. Gawayn narrowed his eyes and took off, followed by Noble Knight Drystan. He bowed and used his harp to summon sixteen swords which performed an excruciating dance all over the dragons' bodies. Drystan bowed. His swords vanished and he gracefully flew away into his portal. Then, came Noble Knight Borz. He summoned a holy chalice and drew a sword from it. He held it up high and then attacked the dragons with a hundred cuts before he disappeared.
To the dragons' horror, came the Black Knight. Laundsallyn. His eyes were glowing hellish red. He let out a horrible laugh and used his fell blade to mercilessly strike the dragon. But he wasn't done. He turned into final form. High Laundsallyn and assaulted the dragon more with his golden blades that were decorated with red neon and emitting a fiery red aura.
Just when the dragon thought it was over, the king had arrived. Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus. He stared the dragon down and then held up two magical swords that looked like they were crafted by giants. He held his blades up and cut them down like butter.
Finally, they were released from the prison and their electric shackles. The lights on its Shocklead Dragon's body flickered and then it fell to the ground. Dragears groaned and fell dead.
When the dust settled, their bodies were gone as were Tomba and Mickey.
"We haven't seen the last of them," said Cora. She looked up at MAX and blew him a kiss. "But I know we can tackle anything this world throws at us with you by our side."
"A Dragon Summoner!" cried Kanan.
"Not just any Dragon Summoner!" said Avramax. "She can call on the mighty Blue-Eyes. Hail Cora! The Maiden with Eyes of Blue!"
"HAIL!" Kanan and Artemis said. All three of them knelt in respect for her.
"Cora, that was awesome!" Mokuba said. He ran towards her and hugged her. "We...we can do it. We can really do it."
"Thanks to Kara," Cora said looking at the oculus. "Kara. Can you hear me?"
"Yeah. Loud and clear. That was...a pretty impressive display. You and MAX make a great team."
"Yeah, the Dark Magician of my deck pretty much. Thanks, buddy."
"I told you," Alexis said, sheathing her sword. "Kara is a miracle worker."
"We owe you our lives," Kasumi said. "Thank you. Thank you for everything. When this is over, expect a big reward from the Royal House of Ako-Nami."
"No, no, no. Think nothing of it. The fact that you guys are going to be safe is all the reward I need."
"Well, we're not out of the woods yet, honey," Alexis said. "Keep an eye out for anything. Those Yeyunists aren't going to stop until they kill us."
"I'm your eyes and ears, Princess. You can count on me. Now get moving. Seto Kaiba is still out there."