Howdy Doody everyone, welcome to the next chapter of our story, and the third to last of this Arc. For those that have been following up to this point, me and Leengard thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I know some would prefer to read about the actual characters from GX. Despite that, we are glad to know that some would give us a chance.

Well enough out of me, sit back and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 42

Dazzling Flame

Part II

Purgatory

The blackened dimension seemed to almost move as both Duelists were getting ready to battle, almost as if it was waiting to morph and shape depending on what card would be used.

Though that didn't matter to either of them as they both activated their Disks and constructs.

Three gold spikes appeared on the "outside" of her Disk's base, as did a ring of small reddish-orange orbs. When the blade appeared, it was a ring of soft white feathers with five shorter feathers serving as the card slots.

Unlike his opponent's, Takashi's Duel Disk was simpler in design, made up of a rectangular base with a black and red color scheme. The blade was similarly utilitarian; an iron-gray cylinder with five card-shaped slots, nothing more.

Both inserted their Decks as Takashi donned his visor, despite having an unusual feeling that he wouldn't need it.

And with that, they were ready.

"Let's see if your dueling strategy is as oafishly dense as you are," Venus mocked.

"I'll gladly show you what this oaf can really do," her opponent declared.

"Let's Duel!"

Takashi - 8000

Venus - 8000

Both drew their first hand as a surge of fire emanated from Takashi, likely indicating he'd make the first move.

"To begin, I Normal Summon Volcanic Slicer (4/1800/1200) in Attack Mode!" the large Slifer declared while placing the card.

As he did, the area around him transformed into a rocky terrain with lava pools and streams in random places. A reptilian creature jumped out of one pool with a roar, shedding lava drops as it landed in front of Takashi. Some of the drops landed very close to Takashi's shoes. He flinched away from the impact, but to his surprise the lava disappeared almost instantly.

Slicer's plate-like scales were the off-white color of old bones, which only made its silvery claws and chest spike stand out. Magma glowed in the gaps between its scales and rocky joints.

"Incredible… This must be the power Nick and Barclay mentioned," he muttered to himself while eyeing the diamond mark on his hand. "And despite still being the first turn, I'll take the chance to strike at you; Once per Turn, I can deal 500 points of damage to you using his Effect at the cost of him being unable to battle."

With that, the robotic beast roared as a surge of fire began building from the parts of its limbs with hardened lava, channeling into its mouth. Soon after, it released a powerful molten ball of magma right at Venus. The collision triggered a powerful impact that knocked her back a few feet, singeing a bit of her clothes in the process, but not by much.

Takashi - 8000

Venus - (8000 - 7500)

"I'll finish my turn by setting one card facedown," the large teen added.

His opponent simply drew before beginning.

"To start, I'll lay two cards face down," Venus said as the cards materialized before her. "And then I Normal Summon Bountiful Artemis (4/1600/1700) in Attack Mode."

From the sky, light shined as a new figure descended onto the field.

A pure white humanoid with light blue lines running across its body emerged in a beam of light. Its lower half ended in a slim, almost pendulum-like point that hovered above the ground. Its strange, segmented wings and long purple cape added to the overall ethereal effect, as did the ring of tiny blue crystals around its "waist".

"And that will end my turn," Venus finished.

Takashi drew and looked at her quizzically. He was pretty sure she wouldn't have put a weaker monster in Attack Mode unless she had something else backing it up somehow.

'Those two facedowns are likely to cause trouble if I attack her,' Takashi thought. 'But it's still too early to go on the defensive, so I may as well spring her trap!'

"If you expected me to be cautious, you'll be disappointed!" the Slifer student announced with confidence. "First, I'll be setting a monster on the field in Defense Mode."

Lava bubbled and rose next to Slicer before receding, showing the hidden monster now on the Field.

Since there was no reaction to his card, Takashi decided to go on the offensive.

"Now then, go Slicer and defeat her angel!"

With that, the beast bellowed as it did the same thing it did before when the effect was triggered, only this time, it was released in a powerful focused flame that hit its opponent. Upon contact, the creature let out a mechanical screech, echoing until the monster was nothing but ash.

Takashi - 8000

Venus - (7500 - 7300)

Takashi realized that since his attack hadn't triggered one of her cards, either they had highly specific activation prompts or, more likely, she didn't see the need to use them just yet. Regardless of her plan, the Slifer student didn't let his resolve falter.

"With that, I'll end my turn once again."

"You're not convincing me you can do more than brute force." Venus yawned as she drew. "I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

Takashi was starting to wonder what exactly she was thinking. He'd had a number of duels where his opponent simply stopped bothering if they were certain to lose, but Venus seemed more bored than frustrated. And he knew it couldn't be bad luck, either; five turns was way too early in any duel to run out of options.

Regardless, the student wasn't about to let this possible advantage slip by.

"My draw!" He declared while adding the card to his hand. "Before I go on the offensive, I shall activate my facedown Trap, Firewall!"

The facedown card flipped upward, but before the effect itself activated—

"Ah-ah-ah," Venus interrupted, wagging her finger at Takashi. "I won't let you do that, especially not when I have a Rebirth of Parshath Trap to activate. In response to a Spell, Trap, or monster effect activating, I can play this and reveal another Counter Trap in my hand. I then discard a card and pay 1000 Life Points to negate that card effect activating. That may seem like a high price for stopping one little Firewall, but the Rebirth has another benefit."

She paused for dramatic effect before revealing the Divine Punishment Trap in her hand, then sending her Neo-Parshath, The Sky Paladin (7/2300/2000) to the Graveyard.

"Since it'll stop your card's activation, it gets shuffled back into the Deck," she continued. "Then, I can Special Summon a 'Parshath' Monster from my Deck or Extra Deck."

Two pillars of holy light breached the darkness around and above them. One pillar illuminated Takasi's mostly-active Trap card, and the other shone directly onto Venus herself. While the Duelist braced herself against the pain, Takashi's card simply crumbled into ash and disappeared.

Takashi - 8000

Venus - (7300 - 6300)

The beam of light surrounding Venus dimmed slightly but remained intact after the point decrease. Then another, brighter light appeared within it, though thankfully not quite bright enough to blind Takashi again.

"Tremble before the might of Sacred Arch-Airknight Parshath (9/2800/2300)!"

With a brief rumble of thunder, the beams disappeared, leaving Venus' side of the Field illuminated only by her new monster.

Like Artemis, the monster had a humanoid upper body but not much else. In this case, Arch-Airknight's crystalline torso appeared to be attached to a mechanical ball joint and oversized crystal face. Both it and the face wore blue and gold armor with feathery accents everywhere, even on the ring of light floating behind the monster. Unlike Artemis, this monster came armed with a sword and shield.

With the effects finished, both Duelists had their Decks shuffled before Takashi continued.

"It may be powerful, but I still have my own monsters to help me. For now, I shall switch Slicer into Defense Mode, plus trigger its effect to deal another 500 points of damage!"

The beast spat another flame orb at Venus, then crouched down like it was trying to draw heat from the lava around it.

Takashi - 8000

Venus - (6300 - 5800)

Despite the pain she must have felt, Venus didn't seem all that fazed from the barrage she'd been getting since the Duel began.

"My turn," Venus said, her voice oozing with gleeful malice. "I'll start by summoning Minerva, Scholar of the Sky (4/1700/400) in Attack Mode."

This monster looked more like a classic white mage than an angel, though she did have feathery wings on her wide-brimmed witch's hat. She held a gold staff in one hand and a book in the other. The blue, gold and white coloration continued, while a green ring of light hovered around the base of the creature.

"Now, Arch-Airknight, destroy that annoying little lizard with Sacred Strike!" she ordered.

The celestial being raised his sword hand in a salute, calling a single ray of light to illuminate his weapon. He then dashed toward Slicer with stunning speed. Takashi had just enough time to notice the faintly glowing red runes on Airknight's sword before it cleaved Slicer in half, triggering a fiery explosion that sent Takashi flying backward.

Takashi - (8000 - 6400)

Venus - 5800

The Slifer student could feel the burns and scrapes on his body as if they'd actually happened. This told him two fairly important details: that this would be fairly similar to his Duel with Jessie, and that Arch-Airknight had an effect he was very familiar with.

"Piercing… Quite a clever effect," Takashi declared as he got up slowly.

"That's right, and also far from his only effect," Venus replied with a smirk. "For you see, every time he deals battle damage, I can add any 'Parshath' Monster, Spell, or even Trap from the Deck directly to my hand."

As she finished that sentence, Airknight turned completely around towards his master, shooting a beam of light from his eyes towards her Deck. When it connected, a single card popped out, which she took and revealed to Takashi as The Sanctum of Parshath.

"Don't think the attack is over either! Minerva, attack his worthless defense with Holy Spell!"

The witch opened the spellbook in her left hand and began chanting in a strange, bell-like language Takashi couldn't understand. As the jewels in her staff and spellbook fully lit up, a beam of light shot from the latter and hit the card dead-center.

The card flipped up, revealing a lizard-like monster almost identical to Slicer apart from being smaller. Volcanic Shell (1/100/0) even exploded the same way, though thankfully without damaging Takashi in the bargain.

"I believe that is enough rightful punishment for now, so to finish my turn, I shall play my Continuous Spell, The Sanctum of Parshath."

After inserting the card, the arena began rumbling underneath them. The lava pools Volcanic Slicer's entrance had created quickly cooled and hardened, while the sky above grew steadily brighter. Huge slabs of rock emerged from the arena, prompting Takashi to cover his eyes against any flying debris.

When the rumbling and holy light died down a bit, he lowered his arm and immediately did a double-take at the new locale.

Numerous great marble pillars rose up from the ground to hold aloft a flat roof above their heads. Takashi found himself standing at what seemed to be the entrance to this structure and, across from him, behind Venus rose a massive marble statue of the same monster that loomed before her. Statues of other Parshaths stood in various places around the temple, each one armed for battle. Takashi felt a little uneasy in a space radiating this much holy energy. Almost like the Sanctum was judging him.

"My new Domain holds many surprises as well. For one, when it's on the Field, it takes the name of 'The Sanctuary In The Sky'. Next, while it is either on the Field or in the Graveyard, every Fairy-Type monster gains an additional 300 Atk and Def points."

The statues raised their swords in unison, calling down more light from above. Arch-Airknight's own sword and armor glowed brightly in response, as did the jewels in Minerva's hat and staff.

Arch-Airknight Parshath - (2800/2300 - 3100/2600)

Minerva - (1700/400 - 2000/700)

"I'll leave the rest of its surprises for later, assuming you can last that long without burning out." Venus laughed in a belittling tone. "Go ahead and make your pathetic move."

Takashi didn't bother to reply, he knew it wasn't worth sinking to her level, and drew as he could feel his injuries start to heal slightly as the student looked at his hand glowing.

He smiled with confidence and made his move.

"To begin, I activate the effect of Volcanic Shell from my Graveyard; by paying 500 Life Points, I'm allowed to add another copy of it directly to my hand."

His hand burned with flames making him grunt slightly from the actual pain he felt.

Takashi - (6400 - 5900)

Venus - 5800

"You won't be getting your backup either! I activate my facedown Counter Trap, Divine Punishment!" Venus announced as her card revealed itself. "Because my domain is considered 'The Sanctuary in the Sky,' I can activate this and not waste a turn doing something illegal. Now I negate your card's effect and destroy it!"

A malevolent light sparked in the eyes of the statues around them. They grew brighter and brighter for a few moments before the red energy was released and dozens of arching beams raced from the statues towards their target. Upon impact, Volcanic Shell's spirit was summarily vaporized by the trap card.

Venus grinned smugly, but that changed after noticing Takashi still had a confident look on his face.

"How can you have any confidence right now?" Venus demanded. "You've lost more Life Points and you gained nothing!"

"The way I see it, the point loss was worth getting you to use that second facedown card," he replied.

The Duelist quickly realized he was right, she used a good trap on an otherwise worthless effect instead of saving it for when she really needed it. However, that train of thought also reminded her of another effect that could be used.

"That may be true, but I still have Minerva and her effect; While she's face-up on the Field, if a Counter Trap is activated, I can bring one back from my Graveyard and give her another 500 ATK."

After finishing the explanation, Takashi's eyes widened with surprise as Minerva began chanting once more, causing a bright green ring of runes to appear under Venus. A single card popped out of her Graveyard, and Minerva's staff glowed that much brighter.

Minerva - (2000 - 2500)

Grabbing it, she flipped said card over to reveal the Rebirth of Parshath before shuffling it into her hand.

The large Slifer student sighed, knowing he couldn't do anything else.

"Alright, for now I'll set yet another monster in Defense Mode and end my turn."

"Now, I think it's time I got serious." Venus smiled as she drew her card. "I'll start by sacrificing Minerva and Parshath to Tribute Summon one who shall bring about your total and complete destruction! Behold my patron goddess, Splendid Venus (8/2800/2400)!"

Minerva and Parshath began to glow before being enveloped by twin pillars of light. Slowly the pillars came together into one blinding light. When it finally faded, Takashi couldn't help staring at the new monster in wonder.

Splendid Venus hovered above the temple floor, held aloft by two pairs of massive white wings. Where her Duelist's armor was fairly standard (if ornate), the goddess had a full golden armor dress, accented at the edges with the same red gems. She carried a simple gold staff almost as tall as a phone pole in one hand.

The statues' swords gleamed just a little brighter than they had before, reflecting holy light from each other and onto Splendid Venus.

Splendid Venus - (2800/2400 - 3100/2700)

"Before we continue, my Splendid Venus has an effect you need to be made aware of," she added. "Her splendor allows her to cut all non-Fairy monsters' attack and defense by 500. Now, erase his facedown monster with Magnificent Gleam."

With that, she raised her scepter and slammed it into the temple floor, releasing a burst of light almost like a shockwave.

As the light hit the facedown card, it flipped over, revealing Takashi's Volcanic Blaster (3/1200 - 700/600 - 100), which let out a loud alarm as it broke apart under the attack. Takashi actually smiled somewhat as Blaster shattered completely.

"What's so amusing?" Venus demanded. "What's with the stupid grin?"

"I'm smiling because you can't counter Blaster's effect like you did Volcanic Shell's. Whenever it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can pick a single Volcanic monster and place it at the top of my deck."

With that finishing statement, the large Slifer student extended his hand as fire engulfed it, allowing a single card from the Deck to come out and him to grab it. In one quick motion, he turned the card around to reveal his Volcanic Rocket (4/1900/1600) and placed it where it belonged.

"Tch, like that's going to help you against my goddess," she growled. "Your turn."

With her declaration, Takashi drew, did a double take, and smiled again.

"Well, I was hoping to save this for later on in the duel, but since you already have a divine monster out, why not give her a worthy opponent?" he remarked as Venus looked on in confusion and disgust. "I now Banish three monsters from my Graveyard in order to Special Summon one of my top cards, The Blazing Mars (8/2600/2200)!"

As he announced his monster's name, the ghosts of Volcanic Slicer, Blaster, and Shell appeared via the magma pools on Takashi's Field. They let out a brief roar and rushed into a new rust-red portal above. A scorching wind began to blow through the temple, even startling Venus. When a new being roughly as tall as Splendid Venus appeared from the portal, the wind picked up speed, as if it was helping the monster descend to the ground.

A red-skinned humanoid in gray-and-black armor sat atop a floating demonic dragon's head. Two jagged rocky horns curved forward from the back of its jaw, and an identical pair grew straight back from about where the temples would be on a human head. Not to be outdone, the demon dragon had a fifth, blade-like horn jutting out over fierce red eyes. A ball of fire swirled in its open mouth.

His opponent's cool demeanor cracked a little more at the sight of the new monster.

"You call that brutish thing worthy of facing Venus? Her effect still cuts its attack and defense, you lunkhead! And it's nowhere near the terrifying beauty of a real dragon either, that just makes it worse!" Venus snapped.

Judging by the red flash in Splendid Venus' eyes, she was just as irritated about it as her duelist. The small red sphere floating in her staff spun like a coin mid-flip. A few rotations later, a beam of holy light hit Mars straight on. Pieces of the dragon's horns fell off, its fire dimmed noticeably, and the humanoid's armor looked a little less menacing.

The Blazing Mars - (2600/2200 - 2100/1700)

"My turn isn't over just yet," he replied before continuing. "Next up, I'll activate my Spell, Pot of Acquisitiveness! Here's how it works: By selecting up to three cards from either side's banished pile, I can return them to the Deck they came from and draw a single card in exchange."

As he finished, a black pot with two looping, almost ear-shaped handles appeared a few inches above the ground. The pot's stylized grin (complete with sapphire-blue tongue) and partially open eyes only increased the resemblance. A decent-sized red jewel rested between and slightly above the eyes.

The pot began glowing faintly orange, and three cards popped out of Takashi's Deck case. Once he'd put all three back in his Deck proper, it shuffled automatically. A small flame floated out of the pot and under Takashi's hand before he drew.

With that, the fire disappeared as well as the pot.

"To continue my turn, I now Normal Summon Volcanic Rocket to the Field in Attack Mode!"

Like Slicer and Shell, Rocket flew out of a lava pool with a roar that sounded like rattling bones. It looked a bit like a living bone arrow, especially with its angular head and bladed tail. Once it reached Mars, it began hovering there, aided by twin jets of fire where legs might be. Takashi noted that it didn't actually fold up its batlike wings to do this.

"Your Pterodactyl won't escape Venus' aura, either," she said, stone-faced.

A bright light flashed in Venus' eyes as she released light like a camera flash at her target. Rocket's body visibly darkened with soot and rust, and it dropped a little out of the air.

Volcanic Rocket - (1900/1400 - 1400/900)

"Maybe, but he has quite an interesting effect: When he's summoned, I can add any 'Blaze Accelerator' card from my Deck directly to my hand," he replied.

Rocket let out another rattling cry, causing a burst of flame to descend and briefly engulf Takashi's Duel Disk. Once the fire stopped, a single card was ejected with a bip.

Takashi took it and turned it over, revealing it to be Blaze Accelerator Reload, then added it to his hand as his Deck auto-shuffled. He shuffled his hand as well, just to be safe.

"I'll continue my turn by activating the effect of Blazing Mars; during my Main Phase 1, by sending all of the Monsters I control to the Graveyard, I can deal 500 points of direct damage for each monster I destroyed."

Before she could say anything, Rocket let out a piercing cry as the fire within it grew to cover its entire body. Mars absorbed his fireball ally, then released a powerful jet of fire from the dragon's mouth that struck Venus head-on, knocking her to the floor.

Takashi - 5900

Venus - (5800 - 5300)

Despite the impact, Venus got back up and casually brushed off a few lingering embers.

"Really? Is that the best you've got?" she mocked. "Felt like the last gasps of a bottle rocket."

"I'll end my turn on that."

"Then I'll draw and begin—" Venus started.

"Before you start, I activate my facedown Continuous Trap, Blaze Accelerator Reload!"

A three barreled cannon locked itself into position, the barrels aimed at Venus's side of the field. Red caps covered the business end of the weapon, but otherwise it sat inert on Takashi's side of the field.

"The interesting thing about Reload's effect is that it can be triggered during either player's Main Phase. Which probably explains why all it lets me do is draw a new card by sending any one Volcanic card in my hand to the Graveyard."

As he sent a copy of Volcanic Shell from his Duel Disk slot, its spirit manifested on the Field before rushing towards the exhaust vents on the back of the cannon, causing it to hiss and steam as a spark ejected from it, landing on top of Takashi's Deck.

With the draw, he shuffled his hand then allowed Venus to continue.

"Your pseudo-planet god won't live to interrupt me a second time! Magnificent Gleam!" she snarled.

This time, a ball of bright light began manifesting at the end of the staff. Splendid Venus then swung the staff at Blazing Mars and released the gathered energy as a beam. It then engulfed the other monster, which was outlined by the light before it slowly washed away in the overwhelming brightness.

Takashi - (5900 - 4900)

Venus - 5300

"There, the view is slightly better now." Venus smiled. "The only thing that would make it better would be you, on your knees, begging for forgiveness. Go on, grovel."

"My turn!" Takashi said while drawing. "Like before, I'll activate my Reload's effect to swap for a new card."

Another Shell spirit entered Reload's exhaust vents, with an identical hissing sound and spark landing on the deck. He shuffled his hand, then noticed a particularly interesting card.

"To begin, I'll set two more facedown cards on the field, then I banish three more monsters from my Graveyard in order to bring back Blazing Mars!"

Like before, the three monsters consisting of both copies of Volcanic Shell and the first copy of Mars, appeared on the Field before being used to return his monster back with a defiant roar.

Venus growled. "It doesn't matter how many times you bring that brute back to the field. My goddess' effect will still weaken it."

The Blazing Mars - (2600/2200 - 2100/1700)

"Oh I know, and that's why I'm ending my turn here."

'What is that oaf planning?' Venus wondered before drawing. "My turn."

"Don't forget about my Reload," Takashi reminded as this time, he sent Volcanic Slicer to the Graveyard.

"No matter!" Venus barked. "Splendid Venus! Erase that monster from our presence!"

Another beam of light shot forward, causing a tremendous explosion as it cut down Mars diagonally.

However, as the dust cleared…

"What?! I know I hit that eyesore! Why is it still on the field?!" Venus screeched.

The monster was indeed still there, frozen in place yet perfectly sliced in half.

"Well, my monster was destroyed, but I also activated one of my favorite Trap Cards, Dimensional Wall," he remarked as the card revealed itself. "It transfers any damage I'd normally take from a monster attack to my opponent instead."

A portal opened over Mars and consumed it, causing a second portal to open over Venus and drop a fiery explosion directly on top of her.

Takashi - 4900

Venus - (5300 - 4300)

After the dust settled, the Slifer student saw his opponent's once luxurious look now dirtied as the constant attacks and damage dealt was taking its toll. Though he was not faring any better as his uniform was cut and torn from the damage and attacks he also endured. Fortunately, the mark on his arm was allowing the pain not to bother him and could keep going due to his more durable body.

"Why is that disgusting look not gone?" Venus demanded as she stood back up. "Why can I still see hope in your eyes? What do you think you can still accomplish in this Duel? Why won't you just surrender and grovel?!"

Takashi, at first, drew his next card without saying anything. However, that changed when he took a look at it.

"You and your group are dangerous," he began. "I don't really understand the details, but I know that if you get to my friends, it's a loss for all of Earth. I won't let that happen! Not while I can still stand and fight for them! The risks don't matter when my planet and my friends are on the line! Even if the fight kills me, I'll die with my promise kept and my pride intact!"

She felt something flicker in her chest as Takashi finished his declaration.

'Wow… that was almost, kind of cool. For a dense oaf, he might not be that—" She forcefully shook her head. 'FOCUS, Venus! You're not going to indulge the musclehead just because he made one power of friendship speech!'

"Now allow me to show you that determination right now! I send my Blaze Accelerator to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon my most powerful beast, Volcanic Doomfire (8/3000/1800)!"

As he placed his monster card, the arena shook violently. The lava pools began boiling and bubbling like a pot of five-alarm chili. Soon, the biggest of the pools erupted in a geyser.

A massive, black and red colored beast stepped out of the geyser, fire trailing from its mouth. The black, chitinous parts reflected light from both the lava and its own internal fire. Its red, rough-hewn arms were "fleshier" than the rest of it, but only by comparison. A long tail made of hard volcanic rock lashed about behind it. Spikes in various sizes covered a good portion of its body. Fire streamed back from the top of its head like a mohawk to complete the look.

"How many times do I have to remind you that nothing can stand in defiance of my monster's magnificence?" Venus reminded him.

As Doomfire stepped out of the lava pool, Splendid Venus concentrated more light into her scepter to release yet another powerful beam towards the hulking beast, causing its body to slowly crumble with its fire dimming.

Doomfire - (3000/1800 - 2500/1300)

"My turn doesn't stop there, next I'll Normal Summon Royal Firestorm Guards (4/1700/1200) in Attack Mode."

Like Doomfire, this new beast erupted from the lava pools, letting out a high-pitched piercing roar that reverberated throughout the area as it came out.

A long, snaking body held aloft a more humanoid torso. Wings on its back and forearms gave it a somewhat demonic appearance with the red scales and many horns and four glowing green eyes gave it a more animalistic appearance.

Rather than another beam, Venus' eyes simply made that camera-like flash again. Due to that, its scales faded to dusty red as the smaller spikes dropped off its body entirely. The wings curled up like an orange peel drying in the heat.

Firestorm - (1700/1200 - 1200/700)

"Lastly, I activate Reload's second effect; By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can send any Volcanic card directly there from my deck, and I'll be choosing my Volcanic Counter (3/300/1300)."

With that reveal, the flames expanded from his deck as the spirit of his monster emerged from the lava, howling before entering into the Graveyard as Takashi sent the card into its slot.

"What-" Venus began, only to be interrupted.

"Now it's time for me to go on the offensive! Go, Firestorm, attack Venus with Inferno Spiral!"

The dragon nodded at its master's command and flew upward, then dove towards Venus with a roar, fire spinning around it.

Splendid Venus held up her staff and summoned a wall of holy light, which not only stopped the dragon's dive cold but turned the flames back onto it. Firestorm roared in shock and pain before disappearing.

The flames, meanwhile, kept going and hit Takashi just as hard as they'd hit Venus' wall, prompting a particularly anguished cry from the student.

Takashi - (4900 - 2500)

Venus - 4300

"What was the point of that?" Venus demanded. "What could you possibly have gained from that suicidal attack? And why is that infernal smile still on your blasted face?!"

"I'm smiling because now we'll be on more equal footing," he began once he'd caught his breath. Despite the onslaught, he was indeed still smiling pleasantly. "You see, now that I've taken battle damage from Firestorm versus Venus, Volcanic Counter's effect can activate. Which means you'll take just as much damage as I after I banish him from the Graveyard."

She looked around in shock as flames circled her. Then the flames turned into a pillar of fire, engulfing her as she screamed in agony.

Takashi - 2500

Venus - (4300 - 2400)

"I'll… end it there, your turn," he remarked a bit wearily, moving his card to his deck case.

The flames also disappeared as Venus slumped forward a bit, breathing heavily from the last assault.

Even with the mark and his own endurance, the repeated bursts of high-intensity flame alongside Venus' own attacks were starting to wear him down. Takashi didn't falter, however. He still had a facedown card to protect himself with.

"It seems I need to make a small amendment to some of my earlier statements…" Venus began icily. "Despite your infuriating resistance, you're not entirely oafish and are a worthy opponent. Regardless, I have orders to carry out. This Duel is over. Venus! Radiance Burst!"

This attack was different as she began chanting, causing the statues surrounding her to shoot beams of light towards her. Once infused with their energy, she flew upward and propelled herself towards Takashi and his monster.

The large Slifer student tensed up, bracing himself for impact one last time.

"Don't think you're surviving this attack," Venus said. "I told you, this Duel was over, especially after I activate Honest and its effect: When attacking with a Light Monster, like Venus, I can send Honest from my hand to the Graveyard during the Damage Step to boost my monster's Attack by the Attack of its Target, in this case your Doomfire and 2500."

The young teenager simply bowed his head in resignation.

An angel in simple armor emerged from her Duel Disk. Honest flew up to Venus and merged with her armor, causing the holy energy surrounding her to grow brighter than any previous attack

Splendid Venus - (3100 - 5600)

Doomfire dug in its heels and stood fully upright, trying its best to shield Takashi from the attack. Sadly, it was no match for a goddess with momentum and holy energy on her side. Doomfire crumbled and Takashi screamed as Venus hit him dead on.

Darkness flooded the field, taking both duelists and the temple with it as Purgatory collapsed.

Takashi - (2500 - 0)

Venus - 2400

Duel Academy

Forest

The quiet sound of night became disrupted once more by a flash of light, revealing an exhausted Takashi and Venus on their knees.

"Whew… That was quite a match," Takashi commented, carefully standing up. "I'm lucky to have already endured something like this."

"Are you sure you're actually human?" Venus muttered jokingly as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

He chuckled a little, then looked at her with a serious expression.

"Do you still plan on going after my friends?"

"If you mean my allies, probably. If you mean me personally…well, my plans are irrelevant now," Venus replied. "I don't have the strength left to do anything more than talk."

FWEET!

Takashi looked around, trying to pinpoint where that sound had come from.

"Good game. I may have won the battle, but you might have a leg up in the war."

Venus' whole body lit up for a second or two, and then she collapsed.

Takashi rushed over to check on her. Any wounds from their duel had vanished, and she was sleeping as if the last half an hour-ish hadn't happened. Her armor was gone too, replaced with mundane pajamas.

"I hope we meet again, someday…"

With that last sentence, the large student gently picked her up in a bridal carry and began walking out of the forest.

Takashi's an interesting guy. Least we think so, hope he comes across that way to our readers. Hope it's not too overplayed a thing to win over the opponent while actually losing to them (it's usually beating them into being your friend, right?) Anyways, please keep reading, we're nearing the end of this particular arc. What ramifications will come of these duels? What will be revealed to our heroes as they struggle and (in the case of some) fail forward? Please keep reading to find out!