Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-Vrains: The Circuit Of Smiles

by donkeyboy100

A year after the Dimensional War and the revival of Zarc, and everything in Paradise City had seemed to die down. Until one day a mysterious group called the Arbiters came and invaded the Pendulum Dimension to capture Declan Akaba and Yuya Sakaki. It's now up to Yuya and his friends to travel to this unknown dimension in search for the answers to their questions.

24. Royale Rumble

Last time in Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-Vrains The Circuit of Smiles, Yuya and Zuzu finally reunited with the Lancers as they shared everything and what they had learned. They also ran into a fellow Celebrity Duelist named Arthur Royals, a.k.a Chevalier.

Unbeknownst to Yuya, Arthur kept making a move on Zuzu, who always ended up rejecting him. After stating that she's more of a Ringmaster fan, Arthur took it upon himself to challenge Ringmaster to a duel to prove that he's better.

While working at Kolter's truck, Yuya and Zuzu reunited with some of their fellow Lancers. Being Sylvio, Gong, Sora and Dennis were checking out the food truck when at the same time, Chevalier made his announcement on Challenging Ringmaster.

Instead of Ringmaster showing up, Sylvio was known as Abyssio in LINK VRAINS, who claims to know Ringmaster's identity, and if he loses against Chevalier, he'll reveal it to him. Should he win, Chevalier's spot in the Top 10 goes to him.

Both duelists went back and forth, with Abyssio hanging on by a thread until he shocked everyone by performing a Ritual Summoning and used it to defeat Chevalier, who was upset by the loss and claims that he'll defeat Abyssio the next time they meet, who then afterward is greeted by none other than Ringmaster. What happens next? Find out now!

In LINK VRAINS…

Ringmaster pointed his finger at Abyssio "Abyssio, time for you and me to give people a show they'll never forget! I challenge you to a duel!"

A duel? Is he serious?, Abyssio thought, as he glared at Ringmaster while he smiled back at him in return.

Meanwhile, deep in the network, Varis was watching these events through the monitor. Interesting, he thought. A Pendulum user versus another Pendulum User.

At that moment, Specter logged in alongside Dr. Genome, Baira, and Faust.

"Master Varis," Specter said. "As you're already aware, Ringmaster has logged into LINK VRAINS, wanting to duel "Abyssio" character, and with his guard down at the moment, we're ready to go out and apprehend him for you at your command."

"Thank you for the update, Specter." Specter bowed low in response to Varis's comment. "But there's no need. For now, let's watch and see what happens."

"Understood!" The Knights responded as they and Varis returned their focus to LINK VRAINS.

I can't believe Yuya, Abyssio thought. "Gosh, Ringmaster. What's all this about?"

Ringmaster jumped down as he landed and stood across from Abyssio. "Simple. When I saw your duel against Chevalier, it got my Dueltainer blood burning, and when that happens, I have to duel the person for making that happen!"

Narrowing his eyes at Ringmaster, Abyssio said, "You challenge me to a duel? In that case, I say we GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" A smile fell on Ringmaster's face upon realizing he accepted his challenge.

"OMG, he accepted!" the MC shouted at the top of his lungs. "Abyssio vs. Ringmaster is about to start! Who will win in the duel of Pendulum vs. Pendulum?"

"This is exciting!"

"I can't wait!".

"Show us the duel!"

All these comments were said by several people in the Den City Plaza. Kolter, who was watching the television screens in the supermarket, widened his eyes in shock seeing the events.

"He accepted..." was all he said as he was checking out. "Now, this could be interesting."

In the Hanoi Stronghold...

"How interesting," Varis said, smiling at what was happening. "Now that Abyssio accepted Ringmaster's challenge, this duel will certainly provide me with data on both their strategies and power. As well as on Pendulum Summoning."

"On top of that," Specter said, "I believe we may have found a way to apprehend Ringmaster. After his duel, he'll be exhausted, making it the perfect chance for you to strike," Specter added.

"You make a valid point, Specter," Revolver replied. "Very well then. Specter. You and others observe the duel between Ringmaster and Abyssio and send the duel data to me. After I've looked it over is when I'll make my move."

"As you command, Master Varis," Specter said, bowing low before logging out with the other Knights.

Once he was alone, Varis turned towards the monitor, which showed the duel that was about to start. "Once this duel is over, I'll be your next opponent. And I promise you that I'll be quite the challenge."

In LINK VRAINS...

Abyssio and Ringmaster activated their Duel Disk, indicating their about to start.

"You ready?" Ringmaster asked.

"Always," Abyssio replied.

"Hey now! Don't tell me you're starting without me?"

Abyssio and Ringmaster turned to see the source of the voice belonging to none other than Maestra.

"Maestra!" Both shouted.

"Whoa, Nelly!" The MC shouted. "By the looks of it, Maestra is upset about not being a part of this duel! Something tells me things are about to get more interesting!"

"Maestra, what are you doing here?" Ringmaster asked.

"Why I'm here is unimportant," she replied. "How about we let our cards talk?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

Another voice said, causing the three to turn in the opposite direction to see a heavy-built man clad in brownish-maroon armor with a kabuto helmet that appears to take inspiration from the real-life rhinoceros beetle mechanical insectoid wings to match. The armor protecting his back was spinal in appearance. His hand armor was yellowish, while the fingers were grey, and foot armor was molded around his toes to match the armor on his hands.

"Don't tell me you're…." Abyssio said.

"That's right. I'm Benmaru," he answered, revealing his avatar name based on a historical figure. "You guys may not know who I am because I like my privacy, but after seeing today's recent duel, I decided to mix things up. So are the four of us going to duel or not?"

"Well, since there are three of us here, this Duel will be a Battle Royal," Ringmaster announced. "Is that acceptable?"

"That's just what I was thinking as well." Abyssio declared. "But how about we step it up a notch!"

"What do you mean?" Maestra asked.

"I mean this!" Abyssio answered as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Action Field, on!"

[Field Spell, Cross Over, activated. Battle Royal Mode, initiated.]

Following Abyssio's words, the glowing platforms that were the characteristic of this field appeared, with the audience and everyone watching in the real world letting out exclamations of wonder.

"What is this?"

"Some kind of Field Spell?"

"Listen up, everybody! The four of us are about to engage in an Action Duel! It's a Duel that unfolds within an Action Field and makes use of the Action Cards scattered around it." Abyssio explained. "I guarantee everyone will enjoy things even further with this."

After hearing Abyssio, people started getting excited as they began logging into LINK VRAINS one by one.

Suddenly, LINK VRAINS was filled with many spectators, eager to watch the upcoming duel.

"So not only does feature that allows us to activate an Action Field from our Duel Disk still works, but we also have an audience," Ringmaster whispered. "This duel is going to be even more fun. Well, since everyone's ready, I'll go first!" Ringmaster declared. "Duelists locked in Battle!"

"Kicking the earth and dancing alongside their monsters!" Maestra continued, followed by Benmaru and then Abyssio.

"They storm through this field!"

"Behold! The newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"

"ACTION-" The four duelists cried as the Action Cards scattered throughout the field.

"-DUEL!"

Abyssio: 4000 LP

Maestra: 4000 LP

Benmaru: 4000 LP

Ringmaster: 4000 LP

"Now then, in this grand Entertainment spectacle, it's only fitting that I, the master performer, make the first move to set up our stage!" Abyssio announced with a wide grin on his face. "My turn! I activate the Field Spell Card: Abyss Actor Grand Theater!"

Instantly, the area around them transformed into a massive and luxurious theater, with red curtains and a variety of posters depicting the Abyss Actor monsters. Each poster seemed to be a parody or paying homage to a famous play such as the classic Hamlet or more recent works such as Annie.

"What do you think? I've created a fitting stage for our duel!" Abyssio preened, earning an uproar of cheers from his fans in the real world. "When this card is activated, I'm allowed to add an "Abyss Actor" from my Deck to my hand. I choose my trusty Trendy Understudy. Now then, since I control no monsters, I can use the effect of Grand Theater to add Abyss Actor – Superstar from my Deck to my Extra Deck face-up."

"Adding a Pendulum monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck." Ringmaster analyzed. "Excellent move."

"Please, please, save your applause for now. Act one is still in motion." Abyssio declared before taking another card from his hand. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card: Abyss Actor's Dynamic Entry." The card depicted Superstar arriving dramatically on stage.

"And then," he chuckled, "Using Scale 1 Abyss Actor – Stage Technician and Scale 8 Abyss Actor Trendy Understudy, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

Abyssio slammed the two Pendulum cards on the edges of his Duel Disk, and the word 'PENDULUM' appeared. Two columns of light appeared at his sides. On the left was a plump goblin monster in workman's overhauls, holding a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. The other was a blue-skinned man with a white mustache, a monocle covering one of his eyes, and a fashionable outfit. Both monsters hovered over a '1' and '8', respectively.

Abyss Actor – Stage Technician Scale: 1

Abyss Actor – Trendy Understudy Scale: 8

"With this, I can summon monsters from Level 2 through 7! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster!"

A glowing portal opened up between the two columns of light before a glowing streak of purple light descended unto the field.

"Making his debut is Abyss Actor – Superstar!"

Abyssio's ace monster appeared, causing everyone to cheer excitedly.

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500 DEF 1800 LVL: 7 PS: 3

Smiling proudly, Abyssio continued with his turn. "Since I Pendulum Summoned an "Abyss Actor" monster, Grand Theater now gains an Abyss counter."

The Abyss Actor icon on the curtains of the theater behind him began glowing.

Abyss Actor Grand Theater: 0 AC→1 AC

"Dynamic Entry's effect activates! Thanks to it, whenever an "Abyss Actor" monster is summoned, it gains ATK equal to its Level multiplied by 100 until my next Standby Phase."

A pair of bright spotlights shined down on Superstar, causing the actor to strike a pose as his power increased.

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500→3200

"3200 ATK already!" A surprised Benmaru exclaimed.

At the supermarket, Kolter continued watching the duel, even after getting what he needed. "It's already the first turn, and he's already summoned a monster with more than 3000 ATK," Kolter murmured, worried about how Yuya or Yuzu would be able to overcome such a challenge.

"I activate Superstar's effect! Once per turn, I can add an "Abyss Script" Spell Card from my Deck to my hand. I add, and then activate, the Spell Card: Abyss Script – Opening Ceremony!"

An arch of multi-colored lights lit up around Abyssio's field as fireworks went off in the air.

"With this, I gain 500 Life Points for each Attack Position "Abyss Actor" monster I control."

Abyssio: 4000→4500 LP

"I place a card face-down and end my turn, along with our first act." The arch disappeared at Sawatari's words. "You may applaud now," Abyssio said, causing the people in the plaza to give him a small round of applause.

"Good start." Ringmaster complemented.

"I see you're starting this duel off by strengthening your defenses, Abyssio," Maestra remarked.

Abyssioheld out his hand. "That is not my name," he declared, earning confused looks from his opponents. "After years of various and rather long-winded titles, I have chosen one that best describes the masterpiece that is I, the great Abyssio."

"Oh boy, here we go again." Benmaru sweatdropped.

"From now on, I am…." Abyssio paused for dramatic effect. "Neo New Abyssio!"

A banner depicting kanji that spelled out Abyssio's latest title suddenly unfurled itself behind him.

Cue stunned silence from everyone else dueling.

"Neo New Abyssio….." Maestra muttered. "So you've gone back to your first title!"

"You know what they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Besides, I think I prefer this one. The appeal of the name just rolls off the tongue, don't you think?"

"Let's just nod and pretend we agree," Ringmaster whispered, both his friends shaking their heads for yes.

"Now then, let's see if any of you have what it takes to dethrone the great Neo New Abyssio!"

"I'm going to enjoy this," Maestra whispered, ready to knock Abyssio down a couple of pegs. Even if he did grow over the years, it didn't hurt to remind him to cool it with his ego once and a while.

"My turn! I draw!" Maestra announced. "Since you put your touch on the field, Abyssio, I think I'll do the same. I activate the Field Spell Card: Divine Melodious Stage!"

Instantly, Abyssio's theater transformed into one more suited for Maestra and her Deck. Confetti rained down as the fairy orchestra played their instruments, light refracting off the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

"Tsk, this is why I liked it when there could be only one Field Spell at a time." Abyssio huffed, "Ruins the mood."

"Don't worry. Once it's your turn again, it'll change back to your field." Benmaru reminded.

"But until then, I'll be showing off my enchanting performance!" Maestra cried. "I activate the Spell Card: Ostinato! Since I don't control any monsters, I can Fusion Summon a Melodious Fusion monster from my Extra Deck by using monsters from my hand or Deck as Material!"

"Eh! From your Deck?" Ringmaster exclaimed. He hadn't seen any Fusion Duelist use a tactic like that before.

"I use Aria the Melodious Diva in my hand and send Elegy the Melodious Diva from my Deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon!" Maestra declared as the spectral forms of her two monsters appeared before, swirling together in a vortex of blue and pink.

"Enchanting melodious voice! Mournful requiem! Blend your voices and be guided by the strokes of the baton into a new angelic hymn! I Fusion Summon! Come forth, prolific master of the written verse! Haydina the Melodious Maestra!"

Haydina emerged from the portal into the Extra Monster Zone surrounded by a swirling storm of flower petals, honey blonde hair glowing in the light of the opera stage. She bowed gracefully before the audience as a melodic song flowed from her throat.

Haydina the Melodious Maestra ATK 2100 DEF 1200 LVL: 5

"Pretty," A female spectator murmured in awe of Maestra's latest Fusion Monster.

"And to summon it using monsters from the Deck as material, Maestra has gotten stronger." A male spectator proclaimed.

"It's giving me goosebumps!" A kid cried as he did a little dance.

"I, the man Benmaru, am impressed by your tactics Maestra." The armored duelist complemented.

"Well, don't praise me yet. This concert is only just beginning. Since I Special Summoned a "Melodious" monster, the effect of Diving Melodious Stage allows me to add another "Melodious" monster from my Deck to my hand. I use this effect to add En Angel – Hana, who is always treated as a Melodious monster, to my hand!" Maestra proclaimed.

"En," Abyssio whispered. "When exactly did you get your hands on that card? As far as I know, the only 'En' cards were the ones that stopped Zarc, so where'd that come from."

"When I revived after Yuya and Declan's last duel, Ray's spirit appeared before me and the others," Maestra explained. "She gave us a few cards that would work in our Decks as a sort of apology for the mess her father dragged us into. She said it was the least she could have done."

"She couldn't have given you all your bodies back instead of a couple of cards?" Abyssio snarkily asked, earning a collection of unamused looks from his friends. "Okay, went too far there."

"Anyway…." Maestra trailed, glaring daggers at Abyssio. "I'll continue our show by bringing out this lovely monster! The heartfelt melody that stirs the blooming flowers, En Angel – Hana!"

An angelic monster that resembled Maestra appeared to the field in a swirl of flowers petals, singing a passionate and beautiful song. Her eyes were bright gold, and her snow-white hair was tied into two pigtails on the sides of her head, clipped down by blue flower clips, while two pink side tails framed her face. Her attire was a short-sleeved yellow dress that fell a little past the knees, with a pink sash wrapped around her waist and a pair of blue Greek sandals on her feet. Coiling up around her right arm was a pink ribbon decorated with flower embroidery, and hanging from her neck on a silver chain was a pink gem that resembled a stylized 'pi' symbol. Affixed to her back was a set of white angel wings, each with a few pink feathers that created the shape of a flower.

En Angel – Hana ATK 1000 DEF 1500 LVL: 4 PS: 8

"It's like Zuzu got turned into an angel….." Kolter murmured in awe of Maestra's identical monster.

"I activate Hana's effect! Once per turn, I can Tribute her to add a Continuous Spell Card from my Deck to my hand!" Maestra announced as her monster belted out a loud note before disappearing in a storm of petals. "I add En Vision to my hand and then activate it!"

The Spell depicted an angelic figure standing amidst a series of colorful symbols all merging together.

"Now, before we continue, I'd like to pull a page from Ringmaster's book. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, knock yourself out!" Ringmaster replied with a smile.

"Great!" Maestra exclaimed before turning towards the audience. "I have a question for anybody in our wonderful audience that uses Fusion Summoning. Can anyone explain to us what the card Future Fusion does?"

"I can!" A spectator called out.

"Okay, so what does that card do?"

"Future Fusion is a Continuous Spell that allows a player to Fusion Summon. During the first Standby Phase after activation, the player who activated the card reveals a Fusion Monster in their Extra Deck and sends the necessary materials to the Graveyard. And then, during that player's next Standby Phase, the revealed monster is Fusion Summoned. If either Future Fusion or the summoned monster leaves the field, the other is sent to the Graveyard!" The spectator explained.

"Correct!" Maestra announced. "Now some of you may be asking, 'Why'd I bring up Future Fusion at a time like this?'"

"Because your card has the same effect!" Ringmaster cried out, realizing where Maestra was going.

"Yes, but much more powerful. You see," Maestra began to explain, "En Vision only applies for monsters of five specific archetypes instead of any Fusion in general. However, this card's effect also can be used to summon a Synchro or Xyz Monster instead of a Fusion Monster!"

A collective gasp swept through the arena.

"And if I summon an Xyz Monster, the materials are attached from my Graveyard to that monster once it arrives!" Maestra added.

"WHAT?!" Abyssio cried out. "You have a card like that in your Deck! No fair!"

"Of course," Maestra said with a somewhat sad expression, "Since I'm facing many great opponents, we'll have to wait a long time for my monster to arrive on stage. I set one card. And then, during my End Phase, the other effect of Ostinato destroys the Haydina and summons the monsters I used to as Fusion Material!"

Maestra's opponents let out a confused gasp as Haydina vanished in a storm of petals and let out a louder one as the petals faded to reveal both Aria and Elegy in her place.

Aria the Melodious Diva ATK 1600 DEF 1200 LVL: 4

Elegy the Melodious Diva ATK 2000 DEF 1200 LVL: 5

"And because they were Special Summoned, both Aria and Elegy's effects activate!" Yuzu exclaimed. "Aria protects my "Melodious" monsters from being destroyed by battle or targeted by card effects, while Elegy gives all my Fairy monsters 300 ATK while preventing them from being destroyed by card effects! And thanks to the effect of Haydina, both gained another 300 ATK for each monster used in her Fusion Summon. And because they gained ATK, Haydina's final effect allows me to add Alto the Melodious Songstress from my Deck to my hand!"

Aria the Melodious Diva ATK 1600→2500

Elegy the Melodious Dive ATK 2000→2900

"Quite the chain of effects," Benmaru whispered to himself. "With that Aria and Elegy lock, Yuzu's trying to buy time until the effect of En Vision resolves."

"Lastly, Divine Melodious Stage gives me 500 Life Points for each "Melodious" monster I control."

Multiple ribbons of music briefly enveloped Maestras body as she glowed.

Maestra: 4000→5000 LP

"And with that, I end my turn."

"Tsk. You copied me, FYI!" Abyssio whined.

Benmaru rolled his eyes, unamused by Abyssios complaining. "My turn! I draw!" He declared. "Since my opponent controls at least two monsters, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand. Appear, Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji!"

A gold machine with green harnesses attached to its sides appeared in Attack Position.

Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji ATK 800 DEF 1800 LVL: 5

"Next, I summon Superheavy Samurai Battleball!"

Materializing next to Big Waraji was a monster that resembled a mechanical sphere, holding a spear in its hand.

Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji ATK 100 DEF 800 LVL: 2

"A Tuner already…." Yuya muttered. "I suppose it's only natural for Gongenzaka to fight seriously."

"I tune the Level 5 Big Waraji with the Level 2 Battleball!"

The world grayed out as green energy gathered around Benmaru before blasting upwards into the sky. Battleball and Big Waraji disintegrated into data that reformed into two rings made of two and five concentric circles. The rings turned blue and merged before reforming into seven blue rings in a tower. A screen appeared that said "2 + 5" before changing to "7". Light surged through the rings.

"As fast as the wind! As quiet as the forest! Hit the finishing blow!" Benmaru chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja!"

A small, violet, mechanical ninja monster emerged from the portal. It wielded a long staff as it sat crisscrossed in Benmaru's Extra Monster Zone.

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja ATK 1200 DEF 2800 LVL: 7

"We've seen Pendulum, Fusion and now Synchro in this duel. All we need now is for Ringmaster to Xyz Summon, and we've got all four Summoning Methods today." Abyssio remarked, pointing out the trend that was going on involving the Extra Deck Summons.

"Maybe I will Xyz Summon when my turn comes, Abyssio," Ringmaster replied jokingly. "But let's save that for later. Now it's Benmaru's turn to entertain us with his steel resolve and Steadfast Heart!"

"Thank you for that, Ringmaster. I, the man Benmaru, appreciate your words. But back to the duel at hand, I equip Stealth Ninja with both Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns and Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet from my hand!"

Stealth Ninja suddenly became equipped with a set of shoulder pauldrons with massive horns and a massive mechanical hand.

"Due to the effects of my monsters, Stealth Ninja gains 400 DEF and the ability to attack twice so long as I have no Spell or Trap Cards in my Graveyard!"

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja DEF 2800→3200

Abyssio wagged his finger in disappointment. "Your monster may be as strong as my Superstar, but if you attack, they'll both be destroyed. I guess I expected a little too much from you today, big guy."

"How presumptuous of you to presume I would be attacking your Superstar," Benmaru smirked. "Battle! At this time, I activate Stealth Ninja's effect activates! By halving its original DEF, it can attack directly!"

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja DEF 3200→1800

"Forgive me, Maestra," Benmaru said. "But I'm afraid my monster will be attacking you directly!"

Not a second after Benmaru said so, Stealth Ninja launched its new mechanical glove at Maestra, who hopped on a nearby platform to avoid the attack. Everyone, except Benmaru, began running around for Action cards.

Maestra was the first to grab one, followed up by Abyssio.

"I activate the Action Spell Card: Break Action! I destroy one Action card in a player's hand." Abyssio declared, causing the card Maestra just grabbed to crumble into dust.

Maestra grimaced at her luck as she braced herself as the mechanical glove rocketed towards her.

"Not so fast!" Ringmaster cried out as he snagged an Action Card. "I activate the Action Spell Card: Code of Chivalry!" The card depicted a black figure saving a princess from a burning tower. For the rest of the turn, no player takes damage from direct attacks!"

A blue barrier appeared around Maestra and protected her from Stealth Ninja's assault.

"You're welcome for the save milady." Ringmaster courteously said with a bow.

"Milady? That sounds like something Chevalier would say." Maestra pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"Well, it's very fitting. I mean, it is the job of the knight in shining armor to rescue his damsel in…." Ringmaster began, only to freeze once he saw Maestra's downright murderous expression.

"Go on, Ringmaster," Maestra whispered threateningly. "A damsel in what?"

"A damsel…." Ringmaster gulped, "…. in danger who can take care of herself. Hahahaa!" He laughed nervously.

"That's what I thought."

"Anyway. Since no player can take damage from direct attacks this turn, I am forced to end my turn, while Shinobi-AC's DEF returns to normal," Benmaru said as his monster returned to his side.

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja DEF 1800→3200

"Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's finally time for me to make my opening move!" Ringmaster proudly proclaimed with both arms outstretched. "My turn! I draw!"

"Wait just a moment!" Abyssio declared loudly. "Before you do anything else, during your Standby Phase, I activate my Trap Card: Abyss Actors Back Stage! Due to its effect, I can add two different "Abyss Actor" Pendulum monsters from my Deck to my Extra Deck. I add Level 4 Sassy Rookie and Level 1 Aspiring Hero!"

Aspiring Hero? Benmaru pondered. "I don't recall that card being in Sylvio's Deck.

"To start my performance, I activate the Spell Card: Pendulum Exchange." Ringmaster began. "By sending one Pendulum Monster card from my hand to the Extra Deck, I draw cards equal to the monster's Pendulum Scale," He explained. "I send Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to my Extra Deck so that I can draw four cards."

He sent the Pendulum Dragon to his Extra Deck and then drew four new cards.

"See right there! Again you guys are copying me!" Abyssio freaked out.

"Moving on, I summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" Ringmaster continued, causing the flamboyantly dressed joker to appear on his field.

Performapal Skullcrobat Joker ATK 1800 DEF 700 LVL: 4 PS: 8

"When Joker is Normal Summoned, his effect allows me to add one "Performapal", "Odd-Eyes," or "Magician" Pendulum monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Performapal Uni!" Ringmaster explained as Joker reached into his hat and pulled out a card before tossing it to his master.

"Now, with Scale 2 Pendulum Knight and Scale 8 Xiansheng Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!" The red-and-green-eyed duelist bellowed as he slammed the two cards onto the blade of his Duel Disk, the word 'PENDULUM' appearing in rainbow lettering.

Two columns of light appeared beside Ringmaster. To his left was a humanoid crimson knight with a blue crystal in the center of its armor. To his right was a woman dressed in white and light red robes wielding a bow and arrow. Underneath each monster were a "2" and "8", respectively.

Pendulum Knight Scale: 2

Xiansheng Magician Scale: 8

"Now I can summon monsters with Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time," Ringmaster stated. "Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready to swing into action!"

The portal opened up between the two pillars, and three lights descended onto the field.

"Time to shine, Performapal Uni!"

"You too, Performapal Corn!

"And making a comeback from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Odd-Eyes appeared on the field in Ringmaster's Extra Monster Zone and was accompanied by two young ladies, wearing a performer's outfit that matched their yellow and blue hair, respectively. Sticking out from under their locks of hair was a single unicorn horn and his ace, Odd-Eyes.

Performapal Uni ATK 800 DEF 1500 LVL: 4

Performapal Corn ATK 600 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK 2500 DEF 2000 LVL: 7 PS: 4

"You know Ringmaster," Abyssio said quietly so Maestra and Bemaru couldn't hear him, trying to conceal the massive grin on his face as he gestured towards Uni and Corn. "Part of me wants to ask, have you ever imagined of Maestra, a.k.a. Zuzu in that kind of outfit?"

"EH!" Ringmaster exclaimed as he nearly lost his footing. "Wha-why would you even think I'd want her to dress up like that?!" He frantically denied though the red on his face claimed otherwise.

"Just wondering," Abyssio replied.

"Anyway, it seems my lovely assistants are ready to continue with our show today," Ringmaster stated as he began using his Dueltainer persona. "Let me reward their enthusiasm by granting their wish and activating Corn's effect! By switching her and Uni to Defense Position, I can add one Pendulum monster from my Deck to my hand."

Both Uni and Corn took a defensive stance as a card popped out of Ringmaster's Deck.

"I add Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn."

"Unicorn. Uni and Corn. Oh, I just got that." Abyssio muttered as he realized the play on words regarding the two monsters.

"I activate the Spell Card: Zone Spacing!" Ringmaster continued. "Thanks to its effect, I can move an Extra Deck Monster from the Extra Monster Zone to the Main Monster Zone, but when it leaves the field, the Zone it vacated can't be used for the remainder of the duel. I move Harmony Symflorist to the Main Monster Zone below it."

Following Ringmaster's words, Symflorist moved from the Extra Monster Zone to the Main Monster Zone.

"With my Extra Monster Zone no longer occupied, I can now entertain my circuit!"

Ringmaster pointed upwards as his hand glowed blue as the Link Portal appeared above him.

"So he's going to Link Summon this time?" Benmaru said.

"Link Arrows authorized! The summoning conditions require two "Performapal" monsters. I'm setting Peformapal Uni and Corn in the Link Arrows!"

Both his monsters became streams of energy as they entered the bottom-left and bottom-right arrows.

"Link the Circuit! I Link Summon! Link-2! Performapal Linkipede!"

Ringmaster's new Link Monster was a large-sized purple polka-dotted centipede with a blue bowtie and a white top hat.

Performapal Linkipede ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↙↘

"A Performapal Link Monster?" Abyssio gasped.

"So they weren't kidding when they said they had Link Monsters in their possession," Benmaru noted.

"Since Linkipede was successfully Link Summoned, its effect lets me choose a "Performapal" in my Deck and add it to my Extra Deck," Ringmaster explained as a card slips out of his Deck. "I select Performapal Odd-Eyes Scribe!"

"Something tells you aren't done with your move," Maestra stated.

"Now, everyone, put your hands together as these marvelous performers work together to bring out two new members of our cast." Ringmaster proclaimed as he grabbed a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card: Performance Fusion!" The card Performapal Hip Hippo, Whip Viper, and Sword Fish together in a Fusion Vortex.

"This Spell lets me Fusion Summon a "Performapal" Fusion Monster by using monsters I control and in my hand as Fusion Material, or by shuffling monsters from my Graveyard into my Deck!"

A trio of spotlights focused on Uni, Corn, and a green unicorn with a pink mane and a set of dual-colored eyes. "I fuse Performapal Uni and Corn, along with Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn in my hand!"

Ringmaster's monsters joined hand and hoof before swirling together in a red, blue and yellow spiral.

"Lovely Performer! Beautiful Entertainer! Magical beast with dichromatic eyes! Become one and let your marvelous sound ring out for all to hear! I Fusion Summon! Come forth! Enchanting composer writing melodies of wonder and beauty! Performapal Harmony Symflorist!"

Appearing next to Linkipede's bottom-left arrow was a harmonious gestalt of voices rang out, and a beautiful young woman with crystal blue eyes emerged from the portal. Her wavy pink hair was in a ponytail that went down to her shoulders, decorated by a crown of roses. Two pink markings were painted on her cheeks, a smiley face and a curly eighth-note. She wore a white and pink chamber ball dress with gold lace on her sleeves and a red sash patterned with golden lines of music notes wrapped around her waist. On her feet were a pair of purple heels, decorated by pink bows with a large blue crystal up the front. Waving around a conductor's baton embedded with sparkling crystals, the young composer released an angelic hymn as she winked at the audience.

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 2700 DEF 1800 LVL: 7 PS: 9

"Ringmaster has a pretty monster too!" A female spectator remarked in awe of the singing monster.

"I welcome this new monster in homage to you, of course, Maestra," Ringmaster said as he held his hand out towards the pink-haired girl, causing her to blush.

"Aww… you created a card based on me?"

"Possessive much…." Abyssio remarked under his breath.

"Thanks to the effects of Performance Fusion, Harmony Symflorist gains 300 ATK per monster used in her Fusion Summon. Since there were three, our lovely diva gains an additional 900 ATK!"

Harmony Symflorist briefly became covered in a rainbow aura as the spirits of Uni, Corn and Unicorn appeared and danced merrily around her.

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 2700→3600

"3600 ATK!" Abyssio cried.

"Now it's stronger than Superstar!" Benmaru remarked.

"When I have a "Performapal" monster on my field, I can Special Summon Fruit Magician from my hand!"

A female magician with long platinum blonde hair and white skin while wearing an eclectic mix of strawberry red and blueberry blue clothing with hints of lavender appeared.

Fruit Magician ATK 1800 DEF 2000 LVL: 7 PS: 6

"When Fruit Magician is Special Summoned by this effect, I can draw one card." Ringmaster explained as he drew his card. "But I don't plan on stopping there! I activate Xiangsheng Magician's Pendulum Effect! I'm taking aim and my game to the next level!"

Xiansheng Magician fired its arrow in between the space of the two magicians, covering them both in a red and purple colored light. "Now Fruit Magician's Level becomes the same as Skullcrobat Joker's!"

Fruit Magician LVL: 7→4

Everyone narrowed their eyes at Ringmaster's two monsters, "Two Level 4 monsters...Don't tell me…."

Ringmaster smiled and pointed at his monsters, "I now overlay my Level 4 Dragonpulse Magician and Fruit Magician!"

Ringmaster swung his Duel Disk around and sent a bolt of blue lightning to the sky behind him. It struck, creating the Xyz cross.

"Looks like we were right," the others said.

''With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!''

Skullcrobat Joker and Fruit Magician broke apart and entered the dots. The ends of the cross lit up and fired beams, creating a miniature galaxy. The galaxy exploded with energy as a new monster formed within.

"Born in the endless cycle of death and rebirth, raise your eternal blade from the void and awaken your power! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Magical Swordsman of Eternity! Reincarnation Paladin!"

Rising from the portal was a warrior that bared some resemblance to Enlightenment Paladin but with a pitch-black set of armored robes in contrast to Enlightenment's pale white. Its silver hair was in a braided ponytail that went down to his lower back. With both of his hands, he wielded a pair of scimitars with masterful skill and precision while a pair of purple orbs rotated around him like planets orbiting around the sun.

Reincarnation Paladin ATK 2500 DEF 2000 RNK: 4 OU: 2

"Since Reincarnation Paladin was Xyz Summoned using a "Magician" as Material, he allows me to re-add a Monster from my Graveyard to my hand. I add Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn back to my hand."

"So this time it's a new Paladin," Benmaru remarked as the light from Ringmaster's Xyz Summon disappeared. "Your Deck never seizes to stop spilling out so many different monsters."

"What can I say? We Dueltainers have to keep our routines fresh and interesting." Ringmaster replied, "And what better way to do that than by constantly evolving and bringing new castmates into our troupes."

"You better remember that Ringmaster." Abyssio whispered smugly, "Because next turn, those words will be back with a vengeance."

"Battle! Harmony Symflorist attacks Big Star!" Ringmaster ordered as his monster began to wave her baton around. "And now, Symflorist's effect activates! When she battles against a Special Summoned monster, she gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all other Pendulum Monsters I control! Harmonic Chorus!

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 3600→6100

"6-6100 ATK!" Abyssio gasped.

"If this attack connects, Abyssio will take major damage," Benmaru analyzed.

"Then once Ringmaster attacks directly with one of his other two monsters, he'll lose," Maestra added.

"Go, Floral Symphony!"

The flower blossomed from the top of Symflorist's baton before firing a blast of light, the sound of an entire orchestra echoing in the background. The attack reached Superstar, causing an explosion of flower petals on impact.

"Well," Benmaru remarked, not surprised that Sylvio was the first to fall. "That takes care of Abyssio."

"Sure does," Maestra added.

The petals settled down, revealing Abyssio with his Life Points intact and Superstar standing beside him, much to everyone's shock. "Too bad for you, Ringmaster. Thanks, toAbyss Actor Grand Theatre, it protects my "Abyss Actors" from being destroyed by battle or card effect once per turn, and it also negates the first battle damage with each of those monsters."

Ringmaster was a bit surprised but shook it off nonetheless. "Well played, Abyssio."

"Neo New Abyssio," he emphasized, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

"I end my Battle Phase, and Harmony Symflorist's effect ends as well. To end the first part of our performance, I set one card and end my turn." Ringmaster stated quickly.

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 6100→3600

"At last, the spotlight returns to me!" Abyssio boasted proudly as the field transformed back into his Theater. "My turn! I draw! Since we've reached my Standby Phase, the ATK boost from Dynamic Entry wears off. Meaning that our star no longer shines as bright as he once did."

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 3200→2500

"And now I use another effect of Grand Theater!" Abyssio shouted as the Abyss Actor marking on the curtains behind him disappeared. "By removing a certain number of Abyss Counters from this card, I can add an "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster from my Extra Deck to my hand, so long as its Level is equal to the number of counters removed. I remove one counter to add one of the monsters I added to my Extra Deck beforehand, Abyss Actor – Aspiring Hero, to my hand before Normal Summoning it!"

A humanoid monster dressed in commoner clothes with a cape extending from its back and holding a toy sword in its right arm appeared on Abyssio's field.

Abyss Actor – Loyal Sidekick ATK 500 DEF 300 LVL: 1 PS: 5

Abyss Actor Grand Theater: 1 AC→0 AC

All eyes widened in shock as the Duelists and spectators noticed one very important detail about Abyssio's new monster.

"IT'S A TUNER!?" Everyone yelled in shock.

"That's right!" Sawatari grinned. "And since our good friend Benmaru has already shown us how to properly use a Tuner, bare witness as I, the great Neo, make his Synchro Summoning debut!"

Sawatari snapped his fingers as the spotlights focused on his two monsters. "I tune Level 7 Big Star with Level 1 Loyal Sidekick!"

A bolt of green lightning struck Abyssio and made the world gray out. The two monsters disintegrated into data and reformed into two rings, one of which was composed of seven concentric circles. The rings turned blue and merged before reforming into a tower of eight blue rings. A screen appeared before the tower and displayed "1 + 7" before changing to "8." A surge of light burst through the rings.

"Ingenious artist spinning sagas of glory and downfall! Appear now on this stage and enchant the masses with your thrilling tales! I Synchro Summon!" Abyssio cackled as a pillar of light erupted behind him. "Come forth! Level 8! Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright!"

A monster dressed in refined, medievalesque clothes, which wore a jester-like mask with the Abyss Actors' symbol and held a black tome with a quill on it in its left hand, appeared Sawatari's field.

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 3000→3800 DEF 2300 LVL: 8

No one spoke a word. All were stunned by Abyssio's display of Synchro Summoning. The blonde was somewhat offended by this, though.

Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, Specter and the three other Knights were atop a building viewing the duel.

"So Abyssio is also capable of Synchro Summoning?" Faust asked.

"Seems like it," Baira answered.

"This will provide tons of data that will help us figure out his dueling DNA," Genome noted. "What do you think of this, Specter?"

Specter turned to Genome and the others. "All I know is that things are about to get a lot more interesting."

Back at the duel, Ringmaster narrowed his eyes from Legendary Playwright to Abyssio. "Well… that explains what you meant before about what I said coming back with a vengeance. Did not see that coming."

Abyssio smiled lightly. "You said it yourself, Ringmaster, gotta expand the ensemble and keep duelists and audiences alike on their toes."

"So," Maestra spoke up, "You gonna tell us why you picked up Synchro Summoning or…."

"Ah yes, of course. It's a thrilling and exciting tail of trial and error as I spent hours learning how to…."

"Short version, please, you are on a time limit here." Benmaru interrupted, causing Abyssio to frown.

"Fine. It all happened about last month….."

Flashback: One month ago, in Paradise City in the Pendulum Dimension…

"Congratulations, Zuzu!" Yuya said happily. "I'm so glad that you're able to come with me to the Link Dimension."

"Me too, Yuya." Zuzu also said happily. "And I promise that I'll give it my all and won't hold you back!"

"What a beautiful moment! Gong can't hold his tears back!" Gong said while crying.

"Kind of makes you think that after watching Zuzu pull off some new moves, she's never used before, that we should expand our skills some more Gong, like maybe learning a new summoning method. The question is, which one should I learn?" Sylvio wondered.

"Well, for which of the other summoning methods, you should ask yourself which one SPEAKS to you and which seems like the easiest to start with. Preferably the one that is, at the same time, the strongest," the Fusion user explained, not so subtly trying to tell Sawatari to pick up Fusion.

Dennis rolled his eyes, seeing right through his friend's scheme.

"And as for who would teach you, you have to ask one of the most skilled and top-tier duelists you know. Maybe one who you never really realized was that powerful before."

Sawatari, seemingly drawn in by Sora's subliminal messaging, grinned as he realized something. "Of course, it's so obvious. The answer was right in front of me this whole time!"

"Glad you understand." Sora triumphantly said before taking a bite out of his overly sweetened food. "Now to start…" he started talking until he noticed Sawatari abruptly got up out of his seat and began running towards Crow.

"Crow, I would like for you to teach me how to Synchro Summon! Thanks for the idea Sora!" Sylvio said as he grabbed Crow's arm and ran out of the stands.

"Wait, I was talking about me!" Sora yelled, furious that Sawatari didn't fall for his tricks. "Now I feel like a fool, don't I?

"That certainly didn't work out the way you wanted it," Dennis remarked, trying to conceal the amused look on his face.

Flashback End: Present Day…

"So there you have it. I approached Crow about teaching me how to Synchro Summon. And clearly," Abyssio gestured to his new monster as he concluded his tale, "The results speak for themselves."

"I am honestly impressed that you admitted to yourself that you didn't feel like you contributed much to the war effort." Benmaru admitted, "It's so, unlike you."

"Hey, I am not as idiotic as you people sometimes make me out to be!" Abyssiogrowled, "Yes, I do brag about my skills, even when they were practically non-existent at the time, but I'd have to be a total moron not to realize even you were more useful than I was."

"That is surprisingly mature of you to say, Sawatari." The armored duelist smiled at Abyssio's remark.

"Of course, considering you didn't do any damage to Zarc and didn't pick up any wins during the final stretch of the war, that's not saying much either," Abyssio added.

"And there it is." Benmaru sighed, not surprised by that remark.

"Oh, look at the time. This duel needs to continue." Sawatari said before gesturing towards his Synchro monster. "When Legendary Playwright is successfully Synchro Summoned, I can add an "Abyss Actor" monster from my Deck to my hand! I add Mellow Madonna. And next, I activate Playwright's second effect! Once per turn, I can return any number of "Abyss Actor" cards I control back to my hand to return an equal amount of cards from my opponent's field back to their hand! And since this effect doesn't target Maestra, it means Aria's effect won't save your monsters!"

Maestra clicked her tongue in annoyance, displeased that Abyssio had found a way around her protection lock.

"I return Dynamic Entry and Stage Technician to return both Maestra's Elegy the Melodious Diva and Benmaru's Soul Buster Gauntlet to their hands! Go, Reshape Script!"

Abyssio's monster drew its quill and made several slashing motions with it, causing the designated cards to disappear and return to their respective owners' hands.

"Of course, since Dynamic Entry left the stage, Legendary Playwright loses the ATK boost." Abyssio frowned before turning that frown into a grin. "But on the plus side, I can add an "Abyss Script" card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand since it did so. And as a bonus, Benmaru's robot-ninja over there also gets weaker!"

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 3800→3000

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja DEF 3200→2800

"Now I think I'll rebuild my Scales using Scale 3 Abyss Actor – Extras!" Abyssio continued as a trio of fedora-wearing goblins appeared in a column of light over to the side, hovering above the number "3".

Abyss Actor – Extras Scale: 3

Smiling, Abyssio noticed a few ropes to this side. Running over, he grabbed a low hanging rope before swinging across the stage and landing right on top of an Action card.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself before activating the card. "I action the Action Spell Card: Mass Extinction!" The card depicted a black figure running away from a huge explosion. "All monsters on the field are destroyed!"

"But won't that destroy his monster too?" A spectator asked from the sidelines.

"No, his Field Spell protects his monsters from being destroyed by any player's card effects once per turn." Another spectator explained, "And that means everyone will be defenseless once Abyssio summons more monsters!"

"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulheaven Armor!" Benmaru countered, "By sending this card from my hand to the Graveyard, I negate the destruction of all monsters I control!"

Ringmaster ran and grabbed a nearby Action Card. "I activate the Action Spell Card: Mirror Barrier! I target Reincarnation Paladin and make it so that card effects cannot destroy it!"

"But your other monsters will be destroyed, as well as Maestra's Aria!" Abyssio countered as a dark twister of flames and water appeared, ripping up pieces of the stage. "Take this!"

The twister exploded, sending shrapnel all around the theater and forcing the duelists to take cover. While Reincarnation Paladin and Legendary became surrounded by a reflective barrier, Stealth Ninja was protected by a gold and white mechanical chest plate that deflected the projectiles. The remaining four monsters weren't so lucky and were destroyed in a burst of energy.

"Unfortunately for me," Abyssio sighed, "Every player who had a monster destroyed draws a card for each monster they lost. While Benmaru and I cannot, you both lost monsters, meaning Ringmaster draws three cards and Maestra draws one."

"That's a generous effect for a nuking card," Maestra replied as she and Ringmaster drew.

"Hey, I don't design these cards." Abyssio said, throwing his hands up, "Now I'll take the Spell Card: Abyss Script – Shadow Spirit I added through the effect of Dynamic Entry and-"

"Hold that thought, Abyssio!" Ringmaster declared, cutting off his opponent's move. "Since a monster I control was destroyed, I can activate the effect of Reincarnation Paladin! By detaching an Overlay Unit, Reincarnation Paladin allows me to Special Summon a monster from my Deck whose Attribute, Type and Level are the same as the destroyed monster!"

Reincarnation Paladin absorbed an orb of light into one of his scimitars to the Odd-Eyes Pendulum dragon, colored blue with grey, skeletal armor. Like its counterpart, Phantom Dragon held a blue orb in its chest armor and forehead, with a red and green orb on its shoulder armor. Howling like a wolf in the night, the ominous dragon stomped its foot on the ground before locking the field in the gaze of his red and green eyes.

Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon ATK 2500 DEF 2000 LVL: 7 PS: 4

"It's a new version of Odd-Eyes!" Maestra cried out.

"But's it's kind of creepy when you compare it to the original," Benmaru remarked, somewhat frightened by the bone-like armor the dragon wore.

"In case you guys are wondering, just like Ray did for Zuzu, Zarc created some new cards for me after we managed to make him smile," Ringmaster informed them.

"Still, it holds no threat to the great Neo New Abyssio!" he stated. "As I was saying," Sawatari said through gritted teeth, "I activate Heavenly Evil Spirit. So now when an Abyss Actor monster battles this turn, all of your monsters will have their ATK become equal to their DEF!"

"That can present quite a problem," Ringmaster muttered.

"Now, before we continue, I want to try something out," Abyssio said as he snapped his fingers.

"Master Rule Override activated."

"What the-?" The others said, looking at their Duel Disks in surprise as they saw the Main Monster Zones changed back to ordinary Monster Zones.

"What just happened?" Maestra asked.

"Is this the new program Declan was working on?" Benmaru asked.

"Indeed it is," Abyssio answered. "He's managed to combine our set of Master Rules with this dimension's to create a whole new set of Master Rules called Master Rule 5. Now we can summon Pendulum Monsters as well as Extra Deck Monsters like normal again and not rely on controlling a Link Monster."

"I have to say, Declan's skills have impressed me yet again," Ringmaster said.

In the Hanoi Stronghold, Varis was intrigued by the turn of events. "So they were able to alter our set of rules to their advantage? Looks like I have to keep an eye on Abyssio as well."

"With now, with that out of the way, I can Pendulum Summon!" Abyssio declared as a pink portal opened up between the columns of light. "Appear again from the Extra Deck, Abyss Actor – Superstar! And alongside you, Sassy Rookie and Mellow Madonna!"

Superstar reappeared on stage, joined by a deformed-looking clown with blue overalls, a rather lovely-looking woman with purple skin, long pink hair with a yellow bang covering her right eye, and a simple black dress with long sleeves and a slit up the side that exposed her right leg.

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500 DEF 1800 LVL: 7 PS: 3

Abyss Actor – Sassy Rookie ATK 1700 DEF 1000 LVL: 4 PS: 2

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 1800 DEF 2500 LVL: 7 PS: 0

"Since I successfully Pendulum Summoned, Grand Theater gains another Abyss Counter," Abyssio continued.

"Next, I activate Superstar's effect! I add and then activate the Spell Card: Abyss Script – Fantasy Magic! By targeting Superstar, any monster he battles this turn will return to your hand instead of being sent to your Graveyard!"

A book materialized above Superstar, which the actor grabbed and quickly finished cover-to-cover before magically dressing in the robes of a black mage.

"In addition, I'll use Mellow Madonna's effect to give herself an extra 100 ATK for each "Abyss Script" Spell Card in my Graveyard. I count three, so she gains 300 more ATK!" Abyssio explained as his female monster flipped her hair to the side, her body covered in a purple glow.

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 1800→2100

"This act is getting a little long, so I think it's time we finish this up. Battle! Mellow Madonna attack Maestra directly!" Abyssio declared.

Taking a deep breath, Mellow Madonna began singing a sustained note, which grew louder and louder as it traveled towards Maestra. She jumped out of the way, but the note echoed off the walls and traveled right back at her, knocking her onto her back.

Maestra: 5000→2900 LP

"Next, Sassy Rookie attacks you directly this time!" Abyssio added, his cartoonish goblin leaping forward and whacking Maestra in the stomach and knocking her down just as she managed to get back up.

Maestra: 2900→1200 LP

"Maestra's in trouble." A female spectator yelled. "Without any monsters, she'll be finished if she takes another attack."

"I think that's enough for you now, Maestra. In the meantime, Legendary Playwright attacks Reincarnation Paladin! And due to Shadow Spirit's effect, your Paladin's ATK becomes equal to its DEF!"

Reincarnation Paladin ATK 2500→2000

"Go, First Folio!"

Numerous pages flew out of the heavy tome Legendary Playwright was holding, turning into energy blades as they headed straight towards the Ritual Paladin.

In response, Ringmaster jumped and activated the rollerblades on his feet, dashing forward around the theater before finding an Action Card hiding under the corner of one of the various posters that decorated the theater. However, just as he grabbed it, Legendary Playwright's attack overpowered his Paladin, turning the monster to ash in a burst of light as he winced in pain from the attack.

Ringmaster: 4000→3000 LP

"And now, Superstar attacks Stealth Ninja!" Abyssio ordered, continuing his assault.

Superstar leaped forward, spinning around and transforming himself into a tornado of magical fire in the process. "Even though his ATK is lower than that of Stealth Ninja's Def, the effect of Fantasy Magic will return him to the Extra Deck after this battle is over!"

Benmaru let out a triumphant smile. "Just like me, my monsters won't be moving either!"

Stealth Ninja raised its staff and swatted Superstar away, the fire that had surrounded the fiendish actor extinguished as the image of Soulheaven Armor reappeared.

Abyssio: 4500→4200 LP

"Since I used the effect of Heaven Armor, my Superheavy Samurai cards cannot be removed from the field by card effect for the remainder of this turn." Gongenzaka explained, "In other words, your gamble failed you."

"Tsk. Well played, big guy," Abyssio smirked. "It seems I'm not the only one who's been improving his Deck. I'll conclude Act Two of our performance and end my-"

"Not so fast! I activate the Trap Card: En Grave!" Maestra proclaimed, cutting off Abyssio as the card showed Opera the Melodious Diva, Solo the Melodious Songstress, Canon the Melodious Diva, Tamtam the Diva, and Soprano the Melodious Songstress all together in a circle around a tombstone. "I send up to five "Melodious" monsters from my Deck or Extra Deck to the Graveyard to destroy as many Spell and Trap cards my opponent controls as possible! Oh, and by the way, any player who had a card destroyed by this effect has their Life Points halved."

"What!?" Abyssio exclaimed in shock.

"Since En Grave doesn't deal damage, Maestra can hit all three of us at once!" Benmaru proclaimed.

"I send Choral the Melodious Diva from my Deck to the Graveyard to destroy all of you guys' Spells and Traps! Consider this payback, Abyssio."

'It's Neo New Abyssio!" The Abyss Actor duelist roared, determined to make the title stick.

Maestra's trap card began glowing bright, slowly charging up energy before releasing it in a burst of light.

"I activate the Trap Card: Pendulum Guard Zone!" Ringmaster decreed as the card depicted a barrier shielding Stargazer and Timegazer in the Pendulum Zone from destruction. "Card effects cannot destroy all cards in the Pendulum Zones until my next Standby Phase! Meaning my Pendulum cards are safe!"

"And due to the effect of Soulheaven Armor, my Soulhorns won't be destroyed either by En Grave." Benmaru reminded.

"And while Ringmaster's trap may protect my Pendulum Cards, the same cannot be said for my Field Spell." Abyssio sighed, "Which means…."

The burst of energy from En Grave took the shape of a large pink flower, petals fluttering off before impaling Abyssio's Field Spell and Ringmaster's Pendulum Guard Zone, reverting the arena into Maestra's stage.

Abyssio: 4200→2100 LP

Ringmaster: 3000→1500 LP

"Huh?" Genome raised an eyebrow at the change in Life Points. "Why did Ringmaster's Life Points change? The effect of En Grave didn't destroy his cards."

"And you call yourself a doctor. Ringmaster activated Pendulum Guard Zone in response to Maestra's En Grave, setting up a Chain," Baira explained.

"Since Guard Zone was the last card activated in the Chain, its effects resolved first and prevented Ringmaster's cards from being destroyed. The card is only sent to the Graveyard after the other effects in the Chain are resolved," Faust continued.

That is where En Grave comes into play," Specter added. "Since Guard Zone was still on the field when resolving its effect, Guard Zone is destroyed before being sent to the Graveyard, which is why En Grave's effect halved Ringmaster's Life Points."

"Guess it was a bit more complicated than I thought," Genome said, embarrassed.

Maestra stepped forward before placing her fingers on the top of her deck. "My turn! I draw!"

Looking at her current hand, Maestra smiled as her mind began formulating a strategy to get out of her current predicament.

"My Life Points are the lowest out of everyone." She recapped in her head. "Divine Melodious Stage can help me recover at the end of my turn only if I get some monsters on my field. But with this…."

"During my Standby Phase, the effect of En Vision activates!" Maestra proclaimed, taking a card out of the Extra Deck compartment on her Duel Disk. "I reveal the Rank 7 Wing Diva the Melodious Choir in my Extra Deck and send Level 7 Shopina the Melodious Maestra and Puccina the Melodious Maestra from my Deck to the Graveyard."

"So Maestra even has the power to summon Xyz Monsters now?" Benmaru said, mused. "The three of us should be extra careful."

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, why should we?" Abyssio asked smugly. "She has the lowest Life Points out of all four of us. Even if she makes a comeback, any one of us can take her out before she brings out her Xyz Monster."

"Let's put your little theory to the test, shall we?" Maestra said with a bemused smile on her face. "With the Scale 3 Alto the Melodious Songstress, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

A red-haired fairy, wearing a tight red dress with a blue underside that bloomed outward near the ankles, appeared in a column of light, hovering above the number "3".

Alto the Melodious Songstress Scale: 3

"Since Alto is the only card in my Pendulum Zone, I can activate her Pendulum Effect." Maestra continued, adding a card from her Deck to her hand. "With it, I add Arpeggio the Melodious Diva from my Deck to my hand and then activate her in the opposing Pendulum Zone!"

Another column of ethereal blue light appeared to Yuzu's side, containing her black and violet dress-wearing fairy, with tri-colored hair that resembled a blooming flower and a set of clear shimmering piano wings. Underneath her was a glowing "7".

Arpeggio the Melodious Diva Scale: 7

"I activate Arpeggio's Pendulum Effect! I target two cards in my Pendulum Zone, increase the Scale of the first target, and decrease the Scale of the other by up to three! I change Alto's Scale to One while raising Arpeggio's Scale to Eight! Do it, Arpeggio!"

Moving her piano wings closer to herself, Arpeggio moved her fingers across the keys, playing a short tune that transformed the numbers underneath her and Alto to "1" and "8," respectively.

Alto the Melodious Songstress Scale: 1

Arpeggio the Melodious Diva Scale: 8

"Now, I can simultaneously summon monsters from Level 2 through 7!" Maestra announced as a Pendulum, identical to Ringmaster's but with a pink crystal, began swaying back and forth between the columns of light.

"Melody of life, please embody the essence of harmony. Create a new miracle under the arc of light, and let your song dispel the darkness! I Pendulum Summon! Reappear, En Angel – Hana! Elegy the Melodious Diva, as well as Orchestra the Melodious Diva!"

Above her head, a pink portal opened up before a stream of red light, a stream of yellow light and a third stream of blue light descend from the portal before landing on the ground, revealing the monsters within. Hana and Elegy were joined by a fairy wearing a puffy dress, colored the same crystal white as her hair. Her eyes were a bright yellow, much like the diamonds that decorated her dress and white gloves. A pair of golden wings shaped like curled French Horns like cherub wings on her back, and her dress billowing out from under her.

En Angel – Hana ATK 1000 DEF 1500 LVL: 4 PS: 8

Elegy the Melodious Diva ATK 2000 DEF 1200 LVL: 5

Orchestra the Melodious Diva ATK 1000 DEF 2500 LVL: 4

"Two Level 4s," Ringmaster muttered, recognizing the situation from experience.

Maestra brought her hands in front of her. "I overlay the Level 4 Hana and Orchestra!"

Maestra brought her Duel Disk in front of her face and then raised it above her head as it released a burst of pink energy that struck the sky. The field changed into outer space from where the bolt struck, streams of pink energy floating in the air from where the bolt struck.

"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

A digital blue cross with four red dots in its corners came below her monsters, which dissolved into pink particles. The particles flowed into two of the red dots, making a red circle appear beneath the cross. The ends of the cross fired blue beams into the sky, converging on a point and creating a galaxy that exploded with energy.

"Beautiful fairy who composes songs of the heart, raise your baton and touch the souls of all with your supreme genius! I Xyz Summon! To the stage now! The unrivaled artist! Rank 4! Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra!"

The portal disappeared, revealing a monster with long black hair tied into ponytails on the sides of her head by two bass cleft shaped hair-clips. Painted on each of her cheeks were black eight notes while green eyeliner painted over her solid, glittering gold eyes. Her long, thin black dress extended to her ankles, and the sleeves were translucent. Large red ribbons covered the front of her chest, the back of the dress and the tops of her red shoes, decorated with a pattern of golden music notes. In her right hand, she carried around a wooden conductor's baton that sprinkled shimmering pink dust wherever she waved it. Laughing gracefully, she spread a pair of wings that resembled ethereal black harps before landing in front of Yuzu, a pair of yellow Overlay Units encircling her like miniature suns.

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra ATK 1800 DEF 1000 RNK: 4 OU: 2

"It's here!" The MC exclaimed, "Maestra's new Xyz Monster."

"Since Orchestra was used as Xyz Material and Hana as Extra Deck Material, their effects are both applied! Furthermore, I chain the effect of Divine Melodious Stage to Vivaldina's Xyz Summon!" Maestra stated as she plucked a card from her Deck and added it to her hand. "I add Sonata the Melodious Diva to my hand! And now, everyone, let's give it up for the effects of Hana and Orchestra! Thanks to these lovely angels of entertainment, Vivaldina gains these three effects!"

At the store, Kolter continued viewing the ongoing duel. "I got a feeling things are going to be bad for Yuya and the others."

"First!" Maestra declared, holding up her pointer finger. "Because of Hana, so long as Vivaldina is on my Field, my Special Summons cannot be negated. Second, Vivaldina protects my Special Summoned monsters from being targeted or destroyed by my opponent's card effects. And third, because of Orchestra, my opponents cannot activate Spell or Trap Cards until the end of this turn!"

"WHAT!" Ringmaster and Abyssio screamed in unison as the Action Card in Ringmaster's had become covered in a rainbow glow.

"Dang it." he whispered, "She's trying to recover after her stall plan failed."

"Now, since I control a "Melodious" monster, I can Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva from my hand via her effect!" Maestra continued as a yellow-skinned woman with green hair wearing a light blue dress appeared in Attack Position.

Sonata the Melodious Diva ATK 1200 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"Next, I activate Vivaldina's effect! I detach an Overlay Unit, in this case, Hana, to draw a card! Draw!" Maestra declared, tearing off a card from off of the top of her Deck. Smiling, she revealed the card.

"Since the card was a Level 4 or lower "Melodious" monster, Vivaldina's second effect allows me to Special Summon it! Appear, Dirge the Melodious Songstress!"

Maestra's monsters clapped their hands as Vivaldina opened up the palm of her hand and threw a tiny paper bomb into the air that exploded in a blast of colorful confetti and music. The smoke cleared to reveal a sorrowful-looking fairy that resembled an angel with her enormous black raven wings. Dirge wore a black dress, most of her face obscured by a black veil, while a golden necklace with a harp hanging on the end laid at the base of her neck. Singing a song filled with lament, Dirge flapped her wings before placing her palms together as if saying a prayer.

Dirge the Melodious Songstress ATK 800 DEF 2000 LVL: 4

"Dirge's effect activates! I can send one "Melodious" monster from my Deck to my Graveyard. I send Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!"

"Why would she send her ace to the Graveyard?" Ringmaster wondered.

After depositing her ace into the Graveyard, Maestra smiled even wider as she took the card she had drawn for her turn before holding it up for all to see. "I activate the Spell Card: Harmonic Fusion! This card allows me to Fusion Summon one "Melodious" monster from my Extra Deck by using monsters from both my hand and field as materials. And since I control a "Melodious" monster that I summoned from the Extra Deck, I can shuffle monsters in my Graveyard back into my Deck as well. Everyone, come forth to the center of the stage!"

The ghostly spirits of Haydina, Mozarta, Hana, Aria and Choral gathered to the center of the platform, smiling and waving at the spectators as the audience cheered.

"I fuse En Angel – Hana, Mozarta and Haydina the Melodious Maestras together with Aria and Choral the Melodious Divas and Fusion Summon!"

The quintet of fairies joined hands as they ascended to the center of a Fusion Portal before swirling together in a vortex of pink, blue, red, yellow and purple. Closing her eyes, Maestra chanted.

"Now listen as these five harmonize and fuse into one, as their powers merge and transform into something even more melodic! Behold, the showstopping songstress whose voice will blow you away! I Fusion Summon! Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir!"

In a swirl of flower petals, Maestra's Fusion Monster pirouetted onto the stage. Her elegant yellow dress resembled an upside-down flower in bloom, a pair of blue and white flowers blooming over her back. Twirling in the air, she sang several notes before landing in the center of Yuzu's formation of monsters, a bright smile plastered on her face.

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 1900 DEF 2000 LVL: 7

"Following both Pendulum and Xyz, Maestra performed a Fusion Summon!" The MC cheered, as did the audience.

"The effects of all my monsters are applied! Sonata's effect increases the ATK of all my Fairy monsters by 500. Elegy gives them 300 ATK, Vivaldina, with a single Overlay unit, further increases their ATK by 200! Bloom Prima, by her effect, gains 300 ATK for each monster used in her Fusion Summon, and Harmonic Fusion gives the summoned monster an extra 200 ATK for each monster used for its summon!"

The entire stage filled up with light as the fairy orchestra began playing their instruments in tune with the songs of Maestra's monsters as they surged with power.

Elegy the Melodious Diva ATK 2000→3000

Sonata the Melodious Diva ATK 1200→2000

Dirge the Melodious Diva ATK 800→1800

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra ATK 1800→2800

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 1900→4400

Ringmaster and Abyssio visibly sweatdropped. Even Benmaru was visibly concerned. At this rate, Maestrau could win the duel right here and now without waiting for En Vision's effect to go through.

"The effect of Bloom Prima allows her to attack twice per turn, meaning with my current field, I can perform a total of six attacks!"

"Incredible!" A spectator shouted, energized by his Maestra's powerful combos.

"The first attack! Bloom Prima, attack Superheavy Ninja Shinobi-AC! Blooming Chorus!"

The flowers atop Bloom Prima's shoulders blossomed even wider before releasing a powerful wave of sound towards the sitting ninja.

"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulvanquish Armor in my end!" Benmaru countered, activating another hand Trap. "Orchestra's effect may have prevented the activation of Spells or Traps, but it's a good thing I don't use them and that the effect doesn't stop monster effects! During my opponent's Battle Phase, if I have no Spell or Traps in my Graveyard, I can discard this card to prevent the destruction of all my "Superheavy Samurai" monsters by battle this turn. In addition, every time a Superheavy monster I target for an attack, I can draw a card, so thank you, Maestra."

A suit of blue samurai armor appeared in front of Shinobi-AC, blocking Bloom Prima's attack. Gongenzaka smirked as he drew a card afterwards.

"So, my Deck is telling me it's time for that." The steadfast duelist whispered to himself.

"Since that didn't work out as planned, let's try again," Maestra said, stretching her hand towards Abyssio's field. "Bloom Prima, attack Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright!"

'That won't be happening either!" Benmaru roared, "I activate the effect of Vanquish Armor in my Graveyard! Since you attacked a "Superheavy Samurai" monster I control, I can banish this card to make one monster my opponent controls unable to attack for the rest of this turn. Since this effect doesn't target, the effect inherited from Hana cannot stop it."

The spirit of Vanquish Armor rose out of the Graveyard before attaching itself to Bloom Prima, weighing her down and preventing her from singing any further.

"Benmaru is going at it today," Ringmaster said.

"I know, it's six turns in, and he's the only one who hasn't taken any damage." Abyssio added, "Nothing we do seems to overcome him."

"Since Bloom Prima can no longer attack, I'll have to go with plan B," Maestra whispered to herself. "Change of plans, ladies! Elegy attacks Legendary Playwright!"

"Not today, pinky!" Abyssio retorted, "Don't you know the best actors can adapt to the role they have to play! Legendary Playwright's second effect! Once during any of our turns, I can target one "Abyss Actor" monster I control, or that is face-up in my Extra Deck to have Playwright gain that monster's effects for the turn! I choose Sassy Rookie, meaning that Legendary Playwright cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. It looks like your mutual destruction gambit there didn't quite work out as you thought-"

"I activate the Action Spell Card: Selection of Miracle!" Maestra roared from the stage, having grabbed an Action Card while Sawatari was running his mouth off. "I choose the effect that prevents destruction by battle!"

Elegy sang a mournful note, which Playwright retaliated at by flinging an orb of starlight at. The two attacks collided and canceled each other out at that moment.

Maestra snarled. Her opponents have been able to overcome what she had thrown at them.

"I could finish off Ringmaster, but there is always the risk that the Trap he played before could have a Graveyard effect. At the very least, I can leave his field open for Gongenzaka to finish him off." Maestra planned.

"Sonata, destroy Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Maestra ordered, her monster singing a sustained note that destroyed Yuya's dragon in an explosion of sound.

"Yuya doesn't have any more monsters left." Kolter observed, "Yuzu can finish him off now!"

"I end my Battle Phase," Maestra stated, surprising her opponents. "What? It's my turn, and I can stop attacking if I want. I place two cards face-down and end my turn. During my End Phase, Divine Melodious Stage restores my Life Points by 500 for each Melodious monster I control. In this case, that's 2500!"

Maestra: 1200→3700 LP

"She's recovered most of her Life Points," Ringmaster muttered, eyes locked on Maestra's field. "She can't summon Wing Diva unless we destroy one of her other monsters. But unless one of us gets a monster or a card that can attack directly, we'll have no choice but to destroy her monsters to damage her."

Benmaru slammed his metal-geta onto the stage, a loud echo resounding across the stage as he roared, "My turn! I draw! I activateSuperheavy Samurai Kotodama's effect! By discarding this card and Soulbuster Gauntlet from my hand, I can excavate the top five cards of my Deck. All "Superheavy Samurai" monsters among those cards will be added to my hand, and all other cards will be sent to my Graveyard." Benmaru explained, "However, for each monster added to my hand, I take 400 damage."

"And he just restocked his hand," Abyssio commented, knowing that there was no way Benmaru wouldn't draw five cards.

Plucking the top five cards off of his Deck, Benmaru examined them before revealing all five to his opponents. "All of these cards are monsters, and since Superheavy General Jade and Superheavy General Coral are always treated as "Superheavy Samurai" cards, they are added to my hand. However, since I added five cards to my hand, I take 2000 damage."

He grunted as a white aura briefly surrounded him but didn't falter in his iron-clad resolve.

Benmaru: 4000→2000 LP

"And now using the Scale 1 Superheavy General Jade and the Scale 8 Superheavy General Coral, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Benmaru roared as two robotic warriors in shogun armor, one decorated in jade and the other in red coral, appeared in two columns to his sides.

Superheavy Samurai General Jade Scale: 1

Superheavy Samurai General Coral Scale: 8

"With this, I can summon Levels 2 to 7 monsters at the same time!"

"Pendulum Summoning?" Specter blinked. "He has that power, too?"

"I Pendulum Summon! Appear! Superheavy Samurai Wagon and the Tuner monster, Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter!"

A green samurai with wheels for legs came forward, pulling a wagon loaded with weapons, along with a small orange humanoid machine wielding a trumpet, emerged from the portal between the pillars, both in Attack Position.

Superheavy Samurai Wagon ATK 1200 DEF 1800 LVL: 4

Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter ATK 300 DEF 600 LVL: 2

"Another Tuner," Abyssio remarked, taking note of Benmaru's field. "You're planning on bringing out another Synchro Monster, aren't you, big guy?"

"Not yet. First, I activate Superheavy Samurai Wagon's effect! When it's successfully summoned, I can switch him into defense mode!" His monster's mode switched. "I'll now use Wagon's other effect! Once per turn, Wagon can change itself from defense to attack and let me add a "Superheavy Samurai Soul'' monster from my Deck to his hand!"

A card ejected from Benmaru's Deck.

"The one I choose is Superheavy Samurai Soulfan!"

Said monster materialized in Wagon's cart as it flew into its master's hand.

"Next, I activate Superheavy General Jade's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, I can increase the Level of one "Superheavy Samurai" monster I control by one. I target the Level 7 Stealth Ninja and raise its Level to Eight!"

Superheavy Samurai Stealth Ninja LVL: 7→8

Closing his eyes, Benmaru lowered his head before speaking. "I must admit that I too felt as if I could have been of more use during the Academia War. I was the first of the Lancers to be eliminated during the Friendship Cup. I could not do anything during the final fight in the Xyz Dimension and failed to make any major contributions before Zarc's revival. Words alone cannot express the displeasure I feel when looking back."

"Wow, between me, Maestra, and now you," Abyssio remarked, "This duel is turning into a real sob fest."

"But," Benmaru raised his head, a fierce look of determination in his eyes, "I am not one to wallow in self-pity! Maestra, Abyssio, just as you both strive to improve from your pasts selves, I, the man Gongenzaka, shall become stronger! I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulfan in my hand! By sending it to the Graveyard, I can use "Superheavy Samurai" monsters I control, in my hand, or equipped with monsters I control as material… AND FUSION SUMMON!"

"FUSION!" The three other duelists and spectators yelled in unison as a spectral image of a giant green, dark golden lining massive fan with sharp blades on its ends and an energy generator similar to Superheavy Samurai Soulbang Cannon blasted an energy beam at the ground floor, opening a Fusion Portal.

"I fuse Wagon and the Superheavy Samurai Soulhorns equipped to Stealth Ninja!" Benmaru decreed as the horned pauldrons detaching themselves from his Synchro Monster before entering the portal alongside Wagon. The two samurai became woven together in a spiral of red and blue while their master's chant echoed in the background.

"Steadfast hearts defending this peaceful land! Merge your iron resolve on this fierce battlefield and be forged as the sword of the emperor! I Fusion Sumon! Imperial sword representing valor incarnate, Superheavy Samurai Soulshine Sword!"

A streak of light slashed through the portal, rocketing onto the field and kicking up a large amount of dust, leaving Ringmaster, Maestra, and Abyssio coughing as the dust settled. Once it cleared away, the trio looked towards to see a large broadsword embedded in the stage, with a golden blade decorated with the kanji for 'Valor.' The grip of the sword was carved out of pure jade, a dark green cloth attached to the end. Instead of a handguard where the blade met the hilt, a demonic face resembled an oni.

Superheavy Samurai Soulshine Sword ATK 2500 DEF 3000 LVL: 8

"First Abyssio Synchro Summoned, and now Benmaru does a Fusion Summon," Maestra remarked in disbelief. "This duel is just full of surprises."

"My preparations are almost complete," Benmaru stated before gesturing towards Stealth Ninja and Trumpeter. "I Tune the now Level 8 Superheavy Ninja Stealth Ninja with the Level 2 Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter!"

A bolt of green lightning struck Benmaru as the world turned to gray. A wave of energy swept across his field and disintegrated both Trumpeter and Stealth Ninja, turning them into blue particles. Those particles turned into two circles – one orange and one yellow. The circles turned blue and then merged. Numerous blue-green rectangles appeared and formed a circle, while eight blue rings formed in the middle and arranged themselves in a tower. A screen appeared above the tower and showed the numbers "2 + 8" before shifting to "10". A beam of light shot through the rings.

"Raging deity, in unison with the roar of a thousand blades, come forth in a spiraling sandstorm! I Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 10! Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo!"

Benmaru's Ace Monster, an imposing mechanical shogun, covered in armor, descended onto the battlefield in an explosion of light. Sitting cross-legged, Susanowp brandished his naginata before slamming it down and kicking up more dust.

Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo ATK 2400 DEF 3800 LVL: 10

"Woah, this Field Spell of yours is surprisingly dusty, Maestra." Ringmaster coughed, trying to clear the excess dust from his lungs.

"The effect of Heaven Armor activates from my Graveyard!" Benmaru roared, stretching his hand towards a shadowy-looking portal. "When a Superheavy Samurai" Synchro Monster is Special Summoned, I can equip both Heaven Armor and one other "Superheavy Samurai Sou"l monster from my Graveyard to the summoned monster. However, they'll both be banished once they leave the field. Revive and armor your comrade, Heaven Armor and Soulhorns!"

The spirits of the mechanical chest plate and horned shoulder armor rose from the portal before attaching themselves to Susanowo, augmenting the warrior's already intense armor.

"As one final act of preparation, I activate the effect of Soulshine Sword." Benmaru continued as his sword monster became covered in a green aura. "Once per turn, I can equip this card to another "Superheavy Samurai" monster I control. I equip Soulshine Sword to Susanowo!"

Reaching out an arm, Susanowo grabbed the massive-looking blade in his palm before holding it high into the heavens.

"Thanks to the effect of the equipped Double Horn, Susanowo can attack twice." Benmaru declared, "And now that everything is ready, Battle! Susanowo attacks Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright!"

"Well, it looks like our star is reprising a role," Abyssio called back. "I activate Legendary Playwright's effect and have him copy Sassy Rookie's effect. So it looks like my monster gets to stick around."

"Soulshine Sword's effect activates!" Benmaru countered. "If the equipped monster attacks a monster, then at the start of the Damage Step, that monster is destroyed!"

"WHAT?!" Abyssio sputtered, noticing Susanowo's sword beginning to glow.

"Go! Imperial Reave!" Benmaru declared before Susanowo slashed at Legendary Playwright, who let out a long and dramatic gasp before he exploded.

"Next," Benmaru gestured towards Maestra's field, "Susanowo attacks Sonata the Melodious Diva! Swinging Sword Strike!"

Rotating its heavily armored body around, Susanowo swung its weapons towards the petite fairy, sending crescent waves of energy towards her as she crouched.

"I activate the Action Spell Card!" Maestra cried as she snatched the card off the edge of a balcony. "Guard Swap! I target two battling monsters and swap their DEF!"

"Soulshine Sword's second effect activates!" Benmaru countered. "Since a card or effect targeted the equipped monster while I have no Magic or Trap Cards in my Graveyard, I can negate the effect and destroy that card."

Maestra gasped as Susanowo slashed at her card with Soulshine Sword, bisecting it as his attack destroyed Sonata and sent Maestra flying backwards.

Maestra: 3700→2100 LP

"Since Sonata is no longer on the field," Maestra groaned as she got to her feet, "Her effect no longer applies, and all my monsters lose 500 ATK."

Elegy the Melodious Diva ATK 3000→2500

Dirge the Melodious Diva ATK 1800→1300

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra ATK 2800→2300

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 4400→3900

Benmaru narrowed his eyes but pointed to the side of his field. "I activate General Coral's Pendulum Effect! Since my "Superheavy Samurai" monster destroyed your monster by battle, I can destroy General Coral to let my monster attack again!"

Maestra blinked as General Coral disintegrated.

"And this time, Susanowo will be attacking Ringmaster directly!"

"If this attack hits, it's all over for Ringmaster!" The MC announced.

"I can't look!" A female spectator exclaimed as she covered her eyes.

"Go, Susanowo! Swinging Sword Strike!"

Raising its weapons once more, Susanowo practically leaped at Ringmaster before slamming his blades down and kicking up a massive cloud of dust…. as well as nearly bringing down the stage and scattering the fairy orchestra.

"So it looks Yuya was the first to be eliminated,"Abyssio said.

"Ringmaster…" Maestra whispered.

Dust from the attack clearing, Ringmaster was revealed to be completely fine, the image of the Action Spell Damage Vanish beside him.

"Whew, good thing I grabbed that card before. Otherwise, I'd be done for." Ringmaster mused, taking deep breaths. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but you can't get rid of me that easily."

"So it would seem." Benmaru chuckled, enjoying the duel so far. "I end my turn. And because I no longer have another card in my other Pendulum Zone, Jade now self-destructs."

The other shogun warrior disappeared, the two columns of light vanishing with it.

"Guess the stage is once again mine!" Ringmaster stated loudly. "My turn! I draw!"

Looking at his hand and reviewing what his opponents controlled, Ringmaster smiled as he saw a strategy form in his mind.

"You all have made stupendous turns, pushing me to the brink of defeat!" Ringmaster proclaimed with a smile. "But, my entertaining counterattack is starting now! With the already set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon! Reappear, Odd-Eyes Pendulum and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Harmony Symflorist! And from my hand, Performapal Spike Eagle!"

Four beams of light erupted from the Pendulum portal, solidifying into the forms of Ringmaster's monsters. Harmony Symflorist waved her baton around while both of Ringmaster's dragons roared. Joining them was a brown-feathered eagle with a white poke-a-dotted blue bowtie and a pair of shades over his eyes, circling above the rest of Ringmaster's monsters.

Performapal Spike Eagle ATK 900 DEF 900 LVL: 2

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 2700 DEF 1800 LVL: 7 PS: 9

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK 2500 DEF 2000 LVL: 7 PS: 4

Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon ATK 2500 DEF 2000 LVL: 7 PS: 4

"And now I summon Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn!" Ringmaster continued, bringing back his dual-eyed unicorn.

Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn ATK 100 DEF 600 LVL: 1 PS: 8

"Five monsters at once," Sawatari murmured. "Now, what are you going to do."

"I activate Spike Eagle's effect! Once per turn, I can target one monster I control and grant it the ability to inflict piercing damage this turn. I target Harmony Symflorist!"

"And with her ATK gaining effect, Benmaru will lose," Maestra whispered.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card: Polymerization and use its effect to fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Odd-Eyes Unicorn!"

"Another Fusion?" Benmaru asked.

In a flash of light, another Fusion Portal appeared above the stage before both Odd-Eyes and Unicorn ascended to the center, bodies glowing a vibrant red and blue respectively before they started swirling as Ringmaster began a summoning chant.

"Magical beast with dual-colored eyes, become one with the mysterious dragon to create a new power! I Fusion Summon! Come forth! The ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Bursting out of the portal with a bestial roar, a savage fur-covered dragon with glowing feral eyes appeared, immense claws scrapping the wooden stage.

Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon ATK 3000 DEF 2000 LVL: 8

"Battle!" Ringmaster declared, "Performapal Harmony Symflorist, attack and destroy Susanowo! At this moment, Symflorist gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all other Pendulum Monsters since she's battling a Special Summoned monster! Harmonic Chorus!"

Waving her baton around, Symflorist became endowed with the power of Phantom Dragon, pointing it towards the armored warlord.

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 2700→5200

"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit in my hand!" Benmaru countered, "By discarding this card during my opponent's Battle Phase, I can target one Level 5 or higher Defense Position "Superheavy Samurai" monster I control. That target cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects for the remainder of this turn! However, each time the effect is applied, that monster loses 800 DEF!"

Stonily, Ringmaster watched as a flaming suit of armor appeared before Susanowo and blocked the blast from Symflorist's baton.

Benmaru: 2000→600 LP

"How many hand traps does Benmaru have?" Ringmaster muttered before gesturing towards his other Fusion Monster. "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna! Blazing Spiral Storm!"

Roaring, Beast-Eyes leaped into the air before unleashing a blast of fiery energy from its fanged maw, annihilating Abyssio's monster and throwing him back before he could snatch an Action Card.

Abyssio: 2100→1400 LP

"Beast-Eyes effect activates!" Ringmaster continued. "If it destroys a monster by battle, it inflicts damage to my opponent equal to the ATK of the Beast-Type monster used in its Fusion Summon!"

Charging forward, Beast-Eyes swiped at Abyssio with his tail, knocking him on his back.

Abyssio: 1400→1300 LP

"Anyone else experiencing deja-vu?" A somewhat dazed Abyssio asked, remembering the last time he faced Beast-Eyes in battle.

"Last, but most certainly not least, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Elegy the Melodious Diva! Phantom Spiral Flame!"

Phantom Dragon burst into action. Opening its maw, it shot a wave of fire that resembled its counterpart's Spiral Strike Burst attack, but colored greyish blue, approaching the singer at an alarming rate before overwhelming and destroying her and making Maestra wince in pain.

Maestra: 2100→1600 LP

"With Elegy gone, all your monsters lose 300 ATK!" Ringmaster announced as Maestra's remaining monsters all lost a bit of radiance.

Dirge the Melodious Diva ATK 1300→1000

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra ATK 2300→2000

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 3900→3600

"And now everyone," Ringmaster proudly exclaimed, "Give it up for Phantom Dragon's monster effect! While the original Odd-Eyes could deal double damage against Level 5 or higher monsters, this new ally has a different effect! When he's inflicted battle damage, my opponent takes damage equal to the combined ATK of the monsters in my Pendulum Zones!"

"So, how much damage are we talking about?" Faust asked

"Pendulum Knight has 1600 ATK, and XianshengMagician's ATK is 500," Baira answered.

"The sum of which is 2100." Genome calculated.

"If Maestra takes this hit, she'll lose," Specter concluded.

"Go, Atomic Force!" Ringmaster ordered as his dragon shot a crimson blast of energy towards Yuzu.

"I activate the Trap Card: Adagio!" Maestra countered as the card showed Soprano and Solo performing a duet together. "Since I control a "Melodious" monster, I halve all effect damage I take this turn!"

Maestra's Trap sent out a wave of light that cut through Phantom Dragon's blast but was unable to stop it as it reached and knocked her on her back.

Maestra: 1600→550 LP

"Nice counter, Maestra." Ringmaster complimented with a proud smile. "Looks like we might just see your Xyz Monster in action after all. I place a card face-down and end my turn, meaning Symflorist's effect ends."

Performapal Harmony Symflorist ATK 5200→2700

"Just in case my other cards aren't enough, I have you to keep me in this duel." Ringmaster said to himself, looking at the last card he had in his hand.

"My turn!" Abyssio stepped forward. "If I don't take out Maestra this turn, we'll all be in big trouble once Wing Diva hits the field. I have to get a good draw."

"I DRAW!" Abyssio proclaimed as he ripped the top card off of his Deck. Daring to glance at it, he began to laugh wildly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Abyssio exclaimed, stealing Ringmaster's catchphrase. "I, the great Neo New Abyssio, have dazzled you all many times throughout this duel. But now, watch as I lead this magnificent performance to a grand climax! I activate the Spell Card: Abyss Actor's Standing Ovation!" The card depicted Superstar, Sassy Rookie, Wild Hope, Leading Lady and Comic Relief, all taking a bow in front of an audience, giving them a round of applause. "Due to this card's effect, I draw one card for each Pendulum Summoned Abyss Actor Monster I control. Since I have two monsters, I draw two cards."

Looking at the other cards he drew, Abyssio smirked even wider.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself as he took one of the cards and threw it down on his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card: Monster Reborn! Thanks to this card, our play's true star returns to the spotlight where he belongs. Wave hello to your fans, Legendary Playwright!"

On cue, Legendary Star reappeared, waving his hands dramatically as the light of the crystal chandelier shined down solely on him, fairy orchestra playing music to accompany his return.

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 3000 DEF 2300 LVL: 8

"Next, I summon out Abyss Actor – Curtain Raiser!"

A monster whose top half somewhat resembled a colored umbrella appeared on Abyssio's field.

Abyss Actor – Curtain Raiser ATK 1100 DEF 1000 LVL: 4 PS: 7

"And now, I activate Legendary Playwright's effect! I return my Curtain Raiser, Sassy Rookie and Extras in my Pendulum Zone to return the same amount of cards my opponents control to their hand!"

"And since this effect neither destroys nor targets…." Maestra murmured.

"Our protection effects cannot stop him!" Benmaru finished.

Abyssio rolled his eyes. "Now, who's the presumptuous one? I have no intention of destroying you guys' cards. Ringmaster, on the other hand, will be taking the brute force of Legendary Playwright's power!"

Legendary Playwright drew its quill again and made several slashing motions with it, causing a bright flash of light, forcing all others to cover their eyes. Removing their arms, the other duelists looked up to see Ringmaster's monsters had vanished, Spike Eagle being the sole exception.

"EH!?" Yuya exclaimed, "Why'd you get rid of my monsters?"

"Well, for one thing, you're the most powerful duelist in the room." Sawatari replied, "Plus, I'm planning on killing three birds with one stone this turn. Even if I only take out you and Yuzu, Gongenzaka will go down just fine on my next turn."

"Hey!" The samurai cried out in annoyance.

"And as for our star, I think it's only fair he shares the spotlight with his entourage. I reset the Pendulum Scale with Scale 3 Abyss Actor – Extras!"

Extras reappeared in the pillar of light as a stylized "3" appeared beneath it.

Abyss Actor – Extras Scale: 3

"I can now summon monsters with Levels 4 through 7! I Pendulum Summon! Onto the stage one more time, my monsters!"

For a third time, a portal opened up above Abyssio, streams of light descending onto the ground before transforming into his monsters.

"Appear again from the Extra Deck, Abyss Actor – Superstar and Mellow Madonna! And from my hand, Sassy Rookie!"

The three fiends reappeared on Abyssio's field.

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500 DEF 1800 LVL: 7 PS: 3

Abyss Actor – Sassy Rookie ATK 1700 DEF 1000 LVL: 4 PS: 2

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 1800 DEF 2500 LVL: 7 PS: 0

"I now activate Superstar's effect to add the Spell Card: Abyss Script – Plot Twist and activate it!" The card depicted Abyss Actor – Leading Lady saving Superstar from Evil Heel in a dark dungeon. "And since there is another "Abyss Script" in my Graveyard, Mellow Madonna's ATK rises even higher!"

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 1800→2200

"Let's finish this! Battle!" Abyssio declared. "Sassy Rookie, destroy Ringmaster's little birdie!"

On command, Sassy Rookie leaped across the stage before whacking Ringmaster's last monster, destroying it in such a blunt way.

"Alas, Ringmaster, your time has come." Abyssio pretended to mourn, keeping up the dramatic act. "Superstar, direct attack!"

Superstar jumped up high, lunging towards Ringmaster, prepared to kick him in the gut.

"As if!" Ringmaster countered. "I activate the Trap Card: Impenetrable Attack! I choose between two effects, and I choose the effect that protects me from taking battle damage this turn!"

A semi-transparent barrier appeared around Yuya, catching Superstar off guard and forcing him to stop his attack.

"In that case, Mallow Madonna attacks Bloom Prima! And now the effect of Plot Twist activates! When an "Abyss Actor" monster battles a monster with higher ATK this turn, I can apply one of two effects! I can either make it so my monster cannot be destroyed by battle or swap the ATK of the two battling monsters! I choose the second effect!"

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 2200→3600

Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 3600→2200

Maestra watched as her monster's strength faltered while Abyssios primadonna grew stronger, singing a note that eclipsed the singing voices of her monsters…..

And smiled.

"I activate the effect of Adagio in my Graveyard! By banishing it and tributing all Melodious monsters I control, I reduce the ATK of all monsters my opponent controls to 0 for the rest of the turn!"

Abyssio gasped as all three of Maestra's monsters slowly faded away, releasing multi-colored music notes to the sound of a slow melody that halted the movements of all monsters on the field.

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 3000→0

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500→0

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 3600→0

Abyss Actor – Sassy Rookie ATK 1700→0

Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo ATK 2400→0

"Tsk. So you had one more trick up your sleeve!" Abyssio shouted, "You weren't worried about not having an available Monster Zone, to begin with! You just had to bid your time until you could use both the effects of Adagio to free up your field!"

'That's right," Maestra smirked. "And I only drew that card thanks to your use of Mass Extinction earlier. So in a way, I should thank you for that."

Abyssio hung his head in shame before he let out a hearty laugh. "This is one of the best duels I have had in a long time. Not one of us had been able to hold a permanent lead over the others! I'd hate to be however it is that takes on us in the coming future!"

"Indeed/ Agree/ Yup." Benmaru, Maestra and Ringmaster said in unison.

"I end my turn, and with that, the ATK of all monsters on the field return to their regular value. Mellow Madonna being the exception, of course."

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 0→3000

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 0→2500

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 0→2200

Abyss Actor – Sassy Rookie ATK 0→1700

Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo ATK 0→2400

"Now, Maestra, don't keep our audience in suspense any longer now!" Abyssio said, with a look of enjoyment on his face.

"I don't intend to!" Maestra shouted back, a wide smile on her face. "My turn! I draw!"

Taking a glance at her card, Yuzu thought up just what to do next.

"Minna, the time has come!" She proclaimed, the audience beginning to surge with anxiety. "Since my second Standby Phase has come, the countdown of En Vision has finally reached its end! I send the Graveyard to Xyz Summon the revealed Wing Diva the Melodious Choir and attach both Shopina and Puccina the Melodious Maestras from my Graveyard to Wing Diva as material! Everyone, give it up for our wondrous performer!"

En Vision glowed gold and black light before falling to the ground and transforming into an Xyz portal. Behind Yuzu, two streaks of light shot out before entering said portal as Yuzu began her summoning chant.

"Serene angel flying through the music-filled air with a song of delight in your heart! Spread your elegant wings now and touch the mind and heart of all who gaze upon you with your divine inspiration! I Xyz Summon! Take your place on stage now, the song of salvation! Rank 7! Wing Diva the Melodious Choir!"

In a storm of feathers, Wing Diva unfurled her black-and-white wings while she twirled through the hair, gems in her hairnet and dress glimmering in the light of the stage as she sang a beautiful aria.

All eyes were upon Wing Diva as she descended from high above the stage, steadily lowering herself with each wing flap until she hovered just above Yuzu.

"So, that's your new ace," Abyssio remarked, amazed that Maestra had been able to drag the duel out for so long successfully.

"It represents your bond with Shay's sister Lulu, doesn't it?" Benmaru asked

"It does," Maestra replied somewhat solemnly before her eyes lightened. "But this isn't the time for depressing thoughts. Celina or Rin would scold me for losing focus during a duel if they were here right now. And I don't want them to be angry! For now, I activate Wing Diva's effect! Once per turn, I can detach an Overlay Unit to Special Summon one "Melodious" monster from my hand or Graveyard! I detach Shopina to Special Summon her!"

A tall, elegant woman with green hair and a blue dress appeared, sitting down on a seat shaped like butterfly wings appeared to Maestra's field, shimmering in the light of the stage as she positioned herself next to Wing Diva.

Shopina the Melodious Maestra ATK 2300 DEF 1700 LVL: 7

"Wing Diva's other effect!" Maestra proclaimed as her monster began singing a sustained high note, slowly forming a sphere of musical notes in front of her moth. "Each time I Special Summon a "Melodious" monster, I can inflict 500 damage to my opponent! Per the rules of the duel, I inflict the first damage to Gongenzaka! Go! Elegant Surge!"

Voice rising in volume, Wing Diva flapped her wings, sending the sphere flying forward before it exploded on the ground in front of Benmaru, sending him skidding backwards.

Benmaru: 600→100 LP

"I use Shopina's effect to add Sonata the Melodious Diva from my Graveyard to my hand." Maestra continued as she added the card from her Graveyard to her hand. "And thanks to Sonata's effect, I can Special Summon her back to the field!"

The green-skinned woman reappeared on Maestra's field in Attack Position.

Sonata the Melodious Diva ATK 1200 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"With a second Special Summon, Wing Diva's effect activates again!" Maestra proclaimed as her Xyz Monster charged up another attack, this time in Abyssio's direction. "Elegant Surge!"

Abyssio: 1300→800 LP

"And now," Maestra smiled, "I'll bring out another new performer to this stage. I activate the Spell Card: Polymerization! I fuse Sonata the Melodious Diva and Shopina the Melodious Maestra together for another Fusion Summon!"

"That's the third one she's done in this duel," Kolter said, having remembered the power of Zuzu's last couple Fusion Summons.

Both Shopina and Sonata grabbed each other's hands before rising into the air before swirling together in a Fusion Portal as Maestra chanted.

"Supreme composer, flowing melody! Blend your pitches under the light of the full moon and gather your new power! I Fusion Summon! Sing in the center of the moonlit stage, the song of justice! Luna Diva the Melodious Choir!"

From the Fusion Portal, a young-looking fairy in a deep blue chamber-ball dress decorated with a golden crescent moon, a violet top with crescent moons along the neckline and puffed up sleeves covering her shoulders from the Fusion Portal. Her hair was as black as the night sky, held up in two buns on the sides of her head by red ribbons, decorated by silver flower/crescent moon clips. Eyelids fluttering open to reveal two beautiful pools of vibrant emerald green, Luna Diva belted out a deep operatic note before standing alongside Wing Diva, the two monsters clasping their hands together.

Luna Diva the Melodious Choir ATK 2000 DEF 2000 LVL: 6

"This monster," Abyssio murmured to himself. Taking note of the name, summoning type, summoning chant and appearance, he came to one conclusion. "It represents her bond with Celina."

"Wing Diva's effect!" Maestra declared, "Elegant Surge!"

Ringmaster: 1500→1000 LP

"Maestra's Xyz Monster is incredible!" A spectator exclaimed. "It just makes me so pumped up!"

Maestra grinned back at the audience and her opponents. "Thank you all for your enthusiasm. And now, it is time to call forth one more performer!"

Her opponents raised an eyebrow, confused by her declaration.

"How?" Abyssio asked. "You have no cards in your hand, no Pendulum Monsters face-up in your Extra Deck, and since Wing Diva is an Xyz Monster, you cannot use her to Xyz Summon."

"There is more than one way to bring out a strong Xyz Monster," Maestra answered, smiling at Wing Diva, who gave her one in return.

Yuzu closed her eyes, almost unable to believe what she was about to do next. Mind briefly thinking back to the hours Ruri had spent teaching her the art of Xyz Summoning. She thanked her sister and teacher for everything that she had taught her.

"I, using the Rank Seven Wing Diva the Melodious Choir, rebuild the Overlay Network!"

Following Maestra's words, a bolt of pink energy from her Duel Disk traveled behind him. A large black X with four pink dots around it appeared behind him in a flash of light. Wing Diva broke apart into yellow particles and entered the top pink dot, making it glow and causing a pink circle to appear around the portal. The four points of the X lit up and fired pink lasers, creating a swirling galaxy in front of Maestra. The galaxy exploded with energy as she chanted.

"Enchanting muse who fills the heavens with the singing of a thousand hymns, take flight through the melodious sky, encompass the world below in your divine wings, and lift the souls of all to a higher plane of genius! Go, Rank-Up Xyz Evolution! To the center of the stage, the song of heaven! Rank 8! Wing Prima the Melodious Choir!"

Everyone's eyes locked on the swirling portal as it morphed into thousands of rings of golden musical verses that radiated thousands of harmonic melodies. Together, the verses blended their shape and music until a radiant fairy flew in their place. Prima's long white hair stacked atop her head like a wig and adorned with strands of pink pearls. She wore a dress similar to Wing Diva's, but white and decorated with large gold ribbons and deep green gemstones. Her eyes were a warm, deep mocha, and both her lips and cheeks were painted with red lipstick, and a pair of large white-treble cleft earrings hung from her ears. But her most beautiful feature was the pair of golden angel wings attached to her body, even more, lovely and elegant than that of her predecessor's. Holding her head high, she sang an extremely high-pitched note until the chandelier of the theatre cracked, causing her to blush dramatically before landing beside her master and Luna Diva.

Wing Prima the Melodious Choir ATK 3000 DEF 3000 RNK: 8 OU: 2

"You performed a Rank-Up without the use of a Rank-Up-Magic Card," Ringmaster remarked with a hint of pride in his voice. "Definitely worth the wait."

"Thank you, Ringmaster." Maestra said, "And now for the coup de grâce! Thanks to Wing Prima's effect, she can attack once for each Overlay Unit she has. With two, she can attack twice! But first, Luna Diva attacks Sassy Rookie!"

"But Sassy Rookie cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn." Abyssio reminded.

"That's why I need this." Maestra cried as she leaped upwards and grabbed an Action Card. "I activate the Action Spell Card: Toxic Rust!" The card showed an image of both a sword shield covered in rust. "This negates all "cannot be destroyed by battle or card effect" effect until the end of the turn! Meaning Sassy Rookie is going to retire real soon!"

Sassy Rookie looked down in shock as his lower body became covered in red rust, and parts of Luna Diva's skin were also covered up.

"Go! Moonlight Wave!"

Luna Diva became surrounded by the glow of the full moon before shooting a powerful wave of sound at the cartoonish-looking goblin, destroying it in a flash.

Abyssio: 800→500 LP

"Luna Diva's effect activates!" Maestra exclaimed, "Each time a "Melodious" monster I control destroys a monster in battle, I regain 200 Life Points while all monsters my opponent's control lose the same amount! Luna Radiance!"

Luna Diva sang a low-sounding note, Maestra becoming enveloped in a silvery shaft of light. Ringmaster was briefly awestruck by her momentarily sacred appearance that made her look like a goddess.

Maestra: 400→600 LP

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright ATK 3000→2800

Abyss Actor – Superstar ATK 2500→2300

Abyss Actor – Mellow Madonna ATK 2200→2000

Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo ATK 2400→2200

"And there's more! Each time Luna Diva destroys a monster by battle, she can attack again!" Maestra added, "And now she's attacking Ringmaster directly!"

Voice slowly raising, Luna Diva prepared to strike Ringmaster.

"I activate the Graveyard effect of Pendulum Guard Zone!" He exclaimed. "If an opponent's monster with ATK higher than my Life Points declares an attack, I can banish Guard Zone and discard a Pendulum Monster from my hand. I discard the Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon that Abyssio returned to my hand earlier, and now I can negate an attack this turn, equal to the Level of the discarded monster! Phantom Dragon was Level 7, so now the next seven attacks Maestra declared are negated!"

A semi-transparent barrier appeared around Ringmaster, blocking Luna Diva's song and forcing the fairy back.

"And because of that, you can negate Wing Prima's attacks," Maestra stated. "Alright then, I saw something like this coming. I end my Battle Phase before activating Wing Prima's other effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can target a card on the field and return it to the hand. I choose to return Benmaru's Soulshine Sword to his Extra Deck!"

Wing Prima absorbed an Overlay Unit into the center of the gem on her chest before inhaling and letting out a high-pitched note that resonated through the air in a column of sound waves. With a single wing flap, she caused ribbons of golden musical verses to stream from her wings, which wrapped around the column of sound before the entire mass slammed into Benmaru's Fusion Monster, causing it to disappear in a shower of sparks.

"I end my turn. And now Divine Melodious Stage restores my Life Points once more."

Maestra: 600→1600 LP

"My turn! I draw!" Benmaru exclaimed before turning his attention to Ringmaster. "Battle, Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo, attack Ringmaster directly!"

Not waiting for his friend to finish his sentence, Ringmaster started jumping around the stage before activating his rollerblades.

"Sorry, Ringmaster, but no Action Cards to save you this time." Abyssio boasted as Susanowo began attacking Ringmaster, who found a momentary opening in the warlord's attack and slipped past him.

Before he could take a moment to relax, Ringmaster turned around to see Susanowo right above him, bringing his naginata down and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Is it over?" A spectator asked, peaking through his fingers.

Squinting their eyes, everybody looked at the dust cloud before someone noticed something. "Look!"

Dust clearing, Ringmaster revealed to be completely fine. Floating beside him was a living puffball, wearing a nightcap and a long tail with a star at the end. The creature cried 'Kuri-Kuri,' as it circled Ringmaster.

Performapal Kuribohrder ATK 300 DEF 200 LVL: 1

"A good entertainer keeps his best tricks in reserve," Yuya explained. "When you attacked me directly, Benmaru, I activated the effect of Performapal Kuriborder in my hand, allowing me to Special Summon it."

"But you did so in attack position, meaning you'll still lose from one more attack," Benmaru stated. "Susanowo, finish him!"

"Performapal Kuriborder's additional effect!" Ringmaster countered as the mechanical warlord bisected his living ball of fluff. "All battle damage I take involving this card is reduced to zero, and I regain Life Points equal to the amount I would have taken!"

Ringmaster: 1000→3700 LP

"Amazing!"

"Incredible!"

"I've never seen such a back and forth duel before!"

The audience cheered, completely and utterly entranced by the combined performances of the four duelists. Each turn had been more suspenseful than the last as each duelist managed to counter the attacks and effects of the others.

"Truly splendid!" The MC exclaimed over the microphone. "All four competitors have held out for so long, the duel has reached nearly twelve full turns, and no one has yet to be eliminated! This hot-blooded action just makes me want to join in myself! But this is their time to shine, so I'll restrain myself for now and continue to watch these passionate duelists go at it!" He cheered, several members of the audience shouting in agreement.

Unaware to anyone, the Knights of Hanoi were still observing the whole duel and studying the plays of each duelist.

"I have to agree with them. This duel has been very entertaining," Specter said.

"I agree. Abyssio knows both Pendulum and Synchro Summoning, and Benmaru knows Synchro and Fusion Summoning," Genome noted.

"Maestra is capable of performing a Rank-Up without the use of a Spell Card and also knows how to Synchro Summon as well," Baira noted.

"What do you guys think Yuya will do to combat such powerful opponents?" Faust asked.

"I have a theory."

The four Knights turned around to see their leader, Varis, behind them.

"Master Varis!" Specter announced before he and the other Knights bowed to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to view the duel in person instead, seeing how it's getting everyone fired up, including all of you," Varis replied. "Also, to answer your question, Faust, I feel come Ringmaster's turn, like he's done in all of his duels so far, he'll pull off a move so unexpected that everything else he has done up to this point out of the water."

Back at the duel, Ringmaster stepped up and placed both his fingers on the top of his Deck. "My turn! I draw!"

"During your Standby Phase Ringmaster, I activate my other set card! The Quick-Play Spell Card: Pendulum Shift!" Maestra exclaimed, much to Ringmaster's shock.

"What?! You have a copy of that card too?" He asked with his eyes widened.

"Just for emergencies. After all, I might not always have the Scales I need." She explained, "I use Pendulum Shift's effect to target your Xiansheng Magician to lower its Scale to 1, meaning now your Pendulum Summon is sealed!"

Xiansheng Magician PS: 8→1

"This is… So it's time to make your public debut." Ringmaster said to himself.

"You have only one card in your hand..." Maestra said.

"…A practically non-existent Pendulum Scale…." Abyssio added.

"….And no monsters to help protect you from any one of us. Action Cards won't save you forever." Benmaru concluded.

"It's, over Ringmaster!" The three exclaimed in unison.

As if no one had heard the shouts of the other three, someone or something turned off all the lights, leaving the field in darkness before a pair of spotlights focused their attention on Ringmaster.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Ringmaster proclaimed hands held high as the Pendulum on his neck swayed back and forth. "My wondrous opponents and I have amazed you all in this duel. Between the various counters and Summoning methods we have brought out against each other, I dare say this has been the most fun Duel I have ever taken part of! And now, it is time for a new power to make its debut and a new player beside it. It's time for me to unveil Pendulum's new evolution!"

"Pendulum's…"

"new…"

"evolution?" Ringmaster's three opponents asked.

"But you don't have a way to Pendulum Summon!" Abyssio roared. "Both your Scales are 2 and 1, and you can't Summon anything with that!"

"Under most circumstances, you would be right, Abyssio." Ringmaster admitted, "However…."

Holding it towards the sky, the card Yuya had drawn began to emit a bright light, the Pendulum on his neck swinging faster and faster. "When Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is face-up in my Extra Deck or my Graveyard, and there is a card in both of my Pendulum Zones, I can Pendulum Summon this monster regardless of their value!"

"A monster that can be Pendulum Summoned by ignoring the Scales!" Maestra exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.

"Can such a monster even exist?" Benmaru cried out in shock.

The crystal Pendulum reappeared in the sky, swinging far beyond the previous confines of the two pillars of light. Glowing in many colors as it traced multiple arcs of light across the sky, the Pendulum created

"Swing, far Pendulum!" Ringmaster exclaimed. "More vividly, more fiercely, transcend the limits and engrave the arc of victory to the future! Overscale Pendulum Summon!"

A portal opened up between the various arcs. A single dragon-shaped stream of multi-colored light exited before flying around the arena above the spectators, roaring majestically before descending to the ground.

Awaken! Dragon that transcends between time and space! Let your wonderful, dual-colored eyes create possibilities! Come forth! Arc-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

The glow dispersed from the draconic shape, revealing a large monster. Resembling Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, this new beast had the same vibrant red scales, smaller golden ones that glittered in between. Irises glowing in all colors of the visible spectrum, the dragon's eyes shifted like a kaleidoscope. Instead of the chunks of armor that its pre-evolved form had, Arc-Eyes instead had two glorious wings of light extending from its back, which he flapped a single time before roaring loudly and majestically.

"Wonder-Eyes…Pendulum Dragon…." Maestra muttered. "So this is Odd-Eyes true evolution and the monster he used against Archangel and Storm Rider? But, even with 3000 ATK, you won't be able to do enough damage to take out all of us!"

"I've said it in the past, and I'll say it again!" Ringmaster stated as he jumped onto Arc-Eyes' back. "It's not over until my Life Points I hit zero! Battle! Arc-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Luna Diva the Melodious Choir!"

"Are you crazy?!" Maestra exclaimed, "Luna Diva cannot be destroyed by battle, and I don't take any battle damage involving her!"

Luna Diva began to sing before Arc-Eyes lunged towards her, knocking her back but not destroying her.

Suddenly, a bright aurora filled the sky as the spirit of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon descended before entering the body of Arc-Eyes."

"What? What's happening?!" A dumbfounded Abyssio asked.

"The effect of Wonder-Eyes activates!" Yuya explained, "After it battles a Level 4 or higher monster, I can inflict damage to my opponent equal to the ATK of one Pendulum Monster that's face-up in my Extra Deck! Since Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is the only monster that qualifies for this effect, Maestra will take 2500 damage! Go, Remembrance Force!"

Throwing its head back, Wonder-Eyes released a beam of multi-colored light straight from his eyes at Yuzu. Forcing herself to move despite the shock, Yuzu jumped from the stage and grabbed an Action Card lying on a seat cushion.

"I activate the Action Spell Card: Balloon Carnival! All damage I take is halved!" Maestra countered as a balloon barrier briefly shielded her from the brunt force of Arc-Eyes' attack.

Maestra: 1600→350 LP

"That's not all Arc-Eyes can do!" Ringmaster continued. "Wonder-Eyes is capable of attacking all monsters my opponent controls, once each! Meaning it can continue attacking! Let's go, Wonder-Eyes! Attack Abyssio's monsters and Benmaru's Susanowo! Flaming Spiral Arc!"

Whipping its head around, Wonder-Eyes unleashed a rainbow-colored stream of spiraling flames, ripping up the stage as it traveled towards the four monsters, aiming to incinerate them in a shower of light.

"I activate the Action Spell Card: Shave Guard!" Abyssio countered as the card showed a black figure using its body instead of its shield to protect another black figure from an attack. "By paying half of my Life Points, I don't take any damage for the remainder of this turn!"

"I activate Superheavy Samurai Kotodama's Graveyard effect!" Benmaru added, "By banishing it, I can also negate effect damage! Since our monster's ATK and DEF are both 3000, neither will be destroyed by battle as well!"

Smoke clearing to reveal Susanowo still sitting on the field and Abyssio's field completely abandoned. Both duelists were panting heavily, endurance and stamina given a run from the constant attacks throughout the duel.

Abyssio: 500→250 LP

"Fantastic!" Ringmaster exclaimed joyfully. "You all have survived the debut of Pendulum's Evolution! You should all be very proud of yourselves. I end my turn. Now, let's give our audience more of our sublime entertainment!"

The crowds continued to cheer, many unsure of who they wanted to win.

Suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning came down, catching everyone's attention and causing the four duelists to cover their eyes from the light as the duel field disappeared, but when it faded…

"Sorry for crashing the party, but I feel that this duel has gone on long enough."

As the cloud of smoke disappeared, it revealed a kneeling young man in a white and green trench coat, whose white mask covered red and gray hair with a visor.

"Varis!" Kolter said, realizing who the individual was. "What's he doing here?"

Varis stood up, his gray eyes glaring at the four duelists, mostly Ringmaster. "Now it may same rude that I've interrupted your duel, but to be honest, I don't care. Now the three of you get lost, so Ringmaster and I can duel!"

"Hey now, buddy! Who do you think you are coming in and robbing me of my big moment?" Abyssio asked angrily.

"I should've known asking wasn't going to work," Varis said. "Very well. You've brought this on yourself and your friends."

Varis snapped his fingers as a bolt of yellow lightning came down from the sky and struck Abyssio, Benmaru, and Maestra, creating a massive explosion that blinded Ringmaster and the entire audience. When the smoke faded, they were all trapped in blue spheres.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Benmaru asked.

"Your friend here wouldn't listen to reason, so the two of you suffer the consequences of his actions," Varis explained.

"Thanks a lot," Abyssio!" Maestra said, annoyed.

"My mistake," Abyssio apologized.

"Also, I rather not have our duel be televised either."

Varis snapped his fingers again, causing everyone to be forcefully logged out of LINK VRAINS one by one until Varis, Ringmaster, his friends, and the Knights of Hanoi were the only ones left.

"What did you do?!" Ringmaster asked.

"I made sure no one can see our duel," Varis answered. "I also installed a program to everyone's Duel Disk who has a LINK VRAINS account to prevent them from logging in as well, meaning no interruptions."

"All this for one duel?" Ringmaster questioned. "Does that mean you're the leader of the Arbiters?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. If you manage to beat me, which you won't, I'll answer all questions you want to ask me as well as freeing your friends," Varis replied. "But I'll let you know that my name is Varis."

"And what will happen should I lose, Varis?"

"Then you'll answer all of my questions. And trust me when I say that I have lots of them. So are we going to duel or not?"

"Oh, we're going to duel, and I'm going to win!" Ringmaster exclaimed as he activated his Duel Disk.

Varis smirked as he activated his Duel Disk, causing the orb to light up red and a gold blade to appear. "We'll see about that."

"Duel!" they shouted.

And that's Chapter 23. Hope you guys enjoyed the Battle Royale duel. Wanted to mix things up a bit. Glad I finished this and was able to post it on Thanksgiving Day. Next week, you'll see Yuya vs. Varis, some of which you guys wanted to see. The next few chapters might include some Lancer duels. We'll see. But I do know there will be a duel between Zuzu and Ena, as some of you have requested. As always, follow, favorite, review, and don't be afraid to send me a PM. See you guys next week. Let me know what you guys thought of the duel in the reviews.

Cards in this chapter

**Ringmaster's cards**

Pendulum Knight

(LV: 4, Warrior, LIGHT, ATK: 1600, DEF: 500, PS: 2)

Pendulum Effect: If a "Magician" Pendulum Monster is on your field: You can Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone.

Monster Effect: Your opponent's monster(s) cannot target other Pendulum Monsters you control with attacks except this card.

Performapal Harmony Symflorist

2700 ATK/ 1800 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 7/ P.S. 9/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

3 LIGHT "Performapal" monsters

P/ Special Summoned Monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's card effects the turn they are Special Summoned.

M/ If all Materials used in this card's Fusion Summon were Pendulum Monsters: This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. Once per turn, if this card battles a Special Summoned monster your opponent controls: You can make it gain ATK equal to the total ATK of all other face-up Pendulum Monsters you control, until the end of the Battle Phase. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can place it in your Pendulum Zone; and if you do, you can target 1 Pendulum Monster in your GY or 1 of your banished Pendulum Monsters, add it to your hand.

Reincarnation Paladin

2500 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ DARK/ Rank 4/ Spellcaster/ Xyz/ Effect

2 Level 4 Spellcaster monsters

If this card is Xyz Summoned using a "Magician" Pendulum Monster as Material: You can target 1 Monster Card in your GY, add it to your hand. If a monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can detach 1 Material from this card; Special Summon, from your hand or Deck, 1 Monster with the same Type, Attribute and Level as the destroyed monster. You can only use each effect of "Reincarnation Paladin" once per turn.

Performance Fusion

Normal Spell

Fusion Summon 1 "Performapal" Fusion Monster, by using monsters you control or in your hand as Material. You can also shuffle "Performapal" monsters in your GY into your Deck as Material. A Fusion Monster summoned via this card's effect gains ATK equal to the number of Materials used in its Fusion Summon X300. If this card is in your GY (except the turn it was sent to the GY) and a monster summoned via its effect is destroyed by your opponent's card (by battle or by card effect) and sent to the GY: You can banish this card; you take no damage for the rest of this Turn.

Pendulum Guard Zone

Normal Trap

Activate only if a card or effect that would destroy a card(s) in the Pendulum Zone is activated. Cards in both players' Pendulum Zones cannot be destroyed by card effects, until your next Standby Phase. If an opponent's monster with ATK higher than your LP declares an attack, you can banish this card in your GY and discard 1 Pendulum Monster; in turn, you can negate a number of attacks your opponent declares equal to the Level of the discarded monster.

**Maestra's cards**

En Angel – Hana

1000 ATK/ 1500 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ P.S. 8/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

P/ Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the effects of monsters you control that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck.

M/ (This card is always treated as a "Melodious" monster.)

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower "En" monster from your Deck to your hand. You can tribute this card: Add 1 Continuous Spell card from your Deck or GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of "En Angel – Hana" once per turn. A monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck using this card as Material gains these effects.

*Your Special Summons cannot be negated.

*Special Summoned monsters you control cannot be targeted, or destroyed, by your opponent's card effects.

Alto the Melodious Songstress

600 ATK/ 300 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ P.S. 3/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

P/ During your Main Phase, if this card is the only card in your Pendulum Zone: You can add 1 "Melodious" Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand.

M/ Once per turn: You can declare a Level between 4 and 6, the Levels of all "Melodious" monsters in your hand become the same as the declared Level, until the end of this turn. You cannot Normal Summon monsters the turn you activate this effect.

Arpeggio the Melodious Diva

1200 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ P.S. 7/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

P/ If you do not control another "Melodious" monster in your other Pendulum Zone: This card's Pendulum Scale becomes 4. Once per turn: You can target 2 cards in your Pendulum Zone; increase the Pendulum Scale of the first target by up to 3 (MAX. 13) and decrease the Pendulum Scale of the other by up to 3 (MIN. 0.)

M/ If this card is Special Summoned: You can target 1 "Melodious" Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it. During the End Phase, if you do not control a card in one of your Pendulum Zones: You can place this face-up card you control in your Pendulum Zone.

Orchestra the Melodious Diva

1000 ATK/ 2500 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ Fairy/ Effect

You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) if you control no monsters. An Xyz Monster summoned using tis card as Material gains this effect.

*If this card is Xyz Summoned, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap cards, until the end of this turn.

Choral the Melodious Diva

1800 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 5/ P.S. 7/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

P/ You can Pendulum Summon 1 "Melodious" monster in addition to your regular Pendulum Summon. (You can only apply this effect once per turn).

M/ You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) if you control a face-up "Melodious" monster (You can only Special Summon "Choral the Melodious Diva" once per turn this way.) If this card is sent to the Extra Deck: You can add 1 face-up "Melodious" monster from your Extra Deck to your hand.

Dirge the Melodious Songstress

800 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ Fairy/ Effect

If this card is Special Summoned: You can send 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand or Deck to your GY. Once per turn, you can discard 1 card: Target 1 "Melodious" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.

Puccina the Melodious Maestra

1900 ATK/ 2300 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 7/ P.S. 3/ Fairy/ Pendulum/ Effect

*Effects unrevealed*

Haydina the Melodious Maestra

2100 ATK/ 1200 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 5/ Fairy/ Fusion/ Effect

2+ "Melodious" monsters

All other monsters you control gain ATK equal to the number of Materials used in this cards Fusion Summon X300. Cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another face-up "Melodious" monster. During the turn this card is removed from the field: You can make all other monsters you control gain ATK equal to the number of Materials used in this card's Fusion Summon X300; and if you do, you can add 1 "Melodious" card from your Deck to your hand.

Luna Diva the Melodious Choir

2000 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Level 6/ Fairy/ Fusion/ Effect

1 "Melodious Maestra" monster + 1 "Melodious" monster

Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You take no damage from battles involving this card. Gains an additional attack each time it destroys an opponent's monster by battle. Each time a "Melodious" monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can gain 200 LP, also all monsters your opponent controls lose 200 ATK.

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra

1800 ATK/ 1000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Rank 4/ Fairy/ Xyz/ Effect

2 Level 4 "Melodious" monsters

Fairy monsters you control gain ATK and DEF equal to the number of Materials attached to this card X200. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Material from this card; draw 1 card. If the card drawn by this effect is a Level 4 or lower "Melodious" monster: You can reveal that card, and if you do, Special Summon it.

Wing Diva the Melodious Choir

2000 ATK/ 1000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Rank 7/ Fairy/ Xyz/ Effect

2 Level 7 "Melodious" monsters

Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You take no damage from battles involving this card. Each time you Special Summon a "Melodious" monster(s): Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Material from this card; Special Summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand or GY.

Wing Prima the Melodious Choir

3000 ATK/ 3000 DEF/ LIGHT/ Rank 8/ Fairy/ Xyz/ Effect

You can also Xyz Summon this card using 1 Rank 6 or higher "Melodious" Xyz Monster you control as Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that card become Xyz Materials on this card.) Can attack a number of times during each Battle Phase, up to the number of Materials attached to itself. You can detach 1 Material from this card: Target 1 card on the field; return it to the hand.

Divine Melodious Stage

Field Spell

Cannot be destroyed while you control a Special Summoned "Melodious" monster. During each of your End Phases: Gain LP equal to the number of "Melodious" monsters you control X500. Once per turn, if you Special Summon a "Melodious" monster: You can add 1 "Melodious" monster from your Deck to your hand.

En Vision

Continuous Spell

During your 1st Standby Phase after this card's activation: Reveal 1 "En," "Melodious," "Moonlight," "Wind Witch," or "Lyrical Luscinia" Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Monster in your Extra Deck and send, from your Main Deck to your GY, Material monsters listed on that card. During your 2nd Standby Phase after this card's activation: You can send this card to your GY; Special Summon the monster revealed by this effect (This Special Summon is treated as either a Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Summon, depending on the type of monster revealed.) If the summoned monster is an Xyz Monster: Attach the monsters sent to the GY by this card's first effect as Material to the summoned monster. If the monster summoned by this card's effect is destroyed by battle or card effect and sent to the GY: You can banish both it and this card; draw until you have 5 cards in your hand. You can only activate 1 "En Vision" per Duel.

En Grave

Normal Trap

Send up to 5 "En," "Melodious," "Moonlight," "Wind Witch," or "Lyrical Luscinia" Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Pendulum Monsters from your Deck or Extra Deck to your GY: Destroy as many Spell and Trap cards your opponent controls as possible; and if you do, half the LP of all players who had a card(s) destroyed by this effect.

Adagio

Normal Trap

If you control a "Melodious" monster(s): Halve all effect damage you take this turn. If an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can banish this card in your GY and tribute all "Melodious' monsters you control; change the ATK of all monsters your opponent controls to 0, until the end of this turn. You can only activate 1 effect of "Adagio" per turn, and only once that turn.

**Abyssio's cards**

Abyss Actor – Stage Technician

800 ATK/ 1000 DEF/ DARK/ Level 2/ P.S. 1/ Fiend/ Pendulum/ Tuner/ Effect

P/ Once per turn, if an "Abyss Actor" monster you control is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can add 1 "Abyss Actor" monster with a different original name from your Deck to your hand.

M/ Cannot be used as Synchro Material, except for the Synchro Summon of an "Abyss Actor" Synchro Summon. Once per turn: You can target 1 "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone; return it to your hand, but you cannot Normal or Special Summon it this turn.

Abyss Actor – Aspiring Hero

ATK: 200, DEF: 300, LV: 1, SC: 5

Dark/Fiend/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect

Pendulum Effect: Once during either player's turn, when an "Abyss Actor" Monster you control battles an opponent's Monster with higher ATK than it, you can destroy this card and switch those Monsters's ATK until the Battle Phase's end.

Monster Effect: Once per turn, you can target an "Abyss Actor" Monster you control; make this card's Level equal to that Monster's. If this card is destroyed, you can add an "Abyss Script" Spell Card from your Deck toy your hand.

Abyss Actor – Legendary Playwright

ATK: 3000, DEF: 2300, LV: 8

Dark/Fiend/Synchro/Effect

1 Tuner Monster + 1 or more non-Tuner "Abyss Actor" Monsters

Monster Effect: Once per turn, you can target an "Abyss Actor" Monster on the field and have this card copy its effects until the end of your opponent's next turn. Once per turn, you can return any number of "Abyss Actor" cards on your field back to your hand in order to return an equal number of cards from your opponent's field back to their hand. If this card is destroyed, you can add two "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monsters from your Deck and/or Extra Deck to your hand.

Abyss Actor Grande Theater

Field Spell

Each "Abyss Actor" monster you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card once per turn, also you take no damage from the first battle with each "Abyss Actor" monster you control. Each time you Pendulum Summon an Abyss Actor monster(s): Place 1 Abyss counter on this card. Once per turn: You can activate 1 of the following effects.

*If you control no monsters: You can add 1 "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up.

*You can remove any number of Abyss counters from this card: Add 1 "Abyss Actor" Pendulum monster face-up in your Extra Deck to your hand, with a Level equal to the number of counters removed.

Abyss Actor's Dynamic Entry

Continuous Spell

Each time you Normal or Special Summon an "Abyss Actor" monster(s): You can make that monster(s) gain ATK equal to their Level X100, until your next Standby phase. If this card leaves the field: You can add 1 "Abyss Actor" monster or "Abyss Script" Spell card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Abyss Actor's Dynamic Entry" once per turn.

Abyss Actors Standing Ovation

Normal Spell

Draw cards equal to the number of Pendulum Summoned "Abyss Actor" monsters you control. (You can only use this effect of "Abyss Actors Standing Ovation" once per turn.) If an "Abyss Actor" monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect: You can banish this card in your GY instead, also add 1 "Abyss Script" Spell card from your GY to your hand.

Abyss Script – Plot Twist

Normal Spell

Each time an "Abyss Actor" monster you control battles an opponent's monster this turn: Apply one of the following effects.

*Your battling monster cannot be destroyed by battle.

*The ATK of the battling monsters are switched, until the end of this turn.

**Benmaru's cards**

Superheavy Samurai Soul Heaven Armor

0 ATK/ 0 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 1/ Machine/ Effect

If a "Superheavy" monster(s) you control would be destroyed: You can discard this card instead; also for the rest of this turn, "Superheavy" cards you control cannot be removed from the field by card effect. If you Special Summon a "Superheavy" Synchro Monster while this card is in your GY: You can equip this card and 1 other "Superheavy Samurai Soul" monster in your GY to the summoned monster, but banish them if they leave the field. You can only use 1 effect of "Superheavy Samurai Soul Heaven Armor" per turn, and only once that turn.

Superheavy Samurai Soul Vanquish Armor

1000 ATK/ 1900 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 5/ Machine/ Effect

During your opponent's Battle Phase, if you have no Spell/Trap cards in your GY (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, also each time a "Superheavy Samurai" monster is attacked, draw 1 card at the end of the damage step. If a "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control was attacked this turn while you have no Spell/Trap cards in your GY and control less cards than your opponent does: You can banish this card in your GY; make 1 monster your opponent controls unable to attack this turn. You can only use each effect of "Superheavy Samurai Soul Vanquish Armor" once per turn.

Superheavy Samurai Kotodama

300 ATK/ 800 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 2/ Machine/ Effect

If you have no Spell/Trap card in your GY: You can discard both this card and 1 other "Superheavy Samurai" monster; excavate the top 5 cards of your Deck, and if you do, add all excavated "Superheavy Samurai" monsters to your hand and send all other cards to your GY, also you take damage equal to the number of cards added to your hand by this effect X400. If you would take effect damage while this card is in your GY, except during the turn it was sent to your GY, you can banish this card instead. You can only use each effect of "Superheavy Samurai Kotodama" once per turn.

Superheavy Samurai Soulfan

100 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 1/ Machine/ Effect

If you control a "Superheavy Samurai" monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. (You can only Special Summon "Superheavy Samurai Ashigar-U" once per turn this way.) Once per turn: You can Fusion Summon 1 "Superheavy Samurai" Fusion Monster, using "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control, in your hand, or that are equipped to monsters you control as Material, including this card.

Superheavy Samurai Soulshine Sword

2500 ATK/ 3000 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 8/ Machine/ Fusion/ Effect

2 "Superheavy Samurai" monsters

Once per turn: You can target 1 "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control; equip this card to that target, OR: Unequip this card and Special Summon it. While you have no Spell/Trap cards in your GY, your opponent cannot target "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control for attacks or with card effects, except the equipped monster. While you have no Spell/Trap cards in your GY: If your opponent targets the monster equipped with this card with a card or effect; you can negate that effect, and if you do, destroy it. If the equipped monster attacks an opponent's monster: At the start of the damage step; destroy that opponent's monster.

**Action cards**

Code of Chivalry

Action Spell

Neither player takes battle damage from direct attacks, until the end of this turn.

Mass Extinction

Action Spell

Destroy all monsters on the field, also any player(s) who had a monster(s) destroyed by this effect draws cards equal to the number of monsters destroyed by this effect.

Guard Swap

Action Spell

Target two battling monsters: Switch their DEF.

Toxic Rust

Action Spell

All 'cannot be destroyed by battle' and 'cannot be destroyed by card effect' effects are negated, until the end of this turn.

Shave Guard

Action Spell

Halve your LP, and if you do, you take no damage for the rest of this turn.