Before this chapter starts, I want to thank all the inspirations for this chapter's duel. Thanks to Firewall FTKs, Firewall Extra Links, Danger FTKs, Danger Extra Links, Gouki Extra Links, Gandora FTK and all other brilliant strategies that shone during 2018, I'm not going to name them because I've lost count of them myself, but given the type of plays that are common in the RL, I want you to understand that Evan isn't overpowered. He's just playing competitively against a bunch of noobs.
Racing Against Time
Evan looked down at the group of a duelist who had so foolishly challenged him. He had other duties to attend to, so he wasn't going to have time to enjoy taking them down slowly, one by one. The demonic duelist clicked with his fingers and a purple barrier appeared in place of the broken door, looking his prey inside the throne room. The regular Knights of Hanoi looked back, while Baira and Faust kept their eyes on PhantomFire.
"The barrier is there so you don't think about running once you realize how terrifying it is to face against me. But don' worry too much about it. I'm a busy person, so I'm going to end it quickly." PhantomFire stated, taking a card from his hand. "I activate ChronoGear Emergency Launch! This card's effect allows me to Special Summon a ChronoGear monster straight from the deck! Come forth, ChronoGear Steam Ogre!"
ChronoGear Emergency Launch (Spell) Quick-Play
Special Summon 1 "ChronoGear" monster from your Deck, but it cannot attack, also shuffle it into the Deck during the End Phase. If your opponent activates a Quick-Play Spell while this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): You can shuffle this card into your Deck; replace that card's effect with this card's, and if you do, treat it as if you activated it.
A giant hideous monster with red skin materialized on Evan's field. Its head was covered in messy black fur with two metallic horns sticking out of its forehead and the crimson orbs glowing through the black fur. The monster wore a bracelet made of clock gears on its right hand, the left one was made of metal with gears grinding and spring locks going unwound. Its legs were wrapped in bandages with everything below the knees being made of metal parts.
ChronoGear Steam Ogre
Level: 8/Attribute: DARK/Type: Machine/Effect
ATK: 2600/DEF: 2600
Effect: If this card is Special Summoned from your Deck, you can destroy 1 card on the field, then draw 1 card. If this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a "ChronoGear" card, you can Special Summon 2 "ChronoGear" monsters from your Deck or GY in Defense Position.
"Steam Ogre's effect activates! Since it was summoned by the effect of a ChronoGear card, I can Special Summon two ChronoGear monsters from my deck! Come forth, ChronoGear Hellchain (Lv.3, DEF: 1700) and ChronoGear Berfomet (Lv.4, DEF: 1800)!"
Steam Ogre roared and fired two clock gears into the air. The gears exploded and portals opened in their place summoning a demon covered in torn black robes and an undead demon cyborg.
"He got three monsters with one card," Baira commented.
"And one of them is a Level Eight nonetheless," Faust added.
"Berfomet's effect now activates!" PhantomFire ignored the knights and gestured toward his monster. "When it's Special Summoned from the effect of a ChronoGear card, I can add a ChronoGear card from the deck to my hand. I choose ChronoGear Reborn!"
ChronoGear Reborn (Spell) Normal
Target 1 "ChronoGear" monster in your GY; Special Summon it. If your opponent activates a card or Monster effect that targets an "oGear" monster(s) you control while this card is in your GY (Quick Effect): Shuffle 1 "ChronoGear" monster on the field into the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, banish it. Then set this card on the field, but banish it when it leaves the field.
"Now appear, the circuit of past and future!" The space in front of PhantomFire cracked, opening a black void. "Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one Level Four or lower DARK monster! I set ChronoGear Berformet in the Link Marker! Link Summon! ChronoGear Butterfly Effect (ATK: 0. Link-1)!"
"And now Hellchain's effect activates! Once when it's on the field, I can revive Berfomet at the cost of negating its effects!" the tattered demon threw its chains into a pitch black portal and pulled the undead out.
"And again, appear my circuit!" The black vortex opened behind PhantomFire for a second time. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two oGear monsters! I set ChronoGear Butterfly Effect and ChronoGear Hellchain in the Link Markers! Link Summon! The wild spirit dancing over fading ages! ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!"
The female monster jumped out of the vortex and landed in the right Extra Monster Zone, bowing to the Knights of Hanoi facing off against her. PhantomFire sighed and clicked his fingers, reminding the Duel Monster of its duties.
"I activate Time Tamer Kitty's effect to revive ChronoGear Hellchain!" The tattered demon raised behind Kitty with its chains floating lively. "Now for the third time! Appear circuit of past and future!" For the third time, the black vortex tore through the space-time continuum to appear at PhantomFire's order. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two DARK monsters! I set ChronoGear Berfomet and ChronoGear Steam Ogre in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoGear Timekeeping Succubus!"
A heart-shaped core of data formed inside the portal. The data began to expand outward creating a feminine shape. A young female teen with pale skin, short pink hair and crimson eyes formed. She wore a black bodysuit with pink heart-shaped ornaments covering her chest, the sides of her tights and the back of her wrists. A light blue collar with a locker hung around her neck and a set of golden shackles were locked around her wrists. A long pink tail with a triangle-shaped tip flapped behind her, a pair of crimson wings spread out of her back and two red horns grew on top of her head, bending toward each other in a way that made it look like they were trying to recreate the shape of a heart.
ChronoGear Timekeeping Succubus
Attribute: DARK/Type: Fiend/Link/Effect
Link Arrows: Left, Right
ATK: 1000/Link-2
2 DARK monsters, except Tokens
Effect: Once per turn, before damage calculation, if a monster this card points to battles an opponent's monster: You can make those monsters unable to be destroyed by that battle, also neither players takes battle damage from that battle. After that damage calculation, you can place that opponent's monster in a zone this card points to and take control of it, but send it to the GY during the End Phase. Once per turn, if this card is co-linked (Quick Effect): Gain LP equal to the original ATK of 1 co-linked monster you control.
"Hellchain's effect revives Berfomet once again!" the undead ChronoGear raised from the Graveyard and roared. "The Summoning Conditions are at least two DARK monsters! I set Hellchain and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! My dark soul, Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!" The demonic warrior formed inside the pitch black abyss and stepped on the right Extra Monster Zone.
"Once more!" The black void was already standing permanently above Evan's head as he kept Link Summoning. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summon requirements are at least two DARK monsters! I set Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer and the Link Two Timekeeping Succubus in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer!"
A pair of sinister glowing eyes appearance within the circuit and then out of it came a human male. He had a red right eye and a black mask placed over the left side of its face.
His hair was white with red stripes and reached his legs. The monster had a single red horn jutting from the right side of his head. Its outfit consisted of a black bodysuit with a large hood hanging from its back. There were red gear symbols on the monster's shoulders and the skin of his arms was cracked at spaces, revealing crimson energy that flowed through the demon's veins. Four rusty chains fell down from the monster's back and floated behind it like some sort of tails. Below, Phantomous wore black and red pants with robotic-looking boots made from black metal. Several large sword-shaped black objects floated around the monster's back, their sole existence causing the space around them to twist.
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer
Attribute: DARK/Type: Fiend/Link/Effect
Link Arrows: Top, Left, Bottom
ATK: 2300/Link-3
2+ DARK monsters
Effect: If your LP are 1000 or less, you can also Link Summon this card by using a "Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer" you control as the Link Material. Monsters this card points to gain 500 ATK. You can target 1 Link-3 or lower DARK Link Monster in your GY, except "Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer"; Special Summon it to your zone this card points to. You can target 1 face-up monster on the field: Negate its effects, and if you do, this card gains that monster's effects until the end of this turn. You can only use the 2nd and 3rd effect of "Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer" once per turn.
"You sacrificed a Link Three just to summon a different Link Three monster?" Faust asked.
"That's not correct." Evan shook his head. "Witness! Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer's effect allows me to revive a Link Three or lower DARK monster from my grave, so come back, Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer!" A portal appeared behind Hollow Slayer and the original Phantomus raised on the field.
"Due to Hollow Slayer's effect all monster it points at gain five hundred attack points, but Link Slayer gains the effects of all monster it points at, so Hollow Slayer gains attack as well!"
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 → 2800
"Now I'll activate Link Slayer's new effect to revive Time Timer Kitty from my grave!" the female monster raised from the ground and licked her arm playfully. "Now I shall call forth the demonic ruler of time itself! Appear, circuit of true darkness!"
This time red electricity shot out of PhantomFire's arms and into the black vortex before him. Red energy began to swirl inside the portal and purple lightning fell from it, striking everything around PhantomFire and the Knights of Hanoi. The later all stepped back, covering their faces.
"What's going on!?" a Knight shouted.
"The energy coming from the other side of the portal is too powerful for the network's system to properly contain!" Baira gasped.
"Fool!" Faust shouted toward PhantomFire. "The monster you plan on summoning is going to swallow you whole! You're going to die due to a large amount of energy!"
"Supreme Being masqueraded in the shadows, follow my guidance!" PhantomFire chanted. His outfit's colors began to change, the black and purple burning away to reveal white and red underneath, his hair changed to snow white with crimson bangs and his sclera turned black. "Our resurrection is imminent! I set Time Tamer Kitty and Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Five! Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox!"
The monster that appeared was so gigantic that its head hit the ceiling, causing a part of it to collapse. Its skin had the look of purple goo, despite being hard as armor with pitch black bones covering it. The bones making up the monster's ribcage and pelvis rested outside the body creating a second lair of armor. Its arms had similar bone-armor plates covering them with two arrow-shaped blades jutting out of its forearms. Instead of hands, the creature had large animalistic claws. Instead of legs, the monster hand four extremely long bones which formed four arcs. Two large wings speared out behind the monster's back. They were covered by black scales on the outside while their insides had a stained glass pattern with the most prominent colors being black, red, purple and blue. Its head was an exposed dragon-like skull with two red horns jutting out the sides of its head and a prominent purple spike hanging from its chin. Its bloody red eyes stared down at the Knights of Hanoi with purple flames escaping its mouth every time it breathed out.
Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox
Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Left, Top, Right, Bottom Right, Bottom Left
ATK: 3200/Link-5
2+ DARK Link Monsters, including a "Phantomus" monster
Effect: A monster can only activate this card's 1st effect once per two of your turns. During your Main Phase or Battle Phase: If this card is Extra Linked, you can activate this effect; move the duel to the Main Phase 1 of your next turn. During your turn (Quick Effect): If this card is Extra Linked; you can negate the effects of all other cards currently on the field, hands, GY and Banished Zones until the End Phase, except for your Extra Linked monsters. Also, negate the effects of all other cards activated this turn, and if you do, return them to the state they were at the start of this turn. After you activate this effect, only you can choose which cards can activate their effects, until the End Phase. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this effect's activation. Once per turn, if this card is co-linked you can apply one of the following effects until the end of this turn (Quick Effect):
Negate the effects of all other face-up co-linked monsters, and if you do, this card gains those monsters effects.
For the rest of this turn, all co-linked monsters you control gain the effects of all co-linked monsters on your side of the field.
"W-what is this?" Baira asked.
"I never knew that such a monster could exist." Faust's eyes widened.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" PhantomFire touched his beast's claws and smirked. "This is my ultimate weapon, one of Cyberse two most powerful guardians! Though it took some time to give it this form and power, the terror I can see in your eyes tell me that it was worth it."
"To think that Cyberse would have something like this at their disposal," Faust muttered. "If they used this when we attacked them, then Revolver and everyone else would have…"
"Been erased like the worthless history you are." PhantomFire finished. "But it's still not too late for that! When you return back to your master, I want you to tell Revolver in details about the terrors you encountered in here! Satanel, activate your effect! Emperor's Rule!"
Satanel's Link Arrows glowed and the top arrow shot out red electricity that connected to Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer's bottom arrow, linking the two monsters together.
"Emperor's Rule gives all of my co-linked monsters the effects of all co-linked monsters on my side of the field! Now go, I activate Hollow Slayer's effect through Satanel to revive Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer (ATK: 2300. Link-3), then I use the effect through Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer to revive ChronoGear Timekeeper Succubus (ATK: 1000. Link-2), then I use the same effect through Succubus to revive ChronoGear Time Tamer Kitty (ATK: 1700. Link-2)!"
"Getting five Link Monsters on the field in an instant…" Baira gulped. At that point, all the Knights of Hanoi had realized that this duel would be much more brutal than any of them have expected it to be.
"Appear, the circuit of past and future!" PhantomFire called out, summoning his circuit. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are at least two oGear monsters! I set Timekeeper Succubus and the Link Two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers! Link Summon! ChronoGear Timepiece Archer!"
A slim robotic monster flew through the portal. Its head was covered by a helmet whose side expanded to the side and back. Its body was covered up by a rusty armor with huge shoulder plates and a short brown cape hanging behind it. The monster's left arm had a pair of large pinchers in place of a wrist. The strange archer landed on its noddle legs and looked at the other monsters' giving them a nod.
ChronoGear Timepiece Archer
Attribute: DARK/Type: Psychic/Link/Effect
Link Arrows: Top, Right, Bottom Left
ATK: 2100/Link-3
2+ oGear monsters
Effect: Once per turn, if this card is linked: You can banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand face-down, but return it to their hand at the end of the next turn. This card cannot attack the turn you activated this effect. Once per turn, if a card(s) is added to your opponent's hand, outside the Draw Phase: Banish 1 random card from their hand face-down, and if you do, inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each of their banished cards.
"I activate ChronoGear Reborn to revive Time Tamer Kitty, then I set Berfomet and the Link two Time Tamer Kitty in the Link Markers!" The two monsters shoot into the black abyss and crimson lightning shone through the field. "Link Summon! ChronoGear Gatling Wheel!"
Out of the portal emerged two long chains, followed by a large metal sphere with two green orbs glowing inside it. Following the cage came a large muscular purple body with bolts attached to its skin. The chains tied around its chest in an x-shape and attached themselves to a metal belt locked around the creature's waist. Black pants formed out of nowhere to cover the monster's private parts. After stepping outside, the monster turned back and pulled a six-barrel rotating machine gun, which the warrior then processed to hold up with both arms.
ChronoGear Gatling Wheel
Attribute: DARK/Type: Warrior/Link/Effect
Link Arrows: Right, Bottom, Bottom Left
ATK: 2400/Link-3
2+ "Chrono" monsters
Effect: All co-linked monsters you control gain 300 ATK. If this card is co-linked, you can inflict 300 damage to your opponent x the total Link Rating of Link Monsters you control. You can only use this effect of "ChronoGear Gatling Wheel" once per turn. If you activate this effect, you cannot enter your Battle Phase this turn.
"This is…" Baira gasped.
"He even knows the secret mechanic that Revolver was trying to perfect!" Faust cried out.
"With all of my monsters co-linked, I can bring Gatling Wheel to the left Extra Monster Zone!" PhantomFire declared. "Extra Link!"
The Knight of Hanoi looked at each other and began to speak in their group, with each of the lower ranked members asking the others what was Extra Link and such. Unlike the lesser minions that followed them, Baira and Faust were fully aware of what Extra Link was, more than aware, they were terrified. Not just creating an Extra Link on his first turn, but also doing all of it using a single card in his hand – PhantomFire's strength was terrifying.
"Satanel's effect is still in play." Evan reminded them. "All of my monsters shall give each other five hundred more attack due to Hallow Slayer's effect and also, due to Gatling Wheel's effect, all of them gain three hundred more attack points multiplied by five!"
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 + 300*5 → 4300
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 4800
Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox, ATK: 3200 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 5700
ChronoGear Timepiece Archer, 2100 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 4600
ChronoGear Gatling Wheel, 2400 + 500 + 300*5 → 4400
"This is…" one of the Knights gasped.
"Over four thousand attack points!" Another one panicked.
"Now I activate Satanel's additional effect! When it's co-linked, I can negate the effects of all cards on your field, in your graveyard and in your hand, so if you had any hand traps, they are useless now. Emperor's Restriction!" Satanel roared, unleashing a wave of red energy that turned the cards in all duelist's arms grey.
"Now that all of your effects were locked away for the turn, I'll start eliminating you one after another." PhantomFire clicked his fingers. "Gatling Wheel's effect! I inflict three hundred points of damage to one of you for every Link Rating on my field!"
The large warrior aimed its gun at one of the Knights. The barrels began to rotate and Gatling Wheel unleashed a rain of bullets, each of which tearing off a part of the Knight's avatar. In just a few moments, the only thing that remained from the Knight was a few severed pieces of his avatar.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 5100 → 0』
"Next, I'll activate Gatling Wheel's effect using Timepiece Archer." The pinchers on the second Link Monster turned around, transforming into a bow that it then aimed at another Knight and fired, hitting its target straight in the chest.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 5100 → 0』
"Now Phantomus the Link Slayer will activate the effect again." The Link-3 fiend summoned a scythe of black energy and swung it at another Knight of Hanoi, cutting the man's body in half.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 5100 → 0』
"Phantomus the Hollow Slayer will activate the effect for the fourth time." Evan's second Phantomus held out its arm toward another Knight of Hanoi, collapsing space and time in the area of its victim, erasing him from existence.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 5100 → 0』
"Satanel will finish off the last bug for this turn." The Link-5 flew over the remaining Knights and slammed its arm on top of one, smashing his body into a pulp of data.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 5100 → 0』
"But I'm not done yet! Satanel's last effect activate! World Rewrite!" the Link-5 spread out its wings a red ring appeared in front of each, draining the color from the world until only black remained. Space pulsed in response to the monster, color returning back to the world as it began to accelerate, jumping through the Duel Phases.
『Turn 2 [Knight of Hanoi] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
『Turn 3 [Baira] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
『Turn 4 [Knight of Hanoi] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
『Turn 5 [Knight of Hanoi] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
『Turn 6 [Faust] LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
『Turn 7 [PhantomFire] LP: 4000 Hand: 4』
"The monster skipped our turns…" Baira muttered.
"Surprised?" Evan tilted his head to the side. "When Satanel is Extra Linked, he's no longer a monster, but an endless nightmare for the opponent! A terror that you can't fight against, no matter how hard you try. However, I'll be merciless and end you quickly! Satanel, activate Emperor's Rule and Emperor's Restriction!"
The Link-5's wings unleashed another wave of red energy that washed over the entire field and the Knights of Hanoi, freezing all of their cards for a second time while simultaneously unlocking the full abilities of PhantomFire's Extra Link.
Diabolic Phantomus the Hollow Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500 + 300*5 → 4300
Diabolic Phantomus the Link Slayer, ATK: 2300 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 4800
Transcendent Devil Emperor Satanel – The Absolute Paradox, ATK: 3200 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 5700
ChronoGear Timepiece Archer, 2100 + 500*2 + 300*5 → 4600
ChronoGear Gatling Wheel, 2400 + 500 + 300*5 → 4400
"It's over for real," PhantomFire stated and threw his arms forward. "Phantomus, Satanel, ChronoGears, all our opponents directly!"
The eyes of all five Link Monsters flashed red and they charged their attacks. The surviving Knights of Hanoi broke into screams and began to hit against the barrier that kept them inside the room. Kicking, slamming their heads and Duel Disk against it, all the regular troops were desperately trying to escape to no effect. Baira and Faust looked at each other, grabbed each other's head and turned toward the incoming beasts. Closing their eyes, the officers accepted their fates.
The screams in the room then escalated, only to die down a moment later. PhantomFire sat back down on his throne while a screen showed the duel status.
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 4300 → 0』
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 4400 → 0』
『Knight of Hanoi LP: 4000 - 4600 → 0』
『Baira LP: 4000 - 4800 → 0』
『Faust LP: 4000 - 5700 → 0』
『Winner: PhantomFire』
"And all it took was a single card." PhantomFire sighed. Satanel and the other monsters disappeared while his outfit, hair, and eyes all return to their normal state. There was no excitement in this duel for him, despite how well he performed. There was no excitement in stepping on defenseless ants.
PhantomFire reached out and summoned two white cubes before combining them together. Data ran through the ground and the cubes transformed into a pink hologram of a little girl with her hair tied into two pigtails that reach her lower back.
"Overseeing Network Intelligence was activated." The new A.I. bowed. "How can I be of service, sir?"
"Repair all the damage done to the server, update security protocols and send our guests' consciousness back to the Knights of Hanoi," PhantomFire ordered.
"Your orders will be fulfilled at the highest proficiency." O.N.I stated after which her body was absorbed into the server.
"There's your deck's data. Make sure not to lose it again."
Vermilya nodded and inserted her deck into the Duel Disk, opening her decklist to check if all the cards' data was successfully installed. Avice sighed and sat down on the sofa next to Roxy. Observing the girls' progress in their fight against Hanoi would be obligatory for the Greyson now that a new enemy has unveiled themselves.
Avice rubbed her forehead, she was getting a headache thinking about Picaro. Even though he wasn't a part of the group, and had stated that they were his enemies, she was worried that he would get targeted by those AIs because of the TurboGear deck that he carried around. An even worst-case scenario would be if the bugs formed an alliance with him. She could see the AIs doing it, after all, both they and Picaro wanted to collect all the oGears deck in order to unlock the gate in the deeps of VRAINS. Picaro had turned into a nuisance that needed to be dealt with.
Avice shook her head. It would be best for her to just let Evan come up with a way to silence Picaro. For her brother, there was never a too dirty way to deal with a nuisance and while Avice would definitely stop him if he chose to kill Picaro, she wasn't naïve enough to think that any of them could talk the TurboGear duelist into rejoining their group. He didn't leave them because he was angry like Vermilya. Picaro had dreams and a determination to achieve them that pushed him toward fighting against his mentors.
"What are you thinking about?" Roxy's words snapped Avice out of her thoughts. The fifteen years old looked at her companion and forced a smile.
"It's nothing that you have to worry about," Avice reassured her. "But what about you, I heard that Playmaker sent you home."
"Yeah," Roxy leaned back into the sofa and looked at the ceiling; she felt like a failure for causing so much trouble and no matter what Aqua might have tried to tell her, it was her fault for not being more careful. "He got in a lot of trouble because of my carelessness. I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't want to partner with me again."
"You shouldn't push yourself so much." Aqua stepped on her partner's Duel Disk. "Even we didn't expect the AI to paralyze your systems so easily."
"Why don't you go out and have some fresh breath?" Avice suggested. "You haven't gotten familiar with the city yet, so it would be useful to have a look around. It'll also help you forget about your worries."
"It's easy for you to say that!" Roxy protested. "Where was the last time you failed as bad as I did? You and Evan always win, you don't know what failure is!"
"Believe me, even if that was the case, I still know that sitting around and sulking like a little baby about an embarrassing moment won't do anything more than annoy the people who are forced to deal with you," Avice replied, carrying a warm smile that was anything but suitable for her harsh words.
"In case you haven't picked up on what Avice's trying to tell you, she wants you out of the house for the night," Vermilya interjected.
"What for?" Roxy asked.
"I and brother will be dining with the Zaizens tonight and I don't want to leave you alone in the house." Avice leaned back into the sofa. "Don't take it personally, but I'm not willing to leave you and Aqua to take care of the house. At least not while Picaro is out there, knowing where we live."
"And you think that I'll be safer alone in the open?" Roxy just couldn't not question Avice's logic. She could at least lock herself and even hide if Picaro comes looking for here in the house, but outside he could just grab her when no one's looking and that would be the end.
"Technically you won't be alone," Vermilya stated. "I'm going to be your tour and I'm not trying to make myself sound cool, but ever since Evan recruited me, I've been studying self-defense. I can protect you better than any locked door or window even would."
Roxy took a deep breath. Vermilya was never so quick to side with Avice, so something was going on behind the curtain. They did have a point about Vermilya being a more trustworthy form of protection since doors didn't have the ability to deliver uppercuts yet.
"Ok, I'll go out with Vermilya then." Roxy agreed, if not to just make things simpler for all of them.
"Great!" Avice's face beamed with delight as she jumped off the sofa and ran off, but not before giving the other girls a few more instructions. "Nights in Den City can be cold so I suggest you get something warm to wear. We're going to drop you near the museum of technology and art. Don't care to call us before ten, unless it's an emergency, in which case ring as fast as you can!"
"I would say that she looks livelier than usual, but Avice is always very positive so it's hard to tell how happy she is" Roxy commented.
"If you've been here for as long as me, you would know that we're all crazy in our own ways," Vermilya replied. "That's what makes our relationship special, albeit not always in the good kind of special."
Later in another part of Den City, Akira and Aoi were preparing for the guests. Akira had already ordered their robot maid what to prepare for dinner. Usually, when the Zaizen and Greyson families would dinner together, they went to a restaurant, but since his demotion, Akira was trying to spend his money more carefully. His salary was still enough to give Aoi a comfortable life, but the current crisis in SOL made him think about the possibility of getting fired.
The older Zaizen was already sitting on the table waiting for their guests to arrive. Unlike her brother, Aoi wasn't ready yet, she has closed herself in her bedroom, trying to figure out what to wear for this dinner. Usually, she wasn't the type of girl that worried too much about her look, but tonight was different. She wanted to look good in front of the Greysons.
Akira stood up and walked into the living room before looking at the digital clock. The doorbell rang, signaling that someone was waiting outside. Akira fixed his tie and called out toward the robot maid.
"I'll open the door!" He shouted loud enough for the AI to hear him from the kitchen. He didn't want the machine to leave the food it was cooking and cause some accident.
Akira opened the door to greet the guests. Both Greyson were dressed up stylishly, Evan was rocking a black suit with a red shirt and a dark purple tie while Avice was wearing an elegant white dress, her hair tied into a ponytail with a green rose-shaped hair chip attached to the left side of her bangs. But what caught Akira's interest more were the 'gifts' that Evan was carrying; a bouquet of blue rose in his left hand and a heart-shaped box of chocolate in the right.
Akira inhaled deeply through his nose. What were the roses and the chocolate for? Was that some sort of prank? The Zaizen was all too familiar with the Greysons' inappropriate, and sometimes offensive sense of humor, but he was hoping that there was a different sort of explanation behind the gifts. He wanted to try and ignore the small details and focus on the dinner they were going to attend to, greet them properly and invite them to enter. But he couldn't find proper words in this awkward situation.
Luckily, Evan was the first to break the ice.
"Did I get the wrong color of roses?" the young man asked.
Akira said nothing. He wanted to facepalm at the stupidity of that question, but his manners were better than that. Since Evan wasn't going to act like a proper adult in this situation, Akira would have to take this role, which was convenient since the Zaizen played the role of an adult since he was sixteen years old.
"I know that this is a private question, but did you ever have a girlfriend?" Akira asked the younger man. He took the bouquet and the chocolate, then gestured for the siblings to enter.
"There was once a girl that I fell in love with, but sadly I had to leave before our relationship could develop," Evan admitted, sadly.
'That explains a lot.' Akira thought, looking at the bouquet and chocolate that his 'friend' brought. He was actually impressed that Evan brought gifts, due to the young man's not so brilliant social behavior. Akira had kept it to himself, but he had high hopes about Evan becoming his sister's suitor. He was smart, had a stable job and Aoi already liked his presence.
The three of them sat down around the table waiting for the younger Zaizen to join before they began to eat. The robot maiden was moving back and forth, placing the food in front of the three humans. Avice kept a smiley face, looking back and forth behind her brother and Akira. The two older siblings had serious expressions while they waited in silence, which hinted that this dinner was going to be clouded by not so pleasant conversations.
"The higher-ups are telling us to focus on our works and avoid speaking with the media on the subject, but the situation in LINK VRAINS is starting to escalate," Akira stated. "Playmaker and a few Charisma Duelists are the only people fighting against the Knights of Hanoi and we were unable to help them in any way. This invasion is worse than we imagined."
"What about the AI Duelists that your replacement was developing?" Evan asked. "With the blueprints that my company sold you, SOL should have made a small army by now."
"There isn't much information about it, but I'm hearing that Kitamura needs an official order by the higher-ups due to the nature of the security force," Akira admitted. "But there haven't been words by them and I fear that there won't be much left from VRAINS by the time they give the order to engage."
"Haven't you realized it yet?" Evan chuckled. He took a glass of wine and looked into the crimson liquid. "Your bosses are waiting for the Knights of Hanoi to eliminate all possible witnesses. They won't do pest control until Hanoi has turned VRAINS into an empty wasteland."
"That won't be a profitable decision." Akira pointed out.
"You should already know better than anyone, there's only one thing more important than money for SOL and that's power." Evan took a sip of wine, enjoying the taste of the alcohol before continuing. "Even if the Knights of Hanoi are terrorists, the society at large would be asking for more humane treatment and sentences, which means that dangerous elements such as Revolver will be, theoretically, able to share with the world SOL's dark secrets."
"You're saying that SOL's going to wait for Hanoi to eliminate everyone, just so they could do the same with the Knights of Hanoi?" Akira asked.
Zaizen had to admit that this was possible. Though it was a thought that would have never crossed Akira's mind several weeks ago, lately he had a lot of exposure to SOL's dark history, an experience that completely changed the way he viewed his workplace. If they eliminated Dr. Kogami in order to cover up their connections to the Hanoi Project, then was nothing stopping them from doing the same thing again on a larger scale.
"SOL's aims are far more sinister than you can imagine," Evan answered.
"Then why don't we change the topic to something more optimistic?"
Evan smiled and the trio turned toward the new voice. Aoi walked into the room with a smile, she was wearing a deep blue dress, clinging on her soft skin, eyeshadow accentuating her eyes and lipstick highlighting her beautiful lips. Avice stood up from her chair and embraced the girl in a tender hug. The two kissed each other on the cheeks after which Evan stood up as well and took Aoi's hand, kissing her palm.
Despite them being close friends, Aoi couldn't keep herself from blushing. After a second, Evan moved back and pulled back the empty chair for the Zaizen to sit.
"You don't need to be so formal." Aoi laughed before sitting down on the chair.
"I'll always do the best that I can for people I care about." Evan retorted. He sat down on his chair and clapped his hands, earning everyone's attention. "I believe it would be only proper to start this with a toast for our families' friendship."
"And lets the future be as bright as the present, right?" Aoi added with a smile, raising her glass.
"Let's all of our days be filled with as much as happiness as this night." Akira nodded.
The sound of four glasses clicking echoed through the room followed by cheerful chatter. The girls spoke with each other above various nights, taking turns in telling stories from their lives. Evan and Akiza would occasionally join in the conversation to comment or say something that would embarrass their little sisters, but for the most part, they would just sit on the side and enjoy watching their sisters being happy despite all the bad things that were happening outside.
In the museum of technology and art, Vermilya quickly came to the realization that Evan and Avice weren't paying her enough for all the bullshit they have made her deal with. Keeping Roxy under control was easy due to the girl's gentle and obedient nature, but she couldn't say the same about Aqua and Firera. Despite the two AIs' caring and understanding nature, they had a bad habit of popping out of the Duel Disk at bad times, asking questions loud enough for everyone else in the museum to hear them.
"Are these the first people who stepped on the Moon?" Firera asked, pointing at a photo on the wall.
Instead of getting an answer, Firera had to quickly retract back into the Duel Disk as Vermilya's hand came down, slapping it. The other people that were looking at the exhibits gave the girl questionable looks that made her sweat. She pated Roxy's Duel Disk and laughed awkwardly while trying to come up with something to say.
"Ha-ha, I think I saw a fly," Vermilya said, slapping the Duel Disk a little rougher as a warning for its inhabitants.
"You didn't need to assault us." Aqua's eyes appeared on the screen and looked at the older girl. Even if she understood why Vermilya did it, it still hurt getting slapped like that.
"And you don't need to speak so loudly," Vermilya whispered back at the Ignis. "I don't want us to get kicked out for being lousy, but I also don't want someone to see you and cause us more problems, understood."
Vermilya took a step back and rubbed her temper. She knew that she had to cut the Ignis some slack, after all, Aqua was created from the consciousness of a six years old – most likely girl, but if it was a boy, then his life before the incident most likely wasn't a very good one. She looked at the photo that Firera asked about and cleared her throat.
"This picture is from the first human mission on Mars," Vermilya explained. "As far as my knowledge on the subject goes, one of these men has built an AI that advanced enough to fly through space and maintain satellites without the need of human support."
"His name is Touma Kita." Another voice called out.
Vermilya narrowed her eyes and quickly moved in front of Roxy while glaring at the person that spoke up. Standing in front of the girls was a tall man with pink eyes and long blue hair which was tied into a ponytail and had lightning-shaped yellow bangs that jutted upward. He wore a torn grey singlet, worn out jeans and calf-high motorcycle boots. Despite Vermilya's reaction, the boy kept smiling and stepped toward them.
"Calm your horses, Red. I'm not here to fight any of you." The man stated and turned toward Roxy. "So that's what you look like in the real world? I must admit, you are just as cute as I expected, Proxy."
Roxy was confused by how the man knew her user name, but it clicked to her a moment later. "You're Rocketeer, right?" Rocketeer, or Picaro, was the only person she had talked to in LINK VRAINS who could get such a reaction out of Vermilya.
"Please, call me Takuma in the real world." The man, Takuma said and looked down at her Duel Disk. "So it's true that you got an Ignis. You should know that this makes you a target of Hanoi as well."
"I do what must be done to protect those who deserve it," Roxy replied, covering her Duel Disk with a hand. She looked down, talking face to face with her first friend from this world was awkward, more so now when he was her enemy.
"That's what I like about you." Takuma chuckled. "You're always standing up to protect the weak, even though you are just as weak as those you're trying to help."
"Why are you here?" Vermilya interjected.
"I already told you that I'm not here to fight." Takuma raised his hands as if to surrender. "I came because this is one of the last pictures of my grandfather before he disappeared."
Vermilya narrowed her eyes at the response. But after a moment she dropped her arms and stepped aside. She wasn't the forgiving type, Picaro had brainwashed her, used her like a doll to get what he wanted and then tried to get her killed. But she understood what it felt like to miss your parents. Though her situation was much different from his, she wasn't going to disgrace herself by attacking him while he was mourning.
"W-what happened to your grandpa?" Roxy asked.
"No one knows." Takuma shrugged. "He just disappeared one day without a trace. All I knew was that he was trying working on a new form of artificial intelligence, a project that my father continued after grandpa's disappearance. My mother believes that his obsession with the project drove him mad and he left his family to continue the research. Since there aren't public records of it, you won't know about this, but Kogami's Ignis project was inspired by my grandpa's work. The difference is in the way the AIs were supposed to function."
"So that's where the inspiration for my creation came from?" Aqua looked over the picture and then at Takuma. "Thank you."
"You should thank my grandpa not me." Takuma chuckled. "But I appreciate it."
"Ooook, am I the only one who finds it weird that we're having such a normal and civilized chat while we're trying to kill each other in the virtual reality?" Roxy asked.
"I admit that it would seem weird for someone as new to this as you." Takuma nodded. "The truth is, despite how much we might fight and hate each other, we're all part of the same family. We're all trained by Evan and Avice, I and Vermilya spent a year working together, even now when I'm with you, I feel a strange sense of security and closeness."
"A family…" Roxy repeated. It sounded like a crazy idea to call Takuma or Vermilya her family, but the chemistry between each one of them was just like that between siblings. Well, if siblings normally tried to kill one another. But did she even want to be a part of this family?
Roxy already had another family waiting for her somewhere else. She had two loving parents and a great friend that she cared a great deal about. She couldn't say that Evan, Avice, Vermilya, and Takuma weren't important for her as well, but was it ok to get so involved with them? There was a part of her, a very small part, that didn't want to leave this world and the friends she made. But another part of her wanted to hug her parents again, to see the friend who gave her courage one more time. If she had to choose, which family was she going to choose?
She didn't know, and that was what scared her.
"Hey, Earth to Proxy," Takuma called out, giving the girl a chop on the forehead.
"Ow!" She rubbed the spot that he stuck and glared at the older boy. "What was that about?"
"Your mind wasn't here." Takuma crossed his arms. "What were you thinking about?"
"It's… not something you can help me with." Roxy admitted sadly.
"Try me." Takuma smiled. "I'll try my best, as long as you don't want me to join your side and give up on my mission."
Roxy chuckled at the idea. If only it was as simple as to ask him to turn good and join them in the fight against the Knights of Hanoi, but sadly, reality didn't work that way. Yes, she still wanted to trust Takuma. Maybe because she was still young and naïve, Roxy couldn't see him as an evil person. To her, he was just misguided.
"I… I'm trying to piece things together." I've been here for so long, went through so much, and I still haven't found a clue how to get home. "I'm… I'm not from you here. I don't think that the place I come from is anywhere close to this city. The only thing I know is that I used to have a good life, with a carrying family and friends. Then one day I was about to get hit by a cad, then I woke up in this city."
"That sounds ominous," Vermilya commented.
"No joke about it." Takuma sighed. "But it won't be the first time that such a thing happened, would it? The Hanoi Project proves that there are organizations who would kidnap people."
"Wait, so you're believing me?" Roxy raised an eyebrow.
"You're worrying about it so much, why shouldn't I?" Takuma asked. He pulled out his cellphone and took a photo of Roxy, causing the girl to stumble backward in surprise.
"What was that for!?"
"I'll try to find everything I can on the matter," Takuma stated. "But I'll need at least a photo to work with."
"So you really plan on helping her out despite being enemies?" Vermilya crossed her arms. She wasn't buying into Takuma's kindness.
"Despite our differences, I still see Proxy as a friend." Takuma shrugged and turned his back to the girls. "Anyway, I've got to go now, so we're going to meet again on the battlefield."
"Takuma!" Roxy shouted after the boy, making his stop for the moment.
"What?" Takuma turned around to look at the little girl.
"My name is Roxy." Roxy introduced herself. "I'm saying this, because it's not fair to call me by my username in public, ok?"
Takuma burst into laughter. She stopped him to tell him her real identity! Despite how dangerous that was, Roxy didn't seem to mind or care about the possible negative effects of revealing her identity to Takuma.
"You're too innocent to be a part of this war." Takuma finally replied and walked off.
Vermilya walked up to Roxy and looked at her. The young girl looked at the spot where Takuma was standing a moment ago. Her hands clenched into fists and determination burned in her eyes. If someone was just looking at her from the side without knowing anything, they would think that having a friend on the enemy's side would cause Roxy's will to waver and for her to question herself. But her meeting with Takuma had the opposite effect. Knowing that he still thought of her as a friend gave the girl new determination and a legitimate cause to keep fighting for. She wanted to win and bring Takuma back to her side!
Usually, I'm against overpowered boss monsters, given that Satanael is a Link-5 that needs a specific material (the Phantomus Link Monster) and its most overpowered effects need it to be Extra Linked in order to be activated, I believe there's a bit of balance in its power level.
I'm really not looking forward to the next time when Evan or Avice get to rekt someone because the duel ends up pretty boring and obvious. Truth be told, I'm not sure if I'm going to write a duel next chapter, but for now, my plans are to put a Playmaker vs Picaro duel in either the next chapter or the one after it and then to officially move toward the Tower of Hanoi where I'm going to focus more on Roxy's story than the fight between Hanoi and the Charisma Duelists.
First, I want to than to Ickery09 for following and favoriting this story (literally a moment before I uploaded the last chapter btw.)
Also thanks to Scalchop for the review and yes, the Speedroids and other legendary decks WILL be used again in the story, but that'll most likely happen in Season 2. Or maybe sooner?
That's everything! Thanks for reading this and I'll see you again next time!
Diabolic Tracer out!