Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Destiny Gears Chapter 38, a yu-gi-oh! vrains fanfic

The Seventh Bullet

Proxy's POV

"We should, there's not much time before the Tower is finished." Playmaker said as he walked past me.

I nodded and followed after him. I heard something snapping and looked back. The wires that held the bridge broke and it plumbed down, turning into data that then flew past us and into the Tower of Hanoi. The giant machine of death already had three of its rings completed, so that meant we had only half of our original time to complete our mission. Unlike the other side, which was a ghost town, the area around the Tower was completely decimated. There was nothing but sand, anything that was around it has already been long absorbed. Buildings, objects, even other players must have become this monstrous building's first victims.

"Are we going to go together from here on?" Ai turned back to ask us.

"The Knights of Hanoi suffered heavy losses already," Aqua replied before I could. "They might have enough members left to get in our way, but it would be hard to tracks us if we separate again."

"Seriously?" I frowned. I wasn't doing so good on my own, so I wanted to stand beside Playmaker and help him out like a sidekick was supposed to do.

"Aw, come on! We haven't seen each other for so long!" Ai protested.

"It's been just two hours and a half since our last meeting." Aqua pointed out.

"I think that she's right." Playmaker replied and turned toward me. "The Knights of Hanoi would be troubled if we take a different route from here on. Since we won't be in one place, even if one of them managed to defeat one of us, they wouldn't be able to get to the other in time."

That almost sounded like he wanted me to go down a different route, so I could keep enemies off his back. Yes, I knew that this wasn't what Playmaker meant, but it just sounded like it, ok? And, as long as he was able to reach the Tower and face Revolver, I knew that everything would be ok. As a sidekick, my job was to support him with anything I could, so if to do that I had to distract the Knights of Hanoi, I wouldn't mind one bit. Ok, I would mind being turned into data, but there was no way to tell that to him.

"Then I'll try to flank them from the left." I pointed out.

Playmaker simply nodded to my suggestion. "And I'll continue down this path."

I agreed and separated from Playmaker to do as we had planned. Aqua and Firera were just sticking out of my Duel Disk, watching silently as I changed direction. Their silence meant that they didn't disagree with my actions, so was I doing the writing right now? Or were they just silent, because both of them were willing to sacrifice themselves for what they believed?

Why was I so different from them?

When Playmaker dueled against Heliac, I could have made it easier for him, I could have grabbed the bars and sacrificed myself to allow Playmaker to go and defeat the Knight of Hanoi without having to hold back. I knew it back then, I knew that if it wasn't the miracle that stopped time itself, Playmaker would have lost. It would have been my fault if that happened. And yet, I just couldn't bring myself to even thinking about giving my life for him. Death… death scared me, the idea of death had always scared me. I thought that I have beaten my fears when I managed to overcome my fear of the Knights of Hanoi, but I was wrong. No matter how much I tried, that cowardliness just wouldn't go away. Even now, I just want to stop and run away, let Playmaker solve this by himself like he always does.

But I couldn't. Not because I wanted to keep fighting, but because I was scared of what Aqua and Firera would think of me if I suddenly turned around and ran. They were on my wrist, there was no way to escape without making them realize it. And for even thinking about abandoning everyone… I'm a truly awful person, aren't I?

"Can I talk with you about something?" Aqua turned toward me.

"Of course." I nodded. "Is something troubling you?"

"No. Nothing of that sort." Aqua shook her head, then placed a hand on her chest. "Roxy… I just wanted to tell you that after this is over and the Tower of Hanoi is deactivated, I'll have to leave you."

"Eh?" She would have to leave me so soon? "But why? Is it because of how bad of a Duelist I'm?"

"No, it doesn't have to do anything with you," Aqua said. "I didn't want to talk about it in front of Ai and Playmaker, but since Ai left the Cyberse World, the rest of us had endless discussions on what we should do. The Light Ignis want us to retaliate, but thankfully, the other Ignis didn't follow after his example, tying his hands in a sort. But after this, after witnessing how far the Knights of Hanoi would go just to eliminate us, I'm not sure if they would look at the subject the same way they did before. I need to go, Roxy. I need to make sure they don't make a mistake and follow the Light Ignis' plan."

That's right, Aqua had a lot of things to worry about as well. Since the Ignis were only six in total, her entire family was in danger, but worse than that, they could prove themselves to be a danger to humanity if they attacked. A battle between our species would be devastating, no doubt about it. It would be in the best interest for both sides not to play with fire, but the Ignis were in the worse position because, unlike us, their species was made of a very small number of individuals.

"Proxy!"

I stopped and looked up. Some dark creature with wings was flying toward me. But I wasn't scared because I could see its face. Taking a step back, I gave PhantomFire enough space to land in front of me. My teacher slammed his fist into the sand, sending it flying to the side and then stood back up, deactivating the wings of his avatar.

"Was such an over-the-top introduction really necessary?" I asked him.

"The bridge was missing." Oh, right… "Are you the only one who was able to make it? What about Blaze Rose, where is she?"

"She lost," I admitted. "But I'm not alone. Playmaker's going down a different path."

"That's good." He turned around and looked at the Tower of Hanoi. "I have a program that cloaks my presence, if I send you a copy, we should be able to approach the Tower of Hanoi without alerting the Knights of Hanoi."

"But what about Playmaker? If we go this way, then all of the remaining Knights of Hanoi will approach him instead of us." I pointed out.

"By my calculations, the only Knights of Hanoi left should be Dr. Kogami and Revolver," PhantomFire stated. "If he takes down Revolver, then it's over. But if we reach the Tower of Hanoi before their fight,"

"You could reprogram the Tower to deactivate it, right?" So that was what PhantomFire wanted to do? Brilliant!

"Let's not place all of our faith into a chance that Playmaker would win," Firera told me. "I vote we go to the Tower and stop it manually!"

"I agree." Aqua nodded and looked at me. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Then our next destination is clear." I agreed with the two AIs. "We'll stop the Tower of Hanoi by ourselves!"

"The program is sent," PhantomFire said, and my Duel Disk glowed. "Aqua and Firera should know how to activate it. Let's go."

"Right!"

The Tower of Hanoi looked even more ominous up close. As PhantomFire told me, no Knight of Hanoi came to stop us. Either because the program was really working, or because Revolver was currently too busy to do it himself. Either way, we were standing at the doorstep, and there was nothing that could stop us from entering.

"Let's see if this is working." PhantomFire held out his arm and a green circuit appeared across his fingertips. He placed his hand against the side of the Tower and the building glowed, after which a piece of it slide to the side, opening a path inside.

"You were able to accept the main entrance," Aqua commented. "How?"

"While you were fighting the Knights of Hanoi in the city, a group of ten elite members came to our private server and tried to make me betray the two of you, but I was able to defeat them," PhantomFire explained. "After the fight, I created this program using their data. With it, I'm able to recreate the data of their avatars, in case I need to enter an area who uses user-recognizing."

"You've surprised us with your genius thinking once again," Firera said. "And it's hard to surprise a being made completely out of data, so take this as a compliment."

"I'll remember that," PhantomFire commented and stepped inside. "Let's go now, there's not much time for us to lose."

We walked inside the Tower, with PhantomFire leading the way while I watched his back. It was so dark inside, with only a few green lights keeping the place bright enough to see where I was stepping. The entire layout was a single long corridor, despite how tall the Tower was from the outside. There was no elevator or even stairs with which we could get to the upper levels.

"What an interesting design choice," Aqua said, looking around the place.

"In case you're wondering, Proxy," PhantomFire looked back at me. "The green rings you see on the walls are portals which you can use to get to a different level. The one closest to the core should be… this one."

Saying that PhantomFire pressed his hand against one of the rings and his body began to glow before it disappeared in a flash. Not wanting to be left behind, I placed my hand as well and the ring responded, teleporting me next to PhantomFire. But of course, since this was the villains' main base, things could be so simple and easy, could they?

We were teleported into another corridor, but this time, it split into two. I looked at PhantomFire for guidance. Instead of saying something, he began walking toward the right side, while pointing with a finger toward the left. Guess we were going to split again. Inside enemy territory, our chances to survive on our own were much lower than as a team. Not that I would ever dare to say that to PhantomFire.

So, sighing, I turned to the left.

"There can be traps ahead of us. Try to be more careful." Firera told me as if I didn't know that already.

"Don't worry about me, I'll somehow manage." I gave my AIs a thumb up, but inside, I was already starting to panic.

3rd POV

PhantomFire stopped and turned around to look behind him. No one was there. After making sure that Proxy didn't follow him the dark duelist turned back and pressed his hand against the wall, opening a door. The mainframe wasn't there, no, he let Proxy go there and deal with whatever Kogami had prepared.

PhantomFire slowly entered the room and looked at the Knight of Hanoi working on one of the desks. There was a screen showing a duel on the left. Looking carefully, PhantomFire could make out that the duelists on the screen were Revolver and Playmaker, who were having a Speed Duel. He was surprised that their duel hasn't ended yet, given how much time it took for him and Roxy to get around the back of the Tower and approach it.

"It's been a while, Dr. Kogami," PhantomFire called the Knight of Hanoi by name.

The old man turned around, PhantomFire's words making him aware of the intruder. He reached out for something, a button of some sort, but before he could press it, a loud sound echoed through the room. It was the sound of a bullet being fired. A moment later, Kogami felt a sharp pain in his chest and collapsed on the ground, holding a hand over a small hole near his heart.

He looked up at his attacker, but PhantomFire had no weapon with him. He was barehanded, yet there was smoke coming out of his open palm.

"W-who are you?" Kogami managed to ask through gritted teeth.

"I'm not someone you have ever meet before, and you're not someone I have ever meet before, so don't think too much about it," PhantomFire replied. "I only said 'it's been a while' because that's usually what you must say when you come face to face with an enemy you have known about for quite some time, isn't it right?"

Kogami didn't answer the dark duelist's question. He looked back at the place where he was wounded, even though in LINK VRAINS damage inflicted to the avatar should fade away after a few seconds, the hole in his chest remained. The Knight of Hanoi breathed heavily, feeling his heart racing with adrenalin.

"I must tell you, even though I was able to build my own server inside LINK VRAINS, I have never seen a place as magnificent as yours," PhantomFire said, gesturing around himself. "The only negative I can see in this Tower is how big it is, despite being empty. But there wasn't much you could do when everyone who followed your insane son has already kicked the bucket, was there?"

PhantomFire stepped past Kogami and looked at the desk on which the old man was working. Clenching his fist, he slammed it against the desk, breaking into two.

"Also, you could have tried a little better with the defenses." PhantomFire continued talking. "For instance, why not place a layer of laser shields on the ground? Once you activate them, they will cut off the legs of whoever dares to ender, and then the person will fall on top of them, disintegrating. That way you won't have to clear the remains afterward. Don't you agree?"

"What… do you want?" Kogami glared at the young man.

"I came to enjoy this piece of art that you've created," PhantomFire stated. "Others might think of you as a monster, a terrorist who built a weapon of mass destruction, but I see it clearly. What you've built here is amazing! You've had a vision while building this place, and you made it real! You don't know how much I respect you for that. Of course, what you're about to do is just unacceptable and must be stopped ASAP, but the beauty, that's something only a blind fool would be unable to see."

"…Did SOL sent you to stop me?" Kogami asked.

"SOL?" PhantomFire looked back at the fallen man. "Of course not, they're too short-sighted, unable to see the bigger picture because of their greed. I'm here because I want to. Because I wanted to come face to face with you and have a short talk."

"What did you do to me?" Kogami breathed heavily. He felt his real body going weaker…

"Something that has never been done to you, for sure." PhantomFire chuckled to himself. "Remember what I said about SOL being too short-sighted? Even when they infected you with that virus to try and silence you, they aimed at the wrong place. What I did, is that I shot you. With a bullet that's still inside your avatar, working tirelessly."

"I… feel tired," Kogami muttered. "Why am I...?"

"Oh, well. Since you're a doctor, I think you'll be able to understand once I say what I did." PhantomFire knelt down in front of the old man an evil grin across his face. "You see, once someone suffers a wound in LINK VRAINS, their real body experiences a small jolt, just enough warn the user that they should move away before they suffer another wound. Because of that bolt, your heartbeat accelerates for a moment, but imagine that the bolt lasted longer. For, let's say, a few minutes? If someone who was bedridden for the last five or so years suddenly had his pulse accelerated and is unable to calm down, what'll happen?"

"My heart will…" Kogami's eyes widened, realizing the horrifying thing that PhantomFire has done.

"Your heart will eventually fail!" PhantomFire laughed. "Heart failure. The type where the amount of blood pumped is more than typical and the heart is unable to keep up. Since you haven't exercised for the last five or more years, I imagine that your heart has gotten used to working fairly slow, just enough to keep you alive. But now, it suddenly has to work fast, as if you're running."

"No, I…" Kogami gasped.

"You cheated death once, did you believe that you will go unpunished for that?" PhantomFire stood up and kicked the man in the face, sending him rolling across the ground. "But given your plans, I take it that you've been planning to die alongside everyone else when the Tower of Hanoi enters the last stage of its existence, right? You must have wanted to see your son, Revolver winning against Playmaker before you had to pass away, right?"

PhantomFire paused for a moment to look at the screen that Kogami was looking at. Playmaker had summoned some new orange Code Talker and pointed at Revolver. The monster fired its rifle, knocking Kogami's son backward, but the impact wasn't enough to drop his remaining Life Points. Narrowing his eyes, PhantomFire stepped around the old man lying on the ground and opened another door.

"But go on, give your last speech to your son, tell him how much you love him," PhantomFire said. "If you want, tell him about us as well, I won't try to stop you, old man."

Kogami, who was able to grab the edge of his desk and pulled himself into a sitting position, looked at PhantomFire.

"Why?" the old man asked. "Why are you-"

"Allowing you to do that?" PhantomFire finished the sentence. "It's simple, doc. You're not the only person in this room who has manipulated his child for his own goals. The difference is, you see, you still have the chance to tell yours how much you love it and redeem yourself. Don't make your child think that you died without loving it."

The door closed behind PhantomFire, leaving Dr. Kogami on his own. The old man held a hand over the wound, knowing that there wasn't much time for him. It would take no more than five minutes for the program to exhaust his heard. He looked at the remaining desk that PhantomFire hasn't destroyed. It was as the dark Duelist said, he didn't have another chance to tell Revolver how proud he was of his son. No, he had plenty of chances to do so, to tell him that he did a great job, but he never used them. He ignored that and focused on his mission, but now, when everything he worked for was so close, he wouldn't do the same mistake.

In the other room, PhantomFire found four coffins, he recognized the duelists inside of them, two of the Knights that came storming his base, the first high-ranking member that was beaten by Go when Hanoi's invasion in LINK VRAINS began, and of course, Specter. He looked closely at them, their bodies suddenly began to fade away, leaving LINK VRAINS.

"So, you choose to save them as well, huh?" PhantomFire said to no one in particular as he watched the bodies disappear. "Farewell, Dr. Kogami. Rest now, for Hell won't give you that luxury."

Proxy's POV

This place looked so creepy, the silence alone was maddening, but also somehow relieving. If it was silent, then it meant that no one else was here. It meant that there was no Knight of Hanoi who would fight against me. This fact, was also a little saddening when I think about it. The Tower of Hanoi was empty, with no other life present, it meant that Revolver was the only one. It meant that he was fighting against the remaining Duelists on his own, that he had to wait for us alone, in this dark and silent prison. Even if he was a terrorist, I feel bad that his life turned out like this.

"I think we can safely assume that this place doesn't have any traps meant to keep foes away," Firera told me.

"Dr. Kogami must have not expected anyone to be able to reach so far, which is why he left the place mostly unprotected from the inside," Aqua said.

"How do you know that Dr. Kogami is involved in all of this?" I asked. It was true that I helped Playmaker secure the data about the Lost Incident, but how was Aqua so sire of it.

"Five years ago, when the Knights of Hanoi attacked the Cyberse World for the first time, we all recognized that Revolver was his son," Aqua said. Wait, Revolver was Dr. Kogami's son!? "It didn't take much for us to realize that the very man who created us, now wanted to destroy us."

"That… must hurt." I said.

Dr. Kogami must have been like a father figure to the Ignis he created. I can understand better why some Ignis didn't want to forgive humans for attacking their home. It wasn't just because of the attack, but because the man who wanted to kill them was the very same person who created them in the first place. If I was in Aqua's place, I would have felt betrayed, hurt, to learn that my father wanted me dead.

"Even so, we don't blame him," Aqua said. "At least most of us could see that Kogami was scared and was acting out of fear from us."

"But to think that your parent is afraid of you doesn't help much, does it?" That was just as bad as being hated by your parents.

"It does," Aqua said back. "A little."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

A loud scream came from the end of the hallway, scaring me to the bones. But I recognized the voice of the user who screamed. Running, I quickly reached a large open area with a door in the other end, and PhantomFire on the ground, holding several red vines that had tied around his leg and were tearing into his leg.

"That looks bad!" Firera, who chose to be Captain Obvious, exclaimed.

"Are you ok!" I ran over to him and kneeled down to try and pull away from the vines, but I was stopped when a hand came on top of me. I looked up and PhantomFire shook his head, a painted smile on his face.

"It's no use," he told me. "There's no point in those things, so I won't be absorbed in the Tower, but I can't move like this. It seems that it's up to you, Roxy. You must eliminate the remaining Hanoi threat."

"But…" I didn't want to leave PhantomFire alone!

"Don't worry about me!" PhantomFire placed a hand on my shoulder. "Your Ignis is intelligent enough to hack into the Tower. Stopping the destruction of the Ignis is more important than me. So, please. Go!"

"We don't have time to waste on these vines," Firera said. "Roxy, we must move now!"

"I understand." It was all now in my arms. I had to be the one who stops this, there was no one else to do it. "I'll go, make sure to stay safe until I come back, ok?"

"I trust in you." PhantomFire nodded. "Now go, protect the Ignis' existence!"

Nodding, I walked over to the door. I opened the door. I walked inside and continued. Step after step, I kept moving forward. I tried hard not to look back and to just keep going. I was really on my own this time, no back-up, no alternatives if I were to fail. The only thing that remained between the life and death of thousands of people was me and I must tell you, knowing that, didn't make these steps any lighter for me.

"What the-"

I stopped and looked at the thing that appeared in front of me. What was it? It was something that looked familiar, yet I have never seen before. I glanced back down at Aqua, who seems just as surprised about it as I was, then I looked back up. Standing in front of me was an Ignis. Yes, another one! He was light grey in color with green lines running across its body and glowing yellow eyes staring at me as it hovered there, unmoving.

"Do you recognize that one?" I asked Aqua.

"No, I have never seen this one." Aqua shook her head. "This… This can't be an Ignis. There're only six of us, it must be a fake one created to trick people."

"Are you sure that there's only six Ignis?" I asked again.

"Definitely." Aqua nodded and turned toward you. "There're only six of us. Kogami ever created only six Ignis. He had kidnapped only six kids to use for his experiment. Six, not seven or eight. Only six! Any other are fakes, just ordinary AIs, given the appearance of an Ignis."

"Ok, jeez. I just asked if you're sure, no need to get so heated up because of it." I replied.

"Ah, apologies." Aqua bowed her head. "You just won't believe what things people post on the internet sometimes."

"Oooooooookay," I chose not to question her on what that was supposed to mean. "So, could we possibly just walk past it? Ignore it completely?"

"Unauthorized personnel detected." The Fake Ignis' eyes began to glow. "Leave the area now, or you'll be eradicated."

"Figures." I shrugged. Why did I ever have to ask for an alternative route, when the only way to pass would be by dueling this thing? "Is that ok with you, Aqua."

"It has to be done," Aqua replied. "Let's do it!"

"Ignis detected." The Fake Ignis said. "Beginning procedure three-five-one on eliminating Ignis, according to Dr. Kogami's order."

A green circuit appeared on the ground under the Fake Ignis and a humanoid puppet raised from it. The thing was wearing a mostly white suit with some red and green, as well as a circular glass-helmet over its faceless head.

"What's that?" I asked Aqua again.

"An avatar," Aqua replied. "Since we don't have our own Duel Disks, we must use these avatars when entering a duel. Though this one looks surprisingly similar to…"

"…Revolver." I said, seeing the pattern as well. An Ignis wouldn't create an avatar with the same appearance as the person trying to destroy them, but this raised more question. For instance, why did this AI choose to make an avatar that looked like Revolver of all the Knights?

"Be extremely careful then," Firera told us. Well, she meant mostly me. "If Revolver was the origin from which this one was born, then you're facing an expert duelist with the knowledge of an AI."

"There's no turning back anyway," I told her. "But for the sake of convenience, let's call our friend over there Bullet for the time being."

"DUEL!" I and Bullet shouted at the same time, activating our Duel Disks.

『Bullet LP: 4000, Hand: 5 (VS) Proxy LP: 4000, Hand: 5』

"Taking the first turn." Bullet stated, summoning five cards in front of itself. "I Normal Summon Malware Worm." The monster that appeared was, as its name suggested, a worm with six long legs made of green energy. A large mouth filled with sharp blades remained constantly open to allow the glowing green eye inside of it to look around.

Malware Worm

Level: 1/Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Effect

ATK: 0/DEF: 400

Effect: If you control a DARK Cyberse Link Monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand or GY, but banish it if it leaves the field. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can only use each effect of "Malware Worm" once per turn.

"It's a Cyberse card," I muttered.

"If you control no monsters in the Extra Monster Zone, you can Special Summon this card from the hand," Bullet said, dictating the effect on his card. "Appear, Malware Rootkits!"

A blue sphere with three buttons on its chest, one red, green, and yellow, appeared on the field. The monster had a large green right underneath it, keeping its body floating and three orbs on each side of its body formed its 'arms'.

Malware Rootkits

Level: 2/Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Effect

ATK: 0/DEF: 600

Effect: If you control no monsters in the Extra Monster Zone, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). If this card in your Monster Zone is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY, you can place this card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone, and if you do, it gains the following effect.

"Malware" and "Topologic" monsters on your side of the field cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects.

"I activate the Field Spell, Malware Construction." The card showed a computer circuit being attacked by different Malware monsters.

Malware Construction (Spell) Field

If a Cyberse monster you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card. If your opponent controls more monsters in their Main Monster Zone that you: Special Summon "Malware" monsters from your GY with different names, in face-up Defense Position, equal to the difference. You can only use each effect of "Malware Construction" once per turn.

"Normal Spell, activate – Malware Multiplication. Destroy 1 face-up Cyberse monster on your field. Special Summon two Malware Tokens (Lv.1, ATK: 0)!" Rootkits exploded and two black spheres with glowing red orbs in the centers appeared in its place.

Malware Multiplication (Spell) Normal

Destroy 1 face-up Cyberse monster on your field. Special Summon 2 Malware Tokens (DARK/Cyberse/Level 1/ATK: 0/ DEF: 0). If this card is in your GY, except during the turn it was sent there: You can destroy 1 Cyberse monster you control, Set this card on your side of the field, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only activate 1 "Malware Multiplication" per turn.

"Malware Construction's effect: If a Cyberse monster you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card." Bullet drew a new card from its deck. "Rootkit's effect: If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY, you can place this card face-up in your Spell/Trap Zone, and if you do, it gains the following effect - Malware and Topologic cards on your side of the field cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects."

The Malware monster appeared back on Bullet's field, but this time it was placed in the Spell and Trap Zone on the left from the middle one. Now all of his monsters were protected from targeting, but what worried me more was…

"It just said Topologic cards." I looked down at my own AIs. "Why does it have Topologic cards as well?"

"It must be the one from whom they were created," Aqua stated. "Maybe Dr. Kogami has connected it to Revolver's Skill, so the AI could help it out without revealing itself to Revolver."

"Which means that several of his Topologic cards must have already gone missing due to Revolver obtaining them every time he uses his Skill," Firera added. "We're clearly with an advantage here."

"Link Summoning: Opening circuit." Bullet raised its arms and a square opened in the middle of the field. "Summoning conditions: Three monsters. Set Malware Worm and two Malware Tokens. Link Summon! Topologic Bifrost!"

A dark brown dragon-like monster appeared on the field. Its body was slender, with the exception of the chest, which was expanded to the sides. The monster had two long arms, each of which had three claws that extended the arms in term of length. The dragon's body extended downward before splitting into two equally long blades that were curved forward. Its head had a single green orb in the center and was connected directly to its upper body without a neck. Four large, spherical wings with green lines all across them were jutting out of the monster's back.

Topologic Bifrost

Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Link/Effect

Link Arrows: Right, Bottom Left, Left

ATK: 2500/Link-3

3 Monsters

Effect: If a monster(s) is Special Summoned to a zone this card points to: Destroy as many of those monster(s) as possible, also both players return all cards in their hand to the bottom of the deck, then draw 1 card for every 2 cards returned by this effect, also, your opponent takes 300 damage for each card they drew by this effect.

"Malware Worm effect: If you control a DARK Cyberse Link Monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand or GY to a zone a Link Monster points to, but banish it if it leaves the field." A portal opened in the zone that Bitfrost was pointing to and the worm crawled out of it.

"Topologic Bifrost effect: If a monster is Special Summoned to a zone this card points to: Destroy as many of those monsters as possible, also both players return all cards in their hand to the bottom of the deck, then draw one card for every two cards returned by this effect, also, your opponent takes three hundred damage for each card they drew by this effect." A red aura surrounded Worm and it exploded into particles.

"I didn't even get a turn and he's already messing with my hand," I muttered, returning my cards back into the deck before drawing two new ones. After I did that, Bifrost unleashed a small gust of wind that hit me head-on.

『Proxy LP: 4000 – 300*2 → 3400』

"Malware Worm's effect!" Bullet continued. "If this card is destroyed by a card effect: Inflict five hundred damage to your opponent." Malware Worm's spirit appeared on Bullet's avatar's shoulder and fired a purple beam that hit me in the stomach.

『Proxy LP: 3400 – 500 → 2900』

"His Topologic's abilities allow him to manipulate the way the duel goes," Firera said. "The AI instinctively reduced your hand size and inflicted big damage on its first turn. Calm and careful dueling, the same as Revolver himself."

"But I already found its biggest flaw." Aqua crossed her hands. "I told you before Roxy, there were created only six Ignis, and Bullet proved it. It's dueling is careful and calculated, but there's no heart in it. An Ignis is created by the extreme emotions that our origins felt when they were kept prisoners by Kogami, these emotions were what allows us to develop a free will, but the AI before you lacks that. It wasn't built from observing Revolver. It's simply a body created with the data for an Ignis and then had the data of Revolver's dueling implanted inside its mind."

"So, Revolver didn't suffer the Lost Incident?" Aqua turned to look at me and nodded for confirmation. "I see. Then I won't forgive Dr. Kogami for making fun of those who were hurt by his actions with the existence of this perversion of an Ignis!"

"I set a card. Turn end." Bullet finished.

"It's our turn!" I declared for myself, Aqua and Firera. "We draw!"

『Turn 2 [Proxy] LP: 2900 Hand: 3』

"I Normal Summon BrioGear Pale Crawfish (Lv.2, ATK: 700) and activate its effect to add another copy of BrioGear Pale Crawfish from my deck to the hand!" I had to give it to Bullet, my deck had trouble working properly with few cards in the hand, but since Aqua and Firera shared their power with me, BrioGear became stronger than ever.

"Come forth, the circuit of life!" My personalized circuit appeared on the ground in front of me and Pale Crawfish flew into one of the blue flowers placed around the flame. "Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one WATER monster with a level! I set BrioGear Pale Crawfish in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Come out, BrioGear Lotaxol (ATK: 600, Link-1)!"

My very first Link 1 monster appeared in the right Extra Monster Zone while Bullet's Topologic Bifrost was in the left Extra Monster Zone.

"I now activate Lotaxol's effect!" A black portal opened in the zone behind Lotaxol and a wave of water shout out. "When this card is Link Summoned, I can revive a Level Two or lower WATER monster from my Graveyard and place it in the zone Lotaxol points to. Come back, BrioGear Pale Crawfish (Lv.2, DEF: 600)!"

"Link climbing?" Firera asked me.

"You know how much I like it." I smiled for a moment before going back to my serious face. "Pale Crawfish' effect! Since it was summoned, I add another copy of it to my hand. Appear again, the circuit of life!"

A new circuit opened in the sky between me and Bullet as Pale Crawfish flew into one of the flowers.

"Arrowhead confirmed! Summoning condition is one Level Four or lower WATER monster! I set BrioGear Pale Crawfish in the Link Marker! Link Summon! Come out, BrioGear Damsel Fish (ATK: 500, Link-1)!" the young idol girl appeared behind Lotaxol and sat in the air with her arms crossed around her legs.

"Damsel Fish' effect activates!" I would use it again, the power that Avice entrusted to me! "When it's Link Summoned, I can add a Spell or Trap Card that lists oGear from my deck to the hand. The card I add is this - Elemental Lords of Gear!"

"Even though Bullet has four cards on his field, if we get rid of three right now, a single draw on his next turn wouldn't be enough to rebuild his field," Firera informed me.

"I get what you're hinting to," I told her. "And luckily, I want to get that card out as well! Elemental Lords of Gear can only be activated in a zone that a Link Monster points to. I'll activate Elemental Lords of Gear to the zone that Damsel Fish points at!" the card glowed as it appeared on my field, good. "Now I'll activate Elemental Lords of Gears' effect! Once per turn, I can Link Summon using a monster that points at this card as the sole material, and the monster I summon is one Link Rating higher than it!"

"Let's go!" A blue aura appeared around Firera as she yelled.

"I plead before the Elemental Lords of Gear to grand me their power! With their blessing, I'm able to evolve my Link Monsters! Appear, the spinning circuit of bonds!" I threw my arm forward and the large blue gear appeared in the sky above. The contract was completed!

"Rising tides, unchain the mortal body binding my monster and open the gates of the great ocean through an abysmal sacrifice!" I changed as Damsel Fish turned into pure energy and flew through the tunnel. "Link-Up! Aim your restless bow of justice, the huntress hunting the evil plaguing this world! Grand Ranger Serene (ATK: 2100, Link-2)!"

I know what you're probably thinking. If I could summon any Link Two or Three monsters I wanted, why did I use it to summon Serene? Because she had the hardest summoning conditions of all my monsters, so if I needed it later, it would be much easier to revive her from my graveyard than to go through her summoning condition.

"For the fourth time, appear, the circuit of life!" The usual mirror-shaped circuit with the flowers appeared before me. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more WATER Effect monsters. I set BrioGear Lotaxol and the Link Two, Grand Ranger Serene, in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Three! Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger (ATK: 2300, Link-3)!"

There she was! Wearing her heavy blue armor, with her wings shining like those of an angel. The monster born from the bond formed between me and Aqua; my favorite ace monster!

"I activate Storm Serene's effect! When she's Link Summoned, you must shuffle cards from your field to the deck, equal to the total Link Rating of the Link Monster used as materials! Torrential Tune!" Storm Serene began to hum a soft tune.

"Trap activate! Malware Malfunction!" The card showed Malware Worm, but all of its green lines were replaced with red ones and black sparks were jumping out of its body as it shook violently. "Activate this card by targeting one Link Monster your opponent controls with Link Rating equal to or higher than the Link Monster you control with the highest Link Rating; negate the effects of that monster while its face-up on the field, also it cannot attack, be Tributed, used as Link Material, or be destroyed by either battle or card effect. When that monster leaves the field, destroy this card. If your opponent takes damage: The targeted by this card's effect your lose ATK equal to the damage they took."

Chains shot out of Malware Malfunction and wrapped tightly around Storm Serene's body and mouth, keeping her from singing or moving. She was completely trapped!

Malware Malfunction (Trap Continuous)

Activate this card by targeting one Link Monster your opponent controls with Link Rating equal to or higher than the Link Monster you control with the highest Link Rating; negate the effects of that monster while its face-up on the field, also it cannot attack, be Tributed, used as Link Material, or be destroyed by either battle or card effect. When that monster leaves the field, destroy this card. If your opponent takes damage: The targeted by this card's effect your lose ATK equal to the damage they took. You can only control 1 "Malware Malfunction" at a time.

"The AI predicted what I was about to do." Even without a free will, it was able to predict what I was about to do. "I… end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Bullet's avatar drew for it.

『Turn 3 [Bullet] LP: 4000 Hand: 1』

"Malware Paster's effect: When there is a Link Monster on your field, you can Special Summon this card from your hand to a zone on your field a Link Monster points to." The monster that appeared was cubic in appearance with multiple green lines crossing its body, and all of them ending at a green dot on the four sides of the monster.

Malware Paster

Level: 4/Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Effect

ATK: 0/DEF: 1800

Effect: When there is a Link Monster on your field, you can Special Summon this card from your hand to a zone on your field a Link Monster points to. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can target 1 "Malware" monster in your GY or that's banished; Special Summon it with its effects negated. You can only use each effect of "Malware Paster" once per turn.

I returned the four cards that were in my hand back to the deck and drew two to replace them. At the same time, the second part of Bifrost's effect hit me, inflicting 300 damage for each card that I just drew.

『Proxy LP: 2900 – 300*2 → 2300』

"Malware Malfunction's effect!" The chains around Serene began red and my monster began to thrash around in pain.

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 2300 - 600 → 1700

"Malware Paster's effect: If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can target 1 "Malware" monster in your GY or that's banished; Special Summon it with its effects negated." The only other Malware monster that Bullet currently had was Worm, which raised at the zone Topologic Bifrost pointed to.

"Topologic Bifrost effect: If a monster is Special Summoned to a zone this card points to: Destroy as many of those monsters as possible, also both players return all cards in their hand to the bottom of the deck, then draw one card for every two cards returned by this effect, also, your opponent takes three hundred damage for each card they drew by this effect." The red aura surrounded Worm once more and it exploded while I was forced to shuffle the cards in my hand back into the deck, then draw a single new one.

『Proxy LP: 2300 – 300 → 2000』

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 1700 - 300 → 1400

"Malware Worm's effect: If this card is destroyed by a card effect: Inflict five hundred damage to your opponent." Malware Worm's spirit appeared on the avatar's shoulder and fired a purple beam that hit me in the chest, dropping my Life Points even further.

『Proxy LP: 2000 – 500 → 1500』

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 1400 - 500 → 900

"If you let the AI shuffle the last card, you'll lose," Firera warned me.

"Then I'll activate it!" I declared. "I activate the effect of BrioGear Life Anchor from my hand! If there's a Link Monster on my field, I can discard this card and target one Link Monster in my Graveyard! The Link Monster on my field can't be destroyed by card effects this turn, also I return the Link Monster in my Graveyard back to the Extra Deck and gain two hundred Life Points for each of its Link Rating!"

A bulky monster in blue armor appeared on my field. The creature was wearing a knight helmet and its arms had large metal anchors in place of wrists. The creature fired its anchors inside a portal and began to pull out something.

BrioGear Life Anchor

Level: 3/Attribute: WATER/Type: Cyberse/Effect

ATK: 800/DEF: 800

Effect: If you control a "BrioGear" Link Monster (Quick Effect): You can discard this card from your hand and target 1 WATER Link Monster in your GY; Link Monsters on your field cannot be destroyed by card effects for the rest of this turn, also, return that Link Monster to the Extra Deck, and if you do, gain LP equal to that monster's Link Rating x 200. If you control at least 2 "oGear" monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your GY, but banish it if it leaves the field.

"I return Damsel Fish back to my Extra Deck and gain two hundred Life Points." I slapped the Link Monster back to my Extra Deck and Life Anchor disappeared from my field.

『Proxy LP: 1500 + 200 → 1700』

"Malware Construction's effect: If a Cyberse monster you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card." Bullet drew a new card from its deck. "Topologic Bifrost, attackStorm Serene the BrioGear Ranger."

The Topologic's eyes glowed and it charged forward, swinging its claws at my monster. Though she wasn't destroyed from the attack, Storm Serene screamed in pain as the claws tore through her armor and cut off one of her wings, leaving her too damaged to fight anymore.

『Proxy LP: 1700 – 1600 → 100』

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 900 - 1600 → 0

"Proxy, are you ok!?" Aqua called out toward me.

"I've been better," I admitted.

"That Topologic monster hits hard," Firera told me. "Our Life Points were already dropped to just a hundred."

"Card set. Turn end." Bullet finished.

Serene's attack is already zero and so is my hand. Can't believe that I would have to hope for a miracle on just my second turn, but against an AI-based after the leader of the Knights of Hanoi, a miracle might be my only chance to survive.

"My turn, draw!"

『Turn 4 [Proxy] LP: 100 Hand: 1』

"I activate BrioGear Ascending! Since there are no monsters in my Main Monster Zone, this card allows me to target Pale Crawfish in my Graveyard, gain Life Points equal to its attack, and then return it to my hand."

『Proxy LP: 100 + 700 → 800』

BrioGear Ascending (Spell) Normal

If you control no monsters in your Main Monster Zones, target 1 "BrioGear" monster in your GY, gain LP equal to its ATK, and if you do, add it to your hand. If this card is in your GY, you can discard 1 "oGear" card from your hand; add this card to your hand. You can only use each effect of "BrioGear Ascending" once per turn.

"I Normal Summon BrioGear Pale Crawfish (Lv.2, ATK: 700) and activate its effect to add another copy of it to my hand. Come forth, the circuit of life!" I shouldn't forget, Storm Serene couldn't be used as Link Material, so I needed to use more devious methods to get out the monster I needed.

"Damsel Fish' effect activates! I add BrioGear Symbol from my deck to the hand!" the card popped out of my Duel Disk and I took it.

BrioGear Symbol (Spell) Quick-Play

Add 1 "BrioGear" monster from your Deck to the hand, then discard 1 card from your hand. If this card is in your GY, you can discard 1 "oGear" card from your hand; add this card to your hand. You can only use each effect of "BrioGear Symbol" once per turn.

"I activate BrioGear Symbol's effect to add BrioGear Leviathan Dragon from the deck to my hand, and then I discard it." Now, I could use its power from the grave, but before that… "I activate Life Anchor's second effect to revive it since there are at least two oGear monsters on my field."

"And again!" Firera pumped her fist forward.

"Come forth, the circuit of life!" my circuit opened over the field. "Arrowheads confirmed. Summoning requirements are two BrioGear monsters! I set BrioGear Damsel Fish and BrioGear Life Anchor in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link Two, BrioGear Enhance Mermail (ATK: 1700, Link-2)!"

"Because of Storm Serene's Link Markers,' we are unable to place a monster directly over Elemental Lords of Gear." Aqua frowned.

"It doesn't matter," I told her. "I banish BrioGear Lotaxol and BrioGear Damsel Fish from my Graveyard to revive BrioGear Leviathan Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2600)! Then I activate Leviathan's effect to Special Summon BrioGear Pale Crawfish (Lv.2, DEF: 600) and I activate Pale Crawfish's effect to add another copy of it to my hand!"

"Let's battle! I attack Topologic Bifrost with Leviathan Dragon and activate the effect of Pale Crawfish from my hand! By discarding it, I increase the attack of all my monsters by six hundred until the end of this turn!"

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 0 + 600 → 600

BrioGear Leviathan Dragon, ATK: 2600 + 600 → 3200

BrioGear Enhance Mermail, ATK: 1700 + 600 → 2300

BrioGear Pale Crawfish, ATK: 700 + 600 → 1300

My Leviathan opened its mouth and fired a beam of water that went through Topologic Bifrost's body like a knife through paper, destroying the annoying Link Monster.

『Bullet LP: 4000 – 700 → 3300』

"And next, I'll attack with Enhance Mermail." My second Link 2 monster raised its arms forward and summoned a bubble of water. "I activate Enhance Mermail's effect to halve Leviathan Dragon's attack and give the lost attack to Enhance Mermail."

BrioGear Leviathan Dragon, ATK: 3200/2 → 1600

BrioGear Enhance Mermail, ATK: 2300 + 1600 → 3900

"Trap Activate – Malware Reboot." A card showing a kid running from his computer which had a green screen with multiple warning signs on it appeared on Bullet's field. "When a Link Monster your opponent controls declare an attack: Halve the battle damage you take, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Link Monster from your GY, but destroy it during the End Phase."

The spirit of Topologic Bifrost appeared in front of Bullet, trying to block Enhance Mermail's attack, but it went through, creating a large explosion on the fake Ignis' field.

『Bullet LP: 3300 – 1450 → 1850』

Malware Reboot (Trap) Normal

When a Link Monster your opponent controls declare an attack: Halve the battle damage you take, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Link Monster from your GY, but destroy it during the End Phase.

After the smoke cleared, Topologic Bifrost was standing on Bullet's field once again, ready to take the next attack. But there wasn't going to be another attack. With Strom Serene unable to attack and Pale Crawfish in Defense Position, my Battle Phase was complete.

"This one is stubborn," Firera said. "I suggest you use Symbol to prepare for the next turn."

"I discard the second Crawfish in my hand to return BrioGear Symbol back to my hand and then I set it on my field." The card appeared at my feet for a moment before it disappeared completely.

"Malware Reboot's effect: Topologic Bifrost destroyed." The Link Monster shattered into pieces. "Malware Construction's effect: If a Cyberse monster you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card."

At least the Topologic was now officially dead, but I wonder why I felt that this wasn't the worst that the AI had to throw at me.

"At the end of this turn, the attack of all my monsters return to normal," I said as the attack of most oGears dropped, while Leviathan's raised.

Storm Serene the BrioGear Ranger, ATK: 600 - 600 → 600

BrioGear Leviathan Dragon, ATK: 1600 → 2600

BrioGear Enhance Mermail, ATK: 3900 → 1700

BrioGear Pale Crawfish, ATK: 1300 - 600 → 700

"My turn. Draw."

『Turn 5 [Bullet] LP: 4000 Hand: 2』

"Spell Activate – Malware Programming: Target one Cyberse monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target but its effects are negated." A portal opened and Topologic Bifrost raised from it once more.

Malware Programming (Spell) Normal

Target one Cyberse monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target but its effects are negated. If this card is in your GY, except during the turn it was sent there: You can destroy 1 monster you control, Set this card to your side of the field, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only activate 1 "Malware Programming" per turn.

"I Normal SummonMalware Worm (Lv.1, ATK: 0)." Uh, the second one of those appeared.

"Link Summoning: Opening circuit." Bullet raised its arms and a square opened in the middle of the field. "Summoning conditions: Two or more Effect Monsters. Set Malware Worm and Link Three Topologic Bifrost. Link Summon! Topologic Blackmal Dragon!"

A black dragon monster with bright green lines appeared on the field. The creature had a bulky body but was missing any arms. Instead, it had large nozzles covering its chest with green energy glowing from inside of them. Its stomach was open with jaws coming out of it and instead of legs, it had two long tails that raised behind it in an infinity symbol. Two long yellow blades were jutting out of its shoulders and its head had three small blades on its forehead resembling a crown, with a green eye glowing underneath it.

Topologic Blackmal Dragon

Attribute: DARK/Type: Cyberse/Link/Effect

Link Arrows: Top Left, Top, Top Right, Bottom

ATK: 3000/Link-4

2+ Effect Monsters

Effect: If another monster(s) is Special Summoned to a zone a Link Monster points to, while this monster is on the field: Destroy that monster(s), then banish all monsters from both players' GYs, and if you do, inflict 100 damage to your opponent for each of their monsters banished by this effect, also reduce the ATK of all monsters they control by that amount until the end of this turn. You cannot attack your opponent directly during the turn this effect is activated.

"I activate BrioGear Symbol to add BrioGear Cryo Raptor to my hand and then discard it!" The card popped out of my deck and I sent it directly to the graveyard. "Then, Cryo Raptor's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon one Level Two or lower BrioGear from my deck. I choose BrioGear Enchant Siren."

The monster was very close to Enhance Mermail in appearance. It was a little girl-like monster with light pink skin and short aqua green hair. Her pupils were dark blue. She had golden armor on her arms and chest with pinkish fish scales covering the part of her skin that remained exposed, mostly her shoulders and neck, which had fish gills on the sides. A belt made from purple crystals decorated her waist.

BrioGear Enchant Siren

Level: 1/Attribute: WATER/Type: Cyberse/Effect

ATK: 0/DEF: 1500

Effect: If a card is discarded from your hand, you can Special Summon this card from your hand (even if it wasn't there when the effect activated). If a Link Monster activated its effect, you can send 1 monster you control to the GY, and target 1 Link Monster in your GY; negate that monster's effects until the end of the turn, then return the targeted card to your Extra Deck and gain LP equal to its Link Rating x 200.

"Malware Construction's effect: If your opponent controls more monsters in their Main Monster Zone that you: Special Summon "Malware" monsters from your GY with different names, in face-up Defense Position, equal to the difference." Two portals opened as Malware Worm and Malware Paster raised to our opponent's field.

"Topologic Blackmal Dragon's effect: If another monster(s) is Special Summoned to a zone a Link Monster points to, while this monster is on the field: Destroy that monster(s), then banish all monsters from both players' GYs, and if you do, inflict 100 damage to your opponent for each of their monsters banished by this effect, also reduce the ATK of all monsters they control by that amount until the end of this turn." Topologic roared and swung its tail, aiming to crush the Malware Worm behind it. If the effects of these two went off, I would lose for sure!

"I activate Enchant Siren's effect!" I had to negate the effect before it could go off. "I send Storm Serene to the Graveyard and return Grand Ranger Serene to my Extra Deck in order to negate your Topologic's effect until the end of this turn and gain two hundred Life Points per Siren's Link Marker."

『Proxy LP: 800 + 200*2 → 1200』

"Malware Malfunction's effect: When that monster leaves the field, destroy this card." The trap shattered now that Storm Serene was no longer there. "Malware Multiplication's effect: If this card is in your GY, except during the turn it was sent there: You can destroy 1 Cyberse monster you control, Set this card on your side of the field, but banish it when it leaves the field."

Malware Worm exploded and the Spell Card appeared on Bullet's field once more, setting itself face-down.

『Proxy LP: 1200 - 500 → 700』

Malware Construction's effect: If a Cyberse monster you control is destroyed by a card effect, you can draw 1 card." Bullet drew another card. "Activate Continuous Spell – Malware Transfer: Once per turn, if you control a Link Monster, you can target 1 Malware monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it next to that monster's Link Marking on either player's side of the field."

The card showed a shadowy figure sitting at a computer grinning as it sent an email to a list that was unreadable but was most likely a list of users that the figure had targeted.

Malware Transfer (Spell) Continuous

Once per turn, if you control a Link Monster, you can target 1 Malware monster in your Graveyard: Special Summon it next to that monster's Link Marking on either player's side of the field. Cyberse monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. You can only control 1 "Malware Transfer" at a time.

"Revive, Malware Worm (Lv.1, DEF: 400)." That monster just wasn't going to die, was it? "Activate Malware Multiplication: Destroy 1 face-up Cyberse monster on your field. Special Summon two Malware Tokens (Lv.1, ATK: 0)!" Worm exploded, again, and two tokens took its place.

"Battle!" Bullet called gestured toward my field. "Topologic Blackmal Dragon attack BrioGear Leviathan Dragon."

The nozzles on Blackmal's body glowed brightly and each of them unleashed a green laser beam. All of the attacks, no matter in what direction they were fired, aimed toward my dragon and stabbed it like nails. Leviathan Dragon cried out before it exploded into a cloud of pixels.

『Proxy LP: 700 - 400 → 300』

"We were able to somehow survive, again," I muttered.

"These Topologic monsters are powerful if you let their effects to be activated," Aqua told me.

"I know." I had to be careful, if another Topologic's effect went through, I would be a goner.

"Turn end," Bullet said.

"The elements for our winning combination have already gathered on our field." Firera looked back at me. "You know what to do, Proxy!"

"Yeah," I saw it too. With the monsters, I have gathered on my field… "This is the last turn, draw!"

『Turn 6 [Proxy] LP: 300 Hand: 1』

BrioGear Wave Crusade, what perfect timing to show up. I looked at Bullet's field. He had cards protecting his Topologic from destruction and targeting, so I wouldn't use any of those.

"Appear, the circuit of life!" the large mirror-like circuit appeared before me. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters! I set the Link Two Enhance Mermaid, along with BrioGear Pale Crawfish and BrioGear Enchant Siren. Link Summon! Firera, Firmware Cyberse Dragon (ATK: 2800, Link-4)!"

"Topologic needs the Link Monster to be summoned next to a Link Marker to trigger the effect, but no Link Markers point toward the Extra Monster Zone," Aqua stated the obvious fact.

"End this, Firera! Attack Topologic Blackmal Dragon!" I declared. "And now I activate Firera's effect, discarding Wave Crusader from my hand to reduce Blackmal Dragon's attack power to zero and negate its effects! Frost Obey!"

Firera opened her jaw and fired a blue beam that engulfed Topologic Blackmal Dragon, trapping him inside a cage of ice.

Topologic Blackmal Dragon, ATK: 3000 → 0

Bullet didn't say anything as it watched its monster freezing. I just didn't care, because it didn't have the will to care.

"Subzero Flare!"

Firera slammed her blade-like arms together while her tails began to charge with electricity and flew over to the lower pair of wings, which absorbed it. Small holes opened in the dragon's upper wings and they began to emit a white gas that froze everything around the monster, including its arms. The electricity surged through the dragon's body and connected to the arms. Firera roared and threw her blades to the side, creating an 'X' of electricity and the strange freezing gas that flew through Topologic Blackmal Dragon and it exploded.

『Bullet LP: 1850 – 2800 → 0』

『Winner: Proxy』

The avatar that Bullet used in order to duel be broke apart and the fake Ignis fell on the ground, its eyes turning black as it deactivated. I looked down at Aqua and Firera, both of which watched the scene in front of us unaffected. They truly didn't think of Bullet as one of them, did they?

"Even if it wasn't created the usual way, for Dr. Kogami to base an Ignis on his son," I walked past Bullet and continued on my way toward the control room. "That's twisted."

"I have heard that people could do awful things if they're desperate," Firera commented. "He put all of his faith in this Tower, of course, he would also create a guardian to protect it if Revolver failed."

"Yeah, but fate betrayed him once more." Even that last guardian of Dr. Kogami's failed.

"I wouldn't agree with that."

"Revolver…" I muttered, knowing that there could be only one person who would know their way around inside the Tower.

"My father warned me about an intruder." Revolver walked out of the shadow and looked at the fallen pseudo-Ignis for a moment before turning his attention toward me. "You've reached far, but I won't let you reach any farther. Your destiny will end here!"

That took a very short time to write despite how long it is. I'm only not sure about the Topologics' names because didn't completely understand their naming, though I understood that Gumblar and Bomber stand for different types of software malware, so I choose to use that for both the Link-3 and the Link-4 Topologic monsters that appeared in this chapter. Also, now watch Revolver go into a Data Storm and pull a new Topologic after I gave them a backstory on how they were created... Just...

I have to say, I was disappointed that in the VRAINS anime Kogami didn't use Revolver to create an Ignis. Given that he was willing to use him in order to kidnap the children and then gave him the task to kill the Ignis, I expected Kogami to not be shy about torturing his own child. Of course, as explained above, Bullet wasn't created the same way as the other Ignis, so no, Kogami didn't do it here either. Sadly.

But the good news is that the fight for the Tower of Hanoi will end in the next chapter with a duel between Revolver, Roxy and Playmaker! And this entire first season will end with Chapter 41. I can finally see the end of this first season. I can almost smell it, touch it... lick it!

Thanks to SoulMatter and WriterWorks for following this story and thanks to nerostar12 for the Follow and Favorite.

Also, thanks to everyone for checking this story and I'll see you next time, when the war will finally come to an end and a grave silence will fill the network...

Bye, Bye!

Diabolic Tracer out!