(XYZ Dimension)

"Show no mercy! Make them pay, Rise Falcon!" Shun's voice cut through the air with an unbridled fury, his falcon tore through the three mechanical dogs that were primed against him by three Obelisk Force goons, defeating them in one swift blow. Scraps of metal flew in the wind as did the duelists owning them, Rise Falcon savagely slashing their bodies and sending them careening into a nearby building.

Shun stormed towards one of the fallen soldiers and picked them up by the throat, shoving them violently into the air as his pupils diluted into an almost murderous rage "Take me there! Take me to Ruri! I know that you know where she is! You have no excuse!" His duel against Reisuke was just the tip of the iceberg. The Raidraptor duelist had been seething ever since, watching your sister being kidnapped right in front of you is something in normal cases that would be traumatising, however, with the things that Shun had already lost, Ruri was the final straw.

Yuto could prattle on all he wanted about some worthless thing known as mercy. These bastards deserved nothing. They deserved hell.

He slammed the Obelisk Force goon to the ground and placed his duel disk on their neck. Time to see if this new technology was going to work or not. "Meet your maker…"

But just as he went to deliver the death knell, he felt something wrestle his arm back, letting the goon scamper away, much to Shun's ever growing dismay. Angrily, he snapped round to see the asshole who had prevented him from his much needed vengeance.

"Shun, what do you think you're doing?!" Unsurprisingly it was Yuto who was the one to wrench his arm away "If you do that then we're no better than them!"

Violently, Shun ripped is arm from Yuto's grip "They started it! I've got every right to want to make them pay for what they did! Have you already forgotten what they've done? How can't you be angry?"

Yuto fixed Shun with a hard glare "I never said I wasn't angry, Shun. I'm just as angry as you are, but we can't go in blinded by rage and hatred. If we do that, then we are no better than those we call evil. If you stare long enough into the abyss, the abyss will eventually stare back into you."

"Tch." Shun scowled, not really happy but he couldn't find a fault in Yuto's argument.

"What would Ruri think of you doing this? Would she condone these actions?" Yuto was certain that he had Shun on this point. He wouldn't argue anymore.

And that he did not as he begrudgingly rubbed his arm and bit in his cheek "Forgive me, Ruri…"

"Now." Yuto declared sternly "It's time to head back to base, the others sent me out to find you and they're getting worried." Shun didn't complain and feel into lockstep behind Yuto, but one prevailing thought stood at the forefront of his mind.

'Ruri… If it's the last thing I do, I will make sure you're saved.'

As they were walking away, a call came through on Yuto's duel disk which he answered swiftly, revealing a rather pissed off looking black haired 18 year old girl with thick tadpole like eyebrows "Yuto! Have you found Overprotective Brother Unit 1 yet?!"

Shun grumbled and Yuto laughed internally at that name, it was good to know that he hadn't forgotten what joy was just yet "Yes. I found him, you guys don't need to worry anymore."

The girl seemingly calmed down a bit but still kept a sour look on her face "What about him? Have there been any sightings?"

Yuto sighed, her fixation on that one guy was going to be her downfall someday "No. Just like those other two, he's too hard to pin down in one particular spot."

That revelation didn't seem to help the case of the annoyed girl "Fine, get back to base, and then I'll go out to find that bastard myself." And with that, the call went dead and Yuto sighed heavily as the two of them began the long trek back.

However, unbeknownst to either Resistance duelist, one of the goons was stalking silently behind him, with a maddening expression exposed by the crack in his mask. "Hehehehe, you should've taken me when you had the chance!"

But just as he was about to strike, a gloved hand shot out and pulled him into an alleyway with a yelp.

"Shush…" Came a very clam, very polite and sweet male voice accompanied by a finger to his lips "I don't like it when the livestock screams and struggles, it gets awful messy." From the corner of his eyes, he could see two sharp incisors protruding out of the male's upper lip. There was only one person in the dimension that those in Academia knew had that genetic quirk and from the white cloak the person was draped in, he knew that he was in deep shit.

He felt something warm drip down his neck "The chains of our fates have been entangled, karma is gone, have you realised yet?" That warm substance continued to flow down his back, more of it pouring through by the second "We've been put into a game of survival, and I don't intend to let anyone stop me."

The goon couldn't reply, he was still too distracted by whatever was leaking through his uniform. Then. He saw it.

Good lord did he see what was happening.

Blood… That was blood… And there was only one place it was coming from…

He'd neglected to look at his attacker, but now he did all in his power to wrench his gaze to the mystery assaulter.

If it weren't for all the red gushing out of his lips and the deep blood red of his eyes, he could've passed for a ghost with how white he was.

Widening his mouth to scream, his cry was prevented as the white clad teen threw his mouth just above his, letting the crimson liquid pour in. "I said before, I don't like my livestock screaming or struggling." The teen smirked "Best this ends here…"

A literal blood curdling scream was heard for a second, then there was nothing but silence.

"Tch, where is he?" That voice belonged to the same girl who had been calling Yuto earlier, presently she was searching through the ruined city of Heartland with an unattractive scowl etched onto her features. She was dressed in a pink blouse with a purple undershirt, a tarnished white business suit, and purple tights with black spike high heels and an anklet around her right ankle. Currently, she stomped throughout the city with a look of burning determination in her eyes. "That vampire has to be out here somewhere! Come out and face me like a man!"

"Oh, Misaki-san, you don't want to kick a hornets' nest. Chances are good you'll get stung." Once more, the suave, sickeningly polite voice of the white clad teen made its way into the situation, yet the owner of the voice was yet to make his presence clear.

Misaki sneered, eyes flicking to any possible position where he could come from "Don't speak to me that way, people like you should know your place in this world. The bottom of the barrel is where you belong, just like the pig you really are."

"I'm so hurt you think of me that way, Misaki-san. I didn't realise you thought poorly enough to equate me to livestock." You'd think for someone cloaked in all white, he'd be very easy to spot in the desolate wasteland of the city. Unfortunately for Misaki, it was a lot easier said than done.

"I lost respect for you the moment I laid eyes upon you." Misaki retorted, spitting her words out like the venom of a snake. "What you've done to us would make even the most benevolent person on this planet flip their shit."

"Then I must be doing my job." A voice so sweet and innocent sounding didn't really fit on the person who owned it, who was just beginning to slither his way closer to the hyper aware girl. "Order and balance were born from the minds of mad men with madness hidden inside, why continue on with the charade? Surely you realise that with nothing to tie us down anymore, we can unleash our natural desire."

He was getting close now, Misaki could feel it, that metallic smell was in the air again. It was attached to him like the plague and lingered even longer than the real thing "I don't have time for your games, Tepes, so show yourself!"

"As you wish!" Out of thin air, the white clad teen had appeared and slammed into Misaki like a steamroller. Smashing her arm to her back, letting a sickening crack go out as he started to grin wildly "Is this what you want? Because I'm down for it."

The girl's temper flared and she shot back, kneeing the male in the stomach just as hard "Hiding in the shadows is a cowardly tactic, reserved for only the trash like you." Next was a blow into the face which sent her victim tumbling to the ground with a nasty gash on his face.

Instead of looking pained, he looked oddly exhilarated "I didn't know you could hit that hard, Misaki-san." His saccharine tone didn't leave, even after Misaki had lifted him up by his cloak.

"There's an awful lot of people who'd like to see your head on a spike, Tepes." Misaki stated bluntly, her eyes not once lifting from her opposite number "Sadly, they requested you alive." She said with a contemptuous undertone.

"Haha, surely you know that I won't go that easy." As the hood fell from the cloak, the teen's snow white hair was revealed, it was short and spiky with the sides spiked into his face giving the appearance of two horns. It stood in great contrast to Misaki's straight jet black hair. "Defeat me. Then I will follow your demands. Lose and I'm a free man again."

"If it's the only way you learn your place, then I will gladly defeat you, Mamoru Tepes." At the mention of his name, the teen smirked, revealing his sharp teeth, which when coupled with his other features, including the ridiculously pale skin, made him look almost vampiric.

"Be my guest." Mamoru unfurled his arm and revealed a similarly white duel disk which had a red blade when activated.

Misaki said nothing further as she too activated her disk, which was purple in colour with a violet blade.

"Duel!" Both of them declared simultaneously.

Mamoru's LP: 4000 Misaki's LP: 4000 Cards x5

Turn 1

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I was the one to take the first turn." It made Misaki sick to her stomach every time the ass opened his mouth. Every time he put on some sort of saccharine charade which made him seem pleasant, but deep down it obvious that it was exactly that. A charade. "I'll leave you to take the first turn, Misaki-san." The Not like it matters was left unsaid but clearly understood.

"To start, I activate the Spell Card Call of the Immortal Wyvern!" This card's art depicted the scene of a majestic dragon flying high across the sky roaring, meanwhile on the ground lots of smaller yet still regal looking dragons had just heeded the call to action, join the large one at the back. "This card grants me the ability to add two Divine Wyverns to my hand, so long as the total sum of their attack points is less than 2000!"

The two chosen cards were ejected, but they weren't going to be staying in Misaki's hand for too long "Next, I activate the Spell Wyvern's Imperial Diet!" This one showed a more humanoid looking dragon, sat on an illustrious throne of gems overlooking the other humanoid dragons all carefully queuing up to meet with the supposed Emperor. "By sending two Divine Wyverns in my hand to the graveyard, such as the ones I just added, I can add to my hand one monster whose level is equal to the combined level of the monsters I just sent to the graveyard."

The vampiric teen smirked, perhaps this was finally to be the day? "If I remember correctly. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you've used this exact set up before haven't you? I thought that since your determination to end my life was so great that you'd finally put some effort into a little more creative opening." His smirk grew wider as Misaki's face scrunched up "Then again, it is all the same with the Resistance. I swear that you people run about 10 copies of the each card in your deck."

Misaki wasn't going to take Mamoru's shit. Not anymore. "I don't give a damn what you think, Tepes! So what! So long as I can wipe that smug grin off your face I'll do anything it takes!"

Her tirade was waved off rather condescendingly by Mamoru "Are we here to duel or throw mud at each other? Because I'm here for the former." Once more, it was the pleasant calm tone that he used that really irritated the raven haired girl.

"With that, I now summon Divine Wyvern Lindworm!" The monster that appeared was a long, lanky and most importantly of all, massive red scaled dragon that stood on its two hind legs. It had two sharp blades on its arms and three spikes running down the dragon's face.

Divine Wyvern Lindworm, Level 4, Dragon, DARK, Effect (1200/500)

"When Lindworm is summoned to the field, it automatically calls two of its brethren to the field so long as they inhabit my graveyard and hold less attack points than it currently does! However these cards can't activate their effects or attack." Two cards began to reappear out of Misaki's graveyard and she held them out for Mamoru to look at, taunting him as much as she could "I summon Divine Wyvern Vishap and Divine Wyvern Kulshedra!"

Vishap was a smaller looking dragon when placed in comparison to its other two counterparts. It looked almost serpentine in nature, with snake like eyes, green scales and long forked tongue that would occasionally slip out from time to time.

Kulshedra was the largest out of the three wyverns so far, it also looked far more feminine in appearance when in comparison to the other ones. The scales were blue but there were occasional mismatched streaks of purple and its yellow eyes had somewhat normal pupils. The part that was the most distinctive was the fact that it had multiple heads.

Divine Wyvern Vishap, Level 4, Dragon, WATER, Effect (900/500)

Divine Wyvern Kulshedra, Level 4, Dragon, FIRE, Effect (1100/500)

Misaki smiled smugly at the white haired teen across from her. Even if his face didn't give his game away, she could tell that he was starting to get impatient. His insatiable bloodlust was going to be his downfall. This next move would make that certain "I now overlay my three level 4 Divine Wyverns!" The Xyz portal appeared in the sky above Misaki and her monsters flew towards it "I birth a majestic dragon whose light shines even the darkest nothingness! Xyz summon! Rank 4! Divine Wyvern Kur!"

Onto the field descended the very same monster that had been centre stage of the first card. With golden scales all over its body it stood on two clawed feet and was decently thin around the torso, but that got bigger around the chest area which was emblazoned with two scar like symbols. It had four majestic wings on its back with the top two bigger then lower set, it had razor sharp spikes on its elbows, with a set of sharp claws. Its neck was long and at the end of it, was the head, that had spines that spiked around it, and they were jagged with 4 blood red eyes, two of them were smaller than the other two. It had a tail that split into two at the end with each ending have detailed tip, and all over its body, were tube veins that were coloured purple, red and blue. Circling around it were three green orbs.

Divine Wyvern Kur, Rank 4, Dragon, XYZ, Effect, FIRE (2700/500) OVU'S: 3

"Ah, such a wondrous creature. It always makes me admire you more, Misaki-san." Mamoru cooed, his eyes slitting somewhat as he caught the scent of something wafting over from Misaki's side "Hmm? What's this?" He sniffed the air once more and a smile grew on his lips "You've hurt yourself." The vampiric teen said rather bluntly.

Misaki scoffed, grasping hold of her arm, wincing slightly as she did so. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about, pig, I've done no such thing."

"You say that…" Mamoru leered, licking one of his 'fangs' "But I know you're lying. It doesn't take a genius to realise that someone is in pain, plus I can already smell the blood dripping from that wound in your arm."

The raven haired girl grunted, so what if she had injured her arm in their fight beforehand? That wasn't going to stop her from showing this guy why he shouldn't ever mess with her again "Creep, it doesn't matter if I'm hurt or not, I still have more than enough power to put an end to your little game."

"Now that's an interesting claim. If there's anything that can stop me then I would love to see it." The vampiric teen unbuttoned his cape and let it fall to the ground, revealing the pure white suit and tie he was wearing underneath "When you've been dueling for as long as I have, you sometimes wish for someone to finally stand up to you and make something interesting. It's boring to win all the time, the livestock sent to me is barely enough to satiate my hunger, I'll enjoy your blood the most."

"Gah, don't get ahead of yourself, I set two cards face down and end my turn!" The two cards appeared then vanished as Mamoru looked on with an ever widening grin.

Misaki's cards x1

Turn 2

"Oh, guess it's my turn. I draw." Somehow it was possible for him to get even more annoying to Misaki as he started to shift into a more uncertain and childlike tone "Looks like I'll be summoning Progenitor Baldassare!" The newly christened monster was very much just as vampiric in appearance to its owner. It was wearing a white military jacket with black trim and decorated buttons. It also had black cuffs with white buttons that nearly reached up to its elbows. It wore white gloves and has a thick black belt encircling his waist, with two smaller belts below it forming an X over its posterior and front. It also kept a sword at its left hip.

Progenitor Baldassare, Level 4, Fiend, DARK, Effect (1500/1000)

"Then I'll conjoin it by activating the Field Spell Progenitor Council!" As soon as the card entered his disk, the scene around them quickly warped into a far different setting. Gone was the desolate wasteland of Heartland and in was a far more noble looking setting that was bathed in red light. Screens began to pop up and surround the two of them, unsettling Misaki but incentivising Mamoru to exploit that uncertainty further. "Welcome to my domain." The white haired teen fell back into a throne that had appeared behind him and crossed his legs "From here is where we shall conduct the rest of our duel as for as long as I control at least one Progenitor on the field, this card is immune from card effects and can't be targeted."

"Is that all?" Misaki said mockingly in an attempt to prove that the uneasiness had left her system.

Mamoru titled his head with a sense of childishness to it "Let me think a second…" He placed a finger to his lips and smirked "Ah, that's right! All Progenitors I control gain 200 attack points for each one with a different name that I have in my graveyard. Conversely, all monsters you control will lose 200 attack points for each one. Think of it like a quid pro quo if you will, I get stronger and you get weaker."

Misaki wasn't allowed respite as her opponent continued on with his turn "Next is Baldassare's own effect, when this card is summoned to the field I can add one Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand." He fanned out the selected card and allowed Misaki to gaze upon it, the scene showed two cloaked vampires locked in battle with two opposing humans dressed in black and green military attire "I activate my Equip Spell Progenitor Blade and equip it to my monster!" The vampire took out the sword and Misaki watched as spikes appeared and pierced its hand as the previous silver sheen was replaced by a deep red one as a disgusting slurping sound rang throughout the field.

Misaki had to cover her mouth and use all of her willpower not to vomit her guts up then and there.

"Progenitor Blade's effect is as follows, whenever the monster equipped with this card attacks an opposing monster it gains 600 attack points during the damage step only, the monster it attacks also loses 600 during the following stretch."

"Still not enough, Tepes!" Misaki declared resolutely. This guy had already gotten to her once in the past and she'd be damned if she'd let him repeat history! "Kur holds 2700 attack points, even with the effect of your spell, your monster can only kamikaze itself into mine. You have nothing to gain from it!"

In response, Mamoru simply tutted and wagged his finger condescendingly. Sometimes the livestock could be so simple minded. "If you think that's all you think my deck and I are capable of then you are sorely mistaken." For the first time since meeting him, Misaki felt like she had seen the true personality behind all of the masks he put on "I won't take anyone insulting my deck. It has been in my ancestry since the first Progenitor first stepped foot on this earth over 2000 years ago, ever since then it has been handed down from Progenitor to Progenitor until it ended up in my hands. I'm the 17th Progenitor! And as long as I'm here, it's my duty to show you the power of our history!"

If it was possible to look even less bothered, Misaki still hadn't found a way "Blah blah blah. Can you stop blowing your own trumpet and start actually dueling now?"

Mamoru stuck out his tongue ad lounged across his throne "Sure, sure. Battle, Baldassare attack! Bleeding slash! Remember Blade's effect! My monster gains 600 attack points and yours loses 600!"

Baldassare's ATK: 1500 – 2100

Kur's ATK: 2700 - 2100

Before the vampire could even reach the majestic wyvern Misaki had already swung into action "I activate Kur's effect! By detaching one overlay unit, I summon two Divine Wyverns from my deck but their effects must be negated and their attack is cut to Zero!" One of the orbs flew in and lit a fire in Kur's mouth "I summon two more copies of Divine Wyvern Lindworm!" Kur unleashed the flames and from them came the form of Misaki's remaining Lindworms.

Kur's OVU: 3 – 2

Divine Wyvern Lindworm x2, Level 4, Dragon, DARK, Effect (0/500)

"No matter! Baldassare continue on with your attack!" But Misaki stood smirking, not the least bit concerned as the blade inched ever closer to Kur.

"I activate one of my Traps! The Continuous Trap Divine Wyvern Sacred Ground!" This card showed Kur alongside the more humanoid dragon in the Imperial diet card. The humanoid dragon was carving want seemed to be some cultist symbol into the ground around him while Kur stood in protection of him "This card can only be activated when I control three Divine Wyverns on my field, it prevents my monsters from being destroyed in battle for as long as this card remains on my field!"

Baldassare attempted to cleave through the sea of black flames that Kur had blasted out but was quickly overpowered and incinerated under the heat, vanishing into black dust and the sword landing with its tip stuck into the ground, Mamoru waltzed over with a sway in his hips and calmly lifted it out "When the monster that is equipped with Progenitor's Blade is destroy, the owner of the monster loses life points equal to half the monster's original attack. Drink, my sword." The spikes pierced the vampiric teen's hand and the blood trickled down onto the floor of the field.

Mamoru's LP: 4000 – 3250

"Then Blade's final effect comes into play, the monster that destroyed the Progenitor loses attack points equal to the Progenitor's level x200!" A spiked vine then slithered its way over to Misaki's dragon and proceeded to lodge itself deep within its veins "Don't forget Council's effect too, since Baldassare is now in my graveyard that is an additional 200 points gone." Mamoru added as the sword dissipated from his hand.

Kur's ATK: 2700 – 1700

'He's sucking my monsters dry slowly… 200 points doesn't seem a lot individually but it adds on quickly and before you know it, he's overwhelmed you. Instead of being outright stronger, his monsters swarm the field until your position becomes untenable. I can't let my guard down anymore.' Misaki thought, disgusted about the tactics her opponent was using and how it was affecting her wonderful dragon as the monster was visibly drained of energy.

"Finally, Baldassare's destruction effect kicks in. Since it was destroyed on the turn that it was summoned, I get to replace it with one more Progenitor from my deck, provided that the level is one lower. I summon Progenitor Karayan!" The new vampire that appeared was dressed in a very similar manner to the previous card, although this one chose to forgo the military jacket and was wearing a more formal suit instead.

Progenitor Karayan, Level 3, Fiend, DARK, Effect (900/600)

Karayan's ATK: 900 – 1100

"With that I shall set one card and end my turn." The screen nearest to Misaki sputtered into life and left her face to face with Mamoru's leering glare "Come at me, Misaki-san. I'd love for you to live up to our earlier claim and show me true despair…"

Mamoru's cards x2

Turn 3

"Tepes… You're going to regret ever having opened your god forsaken mouth!" Misaki slashed at the top card of her deck, but cringed as her injury once more acted up on her. Ignoring the exhilarated gaze of the Progenitor "Gah, I activate the Spell Card Wyvern's Ascension!" Standing front and centre of this card was the very same humanoid dragon and in it was the scene of his coronation "When I control two Divine Wyverns with the same name on my field, for this turn alone, one monster I control will gain attack points equal to the total amount of levels currently on the field x300! My two Lindworms are both level 4 and your monster is level 3 that totals 11! Meaning that Kur gains 3300 attack points!" She had made up her mind. Before the more potent effects of the Progenitors took hold, she would end the vampire right here and now with one decisive blow.

Kur's ATK: 1700 – 5000

"Battle! Kur! Attack Karayan and end this duel!" Kur spooled the flames in its mouth and then unleashed what was supposed to be the death knell of the vampiric teen "See you in hell, Tepes!"

However, said white haired teen hadn't lifted a finger, instead choosing to rhythmically tap one of the arms of his throne "You know something, Misaki-san. I always thought highly of you, while your combos are predictable that can be said for any member of the Resistance. No, I thought highly of you for what I discerned was a higher level of intelligence than the common livestock." For the first time, Mamoru rose from the throne "But I guess that when you're right 99% of the time, you're wrong once in a while."

"What on earth are you blabbering on about, Tepes!" Misaki was starting to lose her temper with this guy. His switching personalities was annoying by itself but now directly insulting her was just causing that fire to burn even more ferociously.

"Take dueling like a puzzle. When we first begin all we have is the picture of how the duel is going to unfold while the cards we hold are the pieces we must use to complete it. As more cards are played, the picture starts to become clearer as to who is going to be the first one to complete it." The attack came ever closer as Mamoru continued to pontificate in an extravagant manner "And you see… You're a few pieces short of ever touching me, Misaki-san! This card shall show you way you are simply light years away from my level!"

The face down card flipped up and showed a disturbing scene, a group of twelve young children each wearing white clothes and collars were lying dead in various pools of blood. Meanwhile, a silver haired more aristocratic looking vampire was looking rather pleased with himself, despite the bullet hole in the side of his head, as he walked away from the scene "I activate the Trap 7th Progenitor's Culling! Now… Listen closely." Mamoru walked straight into the line of fine with a look of manic glee etched on his face. "Culling has a few nasty little effects, you see. Let's start from the top! First of all, any damage I receive from this attack is cut in half. Karayan!" He clicked his fingers and within an instant, his monster had responded to the call and had taken the hit instead, leaving only a few flames getting through that at best could only tickle him.

Mamoru's LP: 3250 – 1300

Brushing off some of the ashes from his suit, Mamoru continued "The second effect now! As the name would suggest, the 7th Progenitor would like to do some cleaning up of the livestock. All monsters on the field are now destroyed and we take 200 points of damage for each one that we were the owner of. Since you destroyed Karayan, I have no monsters and this effect will only target you, kehehehehe."

The room darkened and immediately Misaki felt uncomfortable. A lump formed in her throat and she froze in place.

Then. A breath. Then an arm. Then the feeling of cold fangs pressed against her tender flesh.

"I think the 7th is a little hungry." Mamoru drawled "You wouldn't mind if he had a small taste would you." A cold sweat fell down Misaki's back, her mouth stayed locked in place "No? Then I'll take that as a yes…" And with that, the fangs pierced her flesh. She wanted so much to scream. She wanted to yell. But her mouth was refusing to obey the commands given to it.

Misaki's LP: 4000 – 3400

The light came back alongside Misaki collapsing to the floor, she was breathing haggardly and her eyes were trembling as she stared up to see that her proud dragons had vanished from the scene, images of how they went began to haunt her mind. "What the hell was that?" She just about managed to pass the sounds coherently through her lips as a searing pain penetrated her neck.

"You just had a run in with the 7th Progenitor and he found your blood to be delicious." Mamoru replied "It's time for the final effect of Culling and for the 7th Progenitor to make his full appearance. With this last effect, at the cost of dropping my life points down to 100 I can summon the 7th Progenitor to the field and attach Culling as an overlay unit!" The vampiric teen took out the ejected card from his extra deck "Born from the blood of the 2nd Progenitor, meet the current head of the council! Xyz summon! Rank 4! 7th Progenitor: Bathroy!"

Mamoru's new monster was the very same aristocrat that had been present in the vampiric teen's previous trap. It was a slender male with long, silver hair that reached down to his hips, his hair was tied back into a pony tail with a ribbon, he also possessed rather beautiful looks. In either ear were red diamond-shaped earrings. For attire he wore a white cape with a decorative cut over his shoulders and arms which reached down to his waist in the front and down to his upper thighs in the back that had black shoulder details. Finally he wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a decorative cut which had a black line with dark grey rhombi intermittently dispersed along it. A singular red orb floated around him.

7th Progenitor: Bathroy, Rank 4, Fiend, XYZ, Effect, DARK (2300/2000) OVU'S: 1

Bathroy's ATK: 2300 – 2700

Mamoru's LP: 1300 – 100

Misaki's breath hitched as she took in the monster. That monster was here again. How could she have not seen this coming? Better yet, why hadn't she thought of a failsafe?! God, she wanted to punch herself for being such an idiot.

"That shall be all for me." Mamoru said candidly "I believe it's still your turn though, Misaki-san."

"Argh! Shut your fucking mouth, Tepes!" Misaki exploded "Pigs like you are worthless! You don't get to talk and you deserve everyone punishment that I'm going to give you! Screw those orders! I'm taking your head on a pike!"

Mamoru looked amused, trading a brief glance with his monster "Well then, Misaki-san, I'm waiting for that knockout blow to come. Surpass me!"

The raven haired girl took a deep breath, she may have screwed up slightly and let Tepes gain one of his most powerful monsters, but she still had her normal summon and can still turn this around if she pulls this off correct. "I summon Divine Wyvern Luang!" Her new wyvern was small than the others, much smaller, tiny in comparison to the others being no bigger than the orb that was floating around Bathroy.

Divine Wyvern Luang, Level 2, Dragon, FIRE, Effect (500/500)

Luang's ATK: 500 – 100

"I then set one card facedown and end my turn!"

Misaki's cards x1

Mamoru blinked "That it? For that speech you gave I was expecting so much more out of you. How disappointing." He whined like he was a child instead of the 18 year old that he actually was.

'You've got no idea what's coming your way, Tepes. Your cockiness will be your downfall.'

Turn 4

"Well, it looks like we'll just have to finish this duel? Right, great grandfather?" Mamoru clapped his hands and Bathroy nodded, baring his own fangs.

'Great grandfather? Since when?' Misaki was taken aback by that title. He had used that card before against her and never once during that ill forsaken duel did she ever he him refer to his monster like that.

"But first, I'll just complete my puzzle to victory. I activate my second equip card Progenitor's Thirst!" The art depicted a young child being held in the clutches of a black haired vampire who had his fangs pierced deep into the child's skin "I don't think the 7th was satisfied with his earlier taste. In fact, I think he's hooked." True to Mamoru's words, Bathroy's eyes and pupils had shrunk as he began to hiss. "Thirst's effect adds a further 500 attack points to Bathroy's attack permanently until he leaves the field, even if this card were destroyed."

'So it stays on the field even if the monster equipped to it… That means there's something else about that card that he's not telling me.'

Bathroy's ATK: 2700 – 3200

"Time to fight! Bathroy! Vanquish the livestock's pathetic monster! Vampiric Flash!" Upon his master's commands, Bathroy sped off and was soon face to face with the miniature dragon. He reached out his hand and gasped Misaki's wyvern with a crazed look on his face. Then suddenly with the thrust of his arm, he gracefully punctured the dragon's skin and tore it in two. But a charge of energy still remained in the position were Luang had been destroyed.

Misaki's LP: 3400 – 700

Misaki knew what she had to do, this was the time to set her plan into motion "I activate my Trap Wyvern's Sanctuary!" A shining palace in clouds was what could be seen in this card "This card is activated when one of my Wyverns is destroyed by a Xyz monster and I at least took 2000 points of damage as a result of the attack!" Luang's energy began to race back and forth in between the two duelists "As such, all monsters that have an attack lower than the damage I took can be summoned back to the field for this turn only! Resurrect my Wyverns!" The energy stopped flying and stopped in the centre of the council room, it then exploded and eradicated the dark red light of the room, bathing it in a sea of yellow light. The monsters that appeared included two copies of Lindworm, Luang, Vishap and Kulshedra.

"I see." Mamoru said, placing a finger on his forehead in mock thought "You summoned that little Wyvern in an attempt to lure me into causing enough damage so you could activate that card, which I might add you had set since your first turn. Which means you at least had some degree of foresight. However, your card is limited to the difference of damage, which means that none of those cards you've summoned can defeat the 7th." He smirked and licked his fangs once more "But I figure that you aren't quite done just yet."

Misaki smirked triumphantly, the time had come to finally get her revenge "You're right about something for once, Tepes! I activate my other facedown Roar of the Wyvern Emperor!" This card showed both Kur and the humanoid dragon standing back to back, with Kur roaring and the humanoid creature pulling out a sword and charging towards the horde of enemies coming their way. "With this card, at the end of this turn all the monster that I control will be destroyed and we will both take damage equal to the total amount of attack points of all my monsters. That total for your information is 3900 and with no attack it looks like your record is about to become blemished." The smugness coming from Misaki was so thick that not only could one see it but they could also taste it.

But that smugness wasn't to last long "Keheheheh, you really thing that, Misaki-san?" Mamoru said mockingly "Have you already forgotten the 7th's effect? Did I really do such a bad number on you then? Oh well…" He stood back up from the throne and collected his cloak, reconnecting it back onto his person as Misaki's eyes widened from the memory that began to replay in her head and began to superimpose over the current scene "I've had just about enough of you so listen to me, girl! By using one of the 7th's overlay units I can activate his effect!" The room darkened to an even deeper shade of crimson as Bathroy took in the orb in his hand "Whenever monsters are summoned during the battle phase, they must pass a test first! If they hold fewer attack points than the 7th then they aren't worthy enough to be in his presence! Feed, my monster!" Bathroy needed no orders to commence the destruction and he took great pleasure in the beautiful destruction of Misaki's last line of defence.

Misaki watched with shaking eyes as her monsters were torn limb from limb by the aristocratic vampire. It was too much too similar for her and the vomit that she had held in was now spewing onto the ground.

"And now…" Mamoru dramatically threw out his arms, basking in the glorious despair of his suffering opponent "Thirst's final effect! I destroy this card by paying half my remaining life points and with it Bathroy can attack you once more!" Thirst exploded into red particles that fed into the 7th Progenitor as the 17th looked on with bloodlust filled eyes "Drink your fill and end this duel!"

Misaki barely had enough time to regain her sense before Bathroy had her in a death grip around her throat and then sunk his fangs once more into her shoulder, this time round introducing venom to lull the raven haired girl into sleep. Misaki tired her best to wriggle out of the hold or do quite simply anything. But she found her eyes beginning to drop and her mouth began to slack too. Eventually it become too much for her to sustain and she fell into the darkening abyss. Seeing this had occurred, Bathroy dropped the dragonic duelist to floor and vanished alongside the council room.

Misaki's LP: 700 – 0

Mamoru: Win!

The vampiric teen waltzed over to the fallen duelist and knelt down at Misaki's side, running his thumb across her face "Oh, Misaki-san, you've not changed at all since we first met. You're still the same impulsive, snarky, bitch who has a penchant for taking even the tainted seraphs under her wings." He moved his face closer to hers, their lips only inches away "I feel like even in this chaotic situation, you'd be the one voice to advocate for everyone one to be saved, no matter what you had to do. You were always so good at pushing, but you didn't push quite hard enough this time round."

Mamoru proceeded to look his lips with the unconscious girl for a good 15 seconds before pulling back "I wish I could spend so more time with you, but I'm afraid I have to leave you now." Sounds of storming feet began to enter his ears as he turned away

"But I know you'll be coming back for me. That much I know is certain."

(Standard Dimension, Unknown Location)

When compared to all of the other dimensions, the Standard dimension was as its name would suggest, rather standard in its appearance. There was no obscene riches and abject poverty that there was in the diametrically opposed Synchro Dimension. There was no total devastation and the smell of burning ash that belonged to the XYZ dimension and there was no overt control freakery that belonged to the Fusion dimension.

The Standard dimension resided around a major place called Maiami City. It was a standard looking city with a few skyscrapers here in there with one in particular standing above all the rest with 'LEO' emblazoned on the side of it. But just like any place, there was the "dark" side to the city, where all the delinquents and scoundrels would roam about, ready to punish any poor sap who had the misfortune of wandering onto their turf.

"Ignis, attack." The voice of a male spoke in monotonous fashion, directing his monster to finish off his now cowering opponent. The monster he was wielding and had named as Ignis was a rather feminine looking mechanical doll. She was wearing a burgundy dress with a white collar, a purple hat with a golden ring, separate sleeves, and had long arms that reached almost to her leg. Her eyes are blue in color and have irises, making them eerily more human-like, there were also lines running down from both her eyes. She has two big golden rings on each side of her hat. Her hands had sharp, hooked protrusions on her fingertips. Orbiting around her lifeless body were two pinkish red orbs.

Upon her master's command, Ignis sprung into life and swiftly vanished from the scene, leaving the person's delinquent opponent scared shitless "Where'd it go?!"

"Astral finish." The voice replied coolly, not sounding the least bit interested or bothered, almost as if this was a chore he had to go through.

"Ah…Ah…AHHHHHHHH!" The delinquent backed up against the nearby wall with a petrified look in his eyes, his head twitching violently from side to side in a desperate bid to see where the doll was.

Then without warning, a clawed mechanical hand dung into his face and through the holes he could see the lifeless face of the doll staring back at him. "Now, you have but one last option." That was a second voice, which he hadn't heard up until this point, it sounded far more macabre and far less bored "Tell us where the headquarters of a one Reiji Akaba is and we will let you go without any issues."

"L-Look! Why ya asking me?! Everyone here should know where that is!" The punk replied, not really helping his case as with the snap of fingers, Ignis raised him into the air petrifying him even more as he saw his feet dangle above the ground, completely at the mercy of his assailant.

"I'll give you one last chance." The first voice took the lead again "If you point out his headquarters, then Ignis will lay off you and just as my partner said, this will all be resolved peacefully."

Now at his wits end, he pointed with a shaking finger to the LEO skyscraper "H-He should be there…"

"Ignis. Return to me." At her master's command, Ignis retreated back to her master's side, dropping the criminal in the process. "Thank you for your co-operation."

It was then that the first figure stepped out of the dark. He stood at about 6'2 making him seem like a giant to the belittled criminal. For clothing he was wearing a tattered black dress shirt that was torn near the bottom and the arms, down both of his arms there were multiple black tattoos which look took several different forms, with one looking like a knight and another looked to be like a huge dragon. He also wore ripped grey trousers and black combat boots with golden trims. Around his neck was a pendant with a red crystal in the middle surrounded by a blue trident like design. In terms of physical appearance his hair was light blond, long and somewhat spiky with it tied back by a red scarf. Finally he wore a black mask and goggles making it impossible to tell his identity. Attached to his right arm was an oddly designed duel disk that was burgundy in colour, the same colour that belonged to the monster behind him.

"Now, vanish." Within a purple flash, where once was a person was now a single card, which the blond haired individual picked up casually.

'Let's see how you hope to handle this one, Akaba.'

A/N: And the third chapter has been completed. I wanted to get this out earlier but I got sick and couldn't work on it as much as I liked too.

Anyway, onto the reviews from the previous chapter!

Green Phantom Queen: I'm really glad you liked the previous chapter, it was one that I did enjoy working on when I posted the story originally and to go back and revise it so people could actually read it was fun too. Maybe you'll like this one too. Sakura is an oddball, I tell you that much, she's got quite a few tricks up her sleeve and those will be revealed in good time.

Jalen Johnson: Yep, Rin's vanished and literally no one knows where she is, it's going to be fun when you get to see where she actually is. And, the next chapter for sure will be Yuri's side of things, I can make a promise on that side of things.

BladeBlaster: Aru and Yugo are fated to be together. I'm going to leave it at that.

ThePLOThand: To be honest, I didn't even realise that. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter anyway.

Now it's time for the QOTC: This chapter saw the arrival of the 17th Progenitor, Mamoru Tepes. What do you think his role in the future is going to be? How will he affect the situation with his presence?

With that done, I'll see you next chapter where I swear I'll get to Yuri!