NOTE: Welcome back to another chapter! Sorry, this took so long to write, but I hope that you guys find this chapter enjoyable and suspenseful.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 24: Reduced to Ashes…
Ibuki gritted his teeth as the waves of imaginary flames surged around their fight table. The pressure from the heat caused him to clutch his own chest as he struggled to regain his own breath. His corrupted purple Psyqualia glared hatefully at Kai.
Toshiki Kai's anger fueled the flames burning around them, his resolve growing by the minute. "Ibuki, I'm going to incinerate every last piece of Deletors! I'll show you the power of Vanguard!" Kai declared.
"Then show me the strength of your Vanguard, Kai!" Ibuki spat.
"So be it," Kai responded, resolutely. "Call! Perdition Dragon, Dragonic Neoflame(G2/9000)!" Kai slapped the card down onto the table,
"With support from Malikoh, Menace laser attacks your Vanguard!"
"No guard! Damage check(Critical trigger)! All effects to my Vanguard!"
"With support from Dracokid, my Legion attacks!" Kai declared, the dragons flying towards the Deletor Vanguard.
"Guard(30,000)!"
"Twin Drive Check(No trigger/Draw Trigger)! I give the power to Neoflame!" Kai powered up his rearguard instead. He paid no mind to his Legion's attack being blocked by Ibuki's guard.
"Neoflame attacks Iggy!"
"No guard," Ibuki shrugged. He didn't see the harm in allowing his rear guard to be taken out.
Kai smirked in satisfaction. "Neoflame's skill activates. Counterblast(1) and the rearguard behind the retired unit are also retired!"
"What!? Tsk!" Ibuki placed Boroh into the drop zone.
"Turn End," Kai finished.
[Ibuki Kouji: Hand: 2/Damage: 4] [Toshiki Kai: Hand: 6/Damage: 3]
"Stand and Draw," Ibuki growled at his lack of resources at the moment. Kai had emptied his field enough and had built up enough resources to tank any of his attacks. The most frustrating part was the lack of communication he was getting from Oksizz. The Vanguard he had bonded with had explicitly told him not to use him yet, but that only left further questions in his head. "I need your power at a time like this? What the hell are you planning?"
"Call! Juxtapose Deletor, Gaele(G2/9000) and Bloating Deletor, Gio(G2/10,000)!" Ibuki placed all but one card onto the board. Leaving his hand with only one card left.
"Gaele attacks Neoflame!" Ibuki targeted the centipede.
"No guard," Kai allowed the attack to pass.
"Lourelou attacks your Legion! When he attacks a Vanguard, he gets +3000 power!" Ibuki declared as his Vanguard charged in.
"Guard(21,000)!"
"Twin Drive Check(Draw trigger/Critical Trigger)! I give all the effects to Gio!" Ibuki passed the power on, letting his Vanguard's attack be guarded.
"Gio attacks your Vanguard!" Ibuki shouted.
"Perfect Guard!" Kai stopped the attack cold without blinking. Ibuki continued to grind his teeth in pure anger at Kai's presentence.
"Turn End," Ibuki said, reluctantly.
"Stand and Draw! Ibuki, you said you wanted me to show you, my Vanguard. I'll show you the power of my image that years of Vanguard has created! FINAL TURN!" Kai declared, fiercely.
"Kai…" Ibuki seethed with pure animosity.
"I'll activate my Legion's skill! By dropping a duplicate of Vortex Dragonewt into my drop zone and counterblast (2) I can retire two of your rearguards! And if your damage is four or less, then your Vanguard also becomes a target!" Kai announced. The flames dancing around the turn began to grow in intensity due to Kai's actions.
"Target my Vanguard...that's three attacks!" Ibuki realized.
Kai placed a hand in front of his face, his eyes closed. "Reduce that savage soul to ash with your swirling purgatorial flames!" His eyes shot open, the crimson color of his Psyqualia burning brilliantly. "Trinity Crimson Flame!"
The Legion of Dragons roared proudly as the swirling inferno of fire erupted like a volcano. Three fireballs crashed down onto Ibuki's field without prejudice. Both of his front row rearguards screamed in agony as the flames melted them away into ash. The last fireball was larger and stronger than the other two prior. It nailed Ibuki's vanguard head-on, burning him without mercy.
"GYAAAAHHHH!" Ibuki could feel the crimson flames burning him alive, as if he would become a charred black corpse due to the immense heat. He gripped the table to keep himself on his feet. The winds that were blowing from Kai's attack knocked a card off of her deck and it floated towards the damage zone. Ibuki grinned at the sight. "H-Heal Trigger-"
"Legion's skill activates once more! All trigger effects are nullified!" Kai declared as Ibuki's grin disappeared instantly.
"D-Damn you...KAI!" Ibuki screamed.
"Ibuki, you brought this upon yourself when you decided to attack my friends. "Maleikoh supports Menace's attack!" Kai pointed at his opponent.
"G-Guard(20,000)!"
Kai was unbothered by the guarding, because his Psyqualia showed him everything he needed to see. He could already see his Purgatorial Dragons encasing Ibuki's entire forces in a bath of crimson flames. This fight will end with his victory.
"Ibuki, this attack will reduce your Deletors to ashes! With support from Dracokid, my Legion attacks!" Kai declared the final move.
Ibuki was breathing heavily as he stared down at his hand and realized that he had two Grade 3's in his hand. He couldn't guard with that, there was nothing he could do. "...No guard…"
"Twin Drive(No trigger/Critical Trigger). All effects to my Legion," Kai didn't even need to shout it out this time. He just allowed his Legion to power up with the effects of the critical. The Dragons both unleashed a massive wave of fire from their mouths, launching both attacks directly at Ibuki's forces.
The Vanguard of Deletors could only stare at the approaching attack with struggling emotions. "Is this really it? Was all of that pain truly pointless!?" He glared hatefully at Kai as the heat continued to increase due the Purgatorial Flames getting closer.
"...all your fault…" He muttered, quietly.
"Vanguard is a game where the player's image explodes to life!"
"Of course, I find Vanguard fun! It's a game that brings joy and connects everyone's hearts together!"
"I'll save you Ibuki. I'll show you the image that you showed Miwa and I all those years ago."
"I've been dreaming of this moment since I gained Deletors. The day that I delete Toshiki Kai."
"Ibuki, I'm going to incinerate every last piece of Deletors! I'll show you the power of Vanguard!"
"Vanguard is so much fun! The different cards keep stirring up all these images inside my mind!"
"Thanks for introducing us to Vanguard, Ibuki."
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Ibuki roared at the top of his lungs as the flames finally hit their destination, turning everything to ash.
Misaki sprinted as fast as she could down the sidewalk, hoping that she could get to the park in time before anything bad could happen. She was so caught up in her destination that she didn't notice the bump and tripped over it.
The lilac fell to the ground, breathing heavily from all of her running. Crawling onto her feet, Misaki felt something crack. Reaching into her skirt pocket, Misaki looked down on her phone to see that the screen was cracked.
Turning it on to see if it worked, the screen opened up to her screensaver. It was of Team Q4 after they had won the Nationals, Miwa having dragged Kai over into the frame to join in, even though he didn't participate in it towards the end.
The crack on the screen had gone down the middle of Aichi. It separated Kai from her and Kamui who were on the other side of the blueberry. She was confused for a moment as she stared at her screen.
Only for a moment, because something inside of her started screaming to get moving.
Danger was near.
Chrono Shindou stared down at his deck, wondering why the little dragon was making him stay within the wall of flames. He looked over to Shion, who was still unconscious. "When are you going to wake up?" He asked.
Shion couldn't answer, but he did stir a bit at the sound of Chrono's voice.
"Chrono!"
Turning back to the wall of fire surrounding them, Chrono climbed back to his feet. He heard his name being called and walked towards the fire. That voice sounded familiar to him, but he wasn't sure what it was.
"Chrono! It's me!"
"Wait...Mikuru?" He asked, recognizing the voice of his aunt.
"Yes, it's me, Chrono. Jeez! I can't believe you couldn't recognize my voice!"
He could feel his aunt's usual playfulness and smiled wistfully. "Where are you, Mikuru?" He asked.
"I'm just right behind this fire, Chrono. Just walk on through and we'll be together again!"
"Through...the fire?" Chrono was actually confused on what to do. The little dragon had told him not to walk through the flames, but his aunt was outside. But, that didn't make much sense, his aunt had disappeared like all those other people. Maybe, while he was stuck in here, she had come back. That she was there?
Reaching towards the wall of flames, Chrono's fingers brushed against the crimson sea. Without missing a beat the fire dissipated, revealing the park to his sight once more. "Mikuru?"
"Thank you, Chrono. For giving me your power!"
Chrono's eyes widened in horror as he felt the poisonous aura overload his senses. The boy realized his blunder too late as the black and purple mist wrapped around his body without wasting a second.
Chrono struggled to breathe as the monster enveloped him in darkness. "I-I... can't breathe…" He clawed at the air, his fingers brushing the dark mist softly.
"Mine! It's ALL MINE! KOUJI IBUKI!"
Chrono felt a strong tugging in the core of his body, as if something was trying to tear him apart. "It hurts! It hurts! Stop! Stop! STOP IT!" Chrono cried as the mist continued to tear something out of him.
SNAP!
"THAT POWER IS MINE!" Okiszz roared as he successfully tore the core out of Chrono. The energy that had begun surfing around the mist began to blacken in color as if it was being infected by a virus.
Chrono fell to the ground, all of the light in his eyes was completely dead. The boy's breathing was ragged as he laid on the ground. The light of his deck continued to flicker in and out until finally giving out.
The black mist that was Okiszz abandoned the boy without any care and darted across the ground to get back to Ibuki. He could feel Ibuki's emotions deepen further and further towards hatred and the Deletor Vanguard laughed sinisterly as he heard Ibuki's next words.
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"Perfect."
"And that's the end, Ibuki," Kai said, with finality in his voice. The Kagero user waited for the dust to clear, to see the sixth damage land in Ibuki's damage zone. He stood there for two whole minutes, but nothing ever came. There was no cry of anguish or signs of movement from the other side.
Concern started the swell up inside of his chest. "Ibuki, are you alright?" He asked into the cloud of smoke, but suddenly something started to glow from the other side.
Two somethings were glowing brightly.
"No...that's not possible..." Kai's horror was replicated by his Vanguard. He could feel Dragonic Overlord's emotions through their bond.
(In time, the birds will cease their chirping
In time, the winds will overflow with deceit)
On the other side of the table, Ibuki was still standing, two heal triggers were glowing in his hands. The Deletor's Psyqualia was bustling with energy as he glared coldly at Kai. "Heal Triggers!" He declared, surviving the game ending attack.
"H-How, HOW IBUKI!?" Kai demanded an answer.
Ibuki didn't answer immediately, he stared at his own hands for a moment, surprised by this development as well. But, something in his mind was telling him that this was correct. That the event that just transpired was the correct outcome. He looked into his hand and could feel Okiszz spirit flowing into him, stronger than it ever was before. Fueling the hatred embedded deep within his heart.
"My hatred," He whispered.
"What?" Kai asked.
(In time, the flowers will hide their buds
In time, the moon will forget its cycle)
Ibuki formed a fist with his free hand. "My hatred, Kai. If your bond with Vanguard is what gives you strength to keep surpassing your limitations. Then, my hatred for Vanguard is what allows me to break past mine," Ibuki explained.
"Stand and Draw," He initiated his turn without waiting for Kai to announce his was over, though it basically was. As he picked the card he desired, his Psyqualia saw a space-like gateway in front of him. Kouji Ibuki reached out for it and felt the new development of energy race over him.
(In time, the sky will be captured by the night
In time, the sea will freeze over)
"Liberation Zone...Release…" Ibuki whispered as he dropped Okiszz into the drop zone. His drop zone didn't glow a bright rainbow-like color; it exploded into a mass of black energy that enveloped his entire form. Ibuki allowed the energy to encase his body. All Kouji Ibuki could feel was emptiness.
(He's coming. Hell will be exposed.
He's coming to attack. Even dreams will freeze.)
The explosion of emptiness could be felt by Cardfighters all over the world, the pure pitch black sea was humongous. As if a mass storm of locus had begun to storm their way through everyone's bodies to devour their souls.
Emi Sendou recognized that feeling emptiness better than anyone, without missing a beat or listening to Takuto's shouts, Emi took off into the direction of the void.
(The voices of you insects gradually wears on my nerves
I'll teach you your place, you lower life-forms)
Kouji Ibuki found himself floating in a space-like rift, in front of him was a black gate. He stepped towards that gate and placed his hand onto it. "Cursing this world into an eternal void of nothingness. You strive to erase everything in existence."
"Stride Generation."
The gate vanished into ashes.
(Time for the perfect emperor to get his wish
The poem of love is only a chilling elegy)
Ibuki's eyes snapped open and the flames that had blazed around the two Cardfighters ceased to exist in an instant. He held the card above him and slammed it down onto the table. "RIDE! SUPREME DELETOR, OKISZZ(G4/15000)!"
Toshiki Kai could only stare at the brand new speechless. Never before had he seen a riding method like this before, but he could recall feeling something similar before. However, that one wasn't as sinister or empty as this one. At this moment Toshiki Kai felt an emotion that he had never thought he'd feel ever again…
He felt the true sensation of fear.
Chapter End
NOTE: I'm sure some of you saw this coming, but I hoped you guys enjoyed what I did. Ibuki just received a major power-up and I wonder if you guys can guess as to why Okiszz wanted Chrono's Stride energy.
The song used here was "Only a Chilling Elegy" from Dragon Ball Z Kai. It was played during the Namek Saga and primarily describes Frieza, I figured that it truly fit how terrifying a development this is.
Chrono isn't dead. Don't worry.
Have a great weekend!