Lancea's overwhelming power forces humanity into a corner.


This was where it all ended. One way or the other, the war was over once the last card was played in this duel. Would it be the humans or the Constellations who finally grasped victory?

That was what they were going to decide now. "Show me your abilities," Lancea boomed, his aura hanging heavy across the field like a thick, toxic cloud.

"Does that mean you're giving up the first turn?" Rio asked. "That seems like a bad idea with all three of us going up against you."

"If that's what you're doing," Yuu interrupted, "I go first." She looked to Yumi (and, pointedly, only Yumi) for permission, receiving a nod in return. After drawing her opening hand, she played one card. "I Normal Summon Horizon HERO Moon Girl!"

A short humanoid monster rose up in front of her, gleaming golden armor pieces contrasting its stark white skin. It struck a cute pose, giggling as it placed a hand against its dome-like headpiece.

"HERO?" Yumi said. "Hey, I've heard of those. Those are supposed to be really strong! You're using HERO cards now?"

"They are strong," Yuu confirmed. "There are two more copies of this in my deck." Moon Girl was, in fact, an 800 ATK Normal Monster. So much for that excitement.

"I set three cards," she continued, completely glossing over just how weak her single monster was as she ended on that.

"That was a turn," Rio said, obviously sarcastic. "Whatever. I'll actually do something on mine. Draw!" Assessing her options, she quickly pulled one and played it. "I Summon Girzerker Tiny Panda, then pay 1000 Life Points to use its effect!"

Her panda monster materialized, sneezing uncontrollably as its effect activated. "This gives me a copy of Girzerker Ascending Ceremony, which I'm planning to activate. First, though, I use this! Instant Magic, Emergency Teleport! This Summons a copy of Girzerker Jump Puppy straight from my deck!"

Her monster appeared, hopping up and down as she activated her Ritual Magic. "With this, I can Ritual Summon any Girzerker Ritual Monster by releasing monsters with a matching Level. When I use Girzerker Jump Puppy, though, this little baby can count as the entire cost all on its own!"

Jump Puppy did a somersault, transforming into light before splitting into ten balls of red flames. The fire formed a circle over Rio's field, calling forth her monster. "Come on out, Girzerker Grodd Ape!" The gorilla appeared with a howl, pounding its chest as another effect went off. "The Jump Puppy in the Graveyard uses its effect," Rio said, her Life Points falling to 2000. "I get a second copy added to my hand." Setting three cards, she passed the baton to Yumi.

"Good work, both of you," Yumi said, drawing. "I was hoping you'd use a lot of resources."

"You have a plan," Yuu identified with what seemed like restrained excitement.

"I do," she replied, reaching for a card in hand. "But first, I have to get rid of my hand. I'll start with this!" Revealing her card, she declared, "Ritual Magic! Common Ritual!"

"Ritual Summon?" Rio said, both her and Yuu looking to the card and the beige-colored flames depicted in its image. "Is that because of me? Did you learn from me?"

"It was from me," Yuu said, narrowing her eyes.

"Since when do you have Ritual Monsters?" Rio scoffed. "You played a Normal Monster and passed turn."

"I did before you got here," Yuu argued, the two nearly ready to bow out of the duel to start their own.

"It's both!" Yumi shouted to get them back on track. It seemed like managing both of their possessive sides was going to be an opponent all its own in this duel. "Anyway, I release the Level 8 Majesty Magician in my hand as the cost." Raising a hand as an octet of flames assembled overhead, she recited, "Called from the inferno, take to the stage for an unforgettable performance! Ritual Summon, Level 8! Revélate, Majesty Diablo!"

Bursting from the Summoning portal came a new incarnation of her favorite card, this one cloaked in a dark velvet suit and sombrero-style hat. Taking a bow, its dual-toned masked was also modified to look more like a colorful calavera.

"You really did it!" Rio shouted, ecstatic at seeing Yumi adopt her own signature Summoning method. "What was that you said, by the way? Is that Spanish?"

"Oh, yeah," Yumi said a bit bashfully. "I think I read it in a workbook I got once and it kind of just came to me now. It means...uh, 'reveal yourself' if I'm remembering it right." She paused, stifling a laugh. "I hope it's right. I might have just said a bunch of nonsense."

"The feelings are what matter most," Yuu told her. "I can feel it."

"Um, I think words have meanings and that it matters getting it right," Rio argued dismissively. "She wants to use the right words, obviously."

"Knowing the right words is hard sometimes," Yuu said, the two nearly ready to fight once again.

"As I was saying," Yumi interrupted, clearing her throat. "On Summon, I can pay 1000 Life Points to activate Majesty Diablo's effect!" The monster's hands crackled with red electricity. With a twirl, it shot sparks into the sky, calling down two streaks of lightning behind Yumi. "I can activate Pendulum Monsters straight from my deck. Come out, Scale 1 Violentist and Scale 9 Butter Fly!"

Pillars of light replaced the lightning, her monsters hovering inside them as their Scale numbers appeared. "Next, I use Majesty Diablo's second effect," Yumi continued. "By releasing itself, I can play a Pendulum Monster from my Graveyard or Extra Deck, which means…"

Snapping her fingers, her monster gave a bow before a circle of magenta flames shot up around its feet. The devilish creature descended into a portal to the Graveyard, several plumes of rainbow-colored smoke popping out of it a moment later. "Time for the main event!" Yumi announced. "Take the stage, Majesty Magician!"

Flying out from the Graveyard, her monster flipped through the sky before landing in a crouch on in front of its controller. Raising up, it took a bow, spinning its cane before planting it firmly in the asphalt. With a nod, Yumi then said, "And now, I Set three cards face-down."

"This is the extent of your abilities?" Lancea spoke, clearly unimpressed. "You've played weak cards and hidden weak defenses. Utterly pathetic."

"I'm not even close to done," Yumi told him. "Here's what I've been waiting for. Activate, Treasure Cards from the Heavens!" Her card flipped up as she explained her plan. "Now, everyone can draw until they have six cards in their hand. For me, that means six. Yuu, Rio, you both get five. And for you…" She pointed to Lancea with a smile. "That's just one."

"Good way to use that," Rio complimented as she drew a new five cards. "Now you've got a new hand to do whatever you want with."

"Right!" Yumi said, though she'd forgo using those cards for the moment. Instead, she activated one of the ones she'd Set previously. "Magic Card, Majesty Pendulum! I get to add two Level 4 or lower Normal Pendulum Monsters from my deck to my hand. The only catch is I can't Summon them for the rest of the turn."

Her choices were Hat-Trick Magician and Rusty Swordsman, bringing her hand total up to eight. "Now I'm ready," she said. "Normal Summon, Rescue Rabbit! Now, Rabbit's effect activates. Call out your friends!"

Squeaking into its radio, Rescue Rabbit banished itself, calling out two cowardly copies of Scaredy Lion. Raising a hand, she continued with, "Now, I'm overlaying both my Level 4 Scaredy Lions to construct the Overlay Network!" Both monsters whined as they transformed into light, spiraling together before calling forth a new monster. "Xyz Summon, Rank 4! Take the stage, Great Blackstone!"

The magician took a bow before grabbing both its Overlay Units, crushing them to activate an effect. "By detaching both," Yumi explained, "I can Normal Summon a Normal Monster. Come out, the worst card in my deck, Takotaco!"

Appearing next to her other monsters, the cephalopod gurgled and waved its tiny tentacles from inside its tortilla shell. "And now," Yumi said, trying to keep from cringing at the sight of her least favorite sea creature, "because I Normal Summoned a Normal Monster, Great Blackstone gives me another draw."

Taking a card, she looked through her hand and grabbed another. "But after that, I have to discard Armored Block." It wasn't too much of a loss, especially since it wouldn't interrupt the rest of her turn. "Now, I equip Takotaco with Multi-Tool. It can decrease its Level by 1, making it a Level 2."

With the stage set, she called out, "You wanted us to go all out, so here I come! I'm using the Level 2 Tuner, Takotaco, to tune the Level 8 non-Tuner, Majesty Magician!" Flying forward, her monsters transformed into a pair of glowing rings and eight shining stars. "My red-hot resolve lets me take the next step forward! Climb up higher and higher until we reach the top! I'm burning up! Synchro Summon, Level 10! Zenkai Fire Dragoon!"

Bursting forth from a column of light, the dragon let out a thunderous roar as the engines on its back blasted flames. "Multi-Tool's other effect!" Yumi declared. "When the equipped monster is used as material for a Summon, I draw!" Doing so, she placed the new card next to another in her hand, then grabbed that one. "And now, I activate Common Fusion!"

From her deck went Flame Viper, Wallrus, and another two copies of Hat-Trick Magician and Rusty Swordsman. Clasping her hands together, she raised them over her head, reciting, "Forces of the ordinary, join hands to form a storm of change! Combine together to reach a new power!" Throwing them down, she declared, "Fusion Summon, Level 10! Helpful, Knight of Commons!"

With her lumbering knight taking a spot beside her other two monsters, there was only one thing left to do. A portal opened between the monsters floating behind her. "Pendulum Summon!" Yumi declared, raising her hand. "Time for an encore, Majesty Magician!"

A light spiraled out from between the floating Pendulum Scales, striking the center of Yumi's field before materializing into her ace monster. "Is that enough power for you?" Yumi asked, all four of her monsters clustered around her.

"Ritual, Xyz, Synchro, Fusion, Pendulum…" Rio listed off in awe. "All in one turn."

"That's amazing," Yuu said, really driving home just how weak her current deck was by comparison.

"I Set a card and end my turn," Yumi said, finally bringing her plays to an end. Between the various effects of her monsters, the protection offered by Butter Fly's Pendulum effect, and her two powerful face-down Traps, she felt confident going into Lancea's turn that nothing he could do could get past them.

"Hardly anything worth caring about," Lancea said, raising a hand to make his cards appear. "I've already won. It's just a matter of how many turns it takes to dismantle all of you."

"Big talk, big man," Rio scoffed. "Between the three of us, we've got more than enough cards to stop you. Thanks for letting us set up our fields."

He grunted in response. "We'll see. I activate the card Pendulum Treasure to place Carbonizer Roasted Flesh into my Extra Deck."

The card's image shined beside him, appearing nearly as gigantic as he was to match the scale. "Pendulum," Yuu muttered, preparing for the worst. All three of them knew how dangerous an effective Pendulum deck could be, so this was foreboding.

"I now Summon Carbonizer Black Skeleton and use its effect," Lancea declared, a gnarled, ash-darkened skeleton building itself up from nothing before him. It had some vague human parts to it, especially in the rib area, but the various bones jutted at all the wrong angles and were far too numerous to actually belong to a person. "I add the Carbonizer Roasted Flesh in my Extra Deck to my hand."

He followed up by waving his hand, revealing another monster. "I now activate Carbonizer Blast Burner, Scale 9. Blast Burner, effect activate!" The monster rose up in a column of light behind him, appearing as some kind of burning imp, tears leaking upwards from its eyes as white-hot fire. It let out a piercing scream, quickly going up in smoke. "With this, I return Blast Burner to my hand, then activate Black Skeleton in its place."

His monster on the field flaked apart into black bits of ash, swirling through the air until it reformed behind him as a staggering Scale 12. Strangely, it wasn't contained within a column like other Pendulum Cards, but standing right behind him. "I activate the Scale 1 Carbonizer Roasted Flesh in my other Pendulum Zone," Lancea continued, bubbling, crimson skin slowly enveloping the skeleton behind him. Several areas of bone were left exposed, the rest of it an indistinct mass of red, oozing meat.

"He can Summon just about anything now," Yumi observed, worry evident in her voice.

"It's just a matter of what and how much," Rio added.

For the time being, though, there would be no Pendulum Summon. Lancea had more to do, demonstrated with his next card. "Carbonizer Kindling. By discarding Carbonizer Smoldering Husk, I draw two more cards."

Another card then materialized in front of him, featuring a glowing rock attached to the end of a string. "I activate Pendulum Stone. By discarding a second Carbonizer Black Skeleton in my hand, I can add a Rock Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand." His selection made, he was ready to play it.

The cards behind him rattled as a singular mass, all five of the eye holes in its skull beginning to shoot white fire. "Behold!" Lancea boomed, the aura around him growing more intense and nearly sending all three of the humans to their knees. "This is the force that will bring your demise. I Pendulum Summon this, Carbonizer Incinerate!"

Rather than a distinct creature, this new monster seemed to inhabit the framework created by the two Pendulum Cards. Fire shot through the patchwork skin and any visible gaps in the skeleton, the mass of parts now animate and thrashing around.

Despite the destruction it was causing to the street and surrounding buildings, however, the actual card seemed harmless. "0 ATK," Rio noted. "What's it going to do? Even that worthless HERO card can take it out."

"A foolish assumption," Lancea proclaimed. "Now, I battle! Carbonizer Incinerate will destroy the Girzerker Grodd Ape!" As Earth's forces reacted in shock, his monster prepared to launch its attack. Several arms smashed palm-first into the ground, dragging its massive body forward. Fire blasting from its mouth, it raised three of its club-like appendages into the air, poised to bring them down hard against the gorilla monster.

"Carbonizer Incinerate will not be destroyed in battle when in Attack Position," Lancea finally explained. "Additionally, with Carbonizer Roasted Flesh and Carbonizer Black Skeleton in the Pendulum Zones, it is immune to destruction or targeting by effects, and I receive no damage."

"So you'll just bump off me," Rio argued, though there was clear hesitation in her voice. Obviously this wasn't the end of what it could do.

"Any monster Incinerate battles has its power reversed," Lancea explained. "Its owner takes damage equal to its ATK, then it's destroyed at the end of the battle!"

That was bad news all around, made all the worse given the fact that Grodd Ape's ATK matched Rio's Life Points exactly. If this connected, she'd lose instantly. Rio, though, wasn't content to let that happen. "I activate my Set card, Super Fusion!"

"Fusion?" Yumi questioned. "You're using that now?"

"Technically, we are," Rio said. "I discard Girzerker Bronze Tiger as cost. Now, I can fuse any monsters on any player's field together."

"You intend to fuse my monster?" Lancea scoffed.

"I wish, but no," Rio admitted. "I don't have anything that can use that thing as material. But…" She pointed to Yumi. "She does!"

"I do?" This was as much a surprise to Yumi as everyone else.

"I have to borrow this," Rio told her. "I'm fusing Girzerker Grodd Ape on my field with Majesty Magician on Yumi's field." Both monsters were pulled into a vortex behind her, swirling together into a single, shining mass. With a twirl, she clasped her hands above her head, bringing them down with a chant of, "Fusion Summon, Level 10! Show yourself, Magic Mentalist!"

A purple-robed humanoid emerged from the vortex, its garments fluttering across its tall, slender body. Adjusting a monocle over one eye, it let loose a cluster of green electricity that quickly materialized into a web formation behind it, creating a seat for it.

"Foolish," Lancea said. "From my hand, I activate a Trap Card."

"A Trap from the hand?" Yuu questioned.

"Hate those kinds of cards," Yumi grumbled. "So unfair."

"Your feelings on the matter are irrelevant," Lancea barked, a card appearing beside him. "Molten Stones, activate!" he declared, its image featuring a number of orange, semi-liquid rocks raining from the sky. "When your monster is Special Summoned, I banish a FIRE Rock monster in my Graveyard to banish it."

"No," Yuu interrupted. "My cards activate. I discard D.D. Crow to banish one of the monsters in your Graveyard." Sliding the card into the Graveyard, the mechanical corvid flew out from her duel disk,

snatching up the Black Skeleton card from Lancea and disappearing into another dimension.

"I have another monster," Lancea told her. "That action was futile."

"I said cards," Yuu emphasized, turning around a second copy of D.D. Crow. "I activated both, meaning I also banish your second monster." Like before, her card's image stole away the Smoldering Husk Lancea had discarded. "Now your card's effect is useless."

"Not bad," Rio said. "Maybe you're better than I thought."

"It wasn't for you," she quickly corrected. "If you were to lose, Yumi would be sad." So much for whatever budding friendship that may have turned into.

Of greater concern was Lancea, however. "So be it," he said. "If that's the case, then I simply continue my attack on that new monster. Carbonizer Incinerate, destroy it! Constellation Super Nova!" The arms swung down, fire shooting through the flesh and turning white-hot. "Be obliterated by its effect!"

"I refuse!" Rio said. "Magic Mentalist, effect activate!" Her monster conjured more electricity, the strands flying out and capturing Lancea's monster as if they were ropes. "I can negate your monster's effect and destroy it! Even if the second part's not allowed, I still stop your effect, which means your attack hits for no damage and no destruction!"

The three's celebration at this was short-lived, Lancea revealing a card from his hand. "Foolish. When your monster effect activates, I discard Carbonizer Blast Burner. This negates the effect and inflicts 500 damage!"

The screaming imp returned, shooting out in a blazing suicide run straight towards Rio and her monster. It exploded soon after, covering the field in a cloud of ash. As it cleared, though, her Life Points remained at 2000, something on Yumi's field glowing.

"Close one," she sighed. "Nice try, but we're not having any of that. I activate the Trap, Reflect Nature. For the rest of the turn, any effect damage you try to inflict is sent right back at you."

"You may avoid the damage," Lancea said, "but it won't affect me. Carbonizer Black Skeleton's Pendulum effect prevents any harm from befalling me. What's more, you failed to stop my monster's effect. Even without damage, yours is still destroyed!"

Incinerate's attack landed, crushing Magic Mentalist before it even had a chance to scream. Reflect Nature offered something of a buffer for the trio, but the force of the attack and the massive amount of heat it generated still knocked them off their feet and a good ways down the road.

They struggled to recover, barely managing to pull themselves back to their feet. None of them had suffered damage during the duel so far, meaning it was all due to the draining effect Lancea's aura was having on them. They couldn't let this duel drag on for too long.

"Sorry, I couldn't save it," Yumi said to Rio.

"You did enough," she replied. "Both of you really saved me this turn. I was too careless."

"You forced him to reveal his strategy and waste cards," Yuu said. "I'm more than capable of defeating him on my turn now because of it."

"I'll hold you to that," Rio told her.

"I now Set a card and end my turn," Lancea said. "I'll reveal Carbonizer Incinerate's final effect to you as a courtesy," he continued. "If it fails to do battle by the end of one of your turns, that player will take 4000 points of damage instantly."

"If you don't attack it, you lose?" Yumi stammered. "How is that fair?"

"Fairness has no place in battle," Lancea proclaimed. "All that matters is fighting to your last breath. Use whatever means are at your disposal to crush the enemy into nothing."

"If that's the case," Yuu said, drawing for her turn, "then you shouldn't object to what I plan to do." Placing a card into her duel disk, she declared, "I activate Magic Removal to destroy Carbonizer Roasted Flesh in the Pendulum Zone."

"Foolish," Lancea scoffed. "Counter Trap, Carbonizer Rage Flame!" The card materialized, immediately blasting a wave of white fire at Yuu's own. "This negates any card that would try to destroy a card in my Pendulum Zone, then inflicts 800 direct damage!"

True to his word, the fire suddenly exploded, blasting Yuu backwards and lowering her Life Points to 3200. "Are you okay?" Yumi shouted, preparing to run to her before a raised hand stopped her.

"I've been hurt worse," Yuu said, staggering back to her feet by herself. "That Set card worried me, but now you've wasted it. Nothing will stop me now." Immediately, she activated another card. "Tribute Doll releases Horizon HERO Moon Girl on my field to Special Summon a Level 7 monster from my hand."

Her monster waved goodbye as it was lowered into a portal to the Graveyard. As it did, the ground around Yuu began to crack, cloak billowing around her from the hot air gushing up out of it. "Now I'm allowed to Summon it. This is the card that will change everything. Everything I've endured, everything monsters like you represent, even destiny – I'll burn it all down!"

Slapping a card down, she shouted, "This is it, my soul! Come out, Scorched Earth Dragon!" The street in front of her split open, deep red flames erupting out of the gash. A ball of fire shot out of it, transforming in the sky to become a dragon. Its brown, leathery skin was littered with scars, a line of black, partly cracked spines lining its back between two tattered wings. Landing on all fours, its head leaned back as it shrieked into the air, a torrent of flames escaping from its mouth.

"I've never seen that before," Yumi said. She'd assumed she was wholly familiar with both of Yuu's previous decks. With how she'd been talking about this new one up until now, she never expected something so strong-looking to be in it.

"This is my soul," Yuu repeated. "Now, effect activate!" As she said this, the monster's eyes glowed an even brighter orange. "When Summoned, Scorched Earth Dragon destroys everything on the field!"

"What?" Yumi exclaimed.

"Hey, hold on!" Rio shouted. "We have cards, too!"

"Believe in me," Yuu said, mostly to Yumi. "This is the way to win. Burn it all away until there's nothing left, then create something new on top of it." Throwing her hand forward, she shouted, "Do it!" On her command, the monster bathed the entire field in fire.

"I activate Butter Fly's effect," Yumi declared, her monster flapping its chubby wings faster than before. "By sending Expert Heart from my deck to the Graveyard, I can protect Great Blackstone from destruction one time!" A green aura surrounded her monster, protecting it against the encroaching fire. While that might not have seemed like the optimal move, she had a plan of her own.

Yuu seemed to expect this, nodding. "I also activate a card," she said. "Trap activate, The Universe Inversion!" A card none of them recognized appeared, Yuu explaining, "I add the bottom card of my deck to my hand, then replace it with another card in my deck." The card ejected itself automatically, allowing her to reveal it. "I got Angel Trumpeter, and I'll replace it with Dark Napoleon."

With no more effects to activate or resolve, the entire field was blown away. Scorched Earth Dragon and Yuu's Trap were destroyed, as were a set Summon Limiter and Chaos Burst. Neither of them seemed to be of use in this particular duel, so she didn't mind eliminating them.

Rio, however, seethed as her Tiny Panda, as well as a Set Brain Hazard and Life Absorbing Machine were incinerated. All of her planning for nothing. Yumi tried to be optimistic even as she took on the greatest losses, her Pendulum Scale broken and her Dragoon and Helpful destroyed. She also lost a Set Mirror Force, but she'd long since made peace with that fate.

As for Lancea, he threw up a hand to staunch the flames. "Foolish. Because of Roasted Flesh, Incinerate won't be destroyed."

"But your Pendulum Cards will be," Yuu replied. "And in addition to that, all players take 100 damage for every card destroyed."

"And Black Skeleton's last act will be to shield me from that damage," Lancea shot back. The same also applied to Zenkai Fire Dragoon, forming a barrier around Yumi as Great Blackstone shielded her from the fire itself.

Realizing all of this, Rio stomped her foot and screamed, "What's wrong with you? That just means it hits me!"

"I'm not immune, either," Yuu replied, shielding herself as 1300 damage struck the both of them. This left them with 1900 and 700 Life Points, respectively.

"Nice going, Nitro," Rio coughed. "You hurt us and did nothing to get rid of that monster."

"I'm not finished," Yuu said. "I Normal Summon Angel Trumpeter, then activate the Magic Card Monster Gate." The floronic monster appeared briefly, making a little noise before it disappeared. "By releasing a monster, I can reveal cards from the top of my deck until I reach a monster capable of being Normal Summoned, then Special Summon it."

In total, she burned through seven cards before finally landing on something usable. "Come out, Damage Eater!" As the yellow demon appeared, Yuu had already moved on to her next play. "Scorched Earth Dragon's second effect. By banishing Moon Girl, Kagetokage, and Super Bugman from my Graveyard, it's reborn again!"

Her dragon returned to life, once again covering the field in fire. "I activate its effect again to destroy the field! This time, though, Scorched Earth Dragon is immune from destruction by effects until the end of the next turn!" In short, that made it the only survivor, Damage Eater, Great Blackstone, and even Carbonizer Incinerate being blown away.

"Sorry, Yumi," Yuu said moments before the damage hit. Though only 300, it still hurt quite a bit. At the end, Yuu was at 1600 Life, Rio a dangerous 400, Yumi with 2700, and Lancea at 3700.

"I'm getting tired of that," Rio seethed.

"But it cleared the field this time," Yumi said. "It was worth it." Suddenly, a column of light reappeared beside her. "When destroyed, I can place Great Blackstone in the Pendulum Zone as a Scale 11." This revealed the truth of her actions from before. It turned out Yumi had done the unthinkable earlier – read Yuu's card's effect before it activated. Instead of wasting Blackstone's valuable Pendulum effect, she planned around double destruction to preserve it for later.

That would undoubtedly be handy in coming turns, but Yuu's was far from over right now. "Battle! Scorched Earth Dragon, direct attack! Rebirth Inferno!" Drawing back on its hind legs, the dragon unleashed a blast of fire from its jaws directed at Lancea. While 2900 ATK wouldn't finish him off, it would significantly hurt him.

Before the attack could connect, though, it vanished in midair. "What?" Yuu exclaimed.

"I banish the Trap, Carbonizer Rage Flame, from the Graveyard. With this, I can revive Carbonizer Incinerate from my Extra Deck, then draw two cards." A white plume of fire shot up from behind him, quickly sprawling out until it mimicked the shape of the monster as it appeared before, now in the form of crackling flames.

Yuu grit her teeth, Lancea saying exactly what she was thinking. "Remember, if Carbonizer Incinerate does not do battle, you take 4000 damage at the end of the turn. Now, choose. Die in battle or die from your cowardice?"

Narrowing her eyes, Yuu threw her hand forward again. "Continue the attack!" she shouted. Rio and Yumi weren't sure what she was doing, only able to look on in horror as her monster launched an attack towards certain death.

Yuu wouldn't go down without a fight, though. "Instant Magic, Half Shut!" From her hand, she played a new card. "Scorched Earth Dragon's ATK is halved until the end of the turn, and it can't be destroyed by battle." The second part was irrelevant to the situation, but the first was exactly what was needed to save her.

With her monster's power dwindling to 1450 ATK, it was now weak enough for her to survive while still fulfilling the condition of battle. The flames the dragon shot towards its enemy were quickly absorbed into its body, the full force of its own fire bearing down on it in response. Due to its own effect, Scorched Earth Dragon survived this, shielding Yuu from much of the attack.

She'd still take the damage, however, that aspect sending her flying once again and leaving her with just 150 Life Points. "Do you understand how futile your actions are now?" Lancea asked. "Nothing you've done has changed things."

"Wrong," Rio said. "She did manage one thing in between ruining my entire field."

"That's right!" Yumi agreed.

"How?" Lancea scoffed.

With great effort, Yuu stood back up, then pointed forward. "Because...you still take the damage, too."

It was at that moment that Lancea realized his mistake. He'd overlooked a crucial aspect of all of this – his formation was broken. Incinerate was immensely strong on its own, but his defense was only perfect when all three of its components were on the field. In other words, he was now vulnerable to being hurt.

1450 damage impacted him as Scorched Earth Dragon's attack finally worked its way out the other side. Though it knocked him backwards, he refused to fall, Life Points dropping to 2250. "Do you really think that's enough to stop me?" he asked.

"As long as we keep doing damage," Rio said. Turning to Yuu, she admitted, "I'm still mad at you for wasting my cards, but I guess it wasn't all for nothing. I'll finish up where you left off." With a nod, Yuu ended her turn.

Drawing, Rio activated a card. "I play Revealed Girzerker. By discarding Girzerker Ascending Ceremony, I can Ritual Summon a Girzerker monster from the deck. I'm using Girzerker Jump Puppy as the entire cost...as a Level 13 monster!"

There was only one card it could be. As the flames sprung up to start the ceremony, reality shattered above the field. Out of the hole came Rio's enormous ace monster. "Appear, Chaos Girzerker Antimatter!"

Smashing its fists together, Rio moved to the Battle Phase immediately. "Attack his monster! Omnicidal Rage!" Paying no mind to its effect, the monster charged forward. Cocking back a massive fist, it prepared to strike at the enemy.

"When attacking," Rio explained, "other effects on the field are negated and can't activate!" As she said this, her monster glowed, the antimatter inside of it bubbling.

"When a monster effect is used on the field," Lancea said, their hopes plummeting the second he began speaking, "I can activate Carbonizer Blast Burner in my hand. Discarding it allows me to negate the effect, then inflict 500 damage!"

That damage alone would take Rio out. Even if she dodged it, Antimatter's attack would just be bounced back at her. And if she could somehow survive that damage, Antimatter would be destroyed and inflict 8000 damage all on its own. And even if she somehow stopped the attack altogether, Incinerator wouldn't have battled, meaning its last effect would destroy her, too.

There was no way out. At least, that's how it seemed. Her Life Points dropping to 200, Rio played a card from her hand. "Trap activate, Burn My Dread!" A blue barrier appeared between her monster and the Blast Burner coming towards it, stopping the assault in its tracks. "When I would take damage in the Battle Phase, I can negate that damage and end the Battle Phase!"

"But if you end the Battle Phase, it means you haven't battled," Yumi said. "What happens now?"

Rio looked to both of the cards in her hand. "I guess we'll see," she said simply, Setting both of them. "I end my turn."

"Then you've chosen to die a coward," Lancea said. "Carbonizer Incinerate's effect activates. Since you failed to battle it this turn, you take 4000 damage!" The monster began to wail, its body crackling and spurting even more than before. "End this!"

An enormous blast of fire shot straight towards Rio. She could do nothing but watch as it approached, fists clenched and eyes wide. Both her Set cards were useless this turn, and Antimatter had no way to stop this. She had nothing.

Yuu wasn't in the same boat, though. "You planned this," she said, sounding annoyed. "Damage Eater, effect activate! When effect damage would happen, I banish Damage Eater to make it increase Life Points, instead!" The yellow demon from before returned to the field, its tiny wings flapping as it unhinged its jaw to a ridiculous degree. It caught the flames in its mouth, slurping them up like they were the first glass of water you'd get after a trek through the desert. When it finally finished, it let out a small burp, then disappeared, Rio's Life Points now risen to 4200.

Falling backwards, Rio had to catch her breath. "Didn't know if you'd actually do it," she sighed.

"Like I said, it wasn't for you," Yuu grumbled. "I just don't want Yumi to be sad."

"If you say so," Rio said with a roll of her eyes. Standing back up, her monster began to glow. "You're not the only one who can hurt people during the End Phase," she told Lancea. "Antimatter inflicts damage equal to half of your Life Points! Go, Destruction Photon Execution!"

Lancea was buffeted by a wave of purple energy, ripping pieces of his skin covering from his body to reveal the energy beneath. "I barely feel it," he taunted, his Life Points at 1125.

"Yumi, it's up to you," Rio said. "If he gets another turn, I have a bad feeling he's going to turn this around. We need to win this on your turn."

Yumi swallowed hard, then nodded. It was all up to her to take this home. With her hand the way it was and Great Blackstone out, she was confident she could do it. She had to do it.

"Draw!" Looking over her hand, she began by activating an effect. "Great Blackstone's Pendulum effect," she declared. "I can activate Big Bat Knight as a Scale 1 straight from the deck. That means I've set the Pendulum Scales from 1 to 11!"

So far, so good. "Pendulum Summon!" she declared. "Come back to the stage, my monsters!" Five streaks of light shot out from between her two Pendulum Cards. Two of them were the Hat-Trick Magician and Rusty Swordsman she'd added to her hand before, the other three being Majesty Magician, Takotaco, and Zenkai Fire Dragoon. "This is it!"

"Foolish," Lancea said, poised to activate another Trap from hand. "Carbonizer Apocalypse!" True to its name, what happened next was utterly world-ending. "All of the monsters you Special Summoned from the Extra Deck are banished, as well as three Magic and Trap Cards on your fields!"

Majesty Magician, Takotaco, and Zenkai Fire Dragoon were swallowed up by an eruption of fire, Great Blackstone and Rio's Set God's Judgment and Girzerker Last Rights following close behind. While Yumi had already activated Majesty Pendulum in her Graveyard to banish itself and add back Multi-Tool, it hardly seemed to matter.

"You should know," Lancea said, his aura growing even more intense and bringing both Yuu and Rio to their knees. "I can banish Carbonizer Apocalypse to reset Black Skeleton and Roasted Flesh whenever I wish. You won't be able to win."

Yumi was out of options. Despite her hand's considerable size, what it contained wouldn't do much of anything for her. At this point, only one strategy could even give her a chance at victory.

Her hands shook as she went over her options again and again. Maybe Castel? No, the moment she Summoned it, he could reset the Scales. Like that, Incinerate would be untargettable.

She looked to Rio and Yuu, feeling the strength leave her body as she did. They both looked back at her, desperate for some kind of out. They were counting on her. Everyone was counting on her. What could she do? How could she win?

Even Telos couldn't stop it. It would negate Incinerate, sure, but once the Scales were back, no damage would be done. All he'd have to do after that would be to Pendulum Summon it back to the field the next turn. They'd be right back where they started, except now they were all rapidly becoming too weak to play.

It couldn't be Telos. It had to be something else. Something even stronger. If she let go and let the Chaos take over again, maybe she could make something that actually could win. If she lost control, though, what was stopping her from destroying everything, not just Lancea?

Her thoughts raced and pulse quickened. Then, everything went white. The world had fallen away, placing her inside a featureless space. What did this? Where was she? What was happening during the duel?

Before she could even manage another thought, she felt that same energy overtake her again. It was the Chaos, now no longer even waiting for her to make the choice to use it. Her doubts combined with her need of its power allowed it to flood back in.

She could feel herself rapidly losing her mind, information overwhelming her senses. Every thought, feeling, sensation, memory, expectation, and millions of other things all happened at once inside her head. Whether Chaos was some kind of force or an entity all its own, it was clearly too much for her to handle. Doing so up until now was just luck.

She tried to find help, to call out for anyone or anything that could save her. Chaos was all she could experience now, though. What were words? She couldn't make them out, processing every single one of them from every language to ever exist and ever set to exist at the same time. What was "help"? She had no clue anymore, all actions playing out in her mind as if she were experiencing them all at once. Everything was Chaos. Everything had always been Chaos. Everything would always be Chaos until she ceased to exist.

That should have been the end for Takano Yumi, swallowed by Chaos with her body acting as its avatar on Earth until it finally gave out. If luck was on her side, she'd at least defeat Lancea in the process and save the world, but predicting the outcome of pure Chaos was an impossible task. As she was now, she was just as likely to end up destroying everything as he was.

That should have been the end, but it wasn't. Somehow, the tiniest flicker of stability made its way through the Chaos. It was something she could latch onto, holding it close like someone swept up in the rapids with only a tiny life preserver to cling to.

Out of the Chaos, she found her Order – Sakuya. Their memories together, every experience and sensation they'd shared, all of the information she knew of her, all of her hopes for their future together. This provided something real. Something she could recognize and understand.

Suddenly, the Chaos didn't seem quite as daunting. Sakuya was a refuge from it, protecting her from its full, untamed might, if only in the smallest of ways.

Even something small can become something big, though. Holding onto Sakuya, she suddenly found other things she could do the same with. Kazuhiko, Hideo, and all of her friends. Yuu and Rio fighting by her side. Her grandmother. Her family overseas. Her parents. Classmates at school along with the teachers. All of the people in Chiba and beyond that she knew.

At the end of this rapidly growing tunnel, she found Duel Monsters. It was the last piece of this puzzle that held her shelter together. Dueling had given her so much. It was the game her parents had taught her when she was little. The hobby she loved more than any other. The profession she was striving towards every day. The link that helped her meet so many amazing people. And on top of all of that, the power that let her protect everything she loved from the people who wanted to take it away.

Chaos no longer ruled her, running wild with no goal in sight. Somehow, against all reason, she'd tamed it. In a way, that was probably the most chaotic thing anyone could ever do.

Pondering over the hows and whys would need to wait, though. Right now, people needed her. She had a job to do and a world to save.

In the time that Chaos had overtaken her, Yumi's body had slumped to the ground. Unresponsive to anything and everything, the others involved in the duel began to suspect she'd passed out from the strain. Moments before Lancea could override her turn and take his, though, something happened.

"Chaos...Mode!" Pale orange energy shot out from her body, developing an aura of her own that actually managed to push back Lancea's. As he and the others looked on in shock, Yumi stood back up.

The aura began to stabilize, covering her in fast-moving waves. As it did, her hair began to cluster together, sticking upwards in two jagged pigtails on either side of her head. Finally, she opened her eyes, their color changing to that pale orange as markings of the same color encircled around the outside.

Blinking several times, Yumi looked down at herself, then around at the field. "I'm…" She slapped her cheeks, then began to laugh. "I'm...I feel great!"

"Are you okay?" Yuu asked, utterly confused by all of this.

"I don't think I've ever been this okay!" she replied, hopping in place. "I feel like I could do anything! Like I'm invincible!" The hopping stopped abruptly, Yumi pointing up at Lancea. "But right now, all I want to do is beat you!"

"You think you can beat me?" Lancea boomed. "You're an insignificant child of a juvenile, underdeveloped species. I refuse to let our legacy be ended by something like you!"

While he certainly sounded confident, his expression told a different story. He looked enraged and even a bit scared, already knowing what Yumi had become. Izar had told the lot of them that one of the creatures on this planet had gained access to Chaos, but he'd said that it was only a fraction of a fraction used without any real experience or knowledge. That was not what he was witnessing now.

Now, he saw the full force of Chaos surging through this child. He didn't know what would come of this, but he knew it was bad news for him. As powerful as the Constellations were, Chaos was even stronger than that. Now that Yumi had gained control of it, was she also able to wield that power?

"I activate Instant Fusion!" she declared, Life Points falling to 1700. "With this, I can Summon Rare Fish instantly. Next, I'm equipping Multi-Tool to Hat-Trick Magician. And now, I'm using all three of my Level 4 monsters and Multi-Tool to construct the Overlay Network!"

Her plays happened in rapid succession like her cards were supercharged with the gasoline of life. Rare Fish appeared, Hat-Trick grabbed the tool, and all four cards swirled together inside an Xyz portal in under a minute. "Chaos storm forth and remake the world! Anything is possible! Xyz Summon, Rank 4! Appear, Perfect Chaos – Telos!"

A beam of light exploded out of the portal, cracking the street where it struck as the monster inside took shape. It was definitely a pale, white-haired humanoid like Telos, but its outfit had changed considerably. Now clad in a black, sleeveless, leather-like mini dress and thigh-high boots, this surprisingly kinky monster radiated the same orange energy as Yumi.

All four of its Overlay Units assembled beside it, no longer in the form of orbs but as red, crystaline crosses, energy pulsating inside of them. "Perfect Chaos – Telos activates her effect!" Yumi declared, jumping into the air and snapping her fingers. "I used an Equip Magic during the Xyz Summon, so I can search a Rank-Up-Magic card from my deck and add it to my hand."

With that completed, Yumi drew an additional card for Multi-Tool's own effect, though it wouldn't be needed to finish this duel. "Telos, effect activate!" she ordered. "I detach two Overlay Units, raising Telos' Rank by 2!" Two of the four objects in front of the monster shattered, their power absorbed into Telos as its Rank ticked up to 6.

"Rank-Up-Magic Topaz Force!" she declared, playing the card she'd searched earlier. "I banish Hat-Trick Magician from my Graveyard, then use the Rank 6 Perfect Chaos – Telos to reconstruct the Overlay Network!" Flying back into the portal, her monster underwent another change.

"Chaos, advance even further and take on new meaning! Use your insight to find the truth! Chaos Xyz Change! Come out, Chasm Gothi – Episteme!" The latest and greatest version of Yumi's Chaos emerged, now a multi-armed being in flowing black and white robes. A black crown sat upon its head, a gem like the Chaos Overlay Units set in the center.

Episteme clasped all four of its hands together, several golden circlets floating along the length of each. As it separated its digits, both pairs of hands began materializing a staff between each of them. One black and one white, they looked like braided tree roots crackling with power.

Now fully formed, Yumi pointed towards Lancea. "Episteme, effect activate! When Xyz Summoned, I can destroy cards up to Episteme's Chaos Overlay Units!"

"I won't let you!" Lancea shouted. "I banish Carbonizer Apocalypse to use its effect in the Graveyard. Return, Carbonizer Black Skeleton, Carbonizer Roasted Flesh!" Both the bones and meat of his monster reformed on the field, the fire that made up Incinerate filling it with life once more.

"It's no use!" Yumi told him. "Episteme will just destroy your whole field!" With three Overlay Units, she had the exact number to select all three of his cards. "Disorder Rain!"

Episteme opened a number of portals across the sky, a rain of black and white energy firing from all of them and pelting Lancea's field with attacks. As expected, his Pendulum Cards shielded Incinerate from destruction, but neither of them were that lucky. Returned to the field for barely a few seconds, his last resort defense was now broken.

"It's time for the climax!" Yumi said as she pumped her fist. "Battle! Chasm Gothi – Episteme attacks Carbonizer Incinerate!"

"Wait, hang on!" Rio shouted.

"It's just going to be reflected!" Yuu added.

"What is this plan?" Lancea joined in, equally dumbfounded by this decision. Episteme's 4300 ATK would be more than enough to completely obliterate Yumi's Life Points. Since she'd drop to 0 before the battle damage could reach him, it wouldn't even defeat Lancea in the process. None of them knew what she was trying to do.

"Just watch!" she told them. "Spiral Chaos Force!" Spinning both staffs in its hands, her monster launched a crackling beam of black and white energy from each, both beginning to spin around the other as they shot towards Lancea's field.

"Carbonizer Incinerate, effect activate! The damage is reflected back at you!" The spiral beam clashed with Incinerate, its fire burning brighter as it shrieked in defiance.

"An effect?" Yumi said, raising a hand to her ear. "If that's what you want to do, then I activate my own. Rank-Up-Magic Topaz Force gave Episteme a new effect!"

"What?" Lancea exclaimed.

"When your monster with a different Type activates an effect, I negate that effect!" When the explanation ended, so did the enemy's resistance. Episteme's attack blasted through Incinerate's flames, dispersing its body as the full force of the beam struck Lancea. He raised his hands to resist, but it was simply too much for him to handle. In the end, he was sent flying back, screaming as the Chaos ripped through his essence.

Lancea landed several meters away, smoking and missing his arms as well as all of his Life Points. A decisive victory on the side of humanity.

As the duel came to a close, Episteme floated towards Yumi. Hovering above her, the monster nodded slowly, seeming to recognize her as its rightful controller. Yumi returned the gesture, the cards fading away moments later along with her Chaos Mode.

"Did we...did we do it?" Rio asked, still in shock over that final turn.

Panting heavily, Yumi looked to her allies, nodding enthusiastically. "We did. We...we won!"

"We did?" Rio asked, still having a hard time believing it. "We won? We Won!" She and Yumi ran towards each other, slapping a hefty high five as they crossed paths.

"We really won!" Yuu joined in, Yumi picking her up into a hug. "It's really over!" After so much hardship across her entire life because of this rotten war, she was well within her right to cry from all of this relief.

They cut their celebration short not long after, deciding to approach the heavily injured Lancea as the reda crystal slowly absorbed him. With only one of them active, it would take some time.

"You've defeated me," he said, letting out a low sigh. "All of us. All of us are gone."

"You knew this could happen," Rio said defiantly. "This is the consequences of your own actions. Don't act surprised."

He ignored her. He didn't seem entirely lucid now, still struggling to believe the loss. "After more millennia than I can remember...we are no more."

"I wish things could have been different," Yumi said to the others' surprise. "This isn't what Duel Monsters is meant for. I…" She swallowed hard, actually beginning to feel some pity for the being in front of her. "I hope it was at least fun."

Unlike before, Lancea acknowledged this remark. He looked to Yumi, his expression softening. It almost looked like he began to smile underneath his beard. "It was...a pleasant game," he muttered.

Suddenly, something changed. The almost contented look Lancea had just a moment ago changed to panic, then to pain. Letting out a scream, he writhed on the ground. "No…" he grunted, the humans backing away. "It's not...it's not possible!"

"This shouldn't be happening," Alramech said, appearing behind the trio. "He should be disappearing. What is this? The reda isn't even absorbing his energy."

"It's…" Lancea let out another shout, the skin across his face and body peeling off. "He's...here!" A moment later, his body exploded. Under normal circumstances, this would destroy the universe all on its own from the massive release of energy in a single burst, but these weren't normal circumstances.

All of that energy was contained, swirling back in on itself as something new formed from Lancea's broken husk. Then, a laugh rang out throughout the city. Yumi recognized it immediately, Chaos Mode reactivating on instinct.

This shouldn't be happening. He was beaten. Lancea was here, which meant he must have been beaten. How was he here? How was he back? How? How was this happening?

The laughing grew louder, quickly transforming into a cackle as the swirling, bubbling energy was sucked into the shape of a man. Finally, the laughs died down, a white silhouette standing before the group. "Oh, Takano Yumi," it said, letting out a long, low sigh. "It's so good to see you again."


Cards Used in Order of Appearance

Horizon HERO Moon Girl
LIGHT
Level 2
Warrior/Normal
800 ATK/500 DEF

Girzerker Tiny Panda
EARTH
Level 3
Psychic/Effect
900 ATK/500 DEF
This card cannot be targeted for an attack while you control another face-up monster. Pay 1000 LP; add 1 "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Girzerker Tiny Panda" once per turn.

Girzerker Ascending Ceremony
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Girzerker" Ritual Monster. You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. You can also pay LP equal to any number of Levels x 500, in addition to any Tributes used to equal the Level of the Ritual Monster. While this card is in your Graveyard, except the turn it is sent there: Pay 1000 LP; shuffle this card into your Deck and draw 1 card.

Emergency Teleport
Quick-Play Spell Card
Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Psychic monster from your hand or Deck, but banish it during the End Phase of this turn.

Girzerker Jump Puppy
EARTH
Level 2
Psychic/Effect
500 ATK/300 DEF
When you Ritual Summon a "Girzerker" Ritual Monster using this card as a Tribute; this card can be used as the entire Tribute. While this card is in your Graveyard, you can pay 1000 LP; add 1 "Girzerker Jump Puppy" from your Deck to your hand.

Girzerker Grodd Ape
EARTH
Level 10
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
2000 ATK/2800 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. If this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: This card gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK on the field. When this card is removed from the field: Gain LP equal to its ATK on the field.

Common Ritual
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Majesty" Ritual Monster. You must also Tribute cards from your hand, field, or Pendulum Zones whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 Pendulum Normal Monster in your GY; add that target to your hand, but for the rest of this turn, you cannot Summon monsters with that name.

Majesty Magician
DARK
Level 8
Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
6/4
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
P: When you Normal Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK/DEF: You can add 1 Equip Spell from your Deck or GY to your hand. Once per turn, if you activate an Equip Spell: Draw 1 card.
M: You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 monster that was originally a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. This card is treated as an appropriate target for a card that specifically designates a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK/DEF while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard (its Level and ATK/DEF do not change).

Majesty Diablo
FIRE
Level 8
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
2000 ATK/800 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with "Common Ritual". If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can pay 1000 LP; you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Pendulum Monsters and monsters from the Extra Deck, also place 2 Pendulum Normal Monsters with different names from your Deck in your Pendulum Zones. (Quick Effect): You can Tribute this card and target 1 Pendulum Monster in your GY or face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon that target. You can only use each effect of "Majesty Diablo" once per turn.

Violentist
LIGHT
Level 3
Fiend/Pendulum/Normal
1/7
650 ATK/1300 DEF
P: Once per turn: You can target 1 Equip Spell in your GY; equip it to an appropriate monster on the field, but destroy it during the next turn's End Phase.

Butter Fly
WIND
Level 3
Insect/Pendulum/Normal
4/9
900 ATK/700 DEF
P: Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can send 1 Equip Spell from your hand or Deck to the GY, then target 1 monster you control that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck; the first time that target would be destroyed this turn, it is not destroyed (even if this card leaves the field).

Treasure Cards from the Heavens (Card of Sanctity)
Normal Spell Card
Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand.

Majesty Pendulum
Normal Spell Card
Add 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Pendulum Monsters with different names from your Deck to your hand. You cannot Summon the added monsters, or a card with the same name, the turn you activate this effect. If you Pendulum Summon "Majesty Magician" while this card is in your GY: You can banish this card; add 1 Equip Spell from your Deck or GY to your hand. You can only use 1 "Majesty Pendulum" effect per turn, and only once that turn.

Hat-Trick Magician
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster/Pendulum/Normal
3/7
1200 ATK/1500 DEF
P: Monsters you control equipped with an Equip Spell Card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects once per turn each.

Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior/Pendulum/Normal
5/9
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
P: Once per turn, if you Pendulum Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster(s): You can draw cards equal to the number of Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters Pendulum Summoned +1, then shuffle cards from your hand into the Deck equal to the number of Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters you control.

Rescue Rabbit
EARTH
Level 4
Beast/Effect
300 ATK/100 DEF
Cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck. You can banish this face-up card you control; Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters with the same name from your Deck, but destroy them during the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Rescue Rabbit" once per turn.

Scaredy Lion
EARTH
Level 4
Beast/Pendulum/Normal
2/8
1300 ATK/1000 DEF
P: Once per turn, if a monster is Special Summoned from the Extra Deck with a Level/Rank between the Pendulum Scales of cards in your Pendulum Zones: You can add 1 Normal Monster from your Deck to your hand.

Great Blackstone
LIGHT
Rank 4
Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
11/5
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
P: Once per turn, if you have no cards in your other Pendulum Zone: You can place 1 Pendulum Normal Monster from your Deck in your Pendulum Zone.
M: 2 Level 4 Normal Monsters
If you can Pendulum Summon Level 4, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card in the Monster Zone is destroyed: You can place it in your Pendulum Zone. When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can detach 2 Xyz Material from this card; during your Main Phase this turn, you can Normal Summon 1 Normal Monster from your hand, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. If you Normal Summon a Normal Monster while this card is face-up on the field: Draw 1 card, then discard 1 card. (You can only gain each effect once per turn.)

Takotaco
WATER
Level 3
Fish/Pendulum/Tuner/Normal
9/2
800 ATK/800 DEF
P: Once per turn: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK/DEF you control; this turn, that face-up monster is treated as a Tuner (even if this card leaves the field).

Armored Block
Quick-Play Spell Card
Target 1 monster you control equipped with an Equip Spell Card; it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. If a monster you control equipped with an Equip Spell Card would be destroyed, you can banish this card from your Graveyard instead.

Multi-Tool
Equip Spell Card
Equip only to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK/DEF. If the equipped monster is Tributed or used as material for a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon, draw 1 card. The equipped monster gains this effect: Once per turn, you can increase or decrease this monster's Level by 1, or treat this monster as a Tuner, until the End Phase of this turn.

Zenkai Fire Dragoon
FIRE
Level 10
Dragon/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect
4/9
3000 ATK/2000 DEF
P: Double all battle damage inflicted by Normal Monsters you control. If a Normal Monster you control inflicts 1500 or more battle damage: You can Tribute that monster; Special Summon this card from your Pendulum Zone, but banish it when it leaves the field.
M: 1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
If you can Pendulum Summon Level 10, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card in the Monster Zone is destroyed: You can place this card in your Pendulum Zone. Your opponent cannot target this card with card effects. You take no effect damage. Up to twice per turn, when this attacking card destroys a monster by battle: You can banish 1 Normal Monster from your GY; this card gains ATK equal to the banished monster's ATK until the end of the Battle Phase, then this card can attack again in a row.

Common Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Fusion Summon 1 non-Effect Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using Normal Monsters from your hand, field, or Deck as Fusion Material. When the card Fusion Summoned by this effect battles an opponent's monster: You can banish this card in your Graveyard; negate that monster's effects and apply its original ATK and DEF when calculating damage until the end of the Battle Phase.

Flame Viper
EARTH
Level 2
Pyro/Normal
400 ATK/450 DEF

Wallrus
WATER
Level 2
Beast/Pendulum/Normal
6/5
400 ATK/800 DEF
P: Halve any battle damage you take from battles involving Normal Monsters you control. When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can activate this effect; destroy this card, and if you do, you take no further battle damage this turn.

Helpful, Knight of Commons
EARTH
Level 10
Warrior/Fusion
3800 ATK/3050 DEF
4 Level 4 or lower Normal Monsters

Pendulum Treasure
Normal Spell Card
Add 1 Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your Extra Deck face-up. You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Treasure" per turn.

Carbonizer Roasted Flesh
FIRE
Level 8
Rock/Pendulum/Effect
1/1
2000 ATK/1800 DEF
P: If you control a "Carbonizer Black Skeleton" in your other Pendulum Zone, your opponent cannot target or destroy your "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monsters with card effects.
M: If this card is Pendulum Summoned: Inflict 800 damage to your opponent. You can target 1 "Carbonizer" monster you control (Quick Effect): It gains ATK equal to the effect damage your opponent took this turn, until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of "Carbonizer Roasted Flesh" once per turn.

Carbonizer Black Skeleton
FIRE
Level 2
Rock/Pendulum/Effect
12/12
500 ATK/400 DEF
P: If you control a "Carbonizer Roasted Flesh" in your other Pendulum Zone, you take no damage.
M: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monster in your GY or face-up Extra Deck; add it to your hand, but for the rest of this turn, you cannot Normal Summon/Set or Special Summon monsters with that name. You can only activate this effect of "Carbonizer Black Skeleton" once per turn.

Carbonizer Blast Burner
FIRE
Level 1
Rock/Pendulum/Effect
9/9
100 ATK/0 DEF
P: You can target 1 "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monster you control; return this card to your hand, and if you do, place that target in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use this effect of "Carbonizer Blast Burn" once per turn.
M: If your opponent activates a monster effect on the field while you control a "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monster (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; negate that activation, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Carbonizer Kindling
Normal Spell Card
Activate only if you have a "Carbonizer" card in your Pendulum Zone. Discard 1 "Carbonizer" monster; draw 2 cards. You can only activate 1 "Carbonizer Kindling" per turn.

Carbonizer Smoldering Husk
FIRE
Level 5
Rock/Pendulum/Effect
2/2
1700 ATK/1200 DEF
P: Once per turn, if your opponent takes effect damage from your card effect: Inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent.
M: If this card is Pendulum Summoned: You can banish 1 "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monster in your face-up Extra Deck; add 1 card with the same name as that card from your Main Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Carbonizer Smoldering Husk" once per turn.

Pendulum Stone
Normal Spell Card
Discard 1 card; add 1 Rock Pendulum Monster from your Deck to your hand. During the End Phase of this turn, take 2000 damage if you did not Pendulum Summon the added monster, or a monster with the same name, after activating this card. You can only activate 1 "Pendulum Stone" per turn.

Carbonizer Incinerate
FIRE
Level 11
Rock/Pendulum/Effect
0/0
0 ATK/0 DEF
P: Once per turn, if your opponent attacks a "Carbonizer" monster you control: You can negate that attack, and if you do, inflict 800 damage to your opponent.
M: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Pendulum Summoned. Cannot be destroyed by battle while in Attack Position. If this card battles an opponent's monster: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK, also, destroy it at the end of the Damage Step. During your opponent's End Phase, if this card did not battle this turn: Inflict 4000 damage to your opponent.

Super Fusion (Super Polymerization)
Quick-Play Spell Card
Discard 1 card; Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from either field as Fusion Material. Neither player can activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation.

Girzerker Bronze Tiger
EARTH
Level 4
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
1700 ATK/1000 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field and pay LP in multiples of 100; that monster loses ATK and DEF equal to LP paid until the End Phase.

Magic Mentalist
DARK
Level 10
Psychic/Fusion/Effect
3500 ATK/3000 DEF
1 Level 7 or higher Psychic monster + 1 Level 7 or higher Spellcaster monster
You do not have to pay LP to activate effects. If an opponent's monster activates an effect: You can negate that effect, and if you do, destroy that card, also place 1 Spell Counter on this card. You can only activate this effect of "Magic Mentalist" once per turn. If this card is removed from the field: Gain 1000 LP for each Spell Counter that was on this card while on the field.

Molten Stones
Normal Trap Card
When your opponent Special Summons a monster: Banish 1 FIRE Rock monster from your GY, and if you do, banish that monster. You can activate this card from your hand if you control a FIRE Rock Pendulum Monster.

D.D. Crow
DARK
Level 1
Winged Beast/Effect
100 ATK/100 DEF
(Quick Effect): You can discard this card to the GY, then target 1 card in your opponent's GY; banish that target.

Reflect Nature (Nature's Reflection)
Normal Trap Card
During this turn, any effect activated by your opponent that would inflict damage becomes an effect that inflicts damage to their Life Points.

Magic Removal (De-Spell)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 face-up Spell, or 1 Set Spell/Trap, on the field; destroy that target if it is a Spell. (If the target is Set, reveal it.)

Carbonizer Rage Flame
Counter Trap Card
If your opponent activates a card effect that would destroy a "Carbonizer" card in your Pendulum Zone: Negate that effect, and if you do, destroy that card, then inflict 800 damage to your opponent. You can only use this effect of "Carbonizer Rage Flame" once per turn. You can banish this card in your GY, then target 1 "Carbonizer" Pendulum Monster in your face-up Extra Deck; Special Summon it, or add it to your hand, and if it was Special Summoned, draw 2 cards.

Tribute Doll
Normal Spell Card
Tribute 1 monster; Special Summon 1 Level 7 monster from your hand that can be Normal Summoned/Set. It cannot attack this turn.

Scorched Earth Dragon
FIRE
Level 7
Dragon/Effect
2900 ATK/2000 DEF
If this card is Summoned: You can destroy all cards on the field, then inflict 100 damage x the number of cards destroyed by this effect to each player. You can banish 3 monsters in your GY; Special Summon this card (from your GY), and if you do, it cannot be destroyed by card effects until the end of the next turn. You can only Special Summon "Scorched Earth Dragon" once per turn this way.

Expert Heart
Equip Spell Card
Equip only to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK/DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: Cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. When you take damage from an attack involving this card: This card gains ATK and DEF equal to the damage you took.

The Universe Inversion (The Great Noodle Inversion)
Normal Trap Card
Add the bottom card of your Deck to your hand, then take 1 card from your Deck, shuffle, and place that card on the bottom of the Deck.

Angel Trumpeter
EARTH
Level 4
Plant/Normal
1900 ATK/1600 DEF

Dark Napoleon (Meda Bat)
DARK
Level 2
Fiend/Normal
800 ATK/400 DEF

Summon Limiter (Summon Limit)
Continuous Trap Card
Neither player can Summon more than two times per turn. (Negated Summons count toward this limit. Negated cards/effects that would Summon do not count.)

Chaos Burst
Normal Trap Card
When your opponent's monster declares an attack: Tribute 1 monster, then target the attacking monster; destroy that target, then inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

Life Absorbing Machine
Continuous Trap Card
During your Standby Phase, gain Life Points equal to half of the total Life Points you paid during your last turn.

Brain Hazard
Continuous Trap Card
Select 1 of your removed from play Psychic-Type monsters, and Special Summon it. When this card is removed from the field, destroy that monster. When that monster is destroyed, destroy this card.

Holy Barrier – Mirror Force (Mirror Force)
Normal Trap Card
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Destroy all your opponent's Attack Position monsters.

Damage Eater
DARK
Level 2
Fiend/Effect
100 ATK/800 DEF
During your opponent's turn, when your opponent activates a card or effect that would inflict damage, you can remove from play this card in your Graveyard to change that effect so it increases Life Points by the same amount instead.

Monster Gate
Normal Spell Card
Tribute 1 monster; excavate cards from the top of your Deck until you excavate a monster that can be Normal Summoned/Set. Special Summon it, also send the other excavated cards to the GY.

Kagetokage
DARK
Level 4
Reptile/Effect
1100 ATK/1500 DEF
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned by its own effect. When you Normal Summon a Level 4 monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Cannot be used as Synchro Material.

Super Bugman (Super Crashbug)
DARK
Level 4
Fiend/Effect
0 ATK/3000 DEF
Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) in face-up Defense Position, by banishing "Crashbug X", "Crashbug Y", and "Crashbug Z" from your Graveyard. Switch the ATK and DEF of all face-up Attack Position monsters on the field. There can only be 1 face-up "Super Crashbug" on the field.

Half Shut
Quick-Play Spell Card
Target 1 face-up monster on the field; it cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, also its ATK is halved until the end of this turn.

Revealed Girzerker
Ritual Magic Card
Discard 1 "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card in your hand; you can Special Summon 1 "Girzerker" Ritual Monster from your Deck (this Special Summon is treated as a Ritual Summon). You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Special Summon.

Chaos Girzerker Antimatter
LIGHT
Level 13
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
4000 ATK/4000 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. Must be Ritual Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. When Ritual Summoned, cards and effects cannot be activated, also negate the effects of all face-up Spell/Trap Cards on the field. When this card attacks: Your opponent's Spell/Trap Cards and monster effects cannot be activated on the field until the end of the Damage Step. Cannot be destroyed by Spell/Trap effects that do not target this card. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict double piercing battle damage to your opponent. During each player's End Phase: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to half their Life Points. If this card is destroyed: Take damage equal to its combined ATK and DEF on the field.

Burn My Dread
Normal Trap Card
During the Battle Phase, if you would take damage from battle or a card effect: That damage becomes 0, also end the Battle Phase. If your LP would become 0 due to that instance of damage, you can pay half your Life Points to activate this card from your hand.

Big Bat Knight
EARTH
Level 3
Warrior/Pendulum/Normal
7/1
1100 ATK/500 DEF
P: Once per turn, when a Pendulum Monster you control destroys an opponent's monster, after damage calculation: You can send 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from your Deck to the GY; inflict 800 damage to your opponent.

Carbonizer Apocalypse
Counter Trap Card
If you control "Carbonizer Incinerate", this card's activation cannot be negated, also, you can activate this card from your hand. When your opponent Special Summons a monster(s) from the Extra Deck: Banish those monsters, and if you do, you can banish Spell/Trap Cards on the field equal to the number of monsters banished by this effect. You can only activate this effect of "Carbonizer Apocalypse" once per turn. If this only card you control is "Carbonizer Incinerate": You can banish this card from your GY; place 1 "Carbonizer Black Skeleton" and 1 "Carbonizer Roasted Flesh" from your Main Deck into your Pendulum Zones.

God's Judgment (Solemn Judgment)
Counter Trap Card
When a monster(s) would be Summoned, OR a Spell/Trap Card is activated: Pay half your LP; negate the Summon or activation, and if you do, destroy that card.

Girzerker Last Rights
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Girzerker" Ritual Monster from your Graveyard. You must also banish monsters from your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. Banish this card from your Graveyard; gain 2000 LP. This effect cannot be activated if you Summoned a monster this turn, except by Ritual Summon.

Instant Fusion
Normal Spell Card
Pay 1000 LP; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, but it cannot attack, also it is destroyed during the End Phase. (This is treated as a Fusion Summon.) You can only activate 1 "Instant Fusion" per turn.

Rare Fish
WATER
Level 4
Fish/Fusion
1500 ATK/1200 DEF
"Fusionist" + "Enchanting Mermaid"

Perfect Chaos – Telos
LIGHT
Rank 4
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
2000 ATK/2000 DEF
3+ Level 4 monsters
You can Xyz Summon this card by using Equip Spells equipped to monsters used as Xyz Material for this card's Summon. When this card is Xyz Summoned using an Equip Spell as material: You can add 1 "Rank-Up-Magic" Normal Spell from your Deck to your hand. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; increase or decrease this card's Rank by 1. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as material gains this effect.
● Unaffected by opponent's card effects.

Rank-Up-Magic Topaz Force
Normal Spell Card
Banish 1 monster from your Graveyard, then target 1 face-up Xyz Monster you control with the same Type as the banished monster; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Xyz Monster with the same Type as that monster you control but 1 Rank higher, by using it as the Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to it also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) It gains this effect.
● Once only, when an opponent's monster with a different Type from this card activates its effect (Quick Effect): Target that monster; negate that effect, and if you do, halve its ATK/DEF until the End Phase of your next turn.

Chasm Gothi – Episteme
DARK
Rank 7
Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect
4300 ATK/3200 DEF
5 Level 7 monsters
You can Xyz Summon this card by using Equip Spells equipped to monsters used as Xyz Material for this card's Summon. When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can destroy cards your opponent controls up to the number of materials attached to this card. Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; your opponent discards their entire hand. If this card had an Equip Spell as Xyz Material when this card detached material, inflict 400 damage to your opponent x the number of cards discarded by this effect.


This took a lot less time to write than I expected. Probably has a lot to do with how much I enjoyed making it.

This should clock in as the longest chapter to date. I would have split it up, but I don't think there's a great place to do that. Think of it as a 45-minute special to trick all of the people who didn't read the episode listings ahead of time and really believe this is the finale.

Scorched Earth Dragon is another one I've had saved for a while. Yuu does a good job of explaining its whole deal here, so it's a lot of fun as her real ace monster. Angel Trumpeter got to come out and toot for a minute this chapter, too.

I don't know why I decided that Yuu and Rio would fight over Yumi. It just feels natural for them, especially now with Yuu being both extremely blunt and unafraid to speak her mind.

Rio's Persona-themed Traps are now complete, mostly because, just like Atlus, she doesn't care about anything before 3. I was thinking about it earlier and realized that giving battle Traps the ability to activate from hand like this would probably fix them for the modern era. They wouldn't be ubiquitous or as strong as they were back in the day, but it would at least overcome their biggest weakness of getting Yumi's Mirror Forced before they can activate.

Chaos Mode was fun to finally unleash here. Really shows how much she's matured since the beginning. She's not just a vessel to Chaos anymore and found the balance between letting it flow through her without letting it take over. Like a wise man once said, she finally learned how to be loose and tight at the same time.

I like orange as the color for it for a lot of reasons. Took some inspiration from the Svadhisthana chakra and things like that, but it also just looks good on her. Also matches with Topaz Force, which completes the trinity of her Rank-Up-Magic cards.

That's about all I have for now. Someone special just came back on the scene, so that's probably going to cause problems next chapter. Wonder what happens now.

Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember unblock your chakras.