*Chapter 13: The Clash Of Two Rivaling Monsters!*

After a bit of traveling, the gang had left the cave they had been in. Hope decided to explain what had occurred.

"And that's all that happened before you guys came," Hope finished.

Will shook his head. "Sick. All that work, just to duel someone? These Generals are desperate. But why try and beat Hope? If they wanted to kill people for their souls, why not just take Caleb and Ifrit or something?"

Hope laughed, and then grew serious. "I have no idea. It's not like I have anything they could want, right?"

"I don't know," Rue shrugged. "I guess we will just have to be careful. Where should we go now?"

"Back to town," Gaston suggested. "We need info; would your friend Hector know anything?"

"If anyone does, it will be him," Rue assured. "I guess it couldn't hurt; let's go."

They walked in silence to the town, each immersed in their own thoughts. That silence was broken by something Neo noticed though.

"Isn't that smoke?" He pointed at the sky, and everyone could clearly see it.

"A fire? But why… oh no!" Rue exclaimed. He ran quickly ran toward where the smoke was coming from, the others following. They stared at the town.

"It's burning? A fire, but who started it?" Will pondered.

"This is bad!" Hope said. "What if there are people down there? They could get serious injuries in the real world! That fire is so hot, it's blue!"

Rue was already running down there.

What they found was nothing short of complete chaos. People, with their Soul Monsters, were running out of the town as fast as they could. Many others immediately teleported out of Teknisk Wereld. All the building were burning, and not stopping. A man's Soul Monster, a Thunderous Giant Water Snake, spat a whole stream of water onto one of the burning houses. The fire relented for a second, but then sprang back, angrier then ever. The Snake tried again, but this time the fire got even bigger, and burned it. Hissing in pain, the Snake vanished, most likely into its card, and the man ran.

"Horrible…" Hope said softly.

"Who did this?!" Rue demanded. "The coward had better not have left!"

"Don't worry. I didn't leave."

A teen emerged from one of the burning houses. He had a cloak exactly like Zenith's, but he threw it aside. He wore a white shirt, and blue pants. He also wore white boots and blue gloves. His silver hair ended at his shoulders, and his blue eyes were very vivid against the flames. Standing by his side was his Soul Monster. The monster resembled a knight, with white armor, golden around the edges. He wore a white helmet, and a long, white cape. His sword seemed to emit a white light too.

"You did this?" Will asked.

"Yes. It was a simple task, with a little help from this of course." He revealed an orb around his neck.

"It's exactly like Zenith's!" Hope exclaimed.

"So you are the one who defeated him? What a pity. I was a friend of his; I will miss him dearly. But it was all for the better. He knows that," the boy said. Hope caught a trace of sadness in his voice.

Rue wasn't about to sympathize. "Who are you?"

"I am called Draken. I am a General of Hell, but I think you already guessed that. I just stopped by this town to kill a few people in this town for the ritual," he explained.

Hope gave him a look of disgust. "Are you an idiot? You can't kill people in Teknisk Wereld… you have to kill their living body!"

Draken smirked. "That's what you think. I wouldn't be so sure though." He turned around and grabbed something. He threw it at them. "Just look!"

They walked closer to look. Hope gasped, and then gagged. Rue yelled in shock and outrage. Will stared grimly. Max shook his head.

The corpse was barely recognizable; it had been burned so badly. Hope could tell that it was a girl, but barely. Another thump and the carcass of a Crown Taker Blue Wings landed beside her. Hope turned away and ran off to the side, unable to keep back the nausea that overwhelmed her from the sickening scent of the burned flesh.

"You sicko!" Rue shouted.

"Yes, this girl is dead. She was naive, and treasured a man. Innocence and love are two good traits for the ritual. Not necessary, of course, but all the better." Draken laughed. "Her Soul Monster put up a good fight for something so small, though. I enjoyed ending its pathetic life. That bird will never sing again."

"That's it… you are going down!" Rue slammed the button on his Duel Disk. "There is no way you are getting away with this!"

Draken shrugged. "Be my guest. Just step forward."

Rue didn't hesitate to do so. Behind him, blue fire sprang up. Blue fire sprang up behind Draken as well. It was a ring of fire, with no exits. To try and jump it was surely death.

Hope got up, weakly holding her stomach. Although the fire was too high for Rue to get over or around, the guys outside could see him. "No! Don't!"

"It's too late," Draken said calmly. "You have accepted my Death Duel. The winner will go free. Also, if you win, the fires will vanish. The loser will die, of course. You do notice these fires look interesting, don't you? They are the fires of Hell, waiting to consume helpless lives! And you will be their fuel!"

Rue shuddered. "I won't lose."

"Then keep denying it; we will see soon. Are you ready?"

"No," Rue answered truthfully. "But I have to."

Rue: 8000

Draken: 8000

"I suppose I will go first," Draken said. "I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"That was a crummy move," Rue said. "I summon Gemini Elf, (1900/900) and equip them with Big Bang Shoot! So they get 400 more attack points, and a Trample effect! (2300/900) Attack his set my elves!"

"There goes my Quick Squirrel. (1000/100) What a pity…"

"You lose 2200 Life Points!"

"Ah, but I also gain 1000."

Rue: 8000

Draken: 6800

"How?!" Rue demanded.

"My Quick Squirrel lets me gain 1000 Life Points when it is destroyed in Battle, and I can also get two more. So I do so." Two more face down cards appeared on his field.

"Ugh… I lay one card face down then."

"My turn, is it? Well, I have drawn the perfect card to destroy your elves. While I would love to gain more Life Points for my two squirrels, it is simply too dangerous with them out. So, I will sacrifice both of them to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon! (3000/2500)"

Rue stared. "A Blue Eyes White Dragon? You run a Blue Eyes White Dragon deck?!"

"That is correct. My Soul Monster should have given it away. The Knight Of White Dragon, of course. Darche for short. Now, my Blue Eyes will attack Gemini Elf!"

The great, white dragon brought back its head and hit the elves with a very powerful burst of blue lightning. Rue blocked the light with his arm.

Rue: 7300

Draken: 6800

Rue drew, and frowned. "Not good. I lay down one monster, and then play Sealing Swords Of Light! This stops you from attacking for three turns. I end."

"Aw, it looks like you know you can't destroy my Blue Eyes. What a pity. The monster who I treasure the most will be the one to kill you, I suppose."

"You treasure that thing?" Rue asked. "Why? They aren't very hard to get; just get a Kaiba Structure Deck, and you have three."

"You know nothing!" Draken said angrily. "You think we are just freaks who do not have human emotions?!"

"…"

"Well, let me tell you something: this card is the only thing I have left!"

FLASHBACK

A younger Draken entered a house, obviously his own. "Sister! I'm home!" He frowned. "Sis?"

There was no response. He walked into a room of his house. It appeared to be a family room. Draken suddenly gasped. Lying there, staining the carpet was a girl. She had long, silver hair, and green eyes which were closed. Her once-purple dress was now completely red, soaked in blood. She had apparently been stabbed in her abdomen.

"Sis!" Draken shaked her. "Please, say something!"

The girl opened one of her eyes. She attempted to speak, but coughed up blood.

"Sis! Hold on! I'll call the hospital!"

She coughed a few more times. "…Don't…it's too late…" She coughed again. "I'm dying…"

"You can't be! You're the only one I have left! Don't go Sis!"

"I'm… sorry… her… take… this…" The girl weakly got an untouched handkerchief from the table and reached into her pocket with it. She brought out three cards.

"I wanted… to make a Blue Eyes… deck… for you… Since it… is your… favorite. Now it's… too late. Take… these Blue Eyes… Make me proud. Win all the duels you fight. I… know you... can. Draken… I… I love you." She shuddered, and collapsed.

Draken looked at the cards, then at his sister, and burst into tears.

"DAINA!!!"

END FLASHBACK

"Our parents had died when I was only six. My sister was murdered when I was eight. Daine was only thirteen. My heart was broken. I cried for weeks. After about a month, I stopped being weak. I grew furious at my sister's murder…"

FLASHBACK

Draken ran down an alley, panting furiously.

"I must find… my sister's murderer…" He slammed his fist onto the sidewalk. "I'll never be able to find him like this!"

"Do you wish for me to help?"

Draken turned around, and saw a man in a black cloak.

"Yes sir, I'd like that. I want to kill someone…"

The man chuckled. "You already have violence and rage in your blood, plus the thirst for revenge." He paused, and then nodded. "You will be perfect."

END FLASHBACK

"So my master took me under his wing. When I was nine, I finally got what I wanted…"

FLASHBACK
A man backed up against the wall, panting, shuddering, crying. Draken walked up, a knife in his hand.

"No! Please! I only killed the girl because she rejected my request! She was so beautiful, I couldn't resist asking! She denied me, and my rage took over! I realize now that she was too young to be asked, but I couldn't oppose! I didn't mean to! Please, spare me!" The man could not stop shaking.

Draken gave a nasty grin. "Spare you? Hah! How can you even have the nerve to ask that question?! My pain, my torture, my grief… was all because of you!" Draken took out the knife, and stabbed the man several times, savoring the screams of pain and blood that flecked everywhere. He didn't kill him though. No, he tortured him. Hours went by, and he wasn't done. The man was too weak with blood loss to even cry.

"Your death is too close for my liking. It was fun while it lasted though. I saved the best for last though; don't worry!" Draken revealed a shining, fiery orb from around his neck, and muttered something under his breath. Blue flames grabbed the blood-soaked form. The man gave out a long, loud scream of pain. The worst part of it was Draken though, laughing as he watched the body burning into nothing Hell's Fire…

END FLASHBACK

"It has been six years since then. The boss had fulfilled his part in the bargain; now it was my turn. I have killed many, savoring their cries of pain… their pleas for mercy… the warm, delicious blood. The one thing that makes me wish to live is killing!" Draken said with passion.

Hope was almost throwing up again. Max just stared. Will looked shocked. Rue was pretty close to getting sick himself.

"You are the sickest man I have ever met!" Rue shouted. "Your sister wanted you to be happy, but not like this! She would be disgusted with you now!"

"Shut up! You just don't get it!" Draken screamed in rage.

"Oh, I get it. You are no better than the man who killed your sister! You both killed for pleasure!"

"You will never understand my motives! You have never had a sister killed! I can assure you though, you never will either! I won't be able to get to her before killing you…"

"NEVER!" Rue yelled. "YOU WILL NEVER GET TO HER! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Draken straitened. "Then let's continue. I summon Kaiser Seahorse and end my turn. (1700/1650)"

"Good. I flip summon Tenacious Old Magician! I choose to have him destroy your Blue Eyes White Dragon! Then, I sacrifice him for Black Magician Girl! (2000/1700) Attack his Kaiser Seahorse!"

Rue: 7300

Draken: 6650

"You did well to get her out, but it is all for nothing! I summon Knight of White Dragon!"

"How?" Will said. "That's a Ritual Monster; you didn't have any Rituals though."

"That's what Darche is for. I can summon my Knight without a Ritual, thanks to him. Now, I sacrifice it to summon another Blue Eyes! And I play the Magic card Burst Stream! It allows me to choose one monster on your side of the field and destroy it if I have a Blue Eyes out! That is all."

Rue shook his head. "Your lack of traps will be your downfall. I summon Skilled Black Magician! And then I activate Black Power Stone, and move one Magic Counter to him! I also use Thunderbolt to destroy your Blue Eyes! Now, I attack directly!"

Rue: 7300

Draken: 4750

"How fortunate of you. Too bad I have everything planned out though. I will lay one monster and one other card. That is all."

"I use Black Power Stone to move over my second Counter! Now I have three, so I sacrifice my Skilled Black Magician for Black Magician! Attack!"

"You killed my Black Forest Witch. May I go? I think I will; you don't have much choice in the matter! I summon Knight Of White Dragon, and sacrifice him for my third Blue Eyes! Now, attack Black Magician! Then I lay another card down."

Rue: 6800

Draken: 4750

"How ironic. A Black Magician Deck versus a Blue Eyes White Dragon Deck," Max commented.

Rue drew, and looked at his card. "Excellent. I use Cry Of The Living Dead, to revive my Black Magician! And then I equip him with Power Of Teamwork! (3300/2900) Attack the Blue Eyes!"

Rue: 6800

Draken: 4450

"Too bad that won't win you the match. I play Raise Dead on my Blue Eyes! Next, I activate Cry Of The Living Dead for another Blue Eyes! Finally, I use Early Burial for my last one!"

Rue: 6800

Draken: 3650

"Now, I activate Fusion! Fusing my three Blue Eyes together to form Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! (4500/4100) I also activate Stomping Crash on your Cry Of The Living Dead! It is destroyed, and you lose 500 Life Points. Now, ATTACK!"

The powerful attack hit Rue dead on. He fell backwards with a yell of pain. He would have landed in the fire had Ruecian not caught him.

Rue: 1800

Draken: 3650

"Why don't you just give up now?" Draken taunted.

Rue got up painfully, and glared. "I. Will. Not. LOSE!" He drew, and immediately played it. "I activate Black Magic Curtain! My Black Magician will come from my deck!"

Rue: 900

Draken: 3650

"And I activate Early Burial on my other Black Magician!"

Rue: 100

Draken: 3650

Draken shook his head. "You have sealed your defeat."

"You should know every magician has at least one trick left," Rue stated. He stuck the card in his Duel Disk. "I play Thousand Knives! Your ultimate beast is gone!"

Draken smirked. "Just try and attack."

"I know about your face down card, so I will use Cyclone!"

"No! My Magic Cylinder…"

"Now attack!"

Rue: 100

Draken: 0

Draken sighed, in a tired way. "Daina… I promised I would win… I'm sorry…"

Rue stared at him. "I am sorry for how your life went."

Draken shook his head. "Save your breath… but do something for me." He threw Rue his three Blue Eyes. "Hold onto these for me. They do not deserve to be destroyed."

Rue thought, and then nodded.

Draken smiled. "It is time for me to reap my penalty." A single tear fell from his eye. "I'm sorry… Daina…" The blue flames grabbed him, and consumed his body, along with Darche's. They gave a long, drawn out cry of pain, before even their ashes were burned.
To be continued…