Now the serious duels begin!

*Chapter 37: Master of Darkness*

Hope opened her eyes slowly. The last thing she could remember was falling into the pit of black, and then nothing.

She blinked, and sat up. All around her was darkness. There was nothing but darkness all around her. She couldn't see anything but darkness. Somehow though, she could see around. It didn't seem to cloud her vision, for she could see her hands fairly well. Blackness intertwined her fingers, slipping away as quickly as it had come. She looked, and realized that there was no floor either. She was sitting on what seemed to be as unstable as anything else, yet it was solid. It was almost like the area that they had seen Alene in. However, that area would have seemed warm and friendly compared to this place. The darkness seemed cold, and frightening.

Hope looked around, and was relieved to see everyone else was there as well, although they were all knocked out.

Max moaned, and began to regain consciousness. Hope walked over to him. "Are you ok?"

He nodded. "What is this place?"

"I'm not sure… it seems like we are trapped in darkness itself. The pit closed behind us as we jumped in. We would have waited for you, but since it was beginning to be covered, we didn't want to wait around."

"I see. Are the others alright?"

"Yep, I'm ok," Will said, rising. "Must have been a long drop."

"Indeed," Rue agreed.

"No problem here," Claire assured.

"If I'm not dreaming, then I'm fine," Brandi finished.

The Soul Monsters were awake as well.

"This place gives me the creeps…" Rue shuddered. "Hey Max, do you have a Dark Piercing Light handy?"

"I should…" Max reached for his pocket, and shook his head. "That's weird… my cards are gone."

"What?" Hope looked around. "Now that you mention it, my backpack isn't here…"

"It looks like we lost everything we had in the drop," Will noted. "Except for our Duel Disks, decks, and weapons. Is that the same for everyone else?"

"Yeah. I even lost that orb of fire," Hope replied. "Not like I'm going to miss it, but still."

"So we will have to make our way without support cards… joy," Brandi said sarcastically.

"Neo, can you light this place up?" Will inquired.

Neo concentrated for a few minutes, then shook his head. "It's no good… something is preventing me from using that power."

"So what should we do?" Claire pondered.

"Standing around here won't accomplish anything," Max pointed out. "Let's get moving."

They followed Max into the darkness. It seemed like hours passed, but none of them could know for sure. They just kept walking, noticing no change in the scenery.

After a long time, Olympion snarled.

A great evil approaches.

"What?" They looked around quickly.

"Over there!" Brandi indicated.

A man was walking up to them slowly. He wore a black, long sleeved t-shirt, black jeans, black shoes, and a long, black cape. His short hair was jet-black, but it was his eyes that caught your attention. They were a deep and menacing purple that seemed to have been born from hell itself. They spoke of death just by looking into them.

Strapped to his back was a long, big, and black sword. There were red grooves carved into it on the blade. Some of them had a few spots in it that were not completely cleaned. Hope immediately realized that they were made to let blood run through, and felt sickened.

Even his Duel Disk reeked of evil. It was the same model that the group carried around, but instead of being white, is was black. The field for placing monsters was a vivid red.

The beast beside him was just as terrifying as his master. He was a big, purple devilish creature. His blood-red cape was draped around his body. He had huge, red wings as well. His clawed hands had strength enough to tear anything. On each of his shoulders was a huge, wicked spike. His left side was covered with a piece of gold armor. In the center of his forehead was a gold jewel, with red in the center. He had wild green hair, and piercing, yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" Rue asked.

"I am the one who will be your executioner…"

"A General of Hell?" Gaston said doubtfully. "You don't look like one… why no cloak, or orb of fire?"

The figure smirked. "I, be one of them? You think too little of me. I would never join those fools! I work only for my own ambitions. I have simply been ordered to kill you all."

Claire frowned. "Why though? If you don't care about the ritual, why kill us?"

"Because of what I have to gain from it. They have assured me that you are the key I need to killing the one I loathe. Now, enough talk. Who will die at my hand first?"

Looking extremely nervous, but not about to back down, Will stepped up, Neo following him. "I'll be the one to duel you."

"You are forfeiting your life…"

"I will not fall as easily as you think!"

"Oh, but you will… you are not aware of how wrong you are…"

Will: 8000

???: 8000

"If you are so confident that you will win, then I will make the first move! I lay one monster in defense mode, and two cards face down. It's your move!"

"Very well… I draw, and my Soul Monster's effect activates! By paying 500 Life Points when I draw a Dark Main-Type monster, I destroy one monster on your field, regardless of position. I drew Mad Dog of Darkness, so the effect is triggered."

"My Holy Elf…"

Will: 8000

???: 7500

"Now, I summon Mad Dog of Darkness. (1900/1400) He will attack you directly. Then I lay two cards of my own."

Will: 6100

???: 7500

"I summon Magic Warrior: Breaker! I remove his magic counter to destroy the M/T to the left!"

"You destroyed my Torture Wheel…"

"I also activate Black Power Stone, and move one counter from the trap to Breaker. Then I remove that counter to destroy your second card!"

"That was my Imperial Decree."

"I equip Breaker with Power of Magicians, raising his stats by 500 for each magic and trap card on my field. (3100/2500) Now Breaker attacks Mad Dog of Darkness!"

Will: 6100

???: 6300

"I draw… and Zork's ability does not activate… I summon Manju God. (1400/1000) When successfully summoned, he allows me to search my deck for a ritual monster or magic. So I will do so. Then I end."

"I will use Black Power Stone to move a second counter to Breaker. (3400/2500) Then I summon Turner of the Dead: Kaiku. Breaker destroys your Manju God, and Kaiku attacks you directly! I'll also use Kaiku's effect to remove both of your monsters from your Cemetery!"

Will: 6100

???: 2500

"You're doing great Will!" Hope encouraged. "Keep it up!"

"For all of that man's boasts, he's losing horribly…" Rue noticed.

"You will now see the true strength of my deck. I summon another Manju God! (1400/1000) I get Pact with the Dark Master, and activate it. By sacrificing my Manju God and my Black Forest Witch (1100/1200) from my hand, I can special summon Dark Master-Zork! (2700/1500) Now I use his effect. Once a turn, I roll a die. If I roll a one or two, all of your monsters are destroyed. If it is a three, four, or five, I destroy one of your monsters. If I roll a six, all of my monsters are destroyed. So I will now roll!"

The die clattered on the field, landing on…

"No! A five!"

"I will have my monster destroy your Breaker. Now Zork will attack your Kaiku! Then I lay one card down."

Will: 5200

???: 2500

"This doesn't look good for Will…" Claire said.

"Don't give up on him so easily!" Gaston responded.

"I lay one card down, and a monster in defense…"

"I will roll for Zork's ability."

And the dice landed on…

"Yes! A six!" Will sighed in relief.

"Don't get comfortable yet! I activate Reverse Dice! Now I can reroll the die!"

This time, it was…

"A two! Dang it! My Royal Magic Librarian…"

"Now I play Cyclone, destroying your face down card."

"My Magic Cylinder… that was my last chance…"

"I summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1200) Both of my monsters attack directly."

Will: 600

???: 2500

Will gritted his teeth as he drew, and smiled. "Maybe I stand a chance… I play Thunderbolt! Then I summon Magician's Valkyria! (1600/1800) Attack directly!"

Will: 600

???: 900

"Now it is all based on luck…" Max said.

"Come on…" Hope whispered. "Please… don't let him draw a Dark Monster… please…"

The man looked at his card, and smirked. "I play Raise Dead on Dark Master-Zork."

"No! Will has no cards to counter that!" Rue realized.

"I have no need to use his effect and risk losing… Zork! Attack his monster!"

Will: 0

???: 900

"I'm sorry… I failed…" Will said softly.

"This can't be!" Hope cried out.

"It is the boy's own fault for choosing to try and defeat me. Nobody will get in the way of my goal…" The man pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "Goodbye."

Suddenly, beneath Will, the floor split apart. With a yell of surprise, he and Neo plunged into the depths of the unknown, the floor sealing behind them.

"Will! Neo! NO!" Hope collapsed to the ground. "They can't… THEY CAN'T BE DEAD!"

"It's too late for them…" the man said calmly. "They are long gone."

*****

"This is just a great way to die…" Will muttered sarcastically as he and Neo fell on, with no sign of stopping. "Hey Neo! I'm sorry I had to drag you down with me…"

"There's got to be a way to get out of this place!" Neo shouted back. "Any ideas?"

"Wait… can't you teleport?"

Neo thought for a minute. "I can, but it usually doesn't work. And there is no way I could take you with me…"

"Forget me! You need to teleport out of here!"

"WHAT?!" Neo shook his head. "I can't do that!"

"Yes, you can! There's no way to save me; I know that as a fact, since I lost! But you can live. Do it as a last request from me! Teleport out of this place!"

"But…"

"JUST DO IT!"

Neo slowly nodded. "…If I must… I'm so sorry!" His hands began to glow. He clapped them together, and vanished.

Will looked around, and saw that he was gone. "Good… at least he'll be alright." Then he closed his eyes. "Now I just wait for the end…"

*****

Rue ran over to where they had been, and examined the place where they had been. "No… this can't be real…"

"Will…" Hope tried to hold back her emotions.

Suddenly, a bright light began to fill the area. After a few seconds, it faded, leaving Neo lying in front of Rue.

"Neo? What the…?!" Mana ran over to him. "Are you alright?"

Neo lifted his head slowly, making no effort to stop the tears running down his face. "No… I failed Will…"

The man began to walk toward them quietly. "I was only ordered to kill the duelists… so I will deal with you later. Now, who will die next?"

That was when another bright light appeared, and quickly faded, leaving Sarius, Raid, the Child, and Cyrus.

The expression on Sarius' face was a horrible thing to witness. He had cast his eyes upon the group, and seeing that Will was gone, he snarled in anger.

"JUNO! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

Juno smirked. "You're a little too late Tirran."

"DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Sarius shouted. "YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME!"

"So, you are the one who wishes to die next?" Juno sneered. "Fine then… prepare yourself for a duel."

To be continued…