*Chapter 38: Enemies For Eternity*
Sarius prepared his Duel Disk. "You have crossed the line Juno, killing others to simply get to me!"
"I will do anything to get my goals accomplished Tirran. ANYTHING. I thought you were well-aware of that."
"I am, but I did not expect this… you will pay!"
"Then quit boasting, and get ready to fight yet again."
Up until this point, the others had remained silent, Mana still trying to comfort Neo. Rue was growing impatient though.
"What's going on? Do you know this guy Sarius?"
Sarius nodded grimly. "I do. Juno and I are great enemies. You see, his main objective is to end all existence. He got close to succeeding too… but I went to his homeland and defeated him. Ever since his embarrassing defeat, he has been after me, trying to kill me before proceeding with the rest of existence."
"So he wanted to kill us, knowing that you would come to defend us?" Claire asked.
"I assume that is what he wanted."
"Enough stalling… I have waited for this moment for a long time, and I refuse to hesitate any longer!"
"You have wanted to be defeated again? As you wish!"
Sarius: 8000
Juno: 8000
"I think I will take all honor in going first," Juno announced. "I summon Manju God. (1400/1000) I search my deck for a ritual monster or magic. Then I lay one card down. Make your move."
"I draw, and summon Magician's Valkyria! And you already know Raid's ability. (2100/2300) Attack your Manju God!"
"I activate Torture Wheel, halting your monster."
"I lay two cards down, and end my turn…"
"I draw, and you lose 500 Life Points."
Sarius: 7500
Juno: 8000
"Now I play Pact with the Dark Master, sacrificing Manju God and a Mad Dog of Darkness from my hand (1900/1400) to special summon Dark Master-Zork! (2700/1500) Now I will activate his ability!"
The die landed on a three.
"I will have him destroy your monster. Next, I play Tempest, destroying your magic or traps."
"I activate Curse of Magic-Sealing! By discarding Dark World Warrior Dark Sword, I negate your magic card!"
"In that case, I will attack!"
"You ran into my Magic Cylinder! You lose Life Points equal to your monsters attack!"
Sarius: 7500
Juno: 5300
"I am not very concerned… I lay one card down and end my turn."
"I will remove my Magician's Valkyria and Dark World Warrior Dark Sword to special summon Chaos Sorcerer! (2800/2500) I'm well aware that your trap might be something that can stop me from attacking, so I activate his special ability! I can remove one of your face up monsters from the game, so Zork is gone! However, my Sorcerer can't attack the same turn. So I lay one card down, and end my turn."
"A small loss… I draw, and Zork's effect is triggered. You do remember it, don't you? I drew Critter, so I will pay 500 Life Points to destroy your Chaos Sorcerer. Then I summon Critter (1000/600) and attack directly."
Sarius: 6500
Juno: 4800
"Hm… I summon Blade Knight (2100/1500) and attack your Critter!"
"I activate Holy Barrier-Mirror Force. Your Blade Knight is destroyed."
"In that case, I end…"
"I switch Critter to defense mode, and lay one other monster in defense."
"I summon Executioner Makyura. (2100/1700) He will attack your Critter! Then I end."
"I summon Manju God. Then, I play Pact with the Dark Master. I sacrifice Manju God and my face down Black Forest Witch (1100/1200) to special summon Dark Master-Zork. (2700/1500) Now I roll for his effect."
The die landed on a one.
"Your Executioner Makyura is destroyed. Now, Zork will attack directly. Then I lay one card down."
Sarius: 3800
Juno: 4800
"Don't think you have won yet! I play Distressing Choice! The five cards you will need to pick from are Mad Dog of Darkness, another Mad Dog of Darkness, Magic Reflector Reflect Bounder, Dark World Warrior Dark Sword, and Blade Knight."
"Take the Blade Knight."
"I will lay one monster in defense mode, and a card face down. Then it's your turn."
"I drew Demon Soldier, so I pay 500 Life Points to destroy your set."
"My Blade Knight is gone…"
Sarius: 3800
Juno: 4300
"I will then summon Demon Soldier! (1900/1500)"
"I activate Tidal Wave! All of your monsters are destroyed!"
"I will activate Cry of the Living Dead. My Dark Master-Zork is revived. Now I attack you directly with him."
Sarius: 1100
Juno: 4300
Sarius drew slowly, and nodded. "I play Black Core. By discarding my Seeds of the Beginning, I remove your Zork."
"That's a risky play, Tirran. If I draw a monster, you are finished."
Sarius shrugged. "I have no other way to go about it."
Juno swore softly. "I didn't get a monster… oh well. I lay one card down, and end my turn."
Sarius looked at his new card. "This is a huge gamble… but I see no way around it. I remove Mad Dog of Darkness and Blade Knight to special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon-Messenger of the End! (3500/3000) Now I use his effect, to destroy all of our cards for the cost of 1000 Life Points!"
"Why not attack?"
"I know you too well! I won't be fooled into your trap!"
"A wise choice… I had Magic Cylinder down. I also have to discard my Cyclone."
Sarius: 100
Juno: 3700
"Now it is all about top decking," Sarius said.
"Indeed. You got lucky this time… I lay one card down, and end."
"I remove my Mad Dog of Darkness and Blade Knight to special summon Chaos Soldier-Messenger of Creation! (3500/3000) I'll attack!"
Sarius: 100
Juno: 200
"DAMN YOU!" Juno drew, and swore again. "All I can do is lay a monster in defense mode…"
"I use my Chaos Soldier's effect! I remove your monster from the game, at the cost of him not being able to attack!"
"My Executioner Makyura… no…!"
"Now I summon Magic Warrior: Breaker! (2400/1500) He attacks for the win!"
Sarius: 100
Juno: 0
"CURSE YOU TIRRAN! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER BE DEFEATED?! YOU ARE NOT INVINCIBLE! WHY DO I ALWAYS FAIL?!"
"Because I have a purpose. Because I have a reason that I must win! Now leave this plane of existence!"
The ground began to split at Juno's feet. He glared at Sarius, his eyes filled with hatred.
"I do not fear anything, even the pits of Hell! No matter how many times you try, I will continue to come back! You will not win next time Tirran! I will eventually be the victor; do not forget that!"
The ground finally collapsed, and Juno fell, not attempting to resist.
Sarius sighed in a tired way. "I must go after him."
"What? But isn't he dead?" Brandi inquired.
"He's an omnihuman… no matter how many times he dies, he will be reborn. I cannot let him interfere again… you have enough to go through as it is." He turned to them. "I am sorry for your loss. Now be sure to make his soul lay to rest by finishing the task." Then Sarius leapt onto Raid's back. The Child and Cyrus followed. Raid leapt into the pit, right before it sealed up.
To be continued…
