John: Thanks. ^_^ I hope this lives up to your (and other readers') expectations.

*Chapter 41: The Cause of It All*

Hope collapsed on the ground, shaking.

"I can't go on with this… they're all gone… all of them… they were the only… reason… I wanted to… fight…"

Demon Rue shook his head in disgust. "Humans… I'll never understand them. They are simply too fragile… physically and emotionally… bah…"

The chains that had bound Gaston had vanished. Rubbing his wrists to get the circulation going, he limped over to Hope. "You can't give up… look at how many have fallen to stop the ritual. We can't let their deaths be in vain…"

Hope looked up at him. "That's true… but still… I don't know if I can go on… if Demon Rue hadn't shown up, I would have lost… what if I'm not capable of winning…?"

"If you put your mind to it, you can win. You HAVE to win…"

Demon Rue began to walk off. "I'm tired of wasting my time here. The only way to get out of this area is to end the ritual, so I'm going to do that. If you want to stay and die of old age, that's your call."

No more words were spoken as Hope and Gaston followed.


"It didn't go as planned… if that Demon hadn't shown up, the ritual would already be done!"

"My Lord, there is still the girl. We only need one more soul… if we can eliminate the girl, then you will have the physical form and power that you desire…"

"All of your duelists are gone though. There is only one left-you."

"Then I will be the one to bring her down, my Lord."

"Take out the Demon first. He will cause trouble at a later date, and I need him to be dead before I emerge… it will also weaken the girl's spirit even more…"

"I understand, my Lord. I'll kill the Demon, then the girl."

"Good…"


After some time, Demon Rue halted. Hope ran to catch up.

"Why did you stop?"

Demon Rue was looking ahead. "The leader has finally decided to show his cowardly face."

A figure was approaching quickly.

"So, the time has finally come…" Hope said. "Finally, we see who has caused all of this needless suffering…"

The person was now in talking range.

"Greetings. I am the one you seek, or so I assume."

"That voice!" Hope gasped. "So he was the one who controlled Amy!"

"I probably am searching for you," Demon Rue agreed. "The only way out of this barren place is to defeat you, correct? That is the only reason I will even waste my time on a worthless pest like you."

"Big words for a Demon that has lost most of his power," the man sneered. "Idle words to not scare me. Now, my Lord has commanded me to duel you first, Demon. After you are defeated, the girl will be the one to die."

Demon Rue smirked. "You wish to kill me? Fool! I cannot die by a simple card game!"

"This I am well aware of… but you can be banished to Hell…" the man pointed out. "My Lord lets nobody escape once they enter there…"

Hope paled at the thought of her friends suffering there.

"Banished to Hell? Hah! Satan FEARS me, above all that is in this weak world. Heaven would never accept a tainted soul such as mine, and Hell fears me! I have no place in either."

"Then you shall remain in Limbo forever, Demon!" The man threw off the hood of his cloak, revealing short, black hair, and dark brown eyes. What caught Hope's attention was the black pentagram that was glowing on his forehead.

"Is he being possessed?" she whispered.

He heard her. "No… I was marked with this upon birth. Why should I not serve my Lord when his mark is burned upon my flesh?" He took out a Duel Disk. "Prepare yourself Demon."

"I could beat you totally unprepared," Demon Rue said calmly.

"So you say… well, neither of us have Soul Monsters, so the field is already even." He shuffled his deck. "Ah, I guess I forgot to say who I am. Call me Diablos."

"Trying to sound like your master?"

"I was given this name at birth… it was not my choice!"

"I'm sure…"

Hope was worried. "Something's not right… I can't quite put my finger on it…"

"Don't be so nervous," Gaston replied. "Once Demon Rue takes this guy out, then the ritual is stopped. Isn't that all we need?"

"Still… I have a bad feeling about this…"

Demon Rue: 8000

Diablos: 8000

"I will take all the honors in going first," Demon Rue stated.

"You have honor?"

"Even Demons have an honor code. Unlike you pathetic mortals, we do not break it." Ignoring Diablos' protests, he drew his six cards. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and a card down. It is your turn."

"Fine… I will need a few turns to prepare… I set a monster, and lay two cards down."

"Now it gets interesting," Demon Rue announced. "I will flip over my monster, The Black Cat That Brings Unhappiness. (500/300) This monster allows me to search my deck for one trap, and put it on top of my deck. Now, I activate my trap card, the Deck Destruction Virus of Death! By sacrificing my Black Cat, all of your monsters above 1500 attack points are destroyed."

Diablos looked at his hand, and snickered. "A Deck Destruction Virus of Death deck? How pathetic! You see, I have no cards above 1500 attack! My strongest is 1400!"

"What?!" Demon Rue snarled. "Damn! I summon Mad Dog of Darkness. (1900/1400) Then I lay another card down. My Mad Dog will now attack!"

"You have attacked my Black Forest Witch. (1100/1200) Now I can search my deck for a monster with 1500 defense or less."

"Very well… I end."

"Now I draw, and summon Critter. (1000/600) Now I play Ritual of Illusions! By offering Critter, I can special summon Sacrifice! (0/0) I also get to search my deck for Critter's effect."

"Sacrifice seems worthless," Demon Rue noted.

"He may have low stats, but it is for a reason. You see, Sacrifice can actually take the stats from other monsters. Sacrifice, absorb the Mad Dog of Darkness!"

The Mad Dog howled as it was drawn into Sacrifice, trying to resist but failing.

"Now my Sacrifice has gained your monster's stats! (1900/1400) Sacrifice, direct attack!"

Demon Rue: 6100

Diablos: 8000

"Very well. I draw, and lay this card down. I also summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) Suicidal attack!"

The Demon Soldier crashed into Sacrifice, yet when the smoke cleared, the Sacrifice was still there.

"Whenever you attack Sacrifice, the monster it absorbed will be destroyed instead. We also lose the same amount of Life Points from the difference in attacks."

"Hmph… I end."

"I will lay another card down, and lay one monster in defense mode. I also switch Sacrifice to defense mode."

"I summon Executioner Makyura. (1600/1200) He attacks your Sacrifice!"

"You have triggered my trap, Gravity Bind! Now your monster cannot attack!"

"I chain with my facedown card, Cyclone! It will destroy your Gravity Bind!"

"And I chain that with Judgment of Anubis! By discarding Book of the Sun from my hand, your Cyclone is negated. Also, I choose one monster on your field and destroy it. You lose Life Points equal to its attack as well. So destroy Makyura!"

"Blast it… well, in doing that, Makyura's effect activates. I can now play Seal of Time from my hand, forcing you to skip your next draw phase."

Demon Rue: 4500

Diablos: 8000

"I flip over my facedown monster, Saint Magician. (300/400) She allows me to get one magic card from the Cemetery, so I will do so. Then I attack your Life Points with her. After that, I end."

Demon Rue: 4200

Diablos: 8000

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and end."

"I play Book of the Sun. This magic card switches one monster from facedown defense mode to attack."

"You have revealed my Newt. Since he was reverse summoned, he gets 500 more attack and defense points. (2400/900)"

"A poor choice on your part. Sacrifice will absorb him! (2400/900) I switch Saint Magician to defense mode. Now Sacrifice will attack directly!"

"I cannot let that one go by… I block the attack with Torture Wheel!"

"Argh… I end…"

"You now lose 500 Life Points to Torture Wheel."

Demon Rue: 4200

Diablos: 7500

"I lay one card down, and summon Kuribo. (300/200) That's all."

Diablos held back his laughter. "Kuribo?"

"Oh shut up!" Demon Rue snapped. "Don't think that I LIKE using him!"

"As if I would… I play Cyclone, destroying your Torture Wheel. Sacrifice, attack the Kuribo!"

"I activate my instant magic card, Multiply. By sacrificing my Kuribo, I get five Kuribo tokens to occupy my monster zone. (300/200)"

"How annoying… attack and kill one token then. I end after that."

"I pass."

"I switch Saint Magician to attack mode. I then attack your tokens with both. You only have two now… I end."

"I pass again."

"It doesn't look good for Demon Rue," Hope commented.

"Don't give up on him yet," Gaston advised. "I think he's planning something…"

"My monsters will attack your last tokens, then I end."

Demon Rue looked at his next card, and smirked. "I play Theft. This equip magic allows me to take one of your monsters as my own. So I take Sacrifice! Then he attacks Saint Magician!"

Demon Rue: 4200

Diablos: 5400

"Of course, on your standby phase, you get 1000 Life Points due to Theft."

Demon Rue: 4200

Diablos: 6400

"Enough of this!" Diablos growled. "I play Black Hole, wiping out all of our monsters! Then I summon Wicked God of a Thousand Eyes! (0/0) Now I play Metamorphosis! By offering one of my monsters on the field, I am allowed to bring out a monster from my fusion deck with the same level. So I offer my Wicked God, to bring out Thousand Eyes Sacrifice! (0/0)"

"So, another one that works by absorbing monsters?"

"Yes. I end my turn."

Demon Rue shook his head. "You should have waited until I had a monster on my field. Now it is going to be destroyed too easily. I summon Critter. (1000/600) Critter attacks your Thousand Eyes Sacrifice!"

"Better rethink that. As long as Thousand Eyes Sacrifice is on the field, all monsters cannot attack, or switch battle positions, besides himself."

"…Damn… end turn."

"I will have my Thousand Eyes Sacrifice absorb the Critter, and attack directly. I also set a monster."

Demon Rue: 3200

Diablos: 6400

"Do not get overconfident," Demon Rue growled. "I lay one monster, and end my turn."

"I set a monster, and attack with Thousand Eyes Sacrifice."

"You have run into my Cyber Pod. (900/900) When flipped, all of the monsters on our fields are destroyed."

"Curse you!"

"Then, we each pick up five cards and show them to our opponent. Any level four or lower monsters are automatically special summoned. I got Demon Soldier, Black Forest Witch, Lost Property, Kuribo, and Tempest. Demon Soldier is special summoned in attack, while Black Forest Witch and Kuribo go to defense."

"I have picked up Ritual of Illusions, Manju God, Cry of the Living Dead, Thunderbolt, and Saint Magician. Saint Magician and Manju God go to defense. (1400/1000) I will play Thunderbolt. Then I lay two cards down, ending my turn…"

"Your Thunderbolt triggered my Witch's ability." Demon Rue finished shuffling his deck. "It is too bad that you had to lay those down… I play Tempest."

"My I chain Cry of the Living Dead. My Black Forest Witch is resurrected, and then destroyed, allowing me to search my deck for a monster. You also destroyed my Ritual of Illusions, Gravity Bind, and Cyclone."

"That's odd…" Hope commented. "Why lay down Ritual of Illusions when he knew it would be destroyed?"

"He had six cards in his hand," Gaston explained. "If you go beyond that limit by the time the end phase comes, you are forced to discard until your hand is lowered to six."

"Oh…"

"Now I will play Change of Heart on your Saint Magician, and flip it. I'll get Change of Heart back from my Cemetery. Then I summon Executioner Makyura. (1600/1200) Executioner Makyura attacks your Manju God, and Saint Magician attacks you directly. Then I lay two cards down."

Demon Rue: 3200

Diablos: 6100

"I draw…"

"And I activate Lost Property. You are forced to discard what you drew."

"That was my Jar of Greed… I will summon another Manju God. (1400/1000) Then I activate Ritual of Illusions, offering Saint Magician for Sacrifice. (0/0)"

"When you special summon it, I activate my Destruction Ring. Your monster is destroyed. Since it has 0 attack, neither of us take damage."

"Damn it… I end…"

"I summon Newt. (1900/400) I will also lay one card down, and attack your Manju God with Executioner Makyura. Newt attacks you directly."

Demon Rue: 3200

Diablos: 4000

"I draw… yes! I lay three cards facedown…"

"And I use Cyclone on the first one you lay."

"No! My Judgment of Anubis! Gr… I lay one monster in defense, and end my turn…"

"I activate Seal of Time, so you must skip your next draw phase. Then I play Harpy's Feather Sweep, banishing all of your other cards."

"My Gravity Bind and Holy Barrier-Mirror Force…"

"I will then attack your defense monster with Executioner Makyura."

"My Wicked God of a Thousand Eyes…"

"Then my Newt attacks directly."

Demon Rue: 3200

Diablos: 2100

"…And I can't draw… I lay one monster in defense mode and end…"

Demon Rue smirked at what he drew. "You will now lose in the most embarrassing of ways. I play Raise Dead, on Kuribo. (300/200) Now, Executioner Makyura attacks your set."

"…Killer Snake…"

"I will then have Newt attack, and Kuribo finish you."

Demon Rue: 3200

Diablos: 0

"…I CANNOT believe I just LOST TO A KURIBO!"

"Sucks to be you," Demon Rue snickered. "Losing not only a game, but your life, to a fur ball."

"Silence Demon! It is for a good cause! For now, my soul will go to the ritual!"

"And I'm supposed to be impressed?"

"Demon, you still don't get it? We have 1000 Souls. The ritual is complete. Now all that is needed is a replacement."

Demon Rue glared at him. "What do you mean?"

"It's simple… you will be the one he switches with." Diablos took out a dagger, and stabbed himself in the heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"What does that fool mean?" Demon Rue demanded.

An orb fell from the General's pocket. One of fire, with white and black lights dashing around inside it.

It hit the ground.

Darkness suddenly shot out of the orb, consuming Demon Rue. Before he even had a chance to say anything, he was gone, and in his place was someone else.

Gaston and Hope, until this point, had been silent, not knowing what to say. Now was no different; they were shocked at the evil that had emerged in front of them.

To be continued…