Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Chapter 38: Ryu vs. Rikuo; The last battle of the demon generals
Rikuo sighed as he listened to Daniel snore. It was going to be a boring evening for him out in the pitch blackness of Daniel's frontal brain. ("I don't even have a freaking magazine to read in here.")
That's when he felt it. It was like a beacon to his senses. Someone or something was trying to contact him through one of the oldest ways possible. A way that only demons of ancient royalty would know.
Rikuo doubted that it was Sestros. If the bastard had wanted Rikuo's attention he would have gotten it in a different way than this. ("Probably with a bomb or something.")
("There's only one other being I can think of off the top of my head that would try and contact me this way.") If it was who Rikuo thought it was, then he was glad he had all evening to talk.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryu felt the wind whip through his golden hair as he looked out over the cliff edge.
Even since he had lost in his duel to Rikuo he had gone into a state of depression. He had been unable to defeat the man responsible for his family's death. Surprisingly master Garlin didn't kill him. Instead he was told that he would get another chance eventually. That uncharacteristic act of kindness didn't make him feel any better though. He became nothing more than a broken shell of a demon. He had nothing left to work towards.
Then his master had come to him with a proposition....
He felt the wind behind him stir and knew instantly who it was. "Good to see you again, murderer."
Rikuo frowned but didn't say anything to argue that point. In his mind it didn't matter who had done the deed of killing Jourgen's family. Rikuo had taken the responsibility upon himself, and until he got the dragon demon's forgiveness, then he could not regain his honor. "Jourgen...."
Ryu snapped his head around. "I told you that my name is Ryu now! I cannot regain my old name until I avenge my lost family! I cannot return to my glory until you are dead and your bones are grinded into dust!" The earth around him started to crack from the sheer force of his anger.
It all came flowing back to him now. The pain he had felt when he had escaped from Sestro's prison and found out that his family was dead. He could remember all too clearly all of the things he had seen upon his return to the ruins of his home. His son's head had been placed upon the doorway of his old residence. His wife....his daughters....all taken as slaves by Sestro's army of barbarians. He had never found them. He didn't even know how to find them, if they were still alive. "And it was all because of you!!!! Because you didn't do what you were supposed to do! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD KEEP THEM SAFE!!!"
Rikuo, his hair whipping in the sudden wind that had sprung up around Ryu, could only imagine what was going through the other demon's head right now. "Listen to me..."
Ryu lifted his arm and revealed his duel disk, already in place. "NO MORE! IT ENDS HERE!"
Rikuo looked down at the duel disk on his arm and wished now, more than ever before, that he hadn't brought it with him. ("I have no choice.") "You're right about one thing Ryu!" His duel disk clicked into place. He knew that this was fate. To gain the redemption of his honor, he would have to defeat Ryu again. "It ends here."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giovan watched the unfolding events from his office, tapping his fingers together in anticipation. "I love how stupid Jourgen was. To think he blames Rikuo and King Sestros for all of his woes. And yet he is working for the same king he hates so much." If there was one thing that Giovan Garlin loved above all things, other than torture of course, it was a good irony.
"Now let the games begin."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryu seemed impossibly calm now, considering how moments before he had been on the verge of killing Rikuo. "Prepare yourself."
Rikuo had trouble feeling rage at an opponent like this. This was a being that had lost his family because of a mistake that Rikuo had made. ("And the worst part of it all is that he works for the very man who personally executed each and every member of the very family he seeks revenge for.")
Ryu drew his cards and placed a monster onto his duel disk. "I set this monster in defense mode. End turn." He brought his silver eyes up to stare right into Rikuo's golden-amber orbs. Those silver eyes were no longer the eyes of an enraged father and husband. They were the eyes of a general leading his army into one final battle.
Rikuo drew. Before he could play anything though he felt a presence awaken in the back of his mind. A voice in his head murmured tiredly, ("Damn it Rikuo, the finals are tomorrow. Why are you making such a racket so early in the morning?")
("Go back to sleep idiot. This does not concern you.")
There was silence for a long moment, and then Daniel's voice came in much clearer now. ("Hey, are you dueling using my deck!?")
("Of course. So?")
("You do know that Rebecca took some cards out of the deck, right?")
Rikuo felt his blood run cold. He hadn't accounted for anyone to touch Daniel's deck while the idiot had been gone. ("Do you know what cards?")
The silence on the other end was unnerving to say the least. Finally Daniel replied. ("Jinzo, Mirror Force, Replay, Blowback Dragon...")
Rikuo wasn't sure whether he wanted to rip out his hair in frustration or go into his other half's soul room and smack him around for knowing about those cards being gone, but not getting them back immediately. ("Enough! I'm sorry I asked you! It's too late now though.") He looked at his hand and sighed in disappointment. ("These replacements she put in are pathetic. What did she expect them to do in a real duel?")
("She thought I was dead. Could you blame her for wanting to make sure that Team Topdeck won the tournament?")
("I can and I will, right after we win this...I hope.") He slapped down a monster. "I summon Nightmare Machine (800/2000) in defense mode." A jet-black machine that looked something like a demonic snack food dispenser appeared on his field. "End turn."
Ryu drew and with that continuingly impossible calm he slid his monster into his graveyard. "I sacrifice my creature to summon my physical avatar, Dragon Demon Lord (2400/1000) in attack mode." A humanoid dragon in worn samurai armor appeared on his field and hefted an ornate spear, growling at Rikuo.
Ryu lifted his hand and pointed at Rikuo's Nightmare Machine. "Now die." The dragon demon launched across the field and impaled the machine with its spear, instantly annihilating it. "End turn."
Rikuo drew and looked disgusted at the card he had drawn. ("Why would your sister put Kuriboh in this deck!")
Daniel did the mental version of rolling his eyes. ("Look your hand over.")
Rikuo frowned when he saw the combo. ("I hate playing defensively.")
("Maybe so, but any defense is better than no defense at all. So play the combo before he does something to interfere with us.")
Rikuo mentally snarled at his other half. ("Don't order me around human!") "I summon Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode." A little brown furball with green arms and hand appeared on his field and squeaked happily.
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Kuriboh?"
Rikuo slid a card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Multiply, which will create five Kuriboh from one." The little furball shivered and then split apart into five copies of itself.
Ryu frowned a little. "What is this ridiculous play? I will kill all of your defenders with ease."
Rikuo slid another card into his duel disk. "Now I play the magic card Kuriboh Swarm. This will create an endless wall of Kuriboh, meaning that while I may not be able to summon any monsters, I will be untouchable from attacks." The five Kuriboh became ten. The ten became twenty. The twenty became forty. This process continued until Rikuo was surrounded by hundreds of the little creatures.
Ryu had gone from confused to angry. "This is idiotic! Am I supposed to be scared of this? An army of weaklings?"
Rikuo smiled and slid a card from his hand into his disk. "Now I set this card face-down. If you think that my defense is so idiotic, then try to get past it. End turn."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giovan took another sip of his Chardonnay, watching this duel with intense interest. ("So Rikuo is stuck relying on the Kuriboh Swarm defense strategy?") He scratched at his chin and wondered if the wolf demon could pull off a win with some of his best cards missing from his deck.
As for how he knew that Daniel's deck was missing any cards at all? As his motto is and always will be, 'knowledge is a good thing.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ryu drew and slid a card into his duel disk. "I'm sure you remember what the magic card Lord's Ascension does right?"
Rikuo growled from low in his throat, but he nodded. "It allows you to take one monster with Lord in its title and transform it into a new monster."
Ryu nodded, while his Dragon Demon Lord began to transform. "That is correct. I will now transform my monster into its true form." The dragon demon's armor become illustrious and gold and it roared into the heavens, lifting its new golden spear up. "Pay your respects to the mighty Grand Dragon General!" (3000/2500)
Rikuo rolled his eyes at the ridiculous light show that accompanied the monster's arrival. "I've beaten your monster before and I will beat it now."
Ryu shook his head. "No you won't. I have the perfect way to annihilate you this time." He slid a card into his duel disk. "For now though, I must simply set this card face-down and end my turn."
Rikuo drew. "I must pay 1000 life points as per the effect of Kuriboh Swarm."
Rikuo- 7000
Ryu- 8000
The wolf demon looked at his new card and raised an eyebrow at it. ("This would have been useful a turn ago. Now though....")
("Just save it for later then...")
This was one of the rare occasions Rikuo agreed with his human side. ("True. You never know when an effect such as this one may come in handy.") "End turn."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now Giovan considered calling in an assassination team against whoever had made the camera system on The Asylum. He was able to see Rikuo's reaction whatever card he had drawn, but the torture king had no idea what that card might be.
And if there was one thing Giovan Garlin hated to be, it was surprised...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryu drew and set a monster face-down on his disk, next to his Grand Dragon General. "I end my turn."
Rikuo drew and sighed in resignation. "Once again I must pay 1000 life points to keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect."
Rikuo- 6000
Ryu- 8000
("Why not just drop the Kuriboh Swarm effect and use the face-down card?")
("Because I still have no idea whether or not it will work against Ryu. We would also be left wide open to attack after we used that combo.") Rikuo tightened his mouth into a frown. "Once again I must end my turn without playing anything."
Ryu drew. "I set another monster and end my turn."
Rikuo drew and narrowed his eyes. ("So...that is why that other card is in our deck.")
("You mean my deck.")
("Shut up ningen.") He tapped a button on his duel disk. "Once again I pay 1000 life points to keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect."
Rikuo- 5000
Ryu- 8000
Rikuo slid a new card into his duel disk. "Now it's time to stop all of these annoying life point payments. I play the continuous magic card Spell Economics, which means that I no longer have to pay for the effects of magic cards. Now I can keep Kuriboh Swarm in effect for as long as I need to." The ex-general knew that this didn't change the fact that he was still on the defensive and he still was unable to summon any monsters, but at least he wasn't racing against the clock anymore. "End turn."
Ryu drew and couldn't help himself. For the first time in millennia he smiled at his approaching victory. "Prepare yourself for the ultimate dragon. A beast with the potential to become even more powerful than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Rikuo snorted. "Do you really think that I am impressed by a high attack total? Unless said monster can kill me in one hit, then I really don't care how powerful it is."
Ryu's feral smile widened. "Oh but it can kill you in one hit. By the time I am done my monster will have infinite attack points."
Rikuo crossed his arms across his chest. "That's quite an exaggeration..."
Ryu took the two monsters off of the top of his disk and slid them into the graveyard. "Rikuo Amero...say hello to the pinnacle of my people. The very crest of my family brought to life. The creature that shall annihilate you and put my family to rest after all of these millennia." The air above them shimmered with a golden light that came from somewhere above the dueling field.
Rikuo placed his hands over his eyes to shield them from the bright light. It was nearly burning in its intensity.
Through it all Ryu did not close his eyes in the slightest. He kept them wide open and laughed as a dragon came to a soft landing on the ground in front of him. The creature let out one melodic roar and then the lights around it dimmed enough for Rikuo to see it.
It stood about 40' tall, with a wingspan twice as long. It was plated in golden armoring, making it and the Grand Dragon General look almost like they were meant to be together on the field.
The beast let out one hiss that sounded like a mix of a snake's hiss and crystals tingling together. It looked down upon the wolf demon with rage very evident in its quicksilver colored eyes.
Rikuo felt like he had suddenly been thrown back into the feudal era. ("I've...I've...seen this beast before...")
("You have? What does it do!?")
As memories flooded his thoughts, Rikuo shivered involuntarily. ("It is an angel. An angel of death that has slain thousands of soldiers in one attack.")
Ryu smiled once more. "From the terrified look upon your face you remember it, don't you? Though its name has been lost in the sands of time, I for one have decided to rename it appropriately." The dragon hissed again, the sound harmonious to the ears of anyone that could hear it. "It's name is Grand Emperor Dragon-Envoy of Revenge!" (2000/2500)
To be continued...
Next Chapter: The revenge of the Grand General
Author's Notes: Another installment finished, and this one I am quite proud of. Anyhow, I hope you all liked this chapter, because the next part of it should be done fairly soon.
Once again, any questions concerning the storyline will be answered in the next Author's notes if you post them in your review. Even if you don't have any questions though, please read and review anyway. I would appreciate it a lot.