Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh
Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc
Chapter 27: Battling a loved one; Siegfried vs. Crystal
Siegfried Reinhardt had faced many challenges in his lifetime, but this had to be, by far, one of the strangest. ("To think that I came all this way to save Crystal, and now I am not only a tiger demon, but apparently I am supposed to stop this madman bent on world domination.") He sighed in exasperation for about the hundredth time since his first duel against the mysterious black-suited man. ("Why do things in my life always have to get so complicated?")
He was walking down a stone hallway, going off to face someone in a duel that would decide whether he would be allowed to proceed to the final location of the battle. ("Not that it matters. Though I still do not fully understand exactly what all this is about, I know to trust my gut instinct. And my gut instinct tells me that we are the ones who are fighting for the good side in this war.")
And in his mind that is what this was. It was a war between the eight of them and the mysterious black-suited man who had dared to kidnap Crystal. ("And for that I will make him pay.")
Finally the stone hallway he was following brought him to a large square stone chamber that was lit by the light of a few scarce torches on the walls. It was enough light to see with, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being in such grim conditions. ("It reminds me far too much of the Shadow Corporation's first tournament.")
"So you did come. That's a surprise. I would have thought that you simply would have left me with Master Envirius." The voice of another person in the room brought him to a stop.
"Crystal..." Even without his now enhanced demon sight, he could tell it was her by the greenish-blue color of her hair. "It's you..." He moved forward to see if she was alright, but something about her brought him to a stop.
She was sneering at him...
Siegfried took another couple of steps back, wishing now more than ever that he could manifest his Legendary Weapon Card into its real form. "You're not Crystal. If there is one expression that she would never have on her face, it would be that." He felt his face slipping into the ice-coldness that he was all too used to. "So who are you?"
The girl smiled and brushed her black robes back to reveal the silver and black duel disk on her arm. "Just like I thought. You don't care at all Siegfried." He face turned into a cold scowl that made the German Duelist feel like he had done something wrong. "You were going to just leave me to die."
Siegfried wanted to believe with all of his heart that this wasn't Crystal, but every sense, both physical and otherwise, told him that it was her. "What are you talking about? The very day you were kidnapped I left Germany to get you back. Of course I wouldn't just leave you here."
Her duel disk clicked into place. "I'll get my revenge for you leaving me to die."
Siegfried knew now that something was wrong here. She wasn't even listening to him. "I will not fight you Crystal. You're not yourself."
Crystal had already drawn her five and opened his field magic card slot, where she had inserted a card. "You won't escape me. I will have my revenge. The master has decreed it and I will not let you hurt someone else. Activate Seal of Dark Souls!" An orb of grey and black energy formed around them, cutting off Siegfried's escape route.
("So be it. If I cannot run, then I will fight. I will not hurt Crystal, but I will fight.") His duel disk clicked into place and he drew his five. "I'll free you, I swear it."
She drew and slid a card into her disk. "I set this face-down and end my turn."
Siegfried drew and glared at his soul point total. ("Why would anyone create a card that would do all of this to people? Why would anyone treat a soul like it is a possession to be wagered away?") These musings would have to wait until later though. For now, he had to find a way to destroy the Seal of Dark Souls before the duel could end. "Crystal, I do not understand what this Envirius has done to you, but I swear upon my honor and beyond that I will save you from whatever he has placed upon you."
Her cold laugh echoed across the chamber. "Save me? He has opened my eyes to the truth about you and the world in general. There is nothing worth caring about in this world. Nothing at all."
"That's where you are wrong." Siegfried placed down his first monster. "I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode." A demon dog appeared on his field. "End turn."
Crystal drew and slid the card into her fanned out hand. "What's the matter Siegfried? Are you afraid to fight? Don't you think that you can win against me?" She slid two more cards into her duel disk. "End turn."
Siegfried drew again and he felt the beginnings of frustration welling up inside of him. ("I cannot risk her life. It would be wrong to do this to her. She's not in her right mind.") "I summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode. End turn." A humanoid pile of flaming wood appeared on his field.
Crystal drew and slid her next card into her duel disk. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." She drew two cards off of her deck and then slid two cards into her disk. "Now I set these two cards face-down and end my turn."
Siegfried drew and calmly looked his hand over. ("She has yet to play a single monster card. In fact, she's completely filled up her field with magic and trap cards. Obviously she is not playing with her ocean deck, or else she would have played a monster by now.")
Not that he intended to fight her in this duel. He would find a way to help her if it was the last thing he did. ("Which it might be if I'm not careful. She doesn't seem to have any quarrel with trying to completely destroy me in this duel.") "End turn."
Crystal drew and flipped up all five of her face-down cards all at once. "Go three Tremendous Fires, Hinotama and Ookazi!"
Siegfried threw his arms up to protect himself, for he knew all too well what was about to happen. There was the roar of a fire and then he was aflame. And through it all he still racked his brain for some way to free Crystal of the hold that Envirius had over her.
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Joey cracked his knuckles as he stepped into the chamber. His duel disk was already in place and he was ready to take down whoever or whatever the mystery bad guy had decided to throw at him.
Meanwhile, Aishito felt like crying. ("I'm one of the twenty most powerful men in the world...I've got a small army's worth of weapons at my disposal...and yet, Envirius gives me Joey Wheeler for an opponent.") He sighed and knew that he deserved it, considering he had lost to Pilkington and Rikuo, though that didn't mean that he had to like it.
Joey looked over at the aged Japanese man and smiled. "Let's get this duel started!"
Aishito clicked his duel disk into place. "I hope you know that you are going to lose."
Joey drew his five and then his sixth. "Say what you will, but I'm going to win this duel."
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As the flames from the magic cards extinguished, Siegfried lowered his arms and his slotted ice-blue eyes looked wearily at Crystal. "Is this what you enjoy? You apparently want me to suffer for no reason, so here I am. I'm suffering. Happy?"
Crystal's eyes quivered from a sudden flood of anger. "I'll only be content when you are long dead!" She grabbed a card from her hand and slid it into her disk. "Go Hinotama!" Another fireball appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him, engulfing him in flames that seared his soul.
Siegfried- 3200/3200
Crystal- 6500/6500
Through the fires, Siegrfried's eyes continued to watch her, unblinking. "Do you even realize that I'm not to blame for this?"
"Shut up! Activate another Ookazi!" Crystal slid another card into her duel disk and engulfed Siegfried in more flames.
Siegfried- 2400/2400
Crystal- 6500/6500
Siegfried was running out of time. ("Envirius has given her a deck with nothing but damage inflicting magic cards. Apparently he counted on me not fighting back against Crystal.") He looked at his hand and sighed. ("I can't fight her.") Folding the fan of cards up, he slid it into his jeans pocket and waited for the pain from the fire to pass. ("I must try and talk her down. I cannot hurt her.")
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Joey slapped down his monster. "Lemme start off with something big, Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!" A dark steel knight appeared on his field. "End turn."
Aishito drew and tossed down his monster. "I summon Shiraku the Mystic (1600/1500) in defense mode!" A man dressed in white robes appeared on the field in a crouching position. "Then I set these two cards face-down. End turn."
Joey drew and slid his Gearfried into the graveyard. "It's time to interfere with your plans, Aishito. I sacrifice my Iron Knight to summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode." The metal green monster appeared on his field and growled. "Now attack his Shiraku!"
Aishito flipped up one of his face-down cards. "I've always learned that relying on traps is a pathetic way to win a duel. Activate Offerings to the Doomed!" The flipped up card shimmered and then fired a beam of light that blew Joey's Jinzo apart.
Joey slid two cards into his duel disk. "I'm not done yet. End turn."
Aishito, as per the effect of his Offerings to the Doomed card, didn't draw his card for the turn. "Joey Wheeler...You're not even worth my time." He slid his Shiraku into the graveyard and then slapped down a monster. "I summon The Unholy Mystic (2300/500) in attack mode!" A man wearing black robes and chanting a spell appeared on the field. "When I summon this monster, I may pick up any magic card from my deck and place it into my hand!" His deck slot made a mechanical whining noise and it spat up a card. Aishito caught it in his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "Go Heavy Storm!"
Joey grinned as he saw his chance. He tapped two buttons on his duel disk and both of his face-down cards flipped up. "I reveal Call of the Haunted and Warrior's Tears!" In front of him there was an explosion and a cloud of smoke. "Warrior's Tears lets me special summon any warrior sub-type monster from my graveyard to the field, while Call of the Haunted lets me special summon any monster in general to the field from my graveyard!" The forms of Joey's Jinzo and Gearfried the Iron Knight could be seen within the smoke. "And thanks to the effect of Jinzo, even though my traps are about to be destroyed, their effects still do not go off. That means that my monsters will be safe!" As the tornado force winds of the Heavy Storm destroyed Joey's now pointless traps, the blond-haired duelist smirked superiorly. "You're in trouble now Aishito. I've got two powerful monsters on my field."
Aishito pointed at the Gearfried. "I can fix that! Unholy Mystic, attack with Darkness Chorus!" The dark-robed man began a song that echoed across the field and blew the metal knight apart.
Joey- 7500
Aishito- 8000
Aishito held up his face-down card. "That's not all though! I activate my face-down card in response to you triggering you Call of the Haunted. It's another Offerings to the Doomed! That means your monster is about to take another trip to the graveyard!" The card glowed and then spat out another beam of light that blew Joey's Jinzo apart a second time.
"Don't you do anything else besides blow my monsters out of existence?" Joey was getting annoyed with having to summon new creatures to replace each one that was getting struck down. "After all, you're not even anyone big in this little war of ours. You're just in my way, after all."
Aishito clenched his fists angrily and slid his final two cards into his duel disk. "I'll show you! End turn!"
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"Crystal, why are you doing this?" Siegfried had to know. He needed this question answered before he could decide what his next move was.
Her reply threw him off guard. "Because I hate you! I HATE YOU!!"
If there was one thing Siegfired disliked, it was random hate towards someone or something. "Why am I the target of your prejudice? What did I do to you that was so bad?" Crystal froze up at that, a confused look sliding across her face.
("So that's it. She is being controlled. Or least being manipulated.") And he knew exactly who the culprit was. Looking up at the dark dome surrounding them, he drew for his turn. "I'll strike this Seal down right now!" He pulled his hand of cards free of his pocket and then slid two cards into his duel disk. "Go Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon!" All around him the area went up in an explosion of wind that shattered the Seal instantly.
Crystal stumbled, but the anger he could feel coming off of her still remained, if only in small traces. ("Almost enough, but now I need to use my secret weapon to get past her.") He may have promised not to hurt her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to stop her for now. "Forgive me Crystal, but now that I know your soul won't be hurt, it's time for me to end this duel and move on. I've got a madman to extract payment from for doing this to you!"
Her eyes still burned with resentment towards him, but somewhere, deep in her mind, there was a small spark of hope.
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Joey drew and slid the card into his disk. "Pot of Greed anyone?" He drew two cards and then slid another into his duel disk. "Monster Reborn on Jinzo!" The metal monster reappeared on his field. "Next up is the magic card Ultimate Force! This allows me to special summon as many monsters from my hand as I can, and the only downside is that I must remove them all from play after that!" He threw down his three monster cards. "So I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Gilford the Lightning and Rocket Warrior in attack mode!" A black-scaled dragon, a warrior wielding a huge sword, a little warrior made out of a rocket appeared on his field. (2400/2000) (2800/1400) (1500/1200)
"Jinzo attack!" The metal monster charged up a ball of energy that flew across the field and annihilated Aishito's Unholy Mystic.
Joey- 7500
Aishito- 7900
"Now everyone else, direct attack!" The collective monsters launched across the field, only to get stopped by a wall of black air.
Aishito held up one of his two face-down cards. "That's a shame Wheeler. You've just wasted you hand and most of your cards. You see by activating my Dark Wall of Air magic card, I've saved myself from being hit by any direct attacks this turn." He slid the card into his graveyard and smiled savagely as Joey's three summoned monsters exploded. "And since my second Offerings to the Doomed prevents me from drawing, and I have no cards in my hand, I suppose I end my turn."
Joey drew....
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Siegfried slid his two monsters into the graveyard. "I sacrifice my two monsters to summon a creature that will end this duel right now!" There was an explosion of light directly behind him as his creature formed.
When the light faded, a majestic knight on a white horse appeared on his field. "Crystal, this is the end. I have summoned a monster to the field with the potential necessary to end this in one painless blow." Behind him the knight reared up on his horse, his battle cry shaking the chamber. "Knight of Chivalry (2500/2000) in attack mode!"
Siegfried slid two more cards into his duel disk. "Next is the Legendary Weapon Card Thunder Claws, which raises my Knight's attack power by 3000 points!" A bolt of lightning slammed down on the knight, and when it cleared the warrior was now glowing with energy. (5500/2000) "And then for the finale, I play the magic cards Monster Reborn and Premature Burial to revive two monsters from my graveyard, which I then sacrifice to my Thunder Claws to raise the attack power of my Knight!" In front of him the forms of his Mad Dog and Blazing Inpachi appeared, only to explode as their energy was given to the Knight of Chivalry. (9250/2000) "Now, direct attack!"
The Knight of Chivalry launched across the field, skidding to halt in front of Crystal. The warrior lifted its hand and a white light washed painlessly over her, draining her life points without hurting her.
Siegfried- 1600
Crystal- 0
Before Crystal could even touch the ground, Siegfried had caught her. He looked down at her unconscious form and then looked ahead to the doorway. Gently placing her on the ground, he walked past her and through the entryway. ("Envirius, I have some business to discuss with you.")
To be continued...
Next Chapter: The Torture King vs. The Grand Dragon
Author's Notes: To thegymrat: Nope, Siegfried is not the Siegfried from the KC Grand Prix. Same name, different guy.