Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-Dark Soul Arc

Chapter 37: The last chance

Envirius looked upon the three corpses in his chamber and laughed. "Amazing. To think that even the king of games would fall to the power of Yamidra."

Behind him, the crystal pillar was starting to crack.

The dark-suited man spun around and smiled to the pillar. "Come forth, almighty Yamidra! Come forth and bring with you the darkness!"

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Yamidra smiled to the magnificent form of her ultimate creature. "The Bringer of the Apocalypse. You are by far the most powerful monster ever." She brought her attention to the edges of her prison. "And now it is time to break free. It's time to destroy!" And she started to laugh, the true nature of her voice so terrible that the darkness seemed to shy away from her in fear.

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The earth began to tremble as the pillar cracked more and more. And through all of the damage that was occurring around him, Envirius could not be happier. "So much time...and finally, the mistress of darkness has arrived! It's all come down to this!!!"

A beeping from his duel disk caught his attention. "Oh yes, I suppose I had better shut it off." His hand went down to click his device off-line, but he froze when he looked at the life point score. ("What the hell?")

Joey- 2000

Yami- 0

Kaiba- 0

Envirius- 300

"Emer...gen...cy....Provis...ions...allows....me....to....sac....ri....fice.....ma...gic...and....trap......car...ds.....on......my.....field....to....raise....my life...points."

Envirius glanced behind him and snorted. "Stay down Wheeler. Your life point counter is at zero. You didn't activate your card in time."

Joey, despite the gaping hole in his chest, was standing on his feet, and was wreathed in orange-red flames. "I...will...not....let...you...do....this. I WILL NOT!! DRAW!!" The flames around him cut off as he drew the top card of his deck.

Envirius clicked off his duel disk. "The duel is over. You lost, I won. Just accept that and die."

Joey glanced at the card he had drawn, and then he slid it into his disk. "You're wrong. This duel is connected to the one on the other side. And that duel isn't over yet." His Flame Swordsman, who was still on the field, shuddered and exploded. "And I'm going to help to make sure that Yamidra won't make it out. I play the Legendary Weapon Card Phoenix Wings!"

Envirius took a couple of steps towards the pillar. "The phoenix lord...you!?"

Joey continued to speak, completely ignoring Envirius. "Phoenix Wings allows me to sacrifice 1500 life points to revive one target from the dead."

Envirius rolled his eyes, quickly getting control of his surprise. "Not that it matters, but what exactly could you possibly bring back from the graveyard pile that would actually make a difference in this duel?"

Joey was already falling, the damage to his body to great to sustain him. "Not what....who...." He slammed into the ground face-first, unmoving.

Envirius sighed and shook his head. "Idiot." He looked back to the pillar. "Now come forth, almighty Yamidra!"

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Yamidra's laughter was cut off as an explosion of orange-red erupted from the ground where her opponent had stood just moments before. "Hmm? What's this?"

The flame arched upwards into a huge fountain that took the shape of a bird-like creature, and then folded inwards to create a small bonfire. Giving off one last hiss, the flames died away.

Daniel smiled to Yamidra, his demon form looking completely recharged. "The party's just getting started. So please return to your seat."

Yamidra continued to walk towards him, unabated. "I don't know how you survived, but step aside. The duel is mine and therefore, your world is doomed."

Daniel held up his duel disk. "Actually, I still have one turn left. If I'm correct, Rikuo surrendered, but I never did."

The dark dragoness sighed and floated back to her field, patting the enormous form of her Apocalypse Dragon soothingly. "This is ridiculous. You're like a cockroach. Fine, take your turn and your pathetic draw."

Daniel picked up the card that Rikuo had dropped, and he looked down at his deck. ("Can Daniel Pilkington do this? Can an ordinary human being stop a demon bent on destroying mankind and the earth? No....no he can't...")

("Are you a human? Were you ever one? Did you ever have a humanity to mourn the loss of?") A voice in the back of his head asked.

Daniel closed his eyes and sighed. "No...I never was a human. I am...and always will be...a demon."

His eyes slowly opened to reveal that though they were still brown, they were slotted like Rikuo's. "And I'm tired of running from that fact." Slowly he lifted his hand up to his deck. "Yamidra! Are you ready!?"

The dark dragoness sighed and crossed her arms underneath her robes. "Just end this. I'm getting bored of this emotional crap. Such a waste of time."

"That's where you are wrong. I'll show you that emotions are the most powerful things in the universe. They're something that, once you overcome their control over your life, helps you understand why you exist." Daniel placed his hand on the top card, running his fingers over the edges of the card. "And just when you think everything is over with, emotions can sometimes bring you the edge you need to win." The same red-orange flames that revived him now lined his form. "And if there is one emotion that has the potential to give the biggest recovery...."

His eyes were now shining crimson red. "...It's the feeling of divine retribution!!!" His hand snapped the card off of his deck. All of the flames that surrounded him flowed into the card, causing it to glow bright gold for a moment.

Daniel held the card in front of his face. "And the truth shall set you free." He flipped the card over to show its gold face. The picture was of a coat of arms with a hammer and spear crossing each other, and then three ornate swords forming a cross over them. "I play the ritual magic card Phoenix Knight's Revival!!!" The card shimmered and then faded out of his hand.

"This card requires that I sacrifice two monsters and 4000 life points, so I sacrifice Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord!" The two monsters faded away. Orange-red flames sprang up around him, and then flashed across the field, creating a wall of intense heat.

Daniel- 4000

Yamidra- 18300

Yamidra smiled calmly at the flames. "Are you dense? No monster, magic or trap cards of my opponent's can defeat the Apocalypse Dragon. He has no weakness."

"That's where I disagree with you! I don't intend to destroy your dragon in battle. I intend to kill you!" Daniel's voice echoed over the roar of the flames and the building energy from the Apocalypse Dragon.

The dark dragoness had to laugh at that. "I told you, I cannot take any damage while it is in play."

"Then we'll just have to take it out of play, now won't we? But first..." The flames died away. "Let me introduce you to my ultimate dragon slayer." Standing amongst the remains of the flame wall was the golden-armored form of a knight. His armor was inlaid with lines of silver and platinum, and at his side was a sheathed sword. His crimson eyes labeled him as a demon. "Yamidra, say hello to Divine Paladin of the Phoenix!" (8500/8000) The knight bowed to the dark dragoness, who frowned in response.

"What purpose does he serve? He has nowhere near enough attack to hurt my dragon, and even if he did, my dragon would just absorb the attack anyway."

Daniel flipped up all four of his remaining face-down cards. "Just watch. First I activate Reverse of Reverse, which lets me use another player's card as my own. I choose to take control of Deondre's D.D. Beacon, which is still in play." The green machine floated over to his field from its original position.

"Next I play a card that will give you a little gift, courtesy of Deondre! Activate Forceful Gift! This allows me to send one magic or trap card on my field to your field." The green machine floated over to Yamidra's field.

The dragoness looked at the device and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What purpose does all this serve?"

Daniel motioned to his next card. "Now I equip my Paladin with the Legendary Weapon Card Shattering Fang!" The ground in front of the knight exploded and spat out a huge blade shaped like a fang.

The Paladin caught it and slammed it into the ground, sending a wave of green energy across the field to crash into the Beacon. "The special ability of the Shattering Fang allows me to send one magic or trap card on my opponent's field to the graveyard. That means that I'm sending the D.D. Beacon to your graveyard."

"And?"

"And that means the Beacon's special ability triggers. When it is sent from the field to the graveyard, then all monsters on the card owner's field are removed from play." Daniel grinned knowingly, his still crimson eyes burning in the darkness. "And since D.D. Beacon is now your card, it will affect your Apocalypse Dragon."

Yamidra braced herself as a heavy wind roared across her field. When it died down, she was completely alone, her Apocalypse Dragon gone. "This is impossible...how can you stop the apocalypse with a piece of machinery?"

"That's the thing about you Yamidra. You're out of touch with reality when it comes to one thing. And that is understanding your limitations!" Daniel motioned to his last card. "Now it ends! Reveal Howling Sword!" The huge fang in the hands of the Paladin exploded into phantom flames. "This will add 1000 attack points to my creature's attack and then double it!" (19000/8000)

Yamidra growled, her dark eyes glowing. "I will not be defeated by some pitiful demon pup."

Daniel shrugged casually and pointed at the dragoness. "Sorry, but you just were. Divine Paladin of the Phoenix, attack her life points directly!" The knight launched forward, weapon held up high.

Yamidra clenched her fist tight. ("I will not be denied!")

A gruff voice echoed in her head. ("You just were, Iguana.") Then the Paladin brought his sword down in one arching slash...

Daniel- 4000

Yamidra- 0

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Envirius watched the portal in the pillar pulse a few times, and then he saw someone coming out. "Milady Yamidra!?"

Right before his head was removed from shoulders by a sword slash, he heard a voice calmly say, "Wrong."

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Daniel looked back at the crystal pillar, which was slowly collapsing inwards on itself. Then with one final cracking noise it shattered.

("Daniel...I'm sorry that I choked.")

Chuckling weakly, Daniel tapped the side of his head. ("Don't worry about it.") He walked over to see the three bodies of his friends, and yet he wasn't worried. Pulling a card out of his deck box, he smiled at it. "Phoenix Wings. It saved us from death. Let's see if it does what I hope it does." He placed the card in Joey's limp hand and clenched his fist tightly. Sparing one glanced at the four duel disks hanging from his back, he took a deep breath. on..."

The card pulsed in the hand of its owner, and then sprayed out an explosion of fire that filled the chamber. Daniel threw his arms up in front of his face and screamed, expecting to be burned alive. But just as quickly as the fire arrived, it was gone.

Deondre groaned and squinted his eyes shut. "I had this horrible dream that I was a demon and I died and..." He stared at his claws, and then sighed. "Right, not a dream."

CJ looked over at the remains of the crystal pillar, eyes wide. "You killed her?"

Siegfried just cradled his head and held his ears flat against his head. "Can you not be so loud please?"

Ryu looked over at Daniel, and burst into laughter. "I told you that Demon Lords are hard as hell to keep dead."

Daniel shrugged. "Meh, you owe a lot of it to Joey actually. If not for him, you'd all still be dead right now." He walked off towards the way out with a smile on his face. "Oh, and D? Thanks for the great combo idea."

Deondre stared at his friend's retreating backside, and then over at CJ. "Joey....saved us .....What?"

CJ shrugged and then they both looked back at the snoring form of Joey.

To be continued...

Next Chapter: Coping with a sudden change in species

Author's Notes: To the Chazman- I understand that there is no number over infinite, cause infinite isn't a number. But if Yami can make a triple infinite attack monster, then I can make a double, darn it. Plus, get working on that next chapter of your story. I'm really itching to read it.