Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Demon Duelist Legacy-World Tour Arc
Chapter 17: The gift of Seren
"Why does my head feel like it was just hit with a really big hammer?" Daniel muttered from right behind Rikuo.
The ancient spirit felt his heart leap into his throat. Spinning around, he found himself face to face with his hikari. "What the..."
Seren continued to smile sweetly at the confused look on Rikuo's face. "Don't you get it? I gave you your own body. You're alive again."
Daniel exchanged stares of surprise with his other half. "You've...got your own body?"
Rikuo pressed a hand against his chest to be sure. "Apparently I do..." Bringing his head up, the demon met eyes with Seren. "How did you do this?"
The crane demon chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "It's the least I could do. As for the how, it's far too complicated of a process to waste your time explaining. For the lack of a better term, I simply separated your souls from one another. I know that it has been for some time, Rikuo."
Daniel slowly came to his feet and looked over the shoulder of his darker side. "Why would you give us any kind of gift at all? Aren't you our enemy?"
Seren nodded, the acknowledgement seeming surreal because of the smile on his face. "We are enemies, but not of the kind that you think." He snapped his fingers and the chamber they were in was flooded with light, revealing a huge stone arena. "You see, I have need of your skills in dueling."
Both wolves frowned at that declaration, giving Seren a glare that promised they would not work for him.
"That's not what I meant at all." Clearing his throat, the crane demon spun around and pointed to a mural on the wall of the arena. It showed a depiction of a giant wolf battling against a huge bird-like creature. "The words at the bottom...they speak of a prophecy..." Seren's voice had gone serious, and dark...
Two beings of the darkness will battle in this place...
One good and one evil...
The evil wishing for the end of all that which is humane...
The good countering his opponent's acts...
It will be a war between brothers...
The battle to end all battles...
Blood will fight blood and the balance will be crushed...
Wolf against Darkness...
Enemy against friend...
Both lovers of war...
Everything after that on the table underneath the mural was blank, the worn stone smooth.
"Are you starting to see, Rikuo? Fate decrees that one of us will win in a duel, and the winner of that will decide the fate of humanity." Seren turned around, his expression serious.
Rikuo didn't really believe that the tablet meant that, but he wasn't in a position to argue. "Alright then, but as you should know I'm not exactly a being of goodly nature. So which one of us is the being of evil, and which one is the being of good?"
Seren's crimson eyes shimmered in the light. "I have no idea. Perhaps we should discuss the terms though? After all, you cannot have a battle such as ours without making sure that everything will be fair. First off, it will be a Duel Monsters match that determines the winner, agreed?"
Rikuo sensed that something was wrong with this. ("I believe the words on that tablet, but I have a feeling like they have some kind of hidden meaning?") "Agreed. When we have our battle, it will be a Duel Monsters match."
A sharp cough snapped both of the demons out of their conversation. "So where exactly do I fit into all of this!?" Daniel didn't exactly look very happy with the prospect that he was simply brought here as a member of Rikuo's cheering squad.
Seren shrugged. "I don't believe the prophecy applies to you. By all means Rikuo, please take your other half and use him as counsel though. Our duel will begin as soon as your friends arrive. Until then, my attendants will bring you anything you wish for, cards included. Make sure your deck is ready, and please don't bring your tired old strategies to our battle. And with that, I take my leave of you. We will not see each other again until the duel begins, so I will see you then." He turned and strolled casually out of the chamber.
Rikuo looked over at Daniel and smiled. "I suppose we had better make sure my deck is ready for this, eh?"
Daniel's only reply was to mutter angrily at the fact that he was being left out of this entire thing.
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"Aha! This is the card I will play." The fox demon slid a card into his duel disk. "Thorn Storm will allow me to sacrifice a plant monster on my field to deal that monster's attack in damage to your life points. And all it will cost me is half of my life points." The Doom Tree shuddered and rustled, its body crumbling into dust. "Fire!" As if on cue, the monster's body sprayed out a wave of tiny needles that all were rocketing towards CJ.
CJ smirked. "Esmin, I'm not defeated yet! Reveal face-down trap card, Hallowed Life Barrier!" A blue bubble of energy exploded around his body. "By discarding one card in my hand to the graveyard, I may negate all damage to my life points for the duration of the turn!" The needles slammed harmlessly into the bubble. "And since that was your card for the turn..."
The fox demon widened his eyes slightly.
"Draw!" CJ drew the next card off of his deck and then pointed at Esmin. "I switch Lord of the Perfect Defense into attack mode and order him to make a direct attack on your life points! You've...lost!" The burly warrior came to its feet and removed the Guardian Maul from its back. Hefting the huge-headed hammer, it charged across the field to strike Esmin down.
"Hold your tongue, brat! Reveal face-down Blood Seeker trap card!" The card flipped, but shuddered and exploded. "Impossible!!! Unless..."
"That's right," CJ held up the card he had flipped up. "I activated my face-down Trap Jammer, which negated your trap monster card. Esmin, this duel is over."
The fox demon smiled slyly. "You're partially right. I may have lost this duel, but I'm not quite beaten yet."
CJ's monster slammed its weapon down onto Esmin's body.
CJ- 1200
Esmin- 0
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The darkness game sphere shuddered and then crashed down upon itself, the shadows that had formed it disappearing instantly. Standing where it had used to be was CJ and Janeam, the latter face-down on the cargo hold.
And standing over Janeam was Esmin. The silver-white haired fox demon turned and smiled to his sister. "Ah Jasmine, how good it is to see you again."
Jasmine drew the Shadow Knives out of their sheathes and brandished the weapons. "Don't get me started on the reasons I should just drive these right into your heart."
Esmin turned away from her and smiled to CJ. "By the way, thank you for freeing me from your friend's body. It was too cramped in there anyway."
CJ clenched his fists angrily. "Now wait a second! You're supposed to be banished from existence!"
"Tsk tsk, we agreed that you would be banished if you lost. If I lost then I would get out of your friend's body. As you can see," he motioned to himself, "I am outside of his body. Because of the way the demand was worded, the realm of darkness had no choice but to give me a body." The fox demon bowed to CJ. "For that I am in your debt."
Ryu stepped forward, his body limed with a golden aura. "You know Esmin; I could kill you right now."
The white fox demon smiled knowingly. "Ah, but if you did, then who would show you how to get the two remaining key cards in one swoop, as well as find Seren's headquarters."
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("Wolf Demon Lord, in combination with Jinzo. That would form Steel Wolf General. Even though Seren would see it coming, it's too good of a combo not to use.") Rikuo placed the three cards in front of him in the "most likely to be used" pile of cards at his side.
"Anything I can do to help?" Daniel asked from the foot of Rikuo's bed.
"Yes, you can shut up and let me work," The wolf demon answered gruffly, before returning to his stack of cards.
Sighing, Daniel fell back on the bed. "I'm amazed that you haven't had more to say on the fact that you and I are separate now. I'd think it would mean a lot to you."
Sighing, Rikuo turned around in his swivel chair to look at his hikari. "Perhaps I am happy, but I would prefer not to get my hopes up over this. It seems far too good to be true."
"I can understand your hesitation, but maybe you should lighten up and try to enjoy this? After all, it's not like you don't have a bit more time before your battle with Seren." Daniel's voice was trying to be as upbeat as possible.
"Keh! I don't think I'm ready yet for this. Without the right cards in my deck, Seren is going to pick me apart in our battle. And if the fate of the world rests on my win, then I'll be damned before I screw up."
Daniel slid his hands into his pockets and withdrew a silver foiled package. "Perhaps now is a good time to open up that pack of cards that Pegasus gave us?"
That had Rikuo's interest. "Fine, but make it quick. I've still got to finish up the deck before nightfall."
Tearing open the foil, Daniel grasped the five cards and fanned them out to his other half. "Alright, pick two."
Rikuo grabbed the whole five. "Idiot! If these can help us, then I'm using all of them."
"You're no fun at all." Daniel pouted and sat back down on the bed.
Rikuo wasn't listening now. He was too busy studying the new cards.
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Shield of Revealing Light
Continuous Magic card
As long as this card is face-up on the field, your opponent cannot attack. You must pay 1000 life points each turn to keep this card in play.
Holy Sword of Light
Equipment Magic Card
You can only equip this card to a monster with 'Knight' in its title. The monster equipped with this card gains 1000 attack points and whenever it destroys a monster in battle, you may special summon one monster from your graveyard to the field.
Last Ray of Hope
Quick-play magic card
This card can only be activated if you have 1000 or less life points. Draw five cards. At the end of the turn, discard your hand.
Drill Mirror Force
Trap card
Negate an attack and destroy the attacking monster. Deal that monster's attack in damage to your opponent's life points.
Leap of Faith
Place this card into your deck. It will bring you good luck.
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Rikuo stared at the last card. "Leap of Faith? What kind of rip-off is this!?" He tossed the card over his shoulder and placed the other four cards onto the table in front of him. "These I can work with though."
Daniel picked up the Leap of Faith card. "Are you sure it's so useless? Why would Pegasus give it to us if he didn't think we could win with it?"
"There is no 'we' in this duel. There's just me and Seren. I don't want you to get involved."
"Oh come on Rikuo, it's not like it's the first time we've ever been in a bad situation." Daniel made a big show of waving his hands and protesting against Rikuo's decision. While he had his other half's complete attention, he slid the Leap of Faith into the 'final deck' pile.
"No! I will not risk your life this time. Besides..." He stood up out of his chair. "I'm separate from you now. I will deal with my problems, and you deal with yours."
"Rikuo..." Daniel wished now, more than ever, that he was still able to at least read the basic thoughts of his counterpart. "We're a team. Do you really think that you can win this duel on your own? Seren will tear you apart!"
Rikuo responded to that by slamming his fist right into the side of Daniel's face, flooring the boy. "Shut up! You would dare to...." His words caught in his throat as he realized what he had just done...
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Kilomet drove the spike deeper into Rikuo's chest. "Just remember, my little weapon...that this is what awaits you if you ever dare to question me again."
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When Rikuo came back to reality, Daniel was already gone out of the room. ("Is that what I am to him? Am I to him what Sestros was to me? A tormentor...") Falling back in his chair, he felt tears well up in his eyes. "Daniel..."
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Seren sat silently in his chair, staring out the window of the small office he had set up for himself. The sunlight was streaming in on his face, and he felt so many conflicting emotions. ("This is my destiny...I will destroy Rikuo in our duel, and then remove the human race from the earth in one wish. The Purge will fix all of my problems...")
("Why are you doing this? Killing the planet will not fix the problems of the past...") The voice in his mind was so small now, it was almost unheard.
("You dare to question me? Don't you understand!? You were there when they died...you were there when the humans took my family. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn't find it in my heart to forgive those who did it. Well now I won't have to forgive them, because I will simply wipe them off the face of the planet. That will be their repayment to me...")
("Is this what you truly believe? Can you really defeat hate with hate?")
Seren looked down at the floor, silence reigning upon his thoughts. ("Who are you? Why do you torment me with these damned questions?")
The voice seemed to gain innocence to it that even someone like Seren had to soften towards, if only a little bit. ("I'm what you once were. The little boy who lost his parents to hatred and bigotry...I'm the one who cries at night, and who feels the pain of every person, human or demon, that you hurt. I'm you, Seren....")
("No,") he thought resolutely, while he looked back at his deck, which was ready before he had even called Rikuo to him. ("I am not you anymore...Seren Teska, the child, died long ago. All that is left is Seren Teska, the demon with nothing left but painful memories and a burning desire for revenge. Now get out of my head and leave me to my plans.")
The voice, as tiny and weak as it sounded before, somehow managed to become even frailer. ("Mother and Father......he is coming...and this time, I cannot shield you from him. Your innocence is gone, Seren...and with it, you are left with nothing but...pain.")
As the last scraps of his better half faded, Seren felt tears well up in his eyes. ("Good-bye...I will miss you...")
("I see you have awoken to the truth about yourself, Seren. Are you ready to get started?") A deep and dark voice echoed in his mind.
("Yes...") Standing, he looked back out the window for a few seconds, and then his eyes hardened. ("I am ready to begin the preparations for my battle against Rikuo.")
To be continued...
Author's Notes: Just wanted to say, once more, thank you all for supporting me while I've been writing this. The World Tour arc is starting to reach its end, though don't worry...before I'm done, you'll see at least a couple of impressive duels.