Disclaimer: No, I do not own Yugioh.
Demon Duelist Legacy-World Tour Arc
Chapter 18: The darkness begins
He looked out at the forest that surrounded the remote location they were in. He'd been crying for the dumbest reason ever. ("Because he hit me...it's not like he hasn't done worse to me in the past...and yet, this time it hurt so much more than it should have.")
Daniel knew that he should simply trust in Rikuo, but every time he tried to convince himself of that, all he would succeed in doing is convincing himself that he should keep away from Rikuo until the battle was over. ("I'm distracting him...and since the world is riding on his win, I can't let my feelings get in the way of this.")
But if that was the case, then why was he unable to stop the tears from flowing?
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"Hey Siegfried, I don't think you should be doing that." Deondre dodged another hunk of falling rock. "I mean, we can seriously go and rent a cherry-picker. You don't have to climb all the way up there just to get the key."
The German Duelist smiled down at his worried friend. "Don't worry about it. I'm very adept at landing on my feet. Hang on but a moment and I'll get the card."
Jasmine frowned at her brother, who was lying back against a tree and watching the tiger demon lazily. "Why don't you go and get the key, brother-dear?" Her words dripped with a mix of venom and just plain distaste.
"Because, my loving sister, I want to see if the newest generation of demon-kind can scale a simple building." Esmin didn't actually care, but he just didn't feel up to scaling a building at the moment, so therefore that excuse would work just fine.
Ever since his waking up, Janeam had been staring at Esmin. "So...exactly how long have you been in my body? And, does the whole 'you being in me' thing make me a demon?"
Esmin yawned, stretching his limber muscles. "About since you were born and no."
Amy, after her horrible experience with Esmin, had elected to come with the group wherever they might have been going, just in case something evil and supernatural ever came onto the plane again. "Why are we tolerating him?"
"Because he knows exactly where the key cards are, as well as where we need to take them. Since Pegasus is mysteriously out of reach, we only have Esmin's word to go on." Ryu smiled slightly. "Don't worry Amy; he knows that if he dares to act out of line I will show him exactly why I consider the Grand Emperor Dragon to be true power of my people."
Even after hearing that though, Amy still decided that it would be best to stay near CJ, Deondre or Ryu at all times.
Allon sat back and yawned. "So...exactly where did Daniel go?"
"Daniel went where-ever Rikuo went, and that could be a lot of places." Deondre had just come back over to join the group. "I'm assuming it is somewhere that has to do with Seren, right?"
Ryu nodded. "I think so as well. Rikuo and Daniel are probably battling him right now, but that does not concern us. What we need to do is go and get the remaining key cards."
"Which we have starting....now." Esmin said in mock-cheerfulness as Siegfried landed to the ground, a pair of cards in hand.
The tiger demon walked over to the group and held up the two cards. "What's most amazing is that there were two of them up there. The Key of Gedi and the Key of Furit. Very strange indeed."
"Actually," Esmin said, "It's not that strange at all. Seren wants us to hurry up and come to him. He's got something that he wants all of us to see."
Jasmine snorted. "And how do you know all of this?"
"I have my ways, dear sister." Esmin stood up and brushed himself clean. "Shall we go now? We've got to pay our dear friend Seren a visit."
Everyone stood and got ready to leave, but one member of the group kept himself back until his friends were out of sight.
Ryu had made his decision. ("I can feel where you are, Rikuo. And I don't feel right leaving you in Seren's care.") Looking up at the night sky, the dragon demon smiled wistfully. "This evening, the Grand Dragon spreads his wings and flies."
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Rikuo cursed and stared at the Leap of Faith card that sat on his pillow. "Why can't I just throw you into the trash, where you belong!?"
Ever since he had struck Daniel, the wolf demon had entered into something of a deep trance. Each waking moment he had was locked into his deck-making now. Anything he could do to avoid dwelling on the painful realizations that had come to him, he would do.
Now if only he could figure out why his instincts were telling him to put that damned card into his deck...
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Seren sighed and leaned back in his chair. ("They've found the final key cards. Soon, the Purge will have exactly what it needs to continue.")
("And then it will begin...the darkness game that determines the fate of earth's population.")
("Yes...I look forward to it. My battle with Rikuo will be the pinnacle of my life. The deciding battle between me and him...")
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Deondre climbed out of the bus they had rented. "Let's get....hey, where's Ryu?"
Yawning, Esmin pointed up into the air. "He's about a thousand feet above us and currently flying at Mach four."
Everyone looked upwards, following his finger. There was a huge golden blur blazing across the sky.
"Is...that...Ryu!?" CJ looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack. "How...what the..."
Esmin rolled his eyes and walked towards the plane. "The whole lot of you needs to not be surprised. Do you really think that my real form looks like this? Of course it doesn't. Jourgen decided to get to Seren's location a whole lot faster than we could. So before the action starts without us being there, why don't we get a move on?"
As the fox demon walked away, Deondre glanced over at Jasmine. "Is he always so much of an..."
"Trust me, this is nothing compare to how he was in the past." Jasmine walked past the dog demon casually.
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Daniel looked at the office door worried. ("Should I really be doing this? I mean...it doesn't exactly seem like the wisest idea. Then again...") He knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Seren's voice on the other side of the door.
Cautiously, Daniel opened the door and walked in. The first thing he noticed was that it was pitch black in the room. "Umm, Seren?"
"I'm right here." The crane demon's voice came from behind the chair at the end of the room. "How interesting that you came to see me. I was just about to call you here. There was something that I needed to discuss with you."
Daniel didn't feel quite so worried. Seren sounded completely fine. "Yeah, well I had to talk to you about something too. It's about why you have to battle with Rikuo."
"Why? Because it is my destiny to. I must duel with Rikuo, and the winner determines the fate of the human race."
The half wolf-demon stepped closer to the desk. "That's insane! Why would believe that!? It doesn't make any sense."
Seren didn't reply.
"Well!?" Daniel leapt forward and spun the chair around, coming eye to eye with Seren.
In the darkness, Seren smiled calmly. "My dear boy, you know nothing of fate." Casually lifting the revolver he had been holding in his hand, Seren fired it right into Daniel's gut.
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Ryu could feel the wind blow past him. The simple joy of flying was something that he missed so much. ("I forgot its simple beauty.") Opening his jaws, he roared into the night and continued towards the island. ("It's a shame I am so fast. I'll be there in but a few moments.")
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Daniel stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. "What..." He somehow managed to avoid keeling over from the pain of the wound. "W...why!?"
Seren stood up from his seat, still smiling calmly. "It's simple...because if you die, then Rikuo will be driven over the edge. I want to get the most out of my duel and therefore, you must die."
"You....you son of a bitch!" Daniel lunged forwards, his claws splayed to tear through the crane demon.
Unfortunately, a bullet is a lot faster than Daniel could hope to be.
The first shot tore right into his shoulder, the force of the blast driving him backwards. He screamed in pain, trying with all his might to find the strength to attack. There was nothing left in him though...he couldn't pool together enough energy to do much more than stand. "Damn.....you..."
The second bullet ripped right into his chest, sending him to one knee. "I...will...not...." He found the strength to charge again.
The third bullet pierced into his heart, and yet he wouldn't submit. "You...cannot....." Daniel felt his vision getting blurry. "Rikuo...."
"Rikuo will do nothing, for he won't know about your death. Normally, he would feel a sharp sting when you died, but because of spells placed on his room, and because of how sound-proof his room is, he will hear and feel nothing. Now die..."
Daniel didn't bother to cry. Somehow, he managed to collapse into Seren, feebly hanging onto the demon's shirt. "W...h...y....?"
"Don't make me repeat myself." Seren lifted the gun barrel to Daniel's drooping forehead.
("R...i....k...u...o...")
The final bullet went right into his brain.
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Ryu looked down upon the island, his mind still in the afterglow of the simple pleasure that he enjoyed so much...
And then he felt it...
It was like someone had torn a piece of his soul away. Like a piece of a bond had been broken within his heart.
For a few moments his wings no longer beat in the air. Instead, he hung like some kind of giant glider.
Then the pain faded, and his thoughts returned...
They were thoughts of revenge, more intense than any grudge he had ever held against Rikuo. ("SEREN!!!!!!!!")
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Said crane demon casually kicked the corpse in front of his aside. "He just had to get my suit dirty?" Pulling the cell phone out of his pocket, he pressed a number on auto-dial. Then he clicked his phone closed and put it into his pocket. "Now, I just need to wait..."
Casually walking over to his window, he saw the approaching Solar Stream blast that was now just a few hundred feet away. "Oh shit..."
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Ryu wasn't done yet. He felt the burning power of his attack build within his jaws. ("SEREN!!") He released another Solar Stream, the ball of golden flame slamming into the smoke cloud where his first attack had hit. This time though, it slammed into a red barrier of energy. ("You won't escape me!!") Ryu dove downwards, his wings outstretched and jaws wide. He had every intention of tearing straight through that field and swallowing Seren whole.
Seren frowned at the singe marks on his suit. ("Thank you for the quick save...")
("I would suggest that you don't thank me yet. He is still coming.")
The crane demon frowned at the approaching form that would soon be upon him. ("Heh, I know just how to deal with him.")
There was a bright flash of light, and he was gone.
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Ryu felt the teleportation spell, and he knew exactly where Seren had gone. ("MURDERER!!!") Changing course, he approached the mountain just a short distance away. ("I WILL KILL YOU!!")
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Seren stood on the top of the mountain, his duel disk already clicked into place. ("Come and face me. You'll be a good warm-up before Rikuo.")
The golden blaze that was Ryu flew over the top of the mountain, and then slammed down into it, exploding into a blaze of golden fire. When it cleared, it showed Ryu in his humanoid form, his silver eyes blazing in rage. "SEREN!!"
"Greetings Jourgen. How are you doing?" Seren was perfectly calm. ("I am fated to duel with Rikuo. You cannot stop me until then.")
Ryu felt the fires from his land continue to burn around him. "I...will...kill you. Killing you in cold blood won't be enough though. I will defeat you in a duel." His duel disk clicked into place. "If I win, then you will die!"
"That's fine with me. If I win, then the same applies to you." Seren already had his five cards in his hand.
Ryu drew his five, the fires still blazing around his form. "In the name of the life you just took, I will kill you!"
"We shall see...we shall see." The crane demon smile was completely confident.
To be continued...