Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Demon Duelist Legacy-World Tour Arc

Chapter 33: Immortal Evil Incarnate

"Oh it can be, my little dragon..." The Torture King's demon form was so black that it mixed right in with the darkness. "And this time, Rikuo won't be able to turn the tables on me." With one tug of his claw the spike withdrew and pulled the wolf demon's body right out of the embrace of Jasmine.

Everyone continued to stare numbly as the shadowed demon king caught the corpse of his ex-general. "Rikuo Amero..." The body exploded in a flash of black flame, "...was the first." Stomping forward, the Torture King entered into the light. "Now who's next?"

Ryu's mind finally managed to accept exactly what had just happened... ("Rikuo...") His golden aura exploded around him. "Sestros...I'll kill you!"

The Torture King, one of his blood-shot eyes missing, rumbled out cold laughter. "You can't even match me when Bahamut was helping you. What makes you think that I have gotten any weaker?"

"I doubt you could have gotten any stronger in less than an hour," Esmin said from behind Ryu, the Shadow Whip in his hand. While he didn't care to help these damned humans, he had no intention of letting Sestros kill anybody. "And this time you'll have to face me as well. Not to mention my dear sister, for you did kill the demon she loved." His voice, as always, was ridiculously calm.

Sestros continued to laugh. "All of you are fools if you think I can be defeated again."

Ryu snapped his head back to CJ, Deondre, and Siegfried. "Get everyone out of here now! Get on the plane and leave this place!"

CJ shook his head resolutely, as did Deondre and Siegfried. "We're not leaving."

Sestros' laughter stopped, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "No one is leaving anyway. I will not allow any of you to escape." A ball of black flame exploded to life within one claw. "So, who wants to die next?"

Esmin and Ryu exchanged glances. Together, if they combined their powers, they might be able to bring Sestros down.

Sestros caught the look. "I see, so you wish to try and team up on me? Sure, I'd be more than glad to prove my true power."

Esmin snapped the Shadow Whip out. "I'll take your head off in one hit."

Ryu's aura flared again. "Not if I consume him in flames first."

The Torture King rumbled out another burst of laughter. "What makes you think that either of you are going to beat me at all?"

"One...two..." The two demons counted with slight smiles on their faces. They knew that this was a suicide charge, but they intended to go down fighting.

Then Jasmine snapped out of the haze that she had been in...and the first things her eyes fell upon were the body of the creature that killed Rikuo. "You..."

Sestros didn't even get a chance to respond as she was suddenly right in front of his face. Her face as calm as death, the Kitsune plunged both of the Shadow Knives right into the Torture King's remaining eye.

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Daniel nodded solemnly and discarded the one card in his hand. "I choose to discard one card, since that is all I have. I will use it to protect Sparkman. Forgive me, Jinzo." The metal humanoid shuddered and exploded. The half wolf-demon's eyes snapped open. "And you will pay for that, Giovan! Sparkman, direct attack!" The electrical hero opened its palm and unleashed a wave of lightning that rushed across the field towards Giovan.

A calm smile appeared on the business man's face. "Actually, no I will not. Reveal Shield of Dead Souls!" A barrier of white ectoplasm sprang up into front of his as one of his monsters was removed. "Sorry, but apparently this card is bonded to my very soul. I suppose that I will even use the dead to further my plans, eh?"

There wasn't anything else Daniel could do. "End turn."

Giovan drew a card off the top of his deck. "And now it's my turn. Luckily for you I don't have a monster that can defeat yours, but that doesn't mean I am out of tricks yet. I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Daniel drew. "I will not let you get away with forcing me to give up Jinzo. That card holds an importance to me that you cannot understand." He slapped a card onto his duel disk. "I summon Elemental Hero-Clayman (800/2000) in defense mode!" A golem-like creature appeared on his field with its arm up in front of it.

"Sparkman attack!" The hero monster splayed open his hand and unleashed a wave of electrical energy that was stopped by another wall of ectoplasm that exploded out of Giovan's field. "And yes, I know that it was going to be stopped. However, I will tear that Shield of Dead Spirits down, even if I have to force you to remove all of the monsters in your graveyard! End turn!"

Giovan drew. "You're wasting your time. Every time a monster of mine goes to the graveyard, my supply of energy for the Shield of Dead Spirits gets bigger. And with this magic card in play, you're not going to be touching me for a long time!" Taking the card he had drawn, he slid it into his duel disk. "I play the continuous magic card Ectoplasmer! As long as this is in play, we must each sacrifice a monster at the end phase of our turn." His smile said that he wanted that. "And half of that sacrificed monster's attack points get deducted from our opponent's life points."

Taking another card from his hand, he placed it onto his disk. "That's where my Malice Doll of Demise comes into play." (1600/1700) A horrible wooden doll wielding a hatchet appeared on the field. "Whenever this creature becomes sacrificed to a continuous magic card, it will reappear on my field at the beginning of my next turn. So...take it away, Ectoplasmer!" The face-up magic card sucked the soul out of the doll and spat it at Daniel.

Daniel- 1800

Giovan- 2400

The dark-suited business man chuckled. "This duel is going to end very soon for one of us, so let's give it our best. End turn."

Daniel drew. "I set one card face-down." The card appeared in front of him. "And then I attack with Sparkman, Thunder Shock!" The hero attacked once more, and again the attack slammed harmlessly into the white wall of ectoplasm. "End turn."

Giovan waved his finger in the air. "Hold on, you must sacrifice one monster on your field."

"Fine! I sacrifice Clayman!" The stone hero monster faded away.

Daniel- 1800

Giovan- 2000

Smirking, Giovan drew. "And now my Malice Doll returns to the field." The wooden puppet reappeared on his field.

("I have to think of something...") Daniel felt drops of sweat slid down his cheek. Though he was enjoying himself, he had to admit that he didn't want to lose. ("There's too much for me to go back to.")

Giovan slid a card into his duel disk. "I first will set one card face-down on my field. And then I will sacrifice my face-down monster card to summon Summoned Skull!"
(2500/1200) A horrendous bone demon appeared on his field. "Lightning Strike!" Electricity pulsed around the demon's horns, and then it unleashed a wave of lightning towards Daniel's Sparkman.

The half wolf-demon had to admit that he was lucky. ("He's set up the perfect situation for me!") "Activate face-down quickplay magic card! Go Underdog's Retaliation! This card requires that I have one of the weakest monsters on the field. If I do, it will allow me to sacrifice Sparkman and reflect your attack back at all of your creatures!" The super-hero monster leaped forwards and slammed right into the lightning wave, carrying it with him back to Giovan's field. "Super Lightning Return!" There was an echoing explosion as Giovan's two monsters were completely destroyed.

Daniel- 1800

Giovan- 1100

Giovan knew he was in trouble...until he remembered what he had on his field. ("Shield of Dead Spirits protects me from his attacks. That means....") "For now I end my turn."

Closing his eyes, Daniel imagined Rikuo standing next to him. ("I know we have never seen eye to eye...but...")

The image of Rikuo shook its head. ("I understand. Now win, so I can wish you back to the land of the living.")

Smiling, Daniel drew and glanced at the card. "This card has a special that's perfect for this situation. You see, I have no cards on my field or in my hand. That means..." He slapped the card onto his duel disk. "I can special summon this monster to the field! Go Elemental Hero-Bubbleman!" (800/1200) In an explosion of rainbow-colored bubbles, a super-hero monster in light-blue appeared on the field, striking a ridiculous pose as he did so.

Giovan stared at the new creature. "What...in the hell? Bubbleman? What kind of hero is that!?"

"I don't make them, I just play them." Smirking, Daniel motioned to his monster. "And thanks to his special ability, if he is the only card on my field when he is summoned, then I can draw two cards!" His hand snapped two cards off of his deck.

("That foolish boy thinks he can end this right now? I still have my Shield of Dead Souls in play.") Giovan knew he was safe, but something felt wrong...and then he figured it out. "Oh no..."

With a smile on his face, Daniel slid a card from his hand into his graveyard, and then the other card into his duel disk. "You figured it out, I see? Your Shield of Dead Souls is strong against all attacks. However, one monster can stop you, and by playing this magic card I can bring him back to the field. Activate Sacred Resurrection! This requires that I must discard one card from my hand and sacrifice one monster on my field. In exchange, I may special summon one monster from my graveyard to the field. I already discarded the card, so it's time to sacrifice the monster!" Bubbleman faded off the field. "Good-bye Bubbleman....and hello Jinzo!" A coffin rose up out of the ground, and it slowly opened...

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Sestros roared in rage and unleashed a wave of black energy that sent Jasmine flying off of him. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! FOR YOU TO HAVE THE AUDACITY..." The Shadow Knives fell out of his dripping eye socket and hit the ground.

Ryu smirked at the sight. "What can you do now, Sestros? If you can't see, then you can't attack."

Sestros was silent, his enormous head still lowered towards the ground. Drops of black blood fell to the grass, the only sound around them. And then Sestros threw back his head and laughed insanely. "If I cannot have sight, then neither shall you!!!" The Torture King lifted his claws up into the air. "And I said 'let there be darkness'!" A wave of energy launched skywards, seeming to blot out the sun and plunge the surrounding area into blackness so thick that it was like being blind to be within it. "And it was good...." His laughter told everyone that now the advantage was his again.

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"Are you awake yet, Mutt?" A dark voice said.

("Where am I?") Rikuo slowly lifted his head. He was sitting down in a chair for some reason, and all around him there was the purple and black energy of a darkness game in effect. "Where...how...Sestros?"

"Wrong on all accounts, actually..." The voice replied.

Rikuo's eyes went back into focus slowly, and he realized that his hands and chin were resting on some kind of stone table. "What's going on? The last thing I remember..."

"Sestros killed you." The voice, which was somewhere in front of him, replied again. "You should get over that fact, because you're not done fighting yet."

Rikuo's eyes lifted up and he saw who the speaker was. It was a demon in humanoid form sitting casually in a stone chair across the table from him. The other demon was wearing crimson robes, and his oily black hair was contrasted by a pair of bone-white horns that were on both sides of his head. "Who in the hells are you?"

"Me?" The demon mocked looking offended. "To think you have never heard my voice, and yet I've heard yours. We met once, but it wasn't face to face." His eyes were steel-grey and cold, like those of a killer. "It's a shame though, for I actually have a history with you." Throwing back his robes and draping his legs over the table, he chuckled. "Now, let's see if you can figure it out."

Rikuo furrowed his brow, scrounging his faded memories for something about this demon.

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The coffin opened and a pair of red lens eyes glared at Giovan.

Fear filled the heart of the dark-suited business man. "No!!!"

Smiling as his favorite monster stepped out of the coffin, Daniel pointed at the face-up Shield of Dead Souls. "Good-bye Giovan Garlin, and may you find peace in oblivion. Trap Negation!" Jinzo's eye lenses flashed and the trap cards on Giovan's field went dark. "Now, attack with Cyber Shock!!" A ball of black energy appeared within the machine monster's palms.

Giovan knew he couldn't run from this. With a slight smile on his face, he matched looks with Daniel. "You've passed the test." He threw a small salute to his opponent. "You're finally a true warrior. So with that, I wish you a good life. Perhaps we will meet again?"

"Perhaps we just might." Daniel smiled and returned the salute. "Now sleep, Giovan Garlin." Jinzo unleashed its attack.

Daniel- 1800

Giovan- 0

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"Well, have you figured it out yet?" The demon was getting tired of watching Rikuo scrunch up his face.

Finally, Rikuo shook his head. "I don't know who you are. We have never met, and I never heard your voice either."

"I see, that's too bad. You'll have to go without knowing." Sliding his legs off the table, the demon waved his hand and the table's surface faded, becoming replaced by an eagle's eye view of the island where the battle between Sestros and the remaining demons were taking place. "I find it funny how I've been manipulating everyone since day one. Sestros was far too easy to control, as his spirit was so focused on killing you. Seren...heh, child's play as well."

The view on the table focused inwards on a patch of darkness, where Rikuo could make out the occasional forms of an explosion or wingtip. "What's going on?"

A derisive snort escaped the demon's lips. "What do you think? Sestros is having some fun with your friends."

Growling, Rikuo started to stand up. "I'll kill him, just like I've done three times now!"

"You think it is that easy to leave? Don't you even understand who I am, and what this is?" The demon looked rather annoyed now.

"I don't give a damn! I'm going to find my way to my friends, kill Sestros, and then make my wish to bring Daniel back!"

The demon's steel-grey eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you understand that your duel against Sestros wasn't the Purge?"

Rikuo scoffed, "Of course it was!"

The demon shook his head. "Let me put it like this for you...what you did was something like the semi-finals. I'm your final opponent."

Rikuo crashed down into his chair. "I'm getting tired of your bullshitting. You're not important to me."

"I'm not? Do you even realize what my purpose is behind all of this?" The demon looked sly. "I created the Purge."

Rikuo shrugged that bit of information off. "So what? It's not like it matters to me that you created it."

"I'm tired of hoping you'll suddenly grow a brain." Throwing back his robes and his hands, the demon sneered. "I have existed for over ten thousand years, and the Purge was my invention, for the winner of it came to me. Though you have never seen me before, I'm sure you'll know my name..."

His next words had Rikuo nearly falling out of his chair. "I...am...Valeus!" Throwing back his head, the demon mage laughed into the darkness.

To be continued...