Author's Notes: Now on to the next duel.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Blind Vengeance
Taichi didn't glance to his right as a shadow on the wall emerged as the black-cloaked form of D'harim. He had gotten used to his fellow knight's special appearances. "You've finished off some of the runts I see. I did the same."
D'harim held up two ears, his trophies for his victory. By the copper colored skin of those ears Taichi guessed that D'harim had dealt with Isis and Rishid. "What of Nikolas?"
The Knight of Air pointed a finger at the ground beneath his feet, and D'harim understood. "When he has fulfilled his duty...I will be the one to crush Nikolas. Do we have an understanding?"
"Once he is useless, do as you like. I don't care. I've got my own target in mind." Without another word the two departed in their usual mode, leaving nothing in their wake. Had they remained for one moment longer they would have noticed a strange green light flitting about like a firefly.
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Kai and Kirani stopped dead when they came around the corner. About twenty feet away the wall had been blown out, and the room was exposed. Desperately they raced towards the ruined room and entered it.
In the wreckage of the room two prone forms could clearly be seen. Ryu and Autumn lay face-up on the ground, their blank eyes staring at the ceiling. Several feet away was the torn remains of the outer wall. Kirani dropped to her knees next to them and clapped her hands together, bowing briefly.
Kai turned away from the scene, and spoke as gruffly as he could. He knew this wasn't a time for sentimentality. "Your Buddha can't protect anyone from these people. What we need to focus on is finding the ones responsible for this. We've been lured into a trap, now we need to gather ourselves together and stop the knights."
She brushed her chestnut hair out of her eyes and stood, shooting Kai a dark glare. "You don't understand the concept of paying respects do you." She stomped forwards and brushed past him, deliberately knocking him out of the way with her shoulder.
Before she exited the now widened door she tossed one last comment over her shoulder. "By the way, I'm Shinto."
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Dalin's fingers blurred across the keyboard as he searched the system mainframe for any possible reference. It was doubtful that he would find anything, but there was no reason not to search. He was lucky that his naturally nimble fingers made him a faster typist, otherwise this would take longer.
He stopped briefly when he felt something in his back pocket pressing against him. He reached into the pocket and set the object on the table. His fingers slowed as his attention turned from a fruitless search to memories of the past. This object was the one link to his past outside the Icon of Osiris.
Slowly he let his hand come to a rest on it, letting his fingers trace the intricate designs. "You were the only thing I had with me when Malik found me in the desert. Do you hold secrets of my past?"
Taking up the object in a confident grip that spoke of skill that he didn't know how he would have. One swift motion and snapping sound extended it, revealing its true nature. "A switchblade, an object to cause pain, an object to kill. Have you been tainted by blood? Have I?"
A surge of feeling from the icon gave him the warning that he needed to hurl himself to the side. A massive chunk of plaster collided with the desk and ripped through it, blowing the computer into silicon fragments.
Dalin rolled his body and came up in a crouch, facing the direction that the attack had come from. What he saw was another chunk of plaster hurtling towards him. This time was different however, because he was ready.
His muscles bunched and his arm reared back, readying it for the plaster to come in range. As soon as it was he threw the punch, breaking the plaster into tiny pieces. A shower of dust rained down upon him, but he remained unharmed. "Knight of Darkness...Knight of Air...so you would be the third knight. Come out Knight of Earth."
A white cloaked form emerged from the sand. The same knight that had confronted him on two different occasions. The first time when Kai dueled Kevin, and the second time when he had defeated Rose. "I wasn't expecting a direct attack this soon. But now I'm ready."
"Ready? The only thing you should be ready for is death!" The knight made a sweeping motion with his right hand, and as it went the ground beneath his arm began to break apart. A line of the broken earth extended outwards at great speed heading straight for Dalin.
Dalin's body was conditioned to great action, so he jumped forwards and used a broken piece of flooring as a stepping stone, hurling himself at the knight. "HAAAAA!"
He swung his fist down towards the knight, but the white robed form exploded into dust right before Dalin's fist could connect. Dalin spun on his heel, swinging with his left arm as he did so to give the blow more power. His guess proved correct as his opponent was forced to dodge the strike.
Dalin knew he had to keep his enemy from disappearing again, so thinking quickly he acted. With one powerful kick he hurled a floorboard at the knight. Just as he had expected a column of earth rose from the ground to block the board. 'That's my opening!'
Jumping towards the column of earth he wrapped his left arm around it, and used his momentum to swing him all the way around it. His sudden appearance caught the knight off guard, and his knuckles collided powerfully with the robed warrior's face.
The strength of the strike tossed the knight backwards. He bounced against the ground painfully, and when he did hit the ground again his hood fell away. Dalin stopped his advance on the warrior as he saw his suspicions confirmed. "One eye..."
His enemy picked himself up and took a hold of the top of his robe. In one motion he hurled it off, revealing his desert garb beneath. He sneered and with a flick of his wrist brought a knife into his hand. "What's wrong? Don't like your handiwork?"
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Kirani stopped suddenly and glanced over her shoulder. Kai stopped as well, looking back to see why she had stopped. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
"I thought I saw something...like a light." She looked up and down the hall, searching for a sign of what she thought she had seen while running. Something like a firefly, dancing about and following them. Fireflies didn't glow a green color like that though...
"There's nothing here but us. You're just seeing things." He turned and started running again, not looking to see if she was following him. She paused for a moment more, and then she followed after Kai.
It must have been her imagination...
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"Intriguing." Cries of ecstasy arose with this single word. The cry came from a group of five robed figures standing in a circle around a simplistic throne. It was a throne that seemed designed for economy, designed in perfect order. It was the perfect throne of simplicity.
Clad in flowing crimson robes Eikyuu watched with farseeing eyes as the situation in the Waldorf-Astoria continued to develop. Eikyuu did not deem to notice his High Priests, for they were not his concern at the moment. Although they still had purpose, momentarily they were useless to him.
"Perhaps the situation is more fluid than I would have believed." His voice was cold and distant, it was the voice of superiority. A voice that spoke of authority, of inner knowledge that your words had greater meaning, for those listening were nothings to you.
This was the voice of a god. "Great Lord Eikyuu...we have brought for you another of the lesser Fallen. This one is unable to feel the touch of your light, to know the glory of your voice."
The priests cast a haggard looking old woman in front of his throne. She sobbed as she fell before him, unable to contain the fear and awe she felt in his presence. "Please! Please let me be!"
Eikyuu reached down and gripped her face with his white gloved fingers. The old woman sobbed harder as his fingers pressed into her cheeks and he lifted her up so that she was eye to eye with him. Her feet dangled two or three feet above the ground, attributed to his great stature.
The glowing prisms of light that were contained with the sockets of the Noh mask that served as his face met her gaze, and her sobs stopped. "This one is Fallen no longer. She has felt the light. She has known the Voice of God."
He released her with barely a notice, letting her drop painfully to the ground. He returned to his place at his throne, no longer looking at anyone in the room. His solitude was bothered by the nothing that was the old woman speaking to him. "Great Lord Eikyuu...I..."
"You understand now I see. Your body is frail, your mind is nothing, you are useless. You have no purpose, and now that you have been graced by the Light of Order you truly understand what must be done." The old woman shivered, and a fervent look appeared in her once dull eyes.
"I understand Great Lord Eikyuu. I will not disgrace your Order any further!" With a surprising degree of spryness for an elderly person she threw her body at a nearby table. She snatched up an object that rested on that table, an object set there for just such a reason.
It was a sinuous ceremonial dagger, embossed with the symbol of infinity. "I am useless...forgive me Great Lord Eikyuu!" She plunged the dagger into her stomach, and blood poured forth. Her entire body shook as the pain racked her. She was able to complete the motion, and slid the blade sideways through her belly. Her innards spilled onto the ground, and she collapsed.
The spasms of her death continued for a few minutes, but they went unnoticed by the one she had died as a first and final service to. Eikyuu had already forgotten her existence.
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"My handiwork? What are you talking about?" The thief sneered in response and placed a hand on the eyepatch. He peeled it away, revealing a puckered and aged wound, with a scar running down from his brow to the middle of his cheek.
"You did this to me...you ruined everything! Now I Nikolas Selket will make you suffer for every person you have harmed! Prepare for death Sumatin!" Nikolas slammed his knife into the ground, burying it up the hilt. Now that his attention was on the knife his hand fell away from the eyepatch, letting it cover up once again.
Dalin readied himself to move, drawing on some of the energies within his body. He had natural magic that he could use in this fight, and he also had the strength of the Icon of Osiris. "I don't know what you're talking about Selket."
Nick growled and pulled the knife up and up and up. The knife had become a sword, the minerals of the earth drawn into it to transform it. "LIAR! NOW DIE!"
He came at Dalin without mercy, swinging his sword without great skill, but with a great deal of rage. Dalin dodged the first swung, hopping backwards. The second swing nicked his chest, cutting a red line through his shirt.
The next swing was lower, aiming for Dalin's belly. It was also slower than the last two, not carrying the same momentum that the first two swings had. Analyzing this quickly Dalin brought his right arm down, using the palm of his hand to force the blade to the ground. Once its tip was touching the ground he kicked its hilt, breaking the blade off.
Nick literally roared at seeing his efforts thwarted, but his rage was cut off when Dalin landed a solid head butt. Blood spirted across Dalin's face as Nick's nose broke, but even that wasn't enough to keep the knight of earth down. Using the earth itself as a catapult he sent a couch flying towards Dalin.
Unable to dodge the couch Dalin was caught in the chest and had the wind knocked out of him. He hit the ground rolling, clutching his middle. Seeing his prey downed Nick followed up by pounding his foot on the floor, making the earth ripple. That ripple moved towards Dalin, and when it reached him the blonde man was sent hurtling through the air.
Dalin flipped around in the air, and came down on his feet, sliding backwards for a few seconds before he managed to kill the momentum. He took off at a sprint, trying to reach Nick as fast he could. The knight roared his rage and thrust one hand upwards at the ceiling. Chunks of plaster and stone cracked away and began raining down around them.
The debris forced Dalin to cease his attack and stop dead. He took a deep breath and snapped a card off his dueling deck. Now was the time for magic, not for force. Without looking at the card he held it up and channeled his energy through it. "DRAIN SHIELD!"
The dueling card transformed into a large shield, and with a solid grip Dalin shielded himself from the debris. Each piece that struck the shield was absorbed into it, gathering energy for Dalin. Since his focus was on the debris, Dalin barely managed to see the next attack coming.
"I won't let you live!" A spray of thousands of pebbles zipped through the air at incredible speed, propelled by Nikolas' power. Taking his attention away from the little bit of debris that was still falling from the ceiling he lowered the shield and blocked the oncoming attack.
It was because of this block that the final piece of stone caught him on the shoulder, scraping the skin and dropping him to one knee. The shield titled down, and the last barrage of pebbles pelted him, cutting into him. "DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!"
Dalin raised his head and held the shield up. "I refuse." He extended the shield and a beam of energy exploded out of the center, catching the knight of earth directly in the chest. Nick was blown back a dozen feet, his clothing now with a hole in the center from the attack.
Nick rose to his feet, his body shaking with the pure fury of hatred. His one eye was consumed by a deadly fire that couldn't be quenched except by death. Dalin knew that the death desired by that one eye was his own, but he didn't know the reason why. "I hate you."
The comment caught Dalin off guard. It wasn't that he hadn't realized the hatred, it was just how and when it was said. Not only that...but it was the power that was beginning to flare up around Nikolas after speaking those words. "I understand that. What I don't understand is the why."
"YOU! Back then you stripped away all that mattered to me and left me as an empty shell! In the years since I have filled myself with hatred for you. I'm steeped in it. Now that hatred will flow from me to you, and you will know the extent of my pain! I'll make you live out every second of it!" An enormous aura emerged around Nick, and the Japanese symbol for hate blazed on his forehead.
"This is my power Dalin Imaki Sumatin! MY HATE FOR YOU!" A sphere of energy expanded outwards from his body, ripping apart the ground as it went. All that was caught in its path was destroyed, and it spanned the distance between the two of them in mere seconds.
Dalin held out the Drain Shield to try and stop the attack, but it was too widespread, and too powerful. The shield cracked and shattered after just a few seconds, leaving him holding his right hand out, using the Icon of Osiris to generate a silver barrier. "I...won't...die!"
His words were lost in the noise as the two colliding energies exploded against each other. Since Dalin was so close to the explosion he was thrown backwards, his shirt half torn off. His back hit the far wall, and before he could do anything else the wall melted itself, creating shackles for his arms and legs. He was trapped.
Nick walked away and went to the desk that had the remains of the computer. He reached down and picked up the switchblade that Dalin had left there and returned to approach the angel duelist. He sneered up at the trapped duelist's form and held the knife up. "Let me tell you," Nick told him, "it's taking every bit of my will to resist the urge to slit your throat like you did to them."
Dalin's eyes widened. 'What? Like I...' Nick waved the knife back and forth in front of Dalin, his single eye meeting Dalin's cold green gaze. Dalin could practically feel the heat of Nick's rage.
"I've been resisting the urge since I first saw you. But I decided I might give you a chance. A chance that you didn't give the ones closest to me. But I've decided against that. You've had your chance to live. Now, there's no escape." He punched the stone holding Dalin's arm, making a thunking noise. Dalin didn't need it demonstrated, as he had already tried to break away. The bonds were too strong.
"It took me a while to think of a way to make you pay for everything you've done to me. But now I've found one." Nick grabbed Dalin by the throat and extended the switchblade. "I suppose I should do what they would do in Egypt. You know, they cut off your hand if you're caught stealing."
His knife dipped towards Dalin's trapped wrist, but then it trailed back up. "Of course it wasn't your hand that did the killing." He ran the flat side of the blade over Dalin's chest, then pressed it down. One of the edges drew blood, and Nick let it trickle down the blade, dripping down on his hand.
"It was your black heart that did it. But I have so much more in store for you. There is no way I can make you feel the pain I have felt for over five years, but I'm sure I can get pretty close. It's just like the old saying." and he raised the knife to Dalin's head, letting it come to rest right in front of him. "An eye for an eye."
Something caught his eye in that moment, something out beyond Nick. A little flickering light, flitting about like a firefly. Nick cried out in surprise as a blinding silver light expanded around Dalin, and the bonds of stone shattered. "I am not your scapegoat!"
One meaty fist slammed into the side of Nick's face, knocking him flat out on his back. Nick roared again and fired a bolt of energy from his hand. Dalin responded by firing a silver beam of light from his own hand. Once again the collision of energies created a powerful explosion. "My past is hidden in shadow, I am nothing but a fragment of what I might have been in the past."
Dalin stepped out in front of the fallen knight and extended his left arm. The duel disk clanked into position, and it lit up. "I know nothing of your pain, and I know nothing of my own. Therefore I desire the chance that you had initially wished to give me. Defeat me in a duel and I will willingly submit to any punishment you would have of me."
"Fail to defeat me, and I will not let you go unpunished for your desire for blind vengeance. I have never and will never hold myself responsible for actions that I cannot know of. So, will you accept my challenge?" While he waited for Nick to rise to his feet and to answer he was shuffling his deck, preparing himself just in case he got the answer he was hoping for.
Nick scowled, his eye burning with that hatred. The white ovoid object on his arm expanded outwards, becoming a white Duel Pod. He shuffled his own deck, and then slammed it home. Seeing this as acceptance Dalin inserted his own into its appropriate slot. "Very well Sumatin, I'll crush you in this duel. Then I will make you experience the pain that I have for so long felt!" (DLP: 4000, NLP: 4000)
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"Is anyone there?" The soft voice remained unanswered for a moment, and lonely eyes met with a bare ceiling.
"I am. I'm surprised you woke up so soon." The first speaker weakly turned in bed to see who the person was who had responded to them. In a corner of the plush hotel room was a fairly tall man wearing a black robe. It covered all of him, but the hood wasn't drawn up at the moment.
The man turned to meet those lonely eyes, and what those eyes saw was terrifying. The man's eyes were hollow and vacant, a pale milky white like death itself. If it wasn't for that future the dark haired man would have been considered handsome. "Where am I?"
"The Waldorf-Astoria. You were brought here as bait." The man pulled up his hood, covering his face in shadow. He turned away again and faced the door, as if guarding against an attack. Yet the relaxed posture of the man said that he wasn't worried.
"Bait? I don't understand..." The speaker rose from the bed, the sheets falling down to the waist. The dark man grabbed an object off a nearby chair and tossed it over his shoulders, not watching to see if it landed on the bed or not.
"You don't need to understand. Now put that on." Two lonely eyes came to rest on the object that had been thrown. It was a shirt of some kind, with a little infinity symbol on the left breast. It also had a black bar across each shoulder.
"I feel like there's something I'm missing...something that should be with me..." Before any more words could be spoken another object was chucked onto the bed. The eyes touched it, recognizing it immediately. It was put on, and that feeling of missing something faded slightly.
"Tell me...do you know how to play Duel Monsters?" D'harim cast a glance over his shoulder at the person in the bed as he asked the question. The confused look in those eyes made him change his question.
"You might know it was Magic and Wizards or something to that effect. Duel Monsters is the more common name." A look of comprehension told him everything he needed to know. He smirked and floated an object through the shadows, letting it land on the bed. It was a large chest, and inside were hundreds if not thousands of packs of Duel Monsters cards.
"Construct a deck. I'm in the mood for a duel."
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The elevator stopped abruptly, causing Kai and Kirani to lose their balance. The lights in the elevator flickered and went dead. "No! Those tremors must be causing this power outage...and now we're trapped!"
Kirani nodded in agreement, but she felt something familiar. A creeping sensation of terror gliding its way up legs to settle in the pit of her stomach. "Something is wrong...this isn't just because of the tremors."
Kai didn't know how to respond to that so he busied himself with trying to pry open the door. "There's no point in wasting time. Isis, Rishid, and Dalin are probably in danger as we speak. No need to worry about ourselves."
Kirani nodded and stepped up next to him, throwing her efforts in with his to push the door open. Together they would be able to open it, and then they would find out whether they were at a door or not. "Right, no need to worry about ourselves."
But she knew in her heart that there was every reason to worry about themselves. Something was going to happen.
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Dalin spread the six cards in his hand out, looking them over carefully. He didn't even need to look specifically to know that at the moment he was at a distinct disadvantage and the duel hadn't even started. 'A horrible hand. I won't lose though, I refuse to.'
Not being one to ever give away on of his feelings about his chances at success he kept the calm mask that was his permanent appearance. He didn't know the strategy that Nikolas used, so he could only play this out cautiously. "I will be going first Selket."
He selected one of the cards in his hand and placed it onto his disk in one of the monster zones. "I summon Neptune, Angel of Emancipation(1700/0) in attack mode." His monster shimmered into view, wearing a loose fitting golden robe. Neptune spread its dark blue wings out wide and was ready.
"Neptune won't be my only weapon. I place one card face down on the field. End Turn." His card shimmered into view, giving him both his angel and a potential defense. It was a very basic move, but it was also the best move he could perform at this moment.
Nick smirked and drew the top card from his deck. A dark light began to surround him, and a familiar symbol arose on his forehead. "My hate for you is so great that I have already drawn my key card for this duel! Heart of Hatred!"
He flipped the card around, displaying it proudly. Dalin nodded in acceptance, not bothering to question Nick on its effect. He knew that he would soon find out. "Recently you lot have been casually destroying the Seal of Orichalcos with your Heart cards. Therefore I'm going to make that impossible."
He took a second card from his hand and flipped it around as well, showing it to Dalin. It was the Seal of Orichalcos. "Prepare for a power unlike any you have ever experienced! I combine Heart of Hatred with Seal of Orichalcos!"
The symbol of the Orichalcos formed on his forehead, turning red as it encircled the symbol of hate. A similar circle appeared beneath their feet, and the seal itself formed. Just like the one on Nick's forehead this seal was a red color. "What exactly have you created?"
"This is the Seal of Vengeance! This is the instrument of your defeat! Along with the normal powers of the Seal of Orichalcos it grants me so many effects you won't stand a chance! And since it has the power of a Heart card you won't be able to break it!" Despite his claims, Dalin didn't seem bothered. He was as cold and confident as ever.
"Don't act so confident! You won't stand a chance in a moment or two! To start off I'll summon Mystic Tomato(1400/1100) which gains five hundred attack points, putting it at nineteen hundred!" A large tomato with eyes, teeth, and a nasty tongue appeared in front of him.
"Your strategy is a tomato?" Nick sneered in response and pointed at Neptune. The eyes of the tomato focused on the angel, and the angel itself readied for the attack.
"This is just step one of my strategy. Mystic Tomato, bite his Neptune in half!" The tomato bounced forwards, and did exactly as Nick had said. It bit its teeth into Neptune's middle and ripped it in half. Dalin didn't react. (DLP: 3800)
"That's not all! When a monster is destroyed it casts its hatred upon its former master. Now it will seek vengeance upon you!" The top half of Neptune raised its darkening eyes to Dalin, and aimed a hand at him. Dalin's eyes went wide as it sent a bolt of blue light at him, striking his chest and burning away a bit more of his shirt. (DLP: 3400)
"The destroyed monster deals damage to you equal to one hundred points times its level. Since Neptune was a level four monster you just lost four hundred life points. Don't feel too bad, I get the same punishment. But I don't intend to needlessly lose monsters like you!" Dalin grimaced and grabbed what remained of his shirt, pulling it off and leaving him bare chested.
"I do not needlessly lose monsters. I knew that you would play the Seal of Orichalcos, and that virtually guaranteed your monster to be stronger than Neptune. I wanted you to destroy it, and this is why!" He pressed the activation button on the main part of his disc, and his card flipped up.
It was a magic card, and the image on it was of the same angel from Graceful Charity, only she was weeping over a grave. "The death of my monster triggered the power of my quick-play magic card, Tears of an Angel! Now I may take one angel from my graveyard!"
Neptune rose back onto the field, standing at the ready. "Next I take one angel from my hand!" A yellow skinned angel appeared in front of him with close-cropped black hair and green eyes that glowed with an inner light. This was Pluto, Angel of Weakening(1500/0).
"Now for the final step, my two angels fuse together!" A binding circle of light spread over the two angels, gathering their strength in order to create the next order of angel. What emerged from within that light was something far deadlier than either angel had been.
"Selket, meet the next choir of angels! X, Angel of Fear(2500/1600)! This monster is my answer to the strength of your own cards, and it will grant me strength to defeat you." X was a tall angel with two pairs of crimson wings, and had a stern look on his face. Its power was enough to give Dalin the advantage.
"So be it Sumatin. My turn is over!" Mystic Tomato cast a surprised look at Nick, but Nick merely smirked and nodded patiently to the monster. It turned back and looked up at X with a great deal of fear in its eyes, because it knew it was going to die.
Dalin slid another card off his deck and added it to his hand. 'This won't help at the moment. I'll have to go on the offensive.'
"X, Angel of Fear...destroy Mystic Tomato!" Beams of energy seared through the air, firing from X's eyes. The beams of light split the tomato down the middle, spilling tomato juice on the ground. (NLP: 3400)
"We are even for the moment. But I believe you said that the effect that damaged me counts for you as well. So now your very own monster will attack you!" The dark tomato screeched and bit down on Nick's leg. Nick grimaced at the pain, but shook it off. He didn't seem to care about the damage to his life points. (NLP: 3000)
"Now one of X's effects activates! Since he dealt you life point damage you must discard one card from your hand and one from the top of your deck!" Nick sneered and took one of the three cards in his hands and slid it into the cemetery. Then he took his top card and slid it into the grave as well. It seemed like Dalin was trying to pull off his own strategy.
"You activate the effect of Mystic Tomato. When it is destroyed in battle and goes into the cemetery I can special summon a dark monster from my deck to the field. The only requirement is that the monster I summon have fifteen hundred or less attack power." A card popped out of his deck and he caught it.
"I know just the monster, and I'm going to summon it in my rear defense. Come forth Don Zaloog(1400/1500)!" The warrior that took shape was muscular with veins bulging on its arms. It held one short sword in each hand, and had an eyepatch over its right eye.
"This is my favorite monster, and it is in fact the very first monster that I ever drew in a pack..."
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"What are those cards you're always selling old man?" A teenager with blonde hair and an eyepatch leaned back against the counter, looking over at an elderly man who was behind the cash register.
"You've been working here for all this time and you don't yet know? These packs are for a popular card game called Magic and Wizards. The concept is that the players are wizards, and they use magic, traps, and monster to battle each other." The young Nick raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, his single eye flickering with interest.
"As a matter of fact, a little known rumor around these parts is that Magic and Wizards is based on an old game played in the past in the Egypt of old. It's quite likely as Pegasus J. Crawford, the maker of the game, has made numerous trips here." The old man smiled at the look on Nick's face, glad he could bring some form of happiness to the troubled youth.
"I'll do you a favor. I'll front you a pack here and now, and I'll teach you how to play. After that, if you're interested then the rest is up to you." He smiled and rifled through a box of packs, before finally settling on one. He held it out to Nick, who eagerly accepted it.
Nick peeled back the foil and found his eyes resting on a card with a brownish front to it. There were four orange dots and a purplish symbol at the top, along with a name written in Egyptian. He spread the five cards out, looking them over. "Are any of these cards good?"
The old man leaned in to take a look at them. He rubbed his chin and finally settled on a response. "Most of them are merely average cards. However this first one is quite rare. He's called Don Zaloog, and he and you share quite a bit in common. Not just the eye either."
Now that Nick looked closer he saw what the old man meant. The warrior on the card had an eyepatch over his right eye. He had lost an eye, just like Nick had. "What do you mean we share quite a bit in common?"
"Don Zaloog is a thief with a dark past. Sounds familiar yes?" Nick chuckled and nodded briefly, his eyes fixing on Don Zaloog. Suddenly he flipped it over and stared at the back of the card, memories flashing before him.
"That man from my past...he had cards like these. And I remember now, there was a tournament for some card game at that time. This card game...he was a competitor. If I start competing, perhaps I can find him and make him pay." His left hand clenched into a fist as his eyes continued to bore into the card.
"Don Zaloog...you will be method of retribution. You will be my partner in my quest for vengeance."
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D'harim looked over the field as it stood, a field that was placed out on the bed. He smirked beneath his hood and picked up the top card of his deck, placing it with the other cards that were his cemetery. "I'll revive Death Knight Foot Soldier(1700/1200)."
His opponent didn't respond, so he took it as assent to continue. "Now I attack directly for game." He smirked as the score was written down. "You played quite well considering. Don't be worried about how much I crushed you. Even the strongest duelists couldn't stand up to the power of my Death Knights."
His mind drifted from the duel that had just ended to a subject that had been playing through his head since he entered the building. 'Soon I will have the chance to eliminate that disgusting little worm Nikolas. He doesn't deserve the title of Knight of Earth, so I shall strip it from him along with his soul!'
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Dalin grimaced as he felt the power flowing between Nick and Don Zaloog. There was a true connection there, and he was sure that getting through and defeating Zaloog would be difficult. Nick wouldn't easily allow it to die. "Very well, your favorite monster is in play. I cannot set any cards, therefore I end my turn."
Nick snapped a card off his deck, and the Seal of Vengeance began to glow. "Now is the time Sumatin! I will show you the true power of my hate, and I guarantee that the Seal of Vengeance will be the cause of your defeat!"
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Author's Notes: Onwards I march! I hope that bit with Eikyuu gave you guys a good idea of just what kind of villain he is.
G.O.T. Nick: Nope, you guessed correctly all along. Jackass. :)-
The White Mage: Oh no, Eikyuu is definetely the main villain of this arc. Well, if villain is the right word.
VoidTemplar: I strive to not do exactly what others expect.
WolfGeneral: I'm good at depressing. Man...that's a depressing thought.
Original Cards
Dalin: Neptune-Angel of Emancipation, Tears of an Angel, X-Angel of Fear
Nick: Heart of Hatred, Seal of Vengeance
Anime Original Cards
Nick: Seal of Orichalcos
