Author's Notes: And now, fear the power of the strongest of three knights. D'harim's power is about to be unleashed!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Ride of the Death Knights

Kai wheeled around the corner, taking a group of five stairs in one leap. He could hear thumping from behind him, and knew that Kirani was hot on his tail. They were racing down the stairs to see if they could find Dalin, because after Taichi's defeat and the collapse of the Darkness Game the two duelists had discovered Isis and Rishid laying lifeless on the ground, their souls drained away.

'Dalin is the strongest duelist among us, and if he loses then the rest of us don't stand a chance. He's also the only person left in our group who has magic, and we desperately need that to survive.' Kai didn't even want to think about the prospect that Dalin could be defeated. Any duelist capable of defeating Dalin was beyond the skills of Kai or Kirani to defeat.

They both turned the final corner, and had to stop as a flare of light filled the room. Several seconds later it had dimmed, and the room in front of them was visible once more. Kai gasped and heard Kirani do the same.

Almost the entire room had been ruined, furniture was hurled in random directions, rubble was strewn everywhere, the ceiling had holes in it, and spikes poked out of the earth. It looked like a localized earthquake had run through the room. 'An earthquake? The Knight of Earth!'

Both duelists bounded down the few remaining stairs and stopped when they saw what was in the center of the vast chamber. One man standing above his fallen opponent, a cold and distant look in his eyes. A few Duel Monsters cards were scattered on the ground, evidence that a duel had taken place.

"What...what happened?" There was a pause of several seconds, and finally the victor turned to look at him. Those eyes didn't touch his, they went right through. It was like they were staring past him, to what Kai couldn't guess.

"There was a duel, and a choice had to be made." The look in those eyes, it was what made Kai ask his next question. The simple question came unbidden to his mouth, and he spoke it before considering it. Yet somehow it seemed the right thing to ask.

"Was it the right choice?" Again there was a pause, and the eyes looked away, looking down at the fallen duelist. Kai's eyes were freed from that terrible gaze, and he felt a coldness sweep through the room. A chill ran down his spine as the answer came.

"No." Taking his eyes off the fallen duelist, Dalin Imaki Sumatin strode off to the corner of the room, and picked up a cast off white cloak, the one previously worn by the Third Knight of Order. He pulled it over his shirtless and battered body, and set his duel disk back in place.

Now that he was all settled back in, Dalin was able to turn his attention fully towards the present. "Ryu and Autumn?"

Kirani finally spoke, choosing to answer because of her involvement. "Taichi dueled and defeated them, they're in one of the upper rooms."

Dalin nodded, and then continued. "Isis and Rishid?"

Kai took this question, leaving Kirani to answer the question they both knew was coming. "Somebody beat them in a duel. Based on the damage that looked like was done to their bodies, I'd guess it was D'harim."

"And Taichi?"

Kirani sighed, and looked away. This was the part she didn't want to mention. "He started a Darkness Game, and I barely beat him. But the Darkness kept expanding and...Eikyuu came in spirit form and dueled him."

The older duelist raised an eyebrow, not having expected Eikyuu to become involved. "What is he capable of?"

"He beat Taichi in about five minutes, top decking the whole time, and he finished the duel with ten thousand life points. We didn't see the whole duel, because the first card Eikyuu played blanketed the entire field in light." Dalin grimaced, not sure what to make of that. How do you react to the knowledge that a god is a duelist, and is apparently extraordinarily powerful of one.

"This entire situation has been a trap. I doubt there was ever anything here to begin with. We should leave, and try to find a place to recover. Once we've done that we'll bring down D'harim and whoever else is in the way. Then we'll figure out how to deal with Eikyuu." The three duelists were about to start leaving, when the sound of steps stopped them.

All of them whirled around to face the stairs. They waited, tense and ready to act at a moment's notice. The person that turned the corner and descended those steps was not at all who they would have guessed, and it was Kirani who spoke first. "Ihachi..."

The person who had just come down the stairs looked to be just about twenty, with wild russet-brown hair to the middle of her back, and brilliant violet eyes. She was a beauty to behold, and wore a body suit that left little to the imagination, and bore a black stripe on each shoulder. "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

Her crystalline voice was familiar to each of the them, as they had experienced her power first hand in the Darkness Realm. Using the great power of a Valkyrie-Goddess Deck she had defeated Yami, Kai, Bakura, and nearly Serenity and Kirani. In the end Drake had defeated her by unleashing a god of his own.

She had been behind duels that causes suffering for them all, and she had a god complex. Or rather, a goddess complex. When they last saw her she was convinced that by bringing the strongest and most worthy people into her self-created Eden she would become a goddess, ruling over her loyal subjects.

Although she had in many ways acted kind, she had been exceedingly cruel, obsessed with herself and how others viewed her. She even flaunted herself while dueling against the men. The only one of the three of them that hadn't dueled her was Dalin, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be a challenge.

"By the way, how did you know my family name? I've never seen any of you before, not that I remember." Her words threw them all off, and it was the least likely person who came to the correct conclusion. Dalin stepped past them and with that intense manner of his, declared his suspicions.

"Your name is Hikari Ihachi, is it not?" She smiled brightly and nodded, giving him a slight bow. Kirani and Kai stared at her in awe, not knowing what to say. They had both heard the name only once from Drake. He had mentioned it to Kirani in the hospital, and to Kai while walking through the desert of Ihachi's realm.

Sudden dark laughter drew their attention away from this startling revelation. Hikari's shadow expanded, and a figure emerged from it, shrouded by pitch black robes. He now stood tall beside Hikari, everything about him hidden by his cloak. "That's right, she's Drake's sister. She was our bait, but that was before we realized exactly what happened to Drake."

Hikari looked at him quizzically, obviously not understanding what was going on. Kai stomped forwards, a hard and cold look on his face. "You people sicken me! You take away everything and then talk about the greater good! What's the point in order if you have nobody to share it with? Where was your greater good when your order killed my parents?"

Kai gasped as a lightning fast leg swept his feet out from under him, flipping him into a position that was horizontal in mid-air. D'harim shifted his position with great grace and brought his knee up into Kai's side. The force of the blow put him into a spin, and he crashed face down on the ground at D'harim's feet. "It was a lesson in suffering. Apparently you haven't learned anything yet."

The teenager groaned and wrapped his arms around his sides, the wind knocked out of him. D'harim's strike had hit him at exactly the right point, and the pressure had caused his ribs and his lungs to collide. The pain was intense.

Dalin's face was set in stone as he approached, ready to attack D'harim at a moment's notice. Kirani wasn't exactly an expert fighter, but she knew that move had been professional. Whoever D'harim was, he was a very experienced and talented fighter.

"You defeat Nikolas. I'm impressed Sumatin, I told him he wasn't strong enough to defeat you. I on the other hand, have more than enough strength in my deck to defeat you. As a matter of fact, I challenge all three of you to a duel, here and now." Although Dalin couldn't be certain, he could have sworn that D'harim was smirking underneath his hood.

"Why are you doing this? D'harim!" Hikari reached out and grabbed at his shoulder, trying to turn him to face her. He pulled away, and in that single action her hand missed its target, and clenched down on the back of his hood.

D'harim's hood fell away, and the room fell silent. The face that stared back at them was just as familiar as Hikari's was, only for a different reason. It was the same face as one of the finalists of Battle City, a person they had considered an ally.

Standing before them, wearing a black robe and with the taken name of D'harim was none other than Takuya Shinomori, whom they had all known as Kensai. The only difference between this man and the one they had known appearance wise was his blank white eyes, like the eyes of the dead. "So, now you know."

It was a simple statement of fact, but it didn't change the thoughts of any of his former friends. Thoughts of betrayal ran through their heads, even Dalin, a man who rarely thought of anyone as a friend. He had considered Kensai an ally, but to see him as an enemy was...different.

"I suppose since you know now, that we might as well get this thing started, right? Time to get comfortable, because as soon as we get started the pain will begin." He gripped his robe and pulled it away, letting it fall to the ground behind him. He was revealed to be wearing a midnight black body suit, identical to Taichi's crimson suit in all but color.

"No...you won't be dueling them. I'll be your opponent!" D'harim glanced down, and saw Kai pushing himself to his feet. The teenager took a deep breath and extended his duel disk, clicking it into place.

"I defeated three of the strongest duelists you had to offer with ease. What could you possibly offer to me as a challenge?" He smirked, well aware that he outranked these three in power and skill. He was absolutely certain of it.

"Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Well I learn, and I know that cards in your deck are designed to work best against multiple opponents. Cards that would merely make it detrimental to be dueling you more than one on one. So I'll duel you myself!" He slipped his deck out of his pocket, and began to shuffle it.

"Is that so? Well, if you're going to be any fun then we're going to have to make things more interesting. Take these and put them in your duel disc, they're called Life Point Chips." He handed two small objects to Kai, who took them and slid them into the bottom of his disk. Then he slammed his deck home, and watched as his disk lit up. (KLP: 8000)

"Eight thousand life points a piece? That's odd." Kai turned and walked a fair distance away, giving them room to get the duel going. On the other side D'harim had just finished shuffling his deck, and had just expanded his Duel Pod. With one swift motion he place the deck into it, and his Duel Pod lit up just like Kai's had. (DLP: 4000)

"Hardly. The only way you'll be any fun to me is if you have triple the starting life points. Not only that, but it will make your suffering last so much longer. Think of your parents as the first lesson in suffering. This duel will be the ultimate lesson." He snapped his fingers, and shadows swept through the room, darkening it all. Small lights illuminated it, giving them a clear view of each other.

"Don't worry, it isn't a Darkness Game. I have no need for that, because my power is similar to that of the Darkness itself. There will be no friendly encouragement, even though they can watch. It will be you and I alone. Winner take all of course. If you duel me and lose, you die. Sometimes you die before you lose. Ready?" Kai nodded, his features blank as he snapped five cards off the top of his deck. D'harim did the same.

"Kensai...why are you doing this? Why did you become D'harim?" The dark knight smiled coldly and drew a sixth card, adding it to his hand. Without looking he took another card from his hand and held it above his head.

"Kensai is dead. I am D'harim. And the story is simple. Kensai was obsessed with becoming as strong as he could, and the power of the Seal of Orichalcos drew him in. He was discovered by the Order, and they told him to give up all that he once was for that power. He did so, and here I am. The culmination of Kensai's wish for power. Darkness and suffering incarnate!" The card in his hand blazed brightly, and dark power was unleashed from it.

A familiar symbol now lay beneath their feet. Not that of the Seal of Orichalcos, but rather the Kanji for suffering. "I don't need the Seal of Orichalcos for power unlike Kensai. The Heart of Suffering is all that I need, and its power will break you."

"We'll see about that. I'm tougher than you seem to think D'harim. I've experienced my share of suffering. I know how to deal with pain." D'harim smirked and slid another card out of his hand, moving it slowly toward his Duel Pod.

"No, you know nothing of pain. You think you do, but all your beliefs in pain are childish and meaningless. I'll teach you the truth, so have no fear. Long before this duel is over you will come to understand. I will show you every spectrum of agony!" He threw back his head and laughed darkly, causing Kai to grimace. He had seen the pain inflicted by D'harim in his previous duel.

"Go ahead, teach me about pain if that's what you want to do. But when I win, you'll reveal to me the secret to defeating Eikyuu. That way I can strike back against the one responsible for my parent's deaths." D'harim smiled smugly after Kai had finished, and finally he placed his card on the field.

"I set that monster in defense mode. Now it's time for you to show me your stuff little nothing duelist. I don't expect much, but I do hope you'll at least try and put up a good fight." A monster card appeared in front of him, and then Kai was drawing.

He carefully inspected his hand, trying to figure out what to play. He had to be cautious, as he had no idea what to expect from D'harim. 'That face down monster either has a strong defense or a flip effect. I don't have any strong attackers in my hand, so I'll have to play cautiously at first.'

Finally settling on a starting move, he selected a card from his hand and placed it onto his duel disk. "For my first monster of the duel I summon Silent Magician(1000/1000) in attack mode."

Kai's monster was a small magician with light blue hair and a dark robe, with a funny magician's hat and a fancy staff. The magician looked like a kid, and D'harim didn't seem to worried. "That's your monster? Pathetic."

"My monster won't seem so pathetic in just a few turns. But you're right, at the moment he's not that impressive. So I defend him with two face down cards." Two holographic cards shimmered into view behind the magician to his left and to his right. They were Kai's method to protect Silent Magician until the time to strike was right.

"I end my turn." Kai finished his turn with three cards in his hand, one less than D'harim. Yet despite the back up that Kai had given his monster, D'harim seemed much more confident. He acted like the move he had made was more impressive.

D'harim smirked, barely giving his new card a second glance before taking another from his hand and sliding it into play. "I think you saw me play this card. Black Wind of Death!"

Kai gritted his teeth as sharp black winds swept across the field like razor blades, slashing apart one of his face down cards. The remains of the wind blew past him, pushing him back somewhat by the force, and cutting his cheeks and his shirt. "Your Black Wind of Death destroys one magic or trap card on my field and deals five hundred damage." (KLP: 700)

"Yes, and then it is shuffled back into my deck to be used at a later time." He inserted his card into his deck, and the auto-shuffler on the Duel Pod did its work. Kai grimaced as he felt something trickling down his right cheek. With one finger he reached up and wiped away the line of blood from the cut.

"That's just a taste of what I have in store for you. Black Wind of Death is one of my best cards, and I can guarantee you'll see it more than once in this duel. I bet you'll come to fear that howling wind." He flashed Kai a frightening smile and then took another one of his cards and placed it on the Dueling Pod.

'He's right. Black Wind of Death is powerful, and the worst part is that it cannot be chained to. I can't defeat that card if I can't stop its activation. So I'll just have to defeat his other cards. No need to worry about it yet, because it's probably deep in the pits of his deck.' With his confidence boosted, Kai was ready for whatever other move D'harim was going to make this turn.

"I set a card face down and then...wait a moment. Your magician...what happened to it? It looks different." Kai smiled slightly, because his monster did indeed look different. In fact, it looked slightly older, slightly more mature. And it was more powerful now.

"Silent Magician is a special breed of monster. It begins at an early point of life, and steadily it grows up, gaining experience and power as it goes. The first step was level zero, now it's at level one. The right criteria past for it to level up, and now it has five hundred more attack points." Silent Magician(1500/1000) raised his staff and then pointed it at D'harim, a confident gleam in its eyes.

"An intriguing monster. I won't bother to ask what the criteria is, I'll figure it out soon enough. For now my turn is over. So go ahead and see what you can do." Kai nodded and snapped another card off his deck, ready to get his turn going.

As soon as he saw his next card, he knew what he could play. This card would work perfectly with his Silent Magician. "I hope you're ready to draw D'harim because I activate Joint Charity."

A magic card appeared in the middle of the field. The picture was of an angel holding out a hand of cards to a shadowed figure on the left, and another hand of cards to a figure on the right. "This card is exactly like Graceful Charity, only it allows both players the same effect. So draw three and then discard two."

Both duelists drew three cards at great speed, and then took another two cards from their hand and slid them into the cemetery. D'harim smirked, even though he hadn't automatically benefitted from it. "You should know that sending cards to the cemetery of a Death Knight Deck is asking to lose."

"I'm not bothered. Take a look at Silent Magician." D'harim raised an eyebrow and then looked. For the second time Silent Magician had grown up, and now looked to be in his upper teens. Not only that, but its power had accelerated by a great deal as well.

"Now that the criteria has been met again my Silent Magician has reached three thousand attack points. Even if your set monster has a strong defense it won't be able to match my Silent Magician." The mage clenched his fists, his power flaring in the form of a blue aura. Kai narrowed his eyes, looking at D'harim's set card.

"I've figured out the criteria already. Whenever I draw a card it gains five hundred attack points. It gained the first five hundred points during my last draw phase. Now since I've drawn three cards it gained an additional fifteen hundred. Truly an impressive monster, but I'm not worried. After all, I still have a face down card to defend me." He smirked and pointed at his set card.

"You're right, but I'm not out of options. Especially not after drawing those brand new cards, even if I did have to discard. As a matter of fact I have the perfect card to deal with your mystery card." He calmly took one of the four cards in his hand and then slapped it down on his disk next to his Silent Magician.

"Meet Sorceress of the Blue Flames(1600/900)!" Now standing next to Silent Magician was an attractive woman in blue and red robes. The edges of her robes had runes inscribed upon them, and they seemed to be moving.

"When I summon this monster I can automatically use her effect to destroy one magic or trap card on your field. Blue Flame Bolt!" The sorceress extended her palms and chanted a simple spell. Once it was complete blue flame streaked from her hands, and blew D'harim's set card away. But seconds later it reformed face up.

"Considering your status as a high ranking duelist I'm sure you know that cards targeted to be destroyed can be chained to that destruction effect. My set card is a trap called Delirium, which sadly for you can only be activated when a card on the field would be destroyed. It counts, so I can use it." A wave of energy swept over Kai, and suddenly his vision went blurry, and he nearly dropped his cards as he became dizzy.

"Delirium's effect removes your battle phase for two turns. Also, thanks to my Heart of Suffering its effects are quite real. So, are you finished with your turn?" Without really thinking Kai nodded. His focus was so off that he didn't notice the cards in his hand that he might have played to continue this turn. Now it was too late for that.

D'harim drew another card, and Silent Magician aged yet again, gaining a further five hundred attack points. After adding the card to his hand, he spread them out and gave them a quick once over. "This turn will go badly for you Kai, believe me of that."

"To begin with I set one card face down. Then I summon Death Knight Archer(1000/1200) in attack mode!" An undead knight road out onto the field on a lightly armored horse. Instead of a sword, this knight held a longbow in hand. The arrows and the bow itself were black, and the arrowhead looked to be forged of bone.

"Now, the proof that playing Joint Charity was stupid. I activate the universal Death Knight effect and discard a card from the top of my deck to special summon a Death Knight from my cemetery!" He slid a card off his deck and into the grave, then caught the card the graveyard slot ejected. Then he slammed it down onto his field.

"This is Death Knight Foot Soldier(1700/1200), who happens to have a special effect similar to your Sorceress. When he hits the field I can return one magic or trap card on your field back to your hand, so you get back your face down card." The armored Death Knight with no horse swung his blade and struck the set card, sending it hurling back to Kai's hand.

"Next I activate the continuous magic card Nightmare Lash. As long as this card is in play I can negate all life point damage my opponent takes in battle with my Death Knights to force them to discard one card from their deck for each instance of damage." A black whip with serrated thorns now rested at D'harim's belt, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Kai grimaced, because even in his somewhat delirious state he realized that he was about to lose some cards. Thanks to the Heart of Suffering it was also going to hurt. "Death Knight Archer's special effect is spectacular. By discarding one card from my hand I can have it attack you directly. Attack with Arrow of Poisoned Death!"

After sliding his last card into the grave D'harim pointed to Kai, and then the Archer knocked an arrow in his bow, and released it. The arrow buried itself in his shoulder, and Kai cried out in pain. Blood oozed down the wound, and then the arrow vanished, leaving only a small wound in his shoulder. Yet it was still painful. "And I take damage now..."

"Don't be stupid. I said I was going to teach you every color of pain, and I intend to keep that promise. I activate the effect of Nightmare Lash!" He grabbed the handle of the whip and cracked it, causing the barbs to snap across Kai's chest, cutting a gash down the center. Kai gripped in, grimacing in pain as the effect kicked in, forcing him to discard a card from the top of his deck.

"Since your field is still open to attack and your Sorceress happens to be weaker than my Foot Soldier, I think I'll kill her. And believe me, this is going to be the worst thing you've experienced so far. Death Ending Thrust!" Foot Soldier bellowed a battle cry and charged forwards, stabbing his sword straight at the sorceress.

Kai's eyes went wide as the blade buried itself into her chest and went right out the back. His eyes weren't opened as far as they could go because of the realistic attack, but rather because he had just felt exactly what the Sorceress had. It felt like he had a sword in his gut. "Death Knight Foot Soldier...make him feel it. Finish off the Sorceress."

Foot Soldier twisted the blade, ruining the female spellcaster's stomach, making it an irreperable wound. Then it dug it in, side to side, and finally wrenched it out. The sorceress collapsed and shattered into digital dust, while behind her fragments Kai was on his knees, holding his stomach and holding back his tears. "The pain is intense isn't it? You can feel your guts sliding out of your body. And it'll just get worse."

For the second time in that turn D'harim cracked the whip, this time catching the top of Kai's head. He hit the ground face first, the new wound on his head bleeding. D'harim heard a muffled moan, and smirked broadly. "That means you discard another card from your deck, once you can stand that is. End turn."

It took a minute or so for Kai to regain his senses and let the pain fade enough to stand. He was still somewhat delirious, but he was able to discard a card from his deck and then draw a card for the start of his turn. He looked over his five cards, finally chose what to play.

"Steadfast Magician(500/2200) in defense mode. Then, I play two cards face down. End." Kai suddenly felt a heaviness lift off his shoulders as the effect of Delirium wore off. Next turn he would have a battle phase, and at that time his Silent Magician would have four thousand attack points.

D'harim slid another card off his deck, and Silent Magician gained in attack points, nearly equally a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "My face down monster, you know it. I used it in the last duel of mine you saw. I flip up Death Knight Mechanist(200/2200)!" The hammer wielding Death Knight appeared, and its effect kicked in.

"Although it benefits your Silent Magician my Mechanist allows me to draw three cards. That brings me up to a total of four cards in my hand and your Silent Magician to a total of fifty-five hundred attack points." He slid another three cards off his deck, and then looked them over.

"This should be interesting. I set four cards face down on the field, and then I reveal my previous set quick-play magic card. You've heard of Emergency Provisions yes?" Kai grimaced, realizing what was about to happen. Emergency Provisions let a duelist send cards on the field to the cemetery to gain one thousand life points each.

"I know what it does, so go ahead and gain your life points." D'harim smirked, and his face down card revealed itself. But instead of Emergency Provisions like Kai had been expecting, it was something different. There was a package of food as the picture, but worms were crawling out of it and a skull and cross-bones was plastered on it.

"Who said I was playing it? This is its brethren, Poisoned Rations! For every card I send to the cemetery I may inflict five hundred points of damage to my opponent's life points, so I sacrifice all four of my face down cards!" As the four cards disappeared, Kai felt a sudden wave of naseua hit him, and if he had actually eaten something he would have thrown up. Instead he just dry wretched.

"Fine...do your damage...I still have the lead thanks to your effort to grant me life points." D'harim sighed and picked up a single card from amongst the four and held it up. A black demon appeared in front of him, and swooped down into his graveyard.

"I told you I was just going to hurt you. One of those cards is Pact with the Dead, which I can use to negate damage dealt to pick up a card from the cemetery and shuffle it back into my deck for each five hundred points negated. So I reshuffle those three other cards and Poisoned Rations." The demon reappeared and handed D'harim the four cards, which were swiftly returned to his deck and shuffled in.

"Next the other effect of Pact with the Dead activates, and it is reshuffled into my deck. Following that Death Knight Mechanist allows me to draw one card for each card shuffled back into my deck this turn. Since that's five, I draw five new cards." All it took was a few seconds and a few draws and his hand was totally replenished, and his graveyard nearly emptied.

Kai smiled and motioned to his Silent Magician, who was now an adult with hardened eyes and a set jaw. "Since you drew five cards my Silent Magician(8000/1000) now has more attack points than any monster you can summon. Are you deliberately increasing its attack power?"

His opponent smirked and dropped one of his cards into the graveyard. "Honestly, I just don't care. Death Knight Archer, attack him directly!" The archer knocked an arrow, and then let it fly, this one heading for Kai's other shoulder.

"This time I'm prepared D'harim! I activate Burning Nova, which first destroys the attacking monster!" A fireball consumed the arrow, and the proceeded to engulf Death Knight Archer. When the flames were gone so was the archer, leaving D'harim with just two Death Knights on the field and no face down cards.

"The second effect of Burning Nova now activates, and I draw from my deck until I reach a level four or lower monster. That monster is then summoned to the field!" Kai drew one card, then discarded it. Next he discarded another card, and finally he summoned his new monster to the field.

"I special summon Blitz Magician(1900/1600)!" The magician wore red robes, with little jagged silver lightning bolts decorating it. The magician paced back and forth from foot to foot, tossing his wand between his hands as well.

D'harim just smiled and picked up the top card of his deck, which he proceeded to slide into his graveyard. "I move into main phase two, and I discard a card from the top of my deck to revive Death Knight General(2500/1900)."

An undead knight upon an undead steed now stood next to the Foot Soldier. The general had a scraggly beard of white hairs, and more elaborate armor than the previous knights. He also held a long broad sword with serrated edges. "My monster will prove to be all that I need to end you. I don't lose life points from Death Knights dying while he's on the field, and he must be attacked first. Impressive yes?"

Kai didn't respond, so D'harim was left to finish his turn. "I set a card face down, and now I await your move. It's time to see what you're capable of. Can your mighty Silent Magician crush my monsters and finish me, or is it as useless as you are?"

Slowly he drew, and he saw that he had exactly what he needed. "D'harim, had I been able to summon any monster other than Blitz Magician I probably wouldn't be able to finish this. But thanks to his effect and a special magic card I can end the duel right now."

The dark knight smiled, clearly intrigued by Kai's suggestion that he could win in one turn. "If you're so confident that you can defeat me, why don't you prove it? My Death Knights await your attack."

"They'll get it alright. I play Dark Magic Nova, which can only be played when I have three magicians on the field. I have Steadfast Magician, Silent Magician, and Blitz Magician." The three monsters stood at attention when named, while the Death Knights just stood at the ready. D'harim still didn't seem worried.

"To start with, Dark Magic Nova totals the attack of these monsters. Together that's ten thousand four hundred attack points. Then Dark Magic Nova lets me attack one of your monsters with that attack total." The magicians touched their wands together, and a ball of huge magical energy surged within. Its power soon increased past the already impressive power of Silent Magician.

"Have you forgotten already? You must attack my Death Knight General, and when he dies I won't lose any life points. So this whole assault is pointless. You would have been better off trying to get rid of some of my life points by first killing General then going after my other monsters." Kai smirked slightly and took a card from his hand, which he quickly slid into the cemetery.

"I'm not just attacking your general, I'm attacking all of your monsters. That's why I was happy to get Blitz Magician, because by discarding a card he can attack every monster on your field in any order I choose. By combining him in the nova I get to attack each of your monsters with that attack total. Go, Dark Magic Nova!" Three separate beams of energy launched out, each heading for one of D'harim's three Death Knights.

"How pathetic. I trigger my trap card, Death Knight Ploy! This sends each of my three Death Knights back to my deck and then replaces them with three new monsters. These monsters instantly become your attack targets!" The three knights flickered and vanished, and were replaced by three different ones. These knights had no swords, but rather large shields with spikes at the end.

"My three Death Knight Shield Soldiers(800/1800) appear in defense mode. Then your attack continues you lucky devil." The beams of magic ripped right through the shields and blasted the Death Knights apart. It didn't look like D'harim felt it, despite his Heart of Suffering.

"I neglected to mention that the monster that destroys a Shield Soldier is then destroyed as well. Since your attack combined your three monsters and you destroyed three of my Shield Soldiers...all three of your monsters die." Suddenly three spiked shields hurled out of the smoke, and slammed into the chests of Kai's monsters.

Kai coughed up blood as his body experienced the pain of having spikes driven through his chest. He shook, grabbing at imaginary wounds. At the same time his monsters were shaking, and they proceeded to be blown away, leaving his field empty except for one face down card. "Looks like you've fallen prey to a trap of your own making. If you hadn't attacked all my monsters you would still have monsters left. A pity."

After several moments of pain, Kai managed to force himself back into a standing position. "I haven't summoned or set this turn, so I'm still safe. But what I want to know is why you didn't even flinch when your monsters were killed."

"Didn't the name Death Knight tell you anything? My monsters aren't alive, and undead creatures don't experience pain! Therefore I don't either. So if you'd like to hurt me, you'll have to manage a direct attack, which isn't likely to happen." Kai grimaced, realizing that the Heart of Suffering was a one way advantage.

"Fine. I set one monster face down. Back to your D'harim." Now all he had to defend himself was a set monster and a set magic or trap card. His hand was also empty, whereas D'harim had three cards in his hand, though D'harim's field was empty outside of his Nightmare Lash.

The dark knight drew, and then smirked broadly. "How interesting. I discard a card from my deck and revive a Death Knight Shield Soldier(800/1800)." The familiar shield wielding undead monster was summoned, standing in attack mode.

"I summon Death Knight Bombardier(1600/1400) in attack mode. Then I use his effect to sacrifice my Shield Soldier and destroy your set monster!" Kai grimaced as his monster was blown away by a bomb hurled by D'harim's newest monster.

"Now I activate Bury the Dead, which lets me select three monsters from my deck and send them to my cemetery." His deck ejected three cards which he promptly slid into the cemetery. He smirked and flipped around another card in his hand.

"This next card is called Revenge from the Fallen. When a monster goes from my deck to the cemetery I can play this card and destroy a card on the field for each that went. If there are extra I may deal five hundred life points of damage to you for each extra." Kai grimaced as energy exploded around him, blasting him backwards and scorching parts of his skin. That also burned away his single face down card. (KLP: 6000)

Kai struggled to stand, but found that his legs were limp. He groaned as pain shot through his body, even though he knew it wasn't over yet. D'harim had a direct path towards his life points. "Death Knight Bombardier, attack directly!"

Kai forced himself to roll away, managing to move far enough away that the explosive blast merely singed him. He coughed as smoke filled his lungs, and his vision blurred from the heat he had been exposed to. "Don't think I'm done with you yet Kai Kaethen! You still have hundreds of levels of pain to experience, so I use Nightmare Lash to negate the damage!"

The edged whip slapped across his leg, stinging the flesh and ripping a gash in his pants. He vaguely saw the blood that was now exposed from the strike, but knew that he would probably suffer worse as the battle went on. "And now I discard a card from the top of my deck."

"Good, you're learning. I set the last card in my hand face down, and end my turn. Let's see how good you are at top decking." He folded his arms to wait. Kai was in a jam with an empty field and an empty hand. He had to draw something good or he would be finished for sure.

"My turn, so I draw!" He took a glance at the card and then, from his sitting position, opened a side slot on his disk and inserted the card. Then he closed it in order to activate the effect of his card.

"I play the field magic card Gates of Time. That's all I can do, so I end." A massive golden gate appeared behind him, with inscriptions along the border. D'harim vaguely recognized the inscriptions as being in Latin.

"Pathetic top deck. I don't care about mine, so I'll just start off by discarding a card from the top of my deck to revive one of the monsters I discarded through Bury the Dead. Rise up Death Knight Paladin(2300/2200)!" The fierce and powerful warrior was now summoned, holding his black sword aloft, the blood ruby at the bottom glowing with an inner fire.

"Next I activate both of the effects of Death Knight Paladin. I take one card in my cemetery or out of play pile and return it to my deck. The second is that I may special summon a Death Knight to the field. So rise up Death Knight Warlord(2650/1800)!" Another powerful knight on a horse rode out, this one had a claymore held in one hand and a helmet with horns on it.

"As long as Death Knight Warlord is in play you lose one hundred life points for each level of a monster of yours I destroy. Since this is damage inflicted by a Death Knight I can use Nightmare Lash to negate it if I so choose." He smirked and slapped the next card onto his field, which appeared in the form of a Death Knight wielding a scythe.

"This is Death Knight Reaper(1800/1600) who can negate the effects of a monster he destroys. Now look at this, I have four monsters on my field and can easily kill you with them. The question is...should I?" He brought a finger up to his chin and pretended to be in deep thought.

"I know...I won't! I'll just let you suffer and use Nightmare Lash to negate each instance of damage to destroy four more cards from your deck! Attack my Death Knights!" The four monsters charged forwards, but they were suddenly stopped as a barrier of light appeared and stopped the assault.

Kai slid a card from his cemetery and then put it into his pocket. "Last turn when you used Nightmare Lash you made me discard Maiden of the Dormant Shields(1400/1300) one of my best monsters. While she's in the cemetery I can remove a monster in my grave from play to prevent your attacks from continuing."

"I'm impressed. That means that until I drain your cemetery of monsters I won't be able to attack you directly. Perhaps you aren't as much of a weakling as I might have thought. End Turn." He clasped his hands together, eagerly awaiting Kai's next move. He was curious to see what Kai would be able to do.

Kai drew, and then the gate behind him suddenly opened. "You have no idea what I've just done. During each of my standby phases Gates of Time can return time to how it was previously in a very special way. I can special summon one monster out of play, so it's time I show you something you forced me to discard!"

He took the card from his pocket and then slapped it down on the field, revealing a purple clad magician that was familiar to any player of Duel Monsters. "Dark Magician(2500/2100). He's strong, but I have other monsters that are waiting in my deck with greater power in different ways. For now, I just need him to blow away your Bombardier!"

D'harim smirked and flipped up his set card, then ejected two cards from his cemetery and shoved them back into his deck. "Looks like we both have similar strategies in mind. My Death Knight Shield allows me to shuffle two Death Knights from my grave back into my deck to negate all enemy attacks this turn."

"That's fine. Next I activate Magic Sanctuary, which lets us each add one magic card from our decks to our hands. Also, while it is in effect all normal magic cards are considered to be quick-plays." Both duelists ejected a card from their decks and added it to their hands.

"I set my retrieved card face down, and that ends my turn." Now that his strength had somewhat returned Kai felt that he was able to stand, and pushed himself up, using his renewed vigor and the gate behind him to get to his feet.

D'harim drew a new card, and was about to say something when Kai triggered his face down card. "I activate Hand Rebirth, forcing us each to discard our hands and draw five new cards. So whatever card you chose is gone."

They both drew new hands, and Kai was ready to continue. "Since I have no monsters out of play at the moment I can activate the other effect of Gates of Time. I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my hand the moment I draw it. So I summon Chaotic Magician(1600/2000) in defense mode."

Kai's new monster had wild hair, sticking out from under his magician's hat and a crazed look on his face. "I don't really need this defense since I still have my Maiden of the Dormant Shields in the graveyard. So I'm safe until you can get rid of all my monsters in the grave."

D'harim smirked and shook his head in amusement. "You certainly are pulling off some impressive moves. But...not good enough. Because the card I chose can even be activated in the cemetery. Activate magic card! Ride of the Death Knights!"

Kai felt his hopes slip away as one by one Death Knights began appearing on the field, until a total of ten were assembled. "Ride of the Death Knights fills my field with Death Knights and prevents their attacks from being chained to this turn, it also forces me to return my hand to my deck. Oh, and they can attack directly this turn."

"It's too much...if I can't chain...then Maiden of the Dormant Shields is useless, and I'm finished." D'harim nodded, smirking as he answered Kai's unspoken question.

"You should feel glad, since it also destroys all cards on my field outside of Death Knights, getting rid of that Nightmare Lash you didn't seem to like. On the other hand...I have ten Death Knights who will all be attacking you directly right now. Poor you." Kai averted his eyes, awaiting the blows that would soon fall.

"Suffer Kai Kaethen. You will learn to suffer at the hands of my Death Knights!"

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Author's Notes: Kai is gonna feel this one for a LONG time.

Review Response

The White Mage: Yes, there will in fact be a sequel to this. However, that will be the final piece for my Yu-gi-oh fanfic.

G.O.T. Nick: Indeed I am. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Time Mage: A few things. 1. Dalin used four cards related to justice, this does not constintute a Justice theme. 2. You looking at my Dimension Gate notes? 3. Nick's parent's killer dropped a duel monster's card, he still had his knife. 4. Honestly, the only similarity is that their parents are dead. I have lots of other characters with dead parents. Should I have all of them also duel Nick?

WolfGeneral: Yes, it isn't all that bright. However, if he wasn't the kind of person willing to do that then he wouldn't have the Heart of Justice know would he?

Original Cards(If I put a TM next to a card, that means it was created by Time Mage who created Kai, if it has WG next to it, it was created by WolfGeneral)

D'harim: Heart of Suffering, Black Wind of Death, Delirium, Death Knight Archer, Death Knight Foot Soldier, Nightmare Lash, Death Knight Mechanist, Poisoned Rations, Pact with the Dead, Death Knight General, Death Knight Ploy, Death Knight Shield Soldier, Death Knight Bombardier, Bury the Dead, Revenge from the Fallen, Death Knight Paladin, Death Knight, Warlord, Death Knight Reaper, Death Knight Shield, Ride of the Death Knights

Kai: Joint Charity, Sorceress of the Blue Flames(TM), Steadfast Magician(TM), Burning Nova, Blitz Magician(TM), Dark Magic Nova(WG), Gates of Time(TM), Maiden of the Dormant Shields(TM), Chaotic Magician(TM)