Author's Notes: Next up, the mighty Dalin Imaki Sumatin

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Long Awaited Challenge

"Batchi the Slightly Bruised Clown will severely bruise whatever monster you have hidden there! Kill!" The clown cackled and jumped onto the living shadow that resided on Misuno's side of the field. It grabbed the flower on its lapel and squirted what appeared to be acid out of it. However its cackling faded as tendrils of shadow wrapped along its legs and dragged it under. Soon the shadow was also gone.

"Fool! Allow me to explain my monster to you! Gorgotha(1900/1900) is a level six monster who as you know negates any effect involved with a monster that it destroys. Also, when it destroys a monster it gains two hundred points. So while it had twenty-three hundred during its last attack, it had twenty-five hundred during this one! You wasted your monster!" Misuno threw back his head and began to laugh.

Ken pouted and motioned to his face down card. "I'm the clown, so I'm supposed to do the laughing. Go, Deck Destruction Virus! This continuous trap activates whenever you destroy a dark type monster in battle! You have to lose the top ten cards of your deck!" Misuno nodded and ditched his top ten cards, not fazed at facing such an extremely rare card.

Now AB drew and slowly placed the new card onto her duel disk. "I set a monster in defense mode. Now I forfeit my battle phase to have Spark Fighter deal you its defense in damage!" Rani grimaced as the electric punch struck her jaw, knocking her back several steps and dropping her within an inch of defeat. (RLP: 200)

The scowling Rani held her newest card up proudly, displaying a magic card with a green smiling jar on it. "Pot of Greed, so now I've got two more cards!"

She smirked at whatever she saw, and pressed a button on her disk. A side panel slid open and she placed the newest card into it. "I play Joyful Token Club! This field magic card will allow me to have tokens in any zones I so choose!"

"Next, General of the Blue Legion(2900/1800) will create a new Blue Legion token(2200/500) which boosts all the other monsters by two hundred points. Now, Card of Demise!" She snapped four more cards off her deck, and gleefully smiled at her new hand.

"I'll set one card face down, and then I'll activate The Blue Legion! For every card I discard I can produce one Blue Legion token. So I'll discard two to fill up my last two available zones!" Two more blue armored soldiers appeared, giving her a total of seven monsters, with only one of them being a non-token.

General(3500/1800), Blue Legion1(2500/500), Blue Legions(2600/500), Hateful Gale Warriors(1900/500)

"Now a Hateful Gale Warrior will crush Spark Fighter!" A blast of wind ripped apart the defense mode monster, but AB's life points remained untouched.

"The face down monster is next!" Another blast of wind shot out, and a diamond shaped monsters was briefly visible before it too shattered.

"You flipped Vizier of Light(700/1500) whose flip effect lets me pick up a light monster from my cemetery and add it to my hand. So Saturn Knight comes back to me." A card popped out of her cemetery and she grabbed it, adding it to her hand.

"Before you can continue I'll activate my set card, Sight From Beyond! This removes every light type in my cemetery from the game and ends the battle phase. But when Vizier of Light is removed from play it immediately returns to my hand." Rani grimaced and put her hands on her hips, knowing that there was nothing more she could do in her turn. She could only hope and pray that her idiot partner could do something.

Misuno chuckled at her discomfort, knowing that soon she would be finished. When he was done with them they would wish they had never made this challenge. "First I draw." He glanced at his card, and then reached down to his duel disk and grabbed his set monster.

"Allow me to introduce you to Des Lacooda(500/600) an interesting zombie who when flip summoned allows me to draw one card from my deck." A zombie camel appeared, and Misuno quickly drew another card, giving him two in hand.

"I think I know just what to bring out. First I play Monster Reincarnation! To do so I'll discard Repayment of Losses, letting me draw and pick up a monster from the grave." He tossed out his hand then drew a new card and grabbed a card that popped out of his cemetery.

"Finally I sacrifice Des Lacooda for Dark Dust Spirit(2200/1800) who when summoned instantly destroys every face-up monster in play besides itself!" His dark creature threw back its head and roared, sending streams of black dust out. It covered the field, and every player but Misuno began to hack and wheeze. The same could be said for the monsters, who all keeled over and vanished in the dust.

"Dark Dust Spirit, attack Ken with Black Tornado!" A sweeping vortex of smog and dust shot from the hands of the spirit, straight at Ken. The clown user cried out in a panic as the tornado covered him. Misuno chuckled as Ken had a coughing fit. (KLP: 800)

Misuno set a card face down, and then finished his turn. "Now that my turn is over, Dark Dust Spirit, being a spirit arch-type, returns to my hand." The zombie faded away and turned into a ball of light which floated into Misuno's hand.

Ken's hands were shaking as he drew, praying that he got something useful. Because if he didn't, he was certain his opponents wouldn't be lenient on him. 'Dream Clown? This won't help right now!' He smirked confidently and set his monster face down before ending his turn.

Rani stared at her partner in horror, and then at her face down cards. They were completely useless to her without monsters in play. She was going to lose and she knew it. "I summon Saturn Knight(1600/1400). Then I skip battle to finish Rani off." A single bolt of light knocked her off her feet. (RLP: 0)

Misuno smirked and picked up the top card off his deck. Ken stared at him in horror, realizing what had happened. Since his own partner was gone, the duel had automatically moved to Misuno's turn. "Time to end this now. I activate Corpus Animus, which lets me take one living creature in an opposing player's cemetery and summon it to my field for one turn as a zombie."

He snapped his fingers, and a rotting man in broken blue armor marched out onto his field. A beetle crawled out of a hole in its shoulder and then into another hole in its neck, causing Ken to shudder. "Can't stand the horror can you? Well, my face down cards will teach you. First, Call of the Haunted lets me revive Sangan(1000/600). No need to show you too much of my deck."

The furball appeared, and then Misuno's other set flipped up. "Next is Imbued By Shadow. By sacrificing a dark type monster one creature on my field can attack the opposing player directly. So, General of the Undead Legion(2200/1800), attack Ken directly!"

Ken screamed and turned tail, trying to get away. But he was too slow as the undead monster jumped up and over his defense monster and landed directly on him. The strike slammed his face into the linoleum, and he was out like a light. "These are all Eikyuu can muster? Then let's get going and finish Eikyuu shall we?"

AB nodded, and the two walked towards the exit. A number of miles away, Eikyuu sat in his throne. Despite his mask's expressionlessness, his priests could swear he was smiling.

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Azure shot a glance over her shoulder, just in time to miss the little green firefly vanish again. It was starting to bother her, especially since they had been walking for much longer now than any of the previous times. Only one of them remained to take a Trial, and so far no door had appeared.

None of the others seemed to be worried about this, as they were still presumably thinking about Kirani's revelation. Each of them so far had shown admirable qualities so far, and she was beginning to think that she was right. These were the world's only hope of defeating Eikyuu.

"I'm beginning to worry. I've never seen anyone taking the Trials walk so long before a door appeared. This is highly unusual, it's like the forces that control the Trials are debating what sort of opponent would be best to test you with." Dalin didn't even bother to glance back, because he had stopped and was staring straight ahead.

Azure peered around the massive form of the angel duelist, trying to see if he had spotted a door. "It's about time a door showed up, this wait has been irritating."

"I suggest you take a close look." All of them stepped up, looking around Dalin. A collective gasp went up amongst them (sans Dalin) as they saw the green little firefly thing dipping up and down in front of them. It was acting very erratically, and its light was getting brighter with each second.

Dalin made a sweeping motion with his right arm, and looked over his shoulder at the others. "Step back, I'll deal with whatever this is."

He slid into a fighting stance and a silver glow began to grow around his body. Meanwhile the green glow was starting to reach nearly blinding proportions, and everyone but Dalin looked away. Dalin cleared his senses, and stared straight through the light to what was happening at the epicenter.

The firefly creature had stopped dead and it was pulsing rapidly, much like a heartbeat. A lick of green flame sprang up from the little light, and then it began to wrap around the firefly. It spun at such a great pace that soon a tornado of emerald fire reached from the floor to the ceiling, blocking even Dalin's view of the firefly.

Dalin extended his right arm, gathering power in his palm. The Icon of Osiris glinted dangerously, and he radiated authority as he spoke. "Show yourself!"

The jade tornado collapsed in on itself, and then the firefly exploded, sweeping the corridors of the pathway in green fire.

The flames subsided, and the group lowered their arms from covering their faces, and looked up to see what had happened to the firefly. In its place was a being wreathed in green fire, staring at them intently. "You've reached the final test of the Trials. Dalin Imaki Sumatin, I challenge you to a duel! Rules aside, if you defeat me with your greatest strength you will have succeeded."

Dalin stared unblinkingly at the creature, and then stepped up and out of his fighting stance. A single snap of his wrist brought his duel disk into place, and then he slid his deck into it. "There is nothing but my greatest strength. I do not hold back in any duel, it is not in my nature."

The flame creature raised its own left arm, and a duel disk appeared there, already activated. It didn't seem to be touched by the emerald fire, so obviously the fire was magical in nature. "That's a lie. You've held back your true strength in every duel you've ever played except for one. But if you expect to defeat Eikyuu then you'll have to break through the barriers that are holding you back!"

Kirani frowned as she heard the flame creature speak, trying to figure out exactly what it meant. Dalin was one of the strongest people she had ever met, and he was the top duelist in the entire world. How could he be blocked in releasing his true strength? She needed to know. "Who do you think you are to know these things about Dalin?"

It turned to gaze upon her, and she felt warmth flow through her very being. "I am the enemy that he has never faced, the rival that he has never acknowledged, the foe that he has yet to defeat. I am what bars the path between him and Eikyuu, and I am the one who can show you all the way to the power to defeat Eikyuu."

As the creature's lips turned up into a confident smirk, Kirani began to understand. Dalin narrowed his eyes at his opponent, and then held up a hand of five cards, ready to begin. The walls around them began to flicker as the scene changed. "The foe that I have yet to defeat, an enemy that I have never faced, a rival I have never acknowledged. Well then, I acknowledge you now...Daisuke." (DLP: 4000)

Hikari's eyes lit up and she looked around Dalin's shoulder, trying to see if she could see any features that would resemble him. But there was nothing, so she couldn't tell if Dalin was right or not. On the opposite side, Kirani could only feel awe at seeing this form. "You're as astute as ever Dalin. I, Drake Ihachi, shall be your opponent!" (DRLP: 4000)

The area around them settled, taking a solid form. Kirani blinked, recognizing the place that they were at. She hadn't been aware of what was going on, but she had seen it briefly as they left. "Alcatraz Duel Tower!"

Dalin and the spectral Drake now stood opposite each other on the platform that the finals of Battle City had taken place on. The platform began to rise, and each duelist prepared themself for their battle. A duel that had been far too long in coming. "This duel shall be our Battle City Final Match, to determine the winner of the Battle City Tournament!"

At once both duelists fanned their hands out, the holographic projectors on the platform flipping up. The lights beneath Drake's spot lit up, indicating that he would be going first. Their eyes met, one set green, and the other green flame. In the same moment they made their readiness known. "LET'S DUEL!"

Drake started off fast, snapping the top card off his deck. He glanced at his new card and then placed it in his hand. Next he grabbed another card and placed it down on his disk. "I've been waiting for this moment for quite some time, and now that we have the chance it's just a pity that it's under these circumstances. Also, I apologize for my appearance. This is the best I can manage from where I am now."

"Apology accepted. But make no mistake, this duel will be mine." Drake smirked at Dalin, happy to see that his opponent was as prepared and confident as ever. This would be a duel with all of their strength.

"Let's get started. I summon Skilled Apprentice Magician(1400/1200) in attack mode!" A happy faced young man in long brown robes appeared in front of Drake, holding a simple brown staff in his hands.

"Now, I'll place these cards face down and end my turn!" Two cards appeared behind the apprentice, and then Drake's turn was over.

Dalin drew and frowned slightly at Drake's monster. "I summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode." An attractive woman with angel's wings and long flowing robes appeared across from the magician. Instead of a staff she had her hands clasped in a prayer position, and three orbs floated around her like moons.

"Venus, attack his magician. Glow of Creation!" Three beams of energy connected together from the orbs, and then Venus extended her hands, placing it on the pinpoint of energy that had gathered. A massive wave of energy shot out, streaking straight towards the apprentice.

"Reveal face down card! Command Silencer!" A ten foot tall totem pole appeared in the path of the attack, speakers attached to its extended wing-like arms. A shrieking sound issued forth from it, and the sheer force of the sound sent the beam of energy streaking off into the distance.

"I expected something like that. Now you get to draw a card." Drake nodded and drew his top card, adding it to the other three cards in his hand.

"Just like you I shall set two cards face down. Now, take your turn."

Drake glanced at his new card, and then proceeded to tuck it amongst the other four. He picked up a different card and slid it onto his duel disk. "I'll set one card face down, and switch Skilled Apprentice Magician into defense mode. End."

Dalin didn't even glance at his newly drawn card. Instead he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. "Venus, I activate your special ability. I pay fifteen hundred life points to unleash all three Holy Shine Spheres(500/500)." (DLP: 2500)

The three moon-like spheres that had been floating around Venus suddenly split away, floating to land above a monster zone, one for each. Although they were simple silver spheres, they had great potential. Drake narrowed his eyes, and prepared himself. 'Could it be?'

Kirani gasped as she realized what was coming. Azure and Hikari both frowned at her, but Takuya nodded, seeing it as well. "This is it, this is the method he's used many times before. He's going to unleash the power of one of the god cards."

The angel duelist took the farthest left card of his hand, and then slammed it down onto the remaining monster zone of his duel disk. Energy from the Holy Shine Spheres began to flow into that zone, and a large form began to take shape. "I'll sacrifice two Holy Shine Spheres for this creature!"

Dalin's new monster stood roughly nine feet tall, and was shockingly handsome, with flowing blonde hair that waved out behind him in the wind. Stretched out behind him was a pair of pure white angel's wings. "Jupiter, Angel of Life(2400/2400)! This is the strongest angel in my deck."

Drake, Takuya, and Kirani all blinked in surprise, each of them having expected a god card to have appeared. "You seem slightly unimpressed by Jupiter. I admit he does not match the raw power of the gods, but he will certainly do well enough for this duel. For now, Venus attacks!"

A dark skinned ghoul popped up, a shovel in hand, just as Venus was about to make her attack. It reached behind its back and held up a massive holographic card. "I'm hardly defenseless Dalin. First off my quick-play magic card, Grave Sifting! This magic card lets me move one card between our graveyards."

The ghoul stabbed his shovel into the ground and quickly dug up a wide enough space to place the huge card. It dropped the card in, and then patted dirt back over it. Dalin frowned as he realized what was about to happen. "Next, I combo that with my other set card. Mechanical Magic Mirror! I'll activate the Command Silencer I just placed in your cemetery!"

A robotic magician took the ghoul's place and it raised its arms out. They became exactly like the arms of the totem pole, speakers included. A blast of sound washed over Dalin's monsters, and they covered their ears, unwilling to attack. "Very well, you have succeeded in preventing me from attacking and you were able to draw a new card. End turn."

Drake drew, seeing his new card. He took the card he had drawn from Command Silencer and slid it onto his duel disk. "I set one card face down. End Turn!"

The others watched with baited breath as Dalin drew and motioned to Venus. "Attack his monster again. Let's see what he has waiting for us."

"The same as before. I flip up Instant Replay! Since the card I last played was Command Silencer, that means Instant Replay takes its effect!" His newest quick-play card morphed into the giant totem pole, and another blast of sound halted the newest attack. Dalin nodded, having expected something similar. Drake just smirked and drew from his card's effect.

Dalin nodded to Drake, and folded his arms across his massive chest, staring impassively at the other duelist. Drake snapped the top card off his deck, giving him a total of seven cards in his hand. "It's time to show you what I've been saving up for!"

Kirani frowned and looked over at Takuya. "Who do you think has the real lead? From the way Drake is acting I'd say he's been stringing Dalin around, but nobody strings Dalin around. He's always one step ahead of everyone else, while Drake usually plays with the flow of the duel."

The warrior duelist glanced back and forth between the two combating duelists, his jaw set as he contemplated the issue. Finally he came up with an answer. "At the moment, your guess is as good as mine. I think they're both playing each other, and we'll just have to wait and see which one can do it better."

Drake held out a card from his hand, and energy began to crackle around his magician. "This is the last card I need before I can go on the offensive! Magician's Storm, playable only when I have a magician in play. Now, Skilled Apprentice Magician, destroy his magic and trap cards!"

The brown robed magician pointed his staff at the set cards and arcs of lightning shot out, shattering each of the two in turn. Dalin nodded, seeming to be unworried by the destruction of his two cards. "It's time to let you in on a secret. When Skilled Apprentice Magician has four magic counters on it, which it gets when a magic card is played, I can sacrifice it and the counters to special summon any magician from my deck to the field."

Azure stood impassively, watching the duel progress. She didn't know much about these two duelists, but she did know that Dalin had defeated those whom she believed unbeatable. This other person, there was something about him though that told her he was no ordinary duelist either. 'Which one is the strongest?'

Takuya thought back to his duel with Drake in Battle City, and the card that he had given Drake after he had lost their duel. That card had become perhaps Drake's favorite card, and his strongest monster. 'Black Magician of Chaos, he'll definitely summon it with his monster's effect.'

"I tribute Skilled Apprentice Magician and the four counters it has to special summon Guardian Magician of the Day(1400/1900) from my deck! Now, since I've special summoned Guardian Magician of the Day, I can special summon Guardian Magician of the Night(1900/1400) from my deck to the field!" Two virtually identical magicians appeared in place of the apprentice, one in robes like the night's sky, and one in robe's like a cloudy day.

"Now, I play Magical Bouquet, and take a magic card from my deck and add it to my hand. That magic card I'll activate, revealing Effect Economics!" A continuous magic card appeared in front of him, and a glow passed over the field briefly.

"Using this combination I'll have my two guardians combine their magic to destroy all of your monsters!" The two magicians tapped their staffs together, and energy exploded out from the touching tips. The energy swept across Dalin's field, blowing it away.

The smoke faded, and Drake drew back in surprise as Jupiter was revealed, standing exactly where it had been before. "You miscalculated Drake, you didn't take one of Jupiter's special effects into account. By discarding a card from my hand I can prevent him from being destroyed under any circumstances."

Drake frowned, realizing that he couldn't defeat Jupiter this turn. To kill it he would have to drain Dalin's entire hand, and Dalin had quite a number of ways to replenish his hand. "I set one card face down. Your turn Dalin."

Dalin glanced at his newest card, and then pointed at the Guardian Magician of the Day. "Jupiter, attack his monster." The angel flapped its wings and flew across the field towards the magicians. He threw a punch, but the magicians tapped their staffs together and a massive barrier appeared to block it.

"My quick-play magic card Magician's Shield lets me move two magicians on the field into defense mode, and set their defense power as a composite three thousand for just one attack." Jupiter returned to its previous position, and then Dalin folded his hand together, ending his turn. (DLP: 1900)

Hikari watched the duel, her eyes wide with amazement. Although his appearance was at the moment that of a burning beast of green fire, she knew that this was her brother all grown up. 'He's a great duelist...he's even got Dalin on the ropes! My little brother, all grown up...you've become a truly strong person since last I saw you.'

Her brother drew, and then clenched his right fist together. "Guardian Magicians, activate your effect and destroy Jupiter!" The combined attack blasted across the field, and once again as the smoke cleared Jupiter was still standing.

"Just as before I discard one card from my hand to maintain Jupiter's position in play." He slid a card from his hand into the grave, and then held up his hand of cards.

"There are still three cards in this hand, so you'll have to get past all three of them before you can defeat Jupiter." Drake nodded, and slid his newest card into his duel disk.

"Go, Magician's Cross! Together my Guardian Magicians will combine for one attack of three thousand points! Cross of Magic!" A combined burst of energy sprayed across Jupiter, forcing the massive angel backwards a few feet. It grunted and smacked the remaining energy aside, remaining unharmed. (DLP: 1300)

"Very well, I discard one more card to keep Jupiter on the field. Is that all?" Drake shook his head and took another card from his hand, and slapped it down on his duel disk. A pile of books appeared in front of him, and then a frumpy looking man with glasses showed up amongst them.

"I summon Scholarly Magician(900/1500) in defense mode. Then I'm done." The frumpy man reached for the wand a few feet away, and used it to flip open a book. He held up it up in front of his face and began flipping through it, looking completely engrossed in the tome.

Azure blinked, staring at the new magician in surprise. "What kind of monster is that? It looks more interested in research than in battle."

To her further surprise Drake winked at her, and then returned to staring across the field at Dalin. Kirani glanced back at her and smiled apologetically. "He's like that, don't mind him."

Dalin picked up another card from his deck, and glanced amongst the three. He frowned and snapped his hand back together. "End turn."

Drake blinked, surprised that his opponent had forgone his attack for the turn. Then he grinned and drew, realizing exactly what had happened. 'Just like I thought. He knew instinctively that my Scholarly Magician wasn't on the field just as tribute bait. He's as on top of things as ever.'

"Your instincts have served you well Dalin, but not quite well enough! First off, just like in my last turns I'll use magician's ability and combine their power together to destroy Jupiter!" This time Jupiter didn't bother to meet the attack. Instead he rose up off the ground, letting the beam of magical energy pass harmlessly under him.

Dalin took one of his three remaining cards and slid it into the grave, now making his hand half the size of Drake's. He let himself smile slightly and wondered what would happen next. 'Drake has certainly improved as a duelist since I first saw him in battle. Back then he struggled against Takuya's unorganized deck merely because of the power of his envoy.'

His memories flitted back to the duels he had seen Drake in, understanding exactly the sort of progression he was seeing. 'The next time I saw him duel he struggled against himself and against Autumn, but eventually succeeded. Although I didn't see him duel Taichi, I know he dueled well. Then he dueled Ihachi and held his ground against her, strong throughout the entire time, defeating her in the end.'

The most recent memory of a duel came from something from roughly a week earlier, when they had all ended up on that island in the ocean. 'Then he and Serenity faced those three duelists. Each one was skilled, using a strategy of instant defeat, but Drake not only held his ground but was able to improvise and protect his weaker partner. Then he formed a monster of infinite attack power. Yes, he's come a long way as a duelist and as a person.'

"Dalin, I hope you're ready to lose Jupiter! I play Soul of the Thoughtful, which would normally cost me five hundred life points to play. Now I get to reactivate one effect this turn, which would be the magician's monster destruction effect!" Jupiter swerved to the right, dodging another blast of magical energy. Dalin frowned and slid another card into his graveyard.

"Like I said, that was just the start. I activate Shot From The Dark, to replay Magician's Cross from the graveyard. Guardian Magician of the Day and Guardian Magician of the Night, attack with Cross of Magic(3000)!" The follow up energy attacked slammed directly into Jupiter's mid section, knocking him to the ground. Slowly he lifted himself up, brushing off some imaginary dust. (DLP: 700)

"Impressive play. Now my hand is completely empty. You can potentially destroy Jupiter now." Drake smirked and cracked his knuckles, satisfied at his work. He bowed his head briefly, and Dalin took his cue to draw a new card.

He glanced at the single card in his hand, and then at Jupiter. Without another thought he reached down and shifted the position of the card on his duel disk. "I'll move Jupiter into defense mode."

The angel glanced back at Dalin in confusion, and then dropped into a crouch, folding his wings across his large body. Dalin then took the card in his hand and slid it onto his duel disk. "I activate Song of Angels, in order to restore fifteen hundred of my life points."

A heavenly sound drifted over the field, and Dalin's duel disk started to glow. Bit by bit his energy and his life points were restored, undoing the damage he had done to himself for Venus' effect. "That's all for now." (DLP: 2200)

Drake's face became set and focused, seeing that he had an essentially clear path. All he had to do was eliminate Jupiter and the path to Dalin's life points would be completely clear. "Destroy Jupiter with your effect!"

Energy slammed into the angel's folded wings, and an acrid smell filled the field as the attack burned through Jupiter's wings. Finally it pierced through and blew Jupiter away, leaving Dalin's field completely empty. "I'm ready Drake."

Azure, Takuya, Kirani, and Hikari all waited with baited breath as Drake raised his right hand. Then he punched straight towards Dalin, his eyes hard and focused. "This is it! Guardian Magician of the Day and Guardian Magician of the Night...attack him directly!"

He blinked, seeing Dalin smiling slightly. His monsters hadn't moved at all, and the others on the side of the platform were staring at him with confused expression on their faces. "What's going on, why didn't my monsters attack?"

He blinked again, and grabbed his throat with his hands. He had spoken just then, but there had been no sound! He looked to Dalin for an explanation, and the duelist gladly gave one. "One of the cards I discarded was Speak No Evil, which can be played from the cemetery. By shuffling five cards from my grave back into my deck I can prevent my opponent from conducting a battle phase for the turn."

Drake grimaced, realizing that his monsters wouldn't be making any finishing strikes this turn. He watched Dalin take five cards from his cemetery and return them to his deck, shuffling it with the great speed that he was known for. Knowing he couldn't be heard, he simply mouthed the words 'End Turn'.

Dalin placed his fingers on his deck and began to draw the card, but was stopped when Drake began to speak. "Dalin, your Angel Deck has always been powerful, and over time it's become even stronger. Few duelists can match it since it flows so well, but in the end do you really think angels can match the strength of Eikyuu? You'll need something of a higher caliber to defeat a god like him, so that's why you need to stop holding back!"

The angel duelist frowned and glanced at his deck. 'Holding back? Perhaps he means that I am only using one half of who I am. The other part that I have long been neglecting, the part that lurks underneath the surface. Very well, the mystery power, the strength of who I am in the past...that is what I shall unleash.'

"I accept your challenge Daisuke, now, this will be my full power. Draw!" He snapped the card off his deck, and immediately held it up. The Japanese text on the top clearly gave its name.

"Payment of Debt, this allows me to draw three cards off the top of my deck! Now, the first card!" He drew the first card, and without looking he slid it into his duel disk. Three spaces on his field started to glow.

"Renewal of Triplets! Now, I return all three Holy Shine Spheres(500/500) to the field in defense mode!" The three little silver spheres appeared in front of him, and the others watched with baited breath, beginning to see where this was going.

"Second card, face down!" A card appeared behind the middle Shine Sphere, and everyone but Drake wasn't sure what to make of it. Just like with Renewal of Triplets he had played this card without looking. And since the duel disk had accepted it, it was obviously a magic card or a trap card.

"Third card...my true strength!" He pulled the card free and his arm went out to the side. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and to those watching who could see energy...his card pulsed with life, as did his deck.

"I sacrifice all three of my monsters and summon Saint Dragon Osiris(X000/X000) in attack mode!" The sky above clouded over, and lightning cracked down around them as a behemoth of a monster descended. It had to be thousands of feet in length total, and its long coils stretched out to wrap around and down the Duel Tower. Its massive head hovered above Dalin, its double-jawed mouth breathing out trails of steam.

Dalin's eyes opened, and Drake blinked in surprise when he saw that the irises were completely silver. Drake's surprise turned to something different as he realized Dalin's turn was over, and he drew his card. "Osiris may have a lot of potential, but without any cards in your hand it has zero attack and defense points. That makes it fodder for my monsters."

"Guardian Magician of the Night, attack Saint Dragon Osiris!" The magician gulped and stepped forward, raising his staff to point at the mighty creature. A beam of energy shot out, and puffed out against Osiris' giant face. The god monster roared, the force of it making it difficult for Drake to keep his footing.

Drake blinked as Dalin's face down card flipped up, revealing it to be a trap with the continuous symbol on it. The image was what really got him though, because he had seen the object depicted before. It was a four-fingered silver ring, and it was identical to the one on Dalin's hand. "I reveal my continuous trap card, Icon of Osiris! This prevents any assaults against Osiris this turn, and instantly allows me to draw twice."

Dalin drew two cards, and Osirirs roared as energy flowed into its body, putting it at two thousand attack and defense points. Now it was stronger than any of Drake's three monsters, and since it was a divine type Drake couldn't use the Guardian Magician's effect to destroy it. "I'll just destroy your trap with my monster's unity effect!"

The magicians touched their staffs together and fired their combined attack, but Osiris simply shifted one of its arms in the way, snuffing out the energy attack before it could strike the trap. "As long as Saint Dragon Osiris is in play the Icon of Osiris cannot be destroyed. You asked for my power, and this is it."

He held up the Icon on his own hand, and it blazed with power. The trap card glowed in time with his item, and Drake could feel the energy flowing between Dalin and Osiris. 'This is more than I was hoping for. They told me that he had a hidden strength, but I never expected it to be like this!'

"Errr...I switch the two magicians into defense mode. That's all for now." The magicians glanced at each other and then dropped into a crouch. The frumpy magician still sat amongst his piles of books, completely oblivious to anything that was going on.

Dalin drew, and Osiris instantly gained further power. Suddenly Dalin's graveyard glowed, and a card popped out of it. "If Saint Dragon Osiris is in play, once per turn I can return a card from the cemetery to my hand with the power of the Icon of Osiris. Now thanks to that I activate Payment of Debt!"

Drake's eyes went wide as he realized the implications of this. Each turn Dalin could get back Payment of Debt and pump his hand up by three cards, meaning Osiris would always be more powerful than the average monster. Now it had six thousand points. "If Icon of Osiris is in play and I play a card related to Osiris, I can instantly draw a new card."

Dalin held up a card from his hand, and with other hand he gestured towards Osiris. "Your attempts to destroy him have angered Osiris. Now, his wrath shall be swift and deadly. I play the magic card Wrath of Osiris, in order to use his second mouth ability against all monsters in play!"

Osiris opened its second mouth wide, and fired three blasts of energy at Drake's monsters. They collided with the creatures and blew them away, and smoke filled up Drake's field. "Since that card related to Osiris my hand size is instantly six again. However, I now play Hands Clawing from the Lands of the Dead! This card works in concert with Osiris, and destroys your hand!"

Osiris slashed with one clawed arm, and three blades of energy slammed into Drake, forcing him backwards. He groaned and dropped to one knee, his cards falling from his hand. Instantly Dalin drew a new card, keeping his hand size at six, and giving him a god with six thousand points against his empty field and hand. "I see...so this is your true strength."

"Yes. You have dueled well, but now it's over. Saint Dragon Osiris(6000/6000), attack him directly!" Osiris' jaw opened up and a massive beam of energy erupted from it. Everyone watched in shock as the strike hit Drake and blew him completely off the platform.

Steam rose off the fallen emerald flame form of Drake Ihachi as he lay prostrate on the ground, completely unmoving. Dalin stood beneath the hovering head of Osiris, watching his opponent carefully. "I told you, that is my power. For I am the very might of Osiris incarnate on Earth."

The wind blew across the top of the Duel Tower, and silence followed these words.

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Author's Notes: Finally I got to write this chapter, which I've been awaiting for a very long time. I'm glad I got to do this at last.

Review Response

G.O.T. Nick: And see, Rani is gone. Misuno isn't quite as evil as he seems, he's just frustrated from being bodyless for three and a half thousand years.

The White Mage: They duel because it's Yu-Gi-Oh based. For a full explanation, you'd have to ask Kaz. And nope, the ritual is not to release anything.

WolfGeneral: Yes, that's Dalin at work.

VoidTemplar: Wasn't soon, but it IS an update.

Time Mage: There's double duel results for you. Misuno and AB shall continue to play roles.

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)

Rani: Joyful Token Club

Misuno: Repayment of Losses, Corpus Animus, Imbued By Shadow

AB: Vizier of Light, Sight From Beyond, Saturn Knight

Drake: Skilled Apprentice Magician, Grave Sifting, Instant Replay, Magician's Storm, Guardian Magician of the Day, Guardian Magician of the Night, Effect Economics, Magician's Shield, Scholarly Magician, Shot From The Dark, Soul of the Thoughtful

Dalin: Jupiter-Angel of Life, Song of Angels, Speak No Evil, Payment of Debt, Renewal of Triplets, Icon of Osiris, Wrath of Osiris, Hands Clawing from the Lands of the Dead

Anime Cards: Magician's Cross, Mechanical Magic Mirror