Author's Notes: Now for the mighty conclusion to this clash of titans! Also, I apologize for the delay on this chapter. At first it was just because I had difficulty with it, but then I spent a few days hanging out with friends because a good friend of mine is moving to Idaho soon. So now without further delay, here is the chapter.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Overcoming Self
Sumatin pointed to his field where the urn sat and spoke up. "Activate ritual magic card: Dark Justice Unleashed!"
At the same moment Dalin declared his own card. "Activate ritual magic card: Justice Unleashed!"
Appearing from within the urns were now two identical woman. The first one, the one on Sumatin's field, was beautiful with raven black hair and black wings, but her eyes were covered by a dark blindfold. "Reveal Sol, Angel of Dark Justice(1900/1900)!"
On the opposite side, standing in front of Dalin, was a beautiful angelic woman with white blonde hair, pure white wings, and a white blindfold over her eyes. "Come forth Sol, Angel of Justice(1900/1900)!"
Alice and the entire audience stared at the two duelists and their monsters in awe. Once again they had both made nearly identical moves, and they were once more evenly matched. "So, it is to be a contest of one monster's dark half against another's. Sol, Angel of Dark Justice will win. Now, I discard one dark main-type monster from my hand to increase her attack and defense by five hundred."
Dark energy surged around Sumatin's Sol, boosting her attack and defense to a more impressive twenty-four hundred. Yet it wasn't attack ability that made Sol a level seven ritual monster with a meager nineteen hundred attack and defense. It was her effects that made her so useful. "My turn is completed. Go ahead, match my move and boost your Sol's attack points. But I can guarantee that mine will succeed."
Dalin slid a card off the top of his deck and then looked up at his other self. "No Sumatin, no guarantees can be made in this duel. But I am tired of you being merely my reflection, or me being yours. Dimensional duplicates or not, I will not be anyone's opposite. I am Dalin Imaki Sumatin, and I am myself, not anyone else. It's time to change the flow of this duel once and for all!"
He barely glanced at his newly drawn card before he shoved it into his graveyard. Energy flowed from Sol into him, granting him one of its three effects. "By discarding a light type from my hand I can now draw three cards."
A cursory glance at the new cards gave him a plan to work from. "I continue my turn by summoning Seraphim Guardna(1000/2000) in defense mode."
The angel crouched down, hiding itself behind a metallic shield. Light pulsed between it and Sol as its effect kicked in. "For every other angel I have in play Guardna gains three hundred attack and defense points."
He placed a card face down and then nodded to Sumatin, who gladly drew a card. "I discard one dark type monster from my hand in order to deal you one thousand life points damage. Use your power Sol!"
Black flames swirled out of the dark angel's hands, slamming into Dalin's body. He raised his arms to block some of the flames, but still they reached him. "Very well, you have used Sol's effect. Anything else?" (DLP: 4250)
"Of course there is. My Sol will attack yours, destroying it!" The dark angel flew at high speeds across the field and decked her light opposite in the jaw. The light angel was hurled backwards, and shattered against the wall. (DLP: 3750)
Sumatin frowned at seeing his opponent's monster destroyed so easily. He took a look at Dalin's face down card, idly wondering what it was that it was so useless as to not protect Sol. "Very well, if you cannot protect your monsters than I shall simply end my turn."
Dalin slipped a new card off the top of his deck. Then he took the other card he had been holding and slid it into an activation slot. "Activate magic card: Angel Reborn!"
Light surged into one point on his field, and Sol returned in all her glory, her wings spread out wide. Sumatin sneered at the monster's appearance. "You were already holding that card...so you didn't care if Sol was destroyed in that instance. But then...what is your plan?"
"You'll learn shortly. First I discard the last card in my hand, an Ascending Man, in order to draw three cards from my deck according to Sol's effect." He dropped the card into the graveyard and then picked up three cards at once from the top of his deck. Now he had three cards total to work with.
He looked over the cards and then tossed one of them down onto the plate of his duel disk. "I summon Seraphim Sabre(1600/1500) in attack mode."
A monster similar to Guardna only with heavenly armor and a sword now stood to Sol's right side. "Just like Guardna this monster gains three hundred points for every other angel in play. Now Seraphim Sabre(2200/2100) and Seraphim Guardna(1600/2600) are even stronger."
Sumatin's eyes widened at the sight of the three angels and he shot a look at Dalin's face down card. It was at that moment that he knew without a shadow of a doubt what the face down card was. "I've been led in..."
"That's correct! By destroying Sol in your turn you have given me the opportunity to unleash the rage of angels upon you. Open set card, Angel's Wrath! Now during this turn all angels on my field may attack you directly!" Energy whipped around the three monsters as they prepared to attack.
"Seraphim Sabre, Sol, and Seraphim Guardna...attack directly! Triple Holy Wave!" Three separate waves of pure light slammed into Sumatin. The dark angel duelist was picked up by the strengths of those blasts and flung into the plexiglass, cracking it in numerous places. He fell back to the ground, his body bruised and beaten. (SLP: 300)
"Now the advantage is mine. I place two cards face down, and that will conclude my turn." Two cards appeared behind his three angels, giving him a significant advantage of the field. The only thing that wasn't going for him was the fact that his opponent's monster was still the strongest in play.
Sumatin grimaced and motioned to his deck, which ejected a card. "I've given up my battle phase to add a dark angel to my hand. And now I discard it in order to draw three cards from the bottom of my deck."
Three cards popped out from the very depths of his deck, giving him more to work with. He frowned at what he saw and at the two cards that Dalin had face down. There was no telling what they were. "I equip your Sol with Ekibyo Drakmord! In two turns it will be destroyed, returning this virus to my hand. Until then your monster is worthless."
The beautiful female angel staggered and her skin began to grow blotchy as the virus did its work. "To end my turn I shall set two cards face down, just as you had."
The crowd watched in a sort of state of awe, seeing that their champion was in such dire straits. Now it was Dalin's turn, and he was already tossing the drawn card into his discard pile. "By discarding Neptune, Angel of Emancipation(1700/0) I may draw an additional three cards."
He did so, and then pointed to his rightmost face down card. "Renewal of Power lets me activate one monster's effect again this turn, so I discard Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) to draw three cards again."
Once more he drew, this time bringing his hand size up to five cards. He smiled slightly at whatever he saw there, finally having gotten exactly what he wanted. "Prepare to lose your cards. I activate my set trap, Heavenly Array of Light. By discarding another light type from my hand, this time Uranus, Angel of Good Will(1800/0) I can destroy one of your cards."
The champion of Underworld of Dueling frowned as his leftmost set card was shattered by a burst of light, leaving him with just one face down card to defend him. "It is unimportant, my Sol is still the strongest monster in play."
"Strength? Your dark angel knows nothing of strength, so I will teach it about strength. I offer up all three of my monsters in order to summon the mightiest of the three gods. The Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(5700/6600)!" The three angels turned to swirls of light, combining together to create a giant golden sphere.
Dalin raised his arms up to the sphere and began to chant. Sumatin watched quietly as he went through the required prayer to unlock Ra's power. Alice and the rest of the audience could only stare in awe, none of them having ever seen this mighty god in action. "Appear to me as I call your name, Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!"
The sphere was now unlocked, revealing the giant golden dragon, its beaked mouth clacking together in eagerness of unleashing its attack. "So, the strongest of the gods has come to face me. Well, I am prepared to defeat it!"
"I sincerely doubt such a thing is true. Let us test your theory. Ra, attack with God Breath Cannon!" The god opened its beak wide and sprayed golden energy down towards Sol. The dark angel seemed to feel the attacking coming, despite her blindness.
"Sol will fall...but not without protecting me! Reveal trap card, Dark Faith Offering! By sacrificing one dark angel on my field I can special summon dark angels from my grave equal to half the offered monster's level rounded up." Sol turned to dark fire and split apart into four separate plums of flame.
The four plums of flame were revealed as three men in monk's robes and with black wings, and a handsome fellow with dark eyes and wings. "I have special summon all three Fallen Men(1300/400) and Dark Angel Banafor(1700/1200) in defense. And since Banafor was summoned you take five hundred damage!"
Banafor threw a sphere of black flame at Dalin, catching him in the stomach. He grunted and slid backwards slightly, but he was otherwise unharmed. "Your move was effective, but I will still eliminate one of these monsters. Obliterate Banafor!" (DLP: 3250)
Sumatin was pushed backwards by the spray of divine energy that seared apart his dark angel. But since it was in defense mode his life points were protected and maintained at a solid three hundred. "I am safe."
"For the moment you are. One card face down, and then my turn is ended." A card appeared behind Ra. Sumatin could only assume it was there for some reason besides protection, because Ra hardly needed it.
Realizing that drawing a dark angel with Rebel's Gathering would be pointless, Sumatin simply drew a card normally. He frowned at the card and then snapped his fingers, causing his face up magic card to crumble. "By sacrificing Rebel's Gathering I can draw two cards from the bottom of my deck."
He slid two more cards from the bottom of his deck, feeling energy flow from one of the cards into him. Dalin narrowed his eyes, also feeling the energy. 'What power is this that I feel?'
"I have drawn it...the ultimate force to combat even your monster. A dark god only capable of being summoned when the opponent has a god in play. Now, I sacrifice all three Fallen Men in order to unleash its might! I call you out, Devil's Avatar(?)!" The three dark angelic monks vanished and were replaced by a massive black sphere.
"Devil's Avatar can only be summoned when the opponent has a god card in play. Devil's Avatar may then be special summoned to the field and it assumes the form and all effects of the god you hold. Since I have offered my three monsters and it has Ra's effect, that means Devil's Avatar(3900/1200) gains their stats as its own." The sphere uncurled, revealing a pitch black version of Ra.
"A dark version of Ra...that's truly impressive. However, even if they are equal in effects they are not equal in attack or defense strength. Your monster is significantly weaker than my Ra and you lack the life points to increase your Devil's Avatar attack strength." Sumatin nodded, accepting this as the truth.
"This is quite true...but since I the Fallen Men went to the grave I now draw the bottom three cards of my deck, giving me new options." He pulled another three cards out from the bottom and then slipped them into his hand.
He looked at them, and then slid two cards into his disk at once. "First I activate Pitch-Black Inferno Bonds, which locks down your set card, keeping it from reach."
Dalin didn't even blink when his face down card was covered in black fire, keeping him from activating it. "Next I activate Monster Reborn, reviving Wicked God Dread-Root(4000/4000) to the field!"
The massive dark god roared as it now stood next to the dark Ra. "Unfortunately Wicked God Dread-Root is only a tier 2, therefor its effect is useless against either of our monsters since both are tier 3 gods. However...I sacrifice it to Devil's Avatar!"
The god turned to black energy and was pulled into the maw of Devil's Avatar. The dark Ra shrieked as its power surged, resting at seventy-nine hundred attack points and fifty-two hundred defense. "Prepare to have Ra fall! Dark God Breath Cannon!"
Dalin grimaced, but even the phoenix form of Ra couldn't protect against the attack of a monster with identical abilities as it. The dark wave of energy crashed into Ra and blew it apart. When the smoke cleared Dalin was on his knees, his body scorched by the assault. "Impressive attack." (DLP: 1050)
"You have no idea how impressive Devil's Avatar can be. It cannot be defeated by a god since it can manipulate the powers of any god you have. For now I set two cards face down. Next turn I will eliminate you once and for all." Now he had a massively powerful dark god and two cards to work with it, while all Dalin had was one out of reach card and two cards in hand.
The angel duelist snapped up a card and pointed at his opposite, declaring his intentions with his deep voice as clear as snow. "Even an anti-god such as Devil's Avatar cannot defeat me!"
"I doubt that very much. You see, now that Ra has been defeated and Devil's Avatar has its effects there is nothing in your deck that can defeat me. Even your remaining god will not touch me, that I will guarantee." As if to emphasize his point the mighty Devil's Avatar shrieked, shaking the room.
Dalin shook his head almost as if in disgust. "It seems you have been clouded by visions of power supplied by the darkness that fuels you. True power comes from the soul, not from what you take in battle with others. It will be the power of my soul that defeats you and Devil's Avatar."
Alice stared at Dalin with wide-eyes, almost unable to speak. All she could do was watch him with awe. Finally she broke the spell and spoke. "He's right...this is the sort of strength that I can admire. Not a man who is blinded by greed for power. So I'm going to throw all of my support behind this Dalin Imaki Sumatin, and he will defeat you!"
Sumatin frowned at Alice, but then refocused his attention on Dalin who seemed to be making a move. "Thank you Alice for your support. Now, watch as I begin the path to defeating Devil's Avatar and my opposite by setting one monster in defense mode and concluding my turn."
The dark angel duelist chuckled darkly, his eyes never leaving his opposite. "Such a foolish notion that you are entertaining. Allow me to prove the true nature of power to you as I activate Shadow Energy. This card will substitute as the cost for the effect of one magic or trap card."
Dalin raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly what his opponent planned to do with that single costless card. "It's time to eliminate the last potential threat to me. Despite the irony involved I activate Mandate of a Heavenly Voice. This requires I name a level eight or higher monster. I name Saint Dragon Osiris."
He held the card out and it began to glow, as did Dalin's deck. "Now if that card exists in your deck I may pay one thousand life points to add it to my hand. Since I played Shadow Energy I may now take Osiris at no cost."
A beam of light burst forth from Dalin's deck and landed in his opponent's hand. Sumatin smirked so slightly that it was barely noticeable, and he held up Saint Dragon Osiris(X000/X000) from his hand. "Now the final threat against me is in my hand, and you cannot use it against me."
"Such a cowardly motion, running from my god before it ever has the chance to be summoned. But I suppose that is the sort of method one would resort to when obsessed with power. And for one so consumed by it...I have a gamble of power for you." Sumatin narrowed his eyes at this declaration.
"Very well, what is your gamble?" Dalin simply held up three fingers, and then pointed to the card that Sumatin was holding.
"The winner of this duel...they get the other's gods. If I should win I take your three dark gods, but if you win you get my three gods. Is it a deal?" Sumatin's eyes lit up, just as Dalin had expected. He nodded, accepting the deal.
"With such a deal I will become the strongest duelist in any existence. All I have to do is crush you, and I'll start by activating my set trap card, Body Supplement!" His left face down card flipped up, and energy began to coil off of it.
"By sacrificing this trap card I can offer it as life point cost for any effect of any amount. All that is required is that I take half that amount in damage at the end of my turn. However, since there is no limit I have nothing to fear. All I shall do is sacrifice it..." The trap card shattered.
"Now I substitute it to Devil's Avatar's effect taken from Ra. By offering life points I can increase its attack, so I offer up infinite life points to increase its attack power infinitely! Now Devil's Avatar(Infinite/5200) is unstoppable!" The dark god's body surged with power, so much so that the room seemed to vibrate.
"Power, that is all you care about in the end. Yet I thought at the start of this duel that you were something more. When the truth is that all you are is a perversion of myself, a perversion living in another dimension. So I will defeat you!" Sumatin grimaced in irritation and thrust his hand out at his opponent.
"You'll have to survive first. Devil's Avatar, destroy his face down monster with Dark God Breath Cannon Infinity!" Black energy surged from the dark god's open beak, slamming into the ground and breaking it apart. Dalin's monster was vaporized, and he was once again tossed away like a rag doll.
"You are nothing to me...now finish your turn!" Sumatin glared at his other self who so boldly opposed him.
"Very well, I conclude my turn by activating my final set card, Life Shield! This protects my life points from any one source of damage. So the infinite life point damage I would have taken is now negated. The perfect combo for the perfect attacker." He folded his arms across his massive chest, content in his approaching victory.
Dalin stood back on his feet, smiling as he did so. "Greed for power and the prevention of another gaining power is the sort of thing that will lead to your downfall. In reality I anticipated you taking Osiris for your greedy purposes, but I'm not bothered."
He finally looked at his drawn card, and then slid it onto his duel disk face down. "Now that I've set that card, I'll activate Payment of Rebirth, which lets me pick up one monster from the grave and add it to my hand. In return you may draw a card."
Sumatin drew a card off the top of his deck while Dalin picked up a monster from his cemetery. Then Dalin snapped his other hand card around. "Activate Exchange! Now we take one card from each other's hands. However, since I only hold one card you must take it."
The two duelists walked towards each other. Sumatin snapped the card out of Dalin's hand, while Dalin casually picked up the card that Sumatin was holding. Then the two duelists walked back to their places and looked at the cards. Sumatin blinked in surprise. "Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)? Not that I mind...but why?"
"You'll soon learn that sometimes the way to become stronger is to lend your power to others. Before I can teach you that lesson I must activate the card I took from you, Pot of Greed!" According to its effect he drew two new cards.
"Next I activate Monster Reincarnation, discarding my Repayment of Losses in order to pick up another monster from my grave." He picked up a monster from the cemetery and then drew one card by the effect of Repayment of Losses.
Sumatin frowned, still confused by what his opponent was attempting. "What is it that you are trying to accomplish by all of this? It seems so pointless."
"Pointless? Not at all. You see, an ultimate combo is nearly coming to fruition, now I just need one more card. I'll take it by activating Card of Sanctity!" Both duelists immediately drew until they were holding six cards.
"Next I activate Magic Shard Excavation, discarding two cards from my hand in order to select one magic card from my grave and add it to my hand. I choose Exchange." He slid three cards into his grave and then picked up and showed Sumatin his Exchange magic card.
Everyone was watching him, still not sure what he was up to. Even his opponent Sumatin couldn't understand what Dalin was trying to accomplish. "This combo...what next?"
"I set one card face down, then I activate Exchange. I hold Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(?) And Holy Shine Sphere(500/500)." He walked forwards, extending the two cards to his opponent.
Sumatin frowned and held out his six card hand. "I hold Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000), Saint Dragon Osiris(X000/X000), Dark Angel Viz(2400/1500), Wings of Inferno, Shower of Darkness, and Dark Draining Shield."
Dalin reached out and picked out one of his opponent's cards and added it to his hand. "I choose Wings of Inferno to add to my hand."
"That card can only be equipped to a dark angel...why would you choose it? This whole combo seems like nonsense, but since your Holy Shine Sphere is useless I choose to add Ra to my hand." Dalin nodded as his opponent took his last god and placed it in his hand. Then they parted.
Dalin turned on his heel, facing Sumatin once again. "Wings of Inferno...it isn't important. The purpose was to lend you my power, because when you do so at some point in time that power will be returned ten fold. By granting you my greatest power...I can increase my own."
Sumatin's eyes widened as he realized at last what his opponent intended. Placing the three gods in his hand...he intended to summon them! "You wanted them in my hand so you could summon them!"
"Correct. The winds are blowing, and they call to your monsters. Now I reveal one of my face down cards, Winds of Justice! First I must select one monster on the field!" He leveled his finger at Devil's Avatar, which shrieked at him upon seeing itself be selected.
"Now all monsters in our hands of an equal level are summoned to the opponent's field. Devil's Avatar is a level ten, so each of us gains the level tens that the opponent holds. I have no level ten monsters, so you gain nothing." Sumatin grimaced as the three gods flew out of his hand and landed on Dalin's disk.
"But since the three gods are each level ten...you gain all three." Dalin nodded, raising his arms in greeting as the three mighty gods formed on his field, filling up the entire arena with their massive bulk.
"Even should you try you cannot defeat Devil's Avatar! It has infinite attack power and there is no strength beyond infinite!" Dalin shook his head, still looking determined as ever.
"Once before I have called upon the ultimate power in order to defeat an avatar of utter darkness. Devil's Avatar qualifies, so once more I will unleash its strength. I reveal one of my face down cards, Polymerization!" The three gods began to be pulled together as everyone watched.
Sumatin backed up as a towering holy looking creature of light stood in front of Dalin. It snapped its eyes open, and Sumatin felt the raging power within it. "This is Creator of Light; Horakti(Instant Win)."
"I see...then you are truly the ultimate duelist if even I cannot defeat you. Come now Duel King...end it." Dalin nodded and thrust his hand out, palm outstretched.
"Horakti, finish him off with Light of Purification!" Light showered down on Sumatin, consuming the field with its great energy. The people behind Sumatin in the plexiglass booths ran as the glass shattered and the walls bent in under that great power.
When the light cleared Sumatin was lying on the ground, his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. He was out like a light, defeated by the power of the ultimate monster. "You were truly a challenge...but if necessary I am even capable overcoming myself."
He bent down and picked out three cards from his opponent's disk and deck and then slipped them into his pockets. Finally he turned around to Alice and motioned to her. "Come Alice, let's go. I have a feeling that this is almost over."
Together they walked out of the room, and into the Inner Sanctum. What they witness was a duel that was already raging towards its conclusion, one that had started the moment the first duelists entered the Inner Sanctum.
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Next Chapter:The Dimension Gate; Pt. 1
Author's Notes: Dalin has finally defeated his alternate version self. But he's about to walk in to see some of final battle that has been raging since the moment Asriel and Davis entered the Inner Sanctum. But before we can reach Dalin's entrance we have to go back and witness the duel in each of its stages. Let's begin the final battle!
Review Responses
John: The answer is no. You're thinking along the lines of time travel, where two people who are the same person but from different times meet and cause a cataclysm. These two people look alike, sound alike and all that, but they are distinctly different people. As previously stated this is a different dimension and there's pretty much versions of each person in each dimension. The consequences of having two people from different dimensions who are so alike meet will soon be revealed.
G.O.T. Nick: Yep, their tactics changed utterly the moment Dalin chose to use Sol differently. And since Sol is the monster closest to his soul, that made all the difference.
WolfGeneral: As you can see you guessed right. This dimension's Dalin did indeed hold Devil's Avatar.
Time Mage: You guessed wrong. Instead he had The Devil's Avatar to counter them.
Wing Omega: When you reach this chapter your review is answered. If you look at the bottom of each chapter you'll see which cards are of my creation (or someone elses) and which are from the anime or manga, anything else is real. Play of Rebellion was a card used by Atem in his duel against Yugi at the end of Yugioh.
Original Cards:WG(WolfGeneral), TM(Time Mage), G(Gryphinwyrm7)
Sumatin: Rebel's Gathering, Dark Faith Offering, Fallen Man, Dark Angel Banafor, Pitch-Black Inferno Bonds, Shadow Energy, Body Supplement, Life Shield
Dalin: Angel Reborn, Angel's Wrath, Renewal of Power, Neptune the Angel of Emancipation, Uranus the Angel of Good Will, Heavenly Array of Light, Payment for Rebirth, Repayment of Losses, Winds of Justice, Creator of Light Horakti
Anime/Manga Cards
Dalin: Seraphim Guardna, Seraphim Sabre
Sumatin: The Devil's Avatar, Wicked God Dread-Root, Mandate of a Heavenly Voice
