Here we go again. Back to me, Time Mage, and Keiji. Sorry this took so long to get up and for any confusion it may have caused last chapter. I was having a serious block with scripting this duel, plus I had some tests/papers due for my classes. And, of course, for most of last week I was downloading the anime series, Bleach, and it takes a while to download and watch those eps, and I had to pay attention to them, since they were subbed.
Chapter Eight- Rise to Empyrean, Pt. 1
Hanging his head, Keiji trudged out of the final alley before reaching his apartment. He was exhausted and it was getting dark. Between getting poisoned at the start of the day, then having to face his superiors at the school, followed by giving the most loathed lecture in all the curriculum, there were limits of the human body and mind.
Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger, Keiji grasped the doorknob of his apartments main entrance with his other hand. Too tired to actually push the door open, Keiji sluggishly collapsed against it, his weight popping it open and causing him to stumble in while trying to find his footing. Although this seemed rather crude and possibly made him appear intoxicated, Keiji's mind was simply too fatigued to care.
Dropping his bag on a lamp table in his small living room, the student teacher collapsed into a chair he had bought second hand shortly after moving into his current home. Snatching up the remote, he switched on the television, hoping it would help him to relax before he started grading the short essays one of the English teachers had given him.
Flipping through channels, Keiji groaned, his mind somewhere besides his apartment. Class had been as he had expected: brutal. Yet another class of teenagers, enraged by the idea of humans ever breeding with demons.
"What are the possible repercussions of humans and demons breeding?" That was how the discussion always started in a class, with the teacher writing it on the board.
Some students had burst into tears while he wrote it, and had to be excused. Others smirked wickedly. These were the students who enjoyed every chance to awaken conflict in the classroom if it meant they could pick on the demons. Others began to tremble with rage at the question, waiting for their chance to lash out. Yes, it was the same every time, and Keiji hated it. He hated the arrogance and ignorance of the foolish teenagers who acted only on their own passions without control.
"The only reason there are laws against it is because we aren't sure what kinds of effect that could result from the combination of species. We don't know how to take care of people who have demon blood in them from a medical perspective..." his voice trailed off as his head bent down and he nodded off to sleep.
Two hours later he awoke with a start, sweat starting to collect on the surface of his skin. He had snapped from a peculiar dream rather suddenly, and was trying to determine what had caused him to awake.
"That dream..." he muttered, resting his head in his palm while he leaned forward. Shaking his had and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he tried to remember what he could of the dream. First there had been nothing but a thick, nearly tangible darkness, then a small blue flame formed in the center of it all, similar in shape to the flame on the tip of a small candle. After a few more moments, the flame suddenly began to flicker violently, and then had erupted into a spinning column of the same sapphire flames. However, this lasted the shortest amount of time of all the images thus far, and when the pillar dissipated, a shimmering sapphire orb remained.
Then the image had pulled back, as if being watched through a camera that was zooming out. As the image drew away from Keiji, he noticed other shapes forming around the blue orb, which was now barely visible. A few seconds later, the orb was completely lost from his sight as he realized that, as his view moved backwards, he had been looking into the eye of some person who had no distinguishable features. It wasn't that they were shadowed and he simply couldn't make them out, but the figure literally had no distinct feature to begin with.
Soon Keiji's view was that of a person many feet away from the figure, who had turned ninety degrees and was facing some creature that stood a foot taller than the first figure. The creature was of a muscular build with broad shoulders, thick arms, everything. Saliva dripped from its mouth full of pointed teeth, and seconds later a sizzling sound could be heard as a tiny column of steam rose up and vanished at about the height of the creatures middle.
Despite the intimidating appearance of the demon (As Keiji has determined the creature to be), the first figure continued to stand, their posture firm and confident, yet at the same time it was relaxed, giving no sign that it felt even the slightest threat from this flesh-eater. The figure didn't even raise its arms to defend itself when the demon attacked, claws flailing.
Less than a second before the demons barbed fingers would spear into the persons chest, a blue barrier appeared around them. However, not only did the barrier stop the demon from getting any closer, but it also seemed to hurt the demon, who howled in pain, but could not keep his momentum, built from the speed of his charge and the weight of his body, from pulling him towards the figured. As the entire body of the demon collided with the shield, Keiji realized that the barrier was destroying the demon, dissolving it entirely. In just a few seconds, the beast was gone, not a single trace left.
Next, a stream of orange flames crashed into the barrier, catching the figure by surprise and seeming to overpower them, as they suddenly began to seem to be trying to resist the attack, pressing their palms against the inside of the bubble while their body trembled. After what seemed like an endless struggle, the flames vanished and the barrier dissolved and the figure fell to one knee, resting their palms on the ground. A few seconds later, they stood up, their body somehow flaring with even more power, and soon the aura had consumed all of Keiji's view, just before he had awoken.
Strangely, the dream had not frightened Keiji, nor had it given him a sense of foreboding. It had, in fact, felt almost natural, as though he were relearning about some event that he had forgotten.
"Except, it wasn't the dream that woke me up." he uttered, shaking his head a little and blinking a few times. "Because, at that same time, I had heard something sliding roughly against something else, followed by some wind. Then I saw that blue light in my dream and heard some ethereal voice say something, but what was it?"
Tapping his head, Keiji tried to remember, but seconds later realized that the front window was open a crack. More than likely he had opened it earlier to ventilate the apartment, but it was now night and he didn't want the bitter cold air to get in.
Rising to his feet, Keiji approached the window and gripped it with his finger pads and began to push, the rusted aluminum edges grinding against the metallic frame. As it slid that one inch before closing, Keiji's eyes widened in realization. He hadn't opened the window, and that was the same scratching sound that had roused him!
On instinct, Keiji leapt to his feet and whirled around, trying to find the intruder. It did not take long to find them, as he was stranding it plain sight under the doorframe to the kitchen of the apartment.
He stood slightly taller than Keiji, and seemed relatively normal. He was dressed in casual clothes, his hair was roughly combed, and he didn't show and signs on his skin of being anything but human. There were only two things out of place, as far as his appearance was concerned: he wore a surgeons mask, which was just odd, but he also had rather unusual arms and legs. All four were significantly longer than would be deemed as normal, especially since his torso and head were regularly sized, setting his entire body out of proportion.
"Who ar-"
"Keiji Saigo," the man spoke, his voice matter-of-factly as he cut Keiji off. "You've been living in this apartment for quite some time, working as a student teacher and part-time professional duelist."
"What are you doing in —" Again he was cut off by the perpetrator, his tone not changing in the slightest.
"At least, that's what your records show. However, I'm not one to trust a piece of paper, especially not one written by humans. That is, if you are a human. That's what I'm here to determine."
"Another bounty hunter?" Keiji moaned, his minds attention split between trying to figure out how this man had managed to enter his home, as well as trying to think up a plan of action. Chances were that if he fought this man, he'd lose. The elongated arms and legs would more than likely give this trespasser an advantage in combat.
"Bounty hunter? Feh!" the man spat, rolling his eyes. "My master has designate bounty hunters as nearly worthless. The only reason why we do not annihilate them is because they at least kill demons, even though they have no sense of justice in doing so."
"Then why are you here?" Keiji asked, confused. He had accepted the fact that other hunters would come with the assumption that he was the prized Amarai Reiki. However, it was rather apparent that this man wasn't after any sort of bounty. Seconds later, though, something he had read in the library triggered in his memory. "You're a demon slayer, a member of one of the Orders that seeks to purge the world of demons."
"Not exactly," the man responded. "I am the servant to such a man, however, and have been sent to investigate you."
"I am not Amarai Reiki." Keiji quickly explained, hoping he could get rid of this man without having to fight him. "If I were a demon, why would I be teaching?"
"If you were human, then why do you have such power flowing from you?" the man countered. "Why is it that you haven't made contact with any demons? According to my research, you've managed to avoid an encounter with demons with quite some ease."
"What are you talking about?" Keiji asked. He had never gone out of his way to avoid a demon. He had never encountered a demon, even by accident, to begin with.
"I watched you throughout the afternoon," the man continued. "You took a rather indirect route home, even though you didn't seem to have any engagements to attend, nor were there any kind of obstructions along the direct path." For the first time, Keiji realized that this was true. He had taken a different route home that day. He had been so tired during the walk home that he hadn't noticed the few times when he had either taken a different turn from normal, or from going straight when he would normally have turned. It had happened to him a few times before, but only on days when he was more stressed. "Every time you changed your course from what I had expected to be the norm, I checked that area and found a demon near. You were purposely avoiding them."
'There were demons?' Keiji wondered, surprised by this. 'I had no idea. I've never been faced by one before.'
"There was one time when you turned a corner and the demons there scattered, as if they feared you. That means they either sensed your energy and feared it, or they could tell who you were by your scent, and didn't want to have anything to do with a dragon demon of your caliber."
"Although you've been thorough in checking into me," Keiji responded, trying to hide as much of what h e felt and thought hidden. If he let his surprise show, then this man might misinterpret that as a confirmation of Keiji's identity. "I regret to inform you that I am purely human. I don't know what energy you're talking about, and I don't know about those demons you say I avoided, but I am positive that I am not Amarai Reiki."
"Yes, that's what you told Ryoushi Myou." Surprised by the mention of the bounty hunter who had started this whole mess, Keiji wasn't sure if he was smirking under his mask or not. "However, my master refuses to take the chance that you're just a clever demon trying to hide his tracks. That is why I have been sent here: to make sure."
And with that, the man snapped his fingers, and Keiji's heart skipped a beat. Dark tendrils were snaking out from behind the man, all connected at a point behind him that was also growing, like a blot of ink on a piece of white fabric. Out of the corner of his eye, Keiji noticed similar tendrils behind him, growing and spreading. Soon the two shadows touched, weaving together to form a single dome around the two, all traces of Keiji's apartment gone.
The intruders eyes flashed a bright green for a second before vines began to rip through the forearm portion of his left arm, slithering amongst each other like a pile of worms as they tangled. Keiji's eyes widened in surprise at this. This man's awkward body and mysterious appearance had been disturbing enough. Then the man spoke of Keiji being aware of demons all around him, while at the same time seeming to condemn the demon race. Then he had initiated this darkness game. Now he had vines extending from his wrist?
"Are you a demon?" he gasped, unable to think up any other explanation.
"Of course not." the man spat as the vines stopped moving and Keiji realized that they had taken the form of a Duel Disk, deck inserted and ready. "Demons must be eradicated, and my master commissioned me, Dolgrune, to help him with that most noble goal." (DLP:4000)
Glancing at his arm, Keiji frowned. He had left his Duel Disk in his backpack, which was currently next to the chair he had been sitting at earlier. Looking over at Dolgrune, he was about to try and explain, but the abnormally shaped man simply snapped his fingers again and a tendril of shadow extended out of the wall, Keiji's bag hanging from it. Snatching it from the arm of shadows, Keiji was surprised to see it pull back suddenly, like how one would pull back from a fire. Ignoring this, Keiji withdrew his Duel Disk from his pack and slipped it onto his arm and drew an opening hand of six cards. (KLP:4000)
"I'll start by setting two cards face down." A few feet in front of him appeared the holographic imaged of his set cards. He next chose two more cards from his deck, one which he placed on the middle-left monster zone of the device, and the second which he slipped into the magic zone under it. "Next I summon Ranger of the Night Sky (1800/1000) and equip him with Gale Bow, boosting his attack power by three hundred."
In front of Keiji and to his side slightly appeared a man in deep blue robes with waves of silver moonlight flowing through them. On his back was a short spear with a wickedly shaped spearhead made of polished steel. In his hands was a long bow and a quiver of arrows.
"Interesting opening move." Dolgrune said off-handedly as he drew. Looking over his cards, he seemed to be weighing a few options. "Now, according to what I learned from Ryoushi, I should only need to use about seventy-percent of my full abilities to defeat you. As such, I will summon Preying Mantis (1500/1200) in attack mode."
The monster was a little taller than Keiji's ranger, and appeared to be nothing except a simple preying mantis, except for his claws. Rather than the green arms that a normal mantis would use to combat, this one had a pair of metal scythe blades.
"Next I'll play the magic card, Swarming, to sacrifice my Preying Mantis and then summon tokens to my field who will all have its name, effect, and statistics until my field is full." he continued as four more mantis' appeared, each grinding their blades against each other in anticipation. However, Dolgrune obviously wasn't ready yet to unleash his attack, since he was sliding another card into his green device. "Now the continuous magic card, Might of the Swarm, which powers up every insect on my field by two hundred per insect in play. I have five, so each now gains one thousand attack points!"
Gritting his teeth, Keiji watched as each of the mantis's grew in size and their blades became jagged. Looking past them, he tried to watch their master to see if he would give anything away. 'The eyes are the window of the soul. But...This guy...I don't see anything in him?'
"Now, Preying Mantis (2500), attack his Ranger of the Night Sky (2100)!" Pointing its face to the sky, the center mantis gave a shrill battle cry that cause Keiji to clasp his eyes in pain. Using it's long and flexible legs, the predator insect leapt into the air and arched back one of its blades, the force of its decent and of the swing enough to obliterate Keiji's monster.
Reverse card open!" Keiji shouted as his trap card revealed itself and a swirl of wind formed around the blue robed warrior for a second. When it vanished, the warrior was surrounded by a sphere covered in blades sticking out at every angle. "Sakuretsu Armor destroys one attacking monster instantly!" Unable to keep his monster from attacking, Dolgrune nodded and the attacking mantis crashed into the wall of barbs, exploding on impact like a balloon. "And now that you've lost one of your insects, all of the others lose two hundred attack points."
Shrugging, Dolgrune pointed to his next token monster. "Preying Mantis (2300), attack his Ranger of the Night Sky." Again Keiji's ears rang as the shriek filled the air before the mantis struck, using a horizontal slash to sever the ranger's head from the rest of his body. (KLP:3800) "Heh, even Ryoushi had a better counter strategy set up, and he only required me to use fifty percent of my full power to beat."
"I activate my other face down card," Keiji called, ignoring Dolgrune's mocking words. "Moonlight Silhouette activates when a Ranger is destroyed. It instantly ends your turn and allows me to place any equipment magic card into my hand from my deck."
"Ah, so that was your plan. Take out one mantis with your first trap card and weaken the rest by a small margin to reduce Life Point loss when I destroyed your Ranger of the Night Sky. Now you're safe from my other three monsters, and you will choose a large equipment magic card with which you plan to overpower my swarm." Dolgrune listed the thinking behind the move as if it were completely unimpressive. True, it hadn't done much to clear the offending field, but it had effectively saved Keiji from a truly devastating direct attack. Keeping his face calm, he drew.
"I summon Ranger of Nightfall (1800/1500) and equip him with the card I searched out, Moonlight Spear. This card raises his attack points by five hundred and allows me to once per turn discard a card to destroy one of your monsters." Keiji explained as his navy blue robed warrior appeared, hanging his small axe on a hook on his waist in order to free his hands to better handle the ivory lance that appeared in his hands. Taking a card from his hand and placing it into his graveyard, Keiji waited a second for his monster to aim the spear at one of the mantis's and fire a blast of silver light which burned a hole the size of a fist into its abdomen before it dissolved.
"The card I discarded is a magic card called Weapons Development, and when discarded I can place an equipment magic card into my hand from my deck." he explained, thumbing through his deck for a second before choosing his card, which he instantly activated. "I equip Range of Nightfall (2300) with Starbolt Crossbows, which boost his attack by three hundred and allow him to attack twice each turn."
Jamming the butt of his spear into the ground, the ranger held out his hands, a small crossbow appearing in each. "Ranger of Nightfall (2600), attack a Mantis Token (2300)!" Lifting the right arm, the outlaw pulled the trigger and a small dart sailed through the air, easily piercing the exoskeleton of the target monster. "And now your other three have lost even more attack points. Ranger of Nightfall, attack a second Mantis Token (2100)!" Pulling the trigger of the second crossbow, Keiji's monster barely had to move as a second bolt dropped another of the enemy insects, weakening the remaining two even more while Dolgrune's Life Point meter ticked down. (DLP:3200)
Drawing a fourth card, Dolgrune took only a second to plan his move as he set the drawn card in defense mode on his organic Duel Disk. "One monster in defense mode and switch my two tokens (1900 x2) to defense mode. That ends my turn."
Glancing at his new card, Keiji added it to his hand before calling for his attack. "Ranger of Nightfall, attack one of his Mantis Tokens!" Again aiming one of his crossbows, the forester launched an arrow, and another of the mantis's disappeared. "Now, attack his face down monster!" Firing from the second arbalest, the arrow shattered the face down monster, which revealed itself very shortly to be a mutant fly.
"That monster was my Flying Kamikari (1400/900), who allows me to special summon another insect with an attack power bellow fifteen hundred in attack mode." Dolgrune explained as a card ejected from his deck into his hand, which he promptly placed on the plate of vines. What appeared was an oversized red and with a bud of fire stemming out of his back like a short, round tail. "And now this is my Fire Ant (1500+400/1200)." he explained. Setting a card face down, Keiji ended his turn.
"I must admit Keiji," Dolgrune said as he drew a card. "You countered my opening play effectively and quickly. Now that you've proved that you beat Ryoushi with skill and not luck, I can take this duel more seriously."
'He wasn't playing seriously?' Keiji asked himself, keeping his surprise to himself. 'He made a powerful opening play, but his second turn he hardly did anything. That must mean he'll take his game up to the same level as his opening move, but full-time.'
"I play the magic card, Insect Army. This allows me to special summon an insect monster from my hand to the field, and tributes are reduced by one for every insect already in play. Since I have at least one insect on my side of the field, I can summon this level six monster without sacrifice: Insect Princess (1900+600/1400)"
Of all the strange insect monsters Keiji had seen in his dueling career, the one Dolgrune had just summoned was one of the more bizarre ones in his mind, and yet at the same time, one of the less repulsive ones. Significantly shorter than Dolgrune (Not that that was too unusual), she stood on two feet and looked rather human, except for the fact that her skin was green, he head was pointed with a pair of massive insect eyes, and the pair of butterfly wings on her back. Twirling on her toes, she bowed and the struck a pose.
"You Insect Princess may not have cost you any sacrifices, but I don't have any insect monsters in my deck to use to exploit her abilities." Keiji commented, even though he already knew that if Dolgrune was playing that monster that he had some way of making Keiji use insect monsters.
"I figured such would be the case, since so few people do use any insect cards." Dolgrune said, placing another card into his magic zone. "However, for one such as myself, it matters little. I have plenty of insects to supply my Princess with plenty of attack points. I play Colonial Revolution, forcing all insect monsters on the field to attack my Insect Princess, including those on my side of the field."
As he finished explaining, the ant and the mantis both turned several degrees so that they now faced their leader, who blinked a few times, but did nothing else. First to strike was the mantis, raising his sickled hands, he slashed down, but was halted when the Insect Princess began to beat her wings rapidly, releasing a pink dust which the mantis began to choke on before dissolving.
Next the Fire Ant lifted its mouth and fired a stream of fire, but the butterfly woman curled her body into a ball defensively as the flames struck, protecting her. When the flames ended she snapped her body open and released a thick cloud of the pink mist, dissolving the Fire Ant.
"And since she's destroyed two insects, my Princess will gain one thousand attack points.
But I'm not done there." Dolgrune chuckled lightly beneath his surgeons mask. "First off, whenever a Fire Ant is destroyed, you will take five hundred points of damage. Also, I can then summon another Fire Ant." From Dolgrune's graveyard fired a small ball of flames, catching Keiji in the chest. Clutching himself in pain, Keiji did not notice as Dolgrune took the card his Duel Disk had ejected form his deck and summoned it, another red ant appearing, and Keiji realized what this meant. (KLP:3300)
"And your Colonial Revolution is still in effect." he grunted, lifting his body to stand up straight again. "Meaning this Fire Ant will attack your Insect Princess, making her stronger and dealing me more damage, as well as bringing out the third for one more round of the cycle."
"Very good." Dolgrune chided as his new Fire Ant attacked his powered up Insect Princess (1900+400+1000). This time she flew straight at the ant, zipping around the flames until she reached the treacherous bug, which she destroyed by emitting some sort of ultrasonic sound.
Again Keiji was struck by a sphere of flames while the third Fire Ant appeared, which again attacked the royal insect, who opened her mouth and released a beam of pale yellow light that destroyed the bug, dealing Kieji the last bit of damage. (KLP:2300)
"Now, Insect Princess (4100)," Dolgrune spoke, lifting one of his elongated arms and pointing a finger at Keiji's monster. "Attack Ranger of Nightfall!"
"For one who's taking me seriously, Dolgrune, you underestimated my face down card." Keiji called as Dolgrune's monster fired her attack. "I activate Mirage Magic, negating the attack and raising my Life Points by your monsters attack power." (KLP:6400)
"Dammit." he heard Dolgrune spit quietly through his mask. "One card face down. Turn end."
Sighing with relief, Keiji took a moment to check his opponent, whom he could tell was berating himself for having been so careless. Although it relieved him that Dolgrune hadn't fallen into that trap on purpose, Keiji could help but feel slightly unnerved just the same. Looking into Dolgrune's eyes, he still got an eerie feeling, as if he were looking into a soulless shell. Shaking the feeling off, he drew.
"I discard one card to allow my Ranger of Nightfall destroy your Insect Princess." Keiji began, placing a card into his graveyard. Placing his crossbows on his belt, the Ranger grabbed the spear from his back and fired a burst of silver light, burning the Insect Princess away.
"I activate my face down card," Dolgrune shouted as a trap card flipped up. "Venom! This activates when you destroy an insect monster on my field. Your monster may not attack me for two turns, and at the same time you will receive five hundred points of damage. After the second turn, your monster will be destroyed and you must discard two cards from your deck."
From the trap card spewed forth a thick black liquid, its chemical composition causing the ground to steam as it ate away at everything it touched. In response to the steam, both Keiji and his monster lifted their hands to their mouths, trying to block out the fumes. Sadly, with just his hand, Keiji could only keep so much of it out, causing him to cough violently, his throat seemingly on fire. (KLP: 4900) Blinking back the tears that formed from the toxin grazing his eyes, Keiji nodded to Dolgrune, signaling the end of his turn.
Drawing, Dolgrune added the card to his hand and then chose a different one, which he laid on his monster plate. His monster was a simple bee, only much, much bigger than any real life bee, and with a massive stinger. "My Killer Needle (1200+200/1000) in attack mode and end my turn."
Drawing, Keiji wasted no time in summoning the monster from his hand to the field. His newest Ranger was dressed in blue robes that were of a moderately dark shade. "Ranger of the Twilight (1600/1200) in attack mode. Attack Killer Needle!"
Curling his right arm against his neck, Keiji's ranger fully extended his fingers, triggering a device on his wrist and a long blade extending from his wrist, much of its length running along his palm. Snapping his arm out, the blade was released and it was revealed that said blade was on the end of a long chain strapped to Ranger of the Twilight's arm that had been hidden by the sleeves on his tunic. Seconds later, the blade speared through the body of the buzzing bee, slaughtering it. (DLP: 3000)
"I set one card face down, and then I'll play my Battle Crest equipment magic card onto Ranger of Nightfall, increasing his attack points by one hundred times his level." he explained as an emblem appeared on the cape of his darker robed warrior.
"Why are you equipping your monster when he'll be destroyed at the end of your turn?" Dolgrune asked, rather puzzled by this move.
"Because, when Battle Crest is destroyed I draw until I hold four cards." Keiji explained. "And I end now." he declared as his monster went into shock, convulsing and coughing for a few minutes before melting away. Discarding two cards from his deck to the effect of Venom, Keiji then drew four cards.
"You're not the only one who can draw cards." Dolgrune called, playing his drawn card. "Insect Hatching allows me to draw one card for every insect in my graveyard. I have six, so I draw three cards." Fanning out his hand of three cards, Dolgrune seemed to smile, although Keiji could tell through the mask. "I play Butterfly Effect to special summon Insect Princess from my graveyard, empowered by half of the attack points she had gained via her own effect." In a cloud of pollen appeared the feminine insect, batting her eyelashes. "Insect Princess (2900+200/1400), attack his Ranger of the Twilight!" Raising her hands above her head, palms facing the sky, the Insect Princess began to gather energy, which she then directed at Keiji's monster
"I activate my trap card, Never Ending Night!" Keiji shouted as his trap flipped up. The blast continued and struck his monster, reducing him to a pile of ashes. (KLP:3400) "This trap card activates when you destroy a Ranger in battle and allows me to special summon another level four or lower Ranger from my deck to the field. So I summon Northstar Ranger (300/2200) in defense mode."
Sitting in a crouch with a small shield was Keiji's newest monster. He was in heavier clothing than the previous Ranger's had been, and it was colored red.
"Very well, I end my turn." Dolgrune sneered once again, and once again Keiji got that dark, ominous feeling from the seemingly empty eyes of his opponent. Drawing his card, he compared it to his other ones and set it face down, ending his turn. Drawing, Dolgrune's eyes widened and Keiji could tell by the way his muscles moved that he was smiling.
"Keiji, you've managed to effectively protect your Life Points and fight through my monster," he chuckled, taking a card from his hand and holding it separate from the others. "And so now you've proven yourself worth my going all out. So, to begin my rampage, I'll play my field magic card, The Hive!"
As Dolgrune spoke, Keiji could only bite back his anxiety. If Dolgrune was speaking the truth and had been holding back, then he was in trouble. He had been playing mostly defensively, and although he had the Life Point advantage, Dolgrune controlled the field, and this new field card may have the power to hand him the game as well.
All around them formed a dome of silken threads layered upon each other, various such threads hanging all around them and dripping with fluids. The ground beneath their feet had also been coated with a generous layer of the sickening material. Piles of eggs littered the ground, and various normal bugs crawled all around them, disappearing and reappearing in the holes that lined the walls, and Keiji was certain he felt something on his feet.
"Now it's time I began my infinite rampage. I will discover now for myself if you are indeed a human, or if you are actually Amarai trying to shake my master from your trail. If you are, then you will die. This will become your tomb, dragon. Your carcass will feed these hatchlings." he declared, motioning to the piles of eggs.
"I am an innocent man, and I refuse to die in the place of another!" Keiji shouted, but in his mind he knew the truth. His strength was wavering; the Darkness Game was beginning to take its tole on him. Combined with his fatigue, he wouldn't be able to keep up if this dragged on much longer. And if Dolgrune was indeed going to be stepping his game up, then his chances of surviving and proving his innocence were slipping away.
"If you are innocent, then blame the dragon demon; blame Amarai Reiki for bringing this curse upon you!"
To Be Continued...
Well, that's intense, isn't it? Next time we visit Keiji should be many times more intense, I hope, so look forward to it. Now, I'm off to take an American Heritage Test, and then it's back to work on my personal fic, Era of Souls: Guardians Eclipse.
All Ranger's and Ranger support cards are property of me, Time Mage. Of Dolgrune's cards, I think maybe two or three of them may have been real cards. The rest belong to myself and Seeker of the Soul.
Finally, a quick note to Raine Valentine, please understand that I was not trying to attack your or anything like that in my last review response to you. Thing is, all we've got are written words, so there's no tone of voice to use to judge how serious anyone is when they say something. If you felt attacked by my last note to you, I apologize.
Anyway, enjoy, and look forward to the next chapter. See ya.
Next Time: The city of Kyoto is a city that has had demons in it. A city where humans have interacted with demons. To Juushin, a man who hates all things demonic, a city such as Kyoto must be weeded of those infected. To do so, he employs a deadly type of servant, and now he will recruit denizens of the city for the purpose of purifying it.
See it all in, Seeds of the Sinner!