Chapter 5: The Desperate Duel of Darkness

FLASH A bright light filled the City of Janime for a split second and vanished.

"What the hell was that?" Morgen of the Bashers asked.

"It…it came from the castle," Zakei, a fellow Basher and local mage, answered in disarray.

"…Bann… brother…" Recks, yet another Basher looked on. He looked at the castle, still glowing with a faint light, dying. Recks had seen his brother do this before. He knew it was the last desperate move of his Dark Duels. 'Bann, what has happened?'

"Quickly, we must make our way to the castle. There is no telling how much time we have. Bann must… he will get this medicine," Zakei rushed onward. He felt responsible. It was his own absent-mindedness that had caused him to forget to give his good friend the phial of amber liquid. "Dark Magician Girl, watch our flank."

A female magician, wearing bright colors, looking very similar to the one he had summoned previously, flew out of a barrel near them in an explosion of colorful confetti and bubbles. She was very pretty, which kept Zakei, a bit of a lecher, around. In fact, not only were many of his Creatures spellcasters, they were also females as well, save his mighty Dark Magician.

The mysterious cloaked figure shielded his eyes from the flash of light. He held out his staff like a walking stick, allowing him to continue forward.

"The evil presence that surrounded the tower is gone… nearly… I should say." He turned around. "Who are you?"

Another hooded figure stood behind him. "#, $0 j00 #v3 f!n11y $p0+ed m3?"

"A N00b? Or something fouler? You are a wraith, a shadow creature born from the fusion of Light and Darkness. I have no time for the likes of you."

"You should, for we are connected. Think of me as your brother, Old Man."

"You speak our tongue?"

"I speak many languages when I want. We shall meet again on the aerie, Old Man, but until then, I leave you with this parting gift." The wraith vanished. Water began to fill the room.

"This isn't water… this is… CREE!"

The water began to shape itself, but because of its state of matter, the Cree seemed unable to take on a true shape, and instead continuously morphed."

"Revival Jam. I cannot consume thee. That wraith knows me too well. I summon you Agent of Creation. Arise Venus and attack the Revival Jam!"

An angel emerged from the man's soul, bathed in golden light. She had golden hair, golden wings, and wore clothes of gold. She opened her eyes and attacked the weak jam, which splattering against the walls. However, to the hooded man's displeasure, the slime reformed itself.

"This may… take a while."

"You don't scare us, Reckah!"

"Oh don't I?"

"No, you don't, and to prove it, I accept your challenge," Tiamat responded.

"You misunderstand young Dragon Tamer. I… wish to duel you both… at once."

"You're nuts Dismay. You can't possibly take on the both of us at once," Jigen finally spoke.

"Ah, the young master of space and time. You are misunderstand. You are no match for me, which is why I am giving you are fairer fight with this duel," Dismay explained.

"Fine, it's your funeral. Summon Masked Dragon."

A red and white dragon flew onto the field. Its face looked like a white mask, thus its name.

"Attack him if you dare, Dismay."

"I see. You have finished you turn with haste. You both have such potential. Join my brethren. You could gain great power. I shall call off this duel if you agree to my request."

"Never. We don't want any of your deals. And now, it's my turn. I summon Dimensional Warrior. Open the gateways of twilight!"

From a rift in space-time, a warrior appeared and settled down next to Jigen.

"That ends my move. Your turn Dismay."

"Alright… ! $umm0n my !mm0r+1 Knight of Dark Realm, Zulu!"

As the two covered their ears to the horrid N00bspeak, a dark knight entered the field. This fiendish figure carried a long silver sword and wore a blue cape. He was a skull in knight's armor.

"How dare you summon this false knight. Bann would wipe the floor with you," Tiamat scoffed at the newly summoned creature.

"Your friend isn't fairing much better. Just look."

Tiamat and Jigen turned to see the castle in the distance. It seemed spellbound, like a nightlight flickering and dying.

"Your friend cast that spell. It is now dying, which can mean only that the one who cast it is as well. Quite an amazing spell, purifying an entire castle and empowering his Creatures all at once, but at quite the cost, but enough babbling. Back to our duel! Zulu, strike down the dragon."

Zulu leapt into action, brining its sword down onto the back of Masked Dragon's head and slicing its neck clean off. The dragon died so instantly that it had little time to cry out. However, from its blood, an egg appeared. As Masked Dragon's corpse withered and faded, the egg began to hatch. A small tan and orange dragon broke free of the egg.

"Meet my Armed Dragon. He is your worst nightmare come true."

"My boy, you have no idea the terrifying things I have in store for you. To call that thing a nightmare is an insult to my Creepool."

"Suit yourself. Armed Dragon, evolve!"

Armed Dragon began to grow, changing into an even more devastating dragon. The spikes that surrounded it grew and its armor toughened. Its color changed to a dark reddish-black color and a light red color.

"Armed Dragon, attack Zulu with Armed Punisher!" Spikes flew out of Armed Dragon, destroying the Zulu, leaving Dismay wide open. "Now attack his soul!"

"Not so fast. I have a deal that I would like to propose."

"Forget it. I want to have nothing to do with you or your deals."

"I am not giving you a choice in the matter. Contract of Darkness will redirect your attack to my mind, where you must choose a creature to attack. However, if you choose the wrong one, you shall pay severely."

"You? Damn you. Armed Dragon. Commence your Attack."

Several shadows appeared on the field. Armed Dragon attacked one of the shadows, swiping it with its claw. As the smoke cleared, a new monster appeared on the field, golden, yet dark. It had two massive wings and claws, as well as skull-like face, much like Zulu.

"Meet my War God of Dark Realm, GOLD! Now Gold, use your might to rain Mighty Thunder upon my foes!"

Along with Gold's arrival, dark clouds began to form overhead, raining lightning all around, striking Dimensional Warrior and Armed Dragon, turning them to ash and flame.

"Can you feel it? The ultimate Shadow Wars have begun! The N00bs are the least of your worries! Muhahahaha! MUHAHAHAHA! I told you that you were no match for me! Go! Protect your precious castle. I have no more dealings with you. The Beast has awoken. You will all die! ALL HAIL EREBUS, LORD OF BLOOD! ARISE AND DARKNESS SHALL RULE THE LAND! YOUR CITY, YOUR WORLD! THEY SHALL ALL BE DESTROYED!"

As mysteriously as his appearance, Dismay vanished.

"What was that all about? He could have finished us off."

"It seemed that he was merely testing us… and we failed. We are no match for this blood god that he spoke of, Tiamat. He destroyed our favorite monsters with one attack. Quickly, let us make for the castle so we can aid Bann."

Next time on City of Fire: Destined Showdown. Battle of Mages