Chapter 7: Into the Cosmos. Zakei's Fall
"Gold Homunculus, destroy him!"
"Not so fast. Reveal trap Magic Cylinder!"
Two Cylinders appeared on the field. One absorbed the oncoming attack of Gold Homunculus while the other fired an attack with equal force back at Avicenna. The N00b alchemist flew backwards from the force.
"I summon a shadow monster." A shadowy figure rose onto the field. "That's all I can do," Zakei rushed his turn. He didn't have anything to defeat the gold monstrosity at the moment.
"You are much weaker than I had expected once I realized you were an elite, Zakei the Mage. I send the Silver Key to the Alchemic Kettle."
The Kettle's fire melted down the key and reshaped it into another alchemic beast that quickly jumped out of the large pot to join the other on the field. It was silvery and heavily cratered. Upon its arrival, the Gold Homunculus grew in strength.
"Silver Moonface, attack him directly. Gold Homunculus, follow by attacking his shadow monster."
Both stone monsters attacked Zakei. Moonface shot a wave of darkness directly at Zakei, while Homunculus attacked the shadow, which was blown away to reveal Witch of the Black Forest. She was no match for the brute force of the giant.
"Thank you Witch. You saved me, and you have done so much more. I start my turn by summoning White Magician Pikeru."
A young girl in white appeared on the field wearing a scapegoat for a hat.
"Your cutesy magician won't stand a chance against me."
"We'll see," Zakei said as he closed his eyes, cast a spell, and ended his turn.
"You must really want to die. I see, then you, the pathetic sorcerer are about to fall by my hand. Gold Homunculus, attack Pikeru!"
Gold Homunculus' large fist came crashing down at a frightened Pikeru. But Pikeru remained untouched. Before hitting the target, a large golden sarcophagus appeared in front of Pikeru to block the attack.
"Pikeru, call forth the Scapegoats."
Pikeru nodded and called four multi-colored goats to the field.
"Now I sacrifice one to unlock the coffin. Meet my Dark Magician. Dark Magic Attack!"
Dark Magician leapt out of the coffin, staff at ready, firing a blast of magical energy at Gold Homunculus, destroying it.
"My… my alchemic beast… you couldn't have…"
"I did. Upon his arrival, my Dark Magician has infinite power, giving him the ability to destroy any monster on the field."
Still in shock from his monster's untimely destruction, Avicenna called the attack of his second monster, Silver Moonface.
"Not so fast. Go Magician Selection!" called Zakei with a new sense of determination in his face.
Dark Magician fended off the attack of the alchemic beast and struck it with another blast of magical energy, destroying it.
"Looks like you are now the one at a disadvantage. I have five monsters and you have none. Now, before I attack and destroy you, I will have my White Magician restore some of my life and my Dark Magician destroy any traps you may have set for me, along with you Alchemic Kettle to ensure you don't summon anymore Alchemic Beasts! Dark Magic Attack!"
"No, you won't! Go Macrocosmos!"
In a flash of white light, the Alchemic Kettle exploded, throwing back Dark Magician's attack and blinding the playing field. As the light cleared, Zakei and the others looked around.
"Where are we?" Morgen asked. He was just as confused as Recks and Zakei, who remember being in front of the castle a second earlier.
"We are… in space…" Zakei figured it out. "The land of the stars, but how?"
"Before you could destroy my kettle, it exploded with such ferocity that we were thrown in the heavens. We shall continue the remainder of the duel here. If you survive, you will see your home again, but if you do not, you shall spend the remainder of eternity floating in the great beyond. Now, I summon Primeval Sun Helios."
A woman wrapped in bandages took form on the field."
"WHOA! WHAT A BABE! Damn, she is hot! What a body… but the sun for a head is a bit much. Still…"
"ZAKEI! WILL YOU STOP THAT FOR ONCE! THIS IS A DUEL!" Recks yelled at his distracted ally.
Zakei's lecherous side leaped out at the sight of Helios. Women were his thing, and he loved as many beauties as he could.
"Oh… oh yeah. Um… Dark Magician, attack Helios!"
Dark Magician attacked the solar girl, but before his attack hit, the planets orbiting Helios aligned in a straight path. The gravitational field warped Dark Magician and Pikeru, along with the Scapegoats, destroying all of them and inflicting damage to Zakei's already withered soul.
"…"
"Now, I prepare the Yellow Process Citrinitas."
The new process transformed Helios. She grew fatter and shorter. Next to her sun-lit head, a smaller sun sprang to life.
"I am one step closer to completing my ultimate weapon and two steps closer to defeating you. Helios Duo Megistos, attack him directly!"
Helios attacked, inflicting a good deal of damage to the defenseless Zakei.
Weakened, Zakei tried to begin his turn. "I… summon…" He couldn't continue. His soul had been shredded down. Very little of what he once had been was left. He couldn't tell if he could even pull anything from his Cree Pool."
'Zakei! Zakei you must continue!'
'Who is there? Dar… Dark Magician Girl!'
'I will help you.'
'As will I,' Dark Magician appeared next to his apprentice, a fire in his eyes.
"Dark Magician… Dark Magician Girl… I will fight, if not for myself, then for you! I activate the Pitch-Black Power Stone. By using Miracle Restoring, I can summon Dark Magician back to the field. Next, I will have him attack your Helios with Thousand Knives. I have no problem destroying that ugly thing!"
Thousands of knives showered down on Helios, but instead of being destroyed, she grew larger.
"What? No way. Dark Magician, attack Helios with Black Magic!"
Dark Magician fired another blast of magic, but only seemed to make Helios stronger.
"Helios is an immortal spirit. She cannot be destroyed. She can only consume."
"… I will cast two spells. Your turn."
"Now, Helios, attack Dark Magician."
Once again, Helios consumed the attack of the purple-clad magician, strengthening itself.
"Activate Call of the Haunted to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl. Now I activate Magician's Cross to attack your Helios. Your Helios can't consume everything!"
"Oh yes it can! Now, I activate Grand Cross!"
The planets aligned again, this time in the shape of a cross, destroying Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, and furthering the power of Helios.
"Activate Magician's Circle! I Special Summon Silent Magician. She will defeat you, I can promise you that."
"Humph, your new magician is far to weak to stand up to Helios."
"That is what you think. Now I add the remaining Spell Counter from my stone to Silent Magician, increasing her attack. I will end my turn with two cast spells."
"Now, I finish the final process of refining my instrument, the Red Process Rubido."
Once again, Helios changed, but this time, she split into three miniature girls, each with a large sun for a head.
"Meet Helios Trios Megistos. Next, I activate Painful Choice, allowing me to send four Cree to there Grave and one to my mind. I choose Aqua Spirit, Spirit of Flames, Rock Spirit, Garuda the Wind Spirit, and Homunculus the Alchemic Being."
"You can keep your Homunculus, since I know you are using them just to strengthen your Helios."
Sure enough, as soon as the Spirits vanished, Helios grew more powerful.
"Now, Helios, attack Silent Magician!"
"Silent Magician, defend yourself with Magical Hats."
Three hats appeared on the field, shuffling over Silent Magician. Helios attacked the left-hand hat, destroying it in the fires of a phoenix. However, she missed.
"Oh my, I missed… HELIOS, ATTACK AGAIN!"
Helios launched another attack, destroying the middle hat, but once again, missed the target magician.
"You wasted both your attacks. Now Silent Magician, reveal yourself, unharmed and bow for the audience. You have been a lovely assistant. Now, I activate Time Jump, increasing the power of my Silent Magician further. She is now at her full power."
Silent Magician aged through the three turns, becoming stronger with each one passing.
"We now have two almost evenly matched monsters."
"Almost doesn't cut it. Especially now that I have completed the Philosopher's Stone. Prepare for the end Zakei. With the Philosopher's Stone, I am unbeatable."
Next time on City of Fire: The Philosopher's Stone and the Philosopher's Mage