Chapter 26: Time for a Change
"Ah, I see your power now. I am not impressed. Let's really get this duel started, shall we? I start my turn by summoning Archfiend Musketeer."
Another fiend, similar to Archfiend Soldier, appeared before Sagitar. It held a black musket and it crouched and aimed at Bann and his monsters.
"Now… die. Soldier, Musketeer, attack Gaia and his steed."
Bann took the hit and fell to the ground. He was already starting the duel badly. Without his best monsters, he knew this duel would be the end of him.
"Uhhh…"
"Come on Bann. Don't give up." It was Migome.
Bann looked from side to side. His friends were still behind him. 'This duel is for them. I will not lose.' "My turn. I summon Dragon Rider. When he attacks, his attack power doubles."
A knight riding on the back of a dragon flew overhead.
"Dragon Rider, strike down my foe!"
The dragon flew down to the field. The knight struck Archfiend Soldier and took him out.
"Good. I activate Demonic Rebirth. This brings my Archfiend Soldier back to the field with even more attack."
"No…" Vaila knew what was about to happen.
"What the hell? I thought this guy was supposed to be good." Jesi asked Tiamat.
"Shhh, don't count Bann out yet." 'He has to have some trick up his sleeve, I hope.'
"I… end my turn."
"I summon Archfiend Lancer. Now, Archfiend Musketeer, attack Dragon Rider."
Musketeer lifted his rifle and aimed at Dragon Rider. He pulled the trigger and shot a bullet at the knight's head.
"I activate Draining Shield."
The knight lifted his shield to block the bullet. The bullet was absorbed into the shield and light rained down on Bann, feeding his life.
"Damn you. Archfiend Lancer, take out that damned knight."
The lancer lifted his lance at Dragon Rider. It elongated and struck Dragon Rider, destroying him. Then, Archfiend Soldier followed with a direct attack to Bann, throwing him a few feet. Blood dripped out of the sword wound.
"cough That… that won't stop me. I swear it."
"Oh yes it will. I cast two spells. Try and get past my elite squadron."
"Fine. I activate The Warrior Returning Alive. Then I activate my Polymerization, fusing Dragon Rider and Noble Knight Horseman to summon Noble Knight of Winged Dragon. Now, attack Sagitar directly!"
The knight flew over the three Archfiends and struck Sagitar, who staggered a bit from the wound, but was otherwise unphased.
"Well, at least you finally did some damage to me."
"Expect some more, real soon. I cast one spell and end my turn."
"Good. My turn. I activate my trap, The Archfiend Unit. I decided to wait to activate it, just in case. Now, I can roll this die."
Sagitar revealed a black gloved hand from beneath his cloak. In it, he held a black die with red dots. He dropped it to the ground and it spun, landing on a six.
"Excellent. This means that I can activate any two effects of this trap."
The three Archfiends formed up and lifted their weapons into the sky, and then stuck them into the earth. A fissure opened and dragged Noble Knight of Winged Dragon down into it. Then, a new Archfiend rose from the ground.
"Arise Skull Archfiend of Lightning. Bring your wrath down upon my foe. Next, I activate Ultimate Offering, offering Archfiend Lancer, Musketeer, and Soldier as tributes to summon Invader of Darkness and Dark Ruler Ha Des."
"What is this? Most of these demons didn't come from Rooko."
"Yes, well during my stay in Hell, I developed new demons and archfiends as I increased my power. I am now much stronger than that specter your old teacher faced. Now, to finish this off, I just need one more powerful monster, so I summon Warrior of Zera. Look familiar? Good, because its time to see his true power. Activate Pandemonium!"
The entire field fell into a hell-like vortex. Bones, blood, and fire filled the halls of this unholy land.
"Time to die."
Zera transformed into Mazera.
"gulp"
"ATTACK!"
"Activate Shield Wall."
Four Stone Knight rose up to protect Bann. All four were quickly taken out by Skull Archfiend, Ha Des, Mazera, and Invader of Darkness.
"Very well. You save yourself this turn. I set two traps. Go."
"I have a question. Why are you here? Why do you need to defeat me?"
"You know, I really didn't think of that. I suppose I wanted another opponent. One who could match my skill. You are the only Anim who has ever fought the Lords of the Nine and lived. You defied death."
'De… defied death? No wonder I've survived. The Lords of the Nine… they can't kill me. If death itself can't do me in… what can?' "Are you saying… are you saying I'm immortal?"
"Of course not. No one is immortal. I am saying that your death will be a spectacular one, but your afterlife… you will either rule Hell or serve in Heaven. I for one would prefer to rule Hell, but that's just me."
"Sicko. My turn. I activate Fusion Recovery. Now, I Gather the Round Table, bringing Dark Flare Knight to the field. Then, using Polymerization, I can fuse him with Mirage Knight to form the ultimate knight! Go, Shining Flare Mirage Knight!"
A Knight clad in black and gold armor, jumped out onto the field in a ray of light so bright that Pandemonium vanished. His brilliant shine continued to cover the field. It was impossible to look at him directly.
"Shining Flare Mirage Knight, attack Skull Archfiend of Lightning."
"Once again you make the mistake of completely ignoring my traps. Activate The Three!"
A circle of black flames surrounded Ha Des, Mazera, and Invader of Darkness. The flames shot out all over the field and struck Bann and Shining Flare Mirage Knight. The fires consumed the knight, reducing his luster to nothingness and leaving nothing but molten ash.
'How? He… he's too powerful. He's defeated everything I've thrown at him. I'm done for in my next turn.'
"Bann… Bann…"
'Who? Who's there? Let me die in peace.'
"How could you forget me?"
Bann looked up. "Queen's Knight!"
"What was that?"
"This duel isn't over yet." 'Where've you been? I could have used you and the others like… twenty minutes ago!'
"We… we were lost. Your soul had changed. Some of your Cree adapted, but others… let's just say that it was a bad scene. Because of Dullahan, we were afraid that we might be twisted in the same way. We left until you had returned to your old self."
'I knew it. I knew it was me.' "But nevermore! My next card is Grave Return. It returns everything that was removed from play this turn to my Graveyard. Then, I activate Ride of the Paladins. This allows me to Special Summon Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight. I offer all three of them as a Tribute and remove Dark Flare Knight, Mirage Knight, Noble Knight of Winged Dragon, Noble Knight Horseman, and Dragon Rider from play."
All five knights appeared on the field in a circle. A pillar of light shot down and engulfed them. Queen, King, and Jack's Knight appeared within the pillar and soon vanished as well. Out stepped four silver clad knights, each carrying a different weapon. Finally, a gold clad knight holding an enormous sword followed them.
"Meet the Knights of the Round Table."
Sagitar's eyes widened. It was hard to tell if it was in shock or glee. He definitely hadn't expected Bann to summon such a powerful creature, or rather, five powerful creatures in a single turn.
"You are truly amazing, Bann the Basher. I'll give you that, but like all good things, even they must come to an end. I activate Dark Fusion of Bloodwing, fusing Mazera DeVille and Invader of Darkness to summon Bloodwing Archfiend. This is the end for you. My Bloodwing has much more attack that your knights. Once it destroys it, I will be free to attack you directly with my remaining two monsters. You will not outlive this turn."
"I disagree, but continue."
"Bloodwing, Dark Air Counterstrike!"
Bloodwing Archfiend spread its wings and rose into the air. It was enormous. In fact, the walls of the cave seemed to spread out just so it could move.
Bann stared at it with cold and assuring eyes. He would not let that thing beat him.
Floating in midair, the gigantic demon lifted a mighty claw and swung it at Bann's knights.
"Activate Knight's Shield."
"What? You never set…"
"You never let me finish. I set two traps. This was one of them."
"Eh, I'm not that stupid! I activate Seven Tools of the Bandit!"
"Oh shit."
"Bann's screwed."
"No…"
"Bro, you idiot."
BAM Bloodwing flattened all five knights with one attack.
Blood shot out of Bann's mouth. He coughed a few more times and fell to his knees.
"This is the end of the road. I thought you would give me more sport. Skull Archfiend, shock him."
Skull Archfiend lifted his arms into the air. Lightning formed between his claws and flew into the air. It then fell down on Bann, covering his body with a blue glow.
"Duel's over. You lose," Sagitar turned away and started to walk off.
"Come back here, you bastard. Tell me that… when you beat me."
Sagitar looked back at Bann. "What? You should be dead."
"I'm sorry. Did you forget? I said I had two traps. Once again you make the mistake of completely ignoring my traps. I activated Noble Soul. It protected me from all damage after my knights were destroyed."
"You… shit. You won't survive another turn."
"Probably not, but I'll make sure I take you down with me. My turn." 'What? What's this?'
"Bann, you must use this monster. He may be your only hope of winning."
'Okay…' "I activate Knight's Rebirth, Special Summoning Gaia the Lone Knight. Then, I Special Summon the Legendary Dragon of Time. It's time for a change, Sagitar, and here he is. Timaeus!"
The great teal dragon flew above Bann's head. He roared at Sagitar, who stepped back in horror. He knew what he was about to face.
'The Legendary Dragons are known only in legend. How the hell did he get one? If he realizes how to use it, I don't stand a chance."
'I'm putting my faith in you, Queen's Knight.' "Timaeus, fuse with Gaia to form Dragon Knight Gaia of the Gale."
Gaia leapt into the air, landing on Timaeus' back. The two formed together. Gaia's sword and shield became two lances.
"Now, Gaia, take Excalibur and Excelsior."
The two legendary swords appeared in Gaia's hands, replacing the lances.
"This makes our Cree equal, or somewhat equal. Gaia, attack!"
Gaia lifted both swords into the air and swung them like and "X". A cross-shaped beam flew at Bloodwing Archfiend, who returned fire with a ball of black flames shot from his mouth. The two attacks met in the middle of the field, ending in a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Gaia continued to fly overhead on Timaeus but Bloodwing Archfiend was gone.
"I see. You have a dragon now. I am no match for Timaeus right now, so I concede. The duel is yours."
Pandemonium vanished along with the remaining demons.
"What? You can't get away that easily."
"What more do you want? I lost. I came here to find what I needed, and now I see that I was both right and wrong."
Sagitar began to transform. The red cloak he wore unwrapped and formed two blood red wings. His headband ripped open as two horns sprouted from his forehead. His hands turned to claws and a long tail grew behind him. His pupils dilated and whitened as his irises grew, making his entire eyes seem like a deep red color. Sagitar was truly a Bloodwing Demon. He was frightening to look upon in his transformed state, and luckily, he didn't stay long. He flew off into the night and vanished.
Next time on City of Fire: Quest of the Bashers