Chapter Four-Arrival On the Winds
"Master Kai." a kind voice spoke into the ear of the sleeping boy. Rubbing Kai's shoulder, Zetsui spoke again. "Master Kai, I think you should get up."
With a light groan, Kai lifted his head off of the wooden desk, rubbing his now raw forehead. He had fallen asleep at the desk, and thankfully he had missed the book when his head touched down on the wooden surface, since he sometimes, like all other humans, drooled a little in his sleep, and he didn't want to damage the leger.
Stretching his sore and still sleepy muscles, he stood up and turned to the clock on the back wall.
"9:14." he read. "How long have you been here, Zetsui?"
"Not long. Master Vaun and Miss Etsu are currently eating breakfast. Master Vaun has already examined the damage to the front door and has begun to plan repairs, which he would like to check with you." the old butler listed, causing Kai to smile. The loyalty and gentleness of the elder man always made him feel better and closer to his parents.
"Yeah, sorry about the door and all." Kai smiled sheepishly, trying to come up with some story to tell Zetsui. Sadly, he had never been good at improvising such tales.
"Not to worry. Master Vaun already explained to me how a drunken mob of duelists, desiring a duel with the current champion, broke in last night and how the three of you repelled them one at a time. As such, I felt you deserved the extra sleep."
"Uh, yeah, right." Kai stuttered, thankful to Vaun for coming up with a story, albeit one that he himself found somewhat odd. Stretching again, he stood up and headed towards the kitchen. In it he found Vaun and Etsu eating silently. As he entered they looked up at him, their eyes harboring various, yet similar emotions. It was obvious to Kai that they were both torn between fear from the previous nights events, as well as trying to plan what they would do next.
"Think you'll be able to afford the repairs to the house?" Vaun finally asked, breaking the silence. Obviously, he planned on using the simple subject as a segue into the real situation. Nodding, Kai sat down. Thanks to Serena Kaiba's purchase of some records by her great-grandfather his family had discovered and kept in their library, he was relatively well off for the time being.
"So, what will be our first move?" Etsu asked, shoveling some rice into her mouth. Looking her in the eye, Kai tried to come up with an answer. In truth, not only did he not have a plan, but he didn't know what to do with her. He was still debating whether or not he wanted her to join them. She had shown great skill and strength the previous night, but this went beyond that. Again she asked, "What should we do?"
"I..." Kai tried to speak, but his mind was trying to cover too many different things at once. "I don't know!"
"Fortunately, I do." a voice spoke, and as one the three turned to look outside the kitchen, Vaun's hand darting for the katana on his lap. Seconds later they each relaxed slightly, the two boys instantly recognizing the young man in his early twenties with long black hair loosely braided. "We get on the move."
"Tenken." Kai and Vaun said at the same time. Indeed it was him, the one who had come to them and awakened their powers. For Kai it had been a mastery of Time and for Vaun a power over the Soul.
"Kai, who is this?" Etsu asked, rather confused.
"Etsu Akira, I presume." Tenken spoke as he walked through the door frame. "I see that you three have already been made aware of the current situation." At this, he slightly jerked his head back towards the area where the front door used to be. As one, Kai and Vaun both nodded. "Sadly, there is much more to the situation. For now, I shall tell you about the history of the Seal of Orichalcos while we wait for the other two to arrive."
"Other two?" Vaun asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The last two Guardians." Kai said. "Tenken told me there were others."
"Indeed. My sister is currently in Egypt, searching for the last one." Tenken explained, crossing his arms. "Now, about the Seal. As you know, my family dwells within the Citadel of Chaos, so named because it is a focal point where all dimensions overlap, and so it is, indeed, a place of chaos. However, it's true name, before it made its way into the mythologies of humanity, was the Court of Eternity." Pausing for a moment, he looked to see if anyone had any questions. When they did not, he continued.
"The Court of Eternity at one time housed several families, each one was the overseer of some specific element of existence. For my families line, it has been the element of Balance."
"In the days that the court was created, the world was divided between a number of ancient and advanced nations, which you should know from your various mythologies; Atlantis, Rama, Avalon, and so forth. For a time, they were each content with one another. However, Atlantis soon fell into turmoil, dragged into its decadence by it's king, a man named Dartz. A civil war broke out, and Dartz's father, in order to gain the power to stop the deranged king, invoked the powers of the Court of Eternity in order gain an army powerful enough to counter Dartz."
"What could do that?" Etsu asked, sounded appalled. "What could cause a family to want to fight like that, and to force their entire kingdom against itself?"
"The Stone of the Orichalcos." Tenken answered. "It fell from the stars and polluted the minds of the Atlanteans, corrupting them and giving power to some and taking the souls of others. Even though Dartz was defeated, he continued to walk the earth. The Guardians wanted to hunt him down, but he had left such chaos in his wake that the Court was forced to focus on restoring order and justice." he explained and then clenched his hand into a fist. "If only they could have gone after Dartz..." he trailed off for a moment before turning back to the three young adults.
"At first it was assumed that a dark god, such as Apep or Loki had sent the Orichalcos. If only that were the case. Instead it was the Dark Guardians."
"Dark Guardians?" Kai asked, amazed by the information he was gaining, brief as it was.
"Yes. As you should know, there is a requirement for balance in existence. Because there are Guardians for virtues such as Justice, there are those who are complete opposites, such as Death and Chaos. The Court was not aware that the Dark Guardians had come together in any form of alliance, and so was caught off guard and unable to track the source quickly enough, and the Dark Guardians escaped. Within a single century, every last one of those mighty nations had collapsed, forever lost in legend. It would take several thousand years for any true civilization to rise again, but rise they did in the form of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and many more."
"By this time the Court of Eternity had nearly vanished from the knowledge of humanity. It was best that they did not know about the Court, you must understand, and that they try and prevent their own destruction, something that was learned after the last empire, Avalon, fell. It became obvious that the Court could not fight every war for humanity. If peace were to be maintained, then those who are directly affected by it must fight for it. You must change the hearts of the people before anything else can be done. Ever since this was learned, the Guardians have held back until truly needed. We left, instead, guides to provide humanity with the needed weapons to fight. The most prominent was in Egypt, were we left a book that would later be called the Millennium Spellbook, and it contained the instructions for the creation of magical items."
Startled by this information, Kai's eyes widened. He had heard of that book before! Bakura had mentioned it when explaining the creation of the Millennium Items. But, if that were true, then that would mean that the Guardians had left the instructions of human sacrifice!
"The Guardians are the ones who instructed the Egyptians to slaughter dozens of lives?" he demanded.
"You must understand, Kai, that there are laws governing this universe. We have incredible power because of our bloodlines. In fact, any one of us Guardians has within us significantly more power than any Millennium Item. However, normal humans do not have such a gift. They needed to acquire the power elsewhere, and in this case, from the souls of others. True, it is horrendous, but at the same time, it shows how dedicated to saving themselves the Egyptians were." Tenken shot back, instantly silencing the younger man.
"Now, to our present situation." Tenken continued. "The Dark Guardians have returned, and it seems that they have chosen to restore the Seal of Orichalos, even if it is just for the sake of using it as a means of taking our powers. In truth, I have no idea what they are specifically planning to do with such incredible powers, but I can assure you that if they succeed, they will have virtually no limitations on what they could potentially do."
Elsewhere, in the land of Egypt, it was still several hours away from dawn. However, despite the hour, Nikolas Selket, the Thief of the Desert, found himself awake and listening to an explanation by a young woman with blonde hair, although much lighter his own. She was shorter than him as well, and didn't seem to be more than seventeen. She was dressed in black pants that seemed to be modified from an old Japanese priestess uniform, in that they seemed to have been made from a skirt worn by such a woman. Her top was red and also seemed to modified from a miko uniform, although less ancient in appearance.
"So, you're Tenken's sister?" he asked, his elbows on his knees and his fingers intertwined.
"I am." she admitted with a nodded.
"That bastard." Nick muttered. "I didn't ask for any of this. I don't give a damn if I have these powers, I didn't sign up to help."
"Don't say that." Asagi said, twisting slightly to try and get a look at his face, but he was leaning forward and looking down. Whether he did this to display his displeasure at being awoken like he had, or because he didn't want to help, or maybe because he was embarrassed by the mess of flesh and scars that was once his eye, he refused to make eye contact with her.
"Why not? I thought you were about truth and crap like that." he spat. "It's not my problem."
"Not true." Asagi said, suddenly sounding rather sure of herself. "After all, you are the Guardian of Man. Aren't you at all curious as to why someone like you, a thief, selfish and cruel, is a Guardian?" At these words, Nick lifted his head slightly, although he continued to look down. "You are, in fact, the perfect exhibit of humanity. You are full of self- interest and passion, yet you also have a conscience. You have a sense of right and wrong."
"I may have, at one time in my life." Nick admitted. Then, lifting his head, he looked Asagi in the eyes with his one remaining eye, the other just a scared socket. "But that part of me is long gone. Nick Freeman is gone, and Nikolas Selket remains."
"Very well, if you wont listen to me, then perhaps you will listen to my brother." Asagi sighed, snapping her fingers. Looking up, puzzled by what she had said, Nick was startled to find them both suddenly surrounded by swirling lights.
"What's this?"
"I'm teleporting us. It's a skill I can't do very often, and it's actually rather risky doing it with someone else, but I don't have time to try and coax you." she explained as if it were nothing important.
Moments later Nick found himself in a building that he was having trouble describing as either small or large. On the one hand, it was an actual house, rather than the apartments that covered most of the earth. On the other hand, it wasn't a mansion either. To his left Nick noticed a large whole that had been broken into the wall, allowing sunlight and a light breeze to infiltrate the house.
"Asagi, I see you succeeded in gathering Nikolas." a voice from behind him spoke. Nick recognized it instantly. He hadn't heard that voice for two years, but he remembered it just the same. Whirling around, he was greeted by Tenken Arashi, as well as three youths, two boys and a girl, each looking surprised by his sudden arrival.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Tenken." Nick spat, looking down at the ground, trying to hide his missing eye from the three youths. "I'm only here because she dragged me along." At this he jerked a thumb at Asagi. "Now, take me back to Egypt. I have a village to rob blind."
"You!" a voice Nick did not recognize shouted. Looking up in surprise, Nick's one eye widened as the youngest of the three youths, a boy in samurai clothing, burst forward, drawing a sword from his hip. Regaining control of his body in the same instant that the boy cut downward, Nick barely managed to sidestep the attack. Turning his head back to where he had been standing he found the boy already preparing his next attack. Thinking quickly, Nick reached inside his tunic for his knife, only to grasp nothing but cloth.
'Dammit! She dragged me away before I could even grab any of my usual equipment!' he scowled. Ducking into a roll he avoided the attack, this time ending his dodge facing the boy, which would give him more time to react.
As the samurai began to lift himself from his crouch, he was tackled and his arms seized behind his back by the other young man, this one with silver hair. However, this didn't have as much effect as Nick would have hoped, as the silver-haired man only succeeded in slowing the attacker down.
"Vaun, calm down!" the silver-haired boy shouted.
"Just hold him a bit longer." Nick said, cracking his knuckles and forming a fist. Punching forward, he was startled to find a hand reach out and wrap around his wrist, stopping him instantly.
Shooting a snarled to his right, he found himself facing Tenken's stone cold face. "That's enough." the guardian barked, and instantly both fighters stopped struggling, although neither seemed ready to stop altogether.
"Tenken, he must pay for what he did!" Vaun shouted, shaking himself free from Kai's hold, sword still in his grasp but not in any position to launch an attack.
"What's your problem?" Nick demanded of his attacker.
"Two years ago you robbed my temple, taking a set of samurai swords that are special treasures of the dojo." Vaun growled, narrowing his eyes. As he said this, realization struck Nick, and he laughed.
"Oh yeah, I remember that. They're currently hanging up on my wall as we speak." the thief said with a smile. After a second he examined the young samurai, and his grin grew as he finally recognized Vaun. "And I remember you. You almost got me." At this he held up his left hand, palm out, where an inch long scar could plainly be seen. "That's when you went for my heart, so I put up my hand and although it got stabbed pretty badly, I managed to push your attack off course."
"I'll finish the job here!" Vaun shouted, tightening his grip on his sword's hilt.
"Stop!" Tenken shouted, and amazingly Vaun did so. "Asagi?" he asked, turning to his sister.
With a nod, she spoke with reverence. "Yes Brother, I saw them when I first arrived. They are still there, perfectly in tact." Then, as an afterthought, Asagi reached down to the duel disk on her arm, detached it, and then held it out to Nick. "This is yours, as is the deck. Also," she said, reaching into the confines of her clothes, Seconds later she pulled out a fist of string, which she held out to Nick, which he accepted and placed over his mangled eye socket. "You'll be needing those." she added as an after thought. "I grabbed them while you were still waking up."
"Hold it." Nick said, once again addressing Tenken. "Like I said, I'm not with you guys."
"Yes you are." Tenken said, and as he did he seemed to suddenly tower over Nick rather than being only a few inches taller. "Because you know, you've always known, that if you don't that there will be countless others who will end up like you."
As these words entered Nick's ears, his entire demeanor seemed to deflated. His entire resolve to defy Tenken was lost, and he suddenly seemed very submissive. Lifting his head again, he looked Tenken in the eye. "Note this, you bastard: after this is over, I'll be sure to kill you."
"Not if I kill you first." Vaun seethed, glaring at Nick.
"Vaun, calm yourself. Asagi will be here any moment with the stolen items, at which time you can put your desire to kill Nikolas out of your mind." Displeased with this, Vaun sheathed his sword and returned to the kitchen where he had left his haori.
Turning to the other two youths, Nick growled and introduction. "Nikolas Selket, Thief of the Desert."
"Kai Kaethan." the silver-haired boy said. "This is my home."
"Etsu Akira." the brunette girl said with a friendly enough smile.
"So, your sister was kind enough to fill me in on a few details, but I still don't know much about this enemy we're up against." Nick said, turning to Tenken, apparently ignoring the other two now that he had their names.
"Why don't you ask him." Tenken said, pointing towards Asagi. As one, all heads turned to Asagi, who in turn look behind herself in time to see a figure in an outfit much like Nick's, only the cloak was much black and long arm braces were fit around the attackers wrist and a small mask fit over the mouth and nose. In their hands was a knife, obviously of Egyptian craftsmanship.
What happened next happened in the blink of an eye as the man slashed down. A fraction of a second later there was an audible thud as the knife stuck into the floor, having missed its target thanks to Asagi's sudden show of agility.
"I thought I felt someone enter the slipstream I left when I brought Nick." Asagi deducted, sliding backwards.
"Yes, I was sent to eliminate you while you were separated from your brother, but it seems that I missed that chance." the assailant said in a feminine voice, sheathing their knife at their side and pulling down on the veil. "I get the feeling I don't stand a chance in actual combat now, so what do you say Asagi; a duel?" she asked in a sassy tone.
As she said these words, Kai and Etsu made to move forward, but both Tenken and Asagi extended arms out to block their path. Rising to her full height, Asagi lifted her left arm and a duel disk appeared, deck in place.
"She attacked Asagi." Tenken explained to Kai and Etsu. "As such, this is her battle."
"Aren't you worried for her?" Kai asked.
"Of course not." Tenken answered. "I have faith in her. Yes, I want her to be safe, but I am also aware of the fact that she is strong."
Stepping back slightly so as not to crowd the field, Kai began to turn this words over in his mind as the two duelists drew their opening hands. (ALP:4000)
"I am Kesi, and I will take your soul." the assailant said, drawing a sixth card. (KLP:4000) "I summon Anubite (1300/1600) in attack mode." Slapping the card onto her duel disk, a figure with the head of a jackal, a furry torso, long arms and springy legs appeared, dressed only in a crimson girdle. In each hand it held a long sickle. "When summoned it gains three hundred attack points, and it will gain a further two hundred during each of my standby phases." she explained as her monsters attack rose to sixteen hundred. "Then I will set a card face down and then I'll play the Seal of Orichalcos!"
Even as the face down card appeared, a green circle formed around the duelists, the six pointed star filling it. Seconds later the jackal creatures eyes began to glow with a blood red light as his attack his attack points rose to twenty-one hundred.
"Draw." Asagi called, glancing at her six cards. "I have no monsters in my hand." she declared, yet she continued to smile. Kai, Nick, Vaun, Etsu and Kesi each looked at her, confused. Why would Asagi make such a declaration? Tenken, on the other hand, had a knowing look in his eyes. "So now, I am allowed to special summon my Keimei-Goddess of the East Wind (2200/2200) from my deck to the field in attack mode!"
Surprised by this, everyone but her older brother watched Asagi's field as she placed the card she had searched out of her deck onto the field. A young woman with flowing black hair appeared, dressed in a scanty top that seemed to be some form of extremely light armor, apparently made of some green jewel and trimmed with gold, covering her shoulders, breasts, and ribs, but leaving just about the entirety of her remaining torso bare. Around her legs she wore a white skirt that reached just past her knees and was slit on both sides and down the front, most likely to allow a freer sense of movement.
"Impressive monster." Kesi commented with a dangerous flash in her eyes. She followed this up by reaching for her duel disk faster than anyone could react and pressed the activation button for her set card. "However, my trap card, Threatening Roar, prevents you from declaring an attack this turn."
Biting back a growl of annoyance, Asagi looked at her six cards. "I may not be able to attack, but I wont leave my monster to be destroyed so easily. I equip Keimei with Noble Hurricane, increasing her attack by four hundred, plus another five hundred for every wind monster on the field. As her name may suggest, Keimei is a wind-type monster."
As she explained her cards effect, a manacle appeared about her monsters forearm, from which extended two thin blades, perfectly parallel to each other. Each was about eighteen inches in length, and each ended in a forty-five degree angle so that together they made a single point.
"I also set three cards face down and end my turn." Asagi called as three face down card images appeared. Looking up from her two remaining cards in her hand, she nodded for Kesi to go.
As she drew, Kesi nodded to her Anubite, which was growing slightly in size as its power rose. Glancing at her drawn card, Kesi set it face down and then chose another card from her hand which she placed in a monster zone. "I summon First Knight of Jackal (1600+500/1350) in defense mode. When summoned it allows me to draw a card." she explained as a tall figure with fur covering its limbs and a jackals head appeared. Drawing a card for its effect, she set it face down and then nodded to Asagi, signaling that her turn was complete.
"I play the continuous magic card, Biting Wind." Asagi began as the image of the magic card appeared to her side. "Now, whenever I destroy one of your monsters in battle, you will take damage equal to that monsters level times one hundred." she explained, though Kesi didn't seem at all deterred by this. Regardless, Asagi either didn't notice, or didn't care how nonchalant her opponent was acting, raising her arm and pointing at her opponent. "Keimei (3100/2200), attack her Anubite (2300/1600)!" Springing forward with her legs, the dark-haired warrior pulled her right arm back, preparing to punch forward, allowing her weapon to pierce her target.
"You should know better than to corner an animal, because then they show their teeth!" Kesi shouted, activating one of her set cards. "Cornered Beast activates when a beast or beast-warrior monster on my field is attacked. My monsters attack is increased by its level times one hundred, and your monsters attack is decreased by the same amount, so that's four hundred each."
Instantly the Anubite's eyes flashed blood-red and it howled with a tone of desperation as its attack points rose to twenty-seven hundred. Asagi's monster, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock and fear, tensing up, her attack points dropping to twenty-seven hundred. It was a draw!
The two monsters clashed, Asagi's spearing into the stomach of the opposing beast. Said monster had, at the same time, imbedded its paw into Keimei's heart. The two fell at the same moment, blood flowing for a few seconds before all traces vanished.
"Keimei may have fallen, but both her effect, as well as the effect of my Biting Wind will activate, dealing you four hundred points of damage and raising my life points by half of your monsters base attack." the blonde woman declared, as both life point meters ticked, one rising and the other dropping, although it wasn't a significant amount for either. (ALP:4750)(KLP:3600)
"You seem too confident." Kesi remarked as she drew. "Could it be that you are planning on defending with your face down cards?" Asagi said nothing. Disappointed, Kesi pouted for a few seconds and then proceeded with her turn. "I sacrifice First Knight of Jackal to summon Ghost Knight of Jackal (1700+500/1600). And when First Knight of Jackal is sacrificed to summon a jackal monster, that monster gains six hundred attack and defense points." she declared as another monster with a canine head and in Egyptian clothes appeared, riding an Arabian steed and wielding a jagged, double-bladed sword in its right hand. "Ghost Knight of Jackal (2800/2200), attack Asagi's life points directly!" Kicking its mount the monster charged in, arching it's weapon above its head for a wide sweeping slash.
"I activate Dark Wall of Air to defend against your direct attack." Asagi declared, sounding somewhat bored with the display as a sphere of visible black wind engulfed her, deflecting the blow. Pouting again, Kesi turned control back over to Asagi.
"I activate my face down card, Second Wind!" Asagi called as one of her two remaining set cards, this one to her right, flipped up. It was a trap displaying the image of Keimei, only her body was limp. Her arms looked held out to the sides by some unseen force, dangling from her elbows down. Her legs also were buckled, and her torso seemed to be leaning forward. However, in her eyes was a fierce look of renewed vigor. "This card revives a Goddess of the Wind to my field." Asagi explained as Keimei appeared, glaring at Kesi with a look of revenge in her eyes.
'Impressive choice.' Kai noted from the side. 'She could have used that to bring back Keimei to block that direct attack last turn and save Dark Wall of Air for a later time, but chose to instead use it her magic card to protect herself and then revive her monster inn her turn. That way, she ensured that she did have a monster to play her other cards with in her turn.'
Taking one of the three cards she held in her hand, Asagi inserted it into one of her magic slots. In response, a spiral of wind came to life all around the Ghost Knight of Jackal, quickly reaching speeds so great that it lifted the beast and its mount off of the ground and tossed them both into the air, quickly disappearing from sight.
Looking on in anger and confusion, Kesi turned to the only one who could provide an answer, who happened to be her opponent. With a knowing smirk, Asagi explained without needing to hear the question.
"My Whirlwind card sent your monster back to your hand. That simple." she explained, turning back to her field. "Keimei-Goddess of the East Wind, attack Kesi's life points directly!" she commanded.
Obediently, Keimei lifted both of her arms and began to weave them through the air in front of her. As she did this, a sphere of air so heavily concentrated that it was visible appeared in the space which her hands moved around. Once she had gathered enough power, Keimei reached back and then thrust her arms forward, her palms stopping less than an inch from striking the ball of wind, but it was enough. The sphere burst and became a thick funnel of wind which struck Kesi in the chest, throwing her back several feet and taking away more than sixty percent of her remaining life points. (KLP:1400)
"Also, when Keimei does life point damage to you, I get to draw a card." Asagi said, giving her three cards in hand once again.
"Filthy whore." Kesi spat as she drew a card, giving her four cards to choose from. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." she declared as a horizontal card appeared in front of her.
"Draw." Asagi called, pulled a fourth card into her hand. "Keimei, attack her set monster!" Again forming a sphere of wind, the wind-worker quickly smashed through the defending monster, which appeared for a moment, revealing a dog creature of some sort. "And now I will gain life points equal to half the attack points of your monster, while my Biting Wind card deals you damage for your monsters destruction."
"You get life points, but it doesn't matter to me." Kesi said as the dust settled, revealing a card set horizontal in front of her. At the same time, her life points dropped by three hundred. Blinking in surprise, Asagi just stared at the field for a moment or two before realizing that the monster she had destroyed must have allowed Kesi to summon another monster from her deck, since her hand was still the same size it had been seconds before.
"Hyena (1000/1000) summons another of its kinds to my field when destroyed in battle. Also," the Egyptian woman paused a moment as she tapped a button on her duel disk and her other set card flipped up. "Michizure activates, taking your monster to the grave at the same time mine does." she explained as a massive arm reached out of a pit that formed. It groped around at the ground for a few moments before grasping Keimei and pulling her into the crevasse.
"Very well, I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Asagi consented as another card appeared before her. Now she only had her face up magic card and two face down to protect her. At the same time, her life points rose due to the effect of her late monster. (ALP:5250)(KLP:1100)
"Why has she only used one monster all duel?" Nick asked of no one in particular.
"Because, she only has four monsters in all of her deck." Tenken answered, though he continued to watch the duel as his sisters opponent drew a card.
"Only four monsters?" Kai gasped in shock. "Then what's she going to do now?"
"She'll win." Tenken answered simply.
"Not likely." Kesi laughed as she glanced at her new card, having obviously overheard them talking. "I sacrifice my face down Hyena to summon my Ghost Knight of Jackal (1700+500/1600), and then have him attack your life points directly!" In a flash, the horse-mounted jackal figure appeared, twirled his weapon about for a few seconds, and then galloped across the field, slashing at Asagi's unprotected body. (ALP:3050)
Taking two cards from her hand, Kesi placed them face down into her magic zones, ending her turn. Now she had a solid attacker and a standard wall behind it. It did not bode well for Asagi as she drew her card, giving her four cards.
"I play Monster Reincarnation, discarding a card to return Keimei to my hand from my graveyard." Asagi declared as she played the magic card, slipping a card into her graveyard as she took back a different one. "Next I will use another of Keimei's effects, shuffling her into my deck from my hand to place a different Goddess of the Wind into my hand from my deck." he explained as she took her deck out and shuffled the retrieved card into the stack and then taking another card out. Shuffling again, she set the cards back into her duel disk.
"Now, since I have no monsters on my field, I can special summon Keitaku-Goddess of the North Wind (2200/2200) to the field in attack mode." Another maiden appeared on Asagi's field, this one with platinum blonde hair that hung normal down to the base of her neck, where it was then tied together and hung in a thin strand for another foot or so. She wore a black priestess top and white hakama, both of which had been modified to more tightly fit her body to allow her to better batter. Also around her head she wore a silver tiara.
Looking at her remaining three cards a moment a moment longer, Asagi passed to Kesi. Then, as an afterthought, she said "It's a shame you and I couldn't duel on friendlier terms. I would have liked to enjoy this. I would never wish the loss of their soul on anyone, least of all someone with such a strong spirit."
"What are you trying to say?" Kesi asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically, seeming to forget the card she had drawn.
"I'm saying that I don't understand why you would risk your soul in a duel against someone you don't know, let alone have a grudge against." Asagi responded, her voice very solemn.
Kesi, however, did not bare a look of regret or sorrow. No, she appeared completely baffled! Shocked that someone could speak to her so sincerely. As such, she just stood there, her body frozen, cards clutched between her fingers but she seemed completely unaware that she held them as she stared at Asagi in wonder.
Realizing that she had been staring dumbly in silence, she shook her head and glanced at her new card. Then she turned back to Asagi as she picked a card out of her hand. "I'm a mercenary. People have someone they don't like, they hire me to get rid of them. I don't ask questions, I just collect my pay."
Slapping the card she had chosen onto her duel disk, she waited again in silence as another jackal creature appeared, this one with a ravenous look in his eyes and the beginnings of foam in his fangs. Seconds later the Seal of Orichalcos activated once again, adding its power to the new monster.
"This is my Berserker Knight of Jackal (1900+500/1500)." she explained. "Now I'll have my monster attack!" Howling into the air, the canine flexed its upper body, its muscles rippling and its hands clenching and unclenching. Then, in the blink of an eye is charged up to Asagi's field and lifted one of its clawed hands, readying its attack.
Swinging down, it stopped suddenly, a few inches short of ripping Asagi's monster to pieces. Shocked, Kesi's mouth hung open a moment until she saw what had stopped her monster.
A collar, made purely of air, had appeared around her monsters neck, holding it back. The collar itself was connected to a chain of air, which split into two chains and led back to Kesi's field. In particular, back to her face down cards, acting like anchors.
"My trap card, Wind Line, forces you to sacrifice one magic or trap card from your field for each of your attacks you launch this turn. If you sacrifice all of your magic or trap cards to attack, your battle phase will end after the last card is sacrificed." Asagi explained as the jackal continued to struggle against the binding.
"Fine," Kesi snapped, slashing her arm through the air. "I will give up my face down Judgement of Anubis to have Berserker Knight of Jackal destroy Keitaku!" Without another word, the card exploded, and with its destruction, the chain straightened out, becoming a single line between the jackal and Kesi's lone set card, giving the extra length needed for the dog to slash through Keitaku, destroying her, dealing Asagi two hundred points of damage. (ALP:2850)
With a snap of her fingers, Kesi's second face down card shattered, and her Berserker Knight of Jackal reared back again, as if preparing for another attack.
"But your monster already attacked this turn." Asagi said, surprised by the monster lumbering towards her.
"Yes, but when Berserker Knight of Jackal destroys a monster and sends it to the grave, it is allowed to attack again this turn." Kesi explained, flashing another sassy smile. The chain and collar had vanished entirely with the loss of Kesi's second face down card, so there would be nothing to hold the jackal back. Raising its arm back, it slashed down, leaving five parallel lines of red on Asagi's arm, which she had lifted to protect herself, taking away most of her remaining life points. (ALP:450)
"My turn is over." Kesi declared as she set one card face down, meaning she now had three cards in hand. Drawing, Asagi looked her four card hand and sighed.
"I play Wind Chime, reviving Keitaku-Goddess of the North Wind (2200/2200) and adding five hundred attack points to her score." she started as the blonde maiden appeared, a peaceful scowl on her face. "Next I will use Keitaku's effect to discard a card from my hand to then place a card of the same type into my hand from my graveyard. So, I will discard my Balanced Sins to reclaim a magic card." she explained, slipping the card into her graveyard and then taking back the one offered to her by her duel disk.
"Also, since Balanced Sins went to the graveyard, it will destroy one card on your field. As such, I shall destroy your Berserker Knight." Even as she finished explaining her card, the chosen monster fell to its knees, arms out on the ground before it as if pleading forgiveness. However, it's silent begging went unheard as it shattered to pieces only seconds later. "Keitaku-Goddess of the North Wind (2700/2200), attack Ghost Knight of Jackal now!"
"I activate my face down card, Curse of Anubis!" Kesi interrupted as a stone alter appeared with the figure of a sitting jackal atop it appeared. From it fired a blast of black lightning, striking both Keitaku and Ghost Knight of Jackal, forcing them into a crouch, panting and sweating hard. "This forces our monsters to defense mode, removes their effect, and reduces their defense to zero."
"Then I will end my turn." Asagi responded, again sounding very solemn. "Kesi, what could have made you want to become a mercenary, risking you life and soul just so that you may commit horrendous crimes?" she suddenly asked, again catching the Egyptian woman off guard. "What were you promised?"
"You're too damn perceptive." Kesi hissed, looking at her drawn card. "You want to know why I don't give a damn if I kill someone? I'll tell you. Because mankind is a lost cause. There was a man once whom I was hopelessly in love with. One night, however, he came to my home, panting for breath, asking for a place to hide out. Of course I invited him in. However, when I asked him who he was running from, his expression changed. He said he wasn't running from anyone, that he just needed an excuse to come in."
As Kesi unraveled her story, Kai and the others watched with baited breath. Kai himself instantly realized where this story was going, though he wasn't sure if the others had figured it out. Looking to his side, he noticed that Etsu's eyes were beginning to expand, and Vaun's face was twisting into a look of disgust. Tenken, on the other hand, remained focused, though his eyes betrayed a sense of sorrow for the coming details. Nick, however, appeared completely indifferent, a scowl on his face and his one eye closed.
Unaware of any of this, Kesi continued with her tale. "He kissed me. It was hard and cold, void of that tender spirit he had used to share with me. When I pulled back, he instantly became angry with me and struck me in the side of the head, rendering me unconscious. When I awoke, I as bound to my bed and stripped of my garments. And, standing by the beds side was that bastard, a depraved look in his eyes. He accused me off holding out on him for too long; that I had denied him what was rightfully his for his years of 'devotion' to me. Then, he said nothing more as he callously and mercilessly ravished me."
Nursing her cut arm, Asagi continued to listen to her opponent pour her soul out, a look of deep sorrow in her eyes. It was obvious that she could not sympathize with such an experience, but it did not mean that she could not feel pity for this girls misfortune.
"He abandoned me after that night. Shortly after that, I learned that he was robbed and murdered, and then forgotten. Then I realized how pointless humans were. They turn on each other without a second thought and sacrifice one another for foolish purposes. I have no desire to hurry up the end of the world, but I also have no hesitations to end a persons life."
"Is that so?" Asagi asked.
"It is." Kesi declared, playing her drawn card as a magic card. "This is my Hunting Pack magic card, summoning two level four or lower beast or beast-warrior monsters from my deck to the field." she declared as two more jackal monsters appeared, one actually baring wings on its back, and the other armed with a glimmering blade of a bluish hue. "These are Storming Knight of Jackal (1500+500/1000) and Dimension Knight of Jackal (1400+500/900). Then I switch Ghost Knight of Jackal to attack mode."
"Tenken, she's going to lose!"
Turning to their left, Kai, Etsu, Tenken and Vaun all gave a look at surprise to Nick, who had narrowed his eye to focus tightly on the field. However, much to Kai amazement, the seemingly smug thief had a glimmer of desperation in his eye.
"You are making the same mistake as Kesi." Tenken nearly laughed. "You're underestimating her."
"You, shut up!" Kesi snapped at the group on the sidelines. Turning back to the duel, she smiled coyly. "Ghost Knight of Jackal, attack Keitaku-Goddess of the North Wind!" Kicking his mount with his heels, the beast monster charged, swinging his weapon around for the attack. "And, when it destroys your monster, that monster will be special summoned to my field in defense mode, for me to use as I wish."
"I cannot allow that." Asagi responded, activating her set card. "Wind Diffusion destroys your attacking monster." she declared as Kesi's monster was suddenly surrounded by a vortex of wind, the sheer force of its spin ripping the monster apart. "Next, your monsters attack will be divided by its level. Since your monster had twenty-two hundred attack points when destroyed, and was a level five monster, that is four hundred and forty points. That will now be deducted from your remaining monsters attack points." she explained as the spiral of wind split into two, each of which drilled into a target monster, which then hunched over in pain as their attack points dropped.
"No!" Kesi shrieked in shock. Already she understood what this meant. She already knew what Asagi had planned, what card she had taken back last turn with Keitaku's effect. She knew that she had lost. "Why are you fighting?" she suddenly demanded. "What makes you different from me?"
"Because your brought this fight to me, and because I have hope for humanity. Draw!" Asagi called, whipping the card off of her deck. "Keitaku, return to your attack position." Rising from her crouch, the wind mistress glared at the two hound monsters, both of which were much weaker than she. "I play my Spirit of the Wind card. Discarding a wind monster from my deck, I may destroy either all monsters or magic and trap cards on your field." she explained as she took the card from her deck and flipped it around to reveal Keimei-Goddess of the East Wind. Seconds later a ghostly figure of Keimei appeared and washed over Kesi's field, destroying her two monsters.
Finally, Asagi held up the card she had taken back from her grave when she had used Keitaku's effect. "Wind Chime magic card to special summon Keimei-Goddess of the East Wind with an added five hundred attack points." In a flash, the black-haired woman appeared. "Keitaku (2700), Keimei (2700), attacker her life points directly!" As one, the women forged spheres of wind which they fired at Kesi, eliminating her remaining life points. (KLP:0)
Seconds later, the Seal of Orichalcos retracted, becoming a round column of light. Moments later it faded, leaving everyone in place, but one very hollow.
To Be Continued...
There you go. Yeah, really not my best work, but when you get desperate enough, you'll write just about anything. But, now on to better things.
Also, I must apologize. Last chapter we had the character Gregory. When I started that chapter, I had in mind the Russian pronounciation, which would be spelled Grigori. That is why it was so odd for some of you to read, no doubt.
Also, original cards you should be able to tell for yourselves. Basically, all but maybe three cards used in this entire chapter are mine. Back off! Off I say!
The
Guardians have gathered together, but now it is time for Kai to serve
his purpose as the Guardian of Time and unleash the memories locked
with him. But even as he does so, the Guardians are faced with new
challenges and new circumstances.
Next Time-Lost Ages