Author's Note: At last, the conclusion to Nikolas and Dalin's duel!
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Deny Me In Your Eyes
Dalin made quick note of the used cards, bringing his total to twenty-five, twenty-four of them being in the graveyard. And in the next turn Nikolas could at least force him to discard four cards from his deck, as Dalin would now draw the top one that Nikolas knew. "Your combination is a powerful one…"
He paused as he drew, not yet bothering to look at it. "However, despite the power of your combination I cannot allow you to defeat me. Despite the strength of your convictions, I will not let you win. You deserve justice, however at this moment I cannot allow you to achieve it, the stakes are too high."
"And what do you think you can do about it? As long as my revenge is there, it is impossible for you to gain any sort of victory. And with this combo in play I'll win in just a few more turns as bit by bit I demolish your deck. What can you do but delay the inevitable?" Dalin sighed and shook his head before slowly sliding his drawn card into his disk. It formed in front of him, but he seemed to be ignoring its presence.
"Too often I have heard that said. 'This is impossible' or 'that is impossible'. If I believed that anything was truly impossible then I would not be attempting to stop the end of the Universe. It is my choice to deny the term impossible. One way or another there will be a conclusion to this vendetta, but that time is not now. For the moment…I deny you that right." Nick's right fist curled into a tight ball, his rage seething beneath the surface, just barely contained.
"Deny me my vendetta? Deny me my right of revenge! No…one way or another I will show you my wrath, and the wrath of the Dark Scorpions! Prepare yourself Dalin Imaki Sumatin for the true power of the Dark Scorpions!" He literally yanked another card off the top of his deck, and then pointed at Dalin fiercely.
"Saturn the Angel of Judgment, Energy Absorption, Song of Angels, and Mars the Angel of Power! Discard them all!" Dalin did so, sending the four cards on his deck to the grave and then showing the top next four to Nick.
He frowned and paused for a second, but then his rage got the better of him. "This part doesn't matter…place all four at the bottom of your deck."
Even before Dalin had completed the task Nick was already shoving his drawn card into his duel disk. "Dalin Imaki Sumatin, I've learned in the past that the power of the Dark Scorpions as they stood at the start of their career couldn't defeat you. But now, I'll show you how strong they become after two decades more experience!"
Nikolas' entire field started to glow and the forms of each of the other four Dark Scorpions appeared around Don Zaloog. All of them were bit by bit being covered by the glowing light. "I activate my magic card that unleashes their power…"
"Twenty Years Hence!"
"This magic card allows me to sacrifice the Dark Scorpions on my field or remove them from the game to special summon out their older more experienced forms from my deck to the field. And since I have four of the Scorpions in the grave and Don on the field, I'll unleash all five of the adult forms at once!" One by one the older Scorpions showed their faces.
First was the older version of Don Zaloog. He was older, with a little bit of gray in his hair and a few more scars, but few other differences. "This is Don Zaloog-Hunter of Treasures(1900/1500), and when he is summoned and his normal summon effect doesn't occur, he instead gains three hundred attack points."
The second one to appear was clearly an older Cliff, only his face was much gaunter than it previously had been. Also his thin glasses had become thicker ones, adjusting for worsened eyesight. "Meet Dark Scorpion-Cliff the Trap Master(1700/1500)!"
Third amongst them was the one who so far had changed the most. Standing at an equal height to Cliff rather than being much shorter was Chick, now fully an adult at least in his thirties. The mallet he normally carried was even larger than previous. "Dark Scorpion-Chick the Clever(1600/1500)!"
Appearing fourth was one who appeared to have hardly changed at all, save for some wrinkles that now were scattered across his face. It was the same big and muscular Gorg. "Dark Scorpion-Gorg the Wise(2400/1500)!"
Last but not least was the woman of the group of thieves, who despite her aging was still as attractive as ever. The only evident changes were the light in her eyes had faded slightly, and her hair which had previously hung freely over her shoulders was now pulled up into a ponytail. "Dark Scorpion-Maenae the Rose(1800/2200)!"
Dalin frowned as he felt the bond appear between all five and Nick. The strength of their bond that made him stronger than normal. When all five appeared together, defeating him became much more difficult. "Together we are strong Sumatin, and together we will win! Gorg the Wise, when summoned, destroys one monster on your field!"
Gorg ran across the field, somehow moving more swiftly than he had at his younger age, and struck the kneeling angelic monk across the face. Ascended Man blew apart, and Dalin drew a card to replace it. Since there were none left in his deck he couldn't summon. "Next, when Maenae the Rose is summoned I can add a card with 'dark scorpion' in its name from my grave to my hand."
A card popped out of his grave and he gratefully added it to his hand. "Now, the way is clear, however I knew what you had set the whole time. It's your Light Barrier card, which will prevent me from attacking, won't it? But why don't I try anyways…with Cliff the Trap Master!"
Dalin pointed to his face down card, but nothing at all happened. His eyes widened right before daggers from Cliff struck him and pushed him backwards. "I see…Cliff's attack cannot be chained can it?" (DLP: 3100)
"That's right! And now since he dealt you life point damage I'll destroy your set card, opening you up completely to my other Dark Scorpions!" Dalin's set Light Barrier blew apart, leaving him with no defenses. Yet he was as calm and stoic as always.
"You won't deny me much longer Sumatin; I'll crush you right now! Maenae now attacks your life points directly!" He stopped his declaration, and grabbed at his throat. He knew he had spoken, but he hadn't heard any sound come from his own lips.
His opponent placed his hand in front of his graveyard slot and took cards that slid out of it and held them up. "Within my grave is a magic card called Speak No Evil. I can shuffle five cards from my grave into my deck to prevent you from conducting a battle phase this turn. Or, if the battle phase has already begun, it is ended."
He shuffled up the five cards into his deck, and then quickly replaced it. "Do you understand Nikolas? Because I have shuffled these cards into my deck I have broken your combination. You now no longer know what is on top of my deck. And each turn I can do exactly the same, restoring my deck and preventing your lock."
Nikolas felt the blood pounding through his body, his rage bubbling beneath the surface. So easily his chance to crush his opponent had been denied and now he had to start over from the beginning. "Damn you…I set one card face down and end my turn!"
Dalin drew calmly, giving himself two cards. "Activate magic card, Coins From Heaven." Both duelists drew until they held six cards.
"Now I activate Temporal Distortion, which at a cost of my battle phase will destroy all magic and trap cards on the field. For each destroyed we draw one card." Nikolas grimaced as a vortex appeared in the middle of the field and started pulling his two trap cards towards him.
"Not so fast! Reverse card open, Dark Scorpion Skill Test! I'll use it to activate Chick the Clever's effect, and bounce two cards back to their owner's hand. In order words I'll save my two continuous trap cards by returning them to my hand." The cards popped out of his duel disk and he slid them into his hand, giving him eight cards.
Dalin fanned out the five remaining cards in his hand, and then his eyes met Nick's. "I'm sorry Nikolas, but I'm going to take control of this duel now. I will use this magic card, Polymerization! I fuse Earth, Angel of Destruction(1650/0) with Mars, Angel of Power(0/0)!"
The two named angels zoomed together into a vortex, and emerged as an entirely different angel. The new angel had blue skin and expansive white wings, but wore a red tight fitting robe. A pair of glasses were on the bridge of the angel's nose. "This is Apollo, Angel of Intellect(1800/1500). Upon being summoned he allows me to add three angels in my cemetery to my hand."
Nikolas looked over at his upgraded Scorpions and bit his bottom lip, not seeing how this could go well for him. Although the fusion angel wasn't extremely powerful, it was still stronger than two of his team. "Come if you want, I'll take you down!"
"Very well. I activate Apollo's effect; paying five hundred life points to special summon an angel sub-type monster from my hand. I will do this twice. I special summon Jupiter, Angel of Life(2400/2400) and Saturn, Angel of Judgment(2400/0) to the field!" His life points began to trickle down, but in exchange the blue skinned female angel descended onto the field, followed by the towering muscular Jupiter. (DLP: 2100)
Dalin thrust his right hand out and clenched his hand tightly into a fist. "Apollo will destroy Chick the Clever, Jupiter will destroy Maenae the Rose, and Saturn will defeat Cliff the Trap Master."
A trio of energy blasts shot out, shattering each of the three named scorpions and living Nikolas with just the two strongest remaining. He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms and drawing blood. "You'll pay for that…bastard!" (NLP: 2300)
"Perhaps. Now, I pay another five hundred life points to special summon Mercury, Angel of Wisdom(0/1700) to the field in defense mode. Then I conclude my turn by setting two cards face down. This force is the first step in denying you of your vengeance." Another blue skinned angel appeared, this one with its wings folded over its body for protection. Then two cards formed behind it for additional protection. (DLP: 1600)
Nick drew and then slammed one card from his hand into his disk. "The Dark Scorpions will not remain gone for long! I play Dark Scorpion Reunion and discard three cards from my hand to revive three scorpions in the grave! All three return!"
All three formerly destroyed scorpions rejoined their comrades, completing the team again. Dalin narrowed his eyes and considered the situation. 'Just as I thought. Once he gets all five out, the only way to prevent all five from coming back even if you slay them is to defeat him at the same time.'
"Since Maenae the Rose was summoned to the field I now pick one card with dark scorpion in its name from the grave to my hand. And following that, I'll activate the effect of the card I discarded, my Thieves Demise magic card!" Dalin remembered that card from their previous duel, and understood exactly the combo that was about to occur.
"When Thieves Demise goes to the grave I can sacrifice a Dark Scorpion on the field to destroy up to two magic or trap cards on the field. I'll blow away both of yours!" Maenae the Rose faded away and then each of Dalin's face down cards were blown away, leaving his monsters undefended by the power of magic. Or at least primarily undefended.
"Next I remove Dark Scorpion Reunion from the grave to revive Maenae the Rose, and again her effect activates!" He snapped another card out of his grave, pumping his hand size up to seven cards total. The spectators couldn't help but think that truly he was an impressive player.
Nikolas flipped another of his cards around and held it up. "Dark Scorpion Strike lets me destroy one monster on the opponent's field for every Dark Scorpion I have in play. Since I have five I'll destroy all four of your monsters!"
One by one Dalin's angels blew apart into millions of pixels, leaving his field completely empty once again. "How can you deny me now Sumatin? I've surpassed you, and I will win one way or another!"
Ignoring the comments completely Dalin took five cards from his cemetery and slid them into his deck, then shuffled it up. "I'll again use Speak No Evil's effect and shuffle five cards back into my deck to prevent your battle phase from occurring."
Nikolas scowled, knowing that he would have to break down that barrier before he could successfully launch an attack. Since he couldn't even hear his own voice, he instead chose not to say anything, and simply placed three cards face down to conclude his turn.
Dalin drew, but as soon as he did one of Nikolas' set cards flipped up. "Dark Scorpion Skill Test utilizes Don Zaloog's effect and discards that single card from your hand! And with nothing to use your turn is forfeit!"
On the sidelines Ihami rolled her eyes and yawned, looking exaggeratedly bored. "Damn it…a stalemate huh? This'll be boring for a handful of turns into one or the other is able to break the stand off."
Alice glanced over at the other girl and then back at the field. Finally she decided to go through with it and moved in to ask the obvious question. "Okay…so how is it going to be a stalemate?"
"Sheesh, this is why you lost your duel to me. Basically it works like this. Nikolas' deck is a Dark Scorpion Deck, which revolves around the Dark Scorpions and discard effects. Dalin's deck is an Angel Deck, which revolves around life point gain and angels. Basically it means that his deck is not purely offense based, and now he's got a large number of cards in the grave to work with his Speak No Evil card. The Dark Scorpion Deck can't remove cards from the grave, so the only way to break the standoff is to burn through all twenty-five cards in Dalin's grave." Alice blinked and then slowly her eyes widened as she caught on.
Nick drew, and just like had happened in Dalin's turn there was an immediate reaction. Dalin picked up five cards from the grave and slipped them into his deck then shuffled. "Attacking is pointless…so I'll end for the moment."
Dalin drew and closed his eyes, a small smile on his face. "I will deny you from here on out completely. My eyes refuse to see you, so I refuse to open my eyes until you have fallen in this duel. End turn."
The turn shifted over to Nikolas, whose single eye glared at Dalin, though the angel duelist was completely unaware of it. "You're that arrogant that you believe you can defeat me without even seeing the cards that you draw?"
"It is not a matter of arrogance, but rather a matter of understanding. I understand that I will not lose to you, and I understand that for that to be true I must deny you completely for this entire duel. Therefore my eyes must remain closed to you until the duel's end. Do you understand?" Nick kicked at the sand beneath his feet and sneered at his opponent.
"No, I really don't. But I won't let you keep your eyes closed. I'll force you to open your eyes to meet me face to face in battle like I want! So let me destroy you with my Scorpions and let you see it with your own eyes!" He lifted his right hand and pointed at Dalin's forehead, and Cliff raised his head slightly, taking in the sight.
"I activate Speak No Evil's effect, removing your battle phase. You cannot force me to open my eyes Nikolas. Trying won't accomplish what you desire. I deny you." He shuffled the five cards he had chosen from his cemetery back into his deck. Now he had only fifteen cards remaining in his grave, which would let him prevent three more battle phases.
"You can only delay me for three more turns, and then I'll crush you and force your eyes open! You can't deny me and I'll show you why!" In response Dalin drew to start his own turn, almost completely ignoring Nick's angry words.
Without looking at his drawn card Dalin pointed at Nick and then let his hand fall to his side. Nick understood the sentiment, knowing that Dalin meant his turn was done and Nick should begin his own turn. "So, you're not going to speak to me at all anymore, or was that just a one turn deal?"
"No, I will speak when necessary. For instance, I use Speak No Evil's effect. And that will be the last thing I say during your turn." Nick scowled, frustrated that he still had two more turns after this when he couldn't do anything. And since he didn't want to fill up his field too much, he would just keep his hand at six cards and finish up there.
"End."
Dalin drew, and then calmly nodded his head to Nick. "Again, I pass my turn."
Nick drew, and then scowling he tossed the card into his graveyard as soon as Dalin shuffled the cards from his grave back into his deck. "I discard to maintain my hand size, and end my turn."
When Dalin drew, Nick could feel himself itching for the chance to strike the other man. He was certain that Dalin was just going to pass again, ignoring him as a duelist. Then during Nick's own turn, the final five cards in Dalin's grave would be returned to Dalin's deck. 'So close…so close…'
"I pass."
With a small smile on his face Dalin shuffled up the final five cards in his grave back into his deck, returning it to its original size, minus the four cards he was holding in his hand. Nick smirked, knowing that was the last chance for it. "This was the last turn where you could run from me Sumatin. Next turn if you don't do anything, I'll run you over with my scorpions!"
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. We'll see either way." Nick ground his teeth together, frustration building at how easily he was being ignored. This was not how he had imagined this confrontation going in his mind, not at all!
"Damn you…I'll pry your eyes open with my bare hands if I have to! I'll make you see me as I am; see me as the man who will take your life! You can't deny me Sumatin, you can't!" Dalin sighed and shook his head, looking almost…disappointed. But that had to be Nick's imagination playing tricks on him, because it didn't make sense.
"You still don't understand. Until you do, I can't open my eyes. Until you understand there is no chance of you ever catching up to me. I apologize that this is how it must be, but there are bigger things in the Universe than your vendetta, and I can't allow that to get in the way of my goal. I will not let anything get between me and my goal." Nick's eye widened, recognizing those words. Ihami also recognized them, but from an entirely different source.
"I have one goal in mind, one that I won't speak of. And at the moment you four have been placed in my way by the will of others. I'm going to win this duel and do as I must, even though it isn't my desire. But defeating you will put me one step closer to my true goal, and that's what is important."
Nick's own words in different form come back to haunt him. His goal was to punish Dalin Imaki Sumatin no matter what got in his way. And now, he was seeing Dalin pursue something so greatly that he wouldn't let anything get in the way. And Nick knew the strength that supplied.
"My heart is on fire! I can't even describe the feelings that are ripping me apart inside! You stand between me and my goal, between me and Taichi. And anything in the way of the way for me to quench my burning heart will suffer my wrath! I'll kill anyone who will keep me from quenching my burning heart! And right now...that's you."
Ihami knew those words. They were Drake's words to Autumn in his duel with her during Battle City. The words that told her just how far he was willing to go to see his goal through. That utter determination and focus on a goal…and it gave him strength. 'Those three…they're much more similar than I bet any of them would admit. Under different circumstances, they all might have been friends.'
Dalin snapped a card off his deck. Without looking he placed it into the middle of his hand and then selected a different card and held it out. "Pot of Greed."
The green grinning pot appeared on the field, but as soon as Dalin had drawn his two cards from its effect it vanished, leaving no trace. "I set one monster and two cards face down. End."
Nikolas reached for his deck, drawing while he contemplated what he had just seen. 'He made that move without looking at his cards, and not only did he know he had Pot of Greed but his duel disk accepted the cards he set. Which means that the two he set were either magic or trap cards, and the other is really a monster. But how can he know with his eyes closed?'
There was no obvious answer to that question, but he could hope that Dalin didn't know what his set cards were. For all he knew they could be normal magic cards and therefore useless to Dalin this turn. "Activate magic card, Dark Scorpion Sneak Attack! First I discard two cards as a cost…"
Carefully he chose two of his other six cards and placed them into the graveyard. Then his Dark Scorpions' stats began to fluctuate. "Now that I've made the payment during this turn all Dark Scorpions can attack directly with their attack points set to five hundred!"
Their respective attack scores all settled at five hundred, and then they charged Dalin. The muscular duelist couldn't possibly tell with his eyes closed, but somehow he had a tiny smile at the corner of his lips. "Activate trap card."
"What? You can't possibly know what that is!" Yet despite his protests the card revealed itself clearly with a purple border, meaning it was definitely a trap card. And Nikolas knew that trap card, knew what it was about to do.
"My trap is Heaven's Judgment, which I can activate when I would receive a direct attack. All monsters on the opponent's field are removed from the game!" Nikolas bit his bottom lip as he saw the Dark Scorpions vanish in mid-stride, seemingly nowhere to be seen. They had been banished to the different dimension.
"No! I won't allow them to be defeated! Trap card activates, the Unbreakable Bond of the Dark Scorpions! During this turn when a Dark Scorpion is destroyed I can discard any number of cards to revive those that were destroyed or removed from the game. So by discarding four cards I return all but Don Zaloog-Hunter of Treasures to the field!" He slammed his entire hand of four cards into the graveyard, and Maenae, Gorg, Cliff, and Chick all reappeared in front of him.
"Since Gorg and Maenae were summoned I destroy your set monster and pick up a Dark Scorpion card from the grave! And since it's still my turn, I'll be able to go on the assault!" Gorg landed a crushing blow on the set monster, and it blew apart. Nikolas scowled when he recognized it as a very familiar monster.
"Since Gorg's effect destroyed my restored Ascended Man(1200/500) I draw one card and special summon another in defense mode." His angel was quickly replaced by an identical one, keeping up his defense. Once it was in view Dalin drew a card.
"I don't know how you're doing this, but I won't allow it to beat me! Chick attacks your next Ascended Man!" The now adult Chick hefted his mallet and jumped straight into the air. He came straight down and crushed the angel with the mallet, again giving Dalin another monster and a draw.
"Next, Maenae the Rose will finish off the remaining Ascended Man!" She raised her whip and snapped it out, sending it arcing through the air at high speed toward the defending monster. But instead of striking the angel it hit an invisible barrier, and a red line of light ran from that barrier into Dalin's duel disk.
"My Energy Absorption trap card negates your attack, ends the battle phase, and increases my life points by half your monster's points. That would be nine hundred, would it not?" Nikolas suppressed the intense desire to use his power to chuck a cement wall at Dalin while he had his eyes closed. Maybe that would force the arrogant bastard to open them. (DLP: 2500)
Since he had no more battle phase, it was time for Nick to use the card he had retrieved with Maenae's effect. "Activate magic card, Treasure of the Dark Scorpions! I draw one card no matter what, but also an added card for every Dark Scorpion in play. So total I draw five cards."
He counted through the five and then drew them, snapping them open like a fan so he could see them all. His eye darted from name to name, registering each card in turn. "Heh, perfect. Activate magic card Blood Oath of Loyalty! This card can be played only if I have at least three Dark Scorpions in play but no Don Zaloog. As you can see that's clearly the case. Oh wait! You can't see can you?"
Dalin ignored the smartass crack, so Nick just rolled his eyes and moved along. "Like I was saying, if I meet those requirenments I get to play this card. Its effect lets me special summon Don Zaloog to the field from wherever it exists, including out of play. So I special summon Don Zaloog-Hunter of Treasures(1900 +300/1500) from out of play."
Once again all five Dark Scorpions had entered the fray and proved that they couldn't be separated for as long as Nikolas still had life points. "My Dark Scorpions can't fall. Do you want me to tell you the ultimate reason why? The answer exists in something I discovered in a Darkness Game about a month ago…"
He smirked, thinking back to that day when he was challenged by some arrogant bastard spouting crap about 'blood' or something like that. "He was good, powerful I'll admit that. He used an Insect Deck, and he had managed to blow away all of my Dark Scorpions. I drew, and then I felt the touch of some power upon me, and I understood. My bond with the Dark Scorpions manifests itself in a duel, allowing me to always be able to bring back my Dark Scorpions, no matter what. If they leave play, I will always draw whatever I need to get them back. Understand? As long as I have life points the Dark Scorpions will always be here!"
"I see, your Duel Presence has presented itself in the ability to maintain your Dark Scorpions under any circumstances. Not surprising really, considering your connection to them. You see, it is the mark of a truly powerful duelist to manifest a Duel Presence in a Darkness Game." Nikolas grinned, although it was more of a shark-like thing than a look of happiness.
"That's right, true strength determined by my bond with the Dark Scorpions! A power that in a thousand years you couldn't hope to understand!" Dalin shook his head ever so slightly, so slightly in fact that Nikolas barely caught it.
Nikolas narrowed his lone eye, but Dalin said nothing. "Just denying me again huh? Well you won't be able to do that for much longer. I set one card face down and end my turn!"
The angel duelist drew, his eyes still closed. He paused for several seconds, not doing anything, and his group leaned in, waiting for his move. Nikolas tapped his foot impatiently against the ground. "Well, are you going to make a move or not?"
"You don't understand Nikolas, your truly don't. But that power you spoke of, it is a power that I understand perfectly. But I deny you, and that is why in this duel I can't show you that understanding." Nikolas scratched at his head and cocked it to the side, the words not connecting in any way that made sense to him.
"You're right, maybe I don't understand. But then again, you're not making sense are you?" Dalin said nothing at first; instead he just selected one of the cards in his hand and pulled it away from the rest.
"What I meant was that in denying you I cannot show you that I understand the power that manifests itself for you in a duel. In other words, as long as I deny you I cannot use my own Duel Presence." Rishid, Ihami, Hikari, Alice, and even Nikolas all had their eyes, or eye in Nick's case, widen in shock. They had never expected Dalin to have one as well.
"You have a Duel Presence? Damn you…you're facing me while holding that back? This is all about that damned denial…and I can't allow that! No matter what, I'll finish you quickly next turn! Then I'll make you suffer!" Dalin sighed and pressed a lone button on his duel disk, causing a side slot to pop open.
"No, I'm afraid I can't allow your false threats to become real ones. So this is the end Nikolas Selket." He fitted the card into the open slot, and then pressed it closed. The area around them shimmered, and suddenly they found themselves standing on top of fluffy white clouds, with a large regal castle floating in the clouds behind Dalin.
"Damn it…Sanctuary of the Sky, you're blasted field card. It still rubs me wrong that a person like you is allowed to even contemplate using holy creatures like angels. It makes me sick to think that you force them to bow to your will!" Dalin took another of the five cards in his hand and placed it on the field, picking up his other card as he did so.
"As I said, this is the end. I sacrifice the final Ascended Man in order to summon Saturn, Angel of Judgment(2400/0))!" The angel descended onto the field as a ball of light, and then spread its wings wide open, revealing them to be a purplish color. She looked across the field regally at Nikolas, appearing as exactly what she should be. An angel ready to pass judgment.
"Ha, your monster's effect is useless right now considering you only have a two hundred life point advantage. And should you attack…well I'll be responsible for putting your monster in its place. Or did you think these set cards were bluffs?" Dalin responded by holding up one of the cards still in his hand, an easily recognizable ankh.
"Monster Reborn revives Ascended Man, restoring its place on the field. Yet once again, it will act as fodder. Let me show you why this is the end, when I sacrifice Ascended Man for my magic card: Army of Heaven!" The newly revived Ascended Man faded away, and Dalin's field was covered in a blue glow.
"What does this do? I've never seen the Army of Heaven card before." His question was answered seconds later as Saturn's body shimmered, and then split into five separate pieces. Now instead of one Saturn there were five of them. A veritable army of Saturns.
"At the cost of a sacrifice of an angel I can create copies of an angel on my field, stats and effect completely intact. Now, the conclusion of my denial. My judgment is passed, and I sacrifice Saturn, Angel of Judgment to deal the difference in our life points as damage!" One of them shattered, sending a wave of purple energy sweeping over both players' fields, battering Nikolas. (NLP: 2000)
"I sacrifice a second Saturn for its effect!" The next one over also blew apart, and Nick was struck even harder this time than he had been by the previous one. He caught himself before his knees touched the ground, not wanting to show weakness. (NLP: 1500)
"Saturn the third activates her effect!" Nikolas could only look on in horror and understanding as the third wave of power knocked him onto his butt and drained nearly all of his life points away. There was nothing he could do to stop what was happening. (NLP: 500)
Dalin turned away completely so that his back was to Nikolas. "My fourth Saturn will be the ending to this duel. My final denial comes in the form of Saturn's effect. Final Judgment!"
He started walking away before the final blow was even struck, finally opening his eyes when he heard Nick's last life points falling away. The duel was over at last, and Nikolas had been denied his vengeance. (NLP: 0)
Knowing that at this distance Nikolas couldn't hear him, Dalin felt safe to speak. But still his words were quiet and under his breath. "For what has happened, I apologize. But it was…necessary."
"It was always necessary."
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Author's Notes: Time for a big surprise for those who are reading this. For anyone who requests it, I'll send you to your e-mail (if you provide it) a Character Portrait for any character or characters you want. This will include tiny tidbits of information on them, random things that are enjoyable but don't reveal dread secrets or anything. These will also come with a Character Image song, which is a song that always fit the character to me. Hope you enjoy!
Next Time: Before time runs down everyone must do their part, and the Death-Sealing Spells must be taken. Taking separate paths two members of the group face their challenge in the form of two of Eikyuu's high priests. But can they stand up to the power that these priests hold?
See it all in, Freezing Tides and Howling Winds!