Author's Note: At last, the conclusion to Nikolas and Dalin's duel!
Chapter Thirty: Freezing Tides and Howling Winds
"Clever Sumatin, really, I have to give you that. What would you have done had Selket figured out how you could tell what your cards were?" Dalin glanced briefly at Ihami, who sat next to him on the small plane that was taking them first to her destination, and then to his in order to obtain the necessary Death-Sealing Spells.
"He wasn't going to. His understanding of magic is directly related to his own unique abilities that revolve around the manipulation of the Earth. Thus he was unable to tell that I was using magic to recognize the specific aura of each card. A petty trick, but useful." It would be four hours before they arrived at her destination, where she would duel one of Eikyuu's high priests. They weren't certain which of the five it would be, but this was what they had chosen.
Ihami leaned in and trailed a hand Dalin's arm, a sultry smile on her face as she did so. "So…you specifically chose to be partnered up with me, is that so? Then I guess that means you want me…is that right?"
"It would be more accurate to say that I chose to be partnered with you because I simply do not trust you, and I trust myself to deal with you better than any of the others." Ihami sighed and pulled back, looking miffed that once again her feminine wiles had proven useless on him.
"So…I'm curious, what is it about me that makes me resistible to you, whereas with Isis you were perfectly willing to perform?" Dalin turned his head, his jade eyes glaring harshly at her. She just giggled and shrugged her shoulders and mouthed 'it was obvious'.
"I am…not what most people assume. You understand that, don't you?" The immortal girl smirked and kicked her feet up onto the top of the seat in front of her. The man in the other seat jerked around and glared at her, but with a single wink she had him grinning like a moron and turning away.
"Of course I do. I understand you better than anyone else in this world, except for one. But then again, you knew that part as well. So for me, it makes me want to know. What do you want?" Dalin paused, reached down and pulled the top card off his deck and held it up to his eyes. It was Justice For All.
"You already know the answer to that. Don't you?" He replaced the card, and turned to stare out the window. The clouds whipped past them as they soared through the air towards their destination.
"Of course. Better than anyone else except for that one person. Better than you do even."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ryu and Autumn shivered at roughly the same time, and pulled their jackets in tighter. They weren't happy about having been diverted on their route so they could come here, all the way to Mount Terror in Antarctica. Ryu considered the name and frowned. 'At least it's named after a ship, rather than because it's scary or something.'
While they had to go together to face the high priest guarding this particular Death-Sealing Spell, Pegasus was staying the jet, making sure it remained warm and safe, or so he said. They were all going in groups so if one lost, there could be another to pick up the slack. Not that they appreciated the thought, but it was necessary.
The news of Isis' death had hit them both hard, even though neither had known the woman very hard. For them it meant that the dangers of their mission were now more real than they had ever been before. 'But we can't cower. We have to keep going.'
"Lord Eikyuu informed me that you would be coming. Although I must admit to being surprised at weaklings such as you be the ones sent." They both turned around slowly, not looking for a fight. Standing just a dozen feet away was a man wearing a pitch black robe with the hood pulled up. At the top of the hood was an infinity symbol, but the man's face wasn't visible.
Ryu idly considered how the man was possibly warm in this Antarctic area in just what he had on, but one could never tell with these magic type people. "Try me and you'll see that I'm not weak. One way or another, I'm leaving here with that Death-Sealing Spell."
The man snorted from beneath his hood and raised his right arm, which had a black duel disk strapped to it. "Perhaps, but we'll see. I'll prove that you are weak and unworthy of the Death-Sealing Spell of Tide. I am High Priest of the Tide, Lorien." (LLP: 4000)
Ryu's own disk moved into place and he drew five cards at the same time as the priest did. "And I'm Ryu Shigeru. I don't have any fancy titles like yours, but I make up for it in pure guts!" (RLP: 4000)
Lorien chuckled and made a waving gesture with his free left hand. "Guts won't help you too much in this duel. But for all of your bravado I'll let you take the first turn."
"I'll show you just how wrong you are! Activate magic card, Get Ride! This lets me special summon level four or lower union monsters from my deck to the field in defense mode, one for each monster I discard. I'll discard my Crystal Dragon(2500/1900) so that I can special summon Crystal Templar(1600/1700)!" A warrior in crystal armor appeared on the field and immediately dropped into a crouch, arms held over his head.
"Your monster is weak, so I'm not worried." Lorien gasped when the field changed, and a huge dragon of at least twenty feet in height and with a crystalline body erupted from the ground next to the templar.
"Surprised? Why do you think I chose this specific union monster? See, when Crystal Templar is summoned I can summon Crystal Dragon from my grave if it's there. So now, since he can't otherwise move out from defense mode, I'll equip Crystal Templar to Crystal Dragon!" The templar moved out of his crouched position and clambered up onto the dragon's back, sitting comfortably at the base of its spine.
"Crystal Templar gives my Crystal Dragon a one hundred point bonus, plus an additional one hundred for every monster on your field. So if you summon my monster just gains strength. That's not all, I haven't made a normal summon this turn so I'll unleash Moonstone Warrior(1500/1300)!" This warrior had glowing blue armor and a sword that seemed to be made of iron rather than steel.
"Finally I throw a card face down, and then we'll see what you can do!" He smirked smugly, happy with his combo. He'd gotten out a strong union group as well as back-up in one turn, and certainly thrown his opponent for a loop.
Lorien paused after drawing, carefully considering the field. "You're strong, stronger than I thought. Unfortunately that won't do you any good against my deck. Activate magic card, Tidal Explosion! This sends all cards on the field to the grave at a cost of my battle phase and next draw phase."
Ryu frowned as a massive wave of water swept down over the field and washed away all of his carefully set up combinations, undoing all of his hard work. "So you call yourself good just because you've got a cheap card like that?"
"Don't attempt to taunt me; it won't do you any good. I summon Oxygedon(1800/800) in attack mode. Then I set two cards face down and end." The monster he had summoned appeared to be a dragon made out of continuously flowing air, and its wings were spread out wide to each side as it shrieked at Ryu.
Without another thought Ryu drew, determined to make a comeback from the losses he had taken because of that stupid Tidal Explosion card. "I play Monster Reborn, calling Crystal Dragon back to the field! And then I activate the quick-play magic card Revival of Diamond Blade! This lets me sacrifice my special summoned dragon to bring out Diamond Head Dragon(3500/2900)!"
An even larger dragon took to the field, its body a teal color but with its head and parts of its body covered by raw diamond. The diamond on its skull formed something of a horn. "Heh, this monster's attack and defense is determined by adding one thousand to the stats of the tributed monster. And he's strong enough to blow away your puny dragon and deal some serious damage!"
Diamond Head Dragon roared and then shattered into a million pieces, leaving no trace that it had been there. "What…what the heck happened?"
"My trap card, Slime Hole lets me destroy a specially summoned monster and gain its attack points as life points. So I have to thank you for supplying me with all that power." Ryu bit his lip to keep from cursing, knowing it would make him look like an amateur. And not only did a lot ride on this duel, but Autumn was watching. He wasn't going to fail now. (LLP: 7500)
"Fine, but I can still summon my newly drawn monster, Sapphire Dragon(1900/1600)! And since this beauty has more attack points, I'll have it destroy your pathetic excuse for a dragon!" A beautiful blue skinned dragon flew down to the field and opened its jaws wide, breathing out a torrent of blue flame that ripped apart the fake dragon. (LLP: 7400)
"I'm afraid we'll both be taking more damage. You see, I activated my second trap when you attacked, my Helix Spell. This continuous trap lets me choose the sub-type of all monsters on your field, and yours became a pyro. When a fire or pyro monster destroys Oxygedon both players take eight hundred damage." A wash of flame briefly covered each duelist, making them flinch as their life points were stripped away. (LLP: 6600, RLP: 3200)
Since Ryu had no more cards in his hand, he was forced to end his turn. Lorien started without drawing, thanks to the effect of his own magic card, which put him at a disadvantage. "How interesting, I'll show you my real power shortly."
"I activate Contingency Fee. Surprisingly enough this card lets you draw until you hold six cards. In exchange it provides me with a fee of one thousand life points per drawn card. Since you hold zero cards, I gain six thousand life points." Ryu cursed mentally as his opponent's life points soared, even though it meant he got a brand new hand. He didn't appreciate having to burn away that many life points. (LLP: 12600)
Once Ryu was finished drawing Lorien held out his other card. "I play Bury the Dead, which lets me send three monsters from my deck to the grave. I choose three Draw Slimes(300/300). When sent to the grave they let me draw a card."
Quickly he searched his deck for the named cards, and once they were in the grave he drew the top three cards of his deck. "I summon Hydrogedon(1600/1000)."
His new monster looked like an ankliosaurus with a body made of brown air flowing at high speeds. Spikes extending from its back, and it looked like it could knock a tank down. "Strangely enough, this monster is a water type. So it benefits from my use of Umikura, a field card that gives all water types five hundred attack points and reduces their defense by four hundred."
The ground was swept over by water, leaving them waist deep in it. Their monsters now floated just above the water. "With that bonus, Hydrogedon will destroy Sapphire Dragon!"
The water dinosaur barreled forwards and slammed its body into Sapphire Dragon's, hurling the dragon backwards. It sank beneath the water and was gone. "When Hydrogedon destroys a monster in battle I can summon a second one in attack mode, so the second Hydrogedon attacks directly!"
This time it was Ryu who took the hit and he fell under the water. He gasped and struggled to his feet, feeling glad that the water wasn't completely real and was only induced by the Darkness Game. 'Good thing it's a low level Darkness Game, or I'd have frozen to death like that.' (RLP: 1000)
"You see? You really are weak. I need not do anything else, as this will be enough to destroy you." Ryu snapped a card up and added it to his hand, barely resisting the urge to scream and curse violently. He was looking like a fool in front of Autumn and this damned priest guy!
"I won't appear as a weakling, so I'll activate Dragon Lord's Call! This card is a Flute of Summoning Dragon that needs no Lord of Dragons to use. So meet Ruby Dragon(1600/1200). Sadly I have no other dragons in hand." His new dragon was a red skinned version of Sapphire Dragon, down to every last detail including the rounded shape of its skull.
"Now that may seem odd, but here's my reason. I play Brain Control to seize one of your Hydrogedons for myself for the turn. Then I tribute them both for Sapphire God Soldier(2800/2000)!" A mighty warrior drifted down to the water, his body covered by shimmering blue armor and his right hand clutching a long sword of sapphire.
"Sapphire God Soldier, destroy the remaining Hydrogedon!" He nodded in affirmation and charged across the field, using his sapphire blade to slice right through the water dinosaur. The monster rippled and then shattered seconds later. (LLP: 11900)
Ryu slid one of his three remaining cards into his duel disk and then flashed a smirk at his opponent. "It's been touch and go so far, but trust me; this duel will be mine, even with all those life points of yours."
Lorien growled, his eyes flashing darkly beneath his hood as he drew. After seeing whatever it was he just laughed, his irritation vanishing. "I play Renewal of Triplets, reviving all three of my Draw Slimes(300/300). Then I play Sacrifice to the Ocean, which lets me revive one water monster from the grave for every monster I tribute. So that's three isn't it?"
The three orange slimes faded away just as quickly as they had appeared, and in their place came the two Hydrogedons and the one Oxyegedon. "Next I draw three cards since my three Draw Slimes went to the grave."
A quick glance at the three new cards gave him a plan for his move. "I play Magic Calling Efforts, sacrificing cards on my field to add magic cards to my hand. I'll just tribute Umikura to add this magic card to hand."
He held up a card from his deck as the water around their waists vanished, leaving them just standing on top of the snow. Ryu sighed in relief at not having to deal with the icy water any longer. "Now, I'll show you my strongest monster! I play Bonding H2O, sacrificing my two 'hydrogen' and my one 'oxygen' to summon Water Dragon(2800/2600)!"
An entirely new monster formed as the three element monsters joined together, creating a twenty-five foot tall dragon made of raw rushing water. It craned its neck down and sprayed water all over Sapphire God Dragon. "Once per turn Water Dragon can reduce all fire and pyro monsters in play to zero attack points, so your once proud and strong soldier is at zero. All thanks to my Helix Spell trap. Which means…attack with Aqua Punisher!"
A massive spray of water crashed into Sapphire God Soldier's chest, sweeping completely over him and onwards to Ryu. Lorien smiled beneath his hood, satisfied that he had proved himself strong in the eyes of his god. "You see? You are too weak." (RLP: 100)
Ryu chuckled and clambered back to his feet, looking wet and annoyed, but otherwise happy and healthy. Lorien couldn't help the gasp of shock that rose from his throat at the sight of those life points, and more so at the sight of a crouched Sapphire God Soldier. "Not smart are you? I used my trap card Hitch a Ride to union my Sapphire God Soldier with Sapphire Dragon in the grave. Normally the new monster has the bonus of God Soldier's attack, but in this case it ended up just being Sapphire Dragon's base attack points. So I took nine hundred damage and survived."
"I see, so you lucked out then? You're still weak, and barely surviving. So go ahead and begin your turn, it won't save you against the wrath of Water Dragon. Or me." Ryu responded by drawing another card.
"Lucked out…no, I'll show you my retaliation and that I didn't luck out! Field magic card, activate! Kingdom of the Dragons!" Upon the field card's activation their entire playing area changed. The snow vanished and was replaced by large rolling fields, with rock spires jutting up at random intervals. Large nests could be seen in those spires, showing where the dragons rested.
"Kingdom of the Dragons increases the attack and defense points of all dragons by three hundred. Also, once per turn it lets a player special summon a dragon from their deck no matter the cost for half their life points. So it's my turn, and I'll be paying half my life points to special summon this supreme dragon, one of the three gods of dragons that I'm capable of unleashing!" A massive roar shook the kingdom, and a blast of fire shot into the air in the distance. (RLP: 50)
The creature that soared into the sky practically blotted out the sun with its bulk. Even though it was hovering high above their heads it was clear that it was tremendous in size. It had four legs, much like a western dragon, but horns extended from the back of its huge skull like an eastern dragon. Lorien stared up at it, unable to contain his awe at the massive beast. "What…what is that?"
"Lorien, I present to you the supreme master of my deck, the dragon that can normally only be summoned by sacrificing three level seven or higher dragons. Bahamut, God-King of Dragons(6500/5000)!" Neither Lorien nor Autumn could find it in them to make a sound as the dragon god circled above them.
Bahamut roared and the ground beneath their feet shook, trembling with the sheer force of it. "Bahamut gains five hundred attack points for every dragon in the cemetery, which means since I've got four dragons he gains an additional two thousand attack points!"
"Now, using option number two of Kingdom of the Dragons I can discard dragons from my hand to draw cards. So I'll discard Diamond Dragon(2100/2800) and Emerald Dragon(2400/1400) to draw twice." He shoved the two cards he was holding into the grave and then drew two brand new cards. Instantly Bahamut's attack rose another thousand points.
Lorien took two steps back, fearing for his life. "Strong as your dragon is, it can't end this now, and I'll make sure to crush it next turn!"
"Sorry Lorien, but I told you that this is my retaliation. For mocking me, I'll use this magic card. Unshakable Fury of the Dragon! For the duration of the turn the attack points of one dragon on my field double, meaning this is the end! Bahamut, attack with Omega Flare!" Lorien screamed as an enormous wave of energy shot out of Bahamut's open jaws and consumed him, along with a massive swath of land in the direction that the blast was fired. (LLP: 0)
Ryu let out his breath, relaxing slightly now that the duel was done. It had been a good duel, and both easier and more difficult than he would have expected. And lying in the snow where Lorien had previously been was a simple crystal sphere with a blue glow inside. "So…this is the Death-Sealing Spell of Tide huh? I never expected it to be so small, or so…beautiful."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alice sighed and glanced over her shoulder at the older woman following her. They were on their way to the far side of Chicago, and she was partnered with Hikari. Honestly she would have preferred to be paired with her senpai, but there was nothing to be done about it. 'At least I get to be the one to duel first. And at least I didn't get paired with that bore Rishid.'
That thought gave her pause and she wished she hadn't thought it. She might not get along with the man, but he wasn't here because he had taken Isis' body to Egypt, in order to give her a proper burial. 'Isis….why did it have to be you?'
Naturally there was no answer, but that couldn't be helped. She just wished that her senpai had shown greater concern for Isis' welfare rather than rushing them along as fast as possible. Sometimes it bothered her that he seemed so cold about a lot of things. 'And weren't they involved in some way? I'm jealous…but shouldn't he have had more of a reaction?'
"Hikari…do you know how Dalin and Isis were involved? I mean…to what degree." The older woman frowned and tried to decide just how much to say. After several seconds she remembered that despite bouts of intense immaturity the other girl was in fact twenty-one and not some flighty teenager.
"From what I know they were intimate. Physically that is. I asked Dalin about her once and he told me that he had no right to be with any person until his own life was resolved enough. I'm not sure what he meant though." Alice smiled, because she knew him well enough to understand what he had meant.
"I do. He meant that until he knew more about his own past he couldn't let himself stay still and commit himself. It makes me sad to think about it, but there's even a chance that senpai is married, and that some lucky woman out there is waiting for him, or maybe thinks he's dead. He can't commit without that knowledge." Both of them sighed together, feeling a bit of sadness at the thought that the man who had become their leader was a person who couldn't move on with his life until he knew the truth.
"You are the ones who Lord Eikyuu sent to challenge me? Little girls…how boring." Both women spun around, duel disks clicking into place at the sound of the voice. Standing about fifteen feet behind them on the abandoned street was a man in a black robe, his face concealed. The hood of the robe had an infinity symbol on it, meaning he was one of Eikyuu's High Priests.
The robed priest tapped a button on his black disk, causing it to move into the on position. Carefully he slid a deck into it, ignoring the gust of wind from the windy city that billowed his robes out to the left. "I am the High Priest of the Wind, who holds the Death-Sealing Spell of Gust. You can call me Cyrus. Which of you is my opponent?" (CLP: 4000)
Alice stepped forward, motioning with her arm for Hikari to step away. The girl gave her room, and purple fog swept around their feet, the only indication a Darkness Game had begun. Likely it was only a level one. "I'm Alice, and this "little girl" is going to take you apart!" (ALP: 4000)
The blonde girl flipped six cards off of her deck and registered them as quickly as possible, just as she had learned to do back at her days in Duelist Academy and under Dalin's tutelage. "I summon Atomic Punk(1200/1400) in attack mode, and set one card. End!"
Cyrus slid a card off his deck, and then his field card slot opened up. "Hmph. I activate Rising Air Current, which will give all wind types a five hundred attack point boost and reduce their defense by 400. Then I summon Hurricane Priest(1500/1000)."
A man in sky blue robes and a ball of air in one hand appeared across from the dark skinned man with the mohawk on Alice's field. "Hurricane Priest gives all wind types in play a three hundred point boost. Together with Rising Air Current that means his attack is twenty-three hundred. And it means he'll slay Atomic Punk!"
Atomic Punk reached behind his back and pulled out a guitar. He strummed a single cord and a solid blast of sound struck Hurricane Priest, dropping him to his knees before he could attack. "Atomic Punk can once per turn switch the mode of any monster on the opponent's field. So now your monster is in defense with a weakened six hundred defense points. Take that natch!"
Beneath his hood Cyrus was scowling, annoyed at having been bested in his first turn by such a little girl. "I set one card face down. End turn…little girl."
Alice smirked as she drew, knowing she wouldn't have to deal with this jerk too much longer. "Really, you're not that great of a duelist are you? I summon Nuclear Medic(1000/900). Once per turn he raises my life points by 200 for each monster with atomic, nuclear, or radioactive in its name." (ALP: 4400)
The newest monster looked a normal woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a nurse's outfit. The major difference was that she had a nuclear warning sign on the front of her uniform. "Nuclear Medic attacks Hurricane Priest!"
Cyrus' set card instantly flipped up, and a heavy gust of wind knocked Nuclear Medic backwards before she made it half-way across the field. "My Heavy Air Current lets me pay five hundred life points to negate an attack on any wind monster. And it's a permanent card." (CLP: 3500)
"In that case, I have Atomic Punk attack as well!" The rocker plucked a string, sending a shock of sound at the defense mode priest. Instantly another blast of wind shot out of the face-up trap, canceling the sound and causing the rocker to stumble backwards. (CLP: 3000)
Alice smirked and flipped over one of the four remaining cards she had in her hand. "Go magic card, Atomic Energy Pulse! If I've got an atomic monster in play, you take two hundred damage for each one!"
A blast of green glowing energy hit Cyrus head-on, shoving him a few feet backwards. He scowled beneath his mask, even more bothered that he was losing to this blonde little thing. "Are you quite done?" (CLP: 2800)
"Sure old man, go ahead and take your turn. Not like it'll help, so you don't seem to be much of a duelist at all." She tossed him a saucy grin, which he snorted in reply to and drew.
His deep voiced laughter told Alice that he had drawn something good. And when he slid it into his duel disk she knew for sure. "I play Storm of Desolation! For every open zone on your field you must discard cards from your hand and your deck. You have seven open zones, so you lose the three in your hand and four from your deck!"
Alice bit her tongue and dumped her hand and the top four cards of her deck into the grave. "Dumping my hand won't let you beat me, so if you want to try anything you've got to do better than that!"
"Oh I will little girl. For instance, I play Coming of the Divine Wind. This lets me sacrifice a Hurricane Priest to summon a Lord of the Hurricane(2700 +500/2400) from my deck!" Hurricane Priest vanished, and was replaced by a towering man in majestic royal blue robes. He held a white scepter in his right hand, which had a swirling orb of wind capping the top.
"And for your information, Lord of the Hurricane destroys all magic and trap cards on your field when summoned. In addition, he's immune to monster effects." Alice gulped as her defensive set card was blown away. What was worse was that her Atomic Punk's effect wouldn't work on him.
"Lord of the Hurricane, attack and destroy Nuclear Medic! Hurricane of Lord's Might!" The lord aimed his staff at the female medic and a huge tornado exploded from the orb. It sucked up the medic and pulled her into the orb, where she was lost from sight. (ALP: 2200)
He sneered and folded his arms over his chest, feeling satisfied that he had even them up quite a bit. "Turn end."
The blonde girl top-decked, and scowled at the sight of a tribute monster. "I switch Atomic Punk to defense mode and end my turn."
Cyrus drew, and then pointed to Atomic Punk. "Hurricane of Lord's Might!" Just like the medic before him the rocker was sucked up into the orb, leaving no trace that he was ever there. And worst of all, it meant that Alice was in deep trouble.
"Ah, now that I've cleared your field of that pesky punk, I summon Gust Harpy(1700 +500/1300). Then I end my turn." His new monster was similar in appearance to Harpy Lady, but instead of the normal outfit this one wore a white gown.
Alice took a deep breath and drew, then scowled and threw the monster down. "Radioactive Wall of Flesh(0/2200) in defense mode."
Her defense monster was literally a wall of glowing green flesh. And right now, it was the only thing keeping her from losing the duel. "End."
'Its effect will come in handy, but it's only a temporary defense. How am I supposed to hold out like this? If I could maybe draw a defensive trap, or a draw card I'd be fine but if I don't do it quick then I'm finished!' Even though she couldn't see his face, she somehow knew he had a smug smirk on his face as he drew.
"Really, you're not that impressive. I'm actually bored with this duel. So I'll finish it this turn. Hurricane of Lord's Might!" Alice shivered as the powerful gust of wind moved over her field at the same time as an actual gust of wind came through the city.
"My Wall of Flesh may be gone, but when it goes to the grave all damage to me for the turn is reduced by half." Cyrus sighed and shook his head, before snapping his fingers. The harpy took flight and soared across the field, using the claws on her feet to scratch Alice across the chest. (ALP: 1100)
"Really, you are pathetic. Little girl, just surrender. You're not even worth playing with." He chuckled at his own joke, not realizing just how deep a blow he was making against Alice. She narrowed her eyes and reached for her next card, filling her determination flaring.
"Let me tell you, I've got a lot riding on this duel. I've come too far in proving my worth to this group to fail now, so I'm going to use my ultimate monster to blow you away! Activate magic card, Ignition of Nuclear Power! First I pay eight hundred life points…." (ALP: 300)
She gripped the last card in her hand and slammed it down onto the field. "And now I can summon a monster with 'nuclear' in its name from my hand. In this case, the monster of my choice is none other than Nuclear Dragon(3000/2800)!"
A huge form appeared in place of her previous monsters. It was a huge red dragon with mechanical plating all along its form, and there was a faint green glow coming from it. "Nuclear Dragon's special effect activates at a cost of half my life points on being summoned!" (ALP: 150)
The dragon opened its mouth wide and spewed out a huge swath of toxic waste over Cyrus' field. The priest screamed and stumbled backwards, trying to avoid the toxic chemicals that were covering his field. "What is this insanity!"
"It's Nuclear Dragon's special effect which destroys every monster on your field! And with your field cleared your trap is totally useless. In other words, Nuclear Dragon ends it!" The toxic waste swept Cyrus' feet out from under him, tossing him about until finally he came to a crashing halt against a brick wall. Slowly the waste faded away as the field cleared. (CLP: 0)
Cyrus groaned as he rose to his feet and pulled something out from within his robes. "You proved me wrong little girl. For that I offer my congratulations. Here is the orb containing the Death-Sealing Spell of Gust. Use it well."
Alice took the crystal orb out of his hand and held it up to the light, examining it. It was simple and clear, except for the center which was swirling white air, solid enough to be visible. "Yes! Victory!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Drake skidded backwards as the powerful blast of energy struck him head-on. The unleashed power of Armed Dragon LV10 had managed to finish him off, sending his life points plummeting to zero. "Damn…" (DLP: 0)
His father sighed and turned away, shaking his head as he walked in the opposite direction. "Still you can't grasp what is needed to really gain true control over yourself in all aspects of life. I'll be over here while you come to grips with yourself, and understand that your pure determination won't cut it anymore. Or did you think it was always going to be enough? Until you do, we're done."
Drake shoved himself back up into a sitting position and from there clambered to his feet. He raised his left arm, duel disk still in position, and swiftly shuffled up his deck. "Not yet! I'm not done yet; we're not going to quite until I figure it out, one way or another!"
Since his back was turned to his son, Masue felt perfectly fine with smiling. He couldn't help but be pleased by the focus his son showed. Yet still, that determination wasn't going to work out as well as it had previously. "How do you think just using your determination is going to teach you the lessons you need to learn?"
"Because the best things in life are learned through practice and effort. So I'll struggle through the bog until I figure it out, even if I have to use my greatest trait of determination to do it! Just because determination won't cut it doesn't mean I should just discard my determination!" Masue settled for another smile out of his son's view.
"Good, you understand that much at least. But just how far are you willing to push your determination? How far will you go to understand and surpass your former limits? Especially considering you don't even have a reason to fight at the moment." Drake clenched his fists, his body trembling under the strain of dozens of all-out battles and high level Darkness Games. He felt weaker than he had in a very long time, but he wouldn't let that stop him.
"To find a dream, to have a reason to continue with my life and keep fighting…I'll let my determination push me to the edge of death and beyond if that's what it takes! If I can't find a reason to keep going and to fight then there's no purpose for me living at all! So I'm going to throw everything I have into discovery a purpose for myself!" Masue smiled even broader as he felt his son's energy flare, soaring up and up, almost as if he had never played the past three Darkness Games.
"Good. Then let us continue!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Author's Notes: Natch! I love that word.
Next Time: Two of the Death-Sealing Spells have been recovered, but somehow it has been too easy. Nothing feels right, but still they must press on. Dalin now moves to face the next High Priest, but happenings elsewhere bring up some critical questions for the group. Where are Drake, Kirani, Kai, and Takuya?
See it all in, Roar of Thunder!