Author's Note: Part two of D'harim versus Takuya!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Apocalypse Please

Takuya drew, his arm feeling weak as he did so. "D'harim, I've always dueled with my heart and soul, but for the longest time I fought with whatever warriors I could. This time though, I'll fight you with my full soul and the knights that have long rested there, waiting to be released!"

He slapped down one of the cards he was holding and a single spot on his field was covered by a bright white light. As the white light faded it revealed a monster on a white horse with silver armor coverings its flanks and head. The man itself on the horse had blonde hair hanging down his back and bright white armor with a red cross emblazoned on the front. In his right hand was a short sword, and strapped to his back was a shield that also held a red cross. "This is my soul's knight, Saint Knight-Nicholas(1000/1000)!"

D'harim looked between his army of Death Knights and the single Saint Knight that was on Takuya's field. "So it is to be a true battle of diametrically opposed views then? Death Knights against Saint Knights?"

Takuya nodded and held up his right fist which he squeezed into a fist. "That's right D'harim! Born in my soul as a direct reaction to your presence this deck is absolutely designed to be the opposite of yours! These monsters were created to oppose the Death Knights, and that's exactly what they're going to do!"

He punched forwards with his fist and Saint Knight-Nicholas pointed his short sword at D'harim. "Saint Knight-Nicholas is just the first of my opposing monsters, and he won't be the last. Together with them I'll defeat you and save my companions, and then when we're free we'll find a way to stop your comrades!"

The Death Knight fingered the blood ruby at the end of his sword as Takuya spoke. "You mean to say that you think you five can stop the tide of death that will sweep away your world?"

Takuya looked back over his shoulder at his four companions, none of whom he could consider true friends. Yet still, he knew that he was closer to them than many people were to their friends. They were his fellow soldiers in what was bound to be a war. "I don't know how, but I feel it in my heart that we're going to beat you."

D'harim's white eyes stared past Takuya's eyes and into the warrior's soul. Beneath the grill of bone D'harim began to smile. "Prove it."

"Don't worry D'harim; I'm going to do just that! If all monsters on the opponent's field have greater attack strength than it my Saint Knight-Nicholas can attack directly. Saint's Blade!" The blonde knight galloped forward, slipping past the five knight tokens and to D'harim's side.

It raised its short sword and swung down at D'harim's neck. The Death Knight however didn't move to avoid the swing and instead stood and waited for it. To Takuya's surprise a monster in what looked like rustic clothing made from skin appeared and was cut down by the sword instead. "Damn…"

"Apparently you have few memories of my deck, otherwise you would have remembered that when I am directly attacked I can special summon Death Knight Page(400/1400) from my deck to deflect the attack, even if my monster zones are full." With a frown Nicholas rode back over to Takuya's field.

D'harim reached for his deck and with his armored fingers he counted out two cards and then drew them. "Also, when Death Knight Page goes from the field to the cemetery I get to draw two cards. So thank you."

Takuya paused to consider the five remaining cards in his hand. His opponent essentially had an army ready to attack him and each was stronger than his own knight. 'I have to be cautious; I can't count on him negating damage against me…'

Taking two cards, one from each side of his hand, Takuya finished up his turn. He placed one card into each of the far slots of his Duel Pod, causing them to take shape on the field. "I place two cards down on my field and end!"

D'harim drew again, raising his hand size to three cards. "Your monster is pathetically weak, and its so-called sainthood makes it vulnerable to the terrifying dark powers of the Death Knights. Death Knight Token number one, strike it down!"

The first of the skeletally armored knights ran across the field, chipped black sword swinging at Nicholas. The Saint Knight blocked the first strike, but the follow up pierced through his middle. Takuya dropped to one knee, arm wrapping around his stomach as he tried to hold back the pain. 'It's like I was the one who got gutted…this is intense…'

His knight collapsed and remained where it previously was, however there was no change in Takuya's life points. D'harim looked up from his cards and noticed this. "Why hasn't your life points changed?"

Taking a deep breath to steady himself Takuya rose to his full height and pointed with his left arm to the card set on his farthest left. As he did so it lifted up and a shining barrier of light briefly flashed before his eyes. "The reason is my continuous trap card Spirit Barrier."

"I see, if I remember correctly that card prevents you from taking life point damage in battle as long as you have monsters in play. Is that right?" Takuya nodded, knowing full well that at the moment it was completely pointless. After all, he no longer had a monster to defend himself with.

The Death Knight raised his gauntleted right hand and pointed with a meaty finger right at Takuya. "Since you currently have no monsters your trap is useless. Death Knight Token number two will attack you directly!"

Nikolas frowned as he shot his gaze over at the far right face down card on Takuya's field. Then he looked back at the charging soldier. 'That card is remaining face down…can you really not block it? Idiot, you can't lose on the third damned turn!'

The army knight's chipped sword stopped mere inches away from Takuya's face, deflected by a solid white sword, similar to how D'harim had been defended on his own turn. "What is this?"

Standing at Takuya's side was a knight in white armor with a red cross on the chest, only it wore chain mail rather than plate mail like Nicholas. "This? It's a Saint Knight Token(1200/1200)!"

Nikolas let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when he saw that Takuya's face down card was now gone, and the warrior was safe from damage. 'Don't screw around, you almost gave me a heart attack!'

Takuya held up a magic card with a quick-play symbol in the corner, it showed a group of shadowy figures standing across from an equal sized group of Saint Knights. "This is my quick-play magic card, Opposing Reflections. When the opponent attacks me directly with a dark type I can activate it and create Saint Knight Tokens on my field equal to the number of monsters on the opponent's field."

D'harim looked from side to side as one by one another four Saint Knights flanked Takuya, giving him an entourage of knights equal in ability to D'harim's own army. "I like your style Kensai. I could have our armies clash and destroy each other, but instead…"

He snapped his fingers and the token he had just attacked with retreated and moved back to stand amongst its comrades. "Since the number of monsters on your field has changed I'll use the right of recall to halt my attack. This is an interesting situation you've created, I must admit. Especially considering what is to come…"

"What's to come? What do you mean by that?" D'harim lifted up his left arm and pointed at the torn sky, which continued to crackle with red lightning.

"That scar in the sky is a sign of our coming, a sign of the degradation of the ancient barrier that separates my realm from yours. Already the Death Knight Army is beginning to enter this world of life. And soon the war will begin your life against our death." He let his hand drift to his side and placed it on the hilt of his sword. A mist of cold breath issued out of his bone grill.

"The term 'Death Knight' is merely a translation of the name we use. It isn't the true name of our race, just as you qualify yourselves as 'humans' and yet are actually Homo sapiens. You see, the Death Knights are just one faction of our species, composed of our most militant and fanatically religious. For over ten thousand years we have spread our might throughout the varying realms, and now at long last we have reached your world of life, our opposite." Takuya gulped at the number of years mentioned. It didn't seem possible.

"How can your race have been conquering for ten thousand years? You don't seem all that advanced, after all you use swords." More mist pumped out of the grill over D'harim's mouth, and with it came what was almost a hissing sound. Takuya was fairly sure he had annoyed the Death Knight.

"Time flows differently for us, and what you call technology we call blasphemy. Everything exists in death, so we make everything we have out of the dead. We are a society of war and death, spreading our ideals and the nature of our world to other places. Technology has never stopped us before, nor will it be of any aid against our armies now. Tell me, how many soldiers would you say the largest army of your world has?" Takuya paused to consider the question, since the military wasn't his greatest area of expertise.

"Well…China probably has the largest military force, though not necessarily strongest. I'd say they probably have twenty million soldiers active at any point in time." D'harim chuckled and tapped his thumb against the blood ruby on his sword.

"Then just as I thought, there will be no chance of your victory. For ten thousand years we have been gaining numbers and slaying those who stand in our way. Our army, the lowest of the low, not even counting higher members, totals in the billions. After all, our whole society is involved in this war. And here you humans are, divided and unable to cooperate." Alice smacked her hand against the railing all of a sudden and glared right at D'harim.

"Talk about your numbers all you want, but if you guys try too hard we'll unleash mankind's ultimate weapon and even the biggest numbers you have won't be enough!" D'harim turned to look at her, his blank white eyes beating down upon hers. She shrank back from those eyes, her body growing colder.

"You speak of nuclear weapons? Stupid little human girl, you don't know a thing about war do you? Even as a last resort weapon your nuclear weapons would do just as much damage to you as they would to us. We won't sit in one spot and wait; we'll be in your homes, in your cities. Attacking us in such a manner would obliterate hundreds of millions of human lives, and potentially your entire world." A dark rolling laugh left his lips, filling even the humans on D'harim's side with dread.

"Any human sent to launch your nuclear missiles against us in battle would be just an idiot sent on a fool's errand. You should face up to the truth, that this is a war you sacks of meat can't hope to win." Alice gulped and backed away, stopping only when Autumn and Ryu remained in her way.

Kodowari leaned in to his father's ear and whispered. "Father, I thought you wanted to show the world the bestial nature of mankind, not annihilate everyone. If the Death Knights succeed…"

Taichi glared at his son, his blue eyes growing even icier than normal. "Don't doubt me…I know what…I'm doing."

Kodowari backed away and gave his father a bow of the head. "I understand father, I accept your word."

D'harim chuckled and grabbed one of his three cards in his right hand and placed it into his bone duel disk. "End turn."

Takuya drew and as soon as he registered what he had drawn he snapped his arm up and pointed at the Death Knight tokens. His Saint Knight tokens all readied their swords, prepared to attack. "You want a two-sided massacre? Then fine, I'll give you one! Saint Knights, attack!"

He braced himself as his knights ran across the field. D'harim placed his hand on his hilt again and made a brief wave with his free right hand. "Death Knights, counter-attack."

The first handfuls of strikes were parried on each side, blades pressing against each other in futile efforts to overcome the other. Finally each warrior saw an opening and plunged their blades into the open chests of their targets. All together the group of ten warriors collapsed and Takuya fell with them, his hands and knees on the floor as he panted heavily under the pain. 'How…how do I survive…'

The Death Knight held two fingers out in front of his cemetery slot and caught a group of cards that were pushed out. He picked them up and proceeded to shuffle them back into his deck. "When a Death Knight token is destroyed I can shuffle one card in my cemetery back into my deck."

Takuya shuddered, his body feeling weaker than it had at the start of his turn. He was shocked when he saw a droplet of blood fall from his open mouth to the metal floor beneath him. 'I have to be strong…I have to win!'

He grabbed the railing at his side with his left arm and pulled, dragging himself to his feet bit by bit. "D'harim…you're strong, but not invincible, and the same goes for the rest of your people! The ingenuity of human beings will defeat you all!"

"Your courage is admirable, but also laughable. That pride in your own ingenuity may very well be your downfall. Don't you humans have a saying about that or something? Pride goeth before the fall?" Takuya grimaced and wiped blood from his lips, ignoring the pain he felt in his chest.

"I'll place a monster and a magic or trap card face down on the field. Then I end my turn." Now he had two cards to defend himself with, along with his continuous trap Spirit Barrier. Whether that would be enough he didn't know.

D'harim picked up his top card and added it to his hand. Then he once again reached for the top card of his deck and picked it up, only this time he held it there for a moment. "I don't know how much you remember about my deck, so I'll be kind and explain the key feature of the Death Knights."

He slowly pushed the card he had taken from the top of his deck into his graveyard. "Once per turn I can discard the top card of my deck in order to revive on Death Knight, any Death Knight. Meaning even my strongest monsters I won't have to sacrifice for, and making my monsters effectively immortal."

A dark ball of flame rose up on his field and then broke open, revealing a decrepit looking monster with dark skins as its clothing and a tight mask of bone placed over its face. "I'm going to annihilate you Kensai, and the first step is to turn your pathetic Saint Knights to the truth. That is why I have this monster."

The decrepit monster lifted its head, cold white eyes staring out from beneath its mask. It raised its right arm, holding an obsidian spear with a tip of bone towards the sky. "Death Knight Missionary(1500/1100) will assist me and show you and your monsters the true failings of this world of life!"

The Death Knight aimed its spear at the face down monster on Takuya's field and then threw it with its full strength. To Takuya's surprise it punched right through his set monster without any feeling of damage to him. 'I get it…a set monster is technically not summoned, so his Duel Presence works a lot like a field card. It only works with face-up monsters!'

D'harim chuckled and folded his arms across his broad armored chest. "I end my turn…and that activates the effect of Missionary."

Takuya stared in shock as a black bone armored vaguely female monster appeared on D'harim's field. It even had a blood red cross on the chest. "What the….that's my Saint Knight-Hildegard(700/1200)!"

"Correction, this is now my Death Knight Hildegard. You see, Missionary special summons any monster it destroys in battle to my field during the end phase. That monster becomes a Death Knight. Your monster has been turned to the truth and joined my ranks!" Takuya gritted his teeth, realizing that he was in trouble if all his monsters were taken over by D'harim.

'Damn…and Hildegard's effect won't work for me now.' He reached for his deck and drew, trying to figure out a way to take the field advantage from D'harim.

When he held up his drawn card he couldn't help but smirk. "I'm going to turn your own strategy back against you with this one card! Go continuous magic card, Canonizing Process!" A space on his field started glowing and turned into a face-up magic card showing a man kneeling before what could only be the Pope.

"Next I summon Saint Knight-Titus(1400/1300)." His monster bore the same plate mail white armor that Nicholas had been in, along with the same red cross. The primary difference was that he had long black hair tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Titus raised his white sword and pointed it at the Death Knight Hildegard, a scowl on his face at the sight of one of his corrupted fellow saints. "Titus now attacks Hildegard!"

The knight charged across the field on his steed and succeeded in decapitating Hildegard with one sweep of his blade. "Tell me, does your converted monster go to your graveyard, or mine?"

"My graveyard, as it is now a Death Knight." Takuya smirked and seemed happier than he had before. D'harim didn't like that one bit.

"Perfect, now I activate the effect of Canonizing Process! At a cost of five hundred life points I can special summon a monster I beat in battle to my field during the end phase. That monster becomes a Saint Knight, so I've undone the damage you did!" His smirk stayed on as his life points reduced to pay for the cost. (TLP: 3500)

He folded up his cards and Hildegard reappeared on his field, once again in her white armor rather than her dead black bone armor. "Saint Knight-Hildegard(700/1200) is reborn, and that marks my turn's conclusion."

D'harim drew once and then a second time. "I'll send this top card off my deck to the grave in order to activate the effect of my Death Knights. Now the one who is reborn is what I discarded last turn!"

He placed the second card he had picked up into his graveyard, and then took one from out of his grave and placed it onto his duel disk. A Death Knight in black bone armor appeared, though it was not on a horse. Instead of having a sword its fists were covered in blood blackened spike-tipped gauntlets. "Death Knight Brute(2000/300) is my choice for revival."

The brute slammed its gauntleted fists together and looked towards Takuya's two monsters. "Brute, attack and destroy his pathetic Titus!"

Brute jumped into the air and came flying back down, swinging his right arm at full force. The punch caught Titus in the jaw and snapped the knight's head in a complete circle. Takuya screamed and grabbed at his own neck, nearly toppling over. "Intense isn't it? Even without damage you're coming to understand the nature of suffering. It is all consuming; it is what drives us to become superior, to recognize the true nature of life!"

He raised his left hand and pointed at the crouching Hildegard. "Death Knight Missionary, slay Hildegard once more!"

The missionary jabbed its spear into Hildegard's gut and then wrenched it out, pulling the female knight's intestines out with the bladed end. At last Takuya did topple over, his hands barely catching the railing to prevent him from falling face first. "Are you coming to understand?"

Sweat dripped from Takuya's forehead and onto the metal beneath him as he struggled to regain focus. D'harim was certainly right that the pain was intense with or without damage. 'Have to…stop the pain…'

Seeing that Takuya wasn't standing up yet the Death Knight sighed, mist hissing out from behind his mask. "If you won't stand, then I'll teach you a lesson in suffering the way I did with your friend Kai Kaethen. I will force you to stand with my continuous magic card, Cross of Lightning!"

A black cross appeared behind Takuya and ropes shot out from it and gripped him by the wrists and neck, pulling him up so he was strapped to the cross. Then another set of straps wrapped around his ankles, keeping him firmly in place. "No…"

"This magic card allows me to forfeit my battle phase to prevent you from drawing, and it will shock you every time that it stops you. Bit by bit the electricity will kill you and show you the true path. There is no escape." Takuya shuddered at his place on the cross, know remembering from his trapped point of view that this was how Kai had fallen to D'harim in their duel.

"No…no! Not this time, this time I won't allow it to be that way! This time I won't let you win, and I won't let you make me suffer! I won't let you hurt me or anyone else! Reverse card open!" D'harim's breath hitched slightly in surprise as the face down card on Takuya's field revealed itself and a blast of wind shot out of it, descending as a vortex over Takuya.

The cross shook and then broke apart, and Takuya dropped heavily onto his feet, stumbling for a moment before he caught himself. D'harim scowled beneath his helmet, seeing his attempt ruined. "So, your face down card had been Cyclone, is that it?"

Takuya smirked very slightly, his face gaining strength moment by moment as he recovered from the pain. "That's right D'harim; you won't be torturing me in this duel. And when I'm done with you you'll never get to torture anyone ever again!"

D'harim chuckled and folded up his hand of three cards. "We'll see about that. I end my turn, activating Missionary's effect and special summon Death Knight Hildegard(700/1200) to my field in defense mode."

One hand reached down to his deck and gripped the top card, then yanked it off at full force. Takuya found it was surprisingly satisfying to be able to draw when it had been D'harim's intent to stop him from doing so. "My turn, draw!"

He felt the card in his hand and brought it up to his face so that he could see it. Before he even saw the name he saw the image on the card and knew what he had drawn. "You and your fellow Death Knights may be coming here in an unusual manner, but we can kill you all the same. And in fact your own Death Knights are weak in that they were special summoned!"

"Weak because they were special summoned? What sort of comment is that? The special ability of my knights is a strength, not a weakness." Takuya smirked and took the last remaining card in his hand and held it pointing down in his hand and moved it towards the cemetery.

Nikolas tapped his knuckles against the metal railing and chewed his bottom lip. 'What the heck is that idiot thinking right now? I have to agree with D'harim. The fact that his monsters were special summoned is far from a liability. It doesn't make sense to call it that…'

On the opposite end Kodowari and Evelyn looked to Taichi, who seemed to be snickering beneath his breath. He gave them no answer, as he had no intention of wasting any of his limited breath. 'Clever Kensai…clever.'

"Let me show you why it's a weakness with a magic card that is a perfect counter for your deck! By discarding a card I fulfill its cost and can activate Special Hurricane!" He slammed his discard into the graveyard and a heavy wind picked up on the field, swirling around the three Death Knights on D'harim's field.

The winds tossed the Death Knights into the air and then proceeded to rip them completely apart, scattering pieces of armor all over the field. D'harim looked around at the parts of his fallen knights and tapped his foot heavily on the ground. "How did that happen?"

"Simple, by fulfilling its cost my Special Hurricane card can destroy all monsters on the field that have been special summoned. And since you special summoned all three of your monsters all of them were blown away!" D'harim stared at Takuya for a few minutes, and then back to laugh.

Nikolas stomped over a promptly smacked Takuya upside the head. "Idiot, pay attention to what you're doing! Sure you destroyed his monsters, but now you've got nothing left in your hand and no way to defend yourself! And he can still special summon his monsters!"

Takuya shoved Nikolas away and folded his arms. "Shut up thief, I know what I'm doing. For the cost of my magic card I discarded Shield of Honor. Until my next turn when this card goes to the grave no player has a battle phase, meaning I'm protected. And that means I'm done for the moment."

D'harim seemed to be in thought as he drew, obviously considering the situation. "Special Hurricane…a card meant to deal specifically with monsters that are special summoned. Saint Knights, monsters that are this world's holy knights the opposing force to the Death Knights…"

Without seeming to pay much attention to it he picked up the top card of his deck and placed it into his cemetery. Seconds later Death Knight Brute(2000/300) took shape again on his field. "So, your deck is really designed to face mine specifically, isn't it? This will be interesting, more than I thought."

He took one of the cards in his hand and placed it into his bone disk, and then a black whip with thorns formed at his hip. "Nightmare Lash is a continuous magic card that lets me negate damage from my Death Knights in order to force you to discard the top card of your deck. With that, I end."

Takuya drew hard off his deck and a glowing orb of light appeared above his head. "Saint Knight Hildegard, now that she's back in my grave, gets her effect. During my standby phase she'll generate one counter on the field."

He slapped his drawn card onto his duel disk and another knight in white armor with the same cross formed this one with short cut brown hair. "Saint Knight-Louis(1700/1300) is my method of attack, and he'll rip apart your Brute!"

The buzz cut knight drew his sword, which was just as white as his armor and pointed it at the Death Knight. "As long as I have a 'Saint Counter' on my field, the type of counter Hildegard generates, my Saint Knights gain five hundred attack points when in battle with a dark type. Louis attacks!"

The knight rode across the field, his horse galloping, and his blade held high. As he made it closer the counter that showed his stats began going up until it hit twenty-two hundred and his sword cleaved right through…the wrong monster. "Damn…I forgot about that."

D'harim smirked as he held up the card that Takuya had forgotten. "I see that you failed to remember my Death Knight Page(400/1400) which I was once again able to block your attack with. And of course since it went to the cemetery I can draw two cards."

The Death Knight drew twice, putting his hand up at five cards, giving him a distinct hand advantage. "Did you really think it would be that easy to gain the advantage against me, particularly since I'm still not using my full strength?"

"I didn't claim it would be easy, but I am certain I can do it! And now the effect of Louis activates since he destroyed a monster in battle. I draw until I reach a magic or trap card and then set it on my field. All other cards are shuffled back in." He picked up one card, then a second, and finally placed his third onto his duel disk and shuffled the other two back into his deck.

Since there were no cards in his hand, he was done for the time being. "Go ahead D'harim; I can handle whatever you can bring against me."

D'harim drew once and carefully added the card to his five others. "Is that so? Perhaps that is what you honestly believe, but I'll prove it to be untrue now. Activate magic card, Funeral for a Friend!"

Takuya looked around, worried as the sound of a funeral dirge filled the air. "What in the world is going on?"

His opponent's white eyes seemed to vanishing, indicating that he had closed them. "Ah yes, the sound of a funeral procession gives you mortals a heavy heart doesn't it? Yes, this is a sound you never got to hear for your friend Kai Kaethen is it?"

Takuya felt his blood boiling in his veins as he heard that name come from D'harim's lips again. "I don't want you talking about him, anything about him even to say his name. You don't deserve to say the name of any innocent, let alone a friend of mine who died trying to protect others from people like you! A friend who suffered in the past at your hands!"

D'harim tilted his head up and stared into the torn sky, sighing heavily. "This world has legends of the end of the world doesn't it? And in many of them, what is one of the signs of that end? Isn't it when the dead walk amongst the living?"

A chill ran up each of their spines, particularly Alice's spine as she backed away to get as far from D'harim as she could. Nikolas pushed past his fear and scuffed the ground with a foot. "Maybe so, and I bet you're saying that the dead that are going to walk are you Death Knights, right?"

D'harim didn't respond immediately as he seemed enraptured by the torn sky. The red lightning was coming faster than before. "As we speak more and more of my brethren walk your land…however you guess wrong. We are called 'Death Knights', but we are not alive or dead, at least not in the way you think of those terms. No, I speak of the real dead."

Takuya's right hand curled into a fist, feeling his blood pounding father. "Don't you dare…not what you're suggesting…you monster..."

"Maybe I am a monster, but I'm not entirely to blame. Perhaps you too should seek the truth by suffering enough that you might stare into the eye of truth that my god possesses. Then and only then will you understand why this is happening, that it must." At his words Alice saw an entirely different image flash through her mind, one that had already terrified her.

"Eye of truth? What…what do you mean?" She shivered as D'harim lowered his head and opened his eyes, those white pupils-less orbs staring right into her eyes. Staring past them and into the depths of her soul. She felt afraid.

"He is a magnificent monstrosity, a god of truth who raised himself from our pantheon to stand at the top to show us the true path. He gave of himself, plucked his own eye out to receive the true knowledge of the Universe. He suffered incredible torments in order to gain the knowledge that leads to eternal reward." D'harim seemed to shudder, but it didn't appear to be fear. Takuya couldn't even identify the reason, but it made him feel ill.

"Yes, and in so doing he gives us the path and contains all the truth of the Universe within the Eye of Truth, which devours all knowledge into itself so that nothing is ever out of its grasp. Only by suffering and coming to terms with suffering will we be able to gaze into that eye and see the end of the true path. That is why we have come, to follow the true path and to set the rest of you mortals on the true path." The sound of funerary music grew louder and the fog that wrapped around them grew colder with every word.

A huge black coffin lifted up out of the ground and stood in front of D'harim and to his left, the music growing louder with each passing moment. "The truth contained within my god's eye even has the power to raise the dead and give them the same life that we have. It requires great sacrifice of self, but with that ultimate knowledge anything is possible. Even the doors of the land of the dead open wide with a simple glance of that all-knowing eye!"

D'harim thrust out his left hand and the coffin's cover began to slide off bit by bit, creaking as it moved its heavy bulk away. "Watch as the power of my god's eye of truth reaches into the land of the dead and brings forth a foe that you cannot defeat! Granted his power, I will let you witness the birth of one of his newest servants!"

Finally the door creaked and slammed down to the ground. Fog poured out of it and Takuya's entire group stood stricken, unable to do anything but stare at the coffin, waiting for whatever was hidden within to emerge. "Monster…you're a monster…your god is a monster!"

The others couldn't even spare a glance at Takuya who was sputtering as one heavily armored foot stepped out of the coffin, steam rising up and away from that booted foot. "You see the truth of what my master gives, don't you Kensai?"

Behind D'harim Taichi couldn't help but laugh, although he fell into a coughing fit shortly after and had to be given his oxygen mask by Evelyn. Kodowari leaned in and asked the obvious question. "What is it father, what is it that makes you laugh? What's in that coffin?"

Taichi shook his head, still unable to breathe well enough to answer. As he tried to recover his breath a bone armored shoulder and arm moved into view, and then the end of a bone helmet, capped by one long horn on the forehead. "Father?"

Finally Evelyn removed the oxygen mask as Taichi patted her hand, indicating that he wanted it taken away. "Funeral for a Friend…is a unique magic…card. Given by D'harim's….dark god it allows….him to conquer…death."

"So what is it that's coming out of the coffin?" Taichi's blue eyes pierced into his son's and the boy jerked backwards, surprised by the intensity in his father's gaze. He had been amused just moments before, so why was he now mad?

Takuya shook his head and took two steps backwards as the rest of the new monster's body moved out away from the coffin and the mist. It was heavily covered in black bone armor, the joints wrapped in what looked like burnt flesh. Its left hand gripped a sheath made of skin, the blade itself roughly the shape of a katana within its sheath. "Please…I would rather face the apocalypse than be forced to do this. I protect the innocent…you can't make me do this!"

Taichi watched the monster slowly lift its armored head to gaze upon its foes. "It is…just an old friend."

The knight's eyes now met Takuya's, and Takuya fell to his knees under the pressure of those eyes. In a strange contrast to D'harim's white eyes this knight's eyes were different colors, one blue and the other brown. Its pale lips were just barely revealed by the fangs of bone from its helmet, but enough was visible that they saw the lips curl into a deadly smirk. "You beg for the apocalypse? I'll give you your apocalypse…Takuya."

D'harim rubbed a thumb against the ruby hilt of his sword, seeming satisfied. "Let me introduce to you the newest servant of my god. Death Knight Convert-Kai Kaethen(2500/2300)!"

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Author's Notes: Pretty intense and not a huge number of turns, but now that I've revealed the creepy part of the duel we hit the major stuff and the next chapter will be duel packed like crazy.

Next Time: Standing in front of his former comrades, now as their enemy, is Kai Kaethen. Raised from the dead by the mysterious power granted by the god of the Death Knights, this new foe will make Takuya struggle for everything he has. Faced with his opponent, Takuya must now decide if he even wants to win...

See it all in, Funeral for a Friend!