Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Tournament of Tears
Chapter 12: More Souls Taken; the Second Priest's attack
Ichigo let out another loud howl of distaste at his current options. "I'm supposed to just stand around and watch these whelps play their little meaningless duels, huh?"
Kenshin glared at Ichigo. "You'd better be some kind of alternate soul, because otherwise I'd knock you flat for calling me a whelp."
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Hitokage drew and looked his hand over. "Now I'll take you down, Kenshin."
"We'll see about that!" The Crusader smiled slightly, confident that the contents of his field would be able to defeat Hitokage.
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Midnight frowned and glared at Uremorus. "One of your four lower priests was brushed aside as if he was nothing…is that what you call handling the situation?"
The man bowed as low as he could without falling to the ground. "I apologize profusely, master Midnight. I did not think that one of my personally picked duelists would be so weak compared to your enemies. For this though, I must plan out my battle plan beyond simply attacking them up front." His hand waved outwards and a vision appeared in the air. "For example, as you can see both Rikuo Amero and Jourgen Politumas are currently separated from their younger charges, as they attempt to figure out both what happened to their friend and whether there are any strong duelists that they can recruit to their side."
Midnight nodded silently.
Uremorus snapped his fingers. "Eon, step forth. As the newest priest into my fold, I need to test your power, correct?"
A shadowed form emerged from the shadows. "Yes, high priest?"
"I want you to eliminate any and all resistance at the nearby dock of this city. They are all demons, so beware of their possible powers."
"As you wish, sir." And then Eon was gone.
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Ichigo froze, all of the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. ("What is this feeling I sense? It is…it is…") He leapt to the top of a nearby warehouse and sniffed the air. ("Something is here…something that possesses amazing powers.") He ignored the questions coming from down below, instead favoring stealth by running off. ("I'll use them to draw whatever it is out, and then I'll strike.")
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Kenshin groaned and rolled his eyes, looking over at Griff, Adriel, Hitokage and Davis. "Well…I'd like to know what just happened, but it seems like the almighty demon ass has decided not to answer."
Hitokage frowned deeply and turned slowly to face the dark form that stood at the end of the pier. "I believe that is our answer."
Eon's completely hidden face barely moved as he spoke. "You five are the ones I must get rid of? So be it, I'll defeat you all one by one." Lifting his arm, he revealed a glowing duel disk. It wasn't any kind of special color or material, but something about it radiated a power that left all of them shuddering. "However, I am trying to find the one named Ichigo. So to speed up this process I will have to request that I duel all of you at once."
"All of us at once?" Kenshin frowned. ("I'd say this guy is stupid…but actually, for him to say that so confidently means that his power must be immense.") "Hold on a moment." He motioned to the rest of the group, and they all huddled with him. "This guy must possess some kind of unearthly power for him to want to challenge all of us at once."
"He must be stupid." Griff started to snicker…until he realized that no one else was sharing in his humor. "You really think he could defeat all of us?"
"Yes, yes he could." Hitokage glanced over at Eon. ("This opponent's power…it's strange. It's strong, but not in the sense that indicates overwhelming force. It is quiet…a power brought on by total knowledge of one's own limitations and strengths…this opponent is at perfect focus.") "Perhaps we can convince him not to duel us?"
Eon stood patiently, knowing that he couldn't rush them to this. Either they wanted to duel or they didn't.
Finally, Kenshin emerged from the huddle and lifted his duel disk. "We do not accept your offer. You will duel each of us separately."
"Separately?" Eon sighed. "As you wish it. I shall duel each of you separately, if that is truly what you want."
Kenshin glanced back at the others and then nodded. ("I trust my powers, and the powers of my Seal Card.") His disk clicked into position and he drew his opening hand. "Now then, duel!"
Kenshin- 4000
Eon- 4000
Kenshin snapped up the top card of his deck. "Draw!" Before he continued, he gave Hitokage a single glance that spoke a thousand words at once. ("Pay attention to this guy's strategy. If I fall, then make sure to use the gained knowledge to beat this guy.")
Hitokage returned the look. ("Very well.")
Kenshin tossed a card onto his disk. "Now I play my Command Knight (1200/1900) in defense mode!" A female warrior appeared in play. "While this monster is face-up on the field, all warriors in play gain 400 attack points!" (1600/1900) "Now I set three cards face-down on the field and end my turn."
Eon drew the top card of his deck. "I summon my Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) to the field in defense mode." A black-robed woman with a third eye in the middle of her forehead appeared in play. "Also, I set two cards face-down in play. End turn." As the two cards shimmered into existence, Eon seemed to go completely inanimate.
Kenshin drew, and then pointed at his face-down cards. "Reveal my Dust Tornado, along with Cyclone!" Both of Eon's two face-down cards shattered into dust. "Now I'll take you out with D.D. Battler!" (1700/1600) A warrior wrapped in linens and holding a huge glowing crystalline blue axe appeared in play. "Any monster that this monster destroys as a result of battle no longer gets its effect, because it is also removed from the game!" (2100/1600) "Now I switch Command Knight into attack mode and attack your Witch with my D.D. Battler!" The warrior slashed through the Witch, which dissolved into little particles of color. "Also, direct attack with Command Knight!" The female knight leapt across the field and slashed through Eon.
Kenshin- 4000
Eon- 2400
Kenshin slammed a card into his disk. "Finally, I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Eon drew slowly, as if he was sizing up Kenshin's field. "You are good. Better than I thought. Perhaps you are worthy of it." He held up the drawn card slowly. "But first I wish to test you with one more turn's worth of dueling. So I'll set two cards face-down on the field and then I shall end my turn."
Kenshin smirked and drew. "So you have no methods to oppose my warriors? Then what threat are you?" He held up a magic card. "Graceful Charity allows me to draw three cards and then discard two from my hand!" He did so, and just as quickly as the two cards wound up in his graveyard, they were spat out again as they were removed from play. "Come out now, Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning!" (3000/2500) The mighty blue-black armored warrior of legend slowly lowered onto the field.
Eon seemed like he was slowly reaching for a button on his disk.
Kenshin simply smiled knowingly. ("My face-down Seven Tools of the Bandit trap card will stop his trap from affecting me. And just in case that fails, my Solemn Judgment will do the same.")
Eon's hand stopped and he slowly lowered it to the ground. "Well, are you going to attack?"
Kenshin nodded and pointed right at Eon. "Go Black Luster Soldier! Attack his life points directly with Sword of Creation!" His warrior leapt across the field towards Eon. "This is the end!"
"Is that so?" Eon pointed at his face-down card. "Reveal Mirror Force!"
Kenshin smirked and pointed at his Seven Tools of the Bandit. "Reveal my Seven Tools of the Bandit trap card! At the cost of 1000 life points, I can negate your card's effect and destroy it!"
Kenshin- 3000
Eon- 2400
Eon barely seemed bothered by the loss of his Mirror Force. "Reveal my other face-down card, Mirror Return. This trap card will allow me to activate one Mirror Force that is in my graveyard."
"Reveal Solemn Judgment!" Kenshin grinned as his other card flipped face-up, and lightning crashed down to destroy the other trap. "At the cost of half of my life points, I can negate your trap card easily! That means this duel is over!"
Kenshin- 1500
Eon- 2400
Eon watched the approaching sword of the Black Luster Soldier with barely any response other than to hold up his right hand. "Is that so?" The blade stopped a few inches from his face. "Then perhaps you should have a look at your D.D. Battler."
Kenshin glanced at his warrior, and gasped at it screamed and exploded into dust. "But how…"
Eon pointed to a card that was suddenly on his field. "Last Defense can only activate if I discard my entire hand and I have no cards in play. It can be activated from my deck to redirect the damage of your attack to another monster in play. Luckily for you, the battle damage to you is zero."
Kenshin snarled and pointed at Eon. "Command Knight will still attack you directly!" The female warrior slashed her sword through Eon again. "Then I'll set my last hand card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Eon slowly drew. "You are definitely worthy of this, Kenshin Anderson." He started to laugh quietly, the sound eerily familiar.
"How do you know my name?" Kenshin felt all of the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"I play Pot of Greed." Eon drew two cards, and then snapped out one hand into the sky. "I shall show you my true power." There was a flash of light that left everyone blinded.
When their vision returned, Eon stood on the field with six cards in his hand and Kenshin was nowhere to be found. "You put up a good fight, but I don't expect the likes of you to be able to match me, Kenshin."
Kenshin- 0
Eon- 5000
Hitokage, Griff, Adriel and Davis all went silent, each one of them suddenly feeling very confused. "What…"
Eon shuffled his deck and held out a hand to the remaining four. "Who's next?"
Hitokage stepped forward and shuffled his deck into place. "I am. And I'll go first." He drew his opening hand and his sixth card in one pull. "I begin with a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down on the field. My turn is done."
"Hitokage Seijitsu…I see you are using your defensive strategy against me to begin with, perhaps in an attempt to figure out what happened to Kenshin." Eon drew his opening six cards. "First, I activate the magic card Heavy Storm, which will destroy all magic and trap cards in play!" A strong wind blew across the field and shattered both of Hitokage's set cards.
Hitokage didn't seem to be very worried. "You've triggered the effect of my Dark Coffins." A pair of coffins appeared on the field, and as they opened a pair of pitch black hands reached out towards Eon. "Now you must either discard a card from your hand or destroy a monster in play. Because of your current situation, it will cost you two hand cards."
Eon placed a card within the grasp of each hand, and then they disappeared. "Good counter to my move…but I was expecting it." He held up a single card. "I activate the magic card Discard Retribution. This magic card activates during a turn that I have discarded one or more cards from my hand because of an effect by your cards. You take 1000 life points of damage for every card that you discarded from me." Lightning exploded from the card and slammed right into Hitokage's chest.
Hitokage- 2000
Eon- 4000
Eon slid his remaining two cards into his disk. "Now I'll simply set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."
Hitokage drew, seemingly unaffected by the damaging lightning that had hit him. "I sacrifice my face-down monster to summon Shadow Slasher!" (2350/2300) A black-cloaked warrior holding two swords appeared on the field. "This monster's special ability allows him to bypass your monsters and attack your life points directly when I have less life points than you do, but since that is already the case I'll just take you out right now!" Shadow Slasher leapt across the field, its swords poised to run Eon through.
"Reveal my face-down…" Eon's face-down card started to flip up…
Hitokage slammed a card into his disk. "I activate the quickplay magic card Shadow's Unrelenting! This card can only activate when a monster with Shadow in its title is in play. Your next magic or trap card activation is negated." The slowly opening face-down card on Eon's field blew apart into dust. "Now the battle continues!"
Eon barely moved when the blow slashed across his chest.
Hitokage- 2000
Eon- 1700
Hitokage took the last card in his hand and slid it into his disk. "Now I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Eon drew and then pointed at his set card. "First I reveal my Cyclone!" A blast of wind hit Hitokage's set card and blew it apart. "And now…Hitokage Seijitsu…let me test your mettle!" There was another flash of light that stole everyone's sight.
When the light faded, Eon stood on the field alone, with three cards in his hand and no cards on the field. "And like Kenshin, you are unable to defeat me."
Hitokage- 0
Eon- 1700
Griff glanced back at Adriel and then they started to slowly move away from Eon. They already understood that if Kenshin and Hitokage had been unable to defeat this guy, then they would have to be very careful with him.
Eon calmly began to approach them. "There is no escape, if that is what you were thinking. I promise you, I will not let you go."
Adriel held up his duel disk, which was already online. "You can't stop them from getting away, because you'll be occupied dueling me!"
Eon clicked his disk into place. "Is that so? Then let the duel begin."
Eon- 4000
Adriel- 4000
Adriel snapped his head back to look at Griff and Davis. "Go now!"
Eon drew and there was a flash of light. When it cleared, he stood alone with his disk and deck already ready to duel a different opponent.
Eon- 1700
Adriel- 0
Griff froze up, his mind unable to register what had just happened. "But…but that's impossible? How did you beat him that fast?"
"Fast? That was a twenty turn…" Eon went silent. "My apologies, I forgot that you weren't there. I shall show you exactly what it was…" He barely moved when Davis shot past him at full speed. "Indeed…I'll let that one go. I still have to defeat Rikuo Amero and Jourgen Politumas…but it will be difficult."
Griff's disk was already in position. ("I have to go first or else he'll do whatever he did before! So I'll beat him in one turn!") "Duel!"
Eon snapped his fingers. "Then let us begin." There was a flash of light, and when it cleared Eon was standing alone on the pier. "He got close, actually. Then again…he didn't make me unleash my full strength."
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Davis charged down the dock as fast as he could. ("I need to get help! None of us have the power to defeat someone like this guy!")
Ichigo watched him leave with a slight smile on his face. ("So I see…this opponent is stronger than the rest. Good, I want to challenge him right away.") Then he disappeared.
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Eon felt the approach of Ichigo long before the boy had even started to move. "I could sense you from a mile away, if that was what was needed. I want to duel you so badly I cannot stand it, Demon Splinter." He turned to face Ichigo as the boy appeared in front of him. "Please make me use my full power against you. That is all I ask."
"I'll do more than that, just you watch." Ichigo clicked his duel disk into place. ("I still have the souls of Ichigo, Alahandra, Erika, Krieger and Halo within these cards. With their power, not only will I win but I'll annihilate this fool who thinks himself powerful just because he defeated a few partially awakened demons.") "Prepare yourself…" He left a silence hanging for Eon to fill in.
"My name is Eon, the newest and yet strongest of the Priests of Midnight." Eon clicked his disk into place. "I promise you, by the time this is done…you will learn the meaning of true strife, boy."
"We'll see about that, because I'll beat you in five turns!" Ichigo smirked and shuffled his deck into his disk.
They stood across from each other quietly now, a cold wind blowing through Ichigo's hair and through Eon's hood.
"Well, aren't you going to show me your face?" Ichigo lifted a single eyebrow curiously.
"No, you have earned the right yet." Eon drew his opening five cards. "First, prove your strength!"
"As you wish! Duel!" Ichigo held up his six card hand.
To be continued…