Tournament of Tears

Chapter 32: Clash! Champion vs. Hell Nova; Game of the Gods part two

Ichigo could feel the souls of humanity slowly recovering from the damage the Graveyard Melody Dragon had caused. "I am five in one, Midnight, don't forget that! Each of my weaknesses is covered by one of the others."

Midnight snarled in frustration. ("Was he always this strong? No…he's right. Alone I would have beaten him, but those other four souls within his are protecting his frail human weaknesses. Damn them all!")

Ichigo took a deep breath. ("Don't cut it so close next time, Ahran!") "End turn."

Midnight took a very deep breath and waved his hand, a card appearing in the air above his head. "I will commend you for your successful destruction of two of the three children of Bahamut, but soon enough it will be the end! I place one monster card face-down on my field and end my turn!"

Ichigo drew. "Go Lord of Knives, attack the set monster with Infinite Knife Barrage!" He watched as wave after wave of razor-sharp knives pummeled the set monster card, but nothing happened to it. "Huh?"

The face-down flipped up to reveal a purple-robed reaper that hovered in the air above the field. Midnight chuckled as the creature started to laugh. "Spirit Reaper (300/200) cannot be destroyed in battle."

Snarling, Ichigo inserted the drawn card into his deck. "I place one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Midnight waved his hand and a card appeared above his head. "I activate the power of Card of Sanctity!" Holy rays of light fell down over the field. "This card forces both players to draw until they are holding six cards in their hand." Six cards appeared over his field, while Ichigo removed the top six cards of his deck and added them to his hand. "Now I am ready for your annoying monster, boy!"

Ichigo felt chills run down his back. "You can't possibly mean that the final of the dragons…"

"Not yet, instead I activate the power of the Duel Prescense I gained through the effect of Kifunsuiryu!" Two of Midnight's six cards dissolved into mist. "Rebirth of the Phoenix allows me, once per duel, to send two cards from my hand to my graveyard to revive Kifunsuiryu if it has been normal summoned at least once during this game! However, it's Hell De-Birth, Hell Armageddon, and Level four tier effects are all negated!" A loud roar echoed from within the earth and a giant crater filled with lava erupted onto Midnight's field. "However, when Kifunsuiryu is summoned in this way all other monsters on the field are destroyed!" Torrents of lava swept across the ground and sucked up both the Spirit Reaper and Lord of Knives, instantly killing them. Then, the mass of writhing heads that was Kifunsuiryu slowly rose up from the lava lake on the field. "The attack and defense of Kifunsuiryu is equal to the number of cards in my graveyard times 500. There are nineteen cards in my graveyard, so the attack and defense of Kifunsuiryu is 9500. End turn." (9500/9500)

Ichigo watched as the lava slowly disappeared, leaving just Kifunsuiryu and his set card on the field. ("He revived his monster? And even with all of the cards in my hand I'm not sure I can stop that thing…") Then he drew. ("At least its powers are weakened.") "I play the magic card Magical Sacrifice. By sending the top three cards of my deck to my graveyard, I may look at the top three cards of my deck and add one magic card from amongst them to my hand. The rest of the cards are discarded." He proceeded to do so, taking the top three cards of his deck and inserting them into his graveyard slot. "Now I look at the top three…" Fanning those cards out, he nodded at one of them and lifted it up to show to Midnight. "I choose the magic card Climax Hour."

Midnight shrugged it off. "I don't care what you choose, in the end I'll still blast you away with Kifunsuiryu."

Ichigo just snickered as his face-down card flipped up. "Dark Angel's Gift activates and sends all cards send to the graveyard by the effect of a magic card during this turn to their owner's hand. That means the five cards I lost beforehand now come to my hand." He removed the top five cards of his graveyard and added them to his hand, making the number of cards he was holding twelve.

Midnight frowned at this. ("One of those cards might be able to defeat the Hell Nova Dragon again…")

Ichigo looked at all of the cards in turn, and then smiled. "Alright, here I go Midnight! I play the magic card Newspaper Coverage! I call one card name and if in two turns I draw that card during my draw phase, I may draw an additional two cards and gain 1000 life points! My choice is Final Shadow Penultimate Cyber!"

"Penultimate…Cyber?" The dark god lifted an eyebrow at that. "What kind of name is that?"

"You'll see soon enough." Ichigo inserted another card into his disk. "I activate the Climax Hour magic card I picked up earlier. For the next three turns, during my draw phase, if I draw a monster card it is special summoned." He inserted another card into a disk slot, right next to Climax Hour. "I set three cards face-down on my field and summon Final Shadow Shield Guardian in defense mode!" A stationary giant shield appeared on his field. (0?) "This monster's defense points are equal to the number of defense mode monsters on my field times 1500." (0/1500) "End turn."

Midnight waved his hand and a new card appeared amongst the others. "How foolish. I'll break that monster down with my ultimate power!" One of the floating cards was suddenly sucked into the maw of Kifunsuiryu. "I discard one card from my hand to activate Double Hell Meteor! This allows Kifunsuiryu to attack twice during this battle phase!" (10000/10000)

Ichigo gritted his teeth as one of the giant monster's many heads snapped up and shot out a glowing red and black fireball that engulfed his monster and blew it apart. "I activate my trap card, Night Signal!" A pillar of black light launched into the air and hit the ceiling, leaving a huge dark imprint of a knife outline against the rock. "When a monster on my field is destroyed as a result of battle, I can special summon a level four or lower Final Shadow type monster from my deck or hand to my field!"

A woman dressed in tight black leather with a strange metallic helmet covering her head appeared on his field. "I special summon Final Shadow Psyche Vizier (1200/1300) from my deck to my field in defense mode!"

Midnight pointed at the female thief. "Kill that thing!" He laughed loudly as Ichigo's monster screamed in exquisite pain as it was consumed by another of Kifunsuiryu's powerful Hell Meteors.

Ichigo braced himself against the backlash of the attack. ("I need to concentrate! Think Ichigo, Kifunsuiryu isn't anywhere near as powerful as it was before, and that means you can defeat it!") But no matter how hard he wracked his brain, the mere fact that the dragon now had 10000 attack points made it too strong to beat by conventional methods. ("My effects can now affect it, but that doesn't matter because there's nothing I have that can overwhelm such a mighty attack force…")

Midnight found himself sneering at the beautiful stress that was painted on Ichigo's face. ("There's nothing more you can do, is there? Your deck can't defeat such a high attack power monster, but then again there isn't a card in existence that can match Kifunsuiryu's attack power right now! And for every card I lose to the graveyard, it will only get stronger! Eventually I'll tag your life points with it, and once I do you lose!") "I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn!"

Ichigo grimaced and pointed at one of his two remaining set cards. "I reveal the trap card Hero Call! I select one monster card from my deck, shuffle my deck, and then place it on top of my deck! My choice is Penultimate Cyber!" After adjusting his deck appropriately, he returned it to its slot and growled up at the snarling form of Kifunsuiryu. ("Damn him…I have no choice but to bring it out now!")

Midnight just smiled at distress that had suddenly turned into frustrated anger. "Are you finding this too difficult now, Ichigo? Or is the Hell Nova Dragon's mere prescense making it too difficult to fight?"

Ichigo snapped the top card off of his deck and turned the drawn card over to reveal a picture of a black powersuit-wearing warrior. "Penultimate Cyber is my drawn card, so the effect of Newspaper Coverage lets me draw two cards and gain 1000 life points!" A golden glow suffused his body and he pulled the top two cards off of his deck.

Ichigo- 3800

Midnight- 1900

Ichigo pointed at the air above him, where a phantom version of his Climax Hour card appeared. "It's the first turn since Climax Hour has been activated, and therefore my level six Penultimate Cyber is special summoned!" A synthesized battle cry erupted from his field as the muscular metallic humanoid shown in the card's picture appeared on his field. (2400/1200)

Midnight whistled in mock fear. "How scary…but what can that weakling do against me?"

Ichigo just went silent, his eyes staring at the eight cards in his hand with a true insecurity reflected in his sight. ("What do I do now? Penultimate Cyber allows me to draw one card when it is sent from the field my hand, but at the moment that isn't the answer to this! Why did I choose Penultimate Cyber anyway?")

"You can't decide what to do? Then let me help you!" Snapping up his hand, Midnight smirked as his face-down card flipped up. "I activate the continuous trap card Eternal Charge! Your monster's may no longer switch into defense mode and all defense mode monsters on your field switch into attack mode. However, during your first main phase you must special summon a level four or lower monster card from your deck and that special summoned monster must attack during the battle phase!"

Ichigo felt sweat build up on his forehead. ("No…that means I have to beat Kifunsuiryu during this turn or be defeated!") He looked down at his deck. ("Who do I choose?")

("Oi Ichigo!") An angry shout echoed in his head. ("You pansy, hurry up and do something before I take your place, damn it!") It was the voice of Splinter, his demon blood in sentient form.

Ichigo just stared at his deck, and suddenly something in his head clicked. "Oh, I get it!" His fingers slid through his deck rapidly and he removed a card from it. "Through the effect of your trap card, I special summoned another of the Final Shadow Gods!"

"Another creature like that weakling Moonlight Romancer?" Midnight shrugged. "That is your choice, but you won't be defeating me that easily this time."

"I special summon Final Shadow God Crystal Knight!" (1600/1900) A blue-armored knight appeared on his field, its face strangely similar to Ichigo's, but much calmer. "When Crystal Knight is special summoned or flip summoned, I may special summon one level four or lower monster card from my hand to the field!" A strange metallic robot appeared on his field. "I special summon Robot Minion (1500/1000) in attack mode!"

Grasping another card from his hand, Ichigo shoved it into his duel disk. "I activate the magic card Peace Negotiations! During this turn, I cannot conduct my battle phase but I may select one card from my deck and place it on top after shuffling!" He proceeded to do so, a strange smile on his face. "End turn."

Midnight waved his hand and a card appeared above his field. "I send one card from my hand to the graveyard and declare my first attack with Kifunsuiryu against Penultimate Cyber!" (10500/10500)

Ichigo pointed at his set card. "I reveal Negate Attack to stop your first attack and bring the battle phase to an end!"

Midnight snickered and the last three cards in the air above him landed face-down on his field. "I place my remaining three cards face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo smiled and drew the top card of his deck. "Midnight, it's time to make sure that Kifunsuiryu stays down this time! By the effect of your continuous trap card, I special summon another Robot Minion!" (1500/1000) One more of the strange robots appeared on his field. "Now experience the power of life, Midnight!"

Suddenly the dark god understood fully what his opponent had been smirking about. "No…not now…"

Ichigo pointed at his two Robot Minions and his Crystal Knight, all three of which disappeared within a towering pillar of white light. "I tribute my three monsters to summon forth the counterpart of Kifunsuiryu!" A triumphant cry of power came from the pillar and when it dropped a mighty feather-winged dragon appeared on Ichigo's field. "I summon the Noble Champion Dragon; Koukiyuushouryu!" (X000/X000)

"That blasted creature…" Midnight heard the angered roar of Kifunsuiryu as it was now faced by its brother…

"Koukiyuushouryu's attack and defense points are equal to the number of cards in my hand times 2000. I am holding six cards, makings its power 12000!" (12000/12000) Ichigo pointed at Kifunsuiryu. "Holy Angelic Blaze!"

Snapping up his hand, Midnight pointed at one of his set cards. "I activate the trap card Temporary Setback, sending the top two cards of my deck to my graveyard!" (12000/12000) "Fight back Kifunsuiryu, Hell Meteor!"

Both dragons unleashed blasts of their respective energies, one white and the other red. The two attacks slammed into each other and sent giant shockwaves traveling through the entirety of the tower, shaking it to its very core. Finally the two blasts balanced out, each one covering exactly half the distance between its owner before it hit the other blast.

Midnight and Ichigo met eyes, and their wills became those of their God Cards. Thunder crackled somewhere in the distance, and they could barely perceive the fact that all of the building above them had been vaporized, exposing them both to air.

Kifunsuiryu lifted up more of its heads, each one adding power to the stream it was propelling at its most hated brother. On its end, Koukiyuushouryu spread its wings to their maximum length and exploded out with more and more raw power to match this. There was no stopping either of them, they intended to battle with their full force until one or the other was destroyed.

The very sky started to crack and tear as the point where the two attacks met grew bigger and bigger along with the sources of those attacks. It shook the earth to its core as these two siblings clashed at their full power, refusing to be the one to fall first.

Ichigo felt his entire body shake and tremble as he tried to push Koukiyuushouryu towards the final blow of this confrontation. ("Please, for the sake of the earth end this now!")

Midnight was doing the same, except his reasoning was simply that if the blast was strong enough it would destroy Ichigo as well as the meddlesome Champion Dragon.

-------------------------------

Rikuo braced himself as well as he could and tried to use his energy to keep the shockwaves of the battle they could now see from blowing the lot of them off the new top of the tower. ("Insane power…") He could feel a primal hunger burning within his gut as Fenrir wished with all its will that it could taste that power up close. ("This is not our duel, we cannot interfere!")

Ryu reinforced Rikuo's barrier as well as he could, but other than that he was spent completely. ("Ichigo…hurry up and finish it!")

------------------------------

Ichigo and Midnight continued to look right into each other's eyes, their wills mixed with the anger of their gods. One way or another, this was going to be a major part of this battle. If Ichigo's god was destroyed first in the attack, then he would take a healthy backlash of energy from Kifunsuiryu that would sap most of his power. That would put him at a major disadvantage for the rest of the duel, so now was his chance to put a real hit to Midnight's seemingly limitless supply of shadow energy. "G…GO!"

Midnight felt himself slide back slightly as Koukiyuushouryu's burst grew stronger. ("I won't fail to you, boy!") Roaring at the top of his lungs, the dark god started to mix more of his power with Kifunsuiryu's strength. "I have the power to personally make my god stronger, while you on the other hand are not so lucky!"

Ichigo felt himself being forced back now, as his and Koukiyuushouryu's strength was being overwhelmed. ("Damn him…") Pictures flashed in his mind, of the whole of humanity willing him not to give up. "I won't lose to you, I won't lose!" Suddenly he felt a burst of strength go through him that made him feel invigorated. ("What's this?")

Midnight was thinking the exact same question as suddenly the tables turned and the full wave of power crashed into Kifunsuiryu, blowing it to particles instantly. A few moments later, Koukiyuushouryu followed as it dissolved. "Right now…what was that power?" It had come from somewhere nearby, very nearby. ("Something augmented his strength that dramatically?")

Ichigo smiled, shaking off the dizziness that had hit him. "From the looks of it, Midnight…you're running out of time."

"Perhaps…" The dark god was more concerned now with that mysterious source of energy than with his current duel. "…perhaps…"

To be continued…