Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth: Roxy's Reports

by DivadX

What's up, everyone? This is Roxanne Matsuo here! As Yuhiro's sidekick and hacker, I'll be documenting down the opponents he faces on these reports. I hope you all enjoy!

33. Chapter 33: Roxy's Reports 33

Roxy's Reports 33: Go Onizuka (Updated), Blood Shepherd (Updated), Raguel (Updated), Azrael (Updated), Ace (Updated), Gil (Updated), Chainslaver and Blue Maiden

At Café Matsuo, in the morning, an hour after Chapter 83...

"Aw come on, Roxy! Why can't I go with the others to practice?" Arashi questioned in a complaining tone.

"Because Yusaku and Kusanagi are helping man the front at Café Nagi, and since Yuhiro and Herald are elsewhere, you've been nominated." Roxy replied, which made Arashi slouch over out of defeat as he followed her upstairs to the living room. While Roxy sat down on one couch to set up her laptop and the TV, Arashi sat down on the other couch, still pouting that he was dragged into this mess. "The good news is that almost all the profiles we need to do before the war are mostly updates."

"Alright, fine. I suppose I can help out." Arashi sighed. What did he ever do to get himself in this mess? He was just in the backroom, helping out in completing a program Kusanagi started on, and then Kusanagi said that he planned on getting some more sales before the coming war. Sure enough, Kusanagi made the right call, as there were a lot of people surprisingly at Café Nagi wanting orders, thus leading him to ask Yusaku for help. Takeru also had a matter to take care of himself, thus making him unable to help with the program. Even though Roxy and Arashi were skilled hackers and programmers, the time it'd take to complete Kusanagi's program needed for the war would increase, to the point where it'd be too late to launch by the afternoon.

Roxy then clicked on Go's profile before pulling it up on the screen. "A lot of stuff happened since we last saw Go, especially with how his appearance made things worse for us once he defeated Earth, especially with how Go did it." Words popped up on the 'LINK VRAINS History' section of Go's profile.

"Yeah, I wasn't there for Go's duel against Earth, so I'm assuming someone else sent the footage." Arashi pointed out.

"Ai sent the footage on Go's duel against Earth, and Miles sent me info regarding Go's duel against Quinton." Roxy explained, as she typed on the computer, which caused footage of Go's duel against Earth to pop up. "In terms of Go's deck, it's evolved since we last saw it in action, don't you agree?"

"Aside from the usual strategies of using various effects to maintain control over the Battle Phase and controlling the outcome of the battles between monsters in favour of the player, Go also had some new cards to force battle and protect his monsters." Arashi recalled the duel between Playmaker and Go. A few words appeared on the 'Deck' section of Go's profile as Arashi paid attention to the duel footage between Go and Earth. "Hang on a minute. He can use Fusion and Synchro Summoning now?"

"Yup, along with Ritual Summoning to diversify, according to Miles." Roxy added, as more words appeared in the 'Deck' section of Go's profile.

"And then there's the fact that Go put Crystal Heart in his deck, which led to some surprising synergy with it thanks to a card that turned his monsters into Cyberse monsters." Arashi said back, as a few more words appeared in the 'Deck' section of Go's profile.

"Dinowrestler Chimera T-Wrextle, a Level 8 Fusion monster with 3500 attack points and no defense points. When Chimera T-Wrextle battles, he inflicts piercing battle damage and gains 500 attack points every time he destroys a monster by battle. The opponent can't activate Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step, nor can they target other monsters for attacks, except Chimera T-Wrextle. And should Chimera T-Wrextle be destroyed by a card effect, all monsters in attack position the opponent controls are destroyed." Roxy listed off each one of Chimera T-Wrextle's effects, as all those words were updated into the 'Ace monster' section of Go's profile.

"So it's basically a rampaging version of Mirror Force." Arashi finished, surprise evident on his tone as more words were updated in the 'Ace monster' section of Go's profile.

"Then there's Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate, a Level 8 Synchro monster with 3000 attack points and no defense points." Roxy continued, having pressed a button on the remote to speed through the footage to the point where Go Synchro Summoned Giga Spinosavate. "When Giga Spinosavate battles, the opponent can't activate Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step. The opponent isn't allowed to target other monsters for attacks, except Giga Spinosavate. Once per turn, Giga Spinosavate's effect allows Go to target a monster on the field and destroy it, and should Giga Spinosavate be destroyed by battle or card effect, Go can destroy another card instead."

As the words were put on the 'Ace monster' section of Go's profile, Arashi and Roxy watched as Go used Giga Spinosavate's effects to try and destroy Dignified Trilithon. When Earth tried to counter the effect, Go sacrificed Chimera T-Wrextle instead so he can destroy all of Earth's monsters. Despite Earth protecting Crystal Heart, Giga Spinosavate was the one who brought Go victory in the end. "Okay, that's a dangerous combo to use."

"Of course it's a dangerous combo. Go was a deranged fool the moment he put that AI chip in his brain!" Roxy emphasized, as those words were put in the 'Other Aliases' section of Go's profile. "Especially with that bloody Anti-Skill of his."

"The one where Go nullifies a Skill and draws two cards, right? Yeah, it's a real pain in the ass..." Arashi agreed, having remembered how Go used Anti-Skill to stop Neo Storm Access during the duel against Playmaker, where he tried to use it to his advantage. Unfortunately, Go countered that advantage and brought Playmaker down to 100 life points as a result. Those words were then put in the 'Skill' section of Go's profile. "I'm just glad we'll never have to see it again."

"I hope we never see it again. Because the last thing we need right now is to deal against duelists that have Anti-Skill, and if you ask me, it's just so damn annoying!" Roxy replied, before composing herself. "But moving on from that rant, I'm just glad Go's in the hospital after everything that happened."

"He seemed like a nice guy too. We could have really used him as an ally. And Go did not deserve to lose his heart at Malf's hands." Arashi commented. A few more words were typed into the 'Residence' section of Go's profile. More words were put in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of the profile.

"That pisses me off even more. For Azrael to order a cowardly move like that on Go is just wrong." Roxy took some deep breaths before steadying herself.

"What I'm concerned of is how much of Earth's data Malf took. For if he took enough of it, then Azrael could have given it to Bohman to power him up even more." Arashi voiced his concern to Roxy.

"We'll only find out the answer to that question the next time we encounter Malf." Roxy replied. "So all in all, I hate to say this, but Go's duel grade should be boosted."

"What? After everything that's happened, he gets a duel grade boost?" Arashi questioned back. "We should keep it the way it is."

"When I first made these profiles, I made it a rule for me to increase or decrease a person's duel grade based on their dueling and encounter experience, no matter what's happened." Roxy shot back. "Despite Go's actions recently, his deck became stronger since we last saw him, to the point where he was able to defeat an Ignis in a duel, don't you agree?"

Arashi sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." Words then were added to the 'Duel Grade' section of Go's profile.

Roxy then put the finishing updates on Go's profile, where she then showed it to Arashi, which looked like this in the end:

Name: Go Onizuka

LINK VRAINS ID: Go Onizuka (just like before, he used his real-world name for his LINK VRAINS ID).

Other aliases: Former #1 Charisma Duelist (according to Quinton, he left to hunt down Playmaker and prove he's #1. Such a selfish thing to do, especially to the children who idolized him), Fallen Hero of LINK VRAINS (even though he aided in saving LINK VRAINS from destruction, it wasn't enough for him), A Tool and SOL Technologies' Lapdog (Soulburner labelled him as such. Makes sense, considering what's going on), A Deranged Fool (after capturing Earth and having him put in his AI chip, Go became more deranged during his duel against Playmaker).

Gender: Male

Skill: Pain and Gain (former Skill. Once per duel, Go can Special Summon all 'Gouki' monsters that were destroyed in battle. By activating this Skill on his opponent's turn, Go can not only save himself from defeat, but also make a strong comeback), Dinowrestle Revolution (former Skill. Once per duel, Go can activate World Dino Wrestling straight from their deck. While it's a simple Skill, it does set up plays, especially if the card's not in the player's hand), Anti-Skill (a new Skill that allows Go to not only nullify his opponent's Skill, but draw the top two cards of his deck. Quite a cheat move, if you ask me).

Age: 19

Job: #1 Charisma Duelist (formerly. Left the Charisma Duelists to pursue Playmaker), SOL Technologies' Bounty Hunter (formerly. He signed up to defeat Playmaker, reclaim the #1 duelist in LINK VRAINS, and move on in life. It got to the point where he allowed SOL Technologies to put an AI chip in his brain, thus becoming more deranged over time. Luckily, Playmaker was able to defeat Go and prevent that madness from going on any longer).

Residence: Likely in an apartment near SOL Technologies (formerly. According to his former manager, Go left his warehouse after deciding to become a bounty hunter), Den City Hospital (Go was sent to the hospital following his duel against Playmaker. It seems SOL Technologies obviously told Akira to do this, lest their reputation get stained even further).

Deck: Gouki (former deck that focuses on summoning 'Gouki' monsters and Link Summoning before defeating the opponent in a glorious fashion. To prolong the show, he has ace monsters clash so the crowd can enjoy the duel), Dinowrestler (current deck full of dinosaur-themed wrestlers. Slightly reminiscent of the Gouki deck and his old days as an entertainer. Relies on using various effects to maintain control over the Battle Phase and controlling the outcome of the battles between monsters in favour of the player. Go also has World Dino Wrestling and various Hand Traps to ensure his ace monster not only stays alive, but limits the opponent's options as well. Recently, Go added cards that not only protected his monsters from the effects of Link monsters, but also forced battle between monsters as well. He also incorporated Ritual, Fusion, and Synchro Summoning into his deck to diversify his options, and after defeating Earth, he put G Golem Crystal Heart, as well as several cards to ensure its summon into his deck).

Ace Monster: Dinowrestler King T-Wrextle (a Link 3 monster with 3000 attack points. All of his Link Markers point down as well, enabling Go to Link Summon more 'Dinowrestler' Link monsters if needed. When he attacks, the opponent cannot activate Spell and Trap cards during battle. Go must have been traumatized by Revolver's Mirror Force during his duel against him at the Tower of Hanoi. King T Wrextle also has an effect that lets him target a monster on the field and force it to attack only him. Otherwise, it's destroyed), Dinowrestler Chimera T-Wrextle (a Level 8 Fusion monster with 3500 attack points and no defense points. When Chimera T-Wrextle battles, he inflicts piercing battle damage and gains 500 attack points every time he destroys a monster by battle. The opponent can't activate Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step, nor can they target other monsters for attacks, except Chimera T-Wrextle. And should Chimera T-Wrextle be destroyed by a card effect, all monsters in attack position the opponent controls are destroyed. All in all, a monster version of Mirror Force with a ton of firepower behind it), Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate (a Level 8 Synchro monster with 3000 attack points and no defense points. When Giga Spinosavate battles, the opponent can't activate Spell or Trap cards until the end of the damage step. The opponent isn't allowed to target other monsters for attacks, except Giga Spinosavate. Once per turn, Giga Spinosavate's effect allows Go to target a monster on the field and destroy it, and should Giga Spinosavate be destroyed by battle or card effect, Go can destroy another card instead. All in all, the Dinowrestler monsters only think for themselves to an extent).

LINK VRAINS History: Following the Tower of Hanoi events, Go Onizuka left the Charisma Duelists to sign up as a bounty hunter at SOL Technologies. By doing this, it gave him an opportunity to defeat Playmaker and move on in his life. Attacked the team on their way to the gate, but Soulburner intervened and defeated Go. I doubt that's the last we'll see of him, though.

During the duel, he tried to aim for a guaranteed win instead of his trademark highlight. Ironically, it lead to his defeat. If he had chosen his usual way of duelling, he would've actually beaten Soulburner then.

Go returned and dueled Earth, with the duel ending in the former's victory thanks to Anti-Skill and the AI chip in his brain. After winning the duel, SOL Technologies put Earth inside Go's AI chip, thus allowing him to use G Golem Crystal Heart in perfect conjunction with his deck. Playmaker almost lost as a result, but pulled through the end thanks to Ai's version of Deus Ex Machina.

After the duel, Malf appeared on the scene and took Go's heart as his prize. Apparently, that bastard was laying low until the duel was over so he can try to take Earth for himself. Though whether Malf succeeded in taking all, a portion of, or none of Earth's data will be determined the next time we encounter him. On the bright side, Ai was able to recover some of Earth's data for Crystal Heart.

Duel Grade right now: B (Badass) (Even due to Go's recent actions, according to the rules I've laid out for these reports, I'm to increase a grade based on both a person's dueling and encounter experience. Go's deck became stronger since we last saw him, to the point where he was able to defeat an Ignis in a duel. We were all pissed off with Go's actions, though as Flame said a while back, he can be redeemed if he apologizes and repents for his mistakes. Go better do this by the time he leaves the hospital, or else he's as good as gone).

Notes: According to Soulburner, he was one of his favourite heroes who stood up to the Hanoi. Thus, he finds it very selfish and self centred of him to turn his back on all that. Then again, having the spotlight stolen from him time and again from Playmaker, especially regarding the Tower of Hanoi, must have taken a toll on his ego and drove him to this. Striving for what he wanted but even if it means he'll lose what he had, he'll no doubt regret this later.

This desire for standing at the top and for a crown that won't last will no doubt be his undoing at some point. For him to turn his back on the orphanage who raised him and that he helped support is insane, that's for sure. Thankfully, Quinton is helping to support it now. This decision of his will no doubt lead to some conflicts without a doubt.

It seems like karma bit Go in the butt for his actions, though I wish it weren't as lethal as it is right now. The poor guy lost his heart at Malf's hands, and is in the hospital fighting for his life along with the other patients as we speak. If Go dies, SOL Technologies is pretty much screwed, especially with its failure to help the other Charisma duelists.

After Roxy closed Go's profile, she then clicked on Blood Shepherd's profile. "A bit has changed since we last saw Blood Shepherd, especially with how he made some new upgrades to his deck."

"Oh yeah. Apparently, Blood Shepherd can use Fusion and Synchro Summoning." Arashi recalled. "Did Herald send you the footage from Blood Shepherd's duel against Lightning?"

"He did, and I was just as surprised as you were." Roxy confirmed. "Oh, and he can utilize a unique version of Ritual Summoning by using his Link monsters."

"Hey now, that's just broken." Arashi protested, as words were typed in the 'Deck' section of Blood Shepherd's profile. "Then again, every duelist evolves their deck, and I've seen crazier these days."

Roxy grinned. "It could be worse. Just remember that, okay?" After Arashi nodded back in agreement, Roxy pressed a button on the remote, which caused the screen to show footage of Blood Shepherd's duel against Lightning. The duo watched it for a bit until they got to the part where Blood Shepherd Synchro Summoned Commandrone Double Sniper to his field. "Okay, Commandrone Double Sniper. Level 6 Synchro monster with 2000 attack points and 2600 defense points. Whenever a card or effect that would negate an attack or effect is activated, Blood Shepherd can place one Drone counter, and while Commandrone Double Sniper has one or more Drone counters, it can attack directly at the cost of making damage 1000 for that battle. It can also make a second attack as well. Also, if the opponent activates a card effect while there's two or more Drone counters on Commandrone Double Sniper, Blood Shepherd can negate the activation and destroy it, along with inflicting 1000 points of damage in the process."

"Thus making it a strong weapon in Blood Shepherd's arsenal." Arashi voiced his agreement as words appeared in the 'Deck' section of Blood Shepherd's profile. The footage then showed Blood Shepherd Fusion Summoning Fortressdrone Beehive. "Okay, compared to Commandrone Double Sniper, this one's more of a 'Go Big or Go Home' weapon, or a battering ram to be exact."

"But with the right setup, the battering ram can be an effective one." Roxy countered. "Fortressdrone Beehive, a Level 8 Fusion monster with no attack points and 3000 defense points. Upon being Fusion Summoned, Blood Shepherd can place Drone counters equal to the Level of the Fusion Material used for the Fusion Summon. And by removing Drone counters, Blood Shepherd can Special Summon Drone tokens to his field, as well as increase Fortressdrone Beehive's attack points by 1000 for each one." More words appeared in the 'Deck' section of Blood Shepherd's profile.

"If I were to choose between the two, I'd go for the Synchro monster only because of its unique effects and how it can adapt to the duel." Arashi said, only for Roxy to give him a smug look. "Hey, come on. My deck primarily focuses on Synchro Summoning and a Link monster or two, so excuse me for my preference on Synchro monsters."

"It wouldn't hurt to be versatile, Arashi." Roxy gently suggested.

"Fine, fine. I agree with you there." Arashi replied. "But despite being an enemy, I'm just glad you got him to a hospital." Words were typed into the 'Residence' section of Blood Shepherd's profile.

"Emma was hellbent on not losing her sibling, and I can't blame her. I mean, I already lost my sister, and I don't want anyone else to lose their sibling." Roxy sadly commented. "Despite his ruthless nature, in the end, Blood Shepherd fought against the Ignis not just to get his revenge, but so he can protect Ghost Girl from the threat they posed. Just goes to show that even a monster can care for others and have humanity." Words popped up in the 'LINK VRAINS History' section of Blood Shepherd's profile.

"So in all fairness, Blood Shepherd should get a bump up in his duel grade then?" Arashi inquired, with Roxy nodding in confirmation. "Maybe an S+, or Savage with a +. Since we last encountered him, Blood Shepherd's grown stronger as a duelist. This is evident in him incorporating Ritual, Fusion, and Synchro Summoning into his deck. And even though he was ruthless, he still had a heart in the end."

"I couldn't agree more." Roxy added, as words popped up in the 'Duel Grade' section of Blood Shepherd's profile. After making a few more touches on Blood Shepherd's profile, she showed it to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Kengo Dojun

LINK VRAINS ID: Blood Shepherd (there's a reason why he's called this in the network).

Other aliases: Three-Count Gunslinger (eliminates his opponent at the count of three to terrorize and hunt them down).

Gender: Male

Skill: Drone Force (this Skill allows him to target one monster the opponent controls and make it lose 200 attack points for every 'Drone' monster in his Graveyard. Also, one 'Drone' monster gains that lost attack points, similar to that of Riryoku until the end of the turn).

Age: Unknown (he's obviously older, being Emma's half brother).

Job: Pro-Bounty Hunter

Residence: Apartment in Den City (formerly), Den City Hospital (after his duel against Lightning, he was sent to the hospital to recover. He's also next to his mother in the hospital).

Deck: Drone (a deck that uses anti-Link Monster lockdown strategies and a combination of burn damage, direct attacks, and powering up his ace monster 'Battledrone General' to defeat enemies quickly. He will study his opponents to incorporate cards specifically to counter them, either in their primary strategies or cards that specifically induce trauma to the user). Following his duel against Playmaker, Blood Shepherd incorporated Ritual Summoning to help fortify his strategies regarding effect damage. After his duel against Soulburner, he also incorporated Synchro Summoning to do the same thing, and also incorporated Fusion Summoning to combat the strategies of the Ignis.

Ace Monster: Battledrone General (a Link 3 monster with 2400 attack points, which is quite reasonable. However, as it leads Blood Shepherd's drones, its effects that are deadly. It can tribute a 'Drone' monster that attacks directly for extra damage but can resurrect most drones from the graveyard to enable them to attack directly again, thus creating a vicious cycle of pain), Commandrone Double Sniper (a Level 6 Synchro monster with 2000 attack points and 2600 defense points. Whenever a card or effect that would negate an attack or effect is activated, Blood Shepherd can place one Drone counter, and while Commandrone Double Sniper has one or more Drone counters, it can attack directly at the cost of making damage 1000 for that battle. It can also make a second attack as well. Also, if the opponent activates a card effect while there's two or more Drone counters on Commandrone Double Sniper, Blood Shepherd can negate the activation and destroy it, along with inflicting 1000 points of damage in the process. It's a strong weapon in Blood Shepherd's arsenal for sure), Fortressdrone Beehive (a Level 8 Fusion monster with no attack points and 3000 defense points. Upon being Fusion Summoned, Blood Shepherd can place Drone counters equal to the Level of the Fusion Material used for the Fusion Summon. And by removing Drone counters, Blood Shepherd can Special Summon Drone tokens to his field, as well as increase Fortressdrone Beehive's attack points by 1000 for each one. While it's a strong card with the right fortification, it can be destroyed, as evident by Lightning tearing Blood Shepherd's field apart).

LINK VRAINS History: Blood Shepherd's been active since his accident. He had such a bad experience that led to a deep hatred for AIs, not that anyone can blame him. Since then, he honed his skills to a fine edge where he can interrogate most rogue AI's on the force. Wouldn't want to have an Ignis on the receiving end of his blaster, which he can shoot with rapid accuracy. He once worked with Emma and Akira in the past, where Blood Shepherd used them as human shields to destroy their target. It led to Emma seeking Roxy for help in discovering his real identity.

Blood Shepherd really gave Yusaku a run for his money in their duel, given that he studies his targets deeply before going after them, which shows he prepares well. Thankfully, due to Cyberse Clock Dragon, Yusaku became the first to ever escape his count.

Blood Shepherd also went after Yuhiro, where their duel ended in a draw before the former dueled against Soulburner, which had no result as a result of the Pac-Man rescue program activating.

Despite his ruthless nature, in the end, Blood Shepherd fought against the Ignis not just to get his revenge, but so he can protect Ghost Girl from the threat they posed. Just goes to show that even a monster can care for others and have humanity.

Duel Grade right now: S+ (Savage with a +) (Since we last encountered him, Blood Shepherd's grown stronger as a duelist. This is evident in him incorporating Ritual, Fusion, and Synchro Summoning into his deck. His ruthless nature as a bounty hunter allows him to have no moral code whatsoever, and will his any means necessary to draw you out and complete his mission. But even though he's ruthless, he still cared for Emma's wellbeing).

Notes: A pro among pros according to Akira, Emma and Yuhiro's experience. Being Emma's half brother, whose father had an affair with another woman after leaving him and his mother to pursue his career. That's very irresponsible of him, as he never came back to help them when Kengo and his mom were caught in a terrible accident, which rendered her disabled. Since then, he despises AIs, yet he isn't afraid to use them as tools. Somewhat reminiscent of Revolver and the Hanoi to an extent.

Won't hesitate to play dirty and resort to intimidation, such as making them let their guards down with his trademark count to 3 and then firing on count 2. Programmed his AI to lie and speak half truths so best bet is to trust own instincts and read card effects on the field our analyse the situation before acting.

In all honesty, Blood Shepherd is tame when you compare him to Azrael and Lightning. Those two has caused more destruction than any villain we faced together. Well, Azrael, Wraith and Malf were the ones whose actions hurt far more people when compared to Lightning. But nevertheless, Blood Shepherd's tame compared to Azrael and Lightning.

Once Roxy closed Blood Shepherd's profile up, she opened up Yuhiro's profile, only hesitantly for a few moments before snapping out of her thoughts. "Well, Yuhiro's changed since we last updated his profile."

"Yeah..." Arashi agreed. "Well, to start, he did change his Skill to Godly Grandeur. Once per duel, Yuhiro can shuffle one 'Cyreath' Link monster from his Graveyard back to his Extra Deck to draw a card and activate one of three effects. If it's a monster, then Yuhiro can decrease the attack points of a monster the opponent controls equal to the monster drawn by this Skill. If it's a Spell, all 'Cyreath' monsters Yuhiro summons and on his field are unaffected by the opponent's card effects. Lastly, if it's a Trap, Yuhiro can activate it from his hand, and the opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to its activation." Those words were put in the 'Skill' section of Yuhiro's profile.

"Yeah, and Yuhiro's also incorporated Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz summoning into his deck as well." Roxy added, as those words were typed into the 'Deck' section of Yuhiro's profile. "Now that I remember it, Yuhiro also has a card called Alpha Mode Activate to 'evolve' his Link monsters and make them stronger."

"And can I say Hercules/Alpha Mode is a beast? He helped Yuhiro nearly win the duel against Gil, and Yuhiro would have won it... if it weren't for the card in Gil's hand." Arashi realized, as recent events flooded in his mind, having recalled Yuhiro's duel against Gil. More words were put in the 'Deck' section of Yuhiro's profile.

"But moving onto Hercules/Alpha Mode, when he's Special Summoned by Alpha Mode Activate, Yuhiro can target three 'Cyreath' Link monsters with different Link ratings in his Graveyard, and place God Hand counters equal to their combined Link rating. Not only does Hercules/Alpha Mode prevent the opponent from targeting Yuhiro's monsters for attacks or effects except him, if Hercules/Alpha Mode would leave the field, Yuhiro can remove a God Hand counter instead, as well as increase his attack points by 500." Roxy continued the conversation, as words appeared in the 'Ace monster' section of Yuhiro's profile.

"Yuhiro's dog also evolved into Rasterliger recently, a Link 4 monster with 2000 attack points. Once per turn, Yuhiro can increase Rasterliger's attack points equal to the attack points of a Link monster in either player's Graveyard. And by tributing monsters Rasterliger points to, Yuhiro can target and destroy an equal number cards on the opponent's field." Arashi finished with a sigh, the words appearing in the 'Ace monster' section of Yuhiro's profile.

Roxy sighed back, having gotten the energy out to talk about the improvements Yuhiro made to his deck, as well as ace monsters. "Ever since Azrael appeared, Yuhiro hasn't been himself. He's been stressed for quite a while since Miyu got put in the hospital a second time."

"Even in the battles we've fought, Yuhiro's been more... not himself lately. It's as though his compassion's been compromised." Arashi commented as well, the words appearing in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Yuhiro's profile. "But can you blame him? After his first bout against Azrael, Yuhiro found out that Azrael is Yukage Furutani, his brother by blood, adoption and foster care."

"Not just that, but Yuhiro's first set of parents abandoned him before hand. Also, Yuhiro had to get treatment by doctors putting pieces of Yukage's body to do so. Yuhiro even had damage to his lungs and missing veins in his right arm and left leg as well. To make things worse, Yuhiro has a condition called Alkalosis, which is a condition where the body fluids have excess base alkali." Roxy said back, as all those words were typed in the 'Notes' section of Yuhiro's profile. "The poor guy acted on information overload and ran away. I'm honestly grateful Rachel and Greg were available to help, as it'd be bad if I went out in the rain alone to search for him."

"Roxy, I'm scared of what Yuhiro can become. I really am." Arashi spoke up, which got Roxy's attention. "It's as though all these events are making Yuhiro take a turn for the worst. We need to do something."

"Well, I did have Yuhiro go to Leshawna for a therapy session, which helped him out for a while. I'll make sure he goes to see her more often once we end this war." Roxy promised Arashi, who nodded in understanding as all these words were put in the 'Notes' section of Yuhiro's profile. "In fact, if you're interested I can give you Leshawna's contact information so you can book an appointment if you ever want to book an appointment."

Arashi thought about this idea for a few minutes before nodding back. "Yeah, sure. That might be a good idea. But moving that aside, what's Yuhiro's Duel Grade gonna be as of now?"

Roxy contemplated that question for a few seconds before responding back. "Well, Yuhiro drew against Haru and lost against Gil, at least to my knowledge. I guess keep it at SS, or Sick Skills. While Yuhiro's lost a total of four times, he's still been able to accumulate wins as well by making adjustments to his deck and learning from his mistakes. As such, I have faith Yuhiro will be able to keep going, no matter who or what he faces next."

"Wise words, Roxy. Wise words." Arashi said, as words popped up on the 'Duel Grade' section of Yuhiro's profile. After putting the finishing touches on Yuhiro's profile, she showed it to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Yuhiro Furutani

LINK VRAINS ID: Agent (formerly), Raguel (Current. The name refers to the archangel Raguel, who stands for justice and redemption. However, it doesn't relate with his deck, as it focuses on Greek mythology. He chose it to adhere to his promise of staying a good man. Noble and honorable, that's for sure).

Other aliases: King of LINK VRAINS' underworld (formerly, as he left the Black Market following the Tower of Hanoi events), Robin Hood of the Network (I find that debatable, as he doesn't have a bow or arrow. However, he does help those who need it, so that's a point in his favor), Warrior of Justice (formerly, given current events).

Gender: Male

Skill: Call of Olympus (formerly. Lets Raguel Special Summon one random 'Cyreath' monster straight from his deck. Also, if he controls a 'Cyreath' Link Monster, he can add one Spell or Trap card from his deck to his hand. Or in other words, an instant summon and resource obtainment in one Skill), Godly Grandeur (once per duel, Raguel can shuffle one 'Cyreath' Link monster from his Graveyard back to his Extra Deck to draw a card and activate one of three effects. If it's a monster, then Raguel can decrease the attack points of a monster the opponent controls equal to the monster drawn by this Skill. If it's a Spell, all 'Cyreath' monsters Raguel summons and on his field are unaffected by the opponent's card effects. Lastly, if it's a Trap, Raguel can activate it from his hand, and the opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to its activation).

Age: 16 years old

Job: Counter Server and Cook at Café Matsuo (Yuhiro is a really good cook! Trust me on this).

Residence: Café Matsuo

Deck: Cyreath (the deck primarily focuses on Link Summoning. It has monsters that have a range of effects, such as bringing allies out and searching out resources to Link Summon Cyreath monsters. The Spells are about either accumulating resources, gaining an advantage, or keeping the monsters alive for another turn. Finally, the Traps have interesting effects that can either irritate the opponent or save his butt if he really need it. He's also incorporated Pendulum Summoning to swarm his field with Cyreath monsters and Link Summon at faster rates. Stregone provided inspiration for that. Raguel's incorporated Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz summoning into his deck to reinforce its strategies and catch the opponent off guard as well. In addition, Raguel has a card called Alpha Mode Activate to 'evolve' his Link monsters and make them stronger. So far, Hercules has his Alpha Mode card, and I wonder which one will be next. Lastly, the Cyreath deck is based off of characters and creatures from Greek Mythology, which makes sense given the theme).

Ace Monster: Cyreath Hercules (a Link 3 monster with 2500 attack points. While the Link Arrows appear suspicious, it works for Yuhiro, as monsters Hercules points to lose 500 attack points. Also, if Hercules destroys a monster whose attack points are different than its original, the opponent takes damage equal to half of the destroyed monster's original attack points. All in all, not a bad effect), Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode (an Alpha Mode version of Hercules. When he's Special Summoned by Alpha Mode Activate, Raguel can target three 'Cyreath' Link monsters with different Link ratings in his Graveyard, and place God Hand counters equal to their combined Link rating. Not only does Hercules/Alpha Mode prevent the opponent from targeting Raguel's monsters for attacks or effects except him, if Hercules/Alpha Mode would leave the field, Raguel can remove a God Hand counter instead, as well as increase his attack points by 500. A stronger Hercules at that), Turboblaze Dragon (a Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points. Upon being Link Summoned, the effects of all monsters the opponent controls are negated. Also, once per turn, during either player's turn, when a Spell or Trap card is activated that targets a card on the field, Raguel can discard one card to negate the activation and destroy it. Lastly, when Turboblaze Dragon destroys a monster by battle, the opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. In other words, a strong powerhouse I'm proud of creating), Cyreath Medusa (a Link 3 monster with 2300 attack points. While her summoning conditions are a bit restrictive, her effects make up for it. First, once per turn, during either player's turn, when the opponent activates a card effect, Raguel can instantly negate that effect and destroy the card. Second, by tributing a Link 2 or higher 'Cyreath' Link Monster, he can Special Summon this card from his Graveyard), Rasterliger (a Link 4 monster that requires two or more monsters, except tokens. While not a Cyreath card, Rasterliger is a strong monster, as Raguel can increase Rasterliger's attack points equal to the attack points of a Link monster in either player's Graveyard. And by tributing monsters Rasterliger points to, Raguel can target and destroy an equal number cards on the opponent's field. Don't underestimate this dog in combat).

LINK VRAINS History: Started working as a black-market agent three years ago. He told Roxy he wanted to do it because he not only wanted to repay her back, but also to help Miyu as well. Aww. That's adorable.

Until he met Herald and Watchman, Raguel was solely focused on obtaining Ai from Playmaker. However, different experiences eventually caused him to abandon the Black Market job, and instead focus on assisting Watchman, especially with the Crisis, whenever that comes. Despite multiple setbacks during the Tower of Hanoi events, he managed to assist in shutting it down, and was rewarded not only with a respite, but having completed his goal in reuniting Miyu and Roxy together.

Since then, Yuhiro has been visiting and helping Miyu out with her physiotherapy whenever he could. He also helped Tsubaki out when she needed clarity on what path she should now take, as well as spent the day with Rachel to make her twelfth birthday special for her. Goes to show that ultimately, Yuhiro has a big heart, and cares for others.

In addition, thanks to a Fortnite contest online, Yuhiro found a location in the network where a set of Cyberse cards were. Together, he and Playmaker were able to acquire the cards from the Ancient Ghost, despite interference from Speckles (who was hired by Kitamura to get revenge for what Raguel did to him). Lastly, Raguel and Ghost Girl teamed up to acquire information on Project: VIII from the Gamma Branch. There, we learned that Monty was dead, as well as the fact the Black Market was in chaos.

After Azrael put Miyu in the hospital, Yuhiro immediately sprung into action to try and get her back. However, he had to duel against Malf, who was a very tricky opponent to beat in the end. Since then, Yuhiro's no longer been himself as he continued fighting in the multiple conflicts following this series of events. These include the Turf War, the attacks in the network and in the real world, and the coming Ignis war.

Yuhiro also acquired his inheritance from his blood, adopted, and foster dad a while back in the form of Excalibur. The fact that it allows Yuhiro to supposedly log into the network whole is scary.

Duel Grade right now: SS (Sick Skills) (While Yuhiro's lost a total of four times, he's still been able to accumulate wins as well by making adjustments to his deck and learning from his mistakes. As such, I have faith Yuhiro will be able to keep going, no matter who or what he faces next).

Notes: After the Lost Incident, was sent to the Den City Shelter, where he lived there for five years until being adopted by Roxy, where the first few years were rough on him. One day, when he went to visit Miyu at the Den City Hospital, he learned that he wasn't the only one who went through the Lost Incident. At that point, Yuhiro swore to ensure that Miyu would wake up one day, smile, and reunite with Roxy.

Therefore, Yuhiro searched up ways on how he could quickly earn money, and eventually found a Black-Market forum. Going into LINK VRAINS as Agent at the time, he accepted an initiation from the Omega Branch to get a man named Chainslaver in line, and as a result, was hired.

After some missions on the Black Market, Roxy found an event on her mobile game Fate/Grand Order, where by completing the Olympus Lostbelt, the person could acquire the chance to obtain the Cyreath deck. Yuhiro ended up dueling the person that would be his ace monster: Cyreath Hercules. From the recording I watched, he also formed a contract with him to gain the deck's allegiance (just like in Fate/Grand Order).

Since then, he's had a very good success rate on the black-market. Monty is really impressed with him. He even jokes how, if he keeps it up, he may be Angelica's equal (that would be awesome, as I heard she's a legend. Especially with the Scarclust plundering!).

After the Tower of Hanoi events, Yuhiro resigned from his work as a Black Market agent, as per his promise to Herald and Roxy. However, once Azrael appeared on the scene, Yuhiro logged back into the network to try and get Miyu back. Unfortunately, he failed, and has not been himself ever since, despite showing that he's totally fine.

Speaking of Azrael, after Yuhiro dueled against him, the former motivated the latter to look into the Project: VIII files. There, Yuhiro found out that Azrael is Yukage Furutani, his brother by blood, adoption and foster care. Not just that, but Yuhiro's first set of parents abandoned him before hand. Also, Yuhiro had to get treatment by doctors putting pieces of Yukage's body to do so. Yuhiro even had damage to his lungs and missing veins in his right arm and left leg as well. To make things worse, Yuhiro has a condition called Alkalosis, which is a condition where the body fluids have excess base alkali.

After Yuhiro found out this information, the poor guy acted on information overload and ran away until being found by Rachel and Greg, who brought him home. Despite being assured over and over again of the good attributes he has, as well as being accepted by the people in his life, Yuhiro's no longer the optimistic person he once was. If anything, Yuhiro's taking a turn for the worse, and I am scared for his well-being.

To put it simply, if Yuhiro's pushed too far and we don't prepare for it, I fear we'll all pay the price.

After Roxy closed up Yuhiro's profile, she then opened up Azrael's profile. "There's been a few updates on Azrael recently. Not much, so it'd be best to show you the footage I've retrieved, and it took a while to get it after much digging." She pressed a button on the remote, which caused duel footage between Azrael and Stregone to be shown. It was a tough duel, as Stregone and Azrael kept one-upping the other, but in the end, the latter won.

"Damn. Azrael defeated the guy that knows all six summoning methods..." Arashi muttered.

"Being the tactical mastermind and warrior Azrael is, and how he honed his dueling skills for ten years, it make sense. Especially with how he's affected us all." Roxy stated, as a few words were typed in the 'Job' section of Yukage's profile.

"And the guy can freakin' Synchro Summon too!" Arashi exclaimed.

"Azrael also used Fusion Summoning in his duel against Lord Kazuma, according to the Hanoi's information about that topic. What's more, during Yuhiro's second bout with Azrael, he Xyz Summoned, thus becoming more dangerous than ever." Roxy responded, as words were typed in the 'Deck' section of Yukage's profile.

"Does Azrael have any other ace monsters aside from Teravolt Dragon? Surely, he has a backup one, like Yuhiro with Hercules/Alpha Mode and Rasterliger."

Roxy shook her head. "For now, not to my knowledge. Even though Azrael's Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz monsters are deadly in a duel."

"It's not just his dueling that makes Azrael dangerous." Arashi stated back, having crossed his arms as he recalled recent events. "That guy led an attack on LINK VRAINS' central station with Malf, Ace, Windy, and two hundred Bitboots at his beck and command while we were caught in Lightning's trap. We couldn't do anything but watch as Lightning slaughtered Blood Shepherd in a duel. If we had only knew about Azrael's plan..." The words appeared in the 'LINK VRAINS History' section by the time Arashi finished speaking.

"You didn't know about it at the time until the duel was finished." Roxy gently reminded Arashi.

"Yeah, I get that. Still..." Arashi sighed. "The feeling of powerlessness gets to me every now and then. It's something you can't just shake off."

"And I agree with you." Roxy said. "We all process things differently, and how long it takes a person to process it is different from another person. So give yourself a break, okay?"

Arashi smiled back. "Thanks. That helps."

"Hey, happy to help." A thought then crossed Roxy's mind. "Say, what do you think Azrael's endgame is? Surely, it isn't similar to what Lightning's goal is."

"The destruction of humanity..." Arashi muttered. "Well, whatever it is, I know for a fact that one of the two is going to up the other for good at one point. And like you said earlier about Earth, we'll eventually find out the answer to this question."

"..." Words then appeared in the 'Notes' section of Yukage's profile. "And compared to Lightning, at least Azrael has some honor, as he did spare Miles out of respect for his bravery, as well as gratitude to Stregone for taking care of Yuhiro all those years."

"I guess..." Arashi muttered, as more words appeared in the 'Notes' section of Yukage's profile. "And for the Duel Grade?"

"Maybe keep it at SS+, or Sick Skills with a +?" Roxy suggested. "I mean, Azrael's grown far stronger since we last encountered him. He hasn't lost a single duel, and only drew against Yuhiro. That, along with everything he's done, makes him the hardest enemy we ever had to deal with. Lightning and Bohman included."

Taking Arashi's silence as agreement, Roxy put in the final touches before showing the updated profile to the former, which looked like this:

Name: Yukage Furutani (Yuhiro's blood, adopted, and foster brother. Very weird and horrific combination).

LINK VRAINS ID: Azrael (Azrael is the name for the Angel of Death, and judging by all the killings he's done whether it's directly or indirectly, he more than deserves that name).

Other aliases: Azure Asshole (considering what Azrael's done to us, he deserves this alias).

Gender: Male

Skill: Unknown (he's only dueled in Master Duels).

Age: 17

Job: Tactical Mastermind and Warrior (this is evident in how he's manipulated events, ranging from the Turf War, to hurting Miyu to draw out Raguel, to having Malf murder people in the name of getting stronger, to cause events to lead to Miles' mother dying, and more).

Residence: Unknown

Deck: Cychaic (a Cyberse archetype that focuses on timely destruction to benefit only him. His link monsters control those at their markers and by extension even the opponent by limiting their options. Azrael's also incorporated Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summoning into his deck, thus making it stronger and trickier than ever to respond to. Whereas Lightning prepares himself for anything and everything, Azrael basically controls the enemies movements to the point where he's in control of the duel like a puppet master).

Ace Monster: Teravolt Dragon (a Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points. The special dragon created by Wraith, the Ignis of Space. Upon Link Summon, Azrael can negate the effects of all Spell and Trap cards the opponent controls. If a monster effect is activated, Azrael can discard a card from his hand to his Graveyard to negate and destroy it. Last but not least, if Teravolt Dragon destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, Azrael can target a monster on the opponent's field before negating its effects and preventing it from attacking until the end of the opponent's next turn).

LINK VRAINS History: Azrael was Monty's client from the very beginning when Ai first appeared on the scene, meaning he and Wraith were keeping an eye on things.

He promised an immense reward for Ai at the beginning, which is why we initially pursued the task. However, we ended up not doing it in the end, which led to Monty's death and the creation of Malf.

During the Tower of Hanoi events, Azrael intervened and used the Muramasa to slice the cages Numera and Akira were trapped in. In addition, he used everyone else as decoys for the Hanoi while he infiltrated the tower and stole all their resources. In the event we failed, he would no doubt sabotage the tower from the inside. Very strategic, as he is deprivable as he has no regard for human life at all, using anyone and anything to achieve his goals (is there an exception with Wraith?).

After the Tower of Hanoi, Azrael freed Athaliah and Ace and forced them to join him along with Speckles, or else they'd get killed by Malf, whom he created as a living Another virus. Anything the Hanoi can make he can do much better.

Azrael then infected Miyu with Lightning's virus, even though he detested such an action. Doesn't excuse him from what he did, as he did it anyway.

Azrael's actions are also what led to the Turf War occurring by placing Ace as a puppet ruler following the previous Overseer's death. All just to buy time for Bohman's recovery, and was willing to allow people to die just so the task was complete.

He recently led an attack on the central station in LINK VRAINS, with Malf, Ace, Windy, and two hundred Bitboots at his beck and command while we were caught in Lightning's trap, where we saw him defeat Blood Shepherd while the carnage occurred outside. Azrael also kept us busy in the real world by having Ace's forces cause chaos, with Windy joining in on the fun as well. Azrael also defeated Stregone, a duelist who can use all six summoning methods, and also defeated Lord Kazuma according to Infearno. All so he can access the dark vault and acquire the information on Project: VIII.

Raguel went after Azrael and challenged him to a duel, only for it to end in a draw. And then Azrael not only got away with the data, but deleted any remaining data from the dark vault using an EMP grenade.

All in all, Azrael's practically a monster, who has no qualms in doing what he must for whatever personal nefarious goal he has in mind. And for some reason, he had to join forces with Lightning to do so. However, Azrael does have some honor, with an example being after his duel against Stregone. He spared Miles out of respect for his bravery, as well as gratitude to Stregone for taking care of Yuhiro all those years.

Duel Grade right now: SS+ (Sick Skills with a +) (All of Azrael's actions up until now, from his dueling skills to how he's affected lots of people, makes him just as bad, if not worse than Lightning. Not only did he incapacitate Dancho and Lord Kazuma, he was also responsible for the deaths from the Turf War and the attacks in the real world and in the network, put Miyu in the hospital, practically tore Yuhiro apart from the inside and outside, caused the death of Miles' mother, and even defeated Stregone in a duel).

Notes: Azrael has a katana called the Muramasa, which is his inheritance. It can cut through anything and everything, as well as inflict damage in the real world, as evident by the scar on Yuhiro's chest.

Like Bohman, he is able to manifest his abilities in the real world. Not sure where he gets the tech for that, but given how Wraith controls space in a way if he gained the ability to traverse dimensions, this will be a major problem. Luckily, we have the protection programs on hand, though we'll need to have a more permanent solution should the need arise.

Again, I'm not sure what Azrael's endgame is, but I can't help but feel that his alliance with Lightning is a means to an end. In addition, I feel that Azrael may be the one in control of the alliance rather than it be beneficial as Lightning claims. Even without Wraith and Malf, Azrael is still dangerous, but the three of them together have caused more chaos and pain than we could have ever anticipated.

After closing Yukage's profile, Roxy then pulled up Ace's profile. "Next up is Ace himself. Another, if not minor pain in our asses until his death."

"Was there any duel footage of his last duel before he died?" Arashi asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, and I got it too." Roxy confirmed, as she pressed a button on the TV remote, which showed footage of Rosetta and Ace's duel. Both Roxy and Arashi gasped upon seeing Dystopia the Despondent appear before crushing Rosetta and winning Ace the duel. "Alright, then. It seems Ace managed to get another boss monster for his final duel."

Arashi pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which caused it to release a scanning wave that scanned the footage. "Got it. The monster that Ace wielded is known as Dystopia the Despondent."

"Wait a minute. The Dystopia the Despondent?!" Roxy exclaimed.

"Yup. Right here." Arashi explained, as a digital card popped out of his duel disk, which Roxy looked at thoroughly.

"I can't believe Ace got such a card in his deck..." Roxy frowned. In her time on the Black Market, she heard rumors of such a card, which was so powerful that it required a hefty cost to bring it out on the field from the hand or in the Graveyard.

"Well, according to what I'm reading, Dystopia the Despondent is a Level 12 monster with 5000 attack and defense points. While it's certainly powerful, it comes with a cost of tributing four Level 1 monsters to Special Summon it from your hand or Graveyard." Arashi began speaking. "During each battle, Ace can banish a Level 1 monster from his Graveyard to not only prevent Dystopia from being destroyed in battle, but also make him unaffected by card effects as well until the end of the battle. To put it simply, it's a massive battering ram in the form of a fist if used correctly." Words then appeared in the 'Ace monster' section of Ace's profile.

Roxy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the rumors of Dystopia being powerful would be true if you didn't have cards to get rid of him. However, there's so many ways to get rid of monsters these days that Dystopia can be taken down by a simple card effect."

"But Ace was able to use Dystopia to defeat Rosetta, thus securing his first and only victory. At least to my knowledge, anyway." Arashi countered back. "And Ace was close to defeating a Knight of Hanoi with Dystopia too."

Roxy nodded in agreement. Ace certainly gotten stronger since they last encountered him months prior. But it wasn't just Ace's dueling skills that got their attention. "The moment Ace appeared as the Overseer of the Black Market, things went downhill. He instigated the Turf War all under Azrael's orders to buy the time needed for Bohman to recover. The craziest thing was that Ace managed to acquire the allegiance of almost all the branches as well." Words popped up on the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Ace's profile.

"Gamma. Beta. Zeta. And Delta." Arashi listed off each of the branches that sided with Ace. "Makes me wonder what the branches saw in Ace to easily side with him."

"Maybe Ace had better intuition than the previous Overseer? Honestly, there's no point in bringing up what motivated almost all the branches to side with him."

"Well, what we do have to acknowledge is how Ace used his flagship as a bomb to destroy the Black Market, thus leading to more people losing their lives." Arashi said, he and Roxy grimly frowning as they recalled the explosive final part of the Turf War. Words then appeared in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Ace's profile. "And he was with Azrael and the others during the attacks in the real world and in the network."

"Thus leading to his rematch against Rosetta, along with his victory." Roxy finished.

"After that, Ace told us what Azrael's goal was regarding the attacks, with Raguel using Excalibur to slice Ace's left forearm off before taking his duel disk." Arashi added as well. "And then after that, Ace blew himself up, which led to mass destruction in the real world."

"Ace got away with all of his sins scot-free. That is so not fair at all." Roxy added, as all those words appeared in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Ace's profile. "I hate to say this, but a duel grade boost will be needed for Ace, especially with recent events. I'd say an A for Apocalyptic because of how stronger Ace's become since we last saw him. He nearly defeated a Knight of Hanoi in a duel, and also won against Rosetta. That, along with his actions, is why he gets the duel grade boost."

"That sounds fair." Arashi agreed, as those words were inputted in the 'Duel Grade right now' section of Ace's profile. Once that was done, Roxy then showed the finalized profile for Ace to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Akihiko Akutagawa

LINK VRAINS ID: Ace

Other aliases: The biggest cheat in the century (in Ai's words), Card Shark (the guy does run a casino after all), Thorn in Rosetta's Ass (his presence has affected Rosetta's life).

Gender: Male

Skill: Life Rejuvenation (When the user has taken at least 1500 or more points of damage, said user can pay 500 more life points to gain life points equal to the number of monsters on the field times 500. A risky skill that compliments the riskiness of the 'Evil Eye' strategy).

Age: 20

Job: Hanoi's ally (formerly), Black Market boss (he escaped from the prison transport and is on the run along with Athaliah. Whoever broke them out was not in their right mind, that's for sure), Azrael's servant (formerly. Again, he's dead).

Residence: Deceased (after telling us what Azrael's intentions were, Raguel chopped his left forearm off and got his duel disk. Ace then blew himself up, thus throwing a monkey wrench in Azrael's plans).

Deck: Evil Eye (may be inspired by Chunibyo culture, which is the delusion of gaining special powers through a medium (in this case, an Evil Eye). The 'Evil Eye' deck revolves around a card called 'Evil Eye of Selene', which provides an attack point increase and protection to the equipped 'Evil Eye' monster by preventing it from being destroyed or targeted by card effects. While this strategy is a powerful one, it does come with risks, in the form of 500 life points per attack point increase. In a sense, it reflects Ace, as he 'gambles' with his life over the course of the duel. Ace also included a card that reverses this cost, ensuring he stays in the duel).

Ace Monster: Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye (a Link 4 monster with 2800 attack points that's just as deadly as Zerrziel, if not worse. Upon being Link Summoned, it allows Ace to target as many copies of Evil Eye of Selene in his Graveyard and equip it to this card. After it destroys a monster by battle, Ace can not only destroy cards up to the number of copies of Evil Eye of Selene in the Spell & Trap card zone, but also inflict 500 points of damage for each one as well. As a bonus, if Dharkon would leave the field by any means, he can banish one copy of Evil Eye of Selene from his Spell & Trap card zone instead), Dystopia the Despondent (a Level 12 monster with 5000 attack and defense points. There's been rumors of such a card existing in the Black Market, which I can confirm is true. While powerful, it comes with a hefty cost of tributing four Level 1 monsters on the field. During each battle, Ace can banish a Level 1 monster from his Graveyard to not only prevent Dystopia from being destroyed in battle, but also make him unaffected by card effects as well until the end of the battle. Again, Dystopia has a high cost to pay for bringing him out, but can be a powerful asset if you're willing to pay it).

LINK VRAINS History: First appeared before Playmaker to stop him from getting to Raguel who was dueling Rosetta. He held back Numera and escaped with Rosetta and the two Cyberse cards in their possession.

According to the footage sent from Frog and Pigeon, Ace took in a lost Rosetta and raised her as his assassin, but all along planned to use her as a bargaining chip against her father. Oh, and Ace sent Rosetta to Clarice for training, which resulted in her being sterilized like the other deathstalkers. There sure are a lot of despicable people in the world who prey on the weak and lost.

During the events of the Tower of Hanoi, he attempted to scam the Hanoi for the Cyberse cards they have but didn't know they were devoid of data.

After the Tower of Hanoi was shut down, Ace and Athaliah were immediately tracked down and arrested for their role during those events, as well as other listed crimes. However, thanks to Azrael, the both of them escaped.

He resurfaced when he became the new Overseer of the Black Market, where he obeyed Azrael's orders in instigating the Turf War. Ace was even able to acquire the allegiance of almost all the other branches, except for Epsilon and Omega, who fought back. According to my research, the Guzik Family, Clarice, and Gardai were willing to assist Ace upon seeing that he had a backbone compared to the previous Overseer.

During the attack on Alpha, Ace escaped the branch, only to be pursued by Lord Kazuma, where the latter defeated the former. Unfortunately, Ace got away with the key to Uchida Industries before directing the ship to destroy what remained of the Black Market.

From there, Ace appeared during the attacks in the real world and in the network, where he got his revenge on Rosetta and defeated her in a duel. After Ace told us what Azrael's goal was, Raguel responded by cutting Ace's left forearm off with Excalibur and stealing his duel disk. Ace then blew himself up, which led to a protocol being initiated that led to uncontrolled chaos. Or simply mass destruction that took plenty of lives as a result.

All in all, Ace got away with his actions, with numerous people having lost their lives and/or having been injured as a result.

Duel Grade right now: A (Apocalyptic) (Ace's gotten stronger since we last saw him. He was able to nearly defeat a Knight of Hanoi in a duel with the upgrades made to his deck, and managed to win against Rosetta. Goes to show how people evolve in desperate times, don't you agree?)

Notes: Ace's 'Evil Eye' deck revolves around a card called 'Evil Eye of Selene', which provides an attack point increase and protection to the equipped 'Evil Eye' monster by preventing it from being destroyed or targeted by card effects. While this strategy is a powerful one, it does come with risks, in the form of 500 life points per attack point increase. In a sense, it reflects Ace, as he 'gambles' with his life over the course of the duel.

Ace has a program capable of preventing others from escaping, as well as adding cards to his hand somehow. Talk about a sleight of hand, way worse than just stacking the deck.

Just shows that no matter where you go, be it virtual or real life, there will be cheating. As such, countermeasures are required.

In the end, Ace has been a thorn in our ass, despite being a minor villain. Done and done.

With Ace's profile done once and for all, Roxy saved it before closing it for good. She then pulled up Gil's profile before looking up at Arashi. "Listen, Arashi. I need you to tell me what Gil's been up to recently since you saw him."

"Alright. Let me think." Arashi thought things over for a few seconds before speaking. "Well, Gil's been scavenging the Black Market since the Turf War. While he claims to be doing it just to survive, I'm not sure whether he's truly up to something else."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Let's just wait and see for now." Roxy stated, as words were put in the 'Job' section of Gil's profile. "I mean, Gil did help us in getting more information on Azrael in exchange for sweets, after all."

"Yeah, but it led to a duel between Gil and Yuhiro, remember? It was a close match too." Arashi reminded Roxy. All those words appeared in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Gil's profile.

Roxy pressed a button on the remote nearby, which caused footage of Yuhiro and Gil's duel to play. As she and Arashi watched the footage, they couldn't help but feel helpless as they saw their friend get pummeled both physically and mentally by Gil. It was a close duel too, for if Revenge Attack wasn't in Gil's hand, then Yuhiro would have won the duel. Roxy then paused the footage at the part where Gil brought out his strongest monster yet. "Alright, let's see here. Abyss Actor – Ballistic Balladeer, a Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points. First off, while Gil has an 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monster in his Pendulum Scale, Ballistic Balladeer's unaffected by card effects. Whenever a card or effect that changes Ballistic Balladeer's attack points is activated, save for his own, he gains 1000 attack points, and this isn't once per turn."

"In addition, during either player's turn, Gil can banish cards the opponent controls up to the number of 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monsters in his scales. Finally, should Ballistic Balladeer leave the field, Gil can send an 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monster from his Extra Deck to his Graveyard instead." Arashi continued.

"All in all, Gil's monster is incredibly strong. Still, if you take out the foundations of Gil's setup, then it's possible to defeat Ballistic Balladeer." Roxy finished. "All in all, what should his duel grade be, Arashi?"

"Um, maybe an A+, or Apocalyptic with a +? I mean, Gil's a strong duelist, to the point where he was able to defeat a Bitboot in a duel." Arashi suggested.

"But Bitboots are cannon fodder these days, so anyone with a strong deck and knowledge on what they're facing off against will help them win the duel." Roxy argued back.

"I hear you there, but moving past that, Gil was still able to defeat Yuhiro, one of the strongest duelists I know." Arashi pointed out. "Plus, people don't use Pendulum Summoning these days since the introduction of Link Summoning, and it certainly helped against Bitboot, right?"

"Oh, one hundred percent." Roxy replied, as all those words were put in the 'Duel Grade right now' section of Gil's profile. After putting some final touches in, Roxy saved her work before showing the updated profile to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Gil Ariba

LINK VRAINS ID: Abysstainer (considering his unexpected personality and his deck, it makes sense).

Other aliases: Director of Doom (he wields something called the Chains of Tragedy, which binds his opponents the more traumatized they are, and also has this giant demon called Abyss King that does his biding), Two-Face (one moment, he acts innocent, the next, he's serious and demented).

Gender: Male

Skill: Unknown

Age: 13 (he's older than Rachel, yet looks like a kid).

Job: Information Broker on the Black Market (formerly due to the Black Market's commission. Though Gil did make a deal to help us out), Scavenger (since the Turf War, Gil's been acquiring stuff from the branches. I'm not sure why to be honest. Does he have a nefarious goal or something?).

Residence: An apartment somewhere in Den City.

Deck: Abyss Actor (a Pendulum archetype that focuses on Pendulum Summoning with a wide variety of effects, such as returning Pendulum monsters to his hand to switch up his scales, increase attack points, add cards, etc. It's supported by the Abyss Scripts, which have a wide variety of effects, ranging from crippling the Extra Deck, to Setting more scripts to destroying cards and more).

Ace Monster: Abyss Actor - Evil Heel (a Level 8 Pendulum monster with 3000 attack points and 2000 defense points. Its Pendulum effect lets Gil tribute one 'Abyss Actor' monster on his field to target another one on his opponents field and have it lose attack points equal to the one he tributed until the End Phase. As for its monster effect, upon being Normal or Special Summoned, Gil can target one monster his opponent controls and have it lose 1000 attack points for every 'Abyss Actor' he controls until the End Phase. And if it's destroyed, Gil can Set one 'Abyss Script' from his Graveyard to his Spell & Trap card zone), Abyss Actor – Ballistic Balladeer (a Link 4 monster with 3000 attack points. First off, while Gil has an 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monster in his Pendulum Scale, Ballistic Balladeer's unaffected by card effects. Whenever a card or effect that changes Ballistic Balladeer's attack points is activated, save for his own, he gains 1000 attack points, and this isn't once per turn. In addition, during either player's turn, Gil can banish cards the opponent controls up to the number of 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monsters in his scales. Finally, should Ballistic Balladeer leave the field, Gil can send an 'Abyss Actor' Pendulum monster from his Extra Deck to his Graveyard instead).

LINK VRAINS History: Long ago, Gil's father sold him to Athaliah to gain valuable intel. A lot of bad families and complicated family matters out there but this is among the worst.

As a result, Gil gained the ability to use the Chains of Tragedy and his giant shadow of a demon. It's almost similar in how Rachel can communicate with her Cyberse monsters and how Brion can equip his PSY-Framegears to his body like Iron Man.

Following the tragedy, Gil was adopted by a woman who worked under Delta. After she died, he took over his father's business by setting him up for arrest.

Gil aided Stregone and Phoenix once, then helped out in Omega Branch. He also left his father in prison again and sentenced him to eternal loneliness before leaving him forever.

Recently, Gil contacted Raguel and the others to share some information regarding Azrael. This led Gil to duel Raguel, the former doubtful of the latter's resolve and skills. While it was a close duel, Gil won in the end, and put Raguel through a ton of trouble. Despite this, Gil handed the data over, and promised to help from the sidelines.

Duel Grade right now: A+ (Apocalyptic with a +) (Gil's a strong duelist, to the point where he was able to defeat a Bitboot in a duel. Then again, they are cannon fodder, which means that anyone can defeat them if their deck's strong enough. But moving past that, Gil was able to defeat Raguel in a duel, which earns him a bump upwards in his rank. Since Pendulum decks are quite rare these days, opponents won't expect them, giving Gil the advantage. And with the mischievous and surprising way the 'Abyss Actor' deck works, Gil can catch his opponents off guard before defeating them).

Notes: Gil's a sucker for sweets, and we forged a deal with him for information in exchange of sweets.

Regarding Gil, he can be demented sometimes, according to Ai. This was evident by how mercilessly Gil pummeled Raguel in their duel, as well as using mental warfare to give the latter a hard time as well. As a result, the duel's impacted Raguel in a bad way. We gotta tread carefully around Gil, for anything can happen given his nature.

Roxy closed Gil's profile before opening a new blank one, a frown evident on her face.

"Hey. Something the matter?" Arashi asked.

"Greg's sent me some new information." Roxy responded, having begun looking it over on her laptop. Her mouth then dropped upon reading a specific section of the information.

"Roxy?"

"Chainslaver was responsible for ruining Rachel's life..." Roxy realized out of shock. Apparently, Chainslaver was the debt collector that Rachel's parents went to see, where they ended up dying due to a virus. As a result of these events, it led to Rachel being taken in by Athaliah before being subjected to Project: Apotheosis.

"Sorry, I don't know who in the world is Chainslaver. Care to tell me?"

Roxy nodded back in response to Arashi's request. "Chainslaver was someone Yuhiro encountered years prior, when he was first starting out on the Black Market. Back then, he used to own a data material mining company in Omega, only for him to try and work for Ace upon receiving an intriguing offer." Words were typed in the 'Job' section of Chainslaver's profile.

"And according to the data Greg sent you, he ended up joining Ace in the end, right?" Arashi correctly hypothesized, as some words were put in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Chainslaver's profile.

"Yes, as per my research, Chainslaver went into hiding after Monty's death. We can then assume what happened after that, as well as what job Chainslaver was given by Ace." Roxy replied, as words were typed in the 'Job' section of Chainslaver's profile. "But moving that aside, he wasn't the best duelist around."

Arashi let out a chuckle. "Really now? Then it must have been totally easy for Yuhiro to kick Chainslaver's ass back then."

Roxy shook her head. "Even though Chainslaver wasn't the best duelist around, he was no slouch, especially with his 'Iron Chain' deck." She typed on her computer before pressing a button on the remote, which showed duel footage between Yuhiro and Chainslaver. "As per the footage, Chainslaver's deck is known as the 'Iron Chain' deck. It that focuses on a combination of milling the opponent's Deck, manipulating the ATK and DEF of monsters on the field, and inflicting minor burn damage to the opponent. Chainslaver also uses cards to stall until he can pull off at least two to three of those strategies." All those words were typed into the 'Deck' section of Chainslaver's profile.

The duo continued to watch the footage up to the point where Chainslaver brought out Iron Chain Dragon. Arashi frowned at that part. "And to think even people in the Black Market used old summoning methods, especially with that Iron Chain Dragon appearing on the scene."

"Iron Chain Dragon, a Level 6 Synchro monster with 2500 attack points and 1300 defense points." Roxy began recalling. "It gains 200 attack points for every 'Iron Chain' monster in the Graveyard, and when it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, the opponent must send the top three cards of their deck to their Graveyard. Simple as that." All those words appeared in the 'Ace monster' section of Chainslaver's profile.

Arashi thought this over for a few seconds. "Alright, Chainslaver would only have a chance against duelists who weren't aware of how his deck worked. But then again, I guess he made an impact in different ways based on what we just learned."

"Yes." Roxy sadly confirmed. "Chainslaver was the debt collector that Rachel's parents had to settle matters with, thus leading to leaving Rachel with Athaliah for a while. And from there... well, you and I both know what happened to Rachel after that." Poor Rachel. I...I can't believe that the same guy we encountered long ago was responsible for orchestrating your pain, Roxy thought in her mind. "Oh, come take a look at this."

Arashi went over to where Roxy was before the duo looked over at the information that was on Roxy's computer. "That's further evidence of the dealings between SOL Technologies and Central Japan. A freed Amadeus and slaves in exchange for security to Den City. That explains the recent appearance of the military troops sent to enforce order." Those words appeared in the 'LINK VRAINS history' section of Chainslaver's profile.

"Seems Greg's going with Brion, Rachel, and Gil to stop Balius for good." I wonder what will happen once Balius is dethroned. Hopefully, the scales will tip further in our favor. It all depends on Brion's actions, Roxy thought in her mind. "Thoughts on what duel grade Chainslaver should get?"

"I'm thinking a C or something like that. Maybe a C+ for Crazy with a plus." Arashi said. "In the time after you guys encountered him, Chainslaver must have become stronger for his second bout with Yuhiro."

"But we don't know how strong Chainslaver got since years ago." Roxy pointed out. She made a mental note to ask Yuhiro once he gets back from his walk. All the words were typed into the 'Duel Grade right now' section of Chainslaver's profile. Roxy then showed the completed profile to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Katsu Myoga

LINK VRAINS ID: Chainslaver (makes sense regarding his deck).

Other aliases: Chain Master (as evident by his deck, and how he uses 'Chain' cards to propel his strategies).

Gender: Male

Skill: Unknown

Age: Unknown (probably in late 30's)

Job: Omega Branch worker (formerly, as Chainslaver betrayed Monty to try and go work for Ace), Ace's lackey (formerly. Turned out that Chainslaver escaped Omega's clutches and went into hiding until Ace found him. He accepted Ace's proposition and worked for him until the FBI put a stop to the slave operation).

Residence: Den Jail (the FBI are in the process of interrogating him and Sharpshot for information).

Deck: Iron Chain (a deck that focuses on a combination of milling the opponent's Deck, manipulating the ATK and DEF of monsters on the field, and inflicting minor burn damage to the opponent. Chainslaver also uses cards to stall until he can pull off at least two to three of those strategies).

Ace Monster: Iron Chain Dragon (a Level 6 Synchro monster with 2500 attack points and 1300 defense points. It gains 200 attack points for every 'Iron Chain' monster in the Graveyard, and when it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, the opponent must send the top three cards of their deck to their Graveyard. Simple as that).

LINK VRAINS History: When Yuhiro first started out on the Black Market, he had to go through an initiation, where his task was to hunt down a man named Chainslaver and ensure he was captured for Omega branch. He defeated Chainslaver in a duel with his World Legacy deck, where the latter tried to escape following their duel, only for Yuhiro to knock him out cold for capture.

At some point after Monty's death, it seemed that Chainslaver went into hiding until being found by Ace, who approached him with an offer. Chainslaver obviously took the offer, as it was better than being hunted like a wild animal on the run, where he collaborated with Sharpshot in overseeing the slave efforts set up at Uchida Industries. These slave efforts involved using data material to construct numerous things.

Chainslaver was also in contact with Balius and Central Japan, where he was tasked to provide both the captured slaves and Central Japan's governor Amadeus to him for shipment.

According to Greg, it was around a secret deal set up between SOL Technologies and Central Japan, where the former would release Amadeus from captivity as long as the latter sent troops to keep things stable.

During the operation, Yuhiro forced Chainslaver to log into the network before dueling him. History obviously repeated itself, as Yuhiro once again won, the only difference being that the last attack unintentionally knocked out Chainslaver. Long story short, Chainslaver's now in captivity awaiting trial.

Duel Grade right now: C+ (Crazy with a +) (Despite being old fashioned, Chainslaver's deck can serve as trouble for anyone unprepared. But I know for a fact that in the time after our first encounter with him, he's obviously gotten stronger because no duelist is stagnant. So for the time being, I'm putting this duel grade down until I get more information from Yuhiro).

Notes: Chainslaver originally worked at Omega, where he owned a data material mining company, but planned to ditch the branch after receiving an offer to work at Alpha with an increased salary.

Since data material came around in the network, people wanted to get their hands on it for a long time now. Chainslaver must have come across a golden opportunity upon finding a large stash of data material, which was where he started it up.

Apparently, Ace must have reinstated Chainslaver's data material mining company under his jurisdiction so he can get the task done in preparing the weapons that led to mass destruction in the network.

Once this war is over, we need to destroy any remnants of the data material mining operations to ensure that it never falls into the wrong hands again.

Chainslaver was also the one responsible whose actions affected Rachel and her parents, thus leading Rachel to being experimented on by Athaliah and become a Construct. Good thing that guy's put away for good.

Roxy closed up Chainslaver's profile before opening up Aoi's profile, a smile evident on her face. "Okay, I'm glad I saved the best for last, as there's a profile I wanted to update ever since I got back from the network."

"Blue Maiden's, right?" Arashi correctly guessed, with Roxy nodding in confirmation. "Do you have the duel footage?"

"Of course." Roxy replied, as she typed on her computer for a few seconds. After doing so, she grabbed the remote and pressed a button on it, which showed footage of her duel against Aoi in the network. "While you already know who Blue Maiden is, it's critical that you don't tell her your identity, as she may trace it back to Yusaku and Takeru otherwise."

"Yuhiro already told me this before, so you don't have to worry about me." Arashi assured Roxy, the latter letting out a sigh of relief. "It seems Blue Maiden's fully grown up from since she was Blue Girl and Blue Angel."

"Totally." Roxy agreed, as an update was made to the 'LINK VRAINS ID' section of Aoi's profile. "With other aliases including Aqua's Sub partner and Majestic Mermaid with Wings."

Arashi sweatdropped for several seconds after hearing the second alias idea, unsure of what to say next, lest he incur Roxy's infamous wrath. "Uh, is there evidence to support that second idea?"

Roxy scarily smiled at Arashi, the latter shaking upon seeing it. "Well, Aoi put wings on her avatar, so I taught her how to fly, kapeesh?"

Arashi quickly nodded, having fallen into the trap of getting on Roxy's bad side. At that moment, he made a mental note to tread carefully should he end up on Brea's bad side, or else it wouldn't end well for him. "Yeah. Just don't scare me like that. I'm assuming she's renounced her Charisma duelist status, right?"

"After recent events, yes." Roxy confirmed, as words appeared in the 'Job' section of Aoi's profile. "Now, she's a Freedom fighter against the rogue Ignis and their allies." More words appeared in the 'Job' section of Aoi's profile.

"What about her Skill? I mean, Yuhiro told me that the 'Trickstar' deck involves the opponent drawing cards so its owner can inflict damage to them."

"Yes, but according to Aqua, Aoi changed her Skill to something called Shape of Sea. Once per duel, when Blue Maiden takes damage, she can Special Summon one 'Marincess' monster from the graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to the damage she took." Roxy both confirmed and explained to Arashi, the words appearing in the 'Skill' section of Aoi's profile.

"So Aoi can summon a new monster after taking damage, huh? Not bad." Arashi thought things over for a few seconds to process this information. "I wonder what Aoi's deck is like now that Aqua's with her."

"I'm glad you asked." Roxy said, as she pressed a button on the remote, which caused duel footage between Aoi and her to play on the TV. Arashi and Roxy paid close attention to the duel, the latter with a smile on her face for a minute or so. "According to the footage, Aoi's deck is now the 'Marincess' deck, a Water Cyberse deck that focuses on facilitating Link Summons, along with adding cards from the Graveyard back to the hand to either reaccumulate resources or continue Link Summoning. While the deck does deal effect damage, it's in a less consistent manner, with it being in great amounts all from a single card. There's also Trap cards that Blue Maiden can activate from her hand as long as she controls a Link 3 or higher 'Marincess' monster. To put it simply, the 'Marincess' deck contains the firepower the Trickstar deck needed." All these words were put in the 'Deck' section of Aoi's profile.

"Hand Traps, huh? It seems everyone's using them these days." Arashi stated. He and Roxy then watched the duel more, right up to the moment where Aoi brought out Marincess Marbled Rock. "Hey, is that Aoi's ace monster?"

"Yes, but she has a Link 4 'Marincess' monster available on her hands. But compared to the two, I can say that Marbled Rock is better." Roxy offered her own opinion. "Moving that aside, Marbled Rock is a Link 3 monster with 2500 attack points. Once per turn, Blue Maiden can target one 'Marincess' card in her Graveyard and add it to her hand. And by discarding a 'Marincess' monster from her hand to her Graveyard, Blue Maiden can protect either Marbled Rock or her other monsters from battle destruction. Regardless, she can't take any battle damage as well. All in all, a strong and defensive monster." All those words were put in the 'Ace monster' section of Aoi's profile.

"Is it just me, or do our ace monsters have at least 2500 attack points?" Arashi put a finger to his chin as he thought things over. "I mean, there's Yuhiro with Hercules, Yusaku with Decode Talker, Takeru with Heatleo, myself with Clear Wing, and now Aoi with Marbled Rock. It can't be a coincidence. Or does every hero in each of their stories have an ace monster that has 2500 attack points."

Roxy shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's a common trend that everyone seems to accept, as in every story, the good guy has an ace monster with 2500 attack points, while the bad guy has an ace monster with 3000 attack points. But moving that along, there's honestly not much to put on Aoi's profile aside from her duel grade. So what do you think it should be?"

"What about an S for Savage?" Arashi suggested, partly on seeing Aoi's improved dueling, and the other half not wanting to risk incurring Roxy's infamous wrath. Upon seeing Roxy nod in confirmation, Arashi let out a small cry of relief. "As evident from your duel with Aoi, it seems that she's mastered the 'Marincess' deck after practicing with it. And given the duel footage, Aoi managed to not only come up with strategies on the fly, but respond to different situations as well." All these words appeared in the 'Duel Grade right now' section of Aoi's profile.

"Good call, Arashi. That's just what I was thinking." Roxy stated, as she made some final touches to Aoi's profile. She then showed it to Arashi, which looked like this:

Name: Aoi Zaizen.

LINK VRAINS ID: Blue Maiden (changed from Blue Girl. Aoi's finally grown up).

Other aliases: Aqua's Sub Partner (with Miyu once again out of commission, it's only natural for Aqua to go to the person she knew best), Majestic Mermaid with Wings (okay, that one's all me).

Gender: Female

Skill: Shape of Sea (once per duel, when Blue Maiden takes damage, she can Special Summon one 'Marincess' monster from the graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to the damage she took).

Age: 16

Job: Charisma Duelist (formerly. In protest against SOL Technologies, Aoi's renounced her Charisma duelist status. At least for now), Freedom fighter (after teaming up with Aqua, Aoi immediately joined forces with Playmaker and the others once again. There's now a total of four good Ignis, three bad Ignis, and a deceased one so far).

Residence: Penthouse Apartment in Den City with Akira Zaizen (formerly for now), Emma's Apartment (for the time being).

Deck: Trickstar (formerly. Aoi's put it aside for the time being), Marincess (a Water Cyberse deck that focuses on facilitating Link Summons, along with adding cards from the Graveyard back to the hand to either reaccumulate resources or continue Link Summoning. While the deck does deal effect damage, it's in a less consistent manner, with it being in great amounts all from one card. There's also Trap cards that Blue Maiden can activate from her hand as long as she controls a Link 3 or higher 'Marincess' monster. To put it simply, the 'Marincess' deck contains the firepower the Trickstar deck needed).

Ace Monster: Marincess Marbled Rock (a Link 3 monster with 2500 attack points. Once per turn, Blue Maiden can target one 'Marincess' card in her Graveyard and add it to her hand. And by discarding a 'Marincess' monster from her hand to her Graveyard, Blue Maiden can protect either Marbled Rock or her other monsters from battle destruction. Regardless, she can't take any battle damage as well. All in all, a strong and defensive monster).

LINK VRAINS History: Aoi changed her avatar to Blue Maiden after teaming up with Aqua. She's been a great support in the recent attacks in the network and in the real world with the ability to determine truths and lies.

You could say Blue Maiden may have gotten that from Miyu and I.

Duel Grade right now: S (Savage) (Aoi's been able to demonstrate the strength of her deck after training with it. She's able to set up strategies quite quickly and respond to different scenarios in a duel. I'm proud to say that Aoi deserves this duel grade boost).

Notes: Each time Aoi changed her avatar, she symbolized her growth as both an individual and as a duelist. Now, Aoi's all grown up upon changing her avatar to Blue Maiden, her eyes having been fully open to the situation at hand. The best part was that she's forgiven Yuhiro and I for what we've done. Hooray!

After Miyu's saved though, I wonder what will happen following the Ignis war. Will Aoi continue using the Marincess deck, or give it to Miyu and return to using her old deck? Either way, one of those girls are going to use the Trickstar deck, as that is not going to linger in the dust anytime soon.

Satisfied with all the profiles, Roxy closed it up after saving each one last one time. "That was a lot of profiles. Thanks for helping me out on them, Arashi."

As if on cue, Arashi's phone vibrated, which caused him to take it out and look at it. "Hey, Yusaku's on break, and Takeru's back at Cafe Nagi as well. We can continue working on the program Kusanagi started up."

"Then let's get to it." Roxy decided, as she and Arashi got up from the couches they sat on before the duo proceeded to walk down the stairs.

"Uh, Roxy. About Yuhiro..."

"We'll figure something out so he doesn't go haywire again. Don't worry." Roxy assured Arashi, the latter having a content smile on his face upon hearing the former's answer. The two of them sat down on different chairs by the time they arrived at the backroom before getting to work, intent on helping Yusaku and Takeru get Kusanagi's program done.

Elsewhere, at the Den Cemetery...

"So these are your parents by blood, adoption, and foster care, huh?" Herald asked Yuhiro, who nodded as the duo looked at the graves in front of them.

Myojin Furutani.

And Lyla Furutani.

"Yeah. As angry as I am at them for jumpstarting the things that led to today's current events, a part of myself is grateful for the gift they gave me. Life." Yuhiro said, having looked at his right hand. Did Yuhiro truly view himself as an abomination? Someone who only hurts others just by being in the presence of them, despite the kind and reassuring words from the people in his life who said that he wasn't?

"It's something that needs to be treasured. Not just for humans, but for the Ignis as well." Herald sighed before turning to Yuhiro. "On that topic, I need to tell you something, Yuhiro."

"Oh? What is it?" Yuhiro raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"You know how I have powers as the Ignis of Time? Well, I had a horrific nightmare a few hours ago, and you and the others were in it." Herald began explaining. "I believe it was a vision of the future."

"A vision of the future?" Yuhiro repeated, having thought this over. He remember having a dream months prior, where he saw the Knights of Hanoi destroy the Cyberse World. Did Yuhiro somehow have a dream that showcased the past or present event of the attack?

"In the dream, everyone we loved fell in battle against Lightning and Azrael. You were the only survivor, and in your growing grief and rage..." Herald started shaking in sadness, hating what he'll say next. "You destroy them with such force that everything else suffers by your wrath. To put it simply, you end up damaging the world beyond repair as a result." While Herald lied, it was only partially so that Yuhiro would be aware of the nightmare he saw, as well as ensure that he can prevent it from happening.

Yuhiro frowned upon hearing this. Whenever someone told him that he'll lose a duel, he ended up winning the duel simply by his own skill. Yuhiro never was a believer of superstitions or prophecies or any of that, but this dream... disturbed him. "Do you really believe that we end up losing in the end, Herald?"

"I... No. I certainly do not!" Herald denied, shaking his head after getting his thoughts back in order. "There's no way I'm letting a nightmare decide how this war's gonna end!"

"We are the masters of our own fate, Herald. I for one do not believe that the future's set in stone, and am hellbent on ensuring that we win this war." Yuhiro told Herald.

"Thanks, Yuhiro. I really needed to hear that." Herald responded, glad to see Yuhiro's optimism emerge in such a dark time.

WHOOSH!

Yuhiro and Herald then turned upon seeing a portal appear in the cemetery, which Yukage and Wraith walked out of as they entered into the real world. Yukage then narrowed his eyes upon seeing Yuhiro nearby.

"You seem calm and reasonable right now, Yuhiro. Are you calm and reasonable?" Yukage inquired with a taunt.

Yuhiro narrowed his eyes back at Yukage. "If the moment calls for calm."

"I'd say the moment calls for calm, yeah." Yukage looked around the cemetery and the graves that were there. "Especially the fact that there's no point in picking a fight where the dead rest. No need to provoke them, don't you agree?"

"What do you want?" Yuhiro asked.

"Back then, there were some... misunderstandings. Regrettable ones." Yukage began speaking, as he unsheathed Muramasa before pointing it at Yuhiro. "I've had my eye on you for a long time, Yuhiro, and the only reason I got involved in your life was because I saw that you were getting soft. Your potential was wasted and waning as a result of there being no hardships."

"Like when you went after Miyu and put her in the hospital right after she left..." Yuhiro muttered. "You wanted to not only draw me out, but force me to get stronger in the process." If that was Yukage's intent, then he can consider it successful. But one way or another, Yuhiro would have logged into the network anyway because of how Bohman stole Jin's consciousness data. So in a sense, Yukage would have succeeded.

"I will admit that what I did to Miyu was regrettable, but then again, I had to draw you out somehow." Yukage admitted, having sheathed the Muramasa in its sheath, a smirk evident on his face. "Think of it like an animal being in captivity. Eventually, they lose their natural behaviors, skills, and instincts. Like a lion degenerating to become a circus animal instead of ruling the wild, or how wolves domesticated into common dogs today, you've simply lost your drive to get stronger."

"Are you comparing Yuhiro to a domesticated animal that's lost its own individuality?!" Herald demanded.

"It's not just the domestication of animals Yukage's talking about, Herald. It's also how modernized techniques and selected breeding have altered ancient grains like corn and rice into the vegetables humans know to this day." Wraith clarified. "The main message here is that Yukage evolved while Yuhiro devolved."

"What do you want?" Yuhiro dangerously repeated for a second time.

"How about a proposition?" Yukage suggested. "Join me, and in return, I will give the cure so Miyu can wake up from the coma Lightning's little machinations put her in."

"There's no way we're working with you and Lightning!" Herald immediately exclaimed.

"You didn't let Yukage finish, Herald." Wraith stated.

"Allow me to clarify things for you, little hybrid brother. Let's work together to finish what our parents started." Yukage emphasized. "With our combined power, no one can stop us, and I mean no one. Not Lightning, not Bohman, not anyone else. What do you say? An alliance for a life is a reasonable deal, yes?" He extended his right hand to Yuhiro.

Yuhiro thought this over. A part of him actually wanted to look more into Project: VIII. To learn more, and find out where the Root of All Knowledge truly is. With Bohman becoming the next Construct, and the Ignis coming together for the war, it was the perfect opportunity to capture and use them to finish what Myojin and Lyla started.

But Yuhiro couldn't abandon his family, nor could he abandon the girl he loved just so he can potentially acquire more power. And something told him that Yukage had something selfish planned for using the Root of All Knowledge, which was something Yuhiro did not want to be a part of. "No, hybrid brother. I will not. I don't know what you plan to use the Root of All Knowledge for, but there's no way I'm allowing you to acquire it. I will stop you and Lightning, and put an end to this war you guys started!"

Yukage smiled as he pulled back his right arm. "I knew you'd say that. After all, you've been pretty persistent on your values, so I won't bother trying to persuade you anymore. Although I do have one request."

"And what request would that be?" Yuhiro questioned.

"If you intend to seeing your values through to the end, don't just stop after the war's over. Keep avenging on all that have wronged you. From the Hanoi, to Lightning and myself, to Watchman, keep avenging until everyone that has ever wronged you have paid for their transgressions." Yukage then unsheathed the Muramasa before slicing the air in two, which caused a portal to appear. "Oh, and I'm actually proud that you've logged into the network whole, Yuhiro. It takes some time to get used to, but with training, you'll master it in time, just like me. As for how I know, your pendant glowed, thus allowing me to put two and two together."

"That makes sense..." Yuhiro muttered. Excalibur and Muramasa were unique swords, so there was no doubt that the latter would allow Yukage to log into the network whole.

"Hang on a minute. What does Watchman have to do with any of this?" Herald inquired. "He may have been with the Hanoi once, but he's working hard to-."

"You and Yuhiro are fools if you think you can trust Watchman, Herald." Wraith interjected. "He's kept so much in the dark, and refused to tell you some pivotal information. But rest assured, as all will be revealed in the coming war."

"And the Inquisitors? Do they have some part in this mess?" Yuhiro questioned back, which made Yukage smirk back as he was about to step into the portal.

"I won't spoil anything, Yuhiro. For I want everyone present for the big reveal. Do show me your motivation the next time we meet." Yukage replied, before he and Wraith went into the portal, which closed up from behind them seconds later.

What do the Inquisitors have to do with this mess? And what did Yukage meant by keeping avenging on people, Yuhiro wondered in his mind. This was confusing, and something Yuhiro didn't have the time to think about right now. "We need to get back to Café Matsuo."

"Yes, we must." Herald agreed, as Yuhiro began walking towards the gates of the Den Cemetery before exiting it. The entire conversation with Yukage and Wraith was unsettling to say the least. What did Yukage want with the Root of All Knowledge? Why did he want Yuhiro to join him in the first place? Did Yukage see something in Yuhiro that the latter didn't know about? Were the Inquisitors truly involved with the Lost Incident, Project: VIII, and Project: Apotheosis?

Whatever the case, Yuhiro knew one thing for certain.

He and the others will win this war and stop Lightning and Azrael, as well as bring everyone back.

In Yuhiro's mind, this was something he promised himself, no matter what will transpire next.

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth: Roxy's Reports 34: A Surprise for You All

Author's Notes

Hi, everyone! This will be the last set of profiles for a while, as we're entering the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc starting in Chapter 84. I do hope you're looking forward to what's to come! Oh, and I've got a special surprise for you guys following Season 2, which will be shown in the next Roxy's Report. Think of it as my way of saying thank you for continuing to follow Yuhiro and the others throughout Obscured Truth, despite the horrible start back in 2019. See you at Chapter 84!