Chapter 52: Knights of the Sanctuary

The incident with Zane behind them, the gang stepped through the destroyed gate and into the next level of the world. The area was filled with beautiful golden buildings, and brilliant statues lined the streets.

"Man, this is some pretty swanky place!"

"We're not here to sightsee, we're here to find the way home!"

"Relax Chazz, it's all good-woah!"

Jaden stumbled into a statue, knocking it over. It hit the ground hard, shattering into a million pieces.

"Uh oh."

"Way to go slacker, now look what you've done!"

"Oh come on, what's the worse that can happen?"

"You there! Hands where I can see them!"

Jaden jumped as a Royal Knight came running, sword ready to run him through.

"You're under arrest for destruction of public property!"

"Aw come on man, it was an accident!"

"Tell it to the judge! Unless you want to take a chance and duel me for your freedom?''

Jaden grinned, and raised his duel disk.

"Alright, get your game on!"

"I'll be the one giving the order around here, punk!"

DUEL!

Royal Knight: 8000

Jaden: 8000

"Rule abiding citizens first, scum! I'll begin with Silent Swordsman LV 3 (1000/1000) in attack mode! Then I'll equip him with Misty Body and set one card facedown to end my turn."

"Not a bad start, but I can do ya one better. I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in attack mode! Next, I'll equip him with Cyclone Boomerang! This nifty weapon gives him 500 attack points (1500-2000), more than enough to attack your Swordsman! Wildheart, attack!"

The tribal hero leapt and swung his new weapon, dealing a hard blow to the opposing monster. While it didn't destroy it thanks to Mist Body, it did deal a good chunk of damage to the Knight's life points.

Royal Knight: 7000

"Oh yeah, first blood! I'll end my turn by throwing down a face down."

"You'll pay for that! During my Standby Phase, Silent Swordsman goes from level 3 to level 5 (2300/1000)! Next, I summon Mataza the Zapper and will equip him with United We Stand, giving him 800 attack points for each of his fellow monsters I control (1300-2900). Now Mataza, attack his Hero!"

The samurai charge, dealing a swift stroke of his blade which cut Wildheart in half, causing him to explode, leaving only his blade behind.

Jaden: 7100

"Now Mataza, attack him directly!"

Jaden had no time to react before the warrior turned his blade on him, slashing him right across the chest while he screamed in pain.

Jaden: 4200

"Now Silent Swordsman, attack him directly!"

Jaden howled in agony after the last attack, sending him to his knees in pain.

Jaden: 1900

"Jaden!"

Despite the pain, Jaden climbed up to his feet, laughing his head off.

"Man, you've got game! I activate my trap card, Damage Condenser! By discarding a card, I can summon a monster whose attack is equal to or less than the damage I took this turn. Come on out, Elemental Hero Neos!"

"Fine then, I end my turn."

"Alright, time to get my game on! And to start, I activate Card of Sanctity to refill our hands."

Jaden grinned like a maniac when he saw his new hand. He had this in the bag.

"Alright, time for me to end this! I summon Neo Spacian Air Hummingbird (800/600) in attack mode! Now Neos, Air Hummingbird, Contact Fuse! Come on out, Elemental Hero Air Neos (2500/2000)!"

"And how will that save you? My Mataza still has more attack points."

"Not for long. See, when I have less life points than you, Air Neos gains attack points equal to the difference (2500-7600)."

"What?"

"Next, I activate R-Righteous Justice to get rid of your United We Stand. Air Neos, take out his Mataza!"

The humanoid bird alien swooped in, slicing Mataza apart with massive gusts from his wings.

Royal Knight: 700

"Next, I activate Contact Out, separating Air Neos back into his components. Neos, attack his Swordsman!"

The two warriors clashed briefly, before Neos dealt an uppercut so powerful that it destroyed his enemy instantly.

Royal Knight: 500

"Now Air Hummingbird, finish him off!"

The smaller alien shot forward, pecking the knight until his life points reached zero.

Royal Knight: 0000

The knight grunted, picking up his lance before turning to leave.

"Alright, you're off the hook. But don't let me catch you causing trouble around here again!"

And he took off, leaving the group to wonder what had just happened.

"Um, excuse me? Can you help us?"

Just then, two small little fairies, one green and one pink, floated over to them, looking very worried.

"What's wrong?"

"We were supposed to deliver an important package to the Parshath, but we lost it! He'll be really mad if we can't find it, so can you help us look?"

"Sure! Where was the last place you remember seeing it?"

"Well, we were over by the pit, and-"

"Wait a second, pit? Like, a huge hole in the ground?"

"No worries! We'll go check it out, and you'll have it back in no time!"

"Thanks! We'll keep looking around here."

With that the two fairies floated away, Jaden grinning at the prospet of a new quest.

"Alright, let's go exploring!"

"Jaden, do you even know how to say no?"

"Yes."

Everyone just groaned.

"Figures."