As the finals of Peggrin's tournament is just one day away, Peggrin is treating his four finalists to a fancy meal. As everyone was enjoying their meal, they almost forgot about the upcoming duels.
"Peggrin might be a nutcase, but it seems like he knows how to throw a nice dinner." Rin said.
"This meal certainly is delectable." Charlotte said. As she and everyone were enjoying the dinner, Charlotte looked around and spotted a portrait of a beautiful woman in a beautiful blue dress and large blonde hair. "I wonder who that woman is."
"Attention, everyone." Crone said as he got all of their attention. "Master Peggrin hopes that each one of you are enjoying your stay. Congratulations to the four finalists for making it this far. Ichika Orimura, Houki Shinonono, Hector Hudson, and Bane; each of you have done well to make here. We will now determine the matches for the semi-finals."
"Here we go." Houki said.
"How will it be decided?" Ichika said.
"Yeah. I want to know who I'm beating." Bane said.
"If you look around through your table settings, you will find a letter." Crone said.
"A letter?" Ichika questioned. He looked around his table setting and found the letter A under his plate. Houki found D under her glass, Hector found B in his napkin, and Bane found C under a bowl.
"Those letters represent the matches." Crone said as he showed a tournament board and showed that the matches were in alphabetical order. "As you can see, your corresponding letter will show who your matched up against."
"I got D. Who has C?" Houki asked.
"That would be me." Bane said.
"Good. I get to pay you back for trapping us in that cave." Houki said.
"If Houki is going against Bane, that means it's you and me, Hector." Ichika said.
"Looks like it." Hector said.
"The matches have been set." Crone said. "Tomorrow will be Ichika vs. Hector and Bane vs. Houki. There's one more thing you should know. When you received your invitations for this tournament, you were given two cards."
"Oh yeah." Ichika said as he almost forgot. He pulled out a blank card and a star card. Those were the two cards that came with the invitation.
"Having at least one of those cards is mandatory. If you do not show for your duel with at least one of those cards, you will be disqualified." Crone said.
"How come those cards are so important?" Houki asked.
"If you happen to win the right to duel against Master Peggrin, the star will allow you to have any one wish granted." Crone said. "The blank card is more for when you actually duel Master Peggrin. The duels begin tomorrow. For now, enjoy the night." Crone left them and let them enjoyed their night.
"Great." Houki said. "I don't have either one of those cards. What am I going to do?"
"That's easy." Ichika said as he walked over to her. "He said we only need one of the cards. That means I can give you one of mine."
"Ichika, are you sure?" Laura asked.
"I am. Here, Houki." Ichika said as he handed her the card with the star.
"Ichika..." Houki said as she couldn't believe he would do this.
"I'm here to save Chifuyu, not to win some grand prize." Ichika said. "We came here together, Houki. You don't deserve to be kicked out because you don't have the card." Houki blushed from Ichika praising her so much. Bane saw this and had a sneaky idea.
'We'll see about that.' Bane thought.
...
Later
"Good night, everyone. Tomorrow is a big night." Ichika said as everyone was entering their room and was hoping to get a good night's rest. Charlotte and Laura were sharing a room together, and Charlotte was enjoying the view.
"What a lovely night." Charlotte said.
"Yes, but don't get too comfortable. We are in enemy territory." Laura said as she was keeping her guard up. Before either of them could get any sleep, they heard someone knocking on their door. When Charlotte opened it, she saw it was Rin and Cecilia.
"What's going on?" Charlotte asked.
"We need to talk." Rin said.
"Rin has a theory that I think you should hear." Cecilia said. Rin and Cecilia entered and they told Charlotte and Laura what they think really happened.
"You think Peggrin cheated?" Charlotte said.
"Yeah. It's the only thing that makes sense." Rin said. "He beat Conner like he was a child. There's no way someone like Conner would lose that easily. Peggrin somehow knew what was in Conner's hand and countered everything perfectly."
"It did seem rather strange." Laura said. "Perhaps had had a camera or such placed somewhere."
"That's why I think we should investigate." Cecilia said. "We must expose Peggrin for the cheating scoundrel he is."
"Should we get the others?" Charlotte questioned.
"No. Ichika and Houki need their rest." Rin said. "I tried asking Ryu to come with us, but it doesn't seem like he's interested."
"Probably for the best. It's easier to move in a small group." Laura said. So, the four of them decided to investigate to expose Peggrin for being a cheater.
...
Ichika
Ichika was in bed. He was trying to get some sleep for the duels tomorrow. He was suddenly disturbed from his sleep as a voice was calling to him.
"Ichika! Ichika!" Ichika woke up as he knew that voice.
"Chifuyu?" Ichika said.
"Ichika! Beware of Peggrin!" That was certainly Chifuyu Ichika was hearing. Ichika got out of bed and ran right out of his room.
"Chifuyu, where are you?!" Ichika called.
"Ichika! You must beware of Peggrin!" Chifuyu was trying to warn him of something about Peggrin. Ichika moved as fast as he could to find Chifuyu.
...
The Girls
The girls believed Peggrin cheated in his duel against Conner. That's why the four of them looked around where they dueled to find a camera or anything. Cecilia looked around the balcony while Rin and Laura looked around the bridge.
"Find anything?" Cecilia asked.
"Nothing." Charlotte asked. She walked over to the railing. "What about you two? Did the two find anything down there?"
"Negative." Laura said.
"Ichika mentioned Peggrin had the ability to read minds." Charlotte said. "Maybe he really is some sort of pyschic."
"Don't be silly. Ichika is a nice guy, but he's not too bright." Rin said. "There's got to be something around here." She kept looking around. That was when a ray of light appeared and shined against Rin.
"Rin! There's something on your back!" Cecilia said.
"My back?" Rin said. She moved and as able to see the light. All four of them regrouped and could see the light shining into the room. "Where is that light coming from?"
"Is it moonlight?" Charlotte asked.
"It looks like it." Cecilia said.
"Interesting..." Laura said as she looked at where the light shined. "It's right around the spot where Conner was standing."
"Is it...?" Rin said as she found that interesting. She was able to climb up to the hole that the light shined from. When she did, she saw a tower on the other side.
"What do you see, Rin?" Charlotte asked.
"There's a tower on the other side of the courtyard." Rin said. "Isn't it convenient that there's a window facing this direction?"
"There could be a telescope in that tower that allows one of Peggrin's employees to see into here." Cecilia said.
"Let's check it out." Rin said. They believe they're on the lead to something, but they have no idea what they're really walking into.
...
Ichika
"Chifuyu, where are you?!" Ichika called as he hurried to wherever Chifuyu was.
"Ichika, listen to me. You need to use the power of your charm." Chifuyu said. "Peggrin's power is growing stronger. He must be stopped or else the balance of the world will be disrupted and bring chaos." Ichika looked around and he soon spotted her. He looked down to see a card with Chifuyu inside it. "You must defeat Peggrin."
"Chifuyu..." Ichika said. He reached down for her, but the card floated away. "Chifuyu!" Ichika followed the card and he somehow found himself outside as Chifuyu was placed on one of three white towers. When he got there, he saw who else was on them. "Conner! Mila! What is this?!"
"This is Peggrin's power." Chifuyu said.
"Save me, Ichika." Conner said.
"Save me, Ichika!" Mila said.
"You must defeat, Peggrin." Chifuyu said. Peggrin's madness just seems to continue. If it isn't stopped, these three could be lost forever.
...
Houki
Houki was asleep in her room. As she was sleeping, it was the perfect time to creep around. That's just what Bane was doing as he snuck inside her room. Bane was careful not to make a sound until he found what he was looking for. He did when he reached inside her deck and pulled out the card that Ichika gave her.
"Tough luck, kid." Bane said. Trapping her in a cave, now getting her disqualified? He has no morals.
...
The Girls
"Why can't we go in through the door?" Cecilia asked.
"You want to tango with the guards?" Rin said. Since they couldn't go through the courtyard because of all the guards that are around, the girls snuck around and were able to make it to the roof of the tower. "Laura, do you have the rope? The window is just above us."
"Right." Laura said as she took a rope and tossed it straight up. It was able to latch on the top of the tower and it felt secured. "We are good to go."
"Here we go." Charlotte said. They carefully climbed up the rope and were able to make it in through an open window.
"We're in." Rin said. "See anything?"
"N." Cecilia said as they had a look around the room. "I don't see a telescope or any surveillance device."
"There must be something around here. Look around." Rin said. The four of them spread-out and were trying to find anything that proved that Peggrin was a cheater, but they had no luck.
"There's nothing here." Laura said.
"There has to be. Maybe they moved it, but there must be something." Rin said. Charlotte kept looking around until she noticed a portrait on the wall.
"Look at this." Charlotte said as they all gathered around and saw the portrait of the woman they saw earlier. "I saw this same portrait during dinner. Who is she?"
"No idea." Cecilia said. "Whoever she is, she's beautiful."
"I wonder why this is here. Do you think she's Peggrin's wife?" Charlotte questioned, but they didn't discuss it anymore as the lights came on.
"Isn't it past your bedtimes?" All four of them turned around and were faced with Peggrin himself.
"Peggrin..." Rin said as the four of them tried acting brave around him. "We know you cheated in your duel against Conner. Just admit it. You had some surveillance device stashed somewhere around here."
"You think I cheated. That's a very serious thing to accuse me of." Peggrin said. "Well... I suppose it could be looked at it that way, but you must understand that I won't be stopped. However, I'm afraid your guess is a little off. There's nothing up here of the sort."
"And why should we believe you?" Cecilia said.
"You're about to see. I could do to you what I did to Conner, Chifuyu, and Mila, but I think I've motivated Ichika enough." Peggrin said. "Besides, it's actually nice to have an audience."
"What are you talking about?" Charlotte asked.
"Let me show you." Peggrin said as he activated the power of his patch again. The room got darker and they could feel something was different.
"What's happening?" Rin said what everyone was thinking. Suddenly, the floor became like a liquid and the four of them fell through. They just witnessed what Peggrin's power can do.
...
Charlotte and Laura
Charlotte and Laura were unconscious. When they pulled themselves together, they found themselves back in the room.
"What just happened?" Laura asked.
"I don't know. That didn't seem like some dream." Charlotte said. Rin and Cecilia were thinking the same thing themselves. They thought Peggrin cheated, but now they see that he's more powerful and dangerous than they thought.
...
Ichika
"You're next, Ichika." Conner said.
"He wants you." Mila said.
"Whi is Peggrin doing all of this? How is he getting stronger?" Ichika said.
"Peggrin grows stronger with each soul he captures." Chifuyu said. "He wants more power. He wants the power in your charm. If he manages to get it, he could become unstoppable. Ichika, it's up to you. You must defeat Peggrin."
"How?" Ichika questioned.
"You must tap into the power of your charm." Chifuyu said, but that's what Ichika's afraid of. "It's up to you, Ichika. You must stop Peggrin or there's no telling what he can do." All of it is resting on Ichika to defeat Peggrin. As soon as Chifuyu said what she needed to say, a bright light shined. When it cleared, Ichika woke up like he just had a nightmare.
"Was it a dream?" Ichika said, but he didn't think it was. Unless Ichika can defeat Peggrin, all will be lost and he could become invincible. Ichika can't allow that to happen.
...
Ryu
Ryu was the only one that was wide awake. He stared out the window and was doing some thinking. The thing was...it's not Ryu that's in control right now.
"So, there's Ichika's charm and Peggrin's patch. This could work." Ryu held his pendent and smirked wickedly. It wasn't Ryu currently in control. "Those fools thought they got rid of me, but you can't get rid of me that easily. For now, I'll leave Ryu in control. I'll strike when they least expect it. Then, both items will end up being mine." The evil spirit in Ryu's pendent is making a comeback. A lot is going on in the finals. Who will be the one that will emerge triumphant?