4 YEARS AGO
The sun begins its descent above a large stone temple standing within the thicket of mist and the splendor of large, dark-leaved trees that spread over a wide canyon. Inside, a fourteen-year-old boy with wavy blonde hair dashes madly through its ancient, root-covered halls in a frantic search.
"Where is she?"
He repeats the worrisome question in his mind over and over. Sweat flies from his white skin as he turns to another one of several corridors with rows of bedrooms on each side, only to find the elderly residents, temple servants tending to them, or vacant spaces altogether.
He turns and calls in every direction, "Miu! Where are you Miu?!"
Eventually, his distress startles a young Wynnian handmaiden in the middle of tidying one of the previous rooms. Exiting with a broom hugging her patterned garb, she calls, "Sir Yucel?" The shyness in her volume suffices to get his attention. "You should be resting. What is the matter?"
He stops in front of her, lungs racing. "Have you seen Miu?"
She sees the gleams of desperation within his green and amber eyes. "Lord Shinn took the young miss over an hour ago," she answers meekly to the best of her knowledge, only to fluster from the spark of shock and fear in his reaction.
"B-but there hasn't been word of anyone departing the temple," she adds, attempting to ease his worry. "In fact, everyone is already preparing for supper time. I-I'm sure they will be present, so…"
"Right! Thanks!" He gives a rushed bow then bolts past her.
"Huh? S-sir Yucel wait!"
Though not wanting to be discourteous, there is no time to waste. He needs to be by her side. "I knew it," he scolds himself, no longer able to deny the worst.
However, in mere seconds, his speedy steps grind to an abrupt halt from crushing throbs that start to ache his left shoulder. "Argh! No! Not now!"
The handmaiden drops the broom and rushes to him. "Sir Yucel!"
The pain in him worsens, and the burning sensation that follows is like as if hot, thick strings of tightening barbed wire are entangling the whole arm. This unspeakable spike of pain brings him to his knees.
She lowers and reaches out to lift him. "The master said you shouldn't be up! You need bed rest!"
But he swats her hands away. "No!" His inner torture does not falter one bit, but neither does his resolve. I'm alright. I-I have to stop them!" The strength to spring himself up comes and he darts again to his destination.
"Sir Yucel!" she cries out again, hand clutching her chest. She attempts to chase after him, but quickly trips and gives up, unable to catch his surprising burst of speed. "Oh dear. The master is not going to be happy about this."
"Argh... Miu!" he allows the worrisome thoughts to permeate further. He tells himself that he is strong enough to handle the pain, and that it is worth powering through to see to it that she is alright. "Damn it! Damn it, Shinn! Tell me you didn't do it! Not her too. Please, not her."
A Wynnian girl with jade hair, twelve years in age lies over a steel flatbed. Metal restricts her limbs and eyes, blinding her from the surroundings of a dimly green lit, root-filled chamber housing a glyph tube. Her chest beats and sweat trickles from her peach skin, as she does not know what to expect. All she can carry within her shackles is hope.
"The mother walks with me. She grants me nature's blessing. I serve nature's cause. I am nature's blessing." She softly incants these words to fortify her resolve, and to grant her heart some modicum of inner peace.
Observing her through a transparent window is a group of five. The pair operating a set of control panels that run the adjacent room are in respective orange and teal robes. Two are guards with hood scarves concealing their faces, standing dutifully by the single double-door entrance with blades hanging at the rear of their belts.
The one standing in command of them is a man six feet in height with short, raised cyan hair, sharp eyebrows, and several small scars on his lower face. He wears a robe with outlines that form the shape of a large, golden bird with streaks of lightning around its body, further solidifying the look of authority in his scowl. This man bears the name; Shinn Ayashi.
"Status report?" Shinn asks the pair of operators.
The one in a teal robe answers, "Lady Miu's vitals remain healthy my lord."
"No signs of abnormalities," the one in orange follows, continuing his scrutiny through all the data in his monitor. "Ready to initiate the branding at your command, Lord Ayashi."
"Very well." Shinn's azure orbs take a long hard look at the girl lying in obedience, still whispering her prayers. He reads her lips, recognizing each verse, then swallows hard from the pain that begins beating his chest. "Miu…"
To silence his sentiment, he closes his eyes, reminding himself that this is all a necessity.
Then the double doors behind them burst, setting everyone in alarm. The entrance guards immediately take to the defensive, readying their steel to face whoever the intruder is. Shinn, however, halts their initiative as the unwelcome individual is but a familiar young Aussian boy.
"Such insolence!" barks the operator in orange. "To interrupt us in this crucial moment-" he pauses upon seeing his master gesture him quiet. "Lord Ayashi?"
Shinn turns to the boy, his scowl and azure orbs sharp. "For your sake, this better be urgent. Speak, Yucel."
With a hard clench to his beating heart, Yucel confronts him. "She ain't ready for this. Please Shinn. Let her go."
"Lord Ayashi has already determined that this ritual is to take its course," says the operator in teal.
"I joined so she wouldn't have to," Yucel replies. "That was the deal. Now you just decide to go back on your word and thrust all the responsibility onto her?"
Shinn answers, "The last of our skirmishes came at the cost of three more good souls. The advantage of having another tribe's power serving our cause is a boon we can no longer overlook."
Yucel grits his teeth, trying to suppress his frustration at his coldness. "Can't you find another candidate? There has to be-"
"There are none. Miu is the only one fit and trustworthy enough to be bestowed such power. There is no more time to waste on seeking other candidates. Not while our enemies continue to roam free and are still plenty in number. And I will not allow anymore needless suffering from this accursed project and its methods."
Yucel's glare widens at his hypocrisy. "Needless suffering!? Shinn! She's-"
"My mind is made up."
"She's your-"
His voice firms. "It is decided, Yucel."
"She's your daughter, for goodness sake!"
The operator in orange slams his desk and finally stands. "Enough! We will not tolerate any more disrespect from you, Aussian vermin!"
The one in teal follows: "You may have been in Ms. Miu's care all these years, but you are nonetheless an outsider, a mere visitor. Best know your place, boy. You stand on Miyabi soil as a servant, an aid. And the only reason you still stand in these hallowed grounds is due to the graciousness of Lord Ayashi!"
"I'm aware!" Yucel fires back. "I swore to the Ayashi household that I would keep Miu safe, and I intend to continue doing exactly that!" He turns back to their leader. "I understand how you feel, but your own daughter, Shinn?! You of all people ought to understand what you're about to put her through!"
"Yu." The voice of Miu calling through the speaker seizes their attention. "It's okay. I want to do this. I want to help. Help Albus. Father. And you."
Yucel can only shake his head, knowing the absurd risks. "No! Outta the question! This battle isn't for you! You can't fight! You shouldn't fight!" The somber smile that she gives however, surprises him.
"I am an Ayashi, the offspring of a Legion Lord," she answers resolutely. "I can no longer stand to watch father, or Albus bury anymore good people. If this is to be my birthright, then I shall proudly play my part to help ensure our people's safety."
She gives a weak chuckle, hoping to raise his spirits. "Besides, this is my chance to come out of hiding all these years. To walk and see the world that you've all told me so much about. I can finally experience its beauty, its splendor, hand in hand with all of you. Maybe now I can finally find my place, my purpose in it."
"I wanted that too!" he cries out. "But not like this. This is…"
"I know. The world is dangerous. For all its virtuous radiance come deplorable vices. You've warned me as much. But, even still, you promised me, right? Promised that you'll watch over me like always?"
Yucel struggles to find words. "I-I…."
"Like a knight in the stories you share at my bedside to whisk away my nightmares. A knight with heart pure as diamond, and a soul clear as crystal who protects all who is dear to him. Like a gem that braves the world's harshness, yet never breaks, never yields."
His face sinks as tears of worry well in his eyes.
She locks a soft, affectionate gaze at him and asks again: "Promise me, my dear brother?"
The unceasing, infernal pain in his right shoulder throbs again. "I… I!" It lingers its hold, continuing to test him. He knows he is young, that he is yet to face the world's evil, that he is yet to figure out whether or not he has the strength to make any difference.
But, for as much as his heart wavers, this is not the time to be indecisive. If he cannot prevent her from stepping into the field of battle, then all that remains is to fight harder, and aspire to become the very knight she sees him as.
And so, with a resolute grip over his pain he answers, "I promise!" Unbeknownst to him is a faint amber white glow lighting from the source of his continual pain. In unison, the rectangular case latching at his rear also begins to resonate with this light.
With a widening glance, Shinn witnesses as this glow brightens, revealing the shape of a brand. It is a circle with four spikes on its four cardinal points. "He truly is your son, Victor," the thought of the person in his mind hits him with a hint of a longing nostalgia. It then drops to shame. "I'm so sorry. There is no other way. And now my own flesh and blood as well."
Shinn looks again to Miu, steeling himself before finally permissing the order: "Begin." The operators follow without delay and the room where his daughter lies begins to radiate with the fluorescent light of a glyph for a few seconds. Then...
"Miu!" Yucel cries, dropping and grievously watching the girl's body jolt to and fro, all the while her shackles keeps her in place as she screams.
Having been in that same room not long ago, he knows full well of the pain she is forced to endure. Within those metal braces are several dozens of micro syringes and sharp cords that immediately pop out to forcefully alter her body's inner makeup. He can only describe the experience as if some force is violently skinning the surface of one's organs from within.
After what seems like the longest minute of her life, the mechanism loosens as if giving her a chance to catch her breath and allow her profusely sweating body to process what has become of it.
"Please let it end. Let it end. Let it end." Yucel repeats over and over in his mind as the sounds of the operators tapping keys become clear again. But he curls a fist and grips his shoulder harder knowing what follows.
Replenishing their instruments, the braces clamp shut again, this time with an accompanying arm that presses against her right shoulder. The piercing screeches of uneven volumes that he could never imagine erupting from this young girl jolts him up. Under his trembling, he nearly covers his ringing ears and shuts his tearful eyes, but denies them, resolving to witness this madness to its end.
The cries, rapid turning of mechanisms, and the sparking energy all echo through the halls of the temple.
"Lady Miu... Sir Yucel…" The handmaiden from earlier clutches her hands in hopeful prayers. Not only her, but all residents and servants alike residing within the stone walls quake in a mix of fear and shame from the continual sounds.
Soon enough, after a few brief minutes the noises subside away towards the misty skies and the shadows of the trees. But the worries birthed from within those stone halls still linger, not for what Miu has just undergone, but rather what fate the brands are soon to bring.
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Termina Saga
Opening Theme: One Unaffected by Hades by Get in the Ring
Ending Theme: Reincarnation by Cordelia
The Mansion Showdown
A humid afternoon arrives at the Castelle mansion. Adelia, Ivy, and Kageru take a brief brunch break, enjoying a sizable course consisting of French toast, cherry-filled muffins, sausages, and various egg dishes. Though they indulge in delight, table conversation is rather minimal.
Adelia notices that Kageru is especially silent, likely occupying himself with the revelations from the glyph chamber earlier and his late sister's connection to them. Wanting to break the silence, she asks, "How is everything on your plate Kageru?"
The question snaps him out of his blank stare into an oblivious glance with a fork in his mouth. Not wanting to talk over it, he chews as the two girls stare in surprise to find his momentarily full plate completely empty while theirs is still barely half done. "This is straight up amazing," he exclaims, drawing a delightful smile from his host.
"You must be starving," she adds, seeing his hesitant temptation to go for seconds. "Don't be ashamed. Feel free to grab as much as you wish." An offer he gratefully accepts.
"Seriously though. You're like a vacuum," Ivy adds with a weird look. "How about slowing down a bit, you Hiitan pig? If you gorge yourself, you'll end up writhing over a reflux during training."
"No one asked for your input," Kageru shoots back. "I've spent almost a year eating nothing but canned meat and over-sweetened fruits just to save up dough."
He adds a few more muffins and toast to his plate. "If I knew I was gonna get a free DT Disk from you guys, I probably would've been eating like a king the whole time instead of chaining down my bank account. Haven't had anything fancier than the sandwiches and donuts from the café as of late."
He takes a slight glare at Ivy with a hard bite to his muffin. "And of course, there's the deadly exotic flavor of whatever this pig-tailed bimbo put into my mouth a few nights back that I still need to wash down."
"My, can you hold onto a grudge," Ivy remarks, gleefully eyeing the pastry in his hand. "And after all that work baking to make it up to you." The statement chokes him, and she laughs as crumbs litter over the tablecloth.
"No need to worry Kageru," Adelia says coolly. "Rest assured that Ivy had no hand in preparing anything here." She takes a sip of her espresso. "The chemist in her would likely drag preparation of our meal through supper time. And you can only imagine what kind of spontaneous interest would have her dawdle even longer in the kitchen."
"Lia!?" Ivy puffs her reddening cheeks. "Whose side are you on!?"
"Merely stating the facts," she nonchalantly replies, taking a bite of her omelet.
She turns her glare to the snickering Hiitan, holding her urge to launch needles at him.
Once calm, he takes a breath to relax. "Really though. It's been quite a welcome. Thanks a bunch, Castelle," he says with a bit of shyness, to which she nods.
With the moment easing up, he finally decides to address a curiosity: "So, what exactly is your story, if you don't mind sharing?" he asks, his pupils locking onto Ivy long enough for the two young women to notice.
Her red cheeks deflate into a hesitant, thinking pause.
Retrieving his bitten pastry, he clarifies. "Far as I know, your mistress over here is supposedly trying to save the world, or something along those lines. And I have my personal matter with Aldebrand. As for you, I can't even begin to guess what your relation is to all this."
Adelia notes the hint of sharpness in his tone and gaze. "Kageru."
"Relax. Not tryin' to start a riot at the table. Just curious. Hell, I'm probably not gonna end up giving two hoots either way. But, considering we are now in business, I think it's only fair that I get to know at least a little bit about who's supposed to be watching my back."
"I'm indebted to the Castelle household," Ivy finally answers. "Satisfied?"
He nods, scoffing. "Indebted, she says. And how-"
"Did an innocent, young Wynnian maiden like me end up in service to the north's own royals?"
He squints at her self-description but brushes it off. "Sure."
She pauses for a moment, relaxing her tone before continuing, "Nothing much to it, really. High Lady Noel and her sweet daughter found me, then took me away from a miserable, boring life in Miyabi. At that time, I was just like you; another test subject holed up in some secret base in the middle of Mother-Wynn-knows whatever swamp it was."
With a glance, she notices his gaze intensifying in interest, almost looking concerned. "The egg heads running the place were dealing with… let's just say, unorthodox glyph research. "
His eye raises. "Unorthodox… how, exactly?"
Adelia answers, "Going back to my explanation, the glyphs house the essences from portions of the Terminal World and its many inhabitants. By harnessing these essences, we too can wield the powers of those inhabitants as our own."
He nods. "Uh-huh." Though still trying to fully come to terms with these supernatural concepts.
She continues, "Though resources can be generated from those glyphs without much trouble, the clans themselves only manifest out of will."
His understanding drops further into a puzzled stare. "Will. Okay… Will, meaning?"
"The creatures of that world live in some form within those glyphs; as such, their wills live on too. Whomever they bestow their powers unto is partly dependent on which individuals the members of these ancient clans deem fit to lead them, to carry out their will."
With further weak nods, his cheeks and pondering eyes bounce as he takes a shot at simplifying her words. "So what you're saying is the different clans from that world, from those glyphs, are picky about who gets to use them?"
"Precisely. For example: even if I were to forcibly take your Flamvells from you, I may use them to a degree. However, in terms of utilizing them to the best of their ability and grant them the means of evolving further through the use of glyphs, I bear no such affinity. For starters, the fact I am not a child of Kurenai already disqualifies me."
He takes in the explanation for the moment, now understanding why she has been so keen on recruiting specific candidates from Kurenai. Though he refuses to believe that some otherworldly tie takes away from all the years he spent practicing and learning his sister's old deck to the point of forging his own special playstyle of it, he did not deny that he has always felt an inexplicable bond with it. Many times, he writes that feeling off as nostalgia, but it is actually something more, as if in his mind, the Flamvells themselves acknowledge him as their master.
"That said," Ivy speaks, "I was only partially compatible with a few when I was tested. And sadly, those clans are now taken by supposedly more qualified people." Her eyes roll. "Normally, someone like me would've been scrapped as a failure, or cannon fodder if I was Hiitan, but you know us Wynnians. We despise the thought of being wasteful."
He stares in wait for further explanation as she chugs down the half of her apple juice, before standing to stretch upon finishing her meal. "Well, that's enough of that. I think it's about time we got to training. Care to show me your new deck, Kageru?" She grins, seeing him tremble at her provocation.
"Actually Ivy," Adelia cuts in, "before that, we still need to-"
Attempting to shake off his fear, he skewers down the rest of his leftovers with the fork and shoots up from his seat. "Sounds good to me! I believe I'm owed some serious payback anyways. And once I out-duel your bimbo ass, you better start filling in the rest of the blanks."
Ivy giggles. "Making a lot of assumptions there, sweetie. I was gonna go a bit easy on you, but it seems I'll have to put off all that hot air clouding your little Hiitan head."
Adelia sighs deeply as she too finishes the rest of her beverage, realizing that her words have fallen on deaf ears.
SOMETIME LATER
"Finish him, Myr-Myr dear!" On Ivy's signal, a hungry Traptrix Mymerleo charges on the attack.
The loud skittering of the approaching antlion prompts Kageru to sprint for the lone set in his back row.
This time, you're going down! he thinks confidently, awaiting the thrill of sweet revenge for his previous defeat.
"Restrain him," Ivy then orders, sharing her smile with Myrmeleo and her spectating sisters, who all giggle as shadowy vines from behind her lash out at their opponent's legs.
"Gah! Crap!" He tries to evade them but fails. The row of cackles louden, and the attacker takes joy as she pins him down to treat herself with a meaty chomp at his thigh.
Kageru LP 1200-1600=0
He slams a hard fist to the ground as the field dissipates. "Damn it! Not again." The bite he received pains him no more than an electric shock, but the humiliation of defeat stings hard all the same.
The victor deactivates her disk and walks over to him with a smug grin. "Doesn't seem like those new cards Lia gave were much help," she says.
"Oh, shut up," he snaps back, thinking the outcome as illegitimate. "What the hell even was that BS? That thing you have behind you is clearly Rafflesia, but she's not even on the field."
Adelia finally cuts in: "That shadow is a familiar created through the use of the Hidden Arsenal System's Spirit Drive feature."
The two turn her way to find that she is in what appears to be a tight, collared jumpsuit with a design resembling her usual coat, from the same navy-blue and black color scheme to the contrasting silver ice dragons that line her shoulders and upper torso. Though appearing flexible enough to show her curves, several pads made of a special alloy also further reinforce the wearer, especially around the joint areas.
"About time you got back," says Kageru. "Did you seriously just leave in the middle of our game, dressed up, then came back to tell me I've been playing with a damn handicap the whole freaking time?"
She folds her arms with a condescending look. "I intended to start you off with basics, but you insisted on getting your petty grudge match out of the way first."
A sweat drop trickles behind his head. "Right. My bad," he murmurs apologetically, all the while glaring at the skittish Ivy who is holding a giggle.
"Besides, the outcome was already obvious," Adelia says with bluntness that further skewers his pride.
"Okay. Harsh."
She begins warming up her arms. "I provided you with as much as I could to help improve your deck, but as I warned, the power it carries is much too obsolete to rely on."
Also resuming her leg stretches, Ivy adds, "At best, we helped raise your chances of getting lucky in case you suddenly bumped into one of the Hunters, but even I wouldn't be cuckoo enough to bet on those odds."
He restrains himself with a heavy groan. "Alright, enough with the damn smack talk already. Just tell me what it is that you're doing with your monsters. Preferably in normal human terms, please."
"Would you not prefer a demonstration?" Adelia asks, finishing up with her palms.
"Whatever works, I guess." He sighs, finally taking more notice of Adelia's new outfit. "Is that what the fancy getup is for? Do we get team jerseys too?"
She motions around to show more of its design. "You could say that. It's a prototype; a tephranium alloyed suit designed for DT Duels."
He nearly chokes. "Wh-whoa! That thing has tephranium!?"
Ivy squints in astonishment. "Were you too busy ogling at her to notice? To think that there are actually Hiitan soldiers so blind and ignorant that they can't even identify their own nation's special ore."
"Clearly, your spoiled bimbo ass is the ignorant one here," he snaps back. "Tephranium is rare. And I mean hella rare! You're either lucky or dead if you happen to come across someone with tephranium weapons and armor. Hell, I used to work for McGee who apparently has a stash of it, but even then, I've never laid eyes on the stuff."
He turns back to Adelia with curiosity. "How is it? Is it heavy?"
She casually lifts each limb up. "A little, but for the durability it's demonstrated, it's actually surprisingly manageable."
With her preparations finished, she then activates her duel disk and her suit lights up with its same-colored glow. As if anticipating that signal, Ivy also sparks her disk back to life.
His eyes raise. "W-wait, are you two actually gonna-"
"You know it!" Ivy happily confirms, finishing up her warm-up. "Lia and I will try to get you to speed, but you better pay close attention, okay?"
She takes a poke at his cheek before passing him. "Shouldn't be too hard, right? You get to learn by watching a duel between two beautiful girls better than you, after all," she adds with a wink and tongue out, delighting over his flustered irritation.
He watches the pair take their positions, and his curiosity over the outcome heightens. Initially, he figures Adelia would naturally be the superior of the two, but with today marking his second defeat at Ivy's hands, he reconsiders. Despite Rider's interference in his match against the heiress a few nights back, he did not feel as helpless as he did in those last two duels.
Is she really that much stronger? Or has Castelle been holding back? His crimsons orbs glance eagerly towards the wide arena that readies to answer his questions.
SETTING TERMINAL ZONE…
The two duelists stand several feet from each other, significantly farther than he is used to seeing. While the field expands, they both launch out a monster card and summon it to their sides. The obscure, but familiar form of Traptrix Rafflesia stands behind Ivy just the same, but Adelia's chosen, appearing in the form of a dragon manifests from beneath her feet. With wings sprouting out, it begins to lift its heiress into the sky.
Kageru does not know what to think or expect from this point on. First the Hidden Arsenal System and now this Spirit Drive crap. I swear by the Sacred Tree, someone just please hand me the damn instruction manual already.
"Here is your first lesson before we begin," Adelia proclaims, keeping her eyes on Ivy as she stands firm atop her monster. "The Hidden Arsenal System encompasses everything we use to fight and defend ourselves in these duels. The hand barriers that we conjure for starters, Carpus Shields, are but one of its many features."
Ivy adds to her explanation, all the while grinning up to her opponent with equal excitement. "The monsters you're looking at here—Cardinals, in fancy terms—are from the feature called the Spirit Drive. Simply put, it's a way for our monsters to help us on the field. There are two general options on how they get to do so. Right now, they'll be doing it in Familiar form."
"You'll come to understand," Adelia assures.
"We haven't had our own DT duel since we've settled in Doriado these past few weeks, right?" Ivy asks, feeling the fire in her rising. "This'll be fun."
BARRIERS SET… 3…
Adelia chuckles. "Indeed. Shall we?"
2..
She returns a toothy grin, eager to drag the heiress down from her winged throne. "Let's dance, Lia!"
1..
DUEL!
Adelia LP 4000
Ivy LP 4000
"First move is mine this time," Ivy happily declares, tapping and tossing out a spell from her starting five hologram cards. "I'll play One for One!"
"One for One?" Kageru mutters in surprise, trying to guess what purpose it could serve in a deck meant to bring out level four monsters. "Highly doubt she's trying to tribute summon. Which means…"
A blank card hologram launches out from the turn player's disk and she gives it its name: "I special summon the level one tuner, Glow-up Bulb in defense position." The bulb-shaped root sprouts and immediately blossoms into a white flower.
Glow-Up Bulb LV1 EARTH/Plant/Tuner
ATK 100
DEF 100
The fact that it is a tuner alarms both spectator and foe.
Another spell flies out of her hand. "I'll follow up with Instant Fusion! I'll hand over a cheap payment of 1000 lifepoints for a one-turn only LV5 or lower fusion monster." She endures the draining jolt from the cost.
Ivy LP 4000-1000=3000
"I'll go with Mudragon of the Swamp!" A giant, instant noodle-shaped cup heats up with her energy before ripping open to release a green, sludge-like dragon.
Mudragon of the Swamp LV4 WATER/Wyrm/Fusion
ATK 1900
DEF 1600
"My little muddy boy here allows me to change its attribute once a turn," she adds. "I'll turn it into an EARTH monster. To top it off, you can't target any EARTH monsters on my field with effects while it's up."
Kageru notices the play begin to bother Adelia, as if she knows that whatever is coming will undoubtedly pose a significant threat.
Now Ivy finally makes use of her normal summon: "Come on out, Traptrix Dionaea!" A giant Venus flytrap carrying a young, flowery girl with twin grey braids sprouts up.
Traptrix Dionaea LV4 EARTH/Plant
ATK 1700
DEF 1100
"When Dionaea is normal summoned, I can special summon a Traptrix monster from my graveyard. I'll be bringing back the Nepenthes I discarded a second ago with One for One."
"Afraid not," Adelia interrupts, tossing a monster from her hand. "I'll send Ghost Belle and Haunted Mansion from my hand to the graveyard. This negates any card effect that would move a card from the graveyards."
"Damn. And sadly, for her that doesn't target either," says Kageru.
The little ghost girl with dark purple hair and dress floats out and summons her dreary mansion, barring the path from Dionaea's roots that attempt to dig into the deep beyond.
Ivy pouts and shrugs in pretend, as though it is only a minor nuisance. "Oh, poo. I guess Raffy isn't coming out this turn." She grins. "However, I still have so much more in store for you, Lia. I'll tune LV4 EARTH Mudragon of the Swamp and LV1 EARTH tuner, Glow-Up Bulb!"
Rings and stars replace her monsters and fly above her zone as she chants, "Fangs of woodland, sharpen your claws for the sake of my cause. I call on you, beseech you as nature's guardian. Bare those very talons at the ones who disturb my sanctuary!"
LV4+LV1=LV5
"Synchro summon! Come out and play, Naturia Beast!" A green tiger with tree-like limbs answers the call with a feral roar.
Naturia Beast LV5 EARTH/Beast/Synchro
ATK 2200
DEF 1700
"I'll set one card down and end it there," she concludes with a toss of one more card behind her monster zone.
Kageru could not believe what he was looking at. He begins to think back to the violent battles he witnessed in the glyph vision earlier. That thing… It was there in the eastern forests. When those Worms invaded that world, its kind had fought too. So they're called Naturia.
"I see you've gotten a much better handle on Synchros now, and a perfect one against me at that," praises Adelia, drawing Kageru's attention as she speaks. "Naturia Beast can negate the activation of any spell card and destroy it at the mere cost of sending the top two cards of your deck to the graveyard."
This stuns him. "It does what!?" Adelia's Gishki deck focuses primarily on ritual summoning, and though having seen it overcome much of the perceived shortcomings of ritual decks before it, it nevertheless still relies on the use of a ritual spell. Add the fact that Ivy's set card is likely one of the many vile Trap Hole series trap cards reinforcing it, and one can only conclude that this game is already decisively in her favor.
"So, what're you gonna do now, Lia?" she taunts, her tone chiming. "I'd love to see how you plan to squirm out of this."
Still, even in the face of this crippling setup, the heiress steadies her composure. "Ask and you shall receive," she replies, then fires out her sixth card. "Draw. I summon Gishki Chain!" A green serpent armed with a blade-tipped chain swims out.
Gishki Chain LV4 WATER/Sea Serpent
ATK 1800
DEF 1000
"When Gishki Chain is normal summoned, I can look at the top three cards of my deck and reveal any one Gishki ritual spell or ritual monster to add to my hand." With a circular motion, she excavates three cards that enlarge before her, taking only a second to pick one. "I'll add Gishki Shadow to my hand. Afterwards, I may place the other two back in the order of my choosing.
She tosses one more card behind her water servant. "I set one card face-down. That shall do it for my turn. Now come at me."
Ivy ponders for a brief few seconds. Such confidence from a searcher and a set. Typical Lia. She then draws. "Playtime it is then! Battle Phase! Naturia Beast, go on and take a nibble out of her Gishki Chain!"
The water monster launches its chain but is too weak to ward off the wooden feline that proceeds to rip it to shreds.
Prepared for its fall, Adelia and her dragon fly back as she proceeds to transform the four cards in her hand into Carpus Shields.
The beast violently throws her mangled monster, shattering it on impact, but she endures effortlessly with damage that only manages to leave cracks on one shield. It does little to throw her off-balance.
Adelia LP 4000-400=3600
But Ivy still has one more monster, and she is wide open. "Your turn, my sweet Dionaea!" Again, her opponent braces herself as a flytrap plant lunges from below to chomp at her.
Adelia LP 3600-1700=1900
The damage this time shatters three shields and near causes her to fall from her steed.
"Castelle!" Kageru yells in near panic. Somehow, she manages to keep her dragon airborne.
"Hmph. Impressive reactions as always," Ivy praises. "I'll set another card and end it there. You're up, Lia."
The worry in him begins to fester. Either that damn bimbo is playing around too much, or she's actually trying to get her mistress killed! It is all too strenuous to be treated as mere practice. He is nearly ready to jump in and put a stop to this mad game.
But another look at Adelia taking a calm breath steadies him. Meeting his eyes, she smiles. "Worry not. These disk models are built sturdy enough. Each of their Carpus Shields can withstand 600 points of damage a turn. Now that her turn is over, they should restore."
Just the explanation he needs to simmer down. Even so, this is what he should expect from now on. No less than the full brunt and intensity of these duels can get them better prepared for the battles sure to come. Now he can only wonder how she plans to fight back.
The heiress's turn comes again. "Draw. I discard Gishki Shadow from my hand to add a Gishki ritual spell card from my deck to my hand." A watery vortex appears to swallow her card.
Ivy's pupils widen with glee. "Ooh. Searching again? Mind if I join?" Just before the search resolves, she aims sights at her face-down, mentally calling Rafflesia from behind her to summon its shadowy vines.
Upon gracefully gliding and somersaulting all over them, she swiftly manages to land to her card. "I'm revealing my face-down, Shared Ride! I get a draw for each card you nab from your deck or graveyard this turn!" she explains just before the same vines carry her back to her initial spot.
"The hell? She seriously put that in specifically for her?!" Kageru complains.
"Very well," Adelia proceeds, her opponent relishing her draw. "I'll add Gishki Aquamirror to my hand!" She follows with a monster. "Next, I'll normal summon Gishki Beast!" A familiar green amphibian with its golden horns and seaweed-like mane takes to the field.
Gishki Beast LV4 WATER/Beast
ATK 1500
DEF 1300
"I'll have my Beast special summon the Shadow I discarded in defense position with its effect."
In response, Ivy throws the card she had just gained: "I'll be chaining Maxx 'C'. So now for the rest of this turn, when you special summon, I draw."
"How lucky could this bimbo get!?" he complains even more as a tiny roach buzzes over to the opposing duelist.
Ivy draws again just as the blue sorcerer makes its appearance.
Gishki Shadow LV4 WATER/Sea Serpent
ATK 1200
DEF 1000
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Gishki Vanity!" Adelia cries. "For the rest of this turn, you can no longer activate any spell, trap, or monster effects in response to the activation of a Gishki ritual spell or summon of a Gishki ritual."
This colors him impressed and he finds himself cheering for her internally. Hot damn! She can break through the Naturia Beast lock!
With nothing to disable her, Adelia calls forth her ritual spell: "Behold! I activate the Gishki Aquamirror, and the one to satisfy it whole shall be my Gishki Shadow!"
An even larger vortex accompanied by blowing winds swirls directly below her airspace. "Great Mirror of Creation, accept my offering. Bring forth the scaled beast who punishes unworthy souls to my side! May he join me in granting despair to my enemies!"
Kageru watches that same sequence of the tributed Gishki Shadow and its reflection transforming into a larger, more powerful being.
"Come forth, Evigishki Soul Ogre!" Once the body of her former monster fades, the mirror shatters. The purply-scaled, dark grey behemoth armored in gold claws out from within.
Evigishki Soul Ogre LV8 WATER/Aqua/Ritual
ATK 2800
DEF 2800
Ivy draws again, knowing that her Naturia Beast is about to be dealt with. "Well, this is a problem."
"For you, yes. I activate Soul Ogre's effect!" Adelia cries. "By discarding a Gishki monster from my hand like my Gishki Diviner, I can shuffle a face-up card back into your deck! Do away with Naturia Beast!"
Absorbing energy from her discard, the ritual monster hurls a sphere that blows the troublesome Synchro away.
Finally, comes her assault. "Time to enter my Battle Phase! Soul Ogre, rid Traptrix Dionaea from my sight!"
Ivy conjures her Carpus Shields and watches as the opposing monster yanks out the flytrap that lunges again. Upon grabbing and crushing the vixen rider by the neck, it follows with a mad dash as it did against Kageru before. With Rafflesia's vines backing her, she endures the vengeful blow of her own monster's corpse being used as a battering weapon.
Ivy LP 4000-1100=2900
One shield shatters, and another cracks, but Adelia is not through with her attacks just yet. "Gishki Beast, devour her!"
A brutish tackle and the fanged jaw that follows feasibly crushes her lone cracked shield. Luckily for her, the vines from her cardinal monster are barely enough to keep her arm from being its meal and she escapes with a slight graze.
Ivy LP 2900-1500=1400
"I enter Main Phase 2," Adelia continues. "With my spells unrestrained, I activate Preparation of Rites from my hand!" She tosses out another spell. "This adds a LV7 or lower ritual monster from my deck to my hand, such as my Evigishki Mind Augus. In addition, I can also add a ritual spell from graveyard to my hand."
Kageru wonders why she would even consider it, knowing that Ivy's Shared Ride spell is still in effect. Even a single draw can put her into an advantageous position, and after having gotten through a lot to gain this lead, it feels much too risky a play.
"I'll end my turn there," she finally declares.
Ivy takes a moment to breath and her body trembles, appearing defeated.
Adelia however, knows it cannot be that simple. Her hand is fairly replenished at the cost of her own plays, and what's more, something else seems bothersome to her. What is that set card she hasn't activated? I need to disable it somehow.
Soon enough, Ivy's trembling breaks into a deep cackle. "Very good, Lia! Very good! You even took note that the Glow-Up Bulb in my graveyard can be brought back once per duel, and so you played your spell just before I got the chance to summon Naturia Beast again."
So that's why she did it, Kageru finally realizes, further amazed by the heiress's sense of judgment. Not bad, Castelle.
But with her line of control over the board broken, it will prove difficult for Ivy to regain it back. Her deck is clearly one made to prevent her opponent from establishing presence, but with Soul Ogre secured on the field, her Rafflesia or Naturia Beast can do little as the ritual monster can shuffle them away just the same.
Ivy draws, and any hint of concern on her is gone in an instant. "I summon Traptrix Mantis!" Out comes another insect Traptrix girl.
Traptrix Mantis LV4 EARTH/Insect
ATK 1500
DEF 1300
"When my lovely little Mantis is normal summoned, I get to add any of my dearest Traptrix monsters to my hand! I'll add another Dionaea!" She takes another copy of her previously destroyed monster. "I'll set three more cards down. That ends my turn."
So she's got nothing after all, he thinks. All Castelle needs is a way to blow out that backrow, and she's screwed.
While still on Ivy's End Phase, Adelia dives down to trigger the set she has been keeping. "I activate the trap card, Aquamirror Meditation! I reveal the Gishki Aqua Mirror ritual spell in my hand to add Gishki Shadow and Gishki Vanity from my graveyard to my hand."
Just then, the maid arrives with a platter of refreshments. "Oh my! Looks like the young mistress is finally going to claim her victory after all this time."
All this time? The comment draws an eerily puzzled look from Kageru. He looks back, now with uncertainty.
Adelia takes her next draw. "My turn." Upon looking at her card, her eyes widened with readiness. This decides it.
She calls out that drawn card: "I normal summon Denko Sekka!" The white samurai with the ability to shut down all set spells and traps begins to manifest its form.
"What a pest," says Ivy. "And I can't have pests roaming as they please, killing all the fun." She glides over to her back row again, shocking the others as they realize what she is about to flip over.
"I activate Solemn Judgment!" The trap beams out a light that denies the summon and she happily takes in the draining back-flash that strains her body in exchange.
Ivy LP 1400-700=700
Now Adelia is certain that her opponent has something else prepared, resolving to end this now before she can use her remaining cards.
"I activate Gishki Vanity from my hand once more to void any of your interjections with my ritual summons this turn!"
The robed Gishki enchanter appears again in support.
She continues: "Now, I activate Gishki Aquamirror!" The giant golden mirror reappears. "Great Mirror of Creation, accept the soul of my humble servant. Deliver him alongside my loyal charmer, so that they may fulfill my desire together. Let their advent return all that is once lost, return them to their humble beginnings!"
Joining hands with an astral projection of Gishki Ariel, Shadow offers itself once more. The mirror shatters to bring forth another creation. "I ritual summon Evigishki Mind Augus!"
Evigishki Mind Augus LV6 WATER/Aqua/Ritual
ATK 2500
DEF 2000
"I activate Mind Augus's effect! Upon summon, I may shuffle back up to five cards from any graveyard back into their owner's decks! I return back your Glow-Up Bulb, Maxx 'C', Traptrix Nepenthes, Shared Ride, and my Denko Sekka!"
The half-leviathan follows with a wave of her scepter, sending her master's chosen targets back. This not only removes the resources that Ivy could have revived in her next turn, but also dampers her odds of drawing any meaningful cards to fight back the line of water monsters filling the field.
"I switch Evigishki Soul Ogre to Defense position," Adelia declares, and the behemoth kneels with its muscular webbed arms crossing to shield itself.
DEF 2800
Finally, she reveals the one card remaining in her hand since the start of the game. "I banish the water monsters, Gishki Shadow and Gishki Diviner from my graveyard!" The very declaration of her costs alarms the two.
Kageru feels his heart beating in anticipation, disbelieved, but unable to deny that the card about to be played is a formidable monster akin to one he received from her not long ago. She's got one too!?
She closes her eyes, feeling the aura within her intensifying. "Force of deep swirling voids and frozen rivers flowing across the globe. Let all your collected cascades gush forth to become your clear blue wings."
The shadowy dragon under her also begins to brim with blue energy.
"Arise and become my ever-overflowing, ever-torrenting strength!" With peaked resolve, she opens her now-sapphire glowing orbs. "Appear now! Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls!"
Worthy of its namesake, the mighty dragon shows itself with a body of pure, clear water. Upon awakening with eyes that are like sunlight reflecting upon a river's surface, it lets out a fierce roar, releasing thick, icy vapor from its mouth.
Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls LV7 WATER/Dragon
ATK 2600
DEF 2000
"I enter my Battle Phase!" The heiress cries, putting everything into this charge. "Tidal attacks Traptrix Mantis!"
With its master on the reins, Tidal bellows just before blasting multiple high-pressure beams of aquatic energy from its mouth and wings.
Kageru turns to the standing Ivy, who with the support of her cardinal shadow, immediately breaks into a dash. Just what has she been hiding? He wonders, watching in amazement as the dance of raining geysers and lashing vines takes course all over the terminal field, taking the sequence in as a solid demonstration of Spirit Drive and the safety benefits it provides.
Soon enough, Ivy survives the watery onslaught and lands on her desired card. This sets off his suspicion that it is a battle trap. However, the only specific one in mind he can guess is the Trap Hole of Spikes she used against him in their first duel. Even if it turns out to be said trap, Adelia's 1900 life points would manage to withstand half of her dragon's 2600 points being used against her. Afterwards, her Mind Augus could finish the job instead.
Another stream of beams fire to seal her escape, but she manages to flip open her card, and unfortunately for the attacker it is something worse. "Work your magic, Quaking Mirror Force!" The name of the trap freezes the two in shock.
She watches the cornered looks around her with satisfaction as the barrier of twisting sands effortlessly absorbs all of Tidal's fury, expanding its mass with each second. "This version is about to make you quake in your boots! It turns all your attack position monsters face-down!"
Seeing the now-inescapable wave rushing to bury her and her monsters, Adelia coats her whole figure with the Carpus Shields. Though she is safe from the heavy rain of sand, due to the lack of actual damage, her cardinal monster plummets from the weight, taking her down with it. The large slope that forms barely softens her landing.
Ivy looks to her with a hand over her giggling mouth. "You good over there, Lia? Just so you know, any monster hit by this trap can't change battle positions from this point on. Sorry!"
She barely manages to stand as the sand finally disappears. "I end my turn," she declares solemnly, having nothing else to play.
"Tch. Quite the save," Kageru murmurs, unable to believe Ivy's persistence. Still, it did not change the fact that Castelle's Soul Ogre remains safe. And though her set monsters are unable to act, they still provide an additional wall from attacks. In the end, the current field advantage remains hers.
Ivy draws, not even looking or caring for the card, giggling as if all her opponent's moves just now did nothing to even make her think or reconsider; merely distractions to amuse her before she finally proceeds with her true intentions.
"It was a fun dance Lia," she says, fidgeting the hologram of the Traptrix Dionaea she searched last turn. "You've definitely gotten a lot better with those Gishkis. I'd say this is the closest you've gotten in a while."
Kageru's eyes raise, unable to believe what he is hearing.
"I was hoping to see your real dragon too," she adds with a sigh of disappointment. "Guess I simply had too much for you this time.
The monster card shrinks between her fingers as she prepares to summon it. "Still, you fought hard all the same. And to reward you, I'll be finishing this with a card Auntie Noel gave to me a while back."
In the few seconds of thinking it over, the heiress's eyes widen, realizing her opponent's goal too little too late.
Ivy cries out, "I normal summon Traptrix Dionaea back to the field!" Even without its effect, she has all the materials she needs. "Next, I overlay Traptrix Dionaea and Traptrix Mantis!"
The two sisters cackle as they converge into a special vortex. The vortex bursts, but the monster that appears from its depths is not Rafflesia.
Ivy spreads her arms for its welcome. "Come into full bloom, Traptrix Allomerus!"
With black garbs, long red hair, and velvet orbs decorating it, the new, ant-like Traptrix Xyz monster arises.
Traptrix Allomerus RK4 EARTH/Insect/Xyz
ATK 2200
DEF 1700
She glides over to her backrow, finally ready to spring forth the card long sitting on her field. "Now, on the summon of my Allomerus, I activate my trap, Torrential Tribute!"
Shock hits Kageru. "She held onto that all this time!?"
Destructive waves of water gush out her trap, flooding the field before creating a vacuuming whirlpool. All monsters are unable to resist as it pulls them in. All, however, but the lone Xyz monster on the field.
Ivy clarifies, "Traptrix Allomerus is unaffected by trap cards as long as she has materials."
With the way clear for her attack, she commences her Battle Phase. But before acting, she opens an option list from her disk, hovering her palm on the one with the word Possessed.
"You did well, Raffy. Now it's time to switch gears and end this." Upon tapping it, the shadow of Traptrix Rafflesia behind her dissipates. Then, both her and her new Xyz gleam in unison.
Kageru covers his eyes from the brief flash. When he looks over again. Ivy is nowhere to be seen.
All that remains on her side is the hunching Allomerus, who then awakes with an invigorated grin. It looks to Adelia with hunger, and a voice from within it speaks: "Ready or not, here I come Lia!" Finally, it attacks.
A ginormous ant tunnels out from the ground, wasting no time to charge at breakneck speed with razor pincers aiming at her.
Kageru sees Adelia bracing herself nervously. However, she has no monsters, nor any cards in her hand for Carpus Shields. She has nothing to reinforce herself, not even a cardinal monster to help her avoid a serious blow.
"She's going to… no!" Dread hammers his chest and he swallows hard. This is just like that horrible night. The night where he watched as a defenseless girl could only stand and await their bitter end. The same fire that took her away.
"NO!" In that instant, every fiber in him sparks and he dashes madly. "ADELIA!"
Hearing her name, she looks over just before he proceeds to tackle her in a tight embrace. "K-Kageru?" In the midst of her shock and fall, however, she sees the colossal insect coming at them inches away.
"You fool!" Springing to action, she stays her balance and takes his place to rightfully receive the blow.
Adelia LP 1900-2200=0
Winner: Ivy
(AN: Hey all you people! As it turns out, I'm not dead, and neither is this project. How long has it been? *Checks calendar* YIKES. Been over a year, and now I am ashamed. But, really though. I do apologize for this waaaaay overdue update. You know the drill. Life is one hell of a roller-coaster, and I was going through a LOT that past year with tons of transitions going, like moving, that I've only just started adapting to. Not gonna go into greater detail, unless you ask, of course. And while, I already knew what I wanted to do with this chapter, deciding how to go about showing what I needed to show was another problem. I've had many ideas bouncing here and there that I simply wasn't sure of. I think I nailed it, finally. Hope it's worth the wait.
So, we finally get a full-fledged DT Duel. After all the years of trying to work on how I wanted the Hidden Arsenal System mechanics to work, and what to call em, I decided on what we got here. There is a LOT of technical jargon, I know. A lot of the reason this took so long was due to me trying to establish how all of it work, especially Cardinals. Hopefully I was able to get the point on each thing across, especially because this isn't everything, and the rest of the know-hows will be shown and explained in the following chapter.
Could I have made things easier on my end, just by going about usual duels and physical cards? Yeah, definitely. But, the inspiration for these systems was just stuff that bothered me a little in the shows, especially in supposedly life-threatening games. Examples like characters standing, and taking damage from say, a dragon beam that deliberately misses and hits the ground, or taking a slash that does absolutely nothing, not even a power ranger spark effect, yet everyone acts like it did something. Not to say I didn't enjoy said games for all their cheesiness, but the goal was to make them look better, more interactive, and raise stakes. None of those cheap bruises and supernatural disappearing crap. Other ideas like hologram cards came from me wanting to fix some design flaws in the usual duel disks and the use of physical cards. Cardinals were inspired from the Z-ONE v. Yusei duel. Expect to see some bigger fields and more flying in the future. And there is a hint of CFG Vanguard inspiration in that too. And if Vanguard wasn't Vanguard, Cardinals would've been called Vanguards. Lol.
I was planning on a simple tutorial duel to showcase mechanics this time around, but for how long it's been, since the update, and looking at the latest chapters, I think it was best for everyone and my own motivation to set up a match worth getting excited about. So, we got Ivy vs Adelia. Adelia is fun to write, and I wanted to give her more overdue action this time around. Fun fact: She official dislikes sand after this duel. XD
Aside from that, we've introduced three important characters in the form of Miu, Yucel, and Shinn. And oh boy, the first two are ones I especially am just aching to showcase in the story. Their part is coming up very soon, and I am just getting impatient the more I think about them. Also, all three of them are technically already in the story. So far, my sweetastic beta, TLA is the only one who's gotten spoilers of course. I'll leave you guys to figure out who they are. That's all for hints.
That's all I have in mind. I'll be steaming on as much as my busy schedule permits to get the next chapter, but first, I'll be putting gears on remastering my older chapters, especially my pre-beta made ones to get quality matching in. To wrap things up, the usual shouts to TLA for his editing, and to him and MoA for their continued feedback and support. Please check out their stories. TLA's YGO Mark of Death, and MoA's YGO Reality's Curtain and YGO Golden League are written with such quality that I hope to live up to. They're great stories, I promise.
That's all. Time to grovel in my knees for feedback. Tell me what you liked, did not like an any of the chapters thus far, and feel free to speak your mind, preferably in a constructive way. I adore the feedback, and it only motivates me to get better and work on this more, knowing I can help make someone's day with my writing. Stay awesome nerds! See you next time in the Saga.)