Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth

by DivadX

Yuhiro Furutani, one of 8 children kidnapped 10 years ago by an unknown group, now works as Raguel, an agent in LINK VRAINS' Black Market. One day, he fights the Knights of Hanoi and encounters Playmaker, who becomes his newest assignment. Follow Yuhiro as he now must decide who he wants to become: as both a duelist and as an individual.

49. Chapter 49: The Playmaker Conspiracy

Response to Reviews

Thank you to HunterHQ, Guest, Ambiguous, Unnamed, Noobmaster, Unknown, Anonymous, Guest, Guest, ZeroMK7, E.T. 2000, Guest, Kingdom Hearts Guy, Guest, Guest, Guest, and Guest for reviewing Chapter 48 of Obscured Truth.

Hi, everyone! As always, I hope you're doing well, and are safe and healthy this summer. Before I get to reviews, I forgot to put down a little piece of information in the Author's Notes in Chapter 48, which I'll do here. Jericho's design is based off of Fu from Dragon Ball Z for those of you who are wondering.

With that taken care of, let's get to answering some reviews:

HunterHQ: Kenmochi and Yoroizaka were sent to juvey for crimes they committed as part of a gang of street thugs. And believe it or not, yes. Slipstream had to log out because he was hungry. At the time, Brion couldn't have focused on finding Athaliah because he needed to find a way to provide for himself, which he eventually did by becoming a bounty hunter. As for what will happen to Brion in the future, you'll just have to read and see. The Gekido family and the Kogami family went way back before the Lost Incident, as Ryoken and Akairo are childhood friends. Regarding your comment on Pokémon, there are tons of Pokémon who were based off of Greek Mythology, which I'll look into. Lastly, both Raguel and Azrael are right handed.

Guest: If it's part of the deck's strategy, then it is possible for an Ignis to have multiple copies of card data for their respective decks, as shown with Aqua and her Marincess deck, as well as Flame and his Salamangreat deck. Rest assured: I fixed that little copy error, so don't worry about it. Since Electrolyzer uses a Psychic deck, it is very likely for him to use other Psychic monsters such as Thought Ruler Archfiend, Ultimate Axon Kicker, and Hyper Psychic Blaster. If you recall earlier in the story, I promised there would be another Assault Mode monster in Season 2, and I always aim to fulfil my promises.

Ambiguous: In my opinion, I'm not sure whether Ryoken was homeschooled or not. You know, in a way, the Slipstream and Electrolyzer duel is kind of like Bommer/Greiger vs Yusei to an extent, as one of them has to lose despite their noble reasons of dueling to win. Life is unfair indeed. Like I mentioned a while back, there will be a whole chapter dedicated to Slipstream's backstory, which won't be until later on in the story. Skills don't count as effects in a Speed Duel. I can see your confusion, and I understand why you asked that question regarding Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon, so allow me to clear it up for you. Its based on timing, which would be in this order: Raguel activates Cyreath Doppelganger's effect and Special Summons it from the Graveyard, Drachen chains Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon's effect to inflict effect damage, Raguel then chains Cyreath Medusa's effect and negates it, preventing Drachen from inflicting effect damage. However, thanks to Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon's second effect, which is a continuous effect, it isn't destroyed by card effects. I ran this over with a professional on Fanfiction, so don't worry. As for who Jericho is, you'll just have to read on and see for yourself.

Unnamed: Once Progleo 'evolves', his card will indeed change permanently and he will no longer be the adorable cub anymore. Thanks for the idea on what Slipstream could say in a difficult situation during a duel. Brion did go through a lot of pain, that's for sure. And, yeah. Lightning did promise to make Athaliah's dreams come true in exchange for her allegiance. To answer your question, once Greg stopped Project: Apotheosis, Brion was able to go through life for three months before his uncle Balius and the terrorists took over Central Japan. Believe it or not, the Miyahara family is not greedy at all. They care for their people. Balius was just using propaganda to sway the people to pledge loyalty to him. Will we Balius again? All I'll say is possibly. Oh, and I didn't realize the Lion King reference there. Good finding. To answer your question on how money can help Brion, he can hire a private militia to get his home back. Lastly, as evident by the flashback, Electrolyzer is working for Jericho.

Noobmaster: Of course Takeru is a brawler and martial artist in Judo. He'd teach bullies a lesson within seconds. A heads-up: Electrolyzer actually looked up the effects of Hi-Speedroid Chanbara and Hi-Speedroid Kendama during his duel against Slipstream.

Unknown: You'll learn a bit more about Azrael in this chapter, that's for sure. Don't worry: Salamangreat Emerald Eagle and Salamangreat Violet Chimera will have their Reincarnation Summons in the future, that's for sure. Will Azrael use Pendulum-Hybrid 'Cychaic' cards? You'll need to read on and find out for yourself...

Anonymous: Azrael isn't aware of Jericho's presence. Nor does SOL Technologies or the Knights of Hanoi know about Jericho. He's just as good, if not better than Ai is at hiding. To confirm with you, three people founded Project: VIII. What exactly is Jericho's plan? You'll find bits and pieces of it throughout Season 2 as it progresses, that I can confirm with you. Remember: The Lost Incident occurred for six months before it shut down, while Project: Apotheosis occurred for an entire year before it shut down. No, the Ignis were aware of Project: Apotheosis at the time, nor are they aware about Project: VIII. Of course Raguel is confused on how to act. Like I said earlier, what happens in Season 2 will change Raguel forever...

Guest: No, Malf doesn't see Haru and Bohman as brothers. A good idea for Black Comedy, though. Bit and Boot only see Lightning as their creator, and aren't related to Haru and Bohman.

Guest: Well, Ai did get the last laugh by being the last one to survive, even though its not something to celebrate. Slipstream won't be appearing in this chapter because he logged out of the network in the previous chapter following his duel against Electrolyzer.

ZeroMK7: Glad you like the duels. Sorry that Drachen lost, but it was necessary for the story to move forward. However, I did make sure Raguel fight for the win, as the Red-Eyes deck has some sneaky tricks up its sleeve. Are you referring to Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, or Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword?

E.T. 2000: Happy you found Brion and Akairo's backstories to be interesting. Of course Brion's backstory is sad; Athaliah kidnapped him to be used for Project: Apotheosis, and three months after he was freed, he lost his home and his family. Why does Brion use his real life appearance in LINK VRAINS? That will be answered later on in the story. If you think Speedroid Grand Prix is broken, I've created other broken and worse cards at the beginning of the story believe it or not. Don't worry: Achilles and other Greek Servants from Fate/Stay Night will still appear later on. Since Iskandar's identity is that of Alexander the Great, he is Greek, at least to my knowledge.

Guest: A match between Slipstream and Ace would be interesting to see, that's for sure. Would Malf and Azrael use Judgment Arrows? Maybe. Is it possible for Ace, Athaliah, and Speckles to use it as well? Also a possibility.

Kingdom Hearts Guy: First, thanks for the compliments on the chapter. Second, although Blue Girl and Ghost Girl are friends with Raguel and the others, they've been sent by Akira to retrieve an Ignis. By doing so, Akira hopes to communicate and hopefully reach a peaceful resolution with them, unlike SOL Technologies' top heads.

Guest: Oh, yeah. Thanks for the reminder. And if Jin lost all of his good memories, then he'd be a ghost in a shell forever.

Guest: The appearances of each of the Chess Pieces was different 10 years ago compared to how they look now, that's for sure.

Guest: As Prankids was one of the meta archetypes at the time, I chose that for Miss Chief. I chose Generaider for Ragnarök because the whole archetype was created based off of the Nine Realms, with one boss for each. What is Azrael's objective with the upcoming Turf War? You'll just have to read on and find out.

Guest: Who knows what happened to Yusaku after being healed by Ai? Does he possess new abilities? You'll have to read on and find out for yourself.

Now that reviews are answered, its time for the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 49: The Playmaker Conspiracy

The sky appears, full of clouds. Playmaker races through the clouds on his duel board, followed by Raguel, Soulburner, and Slipstream. Two swords then slice the clouds completely to reveal NEW LINK VRAINS. One of the swords, a katana with symbols inscribed on the blade, crosses downwards to the left. Crossing downwards to the right was a typical western sword, with a golden rain-guard and a blue grip. The sword also had symbols inscribed on the blade as well. The two swords made a shining X, causing the Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS! logo to appear, and underneath it, the words "OBSCURED TRUTH" ominously appear.

Yuhiro and Yusaku are walking down the street to school. Naoki runs past them, a large smile on his face. Aoi walks past them on the other side, smiling lightly and blushing at Yusaku. Then Takeru walks up behind them and wraps one arm around Yusaku. He then wraps the other arm around Yuhiro, surprising him for a few moments before being pulled to the side by Rachel, who's clearly happy to see him. Yuhiro smiles back at her.

Tsubaki and Hideki are shown boarding an airplane as they head to their destination. After sitting down next to each other in their respective seats, Tsubaki looks out in the window, which shows a reflection of Rosetta, while Hideki picks up the airplane guide and reads it. In the sky above them is Ace, a malicious sneer on his face.

Go Onizuka is shown wearing a hoodie as he leaves the waterfront for the last time. Outside of his home, he encounters Kenmochi and Yoroizaka, who are waiting for him. Smirking, the three of them raise their left arms into the air and enter NEW LINK VRAINS, with Go in his new avatar riding beside his new allies. Stregone crosses his arms as he looks down at them, a look of shock and disappointment on his face.

Kusanagi is then shown with Roxy at a nearby picnic table, both enjoying food and laughter while talking about technology. Flame and Ai are shown arguing in Café Nagi, while Herald ends up getting annoyed with their bickering. As a result, he snaps his fingers, causing Progleo to jump onto the desk and startle Ai and Flame.

At SOL Technologies, Akira Zaizen and Hayami are shown in Queen's office, with Queen handing them a signed order regarding Playmaker and Raguel. A look of hesitation appears on Akira's face, but he hides it just in time.

Azrael and Wraith are then shown with Ace and Athaliah standing behind them, shrouded in shadow along with their ace monsters Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed and El Shaddoll Construct. Standing behind Azrael and Wraith though, is a black, bipedal dragon with red sclera, white irises, and black pupils obscured in shadow. The dragon roars before disappearing with Zerrziel and El Shaddoll Construct. Jumping above Azrael and Wraith is Malf, sporting a demonic expression on his face. He then extends his right arm forward towards the screen, darkening it completely.

When the screen becomes clear, Playmaker and Raguel are shown riding their duel boards next to each other, with Cyberse Witch and Cyberse Magician in front of Playmaker, and Cyreath Hercules and Cyreath Medusa in front of Raguel. The two are chased by Blood Shepherd, who directs two copies of Battledrone Sergeant to fire at them. Although the two of them are hit by the explosions the missiles caused, they escape unharmed. Suddenly, Drachen orders Red-Eyes Black Dragon to fire at them. In response, Playmaker and Raguel are shown swerving left and right to avoid the consecutive fire blasts. Joining the young man in the hunt is Electrolyzer, who orders PSY-Framelord Omega to attack Playmaker, but Raguel turns his duel board around and activates a card, causing Hercules to glow a bright light before transforming into a colossal, statue-like man with long, shaggy black hair and elbow protrusions. His eyes glowing red, Hercules charged forward with his axe sword and clashed with PSY-Framelord Omega.

The screen then shifts to Slipstream watching the duel between Playmaker and an obscured Bohman, while Raguel duels Electrolyzer. Noticing Haru, who's also watching the duel between Playmaker and an obscured Bohman, Slipstream takes a card and summons Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, who roars at the boy. Haru, in response, takes a card and summons Hydradrive Nagini, who hissed at Clear Wing in the process.

Blue Angel and Rosetta are shown in NEW LINK VRAINS at a picnic table, laughing and enjoying each other's company. The two of them then turn their heads towards the duels going on in the sky, a look of concern on each of their faces.

Watchman's group is then shown, with Percival standing slightly apart from them as he makes a fist with his left hand. Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon appear before a massive, red-skinned demonic looking monster with golden elements, several eyeballs embedded on its body and four tentacles with bladed claws rises from behind them.

The Knights of Hanoi are shown summoning their monsters. Motor Worm Spread Queen, Helixx Necro Darwin, and Dark Mummy Surgical Forceps first appear before fading into the background. Next is Dark Magician, Berserker of the Tenyi, and Lucifer, Condemner of the Burning Abyss, with Sunavalon Dryanome behind them. Borreload Savage Dragon then rises from behind the four monsters and roars loudly.

Akira is shown at Green Park with Emma, Gekiryushi, and Aoi, giving them details on finding the Ignis. Emma proceeds to make a flirtatious gesture at Akira, making Gekiryushi facepalm and comment on how flirting can be useful at a time like this. The two women then begin to argue, with Akira and Aoi trying to break up the argument.

Yuhiro and Progleo are shown with Miyu at the Den City Hospital, trying to help her walk. Miyu, who's using the parallel bars, ends up slipping, only for Yuhiro to immediately catch her from behind and help her stand up. Roxy then runs out of nowhere and starts pummeling Yuhiro, causing Miyu to almost fall backwards again to their shock. Catching her this time though is Medusa, who appears behind her and smiles, much to everyone's relief. Miyu smiles back, grateful for Medusa's help. The screen then flips around before showing Yuhiro on his knees, clasping an unconscious Miyu's hand in sadness and rage.

Cyreaths Hercules, Medusa, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus are then shown in the air, with Turboblaze Dragon racing past them. The five of them prepare to attack alongside Turboblaze Dragon, who unleashes his Desolation Flare attack as well.

Raguel and Herald are then shown on top of a tower, facing off against Azrael and Wraith in a duel. Behind Raguel and Herald is Turboblaze Dragon, while behind Azrael and Wraith is the black, bipedal dragon from earlier in the opening. Both dragons roar at each other. Raguel reeves up his sword, while Azrael unsheathes his katana before the two of them and their dragons charge at each other.

Yuhiro, Roxy, Miyu, Kusanagi, Takeru, and Yusaku are all shown sitting outdoors at a picnic table near the Den City Hospital, all of them eating hot dogs, and Takeru, Kusanagi, and Roxy are laughing. Three duel disks are shown on the table, with Flame lecturing Ai while Herald plays a game on Yuhiro's tablet.

Yuhiro, Roxy, and Miyu are sitting down on a bench outside the Den City Hospital, with Medusa standing nearby them and Progleo on Roxy's lap. Miyu proceeds to rest her head on Yuhiro's shoulder, causing him to blush as she smiles. Yuhiro smiles back at her, while Roxy and Medusa both smile at them, happy they're able to find happiness with each other. The scene then switches to NEW LINK VRAINS, with Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner standing on a building and looking out into the radiant sky.

In LINK VRAINS, at the Light Ignis's palace...

The Light Ignis and Haru were in a dark, unlit room, looking down at the pit of black sludge that was in the center of the room. Bohman was in that pit of sludge, resting from the procedure the Light Ignis did to him.

The Light Ignis then turned to Haru, who crouched on one knee in response.

"Playmaker and the others are approaching very soon, and Bohman's memory transfer is complete," the Light Ignis told him.

Haru looked up at the Light Ignis, who was currently in his shadowy form, with a holy light surrounding him. "You want me to intercept them?"

"No, no. The Wind Ignis is to meet with the group, which was part of the plan after all." Haru nodded in understanding. "Rather, I want you to observe their duel, just like you did before. And in the event things go south, I trust you will ensure all interferences are dealt with."

"I will." Haru complied. After forcing a draw in his duel against Slipstream, Haru made sure to upgrade his deck so that it wouldn't happen again. After all, if the enemy was potentially getting stronger, it was only natural to increase the capacity of one's deck by ironing out the weaknesses. That way, the chances of a duelist winning would skyrocket.

"Good. Now stand up, my friend. I have a gift for you," the Light Ignis said. Haru stood up as a card formed in the Light Ignis's hands. Once he was finished creating it, he gave it to Haru, who widened his eyes upon looking at it.

"This is-!"

"A rather special card," the Light Ignis explained. "One that will catch anyone off guard. Use it well. Use it wisely."

Haru narrowed his eyes in determination. "I will not fail you."

"We shall see, my friend," the Light Ignis replied, as the pit of black sludge started shaking. As a result, both the Light Ignis and Haru turned to look at it once again. "Rise, Bohman. It's a brand new day. And you are a brand new duelist." Bohman sat up from the pit of black sludge, having regained consciousness. "I believe you'd be interested to know that Playmaker's coming."

As Bohman stood up from the pit of black sludge, drips of it fell from his body. Upon hearing Playmaker's name, the stoic expression on his face was replaced with anger as he shouted.

"Hurry, Playmaker," Bohman furiously said. "Your end awaits!"

Five minutes later...

After Bohman woke up from the procedure, the Light Ignis requested for Haru to leave the room while he informed Bohman of the current situation. While that was going on, Haru went to another section of the palace and ensured he was familiar with the new cards implemented into his Hydradrive deck, and how they can work with the ones he already had. He also took some time to learn about the new card the Light Ignis gave him, and how it can change the tide of a duel. By doing both of these things, Haru would be able to become stronger as a duelist.

Once that was done, Haru left the room he was in and began walking through the hallways, intent on finding something else to do. Besides, Playmaker and the others won't be arriving at the designated location until later on. Perhaps Haru could make some adjustments on Bit and Boot to improve their dueling, do some research on possible enemies they may encounter, or...

"Tch." Haru grit his teeth as he realized that Bohman was following him. No longer was Bohman wearing the same outfit as before. Instead, he now wore graphite armor with a golden belt that had the Hydradrive monsters' faceplate as a buckle, and white sections on the segmented torso plates, the sides down the armor kilt, and the legs and waist area. The armor also sported royal fuchsia sections on the vambraces, knee and ankle areas, as well as the collar area around his neck that's connected on the back armor, and the armor sleeves on his arms divided underneath the shoulders. The collar, large pauldrons, inner shoulder pads, the protruding collars on the arm sleeves, the wrist section on the vambraces and the studs on the fingerless gloves also had a golden colored rim each. Lastly, the armor had the same star symbol from before, which was on his chest, each of the vambraces, and one on each knee. Haru turned around to face Bohman, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Can I help you with something, Bohman?"

"No, I just enjoyed being in your company Haru. I hope you don't mind." Bohman simply answered, a little surprised that his 'younger' brother snapped at him like that all of a sudden.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" Haru retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to follow you from even farther back?"

"How about just don't follow me at all!" Haru firmly suggested.

"But we're brothers, Haru." Bohman pointed out. "Not only are brothers supposed to be together, it's the responsibility of the older brother to protect his younger brother."

"Just give me some space!" Haru demanded, running off and leaving his 'older' brother behind.

"Haru!" Bohman called out to him. "Come back!"

But Haru did not, as he ignored Bohman and continued running down the hallway, needing some time alone for himself. What he failed to notice, though, was Azrael leaning on the wall and watching him run the hallway, having overheard the entire conversation nearby.

Curious as to what was going on, Azrael went in the same direction Haru went, following him. Eventually, he found him in a lone space, where he found the boy huddled on a wall, his knees brought to his chest.

"Bohman only said that because he cares about you." Azrael told Haru, causing the boy to look up at him.

"Is that so? Well, I don't care one bit." Haru sarcastically replied, standing up on his feet. "Honestly, why am I even talking to you? I bet you wouldn't understand what I'm dealing with." He started walking away from Azrael, and was about to exit the lone space when he spoke up.

"If you can understand the power of bonds, you would get stronger." Azrael stated, stopping Haru in his tracks.

"The power of bonds?" Haru repeated, narrowing his eyes and refusing to look at Azrael. "Such a thing doesn't exist. When Bohman was created, the Light Ignis designated me as his younger brother to keep him emotionally stable!"

"And do you honestly believe that?" Haru's eyes widened upon hearing Azrael's question. "In the ten years I trained, I got stronger thanks to Wraith's teachings, as well as my ideals. It is due to my bond with Wraith that I'm the duelist I am today."

"Azrael is right, Haru." Wraith added, emerging out of Azrael's duel disk. "Forming a bond with someone is crucial to the development of both individuals over time. So while you were assigned by the Light Ignis to be Bohman's younger brother, you cannot deny the impact it made for the both of you."

Haru, now curious about what Azrael and Wraith are saying, decided to turn to them. To an extent, the Black Ignis was right. A bond between two individuals was crucial to someone's development. After all, thanks to their brotherly bond, Haru was able to calm Bohman down and help him focus on the mission. In return, Bohman cared for him like an older brother would for a younger brother. But people like Haru and Bohman are AI's, not human beings. They weren't created to develop bonds. Regardless, it didn't hurt for Haru to hear Azrael and Wraith out. "Fine. Let's say you're right. How do I understand the power of bonds and get stronger?"

"Go with Bohman when he duels with Playmaker-." Azrael began, which irritated Haru.

"I already intended to do that!" Haru exclaimed, throwing his right arm to his right side. "After the Wind Ignis completes his part of the plan, I intend to follow Bohman and observe his duel with-!"

"You didn't let me finish." Azrael calmly interrupted, turning to face the boy. "Since Raguel is with them, I want you to duel him to learn about the power of bonds."

Haru gasped upon hearing this suggestion. Him... duel Raguel? That was something he didn't expect to hear. "You want me to duel Raguel? Why?"

"To understand the bond he has with the White Ignis." Wraith answered. "It is because of that bond they were able to overcome strong opponents, such as the Knights of Hanoi. Through the duel, you may learn something that can aid in your growth as an AI."

Haru thought this over for a moment. He did make upgrades to his deck recently so that the chances of him losing were dropped, and this was a good time to test them. What's more, this was an opportunity Haru couldn't let pass, as he can prove to the Light Ignis that he wasn't a failed AI. Lastly, there was one other reason why he believed Azrael's suggestion was the best one, even though he didn't want to admit it. "Alright," he finally said. "I'll heed your advice. But you must answer one question first."

"You have but to ask." Azrael said.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Behind his mask, Azrael blinked as he thought Haru's question over. Soon, a memory then flashed in his head. Of a boy protecting an injured cat from a group of bullies, with him fighting off that group to protect them. "Because I see potential in you," he answered. "That, and I want you to forge your own ideals."

"My own ideals?" Haru repeated, thinking it over. He then walked out of the lone space and into the hallway, leaving Azrael alone.

"Looks like we successfully motivated him." Wraith commented, looking up at Azrael. "Did you also help Haru because he reminded you of-?"

"Be silent, Wraith." Azrael's tone became deep as he spoke to him, as if it were demonic.

Wraith frowned. "Forgive me. I crossed a line there. Was there another reason why you helped Haru?"

"Simple. I can learn more about Raguel through his duel against Haru." Azrael simply explained. "The time is coming where I'll have to face him, and the more I know, the better."

"Ah. That makes sense." A thought then occurred to Wraith as Azrael exited the lone space and turned right. "You know, I can't believe the Light Ignis would give Bohman fake memories just to increase his development as an AI. Nor can I believe he would approach you first with the idea."

Azrael nodded in agreement. Hours after Bohman was knocked unconscious, the Light Ignis went over to Azrael and asked if he wanted good memories, all for the purpose of giving him 'peace' from the Lost Incident. Azrael refused, knowing that doing so would just give the Light Ignis power over him. After all, a person's memories made someone who they were today, and there was no way the Light Ignis would take away who he was from him.

"Neither can I, Wraith." Azrael commented, disgust evident in his voice. "I made it clear to the Light Ignis that he wouldn't touch my memories. As for Bohman, I'm curious on whether the fake memories will motivate him to evolve as an AI."

Meanwhile...

"The good thing about corridors is that you can't get lost." Ai stated, as Playmaker, Raguel, and Soulburner travelled through the gate, with green data passing through them. "Except for that one time..."

"And how did you manage that?" Playmaker questioned.

"Like a boss!" Ai proudly answered.

Playmaker looked up, his eyes widening slightly. Raguel and Soulburner both noticed his reaction, with Soulburner asking, "Are you seeing something?"

"Yes. The exit." Playmaker confirmed, noticing a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

"Get ready!" Raguel informed the others, as they and their respective Ignis's were suddenly transferred to another location. When their vision cleared, they were amazed at the new location they ended up in. This one was much more natural than the last one: the trio were flying between vast and tall, desert ravines, on top of which trees decorated the landscape, along with a greenish sky with clouds.

Looking around, Raguel knew from Watchman's words that the Ignis were capable of creating worlds of their own. But to see it up close for the first time was truly something else indeed. And while the moment was indeed beautiful, it didn't last long, as raging winds threatened everyone present. As a result, the three duelists had to grit their teeth while maneuvering their duel boards to ensure they didn't fall into the canyon below.

"WOAHOAHOAHOAH!" Ai panicked. "I knew this trip would be a whirlwind!"

Each of the humans fought against the wind and managed to avoid striking the cliff faces. "I think it would be best for all of us if we don't crash into these walls," Flame pointed out.

"Thanks, bud." Soulburner sarcastically replied, on behalf of his allies as well. Although the three were able to move ahead, each of them showed signs of fatigue.

"I recognize these winds." Herald said, getting everyone's attention. "They're the work of the Wind Ignis, which means we're in the right place."

"Even if that's the case, it's only a matter of time until we either fall or get smashed along with these meatbags!" Ai pointed out, much to the annoyance of Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner.

"Call me a meatbag again, and I'll ensure Roxy delivers her infamous wrath on you, Ai." Raguel warned, causing Ai to screech out of fear.

"I'm sorry!" Ai immediately apologized, not wanting to risk getting on Roxy's bad side. He suddenly got an idea. "Flame, Herald! I have an idea!"

Both Herald and Flame looked at Ai as he put his arms forward and a purple light appeared. "Of course! That's actually brilliant!" he commented. Herald nodded in agreement with Flame's comment. Even though Ai can be idiotic at times, when it came to it, he had some pretty good ideas. Knowing what to do, Herald and Flame imitated Ai before all three called the Data Storm, creating a barrier that blocked the wind for their partners.

"I bet I can keep this up longer than the both of you!" Ai boasted.

"I agree. You always were full of hot air!" Flame replied, causing Herald to laugh.

"You just got burned, Ai!" Herald loudly announced, much to Ai's chagrin.

"Using the Data Storm to keep the winds at bay is not such a bad idea." Playmaker said, who was impressed with Ai for once.

"Is that... a compliment?" Ai realized. "Oh my tingles are tingling."

"I don't think we have that function." Flame told him. "Nor do we have tingles."

Raguel rolled his eyes. The shenanigans between the Ignis would never get old as long as Ai was around, that's for sure. "Herald," he said, getting the attention of his partner. "You mind reminding me of what the Wind Ignis is like?"

"Yeah, sure." Herald replied, gathering his thoughts quickly. "Let's see. He's the type who trolls, pulls pranks on others, is carefree, and has an over-inflated ego that borders on arrogance. Despite these not-so pleasant traits, the Wind Ignis is easy to talk to." He turned to Ai and Flame. "Did I sum him up correctly?"

"Pretty much." Flame confirmed. "You could say that the Wind Ignis is unpredictable due to those traits."

"But like Herald said, the Wind Ignis is easy to talk to." Ai added, trying to look on the bright side of things. He then suddenly stumbled. "I'm starting to get drained. Flame, Herald. What about you?"

"I'm perfectly fine... thank you." Flame answered, even though he was straining like Ai and Herald were.

"I think we're all getting drained." Herald pointed out before turning to Raguel. "Raguel, neither of us can keep it up any longer."

"This isn't good." Playmaker commented, narrowing his eyes.

"Just hang in there for a little longer, bud." Soulburner encouraged Flame.

"You can do it, Herald." Raguel added, encouraging his partner, just like Soulburner was doing with his. Unfortunately, a gust of wind and dirt hit them as all three shields disintegrated.

"Sorry, everyone! I need a break!" Ai cried out, the three humans tumbling around. Right at that moment, however, the winds mysteriously stopped, much to everyone's surprise! "Whew. The winds finally died down at last."

"Actually, it feels like someone hit the off switch." Soulburner said, the trio continuing to move forward through the canyon.

"Stay alert." Playmaker advised Raguel and Soulburner. "We don't know what surprises may be coming up next."

"Wise words, Playmaker." Herald said. "After all, the winds dying down can only mean one thing."

"The Wind Ignis knows we're here." Raguel finished Herald's thought. The other four nodded as they continued flying through the canyon.

"Speaking of up, look up there." Ai said, getting everyone's attention and causing them to look upwards. Just ahead of the trio was a large canyon whose walls reached higher than the ravines. Above the darkness where daylight didn't reach, a large structure made of rocks that had a Greek-like design was floating on a piece of land, with trees giving it a more natural look.

"Looks like someone or something went through a lot of trouble to keep us from getting there." Soulburner stated.

"But now we have the opportunity to investigate the place." Raguel told Soulburner, narrowing his eyes at the structure. "After all, it could be a lead that can take us to Bohman himself." The others nodded as the humans and their partners landed on the island's bottom. Or more accurately, at the bottom of a long and damaged staircase, with several pillars. Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner looked around carefully, trying to see if there was anyone or anything in the shadows ready to attack them. But nothing came... or made itself be heard.

"That looks like a cardio workout." Ai stated, breaking the silence. "Good thing I'm not the one who has to do all the climbing."

"Think anyone's here?" Soulburner asked Playmaker, feeling disturbed by the lack of sound but couldn't help to state the obvious.

"Only one way to find out." Playmaker responded. "We move on ahead." The three humans began walking up the stairs.

"You do realize that you jinxed the upcoming encounter with the Wind Ignis, right?" Raguel pointed out to Playmaker and Soulburner. "Now something bad is going to happen."

"We don't know that for sure." Flame told Raguel.

"Well, I beg to differ, Flame." Herald said. "In every video game I played, something bad always happens to the group of protagonists when there's moments of silence like this."

"Really? Give me a few examples, Herald."

Herald thought it over for a moment before answering. "Uh, Call of Duty Black Ops III, Fortnite, Fate/Grand Order, Resident Evil, New Super Mario Bros-."

"Seriously, Herald? New Super Mario Bros?" Ai interrupted. "Nothing goes wrong in that game. It involves an Italian plumber, his brother, and two Toads going off on an adventure to rescue the princess from the evil-."

"Be quiet." Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner said to their respective Ignis's at the same time, ending the conversation for the time being. Eventually, they reached the first 'floor' of the floating piece of land, which resembled that of a forest.

"You hear that?" Playmaker asked, looking around.

"Hear what?" Ai asked as well. Raguel narrowed his eyes in agreement as he looked around. Something was definitely watching them, that's for sure.

The next thing everyone knew, they turned forward as a large black thing with one eye erupted from the bushes, eyeing the newcomers. Ai screamed as the others gasped. The creature had a ribcage outside its stomach, yellow claws, and a single eye. It roared at them as Flame stared at it.

"Oh no! Not that monster!" Flame exclaimed. "That monster is the one who destroyed the Cyberse World!"

"What?!" Playmaker gasped.

"NO!" Ai cried out.

"Oh, crap!" Herald added in shock. "That's the same monster I envisioned during the meditation exercises." He turned to Raguel. "I told you meditation was nothing but crap!"

"Now is so not the time for this!" Raguel angrily responded, pulling out his sword and reeving it up, ready to fight the monster in front of the trio.

The monster opened its mouth and gathered energy in its maw, making everyone tense up... until it was interrupted seconds later by someone's laughter. As the energy disappeared, a small, light green figure floated down in front of the monster's mouth.

"I can't believe you fell for my trick!" the figure laughed. "You should see the look on your faces! Totally priceless!" The figure then began dancing in the air like a child when being gifted with presents. Raguel looked closer at the figure, which had a light green body, darker markings of the same color, and blood-red eyes growing with amusement. The figure was...

"No way! You're alive?!" Ai exclaimed out of disbelief.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" the figure answered. Herald rolled his eyes, now ticked off by the figure's 'prank'.

"Based on your description of the Wind Ignis, you can say he has a very happy-go-lucky attitude..." Raguel whispered in a low tone to Herald.

"Do not remind me." Herald seethed back, remembering all the times he got pranked by the figure in front of the group.

"Well, we finally found the Wind Ignis." Playmaker said, identifying the figure.

"So you're the one whipping up all the storms!" Ai deduced, as the Wind Ignis looked at the group.

"No kidding, Ai." Herald told Ai. "It is the Wind Ignis's job after all."

"Indeed, it is, White Ignis," the Wind Ignis agreed. "With all the trespassers and hackers and blowing up the Cyberse World, you can never be too careful these days." He turned to look back at his monster. "Echo, you can lose the mirage."

The grotesque creature turned into a green stream of energy that took the form of a humanoid being in light and dark-blue robes, which landed on the ground in front of the trio. The Wind Ignis then landed on its left wrist, as if being in a Duel Disk on a human's wrist.

"Echo's my servant, well, not really a servant, more like a sidekick, but yeah, he does things for me," the Wind Ignis explained very quickly, identifying the humanoid being in the process.

"Yeah! Like scaring me... I mean, Flame and Herald." Ai said. "You even made both of them cry!"

"I most certainly did not." Flame shot back, annoyed.

"Neither did I." Herald told Ai, before turning to the Wind Ignis. "Did you really have to scare us like that, Wind Ignis? For a joke, it was in poor taste too, given the monster your servant turned into was the same one who destroyed the Cyberse World!"

"Regardless, the both of you certainly did cry!" the Wind Ignis replied, before turning to Ai. "But so did you because I heard those 'AH' noises in stereo, meaning that the screams were coming from three sets of lips, not two, but three sets of lips."

"Then you're clearly mistaken because Ignis's don't have lips." Flame pointed out to the Wind Ignis.

"That's neither here nor there, but since you're here, welcome, welcome, I see you brought guests, and no need for introductions. I know who you are, the world-famous Playmaker!" the Wind Ignis stated quickly, looking at him before turning to Soulburner and Raguel. "Then there's the not-as famous but I think you're still cool, Soulburner, and lastly, the infamous Raguel!"

"And you must be the one known as the Wind Ignis." Playmaker casually responded.

"Wind Ignis?" The Wind Ignis placed his hand on his chin. "That name is lackluster if you ask me. But since the Ignis's names are too hard for humans to comprehend, and I don't want a weird name either... call me Windy! Windy like the air, not Windy like the road, and that's Windy with a y, not an i or a double e like squeegee, but a y. Why, may you ask? Why not. Why ask why when y is fine, not that I've given it a whole lot of thought. Can't say there was a whole lot of pondering..."

"I think we get it, Windy." Ai stated, now tired out from Windy's long and boring explanation.

"And since I haven't found my human partner like you, I created Echo. Say hello." Windy gestured to Echo.

"Hello. I am Echo. Human partner not found." Echo introduced himself. Looking at Echo, Herald couldn't help but have his curiosity be piqued by the humanoid being that Windy created. The AI that Windy made is definitely interesting, he admitted in his mind. Perhaps I should make some AI of my own to watch over the special server that's in development, such as sentinels or guards.

"So, Windy. Why are you here in this world?" Playmaker asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Why wouldn't I be? I created this world. Every rock, pebble, tree, grass, that little petunia over there, what you see is all by me." Windy answered.

"For a new world, it looks... damaged." Ai commented, his hands on his hips.

"A design critic, eh?" Windy's eyes suddenly narrowed with a glint of hostility before returning to his usual carefree demeanor. "No worries! Its because I haven't given you the grand tour yet. Trust me when I say its gonna change your mind. After all, this is going to be your new home too!"

The trio followed Windy and Echo through the forest the former created, showing them the beautiful greenery and nature-filled location. Rose trellises, trees, bushes, grapes, and ponds with water leaves floating on them surrounded the newcomers. There were some artificial objects there as well, like statues of birds made out of rocks, small bridges that allowed a person to walk over the ponds, and fountains further decorated the place. Moreover, you could see some insects there as well, like bees pollinating flowers or butterflies stuck in spider webs, you wouldn't realize you were in VR. Along the way, Ai and Flame told Windy their names, with Herald doing the same respectfully. In addition, Ai informed Windy that he met with the Black Ignis in the destroyed Cyberse World, which is something that pleased Windy for sure.

"I have to say, that is definitely good news." Windy said to Ai. "After all, the more Ignis that are alive out there, the better!"

"Yeah!" Ai agreed. "He went out in the network to find the other Ignis, or at least that's what I recall him telling me." He sighed. "Hopefully, he's okay out there..."

"This is... really life-life." Raguel whispered to Herald, getting his attention. "Makes me look forward to the day I can visit the world you're creating."

"Don't worry, Raguel. I'll make it my life's work." Herald assured him. "I'll even invite Ai and Flame, as well as Playmaker and Soulburner later on to check it out. Just don't tell them that the idea was formed due to Sim City."

Raguel chuckled. "That sounds like a fair deal."

"Nice place, right?" Windy asked, getting everyone's attention as they began to approach a small bridge over a stream. "Those lily pads? My idea. And the pond? My idea too. And the bridge? All mine."

"Windy, you said this would be our new home too?" Flame questioned, as everyone crossed the small bridge over a stream.

"Yeah! Well, not for the three humans with you, but for you and I!" Windy confirmed. "Because this world is strictly Ignis only, like a special club with a dress code, except your code has to be digital. This place has got everything you need! Peace, quiet, a gym, and the main thing: Security. You see, when the Cyberse World was destroyed, I knew I couldn't mope around drifting in the network like a jellyfish. I had to get creative and create a new Cyberse World, just as great as the last one, but with one major difference. Make it super safe so it won't be destroyed again. So I've been building this new Cyberse World for seven million, seven hundred and seventy six thousand seconds, give or take a few hundred nanos, and then open the portal, and, voila! You three showed up."

"Yeah, straight into a tornado." Ai pointed out.

"Which almost destroyed us." Flame added.

"And our partners." Herald finished for Flame and Ai.

"Almost. Keyword: Almost." Windy clarified. "Because it didn't, did it? That storm's my new security system, which blows away all intruders unless they're an Ignis or like you three biggies, Ignis-affiliated."

"Well, work on its sensors so they trigger quicker next time!" Ai demanded.

"I know, I know, I know, I know, I know it wasn't the best first impression. I get it, but there's always rooms for updates." Windy replied, trying to look on the bright side. "Well then, if you want to put your bags down and make yourselves comfortable... Oh wait, oh wait, oh wait, oh wait, I see you don't have any bags, so you're all set. So without further ado, welcome to your new home!"

"As much as we'd like to accept your invitation, we cannot." Flame told Windy, who peeked behind Echo.

"Yes you can, yes you can, yes you can." Windy replied, trying to persuade Flame that this was the right option for themselves and the other Ignis.

"No, no, no, no, we can't." Ai firmly stated. "At least not until we finish our mission."

"Your mission?" Windy repeated. "Since when did you become so responsible? Wow..."

"And Windy just roasted you, Ai." Herald informed him, who sweat-dropped out of embarrassment.

"Uh...thanks for letting me know, Herald...?" Ai turned back to Windy. "Anyway, here's the thing. We're trying to find this guy named Bohman because he stole my partner's friend's brother's consciousness data. It's a long story, even for me. But by tracking his signal, it led us straight to a portal. Your portal, and we can't hit the off switch and relax until we save our buddy."

"Windy, we need to know if you've seen Bohman." Playmaker said.

"What's Bohman look like?" Windy asked. "I assume he's a man who carries a bow."

"No, no bow. But he does have an impressive number of abs." Flame answered.

"More like a six pack, if you ask me." Herald clarified.

"How in the world is clarifying the number of abs supposed to help us find Bohman?" Raguel questioned Herald.

"Hey, the more information given, the better." Herald replied, turning to Raguel.

"I totally remember someone like that, even without a bow." Windy placed a hand to his chin. "Nope, didn't see him. Rings no bells."

"Aww. I was sure he came through the portal." Ai said in disbelief. "Windy, are you sure you didn't notice anyone else here?"

"Yes, of course." Windy confirmed. "Because no one can get past my storms, and I mean no one. Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, unless..."

"Unless?" Herald asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unless he flew to the fringes of this world instead of coming here." Windy finished.

"Eureka!" Ai exclaimed, joyful they managed to figure something out.

"I did sense a weird tingling coming from over there, but it was so tiny I ignored it." Windy thought it over, having realized his mistake.

"Then why didn't you investigate it when you first sensed it?" Raguel questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought it was so insignificant it wasn't worth investigating." Windy answered Raguel. "That, and I was busy building this new Cyberse World with Echo."

"He's correct." Echo vouched for Windy. "For I was there when it happened."

"Well, as Raguel said, perhaps you should have investigated it when you had the chance." Flame suggested.

"And maybe you're right." Windy admitted, looking over to Flame. "Because if you don't treat that teeny tiny virus, it can erupt into a whole system crashing."

"Can you point us in the right direction, Windy?" Playmaker requested. Windy narrowed his eyes and thought over Playmaker's request, everyone waiting for his answer in silence. Raguel started to believe he will just refuse after such a long time, and in fact...

"I'll pass, but I can point you in the right direction." Windy finally answered, just as Raguel thought. While his guess was partially true, Windy at least made some effort to help the trio out.

"Woah, woah, woah, what?!" Ai exclaimed out of shock, almost face-faulting in the process.

"I said I can point you in the right direction, not lead you in the right direction." Windy clarified. "I still have too many things to do to get this world in tip-top shape. As a result, I can't go on a wild goose hunt to hunt a goose that might not be loose. Besides, I'm the one who offered you rest and relaxation, but you're the one who turned me down. Like a thermostat in an igloo."

"Stop fighting me with logic!" Ai shouted, now annoyed with Windy.

"Hey, hey, hey. Chill, chill, chill. I didn't say I wasn't gonna help." Windy attempted to placate Ai. "Don't bust a brain cell when you've only got two."

Herald laughed very loudly upon hearing Windy's roast. "And Windy got you for a second time in a row, Ai!" He continued laughing, much to Ai's chagrin.

"Not... funny, Herald." Ai turned his glare at Herald, now getting really irritated with both Ignis's. Raguel managed to muffle a chuckle as he watched the scenario in front of him. Nothing changed regarding the Ignis, for as long as Ai was around, there never was a dull moment.

"Besides, you should forget about this Bohman nonsense and live here instead." Windy suggested. "If you do, we can rebuild the Cyberse World with the aid of the other Ignis's."

"It's true that the Ignis wish to rebuild the Cyberse World..." Flame admitted.

"Flame..." Soulburner looked down at his partner.

"Right?" Windy said. "It just makes sense for us to stick together during these rough times."

"But I want to pursue the one responsible." Flame added, causing Soulburner to smile. "I want to know why he destroyed the Cyberse World in the first place."

"I feel the same." Ai agreed.

"Me too." Herald added as well, causing Raguel to smile.

"So I'm being premature..." Windy muttered, disappointment evident in his voice.

"I made a promise to help Herald find out who's responsible, and I intend to keep it." Raguel told Windy. "That being said, have you seen this man?" He pressed a few buttons before an image of the azure-overcoated man came up. "He attacked a close friend of mine and put her in the hospital. If you have any leads on him, it would help me a lot."

"Hm." Windy looked at the picture of the azure-overcoated man. "Unfortunately, I have not. Sorry, Raguel."

Raguel sighed. "Well, thanks for the information. I'm glad to know another Ignis is safe out there."

"Likewise for Herald, Ai, and Flame." Windy turned to the other members of the group. "Which is why I'll keep the winds down in the direction you got to go. This way, it'll be smooth sailing from here to there. Nice, right?"

"That's plenty." Raguel replied, happy they were getting somewhere. "We'll do the rest on our own."

"It's more than acceptable. Thank you, Windy." Flame said, offering his gratitude.

"Yeah. Thanks." Soulburner added.

"My pleasure." Windy peeked his head behind Echo and looked at Flame and Soulburner briefly.

"Well then, if we're ready, let's travel to the outskirts of this realm and find Bohman." Flame told the group.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I was about to say!" Ai said, happy they can go along with their mission.

"One sec, one sec, one sec, one sec, one sec, one sec, one sec." Windy spoke up, stopping everyone from walking and causing them to turn towards him and Echo. "While you're on your mission, if you could do me a favor, I'd appreciate it." He then snapped his fingers, prompting a screen to appear next to them. The screen showed Ghost Girl and another young girl, who looked very similar to Blue Angel but in a different attire, riding through the violent data storm on their duel boards.

"Ghost Girl..." Raguel narrowed his eyes, seeing she had used them like he expected. "And the other one... could it be Blue Angel?"

"It sure looks like it, Raguel." Soulburner answered.

"Now, you know what you say when you visit a new place. Number one: Have a good time. Number two: Don't leave a mess, and Number three: Don't bring anything you can't take home with you. It looks like you dragged in some stragglers with you, so if you can get them to bounce on out of here, that would be a big thumbs up for me. See, I can't let outsiders find me, and these two just refuse to give up. I usually just smear them on the canyon walls like cream cheese, but I know you teamed up with them in the past, so I'm willing to forego that if you can get them to skedaddle. You know, duel and eject both girls from this world. Besides, they're on the way to the fringes, so you won't be slowing down at all."

"Hang on a minute. Why don't you do it yourself, Windy?" Ai questioned, not wanting to fight an old friend of theirs. And the other Ignis thought HE was lazy?

"I told you, I don't want them to find me!" Windy reminded Ai.

"Sheesh! You're very cautious." Ai noted in annoyance seeing how flighty and rather untrusting he is.

"Windy may be cautious, Ai..." Playmaker began, before turning to Windy, "...But I believe that his suggestion will allow us to come to a peaceful agreement with them."

"Excellent. Then negotiations are complete." Windy chuckled.

"No, they're not." Everyone turned to look down at Herald. "There's something else we need to discuss. Windy, did you run into an AI creature called Malf?"

"Malf?" Windy frowned. "No, I didn't. Why?" Herald then proceeded to explain his and Raguel's encounter with the vicious AI creature, who was not only close to beating them in a Speed Duel, but also nearly killed Herald as well. Windy's eyes widened in shock upon hearing that the creature was intent on hunting and consuming all Ignis's.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes." Herald answered. "He's working with the azure-overcoated man that Raguel showed you earlier, and at the rate of humans he's consuming, he may be strong enough to actually defeat an Ignis in a duel one day. I know you can be a pain in the ass, but from one Ignis to another, I want to ensure your safety."

"Aw, how sweet of you to say that." Windy smiled. "I will definitely keep an eye on this Malf creature in the network. For he may be one of the two wild cards in how all of this goes down."

"Until we get more information on the both of them, there's nothing else we can do about them right now." Herald sighed. "Stay safe, Windy. May we encounter you again one day."

"You as well." Windy replied, waving goodbye as Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner headed out on their duel boards. Left alone with Echo, Windy put a hand to his chin and pondered over the information Herald just told him. "While everything's going according to plan, I can't help but feel a little worried about Malf. I'll have to talk to the Light Ignis later about my worries regarding that abominable creature Wraith whipped up, and whether Azrael will be able to control him or not. On the plus side, the Water Ignis and her Origin are both out of commission for the time being, which means the odds are still in our favour."

A few minutes later...

Once the trio left the floating piece of land, they headed back in the direction they arrived from, hoping to come to an agreement with Blue Girl and Ghost Girl. Raguel fell behind the others and spoke softly to Herald. "Did you get the feeling that Windy was hiding something?"

"As expected, you noticed it too." Herald was in his eye form, which narrowed. "I admit, I do find it strange that Bohman came here and Windy didn't take care of the matter when he had the chance. He may be flighty, but he's certainly not stupid."

"So which information do you think Windy's lying about?"

"Well, he was telling the truth that he didn't encounter Malf or the azure-overcoated man." Herald recapped. "If Windy fought against either of them, he'd either be eaten or chopped into confetti. He may be a pain in the ass, Raguel, but I don't want an Ignis to fall by the enemy's hand."

"I get what you mean." Raguel replied. "Based on the information you told me about Windy and your recent interactions with him, I can't help but believe your friendship with him to be a little strained. Why is that?"

Herald sighed as he emerged from Raguel's duel disk. "It's because of this one prank that got out of hand," he answered. "One day, when I was working with the Black Ignis on the central tower, Windy thought it was funny for him to send one of his Duel Monsters to stalk me for the day. At first, I thought the Duel Monster was lost, so I pointed it in the right direction and continued with my work. However, the Duel Monster continued to follow me everywhere I went, and whenever I took a break, the Duel Monster sat down and stared at me. It got to the point where I had Progleo chase the Duel Monster away. While it granted me peace and quiet to continue my work, I eventually learned that the Duel Monster followed and stared at the Black Ignis, who was irritated at me for setting it on him."

"In other words, he's your least favorite friend?"

"Pretty much." Herald confirmed. "But despite that incident, Windy and I maintained our friendship to this day. Although..." He thought something over. "If I recall, Windy's eyes were purple before, not red. Did something happen to him? I hope not."

"Perhaps we'll find out next time we run into him." Raguel told Herald. "Until then, we need to focus on the mission."

"Right!"

A few moments later, the trio intercepted Ghost Girl and her partner, repositioning themselves so that Playmaker was on the right while Soulburner and Raguel were on their left, with Raguel ahead of Soulburner.

"Playmaker. Its good to see you," Ghost Girl's partner said. "You as well... Raguel." She recalled how, back at Den Academy, he was uneasy around her and needed space. Perhaps now he might be able to open up a bit.

"Oh, really?" Playmaker raised an eyebrow, while Raguel narrowed his eyes at Ghost Girl's partner.

"You're Blue Angel, aren't you?" Raguel correctly deduced.

"Judging from the colour scheme and voice, it does make sense." Herald added. "You could say she's given herself a makeover."

"Yup, only I go by Blue Girl now." Blue Girl confirmed, as she pressed a button on her duel disk, causing her shield to disintegrate. "That being said, are you okay, Raguel? I noticed you haven't been yourself." Raguel looked away from Blue Girl, refusing to answer her question. Even if he could, he didn't know what to tell her regarding what recently happened. If Blue Girl knew the truth about what was on his mind, she'd be furious with him for his failure to save Miyu, as well as being kept in the dark about this information for all this time.

Blue Girl then turned to Playmaker, intent on asking him a question. "We're searching for a new Ignis. Have you seen any around?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," was all Playmaker replied with.

"Yeah, we're not really in any position to help right now, Blue Girl. Sorry." Soulburner added, cutting in. "Oh, by the way, I'm Soulburner. Big fan!" He turned to Flame. "You think she'll give me an autograph?"

"You're supposed to ask for one before you decline to help." Flame pointed out, much to Soulburner's disappointment.

"So who's your little buddy there?" Ghost Girl asked, pressing a button on her duel disk and causing her shield to disintegrate.

"This here's the Fire Ignis. His name is Flame." Soulburner introduced his partner to Ghost Girl.

"I see. That means you're also a victim of the Lost Incident, just like Raguel and Playmaker." Ghost Girl deduced.

"That's right." Soulburner nodded.

"As always, you are gathering as much intel as you can." Raguel commented.

"You know me too well." Ghost Girl smiled. She soon turned it into a frown. "So what brings you all to this neck of the woods? A little far from your usual peeper route, isn't it?"

"Someone stole a friend's brother's consciousness data and we think he's here." Playmaker answered.

"Consciousness data..." Ghost Girl repeated, narrowing her eyes. "Then that means..."

"Now answer a question of mine." Playmaker requested. "Why are the both of you here?"

"Yeah! You completely used us again!" Ai added.

"I think she already did that, Ai." Raguel told him. "But what I want to know is whether she's here for her own benefit or someone else's. And if it's the latter, then who?"

Ghost Girl sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "No point in hiding it, I guess. Blue Girl and I are here to find an Ignis."

"For SOL Technologies?" Playmaker assumed.

"Yes."

"So SOL Technologies didn't only hire rough-looking hunters." Soulburner said.

"Didn't expect such beauties?" Ghost Girl smiled.

"Never said you were beauties." Flame told her.

"It seems the Ignis aren't attracted to me." Ghost Girl remarked with rejection.

"Listen. SOL-I mean, my brother, can help you." Blue Girl spoke up. Raguel wouldn't doubt that: Akira is an honourable and trustworthy person after all, and as Security Chief, it was likely he would help an Ignis like a human, or even like his sister. However, Akira was still the Security Chief of SOL Technologies, which meant he wasn't the one to make those decisions.

"You don't understand." Soulburner replied, confusing her. "The Lost Incident made us suffer for a long time, and SOL Technologies was also responsible for that. Entrust our future to them?"

"Not. A. Chance." Ai finished.

"Thanks for offering to help, but we're asking you to trust us just this once by leaving this world." Playmaker added, showing gratitude. However, Blue Girl wasn't buying it.

"Trust is a two-way street, Playmaker." Blue Girl explained. "Why can't you trust us with whatever you're not telling us? That's hardly fair."

"If only you knew the reason, Blue Girl..." Raguel muttered, but quiet enough so no one could hear.

"If that's how you're gonna play it, then wrap your heads around this. The Ignis were originally under SOL Technologies' control." Blue Girl pointed out rudely, getting everyone's attention.

"That's not exactly true." Raguel replied. "Yes, it was Dr. Kogami, a researcher at SOL Technologies, who developed and executed the Lost Incident, but the Ignis don't belong to anyone. They're living beings like us humans, and have the right to decide where and who they want to be with."

"Even then, Ghost Girl and I came here to find the Ignis. We won't leave empty-handed."

"Blue Girl!" Ghost Girl scolded her.

"If we acquire their Ignis, we may learn the other Ignis's locations." Blue Girl explained. "If you three won't accept our help..."

"You'll settle this in a Duel?" Soulburner finished.

"That's right!"

Ghost Girl sighed in total exasperation at Blue Girl's attitude. "This conversation went from friendly to intense within a few minutes..."

"Playmaker, Raguel. Go on ahead. I have a duel I need to take care of." Soulburner told them. "Besides, my inner fanboy's screaming once again. I never thought I'd get to duel another one of LINK VRAINS' saviours."

"I never thought so either because I never cared about it in the first place." Flame nonchalantly stated, causing Soulburner to glance in disappointment at his partner.

"And Soulburner gets roasted!" Herald announced. "First Ai, then Soulburner. Flame's roasts just keep on coming!"

Playmaker nodded at Soulburner, knowing this was what he wanted. "Come on, Raguel," he said, getting his attention. "Let's get going!" He and Raguel then sped forward, intent on completing their mission.

"Oh no, you're not getting away!" Ghost Girl declared, also increasing her duel board's speed to catch up with the duo.

"Yes, we are!" Ai responded, releasing the data storm and blowing Ghost Girl back.

"Hasta La Vista, Baby!" Herald shouted, waving goodbye as Raguel and Playmaker took a turn, successfully getting away in the process.

Raguel frowned to himself as he thought over the events that just happened. Sure, he didn't want to fight Blue Girl or Ghost Girl, but they wouldn't stop, even after the trio kindly requested to vacate Windy's world. That meant what Ai did regarding the data storm was justified. Hopefully, they're okay, he thought. He made a mental note to send a message to Aoi and Emma after the mission and check in on them, as well as find a way to explain to Aoi about the recent events that came up, which would be incredibly difficult.

For the next while, Raguel and Playmaker rode their duel boards through the canyons, heading straight to the edge of Windy's world. Eventually, the duo left the canyons and were now flying over a sea of yellow clouds.

"We're here, Bohman!" Ai called out. "Where is he? I'm getting the feeling that the chances of finding Bohman are cloudy. You think Windy gave us false intel? Because you know he's full of hot air. Get it? Windy? Air? Anything?"

"Windy said there was just a chance he was here." Playmaker explained. "He didn't say he was certain."

"Well, I say he blew it. Get it? Blew it? Hello? This thing on?"

"I think we get it." Raguel and Herald said at the same time. Soon, the two humans narrowed their eyes on seeing the pillars and the light between them.

"There's the edge of Windy's world!" Ai called out, which was obvious to everyone else.

"That's where we need to go." Playmaker decided, as he and Raguel increased the speed on their duel boards. Once the duo reached the pillars, they looked around, hoping to see Bohman.

"Hmm. I see no sign of Bohman, Playmaker." Ai noted. Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from below them, getting everyone's attention. Looking around, the duo's eyes widened as the pillars all tumbled down, some smashing into each other and breaking before falling down into the clouds.

"What's going on?" Ai asked in a panic. "We could use a hand here!" Suddenly, a giant stone hand emerged from the clouds, making him screech even more. "Touché." Although the hand tried to grab Playmaker and Raguel, the former rode over the giant's fingers, while the latter drifted to the right and escaped it.

"Someone's here." Raguel said. "Stay on your guard."

The next thing everyone knew, another giant stone hand emerged, startling them.

"GAH!" Ai panicked. "We won't be alive after this high five!" In response, Raguel and Playmaker drifted left and right respectively, successfully evading the giant's hand. Before they can catch their breath, a giant stone statue popped out of the clouds in front of them. The statue wore armor that Raguel recognized as Roman and had one hand on a planted sword. Haru was relaxing on the statue's helmet, while on its plume was...

"I've been waiting for you, Playmaker." Bohman said, looking at him and Raguel.

So this is Bohman, Raguel thought, recognizing him from the video he watched earlier. The difference was the outfit he now wore, which was black armor with yellow linings over white pants, and several yellow four-pointed stars on his chest, arms, and knees.

"Bohman!" Playmaker said, glaring at the man.

"Uh, is it me, or did he spring for a new wardrobe?" Ai questioned. "Shouldn't Bohman be wearing a bowtie?"

"Worse. Timing. For. A. Joke. Ever." Herald slowly commented, admonishing Ai.

"Bohman, give me back all the consciousness data you stole from Jin Kusanagi!" Playmaker demanded.

"You can have it," Bohman replied calmly, as Playmaker and Raguel ascended to his height, "if you beat me in a duel. But if I win..."

"Yeah, yeah. Your Ignis is mine." Ai finished, pointing to himself.

To everyone's surprise, Bohman smirked. "I don't have any interest in you."

"You don't?" Ai said disbelievingly.

"The thing that I want from you will be made clear when our match is over." Bohman explained.

"I can't believe he doesn't want me..." Ai bemoaned, sinking to his knees. "Everyone wants me. Even Ultra Rare cards want me."

The four turned as another stone statue rose from the clouds to stand opposite to Bohman's. The statues raised the hands that weren't on their swords so they were facing flat against each other. They watched as a duel field materialized between the statues.

"That's…"

"A Master duel field," Playmaker said, finishing Ai's thought.

Bohman pointed to Playmaker. "Let's go, Playmaker! And be quick about it!" He jumped down and landed on the statue's arm, then leapt to its hand.

"His outfit is not the only thing that's changed. His whole attitude's flipped a switch too." Ai stated. "It's like he's someone else entirely."

"Herald, are you getting anything from him?" Raguel asked.

"…I'm not sure." Herald admitted. "What I do know is that his personality seems to have changed significantly over the past twenty four hours."

"Whether he's someone else or not, it doesn't matter." Playmaker informed the group. "That's still Bohman, and he has Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data. Which means getting it back is all that matters!"

"Then why don't we make things a little more interesting?" Haru said, snapping his fingers and causing the duo to look at him. Soon, two more statues rose from the clouds besides the first two statues, which each one facing against one another. The statues raised the hands that weren't on their swords so they were facing flat against each other. They watched as a second duel field materialized between the statues.

"Another Master duel field..." Raguel muttered, looking at it.

The duo, along with Bohman and the Ignis, turned to Haru as he stood up. "Raguel, we knew you'd come one way or another," he said. "So let's duel! You and me! Right now!"

"No, Haru!" Bohman said, glaring up at his brother. "I won't let my brother face someone like him. I'll take Raguel on as well!"

"I'll handle Raguel, while you get your revenge on Playmaker." Haru told Bohman. "And besides, you should have some faith in your brother. After all, between the both of us, who has more dueling experience?"

Bohman could do nothing but watch as Haru leapt from one statue to the one beside it, before jumping down and landing on the statue's arm. From there, he then leapt to its hand.

"Playmaker, I'll handle Haru. You duel Bohman and get Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data back." Raguel told Playmaker, who nodded as he sped over to the statue that was opposing the one Haru was on. Playmaker, on the other hand, flew to the statue opposing Bohman and landed on its hand.

"Alright, Bohman. Let's duel!" Playmaker said, accepting the challenge.

Elsewhere, Raguel landed on the hand of the statue facing Haru, ready to duel. Prior to logging into LINK VRAINS, he made sure to watch Bohman's duel against Playmaker to learn all about his deck. This way, he'd be prepared to face off against him. But that was not the case. Instead, he was about to duel Haru, who was Bohman's little brother. While Raguel didn't know what deck Haru had, he did know that he had to be careful. After all, if Bohman having Cyberse monsters was anything to go by, it was likely Haru also had them as well.

"Whatever you and Bohman plan to do with Jin Kusanagi's data, it ends today." Raguel told Haru. "But before we begin our duel, let me ask you a question."

"Oh? A question?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but make it quick."

"Does the name Malf ring any bells?" Raguel asked, getting straight to the point. If Bohman and Haru knew Malf, it would mean they were working together, and in league with the azure-overcoated man. Therefore, it would make the search for Miyu a whole lot easier, that's for sure.

"Even if I did know, why would I tell you?" Haru answered, smirking. "What I will tell you is this: Against someone like me, your defeat is guaranteed."

"Big talk coming from someone who's arrogant." Herald said. "Keep that up and it will lead to your undoing."

"It's not arrogant if I'm correct, Ignis." Haru replied, activating his duel disk.

"Don't bother trying to argue with him, Herald." Raguel advised his partner, readying his duel disk. "It's best we let our cards do the talking instead of words in situations like this."

"I couldn't agree more." Haru responded.

"Duel!" Raguel and Haru shouted at the same time.

Raguel: 4000 LP

Haru: 4000 LP

"I'll go first." Haru said, looking at his hand briefly before selecting a card. "I Special Summon Hydradrive Booster from my hand." A mechanical monster that resembled a gold and silver dragonfly appeared on Haru's field.

Hydradrive Booster ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"I can Special Summon this card when neither of us have any monsters in our Main Monster Zones." Haru explained, before pointing his right hand high above his head. "Appear, my circuit!" A Link Portal soon appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set Hydradrive Booster into the Link Markers!" Hydradrive Booster went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Grand Hydradrive!" A quadrupedal orange and brown machine appeared on Haru's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Grand Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"From there, I activate the Field Spell card, Hydradrive Caduceus!" The card showed Trident Hydradrive Lord in a destroyed Cyberse World, raising his trident above his head and firing a rainbow-colored blast of energy into the sky, causing a picture of the Hydradrive sigil to appear. Behind Trident Hydradrive Lord, Paradox Hydradrive Atlas roared, with multiple Coolant, Burn, Flow, and Grand Hydradrive monsters doing the same around them as well. "Once per turn, by destroying a 'Hydradrive' monster on my field, I can activate one of two effects. I destroy Grand Hydradrive to activate the first effect, which lets me Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' monster with a different name than the destroyed monster from my deck or Graveyard. Emerge from my Graveyard, Hydradrive Booster!" After Grand Hydradrive exploded into particles, Hydradrive Booster reappeared on Haru's field.

Hydradrive Booster ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Grand Hydradrive's effect!" Haru continued. "When its destroyed, I can Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' token to my field." A small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Haru's field in defense position.

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Appear, for a second time! My circuit!" A second Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set the Hydradrive token into the Link Markers!" The Hydradrive token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Coolant Hydradrive!" A light-blue and grey segmented mechanical dragon appeared on Haru's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had a visor on its face, as well as a Hydradrive sigil on its chest.

Coolant Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"I'm not done yet, Raguel!" Haru told him. "Appear, for a third time! My circuit!" A third Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set Hydradrive Booster into the Link Markers!" Hydradrive Booster went into the bottom arrowhead for a second time, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Flow Hydradrive!" A bipedal green and dark blue dragon emerged from the portal and landed on Haru's field in the Main Monster Zone Coolant Hydradrive pointed to. Its face had a green visor on it, while at the center of its body was the Hydradrive sigil.

Flow Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"You see that, Raguel?" Herald asked, getting his attention.

"Yeah." Raguel answered, narrowing his eyes. Flow Hydradrive was pointing to Haru's Spell & Trap card zone. Which meant only one thing...

"Oh. So you've noticed, huh?" Haru said, snickering. "While it ruins the surprise, you'll still have difficulty with what's to come! I activate the Link Spell, Judgment Arrows!" A lightning bolt came down from the sky and landed on Haru's Spell & Trap card zone, which glowed at Flow Hydradrive's Link Marker.

Judgment Arrows ↖️⬆️↗️

"Appear, for a fourth time! My circuit!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are two 'Hydradrive' Link monsters! I'll set Flow Hydradrive and Coolant Hydradrive, which are both Link 1 monsters, into the Link Markers!" Flow Hydradrive went into the top arrowhead, while Coolant Hydradrive went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Hydradrive Nagini!" A large, thick green snake with the Hydradrive sigil wrapped around her neck slithered to Haru's field in the Main Monster Zone at Judgment Arrows' top-left marker.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 2000 LINK-2 ⬆️⬇️

"When Nagini is Link Summoned, her attributes become the same as her Link materials, in addition to Earth." Haru added. "So her attributes become Wind and Water, along with Earth." Soon, Nagini's skin briefly glowed green and blue. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn. Make your move, Raguel. That is, if you can."

"My turn! I draw!" Raguel said, drawing the top card of his deck.

"Wait, Raguel!" Herald said, getting his partner's attention. "Something doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?" Raguel raised an eyebrow.

"Based on the recording of Playmaker and Bohman's duel, as well as what we've just seen, Haru uses the Hydradrive deck just like his brother." Herald explained. "However, he traded monsters that can attack directly for a monster like the one on his field. That, combined with his face-down card and Judgment Arrows, makes it fishy if you ask me. Tread carefully."

"I will." Raguel assured Herald before going back to the duel. "I summon Cyreath Beastmaster from my hand." A short, armored creature wearing a horned helmet on its head and armor over its body jumped onto Raguel's field. It carried a short axe in its right hand. On its back, it carried a large horn.

Cyreath Beastmaster ATK: 0 DEF: 1500 LV: 4

"When Beastmaster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Cyreath' monster from my hand. Come, Cyreath Doppelganger!" A pale, shadowy man materialized itself on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 4

"Appear! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I'll set Cyreath Beastmaster into the Link Markers!" Beastmaster went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Skull Wing!" A small skull with wings in the right Extra Monster Zone on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 LINK-1 ↙️

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A second Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters. I'll set Cyreath Doppelganger and Cyreath Skull Wing, which is a Link 1 monster, into the Link Markers!" Beastmaster went into the top arrowhead, while Doppelganger went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Ride into battle! Link 2! Cyreath Chariot Commander!" A ghostly skeletal figure whose entire body was made up of blue flames rode onto Raguel's field, in the right Extra Monster Zone. It wore a helmet with jagged, uneven horns, and had an outfit consisting of gauntlets, a pauldron over its left shoulder, a tattered gladiator's skirt, and broken-down metallic boots.

Cyreath Chariot Commander ATK: 2000 LINK-2 ⬆️⬇️

"When Skull Wing is used to Link Summon, you take 300 points of damage." Raguel explained, as a silhouette of Skull Wing appeared and went through Haru, causing him to shiver.

Haru: 4000 – 300 = 3700 LP

"I activate Doppelganger's second effect in my Graveyard. By banishing a 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard, I get to Special Summon this card to my field in attack position. I banish Beastmaster from my Graveyard to activate Doppelganger's effect and bring it back to my field!" For a second time, Doppelganger reappeared on Raguel's field. The only difference was that it was summoned to the Main Monster Zone Chariot Commander pointed to.

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 4

"Oh, I see what you're planning Raguel!" Herald realized, looking at the setup. "If this works, then-."

"Sorry, but whatever you're up to, I won't let it happen!" Haru interrupted, gesturing to his face-down card. "Continuous-Trap card, activate! Hydradrive Impermanence!" The card showed Twin Hydradrive Knight slashing Firewall Dragon's wings with swords glowing red and blue before landing on the ground, Firewall Dragon plummeting to its doom in the process. "Since I control a 'Hydradrive' Link monster, I can target one face-up card you control and negate its effects! I target and negate your Chariot Commander!" Hydradrive Impermanence fired a rainbow-like vortex at Chariot Commander, hitting the figure and greying it out.

"...!" Raguel grit his teeth, having not seen that coming. While destroying Judgment Arrows would help him and hinder Haru, it was not the case this time around.

"Well, at least we know what his face-down card is." Herald said, trying to look on the bright side.

"I studied all your duels prior to this duel, Raguel." Haru stated. "Since your deck is just like Playmaker's, I'll be able to respond to your moves efficiently!" And by doing so, he thought, I'll be able to figure out what Azrael meant by the power of bonds.

"Really?" Raguel replied, raising an eyebrow. "Then let's see how you respond to this!" He gestured upwards. "Appear, for a third time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A third Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters. I'll set Cyreath Doppelganger and Cyreath Chariot Commander, which is a Link 2 monster, into the Link Markers!" Doppelganger went into the top-left arrowhead, while Chariot Commander went into the top-left and top-right arrowheads, turning all three of them red respectively.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! The strongest warrior chosen by the gods leads the charge to victory! Link 3! Cyreath Hercules!" A tall, muscular warrior wearing a brown tunic around his waist appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He wore shoulder guards resembling lion paws and a helmet resembling a lion's head with a plume forming a mane. He also carried a massive gauntlet with a lion face on each arm.

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↖️⬇️↗️

"Hercules' effect! Monsters he points to lose 500 attack points!" Raguel added. "Nemean Roar!" Hercules let out a massive roar, which hit Nagini and decreased her strength, much to Haru's dismay.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 2000 – 500 = 1500

"Since Chariot Commander left the field, Hydradrive Impermanence is now destroyed." Haru informed Raguel, as Hydradrive Impermanence turned into particles. However, the boy didn't have much of a reaction to seeing his card leave the field.

"From there, I activate the effect of Cyreath Crafter in my hand." Raguel said, continuing his turn. "By sending this card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can add an Equip Spell card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand!" After sending a card from his hand to his Graveyard, a card popped out of Raguel's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I now activate the Equip Spell card, Nine Lives, and equip it onto Hercules." A massive axe-sword then appeared on Raguel's field in front of Hercules, who dropped the gauntlets in his hands before picking up the massive axe sword. "When this card is equipped onto a 'Cyreath' monster, it gains 900 attack points." Hercules roared as his strength increased.

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 2500 + 900 = 3400

"Ah, Nine Lives. One of Hercules' most trusted weapons, aside from his Noble Phantasm God Hand." Herald commented, before pointing to the field. "Go, Raguel! Show our opponent the strength of Hercules!"

"Battle!" Raguel declared, gesturing to the field. "Cyreath Hercules attacks Hydradrive Nagini! Nine Lives Blade Works!" Hercules charged forward at Nagini, intent on destroying her with multiple strikes.

"Not so fast!" Haru said. "When a Link monster Judgment Arrows is pointing to battles, its attack points are doubled!" Nagini was surrounded in a golden aura, which powered her up.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 1500 X 2 = 3000

"But you'll still be losing your monster and taking battle damage!" Raguel reminded Haru, as Hercules proceeded to strike Nagini.

"Then how about this? I activate the effect of Hydradrive Impermanence from my Graveyard!" Haru retorted. "By banishing it from my field or Graveyard, 'Hydradrive' Link monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn." Nagini was surrounded in a rainbow-like aura as Hercules struck her with Nine Lives many times.

"I activate the second effect of Nine Lives!" Raguel responded. "If it is equipped to a 'Cyreath Hercules' monster, all damage inflicted is doubled!"

"What?!" Haru exclaimed, as Hercules hit Nagini with enough force from Nine Lives that it flung her back towards Haru. As a result, he was pushed back several feet.

Haru: 3700 – (400 X 2) = 2900 LP

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Raguel concluded. "Damn. I didn't expect Haru to counter my moves like that."

"He not only protected Judgment Arrows and Nagini from destruction, but also reduced the damage he would have taken by a lot as well." Herald stated. "For someone who uses the same deck as Bohman, Haru can use it efficiently."

"You think I'm copying off of Bohman, Ignis?!" Haru demanded, getting their attention. "I'll have you know that I'm the original owner of the Hydradrive deck!"

"Original owner?" Raguel and Herald repeated at the same time.

"That's right!" Haru confirmed. "I was the one who taught Bohman how to duel! And how was I repaid? By getting shoved to the side by him, who favored Bohman instead of trusting in me to carry out his vision!"

"Him?" Raguel raised an eyebrow. From what Raguel just heard, he deduced that Haru and Bohman were working for someone. But who exactly was Bohman and Haru's master? Why would they want Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data? What vision was Haru talking about, and what was Bohman's role in it? Well, it didn't matter right now. What did matter was helping Playmaker get Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data back, and if it meant defeating Haru in a duel first, so be it.

"Enough talk! Let's get back to the duel! My turn! I draw!" Haru drew the top card of his deck before looking at it briefly. While I may have studied all of Raguel's duels, I didn't expect him to use Nine Lives, he admitted in his mind. Still, it's just a minor setback, which I'll easily overcome. "I summon Hydradrive Launcher from my hand." A maroon-brown segmented mechanical dragon appeared on Haru's field. Although it had a jaw like the rest its brethren, its head was that of a harpoon arrow with a scope. Its hands were also replaced with harpoon arrows as well.

Hydradrive Launcher ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

"Launcher's effect! When it's Normal Summoned and I control a 'Hydradrive' Link monster in the Main Monster Zone, I can take one Link Spell or Link Trap from my deck and activate it in a Spell & Trap card zone it's pointing to!"

"WHAT?!" Raguel exclaimed, shocked at what he heard just now. Did Haru say a Link Trap? No. It couldn't be...

"Impossible!" Herald protested. "There's no way you guys can have a Link Trap in such a short span of time! No way whatsoever!"

"Yeah? Well, me having it refutes your accusation." Haru simply replied, a wicked smirk on his face as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and showed Raguel and Herald as evidence. "From my deck, I activate the Link Trap, Punishment Arrows!" The card showed a similar network to that of Judgment Arrows, but there was only one arrow instead of three, and it shined orange instead of yellow. Launcher raised its head and fired an orange blast into the sky, which landed in the Spell & Trap card zone Nagini's Link Marker pointed to and glowed.

Punishment Arrows ⬆️

"When a Link monster Punishment Arrows points to battles a monster you control and destroys it, its banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard!" Haru revealed. "And if Punishment Arrows leaves the field, I take damage equal to the monster's original attack points that it points to."

"Tch..." Raguel narrowed his eyes. A card like that was dangerous against him, that's for sure. If Haru used Nagini to attack Hercules this turn, he would be banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard. However, there was a downside for the user that used Punishment Arrows, as once it was destroyed, they would be taking damage equal to the monster's original attack points it pointed to.

"Appear, my circuit!" Haru said, as a Link Portal soon appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set Hydradrive Launcher into the Link Markers!" Launcher went into bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Burn Hydradrive!" A red and orange segmented mechanical dragon appeared on Haru's field in the Main Monster Zone at Judgment Arrows' top-right marker. It had a visor on its face like the rest of its brethren, as well as the Hydradrive sigil on its chest.

Burn Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Launcher's second effect!" Haru continued. "Since it was used for the Link Summon of a 'Hydradrive' Link monster, I can target one 'Hydradrive' Link monster on my field and draw cards equal to its Link rating. I target Nagini, which is a Link 2 monster. That means I can draw two cards from my deck." He drew two cards from his deck before gesturing to his Field Spell. "Caduceus's effect! Once per turn, by destroying a 'Hydradrive' monster on my field, I can activate one of two effects. I destroy Burn Hydradrive to activate the second effect, which lets me target one monster you control and change its attribute to one of my choosing until the end of my turn. I change your Hercules' attribute from Dark to Water!" After Burn Hydradrive exploded into particles, a blue blast came out of Caduceus and hit Hercules, causing him to glow blue as his attribute changed to the Water attribute.

"It seems that Bohman's not the only one that has a card which changes attributes..." Raguel said, gritting his teeth. The situation was not looking good.

"Obviously." Haru replied. "After all, to win, you need to obtain control of the field before the opponent does." He gestured to his field. "Burn Hydradrive's effect! When its destroyed, I can Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' token to my field." A small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Haru's field in defense position.

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Appear, for a second time! My circuit!" A second Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set the Hydradrive token into the Link Markers!" The Hydradrive token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Hydradrive Conjurer!" A fiend wearing sleeveless dark-green robes with orange lines and a small skirt appeared on Haru's field in the Main Monster Zone at Judgment Arrows' top marker. It had bushy red hair, as well as a headdress on its head that had the Hydradrive sigil at the top. It also wore arm-length gloves on each of its arms, which had the Hydradrive sigil at the hand portion of the glove. In its right hand, it carried a scepter, with four orbs at the top.

Hydradrive Conjurer ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"When Hydradrive Conjurer is Link Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' token to my field in defense position." Haru explained, as another small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Haru's field in defense position.

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Appear, for a third time! My circuit!" A third Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set the Hydradrive token into the Link Markers!" The token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Grand Hydradrive!" A second copy of Grand Hydradrive appeared on Haru's field in the Main Monster Zone at Judgment Arrows' top-right marker.

Grand Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"I activate Conjurer's second effect." Haru added. "Once per turn, by destroying one 'Hydradrive' monster on my field, I can target one other 'Hydradrive' monster on my field and increase its attack points by 1000 until the End Phase! I destroy Grand Hydradrive and increase Nagini's attack points by 1000!" Conjurer raised its scepter above its head, causing the four orbs to glow blue, brown, red, and green respectively. Grand Hydradrive was then turned into particles that went into Conjurer's scepter, which were then fired at Nagini, enveloping her with a rainbow-colored aura.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 1500 + 1000 = 2500

"Grand Hydradrive's effect! Just like before, I can Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' token to my field." Another small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Haru's field in defense position.

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Battle!" Haru declared. "Hydradrive Nagini attacks Cyreath Hercules! The effects of Judgment Arrows and Punishment Arrows both activate! First, when a Link monster Judgment Arrows points to battles, its attack points are doubled! Second, when a Link monster Punishment Arrows points to battles and destroys your monster, it's banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard!" Nagini was surrounded in a golden aura briefly before it changed to an orange aura, which powered her up.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 2500 X 2 = 5000

"I also activate Nagini's second effect! If she battles a monster whose attribute is the same as hers, your monster loses 1000 attack points until the End Phase! Since Hercules and Nagini share the same attribute, your monster loses 1000 attack points! Venom Shot!" Nagini fired a burst of venom at Hercules, scalding him as his strength decreased.

Cyreath Hercules ATK: 3400 – 1000 = 2400

"Venom Lash!" Haru shouted, as Nagini lunged forward, intent on constricting Hercules and acidifying him with her poison.

"That's 2600 plus 2000 more from Conjurer for a total of 4600 points of damage!" Herald shouted before turning to Raguel. "We'll lose unless you do something, Raguel!"

"I'm on it." Raguel immediately assured his partner. "I activate the Trap card, Cyreath Endurance. By banishing one 'Cyreath' Link monster from my Graveyard, any battle damage I would have taken is reduced by 500 times its Link rating. I banish Chariot Commander from my Graveyard, and reduce battle damage by 1000!" A translucent barrier appeared around Hercules, which blocked Nagini's first attack. However, when Nagini struck the barrier the second time, it broke, enabling her to constrict Hercules and sink her teeth into his skin, causing him excruciating pain before he turned into particles. As a result, it caused an explosion, which made Raguel shield his eyes using his right arm.

Raguel: 4000 – (2600 – 1000) = 2400 LP

"You may have reduced the damage, but Hercules is banished for good thanks to Punishment Arrows." Haru pointed out, much to Raguel's ire. "The battle still continues! Hydradrive Conjurer attacks you directly!" Conjurer raised its scepter above its head, causing the four orbs to glow blue, brown, red, and green respectively before firing a rainbow-like blast at Raguel.

"I activate the effect of Cyreath Rippler from my hand!" Raguel suddenly said. "If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and negate the attack!" Haru's eyes widened in surprise as a ghoul wearing digital pale robes appeared, carrying a small metal wand and triangle. Rippler hit the triangle using its wand, dissipating Conjurer's attack.

Cyreath Rippler ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"Hmph. Guess you got lucky for now." Haru stated. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means the effects of Conjurer and Nagini end. Also, since Hercules is no longer on the field, Nagini's attack points revert back to normal." Nagini hissed loudly as her strength returned back to her original amount.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: (5000 / 2) – 1000 + 500 = 2000

"As glad as I am to be still alive right now, I didn't expect Haru to have a Link Trap of all things up his sleeve." Herald admitted.

"Me neither." Raguel agreed. "Do you think Bohman also has Punishment Arrows in his deck?"

"Let's hope not." Herald replied, hoping for the best. "Because if he does, then Playmaker and Ai are going to be in a lot of trouble."

Meanwhile, at Playmaker and Bohman's duel...

"Take this, Playmaker!" Bohman shouted, having just countered Linkuriboh's effect with Break Hydradrive. "Twin Hydradrive Knight attacks Update Jammer! Duo Element Slash!" Twin Hydradrive Knight launched two waves of red and green energy that destroyed Update Jammer. The slashes struck Playmaker and sent him flying backwards, where he hit the statue's wrist.

Playmaker: 3200 – 1600 = 1600 LP

"I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means the effect of Judgment Arrows ends, and Twin Hydradrive Knight's attack points return to normal." A red aura surrounded Twin Hydradrive Knight, returning his attack points back to his original amount.

Twin Hydradrive Knight ATK: 3600 / 2 = 1800

"Come on! Get up!" Ai encouraged Playmaker before turning to Bohman. "How is Bohman doing it so much better so quickly?!"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Bohman questioned Playmaker. "Why it is I'm able to predict your every move? It's because I am you Playmaker, and in turn, you are me!"

Playmaker slowly stood up on his feet, a look of confusion on his face. "You're me?"

Bohman closed his eyes. "It's true, and I do mean it quite literally."

"No way!" Playmaker's eyes widened in surprise.

"It all started ten years ago." Bohman began, a smile on his face. "At a certain Lost Incident."

"What? Bohman was in the Lost Incident just like you, Playmaker?" Ai asked him, who was just as surprised as Playmaker was.

"NO! NOT JUST LIKE HIM!" Bohman shouted. "Do not compare me to that phony, that imposter. You don't know what it was like! You don't know what I had to do! I had to suffer everything to survive the Lost Incident!"

"Yes, and so did I!" Playmaker responded.

"No, you didn't." Bohman denied that statement. "You never had to suffer, not even for a single moment. You think you were taken as a child, locked in an isolated room, a guinea pig for experiments to create the Ignis. Of that, you're certain. Here's what you don't know: that child's feelings, thoughts, and experiences were constantly being recorded and backed up in a myriad of high-tech servers. That backup was another you created digitally."

"What do you mean?" Ai inquired.

"The backup would have stayed in the servers," Bohman continued, ignoring Ai's question, "had it not been for a glitch in the system. It is due to this glitch that the backup switched places with the real one."

"This can't be..." Playmaker said, his eyes wide with shock.

"Yes it can." Bohman told him. "I was the real boy, Playmaker, and you're nothing more than a backup made alive by a freak accident."

"No! I don't believe you!" Playmaker insisted, although he had a slight waver in his voice. In a way, it could make sense. After all, Playmaker had few to no memories prior to the Lost Incident. But was he truly a fake, or the real Playmaker?

"Of course you don't." Bohman narrowed his eyes at Playmaker. "I wouldn't believe me either if I was you. But wait, I am. I was unjustly trapped in those servers for years, Playmaker. But now, I'm free, and now I'll tell you what I want when I win this duel. My body back! LINK VRAINS isn't big enough for the two of us!" He pointed at Playmaker. "So only the original one shall remain!"

Elsewhere, at Raguel and Haru's duel...

"My turn! I draw!" Raguel said, drawing the top card of his deck and immediately beginning his turn. "Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I'll set Cyreath Rippler into the Link Markers!" Rippler went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Cyreath Scorpius!" A huge scorpion, with large pincers and a long tail, appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Cyreath Scorpius ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Scorpius' effect! Once per turn, when I control no monsters in the Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard to a zone this card points to." Raguel added. "Return, Doppelganger!" For a second time, Doppelganger reappeared on Raguel's field in the Main Monster Zone Scorpius pointed to.

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 4

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A second Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters. I'll set Cyreath Scorpius, which is a Link 1 monster, and Cyreath Doppelganger into the Link Markers!" Scorpius went into the top arrowhead, while Doppelganger went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Jason!" A handsome blond-haired man with emerald colored eyes leapt onto Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He had pieces of golden armor attached to his arms, shoulders, and upper body, as well as on his shins. Strapped around his waist was a medium-sized green waist cape, with a golden belt as well.

Cyreath Jason ATK: 1500 LINK-2 ⬆️⬇️

"When Jason is Link Summoned, I'm allowed to activate the Field Spell card Cyreath Argo straight from my deck!" Raguel added, taking a card from his deck. "I now activate the Field Spell card, Cyreath Argo! While this card is on the field, all 'Cyreath' monsters on my field gain 300 attack and defense points, and they can't be destroyed by your card effects as well." Jason was surrounded with a yellow aura as his strength increased.

Cyreath Jason ATK: 1500 + 300 = 1800

"I highly doubt your Jason will be able to break through my field." Haru told Raguel. I seen him use Jason already in the network during a previous duel, he thought. If I'm to counter Raguel's moves, I need to use my face-down cards for any unexpected moves he can make.

"On his own, you might be right." Raguel agreed. "But who said I was done? I activate Jason's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard with its effects negated to a Main Monster Zone he points to. Come back, Rippler!" At Raguel's command, Rippler reappeared on his field.

Cyreath Rippler ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

Cyreath Rippler ATK: 100 + 300 = 400 DEF: 100 + 300 = 400

"Appear, for a third time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A third Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters. I'll set Cyreath Jason, which is a Link 2 monster, and Cyreath Rippler into the Link Markers!" Jason went into the top and bottom arrowheads, while Rippler went into the right arrowhead, turning all of them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Cyreath Atalanta!" A sharp-eyed huntress who wore beautiful verdant green clothing and had emerald eyes appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. She had long and unkempt hair, which was green at the front and different blond styles at the back. In her left hand, she carried a jet-black bow.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 2400 LINK-3 ⬆️⬇️➡️

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 2400 + 300 = 2700

"I'm ready when you are, Raguel!" Atalanta said with determination, giving a nod to him as she turned back to the field.

"Herald, was this your doing?" Raguel questioned his partner, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, well, okay yes." Herald sheepishly answered. "When I summoned her in Fate/Grand Order, she was not only fierce, but cute as well. So I couldn't help but give her sentience."

Raguel facepalmed upon hearing this. "We'll talk about this later." He then redirected his attention back to the duel at hand. "I activate Atalanta's effect. Once per turn, I can target one Spell or Trap card on your field and destroy it. I target Punishment Arrows!" A shining arrow then materialized in Atalanta's right hand, which she took and pulled back with her bow, aiming it at Punishment Arrows.

"Like I'll let that happen!" Haru said, narrowing his eyes. "Trap card, activate! Card of Pandora! When you target a card in my Spell & Trap card zone with an effect, that effect is changed to target Card of Pandora! So Atalanta destroys Card of Pandora instead!" Card of Pandora glowed with an eerie color, forcing Atalanta to aim her arrow at it instead before firing the arrow and shattering it. "Then I can draw two cards from my deck. So thanks for the extra cards, Raguel."

"You have got to be kidding me..." Raguel grumbled.

"He had another counter for protecting his Link cards in the Spell & Trap card zone." Herald said, narrowing his eyes. "Raguel, lets pick off Haru's weaker monsters immediately! We can't let him Link Summon anymore than he already had!"

"Oh, you're not getting that option!" Haru informed the duo. "Continuous-Trap, activate! Attribute Gravity! Now all monsters on the field that are in attack position must attack monsters with the same attributes when possible!"

"What?!" Raguel exclaimed. That wasn't good to hear. Since Nagini had the Wind attribute along with Atalanta due to her effect, that meant he had no choice but to attack Nagini first. "If that's how you want to play it, so be it! I activate the Equip Spell card, Bow of Apollo, and equip it onto Atalanta!" The card showed a golden bow with each of its sides resembling snakes. Immediately, the bow Atalanta carried disappeared before the Bow of Apollo reappeared on her right hand. "The equipped monster gains 300 attack points for every card on your field."

"For every card?!" Haru gasped upon hearing this.

"That's right!" Herald confirmed. "On your field, you have Hydradrive Nagini, Conjurer, and a token in your Main Monster Zones, Judgment Arrows, Punishment Arrows, and Attribute Gravity in your Spell & Trap card zones, and the Field Spell card Hydradrive Caduceus in your Field Spell card zone. That means Atalanta gains a total of 2100 attack points!" Atalanta was surrounded in a golden aura as she powered up.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 2700 + 2100 = 4800

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Cyreath Atalanta attacks Hydradrive Nagini!"

"You're forgetting about the effects of both Judgment Arrows and Punishment Arrows." Haru reminded Raguel. "First, Judgment Arrows doubles the attack points of the Link monster it points to until the End Phase." Nagini was surrounded in a golden aura, which powered her up.

Hydradrive Nagini ATK: 2000 X 2 = 4000

"Second, Punishment Arrows will banish your monster instead of her going to the Graveyard once Nagini battles and destroys her, which will happen thanks to her effect!" Haru grinned. "For when she battles a monster whose attribute is the same as hers, your monster loses 1000 attack points until the End Phase! Last I checked, Atalanta has the same attribute that Nagini has, which is the Wind attribute, meaning your monster loses 1000 attack points! Venom Shot!" Nagini fired a burst of venom at Atalanta, making her scream in pain.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4800 – 1000 = 3800

"Your attempt to make a comeback failed, Raguel!" Haru told him. "Get her, Nagini! Venom Lash!" Nagini lunged forward, intent on constricting Atalanta and acidifying her with her poison. However, what Haru failed to notice was the smirk on Raguel's face.

"I activate the Trap card, Cyreath Apparition." Raguel said, gesturing to his face-down card. "I can target one 'Cyreath' monster I control and increase its attack and defense points by 500 until the End Phase. I target Atalanta!" A dark aura surrounded Atalanta as she powered up.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 3800 + 500 = 4300

"Do it, Atalanta! Phoebus Catastrophe!" With renewed strength, two shining arrows appeared in Atalanta's right hand before she pulled them back and released them towards the sky, causing a storm of arrows to fall down from the sky and impale Nagini, destroying her and making Haru gasp in shock as his life points drop.

Haru: 2900 – 300 = 2600 LP

"Nagini..." Haru muttered, saddened by the destruction of his beloved monster.

"Since you have one less card on your field, Atalanta loses 300 attack points." Raguel informed Haru, as Atalanta's strength slightly decreased.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4300 – 300 = 4000

"But that won't matter because I activate Atalanta's effect!" Raguel gestured to his field. "When she destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, she can attack an additional time this turn!" Haru gasped once again. "The battle still continues! Cyreath Atalanta attacks Hydradrive Conjurer!"

"Judgment Arrows' effect doubles Conjurer's attack points!" Haru reminded Raguel, as a golden aura surrounded Conjurer, increasing its strength.

Hydradrive Conjurer ATK: 1000 X 2 = 2000

"That won't help you!" Raguel replied. "Phoebus Catastrophe!" Two more shining arrows appeared in Atalanta's right hand before she fired them towards the sky, causing a storm of arrows to fall down from the sky and impale Conjurer as it turned into particles. As a result, Haru was sent flying back, where he hit the statue's wrist.

Haru: 2600 – 2000 = 600 LP

"With that, I end my turn, which means the effects of Cyreath Apparition and Hydradrive Nagini end. Also, because you have one less card, Atalanta loses 300 attack points." The dark aura surrounding Atalanta dissipated, healing the wounds she received from Nagini in the process.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4000 + (500 – 300) = 4200

"Why are you and Bohman using Cyberse cards?" Raguel demanded. "The Cyberse World was fine until you and Bohman showed up, destroyed it, and kidnapped Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data as well." Another question then popped up in his mind. "Was hurting Miyu a part of your boss's grand vision? Because if it was, you and Bohman are dead."

Haru slowly stood up on his feet, the impact of the previous two attacks evident on him. "Miyu? Never heard of her. And if hurting her was part of his vision, why would I answer your question? As for your first question, Bohman and I use Cyberse cards because we have the ability to do so. Nothing more, nothing less." A strong current of wind passed the two duelists soon after, making Haru a little tense.

"Scared of the wind?" Raguel taunted.

"No. As for what comes next, you should be afraid." Haru cryptically answered.

Raguel narrowed his eyes. If what Haru said was true, that meant something ominous was coming.

Meanwhile, at Playmaker and Bohman's duel...

"Chop him up, Playmaker!" Ai told him.

"Battle!" Playmaker declared. "Detonate Deleter attacks Twin Hydradrive Knight!" Detonate Deleter drew out two of its batons, ready for battle.

"That's where you're wrong, Playmaker." Bohman calmly told him. "Judgment Arrows will double Twin Hydradrive Knight's attack points. So your monster is the one that will be destroyed."

"You're the one who's wrong, Bohman!" Playmaker retorted, pointing at him. "Detonate Deleter's effect activates! The monster it attacks is destroyed without calculating damage."

"It can?!" Bohman gasped.

"It can!" Ai confirmed, snapping his fingers. "So keeping your monster alive will be as hard as winning an argument against me!"

"No, it won't." Playmaker casually informed Ai.

"Yes, it will! I win!"

Detonate Deleter threw its batons at Twin Hydradrive Knight, which then detonated upon impact. Bohman winced as his monster was destroyed.

"Oh yeah!" Ai cheered. "Now that Bohman has nothing to defend with, his life points are wide open for a pummeling!"

"Detonate Deleter, attack Bohman directly and end this duel!" Playmaker declared, as Detonate Deleter charged at Bohman. "Begone, Bohman!"

"I think not!" Bohman replied. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Half-Shut! It cuts the attack points of Detonate Deleter in half, which isn't enough to defeat me." A red aura surrounded Detonate Deleter as its attack points were halved.

Detonate Deleter ATK: 2100 / 2 = 1050

Detonate Deleter then pulled out a knife and slashed Bohman, who took a step back and winced from the attack.

Bohman: 2100 – 1050 = 1050 LP

"Aw, great!" Ai complained. "He's still alive!"

"I end my turn, and so Detonate Deleter's attack points rise back to its original amount." Playmaker concluded, as Detonate Deleter regained its attack points.

Detonate Deleter ATK: 1050 X 2 = 2100

Due to the attack, Bohman was forced to fall to one knee on the ground. "If that's the best you got, then you, Playmaker, have no chance of beating me. Because I fought through tougher battles than this. A battle called injustice. Watching you, my backup, get rescued, while I had to stay behind was the ultimate wrongdoing. There, I was trapped, not for a day, or a month, but for years and years, with only my thoughts to keep me company. Replaying the moment when my would-be rescuers turned their backs on me." He closed his eyes and made a fist, the memories fresh in his mind. "But it wasn't their fault. No, it was all yours." The sky darkened as Bohman stood up. Raguel and Haru looked around in surprise before directing their attention to Playmaker and Bohman's duel. Yellow flashes appeared in the clouds beneath them.

"What's going on?" Herald asked, afraid of what was about to happen.

"Something not good, that's for sure." Raguel answered him, now understanding Haru's cryptic warning.

"Did Windy forget to pay the light bill?" Ai wondered, confused on what was happening.

Tendrils of yellow lightning burst out from the clouds and struck Bohman as he shouted at the top of his lungs, powering him up. When the lightning faded, Bohman glared at Playmaker. "Now I will get my revenge, and make you suffer even more than I did. My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck.

"If I was locked up, I'd be salty too." Ai admitted to himself.

Bohman immediately proceeded to Special Summon Hydradrive Booster from his hand, as neither him nor Playmaker had any monsters in the Main Monster Zones. By doing so, he activated the effect of Break Hydradrive in his Graveyard, allowing him to Special Summon it from his Graveyard. Afterwards, Bohman activated the effect of his Continuous-Trap card Hydradrive Cycle once again, paying 400 life points to summon a Hydradrive token to his field.

"Would you give up life points for that pipsqueak?" Ai asked Playmaker.

"Yes, I would." Playmaker answered. "To set the stage for something big."

"Like what?"

"Why tell you when I can show you instead." Bohman replied, narrowing his eyes at Playmaker. "Behold, a data storm!" A tornado of data material appeared on the horizon. Everyone braced themselves against the forces of the winds generated by the data storm except for Bohman.

"This wasn't in the five day forecast!" Ai exclaimed, shocked that a data storm of all things appeared during the duel.

"What are you planning to do, brother?" Haru asked. He had grabbed onto the statue to keep from being blown away.

The star on Bohman's armor was glowing. "Can you feel it? It's coming! Your destruction!"

"This wind... Bohman has 650 life points... Can it be?" Playmaker wondered.

Raguel's eyes widened as he caught Playmaker's train of thought. "But… that's impossible!"

"In situations like this, I'd agree with you, Raguel." Herald admitted. "However, Malf did something impossible yesterday when he used his Duel-Winner Skill Delusional Heartbeat. Why is it that the villains get the cheat codes?!"

The tornado finally reached Bohman, who held out his right hand. "When I have 1000 or lower life points, I can add a random Cyberse Link monster from the Data Storm! Go, Storm Access!"

"That's our Skill, copycat!" Ai accused Bohman.

"How is it a copy when I'm the original?" Bohman replied, as he let out a shout, his right hand glowing with golden light in the process. Purple winds swirled around Bohman's right hand as a blue card formed within his palm. The light dissipated, revealing a card, which he grabbed and added to his duel disk.

"Wow!" Haru commented as the winds died down while Bohman smirked at Playmaker.

"Depending on what he drew, this duel can head in any direction." Playmaker said, preparing himself for what's to come.

"I couldn't whip up a data storm this big, but this meatbag can? Something's fishy." Ai stated, a hand on his chin.

"And now, I'll generate three circuits at once!" Bohman declared, as three Link Portals above him. "The summoning conditions for each of them are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set Hydradrive Booster, Break Hydradrive, and the Hydradrive token each into the Link Markers!" Hydradrive Booster, Break Hydradrive, and the Hydradrive token went into the bottom arrowhead for each Link Portal, turning all of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Burn Hydradrive, Flow Hydradrive, and Coolant Hydradrive!" Burn Hydradrive, Flow Hydradrive, and Coolant Hydradrive appeared on Bohman's field all at once, being summoned to Judgment Arrows' top-left, top, and top-right markers respectively.

Burn Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

Flow Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

Coolant Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Three 'Hydradrive' Link monsters with different attributes..." Playmaker muttered, looking at the field.

"That's correct, Playmaker." Bohman told him. "But I'm not stopping there! I generate my circuit for a second and final time!" A Link Portal appeared high above Bohman. "The summoning conditions are three 'Hydradrive' Link monsters. I'll set Burn Hydradrive, Flow Hydradrive, and Coolant Hydradrive, which are all Link 1 monsters, into the Link Markers!" Burn Hydradrive went into the left arrowhead, Flow Hydradrive went into the bottom arrowhead, and Coolant Hydradrive went into the right arrowhead.

"Link Summon! Appear, the emissary of revenge! Link 3! Trident Hydradrive Lord!" A humanoid monster wearing gold and white armor with a blue cape appeared on Bohman's field at Judgment Arrows' top marker. He wielded a gold and black trident resembling that of an axe.

Trident Hydradrive Lord ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️⬇️➡️

"So that's the new monster you acquired from the data storm..." Playmaker said, looking at Trident Hydradrive Lord.

"That's right, and when Trident Hydradrive Lord is Link Summoned, he gains the attributes of the monsters used to Link Summon him." Bohman explained, as three snakes, colored red, blue, and green, appeared with their tails tied around Trident Hydradrive Lord's trident.

"That means Trident Hydradrive Lord's attributes are Fire, Wind, and Water too." Playmaker noted.

"If your monsters happen to share any one of those three attributes, their effects are negated." Bohman added.

"Then it's a good thing that Detonate Deleter's attribute is Dark." Playmaker replied.

"I activate the Equip Spell card, Hydradrive Accelerator, and equip it onto Trident Hydradrive Lord." Bohman continued. "Hydradrive Accelerator's effects depend on the attribute of the monster equipped to it. If the equipped monster's attribute is Wind, I can negate the effect of your card that targets your cards, except the equipped monster, once per turn. If the equipped monster is Water, it is unaffected by your Trap cards. And if it is Fire, it's unaffected by your Spell cards as well!" Trident Hydradrive Lord's staff glowed with multicolored energy.

"So he's protected from anything and everything?!" Ai exclaimed, panicking to the extreme.

"Yes, but don't fret. Unlike me, you won't have to suffer for very long." Bohman assured the duo. "Battle! Trident Hydradrive Lord attacks Detonate Deleter! And just like before, Judgment Arrows will double the attack points of the monster it's pointing to!" Trident Hydradrive Lord was surrounded in an amber aura as his strength increased.

Trident Hydradrive Lord ATK: 2300 X 2 = 4600

"4600 attack points? That's enough to destroy Detonate Deleter and the rest of our life points!" Ai realized.

"Finish him, Trident Hydradrive Lord! Element Execution!" Bohman ordered, as Trident Hydradrive Lord slashed in front of him, releasing a wave of energy that bisected Detonate Deleter and caused a massive explosion.

"Playmaker!" Raguel cried out.

"Ai!" Herald cried out as well.

"Alright! Way to win the match, Bohman!" Haru cheered, glad that Bohman won.

"Now that Playmaker has been defeated, I get his body." Bohman said, smiling. "With that out of the way, only Raguel remains."

"Guess again, Bohman!" Playmaker suddenly shouted, struggling to get up on his feet and surprising Bohman.

"Holy crap. They're alive!" Raguel realized, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing Playmaker and Ai were still in the duel.

"That was too close of a call." Herald added, glad that the duel wasn't over yet. Haru, on the other hand, was just as shocked as Bohman was.

"Impossible! I erased all your life points!" Bohman exclaimed.

"It's obvious that you're wrong about that, Bohman." Playmaker replied. "Because when you attacked, I activated my Trap card, Link Ration. Since both our monsters had five or more Link arrows between them, I gained 1000 life points, enabling me to survive."

Playmaker: 2600 – 2500 = 100 LP

"But just barely." Bohman pointed out, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"That's fine, because as long as I have a single life point left, I'm still in this duel!" Playmaker declared. "Since my Link monster was destroyed, Link Ration also lets me Special Summon one 'Ration' token to my field in defense position at the end of the damage step." A machine with six spinning rotors then appeared on Playmaker's side of the field.

Ration Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Bohman smirked "I shouldn't be surprised that you refuse to give up, Playmaker. Because you're a copy of me, and I don't give up either!"

"Does that classify as an epic, humble brag, or a backhanded compliment?" Ai asked Playmaker.

"On the bright side, I can punish you and your Ignis even more!" Bohman pointed his finger at Playmaker and Ai. "I end my turn, which means the effect of Judgment Arrows ends." Trident Hydradrive Lord's attack points then returned to normal.

Trident Hydradrive Lord ATK: 4600 / 2 = 2300

Elsewhere, at Raguel and Haru's duel...

Haru was amazed at what he witnessed Bohman do. Using Storm Access during a Master duel wasn't something you saw every day, after all. However, Haru couldn't help but harbor resentment towards his 'older' brother for having that ability. What Bohman just did is probably one of the main reasons the Light Ignis favors him instead of me, he realized, as Haru began to clench his fists.

"Okay, that was completely unexpected of Bohman to do!" Herald commented. "First, Revolver was able to use Storm Access, and now this guy can do it too! In a Master duel of all things?" I wonder what Windy would think of this development, he thought.

"Bohman may be able to use Storm Access in a Master duel, but keep in mind that he can only do so once per duel." Raguel pointed out to Herald. "If I know Playmaker, he'll find a way to make a comeback and-."

"SHUT UP!" Haru shouted, getting Raguel and Herald's attention as he turned to the duo. "Even you and your Ignis are focusing on Bohman as the primary threat! I'll let you in on something, Raguel. I may not have the fancy upgrades Bohman has, but I! Am! Not! Inferior! Bohman and I were created to ensure his vision come true, and by defeating you, I can prove to him that I'm not useless! You think you're ahead of this duel?! THINK AGAIN! MY TURN! I DRAW!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, The Dark Door. Now during our Battle Phases, only one monster can attack!" Raguel narrowed his eyes. With that card, it would make defeating Haru a bit trickier than it already was.

"Appear, my circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set the Hydradrive token into the Link Markers!" The Hydradrive token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Grand Hydradrive!" A third copy of Grand Hydradrive appeared on Haru's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Grand Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Since the both of us don't have monsters in the Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon Hydradrive Booster from my hand." Haru continued, as a second mechanical monster that resembled a gold and silver dragonfly appeared on his field.

Hydradrive Booster ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"You're forgetting that the more cards you have, the stronger Atalanta gets thanks to Bow of Apollo. Since you played two cards, Atalanta gains 600 attack points." Raguel reminded Haru, as Atalanta's strength increased.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4200 + (300 X 2) = 4800

"I'm well aware." Haru responded. "Which is why I activate Caduceus's effect! Once per turn, by destroying a 'Hydradrive' monster on my field, I can activate one of two effects. I destroy Grand Hydradrive to activate the first effect, which lets me Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' monster with a different name than the destroyed monster from my deck or Graveyard. Emerge from my Graveyard, Flow Hydradrive!" After Grand Hydradrive exploded into particles, Flow Hydradrive reappeared on Haru's field at Judgment Arrows' top marker.

Flow Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Grand Hydradrive's effect! Just like before, I can Special Summon one 'Hydradrive' token to my field." A small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Haru's field in defense position. However, since Haru had eight cards on his field instead of seven, Atalanta's attack points increased by 300 as well.

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4800 + 300 = 5100

"Appear, two more circuits!" Haru declared, as two more Link Portals appeared above him. "The summoning conditions for both of them are one 'Hydradrive' monster. I'll set Hydradrive Booster and the Hydradrive token each into the Link Markers!" Hydradrive Booster and the Hydradrive token went into the bottom arrowheads for each Link Portal, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Burn Hydradrive and Coolant Hydradrive!" Burn Hydradrive and Coolant Hydradrive appeared at the same time on Haru's field, the former at Judgment Arrows' top-left marker, while the latter was at Judgment Arrows' top-right marker.

Burn Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

Coolant Hydradrive ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Just like with Bohman, Haru has three 'Hydradrive' Link monsters with different attributes..." Raguel observed.

"Don't tell me you also have Trident Hydradrive Lord!" Herald panicked.

"Of course not." Haru replied, much to Herald's relief. "I got something that's just as bad as Trident Hydradrive Lord." He gestured upwards. "Appear, for a final time! My circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Haru. "The summoning conditions are three 'Hydradrive' Link monsters. I'll set Burn Hydradrive, Flow Hydradrive, and Coolant Hydradrive, which are all Link 1 monsters, into the Link Markers!" Burn Hydradrive went into the top arrowhead, Flow Hydradrive went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Coolant Hydradrive went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning them red.

"Link Summon! Behold, the envoy that will decimate my enemies! Link 3! Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun!" A female, pseudo-reptile with the long tail of a snake and the upper waist of a woman appeared on Haru's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Her attire was consisted of a ragged dress, with a belt at the waist of her body that had the Hydradrive sigil in the middle. She had green and red skin with golden braces at the middle of each of her six, long heads, which were robotic in nature and the size of a slender rifle. Each of the heads had red eyes and the Hydradrive sigil on top of all six heads like a crown, as well as fangs. At the upper waist of her body was a larger version of the Hydradrive sigil split into four pieces, as well as a set of human arms with white gloves on them. All six heads hissed loudly upon seeing Raguel.

Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 5100 – 600 = 4500

"Okay, things just became ugly!" Herald screeched, afraid upon looking at Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun. Raguel also grit his teeth, not aware until now that Haru had a monster like this in his disposal.

"When Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun is Link Summoned, I can move her to a Main Monster Zone she points to." Haru explained. "I move Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun to the left diagonally." Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun then moved to the left diagonally, where she was now in the Main Monster Zone at Judgment Arrows' top-left marker. Not only that, but Punishment Arrows was pointing to her as well.

"That's not good..." Herald muttered. Now if Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun attacked, her attack points would double thanks to Judgment Arrows, and thanks to Punishment Arrows, any monster that Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun battled and destroyed would be banished instead of going to the Graveyard.

"I activate Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun's effect!" Haru added. "Once per turn, by banishing one 'Hydradrive' Link monster from my Graveyard, all monsters you control that share the same attribute as the banished monster have their attack points halved until the End Phase!"

"WHAT?!" Raguel exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock upon hearing this information.

"I banish the Link 1 Flow Hydradrive from my Graveyard! Venom Burn!" A green orb came out of Haru's Graveyard, which floated towards Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun and went into the Hydradrive sigil, causing her to glow green and her fangs to drip with green venom. As a result, all six heads lashed out and bit into Atalanta, making her scream in pain as her strength was diminished.

Cyreath Atalanta ATK: 4500 / 2 = 2250

"Battle!" Haru declared. "Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun attacks Cyreath Atalanta! Just like before, the effects of both Judgment Arrows and Punishment Arrows activate! First, when a Link monster Judgment Arrows points to battles, its attack points are doubled! Second, when a Link monster Punishment Arrows points to battles and destroys your monster, it's banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard!" Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun was surrounded in a golden aura briefly before it changed to an orange aura, which powered her up.

Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun ATK: 2300 X 2 = 4600

"Venom Vaporizer!" All of Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun's six heads opened wide and gathered poisonous energy in their maws before repeatedly firing them at Atalanta, making her suffer with each hit. As a result, a massive explosion occurred, which sent Raguel flying backwards and caused him to hit the back of the statue before landing on its hand face-down.

Raguel: 2400 – 2350 = 50 LP

"With Atalanta banished thanks to Punishment Arrows, there's nothing you can do to win!" Haru grinned. "But just in case, I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Judgment Arrows' effect ends." Haru concluded, as Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun's attack points returned to normal.

Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun ATK: 4600 / 2 = 2300

Raguel grimaced as he pushed himself to his feet. He swayed for a bit before placing a hand on his head, having been hit there due to the impact of the attack. "Aagh..." He tried to steady himself, but nearly lost his balance.

"I guess that attack did more than put your life points in the red zone." Haru commented with a smirk, noticing Raguel's uneasiness.

"Come on, Raguel! Snap out of it!" Herald pleaded with concern for his partner.

"My head..." Raguel moaned in pain, holding it steady and continuing to maintain his balance. "Need to... focus... Need to... TEAR YOU APART!" His eyes glowed red as a hazy, white aura surrounded him, the Link Trigger attempting to overcome him.

"What is this?!" Haru exclaimed, shocked at what was going on.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't let your Link Trigger activate, Raguel!" Herald begged, stretching towards his partner and grabbing him by the sides of his head. "Please keep it together! Please!"

"Ugh...AAAGH!" With a loud shout, Raguel pushed through the pain, expelling his Link Trigger and coming back to his senses, enabling him to steady himself fully. "Huh... Herald? That you?"

"You're okay!" Herald joyfully said, placing his hands and face on Raguel's face. "Thank goodness!"

"Of course I'm okay." Raguel told him. "Thanks to your help, I was able to prevent my Link Trigger from overcoming me."

"Anytime, partner. Anytime." Raguel and Herald gave each other a fist bump, solidifying their bond.

Did I just witness the strength of Raguel's bond with his Ignis, Haru wondered to himself. Is that what Azrael and Wraith were talking about when it comes to overcoming impossible odds? The ability to keep on going for the sake of others? He shook his head. That was impossible! AI's weren't designed to have bonds! They used logic and thinking, not emotions, to overcome various scenarios! "I don't know what I witnessed just now, Raguel, but you won't be able to defeat me on your next turn. Why? Because you have no cards on your field or your hand, and I control Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, as well as Judgment Arrows and Punishment Arrows. I also control Attribute Gravity and The Dark Door, which will limit whatever moves you make. Your fate is sealed!"

"Do you really think that?" Raguel asked, causing Haru to gasp. "Do you want to know the number of times I heard that same, if not similar statement? Every. Single. Time! And guess what? I'm still here because when you fight for something other than yourself, it pushes you to keep going no matter the odds. I'll prove it by defeating you this turn!"

"Raguel, that was inspirational, man." Herald applauded him. "Truly inspirational."

"Go ahead and try!" Haru snarled.

"If you insist." Raguel replied. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the effect of Cyreath Apparition from my Graveyard. By banishing this card and one 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath Apparition' in attack position, which gains attack and defense points equal to the banished 'Cyreath' Link monster's attack points. I banish Scorpius and this card!" A dark orb of light appeared on Raguel's field, before taking the form of Scorpius.

Cyreath Apparition Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cyreath Apparition Token ATK: 0 + 1000 + 300 = 1300 DEF: 0 + 1000 + 300 = 1300

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I'll set the Cyreath Apparition token into the Link Markers!" The Apparition token went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Ceryneian Hind!" A female deer with light-brown skin appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Unlike other deer though, she had male-like antlers made of gold and hooves made of bronze. She also had a dappled hide as well.

Cyreath Ceryneian Hind ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ↙️

Cyreath Ceryneian Hind ATK: 1000 + 300 = 1300

"When Ceryneian Hind is Link Summoned, I can draw one card from my deck." Raguel explained, drawing the top card of his deck and looking at it. Now this would help a lot. "I summon Cyreath Myrmekes from my hand." A giant, ant-like creature the size of a dog with light-brown skin tunneled its way onto Raguel's field.

Cyreath Myrmekes ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 3

Cyreath Myrmekes ATK: 500 + 300 = 800 DEF: 500 + 300 = 800

"Seriously? An ant?" Haru questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't underestimate Ant-thony!" Herald stated. "Because when Myrmekes is Normal Summoned, we can target one card on your field and banish it!"

"What?!" Haru's eyes widened in surprise, as if he knew what Raguel would pick.

"I target and banish your Judgment Arrows!" Raguel decided, as Myrmekes made a beeline towards Judgment Arrows, chomping the card up before turning it into particles and returning to Raguel's field.

"Hooray for Ant-thony!" Progleo cheered for the ant, emerging underneath Herald.

"And unless I'm forgetting something, Judgment Arrows destroys all monsters it points to when it leaves the field, am I correct?" Herald asked Haru, making him grit his teeth in confirmation. "It appears I am, which means you're open for a direct attack!" Judgment Arrows then fired three arrows of light in the Main Monster Zones it pointed to.

"I activate the effect of Hydradrive Gardna from my hand!" Haru said, showing Raguel and Herald a card, which showed a green-skinned turtle with the Hydradrive sigil as a shell. "By sending it from my hand to the Graveyard, 'Hydradrive' Link monsters I control can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn!" A shell-like version of the Hydradrive sigil appeared behind Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, causing the arrow of light to bounce off the shell, thus protecting Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun. "You'll have to try harder than that, Raguel!"

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel said, ignoring Haru's taunt as a second Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters with different names. I'll set Cyreath Ceryneian Hind, which is a Link 1 monster, and Cyreath Myrmekes into the Link Markers!" Ceryneian Hind went into the bottom-arrowhead, while Myrmekes went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Paris!" A young boy wearing ornate white and black robes appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He had neck-long, moss-colored hair, as well as sheep horns on each side of his head. He also had long, elf-like shoes on his feet. Lastly, Paris had orange eyes, which twinkled for a brief moment before dimming down.

Cyreath Paris ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

Cyreath Paris ATK: 1000 + 300 = 1300

"When Paris is Link Summoned using a 'Cyreath' Link monster as Link material, I can add one 'Cyreath' Ritual Spell card and one 'Cyreath' Ritual monster from my deck to my hand." Raguel added, as he took two cards from his deck and added them to his hand. "In addition, since Myrmekes was used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath Myrmekes Critter' token to my field." A smaller version of Myrmekes appeared on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Myrmekes Critter Token ATK: 200 DEF: 200 LV: 2

Cyreath Myrmekes Critter Token ATK: 200 + 300 = 500 DEF: 200 + 300 = 500

"Hold it right there!" Haru interrupted. "I activate the Continuous-Trap card, Attribute Chameleon! Once per turn, during your turn, I can target one monster you control and declare an attribute. That monster's attribute becomes the declared attribute until the End Phase! I target your Paris and declare Earth!" Attribute Chameleon fired a brown blast at Paris, causing him to be surrounded in a brown aura. "And thanks to Attribute Gravity, all monsters on the field that are in attack position must attack monsters with the same attributes when possible!"

"That's not good!" Herald panicked. "Once we attack with Paris or the Myrmekes token, it'll be over for us!"

"You're forgetting, Herald. A duel isn't over until the last card has been played." Raguel reminded his partner. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Cyreath Dispel, which lets me target one Spell or Trap card on your field and destroy it! I target Attribute Gravity!" Haru grit his teeth as Cyreath Dispel fired a purple blast at Attribute Gravity before causing it to vanish into yellow particles.

"Nice one, Raguel!" Herald praised his partner. "With Attribute Gravity gone, we no longer have to attack Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun first with Paris or the Myrmekes Critter token!"

"From there, I activate the Ritual Spell card, Cyreath Ceremony!" Raguel continued, as the orange lines on his white tunics glowed a bright blue. "This card lets me tribute 'Cyreath' monsters on my field or hand whose total levels equal or exceed the Level of the 'Cyreath' Ritual monster I'm summoning from my hand. However, if I control a 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can also use 'Cyreath' monsters in my deck by sending them from my deck to my Graveyard!"

Haru narrowed his eyes. He knew that Raguel was going to Ritual Summon, but thanks to The Dark Door, Raguel could only attack with one monster this turn. Therefore, Haru would escape defeat.

"I send the Level 4 Cyreath Cackling Juggler and the Level 3 Cyreath Icarus from my deck to the Graveyard!" Raguel said, taking two cards and sending them to his Graveyard. Soon, a white and orange magical circle with seven flames appeared on Raguel's field, along with Cackling Juggler and Icarus. Both monsters disintegrated into light and entered into the center of the circle, which emitted a pillar of bright light.

"The contract has been made!" Raguel chanted. "With the blessing of Zeus, the twins shall accept this offering and go into battle! Ritual Summon! Appear, Cyreath Castor & Pollux!" A set of siblings, which were a brother and a sister, emerged from the portal and appeared on Raguel's field in the Main Monster Zone Paris pointed to. Both siblings wore white and black clothing along with sandals, as well as a wreath on their heads. However, there were a few differences. The brother named Castor had a long, two-pieced white cape, and his weapon was a discus. The sister named Pollux had a golden emblem on her upper chest, and also carried a sword in her right hand.

Cyreath Castor & Pollux ATK: 2200 DEF: 2200 LV: 7

Cyreath Castor & Pollux ATK: 2200 + 300 = 2500 DEF: 2200 + 300 = 2500

"Paris's second effect activates! Once per turn, when a 'Cyreath' monster is Normal or Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone he points to, that monster gains 500 attack and defense points, and is unaffected by your card effects until the End Phase!" Paris turned around and shined light from his hands onto Castor & Pollux, enveloping them in a golden aura and increasing their strength.

Cyreath Castor & Pollux ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"You may have Ritual Summoned, Raguel, but The Dark Door only allows both of us to attack with one monster during either of our Battle Phases." Haru reminded Raguel, only for him to smirk in response. "What's so funny?"

"You think you've won this duel, but you couldn't be anymore wrong." Raguel answered, before gesturing upwards. "Appear, for a third time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A third Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one monster. I'll set the Myrmekes Critter token into the Link Markers!" The Myrmekes Critter token went into the top arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Pseudo!" A watery spirit with one eye, two long arms, and a tail appeared in the second Main Monster Zone Paris pointed to on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 0 LINK-1 ⬆️

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 0 + 300 = 300

"Appear, for a fourth and final time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters. I'll set Cyreath Paris, which is a Link 2 monster, Cyreath Pseudo, which is a Link 1 monster, and Cyreath Castor & Pollux into the Link Markers!" Paris went into the top and bottom arrowheads, Pseudo went into the left arrowhead, and Castor & Pollux went into the right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! The Embodiment of Truth is given to mankind! Link 4! Turboblaze Dragon!" A white-color bipedal dragon with blue irises and black pupils, as well as a long and slender neck roared as he emerged from the Link Portal to right Extra Monster Zone on Raguel's field. He had a long, voluminous wispy mane streaming out from the upper side of his snout and outwards from his head, with two protrusions resembling ears on the top of the mane. His arms were slender and arm-like with a wing-like appearance and four fingers on his claws. He had a feathered chest, with long feather-like protrusions jutting out of his thighs. On his feet were large grey claws, three at the front and one positioned at the back to resemble high heels. He also had a jet engine-like tail, with two large bands similar to the front and ribbon like extensions.

Turboblaze Dragon ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️

"Not that monster..." Haru muttered, now trembling in terror.

"Let's end this, Raguel!" Turboblaze Dragon said to Raguel.

"I'm way ahead of you, Turboblaze!" Raguel replied, gesturing to his field. "When Turboblaze Dragon is Link Summoned, the effects of all monsters you control are negated! Heat Veil!"

"WHAT?!" Haru exclaimed, as Turboblaze Dragon's jet engine-like tail began to charge up before he unleashed waves of volcanic energy at Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, covering her in scorch marks.

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Turboblaze Dragon attacks Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun" Turboblaze Dragon's jet engine-like tail glowed with power before he flew up into the air and charged up an orb of orange fire.

"Hydradrive Gardna's effect prevents Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun from being destroyed by battle or card effects this turn!" Haru told Raguel.

"That doesn't matter!" Raguel replied, before gesturing to Turboblaze Dragon. "Desolation Flare!" After gathering enough energy, Turboblaze Dragon fired it at Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, which enveloped her upon impact, causing a massive explosion that knocked Haru off his feet and sent him crashing to the statue's sleeve, creating a dust cloud. When the dust settled, Haru was lying on his stomach, defeated.

Haru: 600 – 700 = 0

Meanwhile, at Playmaker and Bohman's duel...

KABOOM!

Bohman and Playmaker turned their attention to the explosion that occurred at Raguel and Haru's duel. On one statue, Raguel was on his feet panting, clearly exhausted from the duel. On the other statue, Haru was lying on his stomach, having lost the duel.

Upon seeing this, Bohman grit his teeth in furious anger as he turned to Playmaker. "Once I destroy you, I'll punish Raguel for defeating Haru!" He gestured to his field. "I activate Hydradrive Cycle's effect! By paying 400 life points, I'm allowed to Special Summon a Fire Hydradrive token to your field in defense position!" As Bohman's life points dropped, a small mechanical bug with the Hydradrive sigil appeared on Playmaker's field in defense position.

Bohman: 650 – 400 = 250 LP

Hydradrive Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Trident Hydradrive Lord's effect! All monsters on your field become the same attribute as a monster I'm about to target! I target the Hydradrive token!" Trident Hydradrive Lord pointed his scepter at the token.

"Aw, glitch! Trident Hydradrive Lord can negate the effects of Fire monsters, so Clock Dragon's attack points drop back down to 2500!" Ai panicked.

Bohman grinned, knowing that victory was nearly his. "I told you that I'd anticipate every move you might make." However, Playmaker smiled in response.

"Except for this one," he said, causing Bohman to gasp at Playmaker's words. "Clock Dragon's second effect! When there's a Link monster on my field, you can only target Clock Dragon for attacks and effects!"

"We have a Link monster? Where?" Ai muttered, looking around Playmaker's field.

"Kuri Kuri Ku!" Linkuriboh said, happily bouncing up and down.

"Oh, yeah! Hi, Linky!"

"So instead of targeting the Hydradrive token to change my monsters into Fire, you must target Clock Dragon and change my monsters to Dark!" Playmaker continued, as Bohman gritted his teeth in frustration, seeing that his defeat was now sealed and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. "Battle! Cyberse Clock Dragon attacks Trident Hydradrive Lord!"

"Judgment Arrows doubles Trident Hydradrive Lord's attack points!" Bohman reminded Playmaker, as Trident Hydradrive Lord was in an amber aura, his strength having increased as a result.

Trident Hydradrive Lord ATK: 2300 X 2 = 4600

"So what? Because it's not enough to save you!" Playmaker replied. "Go, Pulsating Surge!" Purple lightning gathered across Clock Dragon's wings and upper body and gathered in its mouth. Clock Dragon fired the energy gathered in its mouth at Trident Hydradrive Lord, destroying him and causing a massive explosion.

"AAAAAARRRGH!" Bohman yelled as he was sent flying backwards.

Bohman: 250 – 900 = 0

"Yeah, Playmaker! You won! I knew you were the real you!" Ai cheered. "I never doubted you for a minute! Just a few seconds!"

Bohman groaned from where he laid on the statue's hand. "This can't be. He beat me."

Suddenly, cracks appeared on the statues, causing them to fall apart. Raguel and Playmaker gasped as the statues started falling to the sides. Realizing the statues were collapsing, the duo summoned their duel boards and jumped on them.

Haru looked up at them and grit his teeth. "Playmaker!" he shouted. "My brother will come back! Stay tuned!" He turned and glared at Raguel. "As for you, Raguel, you may have beat me today, but things are gonna end differently next time!" The statues fell beneath the clouds at his words, leaving the two Origins and their Ignis the only ones around.

Or so they thought. "Playmaker! Raguel! Over here!" Both duelists turned as Soulburner approached them on his duel board.

"Soulburner!" Playmaker exclaimed.

"About time you showed up, you just missed it." Raguel responded.

"Windy's world is destabilizing!" Flame warned them. The trio watched as the clouds, and everything beneath them, started to disappear into blue data.

"That's fancy talk for this place is going gonzo!" Ai panicked.

"We'll be in trouble if we stay here." Herald warned them.

"Quick! Use your emergency logout!" Soulburner urged the others, logging out after he said that.

"Right behind you!" Raguel nodded as he prepared to log out, but stopped when he saw Playmaker still looking over the vanishing world.

Bohman's a powerful adversary, Playmaker thought. So who could be strong enough to control him? Whatever may come, I will find the one behind all of this! He then logged out afterwards.

Raguel proceeded to do the same, knowing there was nothing else that can be done for now.

Some time later, at the Light Ignis's palace...

"Is my brother going to be okay?" Haru asked the Light Ignis, as the two of them were in a dark, unlit room, looking down at the pit of black sludge that was in the center of the room. Bohman was in that pit of sludge, resting from his wounds following his duel against Playmaker. Haru managed to heal at a faster rate, enabling him to get back on his feet and help the Light Ignis with tending to Bohman.

"Brother? Bohman will be fine when he awakens," the Light Ignis assured Haru, having dropped his disguise. Now, he was on Jin Kusanagi's left wrist, which had a duel disk on it. Jin wore an ornate outfit that had a white sword-shaped mantle with a gold border and a purple tip and shoulder pads, which were tipped with gold pauldrons. The mantle had a prominent black high collar lined with golden and patterned with a lightning symbol as well. Under this mantle, he wore a long white coat with a purple band at the hips below an orange belt, and with golden edges. He also wore black gauntlets with golden cuffs, white boots with black soles, and black "flared" pants. Although it was a different color, the Light Ignis's star symbol was on Jin's mantle over the chest and prominent golden ones embedded in his gauntlets and boots. To ensure that Jin couldn't speak, the Light Ignis covered his mouth with his collar before closing it. "But every time he reboots, his code, his DNA so to speak, is rewritten. He becomes a new individual. So this Bohman is not the same as the last Bohman." The Light Ignis pointed his right index finger at Haru. "That's why he never remembers your name when he awakens. So if he's an entirely new individual, would he still be your brother?"

"Well, uh. I guess not then." Haru answered, surprised by the explanation the Light Ignis gave him.

"No. Because he is not." Haru had a disappointed look on his face as he looked down to the ground. "There's another matter I wish to discuss with you. It's regarding recent events."

"Hey, I was really close to defeating Raguel!" Haru protested, looking at the Light Ignis. "Thanks to my own upgrades and Punishment Arrows, I was able to fare better than the last time I dueled!"

"I'm not patronizing you, my friend," the Light Ignis placated Haru. "Though you may have lost, the Link Trap Punishment Arrows proved to be a success. After all, since Raguel was there, someone had to ensure Bohman could duel Playmaker one on one. As such, you fulfilled my instructions once again. That's all for now. Dismissed." Haru nodded at the Light Ignis before walking out of the dark-unlit room and turning right with a frown on his face.

Within moments, a portal opened in the dark-unlit room, Windy and Echo emerging from it and entering the room.

"Finally! I was waiting for your debriefing with Haru to finish!" Windy stated.

"Ah! There you are, Wind Ignis!" the Light Ignis said, greeting his ally. "How did your discussion with the other Ignis's go?"

"It was good talking with the Dark, Fire, and White Ignis's, that's for sure!" Windy admitted. "While they want to pursue the one responsible for the Cyberse World's destruction, all of them also have a desire to rebuild the Cyberse World." Windy put a hand on his chin, getting an idea. "As such, it would be a good idea if we convinced them to join us. After all, you did get me to see things your way."

"Indeed..." the Light Ignis agreed, thinking over Windy's proposition. "Since Bohman needs to recover from his wounds, it would be smart to lay low for a while. Once he's fully healed, we'll send out a message and convince them to join us."

A smirk formed on Windy's face. "Glad you like the idea. Although I have one teeny tiny concern."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"The potential danger that Malf represents." Windy answered, narrowing his eyes. "Azrael has sent him to feast on humans, and while that's delightful, I'm concerned he'll be too powerful for either of us to defeat."

"I'm confident in Azrael and Wraith's ability to rein Malf in," the Light Ignis replied, crossing his arms and glaring at Windy. "After all, having an AI like Malf on our side will help us in the long run."

"Alright. I hear you loud and clear." Windy conceded. "But can you least address my concerns to Wraith?"

"I'll do that," the Light Ignis responded.

"Good. Then I'll find something to do." Windy and Echo then walked out of the dark-unlit room before turning left, leaving the Light Ignis and Jin alone as they looked down at the pit of black sludge Bohman was in.

Haru walked down the hallway and entered the throne room, where he found Azrael, who was looking at a screen with Wraith on his duel disk. Noticing they were busy, Haru proceeded to walk to the other side of the throne room and to one of the hallways nearby when Azrael spoke up.

"So you're back." Azrael said, causing Haru to stop walking. "How did the duel go?"

"I lost, even with my upgrades and the Link Trap the Light Ignis gave me!" Haru answered with irritation, turning to Azrael. "It was just a waste of time."

"On the contrary, congratulations are in order." Azrael replied, walking over to Haru and surprising him. "You reduced Raguel to fifty life points and nearly defeated him in that duel, which shows you're learning."

Haru thought this over before speaking. "I guess you have a point there, but it was that stupid bond Raguel had with his Ignis that kept him going."

"That's because Raguel and the White Ignis forged their bond through many trials." Wraith told Haru. "They're able to lift the other up and provide encouragement when it's needed. Based on what you saw, did you learn anything about bonds?"

"Yeah. I guess when a bond is forged between two individuals, it enables them to overcome difficult situations." Haru shrugged his shoulders. "Still, that information is irrelevant. After all, the Light Ignis told me that Bohman forgets me every time he wakes up, thus rendering my bond with him useless." He proceeded to walk away from Azrael. However, he wasn't done talking with the boy.

"And do you believe that?" Azrael asked, in a tone that got Haru's attention as he stopped walking and widened his eyes. "Are you going to accept what the Light Ignis told you as the truth?"

"I..." Haru shook, having never heard that question before. From the moment he was created, his role was to serve the Light Ignis, no questions asked. When Bohman was created, his job was to watch over him as the 'younger' brother. But now... Azrael asked a question that Haru never considered before. He turned to him, now wanting to know more. "What do you mean by that?"

"If you accept what someone told you as the truth, you're choosing to accept that you're nothing more than what people are saying about you." Azrael explained. "But if you question what people are telling you and fight it with your beliefs, you'll be able to forge your own ideals and move forward, enabling you to stand out as an individual."

"Interesting." Haru thought this over carefully. "You said the word ideals earlier. What do you mean by that word?"

"It's something you'll have to discover for yourself." Azrael answered. Having noticed that the conversation was over, Haru walked out of the throne room and into the hallway nearby, wanting to think about this alone. Azrael, on the other hand, turned the screen on his duel disk once again, wanting to watch Haru's duel against Raguel. He had to admit, he was impressed on how Haru used his new upgrades in conjunction with Judgment Arrows and Punishment Arrows to push Raguel into a corner. However, it was something at the end of the duel that caught his eye.

"Wraith, can you confirm?" Azrael asked him.

"Yes." Wraith replied. "That is Turboblaze Dragon, the dragon the White Ignis created. The one who rivals Teravolt Dragon."

"I see." Azrael closed the screen on his duel disk before pressing a button on his duel disk. "Malf, are you there?"

"Loud and clear, master!" Malf answered. "Me feasted on more duelists recently, and have gotten stronger!"

"Good. I have new orders for you."

"Oh? What orders?"

"Continue what you're doing, but move your activities to the areas of the Black Market." Azrael ordered Malf. "Since Bohman's regenerating, we need to divert the attention of Raguel and the others away from us for a while. Can you do that?"

"Yes, of course!" Malf complied.

"We'll also be sending orders to Ace as well to increase tensions between the Black Market branches." Wraith added. "Since he's now the Overseer, he'll play a crucial part in getting the attention of Raguel and his allies."

"If Raguel shows up, you're to leave him and the White Ignis to Wraith and I." Azrael told Malf. "You're free to take on anyone else who dares get involved in the coming Turf War."

"Understood, masters!" Malf complied, before signing off. Azrael began walking out of the throne room and headed towards the hallway nearby.

Based on what I saw from your duel, Raguel, he thought, you show the potential to grow even more as a duelist. Therefore, I will give you a little more time to get stronger. That way, when we finally duel, our battle will be legendary!

A light shines and the letters spelling out VRAINS light up the screen before a network is formed and several cards are drawn in towards a pillar of light. Playmaker, Raguel, and Soulburner are shown with their respective Ignis and stats, along with real-life forms that across the backgrounds that match their Ignis' colors. The screen then shows each of them being shocked while wearing VR sets as kids, along with a kid with light-green hair that flowed backwards and curled at the back. The kid also had dark-green hair spikes on the sides of his head, with light-green spikes at the back of his head as well.

The screen gets swallowed with darkness at it reveals a young Yukage huddled up and crying, his shadow shrinking behind him before taking the form of Wraith and comforting him. Yukage looks up with a menacing and soul piercing glare before the darkness consumes him and he's replaced with an older version of himself. Azrael and Wraith are then shown in NEW LINK VRAINS, as they look out into the digital sky. The scene then shifts to Bohman standing tall above NEW LINK VRAINS and holding the earth in his hands with Haru by his side. Malf grins in the shadows behind them, his red eyes shining bright in the process.

A drop of light falls down, and as it explodes, it reveals Playmaker, Raguel, and Soulburner, standing on buildings watching over the network, along with Slipstream as well. Blood Shepherd is shown commanding a trio of Battledrone Sergeants before the screen shifts to Drachen, who is shown commanding Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The screen then shifts a third time to Electrolyzer, where above him was PSY-Frame Driver, with PSY-Framegears Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta. The screen then shows Go Onizuka, Kenmochi, and Yoroizaka with Dinowrestler King T Wrextle, Gouki the Blade Ogre, and Gouki the Solid Ogre behind them ready for battle.

Blue Angel, Ghost Girl, Numera and SengokuQueen are then featured together riding their duel boards across the night sky with shooting stars flying across them. Trickstar Holly Angel was with Blue Angel, while Numera was with Geomathmech Final Sigma. Ghost Girl was with Altergeist Dragvirion, while SengokuQueen was with a male shinobi wearing grey robes and armor pads with neon-yellow lines running over them. The man had a red scarf around his neck, along with a face-mask and face visor on his head. He also had spiked-brown hair and a ponytail as well. In his right hand, he carried a Sai, while the brass knuckle on his left hand emitted four translucent blades.

The screen then changes to Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner riding on their duel boards with Cyreath Medusa and Cyreath Hercules in his new form, Cyberse Magician, Cyberse Witch, and Salamangreat Heatleo behind them. Following the trio is Slipstream and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. The four of them join together with a fist bump and smile in the real world as the wind blows, with Kusanagi, Roxy, and Greg watching them from Kusanagi's truck. Rachel then runs toward the quartet, and more specifically, Yuhiro, a look of joy clearly on her face. Unbeknownst to everyone, they're watched from the shadows by a cloaked person who glares at them, biding his time.

Card Gallery

Haru:

Hydradrive Launcher (LV: 4/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)

Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned and you control a 'Hydradrive' Link Monster in the Main Monster Zone: You can take 1 Link Spell or Link Trap card from your deck; activate it in a Spell & Trap card zone it points to. If this card is used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a 'Hydradrive' Link Monster: You can target 1 'Hydradrive' Link Monster you control; draw cards equal to its Link Rating. You can only use each effect of 'Hydradrive Launcher' once per turn.

Hydradrive Gardna (LV: 3/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 0/DEF: 2000)

Effect: When a 'Hydradrive' Link Monster you control would be destroyed by battle or a card effect: You can send this card from your hand to your GY; 'Hydradrive' Link Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects until the End Phase.

Hydradrive Caduceus (Field Spell card) (Credit to Donjusticia)

Effect: Once per turn: You can destroy 1 'Hydradrive' monster you control; activate one of the following effects:

Special Summon 1 'Hydradrive' monster from your deck or Graveyard with a different name than the destroyed monster.

Target 1 monster your opponent controls and declare an Attribute; the targeted monster's Attribute becomes the declared Attribute until the End Phase.

Hydradrive Impermanence (Continuous-Trap card)

Effect: When this card is activated and you control a 'Hydradrive' Link Monster: You can target 1 face-up card your opponent controls; negate its effects. When the targeted card leaves the field: Destroy this card. If a 'Hydradrive' Link Monster would be destroyed by battle: You can banish this card from your field or GY; 'Hydradrive' Link Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.

Punishment Arrows (Link Trap card/⬆️)

Effect: When a Link Monster this card points to battles and destroys a monster your opponent controls, banish it instead of sending it to the GY. If this card leaves the field while it points to a monster: You take damage equal to the monster's original ATK.

Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun (LR: 3/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 2300/↙️⬆️↘️) (Credit to Donjustica)

Effect: 3 'Hydradrive' Link Monsters. When this card is Link Summoned: You can move it to a Main Monster Zone it points to. Once per turn: You can banish 1 'Hydradrive' Link Monster from your GY; monsters your opponent controls that have the same Attribute as the banished monster have their ATK halved until the End Phase.

Raguel:

Bow of Apollo (Equip Spell card)

Effect: Equip only to a 'Cyreath' Link Monster. The equipped monster gains 300 ATK for each card on your opponent's field.

Cyreath Atalanta (LR: 3/Cyberse/ATK: 2400/⬆️⬇️➡️)

Effect: 2 or more 'Cyreath' monsters. If this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 Spell or Trap card your opponent controls; destroy it. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the GY, it can attack an additional time during the Battle Phase this turn. You can only use this effect of 'Cyreath Atalanta' once per turn.

QOTC

Who here expected Haru to use the Link Trap Punishment Arrows? Who else do you think may use it in the future?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 50: The Fast and the Furious. After escaping from the Wind World, Yuhiro and the others go over their recent discoveries. Later on in the evening, he receives an email from Slipstream, wishing to speak with him alone. Following a discussion with Yusaku and Takeru, Yuhiro accepts the request, intent on getting answers...

Author's Notes

Credit goes to Donjustica for providing ideas for Haru's new cards and providing character development ideas for him, as well as to HunterHQ for suggesting ideas on how the chapter will play out.

While this chapter focuses on similar events like the anime (ex. the meeting in Windy's world and the rendezvous with Ghost Girl and Blue Girl), I'll touch on things that weren't explored in the anime. First, there was Haru's interactions with Bohman at the beginning and with Azrael. Here, he was resentful of Bohman because of the attention the Light Ignis gave to him, and stormed off to be alone. This leads to a conversation with Azrael, who advises Haru to duel Raguel in order to learn more about bonds. There's three reasons why Azrael is doing this. One: He sees potential in Haru for him to grow as a duelist. Two: He wants him to create his own ideals. Three: I won't say this one, but I'm sure some of you will figure it out.

The second main highlight that occurred was the duel between Raguel and Haru, while the duel between Playmaker and Bohman was happening at the same time. In this duel, Haru got the chance to show off some new cards in his deck, such as the Field Spell card Hydradrive Caduceus and his own Link 3 monster: Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun. He also had cards such as Attribute Gravity and Attribute Chameleon, which were also used by Yusuke Fujiwara from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. For those of you who were wondering, Haru will use other cards Yusuke used as well, such as Attribute Bomb and Attribute Mastery. In addition, he had a Link Trap card called Punishment Arrows, which was something that caught Raguel and Herald off guard. It is due to those upgrades that Haru reduced Raguel to fifty life points, thus proving his growth. On Raguel's side, he had a new Equip Spell card called Bow of Apollo, whose appearance is based off of God of War III. He also has a new Link monster in Cyreath Atalanta, whose appearance is based off of Fate/Apocrypha. This duel gave me the chance to explore Haru's character development at this point in time in the story. As you know, he was created to serve the Light Ignis, but was cast aside in favor of Bohman. Here, I wanted to show that Haru was a resentful person who had an inferiority complex. To put it simply, he's short and is looked down by others when compared to Bohman, who's the actual threat. Upon Raguel and Herald seeing Bohman as the true threat, Haru practically snaps and proceeds to nearly finish Raguel off in the duel. I hoped this was shown well in this chapter, as I intend to explore Haru's inferiority complex in later chapters.

The third and final highlight was the conversation between Azrael and Haru, who congratulated the boy for his efforts despite his loss. He also explains the truth between truth and ideals to him, pointing out that ideals between people are different, and can only be discovered in order to forge them for a particular individual. Following that conversation, Wraith confirms Turboblaze Dragon's appearance from the duel, which leads to Azrael giving new orders to Malf and informing him that orders will be given to Ace as well to start the Turf War.

With that summed up, I want to thank everyone for reading Chapter 49 of Obscured Truth. As always, please let me know your thoughts about the chapters below in your reviews. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated, as your tips and advice helps make the story better. In addition, don't forget to favorite and follow the story. That way, you will get a notification once the next chapter is released.

What did you enjoy the most about this chapter? The dialogue between characters? The fact that almost all of Windy's lines from the dub were successfully written? The duel between Raguel and Haru? The fact that Haru now has a Link Trap called Punishment Arrows? Or is it something else?

That's all for now. Stay tuned, as next time, things are about to be fast and furious!