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.

64. Chapter 64: Battle of Cheaters

Response to Reviews

Thank you to HunterHQ, Anonymous, Ambiguous, KingOtakuOverYou, Portal, Naruto1999, Guest, Unnamed, ZeroMK7, Decode Talker, Unknown, Cosmic Cat, Kingdom Hearts Guy, Pikachu99, Donjusticia, Guest, Pancakes, Guest, Revolver, Guest, Guest, Guest, Guest, Guest, Cyber Warrior, PR5, Noobmaster, Guest, Akechi, Guest, Guest, Guest, and Electriuser for reviewing Chapter 63 of Obscured Truth.

Hello, everyone! As always, I'm hoping you're doing well and are safe wherever you are. With this chapter, we are at the finale of the Turf War arc. Once this chapter's done, we'll be going back to the anime events. And one more thing: Obscured Truth, as of this chapter, has reached 1000 REVIEWS! This means there will be a contest announcement at the end of this chapter, and I'm sure you'll all like it.

So let's get to answering reviews, shall we?

HunterHQ: No. I didn't know Muzan from Demon Slayer can do that. That's one way of keeping Malf satiated until his next mission. Although I do feel bad for those Bitboots and Echos. Honestly, if a Bitboot and a Black Market thug dueled, the former would obviously win. If Blood Shepherd didn't put up that duel barrier, it would result in a game of cat and mouse between him and Speckles. A chase that he didn't want to waste time on. As such, a duel was the fastest way to go. Fire Prison wouldn't work on Malf or Bohman, as they're unique AI's. While Akira was the most ethical at SOL Technologies, even those with good intentions fail to back up their words with actions. Azrael mainly gets the supplies through the one thing you didn't expect: By buying them under a fake alias. Takeru actually does both. While he does some part time work, his grandparents also send him some money. As for how Gil eventually found Athaliah, it took him a long time to pinpoint her location by interrogating a lot of people, and one of them caved eventually to save their own life.

Anonymous: Honestly, that's what the branches in the real world would do. Disturbing, if you ask me. Well, eating contests is one way to celebrate, that's for sure. Look. You'll have to read on to find out the fates of the criminals from the Turf War. Unfortunately, Bohman's not ready at this time, even though Ace has a hold on Uchida Industries.

Ambiguous: It's called character development. Ryoken now actually cares about human lives compared to Season 1. The purple goo, believe it or not, was a piece of Malf embedded in Athaliah. If Ace logged out, the chances of people finding him would slightly go up. He'd first have to head to Lightning's base to report his progress. Rachel's parents didn't die from COVID-19. It was a simple, rampant virus in the area, and if I did COVID-19, it'd be too sensitive. It will most certainly be a grudge match between Ace and Lord Kazuma. A battle of cheaters, if you will. Yup. Blood Shepherd got some of Azrael's traces from that data.

KingOtakuOverYou: Glad you liked the chapter. Honestly, there were two things that occurred regarding Athaliah and Hamalachai. One: The fact that Athaliah of all people became riled up before snapping made her make a mistake. Two: I was concerned with the timing in regards to Hamalachai's effect and the Battle Phase. Expect a battle in the skies for this chapter, as one of the duels will be a Master Duel, while the other will be a Speed Duel.

Portal: While I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, I'm not going to answer your other questions. Because honestly, there's no point in answering them. And as for your other review... do not post such an inappropriate one again.

Naruto1999: Glad you liked the chapter.

Guest: I'm looking forward to playing Pokémon Legends Arceus, as from what I heard, it's a fun game to play (great inspiration for my Arc V story as well). The Dragon King was at the same level as the three Kings, if not higher, and Watchman didn't tell anyone about the Dragon King. As for Jericho's role in Season 2... let's just say I got something planned.

Unnamed: Dr. Kogami certainly had no qualms in what he did, unlike Ryoken, who cares for human lives and has regret. No. Azrael didn't give Athaliah new cards. And Speckles didn't use the new cards Azrael gave him. Although you'll most certainly see a new card or two that Ace uses in this chapter, and it'll surprise you, that's for sure. Numera became the Construct because of all the test subjects, she was able to both interact and wield the Cyberse cards. Yup. Greg got his Cyberse cards before the Hanoi appeared and started destroying them. Of course Ace cheats. He uses data clones and rigs his hand.

ZeroMK7: I hope you enjoy the two duels in this chapter.

Decode Talker: Of course the Knights of Hanoi are becoming better people. I see them as anti-heroes, not bad guys. You'll see Infearno's character development eventually.

Unknown: Okay. I screwed up in my previous response, so allow me to clarify some stuff. Windy actually knew that Arashi was his origin, and tried to kill him, with the second attempt being revealed by Arashi in Chapter 62. However, Windy doesn't know that Arashi is Slipstream. The thing was this: Arashi managed to stay one step ahead of Windy following the close save from the second attempt. The other branches are occupied by the FBI, with troops stationed there. Epsilon and the connecting district are fine. For now.

Cosmic Cat: Thanks for the five stars.

Kingdom Hearts Guy: Happy you liked the chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one.

Pikachu99: I'm glad you liked the chapter. However, you provided a list of characters that you want to see dead in this story. Some of the OC characters I made for this story play important roles, so characters like Roxy, Slipstream, Miles, Drachen, and Electrolyzer WILL NOT DIE! And I can't kill Go Onizuka, as he obviously survived. So never give me a hit list again, or else I'll be really upset.

Donjusticia: It is indeed finale time. I hope you enjoy the duels.

E.T. 2000: For El Shaddoll Hamalachai, I basically took the word Hamalakh and played around with the letters until I got something for Athaliah's ultimate monster. I hope you enjoy the Lord Kazuma vs Ace duel, as it's going to be epic.

Guest: Athaliah's permanently dead. She was able to make connections in Den City thanks to Dr. Kogami, who invited her for Project: Apotheosis. Athaliah basically broke out the first chance she got, and had some help from Balius' troops to do so.

Pancakes: The story will follow the anime events after this chapter. And there's no way I'll have Lord Kazuma dance his way to victory. That'd be just pathetic, if you ask me.

Guest: The FBI and police forces are so stretched out that the last thing they have to do right now is hunt down the Knights of Hanoi. For your first question, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. The first time Yuhiro used his Link Trigger was against Infearno in Chapter 6. It was something that he never unleashed before. Electrolyzer met Jericho five years after Project: Apotheosis and after losing his family and home. For Rachel's parents, it doesn't always have to be something that's complicated. In this instance, I chose a simple instance in regards to a virus epidemic. In a sense, Athaliah was partially responsible for the deaths of Rachel's parents. However, she didn't expect them to die of a virus.

Revolver: I haven't heard from you in a very long time, so I hope you're doing well. Honestly, I'm doing my best to make sure I don't make ridiculous OC cards for Season 2. That's something I promised to work on after the Season 1 finale. So, no. Yuhiro won't have a second copy of Cyreath Providence.

Guest: I still intend on releasing the Arc-V fanfic. As for Drytron, that archetype will appear in the story. However, the main character won't use the deck. It'll be wielded by another character who'll play a role in the story.

Guest: Whether the Ursarctic archetype will appear or not will be decided by myself. I do intend for Adam and Eve to appear in the Original Dimension arc, and I obviously will have an OC female for the OC male in the story, especially regarding the main OC male character's LAST NAME. And rest assured: The main OC male character will be reborn in the Xyz Dimension arc.

Guest: When Obscured Truth is done, I'll do the Arc-V fanfic. Besides. It's still in the planning stages, and with new stuff being released (ex. Legends Arceus), it's certainly providing some AWESOME ideas.

Guest: I already answered your question regarding the Kyurem inspired OC monster, so I'm not answering it again.

Guest: Like I said above, the Drytron archetype will appear in the Arc-V story, only it'll be used by someone else. And besides. There's other archetypes that synergize well with one another.

Cyber Warrior: Don't worry. The aftermath of the Turf War from various characters' perspectives will be put in Roxy's Reports. After the Turf War arc, the story will continue with the canon. And rest assured: There will obviously be new stuff that will happen so that not everything will be repeated. There will be no Barians in this story, as I'd have to explain how they appeared.

PR5: No. There won't be a card based on Magikarp. Then again, that can change, as there's a contest below in Author's Notes to celebrate Obscured Truth hitting 1000 reviews. Anyhow, I hope you're enjoying the story, and I'm glad more people are becoming aware of its existence.

Noobmaster: Arashi would have to either build and/or improve the motorcycle he gets. It took Arashi a while to deduce that Yuhiro saved his life, that's for sure. This is because he searched through A LOT OF CODE to do so.

Guest: Zarc isn't necessarily the MC's main rival. Rather, he, along with Ray, are the main OC's best friends (and to an extent, rivals. Ha Ha). Of course the OC will be able to hear duel spirits (he'll have a special one for the story). And calm down. As I said above, there will be an OC female for the OC male in the story, especially regarding the main OC male character's LAST NAME. Drytron will appear in the story, only it won't be wielded by the main OC. The archetypes both popular and powerful, so that's why I'm putting it in. So don't worry. I have a plan in place, especially with the fresh ideas that appear from various sources (ex. Legends Arceus, KH BBS, Final Fantasy Crisis Core and Final Fantasy VII, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, etc.).

Akechi: The Arc-V fanfic will be released when it's ready. Honestly, I wouldn't see any of the characters from Obscured Truth fitting into the Arc-V story for several reasons. One, Yugo already has Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, so if I put Arashi into the story, he'd have to have a different archetype such as Dragunity. Two, Rosetta would have to get a different deck. Three, Stregone currently incorporated the Pendulum Magicians in his deck.

Guest: Thank you. Someone here makes sense regarding the Arc-V story.

Guest: I'll ensure that the characters will have a chance to perform a Pendulum Summon. Then again, it's not always required to show off their decks strengths and weaknesses.

Guest: You'll just have to read it when it comes out.

Electriuser: You're right. ANYONE CAN DIE IN THIS STORY!

With all reviews answered, it's time for the finale of the Turf War. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 64: Battle of Cheaters

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 Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode. His eyes glowing red, Hercules/Alpha Mode 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 Girl 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/Alpha Mode, 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...

Ace narrowed his eyes. Being attacked by a Knight of Hanoi was the last thing he needed right now, especially with how he's making his grand escape. If He found out, then Ace would suffer a fate worse than death, as evident by what happened to Athaliah for her failure.

"I hadn't expected you of all people to find me, Lord Kazuma." Ace said.

"The others are busy, and I volunteered for it." Lord Kazuma told Ace. "But of all people I had to track down, you were just..."

"Just what?"

"A pain in the ass." Lord Kazuma finished. "Had we known of what you were really capable of, we wouldn't have formed our little alliance a long time ago."

Ace, upon hearing this, laughed. "That's rich coming from you, Lord Kazuma. If I recall, the Knights of Hanoi showed up at my doorstep for what kind of reason?" He thought about it for a moment. "Oh yes. You guys showed up because you needed allies, as well as more materials for the Tower of Hanoi's construction. And if I recall, you came to me in the real world. Not smart to do, especially when I have your real-life identities."

Lord Kazuma stiffened. That... wasn't good. Then again... could Ace be lying? After all, the Hanoi practically wiped any trace of them off the internet using the Clean Slate. "How the Hell do you have our real-life identities?!"

In response, Ace wagged his finger. "Ah, ah, ah. I'm not one to reveal all my secrets. Besides..." A black data anchor resembling a chained dagger whipped out of his duel disk. "With you here, I can get more of your information!" He whipped it towards Lord Kazuma, intent on activating the hacking program...

...But upon hitting Lord Kazuma's duel disk, it merely disintegrated.

"WHAT?!" Ace gasped. "The program should have-."

"Worked? Nah. We anticipated you'd do that." Lord Kazuma said. "After Ondina told us of what happened, we immediately worked on an anti-hacking program that would prevent cheaters like you from getting our information. Oh, and one more thing." Before Ace could even react, a green data anchor whipped out of Lord Kazuma's duel disk before attaching itself to Ace's duel disk. Upon contact, energy orbs went into it before turning into particles. "This is the data anchor I used when I was a duel assassin. Whoever wins gets all of the losers information. In other words, it's an all or nothing duel."

"Tch...!" Ace grit his teeth. How dare Lord Kazuma do that! If he failed... no. He can't even imagine the consequences of what would happen if he failed. Then again, there was a plus side to it. Just as Lord Kazuma said, whoever won the duel would get the losers information. If Ace managed to obtain that information, He would be pleased. "That's fine with me. After all, I always wanted payback on you for humiliating me in my casino!"

"This again? Wow. Grudges never die, do they?" Lord Kazuma activated his duel disk. "Nevertheless, once I win this duel, I'll be able to get Uchida Industries' code key back, along with whatever information you have in your time as the Overseer. There's no way I'm letting a scumbag like you defile our main resource, as well as everyone who helped us in the first place!"

Ace also activated his duel disk. "Then let us begin."

"It's time to duel!" Lord Kazuma and Ace said in unison.

Ace: 4000 LP

Lord Kazuma: 4000 LP

"I'll go first." Ace stated. "My turn! I summon Evil Eye Necromancer from my hand." A dark-hooded figure who wore the Evil Eye of Selene around his neck as a medallion appeared on Ace's field.

Evil Eye Necromancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

"Next, I activate Necromancer's effect. By cutting his attack points in half, I can conduct an additional Normal Summon this turn. I'll therefore cut Necromancer's attack points in half to summon Serziel, Watcher of the Evil Eye from my hand!" A fair-skinned, white-haired man wearing red and purple robes with several yellow eyes on his body appeared on Ace's field.

Evil Eye Necromancer ATK: 1000 / 2 = 500

Serziel, Watcher of the Evil Eye ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4

"Serziel's effect! When he's Normal Summoned, I'm allowed to add an 'Evil Eye' card from my deck to my hand! I'll add Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my deck to my hand." Ace added, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Appear, the circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are exactly two 'Evil Eye' monsters! I'll set Evil Eye Necromancer and Serziel, Watcher of the Evil Eye into the Link Markers!" Necromancer went into the right arrowhead, while Serziel went into the bottom arrowhead, causing both of them to turn red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye!" A velociraptor with a slender neck and dark-purple skin appeared on Ace's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. All over the velociraptor's body were little eyeballs. Quarrion raised its head and screeched at Lord Kazuma.

Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 2100 LINK-2 ⬇️➡️

"When Quarrion is Link Summoned, I can add an 'Evil Eye' card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Evil Eye Domain – Pareidolia from my deck to my hand." Ace continued, as another card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I activate the Field Spell card, Evil Eye Domain – Pareidolia! Upon activation, this card lets me add one 'Evil Eye' monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add Popobawa, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my deck to my hand." Another card popped out of Ace's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "From there, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Solidarity. Since I only have one type of monster in my Graveyard, all monsters I control that share the same type of monster gain 800 attack points!" Quarrion roared as its strength increased.

Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 2100 + 800 = 2900

"I activate the effect of Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my hand. As I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I'm allowed to Special Summon this card from my hand to my field!" Ace stated, as a blue and black serpent with a big red eye on its head also appeared on Ace's field and hissed at Lord Kazuma.

Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 400 DEF: 2000 LV: 3

Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 400 + 800 = 1200

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A second Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Evil Eye' monsters. I'll set the Link 2 Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye, and Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye, into the Link Markers!" Quarrion went into the top and bottom-left arrowheads, while Basilius went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"With the power the Evil Eye has given you, unleash your hatred and destruction onto this world in a gleeful manner!" Ace chanted. "Link Summon! Arise! Link 3! Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed!" A red-and-grey armoured man with large wings appeared on Ace's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Giant yellow eyes opened at his knees, right arm, left shoulder, and chest. A red lens covered his right eye as well.

Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed ATK: 2600 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed ATK: 2600 + 800 = 3400

"Since Zerrziel was Link Summoned using a monster whose attack points were 2600 or higher, it can attack an additional time during each Battle Phase!" Ace informed Lord Kazuma, as a card slipped from his sleeve and went into his right hand. "I activate the Equip Spell card, Evil Eye of Gorgoneio and equip it onto Zerrziel." A red lens coated in silver appeared, which Zerrziel grabbed and put on his left eye. "Evil Eye of Gorgoneio's name becomes 'Evil Eye of Selene' while it's in the Spell & Trap card zone. Also, while my life points are lower than yours, the equipped monster gains attack points equal to the difference." Lord Kazuma frowned. If he inflicted damage on Ace, Zerrziel will only get stronger. So he had to get rid of it as soon as possible. And unbeknownst to Ace, Lord Kazuma had a secret weapon. One that will seriously punish Ace for cheating.

"From there, I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Ace smugly smiled. "So how do you like my setup, Lord Kazuma? I did it without cheating."

"Oh cut the crap, Ace. Between us cheaters, there's no shame in admitting you made a small cheat move." Lord Kazuma told him, with Ace shrugging his shoulders in response.

"Okay, fine. I cheated just a teeny, tiny bit." Ace admitted. "Still, I can't take any chances against a Knight of Hanoi such as you. And besides. This duel is personal."

"Is it because I cheated against you in that poker game?" Lord Kazuma amusedly reminded Ace, which made him narrow his eyes upon recalling that memory. "Like I told you before, we both cheated. I just did it better."

"No one outsmarts me. Not even a Knight of Hanoi!" Ace stated. "I'll make you regret cheating a cheater like myself!"

"Try if you can." Lord Kazuma taunted. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Field Spell card, Magician's Salvation. When this card is activated, I can-."

"Counter-Trap, activate! Evil Eye Retribution!" Ace interrupted. "When you activate a Spell or Trap card while I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I can negate the activation and then destroy it. In addition, if 'Evil Eye of Selene' is in my Spell & Trap card zone, this card's activation and effect cannot be negated!"

Lord Kazuma rolled his eyes. Of course that was one of Ace's Set cards. Still, the fact that he used it early meant he couldn't do it on his secret weapon later on.

"Take this!" Evil Eye Retribution fired a blast of energy at Magician's Salvation, turning it into particles. "What will you do now that your Field Spell card's destroyed, Lord Kazuma?"

"A lot, actually." Lord Kazuma answered. "Starting with this. I summon Magician's Rod from my hand." A spectral version of a spellcaster with shiny, curved plates that had sharp edges and covered the torso and shoulder areas appeared on Lord Kazuma's field. It carried a long rod in its hands.

Magician's Rod ATK: 1600 DEF: 100 LV: 3

"When this card is Normal Summoned, I get to add a Spell or Trap card that specifically lists the card 'Dark Magician' in its text. Let's see here. How about this one?" A card popped out of Lord Kazuma's deck before he added it to his hand. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Dark Magical Circle! Now I can look at the top three cards of my deck for a 'Dark Magician' or a Spell or Trap card listing 'Dark Magician' specifically in its text. Then by revealing it to you, I get to add it to my hand." Lord Kazuma looked at the top three cards of his deck before choosing one. "I reveal to you the Continuous-Spell card, Dark Magic Alchemy." He took the declared card and added it to his hand. "I now activate the Continuous-Spell card, Dark Magic Alchemy!" The card showed a man wearing a mask over his eyes and red robes similar to that of Dark Magician use his scepter to turn two liquids into magic, much to the curiosity of Chocolate Magician Girl and Kiwi Magician Girl. "Once per turn, this card lets me-."

"Quick-Play Spell card, activate! Evil Eye Confrontation!" Ace interrupted for a second time. "As I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I can target a Spell or Trap card you control and destroy it. In addition, if 'Evil Eye of Selene' is in my Spell or Trap card zone, I can banish that destroyed card."

"Tch." Lord Kazuma grit his teeth as a blast of purple energy fired at Dark Magic Alchemy, turning it into particles in the process. Ace... was starting to get under his skin. However, Ace didn't know that Dark Magic Alchemy had a second effect. One that'll surprise him for sure. "Dark Magic Alchemy has a second effect! As it left the field by your card effect, I can draw two cards in exchange for sending one card from my hand to my Graveyard." He drew the top two cards of his deck before picking one and sending it to his Graveyard. "I activate the effect of Magicians' Souls from my hand. By sending a Level 6 or higher Spellcaster monster from my deck to my Graveyard, I can activate one of two effects. I send Dark Magician from my deck to my Graveyard to activate Magicians' Souls second effect. By sending this card from my hand to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon 'Dark Magician' or 'Dark Magician Girl' from my hand or Graveyard to my field. Now come from the Graveyard, Dark Magician!" After Lord Kazuma sent a card from his hand to his field, a spellcaster in dark blue armour with shiny, curved plates that had sharp edges and covered the torso and shoulder areas appeared on his field. On the edges of the plates were curved trimmings of contrasting shade. He had blue-coloured skin and white hair, and in his right hand was a dark blue rod.

Dark Magician ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"Dark Magical Circle's effect! Whenever Dark Magician is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target one card you control and banish it!" Lord Kazuma added.

"Like Hell I'll let you do that! I activate Zerrziel's effect!" Ace interrupted for a third time. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can-!"

"I activate the effect of Effect Veiler from my hand." Lord Kazuma responded. "By sending this card from my hand to my Graveyard, I can target one monster you control and negate its effects until the end of this turn."

"Oh crap..." Ace muttered, as a silhouette of a female angel wearing a long-sleeved white tunic with long, black socks appeared on Lord Kazuma's field. She had long, turquoise hair, as well as translucent wings. She fired a blast of energy at Zerrziel, negating his effects before disappearing.

"And with your monster's effect negated, I can resume using Dark Magical Circle's effect! I banish Evil Eye Domain – Pareidolia!" Lord Kazuma declared, as Dark Magical Circle fired a blast of energy at Evil Eye Domain – Pareidolia before turning it into particles, much to Ace's dismay. "I activate the Spell card, Bond Between Teacher and Student. As I control Dark Magician, I can Special Summon Dark Magician Girl from my deck to my field. Now come! Dark Magician Girl!" A teenage girl in blue robes with a pink skirt and small pink cape winked at Ace as she appeared beside Dark Magician on Lord Kazuma's field. She had long, blond spiky hair that extended to the middle of her back. On top of her head was a blue wizard's hat with pink rings encircling it. She also wore high-heeled blue boots with pink rings as well. In her hands, she carried a scepter.

Dark Magician Girl ATK: 2000 DEF: 1700 LV: 6

"I activate Soul Servant's second effect from my Graveyard. By banishing this card, I can draw cards equal to the number of 'Palladium', Dark Magician, and 'Dark Magician Girl' monsters with different names on my Field and in my Graveyard. How many do I have, Ace?"

"Two..." Ace grumbled in response.

"And that's correct! As Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl are on my field, I can draw two cards from the top of my deck!" Lord Kazuma confirmed, as he drew the top two cards of his deck and looked at them. Perfect. "I activate the Spell card, Dark Magic Twin Burst. This card lets me target one 'Dark Magician' I control and have him gain attack points equal to the attack points of Dark Magician Girl on my field until the end of this turn."

"WHAT?!" Ace exclaimed, now shocked by how Lord Kazuma was able to continue his turn like that.

"As I only have one copy of Dark Magician Girl on my field, Dark Magician gains 2000 attack points!" Dark Magician was surrounded in a purple aura as his strength went up.

Dark Magician ATK: 2500 + 2000 = 4500

"Battle!" Lord Kazuma declared. "Dark Magician attacks Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed! Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician fired a magical blast from his dark blue rod at Zerrziel, who cried out in pain as he turned into particles. Once that was done, Evil Eye of Gorgoneio also turned into particles.

Ace: 4000 – 1100 = 2900 LP

"You're up, Dark Magician Girl! Attack Ace directly with Dark Burning Magic!" Dark Magician Girl fired a magical blast of energy from her scepter, which was headed straight for Ace!

"I activate the effect of Popobawa, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my hand." Ace interrupted for a fourth time. "When you attack directly with your monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and end the Battle Phase!" Soon, a human-sized, grey-skinned bat immediately appeared on Ace's field. The creature had a large wingspan, huge ears, and sharp fangs. On its forehead was a large, red eye.

Popobawa, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 0 DEF: 600 LV: 2

Popobawa's eye glowed red before unleashing a screech at the coming blast, turning it into particles.

"I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Dark Magician's attack points return to normal." Lord Kazuma concluded, as Dark Magician was surrounded in a purple aura, which reduced his attack points to their normal amount.

Dark Magician ATK: 4500 – 2000 = 2500

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

"Continuous-Trap, activate!" Lord Kazuma declared. "Dark Magic Suppression!" The card showed Dark Magician of Chaos and Apprentice Illusion Magician using their magic to sever Exodia's arms onto a magical seal through magical swords. "While this card is on my field, I can declare a card name, and if you activate that card, you take 500 points of damage each time you activate it! In addition, its effects are negated until the end of your turn!"

"YOU LITTLE-!" Ace snarled out of pure fury. The fact that he had multiple copies of his cards meant that whatever Lord Kazuma called out, he'll be massively restricted. And Ace knew which card Lord Kazuma would call out.

"I declare Evil Eye of Selene!" Soon, a magical seal appeared on Lord Kazuma's Spell & Trap card zone, a silhouette of Evil Eye of Selene appearing in the process. A magical seal then appeared underneath Ace's feet, as if to warn him of what would happen if he activated the declared card.

"I still have a few tricks left, Lord Kazuma." Ace commented. "Allow me to show you firsthand! I activate the Spell card, Greed of the Evil Eye!" The card showed Serziel and Medusa fighting for the Evil Eye of Selene in a battle of magic, with the mechanical device in the middle. "I can target one 'Evil Eye' Link monster that's on my field or in my Graveyard and draw cards equal to its Link Rating. I target Zerrziel in my Graveyard, which means I can draw three cards from my deck!" He drew the top three cards of his deck, and upon looking at them, frowned. Great, he thought. I didn't draw Evil Eye Confrontation or Glare of the Evil Eye. Still, I can make this work. "I activate the effect of Evil Eye of Gorgoneio from my Graveyard. By banishing this card from my Graveyard and discarding a card from my hand, I can add one 'Evil Eye' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand with a different name. I banish Evil Eye of Gorgoneio, discard Catopleas, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my hand, and add a second copy of Evil Eye Confrontation from my deck to my hand!" After Ace discarded a card from his hand, a card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "In addition, I activate the Spell card, Evil Eye Awakening. This card lets me Special Summon an 'Evil Eye' monster from my hand or Graveyard, but if Evil Eye of Selene is in my Spell & Trap card zone, I can Special Summon from my deck as well! Come back from the Graveyard, Zerrziel!" Zerrziel reappeared on Ace's field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed ATK: 2600 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed ATK: 2600 + 800 = 3400

"As much as I honestly want to attack you with my monsters right now, I need to make you suffer more!" A card slipped from Ace's sleeve and went into his right hand. "I activate a second copy of the Quick-Play Spell card Evil Eye Confrontation from my hand. Just like before, since I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I can target a Spell or Trap card you control and destroy it. In addition, if 'Evil Eye of Selene' is in my Spell or Trap card zone, I can banish that destroyed card. As Evil Eye of Selene isn't in my Spell & Trap card zone, I target and destroy Dark Magical Circle!"

"Didn't see this coming..." Lord Kazuma admitted, as a red blast of light fired out of the card and hit Dark Magical Circle, which temporarily greyed it out in the process.

"With that out of the way, it's time for this!" Ace thrusted his right hand upward. "Appear, the circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Evil Eye' monsters, including an 'Evil Eye' Link monster! I'll set the Link 3 Zerrziel, Ruler of the Evil Eyed, and Popobawa, Familiar of the Evil Eye into the Link Markers!" Zerrziel went into three tornadoes and went into the left, right, and bottom-left arrowheads, while Popobawa went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Malevolent spirit sealed within the Evil Eye! Break free of your shackles, and engulf this world, no this universe into darkness!" Ace chanted. "Link Summon! Emerge from your slumber! Link 4! Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye!" A massive swarm of spiked black and red tentacles breached its way through the Link Portal and flew onto Ace's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. At the center of the tentacles was a black eyeball, with its conjunctiva being blue, while the pupil was a slitted yellow colour.

Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 2800 LINK-4 ↙️⬅️➡️↘️

Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 2800 + 800 = 3600

"Normally, Dharkon's effect lets me target as many copies of Evil Eye of Selene in my Graveyard and equip them to this card. Unfortunately, there's none, so I can't use Dharkon's first effect." Ace explained. "But let's get to the now, shall we? I activate the Equip Spell card, Evil Eye of Selene, and equip it onto Dharkon." A red and silver mechanical lens orbited around Dharkon's eye.

"Have you not been listening to me earlier? Thanks to Dark Magic Suppression, your cards effects are negated, and you take 500 points of damage!" Lord Kazuma reminded Ace, as the latter was zapped with electricity as punishment for activating the declared card.

Ace: 2900 – 500 = 2400 LP

"I know, which is why I'll get rid of your cards as soon as possible!" Ace replied in an angry tone. "Battle! Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye attacks Magician's Rod! Shadow Impalement!" The tentacles surrounding Dharkon's eye morphed into spiked, shadowy spears before they went straight towards Magician's Rod, which impaled it and caused an explosion that pushed Lord Kazuma back several feet.

Lord Kazuma: 4000 – 2000 = 2000 LP

The next thing both duelists knew, the ship started to lose balance.

"Dharkon, you know what to do!" Ace ordered, as Dharkon sent its tentacles to wrap around the entire ship, forcing it to balance itself in the process before returning back to it. "Dharkon's second effect activates! Once per turn, when it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I can destroy cards you control up to the number of Evil Eye of Selene in my Spell & Trap card zone, and inflict 500 damage for each card destroyed by this effect. As there's only one copy of Evil Eye of Selene, I can only destroy one card, and that card will be Dark Magic Suppression! Thorn Spray!" The tentacles surrounding Dharkon's eye then morphed into a spiked cluster, which fired energy bullets at Dark Magic Suppression and destroyed it. The bullets bounced off the card and hit Lord Kazuma, which made him take a step back out of pain.

Lord Kazuma: 2000 – 500 = 1500 LP

Ace smiled. "And with Dark Magic Suppression no longer on my field, I can activate Evil Eye of Selene again, am I correct?"

"You are..." Lord Kazuma grudgingly answered.

"I end my turn here." Ace concluded. "So tell me. How does it feel to be halfway towards defeat?"

"Been there, done that." Lord Kazuma commented quickly. "I'll admit you've grown stronger since you worked for us. After all, your duels against Rosetta and Drachen proved it. As for the other duel you recently had against an unknown person..."

"How did you see my duel against Drachen?" Ace interrupted, only for the answer to pop up in his head. "Ah, I get it. The Knights of Hanoi are always watching, aren't they?"

"Of course. We always need to be aware of what's happening, especially with our ally in the real world." Lord Kazuma confirmed. "Like I said before. Uchida Industries belongs to the Knights of Hanoi, not to a scumbag like you! We won't let you desecrate and use it as you please!"

"At least it has a future with me. Besides, you guys already made it suffer enough as it is." Ace countered.

"That we can agree on." Lord Kazuma narrowed his eyes before speaking. It was the truth. Uchida Industries aided the Hanoi for the longest time, and they would have lost it had it not been for Mikuru coming to the rescue. Regardless, Lord Kazuma was hellbent on getting Uchida Industries back. This way, they'd have the advantage again. "I know for a fact you're not the real Overseer of the Black Market. Someone's pulling the strings, am I not correct?"

"You are correct, Lord Kazuma. That would be my benefactor, and he not only has big plans for Uchida Industries, he'd wipe you guys out if he decided to do so." Ace answered. "Picture someone who has more power than anyone else in the world. An unknown. A person who embodies a force of nature itself. That is who my benefactor is. And if you want to figure out who he is..."

"I'll have to obviously beat you in a duel." Lord Kazuma finished. "Let's just resume, shall we? As interested as I am in trying to figure out who this benefactor of yours is, we're just wasting time. My turn! I draw!"

Elsewhere, at another area in LINK VRAINS, nearby the Overseer's battleship...

"AAAH!" another Alpha troop screamed, as his life points dropped to zero.

"Yes!" Drachen said, having won a duel against the last of the Alpha troops. "Alright, time to go assist...WOAH!" He dodged left and right, avoiding the purple blade as it tried to stab him. Again. And upon seeing its owner, he grit his teeth. "You!"

"Me!" Malf stated with a grin. "You're getting in the way, Drachen! As such, me was sent to dispose of trash like you!"

"Are you working with Ace? Was he the one who ordered you to interfere with my hunt against Raguel?!" Drachen demanded. He was clearly pissed with Malf not only getting in his way, but for stabbing him through the stomach.

"Like me would work for a douchebag like Ace." Malf answered, disgust evident in his voice. "Me master is way more deadlier than Ace will ever be!"

So this bozo serves someone else, Drachen thought to himself. I promised Ryoken I'd get a sample of DNA from this guy if I ever got the chance, and that opportunity came at last. Who knows? Maybe I can get information on who Malf really serves, as like he said, he wouldn't work for a douchebag like Ace. "Enough talk, AI! Let's get to the duel!"

"Bring it on, Hanoi dog." Malf taunted back.

"Speed Duel!" Drachen and Malf shouted at the same time.

Drachen: 4000 LP

Malf: 4000 LP

"Me go first! Me go first!" Malf immediately stated, before looking at his hand. "Me activate the Continuous-Spell card, Darkscourge Generator!" The card showed several 'Darkscourge' monsters being created in a factory-like interior in 'Darkscourge' Comet. "Once per turn, if me control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, me can target that monster and shuffle cards in me Graveyard to me deck equal to that monster's Link rating. By doing so, me can draw the same number of cards of me deck and then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards I drew with this effect!"

"So a self-replenishing card for Malf's deck. Just great..." Drachen muttered to himself. With a card like that, Malf can shuffle his cards back into his deck, draw more cards, and place counters on Generator for each one he drew. Malf's deck uses counters instead of monsters to Link Summon, he recalled in his mind. He also uses those counters for his monster's various effects, which brings a sense of unpredictability in how he duels against his opponents. As for his Skill, it's practically a Duel Winner Skill that allows him to win the duel no matter how many life points the opponent has. However, Malf can only use that Skill when his life points are 2000 or less. That being said, I need to defeat him as quickly as possible, as otherwise, the chances of me losing will massively go up.

"Me then summon Darkscourge Star Core from my hand!" A medium-sized violet orb with a black star emblem displayed on the front appeared on Malf's field. The orb has large spikes that rotate around it, giving it a sun-like appearance. It also has red eyes in the center of the star emblem.

Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"When Star Core is Normal or Special Summoned, it gains 'Darkscourge' counters equal to the number of cards in me hand." Malf continued. "Since me have two cards, Star Core gains two 'Darkscourge' counters!" Two purple orbs soon orbited around Star Core.

Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 0 + 2 = 2

"Appear! The circuit of the rampant plague!" A Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are normally two 'Darkscourge' monsters. However, if me would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, Star Core lets me remove 'Darkscourge' counters from it equal to that Link monster's Link rating instead, and treat it as a Link Summon! As such, me remove two of Star Core's Darkscourge counters and set them into the Link Markers!" Two of the purple orbs orbiting around Star Core went into the bottom and bottom-left arrowheads respectively, turning each of them red in the process.

Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 2 – 2 = 0

"Link Summon! Arise! Link 2! Darkscourge Hawk!" A small, winged dragon that had a squamous black hide and no legs or claws appeared on Malf's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had red lines all over its body, three fins on the end of its wings, and a long tail. On its head was a black star emblem.

Darkscourge Hawk ATK: 2200 LINK-2 ↙️⬇️

"When Hawk is Link Summoned, me can add one 'Darkscourge' Spell or Trap card from me deck to me hand." Malf explained. "Me add Darkscourge Sustenance from me deck to me hand!" A card popped out of Malf's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Me will now activate the Spell card, Darkscourge Sustenance!" The card showed Darkscourge Warrior feasting on the remains of a carcass. "By sending one 'Darkscourge' card from me deck to me hand, me can draw two cards from the top of me deck! Me send Darkscourge Worm from me hand to me Graveyard!" After Malf took a card from his hand and sent it to his Graveyard, he drew the top two cards of his deck. "Worm's effect! Once per turn, when it's sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, me can Special Summon it back to me field!"

"You have got to be kidding me..." Drachen muttered in annoyance to himself for a second time.

"Me Special Summon Darkscourge Worm from me Graveyard to me field!" A large worm with solid black skin and thorns near its head appeared on Malf's field. Its face had a black star emblem at the center, and it had a wide purple mouth with some eye-like growths in it.

Darkscourge Worm ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3

"Appear for a second time! The circuit of the rampant plague!" A Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are one 'Darkscourge' monster. Me will set Darkscourge Worm into the Link Markers!" Worm went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Emerge! Link 1! Darkscourge Necromancer!" A humanoid creature resembling that of a wizard appeared on Malf's field in the other Main Monster Zone Hawk pointed to. Its attire consisted of robes with a red tint, a pointy hat and cape that had the black star emblem with red eyes on them, and alien-like symbols. The only parts on its body that were shown were its yellow eyes and a portion of its face. In its right hand, it carried a red, hook-shaped staff with a flame-shaped head and a glowing center.

Darkscourge Necromancer ATK: 600 LINK-1 ↙️

"Worm's second effect now activates! As it was used to Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, the both of us must send the top card of our deck to our Graveyards!" Malf added, much to Drachen's chagrin.

"Aw come on..." Drachen complained. With the cards Malf played, he'll be able to get them back, while Drachen will lose one of the cards from his deck.

Both players took the top card of their decks and sent them to their respective Graveyards.

"Me now activate Generator's effect! Once per turn, if me control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, me can target that monster and shuffle cards in me Graveyard to me deck equal to that monster's Link rating. By doing so, me can draw the same number of cards of me deck and then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards I drew with this effect! Me target Hawk, which means me can take two cards, shuffle them into me deck, draw two new ones, and place two 'Darkscourge' counters on Generator! As such, me take Worm and Sustenance, and shuffle both of them into me deck!" Two cards popped out of Malf's deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck. Once that was done, Malf drew the top two cards of his deck, and soon after, two purple orbs soon orbited around Generator.

Darkscourge Generator DSC: 0 + 2 = 2

"In addition, me activate the Field Spell card, Darkscourge Comet!" Malf said. "Now all 'Darkscourge' monsters on me field gain 300 attack and defense points. Also, the effects of 'Darkscourge' Link monsters on my field cannot be negated!" Drachen narrowed his eyes as Star Core, Hawk, and Necromancer were surrounded in a purple aura, increasing their strength.

Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 0 + 300 = 300 DEF: 0 + 300 = 300

Darkscourge Hawk ATK: 2200 + 300 = 2500

Darkscourge Necromancer 600 + 300 = 900

"Last but not least, me Set one card face-down and end me turn." Malf grinned fully, showing teeth. "Oh, and just a heads up. While me control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, you cannot target any of them with card effects, nor can you target Star Core for attacks. Now you little Hanoi bug. Show me what you got!"

"My turn! I draw!" Drachen said, drawing the top card of his deck. "I activate the Spell card, Pre-Preparation of Rites! This card lets me not only add a Ritual Spell card from my deck to my hand, I can also add a Ritual monster from my deck or Graveyard whose name is listed on that Ritual Spell." Two cards popped out of Drachen's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"Oh? So the little Draco boy can Ritual Summon?" Malf muttered to himself out of curiosity. Maybe this would be worth his time after all.

"I then activate the Ritual Spell card, Dark Dragon Ritual! This card lets me tribute monsters from my hand or field whose total levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual monster I'm summoning from my hand. As such, I tribute the Level 4 Red-Eyes Wyvern from my hand." A black circle infused with fire burned four flames, which materialized in front of Drachen. Then a red-eyed bipedal dragon with black skin, along with long wings and a tail appeared in front of Drachen. Red-Eyes Wyvern disintegrated into light and entered into the center of the circle, which emitted a pillar of bright light.

"The contract has been made!" Drachen chanted. "Knight of darkness! Call upon your draconic steed, and ride into battle as one! Ritual Summon! Descend! Level 4! Paladin of Dark Dragon!" A dark-skinned, bipedal dragon with small claws and medium sized wings appeared on Drachen's field. He had armor on his head, along with dark-colored eyes. On top of his back was a warrior, who wore black armor on his upper chest, and armor on his arms and legs. On his head was a helmet, and attached to his back was a cape. In his right hand, he carried a sword.

Paladin of Dark Dragon ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 4

"That's your big Ritual Summon? You'll have to be at Raguel's level if you want any chance of beating me!" Malf taunted. "But just in case, me will activate the Continuous-Trap card, Darkscourge Extinction!" The card showed the Darkscourge Comet spreading its roots on the planet as it released toxic gas everywhere. "While this card's on me field, you can't target any of me 'Darkscourge' cards on me field with card effects, except this one. And if a 'Darkscourge' Link monster on me field inflicts battle damage to you, me can place 'Darkscourge' counters on either Star Core and Generator. In addition, you take 500 points of damage equal to that 'Darkscourge' Link monster's Link rating!"

"Tch!" Drachen grit his teeth. That... wasn't good. The fact that he can't target any of Malf's cards on his field meant he had to find another way to defeat his opponent. And that was going to be a massive pain in the ass for him. Still, Drachen can't let that stop him from defeating Malf. If he succeeded in getting a sample, it'll certainly help the Knights of Hanoi in defeating the Ignis. "I'll have you know that I nearly defeated Raguel in our duel, and you're mistaken if you think I'm weaker than him!" He thrusted out his right hand. "I activate Paladin of Dark Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can-!"

"That won't happen. Me activate Necromancer's effect!" Malf interjected. "Once per turn, when you activate a card effect, me can remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Star Core or Generator to negate the effect and send it to the Graveyard. Me remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Generator!" One of the purple orbs orbiting around Generator went into Necromancer's staff, who proceeded to incinerate Paladin of Dark Dragon before sending him to the Graveyard.

Darkscourge Generator DSC: 2 – 1 = 1

Malf laughed after seeing Drachen's dismay. "Looks like your statement earlier was wrong, little Draco boy!"

"I'll admit I didn't see that coming, but a duelist must always be ready to improvise on the spot. Allow me to show you what I mean!" Drachen stated. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Miracle of Draconian Wrath! When a Dragon monster I control is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can take two Spell or Trap cards from my deck and Set them to my field! What's more, I can activate them the turn they're Set as well!"

"What?!" Malf exclaimed, having been caught off guard as two cards popped out of Drachen's deck, which he took and Set to his Spell & Trap card zone.

"There's more! I activate one of the cards I Set just now. The Trap card, Immortal Dragon!" Drachen gestured to one of his face-down cards. "This card lets me target one of my destroyed or banished Dragon monsters and Special Summon them to my field. Return, Paladin of Dark Dragon!" At Drachen's command, Paladin of Dark Dragon reappeared on his field.

Paladin of Dark Dragon ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 4

"I now activate Paladin of Dark Dragon's effect!" Drachen continued. "By tributing this card, I can Special Summon one 'Red-Eyes' monster from my hand or deck. I tribute Paladin of Dark Dragon to Special Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to my field!" After Paladin of Dark Dragon turned into particles, a large, black dragon with red-colored eyes appeared on Drachen's field, roaring in the process.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"But he won't be out for long, because I tribute Red-Eyes Black Dragon to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon from my hand to my field!" After Red-Eyes Black Dragon turned into particles, a large, black dragon with red-colored eyes appeared on Drachen's field. All over his body were volcanic lines that glowed with blazing energy. He also had large wings that were in the shape of three, large, curved blades.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000 LV: 9

"That monster can be Special Summoned with just one tribute?" Malf inquired.

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon can only be Special Summoned from my hand by tributing Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field." Drachen explained. "And now it's time for me to activate Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's effect! For every Dragon monster in my Graveyard, he gains 300 attack points!" Malf's eyes widened out of surprise upon hearing this information. "I have three Dragon monsters in my Graveyard, which means Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon gains 900 attack points!" Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon roared as his strength increased.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon ATK: 2400 + (300 X 3) = 3300

"Last but not least, I activate the Spell card, Graceful Charity. This card lets me draw three cards from the top of my deck. In exchange, I must discard two cards from my hand." Drachen drew the top three cards of his deck before picking two of them and sending each one to his Graveyard. "Battle! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon attacks Darkscourge Necromancer! Darkness Giga Flame!" The volcanic lines all over Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's body glowed as he charged up red, hot energy in his maw before preparing to fire it at Necromancer.

"Me activate the effect of Darkscourge Wall from me hand!" Malf interrupted. "By sending this card from me hand to the Graveyard, 'Darkscourge' monsters me control can no longer be destroyed in battle this turn."

"You'll still take battle damage." Drachen reminded Malf, as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon fired the hot energy at Necromancer, a wall suddenly appearing to protect it from the blast. Despite this, Malf slightly lost his balance on his duel board, his life points dropping in the process.

Malf: 4000 – 2400 = 1600 LP

"I end my turn here." Drachen narrowed his eyes. Unfortunately, he didn't defeat Malf in one turn, which was his goal. Still, the fact that Drachen cut Malf's life points in half meant he was one step closer to winning this duel.

Malf grinned as he slowed down to ride parallel to Drachen. "Wow. Me didn't expect you to go all out this turn. You must want to defeat me quickly, huh?"

"Obviously! You're a threat to the network! One that needs to eliminated permanently!" Drachen replied.

"Is that what you think? You think wrong." Malf replied, in a tone that ended the conversation. "Me turn! Me draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "Me activate Hawk's second effect! Once per turn, me can target one monster you control and one 'Darkscourge' monster Hawk points to. By doing so, your monster loses attack and defense points equal to the original attack points of the targeted 'Darkscourge' monster that Hawk is pointing to. Me target your Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and my Necromancer, which means your monster loses 900 attack points!" Hawk fired a burst of venomous energy from its mouth, which hit Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and made him groan in pain as his attack points dropped.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon ATK: 3300 – 600 = 2700 DEF: 2000 – 600 = 1400

"Me summon Darkscourge Leech from me hand!" A pulsating purple blob with horns and a black star on its body, as well as a single eye, appeared on Malf's field.

Darkscourge Leech ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 3

Darkscourge Leech ATK: 800 + 300 = 1100 DEF: 800 + 300 = 1100

"When Darkscourge Leech is Normal Summoned, me get to add a copy of it from me deck to me hand." Malf explained, as he took a card from his deck and added it to his hand. "Me now activate Generator's effect! Once per turn, if me control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, me can target that monster and shuffle cards in me Graveyard to me deck equal to that monster's Link rating. By doing so, me can draw the same number of cards of me deck and then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards I drew with this effect! Me target Hawk, which means me can take two cards, shuffle them into me deck, draw two new ones, and place two 'Darkscourge' counters on Generator! As such, me take Necromancer and Wall, and shuffle both of them into me deck and Extra Deck!" Two cards popped out of Malf's deck, which he took and put one into his dec, while he put the other into his Extra Deck. Once that was done, Malf drew the top two cards of his deck, and soon after, two more purple orbs soon orbited around Generator.

Darkscourge Generator DSC: 2 + 2 = 4

"Appear, the circuit of the rampant plague!" A Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Darkscourge' monsters, and me can also remove 'Darkscourge' counters from either Generator or Star Core equal to that monster's Link rating instead. However, me won't do that. Me will set Leech and the Link 2 Hawk into the Link Markers!" Leech went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while Hawk went into the bottom and bottom-left arrowheads, causing all three of them to turn red.

"Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Darkscourge Black Bull!" A creature resembling that of a cacodemon appeared on Malf's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had a large black and gray blubbery body, with black and red wings protruding out of it. Various spikes were present around the creature's body and wings. Its face, which had a black star on it, was colored red. It also surrounded the singular green eye the creature had, as well as its fangs. Black Bull also had hands with pointy white claws next to its mouth.

Darkscourge Black Bull ATK: 2800 LINK-3 ↙️⬇️↘️

Darkscourge Black Bull ATK: 2800 + 300 = 3100

That's the monster that nearly defeated Raguel, Drachen recalled in his mind. Now this was going to be ugly.

"Leech's second effect!" Malf continued. "Since it was used to Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, the Link Summoned monster that used it as Link material gains 800 attack points. In addition, me can place one 'Darkscourge' counter on a 'Darkscourge Star Core' or 'Darkscourge Generator' on me field. Me place the 'Darkscourge' counter on Star Core!" A purple orb orbited around Star Core as Black Bull roared, which indicated that its strength increased.

Darkscourge Black Bull ATK: 3100 + 800 = 3900

Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 0 + 1 = 1

"And now it's time for this!" Malf suddenly jumped off his duel board as his right arm glowed red. "Me activate me Skill! Delusional Heartbeat!" He then launched his right arm like a weapon towards Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, touching his chest before returning to its owner. As a result, a transparent, bloody damp mark appeared on Red-Eyes Darkness Dragons chest before disappearing momentarily. When Malf landed back on his duel board, he opened his right palm, which showed a mirror image of Red-Eyes Darkness Dragons heart. "Once per duel, when me have 2000 life points or less, me can target one monster you control and place one 'Malady' counter on it. If a 'Darkscourge' monster on me field destroys it by battle..." His eyes widened as he sadistically smiled. "YOU LOSE!"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon MC: 0 + 1 = 1

"Aw Hell no…" Drachen cursed under his breath. That was so not good at all. Luckily, he still had a card in his hand that he can use to turn the duel around. He also had a card in his Graveyard and a card on his field that can help him out, just in case the first option didn't work. As long as Malf didn't pull any surprises, that is.

"But to ensure me win this turn, me must make some preparations." Malf told Drachen. "Like this! Appear, for a second time! The circuit of the rampant plague!" A second Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are one 'Darkscourge' monster. This time, me remove Star Core's 'Darkscourge' counter and set it into the Link Markers!" The purple orb orbiting around Star Core went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 1 – 1 = 0

"Link Summon! Emerge one again! Link 1! Darkscourge Necromancer!" For a second time, Necromancer appeared on Malf's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Black Bull pointed to.

Darkscourge Necromancer ATK: 600 LINK-1 ↙️

Darkscourge Necromancer ATK: 600 + 300 = 900

"Me now activate Black Bull's effect!" Malf said. "Once per turn, me can target one 'Darkscourge' Link monster on me field and reduce its attack points to zero until the end of the turn. By doing this, the attack and defense points of all monsters you control become zero until the End Phase! Me target Necromancer!" Smog Infection!" A purple aura surrounded Necromancer, decreasing its attack points until they dropped to zero. When they did, purple particles surrounded Black Bull before it fired a cloud of poisonous gas that obscured Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, draining him of his strength.

Darkscourge Necromancer ATK: 900 – 900 = 0

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon ATK: 2700 – 2700 = 0

"It's time to end this! Battle!" Malf thrusted his right hand at Drachen's field. "Darkscourge Black Bull attacks Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

"I activate the effect of Red-Eyes Shield Gardna from my hand!" Drachen interrupted, as he showed the card that was in his hand. It showed a warrior with red eyes, dark skin, and long, spiky black hair. Strapped to his left hand was a massive shield with Red-Eyes Black Dragons face on it. "By sending this card from my hand to my Graveyard, I can-!"

"Not so fast! Me activate Necromancer's effect once again!" Malf countered. "Once per turn, when you activate a card effect, me can remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Star Core or Generator to negate the effect and send it to the Graveyard. Me remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Generator!" One of the purple orbs orbiting around Generator went into Necromancer's staff, who proceeded to incinerate the card in Drachen's hand before it turned into particles.

Darkscourge Generator DSC: 4 – 1 = 3

"Get him, Black Bull!" Malf grinned, confident that he'll win this turn. "Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon with-!

"Trap card, activate! Witch's Strike!" Drachen interjected. "When you negate the Normal or Special Summon of a monster, or the activation of a card or effect, I can destroy all cards that are on your field and hand!"

"WHAT?!" Malf exclaimed, the confident look on his face now changing to pure fear.

"Since this card doesn't target, that means every single card is gone!" A lightning bolt lashed out of Witch's Strike, which incinerated all cards on Malf's field before bouncing towards his hand, turning each of his cards into particles in the process.

Malf, in response to this, grinned. "You shouldn't have done that. Me activate Darkscourge Comet's second effect! When it's destroyed by a card effect, all your monsters in attack position are destroyed!"

"In that case, I activate the second effect of Return of the Dragon Lords from my Graveyard." Drachen stated. "If a Dragon monster I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish this card from my Graveyard instead!" A meteor fell out of the sky towards Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, with a barrier appearing to protect him at the last moment before impact. The barrier then disappeared, revealing an unharmed Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.

"Me... end my turn..., which means your monsters attack points return to normal." Malf concluded bitterly, knowing there was practically nothing else he can do as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon roared, indicating that his strength partially returned to normal.

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon ATK: 0 + 2700 = 2700

"My turn! I draw!" Drachen said, drawing the top card of his deck. "This is for stabbing me in the stomach, douchebag! Battle! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon attacks you directly! Darkness Giga Flame!" The volcanic lines all over Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's body glowed as he charged up red, hot energy in his maw before firing it at Malf, who screamed as he fell off his duel board, his life points dropping to zero in the process.

Malf: 1600 – 2700 = 0

Drachen grinned. "Now that was satisfying." He then proceeded to activate his data anchor, only for him to gasp upon seeing Malf glowing.

"Bye Bye, DOUCHEBAG!" Malf exclaimed, as he got ready to blow himself up.

Oh no. I can't get away, Drachen realized. Even if Drachen turned around and accelerated the speed on his duel board, who knows what the blast radius for Malf's explosion was?

"Hang on, child!" Dancho shouted out of nowhere, as he whipped his data anchor at Drachen before it wrapped around his left wrist. Within moments, he pulled Drachen away at such a fast speed that the two of them were able to get away before Malf could explode.

Unbeknownst to them, Malf stopped glowing, a smirk evident on his face. "Those Hanoi have no idea on what's about to happen, especially with what we got in place for them," he muttered, before getting back on his duel board and speeding away to a place unknown.

"Are you okay, Drachen?" Dancho asked him, as he released the data anchor that was attached to him. "Rest assured. My data anchor was set to non-duel mode."

"I'm okay. Just a little winded right now." Drachen replied. He then clutched his chest briefly.

"You don't seem okay."

"Like I said, I'm just a little winded." Drachen reiterated. "We have to stop Ace before he slips away from our fingers."

Dancho nodded. "Indeed. As Malf's trail is now gone, perhaps Ace can get us some much needed information." Both duelists then sped away towards the massive battleship, intent on aiding Lord Kazuma in stopping Ace once and for all.

At Lord Kazuma and Ace's duel...

Lord Kazuma drew the top card of his deck before a card slipped from his sleeve and went into his right hand. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Dark Magic Inheritance. By banishing two Spell cards from my Graveyard, I can add one Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand that specifically lists the card 'Dark Magician' or 'Dark Magician Girl' in its text. I banish Magician's Salvation and Dark Magic Alchemy from my Graveyard, and add Knight's Title from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Lord Kazuma's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I activate the Spell card, Knight's Title. By tributing Dark Magician on my field, I can Special Summon Dark Magician Knight from my hand, deck, or Graveyard to my field." Another card popped out of Lord Kazuma's deck. "I tribute Dark Magician on my field, and Special Summon Dark Magician Knight from my deck!" After Dark Magician turned into particles, a knight in purple armor with shiny, curved plates that had sharp edges and covered the torso and shoulder areas appeared on Lord Kazuma's field. A long cape was attached to his back, and in his right hand, he carried a sword.

Dark Magician Knight ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7

"When Dark Magician Knight is Special Summoned, I can target one card you control and destroy it. I target and destroy Solidarity!" Dark Magician Knight released a slash of energy towards Solidarity, turning it into particles. As a result, a red aura appeared around Dharkon, siphoning it of its strength.

Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 3600 – 800 = 2800

"And from there, I activate the Spell card, Gift of the Martyr." Lord Kazuma continued. "By sending one monster from my field to my Graveyard, I can target one monster I control and have it gain that monsters attack points until the End Phase. I target Dark Magician Knight, and send Dark Magician Girl from my field to my Graveyard!" Dark Magician Girl turned into particles, which went into Dark Magician Knight as he powered up.

Dark Magician Knight ATK: 2500 + 2000 = 4500

"Battle!" Lord Kazuma thrusted out his right hand. "Dark Magician Knight attacks Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye! Dark Magic Slash!" Magical energy surrounded Dark Magician Knight's sword as he charged forward, jumping high into the air before slicing Dharkon vertically, which caused an explosion as Ace took a step or two back.

Ace: 2400 – 1700 = 700 LP

To Lord Kazuma's surprise, however, Dharkon was still on Ace's field.

"How is your monster still on your field?" Lord Kazuma inquired, annoyed that it survived the attack.

"It's simple. If Dharkon would leave the field, I can banish one copy of 'Evil Eye of Selene' from my Spell or Trap card zone instead." Ace explained. "You'll have to do better than that to destroy Dharkon."

Ah. So that's why Ace activated Evil Eye of Selene earlier. To protect his monster from destruction, even if he paid a small price for it, Lord Kazuma realized. Not bad. "Really? Because last I checked, Rosetta destroyed your monster alive in one shot." That comment made Ace furious.

"That was then, and this is now!" Ace emphasized. "Like you said before, I've gotten stronger, and I'm in a better place now thanks to my benefactor! So just end your turn already!"

"Okay, okay. Someone's got a short fuse..." Lord Kazuma muttered under his breath. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Gift of the Martyr's effect ends, and Dark Magician Knights attack points return to normal." As if on cue, an aura surrounded Dark Magician Knight, which reverted his attack points to their original amount.

Dark Magician Knight ATK: 4500 – 2000 = 2500

"Just like Raguel and his allies, you Hanoi scum have given me enough trouble..." Ace growled. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the effect of Greed of the Evil Eye in my Graveyard. By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can add one 'Evil Eye' card from my deck to my hand, or two of I control an 'Evil Eye' Link monster. As Dharkon's on my field, I can add Sentry of the Evil Eye and Evil Eye Reemergence from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Ace's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Since I have an 'Evil Eye' Link monster on my field, I can Special Summon Sentry of the Evil Eye from my hand to a Main Monster zone it points to. Now emerge, my monster!" A silver-skinned, round monster with a red eye and multiple tentacles protruding from its backside appeared on his field to one of the Main Monster zones Dharkon pointed to.

Sentry of the Evil Eye ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"From there, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Inferno Reckless Summon. Since you control a monster on your field and I just Special Summoned a monster with 1500 attack points or less, I can Special Summon as many copies of that monster from my hand, deck, and Graveyard to my field in attack position! As such, I Special Summon two more copies of Sentry from my deck to my field!"

"What?" Lord Kazuma said out of surprise, as Ace took two cards out of his deck and placed them on his field. As a result, two more copies of Sentry appeared on his field.

Sentry of the Evil Eye ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

Sentry of the Evil Eye ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1

"I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Evil Eye Repose." Ace continued. "When this card is activated, I can banish one 'Evil Eye' card from my Graveyard to draw one card from my deck. I banish Evil Eye Retribution from my Graveyard!" Once that was done, he drew the top card of his deck. "I also activate the Spell card, Pot of Avarice. This card lets me shuffle target five monsters in my Graveyard and shuffle them into my deck. By doing so, I can draw two cards from the top of my deck. I shuffle Serziel, Necromancer, Basilius, Catopleas, and Popobawa into my deck and draw!" After Ace took five cards in his Graveyard and shuffled them into his deck, he drew the top two cards of his deck.

Yes, he thought with a grin. I drew it! I drew the monster my benefactor gave me! The monster that will end Lord Kazuma once and for all! The monster that will send a warning to those that stand in my way! "I activate the Spell card, Evil Eye Reemergence. This card lets me Special Summon one 'Familiar of the Evil Eye' token to my field. Now, emerge!" A yellow eyeball in a lens floated onto Ace's field.

Familiar of the Evil Eye Token ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1

"It's time to end this!" Ace said, as he raised one of his cards high. "This monster can only be Special Summoned from my hand or Graveyard by sending four Level 1 monsters on my field to my Graveyard!"

Lord Kazuma's eyes widened. There was only one monster that had a summoning condition like that. One monster that can turn the tide of the duel if played right. One monster that would seriously be tricky to take down, even for a duelist like himself. Especially for a duelist like Raguel and his allies. Except for Revolver, of course. He can easily take this monster down in a heartbeat with his ace monster.

"I send three copies of Sentry and the Familiar of the Evil Eye token from my field to my Graveyard!" All four monsters turned into black particles that formed a total of four pillars, which appeared behind Ace in a circle. Once that was done, the four pillars generated a magical seal with scales on the outer ridges.

"God of anguish and suffering! Arise from your slumber, and strip away the existence of hope! The existence of faith! And the existence of order!" Ace chanted. "Come forth! Incarnation of despair governing all darkness and chaos! Dystopia the Despondent!"

Dark light from the circle and made Lord Kazuma close his eyes. A rumbling noise and a loud shout broke out, and when it dimmed, it made Lord Kazuma open his eyes before gasping at the monster in front of him.

The monster that had emerged was massive. Taller than any monster Lord Kazuma had ever seen before. It was a massive, black gargantuan giant with a large turtle shell that had blades protruding out of it. Dark, curved plates that had sharp edges covered his torso and shoulder areas. He also had ridges on top of his head. Dystopia opened his red eyes before looking at Lord Kazuma and roaring at him.

Dystopia the Despondent ATK: 5000 DEF: 5000 LV: 12

"What do you think, Lord Kazuma? This is the monster that my benefactor gave me as a reward for my service!" Ace exclaimed, with Lord Kazuma obviously not responding to his comment. Seeing this, Ace laughed. "I see. You're so terrified of Dystopia that you can't speak! Don't worry. I'll put your fears to rest with this final attack!" He thrusted out his right hand. "Battle! Dystopia the Despondent attacks Dark Magician Knight! And by banishing one Level 1 monster from my Graveyard, I can have Dystopia become unaffected by other card effects until the end of the damage step. In addition, it can't be destroyed by battle as well! I banish a copy of Sentry of the Evil Eye from my Graveyard! Aura of Despair!" An orb of magical energy went into the orb attached to Dystopia's chest, who roared as his strength increased.

"Fist of Despair!" Dark energy surrounded Dystopia's fist before he proceeded to punch Dark Magician Knight.

Lord Kazuma closed his eyes. "Ace... I didn't expect you to have that monster in your deck. But such a thing will not defeat me! Not when I have a mission to complete!" His eyes shot open as he gestured to his field. "I activate the effect of Dark Magic Suppression in my Graveyard. By banishing this card from my Graveyard, any damage I take is halved for the rest of this turn!"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Even if that were the case, you'll still lose your monster, as well as the majority of your life points!" Dystopia crushed Dark Magician Knight using his fist, who screamed as a massive explosion occurred, which knocked Lord Kazuma off his feet before he landed on the ship's deck.

Lord Kazuma: 1500 – (2500 / 2) = 250 LP

Ace frowned. "You're lucky, Lord Kazuma. For while Dystopia's on my field, my other monsters can't attack, except for him. Putting that aside, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Mystik Wok. By tributing a monster on my field, I gain life points equal to its attack or defense points. I tribute Dharkon!" Dharkon turned into particles, which went into Ace as his life points increased.

Ace: 700 + 2800 = 3500 LP

"And with that, I end my turn." Ace concluded with a laugh.

Lord Kazuma grimaced before he got back up on his feet.

"You and I are not so different, Lord Kazuma. For instance, the both of us are criminals. Ones that cheat to win. Ones that revel in it." Ace began. "The difference between us, however, is the person we choose to serve, and why we serve them. I serve my benefactor in the hope of advancing myself, as well as staying alive of course. You, on the other hand, serve the Knights of Hanoi. For what? Family? A chance to be happy? Such pathetic reasons, if you ask me."

"You're right, Ace. We're both similar and different from one another in many ways." Lord Kazuma agreed. "However, there's another main difference between us. It's how we cheat."

"How we cheat? What do you mean by that?" Ace inquired with confusion.

"It's simple. When a cheater duels someone, they obviously cheat to win, and will do it at any point in time to gain the upper hand. However..." Lord Kazuma narrowed his eyes. "There's a price in cheating. If you do it repetitively, then people catch on, and expect that you cheat in the duel. You do it so much that it no longer becomes fun for you. Rather, you cheat in a duel just to survive. I cheat, yes, but unlike you, I time my cheats. So that I can catch my opponent off guard at the worst moment. As a result, it makes me a better cheater than you'll ever aspire to be!"

Ace growled upon hearing this. "You have the nerve to say that when you have less than 1000 life points remaining, as well as only one face-down card on your field! What good can you do with that single card?

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," was all Lord Kazuma cryptically replied with. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "Continuous-Trap, activate! Eternal Soul! Now every Dark Magician in my Main Monster Zones are unaffected by your card effects! I also activate Eternal Soul's other effect, which lets me either Special Summon Dark Magician from my hand or Graveyard, or I get to add one 'Thousand Knives' or 'Dark Magic Attack' from my deck to my hand. I choose effect one, and bring back Dark Magician from my Graveyard!" At Lord Kazuma's command, Dark Magician reappeared on his field.

Dark Magician ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"I summon Magician of White Feathers from my hand!" A male magician who wore white-colored armor with sharp, feather-like plates that had sharp edges and covered the torso and shoulder areas appeared on his field. On his head was a white-colored top hat that had the Dark Magical Circle emblem on it.

Magician of White Feathers ATK: 1500 DEF: 1100 LV: 4

"When Magician of White Feathers is Normal or Special Summoned while I control a Dark Spellcaster monster with a different name on my field, I can draw one card from the top of my deck!" Lord Kazuma explained, as he drew the top card of his deck. Now this will certainly help him out! "I activate the effect of Palladium Oracle Mahad from my hand. If I draw this card, I can reveal him to you, and Special Summon him to my field."

"Hmph. I didn't expect that." Ace admitted out of surprise.

"Now come! Palladium Oracle Mahad!" A dark-skinned man wearing golden armor on his upper body appeared on Lord Kazuma's field. Golden armor plates were worn on his shins and arms. White-colored garment pieces were attached to his waist, along with a garment on top of his head, which was sealed with a golden headdress. In his right hand, he carried a scepter.

Palladium Oracle Mahad ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7

"Summon all the monsters you want! None of them can defeat Dystopia in combat! And even if they could, I can simply use Dystopia's effect to prevent its destruction! You'll need to inflict at least 4000 points of damage if you want to defeat me!" Ace exclaimed.

"You're right. I do need to inflict that much damage to defeat you. But..." Lord Kazuma smirked. "Who said I was done? I tune the Level 4 Magician of White Feathers to the Level 7 Dark Magician!" A bolt of green lightning struck Lord Kazuma, the world greying out and his two monsters disappearing into particles in the process. Two rings, which were colored white and purple, appeared before turning blue and merging. Eleven blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "4 + 7" in front of them. The screen then changed to "11" as light surged through the rings.

"Great magician of the dark arts! Set the stage with your ascended dark magic, and unleash a climax that will be etched in our memories forever!" Lord Kazuma. "Synchro Summon! Arise, Level 11! Dark Magician Showtime!" A spellcaster in dark, red armor with multiple, shiny, curved plates that had sharp edges and covered the torso and shoulder areas appeared on his field. On the edges of the plates were curved trimmings of contrasting shade. He had dark, brown-colored skin and grey hair, along with grey-colored eyes. Covering his eyes was a devil's mask, which was colored red and black. On the center of his chest was a red and black-colored bowtie, which had an adamant orb on its sides. In his right hand, he carried a scepter that had four spikes at the top.

Dark Magician Showtime ATK: 2500 DEF: 2500 LV: 11

"A Synchro Summon?" Ace said, shocked that Lord Kazuma had access to this summoning method. "I thought you primarily relied on Fusion Summons."

"I also Xyz Summon every now and then." Lord Kazuma pointed out. "Since the Tower of Hanoi, we Knights of Hanoi realized that to defeat our enemies, we had to evolve. Get stronger. Ensure that we weren't defeated again, no matter who we were facing. Allow me to demonstrate first hand! I activate Dark Magician Showtime's first effect! When he's Synchro Summoned, I can target one Spellcaster on my field and have it gain 1000 attack points. You can't activate cards or effects in response to this as well! I target Palladium Oracle Mahad! Magical Enlightenment!" Dark Magician Showtime fired a burst of magical energy towards Palladium Oracle Mahad, which increased his strength.

Palladium Oracle Mahad ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

"From there, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Dark Magic Expanded. This card's effects are applied in sequence according to the number of Dark Magician and/or Dark Magician Girl monsters on my field and in my Graveyard!"

"All three..." Ace muttered. He then got her bearings together upon realizing something. "But Dark Magician Showtime is not Dark Magician! So you should only be able to activate the first two effects!"

"Actually, as long as Dark Magician Showtime is on my field or in my Graveyard, his name also becomes 'Dark Magician'." Lord Kazuma emphasized, as Ace's eyes widened in response. "Now that you understand, allow me to explain the three effects in a short, yet sweet sequence." He held out a finger. "One: A DARK monster on my field gains 1000 attack points until the End Phase! I choose Dark Magician Showtime!" Dark Magician Showtime then glowed with energy as their strength increased.

Dark Magician Showtime ATK: 2500 + 1000 = 3500

He then held up a second finger. "Two: Not only can my Spell or Trap cards not be destroyed by card effects until the End Phase, you can't activate cards or effects in response to them!" After saying that, he held up a third and final finger. "Three: Until the end of this turn, all DARK Spellcaster monsters are unaffected by card effects!"

"Your monsters are still not strong enough to defeat-!" Ace began speaking.

"I'm not done talking." Lord Kazuma interrupted. "Dark Magician Showtime's second effect! Once per turn, when I activate a Spell or Trap card, I can double his attack and defense points until the end of this turn!" Dark Magician Showtime laughed as his strength increased.

Dark Magician Showtime ATK: 3500 X 2 = 7000 DEF: 2500 X 2 = 5000

"Battle!" Lord Kazuma declared. "Palladium Oracle Mahad attacks Dystopia the Despondent!" Palladium Oracle Mahad leapt forward towards Dystopia.

"Go, ahead! For your foolish move will be your undoing!" Ace exclaimed.

"I activate Palladium Oracle Mahad's effect!" Lord Kazuma said. "When he battles a Dark monster, his attack points are doubled during the damage step!" Palladium Oracle Mahad was surrounded in a golden aura, which increased his strength.

Palladium Oracle Mahad ATK: 3500 X 2 = 7000

"I activate Dystopia's effect!" Ace countered. "By banishing one Level 1 monster from my Graveyard, I can have Dystopia become unaffected by other card effects until the end of the damage step. In addition, it can't be destroyed by battle as well! I banish a copy of Sentry of the Evil Eye from my Graveyard! Aura of Despair!" An orb of magical energy went into the orb attached to Dystopia's chest, who roared as his strength increased.

"You'll still lose life points." Lord Kazuma reminded Ace, as Palladium Oracle Mahad's scepter was covered in magical energy, which he used to try and destroy Dystopia. However, Dystopia met the attack with his fist, causing an explosion that made Ace wince as his life points drop. Both monsters remained on the field despite this clash.

Ace: 3500 – 2000 = 1500 LP

Palladium Oracle Mahad ATK: 7000 / 2 = 3500

"Dark Magician Showtime now attacks Dystopia the Despondent!"

"My monster will still survive your attack!" Ace reminded Lord Kazuma for a third time.

"That means nothing, Ace!" Lord Kazuma replied. "End this duel, Dark Magician Showtime! Magical Finale!" Dark Magician Showtime leapt forward, his scepter being covered in magical energy before firing it at Dystopia, who roared in pain. The spikes on his scepter then closed together, allowing Dark Magician Showtime to pierce through Dystopia completely before destroying him, which caused another explosion that sent Ace flying off the ground before he landed on the ships deck, the duel over at last.

Ace: 1500 – 2000 = 0

What came out of Ace's pocket surprised Lord Kazuma. It was a pair of items.

The first was obviously Uchida Industries' key.

The second was a card. One that Lord Kazuma didn't recognize before.

"And to the victor goes the spoils of war!" Lord Kazuma said, activating his data anchor before whipping it towards the card and key, pulling both of them towards him in the process. Upon doing so, both items lit up on fire, forcing Lord Kazuma to throw both of them away from him. While the key turned into particles, the card revealed video footage. Footage of his mentor Kazuma being caught into a corner, with his pursuer stabbing him in the stomach with a katana. Once that was done, the footage turned static. "No... That man was responsible..."

"Seems the cat's out of the bag now..." Ace stated, getting up on his feet, a grin evident on his face. "The man who you see from that footage was my benefactor. The one who killed your mentor Kazuma Saromi!"

"WHERE'S THAT AZURE-OVERCOATED MAN?!" Lord Kazuma angrily shouted, running over to Ace. But before he could get far, explosions ran through the ship.

"Sorry, but my lips are sealed. As for Uchida Industries' key, I already gave it to my benefactor." Ace's grin widened, happy that he caught Lord Kazuma off guard. "Oh, and I rigged the ship to shut down in the event I lost the duel."

"You little-!" Both Lord Kazuma and Ace immediately lost their balance. But while the former regained it, the latter was unsteady before finding out that a portal was behind him.

"No. Not you. Not now," were Ace's last words as he fell into the portal. The ship then steered, which headed for the Black Market's main area!

Next time I find you Ace, you'll give me some answers. As for your benefactor, he's a dead man, Lord Kazuma thought, as he summoned Timaeus before hopping on his back and flying away from the burning ship.

"There you are, Lord Kazuma." Dancho said. "Were you able to-?"

"That bastard didn't have the code key!" Lord Kazuma snarled, much to Dancho and Drachen's shock. "I tried to capture Ace, but..."

"He anticipated this would happen." Drachen finished. And to think they were so close too!

"Sorry, guys. When I found out who murdered Kazuma, I..." Lord Kazuma grit his teeth, now knowing who was responsible for his mentors death, as well as the fact that he let his own emotions get in the way of the mission.

"Tell us everything you found out once we log out." Dancho told him. Nodding, the three of them logged out of the network.

Meanwhile, in another area of the Black Market...

"Single line, people. Stay calm." Raguel instructed a group of people, who had been injured from the attack. The group headed over to a portal containing data, which basically consisted of a blue seal on the ground. If Raguel was being honest, he was glad those were still running, as they were basically used to help workers log out of the network discreetly if something bad happened.

After hearing the first series of explosions, Raguel, Blue Girl, Ghost Girl, and SengokuQueen immediately ran over to the main area, which, by some miracle, hadn't been touched by the explosions yet. When they got there, they saw Playmaker, Slipstream, and Soulburner helping people escape from the debris, as well as log out in the process.

"Raguel," Soulburner said, going over to him.

"How's it going, Soulburner?" Raguel asked him.

"Well... this is something I didn't expect at all." Soulburner admitted with a sigh.

"It's what happens in war, Soulburner." Flame told him. "No matter who's fighting, there will always be casualties."

"But we can still prevent more of them." Yeshurun stated, going over to the duo, a squad of samurais behind him.

"Yeshurun," Raguel said, bowing to him. "I'm glad you and your men were able to respond to the situation so quickly."

"We had some help in the real world." Yeshurun replied with a smile, before motioning to his men to help out nearby victims.

It's obviously Akira Zaizen who gave Yeshurun the help. Who in their right mind would build a temporary alliance with the Black Market, Raguel thought in his mind. Nodding back to Yeshurun, he and Soulburner headed over to a nearby area, where some Black Market troops of various branches were helping others. Well, if anything good came out of this war, it's that the troops actually came together for once. Something that should have happened a long time ago.

"Man, this sucks! We should be fighting out here, not surveying the injured!" Ai complained.

"Be quiet." Playmaker snapped back. He honestly didn't need Ai's commentary right now.

"Sorry."

"Hey, Playmaker." Soulburner said, getting his attention. "The people in the southwest area are in the clear."

"That's good. Not everyone in this area has logged out yet." Playmaker told the duo. "I tried to help them, but..."

Raguel nodded. With the bounty on their heads, it was only logical for people to be wary around them. But thanks to Raguel's well-known presence, as well as those from Epsilon, the injured was willing to at least allow them to help when needed. Putting two fingers on his earpiece, he said, "How goes the evacuation on your end, Blue Girl?"

"It's actually okay, here. The people know me as Blue Angel, so my familiarity is putting them at ease." Blue Girl replied. "That, and Epsilon's leader told everyone that SengokuQueen's under his protection. So they basically shut their mouths after that."

"Honestly, labour like this is not what I expected." Ghost Girl added.

"Oh stop acting like a spoiled brat, Ghost Girl!" SengokuQueen snapped at her.

"Spoiled brat?" Ghost Girl repeated. "Don't you dare go there!"

"Uh, guys." Slipstream interrupted, who was on the top of a nearby building as the trio looked up at him. "Something's coming!" He pointed his finger high into the sky, which made the trio look at where he was pointing to.

All three of them gasped at the same time upon seeing the burning battleship heading towards them!

"We have to log out now!" Raguel exclaimed. "Herald. Ai. Flame. Get the warning across to everyone still here!"

"Roger!" all three Ignis' said at the same time, as bits of code entered into their respective owners' duel disks before dissipating from them. Once that was done, the quartet logged out, along with everyone else accounted for before the battleship hit the ground, which caused a massive explosion.

Once, the Black Market was a lively area. One that had all kinds of people simply conducting their business.

But now... Now the area was consumed by fire and ash, along with screams that haunted the air before dissipating.

You could say that the Black Market became a ghost town.

An area that was desecrated by the war.

One that was... no longer inhabitable for anyone for the time being.

In the real world, at Café Matsuo, in the backroom...

Yuhiro gasped upon exiting the closed-off space as it opened, leaning against the side of the wall.

"There, there. You'll be fine." Roxy assured him, going over and placing his right arm around her left shoulder. She then helped Yuhiro walk over to the backroom, who was obviously tired from what happened.

"Guys, you're not gonna like this." Arashi stated, running over to the backroom from upstairs and immediately typing on the digital keyboard. Soon, various screens popped up, which showed the destroyed battleship, along with the Black Market being consumed by flames, ash, and charred bodies.

Yuhiro started shaking, shocked by what he saw. A sight that... he thought he'd never see again until now. In a sense, it reminded Yuhiro of that nightmare he had. The one where he was on the barren wasteland, looking at a burning house being attacked by monsters, and being unable to do anything about it.

The shock made Yuhiro fall onto one knee as he took deep breaths, still trying to process what happened. "Damn him to Hell," he cursed under his breath. While it wasn't the best place to work at, the Black Market helped him and Roxy when they needed it. That's why, in his mind, Yuhiro swore to make Ace pay not just for destroying the Black Market, but for hurting innocent people both in the network and in the real world. Especially for trying to hurt Miyu. Ace... will suffer dearly for what he did. "I couldn't save them all..."

"It'll be okay, Yuhiro. We won't let Ace get away with this." Roxy assured Yuhiro for a second time, helping him stand up on his feet. After Arashi got a nearby chair and sat on it, a screen popped up, which showed Kusanagi, Yusaku, and Takeru.

"I'm glad to see the both of you are okay." Kusanagi told them.

"Before you say anything Yuhiro, Blue Girl, Gore Gal, and the others are okay!" Ai said in a happy tone.

"Honestly, Ai. Do I have to correct you every single time? It's Ghost Girl, not Gore Gal!" Flame replied with exaggeration in his voice.

"Well, that's a relief." Yuhiro sighed. "Glad to see you guys are okay as well."

"With the Turf War over, we can refocus our efforts on Bohman, as well as finding the person responsible for destroying the Cyberse World." Yusaku said.

"As glad as I am that we can go back to our main mission Yusaku, that Turf War... took a bit more out of me than I expected." Takeru admitted.

"Then we should rest over the next few days. Lay low for a bit." Yuhiro suggested.

"And all of us will keep an eye on things in the network at the same time." Herald added. "I mean, we have to be ready if an Ignis pops up or we get another lead again."

"That's reasonable, especially with this announcement that came up recently." Arashi stated, opening an email and sending the attachment to Kusanagi and the others.

"Den Academy to shift to online learning for the next few weeks following recent events." Yusaku read. This made sense, considering the attacks not just on Den Academy, but on other areas as well.

"I wonder how they're going to pull that off." Takeru stated, curiosity evident in his voice. Online learning was something he never did before, which got his interest. After all, it wouldn't hurt to try something new.

"Well, on the bright side, the both of you will get to spend more time with me." Kusanagi said.

"But I hate online learning. It's distracting." Arashi complained.

"Especially when you have us Ignis to distract you." Ai stated.

"Ai, do you ever know when not to talk?" Yusaku inquired.

"Uh... no." Ai conceded.

"Anyhow, let's call it a night here." Roxy said. "Keep us informed if something comes up."

"Same with you." Kusanagi replied, as the screen showing him, Yusaku, and Takeru disappeared.

"Well, those events were pretty eventful." Arashi said, as he, along with Roxy and Yuhiro, headed upstairs to the living room. "I honestly didn't expect a flying battleship to head over to where we were. It was almost like..."

"It was planned." Roxy finished.

"Ace obviously set this up in the event he lost. You could say he wanted to take everyone down with him." Yuhiro stated. He then yawned.

"Go to bed, Yuhiro. You obviously need some rest." Roxy gently suggested.

"Yeah. I think I'll do that. Night." Yuhiro headed upstairs to his room, intent on getting some sleep.

Roxy then turned to Arashi. "What about you, Arashi? You getting some sleep?"

"In a bit. I need to check on something in the backroom." Arashi replied.

"Alright. In that case, I'm just going to wind down and watch some TV." As Roxy headed over to the nearby couch and grabbed the remote, Arashi headed over to the backroom.

Once he got there, he sat down on one of the seats before pulling up two screens. One showed various pieces of data that had different colors, while the other was fizzled and static in a single color.

Although Yuhiro and Roxy, as well as Yusaku and the others, helped Arashi out with finding the one who sent Takeda to the hospital during their spare time, they weren't able to eliminate the static found in the first set of data. It was there where Herald suggested using an Ignis algorithm to try and decipher it. As such, he, along with Ai and Flame, lent some of their data, hoping that it will help in solving the mystery.

I have to give credit to Herald, Ai, and Flame for lending me some of their data, Arashi thought, as he typed on the digital keyboard for several minutes. Using the Ignis algorithms, he inputted it into the fizzled and static data. Within a few minutes, the data started to become clear, the static starting to fade away. Seizing the chance, Arashi inputted some of the different colored data into it. After a moment or so, the data then became streamlined before turning into a digital being that Arashi recognized. To make sure he wasn't seeing things, he immediately pulled up an image of Windy and compared it to the data. Once that was done, a plus sign popped up, which indicated that they were one and the same.

Arashi gasped momentarily before closing his mouth. Windy... was the one who put Takeda in the hospital? No. This can't be right. Herald and the others told him that Windy was a jokester. One that was easygoing and open to talk with.

Then again, people don't stay the same forever. Even an Ignis changes over time.

And for Windy to do such a thing... it proved that an AI like an Ignis had the potential to cause harm to others.

"I checked, and I double checked." Arashi stated, as he stood up from the chair. He narrowed his eyes in pure grief and anger, having found the culprit who injured Takeda at last. "I finally found you."

Meanwhile, at another area in the network...

Jericho fully smiled upon seeing the flow of data enter that appeared on the light-green monitors.

"THIS! IS! AWESOME!" Jericho exclaimed with glee, looking at the data that was filling his servers. Thanks to the program he gave to Brion, he now had access to what Athaliah had in mind for the experiments she had been conducting prior to her death. What's more, Jericho was glad that Athaliah was dead. After all, when a demented human being dies, it makes the planet a better place to live.

Typing on the digital keyboard, several screens popped up on the monitor, which Jericho looked at with curiosity.

The first screen showed Rachel Miyake, Brion Miyahara, and Gil Ariba. Medical data, along with stats were on shown for each of them.

The second screen had video footage containing the aftermath of Numera and Greg's duel against Athaliah. It showed Numera and Greg arguing with Electrolyzer and Gil on what to do with Athaliah, only for her to start seizing violently before blood burst out of her body. What happened next caught Jericho's eye. A purple-like goo substance cracked Athaliah's bones and ripped out her flesh, fully appearing into the network before making its escape.

As for the last screen, it showed several blueprints of Bohman. Beside him was an orb, which contained portions of different-coloured data. Clicking through the blueprints as if it were a slideshow, Jericho learned that the orb was to go into Bohman in order to restore him to normal. However, the next blueprint caught Jericho's eye, as it showed Bohman having various symbols in his body, as well as on his back.

One symbol was colored brown, which consisted of a trio of rocks.

One symbol was colored water, which consisted of a teardrop that had two teardrops springing upwards on both sides.

One symbol was colored red, which consisted of a flame.

One symbol was colored light green, which consisted of a wing sitting above a tornado.

One symbol was colored yellow, which consisted of a dandelion yellow star.

One symbol was colored purple, which consisted of a purple circle with a zigzag line on each side.

One symbol was colored white, which consisted of a dark-orange demonic crest that had lion fangs on the sides, as well as a typical western sword with a golden rain-guard and a blue grip slashing it down the middle.

And finally, one symbol was colored black, which consisted of a dark-blue demonic crest that had two mirage blades making an X, as well as a katana slashing it down the middle.

Upon seeing this, Jericho laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed.

"So that's your experiment, Athaliah? To have an advanced AI become a Construct? HOW AMAZNG IS THAT!" Jericho commented, comparing the pictures of Rachel, Brion, and Gil with Bohman. "While this advanced AI will help with my plans, it'd be a good idea to consider the other Construct as well. For you never know what will happen." Closing the pictures of Brion and Gil, Jericho zoomed in on a picture of Rachel, which showed circuits in her body, along with the acquired results. He narrowed his eyes as he looked it over thoroughly. "Rachel Miyake... Of all the test subjects, you were the only one who became a Construct. Though you did become a faulty one at that..."

After reading the information, Jericho stood up from his chair, a triumphant look on his face.

"NOW THIS COULDN'T HAVE GONE ANY BETTER! THE BLACK MARKET'S DESTRUCTION, THE EVOLUTION FROM AN AI TO A CONSTRUCT, THE HANOI'S SURPRISE APPEARNCE, SOL TECHNOLOGIES' INVOLVEMENT, RAGUEL, PLAYMAKER, SOULBURNER, AND SLIPSTREAM JUMPING INTO THE SCENE ONCE AGAIN, AND EVEN AZRAEL SHOWING UP TEMPORARILY AS WELL! SOMETHING TELLS ME THIS SHOW IS ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER FROM HERE!" Jericho then sat back down on his chair. "And when this is all over..." He smirked as his glasses glowed. "...I will come out on top as the ultimate victor!"

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 Arashi.

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 Girl, 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 Girl, while Numera was with Geomathmech Final Sigma. Ghost Girl was with Altergeist Dragvirion, while SengokuQueen was with Secret Six Samurai – Rihan.

The screen then changes to Raguel, Playmaker, and Soulburner riding on their duel boards with Cyreath Medusa and Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode, 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

Ace:

Sentry of the Evil Eye (LV: 1/Fiend/Dark/ATK: 100/DEF: 100)

Effect: If you control an 'Evil Eye' Link Monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand to a Main Monster Zone it points to. If this card is used for the Link Summon of an 'Evil Eye' Link Monster: You can add 1 'Evil Eye' card from your deck or GY to your hand. You can only use each effect of 'Sentry of the Evil Eye' once per turn.

Greed of the Evil Eye (Normal Spell card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can target 1 'Evil Eye' Link Monster on your field or in your GY; draw cards from the top of your deck equal to its Link Rating. If this card is in your GY: You can banish this card from your GY; add 1 'Evil Eye' card from your deck to your hand, OR two if you control an 'Evil Eye' Link Monster. You can only use 1 effect of 'Greed of the Evil Eye' per turn, and only 1 that turn.

Lord Kazuma:

Magician of White Feathers (LV: 4/Spellcaster/Tuner/Light/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1100) (Credit to Electriuser)

Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you control a Dark Spellcaster monster with a different name, draw 1 card from the top of your deck. If this card is in your GY and you control a Spellcaster monster with a different name: You can Special Summon this card from your GY to your field in defense position, but banish it when it leaves the field.

Dark Magic Alchemy (Continuous-Spell card)

Effect: Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 Spell or Trap card in your GY into your deck; add 1 Spell or Trap card from your deck to your hand with a different name. If this card leaves the field by an opponent's card effect: You can draw two cards, then discard one card from your hand.

Dark Magic Suppression (Continuous-Trap card)

Effect: When this card is activated: Declare a card name, then apply the following effect. Each time your opponent activates a card with the declared name, its effects are negated until the end of the turn, also, your opponent takes 500 damage. If this card is in your GY: You can banish this card, and if you do, all damage you take is halved until the end of the turn. You can only use this effect of 'Dark Magic Suppression' once per turn.

Dark Magician Showtime (LV: 11/Spellcaster/Fusion/Light/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2500) (Credit to Electriuser)

Effect: 1 Spellcaster Tuner monster + 1 or more non-Tuner Spellcaster monster(s). When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can target 1 Spellcaster monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response this effect. If you activate a Spell or Trap card: You can double this cards ATK and DEF until the end of this turn. Once, if this card leaves the field: You can Special Summon this card from your GY, and if you do, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation of your Spell or Trap cards for the rest of this turn. You can only use each effect of 'Dark Magician Showtime' once per turn.

Drachen:

Red-Eyes Shield Gardna (LV: 4/Warrior/Fire/ATK: 100/DEF: 2600)

Effect: When your opponent declares an attack with a monster they control: You can send this card from your hand to your GY; this turn, monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects, also, all damage you take is halved. You can only use this effect of 'Red-Eyes Shield Gardna' once per turn.

Malf:

Darkscourge Worm (LV: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)

Effect: If this card is sent to your GY by a card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your GY to your field. If this card is used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a 'Darkscourge' Link Monster: Both players must send the top card of their deck to their GY. You can only use each effect of 'Darkscourge Worm' per turn.

Darkscourge Sustenance (Normal Spell card)

Effect: You can send 1 'Darkscourge' monster from your hand to your GY; draw two cards from the top of your deck. You can only activate 1 'Darkscourge Sustenance' per turn.

Darkscourge Generator (Continuous-Spell card)

Effect: Once per turn, if you control a 'Darkscourge' Link Monster: You can target 'Darkscourge' cards in your GY equal to its Link Rating; shuffle them into your deck, and if you do, draw the same number of cards from your deck, then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards in your hand. If you would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link Monster: You can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from this card equal to that monster's Link Rating instead (this counts as a Link Summon).

Darkscourge Extinction (Continuous-Trap card)

Effect: While this card is on the field, 'Darkscourge' cards you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects. If a 'Darkscourge' Link Monster you control inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Place 'Darkscourge' counters on a 'Darkscourge Star Core' or 'Darkscourge Generator' you control equal to its Link Rating, and if you do, your opponent takes 500 damage times its Link Rating.

Darkscourge Hawk (LR: 2/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2200/↙️⬇️)

Effect: 2 'Darkscourge' monsters. When this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 'Darkscourge' Spell or Trap card from your deck to your hand. You can target 1 monster your opponent controls and 1 'Darkscourge' monster this card points to; the first target lose ATK equal to the second target's original ATK. You can only use this effect of 'Darkscourge Hawk' once per turn.

QOTC

Of the Turf War arc chapters (Chapter 52, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, and 64) which one did you like? Which duels from that arc were your favorite? Any moments that stood out for you from that arc?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 65: Brion's Revolt. With the Turf War finally over, peace has been brought to Den City and LINK VRAINS, but at a heavy cost. As everyone begins recuperating from the aftermath of the Turf War, Brion heads over to SOL Technologies to resign from the bounty hunter task force, no longer wishing to hunt down Playmaker and his allies now that Athaliah is dead. However, when he arrives to present his resignation, he discovers SOL Technologies harboring a sinister secret. A secret that will impact the events to come...

Chapter 66: Hanoi's Malady. Having learned that the Earth Ignis has made contact with Ai, Azrael and Wraith lead a pre-emptive strike against the Knights of Hanoi to prevent them from catching their potential target. Once again being attacked by enemies, the Knights of Hanoi are forced to respond, with Speckles leading the charge while Azrael sends Malf to eliminate Revolver. Malf, on the other hand, has his eyes on another duelist. One that will help him become stronger...

Chapter 67: Truth and Consequences. The Earth Ignis has made contact with Ai, leading Yusaku to meet up with him in the network, hoping to gain answers and a new ally for the battles ahead. Yuhiro attempts to join him, only to receive a challenge letter from a most unexpected opponent, with an equally dreadful secret he intends to share with Yuhiro...

Author's Notes

Credit goes to Electriuser for providing these cards a while back, as I didn't have a chance to use them until now.

As of this chapter, the Turf War arc is over, and I hope you enjoyed the explosive finale! Let's recap things really quick before announcing the contest, shall we?

The main events of this chapter were the two duels. First is the Lord Kazuma vs. Ace duel, which allowed both duelists to go full out against each other. I have to say, I really enjoyed this duel, especially with the dialogue back and forth between both duelists. From Ace taunting Lord Kazuma about his benefactor, to Lord Kazuma basically getting on Ace's nerves, it was honestly a wild ride.

This was also the first duel that Ace unveiled his strongest weapon yet: Dystopia the Despondent. How did Ace get such a card until now, you may ask? Simple. It was one of the cards Azrael gave him, along with Inferno Reckless Summon. Luckily, Lord Kazuma was able to defeat Ace using a combination of Palladium Oracle Mahad and his new Synchro monster Dark Magician Showtime. For those of you wondering, his appearance is based off of a combination between Arkana's Dark Magician and himself.

In terms of dialogue, Lord Kazuma dueled Ace to get Uchida Industries back, as well as acquire any information Ace on hand. Information that can help turn the tide of the battle. And he came prepared, as Ace attempted to use Speckles' program on him, only to basically destroy it after Ondina told the Hanoi of what happened. Lord Kazuma, near the end of the duel, talks about the difference between himself and Ace, which is how they cheat. If you're confused by what this is, allow me to explain. Both Lord Kazuma and Ace are total cheaters, with the former basically participating in Infearno's plan to make Raguel and Playmaker surrender, lest their friends get sacrificed. Ace, on the other hand, cheats ALL THE TIME, mainly by adding cards to his hand through his sleeve. The difference between them is this: Lord Kazuma actually knows not only when to cheat, but to time it as well so he can catch his opponents off guard. That's actually how he won the duel, as unbeknownst to Ace, he added a card to his hand through cheating.

As for Ace, he cheated so many times throughout the story that it's practically predictable for people to immediately figure out. You can say that Ace cheats only to survive a duel, not for the joy of it, even though he acts like he's enjoying it.

Following the duel, Ace drops a calling card, with Lord Kazuma immediately attempting to get both it and Uchida Industries' code key. However, much to his horror, he not only discovers that Ace didn't have the code key, but also that his mentor was killed by AZRAEL! As a result, Lord Kazuma was unable to acquire the code key, for Ace managed to escape (thanks to Azrael, of course). Following the duel, Drachen and Dancho are able to save him from the burning ship, which I'll cover later on.

The second duel is between Drachen and Malf, the latter having been sent to eliminate the former. I'll be honest when I say this: I wanted Drachen to win a duel for a long time. So for him to win here accomplishes three things. One: It obviously puts a victory under his belt. Two: He gets revenge on Malf for getting stabbed by him in Chapter 46. Three: It's the first duel where Drachen not only didn't lose life points, but also blocked Malf's Skill and completely wiped out his field, protecting Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon in the process with a combination of Witch's Strike and Return of the Dragon Lords. Here, Drachen has grown a lot as a duelist since Chapter 48, and is someone not to be underestimated.

Following the duel, Malf attempts to blow himself up to eliminate Drachen, only for Dancho to appear out of nowhere to save him. However, this was all just a bluff, as Malf had been faking it. Why, may you ask? Well, let's just say I wouldn't want to reveal the surprise. Regardless of whether Malf defeated Drachen or not, he still succeeded in his mission. And trust me when I say this: It will shock you.

From there, we have Raguel and his allies attempting to help out the people that have been injured by Operation: Kingdom Come, with Yeshurun and his men providing support. Unfortunately, out of nowhere is Ace's battleship, which has been turned into a flying nuke. Ace planned for this to happen in the event he lost the duel, as he wanted to go out with a bang rather than get captured by the Knights of Hanoi. While everyone logged out on time, the explosion caused severe damage to the Black Market, rendering it useless for the time being.

Next is the real world scenes, with Yuhiro swearing to make Ace pay not only for what he did to the Black Market, but for hurting people in the real world as well. And since one of the attempted victims was Miyu, let's just say it'll get massively personal, especially with how precious she is to him. How, may you ask? I can't tell you. What I can tell you is this: It will shock you.

In addition, we have Arashi finally figuring out that Windy put Takeda in the hospital. While Yuhiro and the others helped Arashi out in their spare time, they barely made any progress. Until Herald offers to provide his Ignis algorithm to help out with the task. Ai and Flame also do this, as they too want to solve the mystery. Thanks to the Ignis, Arashi was able to figure out the heinous act Windy did in an attempt to kill him. How do you think it will go down between Arashi and Windy? You'll just have to find out later on.

As for the final scene, it's basically Jericho looking at the information he got from Athaliah's servers. Here, he managed to find out that one of Athaliah's projects was to get Bohman to become the next Construct. After taking into account how Rachel is a Construct too, a faulty one at that, Jericho basically revels in the events that unfolded, happy with the show. He also declares that, when this is all over, he'll be the ultimate victor. What do you think that means? And what plans does he have for Bohman and Rachel? You'll just have to read on and find out.

Anyhow, with everything recapped, it's time to announce the 1000 Reviews Contest and its rules. The goal here is simple: CREATE AN OC ARCHETYPE! That's right! I want to see what you got in terms of creativity. For your OC archetype, I want you to complete the following template and send it to me once you're done:

One: What is the name of the archetype?

Two: What is the playing style of the archetype? In other words, the strategies of the archetype? How does it work?

Three: What are the designs of the cards? What do the monsters look like? The Spells? The Traps?

Four: Are there any current cards that work with the archetype (ex. If you were creating an OC archetype called 'End', then Light End Dragon and Dark End Dragon could possibly work with the archetype)?

Five: What summoning methods are used for this archetype?

Two things here. One: This contest is only open to those that have accounts on Fanfiction. Two, and this is important: Any inappropriate submissions will immediately be disqualified! So out of respect for this contest and other people, please try not to make the archetype submission inappropriate. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to delete it, and I don't want to delete ideas.

With the contest out of the way, I want to make an announcement on what's coming next. I'll be catching up on Roxy's Profiles for the next bit, as I got a total of at least seven profiles to do. The reason why I do these profiles is three things. One: To cover the duelists that've been shown. Two: To provide a slice of life. Three: To provide some post-credit scenes. Ones that aren't covered in the story, as inputting them in the overall story would take longer for them to be complete. For the post credits scenes, it'll cover the aftermath of the Turf War from several different characters' perspectives. So I encourage you to read them while waiting for the next chapters' release.

Speaking of chapters, I put down not one, not two, but three chapter previews for you to look forward to while I do the profiles. These chapters will continue following the anime events... with a twist. What do I mean, you may ask? You'll just have to read on and find out. Once all the profiles are done, I'll refocus my efforts on the next few chapters until Chapter 72, where I'll switch back to the profiles.

So without further ado, I want to thank everyone for reading Chapter 64 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 like the most from this chapter? The duels? The Turf War's conclusion? Jericho's mysterious plotting? Or something else?

That's all for now. Stay tuned, as your patience will be rewarded. For the next chapters after this one are going to not only catch you off guard, but be COMPLETELY AWESOME!