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.

86. Chapter 86: Hypocrisy Of A Saint

Response to Reviews

Thank you to HunterHQ, Anonymous, Donkeyboy100, Unnamed, Donjusticia, Kingdom Hearts Guy, Lionel Messi, Naruto1999, Malcom, T.V. 2000, Big Duels, Guest, and Pancakes for reviewing Chapter 85 of Obscured Truth.

Hi, folks. I hope you're safe and sound wherever you are during this holiday season. Once again, I know some of you wanted Haru to defeat Blue Maiden, but this is unfortunately one of those times where I'm required to follow anime canon. Because let's face it: If Haru won, then Bohman wouldn't have had the motivation to duel Blue Maiden and get revenge. However, I do hope you enjoyed the plot twist at the end of Haru and Blue Maiden's duel, with Jericho capturing Haru for his plans. Once again, I won't tell you what Jericho has in mind for Haru, but read on to get the answer for yourself.

Anyhow, now that I explained myself, let's get to answering some reviews:

HunterHQ: Yes, Rex using his brother Roman's right arm is a great example of someone using someone else's body parts. Yeah, Watchman is definitely a prime instigator for all the events that happened, and you'll see his reasons for doing so in this chapter. In terms of Excalibur and Muramasa, they can be upgraded to get stronger, that I can confirm. No, if Yuhiro or Yukage lost their swords, they can still log out of the network with their duel disks. If Yuhiro used Pandora and the others, then Yukage would have no choice but to take the former seriously. Yeah, the Bruce Lee quotes can certainly resonate with some of the characters in the story. I do plan to watch Black Adam soon, and it will certainly provide ideas for when Brion goes back to Central Japan to liberate it from Balius. Glad to hear that the Haru in this story can defeat his counterparts in other VRAINS fanfics. But then again, there's only one way to find out the answer, don't you agree? As for your question, Haru activated Judgment Arrows on Turn 1. Then it was banished by Blue Maiden's Quick-Play Spell card, Marincess Typhoon on Turn 2, with Haru using Hydradrive Fortification to add Judgment Arrows from his banished zone to his field on Turn 3 before activating it. Then Blue Maiden used Aqua Argonaut's effect to bounce Judgment Arrows and Sea Star back to their respective hands, where Haru then activated the Judgment Arrows returned to his hand on Turn 5. So therefore, Haru only had one copy of Judgment Arrows, yet was able to play it efficiently.

Anonymous: Because Jericho doesn't know that Earth is the Lost World, he wasn't sure whether to contact Urizen's envoys. No, Yukage isn't aware of Jericho's presence.

Donkeyboy100: Welcome back, and congratulations on starting your new story. Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Unnamed: While Lightning's strategy to go after the weak is good, sometimes, going after other duelists whose strength is different can strike fear into people because they see their stronger allies getting taken down in duels. Zero still has a lot of snares to disable unfortunately.

Donjusticia: Welcome back. Glad I was able to provide you with a holiday treat. Then again, you still got ten more chapters to catch up on, and you'll like them all. No, Jeromy's Skill isn't going to be called 'Emperocket'. That's just odd. And due to anime canon, Percival and Demeter had to unfortunately lose at the hands of Lightning and Windy. But it did set up something dark for Watchman, don't you agree?

Kingdom Hearts Guy: Glad you liked the chapter. The title Bonds Beyond Time is meant to symbolize the fact that no matter what happens, the bonds between siblings will never disappear as time progresses. That, and it was a nice reference to one of the best Yugioh movies I've ever seen.

Lionel Messi: Glad you liked the chapter.

Naruto1999: Like I said above. As much as I wanted Haru to win, it's sadly one of those times where I need to follow anime canon. And merry Zarcmas to you too.

Malcolm: Happy you liked how Haru was shown in this story.

T.V. 2000: Well, Haru didn't die because he was captured by Jericho. In terms of the duel, Haru came really close, and he would have won had Blue Maiden not activated Marincess Blessing's second effect. Happy you liked the duel compared to the anime version of it. Because let's be honest: The anime version of the duel was crap.

Big Duels: I get how you're feeling, but if Haru won, then Bohman would have no motivation in dueling against Blue Maiden. Unfortunately, it's one of those times where I need to follow anime events. Uh, allow me to emphasize something: Sunavalon Dryas was actually flying in that duel between Bitboot and Specter. And you spelt Archaism correctly, don't worry.

Guest: Regarding your theories, you'll just have to read on and find out the answer for yourself.

Pancakes: Merry Zarcmas back to you. And again, not your best sketch, but not your worst one either.

Now that all reviews have been answered, let's get to the chapter, shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter 86: Hypocrisy Of A Saint

In a desolate landscape under a bloody sky, two pendants, one white-ruby and one white-sapphire, fall to the ground before transforming into Excalibur and Muramasa. Their owners, Raguel and Azrael, grab their swords before charging at one another, the blade lock resulting in a flash of light flooding the screen. When the light fades, LINK VRAINS is shown before being replaced my Mirror LINK VRAINS. The Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS logo then appears, with the words "OBSCURED TRUTH" to ominously appear underneath it in rainbow colours. Two symbols also appear underneath those words, with the first one consisting of a dark-orange demonic crest that had lion fangs on the sides, as well as Excalibur slashing it down the middle. The other symbol consisted of a dark-blue demonic crest that had two mirage blades making an X, as well as Muramasa slashing it down the middle.

Yuhiro, Yusaku, Takeru, and Arashi are sitting around a table at Café Nagi, looking at duel footage as they discuss strategies they can use to counter their enemies. At a nearby table, Roxy, Kusanagi, and Greg are chatting, a hamburger in Roxy's hand, and a hotdog in Kusanagi's hand. Rachel is shown nearby playing with Rasterliger, Salamangreat Balelynx, and Linkuriboh, until the four of them turn their heads to see Herald, Ai, and Flame chatting on the best type of entertainment in the world. All four of them go towards the three chatting Ignis and scare them with a large shout. This causes Yuhiro, Yusaku, Takeru, Arashi, Roxy, Kusanagi, and Greg to laugh at the three Ignis, who are still flustered by the prank.

Kengo Dojun looks down at the hospital bed his mother is on, gritting his teeth before making a fist with his right hand. At another hospital room, Yuhiro, Roxy, and Aoi are shown, where they look down on Miyu resting on her hospital bed. Yuhiro puts his hands on the sides of his head, a panicked and stressed look on his face as Roxy and Aoi try to calm him down, his anxiety settling in. Red, glowing cracks start to spread over his body before dimming on and off. Behind him, shadows form, one of which is Cyreath Pandora twirling around before he eyes glow red, where she raises her right arm in front of her and places her left hand on her chest, as if she were singing. After she disappears, Cyreath Alastor appears in her place, his multicolored shapes resembling eyes glowing as the knight pulls out all three blades and slashes the screen completely.

Raguel and Playmaker appear, riding parallel to one another on their duel boards, with Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode and Firewall Dragon following after them. Next is Soulburner and Slipstream, with Salamangreat Heatleo and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon following after the second duo. Last but not least, Blue Maiden and Numera appear, with Marincess Marbled Rock and Geomathmech Final Sigma following after the third duo.

At SOL Technologies, Akira, Hayami, Queen, and Pawn are looking at a monitor that showed Go Onizuka in the training dome, having won a duel against a virtual Playmaker. While the first two individuals frowned with concern, the second two had satisfied smiles on their faces.

In a dark abandoned room, Yukage narrows his eyes as looks at a happy memory of him and Yuhiro playing together as children by using the memory scanner. Blue, glowing cracks start to appear on his right hand, causing Yukage to take deep breaths to calm himself down. After looking at his pendant for a few moments, Yukage puts on his duel disk before he and Wraith raise their right hands to the sky and log into the network. Haru is then shown training under Azrael's tutelage in a room of a palace, having faced off against multiple upgraded Bitboots with Hydradrive Nagini, Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, and Medusoid Hydradrive Gorgun behind him. Nearby, Azrael and Wraith watch the match, wanting to see how much stronger Haru has become.

The screen then shifts to another room of the palace, where Bohman is sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed as he begins to meditate. His eyes open before they glow a rainbow color, the glow also spreading to his chest as the room briefly lights up before dimming down. But in the shadows, Malf's eyes glow red as he proceeds to lick his mouth, hunger on his mind.

Silhouettes of Yua Kogami and Katsuya pop up before they morph into their VRAINS personas Demeter and Percival, where the screen goes back to one room of the palace. Windy, who is wearing a cape and eyepatch, commands Stormridership Bahamut Bomber to attack Demeter, who responds by having Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty intercept the attack. In another room, Jin Kusanagi stands with Lightning as the latter snaps his fingers, causing a small squad of Armatos Legio Decurions and Centurions to appear behind him. Armatos Legio Magnus Dux, along with Tribunus Laticlavius and Legatus Legionis also appeared behind Lightning. Percival growls as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon rises from behind him, and two copies of Phantom Knights' Spear appear in his hands.

A silhouette of Ace is shown above Uchida Industries, his right hand outstretched over the company. Drachen faces off against a squad of Bitboots with Red-Eyes Black Dragon behind him, hellbent on getting it back from Ace. The screen then flips over to show Electrolyzer trying to escape his restraints using PSY-Framegears Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, with Jericho ominously laughing in the background.

Smoke appears in various areas of the central station in LINK VRAINS, which has been attacked by multiple Bitboots. Phoenix and Gil stand back to back, with Nephthys, the Scared Flame and Abyss Actor – Evil Heel beside the duelists as they confront one Bitboot each. SengokuQueen and Ghost Girl do the same, with Secret Six Samurai – Rihan and Altergeist Memorygant beside the duelists as they too confront one Bitboot each. Stregone is shown arriving to assist both groups, Quintet Magician and Enlightenment Paladin behind him. Nearby, Rosetta confronts Ace, Black Rose Moonlight Dragon rising from behind her before roaring at Ace, who has Dystopia the Despondent rise behind him in response.

Watching these events using the Spatial Cube is Watchman, who is in his server. A disappointed look appears on his face before he pulls out a total of six Black Keys, three in each of his hands. Watchman's eyes glow purple before three copies of Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord appear behind him, which proceed to fuse into Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord as the screen is covered with purple cubes.

Raguel and Azrael are then shown facing off against one another in a matrix-like battlefield. Turboblaze Dragon, along with Cyreaths Blazing Orthros, Aetos Dios, and Lernaean Hydra, appear behind Raguel before combining to form a tall, white-colored bipedal dragon with red irises and black pupils, as well as a long and slender neck. He had a long, voluminous wispy mane streaming out from the upper side of his snout and outwards from his head, with the two protrusions on his head having merged to form into a long, bright and blazing one. His four arms were slender and arm-like with a wing-like appearance and four fingers on his glowing, fiery claws. On his head was a golden piece of armor, with fiery-golden armor pieces on his feathered chest and body. Each of his feet had large grey claws, three at the front and one positioned at the back to resemble high heels. The jet-like engine tail's bands expanded outwards, with the feathers in it spiking upwards before a massive blast of fire erupts from it.

Teravolt Dragon, along with Cychaics Pluto, God of the Underworld, Jupiter, God of the Storm, and Neptune, God of the Sea, appear behind Azrael before combining to form a tall, purple-colored bipedal dragon with blue sclera and white pupils, as well as a small horn-like protrusion on the tip of his snout. His head sported a thundercloud-like crest tipped with yellow coloration, along with pieces of golden armor as well. At the base of his neck, his shoulders, knees, and wings was a black, stud-like feature resembling that of armor, with spikes appearing on the shoulders. His large wings consisted of a fanned shape that expanded outwards to show three spikes tipped with electricity. Strapped to his back was a halo with three spikes on it. Attached to his arms were baseball-mitt-like formations, with three-clawed hands on the undersides that glowed with electricity. His three-clawed feet also glowed with electricity as well. His tail now consisted of two electric generators with a spike at the end, which hummed before releasing electricity from it.

In a garden of Asagao flowers, Miyu sees Yuhiro on one knee, having grabbed the hilt of Excalibur to try and stand up on his feet, the sword having been planted on the ground. She run over and helps Yuhiro stand up on his feet, the both of them having grateful smiles on their faces. The both of them look upwards as the screen jumps to the bright sky and the glowing sun.

In Mirror LINK VRAINS...

Playmaker looked around. "Everyone. Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Raguel reported, the others giving similar affirmations.

"It appears we're in the clear now, but I'm sure Lightning and Azrael have other surprises in store for us."

"Most likely, but the sooner we find them, the sooner we can end this once and for all." Watchman said.

"So should we split up in pairs or something?" Slipstream questioned.

Playmaker opened his mouth but turned before he can respond. To his surprise, the world briefly glitched. His eyes widened as everything started shaking.

"W-What was that?" Ai wondered.

"Mirror LINK VRAINS is merging with the original!" Kusanagi told Playmaker.

"Be on your toes, guys." Roxy added.

"Outside connections are about to shut down!" Raguel realized. "Something tells me we're about to be on our own from now on."

"Like in Legends: Arceus, where the commander kicked the main character out of the camp?" Herald asked, which made Raguel roll his eyes.

"Normally, I'd reprimand you for bringing up a video game reference, but that one actually aligns with what's going on. So I'll give you that one." Raguel replied.

Playmaker grit his teeth as Raguel's prediction came true and they lost both Kusanagi and Roxy's signal. His frustration turned to panic when the flames on his duel board sputtered out and he began falling.

"Um, that's not good! Mayday! Mayday! We're going down!" Ai reported.

"We can't maintain our current course!" Herald said.

All nine duel boards fell through the air, their duelists holding onto the boards. Raguel, gritting his teeth, watched as a nearby island got closer and closer until-.

BA-BUMP!

Raguel braced himself before launching himself to the side and evading the island, where he felt the entire air freeze, as if time paused. While he didn't know how long time would be paused for, if Raguel had to estimate, it was about seven seconds. As such, he had to act. Fast.

Using his momentum, Raguel grabbed his duel board before pushing his feet off the edge of the nearby island, where he landed on another island. Raguel quickly ran to the edge of the island before jumping off of it, where he used his duel board as a spring pad to propel himself to the ground just below him. He hit the ground and rolled on it briefly before grabbing it with his hands to stop the momentum, where time resumed afterwards.

Raguel slowly got up on his feet and took in his surroundings. "You okay, Herald?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Raguel." Herald replied, before noticing that he and Raguel were somehow on the ground faster than the others were. "Hang on a minute. Did we fall faster than the others? I mean, we were in the air one minute, and then-."

"I'm not sure how, but it seems time slowed down." Raguel theorized. While he wasn't sure how that power awoke inside of him, it was the least of his worries right now. "As for where we are right now…."

He looked around, and saw that the two of them had landed on a garden. And ahead of them was a large tree that had Asagao flowers on it. It wasn't just the tree that had Asagao flowers on it. There were also Asagao flowers on the pieces of grass as well. After walking to where the tree was, Raguel touched the Asagao flowers on it, tears slowly falling from his eyes. He promised Miyu that after she was released from the hospital, he'd take her there. But because of Azrael, that had been delayed, and Raguel swore that he'd fulfil his promise to her once this was all over.

"Raguel, I understand what you're feeling, but you can't let it affect you right now." Herald told Raguel.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I hear you." Raguel replied, as he wiped the tears with his right forearm. "Herald, can you contact the others?"

"Hmm… No. Whatever cut off outside communications must have cut off internal ones. Until we reunite with the others, it looks like we're on our own."

Raguel frowned. "Regardless, I hope the others are okay."

The good news was that everyone else was okay, though they had suffered a few bruises along the way. Slipstream slowly got up on his feet as he looked around the area, which resembled that of an airport. He took off his mask briefly to wipe the dust off of it before putting it back on his face.

"Be safe, everyone." Slipstream muttered.

Infearno frowned at the area he was in. He landed on a large island resembling that of a plain grassland, with a few trees. There was a lake nearby as well.

Watchman landed on his feet with no trouble at all as he looked around the area he was in. As he walked in the area he was in, he noticed a church ahead of him, with numerous crosses jutting out of the ground.

Soulburner moaned and rubbed the back of his head as he looked around the area he was in. He gulped upon realizing that he had landed on a graveyard. "You have got to be kidding me." Soulburner and Flame glared at the sky upon seeing the light show that had formed around the island.

Raguel narrowed his eyes at the similar light show before he crossed his arms. "It seems Lightning and Azrael have a show planned for us."

"Being that we're at the boss rush, it makes sense." Herald agreed, as he narrowed his eyes and scanned the light show briefly before turning to Raguel. "Hmm. It's a barrier program. Maybe you can destroy it with Excalibur?"

"Maybe." Raguel summoned Excalibur in his right hand. He honestly had half a mind to use Excalibur to destroy it. Hell, Raguel even considered using Pandora and Alastor to destroy it. That would catch Lightning and Azrael off guard. But Raguel wasn't sure if the barrier program was a self-regenerating one, nor was he sure if it was something else. So he let Excalibur go, which turned to particles. "If I do it, there's a chance Lightning and Azrael may have a failsafe installed in the barrier program. Plus, I'd be weakened too."

"Then don't do it. Lightning and Azrael may be counting on you exhausting yourself against this barrier. I mean, it does take a lot of energy to charge Excalibur, and more time to recover after using it." Herald pointed out. "It's like using a Noble Phantasm in Fate/Grand Order."

"Once again, I'll give you that one." Raguel said, the two of them looking at the barrier program. Until they knew more, it was wise not to do anything risky. For again, they weren't one hundred percent sure what was behind the barrier program. Better to play it safe temporarily than risk it all at once.

Meanwhile, at Lightning's castle...

"Those force fields are a waste of resources if you ask me. I mean, you may have trapped our enemies in different locations, but they're not dead." Windy pointed out. He stood with Lightning and Jin in the central palace, observing the nine duelists that were in Mirror LINK VRAINS. Azrael, Wraith, and Malf were standing across from them.

"That will be taken care of in time, Windy. You don't have to worry about that." Lightning assured Windy.

"You should actually be grateful that Lightning put those force fields up in the first place, Windy." Wraith commented, which made Windy turn to face the former.

"Oh? Why is that?" Windy inquired.

"Humans have a power known as bonds. To put it simply, they're stronger when they work together." Wraith answered.

"I see. So by separating them, they can't work together. Clever, clever." Windy acknowledged.

"Exactly." Lightning confirmed. "They outnumber us six to nine, so we need to be careful and defeat them one at a time now that Haru's been defeated by Blue Maiden."

"Starting with the weakest, yes?" Azrael correctly guessed, which caused Lightning to nod in confirmation. "The others can watch as their teammates fall one by one."

"Correct." Lightning said, glee evident on his face. "And even if their allies are hacking into Mirror LINK VRAINS, they'll still have to witness their precious duelists lose one by one, thus demoralizing them in the process."

"But you're forgetting one factor, Lightning." Windy interjected.

"Oh?" Lightning turned to face Windy. "What factor do you mean?"

"Why, the fear factor of course." Windy responded. "We should allow our enemies to watch as their companions are destroyed."

Malf smirked. "I like that plan."

"So do I." Wraith agreed, a smirk also appearing on his face.

Lightning thought this over for a few seconds. It wasn't a bad idea at all, for making their enemies lose spirit can help in winning the war. "An interesting proposition, Windy. But it will require us to broadcast the duels, which is impractical."

"Then it's a good thing I captured the individuals who will get the job done." Windy stated, as he raised his finger and made it glow. Frog and Pigeon materialized in front of him, hugging each other before the duo fell to the ground with a scream.

"I'm so scared, boss! What do you think these people want from us?" Pigeon panicked.

"I don't know! Ask them!" Frog told Pigeon.

"Go ahead. Ask us. But please make it quick." Windy told the duo.

"Okay. Two quick questions. One: Who are you guys? Two: What do you want from us?" Pigeon quickly asked the others present.

"One: Lightning, Wraith, and I are Ignis. The giant purple monster nearby is Malf, and the human with us is Azrael. Oh, this is my AI Echo, and nearby is Jin, Lightning's enslaved human." Windy quickly introduced himself and everyone else to the reporter duo. "Two: Judging by how you have a camera on your cranium, you two must be in the show biz, right? We need to sneak some peeks to a couple of peeps."

"But to sum up Windy's answers, you will be working for us." Wraith finished.

"No thanks! We're desperate, but not that desperate!" Frog denied Windy and Wraith's demands.

"Windy and Wraith weren't making job offers..." Lightning began speaking.

"Indeed. We were making job orders." Windy clarified, as green light emitted from his right hand. Seconds later, Frog and Pigeon gasped upon realizing that collars were formed around their necks.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" both Frog and Pigeon screamed.

"Fail to follow our ABC's and our one two threes, and your collars will zap your traps." Windy warned Frog and Pigeon. "Which would be entertaining to say the least."

"What Windy's trying to say is that you disobey us, those collars will erase your avatars, and then Malf will eat your remains." Azrael added, which made Frog and Pigeon scream even more at the threat. Wraith and Windy both laughed upon hearing Azrael's threat to Frog and Pigeon. Even Lightning let out a small chuckle as well.

"Alright! We'll follow your orders!" Frog complied.

"But boss!" Pigeon protested.

"We either do this, or we'll suffer a fate worse than death." Frog whispered back to Pigeon, which made the latter gulp upon seeing Malf lick his lips.

"Okay. I guess you make a very good point." Pigeon conceded.

"Broadcast what we do." Wraith ordered. "The ones brought here will watch and fall in despair as we defeat them."

Suddenly, the entire castle started shaking. When Lightning looked at the sphere, he and the others realized that all of Mirror LINK VRAINS was shaking.

"Impossible! Who could be doing this?!" Lightning exclaimed out of frustration, as he used the sphere to look throughout all of Mirror LINK VRAINS. Eventually, he found Watchman throwing Black Keys at the barrier program while muttering incantations.

"No human can do that!" Windy exclaimed, while Frog and Pigeon simply hugged each other for dear life.

"Watchman is no human." Azrael confirmed in a tone that made everyone pay attention to him. "I will take care of this filth, and deal a crippling blow to our enemies in the process." He unsheathed the Muramasa before using it to slice the air in two, which created a portal to travel through. Azrael and Wraith then quickly went into the portal before it closed up.

No human? What do you mean by that, Azrael, Lightning wondered in his mind. Sure enough, he was going to obviously get answers in their coming duel.

Elsewhere, in another area of Mirror LINK VRAINS...

The whole area of Mirror LINK VRAINS shook, as Playmaker tried to steady himself.

"W-What's going on?" Ai questioned. "It sounds like there's an earthquake going on here!"

"Lightning created this world, so he would have a contingency set in place should such a thing occur." Playmaker pointed out, before a sphere formed in the air above him. The sphere showed Watchman throwing Black Keys at the barrier program while muttering incantations.

"What the heck? Where did Watchman get such strength and power?"

Infearno narrowed his eyes at the projection. "How interesting. It seems you've decided to take initiative, old man."

A portal appeared before a Black Key was thrown out of nowhere, where Watchman spun around before catching it with his right hand. His eyes narrowed. "Azrael."

In response, Azrael chuckled. "Hello, Watchman. It's been a very long time since we last saw each other."

Frog and Pigeon suddenly appeared in the sky, which was near where Watchman and Azrael were.

"Film this! Film this!" Frog ordered.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, boss." Pigeon replied.

Watchman glanced up and saw Frog and Pigeon hovering in the air. "Ah, I see. You intend to pick us off one by one, is that it?"

"That's correct, and I've chosen to wipe you out first. The best part is that I can choose whatever method that's needed to complete the job." Azrael responded, before he threw another Black Key at Watchman, who easily blocked it by pulling out three Black Keys in each of his hands. He charged at Azrael as the latter slid away and unsheathed and sheathed the Muramasa numerous times, which released black and blue distortion ripples that tried to envelop the former. In response, Watchman simply sidestepped each of the ripples before attempting to strike Azrael, only for him to jump into the air before throwing two Black Keys at the former from above.

Seeing this, Watchman quickly threw the ones in his hands at the ones Azrael had thrown, which caused them to fall apart as he charged forward at Azrael, who landed on the ground and blocked his strike with the Muramasa. "You've chosen the wrong side, boy."

"Wrong side, you say? You were the one who betrayed us for your selfish goals!" Azrael replied, before breaking the sword lock and nearly striking Watchman with the Muramasa, only for him to dodge roll the attack at the last second. "And you used us like guinea pigs in the process!"

"So what? In the grand scheme of things, what exactly does that matter?" Watchman questioned back, before the two of them charged forward and attempted to strike the other using several techniques from the Bajiquan martial arts. Azrael blocked Watchman's elbow strike before trying to throw a hook punch at him, the latter blocking the attack and using the former's momentum to push him back. Watchman then threw several Black Keys at Azrael, who proceeded to block each of them using the Muramasa before teleporting above the former and unsheathing and sheathing his sword several times, which caused several more black and blue distortion ripples to appear.

"How does that matter? Your actions have tainted all of us irreparably!" Azrael responded back, as the former landed on the ground while Watchman rolled to the side and avoided the ripples once again. "But you being an Inquisitor, you've been trained to close your heart at these things, haven't you?" The both of them threw Black Keys at one another, which fell to the ground upon hitting one another.

"You were an Inquisitor once, so you're already aware of their teachings." Watchman countered, before several blue-mirage blades appeared at Azrael's left and right sides, which obviously launched themselves at where the former was, who knocked each of them to the side in response. Azrael charged forward and attempted to strike Watchman with the Muramasa, the latter blocking it with several Black Keys as another blade lock occurred.

Raguel frowned as he watched the fight. "Watchman's been an Inquisitor this whole time..."

"Not just him, Raguel. The info Gil had on Azrael was true. Azrael was an Inquisitor as well." Herald said.

Jericho teleported to the same area where Azrael and Watchman were fighting before sitting on the church's roof nearby. "Okay, now we got a fight! An excellent prelude to the duel, don't you agree, folks?"

"I didn't know Watchman had such abilities as a fighter." Flame commented.

"Well, judging by how he gut punched me with such force that sent me sliding back, it makes sense." Soulburner replied, having narrowed his eyes.

Watchman immediately broke the blade lock before elbowing Azrael in the stomach, where he then proceeded to move to the latter's right side and deliver another elbow strike. As a result, it pushed Azrael back several feet, where blue-mirage blades appeared at his sides before he fired them once again at Watchman. He dodged each of the blades before punching Azrael in the stomach several times, which stunned him long enough for Watchman to pull out three more Black Keys in each of his hands and try to stun him. However, Azrael unsheathed the Muramasa and blocked each of the strikes before quickly teleporting to Watchman's left side and punching him in the solar plexus. This stunned Watchman long enough for Azrael to not only quickly slash the former several times, but also send him flying back several feet with a heavy punch as well.

In response, Watchman quickly threw several Black Keys at Azrael, who proceeded to block them with the Black Keys in his hands as they were deflected to the sides. Seeing this, Watchman quietly spoke a word, which caused the knocked Black Keys to quickly relaunch themselves towards Azrael, who quickly jumped out of the way. Seizing the opportunity, Watchman slammed his foot to the ground as he charged forward before jumping, which led him to punching Azrael with such force that he was forced to somersault back and land on his feet.

"Watchman was able to somehow regain his footing before attacking like that." Blue Maiden observed, before turning to Aqua. "Do you think he's human, Aqua?"

"At the rate things are going, no. Watchman may appear to be human, but may be something else entirely." Aqua hypothesized.

Revolver frowned as he watched the fight. Just what was an Inquisitor? He made a mental note to look this up after the Ignis war was over.

Slipstream crossed his arms. "It's almost like the sword fights Raguel told us about when he fought against Azrael..."

"With those skills you're showing right now, you could have saved mine and Raguel's parents from their deaths all those years ago!" Azrael exclaimed. "Why weren't you there when it happened?!"

"I am not obligated to answer your question right now." Watchman said back, before the duo threw Black Keys at each other, all of them hitting the ground upon impact. He then activated his duel disk. "At the rate things are going, I'll eventually win due to the difference in both experience and power, even if you have the Muramasa to aid you. If you wish to get answers, you'll have to defeat me in a duel."

"There's an old saying, Watchman. Pride leads to downfall." Azrael also activated his duel disk. "If our fighting skills won't settle matters between us, then our cards will. For duelists who lose in Mirror LINK VRAINS will be erased."

"Just as I hypothesized..." Infearno muttered.

"Do you think Watchman's more powerful than Azrael, Playmaker?" Ai questioned. "Because if he is, then that gives us an edge in this war, especially with those crazy fighting skills of his."

"I'm not sure, Ai. I wish I knew for sure." Playmaker told Ai.

Jericho smirked. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! The real event is about to begin! Woohoo!

"Boss, do you think..." Pigeon began speaking.

"Perhaps, but we need more evidence if Azrael's claim about him and Raguel are true." Frog replied. "So keep filming!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You are right, Azrael. Our cards will ultimately determine who is stronger." Watchman agreed. "And it will end with your rightful defeat."

"Very well, then. Show me your motivation." Azrael responded back.

"It's time to duel!" Azrael and Watchman said in unison.

Azrael: 4000 LP

Watchman: 4000 LP

"I will go first, and put you in your proper place. My turn!" Azrael said, as he looked at his hand for a few seconds before deciding what to do. "I activate the Field Spell card, Cychaic Amphitheatre. While this card is on my field, my 'Cychaic' monsters gain 500 attack and defense points. What's more, they're unaffected by your monster effects."

Watchman frowned. Such a thing wasn't too much of a bother for him, especially with how his deck worked.

"I summon Cychaic Duo Vulture from my hand to my field." A large, two-headed bird with brown and black skin, along with two tails, appeared on Azrael's field. Sprouting from its conjoined neck was a pair of small, sharp feathers that resembled spikes. Each of its heads had a large beak and blue eyes.

Cychaic Duo Vulture ATK: 1200 DEF: 1400 LV: 4

Cychaic Duo Vulture ATK: 1200 + 500 = 1700 DEF: 1400 + 500 = 1900

"I also activate Amphitheatre's effect. By destroying a 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field. I destroy Duo Vulture on my field." Azrael decided, as Duo Vulture turned into particles. Soon, a woman with blond hair and wearing a revealing red and white dress with long poofy sleeves, a transparent front and a leotard appeared on Azrael's field.

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Duo Vulture's effect now activates! As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon two 'Cychaic Vulture' tokens to my field in defense position." Two birds with brown and black skin appeared on Azrael's field in defense position. Sprouting from each of their necks were a pair of small, sharp feathers that resembled spikes. Each of the birds had a large beak and blue eyes.

Cychaic Vulture ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 2

Cychaic Vulture ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 2

Cychaic Vulture ATK: 600 + 500 = 1100 DEF: 700 + 500 = 1200

Cychaic Vulture ATK: 600 + 500 = 1100 DEF: 700 + 500 = 1200

Raguel frowned. "Three 'Cychaic' monsters. It seems Azrael's going for a Link 3 'Cychaic' monster." He turned to Herald. "Do you think he's Link Summoning Lucius Tiberius?"

"Maybe, but there's other options Azrael can go into as well." Herald replied, a frown also evident on his face.

"Appear, the circuit of absolute power!" Azrael said, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cychaic' monsters. I set both Cychaic Vulture tokens, and the Dancer token into the Link Markers!" The first Vulture token went into the top arrowhead, the second Vulture token went into the right arrowhead, and the Dancer token went into the bottom arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Tactical emperor of Rome! Solidify your strategies, and deliver the final verdict onto my enemies! Link Summon! Arise! Link 3! Cychaic Constantine!" A male adult who had brown hair that flowed to his sides, along with silver and red earrings appeared on Azrael's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He wore scarlet armor with black pieces at the top of his chest and on his right arm, as well as a black belt just below his waist. On his left shoulder was a scarlet and black cape that flowed behind him. In his hands, he carried a sword with a golden blade and three gems, two of which being green, while the other one was red.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2000 LINK-3 ⬆️⬇️➡️

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"From there, I activate the effect of Cychaic Slave in my hand. Because there are no monsters in my Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon him to my field." Azrael continued, as a man who wore tattered clothing on his body appeared on Azrael's field. Strapped to his back was a large wine jar, which he struggled to carry.

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 + 500 = 900 DEF: 400 + 500 = 900

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Azrael glared at Watchman. "Now, old man. While the outcome of this duel is obvious, I do want to see your motivation. So show me what you got."

"Be careful what you wish for, Azrael. My turn! I draw!" Watchman replied, as he drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Field Spell card, Cubic Dimension. When this card is activated, I can add one 'Vijam the Cubic Seed' or 'Cubic' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand. I add the former to my hand." A card popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Do note that while Cubic Dimension is on my field, neither of us takes battle damage."

Azrael frowned upon hearing this. Well, there were other ways to win a duel. At least until Dimension left the field, that is.

"A clever card. It lets Watchman avoid battle damage while he prepares to bring out his stronger monsters." Revolver recalled, having seen the strength of Watchman's deck firsthand months earlier.

"I summon Vijam the Cubic Seed from my hand to my field." A monster that consisted of a sphere with an eye in the middle appeared on Watchman's field. It had two small wings and an antennae-like organ with an eye placed on top of it, which extended from the top of its body.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"From there, I activate the Spell card, Graceful Charity. It lets me draw three cards, but I have to discard two cards in exchange." Watchman continued, as he took two cards from his hand and sent them to his Graveyard before drawing three cards from his deck.

"Get ready for this! By sending a copy of Vijam from my field to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Geira Guile the Cubic King from my hand to my field." Vijam briefly disappeared into orange cubic particles once again before transforming into a new monster. One that was a green-colored bird with two wings, each of them having four tuning prongs on them. There was also a tuning prong on each side of its lower body, as well as behind it. In the middle was it's eye, encased in a mouth containing a total of eight teeth.

Geira Guile the Cubic King ATK: 800 DEF: 0 LV: 2

"Oh? Cubic King? I thought he'd go with Cubic Beast." Infearno said, remembering how Watchman used the Cubic Beasts against Revolver. Thanks to the Cubic Beasts, Watchman was able to deal massive damage against Revolver in their duel.

"I remember this." Blue Maiden said, as she recalled Watchman's duel against Ghost Girl.

"You've seen Watchman duel?" Aqua asked Blue Maiden.

"Yeah, Aqua. Watchman was able to defeat Ghost Girl using the Cubic Kings, despite some resistance." Blue Maiden responded. "Every time a Cubic King battles, they inflict 800 points of damage to the opponent, and allow Watchman to bring out a stronger one. The crazier thing is that Watchman can continue the Battle Phase upon doing so."

"Geira Guile's effect! As it was Special Summoned by-." Watchman began speaking.

"No, I think not." Azrael interjected. "I activate Constantine's effect. Once per turn, during either of our turns, when you activate a card effect, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to not only negate it, but also send it to the Graveyard as well."

"The best part is that you also take 800 points of damage in the process!" Wraith finished, which made Watchman gasp out of shock.

"What?!" Watchman exclaimed.

"I destroy Slave on my field. Go, Tactical Nullification!" Azrael declared, as Slave turned into particles that went into Constantine's sword, who swung it in front of him as a wave of energy hit both Geira Guile and Watchman.

Watchman: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP

"Watchman's gotta be careful when to use his card effects. Or else the duel will end very quickly for him." Slipstream commented, having narrowed his eyes upon seeing Azrael simply negate Geira Guile's effect using Constantine's effect.

"As Slave was destroyed by a card effect, one 'Cychaic' monster I control gains 400 attack and defense points until the end of this turn. I choose Constantine!" Constantine was surrounded in a red aura that increased his strength.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900

"Also, each time a 'Cychaic' card is destroyed by battle or card effect on my hand or in my field, Constantine gains 400 attack points. Tactical Expertise!" Azrael added, as Constantine's strength increased evermore.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2900 + 400 = 3300

"Fine. Then let's see how you react to this! When a 'Cubic' monster leaves the field by battle or card effect, I can banish Unification of the Cubic Lords to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Cubic' monster from my hand or deck ignoring its summoning conditions, and it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. I Special Summon a second copy of Geira Guile from my deck to my field!" After a card popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took and played, a second copy of Geira Guile reappeared on his field.

Geira Guile the Cubic King ATK: 800 DEF: 0 LV: 2

"In addition, I activate the effect of Cubic Dharma in my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can target one 'Cubic' monster in my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I target Vijam." A card popped out of Watchman's Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand.

"Unification of the Cubic Lords and Cubic Dharma... Those two cards were the ones you sent to your Graveyard with Graceful Charity, yes?" Azrael correctly guessed.

"That is correct, and those two cards will be the stepping stones towards your defeat." Watchman confirmed. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Cubic Karma. I can target one 'Cubic' monster on my field and then send any number of Vijam the Cubic Seeds from my hand and/or deck to the Graveyard. Then my targeted monster gains 800 attack points for each Vijam sent to the Graveyard by this effect. I send two copies of Vijam from my deck, and the copy of Vijam in my hand to my Graveyard!" Two cards popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took and sent to his Graveyard. He also took the copy of Vijam in his hand and sent it to his Graveyard as well. Soon after, three copies of Vijam appeared before turning into orange particles, which Geira Guile absorbed as it gained a second set of wings.

Geira Guile the Cubic King ATK: 800 + (800 X 3) = 3200

Flame crossed his arms. "How interesting. Despite the minor setback, Watchman was not only able to bring out another copy of Geira Guile, but further set up his field as well."

"I hear you, Flame. But the duel's only begun." Soulburner noted.

"Let's see whether Azrael is prepared for what happens next." Infearno said.

"Battle!" Watchman thrusted out his right hand. "Geira Guile the Cubic King attacks Cychaic Constantine! Cubic Tornado!" Geira Guile's mouth briefly closed before reopening and firing an orange, cubic tornado at Constantine, who easily deflected it back with his sword as it headed right back to the former, who obviously survived it.

"What was the point in that attack?" Azrael inquired. Geira Guile was protected thanks to Unification of the Cubic Lords, and Cubic Dimension made it so that no one took battle damage. So such an attack would have been useless.

"The point was to activate Geira Guile's third effect." Watchman answered. "After it battles, I can send it to the Graveyard, and then Special Summon up to two copies of Vijam from my Graveyard!" Geira Guile disappeared into orange particles before splitting into two and reforming into two copies of Vijam.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Afterwards, I can add a copy of Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "There's still more to come. For by tributing two copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King from my hand!" Both copies of Vijam briefly turned into orange cubic particles before combining to form a new monster on Watchman's field. This monster took the form of a demonic squid with six tentacles. Each tentacle had vice-grip blades, as well as blades on its feet. It had two eyes, one at the top, and one at the bottom.

Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 3

"And because Vulcan Dragni was summoned by tributary two copies of Vijam, it not only gains 1600 attack points, but also inflicts 800 points of damage as well!" Watchman continued, as Vulcan Dragni fired a cubic blast at Azrael, who slightly winced as his life points dropped.

Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King ATK: 0 + 1600 = 1600

Azrael: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP

"Thus beginning the evolution of his 'Cubic' monsters…" Herald commented.

"It's actually clever when you think about it, Herald." Raguel stated. "The Cubic Beasts need to destroy a monster to evolve, but when the Cubic Kings battle, they can evolve whether they succeed in destroying a monster by battle or not."

"Ah, that makes sense. So Watchman is relying on effect damage to start, just like how Blue Maiden would when she used her 'Trickstar' deck." Herald replied.

"Smart move, Arshad." Revolver said.

"From there, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Half Shut. I can target one monster I control, and make it unable to be destroyed by battle in exchange for halving its attack points. I target Vulcan Dragni." Watchman told Azrael, as a red aura surrounded Vulcan Dragni before it groaned upon losing its strength, but a green aura then replaced it afterwards to protect it from destruction.

Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King ATK: 1600 / 2 = 800

"The battle continues! Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King attacks Cychaic Constantine! Cubic Slicer Blast!" Vulcan Dragni fired a blast in the form of an X, which was headed directly for Constantine before he slashed it with his sword, which caused an explosion that didn't make either side falter.

"Vulcan Dragni's third effect! As it battled, I can send it to the Graveyard, and Special Summon up to three copies of Vijam from the Graveyard. In addition, I can add a copy of Indiora Doom Volt the Cubic Emperor from my deck to my hand." Vulcan Dragni disappeared into orange particles before reforming into three copies of Vijam on Watchman's field. Afterwards, a card popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took and added to his field.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Now by tributing three copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon Indiora Doom Volt the Cubic Emperor from my hand to my field!" Watchman stated, as all three copies of Vijam turned into orange particles, which formed into a white-colored beast with blue markings on its chest and arms. Its gigantic face resembled a demon, and it had massive claws on each of its hands. There was also an eyeball at the lower half of its body, with a clawed tripod for legs as well.

Indiora Doom Volt the Cubic Emperor ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 4

"Oh, yeah. I remember that monster." Raguel recalled. "It was just as scary as Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth."

"But still, Watchman is on a groove right now." Herald replied. "As long as Watchman isn't interrupted, he'll be able to inflict some decent damage to Azrael in just one turn."

"Indiora Doom Volt's effects activate at the same time! Since-." Watchman began speaking.

"No. I've seen enough for this turn." Azrael callously interjected, as he gestured to his field. "Trap card, activate. Cychaic Entrapment! I can target one card on your field, and negate its effects until the end of my next turn. I target Indiora Doom Volt!" A silhouette of a net entrapped Indiora Doom Volt before dissipating, which not only drained it of its effects, but prevented it from moving as well.

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means Slave's effect ends." Watchman concluded, as Constantine was surrounded in a red aura, which decreased his strength.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 3300 – 400 = 2900

Jericho chuckled. "I'd be disappointed if this duel ended very quickly, don't you agree folks?" He put a hand on his chin. "Then again, I am curious on that little discussion Azrael and Watchman had earlier. Something about Inquisitors, and how Watchman failed to save Azrael and Raguel's parents." Could this mean that Earth is the Lost World after all? No! I can't make any assumptions! Not at this point, he thought in his mind.

"My turn! I draw!" Azrael said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "Not too bad of an attempt, but the only reason you did what you did was because I allowed it. I could have stopped it much earlier if I wanted to, but I was curious to see how much you'd sacrifice in pulling off your moves. Then again, you'll get a second chance at showing me your motivation on your next turn."

"You...!" Watchman grit his teeth. How dare Azrael speak so callously to him!

"One can say that Azrael is arrogant, but he has the strength to back up his claims." Herald acknowledged. "To put it simply, he isn't arrogant. He's confident in his abilities, but not to the point where he'd boast about them."

"True..." Raguel agreed, a frown evident on his face.

"I activate Amphitheatre's effect. Once per turn, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field. I destroy Cychaic Caladrius in my hand!" After a card in Azrael's hand turned into particles, another Dancer token appeared on his field.

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Caladrius' effect! As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can send one 'Cychaic' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my Graveyard to activate that card's effect." Azrael continued, which made Watchman gasp upon hearing this. "I send the Spell card, Cychaic Reinforcements from my deck to my Graveyard and activate it." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and sent to his Graveyard. "If I control a 'Cychaic' monster, I can Special Summon two 'Cychaic' monsters with different names from my deck. However, I can't Special Summon any monsters from my deck for the rest of this turn, except 'Cychaic' monsters." Two cards popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Be born, Cychaic Crocodile and Cychaic Lanista." Soon, two monsters appeared on his field in face-up defense position.

The first was a dark-green skinned crocodile with yellow eyes.

The second was a man who wore a dark-blue toga with a green scarf on his right shoulder.

Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 3

Cychaic Lanista ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600 LV: 4

Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 800 + 500 = 1300

Cychaic Lanista ATK: 1200 + 500 = 1700 DEF: 1600 + 500 = 2100

"The effects of Crocodile and Lanista activate! First, when Crocodile is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck to my hand. I add Cychaic Judgment Cut from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Second, when Lanista is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target one 'Cychaic' Link monster on my field, and shuffle cards from my Graveyard into my deck and/or Extra Deck before drawing the top two cards of my deck. I shuffle Duo Vulture, Caladrius, and Entrapment into my deck, and draw!" Three cards popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck. He then drew the top two cards of his deck afterwards.

"Finally, because a 'Cychaic' card was destroyed by battle or card effect in my hand or on my field, Constantine gains 400 attack points." Azrael finished, as Constantine's strength increased once again.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2900 + 400 = 3300

"He's gathering resources for his next few moves..." Infearno observed.

"Such a thing is only logical to do when you're in a duel, especially when you're dueling against someone as Azrael..." Specter said. This made sense, as when it came to a duel, the goal was to turn things in your favor with your numerous strategies.

"Appear, the circuit of absolute power!" A Link Portal appeared above Azrael. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cychaic' monsters. I set the Cychaic Dancer token, Crocodile, and Lanista into the Link Markers!" The Dancer token went into the top arrowhead, Crocodile went into the left arrowhead, and Lanista went into the right arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Tyrannical ruler of Rome! Persecute your enemies, and make your subjects grovel at your feet!" Azrael chanted. "Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Cychaic Nero!" An abnormally fat man who had black eyes and grey skin that sat on a big floating throne appeared on Azrael's field in the Main Monster Zone Constantine was pointing to, resulting in both monsters being co-linked with one another. He had a black spiked crown on the top of his head, and a red cloth wrapped around his body and shoulder. In his right hand, he carried a long black sword.

Cychaic Nero ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️⬆️➡️

Cychaic Nero ATK: 2300 + 500 = 2800

"Well, that one's new." Herald stated.

"Now Azrael has two Link 3 monsters on his field." Ai said.

"Thus giving Azrael more options to choose from for his strategies." Playmaker finished.

Lightning smirked. "Of course Azrael would bring out another strong monster. The goal of a duel is to outwit, outsmart, and outthink your opponent after all."

"Indeed, indeed." Windy agreed, a smirk on his face as well.

"Nero gains 300 attack points for every 'Cychaic' card I control. Since there's a total of four cards at the moment, Nero gains 1200 attack points." Azrael told Watchman, as Nero laughed before his strength increased.

Cychaic Nero ATK: 2800 + (300 X 4) = 4000

"Next, I activate the Spell card, Cychaic Judgment Cut. I can target one 'Cychaic' Link monster I control, and destroy cards on your field equal to its Link rating. I target Nero, who is a Link 3 monster, which means I can destroy three cards on your field. I destroy Indiora Doom Volt, Cubic Dimension, and Cubic Karma!" Azrael slid back before quickly unsheathing and sheathing his katana thrice, resulting in three black and blue distortion ripples to envelop the three declared cards. Within moments, a series of slashes went through the ripples and destroyed the cards. He could have gone after the face-down card, but after reading Karma's effects and putting two and two together on what Watchman would do, it was better to get rid of it quickly than for it to become a nuisance later.

"Battle!" Azrael declared, as he thrusted out his right hand. "Cychaic Nero attacks you directly! Tyrant's Condemnation!" Nero laughed cruelly as he swung the large black sword in his hand in front of him, which released a wave of dark energy that headed towards Watchman!

"If you think I'm going to be taken down this early in the duel, think again!" Watchman replied. "Trap card, activate! Cubic Reformation! By banishing up to three 'Cubic' monsters from my field or Graveyard, I can Special Summon copies of 'Vijam the Cubic Seed' from my Graveyard equal to the amount of 'Cubic' monsters banished. I banish a copy of Geira Guile, Vulcan Dragni, and Indiora Doom Volt from my Graveyard to Special Summon three copies of Vijam from my Graveyard!" Soon, all three copies of Vijam reformed onto Watchman's field in defense position.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"I then activate my other Trap card, Cubic Causality! This card lets me-."

"Not so fast! Continuous-Trap, activate! Cychaic Vulcanalia!" Azrael interrupted. "While this card is on my field, 'Cychaic' cards on my field are unaffected by your Spell and Trap effects."

"And thanks to Vulcanalia, you can't put any of those 'Cubic' counters of yours on our monsters." Wraith finished, as Causality effect resolved without doing anything before leaving the field.

"Another part of Watchman's strategies involves putting 'Cubic' counters on the opponent's monsters so that they can't attack nor activate their effects." Infearno remembered. "But if your monsters are unaffected..."

"Then there's no point in putting those counters on in the first place, especially with Amphitheatre and Vulcanalia protecting Azrael's cards from whatever Watchman has in store for him." Slipstream finished.

"A battle replay occurs! Cychaic Nero attacks one copy of Vijam! Tyrant's Condemnation!" Nero laughed cruelly as he swung the large black sword in his hand in front of him, which released a wave of dark energy that headed towards one of the three copies of Vijam on Watchman's field, who withstood the blast.

"Vijam can't be destroyed by battle, and at the end of the damage step, I can place it in a Spell & Trap card zone as a Continuous Spell card." Watchman explained to Azrael, as one of the three copies of Vijam turned into orange particles that went over to his Spell & Trap card zone. "And then I can place one 'Cubic' counter on your monster."

"Thanks to Amphitheatre, my 'Cychaic' monsters are unaffected by your monster effects, which means you can't put 'Cubic' counters on them." Azrael reminded Watchman back, as fiery auras surrounded all of his monsters, indicating that they were unaffected by monster effects.

"You plan on continuing to attack, Azrael?" Wraith asked.

"Of course." Azrael confirmed. "Cychaic Constantine attacks a second copy of Vijam! Tactical Execution!" Constantine charged forward and slashed a second copy of Vijam, who withstood the attack as the former retreated back to Azrael's side of the field.

"Like before, Vijam can't be destroyed by battle, and I can place it in a Spell & Trap card zone as a Continuous Spell card at the end of the damage step." Watchman said, as a second copy of Vijam turned into orange particles that went over to his Spell & Trap card zone. "I'd put a Cubic counter on your monsters, but seeing that your monsters are protected by Amphitheatre and Vulcanalia, there's no point in doing so."

Azrael smirked. "Good. So you're realizing what's going on, do you? If you want to defeat me, then you'll have to do it with your full strength, not just that intellect of yours. But moving forward, I Set one card face-down and end my turn."

Cychaic Nero ATK: 4000 + 300 = 4300

BEEP!

Soon, a digital-like program enveloped the entire area before it showed an image to everyone present, much to Azrael's amusement and everyone's curiosity.

"Huh? What's going on?" Ai questioned.

"We're about to see something." Playmaker responded.

"But what?" Soulburner wondered.

"Whatever it is, Soulburner, I have a feeling it won't be good." Flame noted.

"Oh? I have a feeling that we're getting to the good part of this duel..." Jericho muttered with excitement.

"Watchman, or should I call you, Arshad Saito. You were close friends with mine and Raguel's parents for many years. Yet you weren't there when we were under attack." Azrael began speaking, as the image began turning into footage, which made Raguel widen his eyes upon realizing what it was.

"Raguel, is everything-?" Herald began speaking, before he gasped at what he was looking at.

"That's... that's the night before the Lost Incident!" Raguel recognized the footage. "The night everything went to Hell!"

Just as Raguel said, the footage began showing a burning house, where monsters of various sizes broke into the house. Myojin tried to fend off the monsters with Ig-Alima, only to eventually get overwhelmed.

"DAD!" a young Yukage cried out, before he was forced to quickly open a window and jump out of it, where he ended up in the backyard to avoid the monsters. "Yuhiro, where are you?!"

"Run, Yuhiro!" Lyla said, before she got impaled by the giant sword the corrupted swordsman had in its upper arms.

"MOM! YUHIRO!" Yukage cried out, quickly running over to where the chaos was going on. He looked to his right to see what was going on, only to find Yuhiro run out of the backdoor. "Yuhiro!"

Upon hearing his name being called, Yuhiro saw that Yukage was nearby, the former immediately running to where the latter was.

"You're okay!" Yuhiro said.

"We need to get out of here fast, Yuhiro!" Yukage told Yuhiro.

"But we can't leave mom and dad! Those monsters-!"

Yukage put his hands on Yuhiro's shoulders before shaking him a bit. "If we don't leave now, we'll get killed too."

"But-!"

"We'll be okay. They'd want us to survive." Yukage emphasized in a tone that made Yuhiro nod in understanding, despite the tears slowly coming down from his eyes. The two boys immediately ran out of the backyard and stayed under the bushes to avoid attracting any attention.

WHOOSH!

The next thing Yukage and Yuhiro knew, they saw someone fight off their attackers. Someone that Myojin and Lyla saw as a close family friend.

"Myojin! Lyla! Where are you?!" Arshad cried out, pure fear and terror on his face as he slashed several of the monsters with the Black Keys in his hands. Upon seeing this, the monsters were forced to flee for their lives, afraid of suffering the same fate as their comrades.

"Arshad! Over here!" Yuhiro called out, which got Arshad's attention as he went over to where the boys were.

"We need to get out of here! This way!" Arshad told Yuhiro and Yukage, who immediately followed after him as the trio ran from the burning house and into another area of the neighborhood. After getting some distance away from the burning house and heading over to a park far away from there, the trio caught their breath, tired from running.

"Arshad! We need to get those monsters! Make them pay for hurting our parents!" Yukage told Arshad.

"But how? Even if we told the authorities, no one would believe us." Yuhiro pointed out, now on the verge of tears.

Arshad watched as the two boys conversed, trying to come up with an idea on what to do next. In his mind, he knew what to do as a result of what happened. And it all started with these two boys in front of them.

WHAM!

Arshad immediately sped over and karate chopped Yuhiro in the neck hard enough to knock him out.

"Arshad, what are you doing?!" Yukage exclaimed, shocked at what Arshad did just now. However, Arshad quickly sped over and knocked him out with a karate chop. He then grabbed both boys and escaped into the night.

The footage then ended as everyone began processing what they just saw.

"My God..." Blue Maiden muttered, her hands over her mouth.

"That was when Raguel and Azrael were kids. Ones orphaned at a young age." Aqua said, shock still evident on her face.

"Aw, glitch! Did we just look at Azrael's memories?" Ai questioned.

"It appears so, Ai." Playmaker confirmed.

"Raguel, are you okay?" Herald inquired out of concern for his friend.

"Of course I'm not okay, Herald!" Raguel snapped back. "Especially when you relieve one of the worst nightmares in your life!"

"I can't believe someone or something would try to attack children, Flame..." Soulburner commented in disgust.

"It's an immoral act. One that cannot be forgiven." Flame stated.

"That's just insane. Who would do such a thing?" Slipstream quietly stated.

"Huh. So Raguel and Azrael are brothers this whole time." Revolver said, a frown of concern evident on his face.

"Thus making the situation more dire than we anticipated." Specter commented.

"If Azrael was capable of causing so much pain, then there's a great probability that Raguel can do the same, especially with how the both of them are not human." Infearno stated.

"How interesting. I can't believe you took off with the children of Myojin and Lyla Furutani like that, Arshad." Jericho said, a smirk evident on his face. He wanted more, and something told him that he'll be getting more information really soon.

"Allow me to show you something else, old man." Azrael informed Watchman and everyone else, as the footage then changed to show a near-conscious Yukage looking around the area, where he noticed that he and Yuhiro were being carried by Arshad into a different room. One that had a table or two, along with different computers and monitors, as well as a note pad and pencils. And inside the room was someone everyone recognized.

"Playmaker, that's-!" Ai began speaking.

"...Dr. Kogami!" Playmaker finished Ai's thought.

"Ah, Arshad. You're back." Dr. Kogami said to Arshad on the footage, before looking at the boys in Arshad's hands. "Are they-?"

"They are." Arshad confirmed. "The last two candidates for the Hanoi Project."

"I never expected you to bring me the children of Myojin and Lyla, Arshad." Dr. Kogami admitted. "Those two, along with the others you've brought will more than suffice for the Hanoi Project."

"I will put these two in their respective rooms. Inform the others that it's about to begin."

"Of course. Meet me in the general area afterwards." After Arshad nodded back, he then exited the room.

"Put us down! Put us down!" Yukage demanded, as Arshad looked at the conscious Yukage.

"Know that your suffering will contribute towards mankind's survival." Arshad said back, before he walked over to one of the rooms, where he threw an unconscious Yuhiro inside.

"NO! LEAVE YUHIRO ALONE! DON'T HURT HIM!" Yukage pleaded, as Arshad walked into another room before throwing Yukage inside. Once that was done, Arshad then closed the door so that Yukage couldn't escape. "ARSHAD, HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU?! YUHIRO!"

The footage showing Azrael's memories then closed up as everyone once again processed what they just saw.

"So Watchman was the one who captured all of us to be used as guinea pigs for the Lost Incident?!" Slipstream exclaimed.

"Interesting. I didn't know Watchman was the one who kidnapped us..." Specter said. While he knew Dr. Kogami had a role in who would be selected for the Lost Incident, he wasn't expecting to hear that Watchman was responsible for kidnapping the chosen kids.

Infearno crossed his arms. "I wasn't expecting this."

"This means Watchman was one of the main instigators who affected all of our lives!" Aqua stated.

"I knew something was fishy about him, Aqua. But this? This is madness." Blue Maiden told Aqua.

"That two-faced bastard..." Raguel muttered.

"Father, why did you not tell me the truth?" Revolver quietly questioned.

"And then there's more, Watchman! Allow me to share some pivotal information to everyone present!" Azrael continued. "You, a self-righteous man as you claimed, recruited Yua Kogami and Katsuya Minamoto to join your selfish cause!"

"A cause that only benefited you, not everyone else as you claimed!" Wraith added.

"I'd like to give credit to Lightning and Windy for eliminating Demeter and Percival, or Yua and Katsuya earlier." Azrael then pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused footage to play that showed Percival's duel against Lightning first. Everyone watched as Lightning brutally finished Percival off before retrieving his consciousness data. The footage then changed to show Windy's duel against Demeter, where the former brutally finished the latter off. Revolver gasped upon seeing his mother's face after all those years, and he was still in a state of shock as Windy proceeded to obtain Demeter's consciousness data.

"One can say that your days as a member of the Inquisitorius was what contributed to the self-righteous façade and image you have today." Azrael hypothesized. "It makes sense, considering how Inquisitors are conditioned to not show any emotion or care to the enemy. Or maybe you were like this ever since you've been born."

"You see, Watchman? You're nothing more than a self-centered hypocrite. You say that you fight for coexistence, but deep down, that's not true at all! So go ahead! Try to deny it!" Wraith challenged Watchman.

"Why should I? After all, everything you said was true." Watchman replied, which made everyone gasp.

"OOH, drama bomb!" Jericho exclaimed.

"WHAT? Watchman's not refuting the accusations, boss!" Pigeon said.

"Just keep rolling! This is insane!" Frog replied.

"Hmm." Lightning hummed to himself. "I was not expecting Watchman to be a prime instigator of the Lost Incident. Nor did I expect him to be involved in something called an Inquisitorius. And if that's the case, then Watchman was more than capable of killing the Hanoi when they first attacked the Cyberse World." He turned to Windy. "What are your thoughts, Windy?"

"A ton of revelations, that's for sure." Windy acknowledged. "Hearing these things about Watchman is quite interesting to learn about. In fact, I think he reminds me of someone."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

"I'm not sure if you think this is true, but I believe that you and Watchman are similar in a few ways, Lightning."

Lightning actually gave Windy's comment some thought. While Watchman was a human, Lightning couldn't help but see some similarities between himself and the former. For both were willing to do what was necessary for their goals, regardless of whatever method they had to use to succeed in the end. For instance, both Lightning and Watchman kidnapped humans as a part of their objectives. In addition, both Lightning and Watchman were willing to use pawns if it meant being able to achieve their goals in the end. This led Lightning to make one conclusion.

He was similar to Watchman in the end. And if Watchman was an Ignis...

...Then Lightning would have recruited him in a heartbeat.

"Hang on a minute! So everything Azrael showed us was... true?!" Ai exclaimed.

"It appears so, Ai. And he caused more suffering to Kusanagi and Jin in the process." Playmaker said.

"Damn you, Watchman! How could you?!" Soulburner furiously shouted.

"How dare you rope my mother into this!" Revolver snarled. While he was glad that his mother was alive despite being unconscious, the fact that Watchman brought her into his mess made him very angry.

"Again, Azrael and Wraith. Everything that you said and showed was true." Watchman told Azrael. "You and Raguel's parents, Myojin and Lyla Furutani, were the purest human beings I've ever met. Along with Ukyos Albinor, of course. They were the ones who rekindled my hope for humanity, and the primary reason why I sealed my powers away."

"Oh?" Azrael and Wraith both raised an eyebrow at Watchman's comment.

"However, the moment Ukyos sent his envoys to kill your and Raguel's parents, it shattered my faith in humanity completely. It was here where I swore to save humanity at all costs, destroy sin once and for all, and get revenge in the process. You and Raguel, along with the other Lost Incident children, all had unique qualities ranging from enhanced knowledge to physical prowess, and even mental capacities unlike the average child. You should be honoured in being selected for the Hanoi Project."

"Honoured, you say?" Azrael repeated with a laugh. "You turned us all into abominations in the name of your selfish goals!"

"Yes, my goals are ultimately selfish in the end, for I have no qualms in casting people aside once their usefulness was used up. Such examples would include Percival and Demeter, you and the other Lost Incident children, and any other allies or enemies as well. That is something I will not deny." Watchman acknowledged. "The only reason I put up a façade in the first place was so I can help you all grow and fulfil your roles, whether you were an enemy or an ally."

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Watchman! You monster!" Slipstream angrily exclaimed.

"Everything Watchman's saying… is the truth." Aqua commented in pure terror and shock. Blue Maiden, on the other hand, glared angrily at what she was seeing on the sphere.

"I can't believe we trusted him." Raguel said.

"Whatever Watchman said and did for us only served him in the end. And his goal for co-existence? A total sham!" Herald stated, feeling betrayed upon learning the truth about Watchman.

"So Watchman used us all like pawns, then? My, my. He's just as bad as our current enemies." Specter said.

"If not worse than Lightning and Azrael." Infearno acknowledged.

"Everything I did was so I can fulfil my selfish goals in saving humanity, eradicating sin, and getting revenge on Ukyos." Watchman stated, having raised his arms. "You have all met my expectations, and soon, the gate to the Root of All Knowledge will be opened. Even though there were a few obstacles, it took far less effort than I anticipated."

Azrael's eyes then widened upon hearing that last comment, where he then grit his teeth seconds later. "Really, now? You've had no compassion for all of us? Are you aware of what you've done?!"

"I am aware, Azrael. I simply don't care, that's all." Watchman frowned. "Still, there's a few more obstacles I need to conquer if my plan is to be realized. You, Wraith, Lightning, Jin, Windy, Bohman, and Malf must be eradicated at all costs."

"Watchman's hellbent on killing Jin too?!" Ai exclaimed.

"Damn you, Watchman…" Playmaker quietly muttered.

"Watchman… it seems you've become the person I once was all those months ago." Revolver observed.

Jericho laughed upon hearing this conversation. "Oh, now this… this is just a goldmine of information! Truly a grand reveal! Bravo, bravo!" And with this evidence, I have more than enough to truly conclude that Earth is the Lost World this whole time, he thought in his mind.

"You have no morals, Watchman. As a result, a person like you must die!" Wraith exclaimed, before turning to Azrael. "Shall we resume the duel, Azrael?"

"Yes." Azrael confirmed, before turning to Watchman. "Let us resume the duel, Watchman. I want to see whether what you said will increase your chances of defeating me."

"As you wish. My turn! I draw!" Watchman stated, before he drew the top card of his deck. "During my Main Phase, I can Special Summon Vijam to my field if it was placed in my Spell & Trap card zone by its own effect. Rise once more, two copies of Vijam!" At Watchman's command, the two copies of Vijam that were in his Spell & Trap card zone turned into orange particles before reappearing on his field.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Appear, my cubic circuit!" A Link Portal appeared above Watchman. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cubic' monsters. I set two copies of Vijam into the Link Markers!" One copy of Vijam went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while the other went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel!" A red-skinned monster that had golden cubes all over its snake-like body appeared on Watchman's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had two snake-like arms attached to its body, each having pincer claws and golden, cubic armor on them. Its head also had a total of two eyeballs and a sharp-toothed mouth as well.

Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel ATK: 0 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

"While Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel is on the field, you can't activate cards or effects in response to the effects of my 'Cubic' cards, nor can you target it for attacks or effects while I control a 'Cubic' monster with a different name." Watchman began explaining. "Also, when it's Link Summoned, I can activate one 'Cubic' Spell or Trap card from my Graveyard or banished zone. I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Cubic Dharma from my banished zone." Dharma appeared on Watchman's Spell & Trap card zone. "While this card is on my field, I take no damage from attacks involving my 'Cubic' monsters."

"I see..." Azrael narrowed his eyes in annoyance. That meant he couldn't use Constantine's effect to negate Watchman's cards and inflict effect damage. Even though Azrael didn't expect that, such a thing wasn't going to stop him from winning this duel.

"Now that Dharma is on Watchman's field, any battle damage he takes is reduced to zero." Specter stated.

"He's buying more time to set up his combos." Blue Maiden observed.

"Do you think Watchman's going to bring out his Cubic Beasts, Herald?" Raguel asked.

"There's a great chance he'll do so, Raguel. Especially in how they can attack multiple times." Herald pointed out.

"Next, I activate the Spell card, Cubic Nirvana." Watchman continued. The card showed orange particles surrounding Indiora Doom Volt's hand as they formed into a copy of Vijam. "If I control a 'Cubic' monster, this card lets me draw until I have five cards in my hand. However, during the fifth Standby Phase after this card's activation, I must send all cards in my hand to my Graveyard. I draw!" Watchman then drew the top five cards of his deck.

"From there, I activate the effect of Karma in my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can add one 'Cubic' monster from my deck to my hand. I add Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"Prepare yourself, Azrael. For by tributing a copy of Vijam on my field, I can Special Summon Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast from my hand to my field." Watchman said, as Vijam briefly disappeared into orange cubic particles once again before transforming into a new monster. One that was colored black, with six fingers and toes extending from its body. It had one eye, a black snout extending from its face, and tower-like shoulders.

Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 2

"Dark Garnex's effect! As it was Special Summoned by tributing a copy of Vijam, it gains 1000 attack points!"

Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 + 1000 = 1000

"If this is all you got, then you're nothing more than an outdated duelist from a forgotten time." Azrael commented.

"Really, now? Because I activate the Trap card, Cubic Pulse from my hand!" Watchman responded. The card showed Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord letting out a shout as purple energy was unleashed from its body. "I can activate this card from my hand if I control a 'Cubic' monster that is not 'Vijam the Cubic Seed'. And when this card is activated, I can target one Level 4 or lower 'Cubic' monster I control, and have it gain attack points equal to my life points until the End Phase. I target Dark Garnex, and as I have 3200 life points, that means it gains 3200 attack points!" Dark Garnex let out a roar as its strength increased.

Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast ATK: 1000 + 3200 = 4200

"Now Watchman's monster is stronger than Azrael's monsters." Flame stated.

"If this works, then Watchman can inflict 1200 points of damage to Azrael." Soulburner calculated.

"Battle!" Watchman thrusted out his right hand. "Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast attacks Cychaic Constantine! Cubic Whiplash!" Dark Garnex charged forward and generated a blue cubic whip with a hook at the end of it. The beast whipped it forward, causing the hook to slash into Constantine before turning him into particles, which caused a massive explosion to occur. However, when the smoke cleared, it revealed a roman soldier with dark skin who wore silver armour, shin pads, and vambraces that appeared on Azrael's field in defense position. While the silver armour had a lion emblem on the left portion of the chest, wolf emblems were on the vambraces, and eagle emblems were on the shin pads. Covering the top of his head was a red hood that had the lion emblem stitched to it. Strapped to his left side was a sword, while a bow and a quiver of arrows was strapped to his back.

Cychaic Venator ATK: 1800 DEF: 900 LV: 4

Cychaic Venator ATK: 1800 + 500 = 2300 DEF: 900 + 500 = 1400

"How? How did you not take any damage from that attack?" Watchman inquired.

"I activated the Trap card, Cychaic Change." Azrael answered. "When you target a 'Cychaic' monster I control for an attack, I'm allowed to Special Summon one Level 8 or lower 'Cychaic' monster from my hand, and by doing so, I can reduce the damage I would have taken by 500 times its level."

"Normally, we would have taken a total of 1200 points of damage. But Venator's level is four, which reduces the damage we would have taken all the way to zero." Wraith finished.

"In addition, when Venator is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my deck or Graveyard. Be reborn from my Graveyard, Crocodile." Azrael continued, as Crocodile reappeared on the former's field in defense position.

Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 3

Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 800 + 500 = 1300

"And when Crocodile is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Cychaic' Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck to my hand. I add Cychaic Panther from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Finally, as Constantine was destroyed by battle or card effect, you can't activate cards or effects in response to the activation of 'Cychaic' cards until the end of my next turn. Theodosios Constantinos!" A silhouette of a wall briefly appeared on Azrael's field before dissipating.

"Well, that's unexpected. Azrael not only reduced the damage to zero, he also acquired more resources for his strategies." Revolver observed.

Infearno frowned at this development. "While Azrael avoided battle damage, the fact that Dark Garnex destroyed a monster by battle will allow Watchman to evolve his monster into a stronger one."

"And because of that, it gives Watchman more chances to deal battle damage." Slipstream said.

"Tch." Watchman stated, before he grit his teeth. That wasn't good, as now he couldn't negate the effects of Azrael's cards until the end of his next turn. The good news was that Azrael brought out more monsters, which meant he can continue his turn, and that would not stop him from winning this duel. "With your monster gone, Dark Garnex's additional effect activates! I can send it to the Graveyard, and then summon up to two copies of Vijam from my Graveyard!" Dark Garnex disappeared into orange cubic particles before splitting and reforming into two copies of Vijam.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Then I'm allowed to add a copy of Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of his deck before he added it to his hand. "By tributing two copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast from my hand to my field!" Both copies of Vijam briefly turned into orange cubic particles before combining to form a new monster on Watchman's field. This monster took the form of a crimson phoenix-like beast, with two sharp protrusions extending from its head and two egg-shaped eye objects with eyes embedded onto them attached to its back. It also had two, massive rotors on its lower back as well.

Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 3

"And since I Special Summoned Blade Garoodia by tributing two copies of Vijam, it gains 2000 attack points!" Watchman added, as Blade Garoodia was surrounded in a fiery aura that increased its strength.

Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast ATK: 0 + 2000 = 2000

"The battle still continues! Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast attacks Cychaic Venator! Cubic Blazerang!" The massive rotors on Blade Garoodia's lower back charged up to gain power before it threw two flaming discs at Venator, destroying him. "And just like before, Blade Garoodia's second effect activates! I can send it to the Graveyard, and then summon up to three copies of Vijam from my Graveyard!" Blade Garoodia disappeared into orange cubic particles before splitting and reforming into three copies of Vijam.

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Vijam the Cubic Seed ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cychaic Nero ATK: 4300 – 300 = 4000

"Here it comes…" Raguel muttered.

"The strongest of the Cubic Beasts." Herald stated.

"I can then add Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth from my deck to my hand." Watchman said, as a card popped out of his deck, which he added to his hand. "By tributing three copies of Vijam, I can Special Summon the strongest of the Cubic Beasts from my hand to my field! Emerge, Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth!" All three copies of Vijam briefly turned into orange cubic particles before merging together to form a new monster on Watchman's field. This monster took the form of a massive being with three eyes: one in the middle, and one on each side connecting its left and right body. It had three towers that were joined together.

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 4

"Buster Gundil's effect! Since it was Special Summoned by tributing three copies of Vijam, it gains 3000 attack points!" Buster Gundil was surrounded in a green aura that increased its strength.

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth: 0 + 3000 = 3000

"The battle continues once more! Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks Cychaic Crocodile! Cubic Maelstrom!" Watchman stated, as tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Crocodile, which turned into particles.

Cychaic Nero ATK: 4000 – 300 = 3700

"If memory serves, the Cubic Beasts gain additional attacks equal to one less of their levels." Azrael recalled. "But Buster Gundil's attack points are slightly less than Nero's, so there's no point in you attacking anymore than you already have."

"Is that so? Let's see how you react to this! The battle still continues!" Watchman thrusted out his right hand. "Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks Cychaic Nero! At this point, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Battle X 2! When a monster I control declares a second attack, its attack points are doubled during the damage step only!"

There it was. A shift. A small change in both Azrael and Wraith's postures. While it was miniscule, it was an indication on how caught off guard the duo was. "What?!" the duo exclaimed, as Buster Gundil's strength went up further.

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 3000 X 2 = 6000

"WOAH! Buster Gundil's attack points are now at 6000!" Ai exclaimed.

"Now Watchman can deal even more battle damage to Azrael." Playmaker observed.

"And if these next two attacks hit, then Azrael is done for." Slipstream commented.

Watchman smirked. "You weren't expecting that, were you? Now, Buster Gundil! Destroy Cychaic Nero with Cubic Maelstrom!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Nero, who tried to block them with his sword. Unfortunately, the orange cubic energy broke through Nero's sword and pierced him as he screamed before he was turned to particles. Azrael was pushed back several feet as his life points massively dropped, to the point where he had to unsheathe the Muramasa and plant it to the ground to prevent himself from being pushed back any further.

Azrael: 3200 – 2300 = 900 LP

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 6000 / 2 = 3000

"When Nero's destroyed by battle or card effect, I gain 300 life points for every card on your field. There's currently three cards on your field, which means I gain 900 life points." Azrael explained, as a blue aura surrounded him, which increased his life points.

Azrael: 900 + (300 X 3) = 1800 LP

"So what? That means nothing, as Buster Gundil can attack one more time." Watchman pointed out. "Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks you directly! Cubic Maelstrom!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Azrael!

"The duel isn't over yet, old man. If I control no monsters and I would take damage, I can Special Summon Cychaic Panther from my hand to my field to not only negate the attack, but end the Battle Phase as well!" Azrael countered back, as a silver-armored panther appeared on his field in defense position.

Cychaic Panther ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4

Cychaic Panther ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000 DEF: 1500 + 500 = 2000

Within seconds, Panther let out a loud scream from its mouth, which turned the orange cubic energy into particles.

"Furthermore, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my deck or Graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to the damage I would have taken." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Now come from my deck, Cychaic Cinnamon Bird!" A large bird with brownish-orange skin appeared on Azrael's field in face-up defense position. The bird had a large beak, and a long tail that had orange spices at its tips.

Cychaic Cinnamon Bird ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3

Cychaic Cinnamon Bird ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Watchman concluded, partially satisfied with how the turn went. Despite a few obstacles, he had been able to deal massive damage to Azrael, and would defeat him once his next turn came around.

"Even though Azrael gained some life points back, Watchman's still in the lead of this duel." Soulburner said.

"Perhaps, but based on the footage from Azrael's previous duels against Raguel, as well as footage from his other duels, something like that isn't going to stop Azrael from continuing this duel." Flame pointed out, a scowl evident on his face.

"What do you think, Aqua?" Blue Maiden asked.

"Well, Watchman has the strongest monster on his field, and Azrael has two monsters on his field in defense position. Whatever happens next could determine which direction the duel will go from there." Aqua replied.

"My turn! I draw!" Azrael said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "It's about time you began to show me your true colours, which is why I will respond in kind with the power I've accumulated over the past ten years! I activate the Spell card, Cychaic Tribute. By destroying one 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can draw the top two cards of my deck. I destroy Panther on my field, and draw!" After Panther turned into particles, Azrael drew the top two cards of his deck.

"Panther's effect! As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my Graveyard to my field. Be reborn, Venator!" At Azrael's command, Venator reappeared on his field.

Cychaic Venator ATK: 1800 DEF: 900 LV: 4

Cychaic Venator ATK: 1800 + 500 = 2300 DEF: 900 + 500 = 1400

"Venator's effect! Just like before, when he's Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my deck or Graveyard to my field!" Azrael continued. "Be reborn, Constantine!" At Azrael's command, Constantine reappeared on his field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2000 LINK-3 ⬆️⬇️➡️

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"Great. Constantine's back." Blue Maiden scowled upon seeing Azrael bring back his monster.

"Now Azrael can negate Watchman's effects and deal effect damage again." Aqua commented.

"And since it's once per turn during either of their turns, that means Azrael can inflict effect damage unless Watchman is careful." Revolver said.

"From there, I activate Amphitheatre's effect. Once per turn, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field. I destroy Cinnamon Bird on my field!" Azrael decided. After Cinnamon Bird turned into particles, another Dancer token appeared on Azrael's field.

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2500 + 400 = 2900

"Cinnamon Bird's effect! Since it was destroyed by a card effect, I can target one 'Cychaic' Link monster on my field, and gain life points equal to its Link rating times 500. I target Constantine, who is a Link 3 monster. That means I gain 1500 life points!" Azrael was then surrounded in a fiery glow as his life points increased, much to Watchman's disdain.

Azrael: 1800 + (500 X 3) = 3100 LP

"Great. Just great. Azrael just undid a majority of the damage Watchman inflicted on him in the previous turn." Slipstream commented with frustration.

"Despite being an outdated duelist, Arshad still is strong. I do wonder how Azrael is going to respond to that next." Jericho wondered with curiosity.

"I now activate the Spell card, Cychaic Preparations." Azrael stated. The card showed Lanista in a large courtyard, where he oversaw several new gladiators moving several weapons on racks to be used for the upcoming training session. "I can shuffle 'Cychaic' cards in my Graveyard up to the number of 'Cychaic' monsters I control, and then draw cards equal to the number of 'Cychaic' cards shuffled into my deck by this effect. As I control a total of three 'Cychaic' monsters, that means I can shuffle three cards from my Graveyard into my deck. I shuffle Panther, Crocodile, and Lanista into my deck, and draw!" Three cards popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck.

"I'm not sure what you're planning, but I won't be caught off guard by the unknown." Watchman said, as he gestured to his field. "Quick-Play Spell card, activate! Cubic Shift!" The card showed Buster Gundil turning into orange particles that began to morph into a copy of Indiora Doom Volt. "By tributing a 'Cubic' monster on my field, I can Special Summon one 'Cubic' monster from my deck to my field ignoring its summoning conditions. But in exchange, its effects are negated, and it can't attack until the end of the turn." A card popped out of Watchman's deck, which he took with his right hand. "I tribute Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel, and Special Summon a copy of Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord from my deck to my field!" After Crimson Nova turned to particles, a massive swarm of sickly gray and orange cubic particles appeared on Watchman's field before they formed into a new purple-colored monster. This monster's core consisted of a purple sphere with a red oval and golden lash marks surrounding it, which was inside a translucent purple-cube. It had two muscular arms, with two eyes each. One at the shoulder, and one at the back of its hand. Its right hand consisted of two un-even pincer blades that formed a claw, while the left hand consisted of a pendulum blade. Flowing underneath the creature's core was a trail of solidified purple cubes, which formed a tail.

Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord ATK: 3000 DEF: 0 LV: 10

Raguel gasped upon seeing Watchman's new monster. "What the Hell is that?!"

"I'm not sure, Raguel, but it's not good at all." Herald responded.

"Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord. The monster he used against me during our duel." Revolver recalled.

Specter narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Watchman could have used Cubic Shift on his previous turn, but it wouldn't have been useful at the time. Especially since Panther's effect ended the Battle Phase."

"And as Cubic Shift negates the Special Summoned 'Cubic' monsters effects, that meant Watchman couldn't use Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord's final effect of inflicting effect damage." Infearno noted, having remembered how Watchman tried to use its final effect to end the duel against Revolver in a draw.

"So instead, Watchman's preparing for when Azrael will attack with his monsters." Slipstream said.

Azrael frowned as he looked at Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord. One of Watchman's strongest monsters, which he summoned in his duel against Revolver.

"Such a thing isn't going to stop us, right Azrael?" Wraith inquired.

"Of course not, Wraith." Azrael assured Wraith, before turning back to Watchman. "I activate the Ritual Spell card, Cychaic Solemnity!" The card showed a roman warrior with a look of pure anger on his face as a female goddess wearing a black and purple robe outstretched her right hand over him, which caused pieces of shadows to enter his body. "This card lets me Ritual Summon one 'Cychaic' Ritual monster from my hand by destroying 'Cychaic' monsters on my field or in my hand. I also have the option of destroying 'Cychaic' monsters in my deck if I control a 'Cychaic' Link monster."

"A Ritual Summon?" Watchman repeated.

"Correct. I destroy Venator on my field, and Lanista in my deck!" Soon, a dark blue magical circle with eight flames appeared on Raguel's field, along with Venator and a silhouette of Lanista. Both monsters disintegrated into light and entered into the center of the circle, which emitted a pillar of bright light.

"Oh, crap! Azrael can Ritual Summon now?!" Herald exclaimed.

"Aw, glitch! This is going to end badly for Watchman!" Ai screamed. Playmaker, on the other hand, grit his teeth.

"And because Azrael's destroying cards for his Ritual Summon, that means he can activate their effects afterwards!" Aqua commented.

"Which means Azrael can put more pressure on Watchman." Blue Maiden finished.

"The contract has been made!" Azrael chanted. "Legendary centurion abandoned by his comrades! Immerse yourself with the power of darkness, and eradicate both present and future transgressors! Ritual Summon! Come before us! Level 8! Cychaic Damocles!" A young man with brown hair in the form of a bob cut and orange eyes appeared on Azrael's field. His attire consisted of grey, battle damaged roman armor that had silver markings and a skull on it. Surrounding his arms were shadows, and strapped around his neck was a shadowy cape. In his hands, he carried a silver sword that had a skull at the hilt.

Cychaic Damocles ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8

Cychaic Damocles ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 2900 + 400 = 3300

"The effects of Venator and Lanista both activate. First, when Venator is destroyed by a card effect, I can take control of one monster on your field and treat it as a 'Cychaic' monster until the end of my next turn. I take control of Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth!" Buster Gundil was surrounded in a red aura before turning into particles, which reformed onto Azrael's field.

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500 DEF: 0 + 500 = 500

Watchman grit his teeth. As Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord couldn't attack nor use its effects until the end of the turn, it made sense for Azrael to take control of Buster Gundil, especially with the fact that it can attack three times.

"Second, when Lanista is destroyed by a card effect, all 'Cychaic' monsters I control gain 500 attack points until the End Phase." Azrael added, much to Watchman's surprise and the former's amusement. Soon, all of Azrael's monsters were surrounded in a yellow aura that increased their strength.

Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000

Cychaic Damocles ATK: 3500 + 500 = 4000

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 3300 + 500 = 3800

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 3500 + 500 = 4000

"This isn't good. Not only did Azrael Ritual Summon, he stole one of Watchman's strongest monsters and increased the strength of the monsters on his field." Soulburner commented.

"Yes, and because Buster Gundil is now a 'Cychaic' monster, it also gains the benefits from Azrael's cards." Flame observed.

"Not just that, but Azrael now has more options for his moves." Slipstream stated.

"From there, I activate Damocles' effect. Once per turn, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to activate one of three effects depending on the type of card destroyed by this effect. The best part is that you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation!" Azrael revealed.

"What?!" Watchman exclaimed, having tensed up. Whatever Azrael had in mind, it was anything but good.

"I destroy the Dancer token on my field, which is a monster card. That means you take 400 points of damage for each monster on your field and in your Graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to its original attack points!" The Dancer token turned into particles, which went to Damocles.

"You currently have a total of six monsters in your Graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to the Dancer token's original attack points of 1000, which means you take 2400 points of damage." Wraith summed up.

"Never-Ending Nightmare!" Azrael declared, as Damocles let out a shout before forming a fist with his right hand, which caused eerie spirits to emerge from Watchman's Graveyard. The spirits then slashed him several times as his life points decreased.

Watchman: 3200 – (400 X 6) = 800 LP

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 3800 + 400 = 4200

"Now Azrael has seized back control of the duel." Specter said.

"We're almost at the climax of this duel, ladies and gentlemen!" Jericho exclaimed.

"Let's end this, shall we, Watchman? Battle!" Azrael declared. "Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord!"

"Thanks to Dharma, I take no battle damage when a 'Cubic' monster battles." Watchman reminded Azrael.

"That matters little." Azrael replied, as tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord, which turned it into particles. "And if memory serves, your monster can attack thrice, yes? That means I can finish you off with your own monster. The battle continues. Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks you directly!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Watchman!

"I activate the effect of Cubic Pulse in my Graveyard!" Watchman interrupted. "By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon 'Cubic Quantum' tokens to my field up to the number of monsters you control. As you control three monsters, that means I can Special Summon three 'Cubic Quantum' tokens to my field in defense position." Soon, three cubes each made up of orange particles appeared on Watchman's field in defense position.

Cubic Quantum ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cubic Quantum ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cubic Quantum ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Prolonging your defeat, huh? Very well, then. A battle replay occurs. Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks the first of your Cubic Quantum tokens!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards the first of the Quantum tokens, which turned it into particles. "And it still has one more attack to go. Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth attacks the second of your Cubic Quantum tokens!" Tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards the second of the Quantum tokens, which turned it into particles.

"The battle still continues! Cychaic Constantine attacks the third of your Cubic Quantum tokens! Tactical Execution!" Azrael shouted, as Constantine charged forward and slashed the third of the Quantum tokens, which turned it into particles.

"Let's end this old man, Azrael!" Wraith said.

"Your days are numbered, Watchman!" Azrael thrusted out his right hand. "Cychaic Damocles attacks you directly! Divine Retribution!" Damocles charged forward with raging fury, intent on eradicating Watchman for good.

"Trap card, activate! Defense Draw!" Watchman interjected. "If I would take battle damage from a battle, I can not only make it zero, but also draw a card as well." After Watchman drew the top card of his deck, he pushed Damocles back with such force that the latter retreated back to Azrael's side of the field.

"I Set one card and end my turn, which means Lanista's effect ends, and my monsters lose the attack boost." Azrael concluded with disappointment, as a red aura depleted their attack boost.

Cychaic Damocles ATK: 4000 - 500 = 3500

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 4200 - 500 = 3700

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 4000 - 500 = 3500

"Watchman managed to somehow avoid all battle damage from all those attacks." Aqua commented.

"But that means he only has one chance left to take control of the duel, Aqua." Blue Maiden told her.

"So whatever Watchman draws next will ultimately determine the conclusion of this duel." Revolver concluded.

"My turn! I draw!" Watchman said, as he drew the top card of his deck. This was his final chance at winning this duel, but if he were to succeed, then he had to play the final ace in the hole. One that no one expected Watchman to use up until now. "I activate the Spell card, Cubic Oblivion!" The card showed the Quantum Cube corrupting a male teenager as they transformed into a demonic monster, a silhouette of Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord appearing behind him. "This card lets me Fusion Summon one 'Cubic' Fusion monster by banishing the materials listed on it from my hand, deck, field, or Graveyard. And you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation if my life points are less than yours."

"What?" Azrael replied, as he and Wraith braced themselves for what's to come.

"A Fusion Summon?!" everyone else repeated.

"Interesting. It seems that when humans are pushed back into a corner, their true nature is revealed." Lightning stated. Such information was certainly going to help him if he was to win this war.

"I banish a copy of Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord from my Graveyard, and two more copies of it from my deck!" After Watchman took two cards from his deck and banished them, three silhouettes of Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord appeared before turning into black blobs of energy, each one having a single eyeball. All three blobs then went upward before swirling into a vortex, which resulted in them shooting upwards and merging to form an orange whirlwind.

"Collection of wicked consciousness! Blacken out all remaining hope, and lead this world into a despair without light!" Watchman chanted, his eyes now glowing red. "Fusion Summon! Descend now from the pitch black darkness, Level 10! Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord!" A massive, red-skinned demonic looking monster with golden elements, several eyeballs embedded on its body and four tentacles with bladed claws appeared on Watchman's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord ATK: 4500 DEF: 3000 LV: 10

"GAAH! Watchman's ultimate monster is here!" Ai screamed.

"And an unnatural one at that…" Playmaker muttered, a scowl evident on his face.

Soulburner's eyes widened in horror upon seeing what Watchman just Fusion Summoned. "That monster…."

"Considering what effects it has, it will no doubt be trouble for Azrael." Flame acknowledged. "But it is also a true reflection on who Watchman really is. A hypocritical saint. One who's willing to do whatever it takes for his selfish goals."

Raguel grit his teeth. If he was dueling Watchman, such a monster would have been a massive obstacle for him to overcome. And if Raguel was being honest with himself… there was a great chance he wouldn't be able to defeat Watchman now that he was dueling at full power.

"Raguel? Are you okay?" Herald asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Just a little overwhelmed at everything we've learned, that's all!" Raguel snapped back. "Sorry, Herald. The way I responded to you was not cool at all."

"It's fine, Raguel. I'm overwhelmed too." Herald replied.

"Huh. So this is your ultimate monster…." Wraith muttered, as Azrael looked up Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord's effects, much to the latter's surprise. "About time you showed that ugly mug of yours."

"Of course it's me at my full power, and it will be the end of you!" Watchman responded. "Starting with this! I activate the Spell card, Cubic Wave. When this card is activated-."

"No, I think not." Azrael interjected, as he gestured to his field. "Counter-Trap, activate! Cychaic Record! When you activate a card effect, I can not only negate that effect, but also destroy it as well! What's more, you can't activate cards or effects in response to both of this card's effects!" A massive stone tablet appeared before firing a blast of dark-blue energy at Cubic Wave, which turned it into particles. "I also activate Record's second effect from my Graveyard. As I control a 'Cychaic' Link monster the turn it was activated, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card on my field and one card on your field. And like before, you can't activate any cards or effects in response to both of Record's effects. I destroy Vulcanalia on my field, and Dharma on your field." Within a moment or two, the massive stone tablet reappeared before firing a blast of dark-blue energy at Vulcanalia on Azrael's field, and Dharma on Watchman's field before turning both of them into particles.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 3700 + 400 = 4100

"Vulcanalia's effect! As it was destroyed by a card effect, all 'Cychaic' monsters I control gain 400 attack points, while all monsters you control lose 400 attack points." Soon, fiery auras surrounded all the monsters on the duel field. Whereas Azrael's monsters became stronger, Crimson Nova Trinity groaned as its strength decreased.

Cychaic Constantine ATK: 4100 + 400 = 4500

Cychaic Damocles ATK: 3500 + 400 = 3900

Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth ATK: 3500 + 400 = 3900

Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord ATK: 4500 – 400 = 4100

"Even though Azrael's cards are no longer protected against Watchman's Spell and Trap cards, he still made his monsters stronger with Vulcanalia's effect." Slipstream stated.

"And he also weakened Watchman's strongest monster as well." Blue Maiden observed.

"Then I'll just defeat you the old fashion way, Azrael. Battle!" Watchman declared, before he thrusted out his right hand. "Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord attacks Cychaic Damocles! And when it declares an attack, your life points are halved! Cubic Devastation!"

"Crap…." Azrael muttered, as all of Crimson Nova Trinity's eyes glowed before firing dark, cubic beams of energy that went upwards, which hit Azrael and forced him to take a step back before his life points were halved.

Azrael: 3100 / 2 = 1550 LP

"Cubic Catastrophe!" Crimson Nova Trinity fired a blast of dark, cubic energy from the cube attached to its body, which destroyed Damocles and made Azrael shield his eyes with his right forearm as his life points dropped.

Azrael: 1550 – 200 = 1350 LP

"When Damocles is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon two 'Cychaic' monsters from my deck and/or Graveyard in defense position." Azrael explained. "Come to me from my deck, Cychaic Catoblepas and Cychaic Rhino from my deck!" Soon, two monsters appeared on Azrael's field in defense position.

The first was a grey-skinned buffalo with a long stocky body and short but thickset legs. The horns on the sides of its head curved close together, as if it was forming a shield before curving upwards. It wore silver armor all over its body, as well as a silver helmet protecting its face.

The second was an armoured rhino standing on its hind legs. On the armor strapped to its legs and arms were white lines in the form of tattoos. There were also silver, prism-like shields attached to its armor as well.

Cychaic Catoblepas ATK: 900 DEF: 1800 LV: 3

Cychaic Rhino ATK: 1500 DEF: 2500 LV: 6

Cychaic Catoblepas ATK: 900 + 500 = 1400 DEF: 1800 + 500 = 2300

Cychaic Rhino ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"Woah! Did you see that, Playmaker? Watchman inflicted massive damage on Azrael!" Ai exclaimed.

"But Azrael brought out two more monsters in defense position with Damocles' effect." Playmaker pointed out. "Once Azrael's turn comes around, he'll be able to utilize his monster's effects."

"If Watchman brought out that monster during our duel, I probably would have had much more difficulty in trying to win against him." Revolver acknowledged reluctantly.

"I have a feeling that Watchman isn't done yet, don't you agree, ladies and gentlemen?" Jericho commented.

"Such a thing won't stop me! For when Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord destroys a monster by battle, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!" Watchman revealed to Azrael, a grin evident on his face. "The battle continues! Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord attacks Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth! And just like before, when it declares an attack, your life points are halved! Cubic Devastation!" Crimson Nova Trinity's eyes glowed before firing dark, cubic beams of energy that went upwards, which hit Azrael and forced him to take a step back before his life points were halved.

Azrael: 1350 / 2 = 625 LP

"Cubic Devastation!" Crimson Nova Trinity fired a blast of dark, cubic energy from the cube attached to its body, which headed straight towards Buster Gundil!

"This duel had one result from the very beginning, and even though you showed me your motivation, it wasn't enough to prevent the inevitable." Azrael commented back, before he thrusted out his right hand. "I activate Rhino's effect. Once per turn, during either of our turns, when a 'Cychaic' monster I control battles, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to reduce your monster's attack points equal to the attack points of the battling 'Cychaic' monster until the end of the damage step."

"WHAT?!" Watchman gasped.

"You heard me. I destroy Constantine, which means your monster loses Buster Gundil's 3900 attack points!" Constantine turned to particles, which went into Rhino's prism shields before the latter released them at Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord, who groaned in further pain as its strength was depleted.

Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord ATK: 4100 – 3900 = 200

"Prepare to lose at the hands of your own monster!" Azrael and Wraith declared, as the both of them thrusted out their right hands towards their duel field. "Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth, destroy Watchman once and for all!" At the duo's command, tendrils of orange cubic energy surrounded the towers on Buster Gundil's body, before being fired from all three eyes towards Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord, which destroyed it completely before a massive explosion occurred. As a result, Watchman was sent flying off the ground before he landed on his back, the duel over at last.

Watchman: 800 – 3700 = 0

"GAAH! Watchman lost against Azrael, even after that back and forth of a duel!" Pigeon exclaimed.

"It goes to show that Azrael and the others aren't ones to be messed with." Frog told Pigeon. "How terrifying are these people?!"

Jericho clapped upon seeing Azrael take down Watchman. "Bravo! Bravo! Well done, Azrael! Way to put that bastard down for his sins! GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU, ARSHAD SAITO!" After throwing a purple orb at one of the crosses nearby, he teleported out of the area.

Azrael walked over to the fallen Watchman, who struggled to get up on his feet.

"You think defeating me changes what happened?" Watchman taunted. "It's already in motion! You cannot stop what's to come!"

"Perhaps, but I can at least get retribution on behalf of myself and everyone you have hurt through your actions." Azrael responded.

Watchman then grimly laughed as his avatar turned orange and started to break apart. He continued to laugh until he was fully disintegrated, and all that was left was an orange sphere floating over Azrael's right palm.

"Azrael, should I devour him?" Wraith questioned.

"No. Better for one to suffer eternally than provide a merciful end." Azrael replied, before several blue-mirage blades appeared at Azrael's sides. He then fired them at Frog and Pigeon, who narrowly dodged several of them, only for one of the blades to nick the duo in the process. Azrael immediately teleported to where Frog and Pigeon were before grabbing the duo and slamming them to the ground.

"If you leak anything that was said in this duel to the world, you will suffer a fate worse than death! Do you understand me?!"

"We understand! We understand!" Frog and Pigeon complied.

"Wraith, delete the footage that they have." Azrael said, wanting to take precautions just in case of any potential worse case scenarios.

"With pleasure." Wraith replied, before he put his hand inside Pigeon's camera and pulled the data out of it. "All done."

After Azrael put it in his duel disk, he unsheathed the Muramasa before using it to slice the air in two, which creased a portal to travel through. He and Wraith then quickly went into the portal before it closed up. As for Frog and Pigeon, the terror-stricken duo were teleported back to Lightning's castle.

Lightning tiled his head. "Despite such a close duel, victory was expected in the end. If Bohman is to defeat Azrael and Wraith for good, he'll need to absorb at least six Ignis for such a task."

Raguel frowned as the sphere cut out. "Watchman has lost."

"But after learning about Watchman's actions and his reasons for doing so, you still care for him?" Herald curiously inquired.

"I'm thinking of this from a tactical point of view, Herald, not a personal one, for that doesn't matter anymore. The fact that Watchman lost puts us at a disadvantage." Raguel emphasized, which made Herald shiver out of fear. "Bohman, Lightning, Windy, Azrael, Wraith, and Malf. No matter who comes after us, we can't afford to lose."

Green, wispy pieces of data are shown floating through the network as a bright light briefly covers the screen, multiple cards popping up one by one.

Yusaku is first shown walking to school before he morphs into his VRAINS Persona Playmaker. Takeru is also shown doing the same thing before he morphs into his VRAINS Persona Soulburner. Last but not least, Yuhiro and Arashi are shown doing the same thing before they morph into the VRAINS Personas Raguel and Slipstream. Ai, Flame, Aqua, and Herald pop up on the screen one by one afterwards.

A split screen then pops up, showing Aoi walking down the street on one side, while Emma scratches the back of her head on the other side, as if she were stressed out. The both of them then morph into their VRAINS Personas Blue Maiden and Ghost Girl. A second split screen pops up afterwards, showing Rachel on her tablet on one side, while Gekiryushi practices her swordsmanship on the other side with concentration. The both of them then morph into their VRAINS Personas Numera and SengokuQueen.

Soon after, a third split screen appears, showing a skinny Go Onizuka clutching his head in pain with his left hand, while Kengo Dojun puts a hand on his chin, as if thinking something over. The screen then cracks, showing a virtual network where Go closes his eyes and spreads out his hands with a smile, while Blood Shepherd aims his right hand at the screen. A fourth split screen appears, showing Akairo completing some schoolwork, while Brion is in his apartment, looking at a picture in his locket with narrowed eyes, which showed his family. The screen then cracks, showing Drachen with Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword in his hand, while Electrolyzer has PSY-Framegears Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta attached to his body.

The main tower LINK VRAINS is shown before the screen cracks in two, which reveals the main tower in Mirror LINK VRAINS. Lightning's faction is shown in the light, but then the screen is enveloped in darkness before depicting Azrael flaring out the Muramasa with Malf and Wraith on his sides.

Revolver, Specter, and Infearno are then shown on the screen, with Revolver on the left, Infearno in the center, and Specter on the right.

The screen changes to show multiple people at Green Park. First is Kusanagi and Roxy beside one another, with Akira speaking to Emma and Gekiryushi nearby. Next is Arashi crossing his arms, with Takeru is looking out at another area while Yusaku simply looks ahead of him, Aoi sitting down on the stairs nearby. Yuhiro is seen looking ahead of him with a stressed expression on his face, a silhouette of Miyu trying to comfort him. Rachel runs up to where Yuhiro is before standing next to him, with Naoki trying to wave his hand to the humans nearby. Herald is shown with Ai, Flame, and Aqua nearby the humans. Last but not least, Ryoken, Youta, and Emon are shown conversing in another area of Green Park.

The screen then shows a grey landscape, where duel monsters appear in pairs. First is Firewall Dragon and Firewall eXceed Dragon, second is Salamangreat Heatleo and Violet Chimera, third is Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode and Turboblaze Dragon, fourth is Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake, and fifth is Borreload Savage Dragon and Borreload Dragon before all of them disappear one by one. Last but not least, a network background appears, with a strand of rainbow data flowing around it before Raguel, Playmaker, Soulburner, and Slipstream appear, along with Ai, Flame, and Herald. All four humans draw a card from the top of their decks before a bright light covers the screen.

Card Gallery

Azrael:

Cychaic Rhino (LV: 6/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 1500/DEF: 2500)

Effect: During either player's turn, when a 'Cychaic' monster you control battles a monster your opponent controls (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card on your field or in your hand; your opponent's monster loses ATK equal to the attack of the battling 'Cychaic' monster until the end of the damage step. If this card is destroyed by a card effect, any damage you take for the rest of this turn is halved. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Rhino' once per turn.

Cychaic Lanista (LV: 4/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600)

Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 'Cychaic' Link monster you control; shuffle cards from your GY into your deck and/or Extra Deck up to the targeted monster's Link rating, and if you do, draw 2 cards from the top of your deck. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can have all 'Cychaic' monsters you control gain 500 ATK until the End Phase. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Lanista' once per turn.

Cychaic Damocles (LV: 8/Cyberse/Ritual/Dark/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)

Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card using 'Cychaic Solemnity'. You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; activate 1 of the following effects based on the 'Cychaic' card destroyed by this effect:

Monster: Your opponent takes 400 damage for each monster in their GY whose ATK is less than or equal to the original ATK of the destroyed 'Cychaic' monster.

Spell: Until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn, each time your opponent activates a card effect: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent, and if you do, gain 500 LP.

Trap: Declare 1 type of card (Monster, Spell, or Trap); until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects of the declared type from their hand, field, deck or GY.

If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon 2 'Cychaic' monsters from your deck and/or GY with different names to your field in defense position. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to each of this card's effects. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Damocles' once per turn.

Cychaic Preparations (Normal Spell card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can shuffle 'Cychaic' cards in your GY up to the number of 'Cychaic' monsters you control, and if you do, draw cards from the top of your deck for each 'Cychaic' card shuffled into your deck by this effect. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can Set 1 'Cychaic' Spell or Trap card from your deck to your field. You can only activate 1 'Cychaic Preparations' per turn.

Cychaic Solemnity (Ritual Spell card)

Effect: This card can be used to Ritual Summon any 'Cychaic' Ritual monster. You must also tribute 'Cychaic' monsters from your hand or field, and/or destroy 'Cychaic' monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. If you control a 'Cychaic' Link monster: You can also use 'Cychaic' monsters in your deck, by destroying them. When this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish this card from your GY; for the rest of this turn, the effects of 'Cychaic' cards you activate cannot be negated. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can add 1 'Cychaic' card from your deck or GY to your hand, except this card.

Cychaic Constantine (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2000/⬆️⬇️➡️)

Effect: 2 or more 'Cychaic' monsters. Each time a 'Cychaic' card is destroyed by battle or card effect in your hand or on your field: You can have this card gain 400 ATK. Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent activates a card effect (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; negate the effect, and if you do, send it to the GY, then inflict 800 damage to your opponent. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation of 'Cychaic' cards until the end of your next turn. You can only use this effect of 'Cychaic Constantine' once per turn.

Watchman:

Cubic Oblivion (Normal Spell card)

Effect: Fusion Summon 1 'Cubic' Fusion monster from your Extra Deck, by banishing 'Cubic' monsters from your hand, field, deck, or GY as Fusion Materials. If your LP are less than your opponent's, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation. If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 1 'Cubic' monster from your hand, deck, GY, or banished zone, ignoring its summoning conditions. You can only activate 1 'Cubic Oblivion' per turn.

Cubic Nirvana (Normal Spell card)

Effect: If you control a 'Cubic' monster: You can draw until you have 5 cards in your hand. During the fifth Standby Phase after this card's activation, send all cards in your hand to your GY. You can only activate 1 'Cubic Nirvana' per duel.

Cubic Shift (Quick-Play Spell card)

Effect: Tribute 1 'Cubic' monster you control; Special Summon 1 'Cubic' monster from your deck with a different name to your field, ignoring its summoning conditions. This turn, that monster cannot attack; also, its effects are negated until the end of the turn. You can only activate 1 'Cubic Shift' per turn.

Cubic Pulse (Normal Trap card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can target 1 Level 4 or lower 'Cubic' monster you control; it gains ATK equal to your LP until the End Phase. If you control a 'Cubic' monster that is not 'Vijam the Cubic Seed', you can activate this card from your hand. If this card is in your GY: You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon 'Cubic Quantum' tokens (LV: 1/Fiend/Dark/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) up to the number of monsters your opponent controls in defense position. You can only use each effect of 'Cubic Pulse' once per turn.

Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel (LR: 2/Fiend/Dark/ATK: 0/↙️↘️)

Effect: 2 'Cubic' monsters. When this card is Link Summoned: You can activate 1 'Cubic' Spell or Trap card from your Graveyard or banished zone to your field. While this card is on the field, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the effects of 'Cubic' cards; also, your opponent cannot target this card for attacks or effects while you control a 'Cubic' monster with a different name. If a 'Cubic' monster you control leaves the field while this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there: You can banish this card from your GY; Special Summon this card from your GY to your field, and if you do, add 1 'Cubic' card from your deck, GY, or banished zone to your hand. You can only use this effect of 'Crimson Nova the Cubic Vessel' once per turn.

QOTC

What are your thoughts on Watchman's actions and the reasons he had for doing so? How do you think it will affect the heroes moving forward?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 87: Winds of Change. Watchman has fallen in battle, but the heroes aren't disheartened by it. Lightning goes forth to challenge Specter, and when their duel concludes, Windy approaches Slipstream. One hoping to rectify his mistake and prepare for his rematch against Revolver, the other hellbent on getting revenge for his cousin….

Author's Notes

Well, folks. This was... a big chapter to write. I'm just glad to finish it before January 2023, that's for sure. I think a quick recap is needed here:

This chapter is where the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc moves onto individual duels, with our first duel being Azrael vs Watchman. One of my main goals was to demonstrate how powerful the Cubic deck is compared to modern day decks. Aside from that, we have some crazy revelations that were shown in this chapter as well.

First being that while Watchman rescued Yuhiro and Yukage from the envoys' attack, he knocked both boys out and brought them to Dr. Kogami. Like I said before, aside from Yusaku, who was captured by Dr. Kogami, Watchman personally kidnapped all the other children for the Lost Incident. Second was the truth about Demeter and Percival, and how Watchman personally recruited them for his selfish cause. Why did he recruit both individuals? It's because of how they were related to the Lost Incident. For Yua Kogami, she was Dr. Kogami's husband, as well as a contributor towards the Lost Incident. In exchange for asylum from the authorities, Yua had to join Watchman's side. For Katsuya Minamoto, he was Jin's cousin, thus allowing Watchman to manipulate him into joining his side in exchange for creating a cure for Jin. To put it simply, Watchman had both of these things as leverage, which helped in recruiting both individuals to his cause. Third is the fact that Watchman's an Inquisitor, just like Azrael, which confirms that both of them are Inquisitors. I also put in an epic fight before the duel, so I hope you guys like it.

The crazy thing about Watchman is that he doesn't deny these accusations because they're all true, and he acknowledges them all. He's done all those things in the name of saving humanity, eradicating sin, and avenging Myojin and Lyla's deaths. For they, along with Ukyos, gave Watchman a reason to have hope in humanity. But when Ukyos' envoys killed Myojin and Lyla, as well as nearly succeeding in killing Raguel and Azrael when they were kids, that act was what led Watchman to no longer having faith in humanity. If Watchman was to succeed, he had to make sure that everyone played their roles, whether they were ally or enemy. So Watchman put up a façade of a humble, repentant person who wanted to right his wrongs. And the crazy thing is that he got so good at it that he managed to fool everyone, even the enemy. Myojin and Lyla's deaths, along with Demeter and Percival's betrayals, were the instigators of Watchman unlocking his powers. And if Watchman was to ultimately succeed in ensuring that humanity's saved at all costs, he needed the Root of All Knowledge, no matter how many people needed to die for it to be obtained. You could say his days as an Inquisitor contributed to the beliefs he has today. Oh, allow me to confirm one thing: If Watchman dueled against Lightning, the former would win due to his willingness to defeat the enemy at all costs, even if innocents must die in the process.

Lightning even acknowledges that he sees himself in Watchman, as the both of them are willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals, even if it meant getting their hands dirty. Both of them were even willing to cast aside individuals who were no longer useful. The crazy thing? If Watchman was an Ignis, and Lightning was aware of the former's actions, then the latter would have recruited him in a heartbeat. Goes to show how much of a monster Watchman truly is, don't you agree? Let me know what you think of all of this.

In terms of the duel, Watchman did very well. He first brought out the Cubic Kings, then the Cubic Beasts, and then the Cubic Lords to symbolize his true colors as an individual. As a result, Watchman was able to put the pressure on Azrael, who responded with a new Cychaic Link monster in the form of Cychaic Constantine, along with his own Ritual monster in Cychaic Damocles. Some of you were wondering whether Azrael's Ritual monster would be a Roman god just like the others, and I was considering that too, but it isn't the case here for a simple reason. It's because I wanted to create a monster that served the gods, just like how Castor & Pollux served Zeus. In Azrael's case, Damocles serves the Roman gods to punish all of mankind's transgressors in the name of those gods.

But in the end, Azrael managed to win against Watchman through his cards. I will be honest about one thing: Regardless of who Watchman attacked using Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord, he would have lost in the end due to Cychaic Rhino's effect. And even if Watchman ended his turn, I can confirm that Azrael would have finished him off once his turn came around.

On the topic of Azrael, you noticed how he acted a bit more... emotional in this episode. This was due to the fact that he has pieces of Raguel inside his body. Just as how the pieces of Azrael in Raguel's body influences the latter's mind and actions, the pieces of Raguel in Azrael's body also affect him in a similar manner. The difference? Azrael was able to hone his rage in a tactical manner, enabling him to ultimately prepare for Watchman's moves and eventually win the duel.

As for Jericho, he only appeared to provide his commentary on the duel, and managed to get a goldmine of information as a result. The best part? His suspicions have been confirmed in that Earth can be the Lost World Urizen and the others are looking for. So why doesn't Jericho go back to his lab, tell Shalem about his findings, and raise the signal for an all out attack on Earth? Well, there's two reasons. First, I obviously must follow anime canon, for the heroes and villains would be screwed if Urizen came to join the party. Second, it's because Jericho is someone who seeks knowledge above all else. He wants to learn more about his enemies behind the scenes, as the more information you have, the more knowledgeable you are. And with knowledge comes strength, as it allows you to be prepared for whatever may come. What's more, Jericho can use that knowledge to crush his enemies, especially with the Cyberse deck he has in his possession. Do expect Jericho to make his comments on the other duels during the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc, and I also hope you enjoy his commentary as the arc progresses. And who knows? You may see him duel sooner than you think.

Following the duel, Azrael pins down Frog and Pigeon before threatening them with death should they leak the information to the world. Why? It's because Azrael doesn't want unrelated people to know the truth about this information, and he only wants those involved to learn about it. To ensure that the threat is kept in line, Wraith takes the data Frog and Pigeon recorded on their camera, where he gives to Azrael for safekeeping. Once that is done, Azrael and Wraith, along with Frog and Pigeon, leave the area and head back for Lightning's castle.

With all the information recapped, I want to thank you all for reviewing Chapter 86 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 favourite and follow the story. That way, you will get a notification once the next chapter is released.

Since this chapter was released close to the end of 2022, allow me to say something else.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!

I want to know what you're looking forward to in terms of story content for the new year. Give me your theories on how the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc will ultimately end, as well as what you're excited to see next once Season 3 comes around. For I have something awesome in mind regarding the chapters between Seasons 2 and 3, so I hope you're looking forward to those. My goal is to get the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc done by the summer of next year, and with your support, I can certainly accomplish that goal!

What did you enjoy the most about this chapter? The duel between Azrael and Watchman? The revelations revealed in this chapter? Jericho's appearance? Or was it something else?

That's all for now, folks! See you next time!