Hi again everyone! Finally managed to get this story back on track out of hiatus and I'm up and rolling again, a lot sooner than I actually thought. Anywho, I finally managed to get the jist of how I would end up handling Ren for the long run, mostly with how I would handle both his laid back and serious personalities (there will be some moments of his airheadness, but not to the extent where they'll detract from the story, at least I think) and managed to figure out some stuff for later story arcs. Nothing else to say other than welcome back and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
City Library
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Hitoe)
Ren laid back on one of the chairs that was seated beside a small table in the library garden, curious about his current scenario, but mostly dozing off. It appeared to him after the incident with the teleporter back in his own world, he had landed in several bushes and ended up falling asleep for the entire night. When he woke up late into the morning, before deciding to find out where he was exactly, he took out his Shadow Paladin deck, surprised to find it had changed to adapt to the Wixoss card game. After a short while, he entered the library building itself and asked as to where he was. Much to his relief, he did get the answer he wanted whilst keeping quiet about the fact that he had slept in the garden without realizing at first to avoid any trouble with the staff there.
Eventually, he went back outside to look through the rest of his deck, seeing what other changes were present there whilst also gazing at some of the ARTS and Spells that he had now obtained from arriving in this world. Ren's interest was glanced at one unit in particular, having changed into an LRIG card, evidenced by the white backing it now possessed. As he thought about the possibility of the fact that this was the other world that he had made it to, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice from nearby, coming closer towards the garden. When he looked to the side, he could see Hitoe enter the library garden, taking a seat at an unoccupied table just a few feet away from him. He also could hear her conversing with the voice that he heard just now, unbeknowst to him was Yuzuki.
"Yeah, I'm just as surprised myself," the former Selector murmured "Who'd thought the novels that Fumio wanted us to look in would be the same ones she wrote."
"You're right about that," said Hitoe "But I can't help but wonder why did she want us along with Kai to look into her own books?"
"Well, I'm sure she's trying to get across some meaning to us before we see her again," replied Yuzuki "Even so, I just hope he's alright after what happened then."
"So you've met Kai if I'm not mistaken."
Both Hitoe and Yuzuki turned their heads to find Ren sitting on the table beside their own, with a playful but otherwise harmless kind smile towards them. As Hitoe nervously waved hello back to him, Yuzuki couldn't help but ponder on what he had just said.
"Is he even referring to the same Kai?" she murmured to herself, unaware that she had just caught the cardfighter's attention towards her.
"Oh, so you were the voice I heard just now," he spoke with interest before looking over to the card that Hitoe was holding. The Selector turned it around to reveal Yuzuki to Ren.
"So you can see me? What's your name?" she asked.
"But of course," Ren replied cheerfully "I'm Suzugamori Ren."
"Wait a sec..." murmured Yuzuki, having realized that something had clicked in her head. "You don't mean the same Suzugamori Ren from Kai's world?!"
"If you mean Kai Toshiki, then I suppose so," he answered.
"It's nice to meet you, Ren," said Hitoe "My name's Hitoe, this is Yuzuki."
(End Music)
"Well then," he spoke "I suppose Aichi has nothing to worry about, if only I could find where he ended up." Both Hitoe and Yuzuki could only gasp out from realizing what this had meant.
"We need to let Kai know about this!" called Yuzuki "If Aichi's deck has changed like his, there's no telling what could happen to him!" Hitoe didn't need to be told twice, for she had already dug into her bag and pulled out her mobile, wanting to tell Kai herself of the news of both Aichi and Ren now being in this world. Speaking of whom, Ren could only look in confusion, unaware of the circumstances involving the two cardfighters and Naoki having prior knowledge about the Selector Battles and what they held.
City Streets
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Daily Life ~ Missing Parts)
As they walked through the streets towards the library, Aichi and Naoki followed Kai's lead, each of the three cardfighters having different thoughts on their mind. Earlier on their trek, Kai had mostly brought them up to speed on what had been happening in this world, from his arrival to meeting Tama, Yuzuki, Hitoe and other familiar faces among the Selector Battles leading up to his eventual confrontation with Ruko. He had felt tight lipped whilst getting around to what had happened, not feeling ready to explain everything just yet. Aichi had noticed this and could only worry for his friend, wondering if something from the Selector Battles had caused him to be like this, but that wasn't the only concern on his mind. He couldn't help but think about Ruko who he had met earlier, wondering over her choice to go into isolation away from both her friends and family on her own accord.
In addition, he could only wonder about what Hanayo had told him and Naoki about the Selector Battles as well as a brief mention of who Mayu was, curious as to why the mastermind would go as far sealing what could be seen as innocent Wixoss players inside cards so the person who previously inhabited those cards would carry out their wish as their own, or so it would seem. Either way, he couldn't help but ponder on why Kai along with himself and Naoki was now involved in all this, considering he didn't exactly have a wish of his own, nor would he even consider going out of the way to taint another Selector's wish just to win a simple battle. If only it was all that simple. He looked over to Tama in her card, having felt sorry for the LRIG and her own problem to try and mend her friendship with Ruko after breaking their trust back then. She looked up at Aichi, not exactly as upbeat as she usually was.
"Don't worry," he said kindly "I'm sure we can help you to reconcile with Ruko."
"T... Tama says thank you," she replied.
Naoki meanwhile was thinking back to the battle with Akira, he himself curious as to how he was now a whole part of the 'mess' that now stood before him and the others. He never would have thought to have desired Shingo's criticisms over hearing Mirurun's annoying tone at times during his previous battle. In addition, there was just something about Akira that was bugging him for the moment and it wasn't her seemingly 'split' personality. She kept mentioning a name, Ulith to be precise, about how she intended to eliminate him, Aichi, Ren and Leon before eventually dealing with Kai herself so they would be of no threat to the Selector in servitude to Mayu, unbeknowst to everyone. Either way, he knew it wasn't like him to not back out of a fight but from the sound of things, the Selector Battles might end up being one of those times. Like Aichi, he certainly didn't want to hurt anyone involved and was hoping to do something about it. Everyone stopped as Kai picked out the phone from his pocket, noticing that Hitoe was now calling him.
"Hello," he spoke.
"Kai!" called Hitoe "I'm not sure how to explain it, but I'm sitting with Ren, one of the cardfighters from your world."
"Ren is with you?" he asked.
"That's right," she replied "And he says Aichi should be somewhere in our world."
"He is correct," Kai answered "I'm not too far from the library now. Aichi and Ishida are with me."
"Phew," murmured Yuzuki "I was worried for a moment that he would have been caught unaware in a Selector Battle. Anyway, we'll be waiting for you down at the library and I think you'll be interested to know who wrote those Wixoss novels we were going to look at."
"I understand," he spoke "I'll meet you there." After ending the call, he turned over to Aichi and Naoki.
"Well, at least that leaves him accounted for," murmured Naoki.
"But what should we do about Leon?" asked Aichi.
"I don't know," answered Kai "But we should focus on meeting up with Ren and Hitoe as soon as possible. We'll then start looking for Leon afterwards."
(End Music)
The two cardfighters nodded in agreement with him before venturing forth once more into the streets, heading towards their destination in mind. Over from across the road from where they were standing just a moment ago, a girl had been watching out of interest from the LRIG that she held. Her brown hair was styled in a right side-ponytail. Her clothes preference seemed to be more loose and casual as she wore what appeared to be an oversized sweater along with a t-shirt, hoodie and shorts, all of which were also oversized. She glanced back down at the LRIG, now revealed to be Piruluk who had gone deep into thought after briefly watching and overhearing Kai's conversation with Aichi and Naoki.
"So you're saying, that boy is in the Selector Battles?" the Selector asked.
"That is correct, Amika," the LRIG replied "Kai Toshiki from what I recall, from our last encounter."
Last encounter was an accurate description to sum up the events leading to his battle against her and Akira, also leading to the Selector's third loss from before due to a costly misplay. Even so, ever since that 'incident'*, Piruluk had usually remained cold to anyone who would even dare attempt to speak to her. Amika though, something seemed different about her compared to Akira or any other Selectors that had previously possessed her. And then there was Kai's Dragonic Overlord, one of the only few things that somewhat surprised her. She didn't exactly lose her cool or anything along those lines the first time she saw it, though she was still intrigued of how Kai was even able to particpate in the Selector Battles and call upon his Kagero units as LRIGs.
"So, do you want to follow him?" asked Amika.
"If you have intent on challenging him," Piruluk answered "Then you're not ready to face him."
"Okay then, I got it!" the Selector cheerily replied "All the more reason for me to improve my skills since that loss to Chiyori, right Piruluk?"
Piruluk could only smile warmly in response, something that was very rare around the LRIG. Amika seemed harmless enough and yet for some reason, felt so familiar. Her thoughts returned to their once neutral state when she remembered back over that comparison to someone she once knew well. Far too well to be precise. And yet, she felt on edge because of the mere mention of that person's name from Mayu, the strange person with the black rings she encountered once or twice in her domain and finally, 'her'. Someone she should have known better to not trust, the mere thought of mentioning her name filled the LRIG with rage. Amika noticed this and looked towards Piruluk in concern.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"It's nothing," the LRIG replied, though she felt covering it up was not a wise thing to do. "We should take our leave."
"Alright!" cheered Amika before she too went off into the streets, albeit in the opposite direction from where Kai, Aichi and Naoki were heading.
Library Garden
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Friends)
Ren blinked at Hitoe and Yuzuki, still confused about the earlier commotion and slight panic from him mentioning about the fact that Aichi was now in this world. Thankfully from what he heard over the call, he had already managed to find both Kai and Naoki which just left Leon unaccounted for. Nonetheless though, he felt as if he was being left in the dark of what had been going on, keen for Hitoe to hopefully shed some light on the story so far. Yuzuki noticed this and motioned for the Selector to turn around and face him.
"So you can talk to your cards too?" he murmured "You wouldn't happen to have PSY Qualia yourself."
"Eh... no," Hitoe replied whilst scratching her head "I can only hear and talk to Yuzuki or LRIGs like her." Even she didn't know how her status as a Selector allowed her to hear the voices of LRIGs, though she had definitely been sure that it wasn't PSY Qualia as Kai once mentioned before.
"Oh," Ren sighed "Well that's disappointing." He pouted for a moment, earning a confused look from both the Selector and Yuzuki. Soon afterwards, he decided to search through his pocket and bring out the Shadow Paladin deck he had, remembering seeing the term LRIG imprinted on a select few of his cards. He then turned his attention back over towards the pair. Ren pulled out an LRIG card and laid it out on the table towards Hitoe and Yuzuki who looked at it with interest. The unit, Blaster Dark Revenger, had an almost indentical look to Aichi's avatar, Blaster Blade. However, the armour that Blaster Dark wore was black, his sword also in the same colour had a different design and he wore a dark red cape flowing behind his back.
"Now that you do mention LRIG though," he said "I was wondering if you could explain what this whole Wixoss thing is all about?"
"It's a very long story," answered Yuzuki "But we're more than happy to let you in on what's already happened."
"Sure," he replied "I'm all ears."
Hitoe and Yuzuki then went on to explain everything that had happened in the Selector Battles so far to Ren as well as giving a brief introduction to Ruko, like they did when they first ran into Kai. Afterwards, they brought him up to speed with everything that had happened since the Kagero user's arrival into this world including all the battles he particpated in, up to his confrontation with Ruko and Iona. Ren suddenly felt a little on edge when Yuzuki mentioned that Kai had briefly been consumed by Link Joker, unbeknowst to them was because of Iona's attacks resonating with both Dragonic Overlord and the seed fragment embedded in him. He had a feeling that Aichi would not take this news well after everything that had happened back then.
"So you're saying Kai was briefly reversed in his last battle?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not sure how to put it," murmured Yuzuki "He said that when he once used Link Joker before, it was under his own will. Whilst we were watching, before he brought out Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-Birth", it seemed like he was in pain somehow."
"And by the end of it all, even though Tama managed to snap him out of it," said Hitoe "He didn't seem to take what had happened well."
"I see now," Ren spoke before taking Blaster Dark Revenger and putting it back among the other cards in the deck. "Say, maybe I can learn all about how the battles work from you two, right?"
"Well, if it would help you get used to the changes in your cards," replied Yuzuki "I suppose we could teach you rules."
"Good, then let us begin," he said before bringing up the back of Blaster Dark Revenger's card towards Hitoe who was surprised by the sudden action.
"W... Wait a minute!" she called.
"Huh?" Ren blinked in confusion, wondering what the hold up was.
"Do you really want to taint Hitoe's wish already?!" snapped Yuzuki.
"Eh, but didn't you say you two would teach me the rules of the battle?" he asked, seemingly confused by his action, an action he picked up from Yuzuki's explanation of how to open the Selector Battlefield.
"What I meant to say was we would battle without the field so Hitoe's wish wouldn't be put at risk!" the LRIG replied.
"Oh, I see," said Ren "Then why didn't you say it earlier?"
"Um..." mumured Hitoe "I don't mean to be rude Yuzuki, but Ren does have a point." Upon realizing this, Yuzuki could only mentally facepalm for forgetting to tell Ren of an important detail during their long explanation.
"Anyway, that little setback aside," she spoke "Let's continue. Ren, if you would seperate your LRIGs and ARTS from your main deck."
"I understand," he said "And I'm guessing I shuffle the main deck afterwards?"
"Y... yes," answered Hitoe "Then you draw 5 cards and place the top 7 cards face down without looking at them."
"After that," Yuzuki continued "Choose a Level 0 LRIG to begin the battle with."
Ren nodded as he set down his starting LRIG, one that he was already familiar with as a Grade 0 unit back in his home world and the game of Vanguard. Hitoe who had already prepared herself to begin the battle glanced over to Yuzuki, awaiting the LRIG's approval to begin. She nodded and glanced over to Ren.
(End Music)
"Now that you're both ready," she spoke "Declare "Open!" and turn up your Level 0 LRIGs." Both Hitoe and Ren reached out for the starting LRIGs that had on both ends of their fields.
"Open!" called Hitoe.
"Stand Up, the Vanguard!" Ren declared.
Yuzuki could only blink in confusion for a moment, though she quickly assumed that it was a phrase more common in Vanguard that Ren was more acquainted with. Then again, Kai had mentioned before that the flow to both games were similar so it shouldn't have really come across as much of a surprise.
"Yuzuki-Zero!"
"Judgebau Revenger!"
Ren's starting LRIG depicted a black dog that had a chain dangling down from its collar and was covered in black armour with several blue markings. Judgebau also had blue claws present on its paws and some sort of blue lens covering over its left eye. Yuzuki glanced over at the card, a shudder of uncertainty briefly washing over her when she remembered what Kai had told her after his battle with Ruko. Ren noticed this and looked over towards her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"It's nothing," she replied "It's just, when Kai last faced Ruko, she had a few Shadow Paladin SIGNI in her deck."
"Oh, I see," said Ren whilst shrugging his shoulders. "I guess the dark charm of the Shadow Paladins can bring some unease. Now then, I believe I'll let you start Hitoe."
Akira's Apartment
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Akira)
"Please Ulith! I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Akira was now on the recieving end of the scenario that had come up before her. After her loss to Naoki, she told Ulith all about the details involved in the events from her view. Mirurun hummed to herself, ignoring most of the 'conversation' that was already unfolding between the two and partially to ignore the angry tone in Ulith's voice. Needless to say, the former LRIG wasn't pleased with this sudden news, particuarly in the fact that Akira had already went ahead and made her presence now known to Aichi and the other cardfighters that had now entered this world.
"I asked of you to only observe from a distance!" she snarled "Instead, your mindless agenda resulted in those cardfighters being more aware of our presence and the delay of my plans!"
"My intentions were pure, Ulith," Akira whimpered nervously "I only wanted to ensure that one of them would be out of the picture so you wouldn't have to worry about it." As she saw Ulith turn around, she quickly hurried along with the rest of her explanation. "This Ishida character, I've found out he somehow had cards with the yellow colour on their borders!" Ulith stopped in her advance briefly, taking this newfound knowledge into account. The news of there being a colour that hadn't existed in Wixoss before until Naoki's arrival into this world was indeed puzzling, but intriguing. Thinking it over, she assumed that Akira's disobedience hadn't indeed yielded any terrible results aside from Aichi now being more aware of her presence, though the mere thought of the Selector's path to self-destruction had already gotten underway was for some reason most amusing to her, not that she was showing it.
"I... if it makes you feel any better," Akira continued "I already know how to grab Tama off Kai's hands to set your plans back on course!" Ulith leaned down towards the Selector and held out one fingernail, the sharp tip touching her scar. Akira winced in pain a little and nervously looked into Ulith's gaze, hoping this was enough to convince the former LRIG to give her another chance.
"Explain Akira," she spoke with a hint of venom in her voice "Quickly."
(End Music)
Outside the City Library
Eventually after much walking throughout the conundrum of streets in the city, Aichi and Naoki having followed Kai along his lead had now ended up with him outside of the library. Naoki glanced all around the outside of the library, surprised to see something like this stand out from the surrounding tall buildings that seemed more modern. Aichi meanwhile glanced up at Kai, noticing that he seemed a little more tense than usual, wondering about what was causing him to be like this. Kai turned over to him, a serious glint now present in his eyes.
"Kai-kun? Are you alright?" asked Aichi.
"Aichi," he spoke "If I'm to explain about what happened in my last battle with Ruko, we need to disclose the details of what happened to you after the Link Joker invasion to Hitoe and Yuzuki."
"Is it about the Seed fragment?"
Kai nodded his head, confirming Aichi's suspicions. The Royal Paladin user could feel a wave of uneasiness wash over him. He had asked Kai, Miwa, Misaki, Kamui and Naoki along with Leon and Ren who had remained neutral throughout the whole affair to refrain from recapping the events of the incident to anyone who wasn't directly involved. But if Kai's loss to Ruko had something to do with the fragment that was stuck inside of him, he knew it would be better if his accomplices understood everything about it firsthand. This way, he could also understand about why his friend was feeling tense by the minute. Naoki noticed the silence that had now fallen between the three of them and waved to get both Aichi and Kai's attention.
"I don't mean to butt in and all," he said "But shouldn't we be going inside?"
"Yeah," replied Aichi as he headed up to the doors, opening them up. Kai and Naoki followed him inside the library, closing the doors as they entered. The Kagero user led the way to the garden around the back, where he assumed that Hitoe, Yuzuki and Ren would be waiting for him and the others to arrive. Needless to say, his assumption was indeed correct. The three cardfighters entered the garden to find Hitoe and Ren still in the opening stages of their game.
"Yuzuki-Two attacks Charon!"
"No guard."
Ren revealed his crushed Life Cloth to be Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter, no Life Burst being present. He placed the card alongside Freezing Revenger, Nullity Revenger, Masquerade and Transient Revenger, Masquerade that were sitting in his Ener Zone. Meanwhile on Hitoe's field, she had advanced Yuzuki to her second Level and already amassed a decent formation against him, comprised of Flame Edge Dragon, Gatling Claw Dragon and Tokage, Phantom Dragon. Like Ren, she too had already gathered a few cards in her Ener, but one short of his current total.
"Turn end," she spoke.
End of Turn 3
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 5 : 7
Life Cloths - 5 : 5
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Two : Black Sage, Charon
SIGNI : Flame Edge Dragon - Gatling Claw Dragon - Tokage, Phantom Dragon : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 3 : 4
As Ren was about to begin his turn, he suddenly paused noticing the arrival of Aichi, Kai and Naoki in their presence. He waved over towards them to grab their attention. Hitoe and Yuzuki also turned their attention to the three cardfighters that were now on their way over to the table.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: BGM 2)
"Ren-san!" called Aichi "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing troublesome, Aichi-kun," he replied as the three cardfighters each took a seat at the table. "We were just getting to the good part of our battle."
"S... so you're Aichi," Hitoe spoke "I'm Hitoe."
"It's nice to meet you," he said before looking over to Yuzuki inside of her card. "And I'm guessing you're Yuzuki? I mean... the real one." Before Yuzuki could greet and properly introduce herself to Aichi, the mention of "the real one" suddenly made something click in her head.
"Have you seen Hanayo?!" she asked.
"Y... Yeah," he answered "She found me last night with Kazuki after I landed unconscious in the city."
"Do you know what's been going on between her and my brother?!"
"Eh?" Aichi blinked in confusion, not quite getting at her next question just now. Everyone glanced over towards Yuzuki, unsure of what to make from her sudden outburst.
"... On second thoughts, forget about what I just said. Just a slip of the tongue, that's all. Eheh," she said whilst scratching her head before letting out a sigh of relief. That was way too close. "Anyway, as you all know now, my name is Yuzuki. Sorry about my outburst just now Aichi."
"Don't worry about it," he replied with a kind smile.
"So you two are involved in this whole mess as well?" asked Naoki.
"Yes," answered Hitoe "Um... Who are you?"
"Ishida Naoki," he answered before looking over the state of the battle that was now paused. His interest was mainly on the SIGNI that Hitoe currently had in play. "Come to think of it, how did you get some Kagero units anyway?"
"I gave her some spare units at the end of our previous battle," spoke Kai.
"Oh, so you two have battled before," said Ren, now intrigued by the scenario. "If I heard correctly from YuzuQ*, Hitoe almost defeated you back then?" Yuzuki growled in response to his remark.
"For your information Ren, it's Yuzuki!" she huffed, sighing whilst holding her hand over her head. I get he's a really strong cardfighter, but he sounds nearly as obnoxious as Chiyori.
"She is correct," Kai cut in, answering Ren's question.
"Seriously?!" gasped Naoki.
"Amazing..." Aichi was almost at a loss for words when he turned over to face Hitoe. She blushed inwardly a little as she nervously scratched her head.
"W... well, I just think it's a little too much credit..." she said. Everyone then suddenly turned their attention towards Kai when they could hear some yawning coming from his direction. Realizing that it was probably Tama recovering from some rest, Kai took out her card from his pocket and placed it beside Yuzuki's LRIG card. After finishing her yawning, Tama looked all around to see everyone she now recognized before noticing Ren who had now taken interest in her.
"Kai, how exactly did you get this one?" he asked.
"Her name is Tama," Kai answered "I found her shortly after arriving in this world." He then down at Tama. "Tama, this is Ren that I had mentioned to you earlier."
"Tama says hello Ren!" she called. Ren smiled happily. This LRIG seemed harmless enough if even Kai had managed to put up with having her around him during his entire stay so far in this world.
"Well, now that introductions are out of the way," he spoke "I believe we can continue the battle?"
(End Music)
"R... Right!" answered Hitoe "It's your turn Ren." He nodded to comply with her answer before drawing into another two cards from his main deck. After moving Freezing Revenger from his Ener Zone to his trash, he took out an all too familiar LRIG card from the LRIG Deck and held it out before him.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Triumph of the Shadow Paladins)*
"Enshroud everything in darkness... The eternal darkness that even the light of hope cannot reach! My Avatar!"
As he spoke the ride chant, a glowing red aura suddenly appeared around him making the atmosphere around everyone, including Yuzuki and Tama, feel slightly on edge. It wasn't the same aura as shown by those either in or under the possession of Link Joker, but even the cardfighters present along with Yuzuki could tell that this was a sign that Ren was starting to become serious from here on out for the battle. After placing the LRIG card over Charon's card, on the imagined battlefield, the Black Sage vanished as a column of dark energy erupted into the air before revealing Ren's avatar in the presence of Yuzuki.
"Blaster Dark Revenger!"
As the column dispersed, Blaster Dark opened his green eyes, staring fiercely and pointing his sword at her.
"Counterblast! I send Flame Edge Dragon to your Trash Pile!"
Blaster Dark vanished into the shadows in a dark purplish aura, catching Yuzuki by surprise. Before she could react, the Shadow Paladin had already reappeared behind Flame Edge Dragon and with a slash of his sword, the dragon fell to the ground before vanishing from the battlefield. Blaster Dark then disappeared once more before reappearing on Ren's side of the field. Back to reality, after placing Flame Edge's card in her Trash Pile, Hitoe glanced back over the cards her hand before looking back at Ren who didn't seem to be stopping there.
"Summon!" he called as he placed down several more cards into his SIGNI zones. Those units were Transient Revenger, Masquerade, Nullity Revenger, Masquerade and Healing Revenger.
"Now then, are you sure there's no ARTS you wish to use?" he asked.
"N... no," answered Hitoe.
"Good," Ren replied whilst shifting his voice back to his more laid back tone. "Both Masquerades will attack your SIGNI. Due to their effects, they both gain 3000 power."
Transient Revenger, Masquerade: 2000 - 5000
Nullity Revenger, Masquerade: 6000 - 9000
Hitoe could do nothing more than move the defeated SIGNI over to her Ener Zone.
"Healing Revenger attacks!"
Hitoe's next Life Cloth revealed Lintwurm, Phantom Dragon. The black section of the card's text box indicated that a Life Burst had gone off.
"W... With the effect," she spoke "I search for Berserk Dragon and add it to my hand." Ren's lips pursed a devious smile as he turned his attention to Blaster Dark Revenger's card.
"Then my avatar will attack!" he called as he downed the card "Blaster Dark Revenger!"
"Guard!" Hitoe called as she revealed Wyvern Guard, Barri in her hand.
On the imagined battlefield, Blaster Dark charged towards Yuzuki when the Wyvern Guard suddenly appeared in front of him. He quickly slashed his way past the mechnical Wyvern and the knight that acted as its rider before bringing his sword down upon the LRIG. Yuzuki quickly held out one of her cannons to block Blaster Dark's sword whilst keeping the Shadow Paladin at bay through a stalemate. Despite stumbling from the impact of Blaster Dark's sword, having sensed an opportunity, she quickly aimed her other cannon before firing it right at him. The Shadow Paladin saw this and quickly jumped back to his spot on Ren's field before the counterattack could do any damage. Back to reality, Ren merely shrugged as Hitoe placed Barri's card in her Trash Pile.
"Turn end."
End of Turn 4
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 5 : 6
Life Cloths - 4 : 5
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Two : Blaster Dark Revenger
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Nullity Revenger, Masquerade - Transient Revenger, Masquerade - Healing Revenger
Ener - 6 : 3
4 to 5... Aichi thought Ren-san's gradually breaking through Hitoe's line-ups. But both seem to be conserving the cards in their hands for the moment. I don't think either of them have Ener Charged within the first four turns. Naoki and Yuzuki watched on anxiously, curious as to how Hitoe was plannng to handle the current situation whilst Kai looked on at Ren, taking note that the Shadow Paladin user had not seemingly changed a bit from their last encounter.
"Blaster Dark..." murmured Yuzuki "So this is pure Shadow Paladin."
As Hitoe began her turn, she shuddered a little from glancing over towards Blaster Dark Revenger, as if the eyes depicted in the card's artwork were glaring at her. The fact that she too could feel the aura eminating from the card much like Yuzuki and Tama's LRIG cards didn't exactly help brighten the mood. Aichi noticed this and looked over towards her in concern.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"I... I'm fine," she answered "No need to worry." Yuzuki wasn't so sure, but said nothing to comply with her answer. Tama meanwhile was more interested in Blaster Dark, curious as to who the unit was actually like in person. Maybe if Ren had found an already in progress Selector Battle, she could have found out but felt that could be saved for another time, given the pressing issues at hand. She then turned her attention back to the battle to see how it would continue to play out.
"Grow, Yuzuki-Three!" Hitoe called "And... I'll use Roaring Fire Pillar to banish Transient Revenger!"
Ren just shrugged as he moved Transient Revenger, Masquerade's card over to his Ener Zone.
"Then... I summon Berserk Dragon and Gatling Claw Dragon," she continued "I pay their costs to remove your remaining SIGNI."
"Oh," he mused "Now this is getting interesting." He moved Masquerade to his Ener Zone and then placed Healing Revenger's card in his Trash Pile. Hitoe then summoned another copy of Tokage, Phantom Dragon and Kannya, Phantom Dragon in Gatling Claw Dragon's place.
"A... Are there any ARTS you want to use... Ren?" asked Hitoe.
"Hmm..." Ren kept on pondering for a few moments, leading the others to wonder if he was planning on making a decision any time soon for this battle. Needless to say, before Yuzuki lost her patience with him, he finally had a response.
"Moment Punish!" he called after revealing the card from his LRIG deck "I drain Berserk Dragon by 7000 power. Since it will have minus 2000 power, it is banished."
On the imagined battlefield, a dark cloud engulfed Berserk Dragon before several purple sparks began surging through it. When the surge was finished, the cloud disappated, revealing that Berserk Dragon was indeed banished from the battlefield. Annoyed, Tokage and Kannya charged in towards Blaster Dark, leaping into the air and each landing a clean hard kick on the Shadow Paladin, knocking him backwards before leaping back to join Yuzuki on her side of the field. Back to reality, Ren flipped over his first Life Cloth revealing Labyrinth Revenger, Arawn and Healing Revenger.
"Not bad," he spoke "I regain one Life Cloth."
"Then Yuzuki will attack Blaster Dark!" Hitoe called.
"Guard!" Ren responded as he revealed Dark Revenger, Mac Lir from his hand before placing it straight into his Trash Pile.
"T... Turn end."
(End Music)
End of Turn 5
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 2 : 5
Life Cloths - 4 : 4
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Three : Blaster Dark Revenger
SIGNI : EMPTY - Tokage, Phantom Dragon - Kannya, Phantom Dragon : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 1 : 4
"She only managed to tie it up," murmured Naoki "Ren isn't making this easy for her."
"Even so," Kai murmured "Hitoe has barely had any experience with the Kagero units I lent her, so some practice will still be needed."
"Battle!" Tama called out loud, much to everyone's apparent confusion, considering what the cardfighter and Selector had already been doing for the past few minutes. Ren glanced back towards Hitoe before beginning his turn.
(End Music)
"That was good, Hitoe," he spoke "I can sense that you have a strong conviction, given the circumstances you told me of. But..." As he drew his cards, the red aura that was already present around him intensified. "I'm still sensing a great deal of doubt from you."
"Huh?"
"What are you saying?!" asked Yuzuki.
"After all," Ren continued "Isn't your own doubts about the scenario at hand already undermining your performance? Or is it something else, like a hidden fear? Perhaps this next attack will answer that."
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Crusade of the Shadow Paladins)*
After placing another copy of Healing Revenger in his Ener Zone before moving it and the previous Healing Revenger's card to his Trash, he picked out one card from his LRIG deck and held it out before him.
"Swoop down from beyond illusion, cruel blade! Transient dreams! Grow!"
On the imagined battlefield, Blaster Dark Revenger vanished as a cloud of black fog suddenly covered Ren's side of the field, enshrouding even his own SIGNI in the darkness. A pair of eyes shone through the shadows before the fog started to disappear.
"Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom!"
When the fog had vanished, an elf clad in black armour, littered with a few blue gems, bearing a large tattered red cape and wielding a large sword had ridden onto the battlefield on top of a dark bluish pegasus. Mordred also wore a black helmet with small wings present, resembling that of what he once was and what he would soon become. Labyrinth Revenger, Arawn and Freezing Revenger then appeared to the front and the right of him. Back to reality, Ren smiled as he held out a single card from his hand.
"And..."
He then turned the card over, revealing it to everyone present at the table.
"A... A SIGNI Blaster Dark?!" gasped Hitoe.
"But we just saw him as the previous LRIG!" exclaimed Yuzuki "How is this even possible?!"
"Without Blaster Dark," replied Ren "Regardless of whether he's normal, Spirit, Revenger or even "Abyss" as we now see, I have no image worth following for my Shadow Paladins. Summon." The card had depicted Blaster Dark Revenger in his usual attire, nothing too different from the previous Blaster Dark. The only noticable difference would be the fact that his red cloak was now tattered and the card border had half of the Legion Symbol present.
"With his skill," Ren continued "Tokage moves to your Trash!" Hitoe said nothing as she moved the card there. Ren then turned his attention to Arawn's card.
"Arawn attacks Kannya!" Hitoe could do nothing more than move Kannya's card to her Ener Zone.
"Next! Freezing Revenger, Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss"!"
"Quintet Wall for Freezing Revenger!" Hitoe moved Tokage's card from her Ener Zone and revealed Dragon Knight, Gimel from her hand and placed it down in front of Yuzuki-Three before revealing the top five cards of her deck. Those cards were Flame Edge Dragon, Explosive Flames of the Dragon Phoenix, Mušḫuššu, Phantom Dragon Princess, Dual Axe Archdragon and Encompassing Knowledge. She moved the SIGNI to her Ener Zone whilst placing Gimel's card along with the two Spells in her Trash Pile.
Not bad... thought Ren But...
Briefly on the imagined battlefield, Blaster Dark slashed past Yuzuki, causing her to fall to the ground, clutching herself in agony as the Shadow Paladin vanished and reappeared back onto Ren's field. Hitoe then flipped over one her Life Cloths as a result of Blaster Dark's successful attack. It revealed her third Gatling Claw Dragon. She drew one card from the effect of the Life Burst.
"Mordred Phantom!"
"Guard!" Hitoe revealed Servant D2 before placing it in her Trash Pile. Ren just shrugged, signalling the end of his turn.
End of Turn 6
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 1 : 4
Life Cloths - 3 : 4
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Three : Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Labyrinth Revenger, Arawn - Freezing Revenger - Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss"
Ener - 5 : 1
"They've been keeping it close," murmured Aichi "But Hitoe-san's starting to run low on her hand."
"I just hope she can hold up for longer," replied Yuzuki, she too also be concerned about the situation. Naoki, Tama and Kai remained silent, wondering how the Selector intended to come back from the scenario she now found herself in.
"Well then," Ren spoke "Show me how you came close to overcoming Kai so I can see that potential myself!"
(End Music)
And there we go! Yep, if you've read the Peeping Analyze manga, that is indeed the same Amika. More than that, just what does Akira have planned for Kai and Tama? Only time will tell throughout the rest of Arc 2. If any of you were wondering why I skipped out the first two turns of the battle, I did say in one of my earlier chapters that I may skip or skim over some of the opening turns in order to allow the battles to proceed a little quicker. Bear in mind, this won't happen to every battle, especially the important ones that are coming up over the next few chapters. Aside from that, it's good to be back from hiatus and working on this story once more. Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review. BTW, don't be afraid to add any criticism about the story's current state if you feel it is needed. Anyway, I've updated the Shadow Paladin card listings (link in my profile) with the Shadow Paladin SIGNI that Ruko had used in her battle with Kai and I'll see you all again very soon!
*If you've read the Peeping Analyze manga beyond that point, you should know what this 'incident' was.
*Thought I'd just throw in an one-off joke as a reference to how Ren refers to Misaki in the Cardfight ! Vanguard Manga.
*This soundtrack first plays in Episode 130 when Ren breakrides Revenger, Raging Form Dragon.
*This soundtrack first plays in Episode 132 when Ren breakrides Mordred Phantom for a second time.
