Welcome back everyone! Before we get into today's chapter, it's come to my attention after re-reading the story so far that I've noticed a bit of a problem in some of the battles I've wrote, all the ones involving the Spell Card End of Eternity. I've seemed to have donegoofed with misreading the original effect of the card (not counting the Life Burst) so rather than keeping the current effect as a story exclusive effect (which would probably anger the Wixoss TCG community) I'm rectifying this error with an original designed card called "Swift Advance" that follows the effect I accidentally applied (the battles I've already written that will recieve this quick change are Kai vs Hitoe and Aichi vs Hanayo, nothing serious, just a quick replacement). It won't be used too many times due to a restriction I'm imposing within the card's effect (mainly so it doesn't become too... unbalanced, broken, whatever you want to call it). For those at this point wondering what the full effect actually is, I may as well drop the card stats here.
Card Name: Swift Advance
Card Type: Spell
Colour: Colourless
Cost: 0 Colourless
Effects:
[Use Timing - Main Phase] Pay 1 SIGNI Card that is the same Colour as your LRIG (Cards with Multi-Ener cannot be used to pay the cost). Grow your current LRIG into an LRIG whose Level is exactly 1 higher and the exact same Colour.
[Constant] You may have only up to 2 copies of "Swift Advance" in a deck.
[Constant] Each player can only use the effect of "Swift Advance" twice per battle.
That issue aside, I'm just going to go ahead and answer a question that has recently popped up in the reviews.
Q1. Kineke97 - Even though this is after Legion Mate, will Gear Chronicle or even Strides be considered in the story or is it unadaptable?
A. Well, I'm sorry if it confirms your worst fears but neither Gear Chronicle or Strides will be appearing as this is set pre-G era (I've now updated the synopsis to say that it also takes place before Neon Messiah, hence why Kai hasn't mentioned or even remembered Ibuki from his past before the events of the movie). Even if I did felt like incorporating G-Era elements, Strides would be very difficult to adapt given their conditions (not saying it's impossible, but given the time setting of the story, I cannot bring them in). I hope this answers your question well.
With that aside, I hope you'll enjoy today's chapter!
Library Garden
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Let's Battle)
"U... Up and draw."
Hitoe glanced over the two cards that she drew before looking back at her Ener. Ren had already forced her into a corner with the lack of resources from early on and with 3 Life Cloths left, she knew if she didn't do something this turn, his Shadow Paladins would have her beaten. She briefly looked over at Yuzuki, then Aichi before going deep into thought. When several moments had passed over, she had made a decision.
"I'll use the Spell Swift Advance," Hitoe spoke "And Superior Grow Yuzuki-Fourth Warning!"
On the imagined battlefield, Yuzuki's form completely changed to that of her Fourth Warning appearance. Her fiery purple wings were now present behind her back as she hovered a few meters from the ground.
"Then..." Hitoe continued "I summon 2 Calamity Tower Wyverns and use their effects to draw another two cards." After exceeding all the cards that were beneath Yuzuki-Fourth Warning, she drew the cards and looked over them, a waver of relief came over her expression. Yuzuki, Kai and Aichi glanced carefully towards her, wondering how things would turn out.
"I summon Lintwurm." After placing the card in her only empty SIGNI space, Ren glanced over Hitoe's field, now catching on to what she was planning.
"Oh, I see," he murmured "With both Lintwurm and Yuzuki's abilities, you've powered up your SIGNI enough to wipe out my formation. Not bad at all."
Lintwurm, Phantom Dragon: 7000 - 9000
Calamity Tower Wyvern x2: 2000 - 4000 - 6000
"Next, I'll pay the cost for One Rule, Two Birds to give Yuzuki Double Crush," she continued "And... I'll use her ability to crush one of your Life Cloths!"
"I see..." murmured Ren as flipped up his Life Cloth revealing another copy of Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss". No Life Burst was present though. Of course, I have my own tricks too.
"I... I'll start by attacking your SIGNI!" Hitoe called. Ren just shrugged as he moved the SIGNI on his side of the field to his Ener Zone. She then turned her attention to Yuzuki's LRIG card before downing it.
"Y... Yuzuki attacks Mordred!"
On the imagined battlefield, Yuzuki dashed across the plain towards Mordred Phantom with a purple fireball clutched in her right hand. Mordred shook the reins of his pegasus and charged towards the oncoming LRIG. As the two charged closer towards each other, the Elf raised his sword before bringing it down upon the LRIG. The timing was perfect for her. With a carefully timed jump and a boost from her fiery wings, she leaped into the air, albeit backwards, before hurling the fireball she had held right at the Shadow Paladin. Back to reality, Ren's next Life Cloths revealed Servant D and Inhaling Hole.
"I got double Life Burst," he spoke "I Ener Charge and decrease Lintwurm's power by 10000." Hitoe almost panicked for a moment, realizing that Lintwurm had been banished due to having less than 11000 power to survive the effect. She moved the banished SIGNI to her Ener Zone.
"Turn end."
End of Turn 7
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 1 : 4
Life Cloths - 3 : 1
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Fourth Warning : Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
SIGNI : Calamity Tower Wyvern - Calamity Tower Wyvern - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 1 : 8
"Those Calamity Tower Wyverns did help her a little," murmured Yuzuki "But she lost out Lintwurm thanks to that Life Burst of his."
"In addition," Kai spoke "He still has 4 cards in his hand and at this point, Mordred's true abilities are about to come into play." Aichi and Naoki said nothing, they too already aware of what was to come in Ren's favor on the upcoming turn. Speaking of whom, the Shadow Paladin user drew his cards and glanced back towards Hitoe who was still feeling anxious of how things were going to turn out.
(End Music)
"Not bad at all," he spoke as he placed Freezing Revenger's card from his hand to his Ener Zone. "But I think I understand about your anxiety that I've noticed throughout this entire battle up to now. It's about Ruko, am I right?"
Before Yuzuki could protest to his response, Hitoe nodded her head.
"I... It's true," she answered "I... I wanted to try and talk to her after Kai found out where she was... But... she didn't seem happy with the fact that we had Tama with us."
"I see," he replied "So that was the source of your anxiety. In that case then, I'll return the favor... with this attack!" The red aura from before appeared once again, this time with a much more fierce glow to it.
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: PSY Qualia no Chikara)
"Mythical beast that appears from beyond! Confuse her heart and crush her soul! Crossbreak Grow!"
On the imagined battlefield, a dark aura enveloped Mordred Phantom as the pegasus he rode upon vanished into the black clouds that suddenly appeared over the battlefield. From beyond the thick smog, a pair of red eyes gleamed within the darkness as a low growl sounded across the plain.
"Revenger, Dragruler Phantom!"
The black fog suddenly disappeared revealing Mordred in his newly changed form. No longer an elf, now under the name of Dragruler, his features had become that of an Abyss Dragon. Most of the armour he had as Mordred was still there, albeit with some cosmetic modifications, he now had a large tail, a large pair of wings with blue gems embedded along the top end and his head minus the batlike wings, blue gem and white hair present was somewhat reminiscent of that of a certain Abyss Dragon that he was once part of.* His sword, mostly unchanged, now had a chain wrapped around and hanging off, carried by his other free hand.
"Mordred Phantom's Break Grow ability!" Ren called "Since I grew a Shadow Paladin from him whilst I have 3 or fewer Life Cloths, I pay 1 to choose a Level 2 or lower Black SIGNI from my deck and summon it." He fanned out the cards in his main deck until he picked out a certain SIGNI and placed it onto the left SIGNI space.
"B... Blaster Dark again?!" gasped Tama.
"How many does he even have?!" Yuzuki chimed in.
"Blaster Dark gains 5000 from Mordred," Ren continued "And I'll pay the cost to remove the Calamity Tower Wyvern on your right!" Hitoe said nothing as she moved the SIGNI to her Trash Pile.
"Summon! Wily Revenger, Mana!" he called "With her skill, I Superior Call Quesal from my deck!"
"He already refilled his SIGNI spaces with little effort," murmured Yuzuki.
"That's not all," Kai replied. The LRIG along with Tama looked over to Kai, confused for a moment before turning their attention back to the battle at hand. Ren's smile had not left his expression at all, hinting that he was far from done.
"Tell me Yuzuki," he spoke "Did you think your Fourth Warning form made you the only LRIG capable of dealing direct damage?" The LRIG said nothing, having already realized what he had just meant. "Dragruler Phantom's Limit Break! I pay 1 and send two of my Revenger SIGNI to my Trash Pile. One of my opponent's Life Cloths are crushed!"
As Hitoe gasped, on the imagined battlefield, Dragruler vanished into thin air as it charged towards Yuzuki, leaving the LRIG mesmerized for a brief moment. He then suddenly reappeared behind her and brought down his blade on top of her from behind, knocking her to her knees. Back to reality, Aichi glanced towards Hitoe who moved her hand towards one of her Life Cloths.
"This is Dragruler Phantom's power," he spoke "Mirage Strike."
"Mirage Strike..." Tama murmured. Hitoe then flipped over her next Life Cloth revealing Berserk Dragon. No Life Burst was present. Yuzuki herself could only groan that things were not looking in the Selector's favor.
"I summon another Mana and use her ability again!" Ren continued as he summoned another Quesal right from the deck. "Then, one more, Mirage Strike!"
Hitoe nervously picked up her next Life Cloth, her eyes closed as she felt anxious to reveal what Ren had knocked out of the running from her dwindling lifeline. When she opened her eyes, a waver of relief became present. The card that Ren had crushed with Dragruler was Dragon Dancer, Barbara, with perfect timing.
"With the Life Burst," she said "I... I recover one Life Cloth!" Ren could only pout for a brief moment that his second attempt hadn't gone down as well as the first. He glanced back over his hand and the cards that he still had in his Ener Zone. I could of course use Mirage Strike for a third time and see what else she may be hiding. But... what fun would that be? He then placed down two copies of Lilith, Recurring Nightmare onto the two remaining SIGNI spaces that were empty on his side of the field, to the right of Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss".
(End Music)
"Let's go, Hitoe," he spoke "My SIGNI attack!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Tense Moment)*
Hitoe didn't reply back as she moved her other Calamity Tower Wyvern to her Ener Zone before flipping up her last two Life Cloths revealing another copy of Lintwurm and Flame Edge Dragon.
"W... With Lintwurm's effect," she said "I search my deck and put Orochi, Phantom Dragon into my hand!"
"Dragruler Phantom!" called Ren.
"B... Barri guards!" Hitoe responded before placing the card in her Trash Pile. Yuzuki could only sigh in relief that Barri was there to save the Selector's neck at the moment she needed the Wyvern Guard. Ren just shrugged, not fazed by the result.
"Turn end," he spoke.
End of Turn 8
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 1 : 1
Life Cloths - 0 : 1
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Fourth Warning : Revenger, Dragruler Phantom
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss" - Lilith, Recurring Nightmare - Lilith, Recurring Nightmare
Ener - 5 : 4
"That was a close call," Aichi murmured But Ren-san has only one Life Cloth left and one card in his hand. If Hitoe-san can get two more attacks through though...
Hitoe begun her turn by drawing her two cards, relieved to see what she had managed to pull. Looking among them along with the copy of Orochi she added to her hand earlier, she took a deep breath and made a decision.
"Summon!" Her SIGNI aside from Orochi were also revealed to be Dragon Knight, Gimel and Dragon Dancer, Barbara. Yuzuki looked closely, wondering what her Selector was planning to do, considering the weaker stats of some of the SIGNI that were summoned. Don't tell me... You're planning to...
"B... By paying 5 Ener," Hitoe spoke "I use the ARTS, See Through the Fire Ambition! With this, since Barbara and Gimel are in front of your Liliths, they gain Assassin for this turn!" Ren suddenly blinked, seemingly caught off guard by this sudden manuver.
"Assassin?" he murmured.
"With this," Yuzuki explained "Normally, the SIGNI that Hitoe was planning to attack with were weaker than your Liliths. However, this power makes it so they attack your LRIG directly instead."
"Seriously?!" gasped Naoki "This means that she doesn't have to worry about the one card in his hand."
"Not unless it's a Quintet Wall," Kai murmured "But as we've seen now, Ren was foolish to waste both of them for Dragruler Phantom's Limit Break." Ren pouted for a moment, seemingly not amused by the Kagero user's comment just now. Aichi said nothing, surprised an ARTS that powerful was in Hitoe's possession.
"Let's go Hitoe!" called Yuzuki "You've got this!" As Hitoe nodded and was about to turn her attention to beginning her attacks, she suddenly saw Ren move 3 of the cards in his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile as he revealed a card from his LRIG deck.
"ARTS, Ancient Surprise!" he called. As he revealed the card, Yuzuki could only groan, realizing what this had meant. Aichi meanwhile could only gasp in shock, upon looking at the figure depicted within the card's artwork.
"That's...!"
"With the effect," Ren spoke "Seeing as I have exactly 20 cards in my Trash Pile, all your SIGNI lose 8000 power!"
(End Music)
Hitoe having realized what this meant could only hold her head down in disappointment and move both Gimel and Barbara's cards to her Ener Zone as a result of them from being banished. Whilst everyone could only look on at the battle, the conclusion now seemingly set in stone for Hitoe, Naoki looked to his left and saw that Aichi's expression had not changed a bit since his gasp at the Ancient Surprise ARTS that Ren had just played.
"Eh? What is it Aichi?" he asked. Aichi said nothing for a moment before snapping himself out of his daze and looking over towards Ren.
"Ren-san, can you show me the ARTS again?!" he asked.
"Sure, why not," the Shadow Paladin user shrugged as he handed over the Ancient Surprise card to him.
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: LRIG)
Aichi glanced closely at the figure depicted within the card's artwork, having now recoginized her completely. The same black clothing and scarf, the blonde hair, the horns above her ears and those same blue eyes. Everyone glanced over towards the Royal Paladin user, unsure as to why he decided to take a look over Ren's ARTS out of the blue. Even Tama was confused as to the sudden pause of the battle for this reason alone. Whilst Naoki and Yuzuki couldn't make any sense from what was going on now, Kai however felt that there was more to Aichi's request than just a temporary time out.
"Is there something about that figure that intrigues you, Aichi?" he spoke.
"Y... Yeah," Aichi answered "Though I'm not exactly sure how to put it."
"Could you at least though cut to the chase?" asked Naoki. Aichi nodded before clearing his throat for a moment.
"You see... whilst I was unconscious from arriving in this world," he explained "I had this strange dream that I met the girl shown in the card's artwork. She seemed just as lost and confused as I was. I gave her my name and asked for hers, but she only seemed to mimic my actions. After that, the dream abruptly ended when I woke up in Kazuki's room." Upon looking closely at the figure depicted within the ARTS, Yuzuki was suddenly able to fit the picture together for the Royal Paladin user.
"You mean to say that you met Umr in your dream?!" she gasped.
"Umr?" Aichi blinked. Naoki scratched his head, not quite getting the full understanding of the scenario before them.
"Oh that's right," Ren cut in "I noticed that name on the card's text flavor."
"Yuzuki, didn't we and Ruko hear that name when I still had Midoriko around?" asked Hitoe.
"That's right," Yuzuki answered "In the actual card game, she's rare enough to almost be considered as one of a kind by some people. And yet, we haven't come across an LRIG that's actually called or looks like Umr."
"I see..." Aichi hung his head in slight disappointment, feeling that his reason for looking into the subject was just a waste of time. Kai however seemed to view things differently.
"I do not disagree with your story," he spoke "However, I wouldn't think that your dream would just be a coincidence if you saw Umr before only knowing her just now because of Ren's ARTS."
"I suppose..." the Royal Paladin user replied. He sighed heavily, having hoped to have gotten a clear answer to the girl, now highly possible to have been someone named Umr.
"Well, now that issue has been resolved," Ren interjected "Shall we continue?" Hitoe said nothing, the outcome of the battle having come closer to being set in stone.
"Yuzuki attacks!" Ren shrugged as he revealed another copy of Inhaling Hole as the final Life Cloth. The Selector then moved Orochi from her field to her Ener Zone, it too having been banished by the card's effect.
"Turn... end..." she murmured.
(End Music)
End of Turn 9
Hitoe vs Ren
Hand - 0 : 1
Life Cloths - 0 : 0
Current LRIGs - Yuzuki-Fourth Warning : Revenger, Dragruler Phantom
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss" - Lilith, Recurring Nightmare - Lilith, Recurring Nightmare
Ener - 3 : 2
After Ren drew his cards, he glanced over towards Hitoe, he too having already been aware of the result being set in stone. Now there was only one thing left for him to do.
"Final Turn!" he called.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Triumph of the Shadow Paladins)
He then turned his attention down to Blaster Dark's card. Hitoe glanced over towards her LRIG deck, realizing that even if she were to use an ARTS now, there was nothing to stop one of Ren's Liliths from finishing the battle.
"Blaster Dark attacks!" he declared as he downed the card.
On the imagined battlefield, Blaster Dark leaped into the air as he charged towards Yuzuki. The LRIG desperately hurled several purple fireballs right at the Shadow Paladins, but he dodged each of them before using his sword to cut through the last one that was aimed dead center at him. He brought down his sword upon Yuzuki, causing the LRIG to clutch in pain before she fell to her knees, the tip of Blaster Dark's sword held over her head. Back to reality, Hitoe looked up towards Ren who seemed more or less pleased with the result. She then looked over to Yuzuki.
"Sorry I couldn't win for you," she said.
"Don't worry about it," the LRIG replied "You tried your best and that's all anyone can ask of you. At least this way, you aren't put in danger of your wish being tainted again."
(End Music)
"I guess," Hitoe murmured "But..." Unable to find the words to say to everyone present, she got up from her seat. "Can you all excuse me for a moment?" Yuzuki though confused nodded to comply with her answer as did everyone else present at the table, except for Tama who had little understanding of the meaning.
"Was it something I said?" Ren pondered, seemingly confused. Everyone else present at the table shrugged and began exchanging conversations with each other of how the events leading up to today had now played out, mainly with Ren giving the news to Yuzuki that Leon had also entered this world along with Naoki giving a recap of his encounter with both Chiyori and Akira. As the talkative atmosphere went on for several more minutes, Yuzuki realized that Hitoe had not returned to the library garden and was starting to worry about her. She turned her attention to Aichi.
"Say, Aichi?"
"What is, Yuzuki-san?" he asked.
"I'm a little worried about Hitoe," she answered "If she is over where I think she is, can you bring me to her? I'm starting to feel concerned."
"I understand," he replied as he got up from his seat and picked up the LRIG card. After talking briefly to Kai about where the two of them were headed, he nodded in reply and allowed them to be on their way. As Aichi entered the library, he held out Yuzuki's card in front of him.
"If I know Hitoe as well as I think," she murmured "She should still be on the ground floor, at the northeast wing of the library."
"Got it," Aichi replied. He continued to his left from where he entered from and eventually after passing several tall bookcases, he found the Selector sitting at a table looking at one of the Wixoss novels she had recieved earlier in the day. Her expression however was not uplifting at all. Aichi walked towards the table and stood beside her.
"H... Hitoe-san, are you alright?" he asked. Hitoe shook her head.
"Then what's bothering you?" Yuzuki asked.
"I... I'm not sure how to put it," Hitoe answered "But... given the way that my battles with Ren and Kai ended..." She then cleared her throat to try and get out her words out more clearly. "I'm starting to wonder..."
"Wonder about what?" Yuzuki pondered.
"Yuzuki... am I really useless?"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Nuguenu Kako)
"Huh?!"
"What are you saying?" Aichi asked in concern.
"It's just that... I wasn't able to do anything for Midoriko back then," she replied "And now, Ruko is..." Unable to bring herself to finish her sentence, Hitoe could only hold her head down as she began crying, removing her glasses and burying her head within her arms. Aichi could only feel sorry for her, having been told about what happened with Midoriko before from Kai on his way to the library earlier in the day. Yuzuki however could only feel anger seething through her head, remembering full well of what Hanayo had told her and Ruko of the circumstances, when it was already too late. Taking a seat beside the Selector and putting down Yuzuki's card on the table, Aichi gently held one hand over Hitoe's right shoulder.
"Hitoe-san, whatever happened back then wasn't your fault," he said "There's no way you could have already known about what would have happened from your third loss."
"B...But if I'd asked Midoriko sooner..." she sobbed.
"Blaming yourself isn't going to solve anything," Aichi replied "And... I'm sorry to hear about what happened." Hitoe said nothing, eventually bringing her head up and wiping the tears from eyes before putting her glasses back on.
"Right now, let's worry about how we're going to find Ruko and help her out," he continued.
"Y... You're right," Hitoe replied "S... Sorry about now." Yuzuki could only sigh in relief that Aichi was able to calm her Selector down quickly. She was really taken aback by the cardfighter's kindness, having only heard about it from before when Kai gave a recap of his adventures the last time they were at the library. That had also brought up a question that she wanted to ask him.
(End Music)
"Aichi, given what Kai told us about you," she said "I was just curious. How did you manage to move all the way up from being nervous to being a well renowned cardfighter in your own world?"
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Hitoe)
"To be honest..." Aichi answered "I'm not really sure myself. I guess learning new things about Vanguard and how it brought me closer to my friends allowed me to come out of my shell. To tell you the truth, even I can still be nervous sometimes."
"R... Really?" asked Hitoe.
"Y... yeah," he replied "It's not as awkward as it used to be back when I was still being bullied, though the last time it really got in my way was during Misaki-san's graduation ceremony back when I had to do a speech to the whole of Miyaji Academy." Aichi nervously laughed a little as he scratched his head upon remembering back to that time. Shingo nitpicking at what didn't go down so well during the speech certainly didn't help the mood, but he was quick to shake it off.
"Well, I guess we all have our own flaws," Yuzuki murmured whilst also stifiling a nervous laugh under her breath before clearing her throat. "I was wondering Aichi, if you could maybe at some point help Hitoe become better acquainted with the people around her?"
"I... I'll see what I can do," he answered "And don't worry. We'll do what we can to sort out this problem with Ruko."
"T... Thank you, Aichi," said Hitoe. Aichi smiled warmly, thankful that the Selector was feeling alright after what had happened earlier. He then looked over to the book that he saw her reading earlier.
"Is that a novel?" he asked.
"Yes," Yuzuki answered "A Selector, or rather the author, Futase Fumio who Kai had met earlier, insisted we read through these to find anything of interest before we go and look for her." Before Hitoe could explain more, a familiar voice sounded out from within their vincinity.
"So you already know of her." Aichi and Hitoe turned around to find that standing beside them was Leon.
"L... Leon-san!" gasped Aichi before he quickly hushed down his voice, remembering that he was still within the library. "You're okay!"
"So it seems," he replied "It appears you've already made yourself acqauinted." He then turned his attention to Hitoe and Yuzuki. "And I suppose you're one of these Selectors?"
"Y... Yes," Hitoe answered "My name is Hitoe... My LRIG is Yuzuki."
"So you're Soryu Leon," Yuzuki murmured.
"Leon, how did you find us?" asked Aichi "What happened?"
"The wind led me to your presence," the Aqua Force user replied "As for your second question, I will tell you now of how I got to this point." He then took a seat at the table and began his tale of how he had managed to arrive before Aichi at this point in time now, starting from where he had ended up.
(End Music)
Mayu's Domain: Unknown Location
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Raul Serra's Theme)
Deep inside the dark confines of the space that Midoriko had previously attempted to enter, lay the small light at the end of the long tunnel. Beyond it was anything but a glimmer of hope. The large room was far more technologically advanced than the 'White Room' that Mayu resided within, littered with monitors and screens around many different portions of the walls. Several Cyberoids that were in the service of Link Joker worked around the clock, their attendance was towards several consoles in front of a giant cylinder within the center of the room. Photon who stood on the podium above the largest console nearest to the cylinder, consisting of two Neons and a single Selenium, gazed over towards the object, his interest being on what lay inside. His rank above all the other Cyberoids was that of commander, a rank usually reserved for the Cyber Dragons like that of 'The Clown' and certain Cyber Golems, his however being an exception given his former master's* untimely demise.
"Selenium, status report," he spoke.
"Currently stable at 60%," the Cyberoid replied "But optimum efficiency has been slow due to a power flux within the subject's brain patterns."
"I assume that is the same 'flux' from before?" Photon asked.
"Correct," one of the Neons answered "Our instruments record a residue of energy interfering with her brain waves, allowing her to gain some form of self-consciousness. We assume from the wavelength that this may have been some leftover PSY Qualia residue."
Photon went deep into thought, thinking over the many possibilities of how progress on their 'little' project had now moved much slower than anticpated was because of this one flux. Then it was the news that is was PSY Qualia residue possibly causing the subject to become a little more self-aware that had shown his displeasure, considering the effort he and his soldiers had to go through to expel the problem the first time it occured and that was when Mayu's struggle with Takuto and Leon had brought the Aqua Force user along with three other cardfighters, including 'him', to this world. Realizing what this could have meant, Photon gazed down towards the other Neon at the console.
"Run an analysis on her thoughts," he spoke.
As the other Cyberoid gave a silent nod, Photon then turned his attention to the door behind him opening, revealing Mayu who stepped inside the lab and joined him.
"How fares 'Project: Locked Soul', Photon?" she asked.
"Slow, but optimum," he replied "My soldiers are running an analysis to the cause behind the disturbance in her brain patterns."
"And this would be?"
"We believe this to be residue from the power called PSY Qualia," Photon explained "We believe given your little 'scuffle' from last night that some of it may be interfering with the subject's brainwaves."
"Commander Photon," spoke Selenium "We've sampled a recording of the subject's thoughts and converted it to audio files."
"Play it on screen," replied Photon. One of the two Neons present at the console pressed a button which caused the monitor to their left to light up. The screen showed what appeared to be an audio wave moving around as the voice that Selenium had converted from their 'subject's' thoughts played out before them. The voice to say the least was female.
"Name... What meaning does it bear on me? Why...? Why do I feel so... empty? Aichi... Just what is Aichi?"
"Sendou..." Mayu muttered under her breath as Selenium ended the recording. Do you think I will allow you to become a wrench in my works as easily as Tatsunagi? She then turned her attention to Photon.
"I wasn't hoping to delay the project," she murmured "But if her self-awareness goes to the point of Shiro's sense of right and wrong, then she'll end up being a hindrance." The Cyberoid nodded in agreement, he too knowing of what could become of their project if it continued like this. He then turned his attention to all the Cyberoids present in the lab.
"Halt all progress on 'Project: Locked Soul'!" he called "Do not resume until the subject's memories have been rebooted!"
"Yes, Commander Photon!" As the Cyberoids got to work on carrying out Photon's orders, one thing was certain on his mind. He would not allow Aichi to interfere with 'their' mission, again.
(End Music)
And there we go! Leon has finally appeared before Aichi and co, willing to shed the details on what has been happening on his end since he arrived in the world of Wixoss. And yes, the next two chapters around him are going to be flashback chapters (time of setting, before Aichi's). How he got to this point though, you'll find out through the next two chapters. Now, if anyone's upset about how Hitoe's battles have gone so far, don't worry. I can assure you she will get a moment to shine later in this story arc. When, I can't say for the sake of major spoilers. Other than that, don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter. Until next time!
*Yep, throwing a quick nod to how the half that was originally part of Phantom Blaster Dragon as mentioned once or twice in the lores merged with an Elf to become Mordred Phantom.
*This soundtrack first plays in Episode 171 when Kai declares Legion with Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon.
*Throwing another nod to the lores, this time throwing back to Garnet Star Dragon's... untimely demise.
