Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter of Stand Up, the LRIG!
Ruko's School: Inside
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Conflict)
Ruko remained still in the corridor that she last spoke to Aichi within, unsure of why she hadn't moved from that spot since he left her on her own. After everything that Iona had briefly told her about Ulith a few moments ago, she felt somewhat conflicted about the current situation. Aside from her own problem of trying to ward off the effects of Reverse that was constantly 'biting away' at her willpower to resist being under the control of Link Joker, she felt that the center of this conflict lay with both Tama who currently remained in Ulith's possession and Aichi who had gone off to save the LRIG without even knowing what the Selector was capable of doing. Or so that Iona had told her. As she walked forward immediately, she wasn't paying attention as to where she was running off to, until she bumped into something or rather, someone.
"You really should be more careful."
Ruko looked up to see that it was Ren of all people that she had run into without noticing at first.
"I... I'm sorry!" she called.
"Don't worry about it," the Shadow Paladin user said "Though now that you're here, I suppose you could help me find someone?"
"Who would that be?" asked Ruko.
"Aichi-kun, of course," he replied in a playful tone. This was enough to snap Ruko back to her earlier demanor, now curious about why he asked for Aichi's name, minutes after he left the corridor to go after Ulith and Tama.
"Do you also know Kai Toshiki?"
"But of course," answered Ren, briefly confused as to why the Selector was acting this way. Before he knew exactly what he had gotten himself into, Ruko revealed Iona's card before him, showing the LRIG in his view of sight. Iona herself glanced over to Ren, upon noticing his gaze was now directed upon her and gazed back at him in return.
"Oh," he mused "So you must be one of these Selectors Kai mentioned. What's your name?"
"Kominato Ruko," she answered "And... I will end your envolvment with the Selector Battles here!"
"I see..." Ren murmured, knowing exactly who he was faced with. "Kai told us what happened when you two battled. I suppose there's no talking you out of your decision."
Ruko said nothing in response, turning Iona's card around and holding the back of it towards the Shadow Paladin user, preparing to start an inevital battle. Ren took out the case that held his deck and removed the cards that were contained within. He gazed down at Blaster Dark Revenger's card, curious to see how things would end up playing out for him and his Shadow Paladins in the first Selector Battle they would be involved in.
(End Music)
Selector Battlefield
At the top of the tower, Kai and Naoki could only look down towards Hitoe's table, surprised by not just the fact that she managed to withstand Dragonic Overlord the End's attacks at full power, but the fact that all of the units that were turned to LRIGs barring Overlord itself had lent their strength to Yuzuki to give them a fighting chance to free them from Akira. The LRIG stared across the field towards Dragonic Overlord, awaiting for a signal from her to get on the offensive so they could hopefully defeat the Kagero unit if it had meant getting back Kai's deck from Akira. That is, if the opposing Selector was willing to keep to her word. Speaking of whom, the aforementioned Selector could stare at the LRIG's newly acquired form in disbelief, completely shocked that this had just happened before her own eyes.
"H... How the hell is even possible?!" gasped Akira "As far as I know... LRIGs don't gain new forms in the middle of a battle!"
"And now, we know..." muttered Mirurun. Yuzuki glanced over towards Akira for a brief moment before looking back at Hitoe.
"Let's finish this whilst we still can!" she called. The Selector nodded in agreement and in compliance to her decision.
"First, I will Ener Charge with my Charging ARTS!" Hitoe called "Then I will summon Calamity Tower Wyvern, Dual Axe Archdragon and Flame Edge Dragon!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Trinity Crimson Flame)
As the top card of her deck, Wyvern Guard, Barri moved to her Ener Zone, the three Kagero units materialized into the SIGNI spaces over on the Selector's table from left to right. As two cards slipped out from underneath the card form of Yuzuki-Four, Combustion of Perdition, Hitoe drew a single card from her deck before glancing at it, her decision now having come to mind. She looked over to Yuzuki who looked back towards her, nodding in agreement with whatever had come to the Selector's mind. She then turned her attention back towards Dragonic Overlord the End and Akira, holding out the back of the card that she just drew via Calamity Tower Wyvern.
"Next, I will pay the cost for Yuzuki's ability to banish Lintwurm from the field!" she called.
Three red cards moved from Hitoe's Ener Zone over to her Trash Pile as Yuzuki aimed her left cannon at Lintwurm, charging up the energy within the barrel. As the glow from the stored power grew brighter and larger, the LRIG fired all of the energy within at the Dragon Beast SIGNI, striking it head on and engulfing it in a large explosion. When the smoke had eventually died down, Lintwurm vanished from the battlefield as her card moved over to Akira's Ener Zone. As the Selector could only frown from the two remaining Kannyas on her field having their power decrease a bit as a result of that loss, she looked across towards Yuzuki and her eyes suddenly widened in shock as to what she was seeing. A fiery red glow was now present around the LRIG as she briefly glanced back towards Hitoe.
"Do it!" she called. The Selector nodded in agreement before looking back towards Akira and Dragonic Overlord.
"First I will pay the cost for my own One Rule, Two Birds!" she called "Then Flame Edge Dragon attacks the End!" The unit roared loudly before flapping its wings to take flight and charging towards its opponent. It raised up the blade that it carried in its right claw, before suddenly bringing it down in a striking motion. The attack struck Dragonic Overlord the End, causing it to briefly stumble around before it hovered back up into the air and growled under its breath. Akira's next Life Cloth revealed Goddra, Phantom Dragon, no Life Burst being present on the card. The Selector could only look back at her hand and growl as Wyvern Guard, Barri was leaking sparks whilst Dragonic Burnout remained unaffected.
"Then Dual Axe attacks the Kannya in front of it!" Hitoe continued.
Dual Axe Archdragon roared in response to her command before taking flight and charging down the battlefield towards Kannya. The SIGNI was helpless to do anything as the Kagero unit dived towards her before bringing the axes down upon her, banishing her from the field in an instant. At this moment, the fiery glow around Yuzuki grew even larger as her gaze upon Akira and Dragonic Overlord grew more intense. Nodding slightly, that was the sign that Hitoe needed for this very moment. The Selector held out her right hand over the LRIG space.
"For the sake of my friends and the units that are counting on me, I... I will move forward!" she called "LIMIT BREAK!"
A fiery red Vanguard circle flashed in front of Yuzuki for a brief moment as the last 3 cards moved from the Ener Zone to the Trash Pile. Hitoe then revealed Orochi, Phantom Dragon Princess along with Mušḫuššu, Phantom Dragon Princess from her hand and dropped them into her Trash Pile as the cards glowed in a blinding bright orange glow, completely obscuring it whilst at the same time, even more energy began surrounding Yuzuki, this time charging up the barrels of both of her cannons at once. She pointed them together, right towards Dragonic Overlord the End as the energy intake grew even stronger before it suddenly erupted from the cannons, as one giant beam of flames. The 'attack' struck Overlord dead on as it growled and cried out loud fiercely as a result.
Akira shielded her face from the flames, as did her LRIG Mirurun on her table, the heat being much more stronger than she anticipated at first. Then to her shock, a Life Cloth suddenly flew upwards from the amount left in front of her and flipped face up. The card, revealed to be Dragon Monk, Genjo, began glowing indicating that Hitoe and Yuzuki ended up triggering off a Life Burst in the result. Akira's sneer returned as she burst out in laughter for a brief moment.
"Bwahahaha! Your effort was a complete waste!" she snickered "With the Life Burst, I'll regain one..."
"You won't do anything!" called Yuzuki.
"What?"
As Akira reached for Genjo's card, a ball of fire suddenly erupted in front of her hand, forcing her to pull it back from the card as it was engulfed by the flames, dropping into her Ener Zone as a result of this. When the flames had eventually vanished, Dragon Monk, Genjo's physical card had darkened slightly, as if it was 'charred' or 'burnt' by the effects of Yuzuki's Limit Break. The Selector growled under her breath as she turned her attention back towards Hitoe, her glare mainly focused on Yuzuki in front of her whilst Mirurun could only stare at the state of Genjo's card, wondering how this was possible.
"N... No way! What the hell did you do?!" she snapped.
"The second effect of my Limit Break!" Yuzuki replied before glancing behind her. "Hitoe, if you would be kind enough to explain?"
"When I use this effect, one of my opponent's Life Cloths is crushed," Hitoe answered "Then if the number of your cards in your Ener Zone is 3 or less, all the Life Bursts that cloth had is negated!"
"Negated?!" gasped Mirurun.
"Awesome!" called Naoki "Hitoe not only cleared a path for Flame Edge attack's to build up the Ener she needed, but she's managed to get Yuzuki to deal damage before she's even attacked!"
"In addition, with the power she obtained from the Kagero units," Kai spoke "Yuzuki even managed to gain the same ability as that of Vortex Dragonewt, burning away the effects of Life Cloths, but at a higher cost." Nonetheless, an impressive feat indeed.
"T... This cannot be...!" Akira cried as she looked down at her hand, realizing that there was nothing she could now. "I... I can't lose to the same scared Selector I crushed before, least of all with Kai's cards!"
Yuzuki flapped the wings present on her back, taking flight into the air and preparing to clash with Dragonic Overlord the End whose fierce gaze remained trained upon her as it raised both the swords and the guns it held in all four of its arms, anticipating said clash was to come at any second from now. As all of this was going on, Akira could only sweat in panic before looking over towards Hitoe who held her head down. Mirurun looked over towards the Selector as well, wondering what exactly she was planning to say to them.
"Midoriko-san, Yuzuki, even Kai... all of them were hurt by you," she said, her voice slightly trembling at what she was bringing up "That's why... I won't let you hurt Ruko-san or even Aichi-kun!"
(End Music)
"Hitoe..." Yuzuki murmured. She shook her head clear of the sudden thought as she aimed both of her cannons at Dragonic Overlord the End who responded by roaring loudly at her whilst also charging up the energy in the barrels of the guns that it held. Whilst Akira could stare on in horror at the envitable result whilst Mirurun hummed to herself, ignoring her Selector's despair, Hitoe brought up her head to face them and held out her right arm in a commanding like gesture, knowing exactly what to do next.
"Yuzuki, attack Dragonic Overlord the End!" she declared.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Seek the Mate - Overlord)
The LRIG nodded in response to her request and charged through the air towards Dragonic Overlord who in turn charged across the battlefield to meet her head on. The two combatants pointed their weapons at one another and began firing fiery hot bullets from both their guns and cannons at each other. With the wings that both Yuzuki and Dragonic Overlord possessed, they were quick to dodge the attacks that came their way before the LRIG took the opportunity to dive down towards the dragon. Overlord upon sensing this, quickly raised its lower arms and prepared to strike with the swords that it carried. Yuzuki quickly pointed her cannons downwards and fired them immediately to thrust herself up into the air, just in time to dodge Dragonic Overlord's swords. Pointing the cannons upwards, a large fireball formed inbetween the gap above her head, which ended up growing larger and larger.
With a loud scream, as a result of gathering that much energy for the fireball above her head, Yuzuki instantly pointed her cannons right down towards Dragonic Overlord, which in turn sent the huge fireball right towards it. The Kagero commander remained still as the attack came crashing right into it, engulfing the dragon in a massive explosion upon contact. It roared loudly in pain as it fell out of the air and landed on the solid ground on its front, indicating that the victory had indeed gone to both Yuzuki and Hitoe. Speaking of the Selector, she could only look on ahead at the result before her, still somewhat in disbelief as to what had just happened before her.
"I... won?" she murmured.
As Akira could only hold down her head in frustration and shame, Yuzuki flew down to the floor at the center of the battlefield. As soon as her feet were back on the hard ground, she ran over towards Dragonic Overlord the End, stopping just a meter or two from its form before her. The dragon growled under its breath, slightly weakly, presumably as a result of the final attack that it suffered from. It dropped its weapons as it struggled onto its knees with support from all four of its arms at once.
"Overlord...!" called Yuzuki "... Are you alright?"
"... This is something you should not be concerned about," Overlord spoke, its tone not as fierce as it was earlier. "It would appear the other members of the Kagero troop had indeed made their decision and that has brought us to this result."
"Result?" she murmured.
Upon finishing her reply, Dragonic Overlord gazed over towards Hitoe before a small, but slightly dim orange aura surrounded the Kagero commander. In turn, a blinding orange glow appeared from the LRIG Trash, much to the Selector's surprise. Picking up the cards that were covered in this aura, Hitoe could see that they were seemingly blank for the moment. Then in almost a single instance, several fiery like horizontal waves moved up each of the cards she held, which formerly represented Yuzuki's Level 0 form all the way up to her Level 3 form, causing them to change in appearance. When the aura had died down, the Selector's eyes widened in surprise. Right before her, the changed cards still depicted Yuzuki, from Level 0 through 3, albeit with different appearances. But the most shocking change amongst the cards that she held was the additional LRIG type, right beside Yuzuki's very own.
"... This is..." she breathed.
"What is Hitoe?" asked Yuzuki.
"This is the power I have entrusted to you," Overlord interrupted "It would appear that you have earned their respect, as you already have with mine. Yuzuki, was it?"
"Y... Yeah," the LRIG replied.
"Mark my words," the dragon spoke "Power comes with great responsibility. Remember that well, unlike her." Overlord's tone grew fierce and bitter at the last two words it spoke, as it glared right back at Akira, who in turn could only glare back at the Kagero commander in anger. As this was going on, up in the tower, Naoki and Kai could only look down at the battlefield, partially out of bewilderment from the overall result, but no one was more excited and upbeat than the Narukami user himself.
"Yes!" he called "Hitoe beat Akira!"
Kai said nothing in response, but briefly let out a smile, showing that he was impressed with Hitoe's performance in the battle that had gone on. After a few more moments, the entire battlefield went black, bringing everyone back to the outside world.
(End Music)
Ruko's School: Entrance
As Hitoe blinked upon returning back to the school entrance grounds, she looked forward to see Akira growling under her breath, no doubt ranting to herself about the way things had gone for her tonight. She held up Yuzuki's card to see how the LRIG was doing after the long and hard battle that the two of them had managed to endure through, eventually emerging victorious from the whole ordeal. Needless to say, Yuzuki looked up at Hitoe and smiled, indicating that she was alright and that she was glad that everything in the end had worked out for them. Before Hitoe could say anything, she suddenly felt a hand briefly pat her on the back, as if it was to get her attention.
"You really took it to Akira there Hitoe!" a familiar voice called. Hitoe turned around to see who had called out to her.
"I... Ishida!" she called, upon noticing him. He gave a big smile and thumbs up of approval before the Selector looked over to Kai, who was back on the Narukami user's shoulder, still barely able to move about due to his earlier injury.
"Are you alright Kai?!" Yuzuki asked in concern.
"Yeah," he replied before wincing in pain for a brief moment "My injury is still taking its toll... but I have made the effort to come and observe the battle."
"I see..." murmured Hitoe before she suddenly remembered. "That reminds me..." She turned around to face Akira, who looked up at her, looking even angrier than she already was with everything that had gone on. Hitoe gulped nervously before clearing her throat.
"A... As you promised, hand back Kai's deck!" she called "We don't need any more trouble than we already have!"
Akira was about to spit out an insult or something along the subject before she suddenly looked behind Hitoe, noticing not just Naoki who kept a fierce gaze upon her, but Kai who had been supported by his shoulder, he too also glaring at her.
"T... The deal's off!" she barked as she made a run for the school's front doors.
"O... Oi!" cried Naoki.
"After her!" called Kai.
Hitoe nodded in agreement as the three of them quickly chased after the Selector, Kai's efforts being slightly slowed down by his injury. Akira looked behind her and sneered for a brief moment before she looked forward straight into the seemingly empty entrance hall, failing to notice a foot come into view from the right side of the doorway. Upon noticing it, she realized she was going too fast to slow herself down and ended up tripping over, falling to the floor face first. The sudden fall had resulted in Kai's deck case flying out of her pocket and Dragonic Overlord's card from her right hand which ended up being caught by the hands of the instigator who quickly moved in front of her fallen state. Looking up, Akira could see that the figure that had tripped her up, was none other than Leon.
"A comrade once taught me that you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you," he spoke as he gazed down upon her.
"You...!" she growled. Akira then got back onto her feet and turned around to see Hitoe, Kai and Naoki arrive at the front door. With her knives no longer stuck in the ground outside to arm herself with, she was very much out of options.
"Mark my words, when Ulith-san finds you," she spat "You'll suffer greatly, I can assure you that!"
Upon finishing her sentence, she swiftly leapt past Leon to a nearby window and opened it up in an instant, making her exit from the school premises through there. As the group watched Akira leave the vicinity of the school, they decided now that Kai's deck was in safe hands once more, pursuing her was not worth it anymore. When the group turned back to face each other, Leon handed both the deck case and Dragonic Overlord's card over to Kai, who in turn placed said unit's card back in said case.
"I owe both you and Hitoe my thanks," he spoke.
"T... Thank you Kai," said Hitoe, smiling gently in response.
"That reminds me," Kai continued "Where is Tama and Aichi?"
"Akira handed Tama over to Ulith," Yuzuki answered "And Aichi went through the school to look for her. Akira didn't say where exactly she was though."
"I see..." muttered Naoki "I guess we'll have to search the school from top to bottom."
"There is no need."
Everyone else suddenly turned towards Leon in confusion, who had spoken out for himself as a gentle breeze whistled through the open gaps in the school's open doors and the window that Akira had chosed to escape through. Whilst Hitoe shivered a little from the chilliness of the evening air that was being stirred up, no sooner than Leon had opened his eyes did said breeze eventually die down, especially when the answer that there were all searching for had already come to pass for him.
"Sendou is present on the rooftop," he spoke.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" called Naoki "Let's find Ren in this place and hurry up to where Aichi is!"
"I agree," replied Kai before looking at Hitoe. "Hitoe, head with Leon to the rooftop, Ishida and I will look for Ren."
Everyone else nodded in agreement with the Kagero user and hurried off in different directions of the building, in the hope of finding the Shadow Paladin user quickly and catch up to Aichi as soon as possible. Whilst Leon and Hitoe hurried up the stairways of the school building, Kai and Naoki hurried across the corridors towards the left hand side of the premises. The Kagero user although certain that Ren would be able to handle himself, was still concerned given his usual way of thinking and acting along the with circumstances present before them.
Selector Battlefield
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Confrontation and Pain)
Meanwhile, in the all too familiar space of where the Selector Battles occurred, another battle was already in progress unbeknownst to Aichi, Kai or the others. Much like how Hitoe and Akira's field had red covering both backgrounds on both ends of the battlefield, this field had black colours covering all ends of the background, to represent the decks that were being used this very instant. The eerie silence that was currently present in the area was suddenly broken up by a loud battle cry as an all too familiar swordsman, clad in black armour dashed across the field to meet his opponent, his dark red cape flowing behind his back as he charged forth towards Iona, who stood at the ready, clutching a simple but small plain black sword, manifested from the darkness. That being the element that her colour represented.
Blaster Dark swung his blade at the dark LRIG who leaped backwards to dodge the attack. Iona smirked for a brief moment before leaping back at him, swinging the sword she carried right at him. The Shadow Paladin unit swung his blade right back to parry the counterattack before thrusting it forward in an attempt to land a clean strike on the LRIG. After she dodged again, the two were engaged in their combat, matching blow for blow with both blade and sword, neither one willing to back down from the other. Eventually after matching each other for a short while, Blaster Dark eventually found an opening to strike and quickly took the opportunity to thrust his sword forward, heavily grazing Iona's right side. When he did so, his eyes briefly widened for a moment, causing him to stop immediately.
This is...
Iona who had immediately recovered from her brief loss, returned back to Ruko's table, the Selector of whom glanced to her Ener Zone which already comprised of 5 cards, including the crushed Life Cloth from just now. These cards were Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter, Code Anti Vimana, Code Maze Tajmaha, Healing Revenger and Darkness Revenger, Rugos. Ruko glanced over towards Ren, whose expression seemed a bit more serious than he was the way he was acting during their brief conversation earlier. Blaster Dark had gone all the way back to the LRIG space on his table, the Shadow Paladin's gaze trained upon Iona for some reason, unbeknowst to the LRIG, the cardfighter and the Selector all at once.
She appears to be like her and yet she's... different. If that's the case...
"Something on your mind?" Ren interrupted.
"Keep your guard up, my Vanguard," Blaster Dark replied "I suspect my opponent may not be who she seems."
"If you insist," he shrugged as he gazed across the field back towards Ruko. He had a feeling however that if what Kai said was true about their previous battle, then he knew he could be in for an uphill struggle.
On the rooftop...
"Tama..."
Aichi could only stare at the LRIG in shock and horror at the state she was in. Her dull eyes along with the words she had spoken out, including the tone that she had said those words in, that had only worried him even further. Whatever Ulith had done to her, it did not look like it had settled well at all. Speaking of whom, the cruel demanored Selector kept her gaze upon her, appearing to seem somewhat pleased with the reaction that she was seeing from the Royal Paladin user right before her own eyes. Aichi could only look back at Ulith, seemingly angered by what was seeing in front of him.
"What did you do to her?!" he demanded.
"I simply awakened her true self," she replied "The true girl of white, the LRIG Shiro."
"Shiro? What do you mean?" asked Aichi.
"All in due time Sendou," said Ulith, a brief smirk hidden beneath her expression "For now though, you will be my opponent."
"Opponent?" he murmured, blinking for a moment. "Are you wanting to battle me?"
"But of course," she mused "That is why you came here, isn't it? Then again, with regards to our current scenario, I know a great deal about you."
(End Music)
Upon finishing her sentence, she walked forward from where she was standing, advancing slowly towards Aichi. The Royal Paladin user for some reason suddenly tensed up, unsure of why he was feeling uncomfortable from the Selector's ever so closer presence towards him. She stopped her advance when she came alongside him, gazing at him with her brownish eyes, the sight of which up close had almost caught him by surprise.
"What do you mean?" Aichi asked, slightly nerved by her advance.
"Oh, you know," Ulith continued as she came up alongside him "Saving your own world from the darkness of Link Joker, only to be infected by it. And to think, you were stubborn enough to reject that power for yourself, even denying support from your own friends."
"I made a terrible mistake in not believing in my friends then," he said "I won't let that happen again."
"Keh," she spat as she then turned around, before beginning to walk back to the previous spot she stood from "As expected from that world's 'hero'. But more to the point, now that you're here... I look forward to seeing those twisted expressions I will pull out from you." Her tone had grown slightly more sinister at the last sentence, her expression having also darkened within that same light. She then turned around and held out the back of Tama's card towards Aichi, with the absolute intention of initiating a Selector Battle between them. As the cardfighter reached into his pocket to bring out his deck, he glanced back at Ulith.
"If I win, will you hand back Tama?" he asked.
"Of course, that is why you came here after all," Ulith sneered "However, if victory is mine, not only will I see those painful expressions to satisfy my tastes... but you must also surrender your avatar to me!"
His eyes widening in brief shock, Aichi had quickly realized what exactly she had meant. If he was planning to win back Tama in this battle, to return to Kai who would hopefully plan on returning to Ruko when the time was right, he would have to put up Blaster Blade as a bargaining chip to ensure both sides had equal stakes. He felt uncomfortable with the idea in the first place, not even willing to give away Blaster Blade at all, but he knew that if he didn't accept, then Tama would remain in Ulith's possession, no matter what. Especially in the state that he saw her in earlier, he felt... no, he knew that leaving her like this was not an option. Reluctantly, he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and looked back at Ulith.
"I'll accept the conditions!" he replied.
"Very well then," Ulith said as her eyes were closed "But I wonder..." She then opened up her eyes all of a sudden, her gaze now directed upon the cardfight. "How long will it be, before I hear those cries from you that I long for!" Aichi said nothing in response and held out the back of Blaster Blade's card to meet with the back of Tama's card.
"Open!" they called. At this moment, two white flashes erupted from both of the cards and collided with one another, creating a blinding flash that would bring them to the battlefield that awaited them.
Selector Battlefield: With Aichi and Ulith
Aichi opened his eyes to find himself seated at the table that would represent his own side of the playing field. He looked around the space, noticing the background was littered with silhoutted buildings and a pure white background colour. He remembered this being somewhat similar to the field that he was observing from in Naoki's battle with Akira, but this felt different to him. Upon noticing that his starting hand and Life Cloths were already set on the table for him, Aichi looked forward to see Advance Party Seeker, File on the LRIG space on his table. The Royal Paladin unit had his hands clutched to the lances that he held and that his cape was briefly flowing behind his back as a result from his presence being summoned to the battlefield.
"F... File?" Aichi murmured "Is that really you?"
"M... My Vanguard!" File stuttered, slightly surprised from hearing the cardfighter behind him and also being greatly downsized as a result of being summoned as an pseudo-LRIG. "Then... this must be this field that Blaster Blade and Zenon warned me about!"
"I see..." he said "In that case, can you all please lend me your strength? There's someone that we need to save."
Both Aichi and File looked across the battlefield towards Ulith on the opposing table, her earlier expression having not left her face whilst Tama's expression seemed much more lifeless than she was earlier. Upon noticing the LRIG's expression, the Royal Paladin unit looked back up at Aichi.
"I assume you mean her?" he asked "She doesn't look so good."
"Yeah," replied Aichi.
Their trail of thoughts were interrupted by a loud creaking noise. They both looked up to see the arrow, in the exact same style as the one that was used at the start of Hitoe and Akira's earlier battle beginning to rotate in a clockwise direction above their heads, increasing in speed with each rotation. Aichi briefly looked over towards Ulith, noticing her gaze was still trailed upon him, not concerned with where the arrow was going to land. Eventually, after several more moments had passed, the arrow began to slow down in speed. It went slower and slower and slower, until it came to a complete stop. Where the tip had ended up pointing though, that was directly towards Ulith herself who was pleased with the result.
"I believe I will go first," she spoke, the tone of which had made Aichi slightly more uncomfortable than he was from her earlier approach.
"I draw and Grow!" she called "Tamayorihime, Nova Miko!"
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Iona and Akira)
Tama's dress hadn't changed at all as a result of growing, but a sheet of metal was covering over the top half completely, acting like chest armour for the LRIG. What also didn't change at all was her expression, still seeming dull as she lifted her head to look towards Aichi.
"... Battle..." she murmured, in a seemingly weak tone "Shiro wants to battle..."
Please hang in there, Tama! Aichi thought I'll definitely save you!
"Using Shiro's ability," Ulith explained "I discard one card from my hand and draw." To the cardfighter's shock and surprise, she revealed Freezing Revenger to him before dropping it into her Trash Pile and drawing another card, sneering from the result.
Excellent. With this, the countdown to Aichi's breakdown has only just begun. For now though, I want to have a little... fun.
"Turn end," she spoke.
As Aichi drew his two cards to begin his turn, he could only think about Ulith's previous move just now. From what he already gathered, Tama was a LRIG that possessed the White colour, seeing as how Ulith's end of the battlefield was coloured white, much like his own. But what confused him was the fact that the Selector was appearing to use several Black SIGNI in her deck as well. He wasn't sure why, but if there was a reason she prepared a deck like this beforehand for the situation that had befallen him and Tama herself, he knew that he couldn't let his guard down. Aichi glanced over towards the LRIG deck and held out an arm.
"Grow, Marron!" he called.
In a bright white flash, File vanished from the table as the Little Sage himself took to the battlefield, now standing at the ready on the LRIG table. He looked up briefly to Aichi and the two nodded in agreement.
"I summon Cynric!"
In front of Marron, the Honest Seeker appeared and took a fighting stance, pointing his small crossbow like weapon over towards Tama and preparing to take aim for the oncoming clash.
"Cynric attacks!" Aichi declared.
Cynric nodded to his command and leaped across the battlefield from spot to spot, firing several light beams from his weapon right at Tama. The LRIG effortlessly dodged all of them by moving side to side, until the Seeker leapt up into the air and fired a barrage of light beams at her, knocking her slightly backwards indicating that the first attack of the turn was a success. Ulith's first Life Cloth revealed Skull Witch, Nemain, no Life Burst having gone off this time. The Selector did not seem to be displeased by this turn of events at all however. When Cynric returned back to the center SIGNI space on the table, Aichi then turned his attention over to the next unit he had at the ready.
"Marron!" he called.
"Understood!" the Little Sage replied, as he opened the book that he carried and began chanting an incomphrensible language. As he did so, several sparks of energy stored themselves in his left hand before he suddenly opened his palm, unleashing the stored energy as a lightning bolt that was directed towards Tama. Ulith however, was more than prepared for the coming assault.
"Mac Lir!" she called as she revealed the Shadow Paladin unit from her hand. Said unit materialized in front of Tama, creating a barrier that easily deflected Marron's attack. The sage growled in frustration as Mac Lir vanished from the battlefield before he looked back up at Aichi.
"I'm sorry, my Vanguard," he said, a hint of bitterness present in his voice.
"It's alright," said Aichi, trying his best to reassure Marron as he looked over towards Ulith, who remained smug from the outcome.
"Turn end," he spoke.
(End Music)
End of Turn 2
Aichi vs Ulith
Hand - 6 : 5
Life Cloths - 7 : 6
Current LRIGs - Little Sage, Marron : Tamayorihime, Nova Miko
SIGNI : EMPTY - Honest Seeker, Cynric - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
Ener - 0 : 1
Ulith said nothing as she drew her next two cards befoe concealing them amongst the other cards in her hand. Smirking for a brief moment, she revealed Energe, Original Spear from her hand before tossing it into her Ener Zone, only for it to move into her Trash Pile.
"Grow," she spoke "Tamayorihime, Shooting Star Miko!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Nova Grappler)
As the brief series of flashes rose up around her, Tama's ribbons that tied her hairs in two had been replaced with a large series of feathers with the same colours those ribbons had possessed. Also as a result of growing, Tama now held a long sword with a golden hilt which she had pointed directly in the direction of both Aichi and Marron. In addition to that, the chest armour that originally covered only the top half of her dress had now covered both the entire front and the waistline of said dress. Ulith sneered as she proceeded to summon out Healing Revenger, Hastall, Medium Spear and Servant D2, much to the confusion of Aichi, who assumed that she would save it in her hand for Guarding his attacks.
"Now then Aichi, I wonder what kind of cries you will let out, soon enough," she spoke "Hastall attacks Cynric!"
Hastall charged across the battlefield towards Cynric, who desperately shot out several beams of light from his weapon in an attempt to slow down the SIGNI, but she was just too fast for him to keep up with as she slashed right past him, banishing him from the field. Marron suddenly gasped and shielded his face as both Healing Revenger and Servant D2 came up close to him. Healing Revenger used her green orb to blind the Little Sage and give Servant D2 the chance to kick him before slashing Marron with her blade. The two of them then swiftly retreated back to Ulith's table.
"Marron!" cried Aichi.
"I... I'm alright," replied Marron as he struggled back onto his feet. Aichi looked to his Ener Zone just in time to see Knight of Silence, Gallatin and Margal enter his Ener Zone, the second card glowed indicating a Life Burst.
"With Margal's Life Burst," he explained "I draw 1 card."
"Shiro attacks Marron," Ulith spoke.
"Shiron guards!" Aichi responded as he revealed the unit from his hand. Shiron appeared in front of Marron, generating a green circle which prevented any attack from Tama from passing through. The LRIG remained motionless, doing nothing as a result of the turn. Shiron then vanished from the battlefield, having done what he needed to do. Ulith didn't seem disappointed with the end result at all though.
"Turn end."
End of Turn 3
Aichi vs Ulith
Hand - 6 : 3
Life Cloths - 5 : 6
Current LRIGs - Little Sage, Marron : Tamayorihime, Shooting Star Miko
SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Healing Revenger - Hastall, Medium Spear - Servant D2
Ener - 2 : 1
Letting out a sigh of relief for a brief moment, Aichi regained his composure as he began his turn. Looking at the cards in his hand, he had quickly come to a decision. He revealed Seeker, Loving Healer's card from his hand before sending it to his Ener Zone. Then Gallatin's card moved from that same area straight over to his Trash Pile as he held out his hand over towards the LRIG deck, knowing exactly who to call upon in this most troubling of scenarios. The cardfighter could only hope however that even 'his' help would be enough to recover Tama from Ulith and hopefuly snap her out of the state that she was presently in.
(End Music)
"Stand up, my avatar!" he called "Grow, Blaster Blade!"
A blinding white glow enveloped Marron, removing the Little Sage from the battlefield as an all too familiar figure descended down the column of light to land firmly on the solid ground beneath him, or rather the LRIG space of Aichi's table in a manner of speaking. Blaster Blade opened his green eyes, looking out in front of him towards both Tama and Ulith. His blade was held out horizontally in front of him, the tip of which was close to his free hand. Looking down at his avatar with a gentle smile on his face, Aichi could only feel happy that Blaster Blade himself would be fighting alongside him. He looked back towards Ulith with a serious expression once more, now prepared to do everything he could to defeat her and save Tama from her clutches.
And there we go! As Leon and Hitoe head up to the rooftop to find Aichi, unware of his battle with Ulith having just begun, Kai (now with his deck back in hand thanks to the two's efforts) and Naoki search the school to look for Ren, also unaware that he's caught up in a battle against Ruko and Iona. But what is it that Blaster Dark finds so intriguing about the LRIG? And will Aichi be able to save Tama or does Ulith have a trick or two up her sleeve to bring down the cardfighter when he least expects it? Only time will tell. Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I'll see you next time! Until then!
*Also, be sure to check out the link in my profile to my Crossover Original Cards list to find Yuzuki-Four, Combustion of Perdition's full effect.
