Hello once more fellow readers! I hope you enjoy what this chapter has in store for you!


Selector Battlefield

Aichi kept a close glance on Ulith as he drew his cards to begin the start of his turn. He looked down at his hand for a brief moment, thinking carefully about he should do next. The Selector had already nearly managed to make him 'lose it' when she revealed everything about the cruelty she inflicted upon others prior to becoming an LRIG and going into Iona's possession once before. Although he was thankful that Blaster Blade had managed to make him not lose focus on his goal of freeing Tama from Ulith's grasp, the earlier anger that was pent up from hearing about everything she had done in the past was still simmering at the back of his head, albeit not as violently as before. Taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts, he held out a hand over the LRIG space.

"Enter the fray, king of all knights!" he called "Grow! Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv!"

As Blaster Blade vanished in a blinding white column of light that appeared in the LRIG space on Aichi's table, in his place appeared the King of Knights himself, descending towards the table surface before slowing down to briefly hover and then land on his feet. Alfred opened his eyes to see the opponents present in front of him, his gaze mainly focused on Tama from noticing her current state before he turned his attention to the Selector opposite him.

"Oh...? So we now have the 'Avatar of Justice' in our corner," Ulith mused, keeping her smirk present on her lips. "The King of Knights, ruler of both the Royal Paladins and the Liberators of Gold Paladin, the slayer of the Star-vaders' most powerful weapon, "Omega" Glendios."

"So it appears word of me and quite a lot about my Vanguard has somehow reached you," Alfred spoke, keeping a sharp gaze directed up at her from where he was standing, somewhat suspicious of what he had just heard her say.

"Alfre... I mean, your majesty!" called Aichi "I need your strength to defeat Ulith so I can get back Tama from her and figure out what's wrong."

"I assume you refer to the girl standing on the space on that 'other' table as the one we need to save," the King of Knights spoke in assumption. The cardfighter nodded agreement to acknowledge that he was correct in his guess.

"I understand," replied Alfred "And... as you are my Vanguard, there is no need for the formality from yourself. Just feel free to call me Alfred."

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Charge of the Gold Paladins)*

"I see..." murmured Aichi before briefly shaking his head to get himself focused back onto the battle. He then reached out for two of the cards in his hand and placed them into the left and right SIGNI spaces. The SIGNI and unit that appeared were Axe, Large Breaker and Seeker, Tranquil Unicorn.

"With Tranquil Unicorn's skill, I Exceed Blaster Blade to power up Axe!"

Axe, Large Breaker: 7000 - 12000

A bright white aura surrounded both Axe and Tranquil Unicorn, as the Royal Paladin unit transferred the power bonus over to the White SIGNI. Having done that, Aichi then turned his attention over to his LRIG trash before holding his hand out right towards it.

"Seek mate!"

As Cynric, Gallatin and Margal's cards exited the Trash Pile and rearranged themselves into the deck, Blaster Blade's card flew up from the LRIG Trash and the cardfighter caught it in a single swipe with his right hand before holding it high into the air.

"Stand up again, my avatar! Blaster Blade!" he called before placing the card beside Alfred Exiv's on the LRIG Space "Legion!"

A bright white light appeared beside Alfred as Blaster Blade returned back to the battlefield, descending down the white column before landing in a stance firmly on his two feet, holding out his blade pointed forward in the direction of both Tama and Ulith. The Legion symbol briefly flashed in front of them as the two Royal Paladin units were briefly glowing in a bright golden aura that flowed through their armour, representing the bond that they shared. Up from the tower, both Hitoe and Yuzuki were somewhat amazed to say the least.

"Legion...?" the Selector murmured.

"Two LRIGs, or rather units in the same space..." the LRIG replied "Aichi must have been lucky to have Tranquil Unicorn on hand to make this possible."

Before Leon could interject with his thoughts on the matter, a bright white glow appeared from behind them as Ren, Naoki and Kai appeared at the back of the tower's room to now join them on the 'sidelines' of the battlefield. The three of them headed towards the windowsill with the Narukami user still holding Kai steady over his shoulder as they trudged forwards together until they joined the others.

"How is Aichi holding up?" the Kagero user asked.

"For the moment, he appears to have regained control of the situation with Alfred Exiv," Leon answered "But, there is something that still greatly concerns me."

"What do you mean?" Naoki asked, curious as to what exactly the Aqua Force user meant.

"When Ulith had explained everything about her previous exploits in the Selector Battles," he explained "I could briefly sense a violent wind emanating from Sendou, as if he was enraged for a short moment from what he heard."

"He's not the only one feeling that way," Yuzuki interrupted, bringing everyone's attention down to her. "Ulith... Everything she did to the Selectors that crossed her path... it sickens me! No wonder Akira would stoop so low as to aiding her!"

"Yuzuki..." murmured Hitoe, concerned for her LRIG's current state. Ren said nothing in response, but he could tell from Yuzuki's expression that Ulith was someone to not think of as simply another opponent for Aichi to overcome. Everyone then turned their attention back to the battlefield, curious as to how the Royal Paladin user was planning to progress forwards in his current scenario. Ulith meanwhile was seemingly not surprised by Aichi's decision to Legion immediately, if it meant catching up to Level 4 so he could level the playing field with more powerful SIGNI.

"Legion..." she murmured. I see now that Akira's little mishap with Ishida did prove to be beneficial in more ways than one.

"Finally, I use Avon to search for two copies of God Eater, Ultimate Sword to my hand!" Aichi called as 2 single files of light scanned through his deck, eventually picking out the two Level 4 SIGNI and putting them straight into his hand. He then summoned one of them straight to the field in the only open SIGNI space that was left on his field. Before he could think about who to attack first, Ulith sneered and held out her hand over towards her White deck as the only 3 Black cards in her Ener Zone moved to her Trash Pile.

"Ancient Surprise!" she called as the all-too familar ARTS appeared. "I use its first effect to force us to send the top 7 cards of our decks to our Trash Piles!"

A purple bolt of lightning shot out from the card and struck the motionless roulette that was still housed on the ceiling of the battlefield before it diverged into two seperate beams that struck both Aichi and Ulith's decks. The top 7 cards from each deck flew upwards from impact before falling right into their respective Trash Piles. Ulith eyed the falling cards her falling closely before seeing that amongst 5 of those cards, she had ended up sending two copies of Hellrage Revenger, Quesal, another copy of Skull Witch, Nemain, Dark Revenger, Mac Lir and Code Anti Nebra. The Selector kept a hidden smile from Aichi's gaze, seemingly pleased with the result, even if a bit of self destruction had to be involved.

The pieces are now in place. Sendou has now sealed his own fate.

Aichi's Deck: 19 - 12

Ulith's Deck: 19 - 12

Thank goodness... Aichi sighed in his head I didn't manage to lose out on too many powerful SIGNI or cards that I needed to Guard with. But there has to be a reason why Ulith chose self-destruction on her own deck as well. I need to be careful.

"Let's go!" he called "Axe and God Eater attack your Energe SIGNI!"

The two White SIGNI nodded in response to his command as they charged across the battlefield to meet their respective opponents. Axe and God Eater engaged both Energes, head to head on their own columns. Eventually, Aichi's two White SIGNI overpowered the Original Spears and retreated back to his table. Ulith simply shrugged as she brought up her gaze to meet Aichi's.

"Quite impressive," she spoke "It appears you have the will to fight on after all. I suppose you and Ruko share a common trait in stubborness."

"What do you mean?" the cardfighter asked, confused by what she meant. Ulith just huffed a simple "Keh" under her breath before continuing to speak out to him.

"How fascinating that after all this time, the "boy Selector" hoping to defeat me is the one that banished the darkness of Reverse from his own home world," the Selector mused "And you believe that you can overcome the designated fates in the Selector Battles?"

"I will do what I believe is right if it means saving Tama, everyone involved in these battles and Takuto-kun from the person behind all of this!" Aichi replied before then turning his attention to Blaster Blade and Alfred.

"Alfred Exiv, Blaster Blade, join your swords and bring hope to the battlefield!" he declared "Legion attack!"

"Now we advance!" Alfred called as a bright blue aura surrounded both him and Blaster Blade.

"Roger!" the Swordsman of Light replied. The two then leaped into the air and began flying across the battlefield with the aid of the aura to reach the other side. Tama took flight with the aid of both the wings at the top of her boots and the white ring behind her back and charged towards both Alfred and Blaster Blade, clutching her trident tightly. The two Royal Paladins and the White LRIG briefly stared off with one another before Tama thrust her trident at Alfred who blocked with his sword. The two engaged each other for a brief moment before the LRIG shoved the King of Knights backwards and looked up, just in time to see Blaster Blade from above swing his sword downwards, creating a thin, but powerful arc of light that crashed straight into her.

(End Music)

The impact caused a small explosion, engulfing Tama who fell out of the air, spiralling downwards and backwards until she landed on her back on Ulith's table. The Selector who wasn't concerned with the result saw the Spell, Revive Flare enter her Ener Zone. She merely shrugged, unfazed by the result of the clash. By the time Blaster Blade and Alfred had returned back to Aichi's table, the cardfighter glanced over towards the fallen LRIG to see her open her eyelids. Aichi's eyes widened in surprise from what he saw next. Tama's eyes were no longer in a dull state, as was her expression, now dazed and confused as she struggled back onto her feet, dropping her trident in the result.

"Tama!" called Aichi "Are you alright?!"

"A... Aichi?" the LRIG spoke, a hint of confusion still present.

"Tama... thank goodness," he said with a hint of relief to his voice. Tama could only ponder as to why he was feeling this way and why she was currently in battle against him. She then turned her head around and noticed Ulith, slightly gasping upon looking at the Selector. Ulith was still seeming very smug, despite the result that had just unfolded before her. She then began clapping for a few brief moments, seemingly putting up an impressed look over her sinister expression.

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Even if I Hurt Someone)

"Bravo Sendou, Ahmes," she spoke as she eventually ceased her 'praising' "I suppose even the legendary sword, the Blaster Blade can break through the mind controlling effects of Reverse when its not fully in effect." At this point, her mention of 'that power' had caught Aichi's attention as well as that from Blaster Blade, Alfred and everyone else up in the tower.

"Reverse?!" gasped Naoki.

"Then that's the reason Tama's been acting so strangely, even if it was partially in effect as Ulith said," murmured Yuzuki.

"Um Kai...? If Tama is under the effects of Reverse... then, shouldn't that mean that Ulith is... you know, reversed?" asked Hitoe.

"I don't know," answered Kai "But even what she's said about Tama is true, I can sense that Ulith is not reversed. If that's the case, then she's somehow wielding that power under her own free will, just as I had once done." He gritted his teeth for a brief moment, grimacing at the thought of bringing up his own experience of Reverse once again but otherwise concerned about the state that Tama was in. It was true for the moment that the Selector had only corrupted her with a small portion of that power, but that only worried him for what the LRIG would become once Ulith had decided to infuse the full power through Tama's veins. Back on the field, Aichi could only gasp in shock, worried for how things were turning out right in front of him. Tama who was now also aware of the scenario looked towards him in panic, now wanting to tell him as much as she could before whatever Ulith had planned for the LRIG could come into fruition.

"Aichi, Tama remembers something!" she called "Before Tama met Ru!"

"What is it Tama?" he asked, still concerned about her current state. The LRIG gulped nervously before looking back at him.

"T... Tama's real name..." she stuttered "T... Tama is really Shiro!" The field fell silent for a brief moment as everyone barring Ulith could only stare on at Tama to take in this information now brought to light. None were more surprised however than Aichi who had now understood why the Selector had been calling the LRIG by that name earlier in the battle.

"And... Shiro also remembers something else!" the LRIG continued "Shiro remembers battling... someone called 'The Clown'!"

At this point, Alfred, Blaster Blade and Kai's eyes widened in shock, having known exactly who or what also went under that all too familiar name. At least, all too familiar to them.

"Don't tell me...!" the Kagero user muttered.

"What is it Kai?" asked Ren, interrupting his trail of thoughts.

"If what Tama, or rather what Shiro saying is true," he answered "There's only one unit that matches that description. And it's one I have used before."

"W... Which unit would that happen to be?" Hitoe asked nervously.

"Chaos Breaker Dragon," replied Kai, a tone of bitterness present in his voice. Naoki said nothing in response, but he could understand why the Kagero user was feeling this way. Chaos Breaker Dragon was the last Link Joker unit that he had used in a previous cardfight against Aichi in which the reversed Kai at the time was victorious. Although he hadn't seen that unit again since Aichi's fight with the Reversed Tatsunagi Takuto, he knew it was one that brought back bad memories of that time. Down on the field, Blaster Blade kept his gaze on Shiro, wanting to know more about this confrontation that the LRIG had spoken of.

"Can you remember anything else about your battle with Chaos Breaker?" he asked, his tone being deadly serious. Shiro shook her head in response.

"Shiro doesn't remember anything else...!" she answered, her tone now depressed. "But... Shiro doesn't want Aichi hurt!"

"I understand Ta... I mean, Shiro," replied Aichi "Just hang in there a little longer! I promise I will get you back from Ulith!" He then turned his attention back towards Ulith who had remained smug throughout the whole occasion.

"Turn end!" he declared. At this moment, the white aura around Axe, Large Breaker vanished causing her power to return to normal.

End of Turn 6

Aichi vs Ulith

Hand - 4 : 1

Life Cloths - 4 : 4

Current LRIGs - Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv (Legioned with Blaster Blade) : Tama, Full Moon Miko

SIGNI : Seeker, Tranquil Unicorn - God Eater, Ultimate Sword - Axe Large, Breaker : EMPTY - EMPTY - Skull Witch, Nemain

Ener - 0 : 3

"Finally, it is time..."

Aichi looked on towards Ulith, being slightly nerved once again at the tone of which she spoke those words. As she drew her cards, a small but quiet gesture of sinister laughter echoed out from under her lips as she tossed Code Anti Cryskull from her hand to her Ener Zone before she held her hand over the LRIG space. Before Shiro could question about what was going on, she suddenly fell to her knees, crying in pain as a dark red aura suddenly surrounded her.

"Shiro!" Aichi cried in horror.

"This is the best," Ulith spoke, ignoring his panic and concern for the LRIG as Shiro screamed loudly. The Selector's eyes became far more crazed than they were before as her tone grew far more sinister as she continued speaking. "Seeing everyone shining brilliantly with hope... It makes crushing your heart much more worth it, Sendou Aichi! I want to break you and even more girls with the original 'girl of white'... all until Shiro's heart has been completely shattered into a million pieces! Reversing you and any more Selectors isn't enough! No, I want to relish this moment for all eternity, until this world comes to a most unfortunate end! I'm going to start by destroying you bit by bit!"

"No! Shiro doesn't want any of this!" the LRIG cried out, screaming in pain as the aura grew far more intense, also gaining a dark shade of blackness to it.

Aichi along with everyone else up in the tower could only gasp and watch on in horror as the aura slowly, but surely consumed Shiro as her cries and pleas grew weaker and weaker until she fell forwards as the power of Reverse lifted her barely conscious body into the air. The blackness that surrounded the Reverse aura had now changed into a column that obscured the LRIG from sight.

"A pure white heart, stained with the power of an eternal darkness...!" Ulith spoke "Show yourself and shatter even the most fragile and resolute of hearts here and now! Grow!"

(End Music)

"Tamayorihime, Sunspot Miko!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Absolute Break)*

When the black column eventually began to disappate, Shiro emerged from the darkness in her newly formed state. Her dress and hair colours had been completely warped, now having gone from silvery white to black and very dark greys. Speaking of her dress, it was now a two piece with the aforementioned warped colours that plagued the LRIG, with outlines of yellow present on the black flame pattern on the top piece of her dress and the right side of her body, including her face, whilst the bottom piece had a yellow pattern that covered over her lower waist. In addition, Shiro in her changed state had also a large yellow ring with 6 points both inside and outside of the object that floated behind her back and her eyes were now a purplish red colour, bloodshot with the impression of pure evil within them.

Before Aichi could question exactly what had happened to the LRIG, a cracking sound was heard. The golden ring behind Shiro now began to crack, with several dark red lines running over said cracks as the noise grew louder. It only became louder and louder until a crashing noise was heard as the golden ring had now completely shattered and in its place was something that Aichi had hoped to not see again. Right behind Shiro, was the object concealed underneath the yellow ring she formerly had. That object was a hovering black ring with an all too familiar dark red aura flowing through it.

"... Shiro's been... reversed...?!" the Royal Paladin user gasped, still in disbelief from what he was seeing before him.

Alfred and Blaster Blade said nothing in compliance, but raised their swords, bracing themselves for the uphill struggle that was to come for the two of them and their Vanguard in this most dire of scenarios.

"Shiro..." Hitoe murmured, distraught by what she had now seen before her eyes. This transformation had also brought about a flare of anger in the expressions of Leon, Ren, Naoki, Yuzuki, but none more so than Kai who could only glare down towards Ulith. He felt as if part of him was now kicking himself for not being on his guard earlier in the late afternoon so that Akira wouldn't have succeeded in stealing Shiro, let alone giving her to the Selector just so the LRIG could be reversed like this. Feeling the frustration once again get the better of him, the only thing felt he could do was punch the windowsill of the tower as hard as he could, growling under his breath in the result.

The jolt from the impact of Kai's fist unexpectedly almost shook Yuzuki off balance from the tower windowsill as she turned her attention towards the Kagero user, shocked to see his current expression. Naoki who had been holding him from the shoulder could also see both the anger and guilt present in his eyes, that had just been vented at this very moment.

He's really been takin' it hard... the Narukami user pondered in his thoughts First almost getting fully reversed again against Ruko and nearly doing the same to her, now everything that's gone on from Akira's sneak attack. No wonder he's feelin' this way.

Back on the battlefield, Aichi could only remain horrified upon looking straight on at Shiro, whose appearance as of now was greatly disturbing him. But his attention was mainly diverted onto Ulith who remained smug over the outcome, not even concerned about the LRIG's state.

"Ulith... do you have any idea of what you've just done?!" he cried out loud.

"Of course I do," she replied cooly "I've simply awakened Shiro to the strongest of her abilities and I'm afraid there is worse to come. Observe!"

Before the Royal Paladin user could question what was going on, a surge of black sparks raged all across his table, striking all of the cards in his deck, hand, SIGNI Zones and Trash Pile, but not even one bolt went for his Ener Zone. That was when he saw the changes that were occurring right before him. His cards became obscured in a dark aura, much like the one that transformed Shiro into what she was now before the sparks disappated, revealing exactly what had happened. Aichi gasped as he saw that all of the SIGNI cards on his side of the field and the ones in his hand and his Trash Pile had their borders completely changed to the colour black, the symbol for that colour now overwriting that of the White colour symbol as well.

"M... My cards are black?!" he exclaimed.

"That's correct," Ulith replied "With the exception of our Ener Zones, every SIGNI we have on the field, our Trash Piles, our hands along with all of the SIGNI in our decks have their colours rewritten to black!"

"So then..."

"Indeed," she spoke "You were smart enough to use your ARTS the previous turn, otherwise I would have locked you out from searching for the God Eaters that would have been stuck in your deck."

"Now I see..." muttered Blaster Blade "Even though I can sense that Shiro for the moment does not possess the power to Lock any cards, she's Locked my Vanguard out from using any cards to search for or revive White SIGNI."

"How observant, 'Swordsman of Light'," Ulith mused as she continued with her turn, summoning another Energe, Original Spear to the field. She then sneered as she held out her arm over her Ener Zone.

"Shiro's skill!" she called "Eradication Lock!"

Shiro gazed upon God Eater, Ultimate Sword before holding her right hand into the air, her expression seeming far more crazed than Ulith's, maybe even more so than Akira's own trademarked sneer. Several black sparks raged through the palm before a black ring with a dark red aura to it formed in that same hand. Shiro moved her arm backwards before thrusting it forwards, hurling the black ring towards God Eater. The dark object encircled the former White SIGNI before sparks raged across her, causing the SIGNI to scream loudly until she slumped into a lifeless state, vanishing from the battlefield. As Aichi could only watch in shock and horror, God Eater's card moved to his Trash Pile. In the center SIGNI space on Ulith's table appeared another Code Anti Cryskull.

(End Music)

"Attack!" she declared.

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Limit)

Both Energe, now darkened thanks to the reversed Shiro's power and Nemain managed to quickly overpower Tranquil Unicorn and Axe, Large Breaker with little effort from the power that they commanded. Cryskull on the other hand with no SIGNI to battle against in front of her, aimed her staff at both Blaster Blade and Alfred who could only brace themselves for the oncoming onslaught. The Black SIGNI fired a bolt of energy from her staff which struck both units at the same time, bringing up a small explosion upon impact. Aichi's next Life Cloth revealed Seeker, Loving Healer, the card reverting back to its original White colored self upon entering his Ener Zone before glowing to indicate its Life Burst had been triggered.

"I recover one Life Cloth!" the Royal Paladin user called as the top card of his deck moved to his remaining Life Cloths.

"Shiro, let us begin," Ulith spoke "Shatter the will of Sendou Aichi as you overwhelm all before you!"

"... Shiro... wants to destroy!" the LRIG called out as she flew across the battlefield, eventually ending up right in front of Alfred before he had a chance to properly defend himself. Shiro dealt a devastating punch to the gut of the King of Knights, causing him to fall backwards in pain. When the LRIG turned her attention to Blaster Blade, she began with a kick towards him whilst he held out his blade to block it. The Swordsman of Light struggled to hold her at bay through her barrage of punches and kicks until she eventually found an opening and charged all of the dark power surrounding her into a single kick that sent him into the air before he fell backwards onto the table.

"Blaster Blade!" cried Aichi as he looked on in concern. As Shiro retreated back to Ulith's table, before he could ask again, the cardfighter suddenly cried out in pain as a terrifying, but all too familiar feeling throbbed through him. A red aura briefly surrounded him before he shook himself to clear it away.

"My... Vanguard...!" Blaster Blade panted as he struggled back onto his feet. He wasn't the only one concerned about the state the cardfighter was currently in as of now. Everyone else up in the tower could only look down in worry, none more so than Hitoe, Yuzuki and Kai.

"That's what happened when Kai faced Iona when she entered her Ultima/Maiden form!" the LRIG gasped.

"It's the same pattern..." Kai muttered "The attacks of the reversed Shiro are interacting with the Seed fragment that's embedded inside of Aichi."

"Stay strong out there, Aichi!" Naoki called out loud, hoping that the Royal Paladin user would at least hear his words of encouragement. But with the height of the tower taken into account and how far away Aichi was, both Ren and Leon weren't so sure.

"Aichi..." Hitoe murmured nervously.

Down on the field, Aichi panted as he struggled to get himself together, as did Alfred who had finally recovered from the worst of Shiro's attack on him, at least for now.

This must have been what Kai-kun felt when he faced Ruko-san... he thought, still trying to recover his breath. It feels like the Seed fragment is trying to use the Reverse taken from Shiro's attack to take me over. But... for the sake of her and Ruko-san, I won't give up!

Ulith just watched on as he meet her gaze once more, now recovered from his brief resistance to that power. She made a simple gesture to signal the end of her turn.

End of Turn 7

Aichi vs Ulith

Hand - 4 : 2

Life Cloths - 3 : 4

Current LRIGs - Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv (Legioned with Blaster Blade) : Tamayorihime, Sunspot Miko

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Energe, Original Spear - Code Anti Cryskull - Skull Witch, Nemain

Ener - 3 : 2

As Aichi regained his breath, he looked out at the field in front of him. Shiro was still looking as maniac as she was earlier, thanks to the full power of Reverse now coursing through her veins due to Ulith's own doing. As he drew from his deck to begin the turn, the Selector had chosen to speak out at this very moment.

"It's very sad if you ask me."

"Huh?"

The Royal Paladin user blinked in confusion, unsure as to what Ulith was actually meaning in what she was saying to him. The Selector merely sneered, as if she was indeed expecting that reaction to come from him.

"Earlier in this battle," she spoke "You said that you would save everyone, Selector and LRIG alike by fighting your way through the Selector Battles in order to find your own way to Mayu. But..." Her lips then pursed a sinister smile, one that had sent both Blaster Blade and Alfred on edge, wondering what she was planning to say next to Aichi. "The real irony of the matter is, the filth that you intend to save from this neverending cycle... will be the same scum that you'll break apart yourself!"

(End Music)

"W... What do you mean?!" Aichi gasped, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

"That's the point," replied Ulith "In your desire to meet the one behind the Selector Battles, to put an end to the 'madness' as you see it... You'll taint their wishes."

"Th… That's not true!" he replied, a hint of panic starting to arise in his voice.

"That is the absolute truth," the Selector continued, her tone growing far more sinister by the second. "In order to become a candidate for an Eternal Girl or in your case, an Eternal Boy, a first I may add, in order to meet Mayu, you have to defeat other Selectors in battle. When a Selector loses 3 times, their wish becomes tainted and true despair is brought upon them. You may not taint a wish directly, but you can certainly contribute to it."

Aichi's eyes widened in disbelief, but mostly horror as to what Ulith was saying to him. Then it suddenly hit him harder than he anticpated. He remembered back to what Hanayo had explained about the Selector Battles to him, including the consequences for both the victors and the losers. Everything that he wanted to do to help the LRIGs and the Selectors that were caught up in this whole mess... it now felt all wrong to him. He would never go out of his way to hurt someone, but it appeared that if he was going to find Takuto and free everyone from the Selector Battles, he didn't have a choice. Up in the tower, everyone could see what was going on beneath them and could only stare on in shock as their friend was completely frozen in fear, unsure of how to respond to Ulith and what she had posed in front of him.

"No way..." murmured Hitoe.

"Even now, from everything we've learned... Ulith's practically bringing up the truth of the risks involved," Yuzuki muttered, growling under her breath.

"Hurting people in one way or another with his own hands goes against everything that Sendou stands for, something that he himself is well aware of," Leon spoke "And unfortunately, it appears that Ulith was already prepared to use that to her advantage." Neither Kai, Ren or Naoki said anything, but their disgruntled expressions showed that they silently agreed with the Aqua Force user's statement. Back down on the field, both Alfred and Blaster Blade could only look up at Aichi, noticing that his breathing was getting hectic and that his expression was even more panicked that it was before.

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Crawling Chaos)

"I... I won't taint their wishes!" he cried.

"You won't have a choice," Ulith replied smugly "You're either going to beat me and then advance onwards in the Selector Battles until you reach the person you want to see, all whilst crushing the wishes of a few insignificant Selectors, or you're going to be beaten 3 times and 'let them all down' as you put it, just to save their own skin. Of course, with your units being from Cray, who knows what would happen to them if you were to go ahead and do that. Then again, if you were like me in what I live for in these battles, this should be common knowledge to you."

"W... What do you mean...?!" Aichi asked, panic arising in his voice. Ulith then closed her eyes, before pursing her lips for a brief moment.

"Image it," she spoke "Experience the memories of my enjoyment and the screams of those I have broken!"

Before he could do anything, his eyes suddenly glowed a bright rainbow colour, indicating that Ulith had somehow activated his PSY Qualia without his own will or consent as the entire field around him went completely pitch black, obscuring Blaster Blade, Alfred, Tama and everyone watching him from the tower. The entire area had gone completely dark, with no sign of Ulith either. All was silent as Aichi could only look around for any signs of life until the sound of fingers snapping echoed throughout the image he now found himself in. A loud female shriek sounded throughout the space as he was forced to cover his ears from the loudness before the blackness around him began to fade away.

Aichi could only gasp in horror at what he saw before his eyes. There before him seemed to be the form of dozens of girls, around a little below his age, some even younger. What frightened him the most was all of their expressions littered throughout their faces. Their eyes were seemingly lifeless, as if the most devastating thing in their entire lives had completely broken them apart, leaving them with nothing but their own despair to wallow about in. Aichi could only shiver when he heard a sobbing noise come from one of the girls laying on the ground before him, unable to even imagine about what she had been through. He then froze stiff in an instant as he felt a frightening presence come up towards him from behind. His eyes moved to their left, his answer was that of a single fingernail from the slender left hand of Ulith which slid gently down the side of his cheek.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" she spoke, almost as if she was coldly whispering right into his ear. "After all, a similar result will be bound to happen with you, soon enough."

"Why…?" he quivered "What good can come from harming other Selectors?!"

"My, you really are persistant aren't you?" she spoke "I already told you. This is what I live for in the Selector Battles. I'm surprised you haven't felt the same, considering you were all too willing to sell out a friend's memories just to save a meaningless world. If I recall correctly from the person who told me, Kourin was her name. That must be easy for someone whose cardfighting life has had practically no consequences on the world there."

"B... But..."

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot," Ulith continued "You have felt the need for breaking others before, just as I have. The first time you felt PSY Qualia enter your life, you were completely unstoppable, everyone you fought broke down before your superior might." Aichi's distraught eyes could only widen in horror upon hearing what she had just brought up which only led to even more questions about the Selector brewing up in his head by the instant.

"H... How did you...?!" he gasped, his voice almost becoming a whimper.

"I know everything about you," she cut in, reappearing on his right. "It's truely a shame that Kai Toshiki had to ruin your fun back then, otherwise I'd been more than happy to take you under my wing." Much like a certain lap-dog.

"N... No! I won't hurt the people around me again!" cried Aichi "I'm no longer that same person!"

"I can sense your indecisiveness," Ulith spoke "It appears that your 2 years outside of breaking others through PSY Qualia has taken its toll on you. Perhaps this will change your mind."

Upon clicking her fingers once again, the many bodies of the broken Selectors in front of them screamed loudly in pain and despair as Aichi could only stare in horror, the noise and the image before him ended up engraved into his mind.

"Stop it...!" he cried.

But his plea had fallen on deaf ears. The folowing laughter of Ulith and the screams from the Selectors in her image continued ringing through his head. Aichi could only remain still as the noise got the better of him, feeling powerless to anything as he allowed her words to sink in. Was he really willing to do anything it took to save everyone in the Selector Battles by hurting them whether he wanted to do so or not? He didn't want to believe it at all, nor did he even want that image to come true.

"STOP IT!" he cried out loud, the screams ringing in his head finally ceasing their long drawn out noise and his sense of reality finally returning him back to the battlefield that he was previously at. Aichi panted heavily, having barely managed to last through the 'torture' that Ulith had just put him through. It was scary enough that she was already capable of harming anyone she pleased, but managing to show him an image that could come true from his own actions was something else entirely. Upon noticing his expression and what he intended to do next, Blaster Blade raised a hand to try and interject something.

"Wait, my Vanguard!" he called.

"I attack with Alfred Exiv and Blaster Blade!" Aichi declared. As the blue aura from the previous turn surrounded Blaster Blade and Alfred, Ulith just smirked.

"Honestly, at this point you're just struggling," she mused, interrupting his declaration "Not that it matters. Sunspot Miko's Exceed effect! By Exceeding 5 cards, your SIGNI and LRIGs are downed meaning they can't attack this turn!"

Shiro then held out her hands, shooting two beams of black energy towards the Royal Paladin units, shocking them into submission as their cards downed themselves, preventing them from attacking for the turn. Aichi could only look even more distraught than he already was, feeling that the only person he could blame for the situation and what could come in the near future was himself. He looked down on the table as several tears leaked out from his eyelids as he could only utter two words from his mouth.

"... Turn end..."

(End Music)


Uh oh. Aichi's fallen prey to Ulith's mind games and is now on the recieving end due to a fatal misplay. With the truth of what impact his actions could have on the Selector Battles seemingly broken out to him, all appears lost. Can Aichi recover from the 'truth' that Ulith has presented him with or find a way out of this most harmful of predicaments or has his fate truely been sealed. Find out next time on the penultimate chapter that covers over his confrontation with Ulith. Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I'll see you on the next update. Until then!

*This first plays in Episode 72 when Aichi attacks during the turn he rides Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel.

*This plays in Episode 193 when Aichi rides Star-vader, Blaster Joker.