Hello everyone and welcome back to the climax of Aichi vs Ulith! Last time, things took a turn for the weird as Umr, who Aichi reunites with in his forced stupor now proves to be very much real as she unintentionally, but briefly takes control over the cardfighter in order convince him to to use Ulith's own Lockdown Barrier against the Selector so he can manifest the conscious of 'Project: Locked Soul' herself as an LRIG to fight by his side. With the cardfighter finally back on the offensive, what will unfold from this sudden turn of events? Read on to find out!


The White Room

Mayu stared out into the window that was directly in front of her, showing the battle that had been raging on for the last few moments. Several minutes earlier, she had recieved word from Photon that his soldiers had run into the same 'hiccup' they came across with 'Project: Locked Soul'. The mastermind, annoyed by this turn of events had ordered him to see to the problem immediately whilst she continued to monitor the current battle that had caught her attention. That was when things had taken a turn for the shocking. The moment that Aichi was able to take advantage of Ulith's Lockdown Barrier to grow Umr into battle had all but confirmed her suspicions. At the same time though, this had indeed raised her intrigue. Not just in the Royal Paladin user's PSY Qualia, but his own abilities as well.

Despite how much fury that was currently seething through her head at the sight of Umr fighting alongside Aichi, mainly because of Ulith's own doing, Mayu couldn't help but smile a little. The Selector did succeed in exploiting a weakness within the cardfighter and although it was possibly too late to use such a tactic again at this stage of the battle, there were always... other opportunities. That and Mayu herself was intrigued to see how the battle would conclude now that the odds were seemingly going back into his favour. However, even she was aware that Shiro, now darkened by the power of Reverse, was still waiting in the wings to get back on the offensive to finish both him and Umr off. Glancing over towards Ulith from the changed view of the window, she kept a hard gaze upon her, expecting the Selector to finish the battle and make the Royal Paladin user one less wrench in her plans to worry about.

Selector Battlefield

(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Culmination)

Back on the battlefield, Aichi gazed towards Ulith as Umr did towards Shiro, a sign of their upcoming clash about to befall the four of them. The reversed LRIG looked over towards the mysterious black LRIG, smiling maliciously as the all too familiar aura flowed through her again Over in the tower, Kai, Hitoe, Yuzuki, Ren and Leon could only look down towards the field, they too also eager to anticipate as to what was to happen next. Taking a few deep breaths, the Royal Paladin user steeled himself before holding out one arm in front of him, indicating that he made his decision clear.

"Umr, attack Shiro!" he called.

"Understood..." she spoke.

As soon as Aichi's command was given, the keys that were hanging off the two wing structures on either side of the LRIG had suddenly straightened themselves out as if they almost had a mind of their own. Umr took a brief stance on her feet before leaping into the air, clutching the giant key she held tightly as she did so. When she did, several bursts of purplish energy suddenly erupted from the gaps that were present between each key on her 'wings', causing Umr to accelerate forwards through the air and across the battlefield towards Shiro. The reversed LRIG, seemingly caught off guard by the sudden maneuver began charging up energy within the palms of her hands and frantically hurling it in the form of several black orbs at Umr.

The black LRIG at first remained motionless as she came towards the oncoming projectiles. Holding out the giant key out in front of her for a few moments, she made one swift motion with the object, slashing past the orbs and causing them to detonate long after she passed them. Before Shiro could gasp in shock, Umr was right in front of the reversed LRIG in an instant, holding the key she wielded above her head. When a few short moments had passed, the black LRIG slashed the front of her opponent with a powerful strike from the object she held before retreating back to Aichi's table. Ulith who had remained unfazed from the result eyed her final Life Cloth, which was another Revive Flare.

Whilst the Selector kept her earlier smile plastered on her lips, Umr had returned to the cardfighter, the aura that was between the keys on her wing structures having faded away when she was back on her bare feet. Over in the tower, everyone in one way or another was surprised from the brief clash that had occurred before them.

"She's quick..." murmured Hitoe.

"I guess Umr is full of surprises," muttered Yuzuki.

"Well, you can't argue about that," Ren mused "I can only wonder what else she has, considering that Aichi had prior knowledge of her."

Neither Kai or Leon said anything in response, but anyone could tell from their hard expressions that they agreed in retrospect with the Shadow Paladin user. They continued to look down on the battlefield to see how things would play out from this moment onwards, especially since Ulith's turn was coming up. Speaking of whom, the cruel demanored Selector had begun giggling under her breath, catching everyone's attention, just as Shiro got back onto her feet. The black ring that was behind the reversed LRIG cracked slightly, but not enough for any fragments to fall off the structure.

"To think you still had this much fight left in you..." Ulith mused whilst she had her eyes closed. "I must say Sendou Aichi, you never cease to amaze me."

"What is she talking about?" Umr asked, glancing up to Aichi.

"I'm not sure..." he murmured in reply. Then before he knew it, he was suddenly clutching his head in pain, screaming as he did so. As the LRIG turned to him in concern, she suddenly looked at her arm. Then she gasped in shock and looked all around her body. It appeared to her and Aichi, by the time he raised his head that she was fading in and out in a constant, but consistant rhythm. The Royal Paladin user groaned as he looked back across the field towards his opponent.

"It seems you've realized it," Ulith spoke.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Hasn't it become obvious to you?" the Selector continued "The only reason Umr has even able to exist in this space is because of your PSY Qualia! Because of how long I've been manipulating it for along with your own efforts to keep her manifested on your side of the field, you've been getting weaker!"

"So then...!"

"Then this must mean... that when you run out of strength..." Umr murmured as she gazed upon her fading right arm. "Then I will vanish from this battlefield..."

"Precisely," replied Ulith "Should an LRIG abruptly vanish from the battlefield for some strange reason, then it is considered an act of surrender for their Selector. In other words, once Aichi runs out of strength to keep you in play..."

"... Then you'll automatically win the battle..." Aichi groaned as the glow of PSY Qualia from within his blue eyes, including the right eye that had turned light blue when Umr had briefly possesed him, intensified. As he breathed heavily, a trickle of sweat briefly dripped down his cheek and dropped onto the table's hard surface, catching said LRIG's attention. She wasn't the only one to notice him suffering from the side effects of his PSY Qualia being activated for so long, having had to use it to bring her into battle so they could win together. Up from the tower, everyone could only stare down at Aichi, concerned about the scenario that he now found himself in.

"What the hell?!" gasped Naoki.

"So let me get this straight..." muttered Yuzuki "If Aichi doesn't keep his PSY Qualia activated, Umr will vanish meaning an automatic victory for Ulith. But if he does keep it active..."

"He'll be straining himself," Kai answered, finishing the LRIG's explanation for her. He glanced down towards Aichi, concerned that he would be able to hold on for as long as he could, let alone last long enough to save Shiro from Ulith's clutches. As the Royal Paladin user eventually got himself back together, he looked down at Umr as she eventually stopped fading, for now at least, before turning his attention back to the Selector in front of him.

"Turn... end..." he panted.

"At this moment," Ulith cut in "Since Lockdown Barrier wears off at this turn's End Phase, its effect also unlocks my SIGNI."

(End Music)

As if right on cue to her explanation, both of the Selector's SIGNI and the Shadow Paladin unit that she had locked earlier immediately became unlocked as the black spheres and the rings surrounding them had faded away. In turn, their cards were also flipped face up on her table.

End of Turn 10

Aichi vs Ulith

Hand - 3 : 3

Life Cloths - 0 : 0

Current LRIGs - Umr=Fyra, Wielder of the Key of Impartiality : Tamayorihime, Sunspot Miko

SIGNI : Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes - Axe, Large Breaker - God Eater, Ultimate Sword : Energe, Original Spear - Code Anti Cryskull - Skull Witch, Nemain

Ener - 6 : 6

At first, all was silent on the battlefield, with the exception of Aichi's heavy breathing as he struggled to keep on taking the strain of his PSY Qualia, if it meant keeping Umr in the battle long enough for him to defeat Ulith and save Shiro. At last, the cruel demanored Selector had opened her eyes, the unnerving glint from within now having surfaced from her once more. She pursed her lips as she came around to speaking some all too familiar words to all that were present within the battlefield.

"Final Turn."

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Judgment of Яeverse)*

Whilst Aichi could only silently gasp at the declaration that was spoken out before him and everyone else up in the tower could only stare down in horror, concerned about what was to come, Umr could only stare blankly at Ulith as she drew her cards. Glancing closely at them, she placed them into her hand before holding out one arm. The Code Anti Cryskull that was out on her field vanished as the card moved to her Ener Zone before Kukri, Small Sword appeared in its place in the same center SIGNI space. The Selector sneered as she gazed upon Aichi, who had almost flinched from this.

"It appears that hope has completely deserted you," she spoke "Now then, allow me to end your poor suffering taken from the earlier truth by defeating your new ally. I activate's Shiro's skill twice, Eradication Lock!"

As all four of the black cards from Ulith's Ener Zone moved straight to her Trash Pile, two large black rings materialized in the palms of the reversed LRIG's hands as she raised them above her head and behind before hurling them towards Aichi's table. The rings encircled both God Eater and Palamedes as they cried out loud in pain before sparks raged through the black rings. In an instant, they vanished along with both the SIGNI and the Royal Paladin unit whose cards had moved to Aichi's Trash Pile. As he looked at the cards for a brief moment, he then suddenly cried out loud and clutched his head with his right hand, seemingly in pain just as he was a few moments.

At the same time, Umr suddenly began fading in and out once again as Aichi struggled to keep up the strain of his PSY Qualia remaining activated, groaning as he did so. He brought up his head back into view as the LRIG eventually stopped fading again, but he was still clutching a hold of it to try and keep both his focus and himself steady as he could only wonder what Ulith had planned for him next. Little did he know was that the answer would come his way in precisely four seconds as the Selector suddenly snapped her fingers.

"And Gothic Boundary!" she called "I return Axe to your hand!"

As the last three cards from her Ener Zone moved to her Trash Pile, the ARTS revealed itself from her LRIG deck and shot out a bright white beam of light that struck Axe, Large Breaker, causing it to vanish from the battlefield. Aichi could only glance down at the cards he held in his left hand as he now saw that Axe's card was amongst them once again. He gritted his teeth, both in pain from the strain of his PSY Qualia and in bitterness from the situation that was now before him. Ulith had practically wiped his field clean, he had no Guard SIGNI present in his hand and she still hadn't declared an attack during this turn. Umr glanced up at the cardfighter, noticing his expression before briefly looking behind her to see Shiro's evil smile as she eyed the black LRIG maliciously.

She was impatiently awaiting Ulith's signal to allow her to finish them off, evidenced by the fact that she was already charging up more energy in the palms of her hands, evidenced by the black sparks that were raging about. Speaking of the Selector, her gaze had not left Aichi for even one moment as she giggled sinisterly under her breath.

"Well, I must say, you did indeed put up a good fight," she mused "But your efforts have come to nought! An attack from Shiro or any of my SIGNI will be enough to finish you and Umr off. This is the end, Sendou Aichi!"

As Umr clutched her giant key tightly, bracing herself for the worst to come, Aichi slowly, but steadily moved his right hand off of his head as he reached out towards his LRIG deck, having had something in mind for this occasion.

"A... ARTS!" he called, still under the strain of his PSY Qualia. "Pinch Defense...! I prevent Shiro and Energe from attacking this turn...!"

As three of the white cards from his Ener Zone moved to his Trash Pile, which turned Black upon entering there, the ARTS revealed itself and shot out two rope like light beams which wrapped around both Energe and Shiro, preventing them from going after Umr. The reversed LRIG shrieked loudly and struggled to no avail, ranting under her breath. Ulith simply huffed, not concerned with the result.

"Now you're just getting desperate," she spoke "I still have two SIGNI left to attack with and you have nothing left to stop me."

Whilst Aichi and Umr could only stare on at her, over in the the tower, everyone's concerns had greatly risen, considering that the Royal Paladin user was still in the worst case scenario. Although he sealed off Shiro and Energe's attacks for the turn, Ulith still had two SIGNI she could attack with and one was just enough to end the battle itself. And who knew what would happen next if that result were to befall Aichi.

"Damn it!" growled Naoki "Just what can Aichi do now?!"

"I... don't know if I can watch..." Hitoe murmured nervously.

"Aichi..." Kai muttered, still greatly concerned for the Royal Paladin user's state and felt bitter for being powerless to do anything.

"My, this certainly is not good," Ren mused as he looked down on the field, before glancing over towards Aichi's table. "But... there is still hope for him."

"Indeed," Leon spoke "It is just a matter of Sendou figuring it out and having enough strength to keep Umr manisfested for just long enough."

Whilst Yuzuki could only look up at the two cardfighters in confusion as to what they actually meant, she then turned her attention back down to the field, praying that Aichi would hang on and be able to save Shiro whilst he still had a chance. Ulith meanwhile had raised her hand high into the air before pointing it right towards Aichi.

"Well then... Have a nice trip into despair!" she called "Nemain attacks Umr!"

As the Shadow Paladin witch held up her crystal skull, with purple sparks surrounding the object, Aichi quickly reached out for one of the cards in his hand.

"I use my Servant D2's Multi Ener effect as a Black card for Umr and use Plume Wall Angel!" he called as he revealed the card.

"What?!"

Before Ulith could exclaim in utter shock as to how or why this was possible, Plume Wall Angel suddenly appeared in a bright flash of light, righ in front of Umr, much to the LRIG's surprise. Alongside the Seeker were two God Eater, Ultimate Swords, two Margals and a single Servant D, more than enough reinforcements that were required to block Nemain's attack due to the strength of the newly formed Quintet Wall. As Nemain gritted her teeth and depowered the crystal skulll that she held by lowering it, the Quintet Wall along with the SIGNI and the Royal Paladin unit vanished as the 5 cards that were called from the top of Aichi's deck were moved to his Ener Zone.

"He blocked it!" Naoki called, now relieved by the outcome.

"But... there's still one more..." Yuzuki pointed out.

Back on the field, Ulith could only grit her teeth in complete annoyance. She had not expected Aichi to last this long against her and now, he was barely hanging on, blocking attack after attack that she was throwing in both his and Umr's way. The Selector quickly regained her composure, albeit only a little.

"My... you really are stubborn..." she mused "No matter. Kukri, final attack!"

As the Level 1 White SIGNI dashed across the battlefield towards Umr who simply held out her key in front of her, preparing for the final clash, Ulith could only sneer in triumph. But that expression only lasted for exactly two seconds as her smile turned to shock and disbelief as she saw Aichi reach out for another card in his hand.

"Quintet Wall!" he called as he revealed another Plume Wall Angel from his hand.

As if on cue, the Royal Paladin user appeared in front of Umr once again, along with the final 3 cards from the cardfighter's deck, revealing Paladmedes and two Axe, Large Breakers. The unit and the two SIGNI joined Plume Wall Angel as a green circle appeared in front of them, just in the nick of time to deflect Kukri's attack as her sword bounced off the barrier with no effect. When the 4 figures vanished from Aichi's table, 3 of their cards entering his Ener Zone, all of the cards in his Trash Pile suddenly flew into the air all at once and rearranged themselves before landing back in the space where his deck formerely was. This came as no surprise to Aichi himself however, having already been familiar with that rule thanks to both Kazuki and Hanayo.

Ulith however could only growl under her breath in both annoyance and complete fury. She had him exactly where she wanted him and thanks to Umr along with some well preserved defence, he had outlasted all of her attacks.

"You are really starting to get under my skin..." she huffed "No one has escaped the truth of the Selector Battles or my 'entertainment' and I'll certainly ensure you won't be the first! Turn end!"

(End Music)

End of Turn 11

Aichi vs Ulith

Hand - 2 : 4

Life Cloths - 0 : 0

Current LRIGs - Umr=Fyra, Wielder of the Key of Impartiality : Tamayorihime, Sunspot Miko

SIGNI : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : Energe, Original Spear - Kukri, Small Sword - Skull Witch, Nemain

Ener - 10 : 0

"He did it!" called Naoki "Aichi survived Ulith's attacks!"

"Thank goodness..." said Hitoe, letting out a breath of relief, as did Yuzuki.

"Well, he was certainly cutting it close," murmured Ren. Neither Kai or Leon said anything in response, but both were in silent agreement in regards to the current scenario at hand. Whilst it was true Aichi had managed to recover thanks to Umr and the cards he had leftover in his hand, he was still at an overwhelming disadvantage. Ulith still had three SIGNI in play, double the number of cards that she had in her hand compared to his and it was safe to assume she still had one or two ARTS at her disposal. If Aichi was still planning to save Shiro from Reverse, he had to do it now.

Speaking of whom, the cardfighter panted for a short moment as the strain of his PSY Qualia had almost got the better of him once again as he drew his cards to begin his turn. Umr who had noticed this turned up to him.

"Aichi... If you plan to win this battle now, you need to do it on this turn," she spoke "I can sense you only have enough strength left to last for not very long."

"I... understand... Umr..." Aichi groaned as he looked over towards the LRIG deck, now knowing exactly what to do. He reached out for the cards present there and looked amongst them. There were only two cards left for him to use in that White backed deck. The first was Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei. She would have been beneficial to have out either now or the previous turn, but he had to use Umr to get around Ulith's Lockdown Barrier meaning that she wouldn't help him now. The other was a White ARTS that was completely new to him called Arc Destruct. He took the ARTS and held it towards him, after placing back Ashlei's card first before going deep into thought, reminiscing about how he obtained this card in the first place.

Flashback

Shortly after Aichi and Hanayo had left Yuzuki's home in search of Kai earlier in the day, the former LRIG now in possession of the Selector's body, to which Aichi wasn't aware of at the time of this memory, had something on her mind that she had been meaning to tell the cardfighter. Or at least, something that she had been meaning to hand over to him as a reward from their earlier battle. She lightly tapped his shoulder, getting his attention over towards her. Aichi stopped and then turned around, confused as to why she had wanted him to stop for a moment before noticing what was in her right hand. That object was a single card with a white backing.

"This is something I wanted to give you after our battle," she said, handing it over to him "I feel you could use it."

"Arc Destruct?" he murmured, glancing closely at the ARTS.

"I think it's better off with you," Hanayo explained "It's powerful, but it conflicts with the strategy of my own deck."

"I see..." said Aichi as he got out his deck case and slipped the card inside before placing the card back into his jacket pocket. "Thank you very much, Yuzuki-san."

"You're welcome," she replied "Now let's find your friend."

"Yeah," he answered as the two continued onwards through the city streets.

Present

Aichi kept his eyes closed as the memory that he went back over eventually concluded.

Thank you Hanayo-san. I won't let your gift to me go to waste.

He then opened his eyes, focused directly on Shiro.

"Shiro!" he called "I promise you, that I will save you from the power that's plaguing you! And that together, I'm sure, we can definitely save Ruko-san! Isn't that what you wanted?!"

"Keh, so you've met the 'destined Selector' herself," Ulith spat "Well, regardless of what you speak of, you won't succeed in defeating me nor will you even be able to 'save' Ruko as you so claim! That is, if she even wanted saving in the first place!"

"What do you mean, Ulith?!" asked Aichi.

"Oh never mind about that," she spoke "All that matters is, your final hope has faded away."

The Royal Paladin user simply closed his eyes as he held the card he picked out of his LRIG deck high into the air as the two Margal cards from his Ener Zone moved over to the now empty Trash Pile. When this occurred, Aichi opened his eyes, his PSY Qualia glowing brighter than ever before, the rainbow coloured aura now covering over his entire body.

"I activate the ARTS, Arc Destruct!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Mae he Susumutame ni)

When the ARTS revealed itself to all, a bright glow surrounded Umr as the lights of several familar figures revealed themselves into the presence of all on the battlefield, friend, foe and spectator alike. Three of these figures revealed themselves to be File, Marron and Alfred who emerged from the bright flashes of light. From the cardfighters observing the battlefield, they would know all too well that these were three of Aichi's all too familiar Royal Paladin units. Umr stared at the three units, somewhat surprised from their presence now being around her.

"I see..." she murmured "You are all of Aichi's past companions..."

"Indeed, strange presence," replied Alfred "Or Umr, as my Vanguard now calls you. I can now see he was correct in trusting in you."

"We'll lend our strength to the two of you," spoke Marron.

"So don't let it go to waste!" called File "For his and Blaster Blade's sakes!"

"... I understand..." said Umr "His burden now shared with mine."

Aichi nodded in agreement before suddenly clutching his head in pain once again, though he was quick to shake off the pain of the strain that was now beginning to take its toll on him. Focusing his attention Ulith, the Selector merely glanced down at the cards in her hand and smirked.

"I am aware of how powerful your last ditch attempt is," she mused "But I'm more than ready for you. So, as the saying goes, give me your best shot!" Her tone had gone sinister at the last part, as if she already knew what was to come. That didn't faze Aichi though as he turned his attention down to Umr.

"Umr, we need to destroy the ring that's behind Shiro," he said "If we do that, not only will we win, we'll free her from the power controlling her!"

"Understood," she replied, taking up a stance to attack, as did the Royal Paladin units that were now beside her.

"Umr, attack Sunspot Miko!" Aichi declared as he held out his arm in a commanding like fashion.

The keys on Umr's wing structures straightened themselves out once again as the purplish energy from before emerged between each key before boosting the LRIG forwards, allowing her to take flight across the battlefield towards Shiro. Due to the aura that now surrounded them, the Royal Paladin units that were called upon by Arc Destruct also took flight, charging across the field alongside Umr to meet their opponent. Ulith however felt that she was more than prepared as she reached out for one of the cards that was in her hand.

"Mac Lir!" she called.

The Shadow Paladin unit suddenly appeared a few inches in front of Umr and the Royal Paladins, arming both of his shields and generating a green circle in front of him. Marron and File looked at one another and nodded before charging ahead of Umr and ramming themselves right into the shield, allowing both her and the King of Knights to pass by the shield.

"Using Arc Destruct's effect," Aichi explained "By Exceeding 2 cards from underneath Umr, she can be upped for another attack."

"I'm already well aware of that," Ulith cut in before she took out another card from her hand and revealed it to the Royal Paladin user. "I Guard once again!"

Another Mac Lir appeared just a few meters away from the Selector's table and just like before, he generated a large green circle to prevent Umr's attack from getting through. As the LRIG could only grit her teeth as she and Alfred advanced closer and closer towards the Shadow Paladin unit, Ulith's expression had gone far more crazed as she began cackling madly, believing that the result had already been decided.

"You put up an admirable effort, but it has all been for nought!" she called "You don't have enough LRIGs stacked underneath Umr's card to initiate the one attack you need to end this battle! Then, when my turn begins, one attack from Shiro will be more than enough to end you!"

"You're wrong about that!" replied Aichi.

"What are... WHAT IS THIS?!"

To her shock, Ulith was seeing another bright white aura surround Umr, much to the LRIG's surprise . It suddenly left her as if it was already taking on a form of its own and to everyone's surprise, with the exception of Aichi, that form was being taken on by an all too familiar figure. Or rather, as the brightness faded out, an all too familiar Swordsman of Light.

"Ahmes?! But that's impossible! The only card that should be left beneath Umr is..." Ulith then suddenly gasped in horror, having now realized what had indeed happened, or least, what she believed could have happened. "DON'T TELL ME!"

"That's right," Aichi answered for her "When I grew Umr over Alfred Exiv through your own Lockdown Barrier on the previous turn, Blaster Blade's card as it was in Legion, also moved into the stack beneath her card. Therefore, I can use him and Alfred to pay Arc Destruct's cost again for one more attack!"

As those words were spoken, Ulith could only look down on the remaining two cards in her hand, frustration now raging through her head. One of them was a Quintet Wall, but because she had used up all of her Ener in clearing Aichi's field the previous turn, she had none left to pay the cost for the effect. As Umr approached Mac Lir's shield, Alfred went out in front of her and raised up his sword before bringing it down on the barrier. He then turned to both the LRIG and Blaster Blade.

"Advance quickly!" he called.

"Understood, your majesty!" replied Blaster Blade as he turned to Umr, who nodded in agreement before the two advanced past the Shadow Paladin unit and began flying up into the air via the auras that surrounded them. As Ulith could only stare up at the two in horror, realizing there was nothing she could do to stop them, they held up their weapons high above their head before diving down towards Shiro, whose expression was exactly the same as the Selector she was trapped to. As Shiro remained frozen in shock, Umr was the first to reach her, landing on her feet and bringing down the key to knock the reversed LRIG backwards and into the air, just in time for Blaster Blade himself to bring down his blade, not upon Shiro herself, but the cracked black ring that was behind.

(End Music)

With a mighty smash, the Blaster Blade itself cut right through the black ring like a knife through hot butter. The object instantly shattered into hundreds and thousands of tiny fragments that landed outside of the LRIG space on Ulith's table. The Swordsman of Light landed on his feet and quickly rushed over to catch Shiro in his arms just before she landed back first on the table's hard surface. Umr quickly rushed to join Blaster Blade and looked upon the LRIG, just in time to see the Reverse aura leaving her, as both the cards that represented her Sunspot Miko form and both copies of Lockdown Barrier from Ulith's Trash Pile suddenly disintergrated with the Reverse aura having left them as well.

Meanwhile on the other side of the field, Aichi panted as he looked on towards Blaster Blade, Umr and Shiro, the strain of his PSY Qualia having at last managed to take its toll on him. He could see that the black LRIG was fading, although this had not come as much as a surprise to both of them. They both knew she would vanish when he would run out of strength, although she had partially anticipated that she would have vanished before the battle would. As Blaster Blade looked over towards her fading form, he offered out one hand towards her as he rested the now unconscious Shiro on the ground between them, gently.

"Both my Vanguard and I owe you a great deal of thanks, Umr," he spoke.

"... Naturally..." the LRIG replied as she held out her fading hand towards his own before the two briefly shook their exchanged hands. She glanced over towards Aichi, now tired out from his ordeal and for the first time since she had seen him, she let out a small, but natural smile. She closed her eyes as she eventually prepared to accept her inevital fate. Meanwhile, Ulith who had been watching the whole ordeal was infuriated. The Selector was almost tempted to thrust a fist towards the group on her table, but knew it was unwise to do so as Blaster Blade was still armed and ready to defend both himself and Shiro. Meanwhile, Aichi breathed slowly as the hard fight was now finally over.

"I... did it..." he panted as he finally felt his strength leave him as he fell face forwards onto the table. When he did, Umr finally disappeared from the battlefield along with any traces of her, including the card that represented her on the LRIG space of Aichi's table. After that had happened, the entire battlefield had gone completely dark, obscuring everything in pitch black.


Ruko's School: Rooftop

When everyone's sense of reality had finally returned to them, the now drained Aichi fell straight to the floor, unconscious as a result of his strength leaving him thanks to his PSY Qualia being kept activated for so long. When he hit the ground, everyone watching stared in both shock and worry. Everyone except for Ulith who was still scowling fiercly under her breath.

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Hesitation)

"Aichi!" called Kai as he attempted to force himself forwards, only to nearly fall upon forgetting about and partially wincing in pain as a result due his earlier injury. Luckily for him, Naoki managed to catch him again in the nick of time before the Kagero user hit the floor, face first. Whilst both Ren and Leon had turned their attention to Ulith, Hitoe had already ran over to the Royal Paladin user, coming over to his side and holding him up by his right shoulder.

"Are you alright Aichi?!" she asked in concern.

To fuel her worry even more, there was no reply. Then in a few moments, she could feel the cardfighter's gentle breathing which was a bit of reassurance for her and everyone else, but even she knew that he was in quite a state. As did Yuzuki who looked over towards Aichi from her card, also concerned for his current state. Everyone then turned their attention towards Ulith who glared towards the unconscious cardfighter before slipping back into her sinister persona.

"Tsk... To think you would even break out of that depressing truth, this time," she muttered, as if she was speaking directly to him. "But... that will only make your despair much more exhilerating when that truth will eventually come into effect. Remember this well, Sendou Aichi. No matter how hard you fight for your beliefs... you can't save everyone."

This only made everyone else who was conscious tense up, Hitoe especially as she took a brief step forward in front of Aichi as she kept a hold of him on her shoulder, feeling ready to protect him if necessary. That had then caught Ulith's attention as she gazed upon the Selector, her gaze slightly nerving Hitoe a little.

"I never forget a face," she spoke. "Uemura was it? I can sense you've slightly changed since the last time we crossed paths."

"A... Aichi's already been through enough because of you..." Hitoe replied nervously "I won't let you hurt him again."

"And I see you've become quite defiant as well," Ulith said sinisterly before she dug into her pocket. "But of course, I am a Selector of my word. Aichi defeated me, so take her."

She then tossed the card towards the group as Kai quickly snatched it out of the air, revealing it was now Shiro, no longer affected by the Reverse and back to normal. The LRIG was also unconscious, much like Aichi, so he was well aware that it would take some time before she could fully recover. Naoki who had been holding on to the Kagero user could only glare at Ulith, scowling under his breath, he too angered by the earlier torment that she had inflicted upon Aichi with his own PSY Qualia. The Selector simply smirked before turning her back to the group.

"For now, it's farewell," she spoke "I'll see you all again... very soon."

She then took out a card from her pocket and held it towards the ground in front of her.

"Open!"

Then in an instant, a bright flash consumed Ulith, blinding everyone else present on the rooftop as the cruel demanored Selector suddenly vanished from sight. Where she had disappeared off to was a mystery to them and they had a feeling this was one that would figure out for themselves, soon enough.

(End Music)

For now though, everyone looked at each other and eventually felt reassured that the ordeal before them was finally over. Shiro was finally back with them, no longer trapped by the power of Reverse and Kai's Kagero deck was now back in his possession. If there was a phrase one could think of to sum up the events that had befallen them, "All in a night's work" would be the first one to come to mind. Their thoughts were interrupted when they suddenly heard a buzzing noise. Hitoe quickly realized that it was her phone going off and that her parents were concerned about how late she had been out for. Quickly using her free hand that wasn't holding up Aichi, she dug into her pocket and answered the call immediately.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hitoe, thank goodness," the voice on the other line replied. Everyone else in the group who were listening could quickly make out that the voice was female and were quick to assume that this was Hitoe's mother. Needless to say, they were correct.

"Sorry if I made you worry, mother," Hitoe answered.

"Are you still around Ruko's school as you said you were headed for?" the voice asked.

"Yes..." the Selector replied before glancing over towards Aichi who she still held on her right shoulder, still greatly concerned for the cardfighter's state from the battle. "Is father around the city?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because... I'm going to need some help."


And there we go! The battle has been decided! Despite struggling under the strain of his PSY Qualia from having to keep Umr long enough to finish the battle, Aichi emerges victorious and saves Shiro from the terrifying grip of Reverse! Ulith, although defeated, keeps her word and returns Ruko's former LRIG to the group before leaving for parts unknown to them. With Aichi unconscious and her parents concerned about her, Hitoe hopes to aid him in any way she possibly can. What will happen? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG! Don't forget to follow, favourite and/or leave a review and I'll see you all next time! Until then!

*This first plays in Episode 135 when Kenji uses Яeverse Daiyusha's Limit Break on his last turn.