Selector Battlefield
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Even if I Hurt Myself)
Ruko kept her determined gaze upon Ayumu who seemed to suddenly freeze up in response to this turn of events. Although her older brother had not shown it on his angered expression at this very moment, he was cursing at himself for suddenly hesitating in front of the presumed 'reason' of the truth his mother had broken out to him earlier in the day and the night before. What was even more strange was the Selector's decision to not Grow during that turn which had left both Kuro and Tama confused and somewhat concerned, wondering if she was still feeling rattled from Ayumu's words last turn, especially given her decision to place a Guard SIGNI in her Ener Zone at the start of this turn.
"First, I activate Arc Aura!" she called as five of the seven cards in her Ener Zone moved to her Trash Pile.
A white aura surrounded Tama as she recieved the effect of the white Spell card, the girl of white feeling somewhat refreshed as a result of this. Kuro however was still not as convinced, given the current circumstances that were surrounding their Selector.
She's activating Arc Aura for holding back a Level? she murmured within her thoughts whilst she looked back to the Ener Zone on the table Then the reason she Ener Charged Servant O just now must be...
"Next, I use my own One Rule, Two Birds!" she called as she revealed the red ARTS from her LRIG deck, the same copy that Kai had used in his previous battle against her as evidenced by both Dragonic Overlord's image on the artwork and the presence of the Kagero unit surrounding Tama in a blaze of flames.
"A chain attack of Double Crush hits, huh?" Ayumu murmured as he looked over his remaining six Life Cloths and the cards in his hand, keeping his disgusted gaze upon his sister "That means nothing to me. That is, if you're willing to give up your entire SIGNI line for the four attacks you need to win."
Ruko said nothing in response as she looked down at her table, running the scenario through her mind once more. Tama had Double Crush along with a Guard Restriction from the ARTS she had played this turn and thanks to her Arc Aura spell, the girl of white could attack four times by trashing one SIGNI for every additional attack that she wanted to make. But at the same time, she knew that something was up with Ayumu at this very moment and that it wasn't because of his anger directed upon her, her LRIGs and her friends, but the fact that he seemed unfazed in regard to the situation he found himself in.
"Round and Valkyrie attack!" she called.
The two White SIGNI nodded and charged across the battlefield towards their respective opponents, Daimariner and Commander Laurel. Ayumu simply closed his eyes as the two Dimension Police units were immediately banished from the battlefield and their respective cards moved over to his Ener Zone. Tama then clutched her spear tightly as she took flight towards the towering form of Daikaiser, mimicked by the clone LRIG that Ayumu had in his possession. She slashed down the front of the 'Dimensional Robo' leaving a fiery score on its chest as a result of the ARTS. The next two Life Cloths that were crushed revealed both Dimensional Robo, Gorescue, the Life Burst of which was useless as Ayumu still had more Life Cloths, and Metalborg, Bryknuckle, the second card of which caught everyone's attention from up in the tower, but none were more shocked than two certain cardfighters.
"No way!" Naoki exclaimed.
"He has Neve's units as well?!" Aichi gasped.
"What do you mean?" asked Chiyori.
"Take a look at the second Life Cloth Ruko just crushed," Leon murmured, causing the younger Selector to glance closely at the table.
"Oh, I see!" she called "That Metalborg card!"
"If that's the case..." Yuzuki muttered "Then Ayumu must be able to copy both Mitsusada and Neve's strongest units!"
"Ruko..." Hitoe murmured in worry.
Kai, Eldora, Ren and Umr simply gazed upon the Selector down on the battlefield, wondering what she was intending to do for the moment as they too could also tell that despite his situation, Ayumu was still not concerned about the predicament that he found himself in from the effect of the One Rule, Two Birds ARTS. Ruko looked to Tama who nodded in agreement for what to do next.
"Let's go, Ru!" the girl of white called, to which the Selector nodded in response.
"With Arc Aura," she spoke "I send Round to my Trash to have Tama attack again!"
Her older brother simply kept his eyes closed, not uttering a response to her sudden action at this very moment as Tama took flight once again, just as Round vanished from one of the SIGNI zones on the table. The LRIG slashed down the front of 'Daikaiser' once again as the copied voice of the Dimension Police unit and the clone LRIG roared out in tandem in response to the hit that it had taken. Ayumu's next two Life Cloths revealed two copies of Electro-star Combination, Cosmogreat, both of which were Level 3 and had no Life Bursts of their own.
"One more!" Ruko called as Valkyrie vanished from her table, the card moving over to her Trash Pile as a result of this.
Tama let out a loud and mighty battle cry as she created another fiery score down the chest panel of 'Daikaiser', slightly cracking the green gem present there as Ayumu's final two Life Cloths revealed Metalborg, Sandstorm and Dimensional Robo, Daicrane, the final Life Cloth allowing him to draw 1 card per the effect of the Life Burst. It was at this moment that he had finally decided to open his eyes, still retaining his disgusted gaze upon Ruko as she almost flinched in response.
"Well 'Ru'," he spat "You have 1 attack left to finish this! So what will you do?!"
He's acting confident... Ruko murmured within her thoughts He wouldn't have taken such a risk of losing six Life Cloths and goading me into that last attack, unless...
"Turn end!" she called as the fiery aura and the white glow from around Tama faded.
(End Music)
End of Turn 7
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 5
Life Cloths - 2 : 0
Current LRIGs - Tama, Silver Screen Miko : Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser
SIGNI : Knight of Truth, Gordon - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY : EMPTY : Twin Order
Ener - 1 : 7
"Why didn't she finish it?!" Chiyori moaned "Her spell would have allowed her to deal the final attack to finish this!"
"I wouldn't be certain," Eldora murmured as she looked down on the field, causing her Selector to ponder in confusion.
"Eldora's right," Yuzuki interjected "One Rule, Two Birds may have restricted Ayumu of guarding without Level 1 SIGNI, but that may not be the reason why he purposely took all of those hits."
"Um... why not?"
"Daikaiser..." Umr murmured "Even if you say that form is a copy of that unit... I can still sense an incredible aura."
Back down on the battlefield, Ruko stared across towards Ayumu, still in thought about what happened during her turn just now when he allowed himself to be put at such a disadvantage. But she knew that wasn't her main concern at the moment as she was about to voice out to him at this very moment. Even Kuro was somewhat puzzled as to the turn of events that had occurred only mere moments ago.
"Onii-chan, I have a question," she spoke.
"And what would that be?" he hissed.
"I just want to know..." the Selector replied "Why am I scary? What did I do wrong?"
The entire field, including those that were watching from high up in the tower amongst the shadowed buildings in the background, went silent knowing that this was the moment that Ayumu would finally his reasoning as to why he and Ruko's mother believed that the Selector herself was 'scary' in regard. The older brother simply kept his baleful glare upon Ruko herself and began to speak.
"The thing that you did wrong was to drive our mother away!" he barked "Mother says that what you did was so 'cruel' not even she can recall everything that you did! And because of that, to have to advance further in life on my own to the point where I now have to continue through university, without her loving gaze being there to support me... YOU WOULD HAVE NO IDEA OF THAT BECAUSE YOU KEEP SECRETS TO YOURSELF!"
"But that's what I want to know!" Ruko replied "I want to know what I did wrong... so that I can try and make things ri..."
"You had your chance," Ayumu interrupted, shocking his younger sister "You had many chances, over six years to be more precise! For forcing her away for so long, you didn't even pay any mind as to what happened. For that alone... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
And with that, he immediately began his turn by drawing two more cards and upon seeing what exactly they were, he turned his baleful gaze upon Ruko and her LRIGs once again, nerving them in the result as they looked back at him. Two more cards moved from his Ener Zone to his Trash Pile as another red flash consumed the form of Daikaiser and more red sparks flew across Ayumu as he once again endured the pain needed to copy the form of the unit that he was attempting to grow the clone LRIG into now.
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Thunder of Narukami)*
"Steel lion of justice... bring your wrath upon those unsightly in your supreme presence!" he called as he slapped down the card on top of Daikaiser's on the LRIG space "Break Grow!"
The column began to disperse as the form of a new unit that seemed just as tall as Daikaiser, maybe even taller in some regard from the sheer shape and size alone as more details about this unit began to reveal themselves. The armour was mostly black with several plates of silver and grey littered all over the body in addition to several additional colours of red and yellow. The unit had two armoured black wings on its back with several shades of red on the far edges and a bit of yellow hanging from the bottom of each wing. The chest of the giant robot seemed to be shaped to resemble the head of a lion, complete with a jaw and yellow 'eyes'. The head of the unit comprised of the same colours that were littered on its armour and had the clone LRIG's red eyes in place of the green eyes depicted on the card. In its right hand was a giant black and grey blade with several plates of yellow armouring on it. The unit's form revealed itself in all of its unforeseen glory as Ayumu called the name of it out loud.
"Metalborg... SIN BUSTER!"
The red eyes of the copied 'Sin Buster' flashed for a brief moment, showing that the process of mimicking it had finally been completed. A card from Ayumu's Ener Zone moved to his Trash Pile as a dark red aura surrounded the colossal form of the Metalborg unit.
"Daikaiser's Break Grow Skill!" he declared "Sin Buster gains +1 Level, +3 Limit, Double Crush and... +10000 power!"
"Huh?!" Tama gasped.
"Eh?!" Yuzuki exclaimed "LRIGs don't have power values and even then, Dragonic Overlord's Eternal Flame only grants that when attacking through that skill!"
"I'm not surprised," Ren murmured, bringing the LRIG's attention up to him.
"What do you mean?" asked Hitoe.
"Dimension Police usually focuses their strategem on powering up their center line so that their Vanguard's attacks can break through more often in additional to granting additional skills when a certain power has been obtained," Kai explained "And even now, he's now managed to create a combination through the mimicking of Mitsusada and Neve's strongest units."
"And with what Sin Buster is capable of with Daikaiser's Break Ride skill..." Aichi murmured, his tone showing his utmost concern for Ruko and Tama in the situation they now found themselves in. Whilst this happened, Ayumu summoned another Commander Laurel to the field.
"With Sin Buster's continous skill," he explained "Whilst it is my turn, it gains a base power of 8000 to keep as its own, with an extra 10000 this turn from the Break Grow skill and any abilities or effects that would power up my Silver SIGNI can be applied to him and someone else I would like you to meet."
"I'm guessing that's not all," Ruko murmured.
"That's right" the older brother replied "Sin Buster until end of turn, as part of another skill gained by Daikaiser recieves Twin Drive! Or at least, some variant of it for this particular skill. Whenever Sin Buster attacks this turn, if I reveal a Level 3 or greater SIGNI from the top two cards of my deck through this way, I can add it to my hand and negate the effect of one Guard SIGNI or reduce the number of SIGNI called through a Quintet Wall by one, simply by sending one of the called SIGNI to the Trash Pile. Any other SIGNI I reveal through this 'Twin Drive' goes to the bottom of the deck."
"Twin Drive...?" Tama pondered.
"Did you think I wasn't aware that the LRIGs and SIGNI belonging to your friends from outside this world actually came from another planet, let alone another game entirely?" Ayumu spat in respnse before gazing at Ruko once more "The only way to fully block Sin Buster's attack is to use 3 cards to defend. Judging from your expression, you don't have enough Guards in your hand for a 'Perfect Guard formation' and when his attack successfully hits Tama, not only can I draw a card but I also can use Laurel's skill to rest my SIGNI and have my 'LRIG' stand up again. And that's not all...!"
"There's more?" Ruko murmured as she watched her brother hold out his hand towards the LRIG space.
"Seek mate!"
'Sin Buster' raised its sword high into the air as a golden aura surrounded it at this very moment. Four cards from the Trash Pile, 3 of which were Level 3 SIGNI returned back to Ayumu's deck as a file of light began scanning through the deck for the appropriate Legion Mate. Before he could call out the name of that Legion Mate, he suddenly clenched his chest in pain as more red sparks flew across him, causing Ruko to gasp in shock.
"Onii-chan!" she cried.
"Shut up!" he struggled to call out over the strain of the sparks.
(End Music)
This Legion... he muttered in his thoughts Having that clone LRIG mimic it along with the Break Grow requires me to use up a portion of my life to maintain the forms of those units...! But... this pain will be worth it, soon enough! Watch closely... mother!
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Onslaught of the Quatre Knights)
"From beyond the horizon, become the light that illuminates the earth! Rise up, Metalborg, Ur Buster!" he called that same file of light brought the card from the deck straight to his hand before he threw it out to the LRIG space alongside Sin Buster's card. "LEGION!"
As the Legion symbol appeared to all, a Metalborg unit whose height was marginally smaller than Sin Buster's appeared to the unit's right. Ur Buster like the Legion Leader wielded a blade of his own, only both it along with the unit's armour in comparison had much less of the brighter yellow and red colours that were present across Sin Buster's armour. Shortly after this happened, a purple armoured unit with wings mounted on its back and a gatling gun mounted as its lower right arm appeared.
"Metalborg, Mist Ghost's skill!" Ayumu called as yet another card from his Ener Zone moved to his Trash Pile "Both Sin Buster and Ur Buster recieve 4000 power!"
Metalborg, Sin Buster: 18000 - 22000
Metalborg, Ur Buster: 5000 - 9000
"So not only did he Legion..." Kuro muttered "But he also chose to power up the pair instead of his SIGNI. What is he planning?"
"This is the end!" Ayumu called "Sin Buster, Ur Buster, bring Tama to her knees and show Ruko what 'true pain' really feels like!"
The red eyes of the copied Sin Buster flashed as both it and Ur Buster charged across the battlefield towards Tama who could only gasp both in awe and fear at the same time from the sheer size of the two Dimension Police units. Ruko stared over at the Legion Pair as they charged across the battlefield towards the girl of white before looking back at her hand, gasping as some of the cards present there began leaking sparks.
"Legion Skill!" Ayumu called "Since the combined power of Sin Buster and Ur Buster totals over 30000, you cannot use any Quintet Walls or SIGNI with the Guard ability whose Level is 2 or greater! And with the Twin Drive variant from Daikaiser's skill, there's nothing you can do! It's over!"
"Nothing I can do..." she murmured nervously.
"Ruko! You have to try and defend!"
The Selector suddenly snapped out of her daze as she looked over to Kuro who had called out to her at this very moment.
"Even if your chances are slim, you need to try and block this attack no matter what!" the girl of black called "If it succeeds, Commander Laurel will stand up Sin Buster for the next attack to finish you and Tama!"
"But... Daikaiser's Twin Drive will reduce the cards Ru can guard with...!" Tama interrupted "And Sin Buster's skill has already locked her out from using Quintet Walls!"
"Don't tell me you've given up hope as well Tama!" Kuro replied "I know that you and Ruko have been through much worse than this, even before I became her LRIG! If Ayumu's Twin Drive won't grant him the SIGNI he needs, then her glimmer of hope will save you both!"
Ruko however had held her head down, trying to think of a possible solution to get out of the mess that she had gotten herself into from giving Ayumu the Ener he needed to perform the Break Grow and Legion, a strong combination of the skills of both Daikaiser and Sin Buster, two of Mitsusada and Neve's strongest units making the scenario almost hopeless to escape from. For the moment, it seemed that what her brother said was coming true, that there was nothing she could do.
Nothing I can do...? she murmured, thinking back over the course of the battle and then suddenly realizing something That's it! I see now!
"No guard!" she called.
"Huh?!" gasped Tama.
"Ruko!" Kuro exclaimed.
"Please trust me!" the Selector replied "I know it might not sound like the right thing to do, but I've remembered something from earlier in the battle! Something that can help us!"
Whilst Kuro simply closed her eyes in frustration, unsure of whether Ruko was thinking straight for the moment or not, Tama could only turn around as the towering forms of Sin Buster and Ur Buster loomed above the table as they prepared to strike her down. Ayumu who had overheard both the declaration of not guarding against this attack and Ruko's brief 'argument' with her LRIGs, seemed somewhat confused by this.
"So you chose not to even try and defend yourself," he muttered "Have it your way then as you taste the wrath of Sin Buster firsthand. FATAL COLD STEE...!"
"Daikaiser's skill," Ruko interrupted in a soft and yet, somewhat calmer tone, causing her older brother to raise an eyebrow "You have to conduct a Twin Drive variant, don't you?"
"T... That's right!" he replied, having been caught off guard for the moment "Twin Drive!"
Revealing the first card from the top of his deck, his first 'check' revealed Metalborg, Sandstorm which he immediately added to his hand. Then the second card he revealed was Electro-star Combination, Cosmogreat, yet another Level 3 SIGNI. He remained unfazed at this point, just as Sin Buster and Ur Buster lashed down their giant swords onto the floor of the battlefield, sending a shockwave of smoke and debris that crashed right into Tama, Kuro and Ruko, knocking them backwards and in the case of the two LRIGs, onto their backs in pain. As the Selector struggled to sit up, Tama and Kuro gazed up at her with one thought on their minds, about what she was thinking at this time, as evidenced by her strangely calmer tone moments ago.
(End Music)
"What was she thinking?!" gasped Yuzuki "Now Laurel will up Sin Buster again for another attack!"
"She's not concerned..."
Everyone up in the tower turned to Kai in response to the comment that he had made at this very moment, with the LRIGs and Selectors amongst them, even Aichi and Naoki being confused by what he had mentioned at this very moment.
"What are you gettin' at?!" asked Naoki.
"Think about it," he replied "Ruko knew full well that if Ayumu was going to return as many Level 3 or greater SIGNI from his Trash Pile to the deck for Legion, that would ensure a stronger chance of Daikaiser's skill going off. By allowing the attack to go through, she's given herself a chance that on his second attack from Laurel's skill, the Twin Drive won't provide as many Level 3 SIGNI needed to break any guards she had."
"I see now!" Chiyori exclaimed "That way, she has a stronger chance of providing a gamble on survivng Sin Buster's second attack!"
"But, if Ayumu still manages to draw the SIGNI needed to break her guards," Hitoe murmured "Sin Buster's second attack from the earlier Double Crush wiping out Ruko's Life Cloths will finish her off."
"That may be," Leon spoke "But there is one other possibility."
"One other?" Aichi murmured.
"Indeed," Ren replied "Now we have to see if Ruko has uncovered it."
(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Consternation)
Everyone then looked down to the battlefield, just in time to see the smoke clearing up from Ruko's table as the cards in her Ener Zone came into view. In addition to the only Ener she had left over from the previous turn, the next two Life Cloths that were crushed and moved over to there revealed themselves, one after another. First was Michael, Voice of Reconcilation, a Level 2 SIGNI that didn't have a Life Burst to help out the Selector or her LRIGs in the dire time of need. For the moment, the other card remained hidden amongst the smoke as Ruko, Tama and Kuro came back into view as Ayumu closed his eyes.
"It seems hope has finally abandoned you," he spat "Are you ready for repentance?"
"Not yet!"
He suddenly opened his eyes in response to the Selector's cry just now as a blinding green glow from Ruko's table cleared away the last of the smoke, revealing that her second crushed Life Cloth was another Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine, causing in him to gasp in shock.
"WHAT THE?!"
"I recover one Life Cloth," Ruko spoke.
The top card of her deck moved face down to where her previous two Life Cloths were whilst a bright green aura surrounded Tama, replenishing some of her strength and allowing her to stand up on her knees once more. Kuro meanwhile could only stare up at Ruko, shocked by the sudden turn of events.
Why was she so calm throughout that whole ordeal? she murmured in her thoughts There's no way she would have known that Life Burst would be Elaine, unless... when she searched her deck with Energe, she knew and somehow remembered all of the cards that had become her Life Cloths?!
"Tsk... I can't finish you this turn...!" Ayumu growled "But, thanks to Commander Laurel, I Down my SIGNI lineup and have Sin Buster attack again!"
The copied Sin Buster's eyes flashed an ominous dark red once again as it and Ur Buster raised their swords in preparation for another attack on Tama. This time though, with the reassurance that she and Ruko would not lose this turn, regardless of whether or not the attack would hit successfully, she immediately braced herself for the impact of the Legion attack once again as she looked back at her Selector and nodded in reply.
"No guard!" Ruko called "And because of Daikaiser, you must Twin Drive again!"
Ayumu simply hissed as he conducted another 'Twin Drive', this time with the revealed cards being Dimensional Robo, Daishield and Servant T3, the Guard SIGNI of which went to his hand whilst the Dimension Police unit as it was not at least Level 3 went to the bottom of his deck immediately. Sin Buster and Ur Buster brought down their swords to the ground with mighty impact, the shockwave impacting the table once more as the LRIGs and Ruko stood their ground in response as the new Life Cloth revealed itself as another copy of Round, Small Shield. Ayumu clenched his teeth, having known that his efforts to finish off his sister this turn had come to nought thanks to Elaine. He suddenly clutched his chest in pain as another surge of sparks went off across his body as a cost for maintaining the forms of the Legion and mimicking the Break Grow skill of Daikaiser.
"... Turn end..." he muttered, trying to mask away the pain in his voice "Since I have nine cards in my hand during the end phase, I must discard three."
End of Turn 8
Ruko vs Ayumu
Hand - 5 : 6
Life Cloths - 0 : 0
Current LRIGs - Tama, Silver Screen Miko : Metalborg, Sin Buster (Legioned with Metalborg, Ur Buster)
SIGNI : Knight of Truth, Gordon - EMPTY : EMPTY : Metalborg, Mist Ghost : Commander Laurel : Twin Order
Ener - 4 : 3
"She just survived..." Yuzuki sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness..." breathed Hitoe.
"Dimension Police... a clan that revolves around their Vanguard being powered up for stronger attacks," Umr murmured "But investing into that much power for a single attack can also have its drawbacks."
"But, Ayumu still has six cards in his hand," Eldora interjected "There's no telling if he's hiding any Quintet Walls or extra defences amongst them."
Everyone else in the tower remained silent, having known about that for a fact that Ayumu still had a greater advantage in the number of cards that he held and that Ruko herself still had a complete wall of SIGNi to get through to try and hit Sin Buster, especially since there were still two open spaces on the SIGNI zones on her table. The Selector took a deep breath to calm herself from the recent ordeal as she looked over to Tama.
"Tama, thank you for believing in me," she spoke as she then looked over to Kuro "You too Kuro."
"Good grief..." the girl of black muttered "I can't tell whether you had a worse habit of taking risks whilst you were in or out of Reverse. But regardless, this is your last chance to try and finish off Ayumu."
The Selector nodded in response, having known that for a fact as she turned her attention back to Ayumu, drawing two cards to begin her turn as she did so.
(End Music)
"Onii chan..." Ruko spoke "Do you really want to know how I entered the Selector Battles?"
"How then?!" he barked, his angered demanor having returned back to him.
"Do you remember the night that you gave me my first Wixoss deck?" she asked to which he nodded "You said that it would help me find my friends from amongst the game's playerbase. And as it turned out from the following day, even during the period that I went missing because of Reverse, I did find my friends. Friends that were in trouble from the Selector Battles darker images and friends from another world who were looking out for me, because they knew of the dangerous power that was around me and Kuro. And also, the deck you gave me on that night... was the one that contained the real Tama."
At first, all remained silent as everyone else with the exception of the Selector herself were seemingly surprised that it was Ayumu who had given Ruko the deck that contained Tama, which had led to the beginning of her journey into the Selector Battles and the darker mysteries that lay beneath the 'urban myth' that had surrounded them. At first, it seemed that her words had seemingly had an effect on her brother with this new information now brought to light. However, what had followed was nothing more than laughter, albeit slightly crazed, from the other side of the battlefield before the angered demanor returned immediately afterwards.
"So you're meaning to tell me that I was responsible for all of your evils years ago, even going as far as giving you that LRIG?!" he barked "Don't screw with me! Unless you defeat me this turn, you're just making excuses at this point. Ruko, I will not accept a surrender!"
"Who said I was surrending?" she replied.
"What?"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Blazing Perdition)
"First, I Ener Charge!" she called as she threw one card from her hand to her Ener Zone "Then my ARTS, Rococo Boundary!"
As all five of the cards in her Ener Zone moved over to her Trash Pile, the white ARTS card revealed themselves to everyone as Ayumu suddenly gasped in horror as to what this meant.
"That can't be...!" he exclaimed.
Two white beams shot out of the card as they struck both Commander Laurel and Metalborg, Mist Ghost respectively as the two units vanished from the field and their respective cards reappeared in the older brother's hand as he could only stare upon the situation he was in as Ruko put on her determined gaze towards him once again, causing him to freeze up in his outward appearance once again.
This is...! he gasped within his thoughts I see what may be scary about her now! It's... her determination!
"Summon!" Ruko called as another Knight of Truth, Gordon and Square, Medium Shield appeared in her open SIGNI spaces. "Tama, you can rest now. You've already been through enough now."
"Tama understands," Tama replied with a happy smile "Battle Ru!"
The Selector nodded as she looked back towards her brother who could only cringe upon looking at what he had in his hand other than the two returned SIGNI. Those were Metalborg, Bryknuckle, Dimensional Robo, Daibattles, Servant T3, Twin Order, Metalborg, Sandstorm and Electro-star Combination, Cosmogreat.
This... this cannot be! he raged within his mind Even if I use Bryknuckle now... I can't stop her other attack! Forgive me... mother!
"Let's go, onii-chan!" Ruko called out loud "Gordon, attack Metalborg, Sin Buster!"
The Gordon on the left SIGNI space on her table nodded in response to her command and ran across the battlefield towards his opponent. Ur Buster rushed out in response and attempted to bring its giant blade down upon the Royal Paladin unit. However, Gordon immediately paused in his run and slid right past the blade and the legs of the Metalborg before continuing his run towards his target. Sin Buster like his Legion Mate swung down his blade upon the Royal Paladin, but this time, he jumped up onto and ran across the length of the weapon. Leaping off the wrist of the giant robot, Gordon gave a loud battle cry before thrusting his sword through the copied form of Sin Buster, causing the form to fade out to reveal that he slashed the clone LRIG across the side as she let out a loud mechanical shriek in the result. It fell down to the table as Ayumu could only stare down at it, wondering what had gone wrong as the battlefield began to darken, now that the result had been decided.
(End Music)
City Park
As everyone regained their sense of reality, the cuff that was attached to Ruko's arm unlocked and came of her arm as it forcefully reeled itself back to Ayumu's wrist device as he stumbled backwards in a weakened state because of the battle, causing all of the deck, but the clone LRIG's card to fall out of the holster and spill out onto the ground. The Selector rubbed her wrist for a brief moment, having not expected the cuff to have been tighter than she anticipated, it having not been on her wrist throughout the course of the battle.
"Are you alright, Ruko-san?!" asked Aichi.
"I'm fine..." Ruko replied as she eventually lowered her wrist as she looked over towards her brother, who struggled back onto his feet.
"Damn you...!" he growled.
"Alright then!" Naoki called as he cracked his knuckles and stepped forwards "You're gonna tell us everything that's going on between Ruko and her mom!"
Ayumu clenched his teeth and stepped backwards in response to the Narukami user's declaration as a voice suddenly echoed from his device.
"Retreat immediately!"
As everyone pondered as to who it was that was speaking to him at this very moment, Ruko suddenly gasped in shock, having somehow recognized both the familiarity of the tone of this particular voice.
"But...!" Ayumu replied.
"You've already caused enough of a scene by going against my orders," the voice coldly replied "Leave the park now and ensure no one follows!"
"Tsk!" he growled as he looked back at the group "This isn't over! You will suffer your repentance soon enough!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Presence of the Void)
He then pressed another button on his device that was located next to the one that he had used to forcefully open the battlefield, causing him to vanish from the park in a blinding dark red glow. When everyone regained their line of sight, Ayumu was no longer present before them, leaving only the scattered cards of the Dimension Police deck that he had used, minus the clone LRIG whose card remained inside of the slot of his device. Whilst Kai and Leon inspected the cards, Ruko could only remain still in shock as to what she had just heard at this very moment.
"What's wrong, Ruko?!" Yuzuki called, snapping the Selector out of her daze.
"That voice..." she stammered "I... I think that was... my mother."
Whilst everyone had gasped in response to this new revelation, a sudden noise caught their attention back to the ground as the cards that formed the 'counterfeit' Dimension Police deck began to vanish in small dark red embers, the same way that a card depicting a reversed unit would vanish if the cardighter holding them would have lost a cardfight to a non reversed cardfighter. Whilst everyone else pondered on the subject as to why this was, they turned their attention back to Ruko who still remained still from shock of what she had heard only moments ago.
"What will you do?" asked Kuro. Sighing under her breath, Ruko held her head down.
"Everyone..." she spoke "I know you won't like it... but with my brother knowing about the Selector Battles... I..."
"What exactly?" asked Naoki.
"I... I have to tell grandmother everything," the Selector murmured nervously "If she hears his side of the story before mine, then..."
Just as she was about to finish her sentence, tears began to drop out of her eyelids as she stared down to the floor of the park in front of her. Tama simply looked up to her in worry whilst Chiyori simply stared at her, having paid no actual attention to the dillema at hand.
"Why the glum face?" she asked "You won, didn't you?"
"That's not the point!" Yuzuki interrupted "Right now, Ruko and Hitoe's involvement as Selectors in somewhat secret has been comprimised! There's no telling what could happen to all of us now!"
"Right..." the younger Selector murmured "Well in that case then, I'll best be seeing you around then!"
And with that, she immediately exited the park as the others simply looked over to Ruko, knowing exactly how she felt about the dillema that she was now in. None were more concerned however than the two LRIGs that she carried, Hitoe, Yuzuki, Aichi and Naoki. Walking over to the Selector, Kai looked down upon her before placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Do you intend to tell Hatsu about where we come from?" he asked.
"I... I think..." Ruko sniffed "I think can still cover for you guys. But I'm more worried about what could happen to Hitoe and our LRIGs."
"Ruko..." Hitoe murmured.
"Ruko-san, no matter what anyone says to you, we'll still support you through to the end," said Aichi "That's a promise between all of us."
"Thanks Aichi," the Selector replied as she wiped away the tears in her eyes "We should hurry back home and quickly."
The others nodded in agreement as they quickly ran out of the park and straight back to the apartment blocks, in the hopes that Ayumu had not already gotten back to Hatsu and told her his perspective on the Selector Battles before they could have a chance to tell their side of the story.
(End Music)
The White Room
"Well... I suppose that was somewhat impressive."
That comment had been made by Futase who had just finished watching a replay from the very end of the earlier battle, alongside both Ulith and Mayu as the three of them turned to each other to discuss the overall results of their 'test' of the clone LRIG's properties. Needless to say, despite the results seeming somewhat promising to the cause of the Selector Battles and Ayumu's role in what they had planned for him, the cruel demanored Selector seemed somewhat annoyed from the way things had played out, having seen through another window the destruction of the counterfeit deck that he was provided with.
"And I went through all that trouble to manufacture those duplicates..." she muttered "Not that it matters."
"This was only but the first step in Ayumu's role," Mayu spoke "He will have other opportunities to make himself useful to us yet, soon enough."
And with that, she turned around and left the two that were bound to her servitude on their own, so that the enigmatic mastermind herself could attend to whatever matter was on her mind at this moment.
And there we go! Ruko outlasts the combined attack of the mimicked forms of Mitsusada and Neve's strongest units and performs a comeback to end the battle in her victory. But in doing so, she discovers that her mother has somehow orchaestrated the confrontation by recognizing her voice calling an order for Ayumu to retreat, to which he does so, vowing to fight the group again another day. Will Hatsu believe Ruko and her friends about everything that has been going on in the Selector Battles? What does Mayu have planned for Ayumu in his supposed role? The answers will show themselves in due course as next time, we take a temporary detour back to Aichi's world as the girl that was observing Misaki and Ratie a few chapters back decides to finally make her move. Please feel free to share your thoughts or critiques and I'll see you again next chapter! Until then!
*This plays in Episode 80 when Kai activates Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion's Limit Break for a second time.
EDIT 13/06/2016: Fixed up an error in the 'End of Turn 7' intermission and fixed up a few wonky bits of grammar.
