Hello everyone! Before we get into the next chapter, I'm announcing that round 1 of the poll on my profile has come to a close! Voting for round 2 to determine a clear victor begins now! For now, I hope you enjoy this!
SIT Premises
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Despair)
Back within one of the other battlefields of the institute's campus, Christopher's eyes could only widen as he heard a loud scream not too far from where he was standing. He turned around and gazed through the boundary's wall to see a bright purple glow that completely enveloped the battlefield that Lee and Ulith were fighting in and what he had heard moments earlier had only served to deepen his fears on what had been happening.
"Lee!" he cried.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about him."
He then turned his attention back to Akira, who was still feeling as smug as ever whenever her confidence was at an all time high. She sneered at his anxiety, sensing that Ulith was handling her fight without any need for assistance and that she was in no doubt crushing Lee's confidence and whatever stratagems he had prepared to tackle on his own. Christopher gritted his teeth as he immediately started his next turn, taking a look at what was left in his hand and gazing back at the card that was still face down in the Selector's bind zone, now glowing a bright orange colour which only made him feel more unnerved.
Right now... I need to win this fight and help Lee and Ali! he muttered in his thoughts There's no telling what's happening with them right now!
"I ride another Tester Fox!" he declared as the Legioned pair on the battlefield was replaced immediately by yet another Tester Fox "Seek mate!"
Once again, a bright golden flash soared high into the air as four of the cards from the Great Nature user's drop zone landed on top of his deck before a file of light scanned through his deck for the appropriate card and pulled it out, allowing him to grab ahold of it.
"Again...?" Akira yawned, feigning boredom in seeing the exact same Legion being conducted again.
"Return to me once again, Researcher Fox!" he declared, taking no notice of her comment "Legion! And call!"
As soon as Researcher Fox rejoined Tester Fox on the battlefield to complete the Legion, a second one along with Coiling Duckbill immediately appeared onto Christopher's side. It wasn't the way he intended, especially with his hand having already having been mostly depleted by the previous attacks that Akira had sent his way through Hanayo and her rear-guards.
"I'm ending this now!" he declared as he rested his paired Vanguards on his table "Legion attack! And add 4000 power to my rear-guard Researcher Fox!"
Both Tester Fox and the Researcher Fox that was beside it opened a vial that each of them were holding, causing sparks to fly out of each of the top of them before hurling them towards Hanayo. Both objects spun vertically as they travelled across the length of the battlefield horizontally as the blue and red sparks trailing immediately caught ablaze, signalling the force of the attack that they would cause upon impact with their target. Akira gazed at the only two cards within her hand as well as both of her intercepts, noting that she didn't have enough shield to block both attacks. Despite this though, the Selector was still remaining smugly confident.
"Hey, you do realize that if he gets a Critical Trigger, he's gonna win!" Milulun called from her card, still stuffed in Akira's hoodie.
"That is, if he gets one in the first place," she replied in her sinister tone before looking back to her opponent "I believe conducting a second Legion may have been your greatest mistake this fight."
"What was that?!" Christopher exclaimed as the attack came closer to Hanayo "All of my Critical Triggers are back in my deck now! I'll definitely get one for sure!"
As Akira simply scoffed in response, the Great Nature user gritted his teeth as he looked over to his deck, prepared to see if luck was really on his side for this coming attack.
"Twin Drive!" he declared as he revealed the first card as Dictionary Goat "Heal Trigger! Power to my rear-guard Researcher Fox!"
Illusion Scientist, Researcher Fox (RG)/POW: 13000 - 18000
"Second check...!"
Reaching out for his deck, he knew that even with Researcher Fox's power increasing, Akira would still have cards left in her hand and rear-guard to block his next attack. He had to draw a single Critical Trigger on this next check, or she would have another turn to try and finish him off. And with the card in her bind zone emitting stronger pulses since the fight had begun with every passing turn, he knew that he had to beat her now. As he flipped over the card, it was glowing indicating that he managed to pull a trigger.
"Eek...! We're done for...!" Milulun's voice echoed.
"Is that so...?" Akira sneered.
As Christopher blinked in confusion, he then gazed back at the card he checked and suddenly cringed upon realizing that he had celebrated far too soon, revealing that it was Fortune-bringing Cat.
"Draw... Trigger..." he muttered "I draw 1 card and give power to Researcher Fox!"
"Oh, what's this? So shoving almost everything back into your deck backfired on you?" the Selector asked mockingly "I almost feel sorry that you weren't able to get a single Critical Trigger that way! Goosey-goosey-goosebumps!"
As Christopher clenched his teeth, the spinning vials crashed straight into the manifested Hanayo, forcing her to shield her face from the explosion as Seal Dragon, Artpique entered Akira's damage zone, putting the damage count between them as three to five and increasing her hand by an extra card. But he knew that despite this not being the outcome he wanted from this battle, the fight itself wasn't over and that he still had a chance to try and defeat her. Hanayo glowed brightly as the trigger effects increased her power, making it more difficult for his next attack to land successfully.
"Researcher Fox attacks!" he declared.
"Guard! Intercept!"
In response to Akira's command, Agafia appeared onto the battlefield whilst Berserk Dragon flew over from its space and joined her in a combined effort to stop the attack of Researcher Fox dead in its tracks. Christopher despite being partly annoyed by his failed attempt to finish off the Selector wasn't too disappointed as he looked back at his damage in comparison to hers.
"Turn end!" he called "Researcher Fox retires!"
As the rear-guard Researcher Fox vanished in a small explosion of white coloured smoke, he immediately drew an additional two cards from his deck and placed the card on the bottom of his deck.
"With Researcher Fox's skill, I can add a card with the same name as my Legion to my hand since it landed in my Drop Zone," he spoke as he added it straight back to his hand before shuffling his deck.
(End Music)
End of Turn 8
Akira vs Christopher
Hand - 2 : 6
Soul - 5 : 4
Damage - 5 : 3
Bind Zone - 1 (face-down) : 0
Front Rows : EMPTY - Hanayo Four, Hundred-Fire Profusion (VG) - Chain-attack Sutherland : EMPTY - Magic Scientist, Tester Fox and Illusion Scientist, Researcher Fox (VG) - EMPTY
Back Rows : Demonic Dragon Mage, Mahoraga - EMPTY - Demonic Dragon Mage, Mahoraga : Coiling Duckbill - EMPTY - EMPTY
(Selector Infected Wixoss OST: Battle ~ Negative Chain)
As all of Akira's units that were on her table returned to the Stand position, she then gazed down at the remaining two cards she held before looking back to Christopher. She began cackling, believing that victory was now within her grasp as she picked up the card from her bind zone as it was still glowing, now brighter than ever as she kept her smile on her lips.
"It's finally time," she spoke "By sealing my Draw Phase for this turn whilst Hanayo is at least Grade 4, I can ride this unit from my Bind Zone. In addition, if one of us is to lose the fight in this battlefield from this point onwards, a punishment will be cast courtesy of her power as an actual LRIG in this form." She then immediately scoffed off the idea of a 'drawback' to using the card she was about to play. "Well, assuming that is I'm the one who loses."
"What's that supposed to mean...?" Christopher questioned curiously.
"This is what it means!" the Selector declared as she held up the card high into the air "Burn everything to ash before me! This ugly eyesore, this world, everything here that is in my way! Limit Override!"
After slamming down the card onto the Vanguard circle on top of Hanayo Four's card, a large column of fire suddenly erupted from part of the battlefield as the manifestation of the LRIG was engulfed within the flames in an instant. The force of the column along with the intense heat of the fire forced Christopher to cry out aloud as he groaned from trying to shield his face from such power. The flames eventually died down to reveal the Level 5 form of Hanayo, familiar to both Kai and Aichi from their respective bouts against it and now, the manifestation was upon the battlefield, prepared to fight for Akira as part of her winning image.
"Hanayo Five!"
Hanayo Five/Grade 5/?/SLD: 0/POW: 15000/Dragon Empire/?/Human;LRIG
"Now it's Grade 5...?!" he breathed in shock, staring at the card on the Selector's table as he did so.
"Call, Calamity Tower Wyvern!" she continued as the red coloured wyvern appeared behind Hanayo "I draw 1 card. Call another Sutherland!"
As a second Chain-attack, Sutherland appeared into her leftmost column atop the dragon he usually rode atop, the manifested Hanayo suddenly glowed bright orange as she raised her whip high into the air as Akira dropped a second copy of Hanayo Three, Blazing Flame Dance into her Drop Zone from her hand.
"Disappear!" she declared as she immediately snapped her fingers.
The imaged LRIG brought down her fiery thorned whip onto the final Coiling Duckbill, retiring it from the battlefield as Christopher could only stare towards her rear-guards, knowing they were bound to power up as a result of this effect. But to his shock, Hanayo was now glowing in the same brightly orange coloured aura as the two Mahoragas and Sutherlands, indicating that the new form's effects weren't finished there.
"What's happening...?!"
"Behold, Hanayo Five's power!" Akira announced with sinister glee "All of my rear-guards, regardless of where they are positioned gain an extra Critical as long as she is my Vanguard!"
Demonic Dragon Mage, Mahoraga x2/POW: 5000 - 10000/Critical: 1 - 2
Chain-attack Sutherland x2/POW: 8000 - 11000/Critical: 1 - 2
Calamity Tower Wyvern/Critical: 1 - 2
Christopher could only stare in disbelief at the situation he now found himself with, now having not just no rear-guards on his field again, but with Hanayo now giving all of her rear-guards access to an extra Critical at all times at no cost whatsoever.
That means... all of her rear-guards will be hitting my Vanguards for two damage without powering up from any kind of triggers! he exclaimed But... I still only have three damage! I'll have to let one of her attacks through if I'm going to survive!
Akira cackled loudly as she then rested both Hanayo and Calamity Tower Wyvern's cards, signalling her first attack of the turn as they set their sights upon Tester Fox and Researcher Fox. As the Winged Dragon flapped its wings, the imaged Level 5 LRIG then held up her hands, materializing a giant fireball above her head as she was preparing to hurl it straight towards the Legioned pair on the Great Nature user's side of the field. He then looked at his hand before looking to her rear-guards, considering the options that he had in addition to the damage he currently had. He eventually reached a decision, though it was a reluctant one.
"No guard...!" he declared. Wasting my Perfect Guard would leave me exposed to her rear-guards! I need to see what she gets from her Twin Drive!
"Drive check..." she spoke.
The Selector then picked up the first card from the top of her deck and dropped it face up onto the table in front of the stack face up, the card shining brightly before revealing itself as Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasha.
"Critical Trigger!"
Hanayo Five/Critical: 1 - 2
Chain-attack Sutherland/POW: 11000 - 16000
Immediately afterwards, she revealed her second card as Hanayo Two, with no Trigger marking to show for the time being. Christopher could only let out a small sigh of relief, believing that all was seemingly well for the moment. Akira however noticed this and started giggling to herself, much to his further confusion. Then he gazed up at Hanayo Five, noticing that she hadn't yet launched her attack which only served to further drive even more questions into his mind. That was when the Selector had decided to speak out two more words as she continued on with her attack.
"Final check."
"I... Impossible!" he exclaimed "Everyone knows the maximum drives a Vanguard can perform at the highest Grade is two!"
"Then, why don't you tell me what is different about Hanayo Five to begin with...?" she snarkily asked, confident that he was about to find out the answer for himself.
Christopher could only blink before looking back to her table once again, his eyes widening in shock as he suddenly realized that the symbol beneath Hanayo Five's Grade was not the Twin Drive symbol like he had initially expected. Instead, it was a symbol that looked very similar to it, only with an additional arrow running underneath the overlapping two arrows through the center of them.
"That symbol... it's different from Twin Drive?!" he gasped.
Just as he had finished voicing his disbelief, a bright glow caught his attention towards Akira's deck as he soon realized she had conducted her final check. And to his horror, it was another Embodiment of Spear, Tahr and he knew exactly what that had meant for him and his chances of winning now.
"Critical Trigger! All effects to Aki-lovely's Vanguard!" she announced in her 'Aki-lucky' persona before immediately switching back to her sinister one "Burn in hell, uglies!"
The imaged Hanayo Five on the battlefield, now powered up by the effects of the two triggers that had been checked, reeled back her arms slightly and then thrust them forwards, hurling the giant fireball towards Christopher's side of the field as both Tester Fox and Researcher Fox could only watch in horror as they could do nothing but watch their impending fate come closer and closer towards them. Eventually, the fireball made contact with the Legioned pair, creating a massive explosion that rocked the entire field and covered up the Great Nature user's entire side of the field. He screamed in pain as the impact from the attack caused his next three points of damage, Triangle Cobra, Honorary Professor, Chatnoir and Binoculus Tiger to fly past him before the impact of the attack sent him flying backwards into the boundary wall before falling straight back down to the ground.
It was over as his units vanished from the battlefield along with all of Akira's rear-guards, meaning the result was now clear. The Selector had emerged victorious from this bout.
"How do you like that?!" she cackled "This is but a preview as to what Kai will eventually face when we cross paths again in this god forsaken world! Let that be a lesson to all people in this world that no-one crosses Aki-lovely and Ulith-chan's paths and gets off that easily!"
She then held out her right hand, containing a blank Wixoss card which then suddenly shone brightly. Christopher then screamed in pain as the Mark of Penalty was engraved onto his right hand and all of the cards in his Great Nature deck turned blank without warning. Struggling back onto his feet, he could only stare at the sight of his units, now gone and in the hands of his opponent who had other plans for them.
"No..." he breathed "My units... Tester Fox, Researcher Fox, Cable Sheep, Binoculus Tiger, Chatnoir... they're all gone!"
"Oh don't fret!" Akira replied as she placed the cards, now in Wixoss form, back into her hoodie pocket "They'll be going to a much greater cause that Ulith wants them for, whatever that may be!"
Before the Great Nature user could respond to her, he soon realized that Hanayo Five's imaged form had not de-materialized and that the aura that was previously around her in the final turn of the fight had somehow grown even stronger. He could only watch nervously as the heat within the battlefield itself suddenly began to grow much hotter than it already was.
(End Music)
"What is this?!" he gasped.
"Since I won the fight with a Grade 5 LRIG, the true fun can begin!" the Selector declared "Hanayo Five, I call upon your powers from your actual self! Judgement!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z Unreleased Soundtrack: Zeroth Dragon)
Slamming her fist down onto the glowing card that was still on the Vanguard circle, Hanayo Five's eyes suddenly flashed a bright red as she held up her thorned whip, now seemingly ablaze as a fiery red aura began flowing through the imaged LRIG and her weapon. As she raised it up into the air, sparks began flying across her head as the image suddenly let out a scream for a brief instance. A familiar pinkish glow in Christopher's eyes suddenly lit up as he gasped in shock, seeing that ever since the declaration had happened, the 'image' he was seeing was actually alive somehow. But before he had time to assess what was happening, 'Hanayo Five' slammed her fiery whip onto the ground of the battlefield, causing the ground to shake.
The followings tremors at first felt light, but suddenly became heavier as the Great Nature user suddenly saw orange cracks emerging in the ground beneath him that grew larger and larger... until they stopped. But immediately afterwards in an instant, the ground beneath him suddenly erupted as a column of blazing hot fire suddenly erupted, engulfing him in an instant as he screamed loudly in pain from the heat that was searing away at his body. His scream only continued to grow louder as it echoed across the institute campus and the nearby streets of the city of Singapore.
Not far away done a few streets from the premises of SIT, Mitsusada could only freeze in shock as he too heard Christopher's screams of agony as Akira's 'Judgement' was being cast upon him. He then stared up at the sky, now seeing a giant and tall pillar of fire, the same one that was scorching the Great Nature user alive by the second, rocketing high into the sky and torching the colour of it a bright orange as it continued to roar upwards with every passing second. The Dimension Police user didn't know what was quite going on, but he knew that both that strange occurrence and Christopher's screams that he had just heard this instant had to be connected somehow and from his familiarity of Singapore already, he knew where it had been coming from.
"Christopher!" he gasped as he then quickened his pace, hoping that he wasn't too late in wanting to assist the cardfighter if he was already hurt somehow.
Meanwhile on the open ocean, just a few miles from Singapore's bay, Kai, Ruko and Jillian could only stare at the omnious pillar of fire that was now torching both Christopher and the sky above, shocked by what was happening. But the question running through their minds was who or what exactly was responsible for the sight that they were seeing in the far distance. Eventually, Kamui, Kiyoi and Sharlene also noticed the sight that their companions were seeing and hurried onto the top deck of the yacht to join them.
"What the heck is that?!" the Nova Grappler user exclaimed.
From their cards, Tama and Yuki could only gaze upon the raging pillar of fire, with the exact same question brewing through each of their respective minds much like their Selector who held them. Before the pillar slowly started to disappear, their eyes widened as a strange sensation coursed through them, but only for a short instance as the column of heat and fire was gone within a moment's notice.
"This is..." the girl of black breathed.
"What is it Yuki?" asked Ruko, curious as to why she was feeling this way.
"Tama sensed something over there!" Tama interjected "Tama thinks that was by a LRIG!"
Everyone but two of them looked to the girl of white in surprise, wondering how it was she had sensed something coming from that raging pillar of fire considering how far they were from the city of Singapore on open water.
"Are you certain about this?" asked Kai.
"I did feel something strange for a moment..." Kiyoi murmured as she pondered on the thought "But my experience as an LRIG is not as great as Tama or Yuki, so I can't be certain."
"Then let's floor it to there and find out for ourselves!" Jillian announced as she immediately gunned the throttle on the yacht's controls.
The boat then accelerated at a much more quicker rate than usual, bringing them closer and closer towards the bay of Singapore where they knew that they had to search the city for answers and find Christopher for their earlier pick up. But little did they know, they would find that accomplishing both tasks would be right at the same location they would eventually go to for their companion.
SIT Premises
As the boundary to the battlefield was shut off, a weakened Christopher fell to his knees as he struggled to pick up his blank cards. His clothes had scorch marks present all over him and smoke was pouring off of him as he coughed loudly. Eventually, after picking up the final one, he could hear a sound he was hoping not to hear. It sounded like whimpering and judging from the voice that it belonged to, his eyes could only widen in horror. Struggling onto his knees, stumbling briefly as he did so, he saw that Ali and Lee were also marked, much like him and the latter had seemingly had gone through a Judgement of his own. Whilst Ulith watched on in triumph for her efforts, Fumio's expression was hidden from a shadow cast over the top half of her face by her hair.
"Ali...! Lee...!" he cried as he struggled on over towards them.
"C... Chris...!" Ali groaned as his friend eventually joined him "Lee...! He's...!"
Christopher could only blink in confusion before turning his attention over to Lee, who he could now see wasn't just in agony from his earlier 'Judgement', but he was also shaking uncontrollably.
"I'm... a failure..." he sobbed "... My comrades... my family... I...!"
"Lee, snap out of it...!" the Great Nature user called, coughing as he did so "We're here for you! What happened out there?!"
A sinister giggle then caught his and Ali's attention towards Ulith, who was enjoying relishing in the sight that was playing out before her very eyes. The sight of suffering and those that attempted to comfort the victim of her many talents to little avail were all something that entertained her greatly. She palmed her face, feigning a struggle of some kind to restrain her sinister laughter.
(End Music)
"Wonderful..." she spoke, her tone seeming soft to the ear, but underneath lay a different intent with it "The shattering of one's brilliance and the feeble attempts of the outsiders to try and mend it... I knew I was correct in selecting him as my target from this team."
"You...! What did you do to him?!" Christopher demanded.
"I simply enlightened him to the consequences of his actions," Ulith replied with a smug hint of satisfaction "It is only fitting that one of a family of their caliber be reminded of. Though come to think of it... I've sensed your presence before, haven't I?"
"Huh...?"
As Ali blinked in confusion, wondering why exactly the cruel demanored Selector had claimed that she and his friend had somehow met before this day in a manner of speaking, he turned to him, hoping he might be able to shed some light on the situation. But from what he could tell, Christopher's expression had slowly turned to utter horror as finally realized that her voice was far more familiar to him than he first remembered.
"Now I remember...!" he gasped "You're that person who activated Aichi's PSY Qualia against his will! And...!"
"His fragile heart remains as it once was," she interrupted "But that is of no concern now. I look forward to seeing it shattered once again, soon enough."
The Great Nature user could only clench his teeth as he knew in his current state, both physically and through his lack of units as of a few moments ago, he was powerless to do anything to oppose Ulith or what she had to say.
"Christopher!"
Everyone then looked down the open area of the premises of SIT to see that a certain cardfighter who had been hurrying over after noticing the giant pillar of fire earlier had finally arrived. He wasn't entirely out of breath, but he was breathing in and out as he panted slowly, now seeing that his worst suspicions were indeed confirmed.
"Mistsusada...!" he called as he moved towards him "Stay back...! These people are...!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Semarikuru Kiken)
Stopping in his footsteps for a moment, he looked at both Ulith and Futase, now understanding from his warning that these were the people responsible for the state they were in and marking them as he could tell from the familiar Mark of Penalty on their right hands. Whilst the former had remained as calmly confident as she was, the latter on the other hand had still held a secretly pained expression, not wanting to say anything to him at all.
"Are you the people responsible for marking that girl who stumbled into the card shop earlier?" he asked.
"You catch on quickly," Ulith replied smugly "We intended to save you for later, but this on the other hand makes our job easier."
"Mistusada, be careful...!" Christopher cried "These people have a trump card...! It's a Grade...!"
Before he could complete his sentence, he immediately moved back just in time as a blunt knife suddenly soared and struck the ground right where he, Ali and Lee were previously sitting. Mistusada's eyes widened as he suddenly realized that there had to be one more person in the area who did not want him to be warned of their strategy in their cardfights before he felt something latch onto his wrist.
"This is...!"
He suddenly felt himself being dragged forwards a little as Akira leaped down and landed at a small distance in front of him, wielding the tether that was attached to her bracelet to great effect once again.
"Sorry, but if you want to get to Ulith-chan, you'll need to get past me!" she replied confidently "Or you can drop your deck here and I might consider letting go of you!"
"Ulith...?" he pondered as he briefly looked up to the cruel demanored Selector who kept her smirk "Then... who exactly are you?"
"You could say that I'm just someone with a grudge against this world," the Selector replied "But there's only one guy that I want to defeat here, right now and all of you are just a warm up for him!"
The Dimension Police user now seeing the predicament he was now in soon realized that there was only one way out of this situation and that was without surrendering his deck to the group before him. He had to fight the person he was attached to and win, otherwise he would be marked like all of the others he had seen and his units would be lost to them anyway. Mitsusada then looked to Christopher, Ali and Lee, concerned for their current states and the fact that Ulith and Futase were still right beside them at this point.
"I'll accept your fight," he said, bringing out his deck from his pocket with his free hand "But first, let Christopher and the others go."
"Naturally," Futase replied with a lack of emotion "We already have their units, so they are of no further use to us."
As Christopher and Ali helped Lee back onto his feet, the latter still in a state of shock and depression from whatever it was that Ulith had done to him earlier, the three of them slowly moved away from the two Selectors and onto a different part of the institute grounds. Akira simply smirked and brought out her deck before disabling the tether as the boundary for the battlefield immediately appeared once again. As this happened, the familiar dark red tables manifested before Mistusada, much to his surprise, and the Selector as both of them set up both their starting Vanguards and their starting hands in preparation to begin the fight. Eventually after a few long moments, both of them were finally ready to begin.
"Stand Up, (Aki) Vanguard!"
Two bright glows appeared in front of each of their respective tables as both Dimensional Robo, Goyusha and Hanayo Zero manifested themselves from their fighters' images onto the battlefield. Mitsusada could only stare at the imaged LRIG in wonder, having not come across her or any of the others before and curious as to what it was all about. Then to his surprise, Akira's deck suddenly glowed a bright orange as a certain card bound itself face down like before, making Christopher and Ali watch on in worry from outside of the boundary.
"Mitsusada..." he muttered "You must win to get out of there! Or..."
"I'll go first!" Akira announced as she drew her single card "Ride! Hanayo One!"
A bright orange aura surrounded Hanayo Zero, changing up some of her appearance as her dress underwent a few minor cosmetic alterations as the Ride was completed.
Hanayo One/POW: 7000 - 8000
"If it gained power, then this is definitely a Ride Chain," Mitsusada murmured as he watched the Selector search her deck for Hanayo Four, Hundred-Fire Profusion and show it to him before adding it to her hand.
"Now then, let's see what you have then."
The Dimension Police user drew his single card to start his turn before taking it and a second card from his hand and throwing them down onto his table.
"Ride, Dimensional Robo, Daimariner!" he declared as Goyusha's card on the table slid back into the circle directly behind Daimariner. "And call Daitiger!"
On the battlefield in front of him, Goyusha reappeared behind the manifested Daimariner, just as Daitiger then materialized to the right of it, flexing its legs and growling lowly in preparation for battle against its opponent.
"Daimariner attacks!"
Mitsusada then revealed his drive check as Dimensional Robo, Daishield with no trigger marking to help him any further for the rest of the turn. Daimariner then made a revving noise of some kind before ramming itself into Hanayo, knocking her backwards as Akira's first damage was revealed as Berserk Dragon. Daitiger then gained a glowing white aura to it as it landed on top of the imaged LRIG, landing another successful attack.
(End Music)
Dimensional Robo, Daitiger/POW: 7000 - 10000
As the turn came to an end, the Selector immediately drew her next card and sneered upon seeing what it was that she had obtained.
"Well, deja vu," she complimented as she placed the card into her hand "Ride, Hanayo Two!"
(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Contention)
Once again, a bright orange aura enveloped the manifested Hanayo, changing up the appearance of her dress once again before she re-emerged onto the battlefield with greater power than what she previously possessed. Then to the rear-guard circles on the LRIG's left appeared both a second Hanayo Two and Gattling Claw Dragon as Mitsusada could only stare on, realizing what was about to happen next.
"Gattling Claw's skill!" the Selector announced "Get out of here, eyesore!"
Gattling Claw Dragon then pointed its right arm towards Goyusha and fired upon it with a shower of orange coloured bullets that dented it badly until both units disappeared from the field. The Hanayo that was her Vanguard then manifested a large fireball in her right hand before hurling it straight at Daimariner, the impact sending the vehicular unit crashing into the boundary wall to the far left of the field. Akira then revealed Perdition Dancer, Agafia as her Drive Check, recovering the damage she had turned face down for Gattling Claw's skill.
"Too bad!" she cackled before switching the tone of her voice to her 'Aki-lucky' persona "You now won't be able to superior ride and finish me before I unveil my trump card! Goosey-goosey-goosebumps!"
The rear-guard Hanayo then waged her attack on the downed Daimariner by unleashing another fireball at it which engulfed the unit in a large explosion as Mitsusada's second damage was revealed as Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha. Christopher and Ali could only watch on with worry, seeing that his opponent had managed to take a slight lead thanks to the Heal Trigger that she had checked and having already mowed down his one chance of gaining an advantage over her early on.
"With Goyusha gone already, this isn't going to be good for Mitsusada," Ali muttered.
"Even so, Mitsusada's not one to let something like that bother him easily," Christopher replied before noticing something off about his companion "Say... even though you were marked, it looked like that other girl didn't cast 'Judgement' on you."
"That's because she never used that bound card she had," he answered "But you and Lee have definitely got it worse. No offence by the way."
"None taken," the Great Nature user replied with a small smile before looking back to the boundary wall "Now we've got to put all of our faith in him."
Back within the battlefield, Mitsusada placed down another card on top of Daimariner's as the downed Battleroid disappeared in a flash before Daifighter then appeared into the center line in front of his table. He then looked down at the cards he held, contemplating the options that he had available to him and what his opponent had already shown to him.
Hanayo doesn't seem to be natively Kagero, but their units can be used alongside her he murmured in his thoughts And then there is that face down card and that Grade 4 unit she added to her hand. I'll just have to play it out and see what else she has in store.
"Daifighter attacks!"
"No guard," she confidently replied.
"Drive check!"
He then revealed the top card of his deck as Dimensional Robo, Daibattles, the card shining brightly as this happened.
"Critical Trigger!" he declared "Power to Daitiger, Critical to Daifighter!"
Daifiger then revved up its drill and slammed it down into the ground beneath it, creating a small tremor that caused the Vanguard Hanayo to stumble as Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasa and Calamity Tower Wyvern landed in Akira's damage zone. Daitiger dashed across the battlefield on its legs before leaping up into the air, preparing to pounce on its target. The rear-guard Hanayo then moved in front of it and came between the two, creating a green circle to deflect the attack before she vanished from the rear-guard. Mitsusada could only watch as Daitiger came back over to his side of the field as the turn came to an end.
End of Turn 4
Akira vs Mitsusada
Hand - 6 : 6
Soul - 3 : 1
Damage - 3 : 2
Bind Zone - 1 (face-down) : 0
Front Rows : EMPTY - Hanayo Two (VG) - EMPTY : Dimensional Robo, Daitiger - Dimensional Robo, Daifighter (VG) - EMPTY
Back Rows : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - EMPTY - EMPTY
"Keh," Akira scoffed "All of that and you still didn't manage to make a dent in my hand. At this rate, even Kai might be a pushover!"
"You know of Kai's whereabouts...?" he asked, having been informed of his disappearance, but not hearing about his recent return to this world beforehand.
"Not exactly," she replied "But I do know for a fact he's back in this world and perhaps if I mark you with enough of these eyesores around here, I can bring him straight into my hands!"
"So what's your story with him then?"
Upon hearing the additional question that was then presented to her, the Selector's expression slowly turned to one of frustration as she then clenched her right fist from just remembering it.
"From where I come from, I battle to make my wish come true," she began "I had just one wish then, to get back at someone before my life came crashing down around me. Then Kai had to appear and defeat me, making that impossible for a short while!"
As Futase couldn't help but express a small portion of interest in the fact that Kai had actually defeated the Selector who was currently fighting, despite having knowledge of him battling her beforehand, Ulith didn't make a single reaction to Akira's statement. Christopher and Ali couldn't help but wonder if this one defeat she had from facing Kai in her world was the reason that she was harbouring such a grudge against their world and if so, were there people that attacked them along with presumably others they had no knowledge about who also had their sights set on all of the cardfighters and their units. Little did they know that this was indeed the very 'war' Mayu had declared on their world and that they were all targets for her bounty.
"I'll make him suffer!" Akira declared "Just a little flesh wound from a couple of days ago isn't enough! And I'll start by crushing all of you and the very world he comes from!"
Mitsusada, though still in the dark of all of the details, now had a better understanding of what the Selector was aiming to achieve and that a previous encounter with Kai had something to do with her actions against Christopher and several other fighters on the institute campus. For now, he had to focus on winning the fight and escaping with all of his units still intact or else he would suffer the same fate as almost everyone else that he encountered outside of the card shop today.
(End Music)
Wixoss World: City Streets
On a quiet and lonely street within that world's version of Tokyo, Hanayo was on her knees, clutching her head in pain as she breathed heavily to regain her composure. It was already enough of a nightmare having to use Yuzuki's body to keep up a deception in order to ensure that her wish could remain true, so that her former Selector would have a body to return to when everything would hopefully end the way they would want it. But now, things were seeming far more difficult by the second as she had experienced a few seconds ago.
This pain... someone's using my powers as an LRIG to harm others...! she cried within her thoughts It's like for a few moments, my actual self was being stolen away!
Returning back onto her feet, she stumbled across the lonely street to a nearby bench to try and recover both her strength and overall composure as she tried to make sense of what was happening to her today.
"That last one made it five..." she panted "How many more times is this going to happen?"
Upon looking up to the gloomy sky, her eyes widened in complete horror as to the sight she was seeing right above the city itself. From amongst the dark grey clouds that cast such a mood over the city, a giant black ring of some kind was now high in orbit and circling ominously above the various buildings. Despite having no personal encounters with any of the Star-vaders during her visits to Mayu's White Room or barely any knowledge of them beforehand at all, Hanayo could tell that such a premonition that she was seeing now in addition to these sudden instances that she was suffering through was likely only the start of what was to come in the near future for her world and those who inhabited them.
Watching several people passing by for a brief instance, studying their expressions closely, only a few of them amongst those that were actually looking up at the ominous sky actually reacted to the fact that there was indeed the giant black ring that was amongst the clouds above Tokyo. And from what she could tell, that only served to ramp up her earlier concerns even further.
"It seems only Selectors and LRIGs, in addition to those possessing a body, can see that troubling sight," she murmured to herself, sighing for a little moment.
From where this world was standing in the midst of Mayu's game, it seems that things were about to take a turn for the worse and that there was no telling how soon it would be until that same change would take effect. For the time being, she knew that she could do nothing but to keep Yuzuki's wish fulfilment in effect until they could figure out how to return back to their original bodies and pray that her friends, wherever they were now, were safe from harm as she wondered about whether or not the earlier pain and sensation she was forced into would occur with her again.
And there we go! In a last ditch effort to finish off Akira, Christopher re-rides his Legion in an attempt to net an advantage with returning his used Critical Triggers back to his deck, only for it to backfire horribly in messing up his trigger checks through having to return Normal Units. In response, the Selector calls upon the power of Hanayo Five to finish him off and cast a special Judgement through said powers somehow. As Kai and the others speed up to get to Singapore as quickly as possible, Mitsusada shows up to find Christopher and his companions before being forced into a fight with Akira. Can he succeed where Christopher failed? Or will Akira have even more units to give to Ulith for her to donate to Mayu? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG!
Before I go, I want to give my thanks to the user Flamy from the SolemnVanguard Discord chat for assisting me in creating the Limit Override condition for the re-adapted Level 5 LRIGs. They have been a great help and I appreciate what they've suggested in helping me finalizing the condition as a whole. So for now, please leave your thoughts and criticisms in the reviews and I'll see you next time!
Re-Adapted Cards debuting this Chapter:
Hanayo Five
Grade 5
Ability: Triple Drive!
Shield: 0
Power: 15000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dragon Empire
Clan: Dragon Empire
Race: Human/LRIG
Unit Type: Normal Unit
[Limit Override] (When the game begins, if your starting Vanguard is a {LRIG}, search your deck for this card (if it is not in your starting hand) and bind it face down. Only one card can be bound by [Limit Override]. Whilst in the bind zone this way, it cannot leave except by the following effect; "When your turn begins and you have a Vanguard with "Hanayo" in its original card name that is either Grade 3 and [Legion] or Grade 4, you may skip your Draw Phase. If you do, Ride this card onto your (VG) from your bind zone".)
[CONT](Hand): If you do not have a Vanguard with "Hanayo" in its original card name that is either Grade 3 and [Legion] or Grade 4 or greater, you cannot Ride this unit.
[ACT](VG): [Soul Blast (5)] Choose as many of your opponent's rear-guards as possible whose combined [Power] is 30000 or less and retire them.
[CONT](VG): All of your rear-guards get [Critical]+1.
[CONT](VG): This unit gets the [ACT] abilities of all {LRIG} in the Drop Zone.
