South America: Serra Residence

As dusk approached the continent with the sun beginning to go down over the horizon, Miyako walked down the stairway that had led to the main hall of the estate, approaching both Serra as well as his butler. Morris bowed once seemingly as a greeting to the General of Mayu's forces as she walked past him with nearly no regard for his presence, not noticing a smile curl across his lips. A small clattering noise was made as she flexed her mostly repaired metallic hand before stopped in front of the master of the estate and the traitor of the Quatre Knights himself. One who was supposed to be amnesiac as punishment for his crimes against his former companions or so everyone who had witnessed and had been informed of those events had intially believed.

"Our transport to Japan has been arranged?" she asked sternly.

"Of course," he answered calmly "With Gaillard still believing that I no longer have my original memories, masking myself in plain sight amongst the fighters outside of South America will be an easy task until we deem the time for ourselves to strike correct."

"Excellent Serra," Miyako replied, though her tone remained the same as it was "You may be a part of humanity worth keeping around for Mayu after the Great Cleansing befalls both of our worlds."

And with that, the three of them exited the estate through the doors and left for the transport that Serra had arranged for them to get them over to Japan, for their schemes to be put into effect.


Japan: City Streets

(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z OST: Gastille Fight)

Meanwhile, within an empty street of Tokyo, the fight between Emi and Ulith continued into the beginning of its later turns with the younger sister of Aichi having taken a lead with two damage to the cruel demanoured Selector's three. Her vanguard was currently a unit by the name of Duo True Sister, Meer, who had pink hair, teal eyes and a yellow mermaid tail in addition to the black dress she wore. Her rear-guard was the same as before from her second turn whilst Ulith still had Cosmo as her Vanguard with her Level 0 self from the front row having been defeated by a previous attack. Mai watched on nervously from the edge of the battlefield as close to the wall of flames as she could stand.

"Stand and draw," the cruel demanoured Selector spoke as her lips pursed into a smile "I like your expression. It's been a while since I last savoured the taste of a sibling falling out myself."

"What are you saying?" Emi questioned, rasing an eyebrow as she did so.

"This is just simply another day for me," Ulith continued as she picked out a card from her hand "This fight is only a savouring for what I intend to do next with your brother. I simply can't want to pull more twisted expressions from him, when I deem it's right to telegraph your defeat to him."

She then held up the card into the air as it flashed a blinding dark purple before placing it down onto her Vanguard circle on top of Cosmo's card as the Devil SIGNI disappeared from the battlefield.

"Ride!" she declared with a sinister smile "Ulith... Three Paths Enma!"

Black smog descended from the light that was shining from where Cosmo previously was before pulling back to reveal one of the many Level 3 forms utilized by the cruel demeanoured Selector whilst she was an LRIG. The Ulith on the battlefield was dressed in her usual one piece tights, only they had a skirt attached to the lower half and she wielded a white umbrella as a weapon with the inside of it resembling that of a giant fiery eye. She sneered as she glanced towards Meer, only resulting in Mai feeling very nervous of her presence.

Ulith, Three Paths Emna/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/SLD: 0/POW: 10000/?/Dark Zone/Human;LRIG

"I... It's that other Ulith again," she breathed "Only, it's her Vanguard now."

Emi whilst staring at the new Vanguard in bewilderment glanced back to her opponent who still had a very smug smile on her face.

"Even if you're saying that Aichi lied to me, I won't let you take my units!" she snapped "And why are you so obsessed with these 'twisted expressions' you keep talking about?!"

"I don't just live for it," Ulith answered cooly, before placing down two cards onto her rear-guard "I hunger for it."

Onto her side of the battlefield joined a second Cosmo in front of Grim and behind the Ulith that was her Vanguard was a Spike Brothers unit that was familiar to both her opponent and Mai. He had pale white skin, a pair of wings sprouting from his back along with a horn from the top of his head and was dressed in a teal uniform with teal colouring and red armour on his shoulders, back and knees.

"And I'll savour it more, when I bring you to despair!" she declared with a crazed smile before resting all the units in her middle column "Attack! Dudley Dan's skill!"

As the Ulith on the battlefield twirled her umbrella and charged towards Meer, she turned over two cards from her damage zone before placing a second Ulith, Three Paths Enma into her soul and picking up her deck.

"I Superior Call Highspeed, Brakki!" she announced as the purple armoured Warbeast appeared to her left.

Highspeed, Brakki/Grade 2/Intercept/SLD: 5000/POW: 9000/Spike Brothers/Dark Zone/Warbeast

"No guard!" Emi called.

"Twin Drive."

Ulith then picked up the first card to reveal it as Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers before adding it immediately to her hand. She then picked the second card from the top of her deck and turned it over to reveal Cheer Girl, Tiara before it glowed brightly.

"Heal Trigger," she smirked before reaching out for Baron Amadeus that had Counter Blasted moments ago "I recover one damage and give the power to Brakki."

The Ulith on the battlefield giggled sinisterly before spinning around her umbrella, causing it to light ablaze with purple flames before slashing it across Meer, causing her to scream in pain as embers singed her skin and tail. The next card to enter Emi's damage zone was Duo Pretty Horn, Ural with no trigger to help her defend against the next two attacks.

"Brakki attacks next," Ulith continued as the Warbeast rushed off "Soul Blast. Add 5000 power."

As she moved the second Ulith, Three Paths Enma from her soul to the drop zone, the card suddenly glowed a dark purple, much to the shock of Emi and Mai.

"What?!" gasped the latter.

"Is that a skill from the drop zone?!" the Bermuda Triangle user exclaimed.

"That's right," the cruel demanoured Selector continued "Whenever I Soul Blast Ulith, Three Paths Enma as a cost, I can add any Dark Zone unit of my choosing to my hand from my drop zone, provided the card isn't an LRIG."

She then picked out a certain card on her mind and placed it back into her hand, revealing it to be Baron Amadeus much to her opponent's annoyance as Brakki rammed itself into Meer who cried in pain before vanishing in a purple light as the card shuffled itself into the deck.

"Four damage," she mused "Certainly, I could try and push you to five, but what fun would that be?"

She then rested Grim and Cosmo's cards to signal her third attack as the creature the latter of the Devil SIGNI was riding atop roared loudly before it took flight towards a seemingly defenceless Rhone.

"Guard!" Emi declared as two units by the name of Duo Petit Etoile, Peace and Duo Tropical Healer, Medjerda manifested to block the oncoming attack.

Cosmo and the creature she was riding atop could only hiss in annoyance as they retreated before the two Mermaid guardians left the field, the cards entering the drop zone as this happened. Ulith however was not concerned in the slightest as she playfully shrugged her shoulders to signal the end of her turn.

End of Turn 6

Emi vs Ulith

Hand - 6 : 6

Soul - 2 : 2

Damage - 4 : 2

Front Rows : Duo Mini Heart, Rhone - Duo True Sister, Meer - EMPTY : EMPTY - Ulith, Three Paths Enma - Cosmo, Symbol of Immorality

Back Rows : PRISM-Duo, Tisza - EMPTY - EMPTY : EMPTY - Dudley Dan - Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins

"4 damage to 2," Mai murmured "Ulith's managed to turn it around in an instant and recover a Quintet Wall."

Emi breathed to regain her composure, but it was to little avail however as the thought of Aichi deceiving her and her other friends save for the one on the sidelines were seemingly in on the deception still remained. Though some of her initial anger from the revelation had faded since her third turn, it was still fresh in her mind and she felt she wasn't going to be as forgiving to any of them when they next met.

"Emi-san!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, she gazed back through the flames to see that Kamui, Kiyoi, Ruko, Miwa and Kai had hurried over to where the fight was taking place, having reunited and noticing the glow of the barrier a little earlier. With the thought still brewing in her mind then, her gaze had turned into a glare when her eyes fell upon the Kagero user himself.

(End Music)

"We're too late!" the Nova Grappler user cried "Ulith's already fighting her!"

"Well, at least things can't seem any worse than they are," Miwa murmured nervously.

"Worse?!" Emi exclaimed, much to their shock before resuming her gaze upon who she had faced earlier "Where have you been all this time?! Was Aichi with you?!"

"Emi..." Kai murmured, confused by the sudden venom in her tone "Aichi was with some of us in Ruko's world and..."

"So what she was saying was true!"

Everyone blinked in confusion before soon realizing that there was only one way that the Bermuda Triangle user could have had prior knowledge about the other world and that was through the opponent she was currently facing. A snicker was heard from Ulith as she was relishing in every moment of the explosive confrontation between Emi and the other fighters and Selectors outside of the barrier.

"K... Kai," Mai murmured nervously "Is what Emi's opponent saying true...? That Aichi lied to her about where he was going to find out and that everyone else back here was in on it?"

"Lied...?" he breathed in disbelief "I was wondering why he avoided my questions about Emi before we searched for Ayumu, but..."

"I can only assume he did it to prevent Emi from following him," Yuki spoke from her card "Whilst he dodged your question, he did say that he didn't want to risk her to end up separated from him in our world."

Emi having broken out of her anger for an instant turned her attention towards the cards containing both the girl of black and Tama herself, now bewildered once again as she stared at the latter who simply waved hello to her.

"That card... just moved?!" she gasped "What is going on?!"

"D... Don't be scared Emi!" called Ruko "It looks like any cardfighters can hear Tama and Yuki, whether they've been in my world or not."

"W... What are you saying?" the Bermuda Triangle user stuttered in disbelief.

"Whether you wish to believe it or not now," Kiyoi replied "All of us are now involved in this battle. In Kai's efforts to end the Selector System with his comrades, Mayu has declared war on this world. Whether your brother left or not, the situation is still the same. You need to win to escape that barrier and slow down Mayu's plans for now."

Emi now hearing from the two girls that she was meeting for the first time trying to speak out for Aichi, of which she was still furious now when it came to her brother, she glanced at Kai one last time before turning back to face her opponent.

"As much as I would like to shout at Kai for causing my brother to lie to me now, you do have a point...!" she muttered "Ulith's one of those girls that has been going around and stealing units from fighters they defeat, like I heard before."

"Before...?" murmured Miwa.

"The previous attacks by Mayu's troupe in France, Japan and Singapore must have made international news for cardfighters across this world," Yuki pondered "It might not be a surprise that Emi is at least aware of their actions."

Deciding to save her pent up anger until a little later, Emi immediately started her turn by drawing her next card before placing it amongst the rest she held in her left hand and picking out a different one to use. Having been on the side of the battlefield since the beginning, Mai quietly gasped as she could see from an angle for a brief moment that it was a certain card that could help guide her friend to victory.

"You who brings happiness and joy to those around you, hear my cry for help and end this fight in my victory!" the Bermuda Triangle user declared "Super cute Break Ride!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: Fight 1)

As Meer vanished from the field in a bright blue light, a torrent of water surged from the ground as a silhouette rose throughout it before bursting from the top of the column. The figure that landed back onto the ground was dressed in white and had pinkish white hair, red eyes and was a mermaid much like every other Bermuda Triangle unit that was played by Emi. She hummed to herself as she leaned up from the ground to face the Ulith, Three Paths Enma that was the cruel demanoured Selector's Vanguard.

"Duo Temptation, Reit!"

Duo Temptation, Reit/Grade 3/Twin Drive!/SLD: 0/POW: 11000 - 21000/Bermuda Triangle/Magallanica/Mermaid

"Is that...?" Tama pondered.

"It's Emi's new ace!" Kamui cheered "With a unit like that and the Break Ride skill at her disposal, there's no way Ulith's getting through this turn!"

Whilst Ruko and Miwa could only smile in agreement, Kai and Kiyoi on the other hand didn't seem quite as sure as their attention was focused on Ulith herself. Despite the conditions that were now set against her, the cruel demanoured wasn't seemingly appearing concerned in the slightest, as if she had been expecting that particular unit to show itself before her. As they continued to ponder on this, three more units appeared into Emi's rear guard to both the right and behind her Vanguard. All of them bore black dresses and were ready to take on the menace that was the true appearance of Ulith as an LRIG that was her Vanguard.

"With a boost from Tisza, Rhone attacks!" Emi declared as Peace charged towards Ulith, Three Paths Enma.

"Intercept," the cruel demanoured Selector replied calmly as Cosmo and the beast she rode upon blocked Rhone's path, preventing her attack from succeeding.

"Then how about this!" the Bermuda Triangle user continued "Syr Darya with a boost from Parana!"

This time, the unit known as Syr Darya continued in her charge through a torrent of water towards her target, intending to land a hit for Emi this time. However, Cheer Girl, Tiara manifested from Ulith's hand and took the brunt of the attack head on.

"She blocked both of them!" gasped Mai.

"But Emi-san's not done yet!" Kamui interjected "Ulith's gonna see that Bermuda Triangle isn't something you can't just push around!"

"Reit attacks your Vanguard!" Emi declared "With her skill, return Parana to my hand! Furthermore, my cute Break Ride skill! Return two rear-guards to my hand and call two cards to my rear-guard!"

As Syr Darya, Parana and Rhone returned to her hand, Syr Darya and Parana immediately reappeared onto the empty right column, preparing to strike against Ulith once again. When this occurred, Reit sang out a small tune before surrounding herself with water and charging straight towards Ulith, Three Paths Enma who took up a defensive pose.

"No guard," the real Ulith replied smugly.

"Twin Drive!" she called as she turned over the first card as Duo Grampus Turn, Shannon "Critical Trigger! I give all of the effects to my Vanguard!"

Duo Temptation, Reit/POW: 21000 - 26000/Critical: 2

"She gave the effects to her Vanguard?" Ruko pondered in confusion.

"Then this must mean..." Yuki murmured.

"Second check!" Emi called as she turned over her next card as another Duo Grampus Turn, Shannon which shone brightly "Again, I give all of the effects to my Vanguard!"

Reit sang out a triumphant melody as she soared through the water that surrounded her and crashed right into Ulith, Three Paths Enma, knocking her down onto the ground. Seeing that the attack was a success, Mai, Miwa and Kamui cheered loudly to celebrate the Bermuda Triangle user's success in getting a lead up on Ulith at last once again.

"Double Critical!" Tama exclaimed.

"That puts Ulith on five damage!" Miwa interjected.

"Emi-san's got this wrapped up!" Kamui called.

"No."

(Music Ends Abruptly)

Everyone with the exception of Kai and Yuki turned their attention to Kiyoi who had somewhat made an objection towards most of the group's assumptions for the result of the fight.

"What are you saying?" the Nova Grappler user asked in confusion "Emi's still got a attack with her rear-guard and thanks to those drive checks she's got now, she can let loose another skill."

"That's not what concerns me," the former blue LRIG replied "Look at Ulith."

It was only until they turned their attention towards Ulith herself did they finally understand the point that Kiyoi was trying to get across to them. She was sneering to herself as she reached out for the top card of her deck to perform her three damage checks.

"First."

She turned over the card to reveal Cheer Girl, Marilyn before moving it straight into her damage zone and reaching out for the next card. She then turned it over to reveal Cheerful Lynx which shone brightly.

"Draw Trigger. I give the power to my Vanguard," she smirked before drawing her single card and reaching for her deck one last time "Final check."

She turned over the last card as a third copy of Ulith, Three Paths Enma which she then placed into her damage zone, now bringing the total of the cards there to five, leaving her only one damage away from defeat. Mai could only smile once she saw that the supposed outcome for Emi's victory was now within her grasp, having been familiar with all of her new Duo cards before this fight.

"I'm not done yet!" Emi called "The melody of temptation will drag anyone to fall before her! Liet's super cute Limit Break!"

A turquoise coloured Vanguard circle flashed above Liet as she sang a loud melody out aloud, before the Bermuda Triangle user turned over two cards from her damage zone, leaving her with only a single one face up, before discarding both of the Critical Triggers she had just checked in her previous Twin Drive.

"As much as would like to have had Normal Units for the cost," she continued "I discard my two Triggers since they have the same name and Stand my Vanguard with an extra 3000 power!"

As the melody ended, Reit surrounded herself in a veil of water in preparation for the next attack to come her way. As this happened, Syr Darya charged at the Ulith that acted as the Vanguard, only to be stopped in her tracks once again, this time by Dudley Dan. However, that didn't seem to worry most of the group watching from outside of the barrier of flames.

"Emi's Vanguard is still standing!" Tama called "And she hasn't boosted it yet!"

"If this attack goes through, then Ulith will hit six damage!" Mai cheered.

Whilst Kamui and Miwa looked on with hopeful expressions, Ruko couldn't help but turn her attention towards Kai as she noted his view of the situation.

"Emi's brought up her Vanguard's power to 34000 with a boost available, but you think the second attack won't get through that easily?" she asked.

"Ulith is still holding 5 cards in her hand," he replied "There has to be something that happened before we arrived to have Emi put the power from the trigger effects to her Vanguard."

As the two looked back to the battlefield before them, the cruel demanoured Selector was softly giggling to herself, as if she was once again not even concerned in the slightest about the situation she was currently in.

"What's so funny?!" Emi snapped.

"The irony is delicious," Ulith chuckled "You did all that work just to power up my defences and add a card to my hand. Did you ever stop to think that dealing me that much damage at once was an intelligent move?"

"It doesn't matter!" she replied "My Vanguard with a boost will be at 41000 power and your Quintet Wall alone won't be able to stop it! Go Reit!"

Reit sang a new melody as she charged through her watery aura towards Ulith, Three Paths Enma whilst the units Rhone, Parana and Syr Darya disappeared immediately. The latter two reappeared onto the battlefield in the same column as before whilst Rhone's card reappeared amongst the cards in Emi's hand. As the torrent of water came closer and closer...

"Yes, that's the look I wanted to see!" Ulith cackled "Resentment, envy, bitterness...! I'll savour every last drop of it from you when I drag you to the depths of my own personal hell! Perfect Guard!"

(Selector Spread Wixoss OST: Ulith)

Much to the shock of almost everyone else, the succubus Spike Brothers unit Cheer Girl, Marilyn appeared in a flash of purple light and threw one of her yellow pom-poms out to form a green barrier to stop Reit dead in her tracks, much to the mermaid's sudden shock as she was immediately deflected off the barrier and sent hurtling into the top of the barrier. The rebound from it sent her crashing back into Emi's side of the field, causing a massive dent into the ground.

"... What?!" she gasped.

"She still had a Perfect Guard?!" gasped Kamui.

"Ulith made all of the extra power go to waste!" Miwa interjected.

"And as the cost..." Ulith continued "I discard my Quintet Wall, Baron Amadeus."

"You're discarding your own Quintet Wall?!" Mai exclaimed as she watched the cruel demanoured Selector place the revealed card into her drop zone.

Emi could only stare down at Reit's card, shocked that all of her efforts had now been reduced to naught from a single card she had not been aware of since the beginning of the fight.

"Don't tell me..." she breathed "When you added back Amadeus after healing and recovering it, you tricked me into wasting my trigger effects on my Vanguard!"

"No trickery, no cheating, scum," Ulith replied smugly "It's true, Amadeus was the Sentinel I added back to my hand. I never said it would be the one I would use, you just foolishly assumed it."

"Still...!" Emi continued "Twin Drive!"

She then turned over the first card from the top of her deck, revealing the first card as a second copy of Duo Temptation, Reit, much to her slight dismay. The Bermuda Triangle user then closed her eyes and moved her hand back to the top of her deck once again, praying she could at least pull another trigger to help with her final attack of the turn. After pulling it from the top, she and everyone else save for Kai and Kiyoi could only widen their eyes in shock as the second card was revealed as PRISM-Duo, Aria.

"No... trigger..." she said, unable to hide her disappointment before regaining a bit of her composure and turning her attention to her rear-guard "Go Syr Darya!"

"Guard," Ulith calmy replied as Highspeed, Brakki came to the defence, easily blocking the last attack of the turn.

Mai and everyone else outside of the barrier could only watch on in concern as Ulith began her next turn by drawing a new card to her hand. All of them seemed rather worried for Emi now that the cruel demanoured Selector had easily survived through the last six attacks with very little lost from her hand.

"So hitting Ulith with three damage at once backfired?!" Miwa gasped.

"It's just like when we last fought," Kai replied "She intentionally gets her opponent to push her to the edge and starts getting serious then."

"I'm only familiar with a little of what I've seen of her as an LRIG," Kiyoi spoke, glancing down at Yuki briefly "But your deduction is rather accurate to what I witnessed then."

"Still," Kamui interrupted "Emi's got 8 cards in hand and an intercept! There's no way Ulith is breaking through this turn!"

"Who said that this turn would be the one to finish her," Ulith spoke out, shocking the Nova Grappler user briefly as she sharply glanced at him "I've still got my trump card hidden from sight. Did Emi honestly think she would defeat me when she used hers up early?"

She then placed down a new Grade 4 card depicting her form as an LRIG onto the field, this one being different from the one Miyako had used in her fight with Gaillard.

"Ride!" she called "Ulith, Vermilion Enma!"

A series of purple flames engulfed the Ulith on the battlefield, causing her to cackle loudly despite the pain she was suffering. Her dress save for a few folds of her skirt was now nothing but a pile of cinders as the demonic eyed umbrella was replaced by a blood red stained spear and several loose bandages with their ends stained in the exact same colour hung loosely from her one piece outfit.

Ulith, Vermilion Enma/Grade 4/Twin Drive!/SLD: 0/POW: 13000/?/Dark Zone/Human;LRIG

"G... Grade 4?" Mai breathed nervously.

"All but one turn now remains before I can truely bring you down, both inside and outside," Ulith spoke in a soft, yet sinister tone.

(End Music)

"I'm not giving up!" Emi called "Even if I'm angry at Aichi for lying to me, I can't let you get away with stealing our units!"

"Yes, that it is certainly true," she replied before her lips pursed into a devious smile "But tell me something, Sendou Emi. Even under the circumstances I told you about, do you really believe you're more innocent than your brother?"

Whilst the Bermuda Triangle user could only blink and ponder on those words in confusion, the cruel demanoured Selector continued on with her turn as she turned over the Cheer Girl, Marilyn in her damage zone as the cost for a skill.

"With Vermilion Enma's skill," she continued "When I ride her, add any Dark Zone unit from my Drop Zone to my hand, as long as the card I choose isn't an LRIG."

She then picked out the Baal, Reason of the Mortal Sin in her drop zone as the target for her skill and placed it straight back into her hand before placing it down onto the rear-guard circle where Highspeed, Brakki previously was.

"Then by resting Baal, I look at the top card of my deck."

Ulith then turned over the top card of her deck, revealing it as a second copy of Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins.

"Since it's a Devil, I add it straight to my hand," she spoke "Then I Soul Blast. I retire Baal and recover one damage."

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Omega Lock (Glendios Version))

Everyone's eyes suddenly widened in shock as the Cheer Girl, Marilyn in the cruel demanoured Selector's damage zone moved to her drop zone along with the two remaining cards in her soul and Baal's card.

"She can recover damage without a Heal Trigger?!" Kai muttered.

"And since she Soul Blasted that Grade 3 Ulith...!" gasped Mai, bringing the attention of the group outside of the barrier to her.

"With Three Paths Enma's skill," Ulith explained cooly "Since she was used as a Soul Blast cost, I add Cheer Girl, Marilyn from my drop zone to my hand."

"Now she has a Perfect Guard back in her hand...?!" Emi breathed.

The cruel demanoured Selector cackled madly to herself as she then placed down Grim along with two copies of Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers who appeared to the left and right of her Vanguard, each of them and the Grim that was just called resonating with the Normal Units in her drop zone as evidenced by their black coloured auras.

Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers x2/POW: 3000 - 5000 - 12000

Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins/POW: 7000 - 10000

"Well then," Ulith chuckled "Shall we begin our examination of how innocent you really are! My left Alma attacks your rear-guard!"

The Bermuda Triangle user could only cringe as Alma blew a kiss which turned into a dark pink heart that soared towards Syr Darya and exploded the moment it made contact with the mermaid, retiring her in an instant. The blast expanded to the area where she was standing, causing her to grab onto the table to keep her balance on her legs.

"Gg..! That impact now...!" she gasped.

"Next!" the cruel demanoured Selector continued "Vermilion Enma attacks your Vanguard!"

Emi immediately resumed her attention back towards Ulith, Vermilion Enma who immediately wrapped her loose bandages around Reit, causing her to scream as she struggled to break free of her bind. Realizing the situation she was in, she immediately threw down three cards from her hand.

"Guard!" she cried as the three units she had chosen came to Reit's defence "Tisza! Rhone! Liffey!"

The three mermaids generated a green barrier that deflected the spear from hitting them head on and cutting the bandages to free their comrade from the bind that Ulith had trapped her within.

"Twin Drive!" the cruel demanoured Selector announced before turning over the first card as Sonic Breaker "Critical Trigger! All effects go to my other Alma!"

As the second Alma powered up, she turned over the next card as another Baal, Reason of the Mortal Sin, causing Mai to panic.

"Double Trigger?!" gasped Kamui.

"This is bad!" Miwa cried.

Ulith sneered as she rested the final two cards on her table, signalling the powered up Alma to attack as she performed the same action as the first, blowing a kiss that turned into a darkened heart crackling with energy as a result of the Critical Trigger that flew towards a seemingly defenceless Reit.

"Perfect Guard!" Emi declared as Aria in a white dress came to her aid by shielding her Vanguard from the attack.

"Oh, so you had one too," she muttered with a smile "But with your hand reduced and your resources gone from the Break Ride turn, your Vanguard is completely powerless. Turn end."

End of Turn 8

Emi vs Ulith

Hand - 3 : 4

Soul - 0 : 0

Damage - 4 : 4

Front Rows : EMPTY - Duo Temptation, Reit - EMPTY : Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers - Ulith, Three Paths Enma - Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers

Back Rows : EMPTY - Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana - Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana : Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins - Dudley Dan - Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins

Emi breathed slowly to regain her composure as she drew her next card before calling two Rhones and Peace to her rear-guard, now filling it back up to a full formation that she could attack with.

"Reit attacks your Vanguard!" she declared as Reit charged in a torrent of water towards Vermilion Enma.

"Waste of time," Ulith retorted as she called out Cheer Girl, Marilyn once again to block the attack with ease "After that 'explosive' Break Ride turn failed to finish me, what good do you have left aside from praying for triggers?"

"Twin Drive!" the Bermuda Triangle user called, trying to ignore her opponent's taunts with little success.

She turned over the first card as another Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana with no trigger marking to help her out this time. She immediately turned over the second card to reveal it as Duo Pride Crown, Madeira which shone brightly.

"Critical Trigger!" she declared "I give all the effects to my right Rhone and attack with her!"

Upon the trigger effects being assigned to her, Rhone charged towards Vermilion Enma in a desperate attempt to end the cardfight in victory for her owner. However, a spiked ball immediately struck her in the chest, preventing her from advancing any further from the immense pain she now suffered from. Emi could only gasp that it was Sonic Breaker this time that had managed to block her attack with ease thanks to the thirteen thousand power that Vermilion Enma possessed for both offence and defence, making her as potent as a unit with the Crossride ability.

(End Music)

"Where was that explosiveness from the last turn you intended to carry over?" Ulith taunted with a sneer "You disappoint me, sister of Sendou Aichi. Then again, for someone who really isn't as innocent as she claims to be, that is to be expected."

"What are you saying?!" Emi demanded as she turned over Rhone's card to signal her last attack.

The Duo mermaid idol then rammed herself into Vermilion Enma who brushed it off after the impact, bringing out Ulith's fifth damage as Grim, Melancholy of Lesser Sins. Before the cruel demanoured Selector chose to begin her turn, she snapped her fingers in an instant as a hole suddenly emerged in the barrier around them before Mai was suddenly forced out of it unexpectedly. Once she was outside, the hole was replaced by newer flames to prevent her from coming back in.

"I mean exactly what I say," she answered as she stood her units back up "You are not the so-called reliable sister that your brother believes he has to count on time and again, even after he had overcome his fears back then."

"But I am reliable for him!" Emi replied defiantly "Even if I sometimes get annoyed by his slow pace of growing up..."

She then stopped abruptly as she saw Ulith's lips curl into a sinister smile, as if she had been expecting her to say those words just now. The cruel demanoured Selector then took ahold of the card that was face down in her bind zone and held it up into the air, blinding everyone else with a bright purple light that emitted from it.

(Cardfight! Vanguard Unreleased Soundtrack: Crawling Chaos)

"With thy contract with nothingness, grant me destructive powers that can bring even the most resolute of souls to their innermost despair!" she declared as she placed the card down onto her Vanguard circle "Limit Override!"

As she did so, a purple aura suddenly surrounded her before the eyes of Urazoe Iona's body became blank and slightly limp, much to the confusion of only Emi who could fight past the brightness of the glow as she was the closest to her. Once this had happened, the outside of the barrier suddenly became enveloped in a thick black coloured fog, preventing anyone outside from seeing what was going on within the battlefield now.

"Emi...?!" gasped Mai.

"Just what is going on in there now?!" exclaimed Miwa.

"If she said Limit Override or whatever it's called now..." Kamui breathed, causing the latter two to turn to him.

"It's here," Kai muttered with a stern expression "Her Grade 5 unit!"

Meanwhile, within the barrier itself with the fight still raging on, a purple bolt of thunder suddenly struck Ulith, Vermilion Enma as she screamed out in pain before shortly cackling as the entire left side of her body turned into pitch back as solid crystal wings of that colour grew out of her back. Then the blackened side of her body transformed into a similar state as her hand turned into the end of a trident with a yellow eye present beneath the sharp tips along with her arm growing in length. Her right eye was now nothing but a series of purple flames erupting from where it normally was.

"Now you have no choice but to submit you insignificant little vermin!" Ulith declared in a warped voice from the new form itself "Right now, I am... Ulith, Enma of Empty Fortune!"

Ulith, Enma of Empty Fortune/Grade 5/Triple Drive!/SLD: 0/POW: 15000/?/Dark Zone/Human;LRIG

"Now it's Grade 5...?!" gasped Emi, her hand now quivering in shock from the new revelation and the words that her opponent had been saying to her earlier "Is that what you meant when you claimed I used my trump card early?"

"That's correct," the cruel demanoured Selector replied from her new form "And the trump card... that will reveal to you how Aichi really feels about your 'treatment' of him!"

"What do you mean?!" she demanded, still feeling a little nervous.

Ulith darkly chuckled as she raised her left arm before showing the eye on her trident and allowing it to flash a bright yellow as everything around the two became a complete blank.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"


...

Emi opened her eyes to find herself in a pitch black space with only a white floor that was somewhat allowing her to see in the darkness all around her. She quietly gasped in surprise upon discovering that she was no longer where the fight was taking place as evidenced by the lack of her units' presence. Then upon looking around the space she was now within, she saw someone not too far from her and from what she could tell easily from the blue hair the figure had, he was more than familiar to her.

"A... Aichi?"

But Aichi did not respond, much to her confusion as she stepped towards him, wondering what exactly was going on. At first, she wanted to have her previous anger from the fact that he had lied to her about where he was going to find Kai, but the recent few minutes of the fight along with the strangeness of the scenario she was now currently in had only made her more uneasy than cross.

"Aichi?" she asked once again.

This time, Aichi turned around to face her with his PSY Qualia already active within his angry eyes with a dark blue and black aura surrounding him shortly afterwards, much to Emi's shock. She had recognized this kind of appearance before and it was one she had hoped never to find again.

"What do you want, anchor?" he spat in a cold tone.

"Anchor...?!" she gasped, confused by what he had just addressed her by "What are you saying Aichi?!"

"That's exactly what I mean," he continued "An anchor who chained me down from reaching my full potential. One who even believes that I'm still the same weak person I was a long time ago."

"... What do you mean?" the Bermuda Triangle user replied, still confused by his words, but now having a welling feeling within her.

The dark aura around her brother only intensified more as he closed his eyes and pursed his lips into a cruel smile, much like the one that Ulith had always been bearing on her lips the entire time.

"Tell me something Emi," he chuckled darkly "Your continued 'worries' and your false beliefs that I have become the same person I was before I met Kai-kun... did you really think you were helping me?"

"What?!" she exclaimed, now starting to quiver at the sound of his words.

"No," the darkened Aichi continued before his expression turned to a fierce scowl "As far as I was concerned, you were just a nuisance who couldn't accept that I had grown up. Someone who would chain me down to satisfy her needs, even if it meant taking away what was precious to me by force."

"... T... That's... that's not true...!" she screamed.

"Is that so?" he answered back "Then why do you insist I do everything wrong? That I'm still someone you could babysit to your heart's content?"

"... That's..." Emi stuttered, now unable to stop any tears from running out of her eyes or say another word at all.

As this was happening, Aichi with his PSY Qualia now fully powered up opened up his hand and held out his hand towards the ground that his younger sister was now standing upon.

"Disappear, worthless anchor!" he declared "You won't chain me down anymore!"

Before Emi could even break out of her tears or attempt to respond to him, the white coloured ground beneath her cracked and split apart, causing her to fall straight into the pitch black abyss that was beneath her before landing on a hard surface beneath her. She was now unable to see anything but pitch black all around and Ulith who was now behind her in her Grade 5 form.

"So now you finally see the truth, scum," she spat with a smirk "All this time, your thoughts of helping Aichi actually drove him to attaining the dark side of his PSY Qualia and erasing your memories for a period of time."

"I... I was only trying to help him...!" Emi cried "I... I didn't mean to push him like that...!"

"Oh really?" Ulith replied with a sneer "Was your definition of helping continuing to babysit him, even at the height of his triumphs and self-confidence? No wonder he quickly turned to the power he possessed, before Kai had to interfere. Your constant 'concerns' and your inability to let him be who he was meant to be, was the true part of the reason he turned to PSY Qualia's darker side and now running without restraint through my world in the Selector Battles."

As multiple Aichis then began to appear around the two of them in the dark space that was surrounding them, the Bermuda Triangle user could only start to panic once she soon caught wind of the frowns that were adorned upon each of their face.

"No way..." she breathed in disbelief "The reason he altered my memories... and went crazy over that power... it was because of me?!"

"Anchor."

Emi soon heard all of the Aichis present before her begin to start chanting that word constantly as she could only collapse to her feet and attempt to shield her eyes from the noise with Ulith's mad cackling now not making things any easier as more Aichis continued to appear around them.

"Please... stop it!" she screamed, tears now leaking out of her eyes.

But the noise continued to grow louder as even more copies of her brother appeared saying the same single word over and over as Ulith was now unable to contain her laughter before the space soon turned into pitch black.


Emi panted as soon as the image she had been through came to an end with all of the same emotions she had been through all at once still being there as tears were still streaming down her cheeks and dropping onto the table in front of her. Sensing that she had done what she had came to do, Ulith sneered as she now chose to begin her attacks of the turn.

(End Music)

"Accept it," she sneered as the seemingly uninhabited body of Urazoe Iona rested the card on her command "Your failure to be the sister you thought you were."

(Cardfight! Vanguard OST: PSY Qualia no Chikara)

Alma chuckled darkly as she blew a kiss towards Reit which turned into a large heart with dark purple sparks flying towards the mermaid before exploding on contact the moment it had hit her directly. The impact of the explosion shook Emi as she cried out in pain for a few moments before reaching out for the top card of her deck.

"D... damage check...!" she cried before turning it over to reveal Duo Morning Charm, Liffey "D... Draw Trigger!"

Duo Temptation, Reit/POW: 11000 - 16000

"Accept your punishment, by my hands!" she announced with her voice becoming distorted once again before taking flight and charging towards Reit.

As this happened, Dudley Dan glowed in a bright purple as the body she left behind unconditionally turned over two cards in her damage zone, placed the last card in her hand into the soul and called Highspeed, Brakki from her deck as the Spike Brothers Warbeast entered the battlefield once again.

"...P... Perfect Guard!" Emi screamed as Aria appeared in front of Reit to block Ulith in her path as she stabbed the spear into her barrier.

The cruel demanoured Selector, now within her strongest form as an LRIG on the field of battle did not care in the slightest as she felt her victory was still within the rather easy reach of her grasp.

"Triple Drive!" she declared as the body she was still tied to turned over the first card as Dudley Dan which then shone in a bright purple glow "Got a Banish Trigger!"

"B... Banish Trigger?!" the Bermuda Triangle user gasped.

"I give 5000 power to my Highspeed, Brakki and retire one of your rear-guards in rest!" Ulith declared.

As she pointed her spear towards the Rhone on her right before firing a purple beam at the mermaid and retiring her from the front row in a painful manner, her next check was revealed as Silence Joker.

"Critical Trigger! I give all the effects to Brakki!"

Brakki glowed a bright yellow as it was assigned both of the Critical Trigger effects as the final check was revealed as Cheer Girl, Marilyn, which shone a bright purple like Dudley Dan did previously.

"Got another Banish Trigger!" Ulith cackled in triumph as she pointed her spear over to the other Rhone, blasting her as well and retiring her from the front row.

The cruel demanoured Selector then retreated back to her side of the field in her new form as she then closed her eyes and smirked in the success of what she had now managed to succeed in doing.

"I give the power from the Banish Trigger effect to Brakki again."

Highspeed, Brakki/POW: 19000 - 24000/Critical: 2

"What gives...?" Emi breathed in shock.

"It's simple," Ulith smugly replied "Whenever I check a Normal Unit that isn't an LRIG, I can retire a rear-guard of yours in rest. Then, if the unit I checked was during my Triple Drive wasn't an LRIG, one of my units gets 5000 power like any other trigger."

The Bermuda Triangle user could then only quiver as Brakki soon recieved power from the Grim that was now behind it before charging off and gaining even more power from its skill. As the warbeast rushed closer and closer towards Reit who could only close her eyes and wait for the inevitable to befall her, Emi threw down all three of the remaining cards in her hand to block the attack.

"GUARD!" she screamed as her units appeared "Shannon! Parana! Madeira!"

The three mermaid units dressed in white created a barrier to prevent Brakki from succeeding in hitting Reit head on as it crashed into it in an attempt to shatter it with no success as it was forced to retreat afterwards. That meant nothing to Ulith however as the body she possessed rested Grim and Alma's cards to signal her final attack.

"The time has come," she spoke in a gentle, yet unnerving tone "Prepare yourself for your punishment, Sendou Emi!"

And once again, Alma performed the same action that she had always done for the very last time as she blew a kiss that turned into a heart with purple sparks raging across it that flew right into the defenceless Reit and exploded on contact, marking the hit successful. As this happened, the blast knocked over Emi and began to clear away the fog covering over the barrier as everyone outside could soon see.

"It's clearing up!" called Ruko.

Everyone watched on as the smog disappeared to reveal Emi on her back as she struggled back up to look at the table and see along with everyone else that her sixth damage came out as Aria.

"No way..." Kamui breathed in disbelief.

"Emi lost?" Miwa gasped softly.

"Look at that!" Tama called, bringing everyone's attention towards Ulith in her ultimate form now sneering in the glory of her victory.

"W... What is that?!" cried Mai.

The cruel demanoured Selector smiled once more before the eyes of Enma of Empty Fortune turned blank as she returned back into the body of Urazoe Iona that she now possessed once more, breathing heavily for a moment as she did so.

"So that's the price of using that form, eh?" she muttered to herself "... Not that it matters."

"But if Emi loses to a Grade 5..." Ruko breathed.

"Then that means!" Yuki finished for her.

"That's right," Ulith replied, confirming everyone's suspicions as the card on her Vanguard circle began emitting black smoke "It's time for your punishment, Sendou Emi!"

(Cardfight! Vanguard G Z Unreleased Soundtrack: The World Shall be Silenced)*

As Emi could only widen her eyes, the cruel demanoured Selector announced "Judgement!" before slamming down her closed fist on the card to initiate the process. The imaged Enma of Empty Fortune began cackling loudly as she then stabbed her spear into the ground, causing a strange circle with runes within its boundaries to appear beneath the Bermuda Triangle user. Before she could react, she was struck by a beam that erupted from beneath her causing her to scream in pain as the voices from her earlier image began echoing in her head again as tears began to leak from her eyes.

"Aichi...!" she cried as she tried to stave off the pain "I'm sorry!"

As soon as the beam stopped erupting, she fell to the ground as the barrier dropped down along with the fight table, causing her deck to spill out onto the ground as everyone else rushed to her aid.

"Emi!" cried Kai as he came alongside her with Ruko and Kamui.

"Are you okay?!" the Selector interjected.

"I..." Emi sobbed before suddenly feeling a stinging sensation in her hand.

"Look!" gasped Miwa as everyone saw her cards turning blank as the Mark of Penalty became engraved on her hand.

Ulith giggled in triumph as she saw Tempation Duo, Reit amongst the units she had now transformed into LRIG and SIGNI cards now in her possession and ready to deliver to Mayu when she would return to the White Room.

"You...!" Kamui growled "How dare you do this to Emi-san!"

"Oh? The one who defeated Remember," she pondered "Well, you could say she destroyed herself. But for now, I have other business to attend to. Business involving Sendou Aichi that is."

"W... What are you planning for him?" Emi whimpered.

"All of you will see soon enough," the cruel demanoured Selector chuckled "If you want to stop me before then, then get to my world as quickly as you can. That is, if you can at all from what I hear."

She then brought out the blank card she used to travel between worlds and the White Room before declaring "Open!" and disappearing from the street, cackling madly as she did so and causing Kai to clench a fist, angered that she had gone out of her way to target not just Aichi for her schemes, but his own younger sister as well who nearly everyone he knew back in his world had intentionally kept her in the dark about such events until now.

"Emi-san...!" cried Kamui "I'm sorry for not telling you soon as I had planned to. If I did, you'd...!"

"Would someone please tell me what's really going on...?!" she sobbed "Anyone?!"

All members of the group looked to one another as they knew even Mai had no knowledge about the Selector Battles or what was really going on between their two worlds. Knowing that it was his unintentional arrival into Ruko's world that had started this whole chain of events that led to his world's involvement in the conflict at hand, Kai knelt down and looked to Emi with his usual serious expression, his eyes now ladened with a hint of remorse for her.

"We'll tell you everything from the beginning," he said "About how I disappeared from this world and the battle that all of us have now been dragged into and one that Aichi is still involved with."

(End Music)


And there we go! As Emi tries to fight back against Ulith, she soon becomes overwhelmed by her tactics and is forced on the defensive. Before Ulith finshes her off with her strongest form, she casts an image on the younger sister of Aichi where he resents her for her concerns about him and the cruel demanoured Selector also tricks her into thinking she had a hand into falling to the darker side of his PSY Qualia. With her mind broken and the result decided, Ulith snatches Emi's Duo units and now, the burden is on Kai and the others to tell her the truth about what's really going on in the battle between two worlds as Miyako, Serra and Morres head for Japan to make their next move! What will happen next? Find out next time on Stand Up, the LRIG!

Before I go, if you wish to see previews of titles for upcoming chapters and other updates for the fic early, feel free to check out my user blog on the Cardfight! Vanguard fanon wikia on Stand Up, the LRIG!. Otherwise, please share your thoughts and criticisms of this long overdue chapter and I'll see you next time! Until then.

*The following unreleased tracks are renamed to avoid conflict with different ones that are released with the same name(s):

- Zeroth Dragon - The World Shall be Silenced
- Saori/Dumjid Fight - Blaze


Re-adapted Cards Debuting this Chapter:

Ulith, Three Paths Enma
Grade 3
Ability: Twin Drive!
Shield: 0
Power: 10000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dark Zone
Clan: Dark Zone
Race: Human;LRIG
Unit Type: Normal Unit
[AUTO]: When this unit is placed into the drop zone as part of a [Soul Blast] cost, you may choose
up to 1 non-LRIG Dark Zone card from your drop zone and put it into your hand.

Ulith, Vermilion Enma
Grade 4

Ability: Twin Drive!
Shield: 0
Power: 13000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dark Zone
Clan: Dark Zone
Race: Human;LRIG
Unit Type: Normal Unit
[CONT](Hand): Unless you have a Grade 3 card on your (VC) with "Ulith" in its card name, you cannot Ride this card.
[AUTO]
[Counter Blast (1)]: When this unit is placed on (VC), you may pay the cost. If you do, choose up to 1 non-LRIG Dark Zone card from your drop zone and put it into your hand.
[ACT](VC):[Soul Blast (2) and choose 1 of your rear-guards and retire it] Heal 1 damage. This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.

Ulith, Enma of Empty Fortune
Grade 5

Ability: Triple Drive!
Shield: 0
Power: 15000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dark Zone
Clan: Dark Zone
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 "Ulith" 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 (VC) from your bind zone".)
[CONT](Hand): You cannot ride this card unless you have a Vanguard with "Ulith" in its original card name that is either Grade 3 and [Legion] or Grade 4. (If in [Legion], treat is as a Grade 4 for the Ride Step only)
[AUTO](VC): When this unit attacks, if you have 18 or more Devil in your drop zone, your opponent cannot call Sentinels without an effect that calls guardians from their deck to (GC) until the end of that battle.
[AUTO](VC): When your Normal Unit is placed into the Trigger Zone, treat it as the activation of a Banish Trigger. (Choose one of your opponent's [Rest] rear-guards and retire it. The +5000 [Power] from the trigger effect only applies during this unit's drive check.)

Alma, Lesser Sin of Gravekeepers
Grade 2
Ability: Intercept
Shield: 5000
Power: 3000
Critical: 1
Nation: Dark Zone
Clan: Dark Zone
Race: Devil
Unit Type: Normal Unit
[CONT](RC): If you have 2 or more Normal Units in your drop zone whilst you have a Vanguard with "Ulith" in its card name, this unit gets [Power]+2000 during your turn only.
[CONT](RC): If your Vanguard with "Ulith" in its card name is Grade 4 or greater, this unit gets [Power]+7000/[Shield]+5000.