What Beast-Type Monster's actual name is "Beth"? If you said "Guard Dog" (whose name can be seen printed on its doghouse in the background of its card) you were successfully able to Name that Card!
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Every card in the game of Duel Monsters has a story behind it, and you'll find them if you look long enough. As one of the lords of the Higher Plane, I know many of them firsthand. And I can tell the myths from the reality.
One that I've heard many times is the story behind two powerful and incredibly evil Ritual Monsters.
Here's how the most common version of the story goes:
Long ago, the Terrorking Archfiend and his consort, Infernalqueen Archfiend, sought to create an heir out of the very essence of Pandemonium. But their powers were tainted by the land itself, and they created a cruel, immoral creature that frightened even them. Horrified, the Terrorking named the creature Demise, King of Armageddon, before he cast it into oblivion.
At the exact same time, Shinato, King of the Higher Plane, sought to create a wife for himself, a female Fairy who would rule the heavens by his side. But while speaking the words of creation, he stuttered, and the woman he created, while beautiful, was infused with chaos. He had inadvertently created a wicked creature with no soul. Frowning with disgust, he named the female Ruin, Queen of Oblivion, before purging her from existence.
The story goes on to say that these two beings survived the destruction of their physical forms. Furious at being rejected by their makers, they sought nothing less than to unmake all of creation, cause the Gates of Hell to split and Heaven to fall. They sought to convince others to perform the rituals to restore their bodies so they could bring doom upon the world.
They have come to the Twelve Dimensions to make attempts several times. And now, at least one of them has come to Xanadu.
Two of the humans whom I recruited have been kidnapped by Daala's executioner, and the ones who remain have learned her identity… It is none other than one of these two beings… I dare not leave my temple again to help them, and I do not even know if my powers could make a difference anyway… I can only pray…
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CHAPTER THIRTY–ONE
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Parasite of Light
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Chelsea slowly woke up from a nightmare-filled slumber. She opened her eyes.
She looked around. She was in a dark chamber surrounded by enormous cogs and gears, with a giant bell overhead. If this mechanism had ever worked, that time was long ago. The gears were now still, and covered in dust and cobwebs.
Stained glass windows were on each wall, providing dim illumination.
A belfry? she thought.
"Chelsea!" shouted Ren's voice.
He ran up to her and hugged her.
"Ren!" she gasped. "Where are we? Last thing I knew, Keith had disappeared… And…
"We were grabbed…"
"And you fainted," added Ren. "Chelsea, rule number one for construction workers, linesmen, and anyone else who works in a high place – don't look down.
"As for the goons who brought us here…"
He pointed, and the Harpie's Brother and Sonic Shooter were on the other side of the room, standing as still as statues.
"What are you guys…" started Chelsea.
"It's no use," muttered Ren. "I already tried talking to them, and they won't say a thing or move from that spot. I think they're brainwashed or something.
"As for a way out, there's a spiral stairway over there that leads both to the roof and to the lower floors, but both ways are blocked off. We'll have to find another way out…"
"I'm afraid there's no way out, children," purred a female voice. "This is the end…"
Chelsea turned to see a ghostly image behind her. It was a humanoid, rat-like creature, dressed in a grey vest, brown pants, and a red bandana tied around his head. A large metal claw was fitted over his right hand. It was a Burglar – or rather the ghost of one. And he looked incredibly frightened.
"Chelsea, get up!" urged the Beast. "She's coming! You have to flee! Run for your life!"
"Who's coming?" asked Chelsea.
"I dare not speak her name…" muttered the Burglar. "She is death itself!"
"What are you worried about?" asked Chelsea. "You're already dead."
The Burglar paused.
"Oh, that's right…" it said. "Well, unless you want to be too…
"Oh no… It's too late!"
Ren and Chelsea looked at the two Winged Beasts, as a Spell Card appeared.
They recognized it. It was the Ritual Spell, End of the World.
Both of them jumped back in surprise as the two Duel Spirits erupted in white hot flames. The flames started to congeal, forming a humanoid shape…
From out of the flames stepped a woman, a coldly beautiful woman with white hair, in a red dress and black skirt combo. She was surrounded by an evil-looking shadow that constantly shifted, like black flames. She carried a long, red staff with a forked blade at the end.
She smiled evilly at the two duelist.
They recognized her only too well…
"Ruin…" whispered Chelsea.
"What do you want?" asked Ren.
"What do I want?" replied the Queen of Oblivion. "What I want, myself and Demise, is to bring about the end times…
"Burn every city to the ground, reduce the forests to ashes, and the mountains to rubble… Kill all that live… Bring the apocalypse to your world and that of Duel Spirits…
"But that's a long-term goal. For now, I'm the executioner of Xanadu, and Daala has death sentences on the two of you… Do the math."
"Hold me, Ren…" cried Chelsea, hugging him.
"Why would Daala ever trust someone with such goals?" asked Ren.
Ruin chuckled. She sat down (which was the strangest thing – she apparently sat on mid-air, as if there was an invisible chair).
"You know," she said with a smile, "It's funny… Daala is the only ruler ever to treat Demise and I in a positive manner. People tend not to like us. Every time we manage to come into one of the Twelve Dimensions, our plans never succeed. Sooner or later, a powerful force comes after us, and banishes us to some prison dimension where we have to wait for another opening.
"The last time was one of the best, while it lasted. We decided to take a less aggressive approach when we arrived in the dimension where Spellcasters were the rulers. Since I could pass as a Spellcaster, Demise stayed hidden, and I used my powers to convince the commoners that I was the rarely-seen Empress that ultimately ruled the land. The commoners readily believed it. It was easy to perform a few miracles to convince them. Turning water into honey mead, healing sick children, making their crops grow full and bountiful… It helps to have powers that originated in the Higher Plane.
"It was good for a while. I had them lavishing attention on me, treating me like royalty… They brought me gifts and presents… I actually considered for a while abandoning the plan to lay waste to the kingdom, since I was having such a good time being its empress."
"So what happened?" asked Ren.
"One day, a teenage girl spoke against me," answered Ruin, "calling me an imposter. I let my… pride get the best of me. I refused to stand for it, and ordered her to be flogged.
"But right before this sentence could be carried out, the true Empress appeared. Apparently, she had been away gathering rare herbs to use for some magical experiment, but she rushed back as soon as she heard what was going on. She was angry enough before… The fact that I was about to have her favorite handmaiden whipped put me in an even worse situation.
"Her subjects all turned from me and begged her for forgiveness. I could only hope later that they were punished. Demise came out of hiding and tried to defend me, but we both had grossly underestimated her power."
Ren and Chelsea saw that the shadowy aura around Ruin was now burning with more intensity.
"The prison demiplane that she banished us to was incredibly secure…" she muttered. "For a while, we thought that this failed plan would be our last…
"Until Daala broke us out…
"You see, Demise and I are so thick with Chaos, we can ignore the concept of Law itself. At first, Daala tried to use us to attack Joan's temple. We could have broken through its wards, but we realized just in time that the booby traps Joan had erected in case anyone had succeeded in breaking in would have grabbed us if we did. It seems Joan was prepared for anything. And we didn't want to be imprisoned again.
"So… Daala had Demise start work on something else, and appointed me as executioner, to deal with folks when she couldn't be bothered by Joan's edict that prevents her from kidnapping anyone who doesn't lose… She promised us something in return, but I won't tell you what. After all, you may leave here alive by some miracle, and it wouldn't do for you to know that."
"So, you're just gonna kill us?" asked Ren.
"Dunno…" said Ruin. "Depends…"
Her staff started to glow, and then formed into a Duel Disk that fit around her left arm.
"Maybe I won't…" she purred. "I am a force of Chaos after all… If one of you duels me and shows me a good time, I might let you go and tell Daala that you managed to escape…
"If not, then both of you will be banished."
"Banished?" gasped Chelsea, getting up. "To where?"
"Better you didn't know," said Ruin. "At least not yet."
"What, you're gonna duel us both?" asked Ren.
Ruin chuckled.
"What, you think I'm stupid?" she asked. "One of you will duel… Whoever decides to duel me, the result of the duel will decide his or her fate, and that of the other…
"That's why I decided to deal with the two of you first. Once this duel concludes, I would find it amusing if my opponent knew that his failure doomed not only himself, but his soulmate as well."
She smiled a wicked smile.
"This is nuts…" muttered Ren.
"Did I mention I'm not giving you a choice?" asked Ruin. "Dueling me is your only chance, however slim it may be."
Ren looked at Chelsea. They both raised their fists.
They shook them.
Ren's fingers jutted out, scissors. Chelsea's hand opened up, paper.
"I'll do it," said Ren.
"Good luck, Ren!" shouted the Burglar.
"He can't hear you," moaned Chelsea.
It was at this point that Ren noticed Ruin's Disk. It was the same style as the one Chaos Sorcerer used when he dueled him.
Odd, thought Ren.
"Where is Demise, by the way?" he asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say," replied Ruin. "Well, I could, but I don't want to. He's around somewhere…"
The two Disks activated. A deck materialized in Ruin's.
She smirked a little again.
"Game on!" they shouted.
(Ren: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ruin: 8,000)
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Meanwhile, Yumi, Sam, Erik, and Aster rushed into the ground floor of the Cathedral.
"There," said Aster.
He pointed to a large, spiral stairway on the opposite side that went up… And up, and up, and up, all the way to the top of the huge structure.
"That's not gonna be an easy climb…" said Sam, scratching her head.
"At least there are no guards," said Erik.
As soon as he said that, three large Machines materialized in front of them. They looked like wooden shacks, each of which had four wheels on the bottom, and two arms, one of which ended in an axe and the other in a drill. (1,700/1,400 x3)
"When will I learn to keep my big mouth shut?" moaned Erik.
"Ancient Tools," muttered Aster. "You guys handle them, then I can bring out someone who can get us up there quickly."
"All right," said Yumi, as three Disks activated.
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"Feel free to go first," said Ruin.
Ren made his first draw.
"I summon… My Armageddon Knight," he said.
In a dark shadow, the Warrior in rusty armor and cavalier hat, wearing a long scarf and holding a cutlass appeared. (1,400/1,200)
"Interesting," chuckled Ruin.
"Now I activate his effect," said Ren, taking his deck from its holder.
I don't trust this babe one bit, he thought, looking through the cards. What if Demise is actually in her deck? It wouldn't surprise me at all…
He chose a Monster Card.
I'd best be prepared in case that's the case.
He discarded it, and then reshuffled.
"I throw three cards facedown, and that will be all."
Three facedown cards appeared in three bursts of light.
"Not a bad start," said Ruin, making her first draw.
"I'll simply set this, and that will be all."
A facedown Monster appeared.
Defending? thought Ren. Somehow… I expected her to be a bit more aggressive…
He drew a card.
"I'll trade in Armageddon Knight…"
The Warrior vanished into grains of light.
"…to bring out Penumbral Soldier Lady!"
In a burst of shadow, the lovely, blonde Warrior carrying her sword and shield appeared. (2,100/1,400)
"Attack!" ordered Ren. "Sword of shadows!"
Penumbral Soldier Lady leapt at the facedown Monster, sword first…
The Monster that appeared on the card wasn't frightening at all. In fact, it was rather cute. It looked like a pink, metal button with a face on the front, cat-like ears, and bendy arms and legs.
Penumbral Soldier Lady struck it, and it burst into a shower of sparks.
Ruin chuckled.
"That was a Batteryman Micro-Cell," she said. "And you just activated its two effects. First, by flipping it, I get to Special Summon another Batteryman, up to Level Four, except another Micro-Cell.
"So I'll summon Batteryman AA."
In a burst of electricity, a cute robot with a battery for its torso – with a 3 on the chest – and orange arms and legs appeared, and crouched in Defense Mode. (0/0)
"Batterymen?" said Chelsea.
"Second," said Ruin, "because it was destroyed, I get to draw once."
She made one draw.
Ren nervously looked at the other two cards in his hand.
Heck, what am I worried about? he thought. Sure, if she manages to summon all three of them, their Attack Scores will be 3,000 apiece… But my Soldier Lady's effect will make her even stronger…
He sighed.
I'd be a lot more sure of myself if she wasn't looking at me like the way my little sister looked at that three-flavor, four-topping banana split I treated her to on her birthday…
"I end my turn," he muttered.
Ruin drew a card.
"I'll set this, and that will be all," she said, slyly.
A facedown card appeared behind the Batteryman.
Ren looked a little confused as he drew.
"I summon Getsu Fuhma," he said.
In another burst of energy, Getsu appeared, holding her katana aloft. (1,700/1,200)
"Attack her Batteryman!" he shouted. "Whirlwind blade!"
Getsu Fuhma slashed with her weapon, and Batteryman AA was blown to bits.
"You're wide open!" yelled Ren. "Penumbral Soldier Lady, direct attack!"
Ruin barely moved as the Warrior closed in on her. She did cringe and stagger back a little as the sword slammed into her torso.
(Re: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 5,900)
"Ah!" cried Ruin, throwing her arms up in the air. "Yes! Wonderful…"
"What the?" said Ren. "You liked that? You wanted me to attack you?"
"Such glorious pain…" cried Ruin, happily. "Yes, Ren, I want it more than anything… Feeling it just empowers me, thrills me, invigorates me. The more my enemies hurt me, the more they prepare me for my ultimate goal…
"You see Ren… I want to bring about the apocalypse, and cause suffering on a cosmic scale in the process. And Demise and I aren't stupid… We both know that we won't be spared from the cataclysm.
"So we want others to hurt us as we work towards our goal… It strengthens us… It prepares us for the day when we will meet our goal. When all other creatures are overcome by the unimaginable pain that the Armageddon will cause, we'll laugh in its face while we wait for the conclusion!"
Ren glared at her.
"Okay," he muttered. "One, you're crazy. Two, I'm guessing this is a form of sadio-masochism. I don't know, I'm not a psychiatrist. But if you like pain so much, I'll certainly dish it out!"
Ruin chuckled, and drew a card.
"And I'll give it right back…" she purred, with an evil smile.
"I play Battery Charger. By simply paying 500 Life Points, my Batteryman returns."
Batteryman AA appeared on the field again, this time in Attack Mode. (0/0)
"Next," she said, as her facedown card lifted, "I play Inferno Reckless Summon. Now I get to summon two more Batterymen of the same type."
Two more Batterymen appeared, and a second Getsu Fuhma appeared on Ren's side of the field. (1,700/1,200)
"Since I have three Batterymen AA," said Ruin, "and all three of them are in Attack Mode, each of them gains 1,000 Attack Points per Batteryman."
(3,000/0 x3)
"I know that," said Ren.
"Did you know about this?" asked Ruin, holding up a Spell Card. "It's called Short Circuit, and I can use it when I have three Batterymen on the field. It destroys all cards on your side of the field."
"Say WHAT?" shouted Ren.
"REN!" shouted Chelsea.
"Time to end this," said Ruin, playing the card.
"Well, before it's too late…" said Ren. "Go, Emergency Provisions!"
"Huh?" said Ruin.
One of Ren's three facedown cards shot up, and the large mouth appeared, and swallowed his Hidden Soldiers and Rising Energy.
A giant bolt of lightning struck Ren's side of the field, and Penumbral Soldier Lady and the two Getsu Fuhmas were atomized.
"Impressive…" chuckled Ruin. "I guess I can't end this right now after all… Still…
"Attack him directly! Assault and battery!"
"Tell me when it's over…" moaned the Burglar, covering his eyes.
The three Batterymen rushed towards Ren. However, as the first one tried to throw a punch at him, Necro Gardna appeared in a burst of energy, and shoved it aside.
"Surprised?" asked Ren. "He was the Warrior I discarded with Armageddon Knight's effect."
Ruin scowled.
The second and third Batterymen socked at Ren with their fists, and he screamed as electricity shot through him.
He fell to his knees. Smoke poured from his torso.
(Re: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 5,400)
"You can look now, you big baby," sighed Chelsea. "God, why are ghosts such cowards?"
She paused.
"Ren's dueling one of two Heralds of the Apocalypse, and I wonder why he's scared…" she muttered.
"So you managed to dodge my OTK," muttered Ruin. "So be it… Next round, my Batterymen will still be here, and they'll still have 3,000 Attack Points apiece."
"One question," muttered Ren, getting up. "Why use Batterymen? Surely, there are better themes suited for someone like you."
Ruin chuckled.
"You may have noticed that my Disk isn't standard issue, Ren," she said. "It's a powerful artifact of Chaos called an Anarchist Disk. Only beings completely devoted to the concept of Chaos or a being representing the concept can use one.
"It creates the deck for the user, and is never the same twice. It takes into account the surroundings, and the opponent. It chose Batterymen because their Attribute conflicts with yours, and Batterymen are allies of Machine Spirits, who once treated this Cathedral as sacred ground.
"And the instant it creates a deck, it gives the user complete information on how every card works. A nifty device if you are blessed with the power to use it."
"Lovely…" muttered Ren. "It's my move…"
He drew a card.
"I play Monster Reborn!" he shouted.
The holy ankh appeared, and Penumbral Soldier Lady appeared in a flash of light. (2,100/1,400)
"Huh?" said Ruin.
"She gains 1,000 Attack Points whenever she battles a Light Monster," said Ren, "and that's just enough.
"Attack!"
Soldier Lady leapt at the Batteryman in the middle, and her Attack Score rose to 3,100. With one swipe of her sword, it was smashed to pieces.
Ruin frowned.
(Re: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 5,300)
"Without him," said Ren, "the other two lose 1,000 Attack Points."
The other two Batterymen fell to (2,000/0)
"I'll throw one card facedown, and that will be all," he said.
As the facedown card appeared, they started to hear a pounding.
"Huh?" said Ruin.
They all turned. Someone was definitely pounding on the door from below.
Then, a huge blast of energy burst up from the floor. It was followed by the creature's body flying through it – the hulking, bat-winged, horned Warrior. Yumi, Sam, Erik, and Aster were holding tightly to his arms.
"Dogmaguy?" said Ruin. "How in the world…"
The Destiny Hero landed, as the four duelists leapt off.
"Looks like we got here just in time," said Yumi. "Thanks for the ride."
Ruin chuckled. Her staff appeared in her right hand.
She pointed with it, and a blast of burning light shot at Dogmaguy. The Warrior groaned and shattered into pixels.
"Did you really think that some Warrior in a dumb outfit frightened me?" she asked. "I'm actually glad you all are here. It saves me the trouble of grabbing the rest of you. Once I finish this duel, I can carry out all five of Daala's sentences and get back to the palace in time for dinner."
"Not if I beat you," said Ren.
"Dream on," laughed Ruin, as the staff vanished again. "It's my move."
"People, I'm worried…" said Yumi.
"Worried about what?" asked Sam.
"Ren is good," muttered Yumi. "He may yet win the duel…
"But if Ruin truly can defy Law itself, then even if she loses, it may not matter! Defeated duelists in Xanadu don't last long, but Ruin can ignore that rule. Defeating her might only make things worse by making her angry."
So what am I supposed to do? thought Ren. Lose on purpose and then beg?
Ruin smiled an evil smile as she tucked the card she had drawn into her hand.
"Let's see…" she said, looking at the cards in her hand.
She separated them into two sets of three.
"So many decisions… These are good… But then again… There's always these…"
"Will you hurry up?" shouted Ren.
"Patience," said Ruin. "That's something that both Demise and I had to learn over the millennia.
"That's the problem with most of the folks your family has fought, Yumi… People like Marik and Dartz… They wanted to take over the world and get it all at once. They didn't understand that it just doesn't work that way.
"If you want to rule a world, you have to do what Daala did… Establish yourself as ruler of one nation first. Then you move on to assimilating more land, making your piece of the pie larger, and extending your influence. You gain power gradually, not all at once.
"The best way to conquer the world is through political and economic power, not brute force. Heck, even your uncle knew that, Sam. He knew that someone with enough financial influence could pretty much do anything he wanted, given enough time."
"You should write a book," said Sam, with a frown. "You could call it World Domination For Dummies."
"And just where would I find a publisher?" asked Ruin.
"You'd be surprised," said Sam. "Ever been in a bookstore? Some folks will publish anything."
Ruin frowned. Then she played a card.
"I play a second Battery Charger!" she shouted. "It costs me 500 Life Points again, but I get to bring back the Batteryman you just destroyed."
The third Batteryman AA appeared again, and all three of them rose to (3,000/0)
"Next, a Field Spell," she said. "The invigorating Light of Luminous Spark!"
She placed the card in her Field Slot, and a bright light wafted over the field. Each Batteryman rose to (3,500/0)
"I could finish you off with these," she said, "but I have a better idea.
"I sacrifice one Batteryman to summon my Batteryman Charger."
One of the three Batterymen vanished, and a much different Batteryman appeared. Its body was box-shaped, with an infinity symbol on its waist, and its head was shaped like an oblong capsule. It had long, thin limbs. (1,800/1,200) –) (2,300/800) The two AA versions fell to (2,500/0)
"By summoning him, I get to Special Summon another Batteryman from my deck. So I'll summon Batteryman D in Defense Mode."
Yet another Batteryman appeared. This one looked similar to the AA group, but was colored green and orange, was somewhat thicker, and had a 1 on its chest. It knelt and shielded itself. (0/1,900) –) (500/1,500)
"When Batteryman D is on the field, you aren't allowed to attack any Thunder Monsters except Batterymen D.
"And as for Batteryman Charger, it gains an extra 300 Attack Points for each Thunder Monster I have. So even with your Soldier Lady's effect, she's toast."
Batteryman Charger sparked with electricity… (3,500/800)
"Charger," ordered Ruin, "turn Penumbral Soldier Lady extra crispy."
Batteryman Charger pointed at the Warrior…
"Trap Card, go!" shouted Ren. "Attack Guidance Armor!"
"Huh?" said Ruin.
Ren's Trap lifted up, and the demonic suit of armor flew towards Batteryman D. It clamped over the Thunder Monster, and Charger's lightning bolt turned around in mid-air. Batteryman D exploded in a burst of sparks.
Ruin sneered.
"Fine…" she said with a scowl. "Fortunately, it was in Defense Mode…
"I end my turn…"
(Re: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 5,300)
Ren quickly made a draw.
"I set one card facedown," he said, fitting a card into his Disk.
A facedown card materialized.
"Now I play… Card of Demise!"
He played his last card, and the five-moored guillotine appeared behind him as he drew five cards.
He looked over them.
"I summon Dark Squire," he said, playing one of them.
The young page in black appeared, and quickly knelt in Defense Mode. (300/300)
"Next, I play Mystical Space Typhoon, to clear away this field Spell."
He played another card, and a tornado erupted in the center of the field. The bright light dimmed, and then faded. The two Batterymen AA fell to (2,000/0), while Batteryman Charger fell to (2,700/1,200)
"Penumbral Soldier Lady, attack Batteryman Charger!"
Soldier Lady swung her sword, and Charger burst into an explosion of sparks.
(Re: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 4,400)
I've had just about enough of that blonde bimbo… thought Ruin.
"I'll toss one more card facedown," said Ren, as another facedown card appeared, "and that will be all for me."
Ruin quickly drew a card.
"Okay, Ren…" she muttered. "I was hoping I didn't have to do this, but you're making me mad…
"I sacrifice one Batteryman AA to summon the Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon!"
One of the remaining Batterymen vanished, and a huge creature appeared in an explosion of electrical energy. It looked more like a Mecha-Godzilla than any dragon the duelists watching had ever seen, covered with circuitry and blinking lights. (2,400/1,000)
The Burglar hid behind Chelsea.
"Since I summoned it by sacrificing a Batteryman AA," continued Ruin, "it gains 1,000 more Attack Points."
(3,400/1,000)
"And I'm going to summon someone else too. I remove two Batterymen from play…"
Micro-Cell and Charger fell out of her discard slot.
"In order to Special Summon Batteryman Industrial Strength!"
A new Batteryman appeared, and unlike the previous ones, this one wasn't cute at all. It looked like a heavy duty car battery with arms and a head, with one wheel where legs would be. It held two jumper cables, which were attached by cords to a power cell on its back. (2,600/0)
"Now I activate its effect," said Ruin. "By removing one more Thunder Monster in my grave from play, I can destroy one Monster and one Spell or Trap Card."
Batteryman D fell out of her discard slot, and bolts of energy shot from the Industrial Strength Monster, vaporizing Penumbral Soldier Lady and Ren's Final Attack Orders.
"No…" gasped Chelsea.
"Well…" chuckled Ruin. "Only thing left to do is wipe out your last Monster… Batteryman AA, destroy Dark Squire!"
The smaller Batteryman blasted a bolt of lightning, and Dark Squire shattered into bits.
"Her effect activates," muttered Ren. "And we both get to draw two cards."
Ruin smiled as they both drew twice.
"As if it will matter!" she laughed. "Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon, attack him directly!"
The huge Thunder Monster roared. It blasted a bolt of pure electric energy at Ren…
"GO!" shouted Ren. "Sakuretsu Armor!"
His facedown card shot up, and a shimmering plane of force surrounded him. The bolt of energy fell back on Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon, and it exploded into a conflagration of light.
Ruin clenched her fist in rage.
"I still have my Industrial Strength!" she shouted. "Attack! Give Ren a jump start!"
Batteryman Industrial Strength rolled towards Ren and jabbed him in the chest with its jumper cables. Ren screamed loudly as his muscles started to stiffen from the electricity.
He fell to his knees.
(Re: 1,400) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 4,400)
"Ren!" shouted Chelsea. "Ren, please get up!"
"You are the luckiest son of a bitch I have ever met," snarled Ruin.
"I'll take that as a compliment," groaned Ren, as he crawled to his feet, "even though you didn't mean it as one…"
"Yeah?" said Ruin. "Well, you must be almost out of Traps by now."
"We'll see, won't we?" said Ren.
I'm not telling her, he thought, but the truth is, she's right… I really don't have any cards left that can block another attack from another heavy hitter…
"I play Burial From a Different Dimension," said Ruin, playing a card. "Now those three Batterymen return to my Graveyard."
Batteryman Charger, Batteryman Micro-Cell, and Batteryman D slipped into her discard slot.
"I'll throw a card facedown, and that will end my turn."
A facedown card materialized behind her.
"Here goes…" said Ren, drawing a card.
The first rope on the guillotine snapped.
"I activate a Trap," said Ruin, as her facedown card lifted. "It's called Portable Battery Pack. This works like Call of the Haunted for Batterymen, except it lets me summon two of them."
In a burst of energy, the two other Batterymen AA appeared. The Attack Scores of all three of them rose to 3,000.
Ren paused.
"I play Premature Burial," he said, playing a card. "It costs me, sure, but I get to bring Penumbral Soldier Lady back one more time."
Penumbral Soldier Lady appeared again. (2,100/1,400)
"Now I play a Field Spell of my own… Mystic Plasma Zone!"
He fit the card into his Field Slot, and darkness covered the field. Penumbral Soldier Lady's scores changed to (2,600/1,000)
Okay, let me think, he thought. I only get one attack this round… If I don't take out one of those AA, they'll be a problem…
But… If I don't get rid of her Industrial Strength, she'll just do the same thing again! I won't last another round…
Only one thing to do…
"Attack Batteryman Industrial Strength!" he commanded.
Penumbral Soldier Lady rushed at the heavy-duty Batteryman, and her Attack Score rose to 3,600. She made a slash with her blade, and it let out a shower of sparks before exploding into slag. Ruin winced a little.
(Re: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 3,400)
Ruin's eyes narrowed as she looked at Ren.
"My draw," she said.
She snapped the top card off of her deck.
"I move all three Batterymen to Defense Mode," she said.
All three Batterymen knelt, and shielded themselves with their arms.
"Since all three are in Defense Mode now, their Defense Scores are each 3,000.
"Next, I Equip my central one with Raregold Armor."
She played another card, and the Batteryman in the center turned to gold.
"That means he's the only Monster you can attack."
"Big deal," said Ren. "Penumbral Soldier Lady can beat that Defense."
"Not for long," replied Ruin. "I also play this. The Spell Card, Impenetrable Formation."
She fit a card into her Disk.
"I choose one Monster on my side of the field," she said, "and I choose my Equipped Batteryman. Since I have at least two Monsters, and all of them are in Defense Mode, it gains an additional 700 Defense Points, for a total of 3,700. That's just strong enough to repel her attack.
"Make your move."
Ren drew a card.
I gotta do something before she manages to draw another Short Circuit, he thought. No way can I dodge it again.
Here goes…
The second rope on the guillotine snapped.
"I remove Dark Squire from play, to summon La Sombra," he said, as Dark Squire's card slipped out of his discard slot.
The sexy, female bandito appeared in a burst of shadow. (1,800/1,000) –) (2,300/600)
"Now you have to draw a card, Ruin," he said. "What happens next depends on what it is."
Ruin frowned, and made one draw. She turned it forward.
"Dust Tornado," said Ren, with a smirk. "An oldie but goodie. And since it's a Trap, La Sombra gets to attack directly, something that Raregold Armor can't stop."
La Sombra shouted a battlecry, and leapt over the Batterymen, lashing at the evil goddess with her whip. Everyone cheered as Ruin took a step back.
(Re: 600) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 1,100)
"A lady with a whip, Ren?" said Ruin, with a smile. "I'm almost starting to like you!"
"Oh, just move," grumbled Ren.
"What do you think she and Demise do when they're alone?" asked Erik.
"I don't even wanna know…" muttered Sam.
Ruin drew a card.
She played two cards, and a facedown Monster and a facedown card appeared.
She looked at Ren, and nodded.
Ren drew again. The third rope on the guillotine snapped.
The facedown card is probably Dust Tornado, he thought. Nuts, she could destroy Soldier Lady with that…
And with Raregold Armor in play, I can't attack any of her Monsters except the Equipped one this turn.
He fit two cards into his Disk, and two facedown cards appeared.
That's it, he thought. Those are my last two Trap Cards. Let's hope they'll make a difference.
"Your move," he said.
Ruin quickly drew a card.
"I flip Morphing Jar to Attack Mode," she said.
Her facedown card flipped, and the cackling Rock Monster appeared. (700/600)
Ren frowned. They quickly discarded their cards and made five draws.
"Now I play Dust Tornado!" shouted Ruin, as her facedown card flipped up. "And I think I'll destroy…
"Your Field Spell!"
The tornado tore across the field, and the darkness of Mystic Plasma Zone blew away.
What? thought Ren. Why didn't she destroy my Premature Burial?
"Not so fast!" he shouted. "I have a Dust Tornado of my own!"
"One of his own facedown cards flipped up, and another cyclone started. The Portable Battery Pack card shattered, and so did the two Batterymen it had summoned.
"It doesn't matter Ren," said Ruin, with an evil smile. "Something you should know about Anarchist Disks… They include a special feature whenever a Duel Spirit uses one.
"I play Monster Reborn to summon a Batteryman AA again."
Another Batteryman AA appeared.
"Next," she said, playing another card, "I play Enemy Controller, to move Penumbral Soldier Lady to Defense Mode."
She played the card, and a large video game controller appeared in mid-air. Penumbral Soldier Lady sparked with energy, and knelt in Defense Mode.
What in blazes? thought Ren. Why did she do that?
"Now…" said Ruin. "I play this!"
A Spell Card appeared…
"End of the World?" gasped Ren.
"That's right?" said Ruin, with a sinister smirk. "To play this Ritual, I have to sacrifice eight Levels worth of Monsters. And I mean exactly eight. For a Ritual this powerful, it needs the exact amount. Any less, and the offering is beneath contempt. Any more, and the power would tear the fabrics of the summoning process.
"So, I sacrifice both my Batterymen, and my Morphing Jar…"
The three Monsters erupted in flames, similar to the ones that had apparently killed the Harpie's Brother and the Sonic Shooter when Ruin had first appeared. The flames started to congeal into a humanoid shape, just like before.
"I summon…" shouted Ruin.
"Well, heh… She's been right in front of you this whole time!"
In an explosion of energy, an exact duplicate of Ruin, holding her forked staff, appeared in front of her. (2,300/2,000)
"Oh, come on!" yelled Chelsea. "You played yourself??"
"Talk about a prima donna," said Yumi.
"Well, why not?" asked Ruin. "I've always been a sort of take-charge person… And now I can attack your Soldier Lady personally!"
Her twin aimed her staff, and fired a blast of burning-hot flames, blowing Penumbral Soldier Lady to ash.
"Oh, and by the way," said Ruin, "my doppelganger has a special ability. When she crushes one Monster, she gets to attack a second time!"
The Ruin on the field aimed her staff again. La Sombra screamed right before she was incinerated. Ren was thrown backwards.
(Re: 100) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 1,100)
"He's still in it!" shouted Chelsea.
"Barely," said Ruin. "And I'm making sure I don't have to deal with that whore again."
As Ren got up, she discarded a card.
"I'm discarding my D.D. Crow to remove Penumbral Soldier Lady from play."
Ren growled as he pocketed the card.
"You have a lot of nerve calling her a whore," he grumbled. "Look in the mirror lately? And do you realize the mistake you made?
"If you had used the other effect of Enemy Controller, and sacrificed Morphing Jar to take control of Penumbral Soldier Lady for one round, you would have won.
"But you were so thick with pride, you had to summon the Monster with your face on it. An admittedly beautiful face, but such beauty is wasted on an abomination like you."
Ruin grit her teeth in anger.
"We'll see…" she growled. "It's your move. You have only 100 Life Points left! Just try to turn this around!"
"I draw!" shouted Ren.
He drew a card. The fourth rope on the guillotine snapped.
"I activate Call of the Haunted!" he shouted.
His Trap Card lifted up, and a coffin appeared on his side of the field. It opened, and Getsu Fuhma stepped out. (1,700/1,200)
"And just what is she gonna do?" asked Ruin.
"You'll see," said Ren. "I'm playing a Ritual Spell of my own."
He played a Spell Card, and lightning flashed. A ziggurat appeared behind him, on which where two tall, metal spires and a burning cauldron.
"The Litmus Doom Ritual!" he exclaimed. "Like your Ritual, this requires eight Levels worth of Monsters. So I sacrifice Black Lotus and The Immortal Bushi."
Black Lotus and The Immortal Bushi appeared on the field, and then both of them vanished into grains of light. The cauldron on the ziggurat behind Ren started to boil, and churn out thick smoke.
"I summon… The Litmus Doom Swordsman!" he shouted.
The ziggurat vanished, and lightning flashed again. A different Dark Warrior appeared, this one dressed in the flamboyant costume of a matador, with a fancy cape, headpiece, and mask, all in hues of violet, white, and gold. He held two sharp scimitars. (0/0)
"He doesn't have any Attack Points…" said Ruin.
"Not to start," said Ren, "but when a Trap Card is active on the field, like Call of the Haunted is now, his Attack Score goes all the way up from zero to 3,000!"
Litmus Doom glowed with a shadowy aura. (3,000/0)
"Hey, wait a minute…" said Ruin.
"Time to end this," said Ren. "Litmus Doom, destroy the Queen of Oblivion!"
The Litmus Doom Swordsman leapt at Ruin's twin, and with one swipe of his blade, cut her in half. The real Ruin clutched her chest in pain, and clearly, this was a type of pain that she did not enjoy.
"Getsu Fuhma…" commanded Ren. "Take her out…"
Getsu Fuhma leapt at the evil goddess, and a slash of her katana sent her to the floor.
(Re: 100) - - - - - - - - - - (Ru: 0)
"All right!" shouted Chelsea, running up to him.
She hugged him.
"You won!"
Then they were startled by a blast of energy that blew both Getsu Fuhma and Litmus Doom to pieces.
Everyone looked, and saw Ruin, holding her staff, with her eyes burning with flames.
"Yes, you won," she said, her voice now sounding far less attractive than it had been before, and more like that of a demon. "Congratulations…
"And since I am, as you said, so thick with pride, doing so is going to make your end even more agonizing…"
"Uh, guys?" said Ren, as he and Chelsea backed up towards the others. "I really hope you have a plan…"
"Uhm…" muttered Yumi, "actually, we were too busy trying to find you two to think of that part…"
"Oh," moaned the Burglar. "Don't look at me… I'd have run away half an hour ago if I wasn't cursed to haunt this place for twelve hours out of the day…"
"Daala wanted me to banish you all to Shogarr's palace," said Ruin. "That's the usual punishment for those whom she passes a death sentence on…"
"WHAT?" gasped Yumi. "So Daala does work for Shogarr!"
"I don't know in what regard," said Ruin. "But anyway, I'm thinking I'm not going to do that… I'm thinking I really am going to kill you.
"Maybe I'll reduce this whole Cathedral into a flaming, burning wreck, with all of you still inside it!"
"Destroying a church?" asked Aster. "Wow, you ARE evil…"
"QUIET!" shouted Ruin, aiming her staff at them.
And then, Yumi's deck started to glow…
In a burst of magical energy, a tall, intimidating form appeared between them and Ruin…
"Cosmo Queen?" said Yumi, in shock.
Ruin stopped short.
"You…" she whispered.
The two Duel Spirits looked at each other.
"YOU!" she screamed. "You got us the last time, but you aren't gonna do it again!"
She fired a blast of energy at Cosmo Queen, but the Spellcaster simply caught it in her palm.
Then Cosmo Queen cast her cosmic nova, hitting Ruin in the stomach. Ruin screamed.
"Those two don't seem to like each other much," said Erik.
"Of course!" gasped Ren. "It all makes sense now! Cosmo Queen is the Empress of the dimension where Spellcasters are the rulers! That's why Sand Gambler was afraid of her!
"And she's the one who banished Ruin and Demise last time!"
Cosmo Queen gestured, and a card appeared in her hand. They saw that it was Shadow Spell. A bolt of energy shot from the card, and two chains sprouted out of the floor, latching onto Ruin's wrists.
Cosmo Queen turned, and cast a spell, aiming for the door that was blocking the stairway's way up. The blast smashed it to pieces.
"Head for the roof!" said a voice coming from the Spellcaster (although her lips didn't move). "I'll handle her…"
"Should we?" asked Sam.
Ruin angrily tore free from the chains, and started to burn with black fire.
"We'd be crazy to stay down here!" shouted Yumi.
Ruin threw herself at Cosmo Queen, and the two started to grapple. The six duelists and the ghost of the Burglar rushed up the stairs, as the belfry below them started to glow with intense light…
As they ran out to the roof, where they could see a view of the whole city, they heard an explosion below, and the windows were all blown out in bursts of flame.
"Uh…" muttered Chelsea. "So who won?"
Cosmo Queen floated through the floor and looked at them. She had a satisfied smile on her face.
She turned into energy, and flew back to Yumi's deck.
"I think that answers your question," said Aster.
They all sat down and took some deep breaths.
"Chilly up here…" muttered Chelsea.
"So…" said Yumi. "What's the next step? How do we even get down from here?"
They were a little surprised to see what looked to be a fighter plane flying towards them.
"A Gradius?" said Erik.
The Machine started to hover. Then it let a beam of light out of its front, and a holographic projection appeared.
It looked like a Machine Duel Spirit, a robot of some sort that was eight feet tall, designed to look like some sort of admiral or other military officer.
"That's a Robotic Knight," said Erik.
"No…" exclaimed Sam, getting up. "That's Nezbitt!"
"Very perceptive of you, Samantha," said the voice of the former technology expert of the Big Five. "As you may have guessed by now, this Realm is my domain, and I'm not at all pleased at the trouble you all have been causing in it.
"However, I also know that a confrontation is likely inevitable. So I'm not going to delay it any further.
"Rather than try to stop you from breaking into my Infernal Clock, I'm giving you an open invitation. I'll even send you a ride. It will be there in exactly four minutes."
"Fine!" said Yumi. "But if you think we're going to trust you…"
"I don't expect you to," said Nezbitt. "Four minutes. Be ready by then."
The Gradius flew away.
"So, uhm…" mumbled the Burglar to Chelsea. "That's not much time… If you could just tell me…"
"Remember the chalice you stole from Emes the Infinity?" sighed Chelsea. "If he gets it back, you won't be cursed any more."
The Burglar stopped short.
"I know where that is!" he exclaimed. "Thanks!"
He vanished.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daala took a walnut from a dish, and then crushed its shell with a nutcracker. She looked at Skull Knight, who was looking at a screen.
"Where did Cosmo Queen banish her to?" she asked, as she chewed on the nut.
"Uh…" said Skull Knight, looking at the information. "According to this, Carceri."
Daala sighed. She crushed another nut.
"Carceri…" she muttered. "The Prison Plane… The place where the most powerful entities and even the gods banish creatures that are judged too dangerous to walk free…"
"Indeed…" replied Skull Knight. "I believe it was where Zeus sent the Titans after he overthrew them."
"Figures," muttered Daala. "It was only a matter of time before someone tried sending her there. She's going to have the hardest time ever finding a way out this time…
"Demise is going to be in a foul mood when he wakes up. That isn't good…"
She crushed another nut.
"Well…" said Skull Knight, "it isn't really bad either, come to think of it…"
"Pardon?" said Daala.
"Well, if Demise is angry," said Skull Knight, "he'll be more merciless when it comes time to do his job."
Daala frowned.
And then she smiled.
"Indeed…" she chuckled. "And Cosmo Queen was Yumi's Monster… You might say that Yumi was responsible… As was anyone she was working for and with…"
She chuckled again.
"Ah, well, too bad for Ruin… But by sacrificing her, we may well have made our other plan even more potent…"
She gestured, and the screen came up in front of her. She hit the command to send an e-mail.
She typed in the address of the recipient:
LLoA.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exactly four minutes after the group had spoken to Nezbitt, a much larger craft approached the Cathedral. It was a giant spaceship, with weapons all over its armored hull, and a glowing core in the center.
"A Big Core, huh?" said Sam. "Well, I give him an A for originality."
The huge spaceship hovered, and a door opened in its underbelly. A walkway descended.
"Well people, come on," said Yumi. "We aren't getting any younger…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LITMUS DOOM RITUAL (Spell Card)
Ritual Spell
Image: An ominous altar on a ziggurat, with spires, arches, and a blazing cauldron, surrounded by cloaked men with torches, with lightning striking from above.
Card Description: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Litmus Doom Swordsman". You must also offer as Tribute from the field or your hand Monsters whose total Levels equal eight or more.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LITMUS DOOM SWORDSMAN (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Warrior/Ritual/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 8
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
Card Description: This card is Ritual Summoned via the effect of "Litmus Doom Ritual". You must also offer as Tribute from the field or your hand Monsters whose total Levels equal eight or more. This card cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. This card is unaffected by Trap Cards. If at least one Trap Card is face-up on the field, the base ATK of this card becomes 3,000.
Note: "Litmus Doom Ritual" and "Litmus Doom Swordsman" were first used by Bastion in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "The Duel Off (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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Coming up next:
At the time Jaden Yuki left school, he had already completed a very illustrious career. He had saved the world, this one and others, several times, and had made many allies along the way. One might think then, that he had a sense of fulfillment at that time.
However, even Jaden had left a small number of loose ends that he never addressed… A few unsolved mysteries that one can't help but think he wondered about.
Next chapter, closure is brought to one of these loose ends, as an enemy from the past appears blocking the team's path to Nezbitt. It's a chapter called "Cover the Sun", coming soon.
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Name that Card!
It's no secret that, in the anime, a Monster's attack has a cool-sounding name. And sometimes in the history of the game, a Monster's attack's name has been made into a Spell Card.
Dark Magician's attack's name was made into a card, and so was the attack of another one of Yugi's Monsters. Can you name it? (The Monster, not the Spell.)