I would have tried to get two chapters up today, but I took a break due to feeling sick. I hope to make up for it tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Usurper
With everything that had just happened, it took the group some time to straighten out their thoughts. It was Draken who finally spoke, saying, "The creator of Teknisk Wereld… I never would have guessed he was behind this."
"It makes sense though," Max said. "If anyone could delete Teknisk Wereld, it would certainly be him."
"As Will said, it also explains why he banned us from entering," Zack added.
"What did he mean by that?" Mana asked. "I heard what Will said, but I'm not getting it."
"Oh, right, you weren't there at the time," Brandi realized. "We were each banned from Teknisk Wereld until reaching the age of twenty. For instance, I was gone for three years. Hope had it worst; she was out for seven."
"And the person who decided that was Sarov Yggdrasill," Miles said grimly. "Creator of Teknisk Wereld."
"Helmer said Captain Roman had to convince him to not ban us for life," Gen recalled.
"Good point. I'd forgotten that," Gaston said.
"I don't get it!" Rue exclaimed. "What does he hope to accomplish by destroying Teknisk Wereld?"
"When we finally find him, I'm going to want an explanation for that too," Hope said.
"…Angela?" Larka said. "Your creator is the one behind all of this. What are you going to do when we meet him?"
"Protecting Teknisk Wereld is my second priority," Angela stated. "My first is self-preservation. My third is protecting the creator. If the creator is responsible for attempting to delete Teknisk Wereld, my orders will be to kill him."
"Kill him? But he's… he's like your father…" Larka said sadly, with Malon letting out a whimper at her side.
"Negative. I am a creation, thus I was never born," Angela said. "I have never met him, and if I had, I would not have felt anything about our meeting. If my protocol demands that I kill him, there is nothing to hinder me."
"I'm afraid that's actually a good thing for us," Max said to Larka, who looked torn at that statement. "We don't know how desperate he'll be. He might attack us, and if that's the case, it'd be good to have Angela on our side."
"I… I guess…" Larka said.
"We can think about that when we find him," Kazel said, her voice slightly hoarse.
Draken gave her a concerned look. "You don't sound well."
"Aftereffects of fighting that dragon," Kazel snorted, arching her wings and standing straighter. "It is not serious enough to worry over."
Seeing he was not convinced, Kisara said, "She is telling the truth."
"What about you? I thought you got crushed by a building when I was watching that!" Miles said.
Kisara shook her head. "I was not hurt."
"We're not in the best state," Will stated. "How do you feel, Max?"
"Well enough," Max answered.
"And you?" Gaston asked Hope.
"There were no Life Point conditions, so I'm fine," Hope assured.
"I'd say we're in good shape then," Neo said. "Compared to other possibilities."
"True," Darche agreed. "Are we getting close to Seiryu's location?"
"Arrival will occur in approximately five minutes," Angela responded.
"Let's just hope he doesn't move before we get there," Draken said.
…
Seiryu and Ryuujin appeared in the building where they always met, but not the usual office. The Receding Circuit had been set for the lower part of the building. This area had high windows, which provided enough light to see, but left much of the room in shadows.
"So, how did it go?"
Even as he turned, Seiryu knew who would be leaning against the wall there with his usual smirk. "I can't believe it, Kai. I lost… I lost to them…"
"What a shame," Kai said, although he did not appear to be lamenting the loss. He stood and paced across the room, not bothering to look at Seiryu as he said, "Perhaps I can take your mind off the subject for a moment. It might help you recuperate, and it would satisfy my curiosity. You see, I heard an interesting story from Pariah. It was about how you came to have the leadership of the Judges." His eyes finally met Seiryu, and despite his light-natured conversation, they were hard. "I wonder if that story is true?"
Ryuujin growled as Seiryu felt cold sweat run down his face beneath his mask. Kai set a trap for me… and like a fool, I walked right into it…
Kai lifted his hand, pointing at Seiryu. "I realize it would not be fair to fight you in your condition, so my proposal is this. We duel, and if I win, I take control of the Judges. Should you somehow triumph, you keep your position. Fair enough, no?"
Seiryu knew he had no choice. He nervously said, "All right. I accept your challenge."
"Feel free to use your Deck Master," Kai said, turning on his Duel Disk. "I don't need mine to beat you."
His arrogant attitude caused the small embers of anger Seiryu still carried from his loss to flare, drowning out part of his anxiety. He turned on his Duel Disk, glaring at Kai as he drew his opening hand.
Seiryu: 8000
Kai: 8000
"However, it's only fair that I go first for giving up my Soul Monster," Kai said. "I lay three cards down and end my turn."
"No monsters, yet lots of what I assume are traps. That fits with your personality," Seiryu commented. "Good thing I have the perfect monster to combat that. I summon Mirage Dragon!" (1600/600)
Kai put a hand to his Duel Disk. "I know that Mirage Dragon prevents trap cards from being activated, but that only happens during the battle phase. That is why I'll now activate my trap card, Dead Spirit Zoma. It becomes an Undead monster when activated and is special summoned in defense mode." (1800/500)
"My Mirage Dragon can destroy that easily," Seiryu said. "He attacks!"
"Indeed, it is destroyed," Kai agreed, watching the Mirage Dragon tear apart his Dead Spirit Zoma. "That is what I wanted you to do. When it is destroyed in battle, you lose Life Points equal to your monster's attack."
Seiryu: 6400
Kai: 8000
Seiryu forced himself to take a few deep breaths. You won't win like this. Calm down and think things through. "I lay one card down and end."
"In a better state of mind now? As convenient as it is for me to have you keep running into my traps, it is not much fun to win so easily," Kai remarked. "I lay one monster in defense, and I'll leave it at that."
Kai's words caused Seiryu to grit his teeth, but he refused to lose his focus. "I summon Spear Dragon." (1900/0)
"This seems like a good time to activate Kickback," Kai said. "When you normal summon or reverse summon a monster, I can use this trap to negate it and return the monster to your hand."
"Fine," Seiryu said. "My Mirage Dragon attacks your defense monster!"
"You have run into my Death Gremlin. (1600/1800) His reverse effect allows me to take one card from my Cemetery and shuffle it into my deck, so I do that with Kickback," Kai chose.
Seiryu: 6200
Kai: 8000
"I can't do anything else," Seiryu said reluctantly.
"I'll switch Death Gremlin to attack mode to attack your Mirage Dragon," Kai said. "That destroys them both. I lay one card down, and that's it."
"Once more, I summon Spear Dragon. Going to stop me this time?" Seiryu asked.
"No, but I will activate another trap card," Kai replied. "Cyber Shadow Gardna is another monster of sorts, although I can only bring it out on your main phase. (?/?) If attacked, its stats will match the attacker's."
"So it's suicidal to try," Seiryu realized. "But that won't stop me! Spear Dragon attacks, killing them both! I'm done."
"You rush into these situations far too often," Kai told him. "Do you enjoy leaving yourself open to attack? Either way, I summon Artemis of Harvest (1600/1700) and attack directly."
"I didn't leave myself open!" Seiryu retorted. "I activate Cry of the Living Dead to special summon Spear Dragon to my field!"
"Nice try, but not happening," Kai said. "I'll counter your special summon with Ascending Black Horn. It negates a special summon and destroys the monster. Have anything else to stop me?"
Seiryu did not have to respond, for the Artemis' strike met him unchallenged.
Seiryu: 4600
Kai: 8000
"Oh, I forgot to mention Artemis' effect," Kai added. "I draw a card every time I activate a counter trap with Artemis on the field. Hm, not bad. I'll lay this card down and let you go."
Unnerved by his unusual methods of stopping his plays, Seiryu said, "I place a monster in defense mode and a card down. That's it."
Kai smirked at Seiryu's play. "This looks like a good time to activate Avatar of Apophis, seeing as it only can be during a main phase. This too is a monster. (1600/1800) It attacks your defense monster."
"You've destroyed my Dragonfly. (1400/900) When destroyed in battle, I special summon an Air Main-Type with 1500 attack or less from my deck," Seiryu explained. "I'll bring out Armed Dragon Lv 3." (1200/900)
"I know better than to let you keep that out," Kai said. "Artemis attacks your Armed Dragon Lv 3."
"I'll stop you with Attack Nullification!" Seiryu declared. "Your attack is negated and your battle phase ends!"
Kai shook his head in a pitying manner. "Afraid not. I have another counter trap, one called Trap Jammer. It negates and destroys a trap card you activate during the battle phase. That means that in addition to my attack going through and your Armed Dragon being destroyed, I get to draw another card due to Artemis."
Seiryu: 4200
Kai: 8000
"Are you done?" Seiryu said, his voice betraying impatience and anxiety.
"For now," Kai answered.
The card he drew caused Seiryu to feel a rush of relief. "I summon Armed Dragon Lv 3 and play Level Up! on him. By placing him in the Cemetery, I can special summon Armed Dragon Lv 5 from my deck! (2400/1700) He attacks Artemis!"
Seiryu: 4200
Kai: 7200
Once the attack was done, Kai said, "Congratulations, you actually managed to damage me. That was more than I thought you would accomplish."
"You'll see what else I'm capable of now!" Seiryu said. "I'll activate my Armed Dragon Lv 5's effect! By discarding a monster card from my hand, one face-up monster on your field with the attack of the discarded monster or less is destroyed. Discarding Hell Dragon means your Avatar's destroyed!"
"I suspect you did not do that earlier for a reason?" Kai asked, slipping his Avatar of Apophis into the Cemetery.
"You suspect correctly! On my end phase, I can sacrifice my Armed Dragon Lv 5 for Armed Dragon Lv 7 since he destroyed a monster in battle! I'll get Armed Dragon Lv 7 from my deck to do so!" (2800/1000)
To Seiryu's discontent, Kai did not appear overly worried by the powerful monster. "I lay two cards down and end my turn."
"I have you now!" Seiryu proclaimed. "I sacrifice Armed Dragon Lv 7 to special summon Armed Dragon Lv 10! (3000/2000) He attacks you directly!"
"Unfortunately for you, your monster is not strong enough," Kai said. "I activate a trap card, Metal Reflect Slime. Like many of my traps, this one is a monster, and it is special summoned in defense mode." (0/3000)
"Then I'll destroy it with Armed Dragon Lv 10's effect instead!" Seiryu said. "He allows me to discard any card to destroy all of your face-up monsters, so I discard Hell Blast to do that!"
Kai's sudden, wider smirk told Seiryu he had made a terrible mistake. "Of all the traps you walked into today, this was the one that sealed your fate. I activate a counter trap, Heavenly Punishment! It requires me to discard a card from my hand, but in exchange, your monster's effect is negated, and your monster is destroyed. I discard Dark King Dragon Vandalgion to have Armed Dragon Lv 10 perish!"
"No… that can't be…" Seiryu said numbly, watching his strongest monster vanish with a roar.
"That isn't the only part of my move though," Kai went on. "Far from it! Since I used a counter trap, I can now special summon a Dark King Dragon Vandalgion from my hand!" (2800/2500)
The purple dragon that emerged temporarily robbed Seiryu of the ability to speak. Tall, well-muscled, and with small red eyes that glared at him, it was understandable. Seiryu was able to choke out one word though. "How?"
"When I use a counter trap that negates an effect of a monster, magic, or trap card, I am allowed to special summon Vandalgion from my hand," Kai said. "Depending on what I countered, three effects are possible. The other two don't matter for you, but the one for negating an effect monster I'll explain. I can special summon a monster from my Cemetery to my field. Guess who I choose?"
"Y-your other Vandalgion..." Seiryu watched in horror as the second monster appeared next to its counterpart.
Kai laughed, a laugh that was surprisingly light considering the malice behind it. "Correct! Any last moves or words?"
"I... end…" Seiryu haltingly said.
"Then you're finished!" Kai said. "Both Vandalgions attack!"
The vicious dragons struck Seiryu heavily, causing him to reel.
Seiryu: 0
Kai: 7200
"What a disappointment you were," Kai stated. "I had expected a little more from the leader of the Judges. Oh well, what's done is done. Now that the game is over, I would like you to meet my Soul Monster." He snapped his fingers.
At first, Seiryu could not tell what Kai was trying to do. Then he saw that a dark shape was looming over him and Ryuujin. His head shot up, and he could only stare in terror at the red eyes that came from the shadows and know that he was doomed.
…
"Are we nearly there? It feels like it's been a lot more than five minutes!" Rue complained.
"Negative. It has been exactly four minutes, thirty-seven seconds since that estimate," Angela responded.
Before Rue could respond, they suddenly heard an agonized scream come from a nearby building.
"What was that?" Larka said in alarm.
"Seiryu, or someone else?" Darche wondered.
"Only one way to find out!" Hope replied, running towards the building. The others swiftly went after her.
…
Ryuujin had already vanished, dead from the first strike from Kai's Soul Monster. Another attack had left Seiryu lying on the ground with three long gashes down his body, leaving him mortally wounded.
Kai slowly walked towards Seiryu, and leaned over, lifting the pieces of an object on the floor. It was Seiryu's dragon mask, now shattered from the attack he had suffered. Looking at Seiryu, Kai said, "What an honor it must be, to see the face of the almighty Seiryu."
"Kai!" Hope's cry caused Kai's gaze to dart to the door, which the group had just entered through.
"You arrived a little too early for my tastes," Kai said with a ghastly smile. "Come after me. I'll be ready to talk then." He inserted a card into his Duel Disk and vanished.
"Don't tell me that was another Receding Circuit!" Neo groaned.
"Confirmed to be Receding Circuit," Angela stated. "Set location confirmed to be Sector 3666, also known as the Demon Temple."
"Perfect for that sick bastard," Rue growled.
A soft groan from Seiryu caught their attention. Shocked at his condition, most simply stared at him. Hope managed to convince her body to move though, and knelt by him. Close-up, she could see his mask was gone, causing his extremely short, white hair and red eyes to finally be visible. Biting back her initial reaction at his wounds, she said, "Did Kai do this to you?"
"Kai… he has been manipulating me… ever since he joined the Judges," Seiryu gasped out, his eyes desperately trying to stay focused on Hope. "He even… convinced me to… take up the cause… of deleting Teknisk Wereld. I feel like… such a fool… for not seeing through his plan sooner. You are… the only ones who can… prevent the rest of his plans… from being carried out. Stop that madman… stop Kai…" His eyes closed with one last, rattling breath, leaving the group in a stunned silence.
…
"About time you finally arrived, Kai!" Alamaru said once Kai had appeared in the Demon Temple. "I told Kasmaru you'd be here soon!"
Kasmaru's glare was enough to infer that Alamaru had twisted the truth once more. Kai did not care to deal with their antics though. He glanced at the five Judges standing in the room, three males and two females. They were the only ones left besides him, but that did not concern him. These five would do for what he had in mind. Satisfied at how he had thought it out, Kai tossed one of the pieces from Seiryu's mask at Pariah. Catching it, Pariah looked at the mask, surprise showing in his expression.
"No way…" one of the females said when she noticed what Pariah held. "That group defeated Seiryu?"
"Impossible! Seiryu was far more competent than Kasmaru!" Alamaru said. Kasmaru also seemed to be having a hard time believing it and thus did not react to his brother's words.
"Not quite, Filia," Kai said to the female that had spoken. "I took care of that incompetent fool."
"Hmph. He deserved it for not being a devoted Christian," the other female sniffed.
Kai rolled his eyes. "We do not need your religious lectures, Mieko. The point is, with him out of the way, it is time to put our final plan into motion. We will make the preparations now."
The Judges' silence told him that they agreed. Satisfied at this, Kai began to outline what they would do.
To be continued…