Hyper Runners: Duel Legacy
All Character © Respective creators
Elemental Knights © TheBlackCrow2
Warning: Bad quality
Chapter Sixteen: Two-Way Tangle, Part 2
Lightning crackled over the stadium as the beast of legends appeared from within. Many stories were told of the three Sacred Beasts that had once surfaced around the former Duel Academy, but very few have ever seen them. And at the moment, Namura wished he wasn't. He and Ruki were facing off against their, opponents, Kohan and Selene; the latter had control over Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. Kohan had one monster of the field and Ruki had an exact replica on her side, but Namura was left completely defenseless.
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms – (4000/4000).
Hyper Sonic Blaster – (3000/2500)
Experiment 316 – (3000/2500)
Namura (3600) – Ruki (4000) – Konah (1300) – Selene (4000)
"That's...one big...beast." Ruki stammered fearfully.
"Don't be afraid, Ruki!" Namura said supportively. "That thing may be big, but it's not unbeatable!"
"You stupid little brat!" Selene yelled maniacally. "Do you have any idea what you are talking about?! This is Raviel, the greatest of the three Sacred Beasts! You punks are totally screwed!"
"Ok, you can calm down a little." Kohan said nervously. "It's just a game."
"Shut up, loser!" Selene screeched savagely. "I don't need help from a pathetic dueling wannabe like you!"
"Ooh, that's hitting below the belt." Ruki groaned.
"Like it matters." Selene scowled. "Raviel, attack the whimpering boy and end the duel! Phantasmal Crusher!"
A fresh wave of spiritual energy appeared around the sacred beast's right fist – a sudden chill arose throughout the stadium. The Lord of Phantasms thrusted its fist ahead to Namura, who only raised his arm in defense. Raviel's spiritual attack smashed into the ground, forming a large cloud of dust.
"Namura!!" Ruki cried.
"It's over." Selene smirked.
Namura (1600) – Ruki (4000) – Konah (1300) – Selene (4000)
"What the hell?!" Selene exclaimed with her hand over Raviel's card. "Why aren't his life points gone."
"You might want to take another look." Kohan chuckled joyously.
Irritated by her partner's attitude, the deceptive duelist scanned through the dust cloud formed by her monster. Imagine the expression of shock on her face when she discovered a mechanical monster emerged from the cloud, holding Raviel's fist. The upper half of the machine with a coupling of wires and steel acting as the hands, and a curved head with a single red eye. The lower half of its body was a moon-sized sphere made from a mixture of violet electrical energy and dark matter. The machine emitted a crackling roar and pushed Raviel back before fading from the field.
"You'll have to do better than that." Namura chuckled, emerging from the dust cloud.
"Namura..." Ruki sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're all right."
"I wouldn't lose that easy, Ruki." Namura said. As the Scarred Duelist raised his head, his right eye was shown to have transformed to a piercing gold. "Now let's show these posers what we've got!"
Back at the lobby, the remaining ten duelists were watching the match anxiously – many of them had fallen out of their seats. Marcus was laughing behind his hand, not really wanting to insult his fellow competition. Then when the screen flashed to Namura, the Marked Duelist noticed the change in his friend's eye.
"Looks like he's finally getting serious." Marcus commented. "Now things are finally going to start getting interesting."
"Uh...mind explaining what happened?" Amaya asked confused. "Where did that monster come from?"
"Namura used that same card against me back when we first met." Marcus explained. "I lost that day. That monster you saw was called Master Core: ABIS. It's a special monster that can activate its effect from the graveyard. By removing it from play, ABIS cuts all battle damage in half for one turn."
"But when did he..?" Amaya said before struck with realization. "Of course. It was when he played Card Destruction."
"ABIS is a level seven monster, so he couldn't summon it that turn." Marcus stated. "So he used Card Destruction and saved its ability for later. And if Namura is using ABIS' ability, that means he has a plan."
"A plan?" Amaya repeated.
"I have known Namura for two years and I have never beaten him." Marcus said proudly. "He always acted so timid and nervous at the beginning of a duel – it didn't make sense to me. So I asked Yusei to give him an IQ test in the form of a standard duel."
"And?" Amaya ushered curiously.
"I was right." Marcus smirked. "Namura has an IQ over 240."
"240!" Amaya exclaimed; the other duelists stared. "He must be like some kind of super genius!"
"That's Namura." Marcus chuckled. "Always thinking ten steps ahead."
Back at the arena, Selene had submitted her turn after Namura explained the appearance of ABIS' appearance. At once, the Scarred Duelist swiped a card from his deck. Ruki noted that Namura's new personality seemed more confident and aggressive – her cheeks turned red with additional thoughts.
"To start off my turn, I activate Pot of Greed." Namura said, drawing two cards from his deck. "Then I place both cards facedown and end my turn."
"My draw!" Kohan exclaimed, drawing his next card.
"Better come up with something worthwhile, brat." Selene scowled. "I don't need some mediocre slacker ruining the best chance I have at winning a winning it big time."
"Mediocre, huh?" Kohan glowered; his usual eagerness was fading fast. "Alright, I use Hyper Sonic Blaster...to attack Experiment 316!"
"What?!" Selene screamed.
The cybernetic warriors raised both guns to its target with its crimson doppelganger repeating the same motion. With a series of clicks Hyper Sonic Blaster and Experiment 316 released two beams of psychic energy. The results were pretty much as expected once both beams collided with each other's monster, obliterating them from the game.
"And with that, I end my turn." Kohan smirked.
"What the hell did you just do?!" Selene yelled. "You left yourself wide open for an attack!"
"I guess I'm just mediocre." Kohan said smugly.
"This is my chance to turn things around." Ruki said, drawing her card. "Now I summon Experiment 319!"
The newest of the Experiment series appeared on the field. It resembled a large, navy-blue porcupine with metallic-grey spikes growing out of its back and down its tail (1900/1700).
"You made a big mistake." Selene proclaimed. "Whenever my opponent summons a monster to the field, Raviel's special ability activates. And for every monster you summon, I receive one Phantasmal Token."
At the moment the Experiment appeared, a second creature formed across from it. The token monster greatly resembled Raviel, but was only as tall as the beast's ankle and was mostly made from armor (1000/1000).
"That won't even matter in a moment!" Ruki declared. "Experiment 319, attack Kohan and end the duel!"
"Not so fast!" Selene interjected, activating a familiar facedown card. "I activate the abilities of Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! Sorry, but it looks like your little plan failed!"
The porcupine Experiment turned its body in a complete circle, throwing a set of spikes from its tail. Unfortunately, before it could reach the targeted duelist, the Scrap-Iron Scarecrow burst from the floor and received the attack instead. With its mission complete, the irritable trap card returned to its previous position.
"Damn it." Ruki cursed. "All right, I end my turn."
"My draw!" Selene declared, swiping her next card. Her hawk-like eyes scanned the area around her opponent's field. "Hmm...The little twerp has one monster on the field and no cards to protect herself. But the smart brat has two cards facedown to act as a defense. If I know anything about this kid, he's an excellent strategist. He's most likely waiting for me to attack him and fall straight into his trap."
"Hey, it's your move!" Ruki shouted impatiently.
"You can't rush brilliance, you little priss." Selene mocked; Ruki stopped herself from screaming. "I activate Raviel's secondary ability. By sacrificing one monster on my field, I can add its power to Raviel's. So I am surrendering the Phantasmal Token to its master."
The miniature Sacred Beast faded in a fresh wave of spiritual energy, coating around the original monster.
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms – (5000/5000)
"Raviel, attack Experiment 319 with Phantasmal Crusher!" Selene commanded.
The most powerful of the Sacred Beast roared in triumph, raising its fist as it redirected all its energy into its claw. The porcupine was visibly shaking as Raviel's eyes rolled downwards towards its prey. And it one feral swoop, the Sacred Beast crushed Experiment 319 with a roaring blast. The force of the impact knocked Ruki off her feet and onto the ground.
Namura (1600) – Ruki (900) – Konah (1300) – Selene (4000)
"Ruki, are you all right?" Namura asked concerned.
"I'm...fine." Ruki groaned weakly.
"You won't be for long." Selene smirked devilishly. "I end my turn. And the next time around, you'll be finished."
Up in the top box, the Signers were watching with bated breath as the duel seemed to be drawing closer to a close. Crow was standing on his seat, yelling for Hazama to foal Selene, Leo was hiding behind his seat, and Jack was clutching the arms of his seat to vent his frustrations. But the only one that didn't seem affected by Raviel's appearance was Yusei. Instead, the leader of the Signers seemed to be glancing out of the corner of his eye every time the others weren't looking.
"Aw, come on!" Crow continued yelled. "Give those kids a break! There's no way they can take on a Sacred Beast!"
"How did she even get her hands on Raviel in the first place?" Akiza asked interestingly. "Those cards have been closely guarded for decades. How could she get one of them with alerting Sector Security of Industrial Illusions?"
"I have a feeling that she isn't alone in this." Yusei murmured.
The leader of the Signers glanced out of the corner of his eyes once again, looking to the doorway to the room. Two shadowed figures were standing silently outside the door, nodding to the Signer who had spotted them.
Back at the arena.
"I have no other moves to make." Namura stated. "So I end my turn."
Then that would make it my draw." Kohan stated, swiping the card from the top of his deck. The once-eager duelist glared at his partner and turned his attention to the duel. "And unfortunately, I don't have any worthwhile card either. So I'm just going to pass."
"Bullshit." Selene hissed. "I bet you have at least two monster is your hand right now."
"Oh well, I gave it my best shot." Kohan shrugged.
"Whatever." Selene scoffed, looking to Ruki. "Just make your move, you little priss. I'm running low on patients and I want to end this joke of a duel before nightfall."
"There no way I can keep going." Ruki thought fearfully. "We're facing against one of the Sacred Beasts – monsters with powers equal to the Egyptian Gods." Her breathing became heavier and her hands shook violently. "Just one move. Just one wrong move and this thing will kill me. How am I supposed to be a monster that has only been defeated by two people in history? Maybe I should just..."
"Don't even think about it, Ruki!" Namura shouted fiercely. The blue-haired female barely caught herself when she noticed her hand over her deck, ready to tap out. "Don't give up so easily. There's still a chance that we can win this thing."
"But how am I supposed to do that." Ruki said doubtfully. "That thing is..."
"Don't worry about the Sacred Beast." Namura said confidently. "We have all the pieces needed to capture victory, but you need to be brave." He smiled sincerely. "You can do this, Ruki. I have faith in you."
"Namura...thank you." Ruki thought happily, drawing her last card. "My move." She scanned the card she picked up, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh yeah! This is exactly what I needed!"
"What are you prattling on about?" Selene scowled.
"A few months ago, I borrowed a card from Marcus." Ruki explained. "The only problem is that I kept forgetting to give it back. But it looks like its going to made its grand opening right here."
"So she still has that card." Namura chuckled. "Looks like Ruki's faulty memory is finally starting to pay off."
"First off, I'll summon Experiment 544!" Ruki said cheerfully.
A slim, purple monster appeared on the field. It had to eye stocks with six tentacled arms along its body, each possessing a mace-like fist (2000/1200). And as expected, a Phantasmal Token appeared on Selene's field the moment the Experiment appeared.
"And now I plan to take advantage of Brain Research Lab." Ruki grinned. "Because of its ability, I can summon a psychic monster in addition to my normal summon. And now I bring out my secret weapon, Silver the Hedgehog!"
Selene gaped as a typhoon of emerald-green energy erupted from the center of the field. The hurricane of power faded from sight, revealing the next leader of the duel. A silver-grey hedgehog with a white mane, five point quills on his forehead, and two extended quills dangling from the back. The hedgehog warrior wore a pair of black boots with stripes down the middle, white gloves with cyan circles, and golden bracelets (1600/1500).
"And now I activate Silver's special ability." Ruki continued. "By discarding my entire hand, I can attack you directly for one turn!"
The silver hedgehog surrounded itself with an aura of energy and redirected it towards his hand. Silver swung his arm around, releasing the energy into the form of a spiral. The twisted duelist grunted angrily as the spiral bypassed her monsters and swept her backwards on her feet.
Namura (1600) – Ruki (900) – Konah (1300) – Selene (2400)
"I'm not finished yet." Ruki stated. "Now I activate Namura's facedown card, Rise of the Machine!" Namura smirked as he revealed the card, surprising their opponents. "And I sacrifice my Level 4 Experiment 544 and Level 3 Silver the Hedgehog to Ritual Summon Metal Sonic!"
The purple experiment and silver hedgehog dissolved into light particles, forming a vortex of light. The light particles transformed into pure lightning, revealing the form of Metal Sonic (2400/2000).
"And then I activate Namura's second facedown: Metal Surge." Ruki continued as her partner revealed the second card. "Now when Metal Destroys a monster, its attack points are dealt directly to your life points."
"Like that will even matter." Selene glowered. "The moment you attack, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow will activate and end your attack in an instant. And then Raviel will destroy you."
"There's just one problem with that." Namura grinned. "Metal Sonic has a special ability to cancel out one magic or trap card per turn."
"What?!" Selene exclaimed.
Even Kohan couldn't resist laughing at her predicament – in all honesty, he never liked her. The mechanical hedgehog grabbed its right wrist with its left claw as a current of electricity began to flow over it. With his eyes locked on the Phantasmal Token, Metal Sonic charged ahead with his claw poised to strike. The mechanical warrior stabbed through the spiritual token and continued onwards to its master. Selene blacked out in fear before the attack even made contact.
Duel Victors: Ruki and Namura
"The duel is over!" Hazama announced proudly. "Ruki and Namura will be moving on to the next round!"
The audience burst into an uproar of cheers. Despite all odds, two upstart duelists had pushed past their limits to defeat one of the three Sacred Beasts. Ruki and Namura were so proud of their accomplishment that they couldn't resist hugging one another in pure joy. The two realized what they were doing a moment later and pulled away, blushing heavily.
"You um..." Namura said nervously; his eye returned to normal. "You did great."
"Thanks." Ruki said embarrassingly.
"That was truly amazing, you two." Kohan grinned, walking over to his victorious opponents. "I may have lost, but that was the sweetest duel I have ever seen. If you guys are this good as a team, I can't wait to see how you two do individually."
"Aw, we just got lucky." Ruki giggled. "I really didn't know what cards Namura had up his sleeve. I just sort of guessed."
"Well, at least you had a partner who trusted you." Kohan said.
"Speaking of partners, where is yours?" Namura asked.
The dueling trio looked back to where Selene was last spotted; only finding her duel disk in its place. Namura also took note that Hazama was missing as well. Was there something going on behind the scenes?
Meanwhile, the two shadowed figures from earlier were resting in the darkened hallways – one leaning against the wall with the other sitting on the bench. Upon further inspection, one could see the two characters that had appeared in Egypt over a week beforehand. The cloaked elder sighed heavily on the bench as he stared into the reflection of his golden jewel. The unknown man who presented Marcus with his new deck was playing with card in his hand. When he stopped, he stared down into the face of none other than Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.
"I still can't believe they managed to get a Sacred Beast." The younger man said seriously. "We were so careful with hiding them. We even created fake cards in Duel Academy to throw people off their trails."
"This organization – The Eternals – are more cunning than we realized." The elder said heavily. "They managed to see through our plans and take one of the Sacred Beasts without our notice. And on top of that, they planned to use a shadow to face the Elementals with it."
"I still can't believe that Selene was just a puppet made of darkness." The man said interestingly. "If they can create living beings from a single element, who knows what this Eternal guys are capable of."
"They are definitely more powerful than all our previous enemies." The elder commented.
"Man, what I wouldn't give to kill them off for what they did." The man scowled.
"There lies the question." The elder said sagely. "How can you kill someone who has never known life?"
The trials continue to grow darker. Who are these men working behind the shadows? Who are these "Eternal" characters? And what other secrets rest within tournament? Find out on the next Hyper Runners!
Please, read and review.
Duel Report:
Name: Metal Sonic
Attribute: Earth
Type: Machine/Effect/Ritual
Level: 7
ATK/DEF: (2400/2000)
Ritual Spell Card: Rise of the Machine
Effect: This card can only be summoned by Rise of the Machine. Once per turn, this card can cancel the effects of one trap or spell card.
