Hyper Runners: Duel Legacy

All Character © Respective creators
Elemental Knights © TheBlackCrow2

Chapter Eighteen: Hidden Pain of God, Part 2

Akira 'Rev' Seta glared at the glistening beast above him as the duel was coming to a climactic ending. The self-proclaimed "Untouchable God" was forced to partner with Trace's partner, Nami, as they faced two experienced dragon duelists. Haru placed the offensive tactics of the two while Nick progressed with strategy. At the moment, every one had a monster on the field, but Nick seemed to hold the advantage.

Spear Dragon – (1900/0)

Infernity Guardian – (1200/2200)

Controlled Mirage Dragon – (1600/600)

Miracle Dragon – (3200/3100)

Rev (1400) – Nami (2100) – Haru (2400) – Nick (4000)

"You like that, don't ya?" Nick grinned deviously. "To tell you the truth, this is the first time I ever used Miracle Dragon in a serious duel."

"That beast may be powerful, but it's not unstoppable." Rev stated seriously. "I'll wager that I can think of a strategy to destroy that beast by my turn."

"But you won't get a turn!" Nick proclaimed happily. "Your Mirage Dragon only has 1600 attack points while my Miracle Dragon has a whopping 3200. Taking the difference between them, you would lose all your life points."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Rev questioned coolly. "Finish me."

"Ok, you asked for it!" Nick shouted eagerly. "Miracle Dragon, destroy Mirage Dragon with Shining Miracle Flash!"

The golden colossus expanded its wings across the stadium with its curved horns glowing ominously. The Miracle Dragon opened its jaws and formed a sphere of luminescent light before releasing it upon the controlled serpent below. Rev just stared absentminded into the light while his partner swiftly took action. The attack connected – a powerful explosion formed on the Dueling Platform, nearly tossing the audience out of their seats. A cloud of dark smoke rose where Rev formerly stood. Nick and Haru cheered – they thought it was over until they saw the life point counter.

Rev (1400) – Nami (1050) – Haru (2400) – Nick (4000)

"What the?" Haru said dumbfounded.

"Sorry, but it looks like your celebration is cut short."

The smokescreen was brushed away in an instant, showing Akira "Rev" Seta standing relatively unharmed. In addition, the possessed Mirage Dragon still remained in battle. The only difference the turn made was cutting Nami's life points in half and the facedown card she had disappeared.

"Ok, mind explaining to someone with a short attention span." Haru pleaded.

"I really hate stating the obvious." Nami sighed dully. "When Miracle Dragon attacked, I activated my facedown trap card: Iron Resolve. Once played, I can cancel out the battle phase during my opponent's turn in exchange for surrendering half my life points." She glanced at Rev out of the corner of her eye, who returned the stare. "Protecting this guy is bothersome, but I do not like to lose."

"Since I can't do anything about it, I end my turn." Nick moaned.

"My draw." Rev stated as he swiped a card from his deck. "To start off, I sacrifice Mirage Dragon to Summon Path of Pein – Preta in defense mode!"

The golden-armored serpent evaporated into a shower of golden particles to make way for the newest addition. The new creature was a bulky human with orange, slicked back hair, two black studs on its noses, and two spikes on its cheeks. Like the Path's before it, it wore a black cloak with red clouds and possessed the same multi-ringed eyes (2000/2800).

"Then I activate my spell card: Double Summon." Rev continued, placing the card on the field. "With this, I can summon a second monster in addition to my first. So now I summon Path of Pein – Human!"

Another monster was making its grand appearance from within Rev's deck. This time, it was a tall and slender man with orange, loose hair that reached to the base of its spine, six studs placed around its face, and a diagonal bar piercing through its nose. It also possessed the black cloak with red clouds and the multi-ringed eyes (1300/1600).

"Then I activate the Human Path's special ability." Rev continued. "On the turn it is summoned, I can exchange cards with anyone on the field." He raised his hand and pointed to the chosen target. "And I choose Nami."


Back at the private lobby, the spectator duelists watched interestingly as Rev and Nami walked towards one another. Marcus was sitting on the floor after falling off from the attack Miracle Dragon made with Ruki and Namura sitting above him. Trace couldn't resist a smirk and Kai appeared to be sleeping for whatever reason. The Akatsuki user and the Silent Duelists seemed to take a lot longer than expected, considering how Rev usually had everything planned out.

"I don't get it." Ruki said aloud. "Why would Rev use his own monster's special ability on his own partner? If I were him, I would use it to look at my opponent's hand and steal any cards that could help them."

"The card exchange is just a ploy." Trace stated.

"A ploy?" Marcus repeated.

"He could look at one opponent's hand, but then he would have to calculate for the other." Trace explained. "Though this is their first time working together, Nick and Haru are the perfect tag team. They're both dragon users and can synchronize with each other's movements."

"Then why did he call out Nami?" Namura questioned.

"Ever since she was little, Nami has always been an excellent recon scout." Trace said proudly. "Her eyes are usually fast and accurate – she could spot a bolt of lightning before it even touches the ground. And on top of that, she has a photographic memory. Akira is planning to use this to his advantage."

"Nami must have somehow seen their cards?!" Ruki exclaimed.

"Exactly." Trace nodded. "With that information handy, Akira can form a strategy to counteract their movements. As far as I can tell, this duel is already over."


Back at the Dueling Platform, Rev and Nami had finished exchanging cards between each other. Both duelists nodded solemnly before returning to their original places on the field.

"Before I finish, I transfer the Human Path to Nami's field." Rev said as the thin Akatsuki jumped to his partner's field. "Then I place one card face down and end my turn."

"It's about time." Haru said impatiently, drawing his next card. "You might be the favorite of this game, but you made one big mistake – you forgot to attack. Now I can sacrifice my Spear Dragon to summon Black Dragon Jungle King!"

The prehistoric dissolved into a column of light before the field was covered in a mist of darkness. A rattling growl could be heard as towering shadow looming over its prey. A jet-black Dragon with a purple-veined chest and a circular mouth similar to a worms (2100/1800).

"Now, Black Dragon Jungle King, attack that puny human with Jungle Scrape!" Haru commanded.

The pitch-black lizard stomped thunderously across the platform until it was directly over the Human Path, who watched the beast with mild interest. The Black Dragon Jungle King raised its claw ominously before thrusting it's downwards with all its might. Much to the surprise of dragon and its master, the Preta Path had stepped in front and grabbed the beast's claw before it could land its target. And before anyone could react to this, the bulky warrior pressed its palm into the dragon's chest and pushed the beast back to his master. A sudden beep from his duel disk drew Haru's attention.

Rev (1400) – Nami (1050) – Haru (1700) – Nick (4000)

"Hey, what happened?" Nick asked surprisingly. "Why did the Preta Path get in the way?"

"That's the Preta Path's special ability." Rev explained. "As long as the Preta Path remains on the field, all monsters can only attack him, making it a nearly absolute defense." He glared coldly at the dragon duelist. "You should have known better than to challenge the hand of god."

"Whatever." Haru scoffed. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"My draw." Nami said shortly, selecting her next card. "And now I summon Path of Pein – Naraka."

The familiar mop-haired human appeared on the field (1600/1000).

"And now I activate its special ability." Nami continued. "By send a number of monsters from my hand to the graveyards, I can special summon an equal number of monsters from the graveyard. And since we're working as a tag-team, this abilities works for both duelists. So I summon two monsters from my partner's graveyard: Path of Pein – Animal and Path of Pain – Asura!"

As she discarded two cards into the graveyard slot, the Naraka Path clapped its hands together and pressed its palms into the floor. A clothed head shrouded in black flames emerged from the floor with the familiar multi-ringed eyes and the symbol of hell on its forehead. The evil demon removed the cloth around its mouth, revealing two characters. The first was the only female of the six paths – the Animal Path (1100/900).

The second was a bald man with a very thick neckline, six spikes on the top of its head, a cylinder stud on its chin, and a ring piercing the bridge of its nose. Like the other paths, it possessed the black cloak with red clouds and the multi-ringer eyes (2800/1600).

"Hold up?" Nick said cluelessly. "When was that in your graveyard?"

"The moment you played Hand Destruction." Rev answered monotonously.

"Asura Path, destroy the dragon with Flaming Arrow Missile!" Nami commanded.

The indifferent warrior gripped its left arm and rips the limb away to reveal a thick cord of black missiles. The thin rockets escaped automatically and made their way towards Black Dragon Jungle King. But at the last moment, Haru's face down card flipped upwards and formed a scarecrow made from random parts. Nami easily recognized this as scrape-iron scarecrow and the Asura Path attack was effortlessly blocked.

"Just as we had predicted." Nami thought as the trap card resumed its position. "They played Scrape-Iron Scarecrow in hopes and prevented me from finishing this duel." She gazed at her partner momentarily."So now it all comes down to you."

"I transfer the Naraka path to Akira's field and end my turn." Nami said aloud.

"And now it's my move." Nick said eagerly. "I'll give you credit; this is the best duel I've had in a long time. It's kinda boring when you play against your little brother's and sisters after so long." Once again, Nami noticed Rev's hand tightening angrily. "We'll have to do this again next time. Miracle Dragon, attack the Preta Path!"

Once again, the golden sky serpent expanded its wings as power began to gather between the curved horns around its head. Nick already knew that attacking the other monsters would be a waste of time due to the Preta Path's special ability. At least this way, he would be able to shatter Rev's defenses. But just as the sphere of light began to reform between the Miracle Dragon's jaws, a phantasmal serpent appeared below the shining beast. To those who knew the Gedo Mazo could recognize this as the spiritual serpent that inhabited the stone guardian. The spirit snake constricted its body around the Miracle Dragon's body, ending its attack on that instant.

"W-what happened?" Nick stammered. "Where did that thing come from?"

"You activated my trap card: Illusionary Dragon Seal." Rev answered, revealing the trap card of the illusionary dragon escaping from the Gedo Mazo's mouth. "This can only be activated as long as I sacrifice one monster. It prevents your dragon from attacking and lowers its attack points by the number of the sacrificed monster's attack points. And I choose Infernity Guardian."

Nami showed no remorse for this decision as her ultimate defense was destroyed before her very eyes. The light particles that formed from the fallen skull were consumed by the Illusionary Dragon, which created an adverse effect against the Miracle Dragon.

Miracle Dragon – (2000/3100)

"I believe it is still you move." Rev said coldly.

"I...I end my turn." Nick grunted hesitantly.

"And it will be your last." Rev stated coolly as he drew his final card. "Now I activate the Naraka Path's special ability. I send my level 12 Gedo Mazo to the graveyard to summon the second monster discarded by Hand Destruction: Path of Pein – Deva!"

Once again, the Naraka Path summoned the King of Hell within the Dueling Platform, revealing the face of Rev's signature card. The Deva Path glared at the captured beast across from him as the other paths joined his side (2500/2100)


Up in the top box, the Signers were watching the Paths of Pein with equal curiosity and confusion. Crow and Leo were pressing their faces against the glass to get a better look, Akiza and Luna remained in their seats, and Jack leaned against the wall. And throughout the entire duel, Yusei had still not shown up to watch.

"Six of them?!" Crow exclaimed questionably. "There are now six of those things? Just how many are there?"

"That all there is." Jack said coolly. "Deva, Preta, Naraka, Animal, Human, Asura. Those are the Six Paths of Pein that will only obey Akira. To be able to summon all six of them on the field is considered to be impossible."

"How come?" Leo asked.

"Honesty, did you ever pay attention in Duel Academy?" Luna sighed. "Duel Disks are only capable of holding five monsters at one time. Having more than that is against the rules."

"He used the Tag-Team to his advantage." Akiza commented. "He's been waiting for this one moment."

"He had it all planned from the beginning." Jack stated.


Back at the Dueling Platform.

"Now I will end this duel by playing my spell card: True Pain!" Rev shouted, playing a card with the Six Paths of Pein standing side by side with the mutli-ringed eyes above them. "This card allows me to take the attack points of all 'Paths of Pein' card and transfer them into one monster. And as such, I transfer all my monster's power to the Deva Path!"

Short following the command, six auras of dark-purple surrounded the Six Paths of Pein. And one-by-one, each path slowly dropped to the floor as each of them deposited their powers to the Deva Path.

Path of Pein – Deva (113000/2100)

"T-that's impossible." Nick stammered fearfully.

"Know true pain." Rev said malevolently. "Deva Path, end this game. Shinra Tensei!"

The spiky-haired warrior kicked off the ground and rocket towards the domed roof. The Miracle Dragon's eyes followed the miniscule figure for the rest of its remaining moments as the Deva Path remained hovered in midair. And with a clap of its hands, it was over. The Miracle Dragon was crushed by an unexpected increase in gravity, causing the dragon's back to explode into a geyser of white blood. The Deva Path landed securely on his feet as the rain of blood splattered across his body – he remained indifferent. Nick and Haru had also felt the impact of the attack and had fallen to the ground with an increasing pain in their chests.

Duel Victors: Rev and Nami

"Ooh..." Rev moaned. "That hurt."

"You haven't learned anything."

Before the dragon duelist had realized what had occurred, Rev was already standing over him with a spiteful glare. Then without warning, the Akatsuki duelist grabbed Nick by his throat and lifted him off the ground. Most of the audience gasped at this cruel and defiant act. And just when it looked like Nick was going to die from suffocation, the dragon duelist suddenly dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Rev discovered a second hand clutching his wrist and looked over his shoulder to discover none other than Hazama himself. For someone who seemed out of his prime, he was unusually fast and strong.

"That's it." Hazama said with authority. "This duel is over."

Rev took his arm back without a word and followed Nami back to the lobby.


Back at the lobby, the remaining duelists had mixed reactions concerning Rev's unusual actions. Marcus was in disbelief, Ruki was scowling hatefully, Namura seemed nervous, and Trace didn't seem all that surprised.

"Ya see!" Ruki shouted victoriously. "I told you that guy was pure evil. He just won the match and he was going to kill his opponent when he was already weak! It's no wonder he stole your deck!"

"Something's not right." Marcus said incredulously. "There's got to be some reason why he did it."

"I can see it." Trace said lightly. "He's in pain."

"Pain?" Marcus repeated confused. "But he barely suffered a scratch from the duel."

"That's not the kind of pain he is feeling." Trace stated certainly. "This is the kind of wound that cannot be seen. Thought it might not look as such, he is suffering from a pain that cannot easily be healed" He turned his attention to the redhead. "I believe you know that same pain. After all, you share the same eyes."

Marcus had no idea what the older duelist was talking about, but he felt a sense of familiarity in his words. This pain – the pain that connected Marcus and Akira. If he could figure out what that pain was, maybe there would be some way to save him from it, despite all his dark deeds. Shortly following that thought, Nami walked through the doors with Rev and Hazama following shortly. The Silent Duelists approached her partner, who gave a proud smile while placing his hand on her shoulder.

"You did great, Nami." Trace said.

"I didn't really do much." Nami said disappointingly. "It was all Akira's doing."

"But you played your part well." Trace said assuring. "I know that you will do well in your next match."

"Thank you...Trace." Nami thought happily; her cheeks were red.

"That was an...interesting match." Hazama said disapprovingly. "Either way, I think it time we moved one. Will the remaining duelists please step forward?"

Marcus found this request unusual and he wasn't the only one. Whispers were exchanged between the duelists as everyone formed a line for the master of ceremonies to see. Marcus Kiva, Namura Jones, Ruki Kizani, Akira Seta, Nami Kimura, Trace Rodik, Kai Roujin, Kana Izuma, and Brent Hizure stood ready for anything. Marcus did notice that that Amaya wasn't amongst the group – maybe she was in the bathroom? The duelists awaited Hazama to announce the teams for the next match, but were shocked by his next announcement.

"To the nine of you remaining..." Hazama smiled. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on making it to the next round."

"SAY WHAT?!?!?!" Marcus screamed.


An unexpected outcome leads to an unearthed mystery. Why has the tournament suddenly moved to the next round? What is the pain that binds Marcus and Rev? And how does this affect our heroes? Find out on the next Hyper Runners!

Please, read and review.


Duel Report:

Name: Path of Pein – Naraka

Attribute: Darkness

Type: Warrior/ Effect

Level: 4

ATK/DEF: (1600/1000)

Effect: Player controlling this card summon up to three monsters from the graveyard. Player must offer a monster from their hand with equal or less attack points.