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DRAW FOUR
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The nervous bulezai led Jalal up the hill towards the manor house. As they got close to it, Jalal realized that something was wrong.
Loud sounds of chewing, gobbling, and belching were coming from inside. Clearly, a very rude feast was going on inside.
When they walked inside, Jalal stared in a state of shock. The inside of the house was totally different from what the town would suggest. The town was seemed to be set in the Middle Ages… But this was far more modern. All the conveniences of the 21st Century were here… Electric lights, air conditioning…
As the bulezai led him down the hall, he glanced into a side room and saw a wide-screen TV and a modern stereo.
The town must have reflected her early life… thought Jalal. The homeworld of Shadow…
But this house… It must be more recent years…
Still, the sounds of the rude eating were still ruining the place, and a vile stench made it clear that all was not well. The bulezai led him to a door of what he assumed was a dining room.
The stench was worse as the bulezai opened the door, dodging to avoid a thrown bone that appeared to have come from a ham hock as he did.
Jalal looked in disgust. Sitting at a long table laden with plates of foot was a large, broad, incredibly fat demon that resembled a hideous toad-like creature with bony, hornlike protrusions ridging his forehead. He was clearly preoccupied with stuffing as much of the food as possible into his huge mouth. As Jalal walked in, he took a plate of Cornish hens and devoured them, bones and all, the same way a human would eat chicken nuggets.
Jalal recognized this type of demon too. It was a hezrou, a greedy, selfish creature with no manners. Far more powerful than a vrock, hezrou were minor nobles in the abyss, using their personal power to bully others into serving them, using intimidation and slaves to be waited on hand and foot, and rarely ever doing anything resembling real work. Of course, there were demons more powerful than hezrou, and when such demons were around, hezrou quickly assumed a groveling, toadying attitude in hopes of getting in good graces with them.
The demon paused to let loose a very loud belch. Then he resumed eating.
"Lord Norg!" said the bulezai. "This outsider defeated Brittlebeak, and he demands to talk to you!"
"Oh, he does, does he?" said the hezrou, between chews.
He looked up, and looked at Jalal.
"Bah," he said.
"Where's Hebi-Na?" demanded Jalal.
Norg picked up a large mutton leg, and devoured it in three bites. Then he threw the bone at Jalal, who effortlessly dodged aside.
"Scram!" said the hezrou, with his mouth full. "Can't you see I'm eating?"
Jalal walked up to the table, grabbed hold of the edge with one hand, and then flicked his wrist, upsetting the table, dumping everything on the floor.
Norg looked at the upset table for a few minutes, stunned beyond belief.
Then he looked at Jalal. A look of incredible anger appeared on his face.
He got up off his chair. Jalal flinched a little. Norg stood seven feet tall, and was five feet broad.
"Now you've done it…" said the demon, with a scowl, as he walked up to Jalal.
"I want to know where Hebi-Na is, big guy," demanded Jalal.
"Oh, you have guts, Stormbringer," said Norg. "You may be big stuff in the real world, but this is my house, got it?"
He punctuated the sentence by shoving Jalal in the chest. However, to his disappointment, it didn't knock Jalal over.
"Is that supposed to scare me, toad?" asked Jalal. "This house belongs to Hebi-Na, and just looking around, you've not only stolen it, you've befouled it. I may have dumped your lunch onto the floor, but I only did so because it was impossible to make this place a bigger mess than it already was.
"I don't even want to know condition the bathroom is in…"
Norg crossed his arms and looked at Jalal.
"You know, Stormbringer…" he said. "In Blood War armies, the rank and file of the armies of Hell consists mainly of creatures called lemures and nupperibo. Lemures are created from newly arrived souls of the damned. Nupperibo, on the other hand, are created when devils who have failed their masters are demoted.
"Both kinds of devils are very weak, individually… no stronger than say, goblins. Weak, pathetic, slavering, and nearly mindless. But they share something in common with you; they're hard to kill. They'll regenerate from the smallest piece of flesh, or even their burnt ashes.
"One way to kill them permanently is by using holy water or sanctified weapons…"
"But you guys don't like to use that stuff, I gather," said Jalal.
"Right," said Norg. "It hurts us too. But there's another way of making sure these things stay dead…"
He grinned.
"Lemures and nupperibo are also killed permanently if a demon eats them," he said. "You see, if a fiend's essence is consumed by another, it is permanently destroyed.
"I often wonder… If that trick works on other creatures that supposedly can't be killed…"
Jalal drew his sword.
"Just try it, fatso," he said.
Norg grinned, and a large Duel Disk appeared on his arm.
"Calm down Stormbringer, I was kidding," he said.
"Maybe…"
Jalal glared at him. The "maybe" may well have meant, "I'm deadly serious".
"You've already found out that in this realm of thought, your sword won't do much," said Norg. "That's right… I'm not as oblivious as you may think to that little skirmish you had down in the town square. The only way to fight here that gets anywhere is by dueling…
"You want to know where Hebi-Na is? Well, it's no skin off my nose if I tell you… But there's no way I'll tell you without a fight.
"And if you think I'll be as easy as that dumb vrock was, you clearly don't deserve the reputation you've earned."
Jalal lifted his Duel Disk, and both Disks activated.
"Duel!" they shouted.
(Jalal: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Norg: 8,000)
"I'm going first, pal," said Norg.
He made a draw.
"I'll summon Familiar Knight in Attack Mode…"
A knight in shining armor, holding a sword and a shield appeared in front of him. (1,200 ATK)
"What, did I confuse you?" asked Norg, looking at Jalal. "Maybe you're expecting Fiends because I'm a demon… Or Frogs because I look like one…"
"You're a being of Chaos…" said Jalal. "Nothing would surprise me."
"And proud of it!" laughed Norg, as he fit two more cards into his Disk.
They appeared set in his Spell Zone.
"I'll end with those."
Jalal made a draw.
"I summon… Magna Drago," he said.
He played the card, and the fiery Dragon Tuner appeared. (1,400 ATK)
"Going to attack?" asked Norg. "Be careful… You should know, Stormbringer, in a conflict between a knight and a dragon, it usually tends to turn out badly for the dragon…"
Jalal ignored him.
He wants me to destroy Familiar Knight, he thought. He wants to use its effect. Well… Far be it for me to disappoint him…
I have Axe Dragonute in my hand… Let's see him Special Summon a Level 4 Monster that's stronger than that…
"Attack!" he shouted. "Destroy Familiar Knight!"
Magna Drago launched a stream of fire from its jaws, and Familiar Knight groaned. It shattered into pixels.
"Due to Magna Drago's effect," said Jalal, "when it destroys a Monster, it gains 200 Attack Points."
(1,600 ATK)
"And due to Familiar Knights effect," replied Norg, "both players are allowed to Special Summon a Level 4 Monster from our hands.
"The Monster I choose… Is Chainsaw Insect!"
There was a roar of chainsaws, and a large beetle with chainsaw blades on its mandibles appeared. (2,400 ATK)
Jalal looked at it in shock.
I was wrong, he thought. That is stronger than Axe Dragonute…
Change of plans…
"I'll use that effect to Special Summon Golem Dragon," he said. "In Defense Mode."
The large, wingless, rocky Dragon appeared. (2,000 DEF)
"And so long as he's on the field, you're only allowed to attack him. I end my turn."
(J: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,800)
Norg drew a card.
"I summon The Bistro Butcher," he said.
He played the card, and there was a chackling noise. A demon dressed in a chef's outfit with a bloodstained apron appeared, with a meat hook in place of his left hand, holding a large cleaver in his right. (1,800 ATK)
"You do realize," said Jalal, "if you attack with those two Monsters, I'll get to draw three cards, right?"
Norg grinned. It was a very unpleasant grin. It was mostly teeth and very little actual grin.
"And that's the whole idea, isn't it?" asked Jalal.
One of Norg's facedown cards lifted up.
"That's right, Stormbringer," he said. "The Trap Card, Greed! This insidious Trap punishes a player who makes additional draws, dealing 500 points of damage for each extra card!
"So, my Chainsaw Insect can only attack your Golem Dragon? No problem!"
The chainsaws roared, and the big bug rushed at Golem Dragon, smashing it into a pile of pebbles.
"Well?" asked Norg.
Jalal drew a card, and a dagger appeared in the air. It quickly struck, stabbing into his shoulder.
"Now, Bistro Butcher, turn Magna Drago into chop suey!"
The Fiend made a fierce cut with his cleaver, beheading the small Dragon. Jalal grit his teeth nervously.
"Now, you draw two cards…" said Norg.
Jalal made two draws, and two daggers appeared, stabbing into his chest.
"Ever hear the phrase 'too much of a good thing' Stormbringer?" asked Norg. "Well, now you're living it!"
"My turn is over…"
(J: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,800)
He's right, thought Jalal. He is better than that vrock…
He drew a card.
But I can still defeat him… There's a downside to making me make extra draws…
"I summon Luster Dragon #1," he said.
He played the card, and the beautiful Dragon sculpted out of sapphire appeared. (1,900/1,600)
"Next," he said, as he played a Spell Card, "I play Stamping Destruction. Now I can not only wipe out a key part of your strategy, but deal out 500 points of damage in the process."
Luster Dragon lifted its foot, and stamped it down hard, sending a shock wave that shot towards the Trap Card. Norg grinned, and his second Trap Card lifted up.
"I activate Imperial Custom!" he shouted.
The shockwave died down to a ripple, and then vanished completely.
"Now you can't destroy any of my Continuous Traps except that one," he said.
Jalal frowned.
"Luster Dragon, attack The Bistro Butcher!" he shouted. "Sapphire Flash!"
The Dragon fired a bolt of blue energy, and the demon chef was blown into shards.
"Grrr…" growled Norg.
Jalal looked at another Spell Card in his hand, and then at a Trap Card.
He set the Trap Card, and then nodded.
(J: 6,300) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,700)
Norg frowned, and made a draw.
"Chainsaw Insect, eviscerate his Dragon!" he shouted.
The large Insect rushed towards the Dragon…
"Activate… Draining Shield!" shouted Jalal, as his Trap Card shot up.
Norg snarled, as his Monster bounced off an invisible barrier.
"Seems that I benefitted from that attack," said Jalal. "And not by drawing a card."
"I'll set this, and these…" said Norg.
He fit all three of his cards on his Disk, and a set Monster followed by two facedown cards in his Spell Zone appeared.
"It's your move…"
(J: 8,600) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,700)
Jalal made a draw.
"I play… Dragon's Gunfire," he said, as he played the Spell Card he was considering last turn. "It has two effects, and the one I choose is the one that lets me vanquish a Monster with 800 or fewer Defense Points."
"Wait…" said Norg. "ARGH! Chainsaw Insect has zero Defense Points!"
"You got it," said Jalal.
Luster Dragon launched a ball of flames, and Chainsaw Insect erupted in blue fire. It collapsed, burning into a bonfire of flaming bug residue.
"Next, I'll sacrifice Luster Dragon…" continued Jalal.
His Dragon turned into an orb of light.
"…for Genesis Dragon!"
A larger Dragon with scales of silver and crimson and only two limbs (aside from its wings) appeared in a blast of lightning. Electricity crackled in the air around it. (2,200 ATK)
"Now, I use its effect," he continued. "By tossing one Dragon, I get to recover another."
He discarded Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and took Luster Dragon from his discard slot.
"Attack his Monster!" shouted Jalal. "High-voltage blast!"
Genesis Dragon roared, and shot a mighty bolt of lightning at the Monster…
But what actually appeared on the card came as a big surprise. It looked like a statue of a man made out of cinderblocks, bulky and heavy-looking. The only sign that it might be a living thing was a grate on the front of the face with a dark opening underneath. (2,700 DEF)
The bolt of lightning simply glanced off its stony hide.
"How…" gasped Jalal. "How could you… possibly have Destiny Hero – Defendguy?"
"This is a realm of thought, Stormbringer," chuckled Norg. "Specifically, Hebi-Na's thoughts.
"She loved watching old footage of Pro League duels, and Edo Phoenix's career was one that she studied closely. She knew enough facts about some of his cards for me to search her memories for information about this card, and learn enough to make my own version.
"In a Soulscape, going through the memory is like doing research in a library, but with more tools at your disposal. If a card exists in Hebi-Na's memory, it's possible for someone to have it if he searches hard enough."
Jalal looked at him.
"I end my turn…"
(J: 8,100) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,700)
"Then I draw…" said Norg.
He drew. He looked at the card.
"Pass… Your move…"
Jalal looked at his deck.
"Come on…" said Norg. "Don't forget, you have to draw an extra card due to my Defendguy… Whoever designed the card thought that it would be the drawback for being Level 4 with such a high Defense… But as you can see, there are many ways to turn it into an advantage…"
Jalal made a draw, and then drew again. The dagger appeared, and stabbed him again.
He set two cards in his Disk, and two set cards appeared, one in his Spell Zone and one in his Monster Zone.
"Make your move…" he said.
(J: 7,600) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,700)
Norg made a draw.
Then he grinned that unpleasant grin again…
"I summon… Sasuke Samurai #3!" he laughed.
In a smaller aura of light, a small Warrior appeared, one whose head was a perfect sphere with a topknot behind, dressed in Samurai armor with two katana blades. (1,000 ATK)
"Now I play… Riryoku!" continued Norg, playing the last card in his hand. "I can steal half of Genesis Dragon's Attack Score, and give it to my Sasuke Samurai!"
Genesis Dragon fell to an Attack Score of 1,100, while Sasuke Samurai rose to 2,100.
Norg chuckled softly.
"Get it," he said, pointing to the Dragon.
The little Samurai leapt at the much larger Dragon, cutting it cleanly in half.
"Now, Sasuke Samurai's effect activates," said Norg, "forcing you to draw until you have seven cards!"
Jalal stopped short. He only had two cards in his hand right now…
He drew five times… Then five daggers appeared. He covered himself as they all attacked him, biting into his arms and shoulders.
"I'm not done!" cackled Norg, as one of his facedown cards lifted up. "I activate The Gift of Greed! So you draw two more cards!"
Jalal almost lost his nerve. He drew again, twice, and was stabbed twice more.
"Aren't I generous?" asked Norg.
Jalal sneered at him.
"Actually, I'm not," said Norg, as his other facedown card lifted. "I activate Heavy Slump! You have more than seven cards in your hand, so now they all go back to your deck. Then you reshuffle, and draw two cards."
Jalal glared at him angrily.
He added all nine of the cards to his deck, then reshuffled, and then made two draws. Once again, two daggers appeared and stabbed him. This time, he actually shouted out in pain.
"Okay… I think that's enough for one turn…" chuckled Norg.
(J: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 7,700)
Jalal drew a card, and then drew a second time, getting hit by yet another dagger as he did so.
"I flip Lord of Dragons into Attack Mode," he said.
His facedown Monster flipped up, and the draconic sorcerer appeared. (1,200 ATK)
"Now, Dragon's Mirror!" he said, as he played a Spell Card.
"I'll remove Lord of Dragons and the Divine Dragon Ragnarok that I discarded earlier from play to Fusion Summon King Dragun."
King Dragun leapt onto the field in an aura of shadow. (2,400 ATK)
"Big deal…" said Norg. "He still can't crack my Defendguy's Defense."
Then Jalal's facedown card lifted up.
"I activate Immortal Dragon!" he shouted. "I can now bring Magna Drago back to the field."
The small Dragon Tuner appeared with a squeak. (1,400 ATK)
"Next, I summon Star Bright Dragon!"
He played another card, and a large Dragon with shimmering golden scales appeared next to the other two Dragons. (1,900 ATK)
"By summoning it, I can increase the Level of one other Monster by two. So, Magna Drago's Level now becomes 4.
"Now, Magna Drago, Tune yourself with Star Bright Dragon…"
The two Dragons flew towards the ceiling, Magna Dragon turning into three golden rings, and Star Bright Dragon flying through them before turning into shimmering stars.
"I wish I may, I wish I might, summon the Monster to shine in the darkest night!"
(*4 + *4 = *8)
"Synchro Summon… Light End Dragon!"
With a loud bellow, a huge, serpentine, oriental-looking Dragon with shining platinum scales and four wings, wearing a golden crown alighted onto the field. (2,600 ATK)
"That's gotta be the stupidest Synchro Chant I've ever heard," grunted Norg.
"We can't all be as good as Yusei Fudo," replied Jalal. "But you should worry less about my chants and more about my Monster, because when it attacks your Defendguy, all it has to do is reduce its Attack Score by 500 to reduce your Monster's Defense Score by 1,500."
"Eh?" said Norg.
"Attack!" shouted Jalal. "Shining Sublimation!"
Light End Dragon roared, and its Attack Score fell to 2,100, while Destiny Hero Defendguy's Defense Score fell to 1,200. The Dragon breathed a bolt of pure light, and the Dark Warrior exploded.
"Ergh…" said Norg.
"King Dragun, destroy Sasuke Samurai!" shouted Jalal.
The merged Monster blasted its Twilight Burn and the small Warrior was incinerated.
"Ow, ow, OW!" shouted Norg. "That hurt!"
(J: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 6,300)
"It's your move…" said Jalal.
"Bah…" said Norg. "I'm still far ahead of you…"
He drew a card.
He grumbled.
But unless I use this, he thought, it's all over… This is gonna sting…
"I play Magic Planter!" he exclaimed, as he played the card.
Imperial Custom vanished.
"By sending one Continuous Trap to the Graveyard, I get to draw twice…"
"Oh?" asked Jalal. "Don't forget, that Greed card of yours doesn't play favorites."
Norg snarled as he drew two cards. Then two daggers appeared and stabbed into his ample gut.
Then he grinned slightly when he saw what the two cards were: Morphing Jar and Hand Destruction.
He quickly set the first one on his Disk, and a set Monster appeared.
Once this flips, he thought, he'll have to draw five cards… He'll take 2,500 points of damage…
Sure, so will I, but I'll survive, and he won't!
"I end my turn…" he said.
(J: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 5,300)
"That's a Morphing Jar, right?" asked Jalal.
Norg looked stunned.
"Uh…" he said. "How can you be so sure?"
"I figured you had one in your deck," said Jalal. "And I could tell. You see, Norg, I've made my life out of reading people's faces… And knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes…
"I think that's from an old song, but I forget which one… Anyway… An ugly face like yours is rather easy to read."
He drew a card.
"And your plan is about to come crashing down… I play Mystical Space Typhoon!"
Norg gave a look of horror as the Spell Card appeared, blowing a cyclone of energy across the field and blowing the Greed card to pieces.
"I summon Axe Dragonute!" shouted Jalal.
He played the card, and the draconic, axe-wielder appeared. (2,000 ATK)
"Chop his Monster!" shouted Jalal.
Axe Dragonute charged, slicing the Morphing Jar to ribbons.
Jalal and Norg each discarded the one card in their hands, and they both made five draws. Then Axe Dragonute knelt in Defense Mode.
"Now, I attack directly with Light End Dragon and King Dragun!" exclaimed Jalal. "Let him have it!"
Norg screamed as Light End Dragon's Shining Sublimation hit him directly. Pain was not something he was used to feeling. And he screamed even louder when King Dragun's flames struck him. He fell on his large behind with a crash.
(J: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 800)
But he quickly got to his feet. His eyes glowed as glared at Jalal.
"You might think you're winning, Stormbringer…" growled the hezrou. "But I'm not about to be beaten by some mewling mongrel son of a peasant whore!"
"Must we resort to insults?" asked Jalal. "I have not once mentioned that your body odor reminds me of the breeze one catches downwind from a city landfill.
"Tell you what, fatso… I'm ending my turn now… You give me your best shot… And if it isn't enough, then I'll give you mine…"
"Oh, I never turn down a challenge, Stormbringer…" chuckled Norg.
He drew a card.
"I play… Polymerization!" he shouted.
"I'll fuse together a second Bistro Butcher and Versago the Destroyer…"
Another of the Fiend chefs and the multi-purpose Fusion Material Fiend appeared in front of him, and were both drawn into a vortex of darkness.
"Versago will assume the role of Succubus Knight in this case…" he continued. "I summon…
"Bloody Mary!"
A frightening form stepped out of the portal, and Jalal realized that this had nothing to do with vodka and tomato juice. It looked like a teenage girl wearing a torn and ragged prom dress stained with blood, with blonde hair tied in pigtails. She had a look of madness on her face, and held a huge axe. (2,900 ATK)
"Okay, that's disturbing…" said Jalal.
"Attack King Dragun!" shouted Norg. "Cut him in half!"
Bloody Mary squealed with glee as her axe fell, slicing King Dragun in two, lengthwise. Jalal grunted in pain.
"Now that he's gone," said Norg, "I play Tribute to the Doomed…"
He played a Spell Card, and then discarded a card.
"I'll toss one card to destroy your Light End Dragon!"
A swarm of mummy wrapping shot up from the ground, grabbing Light End Dragon. It struggled for a minute, and then shattered.
"It's your move…" said Norg.
(J: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 800)
Jalal drew a card.
"As promised…" he said, "now I'll give you mine…
"I sacrifice Axe Dragonute…"
The Dragon man turned into an orb of darkness.
"To summon the mighty White-Horned Dragon!"
The Dragon that appeared was large, winged, with crimson scales, and had a long, unicorn-like horn growing from its forehead. (2,200 ATK)
"White-Horned Dragon has the power to absorb magical auras," said Jalal. "To wit, it can remove up to five Spell Cards in your Graveyard from play…"
Five Spell Cards – Riryoku, Magic Planter, Polymerization, Hand Destruction, and Tribute to the Doomed – appeared in the air around White-Horned Dragon, and then dissolved into grains of light.
"…and then gain 300 Attack Points for each one."
(3,700 ATK)
"No…" gasped Norg. "It's not possible!"
"Oh, but it is," said Jalal. "White-Horned Dragon… Attack Bloody Mary with Horn Drive Buster!"
White-Horned Dragon swooped at the evil prom queen, horn first, and she screamed as it impaled her through the heart. Norg screamed too as he fell on his behind once again…
(J: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (N: 0)
"All right, buster, you lose," said Jalal. "Now tell me where Hebi-Na is!"
Norg tried to get up. He didn't manage the first time, but he slowly pushed himself to his feet the second time.
"I'm afraid you mistook me for someone who keeps his word…" grumbled the hezrou.
Then he put his fingers in his mouth, and let out a loud whistle.
In the next instant, ten bulezai rushed in from the door to the right wing of the house. At the same instant, ten more rushed in from the left wing.
Jalal tensed. He had actually expected a double-cross, and was planning to cross that bridge when he came to it.
He had come to it, and wondered what he was going to do now…
"Grab him!" ordered Norg.
Then came a surprise…
"Hey, fat-ass!" shouted a girlish voice.
The insult came from what looked like a teenager wearing a leotard and a cloak. She somersaulted into the room from behind Norg, kicking him in the back and causing him to fall flat on his face.
Jalal stepped back and watched in wonder as this apparent new ally started to fight the bulezai. She didn't seem to be an ophidia…
Then Jalal got a look at her face, and opened his eyes in shock…
"Ember?" he shouted.
It sure seemed to be her. The red hair, the youthful expression… Even the small mark on her face that indicated that she was a Shadowchaser was there.
Jalal watched as the girl who looked like Ember tore through the bulezai with a flurry of kicks, punches, and throws, laughing as they futilely tried to hit her with their halberds.
"You idiots!" shouted Norg. "I told you to have that brat locked up!"
"We did, my lord!" protested one of the bulezai, "but she keeps breaking out!"
Then she socked that bulezai in the mouth, and ran over to Jalal.
"Come on!" she shouted. "Let's blow this place."
She kicked the door down, and then grabbed Jalal's hand. They both ran out, and down the hill.
"Can't you ever open a door, Little Miss Break-Everything?" screamed Norg, shaking his fist.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
After running for about five minutes, thunder started to rumble above… A storm was brewing. The trees around them started to turn dark and twisted, and their leaves fell off.
They ran to a small wooden shack, and ducked inside. The strange girl closed the door. She quickly lit a small lantern.
"Seems that Hebi-Na is starting to have much less pleasant dreams," said the girl. "But then, who can blame her?
She looked at Jalal.
"Jalal…" she said. "Hebi-Na hoped that if someone came, it would be you…"
Jalal looked at her.
"Okay…" he said. "Mind telling me why you look so much like Ember? Are you the part of her mind that represents aversions?"
The girl laughed.
"No…" she said. "Maybe that person around here looked like Ember a long time ago. Nowadays, he looks very different…
"She used to hate the Shadowchasers… Her nightmares once had Shichiro, Gears, Jinx, Ember… and you… You were all in them frequently… She thought you guys were literally her natural enemies.
"I helped her lock those nightmares away… Let her see that the truth…
"I'm her conscience. Call me Alzoozel."
"Good lord…" said Jalal.
"You know what a conscience is…" said the strange girl. "When you want to do something bad, I'm the nagging voice that tells you not to do it… I'm the one who wants you to be good…
"There was once a time when Hebi-Na never listened to me, and kept me locked up in the loneliest part of her mind. I was weak and destitute… I didn't look like Ember at all then… I was ugly… Sort of a mouse-like creature…
"Snakes eat mice, you know… She was fond of making me assume the role of something that her species thought of as nothing more than a snack.
"But something changed… It happened around the time that she realized Seghulerak was a fraud. One of my pleas got through to her, and that little push helped a great deal. She let me out, and I looked more like an ophidia, but I was still little more than a beggar around town.
"But she listened more and more, and I got stronger. Then she actually started coming to me first for advice."
"So why do you look like Ember now?" asked Jalal.
"You know the term 'forgive and forget'?" asked Alzoozel. "Forgive is a good idea. Forget, very bad idea. You must never forget the bad things you've done if you ever want to change.
"Hebi-Na feels sorry for all her victims… But Ember likely suffered more than any of them because of her. By looking like her, I can remind her, and she'll never forget. And she may find a path to redemption.
"And hopefully, if she ever wakes up, she can find Ember and muster the courage to say she's sorry…"
Jalal sighed.
"To err is human…" he said. "To forgive divine… If she is cured, if she wants to make amends, it would be between her and Ember.
"So what's the whole deal with what's happening in this town? Where's the soul? Where's Hebi-Na?"
Alzoozel sighed.
"She's a prisoner at the Bell Tower," she replied. "Remember those nightmares that looked like you and the Neo Domino Shadowchasers?" she asked. "They were the ones who dragged her away. But they're bulezai now. The demon who's really in charge set the worst parts of her mind free and gave them more powerful forms."
She opened the door to the shack, and pointed down the path.
"You can't see it, but it's there. As far as I can tell, there's only one real demon in this town… Only one creature that actually came from the Abyss. I've never seen him, I've just heard Norg mention him a few times. That demon can't make Hebi-Na wake up, so he has decided that so long as the Bells of Baphomet are silenced, her dreams will only consist of nightmares.
"He created the other demons from the worst parts of her mind. The bulezai are various vices and fears, the memories of all the crimes she has committed, and all the fears she thought she had conquered.
"Brittlebeak is her violent urges that she tries to suppress.
"Norg, the nominal ruler of the Soulscape now, is what she once was… The cruelty she once showed towards others. In effect, he is the cast-off evil that she worked so hard to purge herself of."
"I don't know what's actually in the Bell Tower. I figure even worse creatures are in there."
"So Hebi-Na is truly feeling remorse for everything she did?" asked Jalal.
"If she didn't," replied Alzoozel, "I wouldn't have been strong enough to defeat even one bulezai."
She sighed.
"But I've tried so many times to rescue her from the Bell Tower… I can't even get in. I'm captured each time. Norg has me locked up, I'm punished in some manner, I escape, and I try again a few days later, at which point the same thing happens… It's become a vicious cycle…
"I can't do it alone…"
Jalal put his hands on her shoulders.
"That's what I'm here for," he said. "Lead me to this Bell Tower…"
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In the real world, Dr. Gelinas was monitoring the equipment that was maintaining Jalal's expedition.
Then suddenly, warning lights started to flash.
"What's this?" he said.
He checked the readings.
"Gott in Himmel…"
"What's going on?" asked Jabels.
"Something is wrong!" shouted Gelinas. "Both Jalal and Hebi-Na's brain activity levels just tripled in intensity!
"Something is happening in Hebi-Na's Soulscape…
"I have no idea what it is… But my professional opinion is, Jalal is about to walk into an area of great peril…"
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IMMORTAL DRAGON (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: The silhouette of a dragon bursting out of the ground.
Card Description: Select and activate 1 of the following effects.
* Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type Monster from your Graveyard.
* Special Summon 1 of your Dragon-Type Monsters that was removed from play.
Note: "Immortal Dragon" was first used by Manjyome in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" manga. Creative credit goes to the writers.
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BLOODY MARY (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Fusion/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 8
ATK: 2,900
DEF: 1,900
Card Description: The Bistro Butcher + Succubus Knight
Control of this card cannot switch. This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard by the opposing player.
Note: "Bloody Mary" first appeared in "City of Souls".
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Next:
Gelinas: When I designed the Bridge, I hesitated to build it at first… I knew that if it ever fell into the wrong hands, unspeakable evil could be done with it…
Now, the link between Jalal's mind and Hebi-Na's has caused a dark fiend to get past the Shadowchasers' defenses. But I have taken precautions… And as a doctor, I must abide by the Hippocratic Oath I once took and protect the patients under my care at all costs…
"A Bad Turn" is coming soon.