Early Rising

by FanficFemale

With the constant threat of the Light of Ruin, Yubel decides to tell young Judai about his role as the Herald of Gentle Darkness. What will happen when Judai learns of his destiny at a much earlier time? Will events play out the same or will this cause a completely diffirent path for Judai. Will contain Judai/Yubel

3. A Painful Loss, a Vengeance Gained

A/N: This chapter took some time but it's finally done. As a heads up, I'm putting elements of religion (mainly Christianity) in this story and it will play a huge part in this.

Thanks guys for the reviews!

Past Events

"Thinking/Past Thoughts"

'Past Dialogue'

(Dueling Stats, LP – Life Points, MZ – Monster Zone, S/TZ – Spell/Trap Zone, FSZ - Field Spell Zone)

Turn 03 – A Painful Loss, a Vengeance Gained

Numb. That was the best word to describe the condition that the ten year old Judai was currently in. His body was stiff as a board with not a single muscle making any movement. His face was vacant and expressionless as his eyes remained dull with no life shinning in them. Despite the stoic state Judai was in, his mind was another matter altogether.

"It's my fault…It's my fault…It's my fault," was the solemn mantra that Judai kept repeating in his head.

His mind was in total disarray as the memories from the events that transpired weeks ago kept replaying in his head over and over again. They continued to haunt Judai as a cold chill gripped his heart every time they repeated in his mind. In fact, Judai was ready to plunge himself into those sorrowful memories once more and allow himself to sink deeper into despair. However, Yubel who had been witnessing this behavior for the past several minutes, refused to allow this to continue on any longer. Yubel immediately appeared in spirit form in front of Judai with an irritated scowl on her face.

"Judai!" called Yubel in a firm tone.

This seemed to bring Judai somewhat out of his apathetic state, enough for him to turn his eyes on Yubel even though the rest of his body remained unresponsive. If anything, this annoyed Yubel more, causing her eyes to narrow in displeasure.

"I've had enough of this Judai! I allowed you to have your time to yourself and you use it to wallow in sorrow and punish yourself for something that was not your fault!" Yubel scolded with her arms crossed.

Now this succeeded in bringing an angry expression on Judai's face as his hands balled into fists.

"It is my fault Yubel! I was the one the Light of Ruin was after! The light used them to get to me! ... I-I couldn't save them!" replied Judai with sorrow in his voice. A couple of tears managed to slip down his cheeks.

Yubel easily saw the tears flowing down Judai's face despite his effort to try and quickly wipe them away. Noting this, she could no longer hold her irritation as a determined look took its place on her face instead.

"Judai, look at me," instructed Yubel in a serious voice, causing Judai to do just that even though he had been a bit reluctant with the tears still coming down his face.

Yubel moved closer to Judai and used a lone clawed finger to wipe away the streak of tears from his cheek. Judai was caught off guard by the sudden action as he placed his hand on the place where Yubel had just touched him.

"Judai," Yubel said, bringing Judai's attention back to her while taking his hand away from his face.

When Yubel saw that she now had Judai's full attention, she continued to deal with the situation at hand. She gripped Judai's chin in her hand and brought his face closer to hers to make sure that Judai would be looking directly at her when she said what needed to be said.

"This is a war Judai. Casualties are a part of war whether you like it or not. You can't expect to save every single person who gets caught in the crossfire. That is not your responsibility," Yubel paused for a moment to make sure Judai was taking in what she was saying.

Yubel could see that Judai's downcast expression wasn't because he didn't understand what she was telling him; it was that he didn't like what he heard.

"Judai, pay attention, I'm not done," ordered Yubel, making Judai's eyes return to meet hers.

"The main goal is to destroy the Light of Ruin. That needs to be your only concern right now," Yubel stated confidently, but of course Judai didn't like that response. He swiftly and angrily took himself out of Yubel's grip.

"And how can I possibly defeat the light if I couldn't even save them?! It's because of me they're dead!" screamed Judai which had been quickly met with a sudden smack on his face from Yubel.

The fact Yubel had just smacked him shocked Judai more than the hit itself as the smack wasn't meant to hurt, only to snap him back into reality. But before Judai could question Yubel on why she hit him, she didn't give him the time to question her. Yubel was getting tired of this guilt and self-punishment behavior from Judai and she was finally going to put a stop to it.

"If you have to blame someone for what happened, then blame the Light of Ruin! Instead of getting angry at yourself, use that anger against the light! Make it pay for what it did!" lectured Yubel, giving Judai the most infuriated look she could muster.

Judai's eyes widened when Yubel's words hit him.

"That's right; it's all the Light of Ruin's fault! Onii-san was hurt because of it! My life will never be the same again because of it! And…they're dead because of it!" thought Judai as a boiling anger surfaced inside him.

That burning anger was no longer directed at himself but the Light of Ruin. Without Judai's notice, the color of his eyes changed into a haunting gold that held nothing but fury in them. Waves of darkness soon surrounded Judai like a tornado causing strong winds to form from it. The angrier Judai got the stronger and powerful the waves of darkness grew around Judai.

"Judai, calm yourself!" instructed Yubel when she sensed that his powers were going out of control.

"Didn't you just tell me a second ago to use my anger toward the light?" crossly commented Judai, turning his glowing golden eyes at Yubel. She remained unfazed and answered his question.

"Yes, but not with carelessness; that's what the light wants you to do. Why do you think it wanted to kill them in the first place? It's counting on you to either wallow in grief or charge in recklessly. You must learn to use your anger sensibly. If you want retribution, let's accomplish it wisely," replied Yubel calmly.

Judai, taking in Yubel's advice, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm down. The waves of darkness surrounding him began dissipating as his anger was diminishing. When the last bit of darkness was gone, Judai felt he was calm enough now and opened his eyes that were now returned to their normal brown color.

"Thank you Yubel. I don't know what I would do without you," Judai stated, giving Yubel a gentle smile that had not been on his face in a long time.

"You would make a complete fool out of yourself," said Yubel with a smirk, causing a light chuckle from Judai, knowing that the statement was true.

"You're probably right. But I do have you with me so I don't have to worry about that," declared Judai in a humorous yet sincere tone as the smile on his face grew more.

Even though Yubel relished in seeing the warm smile on Judai's face, she knew it was time for them to leave this place. Her face became serious as she looked at Judai.

"You can't stay here any longer," Yubel told him firmly.

The smile instantly left Judai's lips before he let out a sigh knowing that Yubel was right.

"Yubel, can I have a minute longer?" he asked to which Yubel gave him a disbelieving look.

Judai knowing exactly what Yubel was thinking quickly spoke before she would deny his wish.

"I promise that I'm not going to go into despair again…I just want to say goodbye to them," said Judai solemnly.

Yubel let out her own sigh but decided to not deprive Judai of what would most likely be his last moments here with them.

"Fine, but if I sense any feelings of depression from you again…" Yubel started. However before she could finish that statement Judai was quick to interrupt.

"Don't worry, you won't," promised Judai with honesty written all over his face.

Knowing his words were true, Yubel gave Judai a nod of acceptance before disappearing and leaving Judai to himself. With Yubel gone, Judai went to his knees in front of the tombstone that he had been standing around for some time now. His hands brushed over the engraving of the names that were carved into the headstone as tears threatened to come from his eyes. Try as he might, Judai could not stop the memories of that day from coming into his mind.

It was very quiet in the car. Judai was sitting silently in the backseat feeling somewhat anxious from all of the silence. He knew his parents were displeased about getting the phone call from his principal thatthey received today. Considering the circumstances Judai knew that things could've ended up worse than just ending up with a month suspension, yet that fact didn't make the reason behind his suspension any less serious.

Judai knew that his parents had not been thrilled when he told them that he decided to keep Yubel and not send her into space. They still believed Yubel was too dangerous to keep around and had pleaded with him many times to let Yubel go. They even attempted to take Yubel away once while he was asleep but Yubel had made it clear to them that night that she was not going anywhere. Till this day Judai had no idea what went on between Yubel and his parents that night as neither one of them refused to tell him about it.

The thing was that Judai understood where his parents were coming from and had to admit that he had shared similar thoughts in regards to Yubel. Judai was fully aware that it was only the fact that Yubel had told him the truth about the Light of Ruin using his friends and Osamu that changed his perspective on things. But Judai wasn't ready to tell his parents the whole story because he wasn't sure how they would take it so his parents were no doubt blaming Yubel for all of the people around him getting hurt.

"It's not mine or Yubel's fault that the Light of Ruin keeps using my teachers and classmates to attack me at school," bitterly thought Judai as the expression on his face became harsher.

Nonetheless his mother caught the growing anger on Judai's face and misinterpreted the meaning behind it.

'Judai,' his mother called bringing Judai out of his thoughts and to turn his attention to his mother.

'Yes?' wondered Judai feeling worry at seeing the strict look on his mother's face.

'This is becoming very dangerous Judai. People are getting hurt and you just got suspended,' she stated to him.

Judai bit his lip in anxiousness easily reading the meaning behind what his mother was saying. Judai knew his parents were still adamant on him getting rid of Yubel. But despite what his parents thought Judai knew he could never let Yubel go and refused to do so. Judai sighed as he knew his mother was not going to like his answer.

'I'm keeping Yubel no matter what. You can't change my mind,' Judai told his mother.

A frown appeared on his mother's lips knowing that Judai was not going to reconsider the idea of Yubel being taken away from him. She had respected her son enough to honor his decision to keep Yubel. When he told them that he had changed his mind about sending Yubel into space and things between him and Yubel had been resolved, she and her husband trusted Judai's judgment. At first they believed that keeping Yubel had been best for Judai when their son began to become more mature. He become more focused in school, started helping them with things around the house which lead to their notice of his growing health and fitness, and he seemed to be more attentive and serious about the things and the people around him. Even though they didn't understand the reason behind Judai's sudden changes, they had seen it as a positive outcome.

Unfortunately, the negative outcomes were outweighing the positive ones as it appeared that the number of people getting hurt from his duels continued to grow. Now not only were children doing their best to stay away from their son but even the adults were beginning to complain about the increased number of injured persons because of Judai. However, it wasn't until Judai was caught standing in a classroom with an injured and unconscious teacher on the floor that had broken the last straw for the school. What had made things worse was that Judai refused to say a word about what had happened and so all anyone could do was assume the worse.

"But it is not my Judai's fault. Oh why does he feel the need to protect Yubel when she causes so much trouble for him?" she wondered solemnly before addressing Judai once more.

'You should at least tell us what happened between you and that teacher,' remarked his mother sternly with her eyes staring intensively into her son's.

"And what am I supposed to say, some evil light possessed my teacher and forced him to duel me in a Duel of Darkness?" Judai thought rather sarcastically even though his features remained quite passive.

'Even if I told you it wouldn't make any difference. There's no point in telling the truth if it doesn't do any good," countered Judai, making the frown on his mother's lips grow.

'Even if the truth may not help you with your suspension, as your parents we still need to know what happened so that we can know how to support you in this. Remember we love you Judai and we care about your wellbeing,' his mother stated seriously before she turned around back in her seat.

Even though Judai's father had been driving, his focus had been on the conversation between his wife and son. He knew his wife was speaking for the both of them and he too did not like how Judai seemed to be keeping important things from them and refusing to let them help him. He took a side glance at his wife and noticed the distraught expression on her face so he let one of his hands cover hers in a comforting gesture. His wife squeezed his hand back in response and sent her husband a grateful smile in return.

After this, there was no more conversation between the occupants in the car as they continued on their way home in absolute silence.

It was well into the night, definitely way past Judai's bedtime. Nonetheless, the said boy was wide awake as the conversation with his mother earlier that day continued going through his head. A twinge of guilt hit Judai when he remembered that distraught expression on his parents' faces after the conversation ended. He knew they were stressing themselves with worry over him. Not only that, but his mother's last comment had really pricked his heart. He really did want to tell them the truth, but the weighing of the pros and cons of telling them is what left Judai stagnant.

'Maybe I should tell them everything. At least then they'd know what's going on,' spoke Judai as he turned to face the translucent form of Yubel standing beside his bed.

'And what good would that do?' Yubel asked in a mundane way.

Judai sighed at this knowing that Yubel was simply asking a legitimate question and that it was her way of coxing him into thinking more carefully about the situation. Judai then gained a thoughtful look on his face, going over all of the positive outcomes that could come out of revealing the whole truth to his parents.

'They would stop blaming you for people getting hurt,' finally answered Judai, which Yubel was swift to respond to.

'What they think hardly matters to me Judai. You know that,' she said curtly with her arms crossed.

Judai frowned slightly at Yubel's statement. He guessed Yubel would say something like that, knowing that her only concern was for him. Yet he had wanted to give it a shot anyway. Since that reason wasn't going to work, Judai went to the next one.

'If they know about the Light of Ruin, they would know what dangers to look out for and to stay away from anyone affected by it,' he stated seriously to Yubel, however once again her reply was quick.

'Or they would foolishly try to find ways to keep you away from any confrontations with the light and try to take it on themselves as their way of protecting you.'

'But if I tell them who and what I really am, and that I'm the only one who can defeat it, then they won't do that.'

'And what if they don't believe you?' asked Yubel with a brow raised in challenge.

This comment surprised Judai, actually making him sit up from his bed and looking at Yubel with a confused expression on his face.

'Why wouldn't they believe me? They know about you after all,' Judai responded; yet this caused Yubel to sigh at Judai's naivety.

'Judai, humans are very fickle yet tenacious creatures. They choose to believe what they want and how much they want even if the truth is right in front of their faces. If they don't want to believe something they won't or if they do believe in something they have a habit of putting limits on what they're willing to accept," she explained but when she still saw the puzzled look Judai was giving her, Yubel knew that she would have to explain it in a way he would better understand the concept.

'Take the way humans handle the Christian religion as an example. They are supposed to believe in a one triune God, yet they have various denominations that limit the power of their god. They say that their god can do anything yet some obviously don't really believe that when it comes to certain aspects of life. They say that their god gives them salvation yet some believe they could still be condemned if they do something completely awful. Truthfully any kind of system humans live by has instability and ambiguities because that system reflects humans themselves,' elaborated Yubel.

Judai became very quiet after hearing this. He understood exactly why Yubel choose religion as a way to make her point seeing that Christianity was an important part of his own life. His parents were Christians so naturally he was one himself. His parents were strong believers in the faith; which was probably why they had easily accepted that he could see spirits, and he himself grew more into the belief when he starting seeing and hearing spirits for himself. Admittedly when Yubel had told him about the Light of Ruin and him being the herald of Gentle Darkness, he had been conflicted with his beliefs. But after various conversations with Yubel about the subject matter and learning more about the Christian belief from his parents, he found that a lot of it coincided together. There were still some issues of course like the fact that Christians didn't believe in reincarnation and the ideas toward darkness, but Judai had focused more on the similarities than the differences and so continued to believe in Christianity.

As for what Yubel said about the subject, the more he thought about it the more he could see what Yubel was saying. He was fortunate that his parents were nondenominational Christians so he didn't really have to worry about that particular issue, but he was aware enough to know how many believers easily got caught up with which denomination is right, wrong, better, or worse. But like Yubel said those types of arguments weren't just in religion, in was also in politics, government, cultures, music and so on, The more Judai thought about it, the more he was beginning to indeed see how fickle humans can be concerning what they think should be and what shouldn't be.

'I guess that's another thing that duel monsters do differently from humans,' Judai commented to himself, adding it to his mental list concerning humans and duel monsters.

The more he grew in understanding the world of Duel Monsters, the more he discovered the similarities and differences between them and humans. He had found out that duel monsters had their own various types of religious beliefs that matched with many human religions, which made a lot of sense considering all of the various kinds of religious symbols that were in the card game itself. However the difference came in when he saw how steadfast and sound duel monsters took their beliefs. Duel monsters who believed in Christianity for example, denominations didn't exist. There was only one solid belief in the Savior Jesus Christ and that was it and all of them lived by it very strongly every day.

"They certainly make being a Christian simpler than humans do. Remembering all those added traditions can be a hassle sometimes," mussed Judai as a hint of a smile formed on his lips.

However Judai realized that he was losing sight of the main issue, which was whether or not to tell his parents the truth. He took all of Yubel's points in consideration, especially the last one.

"Would they believe me or would they think I made the story up just to protect Yubel?" wondered Judai understanding that even though his parents saw him maturing, he was still just a child to them.

An irritated expression soon appeared on his face at the thought of the entire dilemma he was in regarding his parents.

'Why is this so hard to decide?! They're my parents for crying out loud, I should be able to confide in them! So why is it so hard to do?!' Judai said bitterly.

He then angrily buried his head into his pillow, letting out a growl of frustration as his hands started clenching the pillow tighter and tighter. Yet before he could rip the pillow apart, the feeling of a clawed hand touching his back completely made him stop. The clawed hand then began to rub up and down his back in a soothing manner making him become calm. Judai's eyes closed in contentment and his entire body entered a relaxed state as the hand's ministrations on his back continued. The hand stopped caressing Judai's back when the sound of muffled snoring was heard coming from Judai. Yubel was pleased to see that Judai was now sleeping soundly. With Judai taken care of for now, Yubel returned to sanctity of her card to get some rest herself.

The sound of glass breaking immediately awoke Judai from his peaceful slumber. Judai sat up instantly in his bed as he sensed that something was very wrong. Wanting to investigate what could be alerting his senses, Judai quickly got out of bed and headed straight for the bedroom door. He leaned his ear to the door, trying to listen for any more sounds. It only worried Judai when he didn't hear anything and knew that silence after the sound of breaking glass was never a good thing. Being very cautious, Judai slowly opened the door and poked his head out to take a look around. Seeing that the coast was clear, Judai stepped out of his room and made his way to where he believed the sound of broken glass came from. With all of the lights being off for the night, the whole house was shrouded in darkness. This was one of the times where Judai's training paid off as his senses had become much sharper, especially in the dark, so he had no trouble seeing and navigating his way around the house. Loud crashing noises suddenly reached Judai's ears, startling him before worry instantly set on his face. The noise was getting louder and more frequent causing Judai to throw caution out the window as he swiftly ran down the stairs to the living room where all the sounds were coming from. Yet the moment Judai entered the living room, he wished that he hadn't. The living room was in complete disarray. Obviously the broken window was how the intruders got in and the broken furniture showed signs of a struggle. However the worst part was seeing the apparent intruders tying up both his struggling parents.

'Otōsan! Okāsan!" shouted Judai in panic at seeing his parents being manhandled and bonded by the group of thugs.

Judai's shout instantaneously grabbed his parent's attention causing fear to come over their features.

'Judai, get out of here now!' his father yelled in warning to his son.

Yet this had seemed to anger his handler as the said person swiftly pulled out a gun and aimed it threateningly at the man's head, daring him to say another word. Seeing the gun pointed at his father's head stunned Judai as the deep seriousness of the situation was fully hitting him. But it only got worse when he watched as the person who had his mother captive took out their own gun and aimed it at his mother's head as well. Panic was taking over Judai, knowing that his parents' lives were only one shot away from being ended. Judai was frozen stiff in shock not knowing what to do.

'Judai, get a hold of yourself now! Standing like a stature isn't going to help them!' declared Yubel in annoyance, appearing right beside Judai in spiritual form.

Yubel's voice succeeded in breaking through to Judai and made him realize that Yubel was right. If he was going to save his parents, he needed to pull himself together and assess the situation. Gaining a calmer mind, Judai observed the scene that was in front of him. Both his parents were tied up and being held down forcefully on their knees by two men while one of them held the gun ready to shoot. And there were two others standing in the front, who Judai noticed seemed to be the overseers of all of this. Looking at the two leaders, Judai had just noticed that they were focused completely on him. Even though he couldn't see their faces because of the masks they were wearing something told him that they were smirking at him.

"They're after me!" realized Judai with wide eyes as the pieces started clicking together.

Yubel had come to the same conclusion the moment she saw the situation and was prepared to get Judai out of there at any second if need be. In fact the only reason she hadn't done so yet was because she knew that Judai didn't want to leave his parents in danger. However the moment Judai's life was immediately threatened she would take matters into her own hands even if it cost other's lives. When the two leaders began moving closer toward Judai, Yubel didn't hesitate to become visible and stand protectively in front of him.

'Come any closer and you die!' threatened Yubel, narrowing her eyes at the two culprits.

However the two didn't seem worried at all, in fact chuckles came from them instead.

'And if you try anything they will die,' one of them said while pointing to Judai's parents who were still held at gunpoint.

Judai was now absolutely sure that something was wrong when none of the criminals showed any signs of being shocked by Yubel's sudden appearance. He once more focused back on the two and soon his senses sprang to life as he finally noticed the familiar aura all around them.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it sooner, this makes things even more dangerous now. I have to find a way to get my parents out of here quick!" thought Judai, now gaining a serious look on his face.

He moved from behind Yubel to confront the two who he now knew were being controlled by the Light of Ruin.

'Leave my parents out of this, it's me you want!' Judai demanded, taking a quick glance at his parents, who were now looking at him with startled and concerned expressions.

Seeing those looks his parents sent him made Judai more determined to save them. He could imagine the confusion going on in their heads about why these people would be after him and their worry over what they would do to him. Judai sent a quick look of assurance to his parents hoping it would help settle their nerves before turning his eyes back onto the two people in front of him. The two seemed to be amused by Judai's demand as more chuckles were made from them.

'Unfortunately for you, we can't just let them go,' one of the crooks commented before removing the mask to reveal the face of a middle aged man.

'You see without them our vengeance on you wouldn't be complete,' added the other crook before taking off the mask to reveal the face of a middle aged woman.

The moment the two's identities were revealed; Judai, his parents, and even Yubel were stunned to find out who they were.

'I-It can't be. Y-You're Osamu's parents,' announced Judai in pure disbelief, to which the two seemed even more amused by his shock.

'Yes, and you're the two monsters that had put my son into a coma,' mockingly stated Osamu's father with a dark chuckle.

'And soon you'll know what it's like to lose an important part of your family,' she stated as she turned her gaze right on Judai.

'Yes I believe that's a fair trade, don't you think Judai?' finished Osamu's father turning a gleeful look in Judai's direction.

When Judai heard this, he could see how the Light of Ruin was manipulating Osamu's parents into wanting revenge against him for Osamu being in a coma. He himself still felt guilty over what happened to Osamu all because he had been ignorant of the danger and Yubel had to protect him from it. He knew it wasn't fair that Osamu had gotten hurt all because he had been used by the Light of Ruin. Unluckily it seemed that the Light of Ruin had managed to get to Osamu's parents and now not only was he in danger, but they were planning on killing his parents as well. Yet the anguish that Judai felt over the situation soon turned into anger at the idea of Osamu's parents being used and that his parents' lives were put in danger because of it.

"I won't allow the Light of Ruin to get away with this!" Judai thought heatedly with a renewed strength.

Judai gained a hard expression as he glared at the two married adults who now wore sinister smirks on their faces.

'You want to settle this than let's settle this with a duel! If I win you let me parents go!' proclaimed Judai lifting up his arm as he swiftly materialized his black spiked duel disk on his wrist.

Osamu's parents gave each other a look before the grins on their faces grew larger. They signaled one of the men who were still holding Judai's parents hostage, and he quickly tossed the pair two duel disks.

'We accept your challenge but it will be a tag duel. After all we want vengeance on the both of you,' Osamu's father proclaimed as he and his wife attached the duel disks on their arms all the while meeting his eyes with Yubel's.

Yubel's eyes narrowed at this. She knew very well that the tag duel was a means to make sure that she wouldn't try any sudden rescue attempts. If she was dueling she would have to focus on the duel entirely or it would cost Judai and her dearly. She also had a sneaking suspicion that even if she and Judai won; they planned on killing Judai's parents anyway. She personally didn't care too much for his parents but she knew her love would be devastated if anything happened to them so Yubel planned to do whatever she could to find a way to get the four of them out of this situation alive.

'Judai, lets defeat them quickly,' stated Yubel as her arm transformed into her duel disk, to which Judai gave an affirmative nod in response.

If it was possible the sadistic grins on Osamu's parents' faces grew even more.

'Both teams will start off with eight thousand life points and the first team's life points that reach zero loses the duel,' Osamu's mother explained

'Each player has their own duel field and are allowed to use their partner's cards,' continued Osamu's father.

'And there is one more important condition to this duel' stated Osamu's mother with mischief clear in her eyes.

Noticing the sinister expressions spreading on the couple's faces, Yubel and Judai knew that this next condition would not be good.

'When a team loses an increment of a thousand life points, one of them will get shot for each increment,' Osamu's father declared pointing at Judai's parents.

'And the one who caused the damage to the other team gets to decide which one of the two will get hit with a bullet and where,' finished Osamu's mother.

Judai was horrified when he heard this. He looked at his parents and saw that they too couldn't believe what they heard. Judai was starting to feel sick in his stomach as he was truly starting to regret challenging them to a duel. Judai started trembling as the harsh reality that he was trying to desperately escape came crushing down on him.

"M-My parents are going to d-die," Judai realized as tears were threatening to come out of his eyes.

'Judai, pull yourself together! This is not the time for you to start breaking down!' commanded Yubel, as her eyes remained focused on their enemy.

But it seemed even Yubel's words didn't help Judai this time. The situation was just too much for the ten year old boy who realized that he was going to lose his parents. Judai's legs soon gave out as he ended down on his knees with tears coming down his cheeks, not taking his eyes off of his parents. Yubel immediately went down by Judai's side and placed her arms around the boy trying to comfort him, knowing that he had just lost his drive to fight. Judai instinctively leaned into Yubel's embrace and pressed his head against her chest as he embraced her back.

'It's not fair, I don't want to lose them Yubel,' Judai whispered into her chest knowing that Yubel had heard him.

Yubel wanted to comfort Judai more, but apparently Osamu's parents had lost their patience.

'As touching as you two are,' interrupted Osamu's father in a snarky way, 'If you're not going to duel then I guess we'll just kill them now.'

With that he sent a signal to the men and they responded by cocking the guns, getting ready to fire them off. Hearing the click sound from the guns caused Judai to panic and respond quickly.

'No, don't!' he shouted with desperation as he swiftly removed himself from Yubel to turn to Osamu's parents.

Hearing this they told the men to halt before turning their eyes on Judai.

'And why should we if you're not…' started Osamu's mother before Judai cut her off.

'I'll duel,' Judai stated forlornly while getting back on his feet with Yubel also doing the same.

After a moment of recognizing that the boy would indeed duel them, they took their decks out and began shuffling them before placing them in their duel disks. Following the two, Yubel and Judai shuffled their own decks and placed them into their duel disks as well.

"Otōsan, Okāsan, I'm so sorry. I-I can't save you…But I will do my best to postpone it as long as possible, I just hope you can forgive me," he thought as he glanced in his parents direction.

As if they read his mind, his mother and father gave him the warmest smiles, Judai ever saw on their faces making his own come to his lips. He could see all the support and love for him on their faces and knew that there were no hard feelings towards him at all. Realizing this, Judai decided that the least he could do for his parents was to reveal everything to them during this duel.

'Let the fun begin,' commented Osamu's father with delight in his voice as he and his wife activated their duel disks.

A serious expression took over Judai's face as he sent Yubel a look letting her know he was ready. With that both he and Yubel activated their duel disks. Both pairs stared off heated at each other as they were ready to battle.

'Duel!' all four shouted as their life point meters went to eight thousand.

The first five cards were drawn from all players' decks and Osamu's father decided he would take the first turn.

'I'll start things off. Draw!' he announced as he took another card from his deck and placed it in his hand.

'I'll play God Dragon Apocalypse (Dragon/Effect/Dark/Level 4/ATK 1000/DEF 1500) in defense mode and end my turn,' he finished making the image of a slender dragon completely made of fire appear in its defense position on the field. (5 cards in hand, 1 on field [1-MZ])

A quick nonverbal exchange was made between Judai and Yubel deciding who would take the next turn.

'My turn, draw!' proclaimed Judai taking a card from his deck and placing it in his hand.

Scanning his cards for a moment, Judai then decided on his move.

'I place a monster face down in defense mode and then set one card. Turn end,' finished Judai. (4 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 - MZ, 1 - S/TZ])

'Draw!' Osamu's mother said while drawing a card from her deck.

'I'll set a monsterin face down defense position and end my turn,' she finished. (5 cards in hand, 1 on field [1 - MZ])

'Draw,' started Yubel, taking a card from her deck into her hand.

'I place a monster in facedown defense mode and set one card,' finished Yubel, ending her turn. (4 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ])

'My turn,' Osamu's father stated while drawing a card from his deck.

'I'll begin by activating the Magic Card Dragon Mausoleum and send one monster from my deck to my graveyard,' he said as he took Crescent Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 7/ATK 2200/DEF 2350)out from his deck before placing it in the graveyard.

'And since I just sent a normal monster to the graveyard, I can also send one dragon-type monster from my deck to the graveyard,' he continued by taking another card from his deck and sending it to the graveyard.

'By sending Eclipse Wyvern (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1000) to my graveyard, I can exclude from the game one level seven or higher light or dark dragon-type monster from my deck,' announced Osamu's father after taking Holy Knight Dragon (Dragon/Light/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2300) from the deck and removing it from play.

'Next I summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 400) in attack mode.'

The dragon that appeared on the field was of a gold color that had a muscular human like physic. He wore orange plated armor around its wrist, ankles, chest, tail, and wings. He also had a unique silver helmet on his head, adding to the dragon's fierce look that showed on his face as he was ready to battle

'Now Geib, attack Judai's face down monster!' he commanded causing the monster to take flight before making a dive bomb down towards the set monster on Judai's field.

The dragon's hand formed a fist that glowed with an orange aura as it smashed the set card into pieces. This caused the image of a brown ape that was inside a scientific containment unit to make a loud screech before it was destroyed.

'When Slave Ape(Beast/Effect/Earth/Level 2/ATK 700/DEF 300) is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one level four or lower Gladial Beast monster from my deck and I choose Gladial Beast Lanista (Winged Beast/Effect/Wind/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200),' stated Judai as a new monster took its place on his field in attack mode.

Lanista was a human shaped looking warrior with an eagle's face. Its body was dark blue and covered with thick green and white armor and in its hands was its weapon of choice, a red coated scythe. Yet the appearance of the new monster did not deter Osamu's father as he simply continued with his turn.

'When Geib destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard I can special summon one dragon-type normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and make its attack and defense zero. I'll summon from my deck Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon (Dragon/Light/Level 8/ATK 0/DEF 0) in defense mode. Next I activate God Dragon Apocalypse effect. By discarding a card from my hand, I can target one dragon-type monster in my graveyard and add it to my hand,' he continued as sent Darkstorm Dragon (Dragon/Gemini/Dark/Level 8/ATK 2700/DEF 2500) from his hand to the graveyard and took Crescent Dragon's card to place it in his hand.

'I set two cards face down and end my turn,' finished Osamu's father while he placed two set cards on the field. (2 cards in hand, 5 on field [3 - MZ, 2 – S/TZ], 3 in graveyard, 1 banished)

With Osamu's father ending his turn, Judai drew a card from his deck before deciding on his next move.

'I summon Enraged Minotaurus (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Earth/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1000) in attack mode,' announced Judai as a brown muscular Minotaur in red and gold armor with a battle axe in his hand appeared on the field.

'Next I activate Equip Magic Armaments of the Gladial Beasts - Gladius from my hand and I'll use it on Gladial Beast Lanista. With this Lanista gains three hundred attack points,' Judai stated as Lanista's attack went from eighteen hundred to twenty-one hundred.

Judai glanced at his opponents' field for a moment. It was obvious that the set monster that Osamu's mother had was some kind of flip effect monster which is why she had set nothing in her spell/trap zone. Since Judai didn't feel risky enough to see what the card was, he decided to ignore it for the time being.

'Go Lanista attack Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon!"

'Activate Instant Magic Book of Moon! I can change one face up attack position monster to face down defense position and I choose Gladial Beast Lanista!' Osamu's father declared, however Judai was quick to react.

'I play the Instant Magic Forbidden Holy Spear from my hand and use it on Gladial Beast Lanista. It losses eight hundred attack points but it is unaffected by the effects of other magic or trap cards until the end phase,' replied Judai as he played the card from his hand which made Lanista's attack lower to thirteen hundred as it continued its attack.

Lanista swiftly delivered a mighty blow on Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon, easily destroying the dragon. However this was the part that Judai was dreading but knew he had to carry on.

'Because Enraged Minotaurus is on the field…when a beast, beast-warrior, or winged beast-type monster I control attacks a defense position monster…it inflicts piercing battle damage to my opponent,' hesitantly stated Judai, knowing what he would have to do once the attack went through.

Once Judai said that Lanista moved in close to Osamu's father and delivered another mighty blow on his person causing his and his wife's life points to go down to sixty-seven hundred. After attacking, Lanista returned to Judai's side of the field. As for Osamu's father, instead of being upset by the successful attack a dark chuckle came out of his mouth.

'Since you dealt us thirteen hundred damage, you get to decide which one of your parents gets a shot and where,' he reminded Judai causing the boy to briefly recoil in response.

Judai looked in the direction of his parents with uncertainty clear in his eyes. He knew he had to make a decision and quick or else his reluctance might make things even worse. His eyes connected with his parents and it was looking into his father's eyes that told him what he should do.

'Otōsan,' decided Judai, unfortunately now he had another problem on his shoulders.

"Darn it, I don't know anything about gun wounds. I just have to guess which area is less risky," thought Judai before speaking once more.

'The…arm,' Judai said with doubt, hoping he picked right.

'You heard the boy. Do it,' Osamu's mother told her accomplices with a smirk.

The man that held the gun near the head of Judai's father acted right away and positioned the gun near the father's upper arm before pulling the trigger. A cry of pain came out of Judai's father's mouth when the bullet pierced through his arm which caused his wife to cry out her husband's name in fear. Sorrow filled Judai seeing his father being shot, especially when it was because of him that all of this was happening. Judai had to quickly turn his eyes away from his parents, knowing that if he looked any longer he would break down. Trying to get the image of what just happened out of his mind, Judai continued with his turn.

'N-Now Enraged Minotaurus a-attack God Dragon Apocalypse,' he shakily commanded.

For a brief moment, Minotaurus glanced at Judai in concern before following orders and using his mighty axe to destroy God Dragon Apocalypse causing their opponents life points to decrease to six thousand.

'Since Gladial Beast Lanista attacked this turn, I can shuffle him back into the deck to special summon a different Gladial Beast," proclaimed Judai as he took Lanista's card from the field and shuffled it back into the deck before taking out a different card from his deck.

'I'll special summon Gladial Beast Laquer (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Fire/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 400) and because it was special summoned by the effect of a Gladial Beast, Laquer's attack becomes twenty-one hundred instead.'

Laquer was a fierce brawny humanoid looking orange tiger with a gold metal helmet over its snout and a fiery mane. Sensing how dangerous the situation; Laquer let out an angry snarl at their opponents as it looked ready for battle.

'Also since Lanista was equipped with Armaments of the Gladial Beasts - Gladius, I can return it back to my hand from the graveyard,' taking the equip magic card from his graveyard and placing it back into his hand.

'Turn end,' finished Judai. (3 cards in hand, 3 on field [2 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 2 in graveyard)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 8000, Osamu Father/Mother: 6000)

'My turn then,' announced Osamu's mother while drawing a card from her deck.

'I activate the Normal Magic Name Reasoning. My opponent declares a monster level then I reveal cards from the top of my Deck until I reveal a monster that can be normal summoned. If that monster is the same level as the one declared by my opponent I have to send all revealed cards to the graveyard. If not, I get to special summon the revealed monster and send the remaining cards to the graveyard. Since I don't want you to feel left out, why don't you choose Yubel,' she commented with a snide tone.

Yubel choose to ignore the taunt and instead narrowed her eyes in contemplation. She noted that the woman had been doing her best to keep what kind of deck she had hidden. Because of this Yubel couldn't be sure of what kind of monsters she had and so could not hypothesize if she had more high level or lower level monsters in her deck. It was clear that her husband's deck contained mostly high level monsters but she could not assume that his wife had something similar. However Name Reasoning would help give Yubel some idea of what deck it was so her eyes were already looking at the woman's deck as she gave her answer.

'I choose level four,' stated Yubel since level four monsters would be more common in most decks.

Without another word Osamu's mother started taking cards from the top of her deck and showing it to her opponents. The first card was the Magic Card Heavy Storm, followed by the Trap Card Assault on Troop Headquarters, and finally the third card was a Monster Card Lightlord Paladin Jean (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200). Even though Yubel guessed correctly, Osamu's mother didn't seem fazed at all; in fact she seemed quite pleased.

'Since you were correct I have to send all three cards to my graveyard,' she said as she did just that before taking a card out of her hand and placing it on her field.

'I summon Lightlord Summoner Luminas (Spellcaster/Effect/Light/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) in attack mode'

The monster that appeared was a female with dark colored skin and short blonde hair. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress with some accessories on it. With a firm expression on the monster's face, she took her battle stance and waiting for her commands.

'I activate Lightlord Summoner Luminas' effect. By discarding one card I can target one level four or lower Lightlord monster in my graveyard and special summon it. So I'll discard Lightlord Druid Aurkus (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1800) to special summon Lightlord Paladin Jean (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1200)in attack mode,' she stated as Luminas's hands formed a white glow before launching a ball of light into Osamu's mother's graveyard.

With that a pale looking male monster with white hair adorning white armor with gold patterns caring a shield and sword soon appeared on the field beside Luminas.

'Next I'll equip Lightlord Paladin Jean with the Equip Magic Lightlord Rapier giving him seven hundred more attack points. Now my paladin, attack Gladial Beast Laquer!' she instructed as the monster's attack went to twenty-five hundred while charging toward Laquer.

'Also if this card attacks an opponent's monster, it gains three hundred attack points during the damage step,' added Osamu's mother as the paladin's attack rose to twenty-eight hundred.

Yet just before the paladin could slice Laquer with its sword, Judai immediately revealed once of his face down cards in response.

'Activate Trap, Defensive Tactics! If I control a face up Gladial Beast monster, for the rest of this turn monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle, and any Battle Damage I take is reduced to zero,' announced Judai.

Even though Laquer still took the attack it remained on the field and their life points remained untouched.

'Since I used Defensive Tactics I have to put it on the bottom of my instead of the graveyard,' Judai stated as he took the card from the field and placed it back into his deck.

An annoyed look crossed Osamu's mother's face before she continued with her turn.

'Lightlord Summoner Luminas, attack Yubel's face down monster!'

A ball of light formed in Luminas's hands before she threw it at Yubel's face down monster. The image of a small orange and black furry monster with three yellow eyes and four green appendages as claws appeared briefly as it was destroyed.

'When Critter (Fiend/Effect/Dark/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 600) is sent from the field to the graveyard I can add one monster with fifteen hundred or less attack from my deck to my hand,' simply responded Yubel while taking a card from her deck into her hand.

'And with the end of the battle phase because Gladial Beast Laquer battled I can return it to my deck to special summon one Gladial Beast monster from my deck,' added Judai as he took Laquer's card and put it back into the deck before taking out another from it.

'I special summon Gladial Beast Octavius (Winged Beast/Effect/Light/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 1200) in attack mode!'

Ocatavius was a tall bird like warrior creature. His body was made of dark red feathers and wore patches of green armor over his muscular body. The most interesting thing about him was his large wings that had parts of the green armor attached to its edges leading to a strange green circular part with five orange jewels in it that nestled behind his head.

'I activate Octavius's effect. When this card is special summoned by the effect of a Gladial Beast monster I can target one face down magic or trap card and destroy it. I choose the set card Osamu's father has!'

The five orange jewels in the armor glowed as Octavius stretched out his hand and a blast of orange was thrown at the set card. The set card was revealed to be the Permanent Trap Call of Living Dead before it was destroyed. A small scowl appeared on Osamu's father's face at the loss of the card, but it didn't last long as he was planning to get the boy back for that move.

'I set one card and because it's my end phase both of my Lightlords' effects activate. By Lightlord Paladin Jean's effect I send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard and Lightlord Summoner Luminas' effect sends the top three cards to the graveyard,' she explained as she took five cards from her deck and sent them to her graveyard, which were the Instant Magic Card Cyclone, the Magic Card Foolish Burial, the Trap Card Tragedy of the Guillotine, Lightlord Monk Eileen (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1000), and Lightlord Warrior Garos (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1850/DEF 1300).

'Turn end,' Osamu's mother finished with an unreadable expression on her face.(1 card in hand, 4 on field [3 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 9 in graveyard)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 8000, Osamu Father/Mother: 6000)

Yubel didn't utter a word as she drew her card. Truthfully the moment it was revealed what kind of deck that Osamu's mother had, Yubel had a good idea what the woman was planning.

"If she really has that monster in her deck, no doubt she's waiting for me to summon myself first so she can take me out," reasoned Yubel before amusement played in her eyes at the thought.

"But if they think it will be that easy to win, they'll be greatly disappointed."

'By discarding one level eight or higher monster to the graveyard, I can special summon from my hand Hard Armedragon (Dragon/Effect/Earth/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 800) to the field. I will also discard a level five or higher dark monster to special summon Dark Grepher (Warrior/Effect/Dark/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1600) from my hand as well,' declared Yubel as she sent Hell Flame Emperor (Pyro/Effect/Fire/Level 9/ATK 2700/DEF 1600) and Torch Golem (Fiend/Effect/Dark/Level 8/ATK 3000/DEF 300) from her hand to the graveyard.

Hard Armedragon and Dark Grepher both appeared on Yubel's field in their attack positions. Hard Armedragon looked more like a skeleton spider on two hind legs than a dragon, while Dark Grepher was a black skinned muscled man that was very gothic looking and cared a sharp sword in his hands.

'And now that I have exactly three dark monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon Dark Armed Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Dark/Level 7/ATK 2800/DEF 1000) from my hand,' proclaimed Yubel with a smirk as the mighty dragon appeared on the field.

Dark Armed Dragon's form was true to its name as it was a large dragon with black armor that had spikes and sickles on it edges.

'I activate Dark Armed Dragon's effect, by excluding one dark monster in my graveyard, I can destroy a card on the field and I'll choose that woman's face down monster,' she said as she took Torch Golem from her graveyard and removed it from the game before Dark Armed Dragon launched its attack, successfully destroying the set card that had been revealed as Marshmallon (Fairy/Effect/Light/Level 3/ ATK 300/DEF 500).

'Now, Hard Armedragon attacks Lightlord Summoner Luminas!' Yubel commanded as the spider dragon sent its attack at the monster, destroying the Spellcaster and inflicting five hundred points of damage to their opponents.

'Dark Grepher, attack Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib!' she continued which surprised everyone.

'Why are you attacking my dragon with a weaker monster?' Osamu's father demanded to know, however Yubel let a smirk form on her lips as she kept silent.

As expected when Dark Grepher went to attack Dragon Geib, Dark Grepher was overpowered and destroyed causing one hundred points of damage. However this actually made Yubel's smirk grow.

'Activate Trap, Damage Condenser! I can only activate this card when I take Battle Damage. With this I can special summon one monster from my deck with attack equal to or less than the battle damage I took this turn before its activation. Since I took one hundred points of damage, I'll special summon Yubel to my field in attack mode!'

An exact double of Yubel appeared on the field making their opponents angry at the sudden appearance of the Yubel double.

'Lightlord Paladin Jean, come and attack me,' the Yubel on the field said with glee as the paladin's eyes glowed orange and went to attack Yubel.

The paladin's sword landed a blow to the field Yubel but it was immediately returned with a long green thorny vine that struck Osamu's mother painfully as their life points took a big hit. The woman ended up with several scratches on her person which made a scowl appear on her face.

'Twenty-five hundred point damage means two shots, so decide,' replied Osamu's mother with bitterness in her voice.

Yubel wasn't fazed at all by the woman's attitude and simply let her gaze shift to Judai's parents for a brief second.

'The man and the woman, both in their left hand,' plainly answered Yubel.

'You heard the monster,' Osamu's mother practically spit out in disgust to the men as her anger seemed to grow even more.

The sound of two bullets being fired and two cries of pain immediately followed. However Yubel was not really focusing on Judai's parents through the ordeal. Her eyes were constantly glancing at Judai to keep track of how he was holding up. She had taken note that Judai didn't even bother to look at his parents this time when they were about to get shot and instead did his best to try to ignore the cries of pain and keep focus on the duel. Yubel was satisfied with this as she knew Judai was still a boy and there was only so much he could take. Accepting that Judai seemed to be doing alright so far, she continued her battle phase.

'Dark Armed Dragon, attack Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib!'

The dragon did as told before launching a flaming clawed fist at the other dragon and destroyed him, bringing down Osamu's parents' life points to two thousand. Yet before their opponents could say anything, Yubel already knew who would be next.

'The woman on her right foot,' calmly stated Yubel before another shot and scream was heard.

This time Yubel noticed Judai twitch a bit as he heard his mother's voice and let his eyes momentarily look at the wounds on his mother's body. Seeing a frown slowly slip on Judai's lips, Yubel realized a small distraction was in order.

'My love,' called Yubel in an affectionate voice, which seceded in causing Judai to turn to Yubel with a curious expression on his face.

'Yes?' wondered Judai, a bit caught off guard by the sudden fondness in Yubel's voice.

It wasn't like it was the first time Yubel called him 'love' and certainly not the first time she had been affectionate toward him. However this was the first time Yubel did this when something very serious was going on around them.

'I need to borrow your monsters,' she answered him in that same loving tone that actually made Judai shiver in delight for just a second before Yubel's words had registered to him.

'Of course Yubel,' he said with a small smile to which Yubel returned before speaking once more.

'Gladial Beast Octavius attack Lightlord Paladin Jean!'

Octavius looked at Judai for approval and Judai simply nodded his head in response, letting Octavius know it was fine to take orders from Yubel. With that Octavius launched an attack at Paladin Jean and both put up a decent fight as they evenly clashed. Since both monsters had the same attack they were both destroyed, yet this let their opponent's wide open.

'Enraged Minotaurus direct attack on that woman!' instructed Yubel as the Minotaur rapidly charged and attacked Osamu's mother bringing their life points to a measly three hundred points.

'The man, on his lower right wrist,' Yubel stated right away and another shot was made.

'I'll sacrifice Hard Armedragon to keep myself on the field, turn end,' finished Yubel with a satisfied smirk. (1 card in hand, 2 on field [2 – MZ], 5 in graveyard, 1 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 7900, Osamu Father/Mother: 300)

Judai blinked for a moment after everything that had happened during this turn ran through his head. Not only did Yubel cause Osamu's parents fifty-seven thousand points of damage in one turn, but he took note of what she was doing regarding the shots on his parents. Yubel not only kept the number of shots even between both his parents, but Judai also noticed the areas that Yubel choose seemed to cause the least damage to his parents.

"Yubel was making sure she called the shots…literally," thought Judai as comprehension dawned on him.

This realization allowed a small ray of hope for Judai that his parents would make it out of this alive. If they could beat Osamu's parents not only would they expel the Light of Ruin from them, they could save his parents before any lethal shots were made. Judai had never been more grateful and glad to have Yubel by his side. He knew Yubel for the most part didn't like his parents, but she was willing to try and keep them alive all for him. Something deep inside Judai stirred as a feeling of strong adoration came over him. Turning toward Yubel with the most loving expression on his face, words spurted out of his mouth before he even grasped them.

'Yubel my beloved, you are amazing,' he uttered with nothing by honesty in a voice that had gained a sudden profoundness and maturity to it.

Genuine astonishment showed on Yubel's face at what Judai just said though soon a smile came to her lips. Judai calling her 'beloved' was a pleasant delight to Yubel as that was what he used to refer to her countless times in the past, and Yubel certainly didn't miss her past love's voice that had mixed in with Judai's own. It was a good sign for Yubel as this meant that that part of his soul that remembered their past was slowly coming to the surface.

'Why thank you my love,' Yubel replied with a grin.

It was then that Judai realized exactly what he said making him quickly turn away from Yubel with a slight blush on his cheeks. Unfortunately the endearing moment between the two was shattered.

'You both are sickening! Acting all innocent instead of like the monsters you truly are!' shouted Osamu's father in rage and revulsion.

'We won't let you get away with what you monsters did to our son!' his wife added with equal amount of disgust in her voice.

Judai's turned towards Osamu's parents with a remorseful expression on his face.

'You don't understand. Osamu was…' Judai tried to explain yet Osamu's parents refused to let him finish.

'You have no right to say my son's name! It's because of you and that creature of yours that he's dead!' Osamu's mother screamed at Judai successfully shocking him from hearing the news.

'H-He's dead?' asked Judai with wide eyes, not believing that Osamu was actually gone.

'Don't try and pretend you're surprised. We know you planned to kill him from the start!' bitterly retorted Osamu's mother, however the accusation that he wanted to kill Osamu angered Judai.

'You're wrong! Osamu was like a brother to me! I never wanted him to get hurt!' Judai yelled back.

'Save your pathetic lies,' Osamu's father replied while narrowing his eyes at Judai.

Judai was about to respond to the comment but Yubel stopped him before he said anything else.

'There's too much of the Light of Ruin in them. They won't believe anything you say,' commented Yubel causing Judai to frown knowing that Yubel was right.

A deep pit of anguish washed over Judai as he was still trying to digest the news of Osamu's death. He had constantly visited Osamu in the hospital after the incident, but then Osamu had gotten in worse condition every time he visited him. When Yubel had eventually told him about putting Osamu into a coma, she explained that the light had still been in Osamu and that to make sure it wouldn't try anything she had to keep Osamu in that state. So of course that had left Judai with no choice but to stop visiting Osamu and move on with the rest of his life. Now Judai feared that if he hadn't visited Osamu at all he would've eventually gotten better.

"No, if Osamu had never met me he wouldn't have even been hurt in the first place," thought Judai sadly before another regretful thought entered his mind. "And now my parents are suffering because of me too.'

'Judai, don't listen to them! You are our son and we know you aren't a killer!' shouted Judai's mother gaining her son's attention.

'That's right Judai! We may not know the whole story but we're sure that you would never do anything to hurt anyone on purpose!' added his father with determination making Osamu's parents look back at them in amusement.

'Please, you have no idea what kind of monster your son really is,' retorted Osamu's mother, which caused an angry reaction from Judai's own parents.

'And obviously you don't know my son at all!' Judai's mother screamed at them, defending her child.

Judai was amazed with how much faith his parents had in him even though he had been keeping so many secrets from them. He could just feel the amount of trust and love they have for him through their words, reminding him of the promise he made before the duel started.

"It's time I tell them the truth that they deserve to know," decided Judai as he gave his parents a serious look though a small smile did reach his lips.

'It's not their fault. They're just in grief over Osamu's death and the Light of Ruin is taking advantage of it. That's what it does after all,' Judai told his parents causing them to glance at their son with curiosity.

Seeing that he had his parents' attention, he continued to explain further.

'The Light of Ruin is a malevolent being that existed since the creation of the universe. It's been plaguing this world and others ever since. It causes chaos and destruction wherever it goes and all it wants to do is destroy. It has the ability to manipulate people into doing what it wants and corrupts them by inhabiting them,' Judai paused as he saw his parents were taking in what he just said.

'Judai, are you referring to Satan?' inquired his mother.

Judai took the question in consideration as he too had noticed the connections between the Light of Ruin and the Devil. They both were malevolent, manipulative, and the Bible says that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Also the way the Light of Ruin takes over people is very similar to the concept of demonic possession. There was even the thing regarding Satan being an imitator of light and that he had been the angel that carried light before his dissention.

'Probably, I'm not completely sure if they are the same, but I won't knock the possibility. All I do know is that the light is nothing but evil and it wants to get me out of the way. That's why so many people have gotten hurt. It was using them to destroy me and I had no choice but to defend myself,' Judai answered as best as he could.

'But why is this light coming after you so much?' his father asked out of concern and interest.

'Along with the light, there was darkness in the beginning of the universe too. I have that darkness, the Darkness of Justice inside of me. It's because I'm the herald of that darkness that I can beat the Light of Ruin,' Judai elaborated causing contemplative expressions on their faces.

'So the problem wasn't Yubel then,' his mother uttered quietly to herself though Judai responded right away to it.

'Yubel was just protecting me the only way she could until I learned how to handle myself against the light. Honestly if it wasn't for Yubel it would've gotten me a long time ago,' he admitted with admiration as he looked at Yubel who replied with a smile.

This caused that same stirring in his soul to rise inside of him again.

'Yubel's my friend, guardian, protector, and…lover. I love her just as much as she loves me,' Judai confessed in that same matured voice filled with adulation towards Yubel.

'You belong to only me, and I you love,' declared Yubel with nothing but affection in her voice.

'Always, my beloved,' Judai responded in complete agreement before returning his focus back to his parents.

'The main problem is the Light of Ruin. It's corrupting and using Osamu's parents in an effort to corrupt the Gentle Darkness to get rid of its opposition,' finished Judai with all seriousness.

Hearing this made Judai's parents feel as though a different person had just spoken to them. It was as if Judai suddenly became someone else.

'Judai, is that you?' carefully asked his mother, sensing something had changed in Judai just now.

'I'm still me Okāsan. I think my past self is gradually surfacing is all. Probably because of this emotional roller-coaster I'm going through right now,' answered Judai with a bit of amusement in his voice.

'Past self?' questioned his father as those words had caught his attention.

'In my past life I was the king of a kingdom from another dimension and Yubel was by my side then just as she is now. I know you don't believe in reincarnation and I can't say I understand everything about it but please know that I'm speaking the truth,' pleaded Judai as his voice returned back to normal with the anxiety of whether his parents would believe him or not.

'How comical, trying to justify yourself with made up stories,' mocked Osamu's father with his arms crossed.

'As interesting as hearing them was, this is the real world. And in reality we're simply getting justice for you killing our son,' Osamu's mother added in condescension causing Judai to glare at them, which they easily ignored.

'Now if story time is done, it's time for us to make a comeback. My turn, draw!' proclaimed Osamu's father while drawing a card from his deck and beginning his turn.

'First I activate the Magic Card Pot of Greed and draw two cards,' he began as he drew two cards from his deck.

'Next, I activate the Magic Card Trade-In. By discarding a level eight monster I can draw two more cards,' he announced as he discarded Trihorn Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350) to the graveyard and drew two cards from his deck.

'I'll play the Magic Dragon Ravine. I'll discard a card from my hand and use one of its effects to send one dragon-type monster from my deck to the graveyard,' Osamu's father said as he discarded Crescent Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 7/ATK 2200/DEF 2350) and sent Eleckiterudragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 6/ATK 2500/DEF 1000) from his deck to the graveyard.

'Since my opponents control a monster and I control none, I can special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Tfeni Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 6/ATK 2100/DEF 1400) from my hand in attack mode,' he continued as a slender gold and white dragon appeared on his field.

'Now Hieroglyphic Dragon – Tfeni Dragon attack Enraged Minotaurus!'

Tfeni went on the attack, using its powerful claws on Enraged Minotaurus and destroyed the Minotaur causing four hundred points of damage to Judai and Yubel's life points.

'Lastly, I place one card face down and end my turn,' finished Osamu's father after setting his face down card. (0 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 14 in graveyard, 1 banished) (LP: Judai/Yubel: 7500, Osamu Father/Mother: 300)

Judai wanted to talk to his parents more, mostly to find out if they accepted what he told them but he knew he had to get his focus back on the duel.

'Draw!' Judai said as he drew his card from his deck before taking a card from his hand and placing it on his duel disk.

'I summon Witch Doctor of Spartaca (Spellcaster/Effect/Earth/Level 4/ATK 400/DEF 2000) in defense mode. Then set two cards, turn end,' finished Judai after setting the cards on the field. (1 card in hand, 3 on field [1 – MZ, 2 – S/TZ], 4 in graveyard)

'My turn then,' proclaimed Osamu's mother while drawing a card from her deck.

'I set a monster in face down defense position and one card then I end my turn,' she finished. (0 cards in hand, 3 on field [1 – M/Z, 2 – S/TZ], 13 in graveyard)

Yubel swiftly drew a card from her deck and began her turn.

'I'll exclude Dark Grepher from my graveyard and used Dark Armed Dragon's effect to target the woman's first set card,' stated Yubel, taking the said card from her graveyard and removing it from the game.

However before Dark Armed Dragon's effect could resolve, Osamu's father acted quickly.

'Not so fast! I activate the Trap Burst Breath! I can tribute one dragon-type monster I control and destroy all face-up monsters on the field whose defense is less than or equal to the tributed monster's attack!' Osamu's father rebutted as his face down card was revealed.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Tfeni Dragon was soon covered in flames as it launched fire from its mouth at all of its opponent's monsters and destroyed them before it was destroyed itself. Both Osamu's parents smiled gleefully at getting rid of their opponent's monster, yet their delight was short lived as a masculine chuckle was heard.

'When Yubel is destroyed I can special summon Yubel - The Detestable Knight (Fiend/Effect/Dark/Level 11/ATK 0/DEF 0) from my hand, deck or graveyard,' Yubel said as she took on her male voice as her second form appeared on the field.

The appearance of Yubel's second form was very intimidating causing everyone except Judai and Yubel herself to be stunned since they had never known of her other form. The couple silently cursed at the unexpected development and the fact that Yubel still remained as an annoyance to them.

'I'll be attacking your face down monster,' commented Yubel as her second form opened its mouth to get ready to attack.

'I don't think so. Activate Counter Trap Attack Nullification! When a target opponent's monster declares an attack, I negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!' immediately interrupted Osamu's mother successfully stopping Yubel's attack.

This made Yubel grunt in displeasure before setting a card face down and declaring the end of her turn. (1 card in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 6 in graveyard, 2 banished)

'I pass this turn,' Osamu's father announced after he drew his card. (1 card in hand, 0 on field, 16 in graveyard, 1 banished)

'Draw!' declared Judai as he took a card from the top of his deck.

'I summon E-HERO Airman (Warrior/Effect/Wind/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 300) in attack mode!' proclaimed Judai as the elemental warrior took his place on the field.

'And because I summoned Airman to my field I can add one E-HERO monster from my deck to my hand and I pick E-HERO Necrodarkman (Warrior/Effect/Dark/Level 5/ATK 1600/DEF 1800),' Judai said as he took said hero from his deck and placed it in his hand.

'Now Airman, attack that face down monster!'

The wind hero did as told and leapt at the face down card with his fist ready. When Airman's attack destroyed the monster, it was shown to be a dark circular monster with a creepy face as its center.

'When Metamor Pot (Rock/Effect/Earth/Level 2/ATK 700/DEF 600) is flipped up, all players discard all the cards in their hands and then draw five cards,' declared Osamu's mother.

With this, everyone discarded what was left in their hands and drew five new cards from their decks. Osamu's father had to discard Evil Knight Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 7/ATK 2350/DEF 2400), Judai had to discard E-HERO Necrodarkman and Armaments of the Gladial Beasts – Gladius, Yubel discarded Split Demon Rose (Plant/Effect/Dark/Level 7/ATK 0/DEF 1500), while Osamu's mother simply drew her cards.

'I end my turn,' finished Judai. (5 cards in hand, 3 on field [1- MZ, 2 – S/TZ], 7 in graveyard)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 7500, Osamu Father/Mother: 300)

With Judai's turn over, Osamu's mother swiftly drew a card from her deck and placed it in her hand.

'I activate the Magic Supremacy Berry! Because my opponent's life points are higher than mine, we gain two thousand life points,' started Osamu's mother as their life points went up to twenty-three hundred.

'Next I'll play the Magic Reinforcements of Light! This makes me send the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard and add one level four or lower Lightlord monster from my deck to my hand. And I'll Lightlord Druid Aurkus (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1800) to my hand,' she said as the Permanent Trap Call of Living Dead, Necro Gardna (Warrior/Effect/Dark/Level 3/ATK 600/DEF 1300), and Lightlord Beast Wolf (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 2100/DEF 300) were sent to her graveyard

'Since Lightlord Beast Wolf was sent from my deck to my graveyard, I get to special summon it to my field. However he won't be staying long as I'll tribute him to summon Lightlord Dragon Gragonith!' stated Osamu's mother as the man wolf warrior in white and gold armor was replaced by a white winged stallion looking dragon with long golden hair flowing from its head and its tail.

'Lightlord Dragon Gragonith gains three hundred attack and defense for each Lightlord monster with a different name in my graveyard. I have six different Lightlords in my graveyard so Gragonith's attack goes to thirty-eight hundred!'

'But before I attack, I'll use the Instant Magic Cyclone to destroy one of your face down cards Judai,' she declared as the cyclone headed near Judai's field ready to destroy one of his cards.

Seeing which card was about to be destroyed, Judai reacted swiftly.

'Then I'll activate it before you can destroy it! I reveal the Trap Emissaries of Reconciliation! With this I take no battle damage this turn and my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle either!'

Osamu's mother frowned for a second at this, but it was soon replaced with indifference.

'Since there's no point in attacking, I'll activate my Permanent Trap Light Resilence. Now each time a card is sent from my deck to the graveyard by the effect of a "Lightlord" monster, my opponent has to exclude the top card of their deck. I set one card and with my end phase, Lightlord Dragon Gragonith's effect sends the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard so you two remove the top card of your decks,' finished Osamu's mother. (3 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 24 in graveyard)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 7500, Osamu Father/Mother: 2300)

While the Instant Magic Convening of Light, Field Magic Justice World, and Magic Resurrection of the Dead were sent from her deck to her graveyard, Yubel took Monster Gate from the top of her deck and removed it, while Judai did the same with Dimensional Imprisonment

'My turn then,' remarked Yubel as she drew her next card.

'I summon The Calculator (Thunder/Effect/Light/Level 2/ATK ?/DEF 0) in attack mode. And with its effect its attack is the combined levels of all face-up monsters I control times three hundred so it gains thirty-nine hundred attack points. Now, Lightlord Dragon Gragonith will battle Yubel - The Detestable Knight.'

'I activate the effect of Necro Gardna. By banishing this card from my graveyard I can negate one attack from a monster my opponent controls,' interrupted Osamu's mother taking said card from the graveyard and remove it.

This successfully stopped the battle between Yubel and Gragonith, yet Yubel continued her battle phase none the less.

'The Calculator, attack Lightlord Dragon Gragonith,' commanded Yubel, however Osamu's mother again counteracted it.

'Activate Trap Lightlord Barrier, when a face-up Lightlord monster I control is selected as an attack target, I can send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard to negate the attack,' she quickly responded before Lightlord Magician Leila(Spellcaster/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 200) and the Trap Light of Destruction were sent to her graveyard.

Despite not landing an attack on their opponents, Yubel seemed to be quite pleased.

'During my End Phase, I must destroy all other monsters on my side of the field, then destroy a number of my opponent's monsters equal to the number of monsters I control that were destroyed by this effect. Therefore The Calculator will be destroyed along with Lightlord Dragon Gragonith,' Yubel explained with a bit of a smirk on her lips as both monsters were destroyed, leaving their opponent's field empty once more. (5 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 8 in graveyard, 3 banished)

'I'll begin by activating the Magic Hieroglyphic Seal of Supremacy. This lets me special summon one Hieroglyphic monster from my hand,' started Osamu's father after drawing a card from his deck.

'I'll special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Aset Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 5/ATK 1900/DEF 1200) to the field, but he won't be staying long. I tribute Aset Dragon to special summon from my hand Hieroglyphic Dragon - Nephthe Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 5/ATK 2000/DEF 1600) in attack mode,' he stated as the purple dragon that was coated in golden armor was replaced by a very identical looking purple dragon.

'And when Hieroglyphic Dragon - Aset Dragon is tributed I can special summon one dragon-type normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and make its attack and defense zero. So I choose Hieroglyphic Seal of the Dragon King (Dragon/Gemini/Light/Level 6/ATK 0/DEF 0) from my deck and then tribute him to activate Hieroglyphic Dragon – Nephthe Dragon's effect to target one monster my opponent controls and destroy it. I'll destroy you Yubel,' he proclaimed before the dragon launched its attack at Yubel and destroying her second form.

'When Yubel - The Detestable Knight is removed from the field, I can special summon Yubel - The Extremely Sorrowful Dragon (Fiend/Effect/Dark/Level 12/ATK 0/DEF 0) from my hand, deck or graveyard,' Yubel announced in her male voice as her third and final form showed itself on the field.

'What does it take to destroy you?' Osamu's father muttered to himself in aggravation at seeing that he still couldn't get rid of Yubel.

'I tribute Hieroglyphic Dragon – Nephthe Dragon to special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 6/ATK 2200/DEF 1000) from my hand in attack mode. Then because I tributed Hieroglyphic Dragon – Nephthe Dragon I can special summon one dragon-type normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard, and make its attack and defense zero. I'm special summoning Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon (Dragon/Light/Level 8/ATK 0/DEF 0) from my deck to the field and I'll tribute him to activate Shiyu's effect to destroy one spell/trap card my opponent controls. I'll pick your face down card Judai, ' he proclaimed as the blue colored gold armored dragon took place of the purple colored dragon and destroyed Judai's face down card that had been the trap card Holy Barrier – Mirror Force.

'Now, Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon attack E-HERO Airman!'

The mighty blue dragon flew in for the attack on the air hero and easily destroyed him causing four hundred points of damage.

'Lastly I play the Instant Magic Super-Regeneration Ability which lets me draw a card from my deck for each dragon-type monster discarded from my hand and/or tributed during this turn, and I'll follow that up with the Magic Trial and Tribulation which gains an effect depending on the number of monsters I tributed this turn. Since I tributed four monsters I draw four cards and I can destroy up to three cards on the field, so I'll be getting rid of you Yubel and that set card of yours,' he said with pleasure at clearing Yubel's field of her third form and her set card that happened to be the trap card Zero Hole.

'Turn end,' he finished after drawing his four cards from his deck. (4 cards in hand, 1 on field [1 - MZ], 24 in graveyard, 1 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 7100, Osamu Father/Mother: 2300)

'My turn, draw!' pronounced Judai, drawing a card from his deck and into his hand.

Judai was pleased when he saw the card he just drew.

"Looks like my E-HERO's want to help in this duel too," thought Judai with a small smile before making his move.

'Because E-HERO Necrodarkman is in my graveyard, I can normal summon one E-HERO monster from my hand without a tribute and I'm summoning E-Hero Edgeman (Warrior/Effect/Earth/Level 7/ATK 2600/DEF 1800) in attack mode!'

Edgeman was a warrior made out of shinning gold with a green gem in his center and a gleaming sword in his hand.

'Now E-HERO Edgeman, attack Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon!' instructed Judai to which the hero acted immediately as he ran sword first towards the dragon.

Edgeman made quick work of Shiyu Dragon as his sword sliced through it and destroyed the dragon causing four hundred points of damage to their opponents.

'I set two cards and end my turn,' finished Judai. (3 cards in hand, 3 on field [1 – MZ, 2 – S/TZ], 10 in graveyard, 1 banished) (LP: Judai/Yubel: 7100, Osamu Father/Mother: 1900)

'I draw,' Osamu's mother said, taking a card from her deck.

'I play the Magic Solar Exchange! By discarding one Lightlord monster I can draw two cards and send two cards from my deck to my graveyard,' she stated as she sent Lightlord Thief Rinyan (Beast/Effect/Light/Level 2/ATK 100/DEF 100) to the graveyard to draw two cards before Instant Magic - Monster Rebirth and another Lightlord Beast Wolf (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 2100/DEF 300)were sent from her deck to the graveyard.

'When Lightlord Beat Wolf is sent from the deck to the graveyard, I can special summon him from the graveyard. I will also use the Magic Card Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Lightlord Dragon Gragonith (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 6ATK 2000/DEF 1600) from my graveyard in attack mode,' Osamu's mother declared as the two previous monsters appeared on the field.

'And now that I have eight different Lightlord monsters in my graveyard, Gragonith's attack rises to forty-four hundred! Gragonith, attack E-HERO Edgeman!'

The white stallion opened its mouth and launched its attack at Edgeman yet before it could reach Edgeman Judai activated one of his set cards.

'I activate the Instant Magic Shrink and use it on Gragonith to half its attack points until the end phase,' interrupted Judai causing Gragonith's attack to decrease to twenty-two hundred.

With its attack lowered Edgeman knocked the attack back to its owner causing the dragon to once again be destroyed and lowered their life points once more. Osamu's mother looked at Judai with disdain for causing her to lose her monster.

'I set one card and end my turn,' she finished with setting a card in her spell/trap zone. (2 cards in hand, 4 on field [2 - MZ, 2 – S/TZ], 31 in graveyard, 1 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 7100, Osamu Father/Mother: 1500)

'I play the Magic Foolish Burial to send one card from my deck to the graveyard,' started Yubel after drawing a card and then taking Death Bus Departing the Underworld Bound for the Living World (Fiend/Effect/Dark/Level 3/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) out of her deck and placing it in the graveyard.

'When Death Bus Departing the Underworld Bound for the Living World is sent to the graveyard, I can target one monster in either player's graveyard, except Death Bus Departing the Underworld Bound for the Living World and shuffle that target into the deck. I'll use this effect to take Yubel from my graveyard and return it to my deck,' she announced as she took her own card from the graveyard and returned it to her deck.

'I'll set two cards,' concluded Yubel. (3 cards in hand, 2 on field [2 – S/TZ], 12 in graveyard, 3 banished)

'I draw,' stated Osamu's father as he took a card from his deck before a grin grew on his face.

'By excluding one light dragon-type monster and one dragon-type normal monster from my graveyard, I can special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Usir Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 7/ATK 2600/DEF 700) from my hand. I'll also exclude three dragon-type normal monsters from my graveyard to special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Setekh Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Level 8/ATK 2800/DEF 2000) from my hand. Lastly, by excluding one light monster and one dark monster from my graveyard, I can special summon Chaos Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 8/ATK 3000/DEF 2500) from my hand,' he continued as he started taking cards from his graveyard.

He removed Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 400) and Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon (Dragon/Light/Level 8/ATK 0/DEF 0) for Hieroglyphic Dragon - Usir Dragon. He then removed Trihorn Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350), Evil Knight Dragon (Dragon/Dark/Level 7/ATK 2350/DEF 2400), and Hieroglyphic Seal of the Dragon King (Dragon/Gemini/Light/Level 6/ATK 0/DEF 0) for Hieroglyphic Dragon - Setekh Dragon. Finally he removed God Dragon Apocalypse (Dragon/Effect/Dark/Level 4/ATK 1000/DEF 1500) and Eclipse Wyvern (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1000)for Chaos Soldier -Envoy of the Beginning.

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Usir Dragon was the first to show on the field. Usir was a long dark orange scaled dragon with locked chains around its body and had a green face. Next was Hieroglyphic Dragon - Setekh Dragon, who was a two legged yellow bird-like dragon with orange colored armor pads. Lastly, Chaos Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning materialized onto the field. Chaos Soldier was covered head to toe in blue and gold armor with a long silver and gold sword in his hand.

'Since Eclipse Wyvern was excluded from the graveyard, I can add Holy Knight Dragon (Dragon/Light/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2300)back to my hand and I'll use the Magic Ancient Rule to special summon him to the field,' Osamu's father said as he summoned a light purple pterodactyl looking dragon to his field in attack position.

'I'll follow this off with the Continuous Magic Sacred Belt, which means that the activation of all light monsters' effects cannot be negated. Now I activate Chaos Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning's effect. Once per turn I can choose one monster on the field and exclude it from the game. So say goodbye to E-HERO Edgeman!'

Chaos Soldier shot a beam from his sword at Elemental HERO Edgeman causing the hero to disappear through a swirling portal.

'Since Chaos Soldier used its effect this turn I can't use it to attack, but I still have other monsters. Hieroglyphic Dragon - Setekh Dragon, Hieroglyphic Dragon - Usir Dragon, Holy Knight Dragon, and Lightlord Beat Wolf direct attack!

'Activate Instant Magic Scape Goat! This special summons four Sheep Tokens (Beast-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) on my field in defense position,' swiftly interrupted Yubel as four different colored sheep tokens appeared on the field and saved them from the direct attack.

Seeing the attempt at a direct attack was stopped, Osamu's father had no choice but to attack the tokens instead.

'Destroy those Sheep Tokens!' he commanded as all four monsters destroyed each sheep token, leaving their opponents' field wide open.

'Turn end,' he finished. (0 cards in hand, 5 on field [4 – MZ/ 1 – S/TZ], 19 in graveyard, 7 banished)

Judai knew his next draw had to count or else they would be taking some serious damage to their life points. Judai placed his fingers on the deck and closed his eyes, hoping for the card that he needed.

'Draw!' announced Judai as he drew the card and opened his eyes to see what it was.

'I play the Magic Pot of Greed and draw two cards!' Judai said as he drew two more cards from his deck.

"Yes, I got it!" exciting thought Judai when he saw the two cards he just drew.

'First I summon Gladial Beast Torax (Fish/Effect/Water/Level 3/ATK 1400/DEF 400) in attack mode!'

Gladial Beast Torax looked like a blue and cream colored blow fish with silver line patterns all around his body and carried a unique looking staff in his hand.

'Now I'll play the Magic Card Fusion! By sending the fusion material monsters that are listed on a fusion monster card from my hand or side of the field to the graveyard, I can special summon that fusion monster from my extra deck. I'll be fusing Gladial Beast Retiari (Aqua/Effect/Water/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 800) and E-HERO Prisma (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 5/ATK 1700/DEF 1100)from my hand to fusion summon E-HERO Absolute Zero (Warrior/Fusion/Effect/Water/Level 8/ATK 2500/ DEF 2000) in attack mode,' he shouted with excitement as the fusion snow white and blue warrior hero appeared on the field.

'That's not all! E-HERO Absolute Zero gains five hundred attack points for each face-up water monster on the field except itself so because I have Gladial Beast Torax on my field, Absolute Zero's attack goes up to three thousand!'

'Foolish boy, you seemed to have already forgotten Chaos Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning's effect. Once per turn I can choose one monster on the field and exclude it from the game and I choose E-HERO Absolute Zero!' stated Osamu's father as Chaos Soldier sent a beam at Absolute Zero causing him to disappear like Edgeman in a swirling vortex.

'Actually I was counting on you doing that,' retorted Judai with a smirk, 'When E-HERO Absolute Zero leaves the field all monsters my opponent controls are destroyed.'

'What?' Osamu's father asked in disbelief as he watched all five monsters get destroyed.

'Now Gladial Beast Torax, direct attack!'

'It won't be that easy. Activate Permanent Trap Flashing Illusion! I can target one Lightlord monster in my graveyard and special summon that target in face-up attack position. I'll be bringing back Lightlord Dragon Gragonith (Dragon/Effect/Light/Level 6ATK 2000/DEF 1600)! And if you remember I have eight different Lightlords in my graveyard so its attack goes to forty-four hundred! Now, do you want to continue that attack?' Osamu's mother mocked causing an irritated sound to come from Judai's mouth.

'Gladial Beast Torax, stand down. I set one card and end my turn,' stated Judai as Torax immediately ceased its attack. (0 cards in hand, 2 on field [1 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 15 in graveyard, 3 banished)

'My turn, draw,' proclaimed Osamu's mother, plucking the top card from her deck.

A huge grin formed on her face when she saw the card she had just drawn.

'It's finally here!' she said in eagerness causing her husband to grin, while Judai and Yubel prepared for what they both knew was coming.

'I'll start by summoning Lightlord Druid Aurkus (Beat-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1800) in attack mode!' Osamu's mother began as the human looking male in white prince clothing with golden arrangements and a gray colored book carried in his hand came to the field.

'With at least four different Lightlords in my graveyard, I can special summon the mighty Judgment Dragon (Dragon/Effect/Light/ATK 3000/DEF 2600)from my hand!' she announced as the massive furry white winged four legged dragon with sharp red claws emerged on the field glowed in a white light.

'Judgment Dragon, attack Gladial Beast Torax!'

Judgment Dragon launched a huge ball of light from its mouth towards Torax; luckily Judai was ready for it.

'I activate the Instant Magic Charge! With this I can increase Gladial Beast Torax's attack by seven hundred,' rebutted Judai making Torax's attack rise to twenty-one hundred just before it was destroyed by the powerful dragon's attack causing eight-hundred point damage.

'Lightlord Dragon Gragonith, Lightlord Druid Aurkus, direct attack!'

Aurkus charged at Yubel making her flinch slightly as twelve-hundred points of damage was dealt to her. Unfortunately when Lightlord Dragon Gragonith shot a huge powerful colored beam from its mouth at its target, it caused both Yubel and Judai pain as their life points were hit with forty-four hundred attack point damage.

'Judai, are you alright?!' Yubel asked worryingly as she turned to Judai.

'Yeah, I think so,' answered Judai as he tried to shake off the aftershock from the attack.

'Too bad you can't say the same for your parents. That's five shots I get to make,' she told them in a cruel voice as she turned to her accomplices.

'His father gets three shots, one in the chest, shoulder, and leg. His mother gets the remaining two, one in her stomach, and in her upper arm,' instructed Osamu's mother.

Judai quickly turned his head when the five shots were made as his parents cried out in pain. Those screams were louder than the ones before, letting Judai know that those shots had indeed been deadly. Judai couldn't help but look at his parents to see what damage had been done, unfortunately he regretted it instantly. Blood was pouring out of the wounds that the bullets made and his parents' faces were twisted in pain no matter how much they tried to hide it. Now more than ever, Judai wanted this duel to be over. His earlier fear that his parents were going to die for sure came back stronger than ever. Despite that Judai knew that he couldn't afford to lose it now, or else the slim chance that his parents may have to live would surely be gone.

'At my end phase via Gragonith, Aurkus, Judgment Dragon, and Flashing Illusion's effects, eleven cards are sent from my deck to my graveyard. And since I sent a card from my deck to the graveyard by a Lightlord's effect, Light Resilence causes you both to exclude another card from the top of your decks,' Osamu's mother explained with a joyful smile, as Yubel took the Trap Pitfall of Naraku and Judai took Rescue Cat (Beast/Effect/Earth/Level 4/ATK 300/DEF 100) from the game.

She was even more pleased when she saw what cards had been sent to her graveyard. Permanent Trap Proclamation of the Royal Palace, Lightlord Hunter Raiko (Beast/Effect/Light/Level 2/ATK 200/DEF 100), Lightlord Spirit Shire (Fairy/Effect/Light/Level 3/ATK 400/DEF 1400), Magic Reinforcements of Light, Continuous Magic Sacred Belt, Lightlord Angel Cherubim (Fairy/Effect/Light/Level 5/ATK 2300 /DEF 300), Lightlord Warrior Garos (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1850/DEF 1300), Equip Magic Light Eraser, Lightlord Magician Leila(Spellcaster/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 200), Instant Magic Convening of Light, and Lightlord Priest Jenis (Spellcaster/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 300/DEF 2100) had all been sent to the graveyard from her deck.

'Since I now have eleven different Lightlords in my graveyard, Grogonith's attack goes to fifty-three hundred. Also because Lightlord Priest Jenis was sent to the graveyard from my deck by the effect of a Lightlord monster, it inflicts five hundred points of damage to my opponent and we gain five hundred life points. Turn end,' she finished with a satisfied expression on her face. (1 card in hand, 4 on field [3 – MZ, 1 – S/TZ], 42 in graveyard, 1 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 100, Osamu Father/Mother: 2000)

'I play the Instant Magic Cyclone from my hand and activate the Trap Card Large Tornado of Dust on my field to destroy Flashing Illusion and Sacred Belt on the field. Also because of Large Tornado of Dust, I can set one magic or trap card,' she began as Lightlord Gragonith Dragon was removed from the field because Flashing Illusion was destroyed.

'I set one more card, turn end,' (1 card in hand, 2 on field [2 – S/TZ], 15 in graveyard, 4 banished)

Without a word, Osamu's father drew his card and a delighted look came to his face.

'Perfect, I activate the Magic Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Chaos Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 8/ATK 3000/DEF 2500)!'

Yet just as Chaos Soldier returned to the field, Judai quickly activated his set card.

'Counter Trap, God's Pronouncement! When a monster would be summoned or a magic/trap card is activated, I can pay half my life points to negate the summon or activation and destroy it,' replied Judai.

The image of an elderly man appeared on Judai's field before lightening came from his hands and destroyed Chaos Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. Judai couldn't help the tiny smile that came to his lips at the irony of what just happened. Osamu's father however didn't like it one bit causing him to become livid.

'Lightlord Druid Aurkus, direct attack!'

'Activate Instant Magic Blazes of Demise! This special summons two Black Flame Tokens (Fiend-Type/DARK/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in defense position,' countered Yubel as she reveled one of her face down cards.

The two black flamed monsters appeared on the field and prevented Aurkus from launching a direct attack. This made the man growl in frustration at the hindrance as he resumed his battle phase.

'Lightlord Druid Aurkus, Judgment Dragon attack those Black Flame Tokens!'

The two monsters did as told and destroyed the tokens, which left Judai and Yubel currently vulnerable.

'I end my turn,' Osamu's father said bitterly. (0 cards in hand, 0 on field, 26 in graveyard, 7 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 50, Osamu Father/Mother: 2000)

'The rest is up to you Judai,' commented Yubel as she looked at the boy in earnestness to which Judai nodded in understanding.

'Here goes everything,' mumbled Judai as his hand inched closer to his deck.

As his fingers gripped the edge of the card, Judai did a silent prayer in hopes of getting the card that would let to their victory.

'Draw!' exclaimed Judai, taking the card from the deck.

Looking at the card in his hand, Judai couldn't help but smile knowing that his prayer had been answered.

'I activate the Magic Card Miracle Fusion! By excluding from my side of the field or graveyard the fusion material monsters listed on an E-HERO fusion monster card, I can summon that fusion monster and treat it as a fusion summon! I exclude E-HERO Prisma and E-HERO Airman from my graveyard!' shouted out Judai in excitement as the two heroes were removed from the game to bring forth a new Elemental HERO.

'It's time to show you what a real light monster looks like! I fusion summon E-HERO The Shining (Warrior/Fusion/Effect/Light/Level 8/ATK 2600/DEF 2100)!'

Elemental HERO The Shining appeared in a bright yellow light that surrounded him as he took a ready battle stance. The Shining was a white colored warrior that had red gems engraved on his body and attacked to his back was an actual golden circular ark in the shape of the sun.

'E-HERO The Shining gains three hundred attack for each of my E-HERO monsters excluded from the game and I have four so E-HERO The Shining's attack goes up to thirty-eight hundred!' Judai declared as The Shining's body glowed a bright white as its attack increased.

'That still won't be enough to beat us,' mocked Osamu's mother, nonetheless Judai ignored them and went on the attack.

'E-HERO The Shining attack Judgment Dragon!' Judai commanded, which the hero eagerly obeyed as its glowing form launched itself at the white dragon and destroyed it.

'Turn end,' finished Judai as The Shining returned back over to Judai's field.(0 cards in hand, 1 on field [1 - MZ], 17 in graveyard, 6 banished)(LP: Judai/Yubel: 50, Osamu Father/Mother: 1200)

'It's my turn!' Osamu's mother said with frustration as she drew her next card.

'I activate the Normal Magic Jar of Avarice! I select five monsters in my graveyard, shuffle them into my deck, and draw two cards,' she stated as she returned Judgment Dragon, Lightlord Dragon Gragonith, Lightlord Beast Wolf, Lightlord Magician Leila, and Lightlord Warrior Garos back to her deck and drew two cards.

'Looks like luck is on my side, because I still have at least four different Lightlords in my graveyard I can special summon Judgment Dragon in attack mode and I'll activate its effect!' proclaimed Osamu's mother as the dragon once more returned to the field with a mighty roar.

However before Judgment Dragon's effect could resolve, it was interrupted by Yubel.

'Don't waste anymore of our time, this duel is over. Activate Trap Last Battle!' Yubel said in all seriousness, while revealing her final set card.

'This card can only be activated during my opponent's turn when my life points are one thousand or less. First I select one monster on my side of the field and send all other cards on the field and in their respective owner's hands to their respective graveyards. That monster I'm selecting is E-HERO The Shining,' Yubel told them as Elemental HERO The Shining was the only one left on the field.

This angered Osamu's mother greatly, not only did she lose Judgment Dragon already but she had to discard the Lightlord Dragon Gragonith card she had just drawn along with Judgment Dragon as well. Nevertheless, Yubel had more than that waiting for them.

'After that, my opponent selects and special summons one monster from their deck in face-up attack position and attacks the selected monster,' continued Yubel.

Osamu's parents were not happy one bit as they knew that they had no monsters left in their decks that could beat Elemental HERO The Shining.

'Fine, then I summon Rabidragon (Dragon/Light/Level 8/ATK 2950/DEF 2900),' Osamu's father stated as a winged yellow and white four legged dragon appeared on his side of the field.

'And I summon Lightlord Beast Wolf (Beast-Warrior/Effect/Light/Level 4/ATK 2100/DEF 300),' announced Osamu's mother causing the wolf-like warrior to came to her field.

Without needing a command, the two monsters immediately went to attack Elemental HERO The Shining. However, The Shining easily overpowered and destroyed them, leaving him the only monster left on the field once again.

'Our life points are still intact?' Osamu's father noted with a bit of surprise.

'That's because any battle damage from this battle is treated as zero,' explained Yubel causing a smirk to appear on the faces of Osamu's parents.

'Then we still have a change to win,' Osamu's mother said happily, yet Yubel was more than willing to disappoint them

'Fools, you already lost,' she retorted with a smirk.

'What are you talking about, we still have life points!' Osamu's father yelled in outrage causing Yubel's smirk to become wider.

'The affect of Last Battle, the player whose monster remains alone on the field at the End Phase of this turn wins the Duel,' gleefully revealed Yubel, knowing that the duel was theirs.

With nothing left to play, Osamu's mother's turn ended making Judai and Yubel the victors of the duel. (0 cards in hand, 0 on field, 45 in graveyard, 1 banished)(Instant Win: Winners: Judai/Yubel)

Even though Yubel and he won the duel, Judai couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was very wrong. Yet it wasn't until he looked at Osamu's parents that he understood why he felt that way.

"The Light of Ruin is still in them!" Judai realized with dread.

Judai didn't know what to make of this turn of events. Usually when he won the duel, the Light of Ruin would immediately leave the person. Yet noticing that their faces showed nothing but hate and malice was a sure sign that Osamu's parents were still under its influence. Understanding that his parents were still in plenty of danger, Judai took the chance to make a run towards his parents while Osamu's parents were still recovering from the duel.

'Judai, stay back!' warned Yubel, which made Judai stop right in place as he noticed what Yubel was about to do.

Judai quickly moved out of the way as green sharp thorny vines extended from Yubel and headed straight for the men that were near Judai's parents.

'Kill them now!' Osamu's father shouted when he saw what was happening, which caused Judai's eyes to widen in fright.

'No, leave them alone!' yelled Judai in fear as he saw the men getting ready to shoot.

Fortunately, the vines reached the men before they could fire and wrapped tightly around them making them immobile. With the men tied up, Judai made a bee line towards his parents and began to untie them. This angered Osamu's parents even more as they pulled out guns from their person and aimed at Judai, however Judai didn't notice this as he was too busy trying to untie his parents.

'Judai, move!' his parents and Yubel shouted in warning causing Judai to finally notice the two guns that were aimed right at him.

Unfortunately, seeing the guns pointed towards him made Judai freeze up in fear, which gave Osamu's parents the opportunity to make a clear shot. Reacting quickly, his parents managed to shove their son out of the way and took the bullets themselves.

'Otōsan, Okāsan!' cried out Judai in sorrow before turning angry eyes to Osamu's parents.

'How dare you! How dare you hurt them!' shouted Judai as anger began to bubble inside of him.

'As we've said before, you killed our son so we're getting our retribution!' Osamu's mother yelled back with her own furry.

This only angered Judai more as his eyes changed from brown to a haunting gold.

'I'm not talking to you! I'm taking to the Light of Ruin! You're the puppets, I want the puppet master!' Judai demanded in a commanding voice.

'Enough of your lies, it's time we end you and your parents!' Osamu's father barked as he and his wife pulled the triggers on their guns once more.

Though this time the bullets never reached any target as waves of darkness formed a barrier around Judai and stopped the bullets in its tracks. This not only surprised Osamu's parents, but Judai's own parents as well.

'You won't lay a finger on anyone!' proclaimed Judai as his golden eyes glowed and winds started forming around him.

Seeing this display of power from the child did not deter the two couple, in fact it had made them even more desperate and irate to get rid of him. They continued to shoot bullet after bullet, yet just like before the bullets were stopped by a barrier of dark waves. Nonetheless, Judai had had enough of this. He was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted from everything that was going on this night and he just wanted it all to stop.

'I just want the Light of Ruin to leave me and my family alone!' mentally screamed Judai in frustration as his fatigue and resentment was growing.

As if answering his desire, Judai suddenly felt a strong burst of power come from inside of him. That power burst was giving his whole entire being extra energy. The strange thing for Judai was that this power didn't feel like it was the Gentle Darkness but something else. Yet at the moment Judai didn't question it only accepted the power boost. As if a mental instruction was given to him, Judai knew exactly what to do.

'I want you out of here now!' proclaimed Judai as that same power began coursing through his body before it was concentrated in his hands.

Judai immediately lifted his arms forward toward Osamu's parents before two brilliant bright white beams of light shot out from his hands. Judai had been monetarily surprised that the beam was white instead of black, but Judai felt nothing but goodness from it and so he quickly returned to the matter at hand. As the beams made contact with Osamu's parents, they started making an inhuman scream as though they were in extreme pain. Judai quickly realized that the beam was actually hurting the Light of Ruin and not Osamu's parents. With this in mind, Judai knew this power was the key to removing the Light of Ruin from Osamu's parents once and for all. Judai's features scrunched up in concentration as he focused on the source of the power that he was using. When he did this, Judai not only discovered that the source of the power was held inside of him, but that the power felt like another presence instead. Discovering this, Judai decided to try and communicate with this other presence.

"Please help me get rid of the Light of Ruin," Judai begged in his mind, hoping the presence would respond to his plea.

To Judai's relief, he felt the power fluctuate inside him before hearing a voice inside his head.

"Command with my authority and power," a soft yet powerful voice whispered back to Judai.

Judai gave a mental nod back in understanding and his face became strictly firm.

'Leave them now!' commanded Judai in an authoritative tone as the light shooting from his hands became larger and brighter.

The inhuman screams that Osamu's parents had been making, only got worse as they went down on their knees with their faces contorted with pain. Soon a white aura surrounded the couple and a shapeless being of light began coming out of their bodies screeching.

'Get out!' Judai commanded again with even more strength behind his voice.

The shapeless white being soon expelled from Osamu's parents completely, rendering them unconscious and left through the ceiling of the house with a painful agonizing sound left behind in everyone's ears. With the Light of Ruin finally gone, the beams of light stopped coming from Judai's hands and he soon collapsed onto his knees in fatigue. After Yubel had easily disposed of the other men, she rushed over to Judai's side right away. She had seen the whole spectacle that transpired and knew Judai had to be beyond tired.

'Rest my love,' Yubel suggested as she knelt down and pulled Judai into her bosom.

Judai was tempted to do just that and almost allowed his eyes to close and enjoy Yubel's embrace. However, he soon remembered his parents and slowly pulled away from Yubel's hold.

'Not yet Yubel, I have to check on my parents first,' Judai told her with a determined look on his face.

Yubel sighed at this, but knew that there was no point in trying to change his mind. So instead she helped Judai rise to his feet and lead him closer to where his parents were. Seeing their son approach them, they slowly laid themselves up from the ground and looked at him with small smiles of relief.

'Otōsan, Okāsan, how are you doing?' asked a concerned Judai once he kneeled down in front of his parents.

'That's a stupid question to ask them Judai,' quickly rebuked Yubel with a roll of her eyes causing Judai to blush slightly from embarrassment.

'Right, sorry,' Judai murmured, agreeing that it was indeed a ridiculous thing to ask.

His parents just smiled more at this before opening their mouths to speak.

'Judai, we're so proud of you,' his father said with pride as he looked at Judai.

Yet this made Judai frown as guilt immediately hit him.

'Don't be, it was my fault you both got hurt,' responded Judai as he lowered his head in shame.

Judai's parents did not like what their son just said and his mother quickly lifted up his head so he would look directly at her.

'It is not your fault you hear me Judai, so don't you dare say that!' she replied strongly with a strict expression across her face.

'But…'

Before Judai could utter another word, his father immediately cut him off.

'Judai, it's because of you that we didn't get hurt any worse than we did. We saw tonight just how strong you really are and that's why we are so proud of you,' his father explained with a kind and sincere voice making Judai look at his parents in awe.

'So you believe me about everything?' Judai questioned his parents, wondering if they had accepted the story that he told them about the Light of Ruin and Gentle Darkness.

His parents knew exactly what he was referring to and in all honestly some of it they had trouble fully accepting, but they felt that that was irrelevant at this point.

'We believe in you Judai. That's all that really matters,' his mother commented as she brought her son into her arms to comfort him.

Yubel held back a retort at the obvious diversion of them answering the question. She understood that Judai needed that comfort right now so she just settled for silently watching them.

'I love you, Mama, Papa,' Judai said as a few tears came from his eyes while he buried himself in deeper into his mother's chest.

They both had been a bit surprised at the way Judai just changed the way he addressed them and realized that their son felt even closer to them now more than ever.

'We love you too Judai. Don't ever forget that,' his father stated while running his hand briefly through Judai's hair in an affectionate manner.

'I won't, I promise,' was the muttered reply from Judai as more tears came down his cheeks.

By being this close to his mother's body, Judai had felt all the blood that came from her chest and arm wounds and had been reminded of how much his parents were hurt. It was then however that a thought accorded to him.

"Maybe they can still be healed!" thought Judai with some hope.

He knew that his powers could heal, the problem was that he already was drained and that his parents' injuries would take a lot of power to completely repair. However he remembered how the good light that was in him had helped him against the Light of Ruin and instantly tried talking to the presence of that light again.

"Please help my parents," pleaded Judai with all his might, praying that the presence would help him once again.

Unfortunately, Judai did not get the answer that he wanted to hear.

"It is their time. I already told you this," answered the voice with a gentle but firm tone, letting Judai know that the statement was true.

Judai didn't understand at first when the presence said that it had already told him his parents' fate, especially when he just recently started hearing the voice. Yet when he thought back to his earlier break down that night and how he was so sure his parents were going to die it had hit him like a ton of bricks. The presence in him hadn't told him verbally, the notion had been placed strongly into his very spirit from the beginning and that's why he had broken down. This revelation broke the dam as Judai began to cry even harder and sobs escaped his mouth as he took a strong grip of his mother's blouse.

'Judai sweetie, what's wrong?' his mother asked in concern when she noticed how sad Judai had gotten all of a sudden.

Judai lifted his head a bit to stare at his mother with two streams of tears running down the side of his face.

'Even after everything that I tired, you're still going to die! I couldn't save you! I'm so sorry!' Judai told them with remorse written all over his face.

Both parents frowned at this, knowing for themselves that their deaths were imminent, though that didn't stop them from trying to sooth their son's pain.

'I admit we are pretty damaged. But that doesn't mean we may not survive,' his father said, trying to console Judai, however this just made a bittersweet smile form on his lips.

'You don't have to try and make me feel better. The voice already told me it was your time to go,' responded Judai sadly.

Judai's statement sparked his parents and Yubel's interest as they did not know anything about the voice that Judai just mentioned.

'What voice?' his mother asked on behalf of everyone.

'The voice of the presence of the white light that's inside of me,' Judai answered causing contemplating expression to show on his parents' faces and a troubled look on Yubel's.

As if sensing Yubel's concerns, Judai turned his face toward her with a reassuring smile.

'I can tell that this light is good and it is what helped me get rid of the Light of Ruin,' explained Judai, yet Yubel still wasn't sure.

'And how is this light inside of you when you are of darkness?' questioned Yubel seriously.

Judai closed his eyes in concentration as he focused on the auras that were in him.

'Well, I can still feel the Gentle Darkness inside of me too. This light just feels like it's directly in the center of the darkness,' Judai elaborated as best as he could to Yubel.

Nonetheless it was his parents who eventually figured out exactly what Judai was referring to.

'It's the Holy Spirit Judai,' claimed his father with a look of comprehension shown on his features.

'I agree. It makes sense. The true light always shines its best and brightest in the darkness,' his mother added to give him more insight into it.

Judai took his parents' words into consideration. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Holy Spirit is the part of God that is supposed to reside in every believer. Judai remembered that the Holy Spirit is also the one that supposed to guide you and communicates with you. To Judai, those characteristics fit the presence perfectly.

"Though I admit I didn't think having Him in you would be like this," pondered Judai, thinking about how straightforward interacting with the Holy Spirit had been.

'I think you're right,' Judai agreed with a light smile, which his parents returned with smiles of their own.

'You are going to be just fine Judai. I know you'll grow up to be a wonderful person,' commented his mother with assurance.

'That's right; remember that you are never alone. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you and Yubel too,' his father added as he took a momentary glance at Yubel, who simply gave a nod of affirmation to the man.

'Thank you Mama, Papa, I'm going to miss you,' said Judai as he wiped away the remaining tears from his face.

'Oh Judai, we may not be with you physically but we'll always be with you in spirit,' his mother replied in a comforting voice.

'We'll see each other again so don't think of this as a permanent goodbye alright?' his father told Judai.

Hearing this made Judai feel a little better knowing that his parents' words were true. After all he had seen more than enough spirits to prove that there was a life after death.

"Maybe I might even see their spirits one day," thought Judai before he looked at his parents with resolve in his eyes.

Judai wasn't sure exactly how long his parents would stay alive. The blood was still oozing from their wounds and even though his parents were hiding it, Judai knew they had to be in tremendous pain. He knew the rational thing to do would be to call the police and an ambulance. Yet there were a few issues that would come up if he did that. The first problem would be trying to explain the events without including Yubel or the Light of Ruin. Not only would telling the law about Yubel cause trouble for him, but Judai didn't think it was fair that Osamu's parents might go to jail because they were being used. Another problem was that if he called an ambulance, they would rush his parents to the hospital and he most likely wouldn't get a chance to spend any time with them before they died. And lastly, Judai wasn't sure what they would do with him after his parents were gone. Since the only closest relatives that he had lived all the way in America, Judai figured he would end up there.

"Yeah, I don't think I can deal with all of that right now," concluded Judai as he came to a decision.

'Can I stay with you?' Judai asked, both parents quickly understanding what their son really wanted.

'Of course you can Judai,' positively answered his mother with a look of sympathy on her face.

Judai then faced Yubel with a somber but weary expression on his face.

'Yubel, could you please take care of everything for me?' he asked her, knowing that he could trust Yubel to handle all of the loose ends.

Yubel gave a groan realizing she had just been given all the grunt work.

'I'll do it, but don't get used to it,' Yubel told Judai seriously, letting the boy know to not make it a habit for her to take care of all the messes.

Judai gave Yubel a grateful smile and uttered his thanks before lying himself into his mother lap and closing his eyes to rest. Seeing that Judai was on his way to sleep, Yubel decided to deal with the job Judai had left her. As she went over to the still unconscious people in the room, Judai's father spoke.

'Thank you for protecting our son,' he told Yubel with appreciation to the duel monster shown on his face.

'We know that you'll keep him safe,' his mother said with the same amount of gratitude showing on her face.

Yubel used her vines to tie up the men once more before deciding to carry Osamu's parents in her arms. Ideas of painful ways to dispose of them came to her mind as she wanted to teach these people what happens when they messed with her Judai. Even though she was sure Judai wouldn't approve of what she planned to do to them, she believed her reasons were more than justified. As she was prepared to leave with her cargo, she briefly turned towards Judai's parents.

'I will always protect Judai,' was the last thing Yubel said before she left.

When Yubel had returned to the house hours later, her eyes gazed despondently at the sight before her. Judai was heavily crying and shaking as he was held by the arms of his now deceased parents.

A few stray tears had slipped out from Judai's eyes at the remembrance of that night, yet Judai quickly brushed them away as he refused to let any more tears fall. He refused to let himself fall into grief again; he would not break his promise to Yubel. Thinking of Yubel and all she had said to him brought a look of resolve and purpose to his eyes as he stared at the gravestone.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure the Light of Ruin is destroyed once and for all. I promise you that I won't let your deaths be in vain," Judai proclaimed.

Hearing a crunching sound coming from his clenched hand reminded Judai that he was still holding the bouquet of flowers that he planned to put on the grave. Judai noticed however that the bouquet had been slightly damaged from the vice-like grip that he had it in. Not wanting to put damaged flowers on the grave, Judai brought the bouquet in his line of sight before closing his eyes in concentration. Small tendrils of darkness began to cover the areas were the flowers had been broken and started swiftly repairing them. When the job was done, Judai opened his eyes and was pleased to see that the flowers were not only fixed but now seemed to have gained new life to them. Greatly satisfied, a small smile graced Judai's lips as he placed the bouquet on the gravesite.

"I love you both very much. I swear I'll make you guys proud."

Judai continued to gaze at the headstone before he felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder.

"It's time to go," Yubel said softly. Judai faced her and give her a nod in agreement.

Judai said a quick parting prayer before he stood back on his feet and looked at the grave one last time with a bittersweet smile on his lips.

"Goodbye Papa, Mama."

A/N: After this chapter I don't think I want to write another tag duel unless I have too. Seriously writing duels is hard work and it is what took me so long in doing this chapter, but at the same time they're fun to write also. Anyhow, the next chapter should take place when the anime starts, the Duel Academia Entrance Exams. Hope you guys are looking forward to it as much as I am!