Disclaimer: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.
Chapter 13 – Battle of the Great Dragons! Blackfeather vs. Red Daemon's!
"CROW!" Judai yelled out, just before the burning fist of X's Dragon made contact with Crow's D-Wheel and an explosion rang out. A huge fireball formed and changed into a smoke ball, which Judai quickly rode through in pursuit of X, seeing no traces of Crow anywhere.
"You bastard!" Judai yelled up to X, making the figure turn his head back to look at him. "You lashed out at my friend and you destroyed him for no reason! Now you pay!"
"You can have him when I'm fucking finished with him, Judai!" Crow's voice suddenly yelled out, as Crow emerged from the smoke and rocketed ahead of him to fall back into position for the duel, surprising the cybernetic entity.
"How did you survive that attack?" X then asked him, getting a check grin when a Trap Card beside Crow suddenly spun around and the image of his black armoured Synchro Monster appeared before him.
"I activated Feather Mirage," Crow explained. "This Trap Card lets me Special Summon 1 Black Feather monster from my Cemetery until the End Phase. I selected Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7); and as you know, his effect prevents him from being destroyed by battle or me taking battle damage."
"Until the End Phase, is it?" X then asked, sneering under his visor. "Well, then I won't waste my card on Plasma Viceman's effect (ATK: 2600, LV: 8). I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Then at the End Phase, Armoured Wing returns to the Cemetery," Crow stated, his monster fading out. "And now, it's my turn (Crow: 5 SPC/X: 5 SPC)!" Looking at his card for all of half a second, he slapped it down and said, "I Summon Black Feather – Blizzard of the North Pole (ATK: 1300, LV: 2)!" Shooting off the card, a white light transformed into a large gull-like bird with a big head complete with a black crown of feathers and a lining of black feathers on its wingtips.
"When this monster is Summoned successfully, I Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Black Feather Monster from my Cemetery. Come, Ghibli the Hot Wind (DEF: 1600, LV: 3)!" Right beside that bird then reappeared the one from earlier with black and red feathers and six wings. "Next, I Special Summon Black Feather – Blast of the Black Lance (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!"
A blue vortex appeared that released a tall, human-like bird with red feathers on its head, a long beak, long arms and legs with yellow feathers, blue-feathered wings and a black drill-like lance with 3 small wings on the handle. "If I control a Black Feather, I may Special Summon this card from my hand."
"Nine stars among three monsters," Judai reasoned, smiling. "He's trying again."
"Last time, this next creature hurt one of my closest friends," Crow explained. "However, I don't give a fuck about hurting you! I tune my Level 2 Blizzard of the North Pole to my Level 3 Ghibli of the Hot Winds and Level 4 Blast of the Black Lance!" The white bird then changed into two white orbs that became green rings, one heading over to each monster.
As the rings reached their target, they changed the bird-creatures into yellow outlines of themselves. Inside these outlines, 3 and 4 white orbs appeared respectively; and then the outlines disappeared and the green rings moved back together. The white orbs then followed, the seven of them living up vertically and changing into a column of light.
"Mighty dark winds of truth," Crow chanted, "become a dragon of true power and cast judgment upon the enemies of justice! Synchro Summon! Soar up, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" From the light then emerged a storm of black feathers around the gigantic black, grey and orange dragon from earlier, flapping its wings and making an eagle-like cry at the dragons behind it.
"Impossible!" X yelled out s Crow' Signer mark lit up and shone through his glove. "He summoned that dragon?!"
"Battle!" Crow then yelled, pointing at the black-clad sword-carrying warrior in front of X as he did so. "Blackfeather Dragon, attack Envoy of Darkness – Gorz (ATK: 2700, LV: 7)! Black Feather Flare!" The dragon then quickly formed a ball of energy in its mouth and proceeded to shoot black flames at the warrior, incinerating him and making the energy strike X. His form became blurry for a few seconds while the damage was tallied up.
Crow: LP 1400
X: LP 1400
"The Life Points are all squared up," Judai realized pleasantly just as the D-Wheels of Jack, Kyojo and Yusei pulled up parallel with him. All of them then gained the same look of total optimism when they saw the dragon and the scores, Kyojo even taking his hands off the controls to give Crow two thumbs up.
"Nice shootin' Tex!" he yelled up to Crow just as everyone's marks lit up to coincide with Crow's, who took the comment well. "You're in the home stretch if you can hold your ground with that dragon!"
"Then hold it I shall!" Crow yelled. "I end my turn!"
"You think your dragon makes a difference?!" X then yelled at Crow and the others, getting their attention and wiping the smiles from their faces. "That monster will not save you from the power of Infinity! It's my turn (Crow: 6 SPC/ X: 6 SPC)!" Pulling his card way back, he then placed it in the Cemetery.
"I activate the effect of Plasma Viceman!" X then declared, his warrior building up the electricity and shooting forward at the dragon. However, before it could hit its target, the dragon bathed its left wing in black flames and swung them at the warrior in a single blade-like strike, splitting it in half and making each piece explode.
"Nice try," Crow said, "but one in one turn Blackfeather Dragon can halve its ATK and DEF (ATK: 1600, DEF: 1250) to negate and destroy and card whose effect tries to destroy it!"
"A good trick," X stated, noting that he now only had his dragons. "But far from foolproof. Trap Card: Power Conduct! When a Fusion Monster is destroyed, I draw 2 cards!" Pulling 2 cards from his Deck, X then pointed at Crow's monster and said, "Battle! Red Daemon's (ATK: 3000, LV: 8), destroy Blackfeather Dragon!"
Roaring, one of the two dragons built up a fireball in its hand and swung the arm at the opposing dragon. Who in turn shot a blast of black flames off its right wing and struck the smaller beast, making it lose its fireball and knocking it back to its side of the field. "What's this? Blackfeather Dragon has another effect?!"
"Fucking A it does," Crow replied. "This dragon can skip Damage Calculation when it battles and just halve the ATK and DEF of the opposing monster (ATK: 1500, DEF: 1000). On other words, your Dragon is less powerful than mine now."
"Your monster is proving to be rather annoying," X deduced, the dragon that had just fought growling weakly while a glowing white scar across its chest became rather apparent. "I end my Battle Phase while one of my Red Daemon's Dragons still has its Original ATK (ATK: 3000). I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Draw (Crow: 7 SPC/X: 7 SPC)!" Crow declared, his Cemetery lighting up. "I activate the effect of Vayu of the Big Flag: I exclude it and one Black Feather non-Tuner monster to Special Summon 1 Black Feather Synchro Monster whose Level is the sum of theirs."
"You do what?" X asked as two cards slid out from Crow's Cemetery; the Monster called by name, and one that everyone could see had a white border. Beside Crow then appeared the spirit form of the black armoured monster as well as a staff-like glowing red rune, which the monster flew into.
"Prepare to meet Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" Flying through the red ring, the black monster instantly changed into a vertical column of seven white orbs that burst out into light, revealing instantly a tall thin form with wings. Shooting out from the light, the figure revealed itself as black-clad humanoid wearing dull yellow winged boots, white gloves with similar armbands and what carried a long curved sword. Its wings were composed of grey feathers, and its human face was hidden by a large dummy head of a black-feathered bird with reed eyes.
"Of course, Silver Wind doesn't get his effect," Crow stated cheekily, "but he'll do for points in this situation. Go, Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind, attack the weakened Red Daemon's Dragon! Black Winged Saber!" Jumping up and forward, the feathery monster was in perfect position to swing down upon the dragon when X responded with a Trap Card.
"Nice try, but I activate Synchro Reflect! I negate the attack and destroy a monster you control! And since I know you can negate this effect if I choose Blackfeather Dragon, I choose Lone Silver Wind!"
"That's exactly what I thought you'd do!" Crow yelled, waving his hand to make his set Trap Card emerge. "I activate Black Feather – Anchor! BY releasing a Black Feather, I give one Synchro Monster ATK equal to that of the Released monster until the End Phase! I Release Silver Wind and give his power to Blackfeather Dragon!"
With a battle cry, the warrior turned into a glowing black piece of energy and then shattered into thousands of feathers, which made their way to the dragon and were absorbed into it (ATK: 4400). AS the dragon assimilated these feathers, it gained a black aura and it growled while the Trap Card, having no target, shattered.
"He's got this one in the bag," Kyojo realized. "With that Tarp Card's effect and Synchro Reflect put out to pasture, he's ready to deliver the final blow!"
"Go, Blackfeather Dragon, attack the weakened Red Daemon's Dragon! Black Feather Flare!" The dragon the quickly built up a flare of black feathery energy and shot it at the red and grey dragon, striking it dead on and making it explode. However, X was ready with his other set card.
"Trap Card: Guard Block! I take no Battle Damage, and I draw one card from my Deck!" With that X pulled a card and a barrier formed around him, meaning the black flames never touched him.
"Damn," Jack cursed under his breath. "That was the perfect chance to wipe out X's Life Points."
"Don't worry," Judai stated. "With Blackfeather Dragon out, Crow is in a pretty good position."
"Yes," Yusei pointed out, "but X can change this around at any point. I have no doubt Crow will be in for some real problems by the end of this."
"I set 2 cards and end my turn," Crow said, looking confident. "The effect of Black Feather – Anchor then disappears and my Dragon loses its bonus (ATK: 1600), but I'm not too concerned."
"You should be!" X yelled. "Because this duel is about to go up a Level! It's my turn (Crow: 8 SPC/X: 8 SPC)! I activate Speed Spell – Energy Force! Because I have 8 Speed Counters, we both draw 3 cards!" Both duelists then reached for their decks and pulled 3 cards each in unison, with X then looking at his cards and sneered. "I activate Speed Spell – Power Baton! Because I have at least 6 SPC, I send 1 monster from my Deck to my Cemetery and have 1 monster I control gain its ATK."
"But you skip your next Draw Phase for that effect," Crow pointed out. "That makes no sense. Why would you bother?"
"Because the monster I'm sending to the Cemetery is Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon!" With everyone looking on in shocked horror, he produced the card from his Deck and inserted it into the Cemetery slot; the he took out another card and slapped it down. "I summon Jinhua Cat (ATK: 400, LV: 1)!"
"What the hell is this?" Jack asked. "How did he know I used that move?"
"I doubt it did," Yusei responded. "It simply seemed like a logical move." Beside the dragon in front of X then emerged a black blobby creature which everyone recognized as X explained,
"When Jinhua Cat is Summoned Successfully, I Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from my Cemetery. Appear now: Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" The blob then released light that changed into the form of the red teardrop-shaped dragon; then the blob itself morphed into a black duplicate of the creature.
"Prepare for the end! I tune my Level 1 Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon to my Level 8 Red Daemon's Dragon and my Level 1 Jinhua Cat!" X suddenly disappeared from his D-Wheel in a cloud of static just before all three of his monsters rose into the air, the red dragon increasing in size dramatically. As this occurred, a green ring formed at its core and the other two creatures rose into it, changing into outlines with 8 and 1 white orbs, respectively.
"Polished, lone light," X's voice chanted from up in the sky as the orbs all formed a straight line inside the rings and the body of the dragon burst out in light. "Become the true high ruler and illuminate the earth! Shine your light! Synchro Summon! Creation-shaking soul, Savior Demon Dragon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" From the light then emerged a much smaller version of Jack's ultimate dragon, with a darker colouration and a glowing Infinity symbol on its chest.
"What the hell is going on here?" Jack bellowed aloud as a storm of red electricity formed on the forehead of the creature, X's upper body materializing there. He appeared fused into the dragon and had a Duel Disc strapped to his left arm, but now his face was exposed; a face very much like that of Rex Godwin, but covered in the same circuit board pattern and coloured in red with black hair.
"I activate the effect of Savior Demon Dragon," X declared from atop the beast. "Once in one turn, I negate the effect of an opponent's monster and add its ATK to my own. Power Gain!" Roaring, the new four-winged dragon blasted its smaller rival with crimson flames, making it growl out in anger. "Your monster's power now returns to normal (ATK: 3200), so my Dragon gains 3200 ATK (ATK: 7200)!"
"This is very bad," Judai realized, pulling up even closer behind the auto-piloted empty D-Wheel. "He can't survive another hit. With Blackfeather's effect negated he can't stop the attack, and that Dragon cannot be destroyed by card effects either."
"Then he needs to think of something fast," Jack responded.
"Battle! I attack with Savior Demon Dragon!" In an instant the dragon let loose a torrential blast of crimson flames straight in the direction of the mostly black dragon, startling Crow as he tried to think of a solution. Suddenly, he had his answer.
"When my opponent selects a monster I control as an attack target," he yelled, holding up a monster card, "I can Special Summon Black Feather – Tempest of the Golden Shield in Attack Position (ATK: 100, LV: 1) and change it to the attack target!" Slapping down the card, he called forth a large crow-like bird with long golden wings and a section of golden armour all down its front.
The monster then crossed its wings and moved in front of the crimson flames, Crow adding, "Next I activate the Trap Card, Black Shield! My Back Feather is not destroyed by this battle, and I draw 1 card!"
"But even so," X yelled down as Crow pulled his card, "You still suffer the Battle Damage!"
"Not so," Crow explained, just as the flames slammed into the bird. "When Special Summoned in this way, once in one turn, I can make the Battle Damage from my opponent attacking this monster 0!"
"Alright!" Yusei yelled out after the flames dispersed. "He managed to salvage the duel!"
"You dare to trifle with the power of Infinity!" X yelled, clearly angry at Crow for his move.
"Your mockery of the Saviors is far worse of a crime," Crow yelled back. "The Signers are a symbol of the ultimate power that binds the Crimson Dragon and all the Signers together; no exceptions. Your cheap imitation of that Dragon is just further proof of the evil which is truly Infinity!"
"Let us see how that pans out, shall we?" X yelled, fading out into a cloud of static. A second later, he reappeared on his D-Wheel, minus the helmet, and he pulled 2 cards from his hand. "I set 2 cards and end my turn. During the End Phase, my Savior Demon Dragon reverts to its original form of Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)."
In a flash of light, the dragon roared out as it disappeared, the original dark grey and dark red dragon descending down to appear beside the D-Wheel. Turning back to his own Deck, Crow thought, "I can't afford anymore of these near misses; if I can't win in this turn, I don't think I will."
Reaching down, Crow grabbed the top card of his Deck and yelled back, "Hey X! If you want to see and experience the power of the Saviors first-hand, then be careful what you wish for! The union of the Signers I just spoke of: it will now appear! Come to me, Crimson Dragon's power, so I can eliminate this bastard!"
Glowing brightly, the marks of Jack and Yusei appeared off their arms, and elsewhere they could tell Luca and Aki's marks had also separated from them. On Crow's back then emerged the united Crimson Dragon's seal, and at that moment the top card of his Deck began to glow yellow.
"Draw (Crow: 9 SPC/X: 9 SPC)!" Crow yelled, snapping up the top card and holding it up to the sky before slapping it down onto the tray. "Appear now: Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" A burst of light then shot off the card and released the true version of the red teardrop-shaped dragon, rising up into the air instantly as with the other monsters.
"Now, I tune my Level 1 Savior Dragon to my Level 9 Blackfeather Dragon and my Level 1 Tempest of the Golden Shield!" The dragon then increased in size until it was as large as a commercial air liner, swallowing up the black dragon and the black and gold bird. The dragon then changed into 9 white orbs and the bird into one, all of them flying around wildly before forming a row of ten and the dragon burst out into light.
"Envoy and Master of the Divine Winds," Crow chanted, "Descend upon this earth to illuminate the darkness and destroy the apostles of darkness!" With that Crow burst out into a black aura as he and his D-Wheel disappeared in a burst of wind, and his voice continued from the sky, "Unleash the tempest! Synchro Summon! The winds of truth themselves, Savior Wing Dragon (ATK: 4100, LV: 11)!"
"Amazing!" Kyojo yelled up as the outlines of four black armoured wings covered in knife-like feathers broke through the light, followed by a long tail ending in a fan of the same feathers. With a regal cry, the entire wyvern burst through the light and revealed itself. The monster had almost its entire body covered in black armour, a wing-like pair of spikes jutting out from its hips just above the three-joined legs. Its face was identical to its smaller counterpart, but with a peacock-like train of black and orange feathers jutting out from it.
"Once in one turn," Crow yelled out from inside a black, feather-filled dimension within the dragon, "I negate the effect of an opponent's Effect Monster, and until the End Phase its ATK and DEF become 0!"
"What?!" X yelled as he realized the implications of that move.
"Wedge Burn!" With that the dragon formed a blade-like feather surrounded by black flames in its mouth and shot it at the smaller dragon, striking it in the chest and coating it in black flames (ATK: 0, DEF: 0).
"Why you…" X gritted aloud, secretly looking down at the cards before him. "But it's no big loss; when I activate Holy Barrier – Mirror Force, I'll destroy that monster and send Crow's Life Points crashing to zero in my next turn."
"I attack Red Daemon's Dragon with Savior Wing Dragon! Feather Storm Flare!" Roaring, the dragon kicked up a storm of black feathers around it that spiraled like a tornado before the dragon folded up its wings, shooting down towards the smaller monster.
"Trap Activate! Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" X yelled, flipping one of his cards.
"That's exactly what I thought," Crow responded, taking a card from his hand and placing it into the Cemetery. "When Savior Wing Dragon attacks, by discarding 1 card, I negate all opposing card effects and send all cards they control to the Cemetery!"
"What?!" X then yelled out as three feather-like blades shot off the whirlwind, striking all three cards before X and making them all disappear. At that point, X attempted to escape by dissolving his form and warping, but Judai saw this and triggered Yubel's powers. "No, I can't move!" Looking back, he saw the spirit form of Yubel had him by the arms, her wings wrapped around him and preventing him from going anywhere.
"No you cannot!" Judai responded, Yubel's eyes now over his own. "I've locked you in for the ride this time. Sayonara, X!" All X could do was scream defiantly as Yubel disappeared a split second before the dragon's whirlwind form crashed into and flew over his D-Wheel, immediately taking off again as the vehicle spun out and crashed into a wall.
Crow: LP 1400
X: LP 0
Everyone then stopped and spun their D-Wheels around to see X stagger off his own vehicle, still screaming as his entire body arced and grew hazy. His screams further warped until his body finally broke apart, dissolving into particles of electricity which then ceased to exist. "He's gone," Yusei deduced. "For real this time."
Having stopped one-hundred meters back, Paradox looked up at the gigantic black dragon passing overhead and thought, "It's show time!" He then swung a black card up into the air with his left hand, a black beam of energy shooting off of it and striking the dragon; but what came back down was a jolt of electricity from the monster, making Paradox grunt out in pain as the still-black card was knocked from his hand.
Hearing the sound, everyone turned and saw him there, glaring back at them. However, before anyone could react, Paradox lit up his eyes and blinded everyone, disappearing in the glare. When they opened their eyes, he was gone, and nobody could remember he had even been there.
A few meters away from where he had been, the dragon finally touched down on the road and changed into a blowing dome of feathers, being dispelled second later and revealing Crow there. The seal disappeared from his back and the marks returned to their owners, and then everyone shot over to where Crow was with smiles on their faces.
"Good job man!" Judai yelled out, jumping off his D-Wheel to high-five Crow.
"You managed to get rid of that creature for good," Jack stated. "But more importantly, you released the fourth Savior Dragon."
"And what's more," Yusei further added, "you successfully used Blackfeather Dragon and integrated it into your Deck effectively.
Back at the Poppo Time area roof, a look of awe suddenly came over Taiyou as he faded out, disappearing from the room. A bright flash of white light appeared and erased his surroundings, soon replacing them with the Dragon Temple in the Dominion of the Beasts.
"Has it come to pass?" he asked suddenly, noticing the spire that had originally held the Fifth Dragon had crumbled and a new one risen up in its place. Suddenly, he saw the entire thing burst out into a black glow and shoot a beam of black energy up to the sky, disappearing quickly to reveal a black spire with the outlines of the Blackfeather Dragon, and a larger, four-winged dragon, carved out in orange.
"Indeed it has," a familiar voice rang off to him, causing him to turn around. There, he saw the black and gold-clad form on Endymion, looking back at him with a solemn look on his face. "The new Signer has unlocked the Savior form of the new Dragon."
"That's excellent!" Taiyou said, ecstatic. "Then we just need to unlock the final Savior Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon's Ultimate form."
"Yes," Endymion said strongly, "but I fear Yliaster will now move more swiftly than ever, knowing that their enemy has grown even stronger. And you are part of that enemy."
"I can handle myself in battle," Taiyou answered to his master. "You of all beings should know that."
"Perhaps, but your real task is to help the Signers prepare. For that, you need a more challenging Deck than you have."
"So I see," was the man's reply as he pulled out the Deck from his Duel Disc and flung the cards everywhere, all of them disappearing after they all hit the floor of the temple. "Then I shall build a new Deck." With that a brand new compilation of 40 cards materialized into his hands one by one, which he then handed off to Endymion to inspect.
After quickly fanning through all 40 cards, he returned the Deck and declared, "I believe this will be sufficient for your task. Now return to them."
"Yes master," with that Taiyou crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed, the magician bowing in reply, and then Taiyou disappeared into the light again. When he reappeared on the roof, everyone was looking right at him.
"What the hell was that?" Aki then asked of him, looking on with the same interrogative stare as Johan, Kiryu, Yusuriha and the twins; to which Taiyou sneered and responded,
"The master sends his regards, for unlocking the fourth of the Savior Dragons." Everyone then gained a look of triumph and pleasure – they had known a Savior was unleashed, but they didn't know it was a new one. "That leaves only one Savior to unlock, Luca."
"I know," the young female Signer replied, in an almost embarrassed half-whisper. "I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to get the Savior unlocked; even Crow did so faster than me."
"Nonsense," was the Summoner Ghost's reply. "Your status as a child makes the others eager to step into the way of the enemy and protect you; that's why the master had me make a new Deck. It's my job to help you unlock it, for we know from Aki that any duel can unlock it with enough will."
"I'm afraid you little homework assignment will have to wait," a voice suddenly issued, making everyone turn to the south-facing wall. Suddenly appeared there, in a cloud of black and red electricity, the image of a duelist appeared with a Duel Disc strapped to his left arm.
"It's X," Johan realized. "That entity has returned; but how? It should have been destroyed by Crow by now."
"I'm guessing it's a separate piece of the same thing," Taiyou responded, his Duel Disc integrating onto his left hand. "X broke off a piece of itself as a sleeper cell; so meet the anti-Terrorist unit!" With that he raised his arm and the single blade folded out into three, producing Duel mode.
"So, you wish to take the challenge," the voice of X responded. "Very well; I shall make short work of you, spirit." With that his Duel Disc activated and its deck integrated, with both players then drawing 5 cards.
"Taiyou, what about the training?" Yusuriha then asked.
"Don't worry," he responded. "I won't take long."
"DUEL!" both players then yelled.
Taiyou: LP 4000
X: LP 4000
"I'll take this first move!" X declared, drawing a card and spinning it around. "I discard King of the Swamp and I activate its effect, and add 1 Fusion Spell Card to my hand." With that he placed the card into his Cemetery slot, and the card appeared in his hands for him to put with the others.
"Next, I activate Trade In. I discard 1 Level 8 monster, in this case Chaos Soldier, to draw 2 cards." X then proceeded to take the 2 mentioned cards and put them in the slot as well, pulling 2 new cards in doing so.
"Discarding a Ritual Monster?" Taiyou questioned. "He's setting something up."
"I activate the Magic Card, Dragon's Mirror. With that I exclude Fusion Material Monsters for a Dragon Sub-Type Fusion Monster from my field or Cemetery, and Fusion Summon said monster. I exclude Chaos Soldier and King of the Swamp, treating it as Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."
Behind X arose a mirror, in which the reflections of the blue card and the orange card appeared and swirled together before the entire mirror surface lit up. "Now, I Fusion Summon Master of Dragon Knight (ATK: 5000, LV: 12)!" Turning into a column of light, the mirror released a massive white three-headed dragon with a segmented body, blue eyes for each of its three heads and a red 'M' on each one's forehead. Standing on the centre head, there appeared a blue and yellow-clad warrior with a red ponytail, a curved sword and an ornate shield, who held reins for the dragon.
"One of the two strongest monsters in the game," Aki realized. "This will certainly be an uphill battle."
"I activate Magical Economic Technique," X then added. "Thus, I pay no Life Points to activate any Spell Card. I activate Bonds of Kinsmen, and to it I chain Spell Retract. By activating this Instant Magic, I double the effect of a Normal Magic Card. Thus, I Special Summon 4 Level 4 Dragons from my Deck in Defence Position!"
"What?" Lua asked. "That's ridiculous!"
"I Special Summon 3 Axe Dragonutes [(DEF: 1200, LV: 4) x3] and Lance Lindwurm (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" In two of the slots to the left of the dragon appeared black and purple human-like dragons wielding axes; in the other two opposite, a third black creature was joined by a green dragon wielding a spear. All 4 then turned blue.
"There's more; I activate Angel's Gift." Pulling three cards from his Deck, X then took his Fusion and a monster card and placed then in a Cemetery slot before playing a card he had drawn. "I activate the Equip Magic, Raregold Armour, and I Equip it to Master of Dragon Knight." With that golden armour pieces appeared on the body of the warrior riding the dragon as X explained, "You may now only attack the equipped monster."
"This is getting worse and worse," Johan realized. "At this rate, Taiyou won't have any way to fight back next turn."
"There's more!" X declared, playing his last card. "Permanent magic: Dragons Contract. During each Standby Phase, I gain 200 Life Points for every Dragon I control. Thus, I end my turn."
"Is that all?" Taiyou asked sarcastically, seeming exasperated at the move. "Seriously, I'd like to take my turn now so I can get you the hell out of my way! Draw!"
Taiyou: LP 4000
X: LP 5000
"Well, would you look at that," Taiyou observed, looking at his cards. "I have no monsters in my opening hand."
"No monsters?" Kiryu questioned. "What kind of Deck is he running?"
"Behold," Taiyou stated, tapping his Duel Disc to make a fourth blade shoot out. "Field Magic: Magical City Endymion!" With that the field changed into the enchanted city with floating buildings and a tall tower at its centre, in front of which appeared the floating card. "Next I activate Spider's Thread, and I activate the Angel's Gift from your previous turn!"
Looking on at X, Taiyou picked up three cards and took two of them – his only monsters, Divine Magician Deity Endymion and Crusader of Endymion – and deposited them into the Cemetery. "Now my City gains 2 Magic Counters." Two glowing purple orbs then appeared in front of the card as Taiyou continued.
"Magic Activate: Instant Fusion! I pay 1000 Life Points and I Fusion Summon Flame Swordsman (ATK: 1800, LV: 5)!" Out of a swirling vortex then appeared a blue-robed swordsman with red head gear and a red sword whose blade bore the Kanji of 'Honoo', while Taiyou: LP fell.
Taiyou: LP 3000
X: LP 5000
"Magic Activate: Summoner's Technique! With this I add 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster, in this case Black Magician, from my Deck to my hand!" As the two new orbs lit up on the card, he took the monster from his Deck and showed it, then held up a card. "Then, I Fuse Black Magician and Flame Swordsman!"
Appearing beside the warrior emerged a magician with tan skin and white hair who wore crimson armour and carried a green staff; the two then spiraled together, and out emerged a black and red armoured warrior with a jagged shield and a red long sword. "Met Knight of Black Flames – Black Flare Knight (ATK: 2200, LV: 6)! Battle!"
"What are you doing?!" Lua yelled out as Taiyou's warrior jumped up into the air and slashed at the warrior atop the dragon, who in turn cleaved it in half and caused it to explode. However, contrary to what people would have thought, Taiyou's Life Points were untouched.
"How did your Life Points remain?" X asked, with Taiyou sneering in reply.
"You need to research you cards better," Taiyou explained. "When Black Flare Knight battles, my Battle Damage becomes 0; and when it is destroyed by battle and sent to the Cemetery, it returns as the Knight of Illusions – Mirage Knight (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Where the knight had been then appeared a new warrior carrying a scythe and wearing yellow armour, including a shoulder pad much like his weapon and a long helm.
"Instant Magic!" Taiyou yelled. "Rush Recklessly! I add 700 ATK to my Mirage Knight (ATK: 3500)! Battle!"
"Your kamikaze strategy will prove ineffective against my real cards," X countered.
"Save the speech for Cyber Space," Taiyou explained, snapping out his last card. "Instant Magic: Battle by Two! Because your monster has twice the attack strength of mine, I double the ATK of Mirage Knight (ATK: 7000)!"
"Even so," X pointed out, "your move is a wash. Both monsters will be destroyed."
"Don't bet on it!" Taiyou yelled out. "I still have one last trick, courtesy of my Mirage Knight! Because it's battling an opponent's monster, it gains the original ATK of said monster (ATK: 12000)!"
"That can't be!" X yelled out as the knight dove into the air, swinging its scythe straight through the warrior vertically and slicing from its head straight down through it and the dragon. There was an explosion behind it as the scythe also carved through X, making him scream out right before he dissolved into particles of electricity, disappearing.
Taiyou: LP 3000
X: LP 0
"And that's the end of that whole fiasco," Taiyou concluded snidely, everyone smiling victoriously as the Solid Vision fell away.
"This is becoming a most irritating prospect," Placido deduced, looking down at both of X's halves being defeated. "The Signers have yet another Savior, X is gone, and the Summoner spirit has improved his Deck to help unlock the last one."
"Your plan has fallen flat, just as I felt it would," Jose criticized of Placido, making the younger man glare at him. "You've been far too headstrong and impatient during this whole endeavor, and as a result everything you tried fell flat."
"Maybe," Placido countered, "but I still have an ace in the hole." Snapping his fingers, three people in Yliaster robes with their hoods pulled up stepped into the room, taking down their hoods when they did. Among them were a man and woman with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, both wearing crystal earrings for their right ears that had Infinity symbols on them. The remaining one wore glasses and had brown hair and eyes, and looked far more solemn than the others.
"Who are these three?" Lucciano asked Placido, the man himself smiling and explaining,
"They are members of Yliaster whom I specially arranged for. I knew X would never be able to defeat any of our foes – he was merely a test, to draw out the true power that have. Now that we know, I can send in these three to do what he could not."
"What makes you think these three will be any more successful than X was?" Jose then asked, sounding stern.
"This time, we have three different players with different and powerful Decks that our foes have not seen – we have the element of surprise this time."
"If that is the case, then they should have no trouble defeating our foes," Jose concluded. With that the three Yliaster members nodded and turned around, stepping out in single file and leaving only the Infinity Trio in the room.
"What shall we do about Paradox?" Lucciano asked. "Is he no longer a priority to you, or is there something you know that you're not telling?"
"Paradox can wait," Placido countered. "Right now, he is a benign threat because he will be injured from his near miss with Savior Wing Dragon. He is a threat neither to us nor to the Signers, so we can move forward with our previous goal.
In Satellite's B.A.D., screams of terror and pain rang out as Duelists fell left and right, black flames consuming them and leaving them drained when they faded away. Standing in the centre of all the chaos, Paradox stood there in his mask and his real clothes. His trench coat had a white leg section with black trim and a black torso section with white trim, the sleeves giving out to grey fingerless gloves with metal arm bands just below the shoulder.
His shoulders had brass pads on them that held two long clothed streamers on them, light grey with black stripes. His pants were black, with black spiked rings at the knees and boots with white metal sections at the front. Laughing, Paradox looked at the handful of Dragons he held – Light and Darkness Dragon, Dark End Dragon, Light End Dragon, Armed Dragon LV 10 and Destruction Dragon – Gandora – as black flames consumed them and changed them into their Sin counterparts.
"Soon I will have enough power in my collection to complete my plan," he thought, sneering at the idea beneath his mask. "And then, I well finally succeed at making this world as good as it deserves to be."
With that Paradox reached up and took off his mask, revealing a long, hard-jawed face with no beard or moustache but some very unusual features. His right eyebrow was red, instead of gold like his left, and a section of it jutted out and into his hair while the other end wrapped around his eye and extended down onto his cheek, next to a sharp shape of makeup. Sections of his hair were purple instead of gold, two pieces of which even had yellow stripes, and two yellow locks shot off like ponytails and hung to his feet.
"Who would have guessed that collecting Duel Energy would have been so easy? Had I known this was the best course of action, this would have been my starting point." Turning, Paradox then walked over to his D-Wheel and inserted the five cards into a compartment on the dashboard and he got on, putting his makes back on and starting up the vehicle. He then shot forward and off into the distance, riding for several miles at high speeds.
Very soon, Paradox found himself shooting straight towards the crater in the ground where the Old Momentum was and jumped the edge of it, falling into the pit for over a hundred feet and bouncing at the bottom due to the shocks of his vehicle. He then killed the ignition and got off, pulling the fives new dragons back out and holding them up to the generator, making a circuit pattern of orange light form along sections of the old reactor.
"Very soon," he finally said aloud, "my plan will come to pass. The time has come to erase this suffering world and start anew, and make up for the sins of my fellow humans. Damnation will claim this Earth no more…"
Card of the Week – Crow
Savior Wing Dragon
Type: EARTH
Level: 11
Sub-Types: [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]
Effect: "Salvation Dragon – Savior Dragon" + "Blackfeather Dragon" + 1 non-Tuner Monster
Once per turn, activate by selecting 1 effect monster your opponent controls. Until the End Phase, its effect is negated and its ATK and DEF become 0. If your opponent activates the effect of a Magic card, Trap Card of Effect Monster when this card attacks, activate by discarding 1 card. Negate the effect of that card, and send all cards your opponent controls to the Cemetery. During your End Phase, return this card to the Extra Deck and Special Summon "Blackfeather Dragon" from your Cemetery.
ATK/ 4100
DEF/ 3500
*Another Savior Dragon has been revealed, meaning only one remains. Review if you wish.*