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 23 – Limit-SurpassingDark Duel, Judai vs. Godwin
Standing opposite Godwin in the Dark Duel, with his legs devoured by the darkness and almost nothing left to stand against Godwin, Judai grabbed the last remaining card in his hand and slapped it onto the tray. "I Summon Elemental Hero Burst Lady in Defence Position (DEF: 800, LV: 3)." With that a blue version of his red-clad female warrior appeared before him as its art appeared on a tablet, rotated 90 degrees clockwise.
"Then it is my turn," Godwin deduced because of Judai's lack of a hand. "I Draw!" As he drew his card, a rumbling was kicked up as Godwin's blue dragon suddenly reappeared as though rising up from the earth, its form reappearing on a tablet (ATK: 2500, LV: 6)!"
"What monster again?" Judai questioned, looking on with complete disbelief. Seconds later, however, he remembered the effects of the two Dragons and how they resurrected each other in a loop. Sneering, Godwin then drew another card from his Treasure of Rebirth as he looked on at Judai, confident apparently of victory.
"Due to Altar of the Sun," Godwin pointed out, indicating the glowing altar to his right, "all Monsters I control Special Summoned from the Cemetery receive an additional 300 ATK (ATK: 2800). Furthermore, due to Altar of the Moonlight, your Burst Lady loses 300 ATK and DEF (DEF: 300). Battle! Moonlight Prism!"
Roaring, all four heads of the dragon produced glowing rainbow energy and then channelled them together before the moon idol at its centre. This then fired the energy as a concentrated blast, destroying Judai's monster in a brilliant flash of light.
"I shall set one card and end my turn," Godwin then concluded, planning a card in his only remaining Magic and Trap Zone. "Come Judai, show me that you can fight; or simply lay down and admit defeat."
"I won't admit defeat!" Judai yelled defiantly. "Draw!" Flipping around his card right away, he yelled out, "I activate the Magic Card Natural Resource! By sending a Field Magic to the Cemetery, I Draw 2 cards! I discard Skyscraper!" With that the buildings around them vanished and the base tablet went blank; then Judai pulled two new cards and revealed them.
"I Summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (DEF: 1200, LV: 4)!" he declared, his blue warrior appearing in a crouching position. "Due to this monster's effect, I draw 2 cards!" When he had pulled his latest two cards, he took all three and jammed them into slots.
"I set 2 cards and I activate the Permanent Magic, Mirage of Nightmare!" With that two reversed cards appeared before Judai, along with a face-up one which had Godwin looking on in discontent.
"If that is your move, then I will continue with mine," Godwin issued, reaching for his Deck and pulling a card from his Deck. He then watched while Judai pulled a fresh hand due to his Permanent Magic, but he did not head it with his next move. "Battle! Go Quilla, destroy Bubbleman! Moonlight Prism!"
Once again the dragon monster collected four orbs of rainbow energy from its four mouths in front of its moon structure, firing them as a blast straight at Judai's monster. When it exploded seconds later, Godwin snapped his fingers and yelled, "Trap Card Open! Destruction Potion!"
"What is that card?" Judai asked, not having seen it previously.
"I destroy one monster I control and recover its Life Points onto my own," Godwin informed, a red aura starting to consume his dragon. Seconds later, it roared out and exploded, the red aura consuming Godwin and increasing his power. "And next, the effect of Quilla will resurrect Sun Dragon Inti (ATK: 3300, LV: 8)!"
Drawing his card and then holding his arms to the sides as he laughed darkly, Godwin watched as the trembling began again and his massive red and orange dragon monster rose up from the ground again, roaring loudly at Judai as it did so. "Battle! Sun Dragon Inti, direct attack the player! Sunfire Blast!"
Roaring loudly, the monster collected the fire energy from its mouths in front of its sun idol, forging them into a single orb and then shooting them straight at Judai. Watching this, Judai snapped his fingers and indicating one of his set cards. "Instant Magic: emergency Rations! I send my set card and my Mirage of Nightmare to the Cemetery, and I recover 2000 Life Points!"
Watching Godwin snarl darkly at his failure to snatch victory, Judai inserted both the cards in his Magic & Trap Card Zone into his Cemetery slot while his Life Points were increased by his effect. Seconds later, however, the flames struck him square on and flung him straight back into the tablet behind him, screaming out from the flames until they died out entirely.
Judai: LP 200
Godwin: LP 4450
"You may have survived this turn Judai," Godwin said angrily at the man, who simply slumped to the floor while his upper arms and his abdomen simply disappeared into purple smoke. "But your time is still almost up! I set one card and end my turn!"
"D…draw…" Judai stuttered, shakily getting to his feet as he looked at his card. "I… Summon… Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)." Placing the card onto the tray, he called up his small robotic monster with cannon-like arms and treads. "I… activate its effect…" Grabbing three cards from his Deck, he placed them into the Cemetery and they slid in one by one: revealed as E-HERO Neos, Cross Porter, and Skyscraper 2 – Hero City.
"Due to… the effect of Cross Porter," Judai informed, reaching for the card to prove his point, "I add Neo-Spacian Ground Mole… to my hand!" All of a sudden said card appeared in his hand, so he moved it there and inserted his other monster back into the Cemetery. "I set…one card…"
"In your End Phase," Godwin yelled, "I activate the Trap Card, Destruction Potion!" Gasping as Godwin played a second of the deadly Trap Card, Judai saw Godwin's massive monster erupt into red energy and explode, just as his last monster did, and then as his Life Points soared to massive levels.
Judai: LP 200
Godwin: LP 7750
"It's my turn," Godwin pointed out, pulling his card just in time to watch as his blue monster rose up from the ground again, roaring at Judai just as before Godwin picked up a second card. "Battle! Destroy Card Gunner!" Roaring, the dragon once again formed an orb of energy from its mouths in front of its idol, firing a stream of it at Judai's monster and exploding it.
"When Card Gunner… is destroyed," Judai declared shakily, reaching for his Deck, "I draw one card!" As he pulled his card, Judai saw something that was sure to help him out.
"That matters not," Godwin stated. "I set one card and end my turn." "He's lost his footing completely now. His energy is all but gone. And should he attack, I can use either of my set cards to instantly do away with whatever force he calls. Temper of Vai-Mahse to negate and destroy his attacker, or Eclipsed Blast to destroy his monster outright and inflict lethal damage to him."
"Draw!" Judai yelled, snapping up yet another card while he reached for two cards already in his hand. "Magic Activate: Convert Contact! With no monsters on my field, I send the Ground Mole in my hand and the Flare Scarab in my Deck to the Cemetery, and draw 2 cards!" With that Judai placed the one from his hand into the Cemetery, where the one from his Deck suddenly appeared and they both slid away while he drew.
"I activate my own Permanent Magic: Hero's Guild!" Judai informed, producing the card on his left. "Once per turn, I activate this effect by sending cards from both player's Decks to the Cemetery until a Monster Card is found. If said monster is a Soldier-Type, the player may return it to their hand." Reaching for his Deck, Judai pulled up a single card and spun it around, revealing Friendog. "It's a Machine-Type," he explained, throwing it away.
Reaching for his own Deck, Godwin drew a single card before he saw a monster; however, he turned it around unhappily and said, "It's Priest of the Sun, but it's a Magic User and not a Soldier." Thus, Godwin slid the card into his Cemetery, watching angrily as a monster he would have wanted disappeared.
"Next," Judai informed, "I activate the Magic Card, Miracle Contact!" Holding the card up, three cards from his Cemetery slid out and he held them up to explain to Godwin, "I return these three monsters – Neos, Ground Mole and Flare Scarab – to the Deck, and perform a Triple Contact Fusion!"
Godwin then watched as their surroundings changed into a black space with a white nebule just above them. Judai's three monsters – his white warrior, his mole-like monster and his humanoid insect – appeared around him and jumped up into the sky, meeting at the nebula and changing into light.
"Come forth: Magma Neos (ATK: 3000, LV: 9)!" Judai yelled as the original field returned, and from the light descended his large green-brown warrior with molten fist, clawed hand and massive armour. "Next, the Field Magic Card: Neo Space!" Revealing the card, Judai activated it and surrounded both players with the field of neon rainbow energy, making Godwin look on with an expression of surprise.
"Due to the effect of Neo Space," Judai informed, "Magna Neos receives 400 extra ATK. Furthermore its power is increased by 400 points for every card on the field. Currently, that number is 10; so even with your 300-point reduction in power due to Altar of the Moonlight, my monster still has very high attack strength (ATK: 7200)."
"Unbelievable," Godwin grunted out, seeing how bad the situation looked for him.
"Next, the Magic Card Arms Hole!" Judai declared, pulling a card from his Deck and placing it into the Cemetery. "I skip my Normal Summons this turn, and add 1 Equip Magi Card to my hand; I choose Assault Armour!" And just as he said this the card appeared in his hand, so he turned it around and played it.
"I equip Assault Armour to my Magma Neos, so he gains 300 ATK, as well as 400 more for a new card being in play (ATK: 7900)." Once the card was in play, a golden flaming aura formed around the giant warrior as Judai decaled, "Go, Magma Neos! Super Heat Meteor!" Raising its hand to the air, Judai's monster formed a burning molten rock many feet above its head and swung its arm, shooting said object Godwin's monster.
"An impressive attack," Godwin chastised, "but your move has been a major blunder, one which will cost you the game! Trap Card Open: Eclipse Burst!" With a gasp on Judai's face Godwin explained, "I destroy the Moon Dragon and your monster, then hit your Life Points for its Attack Strength!" All of a sudden the large dragon before Godwin began to glow as energy was released; but before it came to anything, Judai responded.
"Trap Card Open!" Judai declared. "Stealth Hero! With an E-HERO in play, I negate my opponent's Trap Card and destroy it!" With that Godwin's Trap Card exploded into shards, leaving him defenceless. "My monster thus loses 800 ATK (ATK: 7100), but my attack continues!"
"Even so," Godwin reminded, "due to Quilla's effect, half your monster's attack strength is added to my Life Points! A bluish aura then formed around Godwin right before the huge meteor smacked right into the moon idol, exploding it and creating a shockwave that actually made Godwin slide back a few feet.
Judai: LP 200
Godwin: LP 7000
"When Quilla is destroyed, Inti returns!" drawing an additional card, Godwin watched as his massive red, orange and black dragon rose up from the ground again, roaring loudly while Judai looked on with an uncaring stare. "Now I have a monster on the field once again (ATK: 3300, LV: 8), so you cannot touch me!"
"Oh really?" Judai questioned, grabbing his Equip Magic from the tray and holding it up. "When Assault Spirits is on my field, I can send it to the Cemetery to give the attacking monster a second attack! I lose some power (ATK: 6400), but that's still plenty for my purposes. Battle! Super Heat Meteor!"
"What are you doing?" Godwin asked, watching as Judai's monster shed its aura before raising its hand again, firing off another burning meteor at his monster. "I'll simply destroy you and wipe out your Life Points!" Seconds later, the meteor crashed into the sun idol of Godwin's monster; but before it exploded, the four heads fired out flames from its mouths straight at the other monster.
"Instant Magic: Contact Out!" Judai declared, holding up a card quickly. "I release the Contact Fusion of Magma Neos!" Seconds later, the form of the monster changed into light and split apart, causing the flames to shoot right on by while Judai's white warrior (ATK: 3000, LV: 7), mole creature (ATK: 900, LV: 3) and the insectoid monster (ATK: 500, LV: 3) while Godwin's monster exploded.
Judai: LP 200
Godwin: LP 3900
"Due to Flare Scarab's effect," Judai informed, "it gains 400 ATK for every Magic and Trap Card on the opposing field (ATK: 2100). Thus, my monsters have a combined sum of 6000 ATK!"
"Due to the effect of Altar of Moonlight, however," Godwin countered, "they all lose 300 ATK (ATK: 2700) (ATK: 600) (ATK: 1800)."
"But even in that case, they still have enough Attack Points to destroy you. Go, Neos! Wrath of Neos!" Responding, Judai's warrior jumping straight up into the air, bringing its hand into a karate-chop formation before bringing it straight down towards Godwin; but before he made it there, a monster similar to a priest carrying a moon-like staff and in black robes appeared and took the brunt of the assault.
"What was that?" Judai questioned, watching as Godwin started to laugh darkly.
"When Priest of the Moon is in my hand," Godwin explained, crossing his arms while the card appeared in front of him, "during the turn the Sun Dragon or Moonlight Dragon is destroyed, I can discard it to make all Battle Damage from direct attacks 0. In other words, your one-turn-kill is thwarted' but I applaud your effort."
"In the Main Phase 2," Judai said, holding up his last card, "I activate Legacy of Hero! I have no other cards in my hand and 2 E-HERO Fusion Monsters in my hand, so I draw 3 cards!" When he pulled his cards, he immediately slapped all three onto the rear of the tray before saying, "Now, I Contact Fuse again!"
In a flash of light, all three of Judai's monsters disappeared and were replaced by the larger warrior from seconds earlier. "Magma Neos (ATK: 7600, LV: 9), rise up! Now, Godwin, it's your turn!"
"Then I draw!" Godwin yelled, pulling yet another card from his Deck while he watched his bluish dragon rise up again, pulling a second card when he did. "Return, Quilla (ATK: 2800, LV: 6)! And with another monster in play to raise your attack strength (ATK: 8000), the stage is set!"
"What?" Judai asked, right before Godwin spun around yet another card from his hand.
"I Play the Permanent Magic, Eclipse Barrier! With this in play, any Battle Damage from my monsters attacking becomes 0! Thus, even when I attack, I'll suffer no ill effects!"
"Oh no," Judai realized, growling. "If he attacks, he'll revive Inti, and when it's destroyed I lose the duel!"
"Battle! Go Quilla, attack his monster!"
"I don't think so!" Judai yelled, flipping up a card. "Permanent Trap: Forceful Stop! I send a card on the field to the Cemetery and end the Battle Phase. My choice… is Neo Space!"
"What are you planning?" Godwin asked as the glowing field around them suddenly dissolved away, causing his monster to stop its attack before it even began. "Then I guess I end my turn, so in the End Phase your Neos returns to the Extra Deck!"
"Maybe it does," Judai said, sneering, "But when he does, every card on the field returns to its owner's hand!" With Godwin gasping, Judai's monster burst into light while all the cards on the field, starting with Judai's and finishing with Godwin's roaring Dragon, just before Judai's monster also disappeared.
"This… can't be…!" Godwin growled, seeing that his hand now contained his entire combo; except for his Dragon, now back in his Extra Deck. "But that's a risky move, Judai! If you don't draw a monster, then this is all over!"
"Then I guess I'd better draw a monster!" Judai yelled, snapping up a card from his Deck. "Draw!" Looking at his card for a few second, he slimed before holding it up to Godwin and saying, "My card is… Neos!"
"That's a Level 7 Monster with no effect," Godwin reminded. "You need to Release 2 monsters to Summon it… unless…" he suddenly gasped, remembering Judai had discarded a card from his Deck earlier.
"That's right," Judai replied smugly, the image of the red-skinned, bone-armoured ghost warrior appearing. "The card I sent to the Cemetery with Arms Hole was… Necro Darkman! Due to its effect, I Normal Summon Neos without Release (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" With that Judai placed his signature white warrior onto the field, letting out a battle cry as he did so.
"Equip Magic: Neos Force!" Judai yelled, holding up a card that produced a similar orange aura around his monster to the previous turn. "Now, Neos gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3300). But wait; there's more! Magic Actuate: Evolution Two!"
"No!" Godwin yelled out, realizing what Judai had planned.
"With this effect, I double the power of an Equip Magic already in play and add it to the same monster. Thus, I double the power of Neos Force! Go, Neos (ATK: 4100), destroy Godwin's Life Points! Wrath of Neos!" With that Judai's warrior again jumped up into the air, then down upon Godwin with full force and making his entire deck spill onto the ground.
Judai: LP 200
Godwin: LP 0
"You owe me some information," Judai pointed out, all of the cards around him disappearing as his body quickly regenerated itself. "You said if I won you would tell me what you knew of Paradox and Placido."
"And I am a man of my word," Godwin agreed, bowing his head. "The project I was working on involved the Old Momentum Reactor, after Zero Reverse had taken place. I knew that several of the souls whose bodies were destroyed in Zero Reverse still remained within its confines."
"Yusei's father is within that place?" Judai asked, completely stunned. "Does Yusei know about this?"
"I never told him, but perhaps he has discovered it on his own," Godwin admitted. "But it does not matter; my experiments into releasing the souls all failed. I learned quickly that souls lost in that event weren't simply disembodied; they were sealed."
"Then what exactly where you doing with them?"
"Souls have infinite value in terms of alchemic experiments," Godwin disjointedly answered. "For performing an experiment, they can meet any energy requirement if they are used."
"Then you intended to sacrifice them!" Judai deduced angrily, almost spitting as he said this. "How could you have so much disrespect for the people you worked alongside?"
"I could never do that to them," Godwin replied. "They meant too much to me; but Paradox has no such qualms. I suspect he has already used the Momentum's power more than once for whatever purpose he has."
"Then… why is he going around stealing cards from people?" Judai asked, getting a very solemn and grim expression on Godwin's face as a reply.
"There are two possibilities," the spirit then clarified. "Either he's using them as a conduit to use the power of the Duellists' souls, or… tell me, do many of the cards have a Spirit Presence?"
"I believe so," Judai responded, knowing the answer would not be any good.
"Then he is likely using them as fuel in addition to human souls."
"What?" With that surprise out of the way he then asked, "and how does Placido relate to all this?"
"Placido has no intention to use the Old Momentum," Godwin answered. "If anything, he would likely want to release all those souls and destroy the Momentum. Everything he does is for what he considers the good of humanity and society."
"He's an idealist?"
"He is, but he's horribly misguided. He believes that the Signers stand in the way of perfect society because Destiny commands them to oppose those who interfere with humanity."
"He's against the Signers because they think differently than he does and they oppose him," Judai paraphrased. "Basically, he's Hitler."
"Except that he won't be imploring Genocide," Godwin responded. "More like exorcism. He wants to use the power of Infinity to brainwash those who try to create chaos, and then use him as his elite force. Yliaster was a means to and end for him when I was alive; now it still is."
"He only put you into power so that wouldn't be obvious," Judai deduced. "How long had you known?"
"Ever since he told my Brother Rudger that his Destiny was to destroy," Godwin answered. "It didn't make sense to me that he was telling a Signer that his destiny was to destroy; until that is, I learned the truth. He wanted both sides to destroy each other, so the cycle of destiny would be broken."
"Then he approved of you attempting to break that cycle with what you did?"
"He did more than just approve; he was the one who told me the time had come to put an end to the Chaos. However, because the Signers won, Placido now has to defeat both sides himself. I'm terribly sorry for what I've done, Judai," Godwin lamented as he apologized. "I make no excuses for my misguided actions; all I wish is to make right what I have done."
"I will find a way for you to do that," Judai promised, holding up his fist in a fighting way. "Together, the Signers and I will make this right and help you repair what went wrong; but if you're trying to manipulate me, then so help me God…"
"I am not lying," Godwin swore, crossing his right arm over his chest and bowing. Seconds later, Godwin's form dissolved into a stream of energy and flowed over to Judai, encompassing him before leeching into his body. He could feel as Godwin delved deep into his soul until he reached Judai's spiritual core, where he finally settled before his image appeared in the back of Judai's mind.
"Then we shall fight!" Judai said strongly, just before his entire form burst out into light. When he looked again, he found himself back in the cell within the Sky Temple, albeit with renewed vigour and spirit. "Mark my words, Godwin: we shall fix what has been made wrong!"
Back at the Poppo Time Area, the group consisting of Johan (with Yubel), the Summoners and now Aki converged with that of Yusei, Jack and Crow in front of the doors, all knowing what needed to be done.
"We can't simply cower and play defensively anymore," Yusei said sternly. "Judai is a captive of Placido, Jose and Lucciano, and all that is left to do is find him and recover him so we can defeat them."
"We know by now that Paradox has the ability to interfere with human thought," Aki stated, chipping in on the conversation with something useful. "He made Kiryu turn on us, he made Yusei throw a duel, and I'm willing to bet he made Judai commit that outburst."
"And we also know that Paradox and Placido are fighting on different sides," Yusuriha established. "Paradox wants to destroy all humans, Placido just wants us gone. This makes Paradox the bigger threat; after all, Placido can probably be reasoned with."
"Finally, we know that Placido is the eldest of the trio," Jack chimed in. "He's a Conquistador." When Johan's group looked on at him with complete shock (except for Kyojo, who was now sporting a pair of crimson Kamina glasses), he added, "It's true. Anyway, we know he has pride and chivalry, which will make him easier to reason with."
"If we want to do this right," Kyojo interjected, arms crossed, "we need to get the twins. We need Luca so her Saviour Dragon can fight, and her brother will help not only with battle but morale."
"We'll split up into two groups," Johan stated, Yubel's voice joining his own. "The Signers will start a primary barrage to act as a decoy while the Summoners and us will go to Judai and release him. That way, we can come back and combine attacks for one offensive that will guarantee us victory."
"We need you to reclaim the Demons as quickly as possible," Crow instructed to Yubel, "since you're the only one who can control them, let alone put them on a fucking leash."
"Then there's nothing left to discuss," Kiryu stated, suddenly walking in on the conversation. "Let's go get the children and we'll strike now. Not wasting any time means the Infinity has less time to prepare, which gives us more advantage."
"Then it's settled," Yusei concluded. "Let's go!" With that everyone nodded, and raised their fists in a battle cry.
In the Dominion of Beasts, Taiyou and Endymion stood together at the front of a massive procession of Magicians. Standing directly behind them were the spirits of the Endymion Monsters – Paladin, Swordsman, and Crusader – and behind them a huge number of other Magicians who had agreed to take up arms.
These all stood atop a hill well over a kilometre away from the City, just overlooking a massive valley. On the opposite side, Norsewemko stood sneering at the Magicians under Endymion with her own collection of troops – these being various members of the Magicians' Bureaucracy and its many foot soldiers, including the mighty Arcanite Magician.
"Today, a new era of this world shall emerge," Endymion declared, his staff sporting a large red flag.
"The two Governments shall now clash," Norsewemko countered, her staff supporting a blue flag.
"One shall stand…"
"…One shall fall."
"Charge!" Both leaders yelled, out of the blue, causing the many magicians among their ranks to begin filing down the hill in a mad dash towards each other. When they met, a Breaker among Endymion's ranks jumped into the air with his sword back, only for his blade to be stopped by the massive shield of a Magical Knight – Defender.
"You bureaucrats betray the very nature of our society!" Breaker threatened, bringing himself back to the ground and stabbing with his sword in a rapid and violent motion.
"And your empire stymies the free will of the people!" Defender roared back, moving his shield just as quickly into a blocking position that made Breaker's sword snap in two, the blade flying away. Half a second later, however, a pained cringe suddenly came over the face of Defender, right before his armour split vertically and his body dissolved into yellow particles of light from within it.
Standing right behind the armour, which then fell to the ground, a Dark Red Enchanter stood in an offensive stance, holding his staff low with the end embedded in the ground. "What good is the will of an indecisive and cynical people?" he asked, yanking up his staff. "An empire without democracy never has to worry about indecisive politicians or dissonance."
Just then, the Enchanter was caught off-guard when he was the white trench coat and blue pants of Cybernetic Magician fly past him, the staff of this magician striking Breaker directly in the chest before he could block with his shield. Just as his brother had, he disintegrated out of his armour, which fell to the ground right before Dark Red engaged Cybernetic, their staffs meeting.
A few metres away, the white-cloaked form of Arcanite Magician was rushed by the Magic Hierophant of Black, bringing his staff crashing down upon Arcanite's chest. Unfortunately, the cloak simply tore to reveal armour underneath, and then the white-haired magician jumped up into the air.
"Bury thyselves in the putrid earth, oppressors!" Arcanite yelled, jumping up into the air to an incredible height of thirty metres over the fighters. Second later, the cloak of the magician came flying off to reveal the red and blue armour of Arcanite's other form, right before it released a huge blast straight at the enemy ranks.
A huge explosion then ensued in the middle of the hill, causing many bodies to go flying in all directions, some of which dissolved in mid-air. Before Arcanite could even fall, though, the Hierophant jumped up equally as high and swung his massive staff into the other magician's head, sending its neck flying in a snapped arc before the body dissolved out from the armour.
Meanwhile, back up on the bank of the hill, Taiyou produced a green staff and prepared to charge with it, only to be rushed by the Chaos Command Magician, yet another of the defected magicians. He took a very fast swing at Taiyou, which he was just barely able to block before an explosion occurred between the two staffs.
"Half-breeds like you are responsible for the deplorable state of out union!" the magician accused, swinging his staff in large arcs while Taiyou jumped to dodge them. "Until you came here everything was ideal and peaceful. You poisoned us!"
"That's complete bullshit and you know it!" Taiyou yelled back, jamming the blade into his staff into the magician's chest and blasting him with it, sending the magician flying backwards. "My involvement in the so-called government has been almost non-existent; it's your bureaucracy that created this tension!"
"If you will not respect your elders and do as you are told," the magician then threatened, rushing Taiyou and getting up in his face, "then let's see if you do as God tells you!" The magician then thrust his staff in a way that split Taiyou's in two, exploding the ground under his feet and causing him to fly into a near-by tree, slumping to the ground.
With this strike, Taiyou knew that he was not pure enough magician nor well-armoured enough to fight; however, he knew that he had to do something. Crossing his arms over his chest, he closed his eyes and burst out into a white sparkling aura, which rose in a flaming pattern many metres above his head.
"Don't dare half-breed!" the green-armoured form of the magician yelled, jumping up and trying to come crashing down upon Taiyou mid-technique. "You will die her and now!" His rant was interrupted, however, when the form of the Black Magician of Chaos jumped up from behind him and blasted a red and black orb into his back, exploding him.
"Make your move now Taiyou!" the magician then commanded before spinning around mid-air to meet the oncoming staff of Cosmo Queen, a fellow Bureaucrat to Norsewemko who harboured a similar grudge to Endymion.
"Take flight: Stardust Dragon!" Taiyou yelled, uncrossing his arms and opening his eyes as the aura jumped off him. When it got high enough into the air, a screech emanated from the swirling matter and it transformed into a Dragon similar to Yusei's, though it more red runic lines running down its neck and wings.
"A human fighting for rebel Magicians who uses a Dragon!" Cosmo Queen chided, slashing through the staff of her foe and destroying him. "What nonsense!" Her view of the matter was quickly changed, however, when the dragon reared back and shot a blast straight at her, making her explode violently in midair right before the dragon again screeched.
"Did Endymion never teach you manners?" Norsewemko mused to Taiyou. "It's rude to involve Dragons, especially sacred ones, in civil battles. But I suppose rebellious humans like you don't regard the rules if they're inconvenient to you."
"Say what you will Bureaucratic Bitch; this Dragon and I are one in the same," Taiyou countered, "and together it and I will defeat you!" With another powerful roar, Taiyou's dragon fired yet another blast of energy at Norsewemko; while she jumped out of the way, several of her soldiers were vapourized.
"You think I fear idle attacks?" Norsewemko goaded, aiming her staff at Taiyou while it built up energy. "Powerful as your ka over there may be, it is far from invincible!" The female magician then fired a blast of energy right at Taiyou, causing the dragon to jump into its path and cross its wings, absorbing the attack without taking any damage.
"Ready to give my Dragon some respect!" In retaliation, the dragon opened its wings and shot straight at the female magician, using its right arm to take a massive swing at her and slashing her staff to bits. On the other side of her, it swung its tail and whipped her in the back, sending her flying to the ground.
"Excellent work Taiyou," Endymion complemented from below, his massive bladed staff swinging straight through the form of an enemy magician. He then issued under his breath, "I'm sorry, my friend, but there was no other way."
"Such heroic nonsense," Norsewemko said under her breath, suddenly producing a large beige blade with multiple rib-like projections as she stood up, aiming her new weapon at the dragon in question. "Endymion, do you care to see your half-breed underling's soul shredded along with his ka?"
Noting the weapon in her hand, both Taiyou and Endymion became wary of the weapon, which they recognized all-too-well; the Sword of Dragon's soul, a weapon fabled for its ability to destroy Dragons. "Perish, along with your God-forsaken empire!" Norsewemko yelled, jumping up into the air straight at the white dragon with the blade ready. All the dragon could do was scream back and swing its limbs; but it had no way to stop the lethal sword.
Out of nowhere, however, the form of the Paladin of Endymion appeared from behind the dragon, swinging its massive blade straight at Norsewemko. Though she easily dodged it and swung him away with her power, when she turned back she was shocked to see her new combater: Black Paladin, the Magician who fought alongside dragons.
"Your idle spells mean nothing here," he challenged, jumping down from the dragon's forehead and forming a blast of energy on his keel-like halberd. "Be gone, your ill-gotten weapon!" With that he shot the blast of energy off his staff, striking the sword and exploding it before the blade cam swinging down upon Norsewemko herself.
To everyone's surprise, however, she simply swished to the side out of the path of the blade. Producing a second of her staff from her robes, she prepared to swing it straight at the Paladin; but he simply spun around, blocking the weapon with his own blade and easily forcing her back.
When she tried to dive down upon him again, she was stopped by a blast of white energy from the white dragon still above her, creating a barrier between Norsewemko and the Black Paladin. To her surprise, however, the energy changed paths and was quickly absorbed onto the blade of the halberd, creating a glowing white Stardust aura.
"Perish, along with your accursed bureaucracy," the Paladin said stoically, only to dash up towards her in a split second, swinging his halberd straight at the female magician and into her staff. The end result was an explosion, the most massive of the day; and so the Paladin continued upwards until he came to rest on the dragon's head once again.
Back on the ground, Taiyou now stood his Duel Disc active, having used it to call forth the Paladin in addition to his Stardust. "What's the problem Norsewemko?" he issued up smugly to the female magician as she emerged from the smoke, her staff once again in ruins. "I thought you were supposed to be better than a lowly half-breed underling of Endymion!"
"You shut your mouth to me you insolent little vermin," Norsewemko threatened through gritted teeth, "or I'll…"
"Or you'll what?" He asked, snapping his fingers and prompting his dragon to shoot yet another blast at her. When she dodged that, his Paladin threw in an energy stream from his own staff, causing her to move once again. This time, the Paladin of Endymion jumped back up in front of her, having waited for his chance to strike, and swung his blade in a way that sent her plummeting to the ground.
"This is the bureaucracy's dying day!" Taiyou issued over the crowd of magicians, his Dragon and Paladin coming to rest behind him with a loud roar from the former and a threatening gesture the latter.
"And so it has come to this," Placido observed disappointedly of the Magicians through his view. "I had expected them to resolve this within civil constrains, as they normally do."
"They have been driven to the brink of desperation," Jose reminded him. "Without the ability to use democracy, they've got no choice but to fight."
"There's developments!" Lucciano yelled out, suddenly running into the room. "The Signers approach!"
"Do they now?" Placido questioned, pulling 3 cards from the top of his Deck and looking at them, The Infinity Symbols on their back glowing, the Three Demons let off a black aura within Placido's hand, which quickly spread to his own body. In seconds his white robes were dyed dark grey, with purple armour-like pieces on the chest, forearms and shoulders.
Seconds later, the aura disappeared with a forceful thud, leaving only the Infinity symbol glowing in the shadowy manner. With a dark sneer, Placido said, "Well then, I guess we'll simply have to show them the truth of that old adage; mortals rush in where angels fear to tread."
Within the chamber of the Old Momentum, Paradox stood watching the conflict between Magicians in the Dominion of Beasts and the Signers preparing for war against the Infinity. Through his glowing mask he saw such chaos, such agony, such hatred; and he ravished in every ounce of it.
Turning to the control panel of his device, he looked up a specific even in history which he had a vested interest in: Battle City V2. Roughly a year after the KC Grand Championship, this had been the first Tournament in which the focus of his Strategy had been his Egyptian God Cards.
"Giant God Soldier of the Obelisk, Sky Dragon of Osiris, Winged God Dragon of Ra," Paradox recounted to himself, watching as the images of the cards appeared one-by-one in the screen. "Pegasus convinced everyone that these cards were destroyed... but I know that Muto Yugi still has them, a reminder of the partnership he once held with Pharaoh Atem."
When he thought about the cards and how they had been used, a guttural growling began to resound in the back of his mind, causing the man to sneer darkly underneath his mask. Taking it off, he looked upon the cards with his glowing eyes before he pulled a new black card out of his Pocket.
"Once I collect enough energy, my ultimate monster can arise and this world can be made right again," he realized, his right eye opening wider than the left and the iris and pupil becoming smaller. "All I need do is collect the power of those monsters... which means, a duel with the Original Kings of Games is in order..."
Card of the Week – Judai
Assault Armour
Equip Magic
Effect:
CHAPTER: This card can only be equipped to a Soldier-Type Monster that is the only monster you control. That monster's ATK is increased by 300 Points. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster in battle, activate by sending this face-up card to the Cemetery. The monster it was equipped to can attack one more time this Battle Phase.
OCG: This card can only be equipped to a Soldier-Type Monster that is the only monster you control. That monster's ATK is increased by 300 Points. During your Main Phase, activate by sending this face-up card to the Cemetery. The monster it was equipped to can attack twice this turn.
*A great battle is approaching. Review if you wish.*