Hey guys, so this one took a little while to be put out. I've been on a bit of a holiday the last few days and I only had my first chance to write this morning, and I used it to finish this chapter off for you guys! Also, I apologise for ending the past couple of chapters at the beginning of duels, that will not continue to happen beyond this chapter. Anyways, as always, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 26 – Zera
"Do you really think you can beat me, human?" the essence of fusion asked as they began.
"This isn't a debate," Tanion replied. "I will defeat you. I have to."
It seemed amused by this. "Then you really have no idea who I am," it said. "My turn!"
Just what can it possibly do that I can't handle? Tanion thought to himself as he braced for what was going to come. If it's anything like the apparition that Darrien dueled, this shouldn't problem. My deck has answers to everything that the apparition used, even Fusion Keeper with Maiden's bonus. What extra could this thing have in store?
"From my hand, I activate the spell card Polymerisation!" it said. "I fuse the Fusion Hound, Fusion Lizard and Fusion Soldier in my hand together!"
"A triple fusion?!" Tanion gasped.
"Man and beasts, withdraw within yourself and discover the truth. Reveal your true nature and blast away all those who would stand before you!" the essence chanted. "Fusion Summon! Appear from my very soul, Level 12! Fusion Core! (ATK:0/DEF:0)."
Tanion watched as Darrien's inhabited body began to glow, and slowly a sphere of some form began to appear on the field. It seemed similar to the purple orb that had been in the room previously, but this one was protected by what seemed like science-fiction like machinery.
"What the hell…" Tanion whispered.
"Fusion Core cannot be tributed, and cannot be used as material for any summon," it explained. "It cannot be destroyed by card effects, and if it battles a non-Fusion monster, it cannot be destroyed in that battle and any damage I would take you receive instead."
"What can I even do against that?" Tanion said, cursing under his breath.
"And I finally activate my last card, the continuous spell Core Allure!" the essence said. "During your End Phase, it you didn't attack Fusion Core, you take 1500 points of damage. I end my turn."
Tanion – 4000 LP
Essence – 4000 LP
There are a couple ways I can get around this, Tanion thought to himself as he wracked his brains for solutions. If I can get a Synchro monster out and draw my Sacrifice spell, then I can inflict some major damage through its effect, but I don't currently have that card available to me. Not to mention that getting a Synchro monster out and keeping it out will be tough enough considering the effects Fusion Core has. Come on, Tanion, think, there has to be something you can do…
"My turn," he said finally, drawing a card. This is…
"Remember, if you don't attack Fusion Core then you will be taking 1500 points of damage come the end of your turn," the possessed Darrien said.
"I'm well aware," Tanion said. "I summon to my field the monster known as Knight Protector in attack mode! (Lvl:3/ATK:0/DEF:2100)."
The essence seemed to grit its teeth at this. "To think you had a workaround…"
"Battle! Knight Protector, attack Fusion Core!"
The battle, of course, did nothing to Fusion Core and simply destroyed Knight Protector, but it gave Tanion time to think about his current situation. The essence must have some sort of connection to the spirits and is blocking my connection, he thought, noting his poor starting hand. I doubt it even realises its doing it though, considering how it seems entirely focussed on winning and getting out of here. If he could just get one card into his hand, he knew that he might have a way around Fusion Core. Until then, however, he just had to hold out against whatever it could throw at him.
"Is that the best you can do?" the essence asked him once the attack was over. "You may have avoided the effect of Core Allure, but you've wasted a monster and a turn in doing so. If you want to defeat me, then you're going to have to do much better than that."
"I know," Tanion replied, a scowl on his face. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Tanion – 4000 LP
Essence – 4000 LP
"My turn then," the essence said, drawing a card. "I hope you realise how useless your resistance is, outlander. No one can stop me now that I have claimed this body. You can't even make it through Fusion Core."
"I've had but one turn," Tanion retorted. "I will find a way."
"I activate the continuous spell card Core Scorch!" the essence proclaimed. "So now, e –"
"Not so fast," Tanion butted in. "I reveal my face-down card, the quick-play spell Twin Twisters! By discarding Fast Recruitment, I can destroy the two spell cards on your side of the field!"
"I activate the effect of Fusion Lizard in my graveyard!" his opponent countered. "By banishing it, I can prevent the destruction of my spell and traps cards for the remainder of this turn. Therefore, your Twin Twisters is useless."
Tanion cursed silently under his breath as the twisters disappeared from the field, the two continuous spell cards still on the field. I was hoping to use that to buy myself some time, Tanion thought to himself. It would've negated the burn damage and left Fusion Core basically useless until I find an out. Instead, I still have to attack him next turn, and now I have to deal with whatever this Core Scorch card does. With a name like that though…
"As I was saying," the essence continued. "During each of your End Phases, if Fusion Core is present on my side of the field, you will take 1500 points of damage."
"More burn damage?" Tanion complained.
It wasn't unexpected though. This is the world of the anime after all, and many of their duels played out like this, Tanion recalled. My problem is that this thing's mere presence has weakened my connection to my deck and given me dead draws. Did Irene somehow know about this? Did she create her own, better version of whatever this thing is doing in order to trap us in Eravand? Questions upon questions ran through his head, not least of all how he was going to get around that blasted Fusion Core.
"I end my turn with this," the essence said. "Don't you see, outlander? I have to do nothing in this duel. I can simply wait for you to destroy yourself. Give up."
"I can't, not when people's lives are on the line," Tanion replied, even though he couldn't see how he could outlast the burn damage.
"How adamant of you," the essence said. "If that's truly your wish, then I will not stop you. Continue."
Tanion – 4000 LP
Essence – 4000 LP
"My turn," Tanion said, drawing.
This can help me as well, Tanion realised quickly. My deck must be trying to fight back against the essence's strength itself if these draws are any indication. As weird as all of this still is to me, I just need to trust that it'll give me a path to victory if I can just hold out a little longer. He couldn't help but let out a little smile as he thought that. Jorann would be proud if he could hear his thoughts right now.
"Is something funny?" the essence asked, noticing the slight smirk.
"Nothing that would concern you," Tanion replied. "From my hand, I summon Magician of the Knight from my hand! (Lvl:4/ATK:1500/DEF:1000). And then, I target it in order to activate Protection of the Knight! Now, until the end of your next turn, my Magician cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects, and I take no damage from battles involving this card."
"Another workaround isn't going to deal damage to me," the essence retorted.
"Not yet," Tanion replied. "Battle! Magician of the Knight, attack Fusion Core!"
Once again, the attack simply bounced off of his opponent's monster, however he was fortunate in the fact that Magician of the Knight was going to be staying on the field this time. If he can stay on the field until my next turn and I draw the card I need, then I can win this, Tanion thought to himself. Please stay strong in there, Darrien. It won't be long now my friend.
"Again, nothing!" the essence shouted. "Are you trying to defeat me or not?"
"I will beat you, and I will have my friend back," he said defiantly. "I set two cards face down and I end my turn with this."
"Core Scorch's effect activates!" his opponent reminded him. "Since Fusion Core is on the field, you take 1500 points of damage!"
Tanion could only brace himself as the core whirred to life and blasted him with what must have been pure Fusion Energy, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying. By the time he had righted himself, the core had closed once more, and the essence possessing Darrien seemed rather disappointed by the duel so far.
"This really won't take much longer if this is all you've got," it said. "In but a few short moments, I'll be free to reclaim what is rightfully mine."
"We'll see about that," Tanion replied gruffly. "Take your turn, monster."
Tanion – 2500 LP
Essence – 4000 LP
"My turn then," it said, drawing a card. "This is your last chance, outlander. Surrender now."
"No. I won't abandon Darrien to his fate. I won't let you leave this place."
"Then you leave me no choice," it said. "I activate the spell card Fusion Elimination! By paying half my life points, for every 'Fusion' monster on my side of the field on in my graveyard, I can send one card on your side of the field to the grave."
"No targeting…" Tanion whispered, realisation dawning on his face.
"Since I have Fusion Core on my field, as well as Fusion Hound and Fusion Soldier in my graveyard, I choose to remove Magician of the Knight and your two face downs from the field, and for each one you take 500 points of damage!"
"Shit," was all Tanion could say as his field was wiped clean.
"And with that, I end my turn," the essence said, but its grin told Tanion that it wasn't finished. "And now, I can activate the secondary effects of both Core Allure and Core Scorch! Since Fusion Core is on my side of the field and I lost life points this turn, each card grants me 1000 additional life points."
"But that means…"
"That I got to wipe your field for free, yes," his opponent finished. "Now take your turn, outlander. I doubt you have a third workaround ready to go, so take your time on this turn. It will be your last."
Tanion – 1000 LP
Essence – 4000 LP
This isn't good, Tanion thought, stating the obvious. Even if I do find a way to attack Fusion Core again, I'm still past the threshold for the burn damage from Core Scorch. I don't have anything to remove the two spells from the field, nor do I have a way of reaching the Synchro monster I need to end this. He couldn't help but sigh to himself. All I can do now is hope that my deck will answer me.
"Take your turn," the essence ordered, clearly impatient.
"Deck, don't fail me now," Tanion whispered, drawing a card. When he saw it, he couldn't help but smile. "Finally."
The essence of Fusion noticed the change in expression on Tanion's face. "What did you draw?" it demanded, a hint of nervousness creeping into its voice.
"A way to beat your Fusion Core," Tanion said, smiling in earnest. "First off, I activate the spell card Revival of the Knight from my hand! It allows me to revive Knight Protector from my grave by taking damage equal to its attack, but since it has none, I take no damage!"
"Simply attacking Fusion Core again won't save you this time!" the essence protested as the Knight re-appeared on Tanion's side of the field.
"I'm well aware," Tanion replied. "For now I summon the monster I just drew. Come forth, the Tuner monster, Knight's Squire! (Lvl:3/ATK:1000/DEF:1000)."
"Tuner monster…" the essence whispered.
"I now activate Knight's Squire's effect, raising it's level to 4!" Tanion proclaimed, ignoring his opponent's statement. "And now, I tune my Level 3 Knight Protector to my now Level 4 Knight's Squire! Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 7! Advisor of the Knight! (ATK:2300/DEF:2300)."
"You use the summoning methods of this world, outlander?" the essence said, somewhat surprised.
"There are other worlds that use Fusion and Synchro Summoning, but I doubt you would understand," Tanion said. "But now, I activate the effects of both Advisor and Knight Protector! Firstly, since Knight Protector was used for the Synchro Summon of a Synchro monster, I can add one 'Knight' monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose the Tuner monster Jester Knight! Additionally, since Advisor Knight was summoned using only 'Knight' monsters as material, I get to draw one card."
"You still cannot defeat Fusion Core!"
"I'm not done!" Tanion said. "When I have only one 'Knight' monster only my field, I can special summon this card from my hand! Come forth, the Tuner monster Jester Knight! (Lvl:1/ATK:0/DEF:0)."
"Another Synchro Summon," the essence realised.
"I tune my Level 7 Advisor of the Knight to my Level 1 Jester Knight!" Tanion proclaimed. "Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 8! Strategist of the Knight! (ATK:2800/DEF:2300)."
"And that thing can defeat Fusion Core?" the essence questioned, eyeing off the aging knight.
"It can and will," Tanion said. "Strategist's monster effect activates! When it is Synchro Summoned, you take damage equal to the amount of 'Knight' monsters on my field times 500!"
"You're going to have to do much more than that, outlander," it said, brushing off the 500 damage like it was nothing.
"I'm not done," Tanion repeated. "Advisor has the same effect as Knight Protector! Since it was used for the Synchro Summon of a 'Knight' monster, I can add one 'Knight' card from my deck to my hand. And I choose Camaraderie of the Knights, which I then activate it! For every 'Knight' card in my graveyard, it gains 300 ATK!"
"You have Advisor, Jester, Squire, Magician and Protector in your graveyard," his opponent recalled. "But that means..."
"Strategist's attack is boosted by 1500, meaning it is now 4300!" Tanion exclaimed.
The essence shuffled back slightly, but tried to remain unperturbed. "Even if you attack, Fusion Core will simply destroy Strategist and you will take 4300 points of damage! This duel is over!"
"I agree," Tanion smirked. "Battle! Strategist of the Knight, attack Fusion Core! Decisive Strike!"
"You lose, outlander!"
"Strategist's other effect activates! It negates the effects of any monster it battles for the duration of the Battle Phase!"
The essence froze. "What?!"
Tanion watched as Strategist's sword punctured through Fusion Core's armour, piercing directly into its heart. The essence shrieked in pain as it did so, and fell to the ground clutching at its chest and the core exploded and turned to rubble. As his monster vanished from the field, Tanion rushed to Darrien's body, which was now lying eerily still on the cold stone floor of the sanctuary.
"Darrien, talk to me," Tanion said worriedly as he rested the man's head on his arm.
"Tanion?" a groggy whisper came from behind him.
"Elise, you're awake," Tanion said in relief.
"What happened?" she blonde asked, holding her head as she got to her feet. "I remember Darrien absorbing the Fusion Energy, and then…"
"There was such a large concentration of Fusion Energy that it had gained sentience," Tanion explained, hardly believing what he was saying. "It possessed Darrien with the aim of regaining all parts of itself. It tried to start that goal by taking the Fusion Energy that you possess, but I stopped that from happening.'
"So what happened to Darrien then?" Elise asked, noticing his body in Tanion's arm. "Oh, no. Is he..?"
"He's breathing but unconscious," Tanion said much to Elise's relief. "I duelled the thing that had possessed him and won, but now I'm not sure what's going on. We need to get him to Stromberg as soon as we can."
"Agreed," Elise said, still holding her head groggily. "Can you carry him up the stairs? I'm still feeling a little weak…"
Giving Darrien's unconscious body a piggy back, Tanion took the lead as they headed back up the stairs that had brought them to the sanctuary, Elise following behind them in case Darrien's body feel from Tanion's grip. As they came to the entrance of the Ad Deir monastery, Tanion could tell that it seemed to be brighter than when they had arrived. We weren't down there anywhere near long enough for it to become daytime, Tanion thought to himself. So what is the source of this light? Did Elise call for backup? No, there's no way that they could've got here so quickly…
As they got to Darrien's campsite just inside the most outward walls of the monastery, they got their answer. There was a small jet on the small flat area in front of the monastery, its headlights lighting up the monastery itself. In front of the jet, Tanion could make out what appeared to be the silhouette of a woman, but he couldn't tell if they were friend or foe.
"I don't like this," Elise muttered. "Tanion, let me…"
"No," Tanion said quickly. "You and Darrien need to get a head start on making it back to the jet. I will see what this person wants."
Elise clearly disapproved, but it was also evident that she was in no condition to fight. "Alright. I saw Darrien's jet in one of the small alcoves we passed on the way up the stairs not far from the top. I'll mark the entrance for you."
"I might need help here though," Tanion said warily. "When you get to the jet, contact Felirae and tell him that I need help. Get him to contact Jaden."
"Jaden? How could he…"
"Just do it please," Tanion requested.
Elise looked him in the eye before nodding. "Alright. Be safe."
The woman in the lights of the jet watched as Elise carried Darrien's body toward the walkway that they had come up from only hours before. After they were gone, the headlights of the jet flickered off, and the woman began to approach Tanion who was standing in the entrance to the Ad Deir monastery, the light from Darrien's camp illuminating the surrounding area. As she came into the light, Tanion noted the brunette hair and silver eyes, but more importantly, he noted the duel disk on her arm.
"Who are you to desecrate this shrine?" the woman asked in a rather smooth voice, readying her duel disk.
"I have done no such thing," Tanion replied, feigning confidence. "You know of this shrine's significance?"
The woman remained silent for a moment, before her disk whirred to life. "Duel me. Receive your punishment for entering this shrine."
Tanion readied his duel disk, but his mind was beginning to whirl. It's clear that she does not refer to the Ad Deir monastery itself, but rather the sanctuary that we found beneath it, he thought to himself. So how does she know about the shrine? What am I missing here? Mind full of questions, he accepted the challenge set before him, hoping that it would buy the time that Darrien and Elise needed.
DUEL!
"I shall start," the woman said. "You have desecrated this shrine to the hidden powers of this world. For that, you will suffer."
"How do you know of this shrine?" Tanion demanded.
The woman did not reply. "I activate the continuous spell card, Envoy Gathering!" she said instead, the card appearing beside her. "Now, every time an 'Envoy' monster is summoned, or any time an 'Envoy' monster is sent from my hand or field to the graveyard, this card gains an Envoy Counter for each monster sent or summoned. Additionally, 'Envoy' monsters on my side of the field gains 100 ATK and DEF for each Envoy Counter on this card."
"Counters, hey…" Tanion muttered to himself. "Been a long time since I've seen this."
"And now, I activate the spell card Polymerisation!" the woman proclaimed.
Tanion froze. She knows of the shrines… the essence's words…
"I send Jalyth, Envoy of the Feline and Scaram, Envoy of the Insect to my grave in order to perform a Fusion Summon!" the woman continued. "Cat and beetle, become one as you journey forth on the search for even greater strength! Awaken the ancient ancestry within yourself to press forward with eternal strength! Fusion Summon! Revive from the beneath the earth, Level 7! Kine, Envoy of the Dinosaur! (ATK:2400/DEF:2100)."
Tanion could only watch, realisation dawning on his face as the earth rumbled and the might of a tyrannosaurus rex brought itself to the surface. Shaking off the dirt that covered its scales, it let out a powerful roar that shook Tanion to the core and its feet thundered onto the ground, announcing its presence to anyone within the ancient city of Petra.
"Who… who are you?" Tanion whispered.
"Envoy Gathering's effect activates!" the woman said, ignoring him again. "It gains three counters, raising Kine's attack to 2700! Additionally, Jalyth's monster effect activates, meaning I can send one 'Envoy' monster from my deck to the graveyard!"
"This can't be good…"
"I send Quandron, Envoy of the Oxen to my grave!" the woman said. "This means Gathering gains another counter, and Kine's attack rises once again to 2800!"
"Are you going to answer my question?" Tanion finally managed to ask.
The woman frowned. "I activate the effect that Kine gained from using Scaram as Fusion material!" she continued. "I send Nalihal, Envoy of the Fish from my deck to the graveyard, thus giving Gathering another counter and activating Nalihal's effect! I can now add one 'Envoy' card from my deck to my hand, and I choose Andraxia, Envoy of the Fairy!"
"Kine's attack has also risen to 2900…" Tanion realised.
"And now, I set one card face-down," the woman said. "With that, I end my turn."
"Who are you?" Tanion repeated. "How do you know of these shrines?"
The woman sighed. "If I tell you, will you begin to focus on this duel?" she asked.
"I will," Tanion nodded.
"If you must know, then I shall tell you," the woman said. "My title is Commander Zera, co-leader of the United Army Corps of the Grand Order. Additionally, I am the self-proclaimed keeper and protector of Duel Energy shrines across the globe, and therefore anyone who attempts to desecrate these shrines faces my wrath. So take your turn. It will be your last."
Coming Soon - Power Within