Thetrueazure: It's time, for the conclusion to this epic duel. *Doorbell rings* Kazuma, can you get that please.
Kazuma: Sure thing. *Opens the door to find a Sectopod* Azure…..Why is there a Sectopod; the bane of every XCOM players existence at our door step.
Thetrueazure: Shut the door, Shut the door, SHUT THE DOOR!
"But how!?" Kuraki asked
"Why that's simple! Forced Oath of the Wicked can only be activated, if all my monsters are destroyed, while my opponent controls 2 monsters with 3000 or more attack points! This allows me to take control of them! Now they belong to me!"Apollyon laughed.
"Damnit! Damnit!" Ritsu cursed, seeing how he fell for such a cheap trick. But he cursed the fact more that he was such a fool! He lost himself in power!
"You should have known from the beginning that you couldn't win! You were close though, I give you that! And because you fought so admirably, I'll tell you a little secret, involving your dragon slayer friend" Apollyon laughed through the gauntlet and dark energy flowed into Kage and Inazuma. The stream flowed into their head and both of them roared in agony. But then, their eyes were filled with realization and shock.
"No…" Inazuma muttered and stared down in disbelief. Kage turned his eyes in total rage towards Krad.
"YOU TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU!" Kage roared, trying to break free from his chains, but no avail.
"Traitor? Wait, you don't mean-"
Krad turned his eyes towards Ritsu, then to Satoshi, Terra, Akira, Nami, Kurogasa, Kuraki and Keira and back to Ritsu. His eyes were still brown as his human eyes, even as they were in the core of the flames.
"That's right. I joined Apollyon on my own free will" Krad announced.
Ch.68 Sacred Shadow Dragon Final Part.
Everyone looked at Krad in disbelief and shock. Nobody would ever dreamt that Krad, the funny-man in their group and heir of a dragon slayer family, became allies with the most ruthless dragon lord in creation. Krad's expression did not change at the elemental users glares and looks shot towards him.
"No." Shin whispered as Yuki placed her hands over her mouth.
"How could he?" Yuki asked
"This has to be a joke Krad!" Terra yelled.
"He's right!" Satoshi said. "You're better than this!"
"Stop joking! Krad, stop making fun of us!" Ritsu yelled, he couldn't believe it. No, he didn't want to believe it. Krad becoming his enemy was a thought he couldn't bear.
Krad however looked calmly towards Ritsu and the others. The Apollyon's laughter filled the air and suddenly a faint image of Apollyon made of shadows around them materialized itself behind Krad. Ritsu flinched as Apollyon placed his claw of mist onto Krad's shoulder who didn't seem to mind.
"Its true, User of light. I myself was quite surprised when I went to claim him from the netherworld. I intended to use my puppet magic on him to force him into my legions. But the moment I found him, he came up to me by himself and asked me if he could serve me" Apollyon explained, he showed a gleaming smile towards the shocked faces of the remaining elemental users.
"No way! Krad would never do something like that!" Nami yelled at Apollyon. "You tricked him!"
"She's right!" Akira added. "Krad would never freely join you!"
"Stop telling nonsense! Inazuma, Kage! Please tell me he is lying!" Ritsu almost begged at the two chained dragons. But Inazuma couldn't look him into the eyes, he was in such a shocked state at whatever Apollyon showed him.
"Damn you! Damn you, you accursed traitor! I swear if I get these chains off me, I will rip you in half!" Kage shouted angerly, some chains that held him broke beneath his strength, but every time he broke free from one, another three wrapped around his body.
Krad just ignored the dragon and he kept his attention towards Ritsu.
"I guess you won't believe it even if I tell you? You were always stubborn Ritsu." Krad sighed.
"Let him be a fool until the very end. Continue the duel my servant and destroy him. No mercy!" Apollyon's mirage commanded.
"Understood." Krad said quickly and glanced with his chaos-blazed eyes towards Ritsu.
"Continue your turn or end it, I could care less, just do one or the other!" Krad growled.
Ritsu, shaken by Krad's words couldn't move his limbs. He just couldn't believe it.
"What if it were true? Did Shinken persuade him? No, Shinken hates all dragons alike, no matter who they're sided with" Ritsu thought and then looked through his cards.
His field had two cards, unless he had a monster he couldn't use at all and Krad was controlling now the strongest dragons in creation. If those two would attack him combined, he wouldn't survive the assault. There was also the poison moving through his system. He suffered 800 points of damage last round, so when his turn comes, he will lose 1600. He somehow must find a way, to avoid it. Then a thought popped up in his mind, when he looked at one specific card. A series of cards lined up in his head and he saw how he could use his remaining cards.
"If this goes wrong, The Wanderer will have a lot of company coming towards him" Ritsu thought and took his three remaining cards and inserted them into his duel disk. "I lay these cards face-down and then end my turn!" Ritsu said and three more holograms of face-down cards surfaced before him.
"Is that really all he can do? He is totally defenseless." Terra said worried, glancing at the two chained dragons Inazuma and Kage.
"It's all he can do. Krad completely turned this duel around with the use of only one card and if Ritsu doesn't do something, he will be killed by the hands of his own monsters." Satoshi said, he clenched his fists and looked angry towards Krad.
Keira was just on her knees, just in total shock and grief about the fact that Krad has sided with Apollyon on his own free will. Nami and Kuraki held her tightly, they also couldn't believe the situation.
"How could this happen? I mean, Krad and Ritsu are like best friends and yet, why did Krad join Apollyon? I just don't understand it." Kurogasa said.
Not paying any attention at all towards the other elemental users, Krad just slashed his next card from the top of his deck.
"I draw" he said with no emotion and glanced at his drawn card. He grinned at the drawn card and smacked it onto his duel disk. "I think I activate my spell card Cards of Demise! Now I draw until I hold five cards, but in five turns I have to discard my entire hand. Until then, this duel will end with one of us dead!" Krad said and drew until he was holding five cards.
"I think I will kill you with your own dragon's power, that would be more humiliating, don't you think" Krad said and glanced towards Inazuma, who was still chained. Ritsu gulped and readied himself, when he heard Inazuma chuckle confident.
"I will never follow a traitor of all a traitors who joined with Apollyon! If you loosen these chains I swear I will tear you apart with my own hands! Ritsu Himuro is the only master who I have sworn my loyalty and I will never betray him!" Inazuma declared, still being chained tightly towards Krad.
"That's right; Kage didn't obey Krad the first time when he summoned him. But would Inazuma really do that?" Ritsu thought and shuddered when he thought how Inazuma could have turned on him.
"Who ever said I needed your loyalty to finish Ritsu off? I will just use you as fuel for my next card, same as Kage" Krad said with such a cold voice it gave everyone a cold chill down their spine.
"W-What does he mean by that?" Kuraki asked as she shook in fear.
"We're about to find out." Jihl said.
"Ritsu, do you remember when Shinken dueled Kurogasa? Oh wait, you fell unconscious that day so you don't remember" Krad stated.
"What about it?" Ritsu asked back, remembering how Kurogasa described his dangerous duel with Shinken.
"That day when to won against your dad, Shinken challenged me to a duel." Kurogasa explained. "During the duel, he used these cards known as Dark Armory cards, they acted like equip cards that gave him enhanced abilities and the cost of damaging the wielder."
"You're kidding."
"Do you think I would fake broken ribs and internal bleeding?" Kurogasa asked.
"How about I give you a history lesson of my clan: The Dark Armory weapons were forged by Credo the IV after discovering how to canal spirit energy of our fallen comrades and enemies into a vessel like a weapon. He forged many other weapons which neither of you have seen. However, after crafting one final weapon, Credo IV was banished from our clan and went into exile. Then he vanished from the face of the earth and a new head was selected, Credo the V, one of my ancestors." Krad explained.
"Why was he sent to the exile and why are you telling me this?" Ritsu asked, not liking at all what Krad was telling him.
A wicked smile crossed Krad's face and he held one of his drawn cards up. The card was emanating such a dark aura, it literally frightened Ritsu.
"Why? Very simple. I hold that very weapon right now!" Krad said, flipping his card over and showed it towards Ritsu and the others.
Ritsu only saw a monster card colored in black, whose picture was completely shrouded in shadows, and countless chains were wrapping around something humanoid-shaped, but he couldn't see it from afar. Suddenly, he noticed, how his legs were shaking. He was surprised, but then he noticed, how much his whole body shook. It wasn't from the pain, because all senses in his head told him to get away as far as possible from that card.
"What is this feeling? It's like my entire being is screaming in fear from this card. What kind of creature does it hold?" Ritsu thought and looked back at his friends.
To his shock, he saw everyone in total fear, Kurogasa was holding his mark so tightly, he winced each time he moved and it was glowing so very brightly, it nearly blinded him. The spirits of the remaining dragons materialized themselves around their wielders; they stared towards Krad's card in total fear.
"It can't be…That weapon should have been casted into the abyss" Apollo said with a frightened voice, Satoshi looked at him with great surprise, never had he seen Apollo in such a frightened state.
"That card is imbued with the powers of the abyss! It doesn't belong in neither world!" Golem said as he took a defensive stance around Terra, who looked at the wise dragon. He can't remember Golem being scared of something like that.
Inazuma and Kage were frozen in fright, as they saw the card their capturer held.
"Ritsu! Get us outta here! Hurry!" Kage bellowed and used the remaining of his strength to break free, but he couldn't even shatter one of his chains which held him down. Ritsu stepped back; he couldn't imagine that both Inazuma and Kage were in total terror at the card.
At the Order
Yuki shuddered at the dark aura emanating from the duel park. "What the hell is going on? So much hate coming from that card."
Shin could only look at his wife, she's always been a strong woman, but the moment she looked at that card, it was like the strength was sucked out of her.
"I hope bro is doing ok." Miharu worried as Lester placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Kazuma, I'm scared." Iris moved close to Kazuma who wrapped his arm around her in a protective matter. Shinji did the same thing with Melody.
In town.
Ashley, Drake and Nell shuddered at an unknown dark aura.
"What the hell is all that hatred?" Drake asked.
Ashley shook her head. "I don't know, but something tells me it's bad."
Krad also shook nervously as he held the vicious card in his hand; he even chuckled at its sight.
"You know, there is a very good reason why the usage of this weapon is forbidden in my clan. It was sealed with seven of the strongest sealing spells known to man and duel spirit. Only the current head of the clan could open those seals only with the sacred relic of our ancestors. If anyone would dare to open it, they are branded as traitor of the worst kind and will be hunted down like one" Krad explained nervously and grabbed into his pockets pulling out the claymore-shaped necklace. It suddenly changed its shape until it actually looked like a key of a sort. The card he was holding was emitting a howling noise as it was resonating with the key waiting to be re-united with it.
"I am quite eager to see the full extent of this artifact." Apollyon said.
"We call this necklace the symbol of our clan, allowing our ancestors to possess our bodies by giving our blood towards it. You met my founder already and seen his strength. But this one is more dangerous, to open this card's seal, I must sacrifice my humanity for it!" Krad said in total fear.
"What!?" Ritsu gasped in shock.
"Why would you go this far!?" Satoshi demanded an answer.
"I do this to achieve my most desired goal. If I must make you my greatest nemesis for it, then I will gladly do so!" Krad answered back, his necklace was being pulled towards the card as a massive aura was building itself around Krad.
"Why Krad?! What goal is so important, to even give up your soul or even betraying your friends?! Is it because of that dragon lord Avarita?!" Ritsu yelled as the very name shocked Apollyon.
"How does a worm like you know of him?!" Apollyon growled surprised at Ritsu and suddenly realized. He stared then towards Krad in disbelief.
"Then it was you…" he uttered in total surprise.
Krad chuckled at Ritsu and he looked towards him one last time.
"Even if I were to be hunted by heaven or hated by hell, as long I can achieve my goal I wouldn't mind dying! This is the last time you see me in this form!" Krad roared and forced his necklace into the card. Then he turned it around like a key until it made a loud click. Seven chains shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the card Krad was holding, trying to stop him from opening the seal placed on the card. He only grinned to that futile attempt of his ancestors and took a deep breath.
"I, Credo XVI, Heir of the Kenshin Clan, command thee by my decree, open thy gate and shall awaken the beast sealed within thee" the chains snapped and a hole opened in the card's image. It released a roar, such a furious roar that it creeped Ritsu out. Krad let the card go as it floated in mid-air before him. He spread his arms aside and closed his eyes "Steel for fangs, blood for rage and flesh for the power! Give me the strength to utterly crush, destroy, kill, devour and annihilate my foes before me! Use my vessel as thy tool of death! Devour my soul for the tool of absolute carnage! Awaken, Abyssal Armamental of the Fourth, Exilius Drago Rex (10/0/0)!" Krad chanted with a deep voice, not his, but that of his ancestors.
In the next moment, multiple skeletal hands shot out of the card, each one of them grabbed Krad's limbs and held him tightly. Two more tore Krad's shirt and jacket of, so his chest was exposed. The sharp claws forced themselves into his chest, tearing it open, as Krad screamed in agony. But what Ritsu saw, shocked him the most.
A portal opened itself in the center of Krad's chest as a blood red eye glared out. A massive flood of shadows spilled out of Krad and started then to whirl around him. The whirl builds itself up to a huge tornado, as Ritsu covered his face from the dark wind blowing towards him. This feeling felt familiar…it was the same when he met the huge dragon of combined malice inside Krad's soul.
Through the whirl of the shadows, Ritsu saw how negative energy started to cover Krad's head, shoulders and arms, manifesting itself into his skin. Krad's agonizing screams slowly turned into howling which made Ritsu cover his ears in pain. It sounded like a savage dragon, but more intense than usual
"This is quite exhilarating." Satellizer said while shielding herself from the wind. "I never imagined the boy to have that much power."
Apollyon's mirage stared towards Krad as the massive tornado of darkness kept growing, inflicting numerous cracks inside his barrier.
"This is the power of the abyss itself? How…profound! Wonderful!" Apollyon roared.
Golem summoned a massive stone wall to cover his allies as the wind itself was damaging him. Kurogasa saw the fear grip his face, same as the other dragons. Whatever Krad was about to use, it was a very bad sign. His signer mark burned like crazy, telling him to run as far and quickly as possible.
"Ritsu, whatever is coming, brace yourself!"
Ritsu was slowly pushed towards the edge of the barrier, but he held his ground. He still heard how Kage and Inazuma were roaring out of fear. What could be so dangerous that even they're so terrified?
"Great, the big bad guy just got bigger and badder!" Ritsu cursed.
Then as fast as it came, the tornado just vanished and revealed something which Ritsu will never forget.
"No way…" he uttered in total disbelief looking at Krad. Krad's entire upper body was entirely covered by a pitch-black hideous armor. The right shoulder had dragon skulls as pauldrons, his chest was covered in numerous runes, which glowed red instead of green and it had many rings embedded into the armor with broken chains attached to them. His arms were now clad in a thick armor and the right hand was now completely covered by black, sharp claws and around his wrist was a cuff with a broken chain ring. When Ritsu looked at Krad's left arm, he tried to keep himself from getting sick, seeing how the gauntlet completely infused with Krad, it covered the entire arm and the scimitar-like blade had the shape of a dragon wing. Brutal spikes made of bones shot out of his shoulder, drenched in a crimson color. But when Ritsu looked at Krad's head, he stepped back in fright.
Krad's entire head and face was covered in a bestial dragon helmet with horns pointing backwards and each time Krad took a breath he emitted smoke from his mouth opening. Inside, Ritsu saw fangs like a true dragon and four empty eye were around Krad's eyes. They then suddenly erupted into black and white flames and blinked towards Ritsu's way.
The moment the two made eye contact, Ritsu almost yelped, when he saw the massive negative energy boiling inside Krads eyes. It was the very same thing, when he was inside Krad's soul and got hit by the same energy, which transformed Krad from a young child into a fearsome hunter.
Ritsu saw a massive aura around Krad, flickering around his very being and he knew the source of that power.
Hatred. Krad's entire soul and aura was just a huge mass of hatred, aimed towards him. Krad just kept his eyes fixed on him and not moving an inch. He looked like a predator staring at his next prey.
"Krad? Are…you still in there?" Ritsu asked carefully, but then Krad pulled his head and looked up into the sky
"GRRRAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!" Krad unleashed such a devastating roar, it shattered the entire barrier of Apollyon like it was nothing and even Golem's barrier of stone crumbled to dust. The dragon of the earth cried in pain as a great portion was just shattered by a dragon-like roar. Ritsu almost got smacked of his feet by the sheer cry, but he was able to guard himself before flying off. The shockwave even brought a few of the elemental dragons to their knees; they couldn't even resist. The entire sky was cleared from the massive shock wave and the mirage of Apollyon was whipped away like nothing.
"Why Krad, WHY?" Keira asked as tears fell to the floor.
Krad turned his face towards Ritsu's direction, the four eyes glared viciously towards him. When Krad opened his mouth, steam dashed out of his fanged mouth, as a massive heat was burning within him.
"This time, Ritsu Himuro, I will kill you! Exilius can only be special summoned if there are two or more dragons on the field whose levels total 10 or more, next I activate the effect of Exilius Drago Rex: During my turn, I can select any dragon-type monster on my field and reduce his attack points down to zero and negate all of his current effects. Then, I gain all that monsters attack points and also the effect of that very monster!" Krad shouted and looked towards Inazuma, who was in total fear of him.
"I think I'll feast on your dragon's soul of light. I heard that it tastes quite nice!" Krad said and extended his right hand towards the chained light dragon. Inazuma was frozen in fright, he enveloped himself in a orb of light to hide from Krad. But that was futile, as KRad just grabbed the chain which held Inazuma and without any effort at all, he pulled Inazuma out of his barrier! Inazuma crashed onto the ground before Krad, the chains didn't allow him to move at all.
"Inazuma!" Kage bellowed and like everyone else, he had to watch, how Krad raised his hand at Inazuma and a dark smile covered his non-armored face, as the chains turned Inazuma towards him and he licked his lips in excitement.
"Time to feast!" Krad said and thrusted his fist into Inazuma's chest, shattering his golden scales to bits. Inazuma roared in agony and then Krad slammed another time, this time piercing through his skin and cracking it up like nothing. Inazuma kept screaming in agony and Ritsu had to watch helplessly at how Krad ravaged his dragon's body.
"His brutality is most impressive! He will become a powerful general when this is over!" Apollyon said as he rejoiced.
As Krad forced his entire arm into Inazuma, the dragon suddenly stopped screaming and just fell limp. Then his scales slowly lost their color, turning his entire golden body into an empty gray shadow of his former self, even his eyes were completely empty.
Krad then pulled his claw out of Inazuma's body and inside the palm of his claw he held a glowing sphere of light the size of a grapefruit. Ritsu felt the power and presence of Inazuma inside that sphere.
"Seems like you have never seen a soul in this form, right? Exilius Death Rex is a weapon, which can use the souls of dragons as weapons. This is a soul in its purest form, all the knowledge and power of a dragon resides in here" Krad explained while holding the sphere up so everyone could see it.
"So, what are you going to do with it?" Ritsu asked while he didn't actually want to hear the answer.
But Krad never intended to give it and held the light sphere over his head..
Krad opened his mouth wide, revealing the fangs inside and then suddenly, his jaw cracked violently. Ritsu flinched, as Krad's jaw kept cracking and then it suddenly dropped lower, the entrance of his mouth was large enough to devour the sphere whole. And that's what Krad did, with great pleasure. The sphere glowed one final time, before Krad just bit into it like eating a fruit and gulped it down. After two-three bites, Krad had the soul of Inazuma devoured and let out a satisfying sigh.
"Tastes sweet, you should try once" Krad said, retracting his jaw back to his normal place and licked his lips.
"Now that was just sick!" Nami said in disgust.
"I totally agree" Akira said and looked at the dragons who looked at Inazuma's next to lifeless body
Krad then spread his right arm out and grinned. His armor around his right shoulder and arm started to crack, the cracks spread further and then broke open. Then Ritsu saw with a total shocked expression, how Krad's entire arm changed into that of Inazuma, golden scales and claws, two white angel-wings emerged from his right shoulder. Electricity sparked over his arms and Krad then unleashed a horrible howl as his very power sky-rocket at the same level as Inazuma (0-3200/0-2700)
"Time to activate the effect of your precious dragon, Lightning Spear: By removing a card from my grave, I can destroy any card on the field, so let's see." Krad looked around Ritsu's field, but didn't see anything interesting to blow to pieces, but then he looked at the grounded Inazuma. The prideful dragon of the divine light was barely alive, but Krad found his target.
"He wouldn't!" Ritsu thought.
"I don't need a weakling as this one on my field, its just waste! I shall dispose of it right away! I remove my Storm of Blades from play and destroy Inazuma, the Dragon of Divine Light!" Krad said and a card ejected out of his duel disk.
Electricity imbued his arm and he formed a lightning spear in his right hand. He snapped with his fingers and the chains levitated Inazuma into the air, so everyone could see the empty and half-dead dragon.
"Inazuma!" Levaithan tried to fly over to him only to be repelled by the barrier.
"Krad, please! Stop this, you aren't like this! Don't hurt Ritsu anymore!" Keira screamed, but without even listening Krad just brutally forced the lightning spear into Inazuma, piercing through his chest and then the dragon was no more. Krad then laughed malicious at the shocked faces of his former allies.
Ritsu coughed up blood and held himself at the same spot, where Inazuma was pierced and stumbled backwards. But he gritted his teeth and forced his foot back and remained standing.
"Forgive me Inazuma, I was too reckless!" Ritsu thought.
"Impressive. You are quite stubborn. Well, this next attack will finish you off for sure! I activate the effect of Exilius Drago Rex one more time and devour the Soul of Kage this time!" Krad hissed and then shattered the armor around Kage's chest, making him groan in pain. And without any mercy, Krad forced his fist into Kage, causing the dragon of nightmares to scream in pain.
Ritsu could only watch helplessly, how the obsidian scales of Kage turned gray again and also the light inside his eyes just faded. Krad pulled his arm out revealing another sphere of pure darkness inside his hand. Then he bore his fangs into the sphere and devoured as it were an apple. He licked his fingers after finishing his meal.
"Not bad, tastes like meat, more resistance than the light, but good" Krad noted and then spread his left arm out.
Again, the shoulder armor cracked and two pitch-black wings erupted from his left shoulder. His left arm was covered in obsidian scales along with the gauntlet brimming in black fire. Krad roared into the sky, the power of nightmares flowed through him and his strength nearly doubled. (3200-6300/2700-5000)
"6300 Attack points?! And Ritsu has no monsters on his field!" Satoshi shouted shocked.
"Ritsu will pull this through I know it!" Kurogasa yelled, holding his mark tightly.
"I hope you can do something, because now I activate the effect of the nightmare dragon! I remove 2 monsters in my graveyard and boost my own attack points to 7300! This is the end for you!" Krad roared as he was imbued by further dark flames (6300-7300).
Krad spread his arms out again and in each of his hands, a sword of pure darkness and light formed themselves. Then he fused them together and created a man-sized sword of chaotic flames, which he held with only his right hand.
"To spice things up, I equip myself with Fairy Meteor Crush! Now hiding in defense mode won't help you! Also, since I used Exilius' effect, monsters I battle with are not destroyed!" Krad yelled as he was surrounded by glittering dust and his blade became more serrated.
"Further more, I activate the spell card Trap Talisman! During this turn, I am not affected by any trap cards!" Krad continued as a necklace with an eye formed itself around his neck, protecting him in a purple aura.
Krad ducked forward and ran towards Ritsu, his flaming sword tightly gripped in his hand and with the full intention to kill
"IT IS TIME THAT I END YOU! I ATTACK YOU WITH MY CHAOS NOVA BLADE!" Krad bellowed and his sword erupted into greater flames. He almost reached Ritsu and pulled his sword back for the finishing kill.
"Ritsu!" everyone exclaimed.
"It's finished…" Apollyon said. But Ritsu didn't have any intention of giving up now!
"Now or never!" Ritsu thought and quickly raised his hand.
"I activate my first face-down card, Half Shield! All damage I receive this turn is halved!" Ritsu yelled and a shield materialized itself between him and Krad. One side was made of solid material while the other was made of transparent material.
"Hiding behind that shield won't save you! Go to hell!" Krad roared and just blasted through the shield, losing half of his strength, but not his intent to kill.
"Who said anything about hiding? I activate my second face-down, Call of the Haunted! I bring back my Angel Dragon in attack mode!" Ritsu shouted and through his portal, the angelic winged petit dragon appeared. The small dragon shrieked at the sight of the incoming Krad.
"What are you going to do with that little piece of trash?! It's nothing but a bump in the road!" Krad roared and was about to slash the petit dragon.
"He wasn't my target, but this one is! I reveal my third face-down! Synchro Call! Now I can use another monster in my graveyard as a Synchro Material for a Synchro Summon this turn!" Ritsu exclaimed.
"A Synchro Summon during my attack? Interesting, then lets see what you have got!" Krad shouted back and sprung from the ground into mid-air, his sword held high up.
"Ask and you shall receive! I tune my Angel Dragon with my Gravi-Crush Dragon in my graveyard!" Ritsu yelled and the faint image of his big-fisted dragon appeared. Angels Dragon cried out before he turned into two synchro rings, as Ritsu started to chant:
Darkened gales, become the wings that soar from resolved hope! Synchro Summon! Soar, Blackwing Dragon (8/2800/1600)!
Yuzuki's dragon appeared before Ritsu and screeched a battle cry towards the incoming threat. Dragon's barrier already formed a bubble around the dragon as Krad's blade made contact with the sphere.
A huge explosion followed and Krad's sword was repelled into the air and he was sent towards the ground. Ritsu skidded a few steps backwards and screamed in pain as he was hit by the shock wave.
Ritsu: 250
Krad: 100
"Thank…you…Yuzuki" Ritsu coughed as he looked at Yuzuki's dragon.
Flashback
Ritsu was about to leave Yuzuki's sick bed, when he suddenly noticed her hand gripping his tightly.
"Yuzuki!" Ritsu turned around quickly and saw a weak smile on her face. In her other hand she held a card.
"…take…this…save…Krad…with…it" Yuzuki used the remainder of her strength to hold the card towards Ritsu. He took the card carefully and looked at it, seeing its picture of the Black Winged Dragon.
"Don't worry, I will save him and you together, I promise.." Ritsu said softly and gently kissed her lips. After a few seconds, which were like an eternity for him, he broke the kiss and caressed her hair. She had closed her eyes as a tear trickled down her cheek.
Ritsu silently turned around and inserted her card, her will into his deck, before walking out of the infirmary.
End Flashback
In the order, Yuzuki opened her eyes weakly and she grinned.
"….not…a…problem…" Yuzuki whispered, as if she heard Ritsu's voice.
Ritsu tried to get up back onto his feet, but as he looked up, he froze.
Despite having attacked him already, Krad had materialized a pitch-black blade in his hand and stormed right towards him. Ritsu couldn't react, the attack was to fast!
"I am growing tired of this! Now die!" Krad hissed and thrusted his sword with both hands forward, towards Ritsu's chest.
"RITSU!" Everyone exclaimed, but then the black blade had already pierced Ritsu's body. Ritsu stared down at the sword in disbelief and then towards Krads eyes. Numbness filled his body and darkness clouded his eyes. He heard the faint screams of his friends, but they slowly vanished as he descended into the darkness.
"What a way to go." he whispered and closed his eyes, never expecting to open them again.
Outside his mind, Ritsu's body went limb and his head fell on top of Krad's shoulder.
Everyone couldn't believe it, seeing Krad stabbed his own friend with a calm expression.
"Ritsu!" Nami screamed, tears flew down her cheeks, as she wanted to run towards Ritsu, but was held back by Akira. His face was gripped in despair, seeing Ritsu has fallen.
Kurogasa clenched his teeth, but punched with all his might into the ground. He lost his best friend and he couldn't do a thing.
"Damn it, Ritsu! Why?!" he screamed but no answer came back.
Terra dropped in disbelief onto his knees, all hopes has vanished in his eyes. Jihl tried to comfort him, but even she didn't have an alternative strategy for this situation.
Satoshi had now lost two friends before his eyes. He tried to hold his tears back and then activated his duel disk. Satoshi wanted to charge forward, but he realized that he alone was nothing.
Keira held herself, she had lost the one she loved most and two important friends. Yuzuki and Ritsu will be no more.
"No way." Shin backed up while tears streamed down Yuki's face. They were finally able to reunite with their son only to have Apollyon kill him.
"Damn it, APOLLYON!" Kazuma yelled and fell to his knees and punched the floor.
Everyone had lost their fighting spirit which Apollyon saw from afar and he enjoyed it to no end.
"Wonderful, Wonderful! I praise you, Krad Kenshin! You are worthy of the title dragon slayer! I shall make your name known to all as my right hand in command, no, as my only apprentice!" Apollyon laughed in dark joy.
Satellizer flinched at the remark of Apollyon and stared in total frustration towards the ground.
"Did you hear? Seems like Lord Apollyon wont be needing you any longer. I wonder what will happen with you? Maybe he will allow you to be that brat's maiden" Hero laughed, getting a fierce look of Satellizer towards him.
Back onto the field of the duelists, Krad let go of his sword and just dropped Ritsu to the ground and then faced the remaining chosen ones.
"Who shall I devour next?" Krad chuckled and licked his lips in excitement. Then he started to walk towards the remaining duelists.
"Only over my dead body!" Kurogasa yelled and summoned his Haos Staff and was prepared to face Krad again, despite being in bad shape himself. His mark literally screamed in his mind to run away and his body shook from the sheer aura of the dragon slayer.
"Another light soul? This is going to be tasty…" Krad chuckled and bore his fanged mouth towards him.
Striding into unconsciousness, Ritsu saw Krad moving towards his friends, but he didn't have the strength or the will to get up. His entire mind was filled with darkness and he just gave himself to it.
Until something disturbed him.
"..ke up!" Somebody was calling him, but he tried to ignore it. But someone kept calling him.
"Wake up!"
"Leave me alone." he thought.
"Have it your way! Don't blame me if it hurts!" the voice said again.
BAM!
An explosion lightened up his mind and pain followed quickly. Ritsu then realized that he just got punched straight in the face.
"OW! That hurt!" he cried and opened his eyes to find out who had the nerve to punch him!
As he opened his eyes, he was in the same void he usually knows, except that it had a few spots of shadows around, must be because of Belial inhabited his soul now. But when he looked at the person who punched him, he just gasped.
"Hi there! Was your nap good?" Krad cheerfully asked, sitting right next to him, as if nothing was wrong.
Anger gripped Ritsu and then he threw a punch towards the white-haired duelist, Krad dropped onto his back and Ritsu jumped right onto him, pounding on him in blind rage.
"How dare you! How dare you show your face here! After all you have done! You betrayed me!" Ritsu threw a punch again at Krad, who didn't defend himself at all.
"You betrayed Belial!" Another punch followed " you betrayed Yuzuki!" another punch followed "Nami! Akira! Satoshi! Terra! Jihl! Kurogasa! Kuraki!" For each name, Ritsu punched Krad with all his might, tears slowly dropped from his eyes in rage.
"And worst of all, you betrayed Keira, she loved you with all her heart!" Ritsu yelled and punched one more time at Krad.
Krad didn't react towards anything Ritsu did to him, but only smiled calmly towards him.
This made Ritsu lose it and jumped from him. Then he grabbed him at his collar and threw him up into the air, his eyes were filled with tears and rage.
"Tell me why! Why did you betray everyone who loved you?! Did you really ally yourself with Apollyon?! What goal is so important to cast everything aside you have?!" Ritsu yelled at him.
Ritsu gasped suddenly at the sight of Krad's face, it was cracked all over from the impact of his punches and some of his skin just flaked off, revealing only darkness within his body.
"…are you done?" Krad asked him with a soft voice. Ritsu let him go and then dropped onto his knees. He looked at his hands, seeing them full of flaked skin of Krad's face on his knuckles.
Tears continued to flow down his cheeks and he just let it out. Krad kneeled down to him, holding his shoulders with his cracked hands. Ritsu looked up and met his eyes. He saw himself in Krad's eyes, seeing how drenched of tears he was. Krad only shook his head at that.
Then Krad pulled his head back and just slammed his forehead straight into Ritsu's. The sheer impact sent Ritsu rolling backwards, holding his sore head from the hit.
"Dude! I never thought you were such a crybaby! Man up and get up onto your feet!" Krad barked harshly towards the already injured Ritsu.
Ritsu was still counting stars as Krad stood up and stared down on him.
"Ritsu, I didn't come here for reunion parties. My time is limited, so I must make this quick" Krad said, looking at his left hand as it was already dissolving.
"What do you mean?" Ritsu recovered and asked, seeing how Krad's body was slowly flaking away. "What is happening to you?"
"Didn't you listen? The Weapon of Credo the IV is forbidden by our clan because it consumed the user and turned him into a soul eating monster worse than a dragon. Credo the IV had to slay his own son, because he was a threat towards mankind and because of his unforgivable act and guilt, he went into exile on his own free will. I hoped I didn't have to use that accursed weapon, but I was left with no choice. You just refused to do as I wanted" Krad explained, looking at Ritsu with his brown eyes.
"What do you mean with that? Giving up and let you kill my friends? Not by a longshot! I swore to myself, that I wont let another friend down!" Ritsu yelled back.
"Heh, you just don't change" Krad said and turned his back at Ritsu.
Silence was between them, until Krad broke it again.
"You asked, what goal is so important, to even side with a being like Apollyon or betraying the ones I truly loved, is that correct?" Krad asked, without turning his head around.
Ritsu didn't answer, but Krad continued anyway.
"My goal is truly worth everything, I realized it, when I fell towards Apollyon's might. I knew that moment, that none of you, Terra, Satoshi, Nami or Akira would stand a chance against Apollyon. His powers were just sealed that day, but now they exceed my own by far and yours too. You wouldn't be a challenge for him even combined, especially using a fake power" Krad said.
"Fake power? What do you mean? Belial gave me his own powers! He-" Ritsu wanted to protest, but KRad just silenced him with a dark glare.
"We both were using a fake power! We both failed to understand Belial's true role! He wasn't the dragon of nightmares, that power was created by Abyssal Soul. And Shinken or other known as Credo the IV is the true owner of the Abyssal Soul" Krad stated.
"What?! Shinken is the true owner of Kage? But that can't be, he's a spirit, one that killed dragons!" Ritsu said in confusion.
"True, but I never said Shinken was the owner of Kage. I am or better, my soul is. The Nightmare dragon was an image of myself trying to copy a power, which doesn't belong to me. Only Shinken would have been able to control him in that form. Why do you think I didn't I summon him during my match against Satellizer?" Krad asked him.
Ritsu then realized what Krad was going on about.
"You couldn't? But why? Shinken was next to you and you still couldn't summon him?" he asked again, getting a nod of Krad.
"Yes, Shinken was with me. But since I accepted my inner darkness, my ability to summon or control Kage was lost. I had to find my own true power, but I failed to do so in that battle. But now I know how to do so" Krad continued and held a blank card up. He turned around and held the card towards Ritsu. Ritsu looked at the card confused, not knowing what Krad wants.
"Take it Ritsu, it's yours. But before you can use its true potential, you'll need this" Krad said smiling and then grabbed into his pocket. He then pulled out his sword-shaped necklace and held it up for Ritsu to see.
"Your necklace? How is that going to help me?" Ritsu asked confused.
"Kenshins are able to pass their powers on, if one shares their blood. But you're not my son, so another way is necessary." Krad said.
"Alright, listen: Normally, we can only pass our powers towards our children, but I found a different way." Krad said and grabbed Ritsu's right hand by his wrist..
"OW!" Ritsu yelped, as Krad used the blade of his necklace and cut into Ritsu's hand. Blood trickled out quickly and Ritsu pulled his hand back. "What did you do that for?"
Krad didn't answer, but did the same to himself, blood dripped out of his hand. Then he reached out for Ritsu's hand.
"Give me your hand" Krad said.
Ritsu hesitantly took Krad's hand, but as he was in reach, Krad grabbed him with both hands and forced both wounds to push against eachother.
Disgusted, Ritsu tried to pull his hand away, but KRad held him tightly, not letting him go at all costs. As their blood became one, the entire space started to rumble. Ritsu felt how immense power was growing in him, intensifying itself in his very being. He and Krad were then surrounded by a reddish aura, which kept growing by every second.
Ritsu yelped again, as something burning hot was being infused into his hand. The yelp turned into a scream of pain, as he truly felt his hand being cooked.
"Stop! Cut it out!" Ritsu yelled and tried to pull his hand out, but then Krad just let him go. Ritsu then fell onto his behind, panting heavily. His hand was steaming and he looked at it instantly. Ritsu gasped shocked, seeing the necklace of Krad infused at the back of his hand. He also noticed that his right side of his hair was bleached white, same as Krad's.
"What did you do? Why is your necklace…" Ritsu wanted to yell, but saw that Krad doubled over and was coughing violently. Krad's entire left arm was dissolved and he was dissolving much faster.
"Hey?! What's going on?! What did you do?!" Ritsu asked panicked, seeing his friend dissolving into nothing. Krad forced a smile onto his face.
"Look at the card…See any change?" Krad asked him. Ritsu turned looked around and saw how the card was imbued by the power of shadows. When he saw the picture of the card, he couldn't believe it.
"So your goal was…" Ritsu concluded, but stopped as Krad was half-way dissolved. Krad was looking down on his fading body, but yet he grinned.
"Yep, my true goal was to make you stronger. Stronger than anyone I know. And what better way to give you more power, than that of a dragon slayer?" Krad coughed, part of his face was already dissolving.
"I had to join Apollyon, so I could give you this power. I faked my hatred towards you and persuaded him, to let me fight you…I'm sorry for doing such a horrible act to Yuzuki, but I had to…"
"Krad! Stay with me! Don't go!" Ritsu yelled, trying to grab his friend, but when he touched him , he just kept on dissolving.
"Tell everyone, how much I loved them…tell them, no matter what happens, they need to stay strong…Apollyon is soon no more and a greater threat will be born soon…" Krad quickly said, trying to give all the information he had over Apollyon.
"What about you? Don't tell me, that you are going to die? Don't tell me that! Please!" Ritsu yelled and hugged his friend, whose upper body still remained. More tears trickled down his face, Krad buried his face into Ritsu's shoulder. If he had his arms, he would hug him back, but they already dissolved and he didn't have the strength to move either way.
Images shot through the void and Ritsu looked up, seeing countless images of good times, all from Krad's perspective. He saw Satoshi, how he beat him instantly in one move, he saw Terra laughing with him, Akira snoring while he was drawing funny stuff on his face, Nami, Kurogasa, Kuraki, Yuzuki, his parents, Ritsu's brother. He saw many pictures of himself, how he stood by his side to overcome his trauma, how they enjoyed their lunches, how he pushed Krad to do the chores around the house and many other wonderful memories. And then came images of Keira, how he met her in the orphanage, how she always took care of him, even after his onslaught and wounding her. She always was with him, no matter who it was. He loved her, even though he never realized it.
Then the images slowly faded, as so did Krad, only his head and shoulders were there.
"I charged my soul onto that very card. You are the light, which brings all towards the peace we all desire. I will be your supporting pillar from the shadows, when you fall, I will be there to pick you up again and always, always be your friend! No matter what! Now go! Use my soul as your pillar and win this fight!" Krad roared.
"Tell me one more thing, Krad: Your body, does it still contain a bit of your soul?" Ritsu asked, fearing the answer.
"Very little…I gave my body and soul to Exilius Drago Rex, the combined malice of all the fallen dragons inside me. Their malice might have squeezed out the last remainder of my soul, but there may be still a little left. You must destroy it or it will bring calamity to the world" Krad responded weakly.
"Promise me! Promise me to hold onto that little amount of life inside that monster! I swear, I will break you free from this prison!" Ritsu yelled, gripping Krad's remaining soul tightly.
Krad cracked a grin and tried to nod.
"Of…course…just…who…the hell…do…you…think..I am?" Krad used his last remainder of strength before he almost faded.
"My new brother of course" Ritsu answered. This made Krad gasp wide, but then he closed his eyes, not before pushing out a tear out of his lids.
"…yeah…good…luck…my brother"" Krad uttered those words before he completely faded away.
Ritsu was now alone in the void. He stood up and looked at his new card.
"I will save you for sure my friend! Just you wait!" Ritsu yelled into the void
Wicked Krad was about to strike down Kurogasa when suddenly a huge pillar of red and blue energy erupted behind him.
"Huh?!"
Ritsu's lifeless body twitched and he slowly got up. The pitch-black sword inside his chest was absorbed by him and he raised his head towards the being in his friends body. His right eye glowed in crimson red and a flame shot out of it.
"We are not finished yet" Ritsu said darkly, his gaze made the being inside Krad nervous.
"Impossible! How did he survive that?! He stabbed him into the chest! Through his heart!" Apollyon roared surprised.
"He's alive!" Nami said overjoyed.
"How!?" Hero asked in shock. "That Kenshin ran that sword right through the light users heart!"
"Impressive. To have survived my attack, I must say you are truly a worthy opponent" Krad growled darkly and disappeared into chaotic flames and reappeared at his dueling field.
"I set my entire hand and then end my turn. Come at me now!" Krad roared and two more face-downs appeared before him. His talisman shattered, making him vulnerable for traps again and he lost his power boost (7300-6300).
Ritsu looked at the top of his deck and placed his fingers on top of it.
"I DRAW!" Ritsu bellowed, slashing his card from his deck. The wind generated by his swing was strong enough to push Krad a couple of feet back and even made him loose his footing.
"You forget the curse of my Dark Runical Crossbow! 1600 points of damage are coming your way! You lose!" Krad bellowed.
Ritsu saw how the wound on his shoulder was glowing, but suddenly, instead damaging him, it was absorbed by Black Wing Dragon instead. Then a pair of its white feathers turned black and it lost some of its strength (2800-2100) (BFC:1).
"Looks like you have forgotten the famous effect of Black Wing Dragon: any effect damage I would receive is reduced to zero for the price of 700 attack points and furthermore, I add one Black Feather Counter to her" Ritsu explained.
"Smart move! No wonder you chose that lizard! But no matter, next turn I will devour the last of your life points and then your friends will be all next! I can't wait for it!" Krad laughed, but the fierce glare of Ritsu silenced him.
"You won't have a next turn! Because now I activate my Card of Reversal! Now for every face-up you control, I get to draw one card and since you now have four cards up, I draw four times!" Ritsu said and then drew a new hand.
"Even with thousand new cards, it won't work! My Exilius Drago Rex is unaffected by effects as long my opponent controls a dragon-type monster! And that sorry excuse for a lizard is one!" Krad roared confidently.
"Well that's too bad, because I am not done yet! I activate another spell card, Pot of Avarice! Now I return five monsters from my graveyard back to my deck and draw two more cards! I return Belial, the Dragon of Shadows, Axe Dragonute, Lancer Lindwurm, Darkness Collarserpent and White Wyrburster from my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck!" Ritsu's duel disk spat the five dragons out and he returned them to their appropriate deck. Then he drew two more cards.
When he looked at his new hand, he grinned. As he did that, Krad didn't really like his grin and readied himself.
"Sweetness! I activate my spell card Seal of the Owner! Now Kage returns to my side! See ya, Forced Oath of the Wicked!" Ritsu yelled.
The chains around Kage shattered and the gray lifeless dragon reappeared next to Ritsu. But he didn't return to normal, as Krad just laughed at him and Ritsu
"Fool! Have you forgotten? I hold his powers! Just as I hold Inazuma's! You will never defeat me! Face it; you don't have it what it takes to defeat me!" Krad unleashed the chaotic blaze of the two dragon souls he stole and he was brimming with it.
Ritsu however didn't faze.
"Wrong. Kage doesn't govern over the nightmares. So the power you hold is not truly Krad's and never will be! So you can drop the act, you fake!" Ritsu exclaimed.
"Say what? What are you saying? That is not Kage's true form?" Satoshi asked confused. Krad just chuckled at that statement.
"So you figured it out? That accursed Kenshin heir was right, you are smart. But that wont help you! The one you called Krad Kenshin is long gone, I devoured his soul already! Even if a miracle should help you win, you already lost him for eternity! His soul is no more, considering him dead!" Ritsu's opponent laughed.
"He's right." KazeRyu said. "The moment he used Draco Rex, he sacrificed his soul."
"Guess again. He is still in there, waiting for me to bust him out! I activate my spell card (Agion) Dimensional Tuner! Now by returning a Synchro monster I control like Kage to my extra deck, I can special summon 1 Tuner which has been removed from play, like Dark Knight Apprentice! Rest up Kage!" Ritsu said and his field revealed a spell card depicting a Tuner Warrior returning out of a dimension hole, while a Colossal Warrior dissolved into stardust.
Krad's signature tuner popped out of a warp hole, as Kage's empty shell started to fade away. Ritsu could have sworn that Kage was grinning at his realization.
"Go get him." Kage's voice echoed in Ritsu's head.
"Time to kick things into overdrive! I activate my spell card Synchro Change! Now I return 1 Synchro monster on my field to my extra deck and special summon another synchro monster with the same level as the previous, but his effects are negated! I choose Black Wing Dragon and swap her with Belial, the Dragon of the Shadows!" Ritsu yelled as he was surrounded again with a crimson aura.
Yuzuki's dragon was surrounded by Synchro gates and vanished into them. Then Belial emerged roaring out of the same portal.
When he arrived, he glanced at Ritsu and understood instantly what is going on.
"So Krad may still be in there. I don't want to be a pessimist, but the chances are very low that he still exists." Belial said, staring at the gauntlet.
"Do you mean about the gauntlet? I am not too worried about that, because Krad promised me, that he will be there!" Ritsu said confidently.
"I hope you are right. Now let's finish this battle!" Belial nodded and turned his attention towards his opponent.
"What was the point? Are you going re-summon Kage again? Come on, even his power boost isn't enough to even lay a dent on me! Admit that I have you beaten!" Krad roared and just increased his own aura ten-fold. The very power burned up the air and Apollyon's eye on the gauntlet shrieked in pain.
Ritsu only held Kage's card up and suddenly its image just faded away, turning it into a blank card.
"I will show you the true power of Belial and Krad's souls! I tune my Dark Knight Apprentice with Belial – The Dragon of Shadows!" Ritsu exclaimed.
The petite knight cried his battle cry before he turned again into two Synchro gates. These gates were now pitch-black instead of green and they encircled Belial's entire body. The rings started to spin around the dragon, faster and faster. Until he was completely engulfed in a sphere made of shadows.
Hidden in the darkness, a true soul awakens! Emerge from thy slumber and aid me in my quest against evil! Synchro Summon! The supporting pillar of darkness, (Agion) Kage – The Dragon of the Aiding Shade (10/3100/2300)!
Ritsu's shadow grew across the field, engulfing everyone in his range. A mighty roar followed and from the lake of his shadows, a new dragon emerged. He had an knight-like helmet, chest-armor and a purple cape flowing down his back. Both of his hands were drenched in a blazing flame of shadows and four mighty wings emerged from his back. He opened his purple eyes and they met Exilius Drago Rex's eyes.
The mere eye contact shattered a portion of Krad's helmet and revealed his right face-half. He stared in shock towards the new dragon.
"It can't be! Kage – The Aiding Shade?! " Apollyon roared in anger as his wrath created cracks in his sphere, scaring his followers a bit.
"The Aiding Shade." Kuraki whispered as everyone stared at Kage.
But that wasn't the only change. Ritsu reached his hand out and on the back of his right hand, Krad's necklace surfaced on his skin. Parts of his hair was bleached white and hung down his face. His right eye ablaze in crimson again.
"May I introduce: Kage the Dragon of the Aiding Shades! This is Krad's true power, his very soul is inside him! And time to show you one new power of his! Soul Return!" Ritsu yelled.
Kage created a sphere inside his hands and then a multiple of souls shot out of it, flying into Ritsu's duel disk and even Krad's duel disk.
"Kage returns all monsters which were removed from play back to their owner's graveyard! That means Star Bright Dragon, Abyss Dragon, Life Dragon, Red-Eyes Metal Darkness dragon and Raikou join my graveyard once more!" Ritsu explained as the souls returned into his grave slot.
"Then I activate my final spell card Dragon's Mirror! Now I will fuse Kage on my field with Inazuma in my graveyard!" Ritsu held his card up, creating a mighty vortex in the sky.
Ritsu's graveyard lit up and the faint image of Inazuma appeared next to him. He looked at Kage and grinned.
"Seems like they finally found it out old friend?" Inazuma asked Kage.
"They sure did. Now let's join forces and end this fight!" Kage responded and looked up into the sky.
"NOO! YOU CAN'T! YOU NEED TWO SOULS TO SUMMON HIM! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Exilius Drago Rex protested. Ritsu just held his right hand up as the crest of the Kenshins glowed brightly.
Then from Ritsu's shadow, a shadow-like image emerged from the shadows and took shape of a human. The shadow took the shape of Krad and he stood next to Ritsu's side.
"Krad!" Everyone yelled in shock.
"Ready Krad?" Ritsu glanced towards the shadow image of his friend, who nodded.
"I was born ready! Now use my soul!" Krad said and gripped Ritsu's hand.
The two emanated such a powerful aura, it shook the earth and tore the sky almost apart. Kage and Inazuma bathed in their energy. Then both duelists started to chant, holding up their hands.
"We unite a soul of the deepest shadows-" Kage spread his wings and rushed towards the vortex. The whirl was now imbued with darkness.
"-and a soul of the highest heaven" Inazuma did the same and the vortex was imbued with a light so bright it was like daylight.
Apollyon realized what they're trying to do. "No way, they're calling him!"
"Both souls open the gates of chaos! Emerge from your slumber and give us your power to destroy this evil!" the vortex turned into a massive gate of light and darkness.
"He's coming." Apollo said.
"It's been awhile since I saw their combined form." Golem said. "Ah, the memories."
"Fusion Summon! Become the dawn of all Evil, Twilight, The Dragon of Chaos (12/3600/2800)!" Krad and Ritsu yelled into the sky. In that same moment the gate broke apart and a human-sized dragon descended.
Everyone was in awe, as they saw the majestic being descending, his entire body was covered in silver scales; the shoulders were covered in golden dragonic armor, which were ornamented in the shape of prideful dragons. Its chest was covered in white and black armor, depicting Inazuma and Kage in their respective elements. Four wings spread from its back, two were white as snow, the others black as obsidian. Its tail was covered in the same golden armor and on the end of the tail was the tip of a spear decorated. The head was bearing a wonderful crown and as it opened its eyes, crimson and azure colored eyes stared down towards Ritsu and his friends.
"Hello dear User of Light and Shadows. I am pleased to meet you again Twilight said, his voice was intertwined with Kage's and Inazuma's voices.
Ritsu nearly jumped in joy, seeing that he and Krad were able to summon Twilight. But when he looked at his friend he was not around, damping his good mood.
His opponent clearly didn't like the sight of Twilight as he unleashed a roar strong enough to turn boulders into dust. But Twilight calmly swatted the shock wave away with one hand.
"So noisy, have you no manners?" Twilight asked while he shook his head.
"So this is the dragon of chaos? Impressive! Very impressive! But he is too weak to take me on!" Exilius Drago Rex laughed nervously.
Ritsu turned then his head towards his opponent and he grinned.
"You think? Because now I activate the effect of Kage – The Dragon of Aiding Shade: If he leaves the field, then a monster of my choice gains all his attack points, meaning he gains 3100 points" Ritsu yelled.
The faint image of Kage flew into Twilight and empowered him further, making him stronger than ever (3600-6700)
"Big deal! I just activate my strongest trap card, (Agion) Abyssal Armory Burst! Now I remove all Dark Runical monsters in my graveyard from play and gain 1000 attack points for each removed. I count ten, meaning I gain 10000 attack points!" the possessed Krad's trap card rose up, depicting thousand of weapons whirling around a duelist. Then his powers just skyrocketed (6300-16300)
"Additionally, you must commence your battle phase this turn! There is no running from me now!" the possessed Krad bellowed and charged all his energy into his right hand.
All the hatred, malice and negative energy inside his body was forged into a massive, two-edged sword with the size of a grown person. He grasped the hilt with both hands and then charged towards Twilight and Ritsu.
"TAKE THE HATRED OF ALL MY FALLEN BROTHERS AND DIE!" Exilius Drago Rex roared, pulling the sword of his absolute being through the earth.
"Everyone take cover!" Kurogasa yelled.
"But what about Ritsu?" Nami asked.
"It's alright." Everyone looked at Ritsu. "Me and Twilight will handle this."
"But how!?" Akira asked.
Twilight spread his arms out and in each of his hands a flaming sword of light and darkness formed. Then he charged forward, fearless against his over powered opponent and crossed his arms for the attack.
"CHAOS-" Ritsu yelled for the attack.
"FLAME-" Twilight yelled.
"SLASH!" They both yelled in unison as the attacks collided.
The two dragonic warriors clashed and their impact created a major explosion, which kept on raging within its core. Twilight and Krad had crossed their swords and were now fighting for the upper hand. Krad laughed evil, as he purely used his very aura to push Twilight onto his knees. He roared with all his might and kept pressuring his sword down at Twilights.
The clash kept raging on and created a gigantic crater around the two warriors. Twilight was now one his knees, trying to hold off the blazing sword of hatred. His swords of flames had cracks in them and it seemed that he was losing.
"FINISH HIM OFF!" Apollyon roared.
"Come on Ritsu!" Satoshi yelled.
"Please save Krad!" Keira yelled as well.
"THIS IS THE END! NOW YOU DIE!" Exilius Drago Rex roared and almost broke through.
But Twilight only grinned.
"I don't think so! I activate Twilight's effect: By removing all dragon-type monsters in my graveyard, I can add all their attack points to Twilight! Meaning that he gains all the power of my fallen dragons! Dragonic Unity!" Ritsu screamed and he held his duel disk up.
Thirteen Souls ejected themselves from his grave slot and the souls transformed themselves into the dragons of Ritsu. They flew into the back of Twilight and strengthened him further. Each Soul absorbed, Twilight slowly pushed the fierce sword of Krad back, his swords grew in power (6700-33,500)
"NOOOOO!" Krad cried, as his sword slowly started to crumble, the two blades were slicing through it like it was nothing!
"End this!" Ritsu ordered and in the same moment, Twilight shattered Krad's sword apart and slashed him across his chest. He roared in pain as the armor was shattered around his body and he was sent flying across the field, the sheer power of the attack shattered the barrier surrounding the duelists. The curse of his clan was shattered, but Krad didn't show any sign of giving up.
"DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER! I ACTIVATE THE FINAL EFFECT OF EXILIUS DRAGO REX! ALL DAMAGE I RECEIVE THIS BATTLE IS TURNED DOWN TO ZERO!" Krad bellowed and with a back flip, he landed on his feet, skidding few meters until he came to a hold. He used the last amounts of his strength and looked at his final face-down.
"I activate my final face-down, (Agion) Sword of the Fallen! When a monster I control is destroyed through battle, that monster is instantly destroyed! Die Twilight!" Krad's face-down shot up, depicting a skeleton piercing an enemy from behind. A skeletal sword shot out of the card and impaled Twilight through his chest and shattered him into pixels.
"No! That was his most strongest card!" Kurogasa yelled.
Ritsu however didn't lose his cool and raised his hand.
"When Twilight is destroyed, I can either Special Summon Raikou or Belial from my graveyard. I awaken the dragon of shadows!" Ritsu announced and a portal of shadows appeared next to him.
Belial emerged from its core and appeared next to Ritsu, ready to attack.
"End this Belial, with Shadow Flame Strike!"
Belial coated himself in his black flames and then charged towards Krad. Everyone hoped, that now, the struggle between Ritsu and Krad would finally end.
But once more, they were wrong…
"I activate the effect of my Forced Oath of the Wicked! By paying half my Life Points, I can destroy it and end the current Battle Phase!" Krad yelled, as a wall of chains formed itself around Krad, intercepting Belial's strike.
Ritsu: 250
Krad: 50
"Impossible!" KazeRyu exclaimed. "To withstand Twilights assault like it's nothing!"
Ritsu just gasped seeing his last resort being stopped again. He dropped onto his knees in despair. He used everything in his arsenal, but it wasn't enough. Krad still remained standing.
"..I end my turn…" Ritsu muttered and also Belial lost hope.
Krad was about to draw his next card, when the voice of Apollyon echoed through the sky.
"Hahahahaha! Splendid! Splendid, Krad Kenshin! You are truly worth of my power! Now finish this pathetic excuse of a duelist and embrace your future! Your future at my side!" Apollyon laughed out of his sphere.
"This is bad." Satellizer began to worry. "If that Kenshin boy wins then that means I will be disposed of. If that happens, then I won't be able to reunite with Rai."
Ritsu shook in fear, now he was at the mercy of Krad who wants him dead.
"It's over, it's definitely over…" he wheezed.
"It's not over, brother"
Ritsu opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the voice, finding it to be Krad's voice. Krad raised his head, his face had the color of life inside of him and his eyes were their normal brown color again.
"Told ya, I would make it through" Krad said with a smile.
"Heh, what took you so long?" Ritsu asked while Krad chuckled.
"Traffic was terrible." Krad joked as Apollyon roared.
"What are you doing?! Continue the duel! You are only one turn left from killing him! Do it!" Apollyon demanded, but Krad just punched the eye on his duel disk, so Apollyon let out a roar of pain.
"No thanks, I'm against killing family members." Krad said and then placed his hand over his duel disk. Apollyon's eye recovered and stared in shock towards Krad's intention.
"What are you planning?! Have you gone insane?! If you do this-" Apollyon screamed, as Krad slowly lowered his hand onto his duel disk.
"KRAD! Don't! If you do that, your soul will be smashed! Please! Anything but that!" Belial cried.
"Whats going on?! What are you doing?! Krad!" Ritsu yelled.
"He is going to…" Terra muttered and suddenly realized what Krad was planning.
"…forfeit…" Satoshi finished for him.
"Don't Krad! Don't do it!" Keira screamed and then ran towards him, passing Ritsu.
"Krad! NO!" Ritsu yelled, running after Keira.
"He's not doing what I think he's doing, right?" Miharu asked as the room fell silent.
"Has he gone insane!?" Satellizer asked
Krad looked at his friends and smiled weakly.
"Goodbye…everyone…"
Then he pushed his hand down and brought his Life Points to zero….
Ritsu: 250 – Winner
Krad: 50 - Surrender
The moment Krad pushed his hand down the entire gauntlet shattered to pieces, freeing his arm. Black flames erupted from it's core and engulfed Krad in it.
"Noooooo!" Keira screamed mournfully, seeing Krad being devoured by the black flames. Ritsu couldn't believe his eyes.
"KRAD!" Everyone screamed, but Krad was already being consumed by the flames…
Krad used the final strength and looked towards Ritsu and Keira. He smiled, he was now finally free.
"Thank you everyone…" he whispered and allowed himself to be consumed into the flames.
Keria, not able to bear to lose him again, hurled herself into the flames and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. Ritsu couldn't hold her, as he lost all his strength.
"Keira!" Ritsu and the others tried to run towards the flames only to be knocked back by a shock wave.
Inside the core of the flames…
"…Keira?...Is that you?" Krad asked weakly, feeling her body pushed against his. He felt her heart pounding against his chest.
"Yes…" she whispered back.
"Thank you…for being there with me…to the very end…" Krad whispered softly and touched her cheeks with his shattered hands.
"I am afraid…to disappear… Hold me tight, Krad…" Keira asked, her eyes tried to shed tears, but they evaporated in the flames.
"…me too…" he answered back, bringing his lips closer to hers.
"…I love…you…" Keira said.
"…Same here…" Krad answered.
With that, the two united their lips and tightly embraced themselves, as they slowly fell towards the underworld. Never shall they be apart.
"No way." Ritsu fell to his knees.
"Keira, Krad." Kuraki began to cry as Kurogasa held her close.
"This was truly an unexpected turn." Apollyon appeared. "To think I was fooled by a dragon slayer. I say good riddance to that worm."
Ritsu clenched his fists. "Worm? You did not just call him a worm." Ritsu slowly rose as he became enveloped in a crimson red and azure blue aura. "His name is Krad Kenshin, heir to the Kenshin clan and wielder of Belial and Kage. He was a friend and a brother to everyone!"
"Explain to me how that's suppose to affect me."
"That was the last straw Apollyon, you want a war,l you got one." Ritsu glared at Apollyon. "And this time, you won't be reawakening when I'm through with you."
Ch.68 End
Thetrueazure: Thank you Agion for writing this conclusion for the duel.
Kazuma: Where's the Sectopod?
Thetrueazure: He's gone…along with half of the house.
Kazuma: Joy. Stay tuned.
Ritsu: Apollyon, you will pay for what you did to Krad and Keira. I will make you beg for mercy.
Next time: Yugioh 5D's Power of the Six Elements; The Final Battle.
"Six versus two? I have no objections."