Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 32: Legacy of Kul Elna
The atmosphere at Heartland Stadium was not the type of atmosphere that one would normally expect before the final round of a big duel tournament. There was a hint of excitement in the air, but it was nowhere near the level of excitement that there should be. This was because much of the spectators had begun to realize one simple fact: The tournament they were watching was not normal. There was, in the beginning, a collective sense of denial among the audience members. They had written off the transformations of the Death Queens into their Barian forms and Yuma and Astral's ZEXAL transformations as some sort of special visual effects for the duels and nothing more, but as time went on that assumption was getting harder and harder to believe. That had been especially true after contestants like Michael and Gauche ended up in the hospital after Alnia's duels. Those who had been watching the tournament for the very beginning started to realize that there was something much bigger going on, and it was making them a bit nervous.
Of course Yuma and his friends knew exactly what was really at stake in the Millennium Tournament. Yuma knew very well that if he lost, the world would very well be condemned to eternal darkness. It was for that very reason why Yuma and Astral were going over their deck one last time as the break between duels began to wind down.
"I sure hope we're ready for this, Astral." Yuma told his energy-based friend.
"Indeed. Alnia is the most aggressive opponent we've ever faced." Astral replied. "It will likely take everything we have just to block her attacks."
"The final duel of the Millennium Tournament shall now begin!" the referee announced. "Please give a round of applause for our first competitor, Yuma Tsukumo!"
The audience members began to cheer as Yuma headed back to the stage with Astral. Yuma waved to them a bit as he stepped up.
"And now… please welcome back our second competitor in the final round, Alnia!" the referee announced.
No one cheered as Alnia headed out to the stage. Instead, many of them booed her as she walked out to face Yuma. Alnia ignored the negative reaction of the spectators of course. She didn't care one bit about what everyone else thought about her. All she was interested in was defeating Yuma and taking the Numeron Code from Astral.
As soon as she stepped on stage, Alnia looked at Yuma with a psychotic grin. "I've been waiting far too long for this. Maybe I should've just come at the two of you right away instead of bothering with all this tournament crap. Maybe if I did, Anitak and Mitaka would still be here. Ah well. All that matters now is that I finally get to kill you two and give the people of this world the punishment they deserve."
"Alnia! Before we begin, there is something that I think you must know." Astral informed her. "Yuma and I saw a vision of the Kul Elna massacre through the Tablet of Memories. You should know that Pharaoh Atem and his father knew nothing about how the Millennium Items were forged. The high priest, Akhenaden acted on his own."
Alnia 's grin immediately turned to a scowl. "So what? It doesn't make a difference whether that damn pharaoh and his father knew about the massacre or not. They're still just as guilty! That old priest you're talking about was the pharaoh's uncle! Your great hero king is still guilty by blood! And besides… even though Atem didn't participate in the massacre of my village… he's till responsible for killing my baby brother!"
"Wait… brother?" a surprised Yuma asked. "You mean that king of thieves guy?"
"That's right. I'm actually kinda proud of my brother for becoming that." Alnia confirmed with a cold chuckle. "Thanks to my Number, I know about everything that happened after I died that time. My brother somehow survived the massacre and grew to become the king of thieves to avenge all of us. He tried to take the Millennium Items to summon Lord Zorc and destroy that damn kingdom! He came so close too… until that damn pharaoh and his priests killed him trying to take back the Millennium Items he took!"
"But Alnia… I'm sure Atem didn't want to kill your brother." Yuma told her. "He and his friends were probably just fighting to protect what was important to them."
"And was what my brother was fighting for any less important?" Alnia shot back. "He was the sole survivor of our village. When he died… that damn pharaoh finished the job that his uncle started."
"Alnia's hatred is truly boundless." Astral observed. "Talking to her isn't going to do us any good."
"I guess not." Yuma reluctantly agreed. "But there's gotta be some way to get through to her!"
"Let the duel begin!" the referee finally announced.
With that, Yuma activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, a pair of red-feathered wings appeared on Alnia's back, and in a flash of crimson light she changed to her true Barian form, complete with her duel disk. The unsettled audience members activated their own D-Gazers to watch and the duel began.
"I'll start this off since you two spent all that time trying to defend that damn pharaoh." Alnia decided as she drew her first card. "I summon Archfiend Mummy Solider in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Alnia's side of the battlefield was a skeletal humanoid demon with dark-grey skin and a skull-like face with yellow eyes. Much of his body was wrapped in brown linen bandages. He had on a gold helmet and gold armor covered his chest and shoulders. In his right hand, the mummified demon carried a double-bladed axe, and in his right hand was a small golden shield.
"When I've summoned Archfiend Mummy Solider normally, I can add another Fiend-type monster to my hand!" Alnia announced. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn!"
"We must be cautious, Yuma." Astral told him. "The two cards that Alnia set on the field could prove deadly."
"You don't have to tell me." Yuma replied as he drew his first card. "I summon Goblindberg in Attack Mode!"
Yuma's small goblin pilot came flying down from above in his red plane. A large steel box dangled down from beneath the plane.
"When I've summoned Goblindberg, I can special summon a level four monster from my hand!" Yuma announced. "I summon Gogogo Golem!"
Goblindberg dropped his plane's heavy cargo and landed on Yuma's side of the field. The metal crate landed with a thud and fell open, revealing Yuma's one-eyed brick golem.
"Using the level four Goblindberg and Gogogo Golem, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 52: Diamond Crab King!" Yuma announced.
A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of yellow energy. A large crystal formation with two balls of blue light orbiting around it rose from the center of the vortex and changed into Yuma's giant blue crab.
"I activate Diamond Crab King's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, Diamond Crab King's ATK and DEF are switched until the end of the turn!"
One of the balls of light orbiting the crab entered the large crystal on his back. Diamond Crab King's eyes began to glow and his body changed from blue to red.
"Here goes nothing! Diamond Crab King, attack Archfiend Mummy Solider!" Yuma commanded. "Diamond Bubble!"
The giant crab spat out a barrage of bubbles at Alnia's undead soldier. Upon being struck, the solider exploded with a blast of smoke that washed out Alnia's side of the field. The attack caused Alnia's life points to drop to 2800. But when the smoke from the attack cleared, a new monster had appeared in place of Archfiend Mummy Solider. The creature was a large demon with scaly grey skin the color of volcanic ash. The demon's lower half resembled the body of an insect with six long legs. It had a muscular torso and a left arm with a relatively normal five-fingered hand. The creature's right arm though was like the arm of a scorpion, complete with a large claw. Three long spikes grew from each of the creature's shoulders, and a pair of longer spikes grew from its back. Its head had a pair of black horns, and its face was a pair of small yellow eyes and a large mouth filled with sharp white fangs.
"What the heck?" a startled Yuma exclaimed.
"When I've taken battle damage, I can special summon Tragoedia from my hand." Alnia explained.
"Why didn't she activate either of those cards she set last turn?" Yuma wondered.
"I do not know." A surprised Astral answered.
"It looks like Alnia is just toying with Yuma and Astral at this point." Kaito observed grimly up in the skybox.
"So were those cards she set just a bluff?" Kotori wondered.
"Maybe." Droite replied. "But bluff or not, I think Alnia wanted Yuma to damage her so she could summon Tragoedia."
"There's a little known fact about Tragoedia that most people don't know." Alnia revealed. "He was brought into existence by another survivor from my village."
"You mean Tragoedia was created by someone else from Kul Elna?" Yuma asked.
"Yep. He was a scout who infiltrated the pharaoh's court as an astronomer." Alnia explained. "His job was to find out all he could about the pharaoh's tomb and report back to my village about its secrets. The treasures we would've looted probably would've kept us fed for another season. But while this scout was on his mission, my people were slaughtered to forge the Millennium Items. When he found out what happened, he tried to kill the pharaoh to get revenge but was caught. His hatred created Tragoedia, which those damn priests barely managed to seal away."
"Is that why you let our attack succeed? So we could see the incarnation of hate from one of your fellow villagers?" Astral asked.
"Maybe…" Alnia answered. If her mouth had still been on her face, it would've curved into a smirk. "Maybe I've got another reason. Either way, you'll know soon enough."
"After Diamond Crab King attacks, he switches to Defense Mode!" Yuma announced. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn!"
At the moment Yuma's turn ended, Diamond Crab King's body changed back to its original blue color.
Alnia drew her next card. "I activate Spellbooks from the Pot, letting us both draw three more cards! Tragoedia's ATK is 600 times the number of cards in my hand. And since I now hold six cards, his ATK becomes 3600."
"Tragoedia's ATK may be higher than Diamond Crab King's DEF now, but he can't destroy him since Tragoedia's not a Number!" Yuma pointed out.
"Who said I was going to attack you with Tragoedia?" Alnia asked. "I activate Tragoedia's effect! By targeting a monster in my Graveyard, I can change his level to match that monster's until the end of the turn! I target Archfiend Mummy Solider, changing Tragoedia's level to four! Now I activate Archfiend Mummy Soldier's effect and summon him back from the Graveyard!"
A skeletal hand wielding a familiar double-bladed axe burst from the ground on Alnia's side of the field. In moments, Archfiend Mummy Soldier had risen from the Grave and was standing next to Tragoedia.
"Now she has two level four monsters!" Yuma realized.
"I overlay my level four Tragoedia and Archfiend Mummy Soldier to Xyz Summon another monster from my fallen brethren!" Alnia announced. "Come to me, Bandit Guardian Daibound!"
A golden vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alnia's two monsters as balls of purple energy. Rising out of the center of the vortex moments later was a porcelain-colored creature with a muscular upper body and two balls of lavender-colored light orbiting around it. It had a heroic-looking face and a gold helmet with white-feathered wings decorating the sides and a silver spike projecting from the front above the creature's forehead. Covering the creature's muscular chest was a piece of gold armor resembling the face of a skull. It lower half was a serpent-like tail ending with the head of a cobra.
"This monster's original form was given life by my little brother." Alnia revealed. "It was his guardian spirit… and this incarnation is going to help me bury you in this duel! I activate one of Bandit Guardian Diabound's effects! When he's Xyz Summoned, he can let me take a monster from my opponent's Extra Deck and attach it to him as an overlay unit! And the monster I choose is Number 39: Utopia!"
Before Yuma could react, the cobra head on Daibound's tail swooped in and bit the Extra Deck holder on Yuma's belt. The deck holder opened and the card for Utopia flew out, changing into a ball of lavender light that was pulled into Diabound's orbit."
"Now you can't use that damn Shining Number of yours against me." Alnia told them.
"Does the power of our Number frighten you that much, Alnia?" Astral asked.
"I find it a pain in the ass!" Alnia responded. "Now I activate Diabound's effect! By detaching an overlay unit, Diabound destroys all Spell and Trap cards on the field! Sprial Wave!"
One of the balls of light orbiting Diabound entered the spike on his helmet. The guardian demon flexed his chest and a wave of wind spiraled out from around him, shattering all the Spell and Trap cards on the field. The wind gust also nearly knocked Yuma off the stage.
"Diabound gains 500 ATK for each card he destroyed with his effect until the end of my opponent's turn." Alnia announced. "Which means his ATK goes up from 2500 to 4500!"
"This was Alnia's plan from the beginning!" Astral realized. "The reason she set those cards on the field before was so she could use them to power up Diabound's ATK!"
"I attack Diamond Crab King with Bandit Guardian Diabound!" Alnia announced. "And when Diabound battles a Number monster, he automatically destroys it at the start of the Damage Step!"
The mouth of the cobra head on Diabound's tail opened and sprayed a purple liquid at Diamond Crab King. Upon being hit with the liquid, the crab turned into a white powder that blew away in the breeze.
"The legacy of my village is carried in my deck. And I'm going to use that legacy to make this world crumble!" Alnia declared. "I activate the Spell card, Shifting Darkness! With this card I shuffle three Dark monsters back into my deck to add three new Dark monsters to my hand. That ends my turn."
"Alnia, I totally get where your anger is coming from. But doing all this won't bring back your village!" Yuma pointed out. "It won't bring back your brother!"
"It'll punish this sorry world for the way it treated us!" Alnia retorted. "In life, the people of Egypt treated us like nothing but trash. And it was because we were trash that we were chosen as sacrifices to create the Millennium Items! Now this world has all but forgotten about us and made the ones who butchered us into heroes! I'm going to make every person on this planet pay for that! Now make your move!"
Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!" Yuma's silver-haired magician appeared on the battlefield. "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect and change his level from four to eight! Next I play the Spell card, Gagaga x Gagaga and summon it to the field as a level eight monster!"
A negative-colored copy of Gagaga Magician appeared on the field next to the original one.
"I use my two level eight monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!" Yuma announced.
A purple galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. A white shield with two balls of purple light orbiting around it rose from the vortex and transformed into Yuma and Astral's skeletal white knight.
"Since Lancelot has overlay units, he can attack my opponent directly!" Yuma announced. "Lancelot, attack Alnia! Phantom Rapier!"
Lancelot raised his sword in salute to Alnia right before vanishing. Less than a second later, the undead knight appeared in front of Alnia and stabbed her in the chest. Alnia's life points took a heavy drop to 800.
"Now I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "Since he just inflicted battle damage, Lancelot can destroy one monster my opponent controls! I choose to destroy Bandit Guardian Diabound!"
Lancelot turned and struck Diabound several times with his rapier. Several cracks appeared in the demon guardian's body as the assault went on, and in seconds Diabound shattered to bits.
Alnia began to chuckle. "Because Diabound was just destroyed, I can summon a Fiend-type monster from my hand. I summon Archfiend Scarab Solider!" One of the demonic insect soldiers that Alnia used in her duel with Gauche appeared on the field. "When Archfiend Scarab Solider is special summoned, I can summon another one from my hand. And when the second one is summoned, I can summon a third from my hand!"
Two more of the demonic scarab warriors appeared on Alnia's side of the field.
"She's going to summon her Number next." Astral realized. "And perhaps even more than that."
Yuma nodded at Astral and turned his attention back to Alnia. "I end my turn!"
As Alnia drew her next card, it gave off a flash of crimson light. "Using my three level six Archfiend Scarab Soldiers, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"
A red galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alnia's three monsters as balls of red energy. Moments later, the tablet of the Millennium Items rose from the vortex with three balls of gold light orbiting around it, shattering apart to become Alnia's demonic pharaoh.
"Now I activate Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad!" Alnia announced. Using Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer, I open the underworld to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster one rank higher! Arise, Number C666: Black Solar Dragon Lucifer!"
A massive pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground around the demon pharaoh and a horrid roar could be heard from within. The pillar of light expanded outward and became pitch-black in a matter of seconds. Hikari and Cleo's Signer marks immediately lit up in the skybox. In moments the energy faded to reveal a black metal sphere with four balls of silvery-white light orbiting around it. The sphere cracked open and unfolded into the skeletal dragon form of Alnia's Number.
"Get ready, Tsukumo!" Alnia spoke. "I'm about to send you and the Envoy into eternal darkness!"
Author's Note: I realized when it came close to the time of writing this chapter that it was a good call to have Alnia turn out to be Thief King Bakura's older sister, since it gave her another reason to hate Atem besides the Kul Elna massacre. That was something that hadn't occurred to me early on in the story. Anyway, we're now getting into the home stretch of this story, so stay tuned.
Please review and let me know what you think.