Chapter 48: The Fallible Perfection! Deluded Deity!
"Now, I activate my Field Spell, Dragonic Diagram. All True Kings and True Dracos on my field gain 300 ATK," Holactie narrated, as he monster grew in strength to 3300 ATK. "It's time! True King V.F.D., The Beast, attack Nirvana High Paladin!"
Realising he was out of defensive plays, Yuya cast around for an Action card. No luck, though, and the attack went through, reducing his LP to 2500 exactly. "Nirvana High Paladin's final effect! When he is destroyed, I can place him in my Pendulum Zone," the boy declared, and Nirvana joined Dag Daggerman in the empty Pendulum Zone.
"I end my turn," Holactie haughtily snorted, her body changed entirely to dark magic.
"Junior," Yuya breathed, looking up at their opposition. "If you've got a miracle waiting for me, now's a good time," he told his monster, who cocked his head curiously as he stared up at his master. Half-expectantly, Yuya drew, and blinked.
He had drawn Dark Rebellion Baby Dragonet.
'Yuya!' Yuto's voice echoed through his mind. 'Don't worry. We can win this,' he declared, and Yuya nodded in response. "You got it,"
Holactie frowned. Something was suddenly odd about the boy she was facing. His aura . . it suddenly felt different. As though there were two people in the same body. But that was impossible. Especially for humans.
"I Normal Summon Dark Rebellion Baby Dragonet," Yuya decided, placing the card on his Duel Disk. The black baby dragon squeaked, joining his brother with 700 ATK. Performapal Life Swordsman, Yuya's only other monster, protectively crouched over the two, in spite of his 0 DEF.
The goddess' jaw dropped open at the sight. "T-two?" she spluttered, shocked. "Two?"
Yuya smiled. "That's a very impressive monster you have there. It's obvious that the real climax of the show is going to have to be taking it down! So, I'll gladly oblige!"
"Funny," Holactie snorted.
"No, really! Watch, and be amazed, as I activate Dag Daggerman's effect, to let me return Elephammer from my Graveyard to my hand again!" The Pendulum monster complied, using its knives to retrieve its teammate from the Graveyard. "And now, it's time for a Pendulum Summon! Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory!" Once more, the massive pendant swung, drawing a hole in the sky, and two flashes of light emerged. "From my hand, Performapal Elephammer, and from my Extra Deck, Performapal Parrotrio!" The two appeared in flashes of light, both in ATK position.
"Now, I activate Dark Rebellion Baby Dragonet's effect! I can Tribute him to Special Summon an Xyz monster from my Graveyard, and attach Rebellion Junior to it from the Grave as an Overlay Unit! Return, Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer!" the entertainer commanded as the Rank 4 Xyz returned, erupting from RJ's form and sending Life Swordsman sprawling. Castel cocked his gun, keeping their Xyz foe in their sights. 2000 ATK.
"Time for battling!" Yuya declared, throwing his arm forwards. "First, Performapal Parrotrio will attack Trus King V.F.D., The Beast!" The tree birds chirped, obeying their master, and Nirvana readied himself.
"Do you intend to destroy yourself? A wise decision," Holactie snorted.
"Nope! Because it's time for Nirvana High Paladin to reappear as an extra, and use his Pendulum ability. When a Pendulum Monster I control battles, I take no battle damage, my monster can't be destroyed, and at the end of the damage step, your monster loses ATK equal to that of mine! So go, Parrotrio!" Yuya commanded, and his monster obliged. Through Nirvana's effect, both survived, and V.F.D. was reduced to 2800 ATK. "Now, Odd-Eyes Baby Dragonet! The same!" Yuya continued, and Junior happily continued the assault, dropping their opponent to 21 0 ATK. "And now, Performapal Elephammer! Attack and destroy True King V.F.D., The Beast!"
With a mighty roar, Elephammer obliged, charging the weakened monster. "Now, Performapal Elephammer's effect! All Spell and Trap Cards you control are returned to the hand!"
Holactie clenched her teeth as her face-down vanished from the field, and she realised that if Yuya followed up this attack with a direct assault from Castel, she would lose. "Never! I shall never be defeated by the likes of you!" she shrilly declared, rising from her throne for the first time and leaping into the air. Yuya watched as she soared, lifted by magic, and grasped hold of a floating platform of Solid Vision in mid-air with one hand, snatching up a nearby Action Card with the other. "Action Spell: Miracle!" Holactie declared, activating it. "My monster cannot be destroyed and battle damage is halved!" She growled, the halved 500 damage cutting her to 1950 LP.
"Miracle's effect won't end until the End Phase . . I Set a card and end my turn. Now, Enlightenment Magician and Miracle's effects end," Yuya decided, pressing the appropriate buttons in his Duel Disk. V.F.D.'s ATK returned to 3300, boosted by Dragonic Diagram.
Out of curiosity, Flare turned her scaled head and eyed Shinsei. "So, you're her slave. What's that like for you?"
"I'm not her slave! It's more of an 'indentured servant' deal. She rescued me from the Commons in Synchro Dimension and gave me the power I needed to become strong. And, in return, I do her bidding in places she normally can't influence, say, the four dimensions," Shinsei explained.
"Then it's my turn!" his blackened opponent declared, landing and adopting a ready stance. She drew, and cruelly grinned. "I activate True King V.F.D., The Beast's effect! I can declare one Attribute, and all monsters you control become that Attribute until the End Phase, monsters of that Attribute can't attack or activate their effects. I declare WIND!" Attributes changed, and she coldly smiled. "Also, if I would destroy monsters in my hand or Field to summon a 'True King' or 'True Draco', I can instead destroy monsters you control with V.F.D.'s other effect! So, I destroy Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer and Performapal Elephammer, to Summon Mariamune, the True Dracophoenix!"
Yuya's monsters were consumed in a maelstrom of wind, as a new draconic beast appeared for Holactie, covered with white feathers and sporting 2700 ATK, which was boosted to 3000 by the Field Spell. It screeched as once again Holactie's body was bisected into dark and wind magic, black and green alike.
"Now, battle! Mariamune, attack and destroy Performapal Life Swordsman!" Her monster obliged, but Yuya smiled. "It looks like you forgot to pay attention to my moves! I activate my Trap again; Command Performance! When you attack a Performapal, your monsters are forced into Defence Position and their battle positions can't be changed until your next turn's end!"
"Oh, fine! I end my turn!" Holactie huffed, looking at her monsters. While V.F.D. was still strong with 3300 DEF, Mariamune only had 2400.
Shinsei shook his head. "She's letting her anger get the better of her. She's getting sloppy,"
"I can tell," Flare snorted, steam whistling through her nostrils. "So, those Kaze and Megan people. They're 'indentured servants' too?"
"Yep.i know you've been to the Crashlands; Kaze came from there. It's not difficult to imagine why someone would jump at an opportunity to leave that place," Shinsei shrugged. "As for Megan, well, small-town farmer's daughter who's never even seen a Duel Disk, curious about the world around her, willing to anything for a little adventure. You know the story," he shrugged. "But enough about us. What's it like for you?" he questioned, genuinely interested.
"Junior, I hate to impose, but another miracle would be appreciated," Yuya joked as he drew and looked at his card.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon had joined the party.
"Alright! I'll now Pendulum Summon again! From my Extra Deck; Performapal Parrotrio!" Once more, his chirping birds appeared with 500 DEF. "And now, the star of my performance, give it up for Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya commanded as his mighty dragon emerged from the portal. "Okay, Odd-Eyes, time to battle! Attack Mariamune, please?" His dragon did as it was commanded, and Holactie searched for an Action Card. But there were none to be found, and Mariamune was destroyed. Odd-Eyes roared triumphantly, Junior excitedly joining in. "I'll switch Junior to Defence position and end my turn here!" Yuya decided, his companion revealing 800 DEF.
Holactie snorted disdainfully as she drew her card. She paused. That massive red dragon . . it looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it . . . it reminded her of one of the monsters he had used, all those years ago . . but it was different. More . . fun.
But that didn't matter. "The end is nigh, Yuya Sakaki! I play True Draco Hierarchy! By Tributing my True King V.F.D., The Beast, I can Summon back to the field four 'True King' or 'True Draco' monsters from my Graveyard, each with a different Attribute, as long as none of them are LIGHT or DARK! So return; True King Agnimazud, the Vanisher! True King Bahrastos, the Fuhrer! True King Lithosazim, the Disaster! And Mariamune, the True Dracophoenix!" Weighing in at 2900, 1800, 2500 and 2700 ATK respectively, the four monsters roared in fury as they returned and all immediately gained 300 extra points. Holactie's body shone with red, blue, green and orange stripes. "Battle, right now! Bahrastos destroys Parrotrio!"
Yuya winced. "Poor parrots," he uttered as they left the field for the third time. He frantically searched for an Action Card.
"Lithosazim! Destroy Performapal Life Swordsman!" The 0-DEF monster was powerless against the rampaging beast, and disintegrated.
"Mariamune! Destroy his pet!" The feathered dragon unleashed a mighty torrent of wind that obliterated Junior.g
"And finally," Yuya slumped, his efforts to search for an Action Card useless. "Agnimazud! Destroy Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Holactie commanded. Odd-Eyes quivered under the menacing stare of the massive red dragon, and was destroyed instantly. The boy was burnt to 1800 LP.
"Well, being a Duel Spirit in the human world . . it's complicated," Ryuna admitted, deciding she trusted Shinsei enough for Flare to let her guard down. "I have to keep it secret, because . . well, it's one thing having holograms of monsters that act as mindless slaves. Quite another to be confronted with a living, breathing dragon. They probably wouldn't take kindly to that,"
"Your friend over there seems fine with it," Shinsei shrugged, gesturing to Yuya.
"Well, yeah," she shrugged, twitching her wings. "I trust a few people, but I usually don't like to tell them unless I have to, and never unless I think of them as close friends,"
"Would you have told me? If me and Megan had stayed with you Lancers in Synchro Dimension?" Shinsei asked.
"If you two had stayed with us, you would have been there when Cyril went crazy, and would have seen the real me. I kind of had to tell everyone after that," Ryuna explained.
"Next turn, Yuya Sakaki. Pendulum Summon as many monsters as you can. You won't be able to Summon enough to stop all my dragons. And only one direct attack has to go through to defeat you," Holactie mockingly reminded him.
"That may be so. But you're forgetting something," Yuya pointed out.
"Oh? And what's that supposed to be?" his opponent asked.
"There's still one card at my disposal. The one on top of my Deck," he declared. "And I know for sure that it'll be the one that I need!" he continued. "My turn! Draw!" With a flash of rainbow light, Yuya took his latest - and last - card.
He smiled, and with a running leap, the entertainer leapt a high platform. The lights in the area dimmed, and out of nowhere, a spotlight with no visible source focused on him. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Yuya exuberantly declared. "What an exciting Duel we've had so far! Ups and downs, with the course of the Duel constantly shifting back and forth between me and my opponent! It's almost a shame to bring it to a close!"
Holactie looked around, incredulous. "We are in space! Where is that spotlight even coming from?" she demanded.
"But all good things must come to an end, and so it's time to finally claim my victory. As you can see, the Pendulum Scales remain set, and our friend Dag Daggerman is among them! So let's start my turn by activating his Pendulum Effect, and, once again, returning Performapal Elephammer from my Graveyard to my hand!" His monster was restored, and Yuya smiled. "So now, it's time to Pendulum Summon! From my hand, I give you; Performapal Elephammer! And making us return from my Extra Deck, give it up for Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
"You don't have enough ATK to defeat me. Will this be a continuous loop between us? Because eventually I'll rack up enough damage to defeat you," Holactie narrated.
"Nope, because I have something else in mind," Yuya smiled, revealing the card in his hand. "I activate my Spell, Polymerization! With this I fuse Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Elephammer!"
"Fusion?" Holactie echoed in shock.
"Show-stopping elephant. Become one with the arcane dragon to create a new power!" Yuya declared, pressing his palms together. "Fusion Summon! Come forth! The ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" His bestial, blue-furred dragon roared, leaping onto the field. 3000 ATK.
"Very nice," Holactie huffed.
"Battle! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack True King Lithosazim, the Disaster!" Yuya commanded. "Hell Dive Burst!"
"It doesn't matter," Holactie snorted. "Even if you do destroy Lithosazim, Agnimazud shall just destroy that beast, and then I shall have a cakewalk to victory with Mariamune and Bahrastos,"
"That's what you think, isn't it? So, it's time to reveal my final surprise!" Yuya explained, beaming as Beast-Eyes destroyed Lithosazim. "When Beast-Eyes destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to the ATK of the Beast-Type Fusion Material used for its Summon! That's 2600!"
Holactie blinked. "What?" she demanded.
"Go, Blazing Spiral Storm!" Yuya commanded.
"No! No!" Holactie growled, shaking her head in denial.
From her seat beside the throne, Megan stood up and drew her guns. Muttering something incomprehensible from behind her gag, she fired. The bullet shot straight across the battlefield and pinged off Shinsei's Duel Disk, cracking the screen and damaging the electronics. It flickered and died, with the card of Mirromage Siege Weapon Magic Magnet falling from it, to the ground.
Everyone looked first at it, then at Megan, in surprise, as the Magic Magnet flickered and vanished. With its effects no longer applying, there was no longer anything keeping Yuya and Flare tethered to Holactie's craft, and, like a rubber band, they were snapped back to where they came from. The monsters and Action Field vanished less than a second later, Beast-Eyes' final blow never making contact.
Visibly rattled, Holactie returned to her throne, her formerly colourful body returning to its natural white. "Thank you, Megan," she nodded, snapping her fingers. The gag peeled itself off, and she gratefully inhaled. "Well done, I suppose. Now, I don't suppose either of you can tell me why I lost? Because I have no clue. It's impossible that he's a better Duelist than me! Impossible!"
X
The interior of the Different Dimension Airship was not built for five-ton dragons. The craft was cramped as it was, with ten people squeezed into a space that was really only built for four or five, and when Ryuna rematerialised inside the craft, still in full-sized dragon form, it was a wonder that no one was crushed.
Freed from Holactie's enchantment, she instantly returned to human form and picked up her Duel Disk (which, luckily, had been returned with her) and cast apologetic looks at Kite, Katie and Sawatari - who she had been sitting on - and Yuya - who had, once again, landed on top of her, and promptly fallen to the ground when she shrank.
"So, what did we miss?" Yuke asked from his position leaning against the bulwards, cocking his head inquisitively.
"I'll tell you when I figure it out for myself," Yuya shrugged, rubbing his head. "I think there's a goddess out there who thinks I have something that belongs to her,"
"And what would that be?" Gong asked, raising an eyebrow of his own.
"Beats me," he shrugged at his friend in response.
"I'm just glad it's over," Ryuna admitted, collapsing into a chair. "I never thought that I could be forced to change forms . . weird,"
Shun dismissed the conversation, tweaking the controls. "If you're all quite finished, we should be getting back on course," he commanded, and the whispering hum of the engines returned, propelling the Airship ever onwards towards the Fusion Dimension. "It should only be another day or so until we're there,"
A/N
A/N
Point View is looking better by the day! {gestures around at mostly-completed lighthouse} All I'm waiting for now is the actual light part. So I just need a five-metre-tall flashlight, and I'll be good!
In other news . . . I can't help but feel a little dissatisfied with the recent couple of chapters. It just feels like Holactie's reveal wasn't gradual enough. -.- But anyway. At least you all still know almost nothing about what she wants.
Aww, thanks, Leafeon. ^^
Sorry, Knightdragon, but Yuya and Yuzu are made for each other. I'm not interfering with something like that. And also sorry that there was no Berserk Mode, but I had to make sure it didn't happen for plot reasons. Holactie already has her suspicions about Yuya; if she saw Berserk Mode, they'd be confirmed, and then she might actually do something to prevent the impending rise of Zarc. And we can't have that, can we? XD
So, new cards? I think there's one;
True Draco Hierarchy
Normal Spell
Tribute one 'True King V.F.D., The Beast' you control; target any number of 'True King' or 'True Draco' monsters in your Graveyard, each with a different Attribute (except LIGHT or DARK); Special Summon them all to your side of the field.
Aaaaand peace!