Now that Houki has won her duel, there are only two spots left for the top four. They also learned of the true identity of Meldrick. As the next duel will start soon, Senshi and the others have regrouped and discuss what they have learned so far.
"I still can't believe Michael is really Meldrick. He really played us." Charlotte said.
"That might be, but we now know who he is." Houki said. "As long as we have that, we can take him down. At least that Oberin guy had some honor and decency to tell us what the heck is really going on."
"You're right. Meldrick can't hide anymore." Senshi said. "Still, we have no idea what Meldrick is capable of himself. We must be ready for anything he'll throw at us now. With no more support, Meldrick has to act alone. Houki, you did a fine job of learning what happened out there. You did really well."
"Oh... I just knew something was off." Houki said as she blushed from his compliment. "It's only because I had my friends."
"Isn't that what I said?" Hector said as he placed an arm around her. "You had your friends out there and you did fine. That includes me, right?" The funny thing was that Hector hanging on her like that caused Houki's heart to beat faster and she wasn't know what to think anymore.
"Uh... I had Ichika, Charlotte, Laura, and the others. So of course I was fine." Houki said.
"But what about me?" Hector questioned as he was asking if Houki considers him a friend.
"Uh... Well, you were up there and that was helpful. Anyway, the next duel is going to start soon. We better get going." Houki said as it seemed like she wanted to get out of there in a hurry. However, she didn't exactly say that she considers Hector a friend. None of the others liked how that looked either.
"Hector? Are you okay?" Cecilia asked.
"Houki doesn't think of me as a friend... I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Hector said as he just left things at that, but the others didn't like how that went. Houki just walked through the halls, but she did feel awful about how she handled that situation.
"Houki, wait!" Charlotte called as she cased after her. "What was that? It seems like you hurt Hector's feelings when you said you didn't consider him a friend."
"I don't know. I just got all embarrassed on saying what I think of Hector. I was embarrassed to tell him." Houki said as she didn't understand why. "What was that about?"
"I don't know. Unless..." Charlotte thought it over and gasped at a reason. "Houki, I think you like Hector. At least, you're starting to like him as more than a friend."
"What?! That's crazy! Don't be ridiculous!" Houki denied with her face turning red. "Come on. They should be announcing the next duel soon." She was in denial over what Charlotte claimed, but things are never that simple.
...
Meldrick
Now that Oberin was defeated, Meldrick was now on his own. With no one able to help him in his crusade, he'll have to fight alone, but that doesn't matter to him.
"Ichika Orimura... You might have evade me, defeated my minions up until now, but you will not stop me." Meldrick said. "I will not stop until the power of the Great Hero is mine."
"Master Meldrick..." He looked behind him and saw he was faced with Oberin now as Oberin dropped to one knee. "I have failed you. I am ready for whatever punishment you deem fit for me, even if it means banishing my mind to the shadows." It is true that Meldrick would do something like that for his minions failures. However, he didn't. All he did was just walk past Oberin.
"We'll talk about your punishment later." Meldrick said with Oberin surprised that Meldrick is showing him a rare moment of mercy. "The next duel will start soon. With only four of us left, I could be one of them. I must be ready for it." Meldrick's time is almost coming and he must be ready for it.
...
The Main Hall
Everyone was gathering to see who will take part in the third duel. As they all gathered in the hall, Houki walked over to Hector to try and make amends for what she didn't say earlier.
"Uh... Hector..." Houki said, but Hector wouldn't even turn to look at her. "Listen, I want to explain about earlier."
"There's nothing to explain." Hector said as he didn't want to hear any of her excuses. He clearly isn't going to make this easy for her.
"We'll now see who will compete in the third match!" Mila said as she started the machine with the last four balls being blown around until two of them ended up falling out. "Our first duelist for the third round is...number four: Hector Hudson!"
"You're up, Hector!" Rin said.
"We can't wait to see you win it!" Charlotte said.
"Don't bother. I don't need an audience." Hector said as it looked like he was starting to revert back to his old ways. None of them like the looks of that, and Houki was blaming herself for that for acting like a moron.
"His opponent will be...number five: Meldrick!" Mila announced. Hearing that Hector is going against Meldrick got all of them to be concerned. No telling what Meldrick will do against Hector.
"Okay, tough guy." Hector said as he turned to Meldrick. "It's time we see what you're really made out of." Hector was going to look forward to take Meldrick down, but Meldrick just shrugged him off.
"Understand that I won't allow anyone to stand in my way. You duel me, and you won't be able to recover." Meldrick threatened with Senshi not liking where this was going. Once it was announced who would be dueling who, everyone moved to the top of the blimp. Despite how Hector said he didn't want an audience to watch his duel, Senshi and the girls still went up there. They had to make sure Hector was going to be okay against the likes of Meldrick.
"Conner, I don't understand." Mila said. "Meldrick entered under a fake name. Why don't we disqualify him for fraud?"
"Because he has something I want." Conner claimed as he didn't want to let Meldrick go until he gets his hands on Izanami.
"The third duel will now begin between Meldrick and Hector Hudson!" Tate announced. "You two may begin whenever you are ready!" Hector activated his duel disk and was ready go, but Meldrick had something else in mind.
"Before we begin, I'm about to show you something the likes of which you've never seen." Meldrick said with him looking at Senshi. "Since you're friends with Ichika, this should be interesting for him to see." Senshi's instincts were looking to be right. This might not look good for Hector. Just then, Meldrick held out his gauntlet and unleashed the power that lied within. When he did, a dark cloud began to form around the entire duel field.
"Hey. What is this?" Mila questioned as darkness was enveloping around the entire area. No one understood what any of this was or how it was even happening.
"What's going on?" Hector questioned.
"Oh no!" Senshi said as he knew it all too well. "I've seen this before!" He remembered when he dueled Peggrin. The same thing happened to him and Ichika. "Hector, listen! This duel has become a lot more dangerous than you think!"
"Save it, Ichika! I don't want any help!" Hector called as he wasn't interested in anything Ichika has to say. "I don't know what the heck any of this is, but you're not going to scare me."
"Believe me when I tell you that the fear hasn't even begun." Meldrick claimed. "Now, let's get started." Meldrick just raised the stakes in this game, and Hector is completely ignorant of what might be happening.
"Let's duel!" They shouted with them being granted 4000LP
"I'll let you go first. Time to see what you really got." Hector offered.
"So be it." Meldrick said as he reached for his first card. "I'll begin my turn by summoning Dark Valkyria to the field, a Gemini monster!" Meldrick summoned out an armored woman with wings with her having 1800atk points.
"Did he say Gemini monster? What is that?" Rin said.
"I'm not really sure. I've never seen one before." Houki said. They've never seen a monster like that before, and it makes them all the more nervous.
"I'll just place one card facedown and end my turn." Meldrick said.
"That's it? I expected more out of someone like you. I draw!" Hector said as he drew his first card. "I'll begin by summoning Beast-Warrior Ralius Rhino to the field!" Hector started out by summoning one of his animal-like warriors with this one being a rhino with 1800atk points. "I'll get this over with fast so that you don't use that Izanami card I heard you have. I play Beast-Warrior Crossbow! This gives one of my Beast-Warriors an extra 1000atk points." Ralius was given a cross bow as its attack points rose to 2800. "And if you think he's strong now, just wait until I get another Beast-Warrior on the field. Ralius will grow stronger for each one. As for right now, he's got more than enough power to destroy your Valkyria! Attack!" Ralius went on the attack as he aimed right at Meldrick's monster.
"All that power is going to end up wasted. I activate Negate Attack!" Meldrick said as he played his trap. "This trap ends your battle phase!" With a special energy flowing through the area, the attack was stopped.
"All you're doing is stalling. You don't have anything to beat Ralius now. So, I'll just place my own card facedown and end my turn." Hector said.
"My turn!" Meldrick said as he drew his next card. "I bet you're all wondering as to what Gemini monsters are, so I'll tell you. Gemini monsters are quite tricky. It's almost like there are two sides to them. They act as normal monsters with no special abilities. However, they can be summoned again. When that happens, their true power is awakened."
"Summoned again? What are you talking about?" Hector questioned.
"I suppose it be easier if I just show you. I re-summon Dark Valkyria!" Meldrick said. When he claimed that, a light enveloped around Dark Valkyria and her true power was awakened. "That does count as a normal summon, so I can't do it again. However, I can now show you Dark Valkyria's true power. Once per turn, I can place one counter on her, and she gains 300atk points for each one!" A counter was placed on his monster and caused her attack points to rise to 2100.
"That's not enough to beat Ralius." Hector said as he thought he had nothing to worry about.
"That's where you're wrong. She has another ability. By simply removing a counter, she can destroy your only monster!" Meldrick claimed. Meldrick's monster took the counter and fired it right at Ralius. Ralius got blasted and was destroyed, destroying Hector's only defense. "She might lose power, but she still has plenty to deal damage!" Dark Valkyria's power dropped to 1800, but it was still bad for Hector. "Attack!" His monster gathered dark power and shot it straight at Hector. Hector got hit right in the gut from that attack with his life points dropping to 2200. The worst part is what Hector felt. He held his gut and dropped to his knees.
"What just happened? That actually hurt." Hector questioned as he actually felt pain through his body. Meldrick just snickered seeing Hector like that. "What have you done?"
"All I did was raise the stakes in this game." Meldrick claimed. "This is the power I truly hold. This is the power of the shadows! With things like this, only one of us will be able to walkaway. When you lose, you will be lost to the shadows!" He declared. This is what Senshi was afraid of. Hector's not just dueling for a spot in the finals now. He's dueling for his very life.
To Be Continued...