Houki's and Meldrick's duel continues on and it's getting intense. Houki is barely holding on with 600LP, but she managed to summon her best monster: Phoenix Warrior Shisara. Meldrick had 1700LP with his Darkstorm Dragon at 2700atk points with Inner Power, but it doesn't matter. Izanami was on her way, but if what Houki has planned works, it won't be a problem.
"Meldrick, this is the end of the line for you!" Houki claimed. "Shisara, attack his Darkstorm Dragon. Strike down with Inferno Twin Strike!" Both of Shisara's katanas ignited in flames. She flew straight at the dragon and slashed against it. Meldrick's dragon was destroyed and his life points dropped even more to 1600 with him losing more of his energy. "I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Meldrick. When Shisara destroys a monster, she gains another 500atk points." Shisara's power increased as it rose to 3300. That was great for her.
"Yes! Houki has the strongest monster again!" Rin said.
"Now, even if Meldrick summons Izanami, it won't be strong enough to defeat Shisara." Cecilia said.
"Shisara grows stronger with each monster she destroys." Senshi said. "She also has the ability to attack every monster Meldrick will have on the field. Since she also brought out such a powerful monster already. That means Izanami's ability to drain away a monster's power and destroy it won't work." All of her friends were glad to see Houki was doing well. It was a rough start, but she's making quite the comeback.
"I just wish I could finish you off right now." Houki said. "For now, all I can really do is end my turn." Houki is trying her best to hold on, but this duel has drained a good deal of her energy. Even so, she just needs to hold on long enough to finish this. 'Luckily, I still have Tachikawa of the Shifting Tide in my hand. Even if he attacks, I can discard him to cut the damage in half.' She thought. 'No matter what happens now, I'm the one who is going to win. Just a little longer, Hector... Just a little longer...'
"This is all looking great! Houki might actually win this!" Mila said as even she was rooting for her.
'I must admit that Shinonono is doing better than I thought. Perhaps she's better than I thought.' Conner thought as even he thought she was doing rather well. However, a duelist like Conner could see that Meldrick had something up his sleeve.
"Well, you've done rather well." Meldrick said. "Someone should say "Bravo" for your efforts. You've even lasted longer than I thought, but it looks like you're barely holding on."
"So what? You've lost some strength as well." Houki said as she tried her best to hold herself together.
"Yes, but I'm the one who is going to walk out of this as the winner." Meldrick claimed. "You think that just because you have the stronger monster, you're going to win. Someone like you should know better than that." Houki and the others didn't like the sound of that.
"Don't listen to him, Houki! He's full of it!" Rin called.
"I'll prove it!" Meldrick said as he drew his next card and took his next turn. "Now that it's my turn, the effects of my Fake Grave trap can now activate! That means the monster I discarded is summoned to the field!"
"Here it comes..." Houki said as she and everyone else braced themselves. "Rise from the grave, Izanami: Deity of Destruction!" Power erupted from the ground as it arrived. Izanami rose from the grave as it coiled around the top of the tower. Izanami stared down at all of them with it's unsettling power of 3000atk points. Even though it was weaker than Houki's monster, Meldrick had something planned.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. What is he planning?" Charlotte said as she was scared.
"It can't be anything good." Senshi said as they all anxiously waited on what Meldrick might do to Houki.
"What are you up to?!" Houki called. "You know Shisara is much stronger! What kind of trick are you up to this time?!"
"No trick! This is just Izanami's power! She is the deity of destruction after all; and the reason she is called that is because she destroys everything!" Meldrick called. "Izanami has another ability that you know nothing about! Whenever Izanami is special summoned, she is sent to the graveyard at the endo f this turn. While she can still attack, there's something much bigger in store for you."
"Much bigger?" Houki questioned as she didn't like the looks of this at all.
"That's right! Izanami can destroy every card on your field!" Meldrick claimed as that was what everyone is afraid of. "There's more! For every monster that is destroyed, you end up losing 600LP!"
"600LP?! That's all she has left!" Cecilia said.
"And there's nothing she can really do about it! She can't stop it!" Laura said. This couldn't really be happening. Houki sought out to safe Hector from the shadows and she ended up failing.
"It's all over! The last of your energy will be drained away!" Meldrick taunted. "You will join your friend in the shadows soon enough!" Houki couldn't let this happen, but there was really nothing she can do to stop him. "You fought well, but this is where it all ends. Izanami, unleash your fury and destroy everything!" His best card unleashed its terrifying power as it emitted a blinding destructive light. The light was too strong for Houki to resist it's power. As she screamed in agony, the ribbon holding her hair was blown off. Shisara ended up destroyed as the light encased everything.
"Houki!" Senshi shouted in hopes his voice can reach her and save her, but it didn't. The light began to clear away with everyone able to see again.
"It's over." Meldrick said as he thought it was over and done. However, he saw something astounding. Houki was still standing on her own two feet. "What?! Impossible! How could she still be standing?! Izanami should have drained the last of her energy!" Houki was still standing and it was astonishing. She was able to resist against the sort of power Izanami had.
"Amazing! Houki is still in this!" Mila cheered.
"No, Mila." Conner said as he knew better. "She might be standing, but she doesn't have any life points left. It really is over." He was right. All of Houki's life points are gone and she lost this duel. All of her friends were concerned on how she is now after that.
"Not yet..." Houki mumbled with whatever strength she did have left. "I'm not... I'm not done... I'm going to save...Hec...tor..." That was all Houki said before she collapsed.
"Houki!" Senshi called as they were all terrified. The sound of her hitting the ground echoed in the ears of her friends. "Houki! Get up! You have to get up!"
"Wrong! Nothing can save her now!" Meldrick said as the shadows cleared away.
"The duel is over! The winner and advancing to the final duel is Meldrick!" Tate announced.
"Forget the duel!" Mila called as she ran on the field. "Can't you see she needs help?!" All of them hurried to her and tried to get her to respond. "Houki?" She tried seeing if she was awake, but she wasn't moving or doing anything.
"Houki! Houki! Answer us!" Charlotte said.
"Come on! Wake up!" Rin said as she tried to shake her.
"Get up this instance!" Laura called.
"Come on! Stop fooling around!" Rin said as she shook her around as best as she could.
"Please, Houki! Open your eyes!" Cecilia pleaded. All of them were scared out of their minds that Houki is never going to wake up again.
'Fight it, Houki. Come on. Wake up.' Ichika thought as he and Senshi were dishearten over seeing this. 'No! I can't lose her to the shadows as well!'
"There goes another fool lost to the shadows." Meldrick taunted. "With her out of the way, you're next on my list, Great Hero." Senshi glared right at him for this.
"You fiend! When will this madness end?" Senshi questioned.
"When I defeat you and your power will be mine!" Meldrick claimed as he cleared the field.
"Meldrick!" Conner called. "You'll be facing me in the final round. Once I defeat you and Orimura, I'll be taking Izanagi and Izanami for myself and truly become the best duelist in the world." Meldrick didn't think it could be done, but he did find it amusing.
"Ha. You're certainly confident, but I wouldn't get my hopes up." Meldrick said as he left the field.
"Come on! Houki needs a doctor!" Charlotte said as they all had to move fast to get her a doctor. Senshi couldn't believe this happened to her. All she was trying to do was help him and save Hector. This shouldn't have happened to her.
"The next duel between Conner Knight and Ichika Orimura will begin in one hour!" Tate announced.
"Why wait? It's time we settled the score." Conner dared.
"I have to tend to Houki first. I'll deal with you later." Senshi claimed as he followed after his friends. Conner allowed it as he can wait for his triumph against Ichika to finally happen.
...
The Ship
"How's she looking, Doctor?" Laura questioned.
"I'm having a hard time finding what's wrong." The doctor said. After the duel, they took Houki to the doctor to have a look at her. It won't do any good. Everyone gathered to see if she was going to be fine. "Physically, she's fine. I can't really find anything wrong with her."
"Well, she isn't fine! She hasn't moved or said anything!" Charlotte said.
"I'm sorry, but I've never seen a case like this." The doctor said as he really didn't know what to do about this.
'I'm afraid unless Meldrick is defeated, she's another soul lost to the shadows.' Tatenashi thought. This wasn't looking good. It got worse when Mila came walking in and she didn't look happy.
"Mila, when are we moving Houki to a real hospital?!" Charlotte said.
"I'm afraid we're not." Mila sadly admitted. "Conner isn't giving permission. He says our own doctors are good enough."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Rin shouted. "How selfish and obnoxious can your creep of a brother get?!"
"Either way, the ship isn't ready for departure so soon." Mila admitted. "We didn't expect an emergency leave like this one. It's all on hold until the tournament is over." None of them like the sound of that. That means they're stranded until a winner is made. "Just try to hang in there! I did send out messages asking for medical help! Hopefully, someone will answer."
"Thank you, Mila." Cecilia said with Mila leaving.
"All we can do now is hope for the best." Tatenashi said, but that's not good enough for some of them. It was too much for Senshi as he stepped out of the room to think, but he and Ichika were torn over this whole thing.
'I knew we shouldn't have let Houki dueled Meldrick. I knew it was a bad idea, but she was determined to go through with it.' Ichika thought as he felt so lost without his oldest friend. 'It should have been us, not her. All Houki did was try to help us. We should have tried harder to talk her out of this.'
"I know, Ichika, but Houki made up her mind." Senshi said.
'And look what happened. Ryu, Hector, and now Houki are all gone.' Ichika said as he just couldn't take it anymore. 'Maybe we should just stop fighting. It's gotten us nothing but pain and suffering.' He was willing to quit, but Senshi was resisting him.
"Wait, Ichika. If we call it quits now, Meldrick wins and Houki's efforts were all for nothing. Beating him is the only way to save all of them." Senshi said. They had to keep fighting, but it was too much. He even punched the wall from his frustration as it was hard to keep going. "I know it's hard, but we have to."
'I know, but I wish I had a sign or something that everything was going to be fine.' Ichika said. Ask and you shall receive as they both noticed something glowing in the pocket. Senshi reached inside and pulled out the Mystical Tiara. 'Tatenashi's tiara! I forgot we had it now! Is it trying to show us something?'
"Let's see..." Senshi said as he tried concentrating and tried seeing what it wanted to show them. That was when he saw images of him with all of his friends, including Hector, Ryu, and Houki.
'All of our friends are together! They're all safe, but when Tatenashi used it, she ended up getting the wrong vision.' Ichika said. 'Can we really trust what we just saw?'
"We have to." Senshi said as this reminded him why he must fight.
'You're right.' Ichika said as his fighting spirit was starting to be reignited. 'Meldrick's evil has gone on long enough, and we're not losing anymore friends!' That vision showed them why they have to fight, and they have to believe in that vision. Before heading out, Senshi stepped back into the room.
"Ichika, are you okay?" Laura asked.
"I am." Senshi claimed. "Listen, I want all of you to stay here and watch over Houki. I'll be back after I deal with Conner." He said as he headed out. He was going to keep fighting, but Charlotte wasn't so sure about that. After seeing what happened with Houki, she's worried on what might happen to him.
"Ichika, wait!" Charlotte called as she raced after him. "You're really going through with it? You're going to keep dueling? You saw what happened to Houki. Please, Ichika, just end it. Just walkaway while you still can. I can't stand it if something were to happen to you. This tournament has just brought trouble and pain. Please, Ichika, just walkaway while you still can."
"I can't do that, Charlotte." Senshi said as the others stepped out and listened. "When Houki learned about Meldrick, she did whatever she could to help me. If I were to throw it all away now, Houki's efforts would be for nothing. The fate of the world is at risk. Tatenashi warned us about an impending darkness and that I'm the one to stop it. I'm not sure if Meldrick is that same darkness, but he must be stopped."
"I know, but..." Charlotte said as she couldn't find the words.
"Charlotte! Do you understand why backing out is not an option?!" Senshi said. "If I do, Houki and so many others could be lost forever. Defeating Meldrick is the only way this can end! " All of them were concerned, but amazed with Ichika even more that he's still willing to fight, especially for his friends. "If this is my fate, I can't ignore it. Meldrick must be stopped and I'm the only one who can do that."
"In that case, go get them!" Rin said as they all came out.
"If this is what you must do, go and do it." Laura said.
"We all believe in you, Ichika." Cecilia claimed.
"Thank you. I'll take care of Conner, then Meldrick." Senshi said as he was on his way. Charlotte could see she can't stop him, but she's hoping he does win because she doesn't want to think of what might happen if he doesn't. Senshi climbed out of the ship and was making his way to the tower. He want to stop Meldrick, but getting past Conner won't be easy. 'Of course, I know it won't be easy to beat Conner. He's determined to beat me, and he's found a way to evolve his dragons. Even so, we can't back down.'
'You're right. We won't.' Ichika claimed. 'Okay, Conner. You might think you're the best duelist, but the fate of the world rests on OUR victory!' They're one duel away from facing their grand enemy, a duel they have to win. Houki might have failed, but they'll double their efforts to ensure that they don't.