There's an image for this chapter in the Ao3.
Chapter XIX
The King of the underground
Zane faces a stalemate. Under so many gazes seeking for any slip up, he cannot act rashly, but he can't just let the guards kick Rie away, who can say what will happen if she's left alone. To think she'd come all the way here…
Silly girl.
He grumbles inwardly, his expression frozen in a stoic state, not letting a single hint of emotion transpire, albeit Shroud could swear he saw Zane's jaw drop for a millisecond.
"Let go of her."
"S-Sir?"
They gulp, exchanging a glance as Zane approaches his shadow overlapping hers menacingly, standing in front of them, reinforcing in a freezing, sharp tone:
"Let . go . of . her."
They sweat coldly at his order, dropping her to the ground. Shroud glances over to his master, then at the young lady, puzzled. Zane lifts his index, hooking it towards himself, calling her to come closer in an imposing posture.
She's fazed at the gesture, looking both sides to the guards who quietly scowl at her as she enters the shady building.
"You're lucky the Hell Kaiser favors you or you'd be dead, intruder!"
One of them rants, closing the door shut with a hefty thud right after, she jolts at the sound.
His manager asks from far behind, uneasy. "My king, is there a reason for-"
"Silence."
His commandment seals his lips instantly. Somehow, his bad mood just went ten levels higher and he has no idea why. The young woman's eyes almost bulge out when they stare at her. They could smell her panic.
The sly man can tell it's her first time in such a deplorable place. How entertaining it will be to watch her reaction to what's to come? His grin disappears momentarily as Zane leans over, landing a hand on her shoulder, whispering something close to her ears, she totters back in reaction. The manager couldn't hear or lipread it, just what did he tell that girl?
"Do you know her, my king?"
"No. It was a whim, the lady came all the way here for a reason, has she not?" he prods her chin, lifting it with a fingertip. "The underground will welcome her."
"A whim? But why would you-"
"Come," he stretches his hand onward, for her to go first.
He observes as Zane's eyes are transfixed on the woman's back when she passes by, the slightest furrow on his brow before he takes the lead of the path. Shroud takes a peek too, the dress she wears covers her upper back while exposing part of her lower back, aside the pale hue of her skin, nothing is wrong.
Indeed the Hell Kaiser is still a young man, but he has the impression this was not that kind of lascivious look most men would give, what was that, then? Rushing ahead, he catches up to his superior, coming closer than usual to speak in a lower voice, a fidgety smirk.
"My king, what do you intend to do with her?
"She'll be my assistant tonight."
"You already have assistants, there's no need-"
"Why can I not have more assistants?" an impromptu reply, he will have to make up a storyline and go through with it.
More than interested, he's in disarray, Zane Truesdale has never shown interest in anything the underground had to offer, be it alcohol, pleasure with women, drugs, gambling or any sort of wicked games.
Aside from the summoning battles in which he'd get hurt, he was an unbreakable wall, he'd love nothing more than summoning and be swayed by nothing else than that, although his volatile emotions were quite easy to manipulate to a certain extent.
He went as far as hiring escorts and other people to try and convince the man to descend into the true underworld, but his master was plainly uninterested in anything presented to him. And now, he's letting this stranger in? There has to be a catch here he's not aware of.
"M-my king," he gestures aplenty, maybe he's a late bloomer. "If it's a night of fun with women, we can arrange someone-"
"Shroud," his voice is alarmingly loud, his steps halting, a haughty, deadly glare at the man. "When did I give you permission to question my decisions?"
"A-away from me doubting your assessment, my king, I just-"
"Then, shut up, worm," letting out a huff, he proceeds walking.
Unapproachable, that was exactly the image the Hell Kaiser sold in the underground. That's the image he helped him cultivate, it gives publicity, it sells well, all they'd need from it. However, he dislikes that his puppet has gone astray, wiggling out of his grip while he underestimated him.
"The match will start soon, so you should prepare."
He bows, opening the door of the prep room to his superior, his eyes squinting in distrust as he follows the woman, unsure of what to expect. A smirk plays on Shroud's lips before he asks, although polite, Rie can sense an undertone of mockery, as if he's internally making fun of Zane.
"My king, what about the other assistants?"
"Dismissed."
"A-all of them?"
The teal-haired man ignores the query on purpose, landing his metallic briefcase on the desk glued to the middle of the wall across from the entrance, a click as he opens it, the insides are padded with dark-blue silk, housing circular devices akin to slave collars, Rie gasps.
"You," he tilts his head to her, "Come here."
Shroud titters delighted at her jumpy response and at the fact she'd be unpleasantly surprised with what was to come next.
"Help me put those on."
It wasn't a comment, but an order, she understood it. Out there Zane Truesdale is a summoner, but here where light doesn't reach, they call him a "King", the Hell Kaiser. A king of who? And for what?
"I'll show you how."
He starts by putting one of the collars around his upper arm a soundly latch after it closes, then he flips the case her side indicating she should continue. Gulping, she takes the next collars, placing around his arm and wrists, the places where the collars go, it matches the bruises he had. Is this how he was getting those? Why is he even wearing such unsightly accessories?
Zane glances over to Shroud, the snake is watching his every movement. It'll be hard to dispel the suspicions, he did let Rie in and he can't find an excuse good enough, but this will have to do for now. As she puts the devices on his thighs and ankles too, he exclaims:
"Go tell the crew I'm ready."
"Now?"
"Did I stutter?" he says between his teeth. "If that tongue of yours is good for nothing but flattery, I'll rip it off for you."
With a sketchy smile, he bows, leaving the room. There's a second of silence broken when Rie puts the last collar around his ankle, standing up in a hurry, judged under his glare, his words from before ringing in her ears:
"You shouldn't have come here."
"Rie, how did you even-?" he snorts, shaking off his head impatiently. "Forget it. You're in for a long lecture when we get back home."
He points his finger at her, to sound strict, but it's not nearly as threatening as the condescending tone he'd use with the other people there, this softness of his convinces her that she can easily weasel her way out of it.
"Ah-ah, do not look at me like this. Listen, this is the worst place for you to be, the people here are the same as Bonaparte, Rie. They'd bid on you and have you sold in no time if they find out you're a catalyst, get it?"
She came here to find out what exactly he'd been doing that would take a whole night and leave him bruised like that, now that she thinks about it, Bonaparte wouldn't receive just any client, it's unsurprising that his devious manners are related to his strong connections to the underground.
He sighs heavily, taking a look at the door, making sure no one is eavesdropping, his voice lowering.
"I don't have time to explain everything, so I'll be short: Don't drink, eat, smell or even look at anything they offer to you here. Do not interact with others or stare at their faces, do you understand?"
Nodding once, she gulps tensely, she's not the only one, Zane himself seems overly uptight, stiff shoulders and a stern semblance. Is it because she's here or is it normal for him to be like that? Not that she can't guess why, the air of the underground is cramped and suffocating, in a subjective sense.
"Don't try to be more ballsy than you already were. If I ask for anything, you say yes and do it, like a good assistant, am I clear?" she confirms with her head. "I can't protect you if you don't play along. You'll stay out of the cage, but don't listen to Shroud, he's the most untrustworthy viper in the world, ignore him. This is all, we're leaving."
Did he say cage? He walks off nonchalantly as she stutters silently, rushing to follow his back, through the bland grey hall with dim, flickering lights, leading to a stairway that seemed unending.
After long minutes of walk, they arrive at a double metallic door. Shroud is waiting there with a grin, pushing it open with all his might. When Zane crosses the doorframe, all spotlights are on him.
A narrator's voice shouts enthusiastically. [Oh, here he is! Kneel to the King of the underground, Hell Kaiser!]
Rie's flabbergasted, there's a huge stadium, like the ones they host duels and summons in, how did they build this underground? Four big screens are placed in all directions to broadcast the whole show, Zane's displayed there in real time.
A wire mesh fence separates the large arena from the round corridor they are in. The grandstand is packed with people, all of them wearing black masks covering their eyes and noses, is it some sort of dress code?
Her path is blocked by Shroud's arm, he smirks at her and sways his head negatively, Zane continues onwards across the long space to the fence, where two guards stand by, clipping a small mic on his lapel, then opening the door for him, the crowd screeches as he enters the cage, the door is locked behind him.
"Have you never been to an underground summoning battle before, milady?" he puts an arm around her shoulders, she pushes him away, frowning. "Oh, my apologies, but we cannot interfere, from now on, we may only watch."
He waves his hand to the side, without touching her, showing a spot near the wall, as far away from the arena as possible.
[Will our King stand victorious today too?! Make your bets!]
The short heels of Zane's boots stop clacking, he's in the middle of the arena, his gaze sharpening after taking a look a few meters across from him, there's no one yet. He can feel his manager's oppressive orbs piercing through the fence, but he has no time to worry about that now.
[Now, the king's contestant!]
From the top of the stage a cog mechanism clinks swirling down the chains binding a coffin. It drops to the cemented floor under highlights, the stage workers come and unlock the chains, running away as fast as they can in fear. Is this the "surprise" Shroud was rambling about?
The lid of the coffin plops open, sliding slightly without a hint of external aid, which type of trick is this? A dense, eerie fog leaks out of the coffin, he can't even see what's inside, the mist slithering all over the area, intrigued whispers soaring abound.
A loud thump startles the observers, the top of the coffin tumbles to the ground, a silhouette arises, both arms put to their chest. The fog dissipates, revealing the voluptuous figure of a woman, her long shiny green hair almost reaching her heels, a red dress enticingly wrapped around her curves, slits showing off her pale, smooth legs and a visible cleavage attracting some lustful sights from people all over the stadium. Like Zane, she has shock collars laced around her limbs and neck.
[Meet Camula, the beautiful vampire!]
As if floating like magic she hovers above the coffin, a cynical smile spreading on her lustrous dark-red lips, her diamond gemstone earring tinkling when she tilts her head, a derisive glance cast over to her opponent.
"What a handsome gentleman," her hand comes to cover her mouth, bursting into chuckles. "I wonder what your blood tastes like."
Her yellow eyes squint in joy as if she'd seen the cutest toy ever. Zane replies by disregarding her claim, no introductions as he takes out a gem from his pocket.
"Oh my, such a man of action, aren't you? You're just making me want you more," sliding a pinky on her lipstick seductively, she defies him. "Let us have a wonderful night, my little king!"
"Cyber Dragon!"
He declares, summoning it fast, a burst of light forming near the jaw of his monster, released towards the woman, she smirks, the light shortly obfuscating the area, smoke coming out of the cracks on the ground left by the explosion, the lady, however, isn't there.
A multitude of gasps soar, all eyes looking above, a swarm of bats is gathered there, rejoining and forming the woman's body, she floats with open arms, laughing:
"I'm sorry darling, I only like strong men," his eyebrows twitch subtly. "You'll need to prove yourself before fighting me! Let's have some fun, shall we?!"
From behind her, still among the leftover fog, five men appear, all having collars with gems. When did they enter? Is this part of the show? Their eyes are deep red, salient veins on their faces, there's definitely something wrong with them.
"Fight for me, my slaves!"
With howls that sound inhuman, monsters are transported across dimensions, appearing behind them: Pyramid Turtle, Dragon Zombie, Vampire Sorcerer, Vampire Familiar and Vampire Retainer. Camula sits in the air, like an invisible chair was there for her, folding her luscious legs, watching the battle unravel.
Zane narrows his eyes as he casts a glance over his shoulder, to his manager. So this was what it was about? He's gonna fight many summoners at once? And a vampire? This keeps getting harder.
"Zombie types, huh? Cyber Dragon, pulverize them!"
With a single lighting attack, half of the monsters are destroyed, the other summoners growl enraged when an electric shock runs down their bodies.
"Let's increase the challenge," Camula swipes her finger in the air, giving a command.
Grabbing their heads, as if in pain, the gems on the summoners' collars gleam, more monsters being warped, a black hole forming as the monsters serve as tribute, Vampire Scarlet Scourge taking shape, its ragged cloak fluttering as he darts towards Cyber Dragon, in a blink of eye, its sharp, long silvery claws tearing apart the metal chunks of the Dragon who squirms, dismantling.
A current of electricity hits Zane, his feet skidding on the ground, his body shaking slightly as try to maintain his composure, a contained groan of pain leaving his mouth.
Rie's breath hitches in her throat, those dark sparks flaring in the air, what are they? Her feet unknowingly attempting to step ahead, a hand blocks her way, tugging her back.
"What is the matter?" Shroud's surprised as she looks at him filled in dread. "Is it really possible the lady doesn't know how an underground battle goes?"
Her mouth gapes open, but she can't pronounce any words or even think of a sentence, plus Zane explicitly told her not to interact with anyone, a conflicted luster flickers in her eyes as she steps back.
"Are you worried?" he sniggers, "This is part of the entertainment. The shock collars add to the small excitement of battle, they're programmed to activate at the minimal decrease in duel energy. Since monsters require a different amount of duel energy to be summoned, stronger monsters naturally require more, now what do you think happens when a strong monster is taken down? The more the duel energy drops, the higher the voltage of the shock will be, that's why they're so dangerous."
Her eyes open more in terror. Shock collars? Is this why his skin was seared with marks? It's as if he said that to scare her, twiddling with her naivety.
"Our King, however, is long used to the pains of the underground, milady, this is nothing but a walk in the park for him."
Is it really? In the arena, the red eyes of the vampire flash towards the summoner, dashing to attack him, Cyber Dragon Vier materializing in front of the assailant, just be to be crushed, delivering yet another shock, this time, he stands his ground, but a second attacker comes from the side, Vampire Red Baron.
Like a ghost knight clad in an ethereal silver armor, mounted on a horse whose head is covered in vivid red flames, the monster gallops towards him, the horse lifting to land kicks, Zane dives down, rolling on the ground, kneeling and summoning other two dragons, a distortion happens in the air, followed by a small current coursing through his body, not bothering him:
"Come forth, Cyber Twin Dragon!"
The two headed Dragon arises behind him, both heads attacking a different enemy, the gem on Zane's hands breaks into pieces.
Damn low quality gem…
He curses between his breath, grabbing the next gem from his pocket. All he's left with are those scraps, there's no money in the world that can replenish the gems he overuses.
"I knew you'd not disappoint me!" Camula shouts, enjoying the sight of her new toy striving to win.
The summoners on the ground don't seem too affected by the shock, what are they even? They aren't hampered with anything, summoning Vampire's Curse and Vampire Lord to the skirmish.
Zane is forced to summon other four Cyber Dragons, he has to get rid of the smaller monsters too before they're used for even stronger opponents.
"Blow them to smithereens!"
His order is immediately taken, all his dragons shooting at once, turning the field into a mess of explosions and craters. Distracted by the fray, a shadow blinks to his side, he flinches aware of it, just to see Camula's face close to his.
"I don't think I can resist any longer! I need your blood!"
Her protuberant teeth glimmer, salivating, her jaw monstrously opening to bite his neck, he tackles her neck with his arm, pulling it away, but her strength is unworldly, his arm trembling by the force applied against it, he's slowly being overpowered by her. What's with this woman?
"Get away from me!"
Instead of repelling her on his own, a creature dashes close to them, Cyber Dragon Drei attempts to bite her, her whole body dissolves into a swarm of bats and floating above him, reshaping into her woman form.
"Aw, so shy, you don't need to be," she licks her lips. "I'm sure your blood is scrumptiously sweet."
"Cyber Dragon Drei!" Zane grits his teeth, he had enough of her insulting advances.
She disappears from sight as soon as the attack is ordered, he's only noticed she's close by the time she's already behind him, her long nails drawing cuts on his back, as he staggers a step ahead.
"Mhn, the smell is just amazing!" she fawns with blushed cheeks, licking her bloodied fingers.
"Chimeratech Rampage Dragon!"
Two of his Cyber Dragons fuse together, forming a deformed creature that consists of a single body of metal from which four heads come out, the other smaller Cyber Dragons on the field disappear, becoming a tribute to power up his latest summon.
The four heads attack with light beams all at once, scorching the arena and carbonizing the weaker monsters.
"We've barely started, darling!"
Guffawing, she advances at his neck again, he blocks it with his arm, this time shoving the shock collar on his wrist into her mouth, her teeth shredding it into pieces. As the shards float midair, Cyber Dragon Vier arises behind him, her eyes opening in wariness as it shoots a burst of lighting at her.
The next second, she's flying above the battlefield again, even more relished than before.
"You're really my type, so untamed! Let me have you!"
"You're not my type!" a corner of his mouth curves down in disgust. "Cyber End Dra-"
With all his gems on his hand, he prepares the next summon, his boss monster, Cyber End, his words stuck on his throat, his grip so strong his fingers redden, his hands quivering.
No matter how much he strains his veins, the small quantity isn't enough for a powerful summon, even if he keeps summoning smaller ones, that won't cut it. The batch of anti-summoning drug his body soaked is taking its toll.
An army of vampires rises around him, surrounded, the crowd exhilarated, watching as Zane dances on the palm of his opponent, his Cyber Dragons fending off the smaller creatures while he skillfully evades the consecutive claw attacks of the vampire lady, being gradually cornered.
Rie observes in consternation, her chest compressed to the point it hurts under the cruelty of that show, her eyes roaming around, finding only people in delight. A reminiscence coming to her mind.
Somewhen
She lays on a flower bed, myriad of shades in the petals. A couple comes behind, their lips moving, calling for her in an unheard voice, she sits straight to look at them, but their faces are blurred.
Her eyes wrenching open, the scenery changing, the flowers are no more, but a plain wasteland, she gets up searching for those people. She can't remember their faces anymore. That's right, the South which was once a land of life was stolen out of its glory by the war, ravaged by it beyond repair.
A collection of scenes proceeds as she hides, travels and meets other refugees along the way. At last, after long years, the war is over. Now in a bigger group of people, of all ages she smiles kindly, holding the hand of an orphaned small kid.
For a while, everything was peaceful, the group of survivors found ruins, at snail steps, they started rebuilding it, more people coming, exiled soldiers, old people, children who lost their relatives in the war, they didn't know each other before, but given time, they've become a big family, working together. Then, they came. The scenery changes, that tiny hand she held burning, turning into embers. Despair.
Men in Imperial uniforms raid the village, shooting unannounced, plundering the village, all they've built, kidnapping all of the people, harming them without reason, having their way with women. While she watched in horror, she was knocked out cold.
By the time she woke up, she was in some sort of medical facility, a few familiar faces there, then, the experiments started. She screamed as much as she could, and screamed over and over until, one day, her voice wouldn't come out, as if she'd spent it for a whole lifetime.
The people she knew also disappeared, one by one. Then, she woke up with that gem carved into her skin, an irreversible procedure. Fated to die like the ones before her.
A devilish seed has been sown into her heart. This Empire that knows nothing but to devastate. She loathed it. All the lives they've taken, the people they've stolen from her life, even this body of hers was crafted for the sake of their egotistical ambitions.
Always on the losing side, never being given a choice to even fight back, this most excruciating pain ate her heart up from inside, she could never stop them, she didn't even try. But that too dwindled with time, there was nothing else to lose, they wouldn't even concede her death. A miserable life.
That night at Bonaparte's mansion, something changed. Zane Truesdale, the summoner, carried a flame within him: Revolution. No matter how bad the situation looked, he embraced the possibility of death and fought against the odds and he survived, he defeated and dethroned the most influential slave trader of the whole East.
True she saved him back there, but for the first time she could meet people who were motivated to go against the powerful Empire, and a whole organization, no less. He wasn't alone in his endeavor.
What he offered her at that time was hope. Of a better future and a new dawn in the Empire, that those lands owned by the nefarious would be rightfully taken from them. He gave her the will to fight. She admired it, this dream of his, she wanted to be strong like him too.
After a while, seeing those bruises on his body, how he almost fainted and all the nightmares, she realized the obvious. Zane isn't any mythical hero, no matter how tenacious, he is just a human like her and he has limits too. Even though he's acting rough and hiding his weakness, his body is crying in pain. Zane's in trouble, he's exhausted, but he fights despite that, he was ready to die in the mansion too.
From outside the arena,
Rie can't accept it. That overbearing duel energy of his, she can't feel it, she can't stand still this time or he'll end up dead. Yanking Shroud by the collar, she points at the cage.
"You can't go in there, milady," throwing more fuel to the fire, he cackles. "This is the underground, if the king can't do it, then he's better off dead."
The young lady scowls furiously at him, slamming him back and stomping her way near the fence. He follows her unpreoccupied, the guards grabbing her by the arms, she scuffles to reach out to the door.
It doesn't matter if she can't enter, she doesn't need to be directly there. Closing her eyes, she concentrates. Many duel energies pass by the sides like a sea of different currents, but she can barely sense Zane's.
The men are stunned as a faint stream of darkness surfs the whole way from the other side of the arena to her body.
Shroud was good at catching people's weaknesses, he knew what to ask and where to best poke, how to irk them, perhaps Zane's ruthless and apathetic persona came to be to deal with people like him, but there's just so much his master can conceal from him. He knew the lady was special the moment he landed his eyes on her.
A vicious grin opens from one side to the other of his face, a muffled laugh coming out, happy to finally discover the truth. A catalyst? And here he thought Zane didn't have the guts, would you look at him?
"Let her enter!"
Confused, the guards let go of her, her bewildered gaze lands on him, Shroud bows and sways his hand to the entrance, she bumped into there by the guards that immediately close the fence again.
Her fingers lace around the mesh until an explosion happens behind her, one of Zane's Cyber Dragons is pinned to the ground, sparks flying as it's dragged by a lance wielded Vampire Voivode, a tall, muscular pale man whose eyes are pure red, long blonde hair fluttering at the gusts of wind from explosions, his arms covered in dark armor and a majestic cloak fluttering. He ends his move by impaling the Cyber Dragon who stops functioning.
There are so many duel energies together, Rie can't even think of which one to drain first, but if she's not quick…
A cry pierces everyone's ears, amplified by the speakers, Zane's body bent backwards as a current of electricity strikes him again, his Cyber Rampage Dragon was taken down. He's suffering too.
Why is she hesitating? If she doesn't know where to start from, she should just drain them all at once. Curling her fingers into her fists, she starts. If she can do anything, she'll do it. Even if it consumes her, even if it kills her, she doesn't care, this body of hers was made for this anyway. She's weary of losing.
Besieged by the army of monsters contained by his Cyber twin Dragon, Zane's eyes try to follow Camula's movements, she's fast and accurate, it's even amusing he's able to avoid some of her blows.
Normally it'd be fine to use jewels only as amplifiers, but with his duel energy suppressed, he can only rely on the energy stored in gems. His Cyber Twin Dragon is already weakening.
A Zombie Dragon marches to the front, knocking away other monsters, releasing a putrid breath. Cyber Dragon Zwei tackles Zane, making him fall to his bottom, taking the blow instead, its eyes turning off, an empty metallic shell plummeting to the floor, another shock striking him.
When the summoner stands up with difficulty, his foe is already in front of him. With a deranged grin, Camula strikes with her claws again. He stumbles a step back clumsily avoiding it, it's not enough. A few cuts are drawn onto his lower abdomen. The crowd cheers, not for him but for her.
"Oh, don't be so eager to run away," in a split second, her face is a centimeter distance from his, "I promise you'll enjoy it!"
Her arms entrap his neck, showing him how she could have approached at any point she wanted, toying with him by brushing a nail on his lips, her mouth drawing close to his, his face instinctively turning to the side, grumbling annoyedly, his hand hustling her face away.
"Your sick vampire bitch!"
Before she continues her taunting, they're both stunned as a trail of her purple energy leaks out of her body, she blinks away from him, fluctuating near the floor.
There are different trails of duel energy floating around them, each of a different color, their eyes can't help but follow it. His orbs open wide, Rie is far behind, all the trails converging to her.
No! Why is she inside?
"Tsk, insolent thing," Camula clicks her tongue.
Transforming into bats, she flies towards the blonde woman. With a nervous order, Zane sends one of his dragons that way, when the vampire takes form to attack Rie, his Cyber Dragon barges in, roaring at the vampire.
Rie reels a few steps back, watching Camula hiss at her as a monster materializes: Vampire Genesis, a purple demonic-alike creature with a sturdy, overly muscular body, he gets a hold of the Cyber Dragon's metal pieces, plucking it apart effortlessly.
This is a mayhem. Zane is still surrounded by monsters, and now with even less of his Dragons. She didn't come here to hinder him, she came here to protect too.
A bit more. If she can do a bit more, even if her body crumbles. Squinting her eyes shut, she anchors her feet on the ground, what's the point of being turned into a catalyst if she's gonna be useless? She can't let him die here. She will wholeheartedly come to terms with this body given to her, she won't just stand and watch powerlessly as people perish ever again.
The energy being drained doubles all of sudden, the paths that used to be faint thickening to the point the monsters summoned around him start to lose power, becoming dust. Zane swallows dryly.
If she assimilates this much energy… That gem of hers will…
Even Camula looks at her hand amusedly. Her yellow marbles cast at her prey, from above, when she flies higher, she can see it clearly, a maze of duel energy lines, all the summoners except him are being drained, but the man looks troubled at it.
"I see," a smirk comes to her lips. "You won't interfere in this battle, ugly flea."
She prepares to land an attack, but shocked whispers incite an inkling feeling in her stomach. An earthshaking roar of a Dragon makes her spin around, a three headed machine Dragon charging a blast of light, directing it to her.
"Cyber End Dragon!"
Zane clutches all of his gems together, if one isn't enough, he will use as many as he has, beads of sweat rolling down his whole face, he can't summon it for long, but one attack will suffice. Half of the arena is engulfed in light, his gems depleting immaturely and Cyber Twin Dragon disappearing as a consequence.
Vampire Genesis dissipates, but Camula is nowhere to be seen. Did she die yet? Cyber End shrills ruefully, its body disintegrating as his master is unable to maintain the summon. A yell of pain succeeds, a full course shock, weakening Zane's muscles, to the point his legs faint, dropping to his knees.
The Hell Kaiser on the floor, but his enemies stand, is this not enough yet? Rie's affliction unlocks her powers even more, the summoners behind Zane grumble, falling in droves, a tornado of duel energy forms around her body, a gust of wind so fierce that blows her hair, her image glitching, alternating between her blonde version and her real appearance.
Rie, you have to stop!
His heart skips a beat when she falls to her knees, supporting her arms on the floor. Still, she stands up once again, wobbling a step, letting out a silent scream.
The Kaiba Corp. wristwatch snaps into pieces at the energy waving around her body, the holographic disguise shutting off, thrilled voices getting louder on the whole vicinity as the gem on her back is zoomed in by the large panels. They're fascinated at the rampant catalyst.
"Crap," Zane mumbles, standing up without much balance, she's busted.
Rie embraces herself, shrinking and trembling at the surges of force entering her body, out of pain, this is nothing compared to all she's endured so far, to all she's lost. But her body can't stand it, her legs disappoint her, overwhelmed by it, falling backwards with a thud, her eyelids in a feud against her will to stay awake.
Rie!
He holds back the words, hurrying towards her, a dark cloaked elegant man darting blocking his path, Vampire Duke. His eyes become bloodshot, hearing the villainous laughter of Camula bounce around the room, looking up to where she floats, towering above him haughtily.
"I'm so done with you!"
Gritting both teeth and hands, he summons another Cyber Dragon, his limbs weeping as the flux of energy strains his arteries. The Dragon swirls around the Duke, constraining it and squishing it until the monster disappears into clots of blood.
Zane then rushes forward, kneeling down when he reaches the catalyst, his arm comes around her back, lifting her upper body, supporting it on his bent leg as her head topples to his side weakly.
"You fool! You didn't need to-"
He lashes out, but bites his tongue after seeing the trails of energy that keep coming from all over the place. People from the audience who are summoners stand up from their chairs, complaints flying as an absurd mass duel energy invades the arena unstoppably, also being drained from them.
Her face is completely flushed, as if she's having a high fever, her body is abnormally hot, an irregular, but very faint breath, her blue orbs wandering foggily at the ceiling, can she even see him? Her lips slit, but quiver in place, all the words mushed inside her, but her muscles won't obey.
She can't control it. It was dumb of him to assume she'd be able to master her powers in just a few weeks when she's been having troubles with it for a long time.
Thin blue lines spread underneath her skin. The duel energy is clogging her veins and not letting oxygen through it. Professor's Banner's words surface in his mind. Her body is tearing apart, she wasn't made for this, it's poisonous to her. His gaze is transfixed in her face, in a daze. The other summoners are still there, their army monsters drawing close.
Just like before, in the war. Everyone keeps trying to save him, even Adriel… He doesn't want to be saved, he doesn't need to. He wants to save instead, but he's making the same mistakes, being impulsive, irresponsible.
It's his fault. He was careless and he could've died here, again. She wouldn't be in this state had he just been more careful. Had he refused this trap his manager set up for him. He knew it, but his stubbornness, his conceitedness stabbed him back.
A tense silence installs as the crowd rumbles anxiously, their king stopped moving as if time itself froze there. From the dark ceiling, a swarm of bats descends, Camula reshapes herself, grinding her canines in a smirk:
"Well, well, aren't you a rude one?" she flicks her hair, an arrogant tone on her voice. "Rushing to the arms of another woman while I'm still here. I'll have to discipline you!"
Unaffected by all the energy leaking out of her, two monsters are summoned, their silhouettes immediately disappearing, she doesn't bother with the electricity flowing through her body.
A dark amalgam of mist flashes and brings to life The Zombie Vampire, its four bat-like wine-red wings flapping ominously, four tridents lined up in front of it and two swords crossed behind him, magical weapons at his disposal. The master of the vampire guffaws unhinged, her jaw and face twisting.
"It's fine, I can snack on her and have you as the main meal, darling! But before the finale, heed my words, humans! I, Camula of the Shadow Riders, have a message for all of you!"
Her head moves all over, looking at each creature there, floating at the highest, to ascertain dominance over them.
"If you desire power and to see a new world, free of rules, join us! The Shadow Riders will open a pathway to heaven! A gate to unseen realms! We walk towards a new civilization and all of those who refuse will be turned into dust!"
Uneasiness spread, rumors starting to boil under hushed voices, all gazes dedicated to her, she continues:
"If it's power you wish, we shall also provide it! Come and fight for this cause, for a world unbound from the corruption of humans!"
Zane doesn't look up, but he's listening to her blabbering, and so are the underground people. So that was the master plan? Shroud brought her here to fight him and she's using the chance for her own agenda. Alexis was right, the Shadow Riders are spreading and recruiting everywhere.
"Shut… up," his voice comes out raspy.
"You can join too, my darling. You'd be the most pleasant pet," she cackles to herself, giving a quick command with the shake of her head for the vampire to finish the battle.
It's over for him, his gems are depleted, his monsters who fought relentlessly are vanishing and he's devoid of duel energy. A pity that a young, gorgeous man like him would die in such an unsightly way, but why would she feel sad? She'll make sure so suck and savor every last drop of his blood in his honor.
He isn't paying attention to her. His green orbs flicker wildly, the lukewarm sensation spreading through his arms as he holds Rie disappearing sluggishly, his grip strengthening around her, the overflowing power is killing her.
Not like this.
Rie's eyes haze with tears, her surroundings are black and numb, no sound reaches her ears, not even the warmth of his hands. This person she tried to save, she can't even see him or utter his name now.
There was something she wanted to tell him, all this time, she wanted to thank him, because he taught her to fight. She wanted to fight too, by his side, but now it's too late to…
Camula is snapped out of her continuous laughs, her monster stopping temporarily as the Hell Kaiser's arrogant voice echoes inside those walls.
"You all, coming to my kingdom, trampling on my yard, leaving your grimy footprints while barging through the back door, thinking you can do whatever you want…"
Forgive me, Rie.
Resting his forehead on hers gently to share his warmth, with a shaky hand, he smears blood on his palm, sliding that hand on the gem at her back. The blood smudge on the outer layer is absorbed, gleaming inside the jewel and becoming one with it, he can feel her body wincing softly on his arms.
I'm a fool too, Rie. Despite all my recklessness, I don't want either of us to die here.
With an arm supporting her back, he stands up proudly, her arms falling over limply. A squad of dragons spurt at once, filling the stadium behind him. Everyone is astounded, their hearts pumping hectically.
"It's time for you to know your place," his whole forehead wrinkles, glaring enraged at his rival. "Don't think you'll leave unscathed!"
The silhouettes of the Dragons shrill and writhe as their bodies shine, along with Zane's body contorting at a small amount of electricity.
The transformation envelops the stadium, plates of metal clash and melt together, a gigantesque dragon whose body was composed by many circular repartitions, one for each monster sacrificed for its summon. Its length could barely fit in the arena, sprawled all around it, menacingly hovering above the floor, its head almost reaching the ceiling.
Shroud shivers, grinning enthusiastically. How many monsters did he use, 15, 20, more? They've lost count. This is what they came here for! Now he sees the true semblance of a king, reborn from the ashes. Did this crush Zane's boredom?
"Chimeratech Fortress Dragon!"
All the repartitions open at the shout, the joints between them chinking as dragon heads come out of it instead of cannons, charging surges of light and electricity.
The nobles watching from the grandstands stand up from their seats frightened, some running to the doors to get out, their tries foiled by the guards. They know their king. Hell Kaiser is about to do it! To crash the whole place down.
"This isn't your playground! You and the Shadow Riders," he shoves his hand in the air in a decree to his Dragon.
"M-my king! Wai-" Shroud attempts to prevent the destruction but he misses the window.
"Get the hell out of my damn yard!"
Zane bellows in a seething fury, the twenty charged cannons shoot all at once, towards the ceiling of the building, aimed at Camula, her monster and all the slave summoners. The light devours everything around at the noise of the ceiling blasting open, the whole structure of the building quakes, dust cascading down, the apprehensive faces observing them are engulfed by light.
Rie's eyelids close restfully, swarmed by that luminance, she doesn't know whether it was the pressure over her body relieving or just that she recovered her sight enough to see his face, but that light felt strangely comforting.
The brightness is reduced in a few seconds, the people finally stop shielding their eyes to see an enormous hole at the upper part of the building, starlight waltzing into the whole arena, a starry sky above, mounds of cement plummeting like comets enveloped in a dusty smoke.
The silhouette of their king, basked in moonlight, a feeble, but graceful sadness imbued in that sight of his proud back bent downwards. His narrowed gaze cast at a bunch of bats floating away, towards the moon. Camula escaped.
Without taking a single glance at those despicable people who scramble in panic at the bleachers, Zane swings his hand their way. Chimeratech Fortress Dragon makes a round near the fence, barricades all the heaps of concrete falling with its body, the crowd hoots for him.
The summoner shields Rie's body with his own, a steadfast embrace around her dainty silhouette, her face sinking onto his chest. Small rocks crackle, rolling down his head and his back along with sand grains.
Soon the staff of the place comes into the cage, still in disbelief how their main star wrecked the building for his show. The Hell Kaiser stands up on his own, taking Rie onto his arms, making an effort to smother his rage at the comments spreading.
Vanishing into the backstage. Zane is engrossed looking at Rie's sleeping face, the thin blue lines on her skin disappeared, her breath is more regular too. He's glad his plan to ease the burden on her body worked out, but summoning like that left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.
"My king, your performance was dignified! I must say I did suspect your intentions in bringing such a young lady here! I heard rumors about a runaway catalyst but didn't perceive it until I saw she matched the descriptions from the rumors! To think she would be brought by you!"
Shroud comes right after him, rubbing his hands like a salesman again, was this his objective?
"You let her in on purpose, didn't you?" there's despise in his tone, eliciting a laugh from the manager.
"Of course! My king, when you first arrived here you were a gullible, honest to a fault boy, I doubted your decisiveness in owning one, but today, it has changed! You've finally opened your eyes! How silly of me, of course you didn't want me to buy you any catalyst, you just went there and took it for yourself! Suits a man of your caliber! You've grown so magnificently!"
"Stop spitting your venom and meddling in my affairs, Shroud!"
"It's my job to make sure your battles will be entertaining, my king! Wasn't the power inebriating? You won using it, so you can't complain, can you? The next fights will be even more heart throbbing!"
"I'm not following your schemes! This is my Kingdom and I decide which rules I abide by! You brought that vampire rat here, you traitor," he blurts out, sending a killing glare.
"It was your order to provide a challenge. Was it not to your taste?"
"I don't want anyone messing in my turf. You've planned it, didn't you? You hoped that the Shadow Riders would take me down so you can get a new puppet!"
"Your mind is very creative. I'd not resort to such tactics," he snickers, a crazed glint in his eyes. "Now, what will you do? Will you get rid of the catalyst and get a new one? After that mighty summon, maybe it's broken. We could still sell her for a good price, though."
He inspects Rie's face, a half derision written on the corners of his lips curling upwards, Zane shoves him away to the wall violently with only one hand, knocking him to the ground. Those eyes, overgrown by hatred, he could feel the king's finger almost reaching to strangle his neck.
"You lowly scum! Dare to try anything, I'll break all your limbs!"
"You hurt me, king. What was she here for if not for this? This night will be engraved into people's memories! Your image, what you've done, sculpted in them! And with that, more people will come in your favor. Wasn't this what you wished for this whole time?"
"You don't understand a thing about what I want!"
"I'm just advising that if you want popularity, summoning battles will be much more enthralling with a catalyst. You've ushered the underground in a whole new era of duels, milord," in a low snicker, he stops walking. "I'm sure many of the big sponsors of the underworld will be delighted to meet you!"
The syndicate…?
Zane scowls, the creases on his expression making a labyrinth. "I'm not using catalysts again!"
Shroud snickers at the confident statement. The summoner may refuse and struggle, but soon he will find out there's no other way besides the darkness. In the end, he'll come to his senses, there's no light out there, only this unsightly darkness will give the power he seeks. And Shroud will be waiting here, for the day Zane Truesdale will fully embrace his shadows. He will come back with the catalyst for more, they always do.
"Congratulations, Hell Kaiser! You've climbed your way through to a new status. You're a master at destroying everything you touch! People are here to witness the havoc! You're sure to get even more fame and attention from now on!"
He cachinnates, his voice reverberating on the odd corridors, walking ahead, leaving Zane alone to his thoughts. A whole new era? He's not looking forward to driving into a dirty world like this. His gaze lowers, landing on the unconscious woman in his arms. He won, but at what cost?
This victory doesn't fulfill him at all.