Not every Cardfighter is on the level, or morally good. And sometimes, not everyone in the dark is too far gone.

Somewhere in the beautiful city of Paris, a dark figure approaches a large set of metal doors on the other side of a warehouse. This is Oliver, a child of the night. Pale skin, dark hair, eyeliner, and dark circles, he's dressed through the black parade in baggy black trousers with chains, and a jacket resembling an old military uniform.

A sliding shutter in the door opens up, revealing a pair of eyes. "What do you want?" A stern, aggravated voice asks from the other side. Oliver holds up a bottle cap. He turns it to flash the gold bottom of the cap. "Welcome, sir." The bouncer changes their tone before opening the door up, allowing them in.

Following some stairs, Oliver has come to a secret underground Cardfight ring. Cardfighters and bored gamblers from over the country come to battle for money, power, and status, betting everything they hand on single games.

Oliver keeps to himself, wanting the final moments of the current Cardfight. The underground's current champion, Nathan Red has just defeated Eric Jobber, once again defending his title.

Oliver looks up at a balcony. He catches the eye of a woman in a long, beautiful dress, sipping on a glass of wine. With Nathan's cocky attitude, he calls out "Is there anyone here that can actually challenge me?"

Without much more prompting, Oliver grabs the rallying around the arena and lets himself in as they drag out Eric. Oliver whistles at Nathan, catching his attention. "I'll give you a fight to haunt your every dream."

Taking those as fighting words, he accepts Oliver's challenge. Both fighters take their positions on either side of the table. They set their decks down and set up. Putting down their starting Vanguard, they mullingan their hands, exchanging what they don't want before settling on their hands.

"You ready to lose?"

"..."

Both fighters grab their starting Vanguards and flip them open. "Stand Up! Vanguard!" "Mecha Trainer!" "Vermillion Gatekeeper!" Nathan is playing Spike Brothers, based on American Football, it's a clan of brutal and multiple attackers. Oliver however is playing Dark Irregulars, a clan of vampires, succibus, and monsters of the night, feeding of the soul for power.

Oliver 3 damage

Vs

Nathan 4 damage

It's been a few turns since the pair started their game. Nathan is in the middle of his battle phase. Using Highspeed Brakki, Oliver tanks the hit, bringing him to four damage. "Damage check, no trigger."

[Oliver 4 damage]

"Because I used its skill, I return Highspeed Brakki back to the deck. And because the attack hit, Spike Brothers Assault Squad restands in the back row." Despite losing a unit in the front row, Nathan is unphased. "Next up, I will attack Amon with Treasured Black Panther."

[Panther 10000]

"I'll guard the attack with Dark Soul Conductor," Oliver puts down a 5000 shield to defend his Vanguard. "Conductor's skill. After going from the guard circle to the dropzone, I can soul charge two cards."

"With a boost from Wonder Boy, General Seifried will attack your Vanguard. When boosted by a Spike Brothers unit, he gains another 3000 power to the attack."

[General 10000 + Wonder Boy 8000 + 3000 = 21000]

"No guard," Oliver lets the attack go through, allowing his Vanguard to be hit by the attack.

"Twin Drive. First check Juggernaut Maximum. Seifried's skill. When I reveal a grade 3 during the drive check, I can call that unit to the rearguard. I call Maximum to the rearguard," Nathan calls his new unit to the open spot in the front row. "Second check, nothing." While the attack goes through, Oliver only takes one point of damage.

[Oliver 5 damage]

"Now then, boosted by Assault Squad, Juggernaut Maximum will attack the Vanguard. Using his own skill, I can soul blast to gain another 5000, just like Brakki."

[Maximum 11000 + 5000 + Squad 4000 = 20000]

Oliver flings a card from his hand, hitting the table in the guard circle. "March Rabbit of Nightmareland. I discard a card to nullify the attack." With Oliver's risky planning, he negates the last attack of the turn.

Nathan isn't happy with this development. "Maximum returns to the deck after the battle. It's your turn now."

"Stand, and draw," resetting his board, Oliver still has a fair few cards in his hand, ones saved throughout the game. "I call Gwynn the Ripper. With a counterblast of two, I can retire a rearguard. Say goodbye to Black Panther." Oliver removed one of Nathan's defensive units. "I then call Alluring Succubus behind Ripper. When called, I can soul charge. And with that, I have exactly eight cards in the soul. Amon gains 1000 for each card in the soul."

Oliver moves into the battle phase of his turn, now that he's finally put together his units. "Boosted by Nightmare Baby, Blue Dust will attack Seifried. When boosted Blue Dust specifically, they gain another additional bonus."

[Blue Dust 9000 + Nightmare 6000 + 4000 = 19000]

"I'll guard with Silence Joker!" Nathan uses a critical trigger from a previous turn to block the attack.

[Seifried 10000 + 10000 = 20000]

"Boosted by Devil Child, Amon will attack your Vanguard. With eight cards in the soul, Devil Child provides another 4000 to his power, just like Nightmare Baby."

[Amon 18000 + Devil Child 6000 + 4000 = 28000]

Nathan looks at the cards in his hand. He only has two 5000 point shields in his hand. It's not enough to protect himself. "No…no guard."

"Twin Drive. First check. Second…, Cursed Doctor. A heal trigger. I'll give the power to Ripper, and then recover one damage." The attack goes through, putting Nathan on the edge. Nathan checks the damage but doesn't pull anything.

[Oliver 4 damage]

[Nathan 5 damage]

[Ripper 14000]

"Boosted by Alluring, Ripper will attack your Vanguard for the game." Just like with Amon, the attack succeeds what Nathan is able to guard himself with.

[Ripper 14000 + Alluring 7000 = 21000]

Defeat starts to set in with Nathan. He drops his cards on the table, flashing them to be not enough to guard his Vanguard. "Nothing? Here, let me help you with that." Oliver reaches out and flips over the top card of his deck to find another copy of his Vanguard. With a sinister smile, he says "Good game."

[Nathan 6 damage]

The audience is in awe at the display they just witnessed. The defeat of their former champion puts out a flame they held in their soul, and instead ignites a wildfire as they jump out and cheer for Oliver's victory.

Oliver looks up towards the balcony. There he sees the same woman from before. They make eye contact, gesturing for Oliver to join them upstairs. With no objections, Oliver walks through the crowd toward the ZIP steps. Behind him, Nathan is picked up and dragged away from the table.

Oliver makes it to the top, where he is greeted by the woman. She's holding out two glasses of wine, one of them meant for Oliver, "A toast to your victory?"

Oliver takes the glass, "Don't mind if I do." Leaning against the rallying, Oliver speaks his mind. "Just so we're clear, I'm not here for cheap wine, and to chitchat."

"I didn't think so. You're after the deck, aren't you?" The woman smiles, sipping her wine. "I think you and I can do business together, don't you think so?"

"I want whatever is needed to put me above the world itself. I don't care what I have to do to get it."