The audience was eager for more after Greiger and Leo's duel.
Inside the lounge, Wenslow was looking at the names of the people competing in the next round.
"Let's see how Rose does against Akiza."
/
Leo, now dressed as himself, walked down the hallway with Luna and Dexter beside him, trying to cheer him up. They met up with Yusei, who was leaning against a wall.
"Leo." Yusei said. "It's only a loss if you don't learn anything from it."
"You tried your hardest. That's the only thing that matters." Sara remarked.
She and Rose came over to the three after the duel ended.
"Man, is that Greiger tough or what?" Dexter said. "He had you in the corner from the start with those Reactors and that Flying Fortress SKY FIRE… you didn't stand a chance." Leo gave his friend a glare.
The sound of high heels on the floor suddenly reached them and they all moved to the wall as Akiza walked past. As she did so, her gaze locked with Yusei's for a moment, each staring into the other's eyes. Then the moment passed and she just kept walking on down the corridor, seemingly oblivious to them. Yusei stared after her thoughtfully…
/
"Everybody listen!" The MC yelled. "Now for our second Duel of the Fortune Cup, we have two incredible duelists here to truly go all out! Firstly, entering the arena now is the Dragunity duelist, Rose."
"Now for his opponent, with a record of… well, it appears we don't have any records for her! But we can say she's… um… uh… are you saying we have no information for her?" The MC hissed the last part to a staff member beside him. "Uh… well… New Domino City, let's hear it for Ms. Akiza Izinski!"
Akiza rose up on a hydraulic platform exactly as Rose did, but she was completely silent, her eyes fixed on Rose with sheer malice.
14
In the audience, Luna cried out.
"Luna!" Leo gasped. "What is it?"
"Her… Deck…" Luna whispered, shaking. "It's like… it's… screaming in… pain…"
"Screaming in pain?" Dexter said. "But what could do that to it?"
"I hope we don't find out." Yanagi said.
14
Back in the arena itself, Akiza and Rose faced off across a Duel Field.
"Good luck." Rose stated.
Akiza just remained silent as they both drew their five card starting hands.
"Right then, so let this Duel begin!" The MC yelled.
Akiza 4000LP/Rose 4000LP
"I'll begin." Rose said, drawing. "I summon Dragunity Dux." (ATK: 1500)
"Now I send Dragunity Dux to the graveyard to special summon...Dragunity Arma Mystletainn." (ATK: 2100) "When this is normal or special summoned from my hand, I can equip a Dragunity monster in my graveyard to it."
"I end my turn with one face down."
Akiza 4000LP/Rose 4000LP
Akiza drew silently.
"Have anything to say?" Rose asked.
"Just this." Akiza replied as she picked out a card from her hand. "I summon my Twilight Rose Knight!" In a flash of light, a teenage girl younger than Akiza appeared, with short pale blue hair, clad in jet-black plate armor and white cape, and wielding a short sword (ATK: 1000).
"Due to my Knight's special ability, when she's Normal Summoned, I can play a Level four or below Plant from my hand to keep her company, like my Lord Poison!" Twilight Rose Knight raised a hand and a gnarled looking creature appeared, its body made of bark with immense black thorns sprouting across its form (ATK: 1500).
"Why would Twilight Rose Knight have an effect like that?" Yanagi wondered.
"Duh, it's a Tuner!" Leo exclaimed.
"Tuner?"
"She's gonna Synchro Summon!" Dexter and Leo exclaimed at once.
14
"Black Rose Dragon."
Twilight Rose Knight soared into the air and separated into three glowing rings that encircled Lord Poison, reducing it to four glowing stars. The stars aligned within the rings and the entire Synchro Summon exploded into a pillar of fiery purple light behind Akiza as she began to chant…
"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now…!"
14
"What's she summoning?" Yusei wondered.
"The same dragon we saw yesterday."
14
"Black Rose Dragon!" Akiza finished, throwing her arm up towards the heavens as black writhing thorny vines ripped from the Synchro Summon, lashing like whips as a terrible howl of fury and power rent the skies. The pillar of purple light faded away to reveal Black Rose Dragon.
It was immense, easily on par with Stardust Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend in size, its body black and serpentine, scales separated into segmented ridges of armored flesh. Its wings were formed of blood-red rose petals, and the same petals wrapped around its midriff where wings met body. Its head was thorn-shaped, with blazing crimson eyes and a fearsome maw. A majestic plume of rose petals crowned its skull, and the dragon landed on great legs ending in crimson talons, howling again as its vine-tails lashed insanely (ATK: 2400).
14
"She is the Black Rose!" An audience member cried. "Only the Black Rose holds the Black Rose Dragon!"
"I'm not afraid of your dragon." Rose declared. 'If she uses it's field clearing effect, I'll respond with Threatening Roar protecting my life points.'
Akiza kept watching her.
"What do you say to that."
"Oh, just this." Akiza said. "When Black Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy all cards on the field! Black Rose Dragon, Black Rose Gale!"
"You did exactly what I expected. I play the Threatening Roar trap. Now you cannot attack this turn." Akiza's dragon flapped it's wings and roared, unleashing a howling storm of gale-force proportions within the arena. All the cards on the field instantly shattered under the force of the storm, including Akiza's own Black Rose Dragon. Then the gale died down.
"I lay one card face-down and activate my Black Garden Field Spell." Akiza said, first setting the face-down, and then playing the Field Spell. As she activated it, vines erupted from under her feet, rapidly growing into a great dome of rose plants around them. "And now it's your turn, Rose."
Akiza 4000LP/Rose 4000LP
Rose drew a Spell Card.
"I activate the field spell Dragon Ravine." The field spell slot of her Duel Disk opened and she played the field spell destroying Black Garden in the process.
"Now I summon Dragunity Phalanx!" (ATK: 500)
"I'll tune both to summon Dragunity Knight - Barcha." (ATK: 2000)
Akiza 4000LP/Rose 4000LP
"It's effect targets any number of Dragunity monsters in my graveyard and equips them to it."
14
"I draw." Akiza said. "I summon Phoenixian Seed!" In a flash of light, a crimson seed with a bloated eye set into it appeared.
"Now I Release Phoenixian Seed to use its effect and Special Summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from my hand!" Phoenixian Seed combusted into flames that reformed into a sinister looking plant shaped like a phoenix, with large fern-like leaves for wings, a pink flower for a head with blazing eyes set into it, and numerous crimson leaves growing out behind it for tail feathers.
"What's the point?" Rose questioned. "Dragunity Knight - Barcha is stronger than both of your monsters."
"That's what Mark of the Rose is for." A black rose mark appeared on the dragon's forehead and he vanished, reappearing before Akiza in a flurry of rose petals and kneeling as Akiza pocketed Lord Poison. Akiza held out her hand and he took it in his own, gently kissing it before standing and turning to face her former master, whose face was the approximate shade of beetroot.
"Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, attack." Akiza ordered. The phoenix plant unleashed flames from its maw.
(Rose 1800LP)
"Since my Amaryllis attacked, it is now destroyed," Akiza said as the Plant combusted. "But when it gets destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you take 800 points of damage." The flames shot at Rose and burned her.
(Rose 1000LP)
"During my End Phase, Mark of the Rose returns your dragon to you." Akiza said. "But before that, I equip him with Vengeful Servant, meaning that when his controller changes, the new controller receives damage equal to his original attack. And now, I end my turn."
Dragunity Knight - Barcha vanished and reappeared before Rose in a flurry of rose petals, before his eyes flashed and he turned, slashing at Rose with his claws.
(Rose 0LP)
Yusei clutched at his arm, where his Mark of the Dragon was burning despite not making itself visible.
"I knew she'd win that Duel…" He murmured.
"What do you mean?" Greiger asked. "Are you connected somehow?"
"I don't know." Yusei replied. "But there's something between us."
Sara was shocked. She expected her sister to put up more of a fight in that duel.
14
Akiza stood, still staring at the defeated Rose, oblivious to the angry shouts of the crowd…