Koushishi scowled bitterly while sitting on her throne and watching the battle unfold through multiple portals. Her advisors had been defeated, many of her loyalists had either been killed or arrested, and most of her military defected and joined the commoners who fully opposed her rule. She tightened her grip around the golden goblet filled with wine as she witnessed the grand celebrations take place at the lowest level, the youkai claiming to have thrown away the yoke of her tyranny. Their forces had started advancing upward, winning the hearts of more and more civilians. What truly frustrated her was that the civil war had spurt when she was so close to finally breaking open the Dawn Kingdom's gates. After General Rufu's military successes in the past few centuries, she was certain that the upper realm would have fallen under her control in a matter of years; and then nothing would have stood in her path to reclaiming that which her far ancestors had lost at the beginning of time - Heaven. She had been credited by historians as the monarch responsible for bringing the downfall of Purgatory, so naturally, the following step in her journey for personal glory was conquering the next realm above.
The stupidity of her fellow youkai never ceased to impress her. Instead of accepting their lot in life and acting like true patriots by working to achieve her goals, and by default the kingdom's goals, they all bothered themselves with silly and selfish concerns such as tax relief and personal freedoms. As if the kingdom's economy was supposed to be sustained all by itself! As if the common folk had the right to wander the kingdom being lazy while daily labors would be done automatically! There was no other way of putting it - youkai were plainly stupid. They needed a truly intelligent leader to keep them in check, properly organize them and give them a concrete goal before they would backstab each other out of their own petty nature and destroy the perfect society founded by their ancestors. She reflected on her last encounter with Fukurokuju when he had projected the image of Akushishi in the sky and transmitted that accursed message of 'empathy' and 'collaboration'. That was precisely what had inspired those moronic commoners to rebel so vehemently against her perfect rule. But little did they know that those very concepts were against their true demonic nature, for no weakling deserved empathy and collaboration was only required if they were working to achieve a greater goal, meaning her goal.
"It's been a long time, Akushishi," she spoke to a statue of the former king with an arrogant smirk. "The Twilight Kingdom was supposed to enter a new era after Purgatory's fall. A better era, where you and Shishima would've supposedly cleaned the senate, military and ministries of corruption and made our administration more 'honorable', whatever that rubbish is supposed to mean. Now look at the kingdom a thousand years later! It was remade in my splitting image and had resisted for so long with me as the sole ruler! But our son is trying to restore your worthless values and is throwing everything into unnecessary chaos!" She took a sip of her wine and licked her lips at the taste of it - not too sweet and only a little more sour than usual, just as she liked it. "Worry not, my dead mate. I still have a chance to defeat the very soul of this rebellion and reassert my rightful dominance. Then if there will be any further opposition, I will simply unleash my full powers as a daiyoukai and eliminate all who will still dare protest my perfect rule!"
Koushishi's laughter filled the throne room as mirth began to overshadow her previous anger. In the end it did not matter how many betrayed her. As long as she was the queen, she was the unquestioned strongest being in the Twilight Kingdom. If the entire world decided to turn against her, she would bring them all down and be done with them forevermore. It was better to reign alone over a desolate terrain of ash than to have unworthy scum take away her rightful titles.
Outside in the topmost floor's hallways, Shishima, Nekohana and Hyouma had finally finished their long climb. They were greeted with nothing but shadows and an eerie silence which made the surrounding atmosphere ominous and threatening.
"Tread carefully and be prepared for anything," Shishima instructed his two companions as he stepped forward. They immediately followed him, cautiously looking in all directions.
In a way the three of them felt an awkward sense of nostalgia having returned to the level which at one point in the past had been a home for each of them. Even Hyouma, who had only left its comforts a few days ago, was starting to long for the luxurious life she and her family partook in. Shishima remembered it as his 'vacation home', while his 'real home' was his father's tent out on the battlefield. Nekohana remembered it as the safe haven wherein her relationship with Shishima had bloomed in secret during those fateful months. Now everything, from the royal bedrooms and suites to the theater and ballroom, was empty and desolate. Ironically, it almost felt like a ghost town.
Just as the throne room's closed doors appeared ahead, the entire floor shook wildly. All of a sudden, walls began to rise from beneath, surrounding the trio and taking different shapes in what seemed to be a chaotic construction. By the time everything calmed down, they found themselves stuck inside a labyrinth made of reddish gold brick walls, its paths shaping it like a spiderweb. Above them shone a crimson light, eerily similar to the flames of Hell they had read about in their early teachings.
"Is everyone alright?" asked a concerned Nekohana.
"Worry not, it's just another one of my mother's cheap tricks," Shishima replied in a dismissive tone and placed his hand on a wall. "This maze reeks of her magic. She's most likely hoping we will either get lost here or die trying to escape. Anything to keep us from reaching the throne room."
"Fools!" Koushishi's voice loudly boomed everywhere within the labyrinth. "Did you think I would allow you to escape? You're in my world and you will obey my rules!"
The walls started shuffling around and Nekohana was separated from the group. Shishima rushed to grab her hand, but his claws ended up scratching brick. A strange hissing filled their ears and then he heard Hyouma's shriek which prompted him to turn around. His cousin had been bit by a snake youkai and a few others were slithering in their direction.
Shishima immediately flew ahead and started hacking the small reptiles into pieces before they would harm her even further. As for Hyouma, she decapitated the sneaky fiend with her metal claws and immediately gripped her left forearm. The venom was quickly spreading, so she put enough pressure to prevent it from going any further. Then she placed her lips on the wound and started sucking as hard as she could, spitting out as much venom as possible.
"That wound, is it serious?" asked Shishima without turning to face her after having finished off the slithering creatures.
Hyouma spat the disgusting green liquid out of her mouth. "I think I've fully got the venom out, so I should be alright."
No response came from her cousin, he started walking ahead and she rushed after him. A few moments of silence passed as they made a turn and walked down a different path. Then Hyouma got the courage to speak again, "I heard stories that your nose is pretty sharp. Can you maybe find Nekohana by tracking her scent?"
"If it were that easy, I would've done it by now," Shishima coldly replied. "This labyrinth my mother concocted is much larger than it seems."
From his attitude Hyouma could easily deduct that he was worried sick about Nekohana. So it was true, he indeed reciprocated her feelings. Perhaps to ensure he would keep his promise of marrying her, she could have asked Nekohana for more details about their relationship. But his apparent concern for her well-being must have meant that somewhere deep inside, her cousin cared about her too.
"Shishima, is that...?" Hyouma asked as she pointed to a glass wall where they saw Nekohana wander aimlessly down a corridor.
"Don't bother, it's only an illusion," he replied while pushing forward. "How pathetic, does mother think that she can trick me, the one who has mastered nightmares and illusions? This is insulting to my intelligence!"
Little did they know that Nekohana had not been pushed too far away from them, but the directions in which they were all headed were opposite to the throne room. As she wandered all alone down the eerie corridors, she got the idea of taking out seeds from her flower mane and scattering them on the ground to leave a breadcrumb trail for her allies. No sooner did she put her hand into the flowers did she start feeling a presence creep up behind her. She turned around and had the shock of seeing a giant floating noh mask with glowing red eyes. The closer it got, the more she felt her demonic powers being sucked away. It was as if that creature was made from Sazansho's blue fire. Taken aback by her fear, all she could do was scream and run away as the mask gave chase.
"Did you hear that?" Hyouma asked.
"She's close by." Shishima spread his wings and turned his back to her. "Hold on tight. We're flying."
Hyouma did as told and wrapped her arms around his torso, then the both of them dashed into the air. His first plan was to fly into the red sky and scan the labyrinth until he would find Nekohana. That plan failed when they soon realized that the sky was actually much closer than expected and acted as a barrier. After colliding against it and being pushed back into the maze, Shishima came to the conclusion that at most he could fly at a very close distance to the top of the walls, nothing more. It was still an advantage he would abuse and thus the two felines dashed towards the source of screams.
Nekohana eventually reached a dead end and was backed into a corner by the noh mask. As it approached, she felt that not only her demonic powers were being sapped away, but also her life force. She desperately tried to think of a way out and realized that her only remaining option was to tap into her spiritual powers and pray to divinity - a clear act of blasphemy in their world. Before she could attempt to, she saw Shishima and Hyouma appear from above and heading right towards her. All of a sudden, the walls began to shuffle again and Nekohana was once more separated from them. But the noh mask giggled and turned around to face the newcomers.
"Fufufu, that weakling was of no interest to me," it spoke with a ghostly woman's voice. "She was just a decoy so I can lure you two out."
"Hyouma, do you have any idea what kind of abomination Koushishi cooked up this time?" Shishima wondered as he cracked his knuckles, ready to tackle the monster.
"Your mother sometimes likes to create new youkai from nothing in her free time, using as basis the powers or abilities of others. This looks similar to something she said she wanted to create as an imitation of Sazansho's blue fire," Hyouma recalled after jumping off of her cousin's back. "Which means..."
"Your amazing daiyoukai powers will become a great meal for me!" the mask exclaimed and it got enveloped in a bright blue aura as it began siphoning away energy from the two of them.
Hyouma tried running away and weakly collapsed on the floor. Shishima jumped on the creature and shoved it against a wall, his claws pressed hard against porcelain but unable to make a crack as he also started growing weak.
In the meantime, the drained Nekohana crouched on her knees in the darkness of the labyrinth. With her hands clasped together tight, she began uttering a prayer with the fullest conviction in her heart. The past thousand years spent as a mortal serving various religions taught her that even if her true nature was unholy, in the end what mattered was the goodness in one's heart and their devotion to whatever divinity they chose to worship. As such, there was no surprise when she saw a bright light cast from above which began to weaken the magic inside the maze walls. Koushishi on the other hand was taken aback at seeing divine intervention occur in her own Twilight Kingdom. With a single snap from her fingers, darkness rushed into her trap and snuffed out the intruding light. But it was too late, the damage had already been done.
With a mighty roar, the newly-arrived Oni King and Akamaru swung their kanabos and crushed the labyrinth's walls as if they were made of thin ice. In a matter of moments they found Nekohana, still crouched in prayer.
"Oi, what are you doing there? This is no time for meditating when we've got a full blown civil war going on!" Akamaru scolded her.
"Guys, you found me...?" Nekohana asked while getting up and then she took notice of Akamaru's new garments. "I like the kimono. Yellow with black dots is quite fitting."
"Thanks, I just bought it off a devil dealer quite cheap. Anyway, where are your friends?"
"Behind that wall, I think. These walls are being shuffled so that Koushishi can split us apart!"
"Divide and conquer, the oldest trick in the book," the Oni King finally spoke as he rose his weapon again. "She has done this with the populace for way too long! Those days are now numbered!" He gave another mighty roar and broke through the wall without effort. "Lead the way, Nekohana!"
In a matter of moments they rushed through the maze and eventually they found Shishima and Hyouma lying helplessly on the floor. Little did the two oni know that when they broke through the wall, their weapons also shattered the cursed noh mask into pieces. With the queen's entity destroyed, the demonic energy it had absorbed immediately returned to the three felines who came to their senses, Shishima and Hyouma getting back on their feet.
"Gee, is everyone taking a nap when history is being made?" Akamaru wondered sarcastically.
"That couldn't be further from the truth," Shishima countered. "Oni King, what is the report?"
"I bring great news! All the lower levels have been liberated and are now hailing you as the new king! Since a great number of the populace has sided with you, I believe it will be only a matter of time until the daiyoukai will be swayed in your favor as well. This now leaves us all with a single obstacle..."
Shishima nodded and looked around. The defense enchantments which plagued the maze walls seemed to have vanished. Could it have been because of the strange light from before? Whatever it was, if the oni's weapons now worked against the constructions, it meant only one thing. His theory was soon confirmed when the entire labyrinth was shook by an earthquake, its walls seemingly about to collapse on them.
"It looks like your bag of tricks has emptied, mother," Shishima confidently spoke while spreading his wings wide. "If you've grown that desperate, your downfall begins here!" He immediately flew towards a wall and broke through it with a single punch. The others were quick to follow his lead, the two oni smashing any piece of rubble which fell from their sides before it could crush them.
"How long till we get there?" Nekohana asked as she ran to her lover's side.
"We've just arrived!" Shishima replied and threw another strong punch which tore through the last wall and opened the throne room's doors.
As the five youkai stepped in, the labyrinth in the hallway fully collapsed on itself. In awe at the sight of its destruction, Borof shouted from his master's shoulder, "We've escaped the queen's dastardly trap at last! I knew all this time that Shishima-sama would be the one to bring her ultimate defeat!"
Koushishi frowned at the sight of her visitors and set down her emptied cup. "So, you've all found your way here. What a pathetic gathering you are!"
"Yes, we're all standing here before you, despite your greatest efforts!" her son defiantly replied and walked forward, taking out his deck. "Mother, you've raised me to become a monster that you could control, despite Fukurokuju's warnings that one day your methods would backfire. You should've heeded his warning, because that day has come at last!"
"I accept your challenge, my ungrateful child." Koushishi also took out her own deck and arose from the throne. "Just know that all your hopes and dreams are for naught. I shall take this hope of yours and turn it back into despair!" With a single stomp, she opened a gate to Hell just beneath Nekohana, Hyouma, Akamaru and the Oni King. The four of them fell and immediately grabbed the floor, struggling to resist the pull towards the pit of infernal flames. "Did you forget the greatest honor that one gets upon becoming a monarch of the Twilight Kingdom? For millennia I have been a guardian to Hell's gates, and as such I can damn whoever I want to spend an eternity there!" Shishima was about to turn around and try rescuing them, but his mother immediately spat hellfire in his direction, forcing him to dodge her attack. "I wouldn't turn my back if I were you."
"Sire, what are we going to do now?" the worried Borof asked.
Shishima remained silent as he tried formulating a plan. If he were to go ahead and duel Koushishi, he could not properly concentrate on the match because of his concern for his loved ones. This would lead to him certainly losing the game. If he were to try his luck and attempt rescuing them, he would risk being injured by his mother's attacks and end up falling with the others right into Hell. No matter what he did, she would win in the end.
"Your dishonorable reign has gone for long enough, Koushishi!" a familiar voice echoed in the room and then a portal opened. Out of it emerged Fukurokuju, the white owl daiyoukai donning a bright silver armor, the same he wore back in his military days. "By the power invested in me, I call upon the magic of Hell's throne! Close the gates and spare those unworthy of your throes!"
Great was Koushishi's shock when she saw the portal no longer attempting to suck in her victims. Instead, it pushed them out and closed, disobeying her will for the first time. Angered, she turned to Fukurokuju and growled, "How?! Hell's gates are supposed to only listen to me!"
"Have you forgotten that I was among the demons who escaped Hell? Where do you think the monarch gets their power over those gates? The very law magic I wrote when this kingdom was founded makes it so!" Fukurokuju reminded her. "Now, I believe your son is waiting for you to face him."
The queen turned her attention to Shishima and the two dueling tables which arose from the floor. She walked up to them and both set their cards. As five blue rectangular shields appeared by the side of each player, their surroundings changed to those of a vast dark cosmos, red ritualistic circles glowing beneath them and a floating white egg hung above them, the shadow of a dragon surrounding it.
"At the start of the game, I set up Zerom, Origin of Destruction and its four Ceremonies. As such, mother, you get to begin the game with an extra card in your hand," Shishima announced and thus their match unfolded.
"I summon Mixel, Strange Stone." An airship made of red crystal appeared by Koushishi's side.
"I cast Reload Charger, discard Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge and draw a card."
"I cast Kenzan Charger, reveal the top card of my deck which is Moon, Destruction, Satan and Angel. It's a blocker, so I add it to my hand."
"I summon Tsuruhashi Doji." A small blue oni wielding a pickaxe appeared and caused his owner's top three cards to go into his graveyard, those being Borof, Final Dragon Edge, Gokensai, Oni of "Outrage" and Ninjariban, Dragon Edge. "I'll recover nothing and end my turn here."
"I cast Jamming Chaff to draw a card and you will no longer cast spells until the start of my next turn!"
"Keh, guess I won't be needing this then." Shishima placed Assault, Onifuda Kingdom tapped in his mana zone. "I summon Ninjariban, Dragon Edge and bring out Whitey, Dragon Soul Church to freeze Mixel!" A blue ninja plushie appeared alongside a floating golden church with a dragon head above its entrance. "Tsuruhashi is a slayer, so I suicide him with Mixel!" The blue oni attacked the crystal ship with his pickaxe and both vanished in a small explosion.
A large grin grew on Koushishi's face as she reached six mana. "I cast Heaven's Gate and bring out Hades, the New Moon that Rules the Underworld and Moon, Destruction, Satan and Angel!" A six armed angel-demon hybrid donning a purple armor and holding a weapon in each of his hands and another taller angel-demon hybrid with limbs and wings made of black cannons and four gun barrels coming out of a faceless head appeared from a portal of light. "I gain two new shields from Satan and Angel's effect. I now end my turn and Satan and Angel breaks one of my shields. Oshiokimoon! Hades destroys Ninjariban and Satan and Angel breaks one of your shields!" The purple-armored creature hacked the ninja plushie into pieces with his sword while the taller creature aimed his right hand at an opposing shield and shot it.
Much to Koushishi's surprise, her son grinned back. Did that mean he was not in a disadvantage despite her last move? He tapped all seven cards in his mana zone and said, "I summon Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge!" A horned and winged purple plushie appeared in the battle zone with a bone scythe in his hands, causing Bone Dance Charger and Jaouga, Oniga Oni to fall from the top of his owner's deck into his graveyard. "I now have eight cards in my graveyard, so I link the Ceremony of Graveyard to Zerom! Now that this Ceremony has linked, I give -3000 power to Hades. Then with Hellborof's effect, I bring out Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace and revive Ninjariban, Dragon Edge whom I equip with Migawari, Nightmare Swastika." A winged demonic palace descended on the field and out of it came another blue ninja plushie, this one wielding a large red shuriken with a frowning monstrous face. "Since I put a card from my graveyard into the battle zone, I link the Ceremony of Resurrection! When this Ceremony is linked, I self mill two more cards." Inferno Sign and another Borof, Final Dragon Edge ended up in his graveyard. "I now end my turn and since I have no more cards in my hand, I also link the Ceremony of Hands! When this Ceremony is linked, I gacharange summon once." Shishima grabbed the top card on the shuffled pile and revealed it while placing it into the battle zone. "Hei-Nishiki, Cut! With its Mana Drive 5, I destroy it and it goes to the bottom of my gacharange zone." A small blue cutter with one eye painted on it appeared for a brief moment and immediately vanished in an explosion. "Now you must reveal your hand and I will discard a card from it!" Koushishi groaned as she revealed her remaining three cards - Welkius, Assault Gate Elemental, Heaven's Gate and Kaiserbarra, War Dragon Elemental. "I'll discard Heaven's Gate and end here."
"Don't get overconfident, I am far from being done here - I summon a second Moon, Destruction, Satan and Angel and gain two more shields! Well then, since you've decided to flash around your new cards, why don't I go ahead and put you back in your place, as I've always done since you were born? Hades, triple break his shields!" A second copy of the Gekko Kingdom's leader arose as the angel-demon hybrid in purple armor rushed ahead and hacked away three shields with his golden sword.
"Shield trigger, I cast Assault, Onifuda Kingdom and revive Gokensai, Oni of "Outrage"." An oni donning a red and blue samurai armor appeared, a skull necklace around his neck and dragon skulls attached to his arms.
"Satan and Angel, break his final shields!" The two remaining opposing shields were shot down immediately by the gun barrels in the tall angel-demon hybrid's hands.
"Shield trigger, I summon Tsuruhashi Doji." Another small blue oni wielding a pickaxe appeared, sending Ninjariban, Dragon Edge, Reload Charger and End Jaouga, Oniga Emperor Devil from the top of his owner's deck into his graveyard, the latter of which was recovered.
"I end my turn and both Satan and Angels break two of my shields. Oshiokimoon - Hades destroys both Tsuruhashi and Hellborof!" The blue oni and wolf plushie were shattered away by the angel-demon creature's blades, then Koushishi burst into maniacal laughter. "Your creatures with removal resistance are for naught! My defense is impenetrable now, and if you even dare to attempt a comeback, my Oshiokimoon effects will make you pay dearly! Face it, Shishima, there is no way you will ever defeat me! And this time around I won't even bother imprisoning and torturing you. No, you've been a thorn on my side for far too long. Once I crush you and your insipid revolt, I will bring an end to your very existence! Yes, I will make you rejoin the Abyss forevermore. Quite fitting that your demise will come from none other than your mother - the one who brought you into this world!"
Shishima remained silent in front of her taunts. He cast a look at the cards in his battle zone and the ones he just received in his hand, trying to reassess the situation. If he lost then and there, everything he had struggled so hard to achieve in his three thousand years of existence would have been for naught. To make matters worse, everyone who chose to be loyal to him and his cause would have to suffer as well. The stakes were higher than ever before. But he had trained for this, he enjoyed the heat of the battle, especially when it reached its climax. It was the main reason why he could keep his calm, no matter how dire his own predicament was. There was no denying that Koushishi was one of the strongest opponents he had ever faced. But if he wanted to become the strongest, he had to overcome even the worst of adversity. Thus he began his turn and braved on...