Hello everyone! I would love to say that I'm back, but unfortunately, I still don't have enough money to buy a new laptop yet. I'm borrowing my brother's laptop while he's not using it for his work. Since I can only borrow it once in a while, I can't promise a regular update like I before. But I'll still do my best to update as soon as I can.
For now, please enjoy the first chapter of the final part of the trilogy. Unlike the previous two, this fanfic will only have around 40 chapters. I've planned up everything and wrapping it up in 40s chapters should be enough. If it turns out more, I'll let you know. But for the time being, it'll stick until around 40 chapters for this fanfic.
I hope you enjoy reading this first chapter!
ROOFTOP – THE BROTHERHOOD HQ – CAPITAL – CANTIDEL EMPIRE – ARC-V
Yuya was lying on the floor. His chest heaved up and down with his eyes closed comfortably. The shadow of the hanging plants above him blocked the blinding sunlight. The breeze that passed the roof garden made the atmosphere refreshing, which made it even more comfortable for the Pendulum user to sleep.
Unfortunately, that nice nap was ended when the door slammed open.
"Yuya! You're here?" Yuji came out from the door, looking for his tomato-haired master.
This interrupted Yuya's nap, awakening him. Yuya rubbed his eyes, wiping the tears and scratched his itch head as he turned to face his ace monster-turned-human-temporarily.
"Oh, Yuji. Is something the matter?" Yuya asked sleepily.
"We're about to start the meeting in a few minutes. Dad want you to come to the meeting room now." Yuji reminded.
"Right. The meeting. I forgot. Sorry, it was comfortable taking a nap here." Yuya said with a yawn. He stretched his arms up before returning to his feet. That was one nice nap. From now on, the rooftop would be a good spot for him if he wants to nap again.
"You seem okay now..." Yuji commented while walking down the stairs with Yuya behind him.
"Well, seeing my own death is scary, but after speaking to you and Yuno-san, I'm able to remind myself that I'm not alone. Together we can prevent that vision from coming true. I keep remembering all of you by my side, it doesn't feel so scary anymore. I feel more relaxed." Yuya smiled serenely at his ace monster. It wasn't a lie. He didn't pretend to be strong so that he won't worry his friends. He genuinely believed that he'll be okay eventually because they're with him.
"You can always count on us!" Yuji pulled Yuya to him with his left arm while smiling in relief. Yuya laughed softly in return, playfully nudging his ace monster.
"By the way, what're you doing with that iPad? Isn't that Lilac-san's?" Yuji asked, looking at the iPad Yuya was holding.
"I'm just looking through some social media that may give us a clue about Apophis. Not much help though. But there's one rumor that's going around that interest me." Yuya handed the iPad to Yuji, showing a chat that talked about a particular topic.
"A mysterious Crimson Duelist?" Yuji read out loud the topic of the chat.
"There has been a rumor going around about a Duelist who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and challenging anyone be it from our side or Apophis' side. He is called Crimson Duelist because eye-witnesses saw his figure under a deep red-colored cloak." Yuya explained as he looked at the blurry photograph of the Crimson Duelist that an eye-witness captured.
"You think this Duelist could be from Apophis' side trying to confuse us?" Yuji wondered, being wary of a new enemy increasing.
"...or a possible ally for us." Yuya suggested.
MEETING ROOM – THE BROTHERHOOD HQ – CAPITAL – CANTIDEL EMPIRE – ARC-V
The core members of The Brotherhood have gathered together, including Yuya and his counterparts and the Four Heavenly Dragons. Lilac and Lechter have requested them to gather for a meeting. After the discovery of the hieroglyphs deep underground below Apophis' temple, Lechter and his team did a thorough checking on the hieroglyphs. It took a while, but since Lechter and Lilac have called them for a meeting, they most likely have translated the hieroglyphs. Lilac anf Lechter were standing in front of the projector screen that showed the hieroglyphs.
"Have you dechipered this hieroglyphs?" Yuno got straight to the point.
"Thanks to Lechter-san we managed to decipher half of it. The rest is still working in progress. For most part, the content of this hieroglyphs is how Apophis emerged into the world, a common knowledge for us. But the third part of the half is a bad news for us." Lilac explained, zooming the said third part of the hieroglphys that they have translated.
"This part mentions of a way for Apophis to regain his full power." Lechter revealed, causing a gasp of unease to fill the whole room in chorus. This was certainly a bad news. The current Apophis was already troublesome, but the full powered Apophis would be on a different whole trouble.
"Does it mention the method?" Neah asked.
"Unfortunately, the details of how to do it is on the part where we haven't dechipered. We're still working on it. But we do know the requirements for whatever method he's going to use to recover his power." Lechter nodded at Lilac as he said this. The mechanic opened another window that showed the translation of the zoomed hieroglyphs. It would be easier for everyone to see than her reading it out loud.
His Excellency has been sealed. He lost his power and physical body necessary to walk in our world. For the sake of our lord's revival, we must provide him with a vessel strong enough to contain his soul. However, even with the new body, His Excellency's power is still sealed. We must break the seal for him to fully recover and enshroud this world once more with darkness. The sacred ritual is the only way. The Sacred Eclipse ritual where our lord will regain his power and put an end to the last Supreme King Dragon.
"This is the part that we have deciphered. We'll try our best to decipher the rest as soon as we can." Lechter said. As expected, this brought discomfort for everyone.
"If they're conducting a ritual, they'll do it at one of their temples. The questions are where and when they'll do the ritual." Reid wondered, rubbing his chin.
"I doubt they'll return to the previous temple. Apophis has fulfilled the first requirement to regain his full power. He has taken over Prince Kurt's body. With that objective fulfilled, they don't have any reason to return to that temple, especially not after meeting Lady Celica there." Kino reasoned.
"Then all that left is to conduct this sacred ritual. They kidnapped Celica before because she's necessary. Maybe they're planning to use her in this sacred ritual." Neah deduced. And if they're planning to use Celica, then it won't end well for her. Those who knew Apophis long enough would know his history that when the Dragon of Calamity is using someone, the said person would always end up dying. Most of the rituals involving Apophis requires a living sacrifice. For that reason they were sure Apophis intends to make Celica a sacrifice to regain his power.
"But why it has to be Celica-san? Is it part of his revenge against her?" Yugo voiced the question.
"But if we're talking about revenge then shouldn't Yuno-san be part of his target as well? Or Yukiya who is the reincarnation of his archenemy?" Yuto pointed out.
"I don't think he'll just kidnap Celica-san out of whim. There must be an important reason why Apophis needs Celica-san." Yuya said.
While everyone else was busy thinking about the referred sacred ritual, Yukiya's attention was focused on the hieroglyphs. Below the hieroglyphs was a mural showing a figure of a dragon with wings spread out and encircling the dark smoke covering the Earth. Yukiya felt it was familiar but couldn't get an exact grip of what it was. He was sure he had never seen it before but the fact it felt familiar to him means either Zarc or Ma'at recognized it. He doubted it was Zarc since he was born in ARC-V before it was split, so that only leaves Ma'at. It has something to do with Ma'at.
"The last Supereme King Dragon. Is this referring to Ma'at?" Yukiya finally voiced out his question, turning everyone's attention to him who was still looking at the screen.
"It should be. I mean, Ma'at is the only one capable of standing on equal grounds against Apophis." Lilac said, quite confused at Yukiya's question that she thought the answer was already obvious. Yukiya, however, begged to differ.
"But doesn't it sounds strange? Yuya and the others also possesses the cards with the title of Supreme King Dragon. This hieroglyph is written as if there's only one Supreme King Dragon left in existence." Yukiya pointed out again.
Yuya and the others began to ponder. What Yukiya said makes sense. There are more than one Supreme King Dragon monsters on their side. But yet the hieroglyphs seems to indicate otherwise. Was it written that way because the ones made it didn't know the existence of the other Supreme King Dragons? Or there was something else they are missing...
Their discussion was interrupted when a man barged into the meeting room with pant-up breath and body full of sweats. He tried to say something but he coughed harshly as his body couldn't put up to keep standing without taking a breathe. Yuno even offered him a glass of water and demanded him to finish it before speaking, which the man was grateful of. It didn't take long for the man to finally speak up.
"Pardon my interruption, Sir! We have an emergency situation! It's the remnants of the Reformist faction! They're wreaking havoc again!" The man informed them.
Ever since Heidel's arrest, the remaining members of the Reformist faction who had escaped capture and persistent on carrying out their leader's goal began their rebellion, attacking territories belonging to The Brotherhood and Imperial Army. With civilians falling victims from their attacks, the Imperial Family had labeled them as terrorists. A special force has been formed to suppress them, though at times the Imperial Guardians and The Brotherhood also participate in missions to fight them if necessary, especially when their territories are involved.
"Understood. I'll have a team to–"
"You don't need to. Celica just informed me that she already sent a team led by Yuzu to handle this." Yuno said while holding his Duel Disk, the screen showed Celica's message for him that she has sent just as the man explained the situation.
The Oracle then turned to Yuya.
"I think they'll be okay, but if you want to go to Yuzu's side then I'll allow it." Yuno told the Pendulum user. However, Yuya shook his head.
"Yuzu would be fine. I know she can handle this." Yuya answered with confident smile. If it was the old him, he would have rushed out by now. But Yuya has long learned that Yuzu has grown strong enough that she can protect herself even without him by her side. Besides, against a Duelist at the calibre of the remnant of Reformist faction, Yuya knew that Yuzu would win without trouble.
"If you say so." Yuno smiled at Yuya approvingly before turning to everyone again, continuing their earlier discussion.
PLAZA – AMOSIS CITY – CANTIDEL EMPIRE – ARC-V
The entire plaza burned in a sea of red, yellow and orange and the cries of the people echoed into the peaceful morning. While running with her men following behind her, Yuzu watched as the flames ripped their way through the buildings surrounding her, tendrils of smoke reaching desperately into the sky, as if trying to escape the blazing inferno below.
The pink-haired girl didn't waste any time to act the moment her eyes lay on the very group of people responsible for this fire. The enemies consisted of eight people in total. At least the ones in front of her. They were cornering the Imperial soldiers who were on patrol duty. She didn't even think for a second to activate her Duel Disk and summoned any monster she first drew to block the rain of bullets coming towards the cornered men. Her act shifted their attention to her.
"Is everyone okay?!" Yuzu asked, placing herself and her team in front of her comrades to protect them from their enemies.
"Yuzu-sama!" One of the soldiers called out in surprise mixed with relief.
"Take the wounded away from here! The rest will handle this with me!" Yuzu ordered. Five of her men evacuated the wounded soldiers and civilians while the remaining ones stayed to fight together with her.
"Heh. The Imperial Armies must have lost their fangs to put a little girl like this in charge." The man who seemed to be the leader of the terrorist said condescendingly.
"In Duel what matters are the skill of the Duelist, not their age or gender. If you can't even understand that then you're already a lost cause." Yuzu replied calmly before activating her Duel Disk, facing the leader fearlessly. Her men were already began dueling.
"That's a smart retort. Too bad it's just a bark with no bite." The leader said as he activated his Duel Disk as well, beginning the Duel.
{FIELD SPELL: CROSS OVER}
From Yuzu's Duel Disk, platforms were generated and materialized around the plaza with Action Cards scattered as well.
[ACTION DUEL!]
Yuzu noticed an Action Card lying on the ground not far from her. Her enemy either didn't notice it or has no interest in taking an Action Card despite knowing its benefit. Either way, she won't let this chance slide and took the Action Card before beginning her Turn.
"I'm taking the first Turn! With Scale 2 Astrid the Melodious Diva and Scale 8 Ella the Melodious Maestra, I Set the Pendulum Scale! With this I can simultaneously Summon Level 3 to 7 Monsters! Pendulum Summon! Appear!" Yuzu summoned two Monsters to her Field that consisted of Soprano the Melodious Songstress (ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1400 / LV: 4) and Canon the Melodious Diva (ATK: 1400 / DEF: 2200 / LV: 4).
"Appear, the circuit of our harmony!" Yuzu opened the Link Circuit.
"Arrowhead confirmed! The summoning condition is one Melodious Monster! I set Canon the Melodious Diva and Soprano the Melodious Songstress in the Link Marker! Circuit Combine!" Yuzu set Canon on the Right arrow while Soprano on the Left arrow.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Prodigy Stradivarius the Floral Melodious Maestra (ATK: 2000 / LINK: 2 / LM: Right, Left)!" Yuzu summoned her Link Monster in Attack Position in the Link Monster Zone.
"I activate Quick-Play Spell: Flower Link! I can change a Link Marker of a Link Monster's position to one of the bottom markers!" Yuzu changed Prodigy Stradivarius' Right Arrow to Bottom Arrow.
"I activate Prodigy Stradivarius' effect! On the Turn this card is Link Summoned, I can special summon a Melodious Monster to the zone pointed by its Link Arrow from my hand but it cannot attack this Turn!" Yuzu summoned Milly the Melodious Diva (ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1200 / LV: 4) in the zone pointed by the Bottom Arrow.
"I end my Turn." Yuzu concluded.
"My turn! I activate Continuous Spell: Call of the Mummy! As I control no monsters, I can special summon an Undead monster from my hand." He Special Summoned Plague Wolf (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000) in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"Next I normal summon another copy of Plague Wolf!" He summoned the second Plague Wolf in Attack Position next to its fellow Plague Wolf.
"I activate the effects of both copies of Plague Wolf! I can double their ATK until the End Phase!" He doubled both Plague Wolf's attack from 1000 to 2000 before setting a card.
"During the End Phase, as the first effect of both copies of Plague Wolf were activated, their second effect activates. Both of them are destroyed." He destroyed his own monsters that he just summoned them. This surprised Yuzu and she readied herself for whatever he was going to do next.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Surrounded by Fallen Wolves! I can Special Summon two or three Undead monsters from my Graveyard of the same name with 1000 or less ATK that were destroyed by a card effect this turn in Defense Position with their effects negated, then I draw cards equal to the number of monsters Special Summoned by this effect!" He Special Summoned two copies of Plague Wolf and drew two cards.
"I end my Turn. Now, please do your best, little girl." He told the Melodious user.
"He destroyed his own monsters only to revive them with their effects negated... He must be preparing them to either summon a high-level monster or inflicting a big damage to me in one attack. I'll have to be careful...!" Yuzu eyed the two wolves warily. While her enemy is arrogant, she knew that he's no fool. Otherwise, how else he could conducted an open attack at the plaza despite its thight security?
"My Turn! I activate Magic Card: Fusion! I can perform Fusion Summon using monsters in my hand or the other side of the Field as Fusion Materials!" Yuzu fused Tamtam and Aria in her hand.
"Fusion Summon! Appear! Bloom Diva the Floral Melodious Saint (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 6)!" Yuzu summoned her ace monster in Attack Position in Main Zone.
"I activate Milly's effect! When this card is used as a material for Special Summon, I special summon it back to the Field in Attack Position!" Yuzu revived Milly to her Field.
"Battle! I attack your two Plague Wolves with Prodigy Stradivarius and Milly!" Yuzu declared Battle Phase. She first attack with Prodigy Stradivarius. The Link Monster played her violin, creating deep blue-colored tornado that swept away and destroyed the first Plague Wolf.
REFORMIST LEADER LP: 4000 = 3000
Milly then conducted the second attack. She began to sing, creating soundwaves that made both Plague Wolf and its user having a headache from hearing the high-pitch volume until Plague Wolf's exploded from inside out.
REFORMIST LEADER LP: 3000 = 2600
"And finally, I attack directly with Bloom Diva!" Yuzu declared her third attack with her ace monster. While this won't be enough to deplete all of his LP, it'll still give him huge damage.
"As my opponent's monster declared a direct attack, I activate my face-down Trap Card: Howl of the Fallen Wolf! I can Special Summon two Undead monsters from my Graveyard of the same name with 1000 or less ATK in Defense Position, then adding a Field Spell Card from my Deck to my hand!" He Special Summoned two copies of Plague Wolf and added Edge of Darkness to his hand.
Yuzu jumped to a platform floating next to her and picked the Turn's Action Card.
"Action Magic: Angel's Orb! I can increase the ATK of a monster I control by 400 until the end of this Turn!" Yuzu increased Bloom Diva's ATK to 1400, allowing the Fusion Monster to blow away one copy of Plague Wolf. Although, since it was in Defense Position, he didn't receive any damage.
"I also activate Action Magic: Petal Sparks! When my monster destroyed an opponent's monster, I can destroy other monster that my opponent controls!" Yuzu pointed at the other Plague Wolf, prompting petals of white flowers to came out from the card and shot out at the Undead Monster like boomerangs, destroying it.
"I end my Turn." Yuzu concluded. She eyed her opponent. Despite having lost his monsters again, he didn't seem disturbed. In fact, his face was saying as if he was expecting her to destroy them.
"I certainly underestimated you, Little Girl. I'll admit that I didn't expect you to be able to summon such powerful monsters. I guess I should give you a praise. You're worthy to succeed the Imperial Adviser." The Reformist leader said while giving a soft applause.
"Are you done with your sarcasm? Why not just show me what you're capable of now while you have the chance?" Yuzu answered sharply. She knew that this went too smoothly for her that it was suspicious. He'll start his counterattack now in this Turn.
"Impatient, aren't you? Very well. Just as you wish. My Turn! I activate Field Spell: Edge of Darkness! By banishing two Undead monsters from my Graveyard with the same name, I can add an Undead monster from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand!" He banished two copies of Plague Wolf to add an unknown card from his Deck to his hand. He smiled upon seeing the card.
"As I control no monsters, I activate the effect of Call of the Mummy! I Special Summon Despair from the Dark (ATK: 2800 / DEF: 3000 / LV: 8)!" He special summoned the Level 8 monster from his hand in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"I knew it! He used purposely allowed those two Plague Wolves to be destroyed so he can summon more powerful monster!" Yuzu's gaze sharpened. It may have higher ATK than any of her monster, but the damage she would take won't be big and if it tries to attack Bloom Diva then Bloom Diva's effect will activate to destroy it instead.
"I Normal Summon Skull Conductor (ATK: 2000 / DEF: 0 / LV: 4)!" He summoned skeleton-like monster dressed in conductor's black suit in Attack Position next to Despair from the Dark in the Main Zone.
"Battle! I attack Milly with Skull Conductor!" He declared his first attack at long last. The Undead Monster called forth vengeful ghosts that flew with angry hisses towards the Melodious monster.
"As an Undead monster declared an attack, the effect of Edge of Darkness increases the ATK of that monster by 100 for each Undead monster I control!" As he was controlling two monsters, Skull Conductor's ATK increased to 2200. The angry spirits strikes down Milly, the Melodious monster disappeared with a shriek.
YUZU LP: 4000 = 3400
"Next I attack Prodigy Stradivarius with Despair from the Dark!" He next pointed at the Link Monster. The effect of Edge of Darkness increased the ATK of Despair from the Dark to 3000.
Despair from the Dark used its hand to claw down the Melodious Link Monster. Yuzu noticed an Action Card and tried to reach for it. Keyword 'tried' because before she could reach it, one of Skull Conductor's ghosts blocked her way and took the card instead.
"I activate Action Magic: Aura Down! I can lower the ATK of a monster my opponent control by 1000!" He lowered Prodigy Stradivarius' ATK to 1000. Right afterwards, Despair from the Dark shredded the Link Monster mercilessly and the impact threw back Yuzu.
YUZU LP: 3400 = 1400
"As Skull Conductor was face-up on the field at the end of the Battle Phase, it is destroyed by its own effect." He revealed as Skull Conductor disappeared from the Field. Despair from the Dark's ATK reverted to normal.
"Little Girl, I'm not completely heartless. I'll give you a chance to surrender and you can walk away, tell the Imperial Family to return Supreme Commander to us and we'll stop our attacks." He sneered.
Yuzu twitched at this. Just because the man destroyed two of her monsters and dealt a considerable damage, he got ahead of himself. She'll make sure that arrogance would be his downfall.
"Sorry to say, but you won't have it your way. You can't see the bigger threat even though it was right in front of your eyes, ignoring the suffering you've inflicted on innocent people using for the sake of greater good as your excuse, your stupidity knows no bounds." Yuzu replied with tinge of anger in her tone.
"That's some tongue you got, Little Girl. I'm warning you that would be the last time you can say that to me. My next Turn will end you for goof."
"You're wrong if you think I will allow you to continue to your next Turn! My Turn! I summon Tuner Monster Darlene the Melodious Choir (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 400 / LV: 3) from my hand!" Yuzu summoned a petit female monster wearing yellow-colored daisy-themed dress while holding a book in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"I Tune Level 6 Bloom Diva with Level 3 Darlene! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Meisterin Constanze the Melodious Maestra (ATK: 3200 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 9)!" Yuzu summoned her Synchro Monster in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"Okay, it does have higher ATK than Despair from the Dark. But with the amount of my LP, I can still hold on until the next Turn." He said confidently, but he blinked when Yuzu smiled back at him.
"I activate Meisterin Constanze's Effect! Once per Turn it can Special Summon a Melodious Monster from Graveyard, but that Monster cannot attack the Turn it was summoned, and Constanze gains ATK equal to half of its ATK until the End Phase!" Yuzu revived Prodigy Stradivarius in Attack Position and added half of its ATK to Constanze, increasing its ATK to 4200.
"Next I activate Darlene's effect, by banishing it from Graveyard, I can increase the ATK of a Melodious Monster I control by 300!" Yuzu increased Constanze's ATK further to 4500.
"And finally, I activate Action Magic: White Reflection! I can copy the effect of an Action Card in Graveyard!" Yuzu copied Aura Down's effect, lowering Despair from the Dark's ATK to 1800.
Now the Reformist leader's face paled. His LP was right at 2600. With Constanze's ATK at 4200 and Despair from the Dark at 1800, he'll receive 2700 damage in total, just perfect to deplete his remaining LP. He looked around for Action Card, but then remembered that the rule would only allow both player to get an Action Card once per Turn. Since Yuzu already took it this Turn, there's no Action Card left for him.
He's screwed.
"Battle! I attack Despair from the Dark with Meisterin Constanze!" Yuzu declared her final Battle Phase.
Constanze swung its baton, creating colorful musical notes that hit through not only Despair from the Dark, but also its user.
REFORMIST LEADER LP: 2600 = 0
The man went out cold from the impact of the attack. Yuzu used this opportunity to handcuffed his wrists and ankles. She turned behind her and to her relief, the others have also defeated their respective enemies and were doing the same. Yuzu sighed in exasperation. Two weeks have passed since Yuno and Celica's wedding. For a moment she thought she and her friends could have more time for peace of their minds despite still being on guard against any sign of Apophis' movement, only for the remnants of the Reformist faction to rebelling. She wondered how small-minded these rebels are. Instead of using their heads to work together against Apophis' looming threat, they chose to inflict terrors on their own kind, terrorizing citizens who did nothing wrong when they already have Apophis to worry about. This kind of conflict only serves to supplying Apophis with more negative energies.
Will era of peace ever comes for them even after Apophis is defeated?
Yuzu quickly shook her head from such pessimistic thought. Ray and Zarc have warned them before about humanity's nature, which is why they must do everything they can to make the world as better as possible. The moment they have second thoughts and fall into despair would cause the same tragedy that befell the Original Dimension to happen once more. They mustn't let other people to share the same fate as Zarc.
"Let's take them back to the HQ. We'll detain them there for the time being." Yuzu told her men. They called for two cars to take the rebels away. She has four men escort the rebels back to the HQ while she herself and the rest will stay to check for any possible rebel that was still on the loose.
"Maybe there are still civilians who haven't been evacuated..."
"Congratulations. What a complete victory."
An applause echoed throughout the now quiet plaza. Yuzu whirled around in alarm at the familiar voice. She raised her Duel Disk readily as she faced the person she least expected to be here and one of their most hunted enemies.
"Theo!"
Yuzu addressed the man with hostility. She may have defeated him before back at Ramssess Fortress, but she still couldn't forgive him for what he did to Johan. Her mentor still hasn't fully recovered from his previous duel against the Hydradrive user.
"I'm pleased that you still remember me. Worry not, I'm here simply to observe the situation and then report back to His Excellency Apophis." Theo assured her, which wasn't assuring at all for the pink-haired girl. On the contrary, it made her even more alarmed.
"So you really are one of Apophis' offsprings!" Yuzu accused, to which Theo responded by raising his hands up like people would do when gun is pointed at them without his smile leaving his face.
"No I am not. I am 100% human being." He said calmly.
"Then why a human being would be more than willing to lend a hand to Apophis for his mad goal? We'll be no different than a cattle if he enslave humanity!" Yuzu questioned.
"Because they know well how to satisfy me."
"Satisfy you?"
"Killing people is my talent. Even in the military, I'm still restricted with rules and bound by oath that I hardly able to use my talent the way I want it. But Apophis, he has given me complete freedom to use my talent as I desire. I can kill anyone I want, however I want, how many I want. Is there any human side who would allow such freedom? Even the most cruelest human beings still apply some sort of limitation otherwise they won't be able to live long in human society." Theo explained.
Yuzu stared at the man with disbelieve. This man is a much fearsome person than she thought. WHen she first met him, she thought he was a type of person who follow order without care and what mattered to him was carrying out the order given to him. But she was wrong now that she faced him and spoke to him more. This man is driven by such mindsets as survival of the fittest and to the victor go the spoils, takes great pleasure in stomping on lives like it was a normal thing to do, simply because he can.
"How exactly did you pass the psych evalution when you enrolled into military? What kind of trick did you use?" Yuzu asked further. She just needed to ask that. The military psychological test depends on the preferred branch that one takes. But according to what she heard from Celica, some of them includes being asked a variety of provocative questions and your response is observed—including a close study of your facial expressions and body language. You may also be hooked up to a lie detector while this is going on.
"Nothing. I simply act like normal human does in normal society. I just need to say what they want to hear and show what they want to see that would certainly qualify me to become a soldier. Once you're aware of your own nature, fooling others is not a difficult task." Theo answered like the feat was as easy as turning the palm of one's hand. It was easy for Theo to say, but Yuzu inwardly disagreed. She was so shocked that she didn't even notice how Theo reveled in her fear.
"You may have participated in a war before, but from your expression, I can tell that this is the first time you have met a human such as I. Then let me tell you this, no matter how much times passed, there'll always be human beings like me. Even if by a miracle you're able to defeat Apophis, ugly cruel humans will always exist and that will create new chaos. Everlasting peace is merely a hollow dream. Humans are by nature, self-serving creatures. You'll need to get used to that if you want to survive." Theo said, snapping Yuzu back to the topic.
"You really don't mind if humanity become Apophis' slave?" Yuzu questioned again.
"To me, humans are the most beautiful when they're at the bottom of despair. They'll struggle to reach up, so desperately clinging to their lives that they'll practically do anything necessary to them. Duelist with strong resolve, strong belief, their fall usually goes so horrible that they turned into nothing but vessel of despair who seeks death as redemption for their failure or abandoning everything they believe for the sake of survival. I wish to fight you again in the near future for I wish to see you fall from grace." Theo tipped his hat to Yuzu and then excused himself.
"Wait! Do you think I'll let you get away?!" Yuzu prepared to duel, activating her Duel Disk. Now that she knew how dangerous this man, she can't let him roam free anymore. This is her chance to stop him.
"Will you?" Theo walked to a nearby debris. From between the debris, he pulled out what Yuzu saw was a small arm of a child. She saw the fingers of that hand twitching, meaning the child is still alive. Theo smirked at her triumphantly. "When there's an injured small boy pleading for your help here?"
Yuzu gritted her teeth. She could never endanger the boy's life for the sake of taking down Theo. And if that boy is injured then he needs medical attention quickly. Reluctantly, she lowered her Duel Disk, giving Theo an angry look. Theo smiled at her again before turning his back, leaving the plaza.
"I'm looking forward to our rematch, Little Miss."
LINK VRAINS – CANTIDEL SERVER DOMAIN – CANTIDEL EMPIRE – ARC-V
Ray was observing the network on her D-Board. She has heard a rumor of a mysterious Duelist challenging and defeating Duelists either working for both Imperial Army, remnants of Reformist Faction, and even Apophis' left-over viruses. This brought concern for her and the others. Whoever this Duelist is, his skill is first-class. They have to make sure is this Duelist will pose a threat for them or not in the future. That's why she was here looking for the said Duelist.
She volunteered to look for this mysterious Duelist because anything involving computers is her expertise. What she didn't thought, however, was the fact that their mystery Duelist himself was a one hell of a hacker, able toe rase his traces within network without a trace for her to find. As the result, she couldn't find his identity. That's why she was here now. She was trying to find him by visiting places where he has been seen several times.
"I wonder how I can get his attention..." Ray brainstormed several ideas to find the Duelist. From the information she was able to gather, the Duelist covered himself in a red-colored cloak, so no one could see his avatar clearly. His Deck consisted of FLAME Monsters and focused on Link Summoning. Not much information, still it was her only lead.
A loud thunder startled her thought. She looked up. The sky was covered in black clouds. Crimson-colored lightning spark within them. When it seemed the lightning was going to struck, a bright crimson flame shot out instead, revealing a Duelist cladded in crimson-colored cloak, riding his D-Board and floated right next to Ray.
"Hello. Looking for me?" The Crimson Duelist greeted.
"Are you the rumored Crimson Duelist who took down Duelists from both Imperial Armies, Reformist Faction, and Apophis?" Ray asked straight to the point. She didn't expect for him to truly appear like this, but as long as the target now was right in front of her then it's perfect.
"So you've heard of me. I'm sure popular these days. I'm pleased that even a pretty girl like you are looking for me, reincarnation of Ray Akaba, Sara Akie." The Crimson Duelist said, causing Ray to flinch at the mention of her real name.
"Who are you? Are you an enemy or ally?" Ray narrowed her gaze at him. The Crimson Duelist knew her real identity and even the fact that she was Ray's reincarnation. That's not an information you can just find anywhere. Only a very few people knew of this. He's not an ordinary person.
"If you can beat me in a Duel, then I'll tell you." The Crimson Duelist challenged, raising his Duel Disk.
[SPEED DUEL!]
"I'm taking the first Turn! With Scale 1 Valorous Spiritual Beast Tamer – Sephiram-Pirika (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1500 / LV: 3 / PS: 1) and Scale 7 Ohr Shaddoll Sephiraroots (ATK: 450 / DEF: 1950 / LV: 4 / PS: 7), I set the Pendulum Scale!" Ray set her Pendulum Scale, allowing her to simultaneously summon Level 2 to 6 monsters.
"Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!" Ray Pendulum summoned Secret Dracomet – Sephira-Qiuguo (ATK: 0 / DEF: 2600 / LV: 6 / PS: 7) and Ya Shaddoll – Sephiranaga (ATK: 900 / DEF: 100 / LV: 2 / PS: 1) to the Main Zone, both in Attack Position.
"I activate Sephiranaga's Monster effect! When this card is normal summoned or Pendulum summoned, I can target 1 card of either player's Pendulum Zone and return it to the hand." Ray chose Sephiram-Pirika, returning it to her hand.
"I summon Sephiram-Pirika from my hand!" Ray normal summoned Sephiram-Pirika that she just added from her hand, summoning it next to Sephiranaga in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"Appear! The circuit that protects the natural order!" Ray summoned the Link Circuit, setting Sephiram-Pirika on the Bottom-Right Link Marker, Sephiranaga on the Bottom Link Marker, and Sephira Qiuguo on the Upper-Left Link Marker, combining the circuit.
"Appear! Link 3! Sephira Azrael (ATK: 2200 / LINK: 3 / LM: Bottom, Bottom-Right, Upper-Left)!" Ray summoned a humanoid monster covered in purplish-colored armor with three armored wings behind it. It was holding a matching purplish spear with blue-colored blade.
"I activate Sephira Azrael's effect! Once per Turn, I can add one of its Link Materials to my hand." Ray returned Sephiram-Pirika back to her hand from her Extra Deck.
"I set a card and end my Turn!" Ray concluded.
"Summoning a Link 3 Monster right off the bat. I'm happy that you're not underestimating me." The Crimson Duelist whistled.
"I never underestimate my opponent no matter who it is." Ray replied.
"Then I'll be serious too. My Turn! First, I set a card!" Crimson Duelist set a card before picking a card from his hand.
"I activate the effect of Salamangreat Meer (ATK: 800 / DEF: 600) in my hand! By sending a Salamangreat monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it!" He sent Salamangreat Foxy (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1700) to summon Meer in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"As there is a face-up Spell or Trap Card on the field, I activate the effect of Foxy in my Graveyard! By sending a Salamangreat monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it and destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field!" He discarded Salamangreat Falco and targeted Sephiraroots in the Pendulum Zone, destroying it.
"I activate the effect of Falco (ATK: 1200 / DEF: 1600) in my Graveyard! By returning a Salamangreat monster to my hand, I can Special Summon it!" He returned Meer, summoning Falco to the Field.
"As Meer was added to my hand other than normal Draw, I activate its effect to Special Summoning it (ATK: 800 / DEF: 600)!" Crimson Duelist summoned Meer again in Attack Position in the Main Zone.
"I set Falco, Foxy, and Meer on the Link Markers! Circuit Combined! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Salamangreat Heatleo (ATK 2300 / LINK: 3 / LM: Bottom-Left, Top, Bottom-Right)!" Crimson Duelist summoned his ace monster to the Link Monster Zone in Attack Position.
"You're not joking when you said you're going to be serious." Ray commented, impressed by the monster that she assumed was her opponent's ace.
"As Heatleo was Link Summoned, I activate its effect to shuffle a card in my opponent's Zone into their Deck! Resounding Roar!" Crimson Duelist pointed at Ray's remaining card on the Spell/Trap Zone. Heatleo let out a thunderous roar, wiping out the card from the Field and shuffled Ray's Reverse Card back to her Deck, leaving her with only Azrael on the Field.
"Battle! I attack Sephira Azrael with Heatleo! Heat Soul!" Crimson Duelist conducted his Battle Phase.
"I activate Azrael's effect! By sending a Sephira Monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can negate its destruction and draw 1 card!" Ray discarded Sephiram-Pirika, creating a tornado barrier around Azrael that protected it from Heatleo's attack.
RAY LP: 4000 = 3900
"Heh. Nice safe. But I won't miss next! I end my Turn." Crimson Duelist concluded.
"In an instant he removed all the cards in my Spell/Trap Zone and almost destroy my only monster on the Field. He's as good as people talked in the rumor." Ray was both impressed and wary of her opponent. If this man turned out to be an enemy, then he'll be a dangerous adversary. But...if...if she can make him an ally, then...
"But first I must find out his real identity!"
"My Turn! I activate my Skill: Genesis Cradle! I can add two Sephira cards from my Deck to my hand, and then inflict damage to my opponent by 300 for each Sephira cards in my hand!" Ray declared. She added two Sephira Pendulum cards. Counted with the Sephira card in her hand, she has three Sephira cards, inflictinf 900 damage to her opponent.
CRIMSON DUELIST LP: 4000 = 3100
"With Scale 1 Sephira Swordsmith Yumiya (ATK: 2000 / DEF: 2000 / LV: 6 / PS: 1) and Scale 8 Sephira Illusionist Marlene (ATK: 1300 / DEF: 1500 / LV: 4 / PS: 8), I set the Pendulum Scale!" Ray set the new Pendulum Scale, allowing her to summon Level 2 to 7 monsters.
"Be revived from the Extra Deck!" Ray revived Sephiranaga and Sephira Qiuguo from her Extra Deck and also Sephira Clemente (ATK: 1000 / DEF: 1000 / LV: 4) from her hand.
"Once more! Appear, the circuit that protects the natural order!" Ray set Sephiranaga, Sephira Qiuguo, and Sephira Clemente to the Link Markers, combining the circuit.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Sephira Metatron (ATK: 2500 / LINK: 3 / LM: Bottom-Left, Bottom, Bottom-Right)!" Ray summoned her ace Monster in Attack Position at the Main Zone pointed by Azrael's Bottom Link Marker.
"Battle! I attack Salamangreat Heatleo with Sephira Metatron!" Ray began her counterattack.
"I activate Trap Card: Energy of Fire! I shuffle a Salamangreat Monster in my Graveyard to my Deck ti gain LP equal to its ATK and prevent my Monster from being destroyed!" Crimson Duelist shuffled Falco back to the Deck, increasing his LP by 1200.
CRIMSON DUELIST LP: 3100 = 4200
Heatleo blocked Metatron's sword with its hand, forcing the Angel Monster to pull back. Ray has anticipated that move, that's why she added Yumiya and Marlene to her hand.
CRIMSON DUELIST LP: 4200 = 4000
"I activate Marlene's Pendulum effect! When a Sephira monster inflict damage to opponent, I can inflict damage equal to its ATK!"
"I also activate Yumiya's Pendulum effect! I can double the effect damage inflicted by Sephira cards!"
CRIMSON DUELIST LP: 4000 = 1400
"Next, I activate Clemente's effect! By banishing it from Graveyard, I can target my opponent's monster. That monster cannot attack until the end of my next Turn." Ray banished Clemente, pointing Heatleo as her target. Clemente's spirit changed into a golden rope, tying Heatleo's body, stopping its movement.
"I end my Turn." Ray concluded her Turn. She has sealed Heatleo's move and the Crimson Duelist doesn't have any other card on the Field. His only chance is by drawing a good card in his Turn and depends on the remaining cards in his hand. Now, what will he do in this situation?
The Crimson Duelist smiled cheekily at Ray, making her blinking in confusion behind her goggles.
"Good thing I have saved this card for this moment." The Crimson Duelist picked one of the cards in his hand, revealing it to be a Spell Card called Salamangreat Sanctuary.
"I activate Magic Card: Salamangreat Sanctuary! When I Link Summons Salamangreat Link Monster, the effect of Salamangreat Sanctuary allow me to use a monster with the same name as Link Material instead!"
"What?!"
"Reincarnation Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Salamangreat Heatleo!" Crimson Duelist summoned a new copy of Heatleo to the Link Monster Zone. Since Clemente's effect only affect the previous Heatleo, the reincarnated Heatleo can attack this Turn. Furthermore, as Heatleo was Link Summoned, its effect activates, shuffling Ray's cards in her Pendulum Zones back into her Deck.
"But I still have LP advantage! With Heatleo's ATK, you can only target Azrael that only has 100 point ATK difference! And even if Azrael is destroyed, I still have Metatron!" Ray pointed out.
"I know. I have prepared for that too. Maybe I can't finish you off this Turn, but I'm getting rid of your two monsters." The Crimson Duelist stated. Ray wished he was only bluffing, but after pulling out that Reincarnation Link Summon, her gut feeling said otherwise.
"As Heatleo was Link Summoned using a card with the same name as Material this turn, I activate its effect to change an opponent's monster's ATK to that of a monster in my Graveyard!" He made the ATK of Metatron the same as Meer in his Graveyard, weakening Metatron's ATK to 800.
"Also, I activate Magic Card: Burning Spirit Up! My FLAME Monster can attack twice this Turn!" Crimson Duelist added.
The Crimson Duelist declared his Battle Phase. Heatleo whirled its body while covering its body with its burning flame. Heatleo strike forward, enveloping both Metatron and Azrael in burning twister. Ray held onto her D-Board tightly to stop herself from being blown away and falling.
RAY LP: 3900 = 2200
"You're better than I thought." Ray said with a weak smile despite the tide has been turned against her.
"From your look, you refuse to Surrender." Crimson Duelist noticed the spirit hasn't left her eyes.
"Obviously." Ray replied, steadying herself more above her D-Board. Even if the situation seemed hopeless, she will continue and expose his identity. The fate of the world is partially at stake depending on his standing.
"Good. I'm even more fired up now– Huh?" The Crimson Duelist suddenly stilled. His brows furrowed into frown and he let out an annoyed sound. "You gotta be kiddin' me. Why now?"
"What?" Ray blinked.
"Sorry, but I have an urgent situation offline. I'm withdrawing for now." The Crimson Duelist said, ending the Duel. Then without any other word, he logged out before Ray could even voiced her protest at the abrupt end.
"What's with him..." Ray said in frustration. She couldn't figure out who the Crimson Duelist was, but at least she knew how strong he is, what kind of Deck he use, and the fact he knew a lot about her.
"I must report to Celica-san."
Ray logged out.
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Uneasy Alliance – Gongenzaka and Sawatari are strolling around the city when another group of the Reformist faction's remnants attacked, resulting in a hostage situation. It's up to Gongenzaka and Sawatari to think up for a rescue and escape plan.
How is it for the first chapter? I'm really fond of Salamangreat Deck, so I just have to add it into story! But as for the user is Takeru/Soulburner or OC, I'm afraid that'll have to wait until the time for the revelation~ Until then, feel freeto speculate all you like!
Please don't forget to review this chapter!