Chapter 15: The Supreme King's Duel

Yuya and Ren were now preparing to face off again, although anyone who had known Yuya for more than a day knew that Yuya was likely not the one in control.

"You think that you are the real Zarc? I will have to put you in your place." 'Yuya' growled, a draconian tone having entered his voice,

"I know that I am Z-ARC, and thus I will have to put you down!" Ren laughed, a demented grin on his face.

"Duel."/"Duel." The duellists declared, starting the duel.

Yuya/Zarc: 4000 LP

Ren/Z-ARC: 4000 LP

Extra Monsters in Effect

Turn 1: Yuya/Zarc

"I'll go first, and set my pendulum scale with scale 0 Supreme King Gate Zero and scale 13 Supreme King Gate Infinity! This will allow me to summon any monster I want! I Pendulum Summon! Arise, my two Supreme King Servant Darkwurms and my Supreme King Servant Odd-Eyes!" Yuya declared, setting two brand new pendulum monsters in his pendulum scale, then summoned 3 dragons, two that were brand new as well, and another which looked similar to Odd-Eyes, the same green lines on it as were on the Number that Yuya had summoned.

Supreme King Servant Darkwurm: Level 4, 1700 ATK (x2)

Supreme King Servant Odd-Eyes: Level 8, 2500 ATK

"I end my turn." Yuya snarled, allowing Ren to take his first turn.

Turn 2: Ren/Z-ARC

"I summon my Dark Soldier, this allows me to summon another, and then I overlay them to summon Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Then I activate Extra Calling allowing me to banish material this turn! I summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and Corrupting Tail Link Dragon!" Ren banished the same material as he did in his duel against Declan, summoning the same dragons, "Then Draconic Call summons my Odd-Eyes Dragon!" Ren had managed to call out all of his dragons on his first turn, but time would tell if it was enough.

"I attack with my Dark Rebellion. Destroy a Darkwurm! Mauling Mandible Charge!" Ren's Xyz dragon charged at Yuya's first dragon, destroying it.

"Due to Zero and Infinity's Pendulum effects, I gain life points equal to the damage I would have taken instead!" Yuya denounced the attack rather effectively, his monster only being sent to the extra deck.

Yuya/Zarc: 4000 LP - 4800 LP

"Tsk. I attack your other Darkwurm with Starving Venom! Venomous Annihilation!" Starving Venom charged again, Ren confusingly attacking despite it only going to help Yuya.

Yuya/Zarc: 4800 LP - 5900 LP

"Why thank you." Yuya laughed, opening his arms as the aura around him intensified,

"Rrrr," Ren growled, hoping that Yuya would have activated the effect of Darkwurm to negate that attack, "I end my turn."

Turn 3: Yuya

"It is now my turn and I activate Returnal which adds a pendulum monster to my hand from my extra deck. I am unable to Pendulum Summon due to my Infinity's effect, but that doesn't matter. By banishing Returnal, I can add one spell card from my deck to my hand, but I am unable to activate it unless I take damage equal to all but 100 of my life points. I add Change of Heart which I immediately activate! Since I control a 'Supreme King' monster, I can activate this card and gain the life points I would lose instead!"

"WHAT!?" Ren shouted as Yuya's life points increased,

Yuya/Zarc: 5900 LP - 11,700 LP

"Through Change of Heart, I take control of your Corrupting Tail Link Dragon! Then, I open the circuit that shall allow me to reawaken! For this summon, I can treat Corrupting Tail as all four materials, so I set Corrupting Tail in the Link arrows," Ren's Link Dragon was sent to Yuya's field, it immediately entered the link portal that was on Yuya's field, "Bring down the final dusk upon our opponent! I Link Summon Supreme King Servant Corrupting Tail!"

Supreme King Servant Corrupting Tail: LINK-4, 2500 ATK, All Bottom Arrows and Left arrow.

"Due to the effect of my new servant, I can add the Darkwurm in my hand to my extra deck. Then I activate my Odd-Eyes' effect, returning it to the extra deck to summon my Darkwurms back, then all your monsters have their attack points reduced to rock bottom. Then my Corrupting Tail allows me to take damage equal to the attack points of the monsters who's attack is changed by the effect of a 'Supreme King' card. Of course, I will instead gain the life points!" Yuya's life points shot up even more, as Ren's monsters lost all their attack points.

Supreme King Servant Darkwurm: Level 4, 1700 ATK (x2)

Starving Venom Fusion Dragon: 2800 ATK - 0 ATK

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 ATK - 0 ATK

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 ATK - 0 ATK

Odd-Eyes Dragon: 2500 ATK - 0 ATK

Yuya/Zarc: 11,700 LP - 22,000 LP

"I now attack with my Darkwurms. Take out Starving Venom and Clear Wing!" Yuya's two servants charged at the Fusion and Synchro dragons, effortlessly sending them to the graveyard.

Ren/Z-ARC: 4000 LP - 600 LP

"Now go, Supreme King Servant Corrupting Tail. Attack Dark Rebellion and end this duel!" Yuya was laughing as he ordered his newest dragon to defeat his opponent.

"Not so fast!" A feminine voice rang out, "I shall intrude on this duel by activating the trap Lyrilusc – Emergency Save! This trap can be activated from my hand by paying half my life points. Then I can summon one 'Lyrilusc' monster from my hand and activate one 'Lyrilusc' spell or trap from my hand! I shall summon Lyrilusc – Cobalt Sparrow and activate Lyrilusc – Phantom Feathers which shall reduce your monsters' attack points to that of my Cobalt Sparrow, and then their level or rank becomes one! Then I can add Lyrilusc – Sapphire Swallow to my hand by the effect of Cobalt Sparrow." As the girl landed, her long lilac hair settling as the light emerged over her face, revealing a mask that had the design of a sparrow, like the monster she summoned, but the onlooking resistance members, and especially Yuto, had a rather good idea who it was.

Intrusion: Penalty of 2000 LP

Intruder: 4000 LP - 2000 LP - 1000 LP

Lyrilusc – Cobalt Sparrow: Level 1, 0 ATK

Supreme King Servant Darkwurm: Level 4 - Level 1, 1700 ATK - 0 ATK (x2)

Supreme King Servant Corrupting Tail: 2500 ATK - 0 ATK

"Again? Why does this always happen when I am about to win?!" Yuya growled, ending his turn.

Turn 4: Intruder

"I shall take the next turn, in which I will pave the path to my win!" The girl declared, drawing the card that signified the start of her turn, "I shall activate the spell card Lyrilusc – Bird Call, which allows me to send another Cobalt Sparrow to the graveyard. Then I activate the effect of my Lyrilusc – Sapphire Swallow in my hand, allowing me to summon it and my Lyrilusc – Celestine Warbler to my field. Then I can summon my Lyrilusc – Beryl Canary to my field by also reviving my Cobalt Sparrow in my graveyard. I can then add a 'Lyrilusc' spell or trap, along with another 'Lyrilusc' monster to my hand. I add Lyrilusc – Bird Sanctuary and another Sapphire Swallow to my hand." The girl's field was swarmed with small bird-like monsters, all of whom had rather low statistics.

Lyrilusc – Sapphire Swallow: Level 1, 100 ATK

Lyrilusc – Celestine Warbler: Level 1, 200 ATK

Lyrilusc – Beryl Canary: Level 1, 0 ATK

Lyrilusc – Cobalt Sparrow: Level 1, 0 ATK

"Then I overlay my Beryl Canary and a Cobalt Sparrow, allowing me to Xyz Summon a Rank 1 monster! I Xyz Summon the bird that will sing her path into your heart, Lyrilusc – Recital Starling, who then gains 200 ATK because of Beryl Canary, and 600 ATK by its own effect!"

Lyrilusc – Recital Starling: Rank 1, 0 ATK - 800 ATK, 2 ORU

"Then I activate the effect of Recital Starling, using a single overlay unit to search a Cobalt Sparrow from my deck! Then I overlay the remaining monsters on my field, to rebuild the overlay network! I Xyz Summon the bird who's strength is unlike any other's when she is not alone, Rank 1, Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale!" The girl called a blue-skinned bird-woman with black feathers to the field, the 3 overlay units orbiting it casting light and shadow all over the monster, "Due to the effect of Sapphire Swallow, I can add the Cobalt Sparrow in my graveyard to my monster as an Xyz material, then my monster gains 200 ATK for every single overlay unit it has!" A fourth green orb appeared, joining the others around the monster, who made a melodious cry as she powered up.

Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale: Rank 1, 0 ATK - 800 ATK, 3 ORU - 4 ORU

"Then I activate Lyrilusc – Bird Sanctuary, which allows me to draw a card, and also attach my Recital Starling as material to my Nightingale!" As she drew her card, her first Xyz monster turned into a green orb, joining its overlay unit in orbiting the second monster.

Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale: 800 ATK - 1200 ATK, 4 ORU - 6 ORU

"Then I activate a spell card called Lyrilusc Performance – Nightingale's Revenge which allows me to use my Nightingale to Xyz summon a 'Lyrilusc' Xyz monster from my extra deck, using it as the material. I also get to transfer my Nightingale's overlay units. So, using my Nightingale, I build the overlay network one last time! My birds have been preparing to make this battle a show you won't forget, but what would be a show without the leading lady? Make way for the star of the show! I Xyz Summon, Rank 1, Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin!" As the overlay network exploded with power, yet again, another blue-skinned bird-woman emerged, having blue feathers this time, the black being highlights as opposed to her predecessor's dominant colour, flying in the air currents for a moment before getting ready to fight, "Like her show-mates, my Robin gains attack points for every overlay unit it has. This time it is 500 points!" The new monster let out a call, similar to the Nightingale before, but much sweeter.

Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin: Rank 1, 0 ATK - 3500 ATK, 7 ORU

"Due to Nightingale's Revenge, my Robin has the ability to attack directly, and also to attack as many times as it has overlay units, but if I don't attack directly, my opponent takes no battle damage. With this, I attack the gentleman with the Xyz Dragon directly, then I attack the three monsters on the other gentleman's field, then the last three strikes shall be direct attacks!" As the monster wheeled around in the air, she sliced her wings, sending buffets of wind towards Ren and Yuya, defeating Ren, and destroying all of Yuya's monsters, surprising the duellist when he couldn't activate his Darkwurms' effects.

"Oh, yeah, probably should have mentioned, but you are unable to activate monster effects during the battle phase this turn due to Nightingale's Revenge's effect."

Ren/Z-ARC: 600 LP - 0 LP

Yuya/Zarc: 22,000 LP - 11,500 LP

Ren/Z-ARC Eliminated

"Now, I end my turn, but I really recommend surrendering. After all, my birds hate being forced to redo an act for someone like you!" the girl said, allowing Yuya to make his turn, but the Pendulum Duelist just laughed.

Turn 5: Yuya/Zarc

"Very well, I shall end you here! I start by pendulum summoning from my extra deck a Supreme King Servant Darkwurm and also a Darkwurm from my hand!"

"No, you don't. By using an overlay unit, I can return those monsters to your hand, also you can't summon, nor activate the effects, of any monsters with that name for the rest of the turn!"

Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin: 3500 ATK - 3000 ATK, 7 ORU - 6 ORU

"WHAT?! I end my turn as I cannot do anything else." Yuya growled as the Darkwurms returned.

Turn 6: Intruder

"Very well, I guess my birds have to make an encore performance after all. I draw and activate Bird Sanctuary to draw a card. Then I activate my Lyrilusc Performance – Ensemblue's Strike which allows me to send any card from your hand and/or field to the graveyard, as long as the total cards sent are equal to or less than my Robin's overlay units. I send your Gates and the cards in your hand!" Yuya was forced to send every card that he had to the graveyard, opening him up for direct attacks even more so than he already was,

"Now I activate Lyrilusc Performance – Recital Encorewhich allows me to summon a 'Lyrilusc' Xyz monster to my field from the graveyard, then I can attach as many 'Lyrilusc Performance' spells as I can to the Xyz monster, as long as those spells are in my graveyard. I unfortunately have to exclude this spell however, so I revive my Recital Staring and attach Nightingale's Revenge and Ensemblue's Strike as material. Then, through effect of my Starling, I give my Robin an extra 600 attack points! Then I also activate the effect of the Celestine Wagtail in my graveyard, along with the effect of Bird Sanctuary, attaching my Starling as material to my Robin giving my leading lady a total of ten overlay units, and five thousand, six hundred attack points!"

Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin: 3000 ATK - 5600 ATK, 6 ORU - 10 ORU

"Now, my star performer, attack directly and end this duel!" Ensemblue Robin charged across the air, and quickly swooped down, defeating Yuya rather swiftly, dealing a total of 56000 damage.

Yuya/Zarc: 11,500 LP - 0 LP

Intruder Wins

As the field disappeared, the onlookers saw that the mask on the girl's face had blown off in the last gusts of wind, revealing her magenta eyes, and a small smile on her face, as she approached the defeated duellist, the dark aura around Yuya disappearing as she got closer, the yellow gem on her bracelet also starting to glow.

"Lulu!" Yuto called as he ran forward, the girl turning to face him, her face breaking into a massive smile, and she also ran to her long-time friend, embracing him in a hug that they had both been wanting for months now.

"Yuto! I've missed you so much!" Lulu said, burying her face in Yuto's shoulder, tears of joy streaming down both their faces.

"Shay will be so happy to know you're safe," Yuto said between tears, "He's probably the one who missed you most."

"Brother can be like that," Lulu laughed, "Shame I had to intrude on that duel right there."

"I think that was for the best," Declan's voice interrupted the reunion of the two Xyz duellists, "I was detecting a lot of power from the duel. I was considering stepping in myself before you did."

"I saw the aura coming off that boy over there and had to interfere. It would have unnecessarily endangered my friends if I didn't." Lulu stated, turning to face the young CEO,

"I commend your strength. I'd think it best not to get on your bad side." Declan half-joked,

"Well, I'd sure hope you don't." Lulu said, a rather deadpanned tone showing that she was being serious,

"Let's get inside. It would be best to seek shelter. The night is approaching, after all." Yuri said, carefully approaching the small group, worried that if Lulu recognised him, she might attack him as if two people had jumped to the wrong conclusion, he doubted that a third wouldn't.

"YOU!" She exploded at him, seemingly having come to that conclusion, "Why did you press that button back then?"

"Uhhh," Yuri stumbled, caught a bit off guard, "Shall we speak inside?" he nervously asked, which thankfully Lulu nodded her agreement, starting to head back.

Next Chapter Preview: Reunited with Lulu, the gang heads back to the Resistance base, where they try to find out what exactly happened with Lulu and her disappearance.

Custom Cards

Returnal

Normal Spell Card

Add one Pendulum monster from your hand to your extra deck, face up. If you have two cards in your Pendulum zones, you can banish this card from your GY: Add one spell card from your deck to your hand, but you cannot activate cards with the same name as that card unless you take damage equal to your current LP minus 100. You can only use this effect of 'Returnal' once per duel.

Supreme King Servant Corrupting Tail

DARK

LINK-4

Dragon, Link, Effect

All Bottom arrows, plus Left arrow

2+ DARK Dragon monsters

You can also Link summon this card using one 'Corrupting Tail Link Dragon' you control as all this card's material. If summoned this way, this card cannot attack the turn it is summoned. If this card is Link summoned: You can add one Pendulum monster from your hand to your extra deck, face up. You cannot Pendulum summon, except for DARK Dragon monsters the turn you activate this effect. If the ATK or DEF of a monster(s) your opponent controls changes: You can take damage equal to the difference between the ATK or DEF the monster(s) had and their current ATK or DEF.

2500 ATK

Lyrilusc – Emergency Save

Normal Trap Card

You can activate this card from your hand by paying half your LP while you control no cards. Special summon one 'Lyrilusc' monster from your hand, then you can activate one 'Lyrilusc' spell or trap card from your hand, as if it had been set for a turn. You can only activate one 'Lyrilusc – Emergency Save' per turn.

Lyrilusc Performance – Nightingale's Revenge

Normal Spell Card

Target one 'Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale' you control: Immediately after this effect resolves, Xyz summon a 'Lyrilusc' Xyz monster from your extra deck using only that card as material (Transfer materials attached to 'Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale' to the summoned monster). The monster summoned through this effect gains the following effect:

This card can attack directly and has a number of attacks equal to the number of Xyz Material attached to this card. If this card attacks an opponent's monster: neither player takes any battle damage from that attack.

You can only activate one 'Lyrilusc Performance – Nightingale's Revenge' per turn.

Lyrilusc Performance – Ensemblue's Strike

Normal Spell Card

Target one 'Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin' you control: Send cards from your opponent's hand and/or field to the GY that total to less than or equal to the number of Xyz Material attached to the 'Lyrilusc – Ensemblue Robin' you control. You can only activate one 'Lyrilusc Performance – Ensemblue's Strike' per turn.

Lyrilusc Performance – Recital's Encore

Normal Spell Card

Target one 'Lyrilusc – Recital Starling' in your GY: Special Summon it, and if you do: attach as many 'Lyrilusc Performance' spell cards from your GY to it as material as possible (This summon is treated as an Xyz Summon). You can only activate one 'Lyrilusc Performance – Recital's Encore' per turn.

Hey all, thanks for reading this week's chapter. In this chapter, we have Yuya, possessed by Zarc's spirit, duel Ren, who claims to be Z-ARC. Yuya's deck was also replaced in a matter similar to when Yuto's deck is used in the show, and like in Chapter 3. As I'm sure you've noticed, its become somewhat of a recurring gag where Yuya/Zarc is about to win, but suddenly, someone steps in to save the day, or well, duel. I only realised this upon rereading this chapter for editing, so I changed the comment Zarc makes when Lulu intrudes. Speaking of, Lulu has returned! A criminally underutilised character in the series proper, in my opinion, and her deck is also so fun to play and write. I actually play Lyrilusc in Master Duel, so the familiarity certainly helped. I've also decided to change her ace to Ensemblue, not because I don't like Nightingale, but because Ensemblue seems like a much better choice for someone dueling to bring smiles than Nightingale. I guess the story is something like she started using Nightingale more as the invasion progressed as it allows for much easier OTKs, but I digress.

Aquatic Dragon – Now a Ritual Dragon. That's something that I'd honestly not thought of. Perhaps that fifth Ray fragment could use it as her ace. I'd like to use the name and card you've suggested if that's ok, so if it is, I'd need all that stuff like a deck archetype/theme, personality, native dimension, and the effects of the Dragon (and its Ritual spell as well). I'd love to hear what you think, and hopefully, we can bring a compelling character forward. I always love reading your reviews, and am looking forward to reading your next.

Anyhow, next week is just a 'catch-up' chapter, if you will. I've got quite a bit going on in the upcoming week, so I just need this to 1) as said last week, give myself a break from writing what I hope are high quality duels, and also 2) to give myself some time to focus on some other, entirely unrelated to writing this story, things.

See you all next week – NightWingBOI