Crawl. Pause. Crawl again. That was the routine the trio found themselves in. It was slow and sluggish progress, but this was what they had to work with. Chuck, Momo and Melffy Puppy slowly snuck their way through the ruins of Amgod's kingdom. It was hard to believe the endless piles of rubble used to be a city bustling with activity.
Momo provided the trio a disguise to weave through the rubble hidden away from Ira's patrolling forces: a cloth blanket that appeared as a rock on the outside. It was indistinguishable from an actual rock, carrying the same look and texture as the real thing. It was nigh impossible to see through it though, so Melffy Puppy used its heightened sense of smell to alert the other two when a patrol of demons was nearby so they could stop moving. This way, they could keep the illusion that they were nothing more than a stationary rock not worth worrying about.
"How much closer are we?" Chuck's asked in a whisper. He was hunched over on his knees, slowly crawling forward.
"The drawbridge to the castle should be up this road," Momo whispered back.
Momo didn't know if the drawbridge was down or not, She had escaped through a backdoor in the castle, as did everyone else. Ira didn't seem to know where it was, thankfully.
They continued onward at a slow pace. The further up they went, the more patrols there were. The trio was thankful Ira's minions didn't have any common sense to question why a rock would seem to change places when they weren't looking. It took half an hour to travel up the road towards the draw bridge. However, they soon encountered a problem when Chuck lifted the cover to survey the area.
"The draw bridge," Chuck said, "It's gone."
"What?" Momo replied, "What do you mean?"
"I mean it's not there anymore. It's destroyed."
"Destroyed?"
"You saw Ira in the castle, didn't you? If the bridge is out, then there's no way he's still in there, he'd be stuck if that were the case."
"Not unless he found the backdoor," Momo theorized with tangible worry.
"Don't waste your energy worrying," Chuck's said, "I'm gonna take another look," he carefully pulled the lip of the cloth over and scanned the surrounding area. That was when he gasped in pure shock and forced the cloth's lip down. Momo took notice of this action and her curiosity rose.
"What'd you find?" before Momo could sneak a peek, Chuck forcefully covered her eyes. Try as she might, she couldn't pry his palm from her face, "Hey, let me see!" she seethed in a hushed tone.
"No, you don't need to see this," Chuck manically whispered, "I found a path to the castle."
Momo stopped flailing, "What? How's that possible? The drawbridge is out. You said so yourself."
"You don't need to know how," Chuck replied hastily, "Climb on my back, close your eyes and cover your nose, and don't peek, no matter what."
"What? What's going on? Why do I have to—"
"Would you just do it?"
Momo pouted, "Okay, fine."
As she did as Chuck instructed, Melffy puppy pawed at his leg, letting out a small whine, "You too, little guy," Chuck instructed, "Try to cover your nose best as you can."
Melffy Puppy whined in response and did just as Chuck asked. The teen duelist then slowly shuffled his way towards this path he found.
Momo wasn't sure what was happening, but she could tell that the terrain Chucked walked on wasn't stable. She could also make out a squish and crack sound with each step he took. She nearly fell off when Chuck stumbled and entered a coughing fit.
"Mr. Chuck, are you okay?" Momo asked in concern.
Chuck collected himself and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine," he wasn't. His throat was on fire and his stomach churned in agony, but he had to press on. After approximately five minutes of trepidatious walking, Chuck landed on solid ground once more. Then he doubled down and puked out what little he had in his stomach. He dared not look back at the bridge behind him, that bridge of bodies—bodies of Ira's minions. That was how Ira reached the castle. He filled the gap between the two landmasses with countless bodies.
Momo opened her eyes and said, "What was that? Why do you look sick?"
"That's not important," Chuck responded.
They continued on. From the peeks he took, he could hardly recognize the rubble and broken walls as the castle he walked in just earlier today. They were able to find what appeared to be the main gate and shuffled past it to the main hall, or what was left of it.
"Hey, Momo, what's past this? I don't remember this place's layout."
"Past the great hall is the royal court, beyond that is the courtyard."
"Do you think Ira's over there?"
"Probably."
"Good, we find Ira, we find Sarah."
Before their conversation could continue, they suddenly felt the winds rush by and the light blind them. The next thing they knew, they were face to face with the robbed duelist who ended Chuck's life, holding Momo's disguise fabric.
Both Momo and Melffy Puppy both yelped in fright. Chuck simply stared at the robbed figure, paralyzed.
"You still draw breath? How is this possible?" he said to Chuck.
Chuck shook off his shock and stood up, answering, "That's not important. Get out of our way!"
"What is it you think you'll accomplish?" the robbed figure questioned, "You've no hope of defeating Lord Ira."
"Even if that's true, there's someone in there who needs me," Chuck declared.
"Is that so?" The robbed one questioned, "You're willing to risk your life then?"
"Of course I am!"
"Well then," he pulled out the same beat up duel disk from his robe and shoved it into Chuck's chest, "Then prove to me your conviction."
Chuck looked at the duel disk. He knew this guy would try his OTK again. If he wanted to help Sarah, he had to get past this hooded duelist, and that meant finding a way to survive his opponent's combo.
Chuck took the duel disk and strapped it to his arm, "I accept your challenge."
Momo grabbed hold of Chuck's leg, "Mr. Chuck, you can't duel him! Don't you remember what happened last time?"
Chuck gently nudged Momo away, "That's not going to happen again."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I can't afford to lose this time," Chuck's answered, "It's not just Sarah I need to help. I have alot of people waiting for me back home. I can't leave them behind."
Momo took in what Chuck said and reluctantly nodded her head. With that, both duelists took their positions in the hall a good distance apart.
"You can have the first move," the robbed one offered, conjuring his duel disk, "I'll see if you have what it takes to stop the inevitable."
Chuck thought about this offer. He was obviously confident in his OTK combo, "Alright then, I'll take you up on your offer."
And thus, both duelists drew their hands.
"Let's Duel!"
Chuck looked over his opening hand. It honestly wasn't that great, but there was one card he eyed with interest. Was this the key?
"I set one monster and another card facedown. I end my turn," Chuck said as he prepared himself. No matter what, he had to survive this next turn.
His opponent was not impressed, "I offer you a chance to prove your conviction, and this is all you can muster? Pathetic," Chuck's gritted his teeth in response, "My turn, I draw. I set three cards and end my turn."
Chuck eyed those set cards. Those could only mean one thing, "My turn. I draw!" he declared.
"I activate my trap card, Banquet of Millions," the robbed duelist interrupted.
Chuck gritted his teeth. Here it comes!
"I banish a number of cards in my Extra Deck. The same number of cards in your Extra Deck are banished until the end of your next turn," just like before, he grabbed fifteen cards and carelessly flung them away. Chuck grimaced in response. How could any duelist treat their cards like that? Chuck then felt a sharp tug on his arm as his duel disk lifted itself up. One by one, the cards in his extra deck filtered out and flew away, disappearing in a flash of light. His arm was released only when his last extra deck monster disappeared into dust.
"Next, I activate the trap, D.D. Dynamite. Now you take 300 effect damage for each of your banished cards," a haphazard bundle of dynamite materialized in front of Chuck. Even after bracing himself, the explosion set his nerves and muscles on fire, "I activate Trap Trick. I banish a normal trap in my deck and set a copy of it to my field. I choses D.D. Dynamite," Chuck's gaze hardened when the second bundle of dynamite appeared in front of him. The resulting explosion kicked up a cloud of dust that obscured the teen duelist from view.
"Mr. Chuck!" Momo yelled in distress.
"Burn, you weakling," the robbed duelist whispered. He waited for the dust to settle so he could drag Chuck's limp body over the cliff again. However, he saw something he never expected.
Chuck was still alive and standing.
"W-what?"
"Your dueling is single minded," Chuck said with stoic intensity. Riddled with burns and cuts trickling blood, his body hunched over, threatening to topple at the slightest protest.
"You're okay!" Momo cheered in relief along with Melffy Puppy.
Chuck looked over to his companions with a strained smile, "More or less."
For the first time, Chuck's opponent showed emotion in his voice, "This is impossible! How are you alive?!"
"You placed too much stock in your OTK combo," Chuck answered hoarsely, "You didn't even notice the trap card I activated," a card filtered out of his graveyard and he presented it, "My Tri-and-Guess trap."
"Tri-and-Guess?"
"I chained this card to your Banquet of Millions. When this card is activated, I declare Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz. If I have more of the declared monster type in my Extra Deck, I gain 3000 lifepoints. I chose Synchro."
"Your extra deck is full of Synchro monsters…"
"Your combo deals 9000 effect damage. In most cases, that would immediately win you the duel. But since I played Tri-and-Guess, your OTK's been taken away," Chuck now had 2000 lifepoints. It wasn't much, but it was more than enough for him, "What do you plan to do now?"
The hooded figure clenched his fist and trembled with what could only be described as unbridled rage, "You—you stupid bastard! I'll kill you!" he screamed in fury. Chuck reeled back. That was a really visceral reaction.
Momo reeled back as well, yet her attention drifted elsewhere when she heard a growl. She looked down to Melffy Puppy, who was hunched back as if ready to pounce, "Hey, what's with you?"
Melffy Puppy yipped and rushed over. It jumped and bit down on the mysterious figure's hood, causing him to violently flail around. Through this, Melffy Puppy pulled down the figure's hood, revealing a young man with a freckled face, short but messy orange hair, and eyes with irises glowing a sickly yellow color.
While Chuck didn't think anything of it, Momo felt a chill down her spine.
"Mr. Martin…" she uttered in disbelief.
Chuck's eyes widened, "Did I hear you right? Did you just say 'Martin?' That's the name of Sarah's brother! Are you saying that's him?!"
"I'm sure of it!" Momo answered, "I'd never mistake him!"
"But that's insane! Why is Sarah's brother working for his enemy?!" Before Chuck could even attempt to process this information further, a cold voice cut through the air.
"You want to know why?" Chuck turned to face his opponent: Sarah's older brother, Martin, "I'll tell you why. It's because I was sick of the shitty hand life gave me. That bastard Amgod tells me that prophecy says I have to protect the selfish filth of the world. It was too much to bear," Martin's face curled up into a deranged smile, "Then Lord Ira opened my eyes to the truth. He infused a portion of his soul into me so that I might help him give the world the punishment it deserves."
Chuck could hardly believe what he was hearing, "Do you even hear yourself right now?" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"You're not a kid, so you should know by now what the world is really like. The world is cruel and wicked. Ira's living proof of that, so why even bother keeping it safe?"
"Mr. Martin, stop this!" Momo cut in, "You don't know what you're doing!"
"No, Momo, I've never been more sure of anything else in my life! Surrender now and I might convince Lord Ira to spare you."
"I wont't! If I did, I'd betray Lady Mana's trust!"
"Then you can join her in death!"
"Martin!" Chuck's voice rang out, grabbing his attention, "I won't lose to you."
"What was that?"
"You heard me," Chuck replied as he clenched his fist and spoke with heated breath, "I thought you were a strong duelist when we first battled, but now I see you're a spineless weakling!"
Martin trembled in fury, "What?" he relayed in a low and threatening voice, "You're in no position to talk big. What do you know?!"
"I'd never lose to a coward who took a devil's bargain!"
"I'd like to see you try, you bastard!"
"Gladly. It's still my turn! I'll set a card facedown, and another monster in defense. That ends my turn," now it was the end phase. As such, Banquet of Millions effect ended. Fifteen lights circled around Chuck and zoomed into his duel disk. His extra deck was no longer banished.
"Is that all you can do? Then I'll still snuff you out," said Chuck's opponent as he drew a card from his deck, "My turn! I activate the field spell, Starry Knight Sky. When this field spell is active, I can normal summon a Starry Knight monster or a level seven light attribute dragon monster along with my first normal summon," the environment around both duelists phased into a serene sky full of twinkling golden lights.
Chuck considered this play with interest. Of all archetypes, Starry Knight was not the one he would have thought for the minion of a dark lord.
"I normal summon two monsters, Starry Knight Ciel and Starry Knight Flammel," a humanoid with white angelic wings wielding a divine halberd (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 1700, Def. 800), along with another angelic figure with a bow and arrow (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 1500, Def. 1000) appeared. Chuck eyed these monsters in bewilderment. It could have been a hallucination, but a dark aura seemed to surround these monsters, "Ciel attacks your face down monster!"
Ciel rushed forward with his halberd pointed forward. Before he made cotact with Chuck's set monster, a flash of light blinded both duelists. When it subsided, Martin saw a regal woman with draconian figures holding back Ciel's halberd with her bare hands.
"Stardust Trail has enough defense to withstand your attack," Chuck's declared. Stardust Trail (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Dragon, Atk. 500, Def. 2000) pushed Ciel back. Martin took 300 points of damage, now left with 7700 lifepoints.
"You scum!" he seethed, "Starry Knight Flamel attacks your other set monster!" Flamel readied a shot and fired. The arrow struck true and imbedded itself into Chuck's set Tunningware (Lv. 1, LIGHT, Machine, Atk. 100, Def. 300), destroying it, "I end my turn."
Momo looked at the duel with a heavy heart. While she was rooting for Chuck to win, she was sad to see Martin, her friend, like this.
"Mr. Martin, why?"
"My turn," Chuck reached for his deck. Before he could draw, he suddenly felt light headed. His vision blurred as he slummed over. Martin took notice and grinned wickedly.
"You're exhausted," he purred, "If I don't kill you first, your body will. When you die, I'll make sure there's nothing left to bring back."
Chuck regained his focus and fired back, "This is nothing. I draw," he looked over at the card he got and let out a small smile, "I summon Fleur Synchron!" (Lv. 2, LIGHT, Machine/Tuner, Atk. 400, Def. 200) "Level two Fleur Synchron tunes level four Stardust Trail," Chuck's monsters engaged in a synchro summon, leaving behind two rings and four stars, "When hopes and dreams come together, they form a power like no other! Now, Synchro summon! Come forth, Stardust Charge Warrior!" Stardust Charge Warrior's (Lv. 6, WIND, Warrior/Synchro, Atk. 2000, Def. 1300) blades rung through the wind as he readied himself, "When Stardust Charge Warrior is Synchro summoned, I draw one card from my deck," After Chuck drew his card, he had his monster attack Starry Knight Flammel. Martin's lifepoints dropped to 7200.
"I set one card and end my turn," Chuck announced. He now had Stardust Charge Warrior and two set cards on his field. Meanwhile, Martin had Starry Knight Sky and Starry Knight Ciel in play.
"My turn. I draw!" After Martin drew his card, he immediately summoned it, "I now summon Starry Knight Orbitael," a shining angel carrying a white shield with a round emerald in the center (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 400, Def. 2100) descended onto the field. Martin then pulled a different card from his hand, "I activate Starry Knight Balefire. This spell lets me add one level seven, light attribute dragon monster from my deck to my hand," his duel disk popped a card out of his deck, which martin presented to his opponent, "Now Starry Knight Sky allows me to tribute summon this monster this turn. I tribute Starry Knights Ciel and Orbitael."
Ciel and Orbitael vanished. As a result, a great burst of light engulfed the field. When it subsided, a brilliant, shimmering dragon made itself known with a piercing roar, "Rise! Starry Knight, Starry Dragon!" (Lv. 7, LIGHT, Dragon, Atk. 2500, Def. 2300). Despite its holy appearance, its eyes carried a dark and twisted aura, "When this monster is summoned from my hand, I can target one monster on the field and destroy it. I target Stardust Charge Warrior!"
Stardust Charge Warrior was bathed in a bright pillar of light that slowly disintegrated it, sending it to the graveyard.
Martin looked at Chuck with a deranged expression, "Now there's nothing left to defend you. Starry Knight, Starry Dragon attacks directly! Twilight Storm!" Starry Dragon glowed brightly before taking to the air and blitzing towards Chuck. If this attack connected, he would lose the duel.
"Mr. Chuck!" Momo cried.
"Burn in Hell!" Martin cackled.
"Activate trap card!" Chuck held out his hand as his set card flipped face up, "Mirror Force!"
"WHAT?!" Martin cried as Starry Dragon impacted with a reflective barrier, causing it to shatter. Starry Dragon was destroyed as a result, releasing a screech of agony as it left the field.
Martin clenched his fists in anger, "You stupid bastard! Who even runs Mirror Force anymore?!"
Chuck didn't pay attention to Martin's rant. Instead, his mind was too focused on something he realized. On his last turn, Martin had Starry Knight Balefire in his hand. He could have activated it to add Starry Night, Starry Dragon to his hand. Even if he was afraid of Ash Blossom, there was no reason for him not to activate that card.
"Hey! Are you done daydreaming?" Martin shouted.
Chuck mulled this over. A single misplay can determine the outcome of an entire duel. Something was hampering Martin's dueling ability.
"Whatever!" Martin scowled, "I activate Ciel's effect from the graveyard. Banishing this monster lets me add Starry Knight, Starry Dragon back to my hand."
Chuck wasn't having it, so he activated his second set card, "Go, quick play spell! Called by the Grave! This card lets me target one monster from your graveyard and banish it. I target Starry Knight, Starry Dragon!" a cold and withered hand with long fingernails popped out of the ground and pointed to Martin's duel disk, basking it in a dark glow. As a result, Starry Dragon was sent to the banish zone, "Now That Starry Dragon's banished, Ciel's effect fizzles."
Starry Knight Ciel's effect resolved second. It still banished itself, but since Starry Dragon was no longer in the graveyard, the effect wasn't applied.
Martin growled in frustration, "All you use are these annoying cards! Is buzzing around like a gnat all you're good at?"
"Martin," Chuck replied, "You're making a grave mistake underestimating your opponent."
"What?"
"You aren't taking any of my moves into account. The only cards you're paying attention to are your own, so I'm free to counter attack them."
"Shut the hell up!" Martin cut off, "Don't lecture me from up high, you piece of shit! Not when you're the one losing!"
Chuck narrowed his eyes. Clearly, Martin didn't understand that lifepoints meant little in the flow of a duel.
"My turn! I draw!" Chuck looked at the card he drew. Finally, something to turn the duel in his favor, "First, I summon Doppelwarrior," (Lv. 2, DARK, Warrior, Atk. 800, Def. 800), "Then I'll tribute it to special summon Stardust Synchron," Doppelwarrior disappeared and a spindly robot that looked remarkably like stardust dragon appeared (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Machine/Tuner, Atk. 1500, Def. 1000), "That's not all, now that a monster has been tributed, Stardust trail can be special summoned from the graveyard," Stardust trail returned to the field in a swirl of light, "Now I'll show you what I'm capable of. Level four Stardust Synchron tunes level four Stardust Trail."
Both monsters radiated a cosmic glow as they engaged in a synchro summon. Both monster were banished due to how they were summoned through their effects.
"Great beast of the stars, heed my call. Soar high and illuminate the night sky once more! Now, Synchro Summon! Soar, Stardust Dragon!" Stardust Dragon (Lv. 8, WIND, Dragon/Synchro, Atk. 2500, Def. 2000) unfurled its wings and let out a piercing battle cry, "Stardust Dragon attacks directly! Shooting Sonic!" Stardust Dragon conjured cosmic energy in its jaws before blasting it in a concentrated beam towards Martin. The attack struck true, reducing his lifepoints to 4700, "I end my turn."
"You think you've won, you lucky bastard?" Martin seethed, reeling from Stardust's attack.
Chuck hardened his gaze, "Whether or not you think this is luck, I couldn't care less! There's someone who needs my help, and you won't stop me!"
To be Continued…
Next Time: Cleanse the Corruption