Chapter 8: The Devil's Gunwoman
Yasutake yawned as he walked down the sidewalk to school. He hadn't had any nightmares last night, which was making him nervous. It usually meant they'd return worse than before.
As he finished yawning, he frowned to himself. After doing a preliminary examination of the data Ghost Girl had given him, he and Cam had found out who was responsible for the Lost Incident. The man who was to blame for what happened to Yasutake, Sachi, and four other kids. Doctor Kiyoshi Kogami, a researcher at SOL Technologies, who had run the Hanoi Project without the knowledge of his superiors. For sixth months, Kogami's project had gone uninterrupted until someone talked to his bosses and shut it down. And then, three years after the project ended, Kogami died.
Yasutake wasn't sure what to make of the information. One the one hand, it helped that he now had a name to associate with his pain. On the other hand, said name belonged to a man long dead who Yasutake couldn't track down and demand answers from. Not only that, but Kogami's name had been the only one in the data. He had to have partners; no one could have set up something as big as the Hanoi Project and maintain it without help. But the identities of his co-conspirators were not there. Someone had erased their data, and Yasutake had an idea as to who was responsible.
Bishop, he thought. You've been at SOL longer than anyone I know; even longer than Zaizen and that idiot Kitamura. And in your position, you'd know about the Hanoi Project and who was responsible.
He was tempted to call up Bishop and demand answers, but he knew that he'd get nowhere. Bishop would just deny that he knew anything about the Hanoi Project, and asking him would reveal that Yasutake had accessed SOL's databanks. Bishop didn't know who Morningstar was, but Bishop was Yasutake's biggest client and knew most of his other clients. If he confronted Bishop without evidence, Morningstar might never get work again.
Yasutake sighed. In the end, there was only one avenue left to him, but it was an unreliable one: Revolver. He'd reacted to Playmaker talking about three things and knew about the incident ten years ago. Whatever his connection was, Revolver was Yasutake's best lead. But there were three problems with that.
One: Revolver was the leader of the Knights of Hanoi. Yasutake had no way to contact them, and even if he did, he had no guarantee that Revolver would show up.
Two: He had no way of knowing if Revolver would tell him the truth. He could lie to him about the entire project and Yasutake would have no idea.
Three: Playmaker would be looking for Revolver too. That much was obvious. Yusaku had the same data that Yasutake did, and he'd likely come to the same conclusion that Revolver was the only one who could provide answers. With both of them hunting for him, Revolver would maintain as low a profile as possible.
So in the end, all Yasutake could do was wait for the Knights of Hanoi to make their move. Eventually, one of them would be able to guide him to Revolver. Until then, there was nothing he could do.
"Good morning, Narahiko."
He turned around on hearing that and saw Aoi Zaizen standing there.
"…Good morning," he said, then continued to walk to school, Aoi following him. Was this becoming a habit of hers? He really hoped it wasn't. He needed the walk to school to think about his work as Morningstar. He couldn't do that while she was there. Well, he could, but eventually she'd realize he was ignoring her and might slap him.
"I haven't seen you since the VR duel with Shima," she said. "Has anything changed?"
"I think Shima changed his Deck," Yasutake answered. "As for the others, I can't say."
Aoi didn't respond to that. They walked for a few blocks, then she spoke up. "May I ask you a question? A personal one?"
Yasutake glanced at her, but her eyes were staring ahead of her. "You can," he finally said. "But I might choose not to answer."
"…Fair enough. When I asked you about your Mekk-Knight monsters, you said they belonged to a friend of yours who couldn't duel anymore."
"…I remember," Yasutake said. "Where are you going with this?"
She didn't speak for a block, then said, somewhat tentatively, "Can they not duel anymore because… because they were part of the Lost Incident? With you?"
Yasutake stopped walking. He slowly turned his head to glare at Aoi. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide and fierce.
"How?" he said, his voice low. "How do you know about that?"
Aoi was startled by his reaction, but she stood her ground. "My… my brother told me about it. And what happened. And after remembering the VR duel, I realized you were part of the Incident. Am I wrong?"
Yasutake didn't answer her question. Instead, he leaned in close and glared at her. "Never ask me that question again," he said in the same low voice. "Ever."
Aoi unconsciously took a step back and nodded. "R-Right." Yasutake turned around and started walking to school again, this time at a faster pace than before. Aoi stood still for a while, trying to get her heartbeat under control, then she started walking again, at a slower pace than Yasutake, as she saw he didn't want to talk to her anymore.
That wasn't the reaction she'd been hoping for. When Playmaker had talked about his experiences in the Lost Incident, she'd seen Morningstar stand the same way that Yasutake had after the VR duel. She couldn't explain exactly how she put the pieces together, but she was certain Yasutake was Morningstar. So she had decided to ask him about it, partly to confirm her theory, but also to let Yasutake know that she sympathized with him.
But she hadn't expected him to get so angry with her about it. She knew about Morningstar's reputation; he was called "The Devil of LINK VRAINS." But all the times she'd seen him, he had never scared her. This time, though… she was starting to see why such a moniker was given to him.
Yasutake sat down in his seat, doing his best to ignore Aoi sitting in the row behind him. After what she asked him on the way to school, he had no desire to speak to her ever again. And what she asked… did she know he was Morningstar? She knew that he and Morningstar were both part of the incident. It wouldn't take too much for her to connect the dots. On the other hand, she might think he was Playmaker. Amusing as that would be, he had no desire to talk to her about it. Threats of being exposed aside, if his enemies found out that Blue Angel knew who he was, they would target her. He already felt guilty enough about the events with Specter. He didn't need more things on his conscience.
"Good morning, class." Yasutake looked up from his tablet as the teacher entered the classroom. "Today, I have a very special announcement. A new student is joining us today; a transfer from Kyoto."
Yasutake narrowed his eyes. A new student? Well, it wouldn't affect him or his work. Still, it should be interesting to meet this new person.
The teacher turned to the door and said, "You may come in now." A girl wearing her Den Academy uniform walked into the room and stood at the front. She was tall, around the same height as Yasutake, with pale skin. She had black hair ending in purple highlights at her chin, with two strands going down to her collarbone. Her violet eyes surveyed the room.
"My name is Masako Himura," she said, bowing slightly. "Please take care of me." She smiled at the people in the room.
Yasutake was suddenly aware of a sound and glanced around the classroom. All the guys in the room – except himself and Yusaku – and a couple of the girls were staring at Masako with wide eyes and open mouths. Some of them had even gotten out of their chairs.
"Why are they staring at her?" Yasutake asked Aoi, momentarily forgetting his anger at her.
"Because she's pretty," Aoi answered. "You don't think she is?"
Yasutake turned back to Masako. She was pretty, he guessed. But it was an eerie pretty. Something about her… he narrowed his eyes. His instincts were telling him not to trust this girl.
"Miss Himura was at the top of her class back at Kyoto," the teacher was saying, either ignoring or not seeing that most of the male populace of the room were no longer paying attention to him. "Perhaps she will provide an example to the rest of you to pay more attention to your grades."
Doubtful, Yasutake thought as he turned back to his tablet. The way most of the class was staring at her, he wouldn't be surprised if everyone's grades started dropping.
"Please, take a seat next to Narahiko," the teacher said to Masako. Wait, what? Yasutake glanced up in shock as the teacher gestured to the empty seat next to him. Masako thanked the teacher, then walked over to Yasutake's bench.
"Hello," she said, smiling at him. "I'm Masako Himura. I take it you are Narahiko?"
"Yasutake Narahiko," he answered. "Welcome to Den Academy." He then turned back to his tablet, determined to ignore this girl who gave him a bad feeling. Unbeknownst to him, Masako's smile widened.
"Narahiko, would you do me a favor?"
Yasutake turned from his bag to Masako in response to her question. It was the end of class, and he'd almost managed to forget about Masako's existence until now. He also noticed that much of the class was still in the room, still staring at Masako.
"That depends on the favor," Yasutake said, his face blank. Unlike his classmates, he wasn't charmed by this girl's appearance. Some of his bounties had tried using their looks to get him to either go easy on them or let them go. After the first time, Yasutake learned his lesson.
"Hey, Narahiko!" Naoki suddenly appeared on Masako's side. Yasutake had almost forgotten Naoki was part of this class. "Don't be rude to our new classmate!" He turned from Yasutake to Masako. "I would be glad to help you in any way I can, Himura."
Masako smiled at him and said, "Thank you, but I would prefer Narahiko. I asked him first, after all." She turned back to Yasutake as Naoki sputtered. "I was wondering if you could show me around campus. After all, I am a new student, and need some help finding my way around."
"I'd help you, Himura!" another guy in the room said. Several other guys piped up, but Masako was still watching Yasutake, ignoring them.
In truth, Yasutake didn't want to show Masako around. Something about her seemed off to him. But as his gaze fell over the guys trying to get her attention, he realized he didn't have a choice. One of these idiots might try something, and he suspected it wouldn't end well for them. Better to handle it himself.
He sighed and said, "Alright. I'll show you around the campus." Masako smiled on hearing that as the guys around them groaned. He walked towards the exit with her following him, eager to get this over with as soon as possible. Neither of them noticed Yusaku in the back, staring at Masako, his eyes narrowed.
Be careful, Narahiko, he thought. This girl is more dangerous than she looks.
"This is the cafeteria," Yasutake said, opening the door. It was a large room, with long tables spread across it. "Students gather here to eat at lunchtime. You can bring your own bento, but if you don't, they do provide food for you." The two teenagers walked over to a screen on a wall. "This is today's menu. It shows what's available and how much it costs. Every student has a food fund that is part of their tuition. You should have that as well."
"Fascinating." On hearing that, Yasutake turned and saw Masako was leaning in very close to him. Surprised, he backed up.
"Wha-what are you doing?" he asked, somewhat flustered.
"Oh sorry," she said, not looking sorry at all as she smiled at him. "I was just fascinated with your face."
"… My… face," Yasutake said, deadpan. Alright, I'll ask the obvious question. "Why is my… face… fascinating?"
Masako's smile grew. "I like studying the people I meet," she said. "It's always fun to learn more about people. Especially if they have secrets." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And your face tells me you have many secrets."
Yasutake narrowed his eyes. Was this girl implying she knew he was Morningstar? But it was what she said next that surprised him the most.
"You're not the only one with a face like that," she said. "The kind that keeps secrets. The boy in the back with the blue and pink hair had that face too. As did the girl who sat behind you." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Are the three of you in a club? One the rest of the school isn't part of?"
"…If we were, I wouldn't tell you," Yasutake said, his suspicion rising. Masako was highly observant. She was able to tell that he, Yusaku, and Aoi all had secrets within minutes of meeting them. His instincts had been right; this girl was trouble. "I think we've seen enough of the cafeteria."
He led her around the school, showing her the classrooms, computer labs, and other places. Throughout the tour, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Masako kept staring at him. Why was she doing that? Was she trying to look for a crack in his defenses and find out more about him?
Nothing memorable happened during the tour, except during their visit to the library. When Yasutake left her in the care of one of the assistant librarians – who was only too happy to help Masako – he was approached by a senior.
"Hey, is that your girlfriend?" Yasutake looked at the guy. He was a head taller than Yasutake with tan skin. His short blonde hair was swept to the right, and his royal blue eyes sparkled with humor. Yasutake could tell this was someone whose default mode was happy.
"No, just a new student I'm showing around," Yasutake answered.
"Really? Wow. You don't see many freshmen like her," the boy said. "Why are you showing her around? Are you with the admissions team?"
"She asked me after class," Yasutake said, causing the senior to smirk.
"Oh, she asked you? I take it you know what that means, right?"
Yasutake thought about it and shook his head. "No."
"What?" the guy said, surprised. "You don't? Man, it's obvious. She likes you and wants to spend time with you."
"She just met me today," Yasutake said, confused. "Why would she want to spend time with me?"
The guy sighed. "Man, you're dense. Look, some people are like that. The instant they see a particular person, they are attracted to them."
"Why would you be attracted to a person without getting to know them first?"
"I don't know, it's just something some people do." The senior narrowed his eyes and turned serious. "Look, I can tell you don't have much experience with girls, so I'm going to give you some advice on this."
"…Okay," Yasutake said. He didn't really want any advice from this guy, but Masako looked like she would be busy for a while and Yasutake figured the boy wouldn't drop the subject.
The guy spent about five minutes talking about what to expect when taking a girl to a restaurant, what to wear, how to know if she was upset. Yasutake suspected it was probably useful information, but considering his work as Morningstar, it was pointless information to him. He didn't have time for dating.
"…And if you meet her parents, make sure to always be polite," the senior finally finished, looking proud to be helping a freshman get a girlfriend.
"That was very interesting information," Yasutake said. "But I have one question."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Who are you?"
The guy blanched and fell over. He immediately got back up, an angry expression on his face. "Are you serious!?" he shouted at Yasutake. "You don't know who I am!?"
Yasutake looked the guy up and down and shook his head. "No."
The senior grit his teeth. "I'm Takeshi Akino! The Student Council President!"
Yasutake blinked. "Oh. Okay."
"That's it?" Takeshi said, his face changing from angry to annoyed. "All you have to say is 'okay?'"
"Uh… congratulations?" Yasutake said, not knowing what Takeshi wanted him to say.
Takeshi looked like he wanted to shout at Yasutake some more, but Masako chose that moment to show up, the assistant librarian trailing after her with a weird look on his face.
"This library is fascinating," Masako said, then turned to the assistant librarian and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for showing me around. If I ever need help, I'll be sure to ask for you."
"Oh… n-no problem," he said, blushing madly. "Please, come by any time you want!" He hurried away so he could reorder his thoughts. Masako turned and smiled at Takeshi.
"Hello. I'm Masako Himura," she said, bowing her head again. "You are Takeshi Akino, yes?"
"Yes!" he said, his annoyance vanishing. "Thank you! Glad to see that even a new student knows who the Student Council President is."
"Actually, I didn't," she said, a playful smirk on her face. "I just overheard your conversation with Narahiko." She turned to Yasutake as Takeshi's face started turning red from anger and embarrassment. "Should we move on? There's so much of the school I still have to see."
"Sure," Yasutake said, heading towards the exit. He didn't want to spend more time with Masako, but it was preferable to being shouted at by Takeshi.
"You surprise me, Narahiko," Masako said after they left the library. "You haven't looked at me like the other boys have at all."
"Is that a bad thing?" Yasutake asked. "I don't tend to drool over people."
"No, it's a good thing, just unexpected," Masako said, smiling to herself. "Everywhere I go, men try to hit on me. You… are refreshing."
Yasutake glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Was she flirting with him? What a pointless effort. Between his work at Café Junpei, his double-life as Morningstar, and his schoolwork, he had no time for romance.
"It was amusing, though," she said. "Hearing that senior offer you dating advice. Do you intend to take it?"
"…Don't take this the wrong way," he said slowly, hoping not to offend her. "But… I have no interest in you."
"No offense taken. Though, I wouldn't mind if that changed." He stopped walking and turned to her. She was smiling in response to the blank look on his face as she stepped closer.
"There's something different about you," she said. "Aside from your face. You have… an intensity I've never felt before. It's… inspiring."
Okay, she was definitely flirting with him. Yasutake narrowed his eyes. "Like I said, I have no interest in you."
"And somehow, that just makes me want to know you more," Masako said, maintaining her coquettish smile. "Do you have a girlfriend? In that case, I'll back off."
Yasutake thought about lying, but decided against it. "No, I don't have a girlfriend," he said. Before she could ask him another question, the bell rang. "I need to get to another class," he said, turning his back on Masako. "Welcome to Den Academy."
Yasutake walked home, taking a different and longer route back to Café Junpei so he wouldn't run into Aoi. He was going over today's events in his head. A new student had joined his class and apparently, she found him attractive. That had never happened to Yasutake before.
He suspected he should be flattered. He knew Masako was beautiful, but something about her made him suspicious. Yasutake was attracted to women, but he'd never had a girlfriend, nor had he made any attempt to go out with one. He idly wondered if that was a side effect of the Lost Incident; had it damaged his emotions to the point where he couldn't form an attachment that strong?
He idly thought about the girls in his life and whether he found them attractive. He knew Aoi was pretty, but because of who her brother was, she was dangerous. Also, what she'd said this morning… he knew she was trying to be sympathetic to him, but it just made him angry. No, he couldn't see himself dating her. Besides, she had her own emotional problems. He didn't need to add his to hers.
Then there was Masako. The fact that he knew next to nothing about her aside, she was physically beautiful and had shown interest in him. But it would take more than that for him to consider her. His instincts were telling him she was dangerous, and they'd served him well in the past. Also, he was pretty sure that if they did go out, several of his male classmates would plot an accident for him.
Were there any other women in his life? His thoughts turned to Sachi, and he lightly blushed. Yes, Sachi was pretty, but a relationship between them was impossible. The fact that she couldn't respond to the outside world aside, she was Cam's sister. His friendship with Cam was the most important thing in the world to Yasutake. He couldn't take advantage of that friendship, even if Sachi wasn't the way she was. Still, he couldn't deny that next to Cam, Sachi was the person he cared about the most.
Yasutake shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He had more immediate and more important concerns than girls. Masako had said that he, Yusaku, and Aoi all had the same faces. The kind that keep secrets. He knew only one thing that all three of them had in common: they were all duelists in LINK VRAINS, hiding their identities from the outside world. Since she was able to recognize that, or at least guess at it, did that mean Masako was active in LINK VRAINS under a pseudonym? Possibly, but Yasutake couldn't be sure.
Well, Yasutake thought. The way these things go, I guess I'll find out sooner rather than later.
When he entered Café Junpei, he saw that Cam's steward robot was standing behind the counter. That usually meant Cam was either out, or…
"Greetings, Master Yasutake," the robot said. "Master Cameron wishes to speak to you in the back room."
"Thank you," Yasutake said, giving the robot a small smile as he headed into the back. Cam was sitting at their workplace, frowning at the monitors. When Yasutake entered, he turned and gave a tired smile at him.
"Hey, Yasu," he said. "How was school?"
"We got a new classmate," Yasutake responded, setting his bag on the ground. He took the seat next to Cam and narrowed his eyes. "Are you alright? You have bags under your eyes."
Cam sighed. "Just stayed up later than I thought I would, going through the SOL data. I thought perhaps I would find something that we missed, some clue as to Dr. Kogami's partners."
"And?"
"Nothing. You were right that Dr. Kogami couldn't have run the project alone, but I can't find any references to who his co-conspirators were. I can't even find out who spilled the beans on the project."
Yasutake raised an eyebrow. "You think the whistleblower would be more willing to talk?"
"To Morningstar? Probably not. But to a victim of the Incident like Yasutake Narahiko, they might be more receptive."
Yasutake sighed. "Contemplating that is pointless until we find out more. Is there anything else going on? I could use a distraction."
Cam thought about it, then turned back to the screens. "Now that you mention it, a contract came in earlier. Low-grade, but might be worth our time." He opened a file that was annoyingly sparse. "Not much info on the target. Not even a picture of her avatar. Just her ID number and her alias: Lilith."
"Lilith?" Yasutake repeated, raising an eyebrow. "In Jewish mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam. She was cast out of Eden by God and became a demoness. Some of the stories even say she stole babies. Why would someone name themselves after a figure like that?"
"Why would someone name themselves after the devil?" Cam asked, casting an aside glance at Yasutake, who scowled.
"Fair enough." His eyes narrowed as he considered something. "Do you think the name is a clue? It's based on religious connotations just like Morningstar is."
"You think this Lilith is a fan of yours? Or that it's a trap?"
"Could be both. Or someone could be trying to send me a message. Who put the contract up? SOL?"
Cam shook his head. "No, it was an independent contractor. They must have been referenced to you by SOL, though. Morningstar's contact info isn't in the public directory."
Yasutake stared at the screen, thinking. "You don't have to take this one, Yasu," Cam said. "We can pass it back to SOL and forget about it."
Yasutake sighed. "I have nothing better to do, and frankly I can use a break from all the Hanoi stuff that's happened. This hunt could be refreshing. Accept the contract."
Cam looked uneasy, but he said, "I figured you'd say that. That's why I've worked on finishing that scan program you were writing when searching for Watcher. Should be ready to deploy."
Yasutake turned to the monitors and started typing. Sure enough, the scan was complete. He deployed it, and was surprised when it pinged almost instantly.
"Wow. That was quick." Yasutake narrowed his eyes. Most of the time, they had for a while; from 10 minutes to 10 hours. Since the scan found Lilith's ID this quickly, it only meant one thing. "Lilith wants to be found."
"This reeks of a trap," Cam said. "You sure you want to go, Yasu?"
Yasutake nodded. "I've accepted the contract. It goes against my honor to back down now." He stood up and walked into the sealed room. He took his Deck and placed it in his Duel Disk.
"Deck set! Into the VRAINS!"
Morningstar landed in an alley and looked around him. Lilith's signal had come from this area, so she should be-.
BANG.
Morningstar ducked and rolled as a window above him shattered. He turned towards the source of the sound and gasped.
"Oh, sorry about that," the woman holding the flintlock pistol said. "I thought this one was loaded with blanks." She placed her pistol in her right hip holster and pulled another one out of the left one. She fired it at a nearby window, but the window didn't shatter.
"Ah! This is the one with blanks!" She turned back to Morningstar and smiled at him. "For the record, I wasn't trying to shoot you. I just wanted to get your attention. And those bullets wouldn't even make you bleed. The most they'd do is cause a great deal of physical pain."
Morningstar narrowed his eyes. "I assume you're Lilith?"
The woman's smile became wider. "Oh yes, I'm Lilith. So tell me, what do you think?" She spread her arms and twirled, showing off her avatar. "Am I not gorgeous?"
Lilith had green eyes set in a pale face with somewhat messy bright red hair that went down her back to the nape of her neck. Her outfit was made of dark brown leather, and was both lowcut and skintight. She had holsters on either side of her hips for her pistols and dark brown boots that went up to her knees.
Morningstar decided to ignore her question and said, "There's a bounty on your head, Lilith. I suggest you give up now."
She giggled at hearing that. "Oh, I don't think I will," she said. "Instead, how about you surrender to me?" Her smile turned into a smirk.
Morningstar raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask what she meant, Lilith lifted her pistol and fired at him. He rolled to the side, but found his movement restricted. Looking around him, he saw a golden field. He tried to log out, but found he could not.
"Your pistol can create a security field?" He'd never seen anyone do something like that before.
Lilith giggled again. "Oh yes. And I'm so glad you were able to show up. I figured the best way to get your attention would be to post a bounty that you wouldn't be able to ignore."
"To get my-." Morningstar narrowed his eyes. He understood what this was now. "You're a bounty hunter, like me," he said. "And someone hired you to take me out, so you put a price on yourself to draw me out."
Lilith smiled again. "Very astute, Morningstar. Yes, I was hired to defeat you. Apparently, you embarrassed someone quite a bit, so they hired me to get even with you."
"Who?"
"Uh uh," Lilith said, wagging a finger. "Client confidentiality. Though," she added, "they didn't want me to, what did you say: take you out? They just want me to defeat you in a duel and embarrass you."
Morningstar narrowed his eyes further. Who had he recently embarrassed enough to send a hunter after him? Could she be working for the Knights of Hanoi? Or-?
He sighed. Of course. It was obvious now. Still, as stupid as this situation was, he had no choice but to duel now.
"I hate it when I'm right," Cam said in Morningstar's earpiece.
"So do I," Morningstar answered. Then he turned to Lilith and said, "So, I defeat you in a duel, and I can log out?"
She giggled. "Naturally. Of course, if I win…" Her smile turned flirtatious. "You and I go out on a date."
Morningstar nearly fell over in shock. He used a finger to clean out his ear. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that last part?"
Lilith snickered. "I said that if I defeat you, we go on a date. Not in real life, of course. There's a lovely cyber café here in this server. I know we can't actually eat anything, but it's such a nice place."
"Okay, a better question. Why?"
She giggled again. "Because, silly, I'm a fan of yours. I've followed many of your exploits. How do you think I designed that security field? I based it off your Data Anchor, but felt an area of effect would work better." She looked him up and down. "So, if you win, you get to log out. If I win, you have to go out with me. Deal?"
Morningstar scowled. He didn't have much of a choice. He had no desire to go out with this woman, who he was starting to think was not entirely sane. But with her security field active, he couldn't leave.
"Deal."
The two of them rode the data stream, with Lilith in front riding a red board with pale blue wings and Morningstar following her.
"Speed Duel!" they shouted.
Lilith: 4000 LP
Morningstar: 4000 LP
"I'll take the first turn," Lilith said, swiping her hand in front of her and revealing her cards. She smiled to herself.
A perfect opening hand. With this, Morningstar will soon lose.
Nearby, someone wearing a cloak released a drone to follow Lilith and Morningstar. The drone recorded the duel, and sent it to Lilith's client.
Kitamura, sitting in his office, smiled on seeing the feed.
"Yes!" he said. "Perfect! She lured him in! Now Morningstar will pay for betraying SOL's trust and defeating my AI duelists!" He scowled as he remembered Morningstar helping Playmaker and defeating Prototypes C and D. He couldn't go to his bosses to complain about Morningstar; doing so would reveal that Playmaker had infiltrated the databank and get Kitamura fired. So instead, he decided to beat Morningstar at his own game and hired Lilith to defeat him.
"I summon Magical Musketeer Starfire!" Lilith declared. A woman wearing a black top with long blue and white skirts appeared, carrying a Derringer pistol in her right hand.
Magical Musketeer Starfire ATK 1300 DEF 1700 LVL: 4
Magical Musketeer? Morningstar thought, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not familiar with that archetype, Cam," he whispered. "Are you?"
"No, but I can look it up," Cam said. He did so, then said, "Uh oh. This is going to be bad."
"Thank you for that assessment."
"Next, I activate the Continuous Trap Card: Magical Musket – Fiendish Deal!" Lilith declared, said card appearing on her field. "So long as this card is face-up, 'Magical Musket' monsters I control cannot be destroyed by card effects."
"That's a Trap Card," Morningstar interjected. "How did you activate it from your hand?"
Lilith smiled. "Starfire's effect lets me activate 'Magical Musket' Spell and Trap Cards from my hand during either of our turns."
Great, Morningstar thought.
"And that's not her only effect," Lilith continued. "If I activate a Spell or Trap Card in Starfire's column, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Magical Musket' monster from my Deck in Defense Position. Come to me, Magical Musketeer Caspar!" A young blonde man in red and black with a blue hand carrying a futuristic gun appeared alongside Starfire.
Magical Musketeer Caspar ATK 1200 DEF 2000 LVL: 3
"Two monsters, but neither has many attack points," Morningstar mused. "Is she…?"
"Next, I activate the Spell Card: Double Summon!" Lilith said. "This card allows me to perform a second Normal Summon this turn. And, since I activated it in Caspar's column, I can add a 'Magical Musket' card from my Deck to my hand, so long as it doesn't have the same name as the activated card. I add Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel!"
She activated a card that lets her Normal Summon again, and used her monster's effect to add a monster she could summon to her hand, Morningstar thought. She may be crazy, but she's definitely skilled.
"My Zakiel has an effect of its own," Lilith said. "I can Tribute Summon it by Tributing one 'Magical Musket' monster. I Tribute Starfire to summon Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel!" This monster was twice as large as Caspar, with bright red wings on its back. It looked like a demon in a black trench coat. In its blue hands, it held two large bronze guns.
Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel ATK 2500 DEF 2500 LVL: 8
"Level 8 and 2500 attack points," Morningstar muttered. "This must be her ace monster."
"I end my turn," Lilith said, turning back to Morningstar. "So, sweetie, do you think you can beat me?"
"I'm not your sweetie."
"Oh!" she squealed. "That cold gaze of yours is so charming! I can't wait to go on a date with you!"
Kitamura sweat-dropped. What was wrong with this woman? She needed to get her priorities straight. Defeat Morningstar, embarrass him like he embarrassed Kitamura, then get paid. Why was she flirting with him?
"My turn! Draw!" Morningstar looked at his hand and frowned. Lilith didn't have any face-down cards, but he was certain that didn't matter. Lilith had said Starfire let her activate "Magical Musket" Spell and Trap Cards from her hand during either of their turns. He imagined Caspar and Zakiel had similar effects. Still, that would only slow him down.
"Since you control a monster and I do not, I Special Summon Cyspirit Swordsman!"
Cyspirit Swordsman ATK 1200 DEF 900 LVL: 3
"When Swordsman is Special Summoned by its own effect, I can add one 'Cyspirit' monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Cyspirit Dancer, and Normal Summon her!"
Cyspirit Dancer ATK 1000 DEF 200 LVL: 2
"If Dancer is Normal Summoned while I control a 'Cyspirit' monster, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or below 'Cyspirit' monster from my hand or Deck in Attack Position. However, the summoned monster's effects will be negated. From my Deck, I summon Cyspirit Changer!"
Cyspirit Changer ATK 200 DEF 100 LVL: 1
"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness!" The Link portal appeared in front of Morningstar. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning condition is one Level 2 or lower 'Cyspirit' monster! I set Cyspirit Changer in the Link Marker!" Changer entered the bottom-left arrow, turning it red.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 1! Cyspirit Egregious Electrician!" The skeleton in overalls and a plaid shirt with small wings appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.
Cyspirit Egregious Electrician ATK 600 LINK-1 ↙
"Egregious Electrician's monster effect! Once per turn, I can move one monster from a zone it points at to another Main Monster Zone, then Special Summon a 'Cyspirit' monster from my hand to that zone. I move Swordsman and Special Summon Cyspirit Wanderer!"
Cyspirit Wanderer ATK 1900 DEF 200 LVL: 5
"When Cyspirit Wanderer is Special Summoned by the effect of a 'Cyspirit' card, it can lower the attack points of one of my opponent's monsters by 800! I lower Zakiel's attack points! Digital Drain!" Lilith grit her teeth as Zakiel's attack points dropped.
Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel ATK 2500→1700
"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness!" The Link portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyspirit' monsters! I set Cyspirit Dancer, Egregious Electrician, and Swordsman in the Link Markers!" His monsters entered the bottom-left, top, and right arrows, turning them red.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Cyspirit Pied Pikeman!" The skeleton warrior in a guardsman's uniform carrying a long spear appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.
Cyspirit Pied Pikeman ATK 2400 LINK-3 ↙↑→
"Because I used Dancer to Link Summon Pied Pikeman, my monster gains 600 attack points!"
Cyspirit Pied Pikeman ATK 2400→3000
"Pied Pikeman's monster effect!" Morningstar declared. "Once per turn, I can change the battle position of one monster it points to and destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field. I change your Caspar that it points at to Attack Position to destroy your Fiendish Deal!"
Caspar switched to Attack Position while Lilith's card shattered. She smirked in response.
"Oh, you shouldn't have done that, darling," she said. "If Fiendish Deal is sent to the Graveyard by my opponent's card effect, I can add one 'Magical Musket' card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand." She took a card from her Deck, smirked, and said, "I add Magical Musket – Last Stand to my hand."
Morningstar narrowed his eyes. That card must be powerful for her to add it to her hand.
"I Set two cards," Morningstar said. "Battle! Cyspirit Wanderer, attack Caspar! Digital Desperado!" Wanderer pulled out a pistol and fired at Caspar as Lilith smirked again.
"Bad idea," she said in a singsong voice. "Caspar lets me activate 'Magical Musket' Spell and Trap Cards from my hand during either of our turns. I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Magical Musket – Cross-Domination! Now, until the end of this turn, one monster on the field has its effects negated, and its attack and defense points become 0! I target your Wanderer!"
Cyspirit Wanderer ATK 1900→0 DEF 200→0
"And of course, since I activated Cross-Domination in Caspar's column, I can add one 'Magical Musket' card from my Deck to my hand. I add Magical Musket – Steady Hands!" She turned around and smiled at Morningstar. "Your Wanderer's attack now continues!" The bullet from Wanderer's gun blazed towards Caspar, but before it hit…
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Cyspirit Sacrifice!" Morningstar declared. "By Tributing a number of 'Cyspirit' monsters, I can draw an equal number of cards! I Tribute Wanderer to draw one card!"
Lilith smirked as Wanderer disappeared. "Clever boy, avoiding the damage. But don't think I'll let you get a new card." She tapped another card in her hand. "From my hand, I activate the Counter Trap Magical Musket – Last Stand! If you activate a Spell or Trap Card while I control a 'Magical Musket' monster, I can negate the activation of that card and destroy it!" Cyspirit Sacrifice shattered on Morningstar's field, but since Wanderer was a cost, it was already gone.
Morningstar narrowed his eyes. Because of Lilith's Counter Trap, he had no cards in his hand. But he still had moves to make. "Battle! Cyspirit Pied Pikeman, attack Magical Musket – Caspar!" Pied Pikeman charged Caspar, but Lilith was prepared for this, too.
"From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Magical Musket – Steady Hands!" she declared. "This card makes one 'Magical Musket' monster's attack and defense points double its original attack and defense points until the end of the turn! I target Caspar with its effect!"
Magical Musketeer Caspar ATK 1200→2400 DEF 2000→4000
"That isn't enough to stop Pied Pikeman's attack!" Morningstar pointed out. "Continue your attack, Pied Pikeman! Spiritual Halberd!" Pied Pikeman slashed Caspar in half, causing an explosion that made Lilith wince.
Lilith: 4000→3400 LP
"No!" Kitamura screamed. "You're losing, Lilith! Do something!"
Lilith smirked at Morningstar. "Well played," she said. "I was hoping to do a little damage to you, but you blocked me. Your title is well-earned, 'Devil of LINK VRAINS.'"
Morningstar narrowed his eyes. While he understood the fear factor behind that name, he didn't much care for it.
"I end my turn," he said, which made Lilith's smile grow broader.
"And with it, my Zakiel's effect activates!" she declared. "During your End Phase, I can draw cards equal to the number of 'Magical Musket' Spell and Trap Cards I activated this turn. I activated Cross-Domination, Last Stand, and Steady Hands, so I draw three cards!"
As she drew, Morningstar narrowed his eyes again. I only dealt her a little damage this turn, and she replenished her hand. Crazy or not, her skills are professional.
"My turn! Draw!" Lilith drew, looked at her card, and smirked. "I summon Magical Musketeer Wild!" Her new monster was a large tattooed man with bandoliers of bullets across his chest and multiple weapons attached to his arms and shoulders.
Magical Musketeer Wild ATK 1700 DEF 900 LVL: 4
"I don't know," Cam said in Morningstar's earpiece. "You think he has enough firepower?" Morningstar scoffed.
"Since I control a 'Magical Musket' monster, I can activate this card!" Lilith declared. "The Trap Card Magical Musket – Desperado! This card allows me to target and destroy one face-up card on the field!" Morningstar's eyes widened. There was only one face-up card that would be worth destroying to her.
"Say goodbye, Pied Pikeman!" Lilith said as Wild lifted its arms and fired a barrage of gunfire at Pied Pikeman, destroying it in an explosion. Morningstar winced. "And now Wild's effect activates! Since a Spell or Trap Card was activated in Wild's column, I can target three 'Magical Musket' cards in my Graveyard and shuffle them into my Deck." She took Cross-Domination, Last Stand, and Steady Hands from her Graveyard and placed them back into her Deck. "Then, I draw one card!"
She drew, smirked again, and said, "I activate the Spell Card: Monster Reborn! This card lets me Special Summon one monster from either of our Graveyards. I Special Summon Magical Musketeer Caspar from my Graveyard in Attack Position!"
Magical Musketeer Caspar ATK 1200 DEF 2000 LVL: 3
"Next, from my hand, I activate the Trap Card Magical Musket – Dancing Needle! Since I control a 'Magical Musket' monster, I can target up to three cards in the Graveyards and banish them!"
"Graveyards?" Morningstar repeated, his eyes widening. "Meaning-."
"That's right, dear," Lilith said. "I can banish cards from your Graveyard." She opened an interface to see what cards were in Morningstar's Graveyard and smirked. "I've studied you for quite some time, and I know that many of your cards have effects that activate in the Graveyard. You also have cards that Special Summon monsters from the Graveyard. I target and banish Cyspirit Changer, Cyspirit Pied Pikeman, and Cyspirit Wanderer from your Graveyard!"
Morningstar grit his teeth. If he banished Changer, he could change all her monsters to Defense Position, and if he had shuffled Wanderer back into his Deck, he could Special Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster from his Graveyard. By banishing them, Lilith was reducing his options. She really was clever.
"And of course, Caspar's effect now activates!" Lilith continued. "Since I activated a Spell or Trap Card in Caspar's column, I can add one 'Magical Musket' card from my Deck to my hand." She took a card and showed it to Morningstar. "Recognize it, darling?"
Morningstar narrowed his eyes. Magical Musket – Last Stand. She added it to her hand to keep him from using his face-down cards against her.
"Battle!" Lilith declared. "Zakiel, attack Morningstar directly!" Zakiel lifted both of its guns and began charging them, but before they fired, Morningstar gestured to one of his face-down cards.
"Continuous Trap activate!" he declared. "Cyspirit Lineage! This card allows me to target one 'Cyspirit' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon that monster in Attack Position! Return to me, Cyspirit Swordsman!"
Lilith smirked. "That's not going to happen, sweetie. From my hand, I activate the Counter Trap Magical Musket – Last Stand! Since I control a 'Magical Musket' monster, I can negate your card's activation and destroy it!" Cyspirit Lineage shattered from Last Stand's effect. "Continue your attack, Zakiel! Seventh Bullet!" Zakiel's guns stopped charging as they released a massive red blast at Morningstar. Morningstar held both of his arms in front of him as he weathered the attack.
Morningstar: 4000→2300 LP
"Your turn, Wild!" Lilith continued. "Attack Morningstar directly with Sixth Bullet!" Wild lifted its arms and unloaded its weapons at Morningstar. Morningstar braced himself against the attack, but it eventually sent him flying off his D-Board.
Morningstar: 2300→600 LP
"Yasu!" Cam shouted.
"Yes!" Kitamura shouted. "Go, Lilith! Defeat that treacherous bounty hunter scum!"
As he fell, Morningstar released his Data Anchor and anchored himself to his D-Board. He managed to use his momentum to swing himself back onto his D-Board, but he winced as he did so. Lilith's monsters hurt.
Lilith smirked at Morningstar. "I have to say, I'm a little disappointed, Morningstar. I thought you'd put up a much better fight than this." She sighed. "Oh well. Perhaps our date won't be as exciting as I had hoped." She gestured to Caspar. "Go, Caspar! Attack Morningstar directly and end this! Second Bullet!" Caspar lifted his gun and fired at Morningstar. Before the attack hit-.
"Counter Trap activate!" Morningstar declared, making Lilith gasp. "Cyspirit Barricade! I can only activate Barricade if I am being attacked directly by a monster whose attack points are greater than or equal to my Life Points. First, your attack is negated!" A barrier appeared, blocking Caspar's attack. Lilith grit her teeth. She'd been so close.
"Second, I can now Special Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster from my Graveyard whose attack points are less than or equal to the damage I would have taken," Morningstar continued. "Return to me, Egregious Electrician!"
Egregious Electrician ATK 600 LINK-1 ↙
Normally, Barricade would inflict damage to Lilith equal to the difference between my Life Points and Egregious Electrician's attack points, Morningstar thought. But since its attack points are equal to my Life Points, she takes no damage.
Lilith smirked and laughed. "You know what? I'm not surprised. You're famous for pulling off counters like that," she said. "But it won't help you this time. I activate my Skill! Magic Shot!" Red lines appeared over her body as she continued to speak. "At the end of the Battle Phase, since you took battle damage from at least one attack by a 'Magical Musket' monster, your Life Points are halved!"
Morningstar's eyes widened as Lilith took one of her pistols and pointed it at Morningstar. "Don't worry!" she said. "I'm pretty sure this one is filled with blanks!" She fired, and the bullet hit Morningstar in the gut. It didn't pierce him, but it did make him wince. "Oops. I was mistaken."
Morningstar: 600→300 LP
"I end my turn," Lilith said, turning back to the front. "I don't think you'll get another turn after this, Morningstar. So you better make it count." She smirked as she looked at the single card in her hand. It was another copy of Magical Musket – Steady Hands. With this card, she could make any of her monster's attack and defense double their original attack and defense points. And because she had Caspar, she could add another "Magical Musket" card from her Deck to her hand once she used it. She had this in the bag.
Kitamura growled, then calmed down. "So Morningstar survived the turn," he said. "No matter. Once she gets her turn, Lilith will end him. Maybe then, she'll get off this 'date' nonsense."
"This duel's looking pretty one-sided, Yasu," Cam commented. "It reminds me of Blue Angel's and Playmaker's duel."
"Except hopefully, my opponent won't end up as a hostage of the Knights of Hanoi," Morningstar said. "But you're right, the situation is similar. And like Playmaker did, I'll overcome this." He placed his hand on his Deck. "My turn! Draw!" He looked at his card, then played it. "I activate the Spell Card: Linkage Release!" The card showed a Link portal breaking in half. "This card targets one of my banished Link Monsters and shuffles it into the Extra Deck. Then, I draw cards equal to its Link Rating. I shuffle the banished Pikeman back into my Extra Deck and draw three cards!"
He drew, then said, "Linkage Release has one more effect. During the End Phase, I take damage equal to Pied Pikeman's attack points."
Lilith widened her eyes. That means if he doesn't win this turn, he'll take 2400 points of damage. She smirked. He's either confident he can win or taking a lousy bet.
As Morningstar looked at his new cards, Cam spoke up. "You sure you don't want to lose? I mean, a date would do you good. Though, I would have preferred it if Yasu was the one getting the date instead of Morningstar."
"I suspect a date with Lilith would wind up being deadly to me," Morningstar replied. "And what is it with you and my social life? Are you trying to live vicariously through me after what happened with your last relationship?"
"Oh, that was low," Cam said, half-jokingly.
"I know," Morningstar said before taking a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card: Cyberse Call! This card adds one Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Cyspirit Kid to my hand, then I Normal Summon Kid!"
Cyspirit Kid ATK 300 DEF 200 LVL: 1
"Appear! The circuit between light and darkness!" The Link portal appeared again, this time above Morningstar. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyspirit' monsters! I set Cyspirit Egregious Electrician and Cyspirit Kid in the Link Markers!" His two monsters entered the top and bottom arrows, turning them red.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 2! Cyspirit Mad Mongrel!" The massive dog with armor, a missile launcher, and a net launcher appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.
Cyspirit Mad Mongrel ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↑↓
"Because I used Kid to Link Summon Mad Mongrel, I can target and destroy one face-up card on your field!" Morningstar told Lilith, making her grit her teeth. "I destroy Magical Musketeer Caspar!" Her monster shattered, confusing Lilith.
"Why Caspar?" Kitamura wondered. "Zakiel and Wild both have more attack points."
"As I control a 'Cyspirit' monster, I can Special Summon this monster. Come forth, Cyspirit Linker!" His monster was summoned to Mad Mongrel's bottom Link Marker, so now it pointed to Magical Musketeer Wild and Cyspirit Linker.
Cyspirit Linker ATK 1700 DEF 800 LVL: 4
"Mad Mongrel's monster effect!" Morningstar declared. "Since it points to two monsters, and one is a 'Cyspirit' monster, it can target two monsters – one on your field and one 'Cyspirit' monster in my Graveyard – and treat your monster as having the same name and Type as mine. Then, I can use Mad Mongrel and your monster to Link Summon a 'Cyspirit' Link Monster!"
Lilith's eyes widened. "What? You're using my monster to Link Summon? That's not very nice of you!"
Morningstar ignored her as he continued. "I target Egregious Electrician in my Graveyard and Wild on your field. Now, with Wild treated as Egregious Electrician, appear! The circuit between light and darkness!"
The Link portal appeared as Morningstar continued talking. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyspirit' monsters! I set the Link 2 Mad Mongrel and the Magical Musketeer Wild treated as Cyspirit Egregious Electrician in the Link Markers!" Mad Mongrel broke into two and entered the top and bottom arrows as Wild's appearance changed to that of Egregious Electrician and it entered the bottom-left arrow. All three arrows turned red in response.
"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary!" The skeleton in a blue trench coat over a black waistcoat and pants appeared as it spread its wings, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.
Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary ATK 2200 LINK-3 ↙↑↓
"Morningstar's ace monster," Lilith muttered. "That explains why he didn't destroy Wild; he needed it to summon Rapid Revolutionary. But why destroy Caspar instead of Zakiel?" Then she gasped in realization.
Of course. Caspar can add a new "Magical Musket" card to my hand, but Zakiel's effect won't activate until the End Phase. He's limiting my options. She smiled to herself. Our playstyles aren't that different from each other, Morningstar.
"I activate the effect of Cyberse Call in my Graveyard!" Morningstar declared. "By banishing it, I can Special Summon Cyspirit Mad Mongrel to Rapid Revolutionary's bottom-left Link Marker!"
Cyspirit Mad Mongrel ATK 2000 LINK-2 ↑↓
"Battle!" Morningstar declared. "Rapid Revolutionary, attack Zakiel!" Rapid Revolutionary lifted both of its pistols, but Lilith only smirked.
"You don't learn, do you? From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Magical Musket – Steady Hands! I target Zakiel and make its attack and defense points double its original attack and defense points!"
"That means Zakiel's attack points become 3400?" Cam asked.
"No," Morningstar answered. "Zakiel's original attack points were 2500. That means…"
Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel ATK 1700→5000 DEF 2500→5000
"5-5000!?" Cam sputtered. "No way!"
Lilith turned to face Morningstar. "Looks like it's my win, Morningstar! I hope you're ready for our date!"
"I'm afraid I'll have to cancel," Morningstar said, causing Lilith to gasp. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Cyspirit Power!" The card showed Rapid Revolutionary holding Pied Pikeman's spear as Pied Pikeman laid on the ground, its uniform in tatters. "This card targets one Link-3 or higher 'Cyspirit' Link Monster in the Extra Monster Zone. Then, every 'Cyspirit' monster on my field except the targeted monster is sent to the Graveyard. I target Rapid Revolutionary!" Cyspirits Linker and Mad Mongrel disintegrated as Rapid Revolutionary glowed.
"Now, Rapid Revolutionary gains attack points equal to the combined attack points of the sent monsters!" Morningstar said, making Lilith's eyes widen. "Mad Mongrel had 2000 attack points, and Linker had 1700 attack points! That means…"
"2200," Lilith whispered. "Plus 1700 plus 2000 equals 5900."
Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary ATK 2200→5900
"Continue your attack, Rapid Revolutionary!" Morningstar shouted. "Go! Final Revolution Shot!" Rapid Revolutionary merged its pistols into an elongated rifle that it aimed at Zakiel. It charged its rifle and fired a blast of yellow energy at Zakiel. It hit Zakiel, causing a massive explosion as Lilith winced.
Lilith: 3400→2500 LP
"Cyspirit Power's effect activates!" Morningstar declared. "When the monster targeted by its effect destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's original attack points!"
Lilith gasped. "Zakiel's original attack points were 2500! That means-!"
"You lose!" Morningstar said as Rapid Revolutionary aimed its rifle again and fired an energy blast, blue this time, at Lilith. As it hit her, she screamed and fell off her D-Board to the street below.
Lilith: 2500→0 LP
"No!" Kitamura screamed, messing up his hair with his hands. "She lost! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it…"
Morningstar landed in the street next to Lilith as she stood up gingerly, holding her hips.
"Ow, ow, ow," she muttered. She glared at Morningstar. "You could have used your Data Anchor to keep me from falling."
"You were too far away for the Anchor to reach," Morningstar said with a straight face. Then he narrowed his eyes. "Kitamura was the one who hired you, wasn't he?"
Lilith smirked. "Oh, yes, it was him. Said something about you embarrassing him personally and he wanted you to lose. Looks like he'll have to deal with disappointment."
"Idiots like him usually do," Morningstar said, then he turned away. "Do yourself a favor and don't take any other contracts on me. The end result will be the same." He logged out, leaving Lilith alone.
Her smirk turned into a smile. "Morningstar… you're just as interesting as I thought you would be. I do hope we meet again." She looked up as the figure in a cloak logged out, then logged out herself.
Yasutake leaned against the wall and felt his stomach. Lilith's shot hadn't pierced his skin, but it had left him a little bruised. He winced as he left the room. Cam looked at him worryingly.
"You okay? Physically, I mean."
"Just a little bruised," Yasutake answered. He sat down in his chair and sighed. "Well, that was a waste of time. It turned out to be a trap, just like you said it would."
"Hopefully, Kitamura doesn't send anyone else after you," Cam said. "Still, we should be a bit more cautious about what contracts we accept."
"Agreed." Yasutake sighed as Cam smirked.
"Still, though, that Lilith was something. Think you might go on a date with her the next time you meet?"
Yasutake shook his head. "I don't have time for romance, and that woman terrifies me." He scowled. "Her skills are top-notch, but that attitude of hers… Hopefully it will be a long time before I see her again."
In a small apartment at the edge of Den City, a blue sphere faded away. The girl inside sighed. "Well, that was disappointing," she said as she stood up. She winced and held her hip. That fall had hurt. A lot.
"Disappointing, but informative." She looked up and saw her partner sitting at his laptop. He turned his bald head to look at her with his silver eyes. He wore a plain black leather jacket and jeans. "If we take another contract on Morningstar, we'll be more prepared than this time."
The girl smirked. "Typical of you to look on the bright side, Tagoma." She stretched, wincing as she did so. Her home clothes – a lowcut long-sleeved black shirt and black pants - were tighter than her school uniform, but that was the way she liked it.
"Still, though, was flirting with him necessary?" Tagoma asked. "You already flirt with everyone you meet in real life, Masako. You don't need to do it in LINK VRAINS, too."
Masako's smirk widened. "Are you jealous, Tagoma? I thought you said you weren't interested in me. Or women in general."
"I'm too old for you, little girl," Tagoma said. "And I know it is partly a tactic to distract our targets, but Morningstar has been in this business even longer than we have. I doubted such a tactic would work on him, and it didn't."
Masako shrugged. "Just because something doesn't work doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. I genuinely enjoyed our duel."
"I doubt Kitamura will care." After saying that, a call appeared on his laptop, which he answered.
"You failed!" Kitamura screeched over the speaker, making Masako and Tagoma wince. "You failed! You said you could defeat Morningstar, and you didn't!"
Masako scowled at the laptop. Morningstar had been right; Kitamura was an idiot. "Nothing's ever guaranteed, Kitamura," she said, deliberately calling him by his name to annoy him. "You gave us the contract, and we completed it. Now-."
"You did not!" Kitamura shouted. "The contract was for you to defeat Morningstar, and you failed! I'm not paying you!" He ended the call before Masako or Tagoma could object.
Tagoma sighed. "Well, looks like this whole thing was a waste of time." He turned from the laptop to Masako. "And even after we took the extra effort to register you at Den Academy so we could live in this apartment for free."
Masako scowled, but before she could respond, another call came in.
"Hello?" Tagoma answered.
"Hello," the person on the other end said. They used a voice scrambler so Masako and Tagoma couldn't identity them. "Is this the bounty hunter known as Lilith?"
Masako smiled. "This is she. Is this a job offer?"
"It is. I'll send you over the amount I'm willing to pay." Tagoma received a message. Opening it, his and Masako's eyes widened at the amount. It was much higher than their normal rate.
"Nice offer," Masako said, choosing her words carefully. "But I don't jump without looking. Who do you need taken down?"
"Not taken down," the voice said. "Tracked. I want you to follow and observe a particular individual's actions in LINK VRAINS." Masako and Tagoma glanced at each other before turning back to the screen.
"Who am I tracking?"
"The person you just dueled," the voice said. "I want you to track Morningstar and record his duels."
"How did you-."
"I watched your duel by piggybacking off of your drone's feed. You should update your security." Masako scowled. She didn't like it when people criticized her work. "Do you accept the contract?"
Masako and Tagoma looked at each other. When Tagoma nodded, she nodded, then turned to the speaker and smiled. Looks like I'll be staying in Den City a while longer. Good. It will give me a chance to find out more about Morningstar. And about that boy in class. "I accept the contract. But before I get started, I need to know who I'm working for."
"You can call me Terminus," the voice said. "I look forward to working with you, Ms. Lilith."
Morningstar vs. Lilith
This Duel is conducted as a Speed Duel.
Turn 1: Lilith
Lilith Normal Summons Magical Musketeer Starfire (1300/1700/4). While Starfire is on the field, Lilith can activate "Magical Musket" Spell/Trap Cards from her hand. She activates the Continuous Trap Card Magical Musket – Fiendish Deal. So long as Fiendish Deal is in play, "Magical Musket" monsters Lilith controls cannot be destroyed by card effects. Since a Spell/Trap Card was activated in Starfire's column, Lilith can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Magical Musket" monster from her Deck in Defense Position, except Starfire. She Special Summons Magical Musketeer Caspar (1200/2000/3) in Defense Position. Lilith activates the Spell Card Double Summon, which lets her perform a 2nd Normal Summon this turn. Since she activated a Spell/Trap Card in Caspar's column, Lilith can add 1 "Magical Musket" card from her Deck to her hand. She adds Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel. Zakiel can be Tribute Summoned by Tributing 1 "Magical Musket" monster, so Lilith Tributes Starfire to summon Magical Musket Mastermind Zakiel (2500/2500/8). She ends her turn.
Turn 2: Morningstar
Morningstar draws. Since Lilith controls a monster and he does not, he Special Summons Cyspirit Swordsman (1200/900/3). As Swordsman was Special Summoned by its own effect, Morningstar can add 1 "Cyspirit" monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Cyspirit Dancer to his hand. Morningstar Normal Summons Cyspirit Dancer (1000/200/2). He activates Dancer's effect to Special Summon Cyspirit Changer (200/100/1) from his Deck with its effects negated. Morningstar uses Cyspirit Changer to Link Summon Cyspirit Egregious Electrician (600/1/↙) to the Extra Monster Zone. He activates the effect of Egregious Electrician, moving the Cyspirit Swordsman it points to and Special Summoning Cyspirit Wanderer (1900/200/5) from his hand to the same zone. Since Wanderer was Special Summoned by the effect of a "Cyspirit" card, Morningstar can lower the ATK of 1 of Lilith's monsters by 800. He targets Zakiel (Zakiel: 2500→1700). Morningstar uses Dancer, Egregious Electrician, and Swordsman to Link Summon Cyspirit Pied Pikeman (2400/3/↙↑→) to the Extra Monster Zone. As Dancer was used to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, Pied Pikeman gains 600 ATK (Pied Pikeman: 2400→3000). Morningstar activates the effect of Pied Pikeman, changing the Magical Musketeer Caspar it points at to Attack Position to destroy Lilith's Magical Musket – Fiendish Deal. Since Fiendish Deal was sent to the GY by her opponent's card effect, Lilith can add 1 "Magical Musket" card from her Deck or GY to her hand. She adds Magical Musket – Last Stand. Morningstar Sets 2 cards.
Cyspirit Wanderer attacks Caspar, but Lilith activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Magical Musket – Cross-Domination from her hand. Since she controls a "Magical Musket" monster, she can target 1 face-up monster on the field, and until the end of the turn, that monster's ATK/DEF becomes 0 and its effects are negated. She targets Cyspirit Wanderer (Wanderer: 1900→0/200→0). Since Lilith activated a Spell/Trap Card in Caspar's column, she can add 1 "Magical Musket" card from her Deck to her hand. She adds Magical Musket – Steady Hands. Morningstar activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Cyspirit Sacrifice, Tributing Cyspirit Wanderer to draw 1 card. Lilith activates the Counter Trap Card Magical Musket – Last Stand from her hand, negating the activation of Morningstar's Spell/Trap Card and destroying it while she controls a "Magical Musket" monster. Cyspirit Wanderer is Tributed, but Morningstar does not draw a card. Pied Pikeman attacks Caspar, but Lilith activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Magical Musket – Steady Hands from her hand, targeting Caspar. Caspar's ATK/DEF becomes double its original ATK/DEF (Caspar: 1200→2400/2000→4000) until the end of the turn. The attack continues and Caspar is destroyed (Lilith: 4000→3400 LP). During Morningstar's End Phase, the effect of Zakiel activates, and Lilith can draw cards equal to the number of "Magical Musket" Spell/Trap Cards she activated this turn. She activated 3, so she draws 3 cards.
Turn 3: Lilith
Lilith draws. She Normal Summons Magical Musketeer Wild (1700/900/4). She activates the Trap Card Magical Musket – Desperado from her hand, destroying 1 face-up card on the field because she controls a "Magical Musket" monster. She destroys Pied Pikeman. Since a Spell/Trap Card was activated in the same column as Wild, Lilith can target 3 "Magical Musket" cards in her GY and shuffle them into the Deck. She shuffles Cross-Domination, Last Stand, and Steady Hands back into her Deck. Then she draws 1 card. Lilith activates the Spell Card Monster Reborn, Special Summoning Magical Musket – Caspar (1200/2000/3) from the GY in Attack Position. She then activates the Trap Card Magical Musket – Dancing Needle. Since she controls a "Magical Musket" monster, she can target and banish up to 3 cards in the GYs and banish them. Lilith banishes Cyspirit Changer, Pied Pikeman, and Wanderer from Morningstar's GY. Since she activated a Spell/Trap Card in Caspar's column, Lilith can add 1 "Magical Musket" card from her Deck to her hand. She adds Last Stand to her hand.
Lilith attacks directly with Zakiel, but Morningstar activates his face-down Continuous Trap Card Cyspirit Lineage and targeting Cyspirit Swordsman in his GY, attempting to Special Summon it in Attack Position, but Lilith activates the Counter Trap Last Stand in her hand, negating the activation of Cyspirit Lineage and destroying it. Zakiel's attack continues (Morningstar: 4000→2300 LP). Wild attacks directly (Morningstar: 2300→600 LP). Caspar attacks directly, but since he is being attacked directly by a monster whose ATK is greater than or equal to his LP, Morningstar activates the Counter Trap Card Cyspirit Barricade, negating Caspar's attack and Special Summoning 1 "Cyspirit" Link Monster from his GY whose ATK is less than or equal to the damage he would have taken. He Special Summons Cyspirit Egregious Electrician (600/1/↙). Lilith would take damage equal to the difference between Egregious Electrician's ATK and Morningstar's LP, but they are equal, so she takes no damage. At the end of the Battle Phase, Lilith activates her Skill, Magic Shot. Since Morningstar took damage from at least 1 attack by a "Magical Musket" monster, his LP are halved (Morningstar: 600→300 LP). Lilith ends her turn.
Turn 4: Morningstar
Morningstar draws. He activates the Spell Card Linkage Release, which lets him target 1 of his banished Link Monsters, shuffle it into his Extra Deck, then draw cards equal to its Link Rating. But during the End Phase, he'll take damage equal to that monster's ATK. He shuffles Pied Pikeman back into his Extra Deck and draws 3 cards. Morningstar activates the Spell Card Cyberse Call, letting him add 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Cyspirit Kid to his hand. Morningstar Normal Summons Cyspirit Kid (300/200/1). He uses Egregious Electrician and Kid to Link Summon Cyspirit Mad Mongrel (2000/2/↑↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Because Kid was used to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster, Morningstar can target and destroy 1 face-up card on his opponent's field. He targets and destroys Magical Musketeer Caspar. Since he controls a "Cyspirit" monster, Morningstar Special Summons Cyspirit Linker (1700/800/4) to Mad Mongrel's bottom Link Marker. He then activates the effect of Mad Mongrel. Since it points to 2 monsters, and 1 is a "Cyspirit" monster, it can target 2 monsters, one on the opponent's field it points to and one "Cyspirit" monster in Morningstar's GY, treat the monster on the field as having the same name and Type as the monster in the GY, then use it and Mad Mongrel to Link Summon a "Cyspirit" Link Monster. Morningstar targets Egregious Electrician in his GY and Wild on Lilith's field. Morningstar uses the Link 2 Mad Mongrel and Wild treated as "Cyspirit Egregious Electrician" to Link Summon Cyspirit Rapid Revolutionary (2200/3/↙↑↓) to the Extra Monster Zone.
Morningstar activates the effect of Cyberse Call in his GY, banishing it to Special Summon Cyspirit Mad Mongrel (2000/2/↑↓) from his GY to Rapid Revolutionary's bottom-left Link Marker. Rapid Revolutionary attacks Zakiel. Lilith activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Magical Musket – Steady Hands from her hand, targeting Zakiel and making its ATK/DEF double its original ATK/DEF until the end of the turn (Zakiel: 1700→5000/2500→5000). Morningstar activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Cyspirit Power, targeting Rapid Revolutionary for its effect. Every "Cyspirit" monster Morningstar controls except Rapid Revolutionary is sent to the GY, and Rapid Revolutionary gains ATK equal to their combined ATK. Linker and Mad Mongrel are sent to the GY (Rapid Revolutionary: 2200→5900). Rapid Revolutionary destroys Zakiel (Lilith: 3400→2500 LP). Since the monster targeted by Cyspirit Power destroyed an opponent's monster by battle, Lilith takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK (Lilith: 2500→0 LP). Morningstar wins.
Linkage Release Normal Spell Card
Target 1 of your banished Link Monsters: shuffle the targeted monster back into your Extra Deck and draw cards equal to that monster's Link Rating. During the End Phase, take damage equal to the targeted monster's ATK.
Cyspirit Power Quick-Play Spell Card
Target 1 Link-3 or higher "Cyspirit" Link Monster you control in the Extra Monster Zone: Send every face-up "Cyspirit" monster you control, except the targeted monster, to the GY; the targeted monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the sent monsters until the End Phase. Also, until the End Phase, each time it destroys an opponent's monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK. You can only activate 1 "Cyspirit Power" per turn. During the End Phase of the turn you activated this card: destroy every monster you control.
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Next Time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories. Chapter 9 – The Knight of LINK VRAINS
Responses to Reviews & Author's Notes
Thank you to ClearwingYuta, HunterHQ, D3lph0xL0v3r, Guest, Guest, and sanedimentio for reviewing Chapter 7. And thank you to darkblade456 for suggesting a new Trickstar, but its too late. Sorry. In response to ClearwingYuta's question, I won't answer what Terminus' fate is. I want it to be a surprise.
In response to Guest's suggestion of a duel between Morningstar and Revolver, I do have an idea for that, but I want to wait until the Another Arc is over before I get specific.
And in response to sanedimentio's comment about a Tag Duel, I honestly never considered that. I don't like the Altergeist archetype, and after the really intense duel between Morningstar and Playmaker, I wanted to write a really simple duel, both to release pressure on myself and show that despite losing, Morningstar was still one of the most powerful duelists in the series.
Okay, this chapter introduced us to Lilith, aka Masako Himura, a new student at Den Academy and a bounty hunter like Morningstar, only with looser morals. And yes, her friend Tagoma is named after a minor Dragon Ball Super villain. Not exactly original, but his name was stuck in my head for a while. Sue me.
Design-wise, I based Masako's real-life appearance off of the Caretaker of Spacetime from Code Geass: Akito the Exiled, because she had a very awesome design. I originally based her LINK VRAINS appearance off of Grell Sutcliffe from Black Butler, but in the end, I changed it so she would resemble Magical Musketeer Calamity. Personality-wise, one of my inspirations was Kurumi Tokisaki from Date A Live, which, aside from Lilith's deck, is why Lilith has flintlock pistols.
This chapter takes place during Episode 21 of the anime, so it is sort of a breather chapter. The next chapter will start the Another Arc, and introduce a new character I'm excited to write. For spoiler reasons, I won't say more than that, except that Lilith will return to being involved in a later chapter.
I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rushed; I spent most of the weekend working on it, and I was fighting an annoying cold while doing so. But I wanted to publish this chapter by a certain date so I could say something I've been wanting to say.
Merry Zarcmas, everyone!
I am way too happy saying that.
Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Hidden Memories. Tell me what you think of Lilith as a character and as a duelist, and how I should move her character forward. Since the anime is still ongoing, I don't have the best long-term plan story-wise, but I do plan ahead by three chapters or so.