Dragon-X: The Dimension of Dragons

by Fantasymaker76

The First Year of Duel Academy is over and the Summer Holidays are here. But an Old Enemy returns to steal the Old God Cards and use their power to take over the world. The team must band together again on another adventure to defeat them and recover the Old God Cards, an adventure which would take them to a whole new world.

31. Light Rematch

Light Rematch:

It had been a few days since the Spellcasters had captured the Prison Fortress of Aeonar and the 2nd in Commander of the Warrior Faction, Otto Alrik had been killed. Many captured prisoners had been freed and now it was time for them to prepare for the final assault of the war hopefully. Now that they held Aeonar, the Spellcasters controlled the gateway into Warrior territory and now they could strike at the Warrior's capital of Kirkwall. But there was one more thing to do before they attacked Kirkwall. Grand Enchanter Fiona was busy planning that part of the plan with Anders who had objections to Fiona's suggestion.

"How can we trust these people if they're Warriors?" he questioned

"These Warriors are not part of Meredith and they hate her." Anais stated

"Even so do you not remember what the Warriors did to us all?" Anders hissed "The Warriors have treated us all like criminals and claim they are our rightful overlords."

"That was Meredith, not these Warriors." Anais cut in "Thrask is a good man and he wants to see Meredith fall. He has little interest in this war, in fact his daughter actually left to join the Spellcaster Faction and he gave her his blessing."

"And Anais has a point." Fiona added "We're fighting this war to stop the Warriors from taking over due to Meredith's insanity. We're not here to conquer or destroy the Warrior Faction. Once Meredith has been taken down, someone will have to take control and this Thrask seems like the right man for the job. We can finally have peace between our two factions."

Anders sighed, he hated the Warrior Faction but he knew they couldn't conquer the Warriors otherwise they would be no better than them but he would insist of the Warriors having restrictions when they were defeated. "Fine." He stated "I just pray that you're not making a mistake." He walked away leaving Fiona and Anais alone.

"He really hates the Warrior Faction." Anais stated

"This is personal for him." Fiona replied "He's lost a number of friends to the Warriors and at the start of this conflict, he alone with his best friend Karl were captured. Both were tortured by Alrik but Anders was able to escape. Anders eventually went back to try and rescue Karl and a few others but soon learnt that Alrik had crystallized them. He's wanted to see the Warriors pay for their actions and he would rather see the Warriors destroyed completely but I know that isn't possible."

"We may need to limit their power though." Anais suggested.

"We'll handle that after the war is over." Fiona stated "I'm sending the message to this Thrask and hopefully we can get a meeting, we know they're located in Sundermount so that's where we'll be heading."

...

In the courtyard of Aeonar, Solona was with all of her friends who were now all reunited with the exception of Alistair who had been turned into a crystal. Aristide wanted to discuss what was going to happen next.

"So what are we going to do now father?" Daylen asked

"Well now that we're together again, we should start thinking of a plan to head home." Aristide stated

"We'll have to wait for this war to be over." Dorian stated

"There's no way we can get back with this war going over." Cassandra agreed

"This should hopefully be soon." Aedan stated "But what of Alistair, we can't just leave him like this."

"Once the Spellcasters have taken Kirkwall, there should hopefully be a way of reversing what happened to Alistair." Solona stated.

"It will be good to be home." Jaden claimed "I love duelling but here where they use it for war, it's not safe."

Neria had a thought "How do we get home?" she questioned "We never really thought of that."

Dorian sighed "That could be a problem." He replied "Alexius did inform us that we can open the portal from our side but we only have a limited time while our two worlds are close together."

Kallian was worried "Wait, are you saying that if we take too long, we may get trapped here?"

"There is a possibility of that." Dorian stated "If our worlds get too far apart, we may not be able to open the portal and we could get trapped here."

Alexis and others all gasped in shock and fear, they could be trapped here and unable to get home. "Let's not think about that right now." Cassandra stated "If we get worried about that it will distract us from the mission."

"Cassandra's right." Aristide stated "We can't think of that right now. We need to concentrate of defeating the Warriors at Kirkwall and then we can get home and hopefully fast."

"But what about the Venatori?" Solona asked "They've already come after me once and what's to stop them from coming after me again. Also, why are they so interested in me personally, from what Livius had said when he captured me, this Elder One has an interest in me personally and it doesn't seem for Urthemiel. He doesn't have the same interest in Daylen that he does for me."

"I have no idea but that's not important." Aristide stated "What's important is getting home and if we're lucky, we may get home and leave the Venatori trapped here."

"Aristide's right." Dorian stated "The Venatori wouldn't be able to travel to our world when the two worlds become too far apart. But we cannot allow the Venatori to get their hands on you again Solona so you are to stay with us at all times."

"He's right." Aristide stated "If the Venatori get their hands on you then we'll all be in trouble."

Solona sighed, she was not a delicate flower and she knew how to defend herself but she knew not to argue with her father "Alright father. I understand."

"We should get going with Fiona and her army." Daylen stated "Soon this war that the Spellcasters are fighting will be over and we can work on going home."

"And I'll be glad for that." Chazz stated "I hate looking like this."

"And I miss my family." Alexis stated

"Well the quicker we end this war, we quicker we can work on going home." Cassandra replied.

Solona stood and was thinking, she was worried about the Venatori, she had no idea what they were doing right now, if they knew where she was and what they were planning.

...

Unknown to Solona, the Venatori were planning a major move and now they had some new allies to help them. The Elder One had called his top followers to meet with him. Calpernia, Samson, Livius and Gordian had arrived where the hooded figure of the Elder One stood with his back to them.

"Master." Livius greeted "Is there something you wished to speak to us about?"

"There is Livius." The Elder One stated "My agents have reported updates on the girl's movements. It seems she went to the same temple you did Calpernia."

"So she too has defeated the Guardians of Andoral" Calpernia hissed "It's a waste, they didn't even have the card."

"You should give the card to the Elder One." Gordian suggested

Calpernia glared at him "I won the card; I'll give it when he needs it. Besides Andoral has been helpful to me."

"Enough!" The Elder One growled "I will take Andoral when I have the other cards. Lucanus still hasn't found anything regarding the final card but my new friends have reported that the girl has joined forces with the Spellcaster Faction and they have taken the Warrior's prison of Aeonar."

"What new friends?" Livius questioned "Since when did we recruit new members?"

Then a large bat flew onto the Elder One's shoulder "Gross!" Gordian hissed "What a hideous creature!"

"Hey!" the bat spoke with a female voice "Is that any way to speak to new allies. Do you think I enjoy looking like this? I was once a beautiful creature and a powerful at that. Now look at me, I've lost most of my power."

"This creature's soul was doomed to suffer for entirety in the Shadows until I used my powers to save her and two of her associates." The Elder One spoke "Say hello to Camula, a vampire who has once fought the girl's friends to recover some keys to unlock some powerful monsters but those cards don't concern me. After she lost a duel, she was destined to spend an eternity suffering in the Shadows but I was able to bring her hear although I was unable to bring her back fully. And she's not the only one I brought back." The Elder One brought two large glass jars onto a table, one was filled with black goo while the other was filled with red goo "I haven't been able to restore these two yet but once I acquire the girl and the power of Urthemiel, I can restore life into these two Shadow Duelists who will help us with their knowledge, one of who is an old ally of mine. Say hello to Titan and Frenic"

"Frenic?" Calpernia gasped "Wasn't he one of your old allies?"

"He was." The Elder One stated "He will be key to bringing back another ally of mine but that's not important right now. What is important is that Camula has been useful in her bat form in spying on the girl." He looked at Camula "Tell us what you've learnt?"

Camula the bat smiled "The girl as you call her is joining the Warriors in the upcoming attack on the capital city known as Kirkwall from what I heard. They're making a quick stop to recruit some Warrior Rebels and then they plan to attack the capital."

"If they succeed then the war is over." Livius stated

"That doesn't matter." The Elder One stated "The War has devastated the land but the main point is that the girl will be alone."

"I also saw that the girl has reunited with her friends and father." Camula added

"That will complicate things." Samson stated "It will be harder to get the girl then."

"On the contrary, it's just the opportunity to bring the girl to us." The Elder One stated "Gordian, I want you to go to Kirkwall, strike the girl with this." He handed Gordian a red tipped dart and a blowpipe. "This dart has a special potion that will bring out the rage in the girl. Then when you have a clear shot, take out one of the girl's friends. That will encourage her to come to us. We will take her then."

"It will be done master." Gordian stated

"Good, do not fail me Gordian!" The Elder One hissed

"I won't Master." Gordian sneered and left to prepare for his mission.

...

Sundermount was the largest mountain in the Warrior territory and was surrounded by a large valley and was full of hills and forests. The region was also filled with caves and tunnels that were once used by the Dragon Faction many years ago and this made it the perfect hiding spot which is where a group of Warrior Rebels had came camp.

These Warrior Rebels were members of the Warrior Faction who were against Meredith. Some of them had disagreed with Meredith's actions involving the war and had been declared traitors by Meredith while others had left as they saw Meredith as insane. They all agreed that Meredith needed to be brought down.

The leader of these rebels was a man known as Thrask, he had shoulder length red hair as well as a thick beard, and he had been known as one of the friendlier Warriors and had been against Meredith's war from the very start. Thrask at first had been a lone Warrior against the Warrior Faction but over time, his message about Meredith being insane and was a danger to everyone started to get through and over time, more and more Warriors had joined him. While they had gained numbers, they still did not have the strength to take on Meredith but that was about to change.

Thrask stood in front of another Warrior Rebel known as Keran who had received a message from them. A message that Thrask was reading "So Fiona and her army want to chat about an Alliance?" Thrask questioned

"What do you think of that Commander?" Keran asked

"Well we share the same goal." Thrask stated "We all want to bring down Meredith and I want to try and return things to the way they were before the War. The Warriors and the Spellcasters cannot carry on being at each other's throats, if we can find a way to end the hatred between our two groups then I must do it. My daughter left us to join the Spellcasters, many of us Warriors would call her a traitor but I wouldn't. She needed to follow her dreams, it what she deserved. So we will meet with Fiona, I just hope that some of her followers aren't too hostile to my Warriors, at least I don't have any fanatics among us."

...

A few days later, the Spellcaster Faction's group that had been sent to meet with the Warrior Rebels had arrived in the Sundermount Valley. Fiona was leading the group along with Anais; Anders had decided to remain behind. Solona, Aedan, Daylen, Neria, Jaden and Theorn had joined Fiona to meet with the Warrior Rebels. Cassandra and Dorian were also their while Aristide and Crowler had remained behind with the others.

"So what do we do when we see these Warriors?" Solona asked

"I hope to gain them as allies against Meredith." Fiona stated "We do share a common goal."

"But don't some people want the Warriors to be punished harshly?" Neria questioned

"They do." Anais stated "Many groups in the Bufferlands suffered in the war thanks to the Warriors and many of them want justice."

"There will be some restrictions on the Warriors." Fiona stated "I just hope that that will please the extremists, many like Anders would rather see the Warriors destroyed completely but there's is no way I can do that. I may strip some land from them but I will not destroy them completely."

"Probably for the best." Aedan stated "If you punish the Warriors too harshly then it will just create issues in the Warrior territory and will allow a new fanatical leader to rise in the future."

"Well let's just hope this meeting goes well for us then." Fiona stated "The message shows that the rebel's camp is not far from here."

But none of them were aware of who was following them, someone who had been tracking the Warrior Rebels and he had been spying on Fiona's group.

Cullen had been searching the Valley for Thrask and his rebel band but he had no luck. The group he had been sent with had now been separated, some of them had deserted and joined the rebels and others had been caught in trapped set by the Warrior Rebels when they searched the cave. Now he had a way of finding the Rebel camp and when he did, all he needed to do was send a message to Meredith and they could take out both the rebels and the Spellcaster leader at once. All he had to do was follow them until he found the camp, then he could send a message to Kirkwall and soon enough, the rest of the Warriors would arrive.

...

Fiona and her group soon arrived at the Warrior Rebel Camp where their leader Thrask was waiting for them. "Grand Enchanter Fiona." Thrask greeted "Allow me to be the first to welcome you here."

"And I accept your welcome Thrask." Fiona replied "I hope we can come to some form of agreement."

"Indeed." Thrask replied "I know many of your followers and allies would want to see the Warrior Faction destroyed completely but I don't want it to come to that. I hate what Meredith has done but the Warriors are still my people, I have to save them from themselves and now more and more people are joining our cause. Allow me to introduce my top lieutenants, Keran and Agatha. In fact Agatha has some information that you would find interesting."

A black haired woman stepped forward "Ever since your followers defeated the Warrior army at Andoral's Reach, more and more of our fellow Warriors have begun to see the truth about Meredith but many were too afraid of Alrik to do anything. Now that Alrik is gone, there are many people in Kirkwall who are no longer scared of taking out Meredith. But you will have to present yourself as a liberator to Kirkwall, not a conqueror."

"That might be harder than you think." Anais stated "Many people in the Bufferlands seek vengeance against the Warriors for what they did. I know that that it was only because of Meredith but many won't see it like that."

"Then we'll just have to show these people that." Thrask stated "We can't do any type of negotiations here about what happens but if you promise to ensure that the Warrior Faction will carry on then my rebels will help your army to defeat Meredith."

"I will do that." Fiona replied "But some of my top followers including my own second in Command won't be too happy about it."

"These wounds will take a long time to heal." Thrask stated "I can understand why people will be so untrusting of us because of the actions of Meredith and Alrik but hopefully we can mend relations eventually though it may take some time."

Theorn and Solona as well as the others stood back as they watched the negotiations. "So what's going to happen now?" Theorn asked

"Well if these negotiations go well then we'll have information that will hopefully end this war." Solona stated "And it seems Thrask is the reasonable type. Evangeline was a good woman and she told me of Thrask, he was one of the first Warriors to denounce Meredith and while he was called mad at first, over time more and more people saw reason in his words and they joined him. They claim Meredith is a danger to everyone and they're right. We've seen just how mad her followers are and they need to be stopped."

Neria was looking around when she noticed someone hiding in a nearby bush "Hey, what are you doing in that bush. There's no need to be shy." She thought that it may be a new recruit to the Warrior Rebels. She approached the bush and when she got close, she saw that this person who was hiding was not young at all, in fact he seemed to be in his thirties and saw a head of blond hair. But when the man who was hiding looked up, Neria gasped as she recognised the man "Cullen!" she shouted

Neria's shout caught everyone's attention and suddenly, Keran ran over to the bush and grabbed Cullen only for Cullen to shove the man backwards.

Fiona looked at the man "Well, Meredith's loyal follower decided to spy on us." She hissed "I guess you were sent to gather information."

"I was!" Cullen hissed "I will follow Meredith to the end like the good soldier I am."

"Why are you following that madwoman Cullen?" Agatha asked "You've seen what she's done; she's tried to conquer this world because of her mad ideas. The Warrior Faction is not a bunch of brutal conquerors."

"No" Cullen agreed "We are liberators; we liberate the people from the Spellcasters Tyranny."

"Our tyranny?" Fiona questioned "We don't rule over the Bufferlands, we never did."

"But you sent raiders into the Bufferlands." Cullen snarled "I watched as bunch of Spellcasters burnt my village to the ground, my parents, my sister, everyone I grew up with, all murdered in one night. I was the only survive of the Massacre."

"The Spellcaster Faction was not responsible for that!" Fiona shouted "They were rogue spellcasters, a minority of my people. You can't blame the whole faction because of the actions of a few, beside the Warrior's actions in the Bufferlands were just as bad as those Rogues."

"And there's more to the story than just rogue spellcasters." Thrask stated "Meredith is involved in those attacks."

Cullen narrowed his eyes "That's a lie!" he snapped "Meredith wouldn't do anything like that, the Spellcasters started this war."

"No Cullen, we did." Thrask stated "I have proof."

"Proof that you've made up." Cullen snarled

Thrask sighed "I guess the only way to knock some sense into you is to duel you." He stated "You're a good man Cullen believing in the wrong cause. You're not a sadist like Alrik, Meredith or Karras. You have a chance to redeem yourself."

"Hold on." Neria stated "Let me duel him. I tried to knock some sense into him once, I have to try again."

"Neria wait." Aedan called "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"You lost the duel last time due to his XYZ summoning." Daylen finished

Neria smirked "My deck has had a few upgrades since then." She replied "So how about it Cullen? You up for a rematch?"

Cullen snorted "It's not like it's going to matter." He stated "I've also failed my mission by getting caught."

"Well, how about this." Neria suggested "If I win then you'll listen to what Thrask has to say, you win then we'll let you go."

"Neria wait!" Solona called "If we let him go then he might inform Meredith of what's going on."

"That won't matter, by the time he gets word out, we'll be long gone and the battle will begin." Neria smirked "So what do you say Cullen?"

Cullen narrowed his eyes "Fine, I beat you once and I can beat you again."

Neria smirked "Don't get cocky just because you beat me once, that arrogance can cost you." Neria and Cullen went to opposite sides of the camp and placed their decks in their duel disks and then activated them after the decks were shuffled.

"DUEL!"

Neria: 8000
Cullen: 8000

"Since I'm the returning champion, I'll make the first move," Cullen stated as he drew his 6th card, "I'll Summon Satellarknight Deneb in attack mode." A knight whose armour shone as brightly as a star landed on the field with a bow and arrow attached. (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF)

"When he is successfully summoned, I can add a Satellarknight monster from my deck to my hand, such as Satellarknight Vega," Cullen added as he showed Neria the card he chose.

"If that monster gets on the field, Cullen will do the exact same combo he used last time," Aedan realised as he reflected back on Neria's last duel with Cullen.

"So this is how you guys got introduced to Xyz summoning," Solana asked.

"Indeed," replied Daylen.

"I'll lay a face down and that's all for now," Cullen stated.

"It's my move then," Neria said as she drew her card. "I'll kick things off with the spell Charge of the Light Brigade. Now by sending the top three cards from my deck to the graveyard, I can add one Lightsworn monster from my deck to my hand such as Jain, Lightsworn Paladin." The cards sent to the graveyard were Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, Rinyan, Lightsworn Rogue and Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid. Neria smiled as she saw the cards she sent to her graveyard.

"Now since Wulf was sent to my graveyard from my deck, I can summon him," she declared as a white wolf-like monster swung its axe on Neria's field. (Level 4: 2100 ATK, 300 DEF)

"Then I'll have Jain join him on my field," Neria said as a white haired warrior appeared. (Level 4: 1800 ATK, 1200 DEF) "Now Wulf, attack Deneb now!" she shouted as Wulf whacked his axe on Deneb's head, destroying him in the process.

Neria: 8000

Cullen: 7400

"You may have took one knight down, but he won't be in vain as I play the trap Stellarnova Wave," Cullen shouted. "During you battle phase, I can summon a Tellarknight monster from my hand and I choose Satellarknight Vega in defence mode!" A warrior holding a hoop weapon appeared on Cullen's field. (Level 4: 1200 ATK, 1600 DEF)

"Uh oh, here comes this combo again," Aedan said.

"Now as you know, I can summon a Satellarknight from my hand, and I choose…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I activate the Quick-play spell Forbidden Chalice." Neria said with fierceness. "This card negates your Vega's special ability. In exchange, he does gain an extra 400 attack points." Vega hoop faded but felt the extra power. (SV: 1200-1600 ATK).

"Alright, Neria prepared that strategy perfectly," Solona said in triumph.

"Now Jain, destroy Vega and since Jain is going in for an attack, he gains 300 attack points," Neria stated as Jain's sword glowed. (JLP: 1800-2100 ATK) Jain slashed his sword into Vega but Cullen took no damage as Vega was in defence mode.

"You'll pay dearly for that!" Cullen declared.

"You may have caught me off guard once before, but you can't use the same strategy twice on me," Neria responded with courage, "I am a quick learner. I place one card facedown and during my end phase, I have to send two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard due to Jain's effect." The two cards sent to Neria's graveyard were Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.

"Funny you say that, because you used a similar strategy on me as well," Cullen sniggered as he drew his next card. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Deneb," the bow and arrow monster appeared again. (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF)

"Before you use his effect, I activate my face-down card, it's called Demise of the Land. This card activates if you special summon a monster. Now I can activate a Field Spell, straight from my deck such as Summon Breaker," Neria explained as the field suddenly turned from a camp into an electric station with an on/off switch to their side.

"Okay, now Deneb will allow me to add Satellarknight Altair to my hand and then I'll normal summon it," Cullen said as a blue warrior summoned onto the field. (Level 4: 1700 ATK, 1300 DEF). "When he is summoned, I can bring back Vega in defence." Vega summoned back while kneeling down. (Level 4: 1200 ATK, 1600 DEF)

"Next…"

"I'm afraid your turn is already over," Neria said.

"Impossible, I haven't declared my turn is over!" Cullen snarled.

"You might have not, but my field spell says otherwise," Neria responded.

"How could his turn be over if he didn't declare his End Phase?" asked Jaden.

"It's due to Summon Breaker's effect," Neria answered, "You see, when the turn player conducts their third summon on a monster while this card is on the field, the turn is instantly over."

"She knew how to counter his Xyz summons with that card," Fiona watched in admiration. "She learnt quickly."

Cullen was seething that his strategy was falling apart. "Your persistence is infuriating me!"

"Did you not think I was going to be prepared for a rematch?" Neria shouted across. "You should know that opponents will catch onto strategies if you keep repeating them."

"Zip it girl! You may have multiple different types of monsters in your deck but you're still siding with those filthy spellcasters."

"I don't take sides; I care about what's right and justice. It may be difficult but that's what I choose to do. To seek justice to those who have fallen at the hand of this war. By the way, if we had sided with you in the first place, would we still end up like our friend Alistair has? He used Warriors too you know."

"But if you wanted to do what was right, you shouldn't have joined the war in the first place," Cullen said.

"Actually we got dragged into it, no thanks to the Venatori!" Daylen hissed. "Tell us, have the Warrior made an alliance with them?"

"I've never heard of this Venatori you speak of," Cullen responded.

"This is getting nowhere, let's get back to it, it's my turn," Neria said as she drew her next card.

"Since her Field Spell affect us both, at least she can't summon multiple monsters as well." Cullen thought.

"I sacrifice Jain to summon, Celestia, Lightsworn Angel," Neria said as an angel with a blue and white staff appeared on the field. (Level 5: 2300 ATK, 200 DEF) "Now since I sacrificed a Lightsworn monster to summon her, I can send the top 4 card from my deck to the graveyard to destroy 2 of your cards. I'll destroy your Vega and your Deneb." Celestia shot two beams of light as Vega and Deneb obliterated and Neria sent 4 cards to her graveyard which were Vanquishing Light, Realm of Light, Lightsworn Sanctuary and Twilight Cloth.

"Now Celestia, attack Altair," Neria commanded as Celestia's staff shone a bright white beam at Altair, causing him to collapse.

Neria: 8000

Cullen: 6800

"Wulf, knock some sense into him," Neria yelled. Wulf charged forward to strike at Cullen.

"Did you forget I still have Stellarnova Wave on my field?" Cullen asked rhetorically, "Now I can summon another "tellarknight" from my hand like Satellarknight Zefrathuban." A warrior carrying a hula hoop and had wings on its back appeared in defence mode. (Level 4: 0 ATK, 2100 DEF)

"Very well, Wulf can't destroy him. I place a card face down and end my turn." Neria stated.

"Then it's my move," Cullen stated. "I summon Satellarknight Alsham in attack mode." A small knight with ring and wielding a bow appeared on the field. (Level 4: 1400 ATK, 1800 DEF). "When he is summoned, you take 1000 points of damage." Neria braced herself for the impact as Alsham shot an arrow at her chest.

Neria: 7000

Cullen: 6800

"Ouch!" Neria exclaimed.

"Next I activate Tellarknight Genesis, now for every "tellarknight" monster on my field, I can destroy the same number of your spell or trap cards. Since I have two, I'll destroy Summon Breaker and your face down card." The field spell disappeared and Neria's face down card was destroyed which was Bottomless Trap Hole.

"So much for that strategy," Thrask said.

"Now I'll activate the spell Satellarknight Skybridge, by returning Zefrathuban back to my deck, I can summon another Satellarknight monster from my deck, like another Altair," Cullen stated as Zefrathuban was sent away and a blue warrior appeared in its place. (Level 4: 1700 ATK, 1300 DEF)

"Now I'll use Altair's effect to bring back Deneb," (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF) "Now I can add Zefrathuban from my deck back to my hand."

"Here it comes," Daylan warned

"I overlay my Level 4 Satellarknight Deneb, Altair and Alsham to build the overlay network!" Cullen yelled as Neria braced herself for the inevitable. "Warrior who clears out the unwanted, come and clear a path for our noble conquest! I Xyz Summon Satellarknight Triverr!" Cullen chanted as a tall knight and white armour and sword appeared. (Rank 4: 2100 ATK, 2500 DEF)

"Not that card!" Aedan yelled.

"Oh yes, now I'll use his effect, when he's summoned, all other cards on the field return to our hand." Cullen declared as his trap card returned to his hand while Neria's two monsters returned to hers.

"Now she's wide open!" Fiona warned.

"Triverr, attack her directly!" Triverr slashed at Neria knocking her to the floor.

Neria: 4900

Cullen: 6800

"Neria!" Aedan, Daylen and Solona yelled.

"I'm fine," Neria called back as she stood up, bearing her pain.

"Listen, you don't have to continue this fight, let me take your place," Thrask called.

"No, I'm fighting to the end. After all, why throw a duel that you challenged? That's not a justifiable way to go down. I feel like I'm slowly getting through to him," Neria said.

"Well he did say that he didn't know about the Venatori. But, if Meredith is working with them, it may be possible than either Cullen is brainwashed into not knowing them or Meredith never told him her true intentions." Daylen said to the others.

"I admire your courage but you're on the wrong side of the war," Cullen said. "During my main phase 2, I'll use Triverr's second ability. By using one overlay unit, I choose a random card in your hand and you have to send it to your graveyard. I'll choose the one on my far left." Neria was forced to discard the card Cullen chose which turned out to be Wulf, Lightsworn Beast. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

"Then it is my move," Neria responded as she drew her card. "First, I'll activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards." Neria drew two cards from her deck. "Next I summon Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden." A red-haired girl wearing white clothing and a snowy owl appeared on the field. (Level 3: 800 ATK, 200 DEF)

"Now you have your filthy spellcaster, any more filth coming," Cullen hissed.

"Oh don't worry about her, because she won't stay here for long, when Minerva is successfully summoned, I can add a LIGHT attribute Dragon type monster from my deck to my, as long as its level is equal or less than the number of Lightsworn monsters in my graveyard," Neria stated.

"So far, she has 6 Lightsworn monsters in her graveyard, so she unfortunately can't search for her Judgement Dragon," Solona realised.

"Looks like it's going to be one of her new upgrades," Aedan said.

"You've got another dragon!?" Cullen said as Neria showed him what she searched for.

"I sure do, but to summon her, I must first activate Hymn of Light!"

"How is that going to get this dragon of yours on the field?" Cullen asked.

"It's a Ritual Spell. I sacrifice Minerva that's on the field and the Celestia that is still in my hand. Together, their levels total at least Level 6." Neria said as Minerva and Celestia shot into the air to perform the ritual. "Dragon who rules the skies like a queen, come and display your royalty! I Ritual Summon Saffira, Queen of Dragons!" Neria chanted as a white and gold dragon gave a shriek as she flew onto the field. (Level 6: 2500 ATK, 2400 DEF)

Everyone gasped in awe as Neria's dragon showed off her wings. "It's beautiful," Solona said.

"Unfortunately, beautiful does not win you duels," Daylen said.

"Now Saffira, attack Triverr now! Royalty Blast!" Neria commanded as Saffira flapped her wings, sending a powerful gust, shaking Triverr off his feet.

Neria: 4900

Cullen: 6400

"Impressive but you've triggered Triverr's last ability, when it's destroyed I can summon a Satellarknight monster from my graveyard, like Alsham in defence mode," Cullen stated as Alsham returned to the field. (Level 4: 1400 ATK, 1800 DEF) "Now you take another 1000 points of damage!" Alsham shot another bow at Neria, causing her to scream in pain.

Neria: 3900

Cullen: 6400

"Looks like all that hard work to get your dragon on the field was a waste," Cullen sneered.

"Just you wait, you'll get your own comeuppance soon enough," Neria hissed back.

"Ah, so now you feel what it's like to get revenge," Cullen enticed.

"Revenge is not my way, I only seek justice to those who are in the wrong," Neria shot back as she got back up. "Anyway, during Main Phase 2, I activate Solar Recharge, by sending Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress to my graveyard, I can draw two cards and then send the top 2 cards from my deck to my graveyard." Neria discarded Lyla, drew two cards and sent the top 2 cards from her deck to the graveyard.

Cullen noticed one of the cards that Neria sent to her graveyard. "That card she's sending away is Honest!" he said in his head.

"Now I'll place two cards face down and end my turn. During this turn's End Phase, Saffira's special ability activates. During the End Phase if a LIGHT attribute monster was sent from my hand or deck to my graveyard this turn, I can either draw 2 cards and discard 1, take a random card out of your hand, or I can add 1 LIGHT attribute monster from my graveyard back to my hand." Neria said as she showed the Honest card she picked out of her graveyard.

"Honest!?" Jaden gasped.

"The card that gains an opponent's monster attack points the moment it's discarded." Fiona said.

"It's my turn, I draw," Cullen declared as he drew his card. "I'll have to be careful here, if I attack that dragon, she will use Honest's effect to gain my attacking monster's attack points. If that happens, not only would I take damage but she could also get it back from her dragon's effect at the end of the turn as well. Guess I'll have to go another way," he said in his head as he looked at his hand.

"I'll summon Satellarknight Zefrathuban," Cullen said as the winged warrior reappeared on Cullen's field. (0 ATK, 2100 DEF)

"I'll use his ability, when he's normal summoned, I can send Alsham to the graveyard to destroy your Saffira," Cullen declared.

"I don't think so!" yelled Neria. "I activate Hymn of Light's effect from my graveyard, by banishing it, Saffira cannot be destroyed by your card effect."

Cullen now realised he had to get some defence going as his Zefrathuban has no attack points. "I'll activate Monster Slots, by banishing Satellarknight Vega from my graveyard, I can look at the top card of my deck, if it happens to be a monster with the same level as the monster that I banished, I can summon it." Cullen looked at the top card as it turned out to be Satellarknight Deneb so he could summon it. (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF)

"Now with his effect, I can add Satellarknight Sirius from my deck to my hand," Cullen said. "Then I'll activate my face down card, Stellarnova Wave to summon him." A new warrior with a hoop shining like the stars appeared on the field. (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 900 DEF)

"When he is summoned, I can shuffle 5 Satellarknight monsters from my graveyard back to my deck to draw 1 card," Cullen announced.

"Wait just a minute, I activate the trap Compulsory Evacuation Device to send your Sirius back to your hand." Neria responded as Sirius went back to Cullen's hand as he shuffled back 2 Altairs, Deneb and Alsham to his deck and Triverr to his Extra Deck to draw 1 card.

"Why did she use that trap before Cullen would Xyz summon?" Jaden asked.

"She knows that both Triverr and Delteros need 3 level 4 monsters to summon and both would get rid of Saffira even if Compulsory Evacuation Device was used." Daylen answered.

"Very well then, I'll overlay my Level 4 Satellarknight Zefrathuban and Deneb to build the overlay network!" Cullen yelled as his two knights jumped into a new whirlpool. "Warrior of the stars who seeks to protect his allies, come and form the ultimate shield! I Xyz Tellarknight Ptolemaeus in defence mode!" Cullen chanted as a warrior with a white shield landed on his field. Kneeling down. (Rank 4: 550 ATK, 2600 DEF)

"It has more defence points than Neria's dragon," Solona pointed out.

"I'll end my turn, but during this turn's end phase, I can attach a Satellarknight Xyz monster from my extra deck as an overlay unit to him, I'll put Satellarknight Triverr as an overlay unit."

"Then it's my turn," Neria spoke as she drew her next card. "I summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk." A tanned woman showed off her karate skills as she jumped onto Neria's field. (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 1000 DEF)

"Now attack his Ptolemaeus!" she declared.

"But Ehren doesn't have enough attack points to beat my monster," Cullen sniggered.

"Actually, that won't matter because I activate Ehren's ability, when she attacks a monster in defence mode, she sends your monster back to your deck and I take no damage," said Neria as Cullen's Xyz monster disappeared. "You're wide open. Saffira, attack him directly!" Saffira's blast flung him into the air and crash landed hard.

Neria: 3900

Cullen: 3900

"Their life points are now equal," Thrask pointed out.

"I end my turn so I send 3 cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard." Neria ended up milling Lightsworn Sabre, Effect Veiler and Twilight Eraser. "Now and since Lightsworn Sabre was milled, it equips itself onto Ehren giving her 700 more attack points." (ELM: 1600-2300 ATK) "Now my turn is finished.

"I draw," Cullen said as he got up, "I activate, Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards. Then, I'll use Graceful Charity, I draw three cards from my deck and discard two." Cullen drew three cards and discarded two which were Satellarknight Sirius and Satellarknight Alpha Alpha. Then I summon Satellarknight Vega in attack mode." A warrior with a hoop weapon appeared on the field. (Level 4: 1200 ATK, 1600 DEF)

"Here we go for this combo again," Neria said to herself.

"Using Vega's effect, I can summon Altair from my hand," (Level 4: 1700 ATK, 1300 DEF) "Then I'll use Altair's effect to summon Deneb back from my graveyard (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1000 DEF). "Using his effect to add Satellarknight Capella."

"He's got 3 monsters on his field!" Aedan pointed out!

"I overlay level 4 Satellarknight Vega, Altair and Deneb!" Cullen yelled as the three warrior went into a whirlpool. "I xyz summon Satellarknight Delteros!"

"Him again, from our last duel," Neria said.

"Indeed, now I'll use his effect, now by using an overlay unit, I can destroy your precious Saffira!" Cullen sneered as Saffira exploded. "Now attack her Ehren!"

"Did you forget about this card?" Neria asked as she activated a card from her hand. "I activate Honest's effect. When one of my LIGHT attribute monster is going into battle, I can send Honest to the graveyard and my Ehren gains attack points equal to your Deltaros' attack points." Ehren's muscles grew stronger as she felt the power. (ELM: 2300-4800 ATK)

"No, I didn't forget that, you know why? It's because I have an Honest of my own!" Cullen declared as Delteros gained Ehren's attack points. (SD: 2500-7300 ATK) Delteros slashed at Ehren as Neria was flung high into the air from the impact. She landed on her back in agony.

Neria: 1400

Cullen: 3900

"Neria!" everyone shouted from the sidelines.

Cullen walked over to her. "I warned not to double cross me! You should have stayed out of this and let that scum take your place," he sneered as he pointed at Thrask

"I hate to admit it but he's right," Thrask said as he helped Neria back onto her feet. "Your safety is a priority; I'm not going to allow you continue this duel."

"Forget it!" growled Neria, "Even if I do have to take some hits, I'm still fit and well and continue this fight!"

"But Neria…" shouted Thrask.

"But nothing, you aren't talking me out of this! I started this fight, so I'm going to end this." Neria responded as she pushed Thrask back and put a determined look on her face.

"Then consider that, your final warning, I end my turn and Delteros' attack points return to normal." Cullen said. (SD: 7300-2500 ATK)

"Neria's determined to win this duel, but it sounds like she's bearing the brunt of it all," Solona said.

"I hope she knows what she's doing."

"It's my turn, I draw!" yelled Neria. She looked up at her card and smiled. "I summon Shire, Lightsworn Spirit!" A blond haired fairy holding a small golden staff appeared on the field (Level 3: 400 ATK, 1400 DEF)

"Looks like something like a tooth fairy, what is she even supposed to do?" questioned Cullen

"Oh believe me, this fairy is here for more than just picking up teeth!" shot back Neria. "She gains 300 attack points for each Lightsworn monster in my graveyard."

"Each one," shouted out Daylen.

"Wait, so..." said Jaden.

"I have 10 Lightsworn monsters in my graveyard which mean Shire gets an extra 3000 attack points," Neria pointed out as Shire's staff shone brightly as she gained the power from her fallen Lightsworn monsters. (SLS: 400-3400 ATK)

"Say what!" gasped Cullen.

"Looks like this just isn't your average tooth fairy, Shire, destroy his Delteros!" Neria commanded as a beam of yellow light shone from Shire's staff which collided with Delteros' body armour.

Neria: 1400

Cullen: 3000

"Impressive but when Delteros' is destroyed I can Summon Satellarknight Alsham back from my deck." Alsham summoned onto Cullen's field. (Level 4: 1400 ATK, 1800 DEF). "You know what happens next, you take 1000 points of damage!" Alsham shot another bow at Neria, causing her to groan in yet more pain.

Neria: 400

Cullen: 3000

Everyone realised how dangerous this was. "She only has 400 life points left, now her Judgement dragon can't use its ability if she can even summon it." called out Dorian.

"We can only hope," replied Daylen.

"I end my turn which means I have to send the top 2 cards from my deck to my graveyard," Neria said as she milled 2 cards which were Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon and Felis, Lightsworn Archer. "Oh and since Felis was sent to my graveyard by the effect of a Lightsworn monster, I can summon it to the field in defence mode!" Neria called as a green haired warrior with a bow and arrow appeared on Neria's field while kneeling down. (Level 4: 1100 ATK, 2000 DEF)

"It's my turn, I draw!" Cullen yelled but as he drew his card, he looked on in disappointment as he knew he couldn't finish Neria off this turn. "I activate the spell Ties of the Brenthren, with this, I can summon two more monsters from my deck that are the same type , level and attribute as the monster I have on the field."

"But then, he'll use them to Xyz summon yet again," Jaden said.

"No he can't, Ties of the Brenthren prevents him from special summoning any more monsters and he's not allowed to attack this turn either so she's safe," Anais responded.

"I'll summon Satellarknights Unikalhai and Betelgeuse from my deck in defence mode." Two more knights were summoned, each in defence. (Unikalhai: Level 4: 1800 ATK, 1000 DEF) (Betelgeuse: Level 4: 700 ATK, 1900 DEF)

"Then I'll use the spell Light Mantle, since I have 3 light attribute monsters on my field, I can destroy all of your monsters," Cullen sniggered as Neria's two monsters bit the dust. "I'll end my turn,"

"Then it is my move then," Neria shouted as she drew her next card. "I activate Pot of Dichonemy, I return 3 monsters of different types back to my deck, then I can draw two cards, the only catch is I can't attack this turn, I'll return Wulf, Shire and Saffira back to my deck to draw two cards."

Neria drew her two cards. This felt like the perfect time to use another new monster of hers. "I activate the continuous spell card, Spell Economics. Next I'll use Soul Charge!"

"Wait Soul Charge, she can't use that! That card requires you to pay at least 1000 life points to activate it and more to summon multiple monsters with it" Aedan pointed out.

"True but Spell Economics is there for a purpose," said Cassandra, "It allows you to activate the effect of a spell card without needing to pay any life points."

"Wit, that means…" pointed out Jaden.

"I can summon as my monsters from my graveyard as I would like. Now I summon back Garoth, Jain and Rinyan all in defence modes well as Celestia and Lyla in attack mode." Neria's army of Lightsworn monsters swarmed her field to protect and serve their commander.

(Celestia: Level 5: 2300 ATK, 200 DEF)

(Garoth: Level 4: 1850 ATK, 1300 DEF)

(Jain: Level 4: 1800 ATK, 1200 DEF)

(Rinyan: Level 2: 100 ATK, 100 DEF)

(Lyla: Level 4: 1700 ATK, 200 DEF)

"Amazing, 5 monsters for the price of two cards," Jaden exclaimed.

"But the bad news is that she can't attack this turn due to Pot of Dichonemy," replied Daylen.

"Next, I activate Lyla's special ability. When she's in attack mode, I can destroy one of your spell or trap cards, then Lyla will be forced into defence mode so say goodbye your Stellarnova Wave," Neria stated as Lyla's staff destroyed Cullen trap but the energy used, forced Lyla into defence mode. (LLS: 200 DEF)

"Now, I think it's time I beat you at your own game Cullen," Neria shouted!

"What do you mean!?" Cullen questioned.

"Well, I should be thanking you for teaching me Xyz summoning in our last duel," Neria said

"Why?" Cullen asked in a puzzled manor.

"Is she doing what I think she's going to?" asked Aedan.

"I take my level 4 Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress and Jain, Lightsworn Paladin to build… THE OVERLAY NETWORK!" Neria shouted as Jain and Lyla jumped into a whirlpool. Everyone gasped in shock that Neria had learnt to Xyz summon. "Latest recruit of the Lightsworn! Join us to help those in their urgent need for help! I Xyz summon Minerva, The Exalted Lightsworn in defence mode!" Minerva flew from clouds above, accompanied by a new owl. (Rank 4: 2000 ATK, 800 DEF)

Cullen looked on in astonishment. "That's incredible, she can Xyz Summon. Just who in the world is this girl?" he muttered.

"Now I activate Minerva's special ability, by using one overlay unit, I can send the top three cards from my deck to my graveyard, I can draw cards equal to the number of Lightsworn monsters send to the graveyard in this way," Neria stated as Minerva absorbed one of her overlay units and Neria end up milling Judgement Dragon, Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner and Jenis, Lightsworn Mender.

Neria looked annoyed that her Judgement Dragon was gone but was pleased she milled two Lightsworn monsters so she drew two cards. "I'll place these two cards face down and end my turn!"

"Then it's my turn then!" Cullen said, "First I'll summon my Satellarknight Capella!" A new warrior with a ringed weapon appeared on Cullen's field (Level 4: 1100 ATK, 2000 DEF) "Next since I have at least 5 LIGHT attribute monsters in my graveyard, I can summon this! Lightray Gearfried!" A huge new warrior appeared on Cullen's field (Level 8: 2800 ATK, 2200 DEF)

"2800 attack points!" cried out Solona.

"She only has 400 life points left, if that thing attacks Celestia, Neria's done for!" Jaden said.

"I activate the trap card Twilight Erasor!" Neria responded, "Since I have at least 2 Lightsworn monsters on my field, I can banish both Ryko and Ehren from my graveyard to remove two of your monsters from your field! Say goodbye to your Gearfried and Alsham!"

"A good try, but I activate Gearfried's special ability, when a spell or trap card is activated, if I only have warriors on my field, I can remove a warrior type monster from my graveyard and your trap is negated," Cullen sneered as he removed an Altair from his graveyard. "Now I switch Alsham and Ukalhai to attack mode. Gearfried, attack Celestia and end this duel!" he sniggered.

"NERIA!" everyone shouted

"I activate another trap, Iron Resolve, by paying half my life, I don't take any damage this turn," Neria responded just before the attack fell through.

Neria: 200

Cullen: 3000

"A lucky move," Cullen said in response.

"Alright, she's still in this fight," said Dorian.

"Now Alsham, attack Garoth. Capalla, attack Minerva. Ukalhai, attack Rinyan!" Cullen commanded his three Satellarknights into battle. They destroyed Neria's remaining monsters.

"Main phase 2, I activate Capalla special ability, if I'm going to use at least three monsters to Xyz, I can treat my Satellarknights as Level 5. Now I overlay Capalla, Ukalhai and Alsham as Level 5 monsters to build the overlay network!" Cullen called out as his three warriors leaped into a whirlpool in the sky.

"Three warriors who served their duty, lend your power to your new friend who shines as bright as a diamond! I Xyz Summon Satellarknight Constellar Diamond!" Cullen chanted as a frightening looking monster with yellowish wings flew onto Cullen's field. (Rank 5: 2700 ATK, 2000 DEF)

"What in the world is that thing!?" Neria gasped.

"He will be my new ally in this fight. While he is on my field, neither of us are allowed to send any cards from our decks to the graveyards. On top of that, any card that returns from our graveyard to our hand is banished instead," Cullen answered.

"Say what!?" Neria shouted.

"Not good, Neria's deck relies on sending cards to the graveyard and on top of that, she can't get her Judgement Dragon back from her graveyard." Solona said.

"Neria, don't give in. A duel is not over till the last card's played," Jaden called out.

"You think you can win this duel girl?" Cullen questioned to Neria. "If you want to bow out now, go ahead and allow that brat to take your place."

"NEVER!" yelled Neria, "I'll never give in. I'm going to show you what justice really is. You think you're always serving the right person. But no matter how good someone treats you, there is always the possibility of you being double-crossed. I know that from my experience."

Neria flashed back to when she was a learner and had gained new friends from the duelling club. She remembered how they supported her through her experiences with her parents. She also remembered how her parents double-crossed her by claiming they would support her when in reality, they never did. Her mind flashed back to reality. "I think it's time to show you that I and my friends mean well and that we don't wish to continue this war. At the same time though, you need to learn that not everyone is out to get you, or your comrades."

"Go ahead and try," commanded Cullen

"If you say so Cullen, I draw!" Neria yelled as she drew her card with fierceness. "I summon Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn." A tanned man wearing a purple cape and white trousers marched onto Neria's field. (Level 4: 1700 ATK, 1000 DEF)

"What good will he do?" asked Daylen.

"I use his ability, I can send the top two cards from my deck to the graveyard, if any of them happen to be Lightsworn monsters, he gains 100 attack points for each of them." Neria said.

"You can't, Constellar Diamond prevents you from sending cards to you graveyard!" sneered Cullen.

"No it won't, because I play my trap card, Breakthrough Skill. Now your Constellar Diamond special abilities are all negated until the end of the turn!" Neria responded as Constellar Diamond was no longer shining brightly, but dimly instead.

Neria send the top 2 cards from her deck to the graveyard which were Saffira, Queen of Dragons and Wulf Lightsworn Beast. "Since Wulf was sent to my graveyard, I can summon him," Neria said as her monster in the form of a white wolf appeared. (Level 4: 2100 ATK, 300 DEF)

"Since one Lightsworn was sent to my graveyard, Raiden gains an extra 100 attack points. (RHOTL: 1700-1800 ATK)

"What good does that do, both her monsters are still weaker than all of Cullen's monsters," Aedan asked?

"I think Neria's got another surprise in store," Daylen said as he remembered how they gained all the new cards from the temple guardians.

"Together, these two will finally knock some real sense into you," called out Neria.

"How will they do that?" asked Cullen.

"Raiden, hand of the Lightsworn is a Tuner monster," replied Neria.

"You're going to Synchro summon!?" gasped Cullen.

"Yes, now I tune my level 4 Raiden with my level 4 Wulf!" Neria called out as Raiden jumped into the air and formed four green rings. Wulf went into the portal of rings, making four bulbs of light before a surge of power of light shuddered the field.

"Dragon from the heavens cast your waves of hope to those who seek justice for their trauma! I Synchro summon Judgement, the Dragon of Heaven!" Neria chanted as a new white dragon flew onto her field, with 4 pure white wings and red claws. It gave out a monumental roar. (Level 8: 3000 ATK, 2600 DEF)

Everyone gasped in awe at Neria's new dragon. "Sounds like Judgement dragon took on a new form," said Daylen to the others.

Even Cullen couldn't help but admire Neria's dragon. "I can only use Dragon of Heaven's ability if I have at least 4 tuner monsters in my graveyard. And I have four, Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn, Felis, Lightsworn Archer, Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden and Effect Veiler! Now by paying half of my life points, I can destroy all other cards on the field!"

"No, this can't be!" Cullen shouted.

"But it can, go Heavenly Roar!" yelled Neria as her Dragon of Heaven let out a great roar, obliterating all of Cullen's cards, leaving him wide open.

Neria: 100

Cullen: 3000

"Now Cullen, are you going to see sense in the error of your ways, or am I going to have to use force to show you?" asked Neria.

Cullen looked up at the dragon again. He knew that he had all but lost. With a 3000 attack point dragon and 3000 life points, he knew it was finished. "Attack me. You win this duel," he said.

Neria nodded, "Judgement Dragon of Heaven, attack Cullen directly and end this duel! Heaven Justice Blast!" she shouted as her dragon shout a beam of white light which launched Cullen into the air. An almighty dust cloud was unleashed as he landed on his knees. When the dust settled, it was all over.

Neria: 100 (winner)

Cullen: 0000

Cullen was on his hands and knees while Neria walked over to him "You've lost Cullen, now are you going to listen to what Thrask has to say."

Cullen snorted "Alright, I'll listen, but that doesn't mean I'm going to listen."

Thrask walked over to Cullen "Listen, Meredith is insane, I know you believe it deep down, you just don't want to."

Cullen eventually sighed "You're right. She seems to be obsessed with destroying the Spellcasters."

"But she also desires to bring the entire world under Warrior control no matter want anyone thinks." Anais added "The actions she has ordered, the attacks on innocent settlements and then using the excuses that their hiding Spellcasters. Those are the actions of tyrants. The Bufferlands are not Warrior territory."

"But you spellcasters started this war!" Cullen hissed glaring at Fiona "You Spellcasters launched an attack on settlements throughout the Bufferlands including my own. Then you attacked Hercinia, a town under Warrior protection, that was an act of war."

"It would have been an act of war if the Spellcasters had been involved." Thrask stated "They weren't and I have proof." Thrask pulled out a large crystal "These crystals are recording devices, I'd been suspicious of Meredith ever since she became the Warrior's commander so I planted this in her office. You should see what it says." He activated the device and it projected the memory.

...

The Memory showed Meredith in her office and standing by her were her top commanders, Otto Alrik and Karras.

Alrik was the first one who spoke "Commander, I want to destroy these Spellcaster scum as much as you do, but we cannot declare war without a reason. And these increased attacks in the Bufferlands are not good enough since their not a threat to us."

"Attacks that we caused." Karras pointed out "The rogue spellcasters I got us have made good on their part."

"They may have helped us but they're still scum!" Meredith snarled "Once they've outlived their usefulness, they'll be destroyed. At least we've been able to add some strong anti-Spellcaster people to our ranks. That Cullen fellow is just what we need."

"He really believes the Spellcaster faction destroyed his village." Alrik laughed "Well the spellcasters did but we did kind of since those spellcasters destroyed his village on our orders. He may be one of us now but he's still beneath us."

"He's still useful to us." Meredith stated "But word of what we do must never get out. My acceleration to power is already being questioned by some like Thrask. We'll have to deal with him soon. But we must get the excuse to start a war. We need to provoke Thrask into defying me. I know what to do to start a war." She looked at Karras "Karras, find a group of Rogue spellcasters and have them attack the nearest settlement in Warrior territory. If the spellcasters attack our territory, we'll have the excuse we need to start a war."

...

The vision ended leaving Cullen in shock at what he just saw "I can't believe it." He gasped "My family, they were killed by Meredith's thirst to make war on the spellcasters!"

"You joining the Warriors was a bonus for them." Thrask added "They were behind everything that happened. Karras got the Rogue Spellcasters to attack settlements on Meredith's orders and after the attack on Hercinia, Alrik and Meredith forced the captured Spellcasters to falsely confess that Fiona sent them."

"If you had this evidence then why didn't you tell anyone?" Cullen questioned

"I tried too but Meredith censored me as she knew how critical I was of both her and the war" Thrask stated "Eventually she declared me a traitor and I was forced to flee. I was alone at first but as the war went on, many other warriors started to see the truth in the war."

Keran spoke up "I remember Karras leading me on a mission to attack a village claiming they were hiding spellcasters. In truth these villagers were just afraid, Karras had them all crystallized, even the children, I couldn't stay after that."

"Many of us have similar stories to Keran's" Agatha added "Many of us were just too afraid to speak out but after we lost at Andoral's Reach and after Karras and Alrik's defeats, we were no longer afraid, many more of us are the same. We're tired of Meredith, she has to go."

"If peace is to return to our world, then Meredith must fall." Thrask stated "So Cullen, what do you want to do?"

Cullen sighed "I'm conflicted, part of me wants to claim your story is fake but another part keeps telling me that I'm just lying to myself. I saw through what we did in the Bufferlands because I believed in the stories that Meredith, Alrik and Karras shared. All I did was hurt people."

"You have a chance to fix that." Thrask stated and held his hand out to Cullen "Join us Cullen, together we can bring down Meredith and end the madness that she created."

Cullen looked at Thrask and after a few seconds of silence, he took his hand and then shook "Alright Thrask, I'll help you. I know where Meredith's garrisons are and hopefully my knowledge can help."

Fiona smiled "Good." She stated "And now, it's time for the final push, now we take the fight to Meredith."

"And together, we will end Meredith's tyranny and restore peace to this world." Thrask added.

Everyone cheered and they all knew that the war would be over soon.

Chapter End:

Notes: Well another chapter completed and the next chapter will be the last one in this arc of the story. I wanted to do a rematch between Cullen and Neria and my brother wrote the duel again, honestly, I think he writes these duels better than me so I might ask him to write more but some duels I will have to write since they involve certain story elements that he doesn't really understand. And yes, I did bring back some former Shadow Riders into this story as I wanted to give the Venatori more members. They'll also play a bigger role than they did in the first story where they were only around for a few chapters. I also want to thank Chaotic Skunk Demon for his suggestion of using Judgement, the Dragon of Heaven, I didn't even know about that card until he suggested it. The next story I'll be updating will be Mass Wars.