Caelus feels like he's way in over his head.
Right now, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor of Welt's room, the older man sitting on his bed. Surrounding him were multiple Duel Monsters cards from varying formats and eras, some of which were more worn down than others. This wasn't even all of the cards he owned; most of them were still tucked in shoe boxes and stored inside his closet. However, that wasn't the part that was sending Caelus over.
Mr. Yang explained the basics: the phases, actions during the Main Phase, summoning, and summoning types. For the most part, Caelus took it all in stride, able to understand most of the basics with some practice. Pendulum Summoning and Link Summoning took some time to fully understand, but he managed to get it down in time. However, there were some things that took a bit more… beating into the head to understand.
"Wait, there's a difference between discard and send?"
"Some cards still have to be summoned correctly even if the card says 'ignoring it's summoning conditions?'"
"What do you mean Paelozoics caused a ruling nightmare?"
"Hand traps?"
"Floodgates?"
"What the fuck am I reading?"
"You'll be glad to know that Linear Equation Canon has not been and will never be a viable card," Mr. Yang sighed, plucking the trap card from Caelus' hand. "Trust me. Many people have tried to break it, with little to no success."
Of course, he is not going to tell Caelus that somebody almost managed to win the title of King of Games with an incredibly janky LEC deck. RNGesus was truly smiling at that man. "For now, let's just focus on a theme you'd like to try out, then we can go forward from there."
"Okay, good," Caelus muttered, picking up a card that piqued his interest: the Link Monster Scrap Wyvern. "So what sort of deck should I make then?"
"Ideally, you should aim for a control or OTK strategy. That stands for One-Turn-Kill," Welt explained when Caelus tilted his head in confusion.
"Alright, that makes sense…" Caelus says, picking more cards off the ground. "So, do I just choose more cards with higher numbers?"
"Well, not entirely. You still need a way to get those stronger monsters on the board. If your entire deck is filled with just monsters with high numbers, you won't be able to do anything on that first turn," Welt reminded him. Caelus nodded at his words and placed down some of the cards he had picked up.
"Okay… right, I need searchers and disruption and all that other stuff, right? In that case, maybe I should…" Caelus muttered. He picked up another set of cards, reading the effects carefully trying to come up with some sort of strategy.
In the middle of his theorycrafting, however, Caelus' phone started to ring. He pulled it out to reveal that he was getting a call from Qingque, for some reason. Strange. She should be avoiding work right now. He looked at Mr. Yang, and the older man nodded. Caelus got up from the floor and stepped out into the hall, making sure to avoid stepping on the scattered cards.
"Qingque, what's up?" Caelus asked as he walked into the Parlor Car. Dan Heng was polishing his spear, and Himiko was reading through the papers Kaiba had given her.
"Oh, nothing much?" Qingque's voice came through the speakers. Caelus frowned. She sounded worried. It was also kind of hard to hear her voice since he could hear a lot of people running, stomping their feet onto the ground. Did Qingque manage to weasel away from work by joining a marathon?
"So, here's a funny question. You guys haven't left Luofu yet, have you?" She asked. Caelus shook his head, even though she couldn't see him.
"I'm mean, technically. The Express is stationed outside the Xianzhou," He said. Qingque didn't answer immediately. The stomping feet only got louder, and that sound was starting to be mixed with what sounded like… growls?"
"Qingque…?" Caelus said worriedly. Her voice didn't come through for a few seconds. It sounded like somebody was shouting, screaming even, on the other side. "Qingque, are you there?"
"It's okay, we're good!" Her voice came through a few heartbeats later. "Say, do you think you can–" She began, only to be interrupted when a loud screech came through. Caelus pulled his phone back, which caught the attention of Dan Heng and Himiko.
"For Lan's sake, now's not the time for pleasantries!" Tingyun's voice blared through the speakers. "Caelus, you need to come to Central Starskiff Haven, NOW! Some weird kid sent these plant monsters after us, and we can't stop them!"
"Monsters!?" Caelus shouted. "Have you tried calling the Cloud Knights?"
"Yes, but I can't get through to them! I think something's jamming the signal," There was a pause, followed by the roar of a monster. "The only person we could call was you. If we tried to put in any other number, the call wouldn't go through," Tingyun added shortly after.
"Oh, you've gotta be… Crap…" Caelus muttered. He rubbed his face with his free hand and let out a grunt. "Don't worry. I'm one my way," He said.
"Thank you," He could barely hear Tingyun whisper. "Please, be careful." Before he could hang up, there was a loud crash, followed by a monstrous hissing sound and a bout of sadistic laughter. Qingque and Tingyun both screamed as the line went dead.
"No, Tingyun! Qingque!" Caelus shouted. He grit his teeth and quickly pocketed his phone. He looked at Dan Heng, and the spearman nodded. "Miss Himiko, we're going back to the Luofu," he said as his burning lance appeared in his hands.
"Go. March and Yang will be right behind you. I'll try and figure out what's preventing them from calling the Cloud Knights," Himiko said. The two young men nodded, and with a bright blue flash, they were teleported back to Xianzhou.
10 minutes earlier…
Everything went south the moment the Sky-Faring Commision was attacked.
Tingyun was dragging Qingque back to the Divination Commission when the swarm of Man-Eater Bugs first appeared. They remained calm, or at least tried to in the case of Tingyun, who was worried for Yukong's safety. A crowd formed around their jada abacus as they witnessed the attack happen live, their faces paling upon seeing a close up of a Man-Eater Bug's disgusting mandibles and blood-soaked jaws.
They were absentmindedly aware of a group of Cloud Knight rushing past them to aid the Sky-Faring Commision. Once they had gone, somebody tapped Tingyun on the shoulder. She turned around and looked down, seeing a young boy with purple hair and a matching coat. "Excuse me. You wouldn't happen to be Tingyun?" He asked in a sickly sweet voice. Before Tingyun had a chance to answer, all hell broke loose.
The Xianzhou natives around the two women all screamed as the purple boy activated a Duel Disk and summoned two plant-like monsters, a frilled-neck lizard with multiple gooey red orbs around its body, and a large pterosaur with the pitcher plant for a tail. Tingyun didn't have time to shake off the blood and gray matter off her feet before Qingque grabbed her and they made a mad dash to the Divination Commision.
As they ran, Tingyun's eyes glazed over as Qingque pushed a library door open with her shoulder and slammed it shut. She barely had time to lock the door when the pterosaur stabbed its beak through the delicately carved wood. After blocking the door with nearby furniture, they rushed deeper into the building.
"What the hell was that!?" Qingque said breathlessly, her brow drenched in sweat as she climbed the stairs as quickly as she could. "I think that guy might be working with the Knights of Hanoi, but what could they want with you?" Qingque turned around to face the foxian, only to see her staring off into space.
"Tingyun?" Qingque asked softly, watching as the amicassador hid her face with her hands, a glowing green eye peeking through her delicate fingers.
"I-I'm fine," Tingyun growled as a dark purple aura flared around her. "Just… bad memories," She muttered. Qingque's mouth turned into an O; her body shivered as the purple flames covered the room in their dark glow.
"...Phantlyia?" Qingque asked.
"...Phantylia," Tingyun confirmed. She took multiple deep breaths to calm herself down, and the aura receded back into her body. Qingque furrowed her brows, and a few heartbeats later, the smaller woman rushed towards Tingyun and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Due to the height difference, her face is buried in the foxian's chest.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to let that creep touch you," She says. Tingyun looks down at Qingque's blonde hair, dumbfounded, but manages to smile.
"Aww, what a heart wrenching display of a companionship! It's such a shame that it'll end in tragedy…" Both women flinch and pull away from each as the smug, sadistic voice echoes all over the room. Tingyun's eyes began to glow again, but managed to calm herself down before the Blessing of Destruction could be unleashed.
The ceiling of the building caves in, and the pterosaur from earlier landed in front of the pair. The beak was covered in blood, and something was struggling inside of the pitcher plant. It lets out a loud shriek as it lunges towards Qingque. Tingyun's eyes turn into slits as she pushes Qingque away and with a flick of her wrists, slashes at the pterosaur's neck. It lets a dying screech its body dissolve into multiple sparkling lights. The only thing that was left was a melting pile of bones and flesh left behind by the poor soul trapped inside the tail.
Qingque's lets out a horrified gasp and nearly retches as the smell of acid and rotting flesh. Tingyun ignores the smell as much as she can, even though she can feel the bile starting to rise in her throat. Her ears swivel on top of her head, listening for any potential threats. With her fangs bared, her head snaps to the right as she hears a door open. The foxian lunges, fans ready to tear through flesh at the intruder.
However, her expression quickly turns to fear as the frilled lizard from earlier leaps out, weaving around her fans and clamping its jaw around Tingyun's neck. A second later, she feels a burning sensation run across her stomach. The last thing she can register is Qingque screaming her name in terror as she blacks out.
"How disappointing… One would think that the Amicassador would be a more entertaining opponent, especially after her run in with Phantylia." A snide, smug, and cruel voice says. Qingque gasps as a single figure steps out of the shadows with an active Duel Disk, the holographic blade steaming as Tingyun's blood evaporates from its surface.
Their pursuer, a boy of around seventeen years of age, steps over Tingyun's unconscious body. He had two-toned purple hair with two fringes shooting up while the others frame his familiar looking face. He wore a purple and light blue waist coat with thick black cuffs and gold buttons, and a red and purple cape, alongside light blue slacks and black boots.
"No… that's not…" Qingque stammers as the newcomer tilts his head at her. His purple eyes narrowed. His expression somehow reminds her of an innocent boy looking at a new toy he wants to play with. "You can't be Yuya Sakaki… that's not possible…"
"Oh, so you know about him…" The newcomer says, venom lacing his words. The frilled lizard hisses in annoyance. "Ah… well, I suppose that should be expected. It's not like everyone shares their face with the creator of Pendulum Summoning."
"Shut up. Shut the fuck up!" Qingque says as she summons her Celestial Jade table. "Leave my friend alone!" The librarian screams, tossing her tiles as hard as she could at the intruder. With a bored, uninterested expression, he knocks them away with the flat of his Duel Disk.
"Really? That's the best you can do? Toss squares at me…? How dreadfully boring…" The purple-haired hunter bemoans. With a snap of his fingers, the frilled-lizard shrieks and scampers its way towards Qingque. The librarian shrieks and grabs her table to slam it into the lizard's face, killing it.
The hunter frowns as his monster pops into particles of light, causing the card on his Duel Disk to darken. With a sigh, he grabs it and slides into his Graveyard. Once that was done, his gaze returned to Qingque's frightened face; his face lights up with primal joy as he watched her shiver from the opposite side of the room.
"That expression you have…" He begins as he idly taps away at his Duel Disk, his eyes shifting between the keypad on the screen and Qingque's face. "It reminds me of the others. When they're on the cusp of victory, and they play a card they assume will win them the duel…" Qingque cringes as the hunter shivers with delight. "I wish I had more than just my phone. Though, I suppose having their souls trapped in a card, expression frozen in exquisite detail is a close second."
"What the hell are you…" Qingque muttered but shook her head. Another set of tiles appeared between her fingers, but instead of attacking immediately, she glared at the hunter. "Alright, you… you Yuya Clone! Back away from my friend! Otherwise, I'll… I'll–"
"Otherwise you'll what, child?" The hunter interrupted. Even though he had no monster and should be considered less of a threat, Qingque couldn't help but step back as he marched forward. She flinched as her back hit the wall, and the hunter leaned in close, his face inches away from hers. His purple eyes glinted with malice as he appraised her like she was a toy from the store.
"I-I'm 224…" Qingque stammered. The hunter gave her a plastic smile.
"Ah. Apologies," He said in an empty voice. "Do you think you can stop me? Or perhaps the better question is… do you think you should stop me? I'm afraid that your friend is losing quite a lot of blood. If she doesn't get medical attention soon enough, I'm afraid she'll die eventually." Qingque's eyes widened at his claim and looked down at her fallen friend, watching as the crimson puddle slowly grew bigger and bigger.
"The Knights of Hanoi can stitch her wounds together. Though, if worse comes to worst, we can always seal her inside an empty card…" The hunter muses. He turns away from Qingque, surprising her as he reaches into his Deck Box and starts flipping through the cards. "I might have one inside here… Ah! Here it is– no, wait, that's just my Ghost Rare copy of Predaplant Chimerafflesia!"
Silently, Qingque took a step forward and tossed her new set of tiles. However, the sound of her footsteps reached the hunter's ears before her makeshift weapons left her. He turned around and batted away the tiles with his Duel Disk. he caught one in his hands, and then pinned Qingque against the wall. The hard-light blade of his Duel Disk hummed silently. A droplet of sweat fell from her brow, and slowly evaporated and fell onto the purple edge.
"What is this?" The hunter muttered to himself. He moved the tile closer to the Duel Disk's blade, the faint purple light illuminating the playing piece. "I've played hundreds of games before, but I've never encountered something that looks quite like this… Is this a Scrabble tile?" He asked, his eyes bright with curiosity. If Qingque wasn't pinned with a laser sword and her friend wasn't dying from blood loss, she would've gone on a full tirade from that one comment.
"It's… it's not…" Qingque said, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind. "It's an old game. Really old. Nobody played it for, like, a long time." She smirked as the hunter leaned in closer, their noses nearly touching. "I brought it back. Single-handedly made it the most popular game on the Luofu. I'm a master… a Queen of Celestial Jade, if you will."
"Really? My, my, what a familiar origin story," The hunter mused. "You say that you're the Queen of this game? Very often, I hear somebody call themselves a 'master,' 'expert,' or something of the like… and every time, they've always fallen to their knees before me."
Qingque let out a breathy laugh at his comment. "I'm not like those guys. They're bragging. They did bring their games back to the mainstream like I did. They probably don't have centuries of experience like I do."
"Hmm…" The hunter says, placing a hand on his chin. Qingque's eyes glint victoriously as he pulls the blade away from her neck. She can see the intrigue in his eyes, the child-like excitement building behind his exterior. He just needs one more push. Something that will seal the deal.
"Why don't we make a bet?" Qingque says, purple irises snapping towards her. "We'll play Celestial Jade. I'll teach you how. If I win, she will leave us alone, and you'll turn yourself into the Cloud Knights. If you win, you can go back to what you were doing. Y-you can even… kill me if you want." At first, Qingque tries to hide growing smile as the hunter moves further back.
The smile is immediately wiped away as the hunter stares at her with an annoyed, half-lidded expression.
"Really…? You really think I'm going to jeopardize an entire plan just because you challenged me to a board game? " The hunter asked slowly. Qingque felt her heart drop as he walked slowly towards her again. As he came close, a sadistic smile appeared on his face. He laughed quietly as he experienced the expression of loss and fear on her face. "Then again, stereotypes do exist for a reason, don't they?"
She doesn't know if she should be relieved that he took the bait, or worried by it. Gulping, Qingque pushed her Celestial Jade table between her and the hunter. She slotted the tiles inside, and the auto-shuffle feature immediately. Four tiles immediately appeared on each side of the table, and both players picked them up. Qingue smirked as she revealed her piece. "East Wind. That means I'm the dealer. I also get a 14th tile while you start with 13."
"Very well," The hunter states as 13 tiles appear on his side of the table. Qingque gets fourteen, just like she stated earlier, and after carefully glancing at her pieces, she discards one that she doesn't need. "Ah, but before I forget! It's just a little something to set the atmosphere." Qingque raises an eyebrow as the hunter sifts through his deck, searching for something. His eyes light up as he pulls out a card and reveals it to her.
His eyes gleam maliciously as he slots it inside his Duel Disk. "I activate the Field Spell, The Seal of Orichalcos!"
Qingque VS Yuri Sakaki
Open the Game!
"Caelus! Behind you!"
The host of the Stellaron, flaming lance in hand, snapped his head around as he heard Dan Heng's shout. A Man-Eater Bug howled as it loomed over a helpless woman and her child. the insect frothing at the mouth as its mandibles snapped quickly. Caelus lunged forward and drove his weapon through the monsters killing it instantly. He then turned to the woman. "Get to the Exalting Sanctum. The Cloud Knights will keep you safe. Go!" The woman nodded quickly and scooped up her little girl with ease. The child waved at Caelus, and he couldn't help but wave back.
"How long has it been since we got here!?" Caelus growled another set of Man-Eater Bugs lunged at him. He took a step forward to attack, but the ground beneath him caved in. Caelus looked down to see a Traptrix Mantis looking up at him, giggling cutely as he drove his spear into the wall to keep himself from falling.
"3 minutes!" Dan Heng shouted as he swapped out his spear for the golden ball he carried with him. With a snap of his fingers, a wave of water crashed into the Man-Eater Bugs and flooded the Trap Hole, drowning Traptrix Mantis in the process. A tendril gently pulled Caelus and his lance out of the hole. "There's no end to these beasts…"
"And no sign of Tingyun or Qingque…" Caelus muttered as he took off. Dan Heng followed behind him, using his water as whips to pierce through any insectoid monsters that roamed the area. "Who the hell is even behind this, anyways!?" He and the Vidyhadrya turned sharply into an alleyway teeming with monsters. Caelus surged forward, the power of his lance propelling him forward as he incinerated everything in his path. Dan Heng took a moment to put out the fires before following the Stellaron Host.
"I've tried contacting Himiko and Sushang, but all my phone is telling me is that the servers are down," Dan Heng says as he struggles to type while running. "Whatever's been blocking out communications between Tingyun and the Cloud Knights must be affecting us as well. I can't even access the map…"
"We should've teleported to the Sky-Faring Commision from the start," Caelus growled angrily. He closed his eyes to calm himself down as the Stellaron pulsed in him, reacting to his emotions. "Just great… Now how are we supposed to get to Tingyun?"
Both Caelus and Dan Heng paused as they heard a powerful roar that shook the ground. Looking up, Caelus could see a large and thin dragon with torn wings flying up into the sky. It flew past them, carrying innocents in its large claws as it flew towards Exalting Sanctum. "That monster…" Caelus muttered. His mind went to the end of the Duel between the Knight of Hanoi and that guy who almost ran him over.
"Hey, you can talk to dragons, right?" Caelus asked. Dan Heng gave him a bewildered look.
"Wha…? No," Dan Heng said flatly, utterly confused. "Let's just go in the direction that the dragon came from."
"...Yeah, that'll work too, I guess," Caelus muttered disappointedly. He wanted to hitch a ride when Stardust circled back, but that worked too.
Caelus took off with a sprint, Dan Heng following close behind him as they ran through the streets of the Luofu, exiting the alleyway they were in. Hordes of Insect-type monsters, ranging from Gokibores to Anteatereatingants blocked their way, which Caelus burnt through with his lance. Dan Heng was just as destructive, if not more so, sending out wave after wave of water to wash away any monsters and fill Trap Holes before either of them could fall in.
Slowly, the two fought their way towards the entrance to the Palace of Astrum, where the largest collection of monsters were located. There, a large number of innocents were being led out of the building by the Cloud Knights, who were fighting against the monsters trying to swarm in and swarming out of the Palace.
They were practically surrounded; large starskiffs were floating in the air, above the bystanders, trying to carry them to safety while being assaulted by a multiple of projectiles.
"Dan Heng! Caelus!" The duo turned around to see Sushang, green blood on her sword and staining her outfit. "What are you two doing here!? It's too dangerous for you to stay– Wait, since where are you a Vidyadhara?" She asked, tilting her head at the sight of his horns and tail.
"Long story. We're here to help," Dan Heng quickly brushed away the topic, using his water to launch the insects away. Caelus, meanwhile, ran around the staircase, using his fire to scare away the monsters and goad some of them into chasing him.
"R-right!" She nodded. "Just keep the bugs away from the civilians."
"Right," Dan Heng nodded.
As they two fought, Caelus used the power of his lance to attract a mob of monsters towards. Once they were far enough away from civilians, he threw his lance forward, the weapon leaving a fiery inferno. He smirked as he saw the ashes blown away by the wing and reached out his hand to call his weapon back.
As he did, he was suddenly forced onto the ground, his nose breaking and bleeding from impact as an incredible weight began to crush him. Looking up, Caelus found an impossible long worm-like monster covered in dark blue armor, holding him down, the mandibles around the head digging into his sides with bone-shattering force.
Before X-Krawler Neurogos could crush him, the metal-fist of Junk Warrior slammed into the side of the metallic worm, the fist bursting through the otherside. Neurogos writhed as its body turned to dust, relieving Caelus of the pain and threat of imminent death. Groaning, he pushed himself up, wiping the blood off his nose as he looked into Yusei's blue eyes.
"...You're the guy who almost ran me over," Caelus muttered, adjusting his grip on his lance.
"Sorry," Yusei said coolly. He nodded to Junk Warrior, and the mechanical humanoid flew away to fend off the swarming insects. "Are you okay? Can you still fight?"
"I'll be fine. I've had worse," Caelus waved off the duelist's concern. He slammed the tip of his lance into the ground, encasing both of them in a warm amber glow.
"Right," Yusei nodded. Underneath his brown gloves, the Dragon's Head burned brightly. Looking away, he saw Stardust returning to the palace, and the monsters with ranged attacks taking aim at it.
"Listen up," Yusei started, his authoritative voice snapping Caelus away from his thoughts. "We need to protect Stardust Dragon as it takes people to safety. You take care of the enemies up front. I'll cover you."
"You got it, boss man," Caelus grumbled, lifting his spear and taking aim at the monsters at the front of the Palace. He was about to toss his weapon, until he noticed a dark figure flying behind Stardust.
Cursing loudly, Caelus grabbed Yusei and leapt out of the way as the figure crashed into Stardust and slammed it into the floor, blowing away Cloud Knight, civilians, and even crushing some of the insect monsters.
As the dust settled, Yusei's eyes widened as he recognized the monster standing over Stardust. It was a slim, slithery dragon with dark green and purple scales, curved ivory horns, and a hooked tail. Multiple dark red and yellow orbs covered its body. The four wings (if they could even be called that) that sprouted from the beast's back were like long venus flytraps with large fangs jutting out of the mouth and saliva dripping down from its insatiable maw.
The dragon pressed its foot against Stardust Dragon's head, using it to stand up higher as it raised its long neck back and let out an ear-shattering howl.
Insanity of the Supreme King
STARVING VENOM FUSION DRAGON
"Stardust!" Yusei shouted as they were blown away. Starving Venom stomped its feet on the opposing dragon's neck, eliciting a pained shriek from the monster. Afterwards, it turned its attention to the many starskiffs floating in the air. With a growl, one of the large 'wings' bursting out of its back like a snake hatching from its egg, mouth wide and dripping with toxic saliva as it flew towards the starskiff.
Dan Heng created tendrils of water, restraining the wing before it could consume the starskiff hole. He dragged it down, the wing thrashing and screaming as it tried to pull itself free. Sushang jumped beside it and tried to slash its neck clean off, but the blade only managed to cut through a couple inches.
As that was happening, Starving Venom lunged towards Caelus, the clawed hand slamming against the burning lance. He grunted, digging the weapon into the ground to keep him from flying away. The dragon tried to attack with another swipe, but Scrap-Iron Scarecrow suddenly appeared in front of gnarled hands, knocking Starving Venom off balance.
Junk Warrior flew forward and slammed its large fist against the side of Starving Venom and caused the monster to stagger slightly. Behind it, Stardust fired a beam of wind energy, striking the back and the stem of the wing.
The extended wing thrashed, screaming as Sushang continued to cut through the stem. Green ooze spewed from the wound, covering the girl and staining her clothes. With a loud yell, Sushang's weapon managed to cut through completely, decapitating it. Dan Heng withdrew his water as the stem went back to Starving Venom, the dragon shrieking as pain rocked its body.
Starving Venom flew into the sky, avoiding another attack from Yusei's monsters. It whipped its tail around, the ivory hook slashing and cutting through everything at random. Stardust flew in front of the hook and covered itself in its wings, taking the brunt of the attack to protect everyone.
With one final swipe of it's hooked tail, Stardust was knocked away, screeching as it crashed into the ground. Starving Venom howled into the air as the wing regenerated. Both of them opened, and red energy began to pour out and form into tendrils. The dragon's eyes locked onto Dan Heng as crimson energy flew towards him.
Caelus jumped in front of him and slammed his lance into the ground, creating a wall of flames around them. However, the tendrils swerved around and over the fire. Wrapping themselves around Dan Heng. He screamed in pain, eyes rolling to the back of his head as his energy was drained and brought back to Starving Venom.
The color of the dragon's scales and armored hide shifted, the green becoming white while the dark purple turned into a lighter shade of green. The orbs all over Starving Venom's body became the same color and shape as Dan Heng's weapon, and the ivory horns also became the same watery, translucent material.
With a howl, both wings of Starving Venom extended and opened wide, releasing a powerful rush of water. Yusei slammed his hand into the ground, and the wounded Stardust moved in front of the wave. "Victim's Sanctuary!" Yusei shouted, and Stardust Dragon dissolved; the glittering stardust enveloped the wave, causing it to disappear.
As the stardust faded, Junk Warrior grabbed Caelus, who carried Sushang in his arms. The robotic humanoid tossed both of them into the air, their weapons gleaming as they separated and flew towards opposite wings.
As the wing opened to swallow Sushang whole, she raised her sword and drove it through the roof of the opening. Starving Venom shrieked and the wing thrashed again, letting out a torrent of water to wash her away. However, Sushang stood firm, stabbing her heels into the tongue and tightening her grip on her sword to prevent her from being launched.
At the opposite side, the wing lifted itself up to slam Caelus down, but he managed to twist his body and stab his lance through the stem. The lance flared, burning away at the stem and filling the air with the scent of burnt flesh. Caelus pulled down on his lance, burning away at the stem and reducing to a burning stump. As he fell, he tossed his lance to another wing, stabbing it through the stem as well.
With the sudden heat, Starving Venom's water turned into steam, allowing a drenched Sushang to pull her sword out and swing wildly at the inside. She reduced it to slivers, dark green ooze leaking from the wound as the lance melted through the stem.
The stem's retracted and Starving Venom turned back to its normal colors. At the same time, Dan Heng regained consciousness, and Stardust Dragon returned to the field, roaring as Starving Venom staggered back to the ground.
Immediately, Dan Heng used his water to restrain the venomous dragon. Caelus and Sushang charged their weapons, cutting, slicing, and melting off large chunks of the monster's body as it struggled to break free. Eventually, the beast broke free from Dan Heng's makeshift and let out a loud shriek. A dark aura flew out of its mouth and enveloped Sushang and Caelus. Both their limbs turned to lead as they fell to the ground, arms and legs refusing to cooperate.
Starving Venom whipped around and attacked with its tail. The base of the tail slammed into Caelus' side; he gasped as he heard a sharp crack reverberate inside; the curved hook dug into Sushang's leg, making the girl scream in pain as she knocked away, ivory clashing against bone.
Dan Heng growled as he saw his two friends being slapped away. He thrust his hands upwards, and the air around him condescend into water, forming into a serpentine dragon. Starving Venom whipped its body around to attack it, but as it did, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow appeared in front of it, Yusei's Trap Card knocking the tail back and leaving the dragon open.
Dan Heng's dragon roared and burst through Starving Venom's thin chest, leaving a mess of plant-like flesh and green ooze behind it. The Vidyadhara narrowed his eyes and commanded the watery dragon to return; it barreled through Starving Venom's body again, taking out its left arm before circling back again.
By the time Dan Heng let his own dragon dissipate, Starving Venom has been reduced to a bloody, hobbling mess; the left side of it's face had been removed, it's tail had been ripped off and wings were left crushed and hanging onto the main body by a few strands of plant fibers.
With a low growl Starving Venom stumbled forwards, extending one hand as if and reaching towards Dan Heng. It tried to roar, however, it only managed to let out a glob of green ooze on the floor. It looks at Dan Heng, the monster's broken jaw falling to the floor as it's orbs begin to glow.
Yusei narrows his eyes as the glowing orbs become brighter. The glow bright that the heat they emitted began to melt through Starving Venom's flesh. The monster's face contorts as the orbs begin to melt through, and his eyes widen in realization.
"GET DOWN!" Yusei shouts as Stardust Dragon flies forward and embraces Starving Venom. Dan Heng could barely react when the brutalized exploded. Everyone's eyesight was assaulted by a bright light. The ground beneath the two dragon's melts and turns to vapor almost immediately. The nearby monsters are deatmoized alongside it.
As the explosion inches closer to the civilians, Stardust Dragon roars and disintegrates into glittering particles. They surround the area and cover the civilians; Victim's Sanctuary protects everyone as the explosion engulfs the people Xianzhou natives, saving them from an untimely, painful demise.
Once the explosion dies down, Caelus groans as he picks himself up, coughing as he feels his broken ribs poking at his muscles. He coughs up blood, falling in and out of consciousness as healers tend to him.
Once he comes to, Caelus' eyes flutter open. He looks up, expecting to see Dan Heng or maybe Sushang, but instead he sees Yusei standing over him, his gloved hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you alright?" Yusei asked. Caelus blinked once and tried to stand up. He groaned at the phantom pain of his broken robes. He would've doubled over if it weren't for Yusei's strong grip on him.
"I'm… fine," Caelus groaned. "Is everyone safe?"
"Thanks to you," Yusei answered. Caelus was about to argue, he was knocked to the ground, and it was Yusei's dragon that saved everyone from Starving Venom's final attack, but Yusei shut him up with a quick glare.
"If you and your friend didn't show up, I don't think Sushang and I wouldn't have been able to stop the monsters from taking a few lives." Yusei patted Caelus' shoulder before standing up and smiling at him. "You did good. You should be proud of yourself."
Caelus looked up at Yusei, expression unreadable for a moment. Eventually, she let out a slight chuckle. "Thanks… I'm still not over you almost running me over."
"You're not going to let that go?"
"Not yet," Caelus laughed dryly. He managed to stand up, wincing only slightly. "Hey, have you seen a foxian anywhere nearby? Brown hair, long tail, pretty green eyes, about yay tall?"
"...No, I can't say I have–" Yusei suddenly turned around as a mass of code appeared next to Caelus. It formed into a digital knight, Decode Talker, the same one that with Kaiba only a couple hours ago. Caelus clenched his fist at the sight of it.
"Yusaku? What happened?" Yusei asked, stepping forward to face the knight. Decode Talker regarded Yusei briefly, before turning to Caelus. His breathing staggered as the digital knight seemed… hesitant to speak.
"I found Tingyun," Decode Talker spoke, the sound of a young man coming from the helmet.
Caelus steeled himself.
"I've already informed Yukong and the Cloud Knights. However… I fear we may be too late."
"Aww, what's the matter? Cat your tongue?" Yuri laughed as he swapped out another tile on the pile with one in his hand. On the other side, Qingque breathed heavily, her forehead covered in a thick sheen of perspiration.
She felt dizzy. Her eyes constantly traveled to the sigil in the center of Yuri's forehead, the one that instilled her with a sense of dread. She glanced at the fallen Tingyun, the shallow puddle of blood growing with each passing second.
"Excuse me, earth to Qingque? It's your turn," Yuri taunted, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back in his chair.
"Shut. Up." She growled, gritting her teeth painfully. Her breath came out in quick, frantic puffs. Her heart was beating fast, too fast. She reached for the discard pile, her hand visible shaking as she grabbed a tile. She looked up at Yuri again, his face still in the same plastic and empty smile it always has been.
Her vision was getting blurry. It's getting hard to see. She can't lose. She won't lose. Qingque needs to save Tingyun. She needs to keep her away from this… this monster sadistic piece of–
Qingque perked up when she heard footsteps. The sound caused the room to rumble, metal slamming against the wood. She smiled at Yuri. It didn't falter when his expression refused to change. It didn't falter. She won't falter.
"You lost," Qingque said breathlessly, her small chest heaving with each word. "The Cloud Knights are here. They'll get rid of this thing. They'll cut you in half…" She said, wanting so desperately to be free from this nightmare. Her smile didn't falter when Yuri's grew wider.
"So you say…" Yuri muttered. He raised his Duel Disk, his smile growing wider as the footsteps became closer. The second he heard a metal fist banging on the door, Yuri lowered his hand and tapped a button on the screen's UI.
Qingque's smile finally dropped when she heard a large blast and short-lived screams coming from the other side. Her eyes widened, expression trapped in abject horror as Yuri casually shrugged and took out a card from his Disk: Mirror Force.
"One of the oldest cards in the game," Yuri said as he slid the infamous trap into his deck box. "Not exactly a staple in today's meta, but against amateurs, it can be a godsend."
Yuri narrowed his eyes and Qingque. The girl had practically frozen in place. Her eyes became empty like his. Her breathing stalled, slowing down until she barely breathed at all. Yuri licked his lips and reached out his hand, gently cupping her cheeks; Qingque barely reacted.
"There we go… that's the expression I wanted to see," Yuri smiled, taking out his phone and snapping a picture of Qingque's broken expression. He pulled away from her and pocketed his phone, saving it to an album with hundreds of other photos just like it.
Robotically, Qingque grabbed one random tile and replaced it with one of her hands. She didn't even bother to place it face down; it toppled off her rack and fell uselessly onto the discard pile, face up.
"What an interesting move… Well now, I believe it's my turn!" Yuri chirped, clapping his hands excitedly as he looked at the discard pile.
"You know, there's a saying from my planet…" Yuri said, mainly to himself. He didn't know if Qingque was still listening or not, and to be frank, he didn't really care. Though, he would've liked it if Qingque put up a bit more of a fight. He preferred the rowdier ones. "There was someone who once said that, 'the most powerful duelist can always change the outcome of a duel.'"
As Yuri admired the look of empty despair on Qingque's pale face, his hand aimlessly groped around the discard pile until he managed to wrap his fingers around a piece. He raised, smiled widely, the grin splitting his face. "'They will even be able to manifest the very card they need to draw!'"
Yuri slammed the tile onto a useless piece, shattering it completely. With a dramatic flourish, he grabbed the rack and spun it around, revealing his winning hand to Qingque. "Look at this! Big Four Blessing!" Yuri exclaimed victoriously; his winning hand consisted of three copies of each of the Four Winds, and two 9 Circle tiles.
Qingque's eyes marginally widened as the Seal of Orichalcos started to enclose itself around her. As the sickly green barrier came closer, Yuri stood up and dusted himself off, humming a cheery tune as we walked towards Tingyun's unconscious body and hurled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Her blood leaked onto his purple uniform, causing the boy's nose to wrinkle slightly.
"N-no…" Qingque gasped quietly as she watched Yuri walk away. "Stop it…" She cried, tears finally falling from her eyes as she walked up to the barrier and weakly banged her tiny fists against it.
"Ta ta for now!" Yuri said, smiling brightly as Qingue as he tried to fight against the Seal. "I hope to play against you soon!" He said with a shit-eating grin, knowing full well that he would never see her again, unless they were both dead.
"No… no!" Qingque cried, her voice breaking as she slowly slid down. She brought her legs to her chest and sat down, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Yuri walk out of the building with her.
"Plea
VS Starving Venom Fusion Dragon
The original tablet was discovered by Professor Arthur Hawkins near the gulf of Maiami City, where an ancient society known as the "Arc Cradle" is believed to be located. Based on texts carved into stone tablets and written on papyrus scrolls, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon is theorized to represent the ruler's final step into madness, before his soul was shattered into four pieces.
SKILLS
Hungry Strike [Single Target]: Inflicts Wind DMG equal to 175% of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's Attack to a single target.
Predator's Tail [AoE]: Inflicts Wind DMG equal to 130% of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's attack to all enemies. If a 'Predapowered Wing' is on the field, this attack inflicts 70% more Wind DMG for each 'Predapowered Wing.'
Predaplanet [Impair]: Applying the following effects to an enemy with a Predator Counter. These effects do not stack.
-Reduce their Maximum HP by 15%.
-Reduce their Original Attack and Original DEF by 22%.
-Replace their Elemental affinity with Quantum.
Predaprime Fusion [Impair]: Target one enemy unit on the field with a Predator Counter; that unit is unable to use their skill for two turns, also, until the end of the opponent's next turn, replace the effect of this skill with that opponent's skill.
Ravenous Consumption [Single Target]: Inflicts Wind DMG equal to 130% of Predapowered Wing's ATK to a single target.
Predaponics [Summon]: Summon 2 Predaplant Drosophyllum Hydra,' 'Predaplant Moray Nepenthes,' 'Predaplant Spinodionaea,' or 'Predaplant Ambulomelides,' OR up to 2 'Predapowered Wings.' Only two 'Predapowered Wings' can exist on the field.
Predaplast [Impair]: Place 1 Predator Counter on an opponent(s) for each 'Predap' monster on the field.
Predapowered Charge [Enhance]: When Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's HP reaches 0, they enter a charged state. On the next turn, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon will use 'Ignoble End of the Supreme King.'
Ignoble End of the Supreme King [AoE]: Inflict Quantum DMG equal 900% of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's ATK to all enemies.