Once again, we'd like to apologize for the wait; as usual, real life can be crazy busy. Thank you all for your patience and thanks to Eneko95 for helping to polish up our grammar (beta readers are great). Anyways, enough with the apologies and such, right? It's time to duel!
Chapter 16 Initial Arc:
Embracing Darkness part II
As soon as Laura attached her duel disk to her arm, it started beeping and the hologram dome formed around her, Dracul, and the other two girls. Everyone put their visors on, not exactly surprised to see a haunted house theme pop up; they were practically in one already.
While Sera and Atsuko were hugging each other in fear, Laura stared down Dracul as she summoned up her digi-construct. Dracul did the same with an amused smile; he clearly expected a repeat performance.
"Let's duel!" both of them yelled out as they drew their hand.
Dracul - 8000 LP
Laura - 8000 LP
"As I said when we met; ladies first," said Dracul with a gracious nod.
"I'll set this monster in defense mode, play another facedown card, and end my turn."
The cards appeared in front of her as she prepared for what Dracul was going to do.
"Come now, don't be shy," Dracul mocked as he drew a card. "I rest three face down cards on the field and conjure up Vampire Sorcerer (4/1500/1500) in attack mode!"
A wooden coffin burst out of the ground and opened, revealing a few shining red lights. The rest of the monster soon emerged; an androgynous humanoid with pale purple skin, sickly green hair, and a classic witch's robe and pointy hat decorated with deep red jewels. The bat-winged staff in its right hand had a similar jewel, held in place by five small silver fangs.
"Ask and ye shall receive. I activate Bottomless Trap Hole!" Laura countered. "By the way, you have to banish your wizard dude, not just destroy it."
A large hole emerged on Dracul's side of the field right under his newest monster. When it was opened, shadow-like appendages shot up and grabbed his monster, dragging it into the hole as it struggled to break free. Once it entered, the hole closed up completely.
Dracul then grabbed the card from its spot and instead of sending it to the graveyard, he placed it inside his deck case due to the trap's effect.
"Now Naturia Rock's (3/1200/1200) effect activates," she continued. "Whenever a trap is activated, I can discard the top card of my deck to Special Summon it."
A large boulder with comically short arms and legs shot up from the ground and landed with a thud and cheerful whistle. The white flower growing on top of its head waved gently in a nonexistent breeze, and its red eyes had a determined look.
"Wonderful!" Dracul laughed as he ended his turn.
"Alright, I draw!" the pale girl remarked as she drew her first card, seeing it before playing. "Now from my hand, I summon Naturia Butterfly (3/900/1200) in attack mode!"
A sudden bright light from above blinded most of the audience (and Dracul), though it only lasted for a few minutes as the monster slowly descended down.
A tiny, pink insect fluttered down on semi-transparent pink wings. Six green legs twirled about to give the impression of dancing and its large green eyes had a somewhat dreamy look to them. The proboscis twitched a little as if it was trying to communicate a smile or some other such expression impossible for the creature.
"Now that I have a Tuner monster on the field, you know what that means!"
Her butterfly and rock shot upward, the former turning into three rings of light that surrounded the latter.
"I tune together my level 3 Naturia Rock and level 3 Naturia Butterfly to Synchro Summon Naturia Barkion (6/2500/1800) in attack mode!"
The light exploded into a large column, and moments later, a majestic white Chinese dragon flew down from the ceiling. It had two thin white horns on its head, four short limbs ending in taloned 'hands', and pieces of tree bark running down the length of its back like scales. Patches of vibrant green moss decorated its body.
Dracul smiled. "Fantastic. Half the fun of dueling is putting on a show, and your style's coming through much more clearly now."
"Oh I'm not done yet! Barkion, attack his life points directly, Wood Hammer!"
The dragon roared and curled itself into a loop before swinging its tail down at Dracul's head.
Rather than looking concerned, Dracul grinned wickedly. A dark blue barrier that rippled like water appeared above him, and Barkion's tail bounced off it.
"What the hell?"
"Drowning Mirror Force," Dracul replied as his card revealed itself. "When you declared a direct attack, this card automatically activated, and now you have to shuffle all attack mode monsters you control back into your deck."
"Sneaky," said Laura. "However, your trap card in turn triggers Barkion's effect. By banishing two cards from my graveyard, I can negate and destroy any traps you activate."
Laura ejected her Naturia Rock and her Bottomless Trap Hole, adding them to her deck case.
Barkion launched two orbs of light at the mirror, shattering it. As the pieces fell and vanished, Barkion swung its tail directly at Dracul like nothing had happened.
Dracul - (8000 - 5500) LP
Laura - 8000 LP
Instead of flinching, Dracul flung his cap onto his shoulders in a dramatic fashion, grinning like a madman. "Wahaha! Absolutely incredible!"
"Are-are you enjoying this?" Laura questioned, ending her turn.
"Of course!" Dracul replied as he drew a card. "This is shaping up to be the duel I was hoping for last time!"
He then placed a monster card in defense mode before ending his turn.
"H-he's acting strangely, isn't he?" Atsuko muttered.
"He always acts str…" Sera trailed off in the middle of her thought. "Wait… yes, you're right. He's acting strangely in a different way…"
"It's different though… He's not doing it with a kind heart."
The two couldn't help but feel like something was wrong, but could only watch as the two saw Laura draw her next card.
"Alright, to continue I place a card face down on the field, then activate the spell Mind Control. Now I can take control of your defense monster, but I can't attack with it or sacrifice it. Kind of a raw deal if you ask me."
She moved her cards to her other hand and extended her left. Marionette strings emerged from each of her fingers, connecting to Dracul's card. Then she closed her left hand in a fist, and the card began to move to her side of the field.
"Oh that won't do! I activate the trap Dark Spirit Art - Greed!" A ritual circle with a kanji in the center appeared below Dracul's monster; the light purple flames on the outside flared up and broke the strings. "I can tribute a Dark-type monster to both negate your spell and draw two new cards, unless you reveal a spell card in your hand."
"Thanks for telling me how to foil your evil plan, Draco. I have one spell in my hand, Miracle Synchro Fusion." She showed him the card in question.
Dracul made a disgruntled noise and put the facedown monster in his graveyard. "I had to tribute it anyway."
"Then I guess I'll flip summon my Naturia Cherries (1/200/200) in attack mode." Laura sighed, confused by Dracul's motives. "And I'll attack you directly. Barkion, Wood Hammer!"
Once again the dragon flipped through the air and smacked Dracul dead-on with its tail, the force sending him back a few feet.
"Cherries! Pit Shot!"
The twins spat seeds at their target like a machine gun.
Both attacks hit their mark, knocking back Laura's opponent a few feet.
Dracul - (5500 - 2800) LP
Laura - (8000) LP
The caped duelist struggled to get up as he was shaking from the attacks he endured. Though instead of showing frustration, he laughed manically once more..
"You're starting to weird me out more than usual…" Laura muttered with a bit of concern.
"Oh believe me, I've haven't begun to fight! Now stand back and watch your future master go!" Dracul yelled out as he drew his card. "I start by activating the effect of Vampire Sorcerer: By banishing him from my graveyard this turn, I can normal summon a level five or higher Vampire monster without a sacrifice."
A eerie shadow surrounded Dracul as the card ejected from his grave, allowing him to grab it and place it into his deck case.
"Now come forth my solider of darkness, Shadow Vampire (5/2000/0) in attack mode!" Another, darker coffin broke through the ground onto the Obelisk's side of the field, slowly opening itself and letting out a black mist.
From the coffin emerged a translucent figure. It wore medieval armor with a glowing red cross on the breastplate. It had massive, spiked shoulder guards, a diamond shaped shield on one arm and a large, oddly shaped sword in the other hand. The overall appearance of the monster was hard to properly make out in the lighting and its translucency.
"Then I activate my facedown card, Vampire Shift! Because I don't have a field spell active, I can now bring out my special one from my deck, Vampire Kingdom!"
"Hahaha, no. I trigger Barkion's effect once again, banishing two more cards from my grave to negate your card."
This time, Laura took out her Naturia Cherries and Mind Control and added the deck case.
Barkion's body began to glow as it released two more orbs from itself and launched it right at the card.
In seconds, it shattered into digital pieces.
Dracul sighed. "At least look upon your future kingdom before rejecting it."
"You act like you can still win this," Laura replied, doing her best to suppress a shudder.
"There's still plenty of time for a plot twist." Dracul smiled. "Now, Shadow's effect activates from being normal summoned, and I can Special Summon a Vampire from my hand or deck. Say hello to Vampire Duke (5/2000/0) in attack mode!"
Similar to Shadow Vampire, a smaller wooden coffin came up from the ground out of the monster's shadow, opening and letting out white mist onto the field.
A much more solid looking monster climbed out of the second coffin. It looked very much like the duelist who summoned it: black hair slicked back, pale skin, wearing a red vest, black slacks, a white shirt and a high collared black cape.
"And the effects haven't ended yet!" Dracul said. "Duke has his own effect that activates whenever he's Special Summoned: I can declare one card type from your deck and you have to send any one of them to the graveyard."
"Great…"
"Now! Say goodbye to one of your spells!"
Soon as he said that, the vampire hissed and shot a beam of purple light right at Laura's deck, making her flinch. Her duel disk beeped as she took out her deck and began looking through it.
She then found the spell to discard, revealing it to be her Soul Charge spell, causing a black shadowy hand to emerge from her graveyard and grab it before retreating.
"And the hits just keep coming," Dracul said. "With two level five monsters, I build the overlay network to Xyz Summon one of my dark lords! Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon (R5/2600/1700) in attack mode!"
Both monsters jumped upward as they transformed into spheres of light with a large galaxy appearing on the field. They then flew to the center, and a pale, black-winged angel with wild, equally black hair came out of the resulting eruption of light. Its eyes were glowing red, and its entire lower body looked like a mass of shadows.
"By using one of his Overlay units, I can target and destroy one of your face up cards," Dracul continued. "And I choose your Barkion!"
One of the orbs entered Adreus' clawed hand, combining with its own dark energy to create a nasty-looking dagger made from red-hot metal. Adreus flew upward with one beat of its massive wings and threw the knife directly into the center of Barkion's head.
The wood monster roared out in pain as cracks appeared all over its body, eventually causing it to explode.
All Laura could do was endure the shock-wave, covering herself from the blast.
"Due to the second effect of Shadow Vampire, I'm not able to use anyone, including Adreus, to attack. I shall have to end my turn."
"Oh no, Laura's not doing so good, is she?" Atsuko asked with worry. "I got a little lost with all those effects activating one after another…"
"Vampire decks are dangerous in the right hands," Sera replied. "But this is just a minor setback. Laura's got plenty of time to turn things around."
"You think so?"
"As long as she still has her life points and fighting spirit, absolutely."
Laura drew and looked at what she had available. Her next few moves would decide whether things swung back in her favor. I can do this. Go big or go home, remember?
"I'm not about to take that lying down! I activate my trap card, Naturia Sacred Tree!" she declared, revealing her facedown card.
A massive tree emerged from the ground, its pod-covered branches spreading out against the ceiling. "By sacrificing a plant-type monster I control, this allows me to Special Summon a level 4 or lower insect-type monster."
A vine came from the tree and wrapped around Naturia Cherries, which glowed softly as it merged with the vine. Suddenly, one of the pods started glowing as it grew bigger and detached from the branch.
"Say hello to an old friend, Naturia Butterfly in defense mode!"
When it hit the ground, the pod burst open, revealing a powerful light that made Dracul and his minions hiss. The monster that emerged from the pod expanded its wings to descend down gently before taking a defensive stance.
"To keep it company, I summon Dandylion (3/300/300) from my hand in attack mode."
A small, orange creature sprouted from the ground. It had leaves that looked like a bow tie, leaves for arms and a lion-like face surrounded by bright yellow petals.
"Now that I have a Tuner again, I tune Naturia Butterfly and Dandylion together in order to Synchro Summon another Naturia Barkion in attack mode! Also, Dandylion's effect lets me Special Summon two Fluff Tokens (1/0/0) on my field in defense mode whenever it's sent to the graveyard."
As before, both monsters came together in a burst of light, bringing out the same dragon that was on the field.
Twin balls of white fluff appeared on the field with an almost comical pop. They bounced in place on small brown stems; the only thing indicating that they were monsters were the small faces on one side of their bodies.
"I'm not done yet! From my hand, I activate the spell Miracle Synchro Fusion! Time for the king of the Naturia's to come and play, because now I fuse together the Naturia Barkion on the field with the one in my graveyard in order to bring out my strongest monster! Naturia Gaiastrio (10/3200/2100)!"
Both Synchro monsters appeared on the field as the two jumped upward, spiraling around one another until the two of them collided in a vortex.
A massive, lightly armored leonine monster emerged from the resulting light. Its body armor had a large black frame of some sort, with two crystalline structures on either side and small red decorations throughout. Its helmet, meanwhile, had horns that curved toward its mane of red petals rather than away. A tree grew out of its back, and bushes grew above each of its paws like wristbands. It fixed Dracul with a piercing blue stare.
"Now, Gaiastrio, attack his Adreus with Life Roar!"
The beast let out a powerful roar that reverberated across the entire area, focusing on the blackened angel in particular. Before long, Adreus exploded under the sonic onslaught, and the combined shockwaves knocked Dracul flat on his back.
Dracul - (2800 - 2200) LP
Laura - 8000 LP
"I'll end my turn with that."
Dracul managed to get back on his feet, simply dusting himself off as he glared back and snarled, revealing his fanged teeth.
Fangs? OK, something's really wrong here, Laura thought. Not like I can do anything but keep dueling, though… ugh.
"Let's see what the next draw brings," he said. "Ah, perfect! I play the spell Dark Hole!"
A pitch-black vortex appeared above the field, and howling winds forced every monster available into the abyss. Even Gaiastrio couldn't keep itself stable for long against such an onslaught.
"Next, I play the spell Book of Life," Dracul continued after the field was cleared. "I can target one Zombie in my graveyard and one monster in yours. My Vampire Duke and your Naturia Gaiastrio will do."
An emerald book phased into existence before Dracul. Its cover depicted two figures with canine heads facing a purple chalice holding what looked like the sun. A ruby-red eye with golden wings watched over the scene. Something else was written below the canine figures in hieroglyphs.
The book then snapped open, releasing two ghoulish purple spirits. One of them entered Dracul's graveyard and helped Vampire Duke out of a coffin; the other entered Laura's and pushed Gaiastrio somewhat roughly onto the field.
"As you might have guessed from the spirits' behavior, I special summon mine and remove yours from reality," Dracul finished. "Plus, Duke's effect kicks in again. This time, toss one of your traps."
Each spirit entered its respective monster's body. Duke seemed to solidify a little more. Gaiastrio, on the other hand, roared in pain as its body crumbled. Soon the gems on its armor exploded, reducing the mighty beast to a cloud of ash and sawdust.
Laura opened her deck case and placed both Gaiastrio and Dimensional Prison inside it.
"Now, Duke, feast on your enemy! Direct attack!"
The vampire smiled smugly and glided across the field. When he reached Laura, he gently tilted her head to one side, grabbed her shoulder for support, and bit down.
Dracul - 2200 LP
Laura - (8000 - 6000) LP
After the monster left, Laura touched the side of her neck with a wince. She knew it was all just highly-advanced hologram technology, but those fangs had certainly felt real. She didn't feel as awake, either, but shrugged it off and drew her next card anyway.
"This is bad," her roommate remarked with a worried tone.
"Why?" Atsuko asked.
"That monster he banished was her best card in her whole deck. If he can manage to regain his momentum, she may not last much longer." Her friend looked on and prayed that she could keep it together.
"I activate the Equip spell Mark of the Rose and place it on your Vampire Duke," Laura said. "This allows me to take control of it for one turn at the cost of banishing a plant monster."
Her graveyard slot ejected her Dandylion, allowing her to grab it and add it to her deck case, bringing the number up to eight cards in total.
She extended her hand; an orb of light with a stylized rose in the center formed in front of it, then shot forward and hit Vampire Duke square on the mouth.
"Ever get reminded of a song when you only know some of the words?" asked Atsuko. "Because that just happened to me."
"What song?" asked Sera as the card forced Vampire Duke to Laura's side of the field.
"It's, uh…it's by some eighties band, I'll tell you later."
"And now I use him to attack you directly! You can dish it out, let's see if you can take it!" Laura shouted.
The monster swooped back across the field, grabbed Dracul somewhat roughly, and bit just above the collarbone. Dracul flinched briefly, but then relaxed into it with a faint smile.
All three girls cringed.
Dracul - (2200 - 200) LP
Laura - (6000) LP
"And that's the end of my turn, so you get your monster back," Laura said.
The mark disappeared, and Vampire Duke seemed to wake up as he flew back to his master's side.
Dracul drew, looking at his hand to see what options he had.
He saw a chance to change the pace and took the risk.
"I activate the spell Allure of Darkness," Dracul said. "It allows me to draw two cards and then I have to banish a dark monster from my hand or else send my hand to the graveyard."
A swirling mist of darkness began emanating from Dracul's deck as he drew his cards and, after surveying the results of his draw, revealed his Goblin Zombie (4/1100/1050) as he added it to his deck case.
"Next, I set one card face down and sacrifice Vampire Duke to summon Vampire Lord (5/2000/1500) in attack mode!"
Vampire Duke smirked, then vanished in a swarm of bats which obscured Dracul's side of the field. Once the bats disappeared, the monster on Dracul's side had changed, though in some ways it was the same. It was a pale creature wearing a cloak and a suit. Though now the suit was purple or maroon in color and the cloak was blue and appeared to be held on by a giant, clawed hand. The monster also had pale blue-green hair and piercing yellow eyes.
"Now attack her directly!" Dracul shouted. "Hypnotic Eyes!"
The monster leered at Laura and behind it, a larger pair of its eyes seemed to appear and the air around it seemed to shimmer and ripple out towards her. It made her feel uncomfortable and like her strength was draining rapidly out of her. Her legs began to shake until they gave out beneath her and she slumped to the ground.
Dracul - (200)
Laura - (6000 - 4000)
"And, since Vampire Lord inflicted battle damage, I can declare one card type and you have to send it to your graveyard. This time I choose Monster." The monster, unlike its other counterparts, released a shadow that flew on the ground and entered her duel-disk. Soon enough, it released the deck from its spot and Laura grabbed it to search, picking her Glow-Up Bulb (1/0/0) to send to the grave. Dracul smiled with his same devilish grin and ended his turn.
Laura drew her card and decided to try with what she had.
"I place one card face down, then I activate the effect of Glow-Up Bulb," Laura said. "By sending the top card of my deck to the grave I can Special Summon it to the field in defense mode."
From the ground on her side of the field, a small flower appeared before it shot upward, revealing a large seed pod with one large eye in the middle of it and roots below it.
"Next, I activate the effect of Naturia Sacred Tree again. By sending Glow-up Bulb back to the grave I can special summon Naturia Dragonfly (4/1200/400) from my deck in attack mode!"
A small, red bodied insect flitted onto the field. It had large, blue eyes and a single brown antenna that made its head look like a cherry. The head was separated from by body by a green collar of leaves, and a blur of pink indicated the creature's two pairs of wings beating so fast that they created a constant, dull buzz. The thorax was made entirely of a long brown twig, ending in a leaf.
"Naturia Dragonfly has a pretty neat quirk; for every Naturia monster in my graveyard it gains an additional 200 attack points. I've lost four during this duel, so you do the math."
Four balls of light, each representing one of her fallen Naturia monsters, emerged from her graveyard and went into Dragonfly.
Dragonfly (1200 - 2000)
"That only ties it with my Vampire Lord," Dracul said. "The most you'll do is destroy both of our monsters."
Laura shook her head. "Normally, you'd be right. However! Dragonfly's effect lets it survive any attacks from monsters with 2000 or more attack points, which means your vampire is about to take a dirt nap! Take it down, little guy!"
Dragonfly buzzed loudly as it flew upward only to change course and head straight for Vampire Lord. Vampire Lord hissed and jumped up to meet the bug halfway. Their collision caused a small cloud of dust, but when it cleared, the vampire was gone.
Dracul then drew his next card and swore quietly. "I pass."
Laura drew her card, seeing it to be something that could help bring some of her cards that were in her deck case.
"I activate the spell Burial from a Different Dimension," she said. "This lets me select three of my banished monsters and put them back into my graveyard."
Her deck case glowed, allowing her to open it and look at the cards she had put there. After a few seconds, she chose to put back her Naturia Barkion, Naturia Gaiastrio, and Dandylion.
"And since two of them were Naturia monsters, Dragonfly now has 2400 attack points." Laura continued as two more orbs of light entered its body.
Dragonfly (2000 - 2400)
"Now attack him directly with Swift Stream!"
The insect started buzzing around as energy charged around it, moving faster than the eye could see as it dashed forward in an attempt to hit its target.
"I activate my second Drowning Mirror Force," Dracul countered.
His facedown trap revealed itself, creating another barrier that pushed the attack back across the field.
"I use Naturia Tree's effect to send Dragonfly to the grave to Special Summon Naturia Marron (4/1200/700) in defense mode."
Before the wave could hit, a vine came from the tree and wrapped around her Dandylion and absorbing it into its vines once again. This time, a large spiky seed fell from the tree and cracked opened, revealing her newest monster.
A tiny brown creature with big blue eyes appeared on the field. However, what, at first glance, appeared to be fur was actually more like cactus thorns. Countless, needle sharp slivers covered its body.
"And, since Marron's in defense mode, your trap has no effect."
Dracul clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms tightly enough to draw blood, though no one else noticed.
"Now I activate Marron's effect, allowing me to pick two Naturia monsters from the grave and add them back to my deck. Then, I can draw a new card."
The monster started shaking, creating a small cloud of dust that rested on top of Laura's duel disk. It ejected two cards from her graveyard; Naturia Gaiastrio and one of her Barkions, both of which she then added to her extra deck.
She drew her next card and was surprised to see what it was.
"Looks like my luck is changing: I summon a second Marron, which means I can activate its effect once again."
Like its duplicate, the new Marron shook and released the same dust onto Laura, causing two more cards to be ejected from her grave. This time, it was both her copies of her Dragonfly.
She then grabbed them and inserted them back into her deck, causing it to shuffle again as she drew again.
"Now, it's time to take things to the next level! I use both of my level 3 Marrons to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Meliae of the Trees (R3/1700/900) in attack mode!"
Both monsters jumped up and changed into light as a galaxy emerged underneath them, causing the lights to enter the center. A powerful burst of light exploded as the new monster emerged.
At first glance, the three burs appeared to have been replaced by a lump of sod. Then it moved, and the sod was revealed to be the creature's hair. Its body appeared to be that of a young girl with cream colored skin, solid brown eyes and legs that ended as roots. It wore a green dress, pink bracelets, a gem on its forehead surrounded by pink-purple lotus leaves and a blue gemmed anklet.
"Then, by using one of its overlay units, I can target one plant monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it in defense mode," Laura continued. "Welcome back, Dandylion."
The small girl nodded as one of the orbs spinning around her entered her body.
She then created an orb of light, which she then shot into the ground next to her. In a matter of moments, the monster sprouted again in a defensive stance.
"That's it for me."
Dracul glared as he drew his next card, seeing that it was something that could help him.
"Well played. Unfortunately, Meliae won't be around for the final act. I summon Mezuki (4/1700/800) in attack mode!"
A large, muscular creature burst onto the field. It looked like the Minotaur, except with a horse's head, legs, and tail in place of a bull's. Gold and steel bracers decorated its thick arms, and it wore two entire animal skins around its waist. It snorted angrily, spinning its vicious greataxe in its hands.
"Wow, even when it seemed like he was done, he managed to come back!" Atsuko remarked in amazement.
"Agreed, let's just hope Laura can keep up the defensive," Sera added, biting her lip slightly.
"Now, time to get rid of that pesky waste! Mezuki, attack her Meliae with Death Chop!"
The horse-like beast charged forward and raised his axe, charging it with dark energy before he attempted to slice the wood nymph.
"I activate my trap, Dimensional Prison! Now your monster takes a one-way trip!"
The card revealed itself, releasing what looked like a tear within the space in front of Meliae, causing the beast to roar out in shock as it entered it and disappeared.
Dracul ended his turn in a grunt as he sent his monster to his deck case. In the shadows, Ivor looked on and realized that his puppet was doomed. He tightened his large hand in rage but stopped as he entered into the darker part of the dorm, leaving his minion to his fate.
"I'm ending this duel now!" Laura shouted. "Meliae, attack him directly with Petal Storm!"
The monster yelled its battle cry and flew upward, spinning and shooting energy petals forward. Dracul once again found himself flat on his back and surrounded by smoke.
Dracul - (200 - 0) LP
Laura - 4000 LP
The dome powered down along with everyone's visors, allowing Sera and Atsuko to run up and hug Laura. "Way to go!" the darker-skinned girl cheered.
While they cheered, the chains that bound their friends to the crosses disappeared, allowing them to fall to the ground.
They slowly started to wake up from their induced sleep.
The three girls stopped and ran towards them, checking to make sure each of them was alright.
"Ugh… Sera, is that you?" Nick groaned. "I feel like I got hit by a bus."
Barclay just groaned as he began propping himself up, while Takashi and Erhard remained silent.
"Takashi? Erhard? Are you two alright?" Atsuko pleaded as she looked them over.
"Are they still unconscious?" Laura asked. "What happened to you guys, anyway?"
Barclay shrugged. "Ambush, prob'ly. They must've been pretty strong if they got Takashi, too."
"W-wha?" Takashi muttered, his eyes fluttering open. "Got me what? Does someone have food?"
"Sorry, pal, that's not what we—"
Then they heard Dracul—Eugene, really—sobbing. "Every time…they never understand no matter what I say or who I duel…"
He stood up, surrounded by a black aura and red eyes streaming with tears.
"Fine! I don't need you! Any of you! So what if you don't accept me?! So what if they never let me win?! They're looking for a monster, so I'll GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT!"
At that, a strong gust of black wind burst from Eugene's aura. All of them were holding onto something as to not be thrown to the wall by the force of the wind. In that moment, Nick's and Barclay's hands began glowing, making everyone turn around at the light.
"Stay behind us!" Nick yelled out, moving forward. His mark glowed brighter, causing the winds to die down.
"The hell is happening?" Sera shouted.
"Now's not the time!" Barclay replied, following Nick.
"He needs to be purified quickly, or he'll be lost," a young woman's voice said.
The group looked around in a panic, wondering who and where the voice was coming from. Before they could ask, the duo moved forward and eventually came face-to-face with Eugene.
The two grabbed him by the shoulders, and he let out an unholy screech as a black demon-like figure emerged from him.
"Begone with ye!" Barclay shouted, placing his mark hand onto what he assumed was the figure's head. "Heh, I always wanted to say that!" Nick resisted the urge to facepalm, and instead focused on purifying whatever had been inside the Obelisk student.
Once the dark thing had gone, Eugene slumped to the floor like a rag doll. The jewel on his outfit shattered like glass, and his skin went back to a healthier shade of pale.
"Hvad fanden?" Laura shouted. Causing everyone to jump at the sudden increase in volume.
"Uh, Laura… it's OK, just calm-" Nick started.
"Nej, alvorligt! Hvad fanden er der lige sket?!"
"We can't understand what you're saying," Barclay sighed, rubbing his temples.
She stopped for a second, took a deep breath, then looked at them.
"What the hell was that?! Where did that voice come from, and how did you two do that glowing thing with your hands?!"
Nick and Barclay traded nervous looks.
"It was unlike anything I've ever seen…" Takashi added in awe.
"Have you always been able to do this?" Atsuko asked quietly, still cowering at the back.
Sera remained silent, just staring at the two.
"It's a long, weird story, and if you don't mind, I'd like to explain it once we're-" Barclay started.
SLAM!
The doors to the abandoned dorm flew open. Headmistress Ward, Professor Kanoa, Professor Romero and Professor Sadik stood in the entrance with varying expressions of shock.
"Oh, mierda."
That ends another chapter of Dual Guardians and we hope you've enjoyed it. For those who have been with us, thank you so much for all of your support and we hope to continue it even further. We'll see you next time for Chapter 17.
Translations:
Hvad fanden - "What the hell?"
Nej, alvorligt! Hvad fanden er der lige sket? - "No, seriously! What the hell has happened?"
Mierda - "shit"