Welcome to the beginning of the end of this current arc of the story. The final duel starts this time, it's finally Nick's turn to throw cards again. Will he Win? Will he Lose? Will he Draw? The anticipation is terrible (I hope it lasts). Thanks as always to our beta reader, Eneko, for helping keep us coherent.
Chapter 46
Shadow's Brawl
Part I
Nick - 8000
Erhard - 8000
The two didn't have to wait long before a light shone from Nick's Duel Disk, as good a signal as any who would have the first turn.
They drew their first five cards.
"To start, I activate my Continuous Spell Card, Black Whirlwind," Nick declared as the card materialized with a black swirl of wind surrounding it. "I'll explain its effect later, for now, I set this monster in Defense Mode and call it a turn."
With the second card on the Field, Erhard began his turn as he drew the first card.
"Let's make this quick. I'll open this up by Normal Summoning Bujin Yamato (4/1800/200) in Attack Mode."
A burst of red light came down from the sky, then shifted into a glowing humanoid clad in bright red armor. Each piece had a simple bright swirl design etched into it, and iron bands hid the gaps between them. The strange thing, though, was that its belt looked like the deck cases Nick had seen on countless Duelists before.
"Don't worry," the Duelist added. "There won't be any delay in ending this Duel, so long as you cooperate. Now, Yamato, attack his facedown!"
The lines on its body lit up, almost like a power surge, before Yamato shot an energy blast out of its hands right at the enemy.
As the card flipped to reveal Blackwing - Gladius the Midnight Sun (3/800/1500), however, a barrier appeared and dissipated the energy attack over the monster instead. It ended quickly and the masked Duelist was able to get a better look at the monster.
A black birdman wearing half a suit of armor crouched on the field, holding two long kunai-styled blades in front of him protectively. Gladius' red crest and white wings gave the slight impression of a helmet and cape.
"I'm not just some rookie who recently picked up a starter deck, you'll have to try a lot harder if you want to beat me," Nick declared with confidence. "Especially since Gladius here can survive battle once per turn."
"Of course," the masked Duelist retorted with an annoyed tone. "I suppose it was rude of me to assume that you'd be that easy to beat. Now, before I end my turn, I activate Yamato's effect; I can add any Bujin card from my Deck to my Hand, but in exchange I have to discard a card."
The monster opened one of the many cases on its waist, drawing what looked like light in the form of a card. It then threw it towards the Duel Disk of its master, causing a single card to eject as he revealed Bujingi Sinyou (4/1500/1000), adding it to his hand. He then pulled a card from the far left side of his hand, Bujingi Hare (4/1700/500), and sent it to the graveyard as his deck auto-shuffled.
With that, Nick drew his first card.
"To begin, I'll set one card facedown and then Normal Summon Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow (3/1400/1000) to join the flock in Attack Mode."
As Nick placed the card on its slot, a small black birdlike creature swooped down from the shadows behind him, landing gracefully on the ground next to Gladius.
Unlike its ally, Kalut carried no weapon or armor with it. Bright red feathers around its eyes made the yellow crest look that much wilder.
"That monster would have been more useful to you if you had kept it in your hand," Erhard observed after reading over the effect. "Unless perhaps your confidence is only a show?"
"Just wait and see. Since I just normal summoned a Blackwing, my Whirlwind card finally activates, meaning now I get to add any Blackwing monster from my Deck to my hand whose ATK is less than the summoned monster."
With that, the winds blew around Nick as a single card ejected itself, letting him reveal it as Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind (3/1300/400) before adding it and reshuffling both his hand and Deck.
"Now to make this two's company into three, I'm bringing out a special friend of mine, Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall (1/400/600) in Defense Mode."
A second portal opened, releasing a high-speed wind tunnel and a short, pear-shaped black bird with a green crest. The new arrival landed next to Nick's team with a flick of its long tail, then puffed out its bright red throat pouch in challenge.
"I didn't know blackbirds came in miniature," Erhard commented.
"Haven't you heard? Size isn't everything, especially since Oroshi is a Tuner Monster. So now, I tune together my level 1 Squall with level 3 Kalut and Gladius, in order to Synchro Summon my pal Blackwing Armor Master (7/2500/1500)!"
As he declared his intentions, all three of his monsters took into the air with Squall in the lead before he erupted into three black rings of energy, surrounding his companions before a pillar of light surrounded the two.
Metallic wings burst through the pillar, somehow blowing the light away to reveal the monster in full. Armor Master's face was hidden behind a silver beak-shaped helmet, with a red jewel in the center for visibility. Red lines decorated the chestplate and wings, while its hands and feet resembled bird talons.
"Really didn't expect this so soon…" the masked duelist muttered as the wind died down.
"Alright BM, show this dude what you got, destroy his Yamato with Black Hurricane!"
The warrior nodded and held his hands in front of him. A ball of black wind appeared in the space between them, steadily expanding and contracting. Once it reached a good-enough size, Armor Master gave it a final squeeze and then threw the miniature windstorm at his opponent like a shuriken.
However…
"Don't think it'll be that easy, I activate the effect of Bujingi Hare!" Erhard announced. "By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can protect my Yamato from being destroyed in battle. Doing so will also allow me to Special Summon Bujin Arasuda (4/1600/1900) to the field in Defense Mode."
Like before, a deep yellow glow appeared in the sky as the figure producing it landed next to Yamato.
A glowing humanoid figure clad in yellow armor knelt on the field, arms across the chest. Like Yamato, glowing spiraling lines ran along parts of the armor and iron bands marked the edges of the armor.
The arrival of the new beast didn't matter as Yamato became consumed by its enemy's attack, surviving as the banished monster's spirit appeared and surrounded him with a protective barrier.
Though even that wouldn't be enough.
A stray gust burst forward and hit Erhard, pushing him back slightly across the concrete.
Nick - 8000
Erhard - (8000 - 7300)
With that, things settled as Armor Master landed on the ground.
"Lucky for you," he remarked in a bit of an annoyed tone. "However, my pal isn't done yet. Since your monster survived his attack, I activate his second effect and place a Wedge Counter on Yamato."
Armor Master reached for something at his side, then pulled a small black shard from his wings and threw it at Yamato like a knife. The shard struck Yamato's armor, but rather than piercing or even breaking the metal, it simply vanished. Only the tip remained visible on the monster.
"That'll be relevant a little later, so I'll end my turn here."
His opponent let out a frustrated breath and shook his head before drawing.
"Congratulations, you've made this more difficult than it needed to be," Erhard remarked. "Now, I'm going to need to make a lot of complicated moves to make up for your stubbornness, and it starts with Normal Summoning Bujin Mikazuchi (4/1900/1500) to the field."
A deep blue light struck the ground on Yamato's left, quickly turning into a full suit of armor. Unlike its comrades, the new monster's helmet spikes faced forwards, somewhat resembling a classic hairstyle. Decorative spirals glowed the same color as its hands and eye slit.
"Don't get used to this view, it'll be changing in just a moment. Now, Mikazuchi and Arasuda will form the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon Bujintei Kagutsuchi (R4/2500/2000)!"
Each of the monsters placed their hands together in a different way before both transformed into yellow orbs of light, flying and swirling together before entering the galaxy that appeared.
With that, the eruption of light revealed Erhard's newest beast.
Before them stood what looked like an upgraded Mikazuchi. The armored figure now wielded a sword, clasped a shield and had four fiery wings coming from its back. While the armor was still blue, it now had several curved red spikes across the body. The glow from within was more intense, creating a visible heat haze over its armor.
"Kagutsuchi comes at a greater cost than just two Bujin monsters, however. Since he was XYZ summoned, I must now send the first five cards in my Deck to my graveyard."
With that, the masked Duelist pulled until five cards were out, turning them around to reveal Bujin Regalia - The Sword, Horn of the Phantom Beast, Bujincarnation, Bujingi Turtle (4/1700/1200), and Bujintersection. Each card only took a few seconds to enter his graveyard slot.
"Despite the loss of those cards, the additional effect more than makes up for it as he gains an extra 100 ATK points for each Bujin card that I sent."
Nick's eyes widened as he realized that four of those cards were just sent there.
Suddenly, the white flames of Kagutsuchi grew brighter as he let out a bellow.
Kagutsuchi - (2500 - 2900)
"Next, I'll Special Summon Bujin Hirume (4/2000/1000) by banishing my Bujingi Turtle I just sent to the graveyard."
An armored, ghostly orange turtle appeared on the field. The eye-shaped mirror in the center of its shell soon lit up yellow, then the ghost fully exploded into a beacon of light. Rather than the new monster descending, however, pieces of the ghost's armor solidified, then built themselves into a sleek, vaguely feminine figure around the beacon. Hirume nodded in greeting at Kagutsuchi, then at Armor Master.
"He wasn't kidding about the long turns," Nick muttered. Armor Master nodded in agreement.
"Now that I have another pair, it's time to bring out my second mighty beast. I re-form the Overlay Network with Yamato and Hirume to Xyz Summon Bujintei Susanowo (R4/2400/1600)!"
This time, as the two transformed into another set of yellow orbs, Yamato's wedge counter vanished, and the entire area began rumbling as electricity surged from the galaxy that appeared on the Field. When they reached the center, the galaxy exploded like a blown fuse, but Nick stood firm against the shockwaves. As the effects settled down he got a clearer look at the new monster.
The figure wore red and black armor with glowing red-orange swirls and wielding two swords. A pair of burning wings on its back, a pair of wings on the helmet and the monster seemed to hum with energy, like it could barely hold still, lightning sparking off of the armor only added to the impression.
"Now that he's out and about, I trigger his effect; By using one of his Overlay Units, I can add any Bujin Monster from my Deck either to my hand or toss it into the graveyard." Erhard continued.
Susanowo's orb entered into his body as he turned and shot a bolt of lightning at his master's Deck, causing a single card to eject as the masked Duelist grabbed it, turning it over to reveal Bujingi Quilin (4/1600/900).
He added the card to his hand before shuffling it.
"This isn't gonna go well," the Slifer muttered to himself, bracing for impact.
"Despite the long wait, all is ready," Erhard remarked with a sigh of relief before refocusing. "Now it's time to show you real power! Go Kagutsuchi, slay his Armor Master with Divine Flame Slash!"
At his command, the beast bellowed once more before drawing his blade from the mirror shield in his other hand, slashing down to let loose a torrent of flame aimed at BM.
The attack landed as Nick yelled from the heat of the flame.
However, after it died down, Erhard realized his opponent's monster was still there.
"Scheiße," the masked duelist swore under his breath.
"Looks like you forgot to look at his effect," Nick mocked. "Not only can he not be destroyed in battle, but I also don't take any damage as a result of it."
His opponent shrugged. "I can adapt. I'll end my turn here."
"Nice, my go," Nick added before drawing. "Now, since you have two powerhouses, it's only fair that I get to add another to my Field, so I start by Special Summoning Gale that's still in my hand."
Black wind blew once again, bringing with it a small purplish-black bird monster only a little bigger than Kalut. It was somewhat hard to tell, though, considering the oversized green feathers sticking out the sides of its head like a small pair of wings.
"Next, I'll Normal Summon Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn (4/1900/300) in Attack Mode."
Like Gale, a second black pillar of wind marked the arrival of the monster that blew it away with its mighty wings.
A scrawny humanoid crow monster, Kris held itself just off the ground, as though its wings were catching a thermal no one else felt. It held its namesake dagger in one clawed hand, and wore a simple red vest and loincloth with gold designs to match its beaked mask. A small patch of black feathers grew on each of its forearms like a long sleeve.
"Plus, don't forget, each time I bring out another of my Blackwings, Black Whirlwind lets me add another to the flock."
Wind surrounded Nick's hand as he grabbed the card that ejected out, revealing Blackwing - Pinaki the Waxing Moon (3/1200/1000) as he added it to his hand and shuffled it.
"Before I continue my turn however, we gotta take care of that flaming beast you have," he remarked. "So, thanks to Gale's effect, I can cut your monster's ATK and DEF in half."
Gale nodded and stared intently at where Kagutsuchi's eyes would be. Two red beams shot out and hit the helmet dead on. Kagutsuchi shouted in disbelief as its white flames shrank or went out entirely.
Kagutsuchi - (2900/2000 - 1450/1000)
"And now I tune together my level 4 Kris with my level 3 Gale in order to Synchro Summon Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower(7/2600/2000)!"
Gale took off with a final shriek, followed closely by Kris. The smaller bird exploded into three rings of black light surrounding Kris, and then into a jagged pillar with a thunderclap.
An armored bird-man strode out of the lightning bolt with a katana in hand. Curved bone-like spikes jutted from his shoulders and left arm. One wing was clearly part of the armor, all blades and purple metal, but the other was a normal black wing. The fact that only half of his torso was armored made him look even more like a cyborg, as did the bird-beaked helmet framing his face.
"Tch, another Synchro." Erhard sighed. "At least this one can pack some more punch."
"Oh, and there's one little fun thing about my new buddy, he can destroy as many cards on the Field as Blackwing monsters that aren't him at my command. Which means you're about to be minus one Susanowo!"
Raikiri thrust his sword into the air, shooting lightning from it. Moments later, a cloud above Susanowo crackled, loosing a much bigger bolt than Raikiri had summoned.
"Not so fast, little bird. I activate Kagutsuchi's effect," Erhard interrupted. "By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can protect any Bujin Beast-Warrior from being destroyed by card effect."
One of the orbs floating around Kagutsuchi flew right towards its ally, entering its body as the bolt hit but did nothing to it.
"Let's see how long that'll last. Go Raikiri, destroy his Kagutsuchi!"
The warrior gripped his blade and flew up to summon electricity once again, moving his weapon down to send it right towards the white flamed entity as it landed a direct hit.
Nick - 8000
Erhard - (7300 - 6150)
However…
"Oops. Did I forget to mention that Kagutsuchi's effect can also protect my Bujin from being destroyed by battle?" Erhard chuckled. "Silly me."
Indeed, his monster had engulfed another orb in some of its fire, burning away the last threads of Raikiri's electrical onslaught.
"Yeah, warn a guy next time you spend two overlay units in one turn," Nick responded in a joking manner. "But on the bright side, now your Susanowo is left defenseless."
Armor Master focused energy into its eye, releasing a powerful blast that pierced through his enemy's chest, causing an explosion as it hit his master's opponent.
Nick - 8000
Erhard - (6150 - 6050)
"Damn…" the Slifer student muttered. "Not much else I can do, so I'll end it here."
"Clever," Erhard admitted as he drew. "Let's see if we can't make this situation less… complicated.
"First, a Special Summon to a familiar face, Bujin Hirume," he continued as light glowed above. "And like before, she requires a banish from my grave."
Once he grabbed the card, the spirit of Yamato appeared before it flew upward, transforming the light into a brighter shade of yellow.
The familiar holy figure descended with a bow.
"Guessing she's not just here on a whim," Nick muttered to himself.
"Next, I'll bring out from my hand Bujingi Sinyou."
Instead of light shining from the sky, a purple wave of fire burst out of the ground, quickly coalescing into a vaguely equine form. Black and silver armor wrapped around its back and the sides of its neck. A barbed double-edged sword on its head gleamed with reflected firelight, as did its pointed golden hooves.
"And for the third time, I'll create the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon one of my favorites, Bujintei Tsukuyomi (R4/1800/2300) in Defense Mode!"
Once again, both newly summoned monsters transformed into yellow orbs of light, flying upward and entering the portal before an eruption of yellow flames shot up with the new monster exiting from it.
Yellow flames fanned out behind the figure, like a cape. The figure was clad in yellow armor akin to Bujin Arasuda. A silver helmet shone in the flickering light with two spikes jutting out of the forehead. It held a sword with a fiery wheel as the cross-guard in one hand and an orange shield with three spikes at the top in the other.
"Not exactly the best monster in terms of stats," his opponent remarked. "Though I'm sure its effect makes up for it."
"You are correct: By using one of its Overlay Units, I must now discard my whole hand, even if it's only one card, to my graveyard," he began while inserting his two cards into the slot. "Now that it's gone, I'm allowed to draw two new cards."
With that, Tsukuyomi drew its blade from the shield it held, allowing the gem in the center to glow and shine onto Erhard's deck for him to draw.
"Is that all it does? I think you gave more than you—"
"Who said I was done?" his opponent interrupted. "Now that I've sent a certain Bujingi monster to the grave, I can activate its effect: By banishing Quilin, I'm allowed to destroy any monster on the field, no questions asked.
"It's been fun, Armor Master. Tschüss."
From the ground, a small circle of light appeared as the monster manifested and transformed itself into a blade for Kagutsuchi to grab. Once he did, the gray flames burned onto the sword before he twirled it, sending it flying and piercing Armor Master's armor before it triggered an explosion.
Nick defended from the blast but knew that wasn't the end of it.
"Now, onto the Battle Phase. Kagutsuchi! Attack Raikiri with your Divine Flames!"
The monster quickly drew his weapon, dashing forward right towards the last monster left on his opponent's field.
"What?! Why would you throw away your monster? He's weaker than mine and you have no other cards to aid him," Nick pointed out.
"Ah, but you're mistaken," Erhard replied. "I do have someone to aid him, specifically the Sinyou I used as a catalyst earlier. If a Bujin Beast-Warrior monster of mine battles a monster of yours while Bujingi Sinyou is in the graveyard, I banish it and as a result, my monster gains Attack equal to yours."
As the masked duelist grabbed and put the card into his case, the flames on Kagutsuchi's sword and body briefly flared purple.
"I'm not just gonna lie down and take it," the Slifer student declared. "I activate Kalut's effect from my hand:By sending him directly to the graveyard, I can add 1400 ATK points to my Raikiri!"
After the card entered its respective slot, Kalut emerged in its spirit form, chirping before flying towards Raikiri and empowering him.
Raikiri (2600 - 4000)
The warriors' weapons collided with a resounding clang, each attempting to push the other off..
Unfortunately…
"Very nice move," Erhard commented. "A pity that the chain is working against you here. Your effect resolves first, sure, but that means my effect will take your monster's new ATK total instead. All you've done is deal yourself more damage in the process."
Nick's eyes widened in alarm as Raikiri's energy flowed through the swords into Kagutsuchi. 'Dammit, he's right, how did I forget that?!'
Kagutsuchi (1450 - 5450)
With one final push, the fire warrior-god diagonally bisected his enemy, causing a powerful explosion that knocked Nick off his feet and onto his back.
Nick - (8000 - 7275)
Erhard - (6050)
Its intense aura disappeared as he jumped back to his master's side.
Kagutsuchi (5450 - 1450)
"Be relieved that the boost only lasts for the Damage Step, and that you only took half of the intended damage," Erhard added condescendingly. "I'm sure we both have better things to do than hurl our monsters at each other. Shall we call it a draw?"
What he got was laughter mixed with groans as he got up, dusting himself off and grabbing his cards from the floor.
"Sorry if you're gonna miss your hair appointment," Nick replied. "But I ain't going down that easily, even if you're ahead of me by 1225 points. Where's the fun in that?"
All Erhard did was glare as his opponent drew.
"For now, I'll activate the spell Pot of Duality, allowing me to look at my top three cards and select one while the others get put back and my Deck reshuffled."
As he activated it, three cards ejected for him to grab and look over before revealing them to his opponent; Storming Mirror Force, Blackwing - Bora The Spear (4/1700/800), and Blackwing - Harmattan The Dust (2/800/800).
A moment or two of thought later, Nick chose the trap card to add to his hand, putting the other two back in to be reshuffled.
"I'll simply set this facedown and call it a turn," he remarked as the card appeared on the Field.
"Are you trying to scare me with that transparent play?" Erhard mocked as he drew a card.
"I'll start this turn by switching Tsukiyomi from Defense Mode to Attack Mode," he continued in the same condescending tone. "Next, I'll activate Bujin Regalia - The Sword, which allows me to take one of my Banished Bujin monsters and return it to the graveyard."
As the trap appeared, Kagutsuchi's own sword briefly shone purple, and a single card fell into his hand. The fire god presented it to Erhard, who in turn showed his opponent Bujingi Sinyou.
With that, he inserted it into the graveyard slot.
"It's time to show you the full extent of my power! Go Tsukiyomi, attack him directly with Moonblast!"
The monster focused as it took flight, pointing its sword upward and slowly moving it in a perfect circle. With that, a powerful beam of energy fired towards Nick.
"Oh no you don't! I activate my Storming Mirror Force!"
Swirling wind suddenly appeared in a spiral, blocking the attack and absorbing it before releasing it as a wave of energy that hit both of them, causing said monsters to disappear from the field as Erhard placed them into his Extra Deck compartment.
"So much for your full power—"
"Ah-ah-ah," Erhard interrupted. "I saw that card on my previous turn, remember? I'm prepared for your counterattack, thanks to Tsukiyomi's second effect. Since it was removed from the field by the effect of your card, I can special summon an amount of Level 4 Beast-Warrior Bujin monsters from my graveyard equal to the number of Overlay Units that was attached to it. Which was just one, but she'll be more than enough.
"Welcome back to the field, Bujin Hirume!"
A portal appeared on the clear field as his light monster stepped through, releasing a shockwave that Nick felt.
"Now, let's give him a proper lesson, shall we?"
His monster nodded, just once. Then she moved, and the next thing Nick knew a solid piece of metal slammed into his gut. He dropped to his knees with a ragged gasp as the punch forced air out of his lungs.
Nick - (7275 - 5275)
Erhard - (6050)
"Now, let's see what your flock can do." Erhard laughed as his opponent coughed, trying to take air into his lungs.
Luckily, Armor Master appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder, allowing Nick to calm down and finally take a breath. A few seconds of deep breathing later and he got back on his feet albeit with a bit of a struggle.
"Damn, that was tense," he remarked as his opponent chuckled. "Though you're gonna have to try way harder to knock me down."
With that, his draw came up as he looked at the two cards in hand and decided to make a play.
"First, I'll summon my Blackwing Pinaki to join me in Attack Mode."
Once again, another gust of wind blew up as from it, the familiar winged monster flew and landed on the ground safely.
A black feathered bird with hands at the ends of its wings and pointed feathery ears on either side of its head. It wore a white turban, gold hoops in the ears and a blue vest. In the turban were two red fletched arrows tucked into the wrap on the side and a singular black feather sticking out of the top. It clutched a shortbow in one hand and a third red fletched arrow in its other hand. Green eyes leered out from under the turban and a cocky smirk played across the beak.
"Plus, with my spell still out, I can now add another Blackwing less than Pinaki's attack points," he added with a single card ejecting for him to grab. "Now I Special Summon another one you saw last turn, Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust (2/800/800) in Defense Mode!"
This time, instead of a burst of wind, a small dust devil whipped itself into existence next to Pinaki. A long-legged bird with several purple-red orbs circling the base of its neck like a collar stepped forth. It spread its wings in a graceful bow, showing off the red tip of its tail and the metal cuffs where ankles would be on a humanoid.
"How can you keep summoning all these featherballs?" Erhard asked.
"Depends on which featherball you mean. I could bring out Harmattan with no trouble since Pinaki's already in play. Thing is, when he's Normal or Special Summoned to the Field, I can pick any Blackwing monster and add their level to his own. In this case, Pinaki being a level 3 means Harmattan changes to a level 5 monster."
The monster shrieked loudly as three beads lit up red.
Harmattan the Dust - (2/800/800 - 5/800/800)
"And now with a Tuner and regular monster, I can Synchro Su—"
Nick noticed the Extra Deck icon was outlined in red light instead of blue, and the words died partway out of his mouth. Pressing it only confirmed his suspicions: He didn't have the right monsters for a level 8 Blackwing Synchro, the only kind Pinaki could be tuned for.
"Oh, did someone miscalculate?" his opponent mocked. "One should always remember what they have available in their Extra Deck."
"Even If I can't do it, at least I'm not completely defenseless," he replied. "I'll end my turn."
"Good." Erhard smiled as he drew. "Let's start by placing two cards face down."
The two cards materialized on the field in front of Erhard.
"Next, I summon Bujin Torifune (4/1500/500) in Attack Mode," he continued as the monster landed from the sky next to Hirume.
A luminous white, humanoid form clad in gold and silver armor now stood on the field. A pair of wings shedding rainbow colored light that flickered like flames. The helmet and greaves came to sharp points while the rest of the figure and its armor were rounded and curved, though several spikes hung in the wings, somewhat obscured by the rainbow fire.
"But don't get used to the sight of him like this, as I activate his effect. By Tributing Torifune, I can Special Summon two Bujin monsters to the field in Defense Mode, though they do have to be of different types," Erhard explained. "So, let's bring back Bujin Mikazuchi and welcome Bujingi Fox (4/200/2100) to the field."
Torifune broke a spike off one of its wings and drew two complex symbols in the air with it. Matching portals (one blue and one reddish) opened under the symbols, and a glowing yellow fox spirit leaped through the red one onto the field. As Mikazuchi climbed out of his own portal, the fox's symbol glowed and turned into a few pieces of dark orange armor.
With its work done, Torifune disappeared as Erhard inserted the card into the graveyard.
"Now, all three of these monsters I have assembled will build the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon one of my strongest monsters. Come forth into the world, Bujinki Amaterasu (R4/2600/2500)!"
With that, the monsters transformed into yellow orbs of light, entering the galaxy portal that emerged as the newest monster descended, landing on the field gracefully.
It had a more feminine form and wore imposing and regal black armor. Purple-blue flame covered the legs, falling from the waist like a long skirt as well as across the lower part of the face like a mask or veil. Armor covered the arms and hung low from the wrist like long sleeves and in one hand it grasped a long, spiked sword.
"Impressive…" Nick remarked.
"That's not all, due to me having done an Xyz Summon with Torifune in my grave, I can equip it to her."
Its spirit soon emerged before flying towards Amaterasu, entering her body as she gained a yellow highlight on her armor.
"Now, cut down Pinaki with your Eclipse Slash!"
The warrior drew her weapon as the mixture of black and white focused into the sword, causing her to gain Torifune's wings and letting her fly forward in a dash.
"I'm not going to let up this time either! Thanks once again to Sinyou's effect, I add the attack points of the monster she's attacking to her own, dealing much more damage than before!"
Her monster's spirit emerged as it quickly moved forward and merged with her blade, giving it a bright purple hue before it reached Pinaki and pierced its body, resulting in a powerful explosion.
Amaterasu (2600 - 3800)
Nick - (5275 - 3975)
Erhard - (6050)
Once again, the attack managed to bring Nick to his knees, only now he was panting a bit more than before. He didn't get up just yet however as his attention turned back to his enemy.
"Oh, and as a little bonus," Erhard mentioned, chuckling as the dust settled. "Any monster destroyed by a monster equipped with Torifune is Banished rather than sent to the Graveyard."
Amaterasu released a small black flame near Pinaki's soul, which promptly burned to ash as his card reentered Nick's deck case.
Huh, we've set up a great table for Nick to turn on us, haven't we? Don't worry, folks, this won't be the dreaded asspull victory. No way are we ending this arc on that kind of note. If you're a returning follower or new, hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you continue to follow us.
Apologizes for the miss on February, things got in the way.
Translations
Tschüss - casual farewell; "Bye!" or "Later!"
Scheiße - "shit"