Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: The Six Dimensions

by BlaiseCandell

Before the invasion of the Xyz Dimension, scans done by the Fusion Dimension reveal two more dimensions. The Ritual Dimension, and the Link Dimension. Within those two dimensions, Chiaki, Yuji, Miharu and Yuno have their lives turned upside down, and are tossed into a vicious war. Also, why are there five people with the same faces as them? (M for discussions of trauma.)

95. The Diamond and the Heel

Starting Notes:

Welcome back! This chapter's... pretty lengthy, haha. Let's get to it. I think... well, it might be a bit controversial, but it's definitely an interesting set of matchups, shall we say.

---

Chapter 95: The Diamond and the Heel

One year ago:

The room was filled with people, they were all talking, and it was all too loud. Way, way, way too loud—

Sachi buried her head in her brown jacket, pressing it around her ears. Loud, loud, loud, she wanted everyone to shut up, she wanted to hide, she didn't want to be here—

Hands gently lifted up the jacket, pressing around her ears in cups to block off the sound. Sachi felt someone guide her up, before they headed out of the room. She squeezed her eyes tight, hiding herself behind the shield of the jacket. Fingers tapped on the side of her head in a steady, reassuring rhythm.

After a while, she finally lowered the jacket, breathing normally.

Nue looked at her. "Are you okay?" She said.

Sachi turned away, biting her lip.

"... Sa-chan," Nue said. She tapped her fingers on the side of the concrete. The affectionate nickname made Sachi wince, though not because she disliked it, but because it still sounded entirely too casual coming from her cousin's ex-girlfriend, and because Sachi still felt entirely too comfortable with her. "You're obviously upset."

"So what? You don't have to pretend that you care about me anymore!" Sachi lashed out, before she curled back into herself.

"... you know that I still do," Nue said, entirely too calm for the situation—she should be screaming, she should be shouting! Sachi wanted to shout!

… when people made her mad or tried to hurt her or were too noisy, she just wanted to shout…

"I know you're upset, Sachi," Nue said. "And I'm going to leave you alone if you want me to—but you can't just hurt people even if you're upset."

She knew. She knew, but her brain was just shouting over and over…

"Do you want me to go?"

"… no." Sachi wrapped her arms around herself. "Sorry. Please stay… Nue-onee-san."

Nue nodded. She stayed.

Sachi's heartbeat was thudding in her ears, but it slowly went back to normal. There were a few more moments when the stress overwhelmed her and she had to kick out her legs a bit, but she finally settled, for all that she couldn't keep still.

(Dad would get so mad.)

"… I know noisy places stress you out," Nue said. "Maybe bring headphones with you when you go around?"

"… dad says I have to get used to it," Sachi said.

"… well, your dad's wrong." Nue glanced away. "... I know he technically raised you, but your uncle isn't that good of a person."

"You say that, but Tatsuya says that it's easier for me if I'm normal too…" And she tried so hard, but she couldn't help it. If there was some way to make her body not shake and fix her brain, she wished she knew… everyone said she was smart, but she was always so angry all the time.

Nue sighed. "Of course he'd say that," she said, and Sachi heard a flash of anger in her voice. "As long as you don't inconvenience him, he'll justify anything."

"… Nue-onee-san?"

"Look, Sachi." Nue raised a hand, before stopping—she stayed still for a moment, before leaning back. "That's just… how our brains are. Exposing yourself to the things that upset you… obviously, you can't always avoid them. But exposing yourself to the things that freak you out… it doesn't make them freak you out any less in the future. Why put yourself through so much pain for no reason?"

Sachi curled up slightly again.

Maybe… maybe Nue might understand…

But…

"I can't be on your side," Sachi said, her voice weak. "Tatsuya's… the only one…"

Tatsuya's the only one who I can trust.

"... you don't need to be," Nue said. She reached out, gently patting the top of Sachi's head. "You can hate me all you like. When you get older… maybe I can tell you what happened. Maybe then, you can think more about it… but you can hate me for now."

"... okay. Thanks, Nue-onee-san."

---

Once Sachi went back in, Nue leaned back, staring at the sky.

"Fucked up, huh?" She heard Rui say from behind her. The orange-haired boy sat down next to her—Nue had known that he was eavesdropping from nearby, but she hadn't felt the need to call him out.

"I want to drown the mayor in the harbour," Nue said.

"True. Both his kids are pretty fucked up, and that's coming from me!" Rui rolled his eyes—for a brief moment, he looked like he might laugh. He held it in though, which was good. "You know… I wonder if Tatsuya actually does care about her."

"... that much, I don't know." Nue pressed her hands against the wall behind her, tension in every part of her figure. "... it's none of my business now, anyway."

"Depressing to hear that from you, prophet."

Nue rolled her eyes. It was one of those nicknames that Rui thought was unbelievably funny. Kamisoka—kami, souka. Kami, or 'god', and a sound that was synonymous with 'I see', or 'is that so'—an expression of understanding. Thus, he'd joked, her last name could literally be seen as 'god, I understand'. How that had led to the 'prophet' nickname, she'd never know, but she'd gotten used to it now—those leaps of logic that were symbolic of Rui Shingetsu. "I haven't been feeling up to laughter lately, Rui. Leave it be."

"Well that's no good, is it?" His inflections were deliberately dramatic. "Others can be miserable, who cares. Some people though, Rui Shingetsu will destroy everything for them. I'll throw Tatsuya off a cliff, how's that?"

"Oh, don't. It's not like I want him to fall so far." The tension in her figure, however, betrayed the lie. "… thanks, Rui."

"Pfftt, Vector always comes through! Just you wait. How about you come over? I'll show you the new contraption I made! I think this one can break everyone's fingers if I put them there! Ooh, maybe I can throw some ketchup there to make it look real too—"

"Alright, maybe cut back on that—"

---

In the present:

When reports came in that a fire had been started near Heartland Tower, Tsubaki was unsurprised that both Hisako and Kaede came to look for her first.

"It's not me," she said as they headed up. "Heartland Tower, huh… you said that the group of three from Ritual was heading there, Kaede. So it's likely them."

"... for investigation, that girl said," Kaede said. He rolled his eyes. "I suppose they meant incineration." He glanced at her. "... by the way, Yuto snuck out too, with some of the other Lancers."

"Unsurprising. We saw what he was like when he thought that Ruri had been carded—of course he's not going to sit still." It was the reason why Tsubaki had asked certain members of the Resistance to keep an eye on Yuto and Shun, though it seemed to be unnecessary in the latter's case—he'd barely left Nue's side at all since the incident.

"... Tsubaki," Kaede said. "Why did you tell me not to stop Yuto before he left?"

Tsubaki glanced at him—brown eyes met blue, before she shrugged. Hisako and Mariko had perhaps always caught the meaning of her actions more easily than Kaede—it was a difference in mindset, in a sense. "Thinking ahead," she said. "If we stop him, he'll just sneak out again, and he'll just resent us for having stopped him in the first place. This way, instead of having to change his mind ourselves…"

Hisako nodded—she'd been there when Tsubaki had been thinking about it. "Rui Shingetsu and Tatsuya Izumi will teach them that lesson for us," she said, with a smile that was entirely too serene for the words that she was saying. "Still…"

"Right." Tsubaki rose up. "Hisako, you should stay in the base. Kaede, we should go."

"... right."

---

They were around three streets down from Diamond Branch when the trouble that they were looking for came to them instead. Namely, in the form of a single figure that was standing in the street—ominously holding onto a single umbrella, despite the fact that it wasn't raining. She was wearing a red, ruffled skirt and a dark blouse with frills on the ends—in her hair was a bright gold comb that Yuto knew for a fact cost far more than a person's average monthly salary. Her red eyes carried an unreadable look.

… then again, from what Yuto knew, there was always too much going on in her head.

"Who's that?" Serena asked, turning to Yuto.

"... Izumi-san," Yuto greeted cautiously. He couldn't treat her with the same anger that he felt towards her cousin—well, cousin-brother, the relationship between her and Tatsuya fucking Izumi was way too complicated and probably needed a diagram. Still, she was her own person, and she'd never really done anything wrong.

"... Yuto," Sachi said, tilting her head. "... be careful. There's barbed wire all around the roads here."

Yuto glanced down towards the ground—now that he was looking carefully at the road ahead, he could see that there was some shimmering metal trailing across the ground.

Barbed wire… obviously, Diamond Branch had put it down themselves to stop people from approaching.

"I want to talk to your cousin," Yuto said, narrowing his eyes.

"No," Sachi said. "... I don't think so."

"He hurt Nue," Yuto repeated—and it had only taken a moment, but there was that thrumming feeling of anger again. "I'm not asking, Izumi-san, I'm going to talk to him right now, whether you like it or not."

"You can try," Sachi returned, toneless. "Rui-nii trapped all the roads up ahead, along with the school itself. If you don't know the route, you'll lose an arm or leg."

Sawatari, who had been about to take a step forward dramatically, quickly withdrew his foot.

"I don't care," Yuto said sharply. "I'm going through."

"What, so that you can kill Tatsuya the way that your sister killed Ryoma?" Yuto's eyes widened at the venomous words—Sachi took another step forward, and for a moment, her presence was intimidating. "That's not going to happen!"

"Nue wouldn't—"

"But she did!" Sachi clenched her fists. "Tatsuya wouldn't lie to me!"

… what exactly had happened on the roof of that building before Shun had gotten there? If only they knew…

But Yuto knew one thing.

"I know my sister better than you," he said, "so don't tell me what she would do—"

"Do you?" Sachi demanded—a shout that sucked all the air from Yuto's lungs and rendered him speechless. "Or do you only know what she shows you? Because I know she's scared of herself, and there's probably a good reason for that!"

Yuto was going to yell back, but—

"Sachi's autistic, Yuto. Even if her 'dad' won't let anyone acknowledge it… if the situation escalates too much, you'll stress her out so much that you won't win the argument anyway. Keep a cool head and rephrase what you're saying, if it's not getting through."

He took a deep breath.

… he had never been good with words, but there was one other way to rephrase what he was saying.

"We're not getting anywhere," he said. He raised his duel disk. "Does this work for you?"

"… that's fine." Sachi raised her duel disk too. "I might as well avenge Ryoma."

Serena shoved Yuto's shoulder. "You want to duel the leader, right? No point tiring yourself out. Leave it to me."

"No," Ruri spoke up unexpectedly. "I'll… take that duel."

Sawatari shuffled his feet behind them.

"No," Yuto objected. "The opponent that she wants is me—"

And then, a voice interrupted all of them.

"Nah. Now it's getting interesting."

Yuto glanced over towards the right. Jumping over a part of the curb and moving over, a single dark-haired figure emerged, grinning widely. Meanwhile, behind him, a tall and well-built man also followed.

"… Alito. Girag-san." Yuto narrowed his eyes. "So you survived to hurt other people along with Diamond Branch, huh…"

Alito Kiraku folded his arms. "Yo, Yuto." He smirked. "This is getting interesting. You're the Lancers or something like that, right? Finally, people that we can duel seriously!"

"If you insist on fighting us, Yuto," Souhachi "Girag" Kiraku said, "then we'll simply crush you as we have the rest." There was no trace of the friendly, if overly arrogant teacher that he'd once been—just hostility.

"He actually uses 'ore-sama'?" Sawatari scoffed. "I—"

"So do you." Serena cuffed him across the back of the neck. "If anything, that just means he's as full of himself as you are!"

Ruri and Yuto exchanged a look. "That's three and four," Ruri pointed out the obvious. "In that case…"

"I want to take on the loudmouth," Girag declared, gesturing towards Sawatari.

"Hah! Nice, no need to argue then!" Alito gestured forward. "I already know what Yuto and Ruri's decks do, so I want something new! Come on, girl with Ruri's face, let's go a round!"

Serena narrowed her eyes, ticked off. "The name's Serena," she said. "Fine."

In that case…

"I'll take you on, Izumi-san," Yuto began to say—only for a hand to grip onto the back of his shirt, lifting him up by the collar. He heard the rest of the Lancers let out gasps—no one had noticed the newcomer approaching. The person shoved him forward slightly.

Yuto whirled his head around.

Rui "Vector" Shingetsu watched him, a wide smirk on his face. "Aren't you getting a little carried away there, mini-prophet?" He said. He grinned, raising a peace sign—it would look goofy on anyone else, but on him there was something not quite right to it. "Tada, Vector's here! Can't start the party without me!"

"... Rui-nii," Sachi murmured.

Yuto got back up, staring at him.

"Why don't you have fun with Ruri, Sachi?" Vector said, deceptively bright. "Let me handle this one."

Sachi stared at him, before glancing away. "... do what you want, Rui-nii."

"Thaaaanks! You're the best, Sachi." Vector reached out a hand towards Yuto. "Now, mini-prophet, let's back off a bit, shall we?"

Yuto narrowed his eyes.

Rui Shingetsu. Nue greatly respected him, from what Yuto knew—in fact, the two of them had supposedly met before they'd even come to Diamond Branch, though Yuto had no clue how they'd met in the first place. A rather competent duelist, though he was also someone that absolutely never talked about his past under any circumstances, for all that he would happily spill details about the family that he lived with right now.

The Five of Diamonds. (Rumour had it that he'd already beaten Thomas Arclight, but that for the sake of nicknames, he and Thomas had agreed to stay in their current positions until Thomas graduated—the middle Arclight brother had always been unnaturally attached to 'IV' as a nickname, for reasons that Yuto didn't understand.)

Still…

Yuto knew practically nothing about Vector…

"He's a little like me. We're all trying to survive."

"Don't call me that," Yuto said. "Sure. I'll duel you."

Vector grinned. "With that," he said, spreading his arms out—as though to envelop them all, "aren't the matchups settled? We've been awaiting you!"

Yuto narrowed his eyes.

They all separated just enough so that they wouldn't affect each other's duels—Yuto backed away from Diamond Branch slightly, as Vector put himself between Yuto and the path. The orange-haired boy was still grinning.

"You—" Yuto glared at him. "You know what Tatsuya—"

"No," Vector said, deceptively cheerful. "Of course not! And you'd better not tell me! All these secrets, all these dumb things, all these connections… it's hard to keep this calm and handsome, you know." He raised his duel disk. "You've sure got yourself in trouble, mini-prophet."

"You don't get to use your nickname for my sister on me, when you've betrayed the entire Resistance!" Yuto snapped. "If you can smile like that, after all you've done…"

"And what does Yuto Kamisoka have to say about what we've done, when he's suffered no consequences for it?" Vector smirked. "Let's not even pretend. Are you only good at getting mad for the sake of others?"

"You—" Yuto stopped. "You're trying to get into my head."

"No shit, genius." Vector raised his duel disk. "Come on then. I'll teach you just how stupidly, absurdly foolish you were to come here!"

And with that, his grin widened to something terribly, impossibly deranged.

"I won't hold back, mini-prophet! Let's see if you break as easily as I think you will!"

---

… this guy was really far more stuck up than Sawatari himself, and Sawatari had no clue how to react to it.

The guy that Yuto had called Girag looked at him, and then snorted. "You have the eyes of scared prey," he said. "You'll be no threat at all—I've dealt with far too many like you. What's your name, Lancer?"

"Shingo Sawatari!" Sawatari gestured forward. "And you?"

"... Souhachi Kiraku. Girag is fine." Girag raised his duel disk. "It'll be the name that you know me by when I crush you!"

"As if! I'm the one that's going to win!"

[DUEL!]

Souhachi Kiraku: 4000LP

Shingo Sawatari: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Girag] [H:5]

"Hah! Even Lady Luck prefers me!" Girag picked up the card with a smirk. "I'll Normal Summon Bujin Torifune!" A warrior with a body that was entirely white appeared, shining with holy light—golden armour surrounded most of his body, including his bright white wings.

[Bujin Torifune (4*/1500/500/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Torifune's effect. By tributing it, I can Special Summon two "Bujin" monsters of different Types from my deck in Defense Position! So one becomes two—come, Bujin Yamato and Bujingi Sinyou!" In front of him, two monsters appeared—one a warrior made of bronze metal that resembled an automaton, light emerging through cracks in the metal. The other was a purple, equine monster, wearing dark armour—there was something corrupted-looking to its appearance. A long sword was attached to the top of its head as it waved its own head around—its entire body looked like it was constructed from writhing purple flames.

[Bujin Yamato (4*/1800/200/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

[Bujingi Sinyou (4*/1500/1000/LIGHT/Beast/Effect)]

"I'll then send a "Bujin" card from my hand to the graveyard—come from my hand, Bujin Mahitotsu!" A red and silver, similarly mechanical-looking warrior appeared, pink streaks of light overlaid on its metallic body.

[Bujin Mahitotsu (4*/0/1800/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Then, I'll banish Bujingi Ibis from my graveyard and Special Summon Bujin Hirume from my hand!" Another bright warrior in white and gold appeared, standing to the left of Mahitotsu. It was generally more feminine in appearance than the rest of the monsters. "And with the effect of Bujin Arasuda, since a "Bujin" card was banished, I can Special Summon it from my hand in Defense Position!" This monster was a darker yellow, though it still carried the same silver highlights as the rest of the monsters.

[Bujin Hirume (4*/2000/1000/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

[Bujin Arasuda (4*/1600/1900/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

Still… he had five monsters on the field, but no cards left in hand! What was he trying to pull?

"Overlay the Level 4 Hirume and Arasuda!" Girag grinned. "Powerful warrior with blades of sacred fire! Descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! The powerful, one and only Bujintei Kagutsuchi!" A tall warrior dressed in grey-black armour appeared on the field, raising a bright, blazing sword in the air. Long wings formed behind it in a cross, and they lifted the warrior in the air as he raised the sword.

… Sawatari wasn't going to lie! It was pretty cool. Still, he couldn't exactly say that.

[Bujintei Kagutsuchi (R4/2500/2000/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"My monsters are the honourable gods of the beasts and skies!" Girag announced loudly. "Tremble and fall before their power! Kagutsuchi's effect! When Xyz Summoned, I'll send five cards from the top of the deck to the graveyard, and Kagutsuchi gains 100 attack points for each!"

Sawatari's eyes widened. "You're setting up your graveyard with five cards?"

The monster with dark armour glowed with the same blue light, even as the cards fell into the graveyard. Girag looked at them and smirked again.

"Very good! You're doomed with this!"

[Bujintei Kagutsuchi: 2500 + 100 x 5 = 3000ATK]

Sawatari blinked.

How was… that supposed to do anything? Attack points weren't everything…

"I'll then overlay the Level 4 Sinyou and Mahitotsu! Join the fray now, another of my mighty warriors, and crush this man to dust! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Bujintei Susanowo!" A tall warrior holding onto an enormous sword appeared, smashing it down onto the ground. He had red armour with golden swirls around it. Behind him, wings that resembled those of a bird's appeared, bright yellow-orange in colour, flickering like flames.

[Bujintei Susanowo (R4/2400/1600/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Susanowo's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit and add a "Bujin" monster from my deck to my hand!" Girag smirked. "I end my turn. Yamato's effect. During the End Phase, I will add a "Bujin" monster from my deck to my hand and send a card from my hand to the graveyard! It's your move, Shingo Sawatari—"

He paused.

"Sawatari…" He raised a finger, tapping the side of his face. "I feel like that name was important, for some reason… something that Tatsuya said earlier today…" He shook his head. "Probably not important! Over to you, loudmouth."

"You're one to talk!" Sawatari reached out for the top of his deck. "You're even louder than I am—and anyway, there's only room for one hero on this stage! Let's get going!"

[Turn 2: Sawatari] [H:6]

"Draw!" Sawatari revealed a card in his hand. "Activating the Spell Card, Abyss Actors' Dress Rehearsal! I'll add a "Abyss Actor" card and a "Abyss Script" card from my deck to my hand!" He picked up both cards. "I'll set the Scale 7 Abyss Actor - Curtain Raiser in the Pendulum Scale!" The pillar of light shot up next to him. "And then—he's going to take the centre role, as he should! Since I control no monsters, once per Duel, I can Special Summon him from the Pendulum Zone!" The thin purple fiend appeared on the field, wearing a large red and yellow tarp over his head.

[Abyss Actor - Curtain Raiser (4*/S7/1100/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]

"I'll then open the circuit of dark shining stars! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are one "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster! I will set Abyss Actor - Curtain Raiser in the Link Markers! Come forth now and streamline the path forward! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Abyss Actor - Hyper Director!" In front of him, his Link 1 monster appeared, ready for battle.

[Abyss Actor - Hyper Director (L1/800/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect/↓)]

"Huh. You can actually use Link Summoning… and that weird other summoning method." Girag snorted. "Looks like you aren't a complete bore after all. Your monsters, however, are a bit too fitting…"

"What do you mean?" Sawatari narrowed his eyes. "My actors are absolutely perfect!"

"As if! If we speak about perfection, it comes from serious fighting and combat! Your monsters, on the other hand, are just pretenders!"

"I'll show you what this underworld troupe can do! I'll set Abyss Actor - Liberty Dramatist in my Pendulum Zone—and with the effect of Hyper Director, I will Special Summon Liberty Dramatist from my Pendulum Zone!" A woman with yellow-green hair appeared, wearing a pink polka-dotted dress and a red western-style hat. A brown cloak could be seen around her shoulders. White sheets of paper floated around her, scattered in the wind.

[Abyss Actor - Liberty Dramatist (4*/S8/1500/1500/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]

"Then, I can set another "Abyss Actor" monster from my deck or face-up in my Extra Deck in the Pendulum Zone, but I can't Special Summon monsters this turn, other than my awesome Abyss Actors!" Sawatari slammed the card down. "Setting the Scale 0 Abyss Actor - Mellow Madonna in the Pendulum Zone!" The colourful woman appeared on the field, floating in the pillar of blue light. "And then, Liberty Dramatist's effect! Since it was Special Summoned from the Pendulum Zone, I can reveal three "Abyss Script" Spells from my deck, and you choose one for me to set to my field, but it's destroyed during the End Phase! I'll reveal Abyss Script - Dramatic Story! Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony! Abyss Script - Rise of the Abyss King!" The three cards spun around in front of him.

"Hah! Take whatever you want!" Girag gestured forward. "I'll choose the one on the left!"

Sawatari shuffled the other two cards back into the deck, before a single set card appeared in his backrow.

That would do.

"Open again, circuit! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two monsters, including a Fiend monster! I will set Abyss Actor - Hyper Director and Abyss Actor - Liberty Dramatist in the Link Markers! Smug and organised, all the props and actors bend before your will! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Abyss Actor - Super Producer!" The orange-haired man reappeared on the field, smirking widely.

[Abyss Actor - Super Producer (L2/1600/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]

"I'll then use my Mellow Madonna's effect! I'll pay 1000 life points and add a "Abyss Actor" monster from my deck to my hand—but I can only summon "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monsters this turn!"

Sawatari: 3200 - 1000 = 2200LP

He picked up a card, revealing it. "I'll set the Scale 2 Abyss Actor - Wild Hope in my Pendulum Scale!" The cowboy rose up.

"But the only Level between those two Scales is Level 1," Girag said, rolling his eyes. "Or did you get so intimidated by me that you lost your ability to read?"

"Hah." Sawatari gestured forward. "The Great Sawatari isn't intimidated by anyone!"

That's not true. Not after you saw what happened to Tsukikage and Sora.

He shook off the thought. "Wild Hope's effect!" He declared. "Mellow Madonna's Pendulum Scale becomes 9 until the end of this turn!" Both Pendulum Scales. "With my current Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 3 to Level 8! Let's go full throttle from the start! Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck! Abyss Actor - Liberty Dramatist! Abyss Actor - Curtain Raiser! And from my hand, come! Abyss Actor - Superstar! Abyss Actor - Evil Heel!"

The two monsters from earlier reappeared on the field. Meanwhile, two of Sawatari's strongest monsters appeared on the field—the colourful, extravagant Superstar and the purple, monstrous demon of Evil Heel.

[Abyss Actor - Superstar (7*/S3/2500/1800/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]

[Abyss Actor - Evil Heel (8*/S1/3000/2000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]

"Evil Heel's effect! I'll target your stronger Xyz Monster! Its attack points decrease by 1000 for each "Abyss Actor" monster I control until the End Phase!" Sawatari held out an open palm, splaying out his fingers. "I control five! So your Kagutsuchi can forget about having any attack points at all! Drain it all!" Evil Heel held out his hands, surrounding the monster with an ominous aura.

"Bujingi Turtle's effect!" Girag declared. "I'll banish it from the graveyard to negate a targeting effect!"

But that was a monster effect, right…?

"Not so fast!" Sawatari gestured forward. "Super Producer's effect! I'll destroy my Wild Hope in the Pendulum Zone!"

"You're relying too much on the fact that your monsters can come back from the Extra Deck. Card advantage, Shingo."

"So…"

"I think you should focus on these four." Mion tapped Super Producer, Superstar, Wild Hope and Mellow Madonna. "You're doing a good job by getting Super Producer out the moment that you can, and before you use Mellow Madonna's effect. But I think that if possible, you should wait before you use Super Producer's effect."

"Huh? But isn't it better to get Fantastic Theater out earlier?"

"But Super Producer's effect is a Quick Effect. In essence, if you time it well, it becomes an effect similar to that of my Jackal King—you can chain it to an opponent's monster effect and flat-out force them to destroy your backrow or to have their effect resolve without… well, effect." Mion shrugged. "You make use of whatever negates you have, anyway. I think that'll help you a lot with dealing with trickier opponents—you need to know how to trick them too. So, if you use Mellow Madonna to get Wild Hope, and then destroy it with Super Producer… you essentially lose nothing."

"I'll activate my Field Spell, Abyss Playhouse - Fantastic Theater directly from the deck!" Sawatari gestured forward. "And while I control Fantastic Theater, the world is my stage! In the presence of a Pendulum Summoned Abyss Actor monster, the first monster effect you activate each turn is changed to 'destroy a set card the opponent controls'! So destroy my set card now!"

The orange glow that had been surrounding Evil Heel vanished, redirected to his set card—and it exploded.

"You destroyed Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony! So I'll draw until I have five cards in hand!" He drew the cards, before grimacing. None of them were cards that would help him break the current field…

So he'd have to search for something that would. Of course, Kagutsuchi's attack points now fell.

[Bujintei Kagutsuchi: 3000 - 1000 x 5 = 0ATK]

"Wild Hope lets me add an "Abyss Actor" card from my deck to my hand. Superstar's effect! I'll add Abyss Script - Rise of the Abyss King from my deck to my hand!" Sawatari revealed it. "And for each "Abyss Actor" monster in Attack Position that I control, I can destroy a face-up card on the field! I'll destroy your three monsters!"

"When you would destroy a Beast-Warrior monster—or multiple of them, I can detach an Overlay Unit from Kagutsuchi to protect one of them from that effect! I'll choose to protect Susanowo."

[Bujintei Kagutsuchi: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

Oh…

"I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Abyss Prop - Wild Wagon! The first time each of my monsters would be destroyed by battle, they're not destroyed! Now, Abyss Actor - Evil Heel attacks Bujintei Susanowo!"

"You want to get rid of my monster?" Girag grinned. "What a pity! I'll send Bujingi Crow from my hand to the graveyard, negate the attack and inflict damage to you equal to the attack points of your monster!"

"What?" Sawatari exclaimed. Bright blue flames, similar to those of Kagutsuchi's, flew forward, forming the shape of a fist and smacking into his chest, shoving him back.

Sawatari: 4000 - 3000 = 1000LP

"But… Superstar!" His favourite monster leapt forward, aiming directly for the warrior.

"Your monster's protected by your Wild Wagon, but mine's protected too! I'll banish Bujingi Hare from the graveyard, and my monster won't be destroyed this turn!"

The two monsters clashed, but neither one was destroyed.

"And none of your other monsters have enough attack points to trade for Susanowo, don't they?"

Sawatari narrowed his eyes. "... I'll set a card and end my turn," he muttered.

"Hah, see?" Girag grinned. "Your life points mean nothing to me—I'll end things on my next turn!"

… he's kind of dangerous. All his monsters must have graveyard effects, like Yuto's…

Sawatari grimaced.

But he wasn't going to lose that easily!

---

"So, what's your—"

"Serena." She cut him off brusquely. "Let's go."

"… wow, a no nonsense girl, huh?" Alito grinned. "Suits me just fine! Let's get in the ring!"

[DUEL!]

Alito Kiraku: 4000LP

Serena Akaba: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Serena] [H:5]

The turn order was randomly decided, and unfortunately for Serena, she got the first turn. She picked up her starting hand. Good. She already had her Moonlight Fusion now. However, her opponent didn't have any monsters, so she couldn't just use it directly.

"I'll Normal Summon Moonlight Kaleido Chick!" The girl dressed entirely in yellow appeared, her veil-like cape sweeping behind her in the air like a glider.

[Moonlight Kaleido Chick (4*/1400/800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Kaleido Chick's effect! I'll send Moonlight Panther Dancer from my Extra Deck to the graveyard, and Kaleido Chick copies her name until the End Phase!" Serena dropped the card into the graveyard. "I'll then activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Kaleido Chick on the field, treated as Panther Dancer, with Moonlight Blue Cat and Moonlight Yellow Marten in my hand!" She dropped all three monsters in the graveyard. "Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Crescent-tailed moon creature that dances through the night! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Moonlight Lio Dancer!" The woman with spiky white hair appeared, drawing her swords through the air—as terrifying as ever.

[Moonlight Lio Dancer (10*/3500/3000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"Yellow Marten's effect! I'll add the Trap Card, Moonlight Reincarnation Dance from my deck to my hand! And with Kaleido Chick's effect, I'll take back my Polymerization! I'll set a card and end my turn!"

"Hah." Alito put his hands in his pockets, glancing at her monster. "One big Fusion Monster on the first turn, using most of your cards as advantage immediately, thinking that's enough? You used to be from Academia, didn't you? Your playstyle's exactly the same."

"It's not!" Serena gestured forward. "Lio Dancer's my pride, but she's not a soulless monster like the ones that the Obelisk Force summon at all. She's—"

"Still a Fusion Monster," Alito retorted. "And still from Academia, right? You ran away, but you still duel the same!"

"... you're working for Academia now anyway," Serena said. "You can't judge anyone for their past when this is your present."

"It's very much a 'teeth-clenched, get ready to get punched' relationship!" Alito reached towards the top of his deck. "Still hate them just as much. Always will. So I guess I can punch you down too!"

[Turn 2: Alito] [H:6]

"Draw!" He glanced at the new hand, before placing it down. "Alright! My opponent controls a monster, so this card can be Special Summoned from my hand! Into the ring, Battlin' Boxer Promoter!" A warrior dressed completely in black appeared, a silver mask with red eyes on the front of it. The hair of the warrior was all curled up and coiffed. He was wearing a thick black belt with three golden medals on the front of it. The middle medal was enormous, almost as large as Promoter's head—to both sides of it, a smaller, circular golden medal could be seen. Around his wrists were two golden bracelets—like cuffs.

[Battlin' Boxer Promoter (4*/1700/800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Battling Boxer," Serena repeated, before she adjusted how she was saying it. "... Battlin' Boxer. So, your monsters are based on…"

"Jab, jab!" Alito raised a fist enthusiastically in the air. "Boxing's the best. Fun and competitive, no matter what." He gestured forward. "I can't Special Summon any monsters this turn though, except for "Battlin' Boxer" monsters! I'll then activate Battlin' Boxer Promoter's effect! Trade out!" The monster dissolved into particles of light. "I'll Special Summon two "Battlin' Boxer" monsters with different names from the deck! Come! Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter! Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw!"

In front of him, two spotlights appeared, before two warriors fell onto the illuminated spots. Serena observed them. One of them had a similar black and gold aesthetic to Promoter, except that they were dressed in a mechanical bodysuit. Black, white and gold metal made up the armour, with the gold parts specifically guarding specific parts of his body. He raised a fist in the air, black boxing gloves covering both of his hands—with a sharp uppercut, he made it clear which of the two monsters he was.

Meanwhile, the other warrior was barely wearing any clothes at all—he was wearing white trousers that stopped above the knees, but nothing else. His skin was extremely dark and green, and he was quite muscular, relatively speaking—he raised his arms, flexing his muscles for show. He was wearing a black mask over the top of his head, similar to Promoter, with the same red, glassy eyes as Promoter and Uppercutter. He raised his fists, revealing that he was also wearing dark gloves.

[Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter (4*/1600/200/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

[Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw (4*/2000/0/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Uppercutter's effect!" Alito shook his fist through the air briefly. "I can add a "Battlin' Boxer" monster from my deck to my hand, or a "Counter" Counter Trap!" He picked up a card from his deck, before he gestured to his two monsters. "I'll overlay the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter and the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw! Let's do this! Fists in the air, mauler, and entertain the crowd that dares to witness you! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey!"

The two orbs floated around the monster that emerged out of the vortex. A tall, well-built warrior appeared. His skin was pale red. He was wearing golden boxing gloves and a face mask, with blue eyes within the mask instead of the red of all the other monsters. Darker red hair emerged in spikes from behind the mask. Dark blue and black cannons were all strapped to the fighter's back, and he stood in front of Alito, ready for battle.

[Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey (R4/2300/1800/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Since King Dempsey was Special Summoned, I can add a Level 4 or lower FIRE Warrior monster, or a "Battlin' Boxing" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand, or send it to the graveyard!" He put the card in his hand. "I'll Normal Summon Battlin' Boxer Chief Second!" A white-skinned boxer appeared, wearing a bright red helmet. Their eyes were the same bright red as the helmet, and roughly the same shade as the rest of the monsters so far. He was holding onto a chair in one hand and a strange orange object in the other that Serena didn't recognise. He had a white towel wrapped around his neck, though it almost blended in with his pale skin.

[Battlin' Boxer Chief Second (4*/500/2000/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"And with that, I can Normal Summon another "Battlin' Boxer" monster this turn! Blow them away! In my corner, Battlin' Boxer Headgeared!" A dark-skinned, muscular man appeared, wearing similar clothing to Chief Second—bright red boxing gloves, helmet, boots and eyes. The clashing brightness of the red and the darkness of the skin made the monster look rather sinister.

[Battlin' Boxer Headgeared (4*/1000/1800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"And Battlin' Boxer Headgeared's effect! I'll send Battlin' Boxer Counterpunch from my deck to the graveyard!" Alito smirked. "And I'll overlay the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Headgeared and the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Chief Second!" The two monsters turned into red streaks that sunk down into the ground. "Gather the flame of your soul on your fists! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Come on!"

A tall, strangely unhumanoid fighter appeared. A large black sphere was his torso, while his head was a small and silver sphere, with beady red eyes staring forward. Striped grey and red limbs, rather desaturated in colour, reached out around the dark creature in the air. Dark chains were wrapped around his body, attached to a pair of enormous beams on his back—one wooden, the other made of pale metal.

Alito smirked. "Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!"

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke (R4/2200/2000/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Battle!" Alito gestured forward. "Don't really care about what your monster does—I'll just punch my way past it! King Dempsey attacks Lio Dancer!"

… why on earth…

The boxer leapt forward, punching Lio Dancer. However, Serena's monster was completely unfazed. Lio Dancer then lifted him up, tossing him in the air, and slashed her sword straight across his midsection—causing the warrior to collapse to the ground.

Alito: 4000 - 1200 = 2800LP

"Lead Yoke's effect!" Alito said, smirking. "Since a "Battlin' Boxer" monster I control would be destroyed by battle or a card effect, I can detach an Overlay Unit to negate that destruction!" Lead Yoke reached up a fist, crushing one of the Overlay Units. Particles of light flew over to King Dempsey, as he slowly stood up.

"Why?" Serena said. Even she didn't attack recklessly for no reason at all—and someone that had survived so long in a warzone had to be smarter than that.

"When Lead Yoke loses a material, it gains 800 attack points," Alito said with a smirk.

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke: 2200 + 800 = 3000ATK]

"And Lead Yoke will attack your Lio Dancer!" Alito pulled out a card from his graveyard, revealing it with a bright smile. "I'll banish Battlin' Boxer Counterpunch from my graveyard! Lead Yoke gains 1000 attack points until the End Phase!"

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke: 3000 + 1000 = 4000ATK]

Serena's eyes widened. Lead Yoke raised the long bar in the air, smacking it straight down on Lio Dancer's head—

Destroying Serena's monster.

Serena: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP

Serena had been hoping that her opponent wouldn't be able to defeat Lio Dancer on the first turn, but she had never expected someone to be insane enough to take damage and almost destroy their own monster just for the chance to destroy Lio Dancer—especially without knowing what it did either…

"Trap Card, Moonlight Reincarnation Dance," she said. "I'll add Moonlight Black Sheep and Moonlight White Rabbit from my deck to my hand."

"I'll set a card and end my turn," Alito said. "Over to you. Show me what you can do!"

He was so hyper, but…

Serena would never think that anyone wanted to win as much as her!

[Turn 3: Serena] [H:5]

"Draw!" Serena said. "I'll activate the effect of Moonlight Black Sheep in my hand! I'll send it from my hand to the graveyard to add Moonlight Yellow Marten from my graveyard to my hand!"

"I'll chain the effect of King Dempsey—by detaching an Overlay Unit, I can stop you from targeting my monsters with card effects this turn!"

[Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

So Crimson Fox's effect wouldn't do anything, even if she got it from her deck.

She revealed another card in her hand. "And I'll Normal Summon Moonlight White Rabbit!" The short dancer in a white hood appeared on the field, spinning on one foot.

[Moonlight White Rabbit (2*/800/800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"I'll activate White Rabbit's effect. Return, Moonlight Lio Dancer!"

"Nope!" Alito gestured forward. "Counter Trap, Battlin' Boxing Cross Counter! I'll destroy King Dempsey and negate your effect and destroy your monster!"

What? Destroying his own Xyz Monster just to stop her from using White Rabbit's effect?

King Dempsey leapt forward, grabbing onto White Rabbit with his arms. He then flipped them both through the air, and they hit the ground, bursting into flames.

"And then," Alito said, taking out a card from his Extra Deck, "I can Special Summon a "Battlin' Boxer" Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck with a different name, and attach Cross Counter to it as an Overlay Unit! With the sway to get any outcome he wants! Come from my Extra Deck and rough 'em up! Battlin' Boxer Cheat Commissioner!"

In front of him, a man in a large, dark trenchcoat appeared, looking extremely shifty. He was holding onto a gun that resembled an extremely distorted green parrot, with its large, open mouth serving as the barrel of the gun. The man was wearing goggles, and had a rather smug smile. Meanwhile, in his other hand, he swung a grey baton through the air with a frown.

[Battlin' Boxer Cheat Commissioner (R3/0/1300/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]

"... well, that's no problem," Serena said determinedly. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Moonlight Fusion! Since you control a monster summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use a monster in my deck or Extra Deck as material too! I'll fuse Moonlight Yellow Marten and Moonlight Emerald Bird in my hand with Moonlight Purple Butterfly in my deck!"

"Another three material Fusion?"

Well, I wanted to use Songbird Dancer and Blue Cat, but that option's been taken from me.

"Crescent-tailed moon creature that dances through the night! Emerald feathers that shroud the sky! Butterfly that wields violet poison! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Blades that shred through the curtains! Moonlight Sabre Dancer!" One of her other Fusions appeared on the field, letting out a loud battle cry as her golden hair drifted through the air, thick and intimidating.

[Moonlight Sabre Dancer (9*/3000/2600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"Yellow Marten's effect," Serena said. "I'll add another "Moonlight" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. Then, Moonlight Emerald Bird's effect! Return from the graveyard, Moonlight Blue Cat!" The blue-skinned dancer reappeared in Defense Position.

[Moonlight Blue Cat (4*/1600/1200/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"Sabre Dancer gains 200 attack points for each Beast-Warrior monster that is banished or in the graveyard!" Serena declared. "I have nine! So Sabre Dancer gains 1800 attack points!"

[Moonlight Sabre Dancer: 3000 + 200 x 9 = 4800ATK]

"Holy…"

"Even if your monster survives this, you'll still take the damage," Serena declared. "Battle Phase! Sabre Dancer attacks Cheat Commissioner—"

"Too bad!" Alito nodded to his Xyz Monsters. "You can't attack Cheat Commissioner while I control another "Battlin' Boxer" monster!"

"Then she'll attack your Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke! Lunar Crossblades!"

"I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Lead Yoke to protect it!"

"But damage calculation takes place before that!" She gestured forward—Sabre Dancer slashed her blades across the field. Lead Yoke clutched his chest and fell back.

Alito: 2800 - 1800 = 1000LP

"I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Lead Yoke! And he stays on the field—while also gaining 800 attack points with his other effect!"

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0; 3000 + 800 = 3800ATK]

"Fine by me," Serena said.

"Is this part fine?" Alito tossed out a card onto the field. "Since I took battle damage, I can Special Summon Battlin' Boxer Veil in Defense Position!" A warrior with a mainly orange body appeared, wearing a white visor. He held up two shields in the shape of semi-circles, holding them in front of him as he knelt down in front of Alito.

[Battlin' Boxer Veil (4*/0/1800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"And then, I gain life points equal to the damage I took!"

Alito: 1000 + 1800 = 2800LP

"... I'll set a card and end my turn," Serena said.

"Then it's my turn to bring it!" Alito reached for the top card of his deck. "Just you wait! Opponents like you are the best—though you could stand to be way more hot-blooded!"

… it wasn't like Serena didn't enjoy a good fight. But…

Not against someone like this.

---

"Izumi-san…"

"… enough." Sachi covered her ears briefly, before she breathed out, moving her arms downwards, but still holding her duel disk up. "I don't care about you… I just want to make her pay. Make them pay, too."

There was a chilling look to her red eyes as she looked up.

"… out of my way."

[DUEL!]

Sachi Izumi: 4000LP

Ruri Kurosaki: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Sachi] [H:5]

"… it's public information. Cards left in deck?"

… it just felt unnerving. Alright. Ruri had seen Sachi duel before, so it wasn't that shocking to hear the question. Even so…

If I had known I would be dueling her, I would have tried to add more cards to my deck to help with this…

"Fifty-two," Ruri answered. There was no deck size limit, so some people went even higher, but she ran enough draw cards and searchers for this amount anyway. Fifty-seven minus five for the starting hand.

"Fifty-two," Sachi repeated. "… just fifty-two." She lowered her head. "Just fifty-two. I set one monster facedown. Open, circuit of nightly horrors."

A Link Summon immediately? But the only monster she controlled was facedown! Link Monsters couldn't use facedown materials!

"… if I control a facedown "Ghostrick" monster," Sachi said, "I can use it as material for the Link Summon of this monster. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are a "Ghostrick" monster, other than a Link Monster. I will set my facedown Ghostrick Skeleton in the Link Markers. Beautiful festival, the power of the world in my hands. Now, rise up, happy spirits of the dead. Circuit Combine. Link Summon. Link 1—Ghostrick Festival."

In front of her, a bunch of different spirits appeared—Ruri recognised the different monsters as members of the archetype, albeit they were all translucent here, and far smaller, all of them holding onto each other's hands. A skeleton, a witch, a werewolf… the list went on. They were honestly… kind of cute.

[Ghostrick Festival (L1/0/DARK/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/↓)]

… Ruri hadn't seen this monster before, but she did know what the other card that Sachi enjoyed using was.

Did she have it…?

Sachi picked out another card from her hand. "Spell Card, Upstart Goblin," she said. "My opponent gains 1000 life points. I draw one card." She picked up the next card of her deck, even as a faint glow surrounded Ruri.

Ruri: 4000 + 1000 = 5000LP

"Spell Card, Allure of Darkness. I draw two cards and banish a DARK monster from my hand."

After drawing the next two cards, there was a brief shift—Sachi seemed to sigh, before she slipped a card into the slot for banished cards. She then revealed a card in her hand.

"Quickplay Spell, Set Rotation. I will take two Field Spells with different names from my deck—they are both set in our Field Zones."

Yes. Everything in Sachi's deck was built around fishing and fishing for her Field Spells—the Field Spells of the Ghostrick archetype were pretty much their lifeblood, after all—

And yet, when she lifted up the cards…

One of them wasn't a card that Ruri recognised.

"I will set Ghostrick Mansion to your field," Sachi said, her gaze intent. "And Runick Fountain to mine."

"Runick…?" Ruri repeated. Sachi's archetype of choice had always been the Ghostricks, so why…

"... they always ask," Sachi said, glancing away. "The Ghostricks play in three different ways, right? Tatsuya got this for me… that's all there is to it. I don't use it in Battle Royales, but in one-on-one matches…" Around them, the two set cards appeared. "While either card is set, neither of us can activate new Field Spells… though I know you have none, Ruri Kurosaki." She flipped up the Field Spell on her side of the field. "Field Spell, Runick Fountain. I can activate "Runick" Quickplay Spells from my hand on my opponent's turn."

She held onto the three cards in her hand, before revealing one of them.

"Quickplay Spell, Runick Tip. It has two effects. I will choose the first. I will add a "Runick" card from my deck to my hand." Then, she pointed towards Ruri. "And then, I banish a card from the top of your deck."

"What?" Ruri exclaimed. So now, she had a way to banish cards other than her own Ghostrick Skeleton? That was…

"Banish it," Sachi repeated.

Ruri reluctantly placed the card in the top slot of her deck.

"Then, the Quickplay Spell, Runick Golden Droplet." A golden light emerged above Ruri, before falling down onto her—almost like a blessing from the heavens. "My opponent draws one card. Then, I can banish four cards from the top of their deck."

Ruri removed the next four cards as well.

"Letting Ruri Kurosaki draw doesn't matter," Sachi said, sounding slightly distant. "I will activate the effect of Runick Fountain, after Golden Droplet resolves. I will place Runick Tip and Runick Golden Droplet on the bottom of the deck, and draw two cards—I can do this with up to three of my Runick Quickplay Spells to draw up to three cards, once per turn."

She picked up the two cards, before she gestured forward.

"My next Battle Phase will be skipped as a penalty, because I activated my Spells—that's the effect of all of my Spells. It's your move—Ruri Kurosaki. Forty-six."

Yeah. Maybe that was what Ruri found so unsettling about Sachi Izumi. She did not care about her opponent's life points. She did not care about anything like that.

Every draw, every search, every card that left the deck with an effect—the very act of playing the game meant playing along with Sachi's strategy.

A mill deck.

[Turn 2: Ruri] [H:7]

"Draw," Ruri said. "Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia - Turquoise Warbler from my hand!" The bright green bird girl appeared on the field, waving her wings through the air.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Turquoise Warbler (1*/100/100/WIND/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"Turquoise Warbler's effect! I'll Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia - Cobalt Sparrow from my hand!" On Turquoise Warbler's left side, the bird with brown wings appeared, letting out a light giggle.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Cobalt Sparrow (1*/0/100/WIND/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"And—"

This was where Ruri would usually search out another card—and then activate the Wing Requital in her hand to draw another two cards. But…

A mill deck.

The memory of her opponent's strategy hung over her head. Still… what exactly was Sachi's plan to stall for that long?

"I'll activate Cobalt Sparrow's effect! I'll add Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow from my deck to my hand!" She picked up the other monster. Still, she didn't activate Wing Requital—she already had everything that she needed in her hand, after all.

Sachi revealed a card in her hand. "When my opponent adds a card from the deck to the hand, I can activate the Quickplay Spell, Runick Dispelling. I will force my opponent to discard a random card—and then banish two cards from the top of their deck."

Ruri blinked—but thankfully, the card that she was forced to discard wasn't Sapphire Swallow. She watched the other two cards get banished, before she continued with her turn.

"I'll activate the effect of Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow in my hand! I'll Special Summon her from my hand, along with another Level 1 Winged Beast monster! Come—Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow! Lyrical Luscinia - Celeste Wagtail!"

The two new monsters appeared on the field as well, floating next to each other—four birds in a single flock.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Celeste Wagtail (1*/200/0/WIND/Winged Beast/Effect)]

[Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow (1*/100/0/WIND/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"Celeste Wagtail will let me add my Lyrical Luscinia - Bird Call from my deck to my hand. I'll then Special Summon Slower Swallow from my hand, since two monsters with the same Level are on the field!" The pale blue and white bird appeared, filling up the last Main Monster Zone slot—

And then, Sachi responded.

"With the effect of Runick Fountain, I will activate the Quickplay Spells, Runick Flashing Fire and Runick Smiting Storm from my hand." She gestured forward. "Smiting Storm resolves first. I will banish cards from the top of your deck, up to the number of cards you control. You control five monsters, and the Field Spell I gave you. Six cards."

The cards all floated into the next slot.

"Flashing Fire's effect. I will destroy Cobalt Sparrow, so you can't render that Assembly Nightingale of yours immune to targeting card effects." The brown bird let out a cry as bright gold flames consumed her. "And then, I will banish two more cards from the top of your deck. Runick Fountain's effect. I will place Runick Flashing Fire, Runick Smiting Storm and Runick Dispelling on the bottom of the deck to draw three more cards." She picked up the cards, before glancing forward.

Ruri narrowed her eyes.

This was far more efficient than Sachi had ever been in the past. Once, Nue had related the story of this girl taking fifteen turns to whittle away her opponent's deck—apparently after that, she had been such an intimidating figure that no one dared to challenge her directly.

"One, one, one, two, six, two," Sachi murmured to herself. "Thirteen. Thirty-three."

She didn't have Cobalt Sparrow anymore… that meant that if Sachi had another removal spell, Ruri would lose Assembly Nightingale immediately. And the odds of that… were very high, even if Ruri assumed that Sachi could only activate each of those Spells once per turn.

In that case… she had to use her resources to get rid of Sachi's cards first.

"I'll overlay the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Celeste Wagtail and the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Turquoise Warbler! Now, beautiful bird with the power of the whirlwind, use your magic gusts to destroy every trap laid on the battlefield! Xyz Summon! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia - Prom Thrush!" The bright, beautiful Xyz Monster with wings and feathers the colour of the night sky appeared.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Prom Thrush (R1/0/0/WIND/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Prom Thrush," Sachi repeated. "... you want my Field Spell gone. It's not happening. I will activate the Quickplay Spell, Runick Freezing Curses. I will negate the effects of Prom Thrush until the End Phase and banish three cards from the top of your deck."

Ruri bit her lip.

"Three," Sachi repeated. "Thirty."

But… Sachi's only monster was a Link Monster with no attack points. If Ruri could just push through this…

"I'll overlay the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow and the Level 1 Slower Swallow!" Ruri declared. "Bird of stars that sings in the glowing sunset. Appear before us! Xyz Summon! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia - Recite Starling!" The monster that usually helped her to search out the rest of her cards appeared.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Recite Starling (R1/0/0/WIND/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Sapphire Swallow's effect. I'll attach Cobalt Sparrow from the graveyard to Recite Starling as an Overlay Unit. Then, Recite Starling's effect. I'll give her 300 attack and defense points for each Overlay Unit she has! Gift of the Stars!"

[Lyrical Luscinia - Recite Starling: 0 + 300 x 3 = 900ATK/DEF]

She wanted to search out a card with Recite Starling's effect, but…

Thirty.

"Battle Phase!" She declared. "Recite Starling attacks Ghostrick Festival!"

"No," Sachi said. She gestured forward. "Ghostrick Festival's effect. When the opponent declares an attack, the player can tribute it and Special Summon a "Ghostrick" monster from their deck in facedown Defense Position." The spirits vanished, before a set card appeared on her field. "... I choose Ghostrick Skeleton. If you want to flip it, Ruri Kurosaki, you're very welcome."

… from what she remembered, Ghostrick Skeleton had at least a thousand defense points…

Damn it.

"Main Phase 2!" Ruri declared. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

"... pathetic," Sachi said. "If getting rid of Cobalt Sparrow is enough to crush the spine of your dueling, then you never truly had the power to do anything to me."

[Turn 3: Sachi] [H:4]

She drew a card.

"I'll whittle you away. I learned from Nue-onee-san and Tatsuya…" Her eyes briefly lifted again. "... what it means, to steal the soul of someone's dueling. Your Assembly Nightingale, Ruri Kurosaki… you'll never get to summon it in a meaningful way."

Ruri winced.

She was so off-guard right now…

For someone like her, who was always attacking, a strategy like this was the worst to deal with.

---

"It's my turn!" Girag reached out for the next card of his deck. "I've done my fair share of taking down kids who think too highly of themselves—I'll teach you that lesson now! Behold!"

[Turn 3: Girag] [H:1]

"Draw!" Girag glanced at his hand, before smirking. "I'll activate the Spell Card—Bujin Regalia - The Mirror! Until the end of your next turn, neither of us can activate Spell or Trap cards—or their effects!"

What? Then Sawatari couldn't set the other Pendulum Scale on his turn, or use any of his cards…

"I'll banish Bujingi Qiulin from my graveyard to destroy your Fantastic Theater!"

"Fantastic Theater's effect is continuous!" Sawatari declared, slightly flustered. "So you destroy my set card!" Still, he couldn't activate his card's effect, since it was still a Spell effect…

Girag was still grinning. "But now you can't do anything to me! I'll detach Susanowo's other Overlay Unit and add another "Bujin" monster from my deck to my hand!"

[Bujintei Susanowo: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

"And then, I'll banish Bujingi Centipede from the graveyard and destroy your Field Spell!"

The card was destroyed. Sawatari's mouth fell open. "No way… just how many cards do you have in your graveyard?"

"Enough to take you out!" Girag gestured forward. "Bujintei Susanowo can attack each of your monsters once!"

"What?"

"And all your monsters are in Attack Position. Even if you negate one attack, that's not enough." Girag smiled maliciously. "Bujintei Susanowo! Destroy his hopes and dreams! Attack Liberty Dramatist!"

Susanowo raised his blade—

Damn it. I'm just not good enough!

Losing in a single turn even when I think I've improved…

Not good enough to protect Tsukikage, not good enough to stand up for someone else, not good enough to—

"Hey, Girag-san," a voice interrupted, razor sharp and annoyed—an oddly familiar voice, in an oddly familiar tone. "This one's mine, I'm afraid. Back off." A bright light paralysed Susanowo in place, shimmering with colours—both Girag and Sawatari whirled around to see the newcomer. Mariko Ejiri held up a card, even as her duel disk beeped, registering her joining the duel.

[INTRUSION PENALTY: 2000LP]

Mariko Ejiri: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP

"Ejiri…" Girag narrowed his eyes. "What are you…"

Mariko glanced at him—there was something frosty to her expression, before she turned to Sawatari, smiling. "Heya!" She said. "Next time you sneak out without telling anyone, we will just leave you all to deal with the consequences, you know. Rule of thumb, there's no exceptions in war. You lose—you die. That's it. Miracles don't always happen."

"Ejiri—" He paused. She'd said to call her by her first name, right? "Mariko-san…?"

"Oh, I knew you guys left the moment that you did," Mariko said with a shrug. "But I decided to let you all have your fun." She revealed the card that she'd played. "My Rainbow Kuriboh, Girag-san. I equipped it to Susanowo—your monster can't attack anymore." The gleam of the card intensified—despite the fact that it was cheerful and colourful in nature, it seemed… slightly off. "So? Are we going to continue? We can agree to call this duel inconclusive right now, if you want—but unfortunately, I can't let you card our guest." She narrowed her eyes. "And you know if it comes between you and me, I win. Leave it be."

Girag looked at her. "I can still try and take him out," he said.

"... want to bet your life on taking his?" Mariko tilted her head. "Don't be a fool, Girag-san. I'll get mad."

There was something tense as Girag looked at Sawatari—and then he blinked and smacked his forehead. "Right, Eri-san said…" He stepped back—Mariko lowered her duel disk. Sawatari did so, a moment later—the man turned around and lumbered away.

Mariko turned to Sawatari. "Why is this the second time I'm bailing you out in two days?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "I asked you to be a bit prouder of yourself, not an idiot."

Sawatari grimaced—he really wasn't in the mood to be scolded again.

Mariko looked at him, and then sighed. "Come on," she said. "I'm sure that Tsuba will pick up your other friends. But you're in lots of trouble this time. I'm not saving you next time, okay?"

Sawatari… stared at her for a moment.

She was such an intimidating opponent that someone that was crushing me easily chose to flee at the sight of her.

I need to learn.

He covered his face, slightly embarrassed.

… how am I going to ask about that?

… how are the rest doing? Hopefully not as badly as I am…

---

Serena watched as Alito raised the next card of his deck.

[Turn 4: Alito] [H:5]

"Draw!" Alito shouted. He glanced at the card. "... hah. Fine." He glanced at Sabre Dancer, shaking her head. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Battlin' Boxing Spirits. I'll send a card from the top of my deck to the graveyard, and I can Special Summon a "Battlin' Boxer" monster from my graveyard in face-up Defense Position! Return! Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter!" The monster from earlier reappeared. "I'll use Uppercutter's effect to add a "Battlin' Boxer" monster from my deck to my hand. And now, I'll Normal Summon Battlin' Boxer Sparrer!" The white and green warrior appeared, with two large red cuboids on both arms, punching through the air sharply.

[Battlin' Boxer Sparrer (4*/1200/1400/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Now, this is it! I'll overlay the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Sparrer, the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter and the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Veil!"

Three material Xyz Summon…

"Crash down from the sky with the force of a meteor! Fists, burst through the air! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Come, my ace!" Alito gestured outwards with a hand. "The one, the only! Warrior of flames! Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus!" A tall warrior appeared, made from pure blue and yellow metal. The warrior raised his fists in the air. From his shoulders, wing-like shields protruded from where they were attached.

[Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus (R4/2500/1600/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

"Battle Phase!" Alito grinned. "Your Moonlight Sabre Dancer's about to be knocked down a peg! Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke attacks!"

"You don't have any more Overlay Units to detach for that!"

"True, but I have Star Cestus!" Alito grinned. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit! When a "Battlin' Boxer" monster battles a monster, I can detach an Overlay Unit to negate the other monster's effect!" Alito declared with a grin.

Serena's eyes widened.

"Seal it away, Star Cestus!" A bright glow surrounded Sabre Dancer, suppressing her effects—and subsequently lowering her attack points.

[Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus: OU:3 - 1 = OU:2]

[Moonlight Sabre Dancer: 4800 → 3000ATK]

"So finish it off! Lead Yoke!"

The warrior raised his fist, punching straight through Sabre Dancer and destroying her.

Serena: 3500 - 800 = 2700LP

"And then, my Star Cestus attacks Blue Cat!"

"Fine," Serena said, shielding herself as Blue Cat was destroyed—she took no damage there, since Blue Cat was in Defense Position. "When Moonlight Blue Cat is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my deck! Come! Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin!" The blue-themed dancer appeared on the field, kneeling down in Defense Position.

[Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin (4*/600/1800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]

"And you have no more attacks!"

"... fair!" Alito raised a fist. "I'll set a card and end my turn! Show me more!"

"Be careful what you wish for!" Serena retorted.

[Turn 5: Serena] [H:2]

"Draw!" She glanced at the card.

… got it.

"Continuous Trap, Moonlight Serenade Dance!" Serena flipped up the card, before she activated it. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity! I'll draw three cards and discard two. And I'll activate the Spell Card, Fusion Recovery to add Polymerization and Purple Butterfly back to my hand. Now… I'll fuse Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin on my field with Moonlight Purple Butterfly in my hand! Spiral into the moon's gravity and reveal a new power! Shimmer with moonlight and dance in the night! Come forth now—Fusion Summon! Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin!" The new Fusion Monster that she'd gotten in the duel against Makoto Toyama appeared, floating in front of her—the only monster that she had.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin (7*/2500/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]

"I'll then use Sapphire Dolphin's effect!" She picked up the card. "I'll add Moonlight Yellow Marten from my graveyard to my hand. And then Serenade Dance's effect. I will Special Summon a Moonlight Token to your field!" A single, glowing orb of light appeared on Alito's field.

[Moonlight Token (4*/2000/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior)]

"And with the other effect of Serenade Dance, Moonstruck Paladin gains 500 attack points for each monster you control! You control Lead Yoke, Cheat Commissioner, Star Cestus and the Moonlight Token—so she gains 2000 attack points now!" Moonstruck Paladin was surrounded by a bright glow.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin: 2500 + 500 x 4 = 4500ATK]

"And then, Sabre Dancer's effect. I'll banish her from the graveyard and give Moonstruck Paladin 3000 attack points for the rest of this turn!"

Moonstruck Paladin's attack points shot up immediately.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin: 4500 + 3000 = 7500ATK]

"And I remember Star Cestus's effect," Serena said. She revealed the other card in her hand. "Moonlight Stun Whip, activate! I'll target Moonstruck Paladin and negate the effects of all monsters you control with lower attack points until the end of this turn! So Lead Yoke's attack points will return to their original attack points, too!"

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke: 3800 → 2200ATK]

"Now, strike across this field with the force of the sharpest crescent! Moonstruck Paladin attacks Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus! And now, the effect of Moonstruck Paladin herself! I will banish Emerald Bird from the graveyard—and she gains half the attack points of Star Cestus until the end of damage calculation! Lunatic Empowerment!" She slid the card out of her graveyard, and Moonstruck Paladin glowed, gaining more attack points.

[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin: 7500 + 2500 / 2 = 8750ATK]

"Eight thousand seven hundred and fifty?" Alito gasped—but his gaze hardened, and he gestured forward. "No! I'm not going to lose here! Or at least, if I lose… we both go down together!"

Huh?

He flipped up his set card.

"Trap Card, Battlin' Boxing Double Knockout!" He gestured towards her. "The next time I would take battle damage from a battle involving a "Battlin' Boxer" monster—we both take the damage!"

Serena's eyes widened.

"If I can't win, I'll tear down the ring myself!" Alito raised his fist. "Let's do this!"

Moonstruck Paladin sliced straight through Star Cestus—and the explosion that resulted from that knocked both of them down to the ground, with a bright burst of light.

Serena: 2700 - 6250 = 0LP

Alito: 2800 - 6250 = 0LP

DRAW!

Serena slowly picked herself up.

Alito stood up too.

"Good match!" He said.

And Serena finally couldn't stay silent. "What kind of conviction do you have?" She spoke up. "It's nothing, isn't it? You're just scared to die!"

Alito's eyes widened—he seemed surprised.

"I know what it's like to be irresponsible and want to do nothing but fight strong opponents," Serena said. "But how can you act that way when you've killed the people that you thought you were on their side? How can you act that way after that?"

"I don't—" Alito turned away. "Geez. Why've you got to take the fun out of fighting, huh?"

Serena narrowed her eyes.

It's not that I don't want to fight. It's not like I don't want to keep testing my skills against stronger opponents.

But not for a cost like this.

Not for a terrible cost like this wasteland.

"Whatever. You're a priority target, aren't you? I didn't win, so I'm not going to try, but… damn, you really do look a lot like Ruri." He turned away. "Well, I don't feel like fighting anymore. I'm gonna go—"

"No. She's absolutely right."

Serena turned her head. The dark-haired man from yesterday—Kaede—was there, arms folded.

Alito's eyes widened. He took a step back.

Kaede narrowed his eyes. "... you irresponsible bastards."

There was… real anger in his voice. What on earth…

"I won that Number fair and square," Alito muttered. "What you feel has nothing to do with me." He turned and practically ran—Serena watched him go. She was about to take a step forward, but then there was a stabbing feeling in her ankle again. She collapsed to one knee—it reminded her of when she'd gotten hurt in Synchro.

Had she injured her ankle…?

"Show me," Kaede said, kneeling down too. "If needed, I'll set it."

… huh.

Serena moved to show her ankle, and he looked it over. With a quick nod to her, he quickly shoved her ankle back into place—Serena let out a cry of pain, but after a moment, she managed to get up on wobbly feet.

"You're right," Kaede said. "They're just scared to die. And they're just running from the things they've done, without wanting to be responsible for them." He closed his eyes briefly. "... I saw your eyes. Don't feel bad for them. Not if you don't know the things they've done to us, for the sake of their own pathetic desires."

"I won't," Serena vowed. After a brief pause, she said: "I'm a traitor too."

"I heard." Kaede glanced away. "... it makes my blood boil. But if you ran from Academia because you knew it was all wrong, you're better than the rest. And if anyone argues about that, I'll say the same."

Serena blinked.

As someone who had been slightly worried about the feeling of showing her dueling to the Resistance… that was reassuring.

"Come," Kaede said. "Tsubaki's picking up the most troublesome one of you."

---

Vector. One of the trickiest duelists in Heartland—at least, that was his reputation. Nue often called him the person that she was closest to in Diamond Branch—which spoke volumes of her regard for him, considering that the Arclights were there too, and Nue had known them since they were kids. (Not to mention, the fact that she'd apparently considered Rui Shingetsu a closer companion than Tatsuya Izumi, even when they were dating, should have spoken volumes.)

Still…

"My sister always spoke so well of you," Yuto said. "I can't believe you'd do this."

"We've already said it, haven't we?" Vector spun a pencil around on his finger, before tossing it in the air and catching it again. "I'm not interested in learning what you think, not interested in learning what you know! Whatever Vector wants to know, Vector finds out himself. So? Shall I teach you a lesson?"

[DUEL!]

Rui Shingetsu: 4000LP

Yuto Kamisoka: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Vector] [H:5]

"I'll activate the effect of Umbral Horror Ghost in my hand!" Vector immediately placed down the card—along with another. "I can Special Summon it and another Level 4 or lower Fiend from my hand, but I can't Normal Summon this turn!"

"Umbral Horrors today, then," Yuto muttered.

Vector grinned. "What did you expect?"

Yuto didn't know. Back in Heartland Duel School, Vector had been famous for never quite sticking to a single deck—in fact, he'd been known for forgetting his deck and borrowing a random friend's deck for ranked matches, and still managing to come out on top. There were two decks that were technically 'his own' though.

This was one of them.

"Come! Umbral Horror Ghost! Capshell!" First, in front of him, a creepy-looking ghost in tattered, greyed out robes appeared, vibrant green hair falling over a face that was dark blue, golden eyes staring from within the rotten sockets. Ghastly white hands slowly lifted in the air. Next to it, a single orange orb appeared, large eyes blinking on the front of it as it juggled smaller orbs through the air.

[Umbral Horror Ghost (2*/200/200/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

[Capshell (2*/0/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"Overlaying the Level 2 Capshell and Umbral Horror Ghost!" Vector clapped his hands together. "Dark envy, emerge now and make them all scream! Xyz Summon! Rank 2! Umbral Horror Banshee!" In front of him, a grey shroud drifted through the air—a woman appeared, her hair covered in paper thin veils. Her eyes had no sclera, just wide red irises—she opened her mouth and—

Screamed.

So loudly, in fact, that Yuto covered his ears on instinct.

[Umbral Horror Banshee (R2/1000/1000/DARK/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

The monster settled down in Defense Position.

"And then…" Vector smirked. "Spell Card, Graceful Charity. I'll draw three cards and discard two." He cast the cards into the graveyard, before placing down a card. "Spell Card, Terraforming. I'll add and activate the Field Spell, Sargasso the Different Dimension Ancient Battlefield!"

… that was it. Vector's Field Spell…

A Field Spell targeted at Xyz Monsters. One that he was still running now, even after they'd been invaded, even when their opponents didn't use Xyz Monsters…

"You already know," Vector said with a smirk. "When you Xyz Summon a monster, you take 500 damage. If you end your turn with an Xyz Summon, you take 500 damage."

"And you don't take any damage, because you discarded Sargasso Lighthouse."

"You got it."

"You're still running a hate card against Xyz Monsters, even now," Yuto said. He clenched his fists. "Vector! What the fuck—"

"I don't have to duel Academia, so why would I bother?" Vector tilted his head, grinning maniacally. "You can't make me feel guilty, mini-prophet. I'll set your card. Your move. Make it interesting."

"... I'm not here to entertain you." Yuto reached out for the top card of his deck. I don't remember what this deck does. Still… I should be wary. Low attack points means a strong effect.

[Turn 2: Yuto] [H:6]

"Draw!" Yuto glanced at his hand. I can't afford to be intimidated by Sargasso right now. I can get rid of that easily with Break Sword anyway, if I just take 500 damage…

He placed down two cards. "I'll Normal Summon The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak! And since I control a "The Phantom Knights" monster, I'll Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my hand too!" The two blue spirits appeared, both of them wearing worn leather and tattered fabric, floating next to each other in front of him.

[The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak (3*/800/1000/DARK/Warrior/Effect)]

[The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (3*/200/1200/DARK/Warrior/Effect)]

"I'll overlay my Level 3 The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak and the Level 3 The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots!" He declared. "Souls of knights who fell on the battlefield. Revive here and now, and become the light that breaks the darkness! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 3! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!" One of his most common monsters appeared. The knight on horseback settled in front of him.

[The Phantom Knights of Break Sword (R3/2000/1000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

Vector smirked. "Break Sword, huh? To destroy Sargasso?" He gestured forward. "You still take 500 damage from Sargasso!"

Yuto winced as a dark blast hit him.

Yuto: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP

"I'll activate the effect of Break Sword!" Yuto declared. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit and destroy your Sargasso and Break Sword itself!"

[The Phantom Knights of Break Sword: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"You didn't really expect me to let you keep it, did you?" Vector said with a smirk. Yuto flinched—for a brief moment, his mind flickered back—a different person's voice, speaking up.

"I hope you didn't really expect me to let you keep it," Nue said. With a flick of her hand, she flipped over a set card. "Trap Card, Bottomless Trap Hole."

"... well, I'll let you do it," Vector continued. Break Sword sliced through his Field Spell, before turning his sword on himself, even as Yuto stared in surprise.

The two cards shattered.

"Why…"

"Because you expected me to protect it," Vector said with a smirk. "And Vector doesn't play to anyone's expectations!"

"Ugh…" Yuto gestured to his graveyard. "Break Sword's effect! I'll Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots and The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak from the graveyard, and increase both of their Levels by 1! Phantom Resurrection!"

In front of him, the two blue spirits appeared again, glowing brightly.

[The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots: 3* + 1* + 4*]

[The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak: 3* + 1* = 4*]

"Ah, two Level 4 monsters." Vector grinned. "Time for the main event, then?"

Yuto gestured forward. "Overlaying the Level 4 The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots and the Level 4 The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak!" The two monsters flowed back into the ground in dark streaks of light.

Come, partner. Help me in this fight!

… I have to get to that bastard and question him, no matter what. And not just him, all of them.

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

Come, faithful partner!

The dark dragon appeared on the field with a roar, landing as lightning bolts flew out all around them.

[Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (R4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

Vector raised his hands, pressing his fingers together. "Dark Rebellion," he said with a smirk. "But even with that… didn't you lose against Edo Phoenix, Yuto?"

Yuto twitched. Did everyone know about it? Had Edo gone boasting about it to other people—no, that wouldn't make sense. Saying that he'd beaten Yuto would mean admitting that he'd spared Yuto—those two things came hand in hand, considering that Yuto was still walking around and fine. (Well. Relatively.) So why did Vector know anything about it?

… if Yuto asked, he probably wasn't going to get a straight answer, huh?

Why are you friends with this guy again, Nue?

Once again, the thought of his sister sent a sharp pang through his heart—and filled him with rage, when he remembered her current state. Yuto still didn't know what had happened there, but he had no doubt that Nue would never have lifted a hand against someone that she considered a comrade—that before discovering his betrayal, she never would have gone after Tatsuya Izumi herself, and…

And…

She would have trusted them, right? These people that she cared for so deeply… she would never have carded anyone before she got her answers.

"Do you?" Sachi demanded—a shout that sucked all the air from Yuto's lungs and rendered him speechless. "Or do you only know what she shows you? Because I know she's scared of herself, and there's probably a good reason for that!"

Yuto pressed a hand to his chest.

The simple explanation was that Nue had won against Ryoma, and after learning about his betrayal, she had carded him herself. Then, Tatsuya had witnessed it, gotten angry and in a moment of fury, shoved her off the building. That was the easy answer, the most logical one…

But Yuto refused to accept it, no matter what anyone else told him.

Nue can't speak for herself right now. She can't defend herself.

Until then, I'll believe in her innocence. I'll believe in her, no matter what—that the answer to the mystery of what happened on that roof isn't that my sister is cruel. It isn't that she was callous. It isn't that she lost her temper.

It isn't that my sister hurt someone and someone else took revenge.

There is a different answer to all of this.

"I lost against Edo Phoenix," he repeated. The words stung his tongue. He'd lost and barely escaped with his life at all. If not for the fact that Kyorin had managed to soften someone who by all accounts, was merciless…

He never would have gotten to know about his comrades, hurt and lost.

He would have come home only to die…

But he didn't want to accept that fate.

How was that fair?

"Spell Card, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch!" He gestured forward. "I'll target Dark Rebellion and Rank Up my monster by 1 Rank!"

Vector's eyes widened. "Rank Up Dark Rebellion… so Blackened Bayonet?" He smirked. "That won't do. Let's face each other head-on, shall we? When my opponent activates a Spell or Trap, I can activate the effect of Umbral Horror Banshee! I'll detach two Overlay Units and send the top three cards of your deck to the graveyard!"

[Umbral Horror Banshee: OU:2 - 2 = OU:0]

Huh? Milling Yuto's deck? But Yuto only benefitted from that!… was there something else? If only he knew Vector's deck better…

The three cards fell in the graveyard—holograms appeared above Yuto, revealing what the cards were, while one of the cards glowed.

"Since a monster was sent to the graveyard with this effect," Vector continued, "all Spells and Traps activated in this chain—or Spell and Trap effects, I suppose—are negated!"

"What?" Yuto exclaimed.

Banshee let out a wail, and a powerful shockwave hit the field. His Rank Up card lost its colours—they faded, and the card slowly dissolved, resolving without effects.

"Don't be another Kurosaki," Vector said with a smirk, "we get enough Rank Up users already." He gestured forward. "Since Capshell was sent to the graveyard for an Xyz Monster's effect, I can draw a card."

Yuto narrowed his eyes. "Dark Rebellion attacks Umbral Horror Banshee! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

"… hah." Vector nodded to Banshee, who let out another cry. "My Umbral Horror Banshee protects all "Umbral Horror" monsters from destruction by battle—period." Dark Rebellion's lightning rained down on the field, but nothing happened to the female monster.

"What?"

"Nice try." Vector pulled a face. "But the only way you're getting to me is if I let you, Kamisoka."

Yuto glared at him. He glanced at the graveyard. "… Spell Card, Graceful Charity. I'll draw three cards and discard two. Then, I'll set a card and end my turn," he muttered.

"Mine, then." Vector smirked. "You pathetic creature."

[Turn 3: Vector] [H:3]

"Draw!" Vector glanced at the card, before his grin widened again. "Good! Trap Card, Corrupted Keys!" He flipped up the single set card. "I'll target Umbral Horror Banshee and summon three Umbral Horror Mirage Tokens to my field with the same attack points as her!" In front of him, three deep blue obelisks appeared, dark and yet reflective, slightly see-through. Golden heads could be seen on the top of those obelisks.

[Umbral Horror Mirage Tokens (x3) (1*/1000/0/DARK/Fiend)]

"… you can't Xyz Summon with Tokens."

"Oh, I know." Vector looked uncannily smug. "Have you figured it out yet, Yuto?"

Huh…?

"Let me show you then!" Vector gestured upwards—and a bloody red circuit appeared above him. "Open, circuit of laughter—and of hell!"

Link Summoning…

The reason that the Resistance distrusted Link Summoning was because they knew that Academia used Link Monsters too. And, of course…

Academia had armed the traitors too, then.

"Arrowhead confirmed!" Vector grinned. "The conditions are three Fiend monsters! I will set my three Umbral Horror Mirage Tokens in the Link Markers!" The three strange obelisks floated down, flying into the ground in dark streaks that pulsed slowly.

Vector lifted up the card, still smirking.

"Dark spirit that seethes with disgust," he murmured. He held out the card. "Turn on humanity and strike out against everything! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Umbral Horror Misanthrope!" In front of him, a tall, well-built demon appeared—his body was dark red, darker veins on its skin. He stood at twice Yuto's height, and a dark aura was surrounding it as well. He was barely wearing any clothing—dark pants, obviously, with a golden crown on the top of his head. He let out a loud, barbaric roar.

[Umbral Horror Misanthrope (L3/2100/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, →)]

"Misanthrope," Yuto repeated, narrowing his eyes. A misanthrope, a person that hated humanity…

"Don't look so shocked," Vector said. "I'll activate the effect of Umbral Horror Misanthrope! Since it was Link Summoned using at least three monsters as material, I can add an "Umbral Horror" card from my deck to my hand—and then, I must destroy a DARK monster on the field!"

"On… the field?"

"The field," Vector confirmed with a smirk. "Is there a problem?"

"... Continuous Trap, Phantom Knights' Fog Blade!" Yuto gestured forward. "I'll negate your monster's effects!"

"Oh, ain't that a shame," Vector said. He was still smiling—it was getting more and more annoying to see him so bright, as though nothing that had happened so far mattered at all. "Too bad then." His monster's effect fizzled out. "But your cards can't do anything but become my fuel now. I'll send a Trap card you control to the graveyard to Special Summon Trap Eater from my hand!" A large indigo creature that had no real body appeared—just an enormous head, with tiny attached limbs. It floated on the field to the right of Umbral Horror Banshee—Yuto turned to look at Fog Blade, which vanished from the field.

Using his card… as a cost?

[Trap Eater (4*/1900/1600/DARK/Fiend/Tuner/Effect)]

"And now, Umbral Horror Misanthrope regains its effects," Vector continued. "I'll banish an "Umbral Horror" monster from my graveyard—I choose Umbral Horror Ghost." He smirked. "I can banish up to three cards from your graveyard—and send cards from the top of your deck to the graveyard, up to the number of cards I banish!"

"I'll activate—"

"Just so you know, Yuto," Vector said, interrupting him, "Umbral Horror Misanthrope's effect doesn't target cards. Banish cards all you want—I get to choose after you're done."

Yuto narrowed his eyes. "You pick and choose anyway."

"Yes, but do you think you know me well enough…" Vector grinned sickeningly. "To know what I'll pick? That's awfully cocky of you!"

"Banishing my Phantom Knights' Reinforcements from my graveyard," Yuto said, doing his best to ignore the taunting. "I'll add a "Phantom Knights" card from my deck to my hand—and then I can send a "Phantom Knights" card with a different name from my deck to the graveyard!"

Vector…

Smirked again?

"I thought so," he said. "Give me the list of cards in your graveyard!"

Yuto muttered out the cards.

"... ah. Ahahaha!" Vector covered his mouth, but his grin was still visible at the corners of his lips. "Do you think you're slick, Kamisoka?" His voice was a little wilder—a shift from before. The way that he was referring to Yuto had changed too—a change in attitude. "Man, you couldn't be any more different from her."

"... huh?" Yuto blinked.

"What, do you think you're similar to her?" Vector waggled a finger at him. "As if. She's her—all order and rules, one card to the next, destruction and revenge. You, on the other hand… you start out with the same move every time and build from there. Your entire playstyle dissolves into chaos—you're just like me!"

Yuto twitched.

"I banish The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves, Phantom Knights' Wing and The Phantom Knights of Torn Scales from the graveyard!" Shadows crept out of Yuto's graveyard, writhing before vanishing. "And then, I send the same number of cards from the top of your deck to the graveyard!"

Removing the cards, and then milling more…

"And now, cards were sent from your deck to the graveyard again! So Misanthrope's final effect triggers! I can Special Summon an "Umbral Horror" monster from my deck! Come! Umbral Horror Ghoul!" A muscular, purple creature appeared on the field, a green cloak wrapped around his shoulders. Dark particles slowly drifted around him.

[Umbral Horror Ghoul (4*/1800/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"Ghoul's effect. By making its attack points 0…" Vector held up the last card in his hand. "I can Special Summon an "Umbral Horror" monster with 0 attack points from my hand! Come! Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp!" A floating blue flame appeared to the left of Ghoul, though despite how bright it was, there was something sinister to it as well—shadows pooled beneath it, and red eyes emerged from them, staring at Yuto.

[Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp (1*/0/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp's effect," Vector said with a brief tilt of his head, his lips curving up more. "It copies Ghoul's Level."

[Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp: 1* → 4*]

"I'll overlay the Level 4 Trap Eater, the Level 4 Umbral Horror Ghoul and the Level 4 Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp!" The three monsters shot straight into the ground. "Foolish insects, kneel before this dazzling light! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! The one, the only, Masquerade Magician - Shining!"

In front of him, a tall man dressed in white and gold appeared. For a brief moment, the man almost looked majestic—like a knight. However, dark purple wings then stretched out from behind the figure—looking as though they were carved from marble that had since cracked, barely held together. Shining spun a chain of metal rings through the air, a sharp ringing sound assaulting everyone's ears. He raised his arms up slowly, like a conductor guiding the orchestra—silent, but somehow majestically menacing.

[Masquerade Magician - Shining (R4/2700/1200/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

That monster… wasn't an Umbral Horror monster, huh? But it was most certainly Vector's ace, no questions asked.

… but Yuto still didn't know what its effects were.

"Battle Phase," Vector said. He grinned. "You saved Dark Rebellion's Overlay Units to deal more damage later, didn't you? Well, now it can perish without being able to attempt anything! Masquerade Magician - Shining attacks your monster!"

"I'll discard The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle to stop Dark Rebellion from being destroyed this turn!"

"Ah, but you see, we're in the Battle Phase," Vector said. There was a shark-like expression on his face. "And during either player's Battle Phase, when a player activates a monster effect, I can detach an Overlay Unit from my Masquerade Magician - Shining. That effect's activation is negated!"

Yuto's eyes widened. The shield that had originally emerged in front of Dark Rebellion shattered.

[Masquerade Magician - Shining: OU:3 - 1 = OU:2]

"And then, here's a bonus!" Vector reached out a hand—so did his monster, both of them gesturing like a magician about to show off their tricks. "You also take 800 damage! Consider this a gift… from me to you!" The monster tossed a ring forward—the ring expanded, falling around Yuto, before it exploded with light. Yuto let out a shout of surprise at the shockwave.

Yuto: 3500 - 800 = 2700LP

"And the attack continues!"

"Eroding Knuckle's effect!" Yuto said, not blinking an eye. "I'll negate Masquerade Magician's effects until the End Phase!"

"What's the point of that? Did you hear me say 'once per turn' at any point?" Vector smirked. "Masquerade Magician - Shining's effect! I'll detach another Overlay Unit!" A bolt of lightning hit Yuto's graveyard. The magician toyed with another ring, before tossing it forward. The blast hit Yuto again as he winced.

[Masquerade Magician - Shining: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

Yuto: 2700 - 800 = 1900LP

"Struggle and struggle, but nothing changes the fact that your monster is doomed! Finish it off!"

Masquerade Magician finally dove forward. He reached out with a hand, gripping Dark Rebellion around the neck—and crushed the dragon's throat. Yuto winced.

Yuto: 1900 - 200 = 1700LP

"Oh, and what a shame! It seems that I don't have enough attack points to deal with you this turn!" With his empty hand, Rui gestured forward. "Misanthrope!"

"I'll banish Fog Blade from the graveyard!" Yuto declared. "Come back in Defense Position, The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots!" The monster appeared in Defense Position, before Misanthrope cut it down, banishing it from the game.

"There it is," Vector said. "I'll end my turn. Come on. Keep struggling for me."

"... you are such…" Yuto got to his feet. "A bastard."

"Hmm?"

"You could have changed Banshee to Attack Position and attacked me," Yuto said. He still could have banished Fog Blade from the graveyard to revive one of his monsters and protect himself, but Vector hadn't even tried. Vector could easily have banished his Traps from the graveyard to stop him from using them too, so why… "You're not even trying to win."

Vector's smile grew thinner, and yet… there was still something amused there.

"What's the point of this?" Yuto was not shouting, but his voice was certainly louder—disbelief and anger couldn't hide themselves anymore. "Rui Shingetsu, if you're not trying to win, what is the point of any of this?"

"... hah." Vector shook his head, holding up his arms in a shrug. There was something light to the motions—maybe that was more infuriating than anything. "Now you're getting boring. Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answer to."

"What do you mean?" Yuto gritted his teeth. "I'm just so sick of… all this cryptic bullshit!"

"You and me both," Vector said dismissively—it caught Yuto off guard for a moment, but he finally reached out for the next card of his deck.

"Fine," he said. "Fine, I'll just… take my answers from you!"

[Turn 4: Yuto] [H:2]

"Draw!" Yuto declared. "I'll banish The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak from the graveyard to add a "Phantom Knights" card from my deck to my hand! Then, I'm Normal Summoning The Phantom Knights of Torn Scales!" Another one of the knights appeared on the field. "I'll use Torn Scales's effect! I'll discard a card and send a "Phantom Knights" card from my deck to the graveyard!"

"... did I mention that Misanthrope's effect works even if you send the cards yourself?" Vector sported a smirk again. "Come from the deck in Defense Position! Umbral Horror Unform!" A large, dark slime-like monster appeared, entirely made of sludge. A red mask could be seen on the front of Unform's face, and a large glowing blue ring could be seen glowing there, like an enormous eye.

[Umbral Horror Unform (4*/0/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"That's no problem to me!" Yuto picked up a card from his graveyard. "I'll banish The Phantom Knights of Faded Robe from the graveyard to add a banished "Phantom Knights" card to my hand. I'll choose Silent Boots!" He pressed the card to the duel disk. "Once again, I'll Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my hand! And then, I'll overlay my two Level 3 monsters! Thin shields rise. A battalion of soldiers charges across the battlefield. Xyz Summon—Rank 3, The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail!" The knight in dusty silver armour appeared on the field, blue flames floating around him as he held up two shields.

[The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail (R3/1000/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Jagged Chainmail's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit from him and set a "Phantom Knights" Spell or Trap from my deck to my field—and it can be activated this turn." He revealed a card from his deck. "The Spell Card, Phantom Knights' Battalion Charge!"

[The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"And I'll activate it! Since I control a DARK Xyz Monster that was Xyz Summoned this turn, I can Special Summon a "Phantom Knights" monster from my deck—and send a "Phantom Knights" Spell or Trap from my deck to the graveyard! Come from my deck! The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak!" Another copy of Ancient Cloak appeared on the field. "And I'll banish Silent Boots from the graveyard to add a "Phantom Knights" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand! I'll choose the Spell Card, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Burial!"

"So you still want to Rank Up," Vector said. "Well, habits can't be broken that easily, I guess… going to Xyz Summon Tortured Chains and Blackened Bayonet?"

"... if you think that I haven't changed at all since I left," Yuto said, "then you might be right." He glanced at his monsters. "... I realised it back then…"

When he was dueling against Chino Otobashi, he'd recognised himself. The ugly image of someone who never stopped hesitating, who overthought things so much that his care and consideration became nothing but a hindrance to himself and the people that he cared for.

"What I said back then was that I wanted to stop waiting for permission," Yuto recalled. "I said that I wanted to learn how to be properly angry. How to fight because I needed to fight. And most importantly… that I would never accept that there is no way forward but to sink."

"So?" Vector waved a hand through the air. "I don't care about your conviction, y'know—"

"Because I realised that it's just as disgusting to watch other people sink!" Yuto snapped—the tension finally gave way. "Right now, who are you looking at as your opponent? You talk and act like everything is going according to your plans, Vector, but none of that has anything to do with me! You're acting on the behalf of someone else, so you're only looking for them! And meanwhile, that mind of yours—you're brilliant, Vector, and you're independent and everyone knows that you're uncontrollable, so why are you letting yourself sink into someone else's shadow like this?"

Vector glanced away.

Yuto pushed further. "Sinking means believing that there's no longer a way to save anything, right? How can you face the people we lost if you just give up like this?" He gestured towards his graveyard. "Banishing Phantom Knights' Wing from the graveyard! Return—The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle!" His Tuner monster appeared on the field, though he wasn't planning to Synchro Summon this time—he didn't have enough life points for it, anyway.

[The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle (2*/1000/800/DARK/Warrior/Tuner/Effect)]

"Eroding Knuckle is banished when it leaves the field," Yuto said. "Which it's about to do! Open, circuit that honours the fallen warriors!"

Vector didn't respond.

"Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more DARK monsters. I will set The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail, The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle and The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail in the Link Markers. Dark, angry polearm, rise into the air with the crackling blue fire of the ancient warriors! With no path backwards and only light in front of you, aid your fellow warriors in destroying the enemy. Circuit Combine. Link Summon—Link 3! The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche!" His own Link Monster appeared in the Extra Monster Zone, standing parallel to Vector's Link Monster. Two creatures that could almost be mistaken as human.

One demonic, the other dead.

[The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche (L3/2100/DARK/Warrior/Link/Effect/↙, ↘, →)]

"First, since Jagged Chainmail was sent to the graveyard, I can add Rusty Bardiche's effect! I'll send a "Phantom Knights" monster from my deck to the graveyard, and set a "Phantom Knights" Spell or Trap from my deck!" He placed the card facedown on his field. "Then, Spell Card, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Burial! I will Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail from my graveyard and Rank Up by two Ranks! Darkness sharpens the blade. Within the shadows of rebellion, rise up with the power of the fallen and crush our foes near and far! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 5! The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet!" His monster reappeared—the cavalier that resembled Break Sword in some senses, and yet was generally stronger and taller than it. The knight held up its gun, ready to fire, the blade attached to the front of the gun glinting and reflecting the bright blue flames.

[The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet (R5/2500/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]

"My Rank Up card attaches itself to Blackened Bayonet as an Overlay Unit!"

[The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet: OU:1 + 1 = OU:2]

"Then, with Rusty Bardiche's effect, since an Xyz Monster was summoned to its Link Marker, I will destroy a monster you control! I choose Umbral Horror Banshee!" The dark monster was struck down immediately—Vector, however, didn't react to that either. "Since Blackened Bayonet has a DARK Xyz Monster—Jagged Chainmail—as an Overlay Unit, it gains 1000 attack points!"

[The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet: 2500 + 1000 = 3500ATK]

Vector controlled three monsters and Yuto controlled two, meaning that Blackened Bayonet could attack directly. However, Yuto didn't have a way to increase its attack points right now, meaning that going for damage was more important.

"Battle Phase!" He declared. If I don't activate effects here, Shining doesn't do anything. "I'll have The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet attack Umbral Horror Misanthrope!"

Blackened Bayonet raised his gun—and fired. A single shot burst straight through Vector's Link Monster, which collapsed to the ground, dissolving to eerie red dust.

Vector: 4000 - 1400 = 2600LP

"And Rusty Bardiche attacks your Umbral Horror Unform!" Vector's other monster was destroyed, though since it was just in Defense Position, he took no damage. All that was left was Vector's Masquerade Magician—though it had no more Overlay Units. There was nothing that it could do anymore. "I'll end my turn."

"... you know, Yuto, you've gotten so sanctimonious that it makes me want to puke," Vector said. He reached out towards the top of his deck. "I've no interest in listening to all of that bullshit!"

[Turn 5: Vector] [H:1]

"Draw." Vector glanced at the card in his hand. "Hah! Luck's on my side. Spell Card, Pot of Avarice! I'll shuffle Umbral Horror Ghoul, Umbral Horror Banshee, Umbral Horror Misanthrope, Capshell and Umbral Horror Will o' the Wisp into the deck to draw two cards! So let's see what fate has to offer!"

He picked up the next two cards.

For a brief moment, his expression softened very slightly.

"Normal Summoning Kurivolt," he said after a moment, immediately going back to normal a moment later. In front of him, a black spherical blob appeared, bouncing around on the field in front of him, lightning bolt patterns around it.

[Kurivolt (1*/300/200/LIGHT/Thunder/Effect)]

"What is that monster?" Yuto muttered. "I don't remember that from your deck at all…"

"Kurivolt's effect!" Vector declared, not answering the question. "I can steal one of your Overlay Units and Special Summon another copy of Kurivolt from the deck!"

What?

But… using Fog Blade on that small monster didn't feel worth it.

The small monster leapt towards Blackened Bayonet. It puffed out its cheeks, before it ate one of the Xyz Monster's materials, jumping back.

[The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

Another copy of Kurivolt then appeared next to it.

"And Kurivolt's effect isn't once per turn," Vector continued. "Steal the other one!" Kurivolt duplicated again, and Blackened Bayonet's second Overlay Unit vanished.

[The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

"Kurivolts, serve as my fuel!" Vector gestured forward. All three monsters plunged into the circuit that appeared above him, before Umbral Horror Misanthrope reappeared on the field. "With Misanthrope's effect, I'll add another "Umbral Horror" card from my deck to my hand—and then, I will destroy The Phantom Knights of Rusty Bardiche!"

"Fog Blade!" The familiar blue fog surrounded Misanthrope again.

"Oh, I know. But I'm only paving the path forward. Then…" Vector looked at the next card. For a brief moment, there was such naked affection on his face—and yet, something bitter and dark consumed it a moment later. "You say I'm independent and I shouldn't bend the knee and all that bullshit. But let me ask you!" He raised his head sharply—and there was something wild to the edges of his expression. "Do I look like I've bent the knee to you? No! I only do what's best for me! And… that has nothing to do with any of you anymore! All you need to do is cower and weep before me!"

He slammed down the card on his duel disk.

"Accept no substitutes," he said, a rumble in his throat. "Rank-Up-Magic Umbral Dystopia!"

What? Vector had a way to Rank Up?

Vector turned to his ace—and then made a dismissive motion. The magician bowed low, before dissolving into darkness. "When the force of monstrous chaos will cover up the light, the great darkness will dance! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! The mask of laughter that shrouds the shine of hope! Rank 5! Masquerade Magician - Umbral!"

And then—

A far darker version of the magician from earlier appeared. There was something far more jester-like to the new monster—firstly, there was the crooked body structure of the monster, head bent slightly too far, as though it was broken. Its wings from earlier had become far thinner—now they resembled a cape, something too fragile to ever carry him in flight. The end of the cape-wings ended in long, thin bone-like structures that extended outwards. The colour scheme of the monster had turned to wicked red and black. He was holding onto a long black staff, with gold orbs on the hilt. At the top was a hand shaped from golden metal, clutching onto a glowing red gem. Yellow horns, like those of a demon, extended from the sides of his head.

A menacing creature.

[Masquerade Magician - Umbral (R5/3000/1500/DARK/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"And just like yours, mine attaches itself as an Overlay Unit too," Vector said. Another light shot up, attaching itself.

[Masquerade Magician - Umbral: OU:2 + 1 = OU:3]

He picked up a card from the graveyard. "When Masquerade Magician - Umbral is Xyz Summoned, I can destroy a Spell or Trap on the field." He gestured forward. "Get rid of that nasty Fog Blade, will you?"

Once again, the fog dissipated.

"I'm going to seal away your future," he said. "When a monster is successfully summoned with Rank-Up-Magic Umbral Dystopia—it gains this effect. All other monsters on the field that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck are immediately exterminated!"

"What?"

"And you've already used Fog Blade, I'm afraid." Vector gestured forward. "Umbral Dystopia eliminates all monsters with no need for battle! Crush them all!"

The evolution of his ace floated up—and then pressed his staff against the ground. A dark wave of energy rippled out—

All the monsters on the field shattered.

"And for each of my own monsters that was sent to the graveyard by this effect, my monster gains 1000 attack points," Vector said.

[Masquerade Magician - Umbral: 3000 + 1000 = 4000ATK]

"Battle Phase," Vector said. "I'll have Umbral attack you directly, naturally."

"I'll banish Fog Blade from the graveyard," Yuto declared.

"I'll activate the effect of Umbral Horror Preta in the graveyard," Vector countered. "I'll negate that effect and Special Summon a "Umbral Horror" monster from the graveyard. Come back, Umbral Horror Misanthrope!"

Two monsters…

"Torn Scales's effect. Since a card was banished from the graveyard, I'll Special Summon it in Defense Position!"

"But I've been counting. That's your last one."

… he's right. He ate away at my resources so much so early, and I…

"Finish it, Masquerade!" His monster was crushed.

Yuto stared forward as Misanthrope rose up.

"... you talk a big game, but you're right. You are still the same." Vector smirked. "And someone who's just the same can't survive here."

The demonic creature summoned up a ball of red energy.

"See you next time," Vector said in a singsong voice—and the monster flung it down.

---

Sachi glanced at her hand. Meanwhile, Ruri's two Xyz Monsters floated in front of her—Recite Starling looked confused, while Prom Thrush looked rather determined.

Finally, Sachi placed down a card. "Quickplay Spell, Runick Destruction. I will destroy a Spell or Trap you control, and banish four cards from the top of your deck."

"Trap Card, Icarus Attack!" Ruri countered. "I'll tribute Prom Thrush and destroy two cards you control—I'll target your Runick Fountain and your set monster!"

Sachi looked at her.

She shrugged.

"As you wish," she said. The effects resolved—Icarus Attack destroyed her two cards, while four more cards left the top of Ruri's deck. "Twenty-six. Quickplay Spell, Runick Slumber. I choose the second effect."

Right, she'd mentioned a second effect earlier…

"I will Special Summon a "Runick" monster from my Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone," Sachi said. "Come. Geri the Runick Fangs."

A wolf appeared with thick fur—its fur was two entirely different colours—half deep, dark purple, the other half shimmering gold. Its colourful tail swished through the air like a paintbrush.

And, most importantly…

It was a Fusion Monster.

[Geri the Runick Fangs (4*/0/1000/DARK/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]

"... Izumi-san," Ruri said softly, "how could you—"

"Don't," Sachi said. She raised her hands, cupping them around her ears. "Don't speak to me of what's right or wrong, or anything like that…"

Ruri looked at her.

Everyone said that Sachi Izumi was a frighteningly difficult individual to be around. But to Ruri…

She just seemed like a scared girl.

"I just want to duel," Sachi said. "I have a deck, so I duel… Tatsuya-nii gave me a new deck, and so I play it. The world runs on logic and rules, right? Everything can be traced back to a formula, to some kind of rule… that's just how the world works. I don't need to think about right and wrong and… it just hurts to think!"

She wiped at her eyes.

"Geri's effect. I'll add a non-Quickplay "Runick" Spell from my graveyard to my hand." She picked up Runick Fountain, flipping it over.

"But you can't activate it," Ruri said. "Because of your own Set Rotation's effect!"

"... I know," Sachi said. "Battle Phase."

What?

"Geri." Sachi closed her eyes, turning away. "... make yourself useful."

Geri leapt forward, straight towards Recite Starling—and as Recite Starling counterattacked, it shattered.

Sachi: 4000 - 900 = 3100LP

"Geri's effect," Sachi said. She turned away. "When destroyed by battle, I can target a card on the field and destroy it. I will choose the Ghostrick Mansion I set on your field."

So…

"Main Phase 2. Activating the Field Spell, Runick Fountain." Sachi placed down another card. "Another copy of Runick Tip. I will add another "Runick" card from my deck to my hand. And with the effect of Runick Fountain, I will return Runick Tip, Runick Slumber and Runick Destruction to the deck to draw three more cards."

She was up to five cards in hand now.

"I'll activate the Quickplay Spell, Runick Smiting Storm. I will Special Summon another "Runick" monster from my Extra Deck. Come from the Extra Deck. Fierce beast with the loveliest mane. Sleipnir the Runick Mane!" In front of her, a large, snowy white horse with far more legs than a normal horse should have appeared on the field. It was wearing white armour with golden edges and designs on it, covering its torso and legs. Its silvery white mane streamed through the air, along with its beautiful tail, majestic and overpowering.

[Sleipnir the Runick Mane (9*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]

"Level 9 Fusion?" Ruri said.

"... end turn," Sachi said. "Twenty-six."

[Turn 4: Ruri] [H:3]

"Draw," Ruri said, slightly tense. "I'll…"

If I'm just scared to move forward… but how do I know what's right or enough? How do I know if I should be adding cards to my hand or retreating?

She's not bothering to attack, but I'm still losing…

"A card was added from the Main Deck to your hand," Sachi said. "Sleipnir gives me a Runick Token in Attack Position." A smaller spirit of light appeared on the field, next to Sleipnir.

[Runick Token (4*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Fairy)]

Ruri bit her lip again. "... Recite Starling's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit to add a Level 1 Winged Beast monster from my deck to my hand."

[Lyrical Luscinia - Recite Starling: OU:3 - 1 = OU:2]

She picked up the card. "I'll Special Summon Lyrical Luscinia - Beryl Canary from my hand—and Lyrical Luscinia - Cobalt Sparrow from the graveyard!" The brown bird girl from earlier appeared, and next to her, the girl with fluffy yellow hair appeared too, waving her wings through the air.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Beryl Canary (1*/0/200/WIND/Winged Beast/Effect)]

"I'll activate the effect of Cobalt Sparrow!"

"Add it if you want," Sachi said. As Ruri picked up the card, she added: "Twenty-three."

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Wing Requital! I'll pay 600 life points to draw two cards!" Ruri shook off the thoughts, though the doubts were still something that she was struggling with.

Ruri: 5000 - 600 = 4400LP

She glanced at the cards, before she placed down another one.

"Sapphire Swallow! Special Summon yourself and Celeste Wagtail!" The two monsters appeared on the field. "I'll use Celeste Wagtail's effect! I'll add Lyrical Luscinia - Bird Strike to my hand and activate it! All monsters you control have their effects negated until the End Phase!"

Ruri didn't know anything about this new deck—in fact, it seemed that the only Ghostricks that Sachi was running were Skeleton, Festival and one of the Field Spells, just so that Set Rotation could still search her card out. The milling cards and the Field Spell to lock away opponents who desperately needed Field Spells for their effects to work.

Still…

"Chain," Sachi said. "Quickplay Spell, Runick Flashing Fire. I'll destroy Cobalt Sparrow again and banish two cards from the top of your deck again." She destroyed Ruri's monster again. Ruri winced.

Two more cards…

"Assembly Nightingale is your formula for victory," Sachi said. "Once you summon it with Cobalt Sparrow, it can't be targeted by card effects. You chain its effect to any destruction effect and then it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects either. With its own effect and the effects of your other monsters, you can always gain Overlay Units and attack points, and defeat your opponent in a One Turn Kill." She raised her head. "... I argue that everyone is scared of Assembly Nightingale, but the one that actually causes problems is Cobalt Sparrow… Ruri Kurosaki."

Ruri narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, and… two. One. Two. Eighteen."

"... I'm not going to hesitate this time," Ruri said. "I'll overlay the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Celeste Wagtail, the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Beryl Canary and the Level 1 Lyrical Luscinia - Sapphire Swallow!" The three monsters shot up. "Birds with beautiful wings! Gather on the battlefield and take brilliant flight! Xyz Summon! Dance in the sky! Rank 1! Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale!" With beautiful feathers spreading out around it, the colourful woman took flight, dancing across the field.

[Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale (R1/0/0/WIND/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

Ruri raised a fist determinedly. "Beryl Canary gives Assembly Nightingale 200 more attack points! And Sapphire Swallow attaches Cobalt Sparrow from the graveyard as an Overlay Unit, granting Assembly Nightingale 200 more attack points!"

[Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale: 0 + 200 x 3 + 200 + 200 = 1000ATK; OU:3 + 1 = OU:4]

"Assembly Nightingale! Spread your wings and take flight! Attack directly—Avian Gale!"

"Forget it," Sachi said. "What can you do with a monster as vulnerable as that? Spell Card, Runick Freezing Curses. I'll negate Assembly Nightingale's effects until the End Phase and banish three cards from the top of your deck."

"Assembly Nightingale's effect. I'll detach one Overlay Unit, and until the end of this turn, all "Lyrical Luscinia" monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!" Ruri desperately nodded to her monster. "Feather Barrier!"

[Lyrical Luscinia - Assembly Nightingale: OU:4 - 1 = OU:3]

"Sure. Your monster still loses all effects. Fountain's effect then triggers. I shuffle Runick Freezing Curses, Runick Flashing Fire and Runick Smiting Storm into the deck to draw a card for each."

She refilled her hand again.

"With its effect negated, Assembly Nightingale loses all its attack points. Beryl Canary's power is borrowed power—and when it is negated, it goes away as well. And you can no longer attack directly or multiple times." Sachi's voice was flat. "Fifteen."

Ruri bit her lip, pressing her hand against her duel disk defeatedly. "... Recite Starling attacks Sleipnir. With Assembly Nightingale's effect from earlier… it lingers, so it's not negated by Freezing Curses! I take no battle damage, and Recite Starling reflects it all on you!"

"... I was wondering why you would use Assembly Nightingale's effect on your own turn," Sachi said. "It's useless. My new deck… Tatsuya wanted a deck for me that would ruin all Xyz Monsters." She raised her hands. "Sleipnir's effect. During my Main Phase or your Battle Phase, I can target a monster you control. Then, I banish that monster and Sleipnir until the End Phase."

"What?" Ruri gasped. If her monster was banished, then that bypassed Assembly Nightingale's effect, and…

"Slip of the Light." Both monsters vanished from the field in a burst of light.

Then… she'd wasted Assembly Nightingale's effect…

"... and Ruri Kurosaki," Sachi said, "your Overlay Units will never return, even if your monster does. Do you end your turn?"

Ruri lowered her head.

… there's nothing I can do. This feeling…

"I end my turn," she said, and there was a certain feeling of bitterness to it. Both Sleipnir and Recite Starling reappeared—but…

Ruri still felt like it was impossible to even attack. It was a horrible feeling.

[Turn 5: Sachi] [H:6]

"Draw." Sachi looked at her. "... fifteen, huh. Now, Sleipnir has escaped the Extra Monster Zone. So… Spell Card, Runick Smiting Storm. Come from the Extra Deck. Munin the Runick Wings." A boy with blond-grey hair appeared, dark bird wings behind him. He was wearing red pants and gloves.

[Munin the Runick Wings (3*/0/2000/LIGHT/Fairy/Fusion/Effect)]

"Munin's effect. I discard a card to add a "Runick" Continuous Spell from my deck to my hand." Sachi revealed the card. "Continuous Spell, Runick Allure. Every time a "Runick" Quickplay Spell is activated, I banish the top card of your deck. I'll activate the Quickplay Spell, Runick Golden Droplet. Draw one card, banish four, and banish another card."

Ruri picked up the cards, wincing.

"Nine. Quickplay Spell, Runick Dispelling. My opponent has added a card from their deck to their hand outside of the Draw Phase. I will discard a random card from their hand and banish two cards from their deck. One more, with Runick Allure."

Ruri dropped the cards again, a bad feeling in her heart.

Was… Sachi planning on removing the rest of the cards in one turn?

"Six," Sachi continued. "Quickplay Spell, Runick Slumber. I target Munin. The first time it would be destroyed this turn, it is not destroyed. I will also banish three cards from the top of your deck—and one more, with Allure."

Ruri moved the four cards to her zone for banished cards.

"Two," Sachi said. "Fountain's effect. I will place Smiting Storm, Slumber and Dispelling on the bottom of my deck and draw three cards." She stared at Ruri. "... what do you think are the chances that I wouldn't draw what I need?"

Ruri clutched onto the cards in her hand, head lowered.

The entire time…

What had she been able to accomplish?

"Spell Card, Runick Tip." Sachi revealed the card. "I add one more "Runick" card from my deck to my hand and shuffle my deck. Then, I banish a card."

A brief pause.

"Allure. Another card."

Ruri shut her eyes.

"Zero," Sachi said. "I end my turn."

Ruri glanced at her empty deck.

Just like that… she'd lost…?

"You have no more cards left in your deck," Sachi continued. "... I win."

Ruri's Deck: 0 - Deckout!

Winner: Sachi Izumi!

"I don't understand," Sachi said. She covered her face, sinking to the ground—despite the fact that she'd won, she didn't seem happy at all. "What's so good about you, Ruri Kurosaki?"

Ruri covered her mouth—hurt, despite the fact that the two of them weren't close at all. "I…"

"Why is it that for you, everyone abandons everything?" Sachi buried her head in her hands. "Why is it that for you, people stop thinking? You haven't done anything for anyone!"

And maybe that was far more painful, and far more true than Ruri wanted to admit.

Rin saved her homeland. But Ruri…

Ruri didn't really know where to start.

She'd lost, but…

Somehow, it looked like her opponent was suffering from her loss too.

"Izumi-san—Sachi—"

"Why?" Sachi hid her head. "Why does someone like you… think that they have the right to protect other people? The right to say that you'll fight, that you'll change the minds of others, that you'll protect people… you're just ridiculous."

"It's not… my thoughts aren't… ridiculous." Ruri took a step forward. "Sachi-san, I… I know I left everyone behind, but I was taken away. I didn't have a choice. If I could, I would rather have been here with everyone!"

"Just… please shut up. You're so weak." Sachi shook her head. "I'm so tired."

Ruri stood there. Her entire body felt frozen in place.

"I can't card you. Academia wants you." Sachi kicked her legs out—there was something frantic, child-like to the motion. "I can't do anything to you. Don't you see? Ruri Kurosaki, you're the lucky one. You don't have to be scared for survival, you don't have to be afraid. Even if you're captured, you just go back in a cage. You're still given three meals a day, all the water you want—you can take a shower and clean yourself off without worrying that someone isn't going to get enough water because you want to be clean. You're not in a packed room with people who are just noisy, noisy, noisy, your ears want to die…"

Her nails scraped against her arms, still hugging herself.

"I hate it. I hate feeling like I'm always dirty. I hate feeling hungry and thirsty and like I might die. I don't want to die." Her voice had grown higher in pitch. "You would rather have been with us? Everyone knows that's a lie. Everyone knows that anywhere is better than here!" Her voice broke on the word. "Saying that… saying that just makes you the worst…"

Ruri didn't know what to do. But just then…

"Sachi. Control yourself."

Ruri stiffened up.

Tatsuya walked over. He reached out, scooping Sachi up from the ground—his cousin flailed briefly, but eventually she settled down.

"She's right," Tatsuya said. "We should be taking you back, but I can only carry one person at a time." His lips curved up in a smirk. "Guess you're lucky. But nothing's changed about you, has it? You're still the girl that Academia wanted. Still the reason that they invaded our city in the first place."

Ruri pressed her hand to her chest, wincing.

"Say hello to your brother for me," Tatsuya continued with a shrug. "Next time, he and I can settle things."

And Ruri…

Stood there petrified.

As though she wasn't there at all.

"Ruri Kurosaki, you're the lucky one."

Why…

Why was she shaking?

Maybe she really didn't understand suffering. Maybe it was condescending for her to pretend otherwise.

Maybe, like she'd always thought, all of this might have been her fault.

Maybe.

---

"... are you good to get up?"

Yuto let out a pained groan. He finally pulled himself to his feet.

Tsubaki watched him, her dark eyes… exposing nothing. Explaining nothing.

"... I'm—"

"I don't control what you do," Tsubaki said. She glanced at the area around them. "... but fine. If you want to pull things like this… at least do so with proper information."

She did not help him move forward.

Yuto felt a keen sense of shame.

"We found the rest," she said. "Let's return to the base. We'll brief you properly on what we're planning to do in the near future…" She glanced towards the area around them. "... and properly tell you what happened with them."

"... you're angry."

"I'm furious," Tsubaki said, though no one would know it from her tone. "But I can't stop you from feeling that way."

"... I'm not sorry for this."

"... that's fine. I'm not your mother. Not even your sister." Tsubaki glanced away. "You're perfectly capable of reaping the consequences of your own actions."

Yuto thought about Vector staring at him as he fell to the ground. The look on the orange-haired boy's face, when he'd finally dropped the smile on his face.

That flat, cold look.

The way that he'd turned on one foot and walked away.

The way that, if not for the help of others, they might have lost more people.

Consequences. Anger.

"Come," Tsubaki said. "We'll explain. But after that… none of this. Stop doing this."

Yuto clenched his fists. He slowly, carefully loosened his fingers.

Fine.

Fine.

He just didn't know how to change. He could understand himself better, but despite his best efforts, he could never change.

And that, more than anything, frustrated him.

---

"Girag." Vector dropped all formality, reaching up and smacking the back of the man's head. "You idiot."

"Hey!" Girag folded his arms. "I forgot that Eri-san told us—"

"To leave Sora Shiun'in and 'the Lancer with the blond and brown hair' alone, yes," Vector said. "Beat him up all you want, but if you carded him—"

This weird truce would end.

And I can't have that yet.

"Come on," he decided. "Let's head back to base."

---

… it was already nighttime, it seemed. Yuno and Miharu had stopped by with some dinner for him, and at his request, they'd filled him in on the day. Three groups leaving, one sneaking out.

Shun leaned against the wall.

… he'd lost his appetite.

He was so out of it that he only noticed the footsteps when Tsubaki entered the room.

"... what do you want?"

"I'm not your enemy," Tsubaki said. After a brief moment, Shun nodded. "I told the rest about… Diamond Branch during dinner, after I rounded them up. I decided that you should know too."

"... can I be trusted now?"

"Don't get testy with me," Tsubaki said. "It was a group decision back then to exclude you—both for your mental state and for our cohesion as a group."

"... a group that still split up," Shun said. He glanced at Nue. The sight made him ache.

… he finally turned back to Tsubaki, who was watching Nue with the same… softness.

"You and Kaito," he said. "What happened—"

"It was my fault," Tsubaki said. "... that specific part was my fault. It is… understandable that he won't forgive me for it." And that was the closest that she came to explaining that complicated relationship. "So. Do you want to hear it?"

Shun looked at her. "... fine," he said. "I should…"

I should be the one to hear it. To tell her.

… especially if everyone else already knows.

---

OC Cards:

Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin

(4*/600/1800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)

Once per turn, during your opponent's turn (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position, and if you do, this turn, all damage you take is halved. If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can add 1 "Moonlight" card or "Polymerization" from your GY to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin" once per turn.

Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin

(7*/2500/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)

2 monsters on the field with the same Attribute

(This card is always treated as a "Moonlight" monster.) You can also Special Summon this card by sending the above monsters you control to the GY while there are 3 or more Fusion Monsters in your possession that are banished or in your GY (in which case you do not use "Polymerization"). If this card is Special Summoned with this effect: You can discard 1 card, otherwise, destroy this monster. This card cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster with higher ATK, or by the effects of monsters with higher ATK. Once per turn, if a Fusion Monster activates its effect: You can negate that effect, and if you do, this card loses 500 ATK. If this card attacks a Special Summoned monster: You can banish 1 monster from the GY; this card gains ATK equal to half the current ATK of the opponent's monster it is battling during that damage calculation only. You can only control 1 "Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin".

Moonlight Stun Whip

(Spell/Quickplay)

During the Main Phase: You can target 1 monster you control; negate the effects of all monsters your opponent controls with lower ATK than that monster. Your opponent cannot activate the effects of monsters in response to this effect. You can only activate "Moonlight Stun Whip" once per turn.

Umbral Horror Banshee

(R2/1000/1000/DARK/Fiend/Xyz/Effect)

2 Level 2 Fiend monsters

"Umbral Horror" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle. If your opponent activates a Spell/Trap card or effect: You can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card; send 3 cards from the top of your opponent's Deck to the GY, and if a monster was sent to the GY by this effect, negate all Spell/Trap effects activated in the same Chain as this effect. You can only activate each effect of "Umbral Horror Banshee" once per turn.

Umbral Horror Misanthrope

(L3/2100/DARK/Fiend/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, →)

3 Fiend monsters

If this card is Link Summoned using only Level 4 or lower monsters as Link Material: You can add 1 "Umbral Horror" card from your Deck to your hand, and if you do, destroy 1 DARK monster on the field. You can banish 1 "Umbral Horror" monster from your GY; banish up to 3 cards from your opponent's GY, and if you do, send the same number of cards from the top of your opponent's Deck to the GY. Once per turn, if a card is sent from your opponent's Deck to the GY: You can Special Summon 1 "Umbral Horror" monster from your Deck. You can only activate each effect of "Umbral Horror Misanthrope" once per turn.

Trivia: I combined this section with Banshee's. This card's design is based very loosely on both Vector's design when he's possessing Dr. Faker in the first season of ZEXAL, as well as the design of Vector's father in the flashbacks that we see. ZEXAL spoilers here, but the fact that Don Thousand attempted to shape Vector in his abusive father's image to make him a villain is so fascinating to me? So yeah, the monster is literally a reference to how Vector in ZEXAL canon is an amalgamation of himself and his father. Meanwhile, Banshee, who protects all Umbral Horror monsters and negates Spell/Traps but not monsters, is meant to match with the card that symbolises Vector himself, aka Umbral Horror Masquerade, because it's based on his mother. In a sense, while Misanthrope uses Umbral Horrors as the cost and casts them aside, Banshee protects them. Also, the fact that Misanthrope is Vector's Link Monster and is literally placed in a parallel column to Rusty Bardiche, plus the stats, etc… yeah, I was not subtle with the card symbolism on this one.

Phantom Knights' Reinforcements

(Trap)

You can target 1 DARK monster you control; that monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. You can banish this card from the GY; add 1 "The Phantom Knights" monster from your Deck to your hand, and if you do, send 1 "Phantom Knights" card with a different name from that card from your Deck to the GY. You can only activate each effect of "Phantom Knights' Reinforcements" once per turn.

The Phantom Knights of Faded Robe

(3*/1200/1000/DARK/Warrior/Effect)

Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; Special Summon 1 of your banished DARK Warrior monsters in Defense Position and if you do, you can increase or decrease the Levels of all DARK monsters you control by 1. You can banish this card from your GY; add 1 banished "Phantom Knights" card to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "The Phantom Knights of Faded Robe" once per turn.

The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle

(2*/1000/800/DARK/Warrior/Tuner/Effect)

If this card is sent from the Deck or hand to the GY for the cost or effect of a "Phantom Knights" card: You can target 1 card on the field; negate that card's effects until the End Phase, and if you do, Special Summon this card from the GY in Defense Position. If a DARK monster you control would be destroyed by battle or a card effect: You can discard this card; that monster cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. You can only activate each effect of "The Phantom Knights of Eroding Knuckle" once per turn.

The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail

(R3/1000/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect)

2 Level 3 monsters

This card cannot be destroyed by card effects. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Set 1 "Phantom Knights" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your field, and if it is a Trap or a Quickplay Spell, it can be activated this turn. If this card is sent to the GY: You can add 1 "Phantom Knights" card from your GY to your hand. You can only activate this effect of "The Phantom Knights of Jagged Chainmail" once per turn.

Phantom Knights' Battalion Charge

(Spell)

If you control a DARK Xyz Monster that was Xyz Summoned this turn: You can Special Summon 1 "The Phantom Knights" monster from your Deck, and if you do, send 1 "Phantom Knights" Spell/Trap from your Deck to the GY. You can only activate "Phantom Knights' Battalion Charge" once per turn.

The Phantom Knights of Blackened Bayonet

(R5/2500/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect)

2 Level 5 DARK monsters

If this card has a DARK Xyz Monster attached to it as Xyz Material: It gains 1000 ATK. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; if this card battles a monster this turn, destroy the opposing monster during the start of the Damage Step. If your opponent controls more monsters than you do, this card can attack directly, but if it does, the damage it deals is halved. If this card is destroyed: Special Summon all monsters attached to this card as Xyz Material in Defense Position.

Rank-Up-Magic Umbral Dystopia

(Spell/Quickplay)

Target 1 face-up Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Umbral Horror", "Utopia" or "Number" monster that is 1 Rank higher than that target, by using that target as the Xyz Material, and if you do, attach this card to it as additional material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to that target also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) The monster Summoned with this effect gains the following effect:

● If it is Xyz Summoned: Destroy all other monsters on the field that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, and if you do, this card gains 1000 ATK for each card you control that was sent to the GY by this effect.

You can only activate "Rank-Up-Magic Umbral Dystopia" once per turn.

Trivia: Well, since I made the Over-Hundred Numbers just normal Xyz Monsters here, Vector needed a way to get out Umbral Horror Masquerade, so here it is! :)

Umbral Horror Preta

(4*/1200/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)

If you control a "Umbral Horror" monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If your opponent activates an effect in the GY while this card is in the GY: You can banish this card from the GY; negate that effect, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Umbral Horror" monster from the GY, other than "Umbral Horror Preta".

---

Different Card Effects from TCG:

Abyss Actor - Extras - Anime effect… plus TCG effect.

Abyss Actor - Superstar - Anime effect.

Moonlight Cat Dancer - Anime effect. This is like the one Serena card I cannot change, even though I really want to.

Moonlight Black Sheep - Its anime effect adds it back to the hand, but instead, I just gave it its TCG effects, minus the clause where it cannot add itself back to hand, so that I don't interfere with her canon duels but her deck is a little more consistent.

Moonlight Blue Cat - Uses its TCG effect, minus the clause where it can't double its own ATK.

Moonlight Panther Dancer - Anime effect.

Moonlight Lio Dancer - Anime effect.

Over-Hundred Numbers - No longer considered Numbers in this classification system. Umbral has a clause in parenthesis that treats it as a "Umbral Horror" monster.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon - Anime effect

The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch - Anime effect, but a Quickplay Spell.

The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Burial - Anime-only card.

---

End Notes:

Life for neurodivergent kids can be so painful when people refuse to acknowledge that neurodivergence and insist on making you tolerate everything instead of helping you adjust to it… and well. Mr. Heartland is exactly the kind of guardian you'd expect him to be.

Yep, the Diamond Branch members all have the bracelets. However, Yuto doesn't know their significance yet, since Nue hasn't woken up yet. :3 So that's why he doesn't point it out.

Is Runick way better than Ghostrick, and better on its own? Yes. This is one of those decisions that I made for narrative purposes, instead of following competitive stuff. As you can tell, there aren't even that many Ghostrick cards in the deck… well, anymore. Even if Sachi was once a Ghostrick player, those days are gone—she's a Runick player with nostalgia issues. But yeah, even though I always intended to have her play Runick, she used to be a Skelemill player.

Ruri struggling to know whether to add cards, struggling with issues about whether to use her effects or not… it's very much an attempt to address a person who's dealing with a mill deck for the first time in her life. There's a lot of uncertainty that comes with that. So yes, she misplays, but… there certainly is a reason in the story for that.

"Ruri still felt like it was impossible to even attack. It was a horrible feeling." - Yeah, you and every person that has ever played against Runick, Ruri. I'm sorry for putting you through this.

I also did say that Ruri would be getting development. I'm guessing that 'decked out by a Runick player' was not on anyone's list though. I'm sorry. I promise I hate Runicks as much as everyone else. Shoutout to one specific person who made me choke when they guessed Runicks—you know who you are.

That being said, as usual, there is the 6ARC different POV in play—every character has their own opinion, separate from mine. For Sachi, whose neuroses all come from things that the invasion only aggravated, Ruri saying that she would rather have been there is one of the most stupid and condescending lies ever. For Ruri, that's just the truth.

Anyone who expected me to write Girag with just the Hand cards or just Raccoons in 6ARC format is off their rocker :) I could have given him Melffy, but it doesn't suit his personality at all. So I looked up Beast-related archetypes that had Xyz Monsters and well—Girag in ZEXAL canon was once an honourable warrior who was friends with beasts and men. I think it's fitting enough to theme, and tolerable on a gameplay perspective. Also, the way that Susanowo/Kagutsuchi and King Dempsey/Lead Yoke match is pretty nice.

So yeah, as you can tell, while 5Ds characters have all gotten a lot of support that allowed me to keep their decks mostly just canon cards, the same thing didn't happen with a lot of cool ZEXAL characters! (I did say 'a lot', not all. We'll get there.) So instead of making tons of OC cards for decks with like… four cards, I just decided to either give them a deck that still fits their general backstory (Girag) or buff them with the Magic Poker Equation + generic cards + a few OC cards. (Vector).

I promise that Sawatari is going to start to get his dueling improvement arc starting from here :)

Vector and Yuto talk so much that the duel took so long to write. I just wanted to cover both of their mouths and tell them 'stfu', but unfortunately… they actually need to say things.

You'll get to see a bit more in terms of reactions in a later chapter. If it seems off that I skipped the original relating of events... it's because I want to show Kurosaki's reaction first. :)

I'm not 100% satisfied with the duels in this chapter, specifically two of them, but I'll come back and rewrite them if I feel like it :)

Review responses!

To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, mm, like I said, creative differences :)

To Bryz0n, I was trying to give that false lead of Sophia, haha. There are definitely some foils that are being set up, though I won't explain more about that now :) And yeah, I did give Cloudians support, but more Counter-related cards need field presence.

To ButterFinger111, nope. Not my thing.

To Ore-sama, Ritual Trio is always fun to write :)

To Erathios, lmao it wasn't calling out anyone directly, but yeah, I guess that's true. Glad you enjoyed :)

To phantomdragons, oh, you're basically seeing Kyorin as a major character for a very long time.

To Egduardiazsluber, you can reach all the conclusions you want!

To cardfan135, oh, it is most certainly intentional. She is one of the closest characters you'll get to a typical yugioh protagonist.

And last but not least, do feel free to comment if you enjoyed! I know I do have other forums for feedback, but comments do make the brain go 'brrr happy', and while I write at the same speed regardless, it makes my day :)