So we've made it to the end of this arc, and what a ride the War of the Planets has been. Will Nick find out who he's been dueling? Can he find the strength to beat his enemy? Read the chapter to have these questions answered! As always, thanks to Eneko, our Beta reader, for helping keep our ramblings on track.

Oh, and one other thing: We recommend cueing up a particular duelist's theme at the chapter climax. You'll see a note telling you what song to play.

Chapter 47

Shadow's Brawl

Part II

Purgatory

Nick - 3975

Erhard - 6050

Smoke cleared away as one stood tall while the other was faltering.

"I think I've done enough, your move," the masked duelist remarked.

The teen struggled a bit as that last attack did some significant damage. Fortunately that wouldn't last as his mark glowed and engulfed his body with an aura. It was able to heal him, though not completely as its power eroded the longer the duel went on. Despite the setback, he wasn't going to back down.

"Now it's time for me to make some magic happen," Nick declared as he drew and looked at his hand. "First, I sacrifice my Harmattan in order to Tribute Summon one of my favorite monsters, Blackwing - Sirocco the Dawn (5/2000/900) in Attack Mode."

The crane bowed its head and vanished in a swirl of red sand and feathers, from which a scrawny, dark-skinned crow humanoid stepped out.

Sirocco wore clawed gauntlets, a helmet that looked like a bird mascot head, and a shawl with a red eye pattern over its chest.

"Oh, and I Special Summon our old friend Gale from my hand, since Black Whirlwind was kind enough to deliver her there."

Once more, the black portal emerged as the wind came out and revealed Gale as it landed next to its ally.

"All this swarming is starting to get rather obnoxious…" Erhard groaned.

"Before I get to the good part, however, I'll activate her second effect and cut your Amaterasu's attack and defense in half."

Gale stared intently at Amaterasu's head. The veil of purple fire went out, and the sun goddess' armor crumbled like a dead log.

Amaterasu - (2600/2500 - 1300/1250)

"Even a swarm deck needs some heavy hitters, so I'll tune together my Sirocco and my Gale to Synchro Summon one now! Prepare for rampage, Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons (8/3000/3000)!"

Like the others, both monsters on Nick's side nodded before flying upward with Gale as she transformed into three rings, surrounding Sirocco before a black pillar of energy engulfed it.

Two massive red dragon heads broke through the pillar within seconds of each other. Both heads roared and shook off the black energy, revealing that their necks were where wings might be on other dragons. At the center of its body, armored scales surrounded bright yellow compound eyes and a set of wicked-looking mandibles. Even its relatively small arms and snakelike tail looked dangerous.

"You had a Devil put aside for me," Erhard said in awe as the massive monster loomed over the field. "I might need to worry a little…"

"You haven't seen anything yet," Nick announced. "Go Beelze, attack Amaterasu with Darkened Gaze!"

Its two heads roared before their eyes glowed pitch black, releasing two powerful beams that joined into one and took aim right at its enemy.

"I activate Burial from a Different Dimension!" Erhard called. "Sending three of my Banished monsters back to the Graveyard. As such, I return Bujingi Sinyou, Bujingi Quilin, and Bujingi Turtle.

"With Sinyou back in the Graveyard, I activate its effect as well as the trap card Horn of the Phantom Beast! Horn of the Phantom Beast boosts the equipped monster's Attack by 800, and then Sinyou adds your monster's Attack to Amaterasu's!"

The horns on Amaterasu's helmet lit up in gold, creating a barrier that pushed the eye beams away. Meanwhile, Sinyou's spirit turned into a spectral set of armor for Amaterasu herself, and the purple fire returned.

Amaterasu - (1300/1250 - 5100/1250)

She then drew her blade, pulling the energy barrier into it. Once it had fully vanished, she lunged forward and cut through the dragon's compound eyes in a single strike, prompting a scream of pain from her enemy.

The blowback from said attack caused a powerful force that pushed Nick backwards, grinding his shoes against the ground for some kind of traction. He eventually stopped but not unscathed.

Nick - (3975 - 2925)

Erhard - (6050)

Erhard had a cocky smile, still hidden behind his mask, but it disappeared upon noticing the monster was still there.

"Why is Beelze still on the field?" Erhard demanded.

"You were right earlier, you know? How important it is to know what's in your Extra Deck," said his opponent. "While I may not remember every card in there offhand, I do know that Beelze can't be destroyed by battle. Instead, it gains attack points equal to the damage I just took."

Darkness emanated from Nick as his beast turned and extended one of its heads for the teen to touch, transferring the damage he took into it.

Beelze - (3000 - 4050)

Amaterasu - (5100 - 2100)

"I'll finish with one card facedown and call it a turn."

"My turn," Erhard snarled, drawing a card. "I'll start by banishing Quilin from my Graveyard to destroy your Beelze!"

Another ghostly spear appeared in Amaterasu's hand, which she threw at the two-headed dragon. However, a blackened energy barrier sprang up around Beelze, breaking the spear on contact.

"Good try. But Beelze can't be destroyed by card effects, either. I gotta remember to lead with the monster's full effect next time."

That made his opponent tighten his fist slightly, but he wouldn't let that technicality stop his turn.

"Well played, but don't think I'm without my tricks," Erhard growled. "Since I banished a Bujin monster, I can Special Summon my second Bujin Arasuda to the field in Defense Mode from my hand. Then I'll detach one of Amaterasu's Overlay Units and Special Summon a level 4 or lower monster I previously banished back to the field.

"Be reborn, Sinyou!"

The purple beast dashed out from a portal as it halted next to the two other monsters, kneeling slightly as it was placed in Defense Mode.

"I'll end my turn by switching Amaterasu to take the defensive as well," Erhard sighed, feeling cornered.

Regardless, Nick knew this was his moment to keep the pressure up, if not increase it.

"My go," he remarked while drawing. "To start, I'll be playing my facedown Trap, Blackback! In exchange for losing the right to Normal Summon or Set this turn, I'm allowed to bring back any Blackwing monster in my Graveyard as long as their ATK is 2000 or less. So, help me welcome back my Gale!"

The petite bird monster flew out of another portal and landed on one of Beelze's heads. Its other head looked curiously at Gale, but that was all the reaction she earned.

"Next, I'll bring out another familiar monster to join her by Special Summoning my second Harmattan!"

A swirl of red sand blew from the portal, carrying the familiar beaded crane up to the dragon's other outstretched head.

"Which means now I can raise its Level once again as I choose to use Gale's level."

It shrieked loudly as three of its beads glowed.

Harmattan - (Level 2 - Level 5)

Before his opponent could make any comment…

"This isn't really how I wanted to test-fly a new monster, but it's not like I had a choice here. I tune together my level 5 Harmattan and my level 3 Gale to Synchro Summon another mighty beast! Show your fangs, Blackfeather Darkrage Dragon (8/2600/1600)!"

Both bird monsters took off as once again, Gale transformed into black rings that surrounded Harmattan before exploding into pure energy. However, it soon took on a long serpentine shape with split wings and a curling tail. The monster flared its wings to dispel the synchro energy, revealing its full form.

Darkrage's wing feathers were pitch-black and pointy, with red edges that made them resemble blades. The curls in its tail were in fact three long white feathers sprouting from a tuft of black ones. Black feathers also tumbled from its head, above glowing red eyes and a yellow beak-like jaw full of sharp teeth. As it circled the field, light glinted off each of its six bladed legs in turn.

"Rather intimidating," Erhard said, though his eyes kept flicking over to Beelze.

"If you think it looks powerful, watch this. Go, Darkrage, eradicate his Amaterasu with Black Storm Rage!"

Strong winds began blowing, causing the waves to splash against the concrete constantly, even wetting both Duelists before the beast released them towards its enemy.

In seconds, the attack shredded Amaterasu but luckily didn't do any damage.

"And why stop with her? Beelze, take down his Arasuda!"

Black energy swirled in the mouths of both heads, releasing as one mighty beam that shattered Arasuda in microseconds.

"I'll finish things with that, let's see your brilliant move in action," Nick remarked smugly.

"I'll start by summoning another Bujingi Quilin in attack mode," Erhard said, barely looking at the card after drawing it. "Then use it to Xyz Summon another Bujintei Susanowo."

Familiar monsters reappeared on Erhard's side of the field.

"Next, by detaching an Overlay Unit from Susanowo, I can either add a Bujin monster from my deck to my hand or send it straight to the Graveyard. I'll be adding a Bujingi Turtle to my hand. Now, Susanowo, attack! Storm Blade!"

"You sure you want to do that?" Nick didn't bother hiding his confusion as the warrior god charged. "You can't stop Beelze even if you had the strongest monster on the field."

"I'm not trying to stop it," Erhard replied. "With Sinyou's aid from the Graveyard, Susanowo is more than strong enough to strike down your other dragon and end this duel!"

The Slifer's eyes widened in shock. His opponent hadn't just said that for effect; Susanowo could destroy Darkrage and Nick's LP in a single blow. Then his eyes landed on one of his facedown cards. Nick remembered what it was and smiled.

"I gotta say, you really aren't holding anything back in this Duel, but I'm still not gonna be that easy to take down."

"What do you mean?" Erhard demanded. "This Duel is mine!"

"As a buddy of mine often says, it's not over until one of us hits zero! I activate my facedown Trap card, King's Synchro!"

Shimmering energy sprung up around Darkrage in a curved wall, deflecting Susanowo's attack before it could reach the dragon. Susanowo looked confused, then returned to its original position when the barrier vanished.

"Unfortunately, I don't meet the requirements for its second effect, but negating one attack in this battle is all I need to survive," Nick remarked with a smile.

"Damn…" Erhard cursed as he stared warily at Beelze. "I end my turn."

"Sweet, my draw," Nick added as he looked at his hand before turning to his monsters. "How about we do some damage! Attack his monster, Beelze!"

The monster roared as it charged energy into its eyes, releasing dark beams that shot at the enemy.

This time however, it wouldn't connect so easily.

"I activate the effect of Sinyou from my graveyard!" Erhard declared. "Your trap last turn meant my attack on Darkrage essentially didn't happen, so I can still use Sinyou's effect on Susanowo to boost his attack higher than Beelze!"

Susanowo (2400 - 6450)

Water quickly erupted and surrounded Susanowo's blade, causing the beams of light to hit them and engulf the sword in a fusion of water and energy.

It then went on the offensive, piercing Beelze's chest once more, but was not able to destroy it. However, the energy charged through the dragon and went down towards his master, hitting him and pushing him back across the concrete.

Nick - (2925 - 1725)

Erhard - (6050)

Susanowo (6450 - 2400)

The masked Duelist would probably have gloated if he hadn't noticed a second glow on Nick's side of the field. Apart from the bright red shine of Beelze's effect, Darkrage now had luminous silver energy coursing over its body, especially on the wings.

"What? What's happening?" Erhard asked. "Why is your other monster glowing?"

"Oww…nice shot. As it happens, Darkrage also has an effect triggered when I take damage," the redhaired teen revealed. "Once per turn when that happens, I can send up to five cards from the top of my Deck to my graveyard."

Before continuing, the teen drew until he had five cards in his hand, turning them to his opponent to see before inserting them into his graveyard slot for the auto-retriever.

"It's a pity I won't get to use those cards, but since Darkrage gains an additional 400 ATK if any monsters get discarded, we can file them under 'worthy sacrifices'."

Darkrage's feathers glowed brightly as two sparks of light entered him, causing the beast to roar loudly.

Darkrage (2800 - 3200)

Beelze (4050 - 5250)

"This is going to hurt…" Erhard groaned.

"Now then, hit him with your best shot!"

Darkrage roared as it flew upward, releasing a powerful gust and storm of sharp-looking red feathers that could easily pierce both Susanowo and Erhard.

"Don't think I'm out of tricks yet!" Erhard declared. "I activate the effect of Bujingi Fox from the graveyard, banishing it and taking no damage this turn!"

The yellow fox spirit appeared before Susanowo, then threw back its head and howled. An orange barrier sprung up around Erhard to protect him from the wind and feathers. The warrior god was less lucky, disappearing in the tempest along with Bujingi Fox itself.

Nick glared at the result, but suddenly felt a bit lightheaded as he took a moment to compose himself. Despite the healing, it was temporary due to having to keep the barrier they were in up.

However, it wouldn't keep him from continuing.

"I'll… end my turn, your move."

Erhard also felt a moment of dizziness. His own energy was waning, and without access to the source of dark magic, he couldn't recover any without risking discovery. Despite that, he'd push forward to complete his task.

One way or another.

"I'll place one card face down and then Summon Bujingi Turtle in attack mode to end my turn," he said, glaring at the field.

An armored, glowing orange turtle appeared on the field in front of a generic card image. Turtle's armor shone like glass in a way its ghostly appearance earlier simply hadn't captured.

Nick drew and studied the field in front of him, wondering what he would actually have that could stop both his monsters. There were too many variables, and he just couldn't make a solid guess. Regardless, he needed to finish this and decided to spring the trap.

"Go Beelze, destroy that turtle!"

Instead of another beam attack, the dragon lunged forward, both heads reaching out to chomp down on Bujingi Turtle's shell.

That turned out to be his mistake.

"You've activated my trap, Storming Mirror Force!" Erhard announced.

The twisting winds surrounded both monsters as they roared out in danger before both disappeared in a shine of light as their cards were sent back to the Extra deck.

"I shouldn't have fallen for that, but I did," Nick admitted. "Still, there's no way this will keep me down! I'll set this down and end it here."

"Such a simple trick, and yet such dramatic results," Erhard gloated, drawing his next card. "How different the duel might have been if you'd be able to pull it off yourself. Now, Turtle, attack him directly!"

The monster pulled its legs and head into its shell, then floated off the ground and began spinning towards him. Nick hit the ground with a painful thud, only able to watch as Turtle returned to its side of the field.

Nick - (1725 - 0025)

Erhard - (6050)

"That'll be the end of my turn," Erhard said. Then his legs folded under him and he hit the pier, gasping slightly.

In a way, the duel was just as hard on him as on his opponent. Besides the constant energy flow needed for the barrier, directing and withstanding 17 turns of multiple monster attacks had pushed his stamina almost to the limit. Part of him wanted to just walk away and deal with the strain headache.

But Erhard hadn't walked away from a duel yet, and he wouldn't start now. So he waited for Nick to surrender or ask for mercy.

Amazingly, the redhead did neither of those things. He started laughing.

It started as a small, pained chuckle, but gradually increased to a genuine belly laugh. The shock of it prompted Erhard to laugh as well.

Eventually, the boys calmed down enough to get back on their feet, looking at each other with new respect.

"This… This really is the first time I've ever been pushed this far since I got here," Nick remarked cheerfully. "You really are something else, even for a bad guy."

"As are you, for a hothead," Erhard admitted. "It's a pity we aren't dueling under better circumstances. I could enjoy it so much more without all the baggage."

"Well, you probably know where to find me. Feel free to stop by when all this is over. But if I'm going down here I'm gonna go out swinging! Here we go, my final draw!"

Nick closed his eyes, seeing the faces of his friends, and drew his card as a smile appeared.

Yugioh 5d's - Yusei's Theme

'When was the last time I ever felt such… determination?' Erhard thought to himself. 'No wonder she tasked me with taking him in, if he's got that kind of fighting spirit. He might have more raw energy than me… but I have some of her power, and experience. It won't be the end for me either. I'll make sure of it.'

"First, I'll Normal Summon Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North (2/1300/0) in Attack Mode."

A sharp cold gust howled its way down the pier, leaving snowdrifts on the ocean and a slightly goofy-looking white bird in front of Nick. The edges of its wing feathers were black, as was the crest on its face resembling a pair of bushy eyebrows.

"In addition to his effect that lets me bring back any Level 4 or lower Blackwing to the field, my spell gives me another Blackwing from my Deck to my hand."

Both black wind and cold winds swirled together as the portal appeared for Blackwing - Bora the Spear to appear while the teen also added his second Gladius to his hand.

"Not done either, especially since Blizzard is a Tuner, I'm about to bring out one of my old friends to join: I tune together my level 2 Blizzard and level 4 Bora to Synchro Summon Blackwing - Nothung the Starlight (4/2400/1600)!"

The smaller of the two monsters flew upward with its ally following before it transformed into two black rings of light and surrounded the other monster.

Once again, the energy erupted as the newest monster arrived.

A black skinned, muscular humanoid with a bird head gripped a massive, double-edged zweihander with four curved and edged spikes that took the place of a crossguard. It wore sharp looking black pauldrons with a gold collar with a matching gold belt holding up a pair of black pants and black, jagged clothes around the waist. Gold bracers covered the wrists and a pair of sharply pointed wings grew from its back.

"These swarm decks are such a handful…" Erhard sighed. "Is that all you've got left?"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and instead explain Nothung's effect: One monster you control loses 800 attack and defense, and you take that amount as damage."

The winged monster drew his blade as the gems on it glowed brightly, lighting up one by one until all glowed. He then pointed the weapon forward, releasing a piercing light that went through Turtle and even hit Erhard directly.

Bujingi Turtle - (1700/1200 - 900/400)

Nick - (0025)

Erhard - (6050 - 5250)

"Next, I'll Special Summon Gladius onto the Field."

Another portal appeared with the monster appearing and taking the same position as its counterpart before it.

"He won't be around for long, though. While Nothung is in play, I'm allowed an extra Normal or Set summon as long as the monster is a Blackwing. So I'll be tributing my Gladius to bring out another classic, my Sirocco!"

As his first monster disappeared, the portal opened once more for his second monster to land safely next to him.

"And, since it still hasn't been destroyed, Black Whirlwind adds another to the ranks. I'll bring Oroshi back out for the finale."

For the last time, a double of another monster made its way to the field, landing next to Nothung.

"Let's see what you got," Erhard muttered under his breath, almost excited to see what was coming.

"I'll tune my level 1 Oroshi and level 6 Nothung to Synchro Summon my last fighter! Come on out, Assault Blackwing - Chidori the Rain Sprinkling (7/2600/2000)!"

Once again, Oroshi turned into three rings and surrounded its ally. The rings turned black, and a bolt of lighting struck Nothung full on. Sirocco's panicked shout cut off when the dust settled and the new monster was fully visible.

A black-winged humanoid in a half-set of dark green armor stood proudly on the battlefield. Like Sirocco, its hands and feet resembled talons. Unlike Sirocco, small metal blades decorated its wings, and it had white feathers at its neck and surrounding the eyes on its birdlike helmet. The blue sash at its waist fluttered in the residual breeze.

"Haha, I really didn't think you'd pull this off, guess miracles can happen," his opponent remarked with a chuckle.

"You have my respect, and as such, it's only natural I use my strongest monster," Nick replied with sympathy. "Now I activate his effect, meaning he gains an extra 300 ATK points for each Blackwing I have in my Graveyard, a grand total of 18."

All of the monsters' spirits flew out from the graveyard slot, hovering in front of Chidori and Sirocco. Sirocco bowed its head in respect. Chidori saluted his fallen comrades with his katana. As each spirit entered his body, electricity surged through the armor until finally, the katana itself transformed into a white-hot lightning bolt.

Chidori - (2600 - 8000)

"Well, I got outplayed…"

"Good game," Nick said, and genuinely meant it. "Sirocco, take down his Turtle!"

The winged monster shrieked before going forward and slashing apart the monster with ease.

Nick - (0025)

Erhard - (5250 - 4150)

"Chidori! End this Duel with White Volt Slash!"

He disappeared with a thundering roar, only to reappear behind Erhard seconds later before throwing the lightning bolt straight into his chest.

Nick swore he heard Erhard's pained screams underneath the echoes of Chidori's attack.

Nick - (0025)

Erhard - (4150 - 0)

No lie, doing this Duel was by far the most fun we had because of how insanely close it got and whether we should keep it or not. I'm glad we did as I believe this is the second closest Duel, falling behind to Yami vs Marik. Regardless, we've reached the end of the Duels. Thank you all for your continued support, hope you can leave behind a review, and see you on the next one.