RESPONSE TO REVIEW:
Big thanks to tsukikami02, Ulrich362, HunterHQ, darktheking73, kaiser Younes for reviewing the previous chapter
I apologize for the long wait. My hand is already healed a week ago and I could write again, but this chapter release was delayed yet again because I got a fever and cold. As I told you before, I can't promise a consistent update date because I also have work and other things to do.
HunterHQ:
1. Because that only happened in LINK VRAINS, not real life itself. Not every single resident of Den City logs into LINK VRAINS. They may believe that they'll be safe if they don't log in to LINK VRAINS or move to another server. Putting myself in their shoes, that's what I'd think. And what happened with Bohman was mostly because people stupidly decided to log in to satisfy their curiosity. The public didn't know about the Ignis war and the danger Bohman brought.
2. I'm not sure about this myself, but I don't think Frog and Pigeon could record the part when Kogami appeared because the Duel froze at that time, most likely preventing Frog and Pigeon from recording. If it had been recorded, people would've talked a lot about Kogami, but since nobody talked about Kogami, I assumed that part didn't get into the recording. And to not make things complicated, I decided to go with that explanation for my fanfic.
3. Rather than there were only very few people who wanted to take the job, I think SOL Technologies only selected a few bounty hunters they believed to be skillful enough to hunt down Playmaker for hire, that's why there's only Go and his team and Blood Shepherd. Ghost Girl also got the offer, but she rejected it. As to why no one else tried to go after Playmaker for the reward, remember that Playmaker rarely logs into LINK VRAINS unless it's necessary, so information about him is scarce, making it difficult to find him. Also, this is just my speculation, since Blood Shepherd, who is infamous among the bounty hunters, took the job, it's possible the other bounty hunters decided to step back because they don't want to compete with him, or possibly also didn't have the confidence to face Playmaker themselves.
4. I don't think Blood Shepherd exactly saw his real face because those bubbles formed from Takeru's memories were rather blurry, and he didn't hear his real name either because the flashback of Takeru's memories was not because Blood Shepherd saw the whole thing, but it was Takeru remembering due to the effect of Blood Shepherd's trap. Remember, Blood Shepherd didn't pay attention much to other fragments of Takeru's memories, only until he noticed the one that showed Despair from the Dark. That said, how it's going to be in my fanfic will be revealed later.
5. As for the rest, as I've said from the beginning, I have already decided everything about the cards and everything else, down to the details. To not spoil things, I won't comment any further about this.
darktheking73: Yes, there'll be some romance, but it won't be the main focus and will take a while.
kaiser Younes: I will only rewrite the Duels that I didn't find satisfying enough or necessary to change, while some of the Duels in the anime that I don't think need changing will be either skipped or written in a different way.
CHAPTER 6
SOL's Security Force – Knight
SOLの治安部隊「ナイト」
SOL no Chian Butai, "Naito"
3rd Floor – SOL Technologies – Den City
The moment Saint Kuriboh went out of the room and winked at him, Kento realized that Saint Kuriboh was trying to help him and Kazue get the opportunity to explore the building using the excuse of looking for a pet robot. As much as Kento appreciated Saint Kuriboh's good intention, just running away like that was reckless when they don't know much about what's inside the building itself. He hopes that Saint Kuriboh won't meet anybody who would harm it.
Fortunately, thanks to the keycard given by Matsumoto and Matsumoto's announcement regarding the missing pet robot, Kento got permission to walk around without being questioned so far as the other employees have been informed about his search. Unfortunately, there's nothing much that he could find that would be useful for Yusaku and the others. However, this won't be the only time they'd visit the company. Kento is positive that Kazue's father will bring them here again next time.
Kento narrows his eyes as he sees something round and white rolling to the left. Kento doesn't waste his time running after it, but only found another hall that at the corner was split into two paths. Kento scratches his head, starting to get exasperated by this unexpected hide-and-seek.
"I was sure Kuriboh went here..." Kento looks left and right, wondering which path he should take.
"Are you okay? You look troubled."
Kento stiffens at the voice from behind him. He quickly composes himself, remembering that there's nothing to worry about. If he explains his situation, he won't be suspected of anything. And it's not a lie that he is looking for his pet robot.
Kento turns around to give his explanation to the person calling him. Kento's opened mouth pauses when he sees the person behind him. A man with icy blue eyes and short grey hair. He wears a suit which consists of a blue coat with a darker one underneath, a white shirt, and a black tie. He also wears blue sports trousers and black shoes.
The moment their eyes met, Kento was hit by a strange sensation that what he was now experiencing had happened before. A Deja vu. Most of all, the face of the man he is facing right now is oddly familiar, a face he feels he had seen before somewhere. Just seeing the man's face fills him with unease.
"You're..." The man uttered as they face each other. It is then the younger man next to him speak up.
"Chief Amagi, I believe this boy is one of our guests from Hibiki Enterprise." He said, recognizing Kento.
"I am aware. Matsumoto already informed me that Hibiki Enterprise CEO brought two promising children with him." The man, Amagi, responded to the other person who seems to be his assistant.
"I-I'm sorry for disturbing you! I'll leave once I find it! I was sure that I saw my pet robot coming over here!" Kento bows down in apology, explaining to himself in a hurry that his earlier unease is swift away in preference to get himself out of his current situation.
"I understand your situation. I'll ask for someone to help your search–"
Amagi becomes silent, his eyes looking at somewhere else. Kento follows to the direction he's looking at and sees something round peeking out from behind the corner.
"Kuri..."
That voice is what convinced Kento that he has found the one he has been looking for.
"Kuriboh!" Kento opens his arms, prompting Saint Kuriboh to jump into his arms. The little Duel Monster robot looks up with guilty eyes. "There you are. Don't run away like that again."
"Looks like our help is unnecessary." Amagi smiles at the scene between Kento and the Kuriboh.
"Once again, I apologize for disturbing you." Kento bows down again in apology.
"It is fine. You're going back to the lab, correct? Let me escort you. We also have some business there. Since you've found your pet robot, we must make an announcement so that your friend won't look for it anymore." Amagi raises a hand at Asahi. Understanding his instruction, Asahi returns to the office to make a call to the receptionist, so they'll make an announcement that the pet robot has been found.
"Let us go." Amagi ushers Kento towards the elevator to return to the 9th floor where the laboratory is located.
"Speaking of which, we haven't introduced ourselves, haven't we? I am the Chief of Security of SOL Technologies, Shion Amagi. It is a pleasure to meet you." Shion finally introduced himself properly.
"M-my name in Kento Hijiri. I'm working part-time as a programmer at Hibiki Enterprise. The honor is all mine, Chief Amagi." Kento introduces himself rather nervously. He didn't expect to meet a high-ranking person like this. His position is Chief of Security, so that means he is Akira Zaizen's superior, whose rank is Security Manager.
If he holds such a high position, he must know a lot of things, perhaps even more than Akira. It'd be great if Kento could get intel from him. However, Kento cannot get rid of this unease that has been bothering him since the moment he laid his eyes on Amagi. This unease stops him from asking questions and reconsidering his attempt at getting information out of this person. Kento doesn't believe this man is a bad person or even dangerous in the least bit, it's just something inside him is telling him not to let his guard down with this person.
Kento is so busy in his own mind that he doesn't notice Shion watching him from the corner of his eyes.
"Kento Hijiri...huh..."
Cafe Nagi – Central Plaza – Den City
In the end, other than the stunt that Saint Kuriboh pulled, nothing in particular happened during their visit to SOL Technologies. They discussed the joint project and returned home afterwards. Kento couldn't find anything useful for them but determined to find out somehow during his next visit. On the contrary, Kazue said she learned something important when she was looking for Saint Kuriboh, but withheld the information until they arrived at Cafe Nagi so she can inform everyone else at once.
For this afternoon, instead of his usual spot at the Central Plaza, Kusanagi decided to park Cafe Nagi near Stardust Road, where there are less people who come. When Kento and Kazue arrived, Kusanagi already set the table for them, Yusaku, Kusanagi, and Takeru already seated, waiting for them after Kento messaged that he and Kazue were on their way.
"Sorry to make you wait." Kento says as he takes a seat next to Yusaku, while Kazue sits on the chair across Kusanagi's.
"It's all right. Now that the two of you here, we can start discussing what we've found." Kusanagi takes out his pad and shows them the general structure of LINK VRAINS' tower.
LINK VRAINS Tower consists of two Main Shaft, the surface and the bottom. The Surface Main Shaft consists of four sub-areas called Islands. The first top is Riemann, the second top is Fields, the third top is Hadamard, and the fourth is Ramanujan, which is the lowest sub-area of the surface signified by the warning line. The Bottom Main Shaft, which is the restricted area that nobody is allowed to enter, on the other hand, consists of three security layers, the first being Top Security Gate called Kerberos, the Middle Security Gate called Othrus, and the Bottom Security Gate called Tartarus.
"Yusaku, your opponents vanished in LINK VRAINS's restricted area. Around here." Kusanagi points at Tartarus, the Bottom Security Gate.
"Does that mean SOL Technologies is involved in this incident?" Yusaku looks at the screen with wonder.
"I don't know. But there's certainly something there. After checking the surrounding area, I found a shred of an unknown program." Kusanagi shows the said program that consists of an algorithm that Yusaku is somewhat familiar with.
"I've never seen this program, but... It's similar to a program in Ai's memories." Yusaku recalls. It's different, but the algorithm is not so different from the ones that he saw when looking through Ai's memory data.
At the mention of Ai's memories, Ai, Flame, and the others look closer at the program on the screen. Carefully looking at the program, Ai and Flame quickly recognized what the program is.
"An Ignis algorithm." Flame reveals.
"What?" Kusanagi is surprised.
"The Attribute is–" Flame is going to tell the Attribute of the program, but someone unexpected beat him to it.
"Wind." Kento finishes Flame's words, "It's Wind Attribute."
Everyone turns to Kento with their eyes widened. The sudden attention he got confuses the Olympios Stratos user who blinks at his friends in bewilderment by the look they're giving him.
"Kento, you understand this program?" Ai finally asks while pointing at the program on the screen.
"Huh? Yes. I mean, it's not that difficult of a program, so–"
"Not difficult?! Are you serious?! We're talking about Ignis algorithm here!" Ai exclaims incredulously.
"Kento, neither me nor Kusanagi-san can fully understand the Ignis algorithm. It's very difficult for us to decode it ourselves, even SOL Technologies can't, but you just saw it briefly and immediately understands it." Yusaku's voice when he explained was calm, but his expression barely composed.
"R-really?" Kento now understands their reaction. But to be honest to himself, he is the one who finds it difficult to believe that neither Yusaku nor Kusanagi understand the program when solving it was like reading a text message to him. In his head at least. He would never say it to them though. Saying this to Kusanagi and Yusaku would sound like he's mocking their programming skill or him being smug.
"You must be a programming genius. Your intellect rivals that of Dr. Kogami." Flame muses. He never thought he'd find another human other than his creator Dr. Kogami and his son Revolver who can understand the Ignis algorithm.
"Could this be related to Kento and Divine Ignis' mind being connected?" Takeru guessed. His technical sucks, but he at least understands that Ignis algorithm is an extraordinarily high-level program that not even skilled programmers like Yusaku and Kusanagi could solve, so for Kento to solve it in just one look is beyond them.
"I'm not sure that Ignis and their Origin can influence each other that much." Ai is doubtful that's the case. True, Kento's mind is somehow connected to Divine Ignis' mind, but to the point that connection allows Kento to understand Ignis algorithm is hard to believe.
"If that's not the case, then Kento being genius is the only other explanation that I can think of." Kazue makes another guess. Kento managed to master computer skills just within two months after he started learning after all.
"Whatever the reason, this is good news for us. Having someone else on our side capable of understanding the Ignis algorithm would give us more advantages." Flame says, deciding not to think too much of the reason and accepts the benefit from this revelation.
"Anyway, you're saying there's Wind Ignis over there?" Kento asks, redirecting the topic back before they get sidetracked further.
"Maybe, maybe not." Ai is unsure. Since it's only a shred of the Wind Ignis' program, there's a possibility the program is only the remains of Wind Ignis' program.
"Either way, we need to check that area." Yusaku stands up from his seat, directing everyone to start their investigation with the equipment inside Kusanagi's truck.
Kusanagi tried his best to analyze the fraction of data that they found with no luck. However, while analyzing, something interesting came that might help them with this predicament. Kusanagi showed them a mail that he received from a certain treasure hunter that most of them knew all too well.
"It's Ghost Girl!" Ai yells as he sees the mail. Just knowing the mail was sent by her gave him a bad feeling already.
It's info about the restricted area." Flame states, recognizing the content of the mail.
"And how to enter the area." Kusanagi adds.
"Why did she send that?" Takeru wonders. He doesn't know much about Ghost Girl, only heard a bit about her from Yusaku and the others. Based on their stories, she's not someone they'd call an ally, but they seem to have an amicable relationship at least.
"She wants us to go to that area?" That is the only thing Yusaku can think of. She knew that Playmaker was chasing after someone that escaped to the restricted area, hence, why she gave the intel. The question is why she wants them to go there? Since this is Ghost Girl they're talking about, he doubts it's simply out of good will.
"Don't! It's a trap! She's trying to trick us again!" Ai refuses to go along with whatever Ghost Girl is planning for them. They already fell for her trap twice, no way he want them to fall for the third time.
"It says a gate appeared in the restricted area that SOL Technologies hasn't identified." Kusanagi reads out the details of the mail he received.
"A gate? That's where he went?" Yusaku did wonder where the two abductors went to after bypassing the restricted area. Since LINK VRAINS is still SOL Technologies' domain, he doubts that they'll stay there for long otherwise SOL Technologies would've found them already. But if they're hiding behind this unidentified gate, the likelihood they're there is possible.
"No no no! You want to suffer again?" Ai objects strongly. He starts to remember all those times they got involved with Ghost Girl and it didn't end up well for them. The first time, they got the backdoor to SOL Technologies' databank, only to be welcomed by Akira and Ghost Girl already waiting for them. The second time, she tricked him into getting a bad card when they decided which path between two paths to take for each, which ended up with him and Playmaker running for their lives from a monster intent on killing them. The Dark Ignis learned from those experiences not to trust anything coming from the treasure hunter.
"But this info seems real. You can only get this info from SOL Technologies." Kusanagi argues. This information is far too detailed to be a false lead.
"So Zaizen is the source?" Yusaku deduces. When he met Ghost Girl at the data bank, she was with Akira Zaizen. Judging from their exchanges, Ghost Girl regularly took on jobs from him. This means rather than Ghost Girl, Zaizen is the one behind this. Ghost Girl sent this message under Zaizen's request.
"Zaizen wants you to go through the gate and search." Kusanagi thinks the same thing as Yusaku.
"Exactly."
"But SOL Technologies have bounty hunters. If you think about it, Ai is correct it's a trap." Though Kusanagi agrees that the information is real, he also understands Ai's point. Even if Zaizen's intention was to help them, the same couldn't be said to SOL Technologies itself. They willingly covered up the Lost Incident because they didn't want to lose their means on making money, and now they set a huge amount of bounty on Playmaker despite his good deeds. It's not a far-fetched speculation that they're setting up a trap.
"Yes! It's definitely a trap!" Ai is glad that someone is of the same thought as him. Unfortunately, this doesn't last long.
"I believe this information is legit." Kazue intrudes, earning her attention from everyone. She didn't reveal then, "I haven't told you this earlier, but when we were at SOL Technologies, I overheard Zaizen-san mentioning about an unknown gate in the restricted area to Go Onizuka and Blood Shepherd."
"Since Zaizen-san shared this information to the bounty hunters, there's certainly a gate there." Kento is convinced now that this information is legit. The security manager of SOL Technologies doesn't know about their identities as Holysaber and Ryuki. There's no way he purposely leaked the information when Kazue was just happened to be there when she was looking for Saint Kuriboh.
With that one piece of information from Kazue, nobody but Ai thinks that it's a trap anymore. They don't have any other lead anyway, only that the mysterious kidnappers vanished in that area. Trap or not, they must investigate that gate no matter how dangerous it is.
"It's decided." Yusaku affirms their decision, much to Ai's dismay.
"I could only build one more room since my truck is not big enough, but one room should be enough for two people to fit in." Kusanagi gestures towards two doors on their side, red and blue. Before, there was only the blue one that only Yusaku used whenever he logged into LINK VRAINS. With Takeru joining them, Kusanagi built a new room a for Takeru to log in a few days ago.
"It's okay, Kusanagi-san. I already prepared everything for Kento and mine in anticipation of this. That's why we came with car today." Ever since she knew the inside of Cafe Nagi, Kazue quickly made some modifications to her car to make the same room as the one in Kusanagi's truck. That's why she drove herself and Kento with her car to go to SOL Technology and then to Cafe Nagi. Her father was using a separate car, so she and Kento could go freely without a problem.
"That's Hibiki Enterprise's successor for you..." Kusanagi says with astonishment. He sometimes envies rich people who have lots of resources that allow them to build high-tech devices, something that Kusanagi lacks with his limited income.
"You're sure your parents won't ask about those things in that car?" Kento asks. The inside of the car is not something that a normal high-school girl would have.
"I'm already 18. I'm eligible enough to get both a driver's lesson and a private car." Kazue answers nonchalantly.
"Wait, that car is your own car?! It's not one that you borrowed from your dad?!" Kento's mouth gape at the answer. No matter how rich Kazue's family is, Kazue's father is not the type who'd spoil his children. He can't believe that her father would just give her a car after she passed the test to get her driver's license.
"Of course. I designed and built it with my own two hands together with a few assistants from the Enterprise to add my personal touches." Kazue says proudly like she just created a wonderful piece of art. She knew that asking her father to give her a car would be too much to ask, so she decided that the best thing to do was build her own car. It's only right, and more fun that way. She could decide everything down to the smallest details. The result was very satisfying once she finished the car.
"...You know what? Let's just go inside and log in." Kento decides to just stop asking and get it done. Questioning Kazue when it comes to her enthusiasm for machines will only get him nowhere. Worst, she'll spend hours talking about machines. Better stop now.
"One room is still work-in-progress, so you can use the other room to log-in. I'll help Kusanagi-san in giving you support offline. I've prepared a guideline for the things I set in my car just in case." Kazue hands her childhood friend her handmade guidebook. Kento won't have any problem memorizing the whole guidebook.
As Kento and Kazue exit the truck to the latter's car, Yusaku and the others are watching the two of them until they close the door.
"Hmm...is Kazue what people said to be "machine maniac" no wait, was it "mechanical maniac"?" Flame muses.
Everyone else agrees with him. Until recently, Yusaku never spoke with Kazue, only saw her once in a while by a chance at school. His impression when he saw her was that of a friendly and mature senior. Seeing her so extremely fascinated almost like a child honestly surprised him. Takeru, who had also met her for the first time when he first transferred, also had the same first impression. It doesn't look like she purposely trying to keep-up an image at school as the successor to Hibiki Enterprise, it's just the occasions where she'd show her excitement for machines never come for everyone at school to see.
"Whichever it is, it's very different from her image at school." Takeru says with a chuckle.
LINK VRAINS
Once logged into LINK VRAINS, Holysaber, Playmaker, and Soulburner went straight to the restricted area that they didn't get to enter before. There were security cameras on the way, but they managed to hide themselves using a board designed similar with the many floating islands, so they won't be perceived by the cameras. To allow Kusanagi and Kazue to continue supporting them offline, Ai is transmitting everything he sees to them.
They also got a trap evasion program that Ghost Girl taught Kusanagi and an updated LVSS installed to their Duel Disks. If it's a simple trap, the program's stealth function activates. Kusanagi also added a communication function that allows Ai and Flame to transmit everything they see to Kusanagi and Kazue, and an emergency escape program to the LVSS, but they can only escape once.
With the stealth program provided by Ghost Girl, they successfully passed through the restricted area.
"Ghost Girl really wants us to go to the gate." Playmaker comments as they passed through without trouble, unlike before.
"Not necessarily." Soulburner looks behind him, prompting Playmaker and Holysaber to look back. Just as Soulburner said, bounty hunters are right behind them.
"Playmaker! Found you!" Onizuka exclaims.
Go Onizuka is famous, so Holysaber has no trouble identifying him. Unlike before, his blonde hair loses its highlights and becomes messy, and he wears a green visor with a thin black lens. He wears a form-fitting forest-green leotard with grey shoulder pads that is belted at the cuffs under olive green torso armor fastened with straps over the shoulders and the SOL Technologies logo over his heart, which is decorated at the torso with a grey plate in a similar manner to the muscular plate he wore on his abdomen. He also wears sand-green leggings, and olive-green boots and gloves with grey soles and hands that are lined with red.
On the other hand, the two guys following behind him are not familiar faces. On his right is a young man with pink afro hair. He wears a dark green shirt, with protective blue and green gears, blue belt, dark green pants and dark green boots and green with black and blue glasses. On his left is another young man with spiky brown hair and wearing the same attire.
"Let's go! We'll shake them off!" Playmaker instructs Holysaber and Soulburner.
The three of them make some distance between them, but not separating themselves. However, judging from his excitement with Playmaker's return to LINK VRAINS, it seems that Onizuka is only interested in Playmaker alone.
"Kenmochi! Yoroizaka! Surround him from both sides! Don't let him escape!" Onizuka instructes his two partners. They follows his order and aims to block Playmaker's path, Kenmochi going to the right side while Yoroizaka to the left.
"Let's battle, Playmaker! We'll settle things today!" Onizuka challenges him.
"Playmaker, shall we Duel him?" Ai asks.
"No time for that. Let's shake them off!" Playmaker couldn't care less about whatever beef Onizuka has against him right now. Their priority is to go to the gate where the guy who stole Jin's consciousness went to. Jin's safety is the most important. He doesn't want to make Kusanagi wait for too long.
"I won't let you escape!" Onizuka hit Playmaker's D-Board with his own, causing Playmaker almost losing his balance. He then orders Kenmochi and Yoroizaka to take the chance to surround their targets.
Below them, a space opens, many orbs coming out from the opened space. Flame immediately recognizes it as a trap. But instead of avoiding the trap by going to other sides, Playmaker realizes that they can make use of it to escape from their pursuers. And so, Playmaker tells Holysaber and Soulburner to keep going. The other Duelists realized Playmaker's intention and didn't question him. They keep moving down while dodging the orbs. With their riding skill, dodging the orbs is not a difficult task.
As they hoped, Yoroizaka and Kenmochi are unlucky enough to get hit by the traps, forcefully logging them out, which only leaves Onizuka pursuing them. With Yoroizaka and Kenmochi out of the picture, the trap is removed, making it easier for Onizuka to chase after them.
"Don't think you can get away from me!" Onizuka shouts as he speeds up.
"Onizuka is fired up!" Ai yells in exasperation at the Charisma Duelist's persistence.
"In can't be helped. I'll take him on–"
Just as Holysaber was about to shoot the Duel Anchor to lock Onizuka to a Duel with him, something hit his D-Board from the side. It was so fast that he couldn't even comprehend what was happening. When he got a hold of himself, he was already thrown quite a distance from Playmaker and Soulburner. His body automatically held his D-Board tightly to prevent himself from falling off board.
"Holysaber!" Soulburner exclaims worriedly.
"I'm all right! Go on ahead of me! I'll catch up!" Holysaber told his comrades. Though reluctant to leave him behind, Playmaker and Soulburner also understand that a Duel is unavoidable. Winning it would be Holysaber's only way to proceed his way. They can only trust Holysaber to win and then catch up to them.
Holysaber looks at the one who hit him. He is a man wearing a black turtleneck shirt and black pants fastened by a belt. He wears a mask with the image of a horse. The bottom right side of his mask partially exposes his face. He has long blue hair tied up to a ponytail.
"It is nice to meet you, Holysaber. My name is Knight." The man, Knight, introduces himself politely, "I'll make this clear for you, so you won't misunderstand. I am not a bounty hunter. Let's just say that I am one of high executives of SOL Technologies."
"For a high executive personally going after me, SOL Technologies wants my deck so much?" Holysaber questions. He already expected that he'd be targeted due to his Deck, but for SOL Technologies to deploy one of their high executives is beyond his expectation. Bounty hunters are troublesome enough, now they even added a high executive to personally chasing him? Is SOL Technologies desperate to get their hands on the Ignis and Divine Deck?
"Precisely. To keep things peacefully between us, would you mind give up your deck to me?" Knight asks with a smile. Holysaber recognizes the smile as the same one that Kazue used when dealing with her father's clients. A smile of a businessman. Professional, but hardly genuine. Nothing more but a mask.
"Why bother asking when you already know my answer?" Holysaber retorts, readying his Duel Disk.
"It won't hurt to try." Knight drops his facade and readies his Duel Disk as well.
"Speed Duel!"
Holysaber LP: 4000
Knight LP: 4000
"I'm taking the first turn. From my hand, I activate Magic Card: Terraforming. I can add 1 Field Spell from my Deck to my hand." Knight activates his Magic Card, adding S-Force Bridgehead to his hand. The card is represented with a barren-looking planet partially transformed into the blue and green Earth.
"I activate Field Spell: S-Force Bridgehead. When this card is activated, I can add 1 S-Force Monster from my Deck to my hand." Knight immediately activates his Field Spell. A futuristic bridgehead emitting bright bluish light briefly appears before fading away.
"I summon S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru from my hand." Following the Field Spell's effect, Knight adds Rappa Chiyomaru and then summons it to his Main Monster Zone in Attack Position.
S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru (WARRIOR/DARK/EFFECT/ATK: 800/DEF: 1000/LV: 2)
The monster has the form of a black-haired girl with yellow shades at the edge of her pony-tailed hair. She wears a yellow sleeveless shirt underneath a black haori, grey-colored socks, and black long heeled boots. Her weapons consisted of a katana she placed between her obi and a fuma shuriken with seafoam green-colored blades.
"I activate Chiyomaru's effect. I can banish 1 S-Force Monster from my hand to return Chiyomaru to my hand and then Special Summon 1 S-Force Monster from my Deck in Defense Position." Knight banishes S-Force Edge Razor from his hand, returning Chiyomaru to his hand again, and then Special Summon another monster to the zone next to Rappa Chiyomaru.
S-Force Pla=tina (MAGICIAN/DARK/EFFECT/ATK: 2200/DEF: 2000/LV: 6)
The monster has the form of a young woman with long silver hair. She wears a deep purple strapless dress covered by a long purplish white cloak with black fur around the neck. She also wears black stockings and a pair of long purple boots.
"If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target 1 of my banished S-Force monsters and then Special Summon it." Knight chooses to summon Edge Razor that he banished following Rappa Chiyomaru's effect.
S-Force Edge Razor (CYBERSE/DARK/EFFECT/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300/LV: 4)
Edge Razor has the appearance of robotic samurai with red hat and armors brimming with seafoam green-colored energy in resemblance to fabric that completes the hat and armor. He holds a futuristic katana as his weapon.
"A Cyberse Monster?!" Holysaber exclaims in shock as the data shows Edge Razor's Type.
"When we found the Cyberse World, we took some remains that'd be useful for us to incorporate them into the new LINK VRAINS and to certain Duelists among us. This is merely one of them." Knight revealed.
Holysaber glares at Knight. Ai and Flame lost their home and almost everything in it, only managed to salvage whatever they could find in the remains of their destroyed homeland. And SOL Technologies dared to use that opportunity to loot like petty thieves. Worse, they're intent on capturing Ai, Flame, and the other Ignis. They already built and launched the new LINK VRAINS from their looting with more than enough players logging in, getting new Cyberse cards for their executives, and that's still not enough profit for them?
"If Edge Razor is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 1 S-Force monster from my hand in Attack Position except Edge Razor." Knight summoned a monster in the form of a white robot with cloak and green cables serving as his hair to the zone next to Pla=tina and Edge Razor in Attack Position.
S-Force Gravitino (PSYCHIC/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1400/LV: 5)
"I activate Gravitino's effect. Once per turn, if this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 S-Force card from my Deck to my hand." Knight added S-Force Chase to his hand and then set it.
"I end my turn." Knight concludes.
Holysaber analyzes Knight's field. Three monsters filling the Main Monster Zone and one set card in the Magic/Trap Zone. With three monsters on his field, he could've summoned a Link 3 Link Monster, but he didn't. Each of the three S-Force Monsters have considerably high ATK, but Holysaber doubt that Knight keep those monsters on his Field solely due to their ATKs. Either they have effects that will protect them or that face-down card is a Trap.
"All right. Let's see what you have in mind." Holysaber has decided what move he should make.
"My turn! With Scale 2 Olympios Stratos – Triantafyllo and Scale 8 Olympios Stratos – Kochyli, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Holysaber set the Pendulum Scale, allowing him to simultaneously summon Level 3 to 7 monsters.
Two columns of light appear on the left and right of the Magic/Trap Zones. Triantafyllo takes the form of a humanoid man of medium stature with blue eyes, long green vines on his head that serves as his hair. He wears a long black coat with a gold collar closed at the front with a rose-shaped brooch and a long red ribbon tied to the waist, white pants and black espadrilles. Kochyli takes the form of a humanoid female mermaid with a crimson armor.
"Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!" Holysaber summoned three monsters to his Main Monster Zone, all of them in Attack Position.
Olympios Stratos – Myrties (CYBERSE/DIVINE/EFFECT/ATK: 1700/DEF: 500/LV: 5)
Myrties is a humanoid male monster with white vest over a green shirt, with green gloves. He is equipped with leather shoulder pauldrons, elbow guards, and hip armor with floral myrtle carvings.
Olympios Stratos – Spourgitis (CYBERSE/DIVINE/PENDULUM/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000/LV: 6/ PS: 3)
Spourgitis is a sparrow-like monster with a pair of indigo eyes, brownish white feathers, and wings that sprouts bluish energy.
Olympios Stratos – Diamanti (CYBERSE/DIVINE/PENDULUM/ATK: 1300/DEF: 600/LV: 4/PS: 6)
Diamanti is a humanoid female with shoulder-length silver hair, wearing white blouson dress with orange-colored diamond as a necklace.
"Pla=tina's effect. Each of my opponent's monsters in the same column as one of my S-Force monsters loses 600 ATK."
Olympios Stratos – Myrties ATK: 1700 = 1100
Olympios Stratos – Spourgitis ATK: 2000 = 1400
Olympios Stratos – Diamanti ATK: 600 = 0
"With them, I'll summon–" Holysaber's thought is interrupted by Knight's declaration.
"If you're thinking about Link Summoning your ace monster, think twice." Knight said before he then points to Edge Razor, "Edge Razor's effect. Each of my opponent's monsters in the same column as one of my S-Force monsters cannot be used as material for the Link Summon of a Link-3 or higher monster."
"I get it know. Link-1 and Link-2 Monsters in general tend to have lower ATK and Effect, so the probability of overpowering monsters with higher ATK is slim. On top of it, any monster I summoned to Main Monster Zone right now will have their ATKs lowered by 600. It's a combination that both preventing me from summoning powerful monsters and weakening mine at the same time." Holysaber admits that the limitation placed on him put him at disadvantage, but he still has his way to turn the situation to his favor.
"That means, as long as it's lower than Link-3 Link Monster, I can still perform Link Summon." Holysaber knows which Link Monster to summon on this turn. Fortunately, he has a monster with suitable Effect on his side.
"Appear, the circuit that lights up the future!" Holysaber summons the Link Summoning portal.
"Arrowhead confirmed. The summoning condition is at least 1 Effect Monster! I set Myrties and Diamanti on the Link Markers! Circuits combined!" Holysaber set Myrties on the Bottom Link Marker and Diamanti on the Bottom-Right Link Marker.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link 2, Olympios Stratos – Glyko Peristeri!" Holysaber summons a white-colored dove-like monster with a pair of blue eyes and glowing silver linings on its body and wings.
Olympios Stratos – Glyko Peristeri (CYBERSE/DIVINE/LINK/ATK: 1600/LM: Bottom, Bottom-Right/LNK: 2)
Since there's no monster in the other Link Monster Zone, Pla=tina's effect won't affect Glyko Peristeri, so its ATK remains.
"Gravitino's effect. Each of my opponent's monsters in the same column as one of my S-Force monsters is banished when it leaves the field." Knight declares as Myrties and Diamanti were on the same column as Edge Razor and Pla=tina before they left the field.
"?!" Holysaber's Spourgitis and Diamanti that are supposed to be sent to the Extra Deck are instead banished, preventing Holysaber to summon either of them with his Pendulum Scale on his next turn.
"Pendulum Monsters are sent to the Extra Deck when it leaves the field and can be summoned many times as long as your Pendulum Scale is active. I watched your Duel against Blood Shepherd and came up with this countermeasure." Knight smirks from seeing Holysaber's surprised look. While he's still not sure of how far Holysaber's usage of Pendulum Summon, he went with this strategy in anticipation that Holysaber perform Pendulum Summon. If not, there's always a monster whose effects can be activated in the Graveyard, so he has nothing to lose doing this.
"Then Battle! I attack S-Force Edge Razor with Glyko Peristeri!" Holysaber begins his Battle Phase. It was a difficult choice for Holysaber. All three S-Force Monsters has troublesome Effect. However, after considering the possibility in the long-run, Holysaber determined that eliminating Edge Razor first is the best option as without Edge Razor, he'll be able to summon a Link Monster with higher Link.
"At this moment, I activate Glyko Peristeri's effect! During Battle Phase, my opponent's monster's ATK is halved and Glyko Peristeri gains ATK equal to the opposing monster's lost ATK!"
S-Force Edge Razor ATK: 1500 = 750
Olympios Stratos – Glyko Peristeri ATK: 1600 = 2350
Glyko Peristeri spreads its wings wide and then flip it down, sending dozens of its sharp feathers straight down towards Edge Razor. The samurai-like S-Force Monster tries to block the feathers by deflecting it with his sword, but the feathers are too many for him to deflect at once. He can't last long as the feathers finally pierce him, destroying Edge Razor.
Knight LP: 4000 = 3400
"I end my turn." Holysaber finished. Since the Battle Phase has ended, Glyko Peristeri's ATK reverts to normal.
Olympios Stratos – Glyko Peristeri ATK: 2350 = 1600
Holysaber looks at the remaining two monsters on Knight's field. He still must deal with them. With Edge Razor out of the picture, he'll be able to Link Summon a Link 3 above monsters on his next turn. But that also depends on what Knight will do on his turn now.
"I'm glad that you're not letting your guard down just because you succeeded in destroying Edge Razor." Knight comments, smiling in satisfaction at Holysaber.
Holysaber narrows his eyes at Knight. His opponent is confident, but he doesn't induce an air of arrogance for someone of a high rank. He's almost like Akira, only without the friendliness that the security manager has. His compliment was not sarcasm either, it was genuine. Despite challenging him, Knight also doesn't give off hostility like the unknown assailant and Blood Shepherd did to him. That's precisely what makes Holysaber feel unsettling about Knight. Are all SOL Technologies' executives like him? Holysaber doubts that's the case. This could be an act on Knight's part.
"If you're a high executive, you must know about the Lost Incident, right?" Holysaber asks.
"Yes. I am aware. I was already employed when that incident happened, though in a slightly lower position than now." Knight confirms, his smile disappears. "Since you brought that up, are you one of the seven children like Playmaker?"
"Yes. I am." Holysaber replies. It's only a matter of time until SOL Technologies knows his connection to Lost Incident, so he saw no reason to keep it a secret.
"I suspected that's the case. Then, that Duelist named Soulburner must be one of the victims too." Knight already deduced since their first appearance days ago that they're Lost Incident victims. Playmaker is one and partnered up with the Ignis based on him. It's natural that Soulburner and Holysaber would be the same.
"But I don't see an Ignis with you. The Ignis based on you didn't come to your side after Cyberse World was destroyed?" Knight questions. Because Playmaker and Soulburner both have Ignis with them, he assumed Holysaber would have an Ignis with him. However, so far, he hasn't seen any sign of Ignis coming from him.
"SOL Technologies covered up the incident because they don't want to give up on the Ignis. Because thanks to the Data Material created by the Ignis, your company has grown so much and made a lot of money..." Instead of answering, Holysaber recalls what he heard from Playmaker about SOL Technologies' course of action after the Lost Incident ended. He refuses to let this matter slide when he's now speaking with one of the people who were there in the aftermath of the incident.
"Now, you already launched the new LINK VRAINS and get Cyberse cards. That should be more than enough for SOL Technologies to earn profits even without the Ignis in your custody. Despite that, you're still not satisfied? You still want more? How much do you have to take until you're satisfied?" Holysaber asks with concealed anger. Knights of Hanoi might be the ones responsible for the Lost Incident, but SOL Technologies who covered up the incident for their own selfish greedy purpose was equally guilty.
"I can't speak up on behalf of the company. Even as a high executive, I can't understand what my bosses are thinking in their minds, back then and now. All I can tell you is purely from my own perspective." Knight was still 18 years old at that time. A young man with idealistic view, filled with dreams that he wished to fulfill. No doubt just like how Holysaber used to be before the incident. However, reality of the society he lives in made him realize that the world is not a kind place. His dreams, his ideal, they're nothing more but naivete. They're nothing more but childish prattle in the eyes of adults.
"That's just how it is once you become an adult and work in the society we are living in right now." Knight answers.
"What do you mean by that?" Holysaber doesn't understand what Knight is trying to tell him.
"We're living in a capitalist society. In this society, wealth is everything. The amount of money you have determines your position. When people live in such society, they'd grow into people who satisfy their greed by taking more, even at the expense of others, if it means making money. SOL Technologies is the prime example of it." Knight says with a smooth voice like a teacher giving a lecture.
"Once you have the mindset that money is everything, your only thoughts are how to make sure you'll never lose that money. And the only thing to keep that is by making more. So what if a few children got hurt? As long as SOL Technologies do not lose their customers that allows their cash flows, then the end justifies the means. That's how SOL Technologies is in my perspective." Knight's face doesn't show any particular emotion. Holysaber can't read him at all that it's unnerving. This person is good at controlling his facial expression.
"And you don't think it's wrong?" Holysaber asks again.
"I have mouths to feed, so quitting SOL Technologies is out of the question. Curse me all you like, if the company wishes it, then I'll do whatever it takes to get things done." Knight answers bluntly. STelling people to quit a job is easy, but most of the times, finding and getting a new job is difficult. There's no guarantee the next job they'll get would be better. Knight understands this fact from seeing the employees working at SOL Technologies, especially the lower-rank ones.
Holysaber's intuition tells him that Knight was being honest when he said he has nothing against him. He's simply doing as he was ordered to do. Holysaber also can't deny what Knight said. Everything Knight told him about SOL Technologies makes sense. The fact that they covered up the Lost Incident to the point of infecting Dr. Kogami with a virus to silence him was clear evidence of how the company is ruled by greed. It's truly revolting.
"It's nothing personal, Holysaber. That's just how business is." Knight says before beginning his Draw Phase.
"My turn. I change S-Force Pla=tina's position to Attack Position." Knight changed Pla=tina to go on offensive, ready to attack at any time.
"From my hand, I summon S-Force Orifice." Knight summoned a futuristic cowboy-like monster with a pair of blue-eyes wearing a matching deep brown hat and cloak and red scarf, a wristband with a device that capable of forming a red saber rope to climb, and a gun that shoots laser.
S-Force Orifice (CYBERSE/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000/LV: 4)
"Appear! The circuit of strength and agility!" Knight summoned the Link Portal and then set Gravitino on the Bottom Link Marker.
"He sacrificed Gravitino that will banish my monsters when it leaves the field?" Holysaber narrows his eyes with suspicion.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link 1, S-Force Nightchaser!" Knight summoned humanoid female robot with a helmet that has cat-like ears covered in black cloak with a purple symbol. She wields black daggers with purple-colored edge as her weapons.
S-Force Nightchaser (CYBERSE/DARK/LINK/ATK: 800/LM: Bottom/LNK: 1)
"He finally Link Summoned. He could've summoned this Link Monster from the beginning. What kind of monster this Link Monster is?" Holysaber stares warily at Nightchaser. He wouldn't underestimate it just because it's only a Link-1 Monster.
"Battle! I attack Olympios Stratos – Glyko Peristeri with S-Force Orifice!" Knight declared Battle Phase.
S-Force Orifice leaps towards the Link Monster, pointing his gun as it charges up power, ready to make a shot.
"During Battle Phase, my opponent's monster's ATK is halved and Glyko Peristeri's ATK is increased equal to that ATK!" Holysaber activated Glyko Peristeri's effect. However, Holysaber feels uneasy. Knight already knew his Link Monster's effect from the previous Battle Phase, but he still ordered an attack. He's scheming something and Holysaber knows it.
Knight's next declaration proves him right.
"I activate S-Force Orifice's effect! When a monster my opponent controls activates its effect, I can banish 1 S-Force Monster from my hand and destroy that monster!" Knight banished a copy of Edge Razor from his hand, allowing Orifice to shoot down the Link Monster.
Orifice shoots a red laser from his gun, it shoots right through Glyko Peristeri, destroying it. Holysaber clicks his tongue. It was unfortunate that his suspicion was correct, partially, since he only suspected Nightchaser, not expecting Orifice to have that kind of effect. With his Link Monster gone, now he only has Myrties on his field.
"You don't look that surprised. You must have suspicion about my monsters. Too bad that you don't have the means to stop my attacks." Knight proceeds with his second attack by using Pla=tina with Myrties as his target.
Pla=tina forms two circular energies around her arms. The winds starts to gather around Pla=tina. Once it's sufficient enough, Pla=tina shapes them into twisters and directs them at Myrties. The Olympios Stratos Monster tries to protect herself by using a shield made from one of her flowers. As each seconds passes, however, the petals are blown away one by one until the shield is too small to defend her from the destructive wind, destroying her.
Holysaber is nearly blown away by the wind, holding tightly to his D-Board to prevent himself from falling.
Holysaber LP: 4000 = 2900
"Lastly, I attack directly with Nightchaser!" Knight doesn't stop and continue his third attack.
Nightchaser throws her daggers, striking Holysaber three times and almost throws him off the D-Board if not for Holysaber's reflexes.
Holysaber LP: 2900 = 2100
"When an S-Force Link Monster I control inflicts Battle Damage, I can activate Trap Card: S-Force Reinforcement. I banish 1 S-Force Monster from my Deck to Special Summon 1 S-Force Monster that was banished in my previous turn to my field, but it cannot attack until the end of my turn." Knight opened his face-down card, summoning Edge Razor that he banished due to Orifice's effect to his Main Monster Zone in Attack Position.
"Damn it. I just got rid of it and there's another one replacing it." Holysaber grits his teeth. So much for Link Summoning Link-3 or above Link Monster on his next turn.
"I'm sorry that I foiled your effort by summoning another copy of Edge Razor." Knight apologized sarcastically.
"I end my turn." Knight concluded.
"My turn." Holysaber looks at the card he drew. His eyes widen as a newfound hope fills his chest. That's right. He still has a chance if it's with this card. He'll have to pay a lot, but he doesn't have any other alternative.
"I activate Magic Card: Holy Sacrifice! I send a DIVINE-Attribute Monster from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard and then lower my LP equal to the half of that monster's ATK." Holysaber sent Elpizo Harpe from his Extra Deck to his Graveyard at the cost of his LP lowered by the half of Elpizo Harpe's ATK, which is 1250.
Holysaber LP: 2100 = 850
"I activate Myrties' effect. When this card is in my Graveyard, I can banish it to Special Summon a Link Monster in my Graveyard." Holysaber banished Myrties to Special Summon Elpizo Harpe that he just sent to the Graveyard, summoning it to the Main Monster Zone in Attack Position.
Olympios Stratos – Elpizo Harpe (DIVINE/CYBERSE/LINK/ATK: 2300/LM: Bottom-Left, Top, Right)
Edge Razor's effect only applies solely to Link Summon a Link-3 Monster or above. There's no restriction that says he can't summon Link-3 Monster or above at all. Then, as long as it's not a Link Summon, he can summon Link-3 or above Monsters through other means. He's lucky to have drawn the Magic Card, allowing him to send his ace monster to the Graveyard, away from Edge Razor's effect.
However, due to Pla=tina's effect, Elpizo Harpe's ATK is decreased by 600.
Olympios Stratos – Elpizo Harpe ATK: 2300 = 1700
"I see. You sent your ace monster to the Graveyard so you can summon it to your field without having to resort to Link Summon, which is restricted due to Edge Razor's effect. Clever." Knight gives an applause at Holysaber's idea. His opponents before Holysaber were too focused in destroying Edge Razor to Link Summon Link-3 or higher Link Monster that it slipped their minds they could've found another way.
"I appreciate your genuine compliment. In return, I'll show my respect by not holding back." Holysaber points to Triantafllyo and then, "I activate Triantafllyo's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, when I have exactly 1 Link Monster on the field, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or lower monster from my Deck to the zone pointed by the Link Monster's Link Arrow but at the end of turn, that monster is returned to the Deck."
Olympios Stratos – Timios Kyknos (DIVINE/CYBERSE/EFFECT/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1000/LV: 7)
Holysaber summons a swan-like monster with pure white feathers and a pair of pink eyes. Its wings are attached with silver armor decorated with pink-colored pearls and the top of its head covered by a silver diamond-shaped ornament with pink crystal. Due to Pla=tina's effect, Timios Kyknos' ATK is decreased by 600.
Olympios Stratos – Timios Kyknos ATK: 2500 = 1900
"I activate Kochlyi's Pendulum Effect! Once per turn, I can set a Magic or Trap Card from my Deck to my Magic & Trap Zone!" Holysaber set a card at the one remaining slot between Triantafllyo and Kochlyi.
"I activate Elpizo Harpe's effect! When this card points to a monster, it gains an ATK equal to the difference between that monster's ATK and my current LP!" Holysaber's LP is at 850 due to Holy Sacrifice's effect, and Timios Kyknos, pointed by Elpizo Harpe's Link Arrow, currently has 1900 ATK, so Elpizo Harpe gains 1050 ATK.
Olympios Stratos – Elpizo Harpe ATK: 1700 = 2750
"So that's his aim. He knew that even if he summoned his ace monster, Pla=tina's effect would lower its ATK. That's why he used Holy Sacrifice not only to place his ace monster in the Graveyard to be summoned through Myrties' effect, but also to considerably increase his ace monster's ATK through its effect by increasing the gap between his own LP and Timios Kyknos. Not only that, since Elpizo Harpe is summoned from Graveyard, it's placed in Main Monster Zone, meaning it's able to attack Nightchaser since they're in a different column." Knight
"Battle! I attack S-Force Nightchaser with Elpizo Harpe!" Holysaber declares Battle Phase.
Elpizo Harpe slashes down his sword at Nightchaser, who blocks the attack with her daggers. However, the daggers soon crack from the force of Elpizo Harpe's sword and eventually destroyed to pieces, allowing Elpizo Harpe to slash Nightchaser into two, destroying the Link-1 Link Monster.
Knight LP: 2400 = 450
"After Elpizo Harpe inflicted Battle Damage, my opponent receives damage equal to the ATK of the monster pointed by Elpizo Harpe!" Holysaber adds as Elpizo Harpse points his sword towards Knight, ready to use Katharsi Stream.
"I activate S-Force Reinforcement's effect! I can banish this card to negate all Effect Damage until the end of this turn!" Knight banishes his Magic Card, preventing Elpizo Harpe from using his effect.
"Next, I attack S-Force Orifice with Timios Kyknos!" Holysaber declares his second attack.
Timios Kyknos envelops its body with bright pink energy, gradually turning into a big pink light while retaining its own shape. Timios Kyknos flies towards Orifice at full speed, striking through the cowboy-like S-Force Monster until he is no more.
Knight LP: 450 = 350
"I activate Timios Kyknos' effect! When this card leaves the field due to an effect, I gain LP equal to the damage inflicted to my opponent this turn." Due to Triantafllyo's Pendulum Effect, Timios Kyknos is returned to the Deck as Holysaber's turn ends. Since Holysaber inflicted 2050 damage from this Battle in total, he gains LP equal to that number. And Elpizo Harpe's ATK returns to normal following Timios Kyknos removal from the field.
Elpizo Harpe ATK: 2750 = 1700
Holysaber LP: 900 = 2950
Holysaber managed to almost wipe out Knight's field. Now, Knight only has Pla=tina on his side. With his low LP, this turn would be Knight's only chance to try turning the tide. Holysaber can't relax just yet. As long as his opponent still has LP no matter how little it is, he won't let his guard down. That's why he set a card to be safe.
"Let me ask you this, Holysaber, what is your purpose coming to the restricted area of LINK VRAINS? Together with Playmaker and Soulburner no less. Since Knights of Hanoi is no more, are you planning to cause trouble to SOL Technologies as a revenge for covering up the incident?" Knight inquires. This question surprised Holysaber, but he give his answer nevertheless.
"No. We're chasing someone else who escaped to this restricted area and that's all I'm going to tell you." Holysaber won't bother with explaining the details surrounding Jin and the two guys who stole his consciousness data. There's no point in letting Knight know.
"It never crossed your mind to get revenge on SOL Technologies?" Knight asks again, emphasizing the part that he's most curious about.
Holysaber blinks at the second question. Does Knight suspect that he's resentful of SOL Technologies for covering up the Lost Incident and wants revenge against them after questioning Knight about it? It would be a lie to say that he is not resentful, but the anger and disappointment he holds are not big enough to want to enact revenge against SOL Technologies. Only selected people at SOL Technologies were responsible for the cover-up. Other employees like Akira have nothing to do with it. If he tries to take down SOL Technologies, the other employees who have no connection to what happened ten years ago will face the consequence as well. And most importantly...
"SOL Technologies holds 30% of the network infrastructure. I'm not a fool who doesn't know the consequence that would follow if something were to happen to SOL Technologies. I'm not willing to take that risk and ruin innocent people's lives." Holysaber admits.
"I see... That's quite a letdown." Knight sighs in disappointment.
"Huh?"
"My turn." Knight ignores Holysaber's confusion and begins his Draw Phase. Looking at the card he drew, he keeps it in his hand and then extends his right arm to the front.
"I activate Skill: S-Force Reload! I can banish 1 Level 5 or higher S-Force Monster from my Deck and gain 200 LP for each Level of the banished monster!" Knight banished Level 6 S-Force Lapswell, gaining 1200 LP in total.
Knight LP: 350 = 1550
"From my hand, I summon S-Force Rappa Chiyomaru." Knight summons the second copy of Rappa Chiyomaru in Attack Position to the zone next to Pla=tina.
"Appear! The circuit of strength and agility!" Knight summons the Link Summoning portal and then sets Rappa Chiyomaru to the Bottom Link Marker.
"Link Summon! Appear, Link 1, S-Force Nightchaser!" Knight summons another copy of Nightchaser to the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.
"I activate S-Force Nightchaser's effect. Once per turn during my Main Phase, I can target one of S-Force Monsters I control to shuffle it back into the Deck, and then Special Summon one of my banished S-Force Monsters." Knight shuffles back Pla=tina to his Deck in exchange of summoning Lapswell that he banished through his Skill.
S-Force Lapswell (FIEND/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2500/LV: 6)
Unlike the other S-Force Monsters that Knight summoned before, Lapswell has the appearance of a futuristic demon. Its whole body is deep blue except for its abdomen to its thighs which are orange, and its chest and head area are light blue. The inside of its demonic wings is orange with glimmering green circular lines.
"If Lapswell is Special Summoned, I can target one S-Force Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it." Knight revived Pla=tina in Attack Position, keeping Elpizo Harpe's ATK at 1700 due to her effect.
"I activate Lapswell's second effect. Once per turn, I can banish 1 S-Force Monster in my hand, to destroy all my opponent's monsters in the same columns as my S-Force monsters!" Knight banish the third copy of Rappa Chiyomaru in his hand to activate Lapswell's effect.
Lapswell opens its wings. The glimmering lines in its wings, tails, and chest begins to shine. A blue spatial portal forms above the field and begins to suck Elpizo Harpe into it. The Olympios Stratos Link Monster tries to hold his ground, but finds his body is starting to get sucked into the portal.
"I won't let you! Trap Card: Olympios Aspida! Until the end of turn, I can negate my monster's destruction by Battle!" Holysaber opens his face-down Trap Card, forming a shield that protects Elpizo Harpe, stopping the monster's destruction.
"Even if it's not destroyed, you still take damage! Battle! I attack Elpizo Harpe with Lapswell!" Knight declares his Battle Phase.
Lapswell flies towards Elpizo Harpe, raising his fist. He lands a punch at Elpizo Harpe's sword that is blocking him from making a direct blow at the Link Monster. However, the impact of the punch manages to push back Elpizo Harpe.
Holysaber LP: 2950 = 2250
"Next, I attack with Plati=na!" Knight declares his second attack.
Pla=tina once again forms two circular energies around her arms, gathering the winds around Pla=tina. Once it's sufficient, Pla=tina shapes them into twisters and directs them Elpizo Harpe, who blocks the twisters with his sword. The forces of the twisters cause a crack on Elpizo Harpe's sword, but the Olympios Stratos monster endures it.
Holysaber LP: 2250 = 1750
"I end my turn." Knight concludes.
Holysaber looks at his situation. He only has Elpizo Harpe Main Monster Zone and two Pendulum Monsters in his Magic & Trap Zone. He doesn't have any card in his hand. He can't perform Pendulum Summon because he doesn't have any face-up Pendulum Monsters in his Extra Deck no thanks to S-Force Gravitino's effect banished them on the earlier turn.
Knight has turned the tide to his favor. Now, Holysaber is the one in a pinch. He has no choice but to bet on everything on his Draw Phase. Everything depends on this one Draw. In the end, he can only trust that his Deck would respond to him.
"It comes to this, huh. I was so close until Knight used his Skill..." Holysaber gasps softly as he is submerged in epiphany.
That's right. This is Speed Duel. Just like Bishop able to use a Skill, he should be able to use a Skill too. This avatar is also provided with a Skill. However, there are two problems. First, the risk of activating his Skill. It'll cost most of his LP and cards to activate it. Then again, considering his current situation, it's either do or die, so he'd prefer taking risks than just accept defeat. Second, and the most important factor, the Data Storm. Like Playmaker, he needs Data Storm to activate his Skill. But there's no Data Storm to be seen.
"What should I do...? Without Data Storm, I can't use my Skill..."
Holysaber feels violent pulsation in the head and carotid. Like violent twinges and lancing. Pressing down with each step like a weight on the occipital. Exploding pain; as if it were driving into the brain; worse when bending forward, as if the brain is dribbling outward, shoving its way out the front.
"Wind Ignis, how do you usually control the Data Storm?" Divine Ignis asked the Ignis flying not far from him.
The Wind Ignis has a light-green body with tinted green, wind-shaped markings on his head and torso, and curved lines on the hands, elbows, knees, feet and face. He has fuchsia eyes and shapes like horizontal ovals. His body is notably like Ai's body with large shoe-like feet and his head is like Ai's, but the top is longer and curves inward.
"Why do you ask that? You know how to control Data Storm like all of us." Wind Ignis asks back in confusion at the sudden question.
"Yes, but the way you control Data Storm is different from us even though we're using the same algorithm. It makes me curious, since you're also the best at it among us, Ignis." Divine Ignis answered. Eyes, reflecting genuine desire to know.
"Hmm...to put it simply, I feel that the Data Storm is offering me support." Wind Ignis answers.
"Offering support?"
"Data Storm is not just an ordinary wind made up of data. Within them are the souls of Cyberse themselves. Because I know they are there, I know that by calling forth Data Storm, those souls will be there for me." Wind Ignis explains.
As demonstration, Wind Ignis summoned several Data Storms, moving them like they're dancing together with his monsters. It's like watching aircraft performing stunt flying. Windy then joined his monsters. They move ever onward in the hallowed space between heavens and Earth until they land upon the brightly lit grass field, feet kissing the earth with a small and joyous bounce.
Wind Ignis laughed cheerfully together with his monsters.
Watching the scene also brought smile to Divine Ignis' face.
Holysaber opens his eyes. His mind recalls the algorithm that Kusanagi showed him before. With that algorithm as the base and that memory, Holysaber concentrates. He carefully tries to sense them. Listening to them. The souls of the Cyberse within the winds.
BADUMP
He hears it. Their pulse. The voice of their souls, trying to reach out to him.
"Come! Data Storm!"
Holysaber flies up, extending his right arm as he speeds up. The wind came as the fluid braille of the gods, as if the pulse within, the pattern of the raindrops carried, were a code. The silver hues were like molten silver, swirling in steady and radiating ripples until it gradually forms into silverish purple twister coming, responding to Holysaber's call, embracing him into it.
"What?!" Knight can't believe what he's seeing with his eyes. "He's controlling the Data Storm?!"
"How is it possible?! Only the Ignis and Revolver can control Data Storm. No, could it be that he solves the Ignis algorithm?! Even though nobody in SOL Technologies ever succeeded?" Knight can't think of any other possibilities that would allow Holysaber to control Data Storm. If the boy did solve the Ignis algorithm, then he severely underestimated the boy's intellect.
"Skill Activates! I reduce my LP to 100 and destroy all cards in my hand and field to add random cards in the Data Storm to my hand or Deck equal to the number of cards I destroyed!"
Holysaber LP: 1750 = 100
Holysaber has three cards on his field and a card in his hand from his Draw Phase, making it 4 cards in total. The storm destroyed Elpizo Harpe, Triantafllyo, and Koschyli on the Field, and then a single card in his hand. Holysaber reaches out as four cards start to form.
"Storm Blessing!"
Holysaber takes the materialized four cards, coming out from the Data Storm with two cards in his hand.
"I activate Magic Card: Divine Pendulum! When I have no cards in my Pendulum Zones, I can add 2 face-up Divine Pendulum Monsters with different names from my Extra Deck to my hand!" Holysaber uses the first of his four new cards to return Triantafyllo and Kochyli to his hand right after it was destroyed due to his Skill cost.
"With Scale 2 Olympios Stratos – Triantafyllo and Scale 8 Olympios Stratos – Kochyli, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Holysaber sets the Triantafyllo and Kochyli like he did before.
"I see, you're planning to summon a new monster through Pendulum Summon. That other card in your hand is your new monster you got from the Data Storm." Knight speculates.
"Who said I'm going to Pendulum Summon?" Holysaber smiles cheekily, confusing Knight. He proceeds by revealing the second card in his hand and activates it, "I activate Magic Card: Corinthian Fusion! I can use the Pendulum Monsters in the Magic/Trap Zones as materials to Fusion Summon a DIVINE Attribute Fusion Monster!"
"What?! A Fusion Summon?!" Knight is stunned.
"Alluring red rose. Tranquil seashell. Unite and give birth to the goddess of beauty!"
Triantafyllo and Kochyli turn into a stream of red and blue colored particles that gather at a singular point, which bursts into multiple-colored vortexes. The vortexes then combine into one, and become a single color of pink, the particles assemble, gradually forming into the Fusion Monster.
"Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7, Olympios Stratos – Velo Afroditi!"
Olympios Stratos – Velo Afroditi (CYBERSE/DIVINE/FUSION/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/ LV: 7)
Velo Afroditi takes the form of a beautiful humanoid female with a long strawberry blonde hair and a pair of red eyes, partially covered in pure white veil with floral embroideries. She wears an Empire-style white dress decorated with seashells and pearls. She also wears a bracelet made from roses.
"However, with that ATK, it won't be enough to wipe out my LP." Knight points out. Because Afroditi is summoned from the Extra Deck, Pla=tina's effect that lowers the opposing monster's ATK by 600 doesn't affect Afroditi. However, even if Afroditi succeeded in destroying Pla=tina that has lower ATK, he'll still survive this turn.
"No. I will end everything now." Holysaber retorts as he turns to Afroditi, "I activate Afroditi's effect! Once per turn, I can lower all my opponent's monsters' ATKs to 0! Agapi Cradle!"
"What?!"
Knight can only watch helplessly as Afroditi summons petals of flowers that rain down Knight's whole Field, weakening Lapswell and Pla=tina. The two S-Force Monsters fell on their knees and slouched down, losing their energy completely.
S-Force Lapswell ATK: 2400 = 0
S-Force Pla=tina ATK: 2200 = 0
"This is the end, Knight! Battle! I attack Lapswell with Afroditi!" Holysaber declares his last Battle Phase.
Afroditi covers Lapswell's body with her veil, immobilizing the S-Force Monster. Above Lapswell, dozens of thorny roses appear, and they all shoot down, piercing Lapswell's entire body at the exact same moment until the S-Force Monster's body cracks and eventually explodes into bits.
Knight LP: 1550 = 0
Knight falls from his D-Board as his LP is depleted.
He lost.
He thought he had been careful, but he now admits that he had underestimated Holysaber. First, the Data Storm, second, the Skill that adds cards from the Data Storm, and now, a Fusion Summon. Holysaber is not just specialized in Link Summon and Pendulum Summon like he initially deduced. He should've known that since he had only seen Holysaber Dueling once, he has yet to see everything that Holysaber could offer. Holysaber didn't even use his Skill against Blood Shepherd. He had been overconfident. And that's what led to his defeat.
"That's...a fine move...Holysaber..." Knight says before he gets automatically logged out, leaving Holysaber by himself.
"I thought I was a goner..." Holysaber sighs in relief, falling on one knee from exhaustion.
However, he also experienced a new feeling after he used his Skill for the first time. His eyes are alight, he feels his every muscle needs to move, to jump. He giggles. Everything tickles him as funny. That moment was nerve-wracking but at the same time gave an amazing sensation that Holysaber is not sure how to describe in words.
"Kuri..." Saint Kuriboh comes out from Holysaber's Duel Disk, looking at him with concern.
"Don't worry, Saint Kuriboh. I'm just a bit tired." Holysaber smiles gently at the white Kuriboh to assure it. He stands up again.
He can't rest yet. He must catch up to Playmaker and Soulburner. He might've defeated Knight, but there's still Onizuka. And speaking of bounty hunters, they mustn't forget Blood Shepherd. Though they didn't see him together with Onizuka's team, it's possible that Blood Shepherd is hiding somewhere, waiting for the right moment to attack.
"Let's go."
Holysaber continues down towards where the mysterious gate is located.
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW
Chapter 7 – A Fraction of Anger: Holysaber and the others meet the Wind Ignis, Windy, who then requests them to take care of Blue Girl and Ghost Girl who are following behind them. Offended by Blue Girl's audacity, Holysaber proposes a Tag Duel between himself and Soulburner against Blue Girl and Ghost Girl.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry, the list of original cards appeared in this chapter will be delayed. I promise I'll update it later.
This definitely won't be the last you'll see Knight. He's pivotal for the later part in the story. And finally, Holysaber used his Skill, Storm Blessing. I had a hard time deciding his Skill. I don't want it to be too identical to Storm Access, so I made the Skill enables Holysaber to gain more than just one card and not just monsters. However, I am aware just leaving it at that would be too OP of a Skill for him, so I added a cost to activate the Skill like Soulburner's Burning Draw to make it riskier to be activated.
Also, if you're wondering the last card that Holysaber got from the Data Storm but hasn't used it yet, that card will be later in Chapter 9.
I hope I didn't make a mistake in writing the Duel. If there is a mistake without me knowing that you noticed, please do inform me and I'll immediately revise it.
Please don't forget to review this chapter, tell me your opinion about this chapter. Your review motivates me to keep writing.
TRIVIA
1. Myrties: Greek for "myrtles".
2. Spourgitis: Greek for "sparrow".
3. Diamanti: Greek for "diamond".
4. Glyko Peristeri: Greek for "sweet dove".
5. Timios Kyknos: Greek for "honest swan".
6. Triantafllyo: Greek for "rose".
7. Kochyli: Greek for "seashell."
8. Aspida: Greek for "shield".
9. Afroditi: Based on Aphrodite with Greek writing and spelling.
10. Velo: Greek for "veil", referring to one of Aphrodite's attributes shown in art.
11. Agapi: Greek for "love".