Roxy's Reports 21: Numera (Updated) and Athaliah
At Café Matsuo, in the morning after the events of Chapter 43...
Yuhiro and Roxy were in the kitchen area of the second floor eating breakfast, silence filled in the air. However, it was soon broken once Roxy spoke.
"So. Are we ever going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Roxy asked Yuhiro.
"The elephant in the room?" Yuhiro repeated, confused by what Roxy just said as she put down his spoon. She then gestured to the other person that was sitting at the table. "Oh. You meant Hercules."
"No kidding, Sherlock!" Roxy shouted, enunciating each word. "When did this occur? I'm glad that Hercules now has sentience, but I'm more worried about the damage he'll bring about to the house due to his massive strength and size!" She turned to Hercules, who picked up the food on the table with his hand before eating it. "No offense. You saved my ass a bunch of times in Fate/Grand Order."
"None taken." Hercules replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Hey, don't blame Hercules for being tall and strong." Herald told Roxy, only for her to turn her anger onto him. As a result, he retreated into Yuhiro's duel disk, fear having overcome him.
"Then how about this. Hercules will only materialize outside of Café Matsuo if needed, as well as on the first floor." Yuhiro suggested. "This way, the house won't be damaged." He turned to Hercules. "You're making Roxy a little antsy. Would you mind returning to the duel disk?" As if to comply, Hercules turned into particles, which went into Yuhiro's duel disk. "Feeling better?"
"Obviously." Roxy groaned, running her hands through her dark, curly black hair. Since when did their house start turning into a zoo? "It's a late start for school today, right?" Yuhiro nodded. "In that case, I say we do some profiles."
Yuhiro nodded. That actually wasn't a bad idea. After all, he had some time to kill, and completing the profiles now would help them in the future. Once the two finished eating breakfast, they headed downstairs towards the backroom of Café Matsuo and sat down in their respective chairs. "Considering how I hung out with Rachel yesterday, it would be a good idea to update her profile due to recent events."
"It would also benefit us to create a profile on Athaliah as well." Herald added. "Apparently, Frog and Pigeon had 'friends' that were also in the network at the time the Tower of Hanoi appeared. Along with the duel between Tsubaki and Ace, I also got the duel between Athaliah and Rachel as well, thus allowing us the chance to look at Athaliah's strategies."
"How much did you pay Frog and Pigeon?" Roxy asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Uh..." Herald did not want to answer, lest he experience Roxy's wrath once again. "That's not important. Anyway, let's get those profiles up and running!" Soon, Rachel's profile appeared on the screen. "So, to start up, Numera's identity is actually Rachel Miyake."
"She told me and Fujiki about her identity in exchange for knowing our identities in the network." Yuhiro said, updating the Name section of Numera's profile. "Just as you said last night Roxy, she's still our ally."
"Six years ago, Rachel underwent multiple procedures in something called Project: Apotheosis." Roxy recalled, typing this information in the Notes section of the profile. "This was because her parents left her with a friend they thought they could trust to settle things with loan sharks. Unfortunately, the friend, Athaliah, tortured Rachel throughout the project just to create a being called the Construct. Like..." She turned to Yuhiro. "What the hell is that? And what does it have to do with Project: VIII?"
"I'm not sure, but I wish I knew." Yuhiro admitted, turning to Roxy. "What I can promise is that whoever launched these projects will answer for making so many people suffer." And with the information Greg gave us, he thought, adding in some more information into the Notes section of the profile, we'll find out soon. "That aside, due to Project: Apotheosis, Rachel was able to acquire the Mathmech deck. Apparently, she was the only one who could wield it efficiently."
"Speaking of the Mathmech deck, it focuses on setting up an OTK using her ace monster, Geomathmech Final Sigma." Herald recapped. "As Numera's strongest monster, its not only unaffected by card effects except other 'Mathmech' cards, it can also deal double battle damage to the opponent whenever its in the Extra Monster Zone. However..." Herald pressed a few buttons on the digital keyboard, enabling him to find a file containing all the duels that occurred during the Tower of Hanoi incident. Clicking on one file, he, along with Yuhiro and Roxy, watched as Numera Xyz Summoned Primathmech Laplacian. She then used its effects to topple Athaliah's field apart before using both it and Final Sigma to win the duel. "Rachel recently incorporated Xyz Summoning into her deck to provide versatility. By doing this, it enabled her to tap into her deck's potential in different ways."
"Thus letting her win the duel against Athaliah." Yuhiro finished. He was about to update the Deck section of the profile, only to find that Herald had already updated it. "Okay, didn't expect it to be updated already. That being said, what does Numera's new Xyz monster do?"
"Let me find out." Roxy told Yuhiro, analyzing the video. "Okay. Primathmech Laplacian is a Rank 4 Xyz monster that, upon being Xyz Summoned, allows Rachel to detach up to three Overlay units to activate a series of effects in order. Effect One: She can send a random card from the opponent's hand to the Graveyard. Effect Two: She can send a monster her opponent controls to the Graveyard. Effect Three: She can send a Spell or Trap card they control to the Graveyard. All three effects don't target as well, thus making it quite tricky to get around." She typed this information down. "And in the event a Mathmech card would be destroyed by a card effect, Rachel can prevent its destruction by detaching an Overlay Unit from Laplacian."
"All in all, its not a bad Xyz monster." Yuhiro summed up. "Aside from the update to Rachel's deck and how she got it, as well as knowing her backstory, there isn't much we need to discuss. What duel grade should we give her?"
Roxy thought it over before responding. "I say we give her a B+, or a Badass with a +. By incorporating another summoning method, it shows that her skills as a duelist are improving. She took a step forward in defeating someone that traumatized her life, thus showing she is someone not to be messed with. I look forward to how Numera grows further in the future."
"Well said, Roxy." Herald stated, as Yuhiro typed this information down into the Duel Grade section of the profile. After updating the LINK VRAINS' History section as well, the profile looked like this:
Name: Rachel Miyake (she confessed her identity both to Yuhiro and Yusaku).
VRAINS ID: Numera
Other Aliases: The Cyberse User (that's what people in the Black Market call her), Super Genius Girl (a side effect of having undergone Project: Apotheosis).
Gender: Female
Age: 12 (she just turned twelve recently. Happy birthday, Rachel!).
Residence: Apartment in Den City (Apartment 425 to be exact).
Job: Student at Den City High, Duelist, Ally (all three things confirmed a long time ago).
Deck: Mathmech (a Cyberse deck that focuses on setting up an OTK using her ace monster, Geomathmech Final Sigma. As Numera's strongest monster, its not only unaffected by card effects except other 'Mathmech' cards, it can also deal double battle damage to the opponent whenever its in the Extra Monster Zone. She recently incorporated Xyz Summoning into her deck as well to provide versatility. Apparently, it was thanks to Xyz Summoning that Rachel was able to beat Athaliah).
Ace Monster(s): Geomathmech Final Sigma (a Level 12 Synchro monster that can not only deal double battle damage, it is also unaffected by other card effects, except other 'Mathmech' cards while in the Extra Monster Zone. A true powerhouse to contend with), Primathmech Laplacian (A Rank 4 Xyz monster with decent stats, but with a strong effect in return. By detaching up to three Overlay units, Rachel can send a random card from the opponent's hand to the Graveyard, a monster they control to the Graveyard, and a Spell or Trap card they control to the Graveyard. Its also non-targeted too, making it quite tricky to get around. Lastly, in the event a Mathmech card would be destroyed by a card effect, Rachel can prevent its destruction by detaching an Overlay Unit from Laplacian).
Skill: Mathmech Decompiling (lets her target and destroy a Link Monster on the field before Special Summoning other 'Mathmech' monsters from her hand, deck, or Graveyard up to the destroyed Link Monster's Link Rating).
LINK VRAINS' History: Numera first appeared in LINK VRAINS when Watchman informed us that she was causing havoc in the Black Market. However, she eventually agreed to assist Watchman as needed once we beat her in a duel.
Ever since, she's appeared as per Watchman's instruction. Examples include the Another crisis and helping to retrieve World Gears of Theurlogical Demiurgy. During the Tower of Hanoi incident, she logged in to assist with shutting down the Tower. Another reason she did it was to stop a woman named Athaliah, who tormented her during Project: Apotheosis.
The duel was so tough that Rachel nearly lost, but was able to make a comeback and defeat Athaliah. Unfortunately, following the duel, she was caught in Infearno's trap, and ended up being chopped into bits by the azure-overcoated man. After the Tower of Hanoi incident, she was able to recover from being wounded, and says she is fine now.
Duel Grade right now: B+ (Badass with a +) (Numera's skills as a duelist are definitely improving, as she incorporated another summoning method into her deck. She took a step forward in defeating someone that traumatized her life, thus showing she is someone not to be messed with. I look forward to how Numera grows further in the future).
Notes: Numera's Mathmech deck focuses on setting up an OTK using her ace monster, Geomathmech Final Sigma. As Numera's strongest monster, its not only unaffected by card effects except other 'Mathmech' cards, it can also deal double battle damage to the opponent whenever its in the Extra Monster Zone. She recently incorporated Xyz Summoning into her deck as well to provide versatility. The individual Mathmech cards also have effects that activate when they're sent to the Graveyard. These include increasing the number of attacks, cutting a monster's attack points in half, doubling them, etc.
When Rachel was six years old, her parents left her with a friend they thought they could trust to settle things with loan sharks. Unfortunately, said friend made Rachel suffer from Project: Apotheosis, which was just as worse as the Lost Incident. Those two projects originated from Project: VIII, which we intend to look into thanks to Rachel's guardian Greg (the FBI commissioner) giving the information to us. We'll make whoever launched these projects pay for hurting so many people.
Due to Project: Apotheosis, Rachel was 'linked' with the Mathmech deck through experiments, and was the only one who could use them. She took the deck with her after being rescued by Greg and the FBI.
Despite everything that happened, Rachel managed to persevere by defeating Athaliah. It shows that she is taking the first step towards a brighter future. Keep it up, Rachel! We're supporting you all the way!
Satisfied with the updates on Rachel's profile, Yuhiro closed it before opening up a blank document. "Okay. Let's get started on Athaliah's profile by saying that her VRAINS ID is the same as her name in the real world."
"Maybe she has some arrogance in her?" Herald theorized, but Yuhiro and Roxy shook their heads. "Hey, I'm just guessing."
"Either way, putting your real name in the network has risks." Roxy told Herald. "Like how you can easily get targeted by authorities."
"I think we're getting off topic here." Yuhiro said, ending the conversation. "Thank's to the information Greg provided us, Athaliah Kuraishi is not only known as Numera's Oppressor, but also the instigator of Project: Apotheosis." He inputted the information in the Name, VRAINS ID, and Other Aliases sections of the profile. "What we don't know is where she currently resides right now."
"Because someone broke her and Ace out." Herald pointed out the obvious. "It is imperative to capture them ASAP."
"Right." Roxy narrowed her eyes as she clicked the beginning of the video on the screen. "I gotta say, whoever was able to record her duel with Rachel and not get deleted had a lot of balls."
The three of them then proceeded to watch the duel between Athaliah and Numera. Looking at the video, it became clear that the duel was a difficult one for Numera, as Athaliah immediately started off by doing the very thing that both Yuhiro and Roxy found a pain in the ass: Setting monsters in face-down defense position. When Numera made her move, Athaliah proceeded to activate Sinister Shadow Games, which enabled her to Flip Summon Shaddoll Squamata during Rachel's turn. As a result, Curse of the Shadow Prison got a Spellstone counter, Geomathmech Magma was destroyed, and Athaliah got to draw one card from her deck.
As the duel progressed, it showed Athaliah using Fusion Summoning in order to put pressure on what moves Numera could make, as evidenced by El Shaddoll Winda and El Shaddoll Grysta. It got to the point where Numera lost her confidence upon seeing Geomathmech Final Sigma being destroyed, so much that she considered surrendering the duel. Luckily, Numera was able to snap out of her daze at the last second upon facing against El Shaddoll Construct, as she countered with a strategy that ended up with her Xyz Summoning Primathmech Laplacian, as well as eventually bringing back Final Sigma to her field. With both monsters on the field, Numera eventually finished Athaliah off, despite resistance to prevent her defeat.
"Wow..." was all Yuhiro said after the video was finished. "A Flip Summoning deck that makes use of Fusion Summoning to lock the opponent down? That's deadly indeed."
"Its one of the Shaddoll deck's many strengths." Herald stated. "The ability to use Flip Summoning and Fusion Summoning together to lock the opponent down. If they're sent to the Graveyard, they gain effects that can benefit the user in various ways, such as drawing cards, hampering the opponent's efforts, etc."
"To access the Fusion monsters, Athaliah has ways to constantly retrieve Shaddoll Fusion." Roxy added, turning to face Yuhiro. "Shaddoll Fusion also allows Athaliah to Fusion Summon using monsters from the Extra Deck if the opponent has a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck. To top it off, her Field Spell card Curse of the Shadow Prison lets her Fusion Summon using one monster on the opponent's field if it accumulates enough Spellstone counters."
"Thus giving her multiple ways to Fusion Summon." Herald finished, his eyes narrowed. Yuhiro, meanwhile, was writing all this down in the Deck section so that they wouldn't forget. "And once she does Fusion Summon her monsters, they have deadly effects, especially towards players that use Link monsters."
"First, there's El Shaddoll Winda." Yuhiro said, taking over for Herald as he found the part on the video where El Shaddoll Winda was on Athaliah's field. "A Level 5 Fusion monster with average stats, but a nasty effect. While she's on the field, both players can only Special Summon once, which can hinder their moves. If Winda is sent to the Graveyard, Athaliah can add one 'Shaddoll' Spell or Trap in her Graveyard to her hand."
"Thus taking the phrase 'Big things come in small packages' to a whole new level." Roxy added, typing in the information in the Ace Monster (s) section of the profile. She then found the part of the video where El Shaddoll Construct was on Athaliah's field. "Then there's this thing. El Shaddoll Construct, a Level 8 Fusion monster with strong attack and defense points. When she's Special Summoned, Athaliah can send a 'Shaddoll' card from her deck to the Graveyard. If Construct battles a Special Summoned monster, its instantly destroyed. Just like that. Lastly, just like Winda, if Construct is sent to the Graveyard, Athaliah can add one 'Shaddoll' Spell or Trap card from her Graveyard to her hand."
Yuhiro typed this information down as well. "That pretty much covers her deck. Anymore details we need to discuss?"
"Well, for starters, the reason why she started Project: Apotheosis." Herald replied, a hand on his chin. "I overheard Rachel's story last night, and I just couldn't believe the similarities there are between her and Dr. Kogami. She wanted to create something called a Construct, a being that would unite the Ignis and humans together in finding the Root of all Knowledge. On the other hand, Dr. Kogami wanted to create the Ignis to aid them in reaching said Root and survive challenges. How do these two projects have any connection with Project: VIII? And what the Hell is the Root of all Knowledge?"
"I'm sure we'll find answers from the USB stick Greg gave us." Roxy assured Herald. She typed this down in the Notes section of the profile. "Aside from us not knowing what her Skill is, does anyone know what Duel Grade we should give her?"
"An A for Apocalyptic." Yuhiro immediately answered. Herald was about to open his mouth in protest, only for him to close it when Yuhiro continued. "Despite having dueled only once so far, she's proven to be a deadly duelist for anyone to face. As a duelist who uses Flip Summons, it allows her to catch the opponent off guard at any time. Her use of Fusion Summoning to lock down the opponent's Special Summons can restrict their moves further, enabling Athaliah to slowly finish them off until their life points drop to zero. This, combined with her ability to reacquire resources, makes her a strong duelist."
"As well as someone we need to capture ASAP." Herald reiterated, causing Yuhiro to flick his face again with his finger. "Why do you have to do that?" Once Roxy finished typing information in the Duel Grade section, the following profile looked like this:
Name: Athaliah Kuraishi (at least we have some information on the person who ran Project: Apotheosis).
VRAINS ID: Athaliah Kuraishi (she uses her real name in the network? Must have some arrogance in her).
Other Aliases: Numera's Oppressor (made sense, considering what she did to her), Instigator of Project: Apotheosis (who knows how many people Athaliah operated on? She truly is despicable).
Gender: Female
Age: Early-40's (we're just estimating here. We don't know what her actual age is).
Residence: Unknown (she broke out with Ace and is currently on the run. Once we find her, she's going back to jail).
Job: Scientist (formerly because Project: Apotheosis got shut down), Ally of the Hanoi (formerly because she and Ace planned to betray them), Assistant to Ace (current. Where he goes, she follows).
Deck: Shaddoll (a deck that focuses on Flip Summoning and locking down the opponent through Fusion Summoning. If they're sent to the Graveyard, they gain effects that can benefit the user in various ways, such as drawing cards, hampering the opponent's efforts, etc. She also has cards that search her Fusion Spell card (Shaddoll Fusion), as well a Field Spell card called Curse of the Shadow Prison, which lets her Fusion Summon using one monster on the opponent's field. All in all, if you're not careful, then Athaliah will end up acquiring the advantage before you know it).
Ace Monster(s): El Shaddoll Winda (a Level 5 Fusion monster with average stats, but a nasty effect. While she's on the field, both players can only Special Summon once, which can be a pain in the ass for players that consecutively Link Summon (ex. Playmaker, Blue Angel, Go Onizuka). If she is sent to the Graveyard, Athaliah can add one 'Shaddoll' Spell or Trap in her Graveyard to her hand), El Shaddoll Construct (a Level 8 Fusion monster with strong attack and defense points. When she's Special Summoned, Athaliah can send a 'Shaddoll' card from her deck to the Graveyard. If Construct battles a Special Summoned monster, its instantly destroyed. Just like that. Lastly, just like Winda, if Construct is sent to the Graveyard, Athaliah can add one 'Shaddoll' Spell or Trap card from her Graveyard to her hand).
Skill: Unknown (we've only seen her Master Duel so far. Who knows whether she'll have a Speed Duel or not).
LINK VRAINS' History: Athaliah first appeared alongside Ace, who joined the Knights of Hanoi after brokering a deal between them. The two of them helped with the construction of the Tower of Hanoi prior to its launch. After it appeared in the network, she aided in defending it, but secretly worked with Ace in betraying them at the right moment. Luckily, Numera defeated her, which led to her arrest (and eventual breakout during prison transport).
Duel Grade right now: A (Apocalyptic) (Despite having dueled only once so far, she's proven to be a deadly duelist for anyone to face. As a duelist who uses Flip Summons, it allows her to catch the opponent off guard at any time. Her use of Fusion Summoning to lock down the opponent's Special Summons can restrict their moves further, enabling Athaliah to slowly finish them off until their life points drop to zero. This, combined with her ability to reacquire resources, makes her a strong duelist).
Notes: Athaliah's Shaddoll deck focuses on Flip Summoning and locking down the opponent through Fusion Summoning. If they're sent to the Graveyard, they gain effects that can benefit the user in various ways, such as drawing cards, hampering the opponent's efforts, etc. She also has cards that search her Fusion Spell card (Shaddoll Fusion), as well a Field Spell card called Curse of the Shadow Prison, which lets her Fusion Summon using one monster on the opponent's field.
As the instigator of Project: Apotheosis, she was in charge of creating the Construct, a being that would unite the Ignis and humans together into finding the Root of all Knowledge (whatever that is). Sadistic and inhumane beyond belief, she tortured people of various age sizes to find what she was looking for. You could say that it made some of the Knights of Hanoi look like nice people (sorry Specter and Lord Kazuma. You both are insane).
Due to Athaliah's project, Rachel was traumatized and scarred both physically and mentally. It would have gone further had Greg not shut down the project and rescued everyone. She was arrested, but later escaped and joined Ace in the Alpha Branch of the Black Market. Following the Tower of Hanoi incident, she was arrested along with Ace, and would have been imprisoned had she not broken out. We need to be on the lookout for both of them, as who knows what kind of havoc they can unleash?
Having been successful with the creation of this new profile, Roxy saved their work before closing the page. "Well. That's that." Suddenly, Yuhiro's watch started beeping. "And it looks like its time for you to go to school."
"I'll see you later today, Roxy." Yuhiro replied, as he stood up and picked up his duel disk before heading upstairs. Once he got his things, he went back downstairs and exited Café Matsuo, heading towards Den City High.
What Herald said made me worried, Yuhiro admitted in his mind. Just what exactly is this Root of all Knowledge? Why did Dr. Kogami, as well as the scientists who instigated Project: VIII, want to reach it? What exactly is the endgame plan here? His thoughts, however, were interrupted when Progleo jumped out of his duel disk, happily panting.
"You want to go walking, huh buddy?" Yuhiro knelt down and petted Progleo's head. "In that case..." He put the collar and leash around Progleo's neck. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?" The two of them then continued walking towards Den City High, a weight having been removed off of Yuhiro's shoulders for now.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo...
A fifteen-year old boy whistled to himself as he got up from his computer chair. He had light-green hair that flowed backwards and curled at the back. Dark-green hair spikes were also on the sides of his head, with light-green spikes at the back of his head as well. The boy walked over towards a small postal card that was clipped to his desk.
"Gammadome Rumble," the boy read, looking at the card. According to a forum, Gammadome Rumble was an event that occurred in a section of the Black Market called Gamma Branch, which was in LINK VRAINS. Every few weeks, they would host Gammadome Rumble, where duelists brave enough would enter and compete for a chance at grand prizes. The people there would bet on who was more likely to win as each duel progressed. While the winners were allowed to proceed, the losers would be kicked out, forbidden to compete in the event again. You could say it was a high-stakes event.
The boy walked over to a beanbag chair and sat on it, leaning back in the process. He then pulled out a card from his deck and looked at it. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. His beloved ace monster that got him through thick and thin.
"In just a few weeks, we're gonna kick ass Clear Wing," the boy said to the card in his hand. "Together, we'll show the world what we're made of."
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Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Obscured Truth: Roxy's Reports 22: Raguel (Updated)
Author's Notes
Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the profiles for Numera and Athaliah, as well as the post credits scene. I won't say anything on that, as it will lead to spoilers. Up next is Chapter 44, so stay tuned!