Chapter 11: Samurai Showdown

Raguel was not happy with the situation he was in. Just moments before he could get worthwhile information from Numera, a female samurai came out of nowhere and roped him into a duel! One that he didn't have time for in the moment.

The light-green cord snaked around Raguel's wrist vanished as the female samurai, or SengokuQueen as she called herself, spoke. "The Duel Anchor prevents you from logging out." She activated her Duel Disk as she said that, which revealed a crimson blade with a golden outline. "Now we will duel, and once I defeat you, your Ignis is mine!"

"Ignis? What are you talking about?" Numera demanded from SengokuQueen.

"She means me," Herald deduced, causing Numera to turn to him. "And if she's after me, then she's probably after my comrade as well."

"But that's not going to happen!" Raguel bravely said, glaring at SengokuQueen. "You said that you were sent from SOL Technologies. Are you some sort of bounty hunter?"

"That is correct," SengokuQueen confirmed, momentarily closing her eyes before reopening them. "I'll have you know that the higher-ups themselves contacted me to acquire not just your Ignis, but Playmaker's as well!"

I can't let her get Herald, nor can I let her go after Playmaker, Raguel thought. This meant he had only one option. He had to defeat the bounty hunter in front of him.

Raguel put his hand on his earpiece and spoke to Roxy. "Roxy, I need all the information on SengokuQueen asap."

"I'm well aware, Yuhiro." Roxy replied. Based on her tone, Raguel could tell she was pissed. "Tell me you at least defeated Numera."

"I did, don't worry." Raguel affirmed, causing her to relax. "And this duel isn't my fault. It's an Out-of-the-Frying-Pan-and-Into-the-Fire sort of situation."

"Just survive until I can get the information to you," Roxy ordered him. And then she signed off.

Raguel, sighing, activated his Duel Disk. This definitely wasn't his day. "Alright, SengokuQueen. If you insist on challenging me, then I'll accept your challenge! But be warned: I won't be holding back!"

"I expect nothing less from the top agent of the black market!" SengokuQueen snarled back.

"Duel!"

Raguel: 4000 LP

SengokuQueen: 4000 LP

"I shall go first!" SengokuQueen immediately declared. She looked at the cards in front of her. With this hand, she thought, I can begin my Bushido Combo. And once it's established, not even Raguel can stand against it. "I activate the Spell card, Shien's Smoke Signal! This card lets me add a Level 3 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck to my hand!" Using Shien's Smoke Signal, SengokuQueen added Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from her deck to her hand.

"Next, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Six Samurai United! Each time I Normal or Special Summon a 'Six Samurai' monster, I can place a Bushido counter on this card! Next, I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from my hand!" A samurai with bronze armor and high boots with yellow lines appeared on SengokuQueen's field, carrying a katana in each arm. The samurai had a bronze mask with wires on his helmet. On the samurai's back was a set of mechanical arms, which also had a katana in each hand.

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3

"The effect of Six Samurai United activates, letting me put a Bushido counter on it!"

Six Samurai United BC: 0 + 1 = 1

"Kageki's effect!" SengokuQueen continued. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my hand. Come to me, The Six Samurai – Zanji!" A samurai holding a naginata also appeared on her field. Unlike Kageki, Zanji wore dark brown armor and shin guards with orange lines. His helmet was also different, as it was curved at the top.

The Six Samurai – Zanji ATK: 1800 DEF: 1300 LVL: 4

"United's effect!"

Six Samurai United BC: 1 + 1 = 2

"I activate the second effect of Six Samurai United!" SengokuQueen quickly added. "Since the maximum counters it can have is two, I will send it to the Graveyard, and by doing so, I can draw one card for each Bushido counter that was on it. As there were two Bushido counters, I get to draw two cards!" She drew the top two cards of her deck.

"Kageki's second effect! Since I control a 'Six Samurai' monster with a different name, it gains 1500 attack points!"

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 + 1500 = 1700

"Appear! The circuit of ancient honor!" SengokuQueen said, as a Link Portal soon appeared above her. "The summoning conditions are two monsters, including a 'Six Samurai' monster. I'll set The Six Samurai – Zanji and Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki in the Link Markers!" Zanji went into the bottom-left arrowhead while Kageki went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai!" A samurai with black armor and shin pads with pink lines appeared on SengokuQueen's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. This samurai had long black hair tied into a ponytail, with a spiky black beard, as well as a red headband. Battle Shogun carried a long, slim katana in one hand, with two other katanas on his back.

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

"Battle Shogun's effect! By discarding a card, I can add a card from my deck to my hand that has an effect that places a Bushido counter!" Using Battle Shogun's effect, SengokuQueen discarded The Six Samurai – Yaichi to add Gateway of the Six to her hand.

"I then activate the Continuous-Spell card, Gateway of the Six, from my hand!" SengokuQueen continued. "Whenever I Normal or Special Summon a 'Six Samurai' monster, I can place two counters on this card. With that, I Set two cards face-down, and end my turn," she concluded. "Raguel. I already started the duel strong. It would be dishonorable if you did anything less."

"The Six Samurai Archetype is very interesting," Herald observed. "From what I've seen, the opponent you're facing aims to gather Bushido counters to provide her with benefits."

"I can see that, Herald." Raguel said. "My turn! I draw! Since you control a Link Monster, I can Special Summon Cyreath Lava Hound from my hand! However, if it's summoned using this effect, it can only attack Link Monsters!" An overweight volcanic creature with small wings fluttered to Raguel's field.

Cyreath Lava Hound ATK: 2200 DEF: 1700 LVL: 6

"Next I summon Cyreath Archer!" A female archer, with pink hair and a light-green cloak, appeared on the field, and strung it's bow at SengokuQueen.

Cyreath Archer ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LVL: 3

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above Raguel's head. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Lava Hound and Cyreath Archer in the Link Markers!" Lava Hound entered the bottom-left arrowhead, while Archer entered the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Machai!" A warrior with two torsos back to back with each other and covered in coal black skin was summoned to the right Extra Monster Zone. It had two legs, six arms, and two heads.

Cyreath Machai ATK: 1600 LINK-2 ↙️↘️

"Lava Hound's effect activates!" Raguel continued. "If it leaves the field for any reason, I can Special Summon 2 'Cyreath Lava Pup' tokens to my field!" Immediately, two smaller pups resembling Lava Hound emerged into existence on the field in the Main Monster Zones Machai was pointing to, only both of them were covered in lava.

Cyreath Lava Pup Token ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LVL: 3

Cyreath Lava Pup Token ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LVL: 3

"Ah. I see why you did that," Herald said, looking at the field. "So Machai can reap from its effect."

"Something like that," Raguel confirmed. Since Machai points to both Lava Pups, Raguel thought, it can attack two additional times. Still, she has those two face-down cards, so it's better to be safe than sorry. "I equip Cyreath Machai with the Equip Spell card, Boots of Hermes!" The card showed Cyreath Barbarian putting on boots that had small, feathered wings on them. "A monster equipped with this card can attack directly, but all battle damage inflicted is halved. Also, while equipped, it can't be targeted by card effects once per turn." SengokuQueen gritted her teeth upon hearing that.

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "With the Boots of Hermes, Cyreath Machai will attack you directly!" Machai jumped over Battle Shogun and proceeded to slash SengokuQueen, but...

"I activate my Trap card, Six Style – Duel Wield!" SengokuQueen interjected. "If the only monster I control is one 'Six Samurai' monster in attack position, I can target two cards you control and return them to your hand! I choose your Equip Spell first, and by doing so, I'll also choose Cyreath Machai!" Dual Wield fired two green slices that hit both Machai and the Boots of Hermes, returning one to Raguel's hand and the other to Raguel's Extra Deck.

"That didn't go as planned," Herald commented.

"No kidding." Raguel said. He had to admit, this girl was just as good as Ghost Girl. Unlike Ghost Girl, though, she was straight to the point. Also, she was very calculating.

If Raguel was going to beat her, then he had to out-calculate her. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"My turn! I draw!" SengokuQueen said, as she drew the top card of her deck. "Now for my Bushido Combo to take fruit! I activate another copy of the Continuous-Spell card, Six Samurai United from my hand! I'll also activate my other face-down Trap card, Double-Edged Sword Technique! This card lets me target two 'Six Samurai' monsters in my Graveyard and Special Summon them in attack position! I choose Kageki and Zanji!" As she said that, Kageki and Zanji returned to SengokuQueen's field to the Main Monster Zone's Battle Shogun was pointing to.

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 DEF: 2000 LVL: 3

The Six Samurai – Zanji ATK: 1800 DEF: 1300 LVL: 4

"Gateway's effect! Since I summoned two 'Six Samurai' monsters, I can place four Bushido counters on this card!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 0 + 4 = 4

"United's effect also activates as well!"

Six Samurai United BC: 0 + 2 = 2

"I activate the second effect of Six Samurai United!" SengokuQueen said. "As it reached the max capacity of how many Bushido counters it can have, I will send it to the Graveyard to draw one card for each Bushido counter that was on it. There were two Bushido counters, so I get to draw two cards!" She drew the top two cards of her deck once again.

"Battle Shogun's effect! Each time a 'Six Samurai' monster is Normal or Special Summoned to a zone it points to, I can place a Bushido counter on it. And for each Bushido counter, it gains 100 attack points!"

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 0 + 2 = 2

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1000 + 200 = 1200

"Kageki's second effect! Since I control a 'Six Samurai' monster with a different name, it gains 1500 attack points!"

Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki ATK: 200 + 1500 = 1700

"Next I summon Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!" A samurai with dark brown armor and shin pads with yellow lines covering his entire body joined SengokuQueen's field. Unlike his brethren, this samurai's mask was a bit taller vertically, and its mask covered his face up to his eyes. Kagemusha cracked his whip, ready for battle.

Kagemusha of the Six Samurai ATK: 400 DEF: 1800 LVL: 2

"Gateway's effect!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 4 + 2 = 6

"I then activate the effect of Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan from my hand!" SengokuQueen added. "If I control a 'Six Samurai' monster with a different name, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" Another samurai, only with dark blue armor appeared on her field. Unlike his brethren, this samurai's mask did not come with the helmet. His long black hair was on his sides, and he carried a katana in his hands.

Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan ATK: 1800 DEF: 500 LVL: 4

"Gateway's effect activates once again!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 6 + 2 = 8

"Kizan's effect! Since I have two or more other 'Six Samurai' monsters on my field, it gains 300 attack and defense points!"

Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan ATK: 1800 + 300 = 2100 DEF: 500 + 300 = 800

"Level 2 Kagemusha of the Six Samurai tunes Level 3 Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki!" SengokuQueen boldly declared. A bolt of crimson lightning struck her as the world greyed out and her two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one brown and one green, appeared before turning blue and merging. Five blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "2 + 3" in front of them. The screen changed to "5" as light surged through the rings.

"The legendary samurai brings fear and death to all his enemies!" SengokuQueen chanted. "Soon, your death shall strengthen his power! Synchro Summon! Emerge from the battlefield, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" A samurai with light crimson armor and golden lines covering his entire body emerged from the light and onto the right Main Monster Zone Battle Shogun was pointing to. This samurai had medium-sized wings with golden lines on his back. On each of his shoulders was a curved spike. His helmet had the Bushido symbol on the top, with the samurai mask having a golden outline. His eyes glowed red as he swung his katana, ready for battle.

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 DEF: 1400 LVL: 5

"Both Gateway's and Battle Shogun's effect activate!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 8 + 2 = 10

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 2 + 1 = 3

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1200 + 100 = 1300

"If you think I'm stopping here, then you're seriously wrong!" SengokuQueen said. "Dishonored scum like you must be punished! Appear! The network of the blade!" Her hand glowed light-green as a galaxy portal appeared in the sky above the duelists. "Materials confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Level 4 'Six Samurai' monsters! I overlay the Level 4 The Six Samurai – Zanji with the Level 4 Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan!"

The two warriors immediately turned into streams of black and red energy and entered the portal, where a pillar of light soon erupted from its center.

"Xyz Summon! Like a shadow in the darkness, strike down the unjust with your blade and bring them to justice! Rank 4! Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien!" A samurai with long red hair tied in a ponytail, as well as half a samurai mask was summoned to the left Main Monster Zone Battle Shogun was pointing to. Unlike his brethren, Shien had an open orange and purple sleeveless coat along with light crimson armor with golden lines.

Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien ATK: 2500 DEF: 400 RNK: 4 OU: 2

"Both Gateway's and Battle Shogun's effect activate once again!"

Gateway of the Six BC: 10 + 2 = 12

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 3 + 1 = 4

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1300 + 100 = 1400

"I activate Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can target 1 'Six Samurai' monster that has less than 2000 attack points, and if I do, its original attack points become 2000 until my End Phase! I choose Battle Shogun!" As Shien readied his blade, one of the lights behind him went into it, causing both it and Battle Shogun to brightly glow. As a result, Battle Shogun's strength increased.

Shadow of the Six Samurai OU: 2 – 1 = 1

"Hang on. Battle Shogun originally had 1000 attack points." Herald calculated. He then realized something. "That means..."

"Battle Shogun gains 1000 attack points and then the attack boost from those Bushido counters." Raguel finished for him.

Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1400 + 1000 = 2400

"Good to see that you're catching on." SengokuQueen told him. "Your defeat is almost ready." Thrusting her hand out, she said, "I activate one of Gateway's many effects! By removing two Bushido counters, a 'Six Samurai' or 'Shien' Effect monster gains 500 attack points until the End Phase! And I choose my ace monster, Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" Gateway of the Six glowed light-green, as well as Shi En, powering the samurai up.

Gateway of the Six BC: 12 – 2 = 10

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"Let's first get rid of those Lava Pups! Battle! Battle Shogun attacks your first Lava Pup token!" Battle Shogun charged forward, with the intent of eliminating the small, volcanic creature.

"Hang on, SengokuQueen!" Raguel interrupted. "I activate my face-down Trap card, Torrential Buster! This card will-!"

"Your Torrential Buster will do NOTHING!" SengokuQueen furiously countered. "I activate Shi En's effect! Once per turn, during either of our turns, when you activate a Spell or Trap card, I can negate and destroy it! Trembling Terror!" Shi En quickly charged forward and slashed Torrential Buster in two, destroying it. "With that, Battle Shogun's attack continues!"

Battle Shogun slashed the first Lava Pup token in two, destroying and turning it into particles. As a result of the destruction, Raguel had to cover his eyes from the smoke as he was slightly pushed back.

Raguel: 4000 – 1600 = 2400 LP

"Raguel..." Numera muttered as she watched. If Raguel lost to this bounty hunter, who knows what she would do to her? Especially since she had Cyberse cards.

"The battle continues!" SengokuQueen said. "This time, Shien attacks your second Lava Pup!" Shien evaporated into a shadow before going behind the second Lava Pup and cutting it in two, causing another explosion. However, this explosion sent Raguel flying backwards to the ground.

Raguel: 2400 – 1700 = 700 LP

"I expected better from you, Raguel. However, you clearly disappointed me. Nevertheless, this duel is over! Shi En attacks you directly! Crimson Slash of Death!" Shi En charged forward, ready to cut Raguel down and end the duel. But...

"I activate the effect of Cyreath Rippler from my hand!" Raguel suddenly said. "If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and negate the attack!" SengokuQueen's eyes widened in surprise as a ghoul wearing digital pale robes appeared, carrying a small metal wand and triangle. Rippler hit the triangle using its wand, pushing Shi En back.

Cyreath Rippler ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LVL: 1

"Also, the attacking monster is destroyed!" Raguel added. "Agony Ripple!" This time, Rippler unleashed another musical blast that was much stronger than the previous one at Shi En. However...

"I activate Shi En's second effect!" SengokuQueen interjected. "If it would be destroyed, then I can destroy another 'Six Samurai' monster I control instead! Battle Shogun, protect Shi En!" At SengokuQueen's command, Battle Shogun went in front of Shi En and took the full force of the musical blast in Shi En's place, destroying him in the process.

"You destroyed your Link Monster?" Raguel asked, clearly surprised at what she did.

"My Six Samurai have complete loyalty towards Shi En!" SengokuQueen stated. "To the point where they would overcome the fear of death and die for him if needed!" She narrowed her eyes. "I expected to end this duel quickly. But you're just like the rest of your kind."

Raguel raised an eyebrow in response, now curious as to what she meant. "What do you mean by the 'rest of your kind'?"

SengokuQueen closed her eyes. "It's simple. You people on the black market have no honor, whatsoever. You will cheat, lie, and do whatever it takes to get what you want." She then reopened her eyes in anger. "It is due to this that I wish to bring them all to justice! So that they pay for their actions, and so a warning will be sent to anyone else foolish enough to follow in their footsteps!"

"Is that what you honestly think?" Raguel asked her. "You think everyone who works on the black market is cut from the same cloth? Well let me tell you this. Not everyone who works on the black market is evil. That's because everyone's circumstances are different!" He took a breath before continuing. "Take me for example, SengokuQueen. I don't do work on the black market for the sole purpose of making money. Rather, I do this so I can help someone who can't even interact with the outside world!"

For a moment, SengokuQueen's eyes widened in surprise before being narrowed again. I learned not to trust what people say, she thought. If Raguel manages to display something different in the duel though...

Meanwhile, Roxy, who was watching this duel, frowned as she paid attention to what Raguel said in response to SengokuQueen's comment. She couldn't help but agree with Raguel. That bounty hunter clearly had no idea. No idea what happened to Yuhiro and Miyu.

"And if my words can't convince you SengokuQueen, then my cards will do so instead!" Raguel declared. "So end your turn already!"

SengokuQueen sighed. "Very well, Raguel. This duel will decide what type of person you are. My challenge to you is this: Convince me of your ideals. If you do so, perhaps I might change my opinion of you." She then finished her turn by saying, "I Set one card face-down and end my turn. Which means the effects of Shien and Gateway of the Six end."

Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 3000 - 500 = 2500

"Raguel." Herald said, turning to him. "It's now or never. This next card will decide it."

"That I know. And there's three reasons why the next card I draw will help me win this duel, Herald. One," Raguel held up a finger, "I have faith in my deck, which has helped me time and time again. Two," Raguel held up a second finger, "against insurmountable odds, I can't give up now. Not as long as I have a purpose. Three," Raguel held up a third finger, "I will continue fighting until I fulfil that purpose. Until one day, the one I fight for is able to interact with the world once again!"

Numera paid close attention to what Raguel told Herald, or Ignis as the bounty hunter called him. His willingness to keep fighting against all odds. And the way he dueled against her earlier with his Cyreath deck. This boy really is different, Numera thought. That is why I keep having dreams about him. That is why I sought him out in the first place.

"My turn! I draw!" Raguel declared. When he looked at the top card of his deck, he smirked. "I activate the effect of Cyreath Chiron from my hand! By revealing this card, I can Special Summon it, as well as one 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard! In exchange, I can only attack with 'Cyreath' Link monsters this turn! And the monster I choose to bring back is Cyreath Lava Hound!" Lava Hound returned to Raguel's field beside Cyreath Rippler.

Cyreath Lava Hound ATK: 2200 DEF: 1700 LVL: 6

Then a creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body and legs of a horse joined his Cyreath comrades. He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail at the end, along with green eyes. He also wore an archaic style of dress with leather armor being clad onto it. He strung his bow at SengokuQueen.

Cyreath Chiron ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LVL: 6

"Now, appear! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel declared, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters! I'll set Cyreath Chiron, Cyreath Rippler, and Cyreath Lava Hound in the Link Markers!" Chiron went into the top arrowhead, Rippler went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Lava Hound went into the bottom-right arrowhead.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Rise and protect the innocent from evil! Link 3! Cyreath Nemean Lion!" A white lion with a black mane emerged from the Link Portal and roared as it went onto the right Extra Monster Zone on Raguel's field. On the lion's face was a red and gold mask, with purple spiked fins on either side. The lion also wore red and golden armor on its back, underbelly, shoulders, and legs.

Cyreath Nemean Lion ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

"Lava Hound's effect! If it leaves the field for any reason, I can Special Summon 2 'Cyreath Lava Pup' tokens to my field!" Immediately, two smaller pups resembling Lava Hound emerged into existence on the field in the Main Monster Zones Nemean Lion was pointing to, only both of them were covered in lava.

Cyreath Lava Pup Token ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LVL: 3

Cyreath Lava Pup Token ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LVL: 3

"Nemean Lion's effect!" Raguel continued. "When a monster is summoned to a zone it points to, I can target a card you control and shuffle it into your deck! By doing so, my monster gains 300 attack points until the end of my turn!"

"Since Raguel summoned his 'Lava Pup' tokens to the Main Monster zones Nemean Lion pointed to," Herald explained, "that means he can target up to two cards."

"Exactly!" Raguel said, agreeing with him. Pointing to the field, he said, "And the cards I target are Gateway of the Six and your face-down card! Prideful Roar!" SengokuQueen could do nothing but widen her eyes in shock as Nemean Lion roared, turning Gateway of the Six and her face-down card into particles as they returned to her deck. Nemean Lion's strength then increased.

Cyreath Nemean Lion ATK: 2500 + 300 + 300 = 3100

"Next I activate the Trap card, Cyreath Succession!" The card showed Cymyth Hercules passing down its helmet and gauntlets to Cyreath Barbarian. "If a 'Cyreath' monster I control leaves the field for any reason, I can Special Summon a 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard that is not a Link Monster, in exchange for negating its effects! I choose to bring back Cyreath Chiron from my Graveyard!" On Raguel's command, Chiron returned to the field.

Cyreath Chiron ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LVL: 6

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel said, as another Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one monster! I'll set one of my Cyreath Lava Pup tokens in the Link Markers!" One of the Lava Pup tokens went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Pseudo!" A watery spirit with one eye, two long arms, and a tail appeared in the left Main Monster Zone Nemean Lion was pointing to.

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 0 LINK-1 ⬆️

"Nemean Lion's effect activates again! This time, I'll target Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien!" SengokuQueen gritted her teeth as Nemean Lion roared once again, sending Shien back to her Extra Deck. After that, Nemean Lion's strength increased.

Nemean Lion ATK: 3100 + 300 = 3400

"This next Link Summon will be the last one of the duel!" Raguel declared. "Now, appear, for the final time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A third Link Portal above Raguel appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one monster! I'll set my other Cyreath Lava Pup token in the Link Markers!" The second Lava Pup token went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Skull Wing!" A small skull with wings was summoned to the right Main Monster Zone Nemean Lion was pointing to.

Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 LINK-1 ↙️

"Nemean Lion's effect activates one more time!" Raguel said. "Since a monster was summoned to a zone it points to, I can target a card you control and shuffle it into your deck! After that, Nemean Lion gains 300 attack points until the end of the turn. And you only have one card left on your field anyway, so I'll target Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En!" On Raguel's command, Nemean Lion roared, pushing back Shi En and turning the samurai into particles before returning to the Extra Deck. For the third time, a dark aura surrounded Nemean Lion, increasing his strength.

Nemean Lion ATK: 3400 + 300 = 3700

"With all your cards out of the way, it's time to battle!" Raguel declared. "Nemean Lion attacks you directly! Giga Impact!" Nemean Lion charged forward and rammed SengokuQueen, pushing her back and causing her to fall on her butt.

SengokuQueen: 4000 – 3700 = 300 LP

"The battle still continues! Cyreath Skull Wing attacks you directly!" Before SengokuQueen could fully get up, Skull Wing flew forward and tackled her to the ground, causing her to fall once again as her life points dropped to zero.

SengokuQueen: 300 – 300 = 0

"I can't believe you won." Numera said, approaching Raguel. "I thought you were going to-."

"Lose?" Raguel asked, turning to her. "No. While this and the previous duels were hard, they pale in comparison to another duel that I've been through." He then turned around and walked over to where SengokuQueen was, who stood up and crossed her arms. "Do yourself a favor and stop trying to go after Playmaker and me. I don't know why the higher-ups at SOL want our Ignis's, but I have a bad feeling that it's anything but good." Raguel was about to turn and walk away from her when SengokuQueen spoke up.

"Do you know what a lion represents, Raguel?" When Raguel turned his head, she said, "A lion represents courage, justice, strength, and wisdom. The fact that you have one means you're different from the rest."

"I see." Raguel turned to face her. "If there's anything you can learn from our duel, it's this: Not everyone is evil." He closed his eyes. "If you judge others at their worst, then you're not only criticizing them, you're also labelling them as well."

SengokuQueen simply narrowed her eyes in response. "And understand this, Raguel. As a bounty hunter, my honor prevents me from failing a mission. Which is why the next time we duel, I will win your Ignis and bring it back to SOL. And once I defeat you, then Playmaker is next!" She logged out afterwards.

Raguel frowned at what SengokuQueen said. Soon, he felt his coat being tugged by Numera.

"Let's talk somewhere else, shall we?" Numera said, as she gestured towards a yellow triangle, resembling a gateway.

In another area of LINK VRAINS...

"You know, I thought that bounty hunter was going to win the duel," Numera said. She and Raguel were on a rooftop in a different area of LINK VRAINS, overlooking the digital area.

"I thought so, too." Raguel admitted. "While I never faced a bounty hunter before, I did have the experience of working with one."

"And?"

"I hated it." Raguel scowled at the memory. Of when he was at Blood Shepherd's mercy, only for the bounty hunter to let him go, demanding that he become stronger.

"Well," Numera turned to look at Raguel, "I'm glad that you won. Otherwise, there'd be one less Cyberse user."

Raguel turned and smiled. "I guess so. But if you have a goal, and the will to keep going, then you'll one day complete that goal. Oh, that reminds me." He pressed a few buttons on his Duel Disk, causing his Duel Disk to display a white dot before going to Numera's. "With this signal, my client will be able to contact you."

"I see." Numera looked at her Duel Disk as the white dot dimmed. "And what about those questions? Do you plan on asking them now?"

"Not right now. I need a break, if you ask me. Well, I guess I will see you once my client calls for us." He turned around and logged out.

Numera smirked. "Raguel... you're a very interesting person. I do hope we meet again."

At the Den City Regis Hotel...

Gekiryushi sighed as the blue sphere around her faded away. "Well, that did not go as planned," she said as she got up from her bed.

She went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face, tired from the duel against Raguel. Although she lost against him, she did get valuable information that can be used for their next encounter.

However, something that Raguel told her during the duel bothered Gekiryushi. Take me for example, SengokuQueen. I don't do work on the black market for the sole purpose of making money. Rather, I do this so I can help someone who can't even interact with the outside world!

Whenever Gekiryushi dueled, she would show no mercy to any of her targets. This is because her opponents preyed on the innocent and the weak, and as a result, they deserved no mercy.

Yet during her duel against Raguel, he clearly explained to her why he was even working on the black market in the first place. He must have someone in his life who is going through something terrible enough that he would be willing to whatever it took to make them feel better again.

What would cause someone to not be able to interact with the outside world, Gekiryushi thought. However, her thoughts were soon interrupted when she heard the hotel phone rang.

She went over and picked it up. "Hello?"

"You failed!" the caller on the other end of the line screeched. Based on the way he shouted, Gekiryushi knew that it was Kitamura.

"Oh, will you give it a rest, Kitamura?" Gekiryushi said, yawning in the process. "It was just one duel, and-."

"IT WAS ONE DUEL THAT I EXPECTED YOU TO WIN!" Kitamura shouted again. "Since you failed, you're not going to get paid. I'm going to let the higher-ups know that-."

"SHUT UP!" Gekiryushi told him, causing Kitamura to go silent. "Listen carefully, Kitamura. Sometimes, a mission takes time to complete. I promised the higher-ups at SOL that I would retrieve both Raguel's and Playmaker's Ignis's. Or should I let them know of how you're dealing with this new development?"

For a few seconds, Kitamura did not speak, as he didn't know what to say and was in shock. Finally, he said, "My apologies, Ms. Sanada. I understand that these things take time. However, I do expect updates in your mission."

"And you and the higher-ups will get them," Gekiryushi promised him. "I just need time. Have a good night." She hung up on Kitamura, now annoyed by his phone call. She looked out of the window that overlooked Den City. Raguel, she thought, maybe I misjudged you. When we duel again, I want to see what person you become.

At Café Matsuo's backroom...

Even though Yuhiro was tired from the back-to-back duels, he was surprised that his body didn't ache. He walked out of the room, although a bit slowly, just in case. Roxy was there, waiting for him.

"Glad to see you're in one piece."

"Yeah. I'm lucky to even be in one piece in the first place," Yuhiro replied as he sat down in his chair and sighed. "I didn't expect to be dueling two people today."

"But you did." Herald stated the obvious. "And what's more, you survived."

"Quick question: Are we going to address the 'elephant' in the room?" Roxy asked. When Yuhiro and Herald turned to her, she shouted, "YOU ALMOST MADE US WORK FOR A LITTLE GIRL! SERIOUSLY, YUHIRO! YOU HAVE TO BE MORE CAUTIOUS!" Her statement scared Herald, causing him to retreat into Yuhiro's Duel Disk.

Yuhiro was speechless for an entire minute and thought about what to say to Roxy's comment. While he could make a good defense, he also knew that, in a debate, she would sadly win. So he relented and said, "Yeah. I know. But based on what happened today, there was nothing I could do. Please understand." Now it was Roxy's turn to be speechless, as she didn't know what to say in response to Yuhiro's answer.

However, Yuhiro said, "We do have questions that came up today. Like how Numera obtained that security field or those Cyberse cards. Or the bounty hunter SengokuQueen." He then realized something. "Were you able to find anything on SengokuQueen?"

Roxy then realized what Yuhiro was talking about and turned to face the monitors. "Good news. While you were dueling, I was able to find her profile." She opened up a window on the monitor, showing SengokuQueen's profile. "Ah. Here she is. It says here that she's a bounty hunter from Kyoto. Her deck is a 'Six Samurai' deck that focuses on utilizing 'Bushido' counters to provide benefits for the player. In addition to Link Summoning, she can also use Synchro and Xyz Summoning."

"She also mentioned that SOL's higher-ups personally hired her to defeat Playmaker and I," Yuhiro said. "If SOL's higher-ups were willing to contact a bounty hunter for the job, that means..."

"More could come next, and it would seriously interfere with our work." Roxy finished for him. She then found something on SengokuQueen's profile. "Hey Yuhiro. Check out what this says."

Yuhiro went over and read what Roxy was looking at. "Note. Bounty hunter has a strong hatred of anyone with dishonor. Her honor as a duelist makes her a loose cannon. Tread carefully." He frowned as he remembered what SengokuQueen told him. My honor prevents me from failing a mission. Which is why the next time we duel, I will win your Ignis and bring it back to SOL. And once I defeat you, then Playmaker is next.

"Um, Yuhiro?" Yuhiro snapped out of his trance and turned to Roxy, who was talking to him. "You all right?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Just glad to survive the day, that's all."

"Is it safe to come on out, now?" Upon hearing Herald's voice, both Yuhiro and Roxy realized that he's been in the Duel Disk this entire time!

"Oi, Herald! You can come on out now! I'm not going to bite." Roxy told him, causing Herald to come out of Yuhiro's Duel Disk.

"Whew! After today, I did not want to suffer your wrath at all," Herald stated. He then noticed Roxy looking at her watch.

Apparently, Yuhiro also noticed that something was amiss, so he asked her, "What is it?"

"I'm going to visit Miyu in a few minutes," Roxy replied. "Do you want to come?"

At the Den City Hospital...

"So this is Miyu," Herald said as he looked at the teenage girl on her bed sleeping. She was the same as last time. "Is she really one of the victims of the Lost Incident?"

"Afraid so," Roxy said. She and Yuhiro were sitting down on the chairs beside Miyu's bed, while Herald was on a nearby table. "Not only did she go through the Lost Incident, but she also lost her parents."

"I'm so sorry," was all Herald could say. "You know, there was this Ignis in the Cyberse World known as the Water Ignis. If any of us were injured, she could heal it in a moment."

"Have you tried contacting her?" Roxy asked him.

Herald looked downcast as he answered her. "No. Ever since the Dark Ignis, Ai, hid the Cyberse World, I haven't been able to reach out to anyone. I'm sorry."

"Then I guess it's up to modern medicine to save her," Roxy concluded. She turned to Miyu and squeezed her hand. "Miyu, sweetie, it's your auntie. I came to visit you. Yuhiro and I are doing everything we can to find out who did this to you and bring them to..." But that was all Roxy could say, as she started crying, causing Yuhiro to put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

Roxy then stood up and wiped the tears off her face. "I need a moment to compose myself," was all she said as she stepped out of the hospital room, leaving Yuhiro alone with Miyu.

Yuhiro took Miyu's hand in his and gave it a small squeeze. "Hi, Miyu. A lot has happened. And when I say a lot has happened, I mean a lot." He then told her about his duel with Blue Angel, and how he barely survived against the Knights of Hanoi in order to get the removal program for her.

"Then I meet this one guy. He claims to know about the Incident. And he might know about my past as well. On top of that, just today, there was this other Cyberse user today in LINK VRAINS. I honestly don't know how I'm going to make sense of all this information, nor do I know how I'll make it to the end. But what I do know is this: If there's one thing that's keeping me going, it's you."

Yuhiro was about to get up when he noticed pressure being felt in his hand. He turned back to Miyu and was surprised at what he was seeing.

Somehow, Miyu was squeezing his hand in response to his. Or was he imagining it? Regardless, he let go of her hand and placed her arm across her chest before heading over to his Duel Disk and picking it up.

"You all right, Yuhiro?" Herald asked him as Yuhiro stepped out of the hospital room. "You look like you've zoned out."

"I'm fine, Herald," Yuhiro insisted, as they headed to where Roxy was. "Just have a lot on my mind that's all."

As Yuhiro headed to where Roxy was, what happened earlier kept going through his head. Miyu was somehow able to interact with me for a brief moment, even though she was in a coma, he thought. It could be a sign that she's getting better. Hopefully, that moment would lead to her getting better in the future.

At an apartment in Den City...

Rachel yawned as the blue sphere faded away. "Today's events were interesting, wouldn't you agree, Greg?" she said, as she looked at him, who was sitting at his laptop.

"I can agree, Rachel," Greg said, smiling as he turned to look at her. "How did it go?"

"Unfortunately, I lost." Rachel admitted, as she got up from the couch. "But Raguel ended up dueling a bounty hunter shortly afterwards. And won."

"A bounty hunter, eh?" Greg put a hand on his chin. "Do you know the bounty hunter's name?"

"I think it's SengokuQueen." Rachel responded. Greg turned around and opened up the bounty hunter forum on his computer. He then searched for articles on the forum about SengokuQueen.

As he did so, Rachel walked to the desk in order to be beside him. "This bounty hunter is a professional, from what people are saying about her." He turned to Rachel. "Rachel, we have to be more careful. If we aren't..."

"Then everything we did will be all for naught." Rachel finished for him. "I know that-."

Suddenly, Rachel's Duel Disk started beeping. When Rachel looked at it, there was an unknown number being displayed on it. She immediately pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Hello," the other person on the end said. They used a voice scrambler so Rachel and Greg couldn't identify them. "Is this Numera?"

"It is," Rachel confirmed. "And I'm assuming you're the client that Raguel talked about?"

"That is correct," the other person confirmed. "And I have an assignment for you. One that, if completed to the letter, will be rewarded." Greg received a message on his computer. Opening it, he and Rachel were surprised.

"That's a nice offer you got," Rachel said, choosing her words carefully. "But I don't do any assignments unless I get all the information."

"That I understand," the other person told her. "The assignment is simple. I need you to keep an eye on Raguel. Make sure that he is doing okay. And should he need help, you'll be there to help him." Rachel and Greg glanced at each other before looking back at the Duel Disk.

"Anything else?"

"Unless I provide further instructions, then right now, no." the voice said in response. "Do you accept the assignment, as well as your role in the 'Crisis' to come?"

Rachel's face went pale at the word 'Crisis'. Raguel mentioned that word a few moments before her duel against him. From what he was saying, this upcoming 'Crisis' must be that important for Raguel's client to seek her help. She then looked at her ace monster, Geomathmech Final Sigma. And remembered why she was doing this in the first place. In order to bring justice and healing to so many others.

Rachel looked at Greg and nodded at him, who nodded back. She then turned to her Duel Disk and said, "I accept the assignment. But before I get started, I need to know who I'm working for. Oh, and if you can tell Raguel I'm on board, that would be great too."

"I will tell Raguel that you accepted your calling," the voice replied. "And you can call me Watchman. I look forward to working with you, Ms. Numera."

Card Gallery

Cyreath Chiron (LV: 6/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600)

When you draw this card: You can reveal it to your opponent, and if you do, Special Summon this card to your field, then Special Summon 1 'Cyreath' monster from your GY. If you activate this effect, you can only attack with 'Cyreath' Link Monsters for the rest of the turn. You can only use this effect of 'Cyreath Chiron' once per duel.

Boots of Hermes (Equip Spell Card)

While this card is equipped to a 'Cyreath' monster, the equipped monster can attack your opponent directly, but any battle damage inflicted is halved. If this card is sent to the GY: You can discard 1 'Cyreath' card; add it to your hand.

Cyreath Succession (Normal Trap Card)

When a 'Cyreath' monster you control leaves the field: Special Summon 1 'Cyreath' monster, except a Link Monster, from your GY, but negate its effects.

Cyreath Nemean Lion (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2500/↙️⬆️↘️)

2 or more 'Cyreath' monsters. When a monster is summoned to a zone this card points to: Target 1 card you opponent controls; shuffle it into their deck, and if you do, this card gain 300 ATK until the End Phase. If a monster this card points to is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can have this card become unaffected by card effects until the End Phase.

QOTC

What did you think of SengokuQueen's first duel? Are you excited for her role in the story?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 12: The Sorcerer of LINK VRAINS. Since Revolver's attack on LINK VRAINS, peace has been restored in the network. However, when the Knights of Hanoi return to LINK VRAINS and start turning people into 'Anothers', Yuhiro logs into LINK VRAINS to stop them. To his surprise, though, he isn't the only one...

Responses to Reviews and Author Notes

Thank you to HunterHQ, Guest, Unnamed, Anonymous, Unknown, and Noobmaster for reviewing Chapter 10 of Obscured Truth.

Okay, I didn't expect this chapter to be as short as it is! This might be because of the length of the duel. Regardless, we'll talk about what happened in this chapter before going to reviews.

The main thing that happened in this chapter was the duel between Raguel and SengokuQueen. I just want to give credit to Savagemaster1999 for his OC idea, which was one of the ideas that won the contest back in Chapter 4. The Six Samurai deck was very fun to write, and I do plan on SengokuQueen to participate in more duels during the story. If this duel was short, then I apologize.

Oh, and fun fact: The design for Cyreath Chiron was from Archer from Black from Fate/Apocrypha, while the design for Cyreath Nemean Lion was from Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion, from Cardfight Vanguard.

Following the duel, three things happened. The first was SengokuQueen reporting back to Kitamura, who wasn't too happy with her losing the duel. She was also bothered with what Raguel told her during the duel. As to how this will affect her character, you'll have to keep on reading.

The second was Yuhiro and Roxy visiting Miyu in the hospital. Right before Yuhiro left the hospital room, though, Miyu was able to squeeze his hand. What this means for the story, I want to hear your thoughts.

Finally, there was Numera being recruited by Watchman for help in the upcoming 'Crisis'. Whether they'll meet or not, you'll have to see.

And with that out of the way, let's go to the reviews.

HunterHQ: As a result of eating the program, Progleo gained the attributes and characteristics of a dog, meaning that he'll have to pee. I made some edits to Chapter 10 to fix the error you mentioned, so thank you very much. Also, there's no connection between numbers and angels. I just wanted Roxy to counter a question with a question so Yuhiro could focus back to the subject. As for the Profiles, I might make an announcement on them soon.

Guest: If you look back at the Speed Duels from previous chapters, I edited them. Also, thanks for pointing out the error regarding Galactic Squid.

Unnamed: I'm glad that you're looking forward to the eventual confrontation between Watchman and the Hanoi. I assure you, I have a plan for Windy's partner to actually be in the story (I got a design, name, and personality planned out and everything, as well as his deck). As for your comment regarding angel numbers, I did not know about it at the time. Rather, the title of Chapter 10 was meant to refer to Raguel solving a mystery.

Anonymous: Ai will talk and catch up with Herald at some point this season, don't worry. Their relationship will also be explored.

Unknown: If you want the answer to your question, then I encourage you to keep on reading.

Noobmaster: The World Chalice deck has a few Cyberse monsters. Also, there will be a chapter where Yuhiro will use his World Chalice deck. I assure you, I have made plans for backstories regarding Windy's partner and the 8th Lost Incident Child.

Please let me know what you thought about this chapter in your reviews, as well as any questions, comments, or opinions you may have. Also, if you have the chance, let other people know of this story as well. To improve as a writer, I encourage constructive criticism. So don't be afraid of anything you want to say in your review. See you next time, as the Another Arc officially begins!