Response to Reviews
Thank you to KingOtakuOverYou, HunterHQ, Anonymous, Guest, Unnamed, ZeroMK7, PR5, Kingdom Hearts Guy, Pancakes, T.V. 2000, Malcolm, Pikachu99, Fusion, Lord Mammon, Drake, Edgar, and Guest for reading Chapter 76 of Obscured Truth.
Hi, everyone! As always, I hope you're doing well as the summer season comes to an end, and fall is around the corner. I appreciate each and every one of you reviewing the chapters as the story progresses. Your feedback helps improving the story, and I salute each and every one of you for taking the time to do so.
With that out of the way, let's get to answering those reviews:
KingOtakuOverYou: Here's the thing: There's some good people Gil met, and if they get harmed, he loses some really good clients. Still, I appreciate your feedback, and have made the changes as per your request. Just a heads up: Yuhiro's friends don't hold him in high esteem. They're choosing to look at him as a human being rather than judge him for his mistakes. I like to think of Azrael as the harsh teacher that slaps the truth into people, and Watchman is someone with selfish goals despite noble intentions.
HunterHQ: No one else aside from Gardai and Athaliah are affiliated with Balius. Well, since the anime didn't pit the Zaizen siblings against one another, I don't think I'll do the same unless it's absolutely necessary. Like for instance, a training exercise. If Queen ordered Akira to go hunt down Playmaker himself, the Kings would practically shut that order down and reprimand her for doing such a thing. Compared to Yuhiro and Aoi, Greg practically laid down the law against Akira, and even implied that the FBI will get involved as well. It took massive courage for Yuhiro to open up to Aoi, as she, along with Yusaku and the others, are some of Yuhiro's closest friends. One of Yuhiro's greatest fears is losing his family, as he's already lost his birth parents, his adopted and foster parents, and his brother's turned to the dark side. I do have a scene in mind where all the sentient Cyreath monsters will be discussing what to do next later on in the story. Watchman's actually keeping an eye on Demeter and Percival's bodies in the real world, and they're on life support. Since Gil acquired that Bitboot, he is able to get information on Lightning's strategies. Honestly, you'll see Watchman and Zero as Season 2 comes to a close, as the former's helping during the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc, while the latter will appear near the end of Season 2. Ryoken's able to lock his house through an app that can access a digital lock.
Anonymous: I'm not spoiling on who killed Miyu's parents. You'll find out later on. And Roxy wants justice for what happened to her sister, not revenge. Aoi is now Blue Maiden, having renounced her Charisma duelist status, which is why she didn't receive the call to defend the central station of LINK VRAINS. Plus, as per anime events, she was watching Lightning's duel with Blood Shepherd. It's just Ace vs Rosetta, as SengokuQueen's dueling against Malf.
Guest: Aside from Yeshurun and Creknurt, all the Black Market bosses were willing to work under Ace, especially Gamma and Beta. For they approved his leadership. Percival doesn't know the truth that Watchman took Jin, and once he does, it won't end well. Oh, good lord. The ending in the Arc V manga about Yuya's family was both bizarre and horrendous. Like, why did they do that? It was just ridiculous and revolting. Ugh.
Unnamed: Yes, Roxy is just as guilty as Yuhiro for using Miyu's happiness to absolve herself of guilt. It may be the catalyst that leads Yuhiro to change more, and for the worse too.
ZeroMK7: Wants to? Wants too?! No. It isn't a matter of want. It's a matter of need, as Stregone and Phoenix need to prevent Azrael from accessing the dark vault. So they're willing to fight to prevent it from happening.
PR5: For the Phoenix duel, I wanted to show how strong of a duelist he's grown into since Chapter 45. While he's nowhere near the strength of Raguel and the others, he's strong enough to at least take care of himself in a duel. For your concerns about Arc-V, believe it or not, I felt the same way. If Yusho didn't interfere, then Yuya would have won. I will change that duel drastically, as I'm disappointed with how the anime handled it. For Dennis, I'll see what I can do. I will also make massive changes, as the Fusion Parasite arc was just plain ridiculous and a waste of time.
Kingdom Hearts Guy: Have you not been paying attention? The fact that Yuhiro and Yukage are blood, adopted, and foster brothers has been revealed a long time ago.
Pancakes: That skit you made was just pure disappointing. Azrael gave those orders for several reasons. First, the places were sensitive because people needed them. Second, Azrael wanted controlled chaos, as he didn't want to risk the involvement of higher authorities.
T.V. 2000: Glad you liked the chapter. Being a man of the law, Greg had every right to be hard to the bone, and criticize Akira for his fear of the higher-ups. For Yuhiro and Rachel's relationship, I see it more to being similar to Estelle and Josh's relationship to Renne Haysworth from Trails in the Sky. Speaking of Illyasviel, believe it or not, I created an OC for my Arc-V story where she served as inspiration for her. If anything, Stregone will put up a great fight.
Malcolm: Listen to me very carefully. If Akira responded with that question, Greg would have told him that it's not the time to be pointing fingers or complaining. He would have reminded Akira of what was stake here. As for your other comment about Miyu? Dude, it's called character development, okay? Either accept it or stop reading.
Pikachu99: It's called having a mature conversation between friends, with Aoi deciding to forgive Yuhiro after getting the information she wanted. She chose to look at Yuhiro as a human being rather than a monster who betrayed her. And good point: The Princeton family was messed up for sure.
Fusion: Beatrice didn't have a deck of her own.
Lord Mammon: Are you okay these days? Please take a break if needed, and catch up once you're feeling better. Both physical and mental health take priority in times like these. Thanks very much for your comments on Ace. I'm doing the best I can in the situation he's in. I wouldn't say that Ace's goal to be above others a stretch. Think of it instead as a superiority complex. I think the word for Ryoken's situation would be 'character development'. Yup, Greg practically laid down the law on Akira.
Drake: Azrael would honestly respect Yeshurun for his honor and ideals.
Edgar: Dude. Yuhiro loves Miyu, and he fell for her during the three months they spent with one another at the hospital. I know that it's odd, but give it a break already.
Guest: Well, Yuhiro and Yusaku didn't change their duel disks in the anime, so there was no need for them to do so in the story. No. Azrael can't hack duel disks using the Another Virus, and he doesn't see a need to do so, as he'd want to eliminate his enemies at his hands. To put it simply, he wants to defeat his enemies physically, mentally, emotionally. It's been working against Yuhiro and the Hanoi, so why would Azrael change up his methods? At the time, Revolver's mindset was only settling things in the network.
Before I get to the chapter, I just have one question: Would you like me to post two chapters at the same time at one point? Or do you like one chapter being posted one at a time? Let me know your thoughts.
Now that all reviews have been answered, let's get to the chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 77: Let There Be Carnage
In a desolate landscape under a bloody sky, two pendants, one white-ruby and one white-sapphire, fall to the ground before transforming into Excalibur and Muramasa. Their owners, Raguel and Azrael, grab their swords before charging at one another, the blade lock resulting in a flash of light flooding the screen. When the light fades, LINK VRAINS is shown before being replaced my Mirror LINK VRAINS. The Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS logo then appears, with the words "OBSCURED TRUTH" to ominously appear underneath it in rainbow colours. Two symbols also appear underneath those words, with the first one consisting of a dark-orange demonic crest that had lion fangs on the sides, as well as Excalibur slashing it down the middle. The other symbol consisted of a dark-blue demonic crest that had two mirage blades making an X, as well as Muramasa slashing it down the middle.
Yuhiro, Yusaku, Takeru, and Arashi are sitting around a table at Café Nagi, looking at duel footage as they discuss strategies they can use to counter their enemies. At a nearby table, Roxy, Kusanagi, and Greg are chatting, a hamburger in Roxy's hand, and a hotdog in Kusanagi's hand. Rachel is shown nearby playing with Rasterliger, Salamangreat Balelynx, and Linkuriboh, until the four of them turn their heads to see Herald, Ai, and Flame chatting on the best type of entertainment in the world. All four of them go towards the three chatting Ignis and scare them with a large shout. This causes Yuhiro, Yusaku, Takeru, Arashi, Roxy, Kusanagi, and Greg to laugh at the three Ignis, who are still flustered by the prank.
Kengo Dojun looks down at the hospital bed his mother is on, gritting his teeth before making a fist with his right hand. At another hospital room, Yuhiro, Roxy, and Aoi are shown, where they look down on Miyu resting on her hospital bed. Yuhiro puts his hands on the sides of his head, a panicked and stressed look on his face as Roxy and Aoi try to calm him down, his anxiety settling in. Red, glowing cracks start to spread over his body before dimming on and off. Behind him, shadows form, one of which consists of a girl in her pre-teens wearing a white and blue Greek-styled dress, along with sandals twirling around, her shoulder-length blond hair flowing down behind her. The girl's eyes glow red as she raises her right arm in front of her and places her left hand on her chest, as if she were singing. After she disappears, a black-armored knight that had a spiked plume on his helmet, along with dark-steel plates on his arms appears in her place. Strapped to his sides were a pair of jagged, chained blades, each one having a demonic red-orange glyph pattern on them. Attached to his back was a long sword with a massive blade, as well as a set of arms that had large hands, each one having three claws. The multicolored shapes resembling eyes glowed as the knight pulls out all three blades and slashes the screen completely.
Raguel and Playmaker appear, riding parallel to one another on their duel boards, with Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode and Firewall Dragon following after them. Next is Soulburner and Slipstream, with Salamangreat Heatleo and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon following after the second duo. Last but not least, Blue Maiden and Numera appear, with Marincess Marbled Rock and Geomathmech Final Sigma following after the third duo.
At SOL Technologies, Akira, Hayami, Queen, and Pawn are looking at a monitor that showed Go Onizuka in the training dome, having won a duel against a virtual Playmaker. While the first two individuals frowned with concern, the second two had satisfied smiles on their faces.
In a dark abandoned room, Yukage narrows his eyes as looks at a happy memory of him and Yuhiro playing together as children by using the memory scanner. Blue, glowing cracks start to appear on his right hand, causing Yukage to take deep breaths to calm himself down. After looking at his pendant for a few moments, Yukage puts on his duel disk before he and Wraith raise their right hands to the sky and log into the network. Haru is then shown training under Azrael's tutelage in a room of a palace, having faced off against multiple upgraded Bitboots with Hydradrive Nagini, Scyllonic Hydradrive Kragun, and Medusoid Hydradrive Gorgun behind him. Nearby, Azrael and Wraith watch the match, wanting to see how much stronger Haru has become.
The screen then shifts to another room of the palace, where Bohman is sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed as he begins to meditate. His eyes open before they glow a rainbow color, the glow also spreading to his chest as the room briefly lights up before dimming down. But in the shadows, Malf's eyes glow red as he proceeds to lick his mouth, hunger on his mind.
Silhouettes of Yua Kogami and Katsuya pop up before they morph into their VRAINS personas Demeter and Percival, where the screen goes back to one room of the palace. Windy, who is wearing a cape and eyepatch, commands Stormridership Bahamut Bomber to attack Demeter, who responds by having Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty intercept the attack. In another room, Jin Kusanagi stands with Lightning as the latter snaps his fingers, causing a small squad of Armatos Legio Decurions and Centurions to appear behind him. Armatos Legio Magnus Dux, along with Tribunus Laticlavius and Legatus Legionis also appeared behind Lightning. Percival growls as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon rises from behind him, and two copies of Phantom Knights' Spear appear in his hands.
A silhouette of Ace is shown above Uchida Industries, his right hand outstretched over the company. Drachen faces off against a squad of Bitboots with Red-Eyes Black Dragon behind him, hellbent on getting it back from Ace. The screen then flips over to show Electrolyzer trying to escape his restraints using PSY-Framegears Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, with Jericho ominously laughing in the background.
Smoke appears in various areas of the central station in LINK VRAINS, which has been attacked by multiple Bitboots. Phoenix and Gil stand back to back, with Nephthys, the Scared Flame and Abyss Actor – Evil Heel beside the duelists as they confront one Bitboot each. SengokuQueen and Ghost Girl do the same, with Secret Six Samurai – Rihan and Altergeist Memorygant beside the duelists as they too confront one Bitboot each. Stregone is shown arriving to assist both groups, Quintet Magician and Enlightenment Paladin behind him. Nearby, Rosetta confronts Ace, Black Rose Moonlight Dragon rising from behind her before roaring at Ace, who has Dystopia the Despondent rise behind him in response.
Watching these events using the Spatial Cube is Watchman, who is in his server. A disappointed look appears on his face before he pulls out a total of six long and slender swords that resembled rapiers with short hilts, three in each of his hands. Watchman's eyes glow with a purple color before three copies of Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord appear behind him, which proceed to fuse into Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord as the screen is covered with purple cubes.
Raguel and Azrael are then shown facing off against one another in a matrix-like battlefield. Turboblaze Dragon, along with three other monsters, appear behind Raguel before combining to form a tall, white-colored bipedal dragon with red irises and black pupils, as well as a long and slender neck. He had a long, voluminous wispy mane streaming out from the upper side of his snout and outwards from his head, with the two protrusions on his head having merged to form into a long, bright and blazing one. His four arms were slender and arm-like with a wing-like appearance and four fingers on his glowing, fiery claws. On his head was a golden piece of armor, with fiery-golden armor pieces on his feathered chest and body. Each of his feet had large grey claws, three at the front and one positioned at the back to resemble high heels. The jet-like engine tail's bands expanded outwards, with the feathers in it spiking upwards before a massive blast of fire erupts from it.
Teravolt Dragon, along with three other monsters, appear behind Azrael before combining to form a tall, purple-colored bipedal dragon with blue sclera and white pupils, as well as a small horn-like protrusion on the tip of his snout. His head sported a thundercloud-like crest tipped with yellow coloration, along with pieces of golden armor as well. At the base of his neck, his shoulders, knees, and wings was a black, stud-like feature resembling that of armor, with spikes appearing on the shoulders. His large wings consisted of a fanned shape that expanded outwards to show three spikes tipped with electricity. Strapped to his back was a halo with three spikes on it. Attached to his arms were baseball-mitt-like formations, with three-clawed hands on the undersides that glowed with electricity. His three-clawed feet also glowed with electricity as well. His tail now consisted of two electric generators with a spike at the end, which hummed before releasing electricity from it.
In a garden of Asagao flowers, Miyu sees Yuhiro on one knee, having grabbed the hilt of Excalibur to try and stand up on his feet, the sword having been planted on the ground. She run over and helps Yuhiro stand up on his feet, the both of them having grateful smiles on their faces. The both of them look upwards as the screen jumps to the bright sky and the glowing sun.
In LINK VRAINS...
Raguel, Playmaker, Soulburner, Slipstream, Blue Maiden, and Ghost Girl sped towards the central station of LINK VRAINS. Upon arriving, they found several of the buildings on fire, as well as the charred remains of several innocent people.
"What the..." Soulburner muttered, having saw the destruction below them. "Those people..."
"Damn them..." Slipstream quietly commented. From the moment Takeda was sent to the hospital, Slipstream felt powerless. He wanted to prevent such a tragedy, if not a worse one, from happening to others. But sadly, it seemed that innocent people were either injured, caught in the crossfire, or worse... No. Slipstream didn't want to think of the worse case scenario!
"Azrael will pay for all of this." Raguel swore to the others.
"He will." Blue Maiden agreed, before the six of them heard a roar.
"LOOK OUT!" Ai shrieked, as all six of them saw a Cracking Dragon headed straight towards them! As a result, they had to jump off their duel boards and land on the ground.
"Cyberse Quantum Dragon, come and assist us!" Playmaker said, as he took a card and played it. This caused Cyberse Quantum Dragon to appear before it chased down and destroyed Cracking Dragon out of retaliation for the attack. Unfortunately, the six of them were met with several Bitboots, who had Full Metal Dunkles and Battle Coelas behind them.
"You're too late, bub!" one Bitboot boasted. "Your failure to prevent this tragedy from happening will be on your-!"
WHOOSH!
Raguel pointed Excalibur towards one of the Bitboots, and with a burst of wind, sliced his head off clean.
"We're not allowing any more lives to be taken today!" Raguel snarled, as he took a card in his deck and played it, which caused Hercules/Alpha Mode to appear beside him. Then an innocent smile appeared on Raguel's face, as if he was looking forward for what was about to come next. "Okay, I'm gonna kill you now. Get them! Hercules/Alpha Mode!" With a loud roar and Nine Lives in his right hand, Hercules/Alpha Mode charged forward and practically destroyed the Bitboots in his way.
Knowing what needed to be done, Playmaker, Soulburner, Slipstream, and Ghost Girl pulled out cards of their own.
"Come forth and help us, Salamangreat Emerald Eagle!" Soulburner said, as Emerald Eagle appeared in a blaze of fury.
"Will do!" Emerald Eagle complied, as he sped forward with great speed and divebombed into the Full Metal Dunkles in another area. Pulling out his bow and arrows, Soulburner rolled to his side and proceeded to fire them at the other Bitboots nearby, destroying each one. He also fired a few of them at the Cracking Wyverns nearby.
"Lend us a hand, Altergeist Memorygant!" Ghost Girl stated, as Memorygant appeared before she sliced several Bitboots up with her scythe.
"Slice and dice, Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!" Slipstream declared, as Chanbara appeared before speeding towards a few Bitboots and piercing each one.
Cyberse Quantum Dragon then appeared from above and fired a burst of energy from its maw, which tore several Bitboots and their monsters apart.
As the chaos unfolded in the area, Blue Maiden found herself fighting against a few Bitboots using her energy whip, but there was only so much she can do on her own. What's more, she no longer had her Trickstar deck with her, as it was replaced with the deck Aqua gave her.
"Blue Maiden, try summoning this monster." Aqua suggested, as a card popped out of Blue Maiden's duel disk.
Blue Maiden took the card and read it over. "Marincess Marbled Rock?"
"She'll help. Trust me!" Aqua assured Blue Maiden, before the former fired a burst of bubbles from her hands, which turned a few Bitboots into particles.
"Okay! I need your help, Marincess Marbled Rock!" At Blue Maiden's command, a woman in a red dress with spiky violet hair appeared. Spiked coral sat atop her shoulders, and fins adorned the sides of her dress.
"I'm here to assist!" Marbled Rock said, as two fan-like weapons appeared in her hands. She threw each one at a few Bitboots, which split their heads vertically before they turned into particles.
"Thanks!" Blue Maiden stated to Marbled Rock, before she rolled over to the side and used her energy whip at another Bitboot nearby, which turned him into particles. She looked around, and saw how everyone else was able to fight in sync with one another. In a way, Blue Maiden was jealous of them.
"Get your head out of the clouds, Blue Maiden!" Slipstream suddenly told her, as he threw four-star shurikens at a few Bitboots nearby. Within seconds, Chanbara appeared and pierced the Battle Coela that was about to approach Blue Maiden and Marbled Rock.
"Thanks! I appreciate it!" Blue Maiden replied, as she and Slipstream stood back to back.
"There's something on your mind, so spill it out." Slipstream suggested. "We can't afford to have you distracted."
"I know. It's just..." Blue Maiden gathered her thoughts before continuing to speak. "I've seen how you guys are able to fight in sync with your duel monsters. From Raguel with Hercules, to Playmaker with his monster, to Soulburner with his fiery eagle, to Ghost Girl with her Memorygant, and you with your machine. I'll admit, I feel inferior to you guys."
Slipstream, upon hearing this, let out a little chuckle. "You shouldn't think that at all. If anything, I'm the weakest because I don't have an Ignis with me. In fact, my Ignis tried to put me in the hospital, and I'm a strong duelist without him."
"Your Ignis tried to put you in the hospital?!" Blue Maiden and Aqua exclaimed at the same time.
"Yeah. That's a story I'll get to later on." Slipstream then turned his head, and gasped upon seeing Krystal and Dragite being overwhelmed by multiple people disguised as Hanoi grunts, with several Jack Wyverns and a Cracking Dragon behind them. Thinking quickly, Slipstream gave Blue Maiden a small ball with holes in it. "Use this if you're overwhelmed."
"And where are you going?" Blue Maiden questioned, as Slipstream ran to assist Krystal.
"Preventing a tragedy like my own." Slipstream answered back. He spoke with Krystal in the real world, and how she was Brea's godmother. How she helped Brea when the latter ran away from the family of criminals she was born into.
And there was no way Slipstream would let Krystal die. No way he'll let Brea experience the same tragedy he went through when Takeda was sent to the hospital.
"Hah! You're cornered now, old lady!" one person that was disguised as a Hanoi grunt boasted to Krystal, until he and the others heard a shout, which came from Slipstream as Chanbara raced towards the Jack Wyverns and slashed each one down.
"Strike them down, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Slipstream shouted, as he played a card in his hand, which caused Clear Wing Synchro Dragon to appear. She then raced forward and slammed into the Cracking Dragon, which caused a massive explosion that sent the troops disguised as Hanoi grunts flying off the ground before their backs hit the building nearby. A look of surprise was on Krystal's face as Slipstream walked towards her. "Are you alright, ma'am?"
"I'm fine, child." Krystal assured Slipstream, before she patted him on the head and ruffled his hair. "Thank you for the assistance."
"No problem." Slipstream replied, glad he was able to save Krystal's life.
KABOOM!
Slipstream and Krystal turned their heads at the sight of the explosion, where they saw several Bitboots flying off the ground before they turned into particles.
"It seems Blue Maiden used the flash pellet..." Slipstream commented, as he and Krystal saw Blue Maiden run to where they were.
"Thanks for the gadget. I was overwhelmed by those Bitboots." Blue Maiden said, before noticing Krystal. "Oh, Krystal. Good to see you're alright."
"Is that you, Blue Angel? You've had a complete makeover." Krystal observed with a keen eye.
"I go by Blue Maiden now." Blue Maiden quickly replied. "If you're here, where's the other Charisma duelists?"
"The other Charisma duelists?" Slipstream repeated.
"Yes. Myself and the other Charisma duelists fought to protect the Central Station. I haven't heard word from the others, though in how they're doing." Krystal told Blue Maiden and Slipstream. The trio then heard Emerald Eagle blaze through several Cracking Dragons and Jack Wyverns, with Cyberse Quantum Dragon doing the same.
"We could use your assistance over here!" Soulburner commented nearby on top of a building, as he fired several arrows at several Bitboots that were trying to attack him. Flame was also there, throwing fireballs at a few of them.
"Yeah! Key emphasis on the word assistance!" Ai agreed loudly, having thrown a few small data storms to shred some of the Bitboots apart. A few people disguised as Hanoi grunts were also thrown into the storm before turning into particles. Ai then turned to Playmaker, a question on the former's mind. "Do you think these Hanoi grunts are working for Lightning?"
"I highly doubt it, Ai. Maybe they're working for Azrael." Playmaker hypothesized, before rolling to the side and avoiding the cannon fire. He took another card and played it, which caused Decode Talker to appear before he brought his sword down onto a few Jack Wyverns, which destroyed each one and sent a few people disguised as Hanoi grunts flying off the ground in defeat.
As if on cue, Krystal got onto Dragite. "I will assist your allies. You two go help the others stop the chaos on the ground."
"Right!" Blue Maiden and Slipstream complied, before Dragite flew off, intent on helping Playmaker and Soulburner. Once that was done, Slipstream and Blue Maiden ran down the street, hoping to eliminate more attackers.
Elsewhere, Raguel slashed through several Bitboots one by one with Excalibur, while Hercules/Alpha Mode steamrolled through several of them, along with a few Full Metal Dunkles. Herald also put up a few shields to block the cannon fire from a few Battle Coelas and Full Metal Dunkles.
"These Bitboots are causing us nothing more than trouble." Herald stated the obvious. "Though I'm surprised there's a few Hanoi grunts assisting in the attack."
Suddenly, a Hanoi grunt charged forward at Raguel, a sword in his hand. Raguel immediately blocked the attack with Excalibur, and upon doing so, noticed a familiar tattoo on the grunt's right forearm. Gritting his teeth, Raguel counterattacked and slashed the Hanoi grunt in two, which turned him into particles.
"Those obviously aren't Hanoi grunts, Herald." Raguel angrily told him. "They have the tattoo for the Alpha branch."
Herald thought this over before putting up another shield. "That's something Ace would do. Recruit runaways from previous organizations, and put them under his attack forces. Perhaps Azrael and Wraith ordered him to do so?"
"Maybe, but for what reason, I don't know." Raguel replied, before parrying an attack from a Bitboot and vertically slicing him upwards. Unfortunately, a blast of cannon fire came out of nowhere, which hit Raguel and sent him flying to the wall.
"Awesome shot, Full Metal Dunkle!" one Bitboot praised his monster, before he and several others, along with people disguised as Hanoi grunts ganged up on Raguel and Herald. "You're completely-!"
CRASH!
Final Sigma landed on the ground from above, which sent a shockwave that resulted in the Bitboots, the people disguised as Hanoi grunts, and their monsters flying off the ground before all of them turned into particles. When Raguel and Herald looked up, they saw Numera on Final Sigma's shoulder.
"Hey, Raguel!" Numera called out to him, as she jumped off of Final Sigma's shoulder and onto the ground, where she ran over to him as he tried to stand up. "Glad to see that you're-."
WHOOSH!
Raguel stepped forward and hugged Numera tightly, which made the latter gasp out of surprise.
"Oh."
"I'm glad to see you're okay as well." Raguel responded, before letting Numera go. He wasn't going to lose anyone else, especially someone who he deemed his 'little sister'. Not with everything that's happened. "You changed your avatar?"
"Yup." Numera confirmed. "What do you think?"
"I think you look fine." Raguel answered. While he was glad she was alright, there was still a question on his mind. "Do you know if there's any survivors?"
"Maybe." Numera hypothesized.
"Then let's go investigate. I hope there's survivors." After Numera got back onto Final Sigma's shoulder, she and Raguel began running down the street, intent on finding any survivors in the area.
Meanwhile in the real world, at SOL Technologies' headquarters...
A stressed look was on Akira's face as he gave orders and kept in touch with the authorities. This was just a pure disaster. The Bitboots and Hanoi grunts attacking LINK VRAINS' Central Station, as well as the attacks on the real world... how could this happen? What did the people do to deserve this?
To put it simply, this was one of Akira's worse days.
"Sir, there's assailants attacking Argos Incorporated," one staff member reported to Akira.
"Bring this info to the FBI and police authorities. Provide coordinates as well." Akira ordered, with the staff member nodding in compliance.
"Are you okay, sir?" Hayami asked Akira out of concern.
"I'm fine, Hayami. Just stressed out, that's all." Akira reassured her. He made a mental note to make an appointment with the therapist Yuhiro told him about once this whole ordeal was over.
"Bad news, sir. Balthazar and Miss Chief have fallen," another staff member reported to Akira, which made him and Hayami gasp.
"More Charisma duelists have fallen in battle..." Hayami muttered, while Akira narrowed his eyes. Astro, Reidrith, and Jeanne Azaria were already defeated, and were immediately sent to the hospital. And with the casualties going on in the real world, patients at the Den City Hospital would likely have to be transferred to other hospitals for treatment, as well as fit the others in. The good news was that Ragnarök, Deva, Stregone, and Krystal were still okay. As long as even one Charisma duelist was still up and fighting, then there was a chance to stop the attacks.
And in Akira's mind, they'll get the assistance of Playmaker, Raguel, and the others as well. For they too care for the network and its people, and will fight to ensure there's no more casualties.
"What about the ground forces in the real world?" Akira asked back.
"The good news is that the authorities were able to repel the assailants in Sectors A, B, and C of Den City," one staff member explained, as a map appeared on the screens. The green showed the areas that were freed of attacks, while the red showed the areas that still had assailants in them. "The bad news is that Sectors E, F, and G have a heavy presence of assailants."
"If this keeps up, sir, the higher authorities in Japan may get involved." Hayami quietly warned Akira, who nodded in agreement. That was the last thing anyone needed right now.
Suddenly, a small, orange alert popped up on the screens, which got everyone's attention. Upon seeing what it meant, Akira narrowed his eyes.
"Put the FBI Commissioner through." Akira ordered, with a few of the staff members typing on their keyboards in response. Sure enough, a digital image of Greg appeared on the screens.
"You need to see this." Greg stated, as a live video popped up on one of the screens.
"Greetings, people of Den City." Emon said, as the static on the video appeared. "While some of you know me as Emon Uchida, the founder of Uchida Industries, I'm actually known as Infearno, a member of the Knights of Hanoi and loyal servant of Revolver. Though we've been defeated in the past, these attacks are to proclaim to the world that we're back in business, and we won't stop until our goals have been accomplished." Pictures of the Hanoi speaking and working with Ace and Athaliah in LINK VRAINS then appeared. "To do this, we have allied with Ace, the Alpha branch's leader who has generously provided us with some of his troops for the chaos you're seeing right now. Have a nice day!" The video then fizzled out, which left several of the staff members muttering amongst themselves. While Hayami was also shocked, the only ones not fooled were Akira and Greg.
"What do you think, Akira?" Greg asked him.
"It's concerning, but a load of baloney." Akira answered. He obviously knew the Hanoi, and how they had some honor despite their actions. This was proven by how Revolver shut the Tower of Hanoi down after losing his duel against Playmaker, as well as the former giving the latter Aoi's consciousness data after their first Master duel. Akira then turned over to one of the staff members. "Decrypt the feed. Find out who's really speaking in that video."
"Yes, sir!" the staff member replied, before he and a few others got to work.
"I sent some of my best men to go after Uchida Industries." Greg began explaining, before letting out a sigh. "However, the assailants there took hostages, and are keeping them in the building. My men also found out that there may be bombs in the building as well."
Akira gasped upon hearing this. For the assailants to go that far just to cause damage... it was purely horrifying. "Is there anything I can do to help you and the others out?"
"From the info my men found out, the bombs can most likely be hacked. If SOL Technologies can shut them down in time, it'll get rid of one major threat." Greg began explaining. "Though the assailants on the other hand..."
"Are you sure we shouldn't call the higher authorities?" Hayami interrupted.
"Only if necessary, Hayami. But I don't want to escalate things. Not if there's a chance of calming things down with Den City's own power." Greg replied. "Here's the technological signatures of the bombs. We'll distract the assailants while you shut down the bombs." After speaking, he signed off.
"Sir..." Hayami muttered, as she turned to Akira out of concern for her boss.
"Hack into the bomb's technological signature immediately!" Akira ordered the staff with a furious expression, several staff members nodding in compliance before immediately getting to work. Like Hell Akira was going to allow anymore people die today! Not after so many people have lost their lives in the crossfire!
And if it kept getting worse at this rate...
... Then everyone will pay a horrible price.
Meanwhile, in LINK VRAINS...
"Time to duel!" Rosetta and Ace said at the same time.
Ace: 4000 LP
Rosetta: 4000 LP
"I'm going first, Ace." Rosetta said, with Ace not bothering to say anything back in response. "My turn! I'll start by activating the Quick-Play Spell card, Hand Destruction. Each of us must discard two cards from our hands before drawing two new cards from our decks!" Both duelists discarded two cards before drawing two cards from the top of their respective decks. "I activate the effect of Rose Lover from my Graveyard. By banishing her from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Plant monster from my hand to my field. In addition, it's unaffected by your trap effects for the rest of this turn."
Ace frowned. Why would Rosetta activate such an effect on her first turn? Maybe it was to set up her Synchro or Link Summons, or even to solidify her field. But regardless, such a thing will not help her in the coming turns, as he'll end her for good.
"I banish Rose Lover from my Graveyard, and Special Summon Botanical Girl from my hand to my field." A teenage girl wearing plant-like clothing all over her body appeared on Rosetta's field. Her hair consisted of large rose petals at the front, while at the back, there was a large bulb.
Botanical Girl ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 3
"I summon Red Rose Dragon from my hand to my field." A small dragon covered in red roses appeared on Rosetta's field. She had small, blade-like wings, and her tails consisted of rose petals knitted together like a leaf.
Red Rose Dragon ATK: 1000 DEF: 1800 LV: 3
"So you now have dragon monsters in your deck, not just in your Extra Deck..." Ace muttered.
"I now tune the Level 3 Red Rose Dragon with the Level 3 Botanical Girl!" Rosetta declared, as a bolt of green lightning struck her and the world greyed out, causing both monsters to disappear. Two rings, one red and one pink, appeared before turning blue and merging. Six blue rings stacked in a tower then appeared, a screen displaying "3 + 3" in front of them. The screen changed to a "6" as light surged through the rings.
"Queen of the hidden castle, let the forces of mother nature course through you!" Rosetta chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 6! Queen of Thorns!" A woman in a green and red dress covered in leaves and vines appeared on Rosetta's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.
Queen of Thorns ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800 LV: 6
"I'm already aware that while Queen of Thorns is on your field, we must pay 1000 life points to Normal or Special Summon a monster from our hands, except if it's a Plant monster. No need to remind me." Ace recalled.
"Then let's see how you react to this! Red Rose Dragon's effects, along with Botanical Girl's effect now activate! First, since Red Rose Dragon was used as Synchro material, I can Special Summon one 'Rose Dragon' monster from my hand or deck with a different name." Rosetta replied, as a card popped out of her deck, which she took and showed Ace. "Now come from my deck, Roxrose Dragon!" A small dragon whose neck had pink crystals covering it, small wings on her sides, and pink flowers on her body appeared on Rosetta's field.
Roxrose Dragon ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 3
"Second, as Red Rose Dragon was sent to the Graveyard as Synchro material for 'Black Rose Dragon' or a Plant Synchro monster, I can add a copy of either 'Frozen Rose' or 'Blooming of the Darkest Rose' from my deck to my hand. I choose to add the former to my hand." A card popped out of Rosetta's deck, which she took and added to her hand. "Third, as Botanical Girl was sent to the Graveyard, I get to add a Plant monster with 1000 or less defense points from my deck to my hand. I add Rose Princess from my deck to my hand." Another card popped out of Rosetta's deck, which she took and added to her hand.
"Last but not least, as Roxrose Dragon was Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one card that specifically lists 'Black Rose Dragon' from my deck to my hand with a different name." Rosetta continued. "I add Basal Rose Shoot from my deck to my hand." Another card popped out of Rosetta's deck, which she took and added to her hand.
"Appear, the circuit of roses!" A Link portal appeared above Rosetta. "The summoning conditions are two monsters with different types! I set Queen of Thorns and Roxrose Dragon into the Link Markers!" Queen of Thorns went into the left arrowhead, while Roxrose Dragon went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Crossrose Dragon!" A medium-sized purple dragon covered in different colored roses appeared on Rosetta's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Her wings consisted of folded-up red roses, along with vine elements on the edges. She also had a long tail, with its end holding several small roses. Crossrose Dragon let out a growl upon entering the field.
Crossrose Dragon ATK: 800 LINK-2 ⬅️⬇️
Ace raised an eyebrow. "Why would you replace a control monster like Queen of Thorns with your Link monster? While I understand its effects, may I remind you that you've already Normal summoned this turn, thus meaning you can't activate its effect on my next turn."
"You're right. But who said I was done?" Rosetta inquired back. "I activate the Spell card, Monster Reborn, which lets me target a monster in either of our Graveyards and Special Summon it to my field. I target Queen of Thorns in my Graveyard, and Special Summon her back to my field!" Within moments, Queen of Thorns reappeared on her field.
Queen of Thorns ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800 LV: 6
"I also activate the effect of Spore in my Graveyard. By banishing a Plant monster in my Graveyard with a different name, I can Special Summon this card from my Graveyard to my field, as well as increase its level by the banished monster's level. I banish the Level 3 Botanical Girl from my Graveyard, and Special Summon Spore to my field." A ball of fur with big eyes appeared on Rosetta's field in defense position. Specifically, in the Main Monster Zone Crossrose Dragon pointed to.
Spore ATK: 400 DEF: 800 LV: 1
Spore LV: 1 + 3 = 4
"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Rosetta concluded.
Ace smirked after seeing his field. "A very clever turn, Rosetta. You not only brought your Synchro monster back, you also Link Summoned your Link monster and brought back another monster that can be used for your Link monster's effect. Along with your two face-down cards, you've managed to prepare yourself for what's to come."
"I don't need your compliments, Ace. All I want is to stop you for good!" Rosetta responded, which made Ace chuckle for a few seconds.
"You will try, but I'll remind you now: I've gotten stronger since we last dueled, and allow me to show you what I mean! My turn! I draw!" Ace drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Spell card, Brain Control. By paying 800 life points, I can take control of one monster on your field until the end of my turn."
"What?" Rosetta gasped. That didn't sound good at all, as she needed another strong monster to defend her life points. Still, as long as she was one the field, Ace would have to pay life points to summon monsters that weren't Plant monsters.
"I target Queen of Thorns!" Ace then grit his teeth as his life points dropped.
Ace: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP
Then a pair of hands emerged from Brain Control and grabbed Queen of Thorns before putting her on Ace's side, her eyes glowing red in the process.
"From there, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Mystik Wok. By tributing a monster on my field, I gain life points equal to its attack or defense points." Ace continued. "I tribute Queen of Thorns, and gain life points equal to her attack points!" After Queen of Thorns turned into particles, they went into Ace as his life points increased.
Ace: 3200 + 2200 = 5400 LP
Rosetta grit her teeth out of annoyance. This was great. Just great. Ace managed to get rid of her Synchro monster and increase his life points at the same time.
"I summon Evil Eye Necromancer from my hand to my field." A dark-hooded figure who wore the Evil Eye of Selene around his neck as a medallion appeared on Ace's field.
Evil Eye Necromancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4
"Next, I activate Necromancer's effect. By cutting his attack points in half, I can conduct an additional Normal Summon this turn." Ace added. "I'll therefore cut Necromancer's attack points in half to summon Even, Alchemist of the Evil Eye from my hand!" A man with long blond hair to his shoulder-blades and pale skin appeared on Ace's field. He wore pieces of tattered black robes all over his body, which were covered by veins coming from the eyes attached to his clothing.
Evil Eye Necromancer ATK: 1000 / 2 = 500
Even, Alchemist of the Evil Eye ATK: 1500 DEF: 700 LV: 4
"When Even is Normal or Special Summoned, the both of us are allowed to excavate the top three cards of our decks, add one of them to our hands, and send the rest to our Graveyards." Both duelists took the top three cards of their respective decks, chose one, and sent the others to their respective Graveyards. "Appear, the circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are two monsters, including an 'Evil Eye' monster! I set Evil Eye Necromancer, and Even, Alchemist of the Evil Eye into the Link Markers!" Necromancer went into the top arrowhead, while Even went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Gorgon, Empress of the Evil Eyed!" A white-haired woman wearing a black and purple dress covered by white and red armor emerged from the Link Portal and landed on Ace's field in the right Extra Monster zone. Covering her left eye was a white mechanical device with a red lens.
Gorgon, Empress of the Evil Eyed ATK: 1900 LINK-2 ⬆️⬇️
"I don't know what you're planning, Ace, but I can't let your moves reach fruition!" Rosetta declared. "I activate Crossrose Dragon's effect! By tributing her and a Plant monster, I get to Special Summon one 'Rose' Synchro monster or a Plant Synchro monster from my Extra Deck, and treat it as a Synchro Summon!"
"Interesting. I assume you're bringing out Black Rose Dragon?" Ace guessed.
"Yes... and no." Rosetta answered with a smirk, which made Ace raise an eyebrow out of confusion. "I tribute Crossrose Dragon and Spore to Special Summon Black Rose Moonlight Dragon from my Extra Deck to my field!" Crossrose Dragon and Spore disintegrated into yellow particles and combined to form into a new monster that appeared on Rosetta's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. One that took the shape of a massive, black-skinned dragon with orange eyes, whose entire body was covered in light-red roses. She had a long, slender neck that was covered in roses at the back, and three mandibles that were made of roses on her head. Her feet were draconic as well. In addition, the dragon had a long, thorned tail, along with thinner thorned tails. Black Rose Moonlight Dragon spread her wings out and unleashed a shrivelling roar at Ace.
Black Rose Moonlight Dragon ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 LV: 7
"I activate Black Rose Moonlight Dragon's effect. If she's Special Summoned, or a Level 5 or higher monster is Special Summoned to your field, I can target one Special Summoned monster you control and return it to your hand. I target Gorgon! Rose Ballad!" Black Rose Moonlight Dragon let out a shrivelling roar at Gorgon, which returned her to Ace's Extra Deck as he frowned.
"That's nothing but a small hurdle for me to get across. An inconvenient one, at that." Ace said. "I activate the Spell card, Evil Eye Reemergence, which lets me Special Summon one 'Familiar of the Evil Eye' token to my field, or two if 'Evil Eye of Selene' is in my Spell & Trap card zone. Now, emerge!" A yellow eyeball in a lens floated onto Ace's field.
Familiar of the Evil Eye Token ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1
"Next, I activate the effect of Catopleas, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my Graveyard. If I control an 'Evil Eye' monster while this card is in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my Graveyard to my field. In exchange, I must banish it once it leaves the field. Come to me, Catopleas!" A buffalo with grey and purple skin that wore cyan armor appeared on Ace's field. On its forehead was a red eyeball.
Catopleas, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 600 DEF: 1900 LV: 3
"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" Ace declared, as a second Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are exactly two 'Evil Eye' monsters! I set the Familiar of the Evil Eye token, and Catopleas into the Link Markers!" The Familiar of the Evil Eye token went into the right arrowhead, while Catopleas went into the bottom arrowhead.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye!" A velociraptor with a slender neck and dark-purple skin appeared on Ace's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. All over the velociraptor's body were little eyeballs. Quarrion raised its head and screeched at Lord Kazuma.
Quarrion, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 2100 LINK-2 ⬇️➡️
"When Quarrion is Link Summoned, I can add an 'Evil Eye' card from my deck to my hand. I add Sentry of the Evil Eye from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Ace's deck, which he took and added to his hand. He was about to let a card slip from his sleeve to his hand when the words of Lord Kazuma popped in his mind.
"There's a price in cheating. If you do it repetitively, then people catch on, and expect that you cheat in the duel. You do it so much that it no longer becomes fun for you. Rather, you cheat in a duel just to survive."
Damn you, Lord Kazuma, Ace cursed in his mind. He hated to admit it, but Lord Kazuma was right. Since being enslaved by Azrael, all Ace did was for his own survival, to the point where cheated just to do so. But he'll show Lord Kazuma that he didn't need to cheat to win, and that will start by him defeating Rosetta with his own strength. Not by cheating. "I activate the effect of Sentry of the Evil Eye from my hand. Since I have an 'Evil Eye' Link monster on my field, I can Special Summon it from my hand to a Main Monster zone it points to. Now emerge, my monster!" A silver-skinned, round monster with a red eye and multiple tentacles protruding from its backside appeared on his field in the Main Monster Zone Quarrion pointed to.
Sentry of the Evil Eye ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1
"Appear, for a third time! The circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A third Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are one 'Evil Eye' monster! I set Sentry of the Evil Eye into the Link Markers!" Sentry went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red in the process.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Beltran, Familiar of the Evil Eye!" A violet-coloured raven with a small, red eye on its forehead appeared on Ace's field in the Main Monster Zone Quarrion pointed to.
Beltran, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 100 LINK-1 ⬇️
"When Beltran is successfully Link Summoned, I'm allowed to add an 'Evil Eye' card from my deck to my hand." Ace added. "I add Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Ace's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "In addition, as I used Sentry to Link Summon an 'Evil Eye' Link monster, I can add one card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand. I add Evil Eye Defeat from my Graveyard to my hand." A card popped out of Ace's Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand.
This is not good at all, Rosetta cursed in her mind. Just when I thought I stopped Ace's plan, he just smashed through the hurdle and continued his turn. To make matters worse, he managed to replenish his hand with cards as well. Upon seeing Ace grin, Rosetta narrowed her eyes. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, just thinking about how I'll defeat you soon, especially with the new cards I have." Ace answered. "This card can only be activated in a Spell & Trap card zone a Link monster points to. I activate the Link Spell card, Judgment Arrows!"
"Link Spell?!" Rosetta repeated out of shock.
"That's correct!" Ace confirmed with glee, as Judgment Arrows appeared in the Spell & Trap card zone Beltran pointed to.
Judgment Arrows ↖️⬆️↗️
"You see, Rosetta, when a Link monster Judgement Arrows points to battles, its attack points are doubled. However, should Judgment Arrows leave the field, all monsters it points to will be destroyed." Ace told Rosetta, which made the latter grit her teeth before narrowing her eyes out of shock and anger. "While I let that information sink in your mind, I activate the effect of Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye from my hand. As I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I'm allowed to Special Summon this card from my hand to my field!" A blue and black serpent with a big red eye on its forehead appeared on Ace's field.
Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye ATK: 400 DEF: 2000 LV: 3
"Appear, for a fourth time! The circuit of the all-consuming Evil Eye!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above Ace. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Evil Eye' monsters, including an 'Evil Eye' Link monster! I set Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye, the Link 1 Beltran, and the Link 2 Quarrion into the Link Markers!" Basilius went into the left arrowhead, Beltran went into the right arrowhead, and Quarrion went into the bottom-left and bottom-right arrowheads, turning all four of them red in the process.
"Malevolent spirit sealed within the Evil Eye! Break free of your shackles, and engulf this world, no this universe into darkness!" Ace chanted. "Link Summon! Emerge from your slumber! Link 4! Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye!" A massive swarm of spiked black and red tentacles breached its way through the Link Portal and flew onto Ace's field at Judgment Arrows' top marker. At the center of the tentacles was a black eyeball, with its conjunctiva being blue, while the pupil was a slitted yellow colour.
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 2800 LINK-4 ↙️⬅️➡️↘️
"When Dharkon is Link Summoned, I can target as many copies of 'Evil Eye of Selene' in my Graveyard and equip them to this card." Ace stated. "Thanks partially to you, there's a total of two copies of 'Evil Eye of Selene' in my Graveyard, and I'll equip both of them onto my monster!"
"Tch!" Rosetta frowned, as two red and silver mechanical lenses floated from Ace's Graveyard and orbited around Dharkon's eye.
"Let's end this charade, shall we? Battle!" Ace thrusted out his right hand. "Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye attacks Black Rose Moonlight Dragon! And thanks to Judgment Arrows, its attack points are doubled until the end of the damage step!" Dharkon was surrounded in a golden aura as its strength increased.
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 2800 X 2 = 5600
"Shadow Impalement!" The tentacles surrounding Dharkon's eye morphed into spiked, shadowy spears before they went straight towards Black Rose Moonlight Dragon, intent on impaling her.
"I'm not out yet, Ace! I activate the Trap card, Damage Diet!" Rosetta interrupted. "All damage I take is halved for the rest of this turn!"
"You little..." Ace muttered, as the shadowy spears impaled Black Rose Moonlight Dragon before destroying her, which caused an explosion that pushed Rosetta back as her life points dropped.
Rosetta: 4000 – (3200 / 2) = 2400 LP
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 5600 / 2 = 2800
"While you may have reduced damage, I can still activate Dharkon's second effect! Once per turn, when it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I can destroy cards you control up to the number of 'Evil Eye of Selene' in my Spell & Trap card zone, and inflict 500 damage for each card destroyed by this effect. I can unfortunately only destroy one card on your field, and that card will be your face-down card! Thorn Spray!" The tentacles surrounding Dharkon's eye then morphed into a spiked cluster, which fired energy bullets at the face-down card before turning it into particles. Rosetta winced as her life points slightly dropped.
Rosetta: 2400 – (500 / 2) = 2150 LP
"In addition, the effects of my Evil Eye of Selene's activate. As the equipped monster's effect was activated, the both of them increase my monster's attack points by 500 attack while I lose 500 life points for each one!" Ace said, as Dharkon powered up, while the former narrowed his eyes as his life points dropped.
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 2800 + (500 X 2) = 3800
Ace: 5400 – (500 X 2) = 4400 LP
Ace then noticed Rosetta grinning after hearing this. "Huh? Why exactly are you smiling? You lost your cards and nearly half your life points."
"Because one of the cards you destroyed was Basal Rose Shoot, and when it was destroyed by a card effect, I can target one 'Black Rose Dragon' or one monster that lists the card in its text and Special Summon it from either my Graveyard or my banished zone." Rosetta revealed. "Now return from my Graveyard, Roxrose Dragon!" At Rosetta's command, Roxrose Dragon reappeared on her field.
Roxrose Dragon ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 3
"And just like before, when Roxrose Dragon is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one card that specifically lists 'Black Rose Dragon' from my deck to my hand with a different name. I add a second copy of Basal Rose Shoot from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Rosetta's deck, which she took and added to her hand.
"Very clever, Rosetta. Very clever." Ace grumbled under his breath. Despite getting rid of nearly half of Rosetta's life points and losing her cards, she managed to not only bring her monster back, but add a second copy of the same card she used to do so from her deck as well. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn." A grin then appeared on his face.
"What's so funny, Ace?" Rosetta inquired.
"Oh, I was just thinking about a few things. One of which being the troops I sent out into the real world to kill people on sight." Ace answered, which made Rosetta widen her eyes.
"You what?!"
"You heard me. I sent troops in the real world to kill people on sight and cause chaos." Ace reiterated, before he pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. Within seconds, a screen popped up, which showed explosions in different places, as well as authorities confronting the assailants. A few of them even showed people who died in the crossfire, much to Rosetta's shock and horror.
"Why? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Call it an act of carnage." Ace replied. "I get a benefit in doing this, as there's a chance your dear old daddy may be caught in the crossfire. And if something were to happen to him..." He traced a line across his throat, a malicious grin on his face.
"I will make you regret messing with my family and I!"
Ace, in hearing this, laughed. "Is that so? Well, come on and give me your best shot! Not that it won't matter anyway, especially with what will happen to the loser of this duel. Or do I need to remind you?"
Rosetta grit her teeth. She clearly knew what would happen to the loser of the duels going on right now, and she'll ensure that it won't happen to her. "Be careful what you ask for, Ace. My turn! I draw!" She drew the top card of her deck. Yes! This will work! And with the other cards in her hand, she can defeat Ace this turn! But for that to happen, Rosetta had to somehow get rid of Judgment Arrows or Dharkon. "I activate a second copy of the Quick-Play Spell card, Basal Rose Shoot from my hand. This card lets me Special Summon one 'Rose Dragon' monster from my hand or Graveyard in defense position. Return to me from my Graveyard, Red Rose Dragon!" At Rosetta's command, Red Rose Dragon reappeared on her field.
Red Rose Dragon ATK: 1000 DEF: 1800 LV: 3
"Planning to Synchro or Xyz Summon, eh? Well, I won't let you!" Ace interrupted, as he gestured to his face-down card. "I activate the Trap card, Evil Eye Defeat! If I control an 'Evil Eye' monster, I can target a monster on your field and return it to your hand. However, if 'Evil Eye of Selene' is in my Spell & Trap card zone, which it is, I can target two monsters on your field instead!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Rosetta exclaimed.
"I target Red Rose Dragon and Roxrose Dragon on your field! Begone!" A blast of purple energy fired out of Evil Eye Defeat, which hit Red Rose Dragon and Roxrose Dragon as the both of them turned into particles that returned to Rosetta's hand. "In addition, because an 'Evil Eye' Spell or Trap card was activated, the effects of each of my Evil Eye of Selenes activate. Dharkon gains 500 attack points for each one, while I lose 500 life points for each one!" While Dharkon's strength increased, Ace winced as his life points decreased.
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 3800 + (500 X 2) = 4800
Ace: 4400 – (500 X 2) = 3400 LP
"What will you do now, Rosetta?" Ace inquired out of curiosity.
"Simple. The best I can, and thanks to your assistance, I can defeat you this turn!" Rosetta responded with confidence. "To start, I activate the Spell card, Rose Bell of Revelation. This card lets me add either 'Fallen Angel of Roses' or 'Queen Angel of Roses' from my deck to my hand. I add the latter from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Rosetta's deck, which she took and added to her hand. "Next, you control a monster and I don't, I can Special Summon Rose Princess from my hand." A pink-skinned girl wearing a red dress with rose petals from her hand appeared on Rosetta's field.
Rose Princess ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV: 3
"As Rose Princess was Special Summoned using her effect, she's treated as a Tuner monster. But moving on, I summon Rose Shaman from my hand to my field." A dark-skinned woman with long black hair who wore a white dress appeared on Rosetta's field. She wore a golden visor that was around his eyes, and a pair of roses were attached to the sides of her head.
Rose Shaman ATK: 1700 DEF: 200 LV: 2
"I activate Shaman's effect. By sending her to my Graveyard, I can draw the top card of my deck." Rosetta continued, as Shaman turned into particles. She looked down at her deck. It's time, deck. Give me what I need to defeat Ace, she thought in her mind, as she drew the top card of her deck. Upon looking at it, she smiled. Yes! She did it! She got the card needed to win the duel! "You ready for some déjà vu, Ace? I activate the effect of Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel from my hand! By banishing a Level 7 or higher Plant monster from my hand and a Level 7 or higher Plant monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! I banish Queen Angel of Roses from my hand and Fallen Angel of Roses from my Graveyard!"
"What?!" Ace gasped. "When did Fallen Angel of Roses go to your-?!" It then clicked in his mind. That was one of the cards Rosetta sent to her Graveyard thanks to Even's effect!
"Now come forth, Rosaria!" A white-skinned male with a white cloth around his waist appeared on Rosetta's field. Silver pieces of armor were on his arms and legs, along with a white crown with wings on his forehead. He also had angelic, rosy wings, which were red on the left and black on the right.
Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel ATK: 2900 DEF: 2400 LV: 8
"I activate Rosaria's second effect!" Rosetta added. "Once per turn, I can negate the effects of all face-up cards on the field until the End Phase. Go, Rose Nullification!" Rosaria's wings glowed as he unleashed a blast of energy from them at Dharkon, the two copies of Evil Eye of Selene, and Judgment Arrows, greying all four of them out in the process.
"Why, you!" Ace snarled, as Dharkon's strength reverted to its original amount.
Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye ATK: 4800 – (500 X 4) = 2800
"Battle!" Rosetta declared. "Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel attacks Dharkon, Entity of the Evil Eye! Valhalla Harvest!" Rosaria gathered energy in his hands and fired it at Dharkon, crippling the monster and burning it alive. Ace grit his teeth as his life points dropped.
Ace: 3400 – 100 = 3300 LP
"Your turn, Rose Princess! Attack Ace directly!" Rose Princess charged forward and hit Ace in the face with multiple strikes, which made him take a step back as his life points dropped.
Ace: 3300 – 1200 = 2100 LP
"With the Battle Phase over, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Frozen Rose." Rosetta stated. "I can send a face-up monster on my field to my Graveyard, and by doing so, I can activate an effect depending on the monster sent to the Graveyard by this effect. I send Rose Princess from my field to my Graveyard, which is a Plant monster. That means at the end my turn, I can draw two cards before discarding one card from my hand to my Graveyard."
Ace glared his eyes at Rosetta, annoyed that she was able to get rid of Dharkon, as well as negate Judgment Arrows. Still, if he drew the card he needed, he can defeat her next turn.
"I end my turn, which means thanks to Frozen Rose, I can draw two cards from the top of my deck before discarding one from my hand to my Graveyard." After Rosetta drew the top two cards from the top of her deck, she took one from her hand and sent it to her Graveyard.
"My turn! I draw!" Ace said, as he drew the top card of his deck.
"I activate the effect of Skill Successor in my Graveyard!" Rosetta interjected. "By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I can target a monster on my field and increase its attack points by 800 until the end of this turn! I target Rosaria!" Rosaria was soon surrounded in a fiery aura that increased his attack points.
Rosaria, the Fallen Stately Angel ATK: 2900 + 800 = 3700
Great. Just great, Ace cursed in his mind. Even if he brought Dharkon back and used Judgment Arrows in unison, he wouldn't be able to defeat Rosetta this turn, despite massively depleting nearly all of her life points. While that option was off the table, he still had something far worse to use to end her once and for all. "You haven't lost your edge since the last time we dueled, Rosetta. However, this duel's coming to an end, starting with this! I activate the Spell card, Pot of Avarice! This card lets me target five monsters in my Graveyard and shuffle them into my deck. By doing so, I can draw the top two cards of my deck. I shuffle Even, Necromancer, Basilius, Quarrion, and Beltran into my deck and Extra Deck!" Five cards popped out of Ace's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled into his deck and Extra Deck. Once that was done, he drew the top cards of his deck.
"From there, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Shield Wall. This card lets me Special Summon four 'Shield' tokens to my field in defense position. However, they can't attack or be tributed, and are destroyed should they change to attack position. Now, emerge!" At Ace's command, four stone golems with large shields, as well as a pair of swords strapped onto their backs, appeared on Ace's field in defense position.
Shield Token ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1
Shield Token ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1
Shield Token ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1
Shield Token ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1
It's likely that Ace will use those tokens for a Link Summon, Rosetta thought in her mind. But all of Ace's Link monsters require at least an 'Evil Eye' monster for him to use them. Maybe an Xyz Summon, perhaps?
Ace, upon seeing Rosetta confused, laughed. "I can tell what you're thinking. Why would you bring those monsters out, Ace? Well, allow me to enlighten you. The monster I hold in my hand can only Special Summoned from my hand or Graveyard by sending four Level 1 monsters on my field to my Graveyard!"
Rosetta's eyes widened upon hearing that statement. She had heard rumors of such a card during her time working with Ace. A card so powerful that it required a hefty cost to bring it out on the field from the hand or in the Graveyard. "No. Don't tell me..."
"Why tell you when I can show you?" Ace raised one of the cards in his hand over his head. "I send all four Shield tokens from my field to my Graveyard!" All four monsters turned into black particles that formed a total of four pillars, which appeared behind Ace in a circle. Once that was done, the four pillars generated a magical seal with scales on the outer ridges.
"God of anguish and suffering! Arise from your slumber, and strip away the existence of hope! The existence of faith! And the existence of order!" Ace chanted. "Come forth! Incarnation of despair governing all darkness and chaos! Dystopia the Despondent!"
Dark light from the circle and made Rosetta shield her eyes. A rumbling noise and a loud shout broke out, and when it dimmed, it made Rosetta open her eyes before gasping at the monster in front of her.
The monster that had emerged was massive. Taller than any monster Rosetta had ever seen before. It was a massive, black gargantuan giant with a large turtle shell that had blades protruding out of it. Dark, curved plates that had sharp edges covered his torso and shoulder areas. He also had ridges on top of his head. Dystopia opened his red eyes before looking at Rosetta and roaring at him.
Dystopia the Despondent ATK: 5000 DEF: 5000 LV: 12
"You actually brought it out..." Rosetta muttered out of fear.
"Dharkon's the strongest Link monster in my Extra Deck, while Dystopia the Despondent is the strongest monster in my deck, and he will be the one to end you!" Ace exclaimed. "I activate the Spell card, Shield and Sword. This card lets me switch the attack and defense points of all monsters on the field until the end of this turn!"
"Oh no!" Rosetta exclaimed, as Rosaria and Dystopia were covered in auras that switched their strength. But whereas Dystopia was unaffected due to his equal strength in attack and defense, Rosaria let out a groan as a result of his strength being switched with his defense.
Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel ATK: 3700 – 1300 = 2400 DEF: 2400 + 1300 = 3700
"That's the look I want to see on your face, Rosetta! The one where you realize there's nothing you can do to win!" Ace sadistically said, before he thrusted out his right hand at the duel field. "Battle! Dystopia the Despondent attacks Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel! And by banishing one Level 1 monster from my Graveyard, I can have Dystopia become unaffected by other card effects until the end of the damage step. In addition, it can't be destroyed by battle as well! I banish a copy of Sentry of the Evil Eye from my Graveyard! Aura of Despair!" An orb of magical energy went into the orb attached to Dystopia's chest, who roared as his strength increased.
"Fist of Despair!" Dark energy surrounded Dystopia's fist before he proceeded to punch Rosaria with such force that it caused a massive explosion, which sent Rosetta flying off the ground. Within moments, her back hit the ground multiple times before she rolled onto her stomach, the duel over at last.
Rosetta: 2150 – 2600 = 0
"I told you I'd get my revenge on you." Ace stated, as he walked over to the fallen Rosetta, who struggled to get up on her feet. "And with my victory, you lose your consciousness data!"
"You... Someone will defeat you for-" Rosetta began speaking, as her body began turning into particles, an indicator that her body began to disintegrate.
"If I go down, Rosetta, then I'll do it on my own terms, not at the hands of my enemies." Ace told Rosetta firmly, before she turned into a pink orb of data, which went over to Ace as he held it in his hand. "Now we're even, my dear." His duel disk then beeped, and when Ace pressed a button, a screen popped up, which showed a troop from Alpha.
"Everything is in place, sir," the troop reported.
"Excellent. The Gambit Protocol will be executed soon from my end. Once it begins, you know what to do." Ace responded, as a trigger appeared, which he took and hid in his sleeve.
"Yes, sir."
Elsewhere, in LINK VRAINS...
RAAAAAWWWRRR!
Raguel, Numera, Playmaker, Soulburner, Blue Maiden, Slipstream, Ghost Girl and Krystal turned upwards to see Dystopia the Despondent roaring in victory.
"What the Hell is that?" Soulburner questioned.
"I don't know, but it's anything but good." Raguel replied, before he pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which caused a map to pop up. After looking at it quickly, Raguel then began running on the street.
"Raguel, wait for us!" Blue Maiden exclaimed, before she followed after him. Something was not right at all. As if on cue, Playmaker and Soulburner, along with Numera followed after Blue Maiden. Slipstream was about to join them, only for Krystal to put a hand on his shoulder and make him stop.
"What's up?" Slipstream asked.
"Stay safe, young man. For I have a bad feeling about this." Krystal told Slipstream.
"Same here." Slipstream agreed. "Aren't you going to join us?" Suddenly, several Bitboots appeared behind them.
"Leave these AIs to myself and the young lady, Slipstream." Ghost Girl said, with Krystal nodding in agreement.
"You're too kind, dear." Krystal responded, a smile on her face. Dragite and Memorygant prepared themselves for battle.
Slipstream nodded. "Alright. The both of you, stay safe." He then ran down the street and turned left, intent on catching up with the others.
After Raguel made another right, he then ran down the street, only to find Ace laughing in victory. Having narrowed his eyes in anger, he proceeded to charge forward and punch Ace, which made him gasp out of surprise upon noticing who was there.
"Huh. So the heroes have come to stop the chaos..." Ace muttered, and before he can even react, Raguel dashed forward and proceeded to pummel him with two more punches to the face.
"What did you do? What did you do?!" Raguel demanded, before he proceeded to punch Ace with such force that the latter was sent flying off the ground before landing on his back.
Ace, who slowly tried to get up on his feet, smirked. "Simple. I caused chaos. My troops are swarming Den City and shooting people on sight, as well as causing carnage. There's nothing you can-."
WHAM!
Raguel hook punched Ace to the wall on the left, which sent him flying so fast that his back hit it within seconds.
"Raguel, stop!" Herald pleaded, which Raguel ignored as he proceeded to continue punching Ace.
"You've got to stop now, Raguel!" Soulburner exclaimed, as he and Playmaker pulled Raguel back to restrain him from causing any more damage.
"That bastard's responsible for murdering people during the Turf War!" Raguel said, still hellbent on making Ace suffer. He tried to get himself out of the restraint so he can hurting Ace, but Soulburner and Playmaker kept him in a tight hold.
Numera, who saw all of this, gasped. "Big Brother..."
"Oh boy..." Slipstream muttered, shocked at what he was seeing. He never saw Raguel lose control before, and if it were to get worse from here... it would not end well for everyone.
"Listen to me, Raguel! We can't stoop to the level of our enemies!" Blue Maiden told Raguel.
"We need to be better than them!" Aqua added in support.
Ace laughed as he saw all of this. "Now this is interesting. Your friends don't want you to fall to my level, Raguel. Though you don't have to worry about my presence anymore."
"What are you talking about?" Raguel angrily questioned, as Ace slowly pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. Soon, a screen popped up, which showed a map.
"Azrael's heading to some place called the dark vault. Wants something regarding his inheritance or what not from there." Ace began explaining.
"Why are you helping us?" Playmaker asked, which caused Ace to narrow his eyes and frown at him.
"I don't care of you win. I need Azrael to lose." Ace replied, before Raguel suddenly broke out of the tight hold, summoned Excalibur, and sliced upwards at the former's left arm, much to everyone's horror. As a result, it caused Ace to scream loudly as blood came from the place his left forearm was.
Some of it even hit Raguel's face...
...And he smiled in victory in response.
"Thanks for helping, Ace, but I still need to get my pound of flesh from you." Raguel triumphantly told Ace, as he bent down and picked up the latter's duel disk, a grin on his face. "And it seems I got something better than it..."
"Makes sense, as I've already gotten revenge on Rosetta." Ace commented, before a grin suddenly appeared on his face as the trigger slipped into his right hand. "But know this: I decide how I die, not anyone else." Within seconds, he pressed the button on top of the trigger, which led to an explosion.
"Look out!" Herald cried out, as he, Flame, Ai, and Aqua combined their powers to form a massive shield that protected everyone from the explosion. When the smoke cleared, it showed Ace's remains before they slowly turned into particles. "Son of a..."
"He blew himself up!" Ai finished, the others still shocked at what happened. They then turned to Raguel, who had a grim expression on his face.
"What you did was not right, Raguel!" Soulburner reprimanded Raguel, who turned to face him.
"So what? It doesn't matter." Raguel countered.
"You can't just go chopping people's arms like that!" Soulburner angrily replied. "We have to be better than them!"
"Soulburner and the others are right." Playmaker agreed, as he crossed his arms. "We can't fall to the level of our enemies."
Raguel narrowed his eyes back at them before he let out a sigh. "The both of you have great points, I agree with you on that. Still, there's only so much one can do by the book before resorting to drastic measures!"
"And if one were to do that, they'll risk losing themselves in the process!" Blue Maiden warned Raguel, who let out another sigh in response.
"Uh, guys. I don't think fighting amongst ourselves is a good idea right now. Need I remind you that we have a mission to complete?" Slipstream gently interrupted. "What? It's true."
"Slipstream's right. We need to focus on stopping Azrael before more lives are lost." Raguel said, before he pressed a few buttons on Ace's duel disk, which still showed a map. "Starting with what the heck the dark vault is."
"Well, my friend, good thing you've got a buddy like me," a voice commented, which caused everyone to turn behind them as they saw Gil walk up to the group.
"Gil..." Numera muttered.
"Hi, everybody! Great to see you!" Gil greeted everyone with a smile.
"So you're Gil." Playmaker stated. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was assisting the Charisma duelists and SOL's AIs in stopping this invasion. But unfortunately, a good majority of them are kaput." Gil answered. "But with you guys here, we stand a chance! Well, that's what I would have said if you guys were here earlier."
Raguel narrowed his eyes. He and the others were aware with what happened in Central Station. Yet because of Lightning, they weren't able to assist the Charisma duelists in time, which led to countless deaths.
"Do you know about the dark vault, Gil?" Raguel inquired, getting straight to the point. He did not need a lecture from someone who looked like a kid right now.
"Only rumours about it. How it contains sensitive information from past projects, meetings, and more. From names to results to classified data, it's all there." Gil answered in a serious tone. "To put it simply, any data that SOL Technologies wants to keep hush hush goes in there."
"Do you think the data from the Lost Incident may be in the dark vault, Playmaker?" Soulburner whispered to him.
"Not just that, but perhaps other data related to it as well." Playmaker quietly hypothesized back.
"Hang on a minute. Why should we trust you?" Slipstream inquired. "Aside from free sweets, we don't know what else you want."
"Everyone has a motive, kid, and I'll warn you now: I can tell the difference between truth and lies." Aqua added, as she narrowed her eyes at Gil.
Gil turned to look at Aqua. "Is that so? Well, I'll put this in terms you and the others will understand: I only assist the clients who bring me the best long-term gain, like you guys. Anyone who chooses to utilize unethical actions such as the head honchos from the Lost Incident and Project: Apotheosis are people I don't want to work with. In all honesty, Ms. Ignis, aside from the free sweets, there's nothing else I don't want. I've already got personalized tech of my own, and a buttload of money I've made over the past few years, as well as the money I've obtained from my scumbag of a father. Does that answer your question?"
There was silence in the air for a few seconds before Blue Maiden broke it. "Aqua, what do you think?"
"He's telling the truth." Aqua confirmed.
"But there's still a likely chance that you'll turn on us." Flame pointed out, which made Gil humorously laugh.
"Yeah, you're like the mini Boogeyman!" Ai added.
"If you're that concerned Mr. Ignis's, let my actions speak for themselves." Gil stated, before he walked over to Raguel and pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. Within a few seconds, a series of coordinates, as well as the map Ace had on his duel disk, was on Raguel's duel disk. "This should help you get to the dark vault before Azrael does. Hopefully."
"Hopefully?" Raguel repeated.
"Well, yeah. Stregone and Phoenix already went there, and will likely confront Azrael." Gil explained, which made Raguel widen his eyes. He then began running down the alleyway, much to everyone's shock. But just before Raguel could fully get away from the others, Gil spoke a word to him so quietly that only he can hear it, and no one else. "Faker..."
"Raguel, wait up!" Numera cried out, only for a large swarm of Bitboots to suddenly appear out of nowhere and surround the group.
"Nope! You ain't interfering with the boss's goal!" one Bitboot boasted, as each one of them activated their duel disks.
"Great! This is just great!" Soulburner furiously commented, as he activated his duel disk. Within seconds, Playmaker, Numera, Slipstream, and Blue Maiden also activated their duel disks.
"Seems we've got no choice but to take these clowns down." Slipstream said.
"I'm afraid so." Blue Maiden agreed. On the bright side, she can practice using her new deck, and the training will certainly help in the battles to come.
Elsewhere, in another area of the network...
SengokuQueen slowly got up on her feet as Malf stared down at her, a grin on his face. She was purely angry with what Malf did to Dancho, and swore to get revenge not just for what happened to the latter, but for all the victims Malf put in the hospital. "Why? Why did you go after Dancho?"
Malf let out a chuckle. "Do you really want me to spell it out for you? It was so I can get stronger, of course, due to the circumstances."
"Circumstances?" SengokuQueen repeated.
"That's correct. My lord commanded me, the AIs you and the others have dueled, and a lowlife criminal to attack the Knights of Hanoi some time ago." Malf began explaining. "What I've lacked at the time was wisdom. The knowledge of determining when to strike at my opponent, when to rein myself in, and when to bring them to their defeat. Your master met all three of these criteria, which is why I went after him. And you will be the one that will hasten my coming evolution."
"Like Hell that will happen!" SengokuQueen exclaimed, as she activated her duel disk. "You're an evil that cannot be contained, and to ensure the safety of the innocent, you must die!"
"Your master used to say that revenge is not the Shinpi-Tekina way, right?" Malf taunted, before he activated his duel disk. "I will put you, his student, in your proper place. Just as I did with him a while back!"
"Duel!" SengokuQueen and Malf shouted in unison.
SengokuQueen: 4000 LP
Malf: 4000 LP
"While I gave the old man the honor in going first, I won't be doing the same for you. I will take the first turn." Malf decided. "My turn! I summon Darkscourge Star Core from my hand to my field." A medium-sized violet orb with a black star emblem displayed on the front appeared on Malf's field. The orb has large spikes that rotate around it, giving it a sun-like appearance. It also has red eyes in the center of the star emblem.
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1
"When Star Core is Normal or Special Summoned, it gains 'Darkscourge' counters equal to the number of cards in my hand. As I have four cards in my hand, Star Core gains a total of four 'Darkscourge' counters!" Four purple orbs soon orbited around Star Core.
Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 0 + 4 = 4
"In addition, I activate the Field Spell card, Darkscourge Comet." Malf continued. "Now all 'Darkscourge' monsters on my field gain 300 attack and defense points. What's more, the effects of my 'Darkscourge' Link monsters cannot be negated." As if on cue, Star Core was surrounded in a purple aura, which increased its strength.
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 0 + 300 = 300 DEF: 0 + 300 = 300
SengokuQueen grit her teeth. That meant she could no longer negate the effects of Malf's Link monsters. While she could use the combo of Great Shogun Shien and Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En to limit the use of Malf's Spell and Trap cards, his monster's effects were an entirely different story.
"Appear, the circuit of the rampant plague!" A Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are normally one 'Darkscourge' monster. However, if I would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from Star Core or Generator equal to that monster's Link rating, and treat it as a Link Summon! I remove one of Star Core's counters and set it into the Link Markers!" One of the four orbiting orbs went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.
Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 4 – 1 = 3
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Darkscourge Warrior!" A humanoid creature with red and black skin, as well as a black star emblem on its chest with red eyes, appeared on Malf's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Red spores were on its arms, legs, and the back of its neck. The creature also had large, yellow eyes, which eyed SengokuQueen as it growled at her.
Darkscourge Warrior ATK: 1200 LINK-1 ⬇️
Darkscourge Warrior ATK: 1200 + 300 = 1500
"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the rampant plague!" Malf suddenly declared, as a second Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are normally two or more 'Darkscourge' monsters. However, just like before, if I would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from Star Core or Generator equal to that monster's Link rating, and treat it as a Link Summon! I remove three of Star Core's counters and set them into the Link Markers!" The remaining three orbiting orbs went into the bottom-left, bottom, and bottom-right arrowheads, turning all three of them red.
Darkscourge Star Core DSC: 3 – 3 = 0
"Disciple of the dark lord! Master the infected energy flowing within you, and enforce the dark lord's tyrannical rule!" Malf chanted. "Link Summon! Come forth at the dark lord's command! Link 3! Darkscourge Draco Master!" A young teenage male, wearing a brown Gi that was ripped apart in numerous places appeared on Malf's field in the Main Monster Zone Warrior pointed to. Instead of a dragon symbol, the Gi now had a black star emblem on it, as well as on the blood-stained belt around Draco Master's waist. His right fist was filled with purple energy, and a small, misty purple dragon was surrounding him as well. Draco Master's eyes glowed red as he roared in rage at SengokuQueen.
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2800 LINK-3 ↙️⬇️↘️
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2800 + 300 = 3100
SengokuQueen gasped out of shock, rage, and sadness upon seeing Draco Master on Malf's field. "You... How dare you use Dancho's son for your own games!"
"Psychological warfare is quite useful in duels, especially when your goal is to torture your opponent before finishing them off." Malf sadistically pointed out. "I activate the Spell card, Darkscourge Sustenance. By sending one card from my hand to my Graveyard, I can draw two cards from the top of my deck. I send Darkscourge Worm from my hand to my Graveyard, and draw!" After Malf sent a card from his hand to his Graveyard, he drew the top two cards of his deck. "In addition, I activate Worm's effect from my Graveyard. Once per turn, when it's sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can Special Summon it back to me field! Now come to my field, Darkscourge Worm!" A large worm with solid black skin and thorns near its head appeared on Malf's field. Its face had a black star emblem at the center, and it had a wide purple mouth with some eye-like growths in it.
Darkscourge Worm ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3
Darkscourge Worm ATK: 1500 + 300 = 1800 DEF: 1500 + 300 = 1800
"Prepare yourself, SengokuQueen. I now activate the Link Spell card, Darkscourge Infectors!"
"WHAT?!" SengokuQueen exclaimed, as a silhouette of a card appeared, which showed a similar network to that of Judgment Arrows, but there were a total of three infected purple roots pulsing with energy instead of arrows, and it shined red instead of yellow. Darkscourge Infectors appeared in the middle Spell & Trap card zone Draco Master pointed to.
Darkscourge Infectors ↖️⬆️↗️
"When a 'Darkscourge' Link monster Infectors points to battles, your monster's effects are negated, and its attack and defense points are halved until the end of the damage step." Malf explained, which made SengokuQueen widen her eyes in response. "Appear, for a third time! The circuit of the rampant plague!" A third Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are two 'Darkscourge' monsters. I set Darkscourge Worm and the Link 1 Warrior into the Link Markers!" Worm went into the left arrowhead, while Warrior into the right arrowhead, turning both of them red.
"Link Summon! Rise! Link 2! Darkscourge Assassin!" A humanoid creature with red, black, and orange skin, as well as a black star emblem at the center of its orange armour appeared on Malf's field at Darkscourge Infectors' left marker. It had three horns on the head, along with a small tail on its lower back. Two horns were also attached to the armour as well. In its hands, it carried a blaster.
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2200 LINK-2 ⬅️➡️
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2200 + 300 = 2500
"I now activate the Continuous-Spell card, Darkscourge Generator." Malf added. "Once per turn, if I control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can target that monster and shuffle cards into my deck equal to that monster's Link rating. By doing so, I can draw the same number of cards from my deck and then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards I drew with this effect!"
"You have got to be kidding me..." SengokuQueen muttered furiously. Malf was able to Link Summon a total of three times, brought out a Link Spell card, and was about to draw more cards? That was just insane.
"I target Draco Master, and shuffle Worm, Sustenance, and Warrior into my deck and Extra Deck, and draw!" Three cards popped out of Malf's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled into his deck and Extra Deck. Afterwards, he drew the top three cards of his deck. Soon after, three orbs orbited around Generator.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 0 + 3 = 3
After looking at the cards in Malf's hand, he grinned. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn. Allow me to say something else as well. While I control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, you can't target Star Core for attacks, nor can you target my 'Darkscourge' Link monsters with card effects."
"Tch!" SengokuQueen grit her teeth. Not only could she no longer target Star Core for attacks, she couldn't target Malf's Link monsters for effects as well. Then again, who said she could use cards that specifically target? There was ones in her deck that didn't require her to target a monster for its effect. If SengokuQueen drew those, she can get the upper hand on Malf and avenge Dancho. "My turn! I draw!" She drew the top card of her deck. "I activate the Spell card, Shien's Smoke Signal. This card lets me add one Level 3 or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck to my hand. I add Legendary Six Samurai – Mizuho from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of her deck, which she took and added to her hand.
"I activate the Field Spell card, Temple of the Six. Every time a 'Six Samurai' monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I can place one 'Bushido' counter on it, and your monsters lose 100 attack points for every Bushido counter on it. In addition, I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Gateway of the Six. Each time a 'Six Samurai' monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I-."
"No. I think not." Malf interrupted, as he gestured to his face-down card. "Counter-Trap, activate! Darkscourge Repellence! If you activate a card effect while I control a 'Darkscourge' monster, its effect is negated. What's more, you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation."
"...!" SengokuQueen's eyes widened as poisonous bubbles flew out of the card towards Gateway of the Six, which greyed it out within seconds.
"Between Temple of the Six and Gateway of the Six, the latter was the greater threat. So what will you do now?" Malf inquired. SengokuQueen's deck requires her to swarm her field with monsters, which in turn will have her other cards grant both them and her benefits, he recalled in his mind. Whether she'll be a greater challenge compared to the old man or not will be determined by what happens next.
"Simple. I'll keep going with everything I've got!" SengokuQueen answered. "I activate two copies of 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 both cards. From there, I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Mizuho from my hand." A woman wearing red samurai with a hood covering her head, as well as long, black hair tied in a pony tail appeared on SengokuQueen's field. She carried a large sickle in each of her hands.
Legendary Six Samurai – Mizuho ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 3
"With that, Temple of the Six and both copies of Six Samurai United gain Bushido counters, and you know what that means!" One green crest went into Temple of the Six and both copies of Six Samurai United, which caused Malf's monsters to groan as their attack points decreased.
Temple of the Six BC: 0 + 1 = 1
Six Samurai United BC: 0 + 1 = 1
Six Samurai United BC: 0 + 1 = 1
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 3100 – 100 = 3000
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2500 – 100 = 2400
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 300 – 100 = 200 DEF: 300 – 100 = 200
"I activate the effect of Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai from my hand. As I control Mizuho, I can Special Summon him from my hand to my field." SengokuQueen added, as she played a card in her hand to her field. Soon, a male samurai wearing purple armor all over his body appeared on SengokuQueen's field. In each of his hands, he carried a metal club.
Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3
Temple of the Six BC: 1 + 1 = 2
Six Samurai United BC: 1 + 1 = 2
Six Samurai United BC: 1 + 1 = 2
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 3000 – 100 = 2900
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2400 – 100 = 2300
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 200 – 100 = 100 DEF: 200 – 100 = 100
"From there, I activate the effects of my two Six Samurai United's. Since the maximum counters the both of them can have is two, I will send both to the Graveyard, and by doing so, I can draw one card for each Bushido counter that was on them. As there were two Bushido counters on each copy of Six Samurai United, I get to draw a total of four cards!" She drew the top four cards of her deck. "Appear, the circuit of ancient honour!" A Link Portal appeared above her. "The summoning conditions are two monsters, including a 'Six Samurai' monster. I set Legendary Six Samurai - Mizuho, and Shinai into the Link Markers!" Mizuho went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while Shinai went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai!" A samurai with black armour 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 ↙️↘️
Temple of the Six BC: 2 + 1 = 3
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2900 – 100 = 2800
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2300 – 100 = 2200
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 100 – 100 = 0 DEF: 100 – 100 = 0
"Battle Shogun's effect! When he's Link Summoned, I can discard a card from my hand to add a card from my deck to my hand that has an effect that places a Bushido counter! I discard Secret Six Samurai - Genba to add a second copy of Gateway of the Six from my deck to my hand!" After SengokuQueen sent a card from her hand to her Graveyard, a card popped out of her deck, which she took and added to her hand. "And just like before, I activate a second copy of the Continuous-Spell card, Gateway of the Six. Every time a 'Six Samurai' monster is Normal or Special Summoned, I can place two Bushido counters on it. But that's not all. I also activate the Spell card, Ambush of the Six Samurai!" The card showed Secret Six Samurai – Genba, Doji, Fuma, and Hatsume appearing to assist Rihan in an attack on a group of enemies. "This card lets me target a 'Six Samurai' Link monster on my field, and Special Summon 'Six Samurai' monsters from my deck or Graveyard to Main Monster Zones it points to."
"Is that so?" Malf inquired out of boredom and curiosity.
"It is!" SengokuQueen confirmed. "I target Battle Shogun, and Special Summon Secret Six Samurai – Kizaru and Fuma from my deck to my field!" Two cards popped out of SengokuQueen's deck, which she took and played on her field. Within seconds, two monsters appeared in both Main Monster Zones Battle Shogun pointed to.
The first monster was a samurai wearing black robes with silver outlines. His hair was done in a ponytail, and he had golden accessories around his waist and forearms. In his left hand, he carried a katana.
The second monster was a samurai wearing dark-blue ninja robes, which had pieces of glowing armor on it. In his hands, he carried two, large throwing stars.
Secret Six Samurai – Kizaru ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000 LV: 4
Secret Six Samurai – Fuma ATK: 200 DEF: 1800 LV: 1
Temple of the Six BC: 3 + 1 = 4
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2800 – 100 = 2700
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2200 – 100 = 2100
"The effects of Battle Shogun, Kizaru, and Gateway of the Six now activate. First, as a 'Six Samurai' monster was Normal or Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone it pointed to, it gains one 'Bushido' counter." SengokuQueen began explaining, as a green crest was attached to Battle Shogun's armor.
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 0 + 1 = 1
"Second, when Kizaru is Special Summoned, I can add one 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck to my hand with a different attribute for every monster I control. There's a total of two attributes on my field, which means I can add two 'Six Samurai' monsters from my deck to my hand. I add two copies of Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan from my deck to my hand." Two cards popped out of SengokuQueen's deck, which she took and added to her hand. "Third, because I Special Summoned a 'Six Samurai' monster, Gateway of the Six gains two 'Bushido' counters." As if on cue, two green crests went into Gateway of the Six.
Gateway of the Six BC: 0 + 2 = 2
"Finally, Battle Shogun gains 100 attack points for every 'Bushido' counter on my field." SengokuQueen said, as Battle Shogun was surrounded in a green aura, which powered him up.
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1000 + (100 X 7) = 1700
"You can build your field up all you like, but know that you won't be able to break my formation." Malf casually stated.
"We'll see who's talking after this!" SengokuQueen replied. "I activate the effect of both Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan's in my hand. As I control a 'Six Samurai' monster, I can Special Summon both of them from my hand to my field." Soon, two samurais with dark blue armor appeared on her field. Both samurai's masks did not come with the helmet. Both of them had long black hair on their sides, and each one wielded a katana.
Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan ATK: 1800 DEF: 500 LV: 4
Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan ATK: 1800 DEF: 500 LV: 4
Temple of the Six BC: 4 + (1 + 1) = 6
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2700 – (100 X 2) = 2500
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 2100 – (100 X 2) = 1900
Gateway of the Six BC: 2 + (2 X 2) = 6
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1700 + (100 X 6) = 2300
"I tune the Level 1 Secret Six Samurai – Fuma with the Level 4 Kizaru!" A bolt of crimson lightning struck SengokuQueen as the world greyed out and her two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one dark-blue and one black, appeared before turning blue and merging. Five blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "1 + 4" 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 appeared on SengokuQueen's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Battle Shogun pointed to. He 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 LV: 5
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 1 + 1 = 2
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 2300 + (100 X 4) = 2700
Temple of the Six BC: 6 + 1 = 7
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2500 – 100 = 2400
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 1900 – 100 = 1800
Gateway of the Six BC: 6 + 2 = 8
"I overlay my two Level 4 Legendary Six Samurai - Kizans together!" A galaxy portal appeared behind SengokuQueen. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Both copies of Kizan turned into streams of black energy that entered the portal, where a pillar of light soon erupted from its center.
"Like a shadow in the darkness, strike down the unjust with your blade and bring them to justice!" SengokuQueen chanted. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! Shadow of the Six Samurai!" 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
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 2 + 1 = 3
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 2700 + (100 X 3) = 3000
Temple of the Six BC: 7 + 1 = 8
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2500 – 100 = 2400
Darkscourge Assassin ATK: 1900 – 100 = 1800
Gateway of the Six BC: 8 + 2 = 10
"I activate Gateway of the Six's effect. By removing 'Bushido' counters, I can activate one of three effects. I remove two counters to activate the first effect, which lets me target one 'Shien' or 'Six Samurai' monster on my field, and increase its attack points by 500 until the end of this turn. I target Battle Shogun!" Two green crests went out of Gateway of the Six, which went into Battle Shogun as his strength increased.
Gateway of the Six BC: 10 – 2 = 8
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 3000 – (100 X 2) = 2800
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300
"Battle!" SengokuQueen declared. "Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai attacks Darkscourge Assassin!"
"What a naïve girl, you are." Malf reprimanded SengokuQueen. "If a monster Darkscourge Infectors points to battles a monster you control, not only are your monster's attack and defense points halved, its effects are negated until the end of the damage step." As if on cue, tendrils burst out of the ground that pierced Battle Shogun, which siphoned his strength.
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 3 – 3 = 0
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: (3300 / 2) - 300 = 1350
"Then it's a good thing I have this! I activate Shadow of the Six Samurai's effect!" SengokuQueen countered. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can detach one Overlay Unit to target a 'Six Samurai' monster on my field that has less than 2000 attack points, and make its original attack points 2000 until the end of this turn!"
"What?" Malf gasped out of surprise. Unfortunately, he didn't have a Hand Trap in his hand. If Malf had it, he could have negated Shadow of the Six Samurai's effect.
"I target Battle Shogun!" One of the Overlay Units went into Shadow of the Six Samurai's blade, which caused him and Battle Shogun to glow with energy as the latter's strength increased.
Shadow of the Six Samurai OU: 2 – 1 = 1
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 1350 + 1000 = 2350
Battle Shogun then charged forward towards Assassin, intent on cutting Assassin down to size.
"Counter-Trap, activate! Darkscourge Hallucination!" Malf interrupted. "When a monster you control declares an attack while I control a 'Darkscourge' monster-."
"No, you don't! I activate Shi En's effect!" SengokuQueen interjected. "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 Hallucination into pieces. "Do it, Battle Shogun!" With the way clear, Battle Shogun slashed Assassin with his blade, which caused Malf to wince as his life points dropped.
Malf: 4000 – 550 = 3450 LP
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 0 + 3 = 3
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: (2350 X 2) + 300 = 5000
"All that effort, just to inflict 550 points of damage to me." Malf commented. "Still, I'll acknowledge that, compared to your master, who had power, you have flexibility."
SengokuQueen grit her teeth. If it weren't for Darkscourge Infectors and Comet, she could have attacked Star Core with either Shi En or Shadow of the Six Samurai and inflict massive damage. But there was only one thing she can do to prepare for what will come next. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means the effects of both Shadow of the Six Samurai and Gateway of the Six end." As if on cue, Battle Shogun was surrounded in a green aura, which decreased his strength.
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 5000 – 1000 – 500 - 200 = 3300
"My turn! I draw!" Malf said, as he drew the top card of his deck.
"Trap card, activate! Six Strike – Thunder Blast!" SengokuQueen suddenly interrupted. "By removing a 'Bushido' counter on my field, I can activate one of two effects. I remove one 'Bushido' counter from Battle Shogun to activate the second effect, which lets me target a card on your field and return it to your hand."
"You can't target my 'Darkscourge' Link monsters due to Star Core's effect." Malf reminded SengokuQueen, who smirked back in response.
"You're right, I can't, but your other cards are a different story. I target Darkscourge Infectors and return it to your hand!"
"What?"
As if on cue, a green crest went into Thunder Blast, which caused a burst of thunder to fire out of the card before hitting Infectors. As a result, it returned to Malf's hand.
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai BC: 3 – 1 = 2
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 3300 – 100 = 3200
"When Infectors leaves the field, all monsters it points to are banished." Malf said, as Draco Master turned into particles. "I understand why you did what you did just now. You don't want to hurt Dancho's son, who bears a great resemblance to Draco Master."
"I won't let you use Dancho's son for your own games!" SengokuQueen reiterated. "Win with your own strength, not with the strength you've stolen from others!"
Malf, upon hearing this, laughed. "You're mistaken, SengokuQueen. The strength I obtained from the fallen opponents wasn't just stolen. It was ripped out of them and combined with my own. So in essence, their strength and ace monsters are mine."
"You...!" SengokuQueen grit her teeth in anger. Hearing that response made SengokuQueen more determined to stop Malf not just to avenge her master, but to avenge all the opponents he put in the hospital as well. Who would create a monster like Malf? Whoever did must be far worse than him, and SengokuQueen made a mental note to pursue and defeat Malf's master once her duel against him was finished.
"Appear, the circuit of the rampant plague!" A Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are normally one 'Darkscourge' monster. However, if I would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from Star Core or Generator equal to that monster's Link rating, and treat it as a Link Summon! I remove one of Generator's 'Darkscourge' counters and set it into the Link Markers!" One of the three purple orbiting orbs went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 3 – 1 = 2
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Darkscourge Creeper!" A black-skinned creature with a triangular head appeared on Malf's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. The creature had a single eye on its face, along with a black star emblem. Each of its hands were large, which had claw-like fingers.
Darkscourge Creeper ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️
Darkscourge Creeper ATK: (1000 + 300) – (100 X 8) = 500
"When Creeper is Link Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Darkscourge' monster from my Graveyard or banished zone to my field." Malf continued. "Return from my banished zone, Draco Master!" At Malf's command, Draco Master reappeared on his field, only in the middle Main Monster Zone.
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2800 LINK-3 ↙️⬇️↘️
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: (2800 + 300) – (100 X 8) = 2300
"Damn you!" SengokuQueen snarled. Just when she got Draco Master out of the way, Malf managed to bring him back and ensnare him under his control. What's more, since Draco Master pointed to a Spell & Trap card zone, Infectors would most certainly be coming back.
"And just like before, I activate the Link Spell card, Darkscourge Infectors!" Darkscourge Infectors appeared in the middle Spell & Trap card zone Draco Master pointed to.
Darkscourge Infectors ↖️⬆️↗️
"I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Darkscourge Pestilence. This card lets me-."
"I won't let you!" SengokuQueen interrupted, having quickly looked up Pestilence's effects on her duel disk. "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 Pestilence into particles before returning to SengokuQueen's side.
"Not wise, SengokuQueen. Because when Pestilence is destroyed by a card effect, I can target a monster you control and negate its effects until the end of this turn." Malf replied. "I target Shadow of the Six Samurai!" Soon, purple particles fired out of Pestilence and went into Shadow of the Six Samurai, who groaned in pain as his effects were negated. "I activate the Spell card, Darkscourge Spawning. As I control Star Core, I can Special Summon two 'Darkscourge Satellmite' tokens to my field in defense position. Now come, two copies of Darkscourge Satellmite!" Soon, two balls with four spider legs and red eyes appeared on Malf's field in defense position. On each of their faces was a black star emblem.
Darkscourge Satellmite ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1
Darkscourge Satellmite ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1
Darkscourge Satellmite ATK: 0 + 300 = 300 DEF: 0 + 300 = 300
Darkscourge Satellmite ATK: 0 + 300 = 300 DEF: 0 + 300 = 300
Darkscourge Satellmite ATK: 300 – (100 X 8) = 0 DEF: 300 – (100 X 8) = 0
"Appear for a second time! The circuit of the rampant plague!" A second Link Portal appeared above Malf. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Darkscourge' monsters. Like before, if I would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from Star Core or Generator equal to that monster's Link rating, and treat it as a Link Summon! This time, I set the Link 1 Darkscourge Creeper, and both Satellmite tokens into the Link Markers!" Creeper went into the top arrowhead, one Satellmite token went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and the other went into the bottom arrowhead, turning all three of them red.
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Darkscourge Blade Ogre!" A muscular ogre in a black jumpsuit who wore dark-blue armor with red, pulsing veins on his shoulders and legs, along with a tattered cape that hung from his shoulders appeared on Malf's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. At the center of his chest was a black star emblem, along with red, pulsing veins. In his hands, he carried a massive, double-sided black blade.
Darkscourge Blade Ogre ATK: 2600 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️⬇️
Darkscourge Blade Ogre ATK: (2600 + 300) – (100 X 8) = 2100
"In addition, I activate Draco Master's effect. Once per turn, I can banish cards your control up to the number of 'Darkscourge' Link monsters in my Graveyard."
"Tch!" SengokuQueen narrowed her eyes out of fury. That did not sound good, and in her mind, she had a good guess on which cards Malf would choose for Draco Master's effect.
"I have Assassin and Creeper in my Graveyard, which means I can banish up to two cards on your field!" Malf summed up. "I banish Temple of the Six and Gateway of the Six! Contagious Outbreak!" Draco Master charged a ball of purple energy before firing it at SengokuQueen's field, which split into two misty, purple dragons that tore apart both Temple of the Six and Gateway of the Six. "With both cards gone, my monsters regain their strength, whereas your Battle Shogun loses a lot of attack points." As if on cue, a purple aura surrounded Star Core, Draco Master, and Blade Ogre, which restored their strength to normal. On the other hand, Battle Shogun groaned in pain as his strength decreased.
Darkscourge Blade Ogre ATK: 2100 + 800 = 2900
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 2300 + 800 = 3100
Darkscourge Star Core ATK: 0 + 300 = 300 DEF: 0 + 300 = 300
Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai ATK: 3200 – (100 X 20) = 1200
"I activate Generator's second effect. Once per turn, if I control a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can target that monster and shuffle cards into my deck equal to that monster's Link rating. By doing so, I can draw the same number of cards from my deck and then place 'Darkscourge' counters on this card equal to the number of cards I drew with this effect! I target Blade Ogre, and shuffle Pestilence, Repellence, and Hallucination into my deck, and draw!" Three cards popped out of Malf's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled into his deck. He then drew the top three cards of his deck, much to SengokuQueen's annoyance. Soon after, three orbs orbited around Generator.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 2 + 3 = 5
"Appear, for a third time! The circuit of the rampant plague!" Malf declared, as a third Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Darkscourge' monsters. Like before, if I would Link Summon a 'Darkscourge' Link monster, I can remove 'Darkscourge' counters from Star Core or Generator equal to that monster's Link rating, and treat it as a Link Summon! I remove three of Generator's 'Darkscourge' counters and set it into the Link Markers!" Three of the five purple orbiting orbs went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 5 – 3 = 2
"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Darkscourge Solid Ogre!" A muscular ogre wearing light-purple, dark-purple, and red armor with large gauntlets on his fists appeared on Malf's field in the Main Monster Zone Blade Ogre pointed to, as well as at Infectors' right marker. As a result, Blade Ogre and Solid Ogre were co-linked with one another. On each of Solid Ogre's gauntlets, as well on his head, was a black star emblem.
Darkscourge Solid Ogre ATK: 2600 LINK-3 ⬅️⬆️⬇️
Darkscourge Solid Ogre ATK: 2600 + 300 = 2900
"Blade Ogre gains 400 attack points for every monster he points to. He's currently pointing to a total of two monsters, which means he gains 800 attack points." Malf stated, as a purple aura surrounded Blade Ogre, which increased his strength.
Darkscourge Blade Ogre ATK: 2900 + (400 X 2) = 3700
Just when I thought I got Malf on the ropes, he manages to continue building his field as if nothing happened, SengokuQueen cursed in her mind. She had three monsters and a face-down card on her field. With Temple of the Six and Gateway of the Six gone, not only did Malf's monsters regain their strength, she also lost several options to maintain control of the duel.
"I summon Darkscourge Stonk from my hand to my field." A purple cloud with cloud-like arms appeared on Malf's field. It had red eyes, along with a black star emblem on its face.
Darkscourge Stonk ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3
Darkscourge Stonk ATK: 1000 + 300 = 1300 DEF: 1000 + 300 = 1300
"I now activate Stonk's effect." Malf added. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can pay up to 1000 life points to decrease your monster's attack points by the same amount! As such, I pay 1000 life points to lower Shi En's attack points by 1000!" Stonk then fired purple smog at Shi En, which decreased his strength in seconds.
Malf: 3450 – 1000 = 2450 LP
Legendary Six Samurai – Shi En ATK: 2500 – 1000 = 1500
"Battle!" Malf declared. "Darkscourge Draco Master attacks Shadow of the Six Samurai! And when a 'Darkscourge' monster Infectors points to battles a monster you control, your monsters attack and defense points are halved, and its effects are negated until the end of the damage step!"
"...!" SengokuQueen's eyes widened as tendrils burst out of the ground before it pierced Shadow of the Six Samurai, which siphoned his strength.
Shadow of the Six Samurai ATK: 2500 / 2 = 1250 DEF: 400 / 2 = 200
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Six Strike – Surprise Attack! When a monster you control attacks a 'Six Samurai' monster on my field, I can negate the attack and end the Battle Phase! In addition, I can Special Summon up to two 'Six Samurai' monsters from my Graveyard in defense position!"
"What?!" Malf exclaimed, as Draco Master punched forward with his right fist, which released a misty purple dragon that ended up hitting a translucent barrier covering Shadow of the Six Samurai, causing it to turn to particles.
Shadow of the Six Samurai ATK: 1250 X 2 = 2500 DEF: 200 X 2 = 4
"Now return from my Graveyard, Mizuho and Shinai!" SengokuQueen said, as Mizuho and Shinai reappeared on her field in defense position.
Legendary Six Samurai – Mizuho ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 3
Legendary Six Samurai – Shinai ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3
"Fine. I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means Pestilence's effect ends." Malf concluded, as Shadow of the Six Samurai regained his strength.
"My turn! I draw!" SengokuQueen said, as she drew the top card of her deck. She only had one card in her hand, and five monsters on her field. Mizuho, Shinai, Battle Shogun, Shi En, and Shadow of the Six Samurai. If SengokuQueen planned and executed her moves, she can defeat Malf this turn.
"Continuous-Trap, activate! Darkscourge Breakdown!" Malf interrupted. "While I control-."
"Not so fast! I activate Shi En's effect!" SengokuQueen immediately shouted back. "Once per turn, during either of our turns-."
"That won't happen! I activate the effect of Darkscourge Airnapse from my hand." Malf countered. "When you activate a card effect, I can send this card from my hand to my Graveyard to not only negate the effect, but also banish it as well."
"What?!" SengokuQueen exclaimed, as Shi En turned into particles.
"And with Shi En out of the way, I can resume using Breakdown's effects." Malf continued. "While I control a 'Darkscourge' monster, you must attack with all monsters you control. What's more, any monsters that don't attack are destroyed, and you take damage equal to that monster's original attack points."
SengokuQueen narrowed her eyes. Such a card was deadly, especially how it forced her monsters to attack. Still, as long as SengokuQueen treaded carefully, she can still win this.
"Appear, the circuit of ancient honour!" A Link Portal appeared above SengokuQueen. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Six Samurai' monsters. I set Legendary Six Samurai – Mizuho, Shinai, and the Link 2 Battle Shogun of the Six Samurai into the Link Markers!" Mizuho went into the top arrowhead, Shinai went into the bottom arrowhead, and Battle Shogun went into the left and right arrowheads, turning all four of them red.
"Supreme samurai who vanquishes evil through numerous battles! Awaken, and slash my enemies with your blazing blades!" SengokuQueen chanted. "Link Summon! Rise forth! Link 4! The Six Samurai – Tajima!" A samurai who wore dark-purple armour all over his body, as well as white robes over it appeared on SengokuQueen's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Instead of a samurai helmet, he wore a white hood and face mask that covered his face, except for his eyes. Golden butterfly pieces were attached to his legs and forearms, as well as the center of his armour. In his right arm, he carried a short katana, and a katana was strapped to his left side.
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 2800 LINK-4 ⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️
"So that's your ultimate monster…" Malf muttered.
"When Tajima is Link Summoned, I can send cards you control to your Graveyard equal to the number of 'Six Samurai' monsters used for his Link Summon. What's more, he gains one 'Bushido' counter for each card sent to the Graveyard by this effect." SengokuQueen immediately told Malf, before a grin appeared on the former's face. "The best part is that you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation."
"What?!" Malf exclaimed.
"As three 'Six Samurai' monsters were used for Tajima's Link Summon, I can send a total of three cards to your Graveyard. I send Darkscourge Infectors, Breakdown, and Comet to your Graveyard, which means Tajima gains three 'Bushido' counters! Fiery Dissipation!" Tajima quickly charged forward with blinding speed and slashed Infectors, Breakdown, and Comet into particles, turning all three into particles as three green crests appeared on his armor.
The Six Samurai – Tajima BC: 0 + 3 = 3
Darkscourge Draco Master ATK: 3100 – 300 = 2800
Darkscourge Solid Ogre ATK: 2900 – 300 = 2600
Darkscourge Blade Ogre ATK: 3700 – 300 = 3400
"And with Infectors gone, Draco Master and Blade Ogre are banished!" SengokuQueen reminded Malf, as an explosion soon occurred on Malf's field. However, when the smoke cleared, SengokuQueen's jaw dropped upon seeing both Draco Master and Solid Ogre still on Malf's field.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 2 – 1 = 1
"How are your monsters still on your field?!"
"Because of Solid Ogre's effect." Malf calmly answered. "If a 'Darkscourge' monster would leave the field by battle or card effect, I can simply remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Star Core or Generator instead. As such, I sent Star Core from my field to my Graveyard. Though I'll admit, the fact that you got rid of my Link Spell card not once, but twice is impressive."
SengokuQueen narrowed her eyes. While she managed to get rid of some of Malf's cards, the fact that both Draco Master and Solid Ogre were still on his field irritated her quite a bit.
"I activate Stonk's effect. Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can pay up to 1000 life points to decrease your monster's attack points by the same amount! As such, I pay 1000 life points to lower Tajima's attack points by 1000!" Stonk then fired purple smog at Shi En, which decreased his strength in seconds.
Malf: 2450 – 1000 = 1450 LP
The Six Samurai - Tajima ATK: 2800 – 1000 = 1800
"In that case, I activate Shadow of the Six Samurai's effect!" SengokuQueen countered. "Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can detach one Overlay Unit to target a 'Six Samurai' monster on my field that has less than 2000 attack points, and make its original attack points 2000 until the end of this turn! I target Tajima!" One of the Overlay Units went into Shadow of the Six Samurai's blade, which caused him and Tajima to glow with energy as the latter's strength increased.
Shadow of the Six Samurai OU: 1 – 1 = 0
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 1800 + 200 = 2000
"I now activate Tajima's second effect. By removing a 'Bushido' counter, I can target one 'Six Samurai' monster on my field or in my Graveyard, and have him gain the targeted monster's attack points until the End Phase. I target Shadow of the Six Samurai, which means Tajima gains 2500 attack points!" Tajima was surrounded in a green aura that increased his strength.
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 2000 + 2500 = 4500
Almost there, Malf thought in his mind. All the effort that SengokuQueen put in for this final attack will be all for naught, just like what happened to Dancho.
"I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai from my hand to my field." SengokuQueen continued, as a ghostly spirit wearing purple samurai armor appeared on her field.
Spirit of the Six Samurai ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 3
"I activate Spirit's effect! Once per turn, I can equip him to once 'Six Samurai' monster on my field, and while it's equipped, the equipped monster gains 500 attack and defense points." Spirit of the Six Samurai then proceeded to surround Tajima, whose power increased within seconds.
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 4500 + 500 = 5000
SengokuQueen grinned. With Spirit's effect, if Tajima would be destroyed by battle or card effect, she can send it to the Graveyard instead, allowing her to evade whatever Malf had in mind. "Battle! The Six Samurai – Tajima attacks Darkscourge Stonk!" Tajima unsheathed his katana, ready to charge forward towards Stonk.
"I activate Solid Ogre's second effect. Once per turn, when a monster you control battles, I can choose the attack target." Malf calmly said. "I choose for you to attack Draco Master!" Solid Ogre fired waves of energy from his gauntlets, which hit Tajima and caused him to turn to Draco Master instead, much to SengokuQueen's horror. "Next, I activate Blade Ogre's effect. During either player's turn, I can remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Star Core or Generator to simply banish a card on your field, and you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation. I remove one 'Darkscourge' counter from Generator to banish Spirit of the Six Samurai!" The purple orb orbiting around Generator went into Blade Ogre's black blade, who proceeded to spin it in front of him before it released a wave of energy that hit Spirit of the Six Samurai, which turned into particles.
Darkscourge Generator DSC: 1 – 1 = 0
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 5000 – 500 = 4500
"Will you continue with your attack and hurt Dancho's son, Kataru?" Malf grinned after taunting SengokuQueen.
"I..." SengokuQueen couldn't speak. She didn't want to attack the monster that resembled Kataru, Dancho's own son, which was why she wanted to send him to the Graveyard by other methods instead of battle.
"You don't have a choice! Trap card, activate! Darkscourge Infection!" The card showed an infected solider captured and strapped to a table, having turned berserk and trying to break free from his restraints to attack the Necromancers nearby. "This card lets me target a monster you control and make it attack. If it doesn't attack, it's sent to the Graveyard, and you take damage equal to its attack points! The best part is that your monster loses attack points equal to the 'Darkscourge' monster it battles until the end of the damage step! I target Tajima!" Soon, Tajima was surrounded in purple particles, which resulted in red veins spreading through his body as he groaned in pain.
"Tajima, don't attack! Don't hurt Kataru!" SengokuQueen pleaded, as Tajima tried to stop his body from moving. It sadly didn't work at all, and Tajima proceeded to charge at Draco Master against his will.
"Since Draco Master has 2800 attack points, Tajima loses 2800 attack points." Malf said, as Tajima's strength was depleted even more.
The Six Samurai – Tajima ATK: 4500 – 2800 = 1700
"Damn you, Malf! You wretch!" SengokuQueen shouted, tears falling from her eyes.
"As my lord's personal enforcer, I will ensure that his dream is realized, no matter how many opponents must fall for that to happen." Malf calmly proclaimed, as his right arm glowed red. "I activate my Skill, Delusional Heartbeat!" He then launched his right arm like a weapon towards Tajima, touching his chest before returning to its owner. As a result, a transparent, bloody mark appeared on Tajima's chest before dissipating. He then opened his right palm, which showed a mirror image of Tajima's heart.
"A Skill during a Master Duel?!" SengokuQueen exclaimed out of shock.
"Yes. It's an ability I've recently gained." Malf confirmed. "Once per duel, when I have 2000 life points or less, I can target one monster you control and place one 'Malady' counter on it. If a 'Darkscourge' monster on my field destroys it by battle, I WIN THE DUEL!"
The Six Samurai – Tajima MC: 0 + 1 = 1
"Stop the attack, Tajima! Stop before it's too late!" SengokuQueen pleaded for a second time, panic evident in her tone.
"CHECKMATE! YOU LOSE!" Malf triumphantly announced, as he squeezed his right hand and crushed the mirror image of Tajima's heart. Upon crushing it, a massive explosion occurred, which froze SengokuQueen in place as her life points dropped.
All the way to zero.
SengokuQueen: 4000 – 4000 = 0
Bloody holes appeared on the left side of SengokuQueen's chest, which had traces of blood flowing out of it. Blood also fell down from the left side of her lips, who didn't react to it because of the frozen and blank expression on her face.
With the duel over, Malf charged forward and pierced his right arm into SengokuQueen's chest, grabbing her heart before ripping it out of her body. She then turned into particles as Malf ate the heart in his hand.
Soon, his body began glowing, which caused Malf to have a triumphant grin on his face. "Yes! With this heart, I will finally-!"
BA-BUMP!
"GAAAAH!" Malf screamed, as pain raced through his body, which caused him to fall on one knee. What was going on? Shouldn't Malf be evolving now? It was as though something was delaying his evolution into his perfect form. Soon, charred pieces of purple goo appeared from above, where they went to Malf's location. Picking up one of the pieces, he then grit his teeth. The only way this could happen was... "Someone must have killed themselves before the Another Virus could be activated..." His eyes then widened upon realizing who was responsible. "Ace, you traitor! Damn you!"
Suddenly, Malf's duel disk beeped, which caused him to press a button on it. A screen popped up afterwards, which showed Revolver and Specter heading over to the designated location. Damn it, he thought. With the Hanoi speeding over to the location where Malf wanted them to be at, he didn't have time to find and kill Ace for such a transgression. After Malf pressed a few more buttons on his duel disk, he jumped on his duel board and sped away to the designated location.
At least he'd be able to punish the Hanoi for their sins.
And it was a good idea Malf had a contingency plan in place as well. For one way or another, he was going to achieve his Perfect form.
Meanwhile, in another area of the network...
SLICE!
Azrael cut down another of SOL Technologies' AIs to pieces, seeing no point in dueling them. And even if one of the AIs did duel him, they ended up in pieces within a single turn. It showed how much of a superior duelist Azrael was compared to SOL Technologies' little toys. No one was going to stand in Azrael's way of getting the data found in the dark vault. Or to sum it up, his inheritance.
"These AIs are nothing more than just pests in our path." Wraith commented out of annoyance, as he fired the blue-mirage blades that appeared in his sides, which pierced a few more AIs.
"If anything, SOL Technologies is just wasting its resources in trying to stop someone like me." Azrael said, before he dodged to the side and slashed another AI horizontally, which destroyed it in pieces. Suddenly, his duel disk beeped, which got Azrael and Wraith's attention.
"A message? Maybe it's just Windy wanting to brag his kills to us."
"I doubt that, Wraith." Azrael replied, before he pressed a button on his duel disk. He didn't expect anyone to contact him during the mission... unless it was urgent. Soon, a screen popped up, which showed Malf. "Yes?"
"I beg your pardon for interrupting you, my lord, but Ace betrayed us." Malf reported.
"Is that so?" Azrael pressed another button on his duel disk, which would release the Another Virus and kill Ace from the inside out. Unfortunately, it did nothing.
"This can't be!" Wraith stated. "The Another Virus should have-."
"Ace blew himself up, as well as any remains of the Another Virus in him." Malf explained. "His real body most likely exploded as well."
"Damn it." Azrael seethed. As if on cue, a screen then popped up on Azrael's duel disk, which showed Ace.
"If you're watching this, Azrael, it means I'm dead." Ace began speaking. "Why, may you ask? Well, it's because I knew for a long time that I'll be die, and there's no way I'll give you the satisfaction of killing me. And to truly be a thorn in your ass, upon my death, I've initiated something called the Gambit Protocol. You know the coordinated chaos you wanted me to launch in the real world? Well, thanks to my troops, the Gambit Protocol activates all bombs that've been set. Suicide vests, time bombs, grenades, you name it. I've anted up the chaos you so wanted to the point where it can no longer be controlled. Even though I'm dead, you'll forever live with the knowledge that you couldn't stop your enslaved servant from rebelling, nor stop him from throwing a monkey wrench into your carefully laid-out plans. The best two parts? One: I get away with it. Two: There's nothing you can do about it! SEE YOU IN HELL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Azrael grit his teeth in furious anger as the message fizzled out. How could he not see that coming?! To think that his own lackey had the audacity to betray him at a time like this! And to make matters worse, Ace helped Raguel and the others just before his death!
"I can't believe Ace actually pulled one over us. Even I didn't see it coming." Wraith furiously admitted.
"Neither did I, Wraith." Azrael agreed, before he pressed another button. Soon, another screen popped up, which showed Windy.
"Hello!" Windy greeted Azrael.
"Windy, Ace betrayed us, and has upped the chaos to the point where it can no longer be controlled." Azrael began speaking, only for Windy to laugh in response.
"Betray us, you say? Seems you couldn't keep a tight leash on your human servant, after all." Windy taunted with glee.
"You said you wanted to punish the humans for their actions, right? Well, I have a request. Kill all of Ace's troops, including the ones disguised as Hanoi grunts."
Windy's eye then widened out of surprise. "Are you sure? Do note that collateral damage is unavoidable."
"As long as you don't harm Raguel or his allies, nor the sensitive places I forbade you from attacking, you can unleash all the chaos you want." Azrael replied.
"And should you break this rule, you know what will happen to you, right?" Wraith reminded Windy, which made him narrow his eye.
"Yes, yes. I'm well aware." Windy responded. "While I'll certainly fulfil your request, the Hanoi are coming, and I have to meet up with Malf to watch the show. See you later!" He then hung up on Azrael, as indicated by the screen disappearing.
"Ensure everything's set up for when the Hanoi arrive." Azrael ordered Malf, who bowed before signing off. Seeing more of SOL Technologies' AIs, Azrael proceeded to slice down each and every single one of them in fury, turning each one into nothing more than pieces of junk. He made a mental note to destroy Alpha Branch once this whole mess was over.
Eventually, Azrael made it to the entrance of the dark vault, which was indicated by the massive, titanium door up ahead. However, guarding the door was Stregone and Phoenix, as if they anticipated Azrael's arrival.
"Well, well, well, it seems there's some unexpected guests." Wraith commented.
"Yes, it appears there are." Azrael agreed, as he walked towards Stregone and Phoenix before stopping. "Both of you, stand aside. You have no idea what's behind that door."
"Not gonna happen, Azrael. Or should I call you, Yukage." Stregone responded, which made both Azrael and Wraith widen their eyes out of shock as a result.
"H-H-How?"
"Take that ridiculous mask off right now." Stregone ordered with such firmness that it made Phoenix slightly gasp. He made a mental note not to anger Stregone, as otherwise, he'd be under the receiving end of that firm tone.
Complying with Stregone's request, Azrael took off his mask, which showed his dark-blue colored eyes. "I'm impressed that the both of you already know my identity. Though I need to know: How do you already have this information?"
"Raguel told us a few days ago." Phoenix answered, before Stregone could respond.
Flashback: A few days earlier, at the Den City Shelter...
"Woah. That is just messed up, dude."
"Yeah, it's certainly messed up."
This exchange of words was said between Miles and Yuhiro, where they, along with Quinton, were in a bedroom. Yuhiro was sitting on the bed, with Quinton beside him, while Miles sat down on a nearby chair. A few days after Yuhiro found out the truth about himself from the Project: VIII files, he came over to visit the Den City Shelter, wanting to speak to Miles and Quinton alone. There, he told them about the disturbing information he found out about himself, and how he came from a family whose actions led to the Lost Incident and Project: Apotheosis. Yuhiro also told Miles and Quinton that Azrael was his brother, or as he was known in the real world as, Yukage Furutani. The same Azrael whose actions resulted in Miles' family being torn apart. The same Azrael who was one of the eight Lost Incident victims.
"The information you told us doesn't change our perception of you, Yuhiro." Quinton spoke up. "I mean, come on. You've made a great impact on this shelter and the individuals inside it through your good-hearted nature, Yuhiro. Trust me when I say this: You're no villain."
"I appreciate the reassurance, Quinton." Yuhiro replied. "Still, it doesn't change what happened."
"True, but you are your own individual, Yuhiro. Not your parents or your hybrid brother." Quinton countered.
"I'm with Quinton, Yuhiro. Actions speak louder than words, and the actions you showed in the years we've known you are good-natured to the core." Miles added.
"You see, Yuhiro? Quinton and Miles aren't going to abandon you just because of recent information." Herald told Yuhiro.
"Alright, I believe you, Herald." Yuhiro responded, before he turned to Quinton and Miles. "Thanks, guys. For being in my life."
"We're not going to walk out on you just because of what we learned, Yuhiro." Quinton said. "I know a good person when I see them, after all."
"Is it one of your magic tricks as the Sorcerer of LINK VRAINS, Quinton?" Yuhiro jokingly asked, which caused everyone in the room to laugh.
"I'm not one to tell, Yuhiro. You of all people know that."
The room was filled with laughter for a few seconds before it settled down.
"So this Azrael. He must be powerful then as a duelist." Miles commented.
"He is, Miles." Herald agreed. "So powerful that he toyed around with Yuhiro before defeating him, even with only a few life points left."
"And before you say anything, no. I won't let you duel Azrael." Yuhiro reminded Miles.
"Hey, I know when to pick fights and when not to, and from what I've heard about this guy, I'm obviously not going to pick a fight with him." Miles responded.
"But someone else may have to one day, and it could be me." Quinton interjected, which got everyone's attention.
"You don't know that, Quinton." Miles said.
"I hear you, Miles. Still, it's better to be prepared for when that day comes than not be ready at all." Quinton rebutted.
Yuhiro, upon hearing this, pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. "In that case, the two of you should look at the footage from my duel against Azrael, as well as his profile. It'll help you prepare should that day come."
Flashback End: Present Day...
"That's how we know who you really are." Stregone finished, which caused Azrael to smirk.
"I see. So my brother wanted to prepare you for when you'll encounter me." Azrael replied.
"I have a question for you, Azrael." Phoenix interrupted, which got Azrael's attention. "Why did you cause so much pain to my family? Did you have a grudge against my father or something?"
Azrael frowned in response. "I never had a personal grudge against your father, nor did I intend to harm him or his family. It was just the consequences of the actions of others, that is all."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, Raul and his followers planned on killing your dad and his followers in a much more... devastating manner. If it weren't for me, the casualties would be far worse."
"To put it in terms you'll understand, human, the deaths of innocents can't be avoided at times." Wraith finished. "What happened your mother is indeed tragic, but an acceptable loss. If anything, your mother's death prevented things from getting worse, don't you agree?"
Phoenix narrowed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts. Wraith did make sense with that counterpoint, as thanks to the death of Phoenix's mom, the Disbandment Armistice was established, and the fight between the Sons of Ajax and Nightlock Predators was put to an end. However, as a result of the Turf War and Raul's actions, it was broken, and being re-evaluated.
"That's enough talk." Stregone stated, as he took a step forward to confront Azrael. "Phoenix and I aren't letting you get to the dark vault, Azrael. So if you wish to pass..." He activated his duel disk. "...Then you'll have to defeat me in a duel."
"Stregone..." Phoenix muttered.
"Stay back, Phoenix! I will take care of him!" Stregone told Phoenix, which caused the latter to take a few steps back so he can watch the coming duel.
Azrael narrowed his eyes at Stregone. "If I'm being honest, I always wanted to duel the one who took care of my brother when I could not. In fact, you could say I'm thankful. Which is why I'll only say this once to the both of you: Log out of the network and return to the real world. Spare me the time of dealing with this."
Stregone glared back at Azrael. "Sorry, but I'll have to refuse that offer. Like I said before, I won't let you harm anymore people than you and the others already have, nor will I let you get into the dark vault!"
"Fine." Azrael then turned to Phoenix. "And what about you, child? Will you heed my warning?"
Phoenix shook his head. "I'm not leaving, either. Like Stregone, I won't let you hurt anymore people than you've already have."
"Well, Azrael. They've made their choice." Wraith said.
"They certainly have, Wraith." Azrael agreed, before he activated his duel disk and turned to Stregone. "Very well, Stregone. I accept your challenge. Show me your motivation."
"Let's duel!" Azrael and Stregone stated at the same time.
Azrael: 4000 LP
Stregone: 4000 LP
"I will go first, and show you the gap of power between us. My turn!" Azrael said. "I activate the Field Spell card, Cychaic Amphitheatre!" The card showed a massive, circular building, where roman citizens were seated inside, watching a performance done by female dancers with blond hair and wearing red and white dresses. In the largest seat was an abnormally fat man who had black eyes and grey skin. He had a black spiked crown on the top of his head, and a red cloth wrapped around his body and shoulder. In his right hand, he carried a long black sword. Beside him was a four-legged creature that had orange skin, along with uneven black stripes and white areas on its chest, neck, belly and inside of its legs. "While this card is on my field, my 'Cychaic' monsters gain 500 attack and defense points. What's more, they're unaffected by your monster effects."
Stregone frowned. While that was a little troublesome, he can use other cards to get past it.
"I summon Cychaic Caladrius from my hand to my field." A bird that had silver pieces of armour on its head and wings appeared on Azrael's field.
Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2
Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 + 500 = 1000 DEF: 500 + 500 = 1000
"Next, I activate Amphitheatre's second effect. By destroying a 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field." Azrael continued. "I destroy Caladrius on my field." After Caladrius turned into particles, a woman with blond hair and wearing a revealing red and white dress with long poofy sleeves, a transparent front and a leotard appeared on Azrael's field.
Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4
Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500
"Caladrius' effect now activates! As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can send one 'Cychaic' Spell or Trap card from my deck to my Graveyard to activate that card's effect."
"What?" Stregone gasped.
"That's just broken!" Phoenix protested.
"In the grand scheme of things, it matters little." Azrael boringly countered. "I send the Spell card, Cychaic Reinforcements from my deck to my Graveyard and activate it." A card popped out of his deck, which he took and sent to his Graveyard. "If I control a 'Cychaic' monster, I can Special Summon two 'Cychaic' monsters with different names from my deck. However, I can't Special Summon any monsters from my deck for the rest of this turn, except 'Cychaic' monsters." Two cards popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Be born, Cychaic Crocodile and Cychaic Slave!" Soon, two monsters appeared on his field in face-up defense position.
The first was a dark-green skinned crocodile with yellow eyes.
The second was a man who wore tattered clothing on his body. Strapped to his back was a large wine jar, which he struggled to carry.
Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 3
Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1
Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 800 + 500 = 1300
Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 + 500 = 900 DEF: 400 + 500 = 900
"Crocodile's effect! Once per turn, when it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck to my hand. I add Cychaic Clipeus from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand.
"Get ready, Stregone. A Link Summon is coming." Phoenix warned him.
"I know, Phoenix. I know." Stregone replied back, having thought of the same thing.
"Appear, the circuit of absolute power!" Azrael said, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cychaic' monsters. I set the Cychaic Dancer token, Crocodile, and Slave into the Link Markers!" The Dancer token went into the left arrowhead, Crocodile went into the top arrowhead, and Slave went into the right arrowhead, turning all three of them red in the process.
"Tyrannical ruler of Rome! Persecute your enemies, and make your subjects grovel at your feet!" Azrael chanted. "Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Cychaic Nero!" An abnormally fat man who had black eyes and grey skin that sat on a big floating throne appeared on Azrael's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He had a black spiked crown on the top of his head, and a red cloth wrapped around his body and shoulder. In his right hand, he carried a long black sword.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️⬆️➡️
Cychaic Nero ATK: 2300 + 500 = 2800
"Nero is the one who persecuted the Christians, correct?" Stregone correctly deduced.
"That's right." Azrael confirmed. "Slave's effect activates! As he was used to Link Summon a 'Cychaic' Link monster, I can Special Summon him right back to my field." Nero threw a chain into the Graveyard portal before dragging Slave right back to Azrael's field in defense position, who groaned in pain in response.
Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1
Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 + 500 = 900 DEF: 400 + 500 = 900
"In addition, Nero gains 300 attack points for every 'Cychaic' card I control. Since there's a total of three cards at the moment, Nero gains 900 attack points." Nero laughed as his strength increased.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 2800 + (300 X 3) = 3700
"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn. As there's two more cards on my field, Nero gains 600 more attack points." Azrael concluded, as Nero laughed once again before his strength increased.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 3700 + (300 X 2) = 4300
"Stregone, be careful." Phoenix said.
"Don't worry, Phoenix. I'll tread carefully." Stregone assured Phoenix, before he turned back to Azrael. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Spell card, Pendulum Call. By discarding a card from my hand, I can add two 'Magician' Pendulum monsters with different names from my deck to my hand. What's more, until the end of your next turn after this card resolves, 'Magician' cards in my Spell & Trap card zones can't be destroyed by card effects."
Azrael narrowed his eyes. That was certainly an interesting card, as now he can't destroy Stregone's Magician cards in his Spell & Trap card zones. Stregone's other cards, on the other hand, were a different story.
"You're thinking the same thing as I am, aren't you?" Wraith figured out.
"Yes." Azrael quietly agreed. "Let's see what Stregone will do next."
"I send Dragonpulse Magician from my hand to my Graveyard, and add White Wing Magician and Double Iris Magician from my deck to my hand!" Stregone announced, as he took a card in his hand and sent it to his Graveyard. Two cards then popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I use the Scale 1 Purple Poison Magician and the Scale 8 Black Fang Magician to set the Pendulum Scales!" Within seconds, two pillars of light appeared on Stregone's field.
In the pillar of light on Stregone's left was a magician wearing dark-green robes that went down from his stomach to his lower half. At the top half of his body, he wore purple robes, along with plating that had small red and yellow orbs. He wore a magician's hat that not only had a purple visor, but also had a pair of yellow horns on the back of it. His red eyes glowed as he swung the horned whip in his hand.
In the pillar of light on Stregone's right was a magician wearing purple and dark-green clothing, along with black pants. He had silver-armoured plating on his legs and forearms with purple orbs on them. His upper chest was covered by grey-armoured plating as well. An elegant cape attached to his back flowed behind him. On top of his head, he wore a purple magician's hat. In his left hand, he carried a unique staff with two spikes on it.
Purple Poison Magician Scale: 1
Black Fang Magician Scale: 8
"Swing, far Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! With the set Pendulum Scale, I can Special Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7 at the same time! Emerge, Double Iris Magician, White Wing Magician, and Xiangsheng Magician!" Within moments, a portal opened between the two pillars, where three lights emerged. The lights hit the field and then dissipated, revealing three monsters.
The first monster was a magician with red and black robes, as well as a circular plate on each of his shoulders that glowed blue. He wore a long red cape that flowed down his back, as well as a red magician's hat on top of his head. On his forearms were silver gauntlets with a blue jewel each. His red and blue eyes glowed as he swung his sword.
The second monster was a female magician with a pink-coloured bob cut, who wore a blue dress that had silver lines on the sides, as well as a light-blue jewel at the front. She wore blue, high-heel shoes, and also had silver rings strapped to her legs. She also wore a blue and white-coloured witch's cap on her head, which had two blue crystals on it. Strapped to her back was a pair of green-translucent wings that briefly glowed before dimming. In her hand, she carried a small scepter with blue crystals at the tip.
The third monster was a female magician who had magenta-coloured hair, who wore pink robes with orange armour on top of it. Green crystals were also present on the robe's front and sides. Covering her head was a pink hood that had a crystal swirl on it, which also covered her right eye, as if it was a scope. The pads of her armour on her shoulders and the back of her neck consisted of ridges that had silver lines on the sides. An orange ribbon flowed behind her back, which formed into a clover. In her hands was an ornate bow and arrow.
Double Iris Magician ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 8
White Wing Magician ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 1
Xiangsheng Magician ATK: 500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4 Scale: 8
"I now activate the Spell card, Pendulum Riches. If I Pendulum Summoned this turn, I can draw cards equal to the number of monsters that were Pendulum Summoned. As I Pendulum Summoned three monsters, I can draw the top three cards of my deck!" Stregone drew the top three cards of his deck.
"Appear, the circuit of sorcery!" Stregone declared, as a Link portal appeared in the sky above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more monsters, including a Spellcaster monster! I set Double Iris Magician, White Wing Magician, and Xiangsheng Magician into the Link Markers!" Double Iris Magician went into the bottom-left arrowhead, White Wing Magician went into the bottom arrowhead, and Xiangsheng Magician went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all three of them red in the process.
"The magician's queen shall grace the field with her radiance!" Stregone chanted. "Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians!" A woman wearing a long white dress and golden pieces of jewelry on her upper arms appeared on Stregone's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. She had very long blond hair with a golden piece of jewelry on the left side of her head. On her back was a crescent disc with four Spell counters. Her emerald eyes sparkled as she strung her bow, ready for battle.
Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians ATK: 1850 LINK-3 ↙️⬇️↘️
Yes! With Selene Link Summoned, not only does Stregone get Spell counters to bring his monsters back, he also has more options available for him, Phoenix thought in his mind.
"When Selene is Link Summoned, I can place Spell counters on her equal to the number of Spell cards on the field and in the Graveyards." Stregone told Azrael.
"Oh?" Azrael narrowed his eyes out of boredom. "In that case, I have Amphitheatre on my field, and Reinforcements in my Graveyard."
"I have Purple Poison Magician and Black Fang Magician on my field, and Pendulum Riches and Pendulum Call in my Graveyard. That means Selene gains a total of six Spell counters!" A total of six yellow Spell counters attached themselves to the crescent disc on Selene's back.
Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians SC: 0 + 6 = 6
"My expectations are high for you, Sorcerer of LINK VRAINS. Do try to not only meet them, but also show me your motivation as well." Azrael warned Stregone.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll show you my motivation, and go above and beyond your expectations!" Stregone replied. "Starting with this! I activate the Spell card, Extra Pendulum! This card lets me Pendulum Summon monsters from my Extra Deck!"
"Is that so?" Azrael muttered.
"With the set Pendulum Scale, I can Special Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7 at the same time! Emerge from my Extra Deck, Double Iris Magician, White Wing Magician, and Xiangsheng Magician!" Within moments, a portal opened between the two pillars, where three lights emerged. The lights hit the field and then dissipated, revealing Double Iris Magician, White Wing Magician, and Xiangsheng Magician, all three monsters in the Main Monster Zones Selene pointed to.
Double Iris Magician ATK: 1500 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 8
White Wing Magician ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 1
Xiangsheng Magician ATK: 500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4 Scale: 8
"I now tune the Level 4 White Wing Magician with the Level 4 Double Iris Magician!" A bolt of green lightning struck Stregone as the world greyed out and his two monsters turned into particles. Two rings, one light-blue and one red appeared before turning blue and merging. Eight blue rings stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "4 + 4" in front of them. The screen changed to "8" as light surged through the rings.
"Hero's blade that sets forth unyielding light!" Stregone chanted. "Here and now, awaken with a flash! Synchro Summon! Rise, Enlightenment Paladin!" A man with red eyes and brown hair appeared on Stregone's field in one of the three Main Monster Zones Selene pointed to. He wore white, black, and golden armor on his robes. Two white and red capes extended from his shoulders and waist, and two curved blades rested in each of his hands. His mouth and nose were covered by a white mask, and atop his hair, he wore a black, white, and gold hat.
Enlightenment Paladin ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8
"Since White Wing Magician was used as Synchro Material for a Synchro Summon, it's banished. But moving that aside, I activate Enlightenment Paladin's effect. When he's Synchro Summoned using a 'Magician' Pendulum monster as material, I can add a Spell card from my Graveyard to my hand. I add Extra Pendulum from my Graveyard to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand.
"Next, I activate Selene's effect. Once per turn, I can remove three Spell counters from anywhere on the field to Special Summon one Spellcaster monster from my hand or Graveyard to a Main Monster Zone she points to." Stregone added. "I remove three of Selene's Spell counters to Special Summon Dragonpulse Magician from my Graveyard to my field!" Three of Selene's Spell counters flew upwards and to one of the Main Monster Zones behind her. Forming a portal, an early-teenage male magician wearing white robes and black pants appeared on Stregone's field in the third and final Main Monster Zone Selene pointed to.
Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians SC: 6 – 3 = 3
Dragonpulse Magician ATK: 1800 DEF: 900 LV: 4 Scale: 1
"I overlay the Level 4 Xiangsheng Magician with the Level 4 Dragonpulse Magician!" A galaxy portal appeared behind Stregone. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Xiangsheng Magician and Dragonpulse Magician turned into orange and blue streams of energy that went into the portal, where a pillar of light erupted from the center.
"Magician who governs the balance of time and space! Descend now, and aid me in this fight!" Stregone chanted. "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! Timestar Magician!" A magician with light-orange hair who wore dark-blue robes, a white and dark-purple cape, along with gold-like elements on waist, left shoulder, and the top of his cap appeared on Stregone's field in the Main Monster Zone Selene pointed to. Chrome plating was on his left leg, as well as on his left arm, which both had blue orbs on them. In his right hand, he carried a double-bladed staff, with a massive white circle at the center. On his left arm was a disk that fired out a gold, clock-like blade.
Timestar Magician ATK: 2400 DEF: 1200 RNK: 4 OU: 2
"And now you Xyz Summoned." Azrael muttered. I want to see how he'll react when, after all of his careful building, a curveball is thrown at him, he thought in his mind.
"I activate Timestar Magician's effect. Once per turn, I can detach one Overlay Unit from him to add one Dark Spellcaster monster from my deck, Graveyard, or face up from my Extra Deck to my hand. I add Double Iris Magician from my Extra Deck to my hand!" One of the orbiting Overlay Units went into Timestar Magician's staff, which glowed with light as a card popped out of Stregone's Extra Deck before he took it and added it to his hand.
Timestar Magician OU: 2 – 1 = 1
"Next, I activate Black Fang Magician's Pendulum effect." Stregone added. "Once per turn, I can target one face-up monster you control and halve its attack points until the end of this turn before destroying him as a result."
"But thanks to Pendulum Call, Black Fang Magician's effect won't destroy himself, which means Stregone can use it again on his next turn!" Phoenix happily realized, knowing that Stregone had the upper hand in this duel.
"I target Nero!" Black Fang Magician pointed his staff at Nero, ready to fire energy from it and halve his strength.
Azrael, on the other hand, smirked. "Duelists these days think they control the duel to the point where they're unaware of the unknown. Do you really think I haven't taken this scenario into account?"
"What?!" Stregone exclaimed, with Phoenix widening his eyes as well.
"Continuous-Trap, activate! Cychaic Vulcanalia!" The card showed numerous roman citizens prostrating themselves in front of a statue of the Roman God Vulcan. Leading the worship were two roman priests, along with Lucius Tiberius, who raised his sword high into the air out of respect for Vulcan. "While this card is on my field, my 'Cychaic' cards are unaffected by your Spell and Trap effects."
Stregone grit his teeth. As Vulcanalia was on Azrael's field, that meant Black Fang Magician's effect resolved without doing anything.
"I also activate Vulcanalia's second effect. Once per turn, I can destroy a 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to activate one of two effects. I destroy Slave on my field to activate the first effect, which lets me gain 400 life points." Slave was turned into fiery particles that surrounded Azrael, which increased his life points.
Azrael: 4000 + 400 = 4400 LP
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4300 – 300 = 4000
"Slave's effect! As he was destroyed by a card effect, one 'Cychaic' monster I control gains 400 attack and defense points until the end of this turn." Azrael added. "I choose Nero." Nero was surrounded in a red aura that powered him up further.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4000 + 400 = 4400
If I use Purple Poison Magician's effect, Enlightenment Paladin will still be weaker than Nero, Stregone observed in his mind. But with one of the cards in my hand, that will change very soon. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Solidarity. Since I only have one type of monster in my Graveyard, all monsters I control that share the same type of monster gain 800 attack points!" Selene, Enlightenment Paladin, and Timestar Magician let out a shout as their strength increased.
Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians ATK: 1850 + 800 = 2650
Enlightenment Paladin ATK: 2500 + 800 = 3300
Timestar Magician ATK: 2400 + 800 = 3200
"Battle!" Stregone declared. "Enlightenment Paladin attacks Cychaic Nero! At this point, I activate the Pendulum effect of Purple Poison Magician in my Pendulum zone. When a Dark Spellcaster monster I control battles, I can increase that monster's attack points by 1200 until the end of the damage step in exchange of normally destroying him. But thanks to Pendulum Call, he isn't destroyed." Purple Poison Magician let out a laugh as he fired a blast of purple energy from his whip, which hit Enlightenment Paladin before increasing his strength.
Enlightenment Paladin ATK: 3300 + 1200 = 4500
"Chronos Configuration!" Enlightenment Paladin charged forward, intent on destroying Nero.
"I activate the Trap card, Cychaic Clipeus, and equip it onto Nero!" Azrael immediately interrupted, as he nonchalantly gestured to his field. The card showed a circular, silver shield with pieces of iron on it. At the center of the shield was a face of a man with a beard on it. Within seconds, Clipeus began orbiting itself around Nero. "While this card is equipped to a 'Cychaic' monster, it can't be destroyed by battle or your card effects."
"What's more, any battle damage I would have taken when the equipped monster battles is reduced to zero!" Wraith finished, as Enlightenment Paladin attempted to strike Nero with the curved blades in his hands. However, the blades impacted Clipeus instead, with Nero pushing Enlightenment Paladin off afterwards. In addition, Enlightenment Paladin's attack points returned to normal, as the damage step was over.
Enlightenment Paladin ATK: 4500 – 1200 = 3300
"Damn it. And Stregone was close too..." Phoenix muttered, having narrowed his eyes at what he just saw.
Stregone, on the other hand, grit his teeth. Thanks to Clipeus, there was no point in Stregone having his other monsters attack. In addition, with Vulcanalia on Azrael's field, Stregone can't use Black Fang Magician's Pendulum effect to halve Nero's attack points. That meant there was only one thing he can do. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Slave's effect ends, and Nero's attack points return to normal." As if on cue, a red aura surrounded Nero, which slightly decreased his strength.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4400 – 400 = 4000
"My turn! I draw!" Azrael said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "That was a strong attempt, Stregone. Still, after all that setup, it resulted in no setbacks for me."
"And the duel's just started, so it only makes sense for it to continue." Wraith pointed out.
"You're right. Raguel told me how strong you were, and I expected you to obviously survive that." Stregone agreed. "Still, just as you said, the duel's just started, and it will only end after all the cards have been played."
Azrael nodded back before he gestured to his field. "I activate Nero's effect. Once per turn, by destroying a 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field, I can take control of one monster you control, and treat it as a 'Cychaic' monster until the end of this turn. I destroy Elephantaur in my hand, and take control of Selene! Tyrant's Subjugation!" After one of the cards in Azrael's hand turned into particles, they went into Nero's fist, who proceeded to point it at Selene. Upon doing so, Selene was surrounded in a purple aura that caused her to go over to Azrael's field, much to Stregone's horror. "And since Selene is now a 'Cychaic' monster, she gains the attack boost from Amphitheatre."
Selene, Queen of the Master Magicians ATK: 2650 + 500 = 3150
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4000 + 300 = 4300
"Elephantaur's effect now activates. As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can shuffle one card on your field back into your deck. I shuffle Black Fang Magician back into your deck!" Black Fang Magician then turned into particles within seconds, which made Stregone grit his teeth in annoyance. Despite the fact that Pendulum Call prevented his 'Magician' cards in the Spell & Trap card zones from being destroyed by card effects, it didn't prevent the other methods in getting rid of them.
"Next, I activate Amphitheatre's effect once again." Azrael continued. "Once per turn, I can destroy a 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand to Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field. I destroy Selene on my field, which is being treated as a 'Cychaic' monster, on my field." After Selene turned into particles, another Dancer token appeared on Azrael's field.
Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 4
Cychaic Dancer ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500
"Judging from what you did just now, you plan on cutting off the cards I need to accumulate resources, correct?" Stregone correctly figured out.
"That's correct, human." Wraith confirmed. "All duelists need to gather cards for them to execute their strategies."
"Plus, in war, resources are required. So by cutting them off from my enemies, it brings them closer to defeat." Azrael added.
Phoenix frowned. As much as he didn't want to admit it, if he were in Azrael's position, he'd go after preventing Stregone from gathering the cards needed for his strategies too. Still, Phoenix had faith that Stregone will pull through and win the duel.
"I activate the Spell card, Cychaic Tribute. By destroying a 'Cychaic' card on my field, I can draw the top two cards of my deck. I destroy the Dancer token on my field, and draw!" After the Dancer token turned into particles, Azrael drew the top two cards of his deck.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4300 – 300 = 4000
"Yup. You got good cards, Azrael. Ones that will help in winning the duel." Wraith observed, having looked over the cards with Azrael.
"They certainly will, Wraith." Azrael agreed with him, before he turned his attention back to the duel. "I activate the Equip Spell card, Cychaic Spiral Swords, and equip it onto Nero!" The card showed a silhouette of Azrael cutting down a group of enemies around him one by one, several blue mirage blades orbiting around him in a circle to protect him from unexpected attacks. Within seconds, the blue mirage blades surrounded Nero in a circle, the blades pointing outwards to protect him. "This card's effect is different based on the type of 'Cychaic' monster equipped with it. Since Spiral swords is equipped to a 'Cychaic' Link monster, when it battles, your monster loses attack points equal to its Link rating times 300 until the end of the damage step."
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4000 + 300 = 4300
"That doesn't sound good..." Stregone muttered under his breath. Since Azrael planned on attacking the cards that allowed Stregone to gather resources, it was going to be tricky for him to make a comeback should it go through. Luckily, Stregone had something in mind to prevent that from happening.
"Battle!" Azrael declared. "Cychaic Nero attacks Timestar Magician! And due to Spiral swords' effect, your monster loses attack points equal to Nero's Link rating times 300. Since Nero's Link Rating is three, your monster loses 900 attack points!" The blue swords then left Nero before suddenly spinning out of nowhere towards Timestar Magician, who screamed as his strength was depleted.
Timestar Magician ATK: 3200 – (300 X 3) = 2300
"Tyrant's Condemnation!" Nero laughed cruelly as he swung the large black sword in his hand in front of him, which released a wave of dark energy that headed straight towards Timestar Magician!
"Not so fast! I activate the Trap card, Pendulum Rayshift!" Stregone interjected, as he gestured to his face-down card. It showed an image of Double Iris Magician that was being replaced by Black Fang Magician as he appeared to protect the former from a beam of energy, which was fired from Chaos Ancient Gear Giant's hand. "If a monster I control battles while there's a 'Magician' Pendulum monster in my Pendulum Zone, it can't be destroyed by battle, and any damage I take is halved!" As if on cue, a series of rainbow panels of glass appeared in front of Timestar Magician, which took the brunt of the attack and protected him in the process. Stregone, however, winced as his life points dropped.
Stregone: 4000 – (2000 / 2) = 3000 LP
Timestar Magician ATK: 2300 + (300 X 3) = 3200
"Rayshift's second effect also lets me Special Summon one Pendulum monster from my hand, deck, Graveyard, or Extra Deck whose attack points are less than or equal to the original attack points of the monster on my field that battled this turn." A card popped out of his deck, which Stregone immediately took. "Come from my deck, Apprentice of Endymion!" A young boy who had white, messed up hair and purple eyes appeared on Stregone's field. His attire consisted of a short-sleeved tunic with pants, along with knee high boots. Strapped around his body was a black cloak with golden elements on it, as well as purple lines and circles on the sleeves. In his left gloved hand, he carried a book, while he carried a jagged sword in his right gloved hand.
Apprentice of Endymion ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 1
Apprentice of Endymion ATK: 1400 + 800 = 2200
"In that case, I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Pendulum Call's effect ends, and your 'Magician' Pendulum cards can be destroyed by card effects once again." Azrael concluded.
"My turn! I draw!" Stregone said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "I activate Timestar Magician's effect once again. Once per turn, I can detach one Overlay Unit from him to add one Dark Spellcaster monster from my deck, Graveyard, or face up from my Extra Deck to my hand. I add Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic from my deck to my hand." The second Overlay Unit went into Timestar Magician's staff, which glowed with light as a card popped out of Stregone's deck before he took it and added it to his hand.
Timestar Magician OU: 1 – 1 = 0
"Next, I set Double Iris Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!" A pillar of light appeared on Stregone's right side of the field, which showed Double Iris Magician.
Double Iris Magician Scale: 8
"Appear, the circuit of sorcery!" Stregone thrusted out his right hand as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two effect monsters, including a Pendulum monster. I set Timestar Magician and Apprentice of Endymion into the Link Markers!" Timestar Magician went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while Apprentice of Endymion went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.
"Link Summon! Rise! Link 2! Beyond the Pendulum!" A woman with long, dark-red hair with light-red spikes at the sides appeared on Stregone's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. She wore white robes that had golden elements on them, as well as straps at the bottom. On top of her head was a witch's hat, which also had golden elements on it. Around her neck was a necklace that had both Pendulum scales on them. In her hands, she carried an elaborate staff.
Beyond the Pendulum ATK: 1200 LINK-2 ↙️↘️
Beyond the Pendulum ATK: 1200 + 800 = 2000
"When Beyond the Pendulum is Link Summoned to the Extra Monster Zone, I can pay 1200 life points to add one Pendulum monster from my deck to my hand. But there's a catch. Unless I Pendulum Summon after this effect resolves, I can't activate monster effects, and the effects of all cards in my Pendulum zones are negated."
"Quite a risk you're taking, aren't you?" Wraith commented, slight disappointment in his tone.
"Sometimes, it happens in a duel. You gotta take big risks to get big rewards." Stregone responded. "With Beyond the Pendulum's effect, I add Xiangke Magician from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's deck, which he took and added to his hand. Afterwards, a red and blue aura surrounded Stregone, which made him groan in pain as his life points dropped.
Stregone: 3000 – 1200 = 1800 LP
"Swing, far Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! With the set Pendulum Scale, I can Special Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7 at the same time!" Stregone chanted. "Now emerge from my Extra Deck, Apprentice of Endymion. And from my hand, Xiangke Magician!" Soon, a portal opened between the two pillars, where two lights emerged. The light hit the field and then dissipated, which revealed two monsters that appeared in the Main Monster Zones Beyond the Pendulum pointed to.
The first was Apprentice of Endymion.
The second was a man who wore white and dark-green robes with white-armoured plating. He had long, wild dark-blue hair that flowed from behind him. On his head was a spiked magician's cap that went upwards, which had a symbol in the center. In his hands, he carried a massive, vertical shield that had two long blades, as well as a circular dome at the center.
Apprentice of Endymion ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4 Scale: 1
Xiangke Magician ATK: 2500 DEF: 500 LV: 7 Scale: 3
Apprentice of Endymion ATK: 1400 + 800 = 2200
Xiangke Magician ATK: 2500 + 800 = 3300
"Beyond the Pendulum's effect activates! When two Pendulum monsters with different original levels are Pendulum Summoned at the same time to Main Monster Zones she points to, I can target two cards on your field and destroy them!" Stregone revealed. "I know Nero is unaffected by monster, Spell, and Trap effects thanks to Amphitheatre and Vulcanalia, but that doesn't mean your other cards are protected. I target and destroy both Vulcanalia and Clipeus!" Beyond the Pendulum fired a blast of energy from her staff at Vulcanalia and Clipeus, which turned each one into particles. As a result, Nero let out a groan of pain, his strength having decreased.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4300 – (300 X 2) = 3700
"The effects of Vulcanalia and Clipeus both activate." Azrael began calmly speaking. "First, when Vulcanalia is destroyed by a card effect, all 'Cychaic' monsters on my field gain 400 attack points, while all monsters you control lose 400 attack points." Soon, fiery auras surrounded Nero, Beyond the Pendulum, Enlightenment Paladin, Apprentice of Endymion, and Wisdom-Eye Magician. Whereas Nero's strength increased, the other monsters' strength decreased.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 3700 + 400 = 4100
Beyond the Pendulum ATK: 2000 – 400 = 1600
Enlightenment Paladin ATK: 3300 – 400 = 2900
Apprentice of Endymion ATK: 2200 – 400 = 1800
Xiangke Magician ATK: 3300 – 400 = 2900
"Second, when Clipeus is destroyed by a card effect and I control a 'Cychaic' Link monster, I can shuffle it into my deck." A card popped out of Azrael's Graveyard, which he took and shuffled into his deck.
Great. Clipeus can simply return itself back to Azrael's deck upon being destroyed by a card effect, Stregone thought in his mind. Still, at least Nero can be targeted by Spell and Trap card effects again. "I activate Apprentice of Endymion's effect. If I control a Spellcaster Link monster on my field, I can declare a Level from one to eight, and change the level of one monster on my field until the end of this turn. I choose Apprentice of Endymion, and declare two!" Apprentice of Endymion then flipped through his book before he picked a page, who glowed as his level went from four to two.
Apprentice of Endymion LV: 4 – 2 = 2
"You're planning to Synchro Summon once again, I see?" Azrael figured out.
"I am, but this Synchro monster is special." Stregone confirmed. "For this monster's Synchro Summon, I can treat one Pendulum Summoned Pendulum monster as a Tuner monster."
"What?!" Azrael, Wraith, and Phoenix gasped out of surprise.
Whatever Stregone has in mind for this Synchro monster, it must be so powerful that it can allow him to treat a Pendulum Summoned Pendulum monster as a Tuner monster, Phoenix thought in his mind. It just may be the thing Stregone needs to win this duel!
"I now tune the Level 2 Apprentice of Endymion, which is treated as a Tuner monster, with the Level 8 Enlightenment Paladin!" Stregone declared, as a bolt of green lightning struck him and the world greyed out before his two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one purple and one white, appeared before turning blue and merging. Ten rings, stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "2 + 8" in front of them. The screen changed to "10" as light surged through the rings.
"From the peaceful depths of time, release the light within you throughout this whole world, and bring about a new era of peace for all!" Stregone chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come before us, Level 10! Nirvana High Paladin!" A warrior clad in white and blue armor with golden gear pieces on his waist and back appeared on Stregone's field in the Main Monster Zone Beyond the Pendulum pointed to. He had purple eyes, as well as a scar running down on his cheeks. He wore a magician's cap, which had golden gear elements on the sides and front, as well as an orange orb in the middle. Last but not least, in Nirvana High Paladin's hands, he carried a massive broadsword.
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 3300 DEF: 2500 LV: 10 Scale: 8
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 3300 + 800 = 4100
"I've never seen a Pendulum Synchro monster before in my life..." Azrael muttered, the look of surprise still on his face, as well as on Wraith's face. "
"Pay attention, because there's still more to come!" Stregone responded. "When Nirvana High Paladin is Synchro Summoned by using a Pendulum Summoned Pendulum Tuner monster, I can target one card in my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I add Pendulum Rayshift from my Graveyard to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand. "In addition, if Apprentice of Endymion leaves the field while I control a Spellcaster monster in the Extra Monster Zone, I can draw two cards from the top of my deck." He then proceeded to draw the top two cards of his deck. Yes! Those will work, and if Stregone's intuition was correct, he can slowly break apart Azrael's field.
"I activate the Spell card, Pendulum Reformation!" The card showed Astrograph Sorcerer turning into particles, which morphed into silhouettes of Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician. "I can tribute one Spellcaster Pendulum monster on my field to Special Summon up to two Spellcaster Pendulum monsters from my Graveyard or Extra Deck whose combined attack points are less than or equal to the Pendulum monster I tribute. As such, I tribute Xiangke Magician on my field to Special Summon Dragonpulse Magician and Xiangsheng Magician from my Graveyard to my field!" After Xiangke Magician turned into particles, two monsters appeared on Stregone's field.
The first was an early-teenage male magician wearing white robes and black pants. He had short, orange hair with bangs at the front, as well as a long ponytail. In his right hand, he carried a long, razor whip. As for his left hand, he carried a double-edged dagger.
The second was Xiangsheng Magician.
Dragonpulse Magician ATK: 1800 DEF: 900 LV: 4 Scale: 1
Xiangsheng Magician ATK: 500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4 Scale: 8
Dragonpulse Magician ATK: 1800 + 800 = 2600
Xiangsheng Magician ATK: 500 + 800 = 1300
"I overlay the Level 4 Xiangsheng Magician with the Level 4 Dragonpulse Magician!" Stregone declared, as a galaxy portal appeared behind him. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Xiangsheng Magician and Dragonpulse Magician turned into orange and blue streams of energy that went into the portal, where a pillar of light erupted from the center.
"Magician who bears a warrior's soul from another world! Emerge from the unknown realm, and vanquish the darkness!" Stregone chanted. "Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! Magician of Hope!" A magician who had orange eyes, as well as wore white robes with a golden belt that had spikes on the sides appeared on Stregone's field in the other Main Monster Zone . His golden shoulder pads were ridged, which went upwards instead of sideways. He wore a white hood with golden spikes over his head, which also had golden lines in the front. Golden arm braces were attached to the robe pieces of his forearms as well. He also had a white cape that flowed behind him, as well as a pair of small wings with silver braces. In each of his hands, he carried a golden short sword.
Magician of Hope ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 RNK: 4 Scale: 8 OU: 2
Magician of Hope ATK: 2500 + 800 = 3300
"That's a Pendulum Xyz monster!" Azrael, Wraith, and Phoenix exclaimed at the same time.
"You don't see that everyday, do you, Azrael." Wraith commented.
"No, you do not." Azrael agreed. Finally, Stregone was showing not only his strength, but some motivation as well!
"Next, I activate the Spell card, Miracle Synchro Fusion. When this card is activated, I can-." Stregone began speaking.
"Planning to Fusion Summon, aren't you? Well, that's something I won't allow you to do!" Azrael suddenly interrupted. "Counter-Trap, activate! Cychaic Record! When you activate a card effect, I can not only negate that effect, but also destroy it as well! What's more, you can't activate cards or effects in response to both of this card's effects!"
"Crap. You have got to be kidding me..." Phoenix muttered, with Stregone also gritting his teeth upon hearing what Azrael just said. Soon, a massive stone tablet appeared before firing a blast of dark-blue energy at Miracle Synchro Fusion, which turned it into particles.
"I also activate Record's second effect from my Graveyard. As I control a 'Cychaic' Link monster the turn it was activated, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card on my field and one card on your field. And like before, you can't activate any cards or effects in response to both of Record's effects. I destroy Spiral swords on my field, and Double Iris Magician on your field!" Within a moment or two, the massive stone tablet reappeared before firing a blast of dark-blue energy at Spiral swords on Azrael's field, and Double Iris Magician on Stregone's field.
Cychaic Nero ATK: 4100 – 300 = 3800
"Spiral swords' second effect! As it was destroyed by a card effect, each of your monsters lose 300 attack points for every card on my field." Azrael announced, which made Stregone and Phoenix gasp at the same time.
"There's a total of four cards on Azrael's field, which means your monsters each lose a total of 1200 attack points." Wraith summed up. Soon, blue mirage blades appeared out of nowhere and pierced each of Stregone's monsters, which made them groan in pain as their strength decreased.
Beyond the Pendulum ATK: 1600 - (300 X 4) = 200
Magician of Hope ATK: 3300 – (300 X 4) = 2100
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 4100 – (300 X 4) = 2900
"What will you do now, Sorcerer of LINK VRAINS?" Azrael taunted.
"The best I can moving forward, starting with this!" Stregone answered back. "When Double Iris Magician is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can add one 'Pendulumgraph card from my deck to my hand. I add Star Pendulumgraph from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I activate Magician of Hope's effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon one Level 7 or lower Pendulum monster from my hand in defense position with its effects negated. In addition, I can place Magician of Hope in the Pendulum Scale as well. With Magician of Hope's effect, I Special Summon Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic from my hand to my field." The orbiting light then went into Magician of Hope's short swords, which glowed as he raised them high into the air, which created a portal. Soon, a tall magician with black robes that had golden outlines appeared on Stregone's field in defense position. Attached to his back was a massive, golden ring, and there were a total of twenty purple Spell counters visible on the magician. Endymion had long white horse-like hair and a golden mask with black horns on top. In his right hand was a golden staff, with a massive golden hook.
Then Magician of Hope appeared in the pillar of light on Stregone's right side of the field.
Magician of Hope Scale: 8
Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic ATK: 2800 DEF: 1700 LV: 7 Scale: 8
"Next, I activate the Spell card, Magic for Magic!" The card showed Endymion, the Magistus of Mastery offering two books that contained magic to Crowley, the Magistus of Grimoires to choose from. "By discarding a Spell card from my hand to my Graveyard, I can add one Spell card with a different name from my Graveyard to my hand. I send Extra Pendulum from my hand to my Graveyard, and add Miracle Synchro Fusion right back to my hand!" After Stregone sent a card from his hand to his Graveyard, a card popped out of his Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand. "Once again, I activate the Spell card, Miracle Synchro Fusion. This card lets me perform a Fusion Summon by banishing monsters from my field or Graveyard that are listed on a Fusion monster in my Extra Deck! I banish Enlightenment Paladin in my Graveyard, and Beyond the Pendulum on my field!" Beyond the Pendulum turned into red particles of energy, while Enlightenment Paladin emerged from Stregone's Graveyard as blue particles of energy, which then swirled into a vortex. Two tornadoes of energy shot upwards and merged to form a magenta whirlwind.
"The master of magicians shall unlock the restraints of his power, and emerge as something entirely new!" Stregone chanted. "Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 10! Supreme Arcanite Magician!" A magician wearing purple and brown robes along with a white cape appeared on Stregone's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Unlike Arcanite Magician and Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode, Supreme Arcanite Magician's robes also had armored plating on them, along with large, green Spell counters as well. He spun his staff around in front of him, ready for battle.
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 1400 DEF: 2800 LV: 10
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 1400 + 800 = 2200
"When Supreme Arcanite Magician is Fusion Summoned, I can put two Spell counters on this card, and for every Spell counter on him, he gains 1000 attack points!" Two blue orbs orbited around Supreme Arcanite Magician as he powered up.
Supreme Arcanite Magician SC: 0 + 2 = 2
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 2200 + (1000 X 2) = 4200
"Link, Synchro, Xyz, and Fusion Summoning all used on one turn." Azrael commented. "Even though I will praise you for utilizing multiple summoning methods in a single turn, it will all be for naught, as none of those monsters will help you defeat me."
"We'll just see about that." Stregone responded. "I activate the Continuous-Spell card, Star Pendulumgraph. While this card is on my field, you can't target my Spellcaster monsters with Spell cards or effects. In addition, I activate Supreme Arcanite Magician's effect. Once per turn, I can remove one Spell counter on my side of the field to activate one of two effects. I remove a Spell counter from Supreme Arcanite Magician to activate effect two, which lets me draw the top card of my deck." A blue orb went into Supreme Arcanite Magician's staff, which glowed with energy as Stregone drew the top card of his deck.
Supreme Arcanite Magician SC: 2 – 1 = 1
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 4200 – 1000 = 3200
Stregone then thrusted out his right hand. "Battle! Nirvana High Paladin attacks Cychaic Nero! At this point, I activate the Pendulum effect of Purple Poison Magician in my Pendulum zone. When a Dark Spellcaster monster I control battles, I can increase that monster's attack points by 1200 until the end of the damage step in exchange of destroying him." Purple Poison Magician let out a laugh as he turned into particles, which went into Nirvana High Paladin as his strength increased.
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 2900 + 1200 = 4100
"Truth Sukhavati!" Nirvana High Paladin charged forward at Nero and brought down his broadsword at the latter, who proceeded to block the attack with his own sword. However, Nirvana High Paladin broke the blade lock and slashed Nero with such speed that he turned into particles, which caused a massive explosion that pushed Azrael back.
Azrael: 4400 – 300 = 4100 LP
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 4100 – 1200 = 2900
"All that effort for a tiny bit of damage? Just pathetic." Azrael admonished Stregone. "For when Nero is destroyed by battle or card effect, I gain 300 life points for every card on your field. There's currently four cards on your field, which means I gain 1200 life points!" A blue aura surrounded Azrael as his life points increased, much to Stregone's chagrin.
Azrael: 4100 + (300 X 4) = 5300 LP
"Then it's a good thing I got this! The effects of Nirvana High Paladin and Star Pendulumgraph now activate." Stregone began speaking. "First, when Nirvana High Paladin destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, your life points are halved!"
"What?!" Azrael and Wraith exclaimed at the same time.
"You heard me! Chronos Countdown!" The golden gear elements on Nirvana High Paladin's back began rotating as Nirvana High Paladin pointed his massive broadsword at Azrael, which fired a beam of energy at him before he fell to his knee, his life points having been halved as a result.
Azrael: 5300 / 2 = 2650 LP
"Second, as a face-up 'Magician' Pendulum monster left my field or Pendulum zone, Star Pendulumgraph lets me add one 'Magician' Pendulum monster from my deck to my hand." Stregone said. "I add Black Fang Magician from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's deck, which he took and added to his hand.
"Finish this guy off, Stregone!" Phoenix stated.
"You got it, Phoenix!" Stregone replied. "This duel ends now, Azrael! Supreme Arcanite Magician attacks you directly! Arcane Scepter Blast!" Supreme Arcanite Magician spun his staff in front of him and fired a blast of purple, magical energy at Azrael.
"No, this duel is not over yet!" Azrael proclaimed, as he got up on his feet. "If I control no monsters and I would take damage, I can Special Summon Cychaic Panther from my hand to my field to not only negate the attack, but end the Battle Phase as well!" Soon, a silver-armored panther appeared on Azrael's field in defense position.
Cychaic Panther ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4
Cychaic Panther ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000 DEF: 1500 + 500 = 2000
Within seconds, Panther let out a loud scream from its mouth, which turned the blast of purple, magical energy that headed towards Azrael into particles.
"Furthermore, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my deck or Graveyard whose attack points are equal to or less than the damage I would have taken." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Now come from my deck, Cychaic Acquila!" At Azrael's command, a silver-armored bird with light-green skin appeared on his field.
Cychaic Acquila ATK: 500 DEF: 800 LV: 2
Cychaic Acquila ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 800 + 500 = 1300
"Just great..." Stregone muttered quietly. He was close to victory, only for Azrael to use a Hand Trap that not only negated the attack, but ended the Battle Phase as well. Then again, it made sense, as Azrael wouldn't make it that easy for him to win the duel. He had to put in the work, and as a result, he was able to nearly cut Azrael's life points in half. "I set Black Fang Magician to set the Pendulum Scale." A pillar of light appeared on Stregone's right side of the field, which showed Black Fang Magician.
Black Fang Magician Scale: 8
"I Set one card face-down and end my turn." Stregone narrowed his eyes. "You see, Azrael? That's the strength and motivation I showed you just now. Don't you dare underestimate it!"
In response to this, Azrael laughed, which made both Stregone and Phoenix blink.
"Uh oh." Wraith said. "You're in for it now, Stregone."
"You say I underestimated your strength and motivation?" Azrael questioned back, a smirk evident on his face. "I never underestimated you from the beginning. In fact, it's about time someone in this world showed me some worthwhile motivation. As a reward, I'll show you the strength and motivation I gained over the past ten years!"
"Past ten years?" Stregone and Phoenix repeated out of shock and confusion.
"That's right. For ten years, I've worked to reach my goal, and every person I've dueled proved to be nothing more than an inconvenience despite their strength or importance." Azrael clarified. "Let me show you what happens when I put in some effort. My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck before looking at it. This will work for sure. "I activate the Spell card, Cychaic Exchange!" The card showed Panther and Duo Vulture in cages, with roman soldiers offering the both of them to a group of people and their queen in exchange for food and water. "By destroying one 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand. I destroy Panther on my field, and add Caladrius from my Graveyard to my hand!" After Panther turned into particles, a card popped out of Azrael's Graveyard, which he took and added to his hand.
"Panther's effect! As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic' monster from my Graveyard to my field. Be reborn, Crocodile!" Soon, Crocodile reappeared on Azrael's field.
Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 3
Cychaic Crocodile ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 800 + 500 = 1300
"Crocodile's effect!" Azrael continued. "Once per turn, when it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck to my hand. I add Cychaic Entrapment from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "From there, I activate Aquila's effect. I can target one 'Cychaic' monster I control on my field, and change its level from one to eight until the end of this turn, where I must destroy it afterwards. I target Crocodile, and declare six!" Acquila fired a soundwave from its mouth, which caused an aura to surround Crocodile as it increased its level.
Cychaic Crocodile LV: 3 + 3 = 6
"I don't like where this is going." Phoenix commented.
"Neither do I, Phoenix." Stregone agreed, the both of them knowing what will come next.
"I tune the Level 2 Cychaic Acquila with the Level 6 Crocodile!" Azrael declared, as a bolt of blue lightning struck him and the world greyed out before his two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one white and one green, appeared before turning blue and merging. Eight rings, stacked in a tower appeared, a screen displaying "2 + 6" in front of them. The screen changed to "8" as light surged through the rings.
"Ruler of the Skies! Descend from your throne, and strike down my enemies with your thunderous fury!" Azrael chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm!" A muscular man with a white beard and hair that went to the back of his neck appeared on Azrael's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. His attire consisted of a hybrid between a toga and robes with a high collar on it. On top of his head was a crown with five jewels, which also had horn-like protrusions on it. In his right hand, he wielded a sword in the shape of a lightning bolt, as well as a lightning-styled shield strapped to his left arm.
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000
"Good lord... this guy can Synchro Summon..." Stregone muttered, with Phoenix widening his eyes as well upon seeing Jupiter.
"Bet you didn't expect that, huh Stregone?" Wraith taunted Stregone, which made the latter grit his teeth out of frustration and fury.
"I activate Jupiter's effect." Azrael added. "By destroying one 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can not only halve the attack points of one monster on your field, I also gain life points equal to half of that monster's original attack points. The best part is that you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation."
"What?!" Stregone exclaimed.
"I destroy Entrapment in my hand, and halve Supreme Arcanite Magician's attack points! Fulgurous Drain!" Jupiter pointed his lightning-shaped sword at Supreme Arcanite Magician before firing a flash of energy at him, which caused a yellow aura to surround the latter as his strength was halved. Jupiter then pointed his sword at Azrael before firing a flash of energy at him, which caused a yellow aura to surround the latter as his life points increased.
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 3200 / 2 = 1600
Azrael: 2650 + (1400 / 2) = 3350 LP
"He just undid almost all the life points he lost..." Phoenix growled out of shock.
"Entrapment's effect activates!" Azrael said. "As it was destroyed by a card effect, I can send a card you control to your Graveyard. I send Solidarity to your Graveyard, which means all your monsters lose their attack boost!" As if on cue, Solidarity turned into particles, which caused Supreme Arcanite Magician and Nirvana High Paladin, to groan in pain as their strength was depleted.
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 1600 – 800 = 800
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 2900 – 800 = 2100
"Battle!" Azrael thrusted his right hand out at the duel field. "Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storms attacks Supreme Arcanite Magician. Thunderstroke Geyser!" Jupiter raised his sword high into the air, which caused bursts of lightning to erupt the ground and head straight for Stregone!
"I activate the Pendulum effect of Magician of Hope!" Stregone countered. "When your monster declares an attack, I can negate the attack before destroying him. Light Wing Shield!" Magician of Hope turned into particles, which turned into a light winged-like shield that protected Supreme Arcanite Magician. "Star Pendulumgraph's effect also activates! When a face-up 'Magician' Pendulum monster leaves the field or my Spell and Trap card zone, I can add one 'Magician' Pendulum monster from my deck to my hand. I add Dragonpit Magician from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Stregone's deck, which he took and added to his hand.
"I Set one card face-down and end my turn." Azrael concluded. "I will tell you this: You are resilient and strong as Raguel, and have the skills to prove it. I suggest you put in any remaining motivation you have into your final turn, as it will be the last chance you have to try and defeat me."
Stregone glared back at Azrael. "You're right. This may be my last chance. But I am the Number Two Charisma duelist in LINK VRAINS! I will not fall to the likes of you! Not when I still have to accomplish my dream!"
"Your dream?" Azrael repeated out of curiosity.
"That's right!" Stregone confirmed, having stood up on his feet. "I have a dream. Where everyone can duel and enjoy their time with one another without fear of the unknown. Where they can spend their lives in peace rather than fall into despair. Where they can pursue their dreams, and fulfil them through the bonds they made with the people in their lives!"
Azrael, upon hearing this, narrowed his eyes. "I've heard these things before from someone else, and it led them to lose the duel against me as a result."
"What are you talking about?" Stregone questioned.
"In the time I've kept an eye on Raguel in the network, I've heard something similar from him." Azrael began speaking. "His strength comes from how he fights alongside his allies, not by using his own strength. His values on justice and companionship have resulted in his spirit being split to the bone."
"Hey, at least Raguel fights for selfless reasons! What's more, even after everything that's happened to him, he's still choosing to move forward with those values!" Phoenix protested.
"And that's what made him weak, child!" Azrael firmly replied back, before he turned back to Stregone. "I had assumed that Raguel developed those values during his time on the Black Market. But now I've realized the truth. You were the one who poisoned my brother with those selfless delusions!"
"If it weren't for me, then Raguel would have become bitter with the world for what happened to him!" Stregone countered.
Azrael, in response, smirked. "Maybe. But at least he would have understood the world's current reality, thus leading him to utilize his own strength to survive! And this fantasy you speak of is a fool's dream, Stregone. Something that no one can accomplish in today's world, where the strong prey on the weak. If you try, then you will suffer the same fate as Raguel had."
"While it may be a fantasy, I intend to keep fighting until it becomes reality! That, I swear!" Stregone promised, before he put a hand on the top card of his deck. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the Spell card, Pendulum Halt. When there are three or more face-up 'Pendulum' monsters in my Extra Deck, I can draw two cards. However, I can't add any other cards from my deck to my hand for the rest of this turn. I have Double Iris Magician, Purple Poison Magician, Apprentice of Endymion, and Magician of Hope face-up in my Extra Deck. That means I can draw two cards!" He drew the top two cards of his deck.
Stregone will make those two cards he drew work. Because he will, and with their help, he will win this duel, Phoenix thought in his mind with determination.
Upon looking at the two cards Stregone drew, he grinned. Yes! This will help him win the duel, and with the monsters on his field, he can guarantee it. "I activate the Spell card, Battle Purification. Now the attack points of all monsters on the field become their original values." Nirvana High Paladin and Supreme Arcanite Magician let out a shout as their strength reverted to normal, whereas Jupiter let out a groan as his strength slightly decreased.
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 2100 + 1200 = 3300
Supreme Arcanite Magician ATK: 800 + 600 + 1000 = 2400
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3500 – 500 = 3000
"I also activate the Spell card, Gift of the Martyr." Stregone continued. "By sending one monster on my field to my Graveyard, I can target one monster I control, and have it gain attack points equal to the monster sent to the Graveyard by this effect until the end of this turn. I send Endymion, the Mighty Master of Magic to my Graveyard, and target Nirvana High Paladin!" Endymion turned into particles that went into Nirvana High Paladin, which increased his strength within seconds.
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 3300 + 2800 = 6100
"Finally, I activate Black Fang Magician's Pendulum effect. Once per turn, I can target one face-up monster you control and halve its attack points until the end of this turn before destroying him as a result. I target Jupiter!" Black Fang Magician turned into particles that headed towards Jupiter, who groaned as his strength was halved.
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3000 / 2 = 1500
"Yes! With Jupiter's strength being halved, as well as Nirvana High Paladin's increased strength, this duel's in the bag for Stregone!" Phoenix happily realized.
"Let's end this, Azrael!" Stregone declared, knowing what to do. "Battle! Nirvana High Paladin attacks Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm! Truth Sukhavati!" Nirvana High Paladin charged forward at Jupiter and brought down his broadsword at the latter, who proceeded to block the attack with his lighting-shaped sword. The blade lock resulted in a massive explosion, which enveloped the entire duel field.
"Awesome job, Stregone!" Phoenix praised Stregone, who nodded back in agreement. However, within a few moments, Phoenix's eyes widened upon seeing the smoke clear, which showed both Caladrius and Jupiter on Azrael's field. The only difference was that Azrael's face-down card was gone. Upon seeing what Phoenix was seeing, Stregone gasped out of shock.
Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8
Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 + 500 = 1000 DEF: 500 + 500 = 1000
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000
"How? How did you survive?!" Stregone exclaimed, with Phoenix just as shocked at what he was seeing.
"I activated the effect of Cychaic Caladrius from my hand." Azrael began explaining calmly. "When a 'Cychaic' monster I control is destroyed by battle and I would take damage, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card on my field to not only Special Summon this card and the destroyed 'Cychaic' monster back to my field, but also reduce the battle damage to zero. As such, I destroyed the face-down Continuous-Trap card Cychaic Pollice Verso with Caladrius' effect."
"Oh, and just in case you didn't know, Caladrius' second effect also ends the Battle Phase." Wraith humorously commented.
"Pollice Verso?" Stregone repeated, already aware of Caladrius' effects, and instead focusing on the card Azrael destroyed with its effect. "That's the Latin Phrase for Thumbs Down!"
"Correct, and when Pollice Verso is destroyed by a card effect, I can negate the effects of one card on your field. I negate Nirvana High Paladin's effects, which means his second effect of halving my life points is rendered moot." Azrael continued. A silhouette of a card then appeared, which showed Nero making a thumbs down gesture to the surviving gladiator of a fight in a gladiator arena, giving the latter the signal to execute the fallen gladiator. Soon, a hand appeared before it turned into a fist, rotated, and pointed its thumb down at Nirvana High Paladin. As a result, a bolt of lightning was fired out of the thumb, which hit him as he screamed in pain, his effects having been negated. "In addition, when Jupiter is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon two 'Cychaic' monsters with different names from my deck and/or Graveyard in defense position. Be born from my deck, Cychaic Wolf, and Elephantaur from my Graveyard." Soon, two monsters appeared on Azrael's field in defense position.
The first was a large, four-legged creature with black fur all over its body. It had a long bushy tail with a black tip.
The second was a pale-skinned elephant standing on its hind legs. It had frontal paws with claws that were shaped like human hands. It also had sharp tusks and a snout with a spiked ball on it, along with a red cloth wrapping all three together. The pale-skinned elephant even wore bronze armour protecting its arms, waist, tusks and even snout.
Cychaic Wolf ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4
Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000 LV: 8
Cychaic Wolf ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000 DEF: 1500 + 500 = 2000
Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500
Stregone stared at the duel field, still in shock at what happened. This was just like the duel footage Raguel showed him, where Azrael used Caladrius' effect to negate the attack and Special Summon both it and Caligula to his field before ending the Battle Phase. Despite the fact that Stregone utilized the full might of his deck during the duel, in the end...
...it just wasn't enough.
He had lost.
And Azrael had won.
"Do you end your turn?" Azrael asked, waiting for Stregone's answer.
Stregone snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Azrael's question. "I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Gift of the Martyr's effect ends, and Nirvana High Paladin's strength returns to normal." As if on cue, Nirvana High Paladin was surrounded in an aura that reverted his strength to his original amount.
Nirvana High Paladin ATK: 6100 – 2800 = 3300
For what felt like eternity, Stregone and Azrael simply stared at one another.
"Well?" Stregone broke the silence. "Go on. It's your turn, right? Attack. Finish me."
"All you have are two monsters and two facedown cards on your field." Azrael observed. "All I need to do is activate Jupiter's effect to cut your monster's attack points in half before attacking, and then I win."
"I already know that." Stregone snapped. "You don't have to remind me."
"Yet you still stand with your head high. Why is that?"
Stregone sighed. "I'm standing with my head high because I want to show that it's better to go down with bravery and honor than fear. I'd rather lose a duel knowing that I did everything I could with honor and by the book than someone who chose to give up."
"That is... deep." Wraith admitted, before he turned to Azrael. "What do you think?"
Azrael thought for a few moments before speaking. "Very well. You will not lose at the hands of a god. You will lose at the hands of a dragon. My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "I activate Elephantaur's effect. Once per turn, I can shuffle up to three 'Cychaic' monsters in my Graveyard into my deck and Extra Deck, and then I can destroy one card you control for each monster shuffled back into my deck. Also, if a 'Cychaic' Link monster is shuffled into my Extra Deck by this effect, I can negate the effects of one monster on your field. I shuffle Slave, Crocodile, and Panther into my deck, which means I can destroy Nirvana High Paladin, Supreme Arcanite Magician, and the face-down card on your left." Three cards popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck. Afterwards, Elephantaur let out a massive screech that destroyed Nirvana High Paladin, Supreme Arcanite Magician, and the face-down card on Stregone's left.
"Appear, the circuit of absolute power!" A Link Portal appeared above Azrael. "The summoning conditions are two or more effect monsters. I set Cychaic Caladrius, Jupiter, God of the Sea, Elephantaur, and Wolf into the Link Markers!" Caladrius went into the top-left arrowhead, Jupiter went into the top-right arrowhead, Elephantaur went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Wolf went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all four of them red.
"The Embodiment of Ideals is given to mankind!" Azrael chanted. "Link Summon! Appear! Link 4! Teravolt Dragon!" A black, bipedal dragon with red sclera, white irises, and black pupils, as well as a small horn-like protrusion on the tip of his snout appeared on Azrael's field in the left Extra Monster Zone. His head sported a thundercloud-like crest tipped with light-blue coloration, which went backwards. At the base of his neck, his shoulders, knees, and wings was a black, stud-like feature, which resembled armor padding. His wings consisted of a fanned, shape that had a spike on each of the top edges. Attached to Teravolt Dragon's arms were baseball-mitt-like formations, with three-clawed hands on the undersides. On his feet were three claws, along with a small spike at the back. He also had an electric generator-like tail, which had a black inner portion and bands on the tip of the outside portion.
Teravolt Dragon ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ↙️↖️↗️↘️
"So it seems there's a human whose worthy enough to be eliminated by me." Teravolt Dragon commented.
"When Teravolt Dragon is Link Summoned, the effects of all Spell and Trap cards on your field are negated." Azrael told Stregone, who didn't respond. "Electric Veil!" Teravolt Dragon's electric generator-like tail began to charge up before unleashed waves of electrical energy at the face-down card on Stregone's field, which greyed out within seconds.
"Do you have any last words, Stregone?"
"Yes, but not to you. At least let me say my goodbyes first." Stregone answered, with Azrael nodding back in compliance in response. Seeing this, Stregone turned to Phoenix, whose eyes widened.
"It's over, isn't it?" Phoenix said, with Stregone nodding back in confirmation.
"Phoenix, before I go, I have a favor to ask you." Stregone requested.
"What is it?"
"Can you continue my dream for me while I'm gone?"
Phoenix bravely nodded back at Stregone. "Yes. Of course. I will see your dream to the end, and help create a tomorrow where peace and bonds can help anyone realize their goals."
"Thank you." Stregone smiled with confidence. "Now live, Phoenix. Live, and inspire people to dream, as well as pursue them."
Phoenix nodded for a second time, trying to fight back tears. The person who he looked up to as a teacher, and a great friend was going to lose. But Phoenix couldn't be sad right. He had to see it to he end, with a smile on his face. So Phoenix wiped the tears from his eyes, and with a determined expression on his face, he prepared himself to see the end of the duel.
After seeing that Phoenix was okay, Stregone turned back to Azrael. "I'm ready."
Azrael narrowed his eyes, having seen that Stregone was ready to lose the duel. "This is an acknowledgement of your strength and honor, as well as gratitude for taking care of Raguel when I could not." He thrusted out his right hand. "Battle! Teravolt Dragon attacks you directly! Devastation Bolt!" Teravolt Dragon surrounded himself in blue electricity that formed a sphere before charging straight towards Stregone.
As Stregone saw Teravolt Dragon charge towards him, memories flashed through his mind.
Him meeting a young Yuhiro and helping him get through his trauma.
Him seeing Roxy adopt Yuhiro, a grateful smile on his face, happy that Yuhiro will be okay in the end.
Him meeting Miles, and helping him get through the events surrounding his family.
Him interacting with the kids and spending time with them.
Him dueling against Go in friendly duels, as well as the conversations they had.
Stregone planted his feet as Teravolt Dragon hit him, which caused a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, it showed Stregone, somehow still standing.
Stregone: 1800 – 3000 = 0
"You have dueled well, Stregone. Far better than any duelist I've dueled. If anything, you should take pride in that." Azrael praised Stregone.
Stregone grimly smiled as his body started disintegrating into particles. At that moment, something popped up in his mind. Of his college sweetheart, who said that teaching would be his specialty, and how he'll make a great and positive impact on kids one day. Hey, Sierra. Guess you were right about me after all. I've made a great and positive impact on special people, and helped them become the fine individuals they are today, Stregone thought, before he fully disintegrated, where the particles went upwards.
With the duel over, Azrael began walking over to where Phoenix was, the latter trying to muster all the courage he had. "Child, you are a duelist, yes?"
"I'm not just a duelist. I'm Stregone's apprentice!" Phoenix answered, as Azrael walked up to where the former was.
"I see. But, child. If you are a truly loyal apprentice to him, your duty now is to avenge your fallen teacher."
"If I challenge you, I'll lose my consciousness data."
"Yes, of course you will."
"I can't do that..." Phoenix looked at Azrael in the eyes with all the courage he had left. "...Because he ordered me to survive."
For several long moments, both Azrael and Phoenix stared at one another. One wielding power unlike any man has ever seen, who was willing to use it on anyone who got in his way. The other as someone who refused to back down, despite what he saw. Someone who still displayed courage in front of death incarnate itself.
Azrael then walked past Phoenix, his decision having been made. "Your loyalty is splendid, Phoenix. Never allow anything to tarnish it." Walking over to the door, Azrael saw two blade-like keyholes that were on it. Knowing what to do, Azrael unsheathed the Muramasa and put it inside the keyhole, causing the door to open before he pulled it out. Getting into the dark vault required two things. The first: Either the Muramasa or Excalibur. The second: Both pendants. Whoever had both of these things would be able to fully access the dark vault.
And since Azrael had all the requirements in his possession, he'll finally get his inheritance.
Once the giant door closed behind Azrael, and making sure that he wasn't there, Phoenix finally fell down to his hands and knees before crying over multiple things. Stregone and the other Charisma duelists losing their consciousness data, the multiple deaths in the real world, and the damage done to the network. It was all too much for him to take in, yet he was somehow able to take in everything that happened.
"Hello! Is anyone there?"
Phoenix then looked up, and saw Raguel running towards him.
"Oh my God, Phoenix! You're okay!" Raguel cried out of relief, having fallen onto one knee. "Where's Stregone?"
"He... He lost." Phoenix sadly answered, which made Raguel gasp out of shock. Despite all the information Raguel provided to Stregone, it unfortunately wasn't enough for him to defeat Azrael. If anything, it only served to delay him from his goal.
"Where did he and Wraith go?" Herald asked, which caused Phoenix to point to the dark vault behind him. Raguel and Herald then looked at where Phoenix pointed to. "That's the dark vault."
"Get out of here, Phoenix." Raguel told him. "Krystal's okay, and will log out as well. That, I can promise."
"I hear you." Phoenix replied, as Raguel stood up before starting to walk over to the dark vault's entrance. "Where were you when all of this happened?"
Raguel then stopped walking upon hearing that question. "We tried to stop the one who sent those Bitboots and human troops in the first place. Unfortunately, we were caught in a trap, and forced to watch as their boss eliminated a strong duelist."
"Ah. That makes sense there." Phoenix stood up on his feet. "Go kick Azrael's ass, Raguel. Not just for me, but for all the lives that were taken today."
"I will." Raguel promised, before Phoenix logged out of the network. Seeing that Phoenix was gone, Raguel continued walking to the dark vault's entrance, where he stared at the massive door in front of him. He saw two, blade-like keyholes on it. Knowing what to do, Raguel summoned Excalibur and put the blade inside the second keyhole, which caused the door to open before he pulled it out. In his mind, entering inside was the easy step. The harder step was accessing it, as one needed the pendants to fully to do.
"Are you ready, Raguel?" Herald inquired.
"Yes. Let's go stop my hybrid brother." Raguel answered, before he walked into the dark vault, the door closing behind him as he did so.
Meanwhile, in another area of the network...
Revolver and Specter were on their duel boards, speeding towards the location Drachen was supposed to be at. In Revolver's mind, the Ignis already took enough from him, and he won't let them take away his childhood friend. He'll rescue him from their grasp, and kill anyone who gets in his way.
"Master Revolver, there's the location!" Specter said, as he pointed to the area coming up. When Revolver looked at it, he narrowed his eyes. The area looked like a park with a field of flowers, where he spent time with his family and Drachen when he was younger, smiles on their faces. If memory served, Kyoko and Aso were there as well.
"Excellent. Let's go rescue Drachen." Revolver replied, before he and Specter jumped off their duel boards and landed on the ground. Inspecting the area further, Revolver saw a large gazebo up ahead. When the two of them walked over to the park area, they heard a chuckling sound that was in the area. Soon, Malf walked out of the gazebo, having seen Revolver and Specter arrive in the area.
"That's-!"
"Malf!"
"Ah. So you came, just as I knew you would, Revolver." Malf commented. "And you brought a little friend with you as well."
"Where's Drachen?!" Revolver growled.
"Why, he's right here," Malf gestured to the gazebo's entrance, where a brainwashed Drachen emerged from the gazebo.
"No..." Revolver gasped upon seeing the pieces of hardened, purple goo on the left side of Drachen's body, along with the horn on the left side of his head. Specter was also shocked with what he was seeing. How could someone do that to another person? "What did you do to him?!"
"He's my slave, now." Malf answered, a grin on his face. "With every action, there's a consequence, and you and the Hanoi have gotten away with your sins for too long now. Retribution is at hand!"
Green, wispy pieces of data are shown floating through the network as a bright light briefly covers the screen, multiple cards popping up one by one.
Yusaku is first shown walking to school before he morphs into his VRAINS Persona Playmaker. Takeru is also shown doing the same thing before he morphs into his VRAINS Persona Soulburner. Last but not least, Yuhiro and Arashi are shown doing the same thing before they morph into the VRAINS Personas Raguel and Slipstream. Ai, Flame, Aqua, and Herald pop up on the screen one by one afterwards.
A split screen then pops up, showing Aoi walking down the street on one side, while Emma scratches the back of her head on the other side, as if she were stressed out. The both of them then morph into their VRAINS Personas Blue Maiden and Ghost Girl. A second split screen pops up afterwards, showing Rachel on her tablet on one side, while Gekiryushi practices her swordsmanship on the other side with concentration. The both of them then morph into their VRAINS Personas Numera and SengokuQueen.
Soon after, a third split screen appears, showing a skinny Go Onizuka clutching his head in pain with his left hand, while Kengo Dojun puts a hand on his chin, as if thinking something over. The screen then cracks, showing a virtual network where Go closes his eyes and spreads out his hands with a smile, while Blood Shepherd aims his right hand at the screen. A fourth split screen appears, showing Akairo completing some schoolwork, while Brion is in his apartment, looking at a picture in his locket with narrowed eyes, which showed his family. The screen then cracks, showing Drachen with Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword in his hand, while Electrolyzer has PSY-Framegears Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta attached to his body.
The main tower LINK VRAINS is shown before the screen cracks in two, which reveals the main tower in Mirror LINK VRAINS. Lightning's faction is shown in the light, but then the screen is enveloped in darkness before depicting Azrael flaring out the Muramasa with Malf and Wraith on his sides.
Revolver, Specter, and Infearno are then shown on the screen, with Revolver on the left, Infearno in the center, and Specter on the right.
The screen changes to show multiple people at Green Park. First is Kusanagi and Roxy beside one another, with Akira speaking to Emma and Gekiryushi nearby. Next is Arashi crossing his arms, with Takeru is looking out at another area while Yusaku simply looks ahead of him, Aoi sitting down on the stairs nearby. Yuhiro is seen looking ahead of him with a stressed expression on his face, a silhouette of Miyu trying to comfort him. Rachel runs up to where Yuhiro is before standing next to him, with Naoki trying to wave his hand to the humans nearby. Herald is shown with Ai, Flame, and Aqua nearby the humans. Last but not least, Ryoken, Youta, and Emon are shown conversing in another area of Green Park.
The screen then shows a grey landscape, where Cyberse Clock Dragon, Salamangreat Heatleo, Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Borreload Savage Dragon, and Cyberse Quantum Dragon fly by one by one before disappearing. Last but not least, a network background appears, with a strand of rainbow data flowing around it before Raguel, Playmaker, Soulburner, and Slipstream appear, along with Ai, Flame, and Herald. All four humans draw a card from the top of their decks before a bright light covers the screen.
Card Gallery
Azrael:
Cychaic Acquila (LV: 2/Cyberse/Tuner/Wind/ATK: 500/DEF: 800)
Effect: You can target 1 'Cychaic' monster you control and declare a Level from 1 to 8; change the targeted monster's Level to the declared Level until the End Phase, also destroy it at the End Phase. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card on your field; Special Summon this card from your GY to your field. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Acquila' once per turn.
Cychaic Panther (LV: 4/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)
Effect: If you control no monsters and you would take battle damage: You can Special Summon this card from your hand to your field; negate the attack, and if you do, end the Battle Phase. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can Special Summon 1 'Cychaic' monster from your GY to your field. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Panther' once per turn.
Cychaic Amphitheatre (Field Spell card)
Effect: While this card is on your field, all 'Cychaic' monsters you control gain 500 ATK and DEF; also, they're unaffected by monster effects. You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; Special Summon 1 'Cychaic Dancer' token (LV: 4/Cyberse/Fire/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000) to your field. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can destroy all 'Cychaic' cards on your field, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the monster on their field with the highest original ATK. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Amphitheatre' once per turn.
Cychaic Exchange (Normal Spell card)
Effect: You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; add 1 'Cychaic' card from your deck or GY to your hand. You can banish this card from your GY; destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field, and if you do, add 1 'Cychaic' card from your deck or GY to your hand. You can only activate 1 'Cychaic Exchange' effect per turn, and only 1 that turn.
Cychaic Spiral Swords (Equip Spell card)
Effect: Equip only to a 'Cychaic' monster. Activate 1 of the following effects, based on the type of 'Cychaic' monster equipped to this card:
Ritual: If the equipped monster attacks a monster your opponent controls, you can destroy cards your opponent's field at the end of the damage step, up to the number of monsters used for the equipped monster's Ritual Summon.
Fusion: Once per turn, when the equipped monster battles a monster your opponent controls: You can negate the attack.
Synchro: If the equipped monster destroys a monster your opponent controls: You can target 1 'Cychaic' monster in your GY; inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its ATK.
Xyz: If the equipped monster activates its effect: You can increase the equipped monster's ATK equal to the ATK of one 'Cychaic' monster in your hand or GY until the End Phase.
Pendulum: If your opponent activates a card effect: You can negate the activation, and if you do, destroy 1 card on each player's field.
Link: If the equipped monster battles, your opponent's monster loses ATK equal to its Link rating times 300 until the end of the damage step.
Cychaic Clipeus (Normal Trap card)
Effect: When this card is activated: Equip it to a 'Cychaic' monster you control. While that monster is equipped with this card, it cannot be destroyed by battle or your opponent's card effects; also, any battle damage you take when it battles is reduced to 0. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can shuffle it into your deck. You can only use this effect of 'Cychaic Clipeus' once per turn.
Cychaic Vulcanalia (Continuous-Trap card)
Effect: While this card is on your field, 'Cychaic' cards you control are unaffected by the effects of your opponent's Spell and Trap cards. Once per turn: You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field to activate one of two effects:
Gain 400 LP.
Inflict 400 damage to your opponent.
If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can have all 'Cychaic' monsters you control gain 400 ATK, while all monsters your opponent controls loses 400 ATK.
Cychaic Pollice Verso (Continuous-Trap card)
Effect: While this card is on your field, if your opponent activates a card effect: You can negate the activation. You can only use this effect of 'Cychaic Pollice Verso' once per turn for each type of card (Monster, Spell, and Trap). If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can negate the effects of 1 card your opponent controls. If you control a 'Cychaic' monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to each of this card's effects.
Cychaic Nero (LR: 3/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 2300/⬅️⬆️➡️)
Effect: 2 or more 'Cychaic' monsters. This card gains 300 ATK for every 'Cychaic' card you control. You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; take control of 1 monster your opponent controls, and if you do, you can treat it as a 'Cychaic' monster until the End Phase. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: Gain 300 LP for every card your opponent controls. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Nero' once per turn.
Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm (LV: 8/Cyberse/Wind/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)
Effect: 1 'Cychaic' Tuner Monster + 1 or more 'Cychaic' monsters. You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card on your hand or field; halve the ATK of 1 monster your opponent controls, and if you do, gain LP equal to half its original ATK. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can Special Summon 2 'Cychaic' monsters from your deck and/or GY with different names to your field in defense position. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to each of this card's effects. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm' once per turn.
Malf:
Darkscourge Infectors (Link Spell card/↖️⬆️↗️)
Effect: If a 'Darkscourge' monster this card points to battles a monster your opponent controls: You can negate the effects of your opponent's monster; also, halve that monster's ATK and DEF until the end of the damage step. If this card leaves the field: Banish all 'Darkscourge' monsters this card pointed to. You can only have 1 'Darkscourge Infectors' on your field at a time.
Darkscourge Infection (Normal Trap card)
Effect: Target 1 monster your opponent controls; it must attack this turn. If the targeted monster did not declare an attack this turn, send it to the GY, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK. If the targeted monster battles a 'Darkscourge' monster, it loses ATK equal to the 'Darkscourge' monster it battles until the end of the damage step. You can only activate 1 'Darkscourge Infection' per turn.
Darkscourge Blade Ogre (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2600/↙️⬆️⬇️)
Effect: 2 or more 'Darkscourge' monsters. Gains 400 ATK for every monster this card points to. During either player's turn (Quick Effect): You can remove 1 'Darkscourge' counter from a 'Darkscourge Star Core' or 'Darkscourge Generator' on your field; banish a card on your opponent's field. You can use this effect up to the number of 'Darkscourge' Link Monsters you control. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation.
Darkscourge Solid Ogre (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2600/⬅️⬆️⬇️)
Effect: 2 or more 'Darkscourge' monsters. If a 'Darkscourge' monster(s) you control would leave the field by battle or card effect, you can remove 1 'Darkscourge' counter from 'Darkscourge Star Core' or 'Darkscourge Generator' on your field instead. Once per turn, when a monster your opponent controls declares an attack: You can choose the attack target for that attack. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation.
SengokuQueen:
Ambush of the Six Samurai (Normal Spell card)
Effect: Target 1 'Six Samurai' Link Monster on your field; Special Summon 'Six Samurai' monsters from your deck or GY to Main Monster Zones it points to. You can only activate 1 'Ambush of the Six Samurai' per turn.
The Six Samurai – Tajima (LR: 4/Warrior/Fire/ATK: 2800/⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️)
Effect: 2 or more 'Six Samurai' monsters. When this card is Link Summoned: You can send cards your opponent controls to their GY, up to the number of 'Six Samurai' monsters used for this card's Link Summon, and if you do, you can place 1 'Bushido' counter on this card for each card sent to the GY by this effect. You can remove 1 'Bushido' counter on your field, then target 1 'Six Samurai' monster on your field or in your GY; this card gains ATK equal to the targeted monster's ATK until the End Phase. You can only use this effect of 'The Six Samurai – Tajima' once per turn.
Stregone:
Apprentice of Endymion (LV: 4/Spellcaster/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1400/PS: 1)
Pendulum Effect: If you have a Spellcaster Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone with a different name: You can destroy this card; add 1 card from your deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of 'Apprentice of Endymion' once per turn.
Effect: If you control a Spellcaster monster in the Extra Monster Zone: You can target 1 monster you control; declare a Level from 1 to 8, and if you do, that monster's Level becomes the declared level until the End Phase. If this card leaves the field while you control a Spellcaster monster in the Extra Monster Zone: You can draw the top two cards of your deck. You can only use each effect of 'Apprentice of Endymion' once per turn.
Magic for Magic (Normal Spell card)
Effect: You can send 1 Spell card from your hand to your GY; add 1 Spell card from your GY to your hand with a different name. You can only activate 1 'Magic for Magic' per turn.
Pendulum Reformation (Normal Spell card)
Effect: You can tribute 1 Spellcaster Pendulum monster you control; Special Summon any number of Spellcaster Pendulum monsters from your GY or Extra Deck whose combined ATK is less than or equal to the tributed monster's ATK. You can only activate 1 'Pendulum Reformation' per turn.
Pendulum Rayshift (Normal Trap card)
Effect: If a monster you control battles and there's a 'Magician' Pendulum Monster in the Pendulum Zone: Monsters on your field can't be destroyed by battle this turn, also, any damage you take is halved. Then you can Special Summon 1 Pendulum monster from your hand, deck, GY, or Extra Deck whose attack points are less than or equal to the monster on your field that battled this turn. You can only activate 1 'Pendulum Rayshift' per turn.
QOTC
Regarding OC villains for VRAINS fanfics, where does Azrael, Malf, and Wraith fit in terms of ranking?
Chapter Preview
Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 78: Battle Scars. Knowing Revolver's goal, Malf springs an inescapable trap on him, where he presents the former with a choice on who to save as a result of his sins. Elsewhere, Raguel confronts Azrael in a rematch in the dark vault to not only defeat him, but obtain the data in the dark vault as well...
Author's Notes
I must say, this was a very long chapter. In fact, this chapter is the longest one so far in the story! But moving that aside, a quick recap is needed, don't you think:
This chapter picks up from the cliff-hanger in Chapter 76, where the heroes found out what's been going on while Lightning was dueling against Blood Shepherd. Upon learning this information, they immediately race over to Central Station... only to find out that they're too late to stop what's happened. As of now, a good majority of the Charisma duelists have been defeated, along with several of SOL Technologies' AIs. Luckily, there was a survivor in the forms of Krystal, Numera, and Gil. Do note that Stregone and Phoenix are at the dark vault's entrance by this point, waiting for Azrael to get there.
A note on Slipstream here, and this continues from Chapter 74: Since what happened to Takeda, he's felt powerless, and he started to get a sense of control back when he saved Rufus the dog. Here, Slipstream races to save Krystal from the troops disguised as Hanoi grunts. Why? It's so that Brea doesn't go through the same thing he did when Takeda was put in the hospital. To put it simply, Slipstream acted to prevent someone else from experiencing a similar tragedy like he did. It's here where Slipstream's starting to realize something: In a situation, he has a choice in how it affects other people. To put it simply, Slipstream has a role in how he can affect the situation in front of him.
Next is the scenes in the real world. Here, Akira's coordinating with the authorities in stopping the attacks in the real world. Sadly, lots of people are dying either in the crossfire, or being hunted down by Ace's troops, which are disguised as Hanoi grunts. It's here where Ace sends out a message, where he, as Emon, publicly frames the Hanoi by saying that these attacks are to announce their return. What's more, he even shows proof of their dealings in the network with Ace and the Alpha Branch. Akira and Greg, knowing the Hanoi, see this video as nothing more than ridiculous. Why? Because the both of them know that, despite the Hanoi being criminals, they do have a sense of honor. Examples include Revolver shutting down the Tower of Hanoi, Revolver returning Blue Angel's consciousness data, and Baira releasing the cure for the Another Virus during Season 1. So Akira immediately has his team look into the truth of the video, as well as to hack into the bombs in Uchida Industries, as the attackers took hostages.
From there is the three duels, along with additional notes that I will go over in great detail.
The first duel is between Ace vs. Rosetta, their long-awaited rematch in other words. It is here where Ace finally wins a duel for a change. But what changed? Why did it happen? Well, it's because Ace chose not to cheat for once. This is because Lord Kazuma's words have traumatized him, to the point where he stops cheating, having realized that he's no longer doing it for fun, and instead doing it to survive. Thanks to that decision, Ace was able to get the upper hand on Rosetta with his own skills, as well as Judgment Arrows of course. Though he didn't use it well compared to how Lightning, Bohman, and Haru used it, especially how Rosetta negated it with Rosaria, the Stately Fallen Angel. In the end, Ace defeats Rosetta with Dystopia the Despondent, securing him the win.
Following the duel, Raguel appears and brutally beats up Ace for murdering so many people in the Turf War. Raguel did swear to make Ace suffer for the deaths of so many people in the Turf War, as well as attempting to kill Miyu with the attack at the Den City Hospital. Re-read Chapter 64 if you're confused on this. Some of you guys wanted to see Raguel more ruthless, so I hope you've enjoyed seeing him punish Ace for his sins. Oh, and Raguel cut Ace's right forearm off with Excalibur, and even obtained his duel disk as his prize. This means that Raguel has all of Ace's programs, his information, his deck, everything. All of it is now in his possession.
Now here is where things get crazy: Ace blows himself up in an attempt to kill Raguel and the others. Just why did he do it? While it was a bonus for Ace if he succeeded in killing the heroes, his true intention was to betray Azrael and make a stand of defiance against him, aware that his usefulness will run out someday. Just how did Ace do this? He initiated something called the Gambit Protocol, where the chaos in the real world has been escalated to the point where it can no longer be in controlled. To put it simply, lots and lots of explosions. This is a huge insult to Azrael, as he's been in control of the situation up until now, and the fact that he couldn't predict his own servant from betraying him puts salt in the wound as well. So to sum it up, Ace is officially dead, with his last actions being the following. One: Getting revenge on Rosetta and defeating her in a duel, thus finally securing his first and only win. Two: Throwing a monkey wrench in Azrael's plans through the Gambit Protocol. Three: Mocking Azrael and taunting him that he couldn't predict his own servant's betrayal.
The second duel is between SengokuQueen and Malf. This duel was a little tricky, as I had to keep track of how many Bushido counters were present in the duel. Here, Malf finally unleashed his own Link Spell card in the form of Darkscourge Infectors, which basically halves the opponent's monster's strength and negates its effects during battle. But in exchange, all monsters Infectors points too are banished once it leaves the field. Still, SengokuQueen fought valiantly in utilizing her deck to her full potential. She even brought out her strongest monster yet in The Six Samurai – Tajima. Malf, in return, used Darkscourge Draco Master, along with the corrupted versions of Gouki the Blade Ogre and Gouki the Solid Ogre to solidify his field. But despite SengokuQueen's valiant efforts, she lost the same way Dancho did, which was being pulled into a trap she couldn't escape from. In the end, Malf obtained SengokuQueen's heart, and ate it so he could finally evolve... but unfortunately, thanks to Ace's last acts of defiance, Malf's evolution was halted. This was where he contacted Azrael about Ace's betrayal, with Azrael ordering Malf to get things ready for when the Hanoi arrive.
Last but not least is the third duel between Azrael and Stregone. Of the three duels, this was the trickiest to write, as I had to take numerous things into account. Before the duel, Phoenix asks Azrael why he had to cause so much pain to his family, with the latter responding that he had no personal grudge against Jeff. Azrael then counters by saying that the deaths of innocents can't be avoided at times, and that if it weren't for him, the situation would have been worse. Thus, he calls himself a necessary evil.
During the duel, Stregone utilized everything he had against Azrael, and utilized his deck's full power in the form of three new monsters. The first being the Link monster Beyond the Pendulum, the second being the Pendulum Synchro monster Nirvana High Paladin, and the third being the Pendulum Xyz monster Magician of Hope. These monsters show how much stronger Stregone's gotten since we've last seen him duel, and it's evidence that his strength is continuing to grow. As a result, Stregone was actually able to catch Azrael off guard and deal some damage to him. In return, Azrael unveils some new cards such as his Field Spell card, Cychaic Amphitheatre, his new Link 3 monster Cychaic Nero, and his Synchro monster Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm. Despite the opposition, Stregone was able to survive Azrael's attacks and continue fighting until the bitter end.
I'd like to point something out that occurred in the duel. Near the duel's climax, Stregone talks about achieving his dream, which is fighting so he can create a future where everyone can duel and enjoy their time with one another without fear of the unknown. Where they can spend their lives in peace rather than fall into despair. Where they can pursue their dreams, and fulfil them through the bonds they made with the people in their lives. Azrael, in response to this, calls Stregone's dream a fantasy because of how it's both unrealistic and unachievable, especially in the current state the world's in. Azrael even goes as far as to blame Stregone for poisoning Yuhiro with selfless delusions, with Stregone countering that if it weren't for him, then Yuhiro would have been bitter with the world for what happened. And after that little discussion, Stregone swears to show Azrael that his dream can become a reality... but in the end, it wasn't enough.
However, Azrael, having seen Stregone's strength and honor, as well as grateful to him for taking care of Yuhiro when he could not, finishes the latter off with Teravolt Dragon, his beloved ace monster. And with that, Stregone's lost his consciousness data. Following the duel, Azrael approaches Phoenix, asking whether he was a duelist or not. While Phoenix obviously confirms it, he also adds that he's Stregone's apprentice. Why did Phoenix say this? It's because Stregone not only mentored him how to duel, but helped him get through what happened to his family, so he's showing respect in both instances. In the end, Azrael spares Phoenix, and even commends him for showing loyalty to the people he cared about in the face of death. Not just that, but it's out of respect of Stregone's strength, as well as gratitude for him taking care of Yuhiro when he could not.
The final scene is Revolver and Specter arriving at the location where Drachen is being held at, only for the two of them to be greeted by Malf. Something tells me things are about to only get worse from here, don't you agree?
Now that everything's been recapped, I want to thank you all for reading Chapter 77 of Obscured Truth. As always, please let me know your thoughts about the chapters below in your reviews. Also, constructive criticism is appreciated, as your tips and advice helps make the story better. In addition, don't forget to favorite and follow the story. That way, you will get a notification once the next chapter is released.
What did you like the most about this chapter? The duels? Raguel's rampant actions? Ace betraying Azrael and putting salt in the wound? Or was it something else?
That's all for now, folks. Next chapter, there will be two duels, with a dialogue-based chapter after that. I hope you look forward to what's coming next, as the to the attack on Central Station comes to an end!
