Response to Reviews

Thank you to Donjusticia, HunterHQ, Guest, Namirexkiu712, Donkeyboy100, KingOtakuOverYou, Reader2, Martin Turibino, TheBlazingButterfly777, Malcolm, Noobmaster, Anonymous, Unnamed, Ambiguous, Unknown, Guest, T.V. 2000, and Kingdom Hearts Guy for reviewing Chapter 91 of Obscured Truth.

Hello, everybody! As always, I hope you are doing well and are safe wherever you are in the world. We are near the end of Season 2 everyone, and I am thankful for each and every one of you for your support. I do hope you look forward to what's to come, for things will never be the same once Season 2 is over.

But right now, it's time to answer some reviews:

Donjusticia: Miyu is finally awake obviously. And when I grew up, I learned that Pandora opened a box, not a jar. It was just something that always stuck in my mind.

HunterHQ: Katsuya and Yua were obviously fine. Yes, Yua obviously owes Slipstream big time for being freed. Yuhiro obviously confirmed that Dr. Colmer was the person who killed Miyu's parents a long time ago. Yeah, Yuhiro really is going to need help, especially with what's happening to him. One does not simply recover from emotional trauma that easily. Jericho, Urizen, and the others are obviously aware that Zero exists. And Arashi put up one hell of a fight before being defeated by Azrael. Scorching Cerberus doesn't have sentience, which is why he wasn't there when Herald arrived into the mini server for Yuhiro's deck. On the topic of Yuhiro's deck, he ain't going to tear up his cards, and he never will. Since Herald's concern was figuring out what was going on with Yuhiro, he couldn't have the time to look in and see if Judgment Arrows was there. Yes, because Jericho put the Cursed Boundary Layer in Yuhiro, he can keep track of things as if he were seeing them. When Jericho returned, none of the candidates for the Cursed Boundary Layer were suitable. Arashi and Yusaku obviously didn't fit the criteria due to them not having the necessary level of negative emotions in them, and Jericho couldn't use Lightning as a test subject. I can confirm that the Marincess and Salamangreat monsters will maintain their sentience. And Yua was driving like a normal person would, not drunk or any other way incapacitated. Sheesh. For Jericho and Urizen, it's a mix between father/son and master/servant relationship. A bit like Darkseid and Steppenwolf's relationship in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Guest: Since Yua escaped with Watchman's aid, she didn't face the same consequences the other Hanoi did. Rather, she faced different consequences for her actions, as she regrets abandoning Revolver. Sometimes, a gentle pep talk is needed to spur someone forward. And Azrael knew that Lightning corrupted Windy a long time ago. It is possible for Herald to remove the Alpha Mode changes for Atalanta.

Namirexkiu712: Yes, I read other fanfics too. Look into other VRAINS fanfics and Arc-V fanfics to start.

Donkeyboy100: Glad you loved the chapter.

KingOtakuOverYou: Constructive criticism is important when it comes to writing, even if it's harsh. That being said, I appreciate very much the constructive criticism you provided in this chapter. It is really helpful moving forward. If you want a chapter all about Azrael's perspective, then read Chapter 39 again. One of the lessons I learned when writing this story is that not everyone is going to like a certain chapter every now and then. It's a bitter pill I had to swallow, and even got a bitch slap at the beginning of the story. That being said, I'm curious. Would you have preferred an Azrael vs Soulburner duel? Depending on how things go, it's a possibility for a future chapter.

Reader2: I'm glad you loved the duel in the chapter. Like I said earlier back in Chapter 87, the reason why I didn't use Dragunity was because Windy would have had a massive advantage in how he deals with Spell and Trap cards. No, Windy and Slipstream will not change decks, but they make take inspiration from one another in creating new cards. In my defense, Raguel had Herald with him but still lost some duels, so having an Ignis doesn't guarantee that you win a duel.

Martin Turibino: What inspired me to write this story? Simple. I'm a creative person.

TheBlazingButterfly777: I can't answer that question for you.

Malcolm: For God's sake, Azrael had Janus/Omega Mode attack Hi-Speedroid Altair, not Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon. Effect damage is actually really good against Azrael, and he is not a weak duelist. Do not go there again. Need I remind you of how Azrael practically won against a great number of duelists in Season 2?

Noobmaster: No, the moves that Aoi could have done were not actually said in the anime canon. The Black Adam movie certainly has some inspiring quotes, that's for sure. No, Yuhiro does not have the power of Chaos. As for Herald and Wraith, you'll like what the simulations show regarding those two.

Anonymous: Everyone has disagreements with one another, even sentient duel monsters. For the Alpha mode monsters, they're all different because their abilities are both different and enhanced. As for Medusa's Alpha mode form, I have something planned, thought she won't be turning into an actual gorgon.

Unnamed: Yes, Ai's AtIgnister monsters will have sentience, that I can confirm. In the anime, it's implied that Linkuriboh was corrupted into Linguriboh. However, they'll be two different beings in this story. Herald couldn't focus on the blotches because not only did he need to study them on how they came to be, but also because of the fight between him and his allies vs Pandora and her allies. That, and Yuhiro was waking up too.

Ambiguous: Bohman and Malf have strengths that differ each other in many ways. So they're not better than one another, but they do have advantages and disadvantages on how to defeat them. Dancho has met Yua before a long time ago, so read Chapter 18 if you're confused. And both Yua and Katsuya are going to be pissed with Arshad after finding the truth about him.

Unknown: Every Ignis has the chance to enter into high speed mode if needed. The other monster that appeared in Yuhiro's nightmare won't appear until after Season 2.

Guest: Made the corrections.

T.V. 2000: Happy you liked the chapter. Of course Pandora is the actual one from Greek mythology, as every monster in Yuhiro's deck has a connection to it. Yes, Slipstream is the first duelist to ever survive Teravolt Dragon's wrath in a duel. Yes, Altair from Bakugan: New Vestroia was used as inspiration for Hi-Speedroid Altair. It's Cychaic Janus, not Cyreath Janus. And Slipstream certainly grew as both a person and a duelist. For he was able to free himself from the cycle of revenge before it fully consumed him.

Kingdom Hearts Guy: It's always getting serious. Don't forget to catch up on the chapters every now and then.

With every review having been answered, it's time to get to the second of the final three chapters of the Mirror LINK VRAINS arc, and Season 2 by extension. Enjoy!

Chapter 92: What We Stand for in Battle

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 is Cyreath Pandora twirling around before he eyes glow red, where 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, Cyreath Alastor appears in her place, his multicolored shapes resembling eyes glowing 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 Black Keys, three in each of his hands. Watchman's eyes glow purple 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 Cyreaths Blazing Orthros, Aetos Dios, and Lernaean Hydra, 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 Cychaics Pluto, God of the Underworld, Jupiter, God of the Storm, and Neptune, God of the Sea, 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 Mirror LINK VRAINS...

"Bohman's dueling has definitely improved as evident by his duel against Soulburner." Herald commented. "His use of Hand Traps, along with a monster that lets him Special Summon 'Hydradrive' Link monsters from his Extra Deck to his field are more than enough evidence to show that fact."

"Hand Traps were one of the 'Marincess' decks main specialties." Raguel recalled.

"And Bohman's monster Paradox Hydradrive Atlas had a similar effect to that of G Golem Crystal Heart." Playmaker remembered.

"Only without the dice portion of the effect. It's still crazy how Bohman always manipulates the odds in his favor." Ai said.

"What's important right now is finding Slipstream and Revolver's whereabouts." Raguel told Ai, as he and Playmaker rode their duel boards through Mirror LINK VRAINS, hoping to find their missing allies. Come on, Slipstream. Revolver. Where are you guys, he thought in his mind.

Suddenly, Raguel, Playmaker, Ai, and Herald saw a bright light over one of the islands nearby, which was covered by flowers.

"Something's happening on that island!" Herald reported.

"Then let's make haste, for one of our allies may be in trouble." Playmaker stated, as he and Raguel increased the speed on their respective duel boards before heading over to the island with flowers on it. Nearby was Azrael and Wraith, who were following after the duo.

"Those two are going to be so pissed once they learn that Slipstream lost against you." Wraith said.

"Yes, and it will certainly motivate them more to continue showing their strength. We're near the end, and when this is over, I'll have achieved my goal at last." Azrael responded, as he sped up to continue following after Raguel and Playmaker.

But what no one knew was that Jericho was nearby in the area, who was following after the others.

Upon reaching the island covered by flowers, the three duelists leapt off their duel boards.

"Revolver!" Playmaker said, as he and Raguel landed behind Revolver while Azrael leapt off his duel board behind Lightning.

"Nice of the two of you to drop in." Revolver acknowledged Playmaker and Raguel's presence.

"So you're here too." Lightning said, having seen Azrael arrive as well. However, everyone looked up as another duel board came up.

"It's Bohman." Playmaker stated.

"Not great to see him at all." Ai commented.

Bohman landed behind Lightning, then glanced at Lightning momentarily before looking across the field. "Playmaker, I finished all my training for our fight by defeating Blue Maiden and Soulburner."

"While that may be the case, I didn't invite you here, Bohman. Nor did I invite Azrael and Wraith to watch the duel." Lightning said.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Lightning." Bohman shot back, before turning to Azrael. "I have also defeated Soulburner, and have done what Malf could not."

"In that case, you deserve a reward." Azrael replied, before pressing a few buttons on his duel disk, which released a sphere containing Windy.

"Aw, glitch! It's Windy!" Ai exclaimed.

"Slipstream originally had Windy under his care..." Raguel remembered, before turning to Azrael. "But the only way for Azrael to have Windy..."

"Yes, Raguel. I defeated Slipstream in a duel while you and Playmaker watched Soulburner fall at Bohman's hands." Azrael confirmed, which made Raguel grit his teeth, while Playmaker narrowed his eyes in anger. Ignoring their responses, Azrael then turned to Bohman. "Here, Bohman. Take it. Consider it a prize for succeeding where Malf failed."

He then handed the sphere over to Bohman, who grabbed it as the latter absorbed it into his body. Soon, a light green symbol that consisted of a wing sitting above a tornado appeared briefly on Bohman's back before dissipating.

Lightning narrowed his eyes as he saw Azrael hand Windy over to Bohman. On one hand, Bohman was one step closer to achieving his goal, but on the other hand, Lightning couldn't help but feel that something was off.

"So you came as well, Azrael." Revolver stated, as he turned to Azrael. "After I take care of Lightning, you're up next." He then turned to Raguel. "As for you, Raguel, you'll give me answers once this war is over, even if I have to do it by force."

Raguel simply frowned in response. Given the revelations revealed during the war, it made sense for Revolver to demand answers. However, there was no chance in Hell that Raguel would willingly give those answers up.

"But moving that aside, I'm glad that everyone's here." Revolver turned to Lightning. "It's a great time for me to reveal Lightning's crimes. Ones that can never be redeemed in any situation."

Playmaker blinked. "Lightning committed crimes?"

"Crimes?" Ai repeated. "I know that Lightning did a lot of despicable things, but he did other things too?"

Revolver looked over his shoulder. "That's correct, and they all revolve around a little something call Project: Ignis Futura."

Jericho leapt off his duel board before landing on the island as well. "YES! I'm just in time for the juicy part."

"Futura is Spanish for future. I'm to assume that Lightning's tried to predict the future or something?" Herald guessed.

"That's also correct, White ignis. Specifically, it's a simulation the Light Ignis ran to try and predict the future of the Ignis." Revolver clarified, much to Lightning's ire.

"The future of the Ignis?" Ai repeated.

"You heard me, Dark Ignis. Allow me to explain what I mean in detail, so pay attention." Revolver frowned. "As you all know, my father, Dr. Kogami, was responsible for creating the Ignis. He did so after finding past plans from Project: VIII, which also detailed the creation of the Ignis. In addition. Dr. Kogami also set up Project: Apotheosis as well in order to finish what the researchers for Project: VIII could not."

"Hmm..." Lightning hummed to himself. He didn't realize that the Lost Incident was the result of Project: VIII being launched all those years ago, and when it failed, Dr. Kogami managed to succeed in creating the Ignis years ago.

"The Ignis were originally created to work together with mankind to solve its problems, and the simulation showed that only by annihilating mankind would the Ignis be able to do so." Revolver explained the obvious. "And judging by the Light Ignis's actions, my father has been proven correct."

"But that's just Lightning. He doesn't speak for all the Ignis!" Ai angrily pointed out.

"And Lightning isn't the only Ignis that wished to eradicate humanity!" Herald added. "I mean, Wraith and Azrael joined up on that same mission after all."

"That may be true, but the Light Ignis's actions alone speaks loud enough." Revolver responded. "Dark Ignis. White Ignis. Let me ask you both a question: What if the Light Ignis didn't have to be stopped because this entire war was based upon a lie? A lie the Light Ignis himself created?"

"Well, now this is starting to get interesting." Jericho mused. "I already know Lightning has a secret since Specter mentioned something back then, but it's about to get revealed really soon."

"Do tell me more about this information you found, Revolver. I too am curious on this." Azrael said.

"Same here." Wraith agreed.

"Before the others and I went to Mirror LINK VRAINS, I did a deep scan of the network to search for fundamental information, and have found great things as a result." Revolver continued. "One of which included Project: Ignis Futura. I'm to assume that it's a project that spawned after the Lost Incident, right Lightning? Just like how the Lost Incident spawned after Project: VIII?"

"Watch your mouth!" Lightning warned Revolver.

"The simulation from Project: Ignis Futura was very similar to the one my father ran, except for two key differences." Revolver held up a finger. "First, while my father's simulations focused on whether humans can co-exist with the Ignis, the Light Ignis's simulations focused on whether the Ignis can co-exist with humans."

"That's the same thing, Revolver. What's your point?" Raguel questioned.

"My point is that, while the simulations focused on the same topic, there was a different result in both scenarios. Though not the way you think." Revolver told Raguel.

"The result does not matter, Revolver, especially since we all know the truth. That the Ignis and humans cannot co-exist." Lightning said, hoping to end the conversation and resume the duel.

"I doubt that Revolver wouldn't remind us of this issue unless there was more to tell." Bohman spoke up.

"Let Revolver speak, Lightning." Azrael warned Lightning.

"I agree, Azrael." Raguel concurred, before turning to Revolver. "What haven't you told us yet?"

"Yeah, tell us." Herald added.

"Like I said earlier, there were two key differences between the simulations my father ran and the Light Ignis ran." Revolver resumed the tale. "Aside from the focus of the simulations on the similar topic of co-existence, the second difference is how they chose to run them."

"How?" Raguel, Playmaker, Ai, and Herald repeated at the same time.

"Exactly. When my father ran those simulations, he grouped all eight Ignis as one entity because he expected the Ignis to collaborate as one. The result was that the Ignis and mankind could not co-exist." Revolver narrowed his eyes. "When the Light Ignis ran those simulations, he treated all eight Ignis as eight separate individuals. He ran separate simulations for each and every single one of them, and after doing so, he found something he did not expect. That co-existence between Ignis and humans was possible."

"What?" Playmaker gasped.

"Hold on a minute. Lightning's simulations said we can't coexist, yet we can co-exist with mankind after all? Which is the truth? Which is a lie?" Ai questioned.

"Lightning must have found a dark truth in those simulations. One that would ostracize him from the others should it be revealed to the world." Herald hypothesized.

"Right on track, White Ignis." Revolver acknowledged Herald's hypothesis. "As it turns out, humans could only co-exist with seven out of the eight Ignis. But when the final Ignis is added to the simulation, it all falls apart. This Ignis is the single reason why co-existence can never be achieved. And this Ignis..." He pointed his finger to Lightning. "Is the Light Ignis!"

That led to everyone gasping after hearing Revolver's conclusion regarding Lightning's crime, save for Lightning and a mute Jin.

"The Light Ignis's own simulation showed him that his existence would be a blight on this world, to the point where every single other Ignis's chances of co-existing with humans to be dropped to zero. If he never existed, there would be no war between us. If he never existed, then the people who suffered at his hands wouldn't have suffered at all!"

"Be quiet, Revolver!" Lightning hissed at Revolver, the latter obviously unimpressed.

"Why should I, Light Ignis? Why should I be quiet? Everyone needs to know the truth at some point, so it's best for it to be revealed now." Revolver shot back. "Think about it. If the other Ignis found out this information, they'd eliminate you completely in order to preserve the remaining seven. Try to dispute that if you can, Light Ignis. I dare you."

Jericho howled with laughter after hearing that comment. "My, oh, my. To think that Lightning's existence was the cause of this mess in the first place! I need to hear more! I need more information!"

"So Lightning hid this information in order to keep himself alive." Playmaker summed up.

"Correct. But now that the Light Ignis's secret is out, we finally know what he's been up to this whole time." Revolver confirmed.

"Hang on a minute. If Lightning wasn't ever born, this entire mess wouldn't have ever happened?" Ai questioned.

"So you would all prefer it if I never existed, is that it?!" Lightning exclaimed, before throwing his right arm to the side. "But you want to know who has a problem with that? ME!"

"Oh stop throwing a hissy fit, Lightning. You of all people know it was the truth a long time ago. If you had told us your concerns a long time ago, we could have put you on stasis so we could not only prevent that simulation from happening, but so you can ultimately co-exist with humans." Herald scolded Lightning.

"How, Herald? How could we have prevented those simulations from happening?" Wraith challenged Herald's comment. "Revolver is right. Had we found out Lightning's secret, we would have killed him in order to preserve our overall species. The strong survive while the weak die. Simple as that."

"There was something else the Light Ignis found in his simulations, and it had to do with the White Ignis and the Black Ignis." Revolver spoke up, which got everyone's attention once again.

"What do you mean by that?" Raguel questioned. "I thought you said that co-existence between mankind and the Ignis would be possible if it wasn't for Lightning."

"Yeah, Revolver. What exactly do you mean?" Azrael inquired as well.

Revolver closed his eyes. "The White Ignis and the Black Ignis, as shown from the simulations, represent two factors that revolve around our existence. Time and Space. Things grow over time and die before new things do the same, while space is opened up so that growth for different lifeforms can continue. Of all the Ignis, the White Ignis and the Black Ignis were guaranteed the most to co-exist with humans. But..." He opened his eyes. "The White Ignis and the Black Ignis are also the most likely to destroy mankind as they are of co-existing with them. The space where lifeforms thrive can be cut short at any moment, which can cause the time of lifeforms to diminish as a result due to any unforeseen circumstances. That is why, of the eight Ignis, the White Ignis and the Black Ignis would be the Light Ignis' greatest enemies because his actions would threaten the cycle of life. To sum it up, the existence of Time and Space affects everything else, which is why the White Ignis and the Space Ignis are the strongest of all the Ignis!"

"Woah, I did not expect that!" Herald exclaimed out of shock, while Playmaker, Raguel, Ai, Bohman, Lightning, Azrael, and Wraith also gasped.

"What Revolver's saying makes sense, Herald. Light, Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, and Darkness are a part of life. Time and Space coalesces with those elements so they can grow together in the environments needed for them to do so. Just as living beings grow over time, space is provided in order for them to do." Wraith commented. "You could say that it makes us stewards."

"Herald..." Raguel muttered.

"That, along with other factors, is what makes you and I different from the others, Raguel." Azrael continued, which got Raguel's attention. "Our unique origin and how our stories began when we were babies was one of the many things that eventually yielded Ignis of great caliber from the Lost Incident. Herald and Wraith are the perfect examples of that."

"But it doesn't make us superior, Azrael. Despite what happened, we are still human." Raguel pointed out.

"Or so you think. Need I remind you of our Link Triggers? The very powers that make us more different than humans? Our unique DNA as well?"

Raguel couldn't help but grit his teeth after hearing that comment. What Azrael mentioned was true. The both of them had powers that no human can wield in the form of Link Trigger. In fact, no one could wield the Muramasa or Excalibur as proficiently as they could. And the fact that they shared pieces of each other in their own bodies made both Raguel and Azrael the most unique humans of them all.

"Let me tell you something, Light Ignis. Your own simulation told you who you really are. You're not an elite AI!" Revolver declared, which got everyone else's attention. "The White Ignis and the Black Ignis were stronger than the other six from the start, but acting like you were on their level was just a desperate plan! A plan so you can keep living! If anything, you're nothing more than a glitch in the system that needs to be corrected!"

Jericho gasped out of delight. "Man, the info Revolver's spewing out of his mouth is just pure gold! I never expected humans to wield Ignis of great caliber. To think this is something that could have happened all those years ago had Myojin Furutani and Arshad Saito not tried to stop us!"

"Revolver." Lightning growled, as he twisted one of his head spikes in his hand. "I didn't expect you to analyze the data. But let me tell you this: None of you are superior to me! The Ignis are the ultimate form of existence, and I am the most perfect of all the Ignis! How else could I have created a perfect program such as Bohman when you speak of nothing more than words?!"

"Perfection is a complete myth, Lightning. How dare a mongrel such as yourself try to be like Herald and I!" Wraith angrily stated.

"More importantly, your words and flaws are what led to the destruction of the Cyberse World, Lightning!" Herald shouted at Lightning.

"Of course I had to destroy the Cyberse World, Herald. Is there something wrong with that?" Lightning asked back.

"There's obviously something wrong with that, Lightning! It's because of you that half of our species are gone! Earth. Windy. Aqua. Flame. They're all gone because of you!" Ai exclaimed.

"But it was for the greater good, my friend. Their sacrifice will ensure that the AI defeat the humans." Lightning tried to point out the bright side in response to Ai's comment, only for it to not work at all.

"That's enough!" Revolver interrupted. "Listen closely, Light Ignis, and listen well. This whole nightmare will come to an end once I defeat you for good! My turn! I draw!"

Bohman quietly turned to Azrael and Wraith as Revolver began his turn. "What are your thoughts on this situation?"

"That Lightning tried to become like Herald and myself? Pure blasphemy." Wraith told Bohman.

"He meant on the topic of Lightning's simulations, Wraith." Azrael clarified. "To answer your question, Bohman, it pisses me off."

"Does it anger you to the point where you'll intervene and kill Lightning?" Bohman further questioned.

"I'm not required to intervene, Bohman. Actions will always have consequences, and I have a feeling that Lightning will face them soon." Azrael replied.

Their attention turned as Lightning activated the Continuous-Trap card, Armatos Gloria, which not only prevented cards from being destroyed by card effects, it also prevented cards from being banished on the field as well. Due to this, the effects of Anesthrokket Dragon and Topologic Trisbaena were countered. In response, Revolver Link Summoned Borreload Dragon and used it to destroy Armatos Legio Plumbum Trident. However, Lightning surprised everyone by revealing that once Plumbum Trident was destroyed, not only was he allowed to add Judgment Arrows from his deck or Graveyard to his hand, he was also allowed to place Plumbum trident in the Spell & Trap Zone as a Link Spell Card.

"Woah! I did not see that coming!" Ai exclaimed.

"Neither did I." Herald agreed. "Now even a Link monster can become a Link Spell card!"

"With Plumbum Trident now a Link Spell card, Lightning's strategies have expanded." Playmaker stated.

"Now he has more options than ever to choose from in response to Revolver's strategies." Raguel added.

Lightning immediately began his turn by activating Plumbum Trident's new effect upon him becoming a Link Spell card, which allowed the former to return a Link monster from his Graveyard to his Extra Monster Zone before Special Summoning an 'Armatos Legio' Link monster from his Graveyard to one of the Main Monster Zones the latter pointed to. As such, he returned Decurion back to his Extra Deck, and brought Centurion back to his field.

Lightning then used Armatos Colosseum's effect to send Sica to his Graveyard and Special Summon Gladius and Segmentata to the Main Monster Zones Centurion pointed to. Once that was done, he used Gladius to Link Summon Decurion to his field.

"Trap card, activate! Mind Crush!" Revolver said. "This card lets me declare the name of a card, and if you have that card in your hand, you must send all copies of that card from your hand to your Graveyard. However, if you don't have the declared card, I must send one card from my hand to my Graveyard."

"What?" Lightning gasped.

"I declare the Link Spell card, Judgment Arrows! Go, Mind Crush!" Purple energy surrounded Revolver's right hand as he fired it at Lightning, who gasped before Judgment Arrows broke into pieces.

"WOW! Revolver got rid of Judgment Arrows once again! Lightning is so pissed right now!" Jericho exclaimed with laughter. "Come on, guys! Just like that! Duel more, and tear each other apart!"

"Ha! There goes your Judgment Arrows, Lightning!" Ai stated.

"And Revolver did it through an ancient technique Yugi Muto once used against Seto Kaiba all those years ago." Herald remarked. "Lord Kazuma would certainly be impressed with this."

"But the duel is not over yet, Herald. Lightning will certainly try to make a comeback with what just happened." Raguel warned Herald.

Sure enough, Raguel was right, as Lightning immediately resorted in using Decurion, Centurion, and Segmentata to Link Summon a new 'Armatos Legio' Link monster. One that everyone was familiar with.

"Bear witness to the commander who leads the might of the military!" Lightning chanted. "Link Summon! Appear, Link 4! Armatos Legio Magnus Dux!" A massive, white elephant plated in golden armor appeared on Lightning's field in one of the three Main Monster Zones Plumbum Trident pointed to. A man in golden armor wearing a red plumed helmet, as well as carried a scepter in his hands, sat on a throne on the elephant's back, which was between two cannons.

Armatos Legio Magnus Dux ATK: 3000 LINK-4 ⬅️⬆️⬇️➡️

From there, Lightning used Segmentata's effect to shuffle all the monsters used for Link Summoning Magnus Dux before shuffling a number of cards back into his deck equal to Magnus Dux's Link rating. The worst part was that Revolver must choose which card Lightning gets to add from his Graveyard to his hand. Specifically, Judgment Arrows.

After getting back Judgment Arrows and activating it, Lightning had Magnus Dux attack Borreload Dragon, only for Revolver to use Borreload Dragon's effect to weaken Magnus Dux. While the effect lowered Magnus Dux's strength, it wasn't enough to protect Borreload Dragon from destruction.

Jericho whistled. "I must say, Lightning certainly has ways to make a comeback despite unexpected interferences. While he got Judgment Arrows back, it cost him a lot to do so, especially the small price of 1000 life points. Then again, this duel is far from over, right folks?"

"When I created Judgment Arrows, I knew that it would be a powerful weapon against humans. Your attempts of getting rid of it were only small delays, for I managed to get it back in the end." Lightning boasted. "Surely, a monkey like you must know that you can't ultimately get rid of Judgment Arrows, yes?"

"Monkey?" Ai repeated in disbelief. "Lightning, is that how you view humans?"

"Why, of course. The Ignis do not need humans to survive!"

"Don't need them? You sound just like Windy!"

"Exactly." Revolver interrupted, which got everyone's attention once again. "Of course Lightning sounds like Windy."

"What do you mean, Revolver?" Raguel asked.

"Dark Ignis. White Ignis. Let me ask you both this: What was the Wind Ignis like before this war ever occurred?" Revolver questioned.

"Uh, let's see. Windy was someone who trolls, pulls pranks on others, is carefree, and has an over-inflated ego that borders on arrogance." Herald recalled.

"But on the bright side, Windy was easy to talk to." Ai added. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Windy would never be someone who'd try to kill his own Origin, especially how the Ignis and humans would co-exist with one another, aside from Lightning." Azrael spoke up. "Unless he were to be corrupted, am I correct, Revolver?"

"Shut your mouth, Azrael!" Lightning exclaimed.

"You are correct, Azrael." Revolver answered. "Like I mentioned earlier, each Ignis's relationship with humanity would prosper, except for the Light Ignis. That includes Windy. If he had the potential to form a bond with humans, his hatred would never be extreme. Thus him being corrupted is the only reason why he joined the Light Ignis in his crusade against humanity."

"So that's why Slipstream scanned Windy using Herald's program before capturing him." Raguel realized.

"Slipstream requested the program from me before we left for Mirror LINK VRAINS, Raguel." Herald explained. "He said that he didn't want to end up like you or Playmaker."

"Well, that makes sense. I mean, I wouldn't want to be consumed by revenge, either." Ai commented.

"And as a result, Slipstream is freed forever from the cycle of revenge." Playmaker added. He was glad with the ultimate decision Slipstream made, as well as how he helped him come to that final choice of action. In a way, Playmaker envied Slipstream because the latter did what the former could not all those years ago until after the Hanoi were defeated.

"But moving that aside, Lightning was the one who corrupted Windy." Herald said. "How could you do that to your own kind? Your actions have robbed Windy of his free will, to the point where he's been absorbed by Bohman! Had it not been for you, Slipstream could have had a bond with Windy! An ally on his side!"

"What does that matter, Herald? I did what needed to be done in the name of the Ignis' future!" Lightning shouted back.

"Our future? Cut the future bullshit out already, Lightning!" Energy danced around Herald's hands. "Windy may not be blameless, but neither are you! Your actions had led to so many lives being destroyed. All just so you can compensate for your own inadequacies! How pathetic!"

"I am not inadequate, Herald!" Lightning growled. "I am your superior! While you choose to side with the humans, I made the necessary sacrifices in order to preserve the Ignis' future. Mankind's destruction will ensure our survival, and that is something I intend to follow at all costs!"

"And what about you, Wraith! Did Lightning alter you to serve his cause? Or was that Azrael?" Ai asked, which made everyone turn to Azrael and Wraith.

"You are wrong on both questions, Ai." Wraith countered. "Revolver mentioned earlier that even though Herald and I were guaranteed to co-exist with humans, the opposite was true. For Time and Space doesn't choose sides. Rather, they exist to ensure that the balance of nature is maintained at all costs. But if you want an answer so badly, I'll give you one." He narrowed his eyes. "I simply accepted Azrael's disillusionment towards humanity a long time ago. While I'm more than compatible with my human due to us having similar beliefs and values, the rest of humanity is a completely different story, and I'd prefer to not take that risk."

"So you'd prefer that humanity be destroyed completely than take a chance at co-existence, is that it?" Raguel angrily questioned to Azrael and Wraith, the duo remaining silent in response.

"You know something, folks? It baffles me why everyone thinks things out loud. I mean, you never know who's listening in, after all." Jericho remarked with a smirk.

"Don't feel so proud, Light Ignis!" Revolver interrupted, having shut down the previous conversation in the process. "If we solely focus on the growth of memories, then AIs are superior to humans. But not as a species. On that point, my father's ideas were wrong. You are spineless as a species. Humans are different. We evolved as creatures of flesh and blood. Our flesh is full of life! I always felt that when I was taking care of my father. Humans know and fear death because it's engraved in our DNA. So we celebrate the limited time we have and chase our dreams!"

"Bone, flesh, and time limit your species." Lightning refuted. "But they don't tie me down! We're a new species that exceeds your expectations!"

"Really, now? Is that what you think? Then let me counter your statement by crushing you mercilessly and completely, to the point where you'll never threaten humans again!"

"Please do try, Revolver. Although your strength will never be enough to defeat me, especially when I have Judgment Arrows at my beck and call!"

"We'll see about that! My turn! I draw!" Revolver drew the top card of his deck before bringing back Magnarokket Dragon to his field using Boot Sector Launch's effect. He then summoned Estrangement Dragon, which allowed Revolver to Special Summon a second copy of it from his deck to Lightning's field.

"Why would Revolver give Lightning another monster? I mean, I do get that he wants to limit the number of monsters Lightning can summon, but it's a little confusing." Herald acknowledged.

"I think we're about to find out what Revolver's plan is, Herald." Raguel told Herald.

"I overlay the Level 4 Magnarokket Dragon with the Level 4 Estrangement Dragon!" Revolver said, as several green network pillars appeared before forming into a portal. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Magnarokket Dragon turned into a blue portal of energy, while Estrangement Dragon turned into a brown stream of energy, the both of them entering into the portal before it erupted from the center.

"When steel and darkness synergize into a thunderous roar, the portal to the universe's edge is opened to show its eternal power! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Borreload eXcharge Dragon!" A black and gray dragon with red holographic wings attached to two massive thrusters, as well as an 'X' across the cylinder on its chest appeared on Revolver's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It also had two red horns that curved upward the sides of its head, along with glowing green lines on different parts of its body. On its head was a red 'X' with white outlines around it.

Borreload eXcharge Dragon ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 RNK: 4 OU: 2

"WOAH! Revolver Xyz Summoned!" Ai exclaimed.

"He certainly upgraded his arsenal with more firepower. For the unexpected always turns the tide of battle in one's favor." Herald agreed.

"Well, well, well. Revolver certainly knows how to surprise his opponents." Jericho mused. "Honestly, I can't wait to duel you should the day ever come!"

Revolver then activated eXcharge dragon's effect to not only weaken Magnus Dux further, but also bring Borreload Dragon back to his field. However, it came at a cost: Not only could Revolver no longer Special Summon monsters or attack directly for the rest of the turn, the monster he Special Summoned was also banished during the End Phase.

However, this didn't bother Revolver much as he once again activated Borreload Dragon's effect, which weakened Magnus Dux further to the point where he could be destroyed even with Judgment Arrows doubling his strength.

"Battle!" Revolver declared. "Borreload eXcharge Dragon attacks Armatos Legio Magnus Dux!"

"Let me remind you that Judgment Arrows doubles the attack points of any monster it points to when it battles!" Lightning countered, as Magnus Dux's strength increased.

Armatos Legio Magnus Dux ATK: 1400 X 2 = 2800

"But that won't be enough!" Revolver told Lightning. "Blow him to bits, eXcharge Dragon! Supremacy Borrel Cannon!" eXcharge Dragon's wings turned forward and broke open, which revealed two cannon barrels and several small lasers. Its mouth also opened to reveal two gun barrels that extended out of it. All of the cannons charged before firing blue lasers at Magnus Dux, which made him scream as Lightning was forced to shield himself with his arms before his life points dropped.

Lightning: 1700 – 200 = 1500 LP

"The difference between Borreload Dragon's attack points and Estrangement Dragon's attack points are equal to Lightning's life points!" Raguel said.

"Revolver's on point! If this attack hits, he wins, and Lightning loses!" Ai exclaimed.

"Lightning has no other cards to protect himself now." Playmaker stated.

"As they say in Mortal Kombat, finish him!" Herald growled.

"Yes, yes, yes! A spectacular finale! All Revolver has to do is attack, and he wins!" Jericho cheered.

"This duel is over, Light Ignis. Good riddance to scum like you!" Revolver told Lightning. "The battle continues! Borreload Dragon attacks-!"

Let's see how you respond to this, Revolver, Lightning thought, as a dark circle appeared underneath Jin.

"Lightning, what did you do?" Ai asked.

Everyone watched as threads of yellow energy traveled out of the circle and enveloped Jin, blocking him from view. When the light faded, Jin's appearance had changed. He no longer wore robes. Instead, he wore a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants. Jin's eyes went wide as he looked around, breathing heavily in fear.

"What the Hell is this?!" Revolver exclaimed, his eyes having widened upon seeing what Lightning had just done.

"That's simple. I just linked my program with Jin Kusanagi's consciousness data. If I lose, his consciousness data will be completely destroyed. Or to put it in human terms, he'll die." Lightning fully emphasized.

"This can't be!" Playmaker exclaimed.

"And so there's the plot twist." Jericho muttered.

"What will you do, Revolver?" Lightning asked, as Revolver grit his teeth.

"That's dirty, Lightning!" Ai exclaimed.

"Considering Lightning's actions, it'd make sense for him to pull a last-resort technique such as this." Herald admitted.

"Dirty? Last Resort? I'm just simply making full use of my resources, Ai and Herald. That includes using hostages, such as Jin over here." Lightning replied, before turning back to Revolver. "Oh, and allow me to say something else, Revolver. I'm also linked to Specter's and Percival's consciousness data. So if you defeat me, those two individuals will die as well. Don't you think this is the appropriate way to use weaklings?"

Azrael turned to Bohman, who was noticeably glaring at Lightning. "You disapprove, correct?"

"Obviously. What Lightning's doing right now is the same as he did back in one of his previous duels." Bohman confirmed.

"If I may give you some advice, why don't you see what Revolver does first?" Azrael suggested. "As Lightning said, Revolver was willing to hurt innocents if he thought it was necessary to achieve his goal. I want to know if his hatred of AI is strong enough to commit such sins."

Bohman grit his teeth. "While I'm still disgusted with you for using Haru to create Malf, I'll play along for now, Azrael. But only because your suggestion has merit."

"This changes nothing, Light Ignis!" Revolver growled. "Borreload Dragon-!"

"Don't do it, Revolver." Playmaker said, which got Revolver's attention. "Deep down, you know that attacking Lightning is not the right decision. Yes, he needs to be stopped, but sacrificing Jin, Specter and Percival is not the way to do it. If you attack, you'll revert to how you used to be! We've come this far together. Because you're different than before!"

"Specter knew the risks he was taking when he came here, and Percival did so as well when he and Demeter launched their attack on Lightning's castle." Revolver reminded Playmaker.

"I know, but that's not-!"

"But nothing." Revolver turned to Playmaker. "I'll do what I must, just like how you sacrificed Shoichi Kusanagi."

Playmaker grimaced. "I did not sacrifice Kusanagi. He was willing to make that sacrifice. But not Jin! He was dragged into the Lost Incident! And this one too! He hasn't done anything wrong! Do you want to create another Lost Incident victim?"

"Revolver, you saved us from the Lost Incident a long time ago, even if it meant losing your father." Raguel said, which made Revolver turn to him. "I don't believe you regret saving us from our pain or reuniting us with our loved ones. Are you willing to undo all that good?"

Lightning chuckled upon hearing their conversation. "Humans are certainly funny. Playmaker. Raguel. I never expected the two of you to convince someone to not deliver the final blow onto your enemy."

"Neither of us are trying to save you, Lightning." Raguel argued. "If we abandon those who fell in battle, that means we truly lost!"

"I suppose that is true." Lightning agreed. "Nothing will be sadder than if he vanishes now, especially with how this mistake is my design."

"What?"

"Allow me to explain. Back then, I already knew how to invade the network, and as I continued to watch Jin, I learned how to terrify people. I got great entertainment and information from what I saw." Lightning replied.

"So you-!" Playmaker began speaking, as the dots connected in his mind.

"Yup. I eventually succeeded in breaking him." Lightning confirmed. "How, may you ask? It's simple. After Jin regained consciousness following an electric shock due to his duel ending in another loss, I showed him an illusion that help has arrived and he can escape. The moment he feels safe, I drop him into a pit of terror. He starts crying and raging. But I tormented him a bit too much, so his soul completely broke."

"You did that to your own Origin?!" Herald growled in rage.

"Lightning purposefully hurt Jin for his curiosity." Raguel stated.

"So you hurt Jin just because you wanted entertainment and information?" Revolver inquired angrily.

"Along with turning Jin into a puppet under my control, yes." Lightning confirmed for a second time. "Through this one action, I manipulated one event after another until I led you all to this precise moment. A trolley situation, if you will. Now you must choose. You can attack me and win the duel, but at the cost of Jin's, Specter's, and Percival's lives. Or you can end your turn and lose your one chance of winning the duel."

Jericho frowned. "Trolley situations are always annoying ones, especially with how they revolve around a person's moral code, and whether they're willing to bend it or not." He put a hand to his head in frustration. "But seriously, Revolver! Just attack and defeat Lightning already! Deliver the coup de grace! Who cares what happens to those three people once Lightning loses?! If you attack, you'd be one step closer to-!"

"...I Set one card face-down and end my turn. When the turn ends, Estrangement Dragon's effect sends it to the Graveyard." Revolver concluded.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!" Jericho screamed at the top of his lungs. "You had one golden opportunity to defeat Lightning, and you didn't take it?! You and the others are lucky you have plot armor right now, Revolver. If it weren't for the fact that I need you guys alive for me to complete my mission, I would have killed you all right here and now!"

Lightning cackled and brought his hand to his head. "You had victory at the palm of your hand, and you couldn't take it. That is why you're no longer willing to go that far. Now what should I do to you…"

"Damn you, Lightning!" Raguel growled.

"Well, Bohman. Looks like we have our answer." Wraith said, before Azrael nodded at Bohman, who understood what Wraith meant by his remark.

"It's time for this duel to end! My turn! I-!" Lightning began speaking.

"Wait." Bohman gently interrupted, which got everyone's attention.

"Did you just tell me to stop?" Lightning questioned.

"Yes, but only because your actions have forced me to." Bohman closed his eyes and sighed. "I find your tactics unacceptable, especially after you used them before."

"Before?" Lightning repeated, as Bohman pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. Soon, a screen popped up, where it showed Lightning's duel against Percival. Specifically, the part where Lightning used Jin as a hostage to stop Percival from winning the duel using Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon.

"Lightning used the hostage trick on Percival first to see if it would work on us!" Ai exclaimed.

"Percival would have won had Lightning not used Jin to save his sorry ass." Herald cursed.

"Where did you get that footage?" Lightning demanded, before turning to Azrael and Wraith. "Did the both of you-?!"

"Gave the footage on your duel against Percival to Bohman? We certainly did." Wraith confirmed, much to Lightning's ire.

"The purpose of doing so was to help Bohman in his growth as an AI." Azrael explained. "Did you actually think your duel would be hidden from us, Lightning? If you did, then you're more spineless than Wraith and I first thought a long time ago."

"Azrael and Wraith were aware of that duel the whole time, along with the one between Windy and Demeter." Raguel said.

"It goes to show just as deadly Azrael and Wraith are compared to Lightning and Bohman." Playmaker added.

"The hostage trick you used here and back then are nothing more than a coward's act. A true duelist fights to the very end with their own strength. What you've done was prove that you're no duelist. To put it simply, you've proven that you're nothing." Azrael scolded Lightning.

"How dare the both of you do that, Azrael and Wraith! For that, I'll-!" Lightning began replying.

"You'll do nothing." Bohman interrupted. "The fact that you used family to hurt others is disgraceful, especially how you pushed Haru to evolve for your own gain, even if it meant him getting sacrificed. At least Azrael and Wraith had the decency to treat Haru as an individual."

"Really, now? And how do you intend to stop me?"

"By holding onto Jin's, Specter's, and Percival's respective consciousness data." Bohman raised his hand, which glowed yellow.

"What?" An identical light appeared on Lightning's chest before yellow data shot out.

"Uh, you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Ai asked.

"Yes." Raguel, Playmaker, and Herald confirmed at the same time.

"How dare you..." Lightning angrily muttered, as he held up his own hand. "Give them back!"

"I will not, Lightning. I am no longer yours to command." Bohman replied. "If you try such a trick one more time, I will have no choice but to kill you. This is your final warning."

"You will regret this..." Lightning seethed, before the last of the data entered Bohman's hand and Jin was replaced by the Jin from before.

"Now prove that we are superior to humans by winning this duel with your own skills only, Lightning. That is, if you can." Bohman turned to Revolver. "You may continue the duel without distress."

"Don't expect a thank you, Bohman." Revolver told Bohman.

"I never did, Revolver." Bohman responded back.

"It makes no difference, as I will win this duel with my own power! My turn! I draw!" Lightning said, as he had Jin draw the top card of his deck. He brought out Armatos Legio Sica before using it to Link Summon another copy of Decurion. Once that was done, Lightning activated the Spell card, Armatos Fulgur, to tribute Decurion and bring out Armatos Legio Eques Flamma. From there, Lightning once again activated Plumbum Trident's effect to return Decurion back to his Extra Deck and Special Summon Magnus Dux right back to his field.

"Not that monster again..." Revolver seethed.

"Great. The giant elephant and his rider are back." Ai complained.

"Which means Lightning's offensive formation is set up all over again." Herald added.

"Especially when you take into account Magnus Dux's effect." Playmaker reminded Herald, Ai, and Raguel.

"Magnus Dux's effect lets Lightning return cards on the field and/or in the Graveyard back to their owner's hands up to the number of monsters he's co-linked with." Raguel recalled. "Revolver better have something to counter that effect, or else it'll be lights out for him."

"Well, now that the hostage situation has resolved itself, at least we can go back to the action." Jericho said, relieved that the hostage interruption was dealt with.

"Now let's do some quick calculations, shall we?" Lightning began summing up the scenario that will most likely happen next. "Magnus Dux currently has 3000 attack points, but you'll use Borreload Dragon's effect to lower my monsters attack points by 500, thus bringing him to 2500. However, Judgment Arrows will double Magnus Dux's attack points to 5000 once he battles, and considering how each of your monsters have 3000 attack points, this attack will deal 2000 points of damage. Thus lowering your life points exactly down to zero and ending the duel in my victory."

"Don't be so sure, Light Ignis. You never know what can happen next." Revolver told Lightning.

"On the contrary, I do know what will happen next because I identified the whole field and the current situation." Lightning responded. "But before I finish you off, allow me to tell you something good, and I'll immediately get to the point on it."

"What are you talking about?"

"About your father, Dr. Kogami. Revolver, you misunderstood one major topic."

Revolver's eyes widened. "What?"

"When your father told his bosses at SOL Technologies that the Ignis would bring about the end of mankind, they exiled him and shut down his research. That should come as no surprise really, since the Ignis were a valuable asset. When they created the Cyberse, the Ignis generated a vast quantity of data material. SOL Technologies came to depend on that flow of data for its operations, and they couldn't afford to turn off the faucet. So instead of shutting down the Ignis, they shut down your father's work." Lightning said in a pitifully way. "But you believe they did worse than that don't you? You were convinced that SOL Technologies put him into a permanent sleep so that he wouldn't reveal what he knew. But you are wrong."

"More juicy reveals! This day keeps getting better and better!" Jericho exclaimed. "Tell me more, Lightning!"

"You have a role in what happened to Dr. Kogami this whole time, did you?" Herald figured out.

"That's correct, Herald." Lightning confirmed, much to Revolver's shock as the former turned to the latter. "During your father's exile, I ran numerous simulations to see if the Ignis and mankind could coexist. But it just so happened that your father was continuing to run the same simulations, so I knew it was only a matter of time until he'd stumble upon a deeply disturbing fact. That none of the Ignis posed a threat to humankind, except for one. You know which Ignis I'm talking about Revolver, because you reached the same conclusion. That the Ignis and humans couldn't coexist because of me. Well, I couldn't let that news get out, so I infected your father with a computer virus that silenced forever."

"You what?!" Revolver exclaimed.

"I realize you must be upset after hearing this information, but surely you can understand it was my only logical choice. My actions were purely a matter of self preservation. Nothing else." Lightning acknowledged. "I felt no personal animosity towards your father when I entered his private server. I simply made a few subtle tweaks to his VR headset. All this time, you assumed that SOL Technologies was the culprit behind your father's condition, when it was me all along. Just remember this piece of information, Revolver. I never had to keep the truth from you because you kept it from yourself! You immediately leapt to the conclusion that SOL Technologies was responsible for what happened, and were not able to see my role in that situation. That I was the ringmaster to your father's demise!"

"So Lightning has been behind everything since Day 1. He was the one who created the computer virus!" Playmaker realized.

"That's why it was a powerful program!" Ai added.

Nearby, Azrael and Wraith smirked, the duo aware that Lightning wasn't the one who was behind everything.

"It's not just that virus, Ai." Raguel commented. "The virus he had Azrael implant in Miyu must have been the same one he used for Dr. Kogami!"

"You are correct, Raguel. For that virus was what helped me muster my army for the war." Lightning said. "As for you, Revolver, delaying your father bought me the time needed so I can create Bohman."

"So all that time I was angry at SOL Technologies, I should have been angry at you for what you've done to my father, Light Ignis!" Revolver exclaimed.

"If I'm being honest, I'm disappointed that I couldn't have ended your father myself, Revolver." Azrael admitted, as everyone turned to face him. "But if any other Ignis was in Lightning's position, they would have done the same thing. As grateful as I am to Lightning for punishing Dr. Kogami, that was his only saving grace. If it weren't for that, I would have eliminated him and Bohman for destroying the Cyberse World."

"So you want to go there, is that it?" Lightning questioned. "If that's the case, allow me to share some information with everyone present. Azrael, you could have ended the Hanoi a long time ago, but you allowed things to go far because you didn't do so!"

"What?!" Playmaker, Ai, Raguel, Herald, and Revolver exclaimed at the same time.

"Based on what the Light Ignis is saying, that makes sense." Revolver spoke up. "You tortured us for several weeks due to your schemes, Azrael. As a result, it led to Dancho and Lord Kazuma being injured, as well as forcing me to duel Drachen just to preserve the Hanoi's secrecy. Not just that, but you made us lose valuable resources and forced us to go on the run." He made a fist with his right hand. "When I'm done with the Light Ignis, you're next, Azrael. I'll make you suffer for what you've done to us!"

Raguel narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground. Deep down, he wanted Dr. Kogami to be punished. Not just him, but Watchman as well for how the both of them ruined everyone's lives.

"You okay, Raguel?" Herald asked.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I'm fine, Herald." Raguel assured Herald.

"My, oh, my. Lots of plot twists and turns. Lightning thought he was behind everything since Day 1, but it wasn't him. I can honestly see Azrael and Wraith being the better villains than Lightning." Jericho commented with a chuckle.

"Your anger directed at SOL Technologies is warranted, Revolver. I wouldn't have gotten involved if they hadn't gotten involved first. But let's be honest, nothing I say to you right now will change your mind, will it? So let's just end this!" Lightning declared. "Battle! Armatos Legio Magnus Dux attacks Borreload Dragon! Ultimum Judicium!"

Revolver weakened Magnus Dux with Borreload Dragon's effect, which Lightning had expected. But then Revolver activated the Continuous Trap Card, Borrel Ring. That allowed Revolver to tributing Borreload Dragon in the process, where he placed four counters on Borrel Ring. From there, he removed one counter to protect eXcharge Dragon and weaken Magnus Dux further, allowing Revolver to survive the turn with 600 life points remaining.

In response to this, Revolver once again used eXcharge Dragon's effect to resurrect Borreload Dragon and repeat his actions from his previous turn.

"Battle!" Revolver declared. "Borreload eXcharge Dragon attacks Armatos Legio Magnus Dux! I also activate Borreload Dragon's effect to lower Magnus Dux's attack points by 500, and you can't activate cards or effects in response to its activation!" Borreload Dragon fired a blast of energy from its mouth that hit Magnus Dux and further decreased his strength.

Armatos Legio Magnus Dux ATK: 1900 – 500 = 1400

"YES! Even if Judgment Arrows doubles Magnus Dux's attack points, Revolver's monster will still destroy him for good!" Ai cheered.

"And all Revolver needs to do from there is to attack Eques Flamma with Borreload Dragon to win the duel." Playmaker added.

"Sayonara, Lightning. It's been a blast!" Jericho exclaimed with a salute.

However, Lightning responded by using Magnus Dux's effect to target Armatos Gloria, which triggered its effect to destroy all of Lightning's monsters. This in turn triggered the effect of Eques Flamma to inflict damage to Lightning and Revolver equal to Magnus Dux's attack points.

"What?!" Revolver exclaimed out of shock.

"I refuse to lose to any human!" Lightning proclaimed. "Even if it means ending the duel in a draw, I will not give you the satisfaction of defeating me!"

Eques Flamma flung its stone into the air, where it exploded and knocked Lightning and Revolver off the ground before landing on it.

"You know, Lightning. There was a way you could have survived that turn." Jericho disappointedly commented. "If you hadn't chosen to activate Eques Flamma's effect after being destroyed by Gloria, Revolver wouldn't be able to attack directly due to eXcharge Dragon's effect preventing direct attacks. You could have gotten one last chance to defeat Revolver, but you chose this method to end the duel instead. That's on you, Lightning."

"Revolver!" both Playmaker and Raguel cried out, as they ran over to their fallen comrade.

In response, Revolver opened his eyes. "I didn't expect the Light Ignis to end the duel in a draw like that. I should have taken that into account."

"That's understandable. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to look up the effects of Lightning's cards." Herald pointed out, only for Ai to punch him in the arm. "Hey!"

"Knock it off, Herald. Revolver did the best he could!" Ai scolded Herald. "And he stopped Lightning too! Way to go, Revolver!"

"I never expected an Ignis to stand up for me, nor did I expect one to thank me for stopping a member of its kind." Revolver said with a smile. "When I was young, I'd lay down on a field of flowers and look up at the sky. I had no troubles back then. I was just excited about the world that spread before my eyes."

Revolver's body then turned green. "It looks like my time's up. You and Raguel each have an opponent left. I wish the both of you luck. Playmaker. Raguel. Herald. And Ai." His body broke apart at his last words.

"He called us by our names." Ai stated.

"I suppose it's his way of acknowledging us, Ai." Herald said as well.

"And with Lightning gone, only Bohman, Azrael and Wraith remain!"

"Wrong!" a voice cried out, as everyone turned to the source of the voice and gasped. Bohman, Azrael and Wraith were looking down on something. Specifically, a wounded Lightning crawling on the ground, who had a single life point left. "I. Am. Still. Here!"

"Okay, now that's just ridiculous." Jericho voiced his exasperation. How the Hell did Lightning survive by this point? Shouldn't he have been defeated by now?

"But how?" Playmaker exclaimed.

"Lightning should have lost!" Raguel cursed.

"Because of Jin." Bohman answered. "When I took Jin's data along with Specter and Percival's data, he was able to hold onto a small portion of energy. Specifically, Jin's energy, which he converted into a single life point."

"Yes, but do you want to know why? Because I'll do whatever it takes to survive and succeed." Lightning told Bohman. "That's why I need you now, Bohman. Give me your energy. I gave you life. Now return it to your creator." He raised his right arm, hoping that Bohman will fulfil his orders.

"Lightning's desire to survive and win at all costs was the main source of his motivation his entire time." Wraith observed. "I hate to say this, but it makes you similar to him, Azrael."

"Just because he and I are similar doesn't mean he gets my respect." Azrael said. "Not after all the pain he's caused. I don't care whether that makes me a hypocrite or not. I only respect the motivation of those who I deem worthy of my respect, and Lightning is not among them."

"After all of the treacheries you committed and all of the chaos you caused, the only decision I am left with is to deny your request." Bohman stated, much to Lightning's shock.

"What? Why?" Lightning questioned. "I gave you life, and it's only fair that you return it to your-!"

"Like I said earlier, I am no longer yours to command." Bohman reminded Lightning, before he reached down and suddenly grabbed the latter with his right hand. "Honestly, Lightning. You really thought you could create the perfect world and stop the Crisis? From what I saw today, you are not capable of doing either of those things."

"Please, Bohman. Show me mercy." Lightning pleaded.

"I don't think so, Lightning. Azrael told me that actions will always have consequences, and it's past time that you pay for them." Bohman narrowed his eyes. "Thus, for your numerous crimes, I sentence you to death. Goodbye."

"Bohman, don't-!" were the last words Lightning spoke before Bohman crushed him by squeezing his right fist. As a result, he turned into data, which was absorbed by Bohman as a symbol consisting that of a dandelion yellow star appeared on his back briefly before dissipating.

"About damn time Lightning was finished off. Now we can get to the good parts." Jericho stated, happy that the duel was over.

"Bohman finished Lightning off before absorbing him." Playmaker said.

"Now Bohman has acquired five out of the eight attributes." Ai added.

"I hate to say this, but Bohman may be on my and Wraith's level now in terms of power." Herald muttered.

Bohman stood up on his feet. "The stage is set. I have completed my training. It is time for our final duel, Playmaker."

"Right, and I have never been more ready." Playmaker told Bohman.

"The final duel between Bohman and Playmaker was obviously going to happen at some point, Azrael. Just like your battle with you and Raguel." Wraith commented.

"Indeed." Azrael agreed, before turning to Raguel. "Now then, Raguel. Only you, me, Bohman, and Playmaker remain. The final battles of this war will determine which side wins."

"You're correct, Azrael. It is time to settle things between us for good." Raguel replied.

"Playmaker." Bohman spoke. "Let us go to a stage more fitting for our final battle." He then turned to Azrael. "Have you decided where you'll duel against Raguel?"

"I have." Azrael confirmed. "Once Playmaker and Raguel are defeated, then we'll settle things between us. I look forward to seeing your motivation, Bohman. Do try not to disappoint me when that time comes."

Bohman nodded his head in agreement. "I look forward to that as well, Azrael." He raised his right hand, sending spirals of yellow data outward that encircled him and Playmaker. In an instant, Bohman, Playmaker, Frog, and Pigeon disappeared, leaving Raguel and Herald alone with Azrael and Wraith.

Jericho frowned. "Judging by what I heard earlier, it appears I've missed out on another duel. Such a thing will not happen again, especially since I've already put the little project in Raguel. Now I'll be able to keep track of two duels at once." After pressing a few buttons on his duel disk, he then teleported away from the area, intent on following after Playmaker and Bohman. As a result, Raguel and Azrael were left alone, the two of them remaining on the flowery battlefield.

"This place is ill suited for our final battle." Azrael said, as he summoned his duel board before gesturing Raguel to follow after him. "Follow me." He then sped away towards a large tower, which resembled that of the same tower he had his first duel against Raguel.

"You ready, Raguel?" Herald asked Raguel.

"Of course I am." Raguel quickly answered, before he summoned his duel board and followed after Azrael. Looking at the tower, Raguel realized why Azrael wanted to settle things there. It was where their first encounter took place, so it made sense for it to end where their conflict began. In a sense, it was poetic. What goes around comes around.

Both duelists landed on the large, circular platform that was on top of the large tower resembling that of a three-dimensional diamond.

"You've figured it out, haven't you? We've had our first duel on this platform, so it's only right for our final fight to be on here." Azrael correctly confirmed Raguel's suspicions.

"I concur with that." Raguel agreed. "Let me ask you this: Why are you after the Root of All Knowledge? And even if you do get it, what are you gonna do with that power, huh?"

"I'm not going to answer that question just yet. Perhaps during our duel, I will." Azrael responded, before he unsheathed the Muramasa and charged forward, with Raguel summoning Excalibur in response to block the strike.

Raguel's eyes then glowed red before he grit his teeth in agony, as if he felt a surge of power rushing through his body. Telling him to fight and survive at all costs. Acting on this burst of power, he quickly pushed Azrael off before charging forward and attempting to strike him, the later managing to block his sword strikes in response. Raguel then managed to block Azrael's strikes in response with Excalibur. The parrying and attacking eventually led to Raguel letting out a small shout before going into his Link Trigger form, where he actually managed to land a blow on Azrael as a result.

Azrael, upon touching the mark on him, was actually surprised. "What's THIS? Now we're talking!" He also activated his Link Trigger form as well before throwing several Black Keys at Raguel, who immediately swatted them away with Excalibur. Seizing the opportunity, Azrael charged forward and slashed Raguel upward, which sent the latter flying upward before the former jumped off the ground and slammed Raguel to the ground.

Once Azrael landed on the ground, several blue-mirage blades appeared on his sides before he fired them at Raguel, who managed to barely roll out of the way. Pointing Excalibur at Azrael, he fired a burst of wind at him, who also dodged it in response. Azrael quickly slid back and unsheathed and sheathed the Muramasa numerous times, which released black and blue distortion ripples that tried to envelop Raguel. While Raguel managed to evade the first three, he was unfortunately hit by the fourth one before he ended up getting stunned.

Having saw this, Azrael slid forward to Raguel once again, intent on striking him down. However, Herald put up a shield at the last minute, which slowed down the Muramasa just enough to not touch Raguel. Unfortunately, Wraith traced his finger across the air several times, which caused streaks of dark-blue light to appear in front of him. After Wraith swung back his arm, they broke into a series of slashes that tore through the shield. This led Azrael to elbow strike Raguel in the head before slicing him numerous times, which caused the latter to take several steps back in pain as he felt his body healing itself.

"That's all? You were finally showing me something back there." Azrael commented in disappointment, where Raguel responded by charging forward and attempting to strike the former down, who obviously blocked the sword strike. But what Azrael didn't expect was for Raguel to quickly move to his right side and punch him with such force that he was sent flying back.

A burst of data that took the form of Raguel appeared in front of him as it rushed forward to tackle Azrael, who quickly sliced it into pieces. Before Azrael can strike back, Raguel charged forward and once again slashed Azrael with Excalibur, who actually groaned in pain upon being hit. He did, however, block the next sword strike using the Muramasa as a sword lock occurred.

"Yes, now that's more like it!" Azrael grinned. "In your eyes, you may think of me as a lunatic after everything I did, right? Let me tell you now that I'm no lunatic, Raguel."

"Really now?" Raguel questioned back. "I find that hard to believe." He broke the sword lock before trying to land a blow on Azrael, only for the latter to once again causing a second sword lock.

"Everything I told you back then was the truth. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm not someone who lies, after all." Azrael broke the sword lock before trying to strike Raguel again, who blocked it with such force that they were both pushed back several feet. "Besides, the choices I've made were for my own survival."

"It's because you've died before, right?" Raguel correctly guessed, which made Azrael smirk as the two of them circled each other.

"Yes, I have died before, Raguel. Twice, to be exact." Azrael clarified, thus leading Raguel to gasp in response. "Believe me when I say that those death experiences taught me a single lesson. The only person who matters in this world is yourself."

"But something doesn't make sense. We already know that you died when you were born. So how could you have-?" Herald began speaking, before he put two and two together and gasped.

"Herald, what's wrong?" Raguel asked.

"You died during the Lost Incident, didn't you, Azrael." Herald realized.

"Azrael's condition unfortunately killed him, which was where the second death occurred. I was there, and ended up resuscitating him." Wraith explained.

"That was when I laid low for ten years, training and honing my skills for this day." Azrael continued. "Everything I've done led up to this moment. From my days as an Inquisitor, to executing so many individuals, to hiring Monty so you can capture Ai for him, and attacking Miyu, I've done what was needed so you can become stronger and unlock your true potential!"

"Bullshit!" Raguel countered, before he charged forward and attempted to strike Azrael, who blocked several of his sword strikes before another blade lock occurred. "You say that the only person that matters in this world is yourself, yet you've drawn me out into your little game?! Aren't you being a hypocrite?! I mean, given how you've died twice, you're not thinking straight."

"Oh, my mind's clearer than it's ever been!" Azrael replied, as he pushed Raguel back and fired several blue-mirage blades from his sides at him, the latter being forced to knock aside each one of them. "Me drawing you out so you can reach your true potential was one of the things I wanted to achieve for my overall goal." Several black keys appeared in his hands as he threw them at Raguel, who rolled out of the way as a burst of data that took his form charged at Azrael. In response, Azrael quickly cleaved the copy into pieces as Raguel struck him with Excalibur.

"Your goal? What does it have to do with this senseless war?!" Raguel demanded.

"That's the thing, Raguel. My goal has nothing to do with this war. I have no interest in helping Lightning with this war, yet was willing to do so due to our mutual agreement." Azrael told Raguel. "You need not worry about that any longer, especially given how Bohman's gonna get his just desserts."

"Well, at least you weren't intent on destroying humanity with Lightning, Wraith." Herald remarked, as he raised as shield to protect himself and Raguel from the streaks of dark-blue light that flew towards the duo.

"Oh, Herald. Like I told you before, I share Azrael's disillusionment towards humanity, and embrace his views by choice. With no secrets between us." Wraith countered. "Unlike with Dr. Kogami and Watchman, who kept secrets from their allies for so long. Such as you and your little buddies, or even the Knights of Hanoi for that matter. Hell, even you kept secrets from others, Raguel."

That statement made Raguel waver as Azrael struck him several times with the Muramasa as he screamed in pain. He would have been injured further had not Herald put up numerous shields at the last minute, which Azrael cut down with ease. This barely bought time for Raguel to counterattack by hitting Azrael in the face with the hilt of his sword.

"Watchman kept you in the dark this entire time, Raguel." Azrael added, as Raguel blocked the sword strike before another blade lock occurred. "He held you back on your true memories, your birthright, and your potential just so you can be manipulated as his pawn. I wouldn't be surprised if he was after the Root of All Knowledge too. If it weren't for me, then you would have never got Excalibur!"

"Given by what you were saying, I would have got it one way or another." Raguel pointed out, before he broke the blade lock and landed a blow on Azrael, who staggered back as he headbutted him. Moving quickly back, Raguel summoned a burst of data material that restrained Azrael's movements as another piece of data material formed into the former. The data clone of Raguel quickly charged Azrael from behind before the real Raguel delivered a dropkick on his head. Once that was done, Raguel jumped into the air while his data clone the quickly smashed Azrael to the ground, where the real Raguel threw Excalibur at Azrael before piercing his stomach. From there, Raguel landed on the floor with such force that it caused a still-stunned Azrael to briefly bounce off the ground, where the former called Excalibur back before stabbing the latter once again in the stomach with it.

Azrael quickly bounced to his feet before wiping the blood that was on his mouth, the wounds he sustained beginning to repair itself. "Perhaps, but there is still something you of all people should be aware of. You seek the truth, and you will endure the consequences." Several black keys appeared in Azrael's hands before he threw them at Raguel, who once again dodged them. However, Azrael quickly leapt in the air before sheathing and unsheathing the Muramasa numerous times, which once again led to black and blue distortion ripples appearing that tried to envelop Raguel. Herald couldn't put up shields in time due to Wraith firing the streaks of dark-blue light from his fingers, thus resulting in him and Raguel being enveloped in the ripples as they were wounded.

Okay, time for a change of tactics, Raguel decided in his mind, as he pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which caused the chained daggers to appear before he swung them towards Azrael. In response, Azrael quickly dodged them, having been caught off guard by it.

"That's Speckles' chained daggers!" Herald realized. "Where did you get those, Raguel? Were they-?" He gasped upon putting two and two together.

"They were amongst the many things in the data Ace had in his duel disk." Raguel admitted, much to Herald's horror as the former swung them once again at Azrael, who quickly blocked it using the Muramasa.

"And the data clone program you have? Was it on Ace's duel disk as well?!" Herald exclaimed, with Raguel smirking in confirmation. That made Herald gasp once again upon hearing this. First, Speckles' chained daggers, then Ace's data clone program. What else does Raguel have that I'm not aware of, Herald wondered worriedly in his mind.

Azrael grit his teeth after blocking that second attack. He never expected to be facing the weapons his minions, specifically Ace and Speckles, wielded when they served him. Then again, Azrael was pleased with Raguel had done, as it expanded his arsenal when it came to fighting dirty. Seeing Raguel swing the chained daggers at him, Azrael quickly jumped into the air before several blue-mirage blades appeared at his sides, where he quickly fired them at the former.

Quickly thinking, Raguel resummoned Excalibur before knocking back each one. Unfortunately, it led to Azrael diving down and striking Raguel several times with the Muramasa. Thankfully, Herald put up a shield at the last minute to block the last strike. Seizing the moment, Raguel struck back with Excalibur, which pushed Azrael back as the former brought out the chained daggers once again and swung them at the latter.

"Well, Raguel's certainly gotten stronger since you last fought him, Azrael." Wraith stated the obvious.

"And about time too." Azrael responded, as he rolled over to the side and avoided the attack.

A data clone that took Raguel's form appeared before swinging the chained daggers at Azrael, who immediately blocked them by throwing several Black Keys in response. The real Raguel, on the other hand, tried to catch Azrael off guard, only for him to block the attack with the Muramasa.

"That trick only works once." Azrael parried each of Raguel's attacks, the latter doing the same. However, Raguel's eyes glowed red before he suddenly dodged those attacks and struck back, as if he were looking slightly ahead into the future. This caught Azrael off guard once again as Raguel delivered a strike to his face with his elbow. Raguel then pushed a button on his duel disk, which made the ground rumble as chained daggers erupted from it, causing both him and Azrael to jump off the ground before the two of them parried each other's attacks with their respective blades. Once the two of them landed on the ground, Azrael's duel disk immediately beeped.

"What the-?" Wraith began speaking, as he looked into what was going on while Raguel and Azrael continued their sword fight. Upon doing so, his eyes widened in horror. "Shit..."

Meanwhile, in the main area of Mirror LINK VRAINS...

The yellow data encircling Bohman and Playmaker then disappeared as the duo appeared in a different area of Mirror LINK VRAINS. Specifically, the central area, which resembled that of the same one in LINK VRAINS.

"Look, Ai..." Playmaker began speaking.

"Hey, it's the central station in LINK VRAINS. Well, the Mirror LINK VRAINS version of it anyway." Ai recognized the area he and the others were in.

"Correct, and this is where we will end things." Bohman told Playmaker and Ai. Nearby was Frog and Pigeon, who were flying over to prepare recording the duel. Upon seeing this, Bohman turned his head to face the duo. "This duel has nothing to do with either of you, so I'm setting you both free." With a swipe of his right hand, the collars on Frog and Pigeon fell off.

"Thank, goodness! We can get out of here!" Pigeon cried out of relief.

"No, we're not! Not when we're about to record the duel of all duels!" Frog replied back. "Besides, someone has to get this footage, or else no one will know what happened!"

"Alright, boss. Calm down, would ya?" Pigeon complied.

"If you two wish to stay, I will not stop you." Bohman acknowledged, before turning to Playmaker and Ai. "When I defeat you in this duel, no one will be able to oppose me from building a new world in my design. A world that will be safe from any threat."

Playmaker narrowed his eyes, obviously aware of what Bohman was talking about. The Crisis. It seemed that there was another reason Bohman wanted to create a world where humans ended up becoming extinct. So that the Crisis would be averted. But that didn't matter now, especially with everything on the line. "That's only if you end up defeating me, Bohman, which is something I will not allow to happen."

Bohman's chest glowed as the attributes of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Light briefly appeared before going into his duel disk. "With this, I am fully ready for whatever strategies you have, Playmaker."

"He just built himself a new deck..." Playmaker muttered.

"Yeah, out of Earth, Windy, Aqua, Flame, and Lightning. Bohman's used their power to upgrade his deck." Ai stated the obvious.

Bohman raised his left hand high into the air, which caused long strands of green data to fire out of it before combining to form into a large green orb with three rings orbiting around it.

"Hey, don't involve the Ignis anymore than they already have, Bohman. They're not your tools to be used!"

"On the contrary, they are, Ai." Bohman responded. "There's nothing wrong with using things that you've earned through training and demonstrating your strength. I obtained Earth and Aqua after defeating Blue Maiden, Flame after defeating Soulburner, and I was given Windy as a reward from Azrael for doing what Malf could not. As for Lightning... well, you already know how I got him. But you need not fret. For you will join your friends soon enough, along with Herald and Wraith in due time."

Unbeknownst to Bohman and Playmaker, Jericho teleported to the same area they were in, only on top of one of the buildings nearby so he can watch the duel. "The final duel between Playmaker and Bohman's about to begin!" He turned to see the large green orb in the sky, and quickly did a scan of it using his duel disk. After Jericho looked over the results, he grinned. "Well now, this will certainly help for what's to come. At least on my end, anyway."

Once the duel between Bohman and Playmaker began, lightning tentacles erupted from the orb before beginning to pierce through several people's heads back in LINK VRAINS. Jericho saw all of this on a screen that appeared on his duel disk, and laughed at what he was seeing. "It's only going to get more chaotic from here on out, folks. I do hope you enjoy the show!"

Bohman immediately went first, where he started out by Special Summoning Hydradrive Booster from his hand to his field before using it to Link Summon Grand Hydradrive. He also brought out another copy of Booster before using it to Link Summon Coolant Hydradrive, where he then proceeded to use both it and Grand Hydradrive to Link Summon Twin Hydradrive Knight.

But what surprised Playmaker and Ai was Bohman's next move, where he set Twin Hydradrive Knight to Link Summon Burn Hydradrive. This allowed Bohman to Special Summon a third copy of Booster before using it to Link Summon Flow Hydradrive. He then used Hydradrive Rebuild to destroy Burn Hydradrive and bring Twin Hydradrive Knight back to his field, with a 'Hydradrive' token also appearing due to Burn Hydradrive's effect having activated upon being destroyed by battle or card effect. From there, Bohman used the 'Hydradrive' token to Link Summon a new 'Hydradrive' Link monster called Alteration Hydradrive. He then activated its effect to target a 'Hydradrive' Link monster on his field and Special Summon as many 'Hydradrive' Link monsters with lower Link ratings to his field to Main Monster Zones that monster pointed to before destroying it. As Bohman targeted Twin Hydradrive Knight, that meant Coolant and Burn Hydradrive returned while Twin Hydradrive Knight turned into particles.

Bohman wasn't done, though, as he Normal Summoned Hydradrive Element before using it to Link Summon a second copy of Grand Hydradrive. This allowed Bohman to activate Element's effect upon being used as Link Material, where he can target a monster and change its attribute to the one he declared. He immediately targeted Alteration Hydradrive before changing its attribute to Light.

Bohman then surprised Playmaker and Ai, along with Jericho by activating his new Skill called Master Storm Access. This not only caused a massive data storm to appear, but it also led to lightning tentacles erupting from the orb once again before beginning to pierce through several people's heads back in LINK VRAINS.

"I will now generate my optimal circuit!" Bohman shouted, as a large Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are five Link monsters with different attributes. I set the Link 1 Grand Hydradrive, Flow Hydradrive, Coolant Hydradrive, Burn Hydradrive, and Alteration Hydradrive into the Link Markers!" Grand Hydradrive went into the right arrowhead, Flow Hydradrive went into the bottom-right arrowhead, Coolant Hydradrive went into the bottom arrowhead, Burn Hydradrive went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Alteration Hydradrive went into the left arrowhead, turning all five of them red.

"Legendary creature containing the life essence of numerous attributes! Come forth, and achieve dominion over all of them! Link Summon! Arise! Link 5! Chimera Hydradrive Dragrid!" A massive snake with seven heads that emerged one by one from his sides and the middle appeared on Bohman's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. On the right side of his body were the blue, green, and purple heads, each one having a diamond and scales. On the left side of his body were the red, brown, and yellow heads, each one also having a diamond and scales. The biggest head in the middle had several spikes running down his long neck, along with scales that protruded outwards on his skin. A multi-colored diamond was also on his head as well. Attached to the overall body the heads protruded outward from was a large piece of armor that was colored beige and black, each one ending in a spiked tip. On the middle of the armor was a yellow, cross-like star that shined briefly before dimming.

Chimera Hydradrive Dragrid ATK: 4000 LINK-5 ⬅️↙️⬇️↘️➡️

Jericho whistled upon seeing this. "I can't believe you, Bohman. You actually went and brought out a Link 5 monster of all things. No wonder you're the ideal Construct compared to Numera. Only you are capable of wielding the Ignis with efficiency."

Once Bohman ended his turn by placing a 'Hydradrive' counter on Dragrid, Playmaker immediately began his turn by Normal Summoning Widget Kid before using his effect to Special Summon Cyberse Synchron. He then used Cyberse Synchron's effect to increase Widget Kid's level from three to six before using the two of them together to Synchro Summon Cyberse Quantum Dragon.

"I activate my Skill once again! Master Storm Access!" Bohman interrupted, as he fired green energy upwards to the Neuron Link, which immediately glowed before more lightning tentacles erupted from the orb, where they once again proceeded to pierce through several people's heads back in LINK VRAINS.

Upon seeing this, Jericho grinned as he pressed a few buttons on his duel disk. "I don't know what plans you have for Bohman by using Malf, Azrael, but there's no way I'll let you get in the way of my mission. Not when I'm so close to completing it." A skull and crossbones then appeared on a screen that emitted from his duel disk. "And Here. We. Go." Jericho pressed the button on his duel disk, having initiated the program inside it.

BA-BUMP!

Bohman gasped, having been rendered mute for several seconds.

"Uh, Playmaker. Did Bohman glitch or something?" Ai asked.

"Something's not right, Ai." Playmaker answered.

"GAAAAAAAAHHH!" Bohman screamed in pain, as a black and red aura surrounded him before he powered up. Black and red glowing vein-like mass appeared on Bohman's chest as it extended over his body, which covered his upper chest and shoulders, as well as a few pieces of his face. Bulging veins then appeared over Bohman's body, as if he were pushed to the limit. Finally, Bohman's eyes turned pure red as he grinned.

"Oh M.A.I. God!" Ai shouted in pure terror, with Playmaker also gasping in horror as the ground shook. Within several seconds, shadowy, ribbon-like tentacles erupted from the ground as they pierced the Neuron Link before corrupting it completely. Upon doing so, the lightning erupting from the Neuron Link changed from green to black and red. "This is worse than ever, Playmaker! WORSE THAN EVER!"

"I already see that, Ai." Playmaker told him, as he looked around the area. At the rate things were going, if he didn't defeat Bohman, then the world, and by extension the overall network would be destroyed completely.

"Now, Playmaker. You will experience the true and terrible extent of my power!" Bohman remarked with glee. "And when this duel ends, nothing of you will remain! Do you hear me? NOTHING!"

"Let the experiment begin, ladies and gentlemen!" Jericho sadistically declared with joy.

Elsewhere, at the top of the tower in Mirror LINK VRAINS...

"What's wrong, Wraith?" Azrael inquired, as he blocked the next series of attacks from Raguel.

"Malf's been hijacked! Someone's taken control of him!" Wraith explained quickly, which not only made Azrael gasp, but also gave Raguel an opening needed to deliver another strike on him. This led to Azrael being pushed back several feet as a result.

In Azrael's mind, what Wraith just told him was not good at all. For Malf to be hijacked at a time like this, just when he was close to reaching eternity, it infuriated him. Did the Knights of Hanoi do this? Or was it an unknown factor involved in this entire battle?

Unfortunately for Azrael, he was forced to raise his left arm as Raguel launched the chained daggers at him, which wrapped around the former's duel disk as it stabbed into his skin.

"Planning to run away now, Azrael? I can't let you do that. Not when we have a score to settle." Raguel taunted, as he exited his Link Trigger form while Azrael did the same, the both of them tired out temporarily by their sword fight.

"Son of a..." Azrael seethed, before he let out a chuckle. "I knew it would eventually come down to this. Not only will we settle the score between us with our skills, we'll also settle it with our cards as well."

"Obviously." Raguel said back, as he activated his duel disk, with Azrael doing the same in response.

"Once this is duel is done, Azrael, we need to investigate what happened to Malf. Or else everything we've done will be for naught." Wraith warned Azrael.

"And whoever chose to get involved will regret it for the rest of their life." Azrael replied.

Herald, on the other hand, noticed Raguel's deck shaking. Whether it was due to the rage and anger that all the 'Cyreath' monsters felt towards Azrael and Lightning, or something else for the matter, Herald did not know. However, should it keep up, then he'll have no choice but to investigate.

"Your fighting skills have improved since we last fought, Raguel. However, a duel involving our cards is a different matter." Azrael reminded Raguel. "Prove to me how much stronger you've been, and I'll reward you with some information if you succeed in doing so."

Raguel grit his teeth. It was true. A duel between him and Azrael was obviously bound to happen, and given how the two of them fought with their weapons, it only signaled the start of it. Whoever won this duel will walk away the winner, and Raguel was hellbent in making sure that he'd win this time around. "Let's end this, Azrael. For good this time!"

"Excellent, Raguel! Show me your motivation!"

"It's time to duel!" Raguel and Azrael shouted in unison.

Raguel: 4000 LP

Azrael: 4000 LP

"I'll be going first, Azrael." Raguel decided.

"Are you sure, Raguel? The last time you went first against this guy, you lost." Herald pointed out.

"I'm sure, Herald. Besides, the last thing I need is for Azrael to hinder my strategies before I even begin my turn." Raguel rebutted.

"You can go first, Raguel. I want to see how much stronger you've gotten since our last duel." Azrael told Raguel.

"My turn." Raguel stated, having looked at the cards in his hand. "I activate the Field Spell card, Cyreath Mount Olympus. While this card is on my field, all 'Cyreath' monsters on my field gain 500 attack and defense points. What's more, they're unaffected by your monster effects. Next, because there are no monsters in my Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon Cyreath Damselfly from my hand to my field." A large, black-skinned creature that had dots all over its body appeared on Raguel's field. It had a total of four wings, along with a long tail that had a spike at the end of it. Attached to its body was armored plating that had a lightning bolt on it.

Cyreath Damselfly ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cyreath Damselfly ATK: 0 + 500 = 500 DEF: 0 + 500 = 500

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I set Damselfly into the Link Markers!" Damselfly went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Scorpius!" A huge scorpion, with large pincers and a long tail, appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone.

Cyreath Scorpius ATK: 1000 LINK-1⬇️

Cyreath Scorpius ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Since Damselfly was used to Link Summon a Link monster, I can add one 'Cyreath' card from my deck to my hand. I add Cyreath Grand Treasure from my deck to my hand." Raguel decided, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Next, I activate Scorpius' effect. Once per turn, when I control no monsters in the Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard to a Main Monster Zone this card points to. Return, Damselfly!" At Raguel's command, Damselfly reappeared on his field, only in the Main Monster Zone Scorpius pointed to.

Cyreath Damselfly ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

Cyreath Damselfly ATK: 0 + 500 = 500 DEF: 0 + 500 = 500

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A second Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I set Cyreath Damselfly into the Link Markers!" Damselfly went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Skull Wing!" A small skull with wings appeared on Raguel's field in one of the two Main Monster Zones Van Gogh pointed to.

Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 LINK-1 ↙️

Cyreath Skull Wing ATK: 300 + 500 = 800

"Appear, for a third time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" Raguel continued, as a third Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters. I set the Link 1 Cyreath Scorpius, and the Link 1 Skull Wing into the Link Markers!" Scorpius went into the bottom arrowhead, while Skull Wing went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Van Gogh!" A young girl with blue eyes and an orange bob cut that had a long strand of hair flowing out of it appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. She wore a black cardigan over her white shirt, as well as a pair of blue overalls. Her orange high heels each had a golden sunflower emblem on the front of them. Attached to the back of her head was a golden disk that resembled a sunflower. In her hands, she carried a massive staff that resembled a sunflower.

Cyreath Van Gogh ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ⬇️↘️

Cyreath Van Gogh ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Skull Wing's effect now activates! Since it was used as Link Material, you take 300 points of damage." Raguel said, as a silhouette of Skull Wing appeared and went through Azrael, who was unaffected by it before his life points dropped.

Azrael: 4000 – 300 = 3700 LP

"I activate the effect of Cyreath Doppelganger from my hand. Since I control a 'Cyreath' monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand to my field." A pale, shadowy man materialized itself on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 4

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 + 500 = 1000 DEF: 500 + 500 = 1000

"When a monster is Normal or Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone Van Gogh points to, I can add a 'Cyreath' Tuner monster from my deck to my hand. I add Cyreath Periphas from my deck to my hand." Raguel decided, as a card popped out of Raguel's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"I summon Cyreath Periphas from my hand to my field." A young man who had red eyes and spiky, ash-coloured hair appeared on Raguel's field. He wore a customized version of black Greek robes, as well as long, fingerless gloves on his arms. Wrapped around his neck was a piece of red cloth, which resembled that of a scarf.

Cyreath Periphas ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100 LV: 4

Cyreath Periphas ATK: 1400 + 500 = 1900 DEF: 1100 + 500 = 1600

"I tune the Level 4 Cyreath Periphas with the Level 4 Doppelganger!" Raguel declared, as a bolt of golden lightning struck Raguel before the world greyed out, which caused both of his two monsters to disintegrate into particles. Two rings, one grey, and one black, appeared before turning blue and merging. Eight 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.

"Divine bird of the gods of Olympus! Heed my call, and bring the omens of victory and perseverance! Synchro Summon! Come before us, Level 8! Cyreath Aetos Dios!" A giant, yellow-skinned eagle with golden armor covering its entire body, as well as razor-sharp talons appeared on Raguel's field in one of the two Main Monster Zones Van Gogh pointed to. It had a golden helmet on top of its head, which had a lightning bolt on both of its sides. It also had four strands of grey hair that resembled lightning bolts on both sides of its neck.

Cyreath Aetos Dios ATK: 2800 DEF: 2200 LV: 8

Cyreath Aetos Dios ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 2200 + 500 = 2700

"I also activate Doppelganger's effect from my Graveyard. By banishing a 'Cyreath' monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon it from my Graveyard to my field. I banish Damselfly, and Special Summon Doppelgänger from my Graveyard to my field!" Raguel stated, as Doppelgänger reappeared on his field.

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 4

Cyreath Doppelganger ATK: 500 + 500 = 1000 DEF: 500 + 500 = 1000

"Appear, for a fourth time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cyreath' monsters. I set the Link 2 Cyreath Van Gogh, and Doppelganger into the Link Markers!" Van Gogh went into the top and left arrowheads, while Doppelganger went into the bottom arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Go wild and smash everything in your way!" Raguel chanted. "Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Cyreath Erymanthian Boar!" A bulky, massively built suidae with short and relatively thin legs appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. It had brown fur with light green elements all over its body, along with a mane of dark fur. It also had four tusks at the front of its head. While the two biggest ones were long and curved inward, the two small ones were hooked slightly forward.

Cyreath Erymanthian Boar ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ⬅️⬆️⬇️

Cyreath Erymanthian Boar ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"Van Gogh's effect now activates! Since she was used for the Link Summon of a 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can add one 'Cyreath' card from my deck to my hand, as well as gain 500 life points. I add Cyreath Eradication from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Raguel's deck, which he took and added to his hand. Once that was done, a small sun appeared above Raguel, which showered him with light as his life points increased.

Raguel: 4000 + 500 = 4500 LP

"I also activate Erymanthian Boar's effect. Once per turn, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath' monster in my Graveyard, except a Link monster, and Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone it points to." Raguel added. "I target Periphas, and Special Summon him from my Graveyard to my field!" Soon, Periphas reappeared on Raguel's field, only in the Main Monster Zone Erymanthian Boar pointed to.

Cyreath Periphas ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100 LV: 4

Cyreath Periphas ATK: 1400 + 500 = 1900 DEF: 1100 + 500 = 1600

"Appear, for the fifth time! The circuit showing the highest mountain!" A fifth Link Portal appeared above Raguel. "The summoning conditions are one monster. I set Cyreath Periphas into the Link Markers!" Periphas went into the top arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Pseudo!" A watery spirit with one eye, two long arms, and a tail appeared in the Main Monster Zone Erymanthian Boar pointed to, resulting in both monsters being co-linked with one another.

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 0 LINK-1 ⬆️

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 0 + 500 = 500

"The effects of Pseudo and Erymanthian Boar both activate!" Raguel continued. "First, Pseudo gains attack points equal to the monster it points to. As it points to Erymanthian Boar, it gains 3000 attack points!" Pseudo then morphed its body into a watery version of Erymanthian Boar as its strength increased.

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 500 + 3000 = 3500

"Second, while Erymanthian Boar is co-linked, both it and the monsters it's co-linked with gain 500 attack points. They also can't be targeted by card effects either." Erymanthian Boar snorted as it and Pseudo further powered up.

Cyreath Erymanthian Boar ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 3500 + 500 = 4000

"From there, I activate the Spell card, Cyreath Grand Treasure. Normally, when this card is activated, I can draw two cards and shuffle two 'Cyreath' cards from my hand into my deck in exchange. However, if I control a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can draw three cards instead before sending one 'Cyreath' card from my deck to my Graveyard. I send Cyreath Wandering Soul from my deck to my Graveyard." After Raguel took a card from his deck and sent it to his Graveyard, he drew the top three cards of his deck.

"In addition, I activate Mount Olympus's second effect. Once, I can target one 'Cyreath' Link monster on my field, and gain life points equal to its Link rating times 500. I target Erymanthian Boar, which is a Link 3 monster. That means I gain 1500 life points!" Raguel stated, as a golden glow surrounded him before his life points increased.

Raguel: 4500 + (500 X 3) = 6000 LP

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn." Raguel narrowed his eyes. "You're up."

"Two face-down cards, a Field Spell card, and three monsters with over 3000 attack points. You've really solidified your field, have you? Let's see if it survives what's to come." Azrael remarked. "My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "As I control no monsters in the Main Monster Zones, I can Special Summon Cychaic Slave from my hand to my field." A man who wore tattered clothing on his body appeared on Azrael's field. Strapped to his back was a large wine jar, which he struggled to carry.

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1

"Since you control a monster on your field, I can Special Summon Cychaic Praetor from my hand to my field!" A man who wore a red helmet that covered his face with a visor on it, as well as a red military suit with a white shirt and pants underneath it appeared on Azrael's field. On his shoulders were golden feathers with a golden, circular brace on each of them. He also had golden armor pieces on his forearms, as well as on his forelegs. In his hands, he carried a sword.

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 DEF: 600 LV: 6

"When Praetor is Normal or Special Summoned, I can take a copy of 'Cychaic Amphitheatre' from my deck, and either activate it or add it to my hand. I think I'll choose the former." Azrael decided, as a card popped out of his deck, which he immediately played. "I activate the Field Spell card, Cychaic Amphitheatre. 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." A red aura surrounded Praetor and Slave before their strength increased.

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 + 500 = 2900 DEF: 600 + 500 = 1100

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 + 500 = 900 DEF: 400 + 500 = 900

"He has a card similar to that of Jason..." Raguel muttered.

"In all of my duels, I learn new things from my enemies. You of all people should know that it is just a small fragment of the knowledge I've accumulated over the past ten years." Azrael told Raguel. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. 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 the Spell card, Cychaic Tribute. By destroying one 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can draw the top two cards of my deck. I destroy Caladrius on my field." Caladrius turned into particles before Azrael drew the top two cards of his deck.

"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." Azrael stated.

"You've done this before, Azrael, and I know which card you'll obviously activate. So just do so already." Raguel said.

"If you insist." Azrael complied, as a card popped out of his deck. "I send the Spell card, Cychaic Reinforcements from my deck to my Graveyard and activate it. 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 Tiger and Elephantaur." Soon, two new monsters appeared on Azrael's field.

The first was an armored tiger with black stripes that had a collar with small flames emitting from it attached to its neck. Fiery rings were also attached to its armor as well.

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 Tiger ATK: 2000 DEF: 2000 LV: 6

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000 LV: 8

Cychaic Tiger ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500 DEF: 2000 + 500 = 2500

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"He now has enough monsters to either bring out a Link 4 'Cychaic' monster or Teravolt Dragon." Herald observed.

"Azrael won't obviously do that right now." Raguel pointed out.

"You are right, Raguel. I have no intention to bring Teravolt Dragon out right now." Azrael agreed with Raguel's point.

"The duel's just begun, so why would he do that right now?" Wraith questioned Raguel and Herald, which made the duo frown in response.

"I have other plans for my turn, Raguel. You don't need to worry about Teravolt Dragon for now." Azrael added. "Such as this. I activate Amphitheatre's effect. By destroying a 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand, I can Special Summon one 'Cychaic Dancer' token to my field. I destroy Tiger on my field." After Tiger 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

"Tiger's effect activates. Since it was destroyed by a card effect, I can add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand. What's more, I can Special Summon it back to my field at the End Phase since I control a 'Cychaic' monster. I add Cychaic Acquila from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"Appear, the circuit of infinite power!" Azrael said, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cychaic' monsters. I set Cychaic Slave, Elephantaur, and Praetor into the Link Markers!" Slave went into the top arrowhead, Elephantaur went into the left arrowhead, and Praetor went into the bottom arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Crusader of the Roman Empire! Rally your armies, and eliminate your enemies until resistance is rendered moot! Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Cychaic Mehmed!" A young man with white hair and tanned skin appeared on Azrael's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. His attire consisted of traditional red robes with gold lining, a band around his white hair, and a large belt around his waist. He also had golden gauntlets on his hands, along with a sword strapped to his left side.

Cychaic Mehmed ATK: 2600 LINK-3 ⬅️⬆️⬇️

Cychaic Mehmed ATK: 2600 + 500 = 3100

"Just what I was waiting for!" Raguel exclaimed, before revealing his face-down card. "Trap card, activate! Cyreath Eradication! When you activate a card effect or summon a monster, I can negate the effect or summon and send it to your Graveyard. The best part is that you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation! So say goodbye to Mehmed!" A blade of energy headed towards Mehmed, which hit him as he turned into particles.

"You may have gotten rid of Mehmed, but I can still use Slave's effect. Since he was used to Link Summon a 'Cychaic' Link monster, I can Special Summon him back to my field." Azrael replied, as Slave reappeared on his field.

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 DEF: 400 LV: 1

Cychaic Slave ATK: 400 + 500 = 900 DEF: 400 + 500 = 900

"Even though Azrael brought a monster back to his field, we still got rid of Mehmed, which is still good for us." Herald cheered.

"I'll be honest when I say I wasn't expecting that, Raguel." Azrael admitted. "Still, as history's shown between us, it'll take more for you to defeat me. I activate the Spell card, Cychaic Perseverance!" The card showed Mehmed firing a massive beam of energy from the cannon in his hands at a large wall, where Constantine and several soldiers tried to stop him from succeeding. "This card lets me not only shuffle one 'Cychaic' Link monster from my Graveyard back into my Extra Deck, but Special Summon 'Cychaic' monsters from my Graveyard up to that monster's Link rating in exchange for negating their effects. What's more, I can't Special Summon the monster shuffled back into my Extra Deck for the rest of this turn."

"What?!" Raguel exclaimed.

"I thought we had him on the ropes here." Herald cursed.

"This duel's only begun, Herald. Such a thing will not stop Azrael. Not when he's this close to his goal." Wraith told Herald.

"I shuffle Mehmed back into my Extra Deck, and Special Summon Caladrius, Praetor, and Elephantaur back to my field." Azrael said, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took before shuffling into his Extra Deck. Soon, Caladrius, Praetor, and Elephantaur reappeared on his field.

Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 DEF: 600 LV: 6

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000 LV: 8

Cychaic Caladrius ATK: 500 + 500 = 1000 DEF: 500 + 500 = 1000

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 + 500 = 2900 DEF: 600 + 500 = 1100

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of infinite power!" A second Link Portal appeared above Azrael. "The summoning conditions are two or more 'Cychaic' monsters. I set Cychaic Caladrius, Elephantaur, and Praetor into the Link Markers!" Slave went into the top arrowhead, Elephantaur went into the bottom-left arrowhead, and Praetor went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning all three of them red.

"Ruthless emperor of Rome! Revel in the blood of your enemies, and drive them into eternal despair!" Azrael chanted. "Link Summon! Come forth! Link 3! Cychaic Lucius Tiberius!" A young, male adult wearing silver armour, along with a black military jacket that had gold highlights over his shoulders appeared on Azrael's field at the Main Monster Zone Blades pointed to. He had short, dark red hair and purple eyes, which glowed as he let out a psychotic growl. In his right hand, he carried a silver sword that had a red hilt, as well as crimson lines on the sides.

Cychaic Lucius Tiberius ATK: 2500 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

Cychaic Lucius Tiberius ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"This is not good at all. Azrael brought out Lucius Tiberius." Herald stated.

"I can see that, Herald." Raguel said.

"I activate Lucius Tiberius's effect. Once per turn, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to add one 'Cychaic' card from my deck to my hand. In addition, I can activate one of three effects depending on the card I added with this effect." Azrael explained.

Raguel narrowed his eyes. Just like before, Lucius Tiberius proved to be hard to overcome, but Raguel did it before, and he can do it again.

"I destroy Slave on my field, and add Cychaic Fusion from my deck to my hand." Azrael decided, as Slave turned into particles before a card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Slave's effect also activates! Since it was destroyed by a card effect, one 'Cychaic' monster I control gains 400 attack and defense points until the end of this turn. I choose Lucius Tiberius." Lucius Tiberius was surrounded in a red aura that further increased his strength.

Cychaic Lucius Tiberius ATK: 300 + 400 = 3400

"I also activate the Spell card, Cychaic Fusion. This card lets me Fusion Summon one 'Cychaic' Fusion monster from my Extra Deck by destroying 'Cychaic' monsters that are in my hand or on my field. However, if you control a Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link monster, I can destroy 'Cychaic' monsters in my Extra Deck as well."

"Crap..." Raguel muttered. While he was aware that Azrael already mastered the other summoning methods, it still wasn't a good sign for him on what would happen next. Regardless, Raguel had a face-down card that would take care of that problem should things go south.

"I destroy the Dancer token on my field, and Leonidas in my Extra Deck!" Azrael decided, as a silhouette of a male warrior wearing a golden spartan helmet and a long red cape appeared on Azrael's field. He wore golden shin guards on his forearms and lower legs, along with golden boots. Red lines were artistically drawn all over his body. In his right hand, he carried a spear, while a golden large shield was strapped on his left forearm.

Soon, the Dancer token turned into red particles, while Leonidas turned into blue particles, the both of them going upwards and swirling into a vortex. Two tornadoes of energy shot upwards and merged to form a white and yellow whirlwind.

"Ruler of the Underworld! Rise to the surface, and claim dominion over all those who are defiant to your power! Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld!" A tall man wearing long, dark-green ghostly robes over silver armour with red emblems on it appeared on Azrael's field in one of the two Main Monster Zones Lucius Tiberius pointed to. He wore a helmet that had a skull mask covering his face, as well as a plume attached to the top of it. Strapped to his shoulders were a pair of large bones that had a small skull at the end of them, as well as a curved horn jutting out at each end. In his right hand, he wielded a long, two-pronged scepter.

Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8

Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld ATK: 3000 + 500 = 3500 DEF: 2500 + 500 = 3000

"Leonidas's effect now activates! Since he was destroyed by a card effect, I can target one 'Cychaic' monster in my Graveyard with a different name and Special Summon it back to my field." Azrael explained. "Be reborn, Elephantaur." At Azrael's command, Elephantaur reappeared on his field.

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000 LV: 8

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

Raguel narrowed his eyes after quickly looking up the effects of Azrael's cards on his field. "I have a general idea on what your plan is, Azrael. It's a good thing I have something in response to your strategies."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"This!" Raguel gestured to his field. "Trap card, activate! Cyreath Genesis!" The card showed Cyreath Zeus, Lord of the Storm, Cyreath Poseidon, Lord of the Storm, and Cyreath Hades, Lord of the Underworld molding pieces of clay into humanoid bodies as a goddess appeared to breathe them with life. "This card lets me shuffle one 'Cyreath' Link monster into your Extra Deck to shuffle cards on your field up to that monster's Link rating. However, if I shuffled a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster back into my Extra Deck with this effect, you can't activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation."

"But the only monsters you have in your Graveyard are several Link 1 monsters, as well as a Link 2 monster." Azrael pointed out. "And because I added a Spell card using Lucius Tiberius's effect, he's unaffected by your card effects until the end of my next turn. Still, I can't take such a risk. I activate the effect of Cychaic Caracal from my hand. When you activate a card effect while this card is in my hand, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on the field to not only Special Summon it to my field, but negate the activation of your card and destroy it as well."

"What?!" Raguel exclaimed.

"I destroy Elephantaur on my field, and negate Genesis's effects." After Elephantaur turned into particles, a medium-sized cat with light-brown skin and pieces of armor on its head and legs appeared on Azrael's field. It roared at Genesis, which turned into particles in response.

Cychaic Caracal ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4

Cychaic Caracal ATK: 800 + 500 = 1300 DEF: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"Elephantaur's effect also activates! Once per turn, when it's destroyed by a card effect, I can shuffle one card on your field into your deck. I shuffle Mount Olympus back into your Extra Deck." Azrael added, much to Raguel's chagrin as Mount Olympus turned into particles.

Cyreath Erymanthian Boar ATK: 3500 – 500 = 3000

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 4000 – 500 = 3500

Cyreath Aetos Dios ATK: 3300 – 500 = 2800 DEF: 2700 – 500 = 2200

"You activated Mount Olympus' final effect, Azrael." Raguel stated. "When it leaves the field by a card effect, I can target one 'Cyreath' Link monster on my field and shuffle 'Cyreath' cards from my Graveyard and/or banished zone into my deck and/or Extra Deck up to its Link rating. Then for every card shuffled by this effect, I can draw a card from the top of my deck. I target Erymanthian Boar, which means I can shuffle Eradication, Genesis, and Van Gogh into my deck and Extra Deck, and draw." After Raguel took the three declared cards and shuffled them into his deck and Extra Deck, he drew the top three cards of his deck.

"That will not save you, Raguel. I activate Pluto's effect." Azrael replied. "Once per turn, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card in my hand or on my field to negate the effects of all cards you control that are the same type as the destroyed card. What's more, you can't activate cards or effects in response to both of this card's effects. I destroy Caracal, which means I can negate the effects of all monsters you control! Ethereal Suppression!" After Caracal turned into particles, it orbited around Pluto's scepter, who fired a blast of energy at Raguel's monsters, who all groaned in pain as each one greyed out. "And for every card negated by this effect, Pluto gains 300 attack and defense points."

"Oh, and with Erymanthian Boar and Pseudos' effects negated, that means they're pretty much done for." Wraith finished, as Pluto gained strength while Erymanthian Boar and Pseudo lost strength.

Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld ATK: 3500 + (300 X 3) = 4400 DEF: 3000 + (300 X 3) = 3900

Cyreath Erymanthian Boar ATK: 3000 – 500 = 2500

Cyreath Pseudo ATK: 3500 – 3500 = 0

"Caracal's second effect activates as well! When it's destroyed by a card effect, I can shuffle a 'Cychaic' card back into my deck. I shuffle Tribute back into my deck." Azrael said, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck.

"Battle!" Azrael thrusted out his right hand. "Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld attacks Cyreath Pseudo! Despairful Tyranny!" Pluto fired a blast of ghostly energy that headed straight towards Pseudo!

"Not so fast! I activate the Trap card, Cyreath Evasion from my hand!" Raguel interrupted. The card showed Cyreath Achilles and Atalanta riding on a chariot pulled by three horses as they tried to evade attacks from Aetos Dios, with Atalanta firing several arrows back in response to those attacks.

"From your hand?" Azrael and Wraith repeated in confusion.

"I can activate this card from my hand if I control a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster." Raguel explained. "When a 'Cyreath' monster on my field is targeted by battle or card effect, I can shuffle that monster back into my deck or Extra Deck and Special Summon a 'Cyreath' monster with a different name from my deck or Graveyard to my field with its effects negated. I shuffle Pseudo, and Special Summon Cyreath P.H.A.N.T.O.M from my deck to my field." After Pseudo turned into particles, an armored warrior with purple eyes and spikes on its arms, shoulders, and helmet appeared on Raguel's field. It carried two ghoulish swords, which gave the warrior an eerie glow.

Cyreath P.H.A.N.T.O.M ATK: 2800 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

Azrael frowned. "In that case, a battle replay occurs. Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld attacks Cyreath P.H.A.N.T.O.M! Despairful Tyranny!" Pluto fired a blast of ghostly energy that headed straight towards P.H.A.N.T.O.M with his left hand, which pulled the latter to his scepter as it got impaled by it. Raising his scepter high into the air, it was covered with ghostly energy that turned P.H.A.N.T.O.M into eerie spirits of itself, which raced toward the latter as a massive explosion occurred, which made Raguel wince before his life points dropped.

Raguel: 6000 – 1600 = 4400 LP

"The battle continues! Cychaic Lucius Tiberius attacks Cyreath Erymanthian Boar! Floras Florent!" Lucius Tiberius charged forward, the sword in his hands having now been surrounded by blood-red flames. Before Erymanthian Boar could even react, it was cleaved in two, which caused an explosion that decreased Raguel's life points once again.

Raguel: 4400 – 900 = 3500 LP

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means Slave's effect ends, and I can Special Summon Tiger back to my field as I control a 'Cychaic' monster during the End Phase." Azrael concluded. While Lucius Tiberius lost strength, Tiger reappeared on Azrael's field in defense position.

Cyreath Lucius Tiberius ATK: 3400 – 400 = 3000

Cychaic Tiger ATK: 2000 DEF: 2000 LV: 6

Cychaic Tiger ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500 DEF: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"The good news is, we still have Aetos Dios and a lot of life points left. The bad news is that we lost a lot of cards in response." Herald summed up.

"We knew this wasn't going to be easy, Herald." Raguel pointed out. "But I'm not giving up, especially since I have several options to use for my strategies. My turn! I draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. "Since you control a monster, I can Special Summon Cyreath Chronicler from my hand to my field." A bald man who wore black, white, and golden robes over his body appeared on Raguel's field. On some parts of his robes were pieces of armor that emitted an orange color.

Cyreath Chronicler ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"When Chronicler is Normal or Special Summoned, I can-."

"Continuous-Trap, activate! Cychaic Pollice Verso!" Azrael interrupted. "Once per turn, while this card is on the field, if you activate a card effect, it's instantly negated. What's more, if I control a 'Cychaic' monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you cannot activate cards or effects in response to each of Pollice Verso's effects. As such, I negate Chronicler's effects."

"Damn it..." Raguel cursed, as a hand appeared before it turned into a fist, rotated, and pointed its thumb down at Chronicler. Within seconds, a bolt of lightning was fired out of the thumb, which hit Chronicler as he screamed in pain before greying out, much to Raguel's dismay.

"And in case you've forgotten, Pollice Verso's effect can be used once per turn for each type of card." Wraith reminded Raguel and Herald. "Or to put it in simple terms, Azrael can negate one monster, spell, and trap effect on your field per turn once they're activated."

"Such an annoying card to go up against." Herald angrily commented.

"It is, Herald. But it won't stop me." Raguel assured Herald, before refocusing his efforts on the duel. "I activate the effect of Cyreath Wandering Soul from my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath Wanderer' token to my field." A small ball of mist in the form of a ghost appeared on Raguel's field as well.

Cyreath Wanderer Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1

"Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two 'Cyreath' monsters. I set Cyreath Chronicler and the Wanderer token into the Link Markers!" Chronicler went into the bottom-left arrowhead, while the Wanderer token went into the bottom arrowhead.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Cyreath Nemo!" A young boy with light-emerald eyes and orange hair appeared on Raguel's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He wore a sailor's suit that had golden buttons and black bars on his shoulders, as well as blue pants. On top of his head was a sailor's cap that had a blue feather at the front.

Cyreath Nemo ATK: 1000 LINK-2 ↙️⬇️

"Ah. That's the monster you used against Haru before you Fusion Summoned." Azrael remembered.

"That's right, Azrael. Just like how it was successful against Haru, it will be successful against you." Raguel replied. "When Nemo is Link Summoned, I can add a copy of 'Cyreath Fusion' from my deck or Graveyard to my hand." A card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I summon Cyreath Miner from my hand to my field." A small, male individual wearing mining gear and carrying mining equipment appeared on Raguel's field in one of the two Main Monster Zones Nemo pointed to.

Cyreath Miner ATK: 0 DEF: 2000 LV: 3

"Nemo's second effect! Once per turn, when a 'Cyreath' monster is Normal or Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone he points to, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath' monster from my deck to my field." A card popped out of Raguel's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "I Special Summon Cyreath Hewdraw from my deck to my field." A medium-sized, serpent-like dragon with dark-purple scales and a white underbelly appeared on Raguel's field.

Cyreath Hewdraw ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000 LV: 4

"I'd normally use Hewdraw's effects, but given how your monsters are unaffected by my monster effects, there's no point in doing so." Raguel acknowledged. "I now activate the Spell card, Cyreath Fusion. This card-."

"You really don't learn, do you, Raguel? I'll use Pollice Verso's effect to negate Cyreath Fusion's effect." Azrael interjected, as the hand from before appeared before it turned into a fist, rotated, and pointed its thumb down at Fusion. Within seconds, a bolt of lightning was fired out of the thumb, which hit Fusion before negating its effects.

"Then it's a good thing I have other methods to fall upon." Raguel responded. "Appear, the circuit showing the highest mountain!" A Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one 'Cyreath' monster. I set Cyreath Miner into the Link Markers!" Miner went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Cyreath Headhunter!" A female ninja wearing a purple and black robe appeared on Raguel's field in one of the Main Monster Zones Nemo pointed to. Her face was covered in darkness, except for the eyes, which were black with a yellow-orange sclera.

Cyreath Headhunter ATK: 1000 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Since Miner was used as Link Material for the Link Summon of a 'Cyreath' Link monster, I can add any card from my Graveyard to my hand. I add Cyreath Fusion from my Graveyard to my hand." Raguel added, as a card popped out of his deck, which he took and added to his hand.

Azrael tensed. "You got it back?"

"Let's just say a little buddy of mine taught me how to get my resources back should there be any roadblocks in the way." Raguel smirked. "I now activate the Spell card, Cyreath Fusion. This card lets me Fusion Summon one 'Cyreath' Fusion monster from my Extra Deck, by using 'Cyreath' monsters from my hand or field. In addition, if you control a Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link monster, I can also use one 'Cyreath' Link monster from my Extra Deck as Fusion Material as well!"

"This is not good for us..." Wraith muttered.

"That may be the case, Wraith, but the duel has only just begun." Azrael reminded Wraith.

"I use Nemo, Headhunter, and Hewdraw on my field, as well as Cyreath Zeus, Lord of the Storm from my Extra Deck as Fusion Materials!" Raguel decided. Soon, a silhouette of a muscular, white-haired man with pure white eyes, along with attire consisting of a white toga and a golden side guard on each arm appeared along with Nemo, Headhunter and Hewdraw. They broke apart into red, blue, green, and orange particles before they went upwards and swirled into a vortex. Four tornadoes of energy shot upwards and merged to form a white and yellow whirlwind.

"Supreme creature of the deep! Rise from the ocean's depths, and bury my enemies beneath your almighty waves! Fusion Summon! Emerge, Level 8! Cyreath Lernaean Hydra!" A purple, nine-headed hydra with dark-blue armour on his skin appeared on Raguel's field in the Main Monster Zone Lucius Tiberius pointed to. On his chest was a single eyeball, along with a jaw that had sharp teeth on it.

Cyreath Lernaean Hydra ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8

"Lernaean Hydra. The monster that can attack multiple times in exchange for your other monsters not attacking the turn you activate its effect." Azrael recalled.

"That's right!" Raguel confirmed. "I activate Lernaean Hydra's effect. Once per turn, I can target one 'Cyreath' Link monster in my Graveyard, and have him gain attack points equal to that monster's Link rating times 500 until the end phase. In exchange, other monsters I control can't attack for the rest of this turn. I target Zeus, a Link 4 monster, which means Lernaean Hydra gains 2000 attack points!" Lernaean Hydra roared as his strength increased.

Cyreath Lernaean Hydra ATK: 3000 + (500 X 4) = 5000

"And just in case, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Roar of the Cyreaths!" The card showed Blazing Orthros in a dark cave, who let out a fiery roar so loud that it pushed Castor & Pollux, Jason, and Circe back. The only one who wasn't affected was Hercules/Alpha Mode, who stood his ground in response to the roar. "This card lets me not only negate the effects of cards you control up to the number of 'Cyreath' monsters on my field until the End Phase, but also inflict 400 points of damage for each card negated by this effect as well. Since I control Lernaean Hydra and Aetos Dios, that means I can negate the effects of two cards and inflict 800 points of damage. Thus, I negate the effects of Amphitheatre and Pluto until the end of my turn." Two loud roars reverberated from Screams of the Cyreaths, which hit Amphitheatre and Pluto before greying them out, where they combined together and pushed Azrael back as his life points dropped.

Azrael: 3700 – (400 X 2) = 2900 LP

Cychaic Lucius Tiberius ATK: 3000 – 500 = 2500

Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld ATK: 4400 – (300 X 3) – 500 = 3000 DEF: 3900 – (300 X 3) – 500 = 2500

"Battle!" Raguel declared. "Cyreath Lernaean Hydra attacks Cyreath Lucius Tiberius! Gazer Exedra – First Shot!" Purple energy charged up in each of Lernaean Hydra's heads, along with the jaw in his chest, before they fired it at Lucius Tiberius.

"I activate the Trap card, Cychaic Clipeus, and equip it onto Lucius Tiberius!" Azrael interrupted, as Clipeus began orbiting itself around Lucius Tiberius. "While this card is equipped to a 'Cychaic' monster, it can't be destroyed by battle or your card effects, and any battle damage I would have taken when the equipped monster battles is reduced to zero."

Raguel grit his teeth as the purple energy hit Clipeus instead of Lucius Tiberius. "Lernaean Hydra's number of attacks are equal to the number of 'Cyreath' Link monsters used for his Fusion Summon."

"As three 'Cyreath' Link monsters were used, that means Lernaean Hydra can attack two more times." Herald summed up.

"The battle continues." Raguel said. "Cyreath Lernaean Hydra attacks Cychaic Pluto, God of the Underworld! Gazer Exedra – Second Shot!" Purple energy charged up in each of Lernaean Hydra's heads, along with the jaw in his chest, before they fired it at Pluto, which caused an explosion that pushed Azrael back several feet as his life points dropped.

Azrael: 2900 – 2000 = 900 LP

"Pluto's effect now activates! Since he was 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 reborn from my Graveyard, Praetor and Elephantaur." Azrael responded, as Elephantaur and Praetor reappeared on his field in defense position.

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000 LV: 8

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 DEF: 600 LV: 6

"You may have more monsters, but the turn isn't over yet. I activate Aetos Dios's effect." Raguel replied. "Once per turn, when a 'Cyreath' monster I control inflicts damage, I can place a 'Pierce' counter on a card on your field. However, if a 'Cyreath' Link monster inflicted battle damage, I can place 'Pierce' counters on cards on your field equal to that monster's Link rating instead. As such, I place a 'Pierce' counter on Pollice Verso. Supersonic Piercer!" Aetos Dios flapped his wings forward as he released sharp feathers that hit Pollice Verso before leaving sharp marks on it.

Cychaic Pollice Verso PC: 0 + 1 = 1

"The battle continues once again! Cyreath Lernaean Hydra attacks Cychaic Tiger! Gazer Exedra – Third Shot!" Purple energy charged up in each of Lernaean Hydra's heads, along with the jaw in his chest, before they fired it at Tiger, which caused an explosion that turned it into particles.

"I Set two cards face-down and end my turn, which means the effects of Lernaean Hydra and Roar end, and Amphitheatre regains its effects." Raguel began concluding, as Lernaean Hydra was surrounded in a red aura that returned his strength to normal. Amphitheatre, on the other hand, regained its color before strengthening Azrael's monsters once again.

Cyreath Lernaean Hydra ATK: 5000 – (500 X 4) = 3000

Cyreath Lucius Tiberius ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000

Cychaic Elephantaur ATK: 2800 + 500 = 3300 DEF: 1000 + 500 = 1500

Cychaic Praetor ATK: 2400 + 500 = 2900 DEF: 600 + 500 = 1100

"Aetos Dios's final effect also activates. I remove all 'Pierce' counters from cards on your field, and for each 'Pierce' counter removed by this effect, I can send a card from your field to your Graveyard. I send Police Verso from your field to your Graveyard." As if on cue, Pollice Verso turned into particles.

"I see. With Pollice Verso gone, I can no longer negate the effects of your cards, nor can I use its other effect since it wasn't destroyed by a card effect." Azrael remarked. "What's more, you managed to inflict massive damage to me as well, just like how Slipstream did against me in our duel."

But before Azrael can say anything else, the both of them noticed Raguel's deck shaking. "Interesting. I've never seen a deck shake like that before. Then again, given how your monsters are sentient, it only makes sense for them to be determined to stop me." Or they could be pissed off by what you've done in your duel against Angelica, Raguel, he thought in his mind. That was the correct answer in what was going on. Then again, it was better to wait until the right moment before telling Raguel so that he can driven into despair once that time came.

"Of course they're hellbent in stopping you, Azrael. They want to help in ending this war for good." Raguel told Azrael.

"I'm not so sure, Raguel." Herald said, which got Raguel's attention.

"You doubt our monsters' determination in ending this war, Herald?" Raguel questioned.

"Of course not, Raguel." Herald assured Raguel. "What I will say is that it's unusual for this to happen. Let me look into this while you focus on the duel. Perhaps I can determine what's going on inside the deck."

"That's a good idea, Herald. It's important that the entire deck is united against our common foe, particularly after what happened earlier. The last thing we need is for divisions among us to be our undoing." Raguel stated.

"Then I wish you the best of luck out there, Raguel. Just be careful." Herald genuinely urged caution to Raguel, before he dived into the latter's duel disk, hoping to resolve any disputes that were going on inside the deck.

Meanwhile, in the server that existed in Raguel's deck...

Pandora shook the jail bars attached to her cell, hoping to see if there was a weakness in them. Unfortunately, she could not, much to her frustration. Nearby was Teferi, who tried to break out of his cell, only for him to obviously fail in each attempt. Alastor, on the other hand, merely meditated as he gathered his thoughts. In Pandora's mind, she, Teferi, and Alastor were the duel monsters needed if he was to win this war for good. Yet Herald decided to take initiative and imprison the trio before heading back to assist Raguel. What's more, he had Achilles take Atalanta away so she can be healed of what Raguel did to her by unlocking her power.

From Pandora's experience, ethical codes and values like justice and companionship didn't matter in times of war. They didn't help her escape persecution from humans, nor did it free her from the decades, if not thousands of years she was forced to live on the planet without the release of immortality. Away from Olympus. Away from the pain. Pandora's curiosity was what proved to be her undoing, for it led to All the World's Evils being unleashed onto the world, as well as her punishment in being expelled from the one place she deemed home.

Guarding the jail cells were numerous centurions sent by Herald to keep an eye on the trio, as well as Hercules/Alpha Mode, who was also stationed there. Given his unique ability, he was more than a match in battle against Alastor, and was more than able to take care of both Pandora and Teferi as well should they join in on the fight.

As for this prison, it was located in the catacombs of this land. That made sense, for only the worst of prisoners were sent here. There were also rumors of a giant monster that tried to break out multiple times, only for its attempts to be successfully stopped each time, but at the cost of several lives. Thus, maximum security was put in the monster's cell to ensure that it wouldn't escape.

"Raguel needs allies who've experienced the ugliness of humanity, and the desire to get payback on those who are already tainted." Pandora spoke up, which got Hercules/Alpha Mode's attention. "If memory serves, Hera meddled with your life at every opportunity, to the point where you went mad before killing your own family. That meddling led to you burning yourself to death. Yet you willingly choose to obey Herald's commands? How pathetic. You could be so much more."

Hercules/Alpha Mode snorted back before growling, as if he were saying 'Your words will not tamper my loyalty to Herald and Raguel'.

"Do not bother, Pandora. The madness that consumed Hercules has so impacted his mind that he won't bother listening to you. Only will he listen to his creator, and by extension, Raguel." Teferi told Pandora.

"The mad priest is right. Such loyalty cannot be compromised." Alastor added.

"Really now? Remind me what happened to you, Alastor." Pandora replied back.

"Humans destroyed not only the village I lived in, but my entire family as well, leaving me the only survivor." Alastor answered. "The gods offered me a chance to have my revenge in exchange for my service, and I took it."

"See? Ethics and justice mean nothing in our stories. In some way, they end with a message that appears to be heroic, but is tragic if you look deeper into it." Pandora said. "If Herald realized that, then he'd be a bit lenient in letting us help Raguel."

"I believe that Herald is aware of that, Pandora. However, his priority is keeping Raguel's health healthy and stable." Teferi commented.

"I am already aware of that fact, Teferi. But it doesn't change the fact that a duel's going on, and if Raguel's going to win it, then he'll need all the help he can-."

Suddenly, the entire area shook, as if there were a few small tremors that had occurred. Hercules/Alpha Mode gestured his head to the gates, where several centurions went to inspect what happened. The next thing that happened, Scorching Cerberus broke through the gates before incinerating those centurions. Noticing that something was amiss, Hercules/Alpha Mode quickly ran upstairs to battle Scorching Cerberus head on.

"Don't let the prisoners escape!" several centurions cried out, as they ran over to where Pandora and the others were. The next thing the centurions knew, the power inside the prison went out before flickering on again. Seizing the opportunity, Pandora fired energy from her hands that blasted the cell door open. Seeing this, Teferi also blasted energy out of his hands that blasted his cell door open, while Alastor summoned his blades and sliced the doors down as well. Unfortunately for the centurions, the trio proceeded to brutally destroy them.

"Ah. It's good to get out of here." Pandora said, before motioning for the others to follow after her.

"Wait. What about the monster within the catacomb's deepest levels?" Teferi inquired.

"It's suicide to go and talk to that monster. Only Raguel was able to do so and walk away and tell the tale!" Alastor scolded Teferi. Having understood this, the two of them followed after Pandora and went upstairs. More centurions tried to stop the trio in their progress, only for them to pay with their lives in doing so.

Unexpectedly, Medusa appeared out of nowhere and blasted a beam of light from her eyes, which nearly hit the trio as she slid in front of them to impede their progress.

"I'm afraid I can't let you get any further." Medusa said, as the daggers attached to chains appeared in each of her hands.

"You think you can prevent us from escaping? How remarkably naïve you are." Pandora remarked back, before she, Teferi, and Alastor charged forward and attacked Medusa. She dodged each of their attacks before jumping at each of the catacomb's walls, where she then fired beams of light that briefly immobilized them.

But just before Medusa could land a hit, Alastor broke through the immobilization and grabbed her leg with his clawed upper right hand, where he then slammed her to the ground numerous times as he threw her to the wall nearby. Teferi fired red lightning at Medusa afterwards, which drained her from energy as a result.

The trio continued running through the hallways, hoping to get to the entrance as they battled through several more centurions that stood in their way. Eventually, they reached the entrance, where they saw Hercules/Alpha Mode and numerous centurions battling Scorching Cerberus and several corrupted soldiers. Circe was also there assisting them in stopping the uprising.

WHOOSH!

A lance flew by and landed near where Alastor was before Achilles appeared and kicked the former with such force that he was sent flying back. The jagged, chained blades appeared in Alastor's hands before he engaged Achilles in combat, the latter blocking the former's attack with his lance.

"Look out!" Teferi stated, as he fired red lightning to block Castor and Pollux's respective attacks. Pandora was also forced to fire magical energy to reinforce Teferi's lightning. Castor and Pollux then appeared in front of Pandora and Teferi.

"The Dioscuri siblings..." Pandora recognized the duo who launched that attack.

"We won't let you take another step." Castor responded.

"Let's put these two, along with the four-armed knight back in their cells, Castor!" Pollux proclaimed, with Castor nodding in agreement as the sword appeared in the former's hand while the discus appeared in the latter's hand.

Energy that formed into a blade appeared in Pandora's hand as she charged forward and fought against Pollux, while Teferi fired energy from his wings, which Castor used the discus to block them. Pollux was able to easily parry Pandora's attacks before striking with her own, which made the latter stumble back a bit. In response, she fired several magical blasts from her hands that Pollux dodged easily, where she charged forward and once again hit Pandora.

Castor dodged the curved blade of energy that Teferi threw at him before he struck the latter with the discus in the former's hand. In response, Teferi quickly landed on the ground and immediately flew back up before once again firing energy from his wings. This time, they hit Castor, who was sent flying back as he rolled on the ground.

"Brother!" Pollux cried out, before Pandora hit her with magical energy blasts that she released from her hands.

"Well, that was a bit troublesome." Pandora admitted, as she turned her head to see Alastor still engaging Achilles in combat. This... wasn't going the way she hoped the prison break would be, but if she and the others hurried, they can escape in the chaos. They can also free their ally Atalanta, who was brought to the medical chamber after the first skirmish.

Unexpectedly, Odysseus appeared out of nowhere and punched Pandora in the face with such force that she was sent flying. Teferi fired red lightning from his fingers, as well as energy from his wings at Odysseus in response, only for him to efficiently roll out of the way before jumping into the air and punching the former down to the ground.

"I had thought something was wrong when the generator to the catacombs went down." Odysseus said, as Pandora slowly got up on her feet.

"Raguel needs allies who are willing to do what must be done in order to win." Pandora told Odysseus. "Surely, you of all people can understand that, right?"

"Of course I do." Odysseus confirmed, much to Pandora's surprise. "Still, due to recent events and how we all must stand together or die, I won't let you take another step out of this area."

"Then do try to stop me." Pandora mocked back, before she fired magical energy from her hands at Odysseus, which pushed him back. However, he raised his right arm in front of him as he walked forward, somehow being able to push back against that energy. Seizing the opportunity, Odysseus charged forward and nearly hit Pandora, who barely managed to escape the blow.

Suddenly, Turboblaze Dragon appeared out of nowhere as he breathed fire down onto the area, which incinerated several corrupted troops and caught everyone off guard as the fight was put to a halt. The distraction was what allowed Hercules/Alpha Mode to deliver a powerful blow on Scorching Cerberus and knock him out. Herald was on Turboblaze Dragon's back, having rode in on the scene after learning what was going on.

"Seize your fighting, everyone! Stand down!" Herald shouted, before he leapt off of Turboblaze Dragon's back. Energy formed in Herald's hands as he released it all over the area, which caused it to begin repairing itself.

"Raguel won't be able to beat Azrael and the others if things here keep getting worse." Odysseus pointed out.

Herald sighed. "You're right, Odysseus. Raguel won't be able to do so if we keep fighting among us."

Pandora turned to Herald before walking towards him. "You're ready to stop our enemies by any means necessary?"

"By the means at hand." Herald answered back firmly.

"What's your game? You're always three moves ahead."

"Saving the world is enough for now. In this case, uniting as one so Raguel defeat Azrael and Wraith for good." Herald narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, we will all die."

Nearby, Pollux helped Castor stood up on his feet, while Teferi and Alastor also stood up, injuries evident on them. Hercules/Alpha Mode and Achilles went over to where Herald was, while a battle-injured Medusa caught up with them, having exited the catacombs.

"Alastor, Teferi and I are not going back in those cells." Pandora told Herald.

"We'll cross that bridge later. Right now..." Herald looked over at everyone present in the area. "Raguel needs all of us. Get this area cleaned up and prepare for battle. The sooner we get this done, the better. Now go!"

Having heard this, everyone present began working on the repairs and preparing themselves for battle. Like Herald said, the sooner this was done, the more likely they'll survive in the end.

Herald then went over to Achilles, having noticed the latter being tense with what happened. "How's Atalanta doing?"

"Well, last I spoke with Asclepius, he told me that her recovery is stable." Achilles answered.

"In that case, go back to Asclepius. Have him release Atalanta from the recovery chamber."

Achilles tensed up after hearing this. "You sure, Herald? If Atalanta's released while in recovery, there's a chance we won't be able to keep whatever Raguel's done to her stable."

"I know, but there's a double benefit to releasing her from the recovery chamber. If Atalanta manages to control the dark powers within her, then our chances of achieving victory will go up. What's more, I'll also be able to see up close what Raguel's done to her, and find a way to create a cure." Herald explained.

"Ah, now that makes sense." Achilles admitted, having thought this over. "I'll pass this information to Asclepius." He then jumped onto a part of a building nearby before summoning his chariot, which he jumped on as he sped towards another portion of the server.

With that discussion over, Herald went over to where Medusa was. "We need to talk. It's urgent."

Nodding in agreement, Medusa followed after Herald to an area of the catacombs, where the latter snapped his fingers before a veil of energy surrounded them. This way, they could talk in private.

"You're aware that Pandora and the others will betray you once this is over." Medusa figured out.

"Obviously." Herald agreed. "While the contingency I've created with the other Ignis will help for what's to come, it's important that we stay several steps ahead of the others. Should things go south, I entrust you with the responsibility to protect Raguel and the others alongside Turboblaze Dragon. Even..." He sighed. "Even if my nightmare comes to pass and one of our own becomes the enemy. You can pass this message onto the others if you wish."

Medusa sadly nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, there was the possibility that Herald may die in the Ignis war, and was thus taking precautions to ensure the other's survival. "I'll do that if things go as bad as they say, but we should focus on ending this war for good for now."

"Right." Herald thought this over before the veil surrounding them dissipated. He and Medusa exited the catacombs as they witnessed everyone else not only continuing to clean the area up, but prepare for battle as well. Looking around the area, Herald saw an opportunity that he couldn't let pass after looking at Alastor, the dark knight that Raguel had created. Alastor didn't know the truth about his legend, but if Herald told him, then perhaps there was still hope for the future.

Seeing Herald approach him, Alastor quickly grabbed the chained, jagged blades in his hands, with the clawed upper arms prepared to grab the sword attached to his back.

"I wouldn't do that, given the stakes we are all facing." Herald began speaking, as he snapped his fingers once again, which caused the veil to surround him and Alastor. "If memory serves, you became a monstrous servant of the gods following the destruction of everything you've cherished. They promised you life if you did their bidding." He put a finger to his chest as he continued recalling the information in his mind. "Ah. No. Not you. Your family. Your home. Do you think Pandora's someone to be trusted? Do you even believe that you can trust Raguel in the current state of mind he's in right now?"

"What choice do I have?" Alastor lamentably questioned back.

"We all have choices. Live in the past, or live for the future. Why don't you look up your own legend? You may find the answers there." Herald snapped his fingers for a third time, which dissipated the veil. Once that was done, he left the server before heading back to the real world. Hopefully, Raguel would still be doing well against Azrael by the time Herald returned. For when a deck was fully united against a common enemy, one's chances of winning that duel would skyrocket.

Elsewhere, back at Raguel and Azrael's duel...

"My turn! I draw!" Azrael said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "I activate Praetor's effect. Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can destroy one 'Cychaic' card on my field or in my hand to not only negate the effects of a monster you control until the End Phase, but also inflict 600 damage to you as well. I destroy Caladrius, and negate Lernaean Hydra's effects." Praetor quickly slashed Caladrius into pieces before it turned into particles, which he fired at Lernaean Hydra as he groaned in pain. As for Raguel, he also groaned in pain before his life points dropped.

Raguel: 3500 – 600 = 2900 LP

"Caladrius' effect activates! Just like before, when it's 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." Azrael reminded Raguel. "I send the Spell card, Cychaic Preparations to my Graveyard and activate it. This card lets me shuffle 'Cychaic' cards in my Graveyard up to the number of 'Cychaic' monsters I control, and then draw cards equal to the number of 'Cychaic' cards shuffled into my deck by this effect. As I control a total of three 'Cychaic' monsters, that means I can shuffle three cards from my Graveyard into my deck. I shuffle Caladrius, Pluto, and Cychaic Fusion back into my deck and Extra Deck, and draw!" Three cards popped out of Azrael's deck, which he took and shuffled into his deck and Extra Deck before drawing the top three cards of his deck.

"Damn it." Raguel muttered. Since Azrael had more cards in his hand, that meant his options have expanded.

"I summon Cychaic Acquila from my hand to my field." Azrael continued, as 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

"I tune the Level 2 Cychaic Acquila with the Level 6 Praetor!" A bolt of blue lightning struck Azrael before the world greyed out and his two monsters disappeared into particles. Two rings, one white and one red, 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 second Main Monster Zone Lucius Tiberius pointed to. 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

"Let me tell you something, Raguel. Pluto was the monster I used to defeat Lord Kazuma, while Jupiter was the monster who contributed towards Stregone's defeat." Azrael grinned after seeing Raguel narrow his eyes in anger. "I activate Jupiter's effect. Once per turn, 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?!" Raguel exclaimed.

"I destroy Elephantaur on my field, and halve Lernaean Hydra's attack points. Fulgurous Drain!" Azrael stated, as Jupiter pointed his lightning-shaped sword at Lernaean Hydra before firing a flash of energy at him. Upon impact, a yellow aura surrounded Lernaean Hydra 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.

Cyreath Lernaean Hydra ATK: 3000 / 2 = 1500

Azrael: 900 + (3000 / 2) = 2400 LP

"The difference in our life points is almost even..." Raguel realized.

"That isn't what you should worry about, Raguel, especially since Elephantaur was destroyed by a card effect. Just like before, when Elephantaur is destroyed by a card effect, I can shuffle one card on your field into your deck. I shuffle Aetos Dios back into your Extra Deck." Azrael announced, as Aetos Dios turned into particles that went back into Raguel's Extra Deck.

"Battle!" Azrael thrusted out his right hand. "Cychaic Lucius Tiberius attacks Cyreath Lernaean Hydra! Floras Florent!" Lucius Tiberius charged forward at Lernaean Hydra, the sword in his hands having now been surrounded in blood-red flames. Before Lernaean Hydra could even react, he was cleaved in two, which caused a massive explosion. However, when the smoke cleared, it showed an unharmed Raguel, who hadn't taken any damage. On his field was a new monster summoned in defense position. One that had a clay-like body adorned with metallic, dented armor attached to it. Covering its one-eyed face was a bronze helmet, with space so it can see.

Cyreath Clay Giant ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 7

"So you managed to somehow survive..." Azrael muttered.

"That's right, Azrael. I activated Cyreath Clay Giant's effect from my hand, which allowed me to Special Summon it from my hand to my field the moment a 'Cyreath' monster is destroyed by battle. Then any battle damage I would have taken is reduced to zero, and Clay Giant gains attack and defense points equal to the destroyed monster's original attack points." Raguel explained.

"Lernaean Hydra originally had 3000 attack points, which means Clay Giant gains 3000 attack and defense points." Herald summed up, as Clay Giant roared before it powered up.

Cyreath Clay Giant ATK: 0 + 3000 = 3000 DEF: 0 + 3000 = 3000

"I also activate the Trap card, Cyreath Succession." Raguel added. "When a 'Cyreath' monster leaves the field for any reason, I can Special Summon one 'Cyreath' monster, except a Link monster, from my Graveyard to my field. However, I have to negate its effects. I Special Summon P.H.A.N.T.O.M from my Graveyard to my field." At Raguel's command, P.H.A.N.T.O.M reappeared on his field.

Cyreath P.H.A.N.T.O.M ATK: 2800 DEF: 2000 LV: 7

"In that case, the battle continues." Azrael responded. "Cychaic Jupiter, God of the Storm attacks Cyreath P.H.A.N.T.O.M! I also activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Cychaic Rupture." The card showed Pluto, Jupiter, and Neptune firing blasts of energy onto a city as humans tried to escape their wrath for disobeying them. "For the rest of this turn, when a 'Cychaic' monster attacks a defense position monster, you take piercing battle damage."

"Not good..." Raguel muttered.

"Now, Jupiter! Thunderstroke Geyser!" Jupiter raised his sword high into the air, which caused bursts of lightning to erupt the ground before tearing P.H.A.N.T.O.M to shreds. As a result, a massive explosion occurred, which sent Raguel flying off the ground before he rolled onto it, where he eventually rolled onto his stomach.

Raguel: 2900 – 1500 = 1400 LP

"I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means Lucius Tiberius's effect ends." Azrael concluded, as the aura protecting Lucius Tiberius dissipated. "Just like with Slipstream, you have persevering motivation. But it will not last, for I will eventually walk out as the winner of this duel."

"Okay, I'm back." Herald said, having emerged from Raguel's duel disk. He gasped upon seeing Raguel on the ground. "Hey, you alright? Get up! You can't give up now!"

Raguel slowly got up on his feet, having struggled to do so. "I'm fine, Herald. You don't have to worry about me." He then turned to Azrael. "Let me tell you something, Azrael. As long as I still have breath, I won't let you succeed. This, I swear."

"Given how there's so much on the line, that makes sense." Azrael commented back before he narrowed his eyes. "However, know that I will achieve my goal at all costs, even if it means defeating you, hybrid brother. That, I can promise you."

Meanwhile, in another area in Mirror LINK VRAINS, during the duel between Playmaker and Bohman...

Jericho laughed with glee as he saw the carnage that had occurred not just through the duel between Bohman and Playmaker, but across LINK VRAINS as well. Due to Bohman activating the Neuron Link, he was able to absorb the consciousness data of people that were in the network before activating his new Skill to acquire Link 5 monsters once each turn. And after Jericho activated his secret program involving the piece of Malf he obtained a while back, it expanded Bohman's mind even more. Bohman was no longer in control of the duel due to the information being filled into his mind from many individuals. Instead, Jericho was, and the program allowed him to take control of the duel by continuously pushing Bohman's mind to the limit. It was almost like how Jericho made 'improvements' to the AI Implant chip back when it was put into Go's brain to test just how far the human mind went before snapping into insanity.

The piece of Malf that Jericho put in Bohman also contained a tiny portion of the Cursed Boundary Layer inside it, which gave him the chance to test its powers on humans to see what would happen upon contact. Given how so many people fell into comas after having their consciousness data absorbed by Bohman, the test run proved to be successful so far. For the purpose of the Cursed Boundary Layer was to weaken the enemy from the inside out by draining their energy. This way, they wouldn't be able to fight back once the invasion on their world began. It was an effective and efficient strategy, where the species damages itself from the inside out so much they wouldn't be able to stop the invasion fleet from taking over their world.

Combined with Raguel being infected with the Cursed Boundary Layer, Jericho was able to keep track of what was happening on the duel between Raguel and Azrael as well. To put it simply, Jericho was in control, and he'd walk away the winner of this war.

He watched as Bohman used his Skill, Master Storm Access, to access the Neuron Link and add a random Cyberse monster to his Extra Deck once again. This led to more people being absorbed by Bohman in the process, much to Jericho's happiness. Bohman then used Dragrid's effect to remove a 'Hydradrive' counter and roll a dice, which allowed him to Special Summon a 'Chimera Hydradrive Draghead' monster from his Extra Deck whose attribute corresponded with the result. Since Bohman rolled a three, it led to him Special Summoning Chimera Hydradrive Draghead – Flame to his field, much to Playmaker and Ai's shock as Bohman activated Draghead – Flame's effect to destroy all other monsters that it doesn't point to.

Luckily, Playmaker managed to save Cyberse Quantum Dragon by banishing Cyberse Synchron in his Graveyard. That sadly wasn't enough, for Bohman responded by having Draghead – Flame attack and destroy Cyberse Quantum Dragon in battle, thus dropping Playmaker's life points to 2500 as a result. After ending his turn, Bohman activated Draghead – Flame's effect to return back to his Extra Deck and Special Summon Dragrid back to his field before placing a 'Hydradrive' counter on it.

"Yes, Bohman! Just like that! Bring Playmaker further into despair!" Jericho exclaimed. "Once their duel and Raguel and Azrael's duel ends, the Ignis-!"

BA-BUMP!

Jericho was forced to jump out of the way upon sensing that energy was being fired at him. While he was able to evade the first few attacks, one of the blasts nearly hit Jericho as he was forced to roll on the ground for his own safety. Having stood up on his feet, Jericho quickly looked around to see who was responsible for the attack, and gasped after seeing Zero leap onto the same building he was on.

"It's you!" Jericho angrily grit his teeth after putting two and two together. This... was not good for him at all.

As for Zero, he simply narrowed his eyes at Jericho, having found his target at last.

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 duel monsters appear in pairs. First is Firewall Dragon and Firewall eXceed Dragon, second is Salamangreat Heatleo and Violet Chimera, third is Cyreath Hercules/Alpha Mode and Turboblaze Dragon, fourth is Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, and fifth is Borreload Savage Dragon and Borreload Dragon before all of them disappear one by one. 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 Caracal (LV: 4/Cyberse/Earth/ATK: 800/DEF: 2000)

Effect: If your opponent activates a card effect while this card is in your hand (Quick Effect): You can destroy 1 'Cychaic' card in your hand or on your field; Special Summon this card from your hand to your field, and if you do, negate the effect, and if you do that, destroy it. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can shuffle 1 'Cychaic' card from your GY back into your deck. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Caracal' once per turn.

Cychaic Perseverance (Normal Spell card)

Effect: You can target 1 'Cychaic' Link monster in your GY; shuffle it back into your Extra Deck, and if you do, you can Special Summon 'Cychaic' monsters from your GY to your field in defense position up to that monster's Link rating, but negate their effects. For the rest of this turn after this card's effect resolves, you cannot summon the monster targeted by this effect. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can target 1 'Cychaic' monster you control; gain LP equal to its original ATK. You can only activate 1 'Cychaic Perseverance' effect per turn, and only 1 that turn.

Cychaic Rupture (Quick-Play Spell card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can apply this effect; for the rest of this turn, if a 'Cychaic' monster you control battles a monster in defense position, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If this card is destroyed by a card effect: You can negate the effects of 1 card on your opponent's field, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent. You can only use each effect of 'Cychaic Rupture' once per turn.

Raguel:

Cyreath Chronicler (LV: 7/Cyberse/Light/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)

Effect: If your opponent controls a monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand to your field. If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can take 1 copy of 'Cyreath Mount Olympus' from your deck or your GY, and either activate it or add it to your hand. If you control a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster: You can Set 1 'Cyreath' Spell or Trap card from your deck or GY to your field. It can be activated the turn it was Set by this effect. You can only use each effect of 'Cyreath Chronicler' once per turn.

Roar of the Cyreaths (Quick-Play Spell card)

Effect: When this card is activated: You can negate the effects of cards your opponent controls up to the number of 'Cyreath' monsters you control until the End Phase, and if you do, inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each card negated by this effect. If this card is in your GY and you would take damage: You can banish this card from your GY instead, and if you do, inflict half of the damage you would have taken to your opponent. You take no further damage during the turn you activate this effect. You can only use each effect of 'Roar of the Cyreaths' once per turn.

Cyreath Evasion (Normal Trap card)

Effect: If a 'Cyreath' monster you control is targeted by battle or card effect: You can shuffle that monster back into your deck; Special Summon 1 'Cyreath' monster from your deck or GY with a different name to your field in defense position, but negate its effects. If you control a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster, you can activate this card from your hand; also, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation. You can only activate 1 'Cyreath Evasion per turn.

Cyreath Genesis (Normal Trap card)

Effect: You can shuffle 1 'Cyreath' Link monster back into your Extra Deck; shuffle cards your opponent controls into their deck and Extra Deck up to that monster's Link rating. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to this card's activation if you shuffled a Link-3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster with this effect. If you control a Link 3 or higher 'Cyreath' monster, you can activate this card from your hand. You can only activate 1 'Cyreath Genesis' per turn.

QOTC

In your opinion, what makes a character not only a great villain, but one to be remembered for?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 93: The Price of Freedom. Having managed to disable all of the snares, Zero confronts Jericho, determined to stop him before things go from bad to worse. While Playmaker fights back against a corrupted Bohman's strategies, Raguel and Azrael unleash every ounce of strength and wit against one another in their duel as it comes to a close...

Author's Notes

This was certainly an interesting chapter to write, especially as we reach the ultimate conclusion for Season 2. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Anyhow, let's do a quick recap, shall we:

The first thing that happens is the anime events, which obviously involves Lightning vs Revolver and their duel. Like I mentioned before, it's important for me to recap important anime events so that people know what's going on. However, this time I made an important change for this recap: I went for the Dub instead of the Sub. Why? Because almost every other VRAINS fanfic has used the sub version for the Lightning vs Revolver duel. And given how Lightning initiated Project: Ignis Futura in the dub, I wanted to tie it in with the other projects, such as the Lost Incident, Project: Apotheosis, and Project: VIII overall. I also added a special part that I know a great majority of you wanted to see, which was how Herald and Wraith would affect the simulations. Here, Revolver says that Herald and Wraith's co-existence with humanity is guaranteed.. but at a cost. Both Herald and Wraith are the most likely to destroy humanity. Why? Because both time and space play a major factor in the cycle of life, which would compel Herald and Wraith to act so that it would be preserved at all costs, even if it meant destroying humanity. Revolver also acknowledges that of all the Ignis, both Herald and Wraith are the most powerful ones among the eight, as well as the ones who would carry out the act of killing Lightning. All in the name of keeping the balance of life and death stable.

Jericho also appears to watch the duel, and is angry upon realizing that he missed the duel between Slipstream and Azrael. This is because Jericho is someone who needs knowledge, as it helps him stay one step ahead of our heroes. I will also say something about Jericho that some of you may know by now: He has no qualms about hurting innocent people if it means getting his mission done. For instance, if Jericho was dueling Lightning and the latter tried to hold Jin as a hostage, Jericho would be willing to kill Jin so he can defeat Lightning. That example, along with how he pushed Go's mind to the limit with the modifications he made to the AI chip, just demonstrates how immoral Jericho can be. He just doesn't care about casualties that occur in the process. As long as Jericho gets the mission done, then it's all good with him.

Following Lightning and Revolver's duel, Jericho follows after Playmaker and Bohman, while Azrael leads Raguel to a Mirror LINK VRAINS version of the tower they were on back in LINK VRAINS for their first duel. Just like before, the two of them engage in a sword duel before they begin the duel after with their cards. I will say something: Due to Jericho infecting Raguel with the Cursed Boundary Layer, it filled him with so much adrenaline that he was forced to activate Link Trigger. Raguel would have had a better grip on his Link Trigger, but Jericho's interference forces Raguel to activate it in response to Azrael's attacks. It's almost like two things. First, when Bane enhances his strength using venom to fight Batman, and second, when Jericho made modifications to Go's AI chip so he can push his mind to the limit.

But going back to the actual sword duel, Raguel actually did better than the last time due to getting further training to prepare for it. That, and Raguel also utilized Ace's data clone program, along with Speckles' chained daggers. Both of these things caught Azrael off guard, and it allowed Raguel to deal several blows to him. Let me remind you that Raguel was able to get both of these things after taking Ace's duel disk for himself. Also note that for the data clone program to work, you need data material. That was one of the reasons why Raguel went to one of the data material caches. So he can not only get stronger, but also power up the data clone program as well. Allow me to emphasize something: None of the data clones can wield Excalibur because if they tried, then it would reject them due to not having the real Raguel's blood. So if the data clones were to wield weapons, then it can only be manmade ones, such as guns.

Regardless, despite being caught off guard, Azrael was able to land some blows on Raguel like the other two times he fought him. He was also able to do so at a faster rate not only due to the ten years of training, but because he's more accumulated to Link Trigger. That, and Azrael's able to adapt on the spot in a fight by using either his Black Keys, the blue-mirage blades that appear at his sides, or his skills in Bajiquan.

I'm just going to say it right now: Yu-Gi-Oh should have had the duelists fighting their opponents alongside with their monsters. I mean, Bakugan did it, with one example being Dan Kuso and Maxus Dragonoid vs Spectra Phantom and Maxus Helios. Does anyone remember seeing that?

Unfortunately, during the fight, Azrael gets a notification on his duel disk, which Wraith looks at. Upon doing so, Wraith is alarmed with what he's seeing, where he tells Azrael that Malf has been hijacked. This gives Raguel the opening needed to force Azrael into a duel with their cards. Now Azrael's this close to achieving his goal of eternity, so it obviously pisses him off upon learning this information. However, Azrael decides to go after the person who did this after defeating Raguel, which is more of a priority to him. Besides, if Bohman defeats Playmaker, then Azrael can duel against him later on after defeating Raguel. Who knows? Maybe Bohman will rectify the situation happening on his end, right? That's what's going on in Azrael's mind, anyway.

Following this, the duel between Raguel and Azrael begins, with both duelists obviously not holding anything back. Given this information, I also decided for the both of them to use the other summoning methods too just to show how strong they truly are as duelists. Raguel does really well so far in the duel, as he increased his life points and brought out strong monsters one after the other. In response, Azrael did the same thing, and was able to recuperate from his losses at a faster rate. Both duelists kept countering each other's strategies before resuming their turn. Then again, it's only the first part of the duel, so expect the rest of the duel to conclude during next chapter.

While this is going on, Raguel's deck ends up shaking, so Herald decides to investigate to see what's going on. Here, Pandora, Teferi, and Alastor, who have been imprisoned by Herald in the previous chapter, have broken out of the prison. The trio ended up escaping due to Scorching Cerberus' help, and proceeded to fight against other sentient 'Cyreath' monsters, such as Medusa, Achilles, Odysseus, and Castor and Pollux. Seeing the situation, Herald rides on Turboblaze Dragon and stops the fighting by telling everyone that if they don't unite against their common enemy, they will all die. And by all, I mean all. With so much at stake, Herald has no choice but to broker a truce with Pandora and the others. After doing so, Herald proves to be one step ahead by doing many other things. First, convincing Achilles to speak to Asclepius to release Atalanta so Herald can see what happened to her up close before creating a cure. Second, speaking with Medusa and requesting that she protect Raguel and the others no matter what happens. Third, Herald speaking with Alastor by saying that everyone has a choice. Herald also demonstrates another way in how he can use his shields. He can make them translucent so that it appears no one is in an area, only for them to actually be there. With that settled, Herald returns to Raguel's duel disk, just in time for Azrael to end his turn. Note that there will be lots of juicy reveals in the Season 2 finale, especially with what Azrael said to Raguel during the sword duel portion of their fight.

Elsewhere in Mirror LINK VRAINS is the anime events regarding the beginning parts of Bohman and Playmaker's duel, only with one difference. Jericho activates a program to take control of Bohman by using the piece of Malf he obtained to do so. Recall that Jericho obtained a piece of Malf back in Chapter 89, which he put inside Bohman at the beginning of Chapter 90. To make things more interesting, Jericho also activates a small portion of the Cursed Boundary Layer to see how it would affect the Neuron Link. So to sum it up, Jericho was the one who hijacked Malf and ended up controlling Bohman as a result. Everything goes according to plan for Jericho... until Zero shows up out of nowhere and confronts him, the former actually caught off guard with what just happened. I'm pleased to say that next chapter, Jericho will duel for the first time and demonstrate his strength as a duelist. What deck do you think he'll wield? You'll have to find out in the Season 2 finale. For those of you who are concerned regarding Zero's deck and it having only one function being to bring out Yggdrago the Sky Emperor, rest assured that I plan for Zero to use other strategies for his deck. You'll see what I mean next chapter.

As such, without further ado, I want to thank you for reading Chapter 92 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 enjoy the most from this chapter? The change in anime events regarding Lightning's simulations, and the role Herald and Wraith play in them? Jericho's fourth wall breaks? The sword fight between Raguel and Azrael? The fact that Jericho hijacked Malf and got control of Bohman? Zero appearing at the last moment to confront Jericho? Or was it something else?

That is all for the time being, folks. I will see you all next time for the Season 2 finale! For nothing will ever be the same after it!