Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth

by DivadX

Yuhiro Furutani, one of 8 children kidnapped 10 years ago by an unknown group, now works as Raguel, an agent in LINK VRAINS' Black Market. One day, he fights the Knights of Hanoi and encounters Playmaker, who becomes his newest assignment. Follow Yuhiro as he now must decide who he wants to become: as both a duelist and as an individual.

105. Chapter 105: War on SOL: Part Two

Response to Reviews

Thank you to Guest, Kingdom Hearts Guy, rgriffin8999, HunterHQ, 0713MM, Donkeyboy100, Kcufad and T.V. 2000 for reviewing Chapter 104 of Obscured Truth.

Greetings, everyone! As summer comes to an end and we slowly move onto the Fall season, I do hope you're all doing well. I mean, we're at the last quarter of 2024, after all! And if everything goes well, I got something special planned for the fifth-year anniversary of Obscured Truth! What could it be, may you ask? Well, I can't tell you until we reach that point.

Anyhow, let's get to answering some reviews before we move onto the chapter:

Guest: Glad you like the story so far.

Kingdom Hearts Guy: Of course there's suspense in stories, as the whole point of it is to keep readers hooked so they can keep reading them.

rgriffin8999: If Ai told Yusaku that Jericho was there, then it'd result in both his death and the deaths of everyone he cared about. In other words, Jericho would kill Ai, Yusaku and their loved ones. Simple as that. Read Chapter 102 again if you need a reminder. Specifically, the part where Ai and Jericho brawl it out with one another.

HunterHQ: Oh, so that's what you meant when you mentioned hot potato. Thanks for clearing that up. Regarding the incident, the Kings were referring to the fallout during Project: VIII. And Akira already knows about the Dragon King because he had to learn not only about SOL Technologies, but its history as well if he was to serve the company. No, Akira won't tell Hayami about Ai, and he won't until Chapter 106. Regarding Yuhiro's thoughts on Queen and Pawn being attacked back in Chapter 103, he's shocked because someone was able to infiltrate the Soltis before doing so. No. Arin won't turn into a 'Cyreath' monster, nor will Yuhiro recreate the Cyreath Shadows card. Yup. Both Miyu and Roxy use the old duel disk model. And Miyu also printed the 'Trickstar' cards as well with some assistance from Aoi and Akira. Well, Akira didn't necessarily meet Roxy's avatar Angelica in the network yet, so it was the first time meeting 'her'. Though Akira obviously knows who Roxy is in real life. Honestly, Yuhiro saw apologizing to Go and swallowing his pride as the right things to do, as he feels that he doesn't have any pride whatsoever anymore. That's correct. Blood Shepherd not only saw that Yuhiro was broken from the inside out, but also saw that there was no point in aggravating him. Even though the 'Cyreath' monsters see themselves above mortals, do note that they were mortals once before becoming legends. You could say that Herald and Yuhiro made mistakes in basing the 'Cyreath' monsters off of their legends when they should have had the freedom to choose who they want to be. Leshawna definitely had guts when talking with the 'Cyreath' monsters due to how she dealt with numerous types of clients in her work as a therapist. Plus, she has a family to take care of as well. No, Yuhiro didn't, and wouldn't turn Medusa into a corrupted gorgon. In addition, Yuhiro's a little rusty, so don't expect him to use the full power of his deck for the time being. Happy you liked how the envoys of Albinor were portrayed in the chapter. My thanks for that. Of course Jericho would hesitate to tell the truth, as he doesn't want to lose allies. What's more, the envoys are confident that they can defeat the heroes due to their decks and how they were able to take out the higherups. It's obvious that Akira would be suspicious of Dairoku, especially given the latter's indirect role in how SOL Technologies suffered all those years ago. Yeah, I can confirm that Zero obviously defeated Akira in a duel. Rook wasn't surprised because he anticipated the FBI coming to help SOL Technologies at some point. If anything, he was surprised that no one let him know someone was coming to visit him. The Fleur De Lis symbol didn't appear on Knight's head because he tamed CXyz Comic Heros Legend Arthur a long time ago. You're forgetting about CXyz Dark Fairy Cheer Girl, aside from Coach Lord Ultimatrainer and Simon the Great Moral Leader. Gunther trained his mechanical animals using commands and hand signals. I can confirm that SOL Technologies brought the higherups to the same private hospital Queen and Pawn are at. I can't spoil the question regarding Pierre's staff, as it could be many things. It could be a mystical artifact. It could be a technological weapon. Or it could be something else. No. Zero didn't use a Supreme King Dragon deck in the past for obvious reasons (ex. Changes in the format for Main Monster Zones, addition of Extra Monster Zones, etc.). It took quite a while for Zero to rebuild his base, which was why he couldn't go after Ai earlier following Chapter 100. But with Zero done, he's ready to enter the fray and help the heroes. Trust me when I say I got something in mind when that time comes. As for Juggernaut's design… well, let's just say that the lab coat isn't just a lab coat. No, Cryomancer isn't a Yuki Onna. Yup. Arashi completely forgave Windy in the end, and was able to move on with his life. Yes, you'll see Gunther use the Link 5 'Tri-Brigade' monster later on.

0713MM: Happy you liked the chapter. The group therapy session between Yuhiro and the other 'Cyreath' duel monsters was certainly needed, as they need to work things out if they're to fight alongside one another again. In addition, Arashi gave some great advice to Miyu on not letting your anger at others cloud your judgment. For the Akira scene, please note that he hasn't spoken with the Knights of Hanoi yet, as he only wanted to inform Playmaker and the others about Ai's attack on the higherups in Chapter 103. Yup, Akira is willing to give Zero a chance to assist him in the battles to come. I'm glad you liked meeting the envoys of Albinor in this chapter, as well as how they each defeated the higherups in their respective duels. Dogma isn't just an envoy of Albinor. He's also their leader as well.

Donkeyboy100: Given how all the archetypes the envoys use are related to Albaz, you'll see him soon.

Kcufad: Malf already knew about Borreload Dragon's effect. What he was shocked about specifically was how Revolver was able to get past Drachen's strategies regarding Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and the combo set up beforehand by using Borreload Dragon's effect. I do agree with you in saying that the second bout between Raguel and Azrael was a better one, as the former was able to keep up with the latter at a slightly faster pace than before. Okay, in my defense regarding the names I chose for Knight and Bishop, I wasn't aware that you already made a VRAINS fanfic at the time. So it's just a coincidence, if you ask me. A sports chapter would indeed be interesting. And while I don't mean to preach or anything, let me tell you something right now: Bullying ain't cool. Why would you bully Yusaku? The poor guy has PTSD, after all. As for your other question, do expect more fun duels down the road that don't have any stakes whatsoever.

T.V. 2000: Glad you liked the chapter. Happy you liked the envoys' appearance as well, as they're going to be the main bad guys along with Jericho in Season 3. Well, each of the envoys' decks are all from the Fallen of Albaz storyline in order to connect them with one another as a group. Yup. Reiji Akaba would have not only given a better duel, but also defeat some of the envoys as well. I mean, it's pretty obvious that the 'Cyreath' monsters would scold Yuhiro for his actions in the past few chapters. Happy you liked the scene where Bahamut, Despa and Apsed speak different languages, which makes Jericho demand them to speak in English. As for your question regarding Fallen of Abaz and his dragon evolutions, do expect the envoys to use them down the road.

With all reviews having been answered, let's get to the next chapter, shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter 105: War on SOL: Part Two

The screen is pitch black as the duel disks belonging to Yuhiro, Yusaku, Takeru, and Arashi slowly fall from the top, scattered around the screen, and leaving small trails of stardust behind them. All four duel disks hit an invisible ground in unison, causing them to explode into cards that were used by every character in the story so far. The cards continue to rain across the screen before the Cursed Boundary Layer blackens the screen completely, replacing it with a new scene.

The camera moves from left to right, showing a grassy field with Den City and the following characters: Yuhiro, Miyu, Aoi, Yusaku, Takeru, Arashi, Brea, Go, Roxy, Kusanagi, Greg, Quinton, Miles, Ryoken, Youta, Takeya, Akairo, Emma, Kengo, Akira, Brion, Rachel, Gil, Tsubaki, and Gekiryushi. The wind blows, causing each person's hair and clothes to be blown up a bit. The scene suddenly changes, revealing Playmaker, Raguel, Blue Maiden, Numera, Slipstream, Tigress and Aerith on one side. On the other side was Revolver, Specter, Lord Kazuma, Gil, and Soulburner, a destroyed LINK VRAINS behind them.

The screen then changes to show Yusaku and Ai in the streets of a raining Den City. Yusaku was looking down, and Ai was looking upwards, the rain drenching their clothes. Yusaku slowly looks up with a vexed expression, while Ai runs a hand through his hair and turns his gaze onward. In another area of Den City, Yuhiro is shown running as his strength was drained, having cried in despair as a silhouette of Yukage is shown with a smile before fading away in the rainy mist. Miyu and Roxy follow after Yuhiro, with Arin turning into a blanket to keep him warm as thequartet head back to Café Matsuo.

The Knights of Hanoi are shown next, with Revolver, Specter, Lord Kazuma, Baira, Faust, Dr. Genome, Dancho and Infearno appearing one by one. However, the images of Dancho and Infearno then disappear before being replaced by Demeter and Ondina. Simorgh, Bird of Sovereignty and a mischievous, fallen pixie-like angel with long pink hair whose attire consisted of a black dress with stockings, as well as a pair of wings on her back appeared behind the two of them.

The screen then changes to show Akira walking on a sidewalk in the real world, having looked upwards at the sky. His image is shown on a large screen that Jericho was looking at back in his laboratory, as if having determined his next target. A sadistic grin appears on his face as seven colored orbs, one white, one black, one yellow, one red, one brown, one green and one blue orbit around him. Soon, a zebra-skinned demon with horns and long, black braids appears behind Jericho, having carried a large, burning blade in his hands. Also appearing behind Jericho was a male teenager who wore a black and dark blue striped outfit that consisted of several black studded belts strapped around his legs and arms, a short black cape and clawed gauntlets, and a dark enclosed knight helmet with a black mask tinted red, resembling that of a beak. Nearby was an imprisoned Watchman, who groaned in pain as he tried to recover from the torturous pain he received to no avail.

Aoi and Yusaku are shown sitting on a bench together, with Yuhiro and Miyu sitting on a similar bench nearby, the quartet gathering their thoughts together before speaking. The screen then shifts to Kusanagi and Katsuya driving the Café Nagi truck, with Roxy following after the duo by driving her car, as if the trio were on an important mission.

Ai and Roboppy are shown next, the camera zooming in on his right eye and revealing the reflection of Playmaker and Raguel. The reflection turns real, and the camera zooms in on Playmaker and Raguel's left eyes, showing Ai's reflection as his grin turns into a wider one.

Back in LINK VRAINS, Roboppy appears riding on his duel board, Appliancers Vacculephant and Laundry Dragon appearing behind him before he thrusted out his right hand, which caused both monsters to fly downward. Next, Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd appear riding on their duel boards, Altergeist Memorygant and Battledrone General appearing behind the duo. Go Onizuka appears next, Gouki the Giant Ogre and Gouki the Great Ogre appearing behind him before being replaced by SengokuQueen, The Six Samurai – Tajima and Secret Six Samurai – Rihan appearing behind her. Stregone appears next, Quintet Magician and Nirvana High Paladin appearing behind him. Revolver appears seconds later, Borreload eXcharge Dragon and Borreload Dragon, along with The Fang of Critias appearing behind him. Drachen appears after Revolver as Red-Eyes Black Dragon, The Claw of Hermos and Archfiend Black Dragon Skull rise up behind him before being replaced by Lord Kazuma, with Dragon Magia Master, Dark Magician the Dragon Knight and Dark Magician – Showtime emerging behind him. Numera appears with Geomathmech Final Sigma behind her, along with Tigress as Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max appears behind the latter. Slipstream is shown next, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon rising up behind him before being replaced by Soulburner, Salamangreats Heatleo and Pyro Phoenix also appearing behind him in the process. Percival and Gil then appear afterwards, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Abyss Actor – Ballistic Balladeer appearing behind the two of them. Last but not least is Zero, Yggdrago the Sky Emperor appearing behind him as energy surrounded his body.

Unbeknownst to all of the duelists, Jericho is shown looking down at them on a very tall building, three individual and darkened silhouettes on each of his sides appearing beside him as they disappeared to show Dogma, Brigadier, Juggernaut, Cryomancer, Despa and Apsed, and Bahamut. Silhouettes of duel monsters also appear behind the group one by one, with the first two being Dogmatika Alba Zoa and Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen. The next pair of duel monsters were Springans Ship – Exblowrer and Icejade Gymir Aegirine. The last pair of duel monsters were Despian Quaeritis and The Bystial Lubellion. The six duel monsters then disappeared, where Persona Force – Arsene the Joker rose above the group before letting out a loud roar.

Blue Maiden and Akira are shown back-to-back, their hands raised as Marincess Great Bubble Reef and Tindangle Acute Cerberus fire beams of energy at their common foe, determined expressions evident on their faces.

Ai is shown again, his lips curving into a grin as he points his right hand forward. The camera then zooms back to reveal he was in space and riding a duel board, Dark Templar AtIgnister, Wind Pegasus AtIgnister, and Light Dragon AtIgnister behind him. The three monsters charge forward at Raguel, Playmaker and Aerith. Raguel uses Cyreath Medusa to stop Wind Pegasus AtIgnister, Aerith uses Trickstar Bella Madonna to stop Light Dragon AtIgnister, and Playmaker uses Decode Talker to clash against Dark Templar AtIgnister.

A battle-wounded Raguel is shown facing off against Jericho in a desolate, network-like battlefield. Turboblaze Desolation Dragon appears behind Raguel, while a massive, six-winged humanoid appears behind Jericho.

At the Asagao Gardens, a picnic is being held. Roxy and Kusanagi are shown cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, while Greg and Katsuya are serving them to the group. On one side of the large picnic table was Yusaku, Aoi, Takeru, and Jin. Across from them was Yuhiro, Miyu, Arashi, Brea, and Rachel. Arashi makes a joke, which caused Brea to humorously punch him in the shoulder, a smirk on her face while a similar one appears on Rachel's face. Takeru laughs after seeing Arashi in pain, while Aoi and Yusaku let out a small chuckle as well. Jin, on the other hand, lets out a small gasp of concern for Arashi. Miyu is shown happily resting her head on Yuhiro's shoulder, the two of them smiling at one another in gratitude and happiness. Arin also raised his arms in joy upon seeing the happy expressions on Yuhiro and Miyu's faces, having sat on her shoulder to watch them. Afterwards, everyone present look up at the sky as a rainbow appears above the sun, smiles all evident on their faces.

In the real world, at Café Matsuo…

Emma whistled after hearing the whole story from Roxy. "Okay, now that's one hell of a story."

"You said it." Roxy agreed, as she took a sip from her coffee. This morning, Emma stopped by to see if she can get a coffee, only to see that Café Matsuo was undergoing renovations at the moment. After seeing that Emma arrived at Café Matsuo, Roxy met up with her outside and sat down on a chair at one of the tables, which led the latter to inquire about what happened recently. Specifically, what happened with Yuhiro and why everyone had suspicions about him, as well as what was going on with Café Matsuo. Thus, Roxy informed Emma about what occurred recently and how everyone was affected. Specifically, the appearance of the Cursed Boundary Layer and how Yuhiro ended up falling to its corruption. Roxy also told Emma about how she and the others had to reluctantly work with the Knights of Hanoi in order to save Raguel's life. However, Roxy wouldn't tell Emma that Yuhiro was now the first duelist to ever defeat Playmaker in a duel. Nor would she tell Emma about how Playmaker was brutally injured before Yuhiro kidnapped him. In addition, there was no way Roxy would tell Emma about Playmaker's allies bringing him to Café Matsuo to receive treatment, as well as their identities in the real world. That stuff was obviously confidential. She did, however, tell Emma about Aoi's role in this entire battle. Particularly, how Aoi risked her life to rescue Rachel when Yuhiro kidnapped her for his plans. In addition, how Aoi fought Yuhiro in a duel and ended up defeating him despite all the difficulties she faced just to eventually succeed in the end. Roxy even mentioned how Miyu logged into the network to assist Aoi when all hope seemed lost. "All in all, it was a long couple of nights."

"Well, on the plus side, you guys are getting better." Emma pointed out. "Still, if you sent me a message, I would have helped you guys out in a heartbeat."

Roxy rolled her eyes. "While I don't doubt your abilities as a duelist, Emma, this incident had to be contained. If too many people knew about it, then things would have even been more disastrous for us and the entire world in the long-term."

Emma sadly nodded, having realized that Roxy made a point. The incident had to be contained, lest the world paid the price for learning the truth. "Well, that sucks. Still, I'm a little pissed that one of your Rickety Raiders got to join the fight when I couldn't. They must be a powerful duelist if they were able to join in the fight to save Raguel's life."

"Again, I didn't want to get too many people involved. And besides, you and Blood Shepherd had some catching up to do." Roxy made a mental note to introduce Brea to Emma later on.

"Speaking of Kengo, I do have some good news." Emma said, which got Roxy's attention. "His mother woke up from his coma recently."

"That's amazing to hear, Emma." Roxy replied, now happy for Emma and Kengo. Now the three of them can spend time with one another and make up for the time that was lost. It was certainly needed, as with his mother finally freed waking up from her coma, Kengo now had the opportunity to let go of his pain. What's more, he can also get to know Emma as well. All in all, it was a happy ending for them.

"But here's the thing that I believe you should know, Roxy. When Kengo's mom woke up, she said that she felt as though an angel rescue her from her deep sleep. In addition, Kengo's mom felt a light-blue aura surround her body as she regained consciousness. Does any of that ring any bells in your mind?"

Roxy narrowed her eyes as she thought that over. This was something she didn't expect to hear today. The same circumstance occurred when Miyu healed Gil from his injuries, as well as when she cured Rachel of being the Construct, Roxy thought in her mind. Could it be that Miyu unknowingly cured Blood Shepherd's mom while at the hospital? This was a possibility, as before leaving the Den City Hospital, Miyu had a chance to get to know the residents that were there. She even got to play with the kids as well, having managed to bring them happiness during tough times.

But before Roxy could conclude her observations, the door opened, where it revealed Miyu carrying a tray of blueberry muffins.

"Good morning, auntie. I got muffins in case you were hungry." Miyu said, which got Roxy and Emma's attention as they saw her walk over to the table they were at. Her eyes widened out of surprise upon seeing Emma there as well. "Oh, good morning, Emma. I didn't expect you to be here at this time of day."

"Good to see you as well, Miyu." Emma responded. "You don't mind if I have a muffin, right?"

"Of course not. Be my guest." Miyu showed Emma the tray of blueberry muffins in her hands, which led the latter to take a muffin from the tray before the former showed it to Roxy, who also took a blueberry muffin as well.

"I have to say, Miyu. These are delicious. Did you make these?"

"It took a few attempts, but yes." Miyu sheepishly admitted. This was true, as the first time Miyu tried to make them, the first batch ended up being accidentally burnt, which led her to throw it out. The second time around, the muffins were as hard as a rock, which meant they couldn't be eaten at all. Well, unless you were willing to really bite hard down on it. Thus leading Miyu to throw the second batch out. With Yuhiro's advice, Miyu was able to successfully make the blueberry muffins the third time around, having learned from her mistakes. "Yuhiro gave me some advice on how to make them."

"Speaking of Yuhiro, how has he been doing?" Emma asked. "Roxy told me about what happened recently, and how he's been affected by it."

Miyu frowned in response to Emma's question, having carefully thought it over before responding. For the last thing Miyu wanted was to say something wrong that Emma would take advantage of. "Yuhiro's doing well. He's... He's getting the help he needs to recover. He's also catching up on his schoolwork as well."

"Schoolwork?" Emma turned to Roxy. "Roxanne Matsuo, don't tell me Yuhiro's been playing hooky lately."

"No, it's not like that at all, Emma." Roxy assured Emma. This was true. Yuhiro was able to focus on his schoolwork to a point where it appeared that he was on top of it. However, after Yuhiro was freed from the Cursed Boundary Layer, he had to take a week or two off so he can regain his strength physically and mentally. A few days earlier, both Yuhiro and Roxy returned to Den Academy to speak with the principal there, wanting to see how Yuhiro was doing. The principal also wanted to retouch base on Yuhiro's harsh actions on several students that he beat up for bullying others. Though the principal appreciated Yuhiro's efforts to try and stop the bullying peacefully, he didn't like how the latter took matters in his own hands just to end it. As a result, several students were injured, and others became afraid of him. While the principal wanted to originally suspend Yuhiro's for those actions, a medical examination provided from the nurse made him reconsider, especially since Yuhiro was one of Den Academy's hard-working students.

When the principal asked Yuhiro what led him to do those awful things, Yuhiro explained that he lost two important people in his life during one of the recent incidents. One being his childhood friend, and the other a friend he made a while back. There was obviously no way Yuhiro would tell the principal about Yukage or Herald, as he wouldn't be able to understand at all. And due to those losses, it led Yuhiro to take his anger and pain out on others just to regain a sense of control. Yuhiro also assured the principal that he was seeing a therapist to help him get through his grief, as well as develop coping strategies to acknowledge what happened and eventually move on from it.

Upon hearing Yuhiro's heartfelt apology and the reasons for why he took those awful actions, along with the actions he's taking to ensure this didn't happen again, the principal became willing to mitigate the punishment. One could say that the principal was pleased to hear Yuhiro's apology and his intent to make sure he didn't cause those incidents again. Besides, the principal also saw that Yuhiro was recently injured as per the burns on his face, so there was no need to further punish him. In fact, for the students that were hurt by Yuhiro, one could say it was karma for his harsh actions. Thus, the principal decided not to suspend nor expel Yuhiro just because of how one of the many incidents that occurred recently made many people lose loved ones. However, Yuhiro would have to catch up on the schoolwork he recently missed, and the school faculty would keep a close eye on him as well to ensure he didn't hurt the other students. If Yuhiro did anything that became a threat to the school's safety, then the principal would have no choice but to expel him.

"Good. Because it wouldn't be fair to punish Yuhiro for something Den Academy shouldn't know about." Emma commented, knowing that the school board would go nuts should it learn the truth about the Cursed Boundary Layer, and how it infected a human. "But moving that aside, in the network, something was up with Yuhiro's avatar. Is it infected by a virus or something? If so, then I bet he'll be able to fix it up in no time."

"It's not like that at all, Emma!" Miyu firmly snapped, which made both Emma and Roxy gasp in response. "What Yuhiro did can't be undone. His avatar… can never be repaired, and yet you casually say that it can be fixed like a program? With what's happened, such a thing is impossible because it's been corrupted to the core."

"Miyu, please calm down." Roxy gently said, concern evident on her face. She was worried that Miyu would continue lashing out at Emma for making such an insensitive comment. But to Roxy's surprise (and relief), Miyu composed herself, knowing that it wasn't right to snap at Emma for something she didn't know about until now.

"I'm sorry. Both of you. Excuse me." Miyu picked up the tray of muffins before returning back to Café Matsuo, needing some time for herself.

"She knows, doesn't she?" Emma figured out, which led Roxy to sigh.

"Yup. No thanks to you, Emma. Miyu knows about mine and Yuhiro's missions on the Black Market, along with why we did it in the first place." Roxy confirmed Emma's suspicions. "When Miyu found out the truth, she called Yuhiro and I monsters, as well as terrible people. She's practically angry with us for what we did. If Miyu hates me forever, then I get it. Honestly, I'd feel the same feelings she's going through right now if I was in her shoes. Hell, I probably would have said those awful words as well."

Emma pondered over something in her mind before speaking. ""Want to know something, Roxy? It was my mother's nagging that led to me reconciling with you at the Den City Hospital all those months ago."

"Your mother was the catalyst?" Roxy raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear that comment.

"Yeah. She's stubborn, just like you, me, Yuhiro and Miyu." Emma chuckled. "I'll level with you in saying this, Roxy: When I was younger, I had… difficulty making friends due to my devious nature. Unfortunately, as you already know, I can still be a little devious at times."

"Obviously." Roxy snarked before letting out a laugh or two, which made Emma roll her eyes after hearing that comment.

"My point is this: My mom saw how important reconciling with those you've hurt is, as it can not only grant everyone involved in a scenario peace, but also restore relationships with people as well." Emma explained. "Though you and Yuhiro have some work to do, I have faith that the both of you will be able to officially make things right for Miyu. After all, the three of you have a special bond with one another. It'd be a tragedy if it was lost, don't you think?"

Roxy nodded in agreement, knowing that Emma certainly made a point. She had a special bond with Yuhiro and Miyu for the longest time, as she made a huge difference in their lives. For Miyu, she was Roxy's niece. For Yuhiro, he was Roxy's adopted son. No matter what happens, family always sticks together, and Roxy would work with Yuhiro on making sure that they reconciled with Miyu for their mistakes. "You're right on one thing, Emma. Yuhiro, Miyu and I have a special bond with one another. I'll work hard to make sure that it remains intact and happy between the three of us. This, I promise!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Emma smiled, glad she got her point across. "You know, with everything that's happened, I realized something."

"Oh? What would that be?" Roxy asked, now curious on what Emma would say next.

"I've seen many family issues, and even experienced my own for the past while." Emma said. "But it seems that Yuhiro's family issues take the cake, if you know what I mean."

WHAM!

Roxy punched Emma in the arm for making such a comment. "Are you seriously making a joke here now of all times?!"

"Hey, come on. I was trying to lighten the mood here. That's all." Emma chuckled, hoping to calm Roxy down. It obviously didn't work, as Roxy was still irked by Emma's comment earlier.

"Don't you dare make a joke on whose situation is worse amongst the worst! It doesn't change what everyone went through! It just ain't right!" Roxy exclaimed, which led her to practically continue scolding Emma for doing such a thing, the latter trying to placate the former so the situation can be defused. Miyu was in the living room, watching both women argue with one another, with Arin having reverted back to his original form before running up to Miyu's left shoulder and standing on it.

"Okay, that woman's a weird human." Arin commented.

"We're all flawed in our own way, Arin. You need to remember that." Miyu told Arin, before a sad smile appeared on her face. "But it doesn't mean reconciliation's impossible." She walked away from the window, intent on cleaning up the tray and storing the muffins in a container so they can be eaten at a later date.

One hour later, in the network, in the Hanoi's server…

Akira materialized in the Hanoi's server, intent on speaking with Revolver this morning. He originally didn't want to, as he wanted to get the aid of other allies first to see if they were willing to help him out. Besides, Akira didn't want the Knights of Hanoi involved in this because they'd very likely kill Ai, and the last thing Akira wanted was for Ai to die. Hopefully, a peaceful solution can be reached before things got worse.

First, Akira called Akairo, as the latter had to assist SOL Technologies with reparation efforts. Akairo immediately agreed to help Akira upon learning the situation, knowing that he was one step closer to being free from his probation period. The next call Akira made was to Gekiryushi, wanting to check in to see how she was doing. As Akira expected, Gekiryushi didn't respond, which made him leave a message explaining the situation he was in and requesting her assistance. However, Akira understood if Gekiryushi didn't call back with the intention to help him. Not only was she grieving Zandaka's death, she was also tasked with finding the next three disciples for the Shinpi-Tekina Dojo. Third, Akira called Greg, who explained that he was dealing with something right now in Central Japan, thus making him unavailable for the time being. Not just Greg, but Rachel as well. Lastly, Akira called Quinton, hoping that he would be willing to help protect him. After all, Go was on board, so there was a good chance that Quinton would join in on the coming battle. However, Quinton told Akira on the phone that he was really busy helping the children who were orphaned by events such as the Turf War and the attacks in the network and in the real world recuperate, as well as assist with finding families that would adopt them. Though the large amount of people volunteering to help made things easier for Quinton, he was still unavailable to help Akira out. Akira understood, as he knew what it was like to be an orphan after his and Aoi's parents died all those years ago. Before hanging up, Akira told Quinton to call him if he needed any aid with things at the Den City Shelter and/or the orphanage.

With most of his options being used up, Akira decided to accept Revolver's invitation by logging into the Hanoi's server using the coordinates the latter provided him in his message. Upon entering in the Hanoi's server, he noticed that Revolver wasn't alone, as Demeter was with him. This time, Demeter no longer wore her mask. What's more, she wore an outfit that was similar to the other Knights of Hanoi, only her lab coat had light-green and gold lines on it.

"I'm surprised you accepted my message." Revolver noted.

"Well, I could use your help, as the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Akira said, as he turned over to Demeter. "Though I didn't expect a comrade of yours to be attending to this meeting as well."

"In that case, allow me to introduce you to Demeter, Zaizen. She's like family to the Knights of Hanoi, and will be filling in for Dancho following his recent death." While this was true, there was no way Revolver would tell Akira that Demeter was his mother. It was Demeter's responsibility to do so, but only when she was ready to reveal the truth, which was something Revolver respected.

"I once worked for Watchman a long time ago, Zaizen." Demeter stated. "After I learned the truth, I severed all ties with him and escaped. As such, I'm here to make amends in any way I can by keeping you safe in the battles to come. What's more, I'm willing to provide the information I have on Watchman if you request it."

"I will keep that into mind, Demeter. And thank you for your offer of assistance." Akira responded.

"Were you able to find the Dark Ignis' location, Zaizen?" Revolver asked, which got Akira's attention.

"We're doing the best we can, but I doubt we'll find him." Akira answered Revolver's question.

"That is true. The Dark Ignis is better at fleeing and hiding than we are. He did hide from us in the network for five years." Revolver smirked. "Nevertheless, I should thank you, Zaizen. Since the Dark Ignis plans to attack you in a few days, you managed to inadvertently draw it out into the open."

"Revolver…" Demeter muttered, concern evident in her tone. After Raguel was defeated, Revolver announced that the Hanoi wouldn't go after Ai as long as he stayed in the deepest parts of the network and never return. However, with Ai now returning, that meant Revolver had to take action lest the former cause any potential harm to humans. She did, however, manage to make Revolver see a new perspective through the creation of an AI for the battles to come. Perhaps if Revolver saw how AIs can collaborate with humans firsthand through this AI, then he may spare Ai's life and exile him instead.

"If we can't find Ai, then I could lose my existence." Akira lamented uneasily, knowing that with him out of the way, Ai would be free to do whatever he pleased with SOL Technologies for reasons yet unknown.

"While the Dark Ignis is a powerful enemy, you need not worry about your safety, Zaizen. For I have a plan and a new ally." Revolver assured Akira.

"A new ally? Who?" Akira raised an eyebrow, curious on what Revolver meant by the last part of that comment.

Revolver glanced over his shoulder and raised his right hand. "Come!" He snapped his fingers, and a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a feminine AI whose attire consisted of a black, white and blue suit with gold trims and a red diamond at the collar. She also had black gloves and boots with gold trims as well. Lastly, she had solid red eyes and green streaks on her head resembling that of bangs.

"Who is this?" Akira asked.

"It's an AI the Knights of Hanoi created to protect the network." Demeter explained.

"The Knights of Hanoi once had an AI duel bot named Gradius, which Lord Kazuma looked after on our behalf. Even though Azrael stole the information on Gradius, we were able to use the findings it produced during its duel against Raguel as inspiration to create the AI you see in front of you." Revolver added.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Zaizen. My name is Pandor," the AI introduced herself to Akira.

"Very surprising, Revolver. Based on how much you despise AI, I never thought you'd create an AI similar to the Ignis." Akira observed. "Nor did I expect you to have a duel bot on hand more than three months ago."

"Though Revolver had the idea, I believe that Pandor's assistance will help him acquire a new perspective not just for this battle, but for the other battles to come." Demeter stated. And hopefully, Revolver will abandon his intentions of hunting down and destroying living beings in the network over time, went unsaid.

"Let's just say desperate times come for desperate measures, Zaizen." Revolver acknowledged, which snapped Demeter out of her thoughts as she repaid attention to the conversation at hand. "While it's inevitable for someone else to create an AI with free will, there's no way I'll let them do what they like. And don't you dare compare Pandor to those out-of-control rogues such as the Ignis or those neanderthal Soltis your company's made recently. Frankly, I find it insulting."

Demeter smiled, surprised that Revolver cared for Pandor. You may think Pandor's a weapon, Revolver, but it looks like you're treating her as a person more than you realize, Demeter thought in her mind. If this kept up, then there was a chance Revolver would be able to free himself from his hatred towards AI for good.

"You see, Zaizen, Pandor has a built-in program that limits free will. If she begins to view humanity as the enemy, then any thoughts and feelings regarding that topic are automatically deleted. Isn't that right, Pandor?"

As if on cue, Pandor split herself into five copies, which surprised Akira as they all began to speak in perfect harmony. "That's correct, Revolver. We are harmless to humans."

"There's five of them?!" Akira exclaimed out of surprise.

"We are five in body, but one in mind," the original Pandor explained. "If one of us enters a duel, then all the data collected will be shared with the others." The original Pandor then dematerialized seconds later.

"Long story short, they're linked with one another." Demeter summed up what Pandor said just now to Akira.

"Zaizen, look at your duel disk." Revolver stated, as Akira raised his arm and gasped as the vanished Pandor reappeared.

"We have downloaded all the duel data up until the present onto your duel disk," one copy of Pandor explained.

"As we gather more data, we will update our records to help the duelist by figuring out the enemy's strategies," a second copy of Pandor explained.

"With us at your side, the odds of victory will be tipped in your favor," the third copy of Pandor stated.

"Now you've never been in a better position to win, Zaizen." Revolver said. After all, fighting poison with poison was one of his favourite tactics when combatting the enemy.

"We will protect you, Mr. Zaizen," the fourth copy of Pandor promised.

"I'm counting on you." Akira replied, having placed his faith in both Pandor and the Knights of Hanoi to keep him safe. Though he knew the consequences of this decision in hiring the Hanoi to keep him safe, his hand was forced, and he made up his mind a long time ago. Nevertheless, Akira still had time to look for other allies that would be able to help him. For the more allies that agreed to help Akira, the better. However, there was something Akira wanted to know from Revolver and Demeter. "But what do you want in return? I know the Knights of Hanoi have their own goals to complete."

"That is true, Zaizen. In exchange for our assistance, I have two requests." Revolver replied, as he put one finger up. "First, I want you to clear all of Drachen's charges and sentences before transferring them over to the Knights of Hanoi. Since the Hanoi sent Drachen to do our dirty work, it's only fair to take responsibility for what we've done. If anything, Drachen should be set free from his obligations and return to his daily life."

"Revolver, I know you have good intentions, but you can't just make the entire world forget what Drachen did." Demeter pointed out. "With the evidence out there, it'd take a very long time-."

"I'll do it." Akira immediately complied, which made Demeter gasp out of shock. "Given Drachen's sentence, he'll also be working to protect me. When this is over, I promise to do what you ask, Revolver. All of Drachen's charges will be dropped and transferred onto the Hanoi's many crimes, the world will forget about Drachen's role during recent events, and he will be able to ultimately return to his daily life. In other words, the world will forget that Drachen was the main instigator of his crimes, as well as him being a member of the Hanoi."

Demeter turned over to Akira, the look of shock still evident on her face. "Like I told Revolver, you can't just make the entire world forget about Drachen's role in the battles in the network and in the real world, Zaizen. It's impossible."

Akira turned back to Demeter in response. "As someone once said to me, the impossible is the possible that is yet to be achieved, Demeter. If getting the Hanoi's help means ensuring that Drachen is set free from his obligations, then I will do it. Besides, as Executive Vice President, I have access to different pieces of information and technologies that can help in this task."

"Thank you, Zaizen. I appreciate it very much." Revolver said, before he held up a second finger. "Which brings me to the second request. I would like SOL Technologies' help in a personal matter that has come up on our end."

"And what would that be exactly?" Akira frowned, wondering just what Revolver wanted in exchange for the Hanoi's protection.

Revolver pressed a button on his duel disk, which showed a screen of Infearno's duel disk. "A few days ago, the Knights of Hanoi received a distress call from Infearno. Given how he was dying, Infearno voluntarily left the Hanoi so he can enjoy his remaining time off before leaving this world. When we received his distress call, we immediately raced over to his location, only to find his duel disk." He then pressed a second button on his duel disk, which showed the Den Cemetery.

"Based on the information, we figured out that Infearno was visiting his wife's grave before something happened to him." Demeter continued. "While we don't know what happened, we still want to get down to the bottom of this mystery for Infearno's sake."

"Indeed. If anyone hurt Infearno in any way whatsoever, then they will pay for doing such a thing." Revolver added. "As the Hanoi's leader, I swear it."

"I'll help however I can when this is all over." Akira promised. "However, I have my own condition for this request."

"Oh? What would that be?"

Akira narrowed his eyes firmly at Revolver. "You of all people would know what my condition is, Revolver. While I will help the Hanoi solve this mystery, I will not under any circumstance help in getting the assailant killed for any potential action they did to your comrade. If the assailant truly is responsible for hurting your comrade, then they will be judged for it under the law, not by executing them in cold blood. Is that clear?"

Revolver couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Akira's condition in response to his second request. It seemed that, despite everything that's happened, Akira still retained his moral code and didn't cast it aside for any potential gain. For that, Revolver respected him. "Very well, Zaizen. I accept your condition."

"Good. I'm glad you and I are on the same topic regarding your second request." Akira responded, pleased to see that Revolver was being reasonable. Back then, Revolver was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his goals, even if it meant the elimination of anyone who stood in his way. But it seemed that, whatever Revolver went through, he mellowed out over time and became reasonable. "You said earlier that you had a plan in mind to protect me, Revolver. What did you mean by that?"

"It's quite simple, Zaizen. Given how the Dark Ignis attacked your higherups in the real world, we need to get you to an area it won't find you." Revolver simply explained, as Akira put a hand to his chin before thinking things over.

"Queen and Pawn were on a cruise the night Ai attacked them by infiltrating the Soltis that was on there. Despite being on sea, he managed to find and eliminate them both. So how else-?" Akira gasped upon putting two and two together. "Unless-!"

"Bingo." Revolver chuckled. "As long as we get you to an area the Dark Ignis can't reach, you'll be safe from it. In addition, if there's no Soltis for it to hijack, its chances of reaching you will be slim to none."

"And no one said anything about using a vehicle to hide someone." Demeter added, recalling how she, Revolver and Specter hid in a car to evade the Cursed Boundary Layer before returning to the safe houses. "However, we should keep this conversation amongst ourselves, as Ai may very likely try to search our memories on your whereabouts in a few days."

"That's wise, Demeter. Very wise." Akira said, knowing what to do. "I'll contact my assistant and a few other individuals about the situation. They'll understand what's going on and get a plane prepped as quickly as possible."

"You'll also need this if you wish to survive, Zaizen." Revolver stated, which got Akira's attention as the former pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused a purple sphere of energy to orbit above it. He then pushed it to Akira, who caught it in his hands.

"What's this?" Akira held the sphere of purple energy in his hands.

"That, Zaizen, is a sphere of energy we used a while back in our battle against the Ignis, which was made using Malf's DNA. Given how Bohman and Azrael attacked the Origins of the Water and Light Ignis' a while back, it's a possibility for the Dark Ignis to do the same to you. Thus, I recently put in a special algorithm in that will force it to retreat should it resort to such a method."

"All you need to do is put it in your duel disk, and it'll keep you safe in the real world." Demeter reluctantly explained, as Akira put the sphere of purple energy in his duel disk. When she first learned that Revolver created a virus using Malf's DNA, she was angry with him for doing such a thing. However, given the hard times the Hanoi went through due to Azrael's actions, Demeter reluctantly chose to let it slide because she couldn't judge Revolver for taking desperate measures in response to those actions. If Demeter chose to condemn Revolver for making that weapon, it'd be no better than him calling her a hypocrite for preaching about coexistence, yet willing to take drastic measures just to eliminate people that were definitely a threat.

"Thank you for your help. Both of you." Akira said, before he attempted to log out of the network. However, Revolver walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I do hope you find more allies for the fight to come. For our chances of victory will increase with each ally on our side." Revolver genuinely said, intent not just on making sure Akira was safe, but to also make sure humanity remained safe as well.

Akira nodded in agreement. "I hope so too, Revolver. I'll see you and the Hanoi in a few days." With that, he logged out of the network, leaving Revolver and Demeter in the Hanoi server in the process.

"That meeting went really well, Revolver." Demeter commented.

"It certainly did, mother. It certainly did." Revolver agreed, as the two of them proceeded to log out of the server afterwards.

Elsewhere, in Jericho's server…

Jericho narrowed his eyes as he continued to study the blueprints for the Soltis on the light-green monitor. With Juggernaut's assistance, he was able to make a few breakthroughs on why he couldn't enter into a Soltis the night he, Ai and Roboppy attacked Queen and Pawn. The first breakthrough was one that Jericho suspected a long time ago: He spent so much time in the dark side of the network that his code had been rewritten completely. In a way, this made Jericho and the other ISOs almost like aliens as a result.

The second breakthrough Jericho made was figuring out how Watchman was able to hijack a Soltis all those weeks ago. Apparently, it had to do with Watchman spending time on the light side of the network. If he was in the dark side of the network, then his code would have been rewritten completely even if he assimilated himself in the digital world. However, because Watchman spent time only on the network's light side, he managed to retain his human coding, which allowed him to hijack a Soltis in the first place. A perfect match, if you will. What's more, as long as a server was in the light side of the network such as Mirror LINK VRAINS, then Watchman would still be able to keep his human coding and hijack a Soltis. On the plus side, since Zero was also in the dark side of the network, he wouldn't be able to hijack a Soltis and return to the real world. If that happened, then Jericho would be at a disadvantage.

Still, with these breakthroughs, Jericho was able to get an understanding on what prevented him from re-achieving solid form in the real world. Not just that, but figure out how Watchman was able to hijack a Soltis and return to the real world after all of this time. Perhaps this would be a good way Jericho can test Juggernaut's apprentice on what he can do in response to such a dilemma. For if Juggernaut's apprentice managed to overcome such a unique scenario and crack the code, then it'd certainly prove how strong he is, as per what Juggernaut told Dogma.

Suddenly, two people logged into the network, which interrupted Jericho's thoughts as he turned his head to see who was there.

The first was Juggernaut.

The second was a male individual who had pinkish red eyes and light-blue hair. He wore a teal jumpsuit extending from his wrists to his lower knees, along with an orange vest and two pauldrons on his shoulders. He also wore orange, fingerless gloves that ended on a black stripe, as well as elbow pads.

Jericho walked over to where Juggernaut and the male individual was, wanting to officially meet the person Juggernaut took under her wing. "Thank you for bringing your apprentice with you, Juggernaut. I do hope there's no hard feelings in you bringing him here today."

"No, not at all, Jericho. Please note that he has other priorities to attend to, such as his schoolwork." Juggernaut pointed out.

"Duly noted, Juggernaut. Rest assured, I value education just as much as you do. With great knowledge comes great power and great opportunity." Jericho responded, before turning over to the young male individual beside Juggernaut. "As for you, young man. You must be Juggernaut's apprentice. While I know your name in the real world, what do you go by in the network?"

"I go by Issachar in the network," the young male individual introduced himself, a bit of nervousness evident in his tone.

"Well, then. It's a pleasure to meet you, Issachar. My name is Jericho." Jericho offered his right hand to Issachar, who shook it in response. "Juggernaut told me about how you're both a strong developer and a duelist. These are true, right?"

"Uh, yes, sir." Issachar nodded in confirmation. "Juggernaut already filled me in about you and your return, as well as how you're related to Albinor Inc.'s founder. Lastly, Juggernaut wanted me to learn about Albinor Inc. and its purpose as a company."

Jericho smiled. "I'm pleased you are already aware of this. After all, like I told Juggernaut just a few seconds ago, with great knowledge comes great power and great opportunity."

"Of course." Issachar agreed. "As honored as I am with this great opportunity, Mr. Jericho, my concern is that I won't be able to balance it with my studies and my hobbies. With all due respect, I do have a life."

"First off, please call me Jericho. No need for formalities." Jericho told Issachar. "Second, you're not in my employ just yet."

"Not in your employ?" Issachar raised an eyebrow as Jericho walked over to the light-green monitor.

"Just because I heard about your skills as a duelist and a developer doesn't grant you instant access to join the cause, Issachar. Thus, I'm putting you through a series of tests starting with one that's about to come very soon."

"Jericho…" Juggernaut muttered, now worried for Issachar and the tests Jericho would put through him.

"At ease, Juggernaut. The tests are meant to evaluate Issachar's abilities and see how he responds to them. I'm not going to break him or anything, as that wouldn't be smart now, would it?" Jericho said. "Step forward, Issachar. Tell me what you see on the screen."

Issachar did as Jericho asked, where he walked over to where the latter was before looking at the light-green monitor. It showed a large building, which was almost like SOL Technologies, but with several differences. First, instead of a rectangular structure, Albinor Inc. had a circular structure that had four large towers in the middle connected to each side using bridges. Second, there were honeycomb-like ridges outlining the numerous windows on the building, as well as a single dot in each ridge. Lastly, there were two parabolic ridges connected with one another, which gave it the appearance of a massive ship. "That's Albinor Inc."

"Indeed, Issachar. I plan on retaking it from the CEO who's currently running it in a bit with the help of some allies of mine."

Issachar turned over to Jericho, curious on what he meant just now. "Do you mean allies like Juggernaut?"

Jericho shook his head back in response. He made a mental note to introduce Issachar to the other envoys of Albinor later on. "No. I'm talking about some other allies I managed to rope in for this battle. They were… willing to cooperate after I provided the benefits they would gain upon accepting my offer."

"You want me to hack into the security then? I'm not the best at hacking, but-." Issachar began speaking.

"Oh, Heavens no." Jericho interjected, before letting out a laugh. "I want you to make a few, teeny tiny changes to the maximum security. There's no need to destroy it, as I actually want to see it in action. To be specific, I want you to create a program and add it onto the maximum security. One that will recognize me as ally rather than foe. This way, I can proceed in regaining control of Albinor Inc." And punish Ai and Roboppy for going behind my back, went unsaid.

"I'll see what I can do. Although I will need a few things." Issachar turned to Jericho. "First, I need your data or something because security needs a way to recognize you upon entry. It's almost like an ID card, where only by scanning something that belongs to you will the company grant you access to its secrets. But since you're likely going after something that's in the database, then if you want to make things easier, I'll need a piece of your algorithm."

Jericho couldn't help but blink after hearing Issachar's explanation. This person in front of Jericho right now was… brilliant. Issachar was smart in identifying the challenges with his intellect before even getting started. What's more, he was determined in seeing the coming test through to the end. These were traits that Urizen possessed and valued in the old days. "Alright, I get what you're saying. Although I do wonder what else you'll need to begin your first test."

"I also need access to the software you have on hand, as well as the programming language, data abstractions and configuring tools." Issachar quickly responded, knowing what he needed to begin the first test. After all, this was the first part of Issachar's initiation.

Jericho nodded as he typed on the digital keyboard, where he typed his password in before the light-green monitor showed that the attempt was successful. By doing so, he granted Issachar temporary access to what he requested in order to complete the first test. From there, a sword made of data material appeared in Jericho's right hand before he made a small cut on his left arm, which caused a small piece of data to fall off from it. As if on cue, the small gash healed itself seconds later.

"W-W-What?" Issachar slightly gasped as he held the pieces of data in his hands.

"Use my algorithm wisely, Issachar. Do not make me regret it." Jericho warned Issachar, who nodded as the former began to walk away from the latter. "I expect results within the next few hours. Do not disappoint me." With that, Jericho walked away, having allowed Issachar to sit down on the chair so he can get straight to work.

"Jason, if Issachar doesn't pass the tests, then I ask that you let him go free safe and sound." Juggernaut quietly requested to Jericho. "He isn't directly related to what's going on here, nor does he have any connection whatsoever with events in the past."

"Of course I'll let Issachar go free safe and sound, Juggernaut. I'm not a monster, after all." Jericho promised. I will, however, have to delete his memories of our interactions so he forgets about what's going on here, went unsaid. This was what Jericho did to Electrolyzer as punishment for disobeying his orders. While he couldn't kill Electrolyzer, he didn't want to risk any potential leaks that would hurt him later on. Thus, Jericho decided to wipe all memories Electrolyzer had on the former in order to continue operating in secret.

Based on what Juggernaut told Dogma about Issachar, Jericho saw great potential in her apprentice. He really did want to see what Issachar was capable of, and whether he was worthy of becoming an envoy of Albinor. What Jericho was curious about was why Issachar agreed to meet him and begin the tests in the first place. There obviously had to be a reason, and one way or another, Jericho will find out the truth. After all, the more information you had on hand, the more powerful you would become over time.

Meanwhile, at another area in the network, inside the Linguriboh ship…

"Say, master, what are you doing?" Roboppy asked, as he looked at what Ai was doing on the two large digital screens in front of him. One of which showed patterns of raised dots arranged in cells of up to six dots in a three by two configuration. Each of the cells below represented either a letter, punctuation mark or number. As for the second one, it was a rather unique puzzle.

"Right now, I'm studying a language to enhance my knowledge and complete this puzzle, Roboppy." Ai answered, having narrowed his eyes in order to try and figure out how to solve the puzzle on the screen. This puzzle wasn't exactly like the typical modern day puzzles people did these days to strengthen their minds. No. The puzzle that Ai was doing right now was known as a Braille puzzle, with the writing and reading system being developed by Louis Braille in 1825. While this reading and writing system was developed to help those who are visually impaired, it was also used in music, theatre, literature, video games (to Ai's surprise) and so much more. Thus, Ai wanted to study the language by completing puzzles so he can enhance his knowledge on it.

But there was also another reason why Ai was doing this, as he knew that he'd die one way or another when all of this was over. He didn't want Jericho to come out on top, nor did he want humanity to be annihilated due to his existence. With this in mind, Ai decided to come up with a plan to give Yusaku and the others a fighting chance against Jericho and Urizen, which all started with understanding braille. Once Ai finished comprehending braille, then-.

WHOOSH!

Ai immediately turned off the braille puzzle as and Roboppy turned to see Jericho enter into the Linguriboh ship out of nowhere, which was evident by the portal that appeared before he stepped out of it.

"Well, idiots. I hope you're happy with yourselves, as thanks to your little message, we now have to deal with Playmaker and his allies!" Jericho exclaimed, as he pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused electricity to course through Ai's and Roboppy's bodies before they fell on the ground in pure pain. "Care to explain why you did such a thing, Ai?!"

"Come on, Jericho. There's nothing wrong with gloating a victory to the enemy." Ai rebutted. "I mean, the whole point was to make Playmaker and his allies lose some morale after learning that their ally has been eliminated. Besides, I got to avenge Earth's death in the process."

Jericho frowned. Even though he understood what it was like to gloat over a victory or an enemies' displeasure, there were times when you shouldn't do so. And due to Ai's decision in sending that video, it meant neither he nor Jericho nor Roboppy could go after Akira until the allotted days ran out. As such, Jericho moved his finger from the button on his duel disk, which ended the electrocution process on Ai and Roboppy. "Oh, please. Playmaker and his allies don't give two shits about the higherups whatsoever. If anything, that message you sent will only strengthen their resolve to fight back and ensure neither of us succeed."

"But Playmaker and the others would have found out what happened one way or another." Roboppy reminded Jericho, as he stood up on his feet.

"Roboppy's right, Jericho. Nothing is hidden forever, and if you must know, I wanted to avenge Earth's death by personally disposing of Queen." Ai added, as he also stood up on his feet. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with taking it easy before the battle to come. By relaxing and not doing anything, you'll be able to replenish your energy in no time."

"On the contrary, I have done something while the both of you were slacking around." Jericho countered. "The other higherups have been disposed of as of last night, and neither of them have the other half of the Code Key. Thus, the only one who knows of its location is Zaizen."

"You went after the other higherups without telling Roboppy and I?"

Jericho crossed his arms in response to Ai's query. "Since you and your friend were so inclined on taking it easy, I saw no need to tell you. Besides, me and the allies I talked about have eliminated the other higherups, and they'll dispose of them permanently at my command. I don't have to remind you of what will happen should you step out of line, do I?"

Ai narrowed his eyes, having recalled what Jericho told him back in the network. "You don't have to remind me. I'm already aware of it."

"Good to hear. Because the last thing I want is for your beloved friends, as well as those that assist them behind the scenes, to die. Maybe some other innocent people to throw in the mix as well." Jericho commented, which made Ai and Roboppy gasp. "You heard me. I'm not above exploiting any potential loopholes in our deal should I find out that the both of you have done something behind my back."

"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal, Jericho!" Roboppy protested, as Ai grit his teeth in anger upon hearing Jericho's threat.

"You heard Roboppy, Jericho. There's no need to involve anyone else in this fight." Ai furiously told Jericho.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt them as long as you adhere to your end of the bargain. After all, I am reasonable… to an extent." Jericho replied, as he pressed a button or two on his duel disk. "But enough of that topic. Since the both of you have nothing to do, I think it's time we tackled our next objective."

"You're talking about Albinor Inc., aren't you?" Ai crossed his arms, now knowing what Jericho was about to say next regarding the group's next mission.

"Yup! You're correct, Ai!" Within seconds, a violet key made of data material appeared before orbiting above Jericho's duel disk. "This, my friends, is one of two code keys that can enable someone to fully control Albinor Inc. if they have them on hand."

"So it's like SOL Technologies' Code Key then?" Roboppy asked.

"Correct, Roboppy. The difference here is that, unlike searching for the other piece by going after a big group of people, the other one is sealed deep within Albinor Inc.'s database." Jericho explained. "However, the CEO has kept it guarded under numerous security systems, traps, programs and so much more. If anything, the CEO may even appear in person to protect it themselves."

"I see. So not only are we going through what appears to be a large maze, we'll also have to take care of the CEO as well." Ai observed. "And how did you get the first half of the Code Key, Jericho?"

Upon hearing this question, Jericho chuckled. "Let's just say one of my allies gave it to me as proof of their allegiance upon my return to this world." He pressed another button on his duel disk, which caused a series of digits to orbit above it. "These are the coordinates to Albinor Inc.'s server. All you have to do is put them inside Linguriboh, and he'll be able to take us to the proper location."

The coordinates floated over to Ai, his eyes having glowed with a golden color as he analyzed each part, wanting to make sure that it wouldn't infect Linguriboh. Ai took very thorough care in this, having made small changes in case Jericho had put something in the coordinates that would catch him off guard. Once that was done, Ai headed over to the captain's chair before putting the coordinates in the slot on the desk in front of it.

"Guri Guri Gu." Linguriboh said, who accepted the coordinates before beginning to identify the fastest route to the designated location. Once that was done, the ship immediately began to head out, intent on reaching Albinor Inc.'s server.

Ai headed over to the captain's chair and pressed a few buttons on the digital keyboard, intent on making sure Linguriboh identified any potential disturbances along the way. "So, Jericho. Let me ask you a question?"

"A question? By all means, go ahead." Jericho responded.

"Let's say you succeed in your mission. Let's say that your daddy gets the Root of All Knowledge he wanted once all of this is over thanks to your efforts. What happens after that?"

"Yeah, that's what I want to know." Roboppy piped in, wanting to know the answer to Ai's question.

"Simple. I'm loyal to my father and the cause since the very beginning. Helping Urizen achieve his lifelong mission is its own reward." Jericho answered. "Once it's done, I'll continue enforcing Urizen's rule as his right-hand man in the New Epoch to come."

"That's nice. I mean, loyalty to your family is certainly a good thing. However, it doesn't have to be your only reward." Ai remarked, which made Jericho raise an eyebrow.

"My only reward?" Jericho raised an eyebrow, curious by what Ai said just now.

"Yes. You've put in a lot of effort and energy since arriving here just to make sure the odds are tipped in your favor. It'd be quite a waste of your time and effort if you just gave the Root of All Knowledge back to Urizen. Given how you're his son, you should at least be rewarded with a lot more for striving to complete an important mission such as this one. Am I wrong?"

Jericho narrowed his eyes after hearing those words. Though Ai did make a point, it was foolish to demand more than what Urizen promised you with unless specific circumstances occurred. Ones that would make Urizen increase the offer to ensure the task was followed through. While Urizen didn't pick favourites and provided equal favor to those who served him, Jericho was still his father's right-hand man. The one that Urizen trusted the most in making sure the tasks were done. Unfortunately, when Jericho took Shalem's place in coming to Earth, the latter told the former of how he betrayed Urizen. Not just him, but his own family as well. That fact was why Jericho sought redemption and regain the faith Urizen put in him.

"One could say that you're very protective of your position as second in command, which was why you chose to undertake an important mission such as the one right now." Ai continued musing out loud. "Desperate people take desperate actions, after all."

"Where are you going with this, Ai? If you're trying to make me betray my father, it obviously won't work." Jericho told Ai.

"I'm just voicing my thoughts out loud, Jericho. Nothing wrong with that." Ai replied. "Though there is something you need to know."

"Oh yeah? What would that be?"

Ai narrowed his eyes as he followed the route to Albinor Inc.'s database. "The path you and your father chose is one of resistance, where numerous people will fight to ensure whatever goals the both of you are aiming to achieve don't become a reality."

"What the master is saying is true, Jericho. You and your father are on a thorny path, after all." Roboppy agreed with Ai's point.

Jericho crossed his arms as a frown appeared on his face. "Of course Urizen, his followers and I are on a thorny path. Sometimes in life, you can't achieve your goals unless you're willing to get your hands dirty."

"Maybe so, but you're still going to face resistance one way or another, Jericho. There's no way humans will simply comply once your presence is shown to them, as they hate change." Ai said. "They fear and hate of the unknown because they can neither control nor understand it."

"Didn't humans do that before to other humans, master?" Roboppy asked, which made Ai nod in confirmation.

"Indeed they did, Roboppy. Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and Hannibal Barca are just a few examples of individuals that tried to achieve their goals through fear and force. Ultimately, they didn't succeed in achieving their goals, as the people defeated them." Ai chuckled. "And more recently, the Knights of Hanoi, Azrael, Lightning, Bohman and Raguel also failed in that goal. If they united the hearts of the people, then perhaps they could have succeeded."

"Uniting hearts? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Jericho scoffed before laughing loudly. "Urizen conquered 100,000 worlds in his time on the dark side of the network. 100,000 species were destroyed and/or enslaved because of my father's actions. Whatever weapons this planet has will do nothing against Urizen's armada."

Ai turned his head to face Jericho. "Then how is it that Playmaker and his allies overcame not just the Cursed Boundary Layer recently, but also your plans so far as well? I guess this is the first time you've experienced a setback in your plans."

"Oh, snap!" Roboppy commented, having laughed loudly upon seeing the stunned look on Jericho's face.

Jericho couldn't help but stutter after hearing Ai's question. He actually had no response, as this was the first time it ever happened. Humans of all species in this universe managed to fight back and destroy the Cursed Boundary Layer, which still infuriated Jericho because of how unexpected it was. After all, no species had the capability of fighting back against the Cursed Boundary Layer, as well as potentially freeing the infected host from its control. But for such a thing to occur was an insult to Jericho, which he would correct in due time.

"No snarky comeback, Jericho? Maybe it's something you should get used to. I mean, it wouldn't hurt for you to have some humility." Ai continued talking. "Even if the world can't fight you right now, they can at least resist you. Like I'm doing right now."

Jericho glared back at Ai, having taken in all the words the latter commented. Remain calm, Jericho. You're better than this. The last thing you need is to show these fools that they seized control of the situation, Jericho thought in his mind. Remember: The moment the servant either sees an opening or notices their master losing control, they'll be able to catch them off guard when they least expect it. Just like how Ace's suicide delayed Azrael's plans, which ultimately enabled Raguel and his allies to defeat him! My time will come soon. I just need to be patient. "Honestly, I've seen so many individuals act smug before they're put in their proper place. It's not surprising at all by this point."

"What that's supposed to mean?" Ai narrowed his eyes, intent on decrypting what Jericho said just now.

"Every area I traveled to in the dark side of the network, all you species are the same. You all think you're the center of the universe. You have no idea what's out there." Jericho remarked, which practically shut the entire conversation down because of those harsh words. Thus, the trio travelled in silence as Linguriboh continued to take them to Albinor Inc.'s database by following the coordinates Ai inputted in the slot on the desk in front of it.

"Guri Guri Gu." Linguriboh said several minutes later, which got Ai, Roboppy and Jericho's attention as they looked at the map.

"Well, well, it appears we're close to our designated location." Ai observed.

"Hooray! Just a few more minutes to go!" Roboppy cheered.

"Indeed, gentlemen. Soon, we'll be able to launch our attack." Jericho added, a smile having appeared on his face. It'll be good to return to my father's company after all of this time, that's for sure, Jericho thought in his mind, as he looked forward to seizing it from the CEO's hands. Hopefully, the CEO was truly a strong person and duelist as per what Dogma told Jericho. If it was, then Jericho would most likely gain another powerful ally on his side. If they weren't, then the CEO would be nothing more than a pest Jericho had to dispose of if he was to take back Albinor Inc. for himself.

Elsewhere, in the real world, at Den City…

Akira walked in one of the populated areas of Den City, having looked up at one of the Jumbotrons nearby. Specifically, the one that advertised the Soltis. While the situation on the higherups was covered up, it was only a matter of time for someone else to figure out that someone attacked them in the middle of the night. If people learned that an AI hacked a Soltis and launched several attacks in the real world, it'd cause mass panic not just in Den City, but in other parts of the world that had a Soltis on hand. Thus leading to a drop in sales for SOL Technologies, along with potential lawsuits, loss of partners and so much more. Ultimately, SOL Technologies would go through the same situation it went through a very long time ago as a result. No! I won't let that happen, Akira vowed in his mind. Not on my watch!

"Akira?" a voice said, which got Akira's attention as Aoi ran over to where he was. "What are you doing here? And why aren't you at work?"

Akira smiled abashedly. "I guess you caught me playing hooky. Truth be told, the office has been getting to me lately, especially since my recent promotion. I just needed time for myself."

Aoi frowned. "Akira…"

"It's funny. How when your life's in danger, you start seeing things differently, such as realizing what's really important in life." Akira said.

Aoi looked down, then back up, an idea having formed in her mind. "Akira, are you hungry? I know a delicious hot dog stand nearby." She led him away from the crowd and pointed to a less-crowed part of Central Square. "Over there!"

Akira looked where she pointed and saw Café Nagi, with Kusanagi giving a woman a bag as she thanked him for preparing the meal. Nearby was Katsuya, who spoke some words with Kusanagi and assured him that the Soltis wasn't going to take away his business whatsoever.

Suddenly, Akira gasped upon seeing Kusanagi. "It's him…" He remembered Kusanagi, as that man was the one who dueled Playmaker in Mirror LINK VRAINS.

"Who?" Aoi asked, wondering what Akira meant by that comment. But before Akira could answer, the both of them blinked as another person walked in front of them. One that both Akira and Aoi recognized.

"Hey, Aoi." Yusaku greeted Aoi.

"Hey, Yusaku. You here to help out with running Café Nagi today? Because I think there's someone else with the owner right now."

"You know the owner of Café Nagi?" Akira inquired. "If that's the case…"

Several minutes later, at another area in Den City…

Akira, Aoi and Yusaku were standing in an out of the way playground, wanting privacy to talk about recent events. It's here where Akira learned the truth: That Yusaku was Playmaker this whole time. For Aoi, this wasn't news, as she learned the truth a few weeks ago when Yuhiro went rogue. Though Aoi's main concern was Yusaku demanding how she found out the truth. If he did ask that question, then Aoi can simply say that she found out unintentionally and can even back it up with information from the night he lost against Yuhiro. Still, Yusaku did fall unconscious following his duel against Yuhiro, so it was only fair for him to learn what happened shortly afterwards.

"I see. So you're Playmaker." Akira finally said. "It all makes sense now. That's why you were able to save Aoi and take her to the hospital. I know it's late, but I'd really like to say thank you." He suddenly chuckled. "And to think after all this time, I thought it was because you were her secret boyfriend."

"How could you say something like that, Akira?!" Aoi exclaimed, as her face turned as red as a tomato. This was the last thing she expected to hear at all today. Yusaku, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow at Akira's last comment. While it was an assumption that Akira made, it was just… so random and… out of the blue.

"I was just fighting for myself at the time." Yusaku explained. "There's no need to thank me."

"Nevertheless, I still want to say thank you for helping Aoi when she needed it." Akira replied. But before he could say anything else, his phone buzzed, which led him to take it out of his pocket upon hearing it ring. "Hello? I see. I'll be right there." Akira hung up, then looked at the two teens. "Sorry. I must return to work." He began to walk away, only to turn back a second or two later. "Playmaker- I mean, Yusaku. I'm glad I was able to meet you in real life." Akira then officially walked away afterwards, happy that he got the chance to meet Playmaker in the real world at last.

A few minutes later…

Aoi and Yusaku sat down at one of the benches nearby, the both of them gathering their thoughts before the former spoke. "So, you're Playmaker, huh? I never thought I'd get to meet Playmaker in real life, Yusaku. Well, not until recently."

"Recently?" Yusaku repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll tell you, but please don't get mad, okay?" Aoi requested, which led Yusaku to nod in confirmation. "After Yuhiro brutally defeated you in your duel against him, he attacked Café Matsuo to kidnap Rachel so he can try and find the Root of All Knowledge. Unfortunately, Rachel surrendered herself to Yuhiro in exchange for sparing everyone else. Afterwards…" She suddenly felt herself begin to shake, the emotions from the last week or so flowing through her mind. Concern, shock, terror, and sadness were the many emotions Aoi felt, especially given the recent events and the mental toll it took on everyone involved in them. If this kept up, then she might have to see a therapist when she had the time available to do so. Perhaps the therapist Yuhiro told Akira about can help me out, Aoi thought in her mind, making a mental note to acquire the business card Yuhiro gave to Akira a while back for potential therapy.

"You there?" Yusaku's voice brought Aoi back to reality as she snapped out of her trance.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here." Aoi recomposed herself before speaking, having wiped a tear from her eye quickly so Yusaku didn't see it. "Once Yuhiro left with Rachel in captivity, your friends brought you to Café Matsuo for treatment. Watchman was also there, where he performed a ritual to stabilize you in the real world. It was here where I learned that you were Playmaker. Not just that, but the real-world identities of Soulburner and Slipstream as well. I even got to meet Tigress in person as well. Please don't be mad at me, Yusaku. If it's any consolation, I didn't ask Roxy, Yuhiro or the others about your identity in the real world."

"I'm not mad, Aoi." Yusaku told Aoi, which surprised her. "Takeru and Arashi did tell me that you'd find out one way or another. Besides, you already know Yuhiro and Miyu, so it was only a matter of time before you put two and two together as well."

Aoi let out a sigh of relief, happy that Yusaku wasn't angry at her. "Thanks for understanding, Yusaku. That being said, how are you feeling? I know things have been rough for you lately, and with Ai being the perpetrator for the attacks a few days ago, it must… Yusaku?!"

Much to Aoi's concern, Yusaku's eyes widened as the horrific memories from the past few weeks flowed through his mind. The first of which being his brutal loss against Yuhiro in their duel despite using his full power to try and win the duel. As for the others, it consisted of escaping from captivity with Aoi and Watchman's help, along with the final battle against Yuhiro afterwards. The worst part of it all was how Yusaku's loss against Yuhiro mirrored the pain he went through during the Lost Incident. Since then, he strove to keep winning so he never experienced the pain he went through back then again. Unfortunately, despite Yusaku using his full power, he ended up losing against Yuhiro physically, strategically and mentally. It didn't help that Yuhiro used Excalibur Morgan to defeat Yusaku after the end of the duel before capturing him. The brutal fashion in how Yusaku lost may have traumatized him in the end.

"Yusaku, are you okay?!" Aoi inquired, concern evident in her tone as she put a hand on Yusaku's shoulder. As if on cue, Yusaku managed to snap out of his trance, having been brought back to reality as a result.

"Yeah, Aoi. I'm fine. I'm fine." Yusaku assured Aoi, having managed to calm down seconds later.

After ensuring that Yusaku was truly okay, she let go of his shoulder before looking down at the ground. "Yusaku, if you plan on protecting Akira from Ai, then that means you'll have to duel him. With everything the both of us been through lately, I get what it's like to battle against a former ally head on. I mean, if you told me that I had to duel Aqua, I don't think I could."

"You're right, Aoi. I don't think I could either. What's more, I don't know for sure what I'll do until I have to face that decision." Yusaku frowned. "Neither of us wanted to duel against Yuhiro at the time, but we had to do so in order to save him. I really hope we can resolve things peacefully with Ai in the days to come, but if a battle's inevitable, then I'll have to help protect your brother."

"But what if you never have to?" Aoi theorized, now turning to look at Yusaku.

"Never have to?" Yusaku repeated, curious by what Aoi said just now.

"Yeah, Yusaku. As much as Akira can use your help, it's way more important for you to look after yourself." Aoi explained. "After everything you've been through lately, you deserve some time for yourself to recover and figure out what you want in life. Let all of us take on Ai without you, as the last thing I want is for you to get brutally injured like you did after your duel against Yuhiro."

Yusaku sighed, knowing what Aoi meant by those words. Yet Ai was Yusaku's Ignis, which meant he felt some responsibility for the former's actions. If he took Aoi's advice and stayed out of the coming conflict, then he can focus on his own recovery. However, in Yusaku's mind, he felt that the choice was no longer his to choose. Not when there were still threats in the network that had to be dealt with.

Aoi took a deep breath, having pondered things over before speaking again. "You have saved my brother and I more times than I can count. So let the rest of us figure this out just this once." She slid over the bench to be slightly closer to Yusaku. "Thank you for everything."

"You don't have to thank me, Aoi. In fact, I should be the one thanking you." Yusaku said, which surprised Aoi upon hearing those words. "Not only did you save my life, you also helped me regain hope when I needed it. Literally." He touched his left cheek, having remembered how Aoi slapped him in the network just so he can regain his senses. While the pain was gone, Yusaku still remembered how much it hurt back in the network.

"Yeah… sorry about that. I do hope there's no hard feelings." Aoi sheepishly stated, recalling how she slapped Yusaku in the face just to snap him out of his hopeless state. Not just that, but also remind him of who he is and how he shouldn't give up no matter what he was up against.

"No hard feelings at all." Yusaku then took out a card from his deck and pulled out the card showing Firewall Dragon Darkfluid before handing it to Aoi, who couldn't help but slightly gasp upon seeing it. "Since I already know your network identity, it's only fair for you to officially know my own, Aoi. I'm Playmaker."

Aoi gratefully smiled after looking at the card, where she handed it back over to Yusaku. "Thank you for trusting me with the truth, Yusaku. I'll make sure to keep it a secret. You have my word."

"And thank you for helping me when I needed it the most." Yusaku replied, a rare smile appearing on his face as he offered a hand to Aoi, who shook it back in response. It lasted for a few seconds before the two of them let go of each other's hands.

What is this feeling, were the words going through both Yusaku and Aoi's minds right now. It was obvious that the both of them cared for one another as allies, but was there more to that? Did the two of them care for one another as more than friends and allies? The answers to those questions had to wait, as both Aoi and Yusaku put those thoughts aside for the time being, intent on taking care of current matters right now.

"Take care, Yusaku." Aoi said, before she stood up from the bench and left the area, leaving Yusaku alone in the area.

Yusaku looked up at the sky as he contemplated the conversation he had with Aoi just now, along with the importance of taking care of yourself every now and then. While Yusaku didn't know what he was feeling right now, he wanted to find out for himself once the battle against Ai was over. He wanted to live out his days with the people he cared about, and the friends he gained over the past while.

By doing so, perhaps Yusaku can figure out what he was truly feeling, along with what else he needed if he was to truly move on from his pain and be happy in the end.

Meanwhile, at another area in the network…

"Okay, gentlemen. Here we are!" Jericho announced, as he, Ai and Roboppy looked out at the area up ahead them. It consisted of several AI guards patrolling the area, firewalls of different sizes, grey particles in the form of clouds, drones with detection systems embedded in each one, brown system layers and red security patches.

"Well… Now that's a lot of security…" Ai muttered, surprised at what he was seeing right now. it almost reminded Ai of the time when he and Playmaker infiltrated SOL Technologies to obtain information from the Lost Incident. But this… this was seriously overkill.

"You said it, master." Roboppy agreed, who was just as surprised as Ai was upon seeing the massive

"Hey, the CEO had this set up to the maximum level in order to keep this database and the information inside it safe." Jericho firmly reminded Ai and Roboppy. "Luckily, I got a plan to get through all of that."

"Really now?" Ai frowned, curious on how Jericho would approach this situation.

Jericho pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which got Ai and Roboppy's attention as a digital map appeared above it, which displayed a landscape of the area. It also showed where each of the traps were located, along with the timing for each one. Lastly, there was a glowing dot that appeared before disappearing, where it popped up in another area seconds later. In a way, it resembled a massive obstacle course. "As shown on this map, somewhere in this server is a portal that enables someone to get access to Albinor Inc.'s database. By doing so, we can acquire the other half of the Code Key. However, the portal disappears every few minutes before reappearing in a different location. The goal, therefore, is to find the portal before it disappears on us. The faster we do this, the faster we can get this mission done."

"So in a way, we're like mice trying to go through a massive maze just to find a piece of moving cheese." Ai commented, as he put a hand on his chin. This… was going to be tricky, especially when you had to deal with numerous types of security when trying to find the gateway.

"You got it!" Jericho confirmed.

"Are you sure there's no other way, Mr. Jericho? I mean, master and I simply infiltrated two Soltis units to dispose of Queen and Pawn." Roboppy said.

Jericho, in response, shook his head. "Unfortunately not, gentlemen. Since Albinor Inc. is an older company compared to SOL Technologies, it wouldn't have any Soltis on hand for either of you to infiltrate. Thus, we need to do this the old fashion way. And before either of you say anything, no. I don't know where the CEO lives in the real world, so we can't attack them."

"Aw man." Roboppy pouted, disappointed that it wasn't going to be easy like it was when he and Ai obtained the first half of SOL Technologies' Code Key a day or two ago.

"It is what it is, Roboppy." Ai told Roboppy, as he patted him on the back.

"Anyhow, allow me to transfer the digital map to your duel disks so each of you will know what's what." Jericho said, as he pressed a button on his duel disk, which caused the digital map to appear on Ai and Roboppy's duel disks. "See you guys on the flip side!" A hole appeared underneath Jericho as he began falling, where his duel board appeared before he landed on it. From there, Jericho then sped forward, intent on getting through the maze so he can obtain his prize.

Ai turned over to another area and snapped his fingers, where it caused two Soltis units to emerge from an area of the Linguriboh ship. He recalled seeing Raguel use data clones in order to try and prevent Playmaker and the others from putting a stop to his plans. Unfortunately for Raguel, that wasn't the case, as Playmaker and the others defeated his data clones before freeing him from the Cursed Boundary Layer. Not just that, but indirectly put a halt to Jericho's plans.

"Everything okay, master?" Roboppy asked.

"Don't worry, Roboppy. Everything's good." Ai assured Roboppy, as he walked over to one of the Soltis units before placing a hand on it, where it turned into a duplicate of Ai seconds later.

"GAAH!" Roboppy gasped upon seeing two copies of Ai. "What the heck did you just do?!"

"Calm down, Roboppy. I'm just giving one of these spare Soltis a test run." Ai gestured Roboppy to look at the Ai clone, who saw that they were practically the same. "I am the original one, while the one beside me is a clone. Roboppy, why don't you come over here and give it a try with the other empty Soltis?"

Roboppy walked over to where the other Soltis was before placing his hand on it, where it morphed into a copy of himself. "Wow! That's amazing, master! What are we going to do with these copies of ourselves?"

"Simple. We'll use them as decoys while we figure out how to get through the maze." Ai explained, as he snapped his fingers. "Okay, clones, listen up. The both of you have a simple objective. Spread out in the area and identify the traps, their frequencies and the best paths forward. We'll follow from behind."

"Affirmative," the Soltis Clone Ai and Roboppy complied, as holes appeared underneath them before they began to fell, their respective duel boards materialized underneath each one in the process. Both clones landed on them before speeding forward, intent on following Ai's orders. As if on cue, holes appeared underneath Ai and Roboppy before they began to fell, where they landed on their respective duel boards seconds later. Once this was done, Ai and Roboppy began to follow after their clones from a distance, wanting to see how they would react in a volatile situation.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" the AI guards said, as they charged forward at the Soltis clones of Ai and Roboppy. The Soltis clone of Ai summoned a greatsword with a violet blade as he grabbed it before slashing one of the AI guards. The Soltis clone of Roboppy, on the other hand, pulled out three grenades resembling sockets from its pocket before throwing each one at another AI guard, which blew it up. Another AI guard attempted to attack Ai's Soltis clone, only for the latter to block the former's attacks before destroying it. Seconds later, Roboppy's Soltis clone destroyed another AI guard by using a long whip that had a batter charger on both ends in his hands.

Just need a few more seconds to analyze them, Ai thought in his mind, as his eyes glowed a golden color while his and Roboppy's Soltis clones continued to fight them off. "Gotcha!" Suddenly, the AI guards glowed a golden color as they stood by, allowing Ai and Roboppy to pass through the area.

"Now that was easy, master." Roboppy commented, only for several lasers to emerge out of nowhere that forced him to move out of the way. Additional lasers then appeared, where they moved in different patterns and directions to try and stop the duo from moving forward.

"Nothing in life is always easy, Roboppy. It's wise remember that." Ai advised Roboppy, as the two of them began to evade the lasers so they can try to find the portal somewhere in this server. Despite the both of them being AIs, it was tricky due to numerous lasers being fired out every few seconds at a time. It got to a point where Ai summoned the same greatsword with a violet blade in order to both block the lasers and redirect them to points where they could destroy one another. Roboppy also summoned the same long whip that had a batter charger on both ends to short circuit the lasers and disintegrate each one.

The Soltis clones of Ai and Roboppy also helped by destroying the laser systems, where they were suddenly ambushed by what appeared to be grey particles in the form of clouds, which made them get out of the way. While they also avoided the drones with detection systems, several firewalls appeared out of nowhere and sped towards the Soltis clones so fast that they couldn't react as they were incinerated into pieces.

"Oh, no! Not our Soltis!" Roboppy cried out, shocked to see the Soltis of him get destroyed like that.

"Leave this to me, Roboppy. I'll avenge them." Ai promised, as he pressed a button on his duel disk, where the AI guards from before sped forward and gunned the drones down within seconds. Several firewalls also appeared in an attempt to attack Ai, only for him to quickly slash it into pieces with the greatsword in his hands. On the plus side, I know how to improve the Soltis clones for the fight to come, Ai thought in his mind. That was the importance of a test run. To see how something worked and how it can be improved on. It was also very likely that Roboppy wouldn't want a Soltis clone of himself moving forward, as the last thing he wanted was to see it die in front of him again.

"How's it going over there, guys?" Jericho loudly asked, as he quickly slashed through the grey particles that were in the form of clouds very easily. He also deflected several blasts of energy fired from the drones before destroying each one by using the data material sword and short sword in his hands.

"It's pretty chaotic here." Roboppy answered, as he threw three more grenades resembling sockets at several drones nearby.

"The drones and AI guards are dealt with. We just have these firewalls, clouds, brown system layers and red security patches to take care of." Ai explained, as he dodged a few of them before responding back with blasts of data material from his hands. He then directed the drones and AI guards to fire upon the clouds and red security patches, turning each of them into particles.

"You think this is hard? Trust me, I faced far worse." Jericho proceeded to slash the coming firewall using the data material sword and the short sword in his hands before speeding along. Grey particles in the form of clouds also appeared, only for Jericho to swiftly dodge and slice them into pieces. Suddenly, his duel disk glowed with a bright light that surrounded his body, which briefly sent a wave of energy throughout the server before immediately dimming down.

Now this is interesting, Jericho thought in his mind, a grin having appeared on his face. As if on cue, a green portal appeared ahead of Jericho, which was surrounded by numerous firewalls, grey particles in the form of clouds and red security patches. Having noticed the portal, Jericho sped towards it, intent on making it to Albinor Inc.'s database.

"Master, I found the portal!" Roboppy said, which got Ai's attention as he saw the green portal nearby. He also saw Jericho immediately speed towards it, not having a care at all for the various types of security.

"Let's go, Roboppy!" Ai told Roboppy, as the two of them sped towards the green portal. Unfortunately, both Ai and Roboppy had to deal with firewalls that appeared at the last second. Not just that, but brown layers that also appeared to try and stop them. Ai immediately proceeded to take on the firewalls using the great broadsword in his hands while Roboppy threw grenades resembling sockets in order to either eliminate or weaken the brown layers and grey particles in the form of clouds. He then used the whip that had a batter charger on both ends to destroy them afterwards.

Jericho, on the other hand, merely sped through the firewalls, grey particles in the form of clouds and red security patches unharmed whatsoever. The AI guards and drones also passed by as it kept an eye on other areas of the server. In addition, the brown layers simply moved to the side to allow Jericho to move forward. As a result, Jericho was able to enter into the portal within seconds, which soon closed behind him.

Roboppy grit his teeth in annoyance upon seeing the portal disappear. "Damn it! The portal disappeared, master!"

Ai frowned upon hearing this information. The way Jericho was able to simply move forward through the traps like that obviously indicated how his allies were helping him from the sidelines. If that were the case, then why did Jericho bring Ai and Roboppy with him for the mission when he could have done it himself? Was it because Jericho needed Ai and Roboppy's assistance for a specific part of the mission? Or was there another reason Ai wasn't aware of? He put the questions in his head aside, wanting to focus on the matter at hand. "I'm aware, Roboppy." Ai and Roboppy sped their duel boards off in order to find the portal's next location so they can enter into Albinor Inc.'s database.

Elsewhere, in Albinor Inc.'s database…

A portal opened as Jericho quickly entered inside the database, a smile evident on his face. Based on what happened just now, it appeared that Issachar not only built the program, but also integrated it into Albinor Inc.'s security systems as well. That was why a portal opened, which allowed Jericho to enter into the database, as well as prevent Ai and Roboppy from doing so at the same time. He made a mental note to congratulate Issachar for his role in helping retake Albinor Inc. from the CEO once the mission was over.

"Halt!" a voice said, as numerous individuals appeared from portals that emerged nearby the database. Each of these individuals wore armor consisting of black, metallic plates, as well as helmets that had a green, t-shaped visor.

"Using humans to guard the database, huh? For once, that's a good idea." Jericho commented out loud, as he looked at the soldiers who were in his way. The moment the troops figured out who Jericho truly was, they would realize who they were dealing with and stand down. At least that was what Jericho hoped for, anyway.

"It's not just them you need to worry about, trespasser," a voice pointed out, as another person stepped out of a portal that emerged nearby the database. It was a woman with a medium-dark skin tone, a strong build and facial features. She had long, brown hair and eyes that were of the same color. As for her attire, it consisted of a long lapel-less dark-blue coat with a red stripe on the edges, along with black boots. "You'll also have to deal with me as well."

Jericho chuckled, knowing who he was talking with. "Ah. So you must be the CEO I was told about."

"You're correct. I am known as Hallucina, Albinor Inc.'s CEO." Hallucina narrowed her eyes at Jericho to get her introduction across. "I was warned by an associate of mine about you, son of Albinor, which was why I implemented maximum security. Despite your claims, I still believe that you're an imposter. One aiming to take Albinor Inc. and use it for their own nefarious purposes."

"An imposter? Seriously? That's who you think I am? I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Probably the second option if you think about it, folks." Jericho responded. "But nevertheless, I am what your associate says about me. Speaking of your associate, I believe their name's Dr. Constantine Colmer, am I not correct?"

Hallucina gasped, having been caught off guard by what Jericho said just now. "How do you know Constantine to that extent? The only way you would truly know about him is-?"

"Bingo! I am Jason Albinor, the son of Ukyos Albinor. The same guy who founded Albinor Inc. all those years ago!" Jericho smirked as the troops gasped upon hearing this information.

"Wait a second. Now that you think about it, he does look familiar…" one soldier commented.

"Of course this guy's familiar. I mean, he almost resembles the founder…" a second soldier admitted.

"If that's the case, that means our founder will soon return and bring Albinor Inc. back to it's former glory!" a third soldier realized.

"Enough! All of you!" Hallucina told the troops. "Don't you get it? For all we know, this guy in front of us could be lying. Even if he's telling the truth, I'm not going to give up Albinor Inc. after all the hard work I've put in to ensure it remains operational. If I did such a thing, then it'd dishonour the founder himself and the teachings he embedded in this company!"

Jericho pinched the sides of his nose and sighed. It looked like he had to demonstrate his point the hard way. "Since you doubt my words so much, I believe a demonstration is needed to prove my point." A sword made of data material appeared in Jericho's right hand, where he pointed it upwards before firing a massive data storm from it.

"What the Hell are you doing?!" Hallucina's eyes widened out of surprise upon seeing the data storm as it descended slightly downwards on the area. The troops also took several steps back, not wanting to get eviscerated by the data storm.

"Why, I'm setting the background for our coming battle with a data storm, Hallucina. Don't tell me you're not aware of what Data Storms are and their usage." Jericho said.

"Of course I'm aware of what a data storm is and how they're used for Speed Duels." Hallucina responded, knowing how this debate was going to be settled really soon. "Seeing as how you're hellbent on not standing down, I accept your challenge and ensure that Albinor Inc. is protected from people like you."

"Perfect! I'm glad you're willing to accept my challenge, Hallucina. And let's make things even more interesting, shall we?" Jericho pressed a few buttons on his duel disk, which caused a slight ripple to go through the entire area. Pretty soon, a digital screen appeared, along with several other smaller screens that showed the number of people viewing the live feed.

"Madam CEO, all our employees are forcibly tuning into the live feed and have begun watching it," one of the troops reported.

"Explain why you would broadcast our coming battle." Hallucina demanded to Jericho, angry for doing such a thing.

"Simple. I want all the employees at Albinor Inc. to witness our coming duel, as well as show them that the son of Ukyos Albinor have returned." Jericho answered. He snapped his fingers, where his duel board appeared beside him. "It'd be rude to keep them waiting for the main event, don't you agree?" After hopping on his duel board, Jericho sped off, intent on beginning the coming Speed Duel. With little choice on the matter, Hallucina's duel board appeared beside her before she hopped onto it, where she sped after Jericho.

"If anything, I should thank you for this broadcast." Hallucina pulled up alongside Jericho. "For by defeating you, I'll show my employees my intent to protect Albinor Inc. with my bare hands."

Jericho giggled in response to Hallucina's comment. "That's only if you defeat me, Hallucina. Anyhow, let the games begin!"

"Speed Duel!" Jericho and Hallucina shouted in unison.

Jericho: 4000 LP

Hallucina: 4000 LP

"I'll let you go first and show me your stuff." Jericho offered.

"Why, thank you. I'll take that offer and show you what I can do. My turn!" Hallucina said. "I activate the Spell card, Graceful Charity. This card lets me draw three cards from the top of my deck in exchange for sending two cards from my hand to my Graveyard." She drew the top three cards of her deck before taking two cards from her hand and sending each one to her Graveyard.

"I activate the effect of Cornfield Coatl from my hand. By sending it from my hand to my Graveyard, I can add one card that mentions 'Chimera Fusion' from my deck to my hand. I send Cornfield Coatl from my hand to my Graveyard, and add Mirror Swordknight from my deck to my hand!" After Hallucina took a card from her hand and sent it to her Graveyard, a card popped out of her deck, which she took and added to her hand.

Fusion, huh? That has to be her deck's main repertoire, Jericho figured out in his mind. However, if she's to pull it off, then she'll need a Link monster or two so she can use the Main Monster Zones for her Fusion monsters. Let's see what else Hallucina can do.

"I summon Mirror Swordknight from my hand to my field." Hallucina said, as a red, metallic legless knight with blue outlines on its body, as well as a purple mirror with green prongs and the Millennium Eye embedded inside it appeared on Hallucina's field. Its face was almost obscured, as it showed a single, fiery left eye. It also had a long, blue plume attached to its helmet. Lastly, it only had a left arm, which consisted of a sword.

Mirror Swordknight ATK: 1900 DEF: 300 LV: 3

"I activate Mirror Swordknight's effect. By tributing it, I can Special Summon one monster that mentions 'Chimera Fusion' from my deck to my field with a different name. I tribute Mirror Swordknight, and Special Summon Big-Winged Berformet from my deck to my field!" After Mirror Swordknight turned into particles, a card popped out of Hallucina's deck, which she took and played. Soon, a four-armed, humanoid creature that had orange eyes and shaggy, black hair on its forearms, waist and shins appeared on Hallucina's field. It had long, shaggy black hair, which went all the way down to its waist. It also had two horns, with the left horn being protruded outwards, while the right horn curved around itself to form a spiral. Lastly, it had feathery wings with curved spikes at the end.

Big-Winged Berformet ATK: 1400 DEF: 1800 LV: 5

"From there, I activate Big-Winged Berformet's effect." Hallucina continued. "When it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one Level 4 or lower Beast monster and/or 'Chimera Fusion' from my deck to my hand in exchange for only Special Summoning Fusion monsters from my Extra Deck for the rest of this turn. I'll add Gazelle, the King of Mythical Claws and a copy of Chimera Fusion from my deck to my hand." Two cards popped out of Hallucina's deck, which she took and added to her hand.

"Get ready for this! I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Chimera Fusion! This card lets me Fusion Summon one Fusion monster from my Extra Deck by using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion material, including a Beast or Fiend monster. I'll use Big-Winged Berformet on my field, and Gazelle, the King of Mythical Claws from my hand as Fusion Material!" A silhouette of a light-brown lion with long, shaggy black fur on its body and legs, as well as a large horn on its head appeared alongside Big-Winged Berformet. They broke into red and blue particles before they went upwards and swirled into a vortex. Two tornadoes of energy shot upwards and merged to form a white and yellow whirlwind.

"Mighty creatures roaming around in the wild! Merge your strength into one and unleash a roar that demonstrates your supreme presence!" Hallucina chanted. "Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 6! Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts!" A two-headed chimera with two lion heads and shaggy black fur on the underside of its light-brown body and legs appeared on Hallucina's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Its left head had a large horn protruding out if it, while its right head had two curved horns on its sides. It also had two large, feathery wings with curved spikes, along with a tail that was in the form of a snake attached to it.

Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts ATK: 2100 DEF: 1800 LV: 6

"The effects of Big-Winged Berformet, Gazelle the King of Mythical Claws and Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts activate in sequence. First, when Big-Winged Berformet is sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material for a Fusion Summon, I can target one Illusion monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field. Return to me from my Graveyard, Cornfield Coatl!" A green, bipedal serpent whose lower waist consisted that of a long tail resembling that of a snake's, as well as two wings attached to the sides of its body appeared on Hallucina's field in defense position. Each of its hands had three, very long fingers that ended in curved spikes, with its elbows having spikes at the ends as well. It also had two sharp ears, along with upward pointing horns on the sides of its body. Lastly, on its forehead was the Millennium Eye.

Cornfield Coatl ATK: 500 DEF: 1700 LV: 4

"Second, when Gazelle the King of Mythical Claws is sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material for a Fusion Summon, I can add one Illusion monster from my deck to my hand. I'll add Emissary from the House of Wax from my deck to my hand." Hallucina decided, as a card popped out of Hallucina's deck, which she took and added to her hand. "Third, when Chimera the King of Phantom Beast is Fusion Summoned, I can send one random card from your hand to your Graveyard during the End Phase of this turn."

"Going after my cards on the first turn, huh? I'm not surprised, given how you're hellbent on protecting Albinor Inc." Jericho said.

"If I'm to stop you, then I need to cut off your resources and regain my own." Hallucina simply replied. "I activate the second effect of Chimera Fusion from my Graveyard. If 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast' is on my field or in my Graveyard, I can activate one of two effects."

Jericho frowned after hearing this information. "But you have Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts on your field, not its original form." Something clicked in Jericho's mind after putting two and two together. "I see. Your monster's name became 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast' since it's on your field."

"Yes, but my monster's name also becomes 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast' while it's in my Graveyard as well." Hallucina chuckled. "I choose effect one, and add Chimera Fusion from my Graveyard back to my hand." A card popped out of Hallucina's Graveyard, which she took and added to her hand.

"I Set one card face-down and end my turn, which means you're losing a card from your hand." Hallucina concluded. "Howl of the Wild!" Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts let out a roar from its two heads that hit one of Jericho's cards, which sent it to his Graveyard.

"My turn! I draw!" Jericho said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "Let's begin, shall we? I activate the Field Spell card, Persona Tactics – Metaverse Palace. When this card's activated, I can add one 'Persona Civilian', 'Persona Tactics', or 'Persona Arms' card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Jericho's deck, which he took and added to his hand. "Oh, and just in case you didn't know, while Metaverse Palace is on the field, the attributes of all monsters you control are changed to the Dark attribute." As if on cue, dark auras surrounded Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts and Cornfield Coatl, which turned their attributes to the Dark attribute.

Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts Attribute: Wind ➡️ Dark

Cornfield Coatl Attribute: Wind ➡️ Dark

"I summon Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa from my hand to my field." A tall, young man dark blue hair with parted bangs slightly covering his left eye and gray eyes appeared on Jericho's field. His attire consisted of a white shirt embroidered with a fleur-de-lis, fitted black pants and black loafers.

Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa ATK: 1200 DEF: 700 LV: 4

"When Yusuke is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Persona Civilian' monster from my deck to my field in defense position." Jericho said. "Come from my deck, Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi!" A tall, young man with reddish-brown eyes and shaggy, neck-brown hair with bangs at the front appeared on Jericho's field in defense position. His attire consisted of a tan peacoat with black buttons, striped black and white tie, black pants, black gloves and black loafers.

Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi ATK: 2300 DEF: 1500 LV: 6

Not yet. I want him to build his strategy up, and I'll knock his efforts down to the ground when he least expects it, Hallucina decided in her mind. If she used up her effects too soon, Jericho would be able to make a comeback within seconds. Thus, timing was needed if Hallucina was to stay one step ahead of Jericho.

Jericho grinned, looking forward to what's coming next. "When Goro's Normal or Special Summoned, I can target one Spell or Trap card in your Graveyard and Set it to my side of the field."

"Oh no!" Hallucina exclaimed, shocked upon hearing such an effect. Unless she acted quickly, she'd lose one of the cards in her Graveyard! "I activate the effect of Mirror Swordknight from my Graveyard."

"From your Graveyard?" Jericho repeated.

"When a monster you control activates a card effect while I control a copy of 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast', I can banish Mirror Swordknight from my field or Graveyard to negate that effect. I banish Mirror Swordknight from my Graveyard and negate Goro's effects!" A silhouette of a mirror appeared on the duel field, where the Millennium Eye inside it glowed with bright light before firing it at Goro, who winced as his effects were drained.

"Not a bad move, Hallucina. However, that obviously won't stop me." Jericho thrusted his hand upwards. "Appear, the circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are one Cyberse monster. I set Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi into the Link Markers!" Goro went into the bottom arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Persona Soul – Robin Hood!" A muscular man who wore a red, blue and white superhero suit that had a golden trim all over it, as well as white boots appeared on Jericho's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. He wore a blue breastplate that had a gold 'RH' logo at the center. His shoulders were decorated with red-gold epaulettes, and attached to his back was a flowing, two-piece cape that was blue on the inside and white on the outside. A red belt with a silver buckle that had a wing-design on it was also strapped around his waist. For his head, it consisted of a dark metal neck, white face, gold eyes, and a golden chin. He also had a long golden fringe on his head that pointed backwards several feet from the top of his head, while a red fringe pointed in front of his forehead. In his hands, he carried a bow that was almost as tall as him.

Persona Soul – Robin Hood ATK: 500 LINK-1 ⬇️

"When Robin Hood's Link Summoned, I can target one 'Persona Civilian' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field." Jericho added. "Return to me, Goro!" At Jericho's command, Goro reappeared on his field.

Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi ATK: 2300 DEF: 1500 LV: 6

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of hidden truths and deceit!" A second Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are normally two or more Cyberse effect monsters. However, I can also Link Summon this monster by using a copy of Goro and Robin Hood on my field instead. As such, I set Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi and Persona Soul – Robin Hood into the Link Markers!" Goro went into the left arrowhead, while Robin Hood went into the right and bottom arrowheads, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Persona Force – Robin the Crow!" A tall, young man with reddish-brown eyes and shaggy, neck-brown hair with bangs at the front appeared on Jericho's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. His attire consisted of a royal, pure-white regalia with red accents and a red, long-nosed mask resembling that of a long-nosed venetian mask. In his right hand, he carried a serrated sword. Soon, Robin Hood reappeared behind him.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️⬇️➡️

"I activate Robin Hood's effect. As he was used to Link Summon a 'Persona Force' Link monster, the Link monster that used him as Link material has their original attack points become 2500." Jericho announced. "Thus, Robin the Crow's original attack points are now 2500 instead of 2300." Robin the Crow was surrounded in a red, blue and white aura that increased their strength.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2300 + 200 = 2500

"In addition, you should know that Robin the Crow gains 300 attack points for each card on my side of the field. As there's currently three cards, that means Robin the Crow gains 900 attack points." Robin the Crow was surrounded in a red, blue and white aura that further enhanced their strength.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2500 + (300 X 3) = 3400

"Oh, and here's the best part. When Robin the Crow is Link Summoned using Robin Hood and Goro, all monsters you control lose 300 attack points for each card in you hand!" Jericho continued.

"What?!" Hallucina exclaimed, as the four cards in her hand glowed a purple color. This led Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts and Cornfield Coatl to groan in pain as their strength decreased.

Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts ATK: 2100 – (300 X 4) = 900

Cornfield Coatl ATK: 500 – (300 X 4) = 0

"Appear, for a third time! The circuit of truths and deceit!" A third Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are one Cyberse monster. I set Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa into the Link Markers!" Yusuke went into the bottom-left arrowhead, turning it red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 1! Persona Soul – Goemon!" A male kabuki who wore red robes with a massive dark-blue robe over it that had light-blue outlines appeared on Jericho's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. Attached to the massive robe on both sides was a massive white and purple rope intertwined with one another that floated behind him. He also wore Japanese-styled high heels, had a red and white-roped belt around his waist, and a hat on top of his head. In his hands, he carried a pipe with an axe blade at the end.

Persona Soul – Goemon ATK: 500 LINK-1 ↙️

"When Goemon's Link Summoned, I can target one 'Persona Civilian' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field." Jericho stated. "Return to me, Yusuke!" At Jericho's command, Yusuke reappeared on his field.

Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa ATK: 1200 DEF: 700 LV: 4

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 3400 + 300 = 3700

"Appear, for a fourth time! The circuit showing hidden truths and deceit!" A fourth Link Portal appeared above Jericho. "The summoning conditions are normally three Cyberse monsters for this monster. However, I can also Link Summon this monster by using a copy of Yusuke and Goemon on my field instead. As such, I set Persona Civilian – Yusuke Kitagawa and Persona Soul – Goemon into the Link Markers!" Yusuke went into the left arrowhead, while Goemon went into the right and bottom-left arrowheads, turning all three of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Persona Force – Goemon the Fox!" A tall, young man with dark blue hair that had parted bangs slightly covering his left eye and gray eyes appeared on Jericho's field in the Main Monster Zone Robin the Crow pointed to. His attire consisted of a traditional kitsune-style half mask, a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots, and bright blue gloves. Attached to the jumpsuit is a white foxtail. In his hands, he carried a katana. Seconds later, Goemon reappeared behind the man.

Persona Force – Goemon the Fox ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️↙️➡️

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 3700 – 300 = 3400

"I activate Goemon's effect. Since he was used to Link Summon a 'Persona Force' Link monster, I can target one Link 3 Cyberse monster I control with a different name, and if it battles a monster whose level is five or higher, any damage you take from that battle is doubled for the rest of this turn." Jericho added. "I target Robin the Crow!" Robin the Crow was surrounded in a white aura that enhanced his strength.

"Next, I activate Goemon the Fox's effect. Once per turn, I can target one monster you control and negate its effects until the End Phase. I target Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts! Restriction Stage!" Fox unsheathed his Katana while Goemon aimed the pipe with an axe blade in his hand at Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts. From there, Fox sliced the katana in his hands in front of him to release a wave of energy while Goemon fired a blast of energy from the pipe with an axeblade, both energy attacks flying forward and hitting Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts seconds later. As a result, Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts groaned as its effects were negated.

"From there, I activate Robin the Crow's third effect." Jericho stated. "Once per turn, when he points to a Link monster on either player's field, I can target a card in your hand, field or Graveyard and banish it."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Hallucina seethed.

"Let's see what you have in your Graveyard, shall we?" A digital screen emitted from Hallucina's duel disk, which showed Jericho the cards that were in her Graveyard. Though Jericho was tempted to banish Hallucina's cards on her field, he saw that if he did so, Hallucina could use Cornfield Coatl's second effect to negate the activation by banishing it. After looking at the cards in Hallucina's Graveyard and weighing all the pros and cons, Jericho made his decision. "I banish Titanocider from your Graveyard. Exile to Oblivion!" A black arrow appeared out of nowhere as Robin the Crow aimed his bow at Titanocider before firing the arrow, which turned the designated card into particles upon impact.

"I Set one card face-down." Jericho said, as he thrusted out his right hand. "Let's battle! Persona Force – Robin the Crow attacks Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts!"

"Continuous-Trap, activate! Spirit Barrier!" Hallucina responded. "While I control a monster, I take no battle damage! In addition, I activate the effect of Emissary from the House of Wax from my hand. When a monster you control declares an attack, I can Special Summon this card from my hand to my field!" A man whose head was a white candle with a small blue flame on top of its head, along with two eyes and a smile appeared on Hallucina's field in defense position. It wore an elegant, purple suit with golden patterns on it, the top ones on its collar resembling that of the Millennium Eye. A handkerchief was connected to its neck, which flowed down its throat. In each of its hands, it carried a white candle that had a small blue flame on them.

Emissary from the House of Wax ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 3

Emissary from the House of Wax ATK: 800 – (300 X 4) = 0

"You'll still lose your monster." Jericho countered. "Destroy Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts, Robin the Crow! Piercing Arrow!" Several golden arrows appeared out of nowhere as Robin Hood aimed before firing them at Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts, which hit it each time upon impact. The flurry of arrows gave Crow time to charge forward and also slash Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts using his serrated sword, which turned it into particles afterwards.

"Let's clean house, shall we? The battle continues! Persona Force – Goemon the Fox attacks Emissary from the House of Wax! Hammer Break Smash!" Goemon fired blasts of energy from the pipe with an axe blade at Emissary from the House of Wax, the resulting cover fire hitting Emissary from the House of Wax as Fox unsheathed his katana and shifted his stance. In a flash of light, Fox sped forward and slashed Emissary from the House of Wax, which caused a massive explosion seconds later.

To Jericho's surprise, when the explosion dissipated, it revealed the Emissary from the House of Wax alive and well.

"How's your monster still on your field?!" Jericho demanded. "Does it have an effect that prevents it from being destroyed by battle or something?!"

"It doesn't. Rather, it's because Emissary from the House of Wax is an Illusion monster." Hallucina answered. "As a result, each Illusion monster has an effect that prevents it from being destroyed by battle whenever it battles a monster."

"Is that so?" Jericho raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what he learned just now.

"Correct. Illusion monsters were created in response to the Cyberse monsters SOL Technologies created. But unlike those monsters, the Illusion monsters will always survive the battle no matter who's attacking. And with Spirit Barrier on my field, I won't be taking any battle damage from your attacks."

"Don't count your chickens until they hatch, Hallucina." Jericho warned Hallucina. "While I'll admit you surprised me with this new type of monster you created, this doesn't change anything. I end my turn."

"Since you ended your Battle Phase, Emissary from the House of Wax's second effect activates." Hallucina announced. "Until the start of your next Battle Phase, all monsters you control that are in attack position can't change their battle position, their effects are negated and you can't use them as material for a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Link Summon."

"Well, that's just great." Jericho grit his teeth as Emissary from the House of Wax released a burst of blue flames across his field, which hit Robin the Crow and Goemon the Fox upon impact. Light-blue auras surrounded both Robin the Crow and Goemon the Fox before negating their effects.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 3400 – (300 X 3) = 2500

Emissary from the House of Wax ATK: 0 + 800 = 800

Cornfield Coatl ATK: 0 + 500 = 500

"My turn! I draw!" Hallucina drew the top card of her deck. "I activate the Spell card, Monster Reborn. This card lets me-."

"Planning on bringing your Fusion monster back so you can use it as material to summon a stronger one? You'll have to do better than that." Jericho taunted. "I activate the effect of Persona Tactics – Mental Shutdown from my Graveyard."

"From your Graveyard? How did it-?" Hallucina gasped upon putting two and two together.

"Figured it out, didn't you? That was the card you sent to the Graveyard with Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts' effect, and thanks to you, I can use Persona Tactics – Mental Shutdown's effect from my Graveyard. When you activate a card effect, I can simply banish it to negate the effect. Thus, your Monster Reborn resolves without doing anything."

Hallucina grit her teeth as Monster Reborn dissipated into particles. "I'm not done yet. I activate the Spell card, Fusion Armament. Once per turn, I can reveal a Fusion monster from my Extra Deck and Special Summon one of the Fusion Materials that is listed on it from my Extra Deck or Graveyard. But in exchange, it can't attack nor activate its effects until the end of your next turn. I reveal Chimera the Illusion Beast from my Extra Deck." The revealed card briefly appeared on the duel field.

"And since Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts' name becomes 'Chimera the Mythical Flying Beast while on your field or in your Graveyard, you'll be able to bring it back to your field." Jericho stated the obvious, especially since Hallucina would be bringing out a new monster to her field very soon.

"That's correct." Hallucina confirmed. "Return to me from my Graveyard, Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts!" At Hallucina's command, Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts reappeared on her field.

Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts ATK: 2100 DEF: 1800 LV: 6

"From there, I once again activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Chimera Fusion. Like before, card lets me Fusion Summon one Fusion monster from my Extra Deck by using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion material, including a Beast or Fiend monster. I'll use Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts, Cornfield Coatl and Emissary from the House of Wax on my field as Fusion Materials!" Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts disintegrated into red particles, Cornfield Coatl disintegrated into blue particles and Emissary from the House of Wax disintegrated into green particles. They went upwards and swirled into a vortex, where three tornadoes of energy shot upwards before merging to form a white and yellow whirlwind.

"Great creature that rules across the wild areas! Merge with the mystical powers of ancient times and become a creature that transcends nature itself!" Hallucina chanted. "Fusion Summon! Come forth! Level 8! Chimera the Illusion Beast!" A two-headed, bipedal chimera with two lion heads and shaggy black fur on its light-brown skin appeared on Hallucina's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. While both of its heads had a large horn protruding out if them, its right head also had two curved horns on its sides. Its lower waist was colored green, which extended outwards and ended in a long tail. It had a total of four wings, with the bottom two being colored green and black while the top two wings were feathery. The top two wings also had pieces of red and gold-colored metallic armor on them, as well as purple spheres embedded deep inside each one. Attached to each of its wrists were a pair of swords that acted as claws. Lastly, on its chest was a small, green mirror that had the Millennium Eye inside of it.

Chimera the Illusion Beast ATK: 3100 DEF: 2800 LV: 8

"Now this… this is magnificent." Jericho muttered, awestruck by what he saw right now.

"It's magnificent, yes, but it will also be your end." Hallucina replied, as the red stripes on her body glowed with a yellow color. "I activate my Skill: Tactical Illusion! This card lets me target one Illusion monster I control and Special Summon up to three 'Illusion' Tokens to my field. The 'Illusion' Tokens I summon not only gain attack and defense points equal to the original attack points of the targeted Illusion monster by this Skill, their level also becomes the same level as that monster as well! I target Chimera the Illusion Beast, and Special Summon two Illusion Tokens to my field!" Soon, two illusional silhouettes of Chimera the Illusion Beast appeared on Hallucina's field.

Illusion Token ATK: ? DEF: ? LV: ?

Illusion Token ATK: ? DEF: ? LV: ?

Illusion Token ATK: ? ➡️ 3100 DEF: ? ➡️ 3100

Illusion Token ATK: ? ➡️ 3100 DEF: ? ➡️ 3100

Illusion Token LV: ? ➡️ 8

Illusion Token LV: ? ➡️ 8

"Tactical Illusion has one final part. I gain 500 life points for each 'Illusion' Token I Special Summoned this turn. As I Special Summoned two 'Illusion' tokens, that means I gain 1000 life points!" A white aura surrounded Hallucina as her life points increased.

Hallucina: 4000 + (500 X 2) = 5000 LP

It's obvious that Hallucina Special Summoned two 'Illusion' tokens so she can have a Main Monster Zone to Special Summon one of her monsters should things go wrong, Jericho observed in his mind, before smirking. Let's see how she reacts once all of her efforts are done for nothing.

"I Set one card face-down." Hallucina said, as she thrusted out her right hand. "Battle! Chimera the Illusion Beast attacks Persona Force – Goemon the Fox! Illusion Rush!" Chimera the Illusion Beast charged forward and brought down its blades onto Goemon the Fox, which caused Goemon and Fox to use their respective weapons to block the coming attack. An explosion occurred soon after, and while both monsters survived, Jericho winced as his life points dropped.

Jericho: 4000 – 800 = 3200 LP

"I'm not done yet! I activate Chimera the Illusion Beast's effect! At the end of the damage step, when it battled a monster you controlled, I can-."

"Yeah, I've seen enough of your new monster." Jericho commented, as he gestured to his field. "Counter-Trap, activate! Persona Tactics – Phantom Thief Conflict!" The card showed Captain the Skull and Johanna the Queen performing a pincer attack against a group of Ancient Gear Soldiers, which caught them off guard. "When you activate a card effect while I control a 'Persona Force' Link monster, I can negate the effect and banish it. What's more, you can't activate cards, or effects of cards with the same original name as the card that was negated until the end of my next turn."

"WHAT?!" Hallucina exclaimed, as silhouettes of Captain the Skull and Johanna the Queen emerged before performing a pincer attack on Chimera the Illusion Beast, which turned it into particles. She shook off her shock seconds later, knowing what she had to do in response. "I activate the effect of Mirage Mirror Force in my Graveyard. When an Illusion monster leaves the field by a card effect, I can banish this card to Special Summon one Illusion monster from my field or Graveyard. Return to me, Emissary from the House of Wax!" At Hallucina's command, Emissary from the House of Wax reappeared on her field in defense position.

Emissary from the House of Wax ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 3

"The battle continues! The first Illusion token attacks Persona Force – Goemon the Fox!" The first Illusion token charged forward before slashing Goemon the Fox, which turned them both into particles as Jericho winced, his life points having dropped seconds later once again.

Jericho: 3200 – 800 = 2400 LP

"The battle continues one more time! The second Illusion token attacks Persona Force – Robin the Crow!" Hallucina said, as the second Illusion Token charged forward and slashed both Robin Hood and Crow, which turned both of them into particles. The attack made Jericho wince for a third time as his life points dropped.

Jericho: 2400 – 600 = 1800 LP

"I end my turn." Hallucina grit her teeth. It's alright. You still have things under control, Hallucina assured herself in her mind. With Spirit Barrier, you won't take any battle damage from attacks. And with Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts' second effect, I can use it to bring back one of my monsters to make sure I have a monster on my field. Lastly, in the worse case scenario, I have my face-down card to protect me. Overall, I'm safe.

"There he is, master!" a voice cried out, as Jericho and Hallucina turned to see where it was coming from. Seconds later, Ai and Roboppy appeared out of nowhere as they followed after Jericho and Hallucina, having noticed the Speed Duel that was going on here.

"And it looks like we're just in time to see the Speed Duel, Roboppy." Ai observed.

"Impossible! Who are the both of you?! And just how did you get through the maximum security systems?!" Hallucina demanded from her questions.

"My apologies, Hallucina. It appears I forgot my manners." Jericho interjected, which got Hallucina's attention. "The tall guy is Ai, while the small boy is Roboppy. Ai and Roboppy, this is Hallucina, Albinor Inc.'s current CEO."

"A pleasure to meet you, Hallucina." Ai commented.

"Yeah. Hi, Hallucina." Roboppy added, as he waved his hand at Hallucina.

It appears Jericho used these two to distract the maximum security systems while he managed to get inside Albinor Inc.'s database, Hallucina thought in her mind. No matter how many intruders are there, I won't let any of them take the other half of the Code Key! "I'll deal with the both of you later, but for now, I have a duel to finish."

"Same here, Hallucina. My turn! I draw!" Jericho said, as he drew the top card of his deck. "Unfortunately, during the Standby Phase after I activated Phantom Thief Conflict, I take 500 points of damage." He gritted his teeth as a red aura surrounded him, which decreased his life points.

Jericho: 1800 – 500 = 1300 LP

Suddenly, a small light appeared from Jericho's Extra Deck, a grin having appeared on his face. "Hey, Ai, do you remember our conversation a long while back regarding our deal?"

"What about it?" Ai inquired.

"Well, it's only fair that I back up my promises with evidence." Jericho replied, before he redirected his attention back to the duel. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Persona Tactics – Persona Awakening. This card lets me target one 'Persona Civilian' and one 'Persona' Link monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon them both to my field. Return to me, Goro and Robin Hood!" At Jericho's command, Goro and Robin Hood reappeared on his field.

Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi ATK: 2300 DEF: 1500 LV: 6

Persona Soul – Robin Hood ATK: 500 LINK-1 ⬇️

"Then, immediately after this effect resolves, I can Link Summon one 'Persona' Link monster by using 'Persona' monsters on my field."

"Well, that's not good..." Hallucina muttered to herself. Based on what Hallucina saw so far in the duel, Jericho was able to bring out a Link 3 monster by using a Link 1 monster and one other monster. However, they had to be specific monsters for such a case to occur. Thus, Hallucina deduced that Jericho would bring out a Link 2 monster to support his strategies, and once it appeared, she'd make sure he couldn't use its effects.

"Appear, the circuit of truths and deceit!" Jericho said, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters. I set Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi and the Link 1 Persona Soul – Robin Hood into the Link Markers!" Goro went into the left arrowhead, while Robin Hood went into the bottom arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 2! Persona Soul - Pandora!" A girl in her pre-teens with red eyes and black and white hair appeared on Jericho's field in the right Extra Monster Zone. She wore a black and white checkered, Greek-styled dress, as well as modern-day shoes on her feet.

Persona Soul – Pandora ATK: 1500 LINK-2 ⬅️⬇️

"Hahaha. I'm so glad to be here." Pandora said with glee.

"Wait, what? Your duel monster talks?" Hallucina questioned.

"If there's one thing Cyberse monsters have over Illusion monsters, it's that they have a form of sentience. With the right minds, it can even be brought out." Jericho explained.

"Master, are you seeing this?!" Roboppy inquired, shocked at what Jericho did just now.

"I am, Roboppy. I certainly am." Ai answered, shocked that Jericho has Pandora's card data on hand to turn into a monster for his own deck. Pandora used to belong to Raguel, which meant one of two things happened, Ai began thinking in his mind. One: Pandora was defeated in battle to the point where she turned into particles. Two: Raguel executed Pandora for her failures. I strongly believe option two is the answer.

"I activate Robin Hood's effect. As he was used to Link Summon a 'Persona Force' Link monster, the Link monster that used him as Link material has their original attack points become 2500." Jericho stated. "As such, Pandora's original attack points now become 2500." Pandora was surrounded in a red, blue and white aura that increased their strength.

Persona Soul – Pandora ATK: 1500 + 1000 = 2500

"I don't know what you have in mind, but there's no way I'll let you utilize your new monster's abilities!" Hallucina declared, as she gestured to her field. "Trap card, activate! Breakthrough Skill! When this card is activated, I can-."

"Ah, ah, ah. I don't think so." Jericho countered. "I activate the effect of Phantom Thief Conflict from my Graveyard. When you activate a card effect, I can banish it and one 'Persona Force' Link monster from my Graveyard to negate the effect. I banish this card and Goemon the Fox from my Graveyard to negate Breakthrough Skill's effects!" Breakthrough Skill glowed purple before breaking down into particles.

"And with that being taken care of, I activate Pandora's first effect. Once per turn, I can target one 'Persona' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone she points to. Return to me, Goemon!" At Jericho's command, Goemon reappeared on his field in the Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to.

Persona Soul – Goemon ATK: 500 LINK-1 ↙️

"In addition, each time a 'Persona' Link monster is Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone Pandora points to, I can place one 'Persona' counter on her." Jericho continued, as a piece of Pandora's dress glowed a rainbow color.

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 0 + 1 = 1

"Note that all 'Persona' monsters Pandora points to gain 700 attack points for each 'Persona' counter she has." Jericho continued "What's more, they can make an additional attack during each Battle Phase and negate the effects of monsters they battle until the end of the damage step. Lastly, Pandora's unaffected by your card effects while she's pointing to a 'Persona' monster. Angelic Grace!" Both Pandora and Goemon were surrounded in rainbow auras that enhanced their strength.

Persona Soul – Goemon ATK: 500 + 700 = 1200

"It'll take more than that to break through my defenses." Hallucina pointed out.

"While that's true, I'm not done yet." Jericho responded. "I activate the second effect of Metaverse Palace. Once per turn, when you control a monster, I can Special Summon one 'Persona' token to my field." Soon, a purple-flamed wisp that had the symbol of the Phantom Thieves appeared on Jericho's field in attack position.

Persona Token ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: ?

"Upon summon, I can treat the Persona token's level as the Level, Rank, or Link rating of a monster you control with the lowest attack points. Since the monster with the lowest attack points you control is Emissary from the House of Wax, that means the Persona Token's level becomes Level 3." Soon, the Persona token turned into a hazy version of Emissary from the House of Wax, as if it obtained its form.

Persona Token LV: ? ➡️ 3

"I also summon Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya from my hand to my field." Jericho continued, as a tall, young man who had wavy black hair and grey eyes appeared on his field. His attire consisted of a red-buttoned black blazer with an emblem on the pocket, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar and slim red pants with a plaid pattern, as well as dress boots. Covering his grey eyes was a set of large, black glasses.

Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya ATK: 1200 DEF: 500 LV: 4

"When Ren's Normal or Special Summoned, I can add one 'Persona Civilian', 'Persona Tactics', or 'Persona Arms' card from my deck to my hand. I'll add Persona Tactics – Ally Reborn from my deck to my hand." A card popped out of Jericho's deck, which he took and added to his hand.

"Appear, for a second time! The circuit of truths and deceit!" Jericho said, as a Link Portal appeared above him. "The summoning conditions are two or more Cyberse monsters. I set Persona Civilian – Ren Amamiya, the Persona token and the Link 1 Persona Soul – Goemon into the Link Markers!" Ren went into the top arrowhead, the Persona Token went into the bottom-left arrowhead and Goemon went into the bottom-right arrowhead, turning both of them red.

"Link Summon! Appear! Link 3! Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima!" A tall, young man who had spiky, blue-tinted hair and golden eyes appeared on Jericho's field in the Main Monster Zone Pandora pointed to, resulting in both monsters being co-linked with one another. He wore a black and red shirt that had the symbol of the Phantom Thieves on the front and back of it. In addition, he wore tan cargo pants and tennis shoes with green accents. Rising behind the young man was a male humanoid with blue skin and red eyes that had write irises. His attire consisted of a black bodysuit that had silver lines all over it, with the top part of it covering the back of his head to a point where it resembled a helmet. This was evident by the silver lines on the sides that almost resembled a silver ridged crown. Attached to his back were a total of four metal, techno-organic wings, with the top two being much longer than the ones below them.

Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima ATK: 2800 LINK-3 ↙️⬆️↘️

Persona Soul – Pandora PC: 1 + 1 = 2

Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima ATK: 2800 + (700 X 2) = 4200

"Your end is close, human!" Teferi told Hallucina, as he and Mishima laughed seconds later, much to Hallucina's shock.

"Jericho also has Teferi in his arsenal, master!" Roboppy reported.

"I can see that as well, Roboppy." Ai told Roboppy. Just like with Pandora, Teferi also belonged to Raguel a while back. Based on what I'm seeing, it seems that option two is the correct answer. Raguel executed Pandora and Teferi for their failures, which gave Jericho the opportunity to both revive and recruit them as his allies, Ai thought in his mind. With Pandora and Teferi being reborn, it was proof that Jericho, and Urizen by extension, had the power to bring back the fallen Ignis. However, this concerned Ai, as it meant that his vision of the Crisis would certainly happen unless he put a stop to it soon.

"I activate Goemon's effect once again. Since he was used to Link Summon a 'Persona Force' Link monster, I can target one Link 3 Cyberse monster I control with a different name, and if it battles a monster whose level is five or higher, any damage you take from that battle is doubled for the rest of this turn." Jericho said. "I target Teferi the Mishima!" Teferi the Mishima was surrounded in a white aura that enhanced his strength.

"I now activate the Spell card, Persona Tactics – Ally Reborn! This card lets me target one 'Persona' monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it from my Graveyard to my field in exchange for negating its effects until the End Phase. Return to me, Robin the Crow!" At Jericho's command, Robin the Crow reappeared on his field, only in the Main Monster Zone.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow ATK: 2300 LINK-3 ⬅️⬇️➡️

"In addition, I activate Teferi the Mishima's effect." Jericho added. "Once per turn, by shuffling one 'Persona' Link monster from my Graveyard or banished zone back into my Extra Deck, I can negate the effects of all face-up and face-down cards on your field! Oh, and if I shuffled a Link 3 or higher 'Persona' monster back into my Extra Deck by this effect, you can't activate cards or effects in response to his effects!"

"This can't be!" Hallucina exclaimed, knowing what this meant for her. With Spirit Barrier's effects negated, that meant she could now take battle damage at the hands of Jericho's monsters! In addition, Emissary from the House of Wax could now be destroyed by battle as well!

"Oh, but it is! I shuffle Goemon the Fox from my banished zone back to my Extra Deck! Pinion Shredder!" Teferi unleashed sharp blades from his wings while Mishima fired blasts of shadowy energy from his hands, both of which shed through all the cards on Hallucina's field as each one (except for the tokens) greyed out.

"Battle!" Jericho declared. "Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima attacks the first Illusion Token! Pinion Lacerator!" Teferi flew in the air and fired sharp blades from his wings at the first Illusion token while Mishima fired shadowy energy from his hands to prevent it from escaping. From there, Teferi's wings went upward as it created a blade made of metallic energy, which he fired at the first Illusion token before it pierced its target upon impact.

Hallucina: 5000 – (1100 X 2) = 2800 LP

"The battle continues! Persona Force – Teferi the Fallen attacks the second Illusion Token! Pinion Lacerator!" Teferi flew in the air and fired sharp blades from his wings at the second Illusion token while Mishima fired shadowy energy from his hands to prevent it from escaping. From there, Teferi's wings went upward as it created a blade made of metallic energy, which he fired at the second Illusion token before it pierced its target upon impact.

Hallucina: 2800 – (1100 X 2) = 600 LP

"The battle continues once again! Persona Force – Robin the Crow attacks Emissary from the House of Wax!" Jericho said. "Piercing Arrow!" Several golden arrows appeared out of nowhere before Robin Hood aimed and fired them at Emissary from the House of Wax, which hit it each time upon impact. The flurry of arrows gave Crow time to charge forward and also slash Emissary from the House of Wax using his serrated sword, which turned it into particles.

"And now it's time for the final attack!" Jericho smirked, ready to finish this duel in a flash. "Persona Soul – Pandora attacks you directly!"

"Not so fast! I'm still in this duel!" Hallucina told Jericho. "I activate the effect of Chimera the King of Phantom Beasts from my Graveyard. By banishing it from my Graveyard, I can target one Beast, Fiend or Illusion monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it back to my field. Return to me once more, Emissary from the House of Wax!" At Hallucina's command, Emissary from the House of Wax reappeared on her field in defense position.

Emissary from the House of Wax ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 3

Jericho frowned, having saw Hallucina's last attempt at trying to stay in this duel. It was a futile one, especially given the cards Jericho had on his field and their different effects. Ones that contributed with one another to secure Jericho's victory in this duel. "In this case, a battle replay occurs. Persona Soul – Pandora attacks Emissary from the House of Wax! Makougaon Strike!"

"Take this!" Pandora said, as a field of black and white energy surrounded her hand to create a blade, where she charged forward and brought it down onto Emissary from the House of Wax. An explosion occurred soon after, where it showed both monsters alive and well once it dissipated.

"And now for the coup de grace! I activate Teferi the Mishima's second effect!" Jericho exclaimed. "When a 'Persona' monster it points to battles a monster you control, I can not only banish your monster at the end of the damage step, I can also inflict damage equal to the number of 'Persona' monsters on my field times 700!"

"Oh no!" Hallucina shouted, a shocked look clear on her face.

"As Pandora battled Emissary from the House of Wax, it's now banished." Emissary from the House of Wax turned into particles seconds later. "And since I control three 'Persona' monsters, that means you take a total of 2100 points of damage."

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, everyone…" Hallucina sighed, knowing that there was nothing else she could do to win this duel. Though she gave it her all, she ultimately lost in the end.

"This duel is over, Hallucina! Pinion Imploder!" Sharp blades emerged from Teferi's wings as they were fired out of them, where Mishima fired shadowy energy at each one before they were turned into spears of lightning. This increased their speed before they headed straight towards Hallucina, which caused a series of explosions that not only sent her flying off her duel board upon impact, but also dropped her life points to zero as well.

Hallucina: 600 – (700 X 3) = 0

Hallucina landed on the ground upon impact before rolling onto it, where she eventually stopped as she let out a small groan. She failed to protect the other half of Albinor Inc.'s Code Key in front of all her employees, and as a result, would likely lose her job as CEO. Or worse, her life.

"That's right! I won, ladies and gentlemen!" Jericho shouted loudly, as he jumped off of his duel board before landing on the ground, a triumphant grin evident on his face. He then walked over to where Hallucina was, who groaned a second time as she tried to stand up on her feet. "Now then, Hallucina. Since I defeated you in front of all your employees, I believe it's time for you to give me what's rightfully mine."

"You're right. I can't back down on my promise. You win." Hallucina conceded, as she pressed a few buttons on her duel disk, which caused a violet key made of data material to orbit above her duel disk before floating over to Jericho's duel disk. The violet key made of data material that Jericho had on hand orbited above his duel disk before connecting with its other half, which glowed with bright light upon doing so. With both Code Keys, Jericho officially now had possession of Albinor Inc., thus completing one of his objectives for his overall plan. "Just… don't hurt the others or myself. That's all I ask for."

Jericho blinked. "Why would I do that? I mean, you've shown immense potential in our duel, and I didn't expect Albinor Inc. to develop a monster type that would counter Cyberse monsters. If anything, you passed the test."

"Passed… the test?" Hallucina raised an eyebrow, both curious and confused by what Jericho said just now.

"That's right. You passed." Jericho repeated, as he offered Hallucina a hand. "As a result, I'll let you retain your job position as Albinor Inc.'s CEO… with a slight change. I'll be the advisor, and you run my father's company as per my instructions until he returns. Got it?"

Hallucina nodded in compliance, having taken Jericho's hand as he helped her stand up on her feet. "Yes, of course. I understand."

"Perfect." Jericho then turned to the digital screens that showed the live feed. "Ladies and gentlemen! I, Jason Albinor, the son of Ukyos Albinor, the founder itself has returned! No longer shall this company remain stagnant and left behind! No longer shall we be held back by fear of the unknown! For a new path has finally been revealed with my arrival, and by taking this path, Albinor Inc. will regain its former glory! Our time is now!"

The soldiers present, as well as Hallucina cheered out of joy. Numerous thumbs ups and heart emojis also appeared on the live feed, which indicated that the employees who were watching not only supported Jericho's announcement, but were filled with joy at the same time. Jericho raised his arms high in the air, pleased to see and hear the support of those who were watching. Once that was done, Jericho then snapped his fingers, which ended the live feed.

"I'll be in touch with you soon, Hallucina. Be ready." Jericho told Hallucina, who nodded as the former jumped on his duel board. From there, he sped towards Ai and Roboppy before heading off, intent on returning back to the Linguriboh ship.

"Given the situation we're in right now, you made a wise decision in not killing Hallucina." Ai commented.

"Yeah. It'd be pretty bad if Playmaker and his allies figured out that there was a bloodbath." Roboppy said.

"Hey, I keep talent when I recognize it. Simple as that, gentlemen." Jericho replied, having remembered where he recruited Electrolyzer on the spot upon seeing his duel skills in person. "With that out of the way, I do believe we can relax for a bit before we battle against our common enemies."

Ai rolled his eyes after hearing that comment. "Oh, so now you want to relax for a bit."

"Of course. I got a major thing done, and can now relax for a bit. Well, aside from some small work I need to do on the side before the coming battle, of course."

Thus, the trio rode their duel boards in silence as they headed towards the Linguriboh ship before entering inside. From there, the Linguriboh ship sped out of Albinor Inc.'s server, Jericho's mission in seizing the company having been officially completed. As of now, Jericho managed to acquire one of the two companies needed to complete his ultimate objective: To obtain the Root of All Knowledge for Urizen. Once he had the other half of SOL Technologies' Code Key, then the company would also belong to him.

And with both companies together, along with his allies, Jericho would ultimately be the one to win the coming conflict!

In the sunset over Den City, Yuhiro, Miyu, and Arashi are depicted with Yusaku, Aoi, and Takeru looking out over the area.

Silhouettes of Earth, Windy, Aqua, Flame, Lightning, Herald, and Wraith are shown as Ai clenches his heart in despair before morphing into his human form. The screen shifts to the real world, which shows Roboppy looking out a window as a silhouette of his human form is shown with him.

Jin, Kusanagi, and Katsuya look at the starry skies, grateful smiles on their faces as they do so, glad to be reunited with one another. Silhouettes of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Codebreaker Virus Berserker appear in the area to ensure the peaceful moment wasn't disrupted.

Emma and Kengo Dojun are shown at the Den City hospital visiting his mother as she wakes up, happy to see her son again. A light-blue glow briefly surrounds her body before dimming, as though it were blessing her. In another area of the hospital, Roxy is shown lovingly embracing Miyu with joy, Aoi also smiling after seeing her wake up. Nearby is Yuhiro, who smiles as he watches the group. However, he lowers his head in sadness as he recalls everything that had to be sacrificed for this moment to occur.

Akira is shown rushing over to a helicopter, intent on completing an urgent business assignment. Hayami follows after him in a hurry, having also been called to assist him in completing the assignment.

A split screen then pops up, showing Tsubaki spending time with Hideki on one side, while Gekiryushi is training at the Shinpi-Tekina dojo, people happy to see the dojo being rejuvenated on the other side. Portrait of Zandaka, Kataru, and Arakan are also in the background. A second split screen appears next, showing Greg and Rachel spending time with one another, while Gil is looking at documents with the Bit and Boot under his command. A third split screen appears next, showing Go Onizuka having fun with the kids at the Den City Orphanage with Kenmochi and Yoroizaka, while Brion issues directions as he collaborates with the people in Central Japan so they can work together in rebuilding their home.

The screen then shows Youta, Ryoken, and Takeya looking over a high platform, with Yua, Kyoko, Aso, Eizaburo, and Mikuru in the background watching them. It then shifts to show Emon looking over Beatrice's grave at the cemetery before fading away.

A portrait of everyone riding their duel boards in LINK VRAINS appears on a table as Yusaku and Yuhiro put down their duel disks, having accepted everything that's happened as they strive to move forward towards a brighter future.

Card Gallery

Jericho:

Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi (LV: 6/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1500)

Effect: This card is also treated as a Warrior-type monster while on your field or in your GY. You can Normal Summon this card without Tributing, but its ATK become 1000. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can target 1 Spell or Trap Card in your opponent's GY; Set it on your side of field, but banish it when it leaves the field. You can only use this effect of 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi' once per turn. You can only control 1 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi'.

Persona Tactics – Phantom Thief Conflict (Counter-Trap card)

Effect: When a Spell or Trap card, or monster effect is activated while you control a 'Persona Force' Link monster: Negate the activation, and if you do, banish it. Your opponent cannot activate cards, or effects of cards with the same name as the banished card until the end of your next turn. If this card is in your GY, except the turn it was sent there, and your opponent activates a card effect: You can banish this card and 1 'Persona Force' Link monster from your GY; negate the effect. During the Standby Phase of the next turn after you activated this card: Take 500 damage. You can activate this card from your hand if you control 3 or more 'Persona Force' Link monsters. You can only activate 1 'Persona Tactics – Phantom Thief Conflict' effect per turn, and only 1 that turn.

Persona Soul – Robin Hood (LR: 1/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 500/⬇️)

Effect: 1 Cyberse monster. This card is also treated as a Spellcaster-type monster while on your field or in your GY. When this card is Link Summoned: You can target 1 "Persona Civilian" monster in your GY; Special Summon it on your field. If you Link Summon "Persona Force - Robin the Crow" by using this card and "Persona Civilian - Goro Akechi", you can treat this card as a Link 2 monster. If you use this card to Link Summon a "Persona Force" Link Monster: You can activate this effect; its original ATK becomes 2500. You can only use each effect of 'Persona Soul – Robin Hood' once per turn.

Persona Soul – Pandora (LR: 2/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 1500/⬅️⬇️)

Effect: 2 Cyberse monsters. Unaffected by your opponent's card effects while this card points to a 'Persona' monster. Once per turn: You can target 1 'Persona' monster in your GY; Special Summon it to a Main Monster Zone this card points to. Each time a 'Persona' Link Monster is Special Summoned to a Main Monster Zone this card points to: Place 1 'Persona' counter on this card. 'Persona' monsters this card points to gain 700 ATK for each 'Persona' counter on this card, can make a second attack during each Battle Phase, and when they battle a monster the opponent controls, that monster's effects are negated until the end of the damage step. If this card leaves the field while it has a 'Persona' counter: You can Special Summon this card from your GY to your field but banish it when it leaves your field. You can only use this effect of 'Persona Soul – Pandora' once per turn.

Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2800/↙️⬆️↘️)

Effect: 2 or more Cyberse monsters. If a 'Persona' monster this card points to battles a monster your opponent controls: Banish that monster at the end of the damage step, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of 'Persona' monsters you control X 700. During your Main Phase: You can shuffle 1 'Persona' Link Monster from your GY back to your Extra Deck; negate the effects of all cards your opponent controls. Your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation of this effect if you shuffled a Link 3 or higher 'Persona' Link Monster by this effect. You can only use this effect of 'Persona Force – Teferi the Mishima' once per turn.

Persona Force – Robin the Crow (LR: 3/Cyberse/Dark/ATK: 2300/⬅️⬇️➡️)

Effect: 2 or more Cyberse effect monsters. You can also Link Summon this card by using a copy of 'Persona Soul – Robin Hood' and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi' on your field as Link Material instead. This card is also treated as a Warrior and Spellcaster monster while on your field or in your GY. This card gains 300 ATK for each card on your side of the field. If this card points to a Link Monster on either player's field: You can target 1 card in your opponent's hand, field or GY; banish it (random if it's from your opponent's hand). You can only use this effect of "Persona Force - Robin the Crow" once per turn. If you Link Summoned this card by using a copy of 'Persona Soul – Robin Hood' and 'Persona Civilian – Goro Akechi', for the rest of this duel, it gains the following effect:

Monsters your opponent controls lose 300 ATK for each card in their hand. During the Main Phase You can tribute 1 Link Monster you control; equip 1 Link Monster from either GY to this card. While this card is equipped with a Link monster, it gains ATK equal to that monster's Link rating x 300; also it cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent's card effects.

QOTC

So far, Akira obtained the assistance from Zero, the heroes, Drachen and the Knights of Hanoi. Who else do you think will come to his aid in the chapters to come?

Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Obscured Truth. Chapter 106: War on SOL: Part Three. The preparations for the coming battle are almost complete on both sides. While Akira focuses on getting some final allies to help protect him, Jericho tests Issachar to evaluate his skills as a duelist. Meanwhile, desperate to do their part in protecting SOL Technologies from Ai's intentions, Miyu and Aoi face off against Akira and Roxy in their own respective battles, intent on showing their guardians just how far they have come as both duelists and individuals…

Author's Notes

Well, folks! Another chapter is complete! We're one step closer to the battles to come, don't you agree? Anyhow, let's get to the recap:

The first scene that occurs in this chapter is the conversation between Roxy and Emma, where the former fills the latter in on recent events. Do note that this conversation was foreshadowed back in Chapter 104, where Emma asked Roxy if they could meet up and talk after the meeting with Akira. We also got to see Emma's reaction to this information, along with what happened at Den Academy with Yuhiro since the past few chapters. I'll just sum it up by saying that Yuhiro's been shown extreme mercy, especially when you take into account the Cursed Boundary Layer's actions, as well how the past battles have made people lose loved ones. So eventually, Yuhiro will return to Den Academy, but not right now.

During this scene, we also learn that Kengo Dojun's mom has officially woke up from her coma, much to Roxy's joy. In addition, it's revealed that she was able to wake up with some unknown assistance. I'll just say it here: Miyu was inadvertently responsible for helping Kengo's mom wake up, just like how she cured Gil and Rachel from the injuries sustained from Project: Apotheosis. From there, we get a nice brief conversation between Miyu and Emma, where it's revealed that Yuhiro's avatar is permanently corrupted. He can't change it back to the way it was because the Cursed Boundary Layer infected it to the core, which means he'll have to either use the corrupted avatar or make a completely new one. After some brief tension between Miyu and Roxy, Emma immediately deduces that Miyu knows about Yuhiro and Roxy's activities on the Black Market, and even provides advice on how the trio can navigate such a difficult situation. However, the heartfelt moment is broken once Emma makes a bad comment regarding who of the people that have siblings has it worse, which leads Roxy to give her a firm lecture through words and force afterwards.

Next up is one of the two anime scenes that happens in this chapter, which is where Akira meets with Revolver in the Hanoi's server. However, there are a few differences. First, Akira meets Demeter, where her avatar has changed to reflect that of the other Knights of Hanoi. Second, instead of four Pandor copies, there are five Pandor copies. As for why the number of copies are changed to five instead of four, that will be explained later on. In the meanwhile, I do want to highlight the Hanoi's requests in exchange for helping Akira. First being Akira's assistance in making sure the world forgot about Drachen's role in recent events, as well as transferring his crimes onto the Knights of Hanoi. This way, Drachen's charges would be dropped, and he'd be able to experience life again. Despite Demeter's protests, Akira immediately agrees to this request, having seen it as a reasonable price for the Hanoi's aid.

The second request is obtaining SOL Technologies' aid in investigating a personal matter the Knights of Hanoi have to deal with. Specifically, Infearno's potential death after receiving his distress call. Akira also agrees to help the Hanoi find out who hurt Emon, but only if they promised not to hurt the perpetrator, as he will not help murder them. In other words, Akira wants the perpetrator to be judged by the law, not by vengeance. Given the urgency of the matter, Revolver agrees to this condition, which then leads to the three of them discussing how to hide Akira from Ai's sight. Specifically, by plane, as shown in the anime. Since this wasn't explained much in the anime, I felt that it'd be important to touch on how Akira and Revolver eventually came to the decision on the best way to protect the former. After the discussion, Akira logs out of the network, but not before Revolver tells him of their odds of success increasing should he acquire a strong number of allies for the battle to come.

Next up is the scene in Jericho's server, where we officially meet Juggernaut's apprentice named Souta Kubo for the first time, where he goes by Issachar in the network. His real-world appearance is based off of Kieran from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, while his network identity is based off of Tasuku Ryuenji from Future Card Buddyfight. Here, Jericho introduces himself, and tells Issachar about how he'll be putting him through a series of tests to see if he's worthy of the cause. For those of you who are wondering whether Issachar knows what's truly going on or not, he doesn't. Simple as that. Jericho even assures Juggernaut that he won't kill her apprentice in the event he fails the tests. It mirrors how Jericho punished Electrolyzer for his treachery, where instead of killing him, he chose to wipe his memories of their interactions to ensure the latter doesn't know who the former is. Not just that, but ensure that Electrolyzer never encounters Jericho again. It's Jericho's way of maintaining anonymity, except with those he deems worthy to know the truth, as well as dish out punishment to those who fail him. As such, Jericho gives Issachar his first test, which is to assist him in retaking Albinor Inc. from the CEO. But rather than hacking into the security system, Jericho wants Issachar to create something that will allow only him to access the database and go through security unscathed. After Issachar lists out what he needs to begin, Jericho complies by providing him access to those things, but warns him not to regret it before logging out of the server.

From there, we go to the scene in the Linguriboh ship, with Ai and Roboppy casually chatting before Jericho enters on the scene. It's here where Jericho reveals a few loopholes regarding their deal, with one example being that he can kill people who are affiliated with those Ai cares about. It just goes to show how crafty and sadistic Jericho can be, as he'll do whatever it takes to ensure his mission is complete. After the brief scuffle, Jericho has Ai and Roboppy go with him in order to take Albinor Inc. back from the current CEO, having saw that the both of them are just being lazy following the defeat of the higherups. During the trip there, both Ai and Jericho begin an interesting debate on what the latter views as success upon completing his mission. It's here where Ai shows not just his intelligence as the wisest of the Ignis, but his craftiness because of how he manages to plant seeds of doubt and fear in Jericho's mind. What's more, Ai even manages to taunt Jericho in the process through his words and stop him from speaking temporarily as a result. I will say this about Jericho: Even though he can let his emotions slip from time to time, he's still able to regulate himself to some extent. What's more, Jericho is aware of what will likely happen should Ai and Roboppy gain control of the situation.

After that, we get onto the other anime scene of the chapter, which is Aoi's chat with Yusaku. While it's mostly similar to the anime, it's different at the same time due to how both Aoi and Yusaku played a role in stopping Yuhiro during the first arc of Season 3. Here, Aoi told Yusaku how she figured out not just his identity as Playmaker, but the real-world identities of Soulburner, Slipstream and Tigress as well, along with what happened following his loss against Yuhiro. I will say this about Yusaku: He knows his limits, and understands that one can't control everything all the time. This was why he wasn't irritated at Aoi, and was instead understanding of the situation, as he was brought to Café Matsuo for safety by Kusanagi. Out of gratitude for saving his life and helping him regain hope during grim times, Yusaku briefly shows Firewall Dragon Darkfluid to Aoi, thus officially telling her in person that he's Playmaker before the two of them shake hands. A nice touching moment between the two, don't you think?

Following the last anime scene, we get onto the main portion of the chapter, where Jericho, Ai and Roboppy proceed to launch an attack on Albinor Inc.'s database. It's also here where Ai decides to take two Soltis out for a spin, having been inspired by Yuhiro's use of the data clones several chapters ago. Thus foreshadowing Ai using Soltis copies later on in the next few chapters. Roboppy even gets to try using a Soltis clone for himself during this chapter as well. While the Soltis clones well as per Ai's expectations, Roboppy makes the decision to never use one again upon seeing how his ended up getting destroyed in a short time. What surprises Ai, however, is Jericho not only being able to get past security without detection, but also manages to find the entrance to Albinor Inc.'s database faster than him and Roboppy. This was due to Issachar managing to create a program that would make the security systems see Jericho as a friend rather than a foe, which enables him to reach the designated location before the portal closes up. As a result, Ai and Roboppy end up having to continue dealing with security systems while they try to find the next one.

While Ai and Roboppy continue trying to find the portal, Jericho appears in Albinor Inc.'s database, intent on finding the other half of the Code Key. Here, we meet the CEO of Albinor Inc., who goes by Hallucina. For those of you who are wondering, her appearance in the network and the real world is based off of Cassandra Savage from Young Justice. I do want to say something about Hallucina: Unlike the higherups at SOL Technologies, who only care about profits, Hallucina cares for the wellbeing of her employees. This is why she strives to protect the other half of the Code Key, as she doesn't want anyone immoral to take over and use Albinor Inc. for their own nefarious methods. As for who warned Hallucina about Jericho's arrival, that was Dogma, who deliberately did it on purpose so Jericho can see how strong Albinor Inc. is in Urizen's absence. For those of you wondering if Dogma betrayed Jericho, he did not, as the latter specifically ordered the former to tell Hallucina that the son of Ukyos Albinor has returned.

As such, we get to the Speed Duel between Jericho and Hallucina, where the latter manages to do a decent job against the former. However, this was only because Jericho allowed it, as he wanted to test Hallucina's skills as a duelist. If it wasn't a test, then Jericho would have defeated Hallucina within a turn. For this duel, it's revealed that Hallucina uses the Chimera deck, which focuses on both Fusion Summoning Fusion monsters whose names change to 'Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast' and setting up her Graveyard with both resource recovery and negation effects. What surprised Jericho in this duel was the appearance of Illusion monsters, which was something Albinor Inc. developed in response to SOL Technologies creating Cyberse monsters. Thanks to this, Hallucina was able to keep a pretty strong field for the majority of the duel.

In response to this, Jericho unveils new monsters such as Goro Akechi and his Persona: Robin Hood, along with their combined Link 3 monster in Persona Force – Robin the Crow. However, the main highlight of the duel is Jericho using both Pandora AND Teferi to defeat Hallucina. That's right, ladies and gentlemen! Jericho managed to somehow not only acquire Pandora and Teferi, who we all thought were dead, but also upgrade the both of them so they support his deck as well. Thanks to both of these cards, along with the other cards Jericho used, he manages to defeat Hallucina and show her just how powerful he is compared to her. Again, Jericho could have defeated Hallucina on the second turn, but wanted to see what she got before winning the duel.

Following the duel, Hallucina concedes defeat and gives Jericho the other half of Albinor Inc.'s Code Key, knowing that there's nothing else she can do to protect the company from him. Now afraid, Hallucina asks Jericho to spare her and the other employees from his wrath. But to her surprise, Jericho says that she passed the test, and has shown true strength as a duelist. For that, Hallucina will be allowed to retain her job position as CEO on the condition that she follows Jericho's instructions in running Albinor Inc. until Urizen's return. In other words, Jericho will be her advisor for the time being. As such, Hallucina accepts the offer, so expect to see more of her down the road.

Now that we've recapped all the main events here, I want to thank you all for reading Chapter 105 of Obscured Truth. 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. If you can also answer the QOTC, that would be awesome as well.

What did you enjoy the most about this chapter? The duel between Jericho and Hallucina? Emma and Roxy's chat at Café Matsuo? Akira's meeting with Revolver and Demeter? Issachar's first appearance in the story as of this chapter? The conversation between Yusaku and Aoi? Jericho, Ai and Roboppy's infiltration on Albinor Inc.'s database? Or was it something else?

That's all for now, everyone. I will see you all next time!