Chapter 31:

This wasn't how Shinji had expected his night to go, but he was more than ready in both body and mind.

After his dominant takedown of Blake, he'd expected his lovely future Queen to get back to him immediately. While he understood that visiting him in the infirmary and seeing the brutality of her former underling might've been too much for her, he'd have appreciated it greatly. Instead of that or even a simple congratulation, she hadn't contacted him at all. Until now, that was.

He was sure she'd just needed the time to prepare a reward worthy of his accomplishments. Why they were to meet in a clearing of the nearby forest he didn't know. Then again, there were strict policies in place in regards to students of opposites genders meeting after a certain time of day in their dorm rooms. They would've certainly both preferred a more … comfortable place to share, but at least they'd be uninterrupted this way.

He couldn't wait to see the faces of all the other students that had looked down on and belittled him ever since his first lost against Blake. Now he would be the rightful right hand of the most powerful, and most beautiful, girl at the academy. And he wouldn't be just her partner in crime, but in mind and, more importantly, in body.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, he tried calming down as he could see the clearing. It wouldn't look good if he arrived too excited. He was, but given Kami's personality he'd have to play nice until she opened up. For all her good qualities, the heiress just played too hard to get sometimes, and while he still wanted her help to have his father keep his job, that didn't mean he'd play along forever. No, he'd make her his.

A sudden sound of disgust had him on edge immediately. He'd just entered the clearing, the moon shining through the thick clouds and illuminating the space around him, with no one in sight. Was he imagining things? He hadn't been talking out loud, had he?

"No, but given the nasty look on your already hideous face there wasn't much to guess." A familiar voice said from behind. "The mindreading sure helped, though. Good job getting that filth here, big guy."

Shinji whirred around, the moonlight blinding him temporarily as two pairs of steps advanced onto him. A fist rocketed into his stomach, making him fall to his knees, retching from the clean hit.

"To think I even considered going easy on you." His assailant clicked his tongue before kicking him onto his back. "Oh well. I'm sure my partner will be delighted to hear that she'll never have to deal with you again."

Shinji winced in pain. Standing above him was Blake with a vicious smirk on his face, with a ridiculously tall person a few steps behind, scanning the area and tapping down on some kind of apparatus on its arm.

"The location is secured and I've cut you off from the academies network." The other person said in a deep, mechanical voice. "Nothing that'll happen here will leave a trace."

"Good." Blake replied, sounding all too pleased. "Heard that? We can have lots of fun and no one will ever know."

The edge in the other boy's voice sent a shiver down Shinji's spine and he could feel the hair in his neck begin to stand up. "A-are you retarded?" He spat out with a shaky voice. "Once I get back, I'll make sure you'll get expel-"

He cried out when Blake stomped down on his foot, bending it into a terrifyingly wrong angle.

"Who said you'll get back? In a state where you can talk, no less." Blake chided, still pressing down on his foot as he shook his head. "Did you really think you'd get away with what you did? I knew you were stupid but damn, seems like you're just barely smart enough to breath."

"W-what?" Shinji choked out, tears running down his face.

"Did you already forget? You're hopeless." Blake said and thankfully put his foot away. Instead, the taller boy crouched down and pulled Shinji up by his collar, glaring into his eyes. "I'm an underground duelist, remember? A criminal. Don't you know what happens to people trying to wrong a criminal?"

Shinji wanted to fight back, hit Blake in the face so badly. But he was shaking like a leaf and happy he went to the bathroom before coming here. He felt as if all his strength had left him. "Y-y-you can't do that. They'll find out."

"Oh, they won't." Blake replied, his eyes almost seeming to glow in the low light. "And since you intended to do such despicable things to my bossy friend, I won't just leave it at making sure you'll never be able to duel again. I think you've earned yourself a more … permanent solution."

Blake threw him into the dirt and got up, activating his duel disk and flashing some weird black and golden bracelet on his right arm. "Get up."

"Y-you really are s-stupid. I don't even have my-" Shinji began, when the tall figure threw down another duel disk and a deck box. Due to the decorations he himself had made, Shinji it held his dragon deck, noting that the one with his new deck was on Blake's belt. "Looks like you're scared of the deck that beat you."

Blake scoffed. "Scared? I'm more scared on Chumley accidentally falling asleep on me than anything related to you." He shook the deck box. "No, I simply refuse to duel against a stolen deck. One that belongs to me, no less."

Shinji looked at him, irritated. "What are you talking about? My dad-"

"Your worthless dad stole ideas from a child because he couldn't make anything himself." Blake loudly stated matter-of-factly. "But please, do remind me of any card he has designed and was released in the recent years."

Shinji was about to argue back … when he noticed he couldn't. Besides the Gladiator Beasts, there was nothing from his father. Not even the cool new dragons he'd promised him. "But that doesn't make any sense. How would he get anyone's … oh." The card designing contests. Where the last one resulted in pretty mediocre monster cards that looked stupid and only worked if given to their opponent. What were they called again? Mushroom Man? Griggle?

"You actually can think, color me impressed. Now, get to it." Blake barked, making him wince again.

Shinji bristled and took his bearings with shaky hands and even shakier legs. but just couldn't get himself to stand. The almost unbearable amount of pain running through his foot when he tried to stand had him kneeling instead.

"Oh? Can't stand? What a shame. Then again, you belong in the dirt."

He so wanted to talk back, shut him up and make him feel pain. But after he'd already gotten beaten down, he knew he didn't stand a chance. It frustrated him. He knew that whatever cards Blake was using would fall, even with his dragon deck. He'd gotten close once, and this time his opponent didn't have his own strong deck.

With a defiant look, he activated his duel disk and stood up, pushing aside the pain and putting his weight on his good foot. "I won't let you keep from my deserved triumph. You may have a point about my father, but that's it. I'll beat you again, report you, and make sure you'll never be able to duel again."

"As if you ever beat me in the first place." Blake said with a huff. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your worthless father joins you soon enough. And the best part?" He looked down on Shinji, an almost bored look on his face. "No one will bother to remember either of you."

'It's so tempting just to beat him up beyond recognition …' Blake thought after he delivered that last line. Keeping himself under control was infinitely harder with the piece of dark magic around his arm. The bloody thing made him see red once Shinji appeared. If not for the support of his spirit partners, he might've never gotten a word in.

'Then why don't you?' His dragon companion growled expectingly while the duel disk worked its magic.

'Because he deserves much worse.' He replied. While it certainly felt good to dish out some physical punishment, he's sure that what came next would be even better. The thought of this slimy piece of shit having his way with Kami only stoked the flames, surprisingly. 'Well, that and I need to get a handle on the stupid Shadow Charm. Jinzo, try to analyze it during my … demonstration.'

The cyborg let out a mechanical huff as he retreated into the tree line, his red glasses shining as he observed them. In sync with the duel disks starting the duel, Blake's Shadow Charm twinkled with a dark, golden glow. The surrounding area dimmed, with wisps of shadowy smoke slowly rising from the ground below.

Shinji cried out in distress when some of them latched onto him. They held him in place by his ankles, while also going around his stomach, arms, and neck. "W-what is this?!"

Blake on the other hand almost felt comforted when they did the same to him. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, given what the shadows were emulating on his behalf, but he supposed it was part of the charm fucking with his mind.

Not bothering with an answer, he started the duel with a draw. (Blake 4000 / Shinji 4000)

"You'd better pay attention." Blake said and set a monster and backrow. "Wouldn't want to make it too easy for me now, do you?" 'That'd beat the purpose of how I adjusted Panik's deck, after all.' He'd never run this version of the deck normally, but its current iteration served an important purpose.

"S-shut up! Tell me what this is! O-or … I'm not playing!" Shinji talked shakily, his eyes wide open as he tried and tear the tendrils away.

"That wouldn't be good. We have timers on our turns, after all." Blake lamented, not wanting his work to be for nothing. He didn't put any timers on turns, but in hindsight he really should've. Could he even do that? "Battle City, Shadow Games, Joey Wheeler versus Marik Ishtar. That enough or do I have to write it down so your pea-sized brain can understand?"

It took his enemy a few moments to get what he was saying. "B-but that's-" Shinji began, only to get interrupted by an angry response.

"I told you, now play your fucking cards or that broken foot of yours will be the last of your problems."

Shinji audible gulped and shakily drew his card. "I-I activate the Field Spell Mountain, which boosts all Dragon, Winged Beast, and Thunder monsters by 200 points to their attack and defense points." Their surroundings shifted from a forest clearing into a valley surrounded by stoney mountains. The shadows persisted, however. "T-then I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode."

The familiar sight of the blue and beige dragon with its extra long and sharp beak materialized (1900/0) and was empowered by the … mountainous air (2100/200)? At least that's what it looked like to Blake. "My Spear Dragon inflicts piercing damage, and since he's powered up by my Field Spell, he won't have any trouble smashing trough your monster. Spear Dragon, attack!"

Blake disliked how haughty Shinji sounded all of a sudden. "I activate my Trap card; Nightmare Wheel." The blue dragon got spun on a large metal wheel and held in place, stopping its attack. "No attacks, no changing position, and a little bit of pain. For both of you, that is."

Shinji shrank in on himself, but tried keeping a brave face. "My dragon is still strong!"

"But you're not."

The other boy shut up and ended his turn without playing another card, grinding his teeth all the while.

'Now, let's see how you like this …' Blake cruelly thought as he drew his card.

The Nightmare Wheel activated, torturing the dragon attached to it, resulting in a spark of energy that sunk into the ground. The surrounding shadows absorbed it and shot it right through the tendrils that had grasped Shinji. The boy cried out in shock and pain as the physical effect of their Shadow Game mimicked the effects of the shock-collars Blake had to wear as an underground duelist. (Blake 4000 / Shinji 3500)

"Feeling good?" Blake taunted as Shinji crumbled to his knees. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

He ignored the sounds of pain filled sobbing. "I flip up my Nightmare Horse and use its effect to attack you directly." His ghostly, blue steed neighed angrily (500/400) before prancing around the dragon and crashed into Shinji, putting him on his back once more. Another round of shocks and the following response felt like music to Blake's ears. (Blake 4000 / Shinji 3000)

"I set two cards and summon Bowganian in attack mode before I end my turn." The metallic green orb consisting of one big eye, a few spikes and two arms leisurely put its massive crossbow on its … shoulders (1300/1000). Anatomy of duel monsters aside, Blake watched Shinji slowly getting back up, some wisps of smoke rising from where he's held by the shadows.

'It seems the effects of the Shadow Duel are too much for an unattuned duelist to bear.' Jinzo communicated from the outside.

'Unattuned? Whatever, think a little LP-gain might help with that?' Blake questioned, looking at the remaining cards in his hand.

'It might. You'll have to try to be sure.' With that said, the telepathic bond coming from Jinzo broke off.

"You're running on borrowed time. I suggest you make the most out of it." Blake shouted, shaking the other boy out of his shock.

Shinji stood there with hazy eyes. "C-can't I just surrender?"

"You could, if you want to die without fighting back." Blake responded with an angry snarl and his arms crossed. "That's what I expect you pathetic piece of shit to do. Run and give up like the weakling you are. To think you had the gall to even fantasize about controlling someone like Kami …"

It seemed like his words had their intended effect. Shinji angrily drew his next card. "I defeated you once, I can do it again."

At that, Blake couldn't help but laugh. "No, you didn't. You never beat me in a duel and you never will."

"We'll see about that! I summon Masked Dragon!" Another dragon appeared on Shinji's side of the field, the monster being red and beige instead of blue this time, with a hardened mask covering its face (1400/1100). It too was empowered by a swirl of air coming from the surrounding mountains as it growled at its opposition (1600/1300).

"Masked Dragon, attack his Bowganian!" The dragon took a deep breath and released a cone of red, hot fire.

The fire didn't reach its target, however, as it was held back by a sudden wall of light. Blake could see the confused look on his enemy's face, which turned into horror shortly after. If Blake had to guess, it was because of the high amount of energy lighting up his own body. It had been a long time since he last felt the electric currents to this degree. They were no doubt amplified by the Shadow charm, if its ominous glow was anything to go by.

"I activate Wall of Revealing Light. In exchange for 2000 lifepoints, none of your monster with equal or less attack power can attack anymore." Blake explained in a strained voice that surprised himself. This wasn't how strong he'd wanted the effects of their duel to be, simply because he didn't want Shinji to blackout from it. He'd have to feel all of it, after all. (Blake 2000 / Shinji 3000)

"To that I also chain Solemn Wishes, which will recover my lifepoints by 500 whenever I draw."

Both the wall of light and a cluster or warm lights hovering around Blake's duel disk persisted and dispersed the darkness just enough for Blake to see the pale and horrified look of Shinji. "The pain is multiplied, you know. Whatever you felt I got hit by four times as hard."

"H-how can you stand even after that? Y-you're a monster!"

"Perhaps." Blake snorted in amusement. "Now get on with it."

Shinji gulped once more, the sight of Blake taking the more powerful shocks like that seemed to have taken some wind out of his sails. "I activate Dragon's Gunfire, which lets me destroy your Nightmare Horse since I have a dragon and your monster has 800 or less defense points." His Masked Dragon unleashed a fireball that passed through the wall of light and effortlessly destroyed Blake's monster.

"W-with that, I end my turn."

"Time for some more payback, then." Blake announced. First, the sparkles around his duel disk lit up when he drew, taking away some of the residual pain he had inflicted on himself (Blake 2500 / Shinji 3000). Then, he snapped his finger, to which his remaining monster took aim and fired a bolt at Shinji, sending him to his knees once more (Blake 2500 / Shinji 2400), before another shock caused by the Nightmare Wheel had him seizing on the floor (Blake 2500 / Shinji 1900).

"It's funny how you could've evaded all this happening if you'd just stayed down. Everything that's happening right now is because of your misplaced thoughts of grandeur. If only your fellow Obelisks could see where that line of thinking gets them." Blake said out loud, only now noticing the wide smile on his face.

The pleasant feeling of his revenge continuing only stopped when he remembered his talk with Bastion the other night. 'Keep cool, this is a one-time thing.' He told himself. 'He only gets what he deserves. Just like Panik did. And Titan. And Bandit Keith. And how the other Shadow Riders will as well. I'm not the bad one here, he is.'

He put the unpleasant thought of his friend potentially disapproving of what he's doing out of his mind. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, whose effect lets me grab one Ritual Monster or Spell from my deck. I choose End of the World. Fitting, considering how this duel will go for you." The humanoid, wooden form of his new monster appeared (1400/1000) and clapped its large number of hands together to activate its effect.

"I switch my Bowganian to defense mode and end my turn. Feel free to just draw and pass."

Blake thought he'd pushed any thought of resistance out of Shinji, but with the next card the boy drew he straightened once more. "No, I refuse to lose to scum like you. If its pain you want, I'll give you some! I summon Lord of D.!" The iconic spellcaster flourished his blue cape, presenting his dragon-like armor for all to see (1200/1100). "Then I activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon! With it I summon Darkblaze Dragon and Serpent Night Dragon from my hand!"

The dragon-shaped flute appeared in the lords' hand and moments later, the forms of two big dragons heeded its call. Both were lanky, although the first had a more humanoid form, two sets of wings and a vicious visage, all of it clad in black and red scales (1200/1000). The second was the familiar sight of the serpentine, dark dragon (2350/2400). They stared down on Blake, growling in anticipation as they were empowered by the mountains as well (1400/1200) (2550/2600).

"Your wall might hold back my weaker dragons, but this one isn't so weak! Serpent Night Dragon, destroy his Bowganian!" Despite his frail state, or perhaps even more so because of it, Shinji reduced Blake steady output of damage and pain, much to his annoyance. "You're going down!"

Blake felt his anger flare up once more at the continued defiance. How could a person be so fucking delusional? What brain rot had infected a whole dorm of students to behave like this? He might have a chance to fight back now, but there's no way he'd win. If this was how the other no-name Obelisks thought, he'd have to purge the whole lot of them.

He ripped out his next draw, ignoring the effects of both his traps as they did their thing (Blake 3000 / Shinji 1400). "Manju, get rid of that little lord." His monster did as it was told, punching the spellcaster to pieces for a bit of extra pain. (Blake 3000 / Shinji 1200)

"With the little protection your lord offered gone, let me make clear how fucked you are." Blake growled and shoved his next card into the duel disk. "I activate Snatch Steal and take your little serpent dragon. You'll see what it's like to be attacked by your own cards soon enough." A linen bag caught onto the dragon's face and pushed it over to Blake's side of the field, where it begrudgingly stared its fellow dragons down.

"You can't blame me for-"

"Yes, I fucking can. Now play before I break your fucking fingers!" Blake's roar was echoed by that of his partner, causing Shinji to whimper and try to back away.

His opponent drew awfully slowly, but steadied himself when his pain lessened due to the lifepoint gain caused by Snatch Steal (Blake 3000 / Shinji 2200). Then he switched his Darkblaze Dragon into defense, and ended his turn.

He was hit by another shock due to his Spear Dragon still being trapped, while Blake enjoyed another increase himself. (Blake 3500 / Shinji 1700)

Not keen on setting of any unwanted reactions, Blake had his stolen dragon destroy Darkblaze Dragon instead of the masked one. Before he ended his turn, he set one final Trap card. 'Even if he gets lucky on his next draw, he won't get past this.'

Shinji gripped his deck tightly as he drew his final card, the earlier fatigue washed away by the look of hope and victory. Another heal-up only made him look even more self-assured. (Blake 3500 / Shinji 2700)

"You should've finished me when you got the chance. I told you I wouldn't lose to you, and with this I will defeat you once and for all!" Shinji announced, grating on Blake's nerves even more. "I tribute both my Spear Dragon and Masked Dragon. Behold the blazing inferno that shall burn the wicked! Rise, Tyrant Dragon!" Mimicking its summoners shout, the massive bronze dragon roared into existence, its eyes staring down with pure hatred onto Blake and his monsters (2900/2500). It unfolded its wings, embers flowing out of its maw in anticipation while taking in the mountain's strength (3100/2700).

Blake clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. Not because this would change the outcome of the duel, but because of the sheer hatred he felt towards his enemy. If not for the shadows holding him in place, he would've walked over there and finished what he started.

"Tyrant Dragon, release your fellow dragon from its shackles!" Shinji ordered, and a torrent of flames destroyed the stolen dragon. The sight and heat of it gave Blake an unpleasant flashback, along with the minor shock. (Blake 2950 / Shinji 2700) "When my opponent has a monster after Tyrant Dragon attacked, he can make a second attack!" The heat continued to rise as the dragon incinerated Blake's remaining monster.

"A defiant idiot to the end." Blake growled. "It's a shame a card like this is wasted on the likes of you. Oh well; I activate my Trap card."

"My Tyrant Dragon can't be targeted by traps! Who's the idiot now!" Shinji shouted, only for his face to morph into horror as his dragon exploded. "What?! How?!"

"Thank Chazz for getting my attention on this card. Chthonian Blast destroys one face-up monster with the lowest attack on the field, after one of my monsters is destroyed." Blake replied with a satisfied grin. "Yours is the only one remaining, and this card doesn't target. It also deals damage to both of us equal to half of the blown-up monster's attack."

Shinji's knees buckled from the resulting damage and he ended his turn with a lost look on his face. (Blake 1400 / Shinji 1150)

"Looks like you finally understand." Blake said, feeling his partner just underneath the next card he drew. After a quick look at his graveyard and the dark monster he held in his hand, he decided to give the final strike to his trusty dragon. "I activate Card Destruction, you know how it goes, though I doubt you care at this point."

"Since I now have three dark monsters in the graveyard, I summon Dark Armed Dragon. Take him apart."

At this point he tuned out most of what's in front of him, although he could still hear the spinning metal of his dragon's weapons rip and tear. The dark magic soon subsided, leaving a field of dead grass and torn earth behind. He walked over and retrieved the deck of his fallen enemy, feeling surprisingly empty as he looked over his brutalized form. The charm on his arm on the other hand pulsated with energy, and even darker thoughts.

When his sensed returned to him, accompanied by the painful clutch of the golden wristband on his arm, he strode over to Jinzo and pulled him along.

"We need to find a way to get this thing off me."

So yeah, that happened. Revenge is done, cards claimed, Shadow Charm tested. Hope it wasn't too graphic or unsettling to read, I'm not great at judging that tbh. Speaking of the Shadow Charm, its already working its magic, pun intended, in both forcing a Shadow Game and influence its user. How bad that'll go for Blake remains to be seen. As do the repercussions of what happened this night.

Glad you guys enjoyed the interactions between Blake and Kami last chapter, there'll be more to come in the future. And yes, she didn't get the explanation she wanted on purpose, something she's probably not too happy about. The Shadow Rider ladies might be happier, if suspicious. Wonder how that'll turn out.

Needless to say, Blake is aware of the potential problems with the Cyberdarks, if he gets them. But given what he believes and has been told by DAD, he thinks he can handle them – something I'll point out clearly at a later date. And to Peter Kim: I do read all the reviews, I just have trouble unpacking everything. Everything you said considering Jinzo, DAD, and Cyberdarks is completely right, I just want to remind you and everyone that modern cards and archetypes aren't planned. "Quasi-modern" cards like the archetype support from the GX manga like the new HEROs Jaden uses and a card here and there are all I'm currently using. Don't know if that'll change in the future.

On a different note; I think I got the match-ups for this arc done, though I probably won't write whole duels for all of them. Hope that's okay for everyone, otherwise it'll just drag on a bit too much for my liking.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope to have you next time!